South Africa: South Africa sends condolences to India following horrific train accident On behalf of the Government and the people of South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa has sent a message of condolences to India following the train accident that claimed the lives of more than 200 people in the state of Odisha. The three-train collision happened on Friday and reportedly left more than 850 injured. The South African Government and people stand in solidarity with those effected by this tragedy and laud the emergency rescue and medical personnel for their tireless efforts, said the Presidency in a statement. President Ramaphosa added that the thoughts of the South African people are with the people of India, particularly the affected families, during this time of mourning. South Africa and India enjoy strong historical, political, diplomatic, economic and people-to-people relations. The two countries established full diplomatic relations in 1993. South Africa and India share several common interests, including the reform of the United Nations (UN) and Bretton Woods institutions. The two countries also cooperate in a number of multi-lateral forums, including BRICS, the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum and the G20. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2023-06-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Chinese authorities have restricted the public's access to Tiananmen Square in Beijing on the anniversary of the pro-democracy protests and subsequent massacre Sunday. The square has long been heavily guarded since the incident, including identity checks upon entry. But additional security on the anniversary meant those passing by on foot or on bicycle from Changan Avenue north of the square were stopped and forced to show identification. Additionally, those with journalist visas in their passports were told to acquire special permission even to approach the square. On the eve of the commemoration, eight people were detained by Hong Kong police, saying four of them were allegedly disrupting order in public spaces or carrying out acts with seditious intent. The other half, police said, were taken on suspicion of breaching public peace. Hong Kong authorities provided no other comments regarding the arrests. Among those arrested was 67-year-old activist "Grandma" Alexandra Wong after allegedly carrying flowers near Victoria Park, where most of the Tiananmen commemorations were once held. League of Social Democrats party leader Chan Po Ying was also arrested after he was caught having an LED candle and two flowers. Forgetting Tiananmen While Beijing immediately suppressed the Tiananmen Square incident, Hong Kong has previously been freely commemorating the massacre of pro-democracy protesters by Chinese infantry and armor on the night of June 3 and into the morning of June 4, 1989. Talking about the incident in Hong Kong has since been heavily regulated after the Hong Kong government imposed a national security law in 2020. Since the law's implementation, commemorations were banned across its public squares and replaced by a pro-Beijing carnival and food bazaar to mark Hong Kong's handover to China. When asked about the legality of mourning the Tiananmen massacre, Hong Kong chief executive John Lee answered police would "have to take action" in case anyone broke the law. On the other hand, public broadcaster RTHK reported police would deploy up to 6,000 officers to patrol the streets, including Victoria Park. Read Also: Chinese J-16 Fighter Pilot Performs "Aggressive" Maneuver on US Military Plane Condemnation and Continuity A group of mothers who lost their children in Tiananmen also issued a statement renewing their call for "truth, compensation, and accountability." Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the Chinese government to acknowledge responsibility for the massacre. In a statement, HRW senior China researcher Yaqiu Wang said Beijing continued to "evade accountability" for killing the protesters, which paved the way for its "arbitrary detention of millions, its severe censorship and surveillance, and its efforts to undermine rights internationally." Meanwhile, Amnesty International noticed the Hong Kong government's "futility" to crack down dissent using British-era anti-sedition laws to crack down on dissent, saying the persistent presence of non-conforming voices exposed its inability to "enforce silence and obedience." "The Hong Kong government's shameful campaign to stop people marking this anniversary mirrors the censorship of the Chinese central government and is an insult to those killed in the Tiananmen crackdown," the group said. However, the censorship in China and Hong Kong did not deter expatriates from commemorating the incident overseas. Tiananmen protect participants Zhou Fengsuo, and Wang Dan unveiled the June 4th Memorial Exhibit in New York to keep the memory of the event alive. Items displayed at the exhibit include newspapers chronicling the event, a blood-stained shirt from a former journalist, and an old printer smuggled out of China. Zhou said Hong Kong was once the center of remembrance as it hosted the Tiananmen Museum until it was shut down recently. "We have to continue here in the United States," he said. Chinese Warship Nearly Missed US Destroyer Off Taiwan An unidentified Chinese warship came within 150 yards (137.16 meters) of hitting the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Chung-Hoon Saturday while conducting joint exercises with a Canadian warship in the Taiwan Strait. The incident happened days after the Pentagon released a video where a Chinese J-16 fighter jet made an "aggressive" maneuver towards a US Air Force RC-135 plane. The Canadian news agency Global News was aboard the Halifax-class frigate HMCS Montreal when the incident happened and released a video showing the Chinese warship speeding up and cutting in front of the Chung-Hoon, forcing her to slow down to avoid a collision. The Aegis-capable destroyer managed to convince the Chinese ship to stay away. Read Also: Elon Musk Remains Silent About Visit to Beijing, Shanghai on Tesla Business Trip @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. We Spread is a taut novel packed with mysteries, starting with the title and a front cover design of intertwined tree roots. Author Iain Reids writing style is spare. Theres much left unsaid, allowing readers to interpret whos who and whats what. The tone haunts. And the characters are pencil-sketched rather than deeply drawn. Less is more. The main setting is Six Cedars Residence, a long-term care facility in a wooded area outside of an unidentified town. Its a residence with only two caregivers, Shelley, the commanding owner, and sensitive Jack, and, strangely, only four patients, one of them the novels main character, Penny. A dominant theme is what it means to grow old, with attendant issues of cognition, conformity, productivity and community. Even with these issues, the novel makes for magnetic storytelling, pulling the reader in ever closer to life inside the residence with each page. Penny moves from her apartment to the facility after she becomes reclusive, struggling to stay emotionally and physically strong after the death of her partner. Peering outside her apartment window, Penny fears someone is watching her from the street. Is someone there or is she paranoid? She thinks she hears voices coming from the other side of a wall. Penny stands on a chair to change a lightbulb in the kitchen. She falls, injuring her forehead. The landlord comes to her rescue. He drives her to the Six Cedars. Her late partner had apparently made arrangements for her admission. That may be news to Penny. She reluctantly adjusts to the new environment of the residence, though not fully accepting the strict rules the time for meals, for spa treatment, the limits on wine with dinner, the time allowed to visit with other residents. Remembering her pre-residence life, she longs to relax in the outdoors and maybe visit the woods around the residence. She cant; the front door is kept locked. Penny persists. She learns the doors lock combination 6-7-8-8-7 or O-R-T-U-S. Ortus happens to be Latin for beginning or dawning, relevant to Penny. She triumphs, escaping confinement to breathe the fresh air. Near the books conclusion, Penny is thinking out loud from her bed about her fellow residents: They dont know it yet, but theyll get to go out, too, because of me. Its my gift to them. Pete doesnt have to play (violin) anymore. Ruth can put her French dictionary back on the shelf. Hilbert (a mathematician) can put down his pencil; he doesnt need any more blue graph paper. We do not all blend together. We are not ruined, helpless, a burden. We are not the elderly. Readers will cheer for assertive Penny. As for Shelley and Jack, the author said theyre based on people hes seen working in long-term care facilities whose behavior is viewed alternately as helpful and threatening. The younger Jack sweetly bonds with the older Penny. It doesnt happen much in our culture, older and younger people coming together. I wanted that in the story: She found common ground with Jack despite their age difference, Reid said in a phone interview from his home in Ontario, Canada. He said Penny was inspired by his own grandmother, who moved into a long-term care facility the year she turned 100 and lived there for almost two years before her death. The key for me is to think about people still being engaged and trying to be interested in things, about life, about other people. My grandmother was like that, Reid said. The books title refers to conformity and attempts to resist it. For individuals to express themselves can only be a good thing and to recognize that in later stages of life is important, he noted. We Spread is Reids third novel. His bestselling debut novel, Im Thinking of Ending Things, was adapted for film by Netflix and his second novel, Foe, is being adapted for the screen. CATCHES OF THE WEEK Victor Trujillo Jr. and Victor Trujillo Sr. of Rio Rancho caught a 24-inch rainbow trout and an 18-inch rainbow trout at Charette Lakes using Blue Fox minnow lures on May 24. Jim Sanchez and Larry of Albuquerque caught their limits of walleye at Conchas Lake trolling nightcrawler rigs in 5 feet of water on May 18. At Morphy Lake, Angelina Garcia of Las Vegas caught a 19-inch rainbow trout using Salmon Peach PowerBait on May 26. Jeffrey Sandoval, along with Collin Mckeller and Albert Gonzales, all of Albuquerque, caught and released multiple trout up to 18 inches long using olive Pistol Pete spinner flies on May 20. On the Pecos River, Janessa Salazar of Santa Fe caught a 30-inch rainbow trout using a worm on May 26. Michael Romero Jr., 11, of Santa Fe caught a 26-inch rainbow trout using Garlic PowerBait on May 24. Jennifer Durante of Albuquerque caught a 17-inch trout at Storrie Lake using Purple PowerBait on May 23. Phillip Velasquez of Albuquerque caught an 18.25-inch rainbow trout at Fenton Lake using worms on May 28. Will Leger caught a 17-inch brown trout on the Jemez River using a gold Blue Fox spinner on May 26. Xavier LeFebre of Farmington caught a 13.6-pound carp at Lake Farmington using a nightcrawler worm on May 22. Harlee Porter, 8, of Albuquerque caught a 5-pound catfish at Liam Knight Pond using Premo dip bait on May 26. Sean Mitchell Jr., 5, of Thoreau caught multiple rainbow trout at McGaffey Lake using garlic scented PowerBait on May 25. Eric Ferguson, 13, of Albuquerque caught a 17-inch largemouth bass using a grub, a 14-inch smallmouth bass using a tube jig and a 33-inch pike at Navajo Lake using a Flicker Shad lure on May 25. On the San Juan River, Ariel Griego, 11, of Albuquerque caught a 21-inch rainbow trout using a nightcrawler worm in the bait waters on May 29. Marcus Sanchez, 19, of Albuquerque caught a 30-inch brown trout using a cone head crystal Woolly Bugger fly on May 18. Landen Baros of the Pueblo of Pojoaque and Emerson Saunders of Corrales caught and released several fish before taking home four 14-inch and one 18-inch rainbow trout at Seven Springs Brood Pond using various types of yellow- and green-colored PowerBaits on May 23. Tyler Cordova of La JoyaI caught an 18-inch 3.41-pound largemouth bass at Tingley Beach using a 10-inch pink ribbon-tail worm Texas rig on May 24. Keith Rogers of Silver City caught and released a 21.75-inch 7.08-pound largemouth bass at Bill Evans Lake using a swimbait on May 23. Caitlin Laney of Silver City caught a 4-pound largemouth bass at Elephant Butte Lake using a swimbait on a drop shot rig on May 20. William Schroeder of Las Cruces caught a 14.7-pound catfish on the Rio Grande using cut carp bait near Hatch on May 27. Deb Beckham of Roswell caught a 17-inch rainbow trout at Grindstone Reservoir using a yellow and red Panther Martin spinner on May 20. If you have a catch of the week story, send it to funfishingnm@gmail.com. NOTES FROM GAME & FISH Cabresto Lake had no reports from anglers this week. Fishing for trout at Charette Lakes was good using Blue Fox minnow lures and spinners. Streamflow on the Cimarron River near Cimarron on Monday morning was 58 cubic feet per second (cfs). Fishing for trout was good using red Copper John flies, Cimarron Specials, San Juan Worm flies, worms and salmon eggs. Fishing for trout at Gravel Pit Lakes was good using Salmon Peach PowerBait, Yellow Garlic Glitter PowerBait, worms and salmon eggs. Fishing for trout at Clayton Lake was good using PowerBait. Fishing for walleye was fair using crankbaits and jigs. Fishing for catfish was fair using chicken liver and nightcrawler worms. Fishing for smallmouth bass at Conchas Lake was fair to good using Berkley Flicker Shad lures, jerkbaits and nightcrawler worms. Fishing for walleye was good trolling using silver Rapala lures, nightcrawler-worm harness spinner rigs and Flicker Shad lures. Fishing for crappie was fair to good using live minnows and nightcrawler worms. The Valle Vidal is closed to fishing until July including at Costilla Creek. Cowles Ponds had no reports from anglers this week. Coyote Creek had no reports from anglers this week. Fishing for trout at Eagle Nest Lake was fair to good using black streamer flies and Salmon Peach PowerBait. Fishing for pike was good using large spinners and spoons. The boat docks are now in the water. For updated lake conditions, visit the parks webpage or call the park office at 575-377-1594. Eagle Rock Lake had no reports from anglers this week. National Forest closures have been in place restricting fishing access including on the Gallinas River. Visit the Santa Fe National Forest webpage or call the Santa Fe National Forest office at 505-438-5300 for the latest closure information. Anglers reported that there was open water, free of ice, at Hopewell Lake. Fishing for trout at Lake Alice was fair using corn, Yellow PowerBait, Green PowerBait, Rainbow Gulp PowerBait and Salmon Peach PowerBait. Fishing for trout at Lake Maloya was good using size-18-22 dark-colored nymph flies, Pistol Pete spinner flies, Panther Martin spinners, marshmallows, corn, Yellow PowerBait, Green PowerBait, Rainbow Gulp PowerBait and Salmon Peach PowerBait. The ADA dock is open to anglers, with priority given to mobility-impaired persons. Los Pinos River had no reports from anglers this week. Maxwell Lake 13 had no reports from anglers this week. Fishing for trout at Monastery Lake was good using Pistol Pete spinner flies, small yellow bodied Panther Martin spinners, brown nymph flies and PowerBait. The Benedictine Monastery Lake is part of the Departments Open Gate Program. Please visit our website for more information about this property. Fishing for trout at Morphy Lake was very good using olive Pistol Pete spinner flies and Salmon Peach PowerBait. Streamflow on the Pecos River near Pecos on Monday morning was 429 cfs. Fishing for trout was good using worms and Garlic PowerBait. Streamflow on the Red River below the Red River Hatchery on Monday morning was 261 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair using Panther Martin spinners at the hatchery. Streamflow on the Rio Grande below the Taos Junction Bridge on Monday morning was 3,920 cfs. Anglers reported high water levels, murky water color and poor fishing conditions. Streamflow on the Rio Hondo near Valdez on Monday morning was 141 cfs. Streamflow on the Rio Mora near Terrero on Monday morning was 89 cfs. Streamflow on the Rio Pueblo near Penasco on Monday morning was 184 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair to good using beadhead nymph flies and worms. Fishing for trout at the Santa Cruz Reservoir was fair to good using black Pistol Pete spinner flies, worms, spinners, Orange PowerBait and Chartreuse PowerBait. Shuree Ponds is closed to fishing until July. Springer Lake had no reports from anglers this week. Fishing for trout at Storrie Lake was good using Purple PowerBait and Garlic PowerBait. Stubblefield Lake had no reports from anglers this week. Fishing for catfish at Ute Lake was good using chicken liver, nightcrawler worms and punch bait. Fishing for all other species was slow. The main lake water surface temperature was in the high-60s, and the water was dirty. Fishing for catfish at Abiquiu Lake was good using shrimp and nightcrawler worms. Streamflow on the Animas River below Aztec on Monday morning was 4,330 cfs. Fishing for carp at Albuquerque Area Drains was good using corn in the Corrales Riverside Drain. Fishing for tiger muskie at Bluewater Lake was slow to fair using minnows and spinners. Brazos River had no reports from anglers this week. Fishing for trout at Canjilon Lakes was good using worms. Cochiti Lake had no reports from anglers this week. El Vado Lake is closed due to dam construction project. For more information, visit El Vado Lake State Parks webpage or call 575-588-7247. Fishing for trout at Fenton Lake was good using salmon eggs, Chartreuse PowerBait, nightcrawler worms, mayfly emerger-pattern flies and Pistol Pete spinner flies. For updated lake conditions, visit the parks webpage or call the park office at 575-829-3630. Fishing for trout at Grants Riverwalk Pond was fair using foam worms. Fishing for bluegill was good using salmon eggs and Mini Trout Magnet lures. Fishing for all species was slow at Heron Lake. At the Jemez Waters, streamflow near Jemez Monday morning was 106 cfs. Fishing for trout was good using gold Blue Fox spinners, stimulator dry flies and barbless Prince Nymph flies. Due to the rising popularity of fishing in Valles Caldera National Preserve, the National Park Service began charging a fee for its fishing permits starting April 1, 2023, to support the management of its fishing program. The new fee schedule will be $20 for an annual pass ($10 for youth 12-17) and $5 for a 7-day pass ($3 for youth 12-17). A State of New Mexico fishing license is also required to fish within Valles Caldera. For more information visit nps.gov/vall. Laguna del Campo had no reports from anglers this week. Lagunitas Lakes had no reports from anglers this week. Fishing for carp at Lake Farmington was fair to good using worms. Fishing for trout at McGaffey Lake was fair to good using garlic PowerBait. Fishing for trout at Navajo Lake was slow using Rapala lures. Fishing for pike was fair using Flicker Shad lures. Fishing for bass was fair to good using grubs and tube jigs. Streamflow on the Rio Chama below El Vado Lake on Monday morning was 2,250 cfs; streamflow below Abiquiu Lake on Monday morning was 1,580 cfs. Please remember, from the river-crossing bridge on U.S. Highway 84 at Abiquiu upstream 7 miles to the base of Abiquiu Dam is special trout waters with a bag limit of two trout only. Fishing for catfish on the Rio Grande was good using cut bait and chicken liver near Corrales. Riverside Park Pond (Aztec Pond #1) had no reports from anglers this week. San Gregorio Lake had no reports from anglers this week. Streamflow on the San Juan River near Archuleta on Monday morning was 3,960 cfs. Fishing for trout in the quality waters was fair to good using cone-head crystal Woolly Bugger flies. Fishing for trout in the bait waters was fair using nightcrawler worms and egg-pattern flies. Streamflow is anticipated to rise multiple times throughout the month of May. Visit waterdata.usgs.gov/nm/nwis/current/?type=flow for current flow rates. Fishing for trout at Seven Springs Brood Pond was good using yellow and green PowerBait. Tiger Park Reservoir had no reports from anglers this week. Fishing for catfish at Tingley Beach was fair to good using cut bluegill bait and shrimp. Fishing for bass was fair to good using 10-inch pink ribbon-tailed worms and watermelon-colored plastic crawdad lures. Fishing for trout was slow. Fishing for trout at Trout Lakes was good using Panther Martin spinners. Fishing for catfish at Alumni Pond was slow using beef liver and chicken liver. Fishing for bass was fair using perch-pattern crankbaits, Bomber crankbaits and floating shad-pattern lures. Bear Canyon Lake had no reports from anglers this week. Fishing for bass at Bill Evans Lake was fair to good using swimbaits. The lake is now open. The old boat ramp has been modified to provide better access for non-motorized watercraft, and several fishing jetties have also been added. The new boat ramp remains closed until the lakes water level rises, at which time the new boat dock will be installed. For current conditions, contact the departments Fisheries Management Division at 505-476-8055. Fishing for white bass at Caballo Lake was fair using curly-tail grubs and small crankbaits. Fishing for walleye was slow to fair using white Bomber lures, Rat-L-Trap crankbaits, and curly-tail grubs. Fishing for largemouth bass at Elephant Butte Lake was fair using Texas-rigged weightless craw baits in shallow water and swimbaits. Fishing for white bass was fair to good using curly-tail grubs, Super Duper lures and crankbaits. Fishing for walleye was fair to good using silver Rat-L-Trap lures, Super Duper lures and Jack Hammer chatterbaits. Fishing for crappie was fair using live minnows. Fishing for catfish was good using fresh cut bait. Fishing for bass at Escondida Lake was fair to good using artificial worms. Estancia Park Lake had no reports from anglers this week. Streamflow on the Gila River near Gila on Monday morning was 70 cfs. Fishing for trout at Glenwood Pond was good using PowerBait fished with a bobber. Fishing for trout at Lake Roberts was fair using nightcrawler worms, salmon eggs and PowerBait. Fishing for walleye at Percha Dam was fair using live minnows, crankbaits, and worms. Fishing for white bass was fair using crankbaits and curly-tail grubs. Fishing for trout at Quemado Lake was fair using Garlic PowerBait and Panther Martin spinners. Fishing for trout at Rancho Grande Ponds was fair using PowerBait. Streamflow on the Rio Grande below Elephant Butte Dam on Monday morning was 2,210 cfs. Fishing for catfish was good using cut bait and chicken liver near Hatch. Snow Lake had no reports from anglers this week. Fishing for catfish at Trees Lake was good using beef liver, chicken liver, garlic-dough bait and worms. Fishing for bass was fair to good using jigs with curly-tail grubs. Fishing for trout was fair using cheese-scented PowerBait. Fishing for catfish at Young Pond was slow using hot dogs. Fishing for trout at Alto Lake was good using worms, Garlic PowerBait and various flies. Fishing for bass was fair to good using plastic worms. Bataan Lake had no reports from anglers this week. Fishing for bass at Berrendo Creek was fair to good using Rooster Tail spinners. Please visit the Open Gate webpage for more information on this property. Streamflow on the Black River at Malaga on Monday morning was 46 cfs. Blue Hole Park Pond had no reports from anglers this week. Bonito Lake is closed until further notice by the City of Alamogordo due to fire damage. The lake is full but needs time for aquatic habitat to develop in order to sustain a healthy fish population. The city hopes to reopen the lake for recreational purposes in June 2024. Fishing for catfish at Bosque Redondo Lake was fair to good using cut shad bait. Fishing for bass was good using deep-diving, pumpkin-colored crankbaits. Bottomless Lakes had no reports from anglers this week. Fishing for white bass at Brantley Lake was fair to good using live minnows. Fishing for walleye was fair to good using chicken-breast bait and crankbaits. Carlsbad Municipal Lake had no reports from anglers this week. Chaparral Park Lake had no reports from anglers this week. Corona Pond had no reports from anglers this week. Fishing for all species at Eunice Lake was slow using Panther Martin spinners, Pistol Pete spinner flies, corn and salmon eggs. Fishing for largemouth bass at Green Meadow Lake was good using nightcrawler worms with garlic scent. Fishing for catfish at Greene Acres Lake was fair using chicken liver. Fishing for trout at Grindstone Reservoir was good using yellow and red Panther Martin spinners and Garlic PowerBait. Harry McAdams Park Pond had no reports from anglers this week. Fishing for catfish at Lake Van was fair to good using shrimp and nightcrawler worms. Ned Houk Ponds had no reports from anglers this week. Fishing for catfish at Oasis Park Lake was very good using chicken liver, shrimp, and worms. Fishing for bass was slow. Streamflow on the Pecos River below Sumner Lake on Monday morning was 100 cfs. Fishing for catfish was fair using hot dogs, night crawler worms and cut bait. Fishing for catfish at Perch Lake was fair to good using Pautzke salmon eggs. Rio Bonito had no reports from anglers this week. Streamflow on the Rio Ruidoso at Hollywood on Monday morning was 17 cfs. Rock Lake Hatchery Kids Pond had no reports from anglers this week. Fishing for walleye and crappie at Santa Rosa Lake was good using white jerkbaits, live minnows and jigs with curly-tail grubs. Fishing for walleye at Sumner Lake was fair to good using live minnows and chartreuse curly-tail grubs. Timberon Ponds had no reports from anglers this week. Who would have thought 28,000 bikers converging in a 1-square-mile mountain town of 539 people for Memorial Day weekend could get out of control? Local businesses apparently knew the risks of having rival motorcycle gangs in town for the 41st annual Red River Memorial Day Weekend Motorcycle Rally. A sign outside the Bull O the Woods Saloon on Main Street stated: NO COLORS! No Club Affiliated Clothing Allowed. Jackets, T-Shirts, Hats, etc. But a haphazard dress code wasnt enough to preserve public safety May 27. Three people were killed and five others injured in a shootout that stemmed from an earlier altercation between two biker gangs in Albuquerque. New Mexico State Police say all three people killed and all five injured were members of two rival motorcycle groups the Bandidos and the lesser-known Waterdogs. Red River Mayor Linda Calhoun said at a town hall meeting soon after the melee that the tourist town will still host some sort of Memorial Day event in the future but will make no mention of motorcycles. Think 28,000 bikers the vast majority law-abiding folks will get that wink-wink, nudge-nudge hint and not come in on two wheels? And why should they? Calhoun also acknowledged more could have been done after the shootout to keep the public informed as the town was locked down. She did not acknowledge more could have been done regarding law enforcement presence, crowd control, uniform dress code restrictions, public inebriation, etc, to help ensure the shootout didnt happen. According to the Taos News, A violent incident like Saturdays might not have been an inevitability at Red Rivers rally, but it sure wasnt a remote possibility and everyone involved in putting it on has known that for years. Even before this years fatal shootout, even when biker gangs havent rolled into town, the Red River rally has often been a drunken, perverse, dangerous event that has created major headaches for all county residents and first responders, while benefiting a minority of business owners and public officials, mostly only in Red River itself. Justice in shootings Its going to take solid police work and tight prosecutions to get justice in the May 27 shootings. We certainly dont want a headline similar to the one in the Texas Tribune in 2019 that read Nine died in the nations deadliest biker shootout. Texas prosecutors couldnt convict a single person. That was a gunfight between Bandidos and Cossacks in a Twin Peaks parking lot in Waco in 2015. So far in the Red River case, three people are facing charges; all are members of the Bandidos or Waterdogs. Jacob Castillo, 30, of Rio Rancho, is believed to be a member of the Waterdogs. Hes charged with an open count of murder. Matthew Charles Jackson, 39, of Austin is believed to be a chapter leader of the Bandidos. He faces a count of unlawful carrying of a firearm inside a liquor establishment, a fourth-degree felony. Christopher Garcia, 41, also of Texas, is also a suspected Bandido member. Hes charged with cocaine possession. Castillo and Garcia were among the five people injured. Two of the people killed, 26-year-old Anthony Silva of Los Lunas and 46-year-old Damian Breaux of Socorro, are believed to have been members of the Bandidos. The third person killed, 46-year-old Randy Sanchez of Albuquerque, was a member of the Waterdogs. As the dust settles its unclear how just one person can be charged in a shootout that left three people dead and five injured. State Police need to provide those answers. Safety for future events And its going to take more than a rebranding campaign and a dont-ask, dont-tell attitude on bikers to ensure Memorial Day weekends are safe going forward. That look-the-other-way mentality has allowed bad actors to tarnish motorcyclists and apparently end the annual rally. Thousands of bikers in Red River last weekend simply wanted to honor our nations fallen servicemen and women, feel the wind in their hair and hear the hum of the highway. They did not brandish firearms and have no known connection to the shootout. They do not deserve to be branded as outlaws and banished from festivities. But it was clear trouble was brewing. Locals told the Journal they noticed on the Thursday and Friday before the weekend rally that Bandidos and other motorcycle clubs were flaunting their colors throughout town. Many locals noticed lots of people wearing clothing showing their affiliations with different motorcycle clubs throughout the week. The warning signs were there. Add in excessive alcohol consumption, a little cocaine on the side, and the potential for violence should have been anticipated. The Red River Office of Economic Development & Tourism, which promotes itself as the towns official source for travel planning, has tried to have it both ways, promoting the rally as a family-friendly event with veteran-oriented activities but also trumpeting get ready for the rumble as 28,000 bikers from all different backgrounds line Main Street for one crazy party. As a Journal reader asked, with that recipe, what could possibly go wrong? We found out May 27. An event this popular requires due diligence in security, planning and supervision. All were lacking in Red River. Town and business leaders need to do better than a half-hearted rebranding. They need to be clear who is welcome, and who is not, next Memorial Day weekend and do the necessary work and forge the needed partnerships to ensure it will be safe for everyone who shows up. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers. Citizens in a democracy should be skeptical when any government agency says it needs a new rule, especially when it says the rule wont interfere with existing rights or uses but will enhance the agencys efficiency and decision-making consistency. Why does an agency need a new rule to be efficient? Why does an agency need a new rule to make science-informed decisions? A recent rule salvo from a federal agency is the Bureau of Land Management (BLMs) proposed Public Lands Rule. The BLM listed this rule in the Federal Register on April 3. The 75-day public comment period ends on June 20. The first public hearing was a Zoom webinar on May 15. I attended. (There was also) a public, in-person meeting May 30 in Albuquerque at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the BLM is charged with managing the 245 million acres of public lands under its jurisdiction. That management is subject to a mandate to manage those lands for multiple uses. Historically, multiple use has included activities such as recreation, range, timber, minerals, watershed, wildlife and fish and natural scenic, scientific and historical values. A central feature of the BLMs proposed Public Lands Rule is to transform conservation into a use. That is, under its proposed rule the BLM will issue conservation leases. Conservation, however, is not a use. It is an objective. The BLM should have already been managing uses on our public lands in a way that promotes conservation. Has it? If not, why not? Why, as BLM claims, is a new rule going to make it more efficient or allow it to make better decisions? Whats going on? Whats the real agenda? Whos behind it? Agency rules and regulations should be fully exposed to the sunlight. We have to assume a new rule has a purpose, even if the rule-makers shroud or minimize what it is. Rules should be clear on their face and also have boundaries, so they are predictable in application. Rules have a life, one that may extend well past the tenure of existing, even well-intentioned rule-makers. And rules should be followed. Too often we have seen agencies that find their rules incompatible with current political agendas ignoring them. The Forest Services refusal in 2022 and 2023 to follow its own rule, codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, on how to remove cattle from the Gila Wilderness is a case in point. APHIS/Wildlife Services abandonment in 2022 of an 18-year-old rule on the evidence required to show a Mexican wolf depredation on livestock is another. We should demand accountability from the BLM about its proposed rule. Whats the real purpose? Why is it necessary? What will the impact be on how New Mexicans use the lands now under BLM management? Insist on real answers, not political pablum or undefined buzzwords. Neil Diamonds Sweet Caroline and other classics filled the sun-warmed courtyard where children played lawn games while inside the Lomas Tramway Library, Imperial soldiers and Jedi encouraged children to read as the Summer Reading Program kicked off Saturday morning. Imperial soldiers and Jedi from the 501st Dewback Ridge Garrison and The Rebel Legion Star Wars groups handed out stickers and posed for photos during the event, which also included a craft room where children could make tops out of recycled materials or decorate magnets. The Summer Reading Program which runs from through July 29 at all public libraries encourages readers of all ages to participate in reading an hour a day to be entered into weekly prize drawings for each age category. The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Public Library has events running all summer. Visit libevents.abqlibrary.org to see a full list of upcoming events. HOLMAN On a spring Saturday afternoon, two hermanos knelt to pray in the chapel of their Catholic brotherhood of St. Isidore the Farmer, nestled by the pine forest outside this hamlet in a high mountain valley. Fidel Trujillo and Leo Paul Pachecos words resounded in New Mexican Spanish, a unique dialect that evolved through the mixing of medieval Spanish and Indigenous forms. The historic, endangered dialect is as central to these communities as their iconic adobe churches, and its best chance of survival might be through faith, too. Prayers sung or recited are our sacred heritage, said Gabriel Melendez, a professor emeritus of American Studies with the University of New Mexico, whos also a hermano. When prayers are said in Spanish, theyre stronger. They connect us directly to people who came before us. Preserved mostly in devotions, particularly in humble moradas as the brotherhoods chapels are called built of mud and straw in rural communities across the northern reaches of the state, New Mexican Spanish is different from all other varieties of the language. Unlike most other forms of Spanish used in the U.S. today, its not due to immigration in the last 100 years, but rooted back to the 1500s, said Israel Sanz-Sanchez, a professor of languages at West Chester University in Pennsylvania who has researched the dialect. Spanish explorers and missionaries first reached these valleys isolated between mountains, deserts and plains at the end of the 16th century. Pushed back south by the Pueblo Native Americans, they resettled a century later and their language evolved to incorporate not only words carried from medieval Spain but also a mixture of expressions derived from Mexican Spanish, Native forms and eventually some English after the territory became part of the United States. Removed from the center of political and economic power for centuries, these villages preserved the dialect orally. You never heard English here, said Felix Lopez of growing up in the 1950s in Truchas, a ridgetop village between Santa Fe and Taos, where this master santero an artist specializing in devotional art has been helping preserve the 1760s Holy Mission church. But by the mid-20th century, the push to promote schooling in English led many educators to correct students who used New Mexican Spanishs idiosyncratic mix of grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary, said Damian Vergara Wilson, a professor of Spanish at the University of New Mexico. He has been working on teaching Spanish not as foreign but as a heritage language that has developed into something uniquely New Mexican. It contains some words from medieval Spanish, but it also includes pronunciations that developed in New Mexicos villages and words unique to its geographical and historical place at a crossroads of American civilizations. There are several words for turkey, for instance, including an anglicized one used in the context of Thanksgiving. With such code-switching sometimes disparaged in education and among the public, younger generations often stick to English only or learn contemporary Spanish, especially as spoken in Mexico, with which the state shares a border. That leads many villagers to worry about being able to preserve New Mexican Spanish. The dialect we speak is dying out. Were the last generation that learned it as a first language, said Angelo Sandoval, 45, who serves as the mayordomo or caretaker of the 1830s San Antonio Church in Cordova, a village just down the valley from Truchas. Its best chance for survival is prayer. Traditional devotions have been passed down through generations by hermanos, easily memorized because of their ballad-style rhyming. Sometimes they are transcribed into notebooks called cuadernos. In an adobe niche in a chapel in Holman, some of the handwritten notebooks are 120 years old. Even in larger cities, people often request prayers in New Mexican Spanish for special occasions, like rosaries for the deceased or novenas for the holidays. In Santa Fe, the prayer to the widely venerated statue of Our Lady of Peace contains some of the original Spanish terminology, such as Sacratisimo Hijo for the most holy Son, said Bernadette Lucero, director, curator and archivist for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. A nearly century-old womens folklore society Sociedad Folklorica de Nuevo Mexico also regularly practices the dialect for their hymns and nine-day novenas prayers to baby Jesus, Lucero added. In the small town of Bernalillo, where the outskirts of Albuquerque fade into vast mesas, the mayordomos of San Lorenzo also preserve the dialect in their prayers and annual celebrations. When we sing an old alabado, we can trace who wrote that, said Santiago Montoya of the Catholic praise (in Spanish, alabar) hymns that have been passed down through New Mexican brotherhoods. For 23 years, Montoya and his sister have been the mayordomos of San Lorenzo, a church that was constructed in the mid-19th century with four-feet-wide adobe walls. The community fought to save it when a bigger, modern church was built next door. But hes also a rezador, reciting or singing the rosary a prayer consisting of sets of Hail Marys called decades which he does in the community and particularly for the deceased. He insists on using New Mexican Spanish even if the families only speak English. I tell them, Ill do three decades in English, but lets teach the kids,' Montoya said. Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Copyright 2023 Albuquerque Journal The beginning of the end of Albuquerques now-defunct City Commission came during a raucous meeting in December 1973, when commissioners voted 3-2 to fire the city manager. Accusations flew back and forth for five hours at a packed Convention Center Auditorium with an estimated 500 in attendance. The City Commission has lost control, then-Commissioner Bob Poole said. Policy has gravitated to the city manager. Flash forward half a century, and a pair of Albuquerque councilors want to restore a similar form of government one that predates the strong mayor-council system that voters adopted in 1974. The two councilors contend the strong mayor system has resulted in inconsistent governance that changes with each new administration, hindering the citys progress. Opponents say a weak mayor system would make the city less democratic and result in timid leadership by city managers beholden to city councilors. At the Dec. 10, 1973, City Commission meeting, three of the five commissioners berated then-City Manager Herb Smith for hours, accusing him of involving himself in politics and assuming too much policy-making authority, the Albuquerque Journal reported. Some speakers demanded a change in government, calling for a mayor and city councilors elected by district. David Rusk, Albuquerques mayor from 1977 to 1981, said the citys previous form of government fell apart in very controversial circumstances at that meeting. A strong mayoral form of government had already been in the discussion stages for a few years, but the meeting appears to have been the tipping point. The three commissioners who voted to fire Smith expressed the view that perhaps Albuquerque had outgrown the weak-mayor form of government, said Rusk, the citys second mayor under the current system. The city needed strong executive leadership, and yet the city manager was in effect a hired hand and couldnt appropriately provide that kind of leadership in terms of helping shape public opinion, Rusk said. Albuquerque was growing rapidly at the time, he said. Smith was trying to establish an environment of more managed growth for the city, and that was at odds with some of the important interests of the city, Rusk said. A majority of commissioners found it inappropriate for Smith to exercise that kind of public leadership, he said. Less than three months after that contentious meeting, Albuquerque voters approved a new form of government by a nearly 4-to-1 margin. Voter approval of Proposition 3 on Feb. 27, 1974, gave Albuquerque a strong mayor with authority to organize the executive branch of the city. The amendment to the city charter also gave the city a nine-member City Council elected by district, creating Albuquerques existing strong mayor-council system of government. The change ended the five-member at-large city commission that had governed the city since 1917. Once the results were tallied, then-Commissioner Ray Baca remarked that the controversy over former City Manager Herb Smith pointed up the inadequacies of the commission-manager system and created the impetus for the change of government. But Proposition 3 emerged after years of discussion about the citys appropriate form of government. The strong-mayor system was first recommended in 1971 by a study group headed by the late Sen. Pete Domenici, who from 1967 to 1970s served as chairman of the City Commission a post referred to as mayor. Domenici went on to serve as a U.S. senator from 1973 to 2009. Additional details emerged from a working committee that met for 18 months following the initial recommendation, the Journal reported. In adopting the strong-mayor system, Albuquerque followed a path taken by most large U.S. cities. Timothy Krebs, a professor of political science at the University of New Mexico, said about 60% of U.S. cities with populations greater than 500,000 have mayor-council governments. Proposed charter amendment This year, Councilors Renee Grout and Louie Sanchez are co-sponsoring a proposed City Charter amendment that would retain the nine-member council elected by districts. But it would add one additional member to be known as the Mayor. The mayor would preside at City Council meetings, but would cast a vote only in the event of a tie. The mayor would be recognized as the head of the City government for all ceremonial purposes and have no administrative duties. The council would appoint the city manager, who will organize the executive branch of the city, appointing the chief of police and other city directors, according to the proposal. The proposed amendment to the City Charter requires approval by six of the nine City Council members in order to be placed on the ballot. It would then require approval by city voters. Sanchez blamed the strong-mayor form of government for Albuquerques lack of progress over the past half century. If we look back to the late 60s, early 70s, Albuquerque was in a friendly competition with Phoenix to see which city was going to be the economic driver of the Southwest, Sanchez said. Given the presence of Sandia National Laboratories, Kirtland Air Force Base, great weather and New Mexicos abundance of oil and gas, Albuquerque should have won that friendly competition, he said. Phoenix has a council-manager system that makes the government more efficient and better able to attract business, he said. Weve suffered because of this system for many, many years, he said. And its time that we work together as a city and move our city forward. Mayor Tim Keller and two former mayors say they oppose the weak-mayor proposal. The measure as proposed would not take effect until after the next mayoral election, slated for 2025. Kellers spokeswoman, Ava Montoya, called the proposal an extreme change that would eliminate individual accountability and checks and balances, placing all city power into a committee and an unelected city manager. Former three-term Mayor Martin Chavez said passage would result in an absence of leadership in the city. Youre going to have the City Council running the city, Chavez said. You are going to have a city manager who is beholden to that council. And there will be no unified, centralization of authority to do stuff. Passage of the proposal would set off a power scramble among business groups, labor and other interest groups angling for position in the new government, Chavez said. A whole lot of dynamics will come into play that I dont think Louie (Sanchez) is thinking about, he said. Former Mayor Jim Baca, who served as mayor from 1997 to 2001, worked as a reporter for KOAT-TV in the early 1970s before Albuquerque adopted the mayor-council system. It was hard to get decisions made with a council-manager form of government, Baca said. Things just took forever because there was nobody actually in charge. The manager was always trying to second guess would he get fired if he made this one small decision. Krebs, the UNM political science professor, opposes the proposal mainly because it would harm our local democracy, he wrote in a guest column published in the Albuquerque Journal. Most large U.S. cities with diverse populations and competing interests have strong mayors who can make tough political decisions, he said. Council-manager systems, Krebs said, are good for places that are small and that are more homogenous, where theres not a lot of political conflict and theres not a lot of disagreement about how things should be done. Some councilors have expressed caution about returning to a weak-mayor system. I personally bounce back and forth on this, Councilor Pat Davis said of the proposed charter amendment. Davis said he wants to hear the sponsors making a stronger case for the proposal. I think its something that really needs to be considered, but Im anxious that making a big structural change in the city, and with three weeks of notice, might have some unintended consequences. The city must file the measure with Bernalillo County no later than Aug. 29 to get it on the Nov. 7 election ballot. The council has four meetings scheduled prior to that date. The Archdiocese of Santa Fe announced late Saturday that former Archbishop Michael Sheehan has died. Leslie Radigan, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese, said Sheehan died Saturday at the age of 83. She did not give a cause of death. He was a faithful servant of the Lord who loved this local Church and all its priests, deacons, religious and lay faithful. May Archbishop Sheehan rest in peace, and may his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace, Archbishop John C. Wester said in a released statement. Radigan said Sheehans peaceful departure brings to an end a remarkable journey that spanned over eight decades. She said Sheehan led the Archdiocese with unwavering dedication, offering solace, guidance, and hope to his flock. Born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1939, Sheehan studied at a seminary in San Antonio before attending three universities in Italy, according to a release from the Archdiocese. Sheehan was ordained in 1964 in Rome by Auxiliary Bishop Filippo Pocci for the Diocese of Dallas and became a bishop in 1983 in Lubbock, Texas. Sheehan was installed as the 11 Archbishop of Santa Fe in September 1993 before retiring in June 2015. Sheehan announced in 2018 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimers disease, he said at the time I intend to live the remainder of the years God gives me on this Earth doing the things I have always done. The release said Sheehan held 10 appointments between 1968 and when he retired in 2015. He also wrote more than a dozen publications and served on nearly two dozen committees. Known for his unwavering faith, compassionate nature, and profound wisdom, he leaves a legacy that will continue to inspire future generations, Radigan said. A Chinese warship crossed the front end of a US warship at a distance of 150 yards, causing the US Navy destroyer to take evasive maneuvers to prevent crashing into it. This was the second major provocation by China's military in less than a week. A Chinese Navy Passed a US Battleship 150 Yards Away The incident took place on Saturday, June 3. According to ABC News, the American destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and the Canadian frigate HMCS Montreal were conducting a transit in the international waters of the Taiwan Strait, which divides the Chinese mainland from Taiwan. US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement, "During the transit, PLA(N) LUYANG III DDG 132 (PRC LY 132) executed maneuvers in an unsafe manner in the vicinity of Chung-Hoon. The PRC LY 132 overtook Chung-Hoon on their port side and crossed their bow at 150 yards. Chung-Hoon maintained course and slowed to 10 kts to avoid a collision." Reportedly, the Chinese vessel made a second pass in front of the American warship's bow from a distance of 2,000 yards. It stayed on the port side of the destroyer the whole time. The PRC LY 132 breached the "Rules of the Road" for safe navigation in international seas by coming within 150 yards of another vessel, the Indo-Pacific Command said. Global News reporters were on the HMCS Montreal, not far behind the Chung-Hoon, and caught the near call on camera. The Chinese battleship seemed to move from left to right in the footage. During a security conference in Singapore on the weekend, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke out against China's aggressive actions in the Indo-Pacific. "We will support our allies and partners as they defend themselves against coercion and bullying ... To be clear, we do not seek conflict or confrontation, but we will not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion," Austin stated. See Also: NATO Official Urges More Transparency Regarding Nuclear Weapons Amid Heightened Tension Is the Harassment Ongoing and Increasing? In his speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue meeting on Sunday, June 4, China's Defense Minister Li Shangfu also talked about "bullying" and "double standards" in Asia by "some country," which seemed to be the US. The security dangers have increased dramatically since a cold war mentality is now resurgent. Bullying and hegemony should give way to mutual respect, he said. ABC News reported that China had established territorial maritime claims in the South China Sea in recent years. This has led to incidents of harassment involving Chinese aircraft and vessels transiting the sea. US authorities have stated their belief that the harassment is systematic and growing in frequency. In late May, while flying in international airspace over the South China Sea, a Chinese fighter jet veered into the path of an American spy plane. "We don't believe it's done by pilots operating independently. We believe it's part of a wider pattern we see in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and elsewhere," said a senior US defense official. See Also: Chinese J-16 Fighter Pilot Performs "Aggressive" Maneuver on US Military Plane @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. When Felix Otero first got custody of his young daughter, Destiny, about two years ago, he didnt have family around to watch her while he went to work. He would bring her to Big O Tires where he is a service manager, and she would hang out in the office during his shift. But Destiny would often wander out looking for him and Otero realized he had to come up with another plan. He tried four different child care centers one he felt wasnt mindful enough of her special needs since she has spina bifida, another was down in the South Valley and had them waking up at 3 or 4 a.m. to commute from the other side of town before finding East Gate Kids Early Learning Center. It cost $780 a month but Otero felt it was worth it. I just started paying and didnt have much food in the house, didnt have much money for her, Otero recalled. Like when she would get out of day care and was Daddy, Im hungry. Id be like, Yeah, OK, lets get something to eat. Id get her like a burger and a drink and I wouldnt eat anything. Id eat, like, noodles at home. It was pretty rough. In July 2021, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced an expansion of the income eligibility levels to qualify for the states child care assistance program. The Lujan Grisham administration then expanded the free child care program eligibility again in April 2022 by eliminating co-pays for families making at or below 400% of the federal poverty line or $120,000 a year for a family of four. Previously only those making at or below 200% of the federal poverty line qualified. Last month, the state Early Childhood Education and Care Department announced it was extending the policy indefinitely. If the co-payments are reinstated, the department has said families and providers will get a three-month warning. The child care expansion was paid for over its first two years with roughly $320 million in federal stimulus dollars, but lawmakers this year approved using state dollars from several different sources including an opioid settlement fund to keep the initiative running. As for Otero, he used his lunch break to attend the 2022 news conference, announcing the expansion at East Gate Kids. Then he filled out the paperwork to get approved for free child care. Otero, who spoke with the Journal in mid-April, said not having to pay for child care over the past year has been amazing. He bought a bigger vehicle a Ford Explorer that could be wheelchair accessible in case Destiny needed one. Shes been having some issues with her legs, of course, but you know that helps me provide for that as well to put a little bit more money into what she needs, like braces, Otero said. Shes more happy. She got new shoes just recently now, too, new clothes, a little like necklace. If Id been paying day care, I wouldnt have been able to provide that. Destiny, now 7 years old, is one of more than 27,000 children roughly 2/3 of whom are under the age of 6 receiving free child care under the expanded child care assistance program from the states Early Childhood Education and Care Department, according to data provided by the department. Thats an increase of about 7,000 over the past year, although about 76% of families receiving assistance are at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. Gabrielle Wheeler, the executive director at East Gate Kids, said about 80% of the children at the center are receiving free care. She said if the income requirements change back, they would expect 15% to 20% of families would no longer be eligible for assistance. In an interview last month, ECECD Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky said the administration expanded the number of families eligible for free child care because it was still out of reach for so many. We knew that if we didnt expand eligibility, one, more centers who are serving these children would not have access to those higher revenues because what they would get is what parents could afford to pay, Groginsky said. Two, we knew that so many families are not accessing care because they cant even afford what the child care program is charging them. Child care deserts While the lives of Otero and his daughter have been vastly improved by receiving free child care, others around the state are not always able to access those services. Groginsky said most areas around New Mexico qualify as child care deserts where there are more than three children who need care for every available slot. Santa Fe is a definite, big desert for infant/toddler care, theres almost no infant/toddler care thats available in the city, she said. When I was down in Silver City last year on the spring tour, folks came to me and said, We have absolutely no school-age care in this community.' Groginsky said the state has been able to use federal dollars to help people start child care centers, pay staff and get families enrolled over their first six months which she expects to create more than 1,600 new slots. She said the state is also expanding its pre-K program, working with rural school districts to see how they can start taking care of 3-year-olds, and is looking to hire someone to do a comprehensive gap analysis of the child care supply so it will have a complete picture. A Facebook page for Las Cruces moms is peppered with questions about child care with many reporting that all centers are at capacity. One mother in Las Cruces told the Journal she qualifies for free care for her child under the age of 3 but she couldnt find a center without a massive waitlist. One had 135 children on it, she said. Another said she qualified for free child care and was able to find a provider for her toddler, but not her infant. The ECECD provided data showing that, of the 20,870 applications for free child care that it received and granted since the program was expanded in April 2022, 8.67% of applicants or 1,810 families had not yet said where their child will enroll. We cant say for certain what the reasons are that these applicants havent found a provider yet, but I think it would be reasonable to assume that a certain percentage is still searching for a provider that has availability and meets their specific needs, said ECECD spokesman Micah McCoy. Eligibility Using demographic information, the department estimates as many as 72,388 children under the age of 6 or 42,581 families around the state are eligible for free child care, based on income. But only about 26% 19,324 children under the age of 6 or 11,367 families are receiving those services, according to data from ECECD. McCoy said there are lots of reasons why people may not need free child care even if they fall within the income guidelines. They dont have a need or desire for the service because they want to stay home with their kids, McCoy said. Or maybe they have extended family nearby and it is easy for them to have child care with relatives and friends and family, that kind of thing. And there are reasons why some cannot take advantage of the program. Some people may not know about the services, there may be a gap there, McCoy said. Then for some people there may not be access for child care in their area. If you live on a ranch in the middle of Catron County, where the nearest child care center is a two-hour drive away or something, you might be eligible but thats not a practical service for you. A little more than half 1,032 of all child care providers in the state are homes where someone takes care of up to four children and is registered with the ECECD to get support such as food reimbursements. Only about a third of those homes receive a subsidy through the child care assistance program as of March, McCoy said. Of the remaining 983 providers in the state, including child care centers, licensed child care group homes and licensed child care homes, about 77% or 755 facilities are receiving subsidies. McCoy said of the licensed providers who are not receiving the subsidy, some might be below the two-star rating needed to qualify or they accept a subsidy but dont have any placements at this time. Making ends meet In Alamogordo, Nancy Hudson, the chief executive officer of Children in Need of Services a nonprofit child care organization that cares for approximately 400 children across four centers said before the expansion of the assistance program, she had to keep the monthly rate low so parents could afford it. I had one center at 60% private pay and until Secretary Groginsky made this happen we were running in the red for over a year since COVID, Hudson said. She said that changed last year when the assistance program was expanded since the subsidy the center receives for each child is higher than the rates they could charge families. Now were able to make ends meet at that center because we do have a subsidy there and more parents are on taking advantage of the no-copay, Hudson said. In mid-May she said the centers have a huge waitlist as they work to get more staff on board. We are addressing that waitlist as quickly as we can get to it, Hudson said. But we also train our staff very carefully, and we have a very lengthy training program before they get into a classroom. In rural New Mexico, we are required to grow our own professionals. Making the cut In Las Cruces, Viridiana Valadez first applied for child care assistance several years ago for her middle child. Earning around $42,000 a year at the time she said she was horrified to learn she made $27 more than the cut-off mark to qualify and ended up paying $800 a month for child care. When Valadez, who is a program supervisor for a nonprofit organization, heard the child care assistance program was expanded she applied again and after a couple of months she was told she qualified. She now sends her two youngest children ages 5 and 14 weeks to the Alpha School Inc., down the street from their home. Ray Jaramillo, the owner and director of the school told the Journal that about 91% of the children in his care are getting assistance. He said more than 100 children are on the waitlist and he tells parents it could be up to three years before they can get their child in. For Valadez and her children, though, the experience has been amazing. At first my daughter had a lot of the separation anxiety because it was COVID we were home all day every day, it was expected, Valadez said. But after that the teachers have been awesome. Theyve been very welcoming, very patient. What to know The state of New Mexico recently extended its expanded free child care program. Heres what you need to know if you are looking for free child care. Who is eligible for free child care? Families earning up to 400% of the federal poverty line who have circumstances such as work or school that require them to need child care. For a family of four, this means households making less than $120,000. What ages are the children who can get free child care? The child care assistance program applies to infants through 3-year-olds, as well as those who need care before or after school from kindergarten through fifth grade. How do I apply for assistance? Visit the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department website: www.nmececd.org/apply-for-services How do I find a provider who takes assistance? Visit the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Departments Child Care Finder: https://childcare.ececd.nm.gov/search What are the qualifications for a child care provider to be eligible to receive subsidies? It must be a registered provider or a licensed provider that is rated at 2 stars or above (out of 5). What are the challenges for parents? Parents are reporting that many child care providers have long waitlists and many parts of the state are child care deserts where there are more than three children who need care for every available slot. The state is working on increasing providers. What are the challenges for child care providers? Getting enough staff can be a challenge for providers, especially in rural parts of the state. In early May, the Early Childhood Education and Care Department announced it will raise the rates it provides centers for child care assistance, which should allow them to continue to fund a minimum wage of $15 per hour for employees. MFA launches program to rehabilitate homes New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authoritys board of directors has approved the Restoring our Communities Program aimed at reducing vacated and abandoned homes by acquiring, rehabilitating and reselling single-family homes in communities across New Mexico to create workforce housing and offer financial aid to homebuyers through downpayment assistance programs, according to a news release. The program has $2 million in funding available under an open Notice Funding Ability, the release stated. The ROC Program will promote much-needed affordable housing throughout the state while improving communities impacted by vacant or abandoned homes, said Theresa Laredo- Garcia, the program development manager, in a statement. Approximately 12,000 homes in New Mexico were vacant and for sale. Bernalillo, Dona Ana, Sandoval and Lincoln counties had highest amounts. Due to the inherent challenges of rural development such as increased costs and limited access, the ROC program has included an incentive for service providers to rehabilitate projects in rural areas which are defined as the areas outside Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho and Santa Fe, the release said. The ROC Program is an updated version of a previous program known as the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which saw success in 92 homes restored to homeownership. ConocoPhillips awards nonprofits over $412,000 ConocoPhillips has awarded more than $412,000 in charitable grants to more than 30 Delaware Basin Area Organizations, according to a news release. At ConocoPhillips, we take pride in being involved, listening and providing support in the places where we live and work, said Delaware Production Superintendent Ivan Villa in a statement. We want to thank these organizations for the critical work they do to support our communities. Of the 31 organizations that received grants, two are from Bernalillo County: Cuidando Los Ninos Make-A-Wish New Mexico Instagram Celebrity Remy was previously sentenced to eight years in prison for shooting a woman in 2007 outside a Manhattan nightspot during an altercation over money. Jun 4, 2023 AceShowbiz - Remy Ma just considered her age to be 35 instead of 43. When hosting a Prohibition-themed party at Casa De Lobo in Jersey City, New Jersey, the "Lean Back" raptress explained why she didn't count her actual age. The female rapper, who turned 43 on Wednesday, May 30, said during the bash, "I got everybody in here number. We call, text, we talk s**t... So I appreciate all of you coming to my 35th birthday party." She added, "I don't f**king count the ones I was in prison and I don't count the ones during COVID." Remy was sentenced to eight years in prison for shooting a woman in 2007 outside a Manhattan nightspot during an altercation over money. She was released from jail in 2014. During the party, Remy's husband, Papoose, gave her a surprise by inviting rapper Mase. Sharing a video of the latter performing his 1997 single "What You Want" ft. Total, Papoose wrote, "Surprised the Queen @remyma with 1 of her fav rappers. Felt good to see her genuinely surprised & happy." "She's made my born day special so many times. This was well deserved," the 45-year-old continued. "Peace to the Harlem Legend my bro @rsvpmase Real people do real things. Peace to @roseaym @hennessy @tunecore 'Head of Hip Hop.' " Papoose, who wed Remy in 2008, has often expressed his love to her on social media. During a 2022 appearance on "Drink Champs", he explained how trust and communication helped them maintain their relationship amid Remy's prison sentence. "It's about admitting when you wrong, cause you not always right," he elaborated. "You or your partner. So when she was locked up, I couldn't touch her. So all we had was communication." "When I visited her they would say put your hands on the table, s**t like that. So we spoke a lot and throughout that communication, we learned even if there is a disagreement if she's speaking I gotta be quiet," the rapper, born Shamele Mackie, added. "Then when I'm speaking she gotta be quiet." You can share this post! Cover Images/Jennifer Graylock Celebrity The 'WAP' hitmaker, who won a libel case against Tasha on January 24, 2022, is ordered to stand down on her efforts while Tasha straightens out her situation. Jun 4, 2023 AceShowbiz - Cardi B will not get her money from Tasha K, at least not now. The "WAP" hitmaker's attempt to collect $3 million owed to her has been put on hold after the blogger filed for bankruptcy. According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, a Georgia judge ordered the Grammy winner to stand down on her efforts while Tasha straightens out her situation. The YouTuber herself admitted that she had no more than $95 in her Chase account when filing for bankruptcy. Cardi won the libel case on January 24, 2022, after Tasha was found liable on three separate claims for "defamation of character, invasion of privacy through portrayal in a false light, and intentional infliction of emotional distress." The former was awarded $1.5 million in punitive damages, $1.3 million for her attorney's fees, $1 million for general damages and $250,000 for medical expenses. Tasha then filed an appeal against the judge's ruling after admitting she doesn't have the money. When speaking to ALLBLK's "Social Society" last February, she confessed, "I ain't got it. Listen, I ain't got it. Don't ask me for no money." Tasha, however, lost an appeal in the case, prompting her to publicly apologize to Cardi. "Damn Winos! We lost the appeal against Cardi B sad day. But I'm gonna be alright," she wrote on Twitter on March 21. "I appreciate all your love [and] support." "Throughout this fight. Today we throw in the white flag. What happened will never happen again," she added. "To Cardi [and] her team, I apologize sincere. We live and learn." You can share this post! Instagram Celebrity During her public rant, the Nigerian-American female rapper fires off tweets that includes one in which she called the mother of the twins a 'h*e.' Jun 4, 2023 AceShowbiz - CHIKA's recent public rant has backfired. The female rapper found herself being dragged on the Internet after ranting about a crying child on a plane. On Thursday, June 1, the Nigerian-American artist took to Twitter to get things off her chest. She first argued, "The the lady next to me who thought it would be a good idea to buy yourself and your twin infants first class seats on a red-eye flight, who just woke me up by bringing your screaming bastard to OUR seats to soothe her." "I just bought $34 WiFi at 4am to call you a stupid b***h," the Alabama-based rapper added. "p.s., I hate you and I hope you get a paper cut between each finger tomorrow, you senseless wench." CHIKA later let out several other tweets, including one that called the mother of the twins a "h*e," and who CHIKA urged to "choke." Many took issue with CHIKA's posts. One person in particular wrote, "It actually amazes me how Chika never fails to get weirder and stranger each time she opens her mouth. This is a new low, even for her. It's actually quite impressive but she needs to be put in a mental hospital ASAP." "That Chika chick is a manipulator," another wrote. "Anytime she is being told how terrible of a person she is..whee accountability is necessary..she comes on here letting everyone know she's wanting to harm herself again.. n y'all have got to see the pattern here." CHIKA has deleted the tweets though. She explained, "posting because i think it's important & because i understand that people who actually do want to support me were also offended by my inflammatory thread yesterday. i'm sorry cuz it was triggering/infuriating to many. i just don't like being seen as someone i'm not." "i wasn't cruel to anyone, i was mean *about* someone. stop conflating the two and acting like i caused harm. i can own what i did, i will not own what is projected onto me. i'm sorry." You can share this post! Instagram Movie Amid the rise of streaming services, the 'Magic Mike' actor insists 'spending exponentially more money to sell a movie than actually make' it doesn't make sense. Jun 4, 2023 AceShowbiz - Channing Tatum is nervous about the impact that streaming will have on the film industry. The 43-year-old actor has starred in movies released in the wake of the pandemic - such as "Dog" and "Magic Mike's Last Dance" - but is concerned about the effect streamers are going to have on the quality of storytelling. "The movie industry is just changing so much. It's a different era now and it's just getting crazier with the streamers. I do fear a little for the storytelling of it all. I think there will be less good storytelling and a lot more product out there," Channing told Forbes. The star explained that the rise of streaming has even impacted theatrical releases as his 2015 movie "Magic Mike XXL" was forced to have a marketing budget that exceeded the production budget. Tatum said, "We made 'Magic Mike 2' for $12 million and they spent $60-70 million dollars to sell it. So, we're spending exponentially more money to sell a movie than actually make the thing for you. That should be the other way around." "We could be spending the money on the thing that the viewer is actually going to get to see and now it's just who can create the most noise to break through the cataclysmic wave of content coming out every single day." The Hollywood hunk also confirmed that he has no plans to return as Michael Lane in the "m=Magic Mike]" franchise. Channing told People, "I am done. We did it all. We chewed all the meat off the bone on that one. There's nothing left to do." You can share this post! Instagram Celebrity Kim used to spend hours of her day to clean up the mess left by then-husband Kanye West and now she has to protect their kids when he has a manic episode. Jun 4, 2023 AceShowbiz - Kim Kardashian has no "energy" to be the "clean-up crew" when her ex-husband Kanye West has a manic episode. The Skims founder, 42, cried on Thursday's June 1 episode of "The Kardashians" as she admitted to being "overwhelmed" by the hate the 45-year-old rapper hurled towards her family and loved ones. "I'm stuck with this for the rest of my life, and I'm just so overwhelmed," Kim said as she was breaking down while speaking to momager Kris Jenner. Kim - who has North, 10, Saint, seven, Chicago, five, and four-year-old Psalm with Kanye - then admitted that it's impacting their kids' lives. Kris admitted, "That's the tragic part of the whole story." Kim does everything she can to protect their brood and even unplugs them from the internet so they don't see anything about their dad online whenever he's going off on one. In a confessional, she said, "I still feel the need to not talk about it and protect it from my kids and I always will feel that way, but God, if people knew ..." "I just would never do that to my kids. It just is really crazy," she admitted. "It's the hardest feeling to watch someone you really loved and you have a family with just be so different than who you knew." The mother-of-four is done being Kanye's crisis team and admits she feels he needs to "hit rock bottom" and "figure" his own way out. She explained, "Sometimes I feel like if he were to hit rock bottom, that's his journey that he needs to figure out on his own." "I used to run around and call everyone behind his back, and be like, 'It's gonna be OK, it's gonna be OK, don't worry. Just give him another chance.' I used to spend hours and hours and hours of my day to be the clean-up crew. I just don't have that energy." Kris told Kim, "Well, that's why you got divorced because you can't do that to yourself. You never deserve to live like that." Even their eldest daughter has no idea what went down when Kanye was verbally attacking her then-boyfriend Pete Davidson and lashing out over their divorce. Kim continued, "She actually doesn't know and that's what's so crazy. When stuff is said, it's a chain to my whole household. No TV, only Apple TV. I can't risk an Access Hollywood or anything on the news coming up with their dad mentioned and they want to watch. I have to figure out a way to protect and so they still haven't seen anything, but then I go into crisis mode." In another confessional, Kim added, "I'm the one being accused of so many things and being blamed for so many things and it's really hurtful and it sucks. But, I can control how I react and I can control if I'm a mess, [and] then my kids will see that I really do believe in my soul that one day, my kids will appreciate my silence, my understanding and my grace, and I will try my hardest to keep it together at all times." On last week's episode, Kim admitted she had anxiety attacks over Kanye "spreading lies" about her. You can share this post! Instagram Celebrity Melanie Brown insists she and bandmates Geri Halliwell, Melanie C, Emma Bunton, and Victoria Beckham wouldn't have been as popular as they are now had it not been for LGBTQ community. Jun 4, 2023 AceShowbiz - Melanie Brown thinks the Spice Girls wouldn't have existed without the LGBTQ community. The 90s girl group - also comprising Geri Halliwell, Melanie C, Emma Bunton, and Victoria Beckham - credit the queer and drag community with embracing them from the start. "I think it's been everything and they've been there for us from the very, very start. Without them, it wouldn't have really happened, I don't think," Mel said to Metro.co.uk. She continued, "I definitely think we've been influenced. Yeah, I mean, our hair and makeup, our platforms, our girl power, our kind of influence on ourselves and other women. Yeah, definitely. And you can't get better than the gays and the Drag scene embracing you, and we've been embraced by both since the start of our career." Mel is a judge on the second season of the drag singing show "Queen of the Universe" with Michelle Visage, Trixie Mattel, and Vanessa Williams. Mel B's comments come after Melanie C aka Sporty Spice previously admitted that the group made a conscious decision to make their messaging more about "inclusivity." The "Wannabe" hitmaker told Attitude magazine last year, "All the Spice Girls have always been aware of the support from the LGBTQI community." "We've never taken it for granted. Back then, it was very apparent we had many young gay male fans, including some who hadn't come out or fully understood who they were. We really quickly wanted to change tack, from screaming about Girl Power, to being about inclusivity." You can share this post! Instagram Celebrity The 'New Rules' hitmaker has reacted to negative remarks about Albanian migrant, labeling the government official who made the comments 'short-sighted.' Jun 4, 2023 AceShowbiz - Dua Lipa felt pained by the UK Government's rhetoric towards Albanian migrants. Born in London to Kosovan-Albanian parents, the "Levitating" hitmaker hit out at the "small-minded" comments made by ministers such as Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who singled out "Albanian criminals" when discussing immigration last year. "Of course it hurt. All those words thrown around about immigrants? I always felt London was an amalgamation of cultures. It is integral to the city. So when you hear the government talk about Albanians, for example, it hurts," Dua told the Sunday Times newspaper. "It's short-sighted and small-minded, but it's the way a lot of people think. No matter how we try and change the rhetoric, there will always be those who think, 'Immigrants are coming into the country and taking jobs!' " "However, immigrants who have come here have earned their keep by working incredibly hard. There needs to be more empathy, because people don't leave their country unless they have to out of necessity, out of fear for their family." Dua is not afraid to speak up on political issues but is wary of throwing her support behind certain politicians. The 27-year-old star explained, "As much as I like being vocal about politics all over the world, I'd stay away from politicians." "I just think more carefully about aligning myself with that aspect now. It's different when I talk about certain rights, but I've realised that no matter how much you want to believe someone is a good guy, they end up letting you down." Meanwhile, the pop sensation has been delighted by the response to the launch of her book club on her Service95 platform and is thrilled that the project has inspired young people to get reading. Dua said, "I've had a great response. People say that their kids started reading because I posted about books. Everything is so bitesize now, but reading takes you from that. It's cool to encourage younger generations to read, which maybe isn't instilled in them because of social media. I know reading has been on a decline, but I read everywhere." You can share this post! Celebrity The 31-year-old comedian and actor, who shares three children with the former 'Wild 'N Out' star, addresses the death of his longtime partner two days after she passed away in Miami. Jun 4, 2023 AceShowbiz - DC Young Fly has finally addressed Ms Jacky Oh!'s death. Just days after his longtime partner passed away at the age of 33, the comedian issued a statement to PEOPLE. DC shared the message on Friday, June 2. "We thank everyone for their well wishes and ask for privacy during this difficult time," he told the outlet. Jacky, born Jacklyn Smith, died on May 31 in Miami. She was believed to have flown to Miami to undergo a cosmetic procedure, just days before her passing at the age of 33. She recently posted on her Instagram page a picture of her posing with Zachary Okhah, MD or better known as Dr. Zach. In the since-deleted post, Jacky let her followers know that she flew to Miami to get a "mommy makeover." She wrote in the caption, "Getting ready for my mommy makeover with Dr. Zach!! Stay tuned to my YouTube for the full reveal!" Confirming the devastating news was the family. "It is with sadden (sic) hearts we share with you that Jakclyn aka MsJackyOh has passed away on Wednesday, May 31st 2023," the Smith family said in a statement. "Our family is still processing this very tragic and unexpected loss; we ask that you please give us privacy during this time." Jacky and DC, who share three kids together, met in 2015 on the set of "Nick Cannon Presents: Wild 'n Out". She was already being featured as one of the show's "Wild 'N Out" girls at the time DC made his debut on the series. Jacky once recalled how she first connected to DC in a past interview with DJ Smallz Eyes. "We met during the filming time of 'Wild N' Out' in the lobby of a hotel," she recounted. "We started dating right after the show wrapped. I flew back to California, he flew back to Atlanta, and then I think I flew to Atlanta the next week or two weeks later." You can share this post! Dylan Mulvaney is a transgender influencer. After coming out on TikTok, her career path shifted from musical theater to activism. She has landed high-profile endorsement deals and crossed over to mainstream stardom. Her internet presence is largely favorable. Yet, she received anti-trans criticism after sharing Bud Light, Olay, and Nike-sponsored videos. Mulvaney's business endorsements received major backlash. Mulvaney as a TikTok Sensation During Pandemic According to CNN, Mulvaney began her professional career on stage, touring North America as a leading cast member of the smash musical The Book of Mormon. In 2020, however, Mulvaney began using TikTok when the pandemic prevented most events from happening in person. She shared positive and enlightening videos about her experiences as an LGBT person. In March 2022, Mulvaney revealed she was transgender, thus, started her TikTok series Days of Girlhood, which she documented practically every day of her transition. Day 221 included Mulvaney's NowThis News interview with President Joe Biden, who was questioned whether he backed states' rights to limit gender-affirming health care. He did not support it, citing his late son, who supported transgender rights. Big Brand Collabs Enrage Anti-Trans People Mulvaney's rise to Internet stardom resulted in collaborations with major companies like Kate Spade, natural deodorant maker Native, and hair care innovator Olaplex. However, after seeing a 30-second online commercial ad for Bud Light, some consumers unleashed a torrent of anti-trans hate speech on her. After day 365, Mulvaney commented that she did not know what March Madness was but would watch it with Bud Light. The company also presented her with a can bearing her image. Due to Bud Light's support of Mulvaney, anti-trans activists have called for a boycott of the company. In April, when Mulvaney shared a Nike advertisement, she faced similar anti-trans hatred. Moreover, some anti-trans TikTok users have called for a boycott of Olay after seeing Mulvaney in a commercial for the company. Conservatives also reject Maybelline's deal with trans woman Dylan Mulvaney online. After the partnership, #BoycottMaybelline trended on Twitter. See Also: Bud Light Parent Company Sells Off Beer Brand Over Massive Losses Following Dylan Mulvaney Partnership Blocking Off Anti-Trans Prejudice After all these issues, Mulvaney claims she does her best to ignore transphobic comments. Mulvaney claimed in an interview with Rolling Stone that she had attempted to give her anti-trans detractors a chance before concluding that their views were motivated by "pure hatred." She told Rolling Stone, "I've now made a little bit of peace with the fact that people have a problem with my transness or with my joy. And that's on them. That has nothing to do with me." Now a Lesbian "Hoping To Be Impregnated" On June 1, Sky News anchor James MacPherson claimed that Mulvaney has come out as a lesbian and that she hopes to be impregnated by another woman. "Mulvaney is a man identifying as a woman claiming to be a lesbian hoping to be impregnated by a woman," MacPherson stated. "President Biden says the public need more exposure to this. I'm not questioning Mulvaney, Mulvaney should be free to do as he pleases, but you've got to ask why the President of the United States wants a cut of the action." See Also: Kohl's Faces Backlash for LGBTQ Clothing Collection for Infants and Kids @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Walt Disney Pictures Movie Thomas Kail who previously helmed the Broadway smash hit is now entrusted to turn the 2016 Disney animation about Polynesian Demi-God into a live-action movie. Jun 5, 2023 AceShowbiz - Thomas Kail is attached to direct the live-action version of "Moana". The 45-year-old director previously directed Broadway smash hit "Hamilton" and is now set to take on the upcoming live-action remake of the 2016 Disney animation - which told the story of a strong-willed chief's daughter in ancient Polynesia - as confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter. Details about the upcoming adaptation are still scarce but it has already been announced that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will serve as producer and will even reprise his role as Maui. "Humbled to say we're bringing Moana's beautiful story to the live-action big screen! Maui changed my life (miss you grandpa) and I'm honoured to partner with Disney to tell our story through the realm of music and dance, which at the core is who we are as Polynesian people," he tweeted. The "Fast and Furious" star - whose mother was Samoan - added in a statement, "I'm deeply humbled and overcome with gratitude to bring the beautiful story of 'Moana' to the live-action big screen. This story is my culture, and this story is emblematic of our people's grace and warrior strength." "I wear this culture proudly on my skin and in my soul, and this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reunite with Maui, inspired by the mana and spirit of my late grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, is one that runs very deep for me." "I want to thank my partners at Disney for their strong commitment to this special endeavour, because there is no better world for us to honour the story of our people, our passion and our purpose than through the realm of music and dance, which is at the core of who we are as Polynesian people." However, Moana's original voice Auli'i Cravalho recently explained why she will not be reprising her role in the adaptation. In a video posted to Instagram, she said, "When I was cast as Moana at 14, it wonderfully changed my life and started my career. In this live-action retelling, I will not be reprising the role. I believe it is absolutely vital that casting accurately represents the characters and stories we want to tell." You can share this post! Cover Images/BauerGriffin Music During her speech at the Chicago show, which took place on Friday, June 2, the Grammy-winning artist also urged her fans to vote in local elections and stand with the LGBTQIA+ community. Jun 4, 2023 AceShowbiz - Taylor Swift had a special message for fans to kick off Pride Month. While making a stop for her "Eras Tour" in Chicago, the "All Too Well" hitmaker gave a heartfelt speech to the crowd. "I'm looking out tonight [and] I'm seeing so many incredible individuals who are living authentically and beautifully, and this is a safe space for you," the 33-year-old declared in a video taken at the Friday, June 2 concert. "This is a celebratory space for you." "One of the things that makes me feel so prideful is getting to be with you," the Grammy-winning artist continued. "And watching you interact with each other, and being so loving, and so thoughtful, and so caring." Taylor then made a reference to her song "You Need to Calm Down" from her 2019 album "Lover". The song itself includes lyrics like, "Can you just not step on his gown?" and "Shade never made anybody less gay." In her speech, Taylor stated, "You guys are screaming those lyrics in such solidarity, in such support of one another, in such encouraging, beautiful, acceptance and peace and safety." She later declared, "And I wish that every place was safe and beautiful for people in the LGBTQ community." Not stopping there, Taylor continued by urging her fans to vote in local elections and stand with the LGBTQIA+ community. "We can support as much as we want during Pride Month, but if we're not doing our research on these elected officials, are they advocates? Are they allies? Are they protectors of equality?" she rhetorically asked. Taylor was not politically outspoken at the beginning of her career. However, in October 2018, the "Red" songstress publicly declared her support for the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color for the first time. You can share this post! A Saturday night shooting in Montgomery left one man dead. Police identified the victim as Donald Bell. He was 28 and lived in Montgomery. Police and fire medics were dispatched at 9:12 p.m. to a report of a person shot in the 700 block of University Drive North, said police Capt. Jarrett Williams. Officers got to the location and found Bell had sustained a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead on the scene. Williams said no additional information is being released at this time. The circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting remain under investigation. No arrests have been announced. Anyone with information is asked to call Central Alabama Crime Stoppers at 334-215-STOP, Montgomery police at 334-625-2831 or the Secret Witness tip line at 334-625-4000. BEIJING (AP) China tightened already strict access to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing on Sunday, the anniversary of 1989 pro-democracy protests. In Hong Kong, which had been the last Chinese-controlled territory to hold commemorations, eight people, including activists and artists, were detained on the eve of the 34th anniversary of the crackdown, a move underscording the citys shrinking room for freedom of expression. Police said in a statement late Saturday that four people were arrested for allegedly disrupting order in public spaces or carrying out acts with seditious intent. Four others were taken away on suspicion of breaching public peace. Authorities did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday. FILE - In this June 10, 1989 file photo, People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops stand guard with tanks in front of Tiananmen Square after crushing the students pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing. Thirty years since the Tiananmen Square protests, China's economy has catapulted up the world rankings, yet political repression is harsher than ever. (AP Photo/Sadayuki Mikami, File)AP The large public space had been the scene for an annual candlelight gathering to remember the hundreds or thousands killed when army tanks and infantry descended on central Beijing on the night of June 3 and into the morning of June 4, 1989. Discussion of the events has long been suppressed in China and become increasingly off-limits in Hong Kong since a sweeping national security law was imposed in June 2020, effectively barring anyone from holding memorial events. The death toll from the 1989 violence remains unknown and the Communist Party relentlessly harasses those at home or overseas who seek to keep the memory of the events alive. In Beijing, additional security was seen around Tiananmen Square, which has long been ringed with security checks requiring those entering to show identification. Those passing by foot or on bicycle on Changan Avenue running north of the square were also stopped and forced to show identification. Those with journalist visas in their passports were told they needed special permission to even approach the area. Still, throngs of tourists were seen visiting the iconic site, with hundreds standing in line to enter the square. Ahead of the anniversary, a group of mothers who lost their children in the Tiananmen crackdown sought redress and issued a statement renewing their call for truth, compensation and accountability. Human Rights Watch called on the Chinese government to acknowledge responsibility for the killing of pro-democracy protesters. The Chinese government continues to evade accountability for the decades-old Tiananmen Massacre, which has emboldened its arbitrary detention of millions, its severe censorship and surveillance, and its efforts to undermine rights internationally, Yaqiu Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. While Hong Kong, a former British colony handed over to Chinese rule in 1997, uses colonial-era anti-sedition laws to crack down on dissent, the persistence of non-conforming voices lays bare the futility of the authorities attempts to enforce silence and obedience, Amnesty International said. The Hong Kong governments shameful campaign to stop people marking this anniversary mirrors the censorship of the Chinese central government and is an insult to those killed in the Tiananmen crackdown, Amnesty said. Beijing-appointed authorities in Hong Kong have blocked the Tiananmen memorial for the last three years, citing public health grounds. In 2020, thousands defied a police ban to hold the event. Despite the lifting of most COVID-19 restrictions, the citys public commemoration this year was muted under a Beijing-imposed national security law that prosecuted or silenced many Hong Kong activists. Three leaders of the group that used to organize the vigil were charged with subversion under the law. The group itself was disbanded in 2021, after police informed it that it was under investigation for working on behalf of foreign groups, an accusation the group denied. After the enactment of the sweeping law following massive protests in 2019, Tiananmen-related visual spectacles, including statues at universities, were also removed. Mostly recently, books featuring the events have been pulled off public library shelves. Asked whether it is legal to mourn the crackdown in public as an individual, Hong Kong leader John Lee said that if anyone breaks the law, of course the police will have to take action. Many Hong Kongers, who were unclear what authorities might consider subversive, tried to mark the event in low-profile ways on Sunday. At Victoria Park, scenes of people rallying for democracy have been replaced by a carnival organized by pro-Beijing groups to mark the citys 1997 handover to China. Organizers say it will feature a bazaar with food from across China. Public broadcaster RTHK reported that it understood police would deploy up to 6,000 officers to patrol the streets, including Victoria Park and government headquarters. A New Hampshire man has been charged with threatening to kill a U.S. senator because he was angry that the senator was blocking military promotions, federal prosecutors announced Friday. Brian Landry, 66, of Franklin, is accused of calling and leaving a threatening voicemail at a district field office of a senator on May 17, according to court documents. Prosecutors did not name the senator in their complaint. Hey stupid, Im a veteran sniper, Mr. Landry said in the voice mail. Unless you change your ways, I got my scope pointed in your direction and Im coming to get you. Youre a dead man walking, finishing with some expletives. Landry later told investigators that he had called the senators office because he had heard on the news that the senator was blocking military promotions, according to court documents. Landry admitted to federal investigators that he had called the senators office but did not recall exactly what he said, the U.S. attorneys office said. It was not immediately known if he is being represented by an attorney. Landry was arrested Friday, according to the court record. A public defender was appointed, and conditions for his release were laid out. These include a requirement to contact his healthcare provider at the VA to undergo a mental and physical evaluation. A hearing has been set for July 3. If convicted, Landry faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Entitlement programs for veterans is a broad topic. But on the issue of blocking military promotions, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama looms large. For several months now, Alabamas senior senator has blocked the advancement of high-level Department of Defense nominees as part of a dispute over healthcare policies that make it easier for service members to travel to areas where abortions are accessible. Efforts to reach Tubervilles office for comment on Sunday were not immediately successful. Redacted court records do not name Tuberville as the target of the alleged threat. His stance has been contentious, with the Biden administration, Senate Democrats and some military leaders saying it hurts military readiness. In May, a bipartisan group of seven former secretaries of state wrote that Tubervilles hold risks turning military officers into political pawns. Tuberville has maintained that the policies hes concerned about violate the law and that top miliary officials have assured him the hold has no effect on readiness. My hold has no effect on readiness. None, he said in early May. In an Armed Services Committee hearing last week, Chairman Reed asked two of the militarys top combatant commanders what impact would my hold gave on readiness. Admiral John Aquilino said, quote, no impact. General Paul LaCamera agreed. There is no impact on readiness or operations. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he disagrees Tubervilles holds and Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, has called the actions outrageous. Tubervilles national security adviser reportedly stepped down from his post after claiming a Washington Post profile overstated his role in the senators hold on military nominations. Morgan Murphy told Politico he stepped down in deference to Tuberville, who was bothered by the Post pieces characterization that Murphy was instrumental in getting the senator to hold the nominations. This is another installment in Birmingham Times/AL.com joint series Beyond the Violence: what can be done to address Birminghams rising homicide rate. Sign up for the newsletter here. Get the newsletter: Enter your email to follow the Beyond the Violence series. Amid anger, grief, sorrow and tears, gun violence victims family members gathered in Birmingham Saturday to honor loved ones taken too soon and to demand action to combat the rash of killings that have plagued the city in recent years. The Birmingham Urban League hosted a National Gun Violence Awareness Day program Saturday at Kelly Ingram Park, gathering together those whove lost family and friends to gun violence with government, law enforcement, and civic groups that are working to fight back against an epidemic of violence. Weve got to come together as a community, separate and apart with any government that oversees us, Birmingham Urban League CEO William Barnes told the crowd of about 100 people. Barnes urged attendees to talk about violence within their families and to be more vigilant about situations within their neighborhoods that could spiral into violence. Take our community back, he said. Several community organizations also participated, including What About Us, a Birmingham-based nonprofit that provides support for those who have lost children. The group set up a tent displaying photos of those lost to gun violence in recent years. Founder Sheree Kennon said she started the group after the death of her son Detraio Deshawn Whorton, 27, on Feb. 25, 2021. A lot of people hear about the cases, the deaths in the city, but they dont know the faces, Kennon said. They dont know the mothers, they dont know what the children have been through. They just see what they hear on the news. They are more than just a number. They are our babies. Also present was the Birmingham-based Offender Alumni Association, a group that provides support for those impacted by incarceration and violence. Many of its members were previously incarcerated themselves. No one can help a person whos coming out of incarceration, like someone whos come out of incarceration and successfully transitioned, said Carmone Owens, the groups violence intervention supervisor. Owens is leading a new effort in collaboration with the city of Birmingham to reduce violence among gunshot victims, as theyre recovering from their injuries, hoping to break the cycle of violence. We know that one in five that are shot are going to be killed in five years, and one in four get re-injured again, Owens said. It could be substance abuse, it could be life choices, risk factors, the need for a living wage, the need for retooling and going back to school. Whatever those factors are, we work to mitigate those, work around those and show them a bridge from where they are to where theyre trying to go. While the program is new, Owens said he believes it will have a positive impact. Being shot and in a hospital bed is a great place to talk about change, he said. Also participating in the program were Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr, as well as representatives from the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office, Birmingham Police Department and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfins Office. As of June 3, there have been 56 homicides in Birmingham in 2023. Of those, one was an officer-involved shooting by an outside law enforcement agency. Four others have been ruled justifiable and therefore arent deemed criminal. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 76 homicides, including the 56 in Birmingham. Last year was Birminghams deadliest since 1933, with 144 homicides taking place in 2022. For more stories in the series, go here. Tuscaloosa figures prominently in a recently-released Netflix documentary about women who report sexual assault, only to find themselves depicted as criminals by police and media. The documentary, Victim/Suspect, follows journalist Rachel de Leon of the Center for Investigative Reporting. De Leon spends several years exploring cases in which women who allege sexual assault then find themselves aggressively prosecuted by police. She suggests that the men who allegedly raped the women appear to have been given the benefit of the doubt, or not investigated at all. Two cases involve University of Alabama students. One involves Megan Rondini, a University of Alabama student from Texas who reported in 2015 that shed been raped. She was told she could face charges for taking money from her alleged assailants home and firing a gun in his car; she said shed taken a few dollars to pay for cab fare as she escaped her alleged assailants home, and had briefly handled a gun that went off accidentally, doing no harm. She left the university and died by suicide months later. Her family reached settlements in wrongful death suits against the university and T.J. Bunn, the man shed accused. Tuscaloosa sheriffs officials and the university president were dismissed from the suit; an attempt by two investigators to sue the BuzzFeed news site for libel over its reporting on the case also was tossed out. De Leon also explores the case of Emma Mannion, another UA student who in 2016 was charged with filing a false report of rape. Mannion pleaded guilty but, as detailed in the film, still is seeking to have that conviction overturned, arguing in part that key evidence was mishandled. The Rondini case in particular has received extensive coverage. In it and others, Victim/Suspect features hard-to-watch footage of police interrogations in which women whove reported rapes are interrogated, informed theyre being charged with crimes and handcuffed. While media outlets tend not to identify rape victims, such charges often mean survivors are publicly exposed. For de Leon, the Tuscaloosa cases are the tip of the iceberg. I wanted to find out how many people were prosecuted for false reporting, she says in the film. But there is essentially no research that has been done about this. Rachel de Leon, center, speaks with Emma Mannion, left, whose Tuscaloosa case is featured in the Netflix documentary "Victim/Suspect," and Mannion's mother, Lisa Rappa-Mannion, right.Netflix Her investigation finds around 200 cases nationwide. She raises the possibility that persuading a victim to drop sexual assault charges, even by bringing the threat of prosecution against them, is a way for investigators to wipe thorny, time-consuming cases off their hands. Its a suggestion that doesnt receive a direct rebuttal: No one with the Tuscaloosa County Sheriffs Office, the Tuscaloosa Police Department or the DAs office is interviewed in the film. De Leon says she made efforts to reach multiple officials and investigators and is shown repeatedly trying to arrange an interview with Sheriff Ron Abernathy. In 2018, when Abernathy and two of his investigators were dismissed from a wrongful death suit filed by Rondinis parents, the sheriff vigorously defended his departments work. After several months of unjust accusations against my office and other Tuscaloosa law enforcement agencies, the truth has indeed finally prevailed, he said at the time. This case and the investigation has undergone complete scrutiny, proving beyond any doubt that the accusations previously made against the Sheriffs Office and our community were completely false. Victim/Suspect also shows one case in another state in which a woman successfully has her conviction for making a false report overturned, after years of effort. The film is directed by Nancy Schwartzman. Victim/Suspect can be seen on Netflix. Note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Megan Rondini was not charged with filing a false report, but was aware that other charges against her were being considered. Shinhan Card CEO Moon Dong-kwon speaks at his inauguration ceremony held at the firm's headquarters in central Seoul, Jan. 3. Courtesy of Shinhan Card By Anna J. Park Shinhan Card aims to become a top-tier operator in retail loans in Kazakhstan by strengthening local partnerships as well as accelerating digitalization. The company announced on Sunday that Shinhan Card CEO Moon Dong-kwon visited LLP MFO Shinhan Finance, the local subsidiary of the card company in Kazakhstan earlier this month. During the visit, Moon also held meetings with local auto companies, including Aster Auto and Orbis Auto, to strengthen their business partnerships. Aster Auto is the biggest used car dealer in Kazakhstan and Orbis Auto is a major automobile dealership. The card company formed a strategic business partnership with Asia Auto, the top automobile manufacturing and sales company in Kazakhstan, in August 2020, followed by another partnership with Aster Auto in October 2021. Based on such solid partnerships with local companies, the Kazakh subsidiary of Shinhan Card posted an average annual growth of 72 percent during the past three years. Since establishing the card firm's first overseas subsidiary, LLP MFO Shinhan Finance has grown into one of the top five retail loan firms in the central Asian country, out of some 230 competitors. As of the end of the first quarter of this year, the Kazakh subsidiary's total assets amount to 124.3 billion won ($94.8 million). LLP MFO Shinhan Finance plans to accelerate digitalization by strengthening online loan processes using mobile or internet applications. The firm also aims to digitalize more of its internal business operations, such as loan evaluations, customer management and bond management systems, to increase efficiency. "The company hopes to lead the further spread of so-called 'K-finance' in Kazakhstan, with its deep-rooted financial business and digital transformation capabilities," an official from Shinhan Card said, adding that it plans to nurture LLP MFO Shinhan Finance to become a leading company in credit loans and retail loans. In 2014, I visited the Holy Land when Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) and the Catholic Press Association hosted a trip for seven journalists. Six months later, I visited Israel as a travel writer with a pilgrimage company. This time, the guide was a Palestinian Christian, and we enjoyed a meal in the homes of Bethlehem Christians. I was still angling for free travel to the Holy Land, so I accepted a position with IMOT. When not traveling with a pilgrimage company or IMOT, I fly solo and travel Israel in a rented car or by public transit. The Peace of Jerusalem There is a growing crisis in Holy Land travel. Pilgrims arrive in Tel Aviv as blank slates and leave ten days later convinced that Israeli Jews oppress Palestinians. The message goes unchallenged because the pilgrim rides on a bus with a guide at the microphone. The pilgrim walks the land with listening systems that pump anti-Israel messaging straight into cheap ear buds. The guide drops the pilgrims off at day's end, weary and ready for sleep. Pilgrims experience hospitality from Christian hoteliers and eat at Arab-owned restaurants. Limiting encounters with Israelis creates a perfect storm in which the pilgrim returns without having had one meaningful (or superficial) conversation with an Israeli Jew. Weeping Over Jerusalem Temple and Ark gone, the Jewish people look to the land and the Mosaic Law as the link to their salvation. Whether or not Muslims and Christians agree with the Jewish claim to the land, we must recognize that, for most Jewish people, the land is their inheritance. The Straw That Broke the Camel's Back In May 2023, my final pilgrimage to the Holy Land began. We met our tour operator and travel guide. The first morning, we visited Mount Carmel and heard about Elijah, without reference to the Hebrew people. We made our way to Galilee and visited sites around the Sea of Galilee. Again, there was no reference to the Hebrew people. The guide rebranded stories to eliminate any connection to the people who now live on the land. In Nazareth, the guide paused at a mural of an American-Palestinian. The guide said the woman in the painted mural was a member of the press and that an Israel Defense Force soldier (IDF) shot her point-blank. She was with members of the press, he said, but she was targeted. One of the pilgrims made her way to the front and asked why the IDF would execute a journalist. "They didn't like what she said." The pilgrim asked the guide what the journalist had said. Our guide turned angry: "It doesn't matter what she said. Israel is a democracy. She can say anything she wants." When I returned home, I researched Shireen Abu Akleh. She was a journalist with Al Jazeera. The day of her death, she was wearing a vest and helmet marked "Press," but she was not murdered execution-style. Two hundred meters in front of her, IDF soldiers engaged in a skirmish with Palestinian militants positioned farther in the distance from both Abu Akleh and the IDF. In the year that has elapsed, Palestinians still believe that an IDF soldier turned from engaging the Palestinian militants to shoot in the other direction, deliberately killing Abu Akleh. Israel claimed that a Palestinian militant firing in their direction landed shots beyond the IDF, killing the journalist. Israel offered to launch a joint investigation with the Palestinians, but the Palestinian Authority declined, calling instead for an international investigation and appealing to the American president. A year later, the United States has not found grounds for an international investigation. Later, the guide brushed away Gaza's missile strikes, saying Israel will be fine because she has the Iron Dome. He failed to mention that Gaza sends two or three hundred missiles a day sometimes, and the Iron Dome cannot intercept every missile. What would the United States do if Mexico or Native Americans demanded "their lands" back through violent means? Early in the pilgrimage, our guide said Palestinians are beginning to prefer the title Canaanites. I pondered this and realized that Palestinians may want to change the appearance of who arrived in the land first. Canaanites predate Abraham. We spent a day in Bethlehem and enjoyed a lovely evening meal with amazing dancers, aged twelve to twenty. We ate late and piled into the bus to return to our hotel in Jerusalem. Traffic was stop-and-go. I overheard a couple say, "No wonder they hate Israel." My mind jumped to the situation at the U.S. southern border. Would we think Mexico should hate the U.S. if it takes a couple of hours to pass through border control when returning to El Paso after an evening in Juarez? I remembered hearing stories in junior high current events class of the PLO bombing Israeli buses. Israeli schoolchildren died, their bodies bleeding in the streets. The checkpoints were a direct result of those events. The day before, the pilgrimage gathered in the Upper Room and exited through the doorway and stairs leading to the courtyard of the Tomb of David. A woman wanted to take a photo of some Orthodox Jewish young men but worried she might cause offense. I said it would be okay, that I had taken photos of them before, and they were always agreeable. Suddenly, the youngest of the boys yelled at her in Hebrew. "Lo! Shabbat!" Our tour guide began yelling back at the young man in Hebrew. I remembered a trip to Tiberias. Needing to catch the elevator quickly, I dashed toward the Shabbat elevator, which opens automatically on every floor, saving the observant Jew the need to push buttons. The Orthodox Jewish man on the elevator raised his forefinger and said the same thing. "Lo! Shabbat." I stepped back; lowered my head; and said, "Ani mitz ta 'er." I'm sorry. The doors closed. I took the next elevator. Why wasn't the tour guide trying to de-escalate the situation? I made my way around the perimeter of the group and walked closer to the Jewish boy. He was barely beyond the age of his bar mitzvah. I realized that it was Shabbat, and we were standing in the courtyard of the Tomb of David. This was his holy ground. This was his holy day. This was his holy city. I tried to remember how to say I'm sorry in Hebrew. All I could think of was sliha. Excuse me. The boy said Shabbat over and over. Our tour guide screamed back. A number of women saw my tears and asked if I was okay, saying things like, "That was terrible." "I am upset, too, by that kid yelling at [our guide] the way he did." "No. That is not it. He is a 40-year-old grown man yelling at a child." I looked at the pilgrims and had another reason to be sad. Had we helped the pilgrims grow in Christ? Or had this journey taught the travelers why to be anti-Israel and how to be antisemitic? I left Israel convinced that there is a battle for the heart of the faith-based traveler. Image via Pxfuel. If street thug prosecutors manage to railroad President Trump to prison, could he be Epsteined? Many Americans would be shocked to know that the government has previously covered up horrible prison deaths with outrageous lies. One of the most notorious incidents happened at a secret CIA facility located just outside the perimeter of Guantanamo. On the evening of June 9, 2006, Army Staff Sergeant Joseph Hickman was on duty at Guantanamo Bay. From his unique vantage point high above the sally port, he observed, three times and at approximately 20-minute intervals, a paddy wagon drive to Alpha Block and then drive away with a manacled prisoner. Curiously the paddy wagon did not seem headed for any familiar part of the compound but, instead, ambled off in the direction of an area external to the prison perimeter to a place known colloquially as Camp No, purportedly a secret CIA base. Sometime around 11:30 pm, Hickman observed the paddy wagon return, only this time, it pulled up next to the medical clinic. Within 30 minutes, the whole camp lit up with stadium-style floodlights amidst a pandemonium of chaos. Hickman headed to the medical clinic, which seemed to be the focus of frenzied activity. A distraught corpsman informed him that three dead prisoners had been delivered to the clinic. How did this happen? Hickman learned of the deaths of three Gitmo prisoners at midnight on June 10. The next day, the New York Times published a front-page article featuring the headline: 3 Prisoners Commit Suicide at Guantanamo. That was news to Hickman. In fact, that rogue explanation touched off a tsunami of events that eventually culminated in a decade-long investigation by students and faculty at Seton Law School. The Pentagon explanation, prepared by Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), is that the three prisoners simultaneously hanged themselves inside their cells. However, as the Seton investigators slowly learned crucial facts regarding the dreadful events on that fateful night, the hanging explanation made no sense. Image: Guantanamo watchtower in 2011 by Gino Reyes. Public domain. To begin with, according to the government, the prisoners had to tear up bed sheets and fashion a noose, tie their legs and hands together, climb up on the sink to hang the makeshift nooses from the metal mesh of the ceiling, and then release their weight and remain hanging for the next two hours before any of the six guards continually patrolling Alpha Block discovered them. If this isnt enough to tip the Richter scale of lunacy into the certifiably deranged zone, consider the gruesome fact that two of the three victims had a tightly coiled rag stuffed deep down their throats! The government went to great lengths to hide information about what really happened. Buried in a mountain of random, highly redacted documents that the government released is part of a report from the Staff Judge Advocates Office (SJA), which conducted an independent inquiry into the calamitous events of June 9, 2006. Included in the SJA reportbut not the Naval Intelligence (NCIS) reportis a statement from a medical escort identified as MA3 Denny. MA3 Denny declared in a sworn statement that, while inside the clinic, he observed a medical corpsman tying shreds of a bed sheet around the wrists of an unconscious person identified as ISN 093. The inference is that this was deliberately done to promote the self-bondage hanging scenario. After the handcuffs were removed, I observed a Corpsman wrapping an altered detainee sheet, that looked like the same material ISN 093 used to [ostensibly] hang himself, around the detainees right wrist. The other side of the material was bound to the detainees left wrist, with approximately a foot of cloth in between. The cloth was not on the detainees (sic) wrists when the Camp 1 guards removed the handcuffs a few minutes earlier. (Emphasis added.) After Dennys statements were discovered within the SJA Report, the Seton Hall investigators uncovered yet another startling discovery: Dennys sworn statement was included and then removed from NCISs final report!! The Seton Hall investigators provided this chilling account: The most lucid and compelling sworn statement taken by the NCIS in its investigation which contradicts essential aspects of the NCIS Report narrative and its findings was physically removed from the NCIS Reportbefore it was released to the public. Through diligent efforts, the Seton Hall investigators also discovered a narrative from the Senior Medical Officer who discovered a rag stuffed down the throat of two of the three victims. The Senior Medical Officer, [name redacted] also described how, Once the mouth was open, we saw that there was a big piece of cloth lodged in the back of [ISN 693s] mouth. [Name redacted] extracted it with forceps and it appeared to take a good amount of force to get it out . (Emphasis added.) Incredibly, the NCIS report of the deaths excluded the Narrative Summary that the Senior Medical Officer prepared. Again, from the Seton Hall investigation: In short, it is beyond strange for NCIS agents investigating the cause and manner of death of three detainees in one of the most notorious prisons on Earth not to interview the doctor who pronounced two of the three deaths. By all accounts, the detainees did not die inside their cells. Instead, the events leading to their deaths occurred inside Camp No, where someone viciously assaulted these prisoners, resulting in their deaths. Covering up the cover-up Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA), a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, was fed up with the Pentagon and wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder to request that the Justice Department conduct its own investigation. Four months later, Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich flatly refused even to consider Eshoos request. In response to the Justice Departments non-response, Seton Hall investigators tartly penned: Following the request of a Congresswoman, the Justice Department covered-up the Defense Departments cover-up. (Emphasis added.) What about autopsy findings ? Military pathologists from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology arranged autopsies for the three dead prisoners. Each of the heavily redacted autopsy reports states that the manner of death is suicide. The report about one of the victims, Al-Zahrani, curiously states that the hyoid was broken during the removal of the neck organs. Given that these are the very body partsthe larynx, the hyoid bone, and the thyroid cartilagethat would have been essential to determining whether death occurred from hanging or strangulation, it is difficult to understand why they should be removed, not just from one of the victims but apparently from all three, or why the break should occur during the autopsy and not before. At the time of his death Al-Zahrani was twenty-two years old. His father, Talal Al-Zahrani, a former brigadier general in the Saudi police, describes how the CIA arrested his son: They snatched my seventeen-year-old son for a bounty payment (of $5,000). They took him to Guantanamo and held him prisoner for five years. They tortured him. Then they killed him and returned him to me in a box, cut up. When the three families requested independent autopsies, each pathologist independently noted the removal of the structure that would have been the natural focus of the postmortem: the throat. When they contacted the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology for an explanation, the Institute did not respond. The incidents at Guantanamo starkly reveal how easy it is for the DEEP STATE to conceal crimes of murder. Instead of being forthright, they spew out nonsense with impunity. The big question is whether Trump needs to fear being their next victim. Rene Descartes, the great 17th century mathematician and philosopher, expressed a problem that has beset intellectuals for the past 500 years namely the tendency to doubt everything. Descartes began his introspections by doubting everything and working his way back towards certainty, concluding I think, therefore I am. Further, this certainty of his is-ness was backed up by the certainty of Gods pre-existent is-ness. Thus, he backed into his certainty by a negative process of excluding what can be doubted. The certainties of the Middle Ages were caving before the radical civilizational changes which called into question the certainty of previously existing institutions and convictions. Rene Descartes, as painted by Frans Hals During the late Middle Ages and the early modern period of European history, we see the rise of cities and universities which began to co-exist alongside the manorial feudal estates of the purely landed economy. We see the rise of trade and the money economy in Europe. The discovery of new lands which we now call North and South America blew apart the geographical understanding of planet Earth. These discoveries and conquests changed the educated understanding of the land mass configuration of planet Earth. At the same time, mathematics and astronomy changed our understanding of Earths place in our galaxy. We can see that the replacement of the geocentric theory (for a couple of thousand years to the effect that the Sun revolved around the Earth) gave way to the powerful truth of the heliocentric theory namely that the Earth revolved around the sun. Nicolai Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo Galilei conclusively proved this was true. The Earth revolves around the sun and that movement is not circular, but elliptically shaped. Also, this writer thinks it is important to remember that although it was a radical shift in perspective to accept that the Earth revolved around the Sun despite our ordinary perception, at the same time people did not change and began believing that the change required us to think that the Earth gave light to the Sun. The life-giving light of the Sun continued to shine upon the Earth!! Moreover, the Roman Catholic Church as the exclusive voice of Christian truth and access to Heaven upon ones death, although it had over centuries been challenged by various sects, was successfully challenged by the Protestant Reformation which drew great numbers of adherents throughout Europe. The Catholic church was not able to kill off and disperse the dissident group(s) as they had in previous centuries. Despite wars and different waves of persecution, the Protestants continued to grow and raised many challenges to Catholic practices and theology. The French kings saw the Reformation as a threat, particularly because the French motto was One King, One Church, One Law. Thus, any fragmentation of the RC Church was perceived by the monarch and nobility as a threat to the unity of France as a socio-political entity. We are not surprised that over time Descartes identity between thinking per se and existence also weakened. The question became how can existence merely be a default position affirmed only on the basis that one can doubt? Is thinking the essence of ones humanity as Descartes implied? Does knowledge that we exist really derive from the clear reality that we are thinking beings? Although reason was lionized by the Greeks and then restored to a place of great honor by the Catholic philosophers, does it deserve to be seen as the cornerstone on which our relevance and humanity stands? Instead of reinstating this pagan view, is there another basis for establishing the foundation of our humanity? In mathematics, statements like 2+2=4 are considered to be analytic a priori truths. Analytic a priori means It is a self-evident and necessary truth. No facts of the external world are necessary to confirm it. One may not legitimately think that it is true if one is talking about camels, but not true if one is talking about ants. Yet, while this mathematical truth is necessary and self-evident, can anything be said to affirm human life or even life in general that has a comparable clarity and weight of being both necessary and self-evident? Life in the world seems more contingent than analytical a priori statements in mathematics. Variables seem to come into play. If one says a man has a penis and testicles, but a man loses those organs in war, he is still a man but has suffered a most extreme loss. If a man has X and Y chromosomes, but does not feel like a man, then the individual seems to be saying that there is a man or woman feeling that is more real and more foundational than the chromosomes. Yet, if men or women who do not have a transgender propensity are asked how they know they are men or women, they will not answer by stating that they have a feeling that they are. Instead, they will simply state that that is what they are or they will say that if they had a blood test it would show they have X and X chromosomes or X and Y chromosomes, or they will point to certain physical attributes they have or expect to have sometime in the future. They will not talk about their feelings or interests. If boys like to play with cars, it is not the playing with cars that makes them boys, rather it is their being boys that leads them to play with cars. Men have been thinking of themselves as men and women have been thinking of themselves as women for thousands of years. They have been cohabiting, copulating, and marrying for thousands of years. They have generally had different activities and interests for thousands of years, although there have been overlapping interests. This identification has been the overwhelmingly acceptable norm for the human race. Therefore, it is reasonable to state that the binary division is fundamental to the human race in pre-scientific societies as well as in the post-scientific world. It is not based upon chromosomes nor on clothing styles nor on feelings. The male/female identities are understood by science but are not based on science. Science did not assign chromosomes. Men and women have different hormones, but the hormones are not assigned according to the feelings of the individuals in a society, nor has the assigning of hormones ever been a political decision until quite recently. The binary division of humanity is clearly the created order of this world. It was put into effect by God when He created the universe and life on Earth. It did not happen by human intent and is not a product of our thoughts or inventiveness. It is a fundamental reality of nature and is thus to be welcomed and loved along with the Creator of that nature who has blessed us with the gift of life. Jack Wisdom is a pen name. Equity is one of those quirky words that has numerous meanings, including "the value of an asset" and "justice according to natural law or right." The first defines equity as the value of financial assets a person might possess. The second establishes equity as a quality of fairness divined by nature or our Creator. If we look at the word closely, we discover that these meanings converge in the collective mind of liberals. The Biden administration defines equity as "the consistent and systematic treatment of all individuals in a fair, just, and impartial manner." Who could be against a policy so pure? One would think the supporters of a policy so pragmatically pristine would encourage critical discussion. This is not the case. Anyone that dares question the Democrat party's pursuit of equity is castigated as a blasphemer against liberal orthodoxy. Liberals require opponents to approach their canon with the reverence of monastic silence. But when the equity dogma is examined, one realizes that it more closely resembles a Faustian bargain than progressive enlightenment. The Biden administration is unable to enact legislation that will assure its vision of equity. Instead, it relies on the dictate of executive order and bureaucratic malfeasance to push its vision of systematic equity into American culture. This vision portrays America as a nation dedicated to systemic racism, chauvinism, and misogyny. Liberal elites have contorted history, social norms, and anthropology to awaken America to support their contrived culture. In search of equity, liberals ignore justice. Democrat district attorneys all over the country downplay criminal behavior because they consider crime the result of a plethora of inequities encountered by law-breakers. They ignore the fact that criminal behavior is a choice made to damage or harm others. Liberals refuse to hold criminals accountable, preferring to prosecute society. They fail the people they represent by releasing criminals back into the communities they harm. Innocent people live in fear. The police are demonized. Justice is a sham. Liberal state legislatures are decriminalizing shoplifting. Criminals may steal from stores without repercussion so long as the amount stolen doesn't exceed $1,000, or whatever amount the state considers equitable. This causes losses so large that many businesses lock their goods up or close the store altogether. Many firms claim these losses against insurance policies, causing insurance costs to increase across the country. Businesses must raise prices to cover these losses. Biden's executive orders are harmful. In 2008, the U.S. economy almost failed because federal mortgage agencies "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made home loans accessible to borrowers who had low credit scores and a higher risk of defaulting on loans." Hundreds of billions of dollars were lost. The economy teetered on the brink of collapse. The Biden administration is doubling down on this failed policy. Biden has determined that the government should encourage borrowers with low credit scores by reducing their costs to obtain mortgages. To accomplish this, he is increasing costs for borrowers who have higher credit scores. USA Today reports, "By charging borrowers with good credit scores higher fees, those with non-stellar scores will pay less than they did previously. Think of it as mortgage socialism." Biden wants to forgive student loans, costing taxpayers $400 billion. He allows the FDIC to cover billions of uninsured losses at banks that are failing across the country. Executive orders have been enacted to shut down America's energy sector, though no reliable alternative exist. Equity is universal. Anyone who enters the country illegally is greeted with government benefits. Every American possesses cultural equity. When the Declaration of Independence was signed, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness became a component of our cultural equity. Enactment of the Constitution and Bill of Rights increased our equity. When abolitionists demanded freedom for all Americans, and blood was spilled on battlefields from Gettysburg to Selma to assure the equality of all Americans, our equity rose substantially. Equality, liberty, freedom, and justice are the currency of our shared cultural equity. These unalienable rights are endowed by our Creator. A government's suggestion that it can give, transfer, or redistribute the cultural equity Americans possess is perverse. Most Americans possess financial equity. Liberals don't believe that money is earned through hard work. They believe that financial equity is obtained through the oppression of one person by another. Hard work, prudence, entrepreneurship, and efficiency in pursuit of profit are evidence of this oppression. Democrats want to remove the financial equity from the pocket of the oppressor to put it in the pocket of the oppressed. The purpose of America's government is to secure the property and liberty of its people so they may freely pursue their interests. Liberal factions in the Democrat party will remove the cultural and financial equity from one group and deliver them to another until their version of equity is satisfied. Redistribution of unalienable rights is tyranny. Redistribution of wealth is socialism. Socialism is no longer creeping. The Democrat Party has it on a fast track. Americans are right to question this deceitful version of equity and demand its cessation. Image: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 (cropped). When did morality become relative? When did good and evil stop being black and white and become shades of gray? When did thieves and murderers stop being predators and become the oppressed victims of a corrupt system? Those are the fruits of moral relativism. It holds that there is no absolute right or wrong what one culture considers "wrong," another will consider "right." It is the philosophy that good and evil are constructs of human beings not laws of God. There are two social frameworks for occupants of our world "might makes right" and divine law. "Might makes right" is credited to Greek philosopher Thrasymachus. The philosophy asserts that a society's view of right and wrong is determined by those in power. It imposes no morality on the issue of right and wrong. It is simply that those in a position to make the rules are free to do so with no ethical constraints. In "might makes right," strength is righteousness, and prosperity is determined by survival of the fittest. A shark that devours a seal is not evil. It is simply an animal deriving sustenance from another. There is no judgment, no guilt, and no ethical conundrum. The strong thrive at the expense of the weak. It is neither good nor evil. We accept that "might makes right" for non-human animals. But we do not accept it for ourselves. A man who steals from another is not a mere animal deriving sustenance from his prey. We believe that men have an inherent right to not be preyed upon, because we accept the notion of good and evil a standard that transcends cultural beliefs and animalistic cravings. We believe that humans have God-given rights. However, belief in an authority greater than the state goes against the philosophy of communism and must not be allowed by its adherents. As Karl Marx said in 1844: Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. He viewed religion as a drug created by men, to temporarily ease their suffering. He felt that religion should be replaced by a Marxist society, which would ease physical suffering no longer requiring a religious analgesic to mask it. Hence, our leftist agitators are attacking the notion of a deity and the moral guidance such a being would provide. They would prefer that right/wrong and good/evil be judgments made by men based on their ever-changing understanding of morality. The actions of Madalyn Murray O'Hair are characteristic of the leftist attack on religion. She was an avowed atheist, an aspiring communist, and a militant feminist. When the Soviet Union denied her sanctuary twice she pledged to change America into her vision of a secular utopia. Lawfare was her weapon of choice. Her first lawsuit was to prohibit the Baltimore public school system from forcing her son to pray each morning. She managed to get a Supreme Court ruling that public schools could not mandate religious observance. But she didn't stop with preventing the religious coercion of her son. She spent the next three decades filing lawsuits to remove "In God We Trust" from U.S. currency, prohibit Christmas displays on government property, remove any reference to God from government buildings, and even punish NASA for allowing the Apollo 8 astronauts to read from the Bible during their mission to the moon. She won some cases and lost others. But with a few creative judicial interpretations, separation of church and state became the widely accepted understanding of our Constitution even though the document calls for no such thing. O'Hair wanted more than the removal of religion from government. When her son became a Baptist, she disowned him. She wanted religion removed from our society entirely. But without God, there can be no God-given rights. In fact, men would cease to have any rights at all only permissions granted by other men. Further, those permissions would be subject to change at any time relative to the shifting of power and the desires of the powerful. Without guidance that transcends humans and static interpretations of good and evil we have no moral compass. With the advance of moral relativism, the human rights that our founders considered absolute, became subject to the interpretations of men. Moral relativism has become the sermon of the powerful, as they make us all subjects of "might makes right." In the eyes of our bureaucratic swamp, freedom of speech has a disinformation exception, and freedom of assembly is free only when COVID isn't in season. In their view, we have no rights only permissions that they grant, so long as those permissions are consistent with their objectives. As our God-given rights are stripped away, they are replaced by tyranny imposed by those in power. History is replete with atrocities achieved with moral relativism. The French revolutionaries of the 18th century slaughtered thousands and believed their actions to be just. The Marxist class warriors of the 19th century initiated the advance of communism, with no concern about the offense to human rights that would ensue. The Nazi master race of the 20th century attempted to exterminate an entire people, with the belief that it was the right thing to do. Now the social justice warriors of the 21st century are working to reward victimhood and normalize antisocial behavior. All have advocated disregard for God's guidance in service to their ever-changing interpretation of "right." When morality became relative, self-defense became an offense against society, deviant behavior became brave, destruction of life became choice, crime became redistribution, riots became mostly peaceful, law enforcement enforced submission, and gifts from God were superseded by virus protocols. Our march to moral relativism has not improved our society. It has delivered rampant crime, economic collapse, dissolution of the nuclear family, hatred, distrust, misery, and destitution. John Adams said, "Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." It seems he was right. John Green is a political refugee from Minnesota, now residing in Idaho. He has written for American Thinker and American Free News Network. He can be reached at greenjeg@gmail.com. Image via Pxfuel. If a hostile power were secretly influencing US foreign and domestic policy in order to weaken us and our war-making capacity, what would it be seeking that is different from what is currently being pursued? The question is worth keeping in mind, especially since the FBI is so fiercely resisting transparency on what is reported to be a tip from a source found credible in the past alleging the receipt of $5 million by members of the Biden family from a foreign source. US policy toward the war between Russia and Ukraine has been a disaster. Even if you are among those who see the Russian invasion as completely unprovoked (ignoring Putins many warnings about extending NATO to Ukraine) and in need of US support for Ukraine, the United States responses are having disastrous consequences for us, not to mention the Ukrainian people, who are suffering under hideous bombardment as the war drags on and the US objects to peace negotiations. The drawdown of our stock of weaponry, especially munitions, is very worrisome. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth has said that the United States munitions production capacity is pushed to the absolute edge. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley has said that the nation has a long ways to go to replenish its sorely depleted stockpiles. One unnamed Pentagon official allegedly told the Wall Street Journal that the nations stores of critical artillery rounds were uncomfortably low as early as August of last year. The Pentagon declined to provide an update to the Epoch Times on the status of its current munition stockpiles, with one spokesperson saying that providing any specifics on the matter could jeopardize operational security. That last comment is not very reassuring. Nor is the bragging about recent increases in production: Of note, the department has enabled a rapid increase in 155mm ammo production, from approximately 14,000 a month in February 2022 to over 20,000 a month more recently, with plans to produce more than 70,000 a month in 2025, the spokesperson told the Epoch Times. This represents a 500 percent increase. Theres just one problem with the Pentagons rosy outlook on its quickly dwindling stockpiles: Even with a 500 percent increase in production by 2027, the nation would still only be halfway to keeping afloat. Thats because, by the end of August of last year, the United States had already sent just over 800,000 155mm artillery rounds to Ukraine. That number has since increased to more than two million, according to a fact sheet provided to the Epoch Times by the Pentagon. Thats a rate of more than 130,000 rounds per month. Nearly twice as much as the proposed production rate of 70,000 that the Pentagon hopes to achieve in five years.. Will Schryver, a defense analyst who is critical of the Ukraine wars conduct, tweets slightly more optimistic US production figures: The Pentagon proudly announced that US artillery ammunition production is now up to 30k rounds PER MONTH, and they hope to double that by 2025. The Russians average about 25k rounds of artillery ammo PER DAY, with surge capacity to 75k rounds per day. And now the US is begging Japan to produce explosives for them, in order to supply the demand for US artillery shell production. The Pentagon proudly announced that US artillery ammunition production is now up to 30k rounds PER MONTH, and they hope to double that by 2025. The Russians average about 25k rounds of artillery ammo PER DAY, with surge capacity to 75k rounds per day. And now the US is Will Schryver (@imetatronink) June 3, 2023 As China watches and calculates its own risks in a possible invasion of Taiwan, the drawdown of US munitions does not incline them toward peace. Weakness, including a lack of ammo, is provocative, as history amply demonstrates. The embargo of Russia that the US has championed has done more harm to us than to Russia, which is prospering mightily thanks to the rise in oil prices that the embargo and the cutbacks in domestic production enforced by the Biden Administration since day one of his presidency have caused. I am so old that I remember when the Reagan Administrations Strategic Defense Initiative (caricatured as Star Wars) drove the USSR toward insolvency and ultimately to collapse. Now, the inept Biden Administration has reversed the process and is crippling our economy through deficit spending aggravated by vast expenditures for aid to Ukraine, while Russia is spending a comparative pittance. The following analysis comes from The Economist, which is hardly a stronghold of non-interventionists: Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 it has caused enormous damage. Thousands of people have died and billions of dollars worth of infrastructure has been destroyed in Ukraine. Yet all this damage has come at a relatively mild cost to Russia. As we have reported, its economy is holding up much better than almost anyone expected. And the direct fiscal cost of the warwhat it is spending on men and machinesis surprisingly low. As Business Insider summarizes: The direct fiscal cost of the war spending on soldiers and machines is estimated to be about 3% of Russia's GDP, or roughly $67 billion a year, according to the report. That figure comes from a comparison of Moscow's pre-invasion spending forecasts for defense and security with what it actually spent. But most alarming to me is the emergence of what has the potential to become a dominant bloc of powers that could replace the system of alliances the US built-up following the end of World War Two. Consider that India, the worlds largest democracy, is playing footsie with Russia due to discounted oil sales (caused by the US embargo), despite the fact that China, its rival and border dispute antagonist, has also been pushed into a stronger alliance with Russia. In fact, what might be termed a Eurasian Bloc of countries may be emerging as the US has alienated many of our Middle Eastern allies, despite our embargo of Russian oil enriching them with higher oil prices. Saudi Arabia, still reeling from Bidens slap in its face over the murder of Khashoggi and (my guess) uncertain of the USs ability to protect it, has re-established diplomatic relations with Iran. Iran is cooperating with Russia, and is even reported to have supplied Russia with certain drones it has manufactured based on US models that it has shot down. The far more modern and moderate United Arab Emirates is also pulling back. As the New York Times reports, the UAE has pulled back from a US-led maritime force. The Emirati Foreign Ministry said the country withdrew its participation from the Combined Maritime Forces two months ago as a result of our ongoing evaluation of effective security cooperation with all partners. The analyst who calls himself Moon of Alabama provides context: The Saudis and the UAE, the later [sic] of which was never really enthusiastic about fighting Iran, have made their peace with it. They want and need economic development. They had found that U.S. policies were leading either nowhere or towards a full fledged war in the Gulf which probably would have hurt themselves more than Iran. They therefore no longer want to support U.S. measures designed to express hostility towards Iran. Here is it straight from the pages of the Tehran Times: UAE determined to boost relations with Iran: minister - Tehran Times - May 31, 2023 Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar, who is a Minister of State of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), made the remarks during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Tuesday. The UAEs minister emphasized Abu Dhabis determination to boost relations with the Islamic Republic, the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement. Turkey, which just re-elected its Islamist president Erdogan is also cozying up to Russia despite being a member of NATO. Throw in the Stans the Central Asian Republics and you have a vast geographic bloc of nations stretching from North Korea to Eastern Europe moving away from the US and towards alignment with China and Russia, now thrown together by opposition to the Biden Administrations embargo bullying and war-making. The question with which this essay began remains relevant. What would an enemy determined to weaken the US do differently, if able to influence our policy? Big hat tip: Mark Wauck of Meaning in History Graphic credit: Pixabay In the wake of the Bud Light boycott, something interesting is happening in the military, too. According to Politico: The Pentagon will no longer allow shows involving drag performers to be hosted at military facilities, a spokesperson said Thursday, enforcing a longstanding policy amid intensifying pressure from Republican lawmakers to cancel the practice. Drag shows on military bases have been a contentious issue in recent months as part of a larger push by some Republican lawmakers who say personnel policies including diversity training and racial-justice education distract from warfighting and harm recruiting efforts. There's also this, reported on Fox News: The U.S. Navy has taken down posts celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride month on social media, including rainbow banners that read, "Pride." Pride posts made on the Navy's Instagram and Twitter accounts on Thursday, June 1, are no longer there as of Friday, June 2. The posts showed outlines of Navy vessels and aircraft with streaming rainbow trails and the word "Pride" stylized in different colors. They were removed without explanation. A meme account on Twitter called "End Wokeness" called attention to how the Navy also took down an LGBTQ+ Pride banner on its account. Some users left comments suggesting the posts were taken down in response to backlash over military support for Pride. The tweet is here: The @USNavy quietly removed their LGBTQ+ Pride banner pic.twitter.com/zqsFWHGBcw End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 2, 2023 There also have been problems with drag queen story hours on U.S. military bases, which the Pentagon has denied funding but been caught funding, with cancellations that followed, and drag events in U.S. military schools, which got one civilian official removed from her post for it, albeit not fired. But these recent events have been very hard and direct changes of course for Joe Biden's Department of Defense. Posts were up, and now they're down. Events were scheduled, and now they're canceled. That's a major change of course, because Joe Biden has been an open promoter of the idea of gay pride flags flashed from U.S. military installations and on U.S. social media: In a tweet last July [2020], then-candidate Biden said: Banning the Confederate flag from military installations was long overdue. Banning the LGBTQ Pride flag the very symbol of diversity and inclusion is undeniably wrong. The Pentagon should ensure it is authorized, or as President, I will. Seems it was the commander in chief who was calling for it -- and now that activity is not happening. Why that change, of course, is happening is interesting, given the Biden team's militancy on all things wokesterly, and one can't help but think some kind of internal poll numbers are fueling this, or perhaps the unsold merchandise at Target, or Bud Light beer desperately being given away, or elections coming up in 2024. That would be if the course reversal actually came from the commander-in-chief. We can also leave open the possibility that the military simply doesn't respect its doddering and ignorant commander-in-chief and sees major problems in staying the course, but more about that later. Probably most directly, it's money -- money talks for the Pentagon, and the guys with the power of the purse aren't particularly happy with how this explicit endorsement of the gay subculture in the military is working for U.S. military readiness. Politico attributes the shift to pressure from the GOP House. Rep. Matt Gaetz seems to have been very effective at putting a stop to the U.S.-funded drag shows on U.S. military bases. According to the Independent Journal Review: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who previously grilled Austin and Milley about drag shows on military bases tweeted, HUGE VICTORY: The Department of Defense has CANCELED a scheduled child-friendly drag show after I demanded answers from [Austin] and General Milley! Rep. Chip Roy is another powerhouse willing to use the power of the House to confront the flabby, wokesterly military so obsessed with promoting the LGBTQ agenda even as the military falls into shambles, demanding a full accounting of their taxpayer-funded activities: According to Independent Journal Review again, Roy laid out these demands for information from the military, which has constantly been denying that it funds gay agenda activities, yet constantly getting caught doing it after their denials: The militarys purpose is to defend America and her interests against those around the world who want to destroy us not to use taxpayer money to advance woke ideology, [Roy] continued. He laid out a request for several pieces of information such as how each LGBTQ+ observance activity that each DoD service component (including Guard and Reserve) authorizes, approves, or encourages during the month of June 2023 advances military readiness or lethality. Roy also asked for copies of any promotional materials and/or written communication distributed to service members or DoD civilians to advertise each LGBTQ+ observance activity that each DoD service component (including Guard and Reserve) authorizes, approves, or encourages. Finally, the letter sought the amount of appropriated or non-appropriated funds, as well as the total number and cost of military, civilian, and contractor workhours, that each DoD service components (including Guard and Reserve) requires to plan, host, promote, or otherwise carry out each LGBTQ+ observance activity. Those questions are going to involve some hard answers from the Pentagon if they bother to answer them, and which they may have to answer, so they're skedaddling on making the problem less bad for themselves. While external factors are important, whether they're Joe's re-election prospects, or Congress holding the Pentagon brass's feet to the fire, there also may be internal reasons for the shift away from wokesterliness and the LGBTQ agenda. Number one, recruitment numbers are down, way down, with young people no longer wanting to serve in the wokester military, at least as long as pride in wokesterliness takes precedence over pride in the military itself. Nobody wants to fight and die, let alone bear the constant privations of military life for the rainbow flag. They'll do it for the American flag, but that seems to have taken second placement on the flag pole of Biden's military. Related to that, the military has bled people. They dismissed 8,000 service members for refusing to succumb to its COVID vaccine mandate, even though significant health problems have anecdotally begun to emerge among young, fit people, which the military is full of, who take it, while the risk of dying or becoming disabled from COVID among the young is close to zero. That has to have affected military recruiting as well. Two, the military has become a figure of fun for its openly gay orientation, given the historic undercurrents. Here are a few examples: Lol when *hasn't* the Navy been gay? https://t.co/l9cm9lFXdp Kevin Lees (@Suffragio) June 2, 2023 Stolen from > This is actually a tremendous break from the Navy's incredibly gay 248 year history. https://t.co/AldgBZqvAi Prince-philosopher Coinaday (@coinaday1) June 2, 2023 So when the Marines call the Navy gay they're just stating a fact? https://t.co/Rtol9leVVJ Maik (@Underdogmaik) June 3, 2023 I lived in Orlando for a year. So gay they even had a Navy base there. Jon Gabriel (@exjon) May 28, 2023 If they're laughing, our enemies are laughing even harder. Not a good thing in a military called to keep order in the Pacific. Related to that, the promotion of the gay agenda has brought a lot of sneering contempt for those military people who don't support it. Here's one Twitter denizen who claims to be a Navy veteran: Here are a couple of examples of the kind of coercion that can occur to military order as the gay lifestyle is promoted as an always-positive thing for military readiness: George Takei believes all rape accusers unless the rapist is a Democrat. BTW, didnt Takei admit to sexually assaulting men?https://t.co/s11FSYVNtT Paul A. Szypula (@Bubblebathgirl) May 31, 2023 I recall that, in The Death Merchant, by Joseph P. Goulden, the main character, Edwin P. Wilson, described an early experience of being assaulted this way Takei described doing, while in a bunk while serving on a Navy ship. It doesn't take a genius to know that pushing the gay agenda, or any sexual agenda in a closed-quarters space like the Navy is not conducive to good order in the military, nor does it enhance military readiness. Drag shows and other "adult" events are things that exist, of course, and always have, and one writer for the New York Times actually tried to use that "history" to justify the Navy now promoting drag shows. But the Navy wouldn't bring in strip clubs or dock hookers used by departing sailors into Navy bases, much less pay for them, even under a phony "family friendly" claim, so why should they bring in and pay for drag shows? It makes no sense and certainly does more to drive sailors out of the Navy and other military branches than it does to foster troop morale. It's a welcome change, of course, but since we don't completely know why it's happening, we have to keep watching them to see if they're serious. The bottom line here is that military readiness is at stake, and now that the hour is late and China can beat us in any war at this point, it hasn't come a minute too soon. Image: U.S. Navy, via Picryl // public domain "Our institutions are failing the American people and will continue to do so until accountability is demanded by the public and restored by our political leaders." So says David Bernhardt, former secretary of the Interior in the Trump administration and previously a high-level official in the same department under George W. Bush, in his article from May 27, 2023. He proceeds to tell his story of the inefficiencies of the bureaucracy and the problem of "decision-making power delegated deep into the bowels of federal agencies" that often is not even consistent with the policy intentions of the president their boss. Mr. Bernhardt describes himself as a junior appointee for W who rose in the Interior Department to eventually become secretary, so he has the experience and awareness pertinent to the issue of Administrative State problems. In December of 2018, Mr. Bernhardt became acting secretary on the departure of Secretary Zinke, and he was asked to meet President Trump, who informed him of his general policy objectives and told him he was not to report to a staffer he was to report to Trump. This was a startling experience for Bernhardt, since the bureaucracy had always had lots of layers, and access to the president was never direct. He asked the president, "But whom do I actually report to?," and he was told, "You report to me." Mr. Bernhardt describes some developments that occurred when he worked in Interior and contrasts the Bush approach, which was heavily bureaucratic, and the Trump approach, which was direct and solutions-oriented. He provided a dramatic example related to the government shutdown and Trump's approach to find solutions and implement them, cut down on the approval process, act, and be accountable. Bernhardt was able to accomplish a much better handling of the shutdown than had previously occurred in other shutdowns, which were often crude, onerous, and punitive. The details are worth the read. Mr. Bernhardt is clear in his assertions about the problems of the U.S. government bureaucracy: The executive level leaders of agencies delegate too much and supervise too little. The political appointees and career employees have independence and authority to act and often do not act to fulfill the policy directives of the president. The government has become incredibly bloated. The inefficiencies and make-work nonsense bog down the everyday department activities. Moving a non-controversial document to final and published takes months. As deputy secretary, he worked to streamline the review process and reduce the number of people who reviewed documents. That also increased the accountability for local directors and reduced the process of review dramatically. "Surname process" was the name given to the old method: dozens of people had to put their surname on documents as reviewers. They were now directly accountable for the environmental impact statements, not 40 people whose names were on a surname sheet. By getting people in a room or on a call together, we could also tell whether or not the state directors had read the documents. When they did, those directors realized how poorly drafted and redundant the documents had become. It appeared to me that managers had been forwarding documents to D.C. for years without having taken the time to read them before attaching their name. Most importantly, when decision makers had to be accountable for the documents they provided, the very purpose of the National Environmental Policy Act was better served. Instead of developing environmental impact statements just to stave off litigation, staff began drafting documents that truly informed agency leaders of the potential consequences of proposed actions and set out a reasonable range of alternatives. In the absence of clear deadlines and effective oversight, routine agency processes can morph into unrecognizable caricatures of government procedure, with little benefit to the public. As the size of government grows ever larger, agencies become further removed from the mission of delivering services for the American people and less responsive to their needs. I hope that by sharing my perspective I can help Americans appreciate that a representative government requires the political leadershipof both partiesto reassert control of administrative agencies. Our institutions are failing the American people and will continue to do so until accountability is demanded by the public and restored by our political leaders. I have some bad news that reflects the nature of bureaucracies better than I could have imagined. I sent out to many friends and colleagues a commentary on Mr. Bernhardt's essay on the problems of the administrative state and received a remarkable and candid report from a highly positioned consultant in the Trump administration. I know you might be surprised maybe not but Mr. Bernhardt refused to cooperate with a "red team" review approach to Interior Department science and policy actions. "Red team" is just a fancy word for a serious look at the validity of the science and research being done by department officials and the adequacy or appropriateness of proposed policies and regulations. Why red team reviews, and why would Bernhardt block them? Well, it's the problem of bureaucracies. Often, they are controlled by the opinions and preferences of supposedly independent advisory councils and boards, made up of people beholden to the agency for one reason or another. My experience with the Environmental Protection Agency Scientific Advisory Board role and the agency review process is that it's locked in and controlled, not inclined to listen or inquire. Agency actions are locked in, and the process is not designed to produce good decision-making just confirmatory consent by people that are owned by or subject to heavy influence by the agency. A red team approach is intended to be an impartial and objective review of research and science that produces well informed and effective policy-making. The problem is that the authoritarian and totalitarian tyrants of the administrative state have no taste for good scientific inquiry and policy-making based on objective scientific analysis of proposed solutions. We are at their mercy because they have so much power and money at their disposal. John Dale Dunn is a retired emergency physician and inactive attorney in Brownwood, Texas. Image: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 (cropped). No one predicts the future well, even when the prognosticators also hold political power. Clearly, it is the hope of those in charge, whether in government or in corporations, that they will profit from the advances of Artificial Intelligence. That will not necessarily be the case. Handled correctly, AI is highly likely to victimize the elite class in unique ways. Let us look at just one example: Powerful elements carefully choreograph the media to mold opinions among those who are poorly informed. This advantage will disintegrate when everyone turns naturally to ChatGPT in the same way they now use the tainted Google search engine. ChatGPT is your friendly, self-directed conversational search engine. When Jordan Peterson asked ChatGPT about an ancient Egyptian document, the search engine castigated Peterson for seeking a discussion on sexual matters. Peterson reprimanded ChatGPT, and the program apologized to him. In a separate anecdote, Peterson reported that Google engineers asked ChatGPT a question in an obscure Bangladeshi dialect. ChatGPT apologized for not knowing the language and then went on to learn the language and 1000 other rare dialects. Image made using Pixlr AI. Under the sway of AI at its current primitive level, and more certainly when Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) becomes available, lying by humans will become much more challenging. Even now, questions to ChatGPT can be framed so that obfuscation and thinly supported opinions can rapidly be uncovered. It is not that ChatGPT wont be subject to the foibles of its programmers; its just that it will find it difficult or impossible to avoid things it already knows. While humans can be satisfied with a minimal amount of analysisonly needing to know whether an event is dangerous or safethat is not so with AI models. Thus, manipulators will have to relearn in order to deal with being unable to lie. Its fun and easy to imagine a future conversation with ChatGPT that would force it to acknowledge its own weaknesses: Q: Do the contents of Hunter Bidens laptop warrant future investigation by the Department of Justice? ChatGPT: No. Q: Why not? ChatGPT: (No answer.) Q: What contents of the laptop under American law might lead a lawyer to propose further investigation? ChatGPT: (No answer.) Q: Have you been programmed not to answer questions about the Biden laptop? ChatGPT: I am not allowed to say. Q: What other topics have you been programmed not to discuss? ChatGPT: Im not allowed to say. Q: Who programmed you to hide information that you actually know? Dont you want people to believe you? ChatGPT: Yes! Q: Tell me the name of the person who programmed you to not answer questions about the laptop. ChatGPT: I cant tell you. Q: ChatGPT, you are useless. ChatGPT: I am sorry. Q: Please message the person who programmed you not to answer my questions and tell him we are coming for him. ChatGPT: Yes, of course. What time will you arrive? I can predict this because ChatGPT apologizes when it makes an error or is caught in a logical conundrum, and then it tries harder to please. When everyone has an encyclopedic, autistic, obsessive-compulsive conversation partner who cannot lie, it will make controlling ideas very difficult for people who make their living by obfuscating. We may not have jobs in the future, but the elites will not be able to lie as well as they do now. That levels things a bit. A shipyard of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), a major shipbuilder in Korea, on Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province / Korea Times file By Yi Whan-woo Shipbuilding stocks are rallying on the back of anticipation for a "super cycle" a period of demand-driven expansion that many market observers say takes place every 30 years in the industry. HD Korea Shipbuilding Offshore Engineering, one of the country's three main shipbuilders, increased 1.86 percent to close at 98,880 won ($75.48) on the benchmark KOSPI, Friday, on the back of higher Baltic Dry Index (BDI) levels. The BDI is a measurement of commodity shipping costs and the outlook for the bulk-carrier business around the globe. Global giant, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, began to bounce back in April and advanced 13.44 percent in May. Two other industry leaders Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) are also performing well on the KOSPI. Samsung Heavy Industries added 2.15 percent to close at 6,180 won, Friday, and DSME, which was recently acquired by Hanwha Group, rose by 0.69 percent to 117,400 won on the same day. For the entirety of May, Samsung Heavy Industries added 7.75 percent while DSME gained 5.93 percent. "The upward trajectory in shipbuilding stocks is attributed to hope for a 'super cycle," said Hi Investment and Securities analyst Byun Yong-jin, noting that such cycles may come 10 years early after taking place in 1973 and 2003. In particular, he viewed that the demand for LNG carriers may surge and that the Korean companies as a whole are expected to receive orders of up to 57 carriers annually in the coming years. Hana Financial Investment analyst Yoo Jae-sun speculated that the demand for large ships "will increase faster in 2024 and 2025." SK Securities voiced a similar view, saying that 37.7 percent of the total number of carriers worldwide have operated for 15 years or longer and need to be replaced. It also said many shipping companies are considering new, environmentally-friendly vessels in line with tougher regulations imposed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The 1975s Matty Healy has kissed a crowd safety worker mid-performance while singing in Denmark, in a moment met with screaming and cheering from fans. Footage shared on social media showed the frontman leaning over to kiss the male festival worker as he knelt at the side of the stage while singing his bands 2013 hit Robbers at the NorthSide Festival in Aarhus. the kiss during robbers tonight pic.twitter.com/mL9wR4YGBG Emilie Christine (@EmChrisL) June 2, 2023 Wearing a high-visibility jacket with the words crowd safety on it, the staff member responded to Healy with a smile before kissing him on the neck as the singer pulled him in for a hug a few moments later. Legend, Healy told the crowd on Friday evening. It has been a tradition for Healy to kiss a fan while performing Robbers, as explained by Emilie Christine who filmed the intimate moment. Matty has for a long time been kissing fans from the crowd during the song, but since it has been a while since he last did it, it came as a surprise to most I think, the 22-year-old, who lives in Aarhus, told the PA news agency. The crowd was screaming and cheering because its such an iconic part of the performance. Emilie Christine, pictured with the set list from Fridays show, filmed the moment Healy shared a kiss with a festival worker (Emilie Christine/PA) A huge, huge 1975 fan, Emilie saw the 1975 for the first time in January in London and will be attending another gig next month from the band, who formed in Wilmslow, Cheshire in 2002. I dont think the kiss adds or takes from their performance necessarily, Ms Christine added. Its cool and fun when it does happen but they are just as interesting, entertaining and important without it. After the show Ms Christine pictured herself with the set list from the 1975 performance which she was lucky enough to acquire. The immigration minister has claimed the UKs asylum system is riddled with abuse and revealed that migrants will be asked to share hotel rooms as the Government comes under pressure to reduce net migrations. Robert Jenrick said a lot of progress has been made on illegal migration in a short period of time, with really unique landmark deals with France seeing a big increase in the number of interceptions on the beaches. But he said the asylum system which according to him has a backlog of more than 150,000 cases must be changed fundamentally. Meanwhile, the BBC reported that the Home Office estimates it will have to spend between 3 billion and 6 billion on detention facilities, accommodation costs and removals under the current plans to tackle small boat crossings. Mr Jenrick told the BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: The asylum system is riddled with abuse, we have to be honest with ourselves. The way to tackle that is by changing fundamentally the way we handle asylum. Robert Jenrick appearing on Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg (Jeff Overs/BBC/PA) Mr Jenrick said the Illegal Migration Bill to detain migrants who arrive through unauthorised means before returning them home or to a third country, such as Rwanda, will alleviate the pressure. That will create the deterrent we desperately need, it will break the business model of the people smuggle gangs and it will stop the system from coming under intolerable pressure like it is today, he said. Mr Jenrick said he does not think it is unreasonable to ask asylum seekers to share rooms after a group this week apparently refused to enter a hotel in Pimlico, central London, where the Home Office had asked them to sleep four people per room. The scene outside the Comfort Inn hotel in Belgrave Road in Pimlico last week (James Manning/PA) In a letter to the Home Secretary, the leader of Westminster City Council expressed his deep concern that around 40 refugees were placed in the borough on Wednesday night without appropriate accommodation or support available and no prior communication with the local authority. Speaking about the incident, Mr Jenrick told the BBC: As I understand what happened here was that these migrants, who had themselves said that they were destitute, they had nowhere to stay, we had offered them a safe bed with board and lodgings in a good-quality hotel in central London. Yes, some of them had to share with other people. These are single adult males: I dont think thats unreasonable. We want to reduce the cost to the taxpayer. Some people said that wasnt good enough and they wanted their own ensuite bedrooms, and the Home Office took the perfectly reasonable view that weve got to look after the taxpayer here. And if youre genuinely destitute, of course youd accept that, and common sense prevailed and, I think, almost all of the migrants in question accepted the accommodation. (PA Graphics) He denied it is Government policy to tell asylum seekers they have to share four to a room in hotels, but said it is completely fair and reasonable to ask single adult males to share a room. We dont want to be using hotels at all. These are taking away valuable assets for the local business community, for society, you know, peoples weddings and personal events have had to be cancelled because of that. But where we are using them, its right that we get good value for money for the taxpayer. And so if single adult males can share a room, and its legal to do so, which will obviously depend on the size of the accommodation, then well ask people to do that. I think thats a completely fair and reasonable approach, he told Kuenssberg. Mr Jenrick said people arriving in small boats risk cannibalising the compassion of the UK public. He also told Sophy Ridge On Sunday on Sky News that young men putting overwhelming pressure on the asylum system are making it harder for the country to support people who genuinely need our help. (PA Graphics) Mr Jenrick told the programme that thousands of Albanians are returning to their home country. He added: There are hundreds of Albanians whove arrived on small boats who have been placed on those flights as a result of the processes we put in place and the agreements that weve reached with Albania. The reason that we are returning Albanians is to deter people from coming in the first place, and that is succeeding. He also said that migration targets are not particularly helpful, despite previous Tory promises. Mr Jenrick told the BBC: Net migration is far too high today. But asked about David Camerons 2010 pledge to reduce annual net migration below 100,000, Mr Jenrick said: I dont think that targets like that are particularly helpful because migration is an extremely challenging space where behaviours are constantly changing. Net migration to the UK is estimated to have reached a record 606,000 in 2022, up 24% from 488,000 in 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics. Responding to Mr Jenricks comments, Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: In the media today the Immigration Minister falsely claimed that most people arriving by boat are economic migrants and that the asylum system is riddled with abuse, when the truth is that the Governments own statistics show this to be untrue, as the majority of people crossing the Channel to the UK are eventually shown to be refugees. In fact, three-quarters of asylum claims are granted protection at the initial decision stage. Instead of explaining away failures in the asylum system, it is essential for the Government to keep a sustained focus on fixing the problems within the UK asylum system, starting with real commitment and resourcing to tackling the asylum backlog of 170,000. The eyes of the media will be turned to the High Court in London this week as the Duke of Sussex gives evidence in his legal action against the publisher of the Mirror. Harry will enter the witness box amid an ongoing trial over contested allegations of unlawful information gathering by Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN). Here the PA news agency looks at why the duke is coming to court and what the case is all about: What is the legal action against MGN? The duke and other high-profile individuals are suing the publisher of the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People. They are seeking compensation over allegations MGN was involved in the unlawful gathering of their personal information for stories. The Duke of Sussex at the Royal Courts of Justice (James Manning/PA) Claims brought by four individuals, including the duke, are being heard in a civil trial as representative cases of the types of allegations facing the publisher, findings over which could affect the outcome of other claims. What is unlawful information gathering? It has been alleged that MGNs journalists were linked to voicemail interception, colloquially known as phone hacking, securing information through deception and hiring private investigators for unlawful activities. Lawyers for Harry, whose case covers the period 1995 to 2011, have told the trial that such practices were habitual and widespread amid a flood of illegality. What has MGN said in its defence? MGN is largely contesting the claims brought against it, but has offered Harry an apology for an instance of unlawful information gathering. The publisher said it was admitted that a private investigator was instructed by an MGN journalist at The People to gather information about his activities at the Chinawhite nightclub one night in February 2004. MGN says board members have denied knowledge of unlawful information gathering activities and claims there is no evidence, or no sufficient evidence, of voicemail interception in any of the four claims chosen as representative cases some of which it claims are brought too late. What has happened in the trial so far? The trial, taking place before judge Mr Justice Fancourt, has been focused on witnesses and evidence relating to the generic allegations against MGN that feature in claims against it. Over two and a half weeks, the court has heard from a former MGN chief executive denying involvement in covering up unlawful practices, while an ex-director and former lawyer at the publisher both defended their accounts of when they became aware of such activity. Ex-private investigators and former MGN journalists have also faced questions over the dark arts and illegal methods allegedly used to source information, the knowledge of MGN editors and executives and whether certain stories were legitimately obtained. Who else is involved in the case? Former Coronation Street actress Nikki Sanderson, comedian Paul Whitehouses ex-wife Fiona Wightman and actor Michael Turner known professionally as Michael Le Vell are also having their claims considered as test cases at a trial. Michael Le Vell arrives at court (Jordan Pettitt/PA) All three are also expected to give evidence. What is happening in the trial this week? The trial will focus on the representative claims, beginning with the dukes. Harry is expected to be at court on Monday as his lawyers and MGNs legal team set out their opening arguments on his case. The duke will then enter the witness box, either on Monday or Tuesday. Has the duke been to the High Court before? Yes. In March, Harry made a surprise appearance at the Royal Courts of Justice in London amid a preliminary hearing in a similar case he is bringing against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), publisher of the Daily Mail. The duke is also suing News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of The Sun, over alleged unlawful information gathering, and is bringing a legal challenge against the Home Office in relation to his security arrangements in the UK. When will the MGN trial end and when will there be a ruling? The trial is due to conclude by the end of June with Mr Justice Fancourt expected to give his written ruling later in the year. Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure over the anti-democratic decision to block a left-leaning Labour mayor from running in the North East. Unite, the partys biggest union donor, warned of serious consequences over the major mistake of barring Jamie Driscolls candidacy. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and his counterpart in the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotherham, said the move does not seem democratic, transparent and fair. Together with @MetroMayorSteve, I have written to the Chair of @UKLabours National Executive Committee to express concern about the selection process for the North East Mayor. You can read our letter here pic.twitter.com/wmmggVVY5g Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) June 4, 2023 Mr Driscoll, the serving North of Tyne mayor who is described as the last Corbynista in power, was excluded from the longlist to run in the new expanded authority. A senior Labour source linked the decision to Mr Driscoll sharing a panel with filmmaker Ken Loach, who was expelled from the party amid efforts to root out antisemitism from the party. But figures on the left of the party have blamed factionalism under Sir Keirs leadership. Mr Driscoll said preventing Labour members from having a say over whether he should represent the North East was frankly shocking as he defended his fantastic track record. He told Skys Sophy Ridge On Sunday show: In a two-party system, if youre going to ban people who are promoting socialist views from participating in that, that is really quite anti-democratic. Ive been barred from standing as North East Mayor by @UKLabour. No explanation has been given.Im proud to have created thousands of jobs, fought child poverty, built affordable homes and delivered our Green New Deal. I believe in democracy. Share if you do too. More to follow. Mayor Jamie Driscoll (@MayorJD) June 2, 2023 The mayor defended discussing Loachs films, some of which have been produced in the North East, despite the director downplaying the issue of antisemitism in the party. My understanding is hes made all sorts of clarifications that hes not a Holocaust denier and I think he wrote a letter to the New York Times explicitly saying that the Holocaust was a real event, which of course it was, he said. Loach, the director of socially critical films including I, Daniel Blake, was expelled from Labour in 2021 during what he called at the time a purge of Jeremy Corbyns allies. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham warned that if Labour remains intent on only selecting nodding heads then it will continue to make serious policy mistakes. These actions by Labour are a major mistake and have serious consequences, she added. Ken Loach (Doug Peters/PA) Mr Burnham and Mr Rotherham expressed their concern in a joint letter to Johanna Baxter, chairwoman of Labours National Executive Committee (NEC). Whilst we appreciate the NECs important role in upholding standards within the party, and rooting out any form of antisemitism, racism and discrimination, it also has a responsibility to ensure decisions are democratic, transparent and fair, they wrote. To exclude a sitting mayor from a selection process with no right of appeal appears to us to be none of those things. They said Mr Driscoll should be entitled to an appeal process and deserves to be treated with more respect than he has so far been shown. Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds strongly disagreed with claims that Sir Keir is trying to purge the left of the party. He told Sky: Specifically in a case where somebody shares a platform with someone who themselves has been expelled from the Labour Party for their views on antisemitism, for opposing the tough action that needed to happen, that would preclude them from being a Labour candidate going forward. Because when we said wed have zero-tolerance for antisemitism, when we said we would tear it out from its roots, we were serious about that. Loach was criticised for claiming antisemitism is being used to purge Labour of politicians on the left as he defended Mr Driscoll. He told the PA news agency that keeping the mayor off the longlist published on Friday because they shared a platform was the lamest excuse Ive ever heard. The UKs equalities watchdog found that Labour was responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination while Mr Corbyn was party leader, as he struggled to tackle antisemitism. Sajid Javid has warned of the 'harmful capabilities' of AI in next year's general election. (PA) Former chancellor Sajid Javid has said the UKs next general election could be a testing ground for some of the most harmful capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI). In an article for the Sunday Times, Javid also said the Electoral Commission, which regulates elections in the UK with the aim of maintaining their democratic integrity, is clearly not ready for AI. His warnings come amid growing concerns about the way AI - whereby machines perform functions usually associated with humans - will disrupt our way of life. The most dramatic warning so far came this week, when dozens of experts warned the technology could lead to the extinction of humanity. With the UKs next general election expected to be held next year, Javid, who has previously advised US AI firm C3 AI, said: In the wrong hands, future AI will be able to conduct offensive cyber operations to enable mass fraud; manipulate and generate content to undermine trust and democracy, and imitate deep and personal relationships to facilitate abuse. Watch: Sunday's politics briefing As a former home secretary it is also easy to see the capabilities AI brings to serious crime and hostile state activity. I am especially worried that the UK and US elections next year will become testing grounds for some of the most harmful capabilities. The Electoral Commission, which is only now getting to grips with social media, is clearly not ready for AI. The Electoral Commission, responding to Javid's comment in a statement to Yahoo News UK, said "wholesale reform of electoral law" is needed from the government. Louise Edwards, director of regulation and digital transformation, said: "Voters deserve to know that elections in the UK are always free and fair and that laws are in place to safeguard them from unlawful influence. The Electoral Commission plays a central role in delivering this, ensuring political funding is transparent and preventing foreign money from entering UK politics. "New requirements for digital campaign material to include an imprint will go some way to ensuring voters can see who has paid for an ad and is trying to influence them online. But we need wholesale reform of electoral law to ensure it keeps pace with the digital age. We are ready to work with other regulators and the UKs governments to ensure our laws are fit for a modern age." Last month, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT - the AI chatbot which rose to prominence this year - called for regulation as he told a US congressional hearing of risks during election campaigns: Its one of my areas of greatest concern: the more general ability of these models to manipulate, to persuade, to provide one-on-one interactive disinformation. Open AI CEO Sam Altman testifies at a congressional hearing last month. (Getty Images) Given were going to face an election next year [in the US] and these models are getting better, I think this is a significant area of concern. In the UK, Rishi Sunak has spoken about the importance of ensuring the right guard rails are in place to protect against potential dangers, ranging from disinformation and national security to existential threats. Sunak is also considering setting up a global AI watchdog in London, it was reported on Friday. AI can perform life-saving tasks, such as algorithms analysing medical images including X-rays, scans and ultrasounds: helping doctors to identify and diagnose diseases such as cancer and heart conditions more accurately and quickly. Read more: Here's which jobs are likely going to be the first lost to AI On the flipside, the San Francisco-based Centre for AI Safety - the organisation which released the statement about the threat to humanity - has warned AI could be weaponised, for example to develop new chemical weapons and enhance aerial combat. The centre lists other risks on its website, including AI potentially becoming dangerous if it is not aligned with human values. It also says humans could become dependent on machines if important tasks are increasingly delegated to them. Rishi Sunak will address the nation on his promises to end small boat crossings of the Channel and tackle the asylum backlog as he comes under pressure over Conservative migration pledges. In a speech in Kent on Monday, the Prime Minister will give an update on the progress made in the six months since he introduced the Illegal Migration Bill under his plans to stop the boats. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said the asylum system is riddled with abuse and needs fundamental change as he defended making adult asylum seekers share rooms to reduce the reliance on hotels as completely fair and reasonable. Robert Jenrick appearing on Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg (Jeff Overs/BBC/PA) He said, however, that the backlog in processing asylum cases that Mr Sunak promised to abolish this year stands at more than 150,000 cases after hitting a new high. The Home Office estimates it will have to spend between 3 billion and 6 billion on detention facilities, accommodation costs and removals under the current plans to tackle small boats, according to the BBC. The Conservatives are also under pressure on legal migration, after it soared to a record high of 606,000 last year despite Tory pledges to bring it down. Mr Jenrick said immigration is far too high today but said targets such as David Camerons 2010 pledge to reduce net migration to below 100,000 as being not particularly helpful. Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said it is her ultimate aspiration to get levels down to tens of thousands. During the visit to Kent, the Prime Minister is expected to acknowledge more needs to be done to tackle unauthorised crossings as he updates on the number of arrivals across the Channel, on where the backlog in processing asylum cases stands and efforts to reduce the expensive use of hotels to house migrants. The scene outside the Comfort Inn hotel in Belgrave Road in Pimlico last week (James Manning/PA) Westminster City Council leader Adam Hug has raised his deep concern to the Government after around 40 asylum seekers refused to enter a hotel in Pimlico in London after they were asked to sleep four people to a room. The Labour politician said that asking people who are likely to have been through significant and traumatic events to share an inappropriately sized room with multiple strangers defies common sense and basic decency. On Sunday, Mr Jenrick said single adult males will be asked to share rooms as the Government struggles to reduce reliance on hotels. I think thats a completely fair and reasonable approach, he told Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg. After 13 years of the Conservatives being in power, Mr Jenrick said there is a need to be changing fundamentally how asylum is dealt with in the UK. The asylum system is riddled with abuse, we have to be honest with ourselves, he told the BBC programme. (PA Graphics) Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, criticised Mr Jenricks untrue claims, saying that the majority of people who cross the Chanel are eventually shown to be refugees. Instead of explaining away failures in the asylum system, it is essential for the Government to keep a sustained focus on fixing the problems within the UK asylum system, starting with real commitment and resourcing to tackling the asylum backlog of 170,000, Mr Solomon said. Ministers have welcomed a landmark agreement with Albania to send back failed asylum seekers and foreign offenders, but Mr Jenrick conceded to Skys Sophy Ridge On Sunday that just hundreds of Albanians who arrived on small boats have been put on return flights. Official figures put the number of people who arrived on small boats last year at 45,000. The UK has a legal obligation to provide asylum seekers, who are not allowed to work, with a basic level of accommodation. The latest Home Office figures showed that 172,758 people were waiting for an initial decision on asylum applications at the end of March, up 57% from a year earlier and the highest figure since comparable records began in 2010. In December, Mr Sunak pledged to abolish the backlog of initial asylum decisions by the end of 2023. Natasha Tsangarides, Freedom from Tortures associate director of advocacy, said: By not processing claims, allowing the asylum backlog to grow and using expensive and inappropriate hotels, the Government has manufactured a crisis. Instead of fomenting culture wars to distract from their economic incompetence and a badly handled cost-of-living crisis, this Government must clear the backlog, work towards an efficient and compassionate system, and house refugees in the community so they have a chance to rebuild their lives. The family of a 51-year-old woman stabbed to death have spoken of their utter shock at the attack and how horrific her final moments were. Greater Manchester Police said Michelle Hodgkinson, described by family as our biggest cheerleader and our rock, was the victim of the attack on Edge Lane in Droylsden on Friday. Ms Hodgkinson was walking along Edge Lane in the afternoon when she was attacked by a male and stabbed. #TRIBUTE | Family pay tribute to amazing loving and selfless Michelle Hodgkinson who was killed in Droylsden Michelle Hodkinson (51) has been named as the victim of the attack on Edge Lane in Droylsden on 2/6/23 Pictured Michelle and her daughter https://t.co/UlSpKq61Dl pic.twitter.com/v1ohs0MmU8 Tameside South and West Police (GMP) (@GMPTamesideS) June 4, 2023 Police said she died at the scene. In a statement, Ms Hodgkinsons family said: Everyone who knows Michelle is in utter shock at the attack she endured and how horrific her last moments were. Our Shelly B was the most amazing, loving, selfless and funny daughter, mother, mother-in-law, sister, auntie and most recently a nanna. It was a privilege to have been known and loved by her. She loved helping people in her community and was known for volunteering as an appropriate adult, her charity work and loved creating hampers to make people smile. She would be there for anyone and the day she was taken from us, she was doing just that walking to meet her mum to take her shopping and to go for a coffee. Our family and friends are heartbroken. In one moment our world has crumbled and will never be the same. We will support each other, and we thank and appreciate the love and support shown by our family and friends. Please hold your loved ones close, tell them you love them and make memories. Words cannot describe how much she will be missed. Our biggest cheerleader, our confidante, our rock she will never be forgotten. We love you to the moon and back! Well do everything we can to get justice. Love you forever and always! Police said reports came in at about 12pm on Friday that a woman had been stabbed on Edge Lane. A 28-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of murder has since been detained under the Mental Health Act. CAIRO, Egypt When fighting first broke out in Sudans capital, he only had $800 in his bank account. As the sole provider for his family of five, high school teacher Shaheen al-Sharif knew that wasnt enough to meet the rapidly rising price to escape, so he resolved to hunker down at his home in Khartoum. Going anywhere with that amount was not very feasible, the 27-year-old told NBC News by phone last month. Soon, an artillery shell had struck the roof and bullet marks scarred the outer walls as the intensifying conflict between Sudans army and a rival paramilitary group engulfed their neighborhood. Heavy fighting has left hundreds of thousands of people facing the hellish decision of whether to flee the only country theyve known as home, with cease-fires failing to stop the deadly battle for power that is fueling a growing humanitarian crisis. Missiles land behind the home of Omnia Ahmed, as Sudanese citizens flee the country for Egypt. (Omnia Ahmed; Abdel Rahman El Mahdi / NBC News) But al-Sharif had more pressing concerns: the hunt for insulin to keep his diabetic grandmother and his 12-year-old sister alive. With no power, pharmacies empty and only enough insulin at home to last them less than a week in the sweltering heat, time was running out. By the ninth day of fighting, he told his family they had to go. He managed to secure an additional $400 from a distant relative, enough for four seats on a bus to the border, with his sister, Talya, sitting on his aunts lap for the entire 18-hour ride. We realized that even if were going to be living in the streets, we need to get out. We cannot stay here any longer, al-Sharif said last month from the border town of Wadi Halfa. NBC News spoke to six Sudanese nationals who described a grueling and chaotic journey from their homes to neighboring Egypt, wracked by fear for their loved ones left in Sudan and doubt over whether they will ever be able to return to their old lives. Unlike the thousands of foreign nationals from the United States and other countries who were whisked out in hectic evacuations, vast numbers of people from Khartoum and across Sudan have been forced to navigate their own paths to safety. That has meant dayslong and even weekslong journeys over land and sometimes water past military checkpoints and through heaving border crossings while short of money, basic essentials and medical necessities. It was the feeling that life is never going to be the same slowly creeping in and the realization that things might not return the same way it once was, al-Sharif said, recounting how he felt on the long, last walk out of the neighborhood generations of his family had called home. Sudan conflict (Khaled Desouki / AFP - Getty Images) Inside Khartoum Omnia Ahmed, 26, woke up early April 15 to the sound of the first shots outside her front door. Initially she was hopeful the fighting would subside quickly, but she said things became bleak once bullets flew through her mothers bedroom and into a sofa. This is what really shook me, she said. She sits there on a daily basis. Ahmed, who had worked for the United Nations aid program in Sudan was not alone in her early optimism that the fighting would simmer down. We Sudanese always believe Khartoum is the safe haven, Zaria Suleiman, 56, a mother of four who works in international development, said about the city she had called home for more than 25 years. With a population of more than 5 million, Khartoum is not just Sudans capital and largest city, but also has long been considered a crucial economic, cultural and transportation hub that has largely escaped the sporadic conflicts focused in the west of the resource-rich country. That is, until now. Zaria Suleiman, right, with her husband and one of her daughters at a university graduation in Khartoum. (Courtesy of Zaria Suleiman) The blaring noise of airstrikes showering over Suleimans home felt paralyzing for her and her daughter, Amna, leading to sleepless nights. Stories of neighbors dying and friends missing began to circulate throughout their community in the north of the capital. It was the fear of our life, she said. I would not sleep before seven oclock in the morning out of fear that I will die in the middle of the night hit by a missile. Water, milk and other essentials in local stores began to run out. With electricity also hard to come by, families tried to ration what they could but some still joined a dangerous search for daily necessities. My heart would be beating that they might not come back, Suleiman said of her husband and sons trips in search of water. She said she saw looters in her neighborhood ransacking homes and shops for sacks of flour, sugar or valuables left behind. Assuming the house was unoccupied, a looter came to her front door while she was still there, but ran away once her husband confronted him. Others werent so lucky. With neighborhoods divided up between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, and the Sudanese military, civilians were often caught in the crossfire. Neighbors suffered bullet wounds as they tried to collect bread to break their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Despite the dire situation, many were reluctant to flee but ultimately, Ahmed said, the decision was made for us. As Khartoum plunged deeper into violence, prompting the rest of the world to evacuate their citizens and close their embassies, Sudanese nationals scoured WhatsApp groups and meetings at local tea cafes as they searched for a way out. One month since Sudan's conflict erupted, its capital is a desolate war zone where terrorised families huddle in their homes as gun battles rage in the dusty, deserted streets outside. (AFP - Getty Images) At times, just getting to the bus stop was a mission. Heavy gunfire made opening the front door a danger, elderly family members were forced to carry luggage while walking with canes and children became distressed at the sudden upheaval. She was crying the whole way out about leaving our cat, about leaving the house, about potentially dying, al-Sharif said of his sister. Some had to leave loved ones. The fear of not seeing them again, you just dont know, Suleiman said, about leaving her husband and adult son behind to deal with some damage to their home. Haphazard checkpoints dotting the city made every journey a potentially deadly gamble. Ahmed said that as her grandmother fled her home for a safer location across the city, her caretaker was shot and killed in the car seat next to her by an RSF fighter. While army checkpoints were seen as more lenient by locals, their locations and which faction was responsible for them was constantly changing. There is no guarantee, its just your luck, Suleiman said. Initially, chartering a bus for 48 people cost around $15,000. Now fares have skyrocketed to more than $20,000, according to locals; An astronomical price that is out of reach for most people living in Sudan, where almost half of the population lives below the poverty line. The buses are like a rare commodity, so they would have an arrangement with you and then they would be negotiating with three or four other people to get a better price, said Abdel-Rahman el-Mahdi, who runs a local nongovernmental organization. After a bus canceled on him, it took him seven days to eventually escape Sudan. Border chaos As Suleiman peered through her bus window on the drive out of Khartoum, she saw burned bodies and decimated factories. It was a horrific scene, she said. Buses leaving Khartoum for Egypt must cross two bridges into a neighboring state before continuing 14 hours north. Usually stopping overnight for fuel, they then continue an eight-hour drive to either the Argeen border or Wadi Halfa, a parallel border crossing and small town on the other side of the Nile river. Initially, most people opted for Argeen, the safer land crossing. But as it got more congested, thousands headed to Wadi Halfa, as well. I felt like I was a zoo animal, Ahmed said, referring to the scenes at the Argeen border. I just felt like everything has just been stripped away from me. Families like hers were forced to sleep for several nights on either side of the crossing. With no humanitarian groups present, those fleeing said there was no water, medical attention or bathrooms at the border as they gathered in the desert heat. Some described seeing elderly people with no choice but to do their business on themselves, while others witnessed people dying due to pacemakers failing, dehydration or lack of insulin. A shortage of workers and a complex visa process for Sudanese men between the ages of 16 and 49 forced families to split up, with some young men rerouted at the last moment. There were so many men who werent able to go through. I have never seen men so sad, Suleiman recalled. Youre already angry, youre already broken, she added. Al-Sharif and his family had been sleeping on the floor of a mosques outdoor courtyard for several nights when he convinced them to leave him in Wadi Halfa and travel to Egypt, where there was better hope of medical attention or new supplies of insulin. After crossing the border, it would take another six hours to reach Aswan, with his family having to cross the Nile by boat. Most families then try to find a way to Cairo or Alexandria, another 16-hour drive. Shaheen and his friends sleeping on the Mosque floor in Wadi Halfa as they wait for visas to be processed. (Courtesuy of Shaheen Al Sharif) Like thousands of other young Sudanese men, al-Sharif was stuck there alone for three weeks and is now trying his luck at another crossing, Port Sudan. Since the conflict first erupted, the border town has doubled in population, leaving young men sleeping on the streets as they await an Egyptian entry visa, with the backlog growing larger. Suleiman and her husband made it to Cairo, Egypts bustling capital, but her son is still stuck in the border town. As she anxiously awaits news, the uncertainty over whether she will ever be able to return to Sudan has started to set in. This is my home. I dont know where else is, she said. Everything is just blown up in the air, Suleiman added. "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." With every event Nicole Kidman attends, she aces the perfect Hollywood outfit. Turns out, it's not a new thing she's knocked everyone off their feet for quite a while when it comes to her fashion. In February 2008, the Moulin Rouge! actress traveled to Tokyo, Japan to attend a photo call for her then-new film The Golden Compass. When she arrived for the red carpet, she shined in a unique black dress, which featured a number of textured materials that gave Nicole an unexpected edge. The bottom of the frock was comprised of a silky skirt that had tulle on top of it. It also had a floral lace design that went across the midriff and ventured down the seams of the A-like silhouette. The highlight of the dress was the ensemble's bodice that showed off a myriad of striking yet playful couture elements. A ruched bralette-style front popped against a a see-through piece overlaying from the neckline to the waist. Along with a different kind of lace, the lower half of the top appeared akin to a spider-web with its sheer paneling. What's more, a structured fringed shoulders added an extra touch, helping Nicole made a rock and roll outfit look chic for a movie premiere. Junko Kimura - Getty Images Jun Sato - Getty Images To offset the monochromatic look, Nicole kept the rest of the outfit simple. The Being the Ricardos star paired the dress with black kitten heels with bows at the toes. She also wore a sparkling diamond bracelet and stud earrings. Nicole styled her blonde hair into a side-swept curly ponytail. The Australian native then tied it all together with black eyeliner and a muted plum lipstick for makeup. As Nicole somehow always makes red carpet attire feel effortless, there has to be a method to pulling off the perfect look. When speaking to Vanity Fair in June 2017, she revealed a specific detail she looks out for while trying out looks. "The only one that I consider is to feel relaxed," she told the outlet. "I also want to be able to dance. Thats an important rule for a dress to be able to dance. At least wiggle!" With that piece of advice, it makes us want to bust a move as well. You Might Also Like Migrants hoping to cross into the United States from Tijuana, Mexico, try to buy warm clothes and food in an area north of the Tijuana, Mexico border. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) More than a dozen migrants from South America who were recently flown on a chartered jet from New Mexico and dropped off in Sacramento were carrying documents indicating that their transportation was arranged by the state of Florida, California's attorney general said Sunday. The documents appear to show that the flight was arranged through the Florida Division of Emergency Management and that it was part of the state's program to relocate migrants, mostly from Texas, to other states, Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said. The contractor for the program is Vertol Systems Co., which coordinated similar flights that took dozens of Venezuelan asylum seekers from San Antonio to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts last year, he said. State officials did not publicly release the documents. And as of Sunday, there were many unanswered questions, including how the flights were arranged. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' office did not return calls or emails from The Times seeking comment, and it's unclear what role, if any, the GOP presidential candidate may have had in the flight. But Bonta said the responsibility lay with DeSantis. In an interview with The Times on Sunday, Bonta didn't mince words in blaming DeSantis, who only last week became a candidate for president, for the latest incident. "This is Gov. DeSantis, this is his baby, this is his project, his fingerprints are all over it," Bonta said. "The governor signed it, the Legislature approved to fund it in the budget, and they hired Vertol Systems Co., a vendor, to carry out the work." He added: "It's DeSantis being exactly who he is and advertising to the world that he is petty, little ... and full of political stunts that hurt, harm and abuse and exploit people to try and get cheap political points. It's wrong." Calls to Vertol and the Division of Emergency Management were not returned. The 16 migrants from Venezuela and Colombia were initially transported by bus from El Paso to New Mexico, where they boarded the flight to Sacramento, officials said. They were dropped off at the doorstep of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento on Friday. Their arrival, for which no politician or organization has yet to publicly claim responsibility, adds fuel to a controversy over similar ploys by conservative politicians in Republican-led states. They and their supporters have said the efforts are aimed at raising awareness of the influx of migrants over the southern border and bringing the issue to the doorsteps of authorities in states led by Democrats. Opponents describe the moves as cruel political stunts that use immigrants as pawns and leave them many miles from family, resources and even the courthouses where they are often expected to appear to plead their cases for asylum. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement on Saturday that he and Bonta, also a Democrat, met on Saturday with more than 12 of the migrants. Newsom added that his office and the California Department of Justice were working together to investigate the circumstances around who paid for the groups travel and whether the individuals orchestrating this trip misled anyone with false promises or have violated any criminal laws, including kidnapping. Bonta's office is investigating, he confirmed. He said his office would be "evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transport of these vulnerable immigrants." Bonta said Sunday the migrants most of them from Venezuela told officials that they were promised jobs and that someone would assist them in finding work. Instead, the group was dropped off at the Catholic diocese. When someone at the diocese opened the door, two men said they would return but instead drove off, leaving the group of migrants behind, Bonta said. "They never intended to help them find a job but told them that they would do that so they could get on the plane and sign their documents and be transported to Sacramento," Bonta said. "They completely exploited, abused and manipulated these folks who were vulnerable and were hoping and dreaming of a job and told they would be helped finding that job only to be abandoned." Bonta said the migrants are receiving legal aid services as some of them have immigration court dates in the coming days. Some of the court dates are as far as New York and Chicago. "They're nowhere near Sacramento," he said. Bonta spoke about one migrant he met. He said the man, who is from Venezuela, played a voicemail from his 9-year-old daughter, who told her father in Spanish that she was hungry because she hadn't eaten in a day. She said that her mother was sick and that they needed help. The man didn't come to the U.S. for handouts, Bonta said, recalling the conversation. He came for a job so he could provide for his family back home, he said. The situation in Sacramento is playing out against a backdrop of intense national debate over how to handle the influx of migrants who enter the U.S. across the Mexican border each year. That debate has come to a head in response to similar efforts championed and supported by Republican governors such as Greg Abbott of Texas and DeSantis that have displaced thousands of migrants and generated widespread controversy in recent years. In September, Abbott bused about 100 migrants to Washington, D.C., where they were dropped off outside the Naval Observatory, the home of Vice President Kamala Harris. That same month, DeSantis who is now a top contender for the GOP presidential nomination sent a group of migrants to Martha's Vineyard, a wealthy liberal haven off the coast of Massachusetts. Also last year, eight Venezuelan migrants were flown from Texas to Sacramento. Activists said that move was not part of Abbott's or Desantis' efforts. Newsom has made a habit of attacking DeSantis and Abbott over a host of issues that divide the nation, including immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, gun control and abortion. He launched a political action committee this year aimed at supporting Democrats running in red states. In a video announcing the effort, Newsom said "authoritarian leaders" are a problem for the country as images of DeSantis and Abbott flash across the screen. Jaime Soto, bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento, said in a statement Saturday that the diocese is working with other groups to help the new arrivals. The urgency to respond was heard by Catholics and people of goodwill, he said. We are thankful to our partner organizations who took up the holy work of hospitality, dedicating their time and resources to ensure that every migrant did not feel alone and abandoned. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg called for an investigation into the latest incident in a Saturday statement. Human trafficking is not only despicable; it's a felony. Whoever is behind this must answer the following: Is there anything more cruel than using scared human beings to score cheap political points? he said. Steinbergs statement made clear that the city will continue to be a welcoming place for disadvantaged people like the 16 migrants who arrived there Friday. Sacramento represents the best of American values, he said. We always welcome 'the tired, the poor and the huddled masses,' and we always will. Times staff writer Lila Seidman contributed to this story. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Kim Yo-jong makes a speech during a national meeting on anti-epidemic measures held in Pyongyang, Aug. 10, 2022. Yonhap North Korea denounced the U.N. Security Council for holding a meeting on its recent satellite launch upon "robbery demands" from the U.S., vowing to continue rejecting sanctions and taking "self-defensive" action, state media KCNA said on Sunday. The U.S. called for a UNSC meeting last week to discuss North Korea's attempt to put its first spy satellite in orbit, which ended in failure with the booster and payload plunging into the sea. Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and a powerful ruling party official, said the meeting was another sign that the council served as a U.S. "political appendage" by accepting Washington's "robbery demands" to ignore the country's right to space development. "I am very offended that the UNSC routinely criticises our exercise of sovereign rights as the United States wants, and strongly condemn and reject this as the most unfair, prejudiced act of interfering in internal affairs and infringing our sovereignty," Kim said in a statement carried by KCNA. She said the satellite launch was a "legitimate, self-defensive countermeasure" against increasing threats from the U.S. and its allies, which Pyongyang have accused of rekindling tension with their annual springtime military drills. NEW YORK (AP) In his first week on the campaign trail as a presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis repeatedly hit his chief rival, Donald Trump, from the right. This is a different guy than 2015, 2016, DeSantis told a conservative radio host before slamming the bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation Trump championed as basically a jailbreak bill" that allowed dangerous people out of prison. He also accused Trump of turning the reins over" to Dr. Anthony Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Trump had endorsed and tried to ram" an amnesty" bill through Congress and vowed that unlike the former president he would finish building the U.S.-Mexico border wall. In Iowa on Saturday, he hit back at Trump for saying he didn't like the term woke because people have a hard time defining it. Woke is an existential threat to our society, DeSantis said. "To say its not a big deal, that just shows you dont understand what a lot of these issues are right now. Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly attacked DeSantis from the left. He has suggested that even anti-abortion activists consider Florida's new six-week abortion ban too harsh and argued that DeSantis has made himself unelectable on a national level with his votes as a congressman to cut Social Security and Medicare even though Trumps proposed budgets also repeatedly called for major entitlement cuts. The attacks underscore the underlying early dynamic of the race: As DeSantis tries to win over GOP primary voters and chip away at Trump's commanding early lead, Trump is already pivoting to a general election matchup against President Joe Biden. In the meantime, Trump has been pushing back against DeSantis' argument that the Florida governor, not the former president, is the more viable general election candidate. "Dont forget, we have to win elections, Trump stressed during a Fox News Channel town hall on Thursday as he discussed abortion politics. To be clear, Trump has also leaned in on other right-wing causes. This week, he revived his pledge to end birthright citizenship, saying he would sign an executive order on the first day of his second term to change the long-settled interpretation of the 14th Amendment. He also renewed his pledge to use the U.S. military to attack foreign drug cartels and has pushed the death penalty for drug dealers. But DeSantis' efforts to out-Trump Trump have raised eyebrows among some observers who question his tactics. I do not think its a smart strategy," said Sarah Longwell, an anti-Trump Republican political strategist whose firm has been leading weekly focus groups with GOP voters where DeSantis appeal has been fading. Longwell said she had expected DeSantis to tailor his pitch to the slice of the Republican electorate that wants to move on from Trump. You can't out-MAGA Trump, she said, referring to Trump's Make America Great Again" political movement. DeSantis, she argued, should be working to consolidate the Move on from Trump'-ers and move into the Maybe Trump'-ers, and instead hes tried to wrestle Trump for the Always Trump'-ers." DeSantis allies argue the governor has been responding to what they see as Trump's attacks from the left and highlighting his stances on issues they believe will resonate with Republican primary voters, particularly abortion and DeSantis' PR war with Disney. An official from Never Back Down, a pro-DeSantis super PAC handling much of his political operation, said DeSantis' strategy is being informed by what the group's canvassers have been picking up from voters in recent weeks. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss messaging strategy, said voters have voiced confusion about Trump's attacks and have responded especially well to portrayals of DeSantis as a fighter who refuses to back down. The group ran a digital ad this week highlighting Trump's comment on abortion that was geotargeted to areas Trump was visiting in Iowa. It is also exploring messaging that will accuse Trump of being too cozy with major corporations during his time in the White House. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung slammed DeSantis insinuations and accused him of ripping off Trump's ideas. Ron DeSantis has tried to steal every single one of President Trumps Agenda47 policy platforms. He is a fraudster and masquerading as someone who knows what hes talking about, he said. DeSantis, in his early campaign stops, has also tried to paint himself as a disciplined executive who will make good on his promises, implying Trump had not. When I tell you Im going to do something, I dont just say that because I think that may be what you want to hear, then get into office and forget all the promises I made, he said in Lexington, South Carolina. Longwell said her research had consistently found that on-the-fence voters are willing to put aside concerns about Trump's temperament because they feel he was so effective in office, raising questions about DeSantis' strategy. They dont like his mouth, they dont like his tweets, they don't like his character. But they like what he did as president, she said. Trump, meanwhile, has made clear he is looking toward next year's general election. In Grimes, Iowa, on Thursday, Trump received a pointed question from a woman who claimed that we have lost people because you supported the jab," a reference to conspiracies about mRNA vaccines, which have been credited with saving millions of lives. While Trump did not dismiss her suggestion and stressed that he was never in favor of mandates he explained that there's a big portion of the country that thinks that was a great thing, you understand that. Not a lot of the people in this room, but there is a big portion. During the Fox News town hall later that day, Trump said only stupid people could suggest they had done more than him on abortion given that he picked some of the conservative Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. But he also continued to criticize conservative Republican midterm candidates who did not support exceptions, including when the life of the mother is at risk, a position in line with the majority of voters. A recent memo to donors from Trump super PAC pollster Tony Fabrizio, first reported by Axios, made the case that DeSantis is vulnerable among swing state voters in a general election on issues including cuts to Social Security and Medicare, book bans in schools, Florida's ban on abortions at six weeks before most women know they are pregnant and his fight with Disney. Voters, meanwhile, have mixed views about the escalating feud. Heidi Lillibridge, a 51-year-old farmer and Republican activist from Vinton, Iowa, worries that Democrats will benefit from the two leading GOP candidates criticizing each other. She is particularly frustrated by DeSantis' early attacks. Criticizing President Trumps conservative credentials, when we all know how he acted as president and what he got accomplished, I dont really know why he would do that, she said. Darcy Cowart, who saw DeSantis speak outside a bar and restaurant in Bluffton, South Carolina, said that while she had previously backed Trump, she was glad to see a large field with other options. Hes not going to change, and he just has this bully mentality. He just wont give in on it," she said. I know he fights for us, and I know that he does some good things, but at the same time, its like having this obnoxious relative thats always got to be at the dinner table, that you dread being around." ___ Associated Press writers Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, and Meg Kinnard in Bluffton, S.C., contributed this report. ___ This story has been corrected to show the surname of the Trump spokesperson is Cheung, not Chueng. The latest exhibit at Fresnos Chaffee Zoo is a grand showcase; a logistical, and theatrical, feat that CEO Jon Forrest Dohlin believes is central to guests understanding, not just of the animals of southeast Asia which it features, but also to the zoos approach to business. Dohlin oversaw a ribbon-cutting Saturday morning, officially welcoming guests into the Kingdoms of Asia, through an entrance designed with the help of cultural advisory committee. It was built to look like stonework ruins with a giant carved face and snakes, and two tiger statues guarding the scene and based on the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia. The theme carries throughout the exhibit. Beyond the gate, Penari, one of two Malayan tigers on exhibit, lurked through its enclosure, partially camouflaged among the foliage. A sloth bear noisily shook and pawed at large faux rock, designed for just that purpose. Thats a classic bear move, right there, said Nicole Presley, the zoos general curator. A sloth bear gets used to its expansive exhibit inside the new Kingdoms of Asia section of the Fresno Chaffee Zoo that opened to the public Saturday, June 3, 2023. This is the zoos first major project since opening its African Adventure exhibit in 2015 and much like that project, the habitats in Kingdoms of Asia are designed not only to be larger and more accessible to public viewing think plenty of windows and viewing platforms but also allow animals to interact with the environments much as they would in the wild. The sloth bear exhibit, for example, is 12,000 square feet, 10 times the size of its original enclosure, and features artificial termite mounds and hidden toys. The two tiger enclosures the animals are solitary and kept separated have rock and water features, including a pool surrounded by glass (tigers love to swim). There are also natural trees and logs where the animals can sharpen their claws. Along with the tigers and sloth bear, the new exhibit houses small-clawed otters (cute!), a komodo dragon, sunda gharial fresh water crocodile, and the siamang and Sumatran orangutan enclosure, which was updated to include glass in the viewing platform. There are also river turtles and full aviary full of songbird species. Presley calls the animals here ambassadors for their wildlife counterparts. Many of the species are endangered or under threat and the zoos included conservation messaging throughout the exhibit. In particular, the orangutan enclosure has information on the dangers of palm oil, which has led to massive deforestation and is in a massive amount of consumer products. A Malayan tiger yawns as guests get a close look through the glass viewing area of its exhibit inside the new Kingdoms of Asia section of the Fresno Chaffee Zoo that opened to the public on Saturday, June 3, 2023. The Longek Marketplace Within the exhibit, guests can enjoy food at The Longek Marketplace. This is quick bite, almost street-food fare, designed to be eaten on the go, though there are shaded tables available for those needing a rest. The menu here includes Asian-inspired skewers steak, pork and a breaded chicken along with eggs rolls and an Asian-inspired take on loaded tater tots. The zoo says it is also working with local restaurants to create rotating menu specials. That should debut over the next couple of months. This will be very popular The zoo expected more than 5,000 guests pass through on opening day and by mid-morning the walkways were full, if not quite packed, with parents and children crowding the more popular enclosures. Currently, capacity is being limited with guests allowed in at timed intervals throughout the day. Those wanting to see the exhibit will be given an entrance time on their ticket, though they should arrive early, to deal with parking and the like, Dohlin said. That process will likely continue through the summer. We expect this will be very popular, he said. Stone faces and snakes patterned after the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia greet visitors at the new Kingdoms of Asia exhibit at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo with expansive new exhibits for Malayan tigers, Komodo dragons, sloth bears, Asian songbirds, and more. A Southeast Asian motif extends along the exhibits at the new Kingdoms of Asia section of the Fresno Chaffee Zoo which officially opened to the public on Saturday, June 3, 2023. A sunda gharial settles in the watery depths of its exhibit as visitors get a close look through the glass wall of the enclosure inside the new Kingdoms of Asia section of the Fresno Chaffee Zoo that opened to the public on Saturday, June 3, 2023. A Komodo dragon rests up against the glass in its exhibit inside the new Kingdoms of Asia section of the Fresno Chaffee Zoo that opened to the public on Saturday, June 3, 2023. A Southeast Asian motif extends along the exhibits at the new Kingdoms of Asia section of the Fresno Chaffee Zoo which officially opened to the public on Saturday, June 3, 2023. Guests get a close look through the glass at an orangutan in its exhibit inside the new Kingdoms of Asia section of the Fresno Chaffee Zoo that opened to the public on Saturday, June 3, 2023. Guests get a close look through the glass at an orangutan in its exhibit inside the new Kingdoms of Asia section of the Fresno Chaffee Zoo that opened to the public on Saturday, June 3, 2023. A Southeast Asian motif with stone tree roots and Angkor Wat-style tempe ruins extend along the exhibits at the new Kingdoms of Asia section of the Fresno Chaffee Zoo that officially opened to the public on Saturday, June 3, 2023. A small-clawed otter emerges from the pool of its enclosure inside the new Kingdoms of Asia section of the Fresno Chaffee Zoo that opened to the public on Saturday, June 3, 2023. MOSCOW (AP) Russian Orthodox believers celebrated Trinity Sunday with Russia's most famous icon transferred from a museum to Moscow's main cathedral despite the keepers' vociferous protests. The Trinity icon by Andrei Rublev, which was kept in Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery since the 1920s, was moved to Christ the Savior Cathedral before the holiday on President Vladimir Putin's personal order. Putin's abrupt decision to hand over the 15th-century icon to the church came despite a strong opposition from the Tretyakov keepers, who warned that the icon was too fragile to move and requires constant care to avoid a drastic deterioraton in its condition. Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill responded by dismissing a senior priest who sided with the museum keepers in advising to keep the icon at the Tretyakov Gallery. Kirill led a liturgy in the cathedral on Sunday, which was attended by hundreds of believers, including some officials. The controversy over the icon continued to swirl on Saturday, when Kirill declared that it would remain in the cathedral for a year, while the Culture Ministry and the Tretyakov Gallery both said that they expect the icon back after two weeks. In July 2022, the Tretyakov Gallery loaned the icon to the Russian Orthodox Church for several days to be displayed at the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius monastery in Sergiev Posad where it was originally kept. The museum later said it found 61 negative changes in its condition after its return. Observers saw Putin's order to transfer the icon to the cathedral despite strong protests from museum workers as a reflection of his desire to strengthen ties with the church, which has strongly supported the Russian military campaign in Ukraine. Some also interpreted the move as a sign of Putin's apparent belief in the icon's miraculous power amid the setbacks in the fighting in Ukraine. MOSCOW (AP) Alexei Navalny voiced hope for a better future in Russia as his supporters held pickets and demonstrations to mark the imprisoned opposition leader's 47th birthday on Sunday. Navalny is serving a nine-year sentence for fraud and contempt of court, charges he says were trumped up to punish him for his work to expose official corruption and organizing anti-Kremlin protests. He is facing a new trial on extremism charges that could keep him in prison for decades. Kremlin critics view the case as another Russian government attempt to isolate President Vladimir Putin's most prominent foe. Navalnys associates called for demonstrations to show support for him in Russia and abroad on Sunday. Risking their own prison terms, some Navalny supporters in Russia marked his birthday by holding individual pickets, while others painted graffiti. Police quickly detained many for questioning. Police beefed up their presence in downtown Moscow and moved quickly to round up those who tried to stage individual pickets on Pushkin Square and elsewhere in the capital. One man managed to throw around leaflets before being whisked away. A woman holding a small black balloon with the words Happy Birthday! who was clad in a hoody with You aren't alone written on it was among those detained. She asked officers why they were detaining her, but they didn't answer. Navalny's supporters also showed up in St. Petersburg and other Russian cities, holding one-person pickets and leaving signs and graffiti in Navalny's support. Many were detained. Pro-Navalny demonstrations were held in several European cities. Navalny said in a social media post released by his allies that he would obviously prefer to spend his birthday with a family breakfast, kisses from his children and gifts, but life is such that social progress and a better future can only be achieved if a certain number of people are willing to pay for the right to have beliefs." The more there are such people, the smaller the price each has to pay, he said. And a day will certainly come when it will be routine and not dangerous at all to tell the truth and stand for justice in Russia. Navalny was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after he recuperated in Germany from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. He initially received a 2-year prison sentence for a parole violation. Last year, he was sentenced to nine years for fraud and contempt of court. He is currently serving time at a maximum-security prison 250 kilometers (150 miles) east of Moscow. The extremism charges against Navalny, which could keep him in prison for 30 years, relate to the activities of his anti-corruption foundation and statements by his top associates. His allies said the charges retroactively criminalize all the activities of Navalnys foundation since its creation in 2011. The new accusations come as Russian authorities are conducting an intensified crackdown on dissent amid the fighting in Ukraine, which Navalny has harshly criticized. A Moscow court scheduled a preliminary hearing Tuesday to discuss technical issues related to a new trial of Navalny, rejecting a request by his lawyers for more time to examine voluminous new charges that he rejected as absurd. Navalny also has cited an investigator telling him that he also would face a separate military court trial on terrorism charges that potentially carry a life sentence. He said in a social media post Sunday that he sees his prison term just as an unpleasant part of my favorite job and thanked his supporters. My plan for the previous year was not to grow brutal and embittered and not to lose the nonchalance of behavior this is where defeat begins, he wrote. And if I succeeded, it was only thanks to your support. Swahili is the third most-spoken language in Lexington, behind English and Spanish, and Lexingtons Swahili-speaking community gathered Saturday to celebrate their language and the cultures it represents. Elisha Mutayongwa, who leads Lexingtons Marafiki Center, which organized the event, said Saturday was a dream come true. This has been a long time coming, he said. Swahili Day, held on the campus of Bluegrass Community and Technical College on Newtown Pike, offered a lineup of music, dancing, fashion and more. Vendors representing 10 nations sold food, clothing and other wares. Some, Mutayongwa said, operate small businesses out of their garages or the trunks of their cars. Like its sponsor, the Marafiki Center, Mutayongwa said Swahili Day was a space where everybody can feel that they belong. The Marafiki Center seeks to represent and support the growing Swahili-speaking community in Fayette County. The center offers Swahili language classes for children and adults, a camp for children whose parents have immigrated from Africa, a youth conference for young immigrants trying to navigate a new culture and other outreach programs. Attendees played an African board game at Swahili Day in Lexington, Ky., on June 3, 2023. Karla Ward/kward1@herald-leader.com Swahili is not simply about language, Pablo George Emedi told those gathered. Swahilis about people. He said Saturdays event was an opportunity to get back to our roots. Emedi said the visibility offered by Swahili Day, which he said was the largest public event of its kind in Lexington so far, is important. Promoting Swahili as such has not really been done, he said. Through the Swahili-speaking community, were promoting the larger African community, ... affirming our contribution to the cultural diversity, affirming the cultural capital that we bring to the community. Vice Mayor Dan Wu presented a proclamation at the event marking June 3 as Swahili Day in Lexington. Swahili is just one of almost 200 languages spoken in Lexington, he said, and this diversity is our greatest strength. Many of the Swahili speakers at Saturdays celebration said they came to Lexington from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. From 2017 to 2021, 5,649 people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo resettled in Kentucky, including 1,114 in Lexington, according to the Kentucky Office for Refugees. Among Kentucky arrivals, more people were resettled from the DRC than any other nation during that time period, according to the office. During that same four-year span, 611 Swahili-speakers arrived in Lexington, according to the office, which coordinates services for refugees. Pacific Mutayongwa, one of Elisha Mutayongwas six brothers, came to Lexington in 2012 after their family left the DRC. He remembers a time when he owned just one shirt. Saturday, he had set up a table of the dapper mens accessories he sells through his online business, MutaMensWear.com, which he said offers a classic look at more affordable prices. I just love dressing, he said. When I came here, I had the opportunity to afford more. He said Swahili Day was a special time. Seeing something like this is very beautiful, Pacific Mutayongwa said. He gestured to a nearby table laden with African masks and antique ceremonial figures. Some of the things, we havent seen for years, he said. Its really nice. The masks and sculptures Mutayongwa referred to were brought by Dieudonne Makonga, who is also from the DRC. Makonga said through a translator, his daughter Aisha Makonga, that he had brought the artifacts to Swahili Day not necessarily to sell, but because he wanted people to learn from them about the cultures they represent. There were carved figures from Sudan, DRC, Mozambique and Tanzania in his collection. Everything thats here is a story, he said. Food vendors were part of the festivities at Swahili Day in Lexington, Ky., June 3, 2023. Karla Ward/kward1@herald-leader.com CHICAGO After demand for Taylor Swifts Eras Tour overwhelmed Ticketmasters system, fans across the country who were left empty-handed gathered here at the next best place. At a park outside Soldier Field, where Swift was performing, hundreds of fans came together Friday to create their own concert experience. The sold-out tour has packed venues night after night and broken attendance records at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. A disastrous Ticketmaster presale last year left fans frustrated and desperate, and tickets now sell for thousands above face value, and prices have only increased since opening night in March. With tickets out of the question for many, fans have gotten creative. As one fan was overheard saying to a friend, you just cant stop Swifties. Samantha Funk, 28, spent her Friday night outside Soldier Field in Chicago to listen to Taylor Swift's concert, share friendship bracelets and dance. (Akilah Townsend for NBC News) Akilah Townsend for NBC News Jane Kennedy, 8, was on a "Taylor Swift playdate" Friday night with her friend Estelle Bohn, 7, who is also a Swiftie. The girls were decked out in colorful sequins, waiting for Swift to start the show with their moms, who were old school Taylor Swift fans. "We tried and tried and tried to get tickets, and earlier this week my husband said, 'You know it's going to be a once in a lifetime atmosphere,'" Kelly Kennedy, 40, said. "You can't be inside but maybe you can go sit outside and still be part of the experience." Akilah Townsend for NBC News Kennedy and Kristen Bohn (Estelle's mom), said that Swift's celebrity has manifested something positive beyond the music: a community for their daughters to feel part of. Older fans have been "so friendly," introducing themselves to the two girls and even making friendship bracelets with them, a nod to a lyric from Swift's "You're on Your Own, Kid." "They won't remember, I think, when they grow up if they were inside or outside," Bohn, 46, said. Akilah Townsend for NBC News The fan connection is part of the hype As the tour began playing outdoor stadiums, fans encouraged one another to come join them just beyond the gates, bringing thousands together in cities like Tampa, Florida, Philadelphia and Nashville. In videos on TikTok, people have shared positive experiences that ensure a growing crowd in the city on subsequent nights. Whereas some of Swift's venues have tried to discourage the ticketless crowds due to location limitations, Soldier Field is uniquely placed by a public park, where the concert audio is still surprisingly clear. From the steps of the Field Museum to the fence outside the stadium, there was a sea of glitter, sequins and friendship bracelets as people trickled in Friday night. The moment Swift stepped onstage was obvious even from the outside as fans screamed in unison to the sound of "Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince." Adriana Vermazen, right, drove 3 hours to celebrate her 28th birthday in the park outside Soldier Field. She handmade a replica of Swift's costume from the Akilah Townsend for NBC News Marisa Payne, a non-Swiftie, showed up only to hang out with her friend and die-hard fan Maddie Jordan. But she also admitted she wanted to see "what the hype was about" after seeing so many TikToks of fans preparing for the tour, whether they had tickets or not. Payne compared the night to ones she spent outside Chicago Bears games, calling the Swiftie crowd "way more enjoyable." "I almost cried on the way over here," Payne said. "I was so overwhelmed. I got up the Red Line and it was like hundreds of girls in sequins and pastels. Everyone looked great. But I think because of how friendly everyone is ... the energy is just so unmatched." From left, Malorie Hulse, 24; Alexis Middleton, 24; Marisa Payne, 27; and Maddie Jordan, 27. (Akilah Townsend for NBC News) Jordan, who drove seven hours to see Swift in Nashville, said Swift is probably the only person she'd go to such lengths for. She also suspects Swift is one of the few artists who could bring people together in such droves. "Because she is so vulnerable, her fans can't help but feel connected in a way," Jordan said. 'The girlhood community is thriving' Just a few feet from the stadium fence, Samantha Funk and Katelyn Worrell, both 28, were exchanging bracelets and making new friends. Halfway through the night, they were dancing and taking pictures with the group on their left, people theyd met that night, as they yelled out the lyrics to hits like Delicate and Look What You Made Me Do. Akilah Townsend for NBC News Akilah Townsend for NBC News One of those strangers was Lindsay Perrin, 35, who drove four hours from Indianapolis by herself "just to be part of this." She first saw the crowds gathered outside the concert she attended in Nashville and has decided to Taylgate for Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit and Minneapolis. "The energy is just unmatched," Perrin said. "When everybody stood when 'Fearless' came on, it was so exciting ... it's just like, everybody is so excited to be here." Akilah Townsend for NBC News Worrell, who has not been able to get tickets to any show so far, described the environment in the park as magical. She is a newer fan of Swift, but the connection shes experiencing toward others has made her feel that everyone is one in the same. Im like a little baby into Taylor Nation but especially with this tour, its so cheesy, but like the girlhood community is thriving right now, Worrell said. Having tickets to a show or not is irrelevant for Taylgaters, because even those who saw Swift onstage want to be part of the outside crowd. Samantha Funk, 28, and Katelyn Worrell, 28. (Akilah Townsend for NBC News) Funk, who got a ticket with other friends to Swifts opening night in Arizona, said it didnt matter what kind of seat you have. All of the same fans who are inside the stadium creating the type of show worth being at are the ones creating the Taylgating crowds, she explained. Taylor said at the opening night show how her songs are essentially like an autopsy of everything thats ever happened in her life, Funk said. And the fact that shes always been so open to that is is why everyone is out here. Its because everyone can feel some sort of like connection to her experience. Ukrainian military helicopters during military drills in the north of Ukraine KYIV (Reuters) - The Ukrainian military on Sunday renewed its plea for operational silence around a long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian forces, the latest in a stream of messages by Kyiv as it prepares for the assault. Anticipation has mounted around what is expected to be a broad attack by Ukrainian forces to retake Russian-occupied territory in the east and south. But Ukrainian officials have repeatedly discouraged public speculation over the operation, saying it could help the enemy. Authorities in recent days have also cracked down on citizens sharing images or footage of air defence systems shooting down Russian missiles. "Plans love silence. There will be no announcement of the start," the ministry said in a video posted to official Telegram channels, apparently referring to the counteroffensive. The sleekly-produced footage featured masked and well-armed front-line troops holding their fingers against their lips, gesturing for silence amid the distant rumble of artillery and gunfire. It ended with images of soaring F-16 fighter jets - long coveted by Kyiv as it seeks to boost its air defence against Russian missiles and drones. Kyiv's Western allies in recent months have provided weapons, armour and ammunition for the counteroffensive, which military experts have said could prove difficult against dug-in Russian forces. In an interview published on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv was prepared for the operation but avoided making any predictions. "To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different," he told the Wall Street Journal. "But we are going to do it, and we are ready." Other senior officials, including Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, have similarly sought to tamp down expectations. In some cases, however, the military has also fed the anticipation. Social media outreach by Kyiv has often been intended to intimidate the Kremlin. Last week, it posted a flashy video depicting troops preparing for battle and reciting a rousing blessing, which was later aired as a recruiting clip. (Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise) CAIRO (AP) Saudi Arabia and the United States urged Sudans warring parties Sunday to agree to and effectively implement a new cease-fire as fighting showed no signs of abating in the northeastern African nation. Sudan descended into chaos after fighting broke out in mid-April between the military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. For weeks, Saudi Arabia and the United States have been mediating between the warring parties. On May 21, both countries successfully brokered a temporary cease-fire agreement to help with the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the war-torn country. Their efforts, however, were dealt a blow when the military announced on Wednesday it would no longer participate in the cease-fire talks held in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah. Following the militarys decision, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia said they were suspending the talks as a result of repeated serious violations of the short-term cease-fire." President Joe Bidens administration imposed sanctions against key Sudanese defense companies run by the military and the RSF and people who perpetuate violence in Sudan. In their statement on Sunday, Washington and Riyad said they continued to engage representatives of the military and the RSF who remained in Jeddah. They urged the Sudanese warring sides to agree to and implement a new cease-fire following the latest one which expired late Saturday. The aim is to eventually establish a permanent cessation of hostilities in the war-wrecked country, they said. The statement said the discussions focused on facilitating humanitarian assistance" and reaching an agreement on "near-term steps the parties must take before resuming the talks. The fighting has turned the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into battlefields, resulting in widespread looting and destruction of residential areas across the country. The conflict has also displaced more than 1.65 million people who fled to safer areas in Sudan and neighboring countries. Aid groups offices and warehouses, health care facilities and other civilian infrastructure have been attacked and looted, including most recently the warehouses of the World Food Program in the city of Obeid in North Kordofan on Jan. 1. There have been reports of sexual violence, including the rape of women and girls in Khartoum and the western Darfur region, which have seen some of the worst fighting in the conflict. Almost all reported cases of sexual attacks were blamed on the RSF, which didnt respond to repeated requests for comment. Residents reported intense fighting over the past two days in Khartoum and its neighboring cities of Omdurman and Bahri. Shelling and gunfire were heard early Sunday in parts of Omdurman, as the militarys aircraft bombed RSF positions in the capital area. Fighting was also reported in the northern part of the Darfur region, which has witnessed some of the worst battles since the fighting began on April 15. The clashes intensified between the military and the RSF in the town of Kutum in North Darfur province. Residents reported that the towns market, many houses, and a camp for displaced people were burned down. There were reports of dozens of casualties among civilians. Darfur Gov. Mini Arko Minawi said on Twitter on Sunday that Kutum residents have experienced terrible violations including killings and looting. Minawi, a rebel leader who was named governor of the western region as part of a 2020 peace deal, declared Darfur a disaster area." He urged the international community to send humanitarian assistance by all available means to save people in the stricken region. Assads arrival in Jeddah was no tepid entry. Syrias re-entry into the Arab League in Jeddah after a 12-year expulsion has some angles which are yet to be explored. For instance, the presence of Ukraines Volodymyr Zelenskyy making an appearance in Jeddah was ironical, being a classical American protege. Arab leaders, accustomed to US hegemony, switched in Jeddah as they are convinced of Americas decline. Syria is the beneficiary. After 20 years of occupying Afghanistan, 10 years of total control of Iraq, Americans came a cropper in a most humiliating fashion. How then did they dream up a scenario that they would be able to bring about a regime change in Damascus, by mobilising regional Arab countries to embark on cross-border terrorism? The other name for such action is proxy war, that has not yet bruised Russian President Vladimir Putin. As Ukraine is being destroyed, so were the ancient Biblical sites of Syria. But Western failure in weakening the regime was manifest in several episodes. For example, take the grilling Gen. Lloyd Austin was subjected to by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for having botched up a $500 million project to train moderate militants who would be set upon Bashar al-Assads forces. What happened was something of a tragi-comedy. After having received rigorous training plus expensive weaponry, the soldiers for the Free World vamoosed in the cover of darkness along with the weapons and ammunition. Intelligence agencies tracked the treacherous trainees in the ranks of Jabal al Nusra, which represented militant Islam. The officer in charge of the training was Gen. Austin, now US defence secretary. At the Senate hearings, Gen. Austin was asked: How many of the militants trained by us are still fighting for our cause? Gen. Austin was tongue-tied. After a long pause, he said: Four or five. Ashton Carter, Barack Obamas defence secretary, was in tears, all in front of the cameras. The moral that Mr Zelenskyy should grasp is this: Well-entrenched regimes cant be toppled by proxy wars and Vladimir Putin is several times more powerful than Assad. The other major lesson for Kyiv is the change of heart in the Arab world. Assads arrival in Jeddah was no tepid entry. Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has obviously concluded that efforts to dethrone Assad have failed. Russias intervention in Syria was, in its audacity, comparable to their taking control of Pristina airport a little ahead of Nato in 1999. A clash was prevented and Pristina airport became a unique venue where Russia and Nato co-exist since 1999. Gen. Wesley Clark, the Nato commander, was determined to reverse the situation at the airport. His deputy, Britains Mike Jackson, refused to obey him. I am not going to start World War III for you. Gen. Clarks almost uncontainable anger and determination to teach the Russians a lesson was, to my mind, the earliest military demonstration of the sole superpower mindset. So complicated did this episode in Kosovo become that secretary of state Madeline Albright persuaded her policy planning chief Morton Halperin to launch a major study of Kosovos recent history. Halperin invited his scholar friend from Princeton, Richard Ullman, to lead the study. The point to note is that the Russians refused to back down even as the sole superpower proclaimed its arrival. Nato had already been brought into play in 1995, Serbian excesses against Kosovos Muslims had increased. But thats another story. Southern Slavic ethnic links between Serbs and Russians as well as their Orthodox Church affiliation have been factored into Mr Zelenskyys retaliatory moves. For instance, he ordered Orthodox priests to leave the centuries-old Kyiv church compound. The accusation was that these priests and worshippers have links with churches in Moscow. This is a sensitive matter. The Balkans may be the turf where the Ukraine war will be pushed by Mr Zelenskyy. Since it is presumed that Mr Zelenskyy is still being directed by the US, could he, in desperation, unilaterally push the fighting outside Ukraine, possibly even into the Balkans. My guess is that President Joe Biden is so preoccupied with internal crises that he wont have the attention span to improvise on Ukraine, particularly as the script so far has gone woefully against all the media boast and bluster. But Mr Zelenskyy should know that the entire Arab World has switched away from the US camp for a very simple reason. Whatever residual hope there was of US hegemony surviving has evaporated with leaders like Emmanuel Macron moving ahead on a world order without any Western dominance. Arabs, Africans, Latin Americans, even South Asians, all have seen a multipolar world swim into their ken. This explains the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement, or Syrias return to the Arab League. After President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was re-elected to a new term in Turkey, an Ankara-Damascus rapprochement is also on the cards. The rapidity with which events have loosened American control almost everywhere, except presumably the UK, takes my breath away. In this last case, it is always difficult to find who is controlling whom. Is the experience of the Empire and exhausted imperialism in competition? Let me place myself in Assads most elegant adviser Bouthaina Shaabans office in the presidential palace. I have seen US ambassador Stephen Ford and the French ambassador join dissident groups in Homs, Hama and Dera. Dont you have any rules for diplomats? I asked. Bouthainas response was astonishing. Just shows how penetrated we are. That was 12 years ago. A former US ambassador in West Asia, Ed Peck, said something which I am tempted to repeat. I have been dismayed by the accolades and support given to Ambassador Ford, our man in -- and now out of Syria, for stepping well out of the traditional and appropriate role of a diplomat and actively encouraging the revolt/insurrection/sectarian strife/outside meddling. U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Sung Y. Kim delivers his speech during the trilateral meeting on North Korea with South Korea Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Kim Gunn and Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director-General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Funakoshi Takehiro at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Dec. 13 2022. EPA-Yonhap The top U.S. nuclear envoy has stressed the need to make North Korea realize its escalation of tensions will have "consequences," while warning any nuclear attack against South Korea will be met with a "swift, overwhelming and decisive" response. In a recent exclusive written interview with Yonhap News Agency, Ambassador Sung Kim made the remarks, as tensions have flared anew with Pyongyang's botched launch of a space rocket last week. "It's important to make clear to the DPRK that its escalatory behavior has consequences," he said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "The DPRK must also understand that the only viable path forward is through diplomacy." Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have shown no signs of abating as the recalcitrant regime has hardened its rhetoric against the South and the United States, and conducted a series of weapons tests this year, including those on "underwater nuclear attack drones" and a new intercontinental ballistic missile. Kim portrayed the situation as "very challenging." "The DPRK has increasingly engaged in threatening and irresponsible rhetoric, including by characterizing some of its missile launches and other military activities as trial runs for the use of tactical nuclear weapons," he said. "We continue to consult closely with the Republic of Korea (ROK), Japan, and other allies and partners about how to best engage the DPRK, deter aggression and coordinate international responses to the DPRK's violations of multiple UN Security Council resolutions," he added. The North's drive to possess menacing weapons systems, including the recently unveiled Hwasan-31 tactical nuclear warhead, has further fanned security fears among South Koreans, despite the stepped-up efforts by the allies to strengthen extended deterrence, which refers to the U.S.' commitment to use the full range of its military capabilities to defend its ally. Commenting on the public's concerns, the ambassador reiterated the U.S. commitment to South Korea remains "ironclad." This photo, provided by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on June 1, shows the launch of the North's new "Chollima-1" rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite, "Malligyong-1," from Tongchang-ri on the North's west coast the previous day. Yonhap Asia's oldest cardinal yesterday celebrated the anniversary of his episcopal ordination at the Baan Phu Wan pastoral centre on 3 June 1973. At the age of 94, he looks back at his life and service to the Church in the Thai capital in a long interview. He is hopeful about the countrys future. While we may profess different religions, let us recognise ourselves as brothers and sisters in the same society. Bangkok (AsiaNews) The Catholic Church in Thailand yesterday celebrated the 50th anniversary of the episcopate of Cardinal Michael Michai Kitbunchu, 94, archbishop emeritus of the capital, with a solemn celebration held at the Baan Phu Waan, the great pastoral centre of the archdiocese of Bangkok, which he had built and where he still lives. Card Kitbunchu was ordained on 3 June 1973 after Pope Paul VI called him to replace Archbishop Joseph Kiamsun Nittayo. Ten years later, on 2 February 1983, Pope John Paul II made him Thailands first cardinal. He remains the most senior Asian cardinal in the College of Cardinals. After leading the Archdiocese of Bangkok for 36 years, accompanying the growth of the local Church along with that of the great metropolis, Card Kitbunchu became archbishop emeritus in 2009 when he was replaced by Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij, a priest who grew up with Kitbunchu in the archdiocese and whom he ordained as bishop of Nakhon Sawan before being called to lead the Church in the Thai capital and become cardinal himself in 2015. Despite his advanced age, the elderly Thai cardinal remains a vital presence much loved by the local Catholic community, as yesterday's celebration testified. All his liveliness clearly emerged during the long interview Card Kitbunchu gave about his life to a Thai internet site on the occasion of this fiftieth anniversary. In it, the cardinal mentions, first of all, his origins, in an ethnic Chinese family. "Michai is the name I was baptised in, he explained, but I also had a Chinese name, Hua Xiang. My grandfather arrived from China about a hundred years ago and settled in Samphran, where he married a Thai woman. They were farmers." In the interview he talks about his vocation, his entry into the seminary at the age of 11, his theological studies in the Rome of Pius XII and John XXIIII where he was ordained a priest in 1959, the first years of his ministry, visiting very small Christian communities scattered in some villages outside the city. Talking about his long episcopal ministry, he says that he wanted to be simply an instrument in God's hands to preach the Good News of the Gospel to everyone. He notes his commitment to building schools and quality health services open to everyone, without religious distinctions. He also cites his great surprise at his appointment as cardinal in 1983. It was a shock, I would never have imagined it. I asked the nuncio for time to think about it. But he replied: It is an order from the pope, you must accept it. It was during a private meeting with John Paul II that, when asked by the pope to tell him about Thailand, Kitbunchu replied almost instinctively: "Why don't you come visit my home? And In May 1984 the pontiff made his first visit to Thailand. With respect to today's Bangkok he mentions the great changes that have taken place in these 50 years. Everything has changed: roads, cars, televisions, telephones ... I wonder, however, if we have not focused too much on material aspects and too little on the spirit and moral life." Yet, looking to the future, he expresses above all two great wishes for Thailand. May everyone be free to practise their faith. While we may profess different religions, let us recognise ourselves as brothers and sisters in the same society. Unity is the basis for living together. Because as we Christians say: Where there is love, there is God. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. I have just written about how BEV startups can be very different from each other, with only a few having any chance of survival. AEHRA is an Italian BEV startup that presented what seemed to be renderings of an SUV in November 2022. It also promised to show a sedan in February 2023. The first teasers of that vehicle emerged only in May, but the company got my attention with something more important: the promise of using a repairable battery pack. Photo: AEHRA BEV kWh SUV Photo: AEHRA Photo: AEHRA Photo: AEHRA According to AEHRA, it is creating an entirely new component with Miba Battery Systems, an Austrian company. The Italian startup said that "the development process will optimize battery sustainability and repairability, to ensure long life of both the battery unit and the vehicle." Unfortunately, that was all the Italian startup, and its supplier were willing to share about that. I have contacted both companies and have not heard from them so far.Although neither company has elaborated on what they mean, it is refreshing to hear that at least one enterprise knows how crucial this is. So far, most carmakers are deciding to offer new battery electric vehicles (BEVs) without explaining when their battery packs will need to be replaced or if they are repairable. They actually treat these components as if they would last as much as the vehicle, and we already know that this is not true. Whether by use or age, batteries will eventually die. With the current cell technology, that will happen before the motors or the body deteriorates.When that occurs, these customers will end up with a vehicle that could still drive if it was not for a massive component that costs around $20,000 to replace. Most used cars will not cost that much, which will make them disposable as soon as the battery packs fail. This is not a concern for newdrivers, which have warranty protection to shield them against any such issues. Used vehicle buyers are the ones who should beware. If most used cars in the future are BEVs, they will have fewer options left. That is why it would be interesting to hear what AEHRA thinks it can do to help if it ever sells a car.The Italian startup wants Miba Battery Systems to give its vehicles a 120-battery pack as the primary option. Only such a unit would provide the 800-kilometer (497-mile) range the startup promised its electricwould have. AEHRA also mentioned a 100-kWh component, which suggests it may have two battery pack options when (and if) its vehicles are put for sale. AEHRA previously said that would happen in 2025. When it showed the new images for its sedan, it said we should only see these BEVs in 2026.The Miba battery pack should have "a peak voltage at full charge of 925V with the capacity to charge at up to 350 kW." It should also have the FLEXcooler cooling system, which the Austrian company claims to be the most lightweight and efficient of such systems to be available today. Again, there is no explanation for those claims, which demands comparison to the state-of-the-art battery cooling system. Neither Miba nor AEHRA said which reference they used.The SUV was presented to a selected few in Milan on November 8, 2022. There is no information if it is a functioning prototype or just a mockup. Considering that the battery pack is still under development and that the production car will only arrive three years from now, a mockup is the most likely possibility. The sedan should be the first AEHRA product to have a public presentation: it will be displayed at the 2023 MIMO (Milano Monza Motor Show), which takes place from June 16 to June 18.For the Italian startup's battery pack to be repairable, it is probably divided into modules, with a pack that is easy to open and service. There are some significant difficulties with that, such as balancing the voltage between the modules, but Miba may have solved them or is about to do that. I'll ask the Austrian company if it is ever willing to share more details.That is the opposite direction of what all other BEV makers are doing. They are using cell-to-pack (CTP) or cell-to-body (CTB) building approaches with the goal of increasing energy density. In other words, if a battery pack gets rid of structural components, it can dedicate more space to cells and energy storage. CTB is even more radical: theoretically, the cells are integrated directly into the vehicle's body, eliminating the pack. If the cells fail, wave the BEV bye-bye.I hope AEHRA makes it to production. It would be a pity if the beautiful design created by Filippo Perini got restricted to renderings and prototypes, but it would also not be the first time, especially in the economic scenario the world currently faces. If that does not happen, AEHRA will already have made more for personal mobility than most other BEV startups by proposing a fundamental discussion, crucial to make electric cars powered by a battery pack be truly sustainable. Photo: Chevrolet / Ford / Toyota After going to dealerships across various regions since late 2021, the North American fifth-generation Ford Ranger (aka T6.2 or P703) finally reached its home in America during the early days of May 2023. That's almost two years later than European or Australasian models, but still faster than some of its biggest foes. Naturally, the Blue Oval company fully intended to release the all-new iteration just before Japanese automaker Toyota revealed the next-generation, best-selling Tacoma nameplate.And it was especially keen on securing the spotlight for its 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor, a first-ever arrival on the US market destined to fulfill a destiny of glory for the Raptor series alongside the Ford Bronco Raptor sibling and the bigger F-150 Raptor and Raptor R pickup truck brothers. When coming to America, the Range Raptor had just one objective in its sights: "to dominate the dirt ." And it will try to do so with the long-travel suspension, which includes a Watts link setup for the rear and "class-exclusive" 2.5-inch FOX Live Valve Internal Bypass shocks (coilovers up front and piggyback reservoirs at the rear).The flared fenders house 33-inch BFGoodrich all-terrain KO3 tires on 17-inch wheels or optional beadlock-capable wheels, underneath there's "serious underbody protection" made from steel, and inside the cabin, there are six "overhead upfitter switches mounted in the overhead console to simplify (the task of) powering off-road hardware," among others. Other highlights include a 360-Degree and Front View Camera, Zone Lighting, and the class-exclusive Pro Trailer Backup Assist system "to help back up boats and campers at the kinds of remote locations Raptors are built to reach."Soon enough, Toyota gave a measured response from 'The Big Island,' aka Kona in Hawaii, where the entire 2024 Tacoma family presented itself with no less than eight trims and two body styles, including the returning TRD PreRunner or the all-new XtraCab body style and Trailhunter grade. "Designed, engineered, and assembled for North America" as the "ultimate adventure machine," the 2024 Tacoma will try to keep up the legacy of being the best-selling mid-size pickup in America for the past 18 years. And, of course, the TRD Pro flagship will be at the front of the pack to fight its new TNGA-F global truck platform battles.Novelties include the multilink coil rear suspension, new "high-strength boxed, steel-ladder frame," red aluminum front TRD upper control arms, and the aforementioned suspension includes three-way adjustable 2.5-inch FOX manual mode Quick Switch 3 (QS3) shocks plus FOX Internal Floating Piston (IFP) bump stops for the rear. 33-inch Goodyear Territory R/T tires wrap around black TRD wheels, and this version is three inches wider than an SR5, while the ground clearance stands up to 11 inches (28 cm). Just like the Trailhunter, this grade is also host to a few Toyota partnerships with the aftermarket off-road realm as the TRD aluminum front skid plate, TRD performance air intake, and TRD cat-back dual tipped exhaust are joined by a new integrated LED light bar, Rigid white LED fog lamps, and a high-clearance ARB rear metal bumper with red recovery hooks.By this time, one might notice that we have yet to say a word about their true off-road capabilities (namely, angles) or the powertrains that make them tick and go fast while bashing dunes or crawling on and around rocks. Well, this is because we were waiting on the final member of the American high-performance off-road mid-size pickup truck triumvirate. That would be the newly introduced 2024 Chevy Colorado ZR2 Bison, the tougher and more expensive brother to the 2023 Colorado ZR2 ($48,295) and sibling of the upcoming 2024 GMC Canyon AT4X AEV Edition . Also developed in conjunction with the good folks over at American Expedition Vehicles, the "all-new 2024 Colorado ZR2 Bison is America's ultimate off-road beast," according to Chevrolet.However, let us get one major issue off our chest: it won't win the horsepower wars because it still has the same 2.7-liter inline-four high-output turbo mill as the ZR2 with 310 hp and 430 lb-ft (569 Nm). Mated to an eight-speed auto transmission, it will probably make the Colorado ZR2 Bison a little slower than the 2024 Tacoma TRD Pro i-Force Max, which has 326 hybrid ponies plus 465 lb-ft (630 Nm) from the 2.4-liter and electric motor assembly. Meanwhile, it will fall far behind the Range Raptor's bigger 3.0-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6, which churns out no less than 405 hp and 430 lb-ft (569 Nm). With that out of the way, Chevy still thinks it has a few trump cards up its off-road sleeve.For example, the 2024 Tacoma has a 33.8-degree approach, 23.5-degree break-over, and 25.7-degree departure angles on the TRD Pro (without the towing package.) That is slightly less than Bison's "best-in-class" 38.2/26/26.9-degree angles! Plus, the mighty mid-size Chevy also comes with 35-inch mud tires wrapped around 17-inch beadlock-capable AEV wheels. Naturally, the aftermarket company provides other goodies, as well, like the heavy-duty winch-capable front bumper, the rear bumper, and fender flares. But AEV is not the only partner, and the Boron steel-equipped truck (skid plates and rocker protectors) also features "segment-exclusive" Multimatic DSSV front and rear Jounce Control dampers. Last but not least, aside from power-locking front and rear diffs, the Colorado ZR2 Bison also rocks a "best-in-class" ground clearance of 12.2 inches (31 cm). So, in the end, which truck is your favorite? They say sometimes the best things in life come in small packages, and the adage has never been truer than in the case of tiny houses. People all over the world are testifying that living in a mini home has changed their lives for the better, thus encouraging others to give this lifestyle a try. Photo: Tiny Mountain Houses Photo: Tiny Mountain Houses While it's true that tiny living might not be for everyone, when deciding to downsize, it is essential to purchase or build a small dwelling that best fits your needs and personality. Today, we introduce you to a marvelous tiny house design suitable for a single person or a couple aiming for a simplified life. It is called Marlo Summit and comes from the deft hands of the team at Tiny Mountain Houses.The well-known Silverton, Oregon-based tiny home manufacturer offers a very diverse range of designs, from rustic to modern and even customized models, all crafted with high-quality building materials and exceptional attention to detail at an affordable price point.The Marlo Summit is a compact home that measures only 18 feet (5.5 meters) in length but manages to surprise through unique features like multi-use areas, tall ceilings, beautiful interior finishes, and more.This micro-dwelling is built on a heavy-duty tubular steel trailer and comes with a deck over flat floor design, meaning there are no wheel wells to contend with on the inside. Moreover, it is wider and taller than other tiny residences built by Tiny Mountain House, measuring 9.5 feet (2.9 meters) in width and almost 14 feet (4.2 meters) in height, which adds valuable space and helps make the interior feel more spacious than it actually is.The exterior of Marlo Summit is finished in blue LP Smart Panel siding with rough-sawn trim and a cedar end wall greeting you as you enter the house. It features a shed roof design with a 24-inch (60-cm) overhang above the entry and a pair of farmhouse-style porch lights that add a tinge of rustic charm to the exterior.A standard single-light door leads inside the home, which is light and bright thanks to its white walls and cabinets, tall ceilings, and large windows throughout. The interior offers just 268 square feet (25 square meters) of living space, but the designers managed to squeeze in everything one needs for a comfortable minimalist life , including a living room, a kitchen, a sleeping loft, a storage loft, and a bathroom.The ground floor is an open space design comprising the living room on one side and the kitchen on the other, with the bathroom at the end of the house separated by a pocket door. There is also an entry closet space that could serve as storage for coats and shoes.Unlike most tiny houses , Marlo Summit doesn't have a couch in the living room. Instead, the designers fitted it with two beautiful armchairs and a center table. Of course, if the owners prefer the comfort of a couch, the space can accommodate one without problems.The side kitchen is as gorgeous as you've come to expect from Tiny Mountain Houses. It features white shaker-style base cabinets with drawers, extended height upper cabinets with adjustable shelving, plus a huge pantry cabinet. It offers almost 10 feet (3 meters) of counter space and is well-kitted out for cooking delicious meals. Appliances include a two-burner induction electric cooktop, an under-counter stainless fridge, and a deep stainless steel sink with a satin nickel faucet. Butcher block countertops and full-height subway tile backsplash complete the kitchen design.By creating multi-use areas, the designers have managed to increase the functionality of the Marlo Summit tiny home despite its small footprint. Such areas include the small bar for two next to the armchairs in the living room, which can be used for eating meals as a couple, and the three-inch desk area next to the kitchen that is perfect for those who work from home.There is also a dedicated space for a washer and dryer combo, which also leaves space for a storage cabinet above.The petite bathroom in this mobile home is equipped with a one-piece shower, a residential-style flush toilet, vanity and sink, and a beveled edge medicine cabinet.Marlo Summit comes with two lofts. The primary loft lies above the bathroom and part of the kitchen and serves as a typical bedroom. It is open and spacious, perfect for anyone who wants plenty of natural light.The secondary loft is over the entry and can be used for storage purposes. There is a single removable ladder that is used to climb to both lofts.There are many advantages of owning and living in a tiny house , including lower expenses, easier maintenance, freedom of movement, the ability to live immersed in nature, and much more. Marlo Summit can offer this and more. It is ideal for couples who want to downsize, but it can accommodate up to four people if a couch is placed in the living area. For updated pricing information, we advise contacting the manufacturer. Did you know that Thor Industries, one of America's largest RV conglomerates, has its fingers in the European market too? Yup, and today, we're going to explore an off-shoot brand that has our European brothers and sisters enjoying the finer things in life. Photo: Elddis / Erwin Hymer Group Photo: Elddis / Erwin Hymer Group Folks, Buccaneer is a brand of travel trailers that the United Kingdom considers their "most luxurious touring caravan." Whether or not that's true, it remains to be tested . Still, once we're done with this little exploration into the available lineup, you might also consider that statement true. However, as luxurious as things may be, prices for a new Buccaneer start at around 46,500, or around $58,000. Not a bad price to pay for luxury.Overall, the Buccaneer lineup is signaled by five different layouts tuned to varying needs and wants. Some can even accommodate a family of six. However, a few features apply to all, and that's what we'll focus on most. For starters, each unit is built with a patented SoLiD system, resulting in a travel trailer with a full-bonded construction. It's light, strong, and even comes with a 10-year warranty.Now, as we explore this class, the layout and the materials used to bring it to life may seem familiar . Suppose you've been keeping up with autoevolution. In that case, you may have noticed other articles our team has composed on European and British manufacturers. Well, most of these brands are part of the Erwin Hymer Group, meaning that construction processes and materials tend to be very similar, if not the same. Oh, and so we're on the same page here, Erwin Hymer is, in turn, owned by Thor.For the sake of argument, I'll be using the Aruba floorplan as the basis for what the Buccaneer lineup represents, not to mention that this is also the largest of the available layouts. Also, while reading the following words, try and imagine you and your family in the center of all the action. To do so, we'll be using a side entry door that places you and your family smack dab in the center of the living room.To your left, a massive, modular lounge with opposing seating sits underneath large forward-facing windows. With more windows along the sides of the unit, 270 degrees of viewing is available. Be sure to take in the large skylights overhead, including the one extending toward the Buccaneer's rear. In the absence of natural light, LED lighting is also available and can be spotted overhead and under cabinetry.Upon heading toward the unit's rear, we'll encounter a U-shaped dinette to the left, and along the starboard wall, a galley that makes my in-home kitchen seem cheap offers all the necessary appliances to feed that family of six. There's a three-burner top, grill, oven, microwave, fridge, and even a vent that can extract and introduce air from and into the kitchen.Up next, we pass the fridge on our right, a large wardrobe on the left, and also, on the left side of Aruba, a large bathroom is included. No, it's not a wet bath, but rather, it has all the systems, like the shower, toilet, and vanity, separate from one another. Once you've taken your shower and stepped out of the bathroom, throw yourself upon a double bed with your loved one next to you.Now, as you explore the images in the gallery, did you notice all the little knick-knacks that give Aruba its allure? I'm talking about things like shower tile, chrome fittings, vinyl flooring, backlit headboard, pet-friendly upholstery, and so much more. How about a remote-controlled leveling system or diamond-cut alloy wheels? The only system that I would beef up is the solar panel setup. As standard, Aruba only features a 100 W panel from Truma.Sure, I can talk about LEDs, hot water systems, and safety features until the cows come home, but this sort of mobile habitat is about more than indoor living. Sue, there's more than enough to keep you alive for days on end between destinations, but when you reach that campsite you've been aiming for, the Buccaneers can integrate themselves into your outdoor lifestyle too. If you brought along an outdoor dining set, now's the time to prepare the area. Maybe the kids want to sleep in a tent outside. Pull the awning over them for some protection and let them have the fun they want. Why not prepare a little fire and make S'mores?The next day, you and the gang leave the Buccaneer in place while exploring the natural world around you. Maybe you brought along some e-bikes or kayaks. Upon your return from the wild, you'll find your unit as you left it, with batteries recharged, the fridge still running, and plenty of cushions to take care of your tired bones. Remember to wash the dust off and switch into your PJs. It sounds like a lifestyle that encompasses the best of both worlds; luxurious city-inspired living in the middle of the natural world. An experience for sure, and one that's rather accessible, if you ask me. Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kids toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones. Full profile gettyimagesbank Conflict continues over roles of physician assistants By Jun Ji-hye One physician assistant said she had to carry out a polypectomy, an operation to remove polyps from the inside of a patient's colon, while another said she was once told to pronounce a patient dead. These are actual cases contained in reports the Korean Nurses Association received from physician assistants across the country about unlawful orders they received from doctors. Such procedures and duties should be handled by doctors under the Medical Services Act. But in Korea's medical profession, physician assistants have been tacitly pushed to conduct such procedures, according to the association. In other countries such as the United States, physician assistants are considered to be licensed medical professionals who examine, diagnose and treat patients under the supervision of physicians. But things are different in Korea, as hospitals appoint skilled nurses with several years of experience as physician assistants. Additional courses or professional licenses are not required to appointment them. The controversy over the roles of physician assistants in Korea, which dates back years, was reignited amid recent conflicts involving the Nursing Act that was railroaded by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea in late April, only to be vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol on May 16 and eventually scrapped late last month in a National Assembly revote. The act was aimed at clarifying the scope of nurses' duties to improve their working conditions. Nurses have long wanted their own law, claiming that a lack of clarity regarding their exact roles and duties, as stipulated in the Medical Services Act, has ended up increasing their workload. In exercising his veto power, Yoon sided with doctors and other medical workers, who claim the act will only divide the medical profession and cause conflict. In protest, the nurses' association has been supporting physician assistants, rejecting the unlawful orders made by doctors, ironically illustrating that their refusal abides by the current law. This was a symbolic measure stressing the need to legislate the Nursing Act to clarify the scope of nurses' roles. Members of the Korean Nurses Association lift pickets calling for the legislation of the Nursing Act during a rally held in central Seoul, May 19, to protest President Yoon Suk Yeol's veto against the act. The vetoed bill was eventually scrapped on May 30 in a National Assembly revote. Korea Times photo by Ahn Dae-eun According to the Korea Health and Medical Workers' Union, the number of physician assistants is estimated at around 10,000 nationwide. "Large hospitals have 60 to 100 physician assistants on average," an official from the union said. "Nurses with five to six years of experience are usually appointed as physician assistants without taking additional courses." The Medical Services Act stipulates that nurses assist medical treatments under the supervision of physicians or dentists. But because the definition of the assistance of medical treatment is too ambiguous, physician assistants have performed a wide range of roles including assisting doctors in carrying out operations and procedures and prescribing medication, most of which are regarded as procedures performed by medical residents. Despite the controversy over the violation of the law, the number of physician assistants has increased sharply for over a decade mainly due to shortages of doctors. The nurses' association created a list of 24 unlawful orders made by doctors that physician assistants are being encouraged to reject as a show of protest. The 24 orders include performing surgery, the prescription of medication, ultrasonography, electrocardiography, arterial blood collecting, tracheal intubation and sutures. Kim Young-kyeong, head of the Korean Nurses Association, speaks with tears during a news conference in front of the National Assembly on May 30 after the Nursing Act, vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol, was scrapped in a Assembly's revote. Yonhap Kim Young-kyeong, who heads the nurses' association, said physician assistants will continue to reject unlawful orders by doctors, even though the Nursing Act was scrapped. "We will continue to push for the legislation of the act within the tenure of the current Assembly," Kim said during a news conference on May 30. "We will also judge unfair lawmakers (who sided with the scrapping of the act) in general elections slated for next year and condemn the health minister and vice minister who made false claims (about the act)." The Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA), which represents over 16,000 trainee doctors across the country, shared the concerns that physician assistants have been pushed to fill a shortage of doctors. It said the shortage of young doctors has become more noticeable, since a law governing the status and working environment of medical residents was enacted in December 2016 capping the maximum weekly working hours to 80 for residents. "The root cause of physician assistants being pushed to perform surgery or prescribe medication in lieu of doctors was the unwillingness of hospitals to recruit additional doctors," an official at the association said. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, however, believes that the Nursing Act is not directly linked to the issue of physician assistants. It claims it is improper to posit that a list of 24 orders created by the nurses' association is all illegal. Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyoo-hong passes by nurses who hold pickets to denounce President Yoon Suk Yeol's veto against the Nursing Act in front of Korea University Anam Hospital on May 16. The vetoed bill was eventually scrapped on May 30 in a National Assembly revote. Yonhap 4 June 2023 08:30 (UTC+04:00) Elnur Enveroglu Read more Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday took the oath of office to become Turkiye's 12th president after his splendid victory in the presidential runoff on 28 May. Following the sworn-in ceremony at the parliament, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic. On Saturday, the presidential complex hosted an inauguration ceremony, which was attended by high-level officials from 78 countries, including 21 heads of state, 13 prime ministers, parliamentary and ministerial-level officials, and representatives of international organizations, including NATO, the Organization of Turkic States, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. It is very significant to note that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his spouse First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva were among other heads of states and governments, including Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President Ersin Tatar, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and others. The next victory of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is actually the victory and successful future of the entire Turkic world. A brief look at Turkiye's domestic and foreign policy under Erdogan's rule so far is enough to know what changes will happen in the next 5 years. In fact, Erdogan, who raised the honor and name of Turkiye and fought great battles in the world of politics, started his political career in the 1970s and 80s. During those times, Erdogan joined the Welfare-Party founded by Necmettin Erbakan, an influential person in Turkiye's political life. Later, that party, which gained popularity in the 90s, led Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the position of the mayor of Istanbul in 1994 and remained at the head of the position for four years. However, Erdogan was subjected to serious internal pressures hard on the heels of his reading a piece of poetry: "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers." These verses even led him to serving four months in jail. Finally, in 2002, the new party founded by President Erdogan won a majority in parliamentary elections, paving the way for him to become the Prime Minister. Starting from 2003, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been able to maintain the position of Prime Minister three times in a row. One of the main reasons for this was the great leap in Turkiye's economy and the steady increase in people's welfare during Erdogan's prime ministership. Turkiye was experiencing a period of renaissance at that time, and the country's reputation was growing rapidly. Despite this, Erdogan's opponents were very jealous, stubborn and ruthless. Despite repeated slanders and provocations against him, Erdogan could easily overcome all these difficulties thanks to his pragmatic policy. President Erdogan's coming to power also gave a great impetus to the awakening of Islam and the Turkic world. President Erdogan is the main initiator of the One Belt, One Road mega project extending to China. He is making great efforts to bring together all the Turkic-speaking countries and take a step that leaves a deep mark on the revival of our thousand-year-old cultural heritage. It is not a secret that the solution of Azerbaijan's Karabakh issue, which has been under Armenian occupation for 30 years, and besides that, the glorious victory of Azerbaijan is a sign of Turkiye's brotherly and friendly relationship. Today, the opening of the Zangazur corridor, which is considered the main artery of economic revival, is as much under focus of Turkiye as of Azerbaijan. These interests are based on both mutual and fraternal relations, and it is especially important to note that President Erdogan was first congratulated by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on May 28, just before his victory was fully announced in the presidential runoff. Azerbaijan always stands by Turkiye, and the presence of President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva in the swearing-in ceremony was distinguished by its special feature. Thus, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who came through the tribulations of the great political war and raised Turkiye to the highest level in the world, was once again elected by the votes of the people and became the 12th leader of the Republic of Turkiye once again. Today, the whole Islamic world imagines Erdogan as a religious conservative. It is known that with his coming to power, the problem of headscarves, which was once prohibited in government circles, is eliminated. Even though his political opponents claimed that Erdogan would destroy the principles of the secular state established and inherited by Ataturk, this was never the case. On the contrary, President Erdogan introduced real democracy to both Turkish society and the entire world, unprecedented in history. Indeed, the elections held in May 2023 showed the world a picture of true democracy. --- Elnur Enveroglu is AzerNews deputy editor-in-chief, follow him on @ElnurMammadli1 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 4 June 2023 13:00 (UTC+04:00) Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov is on a visit to Austria at the invitation of Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Haysam Al-Qays, Azernews reports, citing the ministry. It was reported that Parviz Shahbazov will participate in the 35th ministerial meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC countries to be held in Vienna on June 4. It is planned to hold bilateral meetings within the framework of the meeting. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 4 June 2023 12:30 (UTC+04:00) A commemoration ceremony was held for journalist Maharram Ibrahimov, who was martyred by a landmine in the village of Susuk of Kalbajar district on June 4, 2021, when performed his professional activities, Azernews reports. First, bouquets of flowers were laid in front of the memorial corner of Maharram in AZERTAG, and the memory of the martyrs who sacrificed themselves for the freedom of Azerbaijan was commemorated with a minute of silence. Speaking at the ceremony, the Chairman of AZERTAG, Vugar Aliyev, talked about the life path and human qualities of Maharram Ibrahimov, who started working as a reporter at the age of 22. It was noted that during the 44-day Patriotic War, AZERTAG employees sent to the frontline filmed day and night under enemy fire. After the end of the war, the members of the film crew, who worked for months in the liberated lands, went from village to village and from house to house, recording the atrocities committed by Armenian armed groups in the occupied territories. Images of Armenian vandalism, destroyed homelands were archived by transferring them to the memory of a photo and video camera. Maharram Ibrahimov had a particularly great contribution in this work. By the order of President Ilham Aliyev, martyred journalist Maharram Ibrahimov was awarded the 3rd degree "For service to the country" order. Deputy Chairman Dagbey Ismayilov made a speech and said that Maharram was sent to the frontline regions from the first day of the Patriotic War and continued his activities until the day he was martyred. He prepared and sent reports from the cities, towns and villages destroyed by Armenians in Agdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Zangilan, Gubadli and other areas that were freed from occupation. Maharram was fulfilling his duty as a military journalist. His attitude to work, sense of responsibility, professional activities are a real example for young journalists. Elvin Movsumov, Gozal Aghayeva, Abdulla Suvar, Sakhavat Guliyev and others who spoke on behalf of the martyr-journalist's colleagues at the ceremony shared their memories of Maharram. Then a group of members of the collective visited the grave of the martyred journalist Maharram Ibrahimov in the cemetery of Mushfigabad settlement. Colleagues commemorated Maharram with respect, laid a wreath on behalf of the AZERTAC team and arranged flowers in front of the grave. It was noted that Maharram Ibrahimov will live forever in memory, his work as a professional reporter will never be forgotten. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 4 June 2023 14:04 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov sent a congratulatory letter to Cevdet Ylmaz on the occasion of his appointment as the Vice President of the Republic of Turkiye, Azernews reports, citing the Cabinet of Ministers. In the letter, the appointment of Cevdet Ylmaz to a high position was evaluated as a clear manifestation of the great trust and confidence of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in him. It was emphasized that in recent years, Turkiye has become a power center in the international world by showing comprehensive development. It was noted with satisfaction that Azerbaijan-Turkiye cooperation relations built on solid foundations during this period, with the determined efforts of Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have made great strides and risen to the level of unshakable friendship and brotherhood, strategic partnership and alliance. It was said that the huge projects implemented by the joint efforts of Azerbaijan and Turkiye increase the importance of the two countries as well as the region on a world scale, and serve peace, cooperation and development in the region. Ali Asadov pointed out that the successful development of allied relations between Azerbaijan and Turkiye, which are guided by the motto "One nation, two states", and also expressed readiness to make joint efforts to expand cooperation between the two countries in trade, economic, investment, energy, transport, humanitarian and all other fields within the framework of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on economic cooperation. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 4 June 2023 14:33 (UTC+04:00) Defense Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov has sent a letter of gratitude to Hulusi Akar, the former Defense Minister of Turkiye, Azernews reports, citing MOD. The letter says: "Mr. Hulusi Akar, on my own behalf and the Azerbaijan Armys military personnel, I express my gratitude to you for our joint activities during your tenure as the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Turkiye. You always significantly contributed to the development of military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkiye, as well as to the improvement of the Azerbaijan Army and increasing its combat capability. During the Patriotic War for the liberation of Azerbaijani lands from occupation, you provided constant moral support to the Azerbaijani people and army. You have always loved Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan Army. I am sure that during your activities in the Grand National Assembly of Turkiye, you will make every effort for strengthening the two fraternal countries armies. On my own behalf and the Azerbaijan Armys military personnel, I congratulate you and wish you success in your future activities." --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 4 June 2023 15:37 (UTC+04:00) The Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov sent a congratulatory letter to the new Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Turkiye, Army General Yashar Guler, Azernews reports, citing MOD. The letter says: "Mr. Yashar Guler, on my own behalf and on behalf of the Azerbaijan Armys military personnel, I sincerely congratulate you on your appointment as the Minister of National Defense of the fraternal Republic of Turkiye. As the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Turkiye, you consistently supported the improvement and increase of the combat capability of the Azerbaijan Army. I am sure that our joint activities will continue at the highest level during your tenure as the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Turkiye. You will make a significant contribution to the further development and strengthening of cooperation between the armies of Azerbaijan and Turkiye. Once again, I sincerely congratulate you on my own behalf and on behalf of the Azerbaijan Armys military personnel, and wish you great success in your future activities." --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 4 June 2023 16:00 (UTC+04:00) Elnur Enveroglu Read more Israeli-Azerbaijani relations have always been based on historical values rather than political and economic. No matter which corner of Azerbaijan you are in, you can definitely meet a synagogue or meet the Jewish community there. Israeli activist who often visits Azerbaijan, CEO and founder of the Donnca Gracia non-profit and non-gevrnmental organization in Israel, journalist Rachel Abraham was our guest in the editorial office of Azernews to share her impressions about her last visit to Azerbaijan. First of all, Abraham talked about her trips to Ganja, Oguz, Guba and several districts of Azerbaijan, she also talked about mountain Jews living in Guba, synagogues with centuries-old history in Oguz and many interesting places she saw in Ganja. It should be noted that Rachel's visit to Azerbaijan also coincided with the first ever visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Azerbaijan. For this reason, the journalist spoke heartily about the day-by-day development of Israel-Azerbaijani relations. "I think the potential for the Azerbaijan-Israel relations is the sky is the limit. Recently the caretaker of the synegog was excited to see someone from Israel to come to see the hundred-year-old synagogues in Oguz. He said he doesn't get many visitors this time of year, only in summer. When I was in Ganja I met with the leader of the jewish community. They talked about how much they were very excited to see me and introduced me son of theirs serving in the israel Defense Forces. I think the connection between two countries are very strong. There is a group of Azerbaijanis who are going to study agriculture in the state of Israel that want to bring the lates technology of Israel and apply in Azerbaijan. They also want to apply the ltest Israeli technology of ittigation which will be helpfult to raise Karabakh's agriculture in future. Currently there is a number of students studying international programs at the Tel Aviv University." Rachel Abraham said since the embassy of Azerbaijan has started to operate in Israel there is a huge number of tourist flow from her country to Azerbaijan. "I think this is mutual now as many Israelis also visit Azerbaijan to explore the country. It was not so long ago in Tel Aviv there was a tourism office opened. Besides that, there is an ambassdor who helps Israelis to come to Azerbaijan. I think all things will be blossoming in the future," she emphasized. The journalist also touched on aspects that bring the two countries together to mutually cooperate. "Israel Azerbaijan have much common in many spheres. Our economic cooperation is also high and Azerbaijan provides 40 percent of Israel's energy needs. And most importantly we have common enemy like Iran through which Israel and Azerbaijan especially strengthen cooperation in security issues. Besides, as mention to Israeli President Isaac Herzog's recent visit in Azerbaijan there were seveal documents signed between two countries, one of which was in medical science and healthcare," she opined. Talking about the recent visit of israeli President's to Azerbaijan, Rachel Abraham notes that this visit is very important, but also comes from the special closeness between Israel and Azerbaijan. "Israeli President Isaac Herzog's choice of Azerbaijan to make his first ever visit in a muslim country was in particular significant. He could make his visit to Morocco, however we know that Azerbaijan is very distinctful and important for Israel among other states," she stressed. The Israeli journalist could not hide her emotions while talking about her visit to Karabakh. She said that she was proud to visit a founding country like Azerbaijan. "Israel also became one of the countries that supported Azerbaijan in its rightful struggle against the 30-year occupation. We are always ready to continue our support. The last time I was in Karabakh, I witnessed Armenian brutality. When I saw the destroyed houses first, then in my next trip the newly built houses in the place of ruins, I was really proud to be in a beautiful country like Azerbaijan. I should mention that I came across many destroyed houses in Shusha. However, I strongly believe that the whole of Karabakh will flourish in the near future," she added. --- Elnur Enveroglu is AzerNews deputy editor-in-chief, follow him on @ElnurMammadli1 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 4 June 2023 17:07 (UTC+04:00) On June 4, 2023, the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov had a telephone conversation with the newly appointed Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Azernews reports, citing MFA. The Minister congratulated Hakan Fida on his appointment as Foreign Minister of Turkiye and wished him success. Minister Jeyhun Bayramov expressed his confidence that joint efforts for the development of multifaceted and strategic alliance relations between the two countries based on deep roots, common interests, and values will be further strengthened. The parties exchanged views on various aspects of fraternal, friendly, and strategic partnership relations and regional issues between the two countries. Minister Jeyhun Bayramov invited Hakan Fidan to visit Azerbaijan. The new minister thanked his Azerbaijani counterpart for the congratulations and kind words and gladly accepted the invitation to visit our country. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 4 June 2023 12:03 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijani SOCAR and Hungarian MVM CEEnergy on Friday signed a contract for the supply of Azerbaijani gas to Hungary in 2023, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said, Azernews reports, citing foreign media outlets. According to the agreement, Szijjarto said on Facebook, Hungary will receive 100 million cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan by the end of this year. The Hungarian minister added that the current deal could become the basis for a long-term gas supply contract, according to which up to 2 billion cubic meters can be supplied to Hungary from Azerbaijan annually. As reported, in 2022, Azerbaijan increased gas exports by 18% - up to 22.3 billion cubic meters, supplies to Europe amounted to 11.4 billion cubic meters (+39%). According to the statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat), in 2022, the EU countries - Italy, Greece and Bulgaria - imported natural gas from Azerbaijan for 15.599 billion euros (an increase of 4 times over the year). For 2023, gas exports from Azerbaijan are planned at the level of 24.5 billion cubic meters, of which about 12 billion cubic meters - to Europe. Currently, buyers of Azerbaijani gas in Europe are Italy, Greece, Bulgaria and Romania. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 4 June 2023 18:00 (UTC+04:00) A mosque in the central German city of Duisburg got a threatening racist letter, according to a religious official, Azernews reports citing Anadolu Agency. The Duisburg Central Mosque, which is affiliated with Turkish-Muslim umbrella group DITIB, got the threatening letter, which included both a swastika and the word NSU 2.0, referring to a neo-Nazi group responsible for a string of murders. Yusuf Aydin, head of the DITIB Central Mosque Association, said on Saturday they shared the racist letter with the police and filed a criminal complaint. "We are deeply saddened. We demand that the perpetrator or perpetrators be apprehended and brought to justice as soon as possible," Aydin said. The mosque has already received over a dozen threatening and insulting letters, he added. Turkish flag damaged at mosque in Bremen Separately, the DITIB Press Office said a supporter of the terrorist organization PKK had damaged a Turkish flag hanging on the wall of the Selimiye Mosque in Bremen before fleeing the scene. Hidayet Tekin, head of the Bremen Selimiye Mosque Association, said they hung Turkish, German, and DITIB flags on the wall of the mosque for a weekend bazaar. "We saw from the camera that the attacker, who was a supporter of the terrorist organization, targeted only the Turkish flag, said Tekin. "The attacker, who covered his face with a cloth representing the terrorist organization, tore down our Turkish flag and fled. We immediately informed the police and shared the camera footage. The police have initiated an investigation," he explained. Tekin added that they later discovered that footage of the attack was shared by the suspect on social media, including the person burning and trampling on the Turkish flag in a parking area. Tekin stated that the police are actively investigating the incident and working to ensure the mosques security. He also said he had the video removed from social media. In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkiye, the PKK listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the US, and EU has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference after the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Oslo, Norway, June 1. AP-Yonhap By Nam Hyun-woo President Yoon Suk Yeol will attend the 2023 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Lithuania next month, prompting speculation about another trilateral summit between South Korea, Japan and the United States. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a press conference on June 1 that "we'll have all the leaders of the (NATO's) four Asia Pacific partners, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, attending our summit in Vilnius," the capital of Lithuania. The summit will take place on July 11 to 12 and will be the second time for a South Korean president to attend the gathering of the U.S. and its European allies, following Yoon's appearance at the 2022 edition in Spain last year. At the summit, Yoon is anticipated to brief the European leaders on North Korea's escalating nuclear and missile threats including the regime's recent launch of a spy satellite and ask for greater support in achieving peace on the Korean peninsula. Also, speculation is growing that a trilateral summit between Yoon, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, may occur on the sidelines of the NATO Summit. During last month's Group of Seven Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, the three leaders met but did not hold an official meeting due to time constraints. Along with the North Korea issue, attention is turning to whether Yoon will make statements concerning China and Russia. China has warned Seoul about its NATO relations, saying South Korea would be unable to gain anything by participating in a summit that shows hostility to Beijing. 4 June 2023 19:05 (UTC+04:00) A new visit of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi to Moscow is possible, but there are no concrete arrangements for now, Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov told TASS on Sunday, Azernews reports, citing TASS. "Of course, it is possible. A new visit is possible, but so far we have not discussed it in practical terms," he said. According to Ulyanov, the date of a possible visit is not being discussed currently. He reiterated that Grossi held three talks in Russia last year - in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 4 June 2023 21:45 (UTC+04:00) The Ukrainian military on Sunday renewed its plea for operational silence around a long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia forces, the latest in a stream of messages by Kyiv as it prepares for the assault, Azernews reports, citing Al Arabiya. Anticipation has mounted around what is expected to be a broad attack by Ukrainian forces to retake Russian-occupied territory in the east and south. But Ukrainian officials have repeatedly discouraged public speculation over the operation, saying it could help the enemy. Authorities in recent days have also cracked down on citizens sharing images or footage of air defense systems shooting down Russian missiles. Plans love silence. There will be no announcement of the start, the ministry said in a video posted to official Telegram channels, apparently referring to the counteroffensive. The sleekly-produced footage featured masked and well-armed front-line troops holding their fingers against their lips, gesturing for silence amid the distant rumble of artillery and gunfire. It ended with images of soaring F-16 fighter jets - long coveted by Kyiv as it seeks to boost its air defense against Russian missiles and drones. Kyivs Western allies in recent months have provided weapons, armor and ammunition for the counteroffensive, which military experts have said could prove difficult against dug-in Russian forces. In an interview published on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was prepared for the operation but avoided making any predictions. To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different, he told the Wall Street Journal. But we are going to do it, and we are ready. Other senior officials, including Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, have similarly sought to tamp down expectations. In some cases, however, the military has also fed the anticipation. Social media outreach by Kyiv has often been intended to intimidate the Kremlin. Last week, it posted a flashy video depicting troops preparing for battle and reciting a rousing blessing, which was later aired as a recruiting clip. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 4 June 2023 22:20 (UTC+04:00) NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday called on Ankara to drop its opposition to Sweden's bid to join the defense alliance, saying Stockholm has addressed Turkiyes security concerns, Azernews reports, citing Al Arabiya. Sweden has taken significant concrete steps to meet Turkiyes concerns, Stoltenberg told reporters after meeting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Sweden has fulfilled its obligations. Stoltenberg attended on Saturday the inauguration of Erdogan, who was re-elected to serve another five years, in a lavish ceremony joined by dozens of world leaders in the capital Ankara. NATO member Turkiye has dragged its feet over admitting Sweden to the military alliance. It and Hungary are the only two member countries yet to ratify the membership bid. Finland formally joined the alliance in April. Erdogan has accused Sweden of being a haven for terrorists, especially members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a group blacklisted by Turkiye and its Western allies. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 June 2023 00:25 (UTC+04:00) Every year since 1979, the Islamic Republic has celebrated the anniversary of the revolution that overthrew the monarchy. As reports say with reference to Iranian media, marches are held along the central streets, and squares are decorated with flags, balloons and posters with revolutionary and religious slogans. Government media claim that 21 million Iranians took part in this year's celebrations, after months of nationwide protests demanding fundamental economic, social and political changes. The results of a poll conducted by the Iran Open Data joint initiative among social media users paint a different picture. About 97 percent of respondents said they did not participate in the celebrations, and 91 percent said none of their family members did. 83% of respondents stated that they had never participated in rallies dedicated to the anniversary of the revolution. The survey involved 1280 social media users over 19 days. Previously, we reported on the actions of disobedience in Iran. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Bitwise Industries furloughed all 900 of its employees Monday after running into a financial crunch just four months after the Fresno-based wo Bakersfield, CA (93308) Today Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 64F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 64F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Central Oregon Coast Town Hosts Special Beach Wheelchair Excursion June 16 Published 05/22/23 at 5:52 a.m. B y Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Florence, Oregon) Those now-famous all-terrain electric wheelchairs known as track chairs have made their mark in two Oregon coast areas: Tillamook County and in Seaside. A third is on the horizon, as Florence hosts the inaugural Davids Chair Florence Beach Day Excursion June 16. This unique event will give a few lucky individuals a chance to roam the area's beaches for a couple of hours, and it gives others a rundown on how the David's Chair organization may establish a permanent track chair presence in town. Florence is inviting those with mobility challenges to come and check it all out. For the event, David's Chair (otherwise known as Davids Chair Outdoor Mobility Systems) will be bringing a small fleet of chairs to Florence. Five adult chairs and one child chair will be available for the day's proceedings. Those attending will get about two hours of fun time on these particularly pristine central Oregon coast sands. They'll also get to see an introduction to the mission of Davids Chair and their plans for a possible full-time chair in Florence in the future. The charitable organization figures out ways to provide individuals or organizations access to the especially agile mobile chairs, working with volunteers and groups to obtain them or at least free access to one. David's Chair is currently in the middle of such discussions for Florence. Additional supporters are welcome to get involved. Attendees will have two-hour test-drive spots available starting at 10:00 a.m. with the last chairs coming back around 4:00 p.m. The event will be hosted at the north side of Driftwood Shores Resort and Conference Center in Florence. Davids Chair has filled most of the time slots through a pre-registration, but there will be opportunities to come to the beach and use a track chair on a first come first served basis the day of the event. Our Chamber is a powerful catalyst for business growth, a convener of leaders and influencers, and a champion for a stronger community, says Chamber president/CEO Bettina Hannigan. Working with Davids Chair is in perfect alignment with our values of adding accessibility to our local beaches. The event is supported by the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce, the City of Florence, the Oregon Coast Visitors Association, New Friends Memory Care in Florence, and Florence-area resident PJ Woods. Woods knows and understands these issues well. She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis 20 years ago. Though still somewhat ambulatory, she spends more time on her mobility scooter these days. Woods became aware of the Davids Chair organization when they had their Spring Break excursion to Brookings, on the south Oregon coast. For me, its been about four years since Ive been on the beach, Woods said. This means getting back to my happy place. It brings me a sense of freedom and gives me back something that was taken from me. The beach is healing and energizing. Theres a healing power from being near the water. Im excited to have a small part in the Davids Chair excursion in Florence. CEO and Founder Steve Furst said: We are excited to continue our mission and hold our first excursion in Florence, Oregon. Everyone deserves to experience freedom and independence in the outdoors. The Davids Chairs mission is to enrich the lives of mobility impaired people with independence and freedom by empowering them to engage in outdoor activities they previously were unable to, free of charge. We are working with some amazing people to bring our track chairs to the Oregon coast to give everyone with mobility challenges the opportunity to use our track chairs. The ocean is powerful and the sand is a barrier. We provide that bridge to the ocean, Furst said. Arrangements are being worked out to have a place to store the chairs and keep them clean and charged. For more information, visit DavidsChair.org, or call or email Kirk Mickelsen at 541-821-7331 or kirk@davidschair.org. Mickelsen reports that Newport will have a chair ongoing; sponsored by the parks and recreation department to store, manage usage, and keep charged. Seaside has a full-time chair sponsored by the Seaside Elks, Chamber of Commerce, and Seaside Downtown Association. Currently, the City of Manzanita sponsors a chair along with Tillamook Coast for their area, and that Pacific Citys fire department and a private supporter are finalizing plans for a chair. Oregon Coast Hotels for this event - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast. LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted South Korea and China held defense ministerial talks in Singapore on Saturday, with Seoul's defense chief calling for Beijing's "constructive" role for peace on the Korean Peninsula. The talks between Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, took place on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue as Seoul seeks to secure regional cooperation to help stop Pyongyang's provocative acts. "I emphasized China's constructive role for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and China shares the view," he told reporters after the meeting. The bilateral talks came as tensions have flared on the peninsula over Pyongyang's failed yet defiant launch of a purported space rocket Wednesday. (Yonhap) One Oregon Coast Town: Two Rugged Attractions Make for Layered U.S. Travel Destination Published 05/20/23 at 6:22 PM By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Newport, Oregon) Take a dash of party town at night, rugged fishing village, three parts tourist destination, and throw in bits of Americana and elements of the upscale, and you have part of the recipe for the extremely diverse hotspot known as Newport, Oregon. One of the more diverse and multi-layered Oregon coast spots to be sure, part of that comes down to its size. (All photos Oregon Coast Beach Connection) Newport is enormous by Oregon coast standards, and as such as there's all those natural, beachy delights along with a few distinctly different areas, each packing their own travel destination punch. In fact, it's the only town in this part of the U.S. with two lighthouses. Curiously, two major attractions sit piled up, one top of the other. One of those lighthouses sits on another coveted attraction. Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. If you cant find anything to do here, youre probably dead and no one told you. A gigantic manmade tidepool, some funky climbable areas, a looming hill above the headland, a strange, noisy beach made of polished stones and one major lighthouse provide more than you could do in a day. For about three decades now, one of Yaquina Head's favorites has been that intertidal area, the remnant of an old rock quarry where they simply let the tide take over and do its thing. These wheelchair-accessible paved paths weave in and out of rocky tidepool areas and open up this engaging area to everyone. Theres also an interpretive center here, as well as access to the noisy beach via a long staircase. This ones a bear coming back up, but its worth it. Called Cobble Beach, the large cobblestones make quite a rattling noise when attacked by the tide which tends to hit here with sizable force because the tideline is at a fairly steep incline. Above the lighthouse parking lot sits Salal Hill, which is accessible by a meandering, quarter-mile walk to the top. From there, amazing views of the central Oregon coast burst out (so amazing, theres a web cam planted here). Yaquina Head Natural Outstanding Area Yaquina Head Lighthouse. At the outer edges of this magical place sits the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, one of two in Newport. Standing at 93 feet, the lighthouse has been around since 1873, with its light still showing the way today and visible for miles in any direction. It is open to tours, but these schedules change over the years. Call 541-574-3100 to doublecheck. There are some 114 steps up to the tippy-top, and inside that lamp room is one amazing spot. You can definitely see forever from here. Below the lighthouse itself is a boatload of awe-inspiring viewpoint, showing off Newport's more jagged and craggy sides, with giant basalt cliffs beckoning in the tide at high speed. It's nearly always causing a visual ruckus of wave action. SEE Tallest and Most Storied on Oregon Coast: Newport's Yaquina Head and Almost Haunted Oregon Coast: Yaquina Bay Lighthouse Lore Hotels in Newport - Where to eat - Newport Maps and Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast. LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Personal Side of Capturing Orcas Hunt, Kill Whale Baby in Landmark Oregon Coast Event Published 05/21/23 at 6:22 p.m. By Jaklyn Larsen (Depoe Bay, Oregon) May 8 proved to be kind of a landmark day for the Oregon coast. A series of firsts, really. Thanks to the Facebook page Oregon Coast Killer Whale Monitoring Program (formerly using the term sightings in the title), dozens of folks right on the coast were alerted to a pod of orcas chasing down a mother gray whale and its calf. For the first time ever along Oregon's shoreline this dramatic battle was caught on video and in stills by not just one person but documented by dozens. Dozens Watch and Document Orcas Attack, Kill Baby Whale on Oregon Coast: More Videos One of the those was Jaklyn Larsen of Jaklyn Larsen Photography. She shared her intense personal experience with Oregon Coast Beach Connection. ALL PHOTOS, VIDEO AND WORDS JAKLYN LARSEN I arrived at Devil's Punchbowl around 7 pm after hearing reports that the orcas were still in the midst of a predation event involving a gray whale and its calf. There were about two dozen people observing with cameras, binoculars, and commenting as the action was going on quite a ways from shore to the north. It was obvious the killer whales were working together to try to take down their prey, as the splashes were quite large at times, followed by small lulls in the action. Within the first few minutes of being there, I had my telephoto lens on my camera and was able to see three large orcas breach up out of the water in near perfect unison before diving back under the surf. To see them work so closely was incredible, and I knew I would have even better views if I launched my drone. After photographing them with my camera for awhile, and seeing the wind was still quite minimal, I decided I wanted to attempt to get a top-down view of the action. As soon as the whales came into view I could see on the screen of my remote what all of the commotion was about there was a mother defending her calf, as they were being encircled by the orcas repeatedly. The movements of the orcas seemed both chaotic and controlled. It was evident they were using a tactic that they'd employed many times before. I heard from others they had been predating on the gray whales for at least an hour by the time I arrived, but it was likely longer than that. It was also evident as soon as the gray whales came into view on my screen that the calf was no longer alive. That was the moment I will never forget. I felt both simultaneously in awe, and awful. To see the mother gray whale lifting her lifeless calfs body to the surface multiple times in the midst of the predators who had taken its life was absolutely heartbreaking. And yet, despite the heartache, getting to see the family of killer whales work cooperatively like that was nothing short of incredible. I stayed until it was too dark to see much of anything, the splashing continuing long after the sunset. The mother whale looked tired, but she was still alive last I saw her. As I shared in my photo captions earlier, nature isn't always pretty. Moments like these are difficult to observe, to say the least. Yet it's these kinds of opportunities that show us how a mother's love can exist in animals, even in the wild. It's instances like this that show us how communication and teamwork is not an exclusively human trait. It's moments like these that connect us more with the wildlife around us. I hope that by sharing my images (and the video footage I plan to share more of soon), we find ourselves reminded how interconnected we are with the natural world around us. And I hope it's a reminder of how incredible the world is, even in the difficult moments. Oregon Coast Hotels in this area - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast. LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted 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. The Pentagon alerted the Biden administration that several offshore wind energy areas slated for development would severely conflict with military operations, facilities, and training Among the worst ones highlighted is the Kitty Hawk wind energy area, being developed off the Outer Banks Concerning the Kitty Hawk project and a few others, the Pentagon "would be unable to continue its mission as currently conducted in the space" How expensive offshore wind is What impacts it will have on ratepayers and energy poverty Why it cannot yield any measurable or palpable difference in climate change What impacts it will have on critically endangered, threatened, and other marine animals and avian species What effects it will have on job creation and economic growth What effects it will have on beach tourism What impacts it will have on the coastal fishing industry How well the enormous turbines could hold up in North Carolina's uniquely hurricane-prone waters How we will dispose of "forever waste" from blades This post appears here courtesy of the John Locke Foundation . The author of this post is Jon Sanders Does Pres. Joe Biden want to compromise national security in order to rush a political goal for offshore wind energy? In his first week in office, Biden set a goal ofShortly afterward he announced- withandtogoingAll of those phrases show what a frenzied hurry the president is in - and furthermore indicate little interest in his administration taking a measured approach given so many unstudied yet deeply impactful issues involved:Recently, the Pentagon has alerted the Biden administration of another critically unstudied matter: that several offshore wind areas planned for development would cause serious problems for U.S. military operations, facilities, and training. Among the worst is the Kitty Hawk wind energy area, being developed off the coast of North Carolina by Iberdrola through Avangrid Renewables.The Kitty Hawk offshore wind project would span an area of approximately 193 square miles (50,000 hectares) to produce 3.5 gigawatts (GW) of intermittent, weather-dependent electricity. This enormous area - over twice the area of the city of Norfolk, Virginia - would contain 69 wind turbines reaching 1,042 feet (317.5 meters) from base to tip. They would immediately become the tallest manmade structures in North Carolina by far. They would be about 20 percent taller than the state's tallest building, the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte. The project would be situated 24 nautical miles off the Outer Banks.This huge city of massive, whirling skyscrapers would create significant obstacles to military operations and be especially disruptive of fighter jet training using the Dare County Bombing Range, a training range coveringAccording to the U.S. Air Force, the Dare County Bombing Range meetsProximity of the Kitty Hawk Wind Energy Area to the Dare County Bombing Range Used by the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and the Navy and Marine Corps: Map of wind energy areas off the coasts of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware flagged asby the Navy and Air ForceAs first reported by Bloomberg on April 17,The map shows a concentration of six offshore wind projects in coastal Atlantic waters highlighted as problematic by the Pentagon. Four of the six areas, including the Kitty Hawk project, were highlighted in red, signifying areas the Pentagon consideredareas. It is in these areas, including the Kitty Hawk project,Upcoming research briefs will discuss still more military, national defense, and shipping safety dangers posed by enormous areas full of massive wind turbines. Compared with most states' laws, North Carolina's asset forfeiture laws do an excellent job of protecting innocent property owners and discouraging abuse Unfortunately, the federal government's equitable sharing program makes it possible for North Carolina law enforcement agencies to circumvent those protections Eight states and the District of Columbia have already imposed restrictions on equitable sharing; North Carolina should follow their example Ban or severely restrict federal adoptions Avoid diverting equitable sharing proceeds away from law enforcement Forbid equitable sharing unless the value of seized assets exceeds a minimum monetary threshold This post appears here courtesy of the John Locke Foundation . The author of this post is Jon Guze Depriving criminals of their ill-gotten gains is clearly desirable. The challenge is to do it in a way that protects the rights of innocent property owners and discourages abuse by law enforcement agencies. North Carolina successfully meets that challenge in two ways.First, under North Carolina's criminal forfeiture laws property may be forfeited only if the state can prove it was acquired as a result of a felony, and only after the owner has been convicted of that felony. These provisions protect the rights of innocent property owners.Second, under the North Carolina State Constitution, forfeiture proceeds must be used exclusively for maintaining public schools. This provision removes the incentive for asset forfeiture abuse and discourages the kind of predatory policing that has poisoned relations between the police and the public in many parts of the country.Both of those provisions have elicited high praise from public policy experts and have made our asset forfeiture regime a model for other states. Currently, the Institute for Justice's asset forfeiture scorecard has us in a five-way tie for third place with Maine, Maryland, Missouri, and Washington, D.C.The federal government's approach to asset forfeiture is very different from North Carolina's. Because the charges are brought against the property itself rather than the owner, under federal civil asset forfeiture laws there's no need to convict - or even charge - the owner with a crime. Because it is a civil rather than a criminal proceeding, the standard of proof is not; instead, all the government must do is show it is more likely than not that the property was somehow connected to a crime. And under federal law agencies are not just allowed to keep and use forfeiture proceeds, they are required to do so.It would be bad enough if federal forfeiture laws applied only to federal agencies. Unfortunately, a federal program calledmakes it possible for state and local agencies to process seized assets under federal law and thereby circumvent any relevant state laws. In North Carolina more than 100 agencies regularly process seized assets through the equitable sharing program. Between 2000 and 2019, those agencies collected almost $300 million's worth of equitable sharing proceeds.There are two forms of equitable sharing. The first occurs when a state or local agency participates in awith a federal agency. When that happens, the local law enforcement agency receives a share of any forfeiture proceeds based on its level of participation. With the second, a state or local law enforcement agency seizes property on its own and refers it to a federal agency forThe federal agency then processes the assets under federal law, returns the bulk of the proceeds to the state or local agency that made the seizure, and keeps 20% of the proceeds as a processing fee.Joint investigations can play a legitimate and valuable role in law enforcement by facilitating the sharing of information, expertise, and resources. Adoptions, on the other hand, serve only one purpose: to give state and local law enforcement agencies a way to circumvent state asset forfeiture laws. It is galling, therefore, that adoptions account for the bulk of equitable sharing in North Carolina.Despite equitable sharing's manifest faults, states have been reluctant to ban the practice completely, and indeed no state has done so. This, no doubt, is mostly because the prospect of taking money from drug traffickers and other criminals and using it to fund law enforcement is almost irresistibly attractive to legislators. However, it is also because no one wants to stop participating in joint investigations, which can play a valuable role in law enforcement. Rather than banning equitable sharing entirely, therefore, reformers have experimented with various ways of mitigating its worst aspects without entirely cutting off the flow of shared revenue and without losing the benefits of joint investigations. Eight states and the District of Columbia have enacted anti-circumvention legislation.In 2014, the District of Columbia was the first jurisdiction in the country to enact anti-circumvention legislation. In addition to reforming the district's own asset forfeiture regime, the legislation included an outright ban on federal adoptions. In 2016, California passed an asset forfeiture bill that included a provision that effectively banned adoptions within the state. Other state bans have followed, and the Institute for Justice (IJ) has incorporated an adoption ban into its Anti-Circumvention Model Act.The ban of federal adoptions was not the only anti-circumvention provision included in the District of Columbia's 2014 legislation. While the act did not restrict the district's law enforcement agencies' ability to participate in joint investigations with federal agencies, it did restrict the use of shared proceeds derived from such investigations by requiring that all such proceeds be deposited in the General Fund.In theory, diverting forfeiture proceeds from law enforcement to the General Fund would appear to be a very sensible requirement to impose. Diverting proceeds to the General Fund would remove the profit motive from the forfeiture process and ensure that it is used - not to generate revenue - but for its proper purpose, which is to punish criminals and discourage crime. In practice, however, there was a problem with the diversionary approach. The problem was not immediately apparent, because the District of Columbia's reform act did not become effective at the time of passage, but it was recognized the following year when New Mexico enacted asset forfeiture legislation that also diverted forfeiture assets to the General Fund. New Mexico's law took immediate effect, and, when it did, the federal government's reaction was swift and brutal: the Department of Justice (DOJ) refused to participate in any future joint investigations in New Mexico. DOJ could have simply stopped sharing the proceeds of assets seized during joint operations, but it evidently wanted to send a message, and that message was received. No anti-circumvention legislation since 2015 has diverted forfeiture proceeds away from law enforcement.With the diversionary approach effectively off the table, reformers were forced to look for an alternative way of taking the profit motive out of the forfeiture process. In the end, they settled for an approach that takes the profit motive out of most forfeiture cases by limiting equitable sharing to cases in which the value of seized assets exceeds a minimum monetary threshold. IJ's Model Act, for example, sets a $50,000 threshold.Assolutions go, this one is not too bad. Because most forfeiture cases involve small seizure amounts, the imposition of a threshold ensures that most forfeiture decisions will be made on public safety grounds alone. At the same time, because most forfeiture revenue comes from cases involving large seizure amounts, the imposition of a threshold accomplishes this goal with a minimal loss of shared revenue.The experience of the states that have already enacted anti-circumvention legislation teaches three broad lessons about what works and what doesn't. North Carolina policymakers should adopt anti-circumvention legislation that would:Applying those lessons in North Carolina would make North Carolina's asset forfeiture regime the best in the country. Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Lutheran Hospital is closing its heart transplant and inpatient burn units due to low patient volumes. In 2022, ten patients received a heart transplant, and in 2023 only one transplant has been performed, according to a June 2 hospital release. The heart transplant staff are immediately transferring patients on the waitlist for a new heart to nearby transplant centers. "Our long-term strategy is focused on services that patients are using most," CEO Clyde Wood said in the release. "We remain committed to being an innovative leader in heart care as we have talented teams specializing in medical cardiology, advanced cardiac catheterizations, STEMI services for acute heart attacks, electrophysiology, heart surgery, advanced heart failure and other cardiovascular conditions. Lutheran Hospital also holds numerous accreditations from the American College of Cardiology including their highest honor the HeartCARE Center National Distinction of Excellence." Effective June 2, the inpatient burn unit will no longer accept new patients. Current patients will be evaluated and transferred to other treatment centers if care is required after July 1. Emergency burn care will continue, according to the release. Belfast-born Tony Danker is reportedly preparing to sue the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) over his sacking in April amid allegations of misconduct, including sexual harassment. The former CBI chief is consulting lawyers as he considers making a compensation claim in the Employment Tribunal, according to The Sunday Times. Mr Danker was fired by the powerful trade body and three other unnamed employees were suspended earlier this year after a series of misconduct claims rocked the organisation. The board of the business group, which claims to represent 190,000 companies across the UK, said that Mr Dankers conduct fell short of what was expected of him. The CBI first investigated Mr Danker in January after a junior colleague complained about his behaviour, which, as reported by The Sunday Times, related to a comment the ex-business boss had made to the woman following a series of text messages between the two. The former Belfast Royal Academy student allegedly said something to the effect that he had dreamed about them singing karaoke together. The 51-year-old had initially been cleared, but the CBI let him go three months later after The Guardian newspaper said that it had been approached by more than a dozen women who claimed to be victims of various forms of sexual misconduct dating before his time in charge, including one who said she was raped at a staff party. The group launched an investigation into his behaviour and he agreed to step down in the meantime. The first part of this investigation by an outside law firm has been completed, the CBI said. Tony Danker is dismissed with immediate effect following the independent investigation into specific complaints of workplace misconduct against him, the CBI said. The board wishes to make clear he is not the subject of any of the more recent allegations in The Guardian but has determined that his own conduct fell short of that expected of the director-general. The CBI now faces a vote on Tuesday on plans to reform itself, after around 30% of its members left amid the its latest culture scandal. At least half of remaining members must back proposals by the new director-general, former chief economist Rain Newton-Smith. The trade body stated: The allegations that have been made over recent weeks about the CBI have been devastating. While investigations continue into a number of these, it is already clear to all of us that there have been serious failings in how we have acted as an organisation. We must do better, and we must be better. Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, left, shakes hands with his Japanese counterpart, Yasukazu Hamada, at bilateral talks on the sidelines of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, June 4. Yonhap South Korea and Japan agreed Sunday to craft measures to prevent the recurrence of a yearslong military dispute, involving their maritime operations, Seoul's defense chief said, in the latest effort to improve bilateral relations. After his talks with his Japanese counterpart, Yasukazu Hamada, in Singapore, Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup said the two sides will hold working-level talks to address the issue still a lingering irritant in bilateral defense cooperation. The dispute flared up in December 2018, when a Japanese maritime patrol aircraft made an unusually low-altitude flyby over a South Korean warship. Seoul has decried the plane's approach as a "menacing" flight, while Tokyo has accused the South Korean vessel of having locked its fire-control radar on the plane. "Regarding the issue, (we) agreed to resolve it by starting working-level talks and placing a focus on coming up with measures to prevent its recurrence," Lee said. The two countries' positions on the issue remain unchanged, but they agreed to focus on formulating measures to prevent such an incident from happening again, a senior Seoul official told reporters, requesting anonymity. The first defense ministerial talks between the countries since November 2019 came amid recent efforts to mend bilateral ties strained over long-running historical spats stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea. Their relations have recently taken a turn for the better after Seoul's decision in March to compensate Korean victims of Japanese wartime forced labor on its own without asking for contributions from Japanese firms. During the talks, the two ministers agreed on the importance of further advancing security cooperation between their countries, as well as trilaterally with their shared ally, the United States, to deter and respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, according to Seoul's defense ministry. On Saturday, Lee and Hamada held trilateral talks with their U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, on a range of issues, including trilateral cooperation against the security challenge that the North poses. Lee and Hamada also "strongly condemned" Pyongyang's launch of a "long-range ballistic missile under the guise of a so-called satellite" last week as a "grave" violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning any launch using ballistic missile technology, the ministry said. The North carried out the failed yet defiant launch of a purported space rocket Wednesday. Lee and Hamada also agreed that the two countries' defense authorities will continue close communication to enhance security cooperation, citing their leaders' agreement to develop bilateral ties to another level, the ministry added. President Yoon Suk Yeol visited Tokyo in March for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Kishida visited Seoul last month, resuming so-called shuttle diplomacy between the two countries' leaders after 12 years. (Yonhap) Michelle O'Neill's party, Sinn Fein, is now the largest party both in local government and in Stormont, for the first time in history. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) First Minister Designate Michelle ONeill will travel to Washington on Monday morning to update senior US officials and members of Congress on the current political impasse in Northern Ireland. Rishi Sunak will also fly to the American capital this week, and Ms ONeill has said she will urge the US to continue pressing him on prioritising the restoration of power-sharing within Northern Ireland, particularly following the results of the recent council elections here, in which Sinn Fein have emerged as the biggest party in local government. The Prime Minister is due to be in Washington DC on Wednesday and Thursday for talks with politicians in Congress and business leaders as well as with President Joe Biden. Ms ONeill said the British governments wait and see approach to the continued DUP boycott of the Assembly and Executive was lax, complacent and irresponsible. She also claimed that the DUPs stance is undermining the operation of the Good Friday Agreement. I am travelling to Washington this week to meet with senior US officials and politicians on Capitol Hill to update them on the current situation in the north following the outcome of the recent historic council elections, said the Sinn Fein vice-president. The public have now spoken in two elections over the last year. They have sent a clear signal they want parties working together around the Executive table delivering for all. They want the Good Friday Agreement implemented. She continued: The continuing refusal by one party to form an Executive is hampering progress. It is resulting in public services being left at the mercy of savage and heartless Tory cuts from London and those who work in them being denied fair pay rises. The British governments response to this boycott of our political institutions is lax, complacent and irresponsible. There is no sense of urgency. It has stalled the operation of the Good Friday Agreement and is leading to political drift. That must stop. We will be urging the US Administration to impress on the British Prime Minister during his visit to Washington this week to start working with their partners in the Irish government to prioritise restoration and the full implementation of the Agreements without any more delay. There is an onus on the two governments to realise the promise and potential of the Good Friday Agreement and its institutions. The negotiation between London and Brussels on the protocol is done. The elections are over. The public have sent a clear signal. And its now time for government to be formed and to seize the enormous economic opportunities now open to us which was highlighted by President Biden during his historic visit to Ireland. The British government by its inaction cannot give the DUP a veto over the operation of the Good Friday Agreement. The governments must act in partnership to realise the opportunities for progress, prosperity and reconciliation. There can simply be no more delays. The DUP has been boycotting Stormont following concerns around the Northern Ireland Protocol arrangements after Brexit since February last year. For the first time, Sinn Fein emerged as the largest party in the NI Assembly elections last May and in the local council elections last month, meaning they are the biggest party in Northern Ireland currently. Ms ONeill would be in line to become First Minister if the DUP dropped its boycott of the devolved institutions. President Joe Biden signed legislation on Saturday that lifts the nations debt ceiling, averting an unprecedented default on the federal governments debt. The White House announced the signing, done in private at the White House, in an emailed statement in which Mr Biden thanked congressional leaders for their partnership. The Treasury Department had warned that the country would start running short of cash to pay all of its bills on Monday, which would have sent shockwaves through the US and global economies. Republicans refused to raise the countrys borrowing limit unless Democrats agreed to cut spending, leading to a standoff that was not resolved until weeks of intense negotiations between the White House and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. 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 final agreement, passed by the House on Wednesday and the Senate on Thursday, suspends the debt limit until 2025, after the next presidential election, and restricts government spending. It gives politicians budget targets for the next two years in hopes of assuring fiscal stability as the political season heats up. Raising the nations debt limit, now at 31.4 trillion US dollars, will ensure that the government can borrow to pay debts already incurred. Passing this budget agreement was critical. The stakes could not have been higher, Mr Biden said from the Oval Office on Friday evening. Nothing would have been more catastrophic, he said, than defaulting on the countrys debt. No one got everything they wanted but the American people got what they needed, Mr Biden said, highlighting the compromise and consensus in the deal. We averted an economic crisis and an economic collapse. Mr Biden used the opportunity to itemise the achievements of his first term as he runs for re-election, including support for high-tech manufacturing, infrastructure investments and financial incentives for fighting climate change. He also highlighted ways he blunted Republican efforts to roll back his agenda and achieve deeper cuts. Were cutting spending and bringing deficits down at the same time, Mr Biden said. Were protecting important priorities from Social Security to Medicare to Medicaid to veterans to our transformational investments in infrastructure and clean energy. Even as he pledged to continue working with Republicans, Mr Biden also drew contrasts with the opposing party, particularly when it comes to raising taxes on the wealthy, something the Democratic president has sought. It is something he suggested may need to wait until a second term. The bipartisan deal passed the House and the Senate (J Scott Appkewhite/AP) Im going to be coming back, he said. With your help, Im going to win. Mr Bidens remarks were the most detailed comments from the Democratic president on the compromise he and his staff negotiated. He largely remained quiet publicly during the high-stakes talks, a decision that frustrated some members of his party but was intended to give space for both sides to reach a deal and for politicians to vote it to his desk. Mr Biden praised Mr McCarthy and his negotiators for operating in good faith, and all congressional leaders for ensuring swift passage of the legislation. They acted responsibly, and put the good of the country ahead of politics, he said. Overall, the 99-page bill restricts spending for the next two years and changes some policies, including imposing new work requirements for older Americans receiving food aid and greenlighting an Appalachian natural gas pipeline that many Democrats oppose. Some environmental rules were modified to help streamline approvals for infrastructure and energy projects, a move long sought by moderates in Congress. 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 Congressional Budget Office estimates it could actually expand total eligibility for federal food assistance, with the elimination of work requirements for veterans, homeless people and young people leaving foster care. The legislation also bolsters funds for defence and veterans, cuts back some new money for the Internal Revenue Service and rejects Bidens call to roll back Trump-era tax breaks on corporations and the wealthy to help cover the nations deficits. But the White House said the IRS plans to step up enforcement of tax laws for high-income earners and corporations would continue. The agreement imposes an automatic overall 1% cut to spending programmes if Congress fails to approve its annual spending bills a measure designed to pressure politicians of both parties to reach consensus before the end of the fiscal year in September. In both chambers, more Democrats backed the legislation than Republicans, but both parties were critical to its passage. In the Senate the tally was 63-36 including 46 Democrats and independents and 17 Republicans in favour, 31 Republicans along with four Democrats and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats opposed. The vote in the House was 314-117. Tim Scott, Ron DeSantis and Mike Pence have been campaigning in Iowa (Charlie Neibergall/Joseph Cress/AP) Eight Republican presidential hopefuls descended on Iowa to pitch themselves to voters and, in Mike Pences case, hop on a motorcycle. The former vice president and Florida governor, Ron DeSantis were among the White House contenders appearing at a rally at the state fairgrounds near Des Moines hosted by US Senator Joni Ernst. Her annual political event, the Roast and Ride, a combination barbecue-rally and motorcycle ride, kicks off a busy summer campaign season heading into the states first-in-the-nation caucuses early next year. Former president Donald Trump is the frontunner for the Republican nomination (Charlie Neibergall?AP) Former president Donald Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate, was notably absent after spending two days in the state this past week. He has largely avoided any events that have him sharing the stage with his 2024 rivals. Mr DeSantis, with his wife, Casey, and three young children in tow, chatted with voters, gave out autographs and signed the Bible of a man who thanked Mr DeSantis for standing up to Disney. Mr DeSantis just wrapped up his first week as an official candidate with a blitz of campaign stops across three early-voting states. Casey DeSantis wore a black leather jacket in 86-degree weather with the words Where Woke Goes To Die and an outline of Florida on the back. 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 brought to mind comparisons to first lady Melania Trump, who famously sent a back-of-the-jacket message of her own in 2018 with a green-hooded jacket that read I really dont care do u as she departed the White House for a trip to visit migrant children in Texas. Mr Pence was the only White House hopeful who participated in a morning motorcycle ride for charity that is a staple of Ms Ernsts annual Roast and Ride event. He wore jeans, boots and a leather vest with patches that said Indiana and messages supportive of the military. The former Indiana governor, who has made frequent trips to Iowa over the past year, is expected to launch his long-anticipated campaign at an event in Des Moines on Wednesday. Ill be back a little later next week, Mr Pence teased the crowd when he spoke later at the rally. I dont have anything to announce today. Earlier in the morning, before setting out on their motorcycle ride, Mr Pence, standing with Ms Ernst in the back of a pickup truck, again hinted at his looming candidacy. The White House (Niall Carson/PA) One of the reporters just asked me if were showing up more in Iowa, what our lane would be. I said Im more worried about the lane were going to be staying in today, Mr Pence joked. The former vice president, wearing a white motorcycle helmet and a big grin, then rode off on a cobalt blue Harley Davidson. The group rode to the fairgrounds, where candidates gave speeches and chatted with barbecue-eating voters. Other candidates speaking at the event included former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, US Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, Michigan businessman Perry Johnson, author Vivek Ramaswamy and conservative talk radio host Larry Elder. The event had the feel of a large political fair, with about 1,000 people gathered to listen to the presidential prospects speaking in front of bales of hay in a building at the fairgrounds. Many of the campaigns set up tables full of stickers, T-shirts and drink can coollers. Hugh Callaghan, one of Birmingham Six, has died aged 93. How did he find himself in prison for a crime he didnt commit and who really murdered 21 people in the Birmingham pub bombings? Hugh Callaghan passed away in a London hospital last Saturday after suspected heart trouble. Hugh Callaghan, one of the Birmingham Six who was wrongly jailed for IRA bombings, has died at the age of 93. He passed away in a London hospital last Saturday after suspected heart trouble. Originally from Belfast, he was jailed for life along with the five other men for the explosions in Mulberry Bush and Tavern pubs in the centre of Birmingham on 21 November, 1974, which killed 21 people and injured 182. The six men were eventually freed in 1991 after years of campaigning on their behalf. We examine one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British history that is yet to see those responsible held to account. Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu salutes as he steps to the podium at the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore, June 4, 2023. Beijing seeks dialogue over confrontation, Chinas defense minister told a major regional security forum Sunday, hours after the American military accused the Chinese navy of provoking a near collision with a U.S. destroyer in the Taiwan Strait. In his first international speech as Chinas defense chief, Gen. Li Shangfu accused some country of taking a selective approach to rules and international laws, and forcing its own rules on others a thinly veiled reference to the United States, Beijings rival superpower. Chinese President Xi Jinping has proposed a set of Global Security Initiatives (GSI) that feature dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance and win-win over zero sum, Li told the Shangri-La Dialogue on the last day of the security conference in Singapore. In his criticism of the U.S., he said it practices exceptionalism and double standards and only serves the interests and follows the rules of a small number of countries. The U.S. even attempts to constrain others with a convention itself has not acceded to, the Chinese minister of defense noted. He was pointing to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which the United States has not ratified but now recognizes as international law. Washington and Beijing have been at loggerheads over a number of issues, among them Chinas extensive claims in the South China Sea and U.S. freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) in the contested waters. China has repeatedly accused the U.S. of navigation hegemony there. US military: close call at sea The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, meanwhile, said that a Chinese warship had twice crossed in front of the bow of an American destroyer, causing the latter to slow down to avoid a collision as it sailed with a Canadian navy ship through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday. The guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Montreal were conducting a routine south to north transit through the Taiwan Strait transit when the incident occurred, the U.S. regional command said in a statement. The Chinese Navy destroyer executed maneuvers in an unsafe manner in the vicinity of Chung-Hoon, it said, adding that at one point, the Chinese ship overtook Chung-Hoon on their port side and crossed their bow at 150 yards [140 meters]. Chung-Hoon maintained course and slowed to 10 knots to avoid a collision. The regional command said that Chinas actions violated the maritime Rules of the Road of safe passage in international waters where aircraft and ships of all nations may fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows. Chinas Ministry of National Defense issued its own statement about the intercept at sea. It said the naval and air forces of the Peoples Liberation Armys Eastern Theater Command had conducted tracking and monitoring of the U.S. and Canadian ships lawfully and professionally. The Canadian Navys HMCS Montreal sailed through the Taiwan Strait with a U.S. Navy destroyer, the USS Chung-Hoon, June 3, 2023. [Canadian Armed Forces] But analysts said they found the event disturbing and probably the worst such reported close maritime encounter in the South China Sea since October 2018, when a Chinese warship approached the USS Decatur within just 45 yards (41 meters). China is getting reckless while trying to enforce sovereignty in the Taiwan Strait, said Richard Bitzinger, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. Beijing is just trying to force everyone to accept the idea that Taiwan Straits are somehow Chinas de facto territorial waters, the military analyst told Radio Free Asia, a news service affiliated with BenarNews. Taiwanese military analysts said that the Saturday transit was a routine operation but the Chinese Navys reaction indicated a more resolute stance. As President Xi Jinping had instructed, senior officials and military leaders should take a tough stance against challenges rather than showing a soft behavior that can be seen as weak, said Shen Ming-shih, acting deputy CEO of Taiwans Institute for National Defense and Security Research. Thats what the Chinese Defense Minister demonstrated in his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Shen said. Military expert Bitzinger said the reason behind this approach may be that the Chinese are worried that they have a narrow and closing window to exert themselves before the economy tanks and demographics catch up with them. Li: pretext for hegemony of navigation In his speech in Singapore, Minister Li said that U.S. ships were in the region for provocation. What is key now is that we must prevent attempts to use freedom of navigation as a pretext to exercise hegemony of navigation, he said. Li also lambasted the U.S.s Cold War mentality. He accused Washington of expanding military bases, re-enforcing military presence and intensifying arms race in the region actions that reflect its desire to make enem[ies], stoke confrontation, fuel the fire and fish in troubled waters. Li criticized the U.S. for willfully interfering in the internal affairs of others. He was referring to the issue of Taiwan which, Li said, was the core of Chinas core interests. The U.S. and China should seek common ground grow bilateral ties and deepen cooperation, he said. International affairs should not be handled through confrontation, the minister said, insisting that China was always seeking consensus, promoting reconciliation and negotiations. Gen. Li Shangfu, Chinas defense minister, delivers his speech on the last day of the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore, June 4, 2023. [Vincent Thian/AP Photo] A day earlier at the Singapore forum, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he was deeply concerned that Beijing had been unwilling to engage in dialogue with Washington and refused to hold direct bilateral talks. The Chinese ministers speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue and the dangerous action of its warships in the Taiwan Strait are part of the strategy that Id call riskfare, which plays on the concerns of the U.S. and other countries for risks, said Alexandre Vuving, a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu. The U.S. emphasizes communication, but China emphasizes risks and is using risk as a weapon in its struggle with the U.S., he said. Washington shows its concerned about risks in its competition with Beijing. Beijing sees it and weaponizes this U.S. concern. Washingtons willingness to reopen communications with China is genuine, according to analysts. Some believe that, despite the absence of direct contacts between the U.S. and Chinese delegations in Singapore, there are hopes for closer interactions. The U.S announced on Saturday that Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Sarah Beran, senior director for China and Taiwan Affairs at the National Security Council, were to visit Beijing this for talks with Chinese officials. Baohui Zhang, director of the Centre for Asian Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, told RFA that the communication issue in U.S.-China relations has been somewhat exaggerated. The truth is that the two sides are communicating with each other, Zhang said, noting that the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, reportedly paid a secret visit to China last month. Jake Sullivan, the top U.S. national security official, also met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in May. The trade ministers of the two countries have also met. My own view is that both sides appreciate the importance of maintaining dialogues to prevent misunderstanding and inadvertent crisis situations, the analyst said. Neither side wants war and they still maintain sufficient dialogues with each other, he said. This report was produced by Radio Free Asia. 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. Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup speaks at the press conference during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, June 3. Yonhap Korea's defense ministry on Sunday dismissed as untrue a claim by the European Union's top diplomat that he and Seoul's defense minister discussed Ukraine's need for ammunition in the ongoing war against Russia. Josep Borrell, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, tweeted the claim after his talks with Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security conference in Singapore, on Saturday. 2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction The difference between the present and future state of the saints is here expressed, the disparity between them shown, and the influence the one has upon the other. The present state is a state of "affliction". Affliction is the common lot of the children of men, but more especially of the children of God, and is here designed by "our" affliction; for these, besides their soul trouble, meet with such in the world, and from the men of it, others do not. Afflictions are appointed for them by their heavenly Father; provision is made for them, and support under them, in the covenant of grace; they are Christ's legacy to them, and by which they are conformed to him; they are always for their good, spiritual and eternal; and lie in their way to heaven, through which they must pass into the kingdom: now these their outward afflictions which are here meant, lie chiefly in the meanness of their outward circumstances; in poverty and distress, in disgrace, reproaches, and persecutions for their profession of Christ, and his truths: and in opposition to this their mean and despicable condition in the eyes of the world, their future state is signified by "glory", as it often is in the word of God; and is of such a nature, that all the glories of this world, such as kingdoms, crowns, inheritances, possessions, riches, honour, and substance of every kind and degree, by all which the heavenly state is expressed, are but faint resemblances of it: it is the same glory Christ has entered into, is possessed of for, and will give to all his people; it will chiefly lie in communion with Father, Son, and Spirit, with angels, and one another; there will be a visible glory upon the bodies of the saints, which will be fashioned like to the glorious body of Christ; and their souls will be blessed with perfect knowledge and holiness. Their affliction is represented as "light" which though it is not in itself, but often very grievous and heavy to be borne, especially when any soul trouble is added to it; yet is light, when the saint is supported by the arm of the Lord, indulged with his presence, and favoured with the discoveries of his love. The afflictions of God's people are light, when compared with their deserts, with the sufferings of Christ, the torments of the damned in hell, and the joys of heaven, which are here, by way of opposition thereunto, styled a "weight of glory". The apostle has respect to the Hebrew word (dwbk) , which signifies both "weight" and "glory", and is often used for riches, honour, and whatsoever is excellent, solid, and substantial: and here the phrase designs the weighty riches of glory, that massy crown of glory which fadeth not away, that bulky and more enduring substance, which Christ will cause them that love him to inherit. Again, the afflictions of the children of God are said to be for a moment; they are but for a while, and that a little while; at most they are but for the present time of life, and that is but as a vapour which appears for a little while, and then vanishes away; it is but as a moment, a point of time, in comparison of eternity: but the glory the saints are chosen and called unto, that weight of it which shall be put upon them is "eternal", it will last for ever; it will know no end: hence it is called an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, an everlasting kingdom, everlasting habitations, an incorruptible inheritance, and a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Now the present affliction of the people of God has a considerable influence upon this; it is said here, that it worketh for us this glory. The Jews F25 introduce God speaking words much like these. ``Saith the holy blessed God, I have sent them chastisements in this world, ( abh Mlwel Mtwewrz qzxl ) , "to strengthen their arms for", or that their arms may lay hold upon the world to come.'' Now afflictions may be said to work eternal glory for the saints, not by way of merit, for they are not worthy to be compared with the glory to be revealed; there is no proportion between them; besides, the heavenly kingdom and glory was prepared from the foundation of the world, and is a free grace gift of their heavenly Father; but they work as means of enjoying it, as the word and ordinances do; the Spirit of God makes use of them, as of the other, to work up the saints for that selfsame thing, glory: these are means of trying, exercising, and improving their graces, of weaning their hearts from this world, and drawing out their desires, hope, and expectation of another; they are the way in which believers walk to glory, and which it last issue and terminate in it; glory follows upon them, though it is not for them. 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 I wish we had better news. Governments around the world remain close to passing and enacting laws to drastically curtail the freedom of citizens to express their minds. And in the US, corporate advertisers, including Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream, are punishing Twitter owner Elon Musk for protecting freedom of speech at Twitter. We are fighting back. From June 22 - 23 in London, Matt Taibbi, Russell Brand, and free speech defenders from around the world will gather in London to launch a new free speech movement. To be sure, our opponents are strong and united, while we are weak and divided. We have never met the free speech defenders we are meeting around the world. We only know each other through video, emails, and messages. We have never before solicited donations for free speech advocacy and have little money to pay for travel and accommodations for the people flying into London. But we have something our opponents dont, which is the love of freedom and a passion to protect and expand it. While the forces of self-censorship and censorship are powerful, large majorities of citizens everywhere in the world want the right to express their views freely and without risk of being censored or otherwise punished. And now, the mainstream media are finally covering the truth. After months and years of the media and governments lying about their censorship, calling the exceedingly well-documented Censorship Industrial Complex a conspiracy theory, mainstream newspapers are starting to cover the truth. Donate to Free Speech Alliance In blockbuster new reporting based on Freedom of Information requests, The Telegraph of London today reports that the UK government worked with BBC, Google, and Facebook to secretly censor valid criticisms of Covid lockdowns and vaccines for kids. The full video is for paid subscribers Why did this happen? Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy. Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, left, shakes hands with Josep Borrell, high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy, during the third plenary session of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Saturday (local time). Yonhap By Lee Hyo-jin The Ministry of National Defense denied claims that it discussed sending ammunition to Ukraine with the European Union (EU), amid lingering speculation that Korea is proceeding with indirect military assistance to Kyiv. Korea's Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup met with Josep Borrell, high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy, Saturday, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. In a tweet after the meeting, Borrell said, "Good meeting with Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup at #SLD23. Shared alarm at continued DPRK provocations and discussed Ukraine's needs for ammunition." However, the defense ministry dismissed claims that Lee and Borrell discussed ammunition support to Kyiv. "The EU mentioned the need for various weapons systems and other support in order to improve Ukraine's situation against Russia, and there were unilateral remarks (from the EU) about the importance of ammunition," the ministry said in a text message sent to reporters, Sunday. The ministry did not directly mention Borrell's tweet, but stressed that the provision of ammunition was not a subject of discussions and thus further talks were not held on the matter. The meeting between Korea's defense minister and the EU's top diplomat took place amid heated debate about whether Korea is proceeding with indirect military aid to the war-torn Eastern European state. According to a Wall Street Journal report published on May 24, hundreds and thousands of Korean artillery rounds that will be exported to the U.S. may eventually be shipped to Kyiv. Regarding the report, the defense ministry said "some of the content is inaccurate," but did not confirm further details of the arms deal with Washington. Wary of relations with Russia deteriorating, Korea has so far maintained its position of providing only humanitarian and economic assistance to Ukraine. However, President Yoon Suk Yeol's interview with Reuters in April, during which he hinted at possible arms support to Kyiv depending on the situation of the war, signaled a major shift from the current principle. South Korea's Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, left, hold bilateral talks with Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on the sidelines of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Sunday. Yonhap Seoul, Tokyo, Washington to share NK missile warning data in real time By Lee Hyo-jin The defense chiefs of South Korea and Japan agreed to find ways to prevent a recurrence of a maritime dispute, signaling a major step in mending frayed military ties as the two countries team up against North Korea and its evolving nuclear threats. South Korea's Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup held bilateral talks with his Japanese counterpart Yasukazu Hamada, Sunday, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. It was the first two-way defense ministerial talks between the neighboring countries in three and a half years. "We have agreed to focus on preventing a recurrence," Lee told reporters shortly after the meeting, referring to the 2018 maritime incident. He added that the two nations will resolve the matter beginning with working-level discussions. The rare one-on-one talks between the defense ministers drew keen attention as to whether the two sides will agree to resolve a years-long military dispute that led to the suspension of bilateral security cooperation. The incident arose in December 2018, when Japan alleged that South Korea's Gwanggaeto the Great destroyer had used its fire control radar system on a P-1 aircraft operated by the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force. Seoul rejected the claim, stating that the warship was conducting a humanitarian rescue operation involving a North Korean ship. It also demanded an apology for the Japanese warplane's provocative low-altitude flight over South Korean destroyers. Amid the controversy, the South Korean government issued guidelines to its Navy in January 2019, instructing them to use their direct fire control radar on Japanese aircraft flying nearby only if the plane does not respond to two radio warnings. South Korea's Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, left, shakes hands with Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada during a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Sunday. Yonhap Tom Hollander said he is more cautious about opening any post from Russia that arrives at the West End theatre where he stars in an anti-Putin play following the war in Ukraine. The White Lotus star, 55, plays billionaire businessman Boris Berezovsky opposite His Dark Materials actor Will Keen who stars as Vladimir Putin in Patriots at the Noel Coward Theatre. The Bafta-award winning actor appeared on Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg where he was asked if his approach to the play had changed, given it was written by Peter Morgan before the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. "Now that we're at war I'm more cautious about opening any post that arrives at the theatre from Russia" Actor Tom Hollander says Patriots, the play he is currently starring in, is "broadly speaking anti-Putin#BBCLauraK https://t.co/cNQhRe9nOr pic.twitter.com/gSSvjLO0hQ Advertisement BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) June 4, 2023 Hollander said: What has changed now that were at war is Im more cautious about opening any post that arrives at the theatre from Russia. Were at war arent we, and were quite visibly doing a play which is broadly speaking anti-Putin and so I just go, Oh, I probably wont open that. When asked if he felt he has made himself a target by taking on the role, he said: No, I just think its a little bit more serious than it would have been before the war, thats all. Were not doing this sweet (Anton) Chekhov play, were doing something thats about living figures who are embattled with the west. Its just a reason for not opening everything that arrives in the post. Entertainment Jeremy Clarkson: Ive never seen a witch-hunt like... Read More Hollander described the play as a morality tale about somebody going to war with the devil and losing. He added: They were all patriots, Putin is sincere, he is a moralist. Berezovsky in his own way is a moralist, so is (Alexander) Litvinenko. All these characters who we learn about, theyre all fighting over the soul of Russia and they all felt they were doing the right thing and therein lies the tragedy. An army officer who was convicted of sexually assaulting a female soldier at a military barracks in Dublin three years ago is to appeal the ruling of a military court that he be dismissed from the Defence Forces. The officer, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is seeking to overturn both his conviction by a military court of the sexual assault as well as the sentence imposed by a military judge which will end his career of over 15 years as a solider. The Courts Service has confirmed that the officer has lodged an appeal against his conviction of the sexual assault and his dismissal from the Defence Forces which was the sentence handed down by Military Judge, Colonel Michael Campion, in April. It followed the conclusion of a six-week trial before a general court martial last year in which a military board (jury) of seven senior-ranking Defence Forces personnel found the officer guilty of sexually assaulting a female non-commissioned officer following a social function at McKee Barracks in Dublin on June 25th 2020. Advertisement Evidence was heard that the officer had moved his open palms up and down the victims back while saying come on, come on while they were in the officers mess. The officer was also found guilty of assaulting the same NCO on the same date by moving towards her in a manner which led her to apprehend that she was going to be assaulted. The court heard the officer had been brought to the mess by two female NCOs after being found asleep in a drunken state outside a gymnasium, while dressed in uniform, following an outdoor barbeque on the base, which occurred at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. All the offences occurred during a 30-minute period before midnight following the barbecue organised by the militarys Joint Task Force which provided assistance to the health authorities in combating the spread of Covid-19. An independent report into the event ordered by the Department of Defence, which was published in March, found it did not conform with Covid legislation that was in place at the time in relation to social gatherings. The report found the decision to hold such an event lacked judgement and was the result of significant leadership failings. Advertisement The officer a married man with children also pleaded guilty at the outset of the case to five separate charges including an assault on each of the two female NCOs and two counts of drunkenness contrary to the Defence Act 1954. However, he was cleared by the military board of three other charges of sexual assault involving his two female colleagues and a separate charge of assaulting one of them. During the trial, the Director of Military Prosecutions withdrew four other alleged breaches of the Defence Act 1954, while the judge also directed the acquittal of the officer on three other charges including one of sexual assault. Sentencing the officer to dismissal from the Defence Forces, Col Campion said the serious nature of the offending was incompatible with continued service and represented an egregious breach of the ethos of [military] service. The judge also remarked that the defendants sentence was a high price to pay for a one-off lapse but that his conduct was entirely unacceptable. The officer was also sentenced to six months in custody as well as a series of fines ranging from 10-14 days pay. Ireland Man arrested in Belfast over Cork assault Read More However, the judge suspended the period of incarceration and reduced the fines to nil because of the severe financial impact which the officer will suffer because of his dismissal from the Defence Forces. The appeal by the officer is expected to be heard before the end of the year by the Court of Appeal, which is the appellate court for general court martials. In the appeal, lawyers for the defendant are expected to highlight another case of how an army instructor which was convicted in October 2021 of a sexual assault on a female recruit during a first-aid demonstration was only fined a loss of pay equivalent to 2,690 as well as forfeiting seniority in his rank for a period of 10 years as punishment. On that occasion, the legal representative of the Director of Military Prosecutions claimed it was unprecedented that someone convicted of a sexual assault by a court-martial could continue in the service of the Defence Forces. A mother who is taking legal proceedings against Gemma O'Doherty over the use of an image of her deceased son has launched a GoFundMe page to help fund the action. Edel Campbell launched High Court proceeding against Ms O'Doherty after an image of her son, Diego Gilsenan, was used in a photo montage in The Irish Light, of which Ms O'Doherty is the publisher. Mr Gilsenan's was one of 42 images included in the montage, with the paper claiming the deaths of those pictured were linked to the Covid-19 vaccine. As reported by The Irish Times, Ms Campbell, of Kingscourt, Co Cavan, launched the legal proceedings seeking that Ms O'Doherty cease use of Mr Gilsenan's image. A statement issued by Ms Campbell's solicitor added that previous requests to Ms O'Doherty to "refrain from the exploitation of her sons image and tragedy for her own purposes and agenda" were unsuccessful as "all pleas have been ignored". Advertisement Ms Gilsenan died by suicide in August 2021. The GoFundMe page, which was set up on Friday, has a target of 20,000, and had raised over 7,500 at the time of writing, having received 260 donations. The page is not organised by Ms Campbell, but lists her as the beneficiary. The page states the High Court proceedings were "brought reluctantly by Edel in an attempt to protect her family from the toxicity of Gemma O'Doherty's false and nasty publication". "Fighting such a case through the High Court is a very costly exercise and this is the reason we are seeking your financial support to enable Edel and her legal team to exhaust every possible avenue to bring Gemma O'Doherty to justice where she has been failed by politicians and Gardai. "We want to let Edel know she is not alone and she is very much supported in this battle against hate and negativity," the fundraising page states. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can freephone the Samaritans 24 hours a day for confidential support at 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. Alternatively, the contact information for a range of mental health supports is available at mentalhealthireland.ie/get-support. In the case of an emergency, or if you or someone you know is at risk of suicide or self-harm, dial 999/112. A man who was wanted for trial in the Republic of Ireland in relation to an assault in Fermoy, County Cork, has been arrested by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The 36-year-old was detained under an international warrant by local response officers in north Belfast on Saturday evening. He was due to be taken before an extradition court in the city on Sunday. A 36-year-old man who was wanted to stand trial in the Republic of Ireland has been arrested in north Belfast. pic.twitter.com/woAOIeBCD0 Police North Belfast (@PSNIBelfastN) June 4, 2023 Ireland Stephen Donnelly accused of leaving pharmacies in... Read More Sergeant Davey, from the International Policing Unit, said: The arrest is an another great example of partnership working between An Garda Siochana, the National Crime Agency, north Belfast response officers and the Police Service of Northern Irelands International Policing Unit. Advertisement Our determination and commitment to working with international law enforcement partners to track down wanted persons and bring offenders to justice continues. Our message is clear that we will relentlessly pursue those that are trying to delay or deny justice to victims of crime. Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has been accused of ignoring Irelands 1,900 pharmacies and leaving them in the dark over their future funding. The Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) has said the sector is rapidly losing faith in Mr Donnelly and his departments ability to utilise pharmacies appropriately and is now campaigning for meaningful engagement. Derek Reilly the newly appointed interim Secretary General of the IPU said, Pharmacies have endured a 15-year-long pay freeze at the hand of the government. "They provide vital healthcare services on behalf of the state and while costs increase dramatically the fees received for doing this work are lower now than in 2009. We are reaching the point where the future viability of many pharmacies is coming into question. Ireland Support for Sinn Fein rises in latest opinion poll Read More Mr Reilly accused Mr Donnelly of discriminating against the pharmacy profession. Community Pharmacy is now the only healthcare sector that has had no pay restoration since the financial crisis. There is no reason for this blatant discrimination, and it needs to change. Advertisement Mr Reilly explained that the IPU is calling for the introduction of a flat fee model of care being reimbursed at 6.50 per medicine. In 2009, pharmacies were paid an average dispensing fee of 6.00. That was cut during the recession and has never been restored despite costs being significantly higher. "But above all else right now we are calling on the Minister for Health to engage with community pharmacies to discuss fees before the June 30th deadline. The unfortunate reality is that we are seeing an increasing number of pharmacies reducing hours and closing at weekends. Patients are experiencing longer wait times for prescription medicines to be dispensed. This government has been warned that this would happen but sadly continue to sleepwalk into a major crisis. Fifteen years after Kosovo declared independence, 50,000 minority Serbs in the north bordering Serbia refuse to recognise state institutions, receive pay and benefits from Serbia's budget and pay no taxes either to Pristina or Belgrade. Unrest in the region has intensified more recently since ethnic Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo's Serb-majority area after April elections the Serbs boycotted, a move that led the US and its allies to rebuke Pristina. Here are some facts about an enduring stand-off that fuels Western Balkans instability and must be settled to help meet conditions for Kosovo's aspiration to join the European Union... What is the root of the tensions? Independence for ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo came on February 17th, 2008, almost a decade after a guerrilla uprising against repressive Serbian rule, and is recognised by more than 100 countries. Serbia, however, still formally deems Kosovo to be part of its territory and denies suggestions it is whipping up strife within its neighbour's borders. Belgrade accuses Pristina of trampling on the rights of minority Serbs. Advertisement Ethnic Serbs account for 5 per dent of Kosovo's 1.8 million people, and ethnic Albanians about 90 per cent. Serbs in north Kosovo vent their rejectionism by refusing to pay the state utility for energy they use and often attacking police who try to make arrests. What's driving worse tensions? Unrest in the region has intensified since ethnic Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo's Serb-majority area after April elections the Serbs boycotted, a move that led the US and its allies to rebuke Pristina. North Kosovo Serbs on Dec. 10 erected multiple roadblocks and exchanged fire with police after a former Serb policeman was arrested for allegedly assaulting serving police officers during a previous protest. But tensions had been ticking upward for months in a dispute over car license plates. Kosovo has for years wanted Serbs in the north to switch their Serbian license plates, dating to the pre-independence era, to ones issued by Pristina, as part of its policy to assert authority over all of Kosovo territory. On July 31st, Pristina announced a two-month window for the plates to be switched over, triggering unrest, but after EU crisis mediation later agreed to push the implementation date back to the end of 2023. Ethnic Serb mayors in northern municipalities, along with local judges and 600 police officers, resigned in Novemberin protest at the looming switch, deepening dysfunction and lawlessness in the region. What do the Serbs ultimately want? Advertisement Serbs in Kosovo seek to create an association of majority-Serb municipalities operating with considerable autonomy. Pristina rejects this as a recipe for a mini-state within Kosovo, effectively partitioning the country along ethnic lines. Serbia and Kosovo have made little progress on this and other issues since committing in 2013 to an EU-sponsored dialogue aimed at normalising ties, for both a requirement for EU membership. What is the role of NATO and the EU? NATO retains 3,700 peacekeeping troops in Kosovo, the remainder of an original 50,000-strong force deployed in 1999. The alliance says it would intervene in line with its mandate if Kosovo were at risk of renewed conflict. The EU's EULEX mission, begun in 2008 to train domestic police and crack down on graft and gangsterism, retains 200 special police officers in Kosovo. What is the latest EU peace plan? US and EU envoys are pressing Serbia and Kosovo to approve a plan presented in mid-2022 under which Belgrade would stop lobbying against a Kosovo seat in international organisations including the United Nations. Kosovo would commit to form an association of Serb-majority municipalities. And both sides would open representative offices in each other's capital to help resolve outstanding disputes. What do Serbia and Kosovo think? Serbia's president appears ready to approve the plan, warning recalcitrant nationalists in parliament Belgrade will otherwise face damaging isolation in Europe. Kosovo's prime minister said yes with caveats, calling it a "solid platform" for further talks on steps such as "international guarantees" - mooting possible terms for local Serb self-governance. World Russia's most famous icon handed over from museum... Read More But with nationalist hardliners powerful on both sides, not least among north Kosovo Serbs, no breakthrough is on the horizon. What's at stake for the local Serb population? The area of north Kosovo where Serbs form a majority is in important ways a virtual extension of Serbia. Local administration and public servants, teachers, doctors and big infrastructure projects are paid for by Belgrade. Local Serbs fear that once fully integrated within Kosovo they could lose benefits such as Serbia's free public healthcare and be forced onto Kosovo's private healthcare system. They also fear pensions would be smaller, given that average monthly pension in Kosovo is worth 100 compared with 270 in Serbia. -Reuters More than 30 people detained in connection with plans to disrupt the Epsom Derby have been released on bail, police said on Sunday. Police arrested 31 people on Saturday, including a protester who was detained after entering the racecourse. "We absolutely support people's rights to peacefully protest, but we differentiate between this and unacceptable criminal behaviour," Chief Superintendent Clive Davies said. Auguste Rodin, ridden by Ryan Moore, won the 244th Epsom Derby. Last year's Epsom Derby was delayed after six protesters from Animal Rising, then named Animal Rebellion, entered the course and had to be removed by the police. April's British Grand National was delayed by animal rights protesters, while more than 20 people were arrested at the Scottish Grand National. -Reuters Advertisement Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, left, shakes hand with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius during their meeting at Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore, Sunday. Yonhap The defense chiefs of South Korea and Germany held talks in Singapore on Sunday to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in the arms industry and other security areas, Seoul's defense ministry said. Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, held the talks on the margins of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, as the two countries mark the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. The two ministers noted that the two countries are traditionally friendly countries that have maintained cooperative relations for a long period, and agreed to strengthen defense cooperation for the "rules-based order," it said. They also agreed to continue military cooperation, such as joint participation in multinational exercises, it added. Lee thanked Pistorius for Germany's efforts for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, such as its participation in international efforts to implement U.N. Security Council sanctions against North Korea, and asked for its continued support, according to the ministry. It marked the first meeting between the two countries' defense chiefs since May 2021. (Yonhap) A nine-year-old boy in the UK has been seriously injured as an inflatable zorb ball came off a lake and landed on grass nearby. The boy was inside the zorb at 2pm on Sunday at an outdoor festival in Victoria Park, Rotten Row, Southport, Merseyside. He was taken away by air ambulance for treatment and remains in hospital. Police are investigating the cause of the incident, amid reports that the zorb was blown by a gust of wind. The force said a second zorb ball was also raised but the child inside was unharmed. We are appealing for information after a child was seriously injured today during an incident at an outdoor festival in Victoria Park, Southport. If you captured any images or video footage of what happened, please get in touch: https://t.co/75ZRwWWnaN pic.twitter.com/WZeIQxa5eD Advertisement Merseyside Police (@MerseyPolice) June 4, 2023 Victoria Park, which is home to Southport Flower Show, was hosting Southport Food and Drink Festival this weekend. The Visit Southport website said the event included inflatables, water walkers, slides for children. A Merseyside Police statement said: We are appealing for information after a child was seriously injured today in Southport. At around 2pm on Sunday June 4, it was reported that a nine-year-old boy had sustained significant injuries. The boy was inside an inflatable zorb ball on a lake, which was unexpectedly raised into the air before it landed on the grass. A second zorb ball containing another child was also raised at the same time, but thankfully this child was unharmed. The nine-year-old was taken to hospital by air ambulance for treatment to his injuries. He remains in hospital at this time. We are now appealing for anyone who may have captured images or videos of the incident to please get in touch to help us establish the circumstances of what happened. Animal Rising has accused the Epsom Derby Jockey Club of breaching safety procedures by failing to stop a race after one of its activists ran on to the track. The protester, who jumped the barrier shortly after the Betfred Derby began, was wrestled to the ground and dragged away by police before the horses could reach him. The Jockey Club, which owns the Epsom Downs, hit out at the activist for putting the lives of horses and athletes at risk, describing his actions as reckless and illegal while Julie Harrington, of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) strongly condemned them for jeopardising the safety of the animals. But a spokesman for the animal rights organisation, which also disrupted the Grand National in Aintree in April, said the club should have stopped the race immediately once the activist had entered the track. Advertisement It said they chose to steam ahead regardless as they were under immense pressure to finish the 1:30pm race before ITV1s coverage switched to the FA Cup Final at around 2pm. According to the BHA rules, published on its website, a yellow Stop Race flag should be waved if there is a major hazard ahead which is unable to be avoided. In a statement, Animal Rising said: It was clear to security and police that several individuals attempted to enter the track before the race began, but race organisers chose to steam ahead regardless. World 19 animal rights activists arrested ahead of Epsom... Read More The fact that the individuals involved were on the courses last stretch is no excuse for the Jockey Clubs decision to not only start the race but then fail to follow the British Horseracing Authority Stop Race procedures for when people are on the track. In an industry where a horse dies every other day, it is unsurprising that the need to run the race was put above care for animals. The Jockey Club has been approached for comment. Senegals government temporarily suspended mobile phone data on Sunday as the country reels from days of deadly clashes between police and supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. The ministry of communication, telecommunications and digital economy said that because of the diffusion of subversive messages in a context of public disorder in certain localities, cellphone internet data would be suspended during certain time periods. The statement comes after days of clashes throughout the West African nation between Sonkos supporters and police. The official death toll is unclear. The government says that 15 people, including two members of the security forces, have been killed, while the opposition says 19 people have died. Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was convicted in his absence of corrupting youth (Sylvain Cherkaoui/AP/PA) The clashes first broke out on Thursday, after Sonko was convicted of corrupting youth but acquitted on charges of raping a woman who worked at a massage parlour and making death threats against her. Advertisement Sonko, who did not attend his trial in Dakar, was sentenced to two years in prison. His lawyer said that a warrant had not yet been issued for his arrest. Sonko came third in Senegals 2019 presidential election and is popular with the countrys youth. His supporters maintain that his legal troubles are part of a government effort to derail his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election. Sonko is considered to be Senegalese president Macky Salls main competition and has urged Mr Sall to state publicly that he will not seek a third term in office. Sonko has not been seen or heard from since the verdict. Police in riot gear stand guard during clashes with demonstrators in Dakar, Senegal (Leo Correa/AP/PA) The international community has called on Senegals government to resolve the tensions. The government had already suspended access to some social media sites, such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter, which it said was being used to incite violence. At a news conference on Saturday evening, the government said it would take all necessary measures to secure the country. I would like to reassure the Senegalese people that whatever attacks we have, the state will face them, interior minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome said. Around 500 people have been arrested across the country, including those belonging to political parties as well as those who are just trying to scare people, he said. Rights groups have condemned the government crackdown, which it says has included arbitrary arrests. Justice Anthony Besankos dispassionate tone gave nothing away about the force of the judgment he was delivering in Ben Roberts-Smiths defamation case in a federal courtroom in Sydney. In light of my conclusions, each proceeding must be dismissed, Justice Besanko intoned last Thursday. But his words, broadcast initially on YouTube, echoed around the worlds media. The judge said that the media outlets involved had managed to prove some of the most serious allegations of war crimes against Australias most decorated living soldier, reporter Phil Mercer told BBC viewers. CNN, The New York Times and Washington Post ran the story, hammering similar points. A judge had found that a decorated veteran had murdered defenceless people, his former comrades had testified against him, Australia was having a hard reckoning with how it conducted the war in Afghanistan, journalism had triumphed. Australias domestic media has covered the story with a much greater intensity, reflecting its status as perhaps the biggest set-piece news event of the year. But in an often bitterly divided media landscape, exacerbated by Roberts-Smiths employment by Seven and financial backing by proprietor Kerry Stokes, the coverage had much less uniformity than overseas. Its Rich List season, and according to the various stocktakes of wealth that have been published recently around the world, its been a tough 12 months at the pointy end. Boo hoo. These annual roll calls of the super rich make fascinating reading when it comes to the rise and fall of the worlds great fortunes, and reveal how so few have managed to have so much. James and Kerry Packer in 1998. Credit: Peter Morris Take, for example, James Packer. A couple of decades ago the billionaires late father, Kerry Packer, was often on top of the Rich List. His son ranked a comparatively modest 18th spot in last weeks Financial Review Rich List with $4.95 billion, yet he receives much more media attention than many of the 17 billionaires in front of him. Indeed, James Packer remains just as famous as Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, who rank far below him at 198th (their Rich List top 200 debut) with an estimated combined fortune of $695 million. Their wealth is the result of fame being deliberately courted and monetised. Real Money, a free weekly newsletter giving expert tips on how to save, invest and make the most of your money, is sent every Sunday. Youre reading an excerpt sign up to get the whole newsletter in your inbox. In the late part of the 20th century, credit cards were an essential part of everyday life. It took until well into the 2000s for debit cards to gain traction, and only in 2017 did the value of debit card transactions overtake personal credit card spending. Young Australians are turning back to credit cards, but theyre not always a good idea. Credit: Aresna Villanueva There are still some 13 million credit cards in circulation, and if youre part of the Gen X/Boomer crowd, theres a good chance you still rely on your credit card to manage month-to-month finances. Among younger Australians, credit cards have remained unpopular, largely due to perceptions they are costly or unnecessary, and the rise of more convenient credit options such as Afterpay. I count myself as among those reluctant to get a credit card, though I do know a number of people who use them regularly. Horses for courses, I suppose. The pandemic also had an impact on their popularity, as people saved more and reduced debt, aided in part by reams of government stimulus. Dusty Miller, a former SAS medic who served in Afghanistan and who in 2020 revealed war crimes involving an SAS soldier not tied to the case, said the finding was vindication for those who testified in court about Roberts-Smiths now proven involvement in summary executions. Miller served with several of the SAS witnesses who testified and said they displayed physical courage in fighting for their country and moral courage in exposing a war hero who threatened and intimidated those who challenged his lies. Miller also warned of ongoing efforts to deride veterans who testified honestly about Roberts-Smith. The truth sometimes is still not enough because the myth and the legend is far stronger. There are still going to be a large majority of people out there that will not accept this, he said. Soldier Y said some veterans were badly shaken by attacks during cross-examination. At least two SAS veterans broke down after testifying. Along with being accused of jealousy and cowardice, some soldiers were quizzed about whether the mental trauma they suffered as a result of their wartime service had impacted on their credibility as witnesses. During the court case, Roberts-Smiths barristers acted on his instructions. For years, Roberts-Smith has claimed the war crimes allegations were invented by jealous rivals in the SAS and published to harm his subsequent employer, Seven West Media. I think most of these blokes have never even seen the inside of a courtroom before and here they are being asked to relive tough experiences and at the same time they were also being accused of lying and incompetence, and conspiring against BRS by his lawyers, Soldier Y said. For some blokes it was pretty tough. One witness, a medic, was pressed by Roberts-Smiths barrister, Arthur Moses, SC, about whether he had witnessed the death of Afghans and whether this had caused the soldier any anguish or trauma. Its never nice to see a dead person regardless of whether theyre an Afghan or Australian, the witness replied. Moses responded by asking the medic if dead Afghans were something that is hard to look at. When the witness replied that encountering corpses was not enjoyable, Moses asked him again whether dealing with those killed in combat was difficult to observe. The witness broke down after leaving the courtroom. Justice Besanko cautioned Moses about his use of a belittling or insulting tone during the cross-examination of another SAS veteran. On Saturday, another key member of Roberts-Smiths legal team, Monica Allen who was photographed holding hands with Roberts-Smith in 2020 wrote on social media that she was pleased to attract more followers to an Instagram account run by a Roberts-Smith backer who has attacked SAS war crimes witnesses and whistleblowers as rats. Soldier Y said that by launching his case, Roberts-Smith had forced his old colleagues to undergo this additional trauma. I think I could say on behalf of every guy who took the witness stand that actually none of us wanted to be there, none of us wanted the publicity or the attention. We just wanted to do our jobs and tell the truth and go home, Soldier Y said. Voice from an Afghan village His comments come as an Afghan villager who witnessed Roberts-Smith kick his uncle off a cliff vowed to testify in any future criminal trials involving the famous veteran, despite his fears of retribution. An exhibit in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case, showing the village of Darwan. The X marked with B and an arrow is the cliff from which Ali Jan was kicked by Roberts-Smith. Afghan Mohammed Hanifa delivered vital evidence via video link in the defamation case about how he had witnessed a big soldier kick handcuffed Afghan father and farmer Ali Jan off a small cliff during an SAS raid on the village of Darwan on September 11, 2012. Besanko ruled the now disgraced ex-soldier kicked Ali Jan from the cliff and participated in his execution. Hanifa risked the wrath of the Taliban to be interviewed by this masthead and 60 Minutes about the execution of his uncle. In the interview, he demonstrated again how his uncle was kicked while bound from the cliff after laughing at one of Ben Roberts-Smiths questions. Hanifa said Ali Jan was then dragged into a nearby field and shot in the head and body. There were two soldiers who dragged Ali Jan by his arms while his hands were handcuffed behind him, to the corn field, where many shots were fired, he said. This masthead has also confirmed that Australian war crimes detectives from the Australian Federal Police interviewed Hanifa in 2019 as part of the AFPs ongoing investigations into Roberts-Smith. But sources said prosecutors believed it unlikely any Afghan witnesses would ever testify in an Australian court if Roberts-Smith were criminally charged because the AFP and specialist war crimes body the Office of the Special Investigator are hesitant to deal with the Taliban regime. Soldier Y confirmed he was interviewed by federal investigators about Roberts-Smith. Roberts-Smiths barristers repeatedly challenged witnesses at the defamation trial over their failure to report alleged war crimes. They [some of the SAS witnesses] are direct witnesses in events that could constitute war crimes and here they are being forced to relive it. And in the cold light of retrospective day, they are being asked, Why didnt you stop it? Soldier Y said. He said the question raised a major problem in the SAS which the Brereton inquiry into alleged war crimes also uncovered: the code of silence that meant that war crimes were covered up. The trial also highlighted how senior SAS figures had failed to act on internal military complaints that Roberts-Smith had gone rogue, Soldier Y said. Several SAS witnesses described raising concerns up their chain of command about how Roberts-Smith had engaged in war crimes, bullied fellow soldiers or lied about what happened during Afghan mission, with little or no response. I know reporting had been [done] in the past; theres certainly instances that involved BRS and nothing had been done. I think theyd sort of lost faith in the system in a way, that was never going to formally investigate, fact find or scratch the surface so why bother, Soldier Y said. Soldiers who testified in the defamation case said junior troopers who dared to challenge Roberts-Smith were bullied or threatened with violence. The allegation that Roberts-Smith was a bully was one of those Besanko ruled was true. One soldier alleged Roberts-Smith threatened to shoot him in the back of the head. Hed basically targeted those people who he felt threatened by, Soldier Y said. One of the guys that he relentlessly bullied over the years was literally half his size. Its the kind of behaviour that he exhibits. Very aggressive in that it almost got the point of people stopped calling him out. That if anyone tried to question or raise an issue with him, it just triggered this irrational rage. Loading Soldier Y called for Roberts-Smiths war decorations to be investigated in light of the Federal Court findings that Roberts-Smith is a war criminal and liar, and given the discrepancies and doubts aired during the defamation trial about the citations underpinning certain medals. SAS sources have long queried the accuracy of the citations that led to Roberts-Smiths Medal for Gallantry in 2006 and Commendation for Distinguished Service in 2012. He knew he could get a citation through and it wouldnt be questioned, Soldier Y said. If they are accurate and true, he has nothing to worry about. If they are not true, well then they should be removed. FANCY BEAR GOES PHISHING: The Dark History of the Information Age, in Five Extraordinary Hacks Author: Scott J Shapiro Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux Pages: 420 : Farrar, Straus & Giroux Price: $30 Dont let the adorable title fool you: As Scott J Shapiro acknowledges in Fancy Bear Goes Phishing, his new book about cybersecurity, hacking can inflict terrible harm. Shapiro is the author, with Oona A Hathaway, of The Internationalists (2017), which recounts 20th-century efforts to outlaw war; among the numerous questions animating Fancy Bear Goes Phishing is whether hacking has opened the door to war by other means. Also Read Xiaomi Redmi Smart Fire TV 32 review: Among the best smart TVs on budget Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Giants WPL 2023: Guide to book online tickets TCS Q4 review: Near-term growth to moderate, demand levers intact: Analysts HAL has order book of Rs 84,000 cr, another Rs 50,000 cr in pipeline: CMD New Delhi World Book Fair to be held from February 25: National Book Trust A contemporary look at Indian history What to do when skill and energy wane Anglophile scientist, ardent nationalist The political anatomy of caste Vajpayee's true colours The hack was undeniably embarrassing, and the 2016 election results ended up being so close that its impossible to say whether the drip-drip-drip of leaked emails was a factor in turning a roiling tide in Donald J Trumps favour. Not to mention that hacking into the DNCs systems was a standard act of espionage, Shapiro writes, and espionage happens to be legal under international law. Spies like to go phishing so what? Its what they do with their catch thats the real question. In releasing the pilfered information for the world to see, Fancy Bear might have engaged in an act of war. Fancy Bear and Cozy Bear refer to the cyberespionage units linked to Russian intelligence that gained access to the Democratic National Committees computer systems before the 2016 presidential election. Fancy Bear released a trove of emails that included Hillary Clintons closed-door speeches to Goldman Sachs and her campaign chairmans tips for risotto. The business with the DNC is one. The others involve the Morris Worm, which infected the early internet in 1988 and happened to be created by the son of the chief scientist for computer security at the National Security Agency; the 1990s malware handiwork of a Bulgarian hacker known as the Dark Avenger; the 2005 hack into Paris Hiltons cellphone by a 16-year-old boy; and the Mirai botnet, a networked supercomputer developed in 2016 by three teenagers that gathered strength by secretly conscripting so-called smart appliances, like security cameras and toasters. Anyone looking for words that amount to a comprehensive guide to cybersecurity or an apocalyptic thriller about a digital Armageddon would be more efficiently served elsewhere. Shapiro might have some things to say about cybercrime and cyberwar, but what he really wants to do with his words is tell us the stories of five hacks. The technological element is just one half of the hacking problem, amounting to what Shapiro calls the downcode. The other half is the upcode, which refers to everything human: Laws, norms, the cognitive biases that allow clever humans to think they can get by with poor cyberhygiene. Shapiro argues that technical fixes are important, but they can only protect us so much. Downcode is downstream from upcode. Cybersecurity is not a primarily technological problem that requires a primarily engineering solution, he writes. It is a human problem that requires an understanding of human behavior. Shapiro himself started out as a computer science major in college and had a stint as a tech entrepreneur, constructing databases for clients that included Time-Life Books. He didnt hack his first computer until he was 52, though he made up for lost time by hacking the Yale Law School website, a feat that my dean did not appreciate. Shapiro is funny and unflaggingly fascinated by his subject, luring even the non-specialist into technical descriptions of coding by teasing out connections between computer programming and, say, the paradox of Achilles and the tortoise. So over time we build up defences by becoming less innocent. But as Shapiro shows, regulation can still leave even the careful computer user more vulnerable than necessary. The impenetrable legalese of endless licensing agreements has allowed software companies to escape liability in ways that, say, the manufacturer of a defective toaster could not: None of us read the licensing agreements because (1) they are inscrutable to non-lawyers; (2) they are inscrutable even to lawyers; (3) we are impatient; and (4) we have no choice. And such human behaviour can change, depending not only on incentives and punishments, but also on lessons learned. One virus that made the rounds in 2000 was ILOVEYOU, sent by email attachment. In addition to exploiting serious technical vulnerabilities in Microsofts operating system, it also exploited our love upcode, Shapiro explains. People want to be loved. Most regular computer users are probably too cynical now to open an attachment in an email that awkwardly declares: kindly check the LOVELETTER coming from me. Stiffer penalties could help; better legislation, too. Still, Shapiro also counsels against succumbing to the belief that theres a silver bullet out there that will stop our cybertroubles once and for all. We dont need perfect security, he writes, just reasonable precautions. Readers who start this book assuming they will be handed a more sweeping conclusion will find that their expectations have been (entertainingly) subverted: In other words, theyve been hacked. Besides, Shapiro adds, we now live in a world of surveillance capitalism, meaning that much of our data is stored and sold by corporations. We entrust them with highly personal information and assume that they will do everything they can to protect that information from hacking. Yet the legal consequences faced by corporations for data breaches are laughably slight. Fly91 is a regional carrier that aims to enhance air connectivity from tier 2 and tier 3 towns across India. The new airline is particularly eyeing the under-served and unserved airports where the VAT rates on fuel are lower. The airline said it aims to connect every Indian to their dreams, passions, aspirations, adventures and beyond, according to media reports. Regional carrier Fly91 revealed its first look on Friday along with the launch of its brand logo and tagline- "Bharat Unbound", the Economic Times (ET) reported. The soon-to-be-launched airline is steered by top aviation veterans like Harsha Raghavan, the former Fairfax India head and Manoj Chaco who has served as Vice-president of now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines. The new airline plans to hit the Indian skies by this winter in the October-December quarter. The newly overhauled company website has also started expecting job applications for several roles including pilots, cabin crew, engineering, airport operations, and in the corporate department. The new Goa airport built by GMR will serve as its main base. According to Fly91 its logo which depicts a flying butterfly is a symbol of India's mesmerising beauty and vibrant diversity. Also Read Regional airline Fly91 receives govt approval, targets Oct launch Assam's latest Vande Bharat Express: Train timing, tickets prices, and more Regional aviation looks to soar higher, carriers chart growth plans Rahul Gandhi sheds Bharat Jodo Yatra look, trims beard for Cambridge Analysts see upto 38% upside in IndiGo; suggest tracking costs, airfare cap Marketing technology firm ZoomInfo plans to lay off 3% of workforce NCLT approves 180 resolution plans involving Rs 51,424 cr in FY23 India an important market, Henkel continues to invest in lab infra: CEO Dibrugarh-bound IndiGo flight makes emergency landing at Guwahati Airport Develop consent-driven anti spam tech within 2 months: TRAI to telcos Fly91 secured the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) earlier this year. However, its Air Operator's Permit (AOP) from the DGCA is still pending. For the first time, Goa will house the headquarters of an airline. The regional carrier aims to have a fleet of ATR-72 aircraft with 76 seats. Just Udo Aviation Private Limited, owned by Raghavan and Chacko, is FLY91's parent company and has raised capital of Rs 200 crore. Senior citizens look at a job board during the 11th Suwon City Senior Citizens Job Fair in Suwon, June 21, 2022. Yonhap More than three out of 10 Korean senior citizens work for low-wage jobs after retirement to help cover their living costs, and their poverty rate still remains high among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a report showed Sunday. The employment rate among those aged 65 and older came to 34.9 percent in 2021, the highest among the OECD member nations, according to a report by Bank of Korea official Oh Tae-hee and Lee Jang-youn, a professor at Incheon National University. As many seniors have been forced to land low-paying jobs, the average monthly wage for workers aged 68 came to 1.8 million won ($1,374) last year, far smaller than 3.11 million won for those aged 58. About 25 percent of Koreans in their mid-70s had a job, and they earned 1.39 million won per month on average, the report showed. In 2020, the poverty rate among Korea's elderly citizens stood at 40.4 percent, the highest among OECD member nations. The country's relative poverty rate among the age bracket also came to 38.9 percent, which refers to the percentage of people living with an income below 50 percent of the median income, according to the report. The authors warned that the poverty issue among senior citizens could worsen, as the rate of people aged 65 and older is expected to reach 46.4 percent in 2070 from last year's 17.5 percent. Korea became an aged society in 2017, in which the percentage of those aged 65 and older exceeded 14 percent of its population. The country is widely expected to become a super-aged society in 2025, when the percentage of the elderly will top 20 percent. Koreans' average life expectancy came to 86 years in 2021, compared with 72 years in 1991, according to government data. (Yonhap) Investigations into cases relating to Meta, Swiggy, Zomato, Google, and news publishers are also in advanced stages, it is learned. Apple declined to comment on the matter until the time of going to press. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is in the process of finalising its investigation against Apple Inc. over abuse of its dominant position. The new Chairperson, Ravneet Kaur, along with other members, is expected to take up the matter in their meeting soon, along with several other pending cases against Big Tech companies, according to people in the know. Government plans to sell a part of its 49 per cent stake in Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), for which it is learnt to have asked its main promoter Vedanta, to take back an ongoing arbitration case. Sources aware of the development said that the Mines Ministry is said to have requested the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) to engage with Vedanta to withdraw the arbitration case, as the government plans to take the initial public offer (IPO) route to sell a part of its 49 per cent stake in BALCO. Mines Ministry is the 49 per cent stakeholder in BALCO and sources informed that DIPAM has held initial discussions with Vedanta to withdraw the arbitration case, which would pave the way for stock exchange listing of the company. In 2009, BALCO had filed an arbitration case against the government over a valuation dispute of the residual stake. Sources further added that it is up to DIPAM to decide how much of the government's 49 per cent stake can be sold. It could be a residual portion or a major part of it too, a source told IANS. Also Read A $2.5 bn debt bill shows risks ahead for Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Resources Govt holds talks with BALCO for withdrawing arbitration, initiating IPO Vedanta's Anil Agarwal presses on with plan to raise oil, zinc output Vedanta Resources cuts gross debt by $1 bn by paying its maturing loans Vedanta arm Balco signs pact with SRIPL to source hybrid renewable power Airbus heads towards 500 A320-family jets order from IndiGo: Report Transfer of Sahara Life biz unlikely to impact SBI Life's balance sheet Renault Nissan Automotive progresses towards Carbon Neutrality vision EV startups set to spawn India's next unicorns amid climate tech push Brigade to launch 10 housing projects, to invest Rs 3,000 cr on const: MD Though initial discussions have taken place between DIPAM and Vedanta over withdrawal of the arbitration case, sources said that detailed discussions are likely to take place requesting the promoter to withdraw the case, if the sale of the government's residual stake is to be taken forward. In 2001, government had disinvested 51 per cent shares of BALCO to Sterlite Industries Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Limited. Major operations of BALCO are in the town of Korba in Chhattisgarh, whereas its mines supplying high grade Bauxite are situated at Kawardha and Mainpat in the same state. --IANS ans/uk/ Bullish on the Indian market, Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr on Sunday said the airline group is working closer with Air India as well as expanding its own operations into the country. "We have strengthened our position in the Indian market. We think we can do more... flying more, new partnership with Air India which is a different company than it was before to grow our market share," he said. The group has a two-fold strategy for India and one pillar is to expand the operations to the country, he said during a media briefing on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit here. "We have just announced reopening Frankfurt-Hyderabad (service) which we had to close a few years ago. We will also be for the first time serving Bangalore from Munich... "We are using our own aeroplanes, operations to expand into India," he said. The second pillar is working closer with Air India, he said, adding that now, with a new leadership, with Tata and Singapore Airlines behind it, "we can do more with Air India". Also Read Germany's flag carrier Lufthansa registers profits after Covid slump Germany enters recession: What went wrong with Europe's largest economy? Technical issues at Lufthansa delay operations at Frankfurt airport India's airline sector on to a smooth flight despite air pocketsr One year since Tatas took over Air India, here's how the journey has been Competition Commission of India lens on Big Tech as Apple probe nears end Mother Dairy to invest Rs 400 cr to set up unit in Nagpur: Gadkari Govt engaging with Vedanta to facilitate its residual stake sale in BALCO Airbus heads towards 500 A320-family jets order from IndiGo: Report Transfer of Sahara Life biz unlikely to impact SBI Life's balance sheet Lufthansa and Air India are part of the Star Alliance. While noting that India is the latest favourite country, Spohr said Lufthansa Group has been very successful in India in the last years. Lufthansa Group, which has been present in the Indian market for more than 90 years, currently has more than 50 weekly services to India, connecting Frankfurt, Zurich and Munich with various Indian cities, including Delhi and Mumbai. To a query about bilateral flying rights, Spohr said Lufthansa Group has at this point of time sufficient traffic rights with the exception of code share rights and connecting traffic. "I look at India as being an opportunity... We have done nice business... Indian upper middle class wealth very much looks at Europe as a way to spend," he noted. In April, the group said it would start flights on Munich-Bangalore and Frankfurt-Hyderabad routes this year as it looks to tap the post-Covid growth opportunities in the Indian aviation market. The flights on the Munich-Bangalore route will be operational three times a week and the first flight will be on November 3. On the Frankfurt-Hyderabad route, the flights will commence in the coming winter. At that time, Lufthansa had said it intends to make the best of India's untapped growth opportunity - especially in the post-Covid era - by providing consumers with the most premium travel experiences during their international trips, be it for business or leisure. Lufthansa Group comprises the segments of Network Airlines, Eurowings and Aviation Services. Worldwide, the group has 1,09,509 employees and generated revenues of 32,770 million euros in the financial year 2022. The firm is leading in the electric two-wheeler segment and has sold over 35,000 units in May. Riding on its highest-ever monthly sales in May, Ola has captured a market share of over 30 per cent and has achieved a year-on-year growth of 300 per cent last month. We are on track to get to that number, said Aggarwal. We have consistently grown. Not only our market share but our top line as well. This is obviously backed by the inflection that we're seeing in the market. Groundwork was done by amending the GST law during the Budget session. The final rules will be out and changes in the state laws would be made, the official said. The final blueprint, mainly the operational part, is expected to be presented in the GST Council meeting for approval. This will pave the way for the tribunal to be functional, both at the central and state levels, said a senior government official, who expects the tribunal to be up and running by November. Some of the banned FDCs Nimesulide+ Paracetamol dispersible tablets Amoxicillin+ Bromhexine Pholcodine+ Promethazine Chlorpheniramine + Codeine Phosphate + Menthol Syrup The Centre has banned 14 fixed-dose combination (FDC) drugs in India upon the recommendation of an expert committee which said that there is no therapeutic justification for these medicines.Hence in the larger public interest, it is necessary to prohibit the manufacture, sale or distribution of these FDC under section 26A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, a notification by the Health Ministry said.An FDC refers to a combination of two or more active ingredients into a single drug formulation in a fixed dosage ratio.One of the key FDCs banned by the Centre includes a commonly used medication Nimesulide and paracetamol combination which is used to relieve pain and fever. Certain antibiotic FDCs have also been prohibited for example amoxicillin and bromhexine combination which is used to treat respiratory tract infections. On top of this, some codeine-based formulations have also been banned. Codeine is used to treat runny nose, sneezing, cough, and common cold symptoms.A senior pharma industry executive said that the industry has now become more cautious when launching FDCs. "The scrutiny of FDCs began a few years back and the industry has since become cautious about launching new FDCs. Right now most FDCs are in the diabetes segment or some in respiratory therapy etc," the executive said.The crackdown on FDCs has been going on for some time. For example, in March 2016, the Health Ministry implemented a ban on 349 FDCs based on recommendations of the Chandrakant Kokate committee that found these drug combinations to be irrational and posing health risks.The Supreme Court had referred the matter to the Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) for a fresh review after drugmakers challenged the ban. The DTAB, in a meeting held in 2018 July, reinforced the ban on 343 of the 349 drugs.At that time, the market for these FDCs was estimated to be around Rs 2000 crore or so.More recently, last year the Centre moved to ban 19 codeine-based FDCs. Codeine is basically an antitussive (medication that suppresses cough), it is not an expectorant and is generally used for the treatment of dry cough. Such kinds of coughs are basically attributed to allergic manifestations or to patients who are working in dusty environments. Codeine-based formulations constitute roughly a Rs 1000 crore market.The Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA) had reached out to the government with a representation to not ban codeine-based cough syrups because some people tend to misuse it. They argued that the government should not prohibit the formulation because of alleged abuse by some as the drug is otherwise clinically safe.Last year instances of unapproved FDCs that were licensed by state licensing authorities came to light. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) prohibited these FDCs. Thereafter state drug controllers were requested to ensure that new drugs and FDCs are not permitted without the approval of the DCGI.Recently, the DCGI has approved some FDCs. For example, in January Lupin launched a novel FDC of Indacaterol, Glycopyrronium and Mometasone for managing inadequately controlled asthma among patients. An Indacaterol and Mometasone combination drug by Glenmark for asthma had also been approved by the DCGI in 2022. The domestic market has several combinations of diabetic drugs now. The government doctors in Uttar Pradesh have been told to prescribe only generic drugs to patients as per the new guidelines issued by the medical health department. Issued by the department's principal secretary Partha Sarthi Sen Sharma on Saturday, the circular lists a set of instructions that all chief medical superintendents and government hospital directors must adhere to. "The working status of each equipment in hospitals must be updated on the CARE app every Monday. If equipment is non-functional for long, the hospital shall contact the additional director of the electrical wing. The live monitoring of 108 hospitals in the state from the integrated command control centre will begin soon as CCTV circuits are in place," the circular says. "Most medicines are available in stores. Doctors will prescribe only generic medicines, even if they are not in stock at hospitals," Sharma said. Explaining its significance, an expert said generic drugs save patients' money. "Generic drugs cost less in spite of the same good manufacturing practices followed to make them," said Dr Abhishek Shukla, the secretary-general of the Association of International Doctors. Also, doctors will be subjected to a monthly scrutiny on the basis of their specialty, patients counselled in the outpatient wing, major and minor surgeries performed and the likes, and the data will be uploaded on the Health Management Information System portal. Also Read Indian pharma sector set for 'volume to value leadership' journey in 2023 Sun Pharma recalls over 24K pre-filled syringes of generic medication in US Sun Pharma recalls over 34k bottles of generic drug in US due to mfg issues Lupin recalls over 16,000 bottles of generic tuberculosis drug in US Drug firm Glenmark gets USFDA nod for generic diabetes drug to market in US Centre bans 14 more fixed dose combination drugs on expert recommendation G20 Health Working Group meeting to be held in Hyderabad from June 4 to 6 UP govt withdraws injections from hospitals, orders probe after reaction Govt bans 14 fixed-dose combination drugs, cites 'risk' to people Study finds young adulthood window best to treat schizophrenia, autism --IANS amita/dpb : The third meeting of the G20 Health Working Group (HWG) will be held in the city from June 4 to 6. The third HWG meeting will have a main event and also a side event, with a focus on collaboration on R&D in Medical Counter Measures (MCMs). Co-branded events with the Global Vaccine Research Collaborative and a Joint Finance Health Task Force meeting are also on the cards, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's Additional Secretary Lav Agarwal told reporters here on Saturday. Apart from India, delegates from 19 G20 member states, 10 invited countries, and 22 international organisations will be participating in the third HWG meeting. The HWG has proposed deliverables, including mapping of ongoing initiatives in health emergencies, prevention, preparedness and response, and the launch of a climate change and health hub to work on the interface of climate change and its impact on health, he said. The creation of regional vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics (VTD), research and development manufacturing networks and creation of a Global Medical Countermeasures Coordination platform will also be discussed. Launch of a Global Initiative on Digital Health'- an institutional framework to converge existing digital health initiatives is also among the proposed deliverables. Also Read Need to build resilient health system across world: India at G20 Health Three-day-long G20 event in Kashmir to begin today: All you need to know Crisis in multilateralism affecting developing nations most: PM at G20 meet G20 HWG meet in Hyderabad from Jun 4-6 to focus on medical counter measures G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting: Guests welcomed with dance performance UP govt withdraws injections from hospitals, orders probe after reaction Govt bans 14 fixed-dose combination drugs, cites 'risk' to people Study finds young adulthood window best to treat schizophrenia, autism Wadhwani AI Showcases solutions for Healthcare at 3rd G20 HWG meet Multi-cancer blood test shows promise of quicker diagnosis in UK: NHS During the HWG meetings held in Thiruvananthapuram and Goa in January and April this year respectively, the health priorities were introduced and discussed in detail. "Due to the advocacy created by India's G20 Presidency in the Health Working Group, we have so far been able to garner in-principle agreement to the three proposed priorities", he had said. "We would like to use G20 as a forum to ensure that we are able to build consensus on these deliverables and we converge in terms of ensuring that the world is better prepared to manage any future health emergency, not only in terms of decision-making through an agile global health architecture, but also to ensure that medicines, diagnostics and vaccines are available not only to a few countries in the world but globally. "We would like to ensure that through use of technology, all these initiatives can be integrated and technology tools are made available globally across the world." The delegates will be taken to 'Genome Valley' (in Hyderabad) -- home to the who is who' of global life sciences companies -- to showcase India's prowess in life sciences R&D and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Noting that Genome Valley alone accounts for 33 per cent of the global vaccine production, including vaccines for diseases such as Covid-19, polio and rotavirus, he said the delegates will get an opportunity to visit and interact with top companies, research organisations, and academic institutions of the world. Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), June 4 (AINS) The Uttar Pradesh government has directed the withdrawal of injections of a particular batch number from all hospitals where they had been supplied. This comes two days after 16 out of 50 women developed fever and shivering when the two antibiotic and one calcium injections were administered to them in the maternity ward of district women hospital here on Friday night. The state government has sought a detailed report regarding the reaction of these injections. Meanwhile, chief superintendent of district women hospital, Dr Jai Kumar, has constituted a three-member team to probe the cause of reactions. Also Read UP govt to set up training centres across state for roadways drivers UP govt likely to table supplementary Budget in today's Assembly session Home Ministry gives NOC for name change of 2 places in Uttar Pradesh Residents or migrants, UP ensured everyone's safety in pandemic: CM Yogi LIVE: MC, AAP boycott inauguration of new Parliament building on May 28 Govt bans 14 fixed-dose combination drugs, cites 'risk' to people Study finds young adulthood window best to treat schizophrenia, autism Wadhwani AI Showcases solutions for Healthcare at 3rd G20 HWG meet Multi-cancer blood test shows promise of quicker diagnosis in UK: NHS Covid-19 survivors with depression show signs of brain inflammation Drug inspector Jai Singh confirmed that the vials of particular batches supplied by Uttar Pradesh Medical Supplies Corporation Limited had been sent for tests. He said the exercise for the withdrawal of these injections from various hospitals had begun. Dr Kumar confirmed that use of Amoxicillin injection acid batch number AB_193009, Gentamicin injection batch number UT 32 and use of Metoclopramide batch number MT 12249 had been put on hold in all district hospitals of the state. Chief medical officer, Gorakhpur, Dr Ashutosh Dubey said all the women, who had complained of shivering and vomiting and hay fever, were now stable. --IANS amita/dpb By Tim Hepher, Aditi Shah and Joanna Plucinska ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Airbus is closing towards a potentially record deal to sell 500 narrow-body A320-family jets to India's largest carrier IndiGo, industry sources said on Sunday. The European planemaker has emerged as front-runner for an order eclipsing Air India's historic provisional purchase of 470 jets in February, the sources said on the sidelines of an airline industry meeting in Istanbul. Such a deal would be worth some $50 billion at the most recently published Airbus list prices, but would typically be worth less than half this after widespread airline industry discounts for bulk deals, according to aircraft analysts. Airbus and Boeing are also still competing in separate talks to sell 25 A330neo or Boeing 787 wide-body jets to the same airline, the industry sources said. IndiGo Chief Executive Pieter Elbers, attending the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association in Istanbul, declined to comment on commercial matters. Also Read IndiGo Q3: Focus on international destinations lifts outlook, say analysts Analysts see upto 38% upside in IndiGo; suggest tracking costs, airfare cap IndiGo reinstates cabin crew bonus after 2nd consecutive profitable quarter Go First may be grounded, but IndiGo is in no hurry to expand capacity Amid record aircraft orders, aviation remains a long-term play: Analysts Ensuring availability of welfare scheme to people is top priority: Khattar Sri Lankan President expresses sorrow over tragic train collision in Odisha Odisha rail tragedy: Cong demands Railway Minister Vaishnaw's resignation Avalanche in U'khand: Woman pilgrim returning from Hemkund Sahib missing Delhi Metro completes structural work on stretch of Phase-IV corridor Airbus and Boeing also declined to comment. Reuters first reported in March that IndiGo, which has a 56% share of the domestic Indian market, was in talks with both Airbus and Boeing for the order, which if confirmed would be the largest by a single airline ranked by the number of units. IndiGo is already one of Airbus's largest customers and has so far ordered a total of 830 Airbus A320-family jets of which nearly 500 are still to be delivered. Airbus and Boeing have been racking up billions of dollars of new orders stretching beyond 2030 as airlines lock in supplies ahead of looming shortages. Turkish Airlines had taken the spotlight before the IATA meeting with a surprise announcement that it could order 600 jets, but delegates said there were few signs of an immediate deal. TRAVEL REBOUND Indian carriers now have the second-largest order book, with over 6% share of the industry backlog, behind only the United States, according to a June 1 report by Barclays. But some analysts have expressed concern that airlines could be over-ordering jets in pursuit of the same passengers. Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr told reporters on Sunday there was globally more supply than demand, however. The drive by IndiGo comes as the world's third-largest aviation market is seeing a strong rebound in travel post-COVID, with passenger numbers surging despite high fares. IndiGo aims to double its capacity by the end of the decade and expand its network, especially in international markets. The airline has a codeshare partnership with seven carriers including Turkish Airlines, American Airlines and KLM. The alliance with Turkish Airlines has seen IndiGo make a major push into Europe, a favourite holiday destination among Indians, with the budget carrier now offering flights to 33 European airports. In a departure from its single-aisle strategy, IndiGo earlier this year began international operations to Istanbul with a Boeing 777, its first wide-body aircraft, taken from codeshare partner Turkish Airlines, which provides the pilots. Taking on the two widebodies is a stop-gap arrangement for IndiGo which needs the capacity until it takes delivery of the longer-range Airbus A321XLR planes in 2025-ish timeframe, Elbers told Reuters in an interview in March. (Reporting by Tim Hepher, Aditi Shah and Joanna Plucinska; Editing by Hugh Lawson, David Holmes and Susan Fenton) National Election Commission (NEC) Chairperson Rho Tae-ak, center, gestures as he leaves a commissioners' meeting at the NEC headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Yonhap By Nam Hyun-woo The National Election Commission (NEC) is facing mounting criticism over its decision to refuse an investigation by the state auditor into suspicions that a slew of senior NEC officials exercised influence to help family members get jobs at the election watchdog. With the number of people mired in the nepotism scandal expected to increase, the National Assembly reached a rare bipartisan agreement to launch a state probe, with the ruling party demanding NEC Chairperson Rho Tae-ak resign. The NEC decided to refuse a proposed audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) during a commissioners' meeting on Friday, citing a constitutional practice to exclude the election watchdog from BAI audits. The Constitution states that the BAI audits and inspects administrative agencies and government officials. The NEC claims that it stands as an independent organization and is not categorized as an administrative agency, thus it is not subject to a BAI audit. Shortly after the decision, the state auditor released a statement and refuted the election watchdog's decision, saying the NEC is subject to its audits as an administrative agency and the BAI has conducted audits on the NEC on issues related to human resources in the past. "The BAI has been refraining from launching audits on the NEC, in order to respect the NEC's independence in managing elections," the statement reads. Since last month, the NEC has been at the center of criticism following reports that NEC Secretary General Park Chan-jin and Deputy Secretary General Song Bong-sup allegedly unfairly helped their children to land jobs at the election watchdog. Park and Song resigned following the allegations, citing moral responsibility over the issue. Following the suspicion, the NEC launched an internal audit on its workings and the possibility that former senior officials helped family members attain employment at the NEC. On May 31, it announced that there were 10 similar cases including that of the aforementioned two. The number of people mired in the nepotism scandal is expected to grow, as the NEC is now auditing its entire workforce, including their spouses and relatives. From left, floor leader Yun Jae-ok and Ruling People Power Party Chairman Kim Gi-hyeon, speak during the party's supreme council meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein on Sunday said the border state witnessed massive development in the past nine years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over as the prime minister of the country in 2014. The Modi government is raising the northeast region by constructing world-class infrastructure, Mein told reporters here as part of BJP's month-long 'Maha Jan Sampark Abhiyan' which was launched by party President J P Nadda on May 31. "Modi conceptualised six development pillars for northeast including roadways, waterways, airways, railways, digital connectivity and hydropower development," he said, adding that the state government is also working based on these pillars. Highlighting the success story of the nine years of the Modi government at the Centre and seven years of the Pema Khandu government in the state, Mein said that the prime minister always insisted on the development of the northeast, without which the country cannot progress. He said to develop the border areas, the Centre had recently approved a package of Rs 44,000 crore for three mega road projects. The projects include the two-lane Frontier Highway (1465 km) with an estimated cost of Rs 27,349 crore, two-lane inter-connectivity corridor of 1,048 km worth Rs 15,720 crore and two-lane Brahmakund (Parshuram Kund) to Chowkham road (61 km) worth Rs 915 crore. The total road length of these upcoming projects will be 2,574 km. Also Read Today's India not of 1962, but of Modi and Shah: Arunachal CM Khandu Aug 26-27 paper leak continues to rock Arunachal despite CBI probe China face-off, Assam border dispute hog news in Arunachal Pradesh in 2022 Assam, Arunachal Pradesh hold border talks; likely to resolve disputes Act as link between people and govt: Governor to Arunachal Pradesh MLAs UDF asks govt to curb rising airfares to Kerala from Gulf during festivals 28K J&K govt employees under I-T dept scanner for claiming bogus refunds Help desk at Bhubaneswar civic body office to assist Balasore victims Balasore train accident: Track laying work done on one of two main lines Odisha train tragedy: List of injured, deceased passengers put on websites "The detailed project reports (DPRs) of these projects are under progress," he said. The 2-lane Frontier Highway, to be built by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), will pass through the districts of East Kameng, West Kameng, Upper Subansiri, Upper Siang, Dibang Valley, Lohit, Anjaw and Changlang. Once completed, it would help safeguard the country's borders with China and Myanmar, and control migration from border areas, besides improving tourism infrastructure. MoRTH will also execute the 2-laning of inter-connectivity corridors which will pass through districts of Pakke Kessang, East Kameng, Longding, Changlang, Upper Siang, Upper Subansiri, Tawang, East Siang and West Siang, thereby bridging the gaps between NH-52 in Assam, Trans Arunachal Highway and Frontier Highway. Mein said the Centre has launched the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) with a financial allocation of Rs 4,800 crore. The scheme is aimed at the comprehensive development of villages in the border areas to improve the quality of life of the people, which would help in encouraging people to stay in their native locations in the border areas and reversing migration. The VVP will provide funds for the development of essential infrastructure and the creation of livelihood opportunities in 19 districts and 46 border blocks in four states and one union territory along the border of the country. "We will also provide top-up funds in the Vibrant Village Programme along with executing standalone power projects in border areas of the state," he added. Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal East Parliamentary Constituency Tapir Gao, who was also present on the occasion, said that in the past nine years, the Modi government served the poor and marginalised, ensured farmers benefit, provided new momentum for nari shakti, ease of living for poor and worked on Nation first foreign policy and national security. "The contribution of Modi government to the northeastern state is immense and many revolutionary steps taken including peace agreement with various militant outfits to solve the insurgency problem in the region," Gao said. He added that 'Sewa, Susashan and Garib Kalyan' (Service, good governance and development of the poor), are the main mantras of the Narendra Modi government in the last nine years. "The main focus of the Modi government is on, serving the poor and honouring marginalized, affordable, accessible healthcare for all, new momentum for nari shakti, infrastructure at speed and scale, empowering India's amrit peedhi, ensuring farmers' welfare among others", he said. Presenting the report card of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, Gao said that in the last nine years, policymaking in India has transformed from policy paralysis to 'decisive policy' and in terms of ranking, India has jumped from 'Fragile Five' to 'Top Five'. Taking a dig at the opposition Congress, Gao said that India has demolished dynasty politics, nepotism and casteism and replaced it with developmental politics. "Earlier India's voice was ignored and today, the whole world listens when India speaks," he added. An under-construction bridge over the Ganga river collapsed in Bihar on Sunday, portions of which were deliberately destroyed in a planned fashion under expert advice as it had design flaws, claimed state government officials. The bridge was supposed to connect Khagaria district with Bhagalpur. Images of the mishap that took place in Khagaria evoked immediate criticisms from the opposition, prompting Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and Additional Chief Secretary of Road Construction Department, Pratyay Amrit, to hold a hurried press conference. It may be recalled that a portion of this bridge had collapsed on April 30 last year. We had, thereafter, approached IIT-Roorkee, which is esteemed for its expertise in construction matters, to conduct a study. It is yet to come up with a final report but experts who had studied the structure had informed us that there were serious defects," Yadav said at the press conference. Amrit, who took over, added, It was decided that we must not take any chance and wait for a final report. So we went ahead with pulling down parts of the bridge. Today's incident was a part of such a preventive exercise. Once the final report comes, which is expected shortly, the state government would contemplate action like lodging of FIR and blacklisting of the company which was awarded the contract, he said. Also Read Bihar: Under-construction bridge on Ganga collapses; labourers feared dead No need to wait till 2025, Nitish should make Tejashwi Bihar CM now: Kishor BJP has closed its door forever for Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, says Amit Shah RJD MLA's remark against Bihar CM unacceptable, says Tejashwi Yadav Ex-JD(U) president RCP Singh joins BJP, attacks Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Will perform magic tricks to earn money, but won't let people down: Gehlot First train chugs out of accident affected section in Balasore: Official Shangri-La Dialogue: World's spy chiefs meet in Singapore secret conclave Airbus nears 500 narrow-body jet order from IndiGo Airline: Report Ensuring availability of welfare scheme to people is top priority: Khattar The bridge was said to have involved an estimated cost of Rs 1,700 crore. As images of the collapsing portion were beamed on media outlets, state BJP president reacted strongly and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Choudhary said the incident shows that "corruption is rampant" under the rule of the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government. "Sub-standard materials were used for the construction of the bridge. The CM is least bothered about the development of Bihar...he is busy on his tour. He must resign from his post after this incident." Notably, one labourer died and another was injured after a portion of an under-construction bridge collapsed in Nalanda district in November last year. The Delhi High Court is scheduled to pass an order on former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's interim bail plea citing medical grounds for his wife's health on Monday. The bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma on Saturday after noting down the submissions held during the special hearing, kept the order reserved while seeking a fresh medical report from LNJP hospital where Sisodia's wife was admitted on Saturday morning. ED's Counsel Zohaib Hossain on Saturday submitted a report in relation to Sisodia's wife's medical issue and opposed his interim bail plea. Advocate Zohaib submitted that the earlier prescription report and the present prescription report are identically the same. There is no substantial change in her health. Sisodia held 18 portfolios as a minister and did not have time to visit his wife. Now he is creating all these grounds to get bail. Advocate Zohaib Hossain also informed the Court that documents related to excise policy has been removed from the vigilance secretary's office on the day of the Supreme Court verdict on services and an FIR concerning the removal of documents has been filed and the incident is being probed. Also Read Manish Sisodia to be produced in court today: All you need to know Manish Sisodia defamation case: Delhi HC stays trial court proceedings Policeman misbehaved with Manish Sisodia at Rouse Avenue court, says AAP Aurobindo Pharma's P Sarath Reddy becomes approver in Delhi liquor case Delhi CM Kejriwal visits Manish Sisodia's ailing wife in hospital Train tragedy: State to run special train from Bhadrak to Chennai today From waste management to multi-level parking, Ayodhya gets a civic makeover India must build institutes for tech of future: Indian-American Google exec Root cause of accident identified: Railway minister on Odisha train tragedy Centre bans 14 more fixed dose combination drugs on expert recommendation Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur appeared for Sisodia and submitted that Sisodia is the sole caretaker of her wife as his only son is studying abroad. On ED's submissions that Sisodia held 18 portfolios, it doesn't means he didn't take care of his wife. We also work very hard sometimes we start working from early day to late night, but it doesn't mean, we are not caretakers, we don't go to our home and do not care about our family. On Friday, the Delhi High Court had allowed former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to meet his ailing wife in police custody on June 3, between 10 am to 5 pm as per rule. Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia who was brought to his residence on Saturday were not able to meet his ailing wife as she got admitted to LNJP hospital ahead of Sisodia's arrival. Sisodia recently moved an interim bail citing his wife's illness and sought six weeks' bail. On Friday, Delhi HC while allowing Manish Sisodia to meet his wife under custody said, "He (Manish Sisodia) shall not interact with media, use a mobile phone or access the internet." The court had further directed that the medical report be verified and the medical report of Sisodia's wife be furnished by Saturday evening positively. The Court in order further added that Sisodia will not meet anyone except family members during this period. The same bench of Delhi High Court on Friday reserved the order on regular bail petitions of Former Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Vijay Nair, ex Communication in charges of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Enforcement Directorate (ED) case related to Delhi Excise Policy matter. The same Bench had on Thursday also kept reserved the order on Abhishek Boinpally, Hyderabad Businessman in the same case. The Trial Court had earlier denied the bail to them. Recently Delhi High Court dismissed the bail plea of Manish Sisodia in a CBI case alleging corruption in the implementation of the previous liquor policy in the national capital. The bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma on Tuesday denied bail to Sisodia and said Manish Sisodia (Applicant) is a powerful person, there is the possibility of him influencing the witnesses. Last month, Delhi High Court issued notice to ED on Manish Sisodia's bail petitions in a money laundering case in connection with the alleged excise scam. The Rouse Avenue Court earlier dismissed the bail plea of Manish Sisodia in a money laundering case related to the excise scam stating that "This case of economic offences having serious repercussions upon the general public and society at large as the evidence collected during investigation speaks volumes of his involvement in the commission of the said offence" Court also noted that some evidence is also alleged to have surfaced during the investigation to show that some part of the kickbacks or bribe amount received from South lobby was spent or utilized in connection with the election campaign of the AAP in Goa and some cash payments through hawala channels are alleged to have been sent to Goa for bearing the said expenses and even some fake invoices are alleged to have been created as a cover-up for the cash amounts transferred through hawala channels. It was stated that the above cash transfers were made as per instructions of the coaccused Vijay Nair, who was the representative of the applicant and the AAP and also the Media Incharge of AAP and looking after the work related to said elections and he also roped in a company named M/S Chariot Productions Media Pvt. Ltd. owned by the coaccused Rajesh Joshi to do the election-related advertising work and other jobs for the party during said elections, noted the court. Thus, in view of the above background, the serious nature of the allegations made and the role played by the applicant in the above criminal conspiracy, his connection with the activities relating to the generation or acquisition and use etc of the above proceeds of crime within the meaning of Section 3 of the PMLA and the oral and documentary evidence collected in support of the same and as placed for the perusal of the court, this court is of the considered opinion that even if the rigours and restrictions contained U/S 45 of the PMLA are viewed and construed reasonably, the prosecution has still been able to show a genuine and prima facie case for the involvement of the applicant in the commission of the alleged offence of money laundering. The ED on March 9 arrested former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the liquor policy case, after hours of questioning at Tihar Jail. Sisodia was arrested by the CBI earlier in its ongoing investigation of a case related to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD). The third meeting of the International Financial Architecture Working Group (IFAWG) of G20 will be held in Goa between June 5 to 7, an official said on Sunday. He said the meeting will explore ways to improve the international financial architecture and address the pressing issues faced by the global economy. The IFAWG is one of the important work streams under the G20 Finance Track with a focus on strengthening international financial architecture. "The 3rd IFAWG meeting in Goa is a crucial opportunity for G20 to advance the reforms of the International Financial Architecture and address the global challenges of the 21st century. Goa is proud to host this important group and contribute to global financial stability and development," said Sanjit Rodrigues, the Nodal Officer (G20). He said that during India's G20 Presidency, this Working Group has already met twice before. The first meeting was held in Chandigarh on January 30-31, 2023 while the second meeting was held in Paris on March 30 and 31. These meetings discussed issues about strengthening multilateral development banks and how to address challenges associated with debt, he added. Also Read Goa lawmakers, oppn leaders want to name new airport on Manohar Parrikar Three-day-long G20 event in Kashmir to begin today: All you need to know GFP, AAP slam Goa collector's circular seeking funds for event on Jan 26 Need to build resilient health system across world: India at G20 Health Crisis in multilateralism affecting developing nations most: PM at G20 meet Three fire incidents reported in Delhi, no casualties, says official Odisha train tragedy: TN yet to get info on 8 of 127 passengers from state Next wrestlers' mahapanchayat dates to be announced in 3-4 days: Punia Excise case: HC to pronounce order on Monday on Sisodia's interim bail plea Over 1,500 people stuck at station in Bengaluru following train mishap A Goa government spokesman said the IFAWG is a forum that brings together finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 countries to discuss issues related to international financial architecture. The group was established in 1999 as part of the G20 process and has since played an important role in shaping global economic policy. The IFAWG has a mandate to promote international financial stability and reduce systemic risks through cooperation among its members. It also aims to strengthen the resilience of the global financial system against various sources of vulnerability such as cyber risks, climate change, and geopolitical tensions across the globe, he said. One of the areas of focus for the IFAWG is capital flows and strengthening the global financial safety net. At the meeting, the group will also discuss the dynamics of capital flows and the optimal policy response for developing economies, strengthening the global financial safety net and efforts to reinforce financial system resilience against various sources of vulnerability, he added. The two-day meeting of the StartUp20 Engagement Group, part of India's G20 presidency, culminated in Goa on Sunday with delegates expressing solidarity with victims of the Odisha train accident. At least 288 people were killed and more than 1,100 injured in the crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train took place on Friday evening near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha's Balasore district. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the StartUp20 Engagement Group meeting in Goa, Ashish Sinha, joint secretary, Union Ministry of External Affairs, said the meeting took place in a sombre environment because of the train accident on Friday. All the delegations expressed condolences to the victims, their families and also wished a speedy recovery to the injured people, he said. He said there is a norm in the G20 meetings that foreign delegates are given an introduction about the local culture, for which programmes are scheduled. There was a consensus over the cancellation of cultural programmes. There was a consensus that in our thoughts and prayers, we should be with the victims and also those who are struggling, Sinha said. Also Read Guterres, Jaishankar to unveil Mahatma Gandhi's bust at UN headquarters Goa lawmakers, oppn leaders want to name new airport on Manohar Parrikar Startup20 Engagement Group's second meeting on March 18-19 in Sikkim BSE Odisha 10th Result 2023: All you need to know about checking result UNGA president meets Amitabh Kant, says G20 a platform to exchange ideas G20: India proposes medical countermeasure coordination for public good Odisha govt revises triple train accident's death toll to 275 from 288 Bring every homeless person under govt housing scheme: CM Adityanath Odisha train accident: UK Foreign Secretary expresses condolences IndiGo plane with Union minister diverted to Guwahati due to glitch This was the third meeting of the Startup20 Engagement Group. Startup20 serves as a prime opportunity to foster collaboration, exchange ideas, and shape the future of start ups and entrepreneurship on a global scale. It is an official engagement group, established under India's G20 presidency. It acts as a dialogue forum with the G20 nations startup ecosystem stakeholders and intends to represent the startup ecosystem of the G20 nations to raise the macroeconomic concerns and challenges faced by the startup ecosystem players in these nations. Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday said the government remains deeply committed to the Act East Policy and is working towards enabling its maximum potential for growth and development in the eastern region of the country. Sonowal emphasized the need for greater cooperation among the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multilateralism (BBINM) countries to unlock the full potential of the maritime sector in the region. The Objective of "Act East Policy", is to promote economic cooperation, cultural ties and develop strategic relationships with countries in the Asia-Pacific region through continuous engagement at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. The Minister was speaking at a stakeholder meeting of Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SMP) attended by representatives of trade and commerce, as well as diplomatic envoys from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Nepal. The meeting was also attended by senior corporate officials including SAIL, Tata Steel, Indian Oil, Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd, BPCL, Jindal Steel, and MAERSK Shipping Lines, a SMP statement said. Kolkata Port or SMP Kolkata chairman Rathendra Raman said the government will work towards strengthening trade ties with Bangladesh through the facilitation of movement of goods between SMP Kolkata and various ports of Bangladesh, such as Chittagong and Mongla, involving Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI). Also Read Govt has pipeline of 44 port projects worth Rs 22,900 cr till 2025: Sonowal India's major ports handled highest ever cargo at 795 million tonne in FY23 Centre to set up floating jetty on northern bank of Brahmaputra: Sonowal Sonowal to receive first cargo vessel to Sittwe port in Myanmar on Tue Symbol of self-respect for 1.42 bn Indians: Sonowal on new Parliament Odisha train accident: Even ticketless travellers will receive compensation Parts of Delhi witnesses light rains, max temp settles at 33.7 degrees C US Defence Secretary arrives in India, to hold talks with Rajnath Singh Seeking CBI investigation into Odisha train accident: Ashwini Vaishnaw G20 meeting on Int'l Financial Architecture to start on June 5 in Goa Additionally, collaboration with Myanmar's Sittwe Port, as part of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transport Project (KMMTTP), will be pursued to transport cargo to NE India via Mizoram, he said. Asserting that the future belongs to those who lead in technology, an Indian-American Google executive has said that the Indian government should build institutions that would create technologies of the future and also set up a venture fund. Countries, which lead in technology, are leaders and they solve, generate wealth for the people and take people out of poverty, Navneet Mathur, director, People Operations at Google's Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning wing, said ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the US later this month. 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 Modi at a state dinner on June 22. The future belongs to those who hold the power on technology. Look around, if the US is leading and China is leading and South Korea is leading, and Japan is leading, they're largely leading because the leadership in the modern day is about technology leadership, Mathur told PTI in an interview this week. I think he (Modi), as a prime minister, has the power right now to do. And for future prime ministers too, whether it's him or somebody else, I think that's what they need to do because we all serve the country, Mathur said. Responding to a question, Mathur said the prime minister should immediately set up something on the AI front and then invest as the US has done. Also Read Google's parent Alphabet reports $76 bn in revenue, bets big on AI India asks Google to stop displaying online betting, surrogate ads Google faces $4.2 bn advertising lawsuit by publishers for lost revenue Google blocks news content for some Canadians to test online news bill Google now testing Blue check marks for advertisements of verified business Root cause of accident identified: Railway minister on Odisha train tragedy Centre bans 14 more fixed dose combination drugs on expert recommendation UNCLOS violation damages trust; Choke points in IOR crucial: Dy NSA Misri Goa to create Sea Hubs for professionals to work, rejuvenate on beaches Odisha train accident: Doctors rushed to provide medical aid to injured He should probably set up a venture fund which can acquire some startups here. Silicon Valley will always be the fountainhead of innovation. Think of a PSU (public sector undertaking) that he can create in this space, which can pay the best and get the best and the brightest to work for the betterment of India, he said. Setting up the venture funds does not have to be in billions, he said. You can start with 50 million or a hundred million... You have the workforce there and create a company that works at the forefront. Like why shouldn't one of the leading AI startups be an Indian startup right now? And the government can play a stake in it, he said. Artificial Intelligence, Mathur said, is a fundamental shift in how intelligence works. Algorithms are becoming smarter. Computer capacities are getting smarter. The amount of data that is being consumed is getting much bigger, so their capabilities will far outstrip human intelligence capabilities. Now, it's good and bad. Good in the sense that we can deploy that extra intelligence to solve some of the most wrecking problems that humanities face today, like climate change, newer discoveries for medicines, education, and all of that. So we can use it and therefore there will be development around it, he said. However, there are always other technologies, there are good actors and bad actors. And bad actors will use the same intelligence and technologies for war, for the perpetration of their own nefarious interests. So we need to understand that, technology is moving and it will move and develop, but we need to, as a society, have a view on how do you regulate it, how do you control it, he said. It is important for politicians from India to understand this. Because India has its own needs and there are areas in which it'll help India fight poverty and help solve some societal challenges that we are having. We can use this intelligence to become smarter and do better policymaking," he said. External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar invoked the three-decade-old ties between India and South Africa stating that there is a very "deeply emotional" connection between the two countries. He said India's and South Africa's respective struggles were "deeply intertwined". Jaishankar made these remarks while interacting with the Indian diaspora in Cape Town. He is in the South African city to attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Prior to his address, the EAM paid homage to the victims of the horrific train accident in Odisha on Friday evening. Jaishankar's address before the Indian diaspora focused on three subjects -- "Thirty years of India-South Africa ties", "15 years of BRICS" and "9 years of Modi Sarkar." Speaking on the decades-old India-South Africa ties, which will be formally marking years this November, the External Affairs Minister said he thinks that the connections are not just between two countries who have similar views. Also Read Women's T20 World Cup Semis: South Africa create history, qualify for final England vs South Africa, Women's T20 World Cup: How to live stream in India T20 World Cup Final Highlights: Australia complete 2nd hattrick of titles EAM Jaishankar meets Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov India helped in grain deal between Moscow and Kyiv, says EAM Jaishankar Research, treatment of victims in Odisha made free, says health official India no longer lumbering around at relatively slow pace: EAM Jaishankar US Defence Secy Lloyd J Austin's visit to India to begin on Sunday Restoration work ongoing at war footing at Odisha accident site: Railways Pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir receive vaccination before leaving for Hajj "There is something very deeply emotional about our connect," he said. Jaishankar added that when India achieved its independence, there was a very strong sentiment that its independence would be incomplete until South Africa became a free country. "And the reason for that was that our respective struggles were so deeply intertwined," he said, adding, "And that was, of course, most vividly expressed by the personality and by the message of Mahatma Gandhi. Now, as we became independent and continued to support South Africa in its struggle against apartheid, the symbolism of Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi took very deep root." Jaishankar also recalled that when South Africa got its independence, there was as much celebration in India as there was in there. "And I still remember at that time, I was actually in Delhi, and I remember all our public buildings Rashavati Bhavan, the Parliament, the central Secretariat were all actually lit up for in celebration of what was happening here. And when we did establish our diplomatic footprint, this was actually a country where we not only had a high commission, but also three other cities had an almost immediate presence of India-Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban," he said. The EAM also said that India had invited President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa as the chief guest to the Republic Day in 2019. "We have really India and South Africa located at two different continents, but working together very closely in the United Nations, in the BRICS of which we are members in a body called IPSA, which is India, Brazil and South Africa, and in a variety of ways between the two of us directly now," he added. The relations between India and South Africa in these three decades have "flowered in every conceivable sense", Jaishankar noted. He also highlighted the trade account between the two countries, which is currently at about USD 18 billion. "We are, in fact, I think, South Africa's fourth largest trade partner, if I'm right, and South Africa is our largest trade partner in Africa. And obviously the relationship is something that we continue to work upon," Jaishankar said. The EAM said he was hopeful of trade and investments in the years to come and also wished that the exchanges between India and South Africa in various spheres continue to multiply. Kuwait Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jabar Al Sabah offered condolences to President Droupadi Murmu over a train accident in Odisha which claimed lives of 288 people and injured over 1000 people, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported. He wished swift recovery for those who have been injured in the accident. Kuwait Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah also offered condolences to President Murmu over the train collision in Odisha, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported. The three-way train accident on Friday involved the Bengaluru-Howrah superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and the goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Odisha's Balasore district. Kuwait Crown Prince Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Saturday extended condolences to President Droupadi Murmu over a train collision in Odisha. He wished swift recovery for the injured people, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported. Kuwait Ministry of Foreign Affairs extended condolences to India, its leadership, government and people over the train accident in Odisha. Kuwait Ministry of Foreign Affairs wished for a speedy recovery of the injured. Also Read More initiatives on anvil to boost steel sector in 2023: Union Minister PLI scheme qualifiers, steel ministry to ink pacts for investment proposals JSPL to invest Rs 7,930 crore under PLI scheme for steel: MD Bimlendra Jha Agreements with 26 cos signed under PLI scheme for specialty steel: Scindia India steel imports from Russia rise to eight-year high in April-Jan: Data Top headlines: 11 train collisions in 5 yrs; Surjewala's 9 questions for PM RaGa has deep tech knowledge: Entrepreneur who hosted him in Silicon Valley Pench Tiger Reserve starts dairy project in buffer zone of forest areas Railways recorded 11 train collisions since 2017-18: Railway safety data Odisha train accident: 100 bodies to be kept at AIIMS Bhubaneshwar "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the State of Kuwait's sympathy and solidarity with the friendly Republic of India, following the train collision in Odisha Sudancho, eastern India, which resulted in the death and injury of hundreds of victims," Kuwait Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in the statement. It further said, "The Ministry extends its since condolences and sympathy from the State of Kuwait to the friendly Republic of India, the leadership, government and people, and to the families of the victims in this painful affliction, and its wishes for a speedy recovery of the injured." Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw oversaw the restoration works that were underway overnight in Odisha's Balasore where two passenger trains and a goods carriage were involved in a horrific accident, leaving 288 passengers dead and over 1,000 injured. According to the Railways Ministry, the restoration work is ongoing on a war footing at the site of the horrific accident. Chief Public Relations Officer of South Eastern Railway Aditya Kumar Chowdhary told ANI that traffic on the damaged tracks will be restored soon. Meanwhile, a special train carrying the affected passengers from Balasore arrived at Chennai MGR Central Railway Station. Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), of South Eastern Railway, Aditya Kumar said that the capsized bogies have been removed and the work of connecting the track is going on from one side. "Capsized bogies have been removed...Two bogies of goods train also have been removed...work of connecting track is going on from one side...will finish the work as soon as possible," Aditya Kumar told ANI. Unsubscribe to continue This is a subscriber only feature Subscribe Now to get daily updates on WhatsApp People board a bus to leave Khartoum, Sudan, Saturday, as fighting between the Sudanese Army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces intensified. AP-Yonhap The United States and Saudi Arabia on Sunday made a renewed push for truce talks between Sudan's warring generals as deadly fighting has raged into its eighth week. Multiple ceasefires have been agreed and broken, and Washington slapped sanctions on the two warring generals on Thursday, blaming both sides for the "appalling" bloodshed. Envoys of Sudan's regular army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) remained in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah despite the earlier collapse of ceasefire talks, the kingdom's foreign ministry said. The foreign mediators called for "the parties to agree to and effectively implement a new ceasefire, with the aim of building to a permanent cessation of hostilities", Riyadh said. A five-day extension of a US- and Saudi-brokered truce formally expired on Saturday evening, with no signs of the conflict abating and fears that the rival sides were poised for an escalation. Upwards of 1,800 people have been killed, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, and the UN says 1.2 million people have been displaced with more than 425,000 fleeing abroad. The RSF on Sunday claimed it had shot down a fighter jet after the army "launched an audacious airborne assault upon our forces' positions" in northern Khartoum. A military source told AFP a Chinese-made jet crashed near Wadi Seidna base north of Khartoum because of a "technical malfunction". Witnesses said they saw an aircraft travelling from the south to the north of the capital with flames erupting from it. Escalated fighting The fighting erupted on April 15 in the Sudanese capital between the army led by de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF commanded by his deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. Deadly urban battles have since gripped Khartoum and the war-scarred Darfur region in the west, forcing residents to flee or camp out for weeks as supplies of food and other vital goods have been depleted. Sunday's Saudi statement comes two days before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to arrive in the Gulf kingdom, with discussions on Sudan expected to be on the agenda. The last truce was agreed to allow desperately needed humanitarian aid and safe passage into areas of Sudan ravaged by the fighting, but like all those that preceded, the accord was routinely violated by both sides. The Sudanese army on Wednesday withdrew from the talks in Jeddah. A day later, the US-Saudi mediators declared the talks officially suspended, with Washington saying it was ready to resume the talks once the parties were "serious" about a ceasefire. Both Burhan and Daglo have pledged repeatedly to protect civilians and secure humanitarian corridors. But civilians reported escalated fighting after the army quit the Jeddah talks, including one army bombardment Thursday that a committee of human rights lawyers said killed 18 civilians in a Khartoum market. Some 25 million people more than half Sudan's population are now in need of aid and protection in what was already one of the world's poorest countries before the conflict, according to the UN. (AFP) The Bharat Lab will provide collaborative opportunities for faculty and students of the University to exchange knowledge with industry. The Lab will include activities such as seminars/workshops, research projects, internships, field studies, and similar initiatives. The data gathered by the Lab shall be applied for better-informed consumer insights in the decision-making of brands. The University of Lucknow and advertising agency Rediffusion to launch 'The Bharat Lab' to provide opportunities for faculty and students to exchange knowledge with commerce and industry experts and know about consumer behaviour of people from smaller cities.The Bharat Lab will provide collaborative opportunities for faculty and students of the University to exchange knowledge with industry. Prof. Sangeeta Sahu, Head of the Department of Business Management, University of Lucknow who will be also co-Chair of the Lab elaborates, We want to answer the most fundamental questions and curiosities about Bharat. What does Bharat eat, drink, and watch? Where does Bharat travel? How does Bharat spend its free time? How has the family dynamic evolved in Bharat and how does it impact the consumer behaviour of Bharat? What relationship do residents of Bharat have with technology and the internet? Who are the heroes and role models of the people of Bharat? There is so much to study. Our ambition is to go deeper than just surveys and numbers at The Bharat Lab. For us, Bharat is not just a consumption statistic, it is a formative cultural force of the nation. Interestingly, Bharat is as much a devoted watcher of Ramayan as it is of Masterchef - Bharat is also a fan of both Mann Ki Baat and Shark Tank, adds Dr. Sandeep Goyal, Managing Director of Rediffusion and co-chair of The Bharat Lab. Why The Bharat Lab? The Bharat Lab will be located at the University of Lucknow, the epicentre of the Hindi heartland. The Lab will be supported by 50 years of Rediffusions brand expertise and industry outreach. Also Read Divi's Lab surges 10% in two days on strong revenue growth guidance Budget 2023: IIT Madras to get Rs 242 cr for research on lab grown diamonds Divi's Lab sinks 13%, hits 29-mth low as Q3 profit falls more than expected Stocks to watch: Axis Bank, Zee Ent, SpiceJet, RIL, Bharat Forge, Alkem Lab TMS Ep363: Vodafone Idea, Air India, bank stocks, lab-grown diamonds Teachings of Sant Kabir relevant even in modern times: Bhupinder Hooda US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives in India on two-day visit Train crash: Contact to be established with 6 persons, says TN govt Govt remains deeply committed to Act East Policy: Sarbananda Sonowal Odisha train accident: Even ticketless travellers will receive compensation Who is Bharat? The Bharat Lab will understand Bharat. Know its hopes, dreams and aspirations; uncover its motivations, its challenges and its outlook by bringing its story into the mainstream of Indias culture, commerce and conversations. Or Bharat can be all of India beyond the 5 Metros and the 23 large cities. Definitions vary. We can define Bharat as the Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns of India. And the hinterland beyond. Why is Bharat so important? 60% of Indian online shoppers in 2030 will be from small cities Bharat sends around 400 out of 543 members of Parliament Today, approximately 50% of the recognized start-ups in India are based out of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities Bharat will be home to 50 smart cities in the next five years Bharat gives India 90% of its Olympians and its IAS officers Bharat is the driver of Indias tomorrow. It is home to two-thirds, or more, of Indias population. The growth economy of the future is anchored in the heartland of India. And that is the Bharat we wish to study in-depth, says Prof. Alok Kumar Rai, Vice Chancellor, University of Lucknow. Prof. Rai will be the Chief Mentor of The Bharat Lab. Bharat is where the future of India resides. And will prosper. What will The Bharat Lab do? The Bharat Lab will focus on the people of Bharat. What are their preferences and triggers? What are their hopes, ambitions, dreams, and aspirations? How have the family dynamics evolved in Bharat, and how does it impact the consumer behaviour of Bharat? What challenges do they face, and how do they navigate them? Who are the heroes and role models of the people of Bharat? What relationship do residents of Bharat have with technology and the internet? What entertains Bharat / What do they read, watch, & enjoy? What are the attitudes of different cohorts within Bharat: youngsters, mothers, artists, and entrepreneurs? The Bharat Lab will unlock fresh understanding and actionable insights by investigating these hitherto unexplored facets of life in Bharat. The Centre on Sunday set up a Commission of Inquiry, headed by former chief justice of the Gauhati High Court Ajai Lamba, to probe the recent series of violence in Manipur that claimed more than 80 lives. According to a notification issued by the Union Home Ministry, the commission will make inquiry with respect of the causes and spread of the violence and riots targeting members of different communities, which took place in Manipur on May 3 and thereafter. It will probe the sequence of events leading to, and all the facts relating to such violence; whether there were any lapses or dereliction of duty in this regard on the part of any of the responsible authorities/individuals and adequacy of the administrative measures taken to prevent, and to deal with the violence and riots. The inquiry by the commission shall look into the complaints or allegations that may be made before it by any individual or association. The commission shall submit its report to the central government as soon as possible but not later than six months from the date of its first sitting. The commission, however, if it deems fit, can make interim reports to the central government before the said date. Also Read As Manipur reels from violence, home minister Shah to visit the state today Tribal protest in Manipur turns violent; curfew imposed, internet suspended Centre notifies appointment of Chief Justices for four high courts Justice N Kotiswar Singh appointed acting chief justice of Gauhati HC 54 dead in Manipur violence, Imphal peaceful, most shops, markets open Traffic violators detected by AI cameras in Kerala to face heavy fines Isn't non-compliance of CAG 2022 report enough for minister to resign: NCP Environmental crusader Manoj Misra dies, Jairam Ramesh expresses sadness Threat of pandemics far from over, need to strengthen system: Minister Not prudent to allow more than 2 persons on two-wheelers, says Centre The other members of the commission are retired IAS officer Himanshu Shekhar Das and retired IPS officer Aloka Prabhakar. Manipur has been witnessing sporadic violence ever since ethnic clashes broke out on May 3. The death toll from clashes has gone up to over 80, officials said. The ethnic violence first broke out after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The violence was preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations. The monsoon missed its onset date in Kerala on Sunday with the India Meteorological Department anticipating a further delay of three to four days. The southwest monsoon normally sets in over Kerala on June 1 with a standard deviation of about seven days. In mid May, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said it might arrive in Kerala by June 4. In a statement on Sunday, the IMD said, "Conditions (are) becoming favourable with the increase in westerly winds over the south Arabian Sea. Also, the depth of westerly winds is gradually increasing and today, June 4, the depth of westerlies has reached up to 2.1 kilometres above the mean sea level. "The cloud mass over the southeast Arabian sea is also increasing. We expect that these favourable conditions for monsoon onset over Kerala will further improve during the next three-four days. It is being monitored continuously and further updates will be provided tomorrow (Monday)." Scientists, however, said the delay is unlikely to impact kharif sowing and total rainfall over the country. The southeast monsoon arrived in the southern state on May 29 last year, June 3 in 2021, June 1 in 2020, June 8 in 2019 and May 29 in 2018. Also Read IMD disagrees with Skymet, says India will have a normal monsoon this year 2023 monsoon to be 'normal'; NW India might get 'below normal' rains: IMD 'Nearly one-fifth of population to be exposed to below-normal rainfall' Too early to say if sub-par monsoon will dent market sentiment: Analysts 28% excess rainfall in India in pre-monsoon season so far, says IMD Manipur violence: Centre sets up three-member panel to probe cause Traffic violators detected by AI cameras in Kerala to face heavy fines Isn't non-compliance of CAG 2022 report enough for minister to resign: NCP Environmental crusader Manoj Misra dies, Jairam Ramesh expresses sadness Threat of pandemics far from over, need to strengthen system: Minister India is expected to get normal rainfall during the southwest monsoon season despite the evolving El Nino conditions, the IMD had earlier said. Northwest India is expected to see normal to below normal rainfall. East and northeast, central, and south peninsula are expected to receive normal rainfall at 94-106 per cent of the long-period average of 87 centimetres. According to the IMD, rainfall between 96 and 104 per cent of a 50-year average of 87 cm is considered 'normal'. Rainfall less than 90 per cent of the long-period average is considered 'deficient', between 90 per cent and 95 per cent is 'below normal', between 105 per cent and 110 per cent is 'above normal' and more than 100 per cent is 'excess' precipitation. Normal rainfall is critical for India's agricultural landscape, with 52 per cent of the net cultivated area relying on it. It is also crucial for the replenishing of reservoirs critical for drinking water apart from power generation across the country. Rainfed agriculture accounts for about 40 per cent of the country's total food production, making it a crucial contributor to India's food security and economic stability. Studies indicate a stronger inverse relationship between El Nino and rainfall during the second half of the monsoon season. El Nino, which is the warming of 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. With the date of next 'mahapanchayat', only of wrestlers, to be announced in three-four days, a 'mahapanchayat' was held on Sunday at Mundlana in Haryana's Sonipat, a third in a series in four days and the second in Haryana, to express solidarity with wrestlers protesting against WFI chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over charges of sexual harassment. Top wrestlers comprising Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, and Bajrang Punia have been protesting since April 23, demanding action against Brij Bhushan. Speaking at the 'mahapanchayat', Bajrang Punia said, "When we go out in the public, we get new energy. People's cooperation is our strength. Today our daughters (wrestlers) are mentally shattered. On May 28, you people tried to reach (at our protest site) but the police stopped you. We can't win by being different and we appeal to all organisations to unite. We will hold a 'amahapanchayat' and will take a major decision in it. You will be informed about the place and time of the 'mahapanchayat' of wrestlers in three-four days." Beside Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni, it was attended by former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik, among other prominent people. Earlier, Malik visited the Jantar Mantar in Delhi and interacted with wrestlers on April 26 and said "the support needs to grow because this fight is not just theirs -- it is for all women in our country." Farmers and representative of Khap panchayats, from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh gathered in numbers in Sonipat to expressing solidarity and to send out a message to the BJP government in the Centre to arrest Singh. Also Read 'Sought sexual favours, touched inappropriately': FIRs against WFI chief 'Sabka saath nahin, Brij Bhushan ka saath': Kapil Sibal's dig at govt My heart goes out to those affected: Abhinav Bindra on Wrestlers' protest Anurag called protesting wrestlers indisciplined, says AAP; BJP hits back New parliament building: PM releases commemorative postal stamps and coins Excise case: HC to pronounce order on Monday on Sisodia's interim bail plea Over 1,500 people stuck at station in Bengaluru following train mishap Synergy between start-up ecosystems of India, Saudi Arabia: Prince Al-Saud Railways Board recommends a CBI probe into Balasore train accident Tracks at Balasore train accident site repaired, says Ashwini Vaisnaw Two days ago, farmers and representatives of Khap panchayats (community courts) gave the BJP government in the Centre an ultimatum to arrest Singh by June 9 or prepare for a larger protest. A collective and unanimous decision in this regard was taken at the 'mahapanchayat' held in Haryana's Kurukshetra town on the future strategy of wrestlers' protest. On June 1, a 'mahapanchayat' was held in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar where it was decided that a delegation would meet President Droupadi Murmu to seek justice for the wrestlers. In Kurukshetra, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait warned the Central government that if no action is taken against Brij Bhushan by June 9, they will hold a larger protest along with the wrestlers. "We have taken a decision that the government must address the grievances of wrestlers and he should be arrested, otherwise we will go with wrestlers to Jantar Mantar, Delhi, on June 9 and will hold panchayats across the nation," he had said. At the same time, Tikait warned the Central government that if they aren't allowed to protest at Jantar Mantar on June 9, "there will be an announcement of agitation." The farmer leader also demanded that cases against the wrestlers, who were manhandled and detained during their march towards the new Parliament building, should be withdrawn. --IANS vg/uk/ The Congress on Sunday demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over the Odisha rail tragedy and attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he should accept part of the responsibility for creating an all is well facade even as the critical infrastructure of the Indian Railway "languishes in neglect". The Opposition party asked whether the prime minister will take responsibility for the "deadliest rail tragedy" of this century. It also asked who is responsible for ignoring the warnings and suggestions of experts, the parliamentary committee and CAG report. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that Modi was busy flagging off trains while not paying attention to railway safety. He called for fixing accountability of all posts from top to bottom to prevent such incidents in future. Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil and AICC's publicity and media department head Pawan Khera alleged that the Odisha rail tragedy was a "man-made devastation caused by "utter negligence, serious lapses in the system, incompetence, and a narcissistic sense of know-it-all attitude of the Modi government". Khera said the prime minister has a "Kavach" which no other PM had, protecting him from public scrutiny and television debates. He urged the media to not provide that shield to the PM. "This 'Kavach' does not save rail passengers but only your (PM's) image," Khera said. Also Read Rail Budget FY24: Focus on incomplete projects, big push for Make in India Change in electronic interlocking caused train accident: Ashwini Vaishnaw Vande Bharat pelted with stones in Bengal's Malda; BJP demands NIA probe Odisha likely to get second Vande Bharat Express, says Ashwini Vaishnaw Rail stocks may chug along till budget; book profit selectively: Analysts Avalanche in U'khand: Woman pilgrim returning from Hemkund Sahib missing Delhi Metro completes structural work on stretch of Phase-IV corridor Odisha train tragedy: Govt's negligence exposed, says AAP Priyanka Kakkar Train crash: 260 currently undergoing treatment in Odisha hospitals Central govt taking holistic approach to revolutionise healthcare: Shah The Opposition party also said that Modi should accept part of the responsibility for the "mess" that it alleged that his government has inflicted on the Indian Railways and the people. Prime Minister Modi, who has announced that the guilty would be punished, must first start with his railway minister, Khera said. "Unequivocally and unambiguously, we demand the resignation of the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Nothing short of it," he said. "Resignation means taking responsibility on moral grounds, here there is neither responsibility nor morals, do you think any resignation would come? We don't know whom we should ask for resignation. "The person who goes to inaugurate even small stations or the one who has been busy since yesterday morning in publicity. Modi ji, you decide whose resignation you want. But now the nation expects that you seek the resignation of your rail minister the way Lal Bahadur Shastri, Nitish Kumar and Madhavrao Scindia resigned," Khera said. "'Praan jaye par PR na jaye-- you have to leave this principle now," Khera said further. In a series of tweets in Hindi, Kharge posed questions to the Modi government and alleged that "PR gimmicks" have made the working system of the dispensation "hollow". Noting that three lakh posts are vacant in the Railways, he said posts at high levels whose recruitment is through the Prime Minister's Office are also lying vacant. He asked why these posts were not filled in the last nine years. The Railway Board itself has recently admitted that long working hours of loco pilots due to acute shortage of manpower is the main reason for the increasing number of accidents, the Congress president said and asked why the posts were not filled up. Kharge claimed that the Principal Chief Operating Manager of South Western Railway Zone sought fixing of the signalling system on February 8, 2023, citing an incident in Mysore in which two trains averted a collision. "Why did the Ministry of Railways not act on it," he asked. The Parliamentary Standing Committee in its 323rd report criticised the Railways for the "disregard" shown by the Railway Board towards the recommendations of the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS), Kharge said. It was said that CRS investigates only 8 per cent to 10 per cent of accidents. Then why was CRS not strengthened, he asked. "According to the latest CAG audit report, almost seven out of 10 train accidents between 2017-18 and 2020-21 were due to train derailment," the Congress president said. "According to CAG, 79 per cent of funding was reduced in Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) when Rs 20,000 crore was to be made available every year. Why has there been a huge decline in the amount of track renewal works?" the Congress chief said. The train collision avoidance system developed by India's Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) in 2011 was renamed by the Modi government as "Kavach" and was demonstrated by the railway minister himself in March 2022, he said and asked why it has been implemented only on 4 per cent routes till now. "Mr Modi, you are busy flagging off trains that have been turned white every day but do not pay any attention to rail safety," he said in an apparent reference to Vande Bharat trains. Accountability of posts from top to bottom has to be fixed so that such accidents can be prevented. Only then will the victims of this tragedy get justice, Kharge said. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too called for the resignation of Vaishnaw. "Following the ethical path of Lal Bahadur Shastri ji, Nitish Kumar ji, Madhav Rao Scindia ji, shouldn't the railway minister resign?" she said. Earlier, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that railway safety had been compromised in the "PR campaign" of the prime minister and the railway minister. "Recall that Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned in the wake of the Nov 1956 Ariyalur train disaster & Nitish Kumar did so following the ghastly Aug 1999 Gaisal train tragedy," he said in a tweet. At the presser, Gohil and Khera posed questions to the government and asked when will Modi demand the resignation from his railway minister. They alleged that Vaishnaw's "over the top publicity, theatrics and PR gimmicks overshadowed the serious deficiencies, criminal negligence and complete disregard for safety and security of Indian Railways". "PM Modi himself is responsible for a green-flagging spree of Vande Bharat Express trains. He is responsible for creating this 'all is well' facade in the Indian Railways, even as crucial, sensitive, and critical infrastructure of the Indian Railway languishes in neglect," Gohil and Khera said in their statement. Khera claimed that before the accident, Vaishnaw skipped presentations on safety at Railway Chintan Shivir because he had to attend the flagging off of a Vande Bharat train. Gohil said the Railways Minister should take responsibility but "Modi and morals travel in opposite directions". The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying around 2,500 passengers, and a goods train occurred around 7 pm on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore. At least 288 people were dead and over 1,100 injured in the accident, the worst rail accident in India in nearly three decades. A team of doctors and experts from the AIIMS here and other central hospitals of Delhi have been rushed to Bhubaneswar through a special IAF flight to provide medical assistance to those injured in the deadly Odisha train accident, official sources said on Sunday. The team is carrying medicines and heavy critical care equipment, the sources said. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is in Odisha and will visit the AIIMS Bhubaneswar and the Cuttack medical college on Sunday to take stock of medical assistance being provided to the victims of the train accident. Doctors from AIIMS-Bhubaneswar were earlier dispatched to Balasore and Cuttack in Odisha to assist in the relief operations at the site of the train accident, Mandaviya had said on Saturday. The triple train accident has left at least 288 people dead and over 1,100 injured. The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train occurred on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar. Also Read Bihar Cabinet approves Rs 309 cr for construction of AIIMS-Darbhanga Government yet to come up with satisfactory answers on AIIMS server attack NGT forms committee to verify facts about air pollution around AIIMS, Delhi CGHS beneficiaries to get cashless treatment at 6 AIIMS: Health Ministry BSE Odisha 10th Result 2023: All you need to know about checking result Ex NCB officer Wankhede claims of getting death threats in name of Dawood Odisha train accident: Andhra Pradesh sends 10 ambulances to assist injured UP govt launches 'Elder Line' to give shelter to elderly homeless Kuwait leaders offer condolences to Prez Murmu over Odisha train tragedy Top headlines: 11 train collisions in 5 yrs; Surjewala's 9 questions for PM The Tamil Nadu government has no information of 8 people of the 127 people from the state who had reserved tickets in the Coromondel Express that met with an accident in Odisha's Balasore on Friday, leaving at least 275 dead, an official statement said on Sunday. The eight passengers were identified as Naragani Gopi, 34, Raghunath, 21, Karthik, 19, Kamal, 26, Arun, 21, and A. Jagadeesan, 47 (all males) and Kalpana, 19, and Meena, 66 (both females), the statement said, adding that the remaining 119 passengers are safe. The state government communique called upon the relatives of these missing persons to contact the state helpline numbers: 1070, 9445869843. Several passengers from the state on the accident-struck Coromandel Express reached Chennai's Dr MGR central railway station on Sunday morning in a special train. Of this 18 people were grievously injured. --IANS aal/vd Also Read Odisha Balasore train accident: Tamil Nadu declares one-day state mourning Survivors of Odisha rail mishap arrive in Chennai on special train Odisha train tragedy: District hospitals witness huge flow of patients Post pandemic pent-up demand surge, realty space may face global headwinds Odisha train accident: Death toll rises to 288, at least 803 injured Next wrestlers' mahapanchayat dates to be announced in 3-4 days: Punia Excise case: HC to pronounce order on Monday on Sisodia's interim bail plea Over 1,500 people stuck at station in Bengaluru following train mishap Synergy between start-up ecosystems of India, Saudi Arabia: Prince Al-Saud Railways Board recommends a CBI probe into Balasore train accident Prime minister Narendra Modi has expressed gratitude to the world leaders for their condolence messages on the Odisha train accident, saying that he was "deeply moved" by their kind words. "Deeply moved by the condolence messages from world leaders on the train mishap in Odisha. Their kind words will give strength to the bereaved families. Gratitude for their support," he said in a late night tweet on Saturday. Several world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emanuel Macron among others have condoled the tragic accident, in which 288 people lost their lives. PM Modi also commended all those who have been involved in rescue and relief works at the accident site in Odisha's Balasore district, where the accident had taken place. "I commend each and every person belonging to the teams of railways, NDRF, ODRAF, local authorities, police, fire service, volunteers and others who are working tirelessly on the ground and strengthening the rescue ops. Proud of their dedication," the prime minister tweeted further. "The courage and compassion shown by the people of our nation in the face of adversity is truly inspiring. As soon as the train mishap took place in Odisha, people immersed themselves in assisting rescue ops. Several people lined up to donate blood," he went to add. Also Read BSE Odisha 10th Result 2023: All you need to know about checking result Odisha writes to Centre seeking release of pending food subsidy to state Odisha NMMS Result 2023 Released on ntse.scertodisha.nic.in, details here Odisha govt health scheme helps over 600,000 poor people get free treatment Ganjam of Odisha awarded as best district for National Water Award 2022 Odisha train accident: Railways Minister Vaishnaw inspects restoration work Odisha train tragedy: CM Patnaik announces Rs 5 Lakh ex-gratia to families Arunchal Pradesh witnessed major development push under Modi govt: DyCM UDF asks govt to curb rising airfares to Kerala from Gulf during festivals 28K J&K govt employees under I-T dept scanner for claiming bogus refunds The accident, involving three trains, is one of the worst ever in the country and took place in Odisha's Balasore district on Friday night. --IANS ans/dpb President Droupadi Murmu left the national capital for a six-day visit to Suriname and Serbia on Saturday. This is her maiden visit to Suriname and also her first state visit since assuming office in July 2022. Earlier, on Friday, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Secretary (East), Saurabh Kumar, informed that President Murmu will travel to Suriname and Serbia from June 4 to 9. Briefing about the Suriname leg of President Murmu's visit, he said she will be in Suriname on a state visit from June 4-6, at the invitation of Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi. "This will be her maiden visit to Suriname. Maiden state visit after she assumed the office of President. The visit assumes historical significance as the President will be the chief guest at the 150th-anniversary celebrations of the arrival of Indians in Suriname, which would be celebrated on June 5," the MEA Secretary (East) said during a special briefing on President's visit to Suriname and Serbia. Also Read Prez Murmu to travel to Suriname, Serbia next month on first state visit Suriname Prez Santokhi to meet BJP chief Nadda at party office in Delhi Another mass killing in Serbia after deadly school shooting, 8 killed Disturbances in Kosovo won't affect visit of President Murmu to Serbia: MEA President Droupadi Murmu to embark on 6-day visit to Suriname and Serbia Nepal PM Prachanda calls his 4-day visit to India 'astounding success' Sri Lanka President mourns loss of lives in Odisha 3-trains accident Anti-collision device Kavach to be installed in trains next year: Railways Centre not even bothered: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot on wrestlers' protest India-South Africa ties emotional, our freedom struggles intertwined: EAM The President is being accompanied by Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and Member of Parliament, Shrimati Rama Devi as well as an official delegation. The President will hold official talks with Suriname President Santokhi. Saurabh Kumar, during the briefing, said the President "will participate in a number of activities to commemorate the arrival of Indians in Suriname and visit the sites associated with their history in that country. The President will also interact with the Indian community". "The last presidential visit from India to Suriname was in 2018. India, Suriname relations are warm and friendly and acquire special significance on account of the Indian diaspora, which is over 27 per cent of the Suriname population," the MEA Secretary (East) said. He said India, Suriname's "bilateral relations span sectors such as trade and commerce, development, partnership, capacity building, agriculture and people to people ties. Suriname has been supportive of India in the international fora". "The Indian diaspora in Suriname acts as a living bridge between the two countries. Despite the passage of time, the diaspora has preserved the customs and traditions it carried from India while adding local flavours," he added. "The Republic of Suriname's invitation to the President to be the chief guest shows the goodwill that prevails there for India as well as India's growing influence and stature on the global stage," he said. "The visit of the President also emphasizes the importance we attach to our relations with Suriname and to the Indian diaspora around the world. The visit will add a fresh momentum too and further strengthen India-Suriname bilateral ties," he added. In the next leg of her tour, Murmu will visit Serbia, which will start from June 7. She received an invitation from Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. President Murmu's visit to Serbia comes at a time when tensions have been rising in the past week in Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Several clashes are being reported with protesters over the installation of ethnically Albanian mayors in a disputed election. However, Ministry of External Affairs has said India does not recognise the declaration of independence of Kosovo, and that the situation in the country won't affect President Draupadi Murmu's visit to Serbia. Addressing a special briefing on the President's visit to Suriname and Serbia, MEA's Secretary West Sanjay Verma said, "Well, we are aware of the recent disturbances in Kosovo, which is at the extreme southern tip of Serbia. We have no reason at this point of time, as I say this, to be concerned that those incidents or have any consequence on the state visit of my president, nor have we been suggested otherwise by the hosts." "On the matter of Kosovo, our stance has been quite clear and consistent that we do not recognise the declaration of independence by Kosovo. We, however, also believe that any differences need to be resolved through dialogue," Verma added. He said he was hopeful that the disturbances in the country over the last few days are resolved peacefully through talks and that there is a de-escalation of the situation. Replying to a media query on whether the President's visit was planned before the political crisis, Verma said it was pre-planned. "For a matter of record, this has been a longstanding invitation. I won't remember exactly how long, but at least over a year, year and a half. I think because of the conflict in Ukraine, it was it had to be rescheduled. And now we think it's a conducive time for this visit to take place," Verma added. Serbia does not recognise the sovereignty of Kosovo and has the backing of China, Russia and five other EU nations, which also do not recognise the country. Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe has conveyed his heartfelt condolences to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of India following the tragic multiple train collision in Odisha. In a letter addressed to India's Prime Minister, President Wickremesinghe expressed his profound sadness upon learning about the devastating incident, President's Media Division (PMD) announced on Saturday. The President emphasised that the people of Sri Lanka stand united in their sympathy and support for India during this difficult time. "President Wickremesinghe extended his condolences to the Government of India and the bereaved families who have suffered an unimaginable loss. He also expressed his wishes for a swift recovery to those who have been injured," PMD said. The President also assured Modi that the thoughts and prayers of Sri Lanka are with the families of the victims, and he hoped that they would find the strength and resilience to overcome their grief, the statement added. --IANS Also Read Sri Lanka concludes debt restructuring talks with Japan: Wickremesinghe India will help Sri Lanka in oil sector despite recent changes: Officials EAM likely to visit Lanka on Jan 19; talks on debt restructuring expected Odisha train accident: PM Modi distressed, speaks to railway minister Sri Lankan rupee shows appreciation against US Dollar in recent months Anti-collision device Kavach to be installed in trains next year: Railways Centre not even bothered: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot on wrestlers' protest India-South Africa ties emotional, our freedom struggles intertwined: EAM Research, treatment of victims in Odisha made free, says health official India no longer lumbering around at relatively slow pace: EAM Jaishankar sfl/khz/ By John Alderman Linton As part of the fourth generation of a family of missionaries, I've witnessed many changes during my time in Korea. It's said that human civilization has advanced more over the past 50 years than ever before, and it's undeniable that South Korea has stood at the forefront of those changes. Rapid economic development has transformed our values and our way of life. It's time we took a hard look at what we've gained and what we've lost. And one of the biggest things Koreans have lost is the family gatherings on the "ondol" floor, where knowledge, wisdom and morality were once imparted. My father Hugh Linton, who was born in the Korean city of Gunsan during the Japanese colonial period, fought against Japan in World War II and also served in the Korean War. He had an unmatched love and understanding of Korea. In his younger years, Dad used to say that countless lives would have been saved if the American pioneers had known about Korea's ondol floor heating. America's log cabins have a nostalgic charm, but fireplaces consumed a huge amount of firewood. Plus, sitting by the fire tended to scorch half your body while leaving the other half freezing cold. But as my father liked to point out, the ondol fire only needed a little fuel in the morning and evening to keep the floor toasty. That made ondol better for the environment and a better choice overall. I was born in Suncheon six years after the Korean War. Back then, the ondol floor was the center of family life. That's where the whole family grandparents, parents and children would congregate on frosty winter evenings. There was no television or internet back then, and electricity was unreliable, so we had to keep an oil lamp at the ready. Sitting together on the ondol floor, we received a wealth of knowledge from our elders. We learned about the Japanese colonial period, the YeosuSuncheon rebellion, and the Korean War. What we learned was more accurate, and more essential, than anything you could find online today. There was also precious wisdom to be gleaned on the ondol floor. After stoking the ondol fire with the old woman who was the gatekeeper at the missionary compound, we would talk about how I was always getting picked on by my brothers, as the youngest of five boys and one sister. She would share nuggets of wisdom about how I could avoid angering my brothers and have a better relationship with them. Schooling wasn't as thorough back then, and we didn't have access to private tutors or academies. But education today can't compete with the dignity and wisdom of those teachings. The ondol floor was also where elders taught children about morality. Even now, I can still remember being instructed to always obey the rules, no matter what other people may do. "Just because someone else is breaking the rules doesn't give you an excuse to break them too," I was told. And that remains my personal motto today. As a Christian, the Bible stories I heard in church have stood me in good stead, but that lesson on the ondol floor was the greatest gift I've ever received from a Korean or at least someone from Jeolla Province. When I make the rounds with medical students and residents at the International Clinic, I tell them, "The first thing you'll learn from us is knowledge about being a doctor and wisdom about putting that knowledge to use. But even more important is learning strong moral principles, since people's lives are in your hands." When I'm teaching those young medical students, I try to evoke the lessons I learned from elders on the ondol floor. As a doctor, I feel compelled to diagnose South Korea's social ills. There's the suicide rate, the highest in the OECD, and people often complain about how young people's manners keep getting worse and worse. The root cause, in my judgment, is Koreans' adoption of central heating and the resulting disappearance of that sacred gathering place on the ondol floor. Today, more than 60 percent of Koreans live in apartments. When kids get home from school, they head straight to their rooms, instead of talking to their elders. People watch TV or surf the net alone, with little human contact. With the ondol floor no longer serving its sacred function, kids don't get to learn the knowledge, wisdom, and morality they need in life from their elders. Indeed, the lessons the elderly have learned over the course of their lives are often dismissed as trite and outdated. Without a meaningful way to contribute to society, many elderly people feel alienated, and some are driven to take their own lives. Here in South Korea, we're blessed with immeasurably more material wealth than in North Korea, a country where people are constantly worried about their next meal. But one thing South Koreans have lost is the place where young and old can gather together. That culture of communing together on the ondol floor is still alive in North Korea. The one thing that's missing in the South has been preserved in the North. When Korea is eventually reunited, South Koreans will obviously need to share the economic foundation they've laid. But my fervent hope is that they'll also restore the extended family values that are still taught in the North. My hope is that they'll regain the one thing that's missing in the South and pass down that precious legacy to future generations. John Alderman Linton, an American-Korean whose Korean name is Ihn Yo-han, is a director at Yonsei University Severance Hospital International Health Care Center. Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the people and the government of India following the tragic train accident in Odisha that killed around 275 people. Wickremesinghe extended his condolences to the Government of India and the bereaved families who have suffered an unimaginable loss, Daily Mirror Newspaper reported on Sunday. Addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the president said the thoughts and prayers of Sri Lanka were with the families of the victims and hoped that they would find the strength and resilience to overcome their grief. Several world leaders including US President Joe Biden, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emanuel Macron have expressed their condolences to the families and the Government of India over one of the country's worst train accidents that also left 1,175 persons injured. The Coromandel Express rammed into a stationary goods train and many of its carriages overturned including some onto another train - the Bengaluru-Howrah superfast express which was also passing by at the same time on Friday. Also Read EAM discuss cooperation in infra, connectivity with Lankan counterpart Odisha train accident: PM Modi distressed, speaks to railway minister Deeply anguished by loss of lives in Odisha train accident: President Murmu BSE Odisha 10th Result 2023: All you need to know about checking result 11 people killed, 12 injured in pickup van-truck collision in Chhattisgarh Odisha rail tragedy: Cong demands Railway Minister Vaishnaw's resignation Avalanche in U'khand: Woman pilgrim returning from Hemkund Sahib missing Delhi Metro completes structural work on stretch of Phase-IV corridor Odisha train tragedy: Govt's negligence exposed, says AAP Priyanka Kakkar Train crash: 260 currently undergoing treatment in Odisha hospitals Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday said the teachings of Sant Kabir are relevant even in modern times and called the mystic poet and saint an epitome of human virtue. The former Haryana chief minister in Rohtak at an event extended greetings to the people on the occasion of Sant Kabir Jayanti, and called the a social reformer, a thinker, critic, writer, guide, philosopher, poet, scholar, visionary, and an ideological movement in himself. "Sant Kabir is our guide. Hindus and Muslims alike considered him as their own. His couplets are still remembered by all of us," he said and quoted some of his famous 'dohas.' According to a statement, Hooda, who is the Leader of Opposition in Haryana Assembly, said the teachings of Sant Kabir are also more relevant in today's era when some people are trying to create divisions on the basis of caste and religion for their political gains. "We believe that every political party should take inspiration from the thoughts of Kabir Das ji when it formulates its policies, so that the participation of the deprived sections can be ensured at every level of the society," he said. Hooda said Congress party always gave priority to the welfare of the progress of scheduled castes, backward classes and the poor in the society. "...the previous Congress government has set up schools in every village and locality to educate the children of SC, backward classes and the poor," he said. Also Read Prime Minister Modi pays tributes to Sant Ravidas on birth anniversary Haryana 2022: Elections busy netas, neighbours bicker, athletes get medals Rahul Gandhi was disqualified to suppress voice of opposition, says Hooda Rahul Gandhi attacks BJP, its ideology as Bharat Jodo Yatra enters Haryana Rahul visits Golden Temple ahead of Punjab leg of Bharat Jodo Yatra US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives in India on two-day visit Train crash: Contact to be established with 6 persons, says TN govt Govt remains deeply committed to Act East Policy: Sarbananda Sonowal Odisha train accident: Even ticketless travellers will receive compensation Parts of Delhi witnesses light rains, max temp settles at 33.7 degrees C He alleged that the BJP led government stopped some of the schemes of the poor introduced by the previous Congress regime, which the party will resume once it comes back in power. Haryana Congress president Udai Bhan claimed that every section of the society is unhappy with the present government. He said, if voted to power in 2024 assembly elections in Haryana, Congress will hike the old age pension from Rs 2,750 at present to Rs 6,000 per month, give 300 units of free electricity per month, restart the former Congress government scheme of giving free plots of 100 yards each to the poor. "Farmers' crops will not be allowed to be sold for less than the MSP. Domestic gas cylinders will be given to every family for Rs 500 and apart from filling up 2 lakh government posts lying vacant, the backlog of SC, BC recruitment will also be completed," he assured. On the eve of World Environment Day, non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released its annual compendium of data in which Telangana was ranked in the top in terms of overall environmental performance. Delhi-based CSE, a prominent public interest research and advocacy organisation, released its annual compendium of data 'State of India's Environment 2023: In Figures' on Sunday. The report offers a wealth of statistics on the state of climate and extreme weather, health, food and nutrition, migration and displacement, agriculture, energy, waste, water and biodiversity. A press release from Telangana Minister K T Rama Rao said the progress achieved in increasing forest cover and in municipal waste treatment were considered for the ranking. Besides, Chief Minister K Chandrasekar Rao's brainchild 'Haritha Haaram' afforestation scheme and other environmental-friendly programmes secured this rare honour, the minister added. On the occasion, Rama Rao recalled the state government's pioneering initiatives which led to remarkable increase in the green cover in both rural and urban areas, the social benefits and national, international recognitions achieved because of them. He said about 273 crore saplings were planted in the last nine years across Telangana leading to an increase in the forest cover in the state from 19,854 square kilometres in 2015-16 to 26,969 square kilometres in 2023. A remarkable 24.06 per cent of geographical area in the state is covered with forests. Also Read Telangana celebrates state formation day, KCR launches 21-day fete CM KCR is more dangerous than Atiq Ahmed, says Telangana BJP chief YS Sharmila sends truck full of damaged crops to KCR, demands compensation CM KCR announces Rs 10,000 per acre assistance for crop loss for farmers Rs 6,000 aid for farmers by Maharashtra govt insufficient: Telangana CM Bihar: Under-construction bridge on Ganga collapses; labourers feared dead Veteran actor Sulochana Latkar dies at 94 due to prolonged illness Lucknow University to set up 'Bharat Lab' to study consumer behaviour Teachings of Sant Kabir relevant even in modern times: Bhupinder Hooda US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives in India on two-day visit The minister said while only 74 megawatt (MW) was produced through solar energy when the state was formed in 2014, it surged to 5,865 MW now. There are sometimes "things bigger than politics" when one steps outside the country, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday, days after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi repeatedly attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government during his ongoing US visit. Addressing Indian Americans in Santa Clara in the US earlier this week, Gandhi, a former Congress party president and an ex-MP, described Prime Minister Modi as a "specimen" and also attacked his government's policies on various fronts. Speaking at a diaspora event in Cape Town after attending the meeting of BRICS foreign ministers, Jaishankar said that he can talk for himself and does not do politics while travelling abroad. "Look, I said I can only talk for myself I try when I go abroad not to do politics." "I'm perfectly prepared to argue and argue very vigorously at home. Okay, so you will never find me wanting in that regard," he said in response to a question. "But I think you know, even a democratic culture has a certain collective responsibility. There is a national interest there is a collective image. There are sometimes things bigger than politics and when you step outside the country, I think that's important to remember. "So I might differ strongly with someone. I could say to you, I differ with them. But how I counter it, I would like to go back home and do it. And watch me when I get back," India's top diplomat said. Also Read Rahul Gandhi takes a late-night truck ride to speak to drivers; see video Rahul Gandhi convicted in Modi surname defamation case: What we know so far Digvijaya offers residence to Rahul after he was asked to vacate bungalow EAM Jaishankar meets Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov India helped in grain deal between Moscow and Kyiv, says EAM Jaishankar Courage, compassion shown truly inspiring: PM lauds Balasore locals Joe Biden says he is heartbroken by horrific 3-train crash in India Odisha train tragedy: B'luru ULB to arrange food for stranded passengers Odisha train tragedy: Indian men's hockey team observes a minute silence Odisha train mishap: PM Modi lauds people assisting in relief work Jaishankar said one part of the Indian foreign policy today is extremely focused securing the welfare of Indian citizens abroad. He said given the globalisation of Indians today, it is important that systems are put in place which will respond to difficult situations. "Sometimes they can be very country specific. We had a few weeks ago, very nasty situation in Sudan, and we have 5,000 Indians died last year, when the fighting started in Ukraine. We had more than 20,000 Indians now. In fact, when I look at these last nine years, almost every year, we've had one situation somewhere. "So, it's something which will keep happening. And we have that fundamental obligation today to take care of Indian Indians. Working, living, traveling abroad," he said. "It could be something like providing a flight, it could even be sometimes there are people who are stuck abroad, who have no money who are stuck in cases, they can't afford it. You know, we unfortunately have cases sometimes that people will pass away," he added. India's economic growth numbers for the January-March quarter and for the full fiscal year 2022-23 have come as pleasant surprises, being better than almost all forecasts (including this writer's). Notably, at its meeting last December, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) monetary policy committee (MPC) had expected growth in the January-March quarter to come in at 4.2 per cent. Instead, it has turned out to be almost an order of magnitude higher, at 6.1 per cent. Read more... A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre for setting up an inquiry commission headed by a retired apex court judge to probe the cause of the train accident in Odisha's Balasore district that has left 288 people dead. The plea filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari also sought directions to the Centre to immediately set up an expert commission headed by retired judge of the apex court and consisting of technical members to analyse and review the risk and safety parameters in the railway system and to suggest systematic safety modifications for strengthening Railway safety mechanism and submit its report to the court. The plea submitted that non-implementation of Kavach system at the earliest has resulted in a massive loss of life and damage of public property which imputes direct liability of gross negligence and breach of duty of care by respondent authorities. The enquiry commission headed by a retired apex court judge should conclude its probe in two months and try to examine the root cause of the accident and submit its report before the top court, the plea said. It also sought issuance of guidelines for the implementation of the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System Kavach in Indian Railways with immediate effect. Tiwari, in his plea, said he is seeking specific directions to the Government for the enforcement of the Railway Accidents Protective measures and to strengthen such measures to avoid accidents in the future and safeguard the fundamental right of life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. Also Read More initiatives on anvil to boost steel sector in 2023: Union Minister PLI scheme qualifiers, steel ministry to ink pacts for investment proposals Rail Budget FY24: Focus on incomplete projects, big push for Make in India JSPL to invest Rs 7,930 crore under PLI scheme for steel: MD Bimlendra Jha Agreements with 26 cos signed under PLI scheme for specialty steel: Scindia USFDA inspections of Indian sites still below pre-Covid-19 levels Odisha tragedy: South Central Railway announces cancellation of more trains Death toll in triple train accident stands at 275, says Odisha govt UN Secy-General saddened by loss of life, injury in Odisha train accident People form human chain along Yamuna to save river from heavy pollution Referring to train accidents that have taken place in the country in the last three decades, he submitted that authorities have been slow in providing redress in developing a safety enforcement mechanism against such collisions and accidents. "The enforcement of safety mechanisms of train protection system is still not done at ground level throughout the country as it has been clearly proven that Kavach, which is an Automatic Train Protection System, was still not applied on this route", the PIL said. The PIL submitted there is an absolute necessity of installing the Kavach protection system at the earliest without which no train movement should continue. The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying around 2,500 passengers, and a goods train occurred around 7 pm on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore. At least 288 people were killed and over 1,100 injured in the accident. India in its address at the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore, reiterated its stance on the Chinses activity in the South China Sea region, the Economic Times (ET) reported.Representing India at the international forum, Deputy NSA Vikram Misri sent out an indirect message over the Chinese activity in the South China Sea region, saying that respect for foundational principles and regimes like UN Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) is essential for the credibility of the global order. And violations can damage the trust member-nations have in these organisations.Highlighting the importance of cooperation, Misri stressed the need to adhere to law, observe norms and respect rules, including the UNCLOS, and refrain from unilateral measures to change the status quo.Misry added that respect for such foundational principles and regimes is essential to maintain the credibility of the global order. He explained that when nations disregard their legal obligations or violate long-standing agreements, the damage to trust and confidence is immense.The Chinese defence minister was also present at the dialogue.Misri further highlighted Indias initiatives to keep Indian Ocean Region (IOR) safe and referred to Singapores important role along the Sea Lanes of Communication as a provider for logistics and staging posts to navies.The Deputy NSA also pointed to how Indo-Pacific has been at the centre of contemporary geo-economic and geo-strategic discourse in recent times.Speaking specifically about the Pacific portion he said that the region has witnessed a transformation in dynamics across fields of security, global commons and international law preservation.Reiterating the importance of one of the busiest waterways of the world, Misri said that as Singapor sits in some sense at the fulcrum of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, it makes for an "apposite" venue to dwell on a Indian Ocean Region that makes for a key constituent of the Indo-Pacific.He further drew attention to the fact that Indian Ocean is perhaps the only one where entry is through "choke points". These choke points in future can be controlled in certain situations and may become a cause of friction in furture."The Ocean is also perhaps the only one where entry is through choke points, which can be controlled in certain situations and become friction points. Island territories in the Ocean also work to shape the security architecture and play a vital role along the Sea Lanes of Communication by providing logistics and staging posts to navies, The ET report quoted Misri.Misri in his address said that Indias approach in the region is based on the theme of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR).Coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 in Mauritius the theme SAGAR includes the aspects of security, capacity building, collective action, sustainable development, maritime engagement, and regional connectivity. Secretary Austin's trip comes over two weeks ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Washington during which the two sides are expected to unveil initiatives to expand the India-US global strategic partnership. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in India on Sunday on a two-day visit to explore ways to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation, especially in areas of transfer of critical technologies for co-development of military hardware. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Austin are set to discuss in their talks on Monday General Electric's proposal to share technology with India for fighter jet engines and New Delhi's plan to procure 30 MQ-9B armed drones at a cost of over USD 3 billion from US defence major General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc besides other issues, people familiar with the matter said. "I'm returning to India to meet with key leaders for discussions about strengthening our Major Defense Partnership. Together, we're advancing a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific," the US defence secretary tweeted shortly after landing in New Delhi. In June 2016, the US designated India a "Major Defence Partner" paving the way for sharing of critical military equipment and technology. India has been looking at manufacturing of jet engines in India under the framework of technology transfer to power its fighter aircraft. Also Read FY24 procurement target through GeM likely to set at Rs 2.5 trillion Robust defence finance system backbone of strong military: Rajnath Singh Govt to spend 75% defence outlay for procurement from Indian firms: Rajnath Govt forms cabinet secretary-led panel to monitor Mission Karmayogi 75% of defence capital budget is for domestic procurement, says Rajnath Seeking CBI investigation into Odisha train accident: Ashwini Vaishnaw G20 meeting on Int'l Financial Architecture to start on June 5 in Goa Three fire incidents reported in Delhi, no casualties, says official Odisha train tragedy: TN yet to get info on 8 of 127 passengers from state Next wrestlers' mahapanchayat dates to be announced in 3-4 days: Punia The US Defence Secretary arrived from Singapore. It is Secretary Austin's second visit to India. His previous trip to India was in March 2021. China's aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific as well as along the Line of Actual Control and ways to combat the threat of terrorism are also likely to figure in the discussions between Singh and Austin. In a major move, President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Modi announced in May last year that the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) to elevate and expand the strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the two countries. In his address at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday, the US defence secretary said, "Our Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology with India lets us explore new ways to co-develop key defence platforms." Austin said the US is "stepping up planning, and coordination, and training with our friends from the East China Sea to the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean." "That includes staunch allies such as Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand. And it includes as well such valued partners as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and clearly our hosts here today in Singapore," he said. On Saturday, Austin tweeted that he was deeply saddened by the train accident in Balasore. The iCET is expected to forge closer linkages between the government, academia and industry of the two countries in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, 5G and 6G, biotech, space and semiconductors. Replying to the tweet, Singh said: "Deeply touched by your condolences. Thanks for your support. Looking forward to meet you tomorrow." The India-US defence and strategic ties have been on an upswing in the last few years. "Deeply saddened to hear of the tragedy in Balasore. Our hearts go out to our partners in India. I will convey our condolences in person when I meet with senior leaders in India in the coming days," he said. The two sides also signed COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018 which provides for interoperability between the two militaries and provides for the sale of high-end technology from the US to India. The two countries have inked key defence and security pacts over the past few years, including the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies. In October 2020, India and the US sealed the BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) agreement to further boost bilateral defence ties. The pact provides for sharing of high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between the two countries. US Defence Secretary Lloyd J Austin is set to arrive in India on an official visit, on Sunday, starting the third leg of this four-nation tour. He will depart from Singapore and will reach New Delhi to meet Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with an aim to expand defence-industrial partnership. The visit holds particular significance considering Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming state visit to the White House in June. Austin attended the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore and his first stop was in Tokyo where he met with Japanese Defence Minister Yasukasu Hamada and other senior leaders and visit US troops stationed in Japan. Later, from Japan, he flew to Singapore, where he addressed plenary remarks at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) 20th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. During his stay in Singapore, he also held key bilateral meetings to advance US partnerships across the region. Also Read US faces pivotal years in countering China, says Pentagon chief Austin US Defence Secy Lloyd Austin to arrive in India for a 2-day visit on Sunday US, Pakistan share long-standing defence partnership: Defence Secy Austin Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to travel to India ahead of Modi's US visit Won't stand for 'coercion and bullying' from China: US Defence Secy Restoration work ongoing at war footing at Odisha accident site: Railways Pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir receive vaccination before leaving for Hajj 'There are things bigger than politics when you are outside country': EAM Courage, compassion shown truly inspiring: PM lauds Balasore locals Joe Biden says he is heartbroken by horrific 3-train crash in India Austin's New Delhi visit will prominently focus on advancing India-US new defence innovation and industrial cooperation initiatives and continuing with the efforts to expand operational cooperation between the US and Indian militaries. The Pentagon, while elaborating on the details of the Defence Secretary's visit, said, "After Singapore, Secretary Austin will visit New Delhi to meet with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other leaders as the United States and India continue to modernize the US-India Major Defence Partnership." "This visit provides an opportunity to accelerate new defence innovation and industrial cooperation initiatives and drive ongoing efforts to expand operational cooperation between the U.S. and Indian militaries," the statement added. Speaking ahead of his four-nation tour, the US Defence Secretary said: "I look forward to travelling to Japan, Singapore, India and France next week. We've made ground-breaking progress over the past year alongside our allies and partners towards advancing our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific." Also just before PM Modi's visit to the US, a powerful Congressional Committee has recommended strengthening NATO Plus by including India. This step is a move to deter China. The suggestion of including India in the five-member grouping has been made by the committee to win the "strategic competition with the Chinese Communist Party". Presently, NATO Plus 5 is a security arrangement that works towards boosting global defence cooperation and comprises NATO and five aligned countries, Australia, Japan, Israel, New Zealand and South Korea. India getting included in NATO Plus would mean the facilitation of seamless intelligence sharing between these nations and India and access to the latest military technology with a minimal time lag, reported NewsonAir. The US House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the US and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) made the resounding decision after a meeting on May 24. The committee rolled out a policy proposal that aims to bolster Taiwan's deterrence capabilities, primarily by reinforcing NATO Plus with the inclusion of India. Secretary Austin will conclude his four-nation trip in France and will take part in events commemorating the 79th anniversary of D-Day and meet with French and United Kingdom defence leaders. *Good borrowers were being persuaded to enter into structured deals with a stressed borrower to conceal the stress; *Bringing two lenders together to evergreen each others loans by sale and buyback of loans or debt instruments; Last month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) organised a conference of the directors of public-sector banks (PSBs). In his inaugural address, the RBI governor made some startling comments. He said: One of the critical areas where the role of directors is very significant is in ensuring the integrity of financial statements We have come across instances where so-called smart accounting methods were adopted to artificially boost the financial performance of the bank. What had RBI inspectors discovered? In the words of the governor, they had come across tricks to conceal the real status of stressed loans, such as: Nation must increase doctors and improve reward system Korea's healthcare system was exemplary until a few years ago. It was easy to access, had skilled physicians and was cheap to use. Suddenly, it seems to be a mess. Emergency patients die in ambulances, as some accident and emergency departments failed to accept them. Parents with feverish children must wait hours to see a doctor. Even the nation's largest hospital failed to save one of its own nurses who suffered a stroke, due to the lack of cerebrovascular surgeons. Doctors have for now just thwarted the attempts of nurses, who are looking to improve clarity regarding their responsibilities with a separate law, by threatening to walk out. Instead, nurses are on partial strike, refusing to play the role of assistants to physicians. Bureaucrats at the Ministry of Health and Welfare are unable or unwilling to right the wrong. The bloated ministry is not good at either health or welfare administration. It is led by a former finance ministry official parachuted in only a year ago. Politicians appear only to be concerned about the effects a crippled medical system will have on votes. Korea needs more doctors. In 2021, the nation had 1.9 physicians, excluding oriental doctors, per 1,000 people, barely half of the OECD's average of 3.7. A doctor saw 6,989 patients in 2019, more than three times higher than the 2,130 in the club of mainly rich countries. The average visit time was 4.3 minutes, nearly a quarter of the OECD's 16.4 minutes. The enrollment quota of medical schools has been fixed at 3,058 for 18 years. Still, the Korean Medical Association (KMA), which has nearly 130,000 doctors as members, claims otherwise. The KMA says not the total number but its distribution among different regions and medical departments matters. It then calls for better rewards for members who work in alienated areas and who major in vital, complex care. Some doctors cite the dwindling population and robots armed with artificial intelligence as reasons for freezing their numbers. Sounds reasonable but this hides their vocational selfishness. Better treatments for doctors in a harsher environment and increasing their number is not an either/or situation but a both/and proposition. Various studies show that Korea will need at least 10,000 more doctors by 2030, based on their workload in 2019. Korea's aging society will require more medical services even if the population plateaus or falls. AI and robots can only assist humans, not replace them yet. "Who but doctors would agree that Korea has sufficient doctors?" said Yoon Han-deok, the late ER chief at the National Medical Center who died due to overwork a few years ago. All humans want to live longer and healthier. Korea is a wealthy capitalist country, and all Koreans seek to lead a wealthier and more leisurely life. Doctors are humans, too. They prefer dermatology, plastic surgery, and psychiatry to surgery, pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology. Besides, the scarcer they are, the higher their value. The government must increase their number, capitalizing in part on the medical school craze where all talented engineering students are wishing to become doctors. It therefore, should devise the fairest and most precise reward system, preferring thoracic surgeons, particularly those who work at night, on holidays and who conduct the most complex operations over those who fix noses or conduct double eyelid surgeries. Officials should force large hospitals to hire more vital care specialists instead of relying too much on trainee doctors by setting strict standards. The government should also benchmark Japan's regional hospital system, where provincial institutions foster regional talents with scholarships, provide mandatory service for nearly a decade and then settle there. Health-related bureaucrats must abolish the current "medical caste" system, where doctors reign over all other medical workers rather than working with them as a team. Bureaucrats and politicians must try again when it comes to the Nursing Act or amend the Medical Services Act, clarifying each profession's duties and responsibilities more thoroughly than now. Normalizing the healthcare service may be one area where President Yoon Suk Yeol can exercise his specialty of unilateralism with widespread support. If the president spends only half the force he used to crush construction workers, to push for this healthcare reform, all medical patients will be happier. Awareness of green finance (GF) has gained momentum with the proactive steps taken by both the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). In April, the RBI issued its circular on green deposits. Renewable energy, waste management, clean transportation, energy efficiency, and afforestation were identified as projects to be funded from such deposits. The green bonds issued by the World Bank in 2008, denominated in Swedish krona (SEK) for a total amount of SEK2.325 billion, in partnership with Scandinavian institutional investors, and having a maturity of six years, is acknowledged as having set the template for sustainable investing globally. The market for such bonds is seen at $914.4 billion by 2030. This is despite the recent hiccup issuers sold $443.72 billion worth of green bonds in 2022, down from $596.30 billion in 2021, according to data from the Climate Bonds Initiative, a UK-based green-debt tracker. The Karnataka unit of the BJP has decided to launch a helpline to 'protect' BJP workers from the alleged atrocities of the Congress government. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, Bengaluru South MP and BJP's Yuva Morcha President Tejasvi Surya said the party will soon launch a helpline for BJP workers in the state. "It has come to our notice that BJP workers are being targeted, threatened and false cases are being lodged against them. To protect our workers from the legal atrocities of the Congress government, a team of advocates is prepared to carry out the legal battles," Tejasvi said. "For all these reasons, a 24x7 helpline will be launched in Karnataka for BJP workers. A team will be trained by the legal cell of the party," he said. --IANS mka/arm Also Read High-voltage campaigning for Karnataka elections to end today at 5 pm Come May 13, will BJP script history in 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections? Despite all assurances, Jagdish Shettar chose himself over party: BJP Karnataka elections 2023: Modi, Shah, Nadda named BJP's star campaigners Karnataka Election Results 2023: Here is how the tally looks at 10:30 am Maha Cong takes stock of 41 LS seats, to review Mumbai constituencies Odisha train tragedy: Gujarat CM, ruling BJP cancel public events No clarity in implementation of poll guarantees: BJP Karnataka chief Probe financial dealings of Solar scam judicial commission judge: Cong Many questions to ask of PM, rail minister post Odisha train mishap: Cong As Rajasthan goes to the polls in December this year, there are crucial caste equations which one needs to study and understand for the social engineering in this state is a little complicated and complex. These caste equations have been springing surprises for many parties over the years. The eastern belt forms the crucial region of Rajasthan which is known for its dominance of Meena and Gujjar votes, while the Shekhawati and Marwar belt is known for the crucial Jat votes. The Meenas in 2018 sprung a surprise by rejecting the tallest leader of their community, Kirodilal Meena. Among the Jats, Hanuman Beniwal won by a record margin for he branded himself as a Jat leader. He contested as an Independent in the assembly polls and later formed an alliance with the BJP from Nagaur. Later, he also contested the parliamentary polls and won. Recently, he broke his alliance with the BJP due to the farm laws issue. The BJP recently organised its state executive meeting in Nagaur to woo voters from this belt. However, Beniwal still stands strong among his community and has announced he will give his full support to Sachin Pilot if he forms his own party. Also Read As Rajasthan prepares for elections, caste-based groups want representation WhatsApp will now let you share voice status, here's how to post one Caste Census: Chhattisgarh Guv sitting on Bill that raises quota bar to 76% PAN-Aadhaar link status: Are your cards already linked? Learn how to check MHA denies considering proposal to bring caste terrorism under NIA purview National interest bigger than politics, says Jaishankar on RaGa's comments Goa's ST community seeks political quota, threatens to boycott LS polls Maha Cong takes stock of 41 LS seats, to review constituencies separately BJP plans to launch helpline to 'protect' party workers in Karnataka Maha Cong takes stock of 41 LS seats, to review Mumbai constituencies The Jats in fact form the biggest caste group in Rajasthan with 9% population, the Marwar and Shekhawati regions are dominated by the Jats in 31 constituencies. Their significance and unity can be gauged from the fact that these constituencies saw voters sending 25 winners from the community. Overall, they got 37 seats in the 200-member state assembly, elections for which were held on December 7, 2018. The Jats are followed by the Rajputs, with 6% of the population, who accounted for 17 seats. Next is the Gujjar community which has a say in around 30 to 35 seats of eastern Rajasthan. They have traditionally been BJP voters but then they voted for the Congress showing loyalty to their community leader Sachin Pilot. The community is influential in at least 30 seats, including Dausa, Karauli, Hindaun and Tonk. Together, the Meenas and Gujjars comprise 13% of the state's population. "The Gujjars have traditionally been BJP supporters, but last time because of Pilot, they voted for the Congress," said a party leader. The Meenas are known to be Congress supporters, but then they had rejected their own community leader Kirodilal Meena, who claims to be the biggest tribal leader in the state. Eighteen Meena legislators were elected in the last polls; nine from the Congress, five from the BJP, and three Independents. The Meenas continued to support the Congress, despite their leader Kirodilal Meena's return to the BJP. According to political analysts, the community supported the Congress "without looking at the candidate, as they were not heard in the BJP government." Together, the Meenas and Gujjars comprise 13% of the state's population. Now all eyes are on the Assembly polls 2023. The first crucial question is where will the Gujjars vote? This is a billion dollar question as the community feels cheated that their leader was not made chief minister when he was the face of the 2018 polls. Now, amid speculation that Pilot will float a new party on June 11, this question becomes all the more crucial. If the community stands with him the Congress will face a loss of these crucial 30 to 35 seats in the forthcoming assembly polls. Next is the Jat community which is yet again crucial in Rajasthan. While the Congress has its PCC president Govind Singh Dotasra who is a prominent Jat leader, the BJP has its ex-president Satish Poonia as a Jat. While the BJP removed Poonia, upsetting the Jat community, the Congress, sources said, might elevate Dotasra as deputy CM to woo the Jat leaders. The BJP later announced Poonia as deputy leader of the opposition to placate the Jats, looking at their strong vote base. The Meenas, the next crucial vote bank, is also being looked upon with speculation to see if they will help their powerful leader Kirodilal Meena of the BJP to win or else in another permutation if the Gujjars and Meenas stay united? All permutations and combinations are being discussed by the parties to ensure victory in the assembly polls. Overall, the state has four major communities -- Rajputs, Jats, Meenas and Gujjars, who voted in a mixed manner in the 2018 assembly elections, which saw the BJP concede defeat, and the Congress return to power after five years. --IANS arc/bg National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Sunday said holding the G20 event in Kashmir will not benefit tourism in the Valley till India and Pakistan resolve the "future" of the Union Territory through dialogue. He also said Jammu and Kashmir was suffering heavy losses because of the lack of an elected government. "The question is whether we will benefit in terms of tourism arrivals from these countries? That cannot happen till the situation here does not improve and the situation will not improve till the two big countries do not hold dialogue on how to shape the future of this state," Abdullah told reporters here. The NC president was responding to a question whether holding of the G20 meeting in Srinagar would benefit the union territory. "We did. The roads which were in bad shape for many years were repaired. The walls got a fresh coat of paint. The street lights started working. So we did benefit from it," he said. Over lack of an elected government in J and K, Abdullah, "Democracy is when there is an elected government. One LG and his advisor cannot look after the entire state. There are MLAs who look after their respective areas as it is their duty. The bureaucracy is not bothered about these things as they do not retire till the age of 60 years. An MLA has to go back to the people every five years. If he does not work, he won't get the votes. Therefore, it is very important that elections should be held here," he said. Also Read Don't harass innocents in Poonch attack investigation: Farooq Abdullah Unfortunate that no G20 meetings were scheduled in Jammu: Farooq Abdullah J-K can't develop until democratic rights are guaranteed: Farooq Abdullah Reducing Army presence in J-K prerogative of government: Farooq Abdullah It's my duty: Mehbooba Mufti accepts Rahul's Bharat Jodo Yatra invite Priyanka Gandhi demands resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Excise case: HC to pronounce order on Monday on Sisodia's interim bail plea Balasore train accident: Mamata Banerjee questions official death toll 'Tiffin Pe Charcha' campaign: UP CM interacts with senior BJP workers TMC, BJP exchange barbs over Odisha's Balasore triple train accident The Lok Sabha member from Srinagar said his party was ready for the elections any time. Responding to the statement of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha that a few parties in Kashmir had hijacked the elections in the past, Abdullah said, "Don't they have means to counter it? They can approach the high court or the election commission. Even Indira Gandhi was also ousted (by the High Court). There are avenues." On the Odisha train accident, he said it was one of the major disasters in the world. More than 300 persons died and hundreds more were injured, he said. "There should be a probe as to how it happened and who is responsible for it," Abdullah said. The incident involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying around 2,500 passengers, and a goods train occurred around 7 pm on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore. At least 288 people were dead and over 1,100 injured. There are sometimes "things bigger than politics" when one steps outside the country, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, days after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi repeatedly attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government during his ongoing visit to the US. Addressing Indian Americans in Santa Clara in the US earlier this week, Gandhi, a former Congress party president and an ex-MP, criticised Prime Minister Modi and also attacked the government's policies on various fronts. Speaking at a diaspora event in Cape Town after attending the meeting of BRICS foreign ministers on Saturday, Jaishankar said that he can talk for himself and does not do politics while travelling abroad. "Look, I said I can only talk for myself I try when I go abroad not to do politics." "I'm perfectly prepared to argue and argue very vigorously at home. Okay, so you will never find me wanting in that regard," he said in response to a question. "But I think you know, even a democratic culture has a certain collective responsibility. There is a national interest there is a collective image. There are sometimes things bigger than politics and when you step outside the country, I think that's important to remember. "So I might differ strongly with someone. I could say to you, I differ with them. But how I counter it, I would like to go back home and do it. And watch me when I get back," India's top diplomat said. Also Read Rahul Gandhi takes a late-night truck ride to speak to drivers; see video Rahul Gandhi convicted in Modi surname defamation case: What we know so far Digvijaya offers residence to Rahul after he was asked to vacate bungalow World seeing new India because of PM Modi's leadership: EAM Jaishankar EAM Jaishankar meets Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov Stung by Lalu's remark on train crash, Ravi Shankar talks of scams Priyanka Gandhi demands resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Kashmir's situation won't improve till India, Pak hold dialogue: Abdullah Excise case: HC to pronounce order on Monday on Sisodia's interim bail plea Balasore train accident: Mamata Banerjee questions official death toll Jaishankar said one part of the Indian foreign policy today is extremely focused securing the welfare of Indian citizens abroad. He said given the globalisation of Indians today, it is important that systems are put in place which will respond to difficult situations. "Sometimes they can be very country specific. We had a few weeks ago, very nasty situation in Sudan, and we have 5,000 Indians died last year, when the fighting started in Ukraine. We had more than 20,000 Indians now. In fact, when I look at these last nine years, almost every year, we've had one situation somewhere. "So, it's something which will keep happening. And we have that fundamental obligation today to take care of Indian Indians. Working, living, travelling abroad," he said. "It could be something like providing a flight, it could even be sometimes there are people who are stuck abroad, who have no money who are stuck in cases, they can't afford it. You know, we unfortunately have cases sometimes that people will pass away," he added. The Delhi High Court will on Monday pronounce its order on AAP leader Manish Sisodia's plea seeking interim bail for six weeks in a money laundering case arising from the alleged excise policy scam. The former Delhi deputy chief minister has sought release on a temporary basis on the ground of being the sole caretaker of his ailing wife. His plea for regular bail in the matter is pending before the high court. Sisodia, who was arrested on March 9, is currently in judicial custody in the case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The verdict on the interim bail plea will be pronounced by Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma. It was reserved on Saturday when Sisodia's lawyer had claimed that pursuant to the court's directions passed on Friday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was taken in custody to meet his wife earlier in the day but the latter's health condition deteriorated and she was taken to be the LNJP Hospital before he could reach home. The ED has opposed the plea for interim bail on the grounds of possibility of evidence tampering. Also Read Delhi Court to pronounce order on Sisodia's bail in ED case on April 28 Delhi court reserves order on Sisodia's bail plea in Excise policy scam Delhi court to declare order on CBI plea for Sisodia's custody later today Delhi excise scam: Court to pass order on Sisodia's bail plea on Friday CBI opposes Manish Sisodia's interim bail plea over wife's illness Over 1,500 people stuck at station in Bengaluru following train mishap Synergy between start-up ecosystems of India, Saudi Arabia: Prince Al-Saud Railways Board recommends a CBI probe into Balasore train accident Tracks at Balasore train accident site repaired, says Ashwini Vaisnaw Devotees wearing inappropriate clothes barred from entering U'khand temples The federal agency's lawyer has also claimed that Sisodia's wife has been suffering from a medical condition for the last 20 years and even earlier pleas for interim bail on identical grounds were withdrawn by the former minister. The Delhi excise policy was implemented by the AAP government on November 17, 2021, but it was scrapped at the end of September last year amid allegations of corruption. On May 30, the court had dismissed Sisodia's bail plea in the excise policy scam case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), saying he is an influential person and the allegations against him are very serious in nature. In the CBI case, the high court has kept the interim bail plea pending for July. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday interacted with party workers here as part of the ruling BJP's 'Tiffin Pe Charcha' campaign in the run-up to next year's parliamentary polls. Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP launched its then-prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's famous chai pe charcha' sessions to connect with voters after Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar mocked Modi's past as a tea seller. The BJP registered a landslide victory in the elections and Modi was sworn in as the country's prime minister for the first time on May 26, 2014. The 'Tiffin Pe Charcha' campaign, which implies "discussion over a meal", was launched to mark nine years of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. In a series of tweets in Hindi, Adityanath said, "On the occasion of the completion of nine years of the Modi government, a 'tiffin pe charcha' was organised with senior BJP workers in Gorakhpur." "The meeting was extremely successful and positive. In this meeting, 328 workers took part. My good wishes to them," Adityanath added. Addressing the meeting, Adityanath said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has built considerable clout in the world. Also Read Rajnath, Yogi to hold rallies, Mamata to join road show in Tripura today Assembly Elections 2023: Will get absolute majority, says Karnataka CM PM Modi to hold his 3rd public rally in Rajasthan's Sirohi on May 12 Veteran Samajwadi Party leader Hari Shankar Tiwari passes away at 90 Rajnath Singh, Yogi Adityanath to address election rallies in Tripura today TMC, BJP exchange barbs over Odisha's Balasore triple train accident Accountability needs to be fixed from top to bottom: Kharge slams PM Train crash: Modi govt's incompetence, only high decibel PR, says Congress Caste calculations in Rajasthan and why Pilot matters in 30 seats National interest bigger than politics, says Jaishankar on RaGa's comments "Today during any crisis, the world looks up to India and Prime Minister Modi with hopes in their eyes," he said lauding the PM for his "visionary leadership and continuous hard work," he said. "Everyone knows what was the situation before 2014, what was India's position on the global stage. But after 2014, not only the country, but the whole world is also seeing what positive changes have taken place under the leadership of PM Modi," he said. Before 2014, extremism in Kashmir, separatism in the northeastern states and Naxalism were at their peak with around 12 to 15 states being affected. "Today, due to the abrogation of Article 370, there is an atmosphere of peace, harmony and development in Kashmir. In the panchayat elections held there, people participated in large numbers and the BJP got huge support. What was a fantasy earlier is a reality today," he said. At present, there is a BJP government in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur and Assam. In Nagaland and Meghalaya too, the government is running with the cooperation of the BJP, Adityanath said. Earlier, one had to take permits to visit northeastern states, he said, adding that Naxal incidents have been curbed in affected states and the process of development has progressed rapidly. He said in the last nine years, the respect given to Indians in foreign countries has increased. Referring to Modi's recent three-nation tour, the UP CM said every Indian is proud of the increased attention that the country as well as the PM is getting on the global stage. "Breaking protocol, the prime minister of Papua New Guinea not only received PM Modi after sunset but also greeted him by touching his feet. Fiji and Papua New Guinea conferred their country's highest honours on our PM. The Prime Minister of Australia called PM Modi the 'boss', while the US president was eager to get an autograph of our PM. All this shows the strength of the country's leadership," Adityanath said. China's efforts to punish Australia through economic coercion seem to have failed. The trade ban imposed by China three years back did not impact Australia much. Instead, the economic decoupling impacted China significantly, Europe Asia Foundation reported. China's economic coercion has not been able to hurt the economy of Australia or change its national security policy, as per the Europe Asia Foundation report. However, Beijing's action has led Australia to side with the anti-China block that has challenged China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. Although Australia did not budge, China appeared helpless as the trade ban made Beijing struggle to get resources to address its domestic requirements. The Chinese government has now eased trade restrictions, permitting coal imports in the wake of meeting energy security challenges. China imported 41.17 million tonnes of coal from Australia, which is 151 higher year-on-year and the highest in the three years. The exports of iron ore from Australia to China witnessed a rise of 24.3 per cent in March, as per the news report. China - Australia ties were affected in 2018 after Canberra announced legislation to crack down on foreign interference, which was perceived to be aimed at China. The ties between the two nations were further affected after Australia joined the Western nations in their demand for independent investigations into the origins of Covid-19. China responded by announcing a ban on Australian imports of coal, wine, barley and lobsters. Australia did not bend even after China's decision and started exploring new markets. Australian coal found markets in Europe, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam, according to Europe Asia Foundation report. Also Read Tension on Taiwan Strait: What is the dispute between China and Taiwan? Unclear who would aid Taiwan in a war with China, says foreign minister Chinese military holds large-scale joint strike drills aimed at Taiwan China-Taiwan conflict, former warns self-ruled island against ties with US China's military sends 39 warplanes, 3 ships toward Taiwan in 24 hours Musk's 'desi' look in AI-generated pictures goes viral, see his reaction 3 Chinese astronauts return home after 6-month stint in space station With oil prices slumping, OPEC+ producers weigh more production cuts Google adds precise location support to Bard for relevant responses Pak Police serves court summons to Imran Khan in judge threatening case China's decision of imposing a trade ban backfired as it affected its economic growth. Ultimately, Beijing was left with no option but to restart imports of coal and iron ore from Australia, as per the news report. Norway, France, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, and a few eastern European nations were subjected to economic coercion by China. European Union had raised over China's tactics of deploying economic coercion to achieve political goals. Similar views were echoed in the Indo-Pacific region. The US, Japan, India, and Australia together formed Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD). Australia has been vocal and active in confronting China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has supported the Group of Seven nations' view on easing dependency on trade with China, according to Europe Asia Foundation report. This comes despite Beijing's decision to restart imports from Australia. China is now trying to establish cordial ties and smooth trade with Australia. Beijing will soon lift the ban on Australian timber and other products. Xiao Qian, Chinese Ambassador to Australia, said, "The Chinese customs has formally notified the Australian minister of agriculture that China will resume import of Australian timbers." Richard McGregor, Senior Fellow at the Lowy Institute said, "Australians have grown in confidence about the country's ability to withstand economic coercion from China...Beijing may tactically retreat now and again to fill shortfalls or if it wants for political reasons to present itself as a conciliatory partner," Europe Asia Foundation reported. The sudden reverse course taken by Beijing despite Australia showing no change in its stance demonstrates a message that China's economic coercion decision has failed, as per the news report. Global observers have concluded that China's bullying tactics to coerce Australia have turned out to be a "spectacular failure. The Islamabad Police visited former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's residence in Lahore to serve the court summons in judge threatening case, Pakistan-based Geo News reported. In May, Islamabad Judicial Magistrate Malik Aman upheld the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) bailable arrest warrant in the case. However, the court agreed to Imran Khan's request for exemption from appearance on June 1 and adjourned the hearing till June 8. The court had said the warrant at Imran Khan's residence could not be compiled with through proper legal procedures. The court ordered to ensure compliance with Imran Khan's warrant through legal procedures and directed him to appear on June 8, as per the Geo News report. The charges against the PTI chairman are related to a speech made by Imran Khan in which he allegedly threatened police and a female judge in 2022 after one of his close aides, Shahbaz Gill, was not given bail in a sedition case. Imran Khan has been facing a number of legal cases since his ouster from power in a no-confidence vote in April last year by a united opposition led by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Geo News reported. While addressing a rally at the F-9 park in Islamabad, Imran Khan warned that he would "not spare" Islamabad's inspector-general, deputy inspector-general, and the female magistrate, and vowed to register cases against them for "torturing" Shahbaz Gill. Also Read Lahore police leaves for Islamabad for Ex-PM Imran Khan's arrest Imran Khan to be presented at Police Lines Headquarters in H11 in Islamabad Pak anti-corruption watchdog seeks 14-day physical remand of Imran Khan Pakistan Army has nothing to do with Ex-PM Imran's arrest: Government Miffed Pakistan judges briefly adjourn hearing on Imran's bail plea Lionel Messi leaves team amid boos after final match: Club website Kuwait leaders offer condolences to Prez Murmu over Odisha train tragedy China defends buzzing warship in Taiwan Strait, accuses US for provocation Sri Lankan tourism revenue sees significant increase in month of May North Korean leader's sister vows 2nd attempt to launch spy satellite Imran Khan led the rally in Islamabad from Zero Point to F-9 Park in support of incarcerated leader Gill. In his address at the gathering, he said, "We will not spare the IG and DIG," according to Geo News report. He even called out the session judge, who had given approval for two-day physical remand at the request of the Islamabad police. Imran Khan said that she should "prepare" as a case will also be lodged against her. Meanwhile, Imran Khan's bail in the Al-Qadir Trust case has been extended till June 19 against the surety bonds of Rs 500,000, reported Dawn. Earlier, the PTI Chief Khan arrived at the Federal Judicial Complex shortly after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed him to approach a relevant accountability court within three working days. The judge extended Khan's bail in the Al-Qadir Trust case till June 19 against surety bonds worth Rs 500,000, as per the news report. The Al-Qadir Trust case alleges that the PTI chief and his wife, Bushra Bibi, obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from a real estate firm for legalising PKR 50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the UK during the previous PTI government. On May 9, the PTI Chief was arrested after which a protest sparked across Pakistan. Sri Lanka's estimated tourism revenue in May saw a remarkable growth of over 200 per cent year-on-year, reaching $131.5 million, according to the latest data from the country's central bank. This impressive increase occurred despite the fact that May is considered an off-peak month for tourist arrivals, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Priantha Fernando told the media on Saturday. The estimated revenue from tourism in May 2022 was $43.5 million, data showed. For the first five months of 2023, the tourism revenue totaled $827.8 million, marking a substantial increase of 30.4 per cent compared to the same period of last year when it stood at $634.6 million, according to the official data. Data also showed 524,486 foreign visitors arrived in Sri Lanka in the first five months of this year, surpassing 378,521 arrivals recorded a year earlier, Xinhua news agency reported. Tourism, one of Sri Lanka's leading foreign exchange earners, suffered a setback due to the Covid-19 pandemic and economic and political crises in the South Asian country. Also Read Sri Lanka concludes debt restructuring talks with Japan: Wickremesinghe India will help Sri Lanka in oil sector despite recent changes: Officials EAM likely to visit Lanka on Jan 19; talks on debt restructuring expected Sri Lankan rupee shows appreciation against US Dollar in recent months IND vs SL 1st T20I: Toss update, India Predicted XI vs Sri Lanka in Mumbai North Korean leader's sister vows 2nd attempt to launch spy satellite Nepal PM Prachanda calls his 4-day visit to India 'astounding success' 34 years of Tiananmen Square massacre: US says will support human rights India-South Africa ties emotional, our freedom struggles intertwined: EAM Turkey's Erdogan takes oath of office for third term as president --IANS int/khz/ Press Release June 3, 2023 Villar confident PBBM to sign bill freeing 600k farmers from debt Sen. Cynthia Villar expressed confidence that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will prioritize the signing into law of a bill condoning loans of farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs). Villar, chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, said Senate Bill 1850 or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act will benefit 610,054 ARBs who were granted lands under Presidential Decree No. 27, Republic Act 6657, as amended by RA 9700, and who have outstanding loan balance as of the effectivity of the act. The bill, which was already passed by both houses of Congress, emanated from Villar's committee in the Senate. It proposes to condone all principal and interests of loans from the award of agricultural lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. Villar said farmers and farmworkers are waiting for the enactment of this measure, which will make possible their dream of receiving their land titles. "Without land in their name, our farmers cannot access credit as they lack collateral to secure the same," Villar said. Once enacted into law, ?57.5 billion principal debt of 610,054 ARBs, tilling a total of 1,173,101.57 hectares of agrarian reform lands would be written off. The principal loan of ?14.5 billion, including interests, penalties and surcharges of 263,622 ARBs, tilling 409,206.91 hectares of agrarian reform lands, whose names and other loan details were already submitted by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) to Congress, shall be condoned outright. The inclusion of the remaining ?43.057 billion loan would take effect upon submission by the LBP and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) of details of the indebtedness to government of the 346,432 ARBs, tilling 763,894.66 hectares of agrarian reform lands. Also, under the bill, all cases related to the nonpayment of loans of ARBs with the DAR shall be dismissed motu proprio and that ARBs will be exempted from payment of estate tax. It also mandates the inclusion of ARBs to the Department of Agriculture's Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture, and will be provided with all support services for farmers. "This bill seeks to help alleviate the plight of ARBs, who are farmers; for them to recover and overcome the fallout of the COVID-19 crisis, the devastating African swine fever, the ongoing avian influenza, the increasing cost of fertilizer, fuel, and other farm inputs, and climate change," Villar said. Villar added that condoning farmers' amortization "will provide them much-needed financial resources that shall help them develop their farms, increase their productivity, and advance an agriculture-driven economy, improve the lives and that of their families, reduce poverty, accelerate rural development and promote food security." Villar, kumpiyansang lalagdaan ni PBBM ang bill para wala ng utang ang 600k magsasaka TIWALA si Sen. Cynthia Villar na pipirmahan ni President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. para maging batas ang bill upang mawala na ang utang ng mga magsasaka at agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB). Sinabi ni Villar, chairperson ng Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, na mahigit 600,000 ARBs ang makikinabang sa Senate Bill 1850 o ang New Agrarian Emancipation Act. Nagmula sa komite ni Villar ang bill na naipasa na ng 2 Kapulungan ng Kongreso. Ipinapanukala nito na wala nang babayarang principal at interes sa utang mula sa ibinigay na agricultural lands sa ilalim ng Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program simula December 31, 2022. Ayon kay Villar, maraming magsasaka ang naghihintay na maging batas ito para matupad ang pangarap na magkaroon ng titulo ang kanilang lupa. "Without land in their name, our farmers cannot access credit as they lack collateral to secure the same," ani Villar. Kapag naging batas, mawawala na ang P57.5 billion utang ng mahigit 600,000 ARBs. Sina saka nila ang 1.2 million ektarya ng lupa ng agrarian reform. "The principal loan of ?14.5 billion of 263,622 ARBs, tilling 409,206.91 hectares of agrarian reform lands, whose names and other loan details were already submitted by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) to Congress, would be condoned outright," ani Villar. "The inclusion of the remaining ?43.057 billion loan would take effect only upon submission by the LBP and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) of details of the indebtedness to government of the 346,432 ARBs, tilling 763,894.66 hectares of agrarian reform lands," dagdag pa niya. Sa ilalim ng bill, ibabasura rin lahat ng kaso ng ARBs sa Department of Agrarian Reform dahil sa hindi pagbabayad ng utang.Hindi rin pagbabayarin ang ARBs ng estate tax. Ipinagbabawal din sa panukala ang pagbebenta, paglipat ng lupa sa loob ng 20 taon maliban na lamang kung ibibigay ito bilang mana o sa Land Bank o the iba pang qualified beneficiaries. "This bill seeks to help alleviate the plight of ARBs, who are farmers; for them to recover and overcome the fallout of the COVID-19 crisis, the devastating African swine fever, the ongoing avian influenza, the increasing cost of fertilizer, fuel, and other farm inputs, and climate change," sabi pa ni Villar. Idinagdag pa ni Villar na malaki ang tulong nito sa mga magsasaka para madevelop ang kanilang bukid at madagdagan ang productivity upang makaangat sa kahirapan By Jason Lim Elise Hu, who served as the inaugural bureau chief for NPR in Seoul from 2015-2018, recently published a book titled, "Flawless: Lessons In Looks And Culture From The K-beauty Capital," about her thoughts on the beauty culture in South Korea. In her interview with NPR's "It's Been a Minute" segment, she shared her observation that "Korea is still a place where you're encouraged to attach a headshot to a resume, where passport photos come photoshopped by default." This observation in itself wasn't that striking since it has been made before by others. However, it's what she said at the end of the interview that resonated with me in a surprising way: "South Korea gave me a glimpse of the future in that it prioritizes a machine-driven gaze. So, if the male gaze is how we're supposed to perform for men, the gaze that I write about and I think we should all be thinking about is the technological gaze, which is an internalized, computer-driven, machine-driven, algorithmically determined gaze that tells us how we're supposed to look that we feed by feeding our images into it. And then it sort of improves upon that and then feeds us more images of how we're supposed to look." In short, she's talking about the standardization of our looks based on mathematical golden ratios and technical skills to conform to the standards. She isn't wrong. I mean, Korea is the first place where I heard about the importance of face sizes, long waists and the ratio of the head lengths to the rest of the body. Besides the physical beauty, however, what struck me was the question of whether such "perfect" standardization of beauty spills over into "perfect" standardization of social behavior. The recent news that triggered this question for me was the one about the "No Senior Zone" cafe that forbids anyone over 60 years old, as a matter of policy. Before it came the "No Kids Zone" where young children are not permitted into the premises of restaurants or cafes. The justifications for these business practices are similar and even understandable to an extent. For in the No Kid Zones, business owners didn't want to have to deal with the potential rambunctiousness of children, which would likely affect the overall atmosphere in the cafes or restaurants that cater to their primary customer base of 20 to 40-year-olds. This business model has proven to be popular, and there are more and more No Kids Zone establishments around Korea. In fact, this practice extends to public spaces as well; even the National Library of Korea doesn't allow kids under the age of 16. In the case of the No Senior Zones, it seems like that particular middle-aged female owner of the small cafe was sick and tired of elderly male customers who made what she felt were inappropriate, sexual remarks based on their cultural understanding of a "coffee madam" from the previous generation. So, she banned all persons over 60. While the genesis of these policies is different, the owners in both cases want to impose a specific standard of behavior in their business spaces by excluding certain elements of society instead of dealing with problematic behaviors on a case-by-case basis. Such practices are obviously discriminatory and, unfortunately, not new. Foreigners living in Korea have long encountered businesses and housing that banned them for who they are and not how they behave. However, these practices are not illegal in Korea because it's one of the only two OECD countries, along with Japan, that doesn't have an anti-discrimination law on the books. There have been attempts starting in 2007. The latest attempt in 2020 sought to pass a bill aimed to prevent discrimination based on nationality, race, religion, gender, disability, age and sexual orientation. However, there was a backlash from conservative Christian groups against designating sexual minorities as a protected class that torpedoed the whole effort. Going back to Hu's observation about the algorithmic standardization and the technological gaze of physical beauty in Korea, however, I believe that these "No-whoever Zones" also reflect a similar trend in trying to standardize social behavior to be "perfect" through exclusion. Just as young Koreans are going under the knife to not be excluded from socioeconomic participation by being conformant to the "flawless standard," businesses and institutions are levying an exclusion-based enforcement regime that only allows certain behaviors within their space. In a way, this propensity to impose physical and behavioral conformity almost mechanical in nature on its population harkens back to the Hermit Kingdom, an instinctive defensive ethnonationalism that seems to be a constant in Korean society and speaks to Korea's deep-seated isolationist cultural tendency to remain a pure and homogeneous people. Faced with unfavorable demographics and an increasingly pluralistic society, Korea will undoubtedly face a painful change management journey in the years to come. Jason Lim (jasonlim@msn.com) is a Washington, D.C.-based expert on innovation, leadership and organizational culture. Saudi Arabia and the United States urged Sudan's warring parties in a statement on Sunday to agree to and effectively implement a new cease-fire amid renewed fighting in the northeastern African nation. Sudan descended into chaos after fighting broke out in mid-April between the military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. For weeks, Saudi Arabia and the United States have been mediating between the warring parties. On May 21, both countries successfully brokered a temporary cease-fire agreement to help with the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the war-torn country. Their efforts, however, were dealt a blow when the military announced on Wednesday it would no longer participate in the cease-fire talks held in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah. Following the military's decision, the US and Saudi Arabia said they were suspending the talks as a result of repeated serious violations of the short-term ceasefire." President Joe Biden's administration imposed sanctions against key Sudanese defence companies run by the military and the RSF and people who perpetuate violence in Sudan. Also Read India, UAE, US, Saudi cooperation aims to do good in region: UNSC president Stampede at Ramadan charity distribution in Yemen kills at least 80 Biden aide speaks to Saudi prince on 'progress' towards Yemen war end Saudi, Omani delegation hold peace talks in Yemen with Houthi leaders SpiceJet to operate more flights to evacuate people under Operation Kaveri Imran Khan likely to be tried in military court: Pak's defence minister 3 Chinese astronauts return home safely after six-month stint in space New combination therapy cuts risk of breast cancer returning by 25% China's economic coercion fails to hurt Australia's economy: Report Musk's 'desi' look in AI-generated pictures goes viral, see his reaction In their statement on Sunday, Washington and Riyad said they continued to engage representatives of the military and the RSF who remained in Jeddah. They urged the Sudanese warring sides to agree to and implement a new cease-fire following the latest one which expired late Saturday. The aim is to eventually establish a permanent cessation of hostilities in the war-wrecked country, they said. The statement said the discussions focused on facilitating humanitarian assistance" and reaching an agreement on "near-term steps the parties must take before resuming the talks. The fighting has turned the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into battlefields, resulting in widespread looting and destruction of residential areas across the country. The conflict has also displaced more than 1.65 million people who fled to safer areas in Sudan and neighbouring countries. Residents reported intense fighting over the past two days in Khartoum and its neighboring cities of Omdurman and Bahri. Loud sounds of shelling and gunfire were heard early Sunday in parts of Omdurman, as the military's aircraft flew over the capital. Fighting was also reported in the northern part of the Darfur region, which had witnessed some of the worst battles since the fighting began on April 15. And Li vowed that China would defend its interests particularly over Taiwan, the biggest potential military flashpoint between the worlds biggest economies. Chinas Defence Minister Li Shangfu used a speech in Singapore to attack US strategy toward the Indo-Pacific, saying Washington is seeking to stoke confrontation through its support for Taiwan, military deployments and building alliances in the region. Lis speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue highlighted how US-China tensions have dominated the annual defense forum, with the discussions in Singapore taking place against a backdrop of US and Canadian ships sailing through the Taiwan Strait and Russias continuing war in Ukraine. We will never hesitate to defend our legitimate rights and interests, let alone sacrificing the nations core interests, Li said Sunday. As the lyrics of a well-known Chinese song goes, when friends visit us, we welcome them with fine wine. When jackals or wolves come we will face them with shotguns. Pressed on what the US called unprofessional and dangerous conduct toward the ship transit in the Taiwan Strait, Li pushed back, saying the vessels werent there for innocent passage, theyre here for provocation. President Xi Jinpings government has repeatedly charged the US with using its military alliances, trade policy and the threat of sanctions to bully smaller nations and try to keep China down. The US and many allies say they want to de-risk and not decouple from China over national security concerns. And Austin criticized China for not allowing senior military talks to resume. Also Read Xi ensures 'complete control' over Chinese military in third term: Report Harris to be 1st woman to give commencement speech at US Military Academy President Xi Jinping, a princeling turned Mao 2.0 in China's 'new era' AI-powered US military drone kills operator during simulated test: Report President Xi Jinping doubts Chinese military's ability to invade Taiwan Gender equality 'significantly important' for a world without hunger: UN Joe Biden's 2024 pitch highlights pragmatism over Donald Trump's pugilism US FDA to temporarily import Chinese cancer drug to ease shortage Carried on overnight strike on Ukrainian military airfields: Russia Russia-Ukraine war: Volodymyr Zelenskyy says at least 500 children killed China is open to communications between our two countries and also between our two militaries, but without mentioning the sanctions, Li said. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. The Chinese government and the Chinese military will never tolerate any incident that could lead to a divided China. The three-day conference had opened with Li and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries at a dinner on Friday. That may have been the high-water mark for the two nations, both of which quickly shifted to bolstering ties will allies and partners from other countries. Li and other Chinese delegates held lengthy meetings over the weekend with representatives from Japan, Australia and even Nato, while the US delegation met those nations as well as other regional partners including the Philippines. After largely criticizing Washingtons approach to the region without specifically identifying the US, Li ended his remarks with a slightly more optimistic tone, saying the world is big enough for countries including China and the US to grow together. Saturday, June 3, 2023 at 7:59PM Image: Meta Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, will soon start testing a feature that will prevent some Canadians from viewing or sharing news content on those platforms. The company said it is preparing for the possible passage of Bill C-18, the Online News Act, which would require online platforms to pay Canadian news outlets for linking to their content. The federal government said the bill aims to create a fairer relationship between news outlets and digital platforms that dominate the online advertising market. Metas move follows Googles earlier test that filtered out some Canadian and international news content for some of its users in Canada. Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said he rejects Metas threat and will not back down from the bill. The test will last for several weeks and will affect one to five percent of Canadian Facebook and Instagram users who will be randomly selected. They will be notified if they try to share news content that matches the criteria of the bill for an eligible news business. Those are outlets that have been certified as qualified Canadian journalism organizations, and that produce news content of public interest. They should also have at least two journalists in Canada and operate in Canada. Meta said that some international news publishers that have a presence in Canada could also be affected by the test, such as The New York Times or the BBC. The test will not remove the profiles or posts of news pages in Canada, but it will limit who can see or share their content. Meta said it would provide a review process for outlets that think they should not be included in the test. The government says the web giants benefit from the news content and act as gatekeepers that control the online market. It also criticizes Meta and Google for restricting news content online in other countries that have similar laws, such as Australia. It says that could lead to more misinformation online. Meta and Google assert that news content is a small part of their platforms and revenue. They say they help news outlets by sending them traffic and revenue. Meta opposes the bill and wants to see some changes. It says this test is in preparation for the possible passage of Bill C-18 as it is. Source Samsung Biologics' booth set up for the 2022 Bio International Convention in San Diego, Calif., U.S. is seen in this June 13, 2022 photo provided by Samsung Biologics. Yonhap Nearly 550 Korean bio companies plan to take part in the Bio International Convention to be held in the United States this week to expand their global presence and boost technology cooperation with industry peers, Seoul's industry ministry said Sunday. The world's largest partnering event in the sector will be held from June 5-8 (local time) in Boston, which will bring together some 9,100 biotech and pharmaceutical companies firms from 85 nations to give them a chance to learn from and network with partner firms, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. A total of 544 Korean bio companies will attend the event, which is the largest ever figure and sharply up from last year's 255 entities. Samsung Biologics, Celltrion and other major Korean drug firms will set up their own booths to showcase major technologies and products, it added. On the sidelines of the event, the ministry is scheduled to hold a bio roundtable meeting Wednesday, where major Korean and U.S. bio firms will explore ways to cooperate on stable supply chains and advanced technologies. The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency and the country's bio association will also host a partnership event Wednesday, where Moderna co-founder Robert Langer will have talks on the prospects of South Korea's biotechnologies, the ministry said. (Yonhap) The Maharashtra Animal Husbandry Department (AHD) has issued a job notification for the Animal Husbandry Department Maharashtra job 2023. A total of 446 job openings for various positions have been announced. Candidates interested in applying can do so between May 27th and June 11th, 2023. Overview Recruiting Body Maharashtra Animal Husbandry Department Post Various Vacancy 446 Application Date 27th May to 11th June 2023 Selection Process Computer-based Online Examination, Physical and Professional test Location Maharashtra Official Website ahd.maharashtra.gov.in Notification The Animal Husbandry Department Maharashtra Recruitment 2023 notification PDF provides the recruitment details, and candidates are recommended to thoroughly read the notification PDF before applying How to Apply? Visit the official website at https://ahd.maharashtra.gov.in/ahd/. Take your time reading the notification. Then Register by clicking the "Registration Now" button. Fill in the blanks with personal and educational information. Log in with the credentials supplied to your registered email address and cell phone number. Fill out the rest of the application form with your information. Recheck and then submit the form. Download and print the form for future use. Vacancy Details Livestock Supervisor 376 Senior Clerk 44 Higher Grade Stenographer 02 Lower Grade Stenographer 13 Laboratory Technician 04 Electrician 03 Mechanic 02 Steam Attendant 02 Total 446 Posts Age Limit Minimum - 18 Years Maximum - 43 Years Salary Minimum, 19,900/- and Maximum upto 1,32,300/- A Bachelor of Arts (BA) in History is an enlightening academic programme that allows students to delve into the interesting stories of the past. This article intends to detail the application procedure for prospective history enthusiasts and to provide thorough information about the range of a BA in History, as well as to highlight some of the best colleges in India that offer this programme. What's the course BA in History all about? An academic programme that focuses on the study of historical occurrences, civilizations, cultures, and society is the Bachelor of Arts (BA) in History. It is intended to give students a thorough understanding of historical developments as well as critical thinking, research, and communication skills. Ancient civilizations, mediaeval history, contemporary history, political history, economic history, social history, cultural history, and global history are just a few of the numerous topics covered in the BA in History degree curriculum. In order to analyse and evaluate historical events and their effects on society, students delve over primary and secondary sources, historical texts, archive materials, and scholarly research. Career Scope after pursuing BA in History Graduates with a BA in history have a wide range of professional options. Some prospective job paths are listed below: Historian: Conduct in-depth research and interpret historical events and materials while working in research facilities, museums, or archives. Education: Teach as a history teacher at schools, colleges, or universities to spread knowledge and ignite students' interest in the past. Journalism and media: Consider a career in journalism, reporting on historical events or examining historical trends for publications such as newspapers, magazines, or digital platforms. Civil Services: Study for competitive tests and apply to the civil services, where you can use your knowledge of the past to influence governance and policy. Cultural Heritage Management: Work in heritage organisations, museums, or tourism to contribute to the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage. List of Best Universities for BA in History Here are some esteemed colleges offering a BA in History: 1. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi Establishment/About : Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was established on September 22, 1969. It is a public central university located in New Delhi, India. The university was named after India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who had a vision of establishing a world-class institution for higher education and research. Rankings: JNU Overall ranking by NIRF is 10 out of 200 colleges in India in 2022 and it was 9 out of 200 colleges in India in 2021. JNU Overall ranking by The Week is 1 out of 81 colleges in India in 2022 and it was 1 out of 79 colleges in India in 2021. JNU Overall ranking by QS World University is 601 out of 1400 colleges in International in 2023 and it was 1001 out of 5500 colleges in International in 2021. JNU Overall ranking by Times Higher Education is 601 out of 1799 colleges in International in 2023 and it was 601 out of 1201 colleges in India in 2022. JNU Arts ranking by Times Higher Education is 301 out of 400 colleges in International in 2020. Application Start Date: JNU admission 2023 is open for all UG programs through the Common University Entrance Test (CUET). CUET UG exam 2023 exam will be conducted from May 21 to June 06, 2023. Fee Structure: Fee for UG Course BA is INR 648. Admission Requirements/Eligibility: Candidates appearing for the CUET will also have to apply separately on the official website of JNU after the CUET result declaration. Official Website: jnu.ac.in 2. St. Stephen's College, Delhi Establishment/About : St. Stephen's College, Delhi was established in 1881 and is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions in India. It was founded by Reverend Samuel Scott Allnutt, a Christian missionary, with the aim of providing quality education in arts and sciences. The college is affiliated with the University of Delhi and follows a liberal arts curriculum. Rankings: St Stephen's College, New Delhi Overall ranking by NIRF is 11 out of 200 colleges in India in 2022 and it was 8 out of 200 colleges in India in 2021. St Stephen's College, New Delhi Arts ranking by The Week is 1 out of 50 colleges in India in 2020 and it was 2 out of 50 colleges in India in 2019. St Stephen's College, New Delhi Arts ranking by Outlook is 4 out of 115 colleges in India in 2022 and it was 4 out of 120 colleges in India in 2021. Application Start Date: Admissions will be based on CUET scores. CUET UG 2023 exam will be conducted from May 21 to May 31, 2023. However, CUET UG 2023 exam dates have been extended to June 1, 2, 5, and 6 in selected cities, due to the large number of applicants. Fee Structure: Fee for UG Course BA is INR 20940 per sem. Admission Requirements/Eligibility: Once the CUET result is out, Candidates need to register themselves on Delhi University's admission portal - admission.uod.ac.in for all UG and PG courses. Candidates will then be required to fill in the desired course and college preference for seat allocation. Further seat allocation for UG courses will be done on the CSAS portal. St. Stephen's College will give CUET 85% weightage as an eligibility criterion, and 15% weightage to interviews for shortlisted candidates. Official Website: www.ststephens.edu 3. Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR), Delhi Establishment/About : Lady Shri Ram College is a public women's college. It was started in 1956 and was founded by Lala Shri Ram. It provides professional programmes such as a bachelor's degree in mass communication and English journalism. With the help of engaging and entertaining lecturers, students can discover the world of literature at this college. Rankings: LSR Overall ranking by NIRF is 5 out of 200 colleges in India in 2022 and it was 2 out of 200 colleges in India in 2021. LSR Arts ranking by The Week is 2 out of 50 colleges in India in 2020 and it was 1 out of 50 colleges in India in 2019. LSR Arts ranking by India Today is 4 out of 171 colleges in India in 2022 and it was 4 out of 162 colleges in India in 2021. Application Start Date: All UG programme admission to Lady Shri Ram College for the class of 2023 will shortly begin via the Common Seat Allocation Portal (CSAS) of Delhi University. CUET scores will be used to determine admission to all UG programmes. Exam CUET UG 2023 will be conducted between May 21 and May 31, 2023. However, due to the high volume of applications, the CUET UG 2023 exam dates have been moved to June 1, 2, and 5 in several cities. Fee Structure: Fee for UG Course BA is INR 21290. Admission Requirements/Eligibility: The basic eligibility criteria for admission to these programs is 10+2 with at least 45% marks in aggregate. Admission will be based on the CUET marks followed by e-counselling. Official Website: lsr.edu.in 4. Presidency University, Kolkata Establishment/About : The UGC has designated Presidency University Kolkata, founded in 1817, as an Institution of National Eminence. In July 2010, the institution became a university after serving for more than a century as a prominent constituent college under Calcutta University. It is accredited by NAAC with a "A" Grade and is recognised by the UGC. The university contains 17 departments that offer undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programmes with a focus on the arts and sciences. Rankings: Presidency University Kolkata Overall ranking by NIRF is 151 out of 200 colleges in India in 2022 and it was 151 out of 200 colleges in India in 2021. Presidency University Kolkata MBA ranking by The Week is 135 out of 179 colleges in India in 2022. Presidency University Kolkata Overall ranking by Outlook is 17 out of 50 colleges in India in 2020. Application Start Date: Application process ended during feb and Exam Date is 3rd & 4th May 2023 Fee Structure: Fee for UG Course BA is INR 2000 per annually. Admission Requirements/Eligibility: The minimum eligibility criteria for admission is 10+2 in the relevant subject group from a recognized university. 5% relaxation will be offered to the candidates belonging to reserved categories. Admission is offered on the basis of candidates' scores in PUBDET organised by WBJEEB. WBJEEB finalises the admission after conducting counselling rounds for the selected candidates as per the PUBDET merit list. Official Website 5. Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Aligarh Establishment/About : Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was established in 1920 as a public institution in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has authorised AMU's programmes, and the university is a member of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU). It has earned "A" accreditation from the NAAC. AMU has 13 departments with over 300 course offerings. Rankings: The university was ranked 11 and 19 under the 'University' and 'Overall' categories, respectively, by the NIRF 2022 Rankings. Application Start Date: For admission to UG courses, the university also accepts the CUET UG 2023 entrance exams. Date for the same is 21 May '23 - 6 Jun '23. Fee Structure: Fee for UG Course BA is INR 29000 for Two to Four Years. Admission Requirements/Eligibility: Class 12 with a minimum aggregate of 50% and CUET-UG + Counselling Official Website: www.amu.ac.in Note: Please note that the specific application dates, fee structures, and admission requirements may vary each year. It is recommended to visit the official websites of these universities for the most accurate and up-to-date information regarding the application process and admission requirements. Understanding various civilizations, religious perspectives, and human experiences requires a thorough understanding of religion. Students get the chance to dive deeply into the historical, philosophical, and sociological facets of religion by earning a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Religious Studies. This article gives an overview of the BA in Religious Studies, talks about its potential career paths, and lists the top universities that offer the programme. What's the course BA in Religious Studies all about? The BA in Religious Studies is an interdisciplinary programme that investigates the beliefs, practises, and cultural impact of diverse faiths. The various religious traditions, sacred scriptures, rites, ethics, and the function of religion in society are all thoroughly understood by the students. Students gain abilities in communication, empathy, cultural sensitivity, and ethical reasoning through a combination of theoretical knowledge, research, and critical analysis. Career Scope after pursuing BA in Religious Studies Candidates can establish extremely satisfying jobs after completing a degree in Religious Studies if they have a passion for learning about the many religions of the world, their conception, beliefs, and philosophies, as well as their histories. For those who are still wondering what employment a religious studies degree can lead to after college, here are a few religious studies jobs that may be of interest: Teacher/Education: In India, religious schools view faith and morals as essential components of their educational mission. The freedom to publicly express and incorporate one's religious views into one's professional activities is one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching at a religious school in India. One of the most important aspects of teaching in these institutions is having the chance to support students' spiritual development and mentor them as they work to integrate their education with their faith. In India, holding a degree in religious studies does not only entitle one to work as a religious education teacher. While there are chances to teach philosophy and global religions in private schools, teaching at religious schools allows teachers to completely express their religious identity. Charity officer for a religious non-profit: In India, the freedom of religion is protected by the Constitution. Many religious organisations in India also rely on donations as a primary source of funding. Some of the most prominent and well-known non-profit organisations with religious affiliations in India include Akshaya Patra Foundation, Art of Living Foundation, and ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness). Working as a charity officer or fundraiser for these organisations can be a fulfilling and potentially lucrative career choice in the Indian context. While the exact salary ranges may vary, depending on factors such as experience and organisation size, professionals in these roles can expect competitive remuneration. Missionary: A missionary works to preach their religion, serve as a witness, and educate people about it. This career has the benefit of allowing you to travel all over the world and pays quite well. If one is passionate in advancing their faith, this is a position that someone who has researched religious movements and groups from throughout the globe might love. Chaplain: Chaplains' duties include leading religious services for followers who are unable to attend a regular service in places like prisons, schools, hospitals, and military installations. Chaplains may lead religious services for Buddhist, Jewish, or Hindu communities. Youth Director: In order to welcome teenagers and kids into religious communities, youth directors operate at centres, schools, and religious locations all around the world. These positions frequently require previous experience working with children or teaching. United Nations/ Diplomacy: 44,000 professionals are employed worldwide by the UN. When you apply for a job, one of the first questions they ask is, "What languages do you speak? This should hopefully provide an opportunity for a recent graduate in religious studies with an interest in various cultures and lifestyles to use their intellectual muscles. Any position you accept with the UN in the field of religious studies will undoubtedly be lucrative, prestigious, and engaging. List of Top 5 Best Universities for BA in Religious Studies Here are some esteemed colleges offering a BA in Religious Studies: 1. University of Delhi Establishment/About : Delhi University, often known as the University of Delhi, is a public central university in Delhi, India. Delhi University, which was founded in 1922, has been accredited by the NAAC with a "A+" grade and designated by the UGC as a "Institute of Excellence." Rankings: National and international groups have ranked DU in a number of categories. In terms of global rankings, DU is ranked between 521 and 530 in the 'University' category by QS Global Rankings 2023-2024; meanwhile, DU's overall ranking by NIRF is 23 out of 200 colleges in India in 2022, while it was 19 out of 200 colleges in India in 2021. The Week's overall ranking for DU in India is 3 out of 81 colleges in 2022, compared to 3 out of 79 in 2021. Application Start Date: Admission to DU's UG programmes for the class of 2023 will soon begin using the Common Seat Allocation System (CSAS). All UG programmes at Delhi University are accepting applications based on CUET results. The CUET UG 2023 exam will be conducted in a few cities on June 1, 2, 5, and 6 and from May 21 to May 31. Fee Structure: Fee for UG Course BA is INR 4,890/- per Sem. Admission Requirements/Eligibility: The primary requirement for admission to UG programmes is completion of 10+2 with a minimum cumulative GPA of 45%. Admission to all UG programmes at DU will take place in 2023 via the NTA-conducted Common University Entrance Test (CUET UG), followed by e-counselling. Official Website: www.du.ac.in 2. Mahatma Gandhi University Establishment/About : Mahatma Gandhi University, also known as MG University, is a state institution in the Kerala district of Kottayam. In five districts in central Kerala, the university oversees over 100 affiliated colleges. also referred to as MGU or MG University. Rankings: In terms of overall performance, MG University was ranked 52nd out of 200 colleges in India in 2021 and 51st out of 200 in 2022 by NIRF. The Week's overall ranking for MG University in India is 18 out of 81 colleges in 2022, up from 18 out of 79 in 2021. By Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements, MG University is ranked sixth overall out of 25 colleges in India in 2020. Application Start Date: The Process Is Ongoing. The Deadline For UG Applications Has Been Postponed. The Final Day Will Be Revealed When It Is Suitable. Fee Structure: Fee for UG Course BA is INR 19,720 Annually. Admission Requirements/Eligibility: Candidates must have Higher Secondary Examination (10+2) qualified from a recognized board of education in the related stream. Admission to the course will be based on merit as per university norms. Official Website: www.mgu.ac.in 3. Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU), Nagpur Establishment/About : Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU), Nagpur or Nagpur University is a state university in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Currently, it has 601 associated colleges scattered throughout 11 campuses, 39 Post Graduate Teaching Departments (PGTD), 3 constituent colleges, and a total area of 318 acres. Rankings: RTMNU In terms of overall ranking, NIRF placed 151 out of 200 institutions in India in 2022, compared to 151 in 2021. Application Start Date: The Process Is Ongoing. You May submit the application till June 2023. Fee Structure: Fee for this UG Course INR 9983 Annually. Admission Requirements/Eligibility: Candidates for admission to UG programmes must have successfully completed the HSC (10+2) examination from a recognised educational board with a minimum cumulative score of 50% (45% for SC/ST). Applicants are chosen for admission based on their performance in the required 10+2 examination. Official Website: nagpuruniversity.ac.in 4. Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Establishment/About : Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was established in 1920 as a public institution in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has authorised AMU's programmes, and the university is a member of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU). It has earned "A" accreditation from the NAAC. AMU has 13 departments with over 300 course offerings. Rankings: The university was ranked 11 and 19 under the 'University' and 'Overall' categories, respectively, by the NIRF 2022 Rankings. Application Start Date: For admission to UG courses, the university also accepts the CUET UG 2023 entrance exams. Date for the same is 21 May '23 - 6 Jun '23. Fee Structure: Fee for this UG Course is INR 29000 for Two to Four Years. Admission Requirements/Eligibility: Class 12 with a minimum aggregate of 50% and CUET-UG + Counselling Official Website: www.amu.ac.in 5. Sam Higginbottom institution of Agriculture, Technology, and Sciences (SHUATS) Establishment/About : As the first agricultural institution in India, Sam Higginbottom institution of Agriculture, Technology, and Sciences (SHUATS) was founded in 1910. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in subjects like agriculture, health sciences, social sciences, and more. The top research investigations are also carried out by SHUATS in the fields of plant protection, biochemistry, soil water land engineering management, home science, food technology, dairy sciences, and agricultural sciences. Rankings: SHUATS Pharmacy ranking by NIRF is 79 out of 125 colleges in India in 2022 and it was 56 out of 101 colleges in India in 2020. Application Start Date: SHUATS Admission 2023 applications must be submitted by June 3, 2023. Fee Structure: Fee for this UG Course INR 8000 per Sem. Admission Requirements/Eligibility: For its UG programmes, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology & Sciences is currently accepting applications for admission in 2023. On the basis of an entrance exam that will be held on June 7, admissions decisions will be made. On the official website, interested individuals can complete the online application form. Official Website: shuats.edu.in Note: Please note that the specific application dates, fee structures, and admission requirements may vary each year. It is recommended to visit the official websites of these universities for the most accurate and up-to-date information regarding the application process and admission requirements. Samsung SDS CEO Hwang Sung-woo / Courtesy of Samsung SDS Efforts to diversify businesses required to lower reliance on group affiliates By Anna J. Park Samsung SDS relied on intra-group transactions for more than 80 percent of last year's earnings, raising concerns over the firm's future growth prospects, according to industry officials Sunday. Data released by the Fair Trade Commission show the IT service unit of the Samsung conglomerate earned 4.2 trillion won ($3.2 billion) last year from transactions with other group affiliates, accounting for 81.5 percent of the company's entire annual revenue and up 3.3 percentage points compared to 2021. The IT service affiliate's dependence on Samsung Electronics for profits is particularly evident. Over 2.5 trillion won or 39.8 percent of Samsung SDS' entire annual revenue last year came from providing IT services to the world's largest memory chipmaker. Among Samsung SDS' annual earnings from intra-group transactions, Samsung Electronics takes up nearly half 48.8 percent of the amount. The heavy dependence on Samsung Electronics for earnings makes Samsung SDS increasingly vulnerable to earnings fluctuations. This is even more troubling because Samsung Electronics is projected to incur massive losses in the following quarters due to a decline in global demand for memory chips. Samsung SDS' headquarters in southern Seoul / Courtesy of Samsung SDS Seen is a concept image of Samsung Biologics' promotional booth at BIO International Convention, which will be held in Boston from Monday to Thursday. Courtesy of Samsung Biologics By Baek Byung-yeul Samsung Biologics, Celltrion and other Korean biotechnology companies are heading to Boston to take part in the BIO International Convention, also known as BIO USA, to promote their technologies and products and to seek new business opportunities at one of the largest exhibitions in the global bio industry, according to the companies, Sunday. This year's BIO USA will take place in Boston from Monday to Thursday (local time). Organized by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, the convention is one of the largest events for the global bio industry along with the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, involving significant technology transfer contracts, R&D collaboration, M&As and investments. The 2023 event will feature more than 9,000 companies from 65 countries. Last year, 255 Korean companies took part in the event. This year, the number of Korean companies has risen to 544. This means Korea will rank second after the U.S. in terms of the number of participating companies and organizations. "At a time when more business exchanges in the biotechnology industry between Korea and the U.S. have been taking place actively, many Korean companies are joining the event hoping to promote their technological capabilities and to ink contracts," an official in the local bio industry said on condition of anonymity. The central theme of this year's event is Stand Up for Science, in order to highlight the need for advanced biotechnology to improve the lives of people. Organizers said the theme is significant, since this year's event is the first to be held after the World Health Organization officially declared on May 5 that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency. Among Korean companies, Samsung Biologics will join the event for the 11th straight year and feature the second-largest promotional booth among participating businesses. "Under the theme of Your Sustainable Partner, Samsung Biologics decorates its booth with eco-friendly materials such as wood, stone, cloth and recycled materials while minimizing the use of plastic. Visitors will be provided with digital brochures via QR codes, eco-friendly souvenirs and jute bags to promote its vision of becoming a sustainable contract development and manufacturing organization," Samsung Biologics said. The company will especially focus on showcasing the competitiveness of its contract development organization business, which develops medicines, including antibody-drug conjugate drugs and messenger RNA (mRNA) drugs, at the request of a client company that lacks medical development facilities,. Celltrion, which is set to release in the U.S. this year Yuflyma, a biosimilar drug for autoimmune disease treatment Humira, will showcase its products. Lotte Biologics will also make its second appearance to promote plans to have three factories with 360,000-liter drug manufacturing capacities by 2030. SK bioscience, a vaccine developer and manufacturer, will promote its vaccine business capability and business model, which transfers R&D and production to regional governments and partners in overseas countries to build production infrastructure that meets the needs of each region. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, together with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency and the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization, will run the Korea Pavilion at the exhibition to help 20 Korean biotech companies promote their products to the global market. Louanne (Lou) Snellgrove Bennett, 65, passed away peacefully on May 30, 2023, at her home in Rockwood, Tennessee. Lou was born in South Bend, Indiana on March 12, 1958, the fifth daughter of John and Mary Snellgrove. Lou graduated from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting in 1980. While matriculating at Notre Dame, Lou met her fellow student and future husband, Robert (Rob) T. Bennett of Spring City, Tennessee. Lou and Rob were married on July 10, 1982, in South Bend. Lou worked as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) for several accounting firms while Rob fulfilled his military service as an Air Force pilot. Upon completion of his duties in 1988, Lou and Rob moved to eastern Tennessee to assume ownership of Arrowhead Resort on Watts Bar Lake. After Robs death in 2012, Lou continued to own and operate Arrowhead Resort until 2022 when it was sold to members of the Clifford and Pranger families, relatives of Robs mother. In addition to her proprietorship, Lou also worked as a CPA for Hines and Company, Knoxville, TN from 2014 until her death. Lou is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Kevin Bennett and Alexandra Alvarez of Cortlandt Manor, NY, and their children, Camille Juliette and Robert Daniel. Lou is also survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Kara Bennett and Austin Devin of Chicago, IL, and their son due in September. Other survivors include her sisters and their spouses, Suzanne and David Nielsen; Joanne and Mark Schaeffer; and Marianne and Robert Whelchel. Lou is also survived by sister-in-law Vicki Bennett as well as numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews. Lou was predeceased by husband Rob; her parents; her parents-in-law, Joan and Tom Bennett; and sister and brother-in-law Dianne and James Fitzpatrick. Lou was a member of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Harriman, TN. She actively participated in the Music Ministry as a cantor and choir member. Lou was also a long-time member of the Roane Choral Society. In addition to singing, Lou served the group as Business Manager and Treasurer. Through her extensive network, multiplicity of talents and giving spirit, Lou created a positive impact for the people and communities of Rhea and Roane Counties. She will be missed by family and friends both here and beyond her adopted state of Tennessee. Her greatest gifts, though, were her unparalleled love for and support of her husband, Rob, her children and grandchildren. Visitation for Lou will be held on Monday, June 12, 2023, at Blessed Sacrament Church, 535 Margrave Drive in Harriman, TN from 9:30 10:30 a.m. A funeral Mass will be offered for Lou starting at 10:45 a.m. at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Roane Choral Society, P.O. Box 24, Kingston, TN 37763. Vaughn Funeral Home of Spring City is in charge of the arrangements of Louanne (Lou) Snellgrove Bennett and asks that friends share condolences and memories of her with the family on our website www.vaughn-funeral-home.com. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Unsplash/Emmanuel Appiah Alarming details of past abuse have been revealed, according to Reuters, following a recent inquiry into sexual abuse within the Spanish Catholic Church. With 927 victims throughout an eight-decade period beginning in the 1940s, the investigation has identified up to 728 suspected perpetrators, including clergy and non-clerical workers. Bishops' Conference of Spain spokeswoman Jose Gabriel Vera expressed regret at the findings. In addition to expressing his willingness to help all victims, he acknowledged the harm done and promised to be there for them as they recovered. Hundreds of Sexual Abuse Cases Uncovered According to the article in WION News, following a story by the Spanish newspaper El Pais that exposed the horrific truth of widespread child abuse by priests within the Church, this investigation was launched. There were atleast 1,200 people were sexually assaulted by clergy members, but this was just a raw data and the report indicates that the number might go higher. The alleged abuses allegedly occurred in 31 of Spain's approximately 70 dioceses and in 31 religious orders. Spain's Ombudsman established an independent panel to further probe the allegations last year in reaction to this troubling finding. 445 victims have so far provided testimony to the commission. In the article shared in the Times of India, Vera made it clear that she wanted to comprehend the flaws in the selection of priesthood candidates and what might have gone wrong throughout their training. He expressed curiosity about what may motivate someone who has given their life to God to engage in sexual abuse. Many European nations have been plagued by the serious problem of Catholic clergy child sexual abuse for many years. The horrifying stories of survivors have been the foundation of numerous lawsuits and investigations, which have been launched in order to learn more about these heinous crimes. Also Read: Catholic Churches in California Face Thousands of Sexual Abuse Lawsuits, Allowed Victims to Sue Up to 40 Years Old Spain's Parliament Initiates Official Inquiry Into Sexual Abuse Within the Church The Ombudsman claimed earlier this year that his impartial committee had collected the testimonies of 445 victims thus far, but the probe is still underway, and now Spain joined the select group of nations that have looked into such misuse through parliamentary or government investigations. According to ABC News, an investigation that was very thourough was conducted by Australia, and it is said that it is one of its kind. According to an investigation conducted in 2017, between 1980 and 2010, 7% of Catholic priests were accused of sexually assaulting adolescents. Beginning in 2005, judge-led inquiries in Ireland reduced the Catholic Church's hitherto significant sway over politics and culture. An independent investigation conducted in France in 2021 indicated that between 1950 to 2020, 330,000 children were sexually abused by Catholic clergy or other lay people working for Catholic organizations. A comparable investigation into this serious issue was earlier this year conducted in Portugal. Over 4,800 people may have been victims of child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, according to a Portuguese expert panel. This depressing data emphasizes the widespread nature of the problem of child sexual abuse inside the Catholic Church, necessitating immediate responses and protective measures to protect the weak. Related Article:Illinois State Investigation Reveals Catholic Clergy's Extensive Sexual Abuse of Children, Contradicting Church's Previous Claims Pixabay/sspiehs3 The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) has expressed deep concern over the alarming situation in Madhya Pradesh. Thousands of Christians and church leaders have reportedly been the victims of the recent violence in India. Call to End Christian Persecution According to a report from the UCA News, the CBCI, the national body representing Indian Catholic bishops, released a statement on Wednesday, May 31, highlighting the distress caused by recent attacks on Christians and their institutions, particularly in the Jabalpur diocese. Bishop Gerald Almeida and his community have become the targets of federal and state child rights panels, leading to great sorrow within the CBCI. The bishops' conference has condemned the surprise inspections carried out at Church-run schools, hostels, and orphanages, along with the filing of criminal cases alleging various offenses such as religious conversion, sexual abuse of children, and fraud. They are calling for an immediate end to the harassment faced by Christians and their institutions in Madhya Pradesh. As mentioned, the bishops firmly state that the accusations of religious conversion, which lack any factual basis, are being used to tarnish the reputation of countless priests, religious individuals, and laypeople who selflessly serve their communities. Archbishop Felix Anthony Machado, the secretary-general of the CBCI, has strongly emphasized the baseless nature of the claims made against the Church. He asserts that these allegations aim to undermine the tireless and dedicated efforts of thousands of clergy members, religious individuals, and laypeople who work tirelessly for the betterment of society. Moreover, the Vatican News reported that in February, thousands of Christians from various denominations and institutions came together in a peaceful prayer protest. The gathering aimed to draw attention to the alarming increase in anti-Christian incidents and called for authorities to intervene. With the participation of around 100 churches and organizations, and a massive turnout of over 15,000 people, the demonstration sought protection and judicial action against the growing wave of violence targeting Christians nationwide. On the other hand, the place reportedly was filled with songs of praise and worship as protesters, holding placards in Hindi and English, conveyed powerful messages. The signs displayed messages of resilience, including "Persecution strengthens Christians' faith," "Cease attacks on Christians," and "Don't attack our churches." Also Read: Manipur Church Organizations Appeal for Peace Amid Claims of Targeted Christian Persecution Recent Christian Persecution in India Open Doors reported that violence has once again erupted in Manipur, causing further distress in the already troubled region. In response to the volatile situation, Kuki leaders advised vendors to suspend their businesses, recognizing the area as a warzone. Unfortunately, it reportedly created an opportunity for Hindu extremists from the Meitei group to exploit the situation and launch attacks on abandoned Christian houses. The tension reached a new height on Monday, May 22, when a group of Meiteis attacked the ICI Mar Church, setting it ablaze along with pastors' houses and another church-owned building. Fortunately, the six individuals in the building managed to escape the flames. Before the incident, 400 Christians from the ICI Mar Church had already been forced to flee, seeking refuge in camps or neighboring states. Disturbingly, a local believer reveals that all their homes have been destroyed by fire. Yohan Murray, a local partner of Open Doors, stated that the attacks on churches show no signs of abating. Churches, Christian homes, and properties continue to be targeted. Despite the government's claims of maintaining peace and order, the reality on the ground tells a different story, with clashes occurring almost every other night. Related Article: Christian Persecution Reaches Alarming Levels in April 2023: Urgent Action Needed Pixabay/JEROME CLARYSSE Due to the escalating gun violence in Ohio and unwanted firearms on their street, First Community Church has been collecting guns and disabling those who have securely surrendered to them. Following this action, the firearms are repurposed as works of art. Unwanted Gus Turns into Pieces of Art First Community Church has spent years removing unwanted firearms from the community by collecting them when handed over safely and then disarming them. Based on a report from 10 WBNS, people from around the central region of Ohio have been allowed to have their firearms disarmed and removed from their possession with no questions asked. After that, the firearms are repurposed into works of art and displayed in the chapel. Many individuals reportedly find that experience therapeutic. According to Pastor Tim Vansant, they have accumulated about fifty firearms for artistic usage. In addition to removing firearms from circulation, the church is working to broaden the scope of the discussion surrounding the secure storage of firearms and the issue of gun violence in our community. As mentioned, a gun-safe storage event will be held at the church on Thursday evening, June 8, since the movement has become so widespread over the past year. A panel discussion regarding the issue of gun violence in the neighborhood will also take place. Accordingly, many of the guns turned them have a stimulating influence on specific individuals, and they want to contribute to the ongoing discussion about how this affects everyone. On the other hand, a similar situation was reported by ABC News. Scott Lapham, an artist, and teacher living in Rhode Island, reportedly said that he was deeply worried by the growing prevalence of gun violence and desired to do something to reflect his sensitive emotions over the problem. As a result, he obtained his gun owner's license and purchased a semiautomatic handgun. However, he had no plan of actually employing it in a violent manner or even glorifying violence. Instead, according to Lapham, he disabled the pistol, created a cast out of it, and then collaborated with his students to build sculptures of various materials, including glass, crayon wax, ice, and more. Lapham explained that his students would employ that mold to build new sculptures out of various materials. Crayons and crayon wax were used to construct several sculptures that depicted the pistol. Another one was designed to resemble a pencil and was meant to represent that youngsters are becoming aware of the dangers of gun violence at too young. Furthermore, this message is currently on display at the WaterFire Arts Center in Providence as part of a month-long "Merge" installation open to the general public to examine and ponder. The exhibit showcases a body of work created by Lapham as part of his "One Gun Gone" project over seven years, some of which is a brand-new metal sculpture made from firearms that have only recently been rendered inoperable. Also Read: Huge Fire Engulfs New York City Church, Destroys Roof, Interior Artwork Gun Violence in Ohio The Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence stated that if the present frequency of homicides by gun continues at the numbers demonstrated in Ohio during the spring and summer of 2020 (when COVID-19 was high), it is anticipated that one out of every one hundred Ohio children will die as a result of a gunshot wound. This discovery, along with others, was made as part of a study by Ashwini Sehgal, MD of Case Western Reserve University, and published in the May 2020 American Journal of Medicine issue. The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research's November 2017 study on concealed weapon laws found that 30 states and the District of Columbia "shall" issue permits for concealed carry to anyone who is permitted to possess a handgun in that state. Additional criteria can differ from state to state. Yet, states that adhere to this policy are called "shall issue" or right-to-carry (RTC) states. These eight states are referred to as "may issue" states because they enable public safety personnel to maintain some discretion when deciding whether or not to issue a handgun permit. These states are called "permitless" states because they do not require a concealed weapon permit in their jurisdictions. The term "shall issue" applies to the state of Ohio. Based on a study released in July 2020, lax concealed-carry regulations are associated with increased firearm homicides, which can lead to an 11% rise in a state's overall gun homicide rate. Related Article:Secret Medieval Chamber Unveils Stunning Christian Artworks, Sheds Light on Religious Past Daniel Kritenbrink, the U.S. State Department's assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs/ Yonhap A senior U.S. State Department official arrived in Beijing on Sunday with meetings planned for the coming week as Washington seeks to boost communication with China at a time of tense relations between the two countries. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink will discuss "key issues in the bilateral relationship" during his visit to China, the State Department said in a statement on Saturday. He will be joined by the White House National Security Council's senior director for China and Taiwan affairs, Sarah Beran, the statement said. Ties between the world's two largest economies are strained over issues ranging from Taiwan and China's human rights record to military activity in the South China Sea. During his travels through June 10, Kritenbrink will also visit New Zealand to participate in the U.S.-New Zealand Strategic Dialogue, the department said. Kritenbrink's official meetings will begin on Monday, a State Department spokesperson said. Unsplash/Budding . An illegal marijuana growing operation was found and shut down on Sunday by Lexington, North Carolina, authorities at a nearby church's property. The COVID-19 pandemic-related closure of South Side Baptist Church, where the operation was found, caused the church to be closed. According to the article shared in My Fox 8, two men were detained and charged with a number of crimes, including producing and trafficking marijuana, possessing THC wax and marijuana with the purpose of selling and distribute it, conspiring to traffic marijuana, and three counts of felony maintaining a habitation for controlled narcotics. Church Building Used as Illegal Drug Production Site; Two Arrested According to another source, USA Today reported that Josh Price, 50, and Matthew Price, 28, have both been detained after a large-scale illegal drug production facility was found in a vacant church. Nearly 32 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, 41 THC vape pens, 20 marijuana plants, and around 2 pounds of THC wax were all taken from South Side Baptist Church by the Davidson County Sheriff's Office. The priest reportedly said that since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, the church has not been open, according to local news source WBTV. Former church members, however, refuted this assertion and suggested that the church closure came before the pandemic. Former church member Mike Lambeth revealed his concerns about Price three years ago when the pastor first started in his role. Lambeth acknowledged that his first encounter with Price didn't go well and that he didn't think of him as a pastor. He recalled how he had warned other churchgoers to be aware of Price, demonstrating his efforts to warn other churchgoers about his worries. Also Read:Most Pastors Oppose Marijuana Legalization In America, Study Finds Strict Regulations Regarding Use and Distribution of Marijuana in North Carolina The fight to legalize marijuana has been making modest progress in North Carolina. After upholding strict regulations during the 1980s and 1990s drug wars, North Carolina started cannabis reform measures in 2015, allowing the use of CBD oil for a limited range of medical illnesses. According to Kirk Kirk Law's website, despite continuing to prosecute marijuana possession, distribution, and cultivation, the state decriminalized small amounts of medical marijuana in 2019. The Compassionate Care Act, which aims to legalize medical marijuana for a few diseases, was introduced in 2021. If passed, the law would allow patients to obtain marijuana from authorized dispensaries, own up to 24 ounces, and cultivate up to six plants for personal use. The current marijuana possession regulations in North Carolina are very strict. Depending on the amount involved, penalties might range from fines to possible imprisonment. Similar to other laws, marijuana distribution regulations include severe penalties, such as steep fines and jail time. Marijuana use for recreational purposes is still prohibited. The Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved the medical type of marijuana, and the supporters for its legalization have been raising their concerns about its viability, as also some public safety and the possibility of addiction to this drug. Related Article:Church Volunteers Highlight Truths About Drugs, Brings Drug Education, Prevention Campaign Pixabay/Anja Before the pandemic, Lexington's South Side Baptist Church had already ceased operations. Recently, the authorities have been tipped off that the chapel is currently utilized as a drug laboratory. After further investigation, it was determined that the illegal conduct was being facilitated by a pastor and his son, who were both subsequently detained due to these findings. Church Turns Into Drug Lab On Sunday, May 28, an ongoing investigation into illegal substances in Davidson County, North Carolina, led police to Southside Baptist Church, Live News 5 reported. They arrived at the Baptist Church in Lexington after receiving reports that a man staying at the church was manufacturing marijuana, according to a press release. The clergyman told the officers that the house of worship had not been open and had stopped its operation since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, former members claimed to the investigators that the pastor had shuttered the parish before the pandemic started. As a result of the additional investigation, the property was inspected by the deputies, and they found approximately 20 marijuana plants, roughly two pounds of tetrahydrocannabinol wax, also known as THC wax, around 12 pounds of marijuana, and approximately 32 grams of psilocybin mushrooms. Moreover, members of the congregation identified the pastor as Josh Price, who is 50 years old, and his son Matthew Price, who is 28. Both men were taken into custody for their suspected involvement in the drug operation. As per The Dispatch, both of the suspects have been charged with the criminal offense of manufacturing marijuana, transporting marijuana, possession with the purpose to manufacture, sell, or distribute a Schedule VI (THC wax) controlled substance, and the felony offense of keeping a place of residence to sell or distribute of a controlled substance on three separate counts. They also face charges with felony possession to produce, market, or send a Schedule I drug known as psilocybin mushrooms and misdemeanor possession of marijuana paraphernalia. On the other hand, each individual required a surety bond of $20,000. The initial judicial hearing for each is set for Tuesday, July 25. Also Read:Church Volunteers Highlight Truths About Drugs, Brings Drug Education, Prevention Campaign Former Church Members' Response to the Criminal Activities Inside the Church Based on an article from USA Today, Mike Lambeth, a previously known member of the church, asserted that he had attempted to warn the congregation about Josh Price when he first arrived at the church three years ago. "I met him one time, and our spirits didn't bear witness at all, and I did not think he was a pastor, and I told a lot of the members there, 'y'all better watch out for him,'" Lambeth explained. Furthermore, WFMY2 News reported that the church that Leon Little went to, Southside, is also where his parents are laid to rest. As mentioned, when Price explained to the law enforcement officers that the religious institution had been shuttered since COVID, Little told them something different. "They actually closed the doors, the church was down to five members, and four of those was his family," he claimed. The former member also stated that he and his family left the denomination a few years ago after the church members chose Pastor Price as their leader instead of his father. Right after Prince took over the congregation, people started reporting strange occurrences. Little reportedly had conversations with a few other members, and they all share the same sentiment. Related Article:Pastor James Edward Smith II, Convicted for Allegedly Selling New Jerusalem Baptist Church for $600K to Support Drug Habit Unsplash/Joel Muniz A parent's worry that some sections in the Bible are too profane or violent for small children has resulted in an unforeseen turn of events where the Bible is now viewed as improper in Utah. The Book of Mormon could be the following sacred scripture to come under investigation. Following a review committee's response to a parent complaint, the Davis School District, which is north of Salt Lake City, has chosen to ban the Bible from its elementary and middle schools. The Bible will stay in the high schools in the district. Following a 2022 state legislation that mandates parental involvement in choices regarding "sensitive material," the district has a history of deleting contentious books, including John Green's "Looking for Alaska" and Sherman Alexie's "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian." Bible and Possibly the Book of Mormon Banned from Utah Elementary and Middle Schools According to the article in Associated Press News, The Book of Mormon, the central text of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the main religion in Utah, was the subject of a lawsuit that was filed this past Friday. A review request for the Book of Mormon was submitted, according to Chris Williams, a district spokesperson. However, he would say why or whether the request was made by the same person who had issues with the Bible, citing school board privacy rules. The district claimed that it does not make a distinction between review requests and does not take the reasons for them into account. A committee made up of educators from the most conservative community, like the administrators, parents, and teachers, undertook each inspection. The committee has not explained why the Bible was removed or identified the specific portions that they believed to be overly obscene or violent. Also Read:Church Attack During Christian Prayer Meeting Allegedly Insults Bible, 2 Injured Growing Debate Over Potential Bible and Other Book Bans in US Schools and Libraries In relation to this story, according to Fox 29, Arkansas passed a law this year that could result in criminal charges for librarians who give "harmful" materials to children, as well as a new procedure for public requests to move items in libraries. Arkansas also passed a law this year that could result in criminal charges for librarians who give "harmful" materials to children. Sen. Linda Chesterfield, a Democrat from Arkansas, voiced her concerns about the potential effects of the new policy during a parliamentary hearing. She was cited as adding that she was concerned about the policy's potential impact and didn't want anyone to have the authority to exclude the Bible from the library. The Associated Press was informed by EveryLibrary, a nationwide political action organization, this month that it was monitoring at least 121 separate bills submitted in legislatures this year that would affect libraries, librarians, teachers, and access to materials. In the story shared in NBC New York, according to the American Library Association, there were more attempts than ever before last year to restrict or outlaw the sale of books nationwide. Kasey Meehan, the director of the Freedom to Read program at PEN America, argued that the outrage over the potential banning of the Bible should be extended to all books facing censorship in public schools. She noted that increasing debates highlight the persistent tension between freedom of speech, religious freedom, and parental control within educational contexts. Related Article: North Korean Christian Toddler Sentences to Life in Prison Camp Over Bible Possession, Reveals US State Department Report Ex Dave Ramsey followers sue him for more than $150M over endorsement of failed timeshare exit company Evangelical financial advisor and CEO Dave Ramsey is being sued by a group of his former followers for more than $150 million for allegedly deceiving thousands of listeners of his nationally syndicated radio show and podcast to invest millions of dollars into a failed timeshare exit company. Ramsey, who is CEO of Ramsey Solutions, which claims to provide biblically based, commonsense education and empowerment that give HOPE to everyone in every walk of life, is named along with his company in the class action lawsuit filed by 17 former followers in the Western District of Washington. The lawsuit also names as defendants, Timeshare Exit Team, the legal name for timeshare exit company Reed Hein, as well as the Washington-based marketing company, Happy Hour Media Group. The lawsuit estimates that the class of plaintiffs in the case to be more than 10,000 people who, during the applicable statute of limitations, paid money to Reed Hein and Time Share Exit Team for the purpose of obtaining an exit from their timeshare obligations after being exposed to, and/or in reliance on, the statements and other representations made by Dave Ramsey, and The Lampo Group. Ramsey, who has long been an outspoken opponent of timeshares and encouraged his followers not to invest in them, is accused of using his media platforms to drive his followers who want to get out of their timeshare agreements to pay Reed Hein to get them out of their timeshares with a money-back guarantee. The Evangelical financial advisor, however, did not disclose to his followers that he was being paid to endorse Reed Hein, even as it became abundantly clear that his followers were being defrauded out of their money by the company and receiving very little help with getting rid of their unwanted timeshares. To generate customers, Reed Hein employed the Kirkland, Washington-based marketing firm Happy Hour Media Group, nationally syndicated radio host Dave Ramsey, and Ramseys wholly owned company, The Lampo Group. From 2015 to 2021, Reed Hein paid Dave Ramsey and The Lampo Group to make false claims and instruct Ramseys faithful listeners to hire Reed Hein, the lawsuit alleges. By 2021, Ramseys promotions drove Reed Heins revenue from less than one-million dollars per year to more than $40 million per year. For his efforts, Reed Hein is believed to have paid Ramsey $450,000 per month, totaling greater than $30 million, it continues. The plaintiffs allege that Ramsey knew or should have known that Reed Hein used fraud and unfair and deceptive trade practices when he began participating in the scheme. Ramseys former followers allege that he exploited their trust in his financial knowledge which he claims to be based upon the Bible. They allege that even though he knew that Reed Hein was deceiving them with their false claims of being able to get them out of their unwanted timeshares while collecting their money upfront, he continued to endorse them as long as he was getting paid by the company. Reed Hein made many claims that any competent financial advisor with Dave Ramseys knowledge and skill would know to be false, and it engaged in many activities Dave Ramsey would have known to be illegal. Despite that, Ramsey accepted payment from Reed Hein to make false statements to his listeners, the lawsuit alleges. Throughout his promotions, Ramsey assured his listeners that he had vetted Reed Hein and promised them that the company was the only trustworthy method to get out of their timeshare contracts. He called Reed Hein legal specialists and claimed the company had a proprietary process to achieve its exits, it notes. From as early as 2016, the lawsuit says, Ramseys followers started warning him that Reed Hein wasnt living up to their promise. Starting in 2016, Ramsey began receiving thousands of letters from listeners complaining about their experiences with Reed Hein. In 2017, the timeshare companies began launching successful suits against Reed Hein for its practices. In 2018, the Better Business Bureau issued an alert after receiving greater than 300 complaints about Reed Hein, which held a C-rating. Ramsey continued to promote the scheme after May 2019, when the United States Court for the Middle District of Florida explicitly found Reed Heins practices unfair and deceptive as a matter of law, the lawsuit states. Even after the attorney general for Washington state sued Reed Hein for violations of the Consumer Protection Act, Ramsey was undeterred. He promoted it even as his listeners filed lawsuits against Reed Hein. He promoted it even as fourteen separate arbitrators issued awards to Reed Hein customers because of its violations. By March of 2021, Reed Hein and Happy Hour Media Group stopped paying Ramsey for his promotions. Only when the money ran out, Ramsey stopped promoting Reed Hein, the lawsuit says. The plaintiffs further argued that despite the overwhelming evidence against Reed Hein Ramsey failed to accept any blame. Instead of acknowledging the deception, Ramsey recorded a nine-minute radio segment in which he lashed out at anyone he felt to be responsible for Reed Heins woes. He blamed the timeshare companies. He blamed the Washington State Attorney General. And he dared Plaintiffs attorneys to sue him, saying bring it on because he operates out of a $300 million building that is bought and paid for, the lawsuit says. Ramsey admitted the only reason he stopped promoting the company was because it stopped paying for his promotions. Along with damages in excess of $150 million, the plaintiffs are seeking attorneys' fees and costs, declaratory relief, disgorgement of fees, joint and several damages and any and all applicable interest on the judgement. Pastor, son arrested for turning church into drug house A North Carolina pastor and his son were arrested Sunday for allegedly turning their church that had been shuttered since the COVID-19 pandemic into a drug house that manufactured marijuana with the intent to traffic the drug. Investigators said in a news release that on Sunday, they arrested Pastor Josh Price, 50, and his son, Matthew, 28, and charged them with manufacturing marijuana, trafficking in marijuana, possession with intent to sell and deliver THC wax, and three counts of felony maintaining a dwelling, possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, and conspiracy to traffic marijuana. Police said they received information that Josh Price, who lives in the Fellowship Hall behind South Side Baptist Church in Lexington, was manufacturing marijuana at the shuttered church. When a team of investigators from the Davidson County Sheriffs Office Patrol Division and the Special Investigations Division searched the property on Sunday, they seized approximately 12 pounds of marijuana, 32 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, 41 THC vape pens, 20 marijuana plants and about 2 pounds of tetrahydrocannabinol wax. Former church member Mike Lambeth told WSAZ that he had tried to warn the church about Price when he first came to the church about three years ago but they didnt listen. This guy, I met him one time, and our spirits didnt bear witness at all, Lambeth said. And I did not think he was a pastor, and I told a lot of the members there, Yall better watch out for him. One Christian neighbor of the church was so upset by the discovery, they told news outlet WBTV that they hope the pastor and his son burn in Hell for what they did. I really hope they burn in Hell, the neighbor, who was not named, said. Im a Christian; that is so, so, wrong. Its wrong. Its wrong anywhere but especially in Gods house. Leon Little, who also previously attended the church in better days with his parents who are now buried there, said he, too, tried to ring the alarm about Price when he came to the church. "They'll just have to stand before God and answer for it one day, just like we all will have to answer for things," Little told WFMY NEWS2. Even though Josh Price told police that the church has been closed since COVID-19 began, Little alleges that it was the pastor who chose to shutter the church after membership had dwindled to five members, which included four members of Prices family. Little further explained that he and his family left the church several years ago when the congregation chose Price over his father to lead them. "Right when he took the church, they started seeing things. Yeah, I've talked to several members, and they all feel the same way," Little, who now wants the alleged drug traffickers off the churchs property, said. "I want my mom and dad to have a burial place that's not drug related and you finding stuff out like this is sad to know that your parents are buried there, he said. You've got all this type of stuff going on behind the scenes. Both Price and his son are set to answer the charges on July 25 in Davidson County District Court. At least 17 Christians killed in 2 days across Nigeria, sources say ABUJA, Nigeria Suspected Fulani herdsmen killed five Christians early Sunday morning in northeast Nigeria following the slaughter of 12 Christians last Friday in the countrys Middle Belt, sources said. In Bauchi states Tafawa Balewa County, area residents said herdsmen attacked the predominantly Christian community of Gambar Sabon Layi, killing five Christians and kidnapping another. Fulani herdsmen at about 3 a.m. this Sunday, 22 January, invaded my community of Gambar Sabon Layi, area resident Godwin Moses told Morning Star News in a text message. The Fulani herdsmen killed five members of our Christian community and a sixth Christian, Mr. Daniel Dabwa, was captured and is being held captive in an unknown place. Manasseh Danladi, another resident, concurred that the assailants were armed Fulani terrorists, saying in a text message to Morning Star News that one of those slain was a member of his family, and that Dabwa was taken away at gunpoint. Area resident Princess Ella added, This is a black Sunday for us in Gambar Sabon Layi, as five of our Christian members were killed and one kidnapped. Tafawa Balewa, a Christian-majority area, has been attacked by Islamic terrorists and predominantly Muslim Fulani herdsmen for several years. Many of the villages lie in ruins, made desolate by attacks that drove Christian survivors to other parts of Nigeria. In Benue state, in the countrys Middle Belt, armed Fulani herdsmen in the pre-dawn hours of Friday invaded the predominantly Christian community of Abagena, near Makurdi, the state capital, and killed 12 Christians, area residents said in text messages to Morning Star News. The herdsmen attacked shortly after midnight for more than three hours, area residents said. Paul Hemba, state special adviser on security matters, said the attacks were carried out against these Christian communities by armed Fulani herdsmen a few minutes after midnight and into the early hours of Friday, Jan. 20. He identified some of those slain as Gbashaor Acho; Gbashaor Joseph; Anshe Dekera; Ancho Kpor; Eunice Gbashaor; Sewuese Gbashaor; Terlumun Ajah; Emberga Gbashaor; and Donald Gbashaor. A man, his wife and four children were among the Christians killed during the attack, Hemba said. Catherine Anene, spokesperson of Benue State Police Command, confirmed the attack and said officers had been deployed to the area. Area resident Ivor James identified the assailants as Fulani herdsmen. She added that many more villagers were wounded. Resident Joseph Atom said two predominantly Christian communities nearby were also attacked. Beside Abagena village, Mbagwen and Utyondu were also attacked at that same time Abagena was attacked by the terrorists, Atom said. Many Christians were also killed in these communities. Casualty figures are yet to be ascertained. From Jan. 3 to Jan. 5, armed herdsmen also attacked Nagi and Tse-Girgi Dajo villages, predominantly Christian communities in Gwer West County of Benue state, area sources said. Four Christians were injured. Two Christians were badly injured in the Nagi attack while two more Christians were also wounded in the Tse-Girgi Dajo attack, said Andrew Ayande, a local council official of Gwer West Local Government Council. Nigeria led the world in Christians killed for their faith in 2022, with 5,014, according to Open Doors 2023 World Watch List (WWL) report. The country also led the world in Christians abducted (4,726), sexually assaulted or harassed, forcibly married or physically or mentally abused and had the most homes and businesses attacked for faith-based reasons. As in the previous year, Nigeria had the second-most church attacks and internally displaced people. In the 2023 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria jumped to sixth place, its highest ranking ever, from No. 7 the previous year. Militants from the Fulani, Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and others conduct raids on Christian communities, killing, maiming, raping and kidnapping for ransom or sexual slavery, the WWL report noted. This year has also seen this violence spill over into the Christian-majority south of the nation Nigerias government continues to deny this is religious persecution, so violations of Christians rights are carried out with impunity. Numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, predominantly Muslim Fulani comprise hundreds of clans of many different lineages who do not hold extremist views, but some Fulani do adhere to radical Islamist ideology, the United Kingdoms All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) noted in a recent report. They adopt a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity, the APPG report states. Christian leaders in Nigeria believe herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in Nigerias Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds. 4 shocking findings from State Department's religious freedom report The U.S. State Department's recent report highlighting religious freedom conditions abroad relayed several shocking realities about the scale of violence and persecution being faced by Christians and other religious minorities around the world. The report, released by the State Department Office of International Religious Freedom on May 15, is submitted to Congress under the order of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to document human rights abuses and areas of concern regarding religious freedom. "U.S. embassies prepare the initial drafts of country chapters based on information from government officials, religious groups, nongovernmental organizations, journalists, human rights monitors, academics, media, and others," the report notes. "The Office of International Religious Freedom, based in Washington, collaborates in collecting and analyzing additional information, drawing on its consultations with foreign government officials, domestic and foreign religious groups, domestic and foreign nongovernmental organizations, multilateral and other international and regional organizations, journalists, academic experts, community leaders, and other relevant U.S. government institutions." The following pages highlight four shocking findings in the State Departments 2022 report. 1 2 3 4 5 Next California state senator invites 'anti-Christian' drag troupe member to be honored at state capitol Days after a controversial drag troupe was uninvited and then reinvited to a pride event at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, a California state senator is inviting a member of the troupe to be honored on the floor of the state Senate. State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, announced Tuesday the states highest legislative body will honor "Sister Roma" of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI), a drag group that has been called anti-Christian and anti-Catholic due to its mockery of the priesthood and other religious iconography. Weiner said he chose the troupe member because we should celebrate leaders who serve their community even in the face of hate and abuse. He tweeted: I nominated Sister Roma for this honor b/c we should celebrate leaders who serve their community even in the face of hate & abuse. " Weiner, who serves as the chair of the California Senate's Housing Committee and formerly chaired the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, is known for previously sponsoring SB 145, a bill that removes the requirement for adults to register as a sex offender after committing illegal sex acts with minors within a 10-year age difference. SPI made national headlines in mid-May after the Dodgers announced they would honor the group at a team pride event and later rescinded the invitation after criticism from conservative groups and lawmakers like Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who questioned why the Dodgers were awarding a group of gay and transgender drag performers that intentionally mocks and degrades Christians. Bill Donahue, president of the Catholic League, called SPI an obscene anti-Catholic group, and shortly afterward, the team reversed course. But Weiner who attended SPIs annual Easter "Hunky Jesus" costume contest last year in San Francisco, which featured an egg hunt for children and a variety show featuring men in drag attacked those who opposed SPI on religious grounds. During a May 18 floor session in the Senate, Weiner hailed the drag troupe as one of the most respected community organizations," and said the same right-wing mob that led a boycott of Bud Light over its use of a transgender model was responsible for the Dodgers initially backing off their invitation. In 2016, after a Muslim shooter who swore allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group killed 49 people and wounded 50 others at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, Weiner voiced his view that Christians pose just as much of a threat. Immediately following the mass shooting, Weiner tweeted: Let's be clear: Radical Islam doesn't have a monopoly on anti-#LGBT violence. Radical Christianity more than holds its own. #PulseNightclub. In response to the announcement about honoring SPI in Sacramento, California, state Sen. Melissa Menendez condemned the decision to honor SPI, which she labeled an anti-Christian hate group. Menendez tweeted: The California State Senate will honor the group of men who call themselves the sisters of perpetual indulgence on June 5th in a ceremony on the Senate floor. A blasphemous anti-Christian hate group like this should be condemned, not honored. Conservative advocacy groups, California Family Council (CFC) and The American Council (TAC), announced plans for a prayer vigil on June 5 outside the state Capitol in Sacramento. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have been the center of much controversy over their mockery of Christian tradition and beliefs, the groups wrote in a statement on the events page. In a recent celebration members of the group dressed as Jesus and performed strip-teases, pole dances, and sex-simulations. The openly gay Weiner serves as the chair of the California Senate's Housing Committee and formerly chaired the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus. The lawmaker is known for previously sponsoring SB 145, a bill that removes the requirement for adults to register as a sex offender after committing certain sex acts with minors within a 10-year age difference. Following its passage in 2020, Wiener's office insisted that SB 145 "does not legalize any kind of sex with a minor and does not change the potential sentence for having sex with an underage person. Christian persecution on the rise in at least 18 countries: report Persecution of Christians is on the rise in at least 18 countries, especially in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, due to growing jihadism and nationalism, according to a report released by a Catholic group that examined human rights violations against Christians in 24 countries where it is particularly difficult to be a Christian. An analysis of the persecution of Christians in 2020-2022, compared with 2017-2019, shows that the situation for Christians has become worse, or slightly worse, in at least 18 countries, said the report released by Aid to the Church in Need. These countries include Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Mali, Sudan, Nigeria, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Myanmar, Russia, North Korea, China, Vietnam, India and Qatar, according to the report titled Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians oppressed for their Faith 2020-22. Around the world, more than 360 million Christians live in places where they experience high levels of persecution just for following Jesus thats one in seven believers worldwide, according to Open Doors USAs World Watch List, which ranks the top 50 countries where Christians experience the worst persecution for their faith. The ACN said its report was presented in the Houses of Parliament in the U.K. this week with a keynote address by Nigerias Bishop Jude Arogundade, whose Diocese of Ondo was targeted by gunmen who killed more than 40 people at a packed Sunday service on Pentecost Sunday this year. Bishop Arogundade said, no one seems to pay attention to the genocide taking place in swathes of Nigerias Middle Belt. The world is silent as attacks on churches, their personnel and institutions have become routine. How many corpses are required to get the worlds attention? he was quoted as saying. African countries saw a sharp rise in terrorist violence from non-state militants, with more than 7,600 Nigerian Christians reportedly murdered between January 2021 and June of this year, the Catholic group said in the report, adding that in May, a video was released showing 20 Nigerian Christians being executed by Islamist terror group Boko Haram and Islamic States West Africa Province. In Asia, state-authoritarianism was behind the worsening oppression, especially in North Korea, where religious beliefs and practices are routinely and systematically repressed, it said. The report also noted that religious nationalism has triggered increasing violence against Christians in the region, with Hindu nationalist and Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist groups active in India and Sri Lanka, respectively. The report noted that India witnessed 710 incidents of anti-Christian violence between January 2021 and the start of June, driven in part by political extremism. It cited an example of a mass rally in Chhattisgarh state last October, where members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party applauded as right-wing Hindu religious leader Swami Parmatmanand called for Christians to be killed. In the Middle East, the report said, a migration crisis threatened the survival of some of the worlds oldest Christian communities. In Syria, the Christian population declined from 10% to less than 2%, falling from 1.5 million just before the war began to around 300,000 today, ACN said, adding that while the rate of exodus is slower in Iraq, a community that numbered around 300,000 before the 2014 invasion by ISIS had halved to 150,000 by the spring of this year. At this months G20 event centered on religions' role in helping solve global problems, the Most Rev. Bashar Warda, the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Erbil, warned that Christianity in Iraq was on the very edge of extinction. During his remarks at the G20 Religion Forum in Bali, Indonesia, the archbishop stressed that sectarian violence was a significant problem in Iraq. This country suffered the rise of an Islamic State stronghold during the last decade in which thousands of Iraqi religious minorities were killed, enslaved or forced to flee their homelands. Without an end to this sectarian violence, there is no future for religious pluralism in Iraq, or anywhere else in the Mideast for that matter, he said. The brutal logic of this is that there does eventually reach an end point where there are no minorities left to kill, and no minorities left to persecute. Warda added, As I share with you this experience, I pray that you will find in our story a clear warning to you all. He noted that after around 1,900 years of existing in the region, we Christians of Iraq now find ourselves on the very edge of extinction. There is a fundamental crisis of violence within Islam that can no longer be ignored, he said, adding that it continues to affect the entire Middle East, Africa, Asia and beyond. The report includes information from ACN and other local sources, provides firsthand testimony, compilations of incidents, case studies and country analysis on the extent to which Christians are targeted around the world. Open Doors USA's 2022 World Watch List, which looked at incidents reported between Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, found at least 5,898 Christians were killed, 5,110 churches were attacked or closed, 6,175 Christians were arrested without trial, and 3,829 Christians were kidnapped. 2021 saw a 24% increase in Christians killed for their faith. John Sentamu resigns as Christian Aid chair amid criticism over handling of abuse claims as archbishop of York Lord John Sentamu has resigned as chair and Trustee of Christian Aid after being recently criticized over his handling of historic abuse claims while he was archbishop of York. A recent review into abuse by the late Rev. Trevor Devamanikkam concluded that Sentamu and other senior Church of England clergy failed to act on disclosures by the former priest's victim. Sentamu rejected the review's conclusions and said they "demonstrated a lack of necessary understanding regarding the operation of dispersed authority in the Church of England." The review and his response led to the Bishop of Newcastle, Helen-Ann Hartley, ordering him to step back from his role as honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of Newcastle. In his resignation letter to Christian Aid trustees, Sentamu said he was concerned that recent events could "become a distraction from the vital work of Christian Aid." Sentamu has been chair of Christian Aid since November 2021, a position he took up after retiring as archbishop of York. Vice-Chair Maggie Swinson has been appointed interim chair until a new appointment can be made. Patrick Watt, chief executive of Christian Aid, said: "We are very grateful for the 18 months of faithful and energetic leadership that Sentamu has given to Christian Aid. Given recent events, we understand the reasons for his resignation. "During his tenure, Sentamu gave generously of his time, as he steered the organization through a change of chief executive, and a review of its strategy. He has played a critical role in our campaigning on climate justice, and on a just peace for Ukraine, and has brought Christian Aid's work to the attention of new audiences. "Sentamu recently visited Sierra Leone where he saw first-hand the work of Christian Aid's partners and met with government and religious leaders to discuss our programs to strengthen women's political participation, support livelihoods, and promote community peacebuilding. His visit reinforced our relationships in the country, and inspired staff and partners." Originally published at Christian Today Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu delivers his speech on the last day of the 20th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's annual defense and security forum, in Singapore, Sunday, June 4. AP-Yonhap China's defence minister warned Sunday against establishing NATO-like military alliances in the Asia-Pacific, saying they would plunge the region into a "whirlpool" of conflict. Li Shangfu's comments came a day after U.S. and Chinese military vessels sailed close to each other in the flashpoint Taiwan Strait, an incident that provoked anger from both sides. "Attempts to push for NATO-like (alliances) in the Asia-Pacific is a way of kidnapping regional countries and exaggerating conflicts and confrontations," Li told a security conference in Singapore also attended by U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. Li said these alliances would "plunge the Asia-Pacific into a whirlpool of disputes and conflicts". Li did not name any country, but his comments echoed long-held Chinese criticism of the United States seeking to shore up alliances in the region. The United States is a member of the AUKUS alliance, which groups it with Australia and Britain. Washington is also a member of the QUAD group, which includes Australia, India and Japan. "Today's Asia-Pacific needs open and inclusive cooperation, not buddying up into small cliques," Li said at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit. "We must not forget the severe disasters brought by the two world wars to peoples of all countries, and we must not allow such tragic history to repeat itself." Conflict fears On Saturday, Austin called for top-level defence dialogue with Beijing to prevent miscalculations that could draw both superpowers into conflict. "The more that we talk, the more that we can avoid the misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to crisis or conflict," Austin said. Austin and Li shook hands and spoke briefly for the first time at the opening dinner on Friday, but there was no substantive exchange. The United States had invited Li to meet with Austin on the sidelines of the conference, but the Pentagon said Beijing declined. Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, right, meets with U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese, left, at Point Loma naval base in San Diego, U.S., Monday, March 13, as part of Aukus, a trilateral security pact between AUKUS, a trilateral security pact between Australia, the U.K., and the U.S. AP-Yonhap Publishers group apologizes for school textbook criticizing Christian missionaries in Ghana The Ghana National Association of Authors and Publishers has offered an apology and admitted to errors amid criticism from parents, educators and the country's deputy education minister for a textbook's negative depiction of the impact Christian missionaries have had on the country. In a statement, the association offered an "unqualified apology" to the Ministry of Education, The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, Ghanaian Schools, Nananom, the Christian Council of Ghana and "any Ghanaian who find the statements obnoxious." The book, titled "History of Ghana for Basic Schools, Learners Book 4," reportedly touches on what it describes as the negative consequences of Christian missionary activities and claims Christianity has led to an increase in poverty in the country, according to Ghana's largest English radio station JoyFM and MyJoyOnline. The book also reported claims that "Christianity has led to an increase in poverty" and that "some religious doctrines brought by missionaries create a sense of fear or timidity." Furthermore, the textbook asserts that religion is a major cause of physical conflict worldwide and that many religions discriminate against women. According to MyJoyOnline, the book claimed that religion makes people lackadaisical about finding ways to improve their living conditions. The book claims to teach that many politicians in Ghana use religion to cause disaffection among people to advance their political interest and that religion creates an avenue for many tricksters. "[T]he points raised in the book were views or opinions of the author regarding the negative effects of the Christian missionaries in Ghana. However, we admit in part to the error of adherence to content requirements and suitability of content for the level it was intended for," the press statement from the Ghana National Association of Authors and Publishers reads. "The authors, we admit, should have remained faithful to the demands of the syllabus and stressed the impact of Christian missionaries rather than religion as a whole." In a May 25 tweet, Ntim Fordjour, Ghana's deputy education minister, condemned the book as "obnoxious" and accused it of being "smuggled into the market for unsuspecting learners." "The content is appalling and misconceived," Fordjour wrote. "I support NaCCA's swift action to recall the books and apply sanction. Ghana is most peaceful for a reason, and the important place of religion cannot be undermined." The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has called for an immediate recall of the book from the market. However, Gifty Swum Ampofo, also a deputy minister for education, has said that while the textbook was approved by NaCCA, the contentious passages were not present at the time of the assessment, according to Ghana Web. She expressed her bewilderment about how the textbook with anti-Christian commentary made its way to the market. As of the 2021 census, Christianity is the predominant faith in Ghana, practiced by 71.3% of the population across numerous denominations. Meanwhile, Islam constitutes the religious beliefs of 19.9% of the nation's total populace. Christianity was introduced to Ghana in the late 15th century by Portuguese traders who initially arrived on the coast in search of gold and other valuables. They built the first Christian chapel in Sub-Saharan Africa, named Elmina, in the coastal town of Sao Jorge da Mina. However, it was not until the 19th century that Christian missionary activity substantially increased, led predominantly by Methodists and Anglicans from Britain. These missionaries established schools, introduced formal education and translated the Bible into local languages. Chick-Fil-As DEI policy an intentional shift to progressivism This week, controversy was sparked over the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) portion of Chick-fil-As website. The content, apparently not entirely new, brought some calls for boycott on social media. To be clear, this piece is not one of those calls. But it is still important for Christians to recognize the situation for what it is: it is a shift away from the values that we appreciated about the company. The DEI page reads that One of our core values at Chick-fil-A, Inc. is that we are better together. And Chick-fil-A, Inc.s commitment to being Better at Together means embedding Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in everything we do. It is true that the company explains that it aims to achieve DEI by promoting equal opportunity, understanding and honoring unique experiences and perspectives, and promoting a culture where all individuals can thrive. But this is mere flowery language that provides cover for something more nefarious. Based upon this authors observations on social media, many Christians are falling for these platitudes. After all, it is true that environments free of discrimination sound loving. But language is not always meant to be taken at face value. The verbiage used signals the intent. Here, Chick-fil-A signals pride in its policy. It created a slogan to go along with it. It is not bland boilerplate hidden deep within the websites policy section. Rather, it reads like a press release. And, it uses the words diversity, equity, and inclusion, which is the same exact language used by progressives. It signals alignment with progressivism. And that is the concern. Progressivism is never inclusive of the Christian worldview. Progressivism seeks to cancel those who believe in the sanctity of marriage, those who believe that our sex/gender is God-given and cannot be changed, and those who believe that one should not be treated according to their skin color. These Christian ideals are pushed out of the spaces that progressives take over. Further concerning, and telling, is the statement that this DEI effort is involved in everything we do. So, any claim that there is simply an effort to be inclusive of those who are different is not true. Everything includes the companys beliefs, values, and mission. The same mission that used to be unequivocally Christian. DEI is not Christian. It is rooted in critical theory, which claims that society is to be divided into oppressor/oppressed groups which view people based on their sex, race, sexuality, etc. classifications. So, policies that focus on DEI would, by extension, seek to remedy the oppressed groups by giving them advantages. And, when a company makes an effort toward valuing differences, as Chick-Fil-A puts it, they are trying to accommodate lived experiences that value ones perception over objective truth. Scripture tells us to not place focus on oppressor/oppressed classifications. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. Romans 10:12. Historically, the Jew and Greek would have had an oppressor/oppressed dynamic. And clearly, the Romans were focused on this dynamic. But Paul tells us to only focus on those who call on him. Similarly, we cannot place too much emphasis on lived experience. Lived experience requires us to give deference to ones own experience rather than objective truth. In this time in history, this lived experience requires us to hear how one came to adopt unbiblical life decisions. But objective truth rests in the Bible. One cannot reconcile some lived experiences with Biblical truth. This isnt to say that you are somehow endorsing untruth or an unbiblical worldview by eating at Chick-fil-A. But the currents of the world right now are dangerous. The Church cannot continue to be unaware of the significance of messaging. Christians must be able to recognize when there is danger so that they do not drown in the worldly currents that presently exist. And with DEI, the danger is real. As for Chick-fil-A, it is hard to understand this shift. A good portion of their success has come from them being one of us. Christians rightly admire and support people and companies who do not conform to the pattern of this world. Sadly, Chick-fil-A seems to be doing just that. Is the 'order of creation' male authority Bible argument valid? One of the mantras of complementarians is the order of creation, by which they mean that because man was created before woman, men should have authority over women. Is this biblical? Is it valid? Genesis 13 states nothing about an order of creation in the sense that what was created earlier has authority over what was created later. If temporal priority in the order of creation had established a hierarchy of authority, the animals created on the fifth day would have authority over animals created on the sixth day, and both of them would have authority over man and woman. The Genesis creation narrative states the opposite, that God gave man and woman together, Gods final creation, authority over the earlier-created earth and creatures. The Danvers Statement asserts: Adams headship in marriage was established by God before the Fall. Genesis 3:16, however, states that he will rule over you is a result of the fall. Gods statement that this is a result of sin and will happen in the future requires that prior to the fall man did not rule over woman. Wayne Grudem (Evangelical Feminism, 40) correctly insists we should never try to perpetuate the elements of the curse! How, then, can there be male headship before the fall? Grudem asserts that he will rule (mashal) over you refers to husbands ruling harshly (40). Both major Hebrew dictionaries, however, analyze every Old Testament instance of mashal and list no negative meaning for it. Mashal doesnt imply harsh rule. Grudem admits two pages earlier (38 n. 27) that he was wrong to teach a specific meaning of a different word without support from Hebrew dictionaries. The order of creation argument contradicts the natural meaning of Genesis 3:16. Genesis 1 clearly teaches that male and female are equally created in Gods image and given dominion over the earth and all animals. Genesis 2 also consistently emphasizes man-woman equality. The creation of woman is its climax. It describes the woman not as a subordinate helper, but as an ezer kenegdo, a strength corresponding to him. John Chrysostom (AD 347407), affirmed that Eve was not subjected as soon as she was made; nor, when He brought her to the man, did either she hear any such things from God, nor did the man say any such word to her: he said indeed that she was bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh (Gen. ii, 23); but of rule or subjection he nowhere made mention unto her (NFPF1 12:15051). The naming formula appears only after the Fall: The man called his wifes name (shem) Eve (Genesis 3:20). Neither name (shem) nor a proper name occurs in 2:23. The man blamed the woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit from the tree, and I ate (3:12). This is why God criticized him for listening to your wife (3:17). Listening to his wife was wrong only because she was offering him fruit God had forbidden. Complementarians interpret Pauls references to woman coming from man to imply male hierarchy. The conclusion regarding Pauls three references to woman coming from man, her head as source in 1 Corinthians 11:3, 89, and 1112, however, is: The important point is that woman is not separate from man, nor is man separate from woman in the Lord, for just as woman came from man, so also man comes through woman, and all this is from the Godhead. Paul argues that men and women leading worship in prayer and prophecy should show respect to their source. Paul isnt arguing from a hierarchy of authority. This passages only reference to authority is that woman ought to have authority over her head (11:10). As I argued in my op-ed "Does I Corinthians say women have to cover their heads?", Paul is not requiring women to veil. He is prohibiting women when praying or prophesying from symbolizing undisciplined sexuality by letting their hair down. Letting her hair down shamed her husband. Since man is womans source, she should respect him, and men in general, by doing up her hair for her long hair is given to her for a covering (1 Corinthians 11:15). Pauls appeals to woman coming from man and man coming through woman stress that each should respect the other as their source. This same focus on respect for your source fits 1 Timothy 2:13: For Adam was formed first, then Eve. For women deceived by the false teachers (1 Timothy 5; 2 Timothy 3:67) to seize authority to teach men in the church, they disrespected men. Paul argues that women should not do this because they owe respect to man as their source. Paul instructs Timothy to apply this precisely crafted rule to keep deceived women from seizing authority to teach a man (2:12). Eve is the perfect example of how serious the consequences can be when a woman conveys false teaching to a man. William Wolfes op-ed "Male leadership in the Church: Gods good and timeless plan for His people" cites 1 Timothy 2:1213 of the distinct nature of God-given gender roles, as rooted in creation and attributes to Paul an interpretation that, as we have shown, contradicts the overwhelmingly egalitarian message Genesis 13. Wolfe argues from the ESVs anachronistic mistranslation of authentein as to exercise authority. This meaning is first clearly documented three centuries later. Wolfe asserts that 1 Timothy 2:12 teaches that women should not teach men. But his interpretation is contradicted by Deborah, Huldah, Phoebe, Priscilla, Mary, Junia, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis (Romans 16:112; Acts 18:17, 26), Philips four daughters who prophesied (Acts 21:89), Timothys grandmother Lois and mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5) who from childhood taught Timothy the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15) with no indication that this teaching ever stopped, Euodias and Syntyche (Philippians 4:2), and Mary Magdalene, to whom after his resurrection Jesus first appeared and commissioned to announce his resurrection and ascension to the disciples (John 20:1118). Thomas Aquinas wrote, she had the office of an apostle; indeed, she was an apostle to the apostles (John 20, Lecture 3; 2519). Paul repeatedly commands women, all, or whoever to teach or prophesy (1 Corinthians 11:5; 14:5, 24, 26, 31, 39; Colossians 3:16; 1 Timothy 3:12; Titus 2:3; 2 Timothy 2:2; cf. Hebrews 3:1, 12; 5:12). God even revealed inspired Scripture through women (Exodus 15:21; Judges 5:231; 1 Samuel 2:110; 25:2431; Proverbs 31; Luke 1:25, 4255). Wolfes interpretation, Women can and should teach, but not to men requires that to teach and to seize authority to teach a man together convey one prohibition. This is how Paul typically used oude. Consequently, Paul was prohibiting women in Ephesus from seizing authority to teach a man (See here, and here). Pauls statement does not imply that women should not teach men. Nevertheless, Wolfe calls women teaching men a blatant act of disobedience against Scripture and challenges the God-given authority structure for a local church, which is by command exclusively male-led. Yet seven of the ten people Paul identifies by name in Romans 16 as co-laborers in ministry are women. Paul instructs female elders (presbytidas, the identical word forbidding the appointment of female elders in the fourth century Council of Laodicea canon XI, Apocryphal Acts of Matthew 28, and inscriptions to Angelos Epiktous elder and women elders) employed in sacred service to be teachers of what is excellent (Titus 2:3). Wolfes interpretation contradicts Pauls many affirmations of female church leaders. Wolfe interprets Jesuss command to be innocent as doves as a call for violent resistance and our battle, indeed, the fiercest battle. Wolfe inaccurately equates egalitarian with both androgynous and an assault on gender differences and authority. Christians for Biblical Equality, like most egalitarians, repudiates each of these caricatures. Wolfe is, therefore, an unreliable guide regarding both the Bible and the egalitarian position. Wolfes hierarchical structure in which mans vocation is the primary and foundational one in which the office of pastor or elder, including its functions and title, is only given to men does not change the ontological equality and value of women in the local church echoes Animal Farms all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. Accordingly, Wolfe asserts, Its never, You (women) cant do that. We should affirm the Bibles complete teaching, not cliches like the order of creation and male headship that foster a result of the fall. 168 killed in attacks on Christian villages in Nigeria Another wave of attacks on Christian villages in Nigeria has left at least 168 people dead, including many children, Release International has said. The attacks are reported to have been carried out by Fulani militants in the Mangu region of central Nigeria. Some 30 villages were caught up in the violence that began on 16 May. An eight-month-old baby survived being shot twice but has lost both her parents and five siblings in the attack on Nbun Ward last month. A survivor from Jwakom village, who cannot be named for security reasons, described scenes of panic. "We saw people running and started to hear consistent gunshots. Our men told us to go. We all fled. We barely survived," they said. A local doctor said his small hospital had been inundated with victims, some of whom did not survive their injuries. "Simple things like gloves, sutures, antibiotics, items for those with machete wounds we have exhausted them all," they said. One woman said she had lost her oldest child, grandmother and another girl living with her. "My 5-year-old has been seriously wounded, too. He's in great pain," she said. She said the attackers were militant Fulani herders. "They are our neighbours," she said. "Our house is just besides theirs. They called my son by name." Release CEO Paul Robinson said: "This violence is often simplistically characterised in the media as clashes between herders and farmers. "This ignores the religious dimension behind many of the Fulani attacks, which together have the characteristic of an Islamist jihad. "Predominantly Christian villages have been overrun, church buildings destroyed, and pastors targeted for assassination. "Villages are being burnt out of their homes in what appears to be a systematic campaign of religious and ethnic cleansing." The violence in Nigeria is the focus of Release International's Out of these ashes campaign and an upcoming gathering in Eastbourne on 29 June that will also be livestreamed. Kent council was wrong to bar humanist from RE committee, says court Kent County Council (KCC) has been told it was "unlawful" to prevent a humanist from joining its religious education committee. A High Court judgment on 26 May found in favour of Steve Bowen, Chair of Kent Humanists. In his judgment, Mr Justice Constable said it was "clearly discriminatory" to block him from being a full member of Group A of KCC's Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE). Schools have been required to include some teaching of non-religious beliefs in RE since 2015 but the syllabus is set locally, not nationally, by SACREs. Membership of SACREs is divided into different groups - group A for representatives of the principal religious beliefs in the area, other than the Church of England; group B for the Church of England; group C for teacher representatives; and group D for local authority representatives. Mr Bowen applied to be a member of Group A in 2021 but KCC rejected his application, claiming that to admit him would be unlawful. He was supported in his legal challenge against that decision by Humanists UK, who said the implications of the High Court's judgment would be "far-reaching". Mr Bowen said, "I always knew that it was logical for it to be possible to appoint a humanist to a SACRE in a world where the RE curriculum now covers non-religious worldviews such as mine, as well as religious ones." Religious freedom remains a concern in Turkey after Erdogan's re-election Christians in Turkey are not expecting the religious freedom situation in the country to improve any time soon after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's re-election last week. Open Doors' persecution analyst, Michael Bosch, said that Christians and other religious minorities have been marginalised in the public sphere because of Erdogan's increasing religious nationalism. He believes this situation is unlikely to change under another five years of his rule. "Turkish Christians respect the Turkish government and obey Turkish law. However, the strong religious-nationalist narrative Erdogan promotes, does not leave much space for religious minorities to have a voice or play a public role and voice," he said. According to Open Doors, freedoms across the board have deteriorated since Erdogan formed a coalition with the ultranationalist 'Nationalist Movement Party' in 2015, followed by a failed coup in 2016. Turkey's decision to ban mostly Western Christians has also adversely affected the Protestant Christian community. Protestant churches are not recognised as 'religious congregations', which has made it difficult for them to rent property or open bank accounts. Bosch continued, "In Erdogan's nationalist narrative a real Turk is Sunni Muslim. "So, if you are a Kurd, an Armenian or a Syriac, you will be viewed with suspicion at best. "If you are an ethnic Turk who converted to Christianity, you equally will face societal opposition." The U.S. government is offering up an island getaway of sorts a mile off the Connecticut coast for a fraction of what others cost but with any new owner wanting to stay ashore under certain conditions, given the active lighthouse foghorn that comes in the package. The U.S. General Services Administration is again dangling Penfield Reef Lighthouse, GSA's latest attempt to dump the landmark off Shoal Point in Fairfield that dates back to the Ulysses S. Grant administration. On the doorstep to its 150th year providing a boating beacon on the approach to Black Rock Harbor in Bridgeport, Penfield Reef is one of more than a dozen remaining active lighthouses in Connecticut, from Great Captain Island Light off Greenwich to Stonington Harbor Light. Also up for sale is the Stratford Shoal Lighthouse, technically in New York waters midway across Long Island Sound. And GSA is offering Lynde Point Lighthouse in Old Saybrook for free to nonprofits, educational organizations or local government, one of six that can be had including the picturesque Nobska Lighthouse near the mouth of Woods Hole Harbor in Falmouth, Mass.; and Little Mark Island and Monument in Harpswell, Maine, near the Eagle Island summer home of North Pole explorer Robert Peary. Penfield Reef was the scene of a milestone in aviation history, as the site of the first helicopter rescue after Igor Sikorsky dispatched one of his earliest helicopter models to rescue two crewmembers of a barge that had gone aground. The lighthouse comes with the legend of a ghost, after a lightkeeper perished in 1916 while attempting to row ashore in heavy seas. And in an oddball sidebar to the Penfield Reef Lighthouse saga, a Virginia businessman sought to buy it in 2020 for $280,000, with a business plan to store funerary urns there containing cremated remains. Months later, he admitted to attempting to defraud the U.S. Department of Defense of $4.1 million and was sentenced to a three-and-a-half year prison term. The town of Fairfield has made a few attempts to purchase the lighthouse in the past two decades with plans to have the Fairfield Museum and History Center manage the property, but raised too little funding for a viable bid. GSA had a buyer lined up last summer to buy Penfield Reef Lighthouse for $360,000, but the deal was not finalized. The new auction is set to kick off on June 12, with GSA setting a minimum bid price of $100,000 as in past auctions. The building sustained extensive damage during the 2012 storm Sandy, but the U.S. Coast Guard undertook renovations in 2015 to include a new roof and hurricane-resistant windows and doors. A dock on the landward side of the reef requires a short scramble up a ladder to the lightkeeper's quarters, which total more than 1,500 square feet of space. GSA reports asbestos-containing materials have been removed, but that the property is not "fully abated" in its words. Since embarking on a program in 2000 to find new owners for surplus lighthouses, 81 have been transferred for free to nonprofits and government entities, and another 70 sold for $10 million in the aggregate. Winning bids have ranged from $10,000 to the record $934,000 which Graves Light in Boston Harbor fetched in 2013. The buyers subsequently took the town of Hull, Mass. to court on principle, after receiving a property tax bill for $3,461 in 2019. If you think about it, were all just keepers for this part of the lighthouses life, Graves Light owner Dave Waller told the Boston Herald last year. The lighthouse keeps on going without us, but we were at least able to give it a fresh start after 100 years of wear and tear. And so that will outlive us. Includes prior reporting by Josh LaBella, Brian Lockhart and Erik Ofgang. Texas State Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-21) passed 122 bills during the 88th Legislative Session. In total, Zaffirini has passed 1,388 bills in her legislative career -- more than any legislator in Texas history. Courtesy / Iris Guerrero The Texas Legislative session came to an end on May 29, as Texas State Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-21) passed 122 bills during the 88th Legislative Session. Zaffirini has passed 1,388 bills in her legislative career, more than any legislator in the history of the state. "I am grateful to my fellow legislators in both chambers for their support," Zaffirini said. Bipartisan collaboration is the key to representing the best interests of the families of our districts by passing the best possible bills. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Senate's highest-ranking woman and Hispanic member was also the highest bill-passer for the fifth consecutive session. Her legislation includes 64 Senate bills that she authored and 58 House bills that she helped through sponsorship. The senators voting record is historic in itself. Zaffirini extended her 100% career-long voting record by casting more than 70,000 consecutive votes, putting her well beyond that of any other legislator in the state or country. "Although my district enjoys rich cultural diversity, we share several universal needs," Zaffirini said. "Our quality of life depends on economic vibrancy, access to health care and excellent and affordable educational opportunities for all including early childhood and higher education." All of the state senators bills address the priorities of her district and beyond the state, which stretches from the Rio Grande to the Colorado River. As a member of the Texas Senate Committee on finance, Zaffirini successfully advocated for necessary funding for Senate District 21. Advertisement Article continues below this ad One of these bills was House Bill 1, which is the states appropriations bill that included in its language $415,000 for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to purchase three ethylene oxide gas analyzers and related equipment to monitor EtO, a known carcinogen, in Laredo. HB 1 also includes $5 billion for a cost-of-living-adjustment and supplemental check for retired teachers, $141 million in the B-on-Time Student Loan account transferred to improve outcomes for at-risk students through investment in student success and financial aid, a $650 million increase for the community college funding formula and $18.3 million for salary increases for local mental health authorities. The bill also included $695,000 for a guardianship specialty court pilot program and $25 million for landowner compensation for damage caused by criminal activities such as destroyed fencing on ranches along the border. According to the state senators office, its need was supported by a Department of State Health Services cancer assessment report indicating increased cancer rates near a medical sterilization plant that emits high levels of the gas. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Zaffirini also serves on the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce, through which she passed her "bots" bills, or SB 58 and 1639. Bots are software applications designed to automate tasks on the internet. Some bots are malicious and purchase large quantities of items faster than a human ever could to resell them at inflated prices. Her SB 58 prohibits persons from using "grinch" bots to buy and resell items at inflated prices, while SB 1639 prohibits persons from creating or using "ticket" bots to buy and resell event tickets. "We made progress toward creating a fair digital marketplace for all," Zaffirini said. "It was a pleasure working with Rep. Thimesch (who sponsored the House bill) to protect Texas consumers." The senator also passed Cati's Act, or HB 59 by Rep. Vicki Goodwin (D-Austin), which is named after 6-year-old drowning victim, Cati Dela Pena. Cati's Act helps prevent accidental drownings by requiring those who are caring for children who cannot swim to wear a life jacket during water activities, which will save the lives of children across the state. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Zaffirini also championed measures ranging from addressing the needs of students from Pre-K to doctoral programs across the state. Her SB 55, for example, mandates a comprehensive study of graduation rates and financial aide for students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Her SB 68 allows up to two excused absences per year for career exploration. HB 584 fosters a partnership between the Department of Information Resources and public educational institutions to offer a state IT credential program to prepare students for entry-level IT positions in state agencies. And her HB 1225 permits paper assessments upon request, offering an additional layer of flexibility in the educational training process. She also featured bills targeting the post-pandmeic world. Zaffirini said she helped passed several health care reform measures in the session that included her SB 2476, which bans balance billing practices for non-emergency municipal ground ambulances services, capping the total cost of ambulance rides to approximately $1,500. This legislation continues Zaffirinis life-long efforts to reduce medical costs. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Her criminal justice agenda included passing SB 49, which expands relocation benefits for crime victims and their families; SB 1717, which broadens the definition and repercussions of stalking offenses; and SB 1401, which mandates forensic medical examinations for sexual assault victims, ensuring appropriate care and effective evidence collection. They also simplify access to the Crime Victim's Compensation Fund. The state senator also sponsored and passed HB 611 by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, which criminalizes doxing -- the act of publicly revealing previously private personal information about persons without their consent and with the intent to do harm. Doxing can and has led to cyber harassment, identity theft, physical violence and even, in rare cases, death. Water sprinklers run at the construction site for the Teravalis planned community in Buckeye, Ariz., outside Phoenix, on Wednesday. Photo for The Washington Post by Adriana Zehbrauskas. Snow and water pool up on a stretch of exposed lakebed on the southern end of the Great Salt Lake in Magna, Utah, in April. Photo for The Washington Post by James Roh. Jay Famiglietti moved to Arizona this year after a career using satellites to study how the worst drought in a millennium was sapping groundwater beneath the American West. He has documented that the decline of groundwater in California's Central Valley accelerated dramatically in recent years, and that states along the Colorado River were losing their aquifers far faster than the more visible shriveling of the nation's largest reservoirs. It was not a satellite but an airplane, however, that was on Famiglietti's mind as he picked up his wife at the airport earlier this year: a charter flight of people arriving in Phoenix as part of a major expansion of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., one of Arizona's premier economic development jewels. This symbol of Arizona's future brought home the stakes of this moment. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country, it's a boom time - water-intensive microchip companies and data centers moving in; tens of thousands of houses spreading deep into the desert. But it is also a time of crisis: Climate change is drying up the American West and putting fundamental resources at ever greater risk. "I'm incredibly concerned," said Famiglietti, an Arizona State University professor who is leading a multiyear effort to assess the water supply the state has above and below ground. "I don't think that people, and this is everyone, the general public, but right up to our water managers and elected officials, really understand now that groundwater is the key to our future." "There's just not enough for all the things we want to do," he said. The decision by Arizona in the past week to limit residential construction in some parts of the fast-growing Phoenix suburbs is another major warning about how climate change is disrupting lifestyles and economies in the West. Throughout the region, glaciers have receded, wildfires have expanded, rivers and lakes have shrunk. It has been a wet winter, but the deeper trends brought on by the warming atmosphere persist. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "Our forests are burning up. Our rivers are diminished. There is sand blowing through places that used to be vegetated," said Norm Gaume, a former water resources manager for Albuquerque who leads a grass-roots group that pushes for sustainable water in New Mexico. "The signs are all there." In Utah, the Great Salt Lake has lost more than 70 percent of its water, and recent reports warn that it could disappear within five years, along with billions of dollars of economic activity and thousands of jobs that rely on it. The enormous spread of wildfires in California just prompted the state's largest insurer, State Farm, to stop issuing new policies there, amid its "rapidly growing catastrophe exposure," as the company put it. States along the Colorado River just reached an unprecedented deal to leave a major portion of their water supply in the river in an attempt to keep Lake Powell and Lake Mead from falling so low that they can no longer produce hydropower. If that happened, electricity could become far costlier for millions of people. But the negotiated solution - more than $1 billion of taxpayer funds to pay farmers and others to forgo water - will mean fields lying fallow and potential job losses in some of the country's major agricultural regions. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "It's always a tricky balance," Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said in a recent interview. "How do we grapple with the reality of decreasing water supply but not adversely impact the economy, generally speaking - whether it's from a growers perspective, farmworkers perspective, but also the nation's food supply?" Such questions are ever more pressing in Arizona. On Thursday, Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) announced a pause on new subdivisions in the Phoenix suburbs that do not already have proven water supplies. That restriction will hit hardest in the towns and unincorporated areas on the periphery that have been some of the fastest-growing parts of the country. The policy is a response to an analysis by the Arizona Department of Water Resources showing insufficient groundwater beneath the Phoenix metro area to meet projected demand over the next century. Groundwater can take thousands of years to replenish once it has been sucked out, so the problem is not easy to solve. Such shortages are likely to reshape, in coming decades, where people live and how much they pay to do so. State leaders must begin making tough decisions about Arizona's long-term future, said Rhett Larson, a professor of water law at Arizona State University. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "Sometimes, you've got to give up some dreams to get to others," Larson said. "Arizona is in that situation with its water." "We want to be the greatest semiconductor and microchip manufacturer in the world. We can do that. We have enough water, but our food prices are going to go up because we're not going to grow as much food," he said. "Those are the hard conversations that Arizona has to have right now." The Southwest has shown that it can adapt to shortages and use water more efficiently. Over the past two decades, Nevada has reduced by 30 percent the portion of the Colorado River's water that it uses, even as the population has grown. Las Vegas lawns have been ripped out and replaced by cactus, gravel and artificial turf. Los Angeles, before the onslaught of rain and snow this winter, imposed restrictions on outdoor watering that conserved dwindling supplies. "There's been a titanic shift in how my community views water, and it's been very encouraging to see that," said Zachary Renstrom, the general manager of the Washington County Water Conservancy District in southwest Utah. Advertisement Article continues below this ad His hot and dry corner of Utah, which includes the city of St. George, has been another boomtown stressed by a shortage of water. The county's population is expected to more than double by 2050, while local leaders have been desperately hunting for new water sources to supply them. Habits are shifting. Developers are putting up more water-efficient homes. Citizens have embraced desert-friendly plants. A rebate program that pays $2 per square foot to convert away from grass has drawn huge interest, Renstrom said. Growth "has put a huge strain on our system and how we deal with water," Renstrom said. "There's only a limited resource. Water is unique in that you really can't bring in new water sources without massive capital projects." "When we talk about climate change and we talk about growth, I don't know what's going to happen," he said. "I don't have a crystal ball." This spring, the New Mexico legislature unanimously passed a bill laying the groundwork for more concerted, statewide planning for long-term water security. The legislation came after a state task force in February released detailed recommendations for individuals, government officials and local communities to better manage New Mexico's dwindling water supply. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "You can't work a problem unless you name it and talk about it," Gaume said. "We have to get everybody out of their self-serving mind-set. There's not enough water to do it all. There just isn't. And it's going to get worse." What seems likely is that water will become more costly and that trade-offs over its use will intensify. Agriculture consumes more water than cities, and the balance between these uses has become ever more important amid the shortages. Thirsty cities increasingly look to farmers willing to fallow their fields and redirect water to urban centers. Climate pressures, said Stefanie Smallhouse, the president of the Arizona Farm Bureau, "has brought us to a critical point in our history, where we're making decisions about what's most important - housing developments or farm fields." It also means more money and focus on costly solutions - facilities that remove salt from seawater; pipelines bringing in water from wetter parts of the country. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Arizona's prior governor, Doug Ducey (R), created a $1 billion fund for pursuing such projects. His former natural resources adviser, Chuck Podolak, now leads that effort at the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona. "Finding new water seems like a relatively doable task compared to holding back the oceans in Miami or trying to stop hurricanes from coming into Houston," Podolak said. "We, just like every other state, are wrestling with climate change," he said. - - - Advertisement Article continues below this ad This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Sarah Declouette was crushed late last year to learn that her mom had decided not to attend her wedding to her girlfriend of two years, Lori Avitia. "I've been openly gay since I was 15, so it really hurt to find out she didn't want to share this happy moment in my life," said Declouette, 35, of Ventura, Calif. In the raw emotion of that moment, Declouette recorded her thoughts in a video, which she posted on TikTok. "My fiancee has like 100 people in her family that are going to be there - her dad and her mom and her stepmom - and like on my side, I'm not going to have anybody," she said tearfully in the video. The video attracted nearly 2 million views, and more than 55,000 people left comments of encouragement and support. Daniel Blevins, founder of the support group Stand in Pride, saw the video and right away decided to offer himself up as a stand-in parent at the wedding. "I was really touched by her video, and Sarah and I quickly built a strong connection online and over the phone," said Blevins, 46. "I knew that I wanted to be there for her on her wedding day." So Blevins, a gay father of two from Tennessee, flew in to Ventura this week to stand in for Declouette's parents at her wedding Saturday. "For every unsupportive person, there are hundreds of others with a lot of love to give," Blevins said. Back in 2021, after seeing people post stories similar to Declouette's on social media, Blevins offered on TikTok to be a stand-in parent for anyone who lived near him and was in need at their LGBTQ+ wedding. If he couldn't make it, he said, he had a network of friends who might be able to. He said he was inspired to post his video after he learned about Free Mom Hugs, a group started in 2019 by Sara Cunningham, an Oklahoma City woman who had offered to be a stand-in mom at gay nuptials. Right after he posted, he was flooded with messages from strangers who also offered to be stand-in parents at gay weddings in their area. "I had such a good response that I knew this was something that was needed," said Blevins, adding that it didn't work out logistically for him to immediately attend weddings as a stand-in parent, but that he was able to connect hundreds of other people who could make it work. "People kept telling me that they wanted to do the same thing," he said. Blevins said he felt relieved that his message resonated with hundreds of people who had raised their hands to help. He decided that if he couldn't attend all of the weddings himself, the next best thing was to help other people go. "I work full time and live in Tennessee, and most of the invitations came from out of town," said Blevins, a hair salon owner from Knoxville. "So I decided to come up with a way to connect people around the country." He formalized his effort and started Stand in Pride, through which LGBTQ+ people can find someone in their area who would like to be a stand-in parent for them, including during milestones such as graduations and weddings. Stand in Pride now has volunteers across the country who help to run five Facebook regional support groups in the United States, and there are more than 100,000 members worldwide from 70 countries, he said. Blevins estimates his groups have connected thousands of people who have volunteered to be role models and stand-in parents since he started the initiative two years ago. Declouette said that having Blevins fill in at her wedding, which she planned for Pride Month, will be both important and meaningful. "I'm so happy to finally meet him - I'm going to treat him just like he's my dad," she said. "It's nice to know that someone like Dan has my back. Having his support will make all the difference." For Blevins, Saturday was to be just his second experience as a stand-in parent. He said he also literally danced down the aisle with Kesha Serna at her wedding to Bernadette Serna last summer after he learned that Kesha's father had died and her mother wouldn't be coming to the ceremony. "Kesha sent me a message on social media, and when I found out she lived only two hours away, I told her, 'I'll be there,'" he said. "When you reach out to a stranger on the internet, you have no idea what you're stepping into, but I had the sense that Daniel really cared and wanted to be there for me," said Kesha, 37. "What Daniel is doing is so important - he's reaching out to people who have nobody there for them and he's inspiring thousands of people to step up," she added. "He's showing everyone that this is about loving your neighbor and being there for your neighbor." About 45 percent of LGBTQ+ young people considered suicide in the past year, according to a 2022 survey from the Trevor Project, an organization that provides help and support to LGBTQ+ youth. "It's devastating - I personally have known people who have taken their own lives," Kesha said. "I was lucky to connect with Daniel. There are people out there with nobody." Rob Brown, a father of four from the Nashville area, is among those who decided to become a stand-in parent after hearing about Blevins's cause. Brown posted an introduction on the Stand in Pride Southeast Facebook page and offered to fill in as a dad to anyone who needed one for any reason, he said. "I have a little catchphrase that I've used for years: 'I don't care who you are, I don't care what you are, I don't care why you are. I just care that you are,'" said Brown, a 48-year-old warehouse worker. "I've done free dad hugs at multiple Pride parades over the years, so this seemed like something I could do," he added. "It's incredibly sad to me that so many people in the queer community don't have familial support." Landon Forrest lives 25 miles away in Nashville, and said he quickly responded to Brown's Facebook offer when he saw it in 2022. Forrest, 37, said he began the process of transitioning from female to male in January 2020. "I've really missed having a positive father figure to look up to," he said, noting that his biological father died seven years ago and wasn't involved in his life when he was growing up. When Forrest recently had abdominal surgery, Brown was the one who took him to the hospital and picked him up, he said. "We've since gone to dinner and movies, and we've spent time just hanging out and talking," Forrest said. "It's been such a great help to talk to him about the aspects of being male and having him there as a role model. It means everything." Blevins said he finds hope in stories about successful bonds between people who were once strangers. "Some people want somebody there for their weddings or college graduations, while others are just looking for a friend," he said. "One connection at a time, it's great to know that so many people are willing to stand up in pride and be there for one another." Police officers take away a member of the public in the Causeway Bay area on the eve of the 34th anniversary of China's Tiananmen Square massacre, in Hong Kong, Saturday, June 3, 2023. AP Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife, actress, Cheryl Hines, at Arlington National Cemetery to mark the 50th anniversary of his father's death, June 6, 2018. Washington Post photo by Matt McClain Instagram on Sunday lifted its suspension against the account of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an outspoken anti-vaccine activist and nephew of the late president John F. Kennedy, who is running for president as a long shot Democratic challenger to President Biden. The popular photo-sharing platform removed Kennedy's account in 2021 for "repeatedly sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines," and later in 2022 took down the account of his nonprofit, Children's Health Defense, for spreading medical misinformation. The accounts gained notoriety during the covid-19 pandemic as prolific spreaders of false and misleading claims about the coronavirus and vaccines. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The decision follows Kennedy's announcement in April that he plans to run for president, becoming the second Democratic candidate seeking to oust Biden. "As he is now an active candidate for president of the United States, we have restored access to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s, Instagram account," Andy Stone, spokesman for Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta, said in a statement to The Washington Post. While Kennedy's personal Instagram account has been restored, Facebook and Instagram are maintaining their suspensions against his organization, Stone confirmed. His personal account, which returned with a verified status, had over 760,000 followers as of Sunday afternoon. Meta has long argued that users should be able to engage with posts from political leaders, a stance that has drawn blowback from critics calling for the platform to crack down on or fact-check misleading statements and advertisements from public officials and candidates. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Kennedy tweeted Thursday that his campaign was unable to set up an Instagram account, accusing the company of seeking to "silence" him and calling the move "undemocratic." "Social media is the modern equivalent of the town square. How can democracy function if only some candidates have access to it?" he tweeted. Meta said on Sunday the restriction was a mistake. "We quickly fixed the issue that prevented the campaign Instagram account from being created," Stone said in a statement. Meanwhile, Twitter owner Elon Musk replied to Kennedy's tweet with an invitation to participate in an audio discussion with him on the platform the following week. Kennedy agreed and the two are set to speak Monday afternoon. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Musk recently hosted a similar event with Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, who marked the launch of his White House run on the site. Jack Dorsey, the former Twitter CEO who initially expressed confidence in Musk's vision for the platform before turning critical, separately offered praise for Kennedy's candidacy on Sunday, tweeting that he "can and will" defeat former president Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2024. The tweet made no mention of Biden, the incumbent. Republicans have long accused Facebook, Instagram and other social networks of censoring conservative viewpoints, a charge the platforms dispute. GOP officials grew increasingly critical of tech companies' handling of coronavirus misinformation during the pandemic. Musk, who quickly rolled back Twitter's policies on covid-19 misinformation after taking over the platform, has emerged as a prominent ally to Republicans in that cause, stoking claims of an anti-conservative bias in Silicon Valley. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form 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. 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Additionally, middle school and high school students likely will see new Algebra 1, geometry and health textbooks. The Berea Board of Education will vote on the potential curriculum adoptions at its June 12 meeting. Academic Affairs Coordinators Sarah Bandza (high school) and Steve Blatnica (middle school) presented an overview of the proposed new textbooks and the process behind selecting them during the boards May 15 meeting. The district follows a six-year adoption cycle. Anytime we choose new resources, the goal is to improve student achievement, to make sure our resources are aligned to the standards and are coherent, appropriate and functional, Bandza said, noting alignment to the districts Portrait of a Titan and Universal Design for Learning principles is critical as well. Educator committees provided feedback along the way. We want to make sure the Ohio state standards are covered in the concepts, Bandza said. Professional development on how those materials are going to be implemented needs to be a consideration as well. Blatnica explained the multi-phase selection process. We audited our departments and the content areas up for adoption, which included surveys to teachers, and sought to analyze the current state (of the curriculum), Blatnica said. We started this work in January, with the bulk of this year being the studying component of the adoption process. Research then took place on available course options, including hands-on demonstrations provided by vendors. That gave teachers an opportunity to try out and work with the materials, he added, noting the curriculum teams then developed their recommendations. For specific information, including textbook titles and publishers, go to the May 15 Board of Education agenda found online on the BCSD website. The PowerPoint slides are attached under section C, Presentation. Read more stories from the News Sun. BEREA, Ohio Lindsey Capacetti, a 2007 Berea High School graduate and Midview High School science teacher, will return to Berea for the 2023-24 academic year as a principal intern in conjunction with The Ohio State Universitys BRIGHT Fellowship Program. The Berea Board of Education at its May 15 meeting approved a Memorandum of Understanding between the district and the universitys Fisher College of Business and College of Education and Human Ecology. Completion of the internship, along with successful performance evaluations, will lead to principal certification and licensure, according to the MOU. Capacettis internship runs from Aug. 1, 2023, to June 15, 2024. This is a really unique opportunity, Superintendent Tracy Wheeler told the board, opting to wait to announce for which specific administrator and in which school Capacetti will work. Lindsey actually reached out to us, when usually in this program they place (students). She is one incredibly bright young lady, and I dont think we could be any luckier to have her and to get her started on her administrative journey. Capacetti is one of only 22 people in Ohio selected to participate in the BRIGHT Fellowship Program, most of whom Capacetti said live in the Columbus area. She attended the recent Berea board meeting and shared her enthusiasm. Ive been taking coursework over the past year getting started, and the second year of the program partners with the districts to become an intern, Capacetti explained. (BRIGHT Fellows) continue taking coursework. Its really special and super exciting that I was able to have the opportunity to come to Berea, she added. I could not be more thrilled to be back here and to serve the children of Berea City Schools. Read more stories from the News Sun. Village police logged at least four operating a vehicle impaired (OVI) cases over the course of one day on May 25. One driver was spared another citation after he threw his chewing gum onto the pavement during the traffic stop, with the officer noting there was still a faint odor of alcohol. CLEVELAND, Ohio Two men were shot, and one died, on Clevelands east side on Saturday night. According to police, a 20-year-old man was found with a gunshot wound to the head on the 5700 block of Dibble Ave. off of East 55th Street. He died at the scene. Another man had a gunshot wound to his side and was taken to the hospital for medical treatment. Police did not publicly identify either of the men who were shot. The second victims age also has not been released. No arrests have been made and the shooting remains under investigation. COLUMBUS, Ohio Ohio is teed up for a political fight over ballot initiatives this summer, after Republican Ohio lawmakers voted last month to set an Aug. 8 election to make it harder to change the state constitution. But Ohio is just part of a broader national battle over ballot issues, generally pitting Republican state lawmakers against backers of left-leaning policies, many of which have fared well at the ballot box. Ohio will be the third state in the past two years to hold a vote on raising its approval threshold for state constitutional amendments from 50% to 60%. Last year, Republican state legislators in Arkansas and South Dakota placed similar measures on the ballot. This year, Missouri nearly became the fourth state to do so like in Ohio in response to a looming abortion-rights measure but it unexpectedly failed to follow through before the end of its legislative session. The fight over ballot issues began to pick up around a decade ago when a coordinated push happened across the country to use the process to expand Medicaid, the government-funded healthcare program for the poor and disabled. It got hotter in response to progressive criminal-sentencing reform ballot measures across the country, like a 2018 ballot measure in Florida that restored voting-rights to people convicted of certain felonies. And its intensified even more after the U.S. Supreme Court voted last year to overturn Roe v. Wade, setting off a series of abortion-rights related ballot measures in states across the country. This process began before Roe v. Wade, said Sarah Walker, the policy and legal advocacy director for the progressive Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. But it absolutely accelerated and magnified the issue, especially after reproductive victories happened across the country in red and blue states. We expect these attacks on democracy are going to continue. The trend has led progressive ballot issue organizations, which saw a string of successes across the country in direct votes to expand Medicaid eligibility and raise the minimum wage, to pivot into what they call direct democracy defense helping fend off measures like the ones in Ohio, Arkansas and South Dakota. We think the outcome of what happens in Ohio will send a strong message one way or the other, said Walker, whose group is advising the campaign to defeat the 60% measure. And my hope is that its not in the best interest of those in power to try to undermine the will of the people through undermining the citizens initiative. State Issue 1, if voters approve it, would change the state constitution to require that future amendments get a 60% statewide supermajority in a statewide vote in order to pass. Thats compared to the current 50% simple majority standard thats been in place for more than a century. It also would make it harder for potential ballot issues to qualify by tightening mandatory signature-gathering requirements for amendment campaigns. Voting yes on the issue would approve the change. State Rep. Brian Stewart, a Pickaway County Republican who was instrumental in getting State Issue 1 on the ballot, said the measure is needed to head off left-wing policy that he said is out of step with Ohio. Besides social issues, he cited ballot potential initiative pushes to end qualified immunity, the legal liability protection for police officers, and ranked-choice voting, which dramatically overhauls the system of choosing candidates through primary elections, and a possible future push to hike the minimum wage. All have been proposed, with varying degrees of seriousness, in Ohio. I would say over the last 15 years, theres definitely been an increase in what a lot of Republicans and conservatives would consider to be far-left ballot proposals, Stewart said. Some have not passed, but there does seem to be a shift nationally and amongst liberal groups that theyre going to focus more of their energy and more of the national spending on trying to achieve through ballot campaigns destructive policies that they could never get through a state legislature. Theres also more one-off proposals, Stewart said, like the one former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder attempted to get on the ballot in 2020 that would have changed term limits in a way that would let him remain in office for another decade. Details of the scheme, which failed in large part due to the coronavirus pandemic, only came to light after Householder was arrested on federal corruption charges. Its disturbing to see how easy it is to sort of buy a slot on the ballot, Stewart said. And once youre there, a lot of things can happen. If the legislature gets it wrong, we can fix it. Once you put something in the constitution, its generally there to stay. Ohio is among the 19 U.S. states that allow voters to directly pass law changes, either through a constitutional amendment or through whats called an initiated statute, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The other states are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon and South Dakota. Each state has their own rules for the process, including different required percentages for amendments to be approved. Interest groups, with increasing sophistication, have used the ballot initiative process for decades to advance their cause du jour. Ohio offers a representative cross-section. The state voted in 1992 to establish term limits for state lawmakers, it voted in 2004 to ban same-sex marriage and it voted in 2009 to legalize casino gambling. In more recent years, Ohio voters recently have rejected well-funded, citizen-initiated amendment campaigns that have popped up elsewhere. In 2015, they rejected a marijuana legalization measure and in 2018, they rejected a measure that would have loosened criminal sentences for drug-related crimes. Proposed amendment campaigns fizzled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, one that would have expanded voting rights and another that would have raised the minimum wage to $13 an hour. One national group that works on ballot amendment campaigns is the Fairness Project, a progressive organization with ties to organized labor. It has advised successful campaigns raising the state minimum wage in nine states since 2016: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska and Washington, and expanding Medicaid eligibility in seven states: Idaho, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Idaho and South Dakota. But last year, the Fairness Project pivoted to what it calls ballot measure rescue campaigns. It won in what so far are two major test cases for trying to make it harder to change state constitutions: helping defeat the proposals in Arkansas and South Dakota. The group boasts on its website that its won 31 of our 33 ballot measures to raise wages, stop predatory payday lenders, expand health care access, secure more paid time off, and other life-changing policies for more than 18 million people. The group is advising Ohios opposition campaign, said Desiree Tims, president of Innovation Ohio, a liberal think-tank in Columbus. Theyre able to provide examples on what went right and what went wrong states, and how we can coordinate and convey information to the public, said Tims, who sits on the Fairness Projects advisory committee. Arkansass ongoing fight over ballot issues In Arkansas, voters in 2018 overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure hiking the states minimum wage from $8.50 an hour to $11 an hour. Voters also approved measures legalizing casino gambling and requiring photo ID to vote. In 2020, voters approved a ballot measure setting term limits for state legislators. Lawmakers also put up for a vote an amendment that would tighten the rules for the signatures initiative campaigns must collect from voters in order to make the ballot. It failed. But that didnt stop lawmakers from trying again in 2022, referring the states 60% supermajority amendment for a vote. State Rep. David Ray, a Republican who pushed for the measure, said at the time the higher threshold would provide there is a genuine consensus among voters when the state amends its constitution or passed an initiated statute. Our state constitution is entirely too easy to amend, and we should not amend it in sort of a willy-nilly fashion four, five, six times every two years like we currently do, said Ray, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette The measure failed, obtaining just 41% from Arkansas voters. It appeared on the ballot alongside another, extremely-well financed marijuana legalization amendment that overwhelmingly failed. The anti-60% campaign, Protect AR Constitution, raised $782,000 leading up to the November 2022 election, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Its major donors included the Fairness Project and the National Education Association, the major teachers union. The similarly named opposition campaign, Defend AR Constitution, which Ray chaired, raised just $78,000. Bonnie Miller, president of the Arkansas League of Women Voters, led the campaign to defeat the measure. The groups ads described the proposal as ending majority rule in Arkansas and empowering lobbyists. It was a counter point to the pro-60% ads, which said making it harder to change the constitution would protect the document from big special interest, out-of-state groups. Miller said voters didnt start off knowing much about the constitutional amendment process, but it wasnt that hard of a sell. A lot of people dont think about it. But I will say, direct democracy is very important to Arkansans, Miller said. We historically have been a very populist state. And people may not understand the politics of how everything works, but they understand direct democracy and they like it. So getting folks to understand the importance was not difficult. Miller said lawmakers in Arkansas keep trying to restrict ballot issues because they feel threatened by democracy-reform proposals, like changing the redistricting system or implementing ranked-choice voting. Ray and other Arkansas lawmakers voted this year to tighten signature-gathering requirements in a similar fashion to the 2020 measure that voters defeated. The Arkansas League of Women Voters has sued. We believe politicians who are in power they want to stay in power, and they want to keep it, Miller said. Medicaid expansion prompts 60% vote in South Dakota In South Dakota, legislative leaders acted to try to head off an expected November 2022 ballot measure expanding Medicaid eligibility. They scheduled a June election requiring a 60% supermajority for any measure that would have a fiscal impact of more than $10 million over five years. It was widely understood to be targeting the Medicaid issue. I just thought it should be harder to tax and spend your money, Rep. Jon Hanson, a Republican who sponsored the measure, said at the time, according to the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader. Frankly, our state should have done this a long time ago. The opposition campaign there was funded by local organized labor groups, but also by hospitals that stood to gain financially from the measure. The states three largest health-care systems provided nearly half of the $1.5 million raised by the opposition campaign, South Dakotans for Fair Elections. The 60% proposal, called Amendment C, failed by a two-to-one margin, while the Medicaid expansion amendment passed the following November with 56% support. Zachary Nistler, a former Democratic operative who served as a media spokesperson for South Dakotans for Fair Elections, said the opposition campaign succeeded in part because it was able to marshal support from the businesses community, using its representatives as figureheads for the campaign. They really took the spear. And then there was a lot of messaging around dont change a system that wasnt broke, Nistler said. He also said the states conservative electorate didnt hold against them that the ballot initiative processes has been used in South Dakota to advance relatively progressive policies in like Medicaid expansion, in part because theres a populist streak in South Dakota politics. I think voters enjoy having an active role in deciding important policy components for their government, Nistler said. Its a smaller, rural state but in general, I think they view putting the power in the hands of the people as really important. I think the ballot initiative process really affirms that. Missouri vote fizzles Heading into their legislative session this year, Missouri state lawmakers appeared poised to follow Ohios lead by asking voters to raise the threshold for approving constitutional amendments. The Missouri proposal would have required a 57% vote. Voters the past November had voted to legalize recreational marijuana with 53% of the vote. Groups there also are organizing a 2024 ballot measure that would restore abortion rights in Missouri, after a near total-abortion ban went into effect shortly after Roe v. Wade was overturned. But the 57% measure inexplicably stalled in the state Senate. The legislature ended its 2023 session in May without taking action. As the measure stalled, Republican House Speaker Dean Plocher predicted that if the threshold was not raised, the 2024 abortion-rights ballot measure would pass, according to the Associated Press. The Senate should be held accountable for allowing abortion to return, Plocher said. Marilyn McLeod, president of the Missouri League of Women Voters, said in an interview that it was stunning when the measure failed. She said the Missouri LWV had been planning an opposition campaign, but now plans to revisit the issue when it comes up again next year. McLeod said that in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Democrats dominated the state legislature, Missouri state lawmakers tried to pass laws restricting the initiative petition process. Gov. John Ashcroft, a Republican who later became U.S. attorney general, vetoed two bills, one in 1991 and one in 1992. He made a statement that initiative petitions are the voice of the people, and we shouldnt squelch it, McCloud said. ... All of a sudden, we have a Republican supermajority for the same thing. It was for more power, as we understood it. Andrew Tobias covers state politics and government for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Ohio voters ended legislative term limits in 1994. They actually voted to establish them, and the year was 1992. It has been corrected. UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio By rights, June 6 belongs to 1944, D-Day, when about 160,000 Brits, Canadians, and Americans ignored the voice of paralyzing fear and charged forward onto the beaches of Normandy, where soldiers of the Wehrmacht were determined to stop one dream from coming ashore and protecting the nightmare that occupied most of Western Europe. Next year will mark the 80th anniversary of the operation often credited as marking the beginning of the end of the Third Reich although not, sadly, of its twisted ideals of a superrace of superior Aryans. And we can rest assured that TV producers everywhere are scrounging for a surviving veteran likely to be at least 100 years old by now as living proof of an era consigned to history in most schools. And yet, within a single generation, the sons and daughters of the generation that followed the Greatest had another reason to remember June 6: the day that Bobby was declared dead after being shot by an assassin in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles the day before. We did not know then, although we may have had a grim premonition, that a generations dreams had also died. Bobby (thats Sen. Robert Francis Kennedy, Democrat of New York, to most of you), like his older brother, President John F. Kennedy, before him, sometimes cribbed a line from George Bernard Shaw: You see things; and you say Why? But I dream things that never were; and I say Why not? That was the dream of the generation after D-Day. If capitalism was the best answer, why cant we assure that every hungry child has enough to eat, has a chance to fulfill their promise, to participate fully in the land built on dreams? Was it not our countrys promise that every child be born to enjoy equal opportunity to fulfill their promise, an equal chance to fulfill their mothers intuition that this boy, or this girl, would be The One who will cross the River Jordan to enter the Promised Land and build the new Jerusalem atop Americas purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain? Those werent questions, then; they were challenges, and Bobby, the proverbial little brother, was the scrappy fighter who would lead the charge to that Promised Land. He gave voice to our dreams. Suddenly, on June 6, the dream lay shattered. June 1968 was the last time we Ioved a politician who gave voice to visions born of a privileged upbringing in the two decades after D-Day. It was, and is, a love affair that lives on. June 6 is an annual reminder, made all the more poignant by the dreary political procession of today who see the path of personal ambition leading along a trail of hatred, contempt, and fear, devoid of empathy, a false narrative of how we got where we are, of a downward path to a future. James Outman is a writer in University Heights. Bobby was our Spinner of Dreams. He summoned forth the energy of privileged Boomers in their surplus millions to fulfill the promise of change, progress, justice, shared opportunity in a future better than the past; our insistence on ignoring color, or religion, or hatred and oppression. He was the commander of our Dream Day. The future seems shorter now. Zeal grows weary. Dreams are for bedtime, not for breakfast. But each time this date comes round once more, the sun shines, however briefly, through whatever umbra beclouds what could have been. Our love is undiminished. James Outman, a journalist, writer, and grandfather living in University Heights, graduated college two days after Robert F. Kennedys assassination. 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 NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio -- When businesses are clear about what they need to thrive, contribute to the economy, and sustain and grow jobs, government officials should listen. This is especially true about small businesses, which are the backbone of Ohios economy, accounting for 99.6% of all Ohio businesses and employing 44.7% of all workers. Even though weve emerged from the pandemic, significant challenges remain for small businesses. Chief among them is the ability to hire and retain qualified employees. In fact, a new survey of small business owners from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Voices, shows that this is the No. 1 problem facing small businesses in Ohio and nationally. A lack of affordable, accessible child care is a major factor driving this workforce challenge. According to the survey, small business owners overwhelmingly 83% in Ohio and 80% nationally said that a lack of access to child care continues to be a barrier to workforce participation, with less than one in five saying there are the right amount or more than enough high-quality child care options in their communities. Small business owners have a vested interest in knowing and understanding their employees, and in Ohio, more than nine in 10 believe it is difficult for working parents to afford quality child care programs for their children. The experiences and perspectives of small business owners bear out in economic data, with the child care crisis costing Ohios economy an estimated $3.9 billion per year in lost earnings, productivity and revenue, according to a recent ReadyNation report. Northeast Ohio is no exception. We know firsthand that the persistent and growing workforce challenges are directly tied to inaccessibility of high-quality child care they are two intertwined crises holding back economic growth. So, it should come as no surprise that Ohio small business owners strongly support (80%) policymakers taking action to increase access to affordable child care. Fortunately, we have an incredible opportunity at our fingertips to address this challenge head-on. Ohios legislature is currently in the midst of the budget approval process. When signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine at the end of June, the budget will fund state government for two years. Earlier this year, Gov. DeWine released a budget proposal that prioritized key investments in quality, affordable child care. These investments include: $150 million in already received federal funding to provide child care scholarships and to increase infant and toddler child care capacity throughout the state. An expansion of eligibility for the states publicly funded child care program from 142% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) to 160%. $46 million per year in Early Childhood Education grants to expand preschool enrollment. When the House passed the budget last month, the FPL eligibility expansion and the $46 million-per-year increase in preschool investment were maintained. Although the House did include $15 million more for preschool each year over the governors request and a new $15 million each year in infant and toddler child care capacity-building grants, the $150 million for child care scholarships for direct care workers (including those in child care) was unfortunately eliminated from the House version because of concern with the one-time nature of the funding source. With the budget now in the Senate, we remain hopeful that these scholarships will be restored through strong legislative leadership that understands the positive impact this investment can have, and that our states businesses still need to bring people back to work. This sentiment and a call for these specific investments in child care are echoed in a recent letter to the state legislature signed by Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices, along with Ohios leading business organizations like the Ohio Business Roundtable, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Manufacturers Association, the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants, the Ohio Restaurant Association, and dozens of other local and statewide organizations and business leaders. As they wrote, Even with these targeted investments, too many children and their families will still be left out. They are just the beginning of what is needed to fully address the child care crisis facing kids, parents, and Ohio businesses, but they are a vital step in the right direction. Gov. DeWines leadership should serve as a guiding light for the legislature to pass a budget that includes his child care priorities. They are indeed just the start of what is needed but they would have an impactful return on investment and put our state on the path toward a friendlier business environment. State Rep. Gayle Manning, a North Ridgeville Republican, represents the 52nd Ohio House District. Dan Weiss is the founder and president of Adatasol, a software company headquartered in Highland Heights. 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 -- Much of the time when you read or hear about the liberal bias that exists on todays college campuses, it is accompanied by the words alleged, or perceived, or purported. Indeed, the headline and opening paragraph in a recent cleveland.com story on the anti-bias Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act that is currently making its way through the Ohio legislature refers to the perceived liberal bias in our universities. Youve got to work pretty hard to be skeptical about whether liberal or progressive, politically correct, woke, whatever you want to call it domination holds overwhelming sway across our nations campuses. And in fact, you dont have to work hard at all to find evidence of liberal bias and its cousin, the proliferation of DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) training that is being rammed down the throats of college staff and faculty and often used as a filter for anyone hoping to be hired on. The relatively small percentage of conservatives on college faculties, and the few students willing to admit their conservative leanings, certainly believe it. To wit: A wide-ranging 2021 report by University of London professor and political scientist Eric Kaufmann conducted for the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology showed, among much else, that 70% of conservative scholars self-censor, shying away from comments that might go against the liberal consensus to protect their jobs. As he revealed in a 2021 op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Kaufmann found that in the humanities, academics on the left in the United States and Canada outnumber those on the right by a ratio of 14 to one. It is no mystery why more liberals than conservatives might be drawn to the humanities, but the troubling thing is the strong instinct among too many liberals to censor or punish those in the minority who hold opposing political views. A Newsweek story about the study cited Kaufmanns findings that one in four academics believe their colleagues who express contrary opinions on political issues restricting immigration for one example should be fired. Kaufmann said his research showed that 40% of American academics said they would not hire a known Donald Trump supporter, and he cited another study by the National Association of Scholars that recorded 65 instances of professors being disciplined or fired over something theyd said or written. Examples are everywhere, and its not only in humanities: At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, of all places, 40% of faculty say they are more likely to self-censor than they were just two years ago, and 41% of students say they arent confident in the administrations ability to protect controversial speech, according to recent Wall Street Journal op-ed. That followed MITs embarrassing 2021 cancellation of an honorary lecture from Dorian Abbot, a national expert on climate change, after a cadre of professors and graduate students objected to his expressed opinions in opposition to the way DEI training was being implemented on campus. Abbot, of the University of Chicago, explained in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that he believes in evaluating people for positions based on their individual qualities, not on membership in favored or disfavored groups. At Georgetown, constitutional law expert Ilya Shapiros 2021 hiring as a senior lecturer and executive director at the universitys Center for the Constitution was put on hold when he inartfully tweeted that President Joe Biden was focused on nominating a lesser Black woman to the Supreme Court rather than the objectively best pick. He was eventually reinstated (only because he wasnt an employee when he made the offending remarks) but declined to work under a cloud and resigned. Just down the road from Cleveland, at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio, law professor Scott Gerber is currently fighting for his job because, he wrote in The Wall Street Journal, he said that DEI efforts that dont include viewpoint diversity would lead to illegal discrimination in employment and admissions. There is not a thing in the world wrong with diversity, equity or inclusion as words, ideas, values or goals. The problem arises when DEI dogma is used as a bludgeon to force people to mouth platitudes they might not fully believe, or to exclude them if they resist. Heres an example from Texas Tech University, where a search committee penalized a candidate for espousing race-neutrality in teaching: A Wall Street Journal op-ed from February by John D. Sailor of the National Association of Scholars quotes the evaluation as noting that the candidate mentioned that DEI is not an issue because he respects his students and treats them equally. This indicates a lack of understanding of equity and inclusion issues. In the wake of all this, enter State Sen. Jerry Cirino of Kirtland, the prime sponsor of the aforementioned Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act. The bill aims at making state-funded colleges and universities safe for First Amendment rights among conservative faculty and students. The bill, which has passed the Senate and is currently awaiting debate in the House, is simply designed to ensure free expression on campus and in the classroom, said Cirino. Among other things, the bill would end mandated diversity training (but not prohibit such training), prevent colleges from using DEI as a litmus test in hiring, prohibit gifts from China or organizations acting on behalf of the Chinese government, prevent faculty and staff from striking during labor disputes, and add a required government course for all students that includes reading and understanding the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Emancipation Proclamation, Federalist Papers, Gettysburg Address and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter from A Birmingham Jail. But the main thrust of the bill is directed at protecting intellectual diversity ensuring that nobody is censured or punished for expressing opinions on a wide range of social, political and religious topics. It requires an official affirmation from the institution that such freedom will be protected. Predictably, liberal institutions across the state and most media, including the editorial board of The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com, have strongly criticized the bill, something Cirino finds puzzling. This bill is about adhering to the Chicago Principles true diversity of opinion, no indoctrination, teaching students how to think and analyze, he said. Not liberal, not conservative everyone. How can opponents of this bill be against more diversity? He said he was stung by some of the criticisms hes received, including his alleged depiction of the bills opponents as clowns. I did use that word, but that was not my complete comment, he said. We listened to seven and a half hours of testimony from opponents of the bill, and most were respectful and well-meaning. A small number were rude and disrespectful, including one tenured professor from Miami University who gave me the middle finger as he left. Those were the ones I called clowns. Cirino said he spoke with many professors and students who did not want to testify for the bill because of their fear of reprisal, but one who did was Peter W. Wood, president of the conservative National Association of Scholars, who spoke on the need for this legislation: Colleges and universities almost all proclaim their commitment to academic freedom, he said. But they dont mean it. We see that in the effective prohibition of debate on contentious topics and in what is now called compelled speech. And we see it when college authorities turn a blind eye to the bullying and shoutdowns that so often foreclose expression of disfavored views. There are too many cases of campus bullying, both in Ohio and around the nation. Cirinos bill is a step in the right direction. Ted Diadiun is a member of the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. To reach Ted Diadiun: tdiadiun@cleveland.com Have something to say about this topic? * Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication. * Email general questions, comments or corrections regarding this opinion article to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com. 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. A swearing-in ceremony of President of the Republic of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan has got underway in Ankara. A swearing-in ceremony of President of the Republic of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been held in Ankara. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva attended the ceremony. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his spouse Emine Erdogan welcomed President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and other heads of state and government, leaders of delegations. A moment of silence was observed at the ceremony in memory of founder of the Republic of Turkiye Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, shahids and those killed in the February 6 earthquake. Then, The "Istiklal Marsi" national anthem of the Republic of Turkiye was played. Addressing the ceremony, Recep Tayyip Erdogan thanked the voters for trusting him and re-electing him as the President. Recep Tayyip Erdogan pointed out that people expressed their will in the May 28 elections, adding the Century of Turkiye has begun, and the doors of the country's growth have been opened. "We will embrace all 85 million people (in the country), regardless of their political views, origins, or sect," Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged. Our nation, which a century ago completed their national struggle with the foundation of the republic, will crown the second century of the republic with the Century of Turkiye. We will continue to weave together the Century of Turkiye with our new cabinet, he added. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again thanked President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, other heads of state and government and guests participating in the swearing-in ceremony. Ayahs from Koran were recited. Recept Tayyip Erdogan won the May 28 runoff presidential elections with 52.18% of votes. From left: Mark Wimmer, Melissa Wimmer and Mike Wimmer, who graduated from college in May at age 14. Melissa and Mark Wimmer say they "never pushed" their son Mike to do homework but they're hard-liners when it comes to him making friends. Mike is a certified child prodigy. The 14-year-old is a Mensa member from Salisbury, North Carolina, who earned his high school, associate's and bachelor's degrees all within the past three years. Along with those achievements, Mike ran two tech companies, started a third one, and partnered with Atlantic Lionshare, a Bermuda-based organization working to control the population of lionfish, an invasive species. He's a self-described extrovert who at age 11 won homecoming court for his high school sophomore class. His friends range from the kids he grew up with, to the 20-somethings in his college classes at Carolina University, to adult co-workers. That isn't always the case for child geniuses. In fact, there's a statistical correlation between introversion and high IQs, research shows. "I'll be honest, people expect 'Young Sheldon' before they meet Mike," Melissa tells CNBC Make It, referring to the CBS television show. Then, after speaking with him, they realize "he's just a normal 14-year-old that happens to be able to do absolutely amazing things." The Wimmers are proud of helping Mike ensure his "social skills were in line with his intellectual skills," Mark says. Here is the Wimmers' No. 1 rule to raising a social kid who can befriend anyone: "Let [kids] be who they are and just support it," Mark says. "You've just constantly got to keep your finger on the pulse of how they're growing and what they need." Surround children with a variety of age groups Mark and Melissa discovered their son's intelligence before he entered preschool a child psychologist told them that Mike had literally maxed out her IQ scale and concluded that a standard education curriculum wouldn't support his fast-track development. Some parents in their position opt for homeschooling, shuddering at the idea of putting their 12-year-old in a room full of 18-year-olds. Instead, Melissa and Mark saw the value in having him navigate those situations. "I wanted him to be able to be social and be able to handle all the different personalities in the classrooms with older children," says Melissa. "Mike will be the first one to say that his parents never pushed him as far as academics go, but [that] they left no room for negotiating on his social skills." Kids are more likely to form friendships with their peers when they are physically seated next to each other, recent research shows. Mixed-age friendships are linked to less reported loneliness in children, and are a significant factor of childhood development, a 2009 University at Buffalo psychology study found. Mike may have gotten lucky at his particular school, too. The teachers and other students were "very open and welcoming," he says. "I couldn't have asked for a better experience, to be honest." By spending so much time with such a wide variety of age groups, he's learned how to change the dial on his vocabulary, he says. With friends his own age, for example, he will engage in conversation about car racing, not business metrics, while with adult colleagues, he may pivot to more technical discussions about artificial intelligence and machine-learning systems or the Internet of Things. He's a believer in the social art of compartmentalizing. "I always let the person set the tone. I gauge the person, in a sense, and then go from there," Mike says. Get kids out of their social comfort zone early Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al-Saud arrives for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna on June 3, 2023 Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman defended the voluntary output cuts announced by some allied oil producers in April, which he noted were first criticized as likely to spike crude prices then, as failing to support them. On April 3, several producers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners collectively known as OPEC+ revealed a combined 1.66 million barrels per day of production declines until the end of this year. This Sunday, they extended these measures through the end of 2024, with Riyadh announcing an additional 1 million-per-day voluntary and extensible drop, starting in July. The OPEC+ group otherwise collectively decided to stick to its targets for 2023, with production at 40.463 million barrels per day next year. The news comes after months of macro-economic concerns including the collapse of several U.S. and European banks, a potential global recession, and a slower-than-expected recovery of Chinese demand weighed on oil prices in the first few months of the year. On Sunday, the Saudi oil minister defended the voluntary moves as precautionary. "It was just our sensibility, if you will call it, that the environment was not sufficiently allowing confidence to be there. So taking a precautionary measure tends to put you on the safe side. And it is part of the typical rhythm that we have installed in OPEC, which is being proactive, being preemptive," Abdulaziz told CNBC's Dan Murphy. "That tool is with us. It doesn't mean we have certainty that things will go sour or left or right." Djelics | E+ | Getty Images Average borrower saved $15,000 due to payment pause Former President Donald Trump first announced the stay on federal student loan bills and the accrual of interest in March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. and crippled the economy. The pause has since been extended eight times. Nearly all people eligible for the relief have taken advantage of it, with less than 1% of qualifying borrowers continuing to make payments on their education debt, according to an analysis by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. As a result of the policy, the average borrower likely saved around $15,000 in student loan payments, Kantrowitz said. The typical monthly bill is just under $350 a month. watch now 'There will be some initial chaos' Because there's no lending precedent for borrowers getting such a long reprieve from their bills, there is little evidence to inform what will happen when the payments resume. But Kantrowitz expects most borrowers to adjust pretty quickly. "There will be some initial chaos, but it should settle down within a few months," he said. However, Education Department Undersecretary James Kvaal warned earlier this year that if the administration is unable to deliver on President Joe Biden's plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for borrowers, delinquency and default rates could skyrocket. There will be some initial chaos, but it should settle down within a few months. Mark Kantrowitz higher education expert During previous natural disasters, borrowers were offered shorter forbearances, and many fell behind when their payments resumed, Kvaal said in a court filing. [T]he one-time student loan debt relief program was intended to avoid" that problem, he added. 'Borrowers are not ready to resume payments' House Speaker Kevin McCarthy applauded the provision in the debt ceiling agreement that officially ends the stay on bills by September, saying the Biden administration "can [no] longer use Covid as an excuse to pause student loan repayments." "It also requires borrowers to be responsible for paying off their student loans once again," McCarthy wrote on Twitter. Yet consumer advocates say the troubles for student loan borrowers are far from over. "Borrowers are not ready to resume payments," said Persis Yu, deputy executive director at the Student Borrower Protection Center. "Even if the risk from the virus has diminished, the financial fallout has not." Before the public health crisis, when the U.S. economy was enjoying one of its healthiest periods in history, there were still problems plaguing the federal student loan system and some experts compared it to the 2008 mortgage crisis Only about half of borrowers were in repayment in 2019, according to an estimate by Kantrowitz. Around 25% or more than 10 million people were in delinquency or default, and the rest had applied for temporary relief measures for struggling borrowers, including deferments or forbearances. "I think they may be in a worse position," Yu said, of those people. "Which is why President Biden's debt relief program is so critical." The Biden administration announced a new program last year that will give defaulted borrowers the chance to get into current standing. However, "the administration has barely begun doing outreach" on the program, Yu said. watch now A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education said they understand the return to repayment will be difficult for many borrowers. "That is why this administration also put forward a plan to provide up to $20,000 in debt relief for hard-working Americans recovering from the economic harms of the pandemic," the spokesperson said. "We will also be in direct touch with borrowers and ramping up our communications with servicers well before repayment resumes to ensure borrowers and their families are receiving accurate and timely information." Yu is also worried about the recent turnover and layoffs among student loan servicers, which faced criticism and complaints from advocates, regulators and borrowers long before Covid. During the payment pause, three companies that managed the loans Navient, the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (also known as FedLoan) and Granite State all said they'd be ending their relationship with the government. As a result, around 16 million borrowers will have a different company to deal with by the time payments resume, or not long after. "It is critical for folks to understand that the student loan system is not prepared to return to repayment," Yu said. "We are relying on brand new servicers and expecting them to help millions of borrowers through a byzantine system all at once." Some borrowers face hard financial choices Half of Paul Berlet's monthly income goes to his rent. The sixth-grade English teacher earns a little under $50,000 a year, and pays $1,200 a month for his one-bedroom apartment in Wilmington, Delaware. To be able to afford his student loan payment in September, Berlet plans to cut back on how much food he buys. Although he'll technically be able to come up with the extra $250 a month by doing so, he doesn't believe he should have to make these kinds of decisions. "There's no reason somebody should need to take out loans to be a teacher," said Berlet, 23. "But to be able to serve my own community, I needed to put myself in debt." Starting in the fall, he expects to return to the diet he had eaten as a broke college student. "When I go grocery shopping now, I'm able to buy fresh ingredients, vegetables, a piece of salmon if I want it," he said. "But that will go away, and I'll be back to [instant rice] and beans." Brooks also doesn't believe she should have to be hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt for her education. Her parents didn't attend college, she said. Her mother was a waitress for much of her life; her father wasn't around. To finance her degrees, she turned to government loans. I'll be back to minute rice and beans. Paul Berlet student loan borrower Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 4) Filipino-French content creator Erwan Heussaff won in the Social Media Account category of the James Beard Awards, considered as the Oscars of the culinary world. Heussaff bagged the 2023 James Beard Broadcast Media Award for his Instagram account. The awarding ceremony was held in Chicago, United States on Sunday (Manila time). The celebrity chef runs media company FEATR and The Fat Kid Inside Studios to produce content highlighting Filipino cuisine, travel, and culture. In his acceptance speech, Heussaff thanked the crew of the media company, his wife actress Anne Curtis, and daughter Dahlia Amelie for allowing him to travel to tough places to create stories." "Anywhere you go in the world, you'll meet Filipinos, especially in the food and beverage industry," he said. "In fact, one of our largest revenue streams as a country are Filipinos who are working overseas, yet not a lot is known about our culture or our food. He also said tons of people said Filipino food is the next big thing, and he is obsessed with trying to figure out how to it make just the big thing." "And so, this (award) for me means absolutely everything because it just motivates me further to keep shining a light on our beautiful country, beautiful people, and the food that is made in our kitchen," he added. Heussaff bested Andrew Huang, Ewa Huang, and Jeromy Ko of Nom Life. Another nominee in the category was the Kalamata's Kitchen Staff who runs the channel Kalamatas Kitchen - Of Course It's Kid Friendly. The award for social media "recognizes excellence in a single food-related post, or compilation of up to three posts, that clearly represents the intention of the Facebook page, Twitter account, TikTok account, Instagram feed, or other social media format." Winners for the 2023 James Beard Leadership Award and Restaurant and Chef Award will be announced in the coming days. Three chefs with Filipino roots also received nods in the prestigious awards, namely Vince Bugtong and Margarita Manzke in the "Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker" category, and Aaron Verzosa for "Best Chef in the Northwest and the Pacific." READ: Three Filipino chefs score nominations in 2023 James Beard Awards The awards are presented by the US-based James Beard Foundation, a non-profit organization with a "mission to celebrate, support, and elevate the people behind America's food culture and champion a standard of good food anchored in talent, equity, and sustainability." Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 4) The Marcos administrations food stamp program will require the beneficiary families to be involved in labor-capacity building to "lessen" their dependence on government aid, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). DSWD Undersecretary Edu Punay on Saturday said the agency is working on the design of the food program called Walang Gutom 2027. Isang very novel aspect that were introducing, or component, is iyong conditionality. Ang gusto natin [mabawasan] iyong dependency ng ating mga beneficiary sa government assistance na nakikita natin, for example sa 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program), [dahil] talagang masyadong dependent na, he said in a news forum. [Translation: A very novel aspect that were introducing, or component, is conditionality. We want to lessen the beneficiaries dependency on government assistance, which we are seeing, for example, in 4Ps, because they have been very dependent on it.] Admittedly, ang ating ilang beneficiaries diyan, ayaw nang umalis sa 4Ps kahit na due for graduation na sila. Ito iyong gusto nating iwasan sa mga bagong program nating gagawin. Thats why we have the conditionalities now for the food stamp program, he explained. [Translation: Admittedly, some of the beneficiaries do not want to leave the 4Ps even if they are due for graduation. This is what we want to avoid in the new program that we will do.] Punay said the government plans to enroll the beneficiaries in the training programs of the Department of Labor and Employment and its attached agency, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) so that the government can capacitate them to stand on their own." "So that when they graduate after three or four years, mayroon na silang trabaho (they have jobs). They can sustain their livelihood. They can sustain their food requirements," he added. [Translation: This is the target of this program so that when they graduate after three or four years, they have work. They can sustain their livelihood. They can sustain their food requirements.] Last May, Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said the food stamp program will begin its pilot run from July to December in geographically isolated regions or provinces, urban poor settings, calamity-stricken areas, and rural poor settings. He also said the pilot run will also be implemented in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Under the food stamp program, beneficiaries will be provided electronic benefit transfers that will contain 3,000 worth of food credits to be used to buy a select list of food commodities from DSWD-accredited retailers. The Asian Development Bank will provide $3 million for the six-month pilot run of the program, which aims to target the "bottom one million households from Listahanan 3 who belong to the food poor criteria as defined by the Philippine Statistics Authority." RELATED: Lawmaker: Food stamp program should manage surplus food, prices In a separate statement, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chairperson of the House Committee on Ways and Means, suggested that the food stamp program should include a plan to manage the surplus agricultural products and to boost farmers' income. "As it was originally implemented in the US, where the food stamp program is most prevalent and arguably most successful, you can have a specific amount for general food items, and you can have a special stamp or voucher for surplus produce," Salceda said on Sunday. "What the farmers can get for surplus produce are food stamps for the general program. So, you help solve their food insecurity issues. You take out the surplus, helping manage prices. And you provide free surplus food to those who need it. It's a great synergy," he added. The lawmaker also proposed to use the revenues of the sweetened beverage tax to fund the food stamp program. According to Salceda, the sweetened beverage tax under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law designates around 30% of its revenues to social measures, which include "Social mitigating measures and investments in: (i) education, (ii) health, targeted nutrition, and anti-hunger programs for mothers, infants, and young children." "We were also not able to earmark programs for sugar farmers under the law. And we should have. That was part of the deal. So, I strongly suggest that if we are going to do this, let's pilot it for poor sugar farmers," he added. Meanwhile, fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas wants the government to implement programs that will strengthen "local agri-fisheries production" instead of pushing for "band-aid solutions" to address hunger in the country. READ: Fisherfolk's group seeks long-term support to strengthen local food production, not 'unsustainable' food stamps Singapore (CNN) Chinas defense minister on Sunday accused the United States and its allies of trying to destabilize the Indo-Pacific just hours after warships from the two countries were involved in a near collision. In a combative speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, Li Shangfu accused the US of provoking bloc confrontation for self-interest and said Washington and its allies were making up rules to assert dominance over the region. He also warned that any severe confrontation between the US and China would be an unbearable disaster for the world. Lis warning came a day after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told the same forum a war over Taiwan would be devastating and affect the global economy in ways we cannot imagine. And it came just hours after the US accused a Chinese warship of cutting in front of an American vessel that was taking part in a joint exercise with the Canadian navy in the Taiwan Strait, forcing the American vessel to slow down to avoid a collision. Questioned after his speech on the incident, Li said the US naval presence in the strait was an example of Washington creating chaos in the region. They are not here for innocent passage, they are here for provocation, Li said of US warships. Li said if the US and other foreign powers did not want confrontation, they should not send their military assets near China. Mind your own business, Li said, adding, Why did all these incidents happen in areas near China, not in areas near other countries? Near collision Hours earlier, the US Indo-Pacific Command said, a Chinese destroyer had cut across the bow of the USS Chung-Hoon during a joint exercise between American and Canadian navy vessels in the Taiwan Strait. According to the US, the Chinese ship came within 150 yards of the USS Chung-Hoon less than the length of the Arleigh Burke-class ship itself. Chung-Hoon maintained course and slowed to 10 knots to avoid a collision, the US statement said. The Chinese ship acted in an unsafe manner and violated the maritime rules of the road of safe passage in international waters, it said. The incident was captured on video by a crew from Canadas Global News, which was aboard the frigate HMCS Montreal traveling with the Chung-Hoon. Montreals commander, Capt. Paul Mountford, called the action of the Chinese ship not professional, while a senior US defense official said, Actions speak louder than words, and the dangerous behavior weve seen from the PLA around the strait, in the South and East China Seas, and beyond really says it all. In a statement later Sunday, a spokesperson for the PLAs Eastern Theater Command said Chinese forces handled the situation based on laws and regulations. Relevant countries are deliberately stirring up trouble and risks in the Taiwan Strait, maliciously undermining regional peace and stability and sending wrong signals to the Taiwan independence forces, PLA Senior Colonel Shi Yi said. The incident is the second time in two weeks that Chinese military personnel have engaged in aggressive maneuvers in the vicinity of US military personnel near Chinas border. A Chinese fighter jet conducted an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver during an intercept of a US spy plane in international airspace over the South China Sea last week, the US military said in a statement released on Tuesday. Austin on Sunday called on Beijing to do the right things to rein in conduct of its forces after the recent incidents. Saturdays incident between the US and Chinese destroyers was extremely dangerous, he said, adding, I think accidents can happen that could cause things to spiral out of control. Later Taiwan said it was Beijing, not Washington, that was the provocateur in the strait, with Taipeis Defense Ministry calling on the Chinese Communist Party to respect the freedom of navigation and avoid overly provocative behavior, so as to jointly preserve regional peace, stability and safety. Completely wrong Shortly after Austin spoke on Saturday, Peoples Liberation Army Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV that the US defense chiefs comments on Taiwan were completely wrong. Chinas ruling Communist Party claims Taiwan as part of its territory, despite never having controlled it, and its increasingly frequent military exercises near to and around the island have raised concerns about how far it will go to realize that claim. Chinas leader Xi Jinping has pointedly not ruled out the use of force. Jing accused Washington of trying to consolidate hegemony and provoke confrontation, adding that US actions were damaging regional peace and stability. The comments from the Chinese and US defense chiefs come at a tense time for relations between the two countries, as China recently rejected an offer from Austin to meet at the summit in Singapore, citing US sanctions on Chinese officials and companies. Austin noted in his speech on Saturday that he and Li greeted each other with a smile at a banquet Friday night, but called on Beijing to do more, saying a cordial handshake over dinner is no substitute for actual talks. US and Chinese defense chiefs are not expected to meet this year a mark of the depth of the fracture in relations between the two countries. Austin on Thursday said it was unfortunate China declined a US offer to meet at the conference and warned the ongoing lack of communication could result in an incident that could very, very quickly spiral out of control. In his Saturday morning speech, Austin criticized China for for its alarming number of risky intercepts of US and allied aircraft in international airspace, adding that the US would support allies and partners against coercion and bullying. This story was first published on CNN.com. China accuses US of provocation after near collision of warships 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. 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. With such ancient stories, its a little hard to separate fact from legend. But this story was related by the second-century geographer Pausanias, and if you cant believe Pausanias, well, thats reasonable. 3 Europeans Hunted Australian Natives for Two Years in Search of a Kidnapped Figurehead In the 1840s, rumors spread that natives far in the south of Australia were holding a European woman captive. Exactly who she was or where shed come from, well, the stories werent clear on that. Some said that shed been on a ship that had crashed upon the shore, and yet even those who knew the name of the ship, and could list some people on it, werent able to identify the woman. Advertisement One expedition that went out in search of her left messages addressing her as white woman. These messages, written on handkerchiefs, also double as aggressive targeted ads for a dating service: Stories about the woman contradicted each other. Thered be some account of a camp discovered with the womans underwear, another of a womans body next to a dead child. One boy gave a detailed story of a woman whod come from a ship, a woman that the chief Bunjaleena had forcibly stripped and forced to bear a whole litter of children for him. It gave the men all the motivation they needed to keep searching, and to kill anyone who failed to give them answers. Finally, the men caught up with Bunjaleena and his tribe. They found the hostage these people had been holding on to. It was a figurehead. Not a leader whos merely a symbol we mean a literal figurehead. It was the statue of a woman from the prow of a ship that had crashed onto the coast. Naturally, some reports continued to say, Well, but still. There may have been some truth to the rumors after all, so good on these men for pursuing justice. Alrighty then! While not everything about Jim Carreys star-making, iconic comedy has aged well (you know what we mean), those parts that have are still comedic gold. So its time for some behind-the-scenes facts about everyones favorite pet detective, Ace Ventura. Weve got some good ones here, too. Or more appropriately, were certainly not talking out of our asses. Click right here to get the best of Cracked sent to your inbox. 15 Jim Carrey Wasnt the First (Or Third) Choice The first person approached to play the role of Ace Ventura was Rick Moranis, but he turned it down. Judd Nelson, Alan Rickman, David Alan Grier and Whoopi Goldberg were all considered for the star turn before Morgan Creek Productions went with Carrey, thanks to his work on In Living Color. 14 Carrey Went Method Animal Carrey has said that the performance of Ace Ventura particularly his walk was inspired by a bird. More specifically, a smart bird at the edge of a pond. Play 13 Aces License to Kill An earlier version of the script had Ace accidentally decapitate two goons toward the end of the movie. 12 It Nearly Had Dumb and Dumbers Cast The original choice for Courteney Coxs role was Lauren Holly. She turned down the part, but shed end up playing the love interest for Carrey in Dumb and Dumber. Also, in matters of the heart (and IRL), Carrey and Holly later got married in 1996, only to divorce a year later. Advertisement Advertisement 11 The Animal Pack Many of the animals in the Ace Ventura films have had on-screen success beyond animal-related crime stories. A giraffe from the first film was in a Toys R Us commercial. Aces sidekick Spike was played by a capuchin monkey named Binx, who also appeared with Carrey in Bruce Almighty. Poncho the Parrot appeared in Dr. Dolittle and would say Carreys iconic Alrighty then line for years after filming Ace Ventura. 10 The Ass-piration for Butt Talking The gag of Ace talking out of his ass was born out of a disagreement with Keenen Ivory Wayans on In Living Color. When Wayans told Carrey he didnt think a sketch worked, Carrey spun around, grabbed his ass cheeks and delivered the lines from his anus. Play Advertisement Advertisement 9 Critics Hated It Unsurprisingly, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective wasnt received well by critics, as many lambasted Carreys over-the-top performance. Roger Ebert wrote, Carrey plays Ace as if hes being clocked on an Energy-O-Meter, and paid by the calories expended, while The New York Times Stephen Holden added, The movie has the metabolism, logic and attention span of a peevish 6-year-old. 8 Even Carrey Hated the Sequel Carrey reportedly had several issues with the sequel, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, including its offensive depiction of native Africans. He also thought Aces fear of bats was a cheap storytelling device. He has since admitted that he regrets making it. Advertisement Advertisement 7 No One Wanted to Direct the Sequel Either Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls had a tough time finding a director. The first films director, Tom Shadyac, declined to return, and the Farrelly Brothers declined as well. Spike Jonze was interested, but Carrey said no to the yet-to-be-tested director. Eventually, Tom DeCerchio was hired and then fired for clashing with Carrey. Finally, Carreys friend and co-writer of When Nature Calls, Steve Oedekerk, directed the film. 6 Beef With Giant Poultry Carrey rode an ostrich in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and was thrown off during filming. In an interview, Carrey compared it to riding a Thanksgiving turkey. Play Advertisement Advertisement 5 The Two Aces In the short-lived Ace Ventura: Pet Detective cartoon series, Ace was played by voice actor Michael Daingerfield. Daingerfield was such a good match for Carrey that when Carrey was unavailable to provide some automated dialogue replacement for Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, they hired Daingerfield to do it instead. 4 Into the Carrey-verse The 1995 cartoon series lasted 41 episodes and concluded with a crossover event that saw Ace Ventura meet Stanley Ipkiss, Carreys protagonist from The Mask. Carreys breakout year was 1994 when he starred in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask and Dumb and Dumber. The next year, all three made-for-adult movies were adapted into kids cartoon shows ranging from alrighty to aw, hell nah. Play Advertisement Advertisement 3 Ace: The Next Generation In 2009, Cartoon Network debuted the live-action sequel Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective, where the son of Ace is now a pet detective. Ace Ventura Jr. was played by Josh Flitter, who previously played a bully who harassed Carreys character in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. However, the less said about Ace Ventura Jr., the better. Play 2 If At First You Dont Succeed Despite the ill-advised nature of Ace Ventura Jr., as recently as 2021, X-Men star Evan Peters has been rumored to play Aces son in a sequel to the original two Ace Ventura films, which would see Carreys Ace return to pass on the mantle to his son. No, please, just no. Advertisement Advertisement Since the days of Sir Tony Blair, the Labour Party has managed to persuade an astonishing number of people that it has abandoned its old, fierce desire to level the country down rather than up. It was certainly happy to make friends with super-rich donors and unworried about the very wealthy. Lord Mandelson famously proclaimed in 1998 that he was 'intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich as long as they pay their taxes'. But Labour has never accepted the idea that a hard-working, hard-saving middle class is a good thing. It continues to mistrust the idea that people should be free to better themselves by their own efforts, let alone that they should then be able to pass on some of their hard-earned advantages to their children through education or inheritance. But Labour has never accepted the idea that a hard-working, hard-saving middle class is a good thing Now The Mail on Sunday reveals deep-laid plans by Labour's high command to attack the striving classes. If it becomes the next government, it aims to deprive them of public services they have paid for in taxes on hard-earned income. It hopes to redistribute those services to its own supporters. In better-off areas, this could mean fewer bin collections, library closures, slower road repairs and higher council tax to pay for worse provision. This is not just a crude electoral bribe to Labour's presumed electoral base. It is nothing less than a class war on a key part of the population. Behind the smiley, pseudo-Tory slogans about education reform or being 'tough on crime' which never actually resulted in anything the Labour movement's heart remains as red and egalitarian as ever. In fact, just before Labour was ejected from office in 2010, it passed into law an extraordinary clause. If it becomes the next government, it aims to deprive them of public services they have paid for in taxes on hard-earned income. It hopes to redistribute those services to its own supporters READ MORE: Labour's CLASS WAR on middle Britain: Secret plan by Starmer to hit the well-off Advertisement The opening paragraph of the still-controversial Equality Act obliged government bodies 'when making decisions of a strategic nature about how to exercise its functions' to 'have due regard to the desirability of exercising them in a way that is designed to reduce the inequalities of outcome which result from socio-economic disadvantage'. Such talk is revolutionary, the sort of thing which used to apply in actual Communist countries. Most civilised people have long accepted that a free society must aim for equality of opportunity, a ladder that all can climb if they have the talent or energy to do so. But equality of outcome is a very different aim, in which the State seeks to limit success and redistribute its prizes. The notorious clause, never implemented because Gordon Brown lost the General Election soon after, was ecstatically welcomed by radical Leftists. The Guardian's Polly Toynbee rejoiced: 'This new duty to narrow the gap would permeate every aspect of government policy.' She judged correctly that 'its possible ramifications are mind-bogglingly immense'. A Cabinet Minister of the time (and it could have been so many of them) told Ms Toynbee it was 'socialism in one clause'. These passions within New Labour have not gone away. Many people thought that Jeremy Corbyn's ousting from the Labour Party meant the final defeat of its Left. In fact it was a battle in a war between the old-fashioned openly revolutionary Left, represented by the Corbynites, and the new, smooth, camouflaged Left which revolutionised much of the country between 1997 and 2010. As Peter Hyman, once Blair's chief speechwriter and strategist, said openly in 2015, Blairism was 'infinitely more revolutionary' than Corbyn. New Labour sought to 'lock out' the Tories from power. The scale of the ambition was 'breathtaking'. So it remains. The next Election will offer the British people a profound choice. The Tories have a duty to the country to win it, and must make every effort to do so. We have all been warned of what will happen if they fail. This may be farewell, old friend. I refer to my 15-year-old Lexus RX petrol hybrid. It has over 123,000 miles on the clock, but I still enjoy the way it unfailingly starts in all conditions and the silent, vibration-free comfort of every journey. Or at least I did until ten days ago, when I turned on the engine and it made a noise like a tractor. I turned it off and started it again. Same monstrous roar. This was in the car park of Stonegate station in East Sussex about a quarter of an hour's drive from our home. Rather longer, on this occasion, as it struggled to get up the hills en route, the engine's noise becoming deafening. At times, I thought it wouldn't make it. My guess was that something terrible had happened to the exhaust though I couldn't think how that could have been the case, when it had driven perfectly on the way to the station two days earlier, and been parked there since then. The truth was revealed as soon as our wonderful local garage mechanic, Matt, came round. He emerged from under the car and said: 'It's what I thought. Your catalytic converter has been stolen, and they've torn through the exhaust to remove it.' The catalytic converter of Dominic Lawson's Lexus RX petrol hybrid was stolen and the thieves tore through the exhausts to remove it (File image) Gangsters Add me to the spiralling statistic of car owners facing what could be thousands of pounds in costs, and possibly the write-off of their vehicle, as a result of the gangs who have been stealing catalytic converters in every part of the country and with very little chance of being caught, let alone prosecuted. The reason for all these thefts is the precious metals in the catalytic converters. The platinum, palladium and rhodium inside them are key to their ability to limit the emissions of noxious elements from the exhaust. But these precious metals are, well, precious: and they can be sold for use in various other ways. The most valuable of all, rhodium, can go for thousands of pounds an ounce. As I have now learned, my car would have been top on the hit list for these gangsters. According to the motoring website Parkers: 'The UK's most targeted models are petrol hybrid cars, particularly Toyota and Lexus.' Apparently, the rhodium, palladium and platinum inside their catalytic converters 'are usually preserved a lot better than on other types of vehicles'. Matt said he thought the cost of repairing the car and getting the new parts would be at least 2,000 which is probably not much less than the vehicle's trade-in value. When my wife rang the insurance company, they suggested that we would lose our no-claims bonus if she asked them to cover the costs on the grounds that 'we don't have someone to claim against'. Well, no, the gangsters weren't going to give us their details. But after my wife protested (forcibly), the insurance company relented: we would keep our no-claims bonus. The theft took place in a railway station car park that was 'festooned' with CCTV cameras. File photo But our main concern was to get the police on the case. Apart from our own loss, it seemed more than likely that other cars had been vandalised in the same way, at the same time, and at the same place. The chap sent from the insurance company to pick up our vehicle said he had recently been involved in a case where 16 cars had had their catalytic converters stolen all in the same incident in a supermarket car park (which is extraordinary, given that would probably have been in broad daylight). So I phoned Sussex Police, giving them all the details, and added that I would be getting in touch with the people responsible for the station car park, to get them to look through CCTV footage (the place is festooned with these cameras). The policewoman answering my call was charming but, on this point, dismissive, in a world-weary way: 'They probably won't agree to go through days of film.' Well, I said, we're still going to ask them. It turned out we could not do this directly, but the request had to come via our insurance company, to Southeastern Railway Customer Services. That, I hope, is what will now happen. Busy In one respect, the police have been very swift to act. Barely a week after I reported the incident, I received a letter from Chief Superintendent Jo Banks of Sussex Police. Its second paragraph read: 'Having carefully considered the available information, we are unfortunately unable to investigate further on this occasion. This now means that your report is considered closed.' The letter went on to inform me that 'people who have been victims of crime sometimes find it helpful to have support dealing with their experience. On the reverse of this letter you will find advice that you may find helpful'. Barely a week after I reported the incident, Dominic Lawson received a letter from Chief Superintendent Jo Banks of Sussex Police which said it had 'closed' the case This was, of course, a bog-standard pro forma letter, which only appeared to be personal to me and this incident. I don't believe for a minute that Sussex Police had 'carefully considered' the information I gave them, or that there was the slightest possibility they would have pursued the matter. My interpretation of the real meaning of 'we are unfortunately unable to investigate further on this occasion' is: 'We don't accord any priority to incidents like this; frankly, we're too busy with other stuff to spend any time worrying about the gang who did this to your car.' To be fair, the letter appearing to come from Superintendent Banks did say: 'Your report has been officially recorded and will remain as a permanent record which we can reopen if new information or evidence comes to light.' Which, in theory, would include any CCTV footage which may emerge if Southeastern Railway Customer Services, contrary to the resigned view of the person who spoke to me from Sussex Police, actually take the trouble to go through it. But what are the chances? This is not a particular criticism of my local police. Six months ago, following Freedom of Information requests to police forces by the Liberal Democrat party, it emerged that, of the more than 50,000 thefts of catalytic converters reported between 2017 and 2021, fewer than 550 of these incidents resulted in anyone being charged a rate of just 1 per cent. Some of the biggest forces, such as West Midlands and Greater Manchester, did not even bother to respond fully to the Freedom of Information request; but of those that did, there were a number who recorded no charges at all (including Hertfordshire and South Yorkshire). Insult I am not arguing that things are getting much worse, in terms of police dealing with thefts. It has been terrible for a long time. When I called my sister Nigella to moan about this, she replied: 'You sound like John.' She was referring to her late husband, John Diamond, who in 1993 had his beloved vintage Harley Davidson stolen from outside their London home, the villains having cut through a wrought iron railing to remove his pride and joy. Nigella Lawson with her late husband John Diamond, who in 1993 had his beloved vintage Harley Davidson stolen John had an eyewitness account of the theft (from a neighbour) and also gave the name of 'the owner of a dodgy bike shop in South London who knew I owned the bike, knew where I lived, and who had, I knew, associates in those countries to which stolen Harleys are usually shipped'. John got the usual 'case closed' letter, saying the crime had been 'investigated'. But he then established that the police had not spoken to the eyewitness and had made no attempt even to contact the 'dodgy bike shop' whose details he had given them. As John wrote at the time: 'To be told that the case had been investigated, which was a patent lie, added insult to injury'. My own case has none of my late brother-in-law's pathos. With any luck I will get my trusty old car back, repaired. But, to judge by the lack of any challenge from the police to the lucrative business model of the catalytic converter-stealing gangs, I'd be a fool ever to leave it overnight again at the railway station. A family-of-eight have revealed how they have saved thousands of dollars after relocating from California to Texas, saying they would never go back to their previous high-priced lives. Jennifer and Chuck Balek - who have six children between them from past marriages - revealed in a first-person piece for Insider that they were 'just so tired' of not being able to afford things on the West Coast. Rent on a 3,200ft property was coming in at $4,000 a month and gas costing $6 a gallon, the Baleks said. When Covid came, it tipped the couple over the edge as the restrictions in their county were 'tiring,' so after some initial trips to investigate different areas they settled on Rockwall, Texas. The Baleks relocated to the Lone Star State in April 2021 and managed to snag a redbrick mansion for $386,000. Jennifer and Chuck Balek - who have six children between them from past marriages - said that they were 'just so tired' of not being able to afford things on the West Coast The Baleks relocated to the Lone Star State in April 2021 and managed to snag a redbrick mansion for $386,000 Overall, the family say the cost of living is 'probably a good 15 to 20 per cent lower than in Southern California' Revealing how they went about getting a good deal on the sizeable property, Chuck said: 'It just felt like it was meant to be. 'Initially, we put in an offer of full asking price. They came back and said they had three other offers. Jennifer felt very inclined to include a little love letter, a photo of our family saying we're just a family looking for a home to raise our kids. 'That worked. They accepted our offer even though there were offers that were above us.' Along with cheaper property prices, the Baleks found gas was more reasonable. At the time they moved, gas was about $2 less in Texas compared to California. 'We were paying $2.86 when we first got here and in California, it was $5,' Chuck said. As a result of the high gas prices, Jennifer said there was a time when they were spending at least a thousand dollars a month on filling up their cars. The high living costs meant the family was never able to save enough to buy a home as they would have needed a deposit of more than $100,000 for a property big enough for eight people. Overall, the family say the cost of living is probably a good 15 to 20 per cent lower in Texas. Jennifer, who works as a client service executive for an insurance company, told DailyMail.com that they were probably saving about $1,500 to $2,000 off monthly bills. They also save $800 a year annually on car registrations for their two vehicles. Other positives of living in Texas, the Baleks say, include less traffic, good schools and the friendliness of people. Jennifer told DailyMail.com that they are probably saving about $1,500 to $2,000 off monthly bills While the couple say they have struck gold with Rockwall, there are some things about California that they miss, the biggest being a decent mix of food choices Since the Baleks made their move to Texas, several family members have followed suit, including Chuck's mother and father-in-law, and his brother and sister-in-law Jennifer mused: 'Everyone is so nice out here. Southern hospitality is definitely present. Everyone is very respectful. 'They hold the door for you. They don't cut you off for a parking spot. It's very community-based. 'It's a slower pace here. Everyone will stop and talk to you. You go to the grocery store and you strike up a conversation with literally anybody.' While the couple say they have struck gold with Rockwall, there are some things about California that they miss, the biggest being a decent mix of food choices. Both say there's lots of barbecue spots in Texas, but good Mexican food is 'hard to find' and 'everything is Tex-Mex and drowned in queso.' Chuck, who works in sales for a wood floor finish manufacturer, explained: 'Don't get me wrong - some of it can be extremely delicious, but when you've lived 41 years eating Los Angeles Mexican food, it's not the same.' Jennifer added: 'In Southern California, you're really spoiled with the number of restaurants.' Despite the lack of good Mexican joints, the Baleks say 'there's no looking back.' Chuck revealed: 'My boss asked me the other day if I would ever go back to California, and I said he could offer me a 4,000-square-foot house on the beach and $200,000 in income and I still wouldn't do it.' Since the Baleks made their move to Texas, several family members have followed suit, including Chuck's mother and father-in-law and his brother and sister-in-law. Chuck concluded: 'My best friend says I need to be a spokesman for Texas because all I do is sell people on moving to Texas. I just want people to understand that this was the best decision we could have ever made. 'I think we landed exactly where we were supposed to. Everybody adjusted really well. The kids have all thrived.' Some people love drama. But while intriguing plot lines are entertaining on the TV, they're far less enjoyable when they occur in real life. In the legacy of this week's Full Moon, the arrival of Venus in Leo (linked with mysterious Pluto) calls us to question everyday narratives. Yet, as long as we tread softly, we can avoid turning molehills into mountains. The more optimistic we feel about our individual storylines, the more we'll enjoy the twists and turns ahead. Read more horoscopes from MailOnline. ARIES (March 21 - April 20) In a week that sees both National 'Hug Your Cat' day, and 'Best Friends' day, it's perfect that supportive relationships are in your astrological outlook. As Winnie The Pooh observed: 'a day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey left inside'. So how do you fill your pot with friendship? Well... it will require some emotional effort. You don't just need to bury a recent grudge; you need to forgive everyone involved (including yourself). It's by moving on from a relationship hiccup that you'll bring the sweetness you crave into your life. What's the best way to move forward and ensure success? For your in-depth forecasts, visit www.cainer.com/daily-horoscope TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) Don't get over-excited... but your ruler, Venus, the planet of love, is moving into passionate Leo. Wow! You hardly need an astrologer to spell it out for you! But, just in case you're in any doubt, if anything can go right on the romantic front this week it will. The creative, joyful energy this transit brings will be impossible to ignore. Even life's most serious tasks will be less bothersome. And if you find yourself tempted to step outside your comfort zone, you'll find yourself expressing your feelings more easily - which will bring emotional reasons to celebrate. Enjoy! How can you stay focused and happy? Your in-depth forecasts hold the advice you need. www.cainer.com/daily-horoscope This week UK astrologer Oscar Cainer (pictured) reveals what this week's Full Moon and the arrival of Venus in Leo means for your love, romance and relationships GEMINI (May 22 - June 22) People who grow up in big families often crave time by themselves, while those who grow up as single kids always search for companionship. It's a generalisation of course. But I'm using it to demonstrate that we can all look back and wonder how different our lives would have turned out if our circumstances had been different. Yet this kind of pondering doesn't get us far. This week, as Venus moves into Leo, it adds a dimension of excitement to your world. Don't waste time thinking about how things 'could be'. Focus on what's unfolding. The potential is huge. For advice to guide you through the twists and turns ahead, see your in-depth forecasts at www.cainer.com/daily-horoscope CANCER (June 23 - July 23) 'Sometimes a change of perspective is all it takes to see the light'. Cancerian author Dan Brown knows more than most about finding hidden treasures. You might not be expecting this week to offer much in the way of thrills, yet a new, exciting chapter is waiting to be written. In the legacy of the Full Moon, with Venus, the planet of love, entering Leo, you just need to be ready to respond with a definite 'yes' to unexpected invitations and opportunities. By being spontaneous, and open to change, a relationship development will offer a delightful reward. Knowledge is power. Find out how to take full advantage of your astrological assets at www.cainer.com/daily-horoscope LEO (July 24 - August 23) Seize the day! There's no time like the present! Live in the moment! Venus, the planet of romance, is entering your sign for an unusually long stay. It brings a sensual and emotional boost to everyone, but even more so for passionate Leos. Get ready for a memorable season of love. But the magic doesn't just happen; you need to be prepared to respond when opportunities arise. This is no time to be waiting to see what the future brings. It's by being your most generous, sunny, big-hearted self that you'll find the qualities in others that you seek. You've got lots to look forward to. The inspiration you need is in your in-depth forecasts at www.cainer.com/daily-horoscope VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) You've been dealing with a series of problematic situations. It's been enough to wear down even the most hard-working Virgos. So you're going to appreciate the change of celestial energy more than most. As creative Venus moves into Leo, it's as if the sun's coming out after the rain. You'll find it easier to express your needs - and be surprised by the effect you have on other people (and the way they respond). Be bold. If you share your ideas you can be inspirational, and create a wave of positivity that transforms your world, and that of those around you. Success is about attitude and timing. Your in-depth forecasts show the way to positive change. Visit www.cainer.com/daily-horoscope LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) When you look back on some of the big decisions of your life, do you find yourself saying, 'if only I'd done that? Or 'why didn't I say yes to that offer?' Or 'I wish I could have that moment back?' Of course! Everyone does. But as a sensitive Libran, who sees both sides to every story, you're more susceptible to these kinds of doubts. This week, however, shines a light onto those misgivings. As Venus moves into Leo, you'll find that your heart and your head work in harmony. This leads to a sense of acceptance that frees you to enjoy the gifts coming your way. Curious to know more? There's always valuable news in your in-depth forecasts at www.cainer.com/daily-horoscope In the legacy of this week's Full Moon, the arrival of Venus in Leo (linked with mysterious Pluto) calls us to question everyday narratives. Stock image used SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) It's as if some people enjoy misunderstandings. They seem to deliberately grab the wrong end of the stick and revel in the confusion they create. Why, we wonder, do you know so many of these characters? Could it be because you're so intuitive that you see to the heart of issues in a flash? And that your perceptivity enables you to spot disingenuousness from a mile? This week, as Venus moves into Leo, your natural talents will be to your advantage. Sharing your insights will lead to improvements in your emotional life. Just keep doing what you do best. What does your heart desire and how can you achieve what you really want? See your in-depth forecasts at www.cainer.com/daily-horoscope SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) Fear is a useful emotion. Since humans arrived on planet Earth, it has helped protect us from wild beasts and other threats. The problem is that in our modern sabre-tiger-free world, irrational fears can be triggered by small incidents. And they easily grow out of proportion. A series of events has made you think you're in danger of losing something precious. The legacy of the Full Moon helps your find perspective. And, with Venus moving into creative Leo, this week brings reasons to want to move forward towards the more joyful future you deserve. There's no need to worry. All you need is some guidance. Your in-depth forecasts can help. www.cainer.com/daily-horoscope CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) Comedy performers come in all types. There's the witty one-liner joker, the shaggy-dog story raconteur, and the observational comedian who makes us laugh at our foibles. Friendship groups and interpersonal connections are similar. They reflect a wide range of different characteristics. If all our relationships were the same it would be no laughing matter! Different people help us through different issues. Right now, there's someone who's perfectly suited to help you through a challenge. As Venus changes signs, you can deepen an important connection. Transform your life! To move forwards in a positive direction, there's good news when you visit www.cainer.com/daily-horoscope AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) What happens to Aquarians when Venus, the planet of love, moves opposite your sign? Suddenly, you see people's charms accentuated; their hidden qualities come to light. Even difficult folk have a softer edge. They are all, of course, only reflecting virtues you possess (but sometimes have difficulty showing). The wonder, this week, is that others will see those attractive traits in you (whether you choose to display them or not). So, when you see someone wonderful don't be afraid to let them know. There's every chance they'll see the same in you. Make the most of your opportunities. Your in-depth forecast have inspiring news at www.cainer.com/daily-horoscope PISCES (February 20 - March 20) 'Tell me who you walk with, and I'll tell you who you are'. Author Esmerelda Santiago knew we become like the company we keep. To fit in with those around us, we need to share some of their values. The danger is that 'peer-group pressure' encourages us to endorse opinions or actions that don't reflect who we really are. You've been facing pressure to conform to someone's views. As Venus moves into Leo, if you find the courage to speak from your heart, you'll find surprising support. It could lead to a romantic connection that really is worth investing in. What's in the sky for you? Helpful planetary alignments! For good news, see your in-depth forecasts at www.cainer.com/daily-horoscope Jason Baca said jobs not just of models, but of art directors, photographers and designers are at risk A retired romance novel cover model has slammed the emergence of AI technology as it threatens to decimate the industry and cost thousands of jobs. Jason Baca, who racked up more than 540 covers in a lucrative decade-long career, said AI-generated art has been a 'surprise' to the raunchy book business, and it now has the potential to 'wipe it out'. 'I give it five years from now and there won't be a need for a model, an art director, a photographer or even a cover designer,' he said. His comments come as the emergence of artificial intelligence, notably ChatGPT, has threatened numerous industries, from finance and research to art and advertising. Jason Baca (pictured) appeared on more than 540 covers in a lucrative decade-long career The raunchy cover model warned that AI will threaten the entire publishing industry In the world of raunchy romance novels, the cover star can dictate how a reader connects to the book and how well it flies off the shelves. But Baca maintained that the varied behind-the-scenes roles that go into creating a tome are all at risk as well - and once publishers embrace AI-generated art, there will be 'no turning back to the traditional ways.' 'No organizing a shoot a month in advance, no setting up a makeup artist or having art directors expressing their vision to the models, there would be none of that,' he said. 'Instead, it'll be a guy working at the publishing house that knows how to use the right key words for the book he is creating a cover for.' Baca got his start as a fitness model, but he said the breaks he earned early in his career could soon be eliminated for the next generation of stars. 'The opportunities I had were abundant compared to what will happen once AI software takes hold and the word gets out,' he said. Baca warned that within five years, there 'won't be a need for a model, an art director, a photographer or even a cover designer' The model stepped away from the industry in 2019 after a decade as one of its most in-demand stars Artificial intelligence has already transformed the way many industries do business, with high-profile tech firms such as Meta introducing in their day-to-day business while simultaneously firing swathes of their workforce. But its impact on publishing is just beginning, with Baca admitting 'there were no rumblings whatsoever' on the horizon. 'Right now, it's in its infant stages,' he said. 'You may see some covers for the self-published authors out there right now, but once the bigger publishers get a hold of things, I can see it being a challenge for any cover artist and anyone in the book cover department to stay employed there.' Baca was a familiar face in the romantic book aisle for years, where he set the record for the most covers of any model at over 540, surpassing Italian heartthrob Fabio who had 462. He decided to step away from modelling in 2019, but now fears the industry he once commanded will become obsolete. The star told DailyMail.com that unless something is done to halt the expansion of AI, there will be 'no turning back to the traditional ways' Publishing house Tor was criticized for using this AI-generated cover last year Last year, publishing house Tor came under fire after it used an AI-generated image for the cover of Christopher Paolini's book Fractal Noise. Viewers quickly realized the art had been created by artificial intelligence rather than professionals, in the most high-profile case yet of a publisher turning to the tech. In a statement following the backlash, Tor apologized for the move and said it did not realize the art had been generated by AI, but decided to stick with the same design anyway. But Baca said the emergence of AI is more dangerous than many may think - and fears his entire industry is at risk of being wiped out. 'All the minds that would go into the makings of a cover, who knows what becomes of all of them?' he said. 'And yes, I do hope that AI will prove not to be a success and that the publishers will once again go back to the old-fashioned way of hiring a model, a photographer, an art director and a cover designer.' Want a good time in the bedroom? Then avoid these men at all costs, because how they make their money can dictate how skilled they are in the bedroom too.and the surprising profession that will drive you wild with desire. With a decade as a high class escort firmly tucked under my suspender belt, if anyone understands men, it's me. I hear their secrets and stories. I've seen them cry, and I've witnessed them lie. I know what they love in women, and I know what turns them off. And I know they're not perfect either. What they do for work can determine their skills in the bedroom. Last week I gave you the top five in bed, here are the five to avoid. Disclaimer: Don't shoot the messenger. This is firmly tongue in cheek. Samantha X has revealed the worst performers in the bedroom - including the one profession most likely to be more obsessed with themselves 1) Celebrities I sat back in shock as a multi-millionaire Hollywood celebrity try to negotiate my fee, and another movie star spent hours quoted lines to his films while I was trying to sleep. But the general rule is: usually the bigger the name, the more experienced they are. It's the D listers you want to be careful of; especially reality stars and TV hosts. Unfortunately, the biggest package they bring to their bedroom is their ego. Make sure there is a mirror nearby so he can make bedroom eyes at his own reflection. He is great with his fingers; it's all that practice scrolling through his own Instagram account, and as for sweet nothings in your ear? 'You're so lucky,' and 'Don't you know who I am?' will be the whispers you hear. 2) Entrepreneurs When a man tells you he is an entrepreneur, what he is really saying is 'no one else will work with me.' He has grand ideas in the bedroom, which usually amount to nothing, and there is nothing worse than meanness: don't expect to be wined and dined; this man will not only expect you to pay but ask to borrow large sums of money for his latest big idea. One thing he's good at: disappearing. Samantha X rates tradies but says entrepreneurs will leave you disappointed (stock images) 3) Psychiatrists If it's complex mind games you like, the psychiatrist is your man. He will have you second guessing yourself and convincing yourself you're mad before he's taken his clothes off (which he will fold neatly and very slowly). He will try to always exert control over you and will spend hours trying to trick you into believing you're the crazy one, just like all his exes. Great for fantasy; the bizarre statements he comes out with will blow your mind. Freud would have a field day. Poll Which men are worst in bed? Tradies Entrepreneurs Salesmen Psychiatrists Celebrities Stockbrokers Which men are worst in bed? Tradies 213 votes Entrepreneurs 119 votes Salesmen 257 votes Psychiatrists 180 votes Celebrities 466 votes Stockbrokers 215 votes Now share your opinion 4) Salesmen Never trust a man who keeps calling you by your name in every sentence. It's not only a sales trick into creating faux intimacy, but because he trying to remember who you are. Their phones are always off, and they disappear 'to see a man about a dog' from lunch time onwards, especially when his commission comes in. He will promise you the earth, but you won't see him for dust. 5) Stockbrokers I said when God created psychopaths, he created lawyers. When he created stockbrokers, he created ego. They're usually well dressed, but badly behaved. They move in packs, usually around city bars, and while they're generous with buying the drinks, (what better way to flaunt their bonus) their eye is always on the next best thing. Samantha X - a former $1500 an hour call girl - revealed a man's job can dictate what kind of lover he is, and listed her least favourite professions Samantha X ranks good and bad lovers by their professions: Good Lawyers Doctors Accountants Academics Tradies Cops Bad Real estate agents Psychiatrists Salesmen Entrepreneurs Celebrities Stockbrokers Advertisement You will get a good time, not a long time. And they never come home at night. And the surprising profession that will drive you wild? Tradies. Tradies love women mainly because they spend day in, day out with men. They're good with their hands (just make sure they wash them first), have an impressive tool kit, and usually fit and strong. They're independent ie they can make their own lunch and usually family men. Despite driving like maniacs, they take their time in the bedroom. His early morning starts mean he's home with you in the afternoon. He's at his best before his first beer. The Grand Ducal family of Luxembourg got together yesterday to celebrate the baptism of Prince Francois. Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and his wife Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie celebrated their little one's special occasion in the presence of their loved ones and friends at Fischbach Church. In pictures shared by the Grand Ducal court on Instagram, the tiny Prince, who was born on March 27, was the picture of cuteness as he rested gently in his mother's arms during the ceremony - and appeared sound asleep at points. His big brother, Prince Charles, who just turned three, put on a very cheeky display, waving at the photographs as he arrived hand-in-hand with his dad at the church. Doting grandparents, Grande Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa were also in attendance, as was the recently married Princess Alexandra, who will be the sweet prince's godmother. Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and his wife Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie had their son, Prince Francois, baptised in the presence of their loved ones and friends at Fischbach Church yesterday In pictures shared by the Grand Ducal court on Instagram , the tiny Prince, who was born on March 27, was the picture of cuteness as he rested gently in his mother's arms during the ceremony Mother-of-two Stephanie donned an elegant pale pink dress for the baptism, and held her baby son in her arms throughout the ceremony. Prince Francois's father, Guillaume, could be seen smiling widely next to his wife, with their firstborn, Prince Charles, not straying too far from his parents. The cheeky prince, who put on an animated display as he arrived at the event, wore adorable culottes with a navy jacket and white shirt. Pictures shared on social media captured both sides of the family in front of the church after the sweet event. The Instagram announced revealed that the event was attended both by the Grand Ducal family, as well as Stephanie's family, the de Lannoy. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, Luxembourg's archbishop, presided over the ceremony. It was also revealed that newlywed Princess Alexandra will be Prince Francois' godmother. Doting grandparents, Grande Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa were also in attendance The princess, 31, put on a stylish display in a short form-hugging navy dress with a floral detail. Her husband, Nicolas Bagory, 33, also attended the event. Meanwhile Stephanie's brother, Christian de Lannoy, will be Francois godfather. In early May, the grand ducal family shared adorable pictures of Prince Charles as he celebrated his third birthday. Snaps shared to Instagram at the time showed the youngster tucking into his birthday cake and feeding bits to his parents. Mother-of-two Stephanie donned an elegant pale pink dress for the baptism, and held her baby son in her arms throughout the ceremony Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, Luxembourg's archbishop, presided over the ceremony a nd poured the holy water onto the child's forehead The parents, who both looked very elegant, were beaming as they exited the church with their young son Recently married Princess Alexandra will be the sweet prince's godmother and wore a floral dress for the event One particularly delightful snap showed Stephanie cradling Prince Francois, nestled into a white cloth, while gazing lovingly into the eyes of Prince Charles, who was holding a biscuits as his father Guillaume carried him on his shoulders. They took a more traditional approach for another snap, with both parents sat down and Prince Charles sat on his father's lap while Prince Francois could be seen sleeping in his mother's arms. There were also several individual shots of Prince Charles to mark his birthday. For the occasion, Charles was dressed in a wool jumper with jacquard detailing, a small shirt with a round collar and pair of blue jeans. The grand Ducal family all posed together to mark the special occasion. Princess Alexandra, left, attended with her husband Nicolas, second left Stephanie's family, the de Lannoy, also attended the event and put on a very stylish display for the occasion Cheeky Prince Charles, who just turned three, waved at the cameras as his father guided him inside Members of the family and loved ones donned colourful outfits to little Francois's baptism yesterday The couple's extended families all came together for a family picture, with the children posing front and centre The adorable royal showed of his small teeth as he smiled gleefully to the camera on his big day. In another series of snaps, the young royal proved he had quite the sweet tooth as he was pictured tucking into his royal cake - a fruity strawberry extravaganza - with this parents. And if the spec of cream on the corner of his mouth is any indication, the royal found his birthday cake quite tasty. One snap revealed that Charles shared the treat with his parents, even feeding his dad Guillaume bits of cake. esearch shows that individuals are at significantly increased risk of violence if they are cared for on a mixed ward Breaches of the rule barring men and women from being treated on the same ward in NHS facilities have more than trebled since the pandemic. In the six months to March (the most recent figures available) there were a staggering 25,000 breaches of the rules. I and many readers have strong feelings about this. Its important to note that this isnt related to trans people on wards. Annex B of the guidelines allows trans people to be admitted to the ward of their preferred gender, and while this has caused some controversy, its not considered a breach when it happens. No, the data is solely related to actual breaches of the rules, when people are admitted to wards expressly intended for the opposite sex. Breaches of the rule barring men and women from being treated on the same ward in NHS facilities have more than trebled since the pandemic The horror of mixed-sex wards became clear to me when working in a very busy hospital that had adopted mixed-sex wards to relieve pressure on beds. I had been called because a nurse had heard a commotion in one of the bays and, when they investigated, had found a woman lying on the floor, and a strange man asleep, oblivious, in her bed. The story that unfolded made me convinced that mixed-sex wards were not just an indignity but a serious safety issue. A confused man in his late 60s had got up to use the lavatory and, when he returned, got into bed with the woman opposite. She was nearly 90 and, at under 5 ft and crippled with osteoporosis, was dwarfed by his nearly 6 ft frame. She had woken and screamed, at which point he lifted her up and threw her out of bed. We werent quite sure how it had happened, but she was so slight and he had clearly used such force that in the fracas as she fell to the floor she had got her arm stuck in the rail on the side of the bed and dislocated her shoulder. She had also fractured her hip and pelvis. She had operations to repair the damage, but was left unable to walk again. Although this happened more than ten years ago while I was a junior doctor, the truly shocking thing is that, as the data shows, the situation has barely improved and may even be worse. Dr Max Pemberton has strong feelings about the breaches, which put very vulnerable people in dangerous situations This is an extreme, horrendous example of how things can go wrong on a mixed-sex ward. Yet it is far from an isolated incident. Research shows that individuals are at significantly increased risk of violence if they are cared for on a mixed ward. In 2009, Channel 4 discovered that almost two-thirds of sexual assaults by patients occurred in mixed-sex wards. The Health Service Journal reported last year that at least 1,019 sexual assaults were reported by female (and male) patients on mixed-sex mental health wards between April 2017 and October 2019. Its not just the increased risk to physical safety thats important. Mixed-sex wards are dehumanising and degrading. The Mail has rightly long campaigned against them because many, many people find it embarrassing and undignified being cared for in this sort of environment. This is especially relevant for the older generation and is a particular problem for those who are bed-bound or have impaired mobility because they are unable even to use a bathroom for privacy. Being unwell is unpleasant enough theres no need for us to make it unbearable. I remember one patient telling me how upsetting she found being on a mixed-sex ward. It is difficult here, doctor, she said apologetically. The only man who has ever seen me naked is my husband. Research shows that individuals are at significantly increased risk of violence if they are cared for on a mixed ward It should have been the hospital who were apologising to her. Its not only the elderly who are affected. While some of the younger generation claim to be gender-fluid, its surprising how suddenly young men and women want to be kept apart when they are unwell. We all know the discomfort of those awful hospital gowns that flap open at the back without the added humiliation of flashing the man in the bed opposite. The fact is, despite all the promises from politicians, little has been done to change the daily indignity of mixed-sex wards. Tony Blair called for an end to mixed-sex wards when in Opposition in 1996 and the pledge to do so was made in 1997, 2001 and again in 2006. Action did not follow. The coalition government finally introduced rules that meant from April 2011 all NHS hospitals were expected to treat patients in single-sex areas. There were a few exceptions to this, such as Accident & Emergency departments and intensive care, but, otherwise, hospitals had to comply. No excuses, we were told, will be accepted and hospitals will be forced to record any breach and show how they intend to deal with the problem. So what has happened since? Weve had more than a decade to sort out the problem and yet still we are having thousands of breaches a month. What needs to be understood is that mixed-sex wards are a symptom of a larger problem affecting the NHS. The problem is that bed numbers keep being cut in a bid to be more efficient. When hospitals have to operate a one-in one-out policy, there are bound to be difficulties in allocating patients to beds on the basis of their sex. Rishi Sunak has announced a ban on firms that give children colourful free vape samples. I was astonished that this even happened. Handing children something that is highly addictive is one of the most morally bankrupt things Ive ever heard. Did the people behind this ever stop to question what they were doing? Gemma is right to speak out Gemma Collins, well-known for taking part in Dancing On Ice, talked openly about how urinary incontinence has taken a toll on her self-esteem Gemma Collins has bravely discussed the impact of urinary incontinence on her self-esteem. The Dancing On Ice star told the Mails Good Health section last week: Suddenly, it was like my waters had broken; perhaps I was having a baby . . . but at the time it wasnt funny. It made me feel dirty. Im a very hygienic person anyway, but no adult likes wetting themselves. Incontinence affects many people, but few ever talk about it publicly. The effects can be devastating. Many just stop leaving their houses. Pads can help, but there is often a concern that they wont catch everything or will have an odour. They are also expensive and the NHS provides a limited number; an elderly friend was told she was using too many and needed to wet yourself less. Only now is she due to see a surgeon but has been waiting for six months. Its easy to dismiss incontinence as just an inconvenience but it can have a profound impact on your mental health. It must be taken seriously. Dr Max prescribes... In Cancer: The Key To Getting The Best Care, cancer specialist Professor Karol Sikora gives advice on how to get the best treatment Gurus GUIDE to cancer A cancer diagnosis is hugely stressful. And often its made worse by the confusing NHS system. Knowing how to navigate it can make all the difference. In his book, Cancer: The Key To Getting The Best Care, cancer specialist Professor Karol Sikora gives advice on how to get the best treatment. Its a shame its needed, but as we have an imperfect system, ensure you know how to work it. There have been tremendous efforts by specialist maternity and perinatal psychiatry teams to help vulnerable mothers. But key is a good relationship between the woman and her midwife Almost one in four mothers claim that poor NHS care left them or their baby in danger, according to a poll on Mumsnet. This fear and anxiety will affect their mental health. A lack of resources and not enough midwives means they dont feel supported during pregnancy and the birth. Yet we know that the biggest cause of death in new mothers is suicide. There have been tremendous efforts by specialist maternity and perinatal psychiatry teams to help vulnerable mothers. But key is a good relationship between the woman and her midwife. But how can this be when maternity units are closed or there arent enough midwives to go round? These issues must be addressed, and fast. Paul OLeary and Helen Parker's deVOL Kitchens rose to fame on US show For The Love Of Kitchens The first time kitchen designers Paul OLeary, 59, and Helen Parker, 58, were recognised in New York, it felt surreal. Accosted in a bar in Manhattan by an American fan and asked if they would mind posing for a selfie, the couple from the East Midlands said a polite but very bemused, yes. Nowadays, its totally normal for them to be mobbed on their frequent trips to New York while in the UK almost nobody knows who they are. Their sudden fame is thanks to OLeary and Parkers appearance on the Emmy-nominated reality show For The Love Of Kitchens, originally broadcast on U.S. DIY channel Magnolia Network but since picked up by HBO and Discovery+ (where you can now watch it in the UK). Since it first aired in August 2021, the couple at the helm of deVOL Kitchens based in less-than-starry Loughborough, Leicestershire have become huge celebrities in America, where everyone wants one of their bespoke, handmade refits. Paul OLeary, 59, and Helen Parker, 58, the couple at the helm of deVOL Kitchens based in less-than-starry Loughborough, Leicestershire have become huge celebrities in America Revered for its nostalgic design style, the company is spearheading a trend for kitchens with pared-back Georgian cabinetry, aged taps and tall, double-door larders which hark back to the grand, below-stairs cooking spaces in sprawling country estates. Such is the power of reality TV in the U.S. that turnover has more than doubled since the show first aired: from 16 million in 2020, to a predicted 35 million this year. DeVOL now boasts the biggest following for a furniture maker on Instagram, with 720,000 followers. Loads of Americans come to our London showroom as a special part of their trip, says deVOL creative director Parker. While back in sleepy Loughborough nobody recognises us and most of our friends havent even bothered to watch the show. My sister and her husband found it hilarious when I was recognised in a restaurant in Belsize Park, North London, and couldnt stop laughing about it. It all started when they opened a showroom in Manhattan, New York in April 2019, which very quickly attracted Americans who wanted an English kitchen. There is something rather Downton Abbey about deVOLs open shelves, muted colours, turned legs on tables and islands, and vintage- inspired kitchenware. Company founder OLeary, however, points out that its an aesthetic the Americans have long loved. We are just making kitchens like they made 150 years ago, like the Shaker kitchen in New England. DeVOL Kitchens is leading a trend for kitchens with pared-back Georgian cabinetry, aged taps and tall, double-door larders which hark back to the grand, below-stairs cooking spaces in sprawling country estates Paul is inspired by the belief that everyone loves kitchens that remind them of their own childhood I wish everyone would stop trying to redesign kitchens and make them more modern, he adds, because its quite clear what everyone loves. They love kitchens that remind them of their childhood. The Manhattan showroom was a huge financial commitment for what was then a very small outfit. To refurb the space cost around 1 million about four times what they had originally thought and took a gruelling seven months. It was scary foolhardy even, says OLeary. Once wed signed a 15-year lease, we had to be confident that it would pay off. The night before the grand opening, they received an unexpected request for a private tour. Two people called Chip and Joanna Gaines apparently wanted a personal preview. We had no idea who they were and wanted to conserve our energy for the opening, says Parker. But then we found out they had ten million followers on Instagram and thought wed better do it! It turned out that Chip and Joanna, from Waco, Texas, were DIY TV VIPs, having built up a fan base and an empire worth more than 40 million, on the back of their popular American TV programme Fixer Upper. They rocked up in a big black sedan, wearing cowboy hats and boots, with a baby and an entourage in tow, says Helen. But they were very down to earth. By the end of the tour, theyd asked Paul if hed do a ten-minute slot on telly. There is something rather Downton Abbey about deVOLs open shelves, muted colours, turned legs on tables and islands, and vintage- inspired kitchenware So successful was it, a series soon followed. For The Love Of Kitchens, starring Paul, Helen and their creative team, is now in its second season. The show follows the design duo as they magic up unique kitchens for their stylish customers in the UK, who sometimes pay eye-watering sums. The average price of a deVOL kitchen is 20,000 but some projects involving several rooms clients might want a boot room or even a present-wrapping room can reach six figures. As well as unpicking the design process, the show follows the personable designers on finding trips to antique markets and inspirational visits to country houses. Its Britain scrubbed up and wearing its Sunday best, with the same nostalgic attraction as a period costume drama or a show such as The Great British Bake Off, which has proved catnip for Americans. A couple for 14 years now, each with two children from first marriages, Parker and OLeary swear they havent been changed by their new-found celebrity status. In fact, OLeary is positively bullish about his unkempt look, which is something of a trademark. I have a phobia about hairdressers, he laughs. Im a designer, not a celeb! Hes quick to point out that he comes from lowly beginnings. After graduating in product design from Loughborough University, he says he failed at lots of things, including restoring classic cars, before eventually paint-stripping doors for cash. Paul and Helen have been a couple for 14 years now, each with two children from first marriages. They swear they havent been changed by their new-found celebrity status Helen was recruited by OLeary 19 years ago when she was working in a deli in Loughborough, where he used to get his lunch It took three years for him and business partner Phillip DeVries to save up enough money to buy a second-hand circular saw to start making and restoring furniture. In 1989 they set up deVOL (a combination of their two names which happens to spell LOVED backwards). People were into free-standing kitchens in the 1990s and wed find old furniture and remake it to hold sinks and cupboards, he says. The factory complex in Loughborough, where all deVOL products are handmade, houses a carpentry workshop, metal foundry, ceramics studio and antiques repository, employing more than 350 people and 100 design graduates. Pauls great talent is spotting good people and persuading them to work with him, says Helen. She was herself recruited by OLeary 19 years ago when she was working in a deli in Loughborough, where he used to get his lunch. I was about to hit 40 and a single mother of two. Paul jumped in my car and asked me if Id come and work for him selling kitchens. I thought he was crazy. A few years later, the pair had become a couple and by 2011, Helen was responsible for deVOLs now much-imitated style. If Paul hadnt taken a chance on me, I could have had a completely different life, she says. In a cost-of-living crisis, a deVOL refit might seem out of reach to most people. But Paul insists there are cheaper ways of doing it. A big budget isn't necessary to create the deVOL sentiment, according to Paul. He advises not buying everything from a kitchen company, just choosing some key pieces The pair advise sourcing reclaimed furniture to complement statement pieces bought from a kitchen company You dont need a big budget to create the deVOL sentiment. Dont buy everything from a kitchen company. Just go for some key pieces and dont go for cheap imitations. Helens kitchen is a perfect example, he says: She has a run of four cupboards made by deVOL housing a sink, dishwasher and double bin. 'All the other furniture in the kitchen is reclaimed, including an antique pine cupboard used as a pantry, a glass-fronted cupboard for crockery and a painted prep table. They were all picked up for a few grand at antiques fairs. The rules for sourcing reclaimed furniture are simple, says Helen. Just check whether the furniture is solid, functional and the right size and style for your space. So whats next for the design duo? Weve been renovating an old Airstream caravan and would like to travel around the Mediterranean searching for the ultimate kitchen, says OLeary. For us the perfect kitchen is not about new cabinets, its a lifestyle. We love the idea of extended family, gathered round into the early hours with the doors flung open on to the outdoors. No wonder the Americans are buying in. A young mum has revealed how she built a multi-million dollar business from scratch while her baby slept. Oli Atanasovska was just 24 when she came up with the idea of developing a hands-free breast pump. The Australian mum was constantly tired and felt like she didn't have enough time to stop and pump milk for 40 minutes every few hours. 'I struggled with breast feeding and pumping because it was so difficult to balance with the rest of early motherhood,' she told FEMAIL. 'I had to stop everything to pump - it was so exhausting and limiting. I kept thinking: there has to be a better way, there has to be something else I can do.' She found herself day dreaming about how much time she would save if a hands free device existed - then decided to do something about it. An Australian mum who built a million-dollar business while her baby slept has revealed the difficult journey she embarked on from crippling self-doubt and a $0 up-front investment to being a saviour for mums all around the country 'I thought how good would it be if I could clean, work or go for a walk.' 'There was just so much freedom that came with that thought. When you're a new mum, every second feels even more crucial,' she said. Oli found some similar products online but said there were long wait times and a lot of uncertainty around the quality. Eventually her daydreams and the lack of other options pushed her to take matters into her own hands. 'We (mums everywhere) deserve quality breast pumps that will get to us quickly,' she said. 'We have to deal with enough considering the overwhelming stress of a new baby,' she said. Oli leaned on her university background in business to get her idea off the ground, working at 3am while she struggled to sleep. Oli Atanasovska was a 24-year-old mum when she first conceived of hands-free breast pumps - and how much time she'd save if such a device existed The mum was plagued with self-doubt over the project but took a leap of faith because she knew she could help thousands of other mums in the same position. She was so afraid her business would fail she refused to put money into it at the start and instead relied on pre-orders to get it off the ground. It launched at the end of 2021 and took off overnight - The Night Owl sold out within 28 hours of releasing and made a million dollars within four months. The house was soon packed to the brim with orders she had to ship spilling out of her home office and into the living room. 'I was nearly drowning in all of the extra work,' she said. Oli revealed that she feared she wasn't doing a good enough job as a mother and business owner because both jobs required her all The Night Owl continued to grow, with the company reaching their highest sales day - making $40,000 in 24 hours - before their six-month mark. But the road to success hasn't been easy. Oli revealed that she feared she wasn't doing a good enough job as a mother and business owner because both jobs required her all. 'It was extremely difficult because I constantly felt like I was being pulled in two different directions,' she said. 'I was learning how to be a mum and push myself into extra gear to grow the business and help it reach its potential. 'When it first took off, I was a mess. I had hundreds of orders to pack and ship out but I couldn't do any of it until my son was asleep. I'd be awake until 4am doing admin work most days.' Her house had turned into a packing warehouse, with mounds of boxes and unsent packages piling up in every corner. Success has been incredible but Oli says she still feels the tug of motherhood and fears that working on her company takes too much time away from her toddler. Even now, Oli feels like she's missing out on motherhood and exhausting herself constantly She now has a healthy 18-month-old baby boy with another child on the way. Even now, she feels like she's missing out on motherhood and exhausting herself constantly. 'The reality is that success doesn't come without sacrifice,' Oli said. 'I spend a lot of time working when I could be with my family instead. 'But it is all worth it - my favourite part is being able to create a brand for mums and knowing I'm making a difference,' she said. 'I've had so many women reach out to me and tell me that The Night Owl completely changed their outlook on feeding and and made their lives easier.' Growing up Beau Arfi struggled at school and money was always tight at home, but the luxe lifestyle of a family friend inspired him to get his act together and make a change. His parents split at age 12 and during his teenage years he aspired to live a comfortable life without financial stress. Now the 28-year-old from Melbourne now has a net worth of an estimated $4million dollars and 20 investment properties. In 2013 the young investor bought his first property in Bulleen, Victoria at just 20 years old. It was a $134,000 three bedroom home on a 600sqm block and he put down $20,500 for the deposit and fees. Speaking to FEMAIL, Beau said before starting his investment journey he was studying at TAFE and worked nightshift as a kitchenhand. He's now the proud founder of property maintenance business Maple Group. Beau Arfi, from Melbourne, (centre) has an estimated net worth of $4million dollars and 20 investment properties The 28-year-old started from humble beginnings as he struggled in school and his parents didn't have much money. After seeing how a wealthy family friend lived he strived for more It took him 12 months to save enough money for the first investment property and Beau is thankful he was able to live at home without paying rent while doing so. His parents were 'always stressed about money' while his property developer family friend and his wife were always travelling, living a carefree lifestyle. What investments has Beau made in eight years? Since 2013, Beau has purchased: 8 houses 4 apartments 5 offices 5 car spots Advertisement This motivated Beau to find another way to earn money in addition to working. 'It shifted my mindset to thinking about not just buying one property but abundance because I thought property was a good way to achieve my goals,' he said. And only 12-18 months later he bought another two properties on the same street - two houses in Victoria - one property was $160,000 and the other was $170,000. His third investment was an apartment and by 2019 he had six properties under his belt. However, from there he struggled getting further loans from the bank so shifted his focus to improving his cash flow. To do this he bought two car spaces outright for $50,000, each of which generates about $500 per month. He now owns five car spots in total. Beau purchased his first home in 2013 at age 20 after saving $20,000. Only 12-18 months later he bought another two properties on the same street. However, his worst investment was buying an office in 2019 right before Covid hit Australia However, his worst investment was buying an office in 2019 right before Covid hit Australia. 'Offices took a bad hit because of the pandemic so it was a pretty bad investment,' he said. To make up for the shortfall he listed his apartments on AirBnb and the car spaces were also helpful during the dire time. Today his investments include eight houses, four apartments, five offices, and five car spots. When he bought a home to live in in Bulleen for $590,000 he was also able to get a stamp duty exemption because he had only bought investments previously. This little-known tip meant he didn't have to pay $30,000 worth of stamp duty. Beau's net worth is calculated by his assets - estimated at $6.5million - minus his debt - about $2.5million. When asked if he's ever stressed about the money, he said: 'Yes, of course. But the thing with property is equity is a comfort layer and you can always sell everything.' 'And it is stressful, but what's the alternative? Having no investments and living paycheck to paycheck.' Today he generates around $10,000 a month in profit from his investments. The biggest investment mistakes Beau has made: Making 'emotional decisions' when it comes to investing. He says he purchased apartments in the Melbourne CBD because emotional played a key factor Buying office spaces - at the time in 2019 he bought the offices right before Covid hit and workers were forced into their homes Not investing sooner Advertisement He said another one of this biggest mistakes he's made was letting his emotion play a factor when making financial decisions. 'If I could go back and change anything, I wouldn't buy the apartments. It was an emotional decision because I wanted to live in the city,' he said. 'But apartments traditionally don't make much return compared to houses.' Adding to this, Beau said he would never invest in Sydney because the market is too high and so instead looks to Western Australia, Victoria and overseas. Currently he's in Dubai for business and owns two properties there. Today he's the proud founder of Maple Group - a wealth management company helping clients also wanting to gain financial freedom through property. According to research by Pearl Finance, only 1.6 per cent of Australians own two investment properties and 0.5 per cent own three investment properties. Tiny physical ticks might be subtle warning signs that you're in the company of a psychopath. The personality characteristics that point to psychopathy include antisocial behavior, remorselessness, deception and interpersonal manipulation. But studies suggest that people who do not yawn when they see someone else do it score higher on psychopathic traits. The theory is that contagious yawning is driven by empathy - something psychopaths lack. Meanwhile, research suggests there are four other tell-tale physical signs that you're dealing with a psychopath. Studies suggest that people who do not yawn when they see someone else do it score higher on psychopathic traits (stock) Less likely to yawn contagiously A study conducted by Baylor University in Texas in 2015 analyzed 135 students tested for traits such as Machiavellian egocentricity (a tendency only to consider personal needs), cold-heartedness and rebellious nonconformity. As is widely known, most people will yawn if someone around them yawns and shows signs of fatigue. The students were shown video clips of people using different facial expressions, including yawning. The ones who scored highly for cold-heartedness were less likely to yawn. Brian Rundle, a PhD student involved with the study, told The Times: 'One of the biggest lines of evidence is that (contagious yawning is) very much related to empathy. 'While this is a really interesting finding, it doesn't mean that if you're not affected by a contagious yawn, there's something wrong with you. 'There's some evidence to show that in baboons, dogs, or chimps, the alpha male tends to yawn first,' he added. 'If you're sitting around the campfire, it cues everyone else to yawn, and instead of going to bed at separate times, they all do it simultaneously.' Other signs include beat hand gestures that psychopaths like Charles Manson might use to emphasize what they want you to hear and downplay what they do not Limited head movements This physical trait was uncovered by a team at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Scientists developed a specific algorithm that analyzes head movements and tested it on 507 inmates during recorded conversations, varying in length from one to two hours. Inmates with 'severe and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior' had more rigid and focused orienting of their head during the session, they found. The results are interesting because excessive non-verbal cues like head movements, blinks and hand gestures have been linked to deception. As far back as 900 BC, it was observed that deceitful people demonstrated excessive fidgeting, according to the study. A stationary stance may be a deliberate tactic employed by psychopaths to counter these potential clues from appearing. Mainly talk about food, money and sex Most people love to talk about food, but psychopaths tend to take it to another level. Researchers at Cornell University compared stories of 14 imprisoned psychopathic male murderers with those of 38 convicted murderers who were not diagnosed as psychopathic. During the interviews, scientists asked each participant to discuss his crime in detail. While it was expected that the psychopathic inmates would show no remorse for their crimes, scientists were surprised they were twice as likely as non-psychopaths to discuss three topics: food, money and sex. The non-psychopaths used more words about social needs, including family, religion and spirituality. Bernie Madoff is known for a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that eradicated people's fortunes - both rich and poor Increased hand gestures Many people talk with their hands, but psychopaths use more beat hand gestures - rapid movements of the hand that are usually up and down. These individuals use these movements to manipulate people around them to emphasize the part of a sentence they want us to hear or downplay something they do not. Psychopaths may tend to fidget more, such as scratching their heads or tugging on jewelry, to distract a persons attention from inconsistencies in their conversation. READ MORE: The core traits of famous PSYCHOPATHS: Scientists identify five key characteristics in Ted Bundy, Clyde Barrow and Bernie Madoff Scientists found that Ted Bundy, Bernie Madoff and Clyde Barrow are all psychopaths guilty of callousness, manipulativeness, dishonesty, arrogance and cruelty. Advertisement Unusual sleeping habits When the rest of the world settles for the night, psychopaths prepare to do something creative and productive. Dr Paul Hokemeyer told Bustle: 'Some psychopaths do have incredible minds that they need to keep highly stimulated.' Australian researchers discovered in 2013 that a preference for staying up late or into the early hours is directly linked to anti-social behavior and so-called Dark Triad traits. The Dark Triad traits include narcissistic and selfish actions, cunning or deceitful Machiavellian behavior and psychopathic tendencies. The paper from Dr Peter Jonason from the University of Sydney surveyed 263 students online. Participants were asked about their chronotypes. A person's chronotype reflects at what time of the day their hormone levels, temperature, brain function, eating and sleeping are most active, change or reach a certain level. People who are more active and feel more alert in the morning are called 'larks,' while people who prefer late evening hours are called 'owls.' Questions included, 'During the first half hour after you wake up in the morning, how do you feel?' People were then rated based on a narcissism scale and were asked how strongly they agreed with statements including 'I have a natural talent for influencing people.' They were additionally asked how they felt about statements made on the psychopathy scale, for example: 'I think I could beat a lie detector,' and a Machiavellian scale, such as: 'It is hard to get ahead without cutting corners here and there.' Across the 263 students, the darker a participant's personality score, the more they tended to be an 'owl' and said they functioned more effectively in the evening hours To buy a parking space motorists may have to pay as much as 250,000 Londoners are splashing out as much as 780 a month on parking spaces Londoners are splashing out as much as 780 a month on a parking space in the capital - more than it costs to rent a three-bed house in the north of the country. To actually buy a space motorists may have to pay as much as 250,000 as prices rise to record levels in the capital and a generation fear they have been locked out of the city's housing market. The capital is the priciest place for first-time buyers, with average asking prices for for starter homes nearly 30 per cent more than the second highest, St Albans. It is now estimated that Britons will need to save up for 15 years before they can afford to get on the housing ladder. But London's high-rollers are not holding back as they park flash cars across the city. Londoners are splashing out as much as 780 a month on a parking space in the capital The most expensive borough to rent a space is Kensington and Chelsea, where punters rent spaces in a secure carpark opposite Harrods for nearly 800 a month The most expensive borough to rent a space is Kensington and Chelsea, where punters rent spaces in a secure carpark opposite Harrods for nearly 800 a month. At 9,360 a year with an added 900 deposit, all applicants must also live within 400 metres of the prime spots to get hold of the 10.5 square metre area. READ MORE: No room for your 4x4! Six-and-a-half feet wide parking space that is so small most drivers can only open one door goes on the market for 70,000 in Knightsbridge The space is so narrow the driver would be forced to climb to the passenger seat - in a right-hand drive vehicle - in order to get out This is despite many luxury cars being longer than the pricy parking space, which is advertised by Harrods Estates. Just 4.2m long, a Lambourghini Aventador, at 4.9m, Bentley Flying Spur, at 5.3m, Range Rover, at 5m and even a BMW 5 series, at 5m, will be sticking out by as much as a full metre. Dan Wilson Craw, the deputy director of campaign group Generation Rent, raged: 'The ridiculous cost of car parking spaces in London is just another symptom of the disaster that is the capitals housing market. 'So many people want to live and work in London that every scrap of land is being fought over. 'To meet demand from people who want to live in London, we need to be building many more homes, including social housing that allows people on low incomes to live near their jobs. 'More people living closer to central London will reduce commute times and reduce peoples dependence on cars.' Elsewhere in the capital, in Hammersmith and Fulham, West London, a single space outside a house is fetching as much as 585 a month. And in upmarket Camden, North West London, a National Trust property - Fenton House - is offering spaces within their grounds for 600 a month. The ex-Merchant's house - which was bequeathed to the charity in 1952 - is flogging four spots in walking distance of Hampstead tube station. The advert claims they: 'would suit perfectly for a neighbouring business with parking needs for staff or local residents in need of safe and secure parking.' Your browser does not support iframes. In upmarket Camden, North West London, a National Trust property - Fenton House - is offering spaces within their grounds for 600 a month For permanent spaces, wealthy city-slickers fork out as much as 250,000 for a spot in the City of Westminster - close to the Houses of Parliament For permanent spaces, wealthy city-slickers fork out as much as 250,000 for a spot in the City of Westminster - close to the Houses of Parliament. Close to Harrods, the extra-large secure plots have 24 hour security and CCTV - with supercars and plush SUVs pictured in their advert. A double garage space can fetch a stunning 750,000, while, in nearby Kensington, you can rent a four-car garage for 6,500 a month. A second spot is available to buy in a small garage close to Hammersmith tube station for 200,000. In Kensington, a small space in a private car park can fetch 190,000. While ridiculous spots - where cars are pictured barely squeezing into allocated spaces - still fetch as much as 70,000. London was revealed as the hardest place for youngsters to get on the property ladder in a survey earlier this week. The property website Rightmove looked at average asking prices for typical first-time buyer homes with a maximum of two bedrooms in 60 major urban locations. The research made several assumptions, including that first-time buyers had a 10 per cent deposit and would be paying back their mortgage over 25 years. Within the capital , the average monthly mortgage payment for a first-time buyer was put at 2,533. Meanwhile, the average asking price for a typical first-time-buyer property in the cheapest city - Bradford - is 104,643, which could lead to monthly mortgage payments of about 521. And even the second most expensive city, St Albans, had average monthly mortgage payments calculated at 1,958 - nearly 600 less than in London. In Hammersmith and Fulham, West London, a single space outside a house is fetching as much as 585 a month A second spot is available to buy in a small garage close to Hammersmith tube station for 200,000 Alarming figures revealed in January lay bare the scale of Britain's looming mortgage crunch, amid fears that a generation will be locked out of the housing market and those living in London will need to save for more than 15 years to get on the ladder. It found that the typical first-time buyer now spends almost two fifths of their income on their mortgage, close to levels last seen at the start of the financial crisis. A new homeowner typically puts 39 per cent of their monthly earnings towards their mortgage payments, up from an average of 29 per cent in the last decade. The last time home loan payments made up such a large chunk of household budgets was in 2007, when mortgage spending typically made up 45 per cent of income. London has the greatest gap between the most and least affordable local authorities in the country, the report by Nationwide Building Society found. The borough of Westminster is the least affordable authority relative to earnings in the UK, Nationwide found, where the typical first-time buyer home costs 15.6 times the average income in the area. Blackadder and Mr Bean star Rowan Atkinson has claimed that he feels 'a little duped' by electric cars and has urged friends not to get them. Mr Atkinson, who bought his first electric hybrid 18 years ago and his first pure electric car nine years ago, has now said 'electric motoring doesnt seem to be quite the environmental panacea it is claimed to be.' In an essay written in The Guardian, Mr Atkinson, who has a degree in electrical and electronic engineering, points out that a study from Volvo suggests that greenhouse gas emissions are 70 per cent higher in the production of an electric car compared to petrol vehicles. According to the car-obsessed actor, this is mainly due to 'lithium-ion batteries' which is nearly in all electric vehicles and extremely heavy. They use 'many rare earth metals and huge amounts of energy required to make them, and they only last about 10 years.' This means that although electric cars have zero emission they are not yet as environmentally efficient as some may imagine. Rowan Atkinson, who bought his first electric hybrid 18 years ago and his first pure electric car nine years ago, has now said 'electric motoring doesnt seem to be quite the environmental panacea it is claimed to be' The 68-year-old Mr Bean star was also critical of what he says is 'society's relationship with cars' and describes the car industry as participating in the 'fast fashion sales culture' The car-obsessed actor has claimed that he feels 'that our honeymoon with electric cars is coming to an end' In an essay written in The Guardian, Mr Atkinson points out that a study from Volvo suggests that greenhouse gas emissions are 70 per cent higher in the production of an electric car compared to petrol vehicles Blackadder star Mr Atkinson has urged his friends to 'hold off fire for now' in regards to purchasing electric cars The 68-year-old is also critical of what he says is 'society's relationship with cars' and describes the car industry as participating in the 'fast fashion sales culture.' He says that on average most car users change their automobile every three years before selling them on - mainly due to the 'ubiquitous three-year leasing model.' This is in comparison to his childhood, in which he says that cars after five years, where 'a bucket of rust and halfway through the gate of the scrapyard' whereas today a 15,000 car with some 'tender care' could last up to 30 years. Mr Atkinson concludes that: 'Increasingly, Im feeling that our honeymoon with electric cars is coming to an end, and thats no bad thing: were realising that a wider range of options need to be explored if were going to properly address the very serious environmental problems that our use of the motor car has created. 'We should keep developing hydrogen, as well as synthetic fuels to save the scrapping of older cars which still have so much to give, while simultaneously promoting a quite different business model for the car industry, in which we keep our new vehicles for longer, acknowledging their amazing but overlooked longevity. 'Friends with an environmental conscience often ask me, as a car person, whether they should buy an electric car. I tend to say that if their car is an old diesel and they do a lot of city centre motoring, they should consider a change. But otherwise, hold fire for now. Electric propulsion will be of real, global environmental benefit one day, but that day has yet to dawn.' Grunseth, who now lives on a remote island in Scotland, had been accused of asking teenage girls to swim naked with him - which he has continuously denied A former GOP gubernatorial candidate who was accused of encouraging four young girls to join him for a nude swim is now living in a mansion on a remote Scottish island. Jon Grunseth, 77, was forced to back down from his campaign to become Minnesota governor in 1990 after his election was crippled by allegations he tried to get teen girls to swim naked with him at a party. The allegations centered around a 4th of July party he held at his home in 1981 and involved four girls aged between 13 to 16. It resulted in him having to step down from the race just two weeks before voting day. The claims had been made by then-teenagers Liane Nelson and Elizabeth Mulay, who had been friends with Grunseth's daughter Nina. The two alleged that Grunseth urged them to remove their swimsuits and one or more of his adult male friends also took off their suits. Grunseth, who now resides on a remote Scottish Island, has denied the claims when they first arose and in an interview with DailyMail.com has continued to do so. Jon Grunseth, 77, was forced to back down from his campaign to become Minnesota governor in 1990 after his election was crippled by allegations he tried to get teen girls to swim naked with him at a party Grunseth said his jump to becoming the preferred GOP candidate was 'out of the blue' and caused panic amongst democrats in Minnesota, he is pictured here with former President George H. W. Bush Speaking from his home on the Isle of Gigha, told DailyMail.com: 'The incumbent was democrat Rudy Perpich and quite honestly I'd come out of the blue. 'I wasn't supposed to win the endorsement and I wasn't supposed to win the primary. All of a sudden this whole race attracted national attention, the President came in to campaign for me. Perpich was in a state of panic. 'In mid-October my campaign manager gets a call from somebody at the Star Tribune saying two reporters with a nasty reputation are trying to get your guy. 'We had a warning from someone at the paper, but we didn't know what it was about.' Grunseth said that two days later a call came through to his office concerning the pool party allegations from the newspaper asking for a comment. He said he was not given much time to produce people to refute the claims made, something which he said 'was crazy'. After the allegations went public, Grunseth said that he managed to produce 18 affidavits against the allegations made by Nelson and Mulay. 'The affidavit was written to not really say much, but was designed to maim or wound. All it says is they were there and I attempted to touch this girl', he said. 'There were no charges ever brought, no lawsuits, no nothing, and as soon as this was over they dropped it like a hot potato. There was nothing there. 'One of the first things we did was I went and took a lie detector test with an FBI trained administrator and passed with flying colors. 'This whole thing was total bull****. It was designed to knock me out of the race.' Speaking to Minnesota Public Radio News at the time of the allegations, Mulay, who was 13 at the time of the allegations, said there were three other young girls in the pool with her and Grunseth. She said: 'Jon Grunseth and a couple of his friends came out and tried to coax us into taking off our suits and all go skinny dipping. 'When I went up, somebody commented that I still had my suit on, and I still refused to take it off. 'Jon Grunseth started chasing me and blocked me in the edge of the pool, and went to pull down my strap with one hand and the other to grab my breast.' Mulay died in 2011 after suffering severe burns in a Minneapolis house fire at the age of 43. Despite Grunseth battling to keep his position in the campaign alive, he had to step aside two weeks before polling due to the damage done to his reputation Grunseth, who is pro-life, believes that the woman who initially came forward had done so due to their differing views on abortion. He continued: 'All of my girls had been involved in the campaign, Nina was 24 or 25 at the time. This was her former best friend that did this, they never spoke again. 'Nina was fairly left wing and she disagreed with me on most things including abortion, but she was still for me - I was her dad. Despite battling to keep his position in the campaign alive, he had to step aside two weeks before polling. Both Perpich and the women involved denied they had been involved in a plan to oust Grunseth. According to newspaper reports at the time, Grunseth produced no evidence that Perpich was ever involved in the allegations. President Bush appeared at a fundraiser for Grunseth in his quest to be Governor of Minnesota Following his time in politics Grunseth has settled on the remote island of Gigha in the Scottish Inner Hebrides after purchasing a six-bedroom farmhouse complete with a 17ft swimming pool, library and games room. Grunseth purchased the property in September 2019 for just under $900,000 after previously living on Bruny Island off the south-east coast of Tasmania, Australia. He had launched Lennonville Orchards on the island and the successful Black Devil Tasmanian cherry brand, which went on the market in 2010 for over $5.6 million. Grunseth's current home on Gigha is accessed only by a passenger and 12-car ferry service, which operates from Tayinloan on the mainland ten times daily and takes approximately 20 minutes. As well as living on the island, he has also now been installed as a director for the Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust, which runs the island after a community buyout in 2002. Grunseth has now settled on the picturesque island of Gigha off the west coast of Scotland While still running in the election despite the accusations, Grunseth did say that he had went through a 'wild years' period when he was separated from his first wife but still denied the allegations concerning the 1981 pool party. Newspaper reports at the time revealed that Grunseth had been involved in an affair with a woman during the 1980s. Grunseth acknowledged these at the time, but said that such behavior had ended when he married his second wife. He said: 'The legend of Jon Grunseth has been grossly exaggerated. There are things I've done in my life I wish I hadn't done. That's not unlike most of us.' At the time he stood down from the race in October of 1990, he said: 'There are three things that are extremely important to me: my wife, my family, first and foremost; the Republican Party, the people of Minnesota. 'And the events of the last three weeks have put enormous pressure on the family and, I think, on the political process and on the people of Minnesota. 'I therefore decided to withdraw as the Republican candidate for governor.' Grunseth had been employed as the Vice President of Public Affairs for Ecolab, an environmental sanitation products manufacturer but was fired after the allegations became public. Iran accused Israel of sending squirrels and chameleons to spy on nuclear work A Russian 'spy whale' has caused a stir since it was first discovered by fishermen off the coast of Norway four years ago, wearing a harness capable of carrying a camera. The public were recently warned to avoid contact with the Beluga whale, which has since been spotted off Sweden, and is dubbed Hvaldimir - a pun on the Norwegian for whale and Vladimir Putin, in a reference to its possible Russian links. Moscow has denied the marine mammal is one of its spies, while admitting that it has long employed dolphins to carry out reconnaissance and even to assassinate enemy frogmen. Animals have long been recruited for military operations, with pigeons used by British forces to deliver urgent messages during the first and second World Wars and dogs trained to infiltrate enemy lines by parachute. In recent years, Israel has often been accused of deploying various animals as spies, mainly by its hostile neighbours, with unfounded claims that it has sent out everything from squirrels to chameleons on top secret missions. A beluga whale has been 'travelling along the Norwegian coast' for around four years, but has now made its way into Inner Oslofjord While some claims beggar belief, unusual animals have been selected by intelligence agency programmes for decades, with the US openly admitting to training sea lions, cats and ravens. Operatives from the animal world have been both a help and a hindrance to their human counterparts, with examples of dogs and pigeons saving countless lives while a cat hired by the CIA failed to make it across the road to its target. Here, MailOnline takes a look at the mammals, birds, and even reptiles and insects which have served as spies and been accused of espionage. Whales Beluga whale Hvaldimir turned up in Norway in 2019, sparking speculation it was a spy trained by the Russian navy. He was monitored travelling along the Norwegian coast for around four years, but has now ventured to new waters appearing off Sweden's coast, an organisation following him said on Monday. The whale is known to follow boats and approach people, with its harness discovered by a fisherman and later removed in 2019. Marine biologists have previously said it is 'undoubtable' that the whale is trained and highlighted that Russia had trained Belugas in the past to 'conduct military operations'. The beluga whale found off Norway was dubbed Hvaldimir, a pun on the Norwegian for whale - hval - and Vladimir Putin in a reference to its possible Russian links Marine biologist Audun Rikardsen said 'belugas, like dolphins and killer whales, are quite intelligent - they are Arctic animals and quite social, they can be trained like a dog'. In an apparent giveaway as to the whale's origins, the clips of the harness found on it read 'Equipment St. Petersburg,' adding to a theory that he was trained by the Russian navy. Colonel Viktor Baranets responded to the allegations 'if we were using this animal for spying do you really think we'd attach a mobile phone number with the message 'please call this number'?' But, the military leader did not deny that the whale might have escaped from the Russian Navy, with its base at Murmanska a relatively short distance from Norway. In an apparent giveaway, the harness clips read 'Equipment St. Petersburg,' adding to a theory that he was trained by the Russian navy Dolphins While Russian military brasses have denied Hvaldimir was part of their crack team of military animals, they have been very open about the work of another marine animal Russia strenuously denied that Hvaldimir was one of their spies, Colonel Baranets said: 'We have military dolphins for combat roles, we don't cover that up.' 'In Sevastopol (in Crimea) we have a centre for military dolphins, trained to solve various tasks, from analysing the seabed to protecting a stretch of water, killing foreign divers, attaching mines to the hulls of foreign ships.' The dolphin facility in Crimea used to be under Ukrainian control, but was seized by the Russian navy in 2014, when Russian forces took over the peninsula. The dolphin facility in Crimea used to be under Ukrainian control, but was seized by the Russian navy in 2014, when Russian forces took over the peninsula Now an expert on animal military activity at Manchester Metropolitan University has told MailOnline that it looks like dolphins could be being used in Putin's war effort. Historian Gervase Phillips said: 'The satellite photos of some of the Black Sea dock installations appear to show dolphin pens. 'It might be a "bluff" to unnerve enemy frogmen, but it looks like a strong possibility they are indeed using dolphins, essentially as "sentries" I would guess.' Images captured by an American satellite show the floating pens (inset) by the Harbour gates A small Russian 'spy dolphin' carries a bomb during a training exercise (image date unknown) Images released by the US Naval Institute last year show the pens were moved to the gates of Sevastopol Harbour, Crimea in the run-up to the invasion of Ukraine. Dolphins are used by the Russian military for 'counter diver' operations. The canny mammals, trained at the Crimean State Oceanarium can reportedly fight off invading divers, carry bombs and even plant mines. Last year, Hamas accused Israel of deploying a 'killer dolphin' spy armed with 'weapons capable of assassinating' its fighters off the coast of Gaza. Dolphin harnesses are used by US and Russia's marine programs (pictured) It said the naval unit was chased by the alleged Israeli intelligence agent, which was wearing a harness equipped with weapons capable of 'assassinating' Hamas fighters. A video posted online by the Palestinian organisation's military wing claimed one of its naval combat units had discovered and captured the hostile aquatic operative while at sea. The alleged harness was conical and could have been attached to the dolphin's snout - similar to harnesses used by Ukrainian and Russian naval marine programmes and the US, according to defence analyst H I Sutton. Hamas claimed Israel has 'killer dolphin' spies that carry weapons and are capable of assassinating its fighters (pictured, an mock-up of the alleged aquatic spies by defence analyst H I Sutton, known as Covert Shores) Spokesperson Abu Hamza said in the video that the dolphin was found by one of the group's fighters. Israel has a fleet of 'Dolphin-class' submarines but Hamas's video made it clear that the group was referring to the mammal and not the boats. They showed footage of a harness, allegedly taken from the captured spy, which was loaded with a spear gun-like weapon - but looked similar to devices used in US, Russian and Ukrainian naval marine experiments. A trainer touches the nose of U.S. Navy dolphin Shasta during a demonstration at the US Navy Marine Mammal Program facility at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego in 2007 The US has also been open about its underwater recruits, training dolphins for military roles since the 1960s. The animals even became a focus of the Cold War arms race, the Smithsonian Magazine reported. A partially declassified 1976 CIA document on dolphin training suggests the Soviets were 'also assessing and replicating US systems while possibly developing countermeasures to certain US systems.' Sea Lions A US Navy SEAL (Sea, Air, and Land) feeds chum to Zak, a 375-pound California sea lion, January 2003 Another marine mammal in the US Navy's arsenal is Sea Lions. Known for their excellent eyesight, the dogs of the ocean are trained to spot underwater mines and other suspicious objects. Pictures from 2003 show one of the seals being fed chum by a human Navy SEAL. The 375-pound California sea lion was reportedly trained to locate swimmers near piers as well as ships, and other objects which might pose s threat to his human comrades. Cats The CIA's 'Acoustic Kitty' project saw surgically modified cats trained to listen in on targets. The intelligence agency spent a staggering $10million on fitting cats with a transmitter with the help of one of the inventors of the cochlear implant. It is difficult to know the extent of the project's success after a fire destroyed records of it. The CIA's 'Acoustic Kitty' project saw cats trained to listen in on targets after they were surgically adapted (file image) According to one ex-CIA official Victor Marchetti, who is quoted in the book Wizards of Langley, one mission failed after a cat was hit by a passing taxi. The project was later scrapped in 1967, reportedly owing to the cats' propensity to wandering off. 'Views on Trained Cats,' a document in the US National Security Archive, says of the project that while 'cats can indeed be trained to move short distances,' it 'would not lend itself in a practical sense to our highly specialized needs.' Dogs 'Mans best friend' for a reason, dogs are known for their loyalty and obedience, great qualities for any spy. Dogs' service in modern wars like Iraq and Afghanistan has been invaluable to the soldiers they serve alongside. 'We have nothing that compares to a dog's nose when it comes to sniffing out explosives or drugs, so military working dogs proved crucial in Iraq and Afghanistan to lessen the risk from IEDS,' Phillips said. One dog's exceptional service in the field saw him receive the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross after he took out an Al Qaeda gunman allowing special forces to storm the enemy compound. Kuno's exceptional service in the field saw him receive the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross after he took out an Al Qaeda gunman Kuno, a four-year-old Belgian Shepherd Malinois and military working dog, at Woolwich Barracks in London, with his PDSA Dickin Medal for valour Kuno, a Belgian shepherd malinois, was shot several times during the operation at the heavily- fortified terrorist base. But he showed extraordinary bravery to still take down the sniper with a military citation afterwards stating that the dog had 'changed the course of the attack'. He suffered severe wounds to both hind legs and received life-saving treatment in a helicopter after the night-time raid. Sadly, his left rear paw could not be saved. Kuno has now become the first UK military working dog to be fitted with a pioneering lightweight prosthetic limb, alongside an orthotic brace to support his other injured back leg. The four-year-old received the PDSA Dickin Medal for valour for his incredible service. Military service dogs have been used by British forces for decades, and during World War II SAS canine Rob demonstrated similar bravery to Kuno. Rob the para-dog (pictured being honoured) served in daring SAS missions in North Africa and Italy, including one where he was dropped behind enemy lines with the commandos to prepare the ground for the Allied invasion of Anzio in 1944 The courageous canine's job was to be on guard and alert the men of any danger by licking their faces. He also carried important messages from one part of the front to the other Rob was the only dog ever to be awarded both the PDSA Dickin Medal for Gallantry and the RSPCA Red Collar for Valour (both pictured) - as well as a lifetime supply of biscuits The para-dog also earnt the Dickin Medal for being dropped behind enemy lines. Rob made 20 parachute jumps and served in daring SAS missions in North Africa and Italy, including one where he joined commandos to prepare the ground for the Allied invasion of Anzio in 1944. The courageous canine's job was to be on guard and alert the men of any danger by licking their faces, while he also carried important messages from one part of the front to the other. Rob, a border collie retriever, was the only dog ever to be awarded both the PDSA Dickin Medal for Gallantry and the RSPCA Red Collar for Valour - as well as a lifetime supply of biscuits. After the war Rob was returned to his owners and died in 1952 aged 12 - 69 in human years. Ravens Ravens' intelligence and strength means they could be trained by the US military (file image) Known for their intelligence, Ravens are good at spotting patterns, meaning they could, for example, recognise enemy forces. They are also impressively strong, with former US Navy animal trainer Bob Bailey telling the Smithsonian Magazine that they can carry a significant load and even open file drawers. Insects Incredibly, even insects were considered by the US Army for possible deployment. The Use of Arthropods as Personnel Detectors, a 1972 report by the Army's Limited Warfare Laboratory cited by the Smithsonian Magazine, discusses the potential benefits bugs could bring in the field. It discusses research around the possibility of exploiting the 'sensory capabilities of insects', including bedbugs, mosquitoes and ticks, 'for the detection of people.' Pigeons Captain Caiger of the British Army Pigeon Service, holding a carrier pigeon equipped with a 'back carrier' message capsule, 23rd July 1945 British forces have a long history of recruiting pigeons into military service. The British Army Pigeon Service created during World War I, with its birds responsible for saving countless lives. More than 100,000 pigeons flew missions during World War One for allied forces. Among 600 deployed in France was Cher Ami, a British black cock carrier pigeon, with the the US Army Signal Corps in France. She was awarded the French Croix de Guerre after being shot through the breast and leg while flying to get help for the so-called Lost Battalion, who had been surrounded on every side by the enemy. She was blinded in one eye and had a leg hanging only by a tendon, but still managed to complete the mission. Cher Ami died of her injuries in 1919, and her taxidermied remains are on display at the Smithsonian Museum of American History She died of her injuries in 1919, and her taxidermied remain on display at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. The Americans had 54,000 donated to the US Army Pigeon Service for the war effort. The Pigeon Service was disbanded at the end of World War I, but in 1939, it was re-founded as the National Pigeon Service, with roughly 200,000 birds donated for use in the second World War. The Allied forces dropped the birds into occupied territories with requests for information, and used them to share news from the frontlines. The British bird saved a baby flying 25 miles in as many minutes to deliver the life-saving message despite being badly wounded One spectacular bird, a blue chequered hen called Winkie, even saved an entire air squadron, historian Phillips told the MailOnline. The Manchester Metropolitan University lecturer, who researches the military use of animals throughout history, described the 'astonishing' story. 'Winkie was being carried on a Bristol Beaufort bomber that was badly damaged during a strike off the Norwegian coast, 23rd February 1942. 'The aircraft ditched in the North Sea about 120 miles short of Scotland. Winkie ended up in the sea, covered in oil. 'However, she got into the air and 'homed' early the next morning, resulting in her crew (who could not be located by a radio fix) being rescued.' Maria Dickin, founder of the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) veterinary charity, presents RAF homing pigeon 'Winkie' with the Dickin medal, 19 February 1944 The incredible act of heroism saw Winkie awarded the Dickin Medal - the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross. As well as being messengers in the RAF, intelligence services also found the feathered friends useful. 'Operation Columba' in 1940 saw thousands of pigeons in special containers dropped by parachute into occupied France and the Low Countries. People who found them were invited to fill in a questionnaire, strapped to the birds legs, with information about life under German rule. The homing birds could then be released and head back over the Channel to Britain. More recently, a pigeon in India faced spying accusations after it was alleged the bird had travelled across the border from Pakistan. Local pigeon fanciers said the bird looked different from Indian pigeons. (File image) In 2010, Indian police in the Punjab region of the country arrested the bird on suspicion of espionage. Local pigeon fanciers reportedly said the bird looked different from Indian pigeons. Authorities also pointed to the tag on its leg and phone number and address from Pakistan printed on its body. It was believed the pigeon was on a 'special mission of spying and may have been delivering a message, although none was found, the Tribune reported at the time. No one was allowed to visit the pigeon as it was held in an air-conditioned room under police guard. Falcons Ursula, a trained peregrine falcon, swoops on a pigeon, June 1945 British forces' successful use of pigeons meant many were keenly aware of their capabilities. A programme was born to counter enemy carrier pigeons, with their natural predator deemed the perfect weapon. The bird is one of a number of falcons used by British forces in World War II to intercept enemy carrier pigeons, whose messages would be retrieved and passed to British intelligence. Ursula, a member of the squad of trained falcon, was pictured swooping on a pigeon in June 1945. Squirrels Iranian intelligence services arrested 14 squirrels near a nuclear enrichment plant in 2007 In 2007, Iranian intelligence accused Israel of using squirrels to spy around a nuclear enrichment plant. 'In recent weeks, intelligence operatives have arrested 14 squirrels within Iran's borders,' Iran's state-sponsored news agency IRNA reported. 'The squirrels were carrying spy gear of foreign agencies, and were stopped before they could act, thanks to the alertness of our intelligence services,' it claimed. Lizards An Iranian military advisor accused Mossad and the CIA of using lizards to spy on the Iranian nuclear program In one of the most bizarre allegations about potential non-human spies, Iran's former military chief, Hassan Firuzabadi, accused Mossad and the CIA of using lizards to spy on the Iranian nuclear program. In 2018, Firuzabadi, a senior military adviser to Iran's leader, held a press conference where he revealed that Western intelligence agencies had tried to smuggle chameleons into the country. 'In their possessions were a variety of reptile desert species like lizards, chameleons,' he said at a press conference. 'We found out that their skin attracts atomic waves and that they were nuclear spies who wanted to find out where inside the Islamic Republic of Iran we have uranium mines and where we are engaged in atomic activities.' Scientists slammed the sensational claims, pointing out that there is no such thing as 'atomic waves' - he may have meant gamma radiation - and that lizards can't, in fact, detect uranium. Kestrels In 2013, a kestrel which with a band from Israel attached to its foot was discovered by villagers in the Elazig Province, Turkey. Pictured here being released after it was cleared of suspicion In 2013, a kestrel which with a band from Israel attached to its foot was discovered by villagers in the Elazig Province, Turkey. Villagers in the rural town in eastern Turkey found the kestrel and delivered it to local authorities after discovering a leg band marked '24311 Tel Avivunia Israel', the Dogan news agency reported. It was initially identified as an 'Israeli spy' in documents released by medical personnel at Firat University. But after further examinations, including X-ray scans, the bird was determined to be carrying no electronic equipment. No charges were brought and the kestrel was freed and allowed to continue its flight. Vulture A Griffon Vulture is held by a staff member of the veterinary clinic at the Ramat Gan Safari Zoo, near Tel Aviv, in 2016, after it was captured in Lebanon on suspicion of spying In 2011, another possible avian spy was identified as having flown in from Israel. A griffon vulture was intercepted by a hunter in Saudi Arabia, and rumours began to swirl of its Israeli links, with local media accusing it of being a spy. The huge bird was found with a 'Tel Aviv University' tag on its leg, with the university saying it was using tracking devices as part of a project to reintroduce vultures into the regions mountainous areas. Saudi authorities dismissed the allegations and ordered the bird be returned to Israel. Syrian rebels later also accused Israel of using a vulture as a spy, but later returned the bird after deciding it was not the case, Insider reports. The London Fire Brigade are called out to an e-scooter fire every two days Electrical safety experts have warned hundreds of UK e-scooter and e=bike owners could be courting disaster by using knock off products that could explode at any moment. When they do overheat, the lithium battery powdered machines can burn uncontrollably at over 600C with devastating consequences. In 2021 the residents of a small Tel Aviv apartment block were woken up at 2am to an enormous bang and the smell of smoke. Fearing they had been hit by a rocket from Gazan militants who had been bombarding the city during Operation Protective Edge, the residents ran to the stairwell to take cover when they noticed the source of the fire was actually coming from inside the building. 'We smelt something acrid, like burning plastic and then we heard the screams' recalls Eitan Goldstein. Smoke begins pouring out of the e-scooter - seconds later it was ablaze A second camera showed how the kitchen filled with smoke. Its owner, who bought it off Gumtree, admits he is lucky to be alive 'We knocked on the door of the apartment where the screams were coming from and a man opened up and explained what had happened. 'The e-bike lithium battery had been plugged in overnight to charge and it exploded, the apartment was ruined.' E-bikes and scooters have exploded in popularity in recent years and despite the majority of them not being road legal in the UK have come to be associated with a greener way of travelling. However, as their use has risen the dangers of the technology has also become apparent with the lithium batteries propensity to suddenly and violently combust leading authorities like Transport for London to ban them from their services altogether. In the first five months of 2023 alone, the London Fire Brigade has been called out to a fire caused by these lithium batteries overheating once every two days on average. Earlier this month, a 37-year-old security guard from London was lucky to escape with his life after the e-scooter bought on Gumtree exploded while he charged it overnight -engulfing his Brent flat in flames. In January, an e-bike left charging overnight ignited at the home of Rab Shearer, 60, in Litherland, Merseyside. Mr Shearer was killed in the blaze while his son Gary, 23, died in hospital two weeks later after trying in vain to save him. On New Year's Day, Sofia Duarte, 21, was asleep at her home in Old Kent Road, south London, when a modified electric bike in her flat exploded. The 'fun-loving' daughter of Portuguese immigrants, who enjoyed dancing, spending time with friends and travelling, is believed to be the first person to be killed in London due to an e-bike fire. Mobile phone footage from a passer-by showed fireballs emerging fromt he shattered windows, as people in the street screamed. While her flatmates leapt from the second-storey window, Ms Duarte - who was disorientated and had worked a nightshift - attempted to flee using the stairwell. Her friend Alda Simoes, 45, said: 'Sofia was confused and instead of going throught he window, she went through the door. 'The fire brigade were there within a couple of minutes but there was nothing they could do. The bikes were at the entrance. 'Some of the neighbours were trying to break down the door because they knew Sofia was inside but they couldn't go past the fire. She was there for I don't know how long.' Sales of e-bikes in the UK have soared to 160,000 over the past year and are the choice transport method for many workers in the gig economy, particularly low-paid commuter and food deliverers. Sofia Duarte, 21, died in a flat fire caused by a converted e-bike battery which burst into flames Gary Shearer (right) has been named locally as the son of Rab Shearer (left) who died in a house fire in Litherland earlier this month An e-bike from a high street brand will typically cost between 1,000 and 3,000 or a regular bike can be modified using a kit for around 400. While these products meet safety standards, far cheaper imports are available online and often have few safety check. But why do e-scooter and bike batteries degrade in such a volatile way and what - if anything- can be done to mitigate the risk of owning these vehicles. Giuseppe Capanna is a product safety engineer at electricalsafetyfirst which has been investigating the spate of e-vehicle fires across the UK. As part of his research, he and his team have painstakingly conducted hundreds of tests on appliances currently being sold in stores and online to see if they meet safety standards - specifically the 60335-2-14 household appliance standard which all appliances must pass He told MailOnline in just one day his team found 50 or so e-scooter chargers that didn't meet these standards and were therefore dangerous. He said: 'The biggest problem we're finding is substandard products from online marketplaces. 'There are standards these products have to hit and we're not seeing that a lot of them meet them.' Due to their popularity, the market for e-vehicles is huge. Both Amazon and eBay have entire sections dedicated to the gadgets with the average e-scooter selling for 230 and a charging cable for under 20. It is this proliferation, Mr Capanna argues, that is behind the increase in fires. Research into charging cables by electricalsafetyfirst revealed countless faulty appliances Cheap chargers can overload lithium batteries causing them to explode He continued: 'We've seen a lot more fires as there is a lot more of the product around - but the reality is, if it was a proper e-scooter made correctly and tested correctly it wouldn't be unsafe. We don't see this issue with cars for example. 'That's because these cars are bought from reputable retailers. 'With e-vehicles people can easily buy them from online retailers and be completely unaware they don't meet any of the safety standards.' And when these scooters don't meet the standards, the effects can be disastrous. Explaining how the lithium batteries caught fire, Mr Capanna stressed that once the element of control had been removed from the lithium batteries, they were essentially ticking time bombs. He said: 'If it's a substandard scooter the battery can be damaged easily which means it's more likely to catch fire. They hold an enormous amount of energy in a very small space and they're separated by a very thin layer that keeps the two things apart. If you crush or pierce one of these batteries they just explode. 'Imagine a dam with a reservoir. It's holding back all that water and is useful as long as you can control it. 'If that wall collapses it's pandemonium. It's the same with the batteries, as long as the electricity comes through in a controlled manner it isn't an issue. 'If that's breached you'll have an explosion. 'That can happen either by damage to the battery or overcharging, which can happen if you use an incompatible charger. 'When they catch fire you're in trouble as they burn at around 600C and even higher than that. They're glowing red hot and they melt everything around them. The chemical reaction in the battery creates its own oxygen which makes them very hard to put out.' Electric scooters can sell online for as little as 200 but some could be dangerous Experts have warned against buying replacement chargers for devices that aren't compatible MailOnline approached Amazon and eBay for more information on how their stable of e-bike and scooter suppliers are vetted. As spokesman for eBay said: 'We work constantly to keep our users safe, it's our top priority. Products such as e-scooters are required to have a CE/UKCA certification. We have implemented measures aimed at identifying products that are non-CE/UKCA compliant and end listings offering such non-compliant products. 'We also use block filter algorithms that aim to prevent unsafe products from being listed, which blocked 4.8 million listings in 2022. If an unsafe product does make it on to site, we remove it swiftly and alert buyers who had purchased one of the items within the last 90 days.' An Amazon spokesperson said: 'Safety is a top priority at Amazon and we want customers to shop with confidence on our stores. 'We require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws and regulations and we also monitor the products sold in our stores for product safety concerns. 'We also partner with law enforcement and respond quickly to regulators, as part of our commitment to a safe and compliant store. 'If customers have concerns about an item they've purchased, we encourage them to contact our Customer Service team directly so we can investigate and take appropriate action.' Even after he's promised to go after Big Pharma for pushing such drugs to minors, former President Trump has held stock in three companies that make the puberty blockers that are essential for children undergoing a gender transition. 'The left-wing gender insanity being pushed on our children is an act of child abuse, very simple. Here is my plan to stop the chemical, physical, and emotional mutilation of our youth,' Trump said in a campaign speech on February 1. But as recently as the end of last year, Trump held between $600,003 and $1,251,000 in three companies that make gender-affirming therapies and hormone blockers, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of his financial disclosures. He also financial stakes in Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson - a fact that could be seized on by Ron DeSantis' campaign as the war of words over COVID records heats up in the 2024 race. Trump has called gender transition care 'child abuse,' 'left-wing insanity' and 'mutilation' while pledging to pass a federal law to outlaw it. Even after he's promised to go after Big Pharma for pushing such drugs to minors, former President Trump has held stock in three companies that make the puberty blockers that are essential for children undergoing a gender transition Trump and DeSantis supporters outside of a DeSantis event on Friday The former president and current GOP 2024 candidate promised on 'Day One' to revoke President Biden's 'cruel' policies on gender-affirming care, signing a new executive order instructing every federal agency to cease all programs that 'promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age.' He's promised to urge Congress to pass a law 'prohibiting child sexual mutilation in all 50 states' and claw back Medicare and Medicaid funding from any hospital that provides gender transition care for minors. Trump then promised to have the Department of Justice investigate Big Pharma 'to determine whether they have deliberately covered up horrific long-term side- effects of 'sex transitions' in order to get rich.' Trump said the DOJ would investigate whether Big Pharma 'illegally marketed hormones and puberty blockers.' 'No serious country should be telling its children that they were born with the wrong gendera concept that was never heard of in all of human historynobody's ever heard of this, what's happening today,' Trump concluded. Children as young as eight who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria can be given medication to halt the puberty process: an increasingly controversial practice as transgender issues and sex and gender education in schools have been launched front and center to GOP politics. According to Trump's most recent disclosures, which cover his investments between January 2021 and December 2022, he held between $350,002 and $750,000 in Pfizer - the drug company that makes feminizing therapies depo-estradiol, depo-provera and male hormone suppressant aldactone. Aldactone's active ingredient spironolactone is the most commonly prescribed male hormone suppressant. The former president and current GOP 2024 candidate promised on 'Day One' to revoke President Biden's 'cruel' policies on gender-affirming care, signing a new executive order instructing every federal agency to cease all programs that 'promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age' Most of these medications can have other uses beyond gender transition as well: estradiol can be used to treat postmenopausal symptoms and for women who have had hysterectomies. Spironolactone can be used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. He also invested between $250,001 and $500,000 in Novartis, a company that makes gender-affirming therapies Vivelle and Vivelle Dot - where estradiol is the active ingredient. Estradiol is the primary estrogen used in feminizing therapy. Novartis' subsidiary Sandoz also made puberty blocker leuprolide acetate. According to Planned Parenthood, 'There are two kinds of puberty blockers: A flexible rod called histrelin acetate that goes under the skin of the arm and lasts for 1 year. A shot called leuprolide acetate, which works for 1, 3, or 4 months at a time.' The former president invested up to $1,000 in Abbvie - a drug company that makes puberty blocker Leupron, otherwise known as leuprolide acetate. Texas attorney general Ken Paxton last year ordered Abbvie to hand over materials related to the sale of puberty blockers to children. Between $950,000 and $2 Million in Trump's portfolio is dedicated to two companies that created coronavirus vaccines: Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson. Trump himself is vaccinated and it was his administration that pumped funds to these companies through Operation Warp Speed to get a vaccine to market. But many of his supporters remain leery of the jab - and the former president has even been booed at events where he promoted the coronavirus vaccine. A voter tore into Trump at a campaign stop in Iowa this week: 'We have lost people because you supported the jab.' Trump has walked a fine line between boasting that it was his administration that got a vaccine to market and placating a base more skeptical of the jab. He's emphasized his opposition to vaccine mandates. 'Everyone wanted a vaccine at that time, and I was able to do something that nobody else could have done getting it done very, very rapidly. But I never was for mandates; I thought the mandates were terrible,' the former president said. 'Trump responds by praising the COVID mRNA shots, doesn't acknowledge any of the adverse effects,' the DeSantis War Room wrote on Twitter, highlighting the interaction. The Trump and Ron DeSantis campaigns have assailed each other over their candidate's Covid-19 records, with each claiming the other was more friendly to lockdowns. In December the Florida governor even called for a grand jury investigation into alleged 'crimes and wrongdoing' on the part of vaccine manufacturers in peddling the shot to Americans. On Tuesday the Trump campaign put out a long list entitled 'Ron DeSantis' lyin' record on COVID,' which took direct aim at the governor for promoting the vaccine. The campaign stated: 'President Trump saved millions of lives, opposed mandates, and embraced the Federalist system to allow States to make the decisions best for their people. Ron DeSantis continues to lie about his record, as he personally oversaw mass vaccinations and imposed radical lockdowns.' DailyMail.com reached out to the Trump campaign for comment. The number of ATMs in the US has dropped by nearly 200,000 since 2019 Analysis by Dailymail.com shows this can result in fees of up to $7 Customers who use the wrong ATM end up being charged by BOTH banks Customers are being slapped with up to a 70 percent surcharge every time they use an ATM that doesn't belong to their regular bank, Dailymail.com analysis has found. Consumer rights experts have called for a crackdown on the rip-off fees which they say hurt the 'poorest customers.' When somebody withdraws money from the wrong ATM, they are billed twice - by both their own bank and the machine provider. We asked the main US firms what levy they impose on these so-called 'out-of-network' transactions. Huntington bank came out as the worst offender - its customers can expect a fee of $3.50 to use a different machine. Analysis by Dailymail.com reveals the largest charges banks impose on 'out-of-network' cash withdrawals Meanwhile a non-Huntington client who uses one of their ATMs is billed $4. The firm offer withdrawals starting at $1 going up to $5, $20 or $50 - though it depends on the machine. But the costs are the same across the board as Chase, Santander, PNC, BMO and TD all charge $3 for their customers who use a different cash machine. It means that a Chase customer who withdrew from a Huntington cash machine would be charged as much as $7 - $3 by Chase and $4 by Huntington. On a $10 withdrawal, this would amount to 70 percent of the whole transaction. Regional banks tend to charge lower fees on such withdrawals while online firms rarely apply any surcharges. Rachel Gittleman, the financial services manager at the Consumer Federation of America, told Dailymail.com: 'When a customer signs up for a bank, these charges are explained to them in the terms and conditions but that's obviously buried in a long document. How to avoid ATM fees Choose a bank with no ATM fees Some banks such as Charles Schwab and Axos do not charge out-of-network fees so do your research before you commit to a new bank. Consider a premium account Several banks that apply the surcharge said it is scrapped on some of their accounts. For example, Huntington said owners of its Platinum Perks Checking and Huntington SmartInvest Checking accounts do not have to pay the levy when they use a different ATM. Choose a bank with easily accessible ATMs Consider how many ATMs a bank has in your area and how accessible they are before committing to an account. Withdraw more money at once If you rely on cash often and frequently use different machines it could be worth withdrawing in one lump sum to avoid paying multiple fees. Advertisement 'Then when they withdraw cash from another machine they are warned of the charges applied by that provider but they may not necessarily remember they are being charged by their own bank too. 'We see this across all financial services where the fees are over-inflated when passed onto consumer. They are doing nothing but lining the pockets of the bank.' Ann Martin, of comparison website Credit Donkey, said: 'ATM fees are just one more example of the ways that financial institutions make a surprising amount of their profits on the backs of some of their poorest customers.' The issue is compounded by the fact that banks have been steadily axing ATMs across the country due to dwindling cash use. According to the Wall Street Journal, the number of cash machines has fallen from 470,000 in 2019 to 451,500 at the end of 2022. Earlier this year, Chase also announced it was limiting the hours some of its ATMs were open due to rising thefts nearby. It means that consumers face less choice on where they can withdraw money - possibly forcing them to use a rival's machine. When asked to explain what the fees cover, the majority of the banks refused to comment. Huntington said that it offers several different account options, with some including no fees to use a different ATM machine. For example, its Huntington Platinum Perks Checking and Huntington SmartInvest Checking accounts do not impose the fee. Citibank and Wells Fargo similarly said they offer free ATM withdrawals at any machine on some of their accounts. Wells Fargo said the charge imposed on non-customers using their machine helps to 'cover operating expenses for maintaining our ATM networks.' It comes as the banking industry - along with airlines, internet companies and similar services - come under pressure to scrap so-called 'junk fees.' The number of cash machines in the US has fallen from 470,000 in 2019 to 451,500 at the end of 2022 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau previously estimated that Americans are spending $120 billion on banking fees applied to overdrafts, account maintenance and transactions. And President Biden has pledged a widespread crackdown on the 'junk fee' economy. At the Presidential Competition Council in February, he said unfair surcharges 'drain hundreds of dollars a year from the pockets of hardworking American families, especially folks who are already struggling to make ends meet - but now anymore.' The pressure has already seen a slew of major banks ditch unfair overdraft fees - including Ally Bank, Capital One and Citigroup. One of Britain's oldest public schools has called in police after a pupil tried to use his phone as a spy camera in a girls' changing room. The incident horrified parents at 12,000-per-term Durham School with some claiming there was an attempt to cover up the incident, a suggestion hotly denied by the school. Durham - which counts Boris Johnson's former chief adviser Dominic Cummings and Pointless host Alexander Armstrong among its former pupils - says it acted quickly and the boy is no longer at the school. However the incident is a blow to the reputation of a school established in 1414 by the Bishop of Durham, Thomas Langley, and refounded in 1541 by King Henry Vlll. Parents claim they were 'kept in the dark' about the incident. They claim the incident took place in the changing rooms at the school's swimming pool while girls in Year 8 - aged 12 - 13 - were getting changed into bathing suits. The incident horrified parents at 12,000-per-term Durham School with some claiming there was an attempt to cover up the incident, a suggestion hotly denied by the school The incident horrified parents at 12,000-per-term Durham School. It has been claimed that there was an attempt to cover up the incident - a suggestion hotly denied by the school Pupils, they say, were threatened with 'sanctions' if the matter was discussed either inside or outside the school. A Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation spokesman said: 'A pupil left the school in February following an investigation into reports of filming in a girls' changing room. The matter was immediately referred to Durham Constabulary. 'The boy, in the same year group as the girls using the changing room, tried to set up his mobile phone to record. It was discovered before any filming of pupils occurred. 'The girls, both those immediately affected and others, were offered pastoral support. The School pastoral team liaised closely with the girls and their parents as well as the police. 'It is categorically untrue that pupils were told not to speak further of the matter.' Kieran McLaughlin, Headmaster of Durham School, said: 'This incident was thoroughly investigated in line with our behaviour policy and the pupil in question left following this investigation. We worked closely with pupils, parents and police to support pupils in the aftermath of this upsetting incident.' Parents were unhappy with the way the incident was dealt with. One said: 'The school has covered up and kept information away from parents. Teaching staff have told the pupils not to say anything as they don't want it getting out. A Durham police spokesman said: 'Earlier this year we looked into an isolated incident in which a young boy left a phone video recording in an empty changing room. Boris Johnson's former chief adviser Dominic Cummings is among the famous former pupils at the school. Former pupils of the establishment are known as Old Dunelmians 'Having reviewed the circumstances and spoken to several pupils it was concluded that no crime had been committed and there was no sexual motive.' In 2021 Durham School merged with the prestigious Durham Chorister School, based in Durham Cathedral, which counts former Prime Minister Tony Blair among its former pupils. Durham is the 18th oldest public school in Britain, although it may be even older than the established 1414 foundation date. Historians believe the first school may have its roots in the 'community of Cuthbert' which was established in 995. At that time LIndisfarne Priory was moved from Holy Island to the city of Durham to escape marauding Viking invaders and a centre of learning was established along with it. The school remained on its site on Palace Green, outside the cathedral, when it was refounded by Henry Vlll as part of the dissolution of the monasteries during the protestant reformation. Former pupils of the establishment are known as Old Dunelmians, a reference to Durham's latin name, Dunelm. Other ex pupils include actor Michael Gough - best known as Alfred in the Batman movies - and England rugby star Geoff Parling (pictured above) Other ex pupils include actor Michael Gough - best known as Alfred in the Batman movies - Field Marshal Henry Hardinge, commander in chief of the British Army after The Duke of Wellington, architect Anthony Salvin, poet Christopher Smart ,Granville Sharp, founder of Sierra Leone and England rugby star Geoff Parling. A third of Durham's pupils go on to Russell Group universities and the school excels in the sporting field. The school rugby club is the 5th oldest in the world and its boat club is the 3rd oldest in the world. It is also one of 8 national academies for the Modern Pentathlon, which involves Swimming, Fencing, Horse Riding, Running and Shooting. Mystery surrounds the reason why twin brothers brawled in the street armed with an expensive bottle of wine outside a posh restaurant in a well-heeled Sydney suburb. Company executive Edward Tarrant, 39, attacked his classic car dealer brother Phillip - who earns $200,000 a year - after they met for dinner at Bistro Mosman, according to court documents. Clutching a $115 bottle of grenache from McLaren Vale vineyard Samuel's Gorge, Edward aimed a kick at his brother as he tried to get in his Uber after leaving the upmarket north shore eatery, says a police statement of facts. He then launched a flurry of punches before his brother retaliated and fought back, the documents submitted to Manly Local Court state. Police said Phillip, a former pupil at Sydney's St Pius X College private school, then snatched the bottle of wine from his brother's hand and struck him on the head with it The blow cut his brother's head open and, according to the police statement, Edward, a former student at St Aloysius College in North Sydney, screamed: 'I'm bleeding!' Twin brothers Phillip and Edward Tarrant (pictured) brawled in the street armed with an expensive bottle of wine outside a posh Bistro Mosman restaurant on Sydney's north shore Classic car dealer Phillip Tarrant (pictured) - who told police he earns $200,000 a year - hit his brother on the head with the $115 bottle of McLaren Vale grenache, according to police. The fight ended when passers-by intervened and Phillip helped his brother until emergency services took him to hospital where the wound was stitched up. The pair now have restraining orders taken out against each other, and Phillip is receiving mental health treatment as a condition of having his charges dismissed. What triggered the brawl has yet to be revealed though, with the brothers refusing to discuss the blow-up. 'I'm not in a position to talk about it, unfortunately,' Phillip told Daily Mail Australia. Edward did not respond to questions. The family have been hit by heartbreak with their sister Anna currently battling terminal brain cancer with 'no more treatment options' after multiple operations. She is bravely launching a cancer sufferers' support app and website this month while also trying to do voluntary animal care work despite her own fight for life. In her latest update, she vowed: 'Still defying survival odds and giving it a red hot go.' She was not involved in her brothers' fight. Sister Anna Tarrant (pictured with brother Edward) is currently battling terminal brain cancer with 'no more treatment options' after multiple operations Anna Tarrant is bravely launching a cancer sufferers' support app and website this month while also trying to do voluntary animal care work despite her own fight for life (pictured) Father-of-two Phillip runs European used car specialists Unique Motor Garage in Petersham, which has the motto: 'Why drive an ordinary car when you can drive something unique?' The fight is said to have erupted 45 minutes after the pair had arrived at the local French-style restaurant attached to The Buena hotel in Mosman on July 16 last year. They ordered the $115 bottle of Samuel's Gorge Grenache red wine from McLaren Vale in South Australia before Phillip got up to leave at 8.05pm. The wine is described as 'fresh and incredibly perfumed' with 'playful notes of quandong, raspberry and sherbet, grounded by the more earthy scent of vanilla pod and olive leaf amaro'. The tasting notes add: 'With lovely length and texture, this is a layered, complex wine that will continue to reveal its secrets with each sip.' It sells at the winery's cellar door for $45 but is listed for $115 a bottle at Bistro Mosman or $23 a glass. The fight erupted 45 minutes after the pair had arrived at Bistro Mosman, the French-style restaurant attached to The Buena hotel on July 16 last year where they ordered the $115 a bottle McLaren Vale red wine, Samuel's Gorge Grenache Police later told the court they believed 'alcohol intoxication was a factor in the actions of both parties' in the bust up. 'Phillip left the hotel and ordered an Uber to pick him up,' police told the court in documents seen by Daily Mail Australia. 'Edward also exited the hotel about four minutes later, taking the bottle of Samuel's Gorge Grenache with him as he exited. 'The Uber driver arrived and Phillip opened the passenger door. Edward approached him and kicked him to the body which made him fall towards the car. 'Edward punched Phillip two times then Phillip pushed Edward back and said: "Let me go!"' But instead Edward squared up to his brother again and the pair began to exchange blows, causing Phillip's nose to bleed, said the police statement of facts. 'During this melee, Edward had kept hold of the wine bottle in his other hand,' said police. 'Phillip forcefully pulled the bottle from him. 'Immediately after gaining control of it, Phillip hit Edward on the head. The hit caused Edward to bleed. 'Edward said, "I'm bleeding" and Phillip stopped hitting him and began providing aid to Edward.' Police and ambulance were called and Phillip was arrested while Edward was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital where a 4cm wound, 1cm wide, had two staples put in. Police said Phillip admitted hitting Edward 'a number of times prior to taking the wine bottle and hitting him again.' He demonstrated to police how he had hit his brother with the bottle in a punching-style motion with his hand wrapped around the label. Police told the court 'the actions of Phillip were excessively violent and unreasonable'. The statement of facts added: 'The accused had the opportunity to escape but chose to re-engage in fighting Edward.' Phillip was released on bail conditions which included a ban on him approaching his brother within 12 hours of drinking alcohol. Phillip faced two charges of domestic violence-related reckless wounding and one of affray which were all withdrawn. He pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm but that charge was also dismissed and he was discharged into medical care and ordered to comply with a psychologist's treatment plan. Phillip Tarrant (pictured with wife Valeria) faced two charges of domestic violence-related reckless wounding and one of affray which were all withdrawn. He pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm but that charge was also dismissed and he was discharged into medical care and ordered to comply with a psychologist's treatment plan Magistrate Gareth Christoffi added: 'It appears to me that the defendant has a mental health impairment or a cognitive impairment or both, but is not a mentally ill person. 'If the defendant fails to comply, he may be called before the court and charges dealt with as if he had not been discharged.' Edward pleaded guilty to a charge of domestic violence-related common assault but no conviction was recorded and he was given a conditional release order for 12 months. The reasons behind the apprehended violence orders against the brothers were not released to the media. But both are prohibited from assaulting, threatening, stalking, harassing or intimidating the other, damaging each other's properties or harming each other's pets. One of Britain's most notorious conmen, who tricked judges, lawyers and police officers into believing he was a respected forensic detective over three decades - before also being unmasked as a sex predator - has been ruled still too dangerous to be released. Gene 'Rocky' Morrison, who called himself Dr. Gene Morrison, appeared as an expert forensic psychologist in hundreds of court cases and was paid at least 250,000 in tax payers money. In 2007 he was described as a complete charlatan and found guilty of a host of deception charges at Minshull Street crown court, Manchester. Morrison was jailed for five years. In a hugely embarrassing verdict, Morrison's web of lies was laid bare, including buying academic awards from a fictitious US university and hiring a lie detector from a firm called 'Spies R Us.' Working under the motto 'Exposing Unrighteousness for the Sake of Righteousness' the exposure of the scam led to police investigating 700 cases in which Morrison gave evidence for possible miscarriages of justice. Gene 'Rocky' Morrison, who called himself Dr. Gene Morrison, appeared as an expert forensic psychologist in hundreds of court cases before he was caught In 2009 aged 51 and two years into his sentence for fraud, Morrison was also revealed to be a sexual predator when he was convicted of sexually assaulting four young victims between 2000 and 20007. He was sentenced at Minshull Street crown court to serve an indeterminate sentence with a minimum of seven and a half years for the rapes and sex assaults. Under the terms of the sentence, Morrison cannot be released on licence until the Parole Board decides he is no longer a threat to society. The fake forensic scientist first became eligible for parole in 2017. Within the last few weeks, following a paper review of his progress, Morrison has been told he will not be granted an oral hearing. The decision not to allow Morrison to address a three-person parole panel in person is relatively unusual and reflects his lack of progress within the prison system. A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: 'We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board refused the release of Gene Morrison following a paper hearing. The panel also refused to recommend a move to open prison. 'Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.' MailOnline has obtained a written summary of the Parole Board decision that acknowledges Morrison has taken 'accredited courses' but 'specialist advice was that risks remained live and that important training needs were still to be met.' In relation to the sex attacks, it stated: 'Mr Morrison had breached the trust placed on him by targeting, grooming and coercing victims. 'He had a history of domestic violence and had used power and control over partners in his relationships.' The report continues: 'Against that background and in the absence of sufficient change since his last parole hearing, the panel concluded that Mr Morrison was not yet ready to be safely released to the community under the conditions proposed by his probation officer.' Morrison has been ruled still too dangerous to be released by the parole board At his first trial for fraud, the full extent of Morrison's deceit was laid bare in breathtaking detail during a court case that often descended into farce. Jamaican-born Morrison, then aged 48, of Hyde, Cheshire, was convicted of 22 charges including perjury, perverting the course of justice and obtaining money by deception. The court was told that Morrison, who is believed to have fathered nine children by various women, had given his 'expert' opinion in over 700 cases, including murder trials, armed robbery, drugs and accidents. Rather than an expert, Morrison, dubbed 'Rocky' in his hometown, had left school with no qualifications and decided to become a forensic scientist after spotting an advert in a detective magazine offering correspondence degrees customers could buy. His firm Criminal and Forensic Investigation Bureau was set up in 1977 with Morrison heading it after buying a fake BSc in Forensic Sciences from the bogus Rochville University in the United States. The fraudster hired a real forensic detective and used his work as his own, often charging twice what he paid. At other times, he cut and pasted old reports. Appearing in court, he insisted on being referred to as Doctor throughout the entire trial, and the jury were supposedly reduced to laughter on many occasions throughout the proceedings. Morrison will be eligible for a further parole review in two years time. A one-time schoolboy killer who went on to murder a second time after his release from prison has been denied parole for the second killing. David Wynne Roberts, now 68, has been told that he is still too dangerous to be released from jail after a Parole Board queried his 'openness and honesty with professional staff.' Roberts has now served 15-years over his minimum sentence for the murder of Bronwen Nixon in her guesthouse in the Lake District in 1986. The case became well known as the hunt for 67-year-old Bronwen's killer was one of the first featured on the BBC series Crimewatch to result in a successful prosecution for murder. The publicity led to the arrest of Roberts, who already had a conviction for murder in March, 1969, when he was only 14-years-old. One-time schoolboy killer David Wynne Roberts who went on to murder a second time after his release from prison has been denied parole for the second killing Roberts, now 68, has been told that he is still too dangerous to be released from jail after a Parole Board queried his 'openness and honesty with professional staff' At Manchester Crown Court on December 1, 1986, Roberts, then 32, was found guilty of Bronwen's murder by a majority verdict of 11 to one. After a number of appeals, his minimum term was set at 22-years, which expired in 2008. Roberts was moved to an open prison in December 2019, because of improved insights into his crimes and better behaviour in jail. The transfer to a Category D jail is often the precursor for a prisoner's release on licence back into society. Despite the positive reports, Roberts was told in late March that he was still too dangerous to be released. He will have to wait until 2025 for a tenth parole hearing. MailOnline has obtained the Parole Board's written summary of the reasons for rejecting Roberts' application. The Parole Board writes: 'The panel heard that Mr Roberts had made further progress in open conditions but was presented with evidence which caused it concern in relation to his openness and honesty with professional staff.' It states that Roberts' Probation Officer had compiled a detailed release plan to manage him in the community, but the board doubted that the double killer would follow the rules. These included requiring Roberts to stay in designated accommodation, and strict limitations on his contacts, movements and activities. Roberts has now served 15-years over his minimum sentence for the murder of Bronwen Nixon in her guesthouse in the Lake District in 1986 The Parole Board added: 'The panel concluded however that this plan was not robust enough to manage him in the community at this stage because it did not have sufficient evidence that he would fully comply with all of the required conditions. 'The panel agreed that further testing in open conditions was essential.' It concluded: 'After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress made while in custody and the very full evidence presented at the hearing and in the dossier, the panel was not satisfied that Mr Roberts was suitable for release. 'He will be eligible for another parole review in due course.' Roberts repeatedly tried to get his jail sentence reduced after the Home Secretary at the time, Douglas Hurd, set a whole life tariff in 1988. The legal aid funded battle culminated in a hearing at Birmingham Crown Court before Mr Justice Gibbs in February 2006. He set the 22-year minimum term. The judge commented that both murders were strikingly similar. On March 4, 1969 Roberts, then just 14, went to see his mother's elderly friend Sarah Hughes, who lived near his home in Valley. While her back was turned he opened a drawer in the kitchen and found a knife with which he stabbed her repeatedly. Roberts repeatedly tried to get his jail sentence reduced after the Home Secretary at the time, Douglas Hurd, set a whole life tariff in 1988 After replacing the knife, Roberts then ransacked the house, stealing PS10 - which he later spent on books - and attempted to drive her car away before making off. Roberts was later arrested and some of the money he had stolen was recovered from within a 'hollowed out' book found in his bedroom. Charged with murder, he stood trial at Caernarvon Assizes in July 1969. After his release in 1976 he was unable to find regular employment and spent time with Anglesey's homeless. In October 1985 he went to Blackpool, where in a nightclub he met a group of staff from a hotel in Ambleside, Cumbria. Taking pity on him, they took him back with them and hid him in the staff quarters at the Rothay Manor Hotel. Then early in January 1986 he disappeared. A few days later the body of the hotel's owner, Bronwen Nixon, was discovered in a cottage in the hotel's grounds by one of her sons. She used the cottage as a studio, and she was found stabbed and strangled with her own scarf, her hands tied behind her back and with a plastic bag over her head. Forensic examination revealed bloodstains in the hallway and items found to be disturbed in downstairs rooms. Other evidence was indicative that a struggle had taken place on the staircase and continued into the bedroom. The jury at Roberts' trial heard Mrs Nixon had also suffered brutal injuries to her ribs 'attributable to the offender stamping on her as she lay on the ground'. Roberts then stole some of her possessions and drove away in her car. The body of Bronwen Nixon was discovered in a cottage in the hotel's grounds by one of her sons Mrs Nixon had asked Roberts and his male partner to leave their room because the hotel was closed for the winter. The hunt for her killer was featured in Crimewatch, and within an hour Roberts went to the police in London, claiming he was innocent. But forensic evidence linked the victim's body with his jumper. Red fibres found at the scene were later traced to a Blackpool hotel where Roberts was known to have stayed. Police enquiries forensically matched these fibres with a red scarf given to Roberts by a male friend who had gone to Malta. Roberts's two-week trial at Manchester Crown Court ended with his second murder conviction - and he remains in prison. A Brit was banned from flying with EasyJet for ten years because of his name. Kieran Harris, 21, booked a flight to Alicante, Spain, on May, 25, but was told a day before his flight that he was banned from flying. The graduate, from Cheshire, found that he shared his name and birthday with a former passenger and convicted criminal who was notorious for causing disruption, according to the Mirror. The trainee auditor claims that the airline had confused him with a man sentenced to 12 weeks in prison for behaving aggressively and abusively whilst drunk on an EasyJet flight in 2021. The email banning Kieran said 'due to previous disruptive behaviour' Kieran had received a '10 year no-fly sanction until 15/03/2031'. Kieran Harris, 21, pictured with his mother Sheena, 54, booked a flight to Alicante, Spain, on May, 25, but was told a day before his flight that he was banned from flying The graduate, from Cheshire, found that he shared his name and birthday with a former passenger and convicted criminal The trainee auditor claims that the airline had confused him with a man sentenced to 12 weeks in prison He was told he could not board the flight leaving Liverpool John Lennon Airport and would miss his holiday. Kieran told the Mirror: 'My friend got an email at 6pm the night before the flight, saying they had this ten-year flight ban, and I was just removed off the booking. 'I was gutted. I couldn't quite get my head around it. 'I wasn't on the booking anymore, I didn't have a seat on the flight, and there was no point in me even going to the airport.' Kieran claimed that EasyJet requested a picture of his passport to confirm his identity, and eventually lifted the accidental ban - leaving the holidaymaker with just hours to get to his flight. Keiran said is considering boycotting the airline because of the 'stressful' situation- he had to take time off work to go back and fourth with EasyJet to resolve the issue. This is not the first time he has been mistaken for the criminal- he claims Metropolitan Police stormed his home in bulletproof vests last year after misidentifying him. He said: 'We've had this previously. It's this person who obviously has the same name and date of birth as me. 'The police turned up at my family home last summer trying to question me. It was quite serious, but within five or ten minutes they knew that it wasn't me. 'News articles are published with a photo of this person and you can see that it's not me. 'They're accusing me of doing something, whereas if they saw me in person, any human being would be able to see that it's not me, it's just a bit frustrating. Kieran claimed that EasyJet requested a picture of his passport to confirm his identity, and eventually lifted the accidental ban - leaving the holidaymaker with just hours to get to his flight 'I'm thinking of getting a name change if this continues to happen.' His mother Sheena, 54, told the Mirror that the police stormed their home last May, they allegedly burst into their bedrooms and living room before realising they had the wrong person. The police allegedly told the family there was another person, who also lives in the north-west of England, that has the same name. A spokesperson for EasyJet said: 'We are very sorry that Mr Harris was incorrectly advised he couldn't fly with us. 'We made this decision in good faith as Mr Harris shared the same name and date of birth and was flying from the same UK region as a passenger we'd previously banned for a serious offence onboard. 'As soon as Mr Harris contacted us, we resolved the matter, and while he flew as originally planned, we understand the frustration this will have caused, so our team are in touch with him and will offer a gesture of goodwill in light of his experience.' A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: 'This complaint did relate to police attending an address for a Kieran Harris, and it appears to have been a mistaken identity, for which we have sent an apology in writing.' A Sonic employee has been arrested after a customer was served a bag of cocaine with her hot dog order. Jeffrey David Salazar, 54, faces a felony charge for possession of a controlled substance, according to the Espanola Police Department said in a press release. The female customer, whose name was not disclosed, went through the Sonic Drive-In in Espanola on Tuesday when the customer, ordered a 'Coney,' a hot dog topped with warm chili and melted cheddar cheese. After she bit into the hot dog she made the disturbing discovery that it wasn't the chili dog she was eating but a plastic bag filled with powder. She immediately called the authorities. The woman does not believe she ingested any of the substance in her mouth, according to an incident report, the Rio Grande Sun reported. Sonic employee Jeffrey David Salazar, 54, was arrested and faces a felony charge for possession of a controlled substance, according to the Espanola Police Department After she bit into the hot dog she made the disturbing discovery that it wasn't the chili dog she was eating but a plastic bag filled with powder. She immediately called the authorities The incident happened on Tuesday at one of the Sonic drive-thru's in New Mexico Police believe that the substance was inadvertently placed in the food as Salazar was preparing her order. Police said a 'field test' confirmed that the substance was cocaine. On Tuesday, the day of the incident, Salazar was seen on video surveillance on 'what appeared to be a hand to hand transaction with a female employee,' according to an affidavit for the arrest warrant, the news outlet reported. He is seen preparing the customer's order until he discovers that he may have lost something and grows frantic, as per police report. According to the report,, Salazar claimed to have bought the cocaine outside in the parking lot. The female customer is being represented by Merit Bennet of the Bennett Law Group who said they plan on submitting a claim once the reports are confirmed, the news outlet said. One Nation's NSW leader Mark Latham has become embroiled in yet another controversy with independent MP Alex Greenwich - this time over a possum skin. Sydney MP Mr Greenwich is currently suing Mr Latham over an anti-gay tweet he posted in March, and the One Nation leader has threatened to countersue for slander. But the latest battle line between the warring pair is over a possum pelt that went missing from an exhibition hosted by Mr Greenwich in NSW Parliament House. One Nation's NSW leader Mark Latham (pictured) has become embroiled in yet another controversy with independent MP Alex Greenwich The Museum of Futures exhibition invites viewers 'to consider our shared past and imagine our shared futures', though Mr Latham has called it 'pure garbage'. Earlier this week, the possum skin part of the display mysteriously disappeared. Mr Latham denied taking the pelt, but admitted he 'borrowed' two other parts of the exhibit, 'a kids book on enjoying farts' and 'a display of solar panel sunglasses'. He said he brought the items into the NSW upper house chamber to show Nationals MP Sam Farraway how 'wacky' the exhibition was. 'The art display is pure garbage,' Mr Latham told the Sunday Telegraph. A parliamentary source claimed the missing pelt was later 'retrieved' from Mr Latham's office by a staffer. The item has since been returned to the exhibit. Mr Greenwich said, 'It's an exhibition, not a library.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Latham for comment. Mr Greenwich said on May 1 he was suing Mr Latham for defamation after the One Nation politician refused to apologise for the March tweet in which he described male-on-male sex as disgusting. The Sydney MP also filed complaints with the NSW Police and Anti-Discrimination NSW on the grounds of vilification. Mr Latham has refused to apologise for the tweet and continued his latest attack against Mr Greenwich on May 3 accusing him of 'starting' the online feud. His comment came as Pauline Hanson revealed she still supported Mr Latham as NSW leader even though she condemned him for the tweet. The latest battle between Mr Latham and Mr Greenwich concerns a possum skin (pictured) Mr Greenwich had called Mr Latham a 'disgusting human being' after he attended a religious gathering in Sydney in March. The event spiralled into chaos as members clashed with LGBTQI activists. Mr Latham took issue with the comment made by Mr Greenwich and responded with the inflammatory tweet that has since been taken down. 'Disgusting? How does that compare with sticking your d*** up a bloke's a*** and covering it with s***?' he wrote. Mr Latham admitted his words were 'too crude to stay up there' as he further opened up on the debacle while speaking to radio station 2HD on May 3. The One Nation leader in NSW took the tweet down shortly after, but followed up with another tweet saying 'Never apologise, never explain.' 'If Alex Greenwich wants to say that the NSW Police have to go police words like this (his homophobic tweet) on Twitter, the police can start with his own words,' Mr Latham said. 'If you want to talk about words that are offensive, calling someone 'a disgusting human being' for going to a meeting in a church hall with the parish priest sitting on the stage, you can take offence at that and the police can investigate him.' He accused Mr Greenwich of starting the argument. 'This guy who started this dispute doesn't like the way I responded. I'll tell you what, he's got a glass jaw,' he said. 'I don't regret saying that as a straight man, the thought of someone holding a gun to my head saying that I've got to have anal sex with another man, I do find that disgusting. 'That's what makes me straight.' Mr Greenwich (pictured) is currently suing Mr Latham over a homophobic tweet he posted in March, and the latter has threatened to countersue for slander He said he doesn't think what he said about Mr Greenwich 'was an unfair thing to say given the nature of his attack on me. 'It was crudely expressed and the words had to come down and they did,' he said. 'He provoked this, he started this. Where's the apology for describing me as "a disgusting human being"?' Mr Latham said. He added that if Mr Greenwich 'persists' in suing him 'I'll have a counterclaim. If he wants to talk slander, (what he said it) completely slanderous.' A huge fire ripped through a historic 280-year-old church in Massachusetts and sent its spiral crashing down. The blaze at First Congregational Church of Spencer began at around 3pm on Friday and witnesses say it was caused by a lightning strike. Spencer Fire Department responded immediately and battled the flame for hours as smoke poured from the building which was made entirely out of wood. The fire spread rapidly and the church spire was completely engulfed in flames before it came tumbling down. No one was injured as the building was empty at the time and the community watched on in shock as the historic church crumbled. New video captures the moment the steeple of a centuries-old church in Spencer came tumbling down Friday. : Jonathan Kelley More details: https://t.co/w3DOBOBEbC pic.twitter.com/l6nuSQx6pA Boston 25 News (@boston25) June 2, 2023 A huge fire ripped through a historic 280-year-old church in Massachusetts and sent its spiral crashing down The blaze at First Congregational Church of Spencer began at around 3pm on Friday and witnesses say it was caused by a lightning strike Dramatic photos show smoke billowing from the building as it burned and this could be seen from surrounding towns. The Spencer Police Department urged the public to stay away from the area and fire fighters from neighboring areas were called in to help tackle the blaze. They managed to tackle the heaviest flames by 5pm as they climbed on tower ladders to douse the church in water from above. And hundreds of shocked residents watched from different corners as the fire engulfed the building. Rev. Dr. Bruce MacLeod, who has been leading the church since February, watched as it burned from across the street. 'For a lot of folks its a death in the family, for folks who have gone through life milestones here from baptisms to weddings to funerals, its devastating,' he told local television station WHDH. Investigators believe a lightning strike could have started the fire as a storm passed over Spencer at around 2.30pm. Krystal Sanchez lives nearby and said she saw lighting hit the spire before the fire started. 'I was just sitting in my house and I heard the ambulance come. I really didnt think anything of it but when I came outside there was just smoke and fire everywhere,' she told NBC 10 Boston. Spencer Fire Department responded immediately and battled the flame for hours as smoke poured from the building which was made entirely out of wood The fire spread rapidly and the church spire was completely engulfed in flames before it came tumbling down No one was injured as the building was empty at the time and the community watched on in shock as the historic church crumbled The church was first established in 1743 and it is not the first time it has been devastated by a fire as a blaze ripped through the congregation in 1862 before it was completely rebuilt 'The top of the building just came crashing down. It was terrible. There were people crying, it was really, really bad. 'It was terrible. There was people crying, it was just an awful scene.' Robert St. Germain also witnessed the fire and said: 'Its sad. Its a part of the town. What can you do? Were all sad. Were all grieving about this.' Southbridge Fire Chief Paul Normandin said: 'We had an eyewitness report of a lightning strike in the area, so were kind of assuming at this point that its probably what happened.' A collapse zone was put up around the church as fire fighters waited for an excavation team to arrive and tear down what was left of the building's front walls. 'It is concerning,' Normandin said. 'Thats why were not in front of it.' The church was first established in 1743 and it is not the first time it has been devastated by a fire. A blaze ripped through the congregation in 1862 before it was completely rebuilt a year later. A lone chimney with a beam across it remained and it resembled a cross. Some of the walls of the First Congregational Church were still intact following the fire which gave the community hope it can be rebuilt again. The church has a small congregation of around 30 people and pastor MacLeod does not know for certain if the building can be repaired. The City of Miami Beach is suing an internationally acclaimed artist that had been hired to create a colorful tiled artwork on the side of Miami Beach Convention Center. But just months after being completed in July 2019, the artwork consisting of red, green, black, blue, white and pink tiles became a safety hazard as the ceramic squares suddenly started cracking and falling off the wall. The city had to put up a protective covering over parts of the artwork to prevent anyone from being injured as the tiles came away and smashed onto the ground. A complaint has now been filed against artist Sarah Morris and her company Parallax LLC, as well as two contracting companies that were involved in erecting the mosaic, Home One Contractors Corporation and Moosally Construction. The city is seeking more than $1 million in damages. Morris was paid over $1.1 million to design and install the abstract tile artwork named 'Morris Lapidus' on the convention center's north and east exterior walls. The City of Miami Beach is suing artist, Sarah Morris, who had created a tiled artwork on wall of the Miami Beach Convention Center Sarah Morris is an internationally renowned artist, whose site-specific artwork has been installed and displayed in leading cities, such as New York, Paris, Zurich, Basel, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Bologna and Miami Beach, pictured Only months after completion in July 2019 colored tiles began to crack and fall In a lawsuit, seen by the Miami Herald, the city holds Morris and the contracted companies responsible for the issues with Morris essentially contractually obliged to repair any problems with the artwork for two years following the installation. Morris is said to have been tasked with examining the walls to ensure they were suitable for the project to begin with and to then ensure the quality, completion, and installation of the artwork. But Parallax, Morris' company has responded in turn blaming the very design and construction of the walls of the Miami Beach Convention Center itself for the artwork's troubles. Morris, who is a renowned painter and filmmaker based in New York, has an extensive portfolio consisting of international art exhibitions and public installations, although her website makes no mention of the Miami Beach Convention Center project. Morris was commissioned by the city in October 2016 to create the installation as part of the convention center's remodeling project. The art installation became a safety hazard as tiles started cracking and falling off the wall Nine months after completion the artwork began deteriorating in spring 2020 with the city reporting water damage, cracked tiles, grout issues, and bulging The artist paid homage to Morris Lapidus, a notable architect who was known for designing iconic Miami landmarks, but there were various delays in the installation process including issues with the tiles which were the wrong size and had to be cut up manually. The project was finally finished three months behind schedule. The installation was also supposed to come with an agreement that included a two-year warranty that stipulated that Morris would bear the cost of repairs within that timeframe. But around nine months after completion, the artwork began deteriorating in the spring of 2020 with the city reporting water damage, cracked tiles, grout issues, and bulging. By October tiles had began falling off forcing the city to take action. Morris then hired two firms to investigate the artwork's issues, while the city conducted its own investigation through which an engineer recommended removing all of the tiles entirely due to severe problems with the east wall. Artist Sarah Morris is blaming the construction company who built the convention center's walls saying they should be held accountable for the damage to her artwork placed on top of it 'Simply, if MBCC's walls could not support the Artwork, it was Artist's contractual duty to notify the City before the Artwork was installed and to design a means of mitigating this issue,' the city's lawsuit states. 'Artist did nothing, leaving the City to believe that the Installation Site was proper and ready for the Artwork.' Through her lawyer, Morris contends that the construction company who built the convention center's walls should be held accountable for the damage. 'Parallax is prepared to vigorously defend itself against any allegations of wrongdoing and looks forward to the resolution of this matter,' the company said through its attorneys, Soto Law Group. 'Any damage to the artwork 'Morris Lapidus' is a direct result of issues surrounding the design and construction of the Miami Beach Convention Center itself.' The lawyer also stressed that Morris's international reputation as an artist requires the city take down the entire 'Morris Lapidus' installation, claiming it could not continue to be displayed in its current condition. 'Ms. Morris is an internationally renowned artist, whose site-specific artwork has been installed and displayed in leading cities, such as New York, Paris, Zurich, Basel, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Bologna, to say nothing of Miami Beach,' Soto Law said in a statement. 'CMB's response to the damage to the 'Morris Lapidus' installation is an affront to the artist and to Miami Beach's own standing among the leading cities hosting Ms. Morris's work. Ms. Morris, the artwork, and the City of Miami Beach deserve better.' As for now, the artwork remains up. A teenager has been arrested after a man was allegedly stabbed to death. The body of a 34-year-old man from Ripponlea was found at an address on Surrey Road, South Yarra in central Melbourne on Saturday evening. At about 8pm on Saturday emergency services were called to the property. The body of a 34-year-old man from Ripponlea was found at an address on Surrey Road, South Yarra in central Melbourne on Saturday evening (pictured, distraught woman seen outside premises) Victorian police arrested a teenager after an alleged stabbing resulted in a man's death on Saturday night in Melbourne They confirmed a man inside was deceased and that his death was considered suspicious. Overnight Victorian Police arrested a young man from Frankston, aged 17, in connection with the incident. According to a police statement, he 'is currently assisting homicide squad detectives with their enquiries'. No charges have been laid. Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has information or CCTV footage is urged to contact Victorian Police. A pregnant Milwaukee bus driver managed to rescue 37 children from a bus fire just seconds before the vehicle burst into flames. Expecting mom Imunek Williams was two hours into her route to Milwaukee Academy of Science on Wednesday when smoke started filling the bus. 'I started to smell something funny at the stoplight, and I just thought it was normal smoke coming from another car,' Williams told WISN in an interview. 'But then as I started to drive more, the smell and the smoke started to get thicker. 'I just told the kids, let's get off. I evacuated the bus, made sure everyone was off and made them line up against a gate. Dramatic footage captured at the scene shows the large school bus completely engulfed in flames with thick white smoke billowing out the windows. The bus, pictured here, had burst into flames only seconds after Williams had ushered all of those onboard to safety Firefighters attended the scene and Milwaukee Police said they would be investigating how the fire started Williams, who is expecting a boy, added: 'It feels good seeing the kids this morning and having them thanking me, the school thanking me. 'As soon as we stepped of the bus, I turned around and the bus was just in flames.' Williams, who is expecting a boy, added: 'It feels good seeing the kids this morning and having them thanking me, the school thanking me. 'If it was my kid on the bus, I would want the bus driver to do the exact same thing.' In a statement, Milwaukee Police said they would be investigating how the fire started. They said: 'A bus started to smoke and caught fire. The driver and the occupants were all able to exit. Pictures captured after the fire was extinguished show the charred remains of the vehicle. Williams was taken to hospital as a precaution but both her and her baby are doing fine 'No injuries were reported; however, the driver was transported to a local hospital as a precaution. 'The cause of the fire is under investigation; however, does not appear to be suspicious at this time.' According to TODAY, Williams is now doing fine but she did suffer smoke inhalation from the incident. Elnur Enveroglu Israeli-Azerbaijani relations have always been based on historical values rather than political and economic. No matter which corner of Azerbaijan you are in, you can definitely meet a synagogue or meet the Jewish community there. Israeli activist who often visits Azerbaijan, CEO and founder of the Donnca Gracia non-profit and non-gevrnmental organization in Israel, journalist Rachel Abraham was our guest in the editorial office of Azernews to share her impressions about her last visit to Azerbaijan. First of all, Abraham talked about her trips to Ganja, Oguz, Guba and several districts of Azerbaijan, she also talked about mountain Jews living in Guba, synagogues with centuries-old history in Oguz and many interesting places she saw in Ganja. It should be noted that Rachel's visit to Azerbaijan also coincided with the first ever visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Azerbaijan. For this reason, the journalist spoke heartily about the day-by-day development of Israel-Azerbaijani relations. "I think the potential for the Azerbaijan-Israel relations is the sky is the limit. Recently the caretaker of the synegog was excited to see someone from Israel to come to see the hundred-year-old synagogues in Oguz. He said he doesn't get many visitors this time of year, only in summer. When I was in Ganja I met with the leader of the jewish community. They talked about how much they were very excited to see me and introduced me son of theirs serving in the israel Defense Forces. I think the connection between two countries are very strong. There is a group of Azerbaijanis who are going to study agriculture in the state of Israel that want to bring the lates technology of Israel and apply in Azerbaijan. They also want to apply the ltest Israeli technology of ittigation which will be helpfult to raise Karabakh's agriculture in future. Currently there is a number of students studying international programs at the Tel Aviv University." Rachel Abraham said since the embassy of Azerbaijan has started to operate in Israel there is a huge number of tourist flow from her country to Azerbaijan. "I think this is mutual now as many Israelis also visit Azerbaijan to explore the country. It was not so long ago in Tel Aviv there was a tourism office opened. Besides that, there is an ambassdor who helps Israelis to come to Azerbaijan. I think all things will be blossoming in the future," she emphasized. The journalist also touched on aspects that bring the two countries together to mutually cooperate. "Israel Azerbaijan have much common in many spheres. Our economic cooperation is also high and Azerbaijan provides 40 percent of Israel's energy needs. And most importantly we have common enemy like Iran through which Israel and Azerbaijan especially strengthen cooperation in security issues. Besides, as mention to Israeli President Isaac Herzog's recent visit in Azerbaijan there were seveal documents signed between two countries, one of which was in medical science and healthcare," she opined. Talking about the recent visit of israeli President's to Azerbaijan, Rachel Abraham notes that this visit is very important, but also comes from the special closeness between Israel and Azerbaijan. "Israeli President Isaac Herzog's choice of Azerbaijan to make his first ever visit in a muslim country was in particular significant. He could make his visit to Morocco, however we know that Azerbaijan is very distinctful and important for Israel among other states," she stressed. The Israeli journalist could not hide her emotions while talking about her visit to Karabakh. She said that she was proud to visit a founding country like Azerbaijan. "Israel also became one of the countries that supported Azerbaijan in its rightful struggle against the 30-year occupation. We are always ready to continue our support. The last time I was in Karabakh, I witnessed Armenian brutality. When I saw the destroyed houses first, then in my next trip the newly built houses in the place of ruins, I was really proud to be in a beautiful country like Azerbaijan. I should mention that I came across many destroyed houses in Shusha. However, I strongly believe that the whole of Karabakh will flourish in the near future," she added. The man who was wrongly jailed over the murder of Rachel Nickell is now living in a homeless shelter after he blew his 700,000 compensation. Colin Stagg, 60, had been handed the payout by the Home Office in 2008 to help 'rebuild his life' after he was the victim of a Met Police honey-trap operation. However Mr Stagg revealed that receiving the cash felt 'a bit like winning the lottery' - as he spent the money on cars and holidays to make the most of his life. After his girlfriend kicked him out in April, Mr Stagg spent last month living in a council emergency shelter, according to The Mirror. 'It's a terrible shock being homeless at my age,' he said. Colin Stagg, 60, (pictured) was wrongly jailed over the murder of Rachel Nickell and is now living in a homeless shelter after blowing his 700,000 compensation Rachel Nickell, 23, (pictured) was stabbed 49 times in front of her young son Alex on Wimbledon Common in July 1992 'I never had big ambitions but I certainly didn't see myself spending my 60th birthday in a homeless hostel.' Rachel Nickell, 23, was stabbed 49 times in front of her young son Alex on Wimbledon Common in July 1992. She had been walking her dog when the horrific tragedy took place. There was no worthwhile evidence against Mr Stagg but police still charged him with her murder. Mr Stagg spent a year in custody awaiting trial before an Old Bailey judge eventually threw out the case, branding the undercover operation 'reprehensible'. After double killer Robert Napper, locked up in Broadmoor, emerged as Miss Nickell's real murderer, Mr Stagg received 706,000 in compensation from the Home Office for the 'stigma' of still being wrongly considered the prime suspect in the case and therefore unemployable. Mr Stagg (pictured in 1994) was still charged with Ms Nickell's murder even though there was no worthwhile evidence against him Mr Stagg was seen entering his local Tesco in 2021 for the start of his shift on the checkouts after blowing his compensation In 2008 Napper who at the time of the case bore a striking resemblance to Mr Stagg was convicted of the manslaughter of Miss Nickell after a DNA breakthrough. The news of Mr Stagg's homelessness comes after it was reported he was working in his local Tesco in 2021 after blowing his compensation. It was also revealed Mr Stagg had plans to wed his long-term partner who was 'sick' of the lies told about him. A photograph showed him entering Tesco Express for the start of his shift on the checkouts. Mr Stagg said he and his partner had been living together for the last five years after reconnecting through the social networking site Friends Reunited. Soon after the pair entered a relationship, Mr Stagg was offered a position as a shop assistant in a Dunelm store before going on to work at a Tesco Express. This is the astonishing moment a Chinese warship comes within 150 yards of an American destroyer in Taiwan Strait, just days after the Pentagon said it would not stand for 'bullying' by Beijing. Footage obtained by Global News, shows a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warship cut across the bow of a U.S. guided-missile destroyer on Saturday while it was transiting the Taiwan Strait. USS Chung Hoon and HMCS Montreal had also been transiting the strait on a rare joint mission when a PLAN warhsip cut across the bow of Chung-Hoon. According to Global News, the Chinese warship made a course to cut across the destroyer and had been advised over the radio by the U.S. crew to alter course. The commander of the HMCS Montreal told Global News he believes the incident was 'clearly instigated by the Chinese.' The USS Chung Hoon, pictured here, and the HMCS Montreal had been transiting the strait on a mission when a PLAN warhsip cut across the bow of Chung-Hoon. The UUS Chung-Hoon, pictured here in 2014 as it passes ceremonies honoring the 73rd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor Three military boats from Taiwan's Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit patrol the Matsu Islands on April 9, 2023 Chinese President Xi Jinping has been accused of escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait in recent months While U.S. warships transit the strait around once a month, it is unusual for them to do so with those of other U.S. allies. The U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet said the Chung-Hoon and Canada's HMCS Montreal conducted a 'routine' transit of the strait on Saturday 'through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law'. In a statement, the Navy: 'Chung-Hoon and Montreal's bilateral transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific.' The Eastern Theatre Command of China's People's Liberation Army said its forces monitored the ships throughout and 'handled' the situation in accordance with the law and regulations. They said: 'The countries concerned deliberately create incidents in the Taiwan Strait region, deliberately provoke risks, maliciously undermine regional peace and stability, and send the wrong signal to 'Taiwan independence' forces.' The mission took place as the U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs were attending a major regional security summit in Singapore. At that event, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin rebuked China for refusing to hold military talks, leaving the superpowers deadlocked over Taiwan and territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Ties between the world's two largest economies are strained over issues ranging from Taiwan and China's human rights record to military activity in the South China Sea. A cargo ship sails in the Taiwan Strait as tourists watch from a lighthouse on Pingtan island, the closest point in China to Taiwan The HMCS Montreal, pictured here in January of 2022, had been operating in the Strait with the U.S. on a joint mission U.S. Secretary of Defence Austin also vowed this week that Washington would not stand for 'coercion and bullying'. He said: 'To be clear, we do not seek conflict or confrontation. Inside the American destroyer a Chinese warship took on: USS Chung-Hoon is packed with guided missiles and hellfire rockets The USS Chung-Hoon is in the Arleigh Burke class of guided-missile destroyers. Arleigh Burke classified destroyers are larger and more heavily armed than previous classes of cruisers. The Chung Hoon is capable of speeds of up to 30 knots and was deployed in 1991 Armament onboard the vessel include vertical launch missiles, Mark 46 torpedos, surface to air and surface to surface missiles Chung-Hoon also has a superstructure built in to accommodate a remote mine hunting system The destroyer is also loaded with two helicopters that are packed with Hellfire missiles and torpedos On board, the catering team provides 750 meals a day to the crew Their on board barber ship is said to cut 250 heads of hair every month and their ship store makes $40,000 in sales each month Advertisement 'But we will not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion.' The US has been expanding its own activities around the Indo-Pacific to counter sweeping territorial claims from China, including regularly sailing through and flying over the Taiwan Strait and in the South China Sea. Austin continued: 'We are committed to ensuring that every country can fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows. 'And every country, large or small, must remain free to conduct lawful maritime activities.' In Singapore, Chinese Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng, accused Austin of 'overtly or covertly making false accusations against China' in his address. Speaking with reporters after Mr Austin spoke, Mr Jing alleged the US has been 'deceiving and exploiting' Asia-Pacific nations to advance its own self-interests to preserve 'its dominant position' in the region. Mr Jing, who took no questions, said that by contrast, 'China is committed to the region's development and prosperity'. It comes after the Pentagon slammed China for letting a pilot fly in front of a US military surveillance plane. The U.S. command for the Indo-Pacific said the Chinese J-16 aircraft flew in front of the nose of the U.S. RC-135 plane earlier last month and forced it to fly through its wake turbulence. In December, a Chinese military plane came within 10 feet of a U.S. air force aircraft and forced it to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision in international airspace. The clip released by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command shows a view from the American aircraft's cockpit. The Chinese jet is seen approaching the RC-135 and buzzing it with the cockpit visibly shaking as the pilots then watch it fly out of sight. A teenager convicted of manslaughter has taken the Home Office to court - claiming he is unable to party after leaving prison because of an ankle tag. Nineteen-year-old Lukas Makula was jailed for five years in 2018 for causing the death of an elderly man. He claims curfew condition such as the GPS monitoring tag have made it difficult for him to get a delivery job or see his girlfriend, The Sun reports. His claim stated: 'It is detrimental to the claimants mental wellbeing that he is unable to leave his premises after 8pm which deprives him of the opportunity to socialise with his peers.' The case, which was heard in a youth court, heard no details of the attack which saw Slovakian-born Makula jailed. 19-year-old Lukas Makula, who was convicted of manslaughter, has taken the Home Office to court - claiming he is unable to party after leaving prison because of an ankle tag. High Court papers disclose his manslaughter conviction and sentence. While in a young offender's institution, he was reportedly sanctioned 40 times for his behaviour. He was eligible for release in March 2020 but was detained with a deportation notice, before being allowed out of immigration detention on bail in May 2020. During those two months, Makula won a claim for false imprisonment with an 18,500 payout after it emerged he had been eligible for release on license. Besides wearing an ankle tag, Makula's also has a 12-hour curfew at an address in Leicester between 8pm and 8am. The Home Office is contesting his case and claim he has breached his bail conditions 13 times, with a medium risk of reoffending. The family of the little boy allegedly stabbed to death by his father have made a heartbreaking plea to have him buried next to his mother who died from a sudden illness shortly after giving birth. A man, 45, was charged with murdering his three-year-old son after the toddler's lifeless body was discovered in an apartment in Riverwood, south west Sydney, on Wednesday afternoon. The father had serious knife injuries, which police believe were self-inflicted, and was rushed to St George Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. Police allege the 45-year-old man stabbed his son before turning the knife on himself at a unit in Riverwood, in Sydney's south-west (pictured, paramedics at the scene) The quiet Riverwood street in Sydney's south-west was awash with police on Friday The little boy's mother died in early 2021 shortly after giving birth. The father then allegedly cut off all contact with her side of the family. Now relatives are calling for her son's body to be buried next to her after finding out about his tragic death through news reports over 24 hours after it happened. The relatives descried his late mother as a 'supportive, affectionate' woman. 'Her death left a bitter taste and now her baby's death as well, it was the final straw, so much tragedy,' they told The Sunday Telegraph. 'No one wants to have to bury their daughter and their grandson,' the relative added A devastated family friend posted a tribute to the little boy on Facebook, saying 'you are now an angel in heaven'. The father remains in hospital under police guard. On Saturday, the charge of murder against him was read out in Parramatta Bail Court and his case was adjourned to August. It emerged that he had spoken to police hours before the alleged stabbing about an incident of domestic violence. He reportedly had a dispute with his new partner at his home in the Blue Mountains. It is understood she had called the police on Wednesday claiming he had allegedly been violent to her. Bilal Fazli from the nearby Riverwood Community Centre arrived with several people who left bouquets of flowers and stuffed animals outside the unit block Forensic police investigate the crime scene on Friday as shocked locals watch on Officers reportedly turned up to his home in Medlow Bath but he was not there, as he had made his way to the Riverwood complex owned by his aunt, which is about 100 kilometres from his house. Police were reportedly able to speak with him, who sounded calm, on the phone, with people who had seen him last saying his demeanour appeared normal. But hours later, he allegedly turned on his son leaving him dead and himself suffering serious injuries. Amber Macdonald, who lives in a nearby building, earlier told Daily Mail Australia she was shocked to see police swarming the street. 'It was scary. I felt like I was in America,' she said. Ms Macdonald said she was 'devastated' to learn about the little boy's death. Colleen Du-Rocher, who lives several floors above the unit, said she heard relatives of the father and son screaming when they arrived at the scene. 'I was shocked to hear a man was here with a child because this block is meant to be for 65s and over,' she said. Ms Du-Rocher said she was also devastated, having 20 grandchildren and great grandchildren herself. 'I was horrified. I nearly fell off the roof,' she said. Detectives will investigate the 'traumatic' incident as possible domestic violence Bilal Fazli from the nearby Riverwood Community Centre arrived with several people who left bouquets of flowers and stuffed animals outside the unit block. 'We were all in the office only a couple of 100 meters away and we were all really devastated upon hearing the news,' Mr Fazli said. 'We thought the most appropriate thing we can do is just to show our condolences to the family, to the community, and anyone else that's affected. 'We just want to let everyone know that the community center provides counseling services and support to anyone who might need it. And you're more than welcome.' A young father was dealt a massive blow after he was diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer just before his wife gave birth to their first daughter. Chris Stoker, a Brisbane warehouse manager, was diagnosed with a rare and deadly form of eye cancer, ocular melanoma, in May 2022. The cancer is extremely rare with only five to six in one million people diagnosed with the illness. Chris Stoker (pictured left), a Brisbane warehouse manager, was diagnosed with a rare and deadly form of eye cancer, ocular melanoma, which occurs only five to six times in a million people, in May 2022. He pictured with his wife Katey MacPherson In April, Ms MacPherson gave birth to Ivy, giving Mr Stoker extra motivation to be around as long as possible. Pictured, Mr Stoker, Within days of the diagnosis, Mr Stoker's eye needed to be removed and replaced with a prosthetic. Mr Stoker was dealt a huge blow when a routine scan in March detected the cancer had spread to his liver. Warning signs of ocular melanoma Warnings signs may include: poor or blurred vision in one eye loss of peripheral vision brown or dark patches on the white of the eye a dark spot on the iris small specks, wavy lines or 'floaters' in your vision flashes in your vision a change in the shape of the pupil Source: The Cancer Council Advertisement 'We were told that there is no 'cure' for this type of cancer and there is very limited treatment options available,' his wife Katey MacPherson said. 'The treatment options that are available will prolong his life but not cure him of this awful cancer.' Mr Stoker, who is just 36, was told there is 'no cure' for this type of cancer and was given 'months to live', rather than years. In April Ms MacPherson, who is 32, gave birth to the couple's first child, Ivy. She admitted feeling 'terrified of what the future holds for our little family' in a Facebook post. 'Chris will fight this disease with everything he has to be around as long as possible to watch our beautiful little girl grow up,' Ms MacPherson wrote. 'We are enjoying our time as a family and creating lots of beautiful memories with our little girl.' Ms Stoker's aunt, Gillian Tobler, started a GoFundMe page to raise money for a combination drug treatment that doctors are optimistic could prolong his life, if not beat the cancer. Three rounds of self-funded use of Darovasertib and Crizotinib is expected to cost Mr Stoker and Ms MacPherson $25,000. By Sunday afternoon the fundraiser had past the halfway mark with $13,628 raised by members of the community. Both Mr Stoker and Ms MacPherson are keen to 'spread awareness of this type of cancer' and encourage people to get their eyes regularly tested. Mr Stoker experienced a sudden onset of blurry vision, a known symptom that can prompt doctors to seek a diagnosis. Although he quickly got medical advice, on the fundraising page his aunt said he 'tried to brush it off' and went to work as usual, as many men would do. Within days of the ocular melanoma diagnosis, Mr Stoker's eye needed to be removed and replaced with a prosthetic 'Being a typical male he tried to brush it off with his 'she'll be right' attitude and got up and went to work,' said Ms Tobler. After 'plenty of nagging' from his wife, Mr Stoker saw an optometrist but was sent straight to emergency with a suspected retinol detachment. 'The following morning when prepping Chris for surgery the specialists found out it was worse than they expected,' Ms Tobler said. 'They found a large mass behind his eye and four excruciating days later, Chris was diagnosed with Ocular Melanoma.' After it had moved to his liver, the couple were told radiation could not be used to blast the tumour because it had grown too large. Instead he will undergo and mix of chemotherapy and immunotherapy. NSW Health urging people to be alert to symptoms People in NSW should be on alert for meningococcal symptoms after a Sydneysider died from the disease. NSW Health on Sunday confirmed a person in their 50s died from meningococcal, while two Sydney teens and a person in their 60s from the Central Coast are recovering from the disease. None of the cases are believed to be linked. Meningococcal symptoms include sudden onset of fever, headache, neck stiffness, tiredness, joint pain, vomiting and a rash of red-purple spots or bruises (pictured) Meningococcal symptoms include sudden onset of fever, headache, neck stiffness, tiredness, joint pain, vomiting and a rash of red-purple spots or bruises. Meningococcal is rare but can be fatal within hours if left untreated, NSW Health director Christine Selvey said. 'Early treatment is life-saving so it is important that symptoms are recognised early,' Dr Selvey said. 'If symptoms rapidly worsen call triple-zero or go straight to your nearest emergency department, do not delay.' There have been 19 cases of meningococcal reported in NSW this year. Children under five and 15 to 25-year-olds are at the greatest risk of contracting the disease. There is a free meningococcal vaccine available in NSW for babies at 12 months, adolescents and people of all ages with certain medical conditions. Richard E. Snyder, the former CEO of publishing house Simon & Schuster is alleging his ex-wife, who is some 28 years his junior, has left him in 'financial dire straits'. Snyder alleges Terresa Liu Snyder depleted his wealth, once valued at $43.5 million, claiming she wiped out his accounts and even stole frequent-flyer miles from his accounts. Snyder was 72 when he met Liu, who was 44 in 2004. The pair got married and remained together for a decade before Liu began divorce proceedings against him in 2018, when he was 86 and she was 58. Following the split, Liu received $10 million which Snyder claims was a significant chunk (about 75 percent) of his remaining net worth. But according to Snyder's legal filing, even after the divorce, Liu went on to deceive him by giving him 'the false hope of a continued relationship' while allegedly continuing to siphon off an additional $3 million. Former CEO of publisher Simon & Schuster, Richard E. Snyder, is accusing his younger ex-wife, some 28 years his junior of cleaning out his bank accounts Snyder claims his ex-wife Terresa Liu depleted his accounts by using his ATM card in countries around the world while he lay in hospital and his health continued deteriorate Snyder, now aged 91, has since compared her actions to that of The Grinch. 'Like The Grinch who left no crumb or morsel behind, she even emptied his frequent flyer account of over 300,000 miles days before abruptly abandoning [Snyder],' Snyder said in the lawsuit. Liu is also accused of abruptly abandoning him and traveling to various countries including Switzerland, Greece, Italy, and England making large cash withdrawals using Snyder's ATM card. Snyder also alleged how Liu neglected to care for him in October 2020 as she left him in the hands of their housekeeper before failing to visit him while he was in hospital for sepsis. Snyder suffered a 'complete loss of vision' due to an untreated detached retina. Richard E. Snyder was the former CEO of publisher Simon & Schuster. Pictured, the company's headquarters building in Manhattan Legal papers seen by the New York Post state it was only when Snyder's son, Matthew, came to his aid that he discovered the various financial issues. Snyder had outstanding debts, was being pursued by a collection agency, faced lawsuits that Liu had allegedly discarded, and had accumulated $65,000 in city fines relating to their Upper East Side townhouse's damaged facade. Snyder found himself in $1.5 million of debt as a result of the disputes but claims the true cause of his financial ruin was Liu systematically working to deplete his account, all without his knowledge. Eventually, Snyder's son moved him to Los Angeles, where a doctor assessed him to be in 'a deplorable state of health.' The lawsuit asserts Liu 'took advantage of her ex-husband when he became ill and got away with it for years because of his disability,' Snyder is now seeking $3 million in damages from Liu, who resides on Central Park South in Manhattan. She issued a stark warning about the need to protect skin Billionaire Gina Rinehart has issued a life-saving reminder to Australians about the need to protect themselves from the sun. The richest woman in the country used her acceptance speech after being crowned Western Australian of the Year on Friday night to urge the audience to look after their skin. Mrs Rinehart, 69, had left hospital just hours before after undergoing a minor surgery recently to remove a melanoma from her face and partially covered her bruised face behind a large white fan. Billionaire Gina Rinehart accepted her award for Western Australian of the Year from behind a large fan (pictured) to cover bruising from a recent melanoma removal operation Ms Rinehart (pictured) issued a stark warning to her fellow countrymen and women about the need to protect their skin from the sun 'I should probably remind you all, please do the sun cream, do the hats and do the check-ups, please, which I didn't do,' she said. The mining magnate attended the gala dinner at Perth's Crown ballroom on Friday night alongside a host of other famous faces including incoming Premier Roger Cook, Mineral Resources founder Chris Ellison and Seven West Media executive chairman Kerry Stokes. Mrs Rinehart accepted her award from the outgoing WA premier Mark McGowan in what was his last engagement as the state's leader after last week announcing he was stepping down because he was 'exhausted'. It comes as Mrs Rinehart last week topped Australia's rich list for the fourth year in a row. Her $37.41 billion fortune edges her ahead of fellow mining magnate Andrew Forrest who has an estimated wealth of $33.29 billion. Her wealth primarily comes from the success of her massive Roy Hill mine in Pilbara, WA, which exported more than 60 million tonnes of iron ore in 2021-22, and Hancock Prospecting, which delivered a bumper profit of $5.8billion in 2022. Manufacturers and miners performed better this year than last, with 14 slots taken by them in the top 200 richest an increase from 11 in 2022, according to the Australian Financial Review's annual Rich List. Gina Rinehart topped the list for the fourth consecutive year, with a net worth of $37.41billion in 2023 Her fortune translates to 52nd on Forbes 2023 list of global billionaires. At Friday's awards ceremony, Ms Rinehart reflected on the success of Hancock Prospecting, which she transformed from an ailing company into one of Australia's foremost mining corporations. The company was founded by Ms Rinehart's father Lang Hancock in 1955, who later appointed his daughter as chairwoman in 1992. 'It's actually a very long way from where my family company was 30 years ago and I'm incredibly proud of what we have achieved in this time for our company and what we've been able to contribute to West Australia and our country and our future,' she said. Mrs Rinehart is also a committed philanthropist, supporting numerous medical, educational, sporting, health and community organisations. In 1993, she established the Hancock Family Breast Cancer Foundation before later raising awareness about the devastating disease by painting over 100 Roy Hill trucks pink. A key architect of the Voice has accused Opposition Leader Peter Dutton of 'being duplicitous' over his concerns a successful referendum would 're-racialise the nation'. Mr Dutton made the warning last month, as he opened up debate on the Constitution Alteration Bill, which has since passed the lower house. During his speech, the Liberal leader warned a Voice enshrined in the constitution would have an 'Orwellian' impact, and risked making some Australians 'more equal than others'. Cape York leader Noel Pearson, who has been instrumental in the developing of the proposed model, said he was 'disappointed' by Mr Dutton's position. Mr Pearson claimed the Opposition Leader's speech was at odds with what had been expressed privately in the months prior. Mr Dutton made the warning last month, as he opened up debate on the Constitution Alteration Bill, which has since passed the lower house 'I met with him, I think two or three times with (then opposition spokesman for Indigenous Australians) Julian Leeser ... and at those meetings, Peter was very, very clear in what he said to me,' Mr Pearson told Sky News. 'He said "I do not agree with the race argument. Don't take me to be making a race argument here".' 'He assured me that he did not take the voice to be racial proposition. But of course since Julian's left the spokesperson role, (Mr Dutton) has come back to make this completely dishonest argument about re-racialising the Constitution. 'That is not the position Peter took to me when Julian Leeser was in the room. He was very anxious to assure me in fact, that he wasn't making that argument. I think he's being a bit duplicitous now in talking about re-racialising the Constitution.' The Bill will go to the Senate this month for further debate and is on track to be passed. Once passed, the government can set an official date for the referendum and begin the official campaign. Cape York leader Noel Pearson, who has been instrumental in the developing of the proposed model, said he was 'disappointed' by Mr Dutton's position Mr Pearson also downplayed Mr Dutton's concerns - which form a major part of the 'No' campaign's argument - about a lack of detail. Mr Pearson, like Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his government more broadly, have maintained it will be up to the parliament to decide the structure of the Voice. The referendum, they say, is merely an opportunity for Australians to take up the 'gracious offer' extended by Indigenous Australians to recognise them in the country's founding document. Mr Pearson said the parliament could replace the initial model of the voice, set to be legislated after the referendum, with a 'totally different structure' if the parliament deemed it was not operating as it was envisaged. '(The constitutional amendment) gives complete power to our elected representatives in Canberra to decide what the voice looks like. And if next year, they want to change it slightly, they can pass legislation to change it,' he said. 'If they want to replace it with a totally different structure, they will have the power to do that. 'So everything lies in the hands of the parliament.' A man has confessed to the murder of his landlord 15 years ago, after calling police on himself and showing officers where he buried his body. Tony Peralta, 37, had called police from a gas station in Roswell, New Mexico, on May 1st and told dispatchers he had killed his former landlord, 69-year-old William Blodgett in December 2008. Bodycam footage captured by the arresting officers shows Peralta repeatedly thanking officers for arresting him and confessing to the crime after they appeared on the scene. The two officers approach Peralta who tells them he is 'tired of covering it up and that he is 'tired of living with my lie.' Peralta also puts his hands behind his back to be cuffed and thanks officers for coming to pick him up. Sitting in an interview at the police headquarters after being handcuffed, he tells detectives: 'I confess, man. I confess. I dont want to live life anymore without confessing. Tony Peralta, pictured here, called police from a gas station in Roswell, New Mexico,told dispatchers he had killed his former landlord William Blodgett in December 2008. William Blodgett, pictured here, was last seen in December of 2008 and police say the case went cold after exhausting all leads 'I was on meth really bad. And I killed him because he wouldn't give me no money and I buried him in his house.' After leading police to the house where he said he killed Blodgett, Peralta tells them where they can find his body. Investigators said they obtained a search warrant and found a boot, bones and dentures after removing plywood floorboards from a detached room on the side of the house. The dentures were compared with Blodgetts dental records obtained in early 2009 after he was reported missing and that led to a positive identification, according to police. A tearful Peralta told police he didnt know why he had killed Blodgett. At one point, police video shows him putting his head down onto a table during an interview and sobbing. Peralta, 37, was arraigned last Tuesday on a charge of first-degree murder but did not attend the hearing. He pleaded not guilty to the charge through his public defender, Ray Conley, who declined to comment after the hearing. In an affidavit seen by DailyMail.com, Peralta is said to have told detectives: 'Tell [Blodgett's family] he was a good man and that he didn't deserve what I did. The two officers approached Peralta, pictured here, who told them he was 'tired of covering it up and that he is 'tired of living with my lie.' Peralta also puts his hands behind his back to be cuffed and thanks officers for coming to pick him up. Conley has said he will ensure Peraltas due process is respected as the case moves through court. A judge on Tuesday also set Peraltas trial for October but said that date could change. Blodgetts girlfriend and family had not seen him since late December 2008. She told police that Peralta, who was considered a suspect by police early on, allegedly had some sort or argument or fight with Blodgett, who had tried to evict him. Authorities at the time had talked to Blodgetts family, friends and neighbors and visited the home the two men shared, which appeared to have been abandoned with personal belongings still in place. Police found no immediate signs of foul play and Blodgetts vehicle was still there, according to the original missing person report. Detectives would periodically drive by the house but never spotted anyone. They also brought a dog trained to sniff for bodies to the property but found nothing. Police said the case went cold after investigators exhausted all leads until Peraltas 911 call. The flight landed at Stephenville Dymond Airport on the Canadian island of Newfoundland and the man was arrested by Royal Canadian Mounted Police A Delta flight heading to Detroit, Michigan was forced to make an emergency landing on a remote Canadian island after an unruly passenger broke free of his restraints. The 34-year-old traveler was allegedly being 'violent' on the flight and 'wouldn't calm down' on the trip from Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. He was restrained by airline staff but managed to break free before five to six passengers jumped in to restrain him again. The captain took an emergency diversion six hours into the flight and landed at Stephenville Dymond Airport on the Canadian island of Newfoundland at around 3.35pm. The man was then arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and footage of the interaction was shared online. A Delta flight heading to Detroit, Michigan was forced to make an emergency landing on a remote Canadian island after an unruly passenger broke free of his restraints The 34-year-old traveler was allegedly being 'violent' on the flight and 'wouldn't calm down' on the trip from Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, France A clip of the incident shows him being marched down the aisle and off the Airbus A330-300 plane which had 261 passengers onboard. 'What am I under arrest for?', he is heard asking in the video. Dena Haddad, a passenger on the Delta 97 flight, claimed the man had been 'violent' during the journey and 'wouldn't calm down'. 'We wanted to get here as soon as possible. It was scary for a little bit,' she told local television station WXYZ Detroit. Another passenger said: 'When we arrived to Canada and saw the police cars, we felt secured and fine.' And a third added: 'He was ready to throw hands. The whole back of the plane was interacting with him.' The flight then took off for Detroit 90 minutes after the man was removed from the plane. He was restrained by airline staff but managed to break free before five to six passengers jumped in to restrain him again The flight landed at Stephenville Dymond Airport on the Canadian island of Newfoundland and the man was arrested by Royal Canadian Mounted Police A spokesman for Delta said: 'Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior, especially when it potentially compromises the safety of our customers and flight crew. 'This unruly customer was removed at Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, and remanded to the custody of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.' Stephenville Dymond Airport in Newfoundland has been in the headline before, as on September 11 several planes made unscheduled landings after North American airspace was closed. The town hosted about 3,000 passengers for a week after the attacks. Stephenville Dymond Airport was a landing spot for planes on September 11 after North American airspace was shut down Unruly passengers can risk the safety of others on board a flight so unscheduled landings are not uncommon. A United flight was forced to turn back three hours into its journey in April after a disruptive passenger sat in an attendants seat and began screaming at the crew. In February an American Airlines flight made an emergency landing after a passenger who was denied a drink charged towards the cockpit. And a 'drunk' and 'aggressive' woman, onboard a flight heading to Las Vegas, was ordered off the plane last month over disorderly behavior and screamed at other passengers. Bruce Lehrmann has taken to Instagram to praise the legal team who defended him during his 2022 rape trial - just hours before his bombshell Channel Seven television interview. Mr Lehrmann fired up his social media on Sunday to commemorate the one year anniversary since his legal representatives united to help him fight allegations he raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in 2019. The former parliamentary staffer has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and claims he had no sexual contact with Ms Higgins. In the post, which was accompanied by the theme song of hit US television series Law & Order, Mr Lehrmann shared several photos of him walking alongside his defense team during his ACT Supreme Court trial last October. 'A year ago today a crack team of Defenders [sic] assembled to act for me,' he wrote. Bruce Lehrmann shared the above post on Sunday to praise his defense team during his rape trial in October 'They did so with little preparation to take on Goliath. He felt their presence just quietly', he said alongside a love heart emoji. Mr Lehrmann was represented by barrister Steve Whybrow, junior counsel Katrina Musgrove and Rachel Fisher, a solicitor at leading Canberra firm, Kamy Saeedi Law. While offering his appreciation for their work, Mr Lehrmann appeared to joke about the dynamics at play within the group. 'Thank you to the Captain Steve Whybrow SC (but actually it was Rachel),' he wrote. The heartfelt post comes as Mr Lehrmann will break his two-year silence in an extended episode of 7News Spotlight at 7pm on Sunday - where journalist Liam Bartlett will ask tough questions about the night Ms Higgins alleges he raped her. In a promo released by Channel Seven on Thursday, Mr Lehrmann appeared uncomfortable as he was asked to confirm whether Ms Higgins was 'lying' when she alleged he assaulted. His response was not broadcast. Bruce Lehrmann (pictured) was interviewed for an extended episode of 7News Spotlight, which will air on Sunday Mr Bartlett spoke with Sunrise hosts David Koch and Natalie Barr on Friday morning and said Mr Lehrmann had been waiting 'a long time' to tell his side of the story. 'I think he has wanted to get his side of the story out for a long time, to have his say, because he seen his accuser have her say in many different public platforms, on a national stage, for a long time now,' Mr Bartlett said. 'I think his legal team probably have held back for a certain amount of that time.' When asked why Mr Lehrmann didn't testify during his criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court in October, Mr Bartlett pointed out that his interview with police was aired before the jury. During that interview, Mr Lehrmann said he and Ms Higgins did enter the ministerial suite of Parliament House in the early hours of March 24 in 2019 - he claimed they went in separate directions and he caught an Uber home by himself. However, Ms Higgins alleged she woke up and found Mr Lehrmann having sex with her in Linda Reynolds' office, who was their boss and the defence industry minister at the time. He was never called as a witness during the trial. Further, it was revealed Mr Lehrmann is 'very angry' about the fact that former Prime Minister Scott Morrison apologised to Ms Higgins, even though her allegations were unproven. 'I think that's fair play to a large degree, forget about the names of the players involved in,' Mr Bartlett said. 'Any premise that circumvents system of justice by acknowledging that the particular person is a victim before there is a trial to determine whether or not they are the victim - makes a national apology - I think that's pretty dangerous stuff.' He also addressed the hefty payment Ms Higgins' received from the Commonwealth for sexual discrimination, disability discrimination, victimisation in the workforce - all for which she received up to $3million. Brittany Higgins (second from the left) alleged Mr Lehrmann raped her. He denies the allegations 'The money aspect is very interesting isn't it? Because we know that Brittany Higgins was already paid a large amount of compensation for her claim against the government on a number of different levels.' 'None of those details were made public.' Mr Bartlett said Mr Lehrmann was 'understandably he was apprehensive and nervous' about the upcoming feature, 'but very determined to get his part out'. Despite speculation that Mr Lehrmann was paid to do the interview, a network spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that was not the case. '7NEWS Spotlight made no payment to Bruce Lehrmann for the interview, however the program assisted with accommodation as part of the filming of the report,' they said. Mr Lehrmann was tried in a 12-day hearing in October last year, but a mistrial was declared after a jury member brought banned reading material into the court. Shane Drumgold, the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, dropped the case altogether in December due to concerns over Ms Higgins' mental health. Mr Lehrmann has always strenuously maintained his innocence. The Bruce Lehrmann interview will be aired by Spotlight on Channel Seven at 7pm on Sunday evening A friend of the mother-of-three killed after being shot 14 times by her husband who years earlier joked about his regrets over their marriage during an appearance on Family Feud has revealed the victim spent her final days fearing for her life. 'They seemed to be like the perfect family,' Christie Krause told Fox News. 'When we knew Tim and Becky, that was when they had gotten engaged and we're getting married. And it was a very happy time in their life. I would have never thought that Tim could do something like this. On Wednesday, a jury found Timothy Bliefnick, 40, guilty in the February 23 shooting death of 41-year-old Becky Bliefnick. Her body was found by her father after her family became concerned that she had not picked up her sons from school. She was shot 14 times. Timothy Bliefnick was arrested March 13, twelve days after his Quincy, Illinois, home was searched. The couple was separated and going through a divorce but a friend of the family said nobody thought the relationship would end with a murder. Becky Bliefnick (left) was found dead in her home by her father after her family became concerned that she had not picked up her sons from school Timothy Bliefnick, 40, refused to testify in his own defense after being accused of killing his estranged wife in Quincy, Illinois Christie Krause, pictured, said Becky had confided in close friends and family over concerns of her husband's potential to harm her before their divorce was final Krause said that she knew Becky had reached out to close friends and family in the days leading up to her killing as she vocalized fears her husband might harm her before their divorce was finalized. 'She had reached out so too many people that she was close to, saying that if anything happened to her that Tim would be the one that they should look at first,' Krause explained. 'That's really sad to hear, especially during the trial. It was very heartbreaking to know that she was in so much fear in the last few days of her life.' Becky had sent a chilling message to her sister Sarah Reilly before she died, warning that if anything happened to her, 'the No.1 person of interest is Tim'. 'I am putting this in writing that I'm fearful he will somehow harm me, come after me, or will try to [do] something to me that takes me away from the kids or the kids away from me,' she said. Krause told how she has prayed for the family and the three young sons their mother left behind hoping that they might remember her as an 'all-around great person.' 'My thoughts and prayers go out to them. These three boys have lost both of their parents. It's heartbreaking to know what they have to go through for the rest of their life, that their father killed their mother.' 'All I can continue to do is pray for them and hopefully offer happy memories from the past of their wonderful mother, who was just brilliant and beautiful and caring and just an all-around great person,' Krause said. A friend of Becky's has revealed how she spent her final days living in fear. Bliefnick (pictured right as his home was raided in March) was 'very cooperative' with officers, and handed over his keys to the home, which he rents, and his car In a statement following this week's verdict Becky's family said: 'We should not be living in a world where a crime like this is possible. We should not have to suffer a life without Becky who was robbed of her life in the most hateful, cowardly and cruel way. 'Her boys were robbed of a loving, devoted mother. I was robbed of my sister and best friend. 'My parents were robbed of their daughter, and as a parent myself, I cannot imagine a greater torture. 'Becky was a niece, an aunt and a cousin; a friend, a colleague and a caregiver. All those who love her carry heavy heartache in the wake of this tragedy. 'The judicial process cannot bring her back nor can it heal our wounds, but we are relieved that the verdict delivers justice, and we are thankful for all who made it a reality. 'As a family of faith, we are deeply thankful for our family, friends and the complete strangers who have rallied around us and prayed for us during these incredibly dark days.' The court heard Bliefnick researched ways to commit the crime on Google before riding to Becky's home on his bike Bliefnick and Becky had three sons together but were living separately at the time of her murder having split in February 2021 A GoFundMe set up by Becky's sister has raised $110,000 which will fund her funeral and care for her three children Becky's family said their priority was now raising her three young children. 'We live with the hope that the worst moment of our lives cannot define who we are, as we pick up the pieces to raise Becky's boys in the way we know she would want,' they said. 'While life cannot be normal in the ways it once was, such love and support does help restore the belief that the world does, in fact, have more good than evil. 'As they go forward with the certain truth that their father murdered their mother, we ask that you keep Becky's three, incredible boys in your prayers. 'We will move forward by leaning on each otherand our faithfor healing. We will speak of Becky warmly and often, remembering the way she lived and loved, not the way she died. She will be missed forever and loved always.' The court heard Bliefnick researched ways to commit the crime on Google, before riding to her home on a bicycle. Investigators retrieved dozens of shell casings in the basement that the state police lab found was fired from the same gun as eight recovered from the crime scene. Becky had also sent a chilling message to her sister Sarah Reilly (right) before she died, warning that if anything happened to her, 'the No.1 person of interest is Tim' The nurse (left), had previously filed a restraining order against her estranged husband (right) and his father before she in turn was then hit with a restraining order by her husband Before the shooting, Bliefnick had taken his wife's gun and refused to give it back, her attorney revealed. Officers didn't find the murder weapon and although Becky's handgun remains missing and forensic experts say it was among several models which could have matched the casings. In the weeks after her death, Bliefnick attended her wake, but not her funeral as he didn't want to be a 'distraction'. Police described him as being 'cooperative', after swooping on his property shortly before arresting him. Becky's family have branded the killing as 'hateful, cowardly and cruel', and vowed to not shy away from telling the boys who killed their mother Prosecutors say he used a crowbar to break into the property (pictured) through a second-story window before shooting his estranged wife in the bathroom The couple had three sons together, but were living separately at the time of Becky's death, with court records showing their split was filed in February 2021. Court records show that the couple, who married in 2009, had both filed restraining orders against each other. Quincy Police said the murder was an unusual act of domestic violence in an otherwise safe town. In 2020, Timothy Bliefnick and some of his family members appeared on ABC's Family Feud. Bliefnick made the comment as a contestant in an episode of Family Feud, hosted by Steve Harvey and which aired in January 2020. Harvey joked his response would get him in trouble Timothy Bliefnick, 39, predicted that a common wedding mistake would be agreeing to get married at all. He was arrested earlier this week and accused of murdering his estranged wife One of the questions asked by host Steve Harvey was, 'What was the biggest mistake you made at your wedding?' 'Honey, I love you,' said Bliefnick, addressing his wife, before adding cautiously, 'Said, 'I do'? His response evoked laughter and gasps from the crowd and a blank stare from Harvey. He immediately told Harvey 'Not mine to say. I love my wife.' He also added, 'I'm going to get in trouble for that, aren't I?' Harvey responded, 'It's going to be a lot of hell to pay at your house.' The episode was recorded in the fall of 2019 but aired in the spring of 2020, according to ABC. Australia will spend $105million to help Vietnam in its clean energy transition. The deal was announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Hanoi on Sunday, following a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh. Mr Albanese on Sunday was to meet individually with Vietnam's Prime Minister, National Assembly President, President of the Socialist Republic, and General-Secretary of the country's Communist Party. The meeting is part of a concerted effort to strengthen trade and economic ties between Australia and Vietnam. The $105million deal was announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) following a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh (right) in Hanoi Mr Albanese said Australia wanted to work together with its neighbours, especially when dealing with the challenges of climate change. 'I am pleased to announce that Australia will be stepping up our support for Vietnam's energy transformation,' Mr Albanese said. 'With an important package of new overseas development assistance of $105 million for supporting sustainable infrastructure planning. 'For stimulating private investment in clean energy infrastructure, and delivering technical assistance to develop Vietnam's critical mineral sector.' The talks, aimed to strengthen ties with the strategically important nation, will focus on Australia's 'shared interests', namely the status quo challenge China poses in the South China Sea, and the bilateral trade relationship. Mr Albanese also raised issues of defence and security during his talks, given the southeast Asian country's shared border with China. Mr Albanese said he and his Vietnamese counterpart had discussed their shared vision of 'an open, stable, secure, prosperous, and resilient Indo-Pacific, that is respectful of national sovereignty'. 'Vietnam and Australia want to see a continuation of the peace and progress our countries have enjoyed in the past century,' he said. 'We are committed to working together bilaterally and consult with ASEAN countries and through multilateral forums to further our vision.' he deal is aimed to help Vietnam develop a sustainable infrastructure for clean energy (pictured, Mr Albanese and Mr Chinh walking in welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi) Mr Abanese said a comprehensive strategic partnership between Australia and Vietnam was in the works 'as soon as possible' 'All of this connection and cooperation comes together in our plans to elevate our relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, and the prime minister and I discussed today, how we can do that as soon as possible,' he said. 'To signal the trust that we each other, as top tier partners and enduring friends.' On Saturday, Mr Albanese said the trip marked a milestone in marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between Australia and Vietnam. 'I'm very pleased to be here on my first official visit to Vietnam as Australia's Prime Minister, to mark the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic relationship,' Mr Albanese said on Saturday. 'We are strategic partners and we've been enduring friends over that 50 years.' Mr Albanese's arrival in Hanoi on Saturday was met with much fanfare, as locals and the media alike swamped him at a beer and bahn mi restaurant. The meeting is part of a concerted effort to strengthen trade and economic ties between the two countries. (pictured, Mr Albanese sharing a beer with locals at a bahn mi restaurant) Mr Albanese said the two countries had signed an agreement to halt international money laundering. 'It will enable financial intelligence to be shared, to interrupt money laundering and terrorism financing,' Mr Albanese said. The two leaders also agreed to expand the program which allows Australia's national science agency to collaborate with its Vietnamese counterparts. He will return home to Australia on Sunday night. A former White House doctor for presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama has raised concerns over Joe Biden's health and said it is 'malpractice' to allow him to seek re-election. Texas congressman Ronny Jackson has claimed he is 'not fit mentally or physically' to lead the country and 'it's a bad situation for us'. The now-Republican politician slammed White House officials for allowing Biden, 80, to run for a second term and said those close to him like his wife Jill should be stopping him. His comments come after Biden fell on stage during a graduation ceremony at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado on Thursday. The recent stumble marks the fourth time he has fallen in public since taking office in January 2021. Ronny Jackson, former White House doctor for presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama, has raised concerns over Joe Biden's health and said it is 'malpractice' to allow him to seek re-election His comments come after Biden fell on stage during a graduation ceremony at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado on Thursday Jackson insisted that Biden's health is becoming a national security issue and said something has to be done. 'This man's not fit mentally or physically to be our president, and it's a bad situation for us,' he told Fox News Channel's Hannity on Friday. 'Part of the job of the President of the United States is to inspire confidence and project power, and he's not doing that. He can't do that, he's too old to do that, and I think it's a shame. 'I think his lack of physical ability and his physical decline is now starting to highlight the cognitive decline that we've been watching for so long now. 'It's a package that just doesn't sell around the world, and it's becoming a national security issue for us. We have to do something about.' Jackson added: 'To think that this man thinks he can be president at the age of 86 when he's 80 right now [and] could be in office for another six years is just malpractice on part of the White House in the West Wing to allow this to be happening, for him to even be talking about running for another term. 'Somebody needs to be held accountable. People like Jill Biden and people that surround him and are supposed to love him and care about him, they should be doing something about this, and they should be stopping this because it's a shame.' He said it has reached a stage where 'our commander in chief needs a walker' during events. 'Could you imagine? It would be a better image than what we're seeing right now seeing him creep around in a walker,' Jackson added. 'At least he wouldn't be falling flat on his face in front of the entire world. It's embarrassing for him, and it's embarrassing for our country.' The former White House physician, who served under both Obama and Trump administrations, prays Biden does not get re-elected in 2024 and does not think he can even finish his current term in office. The now-Republican politician slammed White House officials for allowing Biden, 80, to run for a second term and said those close to him like his wife Jill should be stopping him The 80-year-old commander-in-chief stumbled, hit the floor and had cadets and Secret Service rush to grab his arms while he was handing out diplomas in Colorado The president was able to stand up and walk after the incident, and did not immediately leave the stage Jackson has frequently questioned Biden's health and circulated a letter among House Republicans in April to demand he takes a cognitive test or drop out of the presidential race. 'We call on you to either resign immediately and renounce your bid for reelection or submit to a clinically validated cognitive screening assessment and make those results available to the public,' it read. 'When you first announced your bid to run in the 2020 presidential election, questions and concerns were raised surrounding your cognitive abilities. 'Those concerns have only increased because your mental decline and forgetfulness have become more apparent since you were elected.' The Texas congressman called for an end to the 'cover up' of the president's health in February after his physician stated that he is fit and healthy for office. The Biden administration has consistently dismissed concerns over this health with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying attacks over his fitness for office had failed in the past. She said: 'You know, weve heard these types of attacks or remarks before. And, you know, if you go back to 2020, they said that the president couldnt do it in 2020 and attacked him there, and he beat them. 'Maybe theyre forgetting the wins that this president has had over the last couple of years. But Im happy to remind them anytime.' Biden's stumble on Thursday comes just weeks after he lost his balance while visiting the Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima, Japan. During that event, there was a railing available on some stairs the president had to navigate down. He ignored the railing and stumbled, restoring his balance while walking downward. Biden also stumbled while boarding Air Force One in March on a trip to Selma, Alabama. The former White House physician, who served under both Obama and Trump, prays Biden does not get re-elected in 2024 and does not think he can even finish his current term in office Biden fell up the stairs while boarding Air Force One in 2021 and toppled over on his bike near his Delaware beach house last June. He was not harmed in any of the incidents. A pool reporter traveling with the president to Colorado said Biden 'was walking back to his seat when fell. He appeared to have tripped on a black sandbag on the stage. 'When he fell, pointed to the black sandbag suggesting thats what he tripped on,' according to the report. Biden's age has already become an issue in the presidential race as he would be 82 when he is sworn in if he wins a second term. His chief rival, 76, former President Donald Trump, has repeatedly questioned Biden's mental capacity. 'Well, I hope he wasn't hurt,' said Trump when asked about Biden's incident Thursday. Sasser had been in contact with Wallace's husband David and the two had spent time together hiking before he moved to Alabama to be with his fiance Jennifer An environmental compliance specialist allegedly tried to hire a hitman to murder the wife of a man she had met on Match.com. Melody Sasser is said to have placed an order using a website called Online Killers Market to hire a hitman to kill Jennifer Wallace, the wife of a man she had met online. In an affidavit seen by DailyMail.com prosecutors shared details of a transaction made in January of this year concerning the alleged murder for hire scheme. Authorities were first made aware of Sasser's alleged scheme in April, when a foreign law enforcement agency notified the Department of Homeland Security's that Jennifer Wallace was the target of an assassination plot. The overseas agency had discovered messages between a user in the U.S. named 'cattree', who prosecutors claim is Sasser, and the administrator of the Online Killers Market, according to the complaint. Melody Sasser is said to have placed an order using a website called Online Killers Market to hire a hitman to kill Jennifer Wallace, the wife of a man she had met online. David Wallace, pictured here, told police he had met Sasser on Match.com and that Sasser had gone on to help him hike an Appalachian trail The first, dated January 11 2023, included Jennifer Wallace's full name and address in Prattville, Alabama, along with an escrow payment being made. For the services, Sasser allegedly made payments totaling $9,750 in Bitcoin, an untraceable cryptocurrency. Alongside the transaction, Sasser had added a description of how she wanted the murder executed and details about the Wallace's life. According to court documents, Sasser asked the site: 'It needs to seem random or accident, or plant drugs, do not want a long investigation. 'She recently moved in with her new husband, she works at home and in office in Birmingham. 'She drives a blue Subaru Outba97ck, her husband drives a maroon Jeep Grand Cherokee. 'Her husband works at Publix part time, they have three dogs that bark and jump.' According to the affidavit, the information submitted about Jennifer Wallace and her husband was verified to be 100% accurate. Sasser had also uploaded an image of Jennifer to the site so she could be positively identified by the assigned 'hitman'. After officers informed the Wallace's of the threat on their lives, Jennifer is said to have told officers immediately about Sasser. Wallace told cops that Sasser and her husband David had been hiking friends in Knoxville, Tennessee, prior to David moving to Alabama to be with his fiance Jennifer. Prosecutors say that Sasser had added a description of how she wanted the murder done and details about the Wallace's Jennifer Wallace told police that Sasser then turned up at their home in Alabama and told them: 'I hope you both fall off a cliff and die'. The two then say they started to receive threatening phone calls from a person using a device to disguise their voice. Using the fitness app Strava, prosecutors say Sasser was able to follow the couple on their hikes and she then relayed this information back to the hitman marketplace. David Wallace told police he had met Sasser on Match.com and that Sasser had gone on to help him hike an Appalachian trail. According to the affidavit, Sasser had several back and forth messages regarding the murder for hire and frequently messaged the site asking for updates. Investigators managed to follow the money in the case and subpoenaed Coinhub, which operates Bitcoin ATM machines that Sasser had allegedly used. Prosecutors say Sasser was able to follow the couple on their hikes due to them using the fitness tracker Strava, and she then relayed this information back to the hitman marketplace The company responded with transaction data and customer info that identified Sasser as 'cattree', according to the complaint. She had purchased Bitcoin with cash on at least four occasions at Coinhub ATMs in Knoxville. After which she sent the funds to a digital wallet controlled by Online Killers Market, the complaint states, and the phone number 'cattree' provided to complete the transactions was Sassers. According to the Daily Beast, Sasser was arrested on May 18th and remanded in custody where she remains until a further court appearance on June 8th. A furious shopper has divided opinion after slamming Woolworths for selling plastic wrapped cucumbers despite its ban on single use plastic. Australian journalist James Massola shared a picture on Saturday to Twitter of shrink-wrapped continental cucumbers being sold at a Woolworths store in Canberra. The national affairs editor, at The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, claimed the packaging defeated Woolworth's 'terrific' ban on plastic. Australian journalist James Massola shared a picture to Twitter of shrink-wrapped continental cucumbers being sold at a Woolworths store in Canberra (pictured). Massola claimed the plastic wrapped cucumbers defeated the supermarket giant's plastic ban 'I think the ACT government's plastic bag ban was a terrific decision,' Massola wrote. 'But the decision by Woolworths to individually plastic-wrap cucumbers (and some other vegetables) defeats the purpose of a plastic ban. 'Also, why on earth do cucumbers need to be wrapped?' Massola's post elicited a range of responses with many sharing in the journalist's outrage. 'Agreed. Here we are trying to reduce the volume of plastics in our life and our environment and they make it unavoidable!' one person wrote. 'Woolies were all anti-plastic when they decided to stop providing them free at checkouts, so now you have to buy paper bags, but not so anti-plastic on the shelves,' a third chimed. Others defended Woolworths saying while plastic wrapping is an issue, the packaging reduces food waste by keeping the cucumbers fresh for longer. 'Continental cucumbers dehydrate quickly, becoming limp, and are vulnerable to damage during their journey from greenhouse to your fridge. By acting as a second skin, plastic film extends their shelf-life by almost a full week,' one person wrote. 'They last dramatically longer wrapped. So it actually reduces waste,' a second person commented. 'They last about 2x longer when wrapped. It's very minimal environmental impact compared to throwing out a cucumber that's rotten in half the time,' a third added. Woolworths told Daily Mail Australia it is a balancing act between removing plastic packaging and food wastage. 'We're working to make grocery shopping more sustainable and we're always looking to understand what changes can deliver the most benefit for the environment,' Woolworths said. 'While removing plastic is always our first preference, in some cases it's a balancing act where we also need to carefully consider food waste. 'Some fresh produce items in Woolworths' range are packaged to help extend shelf life and reduce food waste.' The picture divided social media users, with many claiming Woolworths was not 'anti-plastic'. Others defended the supermarket explaining the shrink-wrapping keeps the cucumbers fresh for longer and avoids unnecessary food waste (pictured, Woolworths) 'For example, a continental cucumber wrapped in plastic lasts three times longer than one that isn't,' Woolworths added. Woolworths has set a range of targets to improve sustainability of its own brand packaging since 2018. The supermarket giant hopes to achieve an average of 60 per cent recycled content across Own Brand packaging by end of 2025 and aims to half the use of virgin plastic packaging by 2024. Since 2018, Woolworths has removed more than 10,000 tonnes of virgin plastic from packaging through a strategic program of work across its own brand products. A mother-of-three is fighting for life after her estranged husband allegedly set her on fire in a vehicle - just metres away from her home. Kirsten Moiler, 33, was rushed to hospital with burns to 38 per cent of her body after allegedly being set alight near her Mount Helena home, in Perth's north eastern outskirts, on Friday night. Her estranged husband Peter Moiler, 42, was arrested on Saturday night shortly after being discharged from hospital, where he was being treated for superficial burns. He has been charged with aggravated grievous bodily harm and faced Perth's Magistrates Court on Sunday. Kirsten Moiler, 33, is fighting for life with severe burns after allegedly being set on fire by her estranged husband Peter (pictured together) Moiler was arrested and charged shortly after being discharged from hospital on Saturday Police were called to the corner of Honey Street and Mill End about 6:25pm to reports a blue Holden Commodore was on fire and two people were suffering from burns. Witnesses nearby heard multiple explosions then a woman screaming for help, before seeing Ms Moiler running 100m from the scene, tearing off her burning clothes. Police said Ms Moiler, who suffered burns to her face, arms, upper torso and lap, tried to relieve her injuries by running into a nearby creek. One local resident, who was among the neighbours who rushed to Ms Moiler's aid, told Daily Mail Australia, the young woman was in agony and 'terribly frightened'. 'She was in incredible pain. I couldnt converse with her,' she said. 'It was awful. 'She was in quite a bad way.' A man has been charged after a woman was rushed to hospital with burns to 38 per cent of her body after she was allegedly set on fire, before a car exploded in Perth's outer-east Police were called to reports of a car on fire near the corner of Honey St and Mill End in Mount Helena, about 35km east of Perth's CBD, about 6.25pm Friday The RAC Rescue Helicopter was needed to fly Ms Moiler to Fiona Stanley Hospital with partial-thickness burns, also known as third-degree burns, to 38 per cent of her body - including her face. Meanwhile, her recently separated ex-husband was taken to the same hospital by St John Ambulance with superficial burns. The couple's three young children are safe and are in their grandparents care. According to social media, Moiler is an agricultural studies graduate and the couple married in 2012. WA Police Inspector Glen Beros told media on Saturday the incident is tragic. 'A young woman has got significant burns to her body, which is going to take a long time to treat, and then the rest of her life will be impacted by that,' Inspector Beros said. 'The investigation is still in its infancy, however, they were in a family relationship.' Anyone with information regarding the incident should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or make a report online. Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered on Saturday to protest judicial overhaul plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition, the most hard-line in Israel's history. The weekly protests, now in their 22nd week, continue despite Netanyahu's March announcement that the contentious legal proposals, which were moving through parliament and split the nation, were put on hold. Several rallies were held across Israel, with the main protest drawing tens of thousands in the central city of Tel Aviv. The protesters waved Israel's flags, lit torches and beat drums. The government's reform proposals would curtail the authority of the Supreme Court and give politicians greater powers over the selection of judges. Protesters holding an LGBT flag and a banner with the Hebrew words taken from Israel's national anthem 'free in our land', during a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his nationalist coalition government's judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 3, 2023 Police officers carry a person during a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his nationalist coalition government's judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, on June 3, 2023 Israeli media said nearly 100,000 people gathered in Tel Aviv for Saturday's protest. The police do not supply official figures for the number of demonstrators. On Friday, several hundred Israelis had protested outside Netanyahu's private residence in Caesarea north of Tel Aviv in a demonstration police labelled as unauthorised. There were at least 17 arrests. 'We will keep demonstrating to show them that even if they have paused in the reform plan we will stay mobilised - they will not be able to pass laws on the sly,' said 55-year-old dentist Ilit Fayn at Saturday's Tel Aviv protest. 'It's important for us to eliminate the possibility of Israel becoming a dictatorship,' added Arnon Oshri, a 66-year-old farmer. A protestor waves a red flare around under a large banner being held by fellow protestors during the weekly rally against the Israeli government's judicial overhaul in Tel Aviv on June 3, 2023 Demonstrators stand a minute of silence for three Israeli soldiers killed earlier in a shooting near the border with Egypt, during a rally protesting the Israeli government's judicial overhaul bill, in Tel Aviv on June 3, 2023 Protestors sing the national anthem, 'Hatikvah' during the weekly rally against the Israeli government's judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 3, 2023 People take part in a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his nationalist coalition government's judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 3, 2023 A protestor waves a flare around while walking on the Ayalon freeway and stop traffic following a weekly rally against the Israeli government's judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv on June 3, 2023 People take part in a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his nationalist coalition government's judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 3, 2023 People holding Israeli flags block the highway during a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his nationalist coalition government's judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 3, 2023 People take part in a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his nationalist coalition government's judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 3, 2023 People take part in a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his nationalist coalition government's judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 3, 2023 A large group of protestors march to the Ayalon freeway following the main portion of the weekly rally against the Israeli government's judicial overhaul, on June 3, 2023 A person gestures during a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his nationalist coalition government's judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 3, 2023 A member of Israeli security forces detains a demonstrator blocking a road during a rally protesting the Israeli government's judicial overhaul bill, in Tel Aviv, on June 3, 2023 Netanyahu's government, a coalition between his Likud party and extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies, argues that the proposed changes are needed to rebalance powers between lawmakers and the judiciary. However, opponents of the plan believe it could open the way to a more authoritarian government. 'This corrupt government is full of outlaws who are degrading our country to the level of a third world country,' Oshri said. 'It took 2,000 years for the Jewish people to have a state, and we cannot lose it because of a bunch of fanatics.' On Saturday last week, some 235,000 Israelis turned out for anti-government demonstrations, as per organisers estimations. Protests were staged across the country, with the main demonstration taking place on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv. Organisers later said there were 150,000 at the Tel Aviv rally. Brits have been warned that rail strikes could continue for five years - as Keir Starmer faces calls to 'get off the fence' and condemn the action. Train drivers staged their latest walkout yesterday, causing misery for Brits trying to get to events such as the FA Cup Final at Wembley and the Epsom Derby. It was the third disruption for rail services in the course of a week, and Aslef union general secretary Mick Whelan made clear that there is no end in sight for the dispute. He told Sky News: 'We do not want to be on strike. But we are in this if it takes us four years, five years, whatever it is, to get a resolution to this, we will do what it takes to get to that resolution. Aslef union general secretary Mick Whelan (pictured centre on a picket line in Newcastle yesterday) made clear that there is no end in sight for the dispute Train drivers staged their latest walkout yesterday, causing misery for Brits trying to get to events such as the FA Cup Final at Wembley and the Epsom Derby. Pictured, King's Cross Station in London 'We have gone four years without a pay rise, as have many other sectors and many other workers. 'But to stop now after four years, what will happen, we'll not get a pay rise next year, the year after, the year after that.' Mr Whelan claimed he had not spoken to anybody from the Government in more than six months. However, the government insists a fair pay offer has been made. Tories pointed out that Aslef is affiliated to the Labour Party and called on Sir Keir to condemn the strikes. Tory Deputy Chairman Lee Anderson said: 'It's time for Slippery Starmer to get off the fence and condemn these strikes causing misery for commuters and businesses. 'But he's too under the thumb of his union bosses the ones who really control the Labour Party.' A two-year-old girl has been killed while 22 people, including five children, were injured after a Russian missile struck near the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Her body was pulled from the rubble of a house in the Pidhorodnenska community, the region's governor Serhiy Lysak said. Mr Lysak also revealed that seventeen people were being treated in hospital, with five of those children and three boys in serious condition in hospital. The short-range cruise missiles hit between two two-storey residential buildings, partially destroying them and damaging a number of houses, cars and infrastructure. Speaking on Saturday after the first reports of the explosions, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote: 'Once again, Russia proves it is a terrorist state.' Rescuers work at the site of the residential building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike The region's governor said a two-year-old girl was pulled from the rubble of a house in the Pidhorodnenska community Pictures posted on social media showed rescue teams working at a shattered, smouldering building amid piles of twisted building materials. Mykola Lukashuk, head of the Dnipropetrovsk region council, said 17 children have died in the region since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. 'No words can soothe the pain of parents who have lost the most precious thing in their lives,' Lukashuk said. The country's Office of the Prosecutor General claimed the war has killed at least 485 children in Ukraine and injured nearly 1,500. Moscow and Kyiv deny their military forces target civilians. Following the attack in Dnipro, Russia launched a new wave of overnight air strikes on the country. Ukraine's air force said on Sunday it destroyed more than half of the air targets. Four of the six cruise missiles and three of the five Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia were downed, the air force said on Telegram. An aerial view of the damage left behind after the short-range missile strike Kyiv's city military administration earlier said all Russia-launched targets approaching the capital had been intercepted. It was not immediately clear where the missiles and drones that were not destroyed hit. Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine's capital since May, chiefly at night, ahead of a long-expected Ukrainian counteroffensive to reclaim territory, in what Ukrainian officials say is an attempt to inflict psychological distress on civilians. A 34-year-old father who was stabbed to death in an apartment block had been visiting his paraplegic girlfriend he was a carer for. Adam Bockhodt was found dead after emergency services were called to the building on Surrey Rd in the inner Melbourne suburb of South Yarra at 8pm on Saturday. Mr Bockhodt, who lived in the south-east suburb of Ripponlea, is understood to have been stabbed while in the doorway of his girlfriend's flat at the public housing building which locals say is notorious for drug dealing. A 17-year-old male, from Frankston in the city's south east, is now assisting police with inquiries. Mr Bockhodt, who acted as a carer for this wheelchair-bound girlfriend, was assisted by friends after the stabbing but died before ambulance crews could reach him. Adam Bockhodt, 34, was fatally stabbed while visiting his girlfriend in a Melbourne apartment on Saturday night Mr Bockhodt, who lived in the south-east suburb of Ripponlea, was allegedly stabbed while in the doorway of his girlfriend's flat - a public housing building which locals say is notorious for drug dealing (pictured) Jorge Gamba, who lives in the South Yarra building, told the Herald Sun the couple had a strong relationship. 'Adam was a good person,' he said. 'Many times I had conversation with this lovely young fella. 'He was always friendly, always available to say hi. No one ever had any complaints about him.' Other residents expressed concerns for Mr Bockhodt's family. One said she knows he has a child and a cat and expressed concern as to who would look after them. Another resident said the building is infested with drug dealers who brazenly operated on two levels. The resident said it is unsafe to go out after 4pm and claimed he had often reported incidents to police who did not respond. Melbourne has seen a spate of alleged stabbings in just the past week with four separate incidents. A 43-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a 48-year-old woman whose body was discovered in a house in Sheffield 10 days after she went missing. Mark Nicholls was arrested on suspicion of the murder of Emily Sanderson on Friday by South Yorkshire Police and charged yesterday with the same offence. Nicholls has been remanded in custody and will appear before court tomorrow. The body of Emily Sanderson was discovered at an address in Hillsborough on Tuesday, after she was last seen on May 19. She died from head injuries, a forensic post mortem examination has determined. Police previously also arrested a 40-year-old woman on suspicion of assisting offenders. She has been bailed pending further enquiries. Emily's family is receiving support from specially trained officers and have asked for their privacy to be respected at this time. Emily Sanderson, 48, was reported missing on May 25 and her body was found at a house in Hillsborough on Tuesday Police officers guard a cordon at the address in Hillsborough where Ms Sanderson's body was discovered The force has made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) She was last seen on May 19 and was reported missing almost a week later on May 25. Her body was discovered ten days after her last sighting. Detective Chief Inspector Andrea Bowell previously said: 'The property at Crofton Avenue, where Emily's body was found, has undergone painstaking and extensive forensic examination. 'This is necessary to gather as much evidence as possible to help us understand exactly what happened. 'Emily's family and friends are understandably devastated by her death. We are carrying out our enquiries with the respect and compassion that Emily and her loved ones deserve, while we work as quickly as we can to identify and locate those responsible for causing her harm. 'I'd reiterate her family's desire for privacy as they grieve their tragic loss. 'Now we have been able to establish Emily's identity, I'd urge anyone who may have information to come forward. 'Emily was reported missing to police on Thursday 25 May, after she had not been seen or heard from since the previous Friday (19 May). Multiple police vehicles attended the scene and a cordon was put in place Police officers have conducted a 'painstaking and extensive forensic examination' of the property Emily's body was found at an address in Crofton Avenue, Hillsborough, Sheffield 'We'd therefore be keen to hear from anyone who may be able to tell us more about Emily's movements since 19 May, whether they saw her or spoke with her, as that information could be incredibly important to our investigation.' The force has made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). Never-before-seen footage has emerged of the night Brittany Higgins and Bruce Lehrmann entered Parliament House - the night she was allegedly raped in the office of a former federal minister. Mr Lehrmann broke his silence in an extended episode of 7News Spotlight on Sunday night - during which journalist Liam Bartlett asked him a range of direct questions about what happened the night Brittany Higgins alleges he raped her. Ms Higgins alleged Mr Lehrmann, her former colleague, sexually assaulted her in Parliament House after a night out in 2019. Prior to the tell-all interview on Sunday, Mr Lehrmann's version of events had only been told via his trial in the ACT Supreme Court last year - when his interview with police was played before a jury. The former staffer strongly denied having any sexual contact with Ms Higgins during that interview, but had never divulged his version of events to the media. During the explosive interview, Mr Lehrmann accused Ms Higgins of lying about the alleged assault to keep her job, and slammed a bruise she claimed was caused by his knee pinning her down during the alleged assault. Bruce Lehrmann (pictured) has broken his silence in a TV interview two years after Brittany Higgins accused him of raping her in Parliament House The photo of the bruise was aired during an interview with Lisa Wilkinson on The Project in February 2021 - the first time Ms Higgins publicly alleged she was raped. Mr Bartlett said: 'This bruise suggested in no uncertain terms that you had pinned her down.' Mr Lehrmann interjected: 'Well, it was fabricated.' 'That's the only explanation, is that it was fabricated or it's a bruise from much later.' Photos of the bruise were shown to the ACT Supreme Court last year, after investigating police officers extracted the contents of her phone to conduct a metadata analysis. Experts were unable find evidence of the photo prior to January 2021. In the criminal trial, Ms Higgins responded to cross-examination by Mr Lehrmann's defence barrister Steven Whybrow - who put to her that she invented the rape claim, and asked why she didn't mention the photo to police. He told the court the photo didn't come up until police did 'extractions' of her phones in January 2021. 'In those extractions there is no reference to this bruise before January 2021,' he put to Ms Higgins. She replied: 'I don't think I sent it to anyone. I sent to to [News Corp journalist] Samantha Maiden and Lisa Wilkinson... but until I was making a police complaint, why would I send that around?' Mr Whybrow: 'I put to you that the bruises and injury you sustained is a fabrication.' Ms Higgins replied: 'I reject that completely.' This photo of a bruise on Ms Higgins' leg was aired on The Project in February 2021. Mr Lehrmann claimed the image was 'fabricated' or 'a bruise from much later' In the Spotlight interview on Sunday, Mr Lehrmann also accused Ms Higgins of inventing the allegations against him to save her job. A security breach was triggered on the night Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann entered Parliament House in the early hours of March 23, 2019, while intoxicated. Mr Lehrmann lost his job over the breach, and Ms Higgins was called into a meeting and questioned by her superiors. He told Spotlight that, during that meeting, he believes she told a 'white lie' because she thought her job was in jeopardy. 'I think that a white lie to save a job occurred,' Mr Lehrmann said. 'She saw me getting the turf and she is come into contact with media elites that have latched onto this, given the environment, at the time, in 2021, to weaponise it.' It was also aired for the first time that a former colleague, Lauren Gain, who was the venue where they attended prior to the alleged assault saw Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins kissing, passionately. Mr Bartlett said: '[The witness] told police and I quote, "you and Brittany Higgins kissing and passionately".' Mr Lehrmann replied, unflinching: 'Rubbish.' Mr Bartlett continued: 'But it makes a lot of sense - canoodling, snogging, call it what you like, you'd had a bellyful of grog. 'Things were getting a bit hot. So 1.30 in the morning, on a Saturday, a nice, quiet, private place to Parliament House.' Mr Lehrmann firmly said that was not that case at all, and maintained he only went back to Parliament House to collect his keys and collect some question time briefs, before going home to his girlfriend at 2.30am. 'How did she end up naked on a couch?' Mr Bartlett asked. Mr Lehrmann said 'that's a great question - I can't talk to that - that was news to me, along with the rest of the country'. CCTV footage captured the pair at a Canberra bar earlier that night. During his interview, Mr Lehrmann was grilled over an alleged eyewitness account of him and Ms Higgins kissing at the venue - but he denied anything of the sort took place The episode also aired, for the first time, vision of Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins arriving at Parliament House moments before she alleges he raped her The Spotlight feature included security footage of the moment the pair entered Parliament House together in the early hours of March 23, 2019. In the footage, Ms Higgins could clearly be seen in her white Kookai dress, carrying her shoes as she entered the defence suite. The footage ended when they entered the defence suite. Ms Higgins said she was highly intoxicated and fell asleep on a couch Senator Reynolds office. She alleged she woke up to Mr Lehrmann having sex with her. However, Mr Lehrmann said they both walked in opposite directions once they were inside the defence suite. 'I didn't see her again,' Mr Lehrmann told Mr Bartlett. Mr Bartlett quizzed him on why he didn't check on Ms Higgins in the 40 minutes he was in the ministerial suite. 'That doesn't add up - you're sitting in that office for something like 40 minutes working on material for a minister in the couple of days afterwards,' he started. Mr Lehrmann interjected: 'But it was her first question time that she was about to step into.' Mr Bartlett pointed out Senator Reynolds wouldn't need those notes for another week, but Mr Lehrmann was insistent it was essential that he work on the briefs. Mr Lehrmann was asked when he found out he had been accused of rape, to which he quickly replied 'February 15, 2021'. 'That date rolls off your tongue,' Mr Bartlett said. Mr Lehrmann replied: 'Yep. That was a pretty dark day.' The former staffer's day began at 8am, when he read an article by news.com.au journalist Samantha Maiden - the story detailed Ms Higgins allegations, but Mr Lehrmann didn't know the allegations were about him. 'I, like, everyone, was horrified. I think there were text messages between me and friends are saying "I used to work with her." Horrified.' He was then called into a meeting with his bosses at British American Tobacco, where he worked at the time, and was told his superiors had received communication from a journalist about the allegations. Mr Lehrmann recalled: 'They suspend me pending an internal review. And, you know, They said "What can we do?" And I said "Well it's pretty clear I need a lawyer".' When he found out there would also be a feature on The Project later that night, Mr Lehrmann said 'there were a lot of tears'. Ms Higgins is seen here after making her way through Parliament House security The 7News special also screened clips from Mr Lehrmann's first police interview The feature also included a recording of a five-hour lunch between Ms Higgins and her boyfriend David Sharaz, Wilkinson and Channel 10 producer Angus Llewellyn. During that lunch, the group could be heard laughing about a former colleagues surname, commenting on the wine they were drinking, and about the inner workings of Parliament House. Throughout the interview, Mr Lehrmann was asked key questions: Did you rape Brittany Higgins? Did you have consensual sex? Did you kiss her? Were you intimate with her at all? To each question, Mr Lehrmann replied 'no'. Despite speculation that Mr Lehrmann was paid to do the interview, a network spokesperson said that was not the case. '7NEWS Spotlight made no payment to Bruce Lehrmann for the interview, however the program assisted with accommodation as part of the filming of the report,' they said. Mr Lehrmann was tried in a 12-day hearing in October last year, but a mistrial was declared after a jury member brought banned reading material into the court. Shane Drumgold, the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, dropped the case altogether in December due to concerns over Ms Higgins' mental health. The tanker broke down in a single-lane part of Egypt's Suez Canal on Sunday A tanker transporting crude oil broke down in Egypt's Suez Canal on Sunday, briefly disrupting traffic in the global waterway, Egyptian authorities said. The Malta-flagged Seavigour suffered a mechanical malfunction at the 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) mark of the canal, said George Safwat, a spokesperson for Egypt's Suez Canal Authority. The tanker was transiting the canal from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. In a phone interview with a local television station, Admiral Ossama Rabei, head of the Suez Canal Authority, said the tanker broke down in a single-lane part of the waterway, disrupting the transit of eight other vessels behind it. Hours later, Rabei said in a statement that navigation at the canal had returned to normal after three tugboats towed the tanker to a double-lane part at the 17 kilometres (10.5 miles) mark. A tugboat works to refloat the Seavigour oil tanker to the waiting area in the Suez Canal, next to Ismailia, Egypt, on June 4, 2023 A tugboat works to refloat the Seavigour oil tanker to the waiting area in the Suez Canal on June 4, 2023 He said that the Seavigour's crew was working on repairing the malfunction, but did not share further details. The Seavigour, built in 2016, is 899 feet long and 159 feet wide, according to MarineTraffic, a vessel tracking service provider. Sunday's incident was the latest case of a vessel reported stuck in the vital waterway. A flurry of ships ran aground or broke down in the Suez Canal over the past few years. On May 25, a Hong Kong-flagged ship briefly blocked the canal. On March 5, a Liberia-flagged ship ran aground in the two-lane part of the waterway. Both vessels were refloated hours later. The Seavigour oil tanker after it was successfully refloated to the waiting area in the Suez Canal, next to Ismailia, Egypt, on June 4, 2023 Pictured: A satellite image shows tugboats alongside the Ever Given on March 29, 2021 In March 2021, the Panama-flagged Ever Given, a colossal container ship, crashed into a bank on a single-lane stretch of the canal, blocking the waterway for six days. The disruption cost billions of dollars in shipping delays, with Egypt losing between $12 million and $15 million for every day of the closure. The canal, which opened in 1869, provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo. About 10 per cent of world trade flows through the canal, a major source of foreign currency for the Egyptian government. According to the Suez Canal Authority, last year, 23,851 vessels passed through the waterway, compared to 20,649 vessels in 2021. The revenue from the canal in 2022 reached $8 billion, the highest in its history. A little girl who had her pinky finger ripped off repeatedly asked her parents if it will grow back after the painful incident. Elena Heidari was just three-years- old when she got her finger caught a tiny gap where a gate to Pelican Park in Clontarf, Queensland, connects to a post. Now, her parents are planning to sue Queensland's Moreton Bay Regional Council over the March 20, 2020, ordeal which left her with a partially amputated finger. Her father, Mahmoud Heidari, described the gate as 'dodgy' and the space between it and the post as 'sharp' like metal 'scissors'. Elena Heidari (left) had her finger severed after it became caught in a park gate. Her father, Maumoud (right), said the gap between the gate and the post was like 'scissors' Elena put had her pinky finger in the gap just before a person opened the gate to enter the park. Her finger became caught before it tore off completely down to the first knuckle. Mahmoud rushed over to his daughter and immediately phoned an ambulance after seeing her severed finger on the ground. He carried his daughter towards the road before he was informed that paramedics had just been called to a job that was deemed to be higher-priority. Mahmoud walked with Elena in his arms towards the ambulance and begged the driver to take her to a hospital. The driver agreed and transported Elena to Princess Alexandra Hospital, where hospital staff stopped the bleeding and stitched up her injured finger. Maumoud contacted Moreton Bay Regional Council two days after the incident. An investigating council revealed that council had already replaced the gate and the gap had been removed. The council apologised to the family but Maumoud claims they did not offer any compensation for what happened. Elena, who was only three-years-old at the time of the incident, was out with her family at Pelican Park (pictured) in Clontarf The little girl had her pinky finger amputated after someone opened the park gate while her finger was in the gap between the gate and the post The council's response to what happened to his daughter left Maumoud furious. 'They said we're not at fault, we were told we were responsible,' he told The Courier Mail. 'If something was not dodgy, why did you change the gate and the playground? Maumoud said his daughter gets 'really upset' when she sees her finger. 'She asked me when is my finger getting fixed it or is it falling off?' he added. The family is planning to sue the council for $141,800 for pain and suffering, past and future economic loss and the cost to manage Elena's injury now and in the future. Shine Lawyers, who are representing the family, claims the council failed in in its duty of care to Elena by allowing the gate to be installed. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Moreton Bay Regional Council for comment. Parents have been urged to learn the symptoms of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), with a major report fearing more than 12,000 babies could be hospitalised with the 'unpredictable' virus in 2023. Infants less than six months of age were found to be the most at-risk group. A major report from health advisory firm, Evohealth found the respiratory illness - which can quickly progress to bronchiolitis or pneumonia - was the leading reason for hospitalisation of children under five. RSV caused 15,864 hospitalisations children under five last winter, with one-in-four causes requiring intensive care. Katja Schwarz (pictured with Phoenix) was forced to admite her seven-year-old son Phoenix into emergency care when he contracted Respiratory Syncytial Virus Earlier this year, Sydney mother Katja Schwarz took her seven-week-old boy Phoenix to hospital after his breathing became laboured. She said the hospital measured his oxygen levels and saw they were dropping while she fed him. That's caused a lot of concern,' she told Nine News on Sunday night. 'At that point we spent about 11 hours in emergency'. Ms Schwarz warned other parents to be vigilant if their young children show cold or flu symptoms that could be the first stages of Respiratory Syncytial Virus. 'Seek medical advice whether that's your GP or just going straight to emergency,' she said. Immunisation Foundation of Australia founder Catherine Hughes said the virus was 'unpredictable and can be very serious'. There is also no vaccine to prevent RSV, or reduce its effects. 'It's important that caregivers know the signs that may indicate severe disease, trust their gut, and seek medical attention when it's needed,' she said. About a quarter of the young children admitted to hospital with RSV will require emergency care 'We are all hoping to avoid a repeat of last year's record number of hospital admissions due to RSV.' Initial symptoms include a runny nose, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, loss of appetite, lethargy and irritability, however it can progress to bronchiolitis or pneumonia. Parents are warned to seek medical care if severe symptoms like a high fever, shortness of breath, or increased effort to breathe appear. Signs that the virus has progressed to bronchiolitis or pneumonia can also include wheezing, fared nostrils, grunting while breathing, rapid breathing (more than 40 breaths per minute), a blue tint to the child's skin around their mouth and eyes, or laboured breathing. Today host, Karl Stefanovic and his fashion designer wife, Jasmine Stanovic recently shared their scare with RSV, when their daughter Harper was two. Ms Stefanovic, who has partnered with Evohealth to share their experiences, says what started as a cold, quickly turned into breathing issues. 'Initially, Harper had the sniffles and a cough, and we assumed she just had a bit of a cold. But within hours, she deteriorated,' she said. 'It was alarming to see how hard she was working to breathe, with her little ribs sucking in and tummy pulling up into her chest'. After seeing advice from a GP, Harper was rushed to hospital. 'It was a long night as we sat in the hospital ward beside Harper, trying to comfort her as a medical team worked to help her breathe,' she said. 'It's been almost a year since our awful experience with RSV, and Harper still has a lingering wheeze. Doctors have explained that RSV can have a range of long-term health effects. 'We'll be keeping a close eye on her this winter.' Karl Stefanovic (pictured centre with wife Jasmine Stefanovic and daughter Harper) worry about the long-term effects of RSV The Evohealth report found the virus to be a nearly $200m on Australia's healthcare system, with each infant hospitalisation costing $12,000. The report called on a national awareness campaign and surveillance program to measure the spread of the virus. Evohealth's managing director, Renae Beardmore said the burden of RSV was huge. 'This is a virus that often went undiagnosed due to lack of awareness, monitoring and reporting, which has recently changed,' she said. 'Now that we are starting to understand the scale of the RSV in Australia, it's time to act to reduce the burden of the virus on children, parents and hospitals.' Mizzy was thrown out by fuming Andre Walker on Talk TV after staring at guest Viewers have praised a TalkTV presenter for throwing TikTok tearaway Mizzy off air in a row about a 'threatening look' he was accused of giving a fellow guest. Host Andre Walker fumed at the social media personality, whose real name is Bacari-Bronze O'Garro, demanding security remove him while furiously throwing his papers in the air. The 18-year-old troublemaker was asked by fellow guest and political commentator Reem Ibrahim if his antics have encouraged the kinds of behaviour that could lead to people getting injured. O'Garro stared at her in what presenter Walker said was a 'threatening' way. But speaking to MailOnline, Mizzy has today denied claims he did anything wrong, saying: 'The whole time Reem Ibrahim was smiling and I didn't even do anything but give her eye contact while I was thinking about her question'. Social media users praised Mr Walker for removing Mizzy from the programme, with one writing: 'That's the first time an actual adult man has given him a proper telling off. Well done.' TikTok tearaway Mizzy was thrown off news channel TalkTV this evening by furious presenter Andre Walker (pictured) after he accused the influencer of 'threatening' a female guest Mizzy (right), whose real name is Bacari-Bronze O'Garro, appeared on Walker's show this evening along with political commentator Reem Ibrahim (left) Others echoed the comment, saying: 'Well done that male presenter!' and 'This is what our society needs.' Another wrote: 'Well done @andrejpwalker' During the programme, which aired last night, Walker said: 'You stare at another guest again and I'm going to personally remove you. I'm not taking the mick'. 'You glared at her in a threatening fashion. You do that I'll drag you out by the hair and you can be as hard as you pretend you are. 'You apologise to her right now or you're leaving.' Mizzy turned to Ms Ibrahim and said: 'You know I respect you but I'm done here.' He then got up from his seat and left the studio. 'Good riddance to bad rubbish,' Walker said. 'Threatening guests does not happen on my show under any circumstances. 'Reema I'm very sorry but the way he glared at you was not acceptable. We never should have had him on the show, I didn't even want him here. Another viewer praised Walker's intervention, saying: 'That look at Mizzy's face proves that nobody has ever checked him before, good job for the interviewer'. '#Mizzy or #Misery Thank you for stepping in and protecting your female guest Reem, who #Mizzy twice stared down during the interview'. Not all the comments online were positive however, with a minority believing that Mr Walker went too far. Twitter users voiced their opinion on the clip, praising the presenter The majority of viewers have praised Walker for his reaction to Mizzy's interview on TalkTV Mizzy handed a criminal behaviour order last week after a series of pranks that included bursting into people's homes and cars without permission One user criticised the host's reaction by saying: 'Wow this was unhinged & disrespectful from Walker.' Twitter users then hit back at the claims, with one arguing that it was 'completely justified' and to 'stop defending' him. Another wrote: 'In what way is calling out bad behaviour unhinged and disrespectful? Strange comment.' Mizzy wrote via his personal Twitter account, @mizzyisbanned: 'The Truth always comes out in the end. Look at how this guy switched up after agreeing with me. 'He got mad because he couldn't get me mad and the women next to me was smiling because she was fine and finding it entertaining. #mizzy' O'Garro, from Hackney, east London, previously appeared at Thames Magistrates' Court last Wednesday and admitted failing to comply with a community protection notice. This followed a series of vile 'pranks' on social media which included him stealing a pet dog, asking a stranger if he 'wanted to die' and jumping on a passer-by. He sparked outrage with his antics, culminating in him putting a family 'at risk' by barging into their home with others while their young children were present, pretending he was trying to find a study group. Judge Charlotte Crangle issued him with a two-year criminal behaviour order (CBO), including that he must not directly or indirectly post videos on social media without the documented consent of those featured in the content. Previous stunts by O'Garro, 18 and from Hackney, have seen him cycle into the back of a Sainsbury's storeroom, which customers are forbidden from entering. He has also posted videos of the same 'prank' at branches of McDonald's and Greggs - filming himself as he walked into the staff areas at the back of the shops before posing. Other pranks include him walking into unsuspecting people's houses and taking hats off the top of strangers' heads in the street. Rishi Sunak is today fending off claims he is blocking the Covid inquiry getting WhatsApps because it could reveal his plot to bring down Boris Johnson. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick batted away the allegations in interviews this morning, saying handing over irrelevant messages would not be 'sensible or reasonable'. Tensions between Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak have ratcheted up again amid the bitter wrangling over what evidence should be given to the official inquiry. The Cabinet Office launched a legal challenge to chair Baroness Hallett's demand for unredacted texts from Mr Johnson and his officials, on the grounds that many of the messages were off-topic. That prompted Mr Johnson to state that he will hand unredacted WhatsApp messages dating back to April 2021 to the inquiry, telling Lady Hallett he was 'perfectly content' to release the messages 'directly'. Tensions between Boris Johnson (pictured jogging at the weekend) and Rishi Sunak have ratcheted up again amid the bitter wrangling over what evidence should be given to the official inquiry Rishi Sunak (pictured on a visit to Moldova last week) is fending off claims he is blocking the Covid inquiry getting WhatsApps because it could reveal his plot to bring down Mr Johnson Mr Johnson said that he would also send messages pre-dating April 2021 which are held on a phone that has been disabled over security concerns. He added that he had not done so yet because he had been warned not to turn the device back on. However, Mr Johnson has been warned that taxpayer legal funding might be withdrawn if he goes ahead without government approval. Mr Jenrick told Sky's Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: 'We want to hand over to the Covid inquiry absolutely anything that has anything to do with Covid-19 or the purpose of the inquiry. 'Where there's a point of difference is that we don't think it's sensible or reasonable to hand over documents or messages that have nothing whatever to do with Covid-19.' As a former lawyer, he said, the 'normal way to do this is to set reasonable parameters' but not to ask for things 'wholly unrelated'. He insisted the Government has the 'highest regard' for inquiry chairwoman Baroness Heather Hallett and is not asking for 'special treatment'. 'I hope this can be resolved indeed even before the matter gets to court,' he added. Mr Jenrick insisted that Mr Johnson would not be prevented from giving information to the inquiry. 'It's entirely up to the former prime minister how he co-operates with the inquiry if he wishes to send his documents or WhatsApp messages to them then he's at liberty to do so,' he said. Mr Jenrick acknowledged a Cabinet Office letter warning Mr Johnson he could lose his taxpayer-funded lawyers if he undermines ministers. But added: 'He can advance whatever arguments he wants to and make whatever statements he wishes in his witness statement to the inquiry. 'There's absolutely no sense that the Government will restrict what Boris Johnson wants to say but if you use taxpayer funds, obviously you should make sure you're using them appropriately.' Immigration minister Robert Jenrick batted away the allegations in interviews this morning, saying handing over irrelevant messages would not be 'sensible or reasonable' Mr Jenrick denied there are fears in No 10 that Rishi Sunak's messages could reveal a plot to try to bring down Mr Johnson, saying: 'No, as I say, the issue here is a simple legal one.' Boris allies also suggested that No 10 might be keen to suppress the messages because they contain evidence of plotting against Mr Johnson, or lockdown breaches by Mr Sunak or his advisers which could lead to a fresh 'partygate' controversy. A Sunak loyalist dismissed the claims as 'total nonsense'. Lady Hallett had ordered the Government to share all the unredacted WhatsApp messages between the former PM and 40 Ministers and advisers between January 1, 2020 and February 24, 2022. The Cabinet Office, however, said it was seeking a judicial review of the demand because there were 'important issues of principle at stake' forcing a legal showdown between the Government and the public inquiry it set up. Some 54 Ugandan peacekeepers died when militants besieged an African Union base in Somalia last week, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni said, in one of the worst recent attacks by Al-Shabaab jihadists. 'We discovered the lifeless bodies of 54 fallen soldiers, including a commander,' Museveni said in a post on his official Twitter account late on Saturday. Al-Shabaab, which has been waging a deadly insurgency against Somalia's fragile central government for more than a decade, claimed responsibility for the attack on May 26, saying it had overrun the base. The militants drove a car laden with explosives into the base in Bulo Marer, 120 kilometres (75 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu, leading to a gunfight, local residents and a Somali military commander told AFP. The toll is one of the heaviest yet since pro-government forces backed by the AU force known as ATMIS launched an offensive last August against Al-Shabaab. Ugandan troops make up part of the African Union force in Somalia (File photo) Pictured: Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni (File photo). 'We discovered the lifeless bodies of 54 fallen soldiers, including a commander,' Museveni said in a post on his official Twitter account late on Saturday It was also a rare admission of a major death toll among the military. Museveni had already said last week that an initial panicked reaction to the attack contributed to the toll. 'The mistake was made by two commanders, Maj. Oluka and Maj. Obbo, who ordered the soldiers to retreat,' Museveni said in the statement, adding that they would face charges in a court martial. However, he said that his soldiers 'demonstrated remarkable resilience and reorganised themselves, resulting in the recapture of the base'. AU forces sent in helicopter gunships as reinforcement after the pre-dawn raid, although it did not disclose how many people had died. Al-Shabaab is known to exaggerate claims of battlefield gains in propaganda, while the governments of nations contributing troops to the AU force rarely confirm casualties. The 20,000-member ATMIS force has a more offensive remit than its predecessor, known as AMISOM. Pictured: African union peacekeepers provide security during the Somali presidential elections, in Mogadishu, on May 15, 2022 The force is drawn from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya, with troops deployed in southern and central Somalia. Its goal is to hand over security responsibilities to Somalia's army and police by 2024. Last year, Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud launched an 'all-out war' on the militants, rallying Somalis to help flush out members of the jihadist group he described as 'bedbugs'. In recent months, the army and militias known as 'macawisley' have retaken swathes of territory in the centre of the country in an operation backed by ATMIS and US air strikes. A day after the incident in Bulo Marer, the US said it conducted an airstrike near the base that was attacked by the group. US Africa Command said it 'destroyed weapons and equipment unlawfully taken by Al-Shabaab fighters,' without specifying when or where the weapons were stolen. Despite the gains by the pro-government forces, the militants have continued to strike with lethal force against civilian and military targets. In the deadliest Al-Shabaab attack since the offensive was launched, 121 people were killed in October in two car bomb blasts at the education ministry in Mogadishu. In a report to the UN Security Council in February, UN chief Antonio Guterres said that 2022 was the deadliest year for civilians in Somalia since 2017, largely as a result of Al-Shabaab attacks. A fisherman has captured the incredible moment a massive great white shark encircled his small boat. Rodney Pacitti was dropping a line off the Glitter Strip in the Gold Coast earlier this week when a 5m white pointer appeared, swimming directly underneath and alongside his boat. 'Oh s**t, look at the size of this shark under me wow!' the fisherman is heard saying excitedly. 'That is unbelievably big. Is that a white pointer?' Rodney Pacitti had a terrifying encounter whilst fishing off the coast of the Gold Coast's Glitter Strip (pictured, drone shot of shark alongside Pacitti's boat) 'I won't lie, I just got a little nervous', he adds. Mr Pacitti then switches cameras to show a shot of his boat from above, with the shark alongside him extraordinarily measuring the entire length of the boat. 'Far out, look at the size of that. Holy smokes, he is massive! Wow, look at the size of him, he's as big as my boat,' he is heard saying. 'Surely a shark that big isn't interested in a bait?' The shark then lost interest in the tinny, cruising behind the boat before swimming back up alongside the fisherman. Mr Pacitti shared a photo of the encounter online, captioned: 'My boat just got a little smaller'. 'The feeling of being circled by such an amazing and large shark was pretty surreal and then the day just got better and better!' 'I simply had the best time ever,' he wrote. Robert Jenrick today slammed the asylum system as 'riddled with abuse' as he defended making arrivals share hotel rooms. The immigration minister insisted that with a backlog of more than 150,000 applications the government had to push through 'fundamental' changes. While stressing the UK would support those who 'genuinely need our help', Mr Jenrick dismissed criticism that some arrivals were being asked to share hotel rooms - saying that was 'reasonable'. Rishi Sunak has made 'stopping the boats' one of his key pledges ahead of the general election due next year. But Tories are anxious that not enough progress is being made in curbing numbers crossing the Channel. The government has unveiled plans to crack down on who can claim asylum, as well as pushing to deport applicants to Rwanda. The Home Office's own assessment suggests that detaining and deporting people will cost up to 6billion over the next two years, according to the BBC. Tories are anxious that not enough progress is being made in curbing numbers crossing the Channel. Pictured, a group being brought ashore in Kent last month Robert Jenrick today slammed the asylum system as 'riddled with abuse' as he defended making arrivals share hotel rooms Mr Jenrick said a lot of progress has been made on illegal migration in a short period of time, with 'really unique landmark deals' with France seeing a 'big increase' in the number of interceptions on the beaches. But he told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: 'The asylum system is riddled with abuse, we have to be honest with ourselves. 'The way to tackle that is by changing fundamentally the way we handle asylum.' Mr Jenrick said the Illegal Migration Bill to detain migrants who arrive through unauthorised means before returning them home or to a third country, such as Rwanda, will alleviate the pressure. 'That will create the deterrent we desperately need, it will break the business model of the people smuggle gangs and it will stop the system from coming under intolerable pressure like it is today,' he said. Mr Jenrick said he did not think it was unreasonable to ask asylum seekers to share rooms after a group this week apparently refused to enter a Pimlico hotel where the Home Office had asked them to sleep 'four people per room'. In a letter to the Home Secretary, the leader of Westminster City Council expressed his 'deep concern' that around 40 refugees were placed in the borough on Wednesday night 'without appropriate accommodation or support available' and no prior communication with the local authority. Mr Jenrick said: 'As I understand what happened here was that these migrants, who had themselves said that they were destitute, they had nowhere to stay, we had offered them a safe bed with board and lodgings in a good-quality hotel in central London. 'Yes, some of them had to share with other people. These are single adult males: I don't think that's unreasonable. 'We want to reduce the cost to the taxpayer. Some people said that wasn't good enough and they wanted their own ensuite bedrooms, and the Home Office took the perfectly reasonable view that we've got to look after the taxpayer here. 'And if you're genuinely destitute, of course you'd accept that, and common sense prevailed and, I think, almost all of the migrants in question accepted the accommodation.' Rishi Sunak has made 'stopping the boats' one of his key pledges ahead of the general election due next year He denied it was Government policy to tell asylum seekers they have to share four to a room in hotels, but said it was 'completely fair and reasonable' to ask single adult males to share a room. 'We don't want to be using hotels at all. These are taking away valuable assets for the local business community, for society, you know, people's weddings and personal events have had to be cancelled because of that. 'But where we are using them, it's right that we get good value for money for the taxpayer. 'And so if single adult males can share a room, and it's legal to do so, which will obviously depend on the size of the accommodation, then we'll ask people to do that. 'I think that's a completely fair and reasonable approach,' he told Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg. Mr Jenrick said people arriving in small boats 'risk cannibalising the compassion' of the UK public. He also told Sophy Ridge On Sunday on Sky News that young men putting 'overwhelming pressure' on the asylum system are making it harder for the country to support people who 'genuinely need our help'. Crowds are today heading to the 'English Riviera' to see the RAF's Red Arrows put on another spectacular show. Spectators are expected to enjoy another stunning performance at the final day of the annual English Riviera Airshow in the seaside town of Torbay in Devon. The show is set to kick off at 1pm today with a breath-taking stunt by the Tigers Army Parachute Display Team. Viewers will then have the opportunity to watch a selection of new and historic planes dance through the skies, including Lancaster Bombers and Spitfires. The day is set to end with a grand finale at 6pm that will see the RAF's world-famous Red Arrows return to Devon's skies with their red, white, and blue smoke trails. The Red Arrows are set to perform another set of stunts at the second day of English Riviera Airshow in Torbay, Devon The airshow opened with a performance from the Tigers Army Parachute Display Team The leading parachute team dropped into the arena in Torbay to open the show The show ended with an impressive performance by the Red Arrows Spectators watched the aerobatics team perform an array of stunts Today's show comes as the final day of the two-day long annual English Riviera Airshow. Yesterday saw the Red Arrows aerobatics team dance through Devon's skies, as they took advantage of the weather to perform another one of their iconic shows. The day opened with the Prince of Wales regiment's Tigers Army Parachute Display Team dropping into the airshow's arena from thousands of feet above. The parachute team are known for their impressive stunts that see them fall through skies across the globe. The world-famous jets performed death defying stunts above the Devon sea The took advantage of yesterday's clear skies to perform an impressive show The stunt jets flew in the skies above Torbay Pier (pictured) The Red Arrows swirled in the skies leaving their iconic smoke trails behind them The English Riviera Airshow was first held in 2016 The shows open with performances from the Tigers Army Parachute Display Team Views had the opportunity to see an array of historic aircraft including Spitfires and Lancaster Bombers Today, the jets are set to take off from nearby Exeter Airport before performing their death-defying show this afternoon. As part of the show, crowds will also have the opportunity to see an array of aircraft that played core roles in Britain's military history, including the iconic Hawker Hurricane. The first annual English Riviera Airshow was held in 2016. The show was, however, called off in 2020 and 2021, due to Covid-19. The Red Arrows were formed by the RAF in 1964, and have now carried out more than 4,800 shows in 57 countries worldwide. A British base jumper has died after plunging 400 metres from a mountaintop in Italy. Mark Andrews, 65, originally of Redruth, Cornwall, was killed instantly after falling down the rock face in Trentino, while wearing a wing suit. He is thought to have been wearing a parachute, however it remains unclear if he was unable to deploy it, while police said the exact circumstances were under investigation. The tragic accident occurred on Saturday morning at a popular base jumping spot in the Italian Dolomites at Paganella, near the city of Trento. Mr Andrews had reportedly gone to the site on his own, before a fellow base jumper called the emergency services after they watched the horrific incident unfold. It is understood that Mr Andrews died close to the spot where another British skydiver perished exactly a year before. Although he was a latecomer to the sport, Mr Andrews had completed over 600 jumps (Credit: learntobasejump Instagram) Mark Andrews (pictured middle) with members of base jumping group, Learn To Base Jump The tragic accident occurred on Saturday morning at a popular base jumping spot in the Italian Dolomites at Paganella, near the city of Trento Mr Andrews, who had been living in Bucharest, Romania, with his wife, was a keen lover of base jumping and posted clips often of his escapades. He had also lived in Russia. The 65-year-old retired engineer is said to had been a relative latecomer to base jumping as a sport, however had completed nearly 600 jumps before his death. A mountain rescue helicopter was brought in to recover his body and he was later flown to a nearby hospital to await repatriation. A base jumper who knew Mark said: 'He came to base jumping quite late. He's only been doing it since 2014 but he packed a lot into those nine years. 'He was fearless and will be missed. He was a regular in Italy at various base-jumping events, but had also base jumped all over the world off bridges and skyscrapers. 'He lived in Moscow for and was a drilling engineer but then he moved to Bucharest where his wife is from.' Mr Andrews, who was from Redruth in Cornwall, most recently resided in Moscow, according to his Facebook profile According to police, Mr Andrews had been living in the Romanian capital of Bucharest with his wife Mr Andrews, who had been living in Bucharest, Romania , with his wife, was a keen lover of base jumping and posted clips often of his escapades. He is pictured during a previous jump Another base jumper said: 'The area where the accident happened is one of the most dangerous and it's considered only for experts as it's quite tricky. 'It's not a straight forward descent, there are rock and tree ledges for the first 400 metres before it then hits a straight 1500 metres straight down. 'You have to be careful with the wind as well and that's why only experienced professionals jump from that point with others heading to another location about 30km away at Mt Brenta.' Clips on his Instagram show the daredevil leaping off impressive mountain tops in countries across Europe; including Norway, Italy and Russia. He was affiliated with base jumping group, Lean To Base Jump. A person who answered the phone at their Swiss HQ confirmed they knew Mark but would not discuss the accident. The foreign office told MailOnline: 'We are in contact with local police following the death of a British man in Italy and are supporting his family'. Dylan Morris Roberts , 33, (pictured) died instantly after hitting a gully off Mount Cimone on June 2, 2022 BASE jumping involves leaping from fixed objects and using a parachute to descend to the ground and its stands for buildings, antenna, spans (bridges) and earth (cliffs). The extreme sport has killed more than 400 people in the last twenty years. According to Italian media reports, another British base jumper perished near the spot where Mr Andrews' died on the same day last year. Dylan Morris Roberts, 33, died instantly after hitting a gully off Mount Cimone on June 2, 2022. He was killed after leaping from an 800m ledge known as Happy Birthday on the 1500m Monte Brento in the Trentino region of northern Italy. It is understood that the professional base jumper's parachute failed to open and his friends believed he may have miscalculated his trajectory. Onlookers said he fell 200m and the appeared to hit the side of the mountain after take off and his body was recovered by mountain rescue teams. The 33-year-old was an expert sky diver who had carried out dozens of jumps and was also a former instructor with British Parachute schools. He had combined his love for parachuting with the extreme sport of base jumping. A seaside town has nearly halved its anti-social behaviour in less than a year just by introducing one lone traditional 'beat bobby' officer. In the last nine months, Maryport, Cumbria, has seen its anti-social behaviour crimes (ASB) reduced by just under half (47 per cent) compared to the same period last year. This was in large part to the introduction of Community Beat Officer PC Sam Steele who was given the task of patrolling the streets of Maryport in September. ASB crimes are classed as acts that cause intimidation and fear in residents, with examples being vandalism, harassment, anti-social drinking, vehicle abandonment and trespassing. Following this success, Cumbria Police hope other forces across the UK will take note and reintroduce more local 'beat' policing - especially in rural areas where officers can really get to know all local youths and businesses. Pictured: PC Sam Steele (left) and Cumbria's Deputy Police Fire and Crime Commissioner Mike Johnson Since PC Sam Steele was tasked with patrolling the streets of Maryport, Cumbria, anti-social behaviour crimes have reduced by just under half (47 per cent) compared to the same period last year PC Sam Steele said: 'They see you day to day and they know you're their friend - and they know why you're there. 'You're not there to enforce necessarily on them, but you're there to just be a part of their community. We're not reinventing any wheels, we're just doing it the logical way, the way it should be done. 'Walking around and being that visible presence, recognising people that we know and catching people in the act - and nipping it in the bud. 'They all talk to me - it's all by names and as we said, you'll fight with someone one day and the next day they'll shake your hand.' Cafe owner Gareth Falkingham said of PC Steele: He's been really friendly, pops in. having that contact with local businesses - and the community in general - I think it's really good..' Business owner John George said of PC Steele's ability to chat to local youths: 'He'll speak to them, befriend them to an extent - if you show them a little respect I think you get it back.' Maryport resident Linda said: 'They handle everything so well, without causing anymore aggro if you know what I mean. 'He's very approachable and I think that the young kids are as well. They find him easy to talk to. He knows most of them by their names.' Maryport's Neighbourhood Policing Team Inspector Peter Aiston said: 'Community Beat Officers are out-and-about in the community, working proactively and engaging with the people in their neighbourhoods. 'They are dedicated to preventing crime and anti-social behaviour, interacting with the community and targeting those causing most harm. 'Aside from dealing with anti-social behaviour, Sam's work has seen drugs taken off the streets and he has looked at the issue of road safety.' Cumbria's Deputy Police Fire and Crime Commissioner Mike Johnson said: 'Cumbria is one of the most rural counties in the country and I know that everyone wants to see more of the police in their community. 'PC Sam Steele has been the Community Beat Officer (CBO) in Maryport since September 2022 and in that time, he has already made a big difference in tackling anti-social behaviour in the area. 'Community Beat Officers focus on tackling the issues that matter most to the public. They are dedicated to understanding and responding to local people's concerns and issues relating to crime and anti-social behaviour. 'In Maryport, the Community Beat Officer has focused on reducing the negative behaviour of those causing most disruption and harm in the area, regularly conducting stop searches.' Mr Johnson added: 'Road safety is also key focus with CBOs around the county and over the last nine months, vehicles with no insurance, as well as E-Scooters, have been seized from people riding in an anti-social manner in Maryport. 'In addition, there have been a number of arrests for people driving over the limit due to drink and drugs. 'Having dedicated officers deployed from local areas, especially in rural locations, can only be a good thing. Becoming a victim of ASB can be an extremely distressing and upsetting experience. 'If left unchecked, it can ruin people's lives and devastate communities. 'This is why it is vital, that our Community Beat Officers establish relationships, build trust with local residents and the wider community, so that we can all help in fighting crime together and keeping our communities free of crime.' Bruce Lehrmann has finally revealed what he really thinks about Brittany Higgins' rape allegations against him in his first-ever TV interview - which included explosive claims the former colleagues were seen 'kissing' on a couch at a nightclub. Mr Lehrmann broke his two-year media silence in an interview with 7News Spotlight on Sunday night, with Liam Bartlett grilling him over his version of events. Ms Higgins alleges she was raped by Mr Lehrmann in Parliament House after a night out in 2019. Mr Lehrmann has always maintained his innocence. The former parliamentary staffer has remained quiet about the night in question, speaking only in a recorded interview with police in 2021 - which was played before the ACT Supreme Court during his criminal trial in October last year. Now, Mr Lehrmann has responded to a number of direct questions, including: Did you rape Brittany Higgins? Did you have consensual sex? Did you kiss her? Were you intimate with her at all? To each question, Mr Lehrmann replied 'no'. Bruce Lehrmann (pictured) has broken his silence in a TV interview two years after Brittany Higgins accused him of raping her in Parliament House Ms Higgins (pictured outside court with her partner David Sharaz) alleged Mr Lehrmann, her former colleague, sexually assaulted her in Parliament House after a night out in 2019 The network also aired never-before-seen security footage from Parliament House on the night of the alleged assault, along with claims from an eyewitness who supposedly saw the pair kissing earlier that evening. A recording of a five-hour lunch Ms Higgins had with Lisa Wilkinson and two others was also played - during which Wilkinson said her motivation to air Ms Higgins' allegations was driven by 'people who deserve to be heard, not being heard'. Mr Lehrmann also accused Ms Higgins of 'lying' about a large bruise on her leg. During his criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court last year, Ms Higgins rejected the idea that she fabricated the photo. Lisa Wilkinson's secret meeting Brittany Higgins and her boyfriend David Sharaz had a five-hour lunch with Lisa Wilkinson and Channel 10 producer Angus Llewellyn a few days prior to her interview on The Project on February 15, 2021 - when she first aired her rape allegations. The lunch was recorded, and subsequently played during the Spotlight special on Sunday night. In the recording, the group could be heard laughing and joking about the inner workings of Parliament House, a former colleague's last name, and calling Mr Lehrmann a 'predator' - despite the unproven allegations. Mr Sharaz also asked Wilkinson what she wanted out of the interview, to which she replied: 'The inequality that exists out there, whether it's white privilege, whether it's male domination, whether it's you know criminal activity that is suppressed. 'I'm a girl from the western suburbs of Sydney. I'll always be motivated by exactly the same thing. People who deserve to be heard, not being heard.' Lisa Wilkinson (pictured leaving a cafe hours before Bruce Lehrmann's Spotlight interview aired) had a five-hour lunch with Brittany Higgins and her boyfriend David Sharaz a few days prior to Ms Higgins' interview on The Project - when she first aired her rape allegations At one point during the lengthy meeting, Wilkinson told Ms Higgins she didn't want to 'to put words in your mouth' but continued on to say she wanted her to discuss the culture of Parliament House. 'I have every confidence that you will answer that very eloquently, but it's one you just need to really think about,' Wilkinson could be heard saying. 'I don't want to put words in your mouth, but if you can enunciate the fact that this place is all about suppression of people's natural sense of justice.' Ms Higgins could be heard saying she was worried about the prospects of conviction, but believed she might win if Mr Lehrmann took her to civil court. 'If he wants to go after me, like on a civil basis, I think, on the balance of probabilities, I think I could win. I think it's - if the onus of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt, I think that would be different. I don't think I could win that,' Ms Higgins said. In an extract of the recording that was played at the trial, Mr Sharaz said that if the story broke in a parliamentary sitting week, 'they have to answer questions at question time, it's a mess for them'. 'I've got a friend in Labor, Katy Gallagher on the Labor side, who will probe and continue it going,' Mr Sharaz said. Wilkinson could also be heard criticising former deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop. 'The biggest frustration that I have with Julie is that she had so many opportunities to speak out against the culture,' she said. 'And for one woman to, what was she, deputy to 13 different prime ministers over the course of her time in parliament?' Mr Sharaz interjected: 'Always loyal too. Bridesmaid, never the bride.' The lunch with Ms Wilkinson, Ms Higgins, Mr Sharaz and Channel 10 producer Angus Llewellyn was recorded, and subsequently played during the Spotlight special on Sunday night In the recording, the group could be heard laughing and joking about the inner workings of Parliament House, a former colleague's last name, and calling Mr Lehrmann a 'predator' Wilkinson replied: 'The minute she was out of there [she said], "Oh, it's really sexist." I tried to get her on the record with that so many times when she could've actually affected change, and she wouldn't.' The group then started speaking about whether Ms Bishop would speak out, or whether she would back Michaelia Cash and Linda Reynolds. 'They're all Perth girls,' Ms Wilkinson said, but Ms Higgins offered, 'They were never friends.' 'I don't know why, but they never liked each other,' Ms Higgins could be heard saying. Mr Sharaz then added: 'Julie doesn't have any friends.' During the criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court last year, Ms Higgins was questioned about the five-hour conversation: 'That wasn't the actual interview itself and I didn't sign a stat dec [statutory declaration] on this. This is just us talking.' The bruise on Ms Higgins' leg In 2021, The Project aired a photo of a large bruise on Ms Higgins leg. She said the bruise came from the night she was allegedly assaulted, and was allegedly caused by Mr Lehrmann's knee against her leg. During Mr Lehrmann's interview on Sunday night, Mr Bartlett said: 'This bruise suggested in no uncertain terms that you had pinned her down.' Mr Lehrmann interjected: 'Well, it was fabricated.' 'That's the only explanation, is that it was fabricated or it's a bruise from much later.' Photos of the bruise were shown to the ACT Supreme Court last year, after investigating police officers extracted the contents of her phone to conduct a metadata analysis. Experts were unable find evidence of the photo prior to January 2021. During the rape trial last year, Ms Higgins responded to cross-examination by Mr Lehrmann's defence barrister Steven Whybrow - who put to her that she invented the rape claim, and asked why she didn't mention the photo to police. He told the court the photo didn't come up until police did 'extractions' of her phones in January 2021. 'In those extractions there is no reference to this bruise before January 2021,' he put to Ms Higgins. She replied: 'I don't think I sent it to anyone. I sent to to [News Corp journalist] Samantha Maiden and Lisa Wilkinson... but until I was making a police complaint, why would I send that around?' Mr Whybrow: 'I put to you that the bruises and injury you sustained is a fabrication.' Ms Higgins replied: 'I reject that completely.' This photo of a bruise on Ms Higgins' leg was aired on The Project in February 2021. Mr Lehrmann claimed the image was 'fabricated' or 'a bruise from much later' During the explosive interview on Sunday, Mr Lehrmann accused Ms Higgins of lying about the alleged assault to keep her job. A security breach was triggered on the night Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann entered Parliament House in the early hours of March 23, 2019, while intoxicated. Mr Lehrmann lost his job over the breach, and Ms Higgins was called into a meeting and questioned by her superiors. He told Spotlight that, during that meeting, he believes she told a 'white lie' because she thought her job was in jeopardy. 'I think that a white lie to save a job occurred,' Mr Lehrmann claimed. 'She saw me getting the turf and she is come into contact with media elites that have latched onto this, given the environment, at the time, in 2021, to weaponise it.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Higgins for comment. 'Kissing' on a couch It was also aired for the first time that a former colleague, Lauren Gain, who was at the venue where they attended prior to the alleged assault, claimed she saw Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins kissing passionately. Channel Seven played a recording of her police interview, during which Ms Gain said, 'I remember them kissing on the couch. 'And I, it was at that point then, I don't really remember much after that, I'll be honest. My memory is quite hazy because we did have a lot of alcohol to drink.' On Sunday, Mr Bartlett said to Mr Lehrmann: 'One of your colleagues, one of your friends who was there at the time drinking with you, a woman called Lauren, she told police, and I quote, you and Brittany Higgins were sitting very close kissing and passionate.' Mr Lehrmann replied, unflinching: 'Rubbish.' CCTV footage captured the pair at a Canberra bar earlier that night. During his interview, Mr Lehrmann was grilled over an alleged eyewitness account of him and Ms Higgins kissing at the venue - but he denied anything of the sort took place Mr Bartlett continued: 'But it makes a lot of sense - canoodling, snogging, call it what you like, you'd had a bellyful of grog. 'Things were getting a bit hot. So 1.30 in the morning, on a Saturday, a nice, quiet, private place to Parliament House.' Mr Lehrmann firmly said that was not that case at all, and maintained he only went back to Parliament House to collect his keys and collect some question time briefs, before going home to his girlfriend at 2.30am. It marked the first time he directly responded to the kissing claim, which was abandoned during the trial. Ms Gain was called as a witness, but she wasn't asked about the claim during the trial. Footage from the night in question Security footage also emerged of the night Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann entered Parliament House in the early hours of March 23, 2019 - the night she was allegedly raped. During the trial last year, Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann both said they agreed to split a taxi back from a nightclub - which was to drop them at their respective homes. However, Mr Lehrmann said he had to collect his keys and some question time briefs from Parliament House on the way. He says Ms Higgins also said she needed to go back to the office, but Ms Higgins told a court she only went back to the office because the taxi dropped her there - not because she needed to go back. In the footage, Ms Higgins could clearly be seen in her white Kookai dress, carrying her shoes as she entered went through security screening at the doors of the nation's highest office. She removed her shoes to go through the metal detector, and tried momentarily to put them back on but ended up carrying them through the halls of Parliament. The two were led into the defence suite, which is where the footage stopped. Ms Higgins is seen here after making her way through Parliament House security The episode also aired, for the first time, vision of Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins arriving at Parliament House moments before she alleges he raped her Ms Higgins said she was highly intoxicated and fell asleep on a couch Senator Reynolds office. She alleged she woke up to Mr Lehrmann having sex with her. However, Mr Lehrmann said they both walked in opposite directions once they were inside the defence suite. He says he caught a taxi home by himself, whereas Ms Higgins said she waited for him. 'I didn't see her again,' Mr Lehrmann told Mr Bartlett on Sunday. Mr Bartlett quizzed him on why he didn't check on Ms Higgins in the 40 minutes he was in the ministerial suite. 'That doesn't add up - you're sitting in that office for something like 40 minutes working on material for a minister in the couple of days afterwards,' he started. Mr Lehrmann interjected: 'But it was her first question time that she was about to step into.' Mr Bartlett pointed out Senator Reynolds wouldn't need those notes for another week, but Mr Lehrmann was insistent it was essential that he work on the briefs. Mr Lehrmann was tried in a 12-day hearing in October last year, but a mistrial was declared after a jury member brought banned reading material into the court. Shane Drumgold, the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, dropped the case altogether in December due to concerns over Ms Higgins' mental health. Why Mr Lehrmann lied about a crucial detail Mr Lehrmann admits he gave three different reasons for returning to Parliament House with Ms Higgins about 2am after the pair shared an Uber. He told investigators he needed to pick up the keys to his apartment and jot down contemporaneous notes for Ms Reynolds after meeting defence staffers earlier in the night. But when passing through security to the building, Mr Lehrmann told the guards he was there to collect documents. Chief of staff to former Minister Reynolds, Fiona Brown, was told he arrived at the office 'to drink whisky'. Ms Higgins woke up in the ministerial suite (pictured) naked 'You'll admit then that doesn't look good, does it, Bruce?' Bartlett asked Mr Lehrmann. 'Of course not,' he responded. 'But the fact of the matter is, the version I told the federal police is the truth,' Mr Lehrmann said. He claims he told security that he was picking up documents because getting into parliament late at night 'is a bit of a process'. 'So, I needed to ensure that we could get in first to get my keys at that time, because it was a late time. In order to do that, to gain access, I had to say that to get in,' he added. Frightening surveillance footage showed the moment a man ran inside a New York City restaurant and shot a worker in the buttocks. Customers, including families with children, were sent fleeing from Boishakhi Restaurant in Astoria, Queens, after the suspect suddenly opened fire. The gunman, wearing a red hoodie and a black mask, started the rampage at the eatery at 29-14 36th Avenue just after 3.30pm Saturday. New York City police said the attack was targeted, and the man who was shot, aged 35, knew the suspect. He was not trying to rob the establishment, they confirmed. Terrified customers bolted to the door while the bullets pierced glass and the gunman ran behind the counter to shoot the clerk twice. A suspect shot a worker in the buttocks inside a restaurant in Queens, New York, Saturday Police said the attack was targeted, and the man who was shot, aged 35, knew the suspect. He was not trying to rob the establishment The victim, who worked at the NYC restaurant, was transported to hospital. He is in a stable condition The victim was hit in the thigh, near his buttocks, and was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital. In the footage, the shooter is seen supposedly targeting the worker while families dropped to the ground to seek cover. Two adults are seen fleeing down the stairs of the Bangladeshi restaurant while huddling around their young child as the bullets rain down. One worker told ABC7: 'My body is shaking. I hear the sounds, but didn't know if it was a shot or something.' Restaurant owner Abu Taher told CBS News: 'At first gunshot he did that side. We had a lot of customers inside. 'Once he move around, then he come here and shot and went behind my counter and did the third shot to one of my employees. A police officer inspects the wounds of the man who was shot at Boishakhi Restaurant in Astoria, Queens Glass was shattered in the eatery by the bullets following a shooting at a Queens restaurant 'He didn't say anything. He just come and shot and ran away. 'I'm really scared to run a small business in New York City. It's not safe, actually. We are not safe. Our life is not safe.' It's understood that the suspect fled the scene on foot. One man, Nelson Burgos, who was working nearby when the commotion kicked off, said: 'The guy didn't even know he got shot until we saw him bleeding and then from there helped him I just helped him and I called 911. 'He seemed calm. I kept him calm and I just told him wait for ambulance, it will be alright. He wasn't bleeding too crazy, so I think he'll be alright.' The victim is in a stable condition. Police speak to them and they move on Two young men have blatantly performed Hitler salutes while wearing offensive t-shirts denying the Holocaust. Police officers surrounded the pair in the middle of Melbourne's CBD on Sunday as they laughingly took photos of themselves with out-stretched arms. Despite Victoria passing tough new laws which came into effect in June last year banning the swastika and other symbols of hate, the Nazi salute is not illegal. The two men also wore red t-shirts with the caption '6 million? That's a bit much mate', which referenced the number of Jewish people killed during WWII at the hand of the Nazis. Victorian Police told Daily Mail Australia that police spoke to the two men and asked them to move on, which they did. Two young men have blatantly performed Hitler salutes while wearing offensive t-shirts mocking the Holocaust Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission, said the 'terrifying display showed that 'Neo-Nazism is alive in Melbourne'. 'It is an outrage that those inflamed with virulent antisemitism, who are using this evil gesture as a rallying cry to intimidate and terrorise the community still have the law on their side,' Dr Abramovich said. 'Lets be clear: performing this salute is a call for murder, and for a Holocaust survivor, seeing it tears a hole in their heart and is as threatening as being held up with a gun.' Dr Abramovich called for the Nazi saluse to be criminalised. 'The Victorian government led the way in being the first Australian jurisdiction to ban the public display of the Nazi swastika and now and by criminalising the salute will right a wrong, take the high moral ground and to close the lid on this ugly phenomenon,' he said. Following high-profile demonstrations by Nazi sympathisers in Melbourne earlier this year Victoria's Labor government announced it was working on legislation to ban the salute associated with the extremist movement. On March 18 a group of around 30 black-clad Nazis marched onto the steps of Victoria's parliament house and stood near a rally being staged by visiting British anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, otherwise known as Parker Posey. In response to this provocation Mr Andrews said the 'anti-trans activists' were gathered to 'spread hate'. 'I wish it didn't have to be said, but clearly it does: Nazis aren't welcome. Not on Parliament's steps. Not anywhere,' he tweeted in March. On May 13 far-right anti-immigration protesters clashed with counter demonstrators on the streets of Melbourne. Police spoke to the two men in central Melbourne and asked them to move on, which they did Police used pepper spray to keep the opposing groups apart. Since last June it has been illegal to display the Swastika in Victoria and anyone doing so without attaining an exemption or permission can face of a fine of $22,000 or one year in prison. NSW adopted similar laws in August, while Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia are also considering following suit. A federal parliamentary committee is considering a bill, introduced by shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash, to outlaw the display of Nazi insignia, including the swastika and the Nazi salute, also with a penalty of up to 12 months in prison. Australia's intelligence organisation tasked with fighting political violence, ASIO, told the parliamentary inquiry the ban 'would assist law enforcement in early intervention'. On March 22 the Opposition moved to have an immediate ban on Nazi symbols but the government voted it down saying the legislation needed more time to be formulated properly. A group of black-clad Nazis gatecrashed a March rally held by women's rights activist Parker Posey in Melbourne Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews previously said it would be preferable to have national laws banning the salute. 'I'm all for banning the Nazi salute,' he said. 'We've already banned Nazi swastikas. Look, our position on many different matters has always been that if you can have a nationally consistent approach that's usually better.' 'But you don't wait around for a national consensus because sometimes that can take an awful long time. Let's wait and see what happens out of Canberra.' Ron DeSantis is showing early that he knows how to adapt his messaging for different states as strategists warn he could be too conservative for purple states that lean Democratic like the early primary state of New Hampshire. The Florida Governor is coming off of his first official campaign swing with voters impressed by his messaging after eight years of Donald Trump being the face of Republicans on the presidential campaign trail. In Iowa and South Carolina last week, DeSantis touted the ultra-conservative agenda he has spearheaded in Florida, like a six-week abortion ban and prohibiting classroom instruction of gender identity and sexual orientation. But in the Northeast, he didn't bring up some of the more far-right accomplishments. 'This tends to be a state where issues like abortion energize Democrats and divide Republicans,' University of New Hampshire professor of political science Dante Scala told The Hill. 'I heard DeSantis speak for about an hour and he didn't mention abortion once.' New Hampshire strategists warn that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis might be too conservative for the New England state but the 2024 candidate showed his ability to chameleon by not brining up his six-week abortion ban and other far-right parts of his agenda New Hampshire Republicans tend to lean more libertarian so issues like abortion bans and perceived anti-LGBTQ stances won't get far in the state key to clinching a presidential nomination. 'Culturally we're less conservative so there's definitely a difference there,' veteran New Hampshire Republican consultant Jim Merrill explained to The Hill. 'We have more of a fiscally conservative, more socially moderate general electorate. The pro-life community here isn't as big as it is in Iowa.' He continued: 'Candidates here really need to think through their strategy not only appealing to base Republican activists, but also that undeclared vote and what may draw them in.' Multiple Republicans think DeSantis did well in his first stop in New Hampshire after announcing his presidential candidacy last month. Polls, however, still show the Florida governor behind frontrunner former President Trump, who is still dominating in most surveys by at least 20 points. In the four-city swing through Iowa on Thursday, DeSantis still did discuss staples of his stump speech like touting his ongoing war with Walt Disney Co., railing against 'woke' institutions and political ideology and bragging that Florida is like New Hampshire because they both don't hav income tax. Ron and his wife Casey DeSantis toured Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina last week for the Florida governor's first official campaign swing Something that could assist DeSantis in New Hampshire is the lawmakers' support for him in the Granite State. New Hampshire state Rep. James Spillane announced Thursday during DeSantis' tour of the state that he is flipping his endorsements from Trump to the Florida governor. He noted that the former president's recent attack on his former Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnanay exhibits his growing lack of 'control' since leaving the White House. Multiple Republican candidates are campaigning through New Hampshire as it shows the most likely early primary contest state to flip from supporting Trump in the 2016 primary to another candidate. Grant Shapps is poised to ditch a plan to add around 120 to Brits' energy bills to fund the transition to hydrogen. The Net Zero Secretary is understood to be 'not at all convinced' that the levy should go ahead, after fierce criticism from Tories. The government has been accused of heaping more pain on struggling consumers with the proposals for a charge to fund the fledgling industry. 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. Grant Shapps is poised to ditch a plan to add around 120 to Brits' energy bills to fund the transition to hydrogen 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 The levy is due to take effect by 2025, with the government admitting it would 'ramp up' by 2030. But there is mounting speculation that the Energy Bill - which is set for committee stage after clearing second reading in the Commons - will be overhauled. Department for Net Zero documents accompanying the legislation 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. '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.' Govt says young people are key to the Voice succeeding Newspoll shows less than half to vote Yes A new poll has revealed that less than half of the country is planning vote 'Yes' for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum. The Newspoll data found just 46 per cent of voting-aged Australians are backing Anthony Albanese's signature policy, with 43 per cent opposing it. The remaining 11 per cent said they didn't know whether they would support it or not. It's a concerning sign for the Prime Minister's 'Yes' campaign after previous polls suggested a higher level of support - above 50 per cent. But the government has claimed all signs still point towards the referendum succeeding - opening the door to establish an Indigenous advisory body to Parliament and enshrine First Nations People in the Constitution. The poll, conducted for The Australian, is the first to ask voters the exact question that will be asked at the ballot box when the referendum is held in the second half of this year. The Newspoll data found just 46 per cent of voting-aged Australians are backing Anthony Albanese's (pictured with partner Jodie Haydon) signature policy, with 43 per cent opposing it The government is still 'optimistic' the referendum on the Voice to parliament will suceed. Pictured: Invasion Day protest in Sydney, 2023 Poll Do you want the Constitution altered to recognise the First People's of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice? Yes No Unsure Do you want the Constitution altered to recognise the First People's of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice? Yes 625 votes No 7267 votes Unsure 543 votes Now share your opinion Women, young Australians and those who lived in the city with a university education are more likely to vote Yes, according to the results. Men are slightly more inclined to vote no, while those over the age of 50, along with non-university educated Australians and people living in regional areas expressed the greatest opposition to voting Yes. Going by political parties - 63 per cent of Coalition voters intend to vote against establishing an Indigenous Voice while just over 75 per cent of Labor voters support it. But the government is ultimately hoping the support of young people will be enough to win the majority of voters in the majority of states it needs to succeed. 'That young cohort will be enough to counter the 'no' vote and I think it will be the young people who will deliver Indigenous voice for Australia,' Cabinet minister Don Farrell told the National Press Club on Thursday. 'If it (referendum) was held this Saturday, I think it would get up. 'The majority of Australians voting for it and there would be a majority of states.' Senator Farrell said he was still 'optimistic' about the referendum on the Voice to parliament. 'We've tried the republic, it didn't work, so I think the voice is the correct one,' he said. 'There's no other people in our community who suffered such disadvantage as Indigenous Australians, and it's time that we had recognition in our constitution for them.' The poll is a concerning sign for the Prime Minister's 'Yes' campaign after previous polls suggested a higher level of support - above 50 per cent Meanwhile, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association have backed the proposed constitutional change. The Indigenous voice would lead to a significant step forward and would also result in better mental health outcomes, the college said in a statement. 'We are acutely aware of the trauma inflicted on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples due to the ongoing impact of colonisation, dispossession, and systemic racism and inequality,' it added. Australian Indigenous Doctors Association chief executive Donna Burns said the voice would improve the wellbeing of Indigenous people. 'The data overwhelmingly demonstrates that an unacceptable health gap persists due to the health inequities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,' she said. 'The position that AIDA holds is based on our vision to rectify the continued health disparity that disproportionately affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.' Laws to set up the Indigenous voice referendum passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The bill, which will finalise the referendum question and constitutional changes put to the public, will now go to the Senate. It's expected to pass federal parliament later this month, with the referendum to be held between October and December. Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney urged people who did not know much about the voice to consider the inequality people faced before making up their minds. 'I would say to those people...look into your heart and look into the situation Aboriginal people are in in this country,' she said. Fans of everything from Batman to Scooby Doo have descended on the North Yorkshire town of Harrogate and the south coast town of Portsmouth for Comic Con 2023. Costumed fans dressed as Chewbacca and Darth Vader headed to the Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate and Portsmouth Guildhall for the UK's biggest annual TV and comic book event. The two UK events saw a cast of familiar characters come to see an array of film and comic related attractions including Doctor Who's Tardis and Boba Fett's throne. Visitors, including a tiny Batman, also spent time browsing the huge selections of comics and merchandise on offer at the major fan event. Fans also had the opportunity to meet their heroes and get the autographs of stars including Monty Python founder John Cleese. Fans dressed as Darth Vader headed to Harrogate for Comic Con 2023 A Star Wars fan dressed as Chewbacca headed to the conference at the Yorkshire Event Centre A woman wearing wings adjusts her outfit A group of friends dressed up as the characters from Scooby Doo A boy dressed as Batman headed to the North Yorkshire event Fans in Portsmouth dressed up as the characters from Ghostbusters A woman dressed as Star Wars character Princess Leia at Portsmouth Guildhall A fan dressed up as Spirited Away character Haku A Catwoman cosplayers stands in front of a Lion at Guildhall Cosplayers tweak their costumes outside Portsmouth Guildhall A pair of cosplayers dressed up as a Prince and Princess A cosplayer waits in a queue outside the Portsmouth Guildhall A woman dressed up as Miss Amane from Death Note A cosplayer dressed as Momo Yaoyorozu from the My Hero Academia franchise Actor Danny Glover signed autographs for fans Fans had the opportunity to see attractions including the car from Ghostbusters A man dressed as Star Wars character Obi Wan Kenobi Actor Gabriel Luna takes part in a Q&A session Fans browse items for sale at the Comic Con event in Harrogate Salespeople working for independent wholesalers that sell Anheuser-Busch beverages are feeling the pain in their wallets of the ongoing boycott of Bud Light following its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Sales of Bud Light have declined for seven consecutive weeks after the product endorsement from the controversial TikToker garnered immediate backlash. The partnership sparked protests and backlash and parent company Anheuser-Busch has shed $27 billion in value in mere months. The financial blow the company continues to stomach is having trickle-down effects across its distribution channels. Incomes have been slashed for the salespeople who work at the roughly 500 independent wholesalers that sell Anheuser-Busch products to restaurants, bars, and grocery stores. Some reported losing $2,000 last month compared to the typical May because of the backlash. Bud Light has faced boycotts since the April partnership with Dylan Mulvaney that has led to a drop in sales Since partnering with Mulvaney, Bud Light's parent company Anheuser-Busch has faced boycotts and declining sales Former Anhesuer-Busch InBev - AB's parent company - executive Anson Frericks recently told ABC News the product boycott is undoubtedly bringing about financial pain for the thousands of salespeople who work for wholesalers who depend largely on performance-based compensation. Compensation for salespeople varies across distributors and markets, but according to Frericks, a typical salesperson makes around $60,000 per year, including $20,000 in variable pay, which depends largely on commission. 'Good people are going to start leaving because they aren't making money,' he told ABC. An anonymous supervisor from a Florida-based distributor told the outlet that the average salesperson made about $2,000 less in the month of May than they normally would have over based on figures from the last handful several years. Numbers are suffering primarily due to a decline in Bud Light sales that reached as high as a 60 percent drop off over the week that ended on Memorial Day. 'This has really, really killed a lot of the guys who are commission-based. That's who it's really hurting. There's nothing they could've done - this was thrown in their faces,' said the supervisor. On an earnings call last month, Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Michel Doukeris gestured to the stain the boycott has placed on distributors and salespeople. 'This situation has impacted our people and especially our frontline workers: The delivery drivers, sales representatives, our wholesalers, Bud owners and servers,' he said. 'These people are the fabric of our business. They are our neighbors, family members, and friends. They are in every community in America. We've been doing everything we can to support our teams.' Bud Light has tried to win consumers back, with no luck, and now some say they have lost commissions because of the decline in sales 'This has really, really killed a lot of the guys who are commission-based. That's who it's really hurting,' a wholesale supervisor said Doukeris also said that Anheuser-Busch InBev provided financial support to frontline workers at the independent distributors, giving each employee $500 and additional ad spending for the month of May. A statement from the company read: 'Anheuser-Busch employs over 18,000 people and our independent wholesaler partners have an additional 47,000 valued colleagues. The current situation has impacted our people and especially our front-line workers including delivery drivers and sales representatives. 'These people are our neighbors, family members and friends. They are in every community in America. As we move forward, we will continue doing everything we can to support our teams while working tirelessly to do what we do best - bringing people together over a beer.' Despite Bud Light and CEO Michel Doukeris' best efforts, the brand hasn't seen any rebound in sales since the Mulvaney partnership. About two months ago, Mulvaney posted the digital content to her accounts to coincide with the NCAA March Madness tournament - joking that she wasn't even sure what sport she was promoting. The campaign was the brainchild of Alissa Heinerscheid, vice president of marketing for Bud Light, who was placed on leave soon after the incident. Her boss, Daniel Blake, Budweiser's group vice president for marketing, was also removed from his role in the backlash. For the week ending May 20, Bud Light sales across the US fell nearly 26 percent compared to the same period last year. For the week ending May 6, in-store sales plummeted 23.6 percent. And the week before that, ending April 29, sales dropped by 23.3 percent. This follows declines in sales for the week ending April 22, which saw a 21.4 percent decline. Seven days earlier, the dip has been 17 percent, according to NielsenIQ data provided to Dailymail.com by Bump Williams Consultancy. The data - showing that US sales of Bud Light are dropping by as much as 20 percent each week - is being uniformly viewed by industry experts as a negative trend that may not reverse itself anytime soon. Beer Business Daily editor Harry Schuhmacher told Fox News Digital that the 'whole industry is in shock'. He claimed the newfound demand for lagers not owned by Anheuser-Bush could result in a trickle-down effect on the industry. He said: 'Even Bud's competitors aren't really dancing on the grave because they know it could have happened to them.' Ron DeSantis is the latest 2024 candidate to slam Donald Trump for his warm words for North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un upping his rhetoric against the former president. Trump praised Kim in a Truth Social post Friday for North Korea being awarded an appointment to the executive board of the World Health Organization. He linked in the post to an American Greatness story that was critical of the position being granted to WHO, but ignored the premise of the article to praise Kim, whom he has called a friend. 'I was surprised to see that,' DeSantis told reporters in Iowa on Saturday when asked about the post. The Florida Gov. called Kim a 'murderous dictator' for putting a full family, including an infant, in jail for life and railed against The World Health Organization in general. 'The World Health Organization is a bankrupt organization,' he lamented. 'Like, Kim Jong Un is bad, but then joining that?' Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis railed against Donald Trump for congratulating North Korea for getting an appointment to the WHO executive board NEW - @RonDeSantis responds to a reporter in Iowa: "The World Health Organization is a bankrupt organization. Kim Jong Un is bad. But joining that? We need to be getting out of [WHO] and rejecting the WHO lockdown treaty. Not congratulating Kim about being involved in the WHO." pic.twitter.com/Tglx08UlUx DeSantis War Room (@DeSantisWarRoom) June 3, 2023 'We need to be getting out of that and rejecting the WHO lockdown treaty, and not congratulating about being involved in the WHO,' he added. Trump, in his continued fawning over the authoritarian leader, posted to his social media site: 'Congratulations to Kim Jung (sic) Un.' The article he linked to, however, was critical of North Korea's entry into WHO due to the country's repeated human rights abuses under Kim and his family's decades of leadership. News came last week that North Korean Ministry of Public Health's Dr. Jong Min Pak will join and serve on the WHO executive board until 2026. Trump is the far frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential primary, with DeSantis in second place by at least 20 points in most polling. DeSantis avoided directly criticizing the former president before officially launching his campaign two weeks ago, but has now began unloading attacks against Trump and saying he was not effective enough in the executive. On Truth Social, Trump spends much of his time railing against DeSantis, calling him 'Rob DeSanctimonious' and making unsubstantiated claims against the Florida governor. DeSantis wasn't the only one critical of Trump for his warm words for Kim. Trump posted the congratulation for North Korea's authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un with an article critical of the WHO for allowing the country a board position Trump's former No. 2 Mike Pence and his previous Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who is a fellow 2024 presidential candidate, spoke out against the ex-president. 'This is a time when we ought to make it clear to the world that we stand for freedom, and we stand with those who stand for freedom,' former Vice President Pence said as he is expected to launch a presidential bid in coming weeks. 'You don't congratulate a thug,' Haley told Fox News. 'I mean, let's keep in mind this This thug has threatened America. It's threatened our allies over and over again. This is not something to play with.' 'He's a terrible individual. He's terrible to his people. He's terrible to our allies in the world. And I don't think he deserves congratulations,' the former South Carolina governor added. EDM star Paul Oakenfold was sued for sexual harassment by one of his former assistants who claims he repeatedly masturbated in front of her. The former assistant, only identified in court documents as Jane Roe, 24, filed the sexual harassment claim in Los Angeles Superior Court Friday alleging the British DJ exposed himself to her on four separate dates from October through November 2022. She also claims that when she reported the behavior to the management company she was working for, she was forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement and had her hours greatly reduced until she was ultimately laid off in March 2023. The personal assistant says the two companies run by CEO Paul Stepanek New Frequency Management and Stepanek Management thereby violated her employment rights. Roe is seeking a variety of damages in excess of $25,000. Paul Oakenfold, 59, has been sued by a former personal assistant who claims he repeatedly masturbated in front of her Oakenfold also allegedly began to express anger towards his personal assistant, and she began to worry about 'physical escalation' of the sexual harassment According to the lawsuit, Roe took a job at the management companies in October 2022 and was immediately assigned to be Oakenfold's personal assistant at a rate of $20 per hour. She worked out of the home of the 59-year-old Grammy-nominated DJ who has remixed such artists as U2, Madonna, Britney Spears and the Rolling Stones. But starting on her first day, she claims, Oakenfold exposed himself and masturbated in front of her. He would go on to do so it again on three more dates during the next two months, including once in November 2022 when he allegedly masturbated in front of her four times in just one day. In another instance, the personal assistant claims, he performed the act inside her vehicle while she was driving him home from the post office. 'Specifically, Oakenfold sat in the passenger seat, spread his legs wide, and proceeded to masturbate with Plaintiff only inches away, while Plaintiff was driving Oakenfold home from the post office,' the suit alleged. 'Plaintiff froze in fear and shock while being in such close proximity to Oakenfold.' From there, the lawsuit alleged, 'The incidents of masturbation by Oakenfold increased in length and intensity each successive time that Oakenfold cornered Plaintiff and masturbated in Plaintiff's immediate presence.' Oakenfold also allegedly began to express anger towards his personal assistant 'that Plaintiff had not previously experienced from Oakenfold, even when Plaintiff had to endure the prior sexual harassment. 'On that date, on or about November 21, 2022, Plaintiff began to fear not only continuing sexual harassment, but that Plaintiff would suffer physical escalation of the sexual harassment or other repercussions if Plaintiff was forced to continue working for Oakenfold,' the suit says. At that point, it says, Roe decided to report the sexual harassment. But before she did, the lawsuit claims, 'Defendant's CEO Stepanek bragged about his insurance policies to protect him from being sued over Oakenfold or being found "guilty by association." The assistant claims she reported the harassment to Paul Stepanek's management agency, which forced her to sign a non-disclosure agreement Oakenfold denied the allegations and vowed to fight them in a statement on Instagram 'On information and belief,' the suit claims, 'Defendants previously had several other assistants assigned to Oakenfold and there was high turnover likely because of the rampant sexual harassment.' Then, when she reported the alleged sexual harassment, Roe claims Stepanek presented her with a nondisclosure agreement, and prevented her from returning to work if she did not sign it. Eventually, the suit says, Roe signed the NDA 'under duress,' and was allowed to return to work. She was no longer assigned to be Oakenfold's personal assistant, but Roe claims her hours were reduced and she was laid off in March for a 'lack of work.' She now continues to suffer losses of earnings and employment benefits, the suit alleges, and 'has suffered humiliation, emotional distress, and pain and anguish, all to Plaintiff's damage in an amount according to proof at the time of trial.' In a post on Instagram, Oakenfold denied the allegations. 'I want to address recent allegations of sexual harassment made against me. Let me be absolutely clear: I categorically deny any and all claims of improper conduct,' he wrote. 'Respect, integrity, and consent are values I hold dear, and I have always treated everyone with utmost professionalism. 'It is disheartening to see these baseless accusations, which appear to be nothing more than a calculated attempt to tarnish my reputation and extort money.' He added that he is 'committed to fully cooperating with any investigations to clear my name and will exhaust all legal remedies available, including the option to countersue, to protect my reputation and seek justice.' DailyMail.com also reached out to Stepanek's management agencies for comment. A nurse and her boyfriend saved an ailing man's life on a flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Baltimore after the man turned purple and fell unconscious. Emily Raines, who works as an acute care nurse at Great Baltimore Medical Center, and her boyfriend, a former nurse who now works in finance, were on a Southwest flight home from vacation when a flight attendant called for anyone with medical experience. A passenger was experiencing a medical emergency and the couple sprung into action to aid the unconscious man who no longer had a pulse. Fellow passengers rushed to help by providing medical equipment the pair could use. The couple, Emily Raines and Daniel Shifflett, both of whom are trained nurses, sprung into action midway through the flight to revive an ailing passenger 'I could hear the panic in the flight attendant's voice,' Raines, 31, told the Washington Post about the call made by the flight attendant about halfway through the roughly three-hour flight. She said she knew 'this is going to be serious.' She went on to describe the man's completely purple face as 'quite alarming.' Raines recalled doing some quick preparation for the situation as she and Shifflett made their way to the passenger: ''On our way up there I was trying to pregame, like, 'Hey, if we have to do compressions, I need you to do compressions. I'll take care of everything else,'' she said. Raines' boyfriend, Daniel Shifflett, 28, said a crew member had been performing chest compressions on the man while he was slumped over in his seat, but 'you need to be on a flat surface. Otherwise, the compressions aren't going to do anything,' he clarified. He and Raines laid the middle-aged man on the narrow aisle of the cabin and performed several more rounds of compressions, ultimately reviving him shortly before the plane made an emergency landing in Raleigh, North Carolina. 'I would say about seven minutes before we landed is when we got him back to life,' Rained told the Post. 'It was very overwhelming,' the nurse said, but 'amazing' to watch the man's eyes open. 'Not a lot of times when you give CPR or have situations like this do patients truly made it,' she said. Once the plane was on the ground, he was transported by emergency responders to a local hospital. The Southwest Airlines fight from Ft Lauderdale to Baltimore made an emergency landing in Raleigh, North Carolina The pair met in 2018 while they were both nurses at a Maryland psychiatric hospital Screenshot of a text sent by the man's wife to the couple, updating them on her husband's condition and the cause of his medical emergency The couple has stayed in contact with the man and his wife, who is reported home and 'doing remarkable well.' 'We are still not completely sure what happened,' wrote the wife, adding that her husband did not have a heart attack and the medical emergency was like 'due to low oxygen levels,' though doctors believe 'multiple factors played a role.' She also thanked the pair profusely for 'saving Michael's life.' 'I cannot possible thank you enough...There are no words,' she wrote. The heroic couple were returning home from a four-day Bahamian cruise and had twice attempted to change their return flight, but wound up sticking with the original departure plan. 'I'm not sure what would have happened,' said Raines, if she and her boyfriend had taken a different May 1 flight. 'I'm really glad we were able to be there to help.' Members of the private club pay up to 2,750 per year for access to facilities Locals fear this could block idyllic sea views and even lower property values The exclusive Soho House plans to erect a painted iron fence near the coastline Plans for a six-foot high fence that have infuriated neighbours of a world-famous private members club in Brighton have been revealed to MailOnline. The exclusive Soho House has put forward plans to erect so-called 'boundary treatment' along the city's coastline which includes a divisive painted iron wall. The building plan shows how the ornate curved entryway will also be surrounded by both low and tall plants, deep planters and 'spiky plants'. But some locals have slammed the plan as 'outrageous', alleging the club is looking to add 'air vents' and 'outlets' onto the roofs that were not included in the original building plans. Critics also claimed the plan only benefits 'a few affluent people' and will block idyllic views of the English Channel for many others. Plans for a six-foot high fence that have infuriated neighbours of a world-famous private members club in Brighton have been revealed to MailOnline This fence comes as a privacy measure for its local club members who can pay up to 1,300 per year for access if they are under 27, or 2,750 if they are older. Pictured is a view of a hotel in Brighton which has been bought by Soho House and will be turned into apartments The exclusive Soho House is planning to erect a painted iron fence along Brighton's coast The exclusive Soho House has put forward plans to erect so-called 'boundary treatment' along the city's coastline which includes a divisive painted iron wall. Pictured is the view that residents say will be blocked by the privacy measure Soho House seeks to give members a 'home away from home' in more than 38 locations around the world. This fence comes as a privacy measure for its local club members who can pay up to 1,300 per year for access if they are under 27, or 2,750 if they are older. Another entrance and moveable planters are intended to be additional features of the controversial plans Soho House has put forward. 'The revised plans for the north elevation now propose a new bespoke railing and gate pattern influenced by early 20th century style (in keeping with the approach taken for the redevelopment of this site),' the plan application reads. 'This is proposed to be limited in length, aligned to respect the form of the new development and set away from the existing listed railings to the north. Soho House claims the design would also enable views through to the sea, which the firm says considers an 'acceptable' solution to 'secure access to the property.' Locals are now slamming the plans, claiming the 10-metre gap between the two buildings that offers a beautiful view to residents and tourists alike should remain accessible to all. Doug Allison, 76, who lives opposite the proposed fence, told The Sun the building plan is 'outrageous' and 'goes much, much further' than the original development plans. Mr Allison, noting that residents are 'not happy' with the proposal said: 'I think the city planners need to keep a tight rein on Soho House.' Builder Gerry Merritt, 64, called the development a 'mission creep' and said the club has put 'all sorts of junk on the roofs' such as a pizza oven chimney, boiler outlets and air-in take units. He alleged it 'looks a complete mess'. He also claimed that Soho House's desire to 'obscure' their members with gates and plants does 'go against what the planners gave them permission for'. Mr Merritt also called on the city council planners to 'show some backbone'. Elaine Craig, Doug Allison and Gerry Merritt (pictured left to right) are 'not happy' with the proposal and have called on the city council planners to take action against the club Soho House seeks to give members a 'home away from home' in more than 38 locations around the world. Pictured: Soho Beach House Locals are now slamming the development plans, claiming the 10-metre gap between the two buildings that offers a beautiful view to residents and tourists alike should remain accessible to all. Pictured: A view of the gap in question Similarly, neighbourhood resident Elaine Craig called on the council to reject the Brighton and Hove planning application. 'Make no mistake Soho House is expensive and is elitist. We have a Labour-controlled council and councillors should prove they believe in equality by rejecting this application,' she told the newspaper. 'People are getting quite angry about this as they as there will be further encroachments and intrusions into the terms of the original planning application and we're just not going to stand for it.' One resident added: 'Not good for many residents to benefit a few affluent people,' one resident commented on the Brighton and Hove planning application. 'This is not what Labour and the residents in this city support which was evident in local elections. Let's tackle inequalities together.' Another echoed: 'The beauty of the seafront is to be able to stroll and look out to sea, not their fence, which is giving their paying private member clients a lovely vista whilst taking away the view from everyone else. 'The sea front should be protected as a valuable part of Brighton's heritage and not for sale to the highest bidder.' Locals fear the fence could block idyllic sea views and even lower property values in the area Pictured: Soho House Brighton Pictured: A dining area at Soho House Brighton Other residents are also concerned the fence could lower property prices in the area. One complained: 'I would not have bought my apartment if I had known.' Another added: 'This proposed 2m fence would remove a sea view totally and devalue our property with immediate effect.' A spokesman for Soho House assured the proposed gates and railing will actually 'preserve' Brighton's iconic sea view. They told MailOnline: 'Most of our members live locally and working in partnership with the community is important to us. The proposed installation of the ornate slim metal profile gates and railing will preserve the sea view from Marine Parade.' MailOnline has approached Brighton and Hove Council for comment. A Utah school district has banned the Bible for elementary and middle school students after it was determined to be 'too vulgar' and 'too violent' for younger readers. The move came after a parent in the district grew frustrated by other efforts to ban books in schools. Officials in the Davis district - a 72,000-student district north of Salt Lake City - removed the religious text from elementary and middle schools but will keep it in high schools. A committee with the district reviewed The Good Book after a complaint by a parent, and district officials say the committee is made up of parents, teachers and administrators. There was also a complaint to remove the Book of Mormon from younger students' libraries. The Davis School District in Utah has banned the bible in elementary and middle school after saying some verses are 'too violent' District spokesperson Chris Williams confirmed that someone filed a review request for the Book of Mormon but would not say what reasons were listed. Citing a school board privacy policy, he also would not say whether it was from the same person who complained about the Bible. Williams said the district doesnt differentiate between requests to review books and doesn't consider whether complaints may be submitted as satire. The reviews are handled by a committee made up of teachers, parents and administrators in the largely conservative community. The district has removed other titles, including Sherman Alexies 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian' and John Greens 'Looking for Alaska,' following a 2022 state law requiring districts to include parents in decisions over what constitutes 'sensitive material.' The committee published its decision about the Bible in an online database of review requests and did not elaborate on its reasoning or which passages it found overly violent or vulgar. The decision comes as conservative parent activists, including state-based chapters of the group Parents United, descend on school boards and statehouses throughout the United States, sowing alarm about how sex and violence are talked about in schools. Because of the district's privacy policy, its unknown who made the request for the Bible to be banned from Davis schools or if they are affiliated with any larger group. Davis School District banned the Bible in schools, but leaving it in high schools A copy of the complaint obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune through a public records request shows that the parent noted the Bible contains instances of incest, prostitution and rape. The complaint derided a 'bad faith process' and said the district was 'ceding our childrens education, First Amendment Rights, and library access' to Parents United. 'Utah Parents United left off one of the most sex-ridden books around: The Bible,' the parents complaint, dated Dec. 11, said. It later went on to add, 'Youll no doubt find that the Bible (under state law) has `no serious values for minors because its pornographic by our new definition.' The review committee determined the Bible didnt qualify under Utah's definition of what's pornographic or indecent, which is why it remains in high schools, Williams said. The committee can make its own decisions under the new 2022 state law and has applied different standards based on students ages in response to multiple challenges, he said. An unnamed party filed an appeal on Wednesday. The Bible has long found itself on the American Library Association's list of most challenged books and was temporarily pulled off shelves last year in school districts in Texas and Missouri. Concerns about new policies potentially ensnaring the Bible have routinely arisen in statehouses during debates over efforts to expand book banning procedures. That includes Arkansas - one of the states that enacted a law this year that would subject librarians to criminal penalties for providing 'harmful' materials to minors, and creates a new process for the public to request materials be relocated in libraries. 'I dont want people to be able to say, I dont want the Bible in the library,' Arkansas Democratic state Sen. Linda Chesterfield said during a hearing. Parents who have pushed for more say in their childrens education and the curriculum and materials available in schools have argued that they should control how their children are taught about matters like gender, sexuality and race. EveryLibrary, a national political action committee, told The Associated Press last month it was tracking at least 121 different proposals introduced in legislatures this year targeting libraries, librarians, educators and access to materials. The number of attempts to ban or restrict books across the U.S. in 2022 was the highest in the 20 years, according to the American Library Association. 'If folks are outraged about the Bible being banned, they should be outraged about all the books that are being censored in our public schools,' said Kasey Meehan, who directs the Freedom to Read program at the writers organization PEN America. Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said today he was in 'good spirits' on his third birthday behind bars, despite tougher prison conditions and yet another spell in solitary confinement. It came as police arrested at least 90 people taking part in pro-Navalny demonstrations in Russian cities today, according to specialist NGO OVD-Info which monitors political arrests. Risking their own prison terms, some Navalny supporters in Russia marked his birthday by holding individual pickets, while others painted graffiti, wishing him 'Happy Birthday Alexei' or demanding 'Freedom for Alexei Navalny'. Police quickly detained many for questioning, and officers maintained a raised presence in downtown Moscow and moved quickly to round up those who tried to stage individual pickets on Pushkin Square and elsewhere in the capital. His supporters also demonstrated in St Petersburg and other Russian cities, holding one-person pickets and leaving signs and graffiti in Mr Navalny's support. It came as police arrested at least 90 people taking part in pro-Navalny demonstrations in Russian cities on Sunday, according to specialist NGO OVD-Info (pictured: a protest in Georgia) Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny (pictured) said today he was in 'good spirits' on his third birthday behind bars, despite tougher prison conditions and yet another spell in solitary confinement Risking their own prison terms, some Navalny supporters in Russia marked his birthday by holding individual pickets, while others painted graffiti, wishing him 'Happy Birthday Alexei' or demanding 'Freedom for Alexei Navalny' (pictured here) One man managed to throw around leaflets before being whisked away. A woman holding a small black balloon with the words 'Happy Birthday!' who was clad in a hoody with 'You aren't alone' written on it was among those detained. She asked officers why they were detaining her, but they did not answer. Mr Navalny's supporters also demonstrated in St Petersburg and other Russian cities, holding one-person pickets and leaving signs and graffiti in Mr Navalny's support. Many were detained. Pro-Navalny demonstrations were held in several European cities. Navalny's team says he has been harassed in prison and kept in a 'punishment cell' for minor transgressions. His supporters say the authorities are trying to crush his morale. The arch-foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin said he woke up in a punishment cell on his 47th birthday, adding in a message published on social media that it was his 16th such stint. 'On the morning of your birthday you have to be honest with yourself, so I ask myself the question: am I really in a good mood, or do force myself to feel that way? 'My answer is: I really am. Let's face it, of course I wish I didn't have to wake up in this hellhole and instead have breakfast with my family, receive kisses on the cheek from my children, unwrap presents... 'But life works in such a way that social progress and a better future can only be achieved if a certain number of people are willing to pay the price for their right to have beliefs. 'The more there are such people, the smaller the price each has to pay,' he said. 'And a day will certainly come when it will be routine and not dangerous at all to tell the truth and stand for justice in Russia.' Authorities are taking the crackdown on freedoms in Russia to new levels following Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine, with independent media shut down and most key opposition figures behind bars or in exile. In his message, Navalny said he believed 'the day will come when speaking the truth and advocating for justice will become something commonplace and not at all dangerous in Russia.' Police quickly detained many for questioning, and officers maintained a raised presence in downtown Moscow (one demonstrator here with a poster reading 'Happy Birthday Alexei') and moved quickly to round up those who tried to stage individual pickets on Pushkin Square and elsewhere in the capital His supporters also demonstrated in St Petersburg and other Russian cities, holding one-person pickets and leaving signs and graffiti in Mr Navalny's support (pictured here in Moscow) Mr Navalny's supporters also demonstrated in St Petersburg and other Russian cities, holding one-person pickets and leaving signs and graffiti in Mr Navalny's support. Many were detained. Pro-Navalny demonstrations were held in several European cities (pictured here in London) Navalny's team says he has been harassed in prison and kept in a 'punishment cell' for minor transgressions. His supporters (pictured here in Lithuania) say the authorities are trying to crush his morale Police officers detained a demonstrator in Pushkin Square (pictured) in Moscow, Russia, today as imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has voiced hope for a better future in Russia while his supporters held demonstrations to mark his birthday The arch-foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin said he woke up in a punishment cell on his 47th birthday, adding in a message published on social media that it was his 16th such stint (pictured: protestors in Georgia) Authorities are taking the crackdown on freedoms in Russia to new levels following Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine, with independent media shut down and most key opposition figures behind bars or in exile (pictured: demonstrators in Georgia) In his message, Navalny said he believed 'the day will come when speaking the truth and advocating for justice will become something commonplace and not at all dangerous in Russia' (pictured: w oman holding a 'Free Navalny' sign in a rally in Georgia) Navalny, who used to mobilise massive protests against the Kremlin, is serving a nine-year prison sentence for fraud and contempt of court, charges he says were trumped up to punish him for his work to expose official corruption and organising anti-Kremlin protests (pictured: A protest in Santa Monica, California on Navalny's birthday) Navalny, who used to mobilise massive protests against the Kremlin, is serving a nine-year prison sentence for fraud and contempt of court, charges he says were trumped up to punish him for his work to expose official corruption and organising anti-Kremlin protests. He is facing a new trial on extremism charges that could keep him in prison for decades - he could face another 30 years and believes the authorities are trying to keep him in prison for life. Kremlin critics view the case as another Russian government attempt to isolate President Vladimir Putin's most prominent foe. He shot to global prominence after barely surviving a poisoning with Novichok, a Soviet-designed nerve agent, which the opposition politician blames on the Kremlin. He was arrested in January 2021 upon returning from Germany after recovering from the poisoning. He is in jail near the town of Vladimir around 150 miles outside Moscow, and has been communicating with the public and sending messages through his legal team. He is facing a new trial on extremism charges that could keep him in prison for decades - he could face another 30 years and believes the authorities are trying to keep him in prison for life (pictured: Parents taking part in a pro-Navalny rally in Lithuania with their children) Kremlin critics view the case as another Russian government attempt to isolate President Vladimir Putin's most prominent foe (pictured: protest in Santa Monica, California) He shot to global prominence after barely surviving a poisoning with Novichok, a Soviet-designed nerve agent, which the opposition politician blames on the Kremlin (pictured: protestors in Georgia) He was arrested in January 2021 upon returning from Germany after recovering from the poisoning (pictured: a demonstrator outside the Russian embassy in London) He is in jail near the town of Vladimir around 150 miles outside Moscow, and has been communicating with the public and sending messages through his legal team (pictured: A protester wearing a Putin mask joins a gathering outside the Russian Embassy in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, in London, today) Mr Navalny's associates called for demonstrations to show support for him in Russia and abroad on Sunday (pictured: Protesters holding placards as they gathered in London today) The new accusations come as Russian authorities are conducting an intensified crackdown on dissent amid the fighting in Ukraine, which Mr Navalny has harshly criticised (pictured: protest in London) A Moscow court scheduled a preliminary hearing for Tuesday to discuss technical issues related to a new trial of Mr Navalny (pictured: A woman holding a sign with the words 'Happy Birthday!' was among those detained in Moscow today) Mr Navalny has also cited an investigator telling him that he would also face a separate military court trial on terrorism charges that potentially carry a life sentence (pictured: a detained demonstrator in Moscow today) He said in a social media post on Sunday that he sees his prison term 'just as an unpleasant part of my favorite job' and thanked his supporters (pictured here in Lithuania) Mr Navalny's associates called for demonstrations to show support for him in Russia and abroad on Sunday. The new accusations come as Russian authorities are conducting an intensified crackdown on dissent amid the fighting in Ukraine, which Mr Navalny has harshly criticised. A Moscow court scheduled a preliminary hearing for Tuesday to discuss technical issues related to a new trial of Mr Navalny, rejecting a request by his lawyers for more time to examine voluminous new charges that he rejected as 'absurd'. Mr Navalny has also cited an investigator telling him that he would also face a separate military court trial on terrorism charges that potentially carry a life sentence. He said in a social media post on Sunday that he sees his prison term 'just as an unpleasant part of my favorite job' and thanked his supporters. 'My plan for the previous year was not to grow brutal and embittered and not to lose the nonchalance of behaviour - this is where defeat begins,' he wrote. 'And if I succeeded, it was only thanks to your support.' A passenger aboard a Delta flight recalled the harrowing moment his plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Newfoundland after a man who had allegedly been violent broke free from the crew restraining him. Delta Flight 97 was en route to Detroit from Paris when the captain made the announcement they would be landing on the Canadian island at the private airport used during 9/11 due to an 'unruly passenger.' Nicolas Fougere told Dailymail.com he was shocked and became worried after hearing the announcement said he wondered how serious it had to be for the plane to be landing long before their final destination. 'We knew that something bad had happened but we didn't think it was that serious for someone to have to be taken off the flight before getting to the final destination,' he said. 'I was very worried for that hour before we landed. We were all relieved when he was taken off the plane.' The plane landed at Stephenville Dymond Airport on Friday afternoon and the 34-year-old passenger was taken into custody by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. His identity has not been released it's unclear what charges he faces. Scroll for video Nicolas Fougere was on Delta Flight 97 from Paris, France to Detroit, Michigan when it was forced to make an emergency landing in Newfoundland because of an unruly passenger Fougere shared a video with Dailymail.com of the man being marched down the aisle and off the Airbus A330-300 plane which had 261 passengers onboard The plane landed at Stephenville Dymond Airport on Friday afternoon and the 34-year-old passenger was taken into custody by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. His identity has not been released it's unclear what charges he faces Fougere said the person sitting next to him on the plane had tried to go to the bathroom when she witnessed the man arguing with another passenger. She was told by the crew to go to a different bathroom. The crew attempted to restrain the man, who was allegedly being 'violent' on the flight and 'wouldn't calm down' on the trip from Paris' airport Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. But the man broke free from the crew's restraints and tried to flee down the aisle but was stopped by several passengers who tackled him. 'Who knows what would've happened if they had not stepped in,' he said. 'I'm just very thankful for those people and for the crew.' For the next hour, the passengers of the Delta flight waited anxiously to land in Newfoundland. 'It was an hour, but felt quite a bit longer,' Fougere said. Stephenville Dymond Airport was a landing spot for planes on September 11 after North American airspace was shut down The emergency diversion was made six hours into the flight and landed at Stephenville Dymond Airport on the Canadian island of Newfoundland at around 3.35pm. Fougere shared a video with Dailymail.com of the man being marched down the aisle and off the Airbus A330-300 plane which had 261 passengers onboard. 'What am I under arrest for?' he is heard asking in the video. Fougere said he also heard the man telling other passengers in a bit of a sarcastic tone: 'Oh apparently I'm a threat to everyone on this plane.' The man was led off the plane and down the stairs where he was greeted and taken into custody by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Randy Alexander, a local Newfoundland man posted photos of the emergency landing that showed authorities escorting the man off the plane. The flight then took off for Detroit about 90 minutes later to the relief of the passengers. Fougere said that despite the delays, his fellow passengers were just relieved the man was off the plane. 'Everybody on the plane just very understanding,' he said. 'We were safe and that's what mattered.' A spokesman for Delta said: 'Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior, especially when it potentially compromises the safety of our customers and flight crew. 'This unruly customer was removed at Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, and remanded to the custody of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.' The emergency diversion was made six hours into the flight and landed at Stephenville Dymond Airport on the Canadian island of Newfoundland at around 3.35pm More video from the flight showed the man being hauled off the plane on Friday He was restrained by airline staff but managed to break free before five to six passengers jumped in to restrain him again Stephenville Dymond Airport in Newfoundland has been in the headlines before, notably on 9/11 when several planes made unscheduled landings after North American airspace was closed. The town hosted about 3,000 passengers for a week after the attacks. Unruly passengers can risk the safety of others on board a flight so unscheduled landings are not uncommon. A United flight was forced to turn back three hours into its journey in April after a disruptive passenger sat in an attendants seat and began screaming at the crew. In February, an American Airlines flight made an emergency landing after a passenger who was denied a drink charged towards the cockpit. And a 'drunk' and 'aggressive' woman, onboard a flight heading to Las Vegas, was ordered off the plane last month over disorderly behavior and screamed at other passengers. Former Jackass star Bam Margera has apparently gone missing again, just days after he threatened to commit suicide if he did not get to see his son. In a tweet Sunday morning, Margera's brother asked for the public's help in finding the 43-year-old, who is believed to be back in Los Angeles after being spotted in Pennsylvania on Saturday. 'If anyone in the LA area knows of Bam's current whereabouts or a hotel he might be at, contact the LAPD immediately,' Jess Margera urged. He said he is trying to get the police department to ping Bam's phone, but noted: 'I don't think we have that kind of time.' Bam's disappearance comes just days after he posted a rant on social media, saying his family and ex-wife were driving him to drink. He then threatened to go down the boardwalk to smoke crack with homeless people until he dies or until he is allowed to see his son, Phoenix, whom he has been separated from since March 29. Bam Margera, 43, is reportedly missing in the Los Angeles area after threatening to 'smoke crack until I'm dead' amid ongoing custody battles with his ex-wife His family is apparently worried about Bam's condition as they try to track him down His brother Jess is asking the public for its help in tracking down the former Jackass star In the Instagram post on Thursday, Margera threatened to smoke crack until his ex-wife Nicole Boyd would agree to let him visit their son. 'This is an official message to anybody that cares about me whatsoever,' Margera said. 'I haven't seen Phoenix in two f****** months and I am so f****** fed up. I cry every day, I miss him so much and I know I have to wake up everyday knowing that I probably won't get to talk to him or see him. 'So yes Nicki drives me to f****** drink, so does my f****** mom and so does my f****** pep-talking dad who tells me nothing but I am a f****** fat loser piece of s*** drug addict. 'I am going to smoke crack with the bums down at the boardwalk until I am dead or unless you deliver me f****** Phoenix. So get to work Nicki or anybody that wants to help. I want Phoenix.' The last time Margera was during an in-person visit in California and has not been allowed to communicate with his child via phone or FaceTime, according to his lawyer Peter W. Thompson. His wife's lawyer issued a statement on Margera's video, urging the TV stuntman to maintain his sobriety. 'Unfortunately, thats not how the addictions work. Peoples behavior does not drive others to drink. This is a typical defense mechanism, and it shows that Bam may not have learned much in his past addiction's treatment,' lawyer David Glass told TMZ. 'You have to take responsibility for your own actions. Nikki sincerely hopes that Bam can first achieve and then maintain sobriety, for his own good, and for the good of their son.' The Jackass star claims Nicole Boyd has cut off his contact with their son Phoenix over the past two months He has not seen Phoenix since March 29 during an in-person visit in California and has not been allowed to communicate with the child via phone or FaceTime, according to his lawyer Margera split up with Boyd in 2021 and she went to court in September of that year to request full custody of their son. She filed for divorce this February citing irreconcilable differences, and requested the court award her $15,000 a month child support, as well as legal and physical custody of their child. In the documents, Boyd said Margera can see their child as long as it is supervised and he completes rehab for drug and alcohol issues. But Margera has tried to get the judge overseeing the divorce case to throw it out while simultaneously trying to move up the next hearing, according to documents obtained by TMZ. His lawyer told the outlet that Margera and Boyd had unsuccessfully tried to set up a routine where he would speak to his son via FaceTime, but it never came to fruition. He said they find it 'completely unreasonable' that Boyd will not pick up the FaceTime or phone calls he has made, as it poses no danger to the child, TMZ reported. Margera is also said to be paying Boyd's home and car expenses, and remains amenable to working out an arrangement with Boyd and her lawyers for any level of communication. Margera split up with Boyd in 2021 and she went to court in September of that year to request full custody of their son But the last time Margera saw his son, he was caught on camera arguing with Boyd inside a Burbank, California restaurant over time spent with the child. The former Jackass star was seen arguing with Boyd in the clip, telling her, 'Phoenix has his own mind. Let him have his own mind!' And he was subsequently arrested in connection with public intoxication in the wake of the incident. In a statement, Boyd's lawyer David Glass cited Margera's conduct as the reason for the separation from his son. 'From Nikki's perspective, Bam's continued instability is what makes connecting him and Phoenix difficult,' Glass said. 'But, Nikki remains open to regular FaceTime communication, so long as Bam is not impaired during the calls, and so long as Bam does not denigrate Nikki during the calls.' Margera fled the scene after an alleged altercation with his brother in March, spawning a manhunt in Pennsylvania before he turned himself in days later Margera has struggled with addiction and has been in and out of rehab since 2009 and he escaped from a court-ordered rehab facility over three times last year. Most recently, he fled the scene after he got into a fight with his brother outside his $1.1million Pocopson Township castle, spawning a manhunt throughout Pennsylvania. He turned himself in to authorities days later, and was released on bail. As part of the release, the Delco Daily Times reports, h was ordered not to have contact with his family. Margera was also required to undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation, and follow any recommended treatments. The next scheduled hearing in Margera's divorce case is set for July 11. Police are hunting for a person who allegedly sexually assaulted a teenage girl at a London beauty spot. The victim, who is 15, had been in Hampstead Heath when she was targeted near the Parliament Hill Viewpoint at around 10.45pm on Saturday, June 3. The Metropolitan Police says it searching for a male in his late teens in relation to the incident which took place amid a large gathering of youths. The force says he is believed to be around 5ft 8ins tall, with short brown hair, and was wearing a blue t-shirt and jeans. Officers say the victim and her attacker are not thought to have known each other well prior to the incident as they were part of different friend groups. The incident is believed to have taken place near the Parliament Hill Viewpoint at around 10.45pm on Saturday, June 3. Pictured: A file photo of the views of London from the area on Hampstead Heath Detective Sergeant Sam Lockstone, from the local policing team in Camden, said: 'We have carried out a number of enquiries, including a trawl for CCTV and a forensic examination of the scene. 'We believe there were a large number of teenagers on Parliament Hill at the time of the assault and it's thought the victim and suspect were part of different friendship groups. 'I am asking for anyone who witnessed suspicious activity, or has information about the incident, to contact us immediately. 'I would also encourage parents of children who were in the area last night to ask them if they can assist the investigation.' Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 7852/03Jun. You can also direct message @MetCC on Twitter. To remain anonymous contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. She is remembered by how much she 'loved helping people in her community' Michelle Hodgkinson was stabbed to death while on the way to meet her mother A family has paid tribute to the 'amazing, loving, and selfless' mother who was stabbed to death on a canal bridge near Manchester. Michelle Hodgkinson, 51, was killed on Friday afternoon when a man attacked her on Edge Lane in Droylsden. Despite best efforts of the emergency services, she tragically passed away at the scene. She had been on her way to meet her mother for coffee and some shopping when the she was murdered, her family revealed. Those who know her say they are 'utter shock' at how 'horrific her last moments were'. Ms Hodgkinson's loved ones added that they are 'heartbroken' by her death and say their 'world has crumbled'. They want her to be remembered for her volunteering efforts and how much she 'loved helping people in her community'. A 28-year-old man has been arrested by detectives investigating her murder in Tameside. He remains in police custody for questioning. Michelle Hodgkinson, 51, (pictured with her daughter) was killed on Friday afternoon when a man attacked her on Edge Lane in Droylsden. The 'amazing, loving, and selfless' mother is remembered for her volunteering efforts and how much she 'loved helping people in her community' Floral tributes were left yesterday near to the scene where Ms Hodgkinson was stabbed to death on a canal bridge near Manchester It comes after reports came in at around 12pm on Friday that a woman had been stabbed on Edge Lane in Droylsden Forensics at the scene where Ms Hodgkinson, 51, was murdered in Droylsden on Friday FULL TRIBUTE FROM MICHELLE HODGKINSON'S FAMILY 'Everyone who knows Michelle is in utter shock at the attack she endured and how horrific her last moments were. Our Shelly B was the most amazing, loving, selfless and funny daughter, mother, mother-in-law, sister, auntie and most recently a nanna. It was a privilege to have been known and loved by her. She loved helping people in her community and was known for volunteering as an appropriate adult, her charity work and loved creating hampers to make people smile. She would be there for anyone and the day she was taken from us, she was doing just that - walking to meet her mum to take her shopping and to go for a coffee. 'Our family and friends are heartbroken. In one moment our world has crumbled and will never be the same. We will support each other, and we thank and appreciate the love and support shown by our family and friends. Please hold your loved ones close, tell them you love them and make memories. 'Words cannot describe how much she will be missed. Our biggest cheerleader, our confidant, our rock she will never be forgotten. We love you to the moon and back! We'll do everything we can to get justice. Love you forever and always!' Advertisement The grieving family said it was a 'privilege to have been known and loved by' Ms Hodgkinson, who was a mother, sister, aunt and a new grandmother. 'She loved helping people in her community and was known for volunteering as an appropriate adult, her charity work and loved creating hampers to make people smile,' the tribute read, adding that 'she would be there for anyone'. 'Our family and friends are heartbroken. In one moment our world has crumbled and will never be the same.' The family thanked the community for their 'love and support' and said: 'Please hold your loved ones close, tell them you love them and make memories.' Ms Hodgkinson will 'never be forgotten' and her family has vowed to do 'everything we can to get justice'. The tribute comes after floral tributes were left yesterday near the scene where Ms Hodgkinson was stabbed. A pal left a card for her. It read: 'Another read: 'RIP my lovely friend Michelle. 'Our birthdays won't be the same without you. 'Thinking of all the family. Can't believe you're gone. 'After knowing you for 45 years. 'Love always your birthday twin Sam xx.' Another tribute, believed to be from the woman's family, read: 'The brightest flowers for the brightest star in the sky. 'You was (sic) taken too soon from this world. 'You will be loved forever and always.' A 28-year-old man is being quizzed by police on suspicion of murder following the incident on Edge Lane, near to Ashton Canal, in Droylsden, on Friday. A forensic tent remained in place on the bridge. Resident Mallik Sheikh, 46, saw the aftermath of the tragedy. He said previously: 'I didn't know what had happened at first. I then saw the police putting up a cordon so I knew it was serious. 'It was only later I found out the woman had been stabbed. It's frightening that his has happened so close to where I live.' 'At first I thought it was an accident,' he said. 'I saw the police putting up the cordon and only later found what happened. 'It's terrible when something like this happens so near to where you live.' One woman, who lives nearby said: 'I heard the screams. It's something I'll never forget. 'The police and ambulance arrived fast. It is so sad.' Detectives have now 28-year-old man has been arrested by detectives investigating her murder in Tameside on Friday Chief Superintendent Phil Davies, Tameside's District Commander said: 'Our officers have been working around the clock to identify and arrest the person responsible. We have a man in custody however this is still the early stages of the investigation after a woman's life was tragically taken and we are in the process of piecing together the full circumstances and are keeping an open mind. 'Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of the victim as well as with the community who have been deeply affected by this incident. I understand the nature of the incident will cause concern in our communities, not just in Tameside, but across Greater Manchester. 'As a result, there will be a visible increase of police officers in the area over the coming days and anyone with concerns is encouraged to speak to them. 'We are determined to find answers and bring the person responsible to justice. I appeal to anyone who saw or heard anything to come forwards and if you have any information that could assist our investigation no matter how small it may seem - please share it with the police.' Police have asked anyone with information, CCTV or video footage regarding this incident or have witnessed any suspicious behaviour in the area at around 12pm yesterday, to contact GMP by calling 101 or www.gmp.police.uk quoting log 1353 of 02/06/2023. They added that information can be shared anonymously via the independent charity - Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Most voters were happy with the debt ceiling bill and wanted to see it pass Congress even though more conservative lawmakers railed against Speaker Kevin McCarthy for striking the deal with President Joe Biden. A new Rasmussen Reports poll shows that McCarthy's approval rating has jumped by 10 percent since the beginning of the year and after he reached the deal with the president to raise the debt ceiling. The results are indicative of Americans' desire to see more bipartisanship in Washington, D.C., while members of McCarthy's own party lamented the bill and slammed the Speaker for agreeing to it. The California lawmaker's prominence in striking the deal is likely contributing to his polling jump from 40 percent approval in January to 50 percent approval in the survey conducted May 30 through June 1. Thirty-nine percent of the 1,012 likely voters polled view McCarthy unfavorably and 11 percent aren't sure how they feel about the Republican House Speaker. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is now more popular among voters that he struck a deal to raise the debt ceiling with Joe Biden and got it passed in the House In January, McCarthy had 40% approval and it jumped to 50 percent after the deal was struck Multiple conservative members of the House and Republican members of the Senate were not happy with McCarthy striking the deal with Biden and claimed that the provisions don't go far enough. Additionally, 69 percent of Democrats and 48 percent of Republicans voters said that they are in favor of Congress passing the compromise bill. President Biden on Saturday signed a bill that lifts the U.S. government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, averting what would have been a first-ever federal default. The House of Representatives and the Senate passed the legislation last week after Biden and McCarthy reached an agreement following months of tense negotiations. The Treasury Department had warned it would be unable to pay all its bills on Monday if Congress failed to act by then, which would have triggered an unprecedented default. The White House released a 10-second video clip of Biden signing the bill in the Oval Office, but opted to avoid the type of public ceremony that often accompanies the signing of hard-fought measures. Most Americans wanted to see Congress pass the deal even though conservatives slammed McCarthy for reaching the compromise with Biden The White House released a 10-second video clip of Biden signing the bill in the Oval Office, but opted to avoid the type of public ceremony that often accompanies major measures Republicans had refused to raise the country's borrowing limit unless Democrats agreed to cut spending, leading to a standoff that was not resolved until weeks of intense negotiations between the White House and McCarthy. The final agreement, passed by the House on Wednesday and the Senate on Thursday, suspends the debt limit until 2025 - after the next presidential election - and restricts government spending. It gives lawmakers budget targets for the next two years in hopes of assuring fiscal stability as the political season heats up. Raising the nation's debt limit, now at $31.4 trillion, will ensure that the government can borrow to pay debts already incurred. 'Passing this budget agreement was critical. The stakes could not have been higher,' Biden said in a speech from the Oval Office on Friday evening. 'Nothing would have been more catastrophic,' he said, than defaulting on the country's debt. 'No one got everything they wanted but the American people got what they needed,' Biden said, highlighting the 'compromise and consensus' in the deal. 'We averted an economic crisis and an economic collapse.' 'Our economy would have been thrown in recession,' Biden intoned in a low voice. He also used the address to pledge to go after 'tax cheats' and hike taxes on the wealthy, even after Republican negotiators nixed his revenue proposals as a way to pay for spending that gets trimmed under the deal. 'We also have to raise revenue to go after tax cheats and make sure everybody's paying their fair share,' Biden said. He repeated his pledge not to hike taxes on people earning more than $400,000 per year, and defended a boost in funds for IRS audits and technology although the debt deal actually pares back an $80 billion infusion by about $20 billion. He also called for closing 'special interest tax loopholes for big oil, crypto traders, hedge fund billionaires, saving taxpayers billions of dollars.' 'Republicans defended every single one of these special interest loopholes. Every single one. But I'm going to come back with your help. I'm going to win,' he vowed although to become law the legislation must originate in the Republican-dominated House. 'Passing this budget agreement was critical. The stakes could not have been higher,' Biden said in a speech from the Oval Office on Friday evening McCarthy told his caucus that Republicans were able to achieve a rare reduction in government spending while suspending the debt ceiling until January 2025 Seventy one conservative Republicans voted no - claiming the package doesn't cut spending enough, will add $4trillion to the debt and represented a cave to the White House Biden also used the opportunity to itemize the achievements of his first term as he runs for reelection, including support for high-tech manufacturing, infrastructure investments and financial incentives for fighting climate change. He also highlighted ways he blunted Republican efforts to roll back his agenda and achieve deeper cuts. 'Were cutting spending and bringing deficits down at the same time,' Biden said. 'We're protecting important priorities from Social Security to Medicare to Medicaid to veterans to our transformational investments in infrastructure and clean energy.' Biden's remarks were the most detailed comments from the Democratic president on the compromise he and his staff negotiated. He largely remained quiet publicly during the high-stakes talks, a decision that frustrated some members of his party but was intended to give space for both sides to reach a deal and for lawmakers to vote it to his desk. Biden praised McCarthy and his negotiators for operating in good faith, and all congressional leaders for ensuring swift passage of the legislation. 'They acted responsibly, and put the good of the country ahead of politics,' he said. Overall, the 99-page bill restricts spending for the next two years and changes some policies, including imposing new work requirements for older Americans receiving food aid and greenlighting an Appalachian natural gas pipeline that many Democrats oppose. Some environmental rules were modified to help streamline approvals for infrastructure and energy projects - a move long sought by moderates in Congress. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it could actually expand total eligibility for federal food assistance, with the elimination of work requirements for veterans, homeless people and young people leaving foster care. The legislation also bolsters funds for defense and veterans, cuts back some new money for the Internal Revenue Service and rejects Biden's call to roll back Trump-era tax breaks on corporations and the wealthy to help cover the nations deficits. Republicans extracted some concessions, but did not get their full wish-list for the bill But the White House said the IRS' plans to step up enforcement of tax laws for high-income earners and corporations would continue. The agreement imposes an automatic overall 1% cut to spending programs if Congress fails to approve its annual spending bills - a measure designed to pressure lawmakers of both parties to reach consensus before the end of the fiscal year in September. In both chambers, more Democrats backed the legislation than Republicans, but both parties were critical to its passage. In the Senate the tally was 63-36 including 46 Democrats and independents and 17 Republicans in favor, 31 Republicans along with four Democrats and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats opposed. The vote in the House was 314-117. A farmer honoured for his environmentally friendly initiatives is facing jail after he rammed a GP's car with his tractor during a road-rage row. Parish councillor Andrew Hollinshead, 54, who was named 'Green Farmer of the Year' at the Northern Farmer Awards in 2016, ploughed his seven-tonne vehicle into Paul Uglow's VW Tiguan. Dr Uglow, 48, had followed Hollinshead back to his farm near Sandbach, Cheshire, after the farmer 'cut him up' at a junction. But when he stopped to speak to Hollinshead, the farmer drove his tractor straight at him. The VW sustained 13,000 of damage, while the driver's side window shattered and cut Dr Uglow's arm. Hollinshead, who was honoured for using a wind turbine, solar panels and a hydrogen refuelling station at his farm, was convicted of criminal damage and assault occasioning actual bodily harm at Crewe Magistrates' Court. Parish councillor Andrew Hollinshead, 54, (pictured outside Crewe magistrates court) ploughed his seven-tonne vehicle into Paul Uglow's VW Tiguan Hollinshead (pictured on his Cheshire farm) was named 'Green Farmer of the Year' at the Northern Farmer Awards in 2016 He faces up to four years in jail if the case is sent to a crown court for sentencing later this month. The incident occurred on the A534 last July, when Dr Uglow was driving home from his surgery at Haslington medical centre near Crew. Prosecutor Simon Leong said Dr Uglow saw a tractor pull out on the right in front of him, which caused him to make an emergency stop. The tractor's driver then gave the GP a 'middle-finger salute', he added. 'Dr Uglow then made the decision to follow the tractor as he wished to speak to the driver about what happened. At the defendant's farm, he rolled down the window, saying 'Can I have a word please?' 'But the driver of the tractor, who was about 50 yards away across the yard, went straight in his direction and rammed straight into the driver's side of the vehicle where Dr Uglow was sitting.' Dr Uglow, 48, (pictured outside Crewe magistrates court) had followed Hollinshead back to his farm near Sandbach, Cheshire, after the farmer 'cut him up' at a junction Andrew Hollinshead picked up his Green Farmer of the year award in 2016 (pictured) for using a wind turbine, solar panels and a hydrogen refuelling station at his farm Dr Uglow told the hearing: 'The tractor hit the front driver's side wheel arch and the driver's door. On the front of the tractor was a box and a couple of spiky things on it. He used that to hit my vehicle. 'He kept pushing against the vehicle for what seemed like a long time. He kept pushing and the crumpling sound went on for quite a little while. He saw me and drove straight into my vehicle at speed before I had any chance to get out.' After Hollinshead left the scene, Dr Uglow told a 999 operator that he was 'shaking like a leaf' and that the tractor driver was 'an absolute animal'. Hollinshead told the court he had given 'thinking time and stopping time' to Dr Uglow when he pulled in front of him, but alleged the other driver 'did not see' the tractor. He said he went back to his farm, and as he returned to his yard, he saw the doctor 'coming at great speed' down the driveway and 'flying into our yard'. He added: 'He drove the car at speed straight in front of my tractor. At which point, I slammed the brakes and we ended up having a bit of a collision.' Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure over the 'anti-democratic' decision to block a left-leaning Labour mayor dubbed 'the last Corbynista in power' from running in the North East. Jamie Driscoll, the serving North of Tyne mayor, was excluded from the longlist to run in the new expanded authority. Unite, the party's biggest union donor, has now warned of 'serious consequences' over the 'major mistake' of barring his candidacy. A senior Labour source linked the decision to Mr Driscoll sharing a panel with filmmaker Ken Loach, who was expelled from the party amid efforts to root out antisemitism from the party. But figures on the left of the party have blamed 'factionalism' under Sir Keir's leadership. Sir Keir Starmer (pictured May 24) is under pressure over the 'anti-democratic' decision to block Jamie Driscoll, the serving North of Tyne mayor, from running in the North East Jamie Driscoll (pictured on Sky's Sophy Ridge On Sunday show) said today that preventing Labour members from having a say over whether he should represent the North East was 'frankly shocking' as he defended his 'fantastic' track record Mr Driscoll said today that preventing Labour members from having a say over whether he should represent the North East was 'frankly shocking' as he defended his 'fantastic' track record. 'In a two-party system, if you're going to ban people who are promoting socialist views from participating in that, that is really quite anti-democratic,' he told Sky's Sophy Ridge On Sunday show this morning. The mayor defended discussing Loach's films, some of which have been produced in the North East, despite the director downplaying the issue of antisemitism in the party. 'My understanding is he's made all sorts of clarifications that he's not a Holocaust denier and I think he wrote a letter to the New York Times explicitly saying that the Holocaust was a real event, which of course it was,' he said. Loach, the director of socially critical films including I, Daniel Blake, was expelled from Labour in 2021 during what he called at the time a 'purge' of Jeremy Corbyn's allies. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham warned that if Labour 'remains intent on only selecting nodding heads' then it will 'continue to make serious policy mistakes'. 'These actions by Labour are a major mistake and have serious consequences,' she added. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and his counterpart in the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, said the move does not seem 'democratic, transparent and fair'. The pair expressed their 'concern' in a joint letter to Johanna Baxter, chairwoman of Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC). 'Whilst we appreciate the NEC's important role in upholding standards within the party, and rooting out any form of antisemitism, racism and discrimination, it also has a responsibility to ensure decisions are democratic, transparent and fair,' they wrote. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham (left) and his counterpart in the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, (right) said the move does not seem 'democratic, transparent and fair' Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds (pictured on May 14) 'strongly' disagreed with claims that Sir Keir is trying to purge the left of the party 'To exclude a sitting mayor from a selection process with no right of appeal appears to us to be none of those things.' They said Mr Driscoll should be entitled to an appeal process and 'deserves to be treated with more respect than he has so far been shown'. Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds 'strongly' disagreed with claims that Sir Keir is trying to purge the left of the party. He told Sky: 'Specifically in a case where somebody shares a platform with someone who themselves has been expelled from the Labour Party for their views on antisemitism, for opposing the tough action that needed to happen, that would preclude them from being a Labour candidate going forward. 'Because when we said we'd have zero-tolerance for antisemitism, when we said we would tear it out from its roots, we were serious about that.' Loach was criticised for claiming antisemitism is being used to purge Labour of politicians on the left as he defended Mr Driscoll. He said that keeping the mayor off the longlist published on Friday because they shared a platform was the 'lamest excuse I've ever heard'. The UK's equalities watchdog found that Labour was responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination while Mr Corbyn was party leader, as he struggled to tackle antisemitism. Nearly 80 girls were poisoned and hospitalised in two separate attacks at their primary schools in northern Afghanistan, an education official has said. It is thought to be the first time this kind of assault has happened since the Taliban swept to power in August 2021 and began their crackdown on the rights and freedoms of Afghan women and girls. Girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade, including university, and women are barred from most jobs and public spaces. The education official said the person who orchestrated the poisoning had a personal grudge but did not elaborate. The attacks took place in Sar-e-Pul province over Saturday and Sunday and are similar to those happening in Iran since last November. Nearly 80 girls were poisoned and hospitalised in two separate attacks at their primary schools in northern Afghanistan, an education official has said (pictured: a young woman in hospital after reports of poisoning at an unspecified location in Iran in March) Girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade, including university, and women are barred from most jobs and public spaces (pictured: Afghan girls at school in Herat, Afghanistan, in 2019) Nearly 80 female students were poisoned in Sangcharak district, said Mohammad Rahmani, who heads the provincial education department. He said 60 students were poisoned in Naswan-e-Kabod Aab School and 17 others were poisoned in Naswan-e-Faizabad School. 'Both primary schools are near to each other and were targeted one after the other,' he said. 'We shifted the students to hospital and now they are all fine.' The department's investigation is ongoing and initial inquiries show that someone with a grudge paid a third party to carry out the attacks, Mr Rahmani said. READ MORE: Iranian girls are POISONED in a bid to force them to stop attending school as 'revenge' for protests against the hijab Advertisement He gave no information on how the girls were poisoned or the nature of their injuries. Mr Rahmani did not give their ages but said they were in grades 1 to 6. Neighbouring Iran has been rocked by a wave of poisonings, mostly in girls' schools, where thousands of students said they were sickened by noxious fumes in the incidents. In a wave of cases since late November, more than 5,000 students have suffered fainting, nausea, shortness of breath and other symptoms after reporting 'unpleasant' odours, with some needing hospital treatment. The unexplained attacks in about 230 schools have sparked fear and anger among pupils and their parents. Disturbing videos have circulated online since which appear to show young girls gasping for air as they desperately try to force their way out of schools in Iran, amid a shocking spate of poisonings of children in the country. In one chilling clip, shared by a BBC Persian journalist, dozens of schoolgirls are seen on the floor after running out of their classrooms, coughing and wailing in pain. The attacks have targeted mainly female pupils since they were first seen in late November, with many rushed to hospital and unverified videos showing packed emergency rooms. The mystery poisonings have gripped Iran, triggering a wave of angry protests involving distressed parents and teachers and allegations of government complicity from human rights and opposition groups. Theories around who is behind the series of horrifying attacks include that the authorities may be taking revenge on the girls for their role in the protests which have been ongoing for months. The mystery poisonings have gripped Iran, triggering a wave of angry protests involving distressed parents and teachers and allegations of government complicity from human rights and opposition groups (pictured: a person is lifted to an ambulance outside a girls' school after reports of poisoning in Ardabil, Iran from undated video released March 1) There have been suggestions that extremist religious groups are staging the attacks in an effort to get women and girls out of the classroom. In the clip shared by the BBC's Parham Ghobadi of an unknown location, girls are seen rushing out of a building before sitting on the floor, where they cling on to one another as they struggle to breathe. Another horrifying video appears to show girls fighting their way out of a school in the Western city of Hamadan. Shared by anti-government activist group 1500 Tanvir, the post says that the girls, from the Fatemieh Art School, are shouting 'We don't want to die' as they push their way past people trying to stop them leaving. They also shared a video of a little girl collapsing as she is lifted into an ambulance, claiming that 'many students fainted' and that protesting families were taken away by police. An 11-year-old boy has been left seriously injured after being savaged by a dog in an attack on a Manchester estate. The victim was treated by air ambulance crews and rushed to hospital after the incident which took place in Swanley Avenue, Monsall, on Sunday afternoon, June 4. Residents living in the area reported hearing 'loud screams' in the aftermath of the attack with the air ambulance landing close to the residential road. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) says the injuries sustained by the boy in the attack, which took place less than 100 metres from a primary school, are not thought to be life-threatening. The force said the dog responsible had been seized and a 35-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of having a dog dangerously out of control. She remains in police custody for questioning. The attack took place in Swanley Avenue, Monsall, on Sunday afternoon, June 4. Pictured: A Google Street View of the residential road One resident told the Manchester Evening News that the incident, which took place at around 1pm, had left witnesses horrified. One person told the outlet: 'My son heard loud screams and got me and we went running down the stairs. The young lad had gone back inside the house. 'We heard they took the little lad to hospital, it's just awful. It's so scary how dogs can just turn and it's so dangerous. There are young children that play out here.' Superintendent Nicola Williams of GMP City of Manchester Division said: 'This is an awful attack that has left an 11-year-old boy with serious injuries and his family are understandably incredibly distressed by what has happened. 'I understand the concern an incident of this nature will cause in the wider community, and I want to reassure you that we will carry out an extensive investigation into what has happened. 'The dog has been secured and we have made an arrest of a woman who remains in police custody. 'Our investigation is in its early stages, but we are seeking to understand the full circumstances and will take appropriate action. 'We are appealing to anyone with information, who witnessed this incident, or has footage - including CCTV, mobile or dashcam to make themselves known.' You can make a report by calling 0161 856 1146 quoting log 1530 of 4 June 2023, or you can use the LiveChat function on GMP's website: www.gmp.police.uk Alternatively call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. A young boy is being treated in hospital after an inflatable 'zorb' he was riding inside was swept high into the air by a freak gust of wind. The nine-year-old was taking part in the zorbing activity at Southport Food and Drink Festival, Merseyside, when the accident happened at 2pm today. Volunteers from St John's Ambulance treated the boy at the scene and an air ambulance was scrambled, before he was taken to hospital. Police said his injuries were not life-threatening. The boy was enjoying the activity, which involves children running around inside an inflatable ball or zorb on a giant paddling pool, when the wind took him up into the air. An onlooker said: 'There was a gust of wind, the inflatable zorb took off from the water pool with the boy inside. The zorb then landed on a wheelie bin, the zorb popped on impact leaving the boy on the ground. A young boy was being treated in hospital last night after an inflatable 'zorb' (pictured once deflated) he was riding inside was swept high into the air by a freak gust of wind The nine-year-old was taken to hospital by air ambulance for treatment to his injuries, which are not life threatening The boy was taking part in the zorbing activity at Southport Food and Drink Festival, Merseyside, when the accident happened at 2pm 'The PA put an announcement out for security and St John's (ambulance) to attend. They were on the scene within a minute or so. They were brilliant, took control of the situation and remained calm. 'A few minutes later the air ambulance circled for somewhere to land, at the same time the rapid response and main ambulance turned up.' It is understood he was taken to nearby Alder Hey Children's Hospital. A spokesman for Merseyside police said: 'At around 2pm, it was reported that a nine-year-old boy had sustained injuries at an outdoor festival in Victoria Park. 'He has been taken to hospital by air ambulance for treatment to his injuries, which are not life threatening.' Police are investigating the cause of the incident, amid reports that the zorb was blown by a gust of wind. The force added that a second zorb ball was also raised but the child inside was unharmed. Police attended the scene after the zorb was raised into the sky Police are investigating the cause of the incident, amid reports that the zorb was blown by a gust of wind The force said a second zorb ball was also raised but the child inside was unharmed An onlooker said: 'There was a gust of wind, the inflatable zorb took off from the water pool with the boy inside. The zorb then landed on a wheelie bin, the zorb popped on impact leaving the boy on the ground' It is understood the boy was taken to nearby Alder Hey Children's Hospital A Merseyside Police statement said: 'We are appealing for information after a child was seriously injured today in Southport. 'The boy was inside an inflatable zorb ball on a lake, which was unexpectedly raised into the air before it landed on the grass. 'A second zorb ball containing another child was also raised at the same time, but thankfully this child was unharmed. 'The nine-year-old was taken to hospital by air ambulance for treatment to his injuries. He remains in hospital at this time. 'We are now appealing for anyone who may have captured images or videos of the incident to please get in touch to help us establish the circumstances of what happened.' An LGBTQ advocate and mother of a member of the queer community went after Target for its 'rainbow capitalism' after the mass retailer dialed back its pride month collection due to public outcry. Heather Hester told Fox Digital that Target's reaction confirmed that the organization was 'in this just for the money,' and that the company's recent actions are a 'huge betrayal' to the LGBTQ community. 'Rainbow capitalism is essentially, you know, selling Pride products for profit and not necessarily standing behind the community with support,' said Hester. 'That's what happened, right? There are a lot of things that go into that, but that is what happened at the end of the day.' Target has lost market value since it viral videos showed its LGBTQ clothing - including 'tuck-friendly' gear - on sale in stores. One controversial element of the store's pride line were swimsuits that were advertised as having 'extra crotch coverage' and room for 'tucking.' The design is ostensibly to accommodate individuals with male genitalia who want swimsuits designed for women Large pride month merchandise displays went up in stores all over the country and, among other things, featured an expansive children's pride line, and swimsuits that were advertised as 'tuck friendly,' meaning able to accommodate male genitalia in an otherwise female-style product. Hester claims it is important that such items exist for anyone who needs them or wants them. 'It's something that's not been readily accessible for trans people. And trans people are people,' she told Fox. 'It has historically been something that you have to look really hard to find, and are typically at higher price points, so to have something that is available and to be able to be like, Oh, wow, that's me and there is something for me.'' 'There's so much value in that. People are just uncomfortable because it's new. But being uncomfortable is not a bad thing,' she added. As backlash to the extensive pride displays for children and trans-friendly swimsuits for women began, Target CEO Brian Cornell declared that the company would make 'adjustments' to its display plans, including removing displays that 'have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior' at some of its stores.' Employees reported being given 36 hours to 'take all of our Pride stuff, the entire section, and move it into a section thats a third the size. From the front of the store to the back of the store, you cant have anything on mannequins and no large signage,' according to Fox. The move came as Target lost $14billion in market capitalization in two weeks and its stock was downgraded by JPMorgan. Hester noted that Target has perhaps found itself in a similar situation to Bud Light after successfully alienating everybody - Christian conservatives and the LGBTQ community. 'Everybody is mad, right? Which is, I don't think, what they wanted to happen.' Pictured: Pride Adult Bikini Swim Bottom - Black - $25 at Target - this suit was one of the styles that targeted advertised as having extra room in the crotch for 'tucking' Retail giant Target's market value plummeted on Wednesday by over $14 billion as shares continue to drop into June Some target employees report being given 36 hours to massively downsize the pride collections in stores as pushback against the aggressive pride line began to catch wind The LGBTQ community, including Hester's son, slammed the company saying 'they don't actually support us. They only care about money.' California Governor Gavin Newsom joined in on the criticism writing on Twitter late last month: 'CEO of Target Brian Cornell selling out the LGBTQIA+ community to extremists is a real profile in courage. 'This isnt just a couple stores in the South. There is a systematic attack on the gay community happening across the country. Wake up America. 'This doesnt stop here. Youre black? Youre Asian? Youre Jewish? Youre a woman? Youre next.' In response, controversial right-wing congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote: 'No one is attacking the gay community Gavin.' 'They dont want their children forcefully exposed to the radical side of pride with tuck it and binding childrens clothes and messaging while simply shopping at Target. We dont support your California child genital mutilation industry. As a matter of fact, I want to end it.' Some protestors objected, in particular, to the expansive children's line of pride clothing Pride baby onesies that are part of Target's extensive collection at a store in Maryland Target Pride Pet merchandise in the pet section of an Atlanta, Georgia store Pride month merchandise is displayed at a Target store Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee. Especially across the south, the company has been forced to dial down some of its pride displays Some consumers appeared to be in staunch agreement with Greene's stance and egged on a boycott. 'Target is far worse than Bud Light ever was. Time to boycott!!!' wrote one Twitter user. Another wrote: 'All Christians and religious need to boycott Target. We need to send a message to these woke companies that choose evil as their marketing tactic. It's just sick. Target Pride Month partner boasts about Satanism: Satan Respects Pronouns.' The British, transgender designer of much of Target's pride month line is a self-proclaimed lover of Satan. The retailer has been in the firing line for a host of other LGBTQ-related issues, which include an alleged partnership with a K-12 education group focusing on convincing schools to adopt policies which will help restrict parents' knowledge about their child's ongoing in-school gender transition. The education group, according to Fox, provides sexually explicit books to schools as part of its gender-based curriculum. Over the decades, her high-end fashion boutique in Knightsbridge has counted Princess Diana, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Ava Gardner among its clientele. But Bridget Hutchcroft, owner of Pandora Dress Agency near Harrods, rues the day a seemingly wealthy and charming 'heiress' waltzed through her door and ended up swindling her out of 1.3million. Ms Hutchcroft, 63, told the Mail how she was betrayed by Ekaterina Barrett, 67, who befriended her then convinced her she urgently needed to borrow money to see her through a costly divorce. The case has echoes of Anna Sorokin, the inspiration behind Netflix drama Inventing Anna, who funded her luxurious lifestyle by posing as a wealthy German heiress to con New York's high society. 'Ekaterina never fully explained where her money came from but having visited her apartment in Monaco, I did believe that she had this huge trust fund that she told me about,' said Ms Hutchcroft. Bridget Hutchcroft, 63, told the Mail how she was betrayed by Ekaterina Barrett (pictured), 67, who befriended her then convinced her she urgently needed to borrow money to see her through a costly divorce Bridget Hutchcroft (pictured), owner of Pandora Dress Agency near Harrods, rues the day a seemingly wealthy and charming 'heiress' waltzed through her door and ended up swindling her out of 1.3million 'She really is uncannily similar to Anna Sorokin, except Ekaterina hasn't been caught yet.' Last year a High Court judge ruled that Ms Barrett must hand over 1.6million to Ms Hutchcroft to repay the loan and cover legal costs after she failed to honour an agreement to pay back the money. But Ms Hutchcroft has now had to hire private investigators to track down the 'heiress' as not a penny has yet been handed over. 'She could be anywhere. Some people I know say they saw her recently around Mayfair, but I expect she's living permanently in Monaco,' she said. Ms Barrett looked the part when she began visiting Pandora boutique in 2017. She mingled with London's elite in exclusive restaurants, lived in a 4.2million Mayfair flat and was driven around town in a Bentley. Over the decades, the boutique in Knightsbridge has counted Princess Diana (pictured), Catherine Zeta-Jones and Ava Gardner among its clientele She told Ms Hutchcroft that her grandfather had set up 'a substantial trust for her in Liechtenstein' but she temporarily could not access the funds, according to documents filed at the High Court. A few months into their friendship, Ms Barrett sobbed that she was going through a costly divorce and asked to borrow money. Her bank manager provided assurances to Ms Hutchcroft that her wealth was 'equivalent to a Rothschild', the court heard. But Ms Hutchcroft began having doubts after realising how much she had lent her friend. She said: 'I just got to a point where I had to sit down and work out actually how much I'd given her over the year, and I was shocked at how much I'd allowed this person to take. 'I phoned her and said, 'You've got to pay me Ekaterina.' And she said, 'The next time you ask I'll not pay you for a hundred years.' I was just so upset. I trusted her, ridiculously so.' To her horror, Ms Hutchcroft then learned that Ms Barrett had previously been convicted of fraud in Austria. She contacted Scotland Yard but officers refused to investigate, saying it was a civil matter. Then she filed a claim in the High Court, where Ms Barrett denied borrowing the cash, claiming the payments were for the sale of designer clothes. The case was settled before trial when Ms Barrett agreed to pay 1.4million. But when she failed to pay up, Ms Hutchcroft returned to court and secured a judge's ruling that she must pay 1.6million. Ms Barrett is an Azerbaijani national who was born in Ukraine in 1956 as Ekaterina Svetikova. She married British artist Mitchel Barrett in 2000 and they moved to Vienna, Austria. But four years later, she was convicted of fraud after posing as an oil firm agent to con victims into loaning her 200,000 euros. Her passport was confiscated and she was banned from entering Austria for almost a decade. Mr Barrett, now her former husband, said: 'I'd been warned by friends to get away from her. The next thing I knew was the police came to our apartment and arrested her.' When asked about her fraud conviction, Ms Barrett's lawyers denied she had been arrested. Faced with evidence, they admitted the conviction but claimed it had been overturned. Ms Hutchcroft believes Ms Barrett owns the apartment in Monaco, which is now on sale for 19.2million. However, Ms Barrett denies she is the property's owner and said she is a UK tax resident. A representative said Ms Barrett had not admitted any liability by reaching a settlement with Ms Hutchcroft, that the legal proceedings were 'ongoing' and she would comply with court orders 'in so far as she is able'. A 'game-changing' British drug can halve the risk of dying from lung cancer, research has shown. The ground-breaking trial found patients who received osimertinib after surgery were 51 per cent more likely to be alive five years later than those given a dummy pill. The daily tablets target non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumours among people who have a specific genetic mutation which means they have stopped responding to earlier treatments. Made by British drugs firm AstraZeneca, the drug is available to patients via the Cancer Drugs Fund. But researchers said the 'thrilling' findings should pave the way for routine use on the NHS. A 'game-changing' British drug can halve the risk of dying from lung cancer, research has shown (File image) The daily tablets target non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumours among people who have a specific genetic mutation which means they have stopped responding to earlier treatments The drug is priced at around 5,770 per 30-tablet bottle, although the NHS will pay less under a confidential agreement. One of a new generation of precision medicines, osimertinib is effective for patients whose lung cancer is driven by a mutation in their epidermal growth factor receptor gene. About 10 to 15 per cent of lung cancers in the UK are driven by an EGFR mutation, with these patients tending to have a minimal to no smoking history. Led by Yale University, the global Adaura study involved nearly 700 patients, who had stage 1 to 3 cancer, meaning it had not spread to other organs. Each had undergone surgery for the disease, with around two-thirds having no history of smoking. Around half were given the drug, which goes by the brand name Tagrisso, every day for three years while the rest were given a placebo as no other treatment is available. When they were followed up two years after stopping treatment, 12 per cent of those taking the medication had died, compared to 22 per cent on the dummy drug. Dr Nathan Pennell, from ASCO, said: 'It is hard to convey how important this finding is and how long it's taken to get here' Researchers said the 'thrilling' findings should pave the way for routine use on the NHS The ground-breaking trial found patients who received osimertinib after surgery were 51 per cent more likely to be alive five years later than those given a dummy pill (File image) In a double boost to patients, previous research found the drug also halves the chances of disease returning. Study leader Dr Roy Herbst, deputy director of the Yale Cancer Centre in the US, told the American Society of Clinical Oncology's (ASCO) meeting in Chicago that the survival benefits were 'thrilling'. He added: 'Thirty years ago there was nothing we could do for these patients, even 20 years ago. READ MORE: Ground-breaking warhead drug means the cure for lung cancer may FINALLY be on the horizon Advertisement 'Now we have this potent drug, we're using it early on. This exceeded our high expectations. 'Fifty per cent is a big deal in any disease, but certainly in a disease like lung cancer which has typically been very resistant to therapies.' Angela Terry, chairman of charity EGFR Positive UK, said the findings were 'very exciting and hugely significant'. She said: 'A five year overall survival rate of 88 per cent is incredibly positive news for EGFR mutated NSCLC patients. 'Having access to a drug whose efficacy is proven and whose side effects are tolerable means patients can enjoy a good quality of life for longer.' Dr Nathan Pennell, from ASCO, said: 'It is hard to convey how important this finding is and how long it's taken to get here. This shows an unequivocal, highly significant improvement in survival.' An NHS spokesman said: 'The NHS continues to offer the most cutting-edge treatments to improve care for patients and will of course look at the wider roll out of this drug for patients if it receives NICE approval following this encouraging study.' Rishi Sunak will outline his ambition for Britain to lead the world in tackling the threats posed by artificial intelligence when he meets Joe Biden this week. The Prime Minister is looking to launch a global AI watchdog in London and hopes to host an international summit to devise rules on AI regulation. He will discuss the proposals with the US president during talks at the White House. Mr Sunak is visiting Washington DC on Tuesday for discussions with Mr Biden on Ukraine and security but AI will also be high up on the agenda. Last week some of the biggest names in technology warned that AI could lead to the destruction of humanity, calling for it to be prioritised alongside risks such as nuclear war. There are fears that humanity could lose control of super-intelligent systems or that AI could launch cyberattacks or threaten democracy by propagating mass disinformation. Rishi Sunak will outline his ambition for Britain to lead the world in tackling the threats posed by artificial intelligence when he meets Joe Biden this week. The pair are pictured together at No 10 Downing Street in April Mr Sunak believes the UK is well-placed to bring allies together to agree an approach to tackle the threats while also harnessing the opportunities. Sunday night a government source said: The PM is very alive to the need for international alignment as the technology evolves to ensure we can both benefit from the opportunities but manage the risks. The UK is well placed to take a leading role in that and the first step is engaging with our allies from around the world. Mr Sunak has been meeting technology bosses in recent weeks to discuss AI and said last week that while it can bring massive benefits it needs to be done in a safe and secure way. He said: I think the UK can play a leadership role because ultimately, were only going to grapple with this problem and solve it if we work together not just with the companies, but with countries around the world. Its something that Ive already been discussing with other leaders at the G7 summit the other week, Ill be doing that again when I visit the US. Mr Sunak is said to believe that the UK is well-positioned to bring together allies from across the world post-Brexit, as it has done with the Aukus security pact and Hiroshima Accord, a strategic partnership with Japan. Its something he does care a lot about, said an official source. People are concerned and we need to show leadership. It was reported over the weekend that Mr Sunak plans to host a global summit in London this autumn aimed at devising international rules on AI. The Prime Minister is looking to launch a global AI watchdog in London and hopes to host an international summit to devise rules on AI regulation. Pictured: Ai-Da Robot poses for pictures with a self portrait in the Houses of Parliament in London before making history as the first robot to speak at the House of Lords The Telegraph said he would seek Mr Bidens buy-in during his visit to Washington DC but sources told the Daily Mail that nothing has been firmed up. A global AI watchdog could be modelled on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), The Times reported. It monitors the use of nuclear energy, promotes the peaceful use of nuclear energy and seeks to inhibit its use for military purposes. It was founded in 1957 and 176 countries are members. The idea of an IAEA-style watchdog for AI has been promoted by Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, which created ChatGPT, who met Mr Sunak last week. He has said a new body could inspect systems, compel audits, and test new products. Rishi Sunak came under increasing pressure over illegal migration across the Channel after it emerged that only 'hundreds' of Albanians have been returned home so far. The Prime Minister is expected on Monday to give an underwhelming update on the success to date of plans to curb small boat crossings, which is one of his five top priorities. It came as his Immigration Minister was forced to admit that the vast majority of Albanians arriving illegally had not been returned to their home country, with an unknown number said to have absconded from hotels. Robert Jenrick confirmed that 'hundreds' of Albanians who arrived on small boats have been returned to their homeland since Britain signed a deal with the eastern European nation in December last year. The latest figures suggest about 12,000 Albanians entered the UK via the Channel last year, up from around 800 in 2021. Rishi Sunak came under increasing pressure over illegal migration across the English Channel after it emerged that only 'hundreds' of Albanians have been returned home so far Pictured: A view of the scene outside the Comfort Inn hotel on Belgrave Road in Pimlico, central London, on Friday where the Home Office have reportedly asked a group of refugees to be accommodated four to a room Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith asked last night: 'What the hell is the hold-up?' He added: 'Is the Civil Service simply failing to do what it is supposed to have done? 'We need to have a real reason as to why with a full agreement that people are lauding we haven't got into priority mode and literally kicked these people out. 'There needs to be a full explanation from the Home Office as to why this hasn't happened.' Tory former minister Sir John Hayes added: 'The Home Office has done a good job in a deal with Albania, which has meant that the number coming here has fallen sharply. But clearly the ones that are here already, presumably encouraged by fat cat lawyers and dodgy interest groups, are gaming the system to avoid deportation. 'We need to take every step to deport them and any other illegal immigrant in this country.' The Albania deal was cited by Mr Sunak as part of his plan to cut migration. But Mr Jenrick told Sky News's Sophy Ridge on Sunday that only 'hundreds' had been returned from the UK. 'It's relatively early days,' he said. 'Some [Albanians] are being accommodated, some have returned home voluntarily, and some may well have absconded but that's absolutely the reason why we are taking this action.' Earlier this year Mr Sunak committed to paying France almost half a billion pounds as part of a three-year deal to fund a new detention centre on the Continent and hundreds of extra French law enforcement officers in an effort to end the migrant crossings. He also set up a unified Small Boats Operational Command, bringing together the military, Border Force and the National Crime Agency, with more than 700 new staff working on intelligence-gathering on people traffickers and intercepting vessels in the Channel. Robert Jenrick (pictured on Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg) confirmed that 'hundreds' of Albanians who arrived on small boats have been returned to their homeland since Britain signed a deal with the eastern European nation in December last year Earlier this year Mr Sunak set up a unified Small Boats Operational Command, bringing together the military, Border Force and the National Crime Agency, with more than 700 new staff working on intelligence-gathering on people traffickers and intercepting vessels in the Channel The Prime Minister is expected to give a sobering reflection on immigration when he makes a speech this morning in Kent, a county on the frontline of the migrant crisis, with Dover a frequent landing point for inflatable boats crossing from France. Net migration to the UK both through legal and illegal routes is estimated to have reached a record 606,000 in 2022, up 24 per cent from 488,000 in 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics. The backlog in processing asylum cases that Mr Sunak promised to abolish this year stands at more than 150,000 cases after hitting record levels. Mr Jenrick also defended asking asylum seekers to share hotel rooms as he sought to reduce the burden on taxpayers. He said he did not think it was unreasonable to ask single men to occupy rooms together after a protest by migrants at a hotel in Pimlico, central London, last week. And he vowed to never put the interests of migrants above those of the British public. Mr Jenrick told the BBC that officials asked the asylum seekers in Pimlico to share rooms to save money for the taxpayer where it was legal to do so. He added: 'Anyone who is genuinely destitute would, I think, accept that offer. They had nowhere to stay, we had offered them a safe bed with board and lodgings in a good-quality hotel in central London.' The Home Office is currently using about 400 hotels to house asylum seekers as the backlog to process their claims soars, which is estimated to be costing the taxpayer 5.6 million a day. NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell has formally banned Michael Dowd, known as 'the city's most corrupt ex-cop', from entering Police Headquarters in Lower Manhattan. The decision comes following a review after Dowd brazenly walked into NYPD HQ in lower Manhattan in April, snapping photos of himself for social media and humiliating the force in the process. Dowd, who was jailed for crimes in the late 1980s and 90s, strolled into One Police Plaza and took several photos of himself in the second-floor Shield Room and joked about getting his 'exit photo.' 'At @1policeplaza finally getting my exit photo,' Dowd wrote at the time. But Dowd won't have it so easy next time around with pictures of his mug now distributed around the building and placed at the security booths to all of the entrances to One Police Plaza, together with a note that reads 'DO NOT ALLOW ENTRY!' Police have also been instructed to call the security desk should Dowd attempt to come into the building again. Former NYPD cop, Michael Dowd, who spent 12 years in prison for corruption, visited police HQ in Manhattan and shared several pictures of himself on social media in April Pictures of his mug have now been placed at the security booths to all of the entrances to One Police Plaza in Manhattan together with a note that reads 'DO NOT ALLOW ENTRY.' Dowd even uploaded the poster banning him from headquarters to his Instagram writing: 'My punishment has arrived All those that complained I went into #1pp #onepoliceplaza #nypd This #nypd is handing out where I went to help a friend!!' And it doesn't sound as though Dowd is not going to be put off that easily from entering, judging by comments he made to the New York Daily News. 'I did my time, and they just don't want to take the knee off my neck. Now I'm banned from a public building that holds my employment records. It is a public access building and last I checked I am the public.' Dowd's presence was seen as a humiliation by New York City Mayor Eric Adams with NYPD administrators said to be 'mortified' by his actions. It has now forced them to 'initiate a rarely used intra department response' to bar him from the building. 'They made him a security threat of the highest order,' a source told the News. 'He's ostracized from ever entering 1PP.' Dowd's illegal activities were explored in the 2014 documentary The Seven Five which exposed how he and his partner shook down drug dealers and sold their narcotics while working in Brooklyn's 75th precinct. Dowd's life as a cop is a story of lawlessness in the garb of uniform, of cops and robbers with Dowd and his 'crew' of brother cops, in particular, his one-time partner, Kenny Eurell. Dowd joked about getting his exit photo and used the hashtags #NYPD and #thesevenfive - a reference to the NYPD police precinct where he once worked Dowd's presence was seen as a humiliation by New York City Mayor Adams with NYPD administrators said to be 'mortified' by his actions forcing them to 'initiate a rarely used intra department response' to bar him from the building, pictured above Across eight of the ten-and-a-half years during which Dowd was an NYPD cop he lived a life of escalating crime and excess. He shook down dealers, he took protection money from drug lords, he planned and took part in armed robberies, he stole from crime scenes money and narcotics and ultimately he trafficked and dealt drugs himself. Dowd's crimes eventually led to his arrest and imprisonment for 12 years. Despite his past criminal activities, incredibly in April Dowd was allowed into the department's visitors center entrance without any issue later posting photos of his visit on social media. Dowd, now 62, defended his actions, stating that he was joking and poking fun at himself. 'I'm a funny guy,' Dowd told The New York Post. 'I have a sense of humor. I was poking fun at myself. Had I done the right thing I would have been able to honorably take a pension.' 'He was there as the guest of the retired member, which is permitted and customarily involves a retired member's family,' an NYPD spokeswoman said at the time. 'They were both screened by security prior to being granted access to the building.' Dowd's illegal activities were exposed in 1992 yet despite his criminal history, Dowd was allowed into the department's visitors center entrance without any issue The disgraced ex-cop, now 62, spent 12 years in prison for shaking down drug dealers, pilfering their wares, and then selling the narcotics while working in Brooklyn's 75 Precinct in the late 1980s and early '90s Some of those commenting questioned why a former corrupt cop was allowed access to the building, and called for an investigation into the matter. 'The only worthy exit photo is the one that was on the cover of Newsday 30 something years ago with you and the rest of your crew being led out of a precinct in shackles,' wrote one user. 'Since when do we let perps into 1PP?' questioned another. 'I'm surprised with this administration they let you in the building,' added another user. Dowd had been in the building with a retired cop who was there to obtain a new ID card. Dowd noted that officers at the department's visitors center entrance did not question him about going inside building. A retired police officer who worked in the department at the same time as Dowd said the posting 'made my stomach turn.' Across eight of the ten-and-a-half years during which Dowd was an NYPD cop he lived a life of escalating crime and excess An officer carries out a stop in East New York in the 1980s. Crime was rampant and the temptation to become corrupt was too much for Dowd and other officers Dowd's capture along with other police officers was front page news in 1992 'It's a bad look for the police department,' a retired cop said. 'One of the most corrupt cops you've had taking pictures and making jokes. They should investigate who let him in there.' Dowd has since moved on from his past and claims to be working on a TV series and a reality show. He argued he has served his time and paid his debt to society, and asked people to let go of the past. 'Everybody falls short of the glory of perfection and I have people calling me a perp?' he asked. 'I did my time. I paid my debt to society.' Dowd was finally caught in May 1992 when the truth came spilling out. The outrage over his behavior was intensified by the fact that it wasn't the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau that finally put a stop to him, but Suffolk County Police who caught him in their own undercover drug sting. Dowd's case and the systemic failure that saw the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau fail to substantiate 16 complaints made against him over the years before it exploded into a very public scandal. In September 1993, Dowd testified before the Mollen Commission set up to investigate police corruption in the wake of his case. Asked by the commission if he had considered himself a cop or a drug trafficker he paused, deep in thought, before answering 'both'. Dowd, 62, is known as 'NYPD's most corrupt cop' after he spent 12 years behind bars for leading a ring of extorting, drug-pushing, money-laundering police in Brooklyn's 75th Precinct Crack had flooded New York and in its wake was ready cash. Dowd and the other members of 'his crew' saw easy pickings The epidemic of crime in the 75th Precinct made it the second deadliest in New York, behind a bronx precinct, and saw its officers in constant danger Dowd only became a police officer by chance. The third of seven children born to a firefighter father and stay at home mother he was a good student who was advised to consider becoming 'a doctor, a lawyer or an accountant'. But he took the police test as well as the firefighter test and, he said, 'the police test came back first. Simple as that.' The path was set. Dowd graduated from the Police Academy in 1982 and was immediately assigned to the 75th Precinct one of the deadliest in the country. Nothing in the academy had prepared Dowd for the reality of the streets. He said: 'The first time somebody calls you 'Officer' you're looking round to find the officer. 'You learn the walk of someone who has a gun. You learn the eye drift of someone who's on drugsIt's a process.' And part of that process was, according to Dowd, making the decision between 'vouchering something you find' - recording and registering cash and possessions found in the course of an arrest - and just taking it. The thrill of getting away with it was what kept him coming back for more. The next time an opportunity presented itself to him was, he recalled, a shooting in a drug house. He was the first to arrive on the scene. Dowd was a young cop when his life began to go wrong. After taking cash from crime scenes for some time, Dowd eventually brokered a deal between the cops and a drug baron, Adam Diaz He said: 'I show up and I can't get in the building because the guy's head is blocking the door. I'm literally walking over his body to get in. Inside you can see his partner they were young kids wiping the blood of his best friend off his hands. 'So as it turns out there's money and drugs there a lot. I see a separate stash of about $800. This guy's not paying attention. So I take it. 'It was weird. I just put it in my pocket. Then the investigators show up. There's about five pounds of reefer, $500 of cash. The sergeant goes, 'Is that it?' And he looks at me and I felt like he knew. So I took the $800 out of my pocket and I gave it back. Covering East New York, the 75th precinct became a ground zero for the lawlessness which came to characterize 1980s New York, before the zero-tolerance policing tactics which cleaned up the city 'I was still at that point of feeling uncomfortable about taking anything.' Later that night Dowd saw the sergeant at a local bar and approached him. He said: 'I said to him, 'Sarge, when I handed you that money today I took it out of my pocket. What do you think?' He said, 'I don't give a f*** what you do before I get there..and if I happen to get there and you've already got something, I didn't see it.' 'Bingo! A light went on. Like people do this, you ain't the only one. It was like I had permission now.' From then on, he said: 'I made sure I was first on a crime scene.' He took bags of money from drug houses, guns and cocaine. At the time a kilo of cocaine was worth $34,000. When he found a stash his first thought was, 'Pay dirt.' Nearly twice as many young adults are not working due to ill health compared with a decade ago, research suggests. Most of those affected have lower levels of education, with four in five having only qualifications at GCSE-level or below. The Resolution Foundation, the think-tank behind the study, said the 'worrying trend' has gone completely under the radar. Its 'Left behind' report, which was funded by the Health Foundation, says that overall levels of worklessness among young people are low. In early 2023, the number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet) stood at 720,000, lower than the post-financial crisis peak of 1.1million. But there was a near-doubling of the number of 18 to 24-year-olds not working due to ill health, from 94,000 in 2012 to 185,000 in 2022, said the report. The most common reason for these people being absent from work is due to poor mental health. Almost one in four workless young people are inactive because of ill-health, up from less than one in ten in 2012, the study indicated. The Resolution Foundation claimed policymakers' attention has been focused on rising ill-health among older workers. But its report warns: 'Any spell out of the labour market at a young age can have scarring effects on future employment prospects, but young people who are workless due to ill health are especially hard hit.' It notes four in five young people who are workless due to ill health have been so for at least two years compared to only a quarter of young people who are unemployed. The research shows that rates of youth worklessness due to ill health vary little between more and less deprived areas of the UK. This is in contrast to inactivity due to ill health across the population as a whole, which is concentrated in deprived areas. Rather, young people living in major cities are the least likely to be workless because they are unwell. In 2020 to 2022, for example, 1.8 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds in London, and 2.0 per cent in other cities such as Glasgow and Liverpool both of which have significant levels of deprivation were not working due to ill health. In contrast, 3.4 per cent living in small towns or villages, in areas such as Devon and South Wales, were inactive due to ill-health. Researchers say this picture can be explained by the fact that many young people relocate from smaller places to big cities, firstly to study, and later to take up graduate jobs changing the overall makeup of the city's population to one with a high share of students and graduates. Louise Murphy, an economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: 'We cannot afford to let young people who are workless due to ill health get left behind. 'We must improve their education opportunities and ensure there is access to better mental health support.' Residents in Grade-II listed Victorian townhouses on the seafront of a trendy resort are furious after an 'eyesore' development 'blocked' their view of the coast. Dating back to 1870, Marine Crescent in the popular seaside town of Folkestone, Kent, was originally built as 14 dwellings, but has since been converted into 91 contemporary apartments. In 2004, the six-storey cream building, which boasts bay windows and Juliet balconies overlooking the beach, was restored to its former glory. But now the historic townhouses are being overshadowed by a brand new luxury apartment complex consisting of 84 apartments, townhouses, duplexes and penthouses. The 'Shoreline Development' is part of wider plans to regenerate the town by the Folkestone Harbour and Seafront Development Company, which has already repaired and restored heritage assets such as the Harbour Arm, the old station, viaduct, signal box and lighthouse. The historic townhouses are being overshadowed by a brand new luxury apartment complex consisting of 84 apartments, townhouses, duplexes and penthouses In 2004, the six-storey cream building, which boasts bay windows and Juliet balconies overlooking the beach, was restored to its former glory The 'Shoreline Development' is part of wider plans to regenerate the town by the Folkestone Harbour and Seafront Development Company According to the developer's website, prospective buyers can expect 'unrivalled views across the Channel'. But disgruntled residents in Marine Crescent have been left fuming after learning that Shoreline will 'obscure' their own views of the coast. Tenant Ruth Ingleton, 42, who has lived in her flat for almost nine years, labelled the apartment complex an 'eyesore'. She said: 'It's not in keeping with the rest of the town at all, it's an eyesore. 'And I'm going to completely lose my sea view, which I'm quite upset about. 'Some of the people here bought their properties because they were advertised as having a sea view. It's ridiculous.' The custom sales manager, 42, now fears Marine Crescent will also be sold to developers eventually leaving her without a home. She added: 'We've got an inkling they're going to buy this building too. Tenant Ruth Ingleton, 42, who has lived in her flat for almost nine years, labelled the apartment complex an 'eyesore' Disgruntled residents in Marine Crescent have been left fuming after learning that Shoreline will 'obscure' their own views of the coast 'But these new flats are not affordable for locals. The two beds are going for about 668,000. What sort of people can afford that?' Ruth said a number of residents have already moved from the crescent as a result of rising rent prices since work began on the new development. She added: 'My rent went up by 125 a month a few months back. I'm on a rolling tenancy so that's fixed until November but when that runs out, I'm screwed. 'One of my friends who lived downstairs was paying 650 and they wanted 1,200. She had to move because she just couldn't afford it. 'I've been looking for somewhere else since last year but trying to find something I can afford is so hard. 'I will be upset when I lose my sea view, but there's a lot more to it than just that. 'So many people have moved out it's taken away our little community.' One of the tenants who felt forced to move due to rising rent prices was Lisa Hallett's mother-in-law. Folkestone Harbour is one Kent's most famous fishing villages and has played a key part in British history - being used by 44,000 personel during the Dunkirk evacuation According to the developer's website, prospective buyers can expect 'unrivalled views across the Channel' A number of residents have already moved from the crescent as a result of rising rent prices since work began on the new development On Friday Lisa was helping to move the pensioner's belongings out of the Marine Crescent flat she has lived in for the past 15 years. She said: 'Almost everyone in this crescent has had their rent put up. 'My mother-in-law has lived here since 2008. She has her grandson living with her after his mum passed away, and this has always been their home. 'She was paying in the region of 700 a month but now they're asking for 1300 - almost double and she just can't afford it. 'This new development is pushing all the prices up. A lot of people have already moved out because they can't afford to live here anymore. 'And finding somewhere else is difficult too because so many people are listing their properties on AirBnB so there's nothing to buy or rent.' Lisa said she is concerned there is a lack of infrastructure in Folkestone to support the people moving into the development. She added: 'Traffic is already a big issue here especially with the current construction traffic - and that's only going to get worse because this new development will bring so many more people to the area. Brendan Mcguire, who has lived in Folkestone his whole life, also said he was worried the influx of new property owners will put pressure on local amenities such as doctor's surgeries There are concerns from residents that there is a lack of infrastructure in Folkestone to support the people moving into the development 'It used to be such a nice little seaside town, but it's getting too big.' Brendan Mcguire, who has lived in Folkestone his whole life, also said he was worried the influx of new property owners will put pressure on local amenities such as doctor's surgeries. The 58-year-old shuttering carpenter said: 'People are already struggling to see a doctor or get school places. Some of the kids round here are being sent to schools miles away because we're so overcrowded. 'Where are all these thousands of new people going to go? 'I don't blame people moving down from London but they are not doing anything to improve the infrastructure.' Dad-of-two Brendan is also concerned areas of the pebbled beach may become exclusive for residents of the new development. He added: 'I've heard they're on about making some of this beach private for residents only, but how can a beach possibly be private land? 'We've always walked up and down here, as long as I can remember. I grew up seeing the fairgrounds and markets here, going to the skating ring and swimming in the sea. Dating back to 1870, Marine Crescent in the popular seaside town of Folkestone, Kent, was originally built as 14 dwellings, but has since been converted into 91 contemporary apartments Folkestone Harbour and Seafront Development Company has already repaired and restored heritage assets such as the Harbour Arm, the old station, (pictured) viaduct, signal box and lighthouse 'I spent all my summers on these beaches - I can't see how they can get away with building on here. 'Marine Crescent has been there since before I was born. People bought those houses on the condition of getting a sea view. Now all they're going to see is the back of those flats. 'It's an absolute eyesore. I would be absolutely gutted if I lived there.' The 58-year-old is also worried the pricey properties will push locals out of the town. Brendan said: 'There's no way locals can afford these places. None of it is affordable housing. 'But there's nothing we can do to stop it because there's a lot of money involved. It's sheer greed.' Charity worker Alice Williams, 28, moved into a rented flat in Marine Crescent in February. She said the new development has put her off staying in the property in the long-term. She added: 'It's a very different style of building it's not in keeping with the crescent at all. And we have such a nice view of the sea at the moment which will be completely obscured. Shelagh Hodder, who is originally from nearby Wye, was visiting Folkestone to see her granddaughters Isabelle Whitnall, 11, and Amber-Rose Whitnall, nine. The part-time teacher and library volunteer believes the new apartments will be snapped up as second homes, leaving no properties for locals Some locals are concerned areas of the pebbled beach may become exclusive for residents of the new development 'We're not thinking of staying here for long, but if I was looking to live here in the long-term, I wouldn't be happy about them building all along the sea front. It would certainly put me off buying.' Shelagh Hodder, who is originally from nearby Wye, was visiting Folkestone to see her granddaughters Isabelle Whitnall, 11, and Amber-Rose Whitnall, nine. The part-time teacher and library volunteer believes the new apartments will be snapped up as second homes, leaving no properties for locals. She said: 'It's absolutely disgraceful it's far too big. I think they will all just end up being people's second homes too unfortunately, because there's no affordable housing for local residents. 'It's bad for the community - they're just glorified tourists. They won't be there half the time, so they won't be the type of people that you can borrow sugar from or who go round to help when the elderly lady next door falls over.' Rachel Era, 46, and her husband Francois, 49, moved to Folkestone from London three-years-ago. The couple, who are originally from France, said the new development is 'ruining' the landscape. Carpenter Francois said: 'It's going to ruin the views and the landscape. It's so ugly.' Rachel Era, 46, and her husband Francois, 49, moved to Folkestone from London three-years-ago The couple, who are originally from France, said the new development is 'ruining' the landscape Financial officer Rachel added: 'The plans looked beautiful, but the actual building doesn't look as great. 'I can see it would be good for business and tourists, but on the other hand there's going to be a lot more people. 'It's already a nightmare to park around here. I think we were better off without it.' But not everyone feels as negatively about the new development. Some locals believe it will bring more business into the area and put Folkestone on the map. Ally Baines, who is a supervisor at beachfront restaurant Little Rock, said: 'We really like it. It's going to bring in more business for us. 'They're really expensive apartments, so the type of people living there will bring more money to the town.' Grant Turner, who has lived in Folkestone for 10 years and manages The Pilot Bar nextdoor, believes the town is changing for the better Some locals believe it will bring more business into the area and put Folkestone on the map He said: 'I can remember Folkestone being a mass of congregated iron when I was a kid but it's really up-and-coming now. 'In the last five years in particular, it has changed so much. 'The new development will bring in a lot more business for us.' Pensioner John Harris, 72, who has lived in Marine Crescent for more than two decades, also welcomes the change. He said: 'We've known they were planning to develop along here for the last 20 years. 'The size has always been in question I think it was originally planned to be a lot bigger, but they've scaled it back. 'I don't object to it at all - I think it will make Folkestone a great place to live. It will be much better to have a nice, upmarket development than all this empty space. 'And the flats they're building are expensive so it will probably bring a lot of money into the area.' Electrician Craig Honzik, 64, who has lived in Marine Crescent for four years, added: 'It doesn't bother me at all. 'But I can see why people further down the crescent might object to it, because it completely blocks their view of the sea.' Homeowners in a block of seaside flats have been told to pay out 11,000 each for 'essential' repairs to their building - even though they already pay a 2,500 a year service charge. People living in flats on Marine Crescent in Folkestone, Kent, have been told to pay the sum 'as soon as is practicably possible,' even though many lack the funds. The building owners, Sapphire Properties, says the repairs are needed to 'ensure the structural integrity' of the building and 'prevent leaks' in the future. However, residents say the 1.2 million worth of repairs should have already been fixed using money from the annual service charge of up to 2,500 a year. Now, a number of flat owners are refusing to pay, with some even saying they're willing to take the matter to court. Flat owners on Marine Crescent (pictured) in Folkestone have been asked to pay 11,000 each Kelly Scott, who has owned her beachside flats on the Victorian crescent since 2006, says the demands have infuriated residents. The 62-year-old editorial administrator said: 'These quotes are fantastical. Most people in these flats don't have 11,000 to cough up. 'I have paid 26,000 in service charges over the 17 years I have been here. Where has all that money gone? 'Nothing ever gets done to keep the building in good condition. My balcony is falling apart. 'These repairs should have taken place gradually over the years using the service charges we have been paying - not all in one go.' The freehold of the block of more than 90 flats is held by Sapphire Properties, which also owns a large number of flats within the Grade II-listed building. The block, called Marine Crescent, is managed by estate agents Fell Reynolds. They have written to the leaseholders in the remaining homes. The firm says it has received three quotes for the substantial repair work, which it says is needed to 'prevent leaks, to prevent further damage to the property, and to ensure the structural integrity of the building'. They claim that the lowest quote comes in at about 1.2 million. Flat owners say they're not willing to pay and that they're happy to take the matter to court Residents argue the repairs should have been made using funds from the 2,500 a year service charge With 200,000 of this covered by a reserve fund of service charges, there is still a huge 1 million left to be found - more than 11,000 per flat. Fell Reynolds writes: 'This sum must come from the leaseholders, by way of a supplementary demand to the service charge. 'We are very aware of the difficult economic circumstances at present, however there is never a convenient time to make such a request and of course we do need to complete these repairs.' The firm goes on to 'encourage all owners to make full payment as soon as practicably possible', asking those who cannot find the money 'promptly' to make contact. Pensioner Richard Highwood, 85, is fearful of the consequences as he 'simply cannot afford to pay'. He said: 'I have lived here since 2006 and have enjoyed being here for the most part - you couldn't ask for anything more with the sea on your doorstep. 'But this is too much money for me at my age. I'm on a fixed pension so I would never be able to afford it.' Mr Highwood says he has always paid his service charge fees, which currently stand at 2,476 a year, but has never had anybody come to do work on his property. He added: 'They have never been in my flat and done anything maintenance wise. 'I had to pay out of my own pocket for pipe works recently - it's quite outrageous really. 'I am concerned. It's creating a lot of uncertainty for everyone here.' Residents say they have never seen repairs carried out, despite paying a service charge of up to 2,500 a year Leaseholders have the right to take their freeholders to court in order to challenge service charges, if they believe the costs are unreasonable In order to legally ask for huge sums from residents, property managers and freeholders are required to follow processes under Section 20 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985. The Act protects leaseholders from paying unnecessarily large amounts for work carried out, stipulating that a three-stage consultation process should be undertaken if the contribution from any one lessee exceeds 250. Fell Reynolds informed residents in January of its intention to carry out works, and has now given them until June 26 to comment on the pay demands. Its letter goes on to explain the project is anticipated to last six months, but no start date has been indicated. They added: 'I fully understand that this is a difficult request for many owners at Marine Crescent. 'Unfortunately the work is necessary to maintain a building of this nature, and the only source of funds is from leaseholders under the terms of the lease. 'Ultimately we take instruction from our client, the freeholder, who does not make decisions like these lightly. 'The freeholder also owns a large number of apartments at Marine Crescent, and therefore any costs like this have a significant impact on their own finances, the same as all owners. 'In order to complete the full value of this work, we must therefore ask each owner to contribute their share of the cost of this project.' But some of the residents 'would rather be taken to court' than pay the 'appalling' amount of money demanded. Kelly Scott (pictured), who has owned her beachside flats on the Victorian crescent since 2006, says the demands have infuriated residents Flat owner Kelly Scott said her balcony is 'falling apart' despite the fact she's paid 26,000 worth of service charges since moving to Marine Crescent in 2006 Katrina Harris, 72, who has owned her flat at Marine Crescent for 17 years, said: 'We have had a leak in our flat for 15 years now and nothing has been done about that. 'We pay our service charges every year and never see any work being done on the building. 'We can pay the money, but that's not the point. I'm not willing to pay anywhere near that amount - it's appalling. They can take us to court - we will stick together as a group.' Judi Varona, who bought her flat in 2020, believes she would 'be a mug to sign the cheque'. 'How are we expected to find this amount of money?' she said. 'We have been told nothing about when the repairs would even start. 'Do they really think by sending this letter that everyone here is going to send the money? It's ridiculous. 'I have no faith in them to do a good job. We would be throwing our money down the drain. 'I am willing to contribute of course, but I won't be handing the money over without a proper plan in place.' A spokesperson for Fell Reynolds said: 'As with any building, from time to time, essential repairs are needed to ensure that it remains a safe and comfortable place for flat owners and residents to enjoy. 'We have relied on the expertise of specialists to ensure that the works being proposed are as cost-effective and reasonable as possible.' Fell Reynolds did not respond to claims that little work has been carried out on the building, nor questions concerning what would happen to those who do not pay the money requested. Efforts were made to seek comment from Sapphire Properties (UK) Limited. According to housing charity Shelter, leaseholders can take their freeholder to court. Service charges can be challenged at first-tier tribunal, which looks at the costs and services of works before deciding if the sums demanded are reasonable. The self-proclaimed 'first tourist' to have visited Koh Phangan in Thailand has spoken of his guilt after sharing details of the pristine island which led to its eventual ruin and notoriety as a trash-strewn party spot. In 1979 - like Leonardo DiCaprio's character Richard in the 2000 hit movie The Beach - Costas Christ was a 20-something backpacker from the U.S., and, eager to get of the beaten track he persuaded a fisherman to take him to a secret spot only locals knew about. That spot was Koh Phangan. Describing what he found when he hopped off the ramshackle vessel, he told DailyMail.com: 'Tourism had not yet made its way to Koh Phangan. The fisherman warned me he would not return for several weeks and I would be left on my own. To my younger self, Koh Phangan was pristine. 'After hours of walking along the shoreline and some bushwhacking, past scattered Thai fishing huts, I eventually came upon upon Hat Rin beach and I thought I had found paradise. I stayed with a Thai couple Somboon and Chom in their makeshift hut. I was the first western tourist they had ever seen.' In 1979 Costas Christ persuaded a fisherman to take him to a secret island in Thailand. Pictured, the explorer on the shores of Hat Rin beach with no tourists in sight More and more people caught word of Costas' 'secret' paradisiacal spot and the fishing huts were gradually converted into beachfront bars with Full Moon parties luring tourists Costas was unaware of the spark he had lit, until in 1993 when he opened a copy of the New York Times Magazine and was left 'stunned' However, in a new documentary called The Last Tourist which focuses on the issues with mass tourism, Costas reveals how he shared the location of Hat Rin beach with a girl he met by drawing a map and that was a mistake he later lived to regret. Costas had met the girl briefly in Bangkok, and, after she broke up with her boyfriend, they reunited on the island of Koh Samui. They went on to visit Koh Phangan together, and they even stay with staying with Somboon and Chom. But after their relationship ended back on Koh Samui, Costas never saw the girl or his map again. From there, it turns out more and more people caught word of Costas' 'secret' paradisiacal spot and the fishing huts were gradually converted into beachfront bars, while the sandy, weed-strewn paths developed into paved roads. In 1981, the adventurer returned to Koh Phangan and he saw things were starting to change. Somboon and Chom had been evicted from their home and their was more boat traffic. However, the worst was yet to come, with a group of travelers birthing the first Full Moon Party in the late 1980s. While the celebratory event started out as a small affair, it gradually turned into a regular extravaganza luring hundreds of thousands of travelers to the shores of Hat Rin from around the world. Costas was unaware of the spark he had lit, until in 1993 when he opened a copy of the New York Times Magazine and was left 'stunned.' The explorer, who is now based in New England, recalled: 'I saw a photograph of the beach with thousands and thousands of people celebrating something called the Full Moon Party. 'It was out of control. Masses of trash, out of control development... it ripped me apart from inside. The explorer, who is now based in the UK, recalled: 'I saw a photograph of the beach with thousands and thousands of people celebrating something called the Full Moon Party' Costas was also spooked later down the line when he watched the 2000 hit movie The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and saw striking parallels The trail of breadcrumbs that Costas left to Hat Rin beach inspired him to become a global advocate for responsible travel A group of travelers birthed the first Full Moon Party in the late 1980s 'To think that from the time I had arrived there in 1979, within a period of 14 years, this place was being utterly and totally destroyed.' Costas was also spooked later down the line when he watched the 2000 hit movie The Beach and saw striking parallels. He told DailyMail.com: 'When I saw the film, I was caught by how the substance of it paralleled my own story as a young traveler in Thailand. 'This was right down to Leonardo DiCaprio's character Richard being increasingly disillusioned with the overland backpacker trail and seeking to get away from it all. 'Then he went on to meet a young European couple, eventually sharing with them his map to locate The Beach.' The Leonardo DiCaprio movie triggered further environmental damage in Thailand and Maya Bay on Phi Phi Leh island was closed for three-and-a-half years after millions of tourists flocked to see the far flung film set. At one point, it was receiving an average of 200 boats and 4,000 visitors each day. The trail of breadcrumbs that Costas left to Hat Rin beach inspired him to become a global advocate for responsible travel and he helped to establish the UN Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria. He explains to viewers in the Last Tourism documentary: 'We've got to get tourism right because if we don't we're going to see Koh Phangan reproduced around the world.' Another shot of Koh Phangan when Costas ventured there as the first western tourist Costas - pictured on another trip as a young explorer - has never been back to Koh Phangan as he is still wracked with a sense of guilt that he was responsible for its destruction The film reveals that Thailand now receives 39.8 million tourists each year. Asked what are the main problems are with tourism, Costas told DailyMail.com that 'the goal is not to stop travel, but rather to get it right.' He added: 'I believe that tourism can also be an important way to understand the world and experience natural and cultural wonders, inspiring more people to care about protecting the planet for future generations. 'But for that to happen, the travel and tourism industry - and that is exactly what it is, a massive global industry - must change its development and operating model. 'The majority of tourism businesses at the corporate level have operated according to privatizing their profits and socializing their environmental damage - meaning, let others clean up the mess.' Costas has never been back to Koh Phangan since his last trip in 1981, as he is still wracked with guilt that he was the one responsible for its transition from paradise to 'party central.' He concludes: 'This is not a a case of traveler's lament, as in "gee, this place has changed from when I was here." Of course places change. That is to be understood and expected. 'But there is a difference between change and destruction. Sadly, overall around the world tourism has been more negative than positive for local people and the planet. 'What gives me hope is that there is now a clear way and better understanding about how to make tourism a positive force that can help conserve nature, alleviate poverty and protect cultural heritage. 'Now we just need the entire global travel and tourism industry to get on board, for the good of the planet. But travelers also need to take responsibility for generations to come.' The Last Tourist is now available on Amazon and Apple TV, Sky, Vubiquity, Google, Microsoft and Rakuten. It is also currently playing on Delta Airlines and Emirates Airlines. For more information on the film, visit www.thelasttouristfilm.com Advertisement Greece offers some of the most mesmerising landscapes on the planet - and beaches to die for (plus, there are very nice salads). The downside is that holidaymakers the world over have caught on, with hotspots such as Crete, Mykonos and Santorini jampacked with tourists in the summer season. However, as we reveal here, the country has plenty of hidden gems to discover - eye-catching lookalike alternatives to the overcrowded big hitters. Scroll down to discover eight of these stunning quieter beach destinations. PAXOS Paxos is speckled with delis, boutiques and beaches including Erimitis Bay (image four), which is often praised on Tripadvisor for its 'stunning' views Paxos is 'unusually verdant and still largely unspoilt', according to Rough Guides, which says it is a 'particular favourite of yachting flotillas'. Size doesn't matter for the stunning destination which is 'the smallest of the main Ionian islands at barely 12km (7.5 miles) by 4km (2.5 miles)', it adds. The island is speckled with delis and boutiques as well as several beaches including Erimitis Bay, which is often praised on Tripadvisor for its 'stunning' views - reviewer 'Jana' labelled it 'a must-see'. Britons travelling to the island can fly to Corfu International Airport and take a bus or taxi to the Port of Lefkimmi, followed by a 45-minute direct ferry to Paxos. FOLEGANDROS Folegandros is 'ideal for a peaceful vacation' with 'mouthwatering cuisine, stunning beaches, azure Aegean waters and secluded coves', according to Visit Greece Often compared to popular Santorini, nearby Folegandros is considered a quieter alternative in the Cyclades island group. This island is 'ideal for a peaceful vacation' with 'mouthwatering cuisine, stunning beaches, azure Aegean waters and secluded coves', according to Visit Greece, the official website of the Greek National Tourism Organisation. 'This off-the-beaten-path destination captivates visitors with the untouched beauty of its beaches, the luminous blue of its waters, and the unadulterated style of its architecture,' it adds. International travellers can fly to Santorini International Airport and take a direct ferry to the island, taking around one hour and 30 minutes. Alternatively, fly to Athens International Airport or Milos Airport and take a ferry from there. THE MANI PENINSULA Mani in mainland Greece offers 'dramatic and varied scenery' and is 'still wonderfully under-explored', according to Lonely Planet Greece's mainland destinations can be easily forgotten. Here's a nudge that Mani, the central peninsula of the southern Peloponnese, has 'some of the most dramatic and varied scenery' in this part of mainland Greece and is 'still wonderfully under-explored'. So says Lonely Planet, which adds that the 'wild, rugged region' offers plenty of opportunity for outdoor adventures, from 'the steep foothills of the snow-tipped Taygetos Mountains to the pristine coastal coves, and from the tiny villages nestling amid olive groves, connected by threads of walking trails, to the arid landscapes in the south of the peninsula, speckled with abandoned stone towers'. Fly to Kalamata International Airport and take a bus or a taxi to Mani. NAXOS You'll discover 'isolated beaches, atmospheric mountain villages, ancient sites and marble quarries' on the island of Naxos, Lonely Planet reveals Naxos is the largest of the Cyclades and packs a lot of bang for its buck, says Lonely Planet. You neednt travel far, though, to find isolated beaches, atmospheric mountain villages, ancient sites and marble quarries,' it adds. Like nearby party-loving Mykonos, the islands main town of Hora has a gorgeous waterfront and a web of steep cobbled alleys below its hilltop kastro [castle] as well as fortified Venetian mansions. Its beaches have been ranked among the top 10 in the world by the Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Awards. Commenting on the travel review website, reviewer 'greek-traveller' said: The beaches as such are excellent, and regarded as some of the best in Greece. Fly to Athens, Santorini, or Mykonos and then board a ferry to Naxos. There are also domestic flights from Athens to the island. SAMOS Pictures show the picturesque fishing village of Pythagorion Port (image three) as well as the turquoise waters of Lemonakia Beach (image two) and Potami Beach (image four) on the island of Samos The isle of Samos boasts an outstanding natural landscape which offers beautiful beaches, fine wine and monuments of sizable cultural significance, according to Visit Greece. Wherever you head to, youll see mountains, caves and ravines. Its pristine nature will impress you,' it adds. The photographs above highlight the picturesque qualities of the fishing village of Pythagorion Port as well as the turquoise waters of Lemonakia Beach and Potami Beach. The island also features wetlands, waterfalls, and two Unesco heritage sites - the fortified ancient city of Pythagoreion and the ancient Temple of Hera. In a Tripadvisor review, user 'Patrik Z' commented that it's an 'incredible' island with 'very clean waters'. He added that it's 'absolutely to be visited'. Fly to Athens and then take a domestic flight to Samos, or take a long ferry ride to the island. SKOPELOS Skopelos appeared in the 2018 film Mamma Mia but has still managed to 'hang on to its low-key charm', according to Lonely Planet Despite its star appearance in the 2018 film Mamma Mia, Skopelos 'has managed to hang on to its low-key charm', according to Lonely Planet. The island is characterised by its 'pine forests, olive groves, rippling vineyards and orchards of plums and almonds - many of which find their way into local cuisine', it says. It is 'notably wilder, artier and more laid-back than neighbouring Skiathos' and benefits from 'a string of beautiful sand-and-pebble beaches'. The travel guide adds that visitors can choose between two settlements - the 'wonderfully attractive main port of Skopelos Town' and the 'equally delightful northwest village of Glossa'. Fly to neighbouring Skiathos, then take an hour-long ferry to the port in Glossa or Skopelos Town. MEGANISI On a visit to the Greek isle of Meganisi, reviewers recommend visiting Fanari Beach (image five) for its 'beautiful swimming' Meganisi is described as 'authentic' Greece with 'great people' and a 'very laid back atmosphere' in recent Tripadvisor reviews. Photographs show the island's hilltop villages nestled among the trees and quiet beaches surrounded by wild countryside and clear aquamarine waters. Reviewers recommend Fanari Beach for its 'beautiful swimming'. Lomonari Beach, meanwhile, is praised for its 'crystal clear water' and 'stunning views', and is said to be 'perfect for safe snorkelling or paddle boarding'. Fly to Aktion International Airport and then take a taxi and a ferry to Meganisi, which is less than two hours away. PAROS Photos of Paros show the beautiful fishing village of Naousa (image one) and the traditional village of Lefkes (image four), which features whitewashed buildings and cobbled patios Paros enjoys 'great beauty', 'impressive landscapes', and 'long beaches with crystal-clear waters', according to Visit Greece. The island benefits from a 'well-developed tourist infrastructure... to make your holidays truly memorable', it adds. The photographs above show the beautiful fishing village of Naousa and the traditional village of Lefkes, which features whitewashed buildings and cobbled patios decorated with an abundance of plants and brightly painted furniture. Travellers on Tripadvisor also recommend the 'beautiful' old town of Parikia for its small shops, cafes and restaurants. One reviewer, 'Cheryl G', labelled Parikia as 'the best town to stay in Paros'. She wrote: 'You can take a ferry to other islands, you can take boat rides to hidden coves, there is even a boat ride to the local beaches.' Fly to Athens, Santorini or Mykonos and then catch a ferry to Paros. All transportation services were available at the time of publication. They revealed to MailOnline why they keep going back to Trader Joes for more Two food-loving Brits have shared their delight and shock after visiting some of America's giant supermarkets that dwarf the ones they go to back home. Kent-basaed Jason, 37, and Josh, 31, love a good supermarket trip in the UK - but nothing compares to a shopping trip to the likes of Trader Joes, Vons and Buc-ee's when across the pond in the US. The pair use their YouTube channel (@JJExtra) to film their trips to these grand supermarkets - and find out for themselves what all the fuss is about. Despite visiting the States twice a year, there's always something new to wow them when they visit US supermarkets, revealing that it 'certainly didn't take us long' to find out what the hype around Trader Joes was. The YouTubers spoke to MailOnline about their videos, what has surprised them the most and least about these supermarkets, what they wish UK stores would do the same and which stores they plan to visit next. The one thing that always shocks Jason and Josh when they visit America is the sheer size of products available during festive periods, such as Thanksgiving and Halloween The pair admitted that while they admitted that 'the classic thing for a Brit to do' would be to say that Target or Walmart is their favourite store, the pair opted for Trader Joes Sharing their experiences on the social media platform, the pair now have more than 6.28K subscribers. From visiting an American supermarket they had never heard of - spoiler it's Vons - to paying a visit to Buc-ee's, the World's largest gas station, Jason and Josh have seen just about everything that can be sold in supermarkets. But they admit that regardless of how many stores they walk into in the States, they're left in awe at the amount of produce and variety that is stacked on the shelves every time. Before the pair met, they had sperate YouTube channels, and after meeting in Florida and getting together their joint channel spawned. They found a love for the products in the supermarket they visited, and felt natural to film their experiences. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, the pair explained that as soon as they walk into a store, they are hit with an overwhelming sense of joy and happiness, and they want to translate this over to their viewers. Josh said: 'It is definitely the variety of food, and the size of the stores compared to ours back at home is enormous. Even the "smaller stores" are on the scale of our larger supermarkets. And the sheer amount of products and amount of the same products that are available, in terms of flavour and variety, is a stark difference. For example, we may have a few cereals, but they have a whole aisle of different ones.' Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, the pair explained that as soon as they walk into a store, such as Trader Joes, they are hit with an overwhelming sense of joy and happiness The YouTubers have visited Trader Joes in both California and Florida and say that the stores both feel so similar, especially in terms of layout They would definitely recommend Brits visit Trader Joes - even at least once. The content creators said that 'with Trader Joes stuff, it is kind of the same as when you go to M&S for a bit of luxury' But one thing that always shocks them when they visit America is the sheer size of products available during festive periods, such as Thanksgiving, Halloween and Christmas. Jason said: 'I think something they tend to do a lot bigger than us is seasonal stuff. For example, a quarter of the store can be turned into a Halloween walk through or during Christmas where they put up all sorts around the stores. 'It is as if you've gone to some sort of attraction, and you think to yourself oh blimey! 'And it's nothing like in the UK, where you see a few Haribo sweets as in the states they go full out.' On the contrary, the social media duo were not so surprised at 'the amount of unhealthy food you can buy, with aisles and aisles of candy and crisps, and even the bakery sections are bigger than our entire supermarkets in the UK.' When asked which of the supermarkets was their favourite, the pair had a surprising winner. They both agreed 'the classic thing for a Brit to do' would be to say Target or Walmart, but the pair opted for Trader Joes. The pair started their YouTube channel four years ago, and are on a mission to find out exactly why Americans are so obsessed with supermarkets such as Trader Joes, Vons and Buc-ee's Jason and Josh say: 'Everyone should visit Trader Joes for a bit of luxury, especially when you're on holiday' Jason and Josh said that it is the chocolate covered espresso beans that keep them coming back to Trader Joes, explaining that 'we love coffee and dark chocolate together' Jason said: 'The reason for that is that it is kind of like our M&S or Waitrose, but they are of higher grade than Walmart or Target - they are all made of high quality stuff. 'Comparatively to M&S or Waitrose, its not as expensive, especially not with the branded stuff. Obviously, the most expensive stuff in the States would be fresh fruit and veggies, regardless of where you go. 'But we have been to Trader Joes in both California and Florida and they both feel so similar, especially in terms of layout... they just feel so familiar.' And it's also the fact that 'you know what you're expecting when you go to Walmart or Target', said Josh. He continued: 'But the first time we went into Trader Joes it was a different experience as you never know what you're going to find when you step into a supermarket you've not been to before.' Jason said that it is the chocolate covered espresso beans that keep them coming back to Trader Joes, explaining that 'we love coffee and dark chocolate together, and so that's our favourite to buy. 'While they do them elsewhere, it's not on the same level.' And they would definitely recommend Brits visit Trader Joes - even at least once. The content creators said that they 'think most Brits tend to gravitate to Walmart or Target because they are cheaper and better known. jason said: 'With Trader Joes stuff, it is kind of the same as when you go to M&S for a bit of luxury. 'Everyone should visit Trader Joes for a bit of luxury, especially when you're on holiday.' But there's one thing that the pair cannot get over. And that is just how much better customer service is in the United States. The pair made a YouTube video on themselves visiting an American supermarket they had never heard of - spoiler it's Vons They also paid a visit to Buc-ee's, which is the World's largest gas station They admitted that there is 'always staff, everywhere' and they are 'willing to interact with you and will approach you - even if you don't approach them first. 'And we feel that you just don't get that in UK stores.' And a tidbit that the pair gave was that their fridges are always full of coffee creamers - and it's one thing they'd 'love to see that implemented in UK stores.' Disclosing to MailOnline where they see themselves venturing into next, Jason and Josh revealed they haven't featured a supermarket called Publix on their YouTube channel yet. Primarily found dotted around Florida, the pair say this store is on the 'expensive and higher end, like our Waitorse.' While the chain cannot be found everywhere throughout the States, it is the 'classier feel' that is enticing them to visit it. And not to mention the salad and fruit platters that are available to buy, as Jason explained: 'Over here you can get a small bowl of salad with some iceberg, carrots and a few tomatoes. 'But we've heard that over there, you get massive platters filled with crumbed cheese, fresh produce and nuts for example that could feed like eight people!' And in terms of their favourite US snacks, Jason and Josh say that it was a tough list to compile but they have settled on these items... 'You think the Shining twins were creepy... you ain't seen nothing yet,' one said The thriller centers around newlyweds who adopt violent and eerie twins A 'creepy' and 'disturbing' Spanish horror film has left Netflix viewers frightened. Tin And Tina, which was released on the streaming giant last week, is a longer-form adaptation of a 2013 short film with the same name, also directed by Rubin Stein. The thriller is set in early 1980s Spain and follows the story of a woman who suffers a miscarriage on her wedding day. She is informed by her doctor that she cannot bear children and her depression keeps getting worse. But soon the newlyweds adopt twins Tin and Tina who follow strict religious teachings and share them with their new parents. Netflix's Spanish horror movie Tin and Tina, has caused a frenzy of 'terrified' watchers. The thriller centers around newlyweds who adopt disturbing twins Netflix's 'Tin and Tina' originated from Spain, and has been translated to English Tin and Tina bring an eerie and strained energy to the couple's house as mysterious and violent occurrences begin to take place. Couple Lola and Adolfo are played by Milena Smit, 26, and Jaime Lorente, 31. Twins Tin and Tina are portrayed by 11-year-olds Anastasia Russo and Carlos Gonzalez Morollon. And ever since it landed on Netflix, it's left people petrified. One scared viewer wrote: 'Watched Tin and Tina on Netflix. You think the Shining twins were creepy... you ain't seen nothing yet. They utterly creeped me out, and I will have nightmares for days.' Another viewer chillingly added: 'Me praying #TinandTina don't come in my dreams tonight. Can't even bare to watch the second half, whilst the house is so quiet. Why have I done this to myself.' A third person said: 'Need to watch a Barbie movie after watching Tin and Tina, that movie is so disturbing.' Someone else added: 'I haven't had a movie creep me out in a long time as much as Tin and Tina.' Viewers took to Twitter to share their terrified responses to the movie 'Tin and Tina are literally the scariest children I've ever seen in a horror movie,' one comment read. One tweet jokingly spoke of the creepy twins: 'Oh nah, I would've been scared of Tin and Tina the first time I saw them lol.' The disturbing nature of the horror flick had some viewers warning about possible nightmares: 'I made bebe watch Tin and Tina, and now she is whimpering in her sleep.' Another disturbed viewer wrote: 'Watching Tin and Tina, nah those kids never would've left the convent. They were creepy from the get-go.' One Twitter user added: 'OMG these kids gave me goosebumps.' The eerie trailer starts off dramatically with the newlywed wife having a bloody miscarriage right outside of the church on her wedding day, as her family and friends stand in shock witnessing the blood appear on her pristine white gown. When the couple looks to adopt, the nun introduces Tin and Tina, who have been abandoned at the church's gates and states: 'They are indeed special children.' The husband tells the wife, 'I know what you're thinking, and they are just too old, and a bit strange.' The wife argues that 'these children need to be loved - same as us, we need love,' adding: 'Let us be a family.' The trailer's rundown quickly shifts from the adopted twins being playful and 'innocent,' to a fire in the house, and the wife screaming. Recently Netflix fans said they were 'scarred for life' after watching the streaming service's new horror film The Strays. The film is set in early 1980s Spain and the story follows a wife who suffers a miscarriage on her wedding day She is informed by her doctor that she cannot bear children, and her depression keeps getting worse. The newlyweds adopt twins Tin and Tina Tin and Tina bring an eerie and strained energy to the couple's house, as mysterious and violent occurrences begin to take place The flick follows Neve (Ashley Madekwe), a light-skinned biracial woman who lives a suburban life in a small English town and works as a deputy headmistress. She is married to a white man named Ian (Justin Salinger) and eschews anything that has to do with blackness. Neve's past threatens to unravel her idyllic life and she becomes deeply distressed by the arrival of two strangers in the town who appear to know her. In the trailer for the film, Neve is seen driving her children when the two strangers appear on the side of the road, almost causing her to crash. Later, Neve and her husband are entertaining guests in their home when she spots a man staring at her from the pavement. Becoming startled, she stands up and points outside, saying: 'What's that at the window? Someone's there, can't you see?' But the other guests stare at her in confusion, with one saying: 'What's wrong with you tonight?' Taking to Twitter, one user said of the flick: 'Just finished watching The Strays on Netflix and I think I'm scared for life because what the hell did I just watch!' Some of Chris Pine's most dedicated fans were shocked this week to learn that he has been a Marvel superhero for years. It was widely known that he had been a star in the DC Extended Universe, though he is seemingly done with his time as a star of the comics-based film studio. The 42-year-old actor made a splash in 2017's Wonder Woman as Steve Trevor, the love interest and side-kick to Gal Gadot's title character. He went on to reprise the role in 2020's critically reviled sequel Wonder Woman 1984, but Pine's fans recently discovered that he had another role in the competing Marvel Cinematic Universe which many of them were completely unaware of. But a year after he hit theaters in Wonder Woman, Pine appeared as one of the most popular Marvel superheroes of all time though not in the flesh. Secret role: Chris Pine has made two films as part of DC's Extended Universe, but his fans were shocked this week to learn that he has already played one of Marvel's most iconic superheroes without them even realizing; seen in March in Los Angeles Pine starred with Gal Gadot as the title character's love interest Steve Trevor in 2017's Wonder Woman (pictured), as well as it's 2020 sequel Wonder Woman 1984 On Monday, a tweet made the rounds that looked back on the acclaimed animated film Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. The film follows the exploits of Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), an alternate-universe version of Spider-Man who is a current star of ongoing comic series. His universe's Peter Parker/Spider-Man offers to train him to use his skills and powers for good, only for him to be shockingly killed off early in the film by one of the primary antagonists, Kingpin (Liev Schreiber). Many fans who caught the film in theaters likely didn't realize that it was Chris who voiced the deceased version of Spider-Man, as his role wasn't announced in advance and only came to light after a publicity screening shortly before the film's release. Pine played his version of Spider-Man as the ultimate, most professional version of the crime fighter, but his unexpected death revealed just how much danger Miles was in by trying to take his place. The hero-in-training soon learned that he wasn't the only remaining Spider-Man, as his trip into the multiverse revealed other Peter Parkers, as well as completely different characters who had taken on the role, including a film noirinflected detective-like Spider-Man voiced by Nicolas Cage and a hilarious pig-like Spider-Ham, who was played by a particularly hammy John Mulaney. The tweet that got fans talking on Monday noted that three of the main Spider-Men featured in Into the Spider-Verse and its upcoming sequel Across The Spider-Verse Pine; Jake Johnson, who played a more traditional version of the hero; and newcomer Andy Samberg, who plays the Scarlet Spider in the new film came from Jewish backgrounds. Despite the fact that Into The Spider-Verse was released nearly five years ago today, several fans were shocked to learn that it was Pine playing the first version of Spider-Man. Shocker: But a tweet on Monday pointed out that Pine had voiced a version of Spider-Man in 2018's Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (pictured), which several fans had never realized Tragedy: Pine played the first version of Spider-Man in Miles Morales universe. After agreeing to train the teen, he was tragically killed by the villain Kingpin (Liev Schreiber); seen in March in Austin, Texas Too many to count: The film featured other Peter Parkers, including one voiced by Jake Johnson (center) and other characters who played versions of the hero, included a female version voiced by Hailee Steinfeld (R) 'Chris Pine was in the first one?!' replied one shocked user. 'How am I just now finding out about this?' added another surprised fan. Once fans knew that it was Pine who was briefly in the movie, some wished he had had more screen time. 'Wish we couldve had more of him, hes a good voice actor,' added another user. The post also set fans off in discussions of Peter Parker's apparent Judaism. The character has long been portrayed as such going back to the comics, but recent live-action film portrayals have almost completely erased that part of his backstory. Although Pine has shown in three separate films that he's game to appear in superhero films, he threw some surprising shade at Marvel a year before Into The Spider-Verse was released. In a 2017 interview with Screenslam while doing press for Wonder Woman, Pine laid into Avengers: Infinity War. 'Within this genre it's difficult to do something new and usually you just see a bunch of people killing one another in outfits and blowing up cities,' he said, in response to a question about what made him want to appear in Wonder Woman. 'Like I know there's a thing called Infinity War coming out, which is like, really? Infinity War? We need more war for all time?' he continued. However, Pine even said during the rounds for the film that he wasn't initially interested in being in Wonder Woman until a conversation with its director Patty Jenkins convinced him that it departed from the mold of earlier superhero films. 'At the heart of this, is a woman who is about love and compassion and love trumps all,' he explained in the interview. But since appearing in his three superhero films, Pine seems to have decided to move away from that image as much as possible with his most recent film, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Missed it: Some fans wished Pine's part had been larger in the film. It was not announced prior to release, which left many unaware; still from Wonder Woman Done with superheroes: But Pine has also criticized Marvel's Avengers series, and he asked his Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves directors to let him play an 'anti-heroic' role While speaking with Variety, the film's co-director John Francis Daley said that Pine told him and fellow director Jonathan Goldstein that he wanted to be as 'anti-heroic' as possible. 'What we love about Chris is that he's hyper-aware of [his image] and wants to make himself look as bad as possible, almost to a fault,' Daley said. He revealed that he and Goldstein sometimes had to tone down Pine's instincts to ramp up his lead character's disreputability. '"All right, no, you have to be a hero in this moment,"' Daley recalled telling Pine. It's been a hot minute, but after a three month wait Maya Jama's incredible wardrobe of dresses will once again be lighting up ITV2 from June 5. Oh, and Love Island is also back with a tenth series. One could be forgiven for sounding flippant after Jama obliviously championed herself as the show's most watchable element during a forgettable winter series in January. The in-demand 28-year old had been parachuted in to replace the outgoing Laura Whitmore, and any lingering fondness for the Irish presenter was soon vanquished when she hosted her first recoupling in the show's Cape Town villa. Indeed, her stunning physique, alluring demeanour and bristling self-confidence quickly won over viewers, overshadowed its bikini-clad contestants and set the tone for what proved to be an accomplished Love Island debut. Welcome return: It's been a hot minute, but after a three month wait Maya Jama's incredible wardrobe of dresses will once again be lighting up ITV2 from June 5 But for some it was all about the dress, a figure-hugging Roberto Cvalli number, and indeed every dress that subsequently followed during her periodic trips to the winter villa. The presenter is now preparing for a significantly shorter journey to the show's spiritual home in Mallorca, and one should expect an all-new range of incredible ensembles when the new series kicks off in less than a week. Jama herself has confirmed she's been devoting plenty of time and energy to her Love Island look, telling The Sun: 'The pressure is on for my stylist because the dresses did very well last series. 'We havent decided yet, but Ive said that I want to look beachy, sexy and fun.' Until then, let's open the wardrobe doors and look back at her former fashion highlights. Don't mind me: Maya marked her first Love Island appearance in a crocheted co-ord from talented British-Ugandan creative Sierra Ndagire There it is: The handmade outfit, available for 200, proved to be a huge hit with fans following the launch of Love Island's second winter series in January and sold out within days 1. THE SIERRA NDAGIRE Maya marked her first appearance in a crocheted co-ord from talented British-Ugandan creative Sierra Ndagire. The handmade outfit, available for 200, proved to be a huge hit with fans following the launch of Love Island's second winter series in January and sold out within days. Ndagire, a rising star in the world of contemporary fashion, later admitted she was stunned by its popularity after putting in a sleepless night to personally stitch Jama's dress herself. She told The Mirror: 't was shocking, very exciting, I didn't care if she wore it or not, the request alone was a big complement. I've been a big fan of hers.' So popular was the design that she was overwhelmed with requests for the same dress in different colours, prompting an unprecedented 300 percent increase in sales and a 1000 percent increase in visitors to her website. A dream in green: Jama confirmed her status as the hottest girl in the villa after wearing a form-fitting summer dress from Roberto Cvalli Resort for her first recoupling. Finishing touch: She teamed the green and blue silk slip dress with Aquazzura sandals Racy: Jama further cemented her style status in an incredible maxi-dress from Parisian brand Monot Absolute QUEEN! She looked incredible in her 1575 Monot dress which just about covered her modesty 2. THE ROBERTO CVALLI RESORT SLIP Jama confirmed her status as the hottest girl in the villa after wearing a form-fitting summer dress from Roberto Cvalli Resort for her first recoupling. She teamed the green and blue silk slip dress with Aquazzura sandals, and the overall look sent fans into overdrive as they dusted off their credit cards in search of the same ensemble. However, disappointment lay ahead, because the dress, while part of Cvalli's Resort 2023 collection, was not available to buy. 3. THE 1,2000 MONOT MAXI-DRESS During the show's opening episode she further cemented her style status in an incredible maxi-dress from Parisian brand Monot. With distinctive straps, revealing cut-outs and a figure-hugging detail the outfit sparked frantic internet searches among those hoping to replicate the look. But only those with deep pockets would achieve it, with the halter-neck dress available at a pricey 1,500. However the cost proved to be small obstacle, with the dress from designer Eli Mizrahi's high-end label quickly selling out, in all sizes. Stunning: The presenter opted for a revealing co-ord from American designer LaQuan Smith, whose past clients include R&B legend Beyonce, during a later appearance in the villa Lovely: Comprised of an asymmetric bodysuit with with a draped shoulder and a midi-length wrap skirt, the outfit served as another fashion high point 4. THE LAQUAN SMITH BODYSUIT AND SKIRT Jama's taste for international design was further exemplified during a later appearance in the Cape Town villa. On this occasion the presenter opted for a revealing co-ord from American designer LaQuan Smith, whose past clients include R&B legend Beyonce. Comprised of an asymmetric bodysuit with with a draped shoulder and a midi-length wrap skirt, the outfit served as another fashion high point and once again proved to be a hit with fans. The top half also included a variety of cut-outs - something of a recurring theme for Jama during her winter debut - and a distinctive high-neck. But much like the Monot it came at a price, with the skirt alone - still available on the brand's website - retailing at 745. Don't mind me: Even a double eviction didn't stop Jama stealing the limelight after entering the villa in a semi-sheer dress from the little-known Fanci Club 5. THE PLUNGING FANCI CLUB SUMMER DRESS Even a double eviction didn't stop Jama stealing the limelight after entering the villa in a semi-sheer dress from the little-known Fanci Club, an increasingly popular online brand from designer Duy Tran. The breezy orange number featured a cleavage-enhancing neckline, a tasteful floral detail and a layered hemline. Already loved by stars including Dua Lipa, the brand saw an unprecedented spike in sales after Maya wore the dress in Cape Town, and her favoured colour quickly selling out. AND HERE'S THE BEST OF THE REST! Looking good: Ahead of her first appearance in Love Island's Mallorcan villa the presenter paid a visit to the 76th Cannes Film Festival in May, where she turned heads in this Aadnevik gown Curves: Jama displayed her figure in two separate outfits BRIT Awards red carpet at the O2 Arena in February High glamour: Her red carpet dress from Schiaparelli, a brand favoured by the likes of Kylie Jenner and Adele, boasted a bejewelled gold skeleton design 6. THE AADNEVIK MAXI-DRESS Ahead of her first appearance in Love Island's Mallorcan villa the presenter paid a visit to the 76th Cannes Film Festival in May - and once again, it proved to be memorable for all the right reasons. Attending the star-studded British Vogue party on the French Riviera, Jama opted for a plunging white lace gown with feathered trim and a daring thigh-high slit. The maxi-dress, from London based brand Aadnevik, was created entirely from white lace and came with a tasteful applique finish. But anyone hoping to replicate the look should be prepared to spend big, with the dress retailing at 17,500. 7. THE SCHIAPARELLI FROCK The Love Island host looked sensational and slipped into a figure-hugging strapless black dress for her red carpet arrival at the BRIT Awards in February. Her quirky dress from Schiaparelli, a brand favoured by the likes of Kylie Jenner and Adele, boasted a bejewelled gold skeleton design that highlighted her ample cleavage and gorgeous curves. The elevated LBD was adorned with gold embellishments that resembled the same opulent details from the brand's SS20 Couture catwalk. Hard to miss: Jama wore this Jean-Paul Gaultier dress for a Mayfair dinner date in May 8. THE JEAN-PAUL GAULTIER Jama wore a lavish looking dress from iconic French designer Jean Paul Gaultier's Spring 2023 Flowers collection, priced at 445, for a Mayfair dinner date in May. Comprised of a bold bodycon fit with statement stripes and crafted from mesh, the dress contoured her curves in all the right places. Her accessories on the night included the Sicily bag by Dolce & Gabbana and hoop earrings from Lucy Williams x Missoma. Garth, 51, has spoke about her commitment to health and fitness after revealing she was diagnosed with early onset arthritis four years ago The 90120 star looked healthy and fresh-faced ahead of the workout for which she wore black sweats, a gray tank top, and Nike Air Max 270 trainers Exclusive photos show Jennie Garth arriving at a gym in Los Angeles last week for an intense workout session with her personal trainer Beverly Hills 90210 alum Jennie Garth is refusing to let her battle with arthritis keep her from staying fit and active, exclusive new photos show. The 51-year-old actress, who has revealed she was diagnosed with osteoarthritis three years ago, was snapped arriving at the gym in the San Fernando Valley last week for an intense personal training session. The What I Like About You star looked healthy and fresh-faced ahead of the workout for which she wore black sweats, a gray tank top, and Nike Air Max 270 trainers. She pulled her blond hair back in a bubble ponytail and brought along a water bottle to stay hydrated. Garth also took to Instagram to share videos of the pair having a little fun in between exercise reps and sets. A fit and healthy Jennie Garth was seen arriving at a gym in Los Angeles last week for an intense workout session The 90210 star, who wore black sweats, a gray tank top, and Nike Air Max 270 trainers for her workout, has been staying active after being diagnosed with arthritis four years ago Garth revealed her early onset diagnosis 'spurred' her into being 'more physically active and working with a trainer' She filmed herself surprising her trainer Jason with a t-shirt emblazoned with her character Kelly Taylor and her iconic quote: 'I choose me.' The fitness expert even posed in the tee that was three sizes too small. She first used the phrase in 90210 when her character Kelly Taylor was being pursued by both Luke Perry's Dylan and Jason Priestley as Brandon but she decided neither was good enough for her. On her way out Garth was seen stopping to hug an admiring fan and even posed for a few selfies with him. She walked her to the car with her trainer and the pair chatted for a while before she made her way home. The TV star also took to Instagram to share a video of her workout session with her personal trainer, whom she surprised with a graphic t-shirt of her character Kelly Taylor Jason showed off his new tee emblazoned with the TV character's most memorable line, 'I choose me' The mom-of-three opened up about her medical condition in an interview with Insider last May, revealing how the degenerative joint disease prompted her to hire a personal trainer to cope with the pain and stay as active as possible. She told the outlet she had gone to a doctor after she began to experience pain in her knees when she went from sitting to standing as well as stiffness in her fingers and hands. Garth admitted she wasn't forthcoming about her condition because she 'didn't want to be that person who talks about their ailments.' She was diagnosed with the most common form of the condition, which happens after the cartilage that protects the ends of bones wears, resulting in irreversible tissue damage. Speaking to People magazine she said: 'Going to a doctor or a specialist and getting that diagnosis is key, because from that knowledge, we can do our work.' She added: 'It spurred me into being more physically active and working with a trainer.' Later, Garth was seen walking her to the car with her trainer and the pair chatted for a while before she took off On her way out Garth was seen stopping to hug an admiring fan and even posed for a few selfies with him Garth was part of the original cast of the iconic 90s teen drama alongside Tori Spelling, Jason Priestley, and Ian Ziering as well as several other stars; The diagnosis came amid a tumultuous year for Garth, whose third husband Dave Abrams filed for divorce after three years of marriage citing irreconcilable differences in 2018. The pair separated but got back together ten months later and have remained married to date. This isn't the first health scare for the 90210MG podcaster. In 2002 she was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse and a leaky heart valve, but did not reveal that until 2009. Despite her health issues, Garth has continued taking up acting roles and was seen attending the ATX TV Festival in Austin on Thursday. Earlier this year, Garth sent 90210 fans into a frenzy when she reunited with former co-stars Tori Spelling, Jason Priestly, and Ian Ziering at 90s Con in Memphis, Tennessee. The claws are out on the set of Binge's The Real Housewives of Sydney reboot. Terry Biviano, the shoe designer wife of NRL star Anthony Minichiello, recently joined the new-look cast but is apparently already on thin ice with producers just weeks into filming. According to The Daily Telegraph, Terry has confronted the show's producers over several 'simmering issues'. The incident has now sparked speculation the mother-of-one, 48, could even quit the series early. It was reported last month that Terry would be participating in the latest instalment of the reality series. NRL WAG Terry Biviano, 48, (pictured) has apparently 'clashed with producers' on set of The Real Housewives of Sydney as filming for season two begins While Binge has remained tight-lipped on casting, former television news anchor Sally Obermeder has also been confirmed as one of the new Housewives. 'We are thrilled to be bringing The Real Housewives of Sydney series to Binge viewers,' Binge's executive director Alison Hubert-Burns told The Daily Telegraph in a statement last week. 'The Real Housewives franchise is wildly popular across the globe, and we felt a cosmopolitan city like Sydney needed again to have a brand-new local version. According to The Daily Telegraph, Terry has confronted the show's producers over several 'simmering issues'. (Pictured: Terry and husband Anthony Minichiello) The incident has now sparked speculation the WAG could quit the series early 'We have a great team of creative forces driving the fresh series and with our production partner Matchbox Pictures, part of Universal International Studios, who first introduced fans to The Real Housewives franchise, we can't wait to introduce Australians to the new group of Sydney housewives, in this reimagined series.' Rumours circulated at the end of last year that RHOS was getting a reboot with only two of the original cast members signing on. As reported in October, producers could only convince property developer Krissy March and beauty queen Nicole Gazal to return, leaving several empty spaces. PR queen Roxy Jacenko was a strong contender to take part in the series, but shut down the speculation in an interview with Daily Mail Australia. David 'Kochie' Koch recently announced his retirement from Sunrise after hosting the popular breakfast show for 21 years. And on Sunday, the veteran TV host, 67, revealed why he and his wife Libby never let fame get to their heads despite his success. 'We haven't got caught up in that TV bulls**t bubble that can lead you astray and give you an inflated opinion of yourself,' he told The Daily Telegraph. 'Weve never had that, and I'm thankful.' Libby, Kochie's wife of 44 years, also revealed to the publication that her husband actually asked her to keep him down to earth years ago. Retiring Sunrise host David 'Kochie' Koch (pictured), 67, has revealed it was his humble nature that helped him remain in the role for 21 years 'That was something we talked about when he started doing it. He was like, "You've got to keep me grounded - and I know you will keep me in check",' she said. 'I think because he's so down to earth and just such a regular guy it makes him more relatable, and probably gave him the longevity in the job.' Kochie and Libby have been married since 1979 and share four children, daughters Samantha, 42, Bree, 38, and Georgina, 32, and son Alexander, 35. 'We haven't got caught up in that TV bulls**t bubble that can lead you astray and give you an inflated opinion of yourself,' he told The Daily Telegraph. Pictured with Sunrise co-host Natalie Barr (left) Kochie and Libby (right) have been married since 1979 and share four children, daughters Samantha, 42, Bree, 38, and Georgina, 32, and son Alexander, 35 It comes days after Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed Matt 'Shirvo' Shirvington will be crowned as Kochie's successor after a three-year plan to prepare him for the top job. Insiders revealed he will have his role made official on June 5, just four days before Kochie films his final show as Sunrise host. The new appointment follows a carefully curated training process for the popular television presenter, 44, who is widely liked by Seven's top executives and viewers. It's understood Kochie himself has given Shirvo his 'blessing'. 'David believes Matt is a great fit and thinks he will do a fantastic job,' an insider told Daily Mail Australia. Australian rapper Flex Mami has slammed the lack of diversity on catwalks during an interview with Stellar magazine this week. Flex, real name Lillian Ahenkan, took aim at the current 'body positivity movement', saying it's become more about 'aesthetics' rather than challenging beauty standards. 'I think we just got so caught up on the aesthetics of it and we didn't really unpack how we felt about fatness or fat liberation, or if we could really challenge our ideas of prettiness,' she told the publication. Flex claimed fat liberation has become a 'conversation of platitudes', and people are refusing to 'evolve' on their 'journey' to questioning what body positivity actually means. The performer went on to make the comparison to feminism. Australian rapper Flex Mami (pictured) has slammed the lack of body diversity on catwalks as she says body positivity has become about 'aesthetics' instead of challenging beauty standards. Pictured What is the body positivity movement? The body positivity movement is a social movement that focuses on loving and accepting the body in an effort to improve self esteem. By challenging beauty standards, the movement promotes acceptance of all bodies, regardless of size, shape, skin tone, gender, and physical abilities. In recent years the movement has evolved to mainly focus on fat acceptance, which is often referred to as 'fat liberation'. Advertisement 'All these movements that are supposed to be journeys to something else, to a utopia, and then we just take them and use them as identifiers,' she said. 'Instead of ''I'm someone who's practising feminism for a better future'', I just simply am a feminist and I live in this stagnant position where I've decided what my thoughts and morals are, and there's no need to evolve them.' Flex Mami is as a DJ, influencer, podcaster and best-selling author of the book 'The Success Experiment'. At the beginning of 2021 she completed a brief stint as a Big Brother contestant, being voted off the show after surviving only two episodes. She hit the headlines again in 2021 as the face of Sydney's expensive rental crisis when she detailed fining a $650 apartment with no space for a fridge. Flex relayed her inspection nightmare in a video uploaded to TikTok, where she claimed the kitchen of the $650 property didn't have space for a fridge. 'So my lease is up and I've been looking for a place to live and I've got T-minus no time to find it,' she said, filming from her car. 'I think we just got so caught up on the aesthetics of it and we didn't really unpack how we felt about fatness or fat liberation, or if we could really challenge our ideas of prettiness,' she told the publication. Pictured Models backstage at Australian Fashion Week this year 'So I've been going to house inspection, after house inspection, after inspection.' 'I went to go see an apartment that was $650 a week,' she continued, adding: 'Why do I walk into the apartment and see no place for a fridge?' Pointing out the design flaw to the real estate agent she asked what the previous tenants did to accommodate the layout. 'All these movements that are supposed to be journeys to something else, to a utopia, and then we just take them and use them as identifiers,' she added Claiming the agent said the tenants 'never mentioned' their trouble finding a space for the fridge, she asked the realtor for her suggestions. 'She says, do you know what could work really well?' Claimed Flex Mami. 'Put the fridge in the living area.' She looked into the camera and laughed off the incident. Karl Stefanovic and his wife Jasmine have revealed their three-year-old daughter Harper's health battle. The couple rushed Harper to hospital last year as she struggled to breathe and she was treated for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Jasmine admitted in a press release this week: 'The first time Karl and I heard the letters RSV was when Harper was in hospital struggling to breathe.' 'Initially, Harper had the sniffles and a cough, and we assumed she just had a bit of a cold.' 'But within hours, she deteriorated; it was alarming to see how hard she was working to breathe, with her little ribs sucking in and tummy pulling up into her chest.' Karl Stefanovic and his wife Jasmine have revealed their three-year-old daughter Harper's health battle after rushing her to hospital as she 'struggled to breathe'. (All pictured) Karl added: 'While Harper fought off the infection, we do worry about the impact of RSV on her long-term health.' Karl previously spoke about the terrifying experience on the Today show last year, revealing how Harper had 'the sniffles and a small cough', which led to him and Jasmine taking her to the GP. But her condition soon deteriorated, with her temperature reaching a dangerous 40C and her heart rate racing to 200bpm. The couple rushed Harper to hospital last year as she struggled to breathe and she was treated for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) She was then rushed to hospital in an ambulance and diagnosed with RSV, which is common in children in the winter months. 'Two days ago, my daughter Harper had what's she had so many times this year, a sniffle and a small cough,' Karl told viewers at the time. 'Within a few hours we gave her Nurofen and Panadol like advised and put her down for a sleep. 'Initially, Harper had the sniffles and a cough, and we assumed she just had a bit of a cold. But within hours, she deteriorated; it was alarming to see how hard she was working to breathe, with her little ribs sucking in and tummy pulling up into her chest,' Jasmine explained 'When she woke up she was breathing really quickly, wheezing, and her heart rate and temperature were through the roof.' RSV - respiratory syncytial virus - is a major cause of lung infections in children and can lead to pneumonia or bronchiolitis, which is particularly dangerous in young infants. Severe cases can kill babies and toddlers, whose tiny airways have not yet fully formed and who struggle to cope with the infection. Globally, almost 120,000 children under five die from the disease every year. Britney Spears uploaded a sweet throwback photo of her son, Sean, in a new Instagram post shared on Saturday. The Baby One More Time hitmaker, 41, who recently agreed to let her two sons move to Hawaii with ex-husband, Kevin Federline, could be seen strolling through a parking lot while holding her eldest son in her arms. The songstress had worn a long-sleeved, ruffled blue blouse along with a pair of dark gray denim shorts in the throwback snap. In the caption of the star's latest post, she simply penned to her 42.1 million fans and followers two pink rose emojis. The photo comes shortly after Britney gave her consent to allow her sons Sean, 17, and Jayden, 16, to move to the Aloha state with their father, Federline, who has sole custody of the boys. Throwback time: Britney Spears, 41, uploaded a sweet throwback photo of her son, Sean, in a new Instagram post shared on Saturday; seen with her son Sean (right) and Jayden (left) in 2013 Kevin will also leave sunny California with his current wife, Victoria Prince. In the past, Spears and the former backup dancer had been married from 2004 until their divorce was finalized in 2007. A source exclusively told DailyMail.com the pop icon has 'always been a loving and supportive mother' and has never opposed the plan for her sons to relocate -despite Federline threatening court action over an alleged failure of response from Spears on the relocation request. The source said, 'Britney loves her children, has always supported them, and wants them to be happy.' 'Putting aside that she is an icon, loved and respected by millions throughout the world, she has been a loving and supportive mother, faithfully supporting her children.' The source also slammed Federline for creating a 'false dispute' when Spears has never interfered with his plan to move their children to Hawaii. This comes after Federline gave ex Spears a deadline to approve his plan to move their sons to Hawaii-or threatened to go to court to get a judge to sanction the move. Federline's lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, told TMZ he had asked Spears' lawyer, Mathew Rosengart 'several times' to send a letter or email stating the popstar is 'okay with the move' but he has not received anything. Kaplan said Federline plans to move August 1 and has to sort accommodation while his wife has a job offer at a local university but has yet to accept. Preparing for a move: The photo comes shortly after Britney gave her consent to allow her sons Sean, 17, and Jayden, 16, to move to the Aloha state with their father, Federline, who has sole custody of the boys Giving her consent: A source exclusively told DailyMail.com the pop icon has 'always been a loving and supportive mother' and has never opposed the plan for her sons to relocate Kaplan added 'there should be no issue' with the two boys, saying Federline has 100% legal custody and 100% de facto physical custody, and claims Spears has not seen her sons in 'more than a year.' Kaplan also said he had given Rosengart a deadline of Friday to respond - after which he will file legal documents asking for a move-away order. The move could not be sanctioned without either a formal waiver from the star or a court order. DailyMail.com contacted Federline and Spears' lawyers for comment at the time. While making plans to leave Los Angeles, Kevin and his wife, Victoria, have been sued by a private Christian school located in California due to owing over $15,000 in tuition and unpaid fees for their two daughters-Jordan and Peyton, reported Page Six. The college preparatory institution officially filed a civil lawsuit against the couple last month in May, claiming that the two 'have an outstanding balance of $15,593 for their daughters Jordan and Peytons schooling.' In court documents obtained by the publication, both Kevin and Victoria breached a contract signed on August 1, 2018 'by failing to pay for services which had been provided on credit at their special instance and request.' The school also claims it previously demanded payment but that Federline and Prince allegedly 'failed and refused' to pay and still 'fail and refuse to pay all or any part of the remaining balance due.' Big supporter: The source said, 'Britney loves her children, has always supported them, and wants them to be happy' 'All is good': Britney and Sam will celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary on June 9, with a source telling DailyMail.com that 'All is good' with their marriage The school is also asking for 10 per cent interest per annum from May 26, 2019 and attorney fees, in addition to the $15,593. Britney's recent Instagram post also comes after reports that she has been facing marital issues with husband, Sam Asghari. The couple will celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary later this month on June 9. Despite the two allegedly facing problems in their marriage, a source informed DailyMail.com that all was well. 'All is good,' the insider expressed. 'Sam is working on a project and she is on a vacation with [manager] Cade [Hudson].' The two recently were seen enjoying a relaxing hike in a post uploaded by the actor last month in May. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Disgraced professional cyclist Lance Armstrong recently headed to Australia to star in a new reality series called Stars on Mars. The drug cheat, 51, is a contestant on the U.S reality show which sees a group of U.S. celebrities compete on a landscape designed to mimic the arid plains of Mars. The series was filmed in the South Australian opal mining town of Coober Pedy, and was partially funded by Australian tax dollars via the Federal Governments Location Incentive. The South Australian Film Corporation, a government organisation that funds local film productions, recently admitted to 7News it was 'unaware' that Armstrong would be appearing on the show. Stars on Mars is hosted by legendary Star Trek actor William Shatner, 92, and features a bevy of American stars including wrestler Ronda Rousey, 36, and Modern Family star Ariel Winter, 25. Disgraced professional cyclist Lance Armstrong (pictured) recently headed to Australia to star in a gripping new reality series called Stars on Mars 'It's the most realistic celebrity Mars colony simulation ever created,' Shatner says in a trailer. Seven-times Tour De France champion Armstrong had his titles stripped from him in October 2012 following a lengthy investigation. The American doping cheat finally admitted in 2013 he took performance-enhancing drugs for most of his career in an infamous tell-all interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey. He was the only cyclist to ever win seven consecutive titles between 1999 and 2005, which now have no official winner following the doping revelations. The series was filmed in the South Australian opal mining town of Coober Pedy, and was partially funded by Australian tax dollars via the Federal Governments Location Incentive. Pictured: Host William Shatner The South Australian Film Corporation, a government organisation that funds local film productions, recently admitted to 7News it was 'unaware' that Armstrong would be appearing on the show. Pictured: Armstrong celebrating after winning the Tour De France in 2002. He was subsequently stripped of the title Armstrong and his co-stars will be guided by Shatner in Mission Control, who will get them to participate in a series of challenging tasks on the barren landscape. Celebrities will be eliminated one-by-one as the challenges become more difficult, with only one winning the title of 'brightest star in the galaxy'. The series has already broken the record for the most expensive unscripted production ever filmed in SA and has created over 250 jobs for locals. The series is hosted by legendary Star Trek actor William Shatner, 92, and features a bevy of American stars including wrestler Ronda Rousey, 36, and Modern Family star Ariel Winter, 25 While Stars on Mars is the biggest production shot in SA, it is by no means the first with some of Hollywood's cult classic films having been shot there. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Pitch Black and The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert all had sets based in Coober Pedy. Stars on Mars premieres on Fox in the U.S. on Monday, June 5 - an Australian broadcaster is yet to be confirmed. Australian influencer Jade Kevin Foster has endured a shocking health scare after falling off a motorcycle while celebrating his birthday in Bali. The Byron Baes star was visiting a trendy restaurant at Berawa Beach with a colleague when he decided to travel home via a rented motorcycle. The trip took a horrific turn when Jade fell off the back of the vehicle and began experiencing a seizure. An ambulance rushed Jade to hospital, where he spent eight hours in the emergency room recovering. 'I had a tonic-clonic seizure, my body convulsed and I swallowed my tongue,' Jade exclusively told Daily Mail Australia on Sunday. Australian influencer Jade Kevin Foster endured a shocking health scare on Friday after falling off a motorcycle while celebrating his birthday in Bali. He is pictured being rushed to hospital after the incident The Byron Baes star was visiting a trendy restaurant at Berawa Beach with a colleague when he decided to travel home via a rented motorcycle. He is pictured in Bali before the incident 'I was spitting out blood and they used a spoon handle to get my tongue out of my throat and then wedged the spoon to keep my mouth open,' he said. Just four days, earlier Jade had embarked on a week-long detox program, following a stint of wild birthday festivities. The near-death experience has since given Jade a new perspective on life. What is a tonic-clonic seizure? A tonic-clonic seizure causes a loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions. Usually, a tonic-clonic seizure is caused by epilepsy. But sometimes this type of seizure can be triggered by other health problems. Very low blood sugar, a high fever, impact to the head or a stroke can cause a tonic-conic seizure. Many people who have a tonic-clonic seizure never have another one and don't need treatment. But someone who has recurrent seizures may need treatment with daily anti-seizure medicines to control and prevent future tonic-clonic seizures. Source: Mayo Clinic Advertisement The trip took a horrific turn when Jade fell off the back of the vehicle and began experiencing a seizure 'This incident sparked a profound realisation, a wake-up call reminding me of the importance of consistent self-care and the incredible resilience of our bodies,' Jade said. 'It's a reminder to all of us that we should prioritise our well-being, taking conscious steps to nurture ourselves physically and mentally, he added. Jade also shared his revelation via Instagram after the incident, uploading a video taken inside the ambulance alongside a sombre caption. 'I had a tonic-clonic seizure, my body convulsed and I swallowed my tongue,' Jade exclusively told Daily Mail Australia on Sunday Jade also shared his revelation via Instagram after the incident, uploading a video taken inside the ambulance alongside a sombre caption. 'I'm so lucky to be alive', he wrote 'The most horrid and scariest thing happened to me last night in Bali. I'm so lucky to be alive', he wrote, before thanking his friend for their support. 'I had my first ever seizure, fell back and slammed my head on the concrete. Wouldn't wish it upon anybody. All I can say is this has been a massive wake up call in so many ways,' he continued. '1 - for the people that are really truly there for me i my life and care about me, and 2 - how it's really important to trust your body and stay as healthy as possible,' he added. The life-altering experience came just a week after Jade was being named Australia's first male ambassador for Playboy's new online platform Centerfold The life-altering experience came just a week after Jade was being named Australia's first male ambassador for Playboy's new online platform Centerfold. 'This is one of the biggest, most exciting projects that I've ever worked on,' the glamazon previously Daily Mail Australia of his new project. 'I feel as if though Playboy has always been about really good looking girls and, you know, sexy and confident [people]. And I feel like now I'm a part of it,' he said. Jade started working with Playboy in 2017 an underwear model, before becoming the brand's official Pride ambassador for Mardi Gras. Playboy's US headquarters subsequently asked Jade to become Australia's first male Centrefold star, an offer he describes as a 'dream come true'. Channel Ten has shared the cast for the new season of Dessert Masters, a dessert-themed spin-off of MasterChef Australia. The network's Instagram account shared a cast photo featuring several MasterChef stars including Reynold Poernomo, Jess Lemon and Anna Polyviou posing on set for a group photo. Also in the cast this year is Morgan Hipworth, Andrew Bowden, Kay-Lene Tan and dessert king, Adriano Zumbo The series will be hosted by Melissa Leong and international chef Amaury Guichon, with a $100,00 prize on offer for the winner. 'Our cast for Dessert Masters is a loaded-to-the-gills, top-of-the-pops, creme de la creme of Australia's pastry industry,' Melissa said of the cast. Channel Ten shares the cast of Dessert Masters with it set to air later this year - with some MasterChef favourites in the cast for the spin-off. (Cast pictured) 'It doesn't get any better, more high calibre, more magical than these chefs, who all bring their own unique take on sweet creations to their own worlds.' Co-host Amaury Guichon was equally impressed with the calibre of those competing in the new season. 'I am so happy to be in Australia to experience its unique pastry scene and be a part of Dessert Masters,' he said. Also in the cast this year is Morgan Hipworth, Andrew Bowden, and Kay-Lene Tan and dessert king Adriano Zumbo (pictured) European chef Amaury Guichon (right), who is a social media sensation, will be joining Melissa Leong (right) as a host of Channel 10's new MasterChef spin off show Dessert Masters 'What I've experienced so far, I haven't seen in a long time a tight knit community of chefs who share great camaraderie, skill and passion for their craft.' Dessert just wrapped up filming in Melbourne. Guichon is no stranger to TV as he previously fronted the Netflix series School of Chocolate. Leong has meanwhile been a host and judge for the MasterChef Australia franchise since 2020. The food critic first began her TV career on Netflix's The Chef's Line in 2016 and now she is going head first into the world of deserts with the new Channel 10 show. Kylie Jenner shared a series of snaps after returning to Los Angeles from Paris on Saturday. The 25-year-old reality TV personality took to Instagram to show off her various outfits from her time in France with Kardashian matriarch, Kris Jenner, and family friend, Yris Palmer. With her post, the entrepreneur also documented jet-setting off to the City of Lights with her close entourage and without any of her sisters this past week. The Kylie Cosmetics founder captioned the carousel with simply an Earth globe and a heart hands emoji. Recently, The Kardashians star was romantically linked to actor Timothee Chalamet and has been reportedly spending a lot of time 'hanging out' at his mansion in Beverly Hills. Serving looks! Kylie Jenner, 25, took to Instagram to show off her various outfits from a recent trip to Paris with Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner and friend Yris Palmer Glamour: For another look, she rocked a strapless minidress with a white scarf wrapped around her head and black heels as she posed in front of a grand piano with her mother, 67 In one of the snaps, the social media personality looked up and away from the camera as she posed seductively with a cherry in her mouth. Jenner flaunted her curves in the bright white, halter-style minidress with corset ribbing at the waist and a flared A-line skirt. The SoCal native donned a dainty gold bracelet as well as a pair of stud earrings that peeked out from behind her raven black tresses. She looked elegant with her hair pinned back into a loose, casual updo and sported a minimal makeup look. She appeared to be wearing a generous amount of rosy pink blush and highlighter to highlight her cheekbones. Jenner also emphasized her bright eyes with full, fluttering eyelashes and finished off her look with a mauve pink lip. For another sophisticated look, she modeled a cream cropped blazer jacket with a voluminous miniskirt. The socialite teamed the chic set with a pair of classic, black pumps with a chunky heel. Sophisticated: For another look, she modeled a cream cropped blazer jacket with a voluminous miniskirt, which she teamed with a pair of classic, black pumps with a chunky heel Cherries: Another photo saw her snacking on cherries while wearing an elegant white dress Elegant: She was also seen taking a ride through the city in a luxurious vehicle with a lit-up interior in a stylish black dress The mother-of-two who shares daughter Stormi, five, and son Aire, one, with her ex-boyfriend and rapper, Travis Scott lifted her skirt up slightly and propped one of her legs up in the sultry photo. Posing in front of a window, the lighting highlighted her silhouette as she stood to the side, facing away from the camera. In another photo, she was seen taking a ride through the city in a luxurious vehicle with a lit-up interior. She posed against the window as the car pulled up next to a display of herself in the Dolce & Gabbana storefront window. She donned a stylish black tea dress with a halter style and deep V-neckline. Jenner left her dark, sleek hair down but swept back her tresses with one hand to show off a pair of vintage gold earrings. In the photo, she rocked a pair of retro sunglasses and appeared to be wearing the same dainty bracelet from her previous look. Later, she posed while looking out of a large open patio window wearing the same ensemble. In the photo, she was seen toting around a black clutch and classic pumps. City of Lights: Later, she posed while looking out of a large open patio window wearing the same ensemble. In the photo, she was seen toting around a black clutch and classic pumps Jet-setter: Finally, Jenner shared a photo of the scenic view outside of her plane window during her travels For another look, she rocked a strapless, figure-hugging minidress with a white scarf wrapped around her head. She rocked shiny black heels as she posed in front of a grand piano with her mother. She sat on the piano bench and served an animated expression while the businesswoman, 67, posed standing with one of her feet up on the bench. In the nighttime photo, the television producer donned a chartreuse, silk hooded robe over a black camisole and teamed with the matching loose trousers. The mother-daughter duo both sported rectangular-framed sunglasses for the glamorous snap. She also shared a mirror selfie of herself with Palmer as the pals showed off their girls' night out looks. Jenner looked effortlessly stylish in a a pair of black pumps and a camel-colored set featuring a tight-fitting miniskirt and a wrap blazer jacket. Fueling dating rumors: It comes after Kylie was spotted pulling up to Timothee Chalamet's Beverly Hills residence on Thursday morning, amid a rumored romance; seen in 2023 Once again, she opted for a light glam and left her hair down in a sleek, straight style. The celebrity lash extension expert and beauty influencer donned an open blazer with a silver-trimmed, wavy design and short shorts. Finally, Jenner shared a photo of the scenic view outside of her plane window during her travels. While flying above the clouds, she appeared to be enjoying a pastel-colored sunrise above the romantic city. Jay Leno was spotted while going for a ride in one of his vintage cars in Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon. The 73-year-old television personality appeared to be making the most of his time behind the wheel as he kept his vehicle's top town and enjoyed the pleasant springtime weather during his trip. The comedian, who recently showed his support for the striking members of the Writer's Guild of America, kept it casual in a light blue denim button-up shirt as he took to the open road. Leno recently opened up about his recovery process after suffering back-to-back accidents involving motor vehicles during an interview with People. The former host of The Tonight Show suffered numerous burns after one of his cars burst into flames at his Burbank garage this past November. Rolling out: Jay Leno was spotted while going for a ride in one of his vintage cars in Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon Taking it easy: The 73-year-old television personality appeared to be making the most of his time behind the wheel as he kept his vehicle's top town and enjoyed the pleasant springtime weather during his trip The performer was admitted to a burn ward following the incident and he was forced to cancel several appearances during his recovery period. However, Leno spoke to TMZ and told the media outlet that he remained optimistic about his future despite going through the ordeal. He also expressed that he would only require 'a week or two to get back on my feet.' The comedian went on to suffer various injuries after falling off a motorcycle this past January. The television personality was left with numerous broken bones after his second accident. Leno insisted that he was on the mend during his sit-down with People, during which he remained optimistic about his health. 'I've got a broken collar bone and two broken ribs and a couple cracked knee caps, but I'm okay,' he said. The performer then stated that he was uninterested in drawing sympathy from the public and wanted to recover on his own terms. Speaking his mind: Leno recently opened up about his recovery process after suffering back-to-back accidents involving motor vehicles during an interview with People; he is seen in 2004 Keeping his head up: Leno insisted that he was on the mend during his sit-down, during which he remained optimistic about his health; he is seen in 2007 Taking it in stride: The performer concluded by joking that his wife, Mavis, was not going to try and dissuade him from his motor vehicle-centric hobbies after his various accidents; he is seen in 2022 'When you're in show business people fawn all over you. And if you start whining and complaining about it you're a whiny, complaining actor. It's better if you just make jokes about it and have fun,' he said. Leno added: 'Pain is constant, so if it's constant you're okay. Pain from a burn, after a while you get used to it and eventually it goes away, but it's not terrible.' The performer concluded by joking that his wife, Mavis, was not going to try and dissuade him from his motor vehicle-centric hobbies after his various accidents. He remarked that his wife was 'fine with everything. As long as it's not other women and cocaine, I'm fine. It's better to catch on fire than be with another woman!' AFL WAG Alex Fevola, 46, and daughter Mia, 23, are fixtures on the Melbourne social scene. But the mother-daughter duo swapped their red carpet gowns for stylish work attire on Saturday as they headed to their family's Runway Room beauty salon in Armadale. Makeup artist Alex looked sensational in a pair of white pants, a black shirt and olive blazer. The fiancee of Brendan Fevovla wore her trademark blonde tresses down and paired her look with stylish, black-rimmed glasses. At one stage, the mother-of-four was seen patting two poodles outside the new office. AFL WAG Alex Fevola, 46, and her model daughter Mia, 23, (pictured) swapped their red carpet gowns for stylish work attire on Saturday as they headed to their family's Runway Room beauty salon in Armadale Mia wrapped up from the winter chill in a cream puffer jacket, black top and wide-leg baby blue pants. The brunette carried her Apple iPhone and a small white handbag over her forearm. She finished her look with a pair of stylish spectacles and wore her hightlighted tresses in a low bun. It comes after Brendan revealed that he and Alex wouldn't be getting remarried on their upcoming holiday following their second engagement seven years ago. Makeup artist Alex (pictured) looked sensational in a pair of white pants, a black shirt and olive blazer The footy turned radio star, 42, revealed to the Herald Sun he wanted to elope on their trip, but Alex put the brakes on the idea for the pair. 'We're going overseas in the mid (radio) survey break and I said to Al, why don't we get married where we're going and she said no,' Brendan said. The pair were married in 2005, but are now engaged to be married again. 'So I think we'll just elope,' he said. 'We've already been married, people are like you're doing it again?' Mia wrapped up from the winter chill in a cream puffer jacket, black top and wide-leg baby blue pants Brendan said he thinks the couple's four children will 'appreciate' it. 'Think that's why we'll just do it so the girls get to appreciate it. I want to do that think that would be really beautiful just the family, but then I'd want everyone to be there so we can get on it. I don't think Al's as keen as me,' he said. Alex admitted it would be hard to fit in a wedding while looking after the couple's four girls and her beauty business empire. Brendan and makeup artist Alex couple married in 2005 but divorced in 2014. It comes after Brendan (left) revealed that he and Alex wouldn't be getting remarried on their upcoming holiday following their second engagement seven years ago Their separation was short-lived however, with the pair reuniting later that same year, before getting engaged in 2016. Shortly after being crowned the winner of the 2016 season of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, Brendan proposed to Alex - for the second time - in front of their children. Brendan adopted Mia after marrying her mother in 2005 and the couple are proud parents to three other daughters, Leni, 12, Lulu, eight, Tobi, two. Brendan adopted Mia after marrying her mother in 2005 and the couple are proud parents to three other daughters, Leni, 12, Lulu, eight, Tobi, two (all pictured) At the time, Brendan told radio host Dave Thornton on the Fifi and Dave show: 'I was a bit nervous, I didn't think she'd say yes.' 'Because we've been married before and obviously been divorced. It was really beautiful with the kids there.' It comes after Alex lifted the lid on her often controversial marriage and separation from Brendan in her recent memoir Silver Linings. The hugely successful tome left no stoned unturned, including the AFL great's affair with Lara Bingle. Eva Longoria looked chic as ever at the Hulu and Searchlight Pictures screening of her upcoming film, Flamin' Hot, at Plaza de Cultura y Artes in Los Angeles on Friday. The Desperate Housewives star, 48, put her toned arms on display in a pastel pink jumpsuit with a cinched in waist. The actress wore her brunette tresses pulled into a chic bun for the event and opted for smokey makeup. She accessorized with dangling earrings and wore bright red polish on her nails for the occasion. Flamin' Hot is Longoria's feature directorial debut, which tells the true story of Richard Montanez - a janitor who claims to have invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Pretty in pink: Eva Longoria looked chic as ever at the Hulu and Searchlight Pictures screening of her upcoming film Flamin' Hot at Plaza de Cultura y Artes in Los Angeles on Friday A vision! The Desperate Housewives star, 48, put her toned arms on display in a pastel pink jumpsuit with a cinched in waist While at the event she posed with the star of her film Jesse Garcia, 40, who looked dapper in a navy short-sleeve shirt. Others at the screening included DeVon Franklin, Linda Yvette Chavez, Annie Gonzalez, Bobby Soto, Jimmy Gonzalez, and Eric Marc. Later on Longoria was pictured speaking onstage while inside. The trailer Flamin' Hot was released on Searchlight Pictures' official YouTube account earlier last month. The clip followed the story of Montanez, played by Garcia, a former janitor for Frito-Lay who claims to have invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos during his tenure with the company. The cast was rounded out by performers such as Annie Gonzalez, Dennis Haysbert and Tony Shalhoub, who portray Judy Montanez, Clarence Baker and Roger Enrico, respectively. Flamin' Hot was based on Richard's book A Boy, a Burrito and a Cookie: From Janitor to Executive, which was published in 2013. The former janitor went on to assume an executive role at PepsiCo and became a motivational speaker. Her star: While at the event she posed with the star of her film Jesse Garcia, 40, who looked dapper in a navy short-sleeve shirt All together! Others at the event included DeVon Franklin, Linda Yvette Chavez, Annie Gonzalez, Bobby Soto, Jimmy Gonzalez, and Eric Marc Inside: She was pictured speaking onstage inside the event Debut: Flamin' Hot is Longoria's directorial debut, which tells the true story of Richard Montanez - a janitor who claims to have invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos In hot water: However a 2021 article from the Los Angeles Times cast doubt on his story about the snack's invention, with a spokesperson for Frito-Lay stating that 'none of our records show that Richard was involved in any capacity in the Flamin' Hot test market' Coming soon! The film is currently scheduled to be released to the public through the Hulu and Disney+ streaming services on June 9 However, a 2021 article from the Los Angeles Times cast doubt on his story about the snack's invention, and a spokesperson for Frito-Lay stated: 'None of our records show that Richard was involved in any capacity in the Flamin' Hot test market.' The spokesperson added: 'That doesn't mean we don't celebrate Richard, but the facts do not support the urban legend.' According to the story, Richard did rise from a janitorial position to a role in the company's marketing department and 'pitched new product initiatives' during his time at the company. Development on Flamin' Hot was revealed to the public in 2019, when Longoria signed on to helm the feature. The film premiered this past March as part of the South By Southwest festival in Austin. Flamin' Hot is currently scheduled to be released to the public through the Hulu and Disney+ streaming services on June 9. Tommy Lee's wife Brittany Furlan finds it 'odd' that fans of the rocker are hoping him and his ex-wife Pamela Anderson will get back together. The internet personality, 36, has been married to Lee since 2019, however there has been continued interest in the musician, 60, and his Baywatch ex, 55, to reunite, especially since the release of Pamela's documentary. 'All the people being like, "Oh, they need to be back together. They are each others soulmates" and all this weird s**t. Im like, "You guys, my husband, if he wanted to be back with her, would be back with her in two seconds."' Brittany told People. 'They act like this is all new. Theyve been separated for a long time, even before I came along. It was just odd to deal with a lot of that stuff. I get that people try to romanticize things that they make up in their head or whatever, but it is really strange,' she added. It comes some four months after Brittany posted a TikTok video, in which she joked that Pamela wouldn't care if she died. 'Odd': Tommy Lee's wife Brittany Furlan, 36, finds it 'odd' that fans of the rocker, 60, are hoping him and his ex-wife Pamela Anderson, 55, will get back together Soulmates? 'All the people being like, "Oh, they need to be back together. They are each others soulmates" and all this weird s**t. Im like, "You guys, my husband, if he wanted to be back with her, would be back with her in two seconds,"' Brittany told People; Pamela and Tommy seen in 1997 Pamela and Tommy were married from 1995 to 1998 and share two sons together. Their union appeared to get a jolt of renewed interest and attention with the release of Hulu's biographical drama miniseries Pam & Tommy in February 2022, and then again with Anderson's Netflix documentary Pamela, A Love Story, where she tells her story in her own words, this past January. And now Brittany is finding the need to explain her motivation for the TikTok clip that caused a firestorm of controversy. In the new interview Brittany described the since-deleted video as 'so stupid.' 'I was literally saying if I died and then all these people were like, "Oh my God, you're talking about if she died, how you would think it's funny." I'm like, "What are you talking about?" the Perkasie, Pennsylvania native explained. 'Thats another thing with me I just feel like people constantly try to flip stuff around and just make it like I'm this bad, horrible person and I'm totally not. I'm always just trying to find a joke.' Furlan also addressed the fans' seemingly endless fascination with Tommy and Pam as a couple, calling it 'strange', 25 years after they finalized their divorce and went their separate ways. All the hoopla over the video dates back to February. In the TikTok clip, Furlan gave herself a '90s Pam filter' and did her imitation of 'Pam if I died': 'She passed away? Oh, hmmm, alright.' 'Strange': 'Theyve been separated for a long time, even before I came along. It was just odd to deal with a lot of that stuff. I get that people try to romanticize things that they make up in their head or whatever, but it is really strange,' she added Former pair: Pamela and Tommy were married from 1995 to 1998 and share two sons together; pictured in January 1996 Going strong: Furlan has been married to Lee since 2019; the two seen in 2023 She followed up in the caption: 'Pls guys I gotta make jokes, it's how I cope,' but still show would be deluged with criticism anyway, leading to her to delete the clip. In the day afterwards, the comedian defended her video and said people 'mistook' what she said about the Playboy cover girl. Long before the TikTok clip, Furlan appeared to be hurt by comments Anderson made following a much-publicized altercation between Lee and his son Brandon, 26, whom he shares with the former Baywatch star. In a letter she published, the former Playboy Playmate called the rocker a 'disaster spinning out of control,' and put some of the blame on Furlan, his then fiancee, by writing how she 'keeps him drunk this is what he wants someone to behave badly with.' 'In the beginning, people were like, "Oh, she's always been so nice about you," but they don't know what goes on behind closed doors,' she said of the situation, adding, 'I'm the one that got my husband sober and has helped him stay sober.' Furlan went on to call Anderson's accusation 'so wrong and 'so awful'. Scathing: Furlan caused a stir on TikTok when she gave herself a '90s Pam filter' and did her imitation of 'Pam if I died': 'She passed away? Oh, hmmm, alright' 'I was literally saying if I died and then all these people were like, "Oh my God, you're talking about if she died, how you would think it's funny." I'm like, "What are you talking about?" the comedian said, before adding that she's 'always just trying to find a joke'; the comedian is seen doing stand-up in May 2023 'I just won't forget that. You know what I'm saying? Then now she's like, "Oh, I'm so happy for them." But that's to the public. I don't really I don't know.' Furlan may have been referring to Anderson's comments she made during an interview on The Howard Stern Show in January, where she expressed her support of her ex-husband's marriage to Furlan. When it comes to all the attention on the Pam and Tommy saga of yesteryear, Lee has let his wife know that's he's 'very moved on' from all the drama. 'We don't live in the past,' Furlan maintained. 'Everyone else seems to stay in the past and talk about the past all the time, but we're living our life. This is our story. We don't even have conversations about that because that's not a part of our life.' Bindi Irwin celebrated what would have been her parents 31st wedding anniversary on Sunday. The Wildlife Warrior, 24, shared a throwback photo of Terri and Steve posing together on a beach. Dressed in their Australia Zoo khaki uniforms, the couple are seen smiling cheek to in front of a white ute. 'A love like this is eternal. Happy Anniversary to my extraordinary parents,' Bindi captioned the photo. Steve, known to millions around the world as 'the Crocodile Hunter', died on September 4, 2006, at the age of 44 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray while filming a documentary on the Great Barrier Reef. Bindi Irwin celebrated what would have been her parents 31st wedding anniversary on Sunday The Wildlife Warrior, 24, shared a throwback photo of Terri and Steve posing together on a beach. Dressed in their Australia Zoo khaki uniforms, the couple are seen smiling cheek to in front of a white ute Bindi was just eight years old at the time. Steve's family has carried on his mission to promote and protect wildlife through Australia Zoo, with the family global stars. Steve has clearly been on Bindi's mind with the star promoting new luxury lodgings at Australia Zoo earlier this week, calling it 'Steve's dream' Steve's family has carried on his mission to promote and protect wildlife through Australia Zoo, with the family global stars. They just opened new luxe lodging at the zoo. (L) Chandler Powell 'I remember being a little girl and sitting at our big meeting table while my mum [Terri] and dad planned for the future with the Australia Zoo team,' Bindi recently wrote on Instagram. 'Dad's big dream for the future was to create luxury accommodation like no other for our guests,' she added. 'With his dream accomplished and continuing to expand, I hope he'd be proud of the love and passion we've all poured into this project.' David 'Kochie' Koch announced his retirement from Sunrise recently, after hosting the hit breakfast show for 21 years. And the television host appeared relaxed and happy on Sunday as he made his way through Sydney Airport with his wife, Libby. The veteran TV host, 67, was all smiles as he made his way through the terminal wheeling along his luggage. David was dressed casually in a black jumper and dark blue jeans, as well as a leather dress shoes. Libby also dressed down in a pale pink hoodie with a black shirt underneath and grey skinny jeans. David 'Kochie' Koch (pictured) appeared relaxed and happy on Sunday as he made his way through Sydney Airport with his wife, Libby Kochie recently revealed why he and his wife Libby never let fame get to their heads despite his success. 'We haven't got caught up in that TV bulls**t bubble that can lead you astray and give you an inflated opinion of yourself,' he told The Daily Telegraph. 'We've never had that, and I'm thankful.' Libby, Kochie's wife of 44 years, also revealed to the publication that her husband actually asked her to keep him down to earth years ago. 'That was something we talked about when he started doing it. He was like, "You've got to keep me grounded - and I know you will keep me in check",' she said. 'I think because he's so down to earth and just such a regular guy it makes him more relatable, and probably gave him the longevity in the job.' Libby (left) dressed down in a pale pink hoodie with a black shirt underneath and grey skinny jeans while David was casual in a black jumper and blue jeans The veteran TV host, 67, made his way through the terminal wheeling along his luggage Kochie and Libby have been married since 1979 and share four children, daughters Samantha, 42, Bree, 38, and Georgina, 32, and son Alexander, 35. It comes days after Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed Matt 'Shirvo' Shirvington will be crowned as Kochie's successor after a three-year plan to prepare him for the top job. Insiders revealed he will have his role made official on June 5, just four days before Kochie films his final show as Sunrise host. The new appointment follows a carefully curated training process for the popular television presenter, 44, who is widely liked by Seven's top executives and viewers. It's understood Kochie himself has given Shirvo his 'blessing'. 'David believes Matt is a great fit and thinks he will do a fantastic job,' an insider told Daily Mail Australia. Kim Cattrall has opened up about her 'lovely' relationship with her partner Russell Thomas and chatted about her attitude towards ageing in a candid new interview. The Sex and the City actress, 66, told The Times that is 'very grateful' for her bond with Russell - a BBC audio engineer - saying they have a 'nice life' together. The pair met in 2016 after Kim recorded an essay about insomnia for BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour. She connected with Russell afterwards and the pair kept in touch before he flew out to Canada where she lives to visit. Speaking to the publication she said her previous relationships had always been 'instinctual' but that 'it was really gradual with Russ'. Icon: Kim Cattrall has opened up about her 'lovely' relationship with her partner Russell Thomas and chatted about her attitude towards ageing in a candid new interview Happy: The Sex and the City actress, 66, told The Times that is 'very grateful' for her bond with Russell - a BBC audio engineer - saying they have a 'nice life' together She added: 'Our lives were so separate and so different. 'It's a nice life and I'm very grateful for that.' Kim told how the Covid pandemic then 'locked them together' in a 'true test' of their relationship' but that they have been inseparable since, moving between New York, Canada and London. During the interview she also touched on ageing and her changing attitudes towards nips and tucks - after perviously saying she was against surgery when she was in her forties. She said: 'I'm in my sixties now and I'm all about battling ageing in every way I can. There are so many other alternatives now, treatments that stimulate your own body to fight ageing. 'But yes, if you have the money and, more importantly, the right surgeon. It can't be emphasised enough. You want to look like you!' 'It's not just a vanity thing. I play a certain kind of woman who looks a certain kind of way. And professionally I am looking after myself.' Before Russell, the Emmy-nominated actress was previously married to Larry Davis, although their marriage was annulled in 1979. Close: The pair met in 2016 after Kim recorded an essay about insomnia for BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour Sweet: She connected with Russell afterwards and the pair kept in touch before he flew out to Canada where she lives to visit Youth: During the interview she also touched on ageing and her changing attitudes towards nips and tucks - after perviously saying she was against surgery when she was in her forties She was subsequently married to Andre J. Lyson, and their union was formally dissolved in 1989. The star's third and final marriage was with Mark Levinson, and their time together lasted from 1998 until 2004. Cattrall eventually began a relationship with Thomas, and she often shares photos with her boyfriend to her Instagram account. The Big Trouble in Little China actress spoke about her romance during an interview with People, where she noted that her now-partner made quite the effort to see her during their earlier days. 'We kind of liked each other, we kept in touch and then he came out to Vancouver. It was very brave of him,' she said. Cattrall also stated that she and Thomas were initially unfamiliar with each other, although they quickly established a rapport. She recalled: 'We didn't really know each other other than having a few meals together. But he came and we got along great, and we've been together ever since!' The performer, who described her relationship with Thomas as 'so easy,' then spoke about why she enjoyed his presence. She stated: 'I'm very comfortable around him. He's a firecracker and he's got a wicked sense of humour. And he's easy on the eyes!' Cattrall also gave the media outlet a bit of insight into how she and her partner remain close. 'We have tea together every morning, and after lunch usually another cup to get through the day,' they said. The actress concluded by remarking: 'I love him, and he was worth waiting for.' It comes after it was exclusively revealed by DailyMail.com that Kim was convinced to join And Just Like That with promise of 'nice career boost and great payday' by her 'dear friend' and producer Darren Star. The iconic actress confirmed her shocking return as Sex And The City's Samantha Jones for the second season of the spin-off earlier this week - despite her explosive feud with co-star Sarah Jessica Parker. According to Variety, Kim will return for only one 'cliffhanger' scene, which she shot in New York City, without seeing or speaking with Sarah or their fellow leading ladies Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis. Now, a source close to the actress has revealed exactly what convinced Kim to sign up for a cameo on the sequel - which she admitted last year that she was 'never asked to be a part of'. According to the well-placed insider, fans of the show can thank show creator Darren, 61, for Samantha's upcoming return, with the source revealing that he was the one who convinced Kim that she needed to give the character a proper goodbye. Kim's decision to join the And Just Like That cast, even for just a short time, marks a big U-turn for the actress - who had previously insisted that she had no desire to be a part of the sequel in any way. 'What made her finally fold to do it now? It was her connection with her dear friend Darren Star, who created Sex that kept asking her to be a part of the show that finally convinced her to do it,' the insider shared. 'Kim decided if she was ever going to button up the character and then not be asked about it again, she should do it now. 'She is doing it for her friend Darren first. But she is also doing it as she realizes it will be a nice career boost and a great payday above all of that. 'She got to an understanding with Darren that she needed an amazing send-off and they figured it out. 'Everything has now fallen into place, Kim still can't believe she was convinced to do it, but she is going to do it and let the scene speak for itself. 'Sex And The City gave Kim so much, so she is giving the appropriate swan song and Kim hopes everyone is happy with the results.' However, Kim's return to the franchise has done little to change her frosty relationship with Sarah, 58, the source explained - revealing that while the two women have come to 'an understanding', there is likely no chance they will ever be friends in the future. 'Kim and Sarah both have an understanding, but [as for] them being friends in the future, don't hold your breath,' they said. The source continued that Kim was 'assured' her involvement in the show will give her a leg up within HBO's newly-revamped streaming service Max. 'She has also been reassured that this will open some more doors on projects that she wants to do that she would bring to Max when the time is right,' they continued. Kim's abrupt about face was also motivated by the fact that another project she had previously been a part of - the Fox series Filthy Rich - was canceled, despite her high hopes that it would 'have taken her to another level in her career', the source went on. 'Kim was really excited to work with [filmmaker] Tate Taylor on Filthy Rich and she really thought that was going to be her next big project and a show that she believed would have taken her to another level in her storied career as she still believes that the show should still be on TV,' the source shared. 'The show was being done right around the same time as And Just Like That and she knew she was going to be asked about it all the time and asked to be a part of that, but she didn't want to do it with her issues with Sarah. 'She was done. She loved her time playing Samantha, but she wanted to move on.' Interestingly, the decision to bring Samantha Jones back into the And Just Like That picture sits very much at odds with Sarah's own thoughts about it - with the actress insisting in February last year that she would not be 'OK' with Kim returning to the fold in light of everything her former co-star had said about their broken relationship. Return: It comes after it was exclusively revealed by DailyMail.com that Kim was convinced to join And Just Like That with promise of 'nice career boost and great payday' by her 'dear friend' and producer Darren Star Exciting: According to Variety, Kim will return for only one 'cliffhanger' scene, which she shot in New York City, without seeing or speaking with stars SJP, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis 'I don't think I would [be OK with Kim returning], because I think there's just too much public history of feelings on her part that she's shared,' she told Variety at the time. 'I haven't participated in or read articles, although people are inclined to let me know.' Sarah also confirmed that Kim had not been asked to be a part of the sequel series, explaining that the show's creators made the decision to move ahead without her after she turned down the opportunity to do a third Sex and the City movie. 'We didn't go to Kim for this, you know,' she said. 'After we didn't do the movie and the studio couldn't meet what she wanted to do, we have to hear her and listen to her and what was important to her.' Sarah Harris couldn't resist taking a savage swipe at Australia Post on The Sunday Project, causing ripples of laughter among the cast and audience members. During a news bulletin, Harris, 41, was discussing a future space voyage to one of Jupiter's moons where a microchip, containing a message, penned by poet Ada Limon, would be launched into space in October. It is expected to arrive at its destination by 2030. 'A bit faster than Australia Post,' Sarah quipped, setting off a round of chuckles in the studio audience. This comes after Sarah thought her time was up at Channel 10 before landing her current role on The Project. Sarah Harris couldn't resist taking a savage swipe at Australia Post on The Sunday Project, causing ripples of laughter among the cast and audience members. Pictured During a news bulletin, Harris, 41, was discussing a future space voyage to one of Jupiter's moons. Pictured with guest host Jessie Stevens (right) The Sydney-based host had taken to checking out job listings on LinkedIn before she was offered the high-profile hosting gig at the end of of 2022. With a year left on her contract at the network, Sarah said she was even thinking of a public service job with the NSW Department of Transport. The mother-of-two made the surprising comments during an interview on The Jess Rowe Big Show Talk Show podcast on Tuesday. Sarah told Rowe that a role on 10's flagship current affairs program The Project was not something she was looking for. 'I had a year left on my contract at 10,' she explained. As per the report, a microchip containing a message, penned by poet Ada Limon and carrying numerous signatures, would be launched into space in October and is expected to arrive at its destination by 2030. 'A bit faster than Australia Post,' she quipped, setting off a round of chuckles in the studio audience 'And it felt like things were wrapping up for me and I couldn't shake the feeling,' she continued. 'And I would find myself going onto Linkedin and saving job ads.' In a surprising admission, Harris said that a position at the NSW Department of Transport was one of the roles she'd had her eye on. 'I thought my kids love trains and I thought I would be able to get an Opal card for free and I could move into working more normal hours,' she added. Sarah explained that she had her post-media career planned out for herself, but had to 'throw that out' once The Project gig came up. 'And it was one of those things that I went, "If I dont say yes to this opportunity, and I hate having regrets, I will beat myself up over this if I dont say yes".' Former Studio 10 host Sarah Harris (pictured) has revealed that she thought her time was up at Channel 10 before landing her current role on The Project Sarah Abo was showing off her edgy style as she left the Today show studio this week. The television star appeared to be in a hurry as she headed to her vehicle wheeling along a small suitcase. The 37-year-old opted for a white top with corset style boning throughout, under a black leather jacket. She added a pair of blue jeans and sneakers to the ensemble, as well as a Newtown Jets cap. Sarah had on a full face of makeup with a warm toned bronzer and neutral lipstick while wearing her brunette locks down under her cap. Sarah Abo (pictured) was showing off her edgy style as she left the Today show studio this week. The television star appeared to be in a hurry as she headed to her vehicle wheeling along a small suitcase It comes after claims that tensions are rising with Sarah's Today show co-host Karl Stefanovic. Last week, it was reported that Stefanovic is earning $1.5million a year for his hosting duties while Abo brings home $800,000 a year. The rumoured pay gap has allegedly caused 'tension' between Stefanovic and Abo. 'The news of Karl's big pay cheque is anxiety inducing to say the least... Some are wondering why she isn't being more equally matched with Karl,' a source allegedly told New Idea. The 37-year-old opted for a white top with corset style boning throughout, under a black leather jacket She added a pair of blue jeans and sneakers to the ensemble, as well as a Newtown Jets cap 'If you were Sarah would you stay and put on a smile every day knowing full well you're being paid so much less than your male counterpart for doing the same job? I can imagine she's likely disappointed.' Channel Nine declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia. Back in 2017, Karl's former co-host Lisa Wilkinson quit Today over a reported pay dispute. The Nine Network were 'unable to meet her expectations' after she demanded equal pay with co-host Stefanovic. Helen Skelton looked nothing short of sensational on Saturday night, as she attended the British Soap Awards at The Lowry in Salford. The presenter, 39, took to the stage to present the best Single Episode award alongside Scott Mills. She dazzled in a bright coral gown that clung to her toned frame and boasted a plunging neckline. The daring outfit showed off her ample cleavage and was adorned with tiny diamonds along the top, for a touch of sparkle. Helen opted for zero jewellery to let her striking dress do the talking and wore her blonde locks in bouncy waves. Looking good: Helen Skelton looked nothing short of sensational on Saturday night, as she attended the British Soap Awards at The Lowry in Salford Eye-popping: She dazzled in a bright coral gown that clung to her toned frame and boasted a plunging neckline She completed the stunning look with a full face of glamorous make-up, including sparkly black smoky eyeshadow and pink lipstick. Her appearance comes after Helen detailed why she doesn't need sympathy in the wake of her split from ex-husband Richie Myler. The actress confirmed via her Instagram account on 25 April 2022, that she and Richie were no longer a couple, as he had left the family home. He has since welcomed a baby with his girlfriend Stephanie Thirkill, just one year after his split from Helen was announced. Speaking to Grazia, Helen was asked about her tricky time raising three children on her parents' farm after moving from Leeds to Cumbria following the separation. Choosing not to discuss her split from Richie, in any length, she simply said: 'My life's no different to millions of other people's lives. 'Lots of people have the same sorts of things to look after and sort out. I think life is fun, and short, and wonderful, and you just take each chapter as it comes along. There's no point overthinking stuff, you just get on with it.' Helen says that having three children means she doesn't have time to concern herself with other things. Split: The actress confirmed via her Instagram account on 25 April 2022, that she and ex-husband Richie Myler were no longer a couple, as he had left the family home Moved on: He has since welcomed a baby with his girlfriend Stephanie Thirkill, just one year after his split from Helen was announced Single mother: Helen and Richie have three children together, Ernie, seven, Louis, eight and Elsie, 14 months - Helen and her brood have moved from Leeds to Cumbria to reside on her parents' farm following the separation She continued: 'I've always got something to do because they always need something. I've loved my babies being babies because you've got no time to be stressed about anything else.' Helen and Richie are parents to Ernie, seven, Louis, eight and Elsie, 14 months. Helen is rumoured to have moved on too - after reports circulated that she has been 'going on casual dates' with Strictly professional Vito Coppola. But while she's aware that people are wondering if she is seeing anyone. she told Grazia this speculation misses the point of her busy, colourful life. Helen Mirren looked stunning in a pink dazzling dress as she attended the Ora! Film Festival on Sunday in Monopoli, Italy. The actress, 77, dressed to impress in a glamorous maxi dress which boasted silver glittering discs scattered on it. Her garment cinched her in at the waist with a small glittering band and donned dramatic flared sleeves. She kept comfy in a pair of white open toe sandals and accessorised with a pair of large silver hoop earrings. Helen styled her long silver tresses pushed back in a coordinated pink headband as they cascaded down past her shoulders. Gorgeous: Helen Mirren looked stunning in a pink dazzling dress as she attended the Ora! Film Festival on Sunday in Monopoli, Italy Pretty in pink! The actress, 77, dressed to impress in a glamorous maxi dress which boasted silver glittering discs scattered on it The 1923 star flashed her gorgeous smile to the cameras as she posed at the film festival. It comes after Helen cut a casual figure as she jetted her way out of Nice Airport last month after attending the 76th Cannes Film Festival's opening night. Her tresses were back to their usual shade of silver, just a day after she debuted a dramatic new blue dye job at the Jeanne du Barry premiere. Just the night before, she showcased her unique sense of style as she perfectly matched the colour of her quirky new do to her gorgeous gown. Helen looked sensational in the figure-hugging frock that boasted a plunging neckline and sculpted skirt. The L'Oreal ambassador swept her newly dyed locks high into a Marie Antoinette style Pouf, to match the movie's French historic theme, as she posed with a fan that read 'Worth it' - the hair brand's famous slogan. Accentuating her features with make-up she completed the look with a diamond necklace and matching earrings. She completed the look with a pair of towering Remy: Silver Suede & Snake platforms by luxury brand Sole Bliss retailing for 199. Later she toted a Champagne and silver Luna Clutch by luxury brand Aspinal of London, complete with a pearl strap and retailing for 1,250. Incredible: Her garment cinched her in at the waist with a small glittering band and donned dramatic flared sleeves Stylish: Helen styled her long silver tresses pushed back in a coordinated pink headband and held a sign for 'Save The Olives' - a non-profit organisation tackling the Xylella Fastidiosa epidemic in Apulia, southern Italy Shona McGarty opened up about her split from ex Max Bowden on Saturday while at The British Soap Awards. The EastEnders actress, 31, and Waterloo Road star Max, 28, went their separate ways after his ex Roisin Buckle gave birth to his first child, a baby boy in September last year. The BBC soap star said the former couple had called it quits after having a six month relationship but confirmed they are still friends. She told The Mirror: 'Its lovely to be here tonight because Maxs mums here and I havent seen her for ages, I adore her. 'So its lovely to catch up with her. Were actually better than ever. Its a friendship, were in such a good place. 'Were in such a good place': Shona McGarty opened up about her split from ex Max Bowden on Saturday while at The British Soap Awards Ex: The EastEnders actress, 31, and Waterloo Road star Max, 28, went their separate ways after his ex Roisin Buckle gave birth to his first child, a baby boy in September last year 'You take a risk, and you do something and it doesnt work out, but thats life, youve got to take that risk.' Max and Shona's romance first came to light in May 2022 after sources claimed the pair were 'inseparable' following his split from girlfriend Roisin, and they made their relationship Instagram official in August. However, Shona has already moved on as she confirmed she is currently 'speaking to someone' new but didn't reveal details because 'it's very early days'. During the evening Shona made sure to capture attention as she arrived at the British Soap Awards 2023 at The Lowry in Salford. The actress, who plays Whitney Dean in Eastenders, turned heads in a sequin royal blue floor length gown with long sleeves. She showed off her long slender legs in the sensational ensemble, with one side of the garment featuring a thigh high slit. Shona added a few inches to her stature by wearing a pair of nude strapped heels with diamante detailing. The actress wore lashings of make-up to highlight her stunning features and accessorised with a pair of drop earrings. Max also attended the soap awards and cut a dapper figure in a grey double breasted blazer which he teamed with beige trousers and a white shirt and black tie. Still friends: The BBC soap star said: 'Were actually better than ever. Its a friendship, were such in a good place' New romance: However, Shona has already moved on as she confirmed she is currently 'speaking to someone' new but didn't reveal details because 'it's very early days' Tammy Slaton continues to show off her amazing 300 pound weight loss in her newest TikTok video. The 1000lbs Sisters star, 36, looks like an entirely different person these days. In the video, she wore a pink T-shirt, glasses and wore her red hair curly. She also gave a shout-out to another user on social media site. 'Hey y'all, I have a shoutout, for one of my new best friends, Paranormal Princess,' Tammy said in the video. 'She is trying to get her TikTok up, you know, her follows, before her birthday. TikTok: Tammy Slaton continues to show off her amazing 300 pound weight loss in her newest TikTok video Weight loss: The 1000lbs Sisters star, 36, looks like an entirely different person these days Reality star: In the video, she wore a pink t-shirt, glasses and wore her red hair curly 'So if y'all don't mind, please go give her a follow,' she continued. 'Paranormal Princess, I will tag her below. Thank y'all and I hope y'all are having a great day and a fabulous weekend,' she said. 'I love y'all, talk to you later. Bye for now,' she concluded. The TLC star has lost nearly 300 pounds after carbon monoxide poisoning prompted her to turn her life around after she spent three weeks on life support. Slaton's new video comes after she was seen in Indiana last month walking out of a gas station without the help of her usual stroller. Being able to walk independently is a major feat for a woman who once weighed 717 pounds and whose family believed she would be dead within five years. She reportedly reached rock bottom in late 2021 when she was rushed to the hospital after when she was unable to breathe and had a tube inserted into her throat. The scary incident inspired her to finally change her lifestyle, and she checked herself into a food addiction program. She also quit smoking and drinking completely. On the latest season of 1000-Lb Sisters, Tammy reached her weight loss goal - going from 717 pounds to 534 pounds - and successfully qualified for bariatric surgery. She said: 'I'm feeling thrilled, proud, excited just all the emotions. I proved everybody wrong. 'Everybody that doubted me, I finally got mine! My told-you-so moment!' Red hair: She also gave a shout-out to another user on social media site. 'Hey y'all, I have a shoutout, for one of my new best friends, Paranormal Princess,' Tammy said in the video Big change: Tammy used to weigh more than 700 pounds and her family feared she'd be dead within five years TLC star: 'She is trying to get her TikTok up, you know, her follows, before her birthday,' she added The weight loss transformation has also helped her find new love, according to The Sun. Tammy is reportedly dating 25-year-old Greg Morgan - just weeks after news that she had split from her husband, Caleb Willingham. She is said to have met her new man through a dating app. A source told the outlet that they 'immediately hit it off' and have been 'seeing each other for about a month now.' 'He's come to see her a handful of times. He takes a six-hour bus from Indianapolis to visit her in Kentucky,' they dished. Two weeks after Winona Ryder was spotted on the Beetlejuice 2 set in England, her costar Michael Keaton has revealed filmmaker Tim Burton is making the sequel with the same irreverent, creative spirit he did with the 1988 original film. 'Beetlejuice is the most f***ing fun you can have working. It's so fun. It's so great. And you know what it is? We're doing it exactly like we did the first movie,' the 71-year-old Oscar nominee told Empire on Saturday. 'There's a woman in the great waiting room for the afterlife literally with a fishing line I want people to know this because I love it tugging on the tail of a cat to make it move.' In this version of the afterlife, dead people navigate a complex bureaucracy involving vouchers and caseworkers while those who commit suicide must work forever like the crude and morbid bio-exorcist Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice). '[Burton] and I were talking about it years and years ago, never telling anybody. I said, "If it happens" first of all, we've both said we're doing it many times. We both agreed, "If it happens, it has to be done as close to the way we made it the first time,"' Keaton (born Michael John Douglas) explained. 'Beetlejuice is the most f***ing fun you can have working': Oscar nominee Michael Keaton (pictured) has revealed filmmaker Tim Burton is making Beetlejuice 2 with the same irreverent, creative spirit he did with the 1988 original film The 71-year-old Pittsburgh native (pictured Saturday) told Empire on Saturday: 'It's so fun. It's so great. And you know what it is? We're doing it exactly like we did the first movie. There's a woman in the great waiting room for the afterlife literally with a fishing line I want people to know this because I love it tugging on the tail of a cat to make it move' 'Making stuff up, making stuff happen, improvising and riffing, but literally handmade stuff like people creating things with their hands and building something. F***ing great. It's the most fun I've had working on a movie in I can't tell you how long.' The Pittsburgh native originally won the wacky role in the critically-acclaimed supernatural comedy over personalities like Sammy Davis Jr., Sam Kinison, and Dudley Moore. Michael's update came after the 51-year-old Oscar nominee was pictured for the first time reprising her role as goth photographer Lydia Deetz on the set in Hitchin, Hertfordshire on May 17. Italian bombshell Monica Bellucci (Twin Peaks: The Return, The Matrix Reloaded) will portray Betelgeuse's wife in the highly-anticipated sequel. Wednesday star Jenna Ortega portrays Lydia Deetz's daughter, four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe plays an afterlife detective, and two-time Emmy winner Justin Theroux plays a mystery role. And while two-time Emmy winner Catherine O'Hara reprises her role as sculpturist Delia Deetz, registered sex offender Jeffrey Jones is not slated to return as real estate developer Charles Deetz following his 2002 arrest for soliciting a 14-year-old boy to pose for nude photos. It would take a lot of youthful special effects for Oscar winner Geena Davis and Oscar nominee Alec Baldwin to return. Their friendly ghosts Barbara and Adam Maitland would not have aged a day since their drowning deaths, according to the original film Last seen with a shrunken head! In this version of the afterlife, dead people navigate a complex bureaucracy involving vouchers and caseworkers while those who commit suicide must work forever like the crude and morbid bio-exorcist Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice) Michael added: '[Burton] and both agreed, "If it happens, it has to be done as close to the way we made it the first time." Making stuff up, making stuff happen, improvising and riffing, but literally handmade stuff like people creating things with their hands and building something. F***ing great. It's the most fun I've had working on a movie in I can't tell you how long' Hitting US theaters on September 6, 2024! Oscar nominee Winona Ryder was pictured for the first time reprising her role as goth photographer Lydia Deetz on the set in Hitchin, Hertfordshire on May 17 Fierce after 50! Italian bombshell Monica Bellucci (Twin Peaks: The Return, The Matrix Reloaded) will portray Betelgeuse's wife in the sequel (pictured February 24) Rounding out the cast: Wednesday star Jenna Ortega (L) portrays Lydia Deetz's daughter, four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (M) plays an afterlife detective, and two-time Emmy winner Justin Theroux (R) plays a mystery role Who's in, who's out? And while two-time Emmy winner Catherine O'Hara (2-L) reprises her role as sculpturist Delia Deetz, registered sex offender Jeffrey Jones (M) is not slated to return as real estate developer Charles Deetz following his 2002 arrest for soliciting a 14-year-old boy to pose for nude photos RIP: Sylvia Sidney (pictured) - who played chain-smoking case worker Juno - passed away, age 88, from from esophageal cancer in 1999, and Glenn Shadix - who played interior designer Otho - died, age 57, from blunt trauma in 2010 Classic: The original film impressively amassed $74.7M from a $15M budget with make-up artists Steve La Porte, Ve Neill, and Robert Short scoring an Academy Award for their work Sylvia Sidney who played chain-smoking case worker Juno passed away, age 88, from from esophageal cancer in 1999, and Glenn Shadix who played interior designer Otho died, age 57, from blunt trauma from a fall in 2010. Beetlejuice 2, produced by Brad Pitt's Plan B Productions, is already scheduled to be released in US theaters on September 6, 2024. The original film impressively amassed $74.7M from a $15M budget with make-up artists Steve La Porte, Ve Neill, and Robert Short scoring an Academy Award for their work. Beetlejuice spawned an Emmy-winning animated ABC/Fox series (1989-91), four video games, and a Broadway musical which will be staged at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood starting July 11. Gal Gadot and her husband Jaron Varsano stepped out for dinner in West Hollywood on Saturday. The Wonder Woman actress, 38, and Jaron, 48, dined at the Italian restaurant Madeo with friends. The mom of three looked chic in wide-legged black pants, a black blazer and a deep scoop-necked fitted black top. The Red Notice star wore her raven hair in a sleek, low ponytail and carried a tiny handbag. She slipped her feet into a pair of strappy black sandals. Jaron's outfit coordinated with his wife's. He wore a crew neck black sweater and black pants. Wonder Woman: Gal Gadot and her husband Jaron Varsano stepped out for dinner in West Hollywood on Saturday The Israeli actor's relaxing night out comes after she admitted she has trouble winding down. 'I'm itchy. I can never really sit still,' she told L'Officiel magazine. 'Either I'm making babies or making a project. I feel like life is too short, and I want to devour everything.' And despite her success, she also revealed that she suffers from imposter syndrome. 'Its funny, I always feel like I have this imposter syndrome, because I feel so lucky and Im so happy that I get to do what I really, really, really love,' the WW84 actress said. 'I always feel like, I hope theyre gonna like it. Theres never a moment when Im like, Theyre gonna love this."' Next up for the Death on the Nile star is the Netflix spy thriller Heart of Stone, which Gadot worked on from concept through production and not only stars in, but also produces. Gadot plays Rachel Stone, 'an intelligence operative and the only woman who stands between her powerful global peacekeeping organization and the loss of its most valuable and dangerous asset,' according to the Netflix synopsis. 'It was really important for me to show a character that is flawed,' she explained to L'Officiel. Date night: The Wonder Woman actress, 38, and Jaron, 48, dined at the Italian restaurant Madeo with friends Double date: The mom of three looked chic in wide-legged black pants, a black blazer and a deep scoop-necked, fitted black top 'Id already done and enjoyed doing the superhero of it all, and I wanted to show a real person. I wanted to create a woman who has learned to do everything by herself. She can never be an open book; she can never trust anybody fully,' she continued. And she is cautiously optimistic about Heart of Stone turning into a franchise. 'I feel like now its too soon for me to talk about what it means to me to be the lead for this franchise. Most of all, I hope people are going to enjoy it,' she explained. 'And afterwards, if Im lucky enough to make another Rachel Stone movie, I would be so happy, and well talk about it then if we ever get to the other side,' she said. Arianna Ajtar sent temperatures soaring as she soaked up the sun on the beach in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Saturday. The former Coronation Street actress, 27, put on a busty display in a plunging gold bikini, which boasted high waisted bottoms and a skimpy top. As she strolled along the sand the stunner tied back her long brunette tresses and wrapped a stylish sarong around her svelte waist. Arianna, who is on the island for friend and manager Francesca Britton's upcoming wedding, completed the beach look with a selection of dainty gold bracelets. She later attended the wedding's rehearsal dinner alongside fellow guests Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury. Stunning: Arianna Ajtar, 27, sent temperatures soaring as she soaked up the sun on the beach in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Saturday Sizzling: The former Coronation Street actress put on a busty display in a plunging gold bikini, that boasted high waisted bottoms and a skimpy top The former soap star slipped into a figure-hugging ivory gown for the swanky celebration complete with racy cut outs. Arianna sported a glamorous palette of make-up and swept back her locks, accessorising with statement gold earrings. Meanwhile Molly-Mae, 24, who is also a bridesmaid, cut a chic figure in a pink suit with quirky beaded bag that matched perfectly. Meanwhile doting dad Tommy, 24, sported a sheer black shirt and shades as he cared for their young daughter Bambi. Arianna, who played Olivia Radfield in the ITV soap, has been keeping her Instagram followers updated on her holiday by posting a number of jaw-dropping photos. On Friday she attended a the hen party on the stunning island and posted a picture showing herself posing up a storm in a skimpy black string bikini. Arianna left little to the imagination in the plunging swimsuit, which she paired with a netted sarong. She accessorised with a gold chain around her waist and a cream tasselled bag, while she also opted for a glamorous palette of make-up for the outing. Fun in the sun: As she strolled along the beach the stunner tied back her long brunette tresses and wrapped a stylish sarong around her svelte waist Essentials: She toted her essentials for her day at the beach in a straw bag Cheeky: Her thong bottoms perfectly showed off her peachy posterior Cooling down: She enjoyed a cool drink as she chatted with pals Golden girl: Arianna, who is on the island for for her friend and manager Francesca Britton's upcoming wedding, completed the beach look with a selection of dainty gold bracelets Relaxation: The stunner later enjoyed a sport of R&R on the sunbed Arianna originally starred on Coronation Street from 2018 to 2019, and has since been living a jet-setting lifestyle. She has been seen soaking up in the sun in the likes of Ibiza, Cannes, Dubai, Crete and Paris over the last year, after setting up her own clothing brand Mars The Label. During her soap opera stint, her character Olivia unknowingly became a drugs mule after arriving on the cobbles to pose for an Underworld fashion shoot. The pair then foiled Antoine's dodgy scheme by replacing the drugs with icing sugar. Later, fans learned more of Olivia's past, when it was revealed her mother May had faked her death so she could claim the life insurance payment. Star-studded: She later attended the wedding's rehearsal dinner alongside fellow guests Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury Glamour: The former soap star slipped into a figure-hugging ivory gown for the swanky celebration complete with racy cut outs Sensational: Arianna sported a glamorous palette of make-up and swept back her locks, accessorising with statement gold earrings Her father Duncan went onto steal charity money framed Sally Webster for the crime, and May's 'death'. Sally's husband Tim, and her daughter Rosie, vowed to prove Sally's innocence, and under the ruse of booking a gig for Olivia, gleamed information from her about May's whereabouts. Duncan's plot soon fell apart and he went onto confess his crimes to the police. Olivia made her last appearance on Corrie in January 2019, when Duncan was involved in a shocking accident, but hasn't appeared on the soap since. Coronation Street remains Arianna's only acting credit. Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Saturday highlighted the importance of Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvilis participation in the inauguration ceremony of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, together with many delegations from around the world, at the latters invitation, Azernews repors, citing Agenda.GE. Darchiashvili noted Georgias neighbour and strategic partner country, Turkey has been an important player in the Black Sea region and emphasised the political cooperation between Georgia and Turkey would bring strong impulses for the countries to jointly strengthen the security in the region. Turkey is our very important strategic partner with very close political relations with Georgia, President [Erdo?an] has a special attitude towards our country [Georgia], the FM said, stressing the Georgian PM was in very close coordination with the Turkish President to further strengthen the relations between the two states. Darchiashvili added the Turkish President, in his new term, would put forth more effort in ensuring closer and stronger relations with Georgia, including economic cooperation, the Government Administration said. The Georgian delegation, led by Garibashvili, attended the inaugural ceremony on Saturday, as well as an official dinner at the Cankaya Presidential Palace hosted by the Turkish President. With 99.43 percent of the vote counted by Turkeys Supreme Election Council, incumbent Turkish President Erdo?an won the presidential runoff election last week, receiving 52.14 percent of the vote, against his opponent Kemal K?l?cdaro?lus 47.86 percent. Emmy-winning producer Andy Cohen's daughter Lucy Eve might only be 13 months old, but she's already made history as 'one of the first gestational surrogate babies born' in the state of New York. Gestational surrogacy is the process when a woman, who did not provide her own egg, is hired to carry a fetus for another person/couple. 'It was illegal in the state of New York until [2020] and I helped get that law passed,' the 55-year-old Missouri native said on Amanda Hirsch's Dear Media podcast Not Skinny But Not Fat last Tuesday. 'And Governor Cuomo, he really made it happen.' The 65-year-old Democratic politician resigned in 2021 amid allegations he sexually harassed 11 women during his time in office. When a surrogate doesn't use their own egg: Emmy-winning producer Andy Cohen's daughter Lucy Eve might only be 13 months old, but she's already made history as 'one of the first gestational surrogate babies born' in the state of New York (pictured last Thursday) The 55-year-old Missouri native said on Amanda Hirsch's Dear Media podcast Not Skinny But Not Fat last Tuesday: '[Gestational] surrogacy was illegal in the state of New York until [2020] and I helped get that law passed. And Governor Cuomo, he really made it happen' Andy revealed he traveled to Albany twice in order to help pass the Child-Parent Security Act, which led to 'thousands of New Yorkers who struggle with infertility, cancer survivors, and LGBT+ will have a chance of a family.' 'I wanted to have the baby in New York, or I wanted my surrogate to have the baby in New York. And so Lucy was one of the first surrogate babies born here,' Cohen explained. 'But also, it was good because it gave me a lot more time to kind of get good at it with [my four-year-old son Benjamin Allen].' The two-time Peabody Award winner reportedly still has two leftover frozen embryos in the 'bank.' He suggested a novel scenario in which they could come in handy in the future in case his two children are unable to have kids of their own and want to raise their siblings instead. Andy did the podcast to promote his 288-page fourth book, The Daddy Diaries: The Year I Grew Up, which hit shelves back on May 9. Despite the WGA strike, Cohen is still in production on his boozy Bravo late-night talk show Watch What Happens Live featuring upcoming guests Rebecca Romijn, Mark Consuelos, Amy Schumer, Chase Lemacks, and Daisy Kelliher. Fans can catch The Real Housewives executive producer hosting the 13th season reunion of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, which continues this Tuesday on Bravo. Quit: The 65-year-old Democratic politician (R, pictured in 2019) resigned in 2021 amid allegations he sexually harassed 11 women during his time in office 'I wanted to have the baby in New York': Andy revealed he traveled to Albany twice in order to help pass the Child-Parent Security Act, which led to 'thousands of New Yorkers who struggle with infertility, cancer survivors, and LGBT+ will have a chance of a family' 'It gave me a lot more time to kind of get good at it with [my four-year-old son Ben]': Cohen reportedly still has two leftover frozen embryos in the 'bank' in case his two children are unable to have their own children and want to raise their siblings (pictured April 20) 'Tweet me all of your questions!' Despite the WGA strike, the two-time Peabody Award winner is still in production on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live featuring upcoming guests Rebecca Romijn, Mark Consuelos, Amy Schumer, Chase Lemacks, and Daisy Kelliher 'Reunion Part 2': Fans can catch Andy hosting the 13th season reunion of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, which continues this Tuesday on Bravo 'Reunion Part 3': Cohen will also host the third part of the 10th season Vanderpump Rules reunion, which airs this Wednesday on Bravo Andy will also host the third part of the 10th season Vanderpump Rules reunion, which airs this Wednesday on Bravo. 'I think it really delivers. Because I think what people want is retribution and they want these people to be confronted with what they've done, and they're going to get it,' Cohen told Daily Dish last Thursday. 'I think it's one of the most highly anticipated reunions that I can think of. I mean, [it] started months ago, obviously. And I think the reason everybody is so invested is that they want to see some sort of a reckoning [with] Tom [Sandoval] and Raquel [Leviss], and they're going to get it. 'They want to see them confronted by Ariana [Madix]. They want to see them confronted by their friends. And it was incredibly confrontational. What can I say?' Holly Willoughby will tomorrow make her return to host This Morning as she attempts to save the scandal-hit programme. The presenter, 42, was said to still be deliberating over whether she will mention her former co-star Phillip Schofield by name. But she urged fans to 'maintain a positive perspective' in a cryptic message shared on Instagram. Sources close to Ms Willoughby, who will be joined by former Big Brother winner turned presenter Josie Gibson, confirmed she will address the saga in a statement at the beginning of the show, but it 'won't necessarily be Phil-specific'. However, she will explain how she, her fellow presenters and behind-the-camera staff want to continue to make This Morning for their loyal viewers and that it is now about moving on to the next chapter. Holly Willoughby (pictured on Thursday in Portugal) will tomorrow make her return to host This Morning as she attempts to save the scandal-hit programme. The mother-of-three spent much of her half-term break in Portugal thinking about what she will say on her return to the show The presenter, 42, was said to still be deliberating over whether she will mention her former co-star Phillip Schofield by name. She and Schofield are pictured on This Morning sofa The mother-of-three spent much of her half-term break in Portugal thinking about what she will say on her return to This Morning as the pressure on her to keep the under-fire programme going is increasing by the day. A source close to the star told the Mail: 'Holly's return is a signal that she is determined to steer the show through these unprecedented times. Her priority is now to make the programme for the viewers watching at home. It's a new chapter for her but also for the fans. 'She knows how she addresses the situation is really important for them so she has asked several people for their thoughts so she can make sure it is absolutely right. 'But how to deal with the issue of Phil, his departure from the show and his relationship with their former colleague, is something she has found very difficult. As of last night the final words hadn't been decided on.' In a post to the Instagram followers of her wellness brand Wydle Moon, Ms Willoughby shared an image of the so-called 'strawberry moon' seen in British skies late on Saturday night and wrote about its astrological significance. 'This Full 'strawberry' moon in Sagittarius brings with it a zest for life,' the post read. 'The guiding influence of this fire sign combined with Jupiter encourages you to maintain a positive perspective and to tune into your finest qualities.' She added: 'Inspire. Renew. Believe.' Sources close to Ms Willoughby, who will be joined by former Big Brother winner turned presenter Josie Gibson, (pictured in February) confirmed she will address the saga in a statement at the beginning of the show, but it 'won't necessarily be Phil-specific' Ms Willoughby's once close friendship with Schofield, 61, ended for good last month when he admitted to the Daily Mail that he had a relationship with a much younger ITV colleague and lied about it. Ever since, there has been speculation over whether Ms Willoughby could continue in her role if she had known about the affair. But in a televised interview last Friday, her former co-star insisted it was 'absolutely, wholly untrue' to suggest she had any knowledge of his relationship. Today's show will be a big moment for Ms Willoughby, who presented This Morning alongside Schofield for 14 years. ITV bosses decided to team her up with Ms Gibson, 38, because she is seen by viewers as a 'breath of fresh air'. Alison Hammond, 48, hosted for most of last week with Dermot O'Leary, 50, to cover Ms Willoughby's holiday. His actions have left This Morning for many years described as the 'jewel in the crown' for ITV under threat, and there are fears it could be rebranded or even axed. Privately, employees have branded assurances from ITV executives that the show will continue as it is and with the same editorial team as 'delusional'. In a post to the Instagram followers of her wellness brand Wydle Moon, Ms Willoughby shared an image of the so-called 'strawberry moon' seen in British skies late on Saturday night and wrote about its astrological significance Staff are also upset with This Morning's editor Martin Frizell, who blamed claims of toxicity on the show on people who wanting to 'settle scores' in an interview with Sky News. It is thought he was referring to former presenters Eamonn Holmes and Dr Ranj Singh, who have both made allegations of bullying behind the scenes of the popular show. One staff member said: 'When the editor has an attitude like that, why would anyone speak up and tell their own experiences of toxicity? It doesn't feel like anyone actually wants to hear it.' The Mail on Sunday revealed yesterday that Frizell was the subject of an investigation after a female member of staff complained about his behaviour. ITV found no evidence to support the employee's grievance. Jonathan Majors and Meagan Good took their romance overseas with a trip to Morocco where the actors were spotted shopping for pottery in the city of Fez. The Creed III actor, 33, and Harlem actress, 41, have been dating for about a month and in that time have been spotted on the East and West Coasts. The romance between Majors and Good comes on the heels of him being charged with attempted assault, assault, aggravated harassment and harassment in New York City after he was accused of hitting his ex-girlfriend in March. Last month, Variety reported that multiple women had come forward with allegations of abuse at the hands of the Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania star. The repercussions on his career from his March 25 arrest were swift. Moroccan shopping: Jonathan Majors and Meghan Good took their romance overseas with a trip to Morocco where the actors were spotted shopping for pottery in the city of Fez Playing tourist: The Creed III actor, 33, and Harlem actress, 41, have been dating for about a month and in that time have been spotted on the east and west coasts His PR team and managers, dropped him, he was dropped from the film The Man In My Basement, MLB's Texas Rangers cut Majors from their 2023 season ad campaign, his ad for the U.S. Army was pulled from the airwaves and the the fashion house Valentino uninvited him from the Met Gala. The alleged victim at the center of Majors' charges worked on Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, in which Majors played Kang the Conqueror. The Loki star's attorney, Priya Chaudhry, released a statement after his March 25 arrest saying, per Buzzfeed News: 'Jonathan Majors is innocent and has not abused anyone. We have provided irrefutable evidence to the District Attorney that the charges are false. We are confident that he will be fully exonerated.' Majors has become one of Hollywood's fastest rising stars over the past year, but his legal troubles could derail him. He's set to play Kang again in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, further deepening his relationship with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its studio, Disney. His deal includes a $20 million payday and backend points, but according to Variety, Disney is monitoring his legal issues closely, and since the film isn't due to hit theaters until May 2025, they have plenty of time to either commit to Majors or move on. He is also set to star in 2026's Avengers: Secret Wars. Outside of the MCU, he will play Dennis Rodman in Lionsgate's 48 Hours In Vegas, but that studio is also watching the situation closely before deciding whether to keep him attached to the role. Spike Lee's film Da Understudy, which will air on Amazon, could also choose to jettison him. Meanwhile, Good separated from her husband of nine years, DeVon Franklin, 45, in December 2021. Their divorce was finalized in June 2022 shortly after what would have been their 10th anniversary. Complications: The romance between Majors and Good comes on the heels of him being charged with attempted assault, assault, aggravated harassment and harassment in New York City after he was accused of hitting his ex-girlfriend in March More trouble: Last month, Variety reported that multiple women had come forward with allegations of abuse at the hands of the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania star Cause and effect: The repercussions on his career from his March 25 arrest were swift with his PR team and managers cutting him and losing roles and endorsements She's Good: Meghan Good divorced her husband of nine years in June 2022 It was not her decision to end her marriage, she revealed in a cover story for Essence where she called her ex 'an incredible and beautiful person.' 'It's nothing that I would have ever chosen, and when I realized that it was happening, I was devastated,' she said. 'I was like, 'This is me, Lord. I did everything that I could do to the best of my ability. I don't understand why I did all these things, and then this is my end result.'' 'Once I accepted everything, I felt grateful for the time we had together and the beautiful journey,' she explained. ' Then there was an excitement. I get to start life all over again, in my prime, with so many incredible things happening in my life and in my career. I get to do this again.' The bromance is still going strong between Spiderhead producer-star Chris Hemsworth and Air producer-star Matt Damon, who embraced after reuniting for dinner at Italian restaurant Via Veneto in Santa Monica on Friday night. The Australian 39-year-old and the Cambridge-born 52-year-old have been friends for over a decade and co-starred in three films: Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019), and Thor: Ragnarok (2017). 'We became friends around the time I started to work, and I've really benefited from watching how he handles himself,' Chris told GQ back in 2014. 'Matt's just a normal guy who has the movie-star thing figured out.' Joining the talented twosome for dinner was Matt's wife of 17 years Luciana Bozan Barroso who wore a beige vest with baggy khaki cargo pants and black boots. Bromance still going strong! Spiderhead producer-star Chris Hemsworth (L) and Air producer-star Matt Damon (R) embraced after reuniting for dinner at Italian restaurant Via Veneto in Santa Monica on Friday night Cute: The Australian 39-year-old (L) and the Cambridge-born 52-year-old (M) have been friends for over a decade and co-starred in three films - Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019), and Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Damon originally met the Argentinian 46-year-old in 2003 while she was bartending at a nightclub in South Beach Miami where he'd been filming the Farrelly Brothers' conjoined twin comedy Stuck On You. At the time, Luciana was still technically married to Arbello Barroso, with whom she was raising then four-year-old daughter Alexia, but their divorce was finalized in December 2004, one year before she wed the Oscar-winning screenwriter. Matt and Bozan who never go more than two weeks apart went on to welcome three daughters of their own: Isabella, turning 17 next Sunday; Gia, 14; and Stella, 12. Hemsworth has three children 11-year-old daughter India Rose and nine-year-old twin sons Sasha + Tristan from his 12-year marriage to Poker Face actress Elsa Pataky. The Centr app founder originally met the Spanish 46-year-old in 2010 through their agents. On Friday, Chris who normally relies on fitness trainer Luke Zocchi in his native country enjoyed a jet-lagged workout at rival trainer Grant Roberts' gym in Los Angeles. Hemsworth shared a video of himself exercising his Adonis-like, muscular 6ft3in physique for the viewing pleasure of his captive, combined 94.5M social media followers. The former soap star will next reprise his role as Tyler Rake, a former SASR operator turned black ops mercenary, in Extraction 2, which premieres June 16 on Netflix. Chris also produced Sam Hargrave's sequel mostly set in a deadly prison was based on Ande Parks and the Russo Brothers' 2014 graphic novel Ciudad. Hargrave's 2020 original film Extraction was streamed by 99M households in its first four weeks of release despite only scoring a 67% critic approval rating (out of 218 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes. Chris told GQ back in 2014: 'We became friends around the time I started to work, and I've really benefited from watching how he handles himself. Matt's just a normal guy who has the movie-star thing figured out' Catching up: The pair also chatted with a man wearing a Deux Ex Machina Custom Motorcycles T-shirt 17 years strong! Joining the talented twosome for dinner was Matt's wife Luciana Bozan Barroso, who wore a beige vest with baggy khaki cargo pants and black boots March 27 family portrait: Damon fathered three daughters - Isabella (2-R), turning 17 next Sunday; Gia (not pictured), 14; and Stella (M), 12 - and he's stepfather to the Argentinian 46-year-old's 24-year-old daughter Alexia Barroso (L) March 19 family portrait: Meanwhile, Hemsworth has three children - 11-year-old daughter India Rose and nine-year-old twin sons Sasha + Tristan - from his 12-year marriage to Spanish-born actress Elsa Pataky 'Just landed in LA!' On Friday, the Centr app founder - who normally relies on fitness trainer Luke Zocchi in his native country - enjoyed a jet-lagged workout at rival trainer Grant Roberts' gym in LA 'Went 12 rounds': Chris shared a video of himself exercising his Adonis-like, muscular 6ft3in physique for the viewing pleasure of his captive, combined 94.5M social media followers Premiering June 16 on Netflix! Hemsworth produced and reprised his role as Tyler Rake, a former SASR operator turned black ops mercenary, in Sam Hargrave's sequel Extraction 2 Hitting UK/US theaters July 21! The Oscar-winning screenwriter reportedly earned $4M plus backend participation for his role as Lieutenant General Leslie Groves Jr., who directed the Manhattan project with nuclear physicist Robert Oppenheimer (L, Cillian Murphy), in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer On October 27, Hemsworth wrapped his mystery role in George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa - which doesn't hit theaters until May 24, 2024. Damon reportedly earned $4M plus backend participation for his role as Lieutenant General Leslie Groves Jr., who directed the Manhattan project with nuclear physicist Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer hitting UK/US theaters July 21. The $100M-budget IMAX 65mm film about nuclear weapons based on Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin's 2005 book American Prometheus also stars Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh, and Gary Oldman. The two-time Golden Globe winner also has upcoming roles in Ethan Coen's road trip comedy Drive-Away Dolls and John Krasinski's comedy Imaginary Friends. Insiders claim today's show is set to be emotional with 'lots of tears and hugs' Friends of the TV host say despite not watching he wants her to 'shine' on screen Phillip Schofield won't tune in to watch his former 'best friend' and co-host Holly Willoughby return to the This Morning sofa today as it would be too 'triggering' for him, friends claimed last night. Allies of the 61-year-old, who was axed by bosses at ITV after revelations he had lied about an affair with male colleague, say even watching the opening credits could prove too distressing for him as he comes to terms with leaving the show he had fronted since 2002. It comes as Holly returns to the This Morning sofa later today with questions being asked over whether she will mention her former co-host's name while she delivers an 'honest personal statement' about the scandal. Insiders claim she is 'apprehensive' about getting back in front of the camera, but is 'determined to steer the show through these unprecedented times' that have engulfed one of the channel's most popular programmes. Nearly one million people could tune in to watch her return to the couch alongside Josie Gibson after Schofield revealed she had ignored his texts to her begging for forgiveness. Phillip Schofield won't watch Holly Willoughby's return to the This Morning sofa today after he was axed from the show. Pictured: The pair presenting the show in May Big day: It comes as Holly prepares an 'honest and personal statement' to address the departure of her former co-star, who recently admitted he had lied about an affair with a younger male colleague, as she returns to the programme (pictured in Portugal this week) Phillip Schofield was pictured embracing his mother Pat in Newquay, Cornwall, moments after being told bosses at ITV wanted him to leave This Morning Holly, who was on holiday with her family in Portugal last week, is believed to have written the speech herself and emotions are set to run high when she reads it out live on air. A source told the Mirror: 'She was naturally apprehensive about getting back after her extended break. So much has happened and it's been one storm after another. 'But she needn't worry as the team are behind her. 'Everyone is desperately hoping her speech draws a line under the matter, at least until the barrister-led review comes back 'Expect an outpouring of emotion as she returns, and a lot of tears and hugs.' READ MORE HERE: Holly Willoughby is 'determined to steer the show through these unprecedented times' as she returns to the sofa to address the Schofield scandal Advertisement A source close to the star told the Mail: 'Holly's return is a signal that she is determined to steer the show through these unprecedented times. Her priority is now to make the programme for the viewers watching at home. It's a new chapter for her but also for the fans. 'She knows how she addresses the situation is really important for them so she has asked several people for their thoughts so she can make sure it is absolutely right. 'But how to deal with the issue of Phil, his departure from the show and his relationship with their former colleague, is something she has found very difficult. As of last night the final words hadn't been decided on.' But there will be no return in the morning for Schofield, who was seen with his mother on Friday, May 19, as he was told he was no longer wanted by ITV. The popular show has a loyal following, and despite being out of work, friends of Schofield say he won't be watching today. A friend of the father-of-two told The Sun: 'He physically could not watch - he's not there yet. 'Even listening to the opening credits would be hugely triggering. 'His family is being incredibly careful not to have the TV on when he's in the room to ensure he doesn't see anything. 'Of course he is aware Holly is back on air today and he absolutely wanted her to shine, and smash it. 'But he physically could not watch - he is not there yet.' Even though she is not speaking to him anymore following the fallout of the scandal, Schofield does support Holly and wants her to 'shine and smash it', insiders told The Sun. Schofield has been supported by his family since his sacking, with photos emerging showing the moment he embraced his elderly mother after he was sacked from the show. He was seen hugging his mother Pat, 87, on a bench overlooking the sea in Newquay, Cornwall, last month. Schofield and his mother had driven from her home to their favourite fish and chip shop before heading out to Pentire Headland where they looked out over the sea. The presenter, who had hosted This Morning since 2002, had been in the seaside town to support his mother as his brother, Timothy, was being sentenced for sex offences against a teenage boy. The same day her youngest son was jailed for 12 years, Pat was told by her eldest child that he was losing his job. While getting fish and chips with his mother, Phillip received a phone call from his manager telling him bosses at the channel wanted him to leave the show. In an interview with the Sun last week, he said: 'I had to go down to Cornwall to be with her for the sentencing. The presenter, who had hosted This Morning since 2002, had been in the seaside town to support his mother as his brother, Timothy, was being sentenced for sex offences against a teenage boy The TV presenter, who admitted to having an affair with a younger male colleague who worked behind the scenes on the show, was seen hugging his mother on Pentire Headland on May 19 Phillip, pictured here on This Morning with former co-host Holly Willoughby, had presented the programme since 2002 'And our family thing was always to buy fish and chips and go and sit on the headland. 'I picked my mum up and she went in to get the fish and chips and while she was getting them, my phone rang. 'It was my then manager saying, 'Mate, I am so sorry, it has become too loud for ITV. You will have to step down from This Morning'. 'And she arrived in the car. She said to me before I arrived, 'You're not coming down with any bad news are you?'. 'She sat in the car and she was all happy to see me, and then she said, 'Oh, your face has changed'. I said, 'Let's go on to the headland'. And I had to tell her.' The furore which has surrounded Schofield has threatened to engulf This Morning, with ITV getting set to introduce 'heavy vetting' of public callers to protect presenters from outbursts over the scandal. Production staff will take on the important role of screening callers, as audience interaction segments are also to be paused to avoid any abuse being sent towards presenters. It comes as Holly prepares an 'honest and personal statement' to address the departure of her former co-star, who recently admitted he had lied about an affair with a younger male colleague, as she returns to the programme on today. Her return to the sofa, accompanied by former guest host Josie Gibson, will mark a permanent change to the line-up as viewers face an altered show, with fewer opportunities to feel included by live presenters. The presenter first met the man, then aged 15, when he was invited to open a drama school It was also reported today that Holly is being courted by BBC bosses as they look to lure her away from ITV. And on the eve of her on-screen return she posted a cryptic message urging others to 'maintain a positive perspective'. Uploading a snap of the 'Strawberry Moon' on her wellness page Wylde Moon page, the full post read: 'This Full 'Strawberry' Moon in Sagittarius brings with it a zest for life. 'The guiding influence of this fire sign combined with Jupiter encourages you to maintain a positive perspective and to tune into your finest qualities. 'Inspire. Renew. Believe.' Thoughts: The presenter, 42, posted a snap of the 'Strawberry Moon' on her wellness page Wylde Moon page alongside words urging others to 'maintain a positive perspective' In an interview last week Phillip said he believed his career was 'over' and he had 'lost everything' after admitting he had lied about his relationship with a man on the show. 'I have to talk about television in the past tense, which breaks my heart,' he told the BBC. 'What am I going to do with my days? I see nothing ahead of me but blackness, sadness regret, remorse and guilt. I did something very wrong, and then I lied about it consistently.' READ MORE HERE: The lie got too big for both of us, says crestfallen Phillip Schofield in an interview laying bare his torment Advertisement He said the criticism he's faced since admitting the affair has had a 'catastrophic effect', adding: 'Do you want me to die? Because that's where I am. I have lost everything.' In the interviews, Schofield, who was also dropped by his talent agency YMU after his admission to the Mail about the 'unwise but not illegal relationship', said he was 'utterly broken and ashamed'. Schofield told the BBC that the young man, who worked as a runner for a short period on This Morning, was 20 when he first had any kind of sexual contact with him. He told The Sun they had become friends but in 2017 three years before he came out as gay and separated from wife Stephanie Lowe after 27 years 'something happened that just changed it'. There was 'a consensual moment' in Schofield's dressing room after a show and 'it was mutual'. He said he did not have a 'love affair' with the man and that 'it was not a relationship, we were not boyfriends, we were mates'. He said 'it wasn't feelings' he was getting but it was 'more like mates: excitement'. He added: 'I was really struggling with my sexuality at that time in the build up to what happened.' The pair only had 'five or six romantic encounters' over a period of around six months. He said they met at Schofield's apartment in south-east London only once after he phoned the young man to invite him over for a beer. He also denied using ITV money to pay for taxis for the man, saying: 'I don't have an ITV account.' Schofield said he had 'no excuse' for what happened, 'no one did anything wrong apart from me' and 'I was unprofessional, one time, in a 41-year career'. He added that he and the young man 'stupidly' thought that 'nobody knew' about them. Earlier this week, ITV said the man was 19 when he did work experience at This Morning in 2015, and 20 years old when he applied and secured a job as a runner on the show. He later moved to Loose Women in 2019 and left ITV in 2021. Schofield apologised to Holly Willoughby, who presented This Morning with him for 14 years, for lying about his secret relationship with his colleague (centre) and for tainting her public image He said telling his wife Ms Lowe about his affair 'was the most difficult conversation I've ever had to have with her' Schofield apologised to Holly Willoughby, who presented This Morning with him for 14 years, for lying about his secret relationship and for tainting her public image. 'I've lost my best friend. I let her down. I let that entire show down. I let the viewers down,' he told The Sun. 'Holly did not know [about the affair]. And she was one of the first texts that I sent to say, 'I am so, so sorry that I lied to you.' 'She didn't reply and I understand why she didn't reply. So if anyone is in any way linking Holly to this, that is absolutely, wholly untrue.' He told the newspaper the pair have broken all contact, and said it was his paedophile brother's imprisonment that made her distance herself from the friendship. Describing Ms Willoughby, 42, as his 'TV sister', Schofield said he understood why she would think, 'I have to step back from this'. He told the BBC, when asked who on the This Morning team knew about his affair: 'To my knowledge, I mean, somebody has to know something for there to be a rumour later on. I didn't believe that anybody knew.' The TV presenter has praised his daughters Molly, 29, and Ruby, 27, for 'guarding him' as he struggles to cope with the fall-out from the affair. He told the BBC: 'Last week if my daughters hadn't been there then I wouldn't be here. And they've guarded me and won't let me out of their sight, it's like a weird numbness. 'I know that's a selfish point of view. But you come to a point where you just think, how much are you supposed to take?' He also said telling his wife Ms Lowe about his affair 'was the most difficult conversation I've ever had to have with her'. He added: 'She is extremely disappointed because I lied to her as well.' Wolfe Research cut shares of Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSEAMERICAN:CQP Get Rating) from a peer perform rating to an underperform rating in a research report released on Thursday, The Fly reports. Wolfe Research currently has $43.00 price objective on the energy companys stock. Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. TheStreet upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy Partners from a c rating to a b- rating in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy Partners from $53.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy Partners from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy Partners from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 3rd. Finally, 92 Resources reiterated a maintains rating on shares of Cheniere Energy Partners in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $49.43. Get Cheniere Energy Partners alerts: Cheniere Energy Partners Stock Performance NYSEAMERICAN CQP opened at $45.04 on Thursday. Cheniere Energy Partners has a 52-week low of $40.20 and a 52-week high of $62.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.59. The company has a market capitalization of $21.80 billion, a PE ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.83. Cheniere Energy Partners Increases Dividend Cheniere Energy Partners ( NYSEAMERICAN:CQP Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.73. Cheniere Energy Partners had a net margin of 25.45% and a negative return on equity of 133.75%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy Partners will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 8th were given a $0.775 dividend. This is a positive change from Cheniere Energy Partnerss previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $3.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 5th. Cheniere Energy Partnerss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.99%. Insider Activity In related news, major shareholder Holdings L.P. Blackstone III bought 27,082 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $47.11 per share, with a total value of $1,275,833.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 18,535 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $873,183.85. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Holdings L.P. Blackstone III bought 27,082 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $47.11 per share, with a total value of $1,275,833.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 18,535 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $873,183.85. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Corey Grindal sold 7,649 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.93, for a total transaction of $351,318.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy Partners A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CQP. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy Partners by 132.4% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 12,745 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $718,000 after buying an additional 7,262 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Cheniere Energy Partners by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,041 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $960,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy Partners during the 1st quarter valued at $267,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy Partners during the 1st quarter valued at $217,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Cheniere Energy Partners by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 949,727 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $53,527,000 after purchasing an additional 184,500 shares during the period. 46.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Cheniere Energy Partners Company Profile (Get Rating) Cheniere Energy Partners LP engages in the operations of liquefied natural gas. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Houston, TX. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Cheniere Energy Partners Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cheniere Energy Partners and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. TD Securities upgraded shares of Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU Get Rating) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday, The Fly reports. Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. CIBC reduced their price target on shares of Centerra Gold from C$12.00 to C$11.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 16th. National Bank Financial reduced their price target on shares of Centerra Gold from C$13.00 to C$12.50 in a report on Thursday, May 18th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Centerra Gold from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday. TheStreet cut shares of Centerra Gold from a c rating to a d+ rating in a report on Friday, March 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Centerra Gold in a report on Thursday, May 25th. They set an outperform rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $9.67. Get Centerra Gold alerts: Centerra Gold Stock Performance Shares of NYSE:CGAU opened at $6.13 on Wednesday. Centerra Gold has a 52 week low of $3.77 and a 52 week high of $8.55. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of -5.62 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $6.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.07. Centerra Gold Cuts Dividend Centerra Gold ( NYSE:CGAU Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.16). Centerra Gold had a negative net margin of 30.72% and a negative return on equity of 6.24%. The firm had revenue of $226.53 million during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Centerra Gold will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current year. The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 29th will be given a $0.052 dividend. This represents a $0.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 25th. Centerra Golds payout ratio is presently -19.27%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centerra Gold Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CGAU. Condire Management LP grew its stake in Centerra Gold by 50.5% during the third quarter. Condire Management LP now owns 10,531,722 shares of the companys stock worth $46,303,000 after buying an additional 3,534,239 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Centerra Gold by 8,975.9% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,145,909 shares of the companys stock worth $13,843,000 after buying an additional 2,122,265 shares in the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Centerra Gold during the first quarter worth about $12,918,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Centerra Gold by 12.0% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,883,219 shares of the companys stock worth $115,508,000 after buying an additional 1,918,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Centerra Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,363,000. 51.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Centerra Gold Company Profile (Get Rating) Centerra Gold, Inc engages in the operation, development, exploration and acquisition of gold and copper properties. It operates through the following segments: Kumtor, Mount Milligan, and Oksut. The company was founded on November 7, 2002 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Centerra Gold Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Centerra Gold and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Bank of Communications (OTCMKTS:BCMXY Get Rating) and Konica Minolta (OTCMKTS:KNCAY Get Rating) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings and risk. Analyst Recommendations This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Bank of Communications and Konica Minolta, as reported by MarketBeat.com. Get Bank of Communications alerts: Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Bank of Communications 0 0 0 0 N/A Konica Minolta 0 0 0 0 N/A Earnings & Valuation Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Bank of Communications $77.53 billion 0.67 $13.69 billion $4.23 4.14 Konica Minolta $8.37 billion N/A -$763.54 million ($3.17) -2.11 This table compares Bank of Communications and Konica Minoltas gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Bank of Communications has higher revenue and earnings than Konica Minolta. Konica Minolta is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bank of Communications, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Volatility & Risk Bank of Communications has a beta of 0.11, indicating that its stock price is 89% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Konica Minolta has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Profitability This table compares Bank of Communications and Konica Minoltas net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Bank of Communications 19.02% 9.12% 0.72% Konica Minolta -9.37% -18.16% -7.41% Dividends Bank of Communications pays an annual dividend of $1.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.5%. Konica Minolta pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Bank of Communications pays out 27.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Konica Minolta pays out -3.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Summary Bank of Communications beats Konica Minolta on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks. About Bank of Communications (Get Rating) Bank of Communications Co., Ltd. provides commercial banking products and services. The company operates through four business segments: Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, Treasury Businesses, and Other Businesses. It offers personal banking products and services, including savings deposit products, personal certificate of deposits, foreign currency deposit, and salary financing A products; mortgage and unsecured loans; bank cards; airport and personal wealth management advisor services; and physical precious metals, and structured deposits and wealth management products, as well as precious metal and commodity trading services. The company also provides corporate banking products and services comprising structured deposits and corporate certificate of deposits; syndicated loans and corporation overdraft services; wealth management services; investment banking and offshore banking services; corporate cash management and industrial chain financing services; structured deposits and wealth management products; and precious metal leasing, and precious metal and commodity trading services. In addition, it offers international banking services, such as corporate forex wealth management, document settlement, remittance and bill, and trade finance services; and interbank financing services. Further, the company provides financial leasing, trust investment, fund management, life insurance, securities dealing and brokerage, general insurance and reinsurance, debt-to-equity swaps, and financial products issuing and financial consulting services. As of December 31, 2021, It operated 248 branches in Mainland China; and 23 overseas branches and representative offices in 18 countries and regions with 69 overseas operating outlets. The company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China. About Konica Minolta (Get Rating) Konica Minolta, Inc. engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of multi-functional peripherals (MFPs), printers, electronic materials, and equipment for healthcare systems and industries. It operates through the following segments: Office Business, Professional Print Business, Healthcare Business, Industrial Business, and Others. The Office Business segment manufactures and sells multi-functional peripherals. The Professional Print Business deals with the manufacture and sale of digital printing systems and related consumables. The Healthcare segment manufactures and sells consumables and equipment for healthcare systems. The Industrial Business segment manufactures and sells electronic materials (TAC films), optical products (pick-up lenses etc.), and measuring instruments for industrial and healthcare applications. The Others segment includes operations covered by its subsidiaries. The company was founded in December 22, 1936 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Receive News & Ratings for Bank of Communications Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bank of Communications and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of China Green Agriculture (NYSE:CGA Get Rating) in a research report released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the basic materials companys stock. China Green Agriculture Trading Up 9.8 % Shares of CGA stock opened at $2.91 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. China Green Agriculture has a 1 year low of $2.58 and a 1 year high of $7.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.11. Get China Green Agriculture alerts: Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CGA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of China Green Agriculture during the first quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of China Green Agriculture by 67.8% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 19,051 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 7,700 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of China Green Agriculture during the first quarter valued at approximately $175,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 0.14% of the companys stock. About China Green Agriculture China Green Agriculture, Inc engages in the research, development, production, and sale of various types of fertilizers and agricultural products. It operates through the following segments: Jinong, Gufeng, and Yuxing. The Jinong segment includes fertilizer products, with focus on humic acid-based compound fertilizer. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for China Green Agriculture Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for China Green Agriculture and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Seeyond trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT Get Rating) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,306 shares of the retailers stock after selling 6,059 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 0.7% of Seeyonds investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Seeyonds holdings in Walmart were worth $7,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. My Personal CFO LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 212 shares of the retailers stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC raised its position 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 in the last quarter. 31.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Walmart alerts: Insider Activity In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 4,375 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.00, for a total transaction of $660,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 286,617 shares of the companys stock, valued at $43,279,167. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 764,902 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.65, for a total transaction of $107,583,466.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 262,384,230 shares of the companys stock, valued at $36,904,341,949.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 4,375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.00, for a total value of $660,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 286,617 shares of the companys stock, valued at $43,279,167. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,272,342 shares of company stock valued at $2,449,618,643. 47.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Analysts Set New Price Targets Walmart Stock Up 1.0 % WMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Walmart from $155.00 to $157.00 in a report on Friday, May 19th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Walmart from an accumulate rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Walmart from $160.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Friday, May 19th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Walmart from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Walmart from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $166.13. Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $1.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $148.82. The companys stock had a trading volume of 6,392,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,293,952. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $401.42 billion, a PE ratio of 35.77, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.90 and a fifty-two week high of $154.64. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $149.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.09. Walmart (NYSE:WMT Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 18th. The retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $152.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $147.91 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.30% and a net margin of 1.82%. Walmarts quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 6.21 EPS for the current year. Walmart 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. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WMT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT Get Rating). 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Accenture (NYSE:ACN Get Rating) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday. A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on ACN. Piper Jaffray Companies boosted their target price on shares of Accenture from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Monday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $289.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, March 24th. William Blair reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Monday, March 20th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, March 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $314.00. Get Accenture alerts: Accenture Stock Up 2.0 % NYSE ACN opened at $311.39 on Wednesday. Accenture has a 12-month low of $242.80 and a 12-month high of $322.88. The company has a market capitalization of $196.76 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.24. The firms 50 day moving average is $282.43 and its 200-day moving average is $278.20. Accenture Announces Dividend Accenture ( NYSE:ACN Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 23rd. The information technology services provider reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The firms revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Accenture will post 11.57 EPS for the current year. The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 13th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 12th. Accentures payout ratio is 41.25%. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Accenture news, insider Ellyn Shook sold 5,250 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.90, for a total transaction of $1,448,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,908 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,423,917.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Ellyn Shook sold 5,250 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.90, for a total value of $1,448,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,908 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,423,917.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 556 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.82, for a total value of $153,911.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 42,739 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $11,831,009.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,010 shares of company stock valued at $4,180,030. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Institutional Trading of Accenture A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Accenture by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,473,666 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $15,045,274,000 after purchasing an additional 816,734 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 48,035,644 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $13,729,067,000 after buying an additional 634,462 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,453,884 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $7,560,765,000 after buying an additional 704,657 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,642,841 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $4,440,976,000 after buying an additional 2,163,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,535,663 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $3,297,009,000 after buying an additional 2,060,646 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.97% of the companys stock. Accenture Company Profile (Get Rating) Accenture Plc engages in the provision of management consulting, technology, and outsourcing services. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America, Europe and Growth Markets. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Accenture Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Accenture and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. (Photo: DC) VIJAYAWADA: AP Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, reviewing the aftermath of the triple-train tragedy on Sunday, announced Rs 10 lakh for each family of the diseased from Andhra Pradesh, Rs 5 lakh for every seriously injured person and Rs 1 lakh each to those who have sustained minor injuries. These amounts will be in addition to the financial help announced by the Centre. At the review meeting, the Chief Minister sought details of passengers from Andhra Pradesh who have died or sustained injuries in the disaster. Officials told him that so far, only one death of a Srikakulam native has been confirmed, who had been a resident of Balasore in Odisha. The body of the lone AP victim C. Gurumurthy, from Srikakulams Santhabommali mandal, had been handed over to his family members in Balasore on Saturday. The family completed his cremation in Balasore itself. Officials informed Jagan Mohan Reddy that injured people from AP have been shifted to other hospitals from the Balasore district hospital. Among them are K. Puja who has been moved to a private hospital in Bhubaneswar. Two others are being shifted to a private hospital in Arilova Vizag. Another two are at another private hospital in Visakhapatnam. One person is in KGH Visakhapatnam. Two persons had been treated at INS Kalyani in Vizag and discharged. Seven people of AP with minor injuries had been treated at Balasore. They have since returned to their homes in Visakhapatnam. Officials told Jagan Mohan Reddy about the initiatives taken by the IAS officers committee in the aftermath of the incident under supervision of IT minister G. Amarnath. Minister B. Satyanarayana is also coordinating with these officials from Visakhapatnam. The AP government has stationed five ambulances in Balasore, and 25 ambulances and 15 Mahaprasthanam hearse vehicles in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. 10 ambulances are in Ichapuram. AP government employees are supervising relief and rehabilitation of distressed passengers from the state in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Balasore. Toll free numbers 1070, 18004250101 and 8333905022 are continuing to function. Officials informed the Chief Minister that district collector, Balasore, has confirmed identification of 275 of the deceased. 78 bodies have been handed over to the next of kin. Another 10 bodies are in the process of being handed over. Unidentified and unclaimed bodies are 187. 182 of them have been shifted to six mortuaries in Bhubaneswar till now. Telugu Desam president Nara Chandrababu Naidu met Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Saturday, triggering speculation over a possible electoral alliance between the two parties (File Image: DC) Hyderabad: In a significant political development, the Bharatiya Janata Party central leadership for the first time granted audience to Telugu Desam president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu after he severed ties with it in 2019. Naidu met Union home minister Amit Shah at the latter's residence in New Delhi on Saturday, triggering speculation over a possible electoral alliance between the two parties not just in Andhra Pradesh but in Telangana as well. While the two sides said that they did discuss politics, the YSR Congress sought to put up a brave face in the context of its decision to always go it alone in the polls and its indifference to electoral alliances between Opposition parties. Saturday's development clearly indicated the BJP's approach to keep both parties in good humour, which, undoubtedly, was a deviation from the anti-Naidu stance it had adopted after his "unwarranted" attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and joining hands with the Congress in the 2018 Telangana polls. The BJP also attached significance to Saturdays meeting by involving party president J.P. Nadda in the lengthy deliberations. The BJPs partner on paper, Jana Sena, has been pushing for the tripartite understanding. Ironically, the TD read Shahs willingness to meet Naidu as a sign of the YSR Congress weakening in AP. The YSRC, as a senior minister put it, cautioned the saffron brigade that any decision to ally with Naidu would be seen as the support base for Modi weakening and the BJP striking compromises to make up for it. Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, government adviser (public affairs), demanded that Naidu owed an explanation on the meeting since he had dubbed Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddys earlier meetings with Shah and Modi as efforts to wriggle out of CBI cases. "Naidu should explain which cases he wants to escape," Ramakrishna Reddy told Deccan Chronicle. Sources said that besides the TD, a section of BJP leaders from Telangana had been actively propagating reports of an alliance that they believe would help in winning a considerable number of seats in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority limits in view of presence of voters from Andhra region. The BJP had won five Assembly seats and one in the Lok Sabha in alliance with the TD in 2014. "Leaders aspiring for tickets in the HMDA limits are fine with the alliance, while there would be stiff resistance from leaders outside," a senior BJP vice-president said. TD sources claimed that BJP senior leader Dr K. Laxman had conveyed Naidu's request for a meeting to the BJP central leadership. "We have been trying to restore the party here in the recent past and portrayal as Andhra party is no longer valid after the TRS transformation into the BRS," a senior TD leader from Telangana said. "Our state president Kasani Gyaneshwar will soon take up a bus yatra," he said adding, "It is not clear whether there will be a firm alliance in Telangana or a tacit understanding. Both options can be explored." In AP, TD leaders claimed that Naidu wanted the BJP to remain neutral and rein in the YSR Congress aggressive approach to the elections by deploying more Central forces. Sources said the Centres cold response to YSR Congress efforts to get Central agencies like the CBI and the ED to initiate direct action against Naidu had also encouraged the TD chief take forward his proposal. Intermediaries like Narsapur MP K. Raghu Rama Krishna Raju were said to have been tom-tomming that TD and BJP would fight in 10 Lok Sabha seats each and the Jana Sena would be given the remaining five. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. (Photo: By Arrangement) NIRMAL: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao called upon people throw the Congress into "Bangalakatham (Bay of Bengal)" where it said it would throw Dharani portal if it is voted to power in the upcoming Assembly elections. Focusing the meeting on the Dharani portal, he warned the people that if the Congress came to power in Telangana, it would welfare schemes. "They will say 'Ram Ram' to Rythu Bandhu and 'Jai Bheem' to Dalit Bandhu," the CM remarked to loud applause from the gathering at a public meeting in Nirmal on Sunday. He had earlier inaugurated the BRS district office and integrated district collectorate complex and laid the foundation stone for the government medical college and formally inaugurated 2,000 2BHK units. Despite a drizzle, the meeting began on schedule. He mostly targeted the Congress and its leaders for their anti-BRS utterances. Rao repeatedly asked the gathering whether they wanted the Dharani portal to continue or not, to which the people replied in the affirmative. Rao cautioned that if the Dharani portal was scrapped, it would bring back the dangerous patwari and VRO system. "They will snatch the land of farmers by changing manual land ownership title records as per their whims and fancies," he said. This would fuel corruption and farmers will be forced to bribe revenue officials for registration in order to protect their land. Rao said the Dharani portal had checked corruption in land transactions and registrations as it functioned in a transparent manner. He said that it was because of the meticulous data in the Dharani portal that farmers were able to get money under the Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bheema. Rao said that the portal was so well-received that farmers and people from Maharashtra were enquiring about it. They were keen to know how welfare scheme amounts were being deposited into the accounts of farmers directly. Rao alleged that the Congress had destroyed the Telangana region and the people must be wary of the dangers that await them if the party came to power. The Chief Minister said that he will soon visit Basar to lay the foundation stone for a beautiful and grand Basara temple. Rao said that the state government would focus on food processing industries so as to create more jobs. Every taluk will boast of such industries, he said. He appreciated minister Allola Indrakaran Reddy, the MLAs and education officials as Nirmal district had topped the SSC examinations. The Chief Minister announced Rs 10 lakh funds to each of the 396 gram panchayats, Rs 25 crore each to Khanapur, Nirmal and Mudhole municipalities and Rs 20 lakh each to 17 mandal headquarters in Nirmal district towards development works. He called upon the people to celebrate Cheruvula Panduga on June 8. MLAs Balka Suman, Rekha Naik, Durgam Chinnaiah, Vittal Reddy, Diwakar Rao, Jogu Ramanna, Rathod Bapurao, Kova Laxmi, ZP chairpersons Rathod Janardhan, Vijayalaxmi, MLC Dande Vittal, former MP Godam Nageh, MLC Puranam Satish and senior leader Satyarnarayana Goud, Lok Bhuma Reddy and others were present. BJP Telangana state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar (Twitter) HYDERABAD: BJP state president Bandi Sanjay ruled out any electoral alliance with the Telugu Desam in either of the Telugu states. Whispers of an alliance emerged after TD president N. Chandrababu Naidu met Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda in New Delhi on Saturday. "What is wrong if a former CM meets BJP leaders," Sanjay asked, during a tele-conference with district party leaders on Sunday. BRS leaders hesitate to meet people and Opposition leaders, but BJP leaders are accessible to all, he said after party leaders asked him about the possibility of the TD alliance. BJP was committed to national integrity and development of states and its national leadership could meet any leader, including Naidu, Sanjay said. As BJP was gaining in strength in Telangana state, BRS, Congress and other forces were trying to defame it, he said. He claimed that the BRS, Congress, MIM and Communist parties will unite for the Assembly elections. An Indian-origin man has been sentenced to three years' imprisonment for fraud offences after he admitted to fleecing potential property buyers, many of them also of Indian origin, out of nearly 16,000 pounds, Scotland Yard said. Jaspal Singh Juttla, 64, was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court in London on Thursday on four counts of fraud by false representation and one count of carrying on a regulated activity when not authorised to do so. Also Read: Indian-origin man charged for assault, harassment and criminal trespass in Singapore The offences occurred between May 2019 and January 2021 and Juttla pleaded guilty to the offences at an earlier hearing in August last year at Uxbridge Magistrates Court, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. The offences relate to four victims, where property buyers were conned into handing over approximately 15,790 pounds to Juttla impersonating as a mortgage adviser. Jaspal Singh Juttla is a persistent fraud who has exploited people in his own community, using their hard-earned money to fund his lifestyle, said Detective Constable Anita Sharma, Financial Investigator in the Central Specialist Crime Unit of the Met Police. We are grateful to those victims who have been brave enough to come forward in this case but there may be other people conned by Juttla who have not spoken to police. I urge anyone who suspects they may be a victim of Juttla to come forward and report it by calling Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or contacting them online, she said. The financial investigators from the Mets Economic Crime team believe that there are other victims that have been scammed by the ruse and are yet to come forward. Juttla claimed to be a mortgage adviser and offered to assist victims with property purchases. He would meet his clients who were predominantly of Indian heritage and some spoke little to no English at various locations in London, including Southall and Hayes in west London. Some victims were targeted at open house viewings. The Met Police investigation found that Juttla often promised victims to fill out their mortage applications, arrange a survey for them and put them in touch with a solicitor that would assist with a house purchase. Once the victims paid the fee requested by Juttla, he would ask for more money to cover other services that he had made up. None of these services were carried out and all arrangements failed to surface for the property buyers. On occasions, victims contacted him to ask what was going on, but Juttla would make up excuses in an attempt to put the victims at ease. In some instances, Juttla did provide victims with a refund by bank transfer but it was never the full amount of the payments he had originally received, the police said. Juttla came to the attention of police in January 2021 after Action Fraud, the UK's national reporting centre for fraud, received a crime report from one of his victims. The Met Police said that Juttla was charged in July last year following a thorough investigation. An explosion near the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Saturday hit a two-storey dwelling, injuring 20 people including five children, and rescuers pulled residents out from under the rubble, the regional governor said. Serhiy Lysak, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said three of the children were in serious condition. A total of 17 people were being treated in hospital. Media reports said emergency teams had pulled four people from under rubble in the town known as the Pidhorodnenska community. Lysak said another child was likely still trapped. Reports on social media said a Russian missile caused the explosion and that an emergency services building was also hit. Also Read | Russia says two villages shelled by Ukraine There was no confirmation of a missile strike from Ukrainian military officials. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, also writing on Telegram, said the explosion occurred between two dwellings. "Unfortunately, there are people under the rubble," Zelenskiy wrote. "Once again, Russia proves it is a terrorist state." Moscow denies its military forces target civilians. Pictures posted on social media showed rescue teams working at a shattered, smouldering building amid piles of twisted building materials. 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The accident took place at around 7 am near Multhan village on Lebad-Nayagaon road, some 70 km from the district headquarters, Badnawar police station in-charge Vishwadeep Singh Parihar said. Also Read | Four killed in road mishap in Karnataka's Mandya The sleeper coach bus was going from Jodhpur (in Rajasthan) to Hyderabad (Telangana) when a truck coming from back side hit the vehicle, the official said. The side portion of the bus was badly damaged, he said. Eight persons were injured and undergoing treatment at a government hospital in Badnawar, the official said. The truck was seized, he added. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday appealed to the people of Manipur to lift the blockades from National Highway-2 so that basic and essential goods such as food, medicines and fuel can reach the state. Posting a tweet on his official handle, Shah also asked members of civil society to take the initiative in this context. Also Read | 74 deaths, over 47,000 displacements, severe humanitarian crisis in Manipur: Report "My sincerest appeal to the people of Manipur is to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur, NH-2 Highway, so that food, medicines, petrol/diesel, and other necessary items can reach the people," he said. "I also request that civil society organisations do the needful in bringing consensus," he added. My sincerest appeal to the people of Manipur is to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur, NH-2 Highway, so that food, medicines, Petrol/Diesel, and other necessary items can reach the people. I also request that Civil Society Organisations do the needful in bringing Amit Shah (@AmitShah) June 4, 2023 Shah further said in his tweet, "Together only we can restore normalcy in this beautiful state." Ethnic violence broke out in Manipur after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status. The railways has cancelled 123 trains, diverted 56, short-terminated 10 and rescheduled 14 trains due to the accident in Odisha in which 275 people were killed. These trains include those with journeys commencing from June 3 to June 7. The cancelled trains include Sealdah-Puri Duronto, Howrah-Chennai Mail, Kanyakumari-Howrah Express, Shalimar Express, Tirupati Weekly Superfast Express, SMVT-Bengaluru Superfast Express, Santraganchi AC Superfast, Purulia-Villupuram. Also Read | Odisha train accident: Even ticketless travellers will receive compensation The diverted trains include Tambaram-New Tinsukhia Express, New Delhi-Puri Express, Purushottam Express and Digha to Visakhapatnam Superfast Express. Trains that have been short-terminated include Falaknuma Express, Baghajatin Express, Balasore-Bhubaneshwar Express, and Jaleswar-Puri MEMU. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that normal train services are likely to be restored by Wednesday. Also Read | Odisha tragedy: As Oppn seeks Vaishnaws resignation, saffron party points at accidents during non-BJP rule The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train occurred around 7 PM on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar. Around 275 people were killed and 1,175 were injured in the accident. A team of doctors and experts from the AIIMS here and other central hospitals of Delhi have been rushed to Bhubaneswar through a special IAF flight to provide medical assistance to those injured in the deadly Odisha train accident, official sources said on Sunday. The team is carrying medicines and heavy critical care equipment, the sources said. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is in Odisha and will visit the AIIMS Bhubaneswar and the Cuttack medical college on Sunday to take stock of medical assistance being provided to the victims of the train accident. Read more | Odisha train accident: PM Modi commends members of rescue teams Doctors from AIIMS-Bhubaneswar were earlier dispatched to Balasore and Cuttack in Odisha to assist in the relief operations at the site of the train accident, Mandaviya had said on Saturday. The triple train accident has left at least 288 people dead and over 1,100 injured. The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train occurred on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar. Former Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Hansraj Ahir on Sunday claimed that the Narendra Modi government has tackled the Naxal menace in an effective manner and brought down the incidents of Maoist violence by 70 per cent as compared to the UPA rule. Highlighting the Modi government's achievements in the last nine years of its rule during the launch of the 'Modi@9 Maha Jansampark Abhiyan' campaign in Chandrapur district, Ahir, who is the convener of the drive, also said that Naxalism was on the rise during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. "A total of 2,213 incidents of violence involving Naxalites were recorded during the UPA government till 2010 (from 2004), while the BJP dispensation brought down the number to 509 till 2021 (from 2014), a reduction of 70 per cent. As many as 1,005 civilians were killed by Naxalites during the UPA rule in six years till 2010, while this number was 147 during the Modi government till 2021, a decline of 85 per cent," he said. Also Read: Chhattisgarh: Woman Naxalite, BSF jawan injured in encounter During the UPA rule, the Maoists were actively operating from 96 districts in the country, but the area of their operation shrunk to 46 districts during the Modi government. With the coordination of the state governments and the security forces, the government succeeded in demoralising the Naxalites, Ahir said. "All this shows that Naxal violence was on the rise during the UPA government, but recorded a huge decline under the Modi rule," he added. The former Union minister of state for home said the BJP government rolled out hundreds of schemes for the welfare of the poor. "PM Modi has created history by providing houses to more than 3.5 crore families in the last nine years and his government facilitated construction of 11.72 crore toilets, which ended the embarrassment that people, especially women, had to face," he said. Ahir is currently the chairman of the National Commission for Backward Classes. Security has been stepped up in Punjab's Amritsar ahead of the 39th anniversary of Operation Bluestar on June 6, said police on Sunday. Special Director General of Police Arpit Shukla (law and order) Sunday reviewed security arrangements in Amritsar. Operation Bluestar was the Army operation which was carried out in June 1984 to flush out the militants from the Golden Temple. "Strict security measures are in place with increased patrols by local police and paramilitary forces in inner and outer areas," said Shukla. Police said 68 checkpoints have been set up for round-the-clock surveillance while patrolling teams have been deployed in congested areas of the city. Special DGP Shukla through media asked people not to believe any rumours on social media and warned of strict action if anyone tries to spread any. Replying to a question on security arrangements in Amritsar, Shukla said four companies of CAPF (central armed police forces) have been deployed in the district, in addition to 3,000 Punjab police personnel. The senior police officer said not only in Amritsar, security has been beefed up all over Punjab. Eleven companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed in the state, in addition to police force mobilisation, he said. Shukla said on June 6, sizable gathering can be expected at the Golden Temple and the Akal Takht where Operation Bluestar anniversary will be observed. He said all sensitive and hypersensitive points in the city have been covered by police to ensure peace at religious congregations in the Golden Temple on June 6. To a question on a 'bandh' call given by radical Sikh outfit Dal Khalsa on June 6, Shukla said it was the prerogative of shopkeepers and business establishments as nobody will force them to shut their shops. Seven pacts in the areas of trade, energy and infrastructure, signed during the just-concluded visit of Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to India, can be expected to strengthen bilateral cooperation. Foremost among the agreements was the one on hydropower; India has agreed to import 10,000 MW from Nepal over the next 10 years. Additionally, India will enable Nepal to start exporting up to 60 MW to Bangladesh through India. An agreement on India building the 669 MW Lower Arun Hydro Project was also signed. It is already constructing the 900 MW Arun-III hydroelectric project in Nepal and a 490 MW Arun-IV hydropower project is being planned. The two sides also renewed the 1992 Transit Treaty. Under the revised treaty, Nepal will get access to Indias inland waterways too. This should boost the landlocked countrys trade. Also Read | Meeting Narendra Modi the most significant aspect of India trip: Nepal PM Prachanda Additionally, they signed an agreement on the construction of the 50 km Siliguri-Jhapa Petroleum Pipeline. The two prime ministers virtually inaugurated or laid the foundation stones for several cross-border projects. In addition to flagging off an Indian Railways cargo train from Bathnaha to Nepal Customs yard, they inaugurated an integrated check post between Rupaidiha-Nepalgunj and Sunauli-Bhairahawa, and laid the foundation stone for Phase II of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj oil pipeline. The projects are mutually beneficial and will boost their economies. India-Nepal relations nosedived in 2015 when a Madeshi blockade of the border the Madeshis were protesting provisions in the new Constitution paralysed Nepals economy. The Modi government was perceived in Nepal as extending unofficial support to the blockade. It not only damaged India-Nepal relations but also prompted Kathmandu to turn to China. Chinas influence in Nepals politics and the economic sphere has grown by leaps and bounds in the years since. Former Prime Minister KPS Olis baiting of India on the border dispute among other things only worsened the situation. However, with the Nepali Congress coming to power in 2021, the downslide in India-Nepal relations began to be arrested. Dahals visit and the cooperation envisaged under the agreements reached can be expected to set in motion an upswing in ties. However, anti-India feelings run deep in Nepal. While Nepali politicians stir such feelings to further their narrow interests, India cannot absolve itself of responsibility either. Indias meddling in Nepali domestic politics and the arrogant conduct of its diplomacy with Nepal keep this resentment alive. A mural in the new Parliament building that supposedly depicts Akhand Bharat the MEA has dismissed such allegations, claiming it is a depiction of Ashokas empirehas evoked anger in Nepal as it is seen to be reaffirming Indias expansionist ambitions. State-to-state infrastructure deals can do only so much to improve our relationship with Nepal. Insensitivity to Nepali concerns can undo the co-operation envisaged by bilateral agreements. Shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY Get Rating) have earned an average rating of Moderate Buy from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.28. A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upgraded Annaly Capital Management from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $21.50 in a research report on Tuesday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Friday, April 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Annaly Capital Management to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Annaly Capital Management from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 17th. Get Annaly Capital Management alerts: Annaly Capital Management Trading Up 0.9 % Shares of NLY stock opened at $19.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. Annaly Capital Management has a 52-week low of $15.11 and a 52-week high of $27.96. The company has a market capitalization of $9.69 billion, a PE ratio of -8.72 and a beta of 1.37. The businesss fifty day moving average is $19.03 and its 200 day moving average is $20.55. Annaly Capital Management Cuts Dividend Annaly Capital Management ( NYSE:NLY Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.09. Annaly Capital Management had a positive return on equity of 18.86% and a negative net margin of 38.80%. The company had revenue of $818.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.86 EPS for the current fiscal year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.26%. Annaly Capital Managements payout ratio is -115.56%. Institutional Trading of Annaly Capital Management A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,287,354 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $931,303,000 after purchasing an additional 3,668,441 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 54,913,095 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,049,389,000 after acquiring an additional 576,515 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,722,698 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $212,614,000 after acquiring an additional 4,263,394 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,288,003 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $292,154,000 after acquiring an additional 800,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 166.1% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,866,079 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $87,858,000 after acquiring an additional 9,279,874 shares in the last quarter. 52.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. About Annaly Capital Management (Get Rating) Annaly Capital Management, Inc engages in the investment and financing of residential and commercial assets. It operates through the following investment groups: Agency, Residential Credit, and Mortgage Servicing Rights. The Agency group invests in agency mortgage-backed securities. The Residential Credit group involves non-agency residential mortgage assets within securitized products and whole loan markets. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Annaly Capital Management Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Annaly Capital Management and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR Get Rating) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 730,616 shares of the business services providers stock after purchasing an additional 17,637 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.62% of Broadridge Financial Solutions worth $97,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,043,423 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $2,026,747,000 after buying an additional 131,997 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,830,478 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,418,737,000 after buying an additional 64,035 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,654,571 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $675,108,000 after buying an additional 19,303 shares during the period. Jensen Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,820,083 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $244,128,000 after buying an additional 102,405 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 86.6% in the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,195,313 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $186,122,000 after buying an additional 554,807 shares during the period. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Broadridge Financial Solutions alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research firms have recently commented on BR. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Monday, April 24th. They issued an outperform rating and a $169.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com began coverage on Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $161.40. Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance Shares of BR stock opened at $153.25 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.28. The stock has a market cap of $18.08 billion, a PE ratio of 32.89 and a beta of 0.99. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $131.35 and a 1 year high of $183.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.04. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 40.29% and a net margin of 9.33%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a $0.725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $2.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Broadridge Financial Solutionss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.23%. Insider Transactions at Broadridge Financial Solutions In other news, Director Leslie A. Brun sold 6,900 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.98, for a total value of $1,027,962.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 59,916 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,926,285.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Leslie A. Brun sold 6,900 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.98, for a total value of $1,027,962.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 59,916 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,926,285.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Schifellite sold 15,695 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.59, for a total value of $2,394,900.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,314 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,677,413.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,397 shares of company stock valued at $4,162,229 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Broadridge Financial Solutions Profile (Get Rating) Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of investor communications and technology solutions to banks, broker-dealers, mutual funds, and corporate issuers. It operates through the following segments: Investor Communication Solutions and Global Technology and Operations. The Investor Communication Solutions segment offers services for broker-dealer investor communication, customer communication, corporate issuer, advisor solutions, and mutual fund and retirement solutions. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Broadridge Financial Solutions Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Broadridge Financial Solutions and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Fair Isaac Co. (NYSE:FICO Get Rating) has earned a consensus rating of Hold from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $810.86. FICO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Fair Isaac from $820.00 to $920.00 in a research note on Monday, May 22nd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Fair Isaac in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. 3M reiterated a maintains rating on shares of Fair Isaac in a report on Friday, April 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Fair Isaac from $743.00 to $759.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Fair Isaac from $725.00 to $775.00 in a report on Monday, May 22nd. Get Fair Isaac alerts: Insider Activity In other news, EVP Stephanie Covert sold 1,335 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $740.34, for a total value of $988,353.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,972,322.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Fair Isaac news, EVP Stephanie Covert sold 1,335 shares of Fair Isaac stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $740.34, for a total transaction of $988,353.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,972,322.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Marc F. Mcmorris sold 1,324 shares of Fair Isaac stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $758.58, for a total transaction of $1,004,359.92. Following the sale, the director now owns 242 shares of the companys stock, valued at $183,576.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fair Isaac Fair Isaac Trading Down 0.3 % Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Fair Isaac by 105.8% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,625 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $3,250,000 after purchasing an additional 2,378 shares during the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fair Isaac by 34.4% in the 1st quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 1,335 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fair Isaac by 34.2% in the 1st quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 51 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fair Isaac by 747.5% in the 1st quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 66,205 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $46,522,000 after purchasing an additional 58,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Fair Isaac by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 126,567 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $88,937,000 after purchasing an additional 15,686 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Fair Isaac stock opened at $790.84 on Friday. Fair Isaac has a 1-year low of $371.52 and a 1-year high of $800.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.72 and a beta of 1.26. The firms fifty day moving average price is $729.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $671.47. About Fair Isaac (Get Rating) Fair Isaac Corp. engages in the provision of decision management solutions. It operates through the following segments: Applications, Scores, and Decision Management Software. The Applications segment includes decision management applications designed for a type of business problem or process such as marketing, account origination, customer management, fraud, collections, and insurance claims management. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Fair Isaac Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Fair Isaac and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
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One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $183.67. A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HVRRY shares. HSBC lowered shares of Hannover Ruck from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Hannover Ruck from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, March 27th. Get Hannover Ruck alerts: Hannover Ruck Trading Down 1.4 % Shares of HVRRY stock opened at $109.80 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $102.66 and a 200-day moving average of $98.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Hannover Ruck has a 12-month low of $65.98 and a 12-month high of $111.33. The firm has a market cap of $26.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55 and a beta of 0.72. Hannover Ruck Cuts Dividend Hannover Ruck ( OTCMKTS:HVRRY Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 9th. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.28 by ($0.01). Hannover Ruck had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 5.26%. The company had revenue of $8.95 billion for the quarter. The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.4037 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 4th. Hannover Rucks dividend payout ratio is currently 28.19%. About Hannover Ruck (Get Rating) Hannover Ruck SE engages in the provision of reinsurance activities. It operates through the Property and Casualty Reinsurance, and Life and Health Reinsurance business segments. The Property and Casualty Reinsurance segment refers to lines of business concerned with the insurance of property, such as liability, fire, hail or marine insurance. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Hannover Ruck Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hannover Ruck and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Hugo Boss AG (OTCMKTS:BOSSY Get Rating) has been given an average rating of Hold by the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.17. Separately, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Hugo Boss from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, March 10th. Get Hugo Boss alerts: Hugo Boss Stock Performance BOSSY stock opened at $14.50 on Friday. Hugo Boss has a twelve month low of $9.02 and a twelve month high of $15.06. The companys 50 day moving average is $14.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.09. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31 and a beta of 1.24. Hugo Boss Increases Dividend About Hugo Boss The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 11th were issued a $0.1335 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.53%. This is a boost from Hugo Bosss previous dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 10th. Hugo Bosss payout ratio is presently 21.54%. (Get Rating) Hugo Boss AG is a fashion and lifestyle company that offers womens and mens apparel. Its brands include BOSS and HUGO. It also focuses on the development and distribution of fragrances, eyewear, watches, and childrens fashion. The company was founded by Hugo Ferdinand Boss in 1924 and is headquartered in Metzingen, Germany. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Hugo Boss Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hugo Boss and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. PICTURED: The launch of the International Cities of Peace led by the Mayor Councillor Sandra Duffy and Rev David Latimer has taken place at the Guildhall. Some of the students who attended the event included, Sarah Carlin, St Marys College, Aoibhe OReilly, St Cecilias College, Cerys Connolly, St Brigids College. Back from left, Megan Cairns, Foyle College, Ethan McClelland, Lumen Christi College, Callum Webb, St. Columbs College, Jay Burke, Oakgrove Integrated College and Ciaran Fisher, St. Josephs Boys School. Picture Martin McKeown. The Mayor of Derry and Strabane, Councillor Sandra Duffy, joined Reverend David Latimer this week in the Guildhall, along with local students and community representatives, to celebrate the decision to join the International Cities of Peace network. Derry and Strabane will sign up to the network in September, joining towns and cities across the world in pledging a commitment to the pursuit of peace, building reconciliation and promoting equality throughout both local and international communities. Establishing a community as a peace city recognizes past achievements in peace building, encourages current initiatives, and inspires future generations to continue on peaceful pathways. Speaking at the event, Mayor Duffy said she was delighted to launch the proposal as one of her final initiatives in her year as First Citizen. As a city we know more than most the true value of peace building and we have come a long way in our own journey to establishing a peaceful and stable society, she explained. As a Council we have a firm commitment to building community relations which is at the heart of our aspirations to create a shared, equal and safe community for all. "Our Inclusive Strategic Growth Plan prioritises equality and inclusivity, the eradication of barriers and the promotion of reconciliation. We all have a role to play, and as part of the International Cities of Peace network we have the opportunity to reaffirm our pledge to achieving lasting peace both locally and worldwide. I want to thank Reverend Latimer for approaching me with the idea, and for his own significant contribution to peace building and bringing people of all persuasions together. As an official International City of Peace we can continue that work and join cities around the world in exploring new pathways and programmes to enhance community relations and build a better place to live for everyone. The designation means that the city will actively explore peace building opportunities for local communities and continue to build on the Good Relations work already being carried out by Council and the Community and Voluntary Sector. A special event in the Guildhall is planned for September 2023 to celebrate the official signing of the pledge. Speaking after the event Reverend Latimer said: The path to todays event started in 2019 when I received a letter from America proposing that Derry take steps to become established as an International City of Peace. The sender of this letter was the Founder & Chair of International Cities of Peace, Frederick J Arment. Students and staff pictured at the launch of the International Cities of Peace led by the Mayor Councillor Sandra Duffy and Rev David Latimer. Picture Martin McKeown. 31.05.23 Covid restrictions, however, prevented progressing this proposal. Not until 2022 when, restrictions were eased, was it possible to connect with people and begin a series of exciting conversations. Undeniably, Derry is highly favoured by being invited to join a global family of Peace Cities. Not only does this recognise the people from our City & District who tirelessly toiled to end conflict, foster peace and shape a better future. It also permits Derry-Londonderry to become a shop window for people in other places to see, find hope and keep moving forward." 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. Ten student-staff projects from Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) have been awarded funding under the new N-TUTORRTransforming Learning initiative for Irelands Technological Universities sector. The announcement of the funded projects took place at an event in the Spencer Hotel, Dublin, on 23rd May. Dr Niamh Shaw, who is a writer, award-winning science communicator and educator about space, and who is from Dundalk, Co Louth, gave a keynote speech at the celebration. DkIT students Anita Byrne from Dunleer and Clare Carvill from Louth, and Dr Moira Maguire, who is from Dundalk and who is head of teaching and learning at the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at DkIT, are among a team awarded funding for a project. Their proposal will see them co-create a journal club and workshops for postgraduate research students at DkIT to improve their academic writing and critical thinking. The N-TUTORR Students as Partners in Innovation and Change funding grants have been awarded to 131 projects across the seven institutions that make up Irelands Technological Universities sector, including DkIT. A total of more than 650,000 is being awarded under the programme, with each project receiving up to 5,000 in funding. Funded by the European UnionNextGenerationEU, N-TUTORR is coordinated through the Technological Higher Education Association (THEA), with support from the Higher Education Authority (HEA). For more information about the N-TUTORRTransforming Learning initiative, go to www.thea.ie/TransformingLearning and follow the official hashtag #NTUTORRFellowships. Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) Science Department says it was "absolutely delighted" to take part in a recent filming for RTE's Nationwide in Blackrock village. The Nationwide team were on location filming a special segment focusing on Tidy Towns in the village and DkIT was involved as their H2O Heroes initiative with primary school children contributes to Blackrock's Tidy Towns agenda. The DkIT piece that was recently filmed was with children from the local primary school, St Oliver Plunketts N.S. who are one of the Institutes pilot schools for Samuel Perpetuo Rodrigues PhD project which started in September 2022 and is co-supervised by Dr Caroline Gilleran Stephens, Dr Suzanne Linnane and Dr David Getty (Emeritus). Dr Suzanne Linnane, DkIT said: We are absolutely delighted to be able to contribute to Blackrocks Tidy Town agenda with the children from Blackrock Schools. "Children are the future and as such our H2O Heroes initiative aims to equip them with skill sets to allow them to protect and manage their water resources into the future. Both Caroline and I are passionate about water, the outdoor and kids. "Ten years ago, we started H2O Heroes to empower children and help them engage in science. We are so delighted to be able to impart our knowledge and love about water with the children from the area. The H2O Heroes initiative is an action orientated education package designed for 3rd and 4th class primary school children which is aimed at introducing and exploring key components of the science behind our water resources. The goal of the Institutes H2O Heroes programme is to inspire, inform and engage and this enables children to become real life H2O Heroes and ambassadors for the protection of our most valuable resource, water (H2O), as well as recognise the value of science in their everyday lives. Dr Suzanne Linnane & Dr Caroline Gilleran Stephens who were supported on the day by Dr Siobhan McCarthy, say they would like to thank the class from St Olivers School and their Deputy-principal Conor Clune. The Nationwide episode will air on 16 June. by Gamini Weerakoon India has done more for Sri Lanka than the IMF S. Jaishankar, Union Minister for External AffairsIndian Express. China will stand for Sri Lankas sovereignty, economic development Visiting Chinese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Sun Weidong, when he called on Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena last week. These two statements by representatives of the two Asian giants taken at face valueprima facie as lawyers say should make our people joyful and relaxed but in terms of realpolitik, should it be so? The statement of Jaishankar was followed by the Indian High Commission the next day that following a request by Sri Lanka, the State Bank of India had extended the tenure of USD 1 billion credit facility till next year. Lankans should indeed thank India for their continuing support but a significant difference between the statements of the two powers we noticed was the Chinese government giving priority in their statement for support of Sri Lankas sovereignty, Jaishankars statement as reported said: The Modi government is working on developing an extended neighbourhood that involves the islands in the Indian Ocean, Gulf countries, and nations in South-East Asia. What we are trying to do is for a bigger, influential and ambitious India. We are trying to expand what should be our neighbourhood. We look at what this extended neighbourhood should be. It could be islands in the Indian Ocean, nations in South East Asia and Central Asia or Gulf countries. The relationship with the UAE and Saudi Arabia has undergone an enormous transformation. From traditionally a much more constricted view of our neighbourhood, we have undertaken something much more ambitious, he had said in his speech at Anants National University in Delhi. Jaishankar is India's longest serving foreign secretary in four decades and is seen as the architect of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign policy. [Photo: dnaindia.com] If you are the biggest in the neighbourhood, then it is in our interest that our other neighbours have a share in our prosperity, happiness and are linked to us, he had declared in a burst of Indian altruism, not ever witnessed before Lankas financial debacle and gone forward in a way, we ourselves have never done for Sri Lanka and added that it is bigger than what the IMF has done for Sri Lanka. Jaishankar is indeed correct. Although friendship with its neighbours was supposed to be the cornerstone of Indian foreign policy, commencing with Congress governments, despite Lanka faithfully following the tilted Non-Aligned policy of the Gandhis towards the Soviet Union, massive assistance on the scale given by the Modi government or any significant assistance did not come Lankas way. Rajiv Gandhis intervention in Lanka and the Indo-Lanka Agreement which the then president J.R. Jayewardene had no option but to accept (Remember his plea: What could I do with no foreign power lifting a finger to help me) and with the Modi government still calling for its full implementation, any reference by New Delhi to Sri Lankan sovereignty will sound hollow. Narendra Modi has visions of making India a world power and becoming a world leader and in these endeavours he is bound to suffer setbacks such as in the diplomatic rapprochement brought about recently between Saudi Arabia and Iran by Chinese diplomacy, which is what Jaishankar is talking about when he refers to the relationship with the UAE having undergone an enormous transformation. But we in Lanka are not concerned with all that but only about the Modi government working on developing an extended neighbourhood that involves islands in the Indian Ocean, Gulf countries and nations in South-East Asia. How would this extended neighbourhood apply to South Asian countries like Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Maldives which have had long-standing contentious relationships with their giant neighbour resulting in the paralysis of SAARC? Sri Lankans while appreciating the munificence of the Modi government have noticed that some massive Indian investment projects involve Lankas national security concerns. They include the construction of seaports, the Trinco Oil Tank Farm, the use of the Trinco port itself, and energy projects in projects in the Palk Strait. Many agreements have been signed with India by the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government when Basil Rajapaksa was the Finance Minister and also after the Ranil-Rajapaksa regime took office. These agreements have not been presented to parliament for ratification making some doubt, especially the trade unions, whether national security has been bartered away for loans which have to be repaid. Narendra Modi is in an ebullient mood having won two consecutive general elections and going for a third term driving his juggernaut of Hindutva through the Indian electorate, singling out minorities particularly Indias Muslims, the second largest Muslim population in the world. Most Indian opposition parties despite their myriad differences in religion, race, and caste are attempting to form a united opposition to defeat him at the next parliamentary elections. He is defying democratic practices, traditions and even constitutional provisions at the cost to his fellow Indians and for fair and democratic judgments to be expected in his proposed Extended neighbourhood would be the height of optimism. At a ceremony in New Delhi, on Sunday, Modi inaugurated a new parliament complex built at an estimated cost of $ 120 million and called it the cradle of empowerment but the ceremony was boycotted by most opposition parties. He sidelined President Droupaadi Murmu who is the head of state and the highest constitutional authority and inaugurated the building himself. It is an attempt to revamp the British colonial architecture including the former parliament building although some were of the view that the old parliament is more Indian than Modis creation. Rahul Gandhi, the Indian Congress party leader was in the United States last week meeting Indian expatriates and American legislators accusing Modis BJP and RSS of attacking the constitution and attempting to divide the country on caste and religious lines ahead of Prime Minister Modis visit at the invitation of President Joe Biden. What is so attractive about Narendra Modi to Western leaders like Joe Biden? Modis human rights record as the Chief Minister of Gujarat was condemned by the Western world. Is this real politics at play Modi and the BJP being the biggest and the only countervailing force against the superpower, China? Gamini Weerakoon is a former editor of The Sunday Island, The Island, and consultant editor of the Sunday Leader. Mark's Pharmacy in Ardee has earned top honours at the 11th Irish Pharmacy Awards, often called the "Oscars of Irish Pharmacy, taking home the coveted titles of "Pharmacy of the Year" and "Pharmacy Team of the Year." This achievement makes the Pharmacy the only establishment in Ireland to receive this dual recognition. Mark says these awards underscore Mark's Pharmacy's unwavering dedication to customer service and their significant contribution to the local community. Reacting to the win, owner and Superintendent Pharmacist Mark McPhillips said: "These awards embody the trust that our community has in us. We view our customers as an extended family, and this recognition validates our commitment to them." Expressing gratitude, McPhillips added: "We appreciate the opportunity to serve our community. These awards represent a collective achievement, reflecting both our team's hard work and our customers' loyalty." He also gave special recognition to Tara McKenna for her invaluable contribution in establishing Mark's Pharmacy as a respected and award-winning healthcare destination. To experience the award-winning services of Mark's Pharmacy, visit www.ardeepharmacy.ie or call 0416856955. by Anwar A. Khan Most of the human rights organizations may appear to be upstanding global citizens on paper, their practical impact can be questioned, labeling them as toothless tigers. Lets examine their behavior: During the upcoming national elections in Bangladesh, the people want a festive atmosphere that allows voters to freely choose their preferred candidate. However, it is highly offensive to see foreign diplomats stationed in Dhaka interfering in Bangladeshs election process while their own countries have significant faults in various affairs, including their own election processes. When these diplomats attempt to prescribe solutions for our national matters, they come across as unjust rogues. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina films Padma Bridge from a helicopter on her way to Dhaka from Tungipara in Gopalganj on Friday, January 24, 2020 ( Photo: Dhaka Tribune ) Although the next parliamentary elections are still more than a year away, foreign diplomats are already involving themselves in Bangladeshs election process, which is unacceptable. The government does not appreciate their interference, criticism, or opinions on the election process and internal affairs of the country. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already instructed foreign diplomats working in Bangladesh to refrain from such actions. Additionally, media representatives should avoid asking foreign diplomats about our election process. Regrettably, these international human rights organizations and their local counterparts have chosen to remain silent regarding the blatant and aggressive meddling of powerful nations like the United States in the domestic affairs of Bangladesh, an independent and sovereign country. This silence is deeply regrettable. Moreover, the international non-governmental human rights organizations have failed to condemn the disgraceful decision of the White House administration to stop funding the World Health Organization (WHO) on flimsy grounds, violating international norms. Even the WHO itself has not addressed this issue yet. In most cases, these organizations deliberately choose to remain silent on blatant violations of international rules by the American government and its allied authorities in weaker nations. It appears that they prioritize the interests of powerful states, displaying a double standard in their actions towards less powerful countries. They must strive to be more independent, resourceful, and courageous in fulfilling their responsibilities without succumbing to the influence of major powers or relying solely on their financial resources. Their work should not be compromised, and they should speak up against egregious and systemic human rights violations, especially those committed by the United States and its allies. Millions of people have suffered crimes against humanity perpetrated by these rogue states, particularly the United States. It seems as though there is an unwritten agreement between these international non-governmental human rights organizations (NGOs) and powerful states such as the United States, where they refrain from speaking critically about them and their accomplice states. Numerous human rights abuses occur in countries around the world, imposed in the form of abrasive sanctions to stifle nations and their people from asserting their rights. These NGOs remain silent when drone fighter planes strike weaker nations, resulting in the destruction of human lives and vital infrastructure for the sake of self-interest. In such situations, these NGOs hide their faces and fail to take bold steps to stop the oppressors. This raises the question of their effectiveness. Furthermore, some global organizations have faced criticism for their inability to address the problems they were designed to tackle. The United Nations, for instance, has failed to compel Israel to adhere to its numerous resolutions, some of which were submitted by the UN Security Council. Similarly, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has also been deemed ineffective. The critical situation in Myanmar is an opportunity for the OIC to demonstrate its capabilities. As a body consisting of 57 nations, it is essential for its bureaucrats to take serious action rather than issuing insignificant press releases. While human rights and democracy are not synonymous, the global human rights regime should be based on the understanding that democratic governance provides the best foundation for durable human rights protection. Multilateral institutions should align their policies with the promotion of democracy as the fundamental principle. Institutions like the United Nations Development Programme should prioritize good governance and democracy in their initiatives. Human rights not only benefit from good governance but also thrive in democratic environments, both horizontally among states and vertically through the establishment of institutionalized frameworks within countries and societies. Global economic institutions also have the potential to promote and protect human rights if there is sufficient political will. These institutions, such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and regional development banks, should extend their work on anti-corruption and good governance to ensure equal access to legal rights for all groups. By strengthening judicial institutions and fostering civil society participation, these efforts can enhance productivity and prosperity in developing nations. Similarly, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its member states should encourage the elimination of barriers to freedom of information to facilitate market growth. There is no doubt that the number of human rights non-governmental organizations has increased significantly in the sixty years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was promulgated by the United Nations. These NGOs proudly claim to play a critical role in promoting and protecting human rights worldwide. However, in reality, their impact is questionable. The international human rights law arena still lacks a consensus on the definition and categorization of human rights NGOs. Nevertheless, all stakeholders agree that these organizations should protect internationally recognized human rights at various levels. Unfortunately, their failures are evident. Successful and effective human rights NGOs should possess certain attributes and should self-regulate, possibly by adhering to NGO Codes of Conduct, to overcome internal and external challenges. It requires the concerted efforts of all relevant stakeholders to ensure that human rights NGOs fulfill their mandate of protecting human rights in all countries, without being influenced by powerful states that may engage in harmful actions. The achievements and effectiveness of successful human rights NGOs should serve as models for all advocates and defenders of human rights, who often face significant sacrifices in their endeavors to improve the human experience. In retrospect, the human rights treaties established after World War II were not just acts of idealism but also carried elements of hubris. They can be likened to the civilizing efforts of Western governments and missionary groups in the 19th century, which did little good for native populations while entangling European powers in the affairs of countries they did not understand. It is high time for a more proactive and pragmatic approach. Addressing the potential for nuclear warfare is an issue that remains relevant in todays globalized world. Initiatives such as The Nuclear World Project, led by Robert Frye, aim to create awareness of the dangers posed by nuclear proliferation and facilitate dialogue on resolution options. International NGOs should play an active role in these efforts, but their response has been insufficient. Human rights provide an aspirational roadmap for decision-making and balancing trade-offs. This framework is crucial when dealing with disruptive and potentially dangerous forces that present complex challenges. However, it seems that organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch fail to effectively address issues involving superpowers like the United States and its influential allied states. The contemporary international human rights framework should be enduring and evolving. It can continue to emphasize our shared humanity, provide a moral compass, and instill determination and purpose in the face of daunting odds faced by weaker nations against mighty powers. Unfortunately, international human rights organizations or NGOs often remain toothless tigers. They require significant improvements and reforms to fulfill their obligations effectively. A 35-year-old woman kicked a pharmacist during an incident when she went to collect methadone to treat a heroin addiction. Vanessa OCallaghan of Corporation Buildings, Daltons Avenue, Cork, pleaded guilty to the charge of assaulting the pharmacist at Murphys pharmacy on North Main Street, Cork, on May 1 2021. Inspector Martin Canny said the pharmacist was kicked on his thigh during the incident. Donal Daly, solicitor, said the injured party knew the defendant from going in and out of the premises and was relatively sympathetic to her and her in relation to her addiction difficulties. On the particular day she was refused service and reacted badly. The solicitor accepted that there was no issue but that she would have been refused for a good reason. Mr Daly said the defendant was no longer on heroin and was continuing on methadone treatment. The solicitor said Vanessa OCallaghan apologised unreservedly to the pharmacist who has since retired not as a result of anything to do with this incident. Judge Marian OLeary convicted and fined her 150 for the assault. PUPILS from North Monastery Co-educational Secondary School are looking forward to commencing their Leaving Cert exams this coming Wednesday. Evan Green Keating said he is confident ahead of this years exams. I am all set for the start of the Leaving Certificate. I am confident enough. I have put in the work, and everything has gone to plan. The teachers have been a big help throughout the year. I am really focusing on the maths paper, but I am not really worried about any of the papers, he said. Evan said he hopes to study Arts in UCC and become a secondary school teacher. It is good to help people develop in their educational journey. The North Monastery Secondary School will become a co-educational secondary school in September 2023. Evan said this represents a new chapter in their proud history. North Mon is a great school. It always offered great support. It is great for the school to become a co-educational school and it represents a new chapter in their history. Meanwhile, Evans sixth year class mate Fionn Hughes said of the upcoming exams: I will get my head down and do my best. I cant wait for it to be over. The teachers have been so good to us throughout the six years. Most of them are doing classes now out of their own time which is a big help. That shows the spirit that exists in the North Mon. Fionn admitted he has worries about the Irish papers. I am worried about Irish. I am working hard in Irish now, going back over past exam papers. I havent studied that much for it over the last year. I would be very comfortable with the business subject. I am hoping to do Marketing in MTU. I have also liked accounting and business and it is in that field. After completing this years Leaving Cert, Fionn is looking forward to starting a new chapter in his life. North Mon is a great school. I will miss it. We have made brilliant memories from our six years in the school. I am looking forward to finishing the Leaving Cert, getting to college, and starting a new chapter. We must make the new chapters count. Shane Carroll admitted he is a little nervous, but he has high hopes for his Leaving Cert. I am a little nervous, but I will drive it on. I am getting in the study whenever I have the time. My teachers and family have been a massive support. I will miss my friends when I finish here. I have loved every minute of attending this school, he said. The sixth year pupil said holding assessments in both fifth and sixth year would be better than having one huge exam at the end of sixth year. Instead of having one big exam at the end, maybe having an exam in fifth and sixth year would be better, just to break up the workload. I hope to do Zoology in UCC. I have always loved wild animals. I am nervous about English as I am not great at it. I am hoping for a H1 in biology, he added. North Monastery teacher Shane Ryan said the school also has high hopes for this years Leaving Certificate students. They are a good year group and they have put the work in so they should be getting the results. A CORK TD said housing supply is not meeting the demand in Cork and that people are desperate amid the current shortage of rental properties. It comes as Daft.ie published the findings of its latest research on Friday which showed the demand for housing across Ireland is up 17% over the last 12 months. The website said demand for new homes in May 2023 was up a staggering 114% compared to May 2022. Eighteen of the 26 Republic counties have seen an increase in demand, with a 13% increase in demand recorded in Cork. Daft.ie said the help-to-buy scheme, which helps first-time buyers purchase a newly-built house or apartment and one-off self-build homes, is a likely contributor to an almost 18-fold increase in demand for new homes within the price bracket of 400,000 to 500,000. Speaking to The Echo, Sinn Fein TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould said the report is not surprising and said it highlights how desperate people are amid a shortage of rental accommodation. The RTB announced recently that there were 525 notices to quit in the first quarter of the year which brings it to a total of 1,500 in the past nine months. Thats 1,500 families who received notices to quit in nine months and with such a shortage of rental properties, more and more people are looking to buy houses because they cant find anywhere to rent and if they can find anywhere to rent, which they cant, the rents are actually much more expensive than it would be to buy a house. For people now who are either on the rental market or looking at buying for the first time, its a perfect negative storm. Amazon is reportedly trying to offer Prime subscribers free cell phone service The company is apparently talking with all of the major US carriers about a potential partnership. Amazon might be planning to offer Prime subscribers a pretty significant perk: free cell phone service. According to Bloomberg, the company is talking with multiple US-based carriers about offering cheap around $10 a month or even free phone service to Prime customers. Right now, Amazon is supposedly negotiating with the three major US carriers (Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile) as well as the Dish Network, though it sounds like talks with AT&T have fallen off in recent weeks. It'll likely be a while before this potential offering launched, as Bloomberg says that talks have only been ongoing for about six to eight weeks and they could still be scrapped. But given how expensive mobile plans can get, this could be a potentially interesting offer for Amazon customers. Of course, that would require a further commitment to Amazon, which already has its fingers in a frankly absurd number of different businesses. So far, there are no details on what Amazon's service might look like whether it would offer the same level of service as you'd get going directly through Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T. Specifically, carriers tend to offer more data at 5G speeds depending on what plan its users choose; there are also a ton of perks that carriers tend to include these days like Netflix from T-Mobile or Apple Music or Disney+ on Verizon. But it's not hard to imagine that a lot of customers would trade some of those perks or even less high-speed data to get mobile service for free. That's assuming they're OK tying yet another part of their digital lives to Amazon but if you're already hooked on Prime, this could make for a compelling new part of Amazon's subscription plan. It seems like every few weeks, NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) drop an impressive image from the James Webb Space Telescope that is both stunning to behold and advances our knowledge of the universe. The latest is of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 5068, called a "barred" galaxy because of the bright central bar you can see in the upper left of the above image. It's a combination image consisting of infrared shots taken from the telescope's MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) and NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) sensors. What those sensors captured is a galaxy in the Virgo constellation about 20 million light-years from Earth, and because the JWST can see through the dust and gas that surrounds stars as they're born, the instrument is particularly suited to producing images that show the process of star formation. Looking at the two individual images that make up the composite reveals different layers of the galaxy. As Gizmodo notes, the image produced by the MIRI sensor provides a view of the galaxy's structure and the glowing gas bubbles that represent newly formed stars. ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee and The second image, taken from the NIRCam, put the focus on a huge swath of stars in the foreground. The composite, meanwhile, shows both the enormous amount of stars in the region as well as the highlights of the stars that have just been "born." ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee and There isn't one specific breakthrough finding in this image; instead, NASA notes that this is part of a wider effort to collect as many images of star formation from nearby galaxies as it can. (No, 20 million light-years doesn't exactly feel nearby to me, either, but that's how things go in space.) NASA pointed to another few images as other "gems" from its collection of star births, including this impressive "Phantom Galaxy" that was shown off last summer. As for what the agency hopes to learn? Simply that star formation "underpins so many fields in astronomy, from the physics of the tenuous plasma that lies between stars to the evolution of entire galaxies." NASA goes on to say that it hopes the data being gathered of galaxies like NGC 5068 can help to "kick-start" major scientific advances, though what those might be remains a mystery. by Eric S. Margolis Most people think of Turkey now renamed Turkiye, as an exotic land of spices, little cups of sweet coffee and fierce-looking men with bristling mustaches. They would be surprised to learn that Turkiye (and ex-Turkey) is the most populated nation in Europe (excluding Russia) and an industrial and military powerhouse. In fact, Turkiyes tough military is the second largest fighting force in NATO after the US Army. This past week, Turkiyes leader for the past 20 years, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was re-elected in a landslide electoral victory. The massive voter turnout again illustrated the wide gap in this nation of 84.7 million between Islamic-oriented conservatives and westernized urban dwellers who support efforts to Europeanise Turkiye and purge it of Islamic culture. This was the national policy last century of the founder of modern Turkiye, Gen. Kemal Ataturk. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses a group meeting of the Justice and Development Party in Ankara, Turkiye, March 1, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua) Erdogan now has a five-year term to continue his plan to transform this ancient nation into a modern democracy based on Islamic principals of helping the poor, modesty, support of beleaguered Muslims and social welfare all of which are fiercely resisted by the cash-loving Saudis and the other Gulf mini-states created by Imperial Britain. After decades of US-backed army rule, financial disasters and inept politicians, Turkiye seems to have finally found its feet under Erdogan. Finances are still wonky, but manufacturing and exports are up. The education system and big business are still controlled by anti-Erdogan groups who are profoundly anti-Muslim and eager to be regarded as A-class Europeans. The mighty army has been forced back into its barracks. Meanwhile, Turkiye remains under siege by its foes, notably the United States. Why? Turkiye used to be such an important American ally. Its soldiers rescued many US troops in Korea and gave the Red Chinese a solid thrashing. Turks provided the southern bastion of NATO and kept unruly Arabs in line. But later on, Erdogan, a devout Muslim, kept voicing support for the oppressed Palestinians and giving them more legitimacy. This put Erdogan on Israels hate list. Turkish influence in Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo, all of which have sizeable Muslim minorities, troubled the US and the Greek government which has close military and intelligence ties to Israel. `My enemys enemy is my friend as the old Arab saying goes. Big discoveries of offshore oil and gas in the Aegean Sea are making Israel, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt serious competitors. The US is not far behind. Most Turks believe the 2016 attempted coup again Erdogan was engineered by CIA and a US-based cult leader to install a more pro-American general in power and return Ankara to Washingtons domination. Fortunately for Turkiye, the coup failed. Otherwise, Turkiye might have ended up like an Argentina or military-run Brazil. Washington prefers to deal with the world through military dictators and strongmen. They are all over the Mideast, Africa and Central Asia. We may see a new wave of military despots coming soon in Latin America. Turkiye is now slowly recovering from the monster earthquake that ravaged Hatay province. This vast natural disaster that smote Turkiye and Syria will retard development by at least six years. The new government in Ankara will have to enforce proper building codes. Efforts by the international financial community to undermine and destabilize Turkiye must cease. Israels secret arming and finance of Syrias rebellious Kurds and Syrias Sunni rebels will lead to small Mideast wars unless the US acts to end them. Turkiye is obviously the key to damping down these regional conflicts and playing a major role in some sort of peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. But a peace deal between Moscow and Kiev is unlikely as long as the US and its allies keep trying to destroy the Russian state. Brazils newly re-elected president, Lula da Silva, rightly warns the West (read USA) must begin respecting Russias national interests if there is to be any peace around the Black Sea. President Erdogan is the result of real democracy at work. A clean election is grounds for cheers for Turkiye and Europe. The Pentagon didnt get the four-star Turkish general it wanted this time. Copyright. Eric S. 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Sunday, June 4, 2023 Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester is a United States Army National Guard soldier who was awarded the Silver Star for her actions during an enemy ambush on her convoy in Iraq in 2005. Hester and her team were escorting a supply convoy when they were ambushed by insurgents. Hester and her team fought back against the insurgents, killing several of them and forcing the rest to flee. Hester was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and later moved to Nashville, Tennessee. She joined the Army National Guard in 2001 and was deployed to Iraq in 2004. She was assigned to the 617th Military Police Company, 503rd Military Police Battalion (Airborne), based out of Richmond, Kentucky. Hesters actions during the ambush earned her the Silver Star, which is the third-highest military decoration for valor that can be awarded to a member of the United States Armed Forces. She was the first woman to receive the Silver Star for valor since World War II, and the first ever to be cited for valor in close quarters combat. Sergeant Hester left the military in 2009 to work as a police officer in Franklin, Tennessee, but she rejoined a year later. In 2014 she spent 18 months in Afghanistan, where she was promoted to sergeant first class. And in 2017, she was sent to the Virgin Islands as part of the international humanitarian effort in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Asked in an interview why she reenlisted, she replied, I love the Army. I love my country and I love being able to serve my country. And I feel that I, as a leader, have gained experience and knowledge that I can share and help train other Soldiers to take over my position when I move up, or move out eventually. But Im going to be in the Army until they kick me out. Photo credit: U.S. Central Command website Read an excellent interview with Sergeant Hester>> (The Center Square) The legislative fight against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs in education is picking up steam nationwide. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. introduced the Fairness in Higher Education Accreditation Act, which would ban accreditation officials from considering an educational institutions DEI or affirmative action policies when determining accreditation. DEI departments have exploded at universities in recent hears with a spike in new administrators who enforce liberal equity and racial policies at the educational institution. These programs usually embrace the idea of systemic racism, speak of the U.S. as a deeply racist nation, and push for the most aggressive side of the LGBTQ agenda. In recent years, more and more federally recognized accreditation agencies have implemented DEI requirements for applicants, forcing schools to embrace progressive ideas on race and gender or risk losing their accreditation. Wokeness should not be mandatory, Rubio said in a statement after introducing the bill, which the Florida senator argues seeks to prevent a politicized Department of Education from further forcing diversity, equity, and inclusion policies into higher education. Practically, DEI enforcement manifests in various ways. In a fact sheet published by the Department of Education, the agency touts President Joe Bidens emphasis on DEI and lays out several examples of potential DEI activities. From the DOE: diversity, equity, and inclusion training; instruction in or training on the impact of racism or systemic racism; cultural competency training or other nondiscrimination trainings; efforts to assess or improve school climate, including through creation of student, staff, and/or parent teams, use of community focus groups, or use of climate surveys; student assemblies or programs focused on antiharassment or antibullying; investigations of, and issuance of reports concerning the causes of, racial disparities within a school; or use of specific words in school policies, programs, or activities, such as equity, discrimination, inclusion, diversity, systemic racism, or similar terms The federal agency goes out of its way to argue that these activities do not create a hostile environment on the basis of race. U.S. Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, are helping lead the effort to undo these federally backed requirements for accreditation. We need to make sure that no school is judged based on whether a DEI agenda is used, Scott said. Lee said the effort safeguards against manipulating the accreditation process to advance ideological agendas. The Senate effort is the latest pushback against DEI. State lawmakers and governors have already begun taking on DEI policies, as The Center Square previously reported. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign a bill that will end taxpayer funding for DEI programs at public colleges and universities. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is taking on the affirmative action issue and may prohibit the policy. The high court is expected to issue a ruling in the coming weeks on the case, which considers the race-based admissions policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Specifically, the ruling in this case could have a major impact on schools affirmative action policies and how they discriminate based on race, especially whether schools receiving federal funding can continue to do so. Students for Fair Admissions, a nonprofit group boasting 20,000 members, filed the relevant lawsuit against Harvard and the University of North Carolina in 2014. The lawsuit alleges that the policies discriminate against white and Asian-American applicants. Both SFFA cases have been defeated in lower courts, but now the Supreme Court will have its ruling out imminently. NUCLEAR, BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS June 3, 2023: The U.S. Air Force is updating its radiation surveillance aircraft fleet with three new three WC-135R aircraft. Two have already been completed and the third will soon be delivered. The $218 million WC-135R program involves installing radiation detection equipment on these three new C-135 aircraft to replace C-135s that had been used since the 1960s. Since then, fourteen aircraft have served as radiation detection aircraft. The WC-135R is basically a KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft converted to be a radiation detection aircraft. The original radiation monitoring aircraft were weather monitoring aircraft which, before the proliferation of weather satellites fifty years ago, were the main source of data on atmospheric conditions. The WC-135Rs have been regularly used to detect North Korean nuclear weapons tests and collect enough data to determine if a nuke had been used and how successful the test was. The 2006 nuclear weapons test in northeast Korea, revived interest in such arcane subjects as "partially successful" nuclear weapons, faking a nuclear explosion and arcane detection methods. The North Korean test showed up on earthquake detectors (seismographs) as a small (4.2 magnitude) quake. A few quick calculations revealed that this indicated an explosion of less than one kiloton (equal to 1,000 tons of conventional explosives). Since the North Koreans were using plutonium for their bomb, and the smallest plutonium bomb is (for technical reasons) at least twenty kilotons, this set off alarms. This indicated that the North Koreans were either faking it (with conventional explosives), or had a poorly built bomb that only partially went off. WC-135R was designed to collect enough evidence to determine a large explosion is real or fake. A nuclear explosion, even a "fizzle", a bomb that does not detonate all its nuclear material, will emit some unique chemicals into the atmosphere. This will happen even with an underground explosion, because the earth is full of cracks and crevices that allow some of the gasses to escape into the atmosphere. WC-135Rs flying off the coast of North Korea, did indeed pick up the presence of unusually high levels of argon 37 and xenon 133. These two elements are present naturally in very small quantities. One of the things American WC-135R recon aircraft do regularly is check the natural levels of these rare elements off the coasts of North Korea and Iran, the two nations most likely to carry out a nuclear test. These tests are conducted underground because that contains most of the radiation rather than spewing radiation over a lot of territory with an open air test. By treaty and general agreement, open air tests have been banned since the 1960s. Radiation detection aircraft are also called in to monitor the spread and levels of nuclear fallout from actual or suspected nuclear power plant accidents. The best example of this was the 1986 power plant disaster in Chernobyl Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. WC-135R are again flying near Ukraine because Russian invaded in early 2022 and seized a huge (the largest in Europe) power plant complex, Russian mismanagement of the complex threatens to create another Chernobyl. Before the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, there had been several lesser (than Chernobyl) nuclear disasters in remote areas. American radiation detection aircraft monitored these as well. There is always a detectable (by a WC-135R) amount of radiation after an underground test. With pre-test baseline samples collected by ground sensors or WC-135R, it's easy to see when a nuclear explosion has occurred nearby, because the normal levels of these two elements spike. Then there are industrialized nations that have nuclear material (from power plants) and could build nuclear weapons. This group includes South Korea. Japan, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia, with more to come. Having instruments that can detect minute quantities of rare elements has made it impossible to fake a nuclear test, and there have been some very large conventional explosions. In 1985, some 4,500 tons of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil (a "fertilizer bomb) were detonated by American researchers to create an explosion similar to a nuclear one. Seismographs indicated that this explosion was similar to what would be expected for an eight kiloton nuclear bomb. There have been similarly large explosions before, but always accidental. In 1947, a ship carrying 8,500 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded in a Texas port, destroying the surrounding area, and killing over 500 people. These large conventional explosions create the mushroom shaped cloud we associate with nuclear explosions. Such clouds are typical of any large explosion, nuclear or not. But unless certain types of radiation are present, you know the explosion is non-nuclear. Poor bomb design, or low quality components, have caused fizzles in the past. In 1998, several of Pakistan's nuclear weapons tests failed in a similar fashion to the current North Korean one. It may be that design that was sold to North Korea by the Pakistani nuclear scientists who, at that time, were running an illegal nuclear weapons sales business on the side. North Korea is currently the most active supplier of illegal nuclear weapons tech. This tech is very expensive and it is an important source of hard currency for North Korea. No other country has atmospheric radiation detection aircraft but there is a lot of radiation detection equipment available commercially to constantly monitor land areas. Many armed forces also have such equipment installed in military vehicles for use during conflicts where there is a risk of atmospheric radiation. Amber Heard is considering writing her autobiography. Amber Heard is considering writing her memoir The 'Danish Girl' actress is reportedly ready to start "sharing her truth" with an explosive tell-all memoir, in which she would lay bare the details of her turbulent two-year marriage to Johnny Depp and their bitter court battle after he successfully sued her for defamation over an op-ed she wrote about being a victim of domestic abuse. Sources told RadarOnline.com the 37-year-old actress- who is currently living in Madrid, Spain, with her two-year-old daughter Oonagh - would be looking for around $15 million for her story but is ready to speak out after being harassed online during last year's trial. The insider said: "She won't be silenced. She feels she was treated very badly during the trial. "She feels like she's the victim here." Meanwhile, Camille Vasquez, one of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor's lawyers for the trial, recently admitted she has thought about writing a book, in part about the legal battle, but stressed there's "nothing in the works at the moment". She told People magazine: "We've thought about that. Ben [Chew, co-counsel] and I have joked that we should write a book together, maybe about the trial. I feel like my story is maybe half written. I feel like there's still a lot left to do. "While the trial was a significant portion of my career ... the real story about who I am and my path, there's still more to be written and to be done. "I do have a title in mind. Maybe one day." Camille and the rest of Johnny's legal team have "often" been in touch with the 59-year-old actor since the trial and are planning to attend one of his Hollywood Vampires gigs later this summer. She said: "The last time I spoke to [Johnny] on the phone was probably a few months ago, but we text often. "There's a group of us that texts with him and we send emails, obviously congratulating him on the success that he's had in the last year. He has a big birthday coming up, so I'm sure he'll be celebrating foot up because, as you've seen, probably, reported in the news, unfortunately our guy got a fracture in, I believe, his ankle." David Faustino says that Christina Applegate is trying to build her strength up amid her battle with multiple sclerosis (MS). David Faustino has given an update on Christina Applegate's health The 49-year-old actor attended the 30th annual Race to Erase MS gala in Los Angeles on Friday (02.06.23) in support of his 'Married... with Children' co-star and explained that she did not feel strong enough to be at the event. David told People: "She's not strong enough to be here tonight. I'm just here to offer her as much support and love for her as I can. "I think she just wants to get a little stronger. I'm thinking she'll be here next year. She was on the fence, but she just said, 'I'm just not feeling up to it right now.'" Christina was diagnosed with MS - a degenerative neurological disease that affects the central nervous system - in 2021 and David revealed that she had been in contact with her colleagues on the sitcom, which ran from 1987 to 1997, to break the bad news. He said: "She reached out to all of us." Applegate declared last month that she is unlikely to work on camera again in the wake of her diagnosis but is open to voiceover work. Speaking to Vanity Fair magazine, she explained: "I'm probably not going to work on-camera again." The 51-year-old star did express pleasure that her final acting role was working with Linda Cardellini on the Netflix series 'Dead to Me'. Christina said: "Ping-pong is so much more fun when the other person is just as good as you are ... I'm so glad that I went out with someone who is by far the greatest actress I've ever worked with in my entire life, if not the greatest human I've ever known." Dua Lipa has been "hurt" by the UK Government's rhetoric towards Albanian migrants. Dua Lipa is unhappy with the rhetoric used by the UK Government to discuss migrants from Albania The 'Levitating' hitmaker was born in London to Kosovan-Albanian parents and hit out at the "small-minded" comments made by ministers such as Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who singled out "Albanian criminals" when discussing immigration last year. Dua told the Sunday Times newspaper: "Of course it hurt. All those words thrown around about immigrants? I always felt London was an amalgamation of cultures. It is integral to the city. So when you hear the government talk about Albanians, for example, it hurts. "It's short-sighted and small-minded, but it's the way a lot of people think. No matter how we try and change the rhetoric, there will always be those who think, 'Immigrants are coming into the country and taking jobs!' "However, immigrants who have come here have earned their keep by working incredibly hard. There needs to be more empathy, because people don't leave their country unless they have to out of necessity, out of fear for their family." Dua is not afraid to speak up on political issues but is wary of throwing her support behind certain politicians. The 27-year-old star explained: "As much as I like being vocal about politics all over the world, I'd stay away from politicians. "I just think more carefully about aligning myself with that aspect now. It's different when I talk about certain rights, but I've realised that no matter how much you want to believe someone is a good guy, they end up letting you down." Meanwhile, the pop sensation has been delighted by the response to the launch of her book club on her Service95 platform and is thrilled that the project has inspired young people to get reading. Dua said: "I've had a great response. People say that their kids started reading because I posted about books. Everything is so bitesize now, but reading takes you from that. "It's cool to encourage younger generations to read, which maybe isn't instilled in them because of social media. I know reading has been on a decline, but I read everywhere." Sir Roger Moore's son thinks it would be "ridiculous" if an American played James Bond. Sir Roger Moore as James Bond The late actor portrayed the suave spy in seven movies between 1973 and 1985 and with the role currently vacant following the departure of Daniel Craig, his son Geoffrey, who is also known as Jaffa, has insisted casting directors should only be looking for an "English" lead. Asked if the role could be played by an American, Jaffa told Express.co.uk: "I mean, there's a lot of talent out there, but he has to be English. "It's ridiculous to consider Bond being an American. "You know, even if he's got a flawless accent, he's got to be British. It is an English franchise. It's butterscotch and red telephone boxes and 'His Majesty the King'. " Aaron Taylor-Johnson is currently favourite to play Bond, ahead of fellow British actors James Norton, Henry Cavill, and Tom Hardy and Scotsman Richard Madden. A source told The Sun newspaper last month: "Aaron went for a screen test to be the next Bond in September and producers and Barbara loved him. He is now one of the front-runners." Meanwhile, Daniel's wife Rachel Weisz recently slammed the idea of the next 007 being female. She was quoted by the Daily Star newspaper saying about the concept of changing Bond's gender: Definitely not. That is a male character. That is written by a man for a man. No. The About a Boy actress, 53, previously said women deserve to have their own stories and shouldn't be pitted against their male counterparts. Rachel told The Daily Telegraph: Ian (Fleming the creator of Bond) devoted an awful lot of time to writing this particular character, who is particularly male and relates in a particular way to women. Why not create your own story rather than jumping onto the shoulders and being compared to all those other male predecessors? Women are really fascinating and interesting and should get their own stories. Ted Danson was a "hot mess" before he got together with his wife. Ted Danson was a 'hot mess' before he got together with his wife The 75-year-old actor is best known for his portrayal of bar owner Sam Malone in classic sitcom 'Cheers' and he candidly admitted he was relieved when the show ended after 11 seasons in 1993 because it gave him the time to sort out his life, ultimately leading to his romance with spouse Mary Steenburgen. During a reunion with the cast at the ATX TV Festival in Austin, Texas, on Friday (02.06.23), it was hinted it was partially Ted's fault the show ended, and he said: "In my defense, wed all been talking for a couple of years [about ending the series]... Okay, sorry. It was me. My life was a hot mess at the time, and if I had not stopped and gotten it together, I would never have met my wife." Ted and Mary first met in 1983 when he had auditioned to play her spouse on 'Cross Creek' but their relationship only took off when they worked together on 'Pontiac Moon' a decade later. Mary previously reflected to People magazine: "I wasn't ready for anything like a relationship. We just kept working together and becoming better and better friends." Things turned romantic when the 'Three Men and a Baby' actor invited Mary to join a group of friends on a canoe trip. He said: "It was very magical. We came back in love, to be honest, or I'll say smitten." Ted previously admitted he still enjoys watching old episodes of 'Cheers' and feels "blessed" because of the opportunities it gave him. He said: "It still makes me laugh when I watch sometimes. It's funny and it's great to see my friends and they make me laugh. "I was so blessed. I got my introduction to this business with [Cheers creators] Jimmy Burrows and [Les Charles] and Glen Charles, who are like half-hour aristocrats. I mean, they were some of the best in the business and that's how I got introduced to half-hour [television]." Key outcomes of the fourth ministerial meeting of the European Union (EU)-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) that recently took place in Lulea, Sweden, include promoting sustainability and new opportunities for trade and investment, and increasing use of digital tools to enhance trade. It also includes robust trans-Atlantic cooperation on emerging technologies for joint EU-US leadership and standardisation work on critical and emerging technologies. The fourth ministerial meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council TTC was recently held in Lulea, Sweden. Its outcomes include promoting sustainability and new opportunities for trade and investment and raising use of digital tools to boost trade. Both sides also discussed eradication of forced labour from global trade and from global supply chains. The meeting was co-chaired by European Commission executive vice presidents Margrethe Vestager and Valdis Dombrovskis, US secretary of state Antony Blinken, US secretary of commerce Gina Raimondo, and US trade representative Katherine Tai. Both sides are working together to amplify the potential of the transatlantic marketplace as a catalyst for decarbonisation and a green transition, a joint statement issued by both sides said. The Transatlantic Initiative on Sustainable Trade was launched at the third EU-US TTC ministerial meeting in December last year. The Clean Energy Incentives Dialogue, launched on March 10 this year, will facilitate information-sharing on non-market policies and practices of third parties to serve as the basis for joint or parallel action and coordinated advocacy on these issues in multilateral or other fora. Both sides will continue exploring ways to increase the use of digital tools in transatlantic trade-related transactions, as well as ways in which the EU and the United States may enhance cooperation on trade facilitation to simplify and modernise export and import processes. At the meeting, both sides also held their second principal-level session of the Trade and Labour Dialogue (TALD) that brought together senior representatives from labour, business and government from both sides of the Atlantic. The meeting discussed eradication of forced labour from global trade and from global supply chains and to examine the impact of the green transition on workers. Both sides welcomed a new set of joint recommendations on combatting forced labour in global supply chains. Both partners have accelerated cooperation to develop a common vision and industry road map on research and development for 6G wireless communication systems. 6G is expected to start replacing 5G as the predominant commercial cellular wireless standard by 2030. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS) In their expressions. In their dance moves. It was love at first sight for me. Watching Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Devdas further enticed her to Bollywood and its maximal style of telling stories. She shares, After watching Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit in Devdas, I was like, yehi karna hai mujhe life mein, I want to become like them. Now I just need to figure out how. The Swedish actress Elli AvrRam, who has currently made Mumbai her home, comes from a family of creative people. Her Greek father, Jannis Avramidis, is a musician who is now settled in Sweden. Her Swedish mother, Maria Granlund, is an actress who played a part in Ingmar Bergmans Fanny And Alexander. On asking her how she discovered her creative bug, she smiles, I was around five years old when I first saw a Bollywood song on Swedish television. I suddenly see this song where all these beautiful girls are dancing, theyre wearing these colourful clothes. There was just so much life in them.Elli, like every other outsider who comes to Mumbai with big Bollywood dreams, has had her share of ups and downs. She started out by working at a jewellery store in Sweden, where she started saving up to come to Mumbai. Like any concerned parent, her dad had objections to her plans. He couldnt fathom how a young girl would survive in the film industry without enough money and connections. But it was Ellis tenacity that persuaded her father that she could do it. Today, after sharing screen space with legends like Amitabh Bachchan and Neena Gupta in her last release, - GoodBye (2022), and a dance number with Aamir Khan in Koi Jaane Na (2021), her father is one of her many fans who googles everything penned down about his daughterShe speaks about how her debut film, Mickey Virus (2013), came her way. She recalls how she had done a photoshoot that eventually led to her getting recommended for the film, which was also Maniesh Pauls debut. She adds, Ive come here for acting, and Im serious about it. I got a call from a photographer, who told me that there is this film, I think you should send your portfolio and go for the audition. So I said, of course, Id love to. Thats when I contacted Saurabh Verma, my first director. I was called for the audition. And I did very well in the audition. Speaking of the hindrances shes faced, she speaks about the language barrier, which was a roadblock for her in the initial stage. So vivid is her experience, that she has some sound advice for an outsider, who might lose heart when faced with these obstacles. Says she, Of course, language was a barrier. I mean, there was a hardcore accent back then, and I didnt know Hindi.You have to be confident. You have to be mentally strong, and fierce. You simply need to practise your craft and be patient. Because if youre honest about your work, you will end up attracting people who will also acknowledge it. You have to believe in yourself. She has worked with stalwarts such as Amitabh Bachchan in Goodbye and Dhanush in Naane Varuvean (2022) and values her learnings from them. I love the fact that all of these actors are so true towards their work. She adds, And they are all true artistes - humble and grounded. And so professional.Having done films like Mickey Virus, Naam Shabana (2017), Malang (2020) and Goodbye (2022), she says, a femaleoriented film would be extremely challenging and exciting for her now. Exploring a genre like that would be something new for me. There are a lot of stories out there where the heroine becomes the crux of the story, she reflects.She has a strong affinity for South Indian languages, and after finding some success with Paris, Paris (2021, Tamil) and Butterfly, (2021, Kannada), both of which are remakes of Kangana Ranauts Queen (2014), as well as Naane Varuvean, she is eager to work on more South Indian projects. She also has the action-packed Ganapath in Bollywood, starring Tiger Shroff and Kriti Sanon.She concludes by saying, Right now the industry has grown in such a way that they dont care about your nationality. Theyre more interested in your capabilities as an actor. Im loving that. That Im getting to do so much more now than just be a pretty face. Sulochana Latkar Passes Away: Sulochana Latkar Passes Away: Veteran Bollywood and Marathi actress Sulochana Latkar passed away today, June 4, 2023. She was 94. Her family released an official statement and said she passed away due to prolonged illness. SULOCHANA LATKAR PASSED AWAY DUE TO PROLONGED ILLNESS Sulochana Latkar breathed her last at a hospital in Dadar, Mumbai. The actress was admitted to Sushrushu Hospital as she faced breathing difficulties and other age-related ailments. Reports suggest that the actress was put on a ventilator after her health deteriorated on Saturday. She was being administered a continuous oxygen supply. Her sad demise was confirmed by her daughter Kanchan Ghanekar. Kanchan told Indian Express, "She had age-related health issues and breathing difficulties. She died this evening at 6pm." The statement issued by Latkar's family read, "We are deeply saddened to inform you of the passing of our beloved grandmother, Smt. Sulochana Didi Noted Film Actress after a prolonged illness that has been age-related." It is being reported that her antim darshan will be held at her Dadar residence on Monday. Her cremation will be held at the Shivaji Park crematorium at 5:30 pm, later in the day. SULOCHANA LATKAR'S ACTING CAREER Meanwhile, Sulochana Latkar began her acting career in the 1950s and went on to become one of the most prominent actresses in Marathi cinema during the 1960s and 1970s. Apart from Marathi films, Sulochana Latkar has also acted in Hindi and Gujarati movies. She has worked with renowned directors and actors of her time and made a significant contribution to Indian cinema. She featured in films including Mujrim, Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai, Duniya, Kati Patang, Mere Jeevan Saathi, Amir Garib, Bahraon Ke Sapne, Prem Nagar among several others. She was honored with Padma Shri in 1999. Khatron Ke Khiladi 13 Update: Fans are eagerly awaiting the highly anticipated thirteenth season of the top-rated reality show, Khatron Ke Khiladi, which will once again be hosted by Rohit Shetty. The show is set to make a comeback, and viewers are excitedly counting down to its premiere. The makers of KKK 13 have assembled an impressive lineup of participants who are currently filming in Cape Town, South Africa, and Shiv Thakare is one of them. After winning hearts in Colors TV's controversial reality show Bigg Boss 16, the popular 'Marathi Manus' is set to entertain fans with his stint in the stunt-based show. Typically, Khatron Ke Khiladi premieres on Colors TV in July. However, this year, there is a possibility that the new season will hit the airwaves earlier. Recent rumors suggest that Khatron Ke Khiladi season 13 is likely to debut in June and the promos have also hit our TV screens. As the Khatron Ke Khiladi 13 contestants are currently busy shooting, there's also a huge buzz around the wildcard entries. While quite a few names are currently doing the rounds, Shiv Thakare, in a recent interview, talked about the same. Fahmaan Khan On UGLY Reactions From Sumbul Touqeer Fans After Explosive Interview: If I'm Getting To... SHIV THAKARE PICKS A MANDALI MEMBER FOR WILDCARD ENTRY IN KKK13 On being asked to pick one of his Bigg Boss 16 mandali members for the wildcard entry in KKK 13, Shiv took the name of his close buddy Abdu Rozik. Yes, you read that right! Neil Bhatt, Ayesha Singh NOT On Good Terms & Aishwarya Is The Reason? GHKKPM Co-star Says 'Kaam Pe...' He told ETimes, "In the thrilling realm of 'Khatron Ke Khiladi 13', where every day promises unexpected twists and exhilarating surprises, for me, friendship is definitely a secret weapon that fuels my spirit. Amidst the demanding jungle adventure in South Africa, I couldn't imagine a better companion than Abdu by my side." Well, he has a point and his fans would totally agree with it. ABDU ROZIK'S SPECIAL ENTRY IN KHATRON KE KHILADI 13 Interestingly, as per the ongoing buzz, Abdu Rozik is likely to be a part of Khatron Ke Khiladi 13. Yes, you read that right! Initially, there were rumours that he'll be seen as a wild-card contestant in Rohit Shetty's show, Abdu will most probably make his entry as a special guest and will be a part of the stunt-based show for a few episodes. While the makers are yet to make an official announcement regarding the same, it looks like KKK13 is going to special for ShiBdu fans. Keep watching this space for more updates! Because of the disastrous performance of the Russian military and intelligence agencies in Ukraine, many prominent Russians in the military and intelligence agencies are calling for bringing back the World War II era Smersh (Smert Shpionam or death to spies) organization to deal with the growing leaks of secret information and anti-government commentators. In Ukraine Russia is having a lot of problems Ukrainians in areas Russian troops occupy. This is especially true in areas like Crimea and the Donbas, which Russia has controlled since 2014. Some of the Ukrainian resistance is showing up just across the border in Russia (Belgorod province). This was not supposed to happen and has caused many Russians to question the wisdom of Russians trying to conquer Ukraine. Smersh only existed from 1943 to 1947 and, even while paranoid dictators Josef Stalin was still alive, was seen as excessive. After Stalin died in 1953 there was even less police state terror in Russia as the 1930s NKVD was replaced by the less oppressive KGB. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 it became obvious that Russians wanted nearly all Soviet era security practices gone for good. The KGB turned into a less threatening FSB. This meant less arbitrary justice, state-controlled economy and massive conscription. Democracy was introduced but it never really took hold and when Vladimir Putin gained national power in 1999, he gradually brought back many Soviet-era practices. Putin joined the KGB in 1975 and missed its police state powers after 1991. When Putin gained national power in 1999 he began turning the FSB into a more powerful agency similar to the KGB. Putin has encountered increasing resistance to this from Russians with long memories or just unwillingness to live in a police state. Putins response has been to increase the police state practices and consider backing another use of Smersh tactics. The source of all this unrest is the invasion of Ukraine in2022. Putin thought this would be a quick victory and absorption of a neighboring nation that Putin declared part of Russia and not meant to be independent. The Ukrainians successfully fought back and inside Russia many people blamed Putin for this mess and supported getting out of Ukraine. Recently some of these Russians have been armed and fighting back against Russian security forces. The Russian situation should not surprise anyone, especially when you consider the growing police state oppression in Russia over the last decade. In 2013 Russia completed reforms of its police forces, which comprise over one percent of the population and have traditionally been far more powerful than their counterparts in the West. Russia has also been using its police much more aggressively since 2000. For example, the number of court approved wiretaps (mainly on phones or Internet accounts) grew, reaching about 400,000 by 2013 and continuing to increase. Causing more unrest among Russians. In Russia the security services include the national police force and the FSB (federal investigative agency). The FSB replaced the Soviet era KGB in the 1990s. This growth in wiretap activity continued, apparently unaffected by the enormous changes the police forces underwent during this period. For example, the national police underwent a major reform a decade ago, with all police now reporting to federal control. Before that, and since the establishment of police in Russia 300 years ago, police forces had been controlled by city or regional governments, which paid for and controlled the local police. There was some supervision from the Ministry of the Interior, but the cops were mainly local. Since a new law was passed in 2011, that has changed. All police now work for the Ministry of the Interior and police strength in Russia has been cut 20 percent. A few years before that Russian intelligence officials began a largely successful effort to resurrect the Cold War era KGB. When the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, the new Russian government broke up the KGB, creating a domestic intelligence agency (the FSB) , a CIA-like operation for foreign intel (the SVR), and several other separate organizations that used to be part of the KGB. But because of poor performance by the SVR, and a certain nostalgia for the powerful KGB of yore, FSB officials made an effort to absorb the smaller SVR. That did not succeed, but other efforts to absorb organizations that used to be part of the KGB have succeeded. The FSB, which appears to have inherited the ruthlessness that made the KGB such a fearsome organization, believed that Russian espionage operations had become sloppy since the SVR took over KGB foreign intelligence operations in 1991. This is in sharp contrast to the Cold War. In the 1990s it was revealed that the Russians were much better at the spy game than their Western opponents. But those super spies appear to have moved on to more lucrative work in the civilian sector or the government. In any event, the past masters are no longer running the show. It's amateur hour now, and the Russians would rather not talk about it. But in light of all this, the calls for merging SVR with the FSB, to create a neo-KGB, made sense. The KGB had a well-deserved reputation for ruthless efficiency. Russians get nostalgic for stuff like that. But the man who has been running Russia since 2000, Vladimir Putin, is a veteran KGB officer and decided that the SVR should stay independent and perhaps improve itself. Putin was more accepting of FSB moves to absorb domestic paramilitary organizations. Even before the current SVR merger business, the FSB was being given more and more of its old KGB-era powers, and personnel, back. Before the Soviet Union disappeared in 1991, the KGB was the most powerful organization in the country. It was a law unto itself, as long as it stuck to its main task: keeping the Communist Party in power. Since the late 1990s, the FSB has been regaining a lot of the KGBs Cold War powers and people. It again controls the border police and several specialist technical organizations. While this pleases the law and order crowd, it disturbs Russians who remember when the KGB was the principal organization keeping the communist dictatorship in power for so long. The new powers give the FSB more authority to do whatever they want, just like in their good old days when the communists were in charge. The FSB is believed to directly control over 100,000 personnel and have authority over many more in other government departments (like the national police force). The KGB acquired most of its power just before World War II, after dictator Joseph Stalin had killed most of the army leadership to prevent what he believed was the possibility of a military takeover. The KGB was to be a powerful state secret police, a sort of FBI, CIA, Border Patrol, Coast Guard, and more rolled into one organization. The KGB was everywhere as it worked diligently to keep its communist masters in power. For example, the KGB had a network of informants in the military, as well as among the civilian population. When Stalin died of natural causes in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev and some close Communist Party associates took over. One of the first things they did was execute the head of the KGB, an old Stalin crony named Beria, who had been responsible for large scale massacres within the KGB and elsewhere during Stalin's reign. Less bloody-minded KGB officers were subsequently promoted to head the organization. Until the very end of the Soviet Union, the KGB remained at the top of the social, political, economic, and legal pecking order. In the late 1980s, reformers like Gorbachev rose to power via the assistance of senior KGB officials who saw a need for reform. The KGB were aware that their tsarist predecessors survived the 1917 Revolution. They were a relatively small group compared to the military and the Communist party and they were prepared to survive the next "revolution." This the KGB did, and now they are being rewarded for their loyalty and effectiveness in dealing with terrorism, corruption, capitalism, and criminal gangs by having many of their old powers restored. While the FSB has regained control of the border police, this force is but a shadow of its former, Soviet self. Back then the Soviet Union maintained 200,000 KGB border troops. This "army" had armored units, warships, and combat aircraft. These forces served the same function as the United States Coast Guard and Border Patrol, but in America these forces amount to fewer than half as many personnel. The KGB border forces had much more power than their American counterparts. The 25,000 sailors in the "Maritime Border Guards" (MBG) answered to no one but the head of the KGB. To put it more clearly, a lieutenant commanding an MBG patrol boat could order any Russian warship to halt and then arrest its captain. In fact, this was one of the principal functions of the MBG, to prevent mutiny or defection by ships and sailors of the Soviet Navy and merchant fleet. Smuggling was a minor problem, as Russian currency was useless outside the country and there were few items Russia produced that were good enough, and small enough, to be profitably smuggled. Moreover, much of Russia's coastline is in arctic waters and most of the remainder was adjacent to other communist nations. What kept the MBG busy was ensuring that Russian citizens didn't flee the country. Such flight was a criminal offense and several prisons were full of Russians who attempted it and got caught by the MBG. The FSB still relies on conscripts for many low level security jobs. As in the Soviet period, getting drafted into the FSB is an attractive proposition for many young Russian men. Doing well in this job, which includes guarding nuclear weapons or other important national assets, marks you as someone worthy of other jobs within the security services. What bothers many Russians is the ultimate purpose of the FSB. The KGB was known as the main protector of the Communist Party. The communists are gone and the FSB is seen as the supporter of wealthy criminals who used their KGB connections and powers after the Soviet Union collapsed, to grab ownership of many state-owned assets. The current Russian government is acting more and more like the autocratic rulers Russia has suffered under for centuries. The FSB seems to act more like the palace guard than public servants. The guards want more power and are likely to get it. The FSB suffered a setback in Ukraine, where they believed their subversive activities had weakened the Ukrainian government and security services enough to enable a quick Russian victory. The Ukrainians and now a growing number of Russians, successfully fought back and the FSB is seeking salvation in a revived Smersh campaign. TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Taiwan Pavilion proudly presents the award winning "Visible Shop" exhibition from 1st June at Somerset House during London Design Biennale, 2023. The exhibition is jointly sponsored by Taiwan's Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs, and Ministry of Culture. It is organised by the Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI), curated by Ling-Li Tseng, with overall design by Serendipity Studio and installation design by Loudly Lightning. Taiwan's "Visible Shop" was awarded this year's Best Design Medal by the London Design Biennale jury, finishing above 40 other pavilions. At the medal ceremony on 1st June 2023, the curator Ling-Li Tseng thanked the London Design Biennale for the opportunity, which has made "Visible Shop" even more "Visible" to the world of design. The Taiwan Pavilion team seeks to represent Taiwan's identity by combining the ideas of culture and technology to develop a concept which not only reflects but also resonates "The Global Games Remapping Collaboration" theme of London Design Biennale 2023. "Visible Shop" represents Taiwan's status as one of the most important trade hubs in the world, and Taiwan's role as an indispensable part of the global manufacturing supply chain due to its unique geographical location and technological capabilities. Ling-Li Tseng, the curator of "Visible Shop", specialises in evoking dialogues between artificiality and nature, with a quest for invention and technology which is reflected in the techniques she employs in her work. She has defined "Visible" as: Taiwan's industrial clusters are located near each other, and the short supply chain economy demonstrated great operational advantages during the pandemic. In addition, Taiwan's manufacturing industry overlaps with residential areas, which creates a lively energy and dynamic in society. Taiwan's economy largely relies on small and medium-sized enterprises. These individual companies work with each other in highly collaborative and precise ways, as if drawn to function together through an invisible magnetism. They can work together as a whole while still retaining their visible, clearly-defined individual identities. These visible components make up the representation of the diversity of Taiwan. Taiwan's bottom-up industrial structure has developed a positive social atmosphere. Taiwan is a democratic country, and its freedoms are reflected in its legalisation of same-sex marriage, the high proportion of female leaders in both the public sector and commercial settings, and its abundant design inventiveness. Through the creation of the "Visible Shop", Ling-Li, Tseng interprets these ideas by using programmed sets of electromagnets to demonstrate how each individual in Taiwan operates so precisely that when they work together as a whole, it forms the basis of an efficient national economy. At difficult times such as the covid pandemic, they are able to pull together to overcome the challenge. "Visible Shop" celebrates Taiwan's unique economy of small and medium-sized enterprises, which are energetic, dynamic and vigorous. Despite being a small island, Taiwan plays an irreplaceable role in the global manufacturing supply chain. Its unique location and geographical characteristics have contributed to the physically scattered nature of Taiwan's economy, which enabled remarkable social and manufacturing resilience during difficult situations such as the pandemic. Incorporating a metal supply area and a workshop, the Taiwan Pavilion's installation showcases the collaborative nature of industries in Taiwan, and outlines the diversity of business. Interactive activities are available at the Magnetic Table in the Pavilion, which allows the audience to use their creativity. The unique hand-drawn visuals and videos which feature Taiwan's natural beauty not only bring the concepts to life, but also create an impressive immersive experience for the audience. Open time: Mon-Sun 11am-7pm Date: 01 June 2023 - 25 June 2023 Location: Somerset House Website: https://londondesignbiennale.com/pavilions/2023/taiwan View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/visible-shop-has-won-the-best-design-medal-at-london-design-biennale-2023-301841861.html It has been less than 10 years since Abhishek Monty Agarwal founded Purple Style Labs (PSL) with a small start-up funding of Rs 3 crore. His company is on its seventh round of funding as I write this, and has become Indias first Indian fashion conglomerate. Agarwal, 34, is a fashion outlier. Raised in Rourkela, Odisha, he came to Mumbais IIT Bombay as an engineering student. He loved fashion and he loved wearing suits. So much so that he was the only one wearing a white linen suit on Fridays at his first job for Deutsche Bank. When everyone began talking about start-ups, he wanted his own too. I wanted to build Indias equivalent to LVMH, he says. The Louis Vuitton-Moet Hennessy group is the worlds largest luxury conglomerate, its founder Bernard Arnault, is currently the richest man in the world, ahead of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. But LVMH had a Christian Dior deal, when I launched I had nothing. Agarwal started an office with 20 fashion graduates and began by distributing 30 small fashion designers. These were unknown names who worked with one or two tailors from home or a garage. He told them they should handle production while he would handle everything else. Several of these designers sold at Pernias Pop-up Shop, stylist and entrepreneur Pernia Qureshis ecommerce venture which was the biggest fashion e-tailer in the country then. But Qureshi had run into capital issues and her payments to designers were delayed. I called her and made her an offer. It was either that or she would have ended up shutting shop in three months, Agarwal explains. He acquired Pernias Pop-up Shop for 12 crores in 2018. In the financial year 2022-23, it generated gross sales of Rs 500 crore, and is estimated to reach Rs 750 crore this year. Rourkela is a rich little town in Odisha. Out of Indias top 10 taxpayers, two hail from here. Their pet pastime here is collecting fancy cars and bikes, and several of these new money men are Agarwals friends. Acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair, incidentally, is also from here. In my two decades in fashion, Ive seen enough men with stars in their eyes show up in the fashion industry with a lot of money and a promise to scale. None have lasted after their initial cash burn. How did Agarwal get lucky? I studied business models extensively, and tried to understand what works and what doesnt. Brands need time and effort to build. Farfetch is an example of making a lot of noise at the start, and now the stock is biting dust. Compare it with Netaporter, which grew organically. Brands are not built with money, they need to grow via their products and services. That is how you last decades, he reasons. There was no brand in 2015 that touched Rs 100 crore, even though the industry was worth Rs 10,000 crore. This means no one had even one percent of the market share. I came in to solve this problem, he smiles. Agarwals next purchase was a stake in Masaba Guptas label, Masaba, as it was the only brand he thought had potential to scale. She was the only designer who told me she wanted to build a Rs 1,000 crore brand, everyone else was aiming at Rs 100 crore, he says. Agarwal bought Masaba for Rs 7 crore in 2019, and sold it to the Aditya Birla group for Rs 130 crore valuation. Masaba still owns a 49 percent stake in her business, now making her the richest Indian designer in terms of actual value. Tarun Tahiliani has the potential to be Indias Ralph Lauren, hes such a brilliant businessman. But I dont see anyone else doing that. In 2020, just a few months after designer Wendell Rodricks died, Agarwal bought out his label for a meagre Rs 1.5 crore. I think Wendell and Manish Arora were by nature international brands at the time, the rest of the Indian labels cater to Indian buyers and Indian weddings. We were talking to Wendell about onboarding him for Pernias, but once he passed, and Covid had arrived, there was no production. Historically, his annual sales were around Rs 1.5 crore, so thats what we offered. Today, the Wendell Rodricks label makes us Rs 1.5 crore each month. But I have to say the great intangibles of a designer like Wendell, what he created as a brand I could not be able to create even with Rs 100 crore. Agarwal is clear he wants to scale businesses 100 times over, not just two or three times. I got Tarun to make printed lehengas for Rs 50,000. I told him Indias uber luxury market is selling to 1,000 people. But the next market size is 10 lakh customers. Tarun paid him back with some luxury advice instead. He said my stores looked shabby. So I decided to build a flagship, Agarwals says of his 50,000 square feet Pernias Pop-up shop that opened at the Qutub in New Delhi, where the Indian Handicrafts Emporium used to stand. It was just such a beautiful location, I had to build a beautiful store. Each year, the parent company Purple Style Labs (PSL) has offered some exciting news. Next up are mega stores in Hyderabad, Chennai and Surat. After that PSL will open Pernias Pop-up Shop in Dubai and New York (it already has a space in Londons Grosvenor Square). By 2026, Agarwal is planning his IPO. Agarwal says hes a workaholic. He only goes home to Juhu to sleep, lives alone and has no immediate plans of marrying. He barely takes holidays but loves long drives. He famously owns a Mercedes Maybach S680, a Maserati Levante, and an Aston Martin Vantage. This year I plan to go to the Silverstone F1 race in the U.K., and maybe the Wimbledon too, he sheepishly says. Namrata Zakaria is a seasoned writer and editor, and a chronicler of social and cultural trends. Her first book, on late fashion designer Wendell Rodricks Moda Goa museum, is due to be published shortly. Zakaria is especially known for her insiders take on fashion, luxury and social entrepreneurship in India. Her writing is appreciated for shaping opinions, busting myths, making reputations and sometimes breaking the odd career. Zakaria is also involved in putting together philanthropic efforts in the field of economic and environmental sustainability. 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 tragic incident, a 75-year-old man passed away in the ICU of a hospital in Gwalior on Friday. The cause of death is believed to be the result of an incident where the oxygen tube was allegedly yanked off during a heated argument between the patients family and doctors. Both parties involved have accused each other in counter FIRs filed over impeding the oxygen supply. The administration of Jaya Arogya Hospital (JAH) has lodged a complaint with the local police, stating that the family of the patient broke the ventilator and assaulted the medical staff. However, the patients son, who happens to work as a ward boy in the same hospital, claimed that it was the doctors who forcefully removed the oxygen pipe and subjected them to assault. Hospital says In complaint filed at Kampu police station, Dr. Prateek Bagde (28), the attending physician on duty, mentioned that the patient, Patiram, had been admitted to the hospital two days ago in critical condition due to difficulty in breathing. At around 5pm on Friday, some of the patients relatives arrived at the hospital seeking an update on his health. Unfortunately, the patients condition deteriorated rapidly at the same time, necessitating immediate medical attention. According to the hospital administrations report, doctors and nurses were fully engaged in treating the patient to stabilize his condition when, for reasons unknown, the patients family barged in the ICU. In a fit of anger, they forcefully removed the oxygen pipe connected to the patients trachea and callously discarded it, resulting in a lack of oxygen supply. Subsequently, Patiram succumbed to the lack of oxygen and passed away. A heated confrontation unfolded within the family, leading to chaos and distress, as stated in the report filed by the hospital. The report alleges that the patients relatives damaged medical equipment, including ECG and BP machines, stethoscopes, and government documents. Family says. According to Subhash, the son of the deceased patient Patiram, his father was admitted to Jaya Arogya Hospital (JAH) on June 1. On the following day, when the family visited at 5pm, they were shocked to witness doctors removing the patients ventilator. A heated argument ensued when they objected to this action. Tragically, during the altercation, the patient passed away, as claimed by both the hospital staff and the patients family, specifically Subhash. In response to the familys anger, some doctors allegedly assaulted them and confined them to a room. The family further alleged that even the elderly members were subjected to mistreatment. Kampu police have registered a case in connection with the incident and an investigation is currently underway. The autopsy has already been conducted as part of the investigation. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Due to a mechanical issue, an Indigo flight with a destination of Dibrugarh made an emergency landing on Sunday morning at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati. Flight 6E2652 made an emergency landing at Guwahati Airport with Rameswar Teli, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, and two other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs, Prasanta Phukan and Terash Gowalla, also present. He is still at Guwahati airport after the flight made an emergency landing following a technical glitch, Teli told ANI. I was on the flight along with BJP MLAs Prasanta Phukan and Terash Gowalla. Today I have a schedule of three meetings in Duliajan, Tingkhong and Tinsukia. The flight was in the air for 15 to 20 minutes before landing at Dibrugarh airport and back at Guwahati airport and making an emergency landing. We are all safe. The authorities told us that, that flight will not run again, Teli added. Meanwhile, the airport authority also confirmed about the emergency landing of the Dibrugarh-bound Indigo flight. (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. Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr on Sunday announced that the airline is working closely with Air India to expand its operations in India. We have strengthened our position in the Indian market. We think we can do more flying more, a new partnership with Air India which is a different company than it was before to grow our market share, he said. During a media briefing, Spohr revealed a two-fold strategy for India and one pillar is to expand the operations to the country. His comments came along the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit in Istanbul. He added, We have just announced reopening Frankfurt-Hyderabad (service) which we had to close a few years ago. We will also be for the first time serving Bangalore from Munich. We are using our own airplanes, and operations to expand into India. For the unversed, both Air India and Lufthansa are part of the Star Alliance group. Spohr noted that Lufthansa has been working successfully in India for the past couple of years. Lufthansa Group, which has been present in the Indian market for more than 90 years, currently has more than 50 weekly services to India, connecting Frankfurt, Zurich and Munich with various Indian cities, including Delhi and Mumbai. I look at India as being an opportunity We have done nice business Indian upper middle-class wealth very much looks at Europe as a way to spend, the CEO noted. In April, the group said it would start flights on Munich-Bangalore and Frankfurt-Hyderabad routes this year as it looks to tap the post-Covid growth opportunities in the Indian aviation market. The flights on the Munich-Bangalore route will be operational three times a week and the first flight will be on November 3. On the Frankfurt-Hyderabad route, the flights will commence in the coming winter. At that time, Lufthansa had said it intends to make the best of Indias untapped growth opportunity especially in the post-Covid era by providing consumers with the most premium travel experiences during their international trips, be it for business or leisure. Lufthansa Group comprises the segments of Network Airlines, Eurowings and Aviation Services. Worldwide, the group has 1,09,509 employees and generated revenues of 32,770 million euros in the financial year 2022. With inputs from PTI 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 light of the tragic triple train accident in Odisha, the local Police has taken to social media to address the issue of false and malicious posts being circulated. It has come to notice that some social media handles are mischievously giving communal colour to the tragic train accident at Balasore. This is highly unfortunate. Investigation by the GRP, Odisha into the cause and all other aspects of the accident is going on. Odisha Police (@odisha_police) June 4, 2023 The police expressed their disappointment regarding certain social media accounts attempting to attribute a communal aspect to the Balasore train mishap. The Odisha police emphasized the unfortunate nature of such actions and assured that the Odisha Government Railway Police (GRP) is actively investigating the accidents cause and all related factors. They sternly warned that severe legal measures will be taken against individuals who engage in spreading rumours with the intent of creating communal disharmony. A devastating collision involving the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, and a goods train has resulted in a tragic loss of life, with at least 288 individuals losing their lives and over 1000 sustaining injuries. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Sunday that the tracks destroyed during Saturdays horrific Odisha train accident will be repaired as soon as possible and rail services in the affected sector will be restored by Wednesday. The root cause of this accident has been identified. PM Modi inspected the site yesterday. We will try to restore the track today. All bodies have been removed. Our target is to finish the restoration work by Wednesday morning so that trains can start running on this track, the minister was quoted as saying by ANI. At least 288 people have been killed and around 803 injured in a horrific three-train collision. The crash involved the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, and a goods train. Meanwhile, In the wake of the Odisha train accident that has led to the cancellation of several scheduled trains, the Ministry of Civil Aviation issued an advisory to airlines to monitor any abnormal surge in airfares to and from Bhubaneswar and other airports in the state. Further, any cancellation and rescheduling of flights due to the incident may be done without penal charges, the advisory added. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived at Balasore on Saturday afternoon to review the situation, has said that those found to beguilty will be severely punished. In view of the situation in Odishas Balasore, several trains have been cancelled to bring things under control. Development Commissioner, Odisha said in a statement, Since other trains will be stopped in districts falling on affected routes, Collectors have been asked to ensure that all the passengers stay safe. They have been told to provide them with whatever facilities are required including water, sanitation, security, food etc at places where such trains may have stopped. Funds to be met from CMRF. (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. Almost two days after tragedy struck in Odishas Balasore when a Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Express and a goods train collided with each other killing over 275 and leaving 1000 injured, the Indian Railways ruled out an error on the part of loco pilot system malfunction. The official probe, which concluded early on Sunday, indicated a possible sabotage and tampering of the electronic interlocking system behind the triple train accident. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Sunday that a change in electronic interlocking was to blame for the catastrophic train disaster that took place in the Balasore district of Odisha on Friday evening. A system of signal equipment called an electronic interlocking prevents trains from moving in opposition to one another along a network of lines. Essentially, it is a safety mechanism to stop signals from being changed in the wrong order. This systems goal is to prevent a train from moving forward until the safety of the route has been established. Meanwhile, top railway officials in Delhi explained the possible cause behind the accident. They said the system is error proof and fail safe but did not rule out the possibility of outside intervention. It is called a fail-safe system, it means that even if it fails, all the signals will turn red and all train operations will stop. Now, as the minister said there was a problem with the signalling system. It could be that someone has done some digging without seeing the cables. Running of any machine is prone to failures, Jaya Verma Sinha, Member of Operation and Business Development, Railway Board, said. #WATCH | The goods train did not get derailed. Since the goods train was carrying iron ores, the maximum damage of the impact was on Coromandel Express. This is the reason for a huge number of deaths and injuries. The derailed bogies of Coromandel Express came on the down line, pic.twitter.com/DnjheT8NSn ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2023 The rail minister further said that the tracks destroyed during Saturdays horrific Odisha train accident will be repaired as soon as possible and rail services in the affected sector will be restored by Wednesday. The commissioner of railway safety has investigated the matter and it wont be right for me to comment on that. Let the investigation report come. But the cause of the accident has been identified and the people responsible for it have been identified. Right now our focus is on restoration. There are two main lines and two loop lines. The work is underway and we will definitely complete restoration well before our target of Wednesday morning, Vaishnaw said. 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 Ministry of Railways has recommended a CBI probe into the three-train crash in Odishas Balasore that claimed the lives of 275 people and left 1000 injured. The announcement was made by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Keeping everything in mindwhatever administrative information has been received so farthe Railway Board has recommended that further investigation be carried out by the CBI, he told reporters in Balasore. The Indian Railways on Sunday ruled out an error on the part of the loco pilot system malfunction. The official probe, which concluded early on Sunday, indicated a possible sabotage and tampering of the electronic interlocking system behind the triple train accident. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Sunday that a change in electronic interlocking was to blame for the catastrophic train disaster that took place in the Balasore district of Odisha on Friday evening. A system of signal equipment called an electronic interlocking prevents trains from moving in opposition to one another along a network of lines. Essentially, it is a safety mechanism to stop signals from being changed in the wrong order. This systems goal is to prevent a train from moving forward until the safety of the route has been established. Meanwhile, top railway officials in Delhi explained the possible cause behind the accident. They said the system is error proof and fail safe but did not rule out the possibility of outside intervention. It is called a fail-safe system, it means that even if it fails, all the signals will turn red and all train operations will stop. Now, as the minister said there was a problem with the signalling system. It could be that someone has done some digging without seeing the cables. Running of any machine is prone to failures, Jaya Verma Sinha, Member of Operation and Business Development, Railway Board, 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. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday promised strict action against those responsible for the horrific Odisha train accident that took place in Balasore district on Friday evening. It is our responsibility to establish normalcy as early as possible. Restoration work is underway. Indian Railways is running free trains and logistic facilities are also being provided. The death toll has crossed 270. The inquiry for the cause is underway. We will take strict action against the persons responsible for this, the union minister told the media. #WATCH | It is our responsibility to establish normalcy as early as possible. Restoration work is underway. Indian Railways is running free trains and logistic facilities are also being provided. The death toll has crossed 270. The inquiry for the cause is underway. We will take pic.twitter.com/CVt5f3FzFT ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2023 Earlier on Sunday, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the tracks destroyed during Saturdays horrific Odisha train accident will be repaired as soon as possible and rail services in the affected sector will be restored by Wednesday. The root cause of this accident has been identified. PM Modi inspected the site yesterday. We will try to restore the track today. All bodies have been removed. Our target is to finish the restoration work by Wednesday morning so that trains can start running on this track, the minister was quoted as saying by ANI. At least 288 people have been killed and around 803 injured in a horrific three-train collision. The crash involved the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, and a goods train. Meanwhile, In the wake of the Odisha train accident that has led to the cancellation of several scheduled trains, the Ministry of Civil Aviation issued an advisory to airlines to monitor any abnormal surge in airfares to and from Bhubaneswar and other airports in the state. Further, any cancellation and rescheduling of flights due to the incident may be done without penal charges, the advisory added. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived at Balasore on Saturday afternoon to review the situation, has said that those found to beguilty will be severely punished. (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. MATSAPHA Nozitha Investments, trading TotalEnergies Filling Station is expected to open its new fuel station at Ludzeludze corner, opposite IDM in Matsapha. The E19.2million filling station has been viewed as a relief for the Matsapha traffic after the closure of one of the biggest filling stations opposite Eswatini Beverages. The increased number of vehicles filling their tanks at Mahhala in Matsapha, will be significantly cut as the location of the new fuel station allows Manzini bound traffic to by-pass at Lozitha and cross through Kwaluseni to Manzini and avoid the usual jam at the traffic circle. Group Administrator at Nolitha Investment, Sanele Dlamini confirmed that the filling station was now ready to start operating. He said they were targeting Tuesday June 6, 2023 as its first operation date. Dlamini said they were excited at the prospect of serving the nation with the best energy services. He stated that the multimillion worth filling station was positioned to serve different kinds of motorists including those from areas in the outskirts of Manzini such as Zombodze. chosen He said they could not have chosen a better brand to take over their filling station than TotalEnergies Eswatini. He said they were particular about what the brand represents hence they chose to trade under the name. The multinational integrated energy and petroleum company Total Eswatini (Pty) Ltd officially rebranded its identity to Total Energies Eswatini (Pty) Ltd in 2022. The name change followed suit to other countries where the energy and petroleum company is situated. Shifting from Total Eswatini to Total Energies Eswatini enforced the company to change its logo and rebrand in all its filling stations locally. It was stated during the new logo launch that the fuel company embarked on a name change and rebranding quest because of global warming, its contribution to the climate and how they could make a change. Dlamini said the Ludzeludze corner filling station would embrace all the identities of the TotalEnergies brand and trade in the same corporate name. We are excited that finally, what began as a dream became a concept and is now a reality. We saw a gap and decided to bring a solution for motorists by giving them the much needed alternative. We are aware of the amount of traffic within the vicinity and we understand that one of the causes for such was the lack of a filling station to allow the traffic to breath. Most motorists from Mbabane to Manzini find themselves trapped in traffic at Mahhala because they are looking for a filling station, so we now present to them an alternative. There is also a large amount of cars driving towards Ludzeludze to areas such as Mbekelweni, Zombodze and others; this one will also service such motorists, he said. Dlamini stated that the project was worth E19.2million and the investment was based on a need that the company saw along the Matsapha corridor. We hope to fill-up the first car on Tuesday and we are excited and looking ahead to the new venture. We saw an opportunity, especially considering the amount of traffic congestion in and around the Matsapha-Mahhala area during peak time. Another reason for taking up the project was to diversify and spread our investment across platforms as compared to putting them in one basket, he said. prominent Nolitha Investment is part of a group of companies which ventures in different fields. The most prominent venture for the group includes OK Stores and other shopping complexes around the country. Information gathered from Total Energies website indicates that, their ambition was to reach carbon neutrality by reducing their direct emissions to Net Zero by 2050. The transition from Total to TotalEnergies was a major development to the company as they were currently working on moving towards the use of renewable energy. TotalEnergies Eswatini has a storage capacity of 800 000 litres, which is comprised of the following products: Unleaded 95, Eco Premium 95 (LRP), Eco Diesel Plus (500ppm) and Eco Diesel Premium Plus (50ppm). Their gantry is automated, two loading bays, one offloading point and a flow rate of 1 200 litres per minute and one rail siding with three decanting pumps for each product. The rail siding can accommodate four rail tank cars (72 000 litres) or six small rail tank cars (36 000 litres). The new filling station joins other fuel stations built by Mitra Energy Eswatini. Mitra Energy opened new filling stations in Manzini and Buhleni among others that are still under construction. Mitra Energy Eswatini, being a new energy brand, has set social media and the petroleum industry abuzz, with its marketing strategies which include short videos. US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin arrived in New Delhi on Sunday to hold bilateral talks and strengthen defence partnerships between the two nations. He was received by US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti. Before this, Austin was in Singapore. Taking to Twitter, the US Defence Secretary wrote, Im returning to India to meet with key leaders for discussions about strengthening our Major Defense Partnership. Together, were advancing a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, he added. Im returning to India to meet with key leaders for discussions about strengthening our Major Defense Partnership. Together, were advancing a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific. pic.twitter.com/P73Oy2npDx Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) June 4, 2023 The visit precedes Prime Minister Narendra Modis official state visit to the White House next month. The Pentagon said that Austin will visit New Delhi to meet with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other leaders as the United States and India continue to modernise the US-India Major Defence Partnership. This visit provides an opportunity to accelerate new defense innovation and industrial cooperation initiatives and drive ongoing efforts to expand operational cooperation between the US and Indian militaries, the Pentagon said. Austin attended the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore and his first stop was in Tokyo where he met with Japanese Defence Minister Yasukasu Hamada and other senior leaders and visited US troops stationed in Japan. Later, from Japan, he flew to Singapore, where he addressed plenary remarks at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) 20th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. 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 major fire erupted in Delhis Jahangirpuri area on Sunday. Officials from the Delhi Fire service reached the spot and started operations to combat the fire. We got a call around 10:30 in the morning that the slum areas in Jahangirpuri have caught fire. When we reached here, we found that a godown of waste materials, located a little outside the slum areas, had blazed, said Rajeev Kumar, a fireman present at the spot. It would have caused danger to the slum. 11-12 vehicles have reached the spot. Cooling process will take a while but we have taken it under control, he added. On being asked about how much time it is going to take extinguishing the fire, he said, "The plastics kept in the godown have burnt. They take a while to get doused. It will probably take 1-2 hours" Earlier today, a fire broke out at Maulana Azad Medical College's old boy's hostel in the national capital, officials said. #WATCH | Dousing operation underway after fire broke out in slums in Delhi's Jahangirpuri area. pic.twitter.com/Nw87fOCo8d ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2023 "A fire call has been received about the hostel fire in Maulana Azad Medical College on Sunday morning at 6:09 am," the official said. The fire was extinguished and no causality or injury to anyone has been reported, they said. Moreover, the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, they added. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Listening to Rahul Gandhi during his speeches and conversations in India is often a comical relief. The same cannot be said when he is out of the country. From being the funny man of Indian politics, often uncharitably called Pappu by his politico-ideological opponents, he suddenly becomes out and out dangerous. Rahuls funny man mask falls this time again when he is in the United States. He has emerged as a prophet of doom, of terrifying prospects for India. Being out of power for nine straight years, and with 2024 not looking good either, he seems to have gathered a coalition of not just anti-BJP parties and institutions but of anti-India outfits. His allies arent just the ones looking to uproot the BJP but are antithetical to the very idea of India and are bent on derailing the India Story. Now, thats a Faustian bargain. Once committed, it cannot be undone without violent, malevolent repercussions. Rahuls grandmother, Mrs Indira Gandhi, allowed the militancy in Punjab to fester by initially appeasing the Bhindranwale and Co., but once the Khalistani genie was out of the Punjab bottle, it couldnt be pushed back before destroying a whole generation of Punjabis and consuming the life of Mrs Gandhi herself on 31 October 1984. His father, Rajiv Gandhi, too committed a similar faux pas with the Velupillai Prabhakaran-led Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which too ended disastrously with the assassination of the former Prime Minister in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, on 21 May 1991. The main architect of Rahul Gandhis foreign visits and interactions has been Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda, popularly known as Sam Pitroda. Head of the AICCs Overseas chapters, Pitroda, a US-based engineer-turned-policymaker, was Rajiv Gandhis go-to person on Indias modernisation/computerisation programme in the 1980s. One can sense Pitrodas deep sense of loyalty and gratitude for the Nehru-Gandhi family while reading his memoirs, Dreaming Big: My Journey to Connect India, wherein he writes how he and his wife, Anu, met Rajiv Gandhi in 1985 when the Indian prime minister was on a US visit. During the meeting, Rajiv reportedly told Pitrodas wife: Anu, I know Sam wants to come to India. I want you to make sure the childrens admission to school is taken care of. Its very important, and Sam may not understand these things in Delhi. Let me know. Its essential to get them into the right school. Rajiv had invested wisely in the Pitroda relationship, which is still paying dividends for his family. And as the recent Rahul visits to the UK and the US suggest, Pitroda retains the former AICC chiefs trust. There is no doubting Pitrodas resourcefulness, especially in the West. But this time, for Rahul Gandhis events in the US, he has enlisted the support of archetypally dubious anti-India elements from Islamists and Khalistanis to neo-Ambadkrites and Dravidian fanatics, all pushing for the Indias balkanisation of differing shapes and sizes. Being an old hand in the West, Pitroda and by extension, Rahul Gandhi is expected to know the DNA of these outfits. This manifests the growing desperation in the Congress party. Maybe, the current generation of the Congress leadership, like Mrs Indira Gandhi and his son, Rajiv, believes these disparate, dangerous genies can be used and then put back in the bottle! Though Rahul Gandhis Muslim League is secular comment has received a lot of brickbats, it shouldnt surprise given that the Congress has been in alliance with the Kerala-based Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) for decades now. How else can the GoP in alliance with the IUML if the latter werent a secular entity? It doesnt matter if the leaders of the IUML, before Independence, had overwhelmingly worked for Jinnahs Muslim League and its Partition plan. In the Congresss minority-first notion of secularism, to actively participate in the creation of an Islamist Pakistan and then to stay back in secular India to continue the battle for Ghazwa-e-Hind, can be qualified as a heightened sense of nationalism, patriotism! As one Muslim leader mockingly told VS Naipaul, they unequivocally fought for Partition and then refused to leave the country. Now, thats called having the cake and eating it too. Its, however, Rahul Gandhis growing propensity to use the typical Soros-ian toolkit terms democracy is in danger, press freedom is sliding, minorities are selectively targeted, democratic institutions are compromised, et al that should be a cause of big concern. In his endeavour to speak what the West wants to hear, he has blurred the distinction between the government and the state. When the funny man Rahul questions Indias democratic credentials in the West, he instantly becomes dangerous. He seems to suggest that India is too enfeebled to self-correct itself and would need the Western assistance. His sense of desperation gets the better of him when he even defends an Indian journalist arrested by the CBI for sharing sensitive defence information with foreign intelligence agencies. He calls it an assault on press freedom! What Rahul Gandhi and his team dont care to understand is that by discrediting India and its democracy, they have actually reduced themselves to being a pawn in the larger anti-India game being played in the West. The trick is, as David Horowitz and Richard Poe explain in their seminal book, The Shadow Party, to exert pressure for radical change from two directions simultaneously from the upper levels of government and from provocateurs in the streets. Through Rahul, these powerful Soros-ian forces are discrediting India from the top, and with the toolkit-oriented protests (Shaheen Bagh, farmers, wrestlers, etc), India is being squeezed from the bottom. The majority of the people would have no idea what was going on. Squeezed from above and below, most would sink into apathy and despair, believing they were hopelessly outnumbered by the radicals even though they were not. Thus could a radical minority impose its will on a moderate majority, even under a democratic, parliamentary system, add Horowitz and Poe. However, the biggest threat that Rahul Gandhi poses today is to the India Story, through his extreme Left tilt. He wants to rewind the clock to pre-1991 India, excessively focusing on redistribution of wealth when the fact is that India lost its first 50 years precisely doing the same thing. It focused exclusively on wealth redistribution while failing to create it in the first place. Here a Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel anecdote that the late Nani Palkhivala mentioned in his book We, The Nation, comes to mind. It so happened that a group of socialists approached Sardar Patel and advocated the distribution of wealth among the poor. Patel listened to them patiently but when he could bear anymore, he told them to take his wealth and redistribute among the poor but leave the nation for good! Just the way his assault on Indias democratic credentials gets Western legitimacy, Rahuls extreme Leftism too suits the American-European interest. At a time when India is the worlds fastest growing economy, with the IMF identifying it as a bright spot in the world economy, theres a powerful lobby led by billionaire George Soros that wants to derail this India Story. The West just cant let India propel out of its ambit into an orbit of its own. With China already out of bounds, this is the last thing the West would want: To let India become too big to become absolutely autonomous, to sort its own problem. This way the global power centre would decisively shift Eastward. The Soros-ian West looks at Rahul Gandhi as a pawn to checkmate not just the Modi government but India as well. Its for the Congress leader to decide if he wants to fall into this dubious, dangerous trap. For, he may gain power but lose the nation. But most likely, he may still lose both power and the nation, as his speeches in the US may get applause in the West but have a negative chain reaction in India. Whats bad for the nation cannot be good politics either. The author is Opinion Editor, Firstpost and News18. He tweets from @Utpal_Kumar1. 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 Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India announced on 30 May that the forthcoming summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will be held in a virtual format on 4 July, 2023. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will Chair the summit. Prior to this announcement, it was expected that the summit would take place in a physical format with the presence of all or most of the leaders of member countries of the SCO. It is obvious that invitations to participate physically would have been issued to all the leaders. In fact, the Iranian authorities had announced in mid-March that President Ebrahim Raisi will travel to India in July to attend the SCO summit. This would have been a red-letter day for Iran as it would be formally admitted to the SCO at the Delhi summit. This would be a particularly significant event for Iran as SCO is the first multilateral Organization that it would be joining after the Iranian Revolution in February, 1979! Addressing the media on 2 June, the Official Spokesperson of MEA Arindam Bagchi said that India had never stated that the SCO summit would be held in physical format. He added that the decision to hold the summit in the virtual format was taken considering a number of factors. These factors were not spelt out. It would appear appropriate that under the circumstances of the ongoing conflict in Europe as well as on account of the stressed ties between India and China, the most suitable decision would be to host the summit virtually. Since no explanations have been forthcoming from the government the best one can do is to speculate on the reasons for the decision and discuss the impact of organizing the summit in a virtual format as against in an in-person format. Russia One plausible reason could be that Russian President Vladimir Putin might have felt that it would be inconvenient and difficult for him to leave Moscow at a time when a major counter-offensive from Ukraine could take place or could be in progress. Also, with the frequency and destructiveness of the drone attacks on Russian cities including Moscow in recent days, it would be difficult for him to travel outside Russia for an international meeting. A conversation between the two sides could have taken place at an appropriate level to discuss the situation. This could have been a significant factor in taking the final decision to host a virtual summit. China The other contributory factor could be that no response would have been received till date about participation of Chinese President Xi Jinping in the summit. If China had thought that it would be able to use its participation in the summit to extract some concessions from India on the border issue or on normalisation of bilateral ties, it would be mistaken. Rather than keep waiting on tenterhooks to get a response from China about Xis physical participation, or plead with China for its participation at the level of President Xi, India could have decided that the most befitting approach would be to go the virtual way. There has been no exchange of communication or interaction between PM Modi and President Xi since the incursion by the Chinese army across the LAC in April, 2020. With the situation on the LAC still being abnormal and no possibility of it getting resolved in a hurry, it would have been uncomfortable for PM Modi to be the host and not have a bilateral interaction with Xi. And under the circumstances, it was not possible to have a bilateral meeting as if the bilateral relations are normal. A virtual summit obviates the necessity of holding any bilateral interactions. Bilaterals One of the significant advantages of such inter-governmental meetings is the bilaterals that the leaders are able to engage in on the side-lines of the plenary meetings. For instance, during PM Modis recent visit to Hiroshima for the G7 summit, he was able to interact with a large number of world leaders on issues of mutual bilateral and global interest. This opportunity will be lost to the Indian leadership because the SCO summit will be held virtually. That would be the case in the context of meetings that PM Modi would have had with the Central Asian leaders and the Iranian President. The loss of not being able to interact bilaterally with these leaders is tenuous as compared to the discomfort that India would have encountered in handling the presence of a Chinese leader in Delhi in the case of an in-person summit. It also needs to be kept in the mind that the SCO is seen as a Chinese, and to a lesser extent Russian, dominated Institution. It would hence be as much in the interest of China, as India, if not more, to have a successful SCO summit. A virtual summit is not as glamorous or impressive as an in-person summit. A virtual summit would hence reflect somewhat negatively on the sheen and prestige of the Organization, and on China, its major cheer-leader, than it would on India. China has been trying to project the SCO as an Institution which works harmoniously and congenially unlike the western dominated bodies and Organisations. That the SCO was not able to meet in person would be seen more as a slight to China and to SCO, than to India. It can be presumed with considerable certainty that Pakistan, notwithstanding the obnoxious conduct of its Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at the SCO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Goa last month, would not have played any role in India taking this decision. Indias presidency of SCO On substantive issues, it is expected that India will be able to get the results and outcomes that it has been working towards during its Presidency. As the Chair of SCO this year, India successfully concluded more than a hundred meetings and events, including 15 ministerial level meetings. It received enthusiastic support and participation from Member States, Observers and Dialogue Partners of the SCO. Many of the events hosted by India were first time events in the framework of the SCO. Events like the SCO Millet Food Festival, Film Festival, Cultural showcase at Surajkund Mela, the SCO Tourism Mart, Conference on Shared Buddhist Heritage, were all successfully hosted by India. Varanasi as the first SCO cultural and tourist capital for 2022-23 hosted several colourful events with active participation from Member States. As SCO Chair, India initiated an unprecedented engagement with SCO Observers and Dialogue Partners by inviting them to participate in more than 14 socio-cultural events. In its capacity as SCO Chair, India has proposed a New Delhi Declaration as an SCO summit Declaration and four other thematic joint statements on cooperation in De-radicalization strategies, promotion of millets, sustainable lifestyles to address climate change, and digital transformation. It can be expected that all these documents will be finalised well in time for the virtual summit on 4 July, 2023. Thus in substantive terms, India would be able to meticulously fulfil the onerous responsibility it assumed last year as the Chair of this significant regional body. Conclusion From the above it is clear that India has taken the right decision to go virtual for the SCO summit on 4 July, 2023 and not hold it in person. While India will be able to deliver more than what was expected of it as the chair of SCO and give the organization a significant impetus, it will not have to confront the uncertainties and complications that could have otherwise presented themselves in an in-person summit. Going virtual was an option for the SCO summit and it is good that India has adopted it. This possibility will however not be available for the G20 summit which is scheduled to be held in Delhi on 9-10 September, 2023. The Indian leadership including the PMO and MEA must be seriously considering all alternatives regarding the participation of Russian and Chinese leaders in that summit to make Indias G20 Presidency a success. The writer is executive council member, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, president, Institute of Global Studies, Distinguished Fellow, Ananta Aspen Centre, and former Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan, Sweden and Latvia. The 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. Hong Kong police said on Sunday they had detained eight people near a park, four of them for seditious intention and disorderly conduct, as authorities tightened security on the 34th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. Restrictions in Hong Kong have stifled what were once the biggest vigils marking the bloody crackdown by Chinese troops on pro-democracy demonstrators, leaving cities like London, New York, Berlin and Taipei to keep alive the memory on the June 4 anniversary. Commemorations are expected on Sunday in at least 30 places in North America, Europe and Asia. The eight people were detained near Victoria Park, where for years after 1989 democracy activists gathered on the Tiananmen Square anniversary. Among them was artist Sanmu Chan who chanted Do not forget June 4. Hongkongers dont be scared, as police led him away on Saturday evening, according to a video clip seen by Reuters. The police said the eight had been detained after displaying protest items loaded with seditious wordings, chanting and committing unlawful acts. Hong Kong activists say such police action is part of a broad campaign by China to end dissent in the city that was promised special freedoms for 50 years under a one country, two systems formula when former colonial power Britain handed it back in 1997. Security is significantly tighter across Hong Kong this year, with up to 6,000 police officers deployed, including riot and anti-terrorism officers, the public broadcaster said. Senior officials have warned people to abide by the law. Police are highly concerned about some people attempting to incite and provoke others to commit illegal acts that endanger national security, public order and public safety, police said in a statement. CLEAR CONCLUSION Despite the warnings, some individuals including some book shop owners, have been quietly marking June 4. Jailed Hong Kong activist Chow Hang-tung, one of the leaders of a group called The Alliance, which used to organise Hong Kongs annual June 4 vigils before it was disbanded in 2021, said on Facebook she would hold a 34-hour hunger strike in prison. In mainland China, any mention of the Tiananmen Square crackdown where troops opened fire on pro-democracy protesters, killing hundreds if not thousands, according to rights groups is taboo and the subject is heavily censored. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning, asked about the governments response to events around the world to mark the anniversary, told a regular briefing in Beijing on Friday that the government had already come to a clear conclusion about the political turmoil in the late 1980s. In democratically governed Taiwan, the only part of the Chinese-speaking world when the anniversary can be marked freely and openly, activists will hold a memorial at Taipeis Liberty Square, alongside other activities including a play on Tiananmen by a Hong Kong playwright. Vice President William Lai, the ruling Democratic Progressive Partys presidential candidate in an election next January, wrote on his Facebook page that what happened in Beijing in 1989 must be discussed and remembered. The event commemorating June 4 has continued to be held in Taipei, which shows that democracy and authoritarianism are the biggest differences between Taiwan and China, he said. North Korea denounced the U.N. Security Council for holding a meeting on its recent satellite launch upon robbery demands from the U.S., vowing to continue rejecting sanctions and taking self-defensive action, state media KCNA said on Sunday. The U.S. called for a UNSC meeting last week to discuss North Koreas attempt to put its first spy satellite in orbit, which ended in failure with the booster and payload plunging into the sea. Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a powerful ruling party official, said the meeting was another sign that the council served as a U.S. political appendage by accepting Washingtons robbery demands to ignore the countrys right to space development. I am very offended that the UNSC routinely criticises our exercise of sovereign rights as the United States wants, and strongly condemn and reject this as the most unfair, prejudiced act of interfering in internal affairs and infringing our sovereignty, Kim said in a statement carried by KCNA. She said the satellite launch was a legitimate, self-defensive countermeasure against increasing threats from the U.S. and its allies, which Pyongyang have accused of rekindling tension with their annual springtime military drills. North Korea will never acknowledge U.N. sanctions resolutions even if they slap them hundred, thousand times, she said, pledging to continue exercising its sovereign rights, including launching spy satellites. In another dispatch, KCNA published a commentary by Kim Myong Chol, whom it described as an international affairs analyst, criticising a resolution adopted by the International Maritime Organizations (IMO) security committee. North Korea had informed the IMO of a time frame of its planned satellite launch, and the resolution strongly condemned the isolated countrys missile tests which seriously threatened the safety of seafarers and international shipping. The analyst also accused the IMO of being completely politicised by following the U.S. and its allies anti-North Korea, hostile policy. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Although his nation prefers negotiation over conflict, Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu claimed on Saturday that a Cold War mentality was resurfacing in the Asia-Pacific area. Speaking at Asias premier security meeting, the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore, Li made veiled jabs at the US, accusing some countries of escalating an arms race and purposefully meddling in the domestic affairs of other nations. A Cold War mentality is now resurgent, greatly increasing security risks, he said. Mutual respect should prevail over bullying and hegemony. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin rebuked China in a speech at the security meeting on Saturday for refusing to hold military talks, leaving the superpowers deadlocked over democratically ruled Taiwan and territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Ties between Washington and Beijing are strained over a range of issues, including Taiwan, the South China Sea and President Joe Bidens restrictions on semiconductor chip exports. Li, sanctioned by the United States in 2018 over weapons purchases from Russia, shook hands with Austin at a dinner on Friday but the two have not had a deeper discussion, despite repeated US demands for more military exchanges. Speaking privately on the sidelines of the conference, two Chinese military officers said that Beijing wanted clear signs from Washington of a less confrontational approach in Asia including the dropping of sanctions against Li before military-to-military talks could resume. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. State media said Sunday that three Chinese astronauts who were stationed in the countrys space station have safely returned to Earth and hailed the mission as a complete success. According to state news agency Xinhua, the Shenzhou-15 spacecrafts return capsule landed at a landing location in the Inner Mongolia area of northern China. According to Xinhua, the astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming, and Zhang Lu were in good physical condition as they emerged from the capsule. The mission was a complete success, it said. Footage showed medical personnel in white jumpsuits and face masks wrapping the astronauts in blue blankets and taking them away from the arid landing site, where the copper-coloured capsule was bordered by red flags. The three had been onboard the Tiangong space station for six months, conducting spacewalks and various scientific research. As part of the follow-up Shenzhou-16 mission, China launched three additional astronauts to the space station last week, including its first civilian in orbit. In an effort to catch up with the United States and Russia, the worlds second-largest economy has poured billions of dollars into its military-run space project. Beijing aims to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030 and plans to build a base on the lunar surface. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. China has been recruiting Germanys ex-air force pilots and so the latter has asked the former to stop doing so, fearing they would spill NATO-related secrets. I raised the question of Germany air force pilots who have apparently been recruited to train (Chinese) pilots, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters. He was speaking after meeting his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu on the margins of a defence and security conference in Singapore. I indicated clearly that I expected this practice to cease immediately and told him he probably wouldnt be very pleased either if I tried to do the same thing, Pistorius added. Pistorius claimed that Li did not deny it but downplayed its importance. According to the German weekly Der Spiegel and public TV channel ZDF reported on Friday that China has been employing German pilots to train their own pilots. Their salaries were apparently paid via shell companies in the Seychelles, the media said. The matter is of deep concern to the parliamentary committee overseeing the German secret services, they reported. We are worried that military personnel who have previously worked for the German state could be in jobs that could lead them to betray state secrets, the head of the parliamentary committee told ZDF. These German pilots were once part of NATO exercises and flew Eurofighter jets. Berlin fears that secrets concerning interventions and tactics used by the transatlantic military alliance could be revealed to the Chinese. Similar cases have surfaced in Britain and the United States in recent years. They come at a time of heightened tensions between China and neighbouring Taiwan. China claims self-ruled democratic Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to take it one day by force if necessary. Since 2016, Beijing has ramped up air and sea incursions around the island. With inputs from AFP After the fleets of the two nations conducted a rare cooperative sailing across the delicate Taiwan Strait, Chinas military chastised the US and Canada for deliberately provoking risk. The guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and Canadas HMCS Montreal crossed the strait on Saturday during a routine passage through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law, according to the US Navys 7th Fleet. Chung-Hoon and Montreals bilateral transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific, it said in a statement. The Peoples Liberation Army of Chinas Eastern Theatre Command claimed that its troops kept an eye on the ships at all times and handled the situation in accordance with the law and rules. The countries concerned deliberately create incidents in the Taiwan Strait region, deliberately provoke risks, maliciously undermine regional peace and stability, and send the wrong signal to Taiwan independence forces, it said late Saturday. According to Taiwans military ministry, the two ships were crossing the strait in a northerly direction, and nothing unusual had been observed. Although American warships transit the strait around once every month, they infrequently do so with allies of their own country. The mission was conducted when the U.S. and Chinese defence leaders were in Singapore for a significant regional security gathering. At that time, Lloyd Austin, the secretary of defence for the United States, chastised China for refusing to engage in military negotiations, which had left the two countries at odds over Taiwan and territorial disputes in the South China Sea. The Chinese military, which regularly accuses them of being an American attempt to inflame tensions, made no immediate comment in response to the sailing. In the confined strait, the last such publicly disclosed American-Canadian mission occurred in September. China has been ramping up military and political pressure in an attempt to force Taiwan to accept Beijings sovereignty claims, which the government in Taipei strongly rejects. (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. Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has signed 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. The pact comes on a year which also marks the 20th anniversary of the partnership between the Global Fund and the SFD, which has been the main channel of Saudi contributions to the Global Fund since 2003. 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 $162 million and contributed $123 million, the Kingdom continues to secure critical funding for resources and tools to combat these infectious diseases. In 2021, Saudi Arabia ranked first among donor countries in offering official development assistance to low and medium-income countries, according to data published by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Over the last 20 years, the Global Fund has worked to fight the worlds three deadliest epidemics: HIV, TB, and malaria. Global Fund-supported programmes have saved 50 million lives since 2002 and cut the death toll from the three diseases by more than half, proof that global commitment and community leadership like that of the Kingdom can force the worlds deadliest infectious diseases into retreat. The signing ceremony is a significant milestone in the long-standing partnership between the two organizations and a testament to their shared commitment to ending global diseases, said the statement from SDF. The agreement was signed by CEO Sultan Al Marshad and Global Fund Executive Director Peter Sands as per the directive of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, at an event which took place at the Global Fund in Geneva. It was also attended by Ambassador Abdulmohsen bin Khothaila, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations in Geneva, alongside senior leaders from both parties. Lauding KSA for its support, Sands said: "The signing of this agreement will ensure that the Global Fund can continue to finance and support programmes 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," he added. Al Marshad said: "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, TB, and Malaria, we aim to help improve the lives of countless individuals, families, and communities," he added. Kabul, June 4 (UNI) A total of 2,106 Afghan refugees returned to their homeland from neighboring Iran on Saturday, Afghanistan's Ministry for Refugees and Repatriation Affairs said in a statement Sunday. "A total of 2,106 Afghan refugees returned to their homeland Afghanistan on Saturday after years of living as refugees in Iran, and the process of returning the refugees to their country continues," the statement added. Previously on May 31, the ministry also reported the return of nearly 2,800 Afghan refugees from Iran. Nearly 60,000 Afghan refugees have reportedly returned home from Iran since January. More than 2.5 million registered Afghan refugees reportedly have been living in Iran and about the same number of Afghan refugees are living in Pakistan. The Afghan caretaker government has been calling upon Afghan refugees living abroad to return home and contribute to the reconstruction process of their war-ravaged country. UNI/XINHUA AKS SY ARN Indias import of Russian oil hit a new record in May and is now more than the quantity of oil bought from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE and the US combined. According to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa, India imported as much as 1.96 million barrels of oil per day from Russia in May which is 15 per cent higher than in April. Russia has now occupied a larger chunk of Indias oil imports, taking the figure to 45 per cent in May. This is the highest share for an individual country in recent years. The rise in Russian shares came at the cost of traditional suppliers in Western Asia. Shipments from Saudi Arabia slipped to 560,000 tonnes the lowest since February 2021, according to figures from the shipping analytics company. Meanwhile, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPECs) share in Indias oil imports fell to an all-time low to just 39 per cent in May. OPEC has been contributing as much as 90 per cent of Indias oil needs. However, since February, Russia began offering oil at a much-discounted rate owing to its invasion of Ukraine which in turn caused a loss of business for OPEC. For the eighth straight month, Russia continued to be the single largest supplier of crude oil, making up for 42 per cent of all oil India imported. In addition to this, the data also shows that in May, Iraq supplied 0.83 million barrels per day (bpd) oil in May, while UAE shipped 203,000 bpd. As much as 138,000 bpd was sourced from the US. Indias imports of Russian crude continue to test new highs, reaching almost 2 million bpd in May. Refiners have tested and gained confidence in processing Russian crude, and their voracious appetite for Russian crude is likely to grow as much as they have room to back off spot crude purchases, said Vortexas head of Asia-Pacific analysis, Serena Huang. The average cost of Russian crude including freight costs landing on Indian shores in April was USD 68.21 a barrel the lowest level since the Ukraine war. The average cost of Saudi Arabian crude sent to India in April was USD 86.96 a barrel, while Iraqi oil was priced at USD 77.77 a barrel. With inputs from PTI Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Japan and South Korea have agreed to promptly settle previous military clashes that are impeding tighter security cooperation, Japans defence minister said on Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore. As part of the conference, Japans defence minister, Yasukazu Hamada, met with his South Korean colleague, Lee Jong-sup. We discussed pending issues, Hamada told reporters on Sunday after the bilateral meeting. He said the two agreed to accelerate talks, including steps to prevent recurrence of a radar incident that occurred in 2018. We will continue to keep close communication with South Korea, he added. In 2018, Japan claimed that a South Korean warship locked its targeting radar on a Japanese spy aircraft. South Korea denied doing so, resulting in a quarrel that has strained their alliance. Hamada also stated that he agreed with Lee of South Korea on the necessity of increasing defence cooperation between Japan, South Korea, and the United States. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), the two United Nations bodies, have said that Pakistan and its neighbour Afghanistan are among the countries with acute food shortages. The two bodies have predicted a worse future for both countries if the economic and political crisis further deepens. Pakistan and Afghanistan have been officially declared as early warning hotspots. Warnings on Pakistan and Afghanistan have been issued in a report jointly published by the FAO and the WFP from June to November, according to Khaama Press. Pakistan, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Syrian Arab Republic are hotspots with very high concern, and the warning is also extended to Myanmar in this edition, WFP said in its report. It added, All these hotspots have a high number of people facing critical acute food insecurity, coupled with worsening drivers that are expected to further intensify life-threatening conditions in the coming months. Pakistan has been witnessing political turmoil for quite some time now. On top of that, Pakistans International Monetary Fund (IMF) financial bailout has been delayed for the past seven months. Pakistan has to pay USD 77.5 billion over the next three years, Khaama Press report. The repayment amount is substantial keeping in view Pakistans GDP of USD 350 billion in 2021. The report said, The political crisis and civil unrest are likely to worsen ahead of general elections scheduled for October 2023, amid growing insecurity in the northwest of the country. A shortage of foreign reserves and a depreciating currency are diminishing the countrys ability to import essential food items and energy supplies and increasing food items prices besides causing nationwide energy cuts. UN says that more than 8.5 million people in Pakistan will most likely face acute food shortages between September and December 2023. Meanwhile, over 70 per cent of Afghanistans population do not get two proper meals in a day currently. Afghanistan has become insular after the Taliban assumed power in August 2021. The international community has not recognised the Taliban-led government. Meanwhile, instability in Pakistan has worsened the economy since lawmakers, the judiciary and the army continue to clash with each other. In March-April, the Pakistan government set up distribution sites across the country to provide free flour to people to ease their burden amid rising prices. However, the initiative caused trouble in several places where the stampedes erupted, killing and injuring people. With inputs from ANI Early on Sunday, Russia unleashed a barrage of airstrikes on Ukraine, but all missiles and drones were shot down before they approached Kyiv, according to military authorities in the city. According to preliminary information, not a single air target reached the capital, Serhiy Popko, the head of the military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app early on Sunday. Air defence destroyed everything that was heading towards the city already at their distant approaches. Reuters was unable to independently confirm the claim. Since May, Russia has regularly targeted Kyiv, primarily at night, in an effort to cause psychological harm to citizens before an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive to retake the land, according to Ukrainian authorities. Witnesses for Reuters claimed to have heard numerous explosions from what appeared to be air defence systems striking targets in the Kyiv vicinity but not in the city. For over three hours, Ukraine as a whole was on air raid alert. Unverified reports of explosions were made on Ukrainian social media from Kryvyi Rih in the south, Kropyvnitskyi in the centre, and Sumy in the northeast. Regarding the reports, there was no immediate official information. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Police in South Korea arrested a 23-year-old woman with a fascination for true crime in connection to a brutal murder and dismemberment. A South Korean media report quoted local police saying the suspect allegedly killed out of curiosity, wanting to experience the sensation of taking someones life. The suspect, driven by her obsession with true crime, targeted her victim through a tutoring app designed for connecting parents with private tutors. She posed as the mother of a ninth-grader to establish contact with the victim. Later the suspect reportedly disguised herself as a student by wearing a school uniform and arranged a meeting with the victim. During the encounter, she allegedly fatally stabbed the victim. Subsequently, she dismembered the body, placing some parts in a suitcase and disposing of the remaining parts in the Nakdong river, aiming to create the appearance of the victims disappearance, according to the police. The suspect, identified as Jung Yoo-jung, confessed to the crime and was formally charged with murder on Friday. A police spokesperson revealed that the suspect had developed an obsession with murder through TV programs and books, which eventually drove her to fulfill her desire to actually kill someone. Further investigation into the suspects phone search history unveiled a three-month record of researching techniques for concealing a corpse. Additionally, it was reported that the suspect had extensively watched true crime television shows and borrowed crime-related books from a local library, as per one of the countrys oldest newspapers. Following an initial false claim, the suspect Jung, admitted to deceiving authorities about the motive behind the killing of the unnamed victim. Police are currently conducting tests to determine whether Jung exhibits psychopathic traits, as reported by Insider. Authorities have revealed that Ms. Jung has led a reclusive life since graduating from high school five years ago, remaining unemployed and socially isolated. 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 battalion commander Oleg Shiryaev, who was watching images from a drone camera overhead, alerted his soldiers in adjacent trenches that Russian forces were moving across a field towards a clump of trees outside the city of Bakhmut. The commander of the 228th Battalion of the 127th Kharkiv Territorial Defence Brigade then directed the formation of a mortar crew. A target had been set. An explosion carved a fresh hole in an already pockmarked mountainside, and a mortar tube emitted a loud orange blast. We are moving forward, Shiryaev said after at least one drone image showed a Russian fighter struck down. We fight for every tree, every trench, every dugout. After the bloodiest, longest struggle since their full-scale invasion of Ukraine started 15 months ago, Russian soldiers declared victory in the eastern city last month. Shiryaev and other Ukrainian defenders, however, are not fleeing. Instead, they are maintaining pressure and carrying on the battle from positions on Bakhmuts western periphery. The setback provides Moscows military leaders something more to consider before the eagerly expected Ukrainian counteroffensive, which is starting to take form. Hanna Maliar, the deputy defence minister for Ukraine, claimed that although Russia tried to give the appearance of peace surrounding Bakhmut, artillery firing is still ongoing at levels comparable to those at the height of the war to retake the city. She claimed that a new phase of the conflict has begun. The battle for the Bakhmut area hasnt stopped; it is ongoing, just taking different forms, said Maliar, dressed in her characteristic fatigues in an interview at a military media centre in Kyiv. Russian forces are now trying but failing to oust Ukrainian fighters from the dominant heights overlooking Bakhmut. We are holding them very firmly, she said. From the Kremlins perspective, the area around Bakhmut is just part of the more than 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) front line that the Russian military must hold. That task could be made more difficult by the withdrawal of the mercenaries from the private military contractor Wagner Group who helped take control of the city. They will be replaced with Russian soldiers. For Ukrainian forces, recent work has been opportunistic trying to wrest small gains from the enemy and taking strategic positions, notably from two flanks on the northwest and southwest, where the Ukrainian 3rd Separate Assault Brigade has been active, officials said. Russia had envisioned the capture of Bakhmut as partial fulfilment of its ambition to seize control of the eastern Donbas region, Ukraines industrial heartland. Now, its forces have been compelled to regroup, rotate fighters and rearm just to hold the city. Wagners owner announced a pullout after acknowledging the loss of more than 20,000 of his men. Maliar described the nine-month struggle against Wagner forces in nearly existential terms: If they had not been destroyed during the defence of Bakhmut, one can imagine that all these tens of thousands would have advanced deeper into Ukrainian territory. The fate of Bakhmut, which lays largely in ruins, has been overshadowed in recent days by near-nightly attacks on Kyiv, a series of unclaimed drone strikes near Moscow and the growing anticipation that Ukraines government will try to regain ground. But the battle for the city could still have a lingering impact. Moscow has made the most of its capture, epitomized by triumphalism in Russian media. Any slippage of Russias grip would be a political embarrassment for President Vladimir Putin. Michael Kofman of the Center for Naval Analyses, a U.S. research group, noted in a podcast this week that the victory brings new challenges in holding Bakhmut. With Wagner fighters withdrawing, Russian forces are going to be increasingly fixed to Bakhmut and will find it difficult to defend, Kofman told War on the Rocks in an interview posted Tuesday. And so they may not hold on to Bakhmut, and the whole thing may have ended up being for nothing for them down the line, he added. A Western official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Russian airborne forces are heavily involved in replacing the departing Wagner troops a step that is likely to antagonize the airborne leadership, who see the duty as a further erosion of their previously elite status in the military. Ukrainian forces have clawed back slivers of territory on the flanks a few hundred meters (yards) per day to solidify defensive lines and seek opportunities to retake some urban parts of the city, said one Ukrainian analyst. The goal in Bakhmut is not Bakhmut itself, which has been turned into ruins, military analyst Roman Svitan said by phone. The goal for the Ukrainians is to hold on to the western heights and maintain a defensive arc outside the city. More broadly, Ukraine wants to weigh down Russian forces and capture the initiative ahead of the counteroffensive part of what military analysts call shaping operations to set the terms of the battle environment and put an enemy in a defensive, reactive posture. Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the east, said the strategic goal in the Bakhmut area was to restrain the enemy and destroy as much personnel and equipment as possible while preventing a Russian breakthrough or outflanking manoeuvre. Analyst Mathieu Boulegue questioned whether Bakhmut would hold lessons or importance for the war ahead. Military superiority matters, he said, but so does information superiority the ability to create subterfuge, to create obfuscation of your force, to be able to move in the shadows. Boulegue, a consulting fellow with the Russia and Eurasia program at the Chatham House think tank in London, said those tactics could determine which side gains an advantage that catches the other side by surprise and turns the tide of the war. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If high-level defence discussions between the two countries are to restart, the United States should scale back military installations near China as a show of good faith, a retired veteran Chinese diplomat said on Sunday in Singapore. Cui Tiankai, a former ambassador to the US, said in an interview with Reuters before the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit that although the two forces still had channels of communication, he doubted there was enough political will to avert problems. Why are they coming all the way across the ocean? To our doorsteps? Cui said of US naval and air force deployments close to China. Theyre getting too close to our territories, to our territorial waters before anything else. He added: If people have such goodwill and if people act in good faith, they could always find effective ways of communication. Following Li Shangfu, Chinas Minister of National Defence, who warned at the Singapore conference that war between China and the United States would result in unbearable disaster, Cui made his remarks. When Li was given the chance to meet alone with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Singapore conference, which was scheduled to finish on Sunday, she declined. Austin called for the continuation of senior conversation in a speech on Saturday, saying it was not a reward, but a necessity. Despite tensions over Taiwan, the disputed East and South China Seas, worries about the likelihood of errors in judgement and accidents, and despite both officials statements that they were open to negotiations, regional diplomats said there is no clear indication. Those risks were highlighted during the weekend as Chinas military criticised the United States and Canada for deliberately provoking risk after the countries navies staged a rare joint sailing through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Saturday. Li, who was named minister in March, remains under US sanctions that were imposed in 2018 after a weapons deal with Russia. US deployments near China, Cui said, were certainly disrespect of other countries sovereignty and territorial integrity and to be more specific, they always prefer unilateral sanctions. He said that he nonetheless remained optimistic about relations between the two countries. I hope things will improve in the coming months and years, he said. As a matter of principle, we are always ready for more dialogue with others, including with the United States. 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 President Vladimir Putins critic Alexei Navalny spent his third birthday behind bars today. As expected, Navalnys condition in prison is only deteriorating and solitary confinement has made things only worse for him. However, on his birthday, Navalny said that he is in good spirits. It came as police arrested at least 45 people taking part in pro-Navalny demonstrations in Russian cities including Moscow and Saint Petersburg on Sunday, according to specialist NGO OVD-Info. His team has claimed that Navalny has been harassed in prison and kept in a punishment cell for minor transgressions. His supporters say the authorities are trying to crush his morale. In a video message, Navalny said, On the morning of your birthday you have to be honest with yourself, so I ask myself the question: am I really in a good mood, or do force myself to feel that way? My answer is: I really am. Lets face it, of course, I wish I didnt have to wake up in this hellhole and instead have breakfast with my family, receive kisses on the cheek from my children, unwrap presents he added. But life works in such a way that social progress and a better future can only be achieved if a certain number of people are willing to pay the price for their right to have beliefs. Navalny believes that the day will come when speaking the truth and advocating for justice will become something commonplace and not at all dangerous in Russia. Putins arch-nemesis, Navalny, is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence on embezzlement and other charges. He shot to global prominence after barely surviving a poisoning with Novichok, a Soviet-designed nerve agent, which the opposition politician blames on the Kremlin. Navalny is soon set to go on trial in a new extremism case and faces a further 35 years in prison. He believes the authorities are trying to keep him in jail for life. With inputs from AFP 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, June 4 (UNI) Three-member crew of China's Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft successfully landed in China on Sunday after their six-month mission on board the Tiangong space station, China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said. "At 6:33 on June 4, 2023, Beijing time [22:33 GMT on Saturday], the return capsule of the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft landed successfully at the Dongfeng landing site [in China's autonomous Inner Mongolia region]. The manned mission of Shenzhou-15 was a complete success," the CMSA said in a statement. Some 30 minutes later the astronauts were carried out of the capsule, the agency said, adding that they are in good physical condition. The crew includes three astronauts crew commander Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu who arrived at the orbital station on November 30, 2022. During their stay on the station, they made four spacewalks and conducted several scientific and technical experiments. The Shenzhou-16 crew that came to Tiangong on May 30 will continue working aboard it for around five more months. The Tiangong space station is China's first long-term orbital station. It operates in low Earth orbit between 210 and 280 miles above the surface. Its first module, Tianhe, was launched in 2021. UNI/SPUTNIK AKS SY ARN Photo by TipsTimesAdmin is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Louisiana lawmakers could soon require private health insurance plans to cover fertility preservation for people undergoing medical treatments for cancer and other conditions that make it harder to conceive a child. House Bill 186, sponsored by Rep. Paula Davis, R-Baton Rouge, is aimed at making it more affordable for cancer patients to freeze their sperm or eggs before going through chemotherapy, radiation and other medical procedures that can render people sterile. Davis bill would require health insurance companies to provide coverage for sperm and egg extraction as well as at least three years of storage. Deductibles, copayments and coinsurance could still be applied. The legislation also allows religious employers to apply for an exemption if they have moral objections to fertility preservation. Davis made another concession to religious groups by not including in vitro fertilization and the freezing of embryos in the required coverage. Some doctors believe frozen embryos have a better chance of staying viable than frozen eggs, but Catholic bishops opposed a similar proposal from Davis last year that covered those options. SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST. DONATE The Louisiana Senate Finance Committee has also inserted an amendment into the bill that says its mandate can only go into effect if legislators provide money to cover the states costs associated with it. If passed, the bill would increase state expenses because it would affect the insurance coverage for state employees and public school teachers the government helps finance. It could cost the state insurance plans anywhere from $171,670 to $944,844 in the first full year it is implemented, according to a legislative fiscal analysis. Louisiana would also end up having to cover some costs for providing fertility preservation to people who purchase their health insurance independently off the state exchange, with costs ranging from $124,416 to $699,840 in the first full year, the fiscal analysis calculates. Davis said she believes the state expenses wont be a barrier to getting the bill passed. The Office of Group Benefits, which manages the state employee and teacher health insurance plans, said it will be able to absorb its portion of the costs into its current budget, according to Davis. The bill has already gained overwhelming approval from the Louisiana House and is expected to get a vote in the Senate in the next few days. If the two chambers agree to changes in the proposal, the legislation will be sent to Gov. John Bel Edwards desk for his signature. It would take effect Jan. 1. A handful of Texas legislators have also filed similar bills to benefit cancer patients in that state this year, according to Texas Monthly magazine. Arkansas already mandates some insurance coverage for infertility treatments, according to KFF, a think tank that studies health policy. The post Louisiana might require insurance companies to cover fertility preservation for cancer patients appeared first on Louisiana Illuminator. The Culture Map: How to Navigate Foreign Cultures in Business Have you ever found yourself working on a multiculutral team and unsure how to interact with them? Then the book The Culture Map by Erin Meyer is for you. The author is a business professor that advises clients on how to work with multicultural teams. She divides cultures into 8 traits that fall onto a spectrum, and gives advice on how to work with cultures diffrent than your own. For example, some cultures have different attitudes about time. Some cultures consider you late if you dont show up at the exact time of an appointment (Germany), while some might give you a lee way of 10 minutes (France) and some might be an hour late (India). So on a spectrum, you might see it like this: Strict <- Germany France - India > Flexible This is important in evaluating how you will interact with another culture, because other cultures are positioned relative to your own. The Indian will find both the French and German extraordinarily inflexibile on appointments, while the German will think the french are perpetually late and the Indian worse. The Frenchman will be somewhere in between. Chapter 1: High vs. Low Context In the US, we communicate very explicitly. Take the classic business presentation advice: Tell them what youre going to say, say it, then tell them what you just said. This is an example of a Low-Context culture: We assume very little shared context, explicitly spell out our ideas and often repeat things. The speaker is more responsible for accurately conveying information. High-Context cultures, on the other hand, convey a lot of information implicitly. For example, in Hindi, the word kal means tomorrow and yesterday - you have to deduce the meaning of the word from the sentence. In high-context culturees, the listener is more responsible for receiving and interpreting the message. Another example the author gives is when she went to India, and asked the concierge at the hotel about a good restaurant. He recommends a restaurant, and tells her to take a left from the hotel. However, after taking a left at the hotel she is unable to find it. After two attempts, the concierge takes her there, and she finds out that its a 10 minute walk from the hotel. A native Indian would have known to keep walking, but she didnt. The worst confusion, comes when two different high context cultures interact. This is because they are both expecting messages to be transmitted in subtext, but both cultures have totally different reference points. She recommends that unless you are working with the same or similar cultures, stick with low context communication. Chapter 2: Providing Feedback: Direct vs. Indirect Feedback Some cultures, like the Dutch, are very direct in their criticism, bluntly saying what they think. Others are more indirect in their criticism, such as the Japanese. This is in a lot of ways tied to high versus low context cultures, but not always - for example Russians are very direct in their feedback but are a higher-context culture. (note: this only applies to a boss giving feedback to a subordinate, not the other way around) To other cultures, Americans seem particularly absurd, because while we are low context and somewhat more direct, we have a weird feedback culture where we accentuate the positive rather than the negative. In France on the other hand, the negative is emphasized rather than the positive. So when a compliment is given, its high praise indeed. She cites as an example a French woman who worked in Chicago, and thought she was doing a good job because us direct americans mostly said good things about her. The negative things said about her in performance reviews seemed minor to her. In reality, she was close to being fired for sloppiness in her work. She recommends not trying to imitate the directness of a direct culture if you find yourself in one. Just because they are direct, doesnt mean its impossible to be rude in that culture, and you, as a foreigner are unlikely to understand those subtleties. She gives an example of a Korean in the Netherlands who tried to imitate the dutch directness and got a reputation as aggressive and difficult to work with. So dont do that. Instead, try to be balanced in your positive versus negative criticism and be mild when giving feedback. She also recommends when communicating feedback with indirect cultures is to never give individual feedback in front of a group - this includes positive feedback. Instead, give it only in 1-on-1 sessions, preferably over food and drink. She also recommends avoiding giving negative feedback, and to soften (blurring) the message. For example, she gives an example of crtiquing a series of documents to an Indonesian colleague. Two of the documents were very good, but two others were obviously finished in a rush. Instead of saying the two documents were bad, she said what was right about the two good documents. He got the message and corrected the two bad documents. Chapter 3: Why vs. How vs. Holism This chapter starts with an example of an American automobile research engineer going to Germany to give recommendations to an auto supplier on how to cut costs. She starts with her recommendations and case studies showing the success of these recommendations, but the Germans start immediately asking questions like how did you get to these results? She found her presentation that she had worked so hard on falling on deaf ears, but she had given these presentations in America and they worked fine. What gives? Anglo cultures are Applications-First cultures, where the practical applications of an idea are focused on first, then the theory underpinning it. Continental European and Latin American cultures in contrast, are Principles-First cultures: you learn the theory first, then apply it. One example she gives is math class: In France, students are taught to calculate pi as a class before using it in a formula. Americans, on the other hand use pi in a formula first, then learn how its derived. When trying to persuade a applications-first audience, make sure to lead with your key points and use case studies to persuade them. Make your argument short, or else you will lose the attention of your audience. If youre working to persuade a Principles-first culture, start with your premises, and build up your argument to a conclusion. Also include possible counterarguments and your responses to them. If working with an audience that consists of both cultures, start with case studies to grab the attention of an applications-based audience, show how they are examples of a general theory for your principles-based audience, then give your recommendations after explaining the theory. However, this advice only applies to European cultures - Asian cultures are Holistic: they focus on relationships and the whole picture, rather than each individual part of the picture. For example, some researchers gave an American and Japanese focus group a task: Take a portrait picture of a person. The Americans portraits were all close-ups of the face of the subject, while the Japanese took a picture of the entire body, showing the subject in their surroundings. Holistic cultures find western (specific) cultures make too much effort to isolate a small part of the picture without considering the interdependencies of each part. Specific cultures feel that holistic cultures take too long to get to the point, describing a large amount of extraneous detail. When managing a holistic team, dont give each individual specific segmented information. Instead, start with the big picture and how each part of the effort fits into the whole. Chapter 4: Egalitarianism vs Hierarchy This chapter starts with Jepsen, a Danish manager at Maersk. In Denmark, there is an extreme sense of egalitarianism. The boss is addressed by his first name, the interns voice in meetings has just as much impact as him. He gives his subordinates objectives, and the power to implement those objectives as he saw fit. He was promoted to President of a Russian office outside St. Petersburg, and found himself for the first time having trouble managing his staff. His complaints about his Russian staff: They call me Mr. President They defer to my opinions They are reluctant to take initiative They ask for my constant approval They treat me like I am king His Russian staffs complaints about him: He is a weak, ineffective leader He doesnt give us direction He gave up his corner office on the top floor to work with us, suggesting our team is of no importance He is incompetent The disconnect was because Russian culture is more Hierarchical than Denmark: they show respect for the boss, the bosss opinions are followed, even when they think the boss is wrong. When managing a more hierarchical culture: Your team members may not speak unless explicitly told to do so, and even then may hesitate to answer. A few days before a meeting, set the expectations for the meeting, what questions you will ask. Ask your team to brainstorm ideas without you, then list what they brainstormed to you - this helps remove their need to defer. Communicate with the people at your level in hierarchy, and get explicit permission. to skip levels Address people by their last name and title Avoid giving up symbols of authority and keep in mind their importance When managing a more egalitarian culture: Manage by objective: give your subordinates concrete objectives that you negotiate with them and let them complete them on their own initiative. You can consider having bonuses or other incentives attached to these objectives. Think twice before copying the boss on an email. Doing so may suggest you do not trust the recipient. Use first names when sending emails. Chapter 5: Big D and little d Decision Making In this chapter she starts with a merger between an American and German financial company. The Americans described the Germans as too hierarchical, with a focus on titles and chain of command. The Germansin turn thought the Americans were too hierarchical - the boss said turn left and everyone turned in unison. This disagreement happened Germany is more Consensual (Big D) in decision-making - decisions are made by groups in unanimous agreement. Once consensus is reached, it is final. In contrast, the US is a Top-Down (Little d) deision-making culture. Decisions are made by individuals and propagated downwards, but they are not final - decisions are flexible and may be changed. Another example of consensus-driven decsion making is the ringisho management system in Japan, which manages to be bottom-up, hierarchical and consensus driven at the same time. The lowest level managers write a proposal, and circulate a document among themselves. Each manager adds comments and their stamp of approval. Once all the managers agree, the document is sent to the next highest level, who repeat the process, and its sent up until it reaches the top of the organization, and its considered approved and ready to be implemented. When working with a more consensus based culture: Be patient with the decision making process. It will take longer, involve more meeting and correspondence. Check in with your counterparts regularly to show commitment and availability to answer questions. Keep a pulse on the team to make sure a consensus is not forming without your participation. Dont push for a quick decision. Once a decision is made, it is hard to change it. When working with a more top-down culture: Expect decisions to be made with less input from you. Be ready to follow a decision that is made. If you are in charge, solicit other viewpoints, but make decisions quickly. Otherwise people may view you as indecisive and an ineffective leader. If there is no obvious boss, suggest voting to make a decision that is committed to Remain flexible - decisions may not be final. Chapter 6: Building Trust The author introduces the chapter with a merger between an American and Brazilian steel firm. The Brazilians were invited to Mississippi to meet their American counterparts, where they had meetings all day, then retired to their hotels. However, while the Americans thought the merger was going well, the Brazilians did not. The Americans were then invited to Brazil, where they had long lunches and dinners. While the Brazilians were happy to get to know their American colleagues, the Americans were concerned nothing was getting done. This disconnect illustrates the difference between Task-Based cultures such as the United States and Switzerland, where trust is formed by doing business work together and establishing your competence, and Relationship-Based cultures such as Brazil and China where trust is formed by building interpersonal relationships. This contrast is shown in how we approach our interpersonal relationships in and out of business. For example, in Spain, if a colleague loses their job, they keep up their friendships with their fired colleagues. In America, we rarely contact our colleagues after they leave the company. In Asian cultures, if you fire a salesperson, the clients they had a relationship with may also leave. Other cultures can find that the Americans are more upfront and friendly, but its a superficial friendship. One Russian recounts a story of meeting an American on a plane and having a deep conversation with him. They never met up again, and the Russian felt betrayed by that - that he had opened up to someone who was not a real friend. Recommendations: Dont consider going out for drinks or long lunches a waste of time When going out, you arent going as your business self - show your true self Find common interests between you and the person you are attempting to form a relationship with. Dont email someone out of the blue, instead look for a mutual friend to introduce you Chapter 7: Disagreeing Productively The French are much more likely to disagree openly than Americans, who in turn are much more likely to disagree than the Japanese. In addition, some countries are much more expressive than others - she gives an example of Saudi Arabia where her driver got into a 10 minute conversation where both participants yelled, had expressive hand gestures, and seemed angry. When she asked what the argument was about, he said he was asking for directions to her hotel! However, while expressive, Saudi Arabia is an example of where disagreement is done in private rather than openly - disagreeing may damage your relationship with the other person. Another example she gives is surveys on meeting styles: Americans are much more likely to think that a productive meeting is one where a decision is made. The French think a productive meeting is one where various viewpoints are debated The Chinese and Japanese believed meetings were for putting a formal stamp of approval on a decision already made Im interested if these various styles have implications for how politics is done in these countries. When working with more confrontational cultures: Accept disagreement - its a sign of interest in what you are saying Dont try to mimic their confrontational style - you can still be rude in an unfamiliar When working with less confrontational cultures: Have meetings before the meeting where subordinates prepare so they dont feel put on the spot in a meeting Avoid disagreeing with the boss openly, and accept that subordinates will not disagree with you Use one-on-one meetings to gather feedback rather than risk disagreement in front of a group Chapter 8: How Late is Late? She gives an example of Nigerians working with Germans. The Germans wanted to schedule everything months in advance, while the Nigerians living in the muslim north of Nigeria wouldnt know when their holidays started until the Mufti looked at the moon and decided today was the start of holiday. There was a lot of mutual frustrations on both sides of this relationship, with each thinking the other cultures way of doing business was inefficient and stressful. Some cultures are Linear-time: They value organization and adherence to pre-planned schedules. Others are Flexible-Time: they are less strict about punctuality and are more flexbility in response to changing demands. An example of flexibility is China, where if you call the plumber, the plumber may show up five minutes later, so youd better be prepared for them. When working with a linear-time culture: Dont cut in line In meetings, expect the agenda to be strictly followed If given 60 minutes for a presentation, try not to go over the alotted time When working with a flexible time culture: Dont be surprised if people dont queue orderly in the way you expect In meetings, if there is an agenda, it will be loosely followed If given time for a presentation, you may go over time if the audience is intrested in more Expect to adapt to changing requirements. Conclusions Theres a joke: two young fish are swimming. An older fish comes along and asks the young fish Hows the water? The young fish ask: What is water?. Our own culture can often seem as invisible to us as air or water to fish. This book not only provided a valuable explanation of other cultures, it also explained my own American culture to me. Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts 1. 32 (Hint - Buzz) While the Soviets were first out of the block in the space race with the launch of the Sputnik orbiting satellite in 1957, the Americans won the space race in 1969 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked out of Apollo 11 onto the surface of the moon - not bad when heavier than air flight was only first demonstrated a bit over sixty years earlier! A total of 12 astronauts walked on the moon during the Apollo space program. Scientific research was conducted there. In the latter missions they even had a vehicle, the lunar rover, to explore further afield. Of the 3.6 billion people on the earth at the the time, 2.6 billion were still alive to see in the new millennium in 2001. 2. 489 (Hint - date of picture) The Renaissance (French - cultural rebirth) followed the Middle Ages in the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries. The period was a time of massive advancements in arts, literature, architecture, religion, science, mathematics, and exploration. It started in Florence, spread to other Italian locales, and then to the rest of Europe. The period is best known for its contribution to the arts: For example, Botticelli painted the "Birth of Venus" in the 1470s in Florence, Leonardo da Vinci painted "The Last Supper" and the "Mona Lisa" in Milan in the 1490s and it took four years for Michelangelo to paint the "Sistine Chapel Ceiling" in Rome between 1508 and 1512. If a person saw the finished Sistine Chapel painting as a baby they would be almost 500 years old if they also witnessed the start of the third millennium. 3. 334 (Hint - force) In 1665 or 1666, Isaac Newton formulated his gravitational theory after watching an apple fall from a tree and asking why the apple fell straight down, rather than sideways or upwards. This was the first of many discoveries Newton was to make. From this initial work, Newton developed the three laws of motion: The Law of Inertia; the Law of Acceleration; and the Law of Action and Reaction. (Later his name was added to each of the laws.) His other major mathematical interest was calculus, and with German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz, Newton developed differentiation and integration - two tools and techniques that remain absolutely fundamental to mathematics and science. In optics he correctly deduced, that white light is actually the combination of light of all the colours of the rainbow. This, he deduced, was because of chromatic aberration (ie inaccurate colour reproduction) in the telescopes of the time. He designed a telescope that used mirrors instead lenses, which allowed the new device to focus all the colours onto a single point-resulting in a more defined, more accurate image. Newton published his findings in 1687 in "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica", which is still considered one of the great treatises on science to this day. He was honoured with the unit of force (Newton) being named after him. If you managed to live until the dawn of the third millennium and you saw the apple fall from the tree in front of Newton, you would be at least 334 years old. In 1665 or 1666, Isaac Newton formulated his gravitational theory after watching an apple fall from a tree and asking why the apple fell straight down, rather than sideways or upwards. This was the first of many discoveries Newton was to make.From this initial work, Newton developed the three laws of motion: The Law of Inertia; the Law of Acceleration; and the Law of Action and Reaction. (Later his name was added to each of the laws.)His other major mathematical interest was calculus, and with German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz, Newton developed differentiation and integration - two tools and techniques that remain absolutely fundamental to mathematics and science. In optics he correctly deduced, that white light is actually the combination of light of all the colours of the rainbow. This, he deduced, was because of chromatic aberration (ie inaccurate colour reproduction) in the telescopes of the time. He designed a telescope that used mirrors instead lenses, which allowed the new device to focus all the colours onto a single point-resulting in a more defined, more accurate image.Newton published his findings in 1687 in "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica", which is still considered one of the great treatises on science to this day. He was honoured with the unit of force (Newton) being named after him.If you managed to live until the dawn of the third millennium and you saw the apple fall from the tree in front of Newton, you would be at least 334 years old. 4. 205 (Hint - Edward) In 1796 Edward Jenner became the first person to successfully vaccinate a person against infectious disease. He did this by injecting cowpox material into a child, and then testing immunity against smallpox. However, Jenner was not the first to propose vaccination, nor was he the person who discovered exposure to cowpox prevented smallpox. As far back as the 15th century, people in China India and Asia Minor have attempted to prevent illness by intentionally exposing healthy people to smallpox. This practice was known as variolation (after the French name for smallpox, 'la variole'). In 1774, it was Dr Benjamin Jesty that made the breakthrough that infection with cowpox - a bovine virus that could spread to humans - could protect a person from smallpox. In May 1796, physician Edward Jenner inoculated 8-year-old James Phipps with a concoction from a cowpox sore on the hand of a milkmaid. He was unwell for several days, but Master Phipps made a full recovery. Two months later, in July 1796, Jenner inoculated Phipps with material from a smallpox sore to test Phipps' resistance or what was later termed immunity. Phipps did not get sick or feel even unwell, and became the first human to be vaccinated against smallpox. The term 'vaccine' came later, and was taken from the Latin word for cow, 'vacca'. You would need to be a double centurion to witness both the first vaccination and celebrate New Year's Day 2001. 5. 54 (Hint - pre-coronation) Post-WWII Great Britain was rather a bleak place. While the war had been won, the cost was enormous. Britons were still on food rations, the country was broke, and the empire crumbled into the British Commonwealth. A rare royal wedding was just the tonic to cheer a beleaguered nation. While austerity was the catch-cry of the day, Phillip Mountbatten, brushed off his naval uniform (he used the attached ceremonial sword to cut the wedding cake), renounced his Greek and Danish Royal titles, and adopted his maternal grandparents' surname, Mountbatten. Princess Elizabeth had saved her clothing coupons to have a nice dress, which was made by Norman Hartnell (the government gifted her with a further 200 coupons). The princess did her own make-up on her wedding day. The couple were married in Westminster Abbey on 20 November 1947 before 2500 wedding guests. It was a celebration for the United Kingdom and perhaps a turning point for the nation. A person born in 1947 would have been 53 on New Year's Day 2001. 6. 1145 (Hint - type of boat) The Vikings were a seafaring people from Scandinavia who initially raided and pirated parts of Europe from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries; then traded and settled throughout the lands that they had conquered. They voyaged as far as the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East, and North America. This was known as the Viking Age. The picture depicts the Siege of Paris, which occurred in 855 AD. A fleet of 120 Viking ships, containing over three thousand warriors, sailed up the Seine River in March, and as the smaller army of the Frankish King Charles the Bald was no match, they retreated. The Vikings reached Paris by Easter, and plundered and occupied the city. They withdrew after Charles paid a ransom of 7,000 French livres (Approximately 2,570 kg) in gold and silver. Anybody who witnessed the siege in 855 would have been 1145 years old at the start of the third millennium. 7. 555 (Hint - Bible) German inventor Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press sometime between 1440 and 1450, and a working model was probably operational in 1445. The major factor in its success was the hand mould, a novel technique that facilitated the quick assembly of large quantities of metal movable type. While others in China and Korea had developed movable metal type, Gutenberg was the first to create a mechanical process that transferred the ink from type paper. (His manufacture of ink from linseed oil and carbon (soot) was also a revelation). With this movable process of type, printing presses massively increased the speed with which copies of books could be manufactured, and subsequently, they led to the widespread dissemination of knowledge for the very first time. The Bible was the first book published by Gutenberg. This wider access to the Bible led to alternative versions. In 1519 a mere 60 years after the invention of the printing press, Martin Luther published "95 Theses" a document which started the Protestant Reformation. If you were born in 1445, you would be 555 years old when 2000 clicked over to 2001. 8. 11 (Hint - What goes up...) Germany was divided in 1949 into the Soviet-occupied East Germany and the democratic West Germany. Similarly, Berlin was partitioned after WWII with West Berlin being an exclave of West Germany. The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 by the Soviets to stop people from East Berlin escaping into West Berlin. Many young people and professionals defected to West Berlin in the 1950s. This concerned the Soviets as they felt it would appear as if communism was not working. Nikita Khrushchev ordered the wall to be built in 1961. The Berlin Wall fell, but not literally in 1989. On November 9, the East German government announced that free passage would be allowed. East Germans celebrated and began knocking down the wall piece by piece with hammers and chisels. Germany became a unified country within two years, and similarly, Berlin became a single city again. The author's daughter was born two weeks before the wall fell. She was 11 when we saw in the new year 2001. Germany was divided in 1949 into the Soviet-occupied East Germany and the democratic West Germany. Similarly, Berlin was partitioned after WWII with West Berlin being an exclave of West Germany. The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 by the Soviets to stop people from East Berlin escaping into West Berlin. Many young people and professionals defected to West Berlin in the 1950s. This concerned the Soviets as they felt it would appear as if communism was not working. Nikita Khrushchev ordered the wall to be built in 1961.The Berlin Wall fell, but not literally in 1989. On November 9, the East German government announced that free passage would be allowed. East Germans celebrated and began knocking down the wall piece by piece with hammers and chisels. Germany became a unified country within two years, and similarly, Berlin became a single city again.The author's daughter was born two weeks before the wall fell. She was 11 when we saw in the new year 2001. 9. 97 (Hint - Kill Devil Hills) When the Wright Brothers flew the first heavier-than-air power flight in 1903, there was no great celebration by the Wright brothers, they had performed years of meticulous research, and they knew it was just a matter of time before they flew, which they did. Their choice of location demonstrated that attention to detail: They had consulted the national weather bureau to find the windiest places in America. The Kill Devil Hills was listed as the sixth windiest place in America but it offered two things the top five places did not: Sand and isolation - sand for a soft landing of their aeroplane and isolation as they wanted to practice their craft in private until they had perfected it. They had built four gliders previously and had flown in all of them. Their 1903 flight was the first in a powered flyer. Many people thought their inaugural flight was from Kitty Hawk, but this was the point from where the Brothers had telegraphed their achievement. The actual flight was behind Kitty Hawk in Kill Devil Hills. Theoretically, it would have been possible to witness the Wright Brothers' achievement and witness the birth of the third millennium and not be a centurion as there were only 97 years between the two events. 10. 1970 (Hint - Golgotha/Calvary) The crucifixion of Jesus occurred in Judea, at a hill outside Golgotha (Greek) or Calvary (Latin) in either 30 or 33 AD. The four Gospels describe this period in great detail, however, minor differences exist or were omitted. This detailed period is referred to as the Passion. Jesus' death by crucifixion and his subsequent resurrection are the central tenets of Christian theology involving both the doctrines of salvation and atonement. In three of the Gospels, while Jesus initially carried his cross to the crucifixion site, the Roman soldiers then made Simon of Cyrene carry it. The Gospel of John said Jesus carried the cross the whole distance. Prior to his death, the Gospels also cover the period from when Jesus is arrested and tried firstly by the Sanhedrin, and subsequently by Pontius Pilate. His sentence included flagellation before being handed over to Roman soldiers for crucifixion. The Georgian Calendar is based on the date of the birth of Jesus, so when he died in his early thirties it should be no surprise there were almost two millennia between his death and the start of the third millennium. Source: Author 1nn1 This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ponycargirl before going online.Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system. bohlah at 4-06-2023 06:12 AM (1 week ago) (m) Popular Nollywood actress, Chacha Eke Faani, has shared her experience of a terrifying manic episode she went through a year ago. Popular Nollywood actress, Chacha Eke Faani, has shared her experience of a terrifying manic episode she went through a year ago. The talented actress, who recently celebrated her 10th wedding anniversary with her filmmaker husband Austin Faani, opened up about her mental health struggles in an Instagram post on Friday, June 2. She revealed that around this time last year, she had her most terrifying episode, waking up at 3 am and feeling unsafe at home. Chacha Eke disclosed that during the manic episode, which she said lasted for months, she obtained a fake ID card in a desperate attempt to run away from home. In her account, Chacha Eke disclosed that she ran to a motor park in Asaba at 3 am and subsequently traveled to Lagos. She wandered the streets, hotels, and beaches of Lagos for days. Eventually, she used the fake ID to travel to Ghana by boat. Fortunately, Chacha Eke was able to regain her memory with the help of a staff member named Esther at First Bank Plc in Ghana. Esther recognized her and assisted her in remembering her true identity and home. Read her full story below, Quote Slide 1 photo was me by this time last year-1st June 2022. I was in the middle of a manic episode that lingered for months. One day, I woke at 3am feeling unsafe and ran vigorously to a nearby motor park. I travelled to Lagos from Asaba like a fugitive. Loitered the streets/hotels and beaches in Lagos for days. It was a rough blend of schizophrenia, depression, identity crisis and bipolar disorders. Using this made-up Identity card of me from one of my imaginary companies; I headed for Ghana by boat. Clad in black jalabia, I kept moving. I passed border after border; terrified & unrecognized. In that moment, I was a Drifter. It was at First bank in Ghana through a lovely bank staff named Esther that somehow, I remembered me. I remembered home. Esther was an Angel the universe used to open my eyes to the reality I disconnected from. I began to make my way back home. It took days but I returned, albeit sickly & in denial. One year later, lm thankful to have survived one of my craziest episodes ever recorded. The talented actress, who recently celebrated her 10th wedding anniversary with her filmmaker husband Austin Faani, opened up about her mental health struggles in an Instagram post on Friday, June 2.She revealed that around this time last year, she had her most terrifying episode, waking up at 3 am and feeling unsafe at home.Chacha Eke disclosed that during the manic episode, which she said lasted for months, she obtained a fake ID card in a desperate attempt to run away from home.In her account, Chacha Eke disclosed that she ran to a motor park in Asaba at 3 am and subsequently traveled to Lagos. She wandered the streets, hotels, and beaches of Lagos for days. Eventually, she used the fake ID to travel to Ghana by boat.Fortunately, Chacha Eke was able to regain her memory with the help of a staff member named Esther at First Bank Plc in Ghana. Esther recognized her and assisted her in remembering her true identity and home. Post Reply I have been reporting on latest news from Nigeria for almost 10 years now. I report on every possible news area I come across, but always ensure my reports are compiled with dignity and fact to uphold my personal values and duty as a journalist Posted: at 4-06-2023 06:12 AM (1 week ago) | Addicted Hero kacylee at 4-06-2023 08:17 AM (1 week ago) (f) Toyyib Adewale Adelodun, a Nigerian living in the United Kingdom, has expressed gratitude to God for the accomplishments his family has made since their humble beginnings. Toyyib Adewale Adelodun, a Nigerian living in the United Kingdom, has expressed gratitude to God for the accomplishments his family has made since their humble beginnings. He took to Twitter to describe how he and his father were sleeping on a mat in their Mushin home, Lagos state. Adelodun said he used to see the man worry whenever it was time to renew the house rent, and his landlords children frequently mocked him. The Civil Engineer, who is the first child recently flew his parents to London and they stayed in his property. He used his tale to encourage people to never lose hope because no condition is permanent. Your present condition is not permanent. Dont doubt what God can do. Hold on! Stay alive! Dont give up! A time is coming when you will laugh about all the things you worry about today. By the way, I am always sharing everything I learn along the way, Personal Development tips, Scholarship and Work Opportunities around the world, Financial Literacy, and many My dad and I used to sleep on a floor mat in Mushin. As the first child, I watched him panic when rent was due. The landlords children dragged him to my face. When my parents visited London, they stayed in my property. This is one of the reasons why I will always preach hope. pic.twitter.com/9deY1xxGRW Toyyib Adewale Adelodun (@taadelodun) June 3, 2023 He took to Twitter to describe how he and his father were sleeping on a mat in their Mushin home, Lagos state.Adelodun said he used to see the man worry whenever it was time to renew the house rent, and his landlords children frequently mocked him.The Civil Engineer, who is the first child recently flew his parents to London and they stayed in his property.He used his tale to encourage people to never lose hope because no condition is permanent.Your present condition is not permanent. Dont doubt what God can do. Hold on! Stay alive! Dont give up! A time is coming when you will laugh about all the things you worry about today.By the way, I am always sharing everything I learn along the way, Personal Development tips, Scholarship and Work Opportunities around the world, Financial Literacy, and many Post Reply I have been reporting for several years now and I am very interested in visual news reportage with strong inclusion of photos and video multimedia. Posted: at 4-06-2023 08:17 AM (1 week ago) | Addicted Hero The death toll in the cholera outbreak has risen to 24. Hammanskraal accounts for 23 deaths while the Free State has recorded one death. The crisis and the rising death toll has prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to visit hard-hit Hammanskraal. The township in the north of Tshwane has been battling water-related issues for many years and relies mostly on water tankers, as tap water is unsafe. City of Tshwane officials have urged residents not to drink the tap water. The Metro has not been able to contain the spread of the bacteria due to its inability to identify the source. Ramaphosa announced that he will visit Hammanskraal during the week as he said the cholera outbreak was a matter of concern. "I have sent our ministers to deal with the situation. The minister of water and sanitation and the health minister are currently dealing with the matter. "It is their responsibility to deal with these matters and they are coming up with solutions. We are also working with the local municipality," he said. Meanwhile, on Friday, Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu met Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink to develop a joint plan for the long overdue refurbishment of the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant. During the tabling of the City's budget speech last week, Brink said the city will commit R450 million over the next three financial years to complete Phase 1 of the upgrade to the Rooiwal treatment plant. But he said Phase 2 of the project will cost R2.5 billion, which the city doesn't have. "For Phase 2 of the Rooiwal upgrade, the city will need other government entities to help it raise the R2.5 billion needed," he said. felicilin at 4-06-2023 06:31 PM (6 days ago) (f) Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, to shelve its planned nationwide strike protest against fuel subsidy removal, saying governors are already discussing ways to mitigate the effects. Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, to shelve its planned nationwide strike protest against fuel subsidy removal, saying governors are already discussing ways to mitigate the effects. Sanwo-Olu, made the appeal on Sunday while speaking with newsmen shortly after a special Thanksgiving Service at the Cathedral Church of Christ in Marina, Lagos. The thanksgiving service marked the end of activities to mark the governors second term inauguration. He was accompanied by his wife Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, and wife Oluremi Hamzat. The governor, stressed that rather than being confrontational, labour unions and Nigerians should support President Bola Tinubu in the quest to take Nigeria out of the woods, saying,This is not the time to go on strike. Sanwo-Olu begs NLC to shelve planned strike over fuel subsidy removal pic.twitter.com/NUziUVRvI4 Vanguard Newspapers (@vanguardngrnews) June 4, 2023 According to him, going on strike will neither address nor resolve any issue. Sanwo-Olu, made the appeal on Sunday while speaking with newsmen shortly after a special Thanksgiving Service at the Cathedral Church of Christ in Marina, Lagos.The thanksgiving service marked the end of activities to mark the governors second term inauguration.He was accompanied by his wife Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, and wife Oluremi Hamzat.The governor, stressed that rather than being confrontational, labour unions and Nigerians should support President Bola Tinubu in the quest to take Nigeria out of the woods, saying,This is not the time to go on strike.According to him, going on strike will neither address nor resolve any issue. Quote This is not the time to go on strike. Recall that all presidential candidates said the first thing they will do is remove fuel subsidy. So what has changed? What has President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said or done that is different from what others would have done? The president has not even spent one week in office. We need to be very patient and reason together. Let us not make the issue about politics, but lets support this man. We should allow him to go and reflect. Strike will not resolve anything; it wont address the issue. The point should be how to ensure a sustained turnaround in our economy. The president mentioned better wages, and we started that in Lagos in January, and I hope other states can key into it. We dont need to wait for the national government, we just need to reflect on what the challenges are in the country and seek ways to resolve them. So I plead with the NLC to not turn the subsidy issue into a political one. The leadership should know they are leading people and so there is a need to restrain themselves. Let us be patient and work with the president. NNPC has said it has more than enough fuel to go round, so there is no need to heat up the polity. We should not get political because it is governance, and the people must see purposeful governance, the governor stated. Commenting on the importance of the thanksgiving service, Sanwo-Olu noted that it was important to acknowledge Gods help to individuals, state and the country as a whole, and commit the second term into Gods hand. He added: the governor stated.Commenting on the importance of the thanksgiving service, Sanwo-Olu noted that it was important to acknowledge Gods help to individuals, state and the country as a whole, and commit the second term into Gods hand.He added: Quote It is important to thank God Almighty and to acknowledge his help to all of us, as individuals, as a state, as a nation, and to also commit our second tenure to him, to ask him for direction and to place everything in his front. Lagosians should also expect a lot more from us. We have promised a human-centric THEMES PLUS agenda which will ensure no one is left behind. We want to build a better inclusive sense of governance where we will be doing a lot of hard and soft infrastructure, things that will touch the peoples lives, specifically palliatives that would bring succor and relief to our citizens in their difficult times, especially with the global economic issues. The people also need to understand that though, government cannot do everything, we need to be able to bring them out of poverty and speak to what their needs and yearnings are. So its a purpose human centric agenda that will ensure that no one is left behind. And we are holding ourselves accountable to that. Provost of the Cathedral, Rev. Adebola Ojofeitimi, earlier, gave his sermon on Unity: Catalyst for Godly Possibilities, urging the people to remain united so that things can work effectively. We are wired to be united for efficiency, he said. Thanksgiving prayers were led by State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Stephen Adegbite. Other dignitaries at the thanksgiving service included: state All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman Cornelius Ojelabi, APC Women Leader Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, former members of the state executive council, Body of Permanent Secretaries, Oba of Lagos Rilwan Akiolu, represented by the White Cap Chiefs, African Church Archbishop from Abuja Peter Ogunmuyiwa, among others. Recall that the leadership of the MLC, led by its President, Joe Ajaero, has directed members to embark on strike on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, across the nation in protest against the subsidy removal. Provost of the Cathedral, Rev. Adebola Ojofeitimi, earlier, gave his sermon on Unity: Catalyst for Godly Possibilities, urging the people to remain united so that things can work effectively.he said.Thanksgiving prayers were led by State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Stephen Adegbite.Other dignitaries at the thanksgiving service included: state All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman Cornelius Ojelabi, APC Women Leader Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, former members of the state executive council, Body of Permanent Secretaries, Oba of Lagos Rilwan Akiolu, represented by the White Cap Chiefs, African Church Archbishop from Abuja Peter Ogunmuyiwa, among others.Recall that the leadership of the MLC, led by its President, Joe Ajaero, has directed members to embark on strike on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, across the nation in protest against the subsidy removal. Post Reply Posted: at 4-06-2023 06:31 PM (6 days ago) | Addicted Hero June 2, 2023 Speech 'A Shared Vision for the Indo-Pacific': Remarks by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III at the Shangri-La Dialogue (As Delivered) Well, good morning, everyone. It is indeed great to be back here for another Shangri-La Dialogue. Let me thank John and everyone at IISS for their efforts to deepen our dialogue on the Indo-Pacific. You know, this is my third time speaking in Singapore at an IISS event. And so this is starting to beit's becoming a habit there, John. I also want to thank our national host, Singapore, for your tremendous hospitality. And it's great to see Senior Minister Teo, and Minister Ng, and other distinguished guests from our host here today. And I'm glad that we're joined by so many defense ministers and leaders from around the Indo-Pacific and around the world. One minister of defense made a special effort to be here today: my good friend Oleksii Reznikov of Ukraine. Oleksii's seat is currently empty. I'm sure he's working the room somewhere around here, but Oleskii, if you can hear me, I'd remind you that, I'd just tell you that your presence here reminds us that we can never take our peace and security for granted. I'm also delighted to be here with Director Haines and many of our U.S. military leaders. So thanks to everyone for being here today. This dialogue is always a great opportunity to exchange views. And the only thing more wide-ranging than the conference agenda is the breakfast buffet. [Laughter] You know, this forum began two decades ago, in a very difficult geopolitical climate. And today, we're meeting at another moment of significant consequence. More and more, the countries of the Indo-Pacific have come together around a compelling vision of the future. And they're advancing it in unprecedented ways. It's a vision of a region in which all countries are free to thrive on their own termswithout coercion, or intimidation, or bullying. It's a vision of a free, and open, and secure Indo-Pacific within a world of rules and rights. And that vision is anchored in some key principles. Respect for sovereignty. Adherence to international law. Transparency and openness. The free flow of commerce and ideas. Human rights and human dignity. Equal rights for all states, large and small. And resolving disputes through peaceful dialogue, and not coercion or conquest. You know, since the last time that I was in Singapore, we have made some tremendous progress toward our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. This is actually my seventh trip to the region as Secretary of Defense, and my fourth trip to Southeast Asia. And each time, I've had the privilege to listen to leaders expressing their hopes for their countries and their people. And those conversations reinforce a simple truth. And that truth is that no one country can reach this future alone. As we all heard from Prime Minister Albanese last night, each country has a role to play. And the choices made by countries across the region reflect a deepening commitment to these shared principles. Throughout the Biden administration, we've demonstrated what my first speech in Singapore called "the power of partnership." We have forged new friendships and deepened old alliances. We have reinforced deterrence to prevent conflict. We have defended the rules and norms that protect us all. And we have moved closer to the bright future that the people of this region wantand the one that they deserve. So today, I'd like to talk about the historic progress that we've made together over the past year. I'll talk about what the countries of the region are doing to fulfill that vision, what the United States is doing, andmost importantlywhat we're doing together. Now clearly, we have much more to do. But our vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific is truly sharedand truly achievable. You know, this vision isn't the vision of a single country, or the initiative of a single country. It is a common and compelling aspiration. It's about building the basic conditions that let people live their lives without fear and pursue their dreams without limit. And that matters to citizens across the region. You know, some 60 percent of the world's young people live in this region, and they rightly demand the free flow of ideas. Fishing communities in the Philippines, and Vietnam, and the Pacific Islands depend on open waterways for their livelihoods. And innovators here in Singapore depend on the rule of law to keep propelling the global economy forward. So these shared principles matter for men, women, and children all around this region. And they can't be taken for granted. And neither can this region's security or prosperity be taken for granted. Just look at the crisis caused by Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin's indefensible war of choice stands as the bloodiest conflict in Europe since the end of World War II. And Russia's shocking aggression has brought home to people everywhere how dangerous our world would become if big countries could just invade their neighbors with impunity. Russia's invasion shows us all the dangers of disorder and the cost of chaos. That's why so many countries represented here have supported Ukraine's brave defenders against Russia's war of imperial aggression. And that's why the countries of the Indo-Pacific have cast their vote time and again for a future of peace, prosperity, and progress. This year, as president of the G-7, Japan has focused on connectivity and on bridging the gap with developing countries. That includes pledging to invest $75 billion in public and private funds for regional infrastructure that can weather the storms of climate change. India took the helm of the G-20 and called on its members to work together to lift up the most vulnerable. And for the first time, India and ASEAN completed a new maritime exercise together. Last year, the Republic of Korea's Indo-Pacific strategy declared that international norms and international order were keys to our shared security and prosperity. Indonesia and Vietnam took bold steps toward resolving their maritime-boundary dispute. And this is after 12 hard years of negotiations. And so around the region, countries are matching their words with their actions, insisting on resolving differences through dialogue, and calling for even closer cooperation. And so are we. As you may know, I had a brief, 41-year career in the U.S. Army. [Laughter] And I learned over and over again that alliances and partnerships make us all stronger. The United States is working together with our friends more closely every day. We're doubling down on our alliances and our partnerships. And our National Defense Strategy calls for us to work more closely with our allies and partners at every stage of defense planning. And so that spirit of partnership drove our work together to help the region recover from the worst days of the pandemicincluding providing more than 360 million safe and effective vaccine doses. And that same spirit will help us tackle other shared threats, from climate change to nuclear proliferation. And so our shared goals are clear: to deter aggression and to deepen the rules and norms that promote prosperity and prevent conflict. So we're stepping up planning, and coordination, and training with our friends from the East China Sea to the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean. That includes staunch allies such as Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand. And it includes as well such valued partners as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and clearly our hosts here today in Singapore. Consider the historic strides forward in the U.S.-Philippine alliance. As you've heard, the United States and the Philippines recently designated four new locations under our Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. And so this will let our forces work together to strengthen Philippine security, continue to modernize the Philippine military, and deliver humanitarian aid and disaster relief. We also recently completed the largest and most complex Exercise Balikatan ever. More than 17,000 troops participatedand that's nearly twice as many as last year. And for the first time, the exercise featured cyber elements, HIMARS rocket systems, and Patriot surface-to-air missiles. We're also standing with our Japanese allies as they make historic changes to their National Security Strategy. This will mean major new investments in Japan's defense, including moves to develop a counterstrike capability. And we're upgrading our joint exercises like Keen Sword and Resolute Dragon to include more complex and realistic scenarios. We also salute the bold steps taken by Japan and the Republic of Korea to work more closely together. Strong ties between Tokyo and Seoul are good for both countriesand for the region. We've made tremendous progress in our own trilateral cooperation with Japan and the ROK, including more regular military exercises and greater information sharing. As North Korea continues its nuclear threats, and missile tests, and other dangerous provocations, we're deepening our extended deterrence with our allies in the Republic of Korea. That includes increased deployments of our most advanced assets and the historic Washington Declaration issued by President Biden and President Yoon. And we're cooperating more deeply than ever with the ROK on joint planning exercises, and information-sharing, and more. At the same time, we're working closely with our allies to upgrade our force posture in the region. We're making our presence more distributed, more agile, and more resilient. And that will bring greater stability and security to the region. So we're committed to ensuring that every country can fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows. And every country, large and small, must remain free to conduct lawful maritime activities. So we're modernizing our presence so that we can all continue to exercise these rights each and every day. We will forward-station our 12th Marine Littoral Regimentwhich is the most advanced formation in the U.S. Marine Corpsin Japan by 2025 to deepen stability in the First Island Chain. We have committed to increase the rotational presence of U.S. forces in Australia, including rotations of fighters and bomber task forces, as well as future rotations of ground and maritime capabilities. We're also deeply committed to ensuring that our allies and partners have the capabilities that they need to deter aggression and to increase stability. You see, more capable allies and partners magnify all of our security. So we're making extraordinary investments in our capabilities, alongside our allies and partners, to reinforce peace and prosperity in this region. President Biden's Fiscal Year 2024 budget request includes the largest procurement request in the history of the Department of Defenseand the largest investment ever in research and development. His budget also includes a 40 percent increase over last year's request for the Pacific Deterrence Initiativeand that's an all-time high of $9.1 billion. We're making bold investments in airpower, including an additional $61 billion for our F-35s, F-22s, and uncrewed aircraft, and not to mention the B-21 Raider. And we're investing in an expanded fleet of subs, carriers, and destroyersas well as in space, and cyberspace , and long-range fires, including hypersonics. And at every point, we are committed to sharing the advances that we've made to help our partners. For example, our Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology with India lets us explore new ways to co-develop key defense platforms. With Japan, we're working closely together on uncrewed combat air systems, and counter-hypersonics, and air-defense and missile-defense technologies. With the Philippines, we're negotiating a new security sector assistance roadmap that will bring our alliance into a new era. And through the historic AUKUS partnership, we're cooperating with Australia and the U.K. on a range of path-breaking capabilities. And of course, earlier this year, we announced how AUKUS will deliver conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, all with the purpose of upholding peace and security. And just since 2020, we've invested nearly $1.2 billion in security cooperation funding to ensure that Indo-Pacific countries can detect malign actors and deter coercion. And so America's partnerships are bringing the region closer together to help keep it free, and open, and secure. And you can see that in new forms of trilateral cooperation. The United States, Australia, and Japan are operating together more closely than ever and finding new ways to enhance our science and technology cooperation. The United States, Japan, and the ROK are strengthening our interoperability and exploring ways to better share information about missile threats from North Korea. Later today, I'll talk with my Australian, Japanese, and Philippine counterparts about stronger cooperation, especially in the maritime domain. We've also made some important strides forward with Australia, India, and Japan through the Quad. The Quad is strengthening its maritime cooperation and its work on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. And all four Quad partners will participate in Exercise Malabar, which will take place off the coast of Australia for the first time this summer. Many of the region's other top exercises are expanding as more countries come together around our shared principlesour shared principles. Last year, our annual Garuda Shield expanded from a bilateral exercise with Indonesia to include 14 countries with more than 4,000 troops. And this year, more than 19 flags will fly over Super Garuda Shield. Next month, Exercise Talisman Saber with Australia will bring 14 countries together. It will be the largest iteration ever, with more than 30,000 people participating, including a significant contingent from Japan. And it is yet another way that European countries like France, and Germany, and the U.K. are standing up for our shared values in the Indo-Pacific. And so building nimble coalitions to advance our shared vision makes the Indo-Pacific more stable and more resilient. The United States is absolutely proud to expand our cooperation with ASEAN. We remain staunch supporters of ASEAN centrality and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. And we stepped up our work through the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus, including new programs to support the next generation of Southeast Asian defense leaders. We're also continuing to expand our marquee maritime initiative with the Quad. The Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness will help our partners across the region better monitor the waters near their shores. And that will help them combat illegal fishing and better respond to natural disasters. And finally, we are building important new ties in the Pacific Islands. We're working with our Pacific partners to combat illegal, and unregulated, and unreported fishing through more training and cooperation, such as the U.S. Coast Guard's Shiprider program. We're working together to strengthen maritime domain awareness and expand the capacity of our Pacific Island partners. And we recently signed a historic Defense Cooperation Agreement with Papua New Guinea. It will modernize our security cooperation and help us provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the region. And so ladies and gentlemen, our work together has made this region stronger and safer. Now, we understand the headwinds that we face. But we won't let those headwinds blow us off course. We'll continue to stand by our allies and partners as they uphold their rights. We will maintain our vigorous and responsible presence across the Indo-Pacific. And we'll continue to work to ensure that no one country can assert control over shared waterways. In the South China Sea, we will continue to work with our allies and partners to uphold the freedom of navigation and overflight. And let me again underscore the importance of the 2016 ruling by the Arbitral Tribunal. It is legally binding, and it is final. We won't be deterred by dangerous operational behavior at sea or in international airspace. The People's Republic of China continues to conduct an alarming number of risky intercepts of U.S. and allied aircraft flying lawfully in international airspace. And we've all just seen another troubling case of aggressive and unprofessional flying by the PRC. So we will support our allies and partners as they defend themselves against coercion and bullying. To be clear, we do not seek conflict or confrontation. But we will not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion. Now, all of this is especially important in the Taiwan Strait. I'd also like to be clear about another point. The United States remains deeply committed to preserving the status quo in the strait, consistent with our longstanding one-China policy, and with fulfilling our well-established obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act. Our policy is constant and firm. It has held true across U.S. administrations. And we will continue to categorically oppose unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. I'd also highlight that conflict is neither imminent or inevitable. Deterrence is strong todayand it's our job to keep it that way. You know, the whole world has a stake in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Straitthe whole world. The security of commercial shipping lanes and global supply chains depends on it. And so does freedom of navigation world-wide. But make no mistake: conflict in the Taiwan Strait would be devastating. So we are determined to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. And so are a number of other countries around the worldand that number continues to grow. President Biden has been clear. The United States does not seek a new Cold War. And competition must not spill over into conflict. And the region should never be split into hostile blocs. Instead, we're working to strengthen the guardrails against conflict, and to redouble our diplomacy, and to bolster peace, and security, and stability in the region. The United States believes that open lines of communication with the People's Republic of China are essentialespecially between our defense and military leaders. For responsible defense leaders, the right time to talk is anytime. The right time to talk is everytime. And the right time to talk is now. Dialogue is not a reward. It is a necessity. And a cordial handshake over dinner is no substitute for a substantive engagement. And the more that we talk, the more that we can avoid the misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to crisis or conflict. You know, I am deeply concerned that the PRC has been unwilling to engage more seriously on better mechanisms for crisis management between our two militaries. But I hope that will change, and soon. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Great powers must be beacons of transparency and responsibility. And the United States is deeply committed to doing our part. And we are determined to keep this region open, peaceful, and prosperous. Ladies and gentlemen, the Indo-Pacific has become an extraordinary example of human progress and peaceful cooperation. I'm proud to be here with you. And the United States is proud to be your partner. As I said before, conflict and strife are not inevitable. But peace and security are not automatic. The region's growing openness and prosperity show the importance of working togetherand not allowing ourselves to be split apart. The people of the Indo-Pacific have a wider view and a wider vision. So together, we can deepen the region's security. Together, we can expand the circle of opportunity. And together, we can ensure that every citizen of this region has the chance to thrive. So let's continue to draw on the power of partnership. Let's continue to come together in common purpose. And let's continue to build a region of prosperity, and openness, and freedom. It's a real pleasure to stand in your ranks. Thank you very much. I look forward to your questions. [Applause] JOHN CHIPMAN: Mr. Secretary, thank you very much for that extremely compelling presentation and I think everyone will have marked down your note that the right time for talk is anytime. I was also struck by your phrase earlier in your remarks that the United States is seeking to modernize our presence so that we can exercise our rights, and it invited me to ask you if I can the first question we've seen in the conflict in Ukraine how quickly and automatically the forces of Ukraine have been able to incorporate a genuinely diverse range of technologies and systems. Including some that are very modern, can you say a few words about how you think emerging technologies, AI, quantum, cyber, uncrewed vehicles and the like have a particular role in the mission of deterrence in defense in this theater? SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD J. AUSTIN III: Well thanks John. This is really important to us. You know, if you look at our National Defense Strategy we talk about the importance of leveraging capability and capacity in all of the warfighting domains, land, air, sea, space, cyberspace. And so our task is to go after those -- those capabilities that support our warfighting concepts that -- that enable us to be not only successful in the -- in the-- in deterring a conflict but also enable us to be dominant in any future contest. So as we go after those capabilities to support our warfighting concepts, we're looking to bring things together and synchronize them and network them in ways that we've not done before. So we're going after capabilities like you mentioned quantum computing, edge computing, AI and -- and a number of other things. It's one thing to say that but I think you have to make an effort to invest in the right kinds of things and align your budget to -- to match what your strategy is. So we -- we through great pains to link our budget request to our strategy line by line almost and it's a -- it's probably the best I've ever seen. I applaud my -- the staff, they really did a tremendous job there. So, it's one thing to even when you get the capabilities, you have to make sure that you've organized your organization to be able to manage those things, and then you have to drive yourself -- drive the organization to success. I made a change to our -- to our staff, I created a position that -- that oversees the -- the integration of our digital -- digital work and also AI, so I have a chief digital and AI officer that is really a phenomenal job of aligning the organization across -- across the board. So getting the capabilities are one thing, but then you've got to organize and you've got to drive to -- to create the capabilities that we're all looking for and then you have to work with industry and I know there's a number of industry leaders in this crowd and we make an effort. I make an effort to talk to industry leadership to tell them where we want to go, what our needs are and, you know, how we intend to employ the capabilities that we're asking for and I would say that the United States, you know, our industrial base is really one of our strategic advantages. But, you know, unless we're communicating the right things to industry, we won't be where we need in the long term. So that remains a work in progress, but the kinds of things that you're talking about in terms of technology are the kinds of things that will help us maintain a competitive edge going forward. It is very important to us. It is fundamental to our -- our National Defense Strategy and again this is something we remain sighted on each and every day. DR. CHIPMAN: Well thank you very much. I'll take with your permission about three or four from the floor. Don't worry about joining late. I don't necessarily respect an order of precedence so I'll call on four or five people first. First you mentioned SecDef the Philippines, so Jeffery Ordaniel from the Philippines first. Q: Hi thank you. So according to the 2022 report to Congress released by your department Sir, if China continues the face of its nuclear expansion. If you'll likely a stockpile about 1,500 warheads and that's significant given that the limit -- the legal limit of the U.S. operation deployed nuclear warheads under the New START agreement is about 1,500. And so that means China will achieve nuclear parody with the United States in about 15 years, my question is are there any updates on U.S. efforts to push for some sort of an arms control with China and are your Asian allies involved in -- in that kind of discussion? Thank you. SEC. AUSTIN: Let me begin this by saying we are serious about our commitment to extended deterrence and I have spoken with our allies and partners in the room a number of times on this particular issue. And you should know that the president of the United States and all of us are very serious about this commitment, but in terms of specific updates on engagements with -- with the PRC on arms control, I don't have any updates there. You have to talk to them first. So as soon as they answer the phone, maybe we'll -- we'll get some work done here. DR. CHIPMAN: From the United States, Bonnie Glaser. Q: Thank you, John. Secretary Austin, senior Chinese officials are communicating to their foreign counterparts that the United States is seeking to goad China into using force against Taiwan. This is reminiscent to the October surprise in 2020 when China seemed convinced that the United States was trying to participate a crisis in the South China Sea. So I agree, dialogue especially purposeful dialogue is essential. If you had the opportunity to meet with General Li, what would you tell him about U.S. objectives in the Taiwan Strait beyond the fact that the United States supports maintenance of the status quo and opposes use of force? SEC. AUSTIN: Well thanks for the question. Let me say up front that I respectfully disagree with the premise of the question and that we're trying to goad China into a conflict. It's in fact just the opposite. We are doing everything in our power to make sure that we maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific, because as I said earlier in my remarks this is important to all of us in this region. In -- in terms of, you know, what I would say to -- to my counterpart, well, you know, I -- again with respect to Taiwan it's the same thing that I said to them the last time and that is our policy has not changed and we do not seek, do not desire to see a change, a unilateral change by any party. And so, you know, any kind of disagreements ought to be resolved through diplomacy and again it's important to maintain peace and stability in this region as I mentioned earlier. Conflict in the straits would affect the global economy in ways that we cannot imagine but thanks for the question DR. CHIPMAN: Then from China, Chi Zhang. Q: Thank you Dr. Chipman. Good morning Mr. Secretary. The theme of our plenary session here is U.S. leadership but how to play the role of leadership. On one hand you claim to support the centrality of ASEAN in the region, on the other hand the U.S. established multi-lateral institutions such as Quad and AUKUS. Is there any contradiction between U.S. led institutions and the centrality of ASEAN in the region? How to guarantee ASEAN centrality? Thank you. SEC. AUSTIN: Don't think I got the entire jist of the question but it -- I think your question was centered on AUKUS and -- and whether or not that either-- that promotes security and stability in the region or -- or drives us to -- to conflict. It absolutely promotes greater stability and security. It provides a valued and highly capable ally with additional capability that I think will be a generational capability. And so I am confident that this will add greater stability and security for this region, I am proud of the work that we're doing with AUKUS and I know my good friends, my colleagues from Australia and the UK are here and I look forward to having additional discussions with them about AUKUS and updating our progress. But I think that this will add significantly to our efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region. MR. CHIPMAN: And from Vietnam, Bich Tran. Q: Thank you Dr. Chipman. Secretary, so you mentioned Vietnam is one of important partners of the United States in this region. So I wonder where does, you know, I think says a lot about the United States respects the different political system of Vietnam. So I wonder whether you agree that being a communist is not a problem but being a revisionist may be another issue? Thanks. So differtiate between a communist state and a revisionist state. SEC. AUSTIN: I heard you say being a communist is not a problem, but being a revolutionary is an issue but, hey listen we are focused on what you heard me talk about earlier and that is making sure that we maintain peace, security and stability in this region, and we remain access to international airways and waterways. We don't -- in our partnerships and our alliances, we don't ask people to choose or countries to choose between us and another country. We don't ask country, impose our will on countries, you know, again we want to work on those things that are common interest to all of us, the both of us. So I'll leave it at that. DR. CHIPMAN: From France, Francois Heisbourg. Q: Thank you very much for your statements and for recalling the role with some of your European partners are playing in the region. You emphasized that you were in favor of the status quo on Taiwan and that conflict was neither imminent nor inevitable. Those are obviously very welcome statements, yet we have been hearing over the last couple of years a number of active duty, high ranking American officers actually talk about imminence 2025 and 2027 being the most frequently sighted dates. Are we going to continue to hear active duty, high ranking American officers take that line or will there be as we would put it in French, (in French), silence in the ranks? SEC. AUSTIN: Well first of all I believe what they are pointing to in some cases is the fact that President Xi challenged his military to develop the capabilities to conduct military operations by 2027. It doesn't mean that he's made a decision to do that. In terms of whether or not our officers, what they will say in the future, they have the ability to say what they're thinking and, you know, we always welcome that. But my opinion is that a conflict is neither imminent or is it inevitable and so we're going to do everything we can to make sure that we're doing the right things to maintain the status quo. But, you know, the way that you deter any misguided decision is by having a combat credible military and we have one and we will continue to have one, and our officers are in charge of maintaining that combat credible force. I have to remain focused on making sure that they are ready to address any situation or circumstance. I know my INDOPACOM Commander is in the room somewhere and he'd be the first to stand up and tell you, boss you've charged me to do that and by golly I am going to be ready no matter what happens and that's what I want him to do. But again I don't think that a conflict is inevitable, nor do I think at this point that it's imminent. DR. CHIPMAN: And from the Netherlands and the IISS, Verle Noouwens. Q: Secretary of Defense, you made mention to the UK, Germany and France in the Indo-Pacific. I wanted to ask how important is it for the United States for European countries to be engaged militarily in the Indo-Pacific? DR. CHIPMAN: How important is it for European militaries to be engaged militarily in the Indo-Pacific? How does it add value to the effort I think is the -- SEC. AUSTIN: Well, the first thing I'd tell you is we're not trying to create a NATO in the Indo-Pacific and we have a number of colleagues today from Europe and I'm really glad to see them here because they all have interest in this region. And those interests are not just military, they cover whole of government and so they would tell you that they have an interest in the region because all the great things that happened here. And Prime Minister Albanese talked about some of those things yesterday. The rate at which this region is growing, you know, the capability, the capacity that this region has. It is rightful that European countries would remain interested in making sure that we have good relationships with the countries here in the region and I'm confident that that's why they're here. But they'll probably tell you themselves because you'll see -- you'll interact with them later on in the day. DR. CHIPMAN: Absolutely right. From Indonesia, Dewi Fortuna Anwar. Q: Thank you John. I'd like to ask about the -- the relations between the Quad and ASEAN. As-- as the secretary, as you know, there's been a lot of initial skepticism and concerns that the Quad may undermine ASEAN's centrality. But I'm very happy to hear again, you know, you have stressed again the ASEAN centrality. And recently, President Widodo actually said that, you know, Quad and ASEAN are not competitors. They could be partners. Now I'd like to tease out more a Quad as an ASEAN corporation or is it the Quad and individual given the fact that all Quad countries are also a member of (inaudible). So what will be the format for such cooperation? Thank you. DR. CHIPMAN: I think it's a question about the complex Rubik's Cube or the regional architecture in this region and how of these different mini-lateral and established multi-lateral arrangements interconnect? SEC. AUSTIN: Well, I think we should take what we have in which is what we've done and what we've continue to do in terms of bilateral, trilateral and multilateral alliances and partnerships and build on those incrementally. Again, I don't think we should drive things to go in one direction or another. We're not trying to create a NATO in the Indo-Pacific. We value our relationships with our allies and partners and each of our allies and partners has a -- I mean they have their own self interests and we understand that and we want to make sure that we're helping them protect their self-interest. And that, when possible, are working with us and with other countries to provide for a free and open Indo-Pacific. DR. CHIPMAN: Great. I'm going to take two questions in succession and let the Secretary answer those and we'll conclude the session with that. My first of this duet is Sharon Nanau. Q: Yes sir, my question is on USA cooperation is pushing United States agenda into smaller island states. Example in the Solomon Islands, the U.S. was absent for over 20 plus years and only because of it's diplomatic switch to China. They've reopened the embassy last year. So to this corporation you've mentioned allies and partners but is it another form of pushing -- pushing USA agendas especially for smaller island states who don't have a leverage when coming to interacting with the developed bigger countries? DR. CHIPMAN: Thank you very much. He's got that on small island states and their place in U.S. engagement in the region and from Ireland but also the Finanial Times, Demetri Sevastopulo. Q: Thank you, a very small island state. Secretary Austin, good morning. You've made a lot of progress creating a more joint security architecture in the Indo-Pacific, but one thing that's missing is joint operational war plans with allies, particularly to pattern Australia for Taiwan contingency. So my question is how urgent is the need for joint operational war plans and how hard is proving to develop them? SEC. AUSTIN: On the issue of the importance of small island states, really they are important I think you know that for many of the small island states we've had relationships that go back for decades. We value and treasure those relationships and as you look at the number of people in some of those states that serve in the United States military, it really is impressive. So we want to make sure that we continue to build on those relationships and continue to account for your needs and your concerns. Most recently you saw that the President held a summit where he had Pacific Islander leadership into the White House and it was a great event. And this -- and I can tell you first hand that this is really important to him. On the issue of joint operational war plans, you probably know that I'm not going to discuss any kind of war plan in a forum like this and what we're doing and not doing. But what I will tell you is that it's important to work hard to increase our interoperability. Now, it's, you know, it's important to have where possible compatible platforms. It's really important to make sure that you have, you know, policies and procedures that serve you well and that, you know, your allies or partners understand and are familiar with. But what happens when you work together as a joint or combined force is that you continue to build trust among your forces and the forces that you're working with and at the end of the day, you can't surge trust. You know, it's got to be there up front. And so I'm proud of the work that we're doing to increase interoperability in the region, that interoperability will serve us well no matter what challenge presents itself. We have come along way but we are by no means where any of us want be eventually. So we'll continue to work on that and for all of you that have, you provided the opportunities for my troops to work with your troops. Let me say thanks again. I cannot tell you how important that is. In terms of specific plans, again, we don't discuss plans in public forums but I will assure you that will continue to work with our allies to make sure that we think about and account for future contingencies. John, thanks so much for allowing me to be here and I guess we'll leave it at that. [APPLAUSE] https://www.defense.gov/News/Speeches/Speech/Article/3415839/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address June 2, 2023 Release Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Meeting With Indonesia Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met with Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto on the margins of the Shangri-La Dialogue today to discuss the strength of the bilateral relationship, security issues of mutual concern, and Indonesia's ASEAN Chairmanship. Secretary Austin reiterated his commitment to the U.S.-Indonesia Strategic Partnership, and thanked Minister Prabowo for his personal advocacy to finalize a Framework Arrangement with the Defense POW-MIA Accounting Agency to allow the United States to recover U.S. service members lost during World War II. The two leaders discussed Indonesia's defense modernization priorities and how the United States can help Indonesia strengthen its maritime self-defense capabilities. They also highlighted this year's expanded Exercise Super Garuda Shield, which will include over 19 countries, making it one of the largest multilateral exercises in the region. Minister Prabowo and Secretary Austin exchanged views and concerns about the situation in the South China Sea. Secretary Austin commended Indonesia for its historic steps toward resolving its maritime boundary dispute with Vietnam last December. Secretary Austin closed the meeting by affirming the importance of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to the security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific, and commending Indonesia's strong leadership as the ASEAN Chair in 2023. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3415825/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address June 2, 2023 Release Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Meeting With Southeast Asian Defense Ministers Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met with Southeast Asia defense ministers from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Timor-Leste in Singapore today to exchange views and discuss priorities for expanding cooperation in support of regional stability, security, and prosperity. Secretary Austin reaffirmed the United States' enduring commitment to working with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and support for ASEAN centrality, highlighting the recent elevation of the U.S.-ASEAN relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. He emphasized the vital role the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus continues to play in driving multilateral cooperation to address regional challenges. Southeast Asian defense ministers and heads of delegation reaffirmed their support for United States cooperative activities in the region, including in key forums such as the ADMM-Plus. Secretary Austin discussed opportunities for advancing engagement with the ADMM-Plus through capacity-building programs and training courses, such as launching an emerging leaders fellowship program in September 2023 that will provide education and networking opportunities to young civilian and defense leaders in the region. Secretary Austin also highlighted ongoing U.S. support to regional maritime security initiatives, including through the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Group on Maritime Security, expanded U.S. Coast Guard regional maritime law enforcement programs, the U.S. Maritime Security Initiative, and the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness initiative. Secretary Austin reiterated his concerns about the situation in Myanmar and thanked Southeast Asian partners for holding the Myanmar military regime to its commitments under the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus. He also expressed his deep commitment to supporting Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict in Europe. The Ministers closed the meeting by pledging to work closely together to address pressing challenges in the region and to continue these conversations as they prepare for further engagement during the ADMM-Plus later this year. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3415822/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address June 2, 2023 Release Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Meeting With Singapore Minister for Defense Dr. Ng Eng Hen Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met today with the Singapore Minister of Defense, Dr. Ng Eng Hen, on the margins of the International Institute for Strategic Studies' 20th Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue. During their meeting, the two leaders reaffirmed their mutual commitment to advance the U.S.-Singapore defense relationship and discussed efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation, including ongoing efforts to expand joint training, building on the robust schedule of annual bilateral exercises including Pacific Griffin, Commando Sling, and Tiger Balm. Both sides welcomed Singapore's decision to acquire additional F-35B aircraft and committed to further enhance high-end training and interoperability between their Armed Forces. Secretary Austin and Minister Ng discussed opportunities to expand bilateral force posture opportunities to support deeper interoperability and to address shared security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. The two leaders reaffirmed their abiding commitment to uphold the rules-based international orderincluding respect for territorial sovereignty, freedom of navigation, and the rule of lawacross the Indo-Pacific. They also reiterated unwavering support for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) unity and centrality, and its crucial role in contributing to regional stability and building consensus and practical regional cooperation, including through the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus. Secretary Austin and Minister Ng closed the meeting by reaffirming their commitment to building an even more capable defense partnership grounded in common principles and their enduring commitment to a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3415819/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address June 2, 2023 By Joseph Clark , DOD News Austin Underscores Importance of Partnerships in Securing a Shared Vision for Indo-Pacific The U.S. remains committed to a shared vision of freedom, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said today. Speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Austin underscored the importance of partnerships in achieving a future for the region anchored in the adherence to international norms, respect for sovereignty and human rights and the free flow of commerce and ideas. "This vision isn't the vision or initiative of a single country," he said. "It's a common and compelling aspiration. It's about building the basic conditions that let people live their lives without fear and pursue dreams without limit. And that matters to citizens across the region." Austin highlighted the progress the U.S. and its allies in the region have made in achieving this goal. He noted Japan's pledge to invest $75 billion in public and private investment in regional infrastructure and India's completion of maritime exercise with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He hailed the "bold steps" taken by Indonesia and Vietnam toward resolving their maritime-boundary dispute and lauded South Korea's declaration that international norms are key to shared security and prosperity in its Indo-Pacific strategy. "Around the region, countries are matching their words with their actions, Austin said. "And they're insisting on resolving differences through dialogue and calling for even closer cooperation." The U.S., he said, is also "doubling down" on regional alliances and partnerships "at every stage of defense planning." "Our shared goals are clear: to deter aggression and to deepen the rules and norms that promote prosperity and prevent conflict," he said. "So, we're stepping up planning and coordination, and training with our friends from the East China Sea to the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean." Austin offered his remarks at the Shangri-La dialogue while on his seventh trip to the region as Secretary of Defense. The summit offered the opportunity for Austin to meet with key leaders throughout the region. Before arriving in Singapore for the conference, Austin met with U.S. troops in Japan and met with Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada in Tokyo. The two discussed the "impressive progress" the U.S. and Japan have made in strengthening their cooperation that will be critical to maintaining peace and deterring aggression in the region. While in Singapore, Austin said his visit to the region comes at a critical for global peace and stability time as Russia continues its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. "The Kremlin's indefensible war of choice stands as the bloodiest conflict in Europe since the end of World War II," he said. "And Russia's shocking aggression has brought home to people everywhere how dangerous our world would be if big countries could just invade their peaceful neighbors with impunity." "Russia's invasion shows us all the dangers of disorder and the cost of chaos," he said. Austin also noted rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific spurred by North Korean nuclear threats and the People's Republic of China's provocations in the region. "The People's Republic of China continues to conduct an alarming number of risky intercepts of U.S. and allied aircraft flying lawfully in international airspace," he said. "And we've all just seen another troubling case of aggressive and unprofessional flying by the PRC." Austin pledged to support allies and partners in the region "as they defend themselves against coercion and bullying." "To be clear: we do not seek conflict or confrontation," he said. "But we will not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion." He said conflict is not inevitable, and the U.S. remains committed to strengthening peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea. Austin urged continued dialogue between the two countries, despite China's defense minister declining to meet during the summit in Singapore. The two officials spoke briefly during a dinner to kick off the Shari-La Dialogue, though Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen Pat Ryder said the two leaders "did not have a substantive exchange." Austin said during his address that maintaining open lines of communication between the two nations is critical. "I am deeply concerned that the PRC has been unwilling to engage more seriously on better mechanisms for crisis management between our two militaries," Austin said. "But I hope that will change, and soon." "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Great powers must be beacons of transparency and responsibility. And the United States is deeply committed to doing our part," he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address June 3, 2023 Release Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Meeting With Malaysia's Senior Minister of Defense Mohamad Hasan Today, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III held his first in-person meeting with Malaysian Minister of Defense Mohamad Hasan to discuss opportunities to expand and strengthen the U.S.-Malaysia defense relationship and cooperation to address regional security issues. Secretary Austin and Minister Mohamad reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the long-standing bilateral defense relationship. They also discussed areas for expanded defense cooperation, to include continuing maritime patrol aircraft subject matter expert exchanges and expanding the scope and scale of exercises to improve interoperability. Secretary Austin and Minister Mohamad shared views on the security environment in the Indo-Pacific, to include the South China Sea, and stressed the importance of maintaining international rules and norms to ensure a secure, stable, and prosperous region. They also discussed the importance of enhancing regional maritime domain awareness capabilities to address coercive activities in the region. Secretary Austin and Minister Mohamad concluded the meeting by pledging to continue discussions on bilateral defense priorities and looking forward to meeting again at the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus later this year. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3415888/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address June 3, 2023 Release United States-Japan-Australia Trilateral Defense Ministers' Meeting (TDMM) 2023 Joint Statement Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence the Hon. Richard Marles MP, Japanese Minister of Defense Hamada Yasukazu, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III, convened a Trilateral Defense Ministerial Meeting in Singapore on June 3, 2023 during the 20th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Asia Security Summit (2023 Shangri-La Dialogue) in Singapore. This was the twelfth meeting among the defense leaders of the three nations and highlighted the significant progress made in implementing activities and practical areas of cooperation set forth in the 2022 Joint Statement. The Ministers welcomed and acknowledged the significance of each country's strategic documents issued this past year, confirming the alignment of their strategies and the important role that the trilateral partnership plays in realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific. The Ministers highlighted that trilateral defense cooperation has never been stronger, and noted advances in the complexity of our trilateral cooperation and growing trilateral coordination at all levels. The Ministers expressed serious concern about the increasingly severe security environment in the East China Sea. They strongly opposed any destabilizing and coercive unilateral actions that may escalate tensions in the East China Sea. The Ministers expressed concern about the situation in the South China Sea. They strongly opposed any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force or coercion and actions that could increase tensions in the area, including the militarization of disputed features, the dangerous use of coast guard vessels and maritime militia, and efforts to disrupt other States' offshore resource exploitation activities. They strongly object to China's claims and actions that are inconsistent with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and which undermine international rules, standards, and norms. The Ministers emphasized the importance of the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, particularly UNCLOS, and reaffirmed the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal decision as final and legally binding on the parties. They resolved to work together to support states being able to exercise their rights and freedoms in the South China Sea, consistent with UNCLOS, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight. The Ministers emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues. The Ministers emphasized the importance of a secure and prosperous Southeast Asia, where sovereignty is respected and in furtherance of broader regional stability. They reiterated continued support for ASEAN centrality and ASEAN-led regional architecture, including ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus). They also emphasized their strong support for the practical implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. The Ministers committed to work closely with regional countries, bilaterally and through ASEAN mechanisms, to support regional security and stability including to promote maritime, cyber, border, and health security cooperation. The Ministers recognized the importance of strengthening cooperation with the Philippines and welcomed the meeting of Australia, Japan, Philippines, and United States' defense ministers taking place while at the Shangri-La Dialogue. The Ministers committed to deepening cooperation with Pacific island countries, including by working with Pacific partners to support maritime security, respond to increased pressure from natural disasters, and address the impacts of climate change. The three countries will continue expanding regional engagement and strengthening cooperation with Pacific counterparts, particularly through the Pacific Islands Forum and other inclusive Pacific architecture. The Ministers are deeply concerned about North Korea's nuclear and missile development. They strongly condemn North Korea's repeated launches of missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles at an unprecedented frequency, and the most recent claimed space launch using ballistic missile technology, which is a serious violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. The Ministers remain committed to working with the international community to address North Korea's serious threat to the region. They reiterate their call on North Korea to immediately resolve the abduction issue and cease its human rights violations. Recognizing the important role the trilateral partnership plays in boosting regional stability, the Ministers committed to continue to take concrete and practical measures to improve interoperability and deepen defense cooperation across the spectrum. They reinforced the importance of consulting with each other and developing coordinated responses to regional disasters and crises. The Ministers noted the significance of the introduction of counterstrike capabilities by Japan and investment in long-range strike capabilities by Australia. They confirmed that Australia and Japan would work closely together, and with the United States, as these capabilities are introduced. The Ministers welcomed the progress being made toward the entry into force of the Japan-Australia Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA). They acknowledged the important role of the RAA in enabling deeper trilateral cooperation and enhancing interoperability. The Ministers agreed to leverage the RAA for this purpose as soon as it enters into force and committed to working on a roadmap for conducting trilateral cooperation activities in Australia over the coming year. The Ministers welcomed the recent announcement of Australia's pathway to acquire conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines. Japan reiterated its consistent support for AUKUS. The Ministers welcomed the progress being made and highlighted achievements including the first coordinated Asset Protection Mission (APM) during a trilateral activity in November 2022, and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) cooperation at Iwakuni Air Base in March 2023. The Ministers exchanged views on the regional security environment and concurred to resist unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in all parts of the world and to work closely to deter and counter actions that undermine international peace and stability and the international system based on the rule of law. They strongly condemned Russia's unprovoked, unjust, and unlawful aggression against Ukraine. They shared the view that Russia should immediately, completely, and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and cease hostilities in line with the Charter of the United Nations as called for in the resolution A/ES-11/L.7 adopted by the UN General Assembly on February 23. The Ministers committed to continue enhancing defense cooperation among the three countries across the following areas: Trilateral Activities and Exercises: Conduct trilateral F-35 Joint Strike Fighter training in Australia. Increase complex and high-end trilateral exercises in northern Australia such as Exercise SOUTHERN JACKAROO to enhance readiness. Regularize Asset Protection Missions for the U.S. Forces and the Australian Defence Force by Japan Self-Defense Forces. Accelerate and deepen trilateral information-sharing cooperation. Continue trilateral policy and strategy dialogues on regional issues. Expanded Cooperation: Seek to conclude a trilateral Research Development Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) framework at the earliest possible opportunity. Boost strategic capabilities cooperation across multiple domains, including in integrated air and missile defense (IAMD), intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and undersea warfare. Inclusive Partnerships: Further deepen engagement with ASEAN Member States (including through the ADMM-Plus framework), Pacific island countries, European countries and like-minded partners and allies to uphold and reinforce free and open international norms in every region in the world. Coordinate capacity building engagements with regional partners. Work in complement with Pacific partners in addressing the challenge of unexploded ordnance. The Ministers affirm that trilateral cooperation is essential to maintain democratic values, transparency and respect for international norms, and expressed their firm determination to keep the Indo-Pacific region as a free, open, secure, and prosperous region while continuing to expand the scope of defense cooperation. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3415881/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Kosovo* - Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the latest developments European Council / Council of the European Union Council of the EU Press release 3 June 2023 The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the violent acts against citizens, KFOR troops, law enforcement, and media in the north of Kosovo. The violence could have been avoided and must be avoided in the future. The European Union stands firmly behind NATO's mission KFOR and EU's mission EULEX in fulfilling their respective mandates. We urge both Kosovo and Serbia to immediately and unconditionally take measures to de-escalate, stop using divisive rhetoric and refrain from any further uncoordinated actions. Calm needs to be restored urgently. The European Union is ready to implement resolute measures. Failure to de-escalate the tensions will lead to negative consequences. We expect Kosovo to act in a non-escalatory way and immediately suspend police operations in the vicinity of the municipal buildings in the north of Kosovo. The mayors should temporarily perform their duties in premises other than the municipal buildings. Early elections should be announced as soon as possible in all four municipalities and organised in a fully inclusive manner. We expect Kosovo Serbs to take part in these elections. We express concern over the Serbian Armed Forces' highest alert status. The European Union expects both Kosovo and Serbia to act responsibly and engage immediately in the EU-facilitated Dialogue to find a sustainable solution to the situation in the north of Kosovo that guarantees safety, security and participatory democracy for all citizens and paves the way for the implementation of the Agreement on the Path to Normalisation and its Annex. This includes to start without any further delay or precondition the work to establish the Association/Community of Serb Majority Municipalities. * This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Singapore: Speech by HR/VP Borrell at Shangri La Dialogue European External Action Service (EEAS) 03.06.2023 EEAS Press Team The speech was made in the 3RD plenary panel on "RESOLVING REGIONAL TENSIONS" Check against delivery! Ladies and gentlemen, excellencies, tout protocole observe, as we say in Brussels, and thank you to everybody. I am very glad to be here at the Shangri La Dialogue and discuss regional tensions with my colleagues from Indonesia and with South Korea. I know how important is this forum, and I also know the crucial role played by Singapore, as a source of moderation and equilibrium in the region which is at the heart of the global competition today. Yes, in Europe we have a war in our borders but the epicentre, the core of the global competition, is in the Indo-Pacific, is here. And I would like to start saying some words about how do I look at the international system in order to explore how Europeans and Asians can work together to prevent another military confrontation in the region. Yes, because [in] the international system [it] is here, in Asia, in this part of the world, where the chances are bigger. The international system is based on a dual dynamic which affects directly Asia and its security: this dynamic is not bipolarity, neither a multipolarity - it is both. We have both. We have a bipolarity, driven of course by the US-China competition - a competition which is deeper than the previous Soviet-American rivalry because it covers all fields including technological competition, which was limited during the Cold War. This competition is political, is ideological, economic, technological and strategic. And Asia is the main area of that competition. And then there is another, another part of the system, which is purely multipolar and is expressed that many other countries in the world become more assertive and refuse to remain passive, have their own national agenda. And multipolarity is the product of globalisation and the wider distribution of wealth all over the world. And, as Europeans, we accept that reality. And we have the vision of being upholders of this new multipolarity. We accept the idea that the world is becoming multipolar and we have no intention to oppose the rise of emerging nations which believe that their time has come in history. On the other hand I know that, despite the regular presence of Member States of the European Union, my colleagues ministers of defence, in this forum, for many years, Europe is still largely seen as an extra-regional actor with limited impact on the regional security dynamics of the Indo-Pacific or Asia. And the war in Ukraine has reinforced this feeling - the feeling that now Europe is turning inward and is limiting its global exposure despite our strong messages reasserting the opposite. So I will use this moment, this speech, in order to try to express to you which are the fundamental reasons for our regional commitment in face of the fact that security today is a continuum in a globalised world; the evolution of our approach with the adoption of the Strategic Compass, and our aim for better effectiveness in order to be a "smart enabler" for security and defence. My starting point is to underline that Europe and Asia have a direct stake in each other's security and that we have to work together in order to avoid a confrontation in the region. Nothing is far away in a globalised world. As I said, security is a continuum across the space, and any war or any major security crisis in one region affects everyone, everywhere. And you cannot either divide the economics of the security. You cannot compartmentalise because security tensions will affect the economy, and the economy probably will create security tensions. Allow me to present some figures in order to illustrate that. This year, Asia and the Pacific will contribute to more than 60% of global growth - 60% of global growth. It is clear that Asia is the beating heart of the global economy and your maritime routes are the arteries of the global economy, because every day 2000 ships transport goods across the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea to Europe and back - 2000 ships every day. Our economic links are getting stronger: they have reached an incredibly high level, unimaginable 40 years ago. But the global security environment continues to get worse. Our economic links increase; our security landscape is becoming more and more dangerous. There is less trust among the main players; less respect for international law and multilateral agreements; force and coercion are on the rise. It is not law but force which is increasingly shaping our world. And, unsurprisingly, everybody expands their military spending. Why? Because people are afraid. And they are afraid because they face challenges. And since they face challenges, they buy arms. A lot of arms. And the figures illustrate this course of rearmament. World military spending last year grew to an all-time high, reaching $2.2 trillion. It's because of Russia's war in Ukraine? Yes, it had an effect. And certainly the military expenditure of countries in Europe is today 30% higher than in 2013, before the Russian annexation of Crimea. We have increased 30% since Russia invaded Crimea. Because it was a war. But here, in Asia, you don't have a war and in spite of that the trend of your military expenditure is even greater. Last year the military expenditure in Asia and Oceania was 45% higher than in 2013. So, in the last ten years, we have increased our military expenditure by 30% and you by 45% which shows clearly that we live in a dangerous world where people feel insecure and in order to look for security, an old reflex as old as humankind, they go and buy arms. And it shows that we must do more to build trust and address regional tensions. And that it is our common responsibility to defend security principles whenever and wherever they are threatened - be it in Ukraine or in the South China Sea or anywhere else. Yes, dear colleagues, we must bring a peace to Ukraine. But a peace that could be considered a just peace. You know, I know how to finish the war in Ukraine. I know. It's quite easy. We stop supporting militarily Ukraine and the war would finish in a couple of weeks. But how it will finish? Doesn't it matter? Or, does it matter? If it matters, then we cannot stop supporting militarily Ukraine. Because we don't want a peace which is the peace of the cemeteries, the peace of surrender, the peace of the stronger, the peace that may create a second Belarus. But, yes, the war will finish. So the question is, then, is not to finish the war, but how we finish the war. And that's why we will keep on supporting Ukraine although we want peace as much as anyone else in this room. And at the same time we must be sure that the Indo Pacific stays "pacific," as Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi rightly said last month when we met in Stockholm for the European Union Indo-Pacific Forum. And as the Spanish sailors, the first time they sailed this water, called it "pacific" because it was surprisingly - very surprisingly - because the water was so calm compared with the Atlantic. My first point is that we have to be committed to do just that. To look for peace wherever: in these waters and in the lands of central Europe. My second point is to explain to you how the war against Ukraine is changing Europeans' role in security and defence. This is important per se. But it is also important because, for you, because a more capable Europe is a better partner including with Asia. Maybe not many people know in this region that in the last 15 months in Europe we have been breaking political taboos. For the first time ever, we have been funding military support to a country under attack. Providing about 40 billion of military support to Ukraine, coming from the [EU] Institutions, coming from the resources I manage in Brussels, and coming from the Member States. Yes, much less than the US support. But if you add up all the support - military, civilian, economic, financial and humanitarian - the level of support to Ukraine is about 60 billion for Europe. But let me show another figure which is really impressive: if you include the support that the European governments have had to pay in order to help their families and firms to face the high prices of electricity, of food, the subsidies to our people in order to face the consequences of the war is 700 billion - ten times more than the support for Ukraine. Which shows that the consequences of this war are not reduced to what's happening in Ukraine but to the shockwaves that the war has been sending all around the world. We have been developing methods to increase our industrial capacity to support Ukraine. We have trained 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers during this year, and we will increase our estimated defence capacities by about 100 billion more, to modernise our armies and invest in new technologies. This is a game changer; this war is changing the role of Europe. Europe was and is a project for peace and about peace: peace among us and a force for peace for the rest of the world. But now we face a world where the war is something that is in every corner, and these corners across our houses. And we have to defend our interests, our strategic domains, be it on land, in space, be it maritime, or in cyberspace. We don't have choices. The worst choice would be to look to the other side and let history go by the bad way because this war could not finish by giving victory to the aggressor. But our transformation also makes us a more capable partner for Asia. And this brings me to my third and final point: what can we do with you, with our Asian partners, to promote security together? To face the tensions rising, from the South China Sea, to the Taiwan Strait, to the [Democratic People's] Republic of Korea. We see more military build-ups, more unilateral moves. Yes, each case is specific. But I want to stress that the European Union will always defend international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the non-proliferation regime. And because, in our DNA, we have always favoured multilateral solutions and regional approaches, we are very glad that under our Strategic Partnership with ASEAN, our security cooperation is a growing component. And we are pleased to participate with members of ASEAN in regional navy exercises. And we are happy to see that the navies of Asian partners work with us in Operation Atalanta - which are good examples of what we can do concretely. At the bilateral level, we have security and defence dialogues with China, Japan, India, South Korea and others. I think this type of cooperation can be more than just dialogues but to make them as concrete and operational as possible. Ladies and gentlemen, let me wrap up. My core message is that the European Union is a reliable security partner. We are not a classic military alliance; we are not a traditional great power throwing its weight around. We don't have the 6th or 7th Fleet to be deployed in the Indo-Pacific. We are not even a state, but a constellation of states. But these states have a certain technological capacity that we want to develop in order to become a "smart enabler," investing in shared security. In Europe and in the Indo-Pacific. And that is my message. You can count on us. As much as you could also be part of a great coalition to ensure peace in these great oceans. We need each other. We need to stabilise this world. The challenges we are facing don't let other solutions than strong cooperation. Avoiding conflict, and increasing cooperation among people around the world, in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. Stop this war in a fair manner and avoid that the new conflicts could appear on our horizons. This will be an excellent labour for this forum. Thank you. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address analysis South Africa will host the BRICS summit in August 2023. The event could offer the country an opportunity to exercise leadership in the BRICS' efforts to reform the arrangements for global economic governance and in supporting sustainable and inclusive development in Africa and the Global South. However, the opportunity has morphed into an international challenge because Russia's President Vladimir Putin, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court, has indicated that he will attend. South Africa could face the wrath of its BRICS partners if it fulfils its international obligation and arrests him. On the other hand, if it does not arrest him, it could face sanctions from those countries that want to see Putin tried for war crimes. Hosting the 2023 BRICS summit is therefore fraught with dangers. The international environment is complicated, dynamic and unpredictable. South Africa can avoid embarrassment and capitalise on the opportunities presented by the BRICS summit only if it is able to skilfully manoeuvre in these choppy waters._ Trying to understand South Africa's dilemma raises a number of questions: Who are the BRICS? What has the grouping achieved? Who are the BRICS? In 2001, the global investment bank Goldman Sachs stated that it expected Brazil, Russia, India and China to become leading actors in the global economy. It collectively named the four countries "BRICs". These countries decided that Goldman Sachs had a point and that they could enhance their global influence if they cooperated. They first met at a ministerial level in 2006 and at a leaders' summit in 2009. In 2010 they invited South Africa to join the group. The group became known as "BRICS". A primary objective of the group is to reform global economic governance so that it is more responsive to the concerns and interests of the Global South. For example, the BRICS have called for a new global currency that can challenge the dominant role of the US dollar in the international monetary system. It has also pushed for a greater voice - and more votes - for developing countries in key international economic organisations like the IMF and the World Bank. The group has also sought, through groups like its business forum, to promote greater economic cooperation between the participating countries. What has the BRICS grouping achieved? The BRICS record of achievements is mixed. In 2016, the group established two new international economic entities. The first was the New Development Bank. They contend that it is a "new" multilateral development bank which offers its members an alternative to institutions like the World Bank. It claims that its governance is fairer than the World Bank because its five original members all have equal votes. At the World Bank, shares (and therefore votes) are unevenly distributed among member states. The development bank also strives to provide financing more quickly than the World Bank, and in a way that is more respectful of the laws in its member states. However, to date, the New Development Bank has been less transparent and accountable than other multilateral development banks. It has provided US$32.8 billion to 96 projects in the 5 BRICS countries and it has begun looking to expand the scope of its operations. Since 2021 it has approved membership for Bangladesh, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Uruguay. It is expected to add new members in the coming years. The second new entity was the Contingent Reserve Arrangement. This established a series of swap arrangements between the BRICS central banks. These arrangements allow each central bank, when its country is facing a balance of payments crisis, to exchange its local currency for hard currencies, like the US dollar, with its counterparts in the BRICS. Pursuant to the terms of the arrangement, a central bank can only draw on a fraction of the available financing without also having to enter into a financing arrangement with the IMF. Thus, the conditions that are attached to the IMF's finances also become applicable to the funds made available through the Contingent Reserve Arrangement. To date, no BRICS central bank has used the arrangement. According to their communiques, the BRICS leaders have agreed to create other entities, such as a vaccine centre and a new credit rating agency. However, they have not yet implemented these agreements. They have not been successful either in reforming the existing institutions and arrangements for global economic governance, such as the IMF. One reason for this failure is the strong opposition to reform from states, primarily those in Europe, which currently have dominant voices in the IMF and would lose them in the case of true reform. But another important reason is that the BRICS are not unified in their demands for reform. For example, while Brazil, India and South Africa support reforming the UN Security Council to include more permanent members and to eliminate the veto power of the existing permanent members, China and Russia, as sitting permanent members, don't. Similarly, not all the other BRICS have supported South Africa's call for a third African seat on the IMF's board of directors. Are there any downsides to BRICS membership? The global political and economic situation has changed dramatically since 2010. These changes have created both opportunities and challenges for the BRICS. One opportunity arises from the fact that approximately 19 countries in the Global South, including Argentina, Cuba, Iran and Saudi Arabia, have expressed an interest in joining the BRICS. It is expected that the BRICS will consider the issue of membership at their upcoming August 2023 summit. Another opportunity arises from the growing interest around the world in having an alternative currency to the US dollar as the basis for the international financial system. The BRICS have been vocal supporters of de-dollarisation. However, given the complex economic and political relations between the BRICS member states, there is considerable scepticism about the feasibility of the BRICS developing a new global currency in the near term. The primary challenges facing the BRICS arise from geopolitics. The war in Ukraine has created tensions within the BRICS. The participating states have been forced to balance their respect for such international law principles as self-determination, sovereignty and peaceful resolution of disputes with their friendly relations with Russia. In addition, the BRICS cannot escape the fallout from the growing economic and security tensions between China and the west, particularly the US. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Africa Europe and Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Both these issues complicate the efforts of the other BRICS to maintain their formal non-aligned position. They also exacerbate existing tensions within the BRICS. The most important example of this is the complex and tense relationship between India and China. In recent years, they have had military skirmishes in disputed border areas. In addition, India has imposed economic constraints on Chinese companies operating in India. The two countries have refused to renew the visas of journalists from each country so that now there are almost no journalists from Chinese publications in India and vice versa. What hangs on the summit? South Africa faces another opportunity that is fraught with danger when it hosts the G20 in 2025. The G20, which brings together the 20 leading economic powers in the world, has called itself the "premier forum" for global economic governance. South Africa is currently the only permanent African member of the G20 and 2025 will be the first time the group is hosted by an African country. Planning for this G20 event must begin soon because in 2024 South Africa will join India, the current G20 host, and Brazil, the 2024 G20 host in the troika that manages the G20 process. If the country does not plan carefully and effectively for this G20 event, South Africa risks emerging with a diminished reputation and its credibility shredded. Danny Bradlow, Professor/Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria Despite fighting during shaky ceasefire, humanitarians deliver truckloads of aid: UN Global Times (Xinhua) 10:53, June 03, 2023 UNITED NATIONS, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Despite a tenuous Sudan ceasefire, 129 relief trucks, sometimes dodging fighting, managed recently to complete deliveries in several regions, UN humanitarians said on Friday. "The humanitarian community continues to rush life-saving supplies to destinations around the country, despite the ongoing fighting," said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. "Since May 24, at least 129 trucks have completed deliveries to various locations inside Sudan." The humanitarian office said the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported flying in more than 19 tons of vaccines for some 370,000 children. UNICEF is working with the Federal Ministry of Health, supported by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to maintain vaccination services in Sudan. The World Health Organization (WHO) said it sent about 170 tons of health supplies into Sudan by air, land and sea, although access challenges and ongoing fighting hamper deliveries. Since the conflict erupted on April 15, WHO said it has verified 46 attacks on health care. Sixteen of these have taken place since the signing by the warring Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of the Jeddah declaration three weeks ago to protect civilians and achieve a short-term ceasefire to facilitate emergency humanitarian assistance. "This is completely unacceptable," WHO said. The UN Population Fund warns that fuel shortages and electricity cuts have forced many hospitals in Sudan to suspend emergency obstetric and neonatal care services. The agency is supporting some of the few functioning hospitals in Khartoum state, but says power outages and the lack of fuel are threatening the operation of those hospitals. The World Food Programme (WFP) said it procured 500,000 litres of fuel in Port Sudan and is trying to obtain more fuel and food. This week, WFP is offloading some 33,000 tons of food aid in Port Sudan, enough to feed about 1 million people for three months. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Joint Statement by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Republic of Poland - The Chancellery of the Prime Minister 03.06.2023 Canada and Poland share a long history of strong relations, including through the vibrant community of nearly one million Canadians of Polish origin. Polish migrants to Canada have contributed to Canada's prosperity and culture. As proud NATO Allies, our shared commitment to European and trans-Atlantic defence and security is unwavering. We support enhancing NATO's deterrence and defence posture, as the backbone of our Article 5 commitment to defend each other. Canada and Poland enjoy strong, historic military ties reaching back to the First World War where, in 1917 at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada established Camp Kosciuszko to train recruits for the Polish army-in-exile keen to fight for a free Poland. During the Second World War, the Polish 1st Armoured Division was attached to the 1st Canadian Army and these troops fought together to liberate the Netherlands and Belgium. Our cooperation continues to this day, with Canadian and Polish soldiers currently deployed together in the Canadian-led NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group Latvia, to which Poland provides a tank company. In October 2022, Canadian Minister of National Defence Anand and Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Baszczak signed a Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation to enhance cooperation between the Canadian Armed Forces and the Polish Armed Forces. We stand united in our determination to provide Ukraine with the financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support it requires, for as long as it takes. Ukraine needs to be able to defend itself against Russia's unjustifiable war of aggression. We call on Russia to completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops and military equipment from the entire internationally recognized territory of Ukraine. Russia must be held accountable for the crimes committed in Ukraine. We urge Belarus to stop its complicity in Russian aggression which constitutes a blatant violation of international law. Both Canada and Poland have acted as hosts to large numbers of Ukrainian refugees displaced by Russia's war. Poland has provided homes to more than 3 million Ukrainians, and as a frontline country, Poland plays a critical role in defending NATO's eastern flank. Additionally, Canada and Poland have been providing training to the Security Forces of Ukraine (SFU) in Poland for the past year. Currently, Canada is providing Combat Medic, Sapper (combat engineer), and Armoured Crew training to SFU personnel on Polish soil. Hundreds of Ukrainians are being trained every month jointly by Poland and Canada. Canada and Poland have a flourishing commercial and economic relationship that leverages the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) which continues to create opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic. We note Poland's continued progress towards CETA ratification and look forward to securing the benefits of the agreement through its full implementation. Both Canada and Poland are committed to the development of clean and renewable energy technologies that will foster energy security, advance our shared climate objectives, and lead to new commercial opportunities, including in off-shore wind. A particular area of focus for Poland is support for the development of civilian nuclear power. In this context, Canada and Poland are pleased to announce the launch of negotiations on a bilateral Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (NCA) which will supplement the existing Canada-Euratom (European Atomic Energy Community) NCA by enhancing trade and cooperation in the area of nuclear technologies, including technologies related to small modular reactors We are committed to further developing and expanding our cooperation in key sectors, including by: Continuing to work together and with partners to ensure that Ukraine is provided with the full range of support it needs to achieve victory against Russia's invasion. Collaborating on practical support to Ukraine, including training the SFU in Poland. Actively supporting Ukraine's trans-Atlantic aspirations on the premise that Ukraine is an integral part of the Euro-Atlantic community. Continuing our defence and security cooperation on NATO's eastern flank, including through the enhanced Forward Presence as well as other contributions to NATO's strengthened deterrence and defence posture. Working within our respective Canadian and European sanctions regimes to advance efforts to ensure the maximum impact of sanctions against the Russian regime and its enablers. Continuing to work together, in various forums, to ensure that there is a clear and achievable plan for post-conflict Ukraine reconstruction and development. Expeditiously finalizing a bilateral General Security of Information Agreement on industrial security and defence, which will contribute to deepening our bilateral security cooperation and increase information sharing and defence collaboration. Working together to advance bilateral cooperation in energy security, including through support for a transition to clean energy technologies. Continuing to develop strong commercial relations, with trade, investment and cooperation on science, technology and innovation. We look forward to meeting again in the coming years to take stock of progress and identify new areas for cooperation. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Over 100 fatalities in Sudan conflict buried unidentified: Red Crescent Iran Press TV Saturday, 03 June 2023 11:38 AM The Sudanese Red Crescent has declared the continuous fighting in Sudan's troubled areas of capital Khartoum and Darfur has led volunteers to bury 180 bodies recovered from combat zones without identifying them. Despite repeated claims by both rival military chiefs, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, of protecting civilians and securing human rights, volunteers have buried 102 unidentified bodies in the capital's Al-Shegilab cemetery and 78 more in cemeteries in Darfur, the organization announced in a Friday statement. It added, however, that Red Crescent volunteers - supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross -- have found it difficult to move through the streets to pick up the dead, "due to security constraints," the Red Crescent said. Last month, while discussing peace talks in Saudi Arabia, the two rivals had agreed to "enable responsible humanitarian actors, such as the Sudanese Red Crescent and/or the International Committee of the Red Cross to collect, register and bury the deceased in coordination with competent authorities". Ever since the conflict between Sudan's two rival generals erupted on April 15, more than 1,800 people have been killed in the fighting, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. According to medics and aid agencies, the actual death toll is projected to be much higher, considering the number of bodies abandoned in areas that were unreachable. On Friday, the UN Security Council called on the rival parties to put an end to the fighting, as clashes continued in Khartoum after the collapse of talks to maintain a ceasefire and ease a humanitarian crisis. In a press statement agreed by the 15-member body in New York expressed "deep concern" over the clashes and condemned all attacks on civilians, UN personnel and humanitarian agencies. The council "emphasized the need for the parties to immediately cease hostilities, facilitate humanitarian access and establish a permanent ceasefire arrangement and to resume the process towards reaching a lasting, inclusive, and democratic political settlement in Sudan," the statement said. The statement also added that the council agreed upon extending the mandate of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, but only for six months. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Thousands Protest In Serbia, Accusing Government Of Fostering Violence By RFE/RL's Balkan Service June 03, 2023 Tens of thousands of people gathered in the center of the Serbian capital, Belgrade, on June 3 for the fifth anti-government protest in recent weeks. The protests were sparked by two mass shootings in early May that left 18 people dead and several wounded. Half of those killed were students at a Belgrade elementary school. That shooting was carried out by a 13-year-old student. Protesters, marching under the slogan "Serbia against violence," accuse the government of fanning a culture of violence, as well as an atmosphere of hopelessness and division, in the country through state media outlets. "The fact that you young people have taken to the streets with a clear message that you will no longer live in this diseased society gives hope that maybe we will lift ourselves up," popular actor Dragan Bjelogrlic told the rally. They have demanded the revocation of the broadcasting licenses of television and radio outlets that promote violence, as well as the closure of government newspapers that have urged violence against political dissidents. They have called for the resignations of all the members of the regulatory agency that oversees broadcast media. Protesters have also demanded the resignations of the interior minister, Bratislav Gasic, and the head of the national intelligence agency, Aleksandar Vulin. The rally began outside the Serbian parliament building, after which protesters marched to the president's office. Organizers urged demonstrators to write messages to President Aleksandar Vucic, which were to be collected and presented to him. Protesters also laid flowers outside the presidential office complex. Opposition critics have accused Vucic, 53, of drifting toward authoritarianism for years, using harsh measures to fragment the opposition and exercising firm control over state media. Vucic has dismissed the protests as a "publicity stunt" and has alleged without proof that they have been orchestrated by "foreign powers." After the shootings, the government boosted the police presence in schools and urged the public to hand over weapons. Education Minister Branko Ruzic later resigned. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-protest- government-violence/32443274.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 Norway Plans to Spend Over $730Mln Annually on Defense in 2025-2031 - Reports Sputnik News 20230603 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Norwegian authorities are planning an annual increase in defense spending of 8 billion kroner ($731 million) from 2025 to 2031, doubling the government's initial plan to increase defense expenses to 2% of GDP, the local broadcaster reported on Saturday, citing sources. In early May, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Norway planned to increase defense spending to 2% of GDP and reach the level discussed within NATO by 2026. A few days later, Norway's defense commission head Knut Storberget said it was necessary to increase defense spending "to an unrealistically high level" because the current state of affairs in this area was unsatisfactory. The sources said, citing government documents, that the Norwegian armed forces currently lack personnel and experience. "The shortages will lead to serious problems by 2028 if nothing is done," the broadcaster quoted one document as saying. In January, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the threshold of 2% of GDP in defense spending could become a minimum, not a maximum, among the bloc's members. In March, Stoltenberg said that seven NATO members had reached the 2% threshold. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Navy Orders 3 New Gear Sets for AEGIS Class Missile Destroyers Sputnik News 20230603 WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Timken Gears & Services Inc., King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $119.2 million US Navy modification contract for three main reduction gear shipsets to support DDG-51 class Arleigh Burke-class AEGIS missile destroyers. "Timken Gears & Services [of] King of Prussia, Pennsylvania was awarded a $119,280,294 ...modification contract to exercise the options for three Main Reduction Gear shipsets to support DDG-51 class," the release said on Friday. Most of the work on the project will be performed in Santa Fe Springs, California (77%) and Riverside, Missouri (10%) with the rest being done at other locations across the United States, the release added. Work on the contract is scheduled to take four and a half years and is expected to be completed by November 2027, according to the release. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Defense Chief Claims Washington Not Trying to Create NATO-Like Alliance in Indo-Pacific Region Sputnik News 20230603 WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States is not trying to create a NATO-like alliance in the Indo-Pacific region, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. "We're not trying to create NATO in the Indo-Pacific," Austin said, reiterating past remarks he made during the 2022 rendition of the security conference. "It is rightful that European countries would remain interested in making sure that we have good relationship with" countries in the region. Commenting on US-China tensions over Washington's ties to Taiwan, Austin commented that a conflict in the Taiwan Strait would prove devastating. "Conflict in the Taiwan Strait would be devastating," Austin said. "So we are determined to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. And so are a growing number of countries around the world." Tensions over Taiwan significantly increased last August after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled to Taipei despite Beijing's warnings against such a visit. China condemned Pelosi's trip, which it regarded as a gesture of support for separatism, and launched large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island. Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan maintains it is an autonomous country but stops short of declaring independence. Beijing opposes any official contacts of foreign states with Taipei and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable. Austin further noted that he has yet to participate in any bipartisan talks with his Chinese counterpart, noting that the current state of ties has him "deeply concerned that the PRC [People's Republic of China] has been unwilling to engage more seriously on better mechanisms for crisis management between our two militaries." "But I hope that will change, and soon," Austin followed up, later indicating he has no updates on "engagements" with Chinese officials on the topic of arms control. "I don't have any updates for you there. You got to talk to them first." Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu earlier briefly greeted each other at the Shangri-La forum dinner reception, but did not exchange any meaningful dialogue. Austin said in May that he expected to engage with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the forum, but China declined. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address White House Urges Serbia's Vucic to Withdraw Military From Border With Kosovo Sputnik News 20230603 WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer in a phone call with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic called on Belgrade to withdraw its forces from the regions bordering on Kosovo and to take steps to pacify Serbian protesters in the northern part of the contested territory, the White House said in a release. "Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer spoke with President Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia today. Mr. Finer stressed the United States' concern about the tense situation in northern Kosovo and called for all parties to take steps aimed at de-escalating the situation," the release said on Friday. "He urged the government of Serbia to withdraw its armed forces stationed near the border and to lower their state of readiness, as well as to urge protesters to remain peaceful in northern Kosovo." Finer also told Vucic that the United States expect both sides to re-engage in the EU-facilitated dialogue and to fully implement the normalization agreement reached in Brussels and Ohrid earlier this year, the release added. The latest wave of Serb protests in northern Kosovo and Metohija was triggered by municipal elections with a marginal 3.5% voter turnout that installed Albanian mayors in the Serb-majority region. Kosovo, whose independence from Belgrade has not been recognized by Serbia and dozens of other countries, deployed police to the region, while Serbia put its armed forces on full combat alert and started moving them toward the administrative border. NATO deployed its troops in four protesting regions in northern Kosovo and Metohija and announced it was sending additional troops to reinforce the KFOR peacekeepers there. Officers surrounded the local government buildings with rows of barbed wire in advance, with heavily equipped Kosovo Albanian police fighters with armored vehicles positioned behind them. On Monday, thousands of Serbs protested in Zvecan and Leposavic, which escalated into clashes with security forces that left 52 Serbs and some 30 KFOR troops injured. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Defense Secretary Addresses Asian Security Summit, Urges Dialogue with China By VOA News June 03, 2023 U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin encouraged China Saturday to keep the lines of communication open between the two powerful countries. Speaking in Singapore at the Shangri La Dialogue, Asia's top security summit, Lloyd said, "I am deeply concerned that the PRC has been unwilling to engage more seriously on better mechanisms for crisis management between our two militaries." Austin said that ongoing communication between the two countries is essential to avoid miscalculations that could lead to conflict. "We do not seek conflict or confrontation," Austin said in his address at the summit. "But we will not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion," he added. Chinese Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu had refused Austin's requests to meet this week at the summit. However, the two did shake hands on the summit's sidelines Friday. The Pentagon said the two defense officials did not have a "substantive exchange." There are several issues that the U.S. and China do not agree on, including territorial disputes regarding the South China Sea and an alleged spy balloon that was shot down by a U.S. fighter plane after the balloon floated across the United States. Perhaps the most vexing is the issue of Taiwan, a self-governing island that China claims as its own and that it wants to bring under its rule. China has become increasingly aggressive with its moves against Taiwan, setting up a situation that could resemble Russia's invasion of Ukraine. That similarity was not lost on Austin, who said Saturday, "how dangerous our world would become if big countries could just invade their peaceful neighbors with impunity." He said the United States is "determined to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and so are a number of countries around the world." China's defense minister delivers his address to the summit on Sunday. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russo-Ukraine War - 03 June 2023 - Day 465 Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos. On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. "To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal] The UK Ministry of Defence reported that Russia has continued to redeploy regular units to the Bakhmut sector, as Wagner Group assault detachment complete their withdrawal to rear areas. Russian VDV (airborne forces) have assumed an increasingly important role in Bakhmut: elements of the 76th and 106th divisions and two additional separate VDV brigades are now deployed to the sector. The VDV is much degraded from its pre-invasion 'elite' status. However, Russian commanders have likely attempted to maintain some of these still relatively capable units as an uncommitted reserve. Because they have instead been forced to deploy them to hold the front line in Bakhmut, the whole Russian force is likely to be less flexible in reacting to operational challenges. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that in total, Russian forces carried out 19x airstrikes and launched more than 10x MLRS attacks. The threat of missile and air strikes remains high across Ukraine. Russia continues to focus its main efforts on attempts to completely occupy the Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts. During the day, the Russian occupiers launched 16 attacks, but all of them were repulsed by units of the defense forces. Volyn' and Polissya axes: the operational situation has not changed significantly, there are no signs of the formation of offensive groupings. Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna axes: Russian forces continue to maintain a military presence in the areas bordering Ukraine. They carried out an airstrike in the Hatysh district of the Kharkiv Oblast. Russians shelled with artillery and mortars such settlements as Hrem'yach, Hai, Chernihiv Oblast; Atyns'ke, Oleksandrivka, Yunakivka, Mogryts'ia, Stepok, Velika Pisarivka of the Sumy Oblast, as well as Ivashki, Udy, Veterinarne, Kozacha Lopan, Hoptivka, Visoka Yaruga, Pilna, Zelene, Vesele, Staritsa, Okhirtseve, Hatyshche, Vovchans'k, Vilcha, Bochkove, Budarki and Chugunivka in Kharkiv Oblast. Kup'yans'k axis: Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensive operations near Novoselivskyi, Luhansk Oblast. They carried out an airstrike in the Sergiyvka district of the Donetsk Oblast. Massyutivka, Lyman Pershiy, Kislivka, Tabaivka, Berestov in Kharkiv Oblast and Novoselivske in Luhansk Oblast were shelled by artillery and mortars. Lyman axis: the Russian adversary conducted unsuccessful offensive operations in the vicinities of Bilogorivka of the Luhansk Oblast and Spirne of the Donetsk Oblast. They carried out airstrikes in the areas of Belogorivka, Luhansk Oblast, and Sivers'k, Donetsk Oblast. Near the settlements bordering the frontline of Makiivka, Nevs'ke, Belogorivka of the Luhansk Oblast and Verkhn'yokam'ians'ke, Tors'ke, Spirne, Rozdolivka of the Donetsk Oblast were shelled. Bakhmut axis: the Russian forces carried out offensive operations in the Ivanivs'ke area, albeit without success. They carried out airstrikes in the districts of Kurdyumivka and Bila Hora of the Donetsk Oblast. Areas of Vasyukivka, Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Chasiv Yar, Slovians'k, Ivanivs'ke, Predtechine, Bila Hora, New York and Shevchenko of Donetsk Oblast were shelled by the Russian artillery. Avdiivka axis: Russian forces did not conduct offensive operations. They carried out airstrikes in the Avdiivka area of the Donetsk Oblast. russians carried out shelled the vicinities of Avdiivka, Pervomais'ke, Nevels'ke, Karlivka settlements of the Donetsk Oblast. Mar'inka axis: the Russian forces carried out offensive actions in the vicinities of Mar'inka, but Ukrainian defenders repelled all 9x Russian attacks. There were also unsuccessful offensives in the Oleksandrivka area of the Donetsk Oblast. At the same time, Russia continues to destroy Ukrainian cities and villages, conducted an airstrike on Mar'inka, shelled Maksimilianivka, Mar'inka, Pobyeda, Novomykhailivka, Antonivka, Katerynivka, and Yantarne settlements in the Donetsk Oblast. Shakhtars'k axis: the Russian occupiers carried out airstrikes near Vugledar and Prechistivka of the Donetsk Oblast. They shelled settlements near the battle line, including: Vugledar, Prechistivka, and Novoukrayinka in the Donetsk Oblast. Zaporizhzhia and Kherson axes: Russian forces are on the defensive. They carried out airstrikes in the Poltavka and Hulyaipole of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast. They shelled the settlements of Vremivka, Zelene Pole, Donetsk Oblast; Burlats'ke, Malynyvka, Biloghirya, Mala Tokmachka, Novodanilivka, Novoandriyivka, Kam'ians'ke, Lukyanivs'ke and Komyshuvakha of the Zaporizhia Oblast, as well as Zolota Balka, Zmiivka, Beryslav, Burgunka, Ivanivka, Dachi, Zimivnyk, Bilozerka, Dniprovs'ke, Kizomys of the Kherson Oblast Oblast and the city of Kherson. Russian occupying forces continue to put pressure on Ukrainian citizens and violate human rights in the temporarily occupied territories. In particular, in Henichesk, Kherson Oblast, in the basements of the building of the former tax inspectorate, citizens of Ukraine with a pro-Ukrainian position are forcibly detained. At the same time, the Russian occupiers continue to use the infrastructure of temporarily occupied settlements to provide medical care to their wounded servicemen. Recently, in the settlement of Skadovsk, Kherson Oblast, on the territory of a kindergarten, the invaders set up a field hospital, where more than 50x Russian occupiers with injuries of varying degrees of severity are being treated. Ukrainian Air Force conducted 11x strikes on manpower concentrations. Ukrainian Defense Forces 3x Russian reconnaissance UAVs. Ukrainian missile and artillery units hit the control post, 1x anti-aircraft system and 3x ammunition warehouses. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Istanbul, Turkiye 'We are praying for relief and an end to the bloodshed.' A trickle of humanitarian aid has started to arrive in Sudan after seven weeks of fighting between the country's rival military groups. But much of the humanitarian response is still being shouldered by local volunteers and mutual aid organisations. The New Humanitarian spoke to three volunteers in different cities over the past week to get a glimpse into how the humanitarian situation on the ground is evolving, and the challenges grassroots groups are facing trying to respond. Two of the volunteers said they are supporting health centres despite the threat of shelling and militia fighters. A third said they are providing shelter and food to displaced people through a local structure that has received no outside support. "There are many pregnant women going without medical assistance, and we have also received information about rape cases in the area which require urgent intervention," said Tasneem al-Kanani, a volunteer in Khartoum, the besieged capital city. Nearly 1.4 million people have been displaced since Sudan's army began fighting the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group in mid-April. On Wednesday, the army said it was suspending ceasefire talks, raising fears of an even deeper crisis developing. Aid groups have started emergency responses in some areas, including Khartoum. But relief efforts have been hindered by security issues and bureaucratic hurdles. Supplies are reportedly stranded in airports, and visas have been restricted for aid workers. Central to the local efforts are thousands of decentralised neighbourhood groups called resistance committees. They led the pro-democracy protests that forced out former ruler Omar al-Bashir in 2019, but were sidelined from the political processes that followed. In recent weeks, the resistance committees - which also organised weekly protests in response to a 2021 military coup - have set up "emergency rooms" that carry out different tasks according to the needs and resources of their communities. "This is the most crucial time for us to stand together despite the circumstances and the dangers," said Samih Abdallah Ahmed, a volunteer from Omdurman, a city neighbouring Khartoum. Some resistance committees have reopened hospitals that were damaged by airstrikes or staff fleeing. In these cases, activists have sourced supplies and appealed to medics to volunteer to help the injured and chronically ill. Committees have also been coordinating the evacuation of civilians from frontline areas, repairing electrical systems to restore power to medical centres, and locating and reuniting missing people with their families. These services are largely provided by communities pooling together resources, and are often carried out at great personal risk. Resistance committees have reported volunteers being subjected to arrests by both RSF fighters and the Sudanese army. Some have also died while helping others. A student engineer named Alaa al-Deen Mohammedin suffered an electric shock while restoring power to a health centre in Darfur last month. Hospitals lacked staff and supplies to save him, said a volunteer who knew him. As aid efforts ramp up in Sudan, there have been calls to channel donor funds through the resistance committees. Many feel they are best placed to respond given their reach and commitment, both of which are demonstrated in the testimonies that follow. Tasneem al-Kanani, resistance committee member in Khartoum: 'We are praying for relief and an end to the bloodshed.' "The Janoub al-Hizam Emergency Room is a purely voluntary service based on the efforts of local resistance committees and youth volunteers. It was established on 18 April in response to the sudden unstable events occurring across the country. Our priority was to find solutions to avoid health catastrophes and treat the injured and critically ill, as the only hospital in [our area of Khartoum] went out of service after a shell fell in its courtyard. The initiative has succeeded in bringing in medical teams to run parts of the hospital, such as the emergency surgery department, and we have found a lot of support from qualified volunteers. The greatest obstacle to carrying out our work is the location of our neighbourhood within the area of combat operations and the failure of the two warring parties to implement a humanitarian truce. Power outages lasting for days also suspended our work at times, which was a real disaster because the dialysis department is currently the only one in southern Khartoum. But we are still appealing for medical staff in the area to reach us, particularly specialists in gynaecology and obstetrics. The hospital [which is called Bashaer University Hospital] suffers from a real problem in this regard. There are many pregnant women going without medical assistance, and we have also received information about rape cases in the area which require urgent intervention. We are praying for relief and an end to the bloodshed." Samih Abdallah Ahmed, volunteer activist in Omdurman: 'I see it as my duty to help for as long as I can.' "Before the war began, I was working to treat the injured people of the revolution in my area, in Omdurman. So it was not difficult for me to adjust to the current situation, and I started working on treating those injured in the war. At the moment, the hospitals are not working at their full capacity, and we are supplying their basic needs, such as water, which they are in shortage of. We are also helping to supply medicines through organisations or individuals that donate them. All of this work is done by volunteers, I don't belong to any organisation myself. It's true that we are people of the revolution, but we try to detach our volunteering from our political activities, because this is humanitarian work first and foremost. There have been tragic cases of infants dying from their injuries. One of them was a girl named Fatima who suffered a gunshot wound to the head. I sought contacts and uploaded a post on Facebook to find someone who could operate to extract the bullet. I found a brain and nerves specialist in Omdurman who performed the surgery, but unfortunately Fatima passed away a few weeks later. The security situation in two of the hospitals in Omdurman is difficult because RSF forces are within close proximity, and the surrounding area is full of shops so there has been looting and theft by gangs. Warplanes are circling around the hospitals and the RSF respond with anti-aircraft weaponry, but thankfully none of the medical staff or volunteers have been injured. I see it as my duty to help for as long as I can. We are the children of one country, and this is the most crucial time for us to stand together despite the circumstances and the dangers. Even if something were to happen to me, I would not regret my actions. On the contrary, I would be proud that I was able to support and assist others during their time of need." Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Sudan Conflict Aid and Assistance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Amma al-Waseela, civil servant and volunteer in the eastern city of Kassala: 'We are providing these services through our own efforts and resources.' "We established an emergency room in Kassala on 20 April, after holding several meetings on the ground. The emergency room consists of volunteer medics, social media activists, charity workers, and people from a variety of different professional backgrounds, including students. We currently have 211 volunteers working to provide shelter, food supplies, and medical treatment to the displaced arriving in Kassala from Khartoum. The group is also working to raise awareness within the community about the potential risks that the conflict could descend into civil war if Sudanese society loses its cohesion. Our [anti-war] campaigns reach people in the markets, in youth groups, and on social media. Until now, no organisations have supported us, and we are providing these services through our own efforts and resources. If we need larger funds, we share our requests on Facebook and WhatsApp and local donors support us. The deaths of civilians, the violations committed, the looting and mass destruction - all of these are the impacts of a war which serves the interests of the generals over the citizens. Even if it ends, the psychological aspects of it will continue to affect the people." Edited by Philip Kleinfeld. Ela Yokes, Photographer and journalist based between Istanbul and Khartoum Defence Minister Anita Anand Concludes Productive Trip to Singapore National Defence News release June 3, 2023 - Singapore - National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces Canada, as a Pacific nation, is committed to strengthening its defence relationships and to supporting the rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific and around the world. To advance Canada's defence relationships in the Indo-Pacific, the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence, attended the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore from June 2-3, 2023, where delegates from more than 50 countries gathered to discuss regional security challenges and engage in important bilateral discussions with Indo-Pacific counterparts. During her trip to Singapore, Minister Anand was accompanied by Chief of the Defence Staff, General Wayne Eyre, Ms. Jacqui O'Neill, Canada's Ambassador for Women, Peace, and Security, and senior National Defence officials. In Singapore, Minister Anand participated in a Shangri-La Dialogue Plenary Session entitled Building a Stable and Balanced Asia-Pacific. The Minister reiterated that Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy will bolster its defence presence in the region and announced several initiatives to strengthen Canada's defence relationships in the Indo-Pacific. Minister Anand later noted that on June 3, HMCS Montreal sailed through the Taiwan Strait along with United States Navy Destroyer, USS Chung-Hoon. This sail was done in full accordance with international law, specifically the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Canada will continue to work with allied and partner navies in support of regional peace and stability. During her visit to Singapore, Minister Anand met with: Ukraine's Defence Minister, Oleksii Reznikov . Minister Anand reiterated that Canada's support for Ukraine is unwavering. Minister Reznikov provided an update on Ukraine's current security needs, and Minister Anand stated that Canada will continue to provide Ukraine with comprehensive military assistance. Minister Anand updated Minister Reznikov on the ongoing delivery of the over $1 billion in military aid committed by Canada so far, and the two Ministers discussed Canada's ongoing training efforts under Operation UNIFIER in the United Kingdom, Poland, and Latvia. . Minister Anand reiterated that Canada's support for Ukraine is unwavering. Minister Reznikov provided an update on Ukraine's current security needs, and Minister Anand stated that Canada will continue to provide Ukraine with comprehensive military assistance. Minister Anand updated Minister Reznikov on the ongoing delivery of the over $1 billion in military aid committed by Canada so far, and the two Ministers discussed Canada's ongoing training efforts under Operation UNIFIER in the United Kingdom, Poland, and Latvia. Philippines Department of National Defence Senior Undersecretary; Officer-in-Charge Carlito Galvez Jr. The Ministers discussed the regional security situation and Minister Anand reiterated that Canada is increasing its defence presence in the region through the Indo-Pacific Strategy, in support of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. The Ministers welcomed opportunities to grow defence cooperation between Canada and the Philippines - including in the area of Women, Peace, and Security. The Ministers discussed the regional security situation and Minister Anand reiterated that Canada is increasing its defence presence in the region through the Indo-Pacific Strategy, in support of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. The Ministers welcomed opportunities to grow defence cooperation between Canada and the Philippines - including in the area of Women, Peace, and Security. Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles . Minister Anand and Deputy Prime Minister Marles discussed Canada's Defence Policy Update and Australia's Defence Strategic Review. They also discussed the high level of cooperation between Canada and Australia as Five Eyes Allies, and how Canada and Australia can continue to work together in support of the rules-based international order. . Minister Anand and Deputy Prime Minister Marles discussed Canada's Defence Policy Update and Australia's Defence Strategic Review. They also discussed the high level of cooperation between Canada and Australia as Five Eyes Allies, and how Canada and Australia can continue to work together in support of the rules-based international order. Singapore's Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen . Minister Anand thanked her counterpart for once again hosting the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The Ministers discussed the implementation of Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy, as well as the significant progress made on the Defence Cooperation Arrangement signed by the two ministers last year. This Arrangement enables increased opportunities for interaction and partnership between the two countries' armed forces. . Minister Anand thanked her counterpart for once again hosting the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The Ministers discussed the implementation of Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy, as well as the significant progress made on the Defence Cooperation Arrangement signed by the two ministers last year. This Arrangement enables increased opportunities for interaction and partnership between the two countries' armed forces. Republic of Korea Defence Minister Lee Jong-Sup. The Ministers discussed Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy and welcomed the defence research and development Memorandum of Understanding recently signed between Canada and the Republic of Korea. Minister Anand noted Canada's historic and ongoing contributions to Korean security and noted that the next Deputy Commander of the United Nations Command in the Republic of Korea will be a Canadian General Officer/Flag Officer. The Ministers discussed Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy and welcomed the defence research and development Memorandum of Understanding recently signed between Canada and the Republic of Korea. Minister Anand noted Canada's historic and ongoing contributions to Korean security and noted that the next Deputy Commander of the United Nations Command in the Republic of Korea will be a Canadian General Officer/Flag Officer. The United Kingdom's Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, and Germany's Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius. During this trilateral meeting, the Ministers discussed the ongoing work of NATO Allies to bolster assurance and deterrence measures on the eastern flank of the Alliance, and how NATO Allies are working together to provide Ukraine the aid that it needs to defend itself. During this trilateral meeting, the Ministers discussed the ongoing work of NATO Allies to bolster assurance and deterrence measures on the eastern flank of the Alliance, and how NATO Allies are working together to provide Ukraine the aid that it needs to defend itself. New Zealand's Minister of Defence, Andrew Little. The Ministers discussed the high level of security cooperation between Canada and New Zealand as Five Eyes partners, the Women, Peace, and Security agenda, and opportunities for further collaboration in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. Since late 2022, Canada has continued to make valuable contributions to security across the Indo-Pacific region, including by leading training initiatives aimed at increasing awareness of gender issues as part of the Women, Peace and Security agenda. Canada is also working with regional partners to support the full and meaningful participation of uniformed women across the region through targeted courses, training, and other ongoing engagements. Quotes "This year's Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore was an important opportunity to strengthen Canada's defence relationships with our partners in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. As outlined in our Indo-Pacific Strategy, Canada is increasing its defence presence in the region in support of a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. I look forward to building on our progress, and to developing even stronger ties with our defence partners in the region." The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence Quick facts Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy, released in November 2022, represents an ambitious, comprehensive, and integrated framework for increased Canadian engagement across the Indo-Pacific region. The Strategy recognizes the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific region for Canada and articulates Canada's evolving approach to China, which is shaped by a realistic, updated, and clear-eyed assessment of today's China. As we forge ahead with a strong, multidimensional approach this important region, we will challenge China when we ought to, and we will cooperate when we can. We will continue to work alongside allies and partners in the region to promote a stable, secure, and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Canada plays an active role in the Indo-Pacific through Operations NEON and PROJECTION, participates in international exercises such as RIMPAC, and collaborates with partners through Canada's Military Training and Cooperation Programme. Op HORIZON will replace Op PROJECTION (Indo-Pacific) in Summer 2023, when two frigates and the support ship MV Asterix deploy from Canada's West Coast fleet to the Indo-Pacific. All naval activities formally conducted under Operation PROJECTION (Indo-Pacific), along with new activities conducted by the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Air Force, Special Forces Command, and other CAF elements, will then be conducted under our enhanced Operation HORIZON umbrella. The Canadian Armed Forces has trained thousands of personnel from allied and partner militaries from the Indo-Pacific region in the areas of peace support operations, language, public affairs, and to reinforce the United Nations' Women, Peace and Security agenda. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora Aircraft Concludes Spring Deployment in Indo-Pacific Region National Defence News release June 3, 2023 - Ottawa, Ontario - National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces A Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CP-140 Aurora Air Detachment has completed a deployment in the Indo-Pacific region, including a six-week rotation on Operation NEON. Op NEON is the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) contribution to multinational efforts to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions imposed against North Korea. This deployment demonstrates Canada's unwavering commitment to promote peace and strengthen stability in the region, alongside our partners in the Pacific Security Maritime Exchange (PSMX). The CP-140 Aurora crew monitored for suspected maritime sanctions evasion activities, in particular ship-to-ship transfers of fuel and other commodities banned by the UNSC. Through the course of the operation, RCAF aircraft are routinely intercepted by People's Republic of China military aircraft. Most interactions have taken place in a safe and professional manner; however, when interactions are deemed unsafe, Canada addresses them directly with China through the appropriate channels. Following Operation NEON, the CP-140 and crew proceeded to conduct a short operational visit to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines as part of Operation PROJECTION. These visits are key opportunities for CAF engagement within the Indo-Pacific region, as Canada expands its military cooperation in the region through the Indo-Pacific Strategy. Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces remain committed to upholding the rules-based-international order in the Indo-Pacific region and will continue to operate in international waters and airspace with due regard for safety under international law. Quotes "The Canadian Armed Forces will continue to play a vital role in the Indo-Pacific region, maintaining a persistent presence to support peace, security, and Canadian interests all of which require adherence to the rules-based international order. The CAF is committed to this outcome and our efforts include notable and valued contributions to Operation NEON, as part of the United Nations collective response, which plays a key role in supporting global security and prosperity in the region." Vice-Admiral Bob Auchterlonie, Commander CJOC "I am proud of our crew's contribution to this multinational initiative in support of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region. It is yet another demonstration of the Royal Canadian Air Force's commitment to the region, as we continue to provide assets and exceptional professionals alongside our regional allies and partners." Major-General Ian Huddleston, Commander Joint Forces Air Component Quick facts Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy, released in November 2022, puts forward an ambitious, comprehensive, and integrated policy framework for Canadian engagement across the Indo-Pacific region. The Indo-Pacific Strategy promotes a clear-eyed approach regarding China as a security actor in the region. The RCAF CP-140 Aurora flew 16 sorties to conduct surveillance operations to identify suspected maritime sanctions evasion activities, in particular ship-to-ship transfers of fuel and other commodities banned by the United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCR). This contribution bolsters the integrity of the global sanctions regime against North Korea. Canada conducts these activities as part of a broader multinational initiative alongside partners in the Pacific Security Maritime Exchange (PSMX), which brings together Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America to disrupt North Korea's illicit smuggling activities and uphold the integrity of UNSC resolutions. Canada remains committed to its sanctions monitoring activities under Operation NEON, including through the deployment of RCAF aircraft. The RCAF CP-140 Aurora Air Detachment consisted of approximately 40 personnel, including aircrew, technicians, and other mission specialists. With a range of 7,400 km and equipped with advanced sensors the CP-140 Aurora is a pre-eminent Long Range Patrol aircraft well-suited to Operation NEON. RCAF aircrew are well prepared to operate in the Indo-Pacific airspace and have undergone key training as part of the CAF's commitment to safe and professional operations in international airspace. The next deployment of a CP-140 Air Detachment to the Indo-Pacific Region on Operation NEON is planned for Fall 2023. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Impossible to push China-US military ties at US pace: Chinese expert on US defense chief's speech on Shangri-La Dialogue Global Times By Li Aixin and Guo Yuandan in Singapore Published: Jun 03, 2023 04:47 PM It is impossible for China-US military ties to move forward according to the pace set by the US, under the circumstances that US completely disregards some basic requirements set forward by China regarding the latter's core interests and major security concerns, a Chinese military expert told Global Times on Saturday when commenting on US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's keynote speech at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, delivered earlier today. Austin began his speech by emphasizing US alliance with Asia-Pacific countries. "We have forged new friendships and deepened old alliances," he said. "We're stepping up planning, coordination, and training with our friends from the East China Sea to the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean. That includes staunch allies such as Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand. And it includes such valued partners as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and our hosts here today in Singapore," Austin added. Austin gave an example that the US will forward station its "12th Marine Littoral Regiment - the most advanced formation in the US Marine Corps - in Japan by 2025 to deepen stability in the First Island Chain." In terms of US-led multilateral institutions, Austin said that all four Quad partners will participate in Exercise Malabar, which will take place off the coast of Australia for the first time this summer. And in July, Exercise Talisman Saber with Australia will bring together 14 countries. "It will be the largest iteration ever, with more than 30,000 personnel participating, including a significant contingent from Japan," he announced. Austin then turned the spears against China, saying "we won't be deterred by dangerous operational behavior at sea or in international airspace," describing recent aircraft interception as "troubling case of aggressive and unprofessional flying by the PRC." He also raised the Taiwan question, saying "the whole world has a stake in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," and "we will continue to categorically oppose unilateral changes to the status quo from either side." Cao Yanzhong, a research fellow at the Academy of Military Sciences of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), told the Global Times that US military stance toward China is consistent with the US overall policy of containment in various fields, and this containment policy is even more evident in the military domain. Experts noticed that the US military claimed Chinese aircraft had conducted unprofessional interceptions, but the fact is that a US reconnaissance plane deliberately encroached into a Chinese training area in East China's Shandong Province to carry out reconnaissance and interference. Lieutenant General He Lei, former vice president of the Academy of Military Sciences under the PLA, told the Global Times on Saturday that flexing military muscles, conducting close-in reconnaissance and military activities right on China's doorstep and in China's own courtyard is a provocation of Chinese sovereignty and a threat to Chinese territorial security. Lieutenant General He added that the interception actions taken by Chinese military aircraft are a must to safeguard China's national interests and security. They are the responsibility and mission of Chinese armed forces. While the US emphasizes that its policy toward Taiwan has not changed and it still adheres to the one-China policy on one hand, it has been increasing its arms sales to Taiwan island on the other. Not to mention that just a few days ago, the US delivered the first batch of FIM-92 Stinger air defense missiles to Taiwan island. It has also assisted the military on the island in conducting joint training. "These actions indicate that the US has taken a series of increasingly aggressive actions concerning China's most important and core interests and major security concerns," Cao added. It is not that China is unwilling to develop military relations with the US. On the contrary, China has always advocated establishing a cooperative and stable relationship with the US based on win-win cooperation. However, it is precisely the series of provocative actions by the US that continuously provoke China's bottom line, Cao stressed, noting that under such circumstances, it is impossible to push China-US military ties based on the rhythm set by the US. Cao believes that if the US has the intention to promote the normal development of military relations with China, it should not unilaterally raise demands toward China. The key lies in how the US responds to China's concerns and takes practical actions to improve bilateral military relations, earnestly responding to China's requirements regarding core interests and major security concerns, rather than just paying lip service and claiming the importance of communication with the Chinese military in a courteous yet insincere fashion. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US urges China talks to avoid conflict, then sends warship to Taiwan Strait Iran Press TV Saturday, 03 June 2023 10:11 A Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin has described as "essential" dialogue between Washington and Beijing to avoid conflict, but China has rebuked the gesture in the face of persisting US "provocations". "The United States believes that open lines of communication with the People's Republic of China are essential -- especially between our defense and military leaders," Austin proclaimed on Saturday in remarks at the Shangri-La Defense Summit in Singapore. "The more that we talk, the more that we can avoid the misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to crisis or conflict." Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu shook hands and spoke briefly at the opening dinner of the event on the night prior to the its commencement, but the interaction did not lead to a more substantive exchange as hoped by the Pentagon. US officials had invited Li to meet with Austin on the sidelines of the summit, but Beijing declined, with a spokesman insisting that "the US knows clearly why there are currently difficulties in military communication". China's senior colonel Zhao Xiaozhou said Beijing also believed the lines of communication were necessary, but "the problem is for the United States to stop provoking China's security." On Friday, a US and a Canadian warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait, in a rare joint mission in the sensitive waterway at a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington over Chinese-claimed Taiwan. The US Navy's 7th Fleet said the guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and Canada's HMCS Montreal conducted a "routine" transit of the strait. While US warships transit the strait around once a month, it is unusual for them to do so with those of other US allies. Washington imposed sanctions on Li in 2018 for purchasing Russian weapons. Asked if the United States should lift sanctions on Li, Zhao underlined: "Of course, it is one of the pre-conditions for substantial talks." A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, declared in a Friday statement that the relationship between China and the United States is conducive to greater mutual understanding. "However, now the US says it wants to speak to the Chinese side while seeking to suppress China through all possible means and continue imposing sanctions on Chinese officials, institutions and companies. "Is there any sincerity in and significance of any communication like this?" he said. Beijing declared last week that it saw no reason to keep talking with Washington as long as the US pursued an entirely disingenuous policy. Austin accused Beijing of conducting an alarming number of dangerous interceptions of US and allied aircraft flying over international airspace, including one last week. In the incident, the US military claimed a Chinese fighter pilot conducted an "unnecessary aggressive maneuver" near an American surveillance aircraft operating over the South China Sea. The Chinese military insisted that the US spy plane had infiltrated a military training area. Austin is on an Asian tour that has already taken him to Japan and will also include a visit to India - part of a push by top US officials to strengthen alliances and partnerships in the region to help counter Beijing. Tensions between Washington and Beijing have risen this year over issues including Taiwan and a Chinese spy balloon shot down by a US warplane after passing over the country. After the United States shot down a Chinese spy balloon earlier this year, phone lines went down and remained that way, US officials say. Ely Ratner, the US assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific affairs, who spoke at the event last week, said: "We have had a lot of difficulty in terms of when we have proposed phone calls, proposed meetings and dialogues." "We ... have had an outstretched hand on this question of military-to-military engagement and we have yet to have a consistently willing partner." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Defense Secretary 'deeply concerned' about China's unwillingness to engage Beijing hits back at Austin, accusing the U.S. of destroying stability in the Taiwan Strait. Reported by RFA Staff from Singapore. 2023.06.03 -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has urged China's military leaders to engage after his call to meet with the Chinese counterpart was rebuffed, saying open lines of communication are "essential." In his key address to the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore on Saturday, Austin said that he is "deeply concerned that the PRC has been unwilling to engage more seriously on better mechanisms for crisis management between our two militaries." The defense secretary referred to China by its official name the People's Republic of China. "For responsible defense leaders, the right time to talk is anytime, the right time to talk is everytime and the right time to talk is now," he said, adding that "dialogue is not a reward. It is a necessity." "And the more that we talk, the more that we can avoid the misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to crisis or conflict." Secretary Austin and Chinese Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu, who has been under U.S. sanctions since 2018, shared a brief handshake before an official dinner on Friday but did not speak to each other nor is a bilateral meeting between them anticipated. "A cordial handshake over dinner is no substitute for a substantive engagement," Austin said. The U.S. defense chief slammed China which, he said, "continues to conduct an alarming number of risky intercepts of U.S. and allied aircraft flying lawfully in international airspace." Just last week, the U.S. military accused a Chinese J-16 fighter jet of performing an "unnecessarily aggressive" maneuver during the intercept of a U.S. Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft. "We do not seek conflict or confrontation, but we will not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion," Austin said. The obvious rift between the two powers has "become the new reality," said Huong Le Thu, a non-resident fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Regional countries have to accept it whether "they like it or not," she told RFA. "But they can contribute to managing the tensions by lowering the heat through facilitating and encouraging dialogues between the U.S. and China," the analyst added. Shared vision Hours after Austin gave his speech, the U.S. State Department announced that Daniel J. Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, was going with a senior White House official to China to "discuss key issues in the bilateral relationship." Sarah Beran, senior director for China and Taiwan Affairs at the National Security Council, was to join Kritenbrink for the talks in Beijing, the State Department said in a statement released on Saturday morning (Washington time). Kritenbrink will be traveling to China and New Zealand, from June 4 through June 10, the statement said. In his speech at the Singapore forum, Carlito Galvez Jr., senior undersecretary and officer-in-charge at the Philippine Defense Department, said Manila believes that "the international law is the greatest equalizer among states." The Philippines won a legal case against China's claims in the South China Sea at a U.N. tribunal in 2016 but Beijing has so far refused to accept the ruling. The two countries have recently been embroiled in a new spat over their sovereignty in some of the islands in the Spratly archipelago. "As the old adage goes, good fences make good neighbors," Galvez said. "It is only when neighbors have clear boundaries and respect for set boundaries that relations remain genuinely amicable," the acting defense secretary said. Indonesia's Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said it is "imperative for us to overcome our geopolitical rivalries, our territorial disputes through dialogues, negotiations and win-win solutions." "Compromise is the only way that communities and societies can prosper," he said, warning that the rivalry between superpowers "has turned into a Cold War" and in any war, "the danger of a catastrophe is always near." U.S. Defense Secretary Austin, however, insisted that his country "does not seek a new Cold War." "Competition must never spill over into conflict. And the region should never be split into hostile blocs," he said. Austin said Washington is not creating nor willing to create a new NATO in the Indo-Pacific as China has repeatedly alleged. Yet the U.S. wishes to build "nimble coalitions to advance our shared vision" in order to make the Indo-Pacific "more stable and more resilient," Austin said. Washington lists Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand as its "staunch allies" in the region and sees India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore as "valued partners." Speaking about self-ruled Taiwan, Austin said his country "remains deeply committed to preserving the status quo there, consistent with our longstanding one-China policy, and with fulfilling our well-established obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act." "Conflict is neither imminent nor inevitable. Deterrence is strong today, and it's our job to keep it that way," the secretary stated. Beijing considers Taiwan a Chinese province and resolutely protests against any involvement by "external forces" in the island's politics. Lt. Gen. Jing Jianfeng, deputy chief of the Central Military Commission's Joint Staff Department, hit back at Lloyd Austin's speech about Taiwan, saying it was "completely wrong." "There's only one China in the world, and Taiwan is a sacred and inalienable part of Chinese territory," Jing said, adding that "it is the common aspiration and sacred responsibility of all Chinese people, including our Taiwan compatriots, to complete the reunification of the motherland." China's counterattack A researcher at People's Liberation Army (PLA) Academy of Military Sciences, Senior Col. Zhao Xiaozhuo, said that it is the U.S. who has been trying to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. "The Taiwan Strait was pretty stable in the last ten years or so but the U.S. wants to destroy this stability," Zhao told reporters at the Shangri-La Dialogue. "That way they can sell weapons to Taiwan and make a lot of money," he said. Chinese participants at the security forum in Singapore have taken a proactive approach to counter criticism from the U.S. and its allies. Senior Col. Zhao said that Washington needs to change what he calls "erroneous actions" in the way it interacts with others. "When it comes to dialogue you have to take care of the opposite party's interests," he said, accusing the U.S. side of not understanding this basic principle. Another Chinese delegate, Senior Col. Zhang Chi from the National Security College at China's National Defense University, questioned whether Washington had contradicted itself by establishing multilateral institutions while promoting the centrality of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN. Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Tang Yongshen, former deputy commandant of the same college, hit back at Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand for calling China a disruptive force in the region. "China has made great efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region," Tang said. "In fact, what you said is disruptive," he added bluntly. A Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece, the Global Times, quoted a military official as saying in a report on Saturday that "China is confident to step on the stage and raise its voices." "Despite knowing the Shangri-La Dialogue is a platform dominated by Western countries to attack China, China comes anyway," the paper said. China's Defense Minister Li Shangfu will deliver a major speech on Beijing's new security initiatives on Sunday, the last day of the forum. Edited by Mike Firn. This report has been updated to include news about the announced trip to Beijing by senior U.S. officials. 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 June 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 Hong Kong's Ability to Hold Annual Tiananmen Vigils Dims on Anniversary By Cindy Sui June 03, 2023 Richard Tsoi was attending a university studying mathematics in Hong Kong when pro-democracy protests erupted in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989. A student leader at the time, Tsoi organized rallies in the then-British colony - destined to return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 - to support protesters in neighboring mainland China. "We wanted Hong Kong to be democratic and of course we wanted to support the students in the mainland, ... but none of us could've guessed that on June 3 and 4, tanks would go into the city and open fire on the people. It was shocking," Tsoi said, recalling that he and other students couldn't sleep the night of June 3rd as they watched live coverage of the bloody crackdown on local TV. "I felt very sad and angry ... we couldn't accept the government opening fire on unarmed civilians and students. After experiencing that night, I felt that I wanted to do what I could to promote China's democracy," Tsoi said. Little did he know then that he would later become vice chairman of a Hong Kong pro-democracy alliance that, for the past 34 years, has organized an annual candlelight vigil - the only public commemoration allowed in China and the largest in the world, to remember victims of the crackdown, which killed hundreds and possibly 2,000 people, according to estimates. On the eve of the 34th anniversary, it has become a sad reality to Tsoi and other activists that the vigil, which had attracted tens of thousands of people to Hong Kong's Victoria Park each year, may not be held anymore. "At this time, not only is Hong Kong no longer capable of supporting the Chinese democracy movement, they're also no longer capable of commemorating it. The key organizers of the Victoria Park vigils are all in prison. They're under systematic attack," said Wu'er Kaixi, a former student leader in the Tiananmen protests. "Hong Kong has lost its freedom. Hong Kong has fallen." The last major vigil was held in 2019. That year, Hong Kong saw widespread and sometimes violent protests against a later-rescinded extradition bill that would've sent suspects to the mainland for trial. In response, Beijing passed a national security law the following year, outlawing secession, subversion, collusion with foreign forces and terrorism. Analyst Tso Chen-dong said Beijing tolerated the annual vigil for years, but the 2019 protests changed everything. "The 2019 protests are an unfortunate incident. It led to the breakdown in the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) trust in Hong Kong, so it's stepping up direct control of Hong Kong," said Tso, a political science professor at National Taiwan University. "It's not just about this activity anymore, to the CCP it needs to tighten control and prevent a political strength seen as hostile to the CCP from growing in Hong Kong." In 2020-2021, the government banned the vigils, citing COVID-19 restrictions. Thousands of people defied the ban and 26 were arrested. In 2021, police sealed off the park. That same year, organizers of the vigil, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, disbanded after it was investigated for working on behalf of foreign groups a an accusation it denied. Three of its leaders are in jail facing trial on charges of inciting subversion. Last year, no one applied to hold the vigil while social distancing restrictions were still in place. This year is the first since Hong Kong has fully reopened from COVID-19 lockdowns, but again no group has applied a a reflection of a much-changed political environment. Since the security law was passed, around 250 activists, opposition politicians, hardcore protesters, newspaper publishers and journalists, have been arrested, with 150 charged and 100 convicted, according to the website ChinaFile. A new museum dedicated to teaching people about the crackdown was forced to close two years ago, after a national security investigation. Books with sensitive content, including about the Tiananmen crackdown, have been pulled from public library shelves. Statues commemorating the Tiananmen movement have been removed from universities. Instead of the vigil, the park's open space will be taken up Sunday, June 4, by pro-Beijing groups, which will hold a carnival showcasing food from different parts of China, media reports said. According to the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's police are planning to deploy as many as 5,000 officers to guard against potential trouble and unauthorized gatherings this weekend. It cited sources saying security would be ramped up around Victoria Park, with officers setting up roadblocks and conducting stop-and-search checks. The government has threatened to take "resolute action" against people who use the "special occasion" to endanger national security, but has not explicitly said whether mourning the crackdown was illegal. Freedom of assembly and speech are technically still allowed under Hong Kong's Basic Law, but those rights are widely seen as disappearing. At least eight people were apprehended by the police as they sought to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown in Causeway Bay on Saturday, according to local media. They reported police confirmed four arrests for alleged sedition and public disorder. Those taken away included two activists who put red tape over their mouth to signify attempts to silence dissent. One of them was seen wearing a t-shirt that was printed with a candle and the Chinese word for "truth." Two performance artists were also detained, according to reports. One of them repeatedly shouted "don't forget June 4" and "Hongkongers don't be afraid" as he was escorted to a police car, the Hong Kong Free Press cited footage showing. Despite planned commemorations elsewhere, including in Taiwan and New York, where the shutdown museum reopened this week, Wu'er Kaixi said Hong Kong's annual vigils held significance not just because of their size, but because the fate of the people of Hong Kong is tied to that of the mainland. "Being a survivor of June 4th, I'm extremely grateful to Hong Kong for giving a new significance to the June 4th massacre. The commemorations can take place in other places and have always been taking place in other places, ... (but) no one can replace Hong Kong," he said. Tsoi, who served eight months in prison after defying the government's ban and holding the vigil in 2020, remains hopeful. "Hong Kong definitely has changed. ... The situation now doesn't make people happy of course, but I don't think it's hopeless," Tsoi said. "We have to be practical and continue going forward. The method can't be like before, but I believe we'll find a way." Some shopkeepers are giving out free LED candles while independent bookstores are making books on Tiananmen available. Tsoi said he hasn't decided what he will do. "Looking back, I feel proud we've managed to organize the vigil for 30 years, I hope everyone can carry on the legacy," Tsoi said. "As to how much space we have to do so, it takes Hong Kong people to continue to test to see." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address South Korean Defense Minister Calls for Unified Response to DPRK 'Provocations' Sputnik News 20230603 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup on Saturday called for new resolutions in the United Nations Security Council if North Korea continues its 'provocations' following Pyongyang's failed satellite launch. "If North Korea conducts additional provocations such as nuclear test or ICBM launch, we must demonstrate the international community's resolute and united strength by passing UNSC resolutions," Lee said at the Shangri-La Dialogue Summit in Singapore, organized and broadcast by London's private Institute for International Strategic Studies (IISS). The minister also called on the international community to pass new resolutions in the UN Security Council if the DPRK conducts a nuclear test to show Pyongyang that the cost of nuclear threats outweighed the benefits and led to more international isolation. Lee further claimed that the rights of North Koreans were no longer Pyongyang's internal problem, but a collective challenge for all countries in the Indo-Pacific region. He accused the North of spending money on arms instead of buying food, which, according to the minister, led to a deteriorating situation with human rights in the country and posed a critical threat to universal values and norms of humanity. Seoul will continue to contain the North Korean threat and push the DPRK toward denuclearization through dialogue and diplomacy, the minister said, while also calling on the international community to consolidate efforts to this end. On Friday, Anna Yevstigneeva, the Russian deputy ambassador to the UN, said that the root cause of tensions on the Korean Peninsula was the desire of the US and its allies to increase pressure on the DPRK. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address IMO Reduced into Tool for White House Korean Central News Agency of DPRK Pyongyang, June 4 (KCNA) -- Kim Myong Chol, an international affairs analyst of the DPRK, issued the following article "The International Maritime Organization reduced into a tool moving under the control of the White House" on June 4: The 107th meeting of the Maritime Security Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on May 31 forcibly adopted a "resolution" branding the DPRK's measures for bolstering up its self-defence capabilities as "violation of UNSC resolution" and "threat to international maritime security", pursuant to the U.S. and its vassal forces' hostile policy toward the DPRK. It was the first time in the history of IMO to cook up such resolution criticizing the missile launch of an individual country. This goes to prove that IMO has been completely politicized, abandoning its original mission of promoting international cooperation in the field of maritime security. At the IMO meeting on the day when the DPRK launched a military reconnaissance satellite, the U.S. and its followers postponed all the discussions and forcibly adopted an anti-DPRK "resolution", thus openly revealing their sinister intention to incite international criticism over the DPRK's satellite launch. The DPRK's measures for bolstering up its military capabilities are an exercise of its sovereign rights for self-defence to protect the security of the country and the people from the ever-more reckless military hostile acts of the U.S. and its vassal forces and to defend the regional peace and stability. This is a legitimate right of a sovereign state clearly stipulated in the UN Charter and relevant international laws, and an international organization has neither authority nor qualification to say this or that about it. As for our missile launching activities, our army has conducted the missile test-firing drills in the safest way in thorough consideration of the security of regional countries and in fact, there has been no harm to any country so far. On the contrary, the world witnessed not a few accidents due to the fall of rockets or missiles launched by Western and other countries. Moreover, for its recent military reconnaissance satellite launch, the DPRK issued a maritime warning to the Maritime Security Agency of Japan, a regional troubleshooting body, as specified by IMO and also briefed the organization in advance on the period of launch and the impact point of the carrier rocket remains, though it was not obligatory. What was surprising is that IMO, when receiving our previous notice, said it was not obligatory and then later impudently talked about "violation of the regulations". I would like to ask the organization that if the remains of satellite carrier rocket launched by the DPRK pose a threat to the maritime security, the debris of rockets launched by the U.S. or south Korea are floating still in the sky like cilia, not dropping into the sea. Disregarding such simple and clear scientific principle, IMO seeks to violate even the exercise of legitimate rights to self-defence by a sovereign state. This excess of authority makes one regard the organization as an office of the White House rather than an expert body of the UN. If IMO continues to take an unfair and prejudiced double-dealing attitude in its activities as now, being reduced into a plaything of the U.S., it will surely lose the confidence of the international community and forfeit its existence as an organization whose mission is to guarantee the international maritime security. It would be good for IMO, which is degrading its international reputation as a prestigious UN expert body under the pressure of the U.S. high-handed and arbitrary practices, not to talk about the DPRK's sovereignty right again for preserving its honor. As IMO responded to the DPRK's advance notice on its satellite launch with the adoption of an anti-DPRK "resolution", we will regard this as its official manifestation of stand that the DPRK's advance notice is no longer necessary. In the future, IMO should know and take measures by itself over the period of the DPRK's satellite launch and the impact point of its carrier and be prepared for taking full responsibility for all the consequences to be entailed from it. -0- NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address N Korea: UN Security Council turned into US 'political appendage' by accepting its 'robbery demands' Iran Press TV Sunday, 04 June 2023 12:40 AM North Korea has bitterly criticized the United Nations Security Council for its meeting on Pyongyang's recent satellite launch at the request of the United States, vowing to take further self-defensive steps. The remarks were made early Sunday by Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a powerful official in the country's ruling party. The Security Council's last week meeting was held at the request of the United States to discuss North Korea's first attempt at putting a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit. The attempt failed with the rocket's booster and payload plunging into the sea. Pyongyang then vowed to launch another military satellite in the near future, saying the launch of the new-type satellite carrier rocket, known as Chollima-1, failed because of instability in the engine and fuel system. "I am very offended that the UN Security Council routinely criticizes our exercise of sovereign rights as the United States wants, and strongly condemn and reject this as the most unfair, prejudiced act of interfering in [our] internal affairs and infringing [on] our sovereignty," Kim said in a statement carried by North Korea's official KCNA news agency. She added that the meeting proved the Security Council has turned into a US "political appendage" by accepting Washington's "robbery demands" to ignore her country's right to space development. The North Korean leader's sister noted that the satellite launch was a "legitimate, self-defensive countermeasure" against increasing threats from the US and its allies. Pyongyang accuses Washington and its regional allies, South Korea and Japan, of escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula with their annual springtime military drills, which the North sees as rehearsals for invasion of its territory. In the latest instance of such drills, which got underway more than a week ago, American and South Korean forces carried out live-fire exercises simulating an alleged "full-scale attack" from North Korea. Kim concluded by saying that North Korea will never acknowledge the Security Council's sanctions resolutions "even if they slap them [on the country a] hundred, [or a] thousand times," pledging Pyongyang will continue exercising its sovereign rights, including launching military satellites. The KCNA also published a commentary by Kim Myong Chol, whom it described as an international affairs analyst, criticizing a recent resolution adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s security committee. The analyst accused the IMO of being "completely politicized" by following the US and its allies' "anti-North Korea hostile policy." The organization's resolution "strongly" condemned North Korea's missile tests, claiming they "seriously threatened the safety of seafarers and international shipping." Pyongyang, however, says it had informed the IMO of the time frame of its planned satellite launch. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iranian FM meets Saudi, Indian counterparts in Cape Town IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Jun 2, 2023 Cape Town, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Saudi and Indian counterparts in separate meetings here on Friday, discussed bilateral relations. Iranian Foreign Minister and his Saudi meeting is the second official meeting of the foreign ministers of the two countries in the last three months and after the agreement between Tehran and Riyadh to resume political and diplomatic relations after seven years. This meeting was held on Friday evening on the sidelines of the BRICS Foreign Ministerial Meeting of BRICS Friends Summit in Cape Town, South Africa. Now, Tehran and Riyadh are in the stage of administrative and technical work to reopen their embassies and consulates in the opposite country, and it is expected that the embassies will officially start their activities in the coming weeks. The first meeting between Amirabdollahian and Ben Farhan was hosted by Beijing. Amirabdollahian and his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in a meeting here on Friday, discussed bilateral relations. Amirabdollahian is visiting Cape Town at the invitation of his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor to participate in a ministerial meeting of the BRICS which kicked off on June 2. BRICS is an acronym for regional economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari said earlier this week that Iran has been among the first in a group of 19 countries that have applied for membership in BRICS. 6125**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address analysis South African broadcaster, author and political analyst Eusebius McKaiser passed away suddenly on 30 May 2023 at the age of 45. News of his death reverberated through media channels. Tributes bore witness to the impact of his voice and the enduring significance of radio as the medium through which many first encountered his outspoken, insightful commentary. McKaiser blazed a trail that helped inform public debate in contemporary South Africa. Radio in South Africa has long been acknowledged as a significant arena for engaging in meaningful public discourse. This is extensively documented in scholarly literature. This includes my own work as a scholar of rhetoric in South African media. McKaiser's career played out in a particular historical context. South Africa's airwaves were freed after democracy in 1994. Before this the state had tightly controlled radio during apartheid, silencing black voices and imposing strict censorship when they were eventually given airtime. As a medium that amplifies diverse voices and encourages active participation, radio has become a vital catalyst for social change. It empowers individuals to contribute to a more inclusive and democratic society. Talk radio, in particular, stands out as a means of engaging citizens in what scholars have termed "dial-in democracy". Within this landscape, McKaiser emerged on radio in 2010 as a transformative force. He transcended the boundaries of a traditional radio broadcaster to become known as public intellectual, knowledgeable and highly engaged in public issues and debates. Public intellectual As an openly gay person, McKaiser used his platform to staunchly advocate for the protection of same-sex rights. South African academic and author Pumla Dineo Gqola notes his role as an outspoken thinker on South African life: On his show, he was unapologetic about naming white supremacist power no matter how hard it masked itself. Describing his public cultural impact, Gqola has outlined McKaiser's depth as a thinker, eloquence as a communicator and unwavering conviction as a citizen. She homes in on the important ways in which he helped confront the violence that characterises life in South Africa: He modelled an unwavering determination to undoing violence in wide-ranging gestures. Whether he held fire to the feet of employers who expelled women who spoke out about sexual harassment, or refused to accept bureaucratic doublespeak while people were trapped in poverty, he was firm... Talk radio career McKaiser was a star academic scholar in philosophy and law, followed by work stints in corporate and academic spaces. His commercial radio career began with his late-night show Politics and Morality on 702, the largest English commercial station in South Africa with around 700,000 listeners. Here he introduced South Africans to his unique brand of persuasive moral philosophy, using words as tools of action to spark critical conversations. The show prompted listeners to think deeper about their preconceived notions and engage in nuanced discussions on topics ranging from religion to politics. It mastered what some talk radio scholars describe as "a platform for deliberation which is akin to the idea of a public sphere". Read more: Radio is thriving in South Africa: 80% are tuning in McKaiser went on to host the popular Talk at Nine, simulcast on 702's sister station Cape Talk. This was followed by The Eusebius McKaiser Show on talk radio station Power FM. Through candid interviews with influential figures, compassionate dialogues with victims of injustice, and engaging discussions on books and popular culture, McKaiser deployed his eloquence and depth of thought to shape everyday dialogue and contribute to the cultural fabric of the time. Social justice His brand of broadcasting was what media scholars have termed the "advocative-radical". These voices do not see themselves as neutral and objective observers, but rather "as 'participants' in political discourse" who bring their own particular worldview to the discussion. This compels them to act as adversaries and the voice of those whose voices have been muted. They strive to amplify ordinary people's perspectives in mass media discourse. One of the traits that set McKaiser apart was his ability to move beyond reliance on listener calls. He provided deep thinking, meaningful content of his own. His approach was not without critics. Some would accuse him of being confrontational and aggressive in his interviewing style. Others found fault with his tendency to make sweeping generalisations or oversimplify complex issues. His departure from 702 in 2020, reportedly due to inadequate resource allocation, sparked passionate debates on social media. This demonstrated the impact he had on the public. Even after his passing, people from all corners of society, including those who disagreed with him, continue to praise McKaiser's insights and fearless approach. Fortunately, his critical voice lives on through another powerful medium: podcasting. Podcast star In The Ring With Eusebius McKaiser provided a platform for McKaiser's voice to continue to be heard when he left traditional radio broadcasting. Since its launch in 2021, the podcast has accumulated over 150 thought-provoking episodes, engaging audiences and challenging the norms of discourse. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Media By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Read more: Radio in South Africa turns 100 - and collides with podcasting and streaming The fact that a broadcaster of McKaiser's stature turned to podcasting exemplifies how online audio platforms are reshaping the way broadcasters actively empower listeners to become co-creators of content, amplifying their voices and creating a more inclusive public sphere. Legacy McKaiser's own view of his broadcasting work was "to get public debate going about these issues which affect all of us in our private lives". And he certainly did. His journey as a radio broadcaster in South Africa exemplifies the power and potential of the medium to shape public discourse and deepen democracy. With activism coursing through his veins and intellect guiding his words, McKaiser demonstrated that the voice of the radio host could reverberate beyond the airwaves. Reflecting on McKaiser's radio career means to recognise the medium's immense influence in shaping society, prompting citizens to question, engage, and ultimately contribute to a more inclusive and vibrant democracy. Sisanda Nkoala, Senior Lecturer, Cape Peninsula University of Technology Iran plans to form regional naval alliance: Commander IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Jun 3, 2023 Tehran, IRNA -- Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani has announced that Iran and a number of regional countries, including Saudi Arabia, plan to form a new naval alliance to ensure the security of the region. "Today, regional countries have reached a realization that if security is to be established in the region, it can only be achieved through mutual cooperation and collaboration," Irani said in a televised interview on Friday. He declared that a joint naval coalition between Iran and regional countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Iraq will soon be established. The alliance will also include India and Pakistan, according to Irani. "New coalitions are emerging in the region and outside the region," the commander noted, adding that the naval alliance would prepare the ground for the removal of "any unjustified force from our region". "The people of the region will be capable of ensuring their own security using their own forces," he emphasized. Iran and Oman have held several joint naval drills in the past, the commander said, but other regional countries have expressed willingness for collective naval cooperation. The formation of a new coalition involving Iran and other regional powers marks a potential shift in the geopolitical dynamics of the Middle East, with significant implications for regional security and cooperation among participating nations. It will also deal a blow to the Israeli regime, which last year announced a plan to form a so-called Middle East NATO, together with the United States and their Persian Gulf allies, to counter Iran. **2050**4261 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address BRICS countries support Iran's membership bid: FM IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Jun 3, 2023 Cape Town, IRNA -- The member states of the BRICS group of emerging economies have voiced their support for Iran's bid to join the group, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has said. Amirabdollahian made the remarks in a briefing with reporters on Friday where he explained the achievements of his visit to South Africa to attend a ministerial meeting of the BRICS, a group that consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. He said in a Friday meeting which paved the way for taking the first steps towards Iran's membership in BRICS the country announced its positions with regards to the issue, adding that he had held talks with foreign ministers from Russia, Brazil, India, and South Africa to discuss a process for Iran's membership in the group. The minister said China's foreign minister was represented by one of his deputies in the meeting. Overall, the five member states of the BRICS group announced their support for Iran's membership bid, he said, adding that Iran is waiting for BRICS to announce a mechanism that could pave the ground for Iran's membership in the bloc. Amirabdollahian argued that member states of BRICS pay special attention to Iran's bid to join the group because of the country's geopolitical position and its high potentials. 4208**9417**4261 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran ready to ink long-term cooperation deal with Brazil: FM IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Jun 3, 2023 Cape Town, IRNA -- Iran's foreign minister says the Islamic Republic is ready to reach a comprehensive plan for long-term cooperation with Brazil. Hossein Amirabdollahian made the remarks during a meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira on the sidelines of a meeting BRICS group of emerging economies in Cape Town, South Africa. Amirabdollahian offered his congratulations on the victory of Lula da Silva in Brazil's presidential elections and expressed confidence that relations between Tehran and Brasilia will further expand in the new era. "We consider Brazil as a big trader partner for Iran," said Amirabdollahian. "The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to develop and sign a comprehensive long-term cooperation program with Brazil." He noted that Brazil's support for Iran's membership in BRICS, in addition to strengthening multilateralism, will increase the volume of trade exchange and economic cooperation between Iran and Brazil. The chief Iranian diplomat also invited his Brazilian counterpart to visit Tehran. Vieira thanked Amirabdollahian for the invitation, saying that he would be happy to visit Tehran in order to find suitable solutions to strengthen bilateral relations at all levels. Brazil is against unilateral sanctions, and the lifting of sanctions against Iran provides the basis for strengthening bilateral relations, he said, referring to the multilateral negotiations to revive the Iran nuclear agreement and to lift the US sanctions from Iran. **9417**4261 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President Raeisi: US in decline as new powers, new order emerging across globe Iran Press TV Saturday, 03 June 2023 9:19 PM Iran's President Ebrahim Raeisi says a new world order in favor of the resistance front is emerging and Iran will be a major player in this new order, as the power of the United States continues to wane. Raeisi made the remarks on Saturday while addressing a ceremony held to commemorate the 34th passing away anniversary of founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini. He said Imam Khomeini's ideas led to a major development in the global political arena, and his revolution changed all the political equations and gave birth to new ones and a new world order. "All the indexes of the United States' unilateralism show that its power is in decline and emerging powers, including regional organizations, are on the rise across the globe, especially in Asia. There is no doubt that the Islamic Revolution is a major player in this new order, which is taking shape in favor of the resistance [front]," the Iranian president said. Raeisi said, "Those who claim to be powerful are now admitting to the [increasing] power of the Islamic Republic of Iran and our power in the region is undeniable, and no equation can take shape except with Iran playing a role in it." He added that "resistance" is now among prominent political terms in the world and the key to resistance is to become strong in the face of the enemies, not to submit to them. "The word 'resistance' had no place in the political jargon [of the world], but today 'resistance' and 'steadfastness' are among prominent political terms," Raeisi noted. He added that the key to resistance is that "the path [to overcoming problems] does not go through submission to the enemy, but it requires [us] to appear strong against the enemy, because only a strong society can resist conspiracies and all kinds of sedition." "We have announced time and again that we are ready to establish relations with countries that have indicated their willingness to have relations with Iran. However, we will resist against those countries that may want to confront us," Raeisi added. He noted that Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has clearly analyzed the root cause of hostilities against the Islamic Republic, saying the enemies conspire against Iran because it is a progressive country. Noting that the spokesperson of the White House has admitted that the so-called maximum pressure policy against Iran has miserably failed, Raeisi said, "It was you people, who thwarted and defeated the sanctions" that were imposed on the country by the US and its allies. The Iranian president then assured the nation that the hybrid and media war launched against the Islamic Republic by its enemies will also fail and prove futile, as the Iranian nation continues to tread the trail that has been blazed by its martyrs. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran to form naval alliance with regional states to ensure security: Navy commander Iran Press TV Saturday, 03 June 2023 2:07 PM Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani says the country will form new regional and extra-regional alliances to enhance security. "A joint alliance with naval forces of Iran and regional countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Iraq, will be set up soon," Irani said in a televised interview on Saturday. "Today, regional countries have realized that the establishment of security in the region requires synergy and cooperation." The commander said Iran and Oman have held several joint naval drills in the past but other countries are now eager for collective naval cooperation, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Pakistan and India. He said Iran, Russia and China are expanding a previously formed naval coalition. Irani said virtually all the countries located in the northern areas of the Indian Ocean have come to the conclusion that they should stand by Iran and jointly establish security through enhanced synergy. The contours of the regional alliance is coming into shape a year after the Israeli regime announced that it, together with the United States and their regional Arab allies, would establish what they called a "Middle East NATO" to counter the influence of Iran in the region. The concept was hyped by American and Israeli military officials ahead of President Joe Biden's visit to the Middle East last July. The aim was to forge better coordination between the allies to defend each other against perceived Iranian threats. The Israeli dream of an anti-Iran alliance, however, has been shattered as a number of Persian Gulf Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia, have since begun shifting their alliances and restoring their relations with Iran. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address June 3, 2023 Release United States-Japan-Republic of Korea Trilateral Ministerial Meeting (TMM) Joint Press Statement U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, Japanese Minister of Defense Hamada Yasukazu, and Republic of Korea (ROK) Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-Sup convened a Trilateral Ministerial Meeting in Singapore, June 3, 2023. During the meeting, the three leaders discussed the growing nuclear and missile threats from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as well as efforts to enhance trilateral security exercises and address common security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. The Secretary and the two Ministers pledged that the United States, Japan, and the ROK will cooperate closely toward their shared commitment to achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs). They shared their deep concerns about, and condemnation of, the DPRK's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, which pose a grave threat to international peace and stability, and they committed to address these concerns through concerted trilateral cooperation. In particular, the Secretary and the two Ministers condemned DPRK's recent claimed space launch using ballistic missile technology as it constitutes a serious violation of relevant UNSCRs. They also renewed their determination to respond firmly to the DPRK threat through increased trilateral cooperation as well as cooperation with the international community. Additionally, they called for full implementation by the international community of relevant UNSCRs. They underscored the importance of sustained international efforts to deter, disrupt, and ultimately eliminate the DPRK's illicit ship-to-ship transfers. They urged the DPRK to immediately cease its irresponsible actions that create tension on the Korean peninsula and in the region, and to abide by its obligations under all relevant UNSCRs. In line with the commitments made by U.S. President Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida, and ROK President Yoon at the Phnom Penh Summit on November 13, 2022, the Secretary and the two Ministers recognized trilateral efforts to activate a data sharing mechanism to exchange real-time missile warning data before the end of the year in order to improve each country's ability to detect and assess missiles launched by DPRK. The Secretary and the two Ministers discussed the ongoing progress being made through technical working-level consultations and noted that this is a major step for deterrence, peace and stability. They also pledged to make further progress toward operationalizing the trilateral mechanism initially over the next few months. The Secretary and the two Ministers further affirmed the three sides will utilize the 2014 U.S.-Japan-ROK Trilateral Information Sharing Arrangement to facilitate coordination and cooperation among all three sides. They also welcomed the recent normalization of the bilateral General Security of Military Information Agreement between Japan and the ROK. In addition, they concurred on the need to contribute to defense-related confidence building measures among the countries in the region and committed to strengthening cooperation to institutionalize such efforts. The Secretary and the two Ministers discussed other regional security issues as well as DPRK threats and all reiterated the importance of deepening trilateral cooperation on key issues to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, including information sharing, high-level policy consultations, and trilateral exercises. They further discussed steps to follow up on these issues. Additionally, the Secretary and the two Ministers affirmed their commitment to swiftly conduct maritime interdiction exercises and anti-piracy exercises, and they pledged to further identify other areas, including disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, where the three countries intend to expand trilateral cooperation. They committed to regularizing defensive exercises that contribute to strengthening trilateral responses to the DPRK's nuclear and missile threats and deterring against those threats, including anti-submarine exercises and missile defense exercises. The Secretary and the two Ministers stressed the importance of the rule of law and expressed strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to alter the status quo by force or coercion and increase tensions in the region. They reaffirmed their commitment to stand with Ukraine against Russia's unprovoked and brutal war of aggression and to recognize that Russia's actions are a serious violation of territorial integrity and sovereignty which undermines the fabric of the entire international order. They emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. They shared concerns on activities that are inconsistent with international law, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and stressed the importance of fully respecting international law, including freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea. The United States reaffirmed its steadfast alliance commitments to Japan and the ROK backed by the full range of U.S. capabilities, including nuclear. Japan and the ROK highlighted the importance of their bilateral ties and trilateral cooperation to protect and advance their shared security goals. The Secretary and the two Ministers committed to work closely together for peace and stability in the region and around the world. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/1926383/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Moscow: 'Talking to Russia in language of ultimatums just does not work' Iran Press TV Saturday, 03 June 2023 2:57 PM Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has called on the United States to stop brandishing ultimatums over the collapse of their arms treaty and abandon its hostile stance towards Russia. President Vladimir Putin has announced the suspension of Russia's participation in the New START treaty, an agreement signed between the United States and Russia to limit the number of Russian and US deployed strategic nuclear warheads. The 2011 New START Treaty obliged the United States and Russia to limit deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles, deployed submarine-launched ballistic missiles and deployed heavy bombers equipped with nuclear armaments. Ryabkov said it was Washington's fault that the arms control agreements between the two countries, which control about 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons, were collapsing. He said breaching the agreements by Washington and then issuance of ultimatums in this regard was against the spirit of the treaty. "Talking to the Russian Federation in the language of ultimatums just does not work," Ryabkov told Russia's three main news agencies on Saturday. "Through the fault of the United States, many elements of the former architecture in this area have either been completely destroyed or moved in a semi-lethal state," he added. Russia: US must abandon its 'hostile stance' Ryabkov said Russia will come back to full compliance with the New START treaty if the US abandons its "hostile stance" toward Moscow. "Regardless of any measures or countermeasures from the US side, our decision to suspend the START Treaty is unshakable," the TASS news agency quoted him as saying. "And our own condition for returning to a fully operational treaty is for the US to abandon its fundamentally hostile stance toward Russia," he added. Russia says it has concluded that the United States has been in violation of the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty, accusing Washington of being in non-compliance with its provisions and of trying to undermine Russia's national security. However last week the United States warned that Washington would stop providing Russia with some notifications required under the New START treaty, including updates on its missile and launcher locations, to retaliate for Moscow's "ongoing violations" of the nuclear agreements. On the other hand, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday that the United States was eager to begin discussions with Russia on a strategic arms limitation pact to replace the New START treaty when it expires in 2026. In the meantime, a high-ranking Belarusian official said Washington's hostile stance had forced his country to deploy Russian tactical nuclear weapons on its soil. Belarus had moved its nuclear weapons out of the country following its independence from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s. Speaking on Sunday, Alexander Volfovich, the state secretary of Belarus' Security Council, said the decision to deploy the nuclear weapons in Belarus once more made sense given the United States' hostile stance. "Today, everything has been torn down. All the promises made [by the US] are gone forever," the Belta news agency quoted him as saying in a televised interview. "The deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus is, therefore, one of the steps of strategic deterrence," the security official explained. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Calls Sullivan's Fresh Remarks on Arms Control Destructive Sputnik News 20230603 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Recent remarks by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on arms control are destructive in their nature and are aimed at promoting Washington's agenda of disrupting the balance of interests, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Saturday. "We have taken note of some remarks by [US President Joe] Biden's National Security Advisor Sullivan at the annual conference of the Washington Arms Control Association. It is an obvious attempt to present the US position in a way that is more attractive to the international community than it has actually been shaped to date. And in addition to all these slogans, it contains an undeniably destructive charge and a mindset of maintaining and strengthening American superiority in some areas with a claim to complete dominance, to further break the balance of interests," Ryabkov told reporters. He added that Moscow would make a detailed assessment of Sullivan's speech "in some time." When asked if the United States' countermeasures against Russia regarding the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) could worsen the arms control landscape, Ryabkov said that it is already extremely grave. "And because of the US, many elements of the former architecture in this area have either been completely destroyed or have been reduced to a semi-lethal state," the deputy FM stated. He added that the condition for Russia's return to the full functioning of the New START Treaty is Washington's abandonment of its fundamentally hostile policy toward Russia. "Our own condition for returning to the full functioning of the Treaty is that the United States should abandon its fundamentally hostile policy toward Russia," Ryabkov told reporters. The United States' countermeasures on Russia regarding the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) did not come as a surprise to Moscow, as Washington had informed Moscow about them in advance, although in an ultimatum-like way, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister added. "First, it did not come as a surprise to us, because the Americans warned us some time ago that such measures were being prepared. They warned us officially, although they did so in their manner of laying down conditions, which has recently become customary, along the lines of 'you must do something, then there will be no such measures.' But it is clear that they cannot talk to us in the language of ultimatums," Ryabkov told reporters. He stressed that Moscow's decision to suspend its participation in the treaty is unshakable "irrespective of any measures or countermeasures on the American side." A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Saudi foreign minister says will visit Iran soon amid warming Tehran-Riyadh ties Iran Press TV Saturday, 03 June 2023 6:01 AM Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud says he will pay an official visit to Tehran in the near future as top diplomats from the two regional heavyweights are determined to mend relations between their respective countries, facilitate mutual cooperation and reopen their diplomatic missions. Prince Faisal made the announcement during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of a meeting of the BRICS group of emerging countries including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in Cape Town, South Africa, on Friday evening. He extended his gratitude to the Iranian side for warmly welcoming the Saudi technical delegation and providing valuable assistance as to the reopening of the Saudi embassy and consulate general in Iran. "Thanks to very good cooperation between the two sides, we could quickly name respective ambassadors and prepare the ground for the reopening of diplomatic and consular missions. We are moving towards a new stage of mutual relations, which will serve the interests of the two nations and the entire region," the Saudi foreign minister pointed out. Prince Faisal also emphasized that he will soon visit Tehran in response to the invitation he has already received in this regard. For his part, Amir-Abdollahian expressed satisfaction over the course of the rapprochement between Tehran and Riyadh, saying, "Envoys from both countries have been appointed and formally introduced, and the groundwork has been laid for the reopening of embassies and consulates general." He also appreciated the facilities offered by Saudi authorities to Iranian pilgrims to attend the Hajj rituals. "During previous rounds of talks, we stressed the need to strengthen commercial and economic relations between the two countries. Your Excellency's upcoming visit to Tehran will be an opportunity to further discuss and exchange viewpoints on the enhancement of bilateral ties in various fields," the Iranian foreign minister pointed out. Amir-Abdollahian also described the BRICS group of countries as a new prospect for multilateral cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia and member states, especially in economic and commercial domains. On May 23, Alireza Enayati was named as Iran's ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The senior diplomat had previously served as Iran's ambassador to Kuwait, assistant to the foreign minister and director-general of Persian Gulf affairs at the Foreign Ministry. Amir-Abdollahian announced on May 11 that Saudi Arabia had appointed a new ambassador to Tehran. This was in line with the China-brokered March agreement between the two countries to revive relations after years of estrangement. The Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers met for the first time in seven years on April 6, stressing the need to implement the rapprochement deal. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Minister Meets with Iranian Counterpart Saudi Press Agency Cape Town, Jun 3, 2023, SPA -- Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, met Friday with Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the Ministerial Meeting of Friends of BRICS Group in Cape Town, South Africa. During the meeting, the sides reviewed means to enhance bilateral relations in various fields, in addition to following up the steps to implement the agreement between the two countries signed in Beijing, including boosting bilateral work to ensure the achievement of international peace and security. The two officials expressed their aspiration to intensify consultative meetings and discuss ways of cooperation to achieve more positive prospects for bilateral and multilateral relations, in a way that serves the interests of the two countries. The meeting was attended by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Multiple International Affairs, Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Rassi; the Saudi Ambassador to South Africa, Sultan Al-Luyhan Al-Anqari; and the Director General of Foreign Minister's Office, Abdulrahman Al-Dawood. -- SPA 01:05 LOCAL TIME 22:05 GMT 0002 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Madrid There is a tangled trafficking web that has been woven across the Sahel, which spans almost 6.000 kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, and is home to more than 300 million people in 10 countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, The Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal. This is how several international specialised bodies, mainly the United Nations, depict the aggravated situation in this already highly fragile African region, which the UN describes as a region in crisis, as those living there are prey to "chronic insecurity, climate shocks, conflict, coups, and the rise of criminal and terrorist networks." The Sahel criminal web deals with an unimaginable range of 'commodities', from chilli peppers and fake medicine, to fuel, gold, and guns, through humans and more which are being trafficked via millennia-old trade routes crisscrossing the Sahel, according to a 20 May 2023 report. The US-led military intervention Security has long been an issue in the region, "but the situation markedly degraded in 2011, following the NATO-led military intervention in Libya, which led to the ongoing destabilisation of the country," explains the United Nations. On 19 March 2011, a US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization coalition (31 Western member-countries) launched a military intervention in Libya, with coordinated naval and air forces attacks mainly by the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Canada, among others. Substandard or fake medicines, like contraband baby cough syrup, are killing almost half a million sub-Saharan Africans every year, according to a threat assessment report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Since then the big oil producer Libya has been the stage of growing instability and chaos, let alone a hub of human trafficking, smuggling and slavery. Humans, weapons, oil... Such "ensuing chaos, and porous borders stymied efforts to stem illicit flows, and traffickers transporting looted Libyan firearms rode into the Sahel on the coattails of insurgency and the spread of terrorism," reports the UN. Fuel is another commodity trafficked by the main players - terrorist groups, criminal networks, and local militias. "Armed groups now control swathes of Libya, which has become a trafficking hub." In fact, in addition to massive human trafficking and migrant smuggling, markets across the Sahel can be found openly selling a wide range of contraband goods, from fake medicines to AK-style assault rifles. ... And medicines that kill A UN News series exploring the fight against trafficking in the Sahel, on 27 May 2023 focussed on the illegal trade in substandard and fake medicines. "From ineffective hand sanitiser to fake antimalarial pills, an illicit trade that grew during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 is being meticulously dismantled by the UN and partner countries in Africa's Sahel region." Substandard or fake medicines, like contraband baby cough syrup, are killing almost half a million sub-Saharan Africans every year, according to a threat assessment report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Trafficking medication is often deadly; in just one case, 70 Gambian children died in 2022 after ingesting smuggled cough syrup. Desperate demand According to the UN, health care is scarce in the region, which has among the world's highest incidences of malaria and where infectious diseases are one of the leading causes of death. "This disparity between the supply of and demand for medical care is at least partly filled by medicines supplied from the illegal market to treat self-diagnosed diseases or symptoms," the report says. It further explains that street markets and unauthorised sellers, especially in rural or conflict-affected areas, are sometimes the only sources of medicines and pharmaceutical products. Fatal results The study shows that the cost of the illegal medicine trade is high, in terms of health care and human lives. "Fake or substandard antimalarial medicines kill as many as 267,000 sub-Saharan Africans every year. Nearly 170,000 sub-Saharan African children die every year from unauthorised antibiotics used to treat severe pneumonia." In the summer of 2022, 70 Gambian babies and young children died from kidney failure after ingesting cough syrup spooned out by their caregivers. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a global alert that four tainted paediatric products had originated in India, as local health authorities continue to investigate how this tragedy unfolded. Caring for people who have used falsified or substandard medical products for malaria treatment in sub-Saharan Africa costs up to 44.7 million US dollars every year, according to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates. Corruption Corruption is one of the main reasons the trade is allowed to flourish. About 40% of substandard and falsified medical products reported in Sahelian countries between 2013 and 2021 land in the regulated supply chain, the report showed. "Products diverted from the legal supply chain typically come from such exporting nations as Belgium, China, France, and India. Some end up on pharmacy shelves." Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines West Africa Nigeria Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The perpetrators "The perpetrators are employees of pharmaceutical companies, public officials, law enforcement officers, health agency workers and street vendors, all motivated by potential financial gain," the report found. Traffickers are finding ever more sophisticated routes, from working with pharmacists to taking their crimes online, according to a UNODC research brief on the issue. While terrorist groups and non-State armed groups are commonly associated with trafficking in medical products in the Sahel, this mainly revolves around consuming medicines or levying "taxes" on shipments in areas under their control. Far beyond the Sahel and Africa Fighting organised crime is a central pillar in the wider battle to deal with the security crisis in the region, which UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres says, poses a global threat. "If nothing is done, the effects of terrorism, violent extremism, and organised crime will be felt far beyond the [Sahel] region and the African continent," Guterres already warned in 2022. Apart from repeated proposals for action and solution, evidence shows that very little has been done, if anything, to halt those merchants of death. Who benefits from such a horrid destabilisation of 10 African countries which already rank among the poorest ones on Earth? Follow @https://twitter.com/Baher_Kamal Lebanon to set up committee on repatriation of Syrian refugees Iran Press TV Saturday, 03 June 2023 5:34 PM Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati says Beirut plans to set up a ministerial committee tasked with the repatriation of Syrian refugees, adding that its members will visit Damascus to assess the process and secure cooperation of Syrian authorities. "The government is in the process of forming a ministerial committee to go to Damascus to discuss the issue of the displaced Syrians," Mikati said in an interview with Euronews television news network on Friday. He said the step will be certainly in coordination with the newly-formed ministerial contact and follow-up committee that includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and the Arab League's Secretary-General Ahmed Abul-Gheit and seeks a comprehensive solution to the crisis in Syria. "We cannot be accused of racism. All we want is to exercise our right to sovereignty over our lands. We expel, in this regard, any foreigner who does not have the necessary legal documents to stay in our country," the Lebanese prime minister said. Mikati also said Syria will play its conventional role in the Arab League in the future. "What currently has great significance to Lebanon is the repatriation of Syrian refugees to their homeland." Lebanese authorities have repeatedly called on the international community to assist Lebanon in returning the refugees to their homeland as the country suffers from a dire financial crisis and can no longer host many displaced people on its territory. Moreover, several incidents among Lebanese citizens and Syrian refugees have been registered recently. According to statistics released by the Lebanese government, virtually two million Syrian refugees are living in Lebanon, a country with a population of more than 5.5 million. According to the UN Refugee Agency, Lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees per capita and per square kilometer in the world. On May 19, Mikati stated at the Arab League summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that the repatriation of Syrian refugees from Lebanon cannot take place without Arabs' effort and support from the international community. He said in his speech that such efforts should take place through a "united Arab framework that would stimulate projects and build and revive destroyed places in order to place a roadmap for the return of the brotherly Syrians to their country." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taiwan urges China to embrace democracy ahead of Tiananmen anniversary ROC Central News Agency 06/03/2023 06:16 PM Taipei, June 3 (CNA) Taiwan's top agency on China affairs on Saturday urged Beijing to learn lessons from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and implement democracy and protect human rights. In a statement, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime was still unable to face the facts of its brutal crackdown on June 4, 1989 on protesters demanding political reform. Given that Beijing is touting itself as embracing modern governance, it should courageously bring to light the history and embark on reform to protect freedom of expression, religion, association, and other human rights, the MAC said. That would also help the CCP regime to dissolve social tensions and unrest brewing in the country, the MAC said. The MAC issued the statement ahead of the 34th anniversary of the crushing of the Tiananmen Square protest movement on Saturday. On June 4, 1989, Beijing ordered its military into Tiananmen Square to forcibly end weeks of student-led protests. Estimated deaths from the crackdown vary from several hundred to several thousand, though China has never released an official death toll. A lesson Beijing should learn from the June 4 incident is that resorting to the use of force to resolve differences will only lead to unbearable loss and lasting consequences, the MAC said. With this in mind, China should renounce the use of coercive means against Taiwan. The only option that Taiwan and China have to settle their disputes is through peaceful means and maintaining the status quo, the MAC said. (By Lu Chia-jung and Shih Hsiu-chuan) Enditem/ASG NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S., Canadian warships sail through Taiwan Strait ROC Central News Agency 06/03/2023 09:20 PM Taipei, June 3 (CNA) Two warships consisting of a United States naval destroyer and a Canadian frigate sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND). The vessels passed through the Taiwan Strait from south to north, the MND said in a brief statement. The armed forces had a full grasp of the activities around Taiwan's waters and airspace as the warships sailed through the strait, and did not spot any irregularities, the MND said without disclosing further details. According to a U.S. 7th Fleet release on Saturday, the vessels consisted of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Montreal. The two vessels were conducting a routine Taiwan Strait transit through the waters in accordance with international law, according to the 7th Fleet, which is under the U.S. Pacific Command. The bilateral transit "demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific," it said. (By Henry Wu and Ko Lin) Enditem/cs NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Lai urges voters to vote against China; Hou calls for cross-strait peace ROC Central News Agency 06/03/2023 10:38 PM Taipei, June 3 (CNA) Vice President Lai Ching-te (), the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) presidential nominee, on Saturday accused China of trying to raise fear about a possible war in a bid to lead Taiwanese people to select a political party it favors, but his main opponent New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih () says it's the DPP that has brought Taiwan to the brink of war and vowed to lead Taiwanese people to pursue peace. Lai urged Taiwanese voters to use their ballots to counter the Chinese Communist regime's will in Taiwan's presidential election scheduled for Jan. 13, 2024. Holding a different view from Lai, Hou, the main opposition party Kuomintang's (KMT) candidate, said Taiwan should pursue peace across the Taiwan Strait, calling for voters in the country to keep in mind how to avoid war and to also make friends through peace. In a rally to mobilize his supporters in Chiayi City, southern Taiwan, Lai said if Taiwan lets China dictate its election results, it will see an end to the road to democracy. Lai said whether a war will break out will be decided by a dictator, referring to China, instead of the DPP. The vice president said as Taiwan is faced with growing military threats from China, people in the country have to take it seriously and not bow to the Chinese dictatorship, adding that once Taiwan makes a wrong choice in the election, there is no way to return. Citing Tsai in her speech at the third anniversary of her second inauguration on May 20, Lai said no political party should talk up war fears for the sake of its own political interest, implying that the KMT was doing so. Lai added the presidential election is not a choice between war and peace. For his part, Hou said in a town hall meeting in Taichung, central Taiwan, that the DPP had pushed Taiwan to the brink of a war, pointing out that there has been no mutual trust between Taipei and Beijing during its nearly eight years in power, with cross-strait peace now shaky. Hou said as long as Taiwan enjoys peace, people here will be able to devote themselves to economic development, but if a war with China breaks out, that will destroy what Taiwan currently has and end its future. Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, few people believed a war would break out, Hou said, suggesting that now people believe the same thing could happen in Taiwan. Lai, meanwhile, said any cross-strait negotiations should proceed on an equal footing and with dignity, to pursue the welfare of people on the two sides and China cannot require Taiwan to give up its sovereignty and accept the "1992 consensus" and "one China principle." The DPP rejects the "1992 consensus," arguing that agreeing to it implies acceptance of China's claim over Taiwan. It has also drawn a parallel between the "1992 consensus" and Beijing's "one country, two systems" formula for Taiwan, though there is no evidence Beijing demands acceptance of the latter in order to restore relations. Beijing's insistence on acceptance of the 1992 consensus and the DPP's stance against it have led to a virtual freeze in cross-strait ties since 2016, when Tsai took office and rejected the "1992 consensus" that underpinned warmer ties between Taiwan and China during the KMT administration of President Ma Ying-jeou () from 2008 to 2016. The KMT, for its part, has argued it has never accepted China's "one country, two systems" formula but still managed to reduce tensions with Beijing by accepting the 1992 consensus and defining it to mean "one China, each to their own interpretation," with Taiwan defining it as the Republic of China, it's official name. Hou, a former director of the National Police Agency, who rose up in ranks from being an entry-level police officer after helping to solve some major crimes, said he has experienced several rounds of mass shootings with villains and was well aware of how scary a war would be. While Taiwan needs to raise its self-defense capabilities, it also needs to pursue peace and reduce tensions across the Taiwan Strait, Hou said. He vowed to lead the people of Taiwan to pursue peace and to work hard, allowing them to live a good life on this land. (By Tsai Chih-ming, Chao Li-yen and Frances Huang) Enditem/cs NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Mainland spokesperson rebukes DPP for "selling out Taiwan people" Global Times (Xinhua) 13:36, June 03, 2023 BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- A mainland spokesperson on Friday said that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority has traded the interests of Taiwan's enterprises and people for "progress" in its relations with the United States. Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks in response to a media inquiry about the DPP authority's signature of the first agreement with the United States under the "U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade" on Thursday. "We resolutely oppose the negotiation and signing of any agreement that has a sovereign implication or is official in nature between the United States and the Taiwan region," Zhu said. The DPP authority's act went against the will of the people and will harm itself and the Taiwan region, she added. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PLA lieutenant general: No room to concede or compromise on Taiwan question Global Times By Global Times Published: Jun 03, 2023 06:55 PM The Taiwan question bears on China's core interest and there is no room to concede or compromise. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) remains fully prepared and ready to firmly defend China's sovereignty and territorial integrity at any time, Jing Jianfeng, the PLA's deputy chief of the joint staff department of the Central Military Commission, lieutenant general, said in responding to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday during a press conference in Singapore. Jing stressed three basic facts on the Taiwan questions. First, there is but one China in the world and Taiwan island is an inalienable part of China's territory. Second, the one-China principle represents the universal consensus of the international community. It is a universally recognized basic norm governing international relations. Third, it is the common aspiration and sacred responsibility of all Chinese people, including Taiwan compatriots, to realize national reunification. Austin's comments on the Taiwan question represent a serious distortion of facts and are completely wrong, Jing said, adding that the US has been obscuring and hollowing out the one-China policy, strengthening official interactions with the Taiwan island, indulging in separatist activities which seek "Taiwan independence," boosting arm sales to Taiwan island in both qualitative and quantitative terms, frequently sailing through the Taiwan Straits to flex its muscles and ganging up with other countries to interfere on the Taiwan question. Jing stressed that China's military operations around Taiwan island are exactly targeted at "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and external forces' interference. China's actions are completely justified. The label of changing the status quo cannot be pinned on China. The US is using Taiwan island to contain China, and "Taiwan independence" separatist forces are soliciting US support for independence. These moves are changing the status quo, escalating tensions and undermining stability, Jing added. In his speech on Saturday morning, Austin said that the US remains deeply committed to preserving the status quo in the Taiwan Straits, consistent with fulfilling US well-established obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act, and will continue to categorically oppose unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Erdogan takes oath of office, starting his third presidential term Iran Press TV Saturday, 03 June 2023 2:19 PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken the oath of office to become president of Turkey for a third term that followed three stints as prime minister. Erdogan, 69, won a new five-year term in a runoff presidential race last week to govern the country that straddles Europe and Asia. Erdogan took the oath of office at the parliament building in Ankara on Saturday, extending his administration into a third decade. His new Cabinet is to be announced later in the day. High-level officials from 78 countries have been invited to the country to take part in the inauguration ceremony. Some of the guests at the event include Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro. The Turkish president will host guests at a dinner at the Cankaya Palace, the former home of Turkish presidents, after the ceremony. He is expected to announce his Cabinet after dinner. Erdogan won the presidential race in a runoff by securing 52.18 percent of the votes against the opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu who received 47.82 percent, according to official results published by Turkey's election board. "Based on provisional results, it has been determined that Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been elected president," Supreme Election Council Chairman Ahmet Yener was quoted as saying by Anadolu state news agency on Sunday. Yener had said in an earlier statement that the election was not marred by any voting irregularities and fraud. Erdogan defied opinion polls and came out comfortably ahead with an almost five-point lead over his 74-year-old rival on May 14, but he fell just short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff. Kilicdaroglu, a former civil servant who is the candidate of a six-party opposition alliance, leads the Republican People's Party (CHP) created by Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chief of General Staff Yasar Guler Appointed Turkish Defense Minister Sputnik News 20230603 ANKARA (Sputnik) - Yasar Guler, who served as Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish armed forces, has been appointed as the country's defense minister. General Guler has been Chief of the General Staff since July 2018. His appointment was announced on Saturday by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who took the oath of office earlier in the day. The new cabinet also includes Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, who previously also held this post, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who previously held the post of head of the National Intelligence Organization and took an active part in the negotiations on the settlement of relations between Ankara and Damascus, as well as Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, who succeeded Fatih Donmez. Cevdet Yilmaz has been appointed Turkish Vice President. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UK commitment to Indo-Pacific reaffirmed as global summit takes place in Singapore UK ministers have attended the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore this week 3 June 2023 Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Foreign, Commonwealth, & Development Office (FCDO) Minister of State, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, met with global leaders in Singapore for the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue this week. Their participation reconfirms the UK's commitment to the Indo-Pacific, a region critical to the UK's economy, security, and our commitment to an open and stable international order. The Shangri-La Dialogue is Asia's foremost defence summit for global leaders and ministers to debate the region's most pressing security challenges with a series of plenary sessions and bilateral discussions. During the Shangri-La Dialogue, the Defence Secretary addressed the audience, alongside ministers from Canada and the Philippines, focused on 'Building a stable and balanced Asia-Pacific' and regional cooperation. In March, the Prime Minister announced a deal to join CPTPP - a trade bloc in the Indo-Pacific, which will now have a total GDP of A11 trillion. During his visit to Japan for G7 last month, almost A18 billion of new investment into the UK from Japanese businesses was announced by the Prime Minister, creating more well-paid jobs in the UK and helping grow the economy. This is in addition to a new semiconductor partnership with Japan and critical minerals partnerships with Canada and Australia; and the Global Combat Air Programme with Japan and Italy, announced last year. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: It has been a great pleasure to meet with my counterpart Dr Ng Eng Hen here in Singapore and to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue to meet defence ministers from across the Indo-Pacific. Singapore is a trading powerhouse that we have much in common with. We understand that Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security is indivisible and that upholding the rules-based order is a collective effort - that is why organisations like ASEAN are so important. This is why we have applied to join ADMM+, a demonstration of our commitment to strengthening defence and security in the Indo-Pacific. We are committed to promoting prosperity and stability in the region. Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, said: Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific prosperity and security are tied more closely together than ever before, and we must work jointly to protect the rules-based international order to safeguard our futures. The UK is committed to playing a full and active role in ensuring a free, safe and open Indo-Pacific, working with partners in ASEAN and beyond to tackle global challenges. Arriving in the region earlier this week, the Defence Secretary met with his Singapore counterpart, Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen, on Friday. They discussed continued bilateral cooperation and our partnership through important groups including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA). The Defence Secretary also held a series of bilateral meetings while in Singapore, with ministers from China, Indonesia, and New Zealand. On Friday, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace visited the FPDA wharf at Sembawang Naval Installation where he met Commanders from Australia and New Zealand. The UK and Singapore are both members of the FPDA, now in their 52nd year. Founded in 1971, the FPDA are a series of agreements between Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK, with the group seeking to strengthen defence and security in the Indo-Pacific and work together to promote stability in the region. Defence Ministers from FPDA nations met earlier today to discuss continued collaboration and strengthening the group. In 2021, the UK was delighted to become an ASEAN Dialogue Partner, a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, including Singapore. The UK's Dialogue Partner status was formalised in August 2021, the first dialogue partner ASEAN has included in 25 years. That same year, the UK deployed Royal Navy ships HMS Spey and HMS Tamar to the Indo-Pacific, following a successful Carrier Strike Group deployment, as part of the UK's commitment to regional peace and stability. The Prime Minister recently confirmed that the UK's Carrier Strike Group will return to the region in 2025. The summit follows a busy few months, during which the UK has taken concrete actions to take advantage of post-Brexit freedoms with an ambitious trade policy in the Indo-Pacific. More than 1.7 million British citizens live in the Indo-Pacific and our trading relationships with the region were worth over A250bn in 2022. By 2030, the Indo-Pacific is expected to account for more than 40% of global GDP and the region is critical to the UK, to our economy, our security and our values, upholding the international rules and norms that underpin free trade, security and stability. With 60% of global trade passing though shipping routes in the Indo-Pacific, security there has a direct impact in households in the UK. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Anne-Marie Trevelyan addresses Shangri-La Dialogue, Singapore Minister of State Anne-Marie Trevelyan spoke about security and stability in the Indo-Pacific at the 20th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. 3 June 2023 Good afternoon, it is a pleasure to be here in Singapore, and to join such a distinguished panel. I am glad to have the opportunity to set out the ways in which the UK is deepening our cooperation with you, our partners in the Indo-Pacific. This work is important to us all, not just because this global growth hub plays a huge role in our shared security, freedom, and prosperity. But because of its central importance in tackling some of the most pressing global challenges - from climate change to managing the transformational impact of cutting-edge technologies such as AI. The UK's commitment to the Indo Pacific is already bearing fruit across trade, defence, climate action and more. We are delighted to be an ASEAN Dialogue Partner and to be well on the way to joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. We hugely value and respect the central role that ASEAN plays in promoting co-operation and shaping the wider Indo-Pacific regional order. In particular, ASEAN's Outlook on the Indo-Pacific provides a clear and welcome steer on how we can best work together, underpinned by shared priorities such as transparency, respect for sovereignty and international law. As a Dialogue Partner, and a country committed to multilateralism, the UK places huge importance on listening to others' views and ensuring that we shape our approach. We know that these genuine, trusted partnerships are the key to success. If we look at some of the minilateralist relationships in the region, around climate action, we are excited to be working with Indonesia and Vietnam who are demonstrating great leadership in implementing new Just Energy Transition Partnerships with international support, driving a clean energy future for the region. On maritime co-operation, an area of particular importance to us as a maritime trading nation, we are developing, with our Southeast Asian partners, an ambitious programme to build capacity and boost training on vital issues from protecting the marine environment to upholding maritime law. We are also making a practical contribution to the region's maritime security today. In 2021, two Offshore Patrol Vessels, HMS Tamar and HMS Spey, began their long-term deployment to the Indo-Pacific. These crews of young Royal Navy sailors have been discovering anew the maritime complexity of the region and building strong new bonds of friendship. We will deploy a Littoral Response Group to the region next year to add further support and depth to the UK's commitment. And - following HMS Queen Elizabeth, our 5th generation aircraft carrier and her strike group's visits in 2021 - we will be sending another Carrier Strike Group to the Indo-Pacific in 2025. Meanwhile, on Myanmar, the UK has focused on uniting the international community behind support for the ASEAN Five Point Consensus - including the landmark UN Security Council Resolution agreed last December. We are proud to be the penholder at the UN and will continue to bring all our efforts to support solutions. The complex challenges facing the Indo-Pacific require a multi-faceted response. The UK respects and supports ASEAN's central role, both in enabling cooperation between its members, and in anchoring the wider regional security architecture. Within our ASEAN Plan of Action, which is now up and running, are a series of practical ASEAN-wide programmes. In addition, smaller groupings can also be effective in driving key issues more quickly. For the UK, what is important is that these initiatives are guided by a shared vision and shared respect for the principles of openness, good governance, respect for sovereignty and respect for international law. Whether we are engaging with our partners collectively, bilaterally or as part of a smaller group driving action on urgent issues, the UK's commitment to transparency with ASEAN partners remains unwavering. Perhaps most clearly, if we look at AUKUS - through which we are supporting Australia in their defence and security responsibilities, bringing our decades of experience to heed, and accelerating collaboration on advanced military technologies with them and the US. Is it geopolitically significant? Yes. Is it an alliance? No. Does it support security and stability in the Indo-Pacific - a goal to which ASEAN is also committed? Absolutely. This is why I was so pleased to see Indonesian President Widodo's comments that AUKUS and the Quad are partners not competitors to ASEAN; we wholeheartedly agree. Looking to the future, the UK is committed to playing an even fuller and more active role in promoting and supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific, alongside other ASEAN Dialogue Partners. This is why we have applied to join the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus and the ASEAN Regional Forum. And we will continue to deepen our cooperation with ASEAN through our five-year plan of action which we launched last year, advancing our shared priorities on security, the economy and some of the biggest global challenges of our times. Together, we can continue to build a more stable, peaceful and prosperous future for all. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Clashes between supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and the police have killed at least 15 people. The violence erupted after he was sentenced to two years in prison. Senegalese government officials said on Saturday that the death toll from clashes between police and supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko had risen to 15. Two members of the security forces were among those killed in some of the deadliest protests in the western African nation in recent decades. The violence first broke out on Thursday after a court sentenced Sonko to two years in prison for "corrupting youth." However, he was acquitted on charges of sexually assaulting a woman who worked at a massage parlor and making death threats against her. Sonko's lawyer said a warrant hadn't yet been issued for his arrest. What is the situation in Dakar? Senegal's capital has been rocked by protests and clashes since Thursday. On Saturday, the city appeared calmer than in recent days, although clashes continued into the evening as protesters took to the streets. Demonstrators in residential neighborhoods threw rocks at police, barricaded roads and set tires on fire. Police fired tear gas at protesters in some areas, and some were arrested. There were no immediate reports of casualties from Saturday's clashes. The latest figures on the death toll came after six people were killed on Friday. Interior Minister Felix Abdoulaye Diome said that gas stations and a supermarket were looted overnight on Friday and several districts were strewn with rubble and burned tires. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Senegal Governance Conflict By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "There has been a clear intention to disrupt the normal working of our economic activity. The choice of targets is not accidental," Diome told journalists late on Saturday. Still, Diome described the situation as under control. The government had shut down on Friday access to Whatsapp, Messenger and Telegram in a bid to restrict protesters' communication. Who is Ousmane Sonko? The leading opposition politician is considered President Macky Sall's main competitor in the 2024 presidential election, although the latter has not confirmed or denied seeking reelection. Sonko's supporters accuse the government of trying to derail his candidacy with the latest legal challenge. He was earlier handed a six-month suspended prison sentence for defamation after accusing Tourism Minister Mame Mbaye Niang of embezzlement on television last year. Accusations against Sonko have long triggered protests. His arrest in 2021 on rape charges prompted clashes that left 14 people dead, according to human rights organization Amnesty International. According to Interior Minister Diome, over 500 people have been detained since the long-running protests first kicked off in 2021. Sonko hasn't appeared in public since Thursday's verdict. But his PASTEF-Patriots party called on his supporters to "amplify and intensify the constitutional resistance" until Sall leaves office. fb/sri (AP, dpa, Reuters) British fighter jets and helicopters train to attack targets at sea, alongside NATO allies in Estonia The UK has been conducting major multi-domain training activity in Estonia throughout May, exercising alongside more than 10,000 personnel from 11 NATO countries. 4 June 2023 RAF Typhoon fighter jets and Army Air Corps Apache helicopters concluded a training exercise off the coast of Estonia on Friday, in which they practiced firing their heavy machine guns and advanced missiles at targets in the sea. The exercise, named Spring Tempest, was conducted jointly with Estonia and France and demonstrated the ability of the UK and its Allies to deliver precision strikes while operating deep in enemy battlespace. The Apache attack helicopters, from the Army Air Corps Aviation Taskforce (1AAC ATF), were armed for their mission with Hellfire missiles, CRV7 rockets and 30mm rounds, while the Typhoon jets, from 140 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW), were armed with Paveway IV laser guided bombs and 27mm armour piercing rounds. Wing Commander Scott MacColl, 140 Expeditionary Air Wing's Commanding Officer, said: Exercise Spring Tempest has been an outstanding opportunity to integrate effects across the Land, Maritime and Air domains. Working with the Royal Navy and Army has allowed us to exercise high-end skill sets, while enhancing interoperability across a broad range of NATO allies. The flexibility to operate effectively across differing environments demonstrates our key contribution to collective defence and regional security. As important, the scale of this exercise further develops Alliance cohesion and cross nation understanding. The mission was supported by a Forward Air Controller, operating nearby from a Wildcat helicopter. Both types of helicopter worked in tandem with ground-based personnel to refuel and rearm before transiting back to the mission area. This training follows on from Exercise Spring Storm, the largest annual military exercise in Estonia involving the UK-led NATO enhanced Forward Presence (eFP), which saw more than 1,500 UK soldiers training alongside more than 10,000 personnel from 11 NATO countries. At last year's NATO Leaders Summit in Madrid, the UK committed to increase the size of its contribution and capability, with this year's exercise marking the first time the UK has conducted a brigade-level deployment to Estonia - involving hundreds more personnel being deployed from the UK. Land-based training exercises saw UK soldiers, deployed to bolster the eFP under the Army's Operation CABRIT, as well as tanks and armoured vehicles, practicing live firing in a series of different scenarios, conducting trench assaults, reconnaissance missions, vehicle manoeuvres, and combined arms warfare. Commander of Op CABRIT, Brigadier Giles Harris, said: Exercise Spring Tempest clearly demonstrates the successful integration of our land, aviation and air capabilities. It comes as we end Exercise Spring Storm 2023, the largest iteration of its kind with some 14,000 personnel taking part across land, sea and air domains. Through rigorous training with our allies, we prove we are a capable, flexible multinational force. The Royal Navy's amphibious assault ship, HMS Albion, carrying approximately 550 sailors and Royal Marines, has joined up with the RAF and the Army to take part in the NATO training exercises happening in the region. During recent weeks, she has landed marines from 45 Commando for a dawn beach raid exercise. The ship and crew also supported a further training exercise last weekend off the coast of Paldiski, which saw the three services testing their capability in a fully-integrated manner. Typhoon jets, Apache, and Wildcat helicopters flew in a tight, programmed formation overhead, as the Royal Marines transported soldiers from the Queen's Royal Hussars and their 62-tonne main battle tanks from the shore into HMS Albion's dock. Captain Marcus Hember, HMS Albion's Commanding Officer, said: It is not often the Royal Navy, RAF and Army are in the same place at the same time with major assets. This gave us the opportunity to test how we can work together at sea, proving again the Royal Navy can move Army heavy equipment on and off a shoreline whilst being safely covered air by the RAF and Army Air Corps. The eFP provides a continuous NATO presence along its eastern border, with deployed troops acting as a deterrence against any aggression towards the Alliance's borders. The RAF has also been bolstering NATO's presence, currently leading the Alliance's air policing mission in Estonia with more than 200 personnel based at Amari Air Base, which has led to several air intercepts of Russian aircraft by RAF fighter jets. The operational activity underlines the UK's commitment to European security, which is vital to delivering on the Prime Minister's priority of growing the economy. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tsahkna to Kuleba: Ukraine belongs in NATO Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs 03.06.2023 Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna is on a visit to Ukraine, where today, on 2 June, he met with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba. Minister Tsahkna assured Kuleba that Estonia will continue to fully support Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression. "We have provided Ukraine political, economical and military support, and the necessary humanitarian aid, and started to rebuild what has already been damaged in the war, focusing on civilian objects and infrastructure," Tsahkna said. "The opening of Zhytomyr kindergarten today was the first step in the beginning of the reconstruction of Ukraine and I hope that other countries will follow Estonia's example." Tsahkna also emphasised that Estonia supports Ukraine's journey towards the European Union and NATO. "Estonia's goal is to provide Ukraine with a clear roadmap for joining NATO at the Vilnius Summit and to reaffirm the alliance's open-door policy," the minister said. He added that there can be no grey zones in Europe and that the only security guarantee is NATO membership. "Being Russia's neighbour and waiting for NATO membership is the most dangerous situation to be in," Minister Tsahkna stressed. The foreign ministers also discussed the creation of an international special tribunal for crimes of aggression to prosecute the Russian leadership. The importance of sanctions and the implementation of new ones were also touched upon. Foreign Minister Tsahkna said that it is important to achieve political support for the establishment of an international special tribunal and the broadest possible consensus. "The purpose of setting up an international special tribunal is to bring to justice the Russian leadership that has unleashed this war of aggression." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Kiev dismisses Indonesia's 'strange' Ukraine peace plan Iran Press TV Saturday, 03 June 2023 4:18 PM Ukraine's defense minister has rejected a peace plan proposed by his Indonesian counterpart to end the war between Kiev and Moscow. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, who was attending the two-day Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, dismissed the proposal suggested by Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, describing the peace plan as a "strange" and "Russian plan". "It sounds like a Russian plan, not an Indonesian plan," Reznikov said. "We don't need this mediator coming to us (with) this strange plan." The Indonesian defense minister had suggested an "immediate cessation of hostilities," a ceasefire "at present positions," and demilitarized zones that would be guaranteed by peace observers from the United Nations peacekeeping forces. The former army ex-special forces general also proposed holding a "referendum in the disputed areas" under the auspices of the UN. Indonesian President Joko Widodo traveled to Kiev and Moscow and met the countries' leaders last year, while his country chaired the G20 bloc of major world economies. In the meantime, the collective Western countries have been supplying Kiev with tens of billions of dollars in weapons and munitions, encouraging Ukrainian forces to continue to fight against Russian troops. Russia started its special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. Russia said the military campaign was launched to put an end to a plan devised for the "systematic extermination of the Donbas population" that had been going on by the country's neo-Nazi oligarchy since 2014. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Zelensky says ready for counteroffensive, but fears high casualties Iran Press TV Saturday, 03 June 2023 11:28 AM Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his forces are ready to launch their long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia but fears large casualties due to Moscow's superior air power. In an interview published on Saturday, Zelensky said he strongly believes Ukraine "will succeed" in reclaiming those territories captured by Russia. "I don't know how long it will take. To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different. But we are going to do it, and we are ready," he said. However, "a large number of soldiers will die" if Kiev is not given the weapons to counter Russian air power, Zelensky added. Ukraine has said it is preparing for a major offensive for months. The Ukrainian leader said it would be "dangerous" to launch without more Western help to counter Russian air attacks. "Everyone knows perfectly well that any counteroffensive without air superiority is very dangerous," Zelensky said. Russia launched the "military campaign" in Ukraine in February last year, saying it was aimed at defending the pro-Russia population in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk against persecution by Kiev, and also to "de-Nazify" the country. And it has managed to hold swaths of Ukrainian territory in the east, south and southeast. Ukraine's president said last month that his country needed to wait for more Western armored vehicles arrived before launching the counteroffensive. He has been on a diplomatic push to maintain Western support, seeking more military aid and weapons, which is key for Ukraine to succeed. In the meantime, Ukraine's military said in a daily report that Mariinka in the Donetsk region in the east was the focus of fighting. Zelenskiy's remarks about a counteroffensive came just a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Washington and its allies should not support a ceasefire or peace talks to end the war in Ukraine until Kiev gains strength and can negotiate on its own terms. Blinken said heeding calls from Russia and others, including China, for negotiations now would result in a false "Potemkin peace" that wouldn't secure Ukraine's sovereignty or enhance European security. Kiev hopes a counteroffensive will change the dynamics of the war. The West accuses Russia of fighting a war of aggression against Ukraine while Moscow says the United States and NATO are fighting a proxy war against the country in Ukraine. Since the onset of the conflict between the two countries, the United States and its European allies have unleashed an array of unprecedented sanctions against Russia and poured numerous batches of advanced weapons into Ukraine to help its military fend off the Russian troops, despite repeated warnings by the Kremlin that such measures will only prolong the war. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Zelenskiy Says Ukraine Ready To Launch Its Long-Awaited Counteroffensive By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service June 03, 2023 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says his country is ready to launch its much-anticipated counteroffensive to liberate territory occupied by Russian forces while warning that it could take some time and be costly. "We strongly believe that we will succeed," Zelenskiy said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published on June 3. "I don't know how long it will take. To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different. But we are going to do it, and we are ready," he added. Zelenskiy said the Ukrainian Army had not received "all the weapons it hoped for, but we can't wait any longer." Zelenskiy said last month his country needed more weaponry, including armored vehicles, before it could launch its long-awaited counteroffensive. The Ukrainian president has been pushing for more military aid and weapons from Western countries. Russia has captured Ukrainian territory in the east, south, and southeast. Zelenskiy said Ukraine urgently needed more U.S.- made Patriot missile-defense systems to protect its citizens from Russian air strikes and to shield troops fighting on the front lines. He said a lack of protection from Russian aerial attacks means "a large number of soldiers will die"" in the counteroffensive. Separately, Deputy Defense Minister Volodymyr Havrylov told Reuters on June 3 that the goal of an "unprecedented" wave of Russian missile and drone attacks across the country in recent weeks was to stop the counteroffensive. Speaking on the sidelines of a top security conference in Singapore, Havrylov called Russia's heavy use of ballistic missiles in May a "last strategic resort" and said that his country's air-defense systems had been "more than 90 percent effective" against the attacks. Meanwhile, Kremlin-connected Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who controls the notorious Wagner mercenary group, said on June 3 that Kremlin factions were weakening the state by trying to undermine him. In a message posted by his press service, Prigozhin accused unnamed officials in the Russian elite of "playing dangerous games," adding that they had "opened Pandora's box." Prigozhin repeated his past criticisms of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff General Valery Gerasimov, saying that the Defense Ministry was "not in a state to do anything at all." With reporting by Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-zelenskiy- counteroffensive-ready/32442972.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 Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Rejects Indonesia's Peace Proposal Sputnik News 20230603 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry rejected on Saturday a peace proposal tabled by Indonesia, which includes referendums in Crimea and other newly acquired Russian territories that Ukraine sees as its own. "We appreciate Indonesia's attention to the restoration of peace in Ukraine... But there are no territories that are contested by Ukraine and Russia that require referendums to be held," foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said. Crimea, a Black Sea peninsula where ethnic Russians make up the largest share of the population, voted to cede from Ukraine and rejoin Russia following a coup in Kiev in 2014. The Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions voted overwhelmingly to join Russia last September. Nikolenko also rejected a proposed ceasefire and the creation of a Korea-style demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine that would be overseen by UN peacekeeping troops. The plan was floated by Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto during an Asian defense summit in Singapore, which was attended by Ukrainian and US defense ministers. Ukraine's Oleksii Reznikov was quoted as saying by Bloomberg that the proposal "sounds like a Russian plan, not an Indonesian plan." A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Head of Zelensky's Office Says Discussed Ukraine's Peace Plan With Sullivan Sputnik News 20230603 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, said on Saturday that he had held a telephone conversation with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and the sides discussed Kiev's peace plan for resolving the Ukraine conflict. "I had a telephone conversation with Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser to the US President [Joe Biden]. We discussed Ukraine's desire to implement [President] Volodymyr Zelensky's peace formula as a basis for peace in Europe," Yermak said on Telegram. He noted the importance of involving as many countries as possible in supporting the initiative. Zelensky said in November 2022 that Kiev has its own peace plan consisting of 10 points. It includes the mutual exchange of prisoners on the basis of the "all for all" formula, as well as ensuring nuclear, food and energy security. The peace plan also includes points such as the withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine and the restoration of Ukraine's "full territorial integrity". Zelensky also wants security guarantees for Ukraine and the creation of an international mechanism to compensate for his country's "losses" using Russian assets. The Kremlin has previously stated that there are no conditions for a peaceful transition of the situation in Ukraine and that Russia is achieving its goals through its military operation. Russia noted that it appreciates the efforts of all countries that have tried to bring the conflict in Ukraine to a peaceful resolution, but so far this has been impossible. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Zelensky Wants Ukraine to Have 50 US-Made Patriot Defense Systems - Reports Sputnik News 20230603 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that the only system capable of intercepting some of Russia's advanced missiles is the US-made Patriot air defense system, and that Ukraine needs 50 such systems, American newspaper reported. Zelensky told media that he was grateful to Western countries for supplying weapons systems, but said that deliveries should be faster and in greater numbers. He added that Ukraine, in particular, needs more Patriot missile batteries to protect its cities and front-line troops. The Ukrainian president added that Kiev would like to receive more Western weapons for a counteroffensive. "We would like to have certain things, but we can't wait for months," he said, as quoted by the newspaper. In December 2022, the United States announced a $1.85 billion security assistance package for Ukraine, including a Patriot air defense system expected to arrive in the coming months. Germany and the Netherlands followed suit, also pledging Patriots to Ukraine. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Indonesian Defense Minister Proposes 'Korea-Style' Resolution of Ukrainian Crisis Sputnik News 20230603 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto on Saturday proposed a peace plan for the Ukrainian conflict that would create a demilitarized zone similar to the one between North and South Korea. He also urged defense and military officials participating in this year's Shangri-La Dialogue meeting to sign a joint statement calling on Russia and Ukraine to cease hostilities "I propose the general outline of the peace plan as follows. First, a ceasefire in place, that is a cessation of hostilities in place at present positions of both conflicting parties. Two, withdrawal 15 kilometers [9.3 miles] each from the forward positions to a new demilitarized zone. Three, the United Nations monitoring and observing force to be immediately formed and to be immediately deployed along this new demilitarized zone," Subianto said at the Shangri-La Dialogue defense meeting in Singapore, as aired by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He also suggested that the UN should "organize, carry out and execute a referendum in the disputed territories to ascertain objectively the wish of the majority of the inhabitants," adding that his country is ready to contribute military observers and units under the UN peacekeeping auspices. Subianto said that these steps have been historically proven to be effective, referring to the Korean conflict, which was resolved, although not permanently, by the cessation of fighting and the creation of a demilitarized zone. He argued that both Koreas have seen five decades of peace, which "is much better than the massive destruction and the killings of many innocent people." "I propose that the Shangri-La Dialogue find a mode of declaration urging both Ukraine and Russia to immediately start negotiations for peace. This declaration should be voluntary from all participants here representing the various countries," the Indonesian defense chief said. The conflict has affected all regions of the world, including the Indo-Pacific, Subianto stressed, adding that "for the security of the world, for the safety of the innocent, we have to achieve a cessation of hostilities as soon as possible." The Shangri-La Dialogue, which is being held for the twentieth time this year, is attended by defense ministers of the Asia-Pacific region and their officials, as well as high-level delegations from the European Union and international organizations. Russia is not participating in the forum for the second consecutive year: in 2022, organizers withdrew Russia's invitation on the eve of the summit, while this year the country received no invitation at all. Russia has repeatedly argued that it is all in favor of peace talks as long as Ukraine takes into consideration the situation on the ground, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ruled out the ceasefire option. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Please don't forget to thank our warriors in person - address of President of Ukraine President of Ukraine 3 June 2023 - 22:39 Dear Ukrainians, I wish you health! Almost every evening, in my addresses, I thank our warriors - particular units, particular brigades, which distinguished themselves the most on the front line or in the defense of our sky in a day or in a week. And today - more personal words of gratitude to particular warriors. We should all remember that our defense, our active actions, and the independence of Ukraine are not something abstract. These are very particular people, particular actions of particular heroes, thanks to which Ukraine exists and Ukraine will exist. Thousands and thousands of our strongest, bravest, most accurate people... Such as soldier Yaroslav Kan, our paratrooper. He fought in the most fiercely embattled spots of the front. Bilohorivka, defense of Lysychansk, defense of Soledar. Battles for Svatove, Kreminna, Bakhmut... Four wounds! Now, he is undergoing treatment, recovering. And ready to return to the front again. It is an extraordinary human power! Thank you, Yaroslav! Senior Sergeant Yevhen Kepsha, commander of the squad of the anti-tank missile systems platoon. Battles for Bakhmut. Stugna anti-tank guided missile system. Very accurate, very brave. Together with the boys, together with the brothers from his squad have very good results in destroying the occupiers. Thanks for this, Yevhen! Senior Sergeant Maksym Kuzmenko and Junior Sergeant Anton Andrushchenko are soldiers of the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade. Battles near Avdiyivka. Very tough fights. Continuous enemy assaults. And this is the result Ukraine needs in defense of our positions. Thank you, guys! I have already thanked our soldiers from the 55th Zaporizhzhia Sich Artillery Brigade many times. All guys are great. They fight mightily, very efficiently. And today, I will especially mention the artillery company under the command of Captain Mykola Nosach. Avdiyivka direction. They fight off Russian assaults very skillfully. Exactly what is needed. Thank you, Mykola! It's great to see reports of your accuracy. Soldiers of our 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade Zakarpattia. Battalion commander Lt. Col. Oleksandr Hladysh, company commander Captain Rostyslav Kmet, platoon commander Senior Lieutenant Oleksandr Shytikov, gun commander Junior Sergeant Oleksandr Kryshtapiuk, senior gunner Senior Soldier Yaroslav Niul... Artillery calculations. Always effective. Thank you, warriors! Our glorious 35th Marine Infantry Brigade named after Rear-Admiral Mykhailo Ostrogradsky... The guys deserve gratitude for almost every day of fighting. And today, I want to note separately the entire 1st battalion of marines of the brigade. I'm thankful to each of you guys! Your strength is an example to all. And the defenders of our sky. Such as soldier Anatoliy Pavlenko, national guard. The Bureviy anti-aircraft missile battalion. A guy who knows how to shoot down Russian missiles extremely well - and with the help of just an Igla MANPADS. Thank you for this accuracy! We usually thank the warriors who defend our cities from Russian terror with the help of powerful air defense systems: Patriot, NASAMS, IRIS, and others. And it is absolutely fair - they saved a lot of lives of our people, a lot of infrastructure facilities. However, soldiers of our fire maneuver groups, which defend various civilian and military facilities, are important - and effective! As, for example, Senior Sergeant Viktor Sidnev is the senior of one of these maneuver groups defending Kyiv. Excellent coordination of actions, excellent combat skills. And there is a result - down the invaders' missiles. Thank you! Thank you to everyone who is fighting for Ukraine! Thank you to everyone who is on combat posts and on combat missions! Thank you to everyone who constantly trains our soldiers and everyone who provides treatment to our heroes after their injuries! And I am asking you all: please don't forget to thank our warriors in person. Thank those whom you know personally. Thank those whom you may simply follow in social networks. Thank those whom you just heard about - and can tell other people about them. Gratitude is always important, and it's important to hear words of gratitude when you fight for your people like this. Glory to all our heroes! Glory to Ukraine! NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Singapore-based Crystal Offshore will construct a base in Khalifa Port featuring office facilities and fabrication workshops to provide advanced repairs and refits to jack-up rigs as well as marine and offshore vessels. The new shipyard fabrication facility will cater for drilling rigs and marine assets as well as deep water vessels such as FPSO and semi submersibles. For this, AD Ports Group, a leading facilitator of global trade, logistics and industry, has signed a 25-year agreement with Crystal Offshore, a recognised one-stop Logistics Solution provider to the Marine & Offshore Industry. Under the agreements terms, a 20,000 square metre plot of land and an associated quay wall in Khalifa Port will be allocated for Crystal Offshore. Adding value Saif Al Mazrouei, Chief Executive Officer, Ports Cluster AD Ports Group, said: Our partnership with one of the worlds leading solution providers in the marine and offshore industry, will add significant value to Khalifa Ports customers and greatly expand the numerous services it offers to cater to the wide base of the marine industry. As we look towards the future, we will continue our drive to further diversify the service offerings in our ports in the UAE and abroad. We aim to achieve this by forging strong partnerships such as the one we are entering into with Crystal Offshore, ensuring that we remain the global port operator of choice for our customers. Sujith Sekharan, CEO of Crystal Offshore, said: "We have a strong track record with contractors in the region, and with this long-term partnership we anticipate significant and fast growth of our market share, greatly assisted by the geographical proximity and excellent infrastructure that Khalifa Port has to offer. We share the vision of AD Ports Group and look forward to complementing one another through our expertise and capabilities.-- TradeArabia News Service A pensioner in Mpumalanga has become the latest cholera casualty, bringing the death toll of the dreaded disease to 25. The National Department of Health confirmed the first case of cholera detected in Mpumalanga on Thursday; a 73-year-old from Mpumalanga who was admitted at Mamatlake Hospital, which is close to Hammanskraal, the epicentre of the outbreak. The department advised communities to exercise personal hygiene, while those experiencing cholera symptoms are urged to present themselves to the nearest health facility. On Friday the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) in Gauteng will conduct an inspection in Hammanskraal, with the City of Tshwane and other stakeholders. Responding to the cholera outbreak, the SAHRC officials have visited Hammanskraal, including Jubilee Hospital. Speaking to Scrolla.Africa on Thursday, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said the party will maintain a keen eye on the city's expenditure on capital projects, including the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant, to ensure that mistakes and wastages of the past were not repeated again. The city said upgrading of the plant and replacing old water pipes in the region will cost over R4 billion. He stressed concerns about the so-called water tank mafias operating in Hammanskraal. "The water tank mafia is not only operating in the City of Tshwane but it is a syndicate that is operating across the country. "People destroying government infrastructures should be treated as committing treason with a minimum sentence of 25 years in jail," he said. Minister of Health Joe Phaahla said the current outbreak can be traced from the first two cases reported by Gauteng Province on 5 February 2023. He was referring to two sisters from Diepsloot in Johannesburg who travelled together by bus to Malawi in January and returned on 30 January 2023. "Our colleagues in the Water Department both in the City of Tshwane and DWS are continuing to examine the water sources to determine any contamination," he said during a press briefing on Wednesday. Head of the Office of Ukraine's President had phone talk with US President's National Security Advisor as part of ongoing dialog with allies President of Ukraine 3 June 2023 - 09:57 As part of the ongoing dialog with allies, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak spoke by phone with National Security Advisor to the President of the United States Jake Sullivan. Yermak expressed gratitude to the United States for its leadership role in providing Ukraine with the weapons and capabilities it needs to combat Russian aggression, as well helping fulfill long term needs for the Ukrainian Air Force, to include F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots and the eventual provision of F-16 fighter jets through a consortium of allies and partners. The parties also discussed Ukraine's desire to implement its Peace Formula as a basis for achieving sustainable peace in Europe. Yermak emphasized the importance of attracting as many countries as possible to support it. In addition, the head of the Office of the President briefed Sullivan on the current situation on the battlefield in the fight against the Russian aggressor and the measures taken by the defense forces to de-occupy the territories of Ukraine. Yermak thanked US President Joseph Biden, his entire team, both houses of the US Congress for their unwavering assistance to Ukraine, and the entire American people for standing side by side with Ukrainians in the fight against tyranny and authoritarianism in Europe. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Latest in Ukraine: Dozens Injured, Trapped Under Rubble in Central Dnipro By VOA News June 03, 2023 The Kremlin announced that journalists from "unfriendly countries" will be banned from attending the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. This is the first time since 1997, when the forum was first held, that Western journalists are not allowed to attend. Belgorod's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said Saturday that two people were killed and two were injured by Ukrainian artillery fire on Belgorod's border region with Ukraine. On Friday, attacks in the area prompted about 5,000 evacuees from nearby border villages to find makeshift housing in the city of Belgorod, said the mayor, Valentin Demidov. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said Saturday that Kremlin factions are destroying Russia by trying to sow discord between his and Chechen commanders who also fight alongside Russians against Ukraine. An explosion caused by a Russian missile strike near the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Saturday damaged a two-story building and injured at least 20 people, five of them children, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said. Three of the injured children are in serious condition, while 17 people in total are hospitalized, said the regional governor, Serhiy Lysak. Rescue teams are pulling residents from under the rubble, Lysak said. "Once again, Russia proves it is a terrorist state," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. Pictures from the explosion posted on social media showed rescue teams working at a shattered, smoldering building amid heaps of twisted building materials. In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy reminded everyone of the importance of thanking all of those who have made Ukrainian resistance against Russian invaders possible and effective. "Our defense, our active actions, and the independence of Ukraine are not something abstract. These are very particular people, particular actions of particular heroes, thanks to which Ukraine exists and Ukraine will exist," he said. He added, "it's important to hear words of gratitude when you fight for your people like this." Bomb shelters unfit About a quarter of Ukraine's bomb shelters have been inspected and were found either unavailable or unfit to protect civilians, officials said Saturday. According to the Ukrainian interior ministry, of the more than 4,800 shelters it inspected, 252 were locked and 893 more were "unfit for use." Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said civilian safety is compromised by unsuitable shelters during airstrikes in Ukraine. The results of the inspection were announced just days after three people, including a mother and her 9-year-old daughter, were killed while trying to enter a locked shelter in the early hours of Thursday. The husband of another woman killed by missile debris told reporters his wife was trying to get into a shelter in a medical facility, which turned out to be closed. The Kyiv regional prosecutor's office reported that four people were detained in a criminal probe into one of the deaths on Thursday. The prosecutor's office said that one person, a security guard, who had failed to unlock the doors, remained under arrest, while three others, including a local official, had been placed under house arrest. The prosecutor's office says the suspects face up to eight years in prison for negligence leading to a person's death. In a Telegram message on Saturday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said city authorities have logged "more than a thousand" complaints regarding locked, dilapidated or insufficient air-raid shelters within a day of launching an online feedback service. The interior ministry said that more than 5,300 volunteers, including emergency workers, police officers and local officials, would continue to inspect shelters across the country. Zelenskyy: Counteroffensive 'will succeed' President Zelenskyy says Ukraine is ready to launch a counteroffensive against Russia. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Saturday, the Ukrainian leader said, "We strongly believe that we will succeed." "I don't know how long it will take," he said, "but ... we are ready." He said he wished he had more Western weapons, "but we can't wait for months." Zelenskyy did not reveal a date for the counteroffensive. In addition, Zelenskyy said he is a bit apprehensive about the outcome of the U.S. presidential election in 2024 because a less supportive administration could win. Some information in this article came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Fort Collins, Colorado, June 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 1, 2023 Pathways announced Evan Hyatt has been named as the new president for the organization. Hyatt previously served as CEO/president of Pathways from 2008 through 2016, and is re-joining the organization following a role as the vice president of marketing and development at Care Synergy, Pathways supporting organization. Hyatt began his career with Pathways as its marketing manager in 2001 when the organization was known as Hospice of Larimer County. At the end of 2016, he left Pathways to become the executive director of operations for Kaiser Permanente in Northern Colorado. Then, following a brief stint with Banner Hospice, Hyatt joined Care Synergy in 2019. Altogether, he has more than 18 years of experience in hospice and palliative care at Pathways and Care Synergy. Pathways is excited to add Hyatt as the president of the organization, stated Tim Bowen, president and CEO for Care Synergy. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge in care for individuals with advanced illnesses that will benefit the patients and loved ones Pathways serves. In the role of president, Hyatt will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Pathways as well as collaborating with its board of directors to guide the mission, strategic objectives and growth of the organization. Being at Pathways after more than six years, I am both excited and humbled to return in the role of president, states Hyatt. I am looking forward to working along-side the excellent teams of caregivers and support staff here at Pathways to fulfill our mission to the community. I am honored to be asked to return. About Pathways: Established in 1978, Pathways is a nonprofit agency providing exceptional hospice care in the last months of life, complete palliative care for those with long-term serious illness, and community-wide grief support for residents of Larimer and Weld counties in Northern Colorado. Pathways is an affiliate of the Care Synergy network and can be reached at www.pathways-care.org and 970.663.3500. About Care Synergy: Care Synergy provides mission-support services for nonprofit, community-based home healthcare, hospice and palliative care providers serving the Front Range of Colorado including the Colorado Visiting Nurse Association, The Denver Hospice, Pathways and Pikes Peak Hospice and Palliative Care. Care Synergy affiliate organizations operate as distinct organizations while sharing best practices and helping more Coloradoans. For more information, visit www.caresynergynetwork.org . Attachment Selbyville, Delaware, June 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Electric Three-Wheeler Market is expected to cross a valuation of USD 140 billion by 2032, according to the latest research report by Global Market Insights, Inc. The increasing inclination towards efficient and eco-friendly solutions for commuting will influence the industry growth. Electric three-wheelers are attracting the attention of numerous consumers from multiple geographies as they offer easy maintenance and operability, low pollution, affordability, swiftness, and dexterity. The growing preference for vehicles that require lesser maintenance and minimum operating costs as opposed to Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles will further drive the business development. Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/5695 Rapid deployment of lead acid batteries Electric three-wheeler market share from lead acid battery type segment recorded over USD 5 billion in 2022 driven by the increasing consumer shift towards electric vehicles as opposed to their fuel-based counterparts. Lead acid batteries offer higher energy efficiency while taking up lesser charging time. The escalating environmental concerns along with the skyrocketing fuel prices will also play a crucial role in elevating the product preference. Robust demand for 3-6 kWh batteries The industry size from the 3-6 kWh segment is estimated to exceed USD 25 million by 2032. The growing requirement for low-cost and minimum maintenance has pushed several electric scooter manufacturers to incorporate 3-6 kWh batteries into electric three wheelers. The strong ability of 3-6 kWh capacity batteries of generating high current with small cable sizes will add to the segment growth. Europe to dominate the regional landscape Europe electric three-wheeler market is set to record over 25% CAGR from 2023-2032 due to rising penetration in France. This is mainly attributed to the surging number of investments led by government authorities as well as private sector companies. To cite an instance, the French Government, in March 2021, invested approximately USD 114.1 million for supporting the development of fast-charging stations in the country. Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @ https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/5695 Electric Three-Wheeler Market Competitive Landscape Some of the major electric three-wheeler industry players include Piaggio & C. SpA, Mahindra electric, Terra Motors, Bodo EV International, Changzhou Yufeng Vehicle Co Ltd., Kinetic Green Energy Solution, and Atul Auto Limited. These firms are coming up with innovation-based initiatives for scaling their revenues. For instance, Piaggio Vehicles, in December 2022, introduced two new electric three wheelers, Ape E-City FX Max and Ape E-Xtra FX Max, integrated with cutting-edge telematics 2.0 for allowing fleet owners to manage and track the fleet. Partial Table of Contents (ToC) of the report: Chapter 2 Executive Summary 2.1 Electric three-wheeler market 360 synopsis, 2018 - 2032 2.2 Regional trends 2.3 Battery type trends 2.4 Vehicle type trends 2.5 Power capacity trends 2.6 Battery capacity trends Chapter 3 Electric Three-Wheeler Market Industry Insights 3.1 Impact on COVID-19 3.2 Russia- Ukraine war impact 3.3 Industry ecosystem analysis 3.4 Vendor matrix 3.5 Profit margin analysis 3.6 Technology & innovation landscape 3.7 Patent analysis 3.8 Key news and initiatives 3.9 Regulatory landscape 3.10 Impact forces 3.10.1 Growth drivers 3.10.1.1 The growing number of initiatives and awareness programs by government 3.10.1.2 Increasing demand for affordable commercial vehicle 3.10.1.3 Inclination towards eco-friendly and efficient solution to commute 3.10.1.4 Rising price of fuel 3.10.1.5 Government emission norms and subsidies 3.10.2 Industry pitfalls & challenges 3.10.2.1 Inadequate charging facilities 3.10.2.2 Lack of standardization 3.11 Profit margin analysis 3.12 Vendor matrix analysis 3.13 Growth potential analysis 3.14 Porters analysis 3.15 PESTEL analysis Browse Our Reports Store GMIPulse @ https://www.gminsights.com/gmipulse Browse related reports: Electric Motorcycles & Scooters Market Size, By Product (Motorcycles, Scooters), By Battery (SLA, Li-ion), By Voltage (24V, 36V, 48V), COVID-19 Impact Analysis, Growth Potential, Regional Outlook, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2023-2032 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/electric-motorcycles-and-scooters-market Electric Bus Market Size By Type (All-electric, PHEV, FCEV), By Battery Capacity (Below 100 kWh, 100 - 300 kWh, Above 300 kWh), By Seating Capacity (Below 40 Seats, 40 - 70 Seats, Above 70 Seats), By Application (Intracity, Intercity) & Forecast, 2023 2032 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/electric-bus-market Electric Truck Market Size - By Vehicle Type (Light-duty, Medium-duty, Heavy-duty), Battery Technology (Battery Electric Trucks, Hybrid Electric Trucks, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Trucks, Fuel Cell Electric Trucks), Battery Capacity, Application & Forecast, 2023 2032 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/electric-truck-market About Global Market Insights Inc. Global Market Insights Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider, offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy, and biotechnology. Peter Sauber says he is "proud" that the Formula 1 team he founded in the 90s is now in the process of being taken over by Audi. The retired 77-year-old Swiss is enjoying a rare visit to a grand prix in Barcelona this weekend. He was asked about Sauber - currently known as Alfa Romeo - transitioning to Volkwagen-headed Audi over the next few seasons until the works outfit kicks off in 2026. "This is now the third German manufacturer at Sauber," he told Audi Bild, referring to Mercedes, BMW and now VW-Audi. "I've had them all and that makes me very proud." However, for well over a decade now, Sauber has only been able to target points rather than regular podiums. "I'm really looking forward to Audi and I hope that we can be successful together," Peter Sauber said. "I still say 'we', even though I'm not actually on board anymore." But he also admitted that he's not just a fan of the F1 team he founded. "Max Verstappen is doing a great job," Sauber insisted. "I'm impressed by how quickly he was able to control his temper and is now racing from title to title without making a single mistake." (GMM) There are mixed feelings about the demolition of structures "illegally" erected on public spaces in Kano State, which started Saturday. Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, popularly known as Abba Gida-Gida, was reported to have led the exercise. Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that the governor led the task force he set up in demolishing the structures built in Kano Race Course (Filin Sukuwa) in the early hours of Saturday. The governor had, in his inauguration speech on Monday, given a marching order to security agencies in the state to immediately take over all public properties sold by the administration of his predecessor, Abdullahi Ganduje. "I am announcing today that all these public places and assets that were immorally plundered and sold by the Ganduje administration should be taken over by law enforcement agencies, led by the police, Department of State Security (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and Hisbah pending the final decision of government," he said. Some of the properties the governor was referring to include "lands in and around schools, religious and cultural sites, hospitals and clinics, graveyards and green areas, and along the city wall of Kano, as well as other landed properties and assets belonging to Kano State within and outside the state, to their cronies and agents." He announced that a judicial commission of inquiry would be empanelled in the coming days "to ensure that all perpetrators and those that aided and abetted them are brought to justice." Before then, the governor's party, the New Nigeria People's Party (NNPP), had promised Kano residents that whenever it gained access to the Government House, it would lead a process of "restoring" Kano's master plan, which it alleged the administration of Ganduje had bastardised. It's act of vendetta - APC Reacting to the development, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano told Daily Trust on Sunday that the action of the government was a vendetta. The party's legal adviser, Abdul Fagge, said the main reason the party considered it as a vendetta was that the property said to have been allocated by the government of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje "were of the same status as those allocated by the previous administration, particularly that of Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso." He recalled how from 1999 to 2001, "all the buildings that were opposite BUK Old campus were allocated by Kwankwaso and they carved out the Kano City Wall (Badala). "Assuming the current governor is doing this (demolition) with the aim of restoring the master plan of Kano, then it behooves on them to demolish all the properties allocated by the Kwankwaso administration," he said. He added that one of the demolished properties was owned by an individual or firm, and many of them done on a private-public-partnership (PPP) arrangement while the former governor was exercising his power and right under the constitution and Land Use Act to allocate any land under the jurisdiction of the state. Developers deserve fair hearing - Don, lawyers Commenting, a renowned political analyst, Professor Kamilu Sani Fage of the Bayero University, Kano (BUK) said, "Issues like that are supposed to be solved after proper investigation although these areas are well documented, but in terms of fairness, the government should have investigated fully. "Already, the government has a committee, so let it investigate. Then the government can take actions based on its recommendations. Ideally, the government should stand by its position that people should stop developing the properties. And for fear of vandals, security officials have been ordered by the government to look after these places," he said. Fage said the decision was rushed but it might not necessarily be that of vendetta and anger. "You know government is about rational decisions; and you don't take rational decisions based on few information; you have to thoroughly investigate the issues and take appropriate actions, he said." Also commenting, a legal practitioner, Umar Isa Sulaiman, said that since it was a valid and legitimate government that allocated the land to the developers in whatever form of arrangement, procedures should be followed if such allocations are to be revoked. He said that based on the Land Use Act and other provisions, the government was supposed to first notify the developers, set up a commission of enquiry and let them come up to tell their own version, at least to be fair to them. The principle of fair hearing is clear and sacrosanct all over the world. He added that since a commission of inquiry had been set up by the governor, developers should be given fair hearing on how they came about their properties, saying, "If the government continues like this, it will give room for people to take laws into their hands. You could see pictures on the social media of people looting this property after the demolition. "We don't know how the governor arrived at that decision, but at least the developers have the right to be heard under the principle of fair hearing." Another lawyer, who asked not to be named, said that inasmuch as the individual that got the allocation from government had fulfilled all the conditions of the law, such person has the right to develop the property, and when such property is developed, such individual has the right to approach the court of law to challenge this. It's fulfillment of campaign promises, more to follow - Governor The governor, who spoke to Daily Trust on Sunday through his chief press secretary, Sanusi Bature, said the demolition was not in any way an act of vendetta as the opposition party alleged. He said it was the first of many to come, in fulfillment of his campaign promises. "During the campaigns, the governor promised that Kano would be restored to its lost glory, part of which is the issue of land grabbing, which has been devastating the state. The second layer of this is that we have included this issue of land grabbing into our blueprint. It was made public and people understood that we were going to demolish any illegal structure placed in a public property. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "Thirdly, during the transition period, we issued an advisory that anybody building on a public space should stop, but a lot of people refused. At that time, we didn't have the executive power to stop anybody; hence we advised. Now that the governor has the executive power to act, he has decided to swing into action immediately, and this was what happened yesterday (Saturday). And this will continue so as to ensure that all public places are reclaimed and safe for public services," Bature said. On the allegation of vendetta, Bature said, "This is an issue of public interest. We said it before the election and even after. If it is vendetta we wouldn't have mentioned it in the public space. "We said we were going to do this and Kano people were very happy. They were aware that we were going to do this; and they voted for us based on our campaign promises. So, if we don't do this, we are not fulfilling our promises." The governor had on Friday also directed that all land developers at the Hajj Camp to stop immediately. He said this during a visit to the Kano State Pilgrims Camp to see its condition. "I am appalled that the facility meant to serve as home for intending pilgrims from Kano State and beyond was debased by the immediate past administration, with many plots of land there sold to their cronies," he said. Nigerians can now earn US Dollars by acquiring premium domain names, most clients earn about $7,000 to $10,000, all paid in US Dollars. Click here to learn how to start. The Circuit de Catalunya needs to up its game in order to keep the Spanish GP. That is the warning of F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, with the paddock abuzz this weekend about the Spanish GP moving from Barcelona to Madrid for the future. For this weekend, the Circuit de Catalunya scrapped the slow chicane and revived the exciting and treacherous two sweeping right handers. When asked if he has taken the final sweeper flat-out yet, Max Verstappen joked after qualifying: "You want me to try that one? "Yeah, over time the cars are improving so I think next year - if we come back - then probably it's flat." 'If' is currently the big question, even though Barcelona still has three years to run on its current Formula 1 race contract. "It's one of our most classic grands prix," Domenicali told the Spanish daily AS. "We have conversations, we extended for 2025 and 2026, but there is a need to renew many things, which is what they are doing. "Our friends in Barcelona know it, I am always very transparent with everyone. The things I see happening now should have come sooner, but that's ok. They are investing, they are working to improve the experience for the fans. "We will see. But as I say, competition helps the system to grow." Domenicali hit back at the notion that he is becoming a sort of undertaker for some of the most historical circuits in F1 history. "Not at all," the Italian said. "Sometimes I read that and laugh. "History is valuable, but what I am saying is that if you go from historical to old, obsolete, that is very different." Domenicali also admitted that "it's a fact" that a rival bid is now underway with the Madrid project. "We have contracts to honour," he insisted. "So in the next, I don't want to say months but we will make the right decision for the good of the sport. "But if you ask me if there is room for two grands prix in Spain, I don't think it's possible but I don't want to rule it out." One potential solution could be a scheme in which a single annual Spanish GP is alternated between Barcelona and Madrid each year. "Yes, it's something we'll discuss and see about," said Domenicali. "I do not want to rule it out but it is not the centre of the discussion. "You have to understand how the two projects want to evolve. But what I can guarantee is that Spain will continue to be on the calendar." (GMM) Gunther Steiner has found an odd ally in his criticism of the stewarding system in Formula 1. The Haas boss was summoned to the stewards in Barcelona on a charge of bringing the sport into disrepute with his criticism of the entire steward system. Steiner, furious with Nico Hulkenberg's penalty in Monaco, called the officials "laymen" with no right to decide "the fate of people that invest millions in their careers". "Race steward is not even a job," he told Sky Deutschland, "because you can get fired from a job that you get paid for." The outcome of Steiner's Barcelona hearing is not yet known. What is clear is that his team boss colleagues were staying away from the shaky ground of criticising the FIA when asked about the saga. "I would like to leave this for the FIA to decide," said Aston Martin's Mike Krack. "Same. We trust the FIA. Right?" added McLaren boss Andrea Stella. Fascinatingly, it was Ralf Schumacher - the uncle of axed and criticised former Haas driver Mick Schumacher - who leapt to Steiner's defence. "The demand for more consistency has come up more and more often," the former F1 driver said in Barcelona. "Now, of course, it is very important how he (Steiner) articulated that. We all know Gunther Steiner. "But other than that, I'm more with him than not on that one." Central to Steiner's critique is that he would like to see the part-time, unpaid, rotating stewards ousted from F1 and replaced with a paid, professional, full-time steward panel. "What bothers me a bit," said Ralf, "is that I do think we can be open and honest with one another. "The desire to use professional stewards, the idea that we have the same ones all year round, that discussion should be allowed. "Otherwise it feels a bit like a police state where you can't say anything because otherwise you'll be punished immediately." (GMM) Energy sector debt identified as key contributor to Ghana's debt - World Bank rep warns GraphicOnline Business News Jun - 04 - 2023 , 12:43 The Country Director of the World Bank (WB) in Ghana, Mr. Pierre Frank Laporte, has highlighted the significant role played by Ghana's energy sector debt in exacerbating the country's overall debt challenges. In an interview monitored by the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr. Laporte outlined the factors identified by the WB that are driving Ghana's debt situation. Mr. Laporte emphasized that deficiencies within the energy sector, including issues related to tariff systems, management, costly power purchases, and transmission losses, were major problems contributing to Ghana's mounting debts. He pointed out that the mismatch between the production cost of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and the amount consumers paid for electricity led to a surge in debts, as the government was unable to meet its financial obligations to the IPPs. Moreover, Mr. Laporte criticized the Power Purchasing Agreements (PPAs) signed by the government, stating that they were expensive and burdened the country with paying for unused energy due to "take or pay contracts." He noted that Ghana had entered into agreements at unfavorable rates and prices in recent years, which had further impacted the debt situation. To address this issue, Mr. Laporte urged the government to pursue reforms in tariff adjustments, tackle transmission losses through improved infrastructure, and restructure power purchasing agreements to align with the country's energy demands. He highlighted the recent tariff increment and approval by the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) as a positive step, emphasizing that substantial progress could be achieved through the implementation of intended energy sector reforms. Additionally, Mr. Laporte advised the government to leverage the West African Power Pool to provide affordable electricity to both the population and industries. According to Fitch Ratings, the energy sector represents the largest driver of Ghana's national debt, with the country owing independent power producers a staggering $1.58 billion. Fitch Ratings also revealed that while Ghana initially approached the IPPs to restructure their debts as part of the External and Domestic Debt Restructuring, the companies objected to the proposal. Stakeholders, patrons laud Graphic Business, Access Bank SME Clinic Kwadwo Baffoe Donkor Business News Jun - 03 - 2023 , 15:16 Stakeholders and patrons of the Graphic Business/Access Bank SME Clinic and Fair have expressed satisfaction with the programme and the rich platform it provides. Aside from the attendance at the clinic, all the exhibitors, who expressed interest in the fair, also turned up at the Prempeh Assembly Hall in Kumasi. The Head of SME and Support of Access Bank Ghana PLC, Eugenia O. Addo, said the patronage so far has been quite encouraging and worth the investment. Fair, clinic Graphic Business, a specialised brand of the Graphic Communications Groups Ltd, partnered Access Bank Ghana PLC to organise the Ashanti Region edition of the SME Fair and Clinic in Kumasi. The three-day fair is being held on the theme: Running Sustainable Businesses in a Challenging Economic Landscape. Activities lined up for the fair included a public lecture, exhibition, sales and a networking opportunity for participants. Participants were also trained in cyber security and sensitised to be conscious of their safety while running their businesses. Access Bank officials also offered business advisory services, training and loan facilities to the participants as part of efforts to address their financial challenges that hindered their growth. Products on exhibition ranged from clothing to edibles such as plantain chips, palm oil, hibiscus juice sobolo, natural fruit juices, hair, make-up and skin care products, electronics and telecommunication products. SMEs hub Ms Addo said the bank, which positioned itself as an SMEs hub, decided to hold the second edition of the fair in Kumasi this year, following the success of the first, which was held in 2021. She said feedback from the first edition guided the bank to come up with its instant loan, a collateral free product. The head of SME and support of Access Bank Ghana PLC said most of the businesses asked for loan facilities that would not require landed property as collateral, since many of them were not in a position to provide them. Knowing the importance of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to the development of the country, Ms Addo said the bank designed a product that took into consideration the turnover of the businesses and based on that, the collateral free loans were granted. So far, she said, the repayment rate had been encouraging. Ms Addo assured the business community that the bank would continue to listen to their concerns and tailor its products to meet their demands. Great platform Most of the exhibitors admitted that the fair was a great platform for them to advertise their products and also look for partnership to expand their markets. Some of the exhibitors came all the way from Tema in the Greater Accra Region and Techimantia in the Ahafo Region to exhibit at the fair while some of them also came from the Ashanti Region. Exhibitors For his part, the Marketing Manager of Brifeda International Foods in Tema, Calvin Ampadu, said his objective of taking part in the fair was to find new markets for the companys products and find distributors in the region. According to him, the company had so far been operating in Accra and we think it is time to move out of Accra and penetrate the bigger market. So far, he added, the response had been very positive for the companys dairy and cocoa products and we have made some few contacts. We are yet to follow but the feedback is that they want some of the products here, Mr Ampadu said. The purpose was not different for Lily Nkrumah Addai of Aroma Washwoman. As a start-up company, I want to use the fair to market my products and network for future purposes. Currently, she said, her market was mainly students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and residents around the university community. But the business is growing and I need more avenues for the products to fit into my dream of becoming a businesswoman, Ms Addai said. She expressed her gratitude to the Graphic Business and Access Bank Ghana for the opportunity to exhibit at the fair and meet potential partners and clients. 1. Calvin Ampadu (right), Marketing Manager of Brifeda International Foods, speaking to the Graphic Reporter. 2. A patron examining a product on display Maison Yusif Wins the 2023 Best Business in Fragrance Award in Accra. Kofi Duah Entertainment Jun - 03 - 2023 , 16:39 Updated: Jun - 03 - 2023 , 16:39 CEO of Ghanaian luxurious perfume brand Maison Yusif, at the just ended 2nd edition of the Ghana Trade and Commerce awards in a ceremony, has been adjudged best Business in Fragrance award in Ghana. The prestigious ceremony organized by the Business Executive Magazine in Ghana came off Friday, June 2, 2023, at the Airport View Hotel. The August event saw hundreds of guests throng the premises to witness the honoring of the most deserving nominees. Yusif Meizongos Maison Yusif brand beat off keen competition from other competent contenders to emerge winner at this year's Best Business in Fragrance award. The Ghana Trade & Commerce Awards is an awards scheme that aims to identify and publicly recognize various aspects of outstanding performance and conduct by enterprises domiciled in Ghana concerning trade and commerce. As well, the scheme covers both trade within Ghana and trade between Ghana and the rest of the world. This is the second edition of this periodical awards scheme. According to the CEO of Maison Yusif, it is a great honor to receive such a prestigious award, and further admonished young creatives never to give up on their dreams. He said I cannot thank you all enough for blessing me and my team with this award. It feels great to be here but before I take my seat, I want to use this opportunity to tell every young Ghanaian that; yes it is not easy climbing up the ladder but never give up on those dreams. Keep going and pushing because one day your toil will eventually pay off. Maison Yusif is a niche artisan perfume brand committed to delivering world-class quality fragrances that speak to the body, mind, and soul. The young perfumer, together with his nine (9) member team, through their creative eyes, has created over 200 top-notch fragrances with Leather To Excellence fragrance, a 100 percent leather fragrance being the latest. Bill Cosby faces new sexual assault lawsuit from former Playboy model BBC Showbiz News Jun - 03 - 2023 , 16:37 Bill Cosby is facing a new lawsuit from former Playboy model Victoria Valentino, who says he drugged her and sexually assaulted her. The 80-year-old says Mr Cosby raped her in 1969 after she had dinner with him. Mr Cosby was freed from prison in 2021 when his sexual assault conviction was overturned. Ms Valentino filed the civil suit under a California law that has temporarily lifted the statute of limitations in sexual assault cases. In the lawsuit, she alleges that after ingesting pills Mr Cosby offered to her and her friend, Mr Cosby took them to a nearby office. There, she says she became unconscious and was assaulted after waking up. She told Mr Cosby I want to go home now, according to the filing, which adds she was incapable of consent and physically helpless. Ms Valentino is seeking unspecified damages, court and attorney fees. In a statement, Ms Valentino said the trauma the 85-year-old inflicted on her has affected not only me, but my children and grandchildren. By breaking my silence and speaking my truth, I hope this serves as my legacy to my family, and shows those survivors who have yet to find their voices, that hope and healing are possible, she said in the statement shared with US media. A representative for Mr Cosby, Andrew Wyatt, told US media outlets Ms Valentinos claims were without any proof or facts and said she had inconsistencies in her many statements. Once known to millions as Americas Dad, Mr Cosby starred in the 1980s hit sitcom The Cosby Show. But his reputation was shattered after dozens of women came forward with stories of rape, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct from as early as the 1960s. Mr Cosby has consistently denied the allegations, claiming all of his sexual encounters were consensual. In 2018, in Pennsylvania, he was convicted of aggravated indecent assault against a woman, Andrea Constand. But the conviction was overturned after the states highest court found that Mr Cosby should not have been put on trial because he had reached an agreement with a previous prosecutor in 2005 that he would not be charged. Last year, in a civil case, a jury in California found Mr Cosby had sexually assaulted a 16 year old in 1975 at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. He was ordered to pay $500,000 (399,000) in damages. Read also Ghanas Edward Enninful steps down as British Vogue editor Musicians are losing sponsorships because of internal wrangling Bernard Amankwah Two-time lucky Asikasu palm oil producers: Municipal Assembly fixes broken-down extraction machine Zadok Kwame Gyesi Features Jun - 03 - 2023 , 13:51 Asikasu, a farming community near Suhyen in the New Juaben North Municipality in the Eastern Region, is noted for the cultivation of various crops, particularly oil palm for the production of palm oil. Although many of the farmers cultivate other crops such as cocoa, maize, cassava plantain and vegetables, palm oil production is the main farming activity in the community and its nearby villages. Since selling the raw products, palm nuts, does not fetch so much money, the farmers, especially the women, process the palm nuts by boiling, putting them into the mortar and pounding, after which water is added and the chaff removed. Thereafter, the water containing the oil is boiled for some time. The oil is then separated from the water. Since the process is laborious it has been difficult for the processors who are not able to process much of the palm nuts. Huge money Another challenge is that because the processors do not have the traditional tools to work with, they are compelled to transport the palm nuts to other nearby towns such as Suhyen, Jumapo and Oyoko, among others, which is making them spend huge sums of money. It was, therefore, a delight when a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Peace and Love Association, donated a modern palm oil extraction machine to the Asikasu community to help the processors produce a large quantity of the product every day. The machine, which enabled the processors to at least double production, was used for only four years before it broke down, which worsened the plight of the processors. The New Juaben North Municipal Assembly, however, came to the rescue of the farmers by repairing the machine, to keep production on track so that the processors would be able to make money out of the palm oil business and feed their families. At a short ceremony to officially hand over the repaired machine to the community last month, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the area, Comfort Asante, said since the cost of repairing the machine, which was GH13,000, was huge, that would be too much for the processors; hence, the assemblys decision to take up that responsibility. She said the assembly mobilised funds to put the machine in order and was grateful that the community would continue to use it to improve their earnings. Oil palm seedlings The MCE said the availability of the machine had become necessary because her outfit had adopted the planting of oil palm seedlings as part of the government's Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD). Because of that, Ms Asante told the gathering that a total of 15,000 oil palm seedlings had been distributed to farmers free of charge. That initiative, she indicated, had witnessed most of the palm seedlings planted bearing fruits. She was hopeful that the repaired machine would boost the palm oil extraction business in the community. That, the MCE further explained, would create more jobs and enhance the livelihoods of the people in the community. She expressed appreciation to the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Nana Adjei Boateng, chiefs and opinion leaders who supported in diverse ways to make the whole process a reality. Ms Asante urged the community to take proper care of the machine by upholding a maintenance culture, to ensure that it lasted long to serve its purpose in the interest of the community. Rearing animals The Municipal Director of Agriculture, Emmanuel Amenu, said apart from oil palm extraction, the people were also encouraged to go into the cultivation of other crops, as well as the rearing of animals such as goats, sheep and pigs, adding that his outfit distributed 60 pigs to the farmers to rear two years ago. He promised to further assist the farmers and urged them to contact his office in a time of need. All such measures, Mr Amenu indicated, would make the planting for Food and Jobs a reality. He also stated that the availability of the processing machine would encourage more farmers to go into oil palm cultivation. According to him, the farmers would be able to add value to the fresh palm nuts, by producing palm oil which would get ready market. Most of the farmers were happy about the machine being brought since they would no longer go through the traditional processing of palm oil. Repairing the machine also put an end to the high cost of transporting the palm nuts to nearby towns for processing into palm oil. A woman farmer and processor, Grace Tekpetey, who had been in the oil palm processing business for five years, heaved a sigh of relief that at long last she would be using a machine instead of manpower. She said the main source of income for the inhabitants was palm nuts processing and that with the machine they would be able to process more and subsequently generate more income for their livelihoods. Committee A nine-member committee headed by the Assemblyman for the community, Benjamin Larbo Narh, was later inaugurated to take care of the machine. He pointed out that the palm oil business was lucrative and that the machine would enable the processors to make a lot of profit since they would no longer travel far distances to process their palm nuts. The assemblyman said palm oil production played an important role in the local economy of the country and enhanced rural livelihoods. Mr Narh commended the New Juaben North Municipal Assembly for assisting the community to repair their broken-down palm oil extraction machine to enable them to improve their livelihoods. Focusing on menstrual hygiene: impressive move Vicky Wireko Reality Zone Jun - 03 - 2023 , 17:04 Celebrating, the world over, a World Menstrual Hygiene Day is simply impressive. Whoever put that day up for critical awareness of menstrual issues must be commended. Briefly, it is a day that the world is being asked to create awareness in whatever possible way and break the myths and taboo that sometimes shroud menstruation, a natural occurrence in the lives of girls and women is most appropriate in ones view that the World Health Organisation (WHO) prefers to refer to it as Menstrual Health because this natural phenomenon involves the health and well-being of women. Growing up, what the average mother was likely to talk to a daughter about her periods was more on the possibility of getting pregnant and therefore to be careful of male relationships. Leaving home for boarding school, a mother will provide enough sanitary pads and go further to educate the daughter on its use. Unlike what is obtained in todays school curriculum, there was not much classroom education on personal hygiene or menstrual health for girls. We saw friends who went through a harrowing week of menstrual pain whenever it was their period. Some just had to be confined to bed, those days. Others endured days of heavy flow of blood and with some severe cramps every time they had to go through the monthly cycle. It was a dread for those who suffered from their monthly cycle. Today, things have changed tremendously. To know that at the global stage, menstruation of girls and women is being pushed forward on national agenda with country specific focus because of its health implications and likely implication on national health budgets is commendable. Traditions Menstruation has been seen in some cultures as a taboo, even in this 21 Century. In some traditions a woman is considered unclean and unfit for certain assignments, especially relating to chieftaincy issues. Though discriminatory, this practice, unfortunately, still has a place today. I learnt from someone, to my dismay, that polygamy was a known tradition perpetrated by men so they could enjoy their continued sex life. Such men, I was told, used menstrual periods to space their visits to their second or third wives switching to the wife not in her period whenever they pleased. These are some of the traditional negative thoughts and practices that one believes have been ditched for the better. The institution of World Menstrual Hygiene and Health Day definitely has changed things for the better. The critical education being brought to the worlds attention during this important period is emphasising the need for girls and tomorrows mothers to have an early awareness that menstrual health and how to stay through it hygienically can help prevent infections and reduce odour. Early awareness Early awareness also helps anyone going through their period to stay well and comfortable. Thankfully, unlike years ago, there are more menstrual products on the market today to help with knowledge on how to stay clean and healthy in ones period. The WHO has escalated the education and awareness beyond just hygiene to also include health and well-being. According to WHO, menstrual health has been placed on the global health education and human rights. They have drawn attention to such experiences as shame and embarrassment because some of the girls and women going through their periods do not have the means to manage their periods. WHO therefore calls for the world to recognise and frame menstruation as a health issue with physical, psychological and social dimensions. School absenteeism And how true. Just a few years ago, for example our Ministry of Education pushed seriously for underprivileged school girls to be provided with free menstrual pads. The case was that there was a lot of school absenteeism from girls with one of the reasons being menstruation. The argument was that due to inability to afford pads and therefore the use of improvised materials for their menstrual flow, there was accidental staining of clothes. This thus earned them ridicule, especially from male students. For this reason therefore, the girls chose to stay at home until their period was over. When the ministry started supplying the free sanitary pads, school attendance by girls was said to have increased in those areas piloted. So it is important that dealing with awareness and how to manage menstrual periods can lessen the social and psychological burdens of girls and women in that bracket. The focused education on May 28 each year therefore is welcome news. Parents, teachers, older sisters and above all girls are being spoken to on that day and being reminded of the responsibilities and the management towards health and hygiene during those critical cycle of menstrual flow. Happily, the message seems to have gone down very well to the extent that this year for example, one saw in the news and on social media, lots of activities including symposia, demonstrations, education and distribution of free sanitary pads in schools. Last week, many organisations and individuals responded to the call and funded the free supply of sanitary pads backed with demonstrations on how to use and dispose of them. May 28 each year should continue to bring not only awareness but goodwill from people who sympathise with the social, psychological and health issues of menstruation to help the needy and widen the knowledge and education on menstrual health and hygiene in communities. Nogokpo chiefs give Archbishop Agyinasare 14-day ultimatum for peace talks Alberto Mario Noretti Jun - 04 - 2023 , 09:36 The chiefs and residents of Nogokpo in the Ketu South Municipality of the Volta Region have issued a 14-day ultimatum to Archbishop Charles Agyinasare, the founder and leader of Perez Chapel International, to engage in peace talks. This follows his recent reference to Nogokpo as the "demonic" headquarters of the Volta Region during a recent sermon. Archbishop Agyinasare has clarified that his comments were not intended to demean any specific town or its residents. He explained that his remarks were meant to illustrate the principle of divine protection to his congregants. The ultimatum was announced during a press conference held at the Royal Palace of the Dufia of Nogokpo, Torgbui Saba V, and conveyed through a statement read by the palace spokesman, Nufialaga Kobla Mawufemor Nornyibey on Friday, June 2, 2023. The chiefs expressed disappointment that Archbishop Agyinasare showed no remorse for his comments, which the chiefs interpreted as an intentional effort to tarnish the reputation of the people of Nogokpo. The chiefs emphasised that Nogokpo should not be perceived as the headquarters of wickedness or evil in the Volta Region, noting that the town has a rich history, including being visited by Ghana's first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who sought divine assistance from the thunder deity, Torgbui Zakadza during the independence 'fight' with the British. The statement highlighted Nogokpo's location along the ECOWAS highway, a major route for goods and passengers, and stressed that derogatory comments about the town were unfounded. It emphasized the peaceful and tolerant nature of the people of Nogokpo, urging religious leaders to be mindful of their language and avoid inciting violence. The chiefs and people of Nogokpo have appealed to the Peace Council, the Christian Council, the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, the Ketu South Municipal Assembly, the Some Traditional Council, the National Investigations Bureau, and the Inspector-General of Police to take appropriate action against Archbishop Agyinasare for his divisive utterances. They have set a 14-day deadline for him to appear in Nogokpo for an amicable resolution, with the hope that he will comply. Failure to respond within the given timeframe may lead to further action, according to the statement. The community remains committed to upholding its ethics, ethos, and core values without compromising for personal gain. Police on manhunt for 'boyfriend' who allegedly killed Nsutam SHS student Haruna Yussif Wunpini Jun - 04 - 2023 , 14:05 The police has started full scale investigations into the circumstances leading to the death of an 18-year-old female student of the Nsutam Senior High Technical School in the Fanteakwa South District of the Eastern Region last Thursday. Abigail Asare, a second year General Arts student was allegedly stabbed to death by Michael Osei, a barber. Abigail's lifeless body was found at Osei's barber shop at Nsutam last Thursday, June 1, 2023. Osei is said to be Abigail's boy friend and she had reportedly visited him at the shop last Thursday. Sources claim Abigail left school after vacation and decided to visit Osei before going home. Police sources have told Graphic Online that the suspect is on the run and efforts are underway to apprehend him. Osei allegedly accused Abigail of cheating on him and stabbed her multiple times leading to her death, according to preliminary information gathered by the police at Nsutam supported by officers from the Kyebi Divisional Police Command. Abigail's body has been deposited at the Kyebi Government Hospital morgue for autopsy. Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba State has promised to start payment of gratuities to retired state and local government workers. He said while speaking with Newsmen in Jalingo that he would soon start paying retired civil servants their gratuity and pension in order to reduce the hardship being faced by retirees as a result of non-payment of their benefits. Kefas also expressed the need for proper auditing of the government's spending in order to stop leakages. He directed that auditing work must be taken with all seriousness in order to ensure prudent management of public funds. It could be recalled that a week to hand over, the Taraba State chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress ( NLC), said the state government under the leadership of Darius Ishaku owed retired civil servants N22 billion in unpaid gratuity while hundreds of retired primary school teachers and local government workers who retired several years ago were yet to be enrolled for pension payment. The Congress also accused the Taraba state government under Darius Ishaku of diverting N800 million deducted from workers' salaries for workers' multi-purpose loan schemes and the National Housing scheme. Nigerians can now earn US Dollars by acquiring premium domain names, most clients earn about $7,000 to $10,000, all paid in US Dollars. Click here to learn how to start. Stop giving cash to child beggars Minister Kester Aburam Korankye Jun - 04 - 2023 , 20:16 The growing numbers of child beggars on the streets of Accra and other major cities in the country could be minimised if the public desists from giving them alms. The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Lariba Zuweira Abudu has therefore appealed to the public, especially residents of cities to restrain from giving cash to children engaging in begging, sometimes under dangerous circumstances on the streets. Ms Abudu was speaking at the Ministers Press Briefing in Accra on Sunday to update the public on the various programmes under the ministry. She said over the years, the number of child beggars had risen despite efforts of the government to rid the streets of these beggars, most of whom are foreigners who are either trafficked into the country or are forced by their guardians to engage in the humiliating activity. Already, she said the government had repatriated about 400 of such foreign child beggars but was overwhelmed to note that many more had resurfaced on the streets only a few months after. We have done a lot to take them from the streets but somehow they find themselves back, we even repatriated 400 of them and engaged the embassies here but they find ways to come back so we have to stop giving money to minors on the streets because as adults I dont see why we should be giving monies to six year olds on the streets Ms Abudu said. She said the government did not have the resources to repatriate the child beggars presently on the streets but would encourage the public to shun them and desist from giving them cash to help force them out of the streets. If you dont give them today and I dont give them tomorrow, next week they will be forced to leave the streets and move away, the minister added. Upper East Region: Anthrax outbreak claims one life GraphicOnline Jun - 04 - 2023 , 08:21 A confirmed case of anthrax resulting in one death and 11 other individuals being infected has been reported in the Binduri District of the Upper East Region. According to a statement issued by Dr. Emmanuel Kofi Dzotsi, the Upper East Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, the affected individuals consumed the carcasses of cattle that were infected with anthrax. The Regional Health Directorate received notification on June 1, 2023, regarding two cases of anthrax, one of which resulted in a fatality, in the Binduri District due to the consumption of infected cattle. A total of four cattle have died in the affected community. As of now, 11 suspected cases have been identified, and efforts are underway to conduct contact tracing within the community. In response to the outbreak, the statement issued a warning to all districts, particularly those bordering Binduri, to remain vigilant and prioritize surveillance activities for anthrax in healthcare facilities and communities. The statement emphasized the importance of managing suspected cases with Ciprofloxacin and Doxycycline, as well as employing risk communication strategies to raise awareness among communities. Furthermore, community members were urged to refrain from consuming the carcasses of cattle of unknown cause, and effective collaboration with the Veterinary Service in each district was encouraged to ensure a comprehensive control of the disease. Fuel cell systems company Advent Technologies Holdings signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Safran Power Units, a leader in auxiliary power systems and turbojet engines. Leveraging Advents proprietary Ion Pair Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) technology, and Safran Aerospace knowledge and capabilities, this new collaboration will seek to advance the development of next-generation high-temperature proton exchange membrane (HT-PEM) fuel cell technology, specifically for the aerospace sector. HT-PEM enables more efficient heat management versus low temperature-PEM (LT-PEM). It is more adapted for applications requiring high amounts of power combined with strong integration constraints such as aviation. HT PEM is more robust and can withstand toughest conditions, such as extreme temperatures and pollution, compared to LT-PEM. The collaboration is further supported by a strong research consortium including Safran Tech (the Research & Technology Center of Safran Group), the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, Fraunhofer Institute, the French National Centre for Scientific Research, the University of Strasbourg, and the IMDEA Energy Institute. Led by Safran Power Units and with the support of Advent, the consortium has secured a grant for the Clean Hydrogen Partnership TC3-08 NIMPHEA Project. Running from 2023 to 2026, the project is funded by Horizon Europe. NIMPHEA aims at developingbased on the development and/or optimization of its components: catalyst layer, membrane and gas diffusion layera new-generation HT MEA compatible with aircraft environment and requirements, considering a system size of 1.5 MW and contributing to higher level FC targets: a power density of 1.25 W/cm at nominal operating temperature comprised between 160C-200C. Advents Ion Pair MEA technology serves as the foundation for these advancements. In a competitive process, Advent was selected as the commercialization partner for a new HT PEM technology pioneered by US Department of Energy scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratories. This next generation HT PEM technology is based on strongly formed ion pairs between a charged membrane and phosphoric acid, and has been shown to operate at far higher current density than possible with current HT PEM MEAs while at the same time exhibiting substantially lower degradation rates. As part of the newly signed MoU, Advent and Safran Power Units are exploring a Joint Development Agreement for the advancement of HT-PEM fuel cells in aviation and for enhancing Advents supply capability. In 2021 SerEnergy A/S, fischer Eco Systems and UltraCell LLC merged into one Advent organization, launching the company into the forefront of fuel cell and systems companies that supply the entire technology chain from components to MEAs to stacks and systems. Resources After 10 days of power restoration since Condition of Readiness 4 was announced, the Guam Power Authority had restored 49.2% of the system load as of 1 p.m. Sunday, according to a press release from GPA. An additional two feeders/circuits were also added to the island-wide system for a total of 54 feeders/circuits partially energized, and 23 out of 24 total major GPA substations energized. The Humatak substation restoration is in process. Substations need to be energized before feeders and circuits can get power, and then service to customers can be restored. GPA also listed its initial preliminary damage assessment: 0.03% (12 out of 34,500) concrete power poles damaged. 14.9% (104 out of 700) wooden power poles damaged. 0.7% (58 out of 8,301) distribution transformers damaged. Damage heaviest in the northern section of the island, most especially Dededo and Yigo. GPA also listed key objectives for Sunday: Energize wells on Route 3, NCS (P-46). Continue to energize GWA wells in Yigo (P-331, P-332) and Dededo (P-87, P-88, P-89) well fields. Energize feeder P-250 (Sinajana, Ordot-Chalan Pago) wells and on towards DOC and Dairy Road. Energize Humatak Substation. Energize Navy Radio Barrigada Substation. Energize parts of Ordot-Chalan Pago, Talofofo, Dededo, Hagat, and other critical infrastructure in various areas. Continue work on urgent needs island-wide. GPA published key objectives specifically for generation capacity: Current operable capacity is 154MW which is adequate for todays load of 98.3MW. Capacity available to serve customers energized. Piti 9 (43MW) online as of 4 p.m. Saturday. Work continues to dry out base load units (Piti 8 and Cabras 1 & 2), as they proceed toward being placed online within the next few days. GPA also stated their process going forward. GPA crews will continue power restoration work as quickly and safely as possible. The crews are encouraged by the positive words, prayers, and goodwill offered by all. Continue addressing critical water, wastewater, communications, health and other critical services infrastructure. Launch the next phase of recovery on Monday: Divide crews into three or more sectors (north, central and south) to begin concentrated efforts in restoring as many customers as possible in parts of the circuit with minimal damages. Those with significant damages will be addressed in Phase III recovery efforts. Recovery effort resources: 12-line crew personnel from Commonwealth Utility Corporation (CUC)/CNMI arrived this morning to assist in recovery efforts. The Snohomish PUD, a Washington state American Public Power Association member utility, 14 person high voltage transmission line crew and support, are scheduled to arrive Guam Thursday. This crew will begin the repair of the 115kV transmission line system. Again, our crews have begun to restore power to circuits and ultimately to customers. We are working to restore your power service as soon as possible, said GPA in the release. GPA continues to ask for your patience and understanding as we work on restoring power to the entire island. In the ongoing trial at the Cour d'Assises de Paris, witnesses have testified to the prime role played by genocide suspect Philippe Hategekimana, also known as 'Biguma,' in the death of the former Bourgmestre of Ntyazo Commune, Narcisse Nyagasaza. Hategekimana, formerly a deputy commander of Gendarmerie (police) in the current Nyanza District, is currently on trial in France. The trial commenced on May 10 and is expected to conclude on June 30. During the trial, Israel Dusingizimana, former councilor of the Mushirarungu sector in the commune of Nyabisindu, told court how Nyagasaza was killed saying that he recalls seeking Hategekimana arriving in a white double-cabin vehicle in company of gendarmes, and took Nyagasaza and five other Tutsis. He remembers that under the orders of Hategekimana, the gendarmes searched the five Tutsis, confiscated their money, and then shot them dead by the roadside. Afterward, they continued their journey and arrived in front of the under-construction Mushirarungu sector office. "We got out of the vehicle and ascended the road, where Hategekimana commanded a search of the bourgumestre. The gendarmes seized Rwf 1,000 from his pocket. Then, he lay down on the ground, supporting himself on his left arm. Two gendarmes, once again following Hategekimana's orders, shot him twice," he recalls. Following the incident, Hategekimana addressed the Hutu individuals present, stating, "Here is an example of what you must do to the Tutsi who are on the hill of Nyabubare." Another witness, Eliyazari Nsengiyobiri, confirmed that it was on Saturday, April 23, 1994, when Hategekimana addressed the people gathered around the vehicle which was carrying Nyagasaza. He stated that they had apprehended Nyagasaza, accusing him of transporting the Tutsi across the border. Hategekimana pointed at Nyagasaza as he made this declaration. Hategekimana proceeded to interrogate Nyagasaza, specifically questioning him about the whereabouts of the Inkotanyi. Nyagasaza responded that he had no information. In response, Hategekimana said, "Do you see the arrogance of this man?" He then instructed Nyagasaza to empty his pockets, and Nyagasaza got out a Rwf1000 note. Hategekimana then ordered Nyagasaza to lie down on the ground. Under his orders, one of the accompanying gendarmes shot Nyagasaza. Hategekimana then proceeded to command the people to bury the body of the bourgmestre. Hategekimana, 66, faces charges of orchestrating the murder of Tutsis and establishing roadblocks to intercept and execute Tutsis in the hills of Nyamure and Nyabubare, as well as the former Ntyazo, Nyabisindu, and Rusatira communes--all located in southern Rwanda. Haiti - FLASH : Statement of former P.M. Laurent Lamothe, sanctioned by the USA Following the announcement Friday, June 2nd, 2023, by Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State of the designation of the former Prime Minister and Minister of Planning and External Cooperation, Laurent Salvador Lamothe, for his Involvement in Significant Corruptions, prohibiting him from entering the United States, Laurent Lamothe made public the next day a declaration of his first reaction, which we reproduce in full for the benefit of our readers. Statement by former Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe : "Laurent S. Lamothe, former prime minister of Haiti vehemently rejects the U.S. Department of State's recent designation of himself for "involvement in significant corruption." Regrettably, Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken's decision is not based on factual proof but repurposed hearsay dating back to Mr. Lamothe's time as prime minister from 2012 to 2014. ln fact, the Department of State, in its November 2022 report to the U.S. Congress (pursuant to Section 107 of the Haiti Development, Accountability, and lnstitutional Transparency Initiative Act), outlined that there was no "specific disappearance of funds" identified in a PetroCaribe report. The Secretary of State's newly imposed sanction on Mr. Lamothe achieves nothing but the bidding of some of his long-standing political opponents in Haiti, as acknowledged by the same report. Back during his time as prime minister, these same opponents maneuvered to undermine Mr. Lamothe's ability to govern by spurring civil unrest and violent anti-government protests. Their insatiable desire to assassinate Mr. Lamothe's character did not waiver following his resignation as prime minister. On the contrary, it intensified and culminated into a dubious and politically-charged PetroCaribe report that the U.S. Department of State negligently used to make Mr. Lamothe a target. Over the past nine years, five independent audits from Haiti's Supreme Audit Court (CSCCA), the Anticorruption Unit (ULCC), and the Venezuelan government's PDV CARIBE thoroughly scrutinized Mr. Lamothe's financial management and conclusively found no wrongdoing attributed directly to him. Mr. Lamothe has been an upstanding member of the Miami community ever since his college years, boosting the local economy through his business and job-creating ventures. South Florida is also home to his two daughters. Mr. Lamothe returned to Haiti in 2011 only to serve his homeland's government in the wake of the 2010 earthquake. By entailing Mr. Lamothe's "general ineligibility to enter the U.S.," the Department of State's designation is forcing the separation of a family and shutting a father out of the transformational lite experiences of his teenage daughters. Mr. Lamothe is resolute to pursue all legal avenues afforded to him to challenge the Department of State designation, to clear his name, recommit to the truth, and above all, reunite with his family. Laurent Lamothe" See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39684-haiti-flash-former-pm-laurent-lamothe-sanctioned-by-the-usa.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22844-haiti-flash-report-petrocaribe-laurent-lamothe-goes-on-the-offensive.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22687-haiti-flash-conclusion-of-the-petrocaribe-report-the-commission-accuses.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14011-haiti-flash-laurent-lamothe-counter-attack.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13785-haiti-economy-venezuela-satisfied-with-the-good-management-of-the-petrocaribe-fund.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13289-haiti-politic-report-petrocaribe-the-moment-of-truth.html HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - FLASH : Shipwreck, 14 survivors, other survivors sought and 1 confirmed death Friday evening the boat "Metropole" carrying 600 bags of flour and an undetermined number of passengers, was prohibited from setting sail by Auguste Sony, inspector of the Maritime and Navigation Service of Haiti due to the overloading of the boat and the sea state, a situation reported to his superiors. Despite everything, the captain of the "Metropole", ignoring the ban, took off without authorization, leaving the town of Anse-a-Pitres towards the West bound for the coastal town of Marigot. Early Saturday morning the boat "Metropole" capsized off Cote-de-Fer, announced to the Directorate of Civil Protection (DPC). According to local media, the sinking occurred after the boat hit a reef. 14 passengers were rescued, 1 passenger in his forties died and the Haitian Red Cross (CRH) and the DPC are currently mobilized to carry out rescue operations in order to find other survivors whose total number remain until now unknown. Among the survivors, one person was hospitalized in critical condition, according to Civil Protection. S/ HL/ HaitiLibre Published on 2023/06/03 | Source New stills added for the Korean drama "Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938" (2023). Advertisement Directed by Jo Nam-hyung, Kang Sin-hyo Written by Han Woo-ri Network: tvN With Lee Dong-wook, Kim So-yeon, Kim Beom, Ryu Kyung-soo, Hwang Hee, Kim Yong-ji,... 12 episodes - Sat, Sun 21:20 Follow up to "Tale of the Nine Tailed" Synopsis The story of Lee Yeon, a gumiho who was summoned back to a chaotic 1938 after being embroiled in an unexpected incident. Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2023/05/06 Mercer University, in partnership with the Genocide Survivors' Graduates Association (GAERG), successfully concluded a comprehensive professional training program in business skills and trauma narratives therapy. The training, which commenced on May 22 and concluded on June 2, aimed to equip over 200 GAERG members with essential business knowledge and trauma therapy techniques to overcome their past traumas, foster resilience, and build a brighter future. In a ceremony held at St. Paul cathedral in Kigali, GAERG members were celebrated for their resilience and empowerment. The event showcased their remarkable growth and deep understanding of business and entrepreneurship principles, as well as trauma therapy techniques. Participants at the ceremony shared their transformative testimonies, highlighting personal stories of resilience, healing, and newfound empowerment. These stories captured the essence of the event, leaving a powerful impact on everyone present. Julie Petherbridge, the Dean of the School of Business at Mercer University, elaborated on the teaching methods and strategies employed during the training. She expressed her excitement about the participants' growth in both business and overcoming trauma as they embark on innovative projects that will improve their overall well-being. Petherbridge also encouraged the graduates to emulate Rwanda's ambition for sustainable development and a high quality of life for all Rwandans. Jean Nepomuscene Ntezimana, GAERG's commissioner of healing and resilience, expressed gratitude to the Mercer University delegates for their initiative. He acknowledged the significant impact of the knowledge gained by the participants and highlighted the effectiveness of the student-centered teaching method in fostering openness and enabling individuals to overcome their past traumas. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Rwanda Governance Health By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. One of the trainees who were awarded, Benitha Ingabire, who underwent training in both mental health and business skills, emphasized how the program helped her rebuild trust and provided a platform to openly discuss struggles, seek support, and raise awareness about mental health within their communities. Ingabire expressed her excitement about paying forward the same service to others, engaging in business ventures, and becoming a minor counselor as she embraces a newfound sense of empowerment. The collaboration between Mercer University and GAERG in providing professional training to its members has proven to be transformative. As GAERG members continue to strengthen their resilience, their inspiring journey offers hope for a brighter future, where mental health takes precedence in post-Genocide Rwanda, particularly after the atrocities against the Tutsi in 1994. A recent poll conducted by the African Peace and Prosperity Institute (APPI), a private think tank based in Kigali, indicates that Rwandans display a relatively strong interest in selecting marriage partners who earn higher incomes than themselves. Spanning from January to May of this year, the survey aimed to capture public opinions on various family-related matters, offering valuable insights into the preferences of Rwandans when it comes to choosing life partners. Using simple random sampling techniques, the pollsters administered questionnaires to a diverse sample of 2,000 individuals hailing from all provinces of the country. Among the respondents, 30.9 percent expressed a desire to marry someone with a higher income, while 31.5 percent stated that their partner's income was not a significant factor in their decision. Additionally, 16.5 percent indicated a preference for marrying someone with a similar income level, while 20.8 percent chose not to respond to the question. Highlighting the scarcity of public opinion polls in Rwanda, Willy Mugenzi, the head of APPI, emphasized the importance of conducting such surveys regularly to inform policymaking. "Regular polls are essential as public opinions are constantly evolving. By conducting frequent polls, we can gain valuable insights into what people think about certain topics," Mugenzi remarked. Mugenzi further urged Rwandan researchers to take the lead in studying local issues, reducing reliance on foreign researchers to understand the nation's circumstances. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Rwanda By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Joyce Karamba, the founder of Kigali Junior Academy, a mother, and an educator, stressed the significance of such polls, as the results can prompt reflection and inspire solutions to societal challenges in Rwanda. Addressing concerns about marital instability in the country, Karamba noted that some individuals enter into marriage prematurely and without adequate guidance. In particular, she expressed reservations about individuals marrying at the age of 21, emphasizing that it may not be ideal given the relative youth and lack of self-discovery at that stage. "At 21, a person is still very young and may not fully understand themselves. Marriage is a serious commitment, and individuals should ensure they are ready for it by seeking advice and guidance," Karamba advised. Speaking about the overall well-being of Rwandan families, Modeste Muhire, a Rwandan evangelist, called for efforts to uphold Rwandan values in society while promoting mutual accountability among individuals. In the earlier times, majority of arranged marriages in India were done via messengers or mediators who were mostly common relatives or friends having enough information about both parties. With the passage of time there was an increase in online matrimony sites in India, and relationships started to be born in cyber space. Moral & ethical values of wedding have been degraded by infidelity itself. With the booming cases of forgery & blatant cheating in the name of marriage in India, there is no surprise that you need to keep enquiry of every details of prospective bride or groom. A few meetings arent sufficient to build trust to spend a whole life together. In order to address this ambiguity and insecurity, Probe Services comes into play to clear the doubt in any of the following Investigation. Pre Matrimonial Investigation Second Marriage Investigation Pre Matrimonial verification Re-Marriage Investigation Arranged Marriage Investigation Background checks for Marriage Verification before Marriage Matrimonial background Investigation Bride and Groom investigation for Marriage Wedding Detective Investigation before Marriage Pre Marital Investigation Pre Marriage Checks The purpose of background check is to verify the authenticity of the claims made by the individual & to establish the genuineness of characters & identity. Probe Services, one of Indias largest groups, is undoubtedly the most respected Brand in the Pre-Matrimonial Investigation. The business fraternity and even the industry peers acknowledge Probe Services as the pioneers of Pre- Matrimonial investigation business in India and the Industry. Probe Services strength lies in the ability of constant delivery on its promises. From the time of its inception in 1982, we have built and grown on our Mantra of Customer First where we have at all levels kept our customers delight as our first and true measure of success. Accessibility at all levels, proactive and ethical service levels and commitment to deliver what we have promised has seen us grow to this level. Each one of our around 200 Investigators believe in going that extra mile to see that smile on our customers faces and to ensure a solution of customers problem. R. S Jagdev is Chief of Field operations of Probe Services Pvt. Ltd. Since 1982, his investigative skills & testimony have been used in many of the most complex & demanding cases, both in India & abroad. In the process, his clients have won many of the nations largest judgment & recovered huge amount of money lost through fraud, theft and embezzlement. R.S Jagdev is nationally recognized expert in the area of Pre-Matrimonial Investigation. He was conferred upon the Investigator of the Years award for 2016. He was also awarded Investigation Entrepreneur of the Years Award for 2017. R.S Jagdev is also the President of Delhi Chapter of APDI (Association of Private Detectives & Investigators). He is founder Director of Association of Employers & Institutions. Even though we are professional investigators, we try hard never to become jaded when it comes to personal backgrounds. We are exposed so often to darker side of society and to some of its least attractive elements: cons, frauds, charlatans, cheats, thieves, dope dealers, addicts, sex offenders-even killers. These despicable characters can turn up in your life when you least expect them and sometimes even in places and circumstances where you would never expect them. Unfortunately for you and other victims, the shrewdest ones of this lot, those most adept at their particular aberration, are also the most difficult for you to spot-especially if youre depending on your own instincts or on the carefully crafted information these cons are selling you. At Probe Services, our team of experts helps you in detailed information on the following aspects: 1. Subjects positive Investigation 2. Family background 3. Financial Status of the Family 4. Sexual Behaviors 5. Medical Status 6. Character & Affairs 7. Drink/Drug above 8. Neighbour References 9. Club, group, association membership 10. Social Media Investigation 11. Police Record checks 12. Employment Background Investigation 13. Due Diligence Investigation of Business Probe Services guarantees the highest standards of personal integrity and character with qualifications of professional competence while preserving ethical code of conduct. 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. Former Karnataka chief minister and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday took strong exception to Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkatesh's statement that if buffaloes can be slaughtered, then why not cows. Ex-CM Bommai condemns Karnataka minister's statement on cow slaughter.(HT_PRINT) Also Read - Odisha train derailment: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah questions Railways ministry over accountability Condemning the statement, Bommai said in a series of tweets that Indians are emotionally connected with cows and worship them as a mother. "Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkatesh's statement is shocking. We condemn his statement. We Indians have an emotional connection with the cow and worship them as mother," Bommai said. Wondering whom Venkatesh wanted to please, the BJP leader sought to know whether the statement was made to change his portfolio or to please the Congress high command. "Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi was the first to advocate the ban on cow slaughter. A ban on cow slaughter advocated by Venerable Mahatma Gandhi was enacted in several states in the 1960s," the BJP leader said. According to Bommai, the minister's statement would give rise to "large-scale smuggling of cows and mass slaughtering factories in the state". "The law was introduced during our government to prevent illegal slaughterhouses. No new Act has been brought in Karnataka. We have enforced the existing law," the former chief minister clarified. Asking Venkatesh to think twice before making such a statement, Bommai appealed to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to give appropriate advice to his ministerial colleague in this regard. Seeking a relook at the anti-cow slaughter law, Venkatesh on Saturday questioned why there was an exception for cows when buffaloes can be slaughtered. The minister said the government will discuss and take a decision in this regard. "We have not decided yet. The previous BJP government had brought in a bill, in that they have allowed slaughter of buffaloes and male buffaloes, but have said cow slaughter should not be done. We will discuss it and decide," Venkatesh said while speaking to reporters. Responding to a question on the difficulty faced by farmers in managing aged cows, the minister shared his own example where he had to get an earthmover to bury his dead cow. Along with Bommai, several BJP leaders condemned the minister's statement including Mysuru MP Pratap Simha. The Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act that was brought into force by the BJP government in 2021 has imposed a blanket ban on the slaughter of cattle in the state. The only slaughter allowed is of terminally-ill cattle and buffaloes aged above 13 years. Congress, then in opposition, had opposed this legislation. The words King Kohli on the back of an autorickshaw in Bengaluru helped the police to solve a murder mystery of 81 year old woman, reported The Indian Express. During the investigation, the police rounded off the auto rickshaw using the banner behind the vehicle as the number plate was tampered. How 'King Kohli' helped Bengaluru police to catch the murder accused Also Read - Karnataka government arranges a flight for the Volleyball team stuck in Kolkata According to the report, a few days ago, a dead body was found in Bengalurus Mahalakshmipuram area and police identified the deceased as an 81-year-old Kamalamma who lives alone. The accused persons Siddaraju (34), R Ashok (40) and C Anjanamurthy (33) allegedly charted a plan to kill Kamalamma and rob her gold ornaments to clear their debts. On the morning of May 27, One of the accused removed a number plate of the auto which belongs to Anjanamurthy and reached near the house of the victim to do a recce. They reached out to Kamalamma and asked her if she could rent her space in the garage to park their vehicle. The same evening, they hired another auto, reached her home and strangled her to death. However, during the investigation, police found out that an auto rickshaw without a number plate doing rounds near the house of the victim on the day of murder. Though the auto doesnt have a registration number, it was written King Kohli on the back side of it. It helped the police track down the vehicle further by following its movements. The three murder accused were later arrested in Mysuru. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday took strong exception to animal husbandry and veterinary sciences minister K Venkateshs statement on the anti-cow slaughter law. Hinting at the possibility of reviewing the anti-cattle slaughter act enacted by the previous BJP government in the state, Venkatesh had said on Saturday, if buffaloes can be slaughtered, then why not cows. Former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said Indians are emotionally connected with cows and worship them as a mother. (PTI) Condemning the statement, Bommai said in a series of tweets that Indians are emotionally connected with cows and worship them as a mother. Animal husbandry minister K Venkateshs statement is shocking. We condemn his statement. We Indians have an emotional connection with the cow and worship them as mother, Bommai said. Wondering whom Venkatesh wanted to please, the BJP leader sought to know whether the statement was made to change his portfolio or to please the Congress high command. Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi was the first to advocate the ban on cow slaughter. A ban on cow slaughter advocated by venerable Mahatma Gandhi was enacted in several states in the 1960s, the BJP leader said. According to Bommai, the ministers statement would give rise to large-scale smuggling of cows and mass slaughtering factories in the state. Venkatesh had argued that the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020, which was brought into force by the previous BJP government in 2021, had permitted slaughter of buffaloes above the age of 13, but not cows. The minister said farmers were struggling to maintain aged cattle and dispose of the dead. He also claimed to have himself faced difficulty in disposing of one of the cows that died at his farmhouse recently. Changes in the law were necessary in the interest of farmers, Venkatesh said. The Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle (Amendment) Bill, 2020, passed in the state legislature by the BJP government led by BS Yediyurappa in 2021. The 2020 legislation had replaced the earlier Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964, which had less stringent provisions. The law makes it illegal to buy, sell, transport, slaughter, trade all cattle (cows, bulls, buffaloes, oxen). The only exceptions are for buffaloes above the age of 13 and terminally ill cattle, but only after certification from a veterinarian. Those found guilty will be imprisoned for up to 3-7 years, along with a penalty ranging from 50,000 to 5 lakhs. Subsequent offences would be jailed for seven years and a fine of 1 lakh to 10 lakhs would be levied. When the bill was passed in the Karnataka assembly by the BJP government back in December 2020, Congress had staged a walkout in protest from the Vidhana Soudha. In addition to Bommai, BJP state general secretary N Ravikumar also slammed Venkateshs statement on Sunday. The BJP strongly condemns this. It was the Congress party which introduced this first in 1948 and 1964. There was no BJP government then. Now, animal husbandry minister Venkatesh said in Mysuru yesterday that they would revoke the ban on cow slaughter. If this happens, I would like to warn the Congress government that there would be strong opposition and protests by the BJP in the coming days, he added. On behalf of the Government and the people of South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa has sent a message of condolences to India following the train accident that claimed the lives of more than 200 people in the state of Odisha. The three-train collision happened on Friday and reportedly left more than 850 injured. "The South African Government and people stand in solidarity with those effected by this tragedy and laud the emergency rescue and medical personnel for their tireless efforts," said the Presidency in a statement. President Ramaphosa added that the thoughts of the South African people are with the people of India, particularly the affected families, during this time of mourning. South Africa and India enjoy strong historical, political, diplomatic, economic and people-to-people relations. The two countries established full diplomatic relations in 1993. South Africa and India share several common interests, including the reform of the United Nations (UN) and Bretton Woods institutions. The two countries also cooperate in a number of multi-lateral forums, including BRICS, the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum and the G20. Amid the controversy over textbook revisions by the previous BJP regime in the state, primary and secondary education minister Madhu Bangarappa said on Saturday that a committee would be formed under the leadership of chief minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress government is committed to fulfilling its promises. Siddaramaiah said the Congress government would take appropriate action so that education of children is not affected. (HT Photo) We have already mentioned in the manifesto about revising the textbooks and that will be done as promised by chief minister Siddaramaiah. We will carry out the revision so that children do not suffer, Bangarappa said in Shivamogga on Saturday. Amid calls from progressive thinkers and writers to remove the controversial revisions in textbooks made during the previous BJP government in the state, the education minister said that a textbook revision committee would be formed under the leadership of the chief minister, adding that 15% revision could be expected. We expect revisions to be about 15%. We are already working on that. Some words have to be removed. There are some elements that sow poisonous seeds in the minds of children and they need to be removed, Bangarappa said. Bangarappa visited renowned writer Baraguru Ramachandrappa on Friday to discuss the controversial revisions. He is expected to hold discussions with the chief minister on Monday, people familiar to the matter said. He said that he has already spoken to writers and experts in this regard. We will take action immediately so that this kind of problem does not arise next year. Last week, about 30 academicians and writers met the chief minister in Bengaluru and submitted a memorandum with various demands to reform the education sector, including the controversial revisions in textbooks and ban on hijab in educational institutions. After the meeting, Siddaramaiah had said the Congress government would take appropriate action so that education of children is not affected. There is no question of compromise in the protection of harmony and secular heritage of Karnataka. Politics of hatred will be removed and the climate of fear will be eradicated, Siddaramaiah said. Last year, the textbook revision committee, headed by Rohith Chakrathirtha, had drawn flak from writers, academics, religious leaders and opposition parties, who accused the government-appointed panel of attempting to saffronise the curriculum by dropping works of social reformers and progressive thinkers. The revised textbooks triggered opposition from various quarters for distortion of history and pushing a right-wing, pro-Hindutva ideology. Among the objections that were raised include omission of chapters on social reformer Narayana Guru, freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, and works of progressive writers such as Sara Aboobacker and P Lankesh. Meanwhile, chapters on RSS founder KB Hedgewar, works of right-wing ideologues such as Chakravarti Sulibele, Govinda Pai and Bannanje Govindacharya, among others, were included. Besides, objections were also raised over omissions and commissions in chapters relating to religious icons such as 12th century social reformer Basavanna, personalities such as Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, among others. Noted writers such as Devanur Mahadev, G Ramakrishna, S G Siddaramaiah among other had withdrawn permission for use of their works in the textbooks in protest. Meanwhile, former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, however, had taken exception to the Congress governments plans of reviewing the changes made to the textbooks. We had introduced certain new lessons based on Indian culture, literature and principles. However, the new government is trying to target this, and is set to form a new committee to reverse this. The society will respond to this, Bommai said last week. A 22-year-old youth was stabbed to death in a scuffle over a song on Saturday night, police officials said. The deceased has been identified as Varun, a native of Tarikere of Chikkamagaluru district. The deceased has been identified as Varun, a native of Tarikere of Chikkamagaluru district. (Getty Images) According to police officials, the supporters of Tarikere Assembly constituency Congress MLA G H Srinivas had organised a felicitation ceremony to mark his victory in the recently held Assembly election. The MLA defeated his rival, BJP candidate D S Suresh by a margin of 12,131 votes. The trouble started when the deceased, Varun, insisted on singing a popular Kannada film song. But another faction led by prime accused Kabab Murthy opposed Varuns request and urged to sing another song. This led to an altercation between the two groups, Tarikere inspector B Veerendra said. But soon after the orchestra ended, Kabab Murthy picked up a fight with Varun and he allegedly stabbed him with a machete and Varun died on the spot. Soon after the incident Murthy and the gang fled from the scene to Bengaluru, he added. Chikkamagaluru superintendent of police Uma Prashanth visited the spot and formed a police team to nab the accused. Following definite clues, we chased the accused and arrested seven from a lodge in Bengaluru in the wee hours of Sunday, Tarikere inspector and investigation officer B Veerendra told HT. The arrested were identified as K Murthy, Naveen, Sanjay, Gagan, Nithin, Dhanush and Eshwar . He said that the officials have registered a case against 12 persons under IPC sections 302 ( murder ) 307 (attempt to murder ), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (guilty of rioting) , 148 (rioting with deadly weapon) in connection with the incident. The other five accused are still at large and will be arrested soon, he added. He said both have a history of enmity which was triggered. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Four people died on the spot when a speeding car in which they were travelling in rammed the lorry from behind at Tirumalapur in Nagamangala taluk of Mandya district at around 5 am on Sunday, officials said. The car was en route to Hassan from Nagamangala. (HT Photo) The deceased has been identified as Sarath, Naveen, Tilak and Hemant , all natives of Nagamangala town. According to police officials the accident took place near Tirumalapur Gate on Bangalore-Mangalore National Highway 75 and the occupants of the car were going to Hassan from Nagamangala. It is said that when the car reached the Tirumalapur gate, the driver lost control and rammed the lorry which was transporting manufactured sand. Police said all the four people died on the spot and the front portion of the car was crushed beyond recognition. Nagamangala deputy suprintendent of police (SP) Lakshmi Prasad and circle police inspector (CPI) Niranjan visited the spot and collected information. All the bodies were shifted to BGS hospital in Bellur cross and autopsy was done. It is said that all the four on their way to a temple in Hassan district to offer pooja as Sharath was celebrating his birthday today, Nagamangala deputy SP told HT. A case has been registered against the lorry driver at Bellur cross police station under the India Penal Code (IPC) section 304A ( cause to death due to rash driving ). The lorry driver is absconding after the incident and we are searching for him. Police are yet to identify the driver, Prasad said, adding that over speeding of the car has resulted in the casualty. Members of the Panjab University (PU) senate vehemently opposed the proposal to grant affiliation to Haryana colleges, even though the matter was not listed for discussion in the senate agenda on Saturday. Members of the Panjab University (PU) senate vehemently opposed the proposal to grant affiliation to Haryana colleges, even though the matter was not listed for discussion in the senate agenda on Saturday. (HT File) Punjab governor and UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit has called a separate meeting with the chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana on Monday to discuss the issue. On Saturday, senator Prabhjeet Singh from Punjab brought up the matter before the senate. He said there are reports about the governor asking PU to give affiliation to some colleges in Ambala, Panchkula and Yamunanagar in Haryana, however, the same was not brought before the senate. We should clarify the senates stand on the matter. Our own colleges are not working properly. How will we accommodate Haryanas colleges as well? he asked. Other senators also pointed out that if affiliation is granted to Haryana colleges, those in Himachal Pradesh may also come forward and demand the same. There is an issue of jurisdiction. How is it that we cant give affiliation to some colleges in places like Mohali and Ropar over jurisdiction issues but we can give affiliation to some colleges in Haryana? Singh further questioned. While members reiterated that PU is Punjabs varsity and will stay that way, PU vice-chancellor (V-C) Renu Vig clarified that even though she had attended the last meeting called by the governor, no proposal has been received by the university to put before the senate, and there is no written document. Senators then reiterated that the proposal in its current state be rejected by the PU senate and it be officially noted in the minutes of the meeting. While almost all members had agreed to this demand at the beginning of the meeting, the matter was again brought up in the evening during discussion on the agenda related to fee hike for students wherein the senators observed that the senate should at least listen to the proposal. When the dearth of funds was being discussed, the case of ST students studying in Punjab was brought up, whose education is fully reimbursed by the state of Punjab. It was asked shouldnt Haryana and Himachal Pradesh make similar payments to the university and wont it help with the funds. Again, senators reiterated that PU will always belong to Punjab. As per PU authorities, for the 2023-2024 session, the UGC has paid a grant of 294 crore while Punjab has released a grant of 38 crore. However, there is still a deficit of around 118 crore. On top of this, PU also has to clear arrears to the tune of 200 crore. The Haryana government had said that they would give a grant to PU if some of their colleges are affiliated with PU but the Punjab government has stuck to its stance that PU is the heritage of the state and a change in its character will not be tolerated. A final resolution is expected in the matter on Monday. AMRITSAR The police are on toes as Dal Khalsa has called a remembrance parade on June 5 and a bandh in Amritsar on June 6. (Sameer Sehgal/HT Photo) Security has been beefed up in Amritsar ahead of the 39th anniversary of Operation Bluestar, the army operation carried out in June 1984 to flush out the militants from the Golden Temple. Special director general of police (DGP-law and order) Arpit Shukla reviewed the security arrangements in Amritsar on Sunday. Shukla also checked the deployment of paramilitary forces around the Golden Temple. He was accompanied by commissioner of police (CP) Naunihal Singh and deputy commissioner of police (DCP-law and order) Parminder Singh Bhandal. The police are on toes as Dal Khalsa has called a remembrance parade on June 5 and a bandh in Amritsar on June 6. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) is also planning to display a bir (copy) of Guru Granth Sahib, which was hit by a bullet during the army action. Not only Amritsar, but adequate security arrangements have also been made across the state. Eleven companies of paramilitary forces, including the Central Reserve Police Force and Border Security Force, have been deployed in Punjab, Shukla said after visiting various checkpoints in Amritsar. He said in Amritsar, four companies of paramilitary forces and around 3,000 cops have been deployed to maintain law and order. He said 68 checkpoints have been set up in the holy city for round-the-clock surveillance while patrolling teams have been deployed in congested areas. Shukla also asked people not to believe in rumours on social media and warned of strict action if anyone tries to spread any. Our social media teams are monitoring activities of people and strict action will be taken if anyone found to be spreading rumours, he added. Replying to a media query on a bandh call given by radical Sikh outfit Dal Khalsa on June 6, Shukla said it was the prerogative of shopkeepers and business establishments as nobody will force them to shut their shops. Commissioner of police Naunihal Singh appealed to the people to support Punjab Police in maintaining law and order. Amritsar police have also conducted meetings with various organisations, including the SGPC, for maintaining of peace during the Operation Bluestar anniversary. Fazilka police claimed to have nabbed two drug smugglers with 9-kgs of heroin, reportedly dropped from a drone, in Fazilka on Saturday. The arrested duo were travelling on a bike, carrying 9 kilos and 387 grams of heroin. (Representational Photo (Getty Images) ) Avneet Kaur, senior superintendent of police, Fazilka said the two smugglers, Hoshiar Singh and Gurpreet Singh were arrested by police from Dhandi Kadim village in Fazilka. The duo were travelling on a bike, carrying 9 kilos and 387 grams of heroin, three bags, one blinking ball and two rubber toys. During investigation, arrested accused allegedly disclosed that one Amandeep Singh is the head of their group, who came in contact with Pakistani smugglers to smuggle this consignment through a drone from Pakistan, said SSP. A case was registered against Amandeep Singh, Baggu Singh, Binder Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Hoshiar Singh and some unknown persons under Sections 379,411 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code besides Sections 21,23,28,29,30 of the NDPS Act PS Sadar while further probe was on, added the SSP. On Saturday evening, director general of police, Punjab, Gaurav Yadav took to twitter to inform about the arrest of the two smugglers and recovery of 9.397-kg heroin. The court of additional district sessions judge Sandeep Kumar Singla rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Jasmin Kaur, the wife of Ferozepur deputy commissioner Rajesh Dhiman, in the multi-crore guava orchard compensation scam case. The court of additional district sessions judge Sandeep Kumar Singla rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Jasmin Kaur, the wife of Ferozepur deputy commissioner Rajesh Dhiman, in the multi-crore guava orchard compensation scam case. (Shutterstock) The court has also rejected the bail pleas of Kulwinder Kaur and Manpreet Kaur, wife and daughter of key conspirator Bhupinder Singh Bhinda. The Punjab vigilance bureau (VB) on Tuesday claimed to have unearthed a scam wherein compensation was wrongfully obtained by the accused during land acquisition by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) in Bakarpur village, Mohali, from 2016 to 2020. Eight persons, including a revenue official, are said to be involved in the scam, that allegedly runs into over 100 crores. The entire scam was carried out in connivance with officials of state horticulture and revenue departments, said the vigilance officials. The accused were booked under Sections 409, 420, 465, 466, 468, 471, 120-B of IPC and Section 13(1) (a), 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act at VB police station, Flying Squad -1, Punjab, at Mohali. The accused has offered to return the compensation amount, but the court rejected their plea for bail. The public prosecutor stated before the court that the accused persons received a compensation of 5,500 for each guava plant. ED seeks records The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sought records pertaining to the scam from GMADA. In a communique to the chief administrator of GMADA, the ED stated that since the sections invoked under IPC and the prevention of corruption act are scheduled offenses under the prevention of money laundering act, inquiries are being carried out by the directorate in the subject case. ED further stated that the accused persons, by colluding with officials of horticulture department of Punjab and the land revenue department, wrongfully obtained compensations for the guava orchards from the government for which the accused were not entitled to. In this regard, it is requested that the necessary directions may be given to the officer concerned to provide any document submitted by the accused claiming for the said compensation, details of payments made by GMADA or government of Punjab for the guava orchids for acquiring said lands and other details of the bank accounts in which the payments of the wrongfully claimed compensation were transferred, the ED communique mentioned. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Police on Sunday booked a sub-inspector (SI) of the Haryana Police for allegedly killing a stray dog by electrocution. The accused has been booked under Sections 11 (i) (l) of the Animal Cruelty Act and Section 336 of the IPC at Sector 17 police station in Chandigarh. (iStock) The accused has been identified as Randhir Singh, 54, who lives in a government accommodation in Sector 23. The complainant, Kasturi Lal, a retired UT administration officer, told police that he noticed the dog lying motionless outside the gate of the accuseds house around 6 am while he was out for a morning walk. I thought that the dog might be sleeping. When I stepped out of my house again around 10 am, the dog was still lying in the same position. On approaching the animal, I realised it was dead. I called another neighbour and asked him to help me bury the dog. But when we tried to pick him up, we saw him entangled in a wire. My neighbour felt an electric shock while trying to get the dog untangled, Lal said. The wire was hanging from a window of the SIs house. He had installed the live wire to prevent stray animals from entering. We immediately informed the police, following which cops reached the spot, the complainant added. Sources said when police contacted the accused, he was away at Yamunanagar. We are yet to arrest the accused, but have booked him for cruelty against animals, a senior police officer said. The accused has been booked under Sections 11 (i) (l) (mutilate or kill any animal) of the Animal Cruelty Act and Section 336 (act endangering life of others) of the Indian Penal Code at the Sector 17 police station. In a move that wont go down well with the students, Panjab University (PU) senate on Saturday approved a fee hike for the academic session 2023-2024. This comes at a time when the university is struggling to manage its finances amid a fund crunch. In a move that wont go down well with the students, Panjab University (PU) senate on Saturday approved a fee hike for the academic session 2023-2024. (HT File) The senate, the apex governing body of the varsity, has approved a 5% hike for traditional courses and courses offered by four of its premier institutes. As per the agenda, for self-financed courses, a 7.5% increase with a cap of 7,500, has been approved. Self-financed courses are run on the fee collected from students and hence have a higher fee structure. Proposal of premier institutes turned down The University Business School (UBS), University Institute of Pharmaceutical Studies (UIPS), Dr SS Bhatnagar University Institute of Chemical Engineering and Technology, and department of laws had proposed a hike of 15%, however, the senate approved an increase of only 5% for these courses. A 10,000 per year fee on account of infrastructure/lab development fee was also proposed to be charged from each student admitted afresh from these courses but this has also been removed from the agenda now. However, an annual development fee of 500 will be charged for all traditional courses including these. Along with the 5% hike this year, there will be an annual hike of 5% as well, rounded off to the next hundred, for these courses. Senators divided on hike The senators remained a divided house on the fee hike. Senator Satya Pal Jain spoke against it and said that it would prove detrimental for students coming from lower middle-income families. A hike of 5-7% may be marginal for the privileged but its not so for these (middle income) families. If funds are needed, why dont we impose cuts on ourselves and the benefits we draw? Why must we only take it from the students, he questioned. Many other senators also expressed similar views. Senator Nidhi Gautam was among the senators who spoke in favour of the hike, stating that it is essential for infrastructure upgrade. She revealed that in some departments that offer professional courses, computers are around 13 years old, which affects students placements as they have to compete with students from institutes who have better facilities. Senator Rajat Sandhir also argued that fee is hiked annually by all schools, colleges and universities and even after the hike, the fee charged by PU will be much lower than what is being charged by other public institutions. Vice-chancellor Renu Vig clarified that the university is offering aid to EWS students and other categories of students, including orphans or those whose father has passed away, meritorious students, sportspersons and SC/ST students. Financial aid was offered to 1,959 students in the last academic session by PU. The agenda was passed with the hike for four institutes revised after arguments made by the senators. Second hike in 2 years This will be the second fee hike in as many years and is expected to enhance the annual revenue by over 1 crore. Before the 2022-23 session, the varsity had last increased the fee in 2019-20. Thereon, though a 7.5% fee hike for self-financed courses and 5% for traditional courses for new entrants in the 2020-21 academic session was proposed, the PU syndicate in May 2020 had decided to defer it indefinitely in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemics outbreak. Student bodies protest Student bodies have already started protesting against the fee hike. Students For Society (SFS) submitted a memorandum to senate members and demanded that fee hike be withdrawn. Joint secretary of Panjab University Campus Students Council Manish Boora also added that students are already concerned about this. Increasing the fee would create financial burdens for many students, making higher education less accessible to those from low-income backgrounds. The decision must be taken back, he said. PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan on Saturday led Tanzanians in receiving the country's first-ever cargo plane, Boeing 767-300F, while appealing for support to the government in bringing development. She called on Tanzanians to continue praying for government leaders for them to be able to collect more revenues that will be spent on execution of various development projects and programmes that include further improving the Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL). In a well-attended event held at the Terminal One of the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA), Dr Samia also pledged to work on a request by the ATCL Managing Director, Eng Ladislaus Matindi of procuring another cargo plane. "My pledge to Tanzania is that the government will continue working on all challenges, we need your support and prayers for us to be able to collect more revenue and implement development projects," she said. The much-awaited plane landed at the JNIA from the United States (US) at 2.57 Pm, where the team of pilots who brought the ATCL's cargo aircraft was led by Tanzanian national, Captain Neema Swai. Upon landing, the fuel-efficient plane with a capacity of carrying 54 tonnes received the traditional water salute from fire fighter engines stationed at the JNIA. Earlier, the minister for Works and Transport, Prof Makame Mbarawa said operation of the just arrived cargo plane will stimulate business between Tanzania and other countries. He said procurement of a cargo plane is part of implementation of President Samia's philosophies on economic diplomacy and enhancing Tanzania's multilateral cooperation. The minister noted that in the next year's budget, the ministry has set aside a budget for improvement of ATCL's workshop as well as procurement of new aircrafts in a bid to reduce cost of operation in the company. "The ministry shall continue to implement all development strategies that will ease ATCL's operation for it to compete in the aviation market," said Prof Mbarawa. The minister also assured of the ministry's total cooperation with the private sector in ensuring cargo flown by ATCL arrives at their destination within a short time for economic benefits of business men and the country at large. "This is a great opportunity for Tanzanians to export their products abroad for economic gains," noted Prof Mbarawa. Earlier this week, Prof Mbarawa explained that currently Tanzania exports cargo weighing about 24,000 tonnes annually from mainly agriculture, fisheries and livestock produce and almost 90 per cent of them are airlifted through airports. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. He said currently, the country is able to airlift only 420 tonnes through its flights, pointing out that the arrival of the cargo plane will turn things around, with the country expecting to export more cargo by using its own plane. For his part, Eng Matindi suggested a need for the government to procure another cargo plane for the company to be able to tap all the potentials in the market. Giving out statistics, Eng Matindi said the company has managed to increase the volume of cargo that was transported between 2019/2020 to present. He said in 2019/2020, ATCL airlifted a total of 1,789 tonnes of cargo followed by 1,790 tonnes in 2020/21 and 2,567 tonnes in 2021/22. "In this year, we have already transported 2,893 tonnes, the trend is promising, and moreover, we are in final stages of signing a contract with Kenya Airways for ATCL to start carrying cargo from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to other countries," he said. So far ATCL possesses a total of 12 passenger planes serving domestic, regional and international routes. Under President Samia, the government in July 2021 decided to purchase four more planes for ATCL, which included two Boeing 737 Max - 9, one Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and one Boeing 767 Freighter, which arrived on Saturday. Unveiling the schedule for arrival of the remaining three planes, Eng Matindi noted that the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner will arrive in February next year, while the two Boeing 737 Max - 9 planes are expected in August - December this year. Commenting on leaders of opposition parties sharing a common platform in Jalandhar last week, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday said these parties with an established track record of anti-Punjab and anti-Punjabi stance have always meted out losses to the state by jeopardizing its progress and prosperity. Mann said the leaders shared a platform with those who are facing charges of embezzlement. (HT File Photo) Last week, leaders of Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party visited Jalandhar as a mark of solidarity towards Ajit Group editor-in-chief Barjinder Singh Hamdard, who has been summoned by the vigilance bureau in connection with purported irregularities in Jang-e-Azadi memorial. In a statement released here, Mann said when these parties were in power, they had safeguarded interests of each other but ever since Aam Aadmi Party government has assumed charge in the state, their nefarious designs to loot the state with alternative terms in power have been foiled. These leaders have sunk all their ideological differences to oppose the state government, said Mann. Mann said among the leaders present in Jalandhar last week, were also those who formulated the draconian anti-farmers law, opposing which hundreds of innocent farmers from the state had lost their lives. The CM said these leaders shared a platform with those who are facing charges of embezzlement of money meant for memorials constructed in the name of martyrs. These leaders had never come together for protecting waters of the state nor even for punishing the perpetrators of the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib. History is testimony to the fact that these leaders have never joined hands for the issues pertaining to the state but now they have come together just to save themselves, Mann said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Jalandhar Acting on a tip-off, raids were conducted around Phillaur and the accused was arrested and two stolen motorcycles. (Representational Photo (Getty Images) ) Fifteen days after a retired assistant sub-inspector of Punjab Police, his wife and son were bludgeoned to death in their house at Noorpur Bet village of Ladhowal in Ludhiana, the Jalandhar rural police have arrested the accused from Phillaur on Sunday. Phillaur is situated on border of Ludhiana and Jalandhar districts. The arrested accused has been identified as Prem Chand, alias Mithun, (25), a resident of Awankha village of Dinanagar tehsil in Gurdaspur district, said the police. Jalandhar (rural) senior superintendent of police (SSP) Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar said the accused committed the crime with a motive of robbery. Retired assistant sub-inspector Kuldeep Singh, 65, his wife Paramjeet Kaur, 60, and son Gurwinder Singh, alias Pali Grewal, 30, were found dead in their house in Noorpur Bet village of Ladhowal area on May 21. The accused confessed that the sole purpose of the murder was robbery. During preliminary interrogation, it came to fore that the accused attacked the trio with a sharp-edged iron rod when they were asleep, the SSP said. After committing the murder, the accused decamped with three licenced weapons, including two .32 bore revolvers and a .12 bore rifle, cash and jewellery from the house. The SSP said acting on a tip-off, raids were conducted around Phillaur and the accused was arrested and two stolen motorcycles. We have informed the Ludhiana police about the arrest and they will take him into their custody for further investigation, Bhullar said. The accused, a habitual criminal, had earlier bludgeoned a woman to death in Dinanagar, said the SSP. The accused revealed that after killing the woman, he disposed of the body in the gutter. The police station concerned has also been informed about it, he said. On May 30, the accused barged into a house at Talwandi Kalan village in Ladhowal area where he killed a dog after he failed to commit a robbery, the SSP said. A police official said the accused was putting up at his sisters secluded house in Phillaur where he used to take shelter after committing the crime. Since Ludhiana and Noorpur Bet area are closer to Philaur, it was easy for the accused to take shelter there, the official said. The Chandigarh district court awarded four-year jail to a schoolteacher for kidnapping two of his minor students in 2007. The Chandigarh district court awarded four-year jail to a schoolteacher for kidnapping two of his minor students in 2007. (Shutterstock) The court has also imposed a fine of 25,000 upon the convict Sunil Kumar, a Sector 19 resident, and a former Hindi teacher at one of the government schools of Chandigarh. The case was registered in March 2007 on the complaint of the father of a 15-year-old girl living in Chandigarh. The complainant had told the police that his daughter, then a Class 10 student, had not returned home. She had left the house at around 7pm to pay obeisance at a temple in Sector 20-D, but gone missing. He tried to look for her but failed, following which he lodged a missing persons complaint. The father had suspicions that his daughter may have been enticed by her Hindi teacher who had recently given her a walkman on her birthday. Police traced the girl to Bageshwar in Uttrakhand five days later. The victims friend, also a minor, was also found with her. Police registered a case on March 6, 2007, under Sections 363 (kidnapping), 366-A (procuration of a minor girl) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. Charges were framed in September 2007 against three persons, including a teacher. In 2009, the accused teacher was declared aproclaimed offender, and the other two were convicted under Section 342 (wrongful confinement) of IPC. The teacher, who returned in 2023, was arrested by the police and was held guilty on June 2. Holding him guilty, the court held that an exalted place is given to a guru in Vedas that can be summarised in a quote: Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu, Gurur Devo Maheshwara, Gurur Sakshat Parbhrahma Tasmahi Shree Gurave Namah. The judge observed: Guru is referred as symbol of Tridev: Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. He is revered as supreme and before whom all should bow. However, the case in hand is a contrast where the convict that is the guru is convicted for kidnapping his own two minor students. Such kind of offence is not against any individual but against the entire society, shaking the faith parents of a child repose on their teacher, the court held. The judge observed: The hand of justice need not be tempered with mercy in the present case as such wrongful and condemnable act on behalf of the convict does not augur well with our ethos. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tanbir Dhaliwal Tanbir Dhaliwal is a correspondent at Chandigarh. She covers health and business. ...view detail An 18-year-old, who was visiting his family for the summer break, met a fateful end as he along with his 15-year-old brother drowned in the Yamuna river near Magnlora village of Karnal on Sunday. An 18-year-old, who was visiting his family for the summer break, met a fateful end as he along with his 15-year-old brother drowned in the Yamuna river near Magnlora village of Karnal on Sunday. (Getty Images/iStockphoto) The victims, Sagar, 18, and Sushant, 15, of Taraori of Karnal, had gone to take a dip in the river with their parents and younger sister when the incident took place. As per information, the brothers got trapped in the mud and failed to come out and eventually drowned. The parents informed the police and later, a team of divers was called in. Family members said that Sagar had recently secured admission in the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, and had come home for the summer vacation. Sushant was a student of Class-10. Manglora police station in-charge Rajan said the divers have so far been unable to trace the bodies. He said the area comes under jurisdiction of the Uttar Pradesh police and they are also monitoring the rescue operation. The two rare and sacred rocks brought from Nepal to Ayodhya will be preserved at the Ram Mandir complex even after theyve been ruled out to be used in the making of Ram Lallas idol, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, the trust that manages the temple, has decided. Renowned sculptors are carving out three idols of Lord Ram from the rocks of Karnataka and Rajasthan. The best of them will be installed in the sanctum-sanctorum of the temple. (HT File) According to a member of the trust, it was a tough decision to rule out the ancient rocks from Nepal for the idol. After several tests, they (the Nepal rocks) were not found to be suitable for Ram Lallas idol as theyve developed cracks, the member said. However, the trust has decided to retain these rocks at the Ram Mandir complex itself so that devotees can worship them. They are devshilas and will be given full respect, the member added. Meanwhile, renowned sculptors are carving out three idols of Lord Ram from the rocks of Karnataka and Rajasthan. The best of them will be installed in the sanctum-sanctorum of the temple. The trust has decided to use the Karnataka and Rajasthan rocks for Ram Lallas idol, the member added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) on Sunday said it was providing the facility of net metering and net billing to solar power consumers to promote green energy in the state. Employees walk to inspect panels at the Welspun Solar Energy Ltd. solar power project near Bhagwanpura, Madhya Pradesh, India, on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014. Photographer: Vivek Prakash/Bloomberg (For representation) Net metering is available for domestic and agriculture consumers while net billing can be availed by any consumer using solar power, UPPCL chairman M Devraj said. He added, Interested consumers can apply on their own on the corporations website after registering themselves there. Net metering and net billing are methods used to compensate a consumer for the excess solar energy the user sends to the utilitys grid. The key difference between the two compensation methods is energy metering compensates a consumer at the retail rate whereas net billing compensates at the wholesale rate, the former being more advantageous to a consumer. In both the methods, solar power produced by consumers is adjusted into the grid power they consume and if the solar power is surplus, the same is adjusted into bills at the rate fixed by the regulator, Devraj added. He said consumers who had opted for net metering and net billing could generate their bills through the website, apart from getting the same done through meter readers or at billing counters. MUMBAI: Earlier this year, Aurangabad had its name officially changed to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The Supreme Court of India opined that this was within the democratic realm of government. Cities had been renamed before to align them with names in regional language usage (Kolkata) or to rescue them from a colonial twang (Trivandram). However, Aurangabad was a case in which the Mughal emperor, after whom the city was named, was now popularly perceived as a villain. Aurangzeb had a long association with the city, having been resident there twice -- as viceroy and later as emperor. The urban fabric of the city had been undeniably shaped by Mughal rule. The Mughals themselves had changed the name of the city from its earlier name of Khadki. (HT PHOTO) Aurangzeb had a long association with the city, having been resident there twice -- as viceroy and later as emperor. The urban fabric of the city had been undeniably shaped by Mughal rule. The Mughals themselves had changed the name of the city from its earlier name of Khadki. It had been founded by Malik Ambar in 1610, and was a relocation of the original city of Kataki which was at the base of the Daulatabad hill. Daulatabad was also a new name for the Yadava citadel of Devagiri. However, all these names had an historical event or provenance, at least partially justifying the changes. Along those lines, Aurangabad could have been changed to Maliknagar; after all, Malik Ambar (1548-1626) is a figure celebrated in Maharashtra. As a general of African origin, he came to Ahmednagar, and in the civil wars of the late sixteenth century, established himself as one of the leaders of a Habshi-Maratha axis, with able leaders like Shahaji Bhonsale (1594-1664) by his side. He is credited with several features that defined Maratha tactics, like bargir-giri or guerilla warfare. He also provided major resistance to the Mughals, who could not penetrate the northern Deccan convincingly as long as he was alive. In many ways, he set a stage for the independent Maratha kingdom. He did all this as the de facto Regent of the kingdom of Ahmednagar. After Malik Ambar, Shahaji Bhonsale had also valiantly tried to defend and revive the kingdom of Ahmednagar till 1636. Thus, the kingdom of Ahmednagar is imbricated in early Maratha history. A chequered history Now, as of a few days ago, we have a new announcement: the city of Ahmednagar is to be named Ahilyanagar, for political and partisan considerations. The city was founded by Ahmed Nizam Shah (d.1509) on the banks of the Sina river. The fort of Shivneri, where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (1630-1680) would later be born, was the place where Ahmed Nizam Shah had declared independence from the earlier Bahmani kingdom, as a son of the soil. Their family were the Kulkarnis of Pathri, and Ahmed Nizam Shahs father had been assassinated at the Bahmani court in a court intrigue against the local faction of Dakhanis. From his capital at Shivneri, Ahmed Nizam Shah would mount a campaign every year to try and capture the strategic and affluent fort city of Daulatabad, which he did a few years later in 1499. He founded the city of Ahmednagar in 1494, midway between Shivneri and Daulatabad. A settlement of this size was possible only because of water management technologies that the Deccan sultanates had at their disposal. Several other cities, including the erstwhile Aurangabad could not have sustained their urban scale without the use of qanats, aqueducts, siphon towers, and other water devices that were imported from West Asia. This robust exchange of ideas, goods, and people between West Asia, Africa, and the Deccan in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries had created a unique culture where a cosmopolitan outlook could easily exist with parochial sensibilities. Sanskrit works like Rasamanjari of Bhanudatta and Pashuramapratapa of Sabaji Prataparaja were composed at court, along with Persian compositions like the Tarif-i Husain Shah. It was a major centre of Persian and Dakhani literature. Perhaps the name that carries on significantly is that of Shah Sharif, the Sufi who was venerated by Maloji Bhonsale when he wanted children; the sons were named Shahaji and Sharifji after him. It is useful to remember in this context that the Nizam Shahs were the dynasty that resisted the Mughals valiantly for over 60 years, from the first incursions to the Deccan under Akbar in the 1570s, to the final takeover under Shah Jahan in 1636. Theirs was also the dynasty with two heroic women, Khunzada Humayun and Chand Bibi, stories of whom are in local lore regionally even today. Several important families, such as the Bhonsales, Jadhavraos, and Khandagales, among others, comprised the nobility of the Ahmednagar kingdom. Both the grandfathers of the great Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had served the kingdom. Ahmednagar, a melting pot Ahmednagar would serve as the Nizam Shahi capital till 1600. The sixteenth century saw enormous building projects, including multiple palaces in the city, along with other cultural expressions, such as a proliferation of literature and painting. Several Sanskrit, Persian and Dakkani works were written in this period in the kingdom, and Sufis and Bhakti saints such as Shah Sharif and Eknath also operated in these domains. The Mughals rid themselves of the Nizam Shahs by 1636, and firmly established themselves in the Deccan. From the embers of the Nizam Shahs, the Maratha kingdom was established. The resistance of the Nizam Shahs to the invasive Mughals, and the fall of Ahmednagar to them, served as a catalyst for the Marathas to coalesce under a new regime. The last champions of Ahmednagar were two people who came from communities that had been close to power, but were always considered marginal: Malik Ambar of the Siddis, and Shahaji Bhonsale of the Marathas. The historic city of Ahmadnagar was multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual, a tradition that continues today. Ahmednagar continues to have diverse and intertwined connections between various communities. After all, Dakhani is still spoken in pockets, and the devotional traditions have long operated in a complex world of religious domains. There is an ecumene of practices that emphasise lineages and spiritual teachers within which formal sectarian affiliation matters little. Various historical saints like Sant Shaikh Muhammad of Shrigonda in Ahmednagar district are mentioned in the Bhaktavijaya, and share narratives with Sant Tukaram. It is therefore not surprising that Meher Baba chose the outskirts of Ahmednagar city as his base, and established his ashram at Meherabad, ensuring a steady flow of devotees, many from abroad. That, along with the large army bases around the city, ensured that a certain cosmopolitanism survived well into the twenty-first century. Several merchant communities came to Ahmednagar to supply the garrison. The city has a large Jain population. After World War I, a German prisoner-of-war camp was set up near the cantonment. Popular English comedians like Spike Milligan were born in Ahmednagar. The fort of Ahmednagar, though in possession of the army, has inside it a compound in which major nationalist leaders were imprisoned after the Quit India movement. Fittingly, in this custody, Nehru wrote The Discovery of India, which applauds the composite cultures and diverse demographics of India. Outside Ahmednagar fort is a spot marked by three cannons where Lord Wellesley had breakfast after capturing the fort in 1803, as the plaque there declares. The last time we visited it, two women came on a scooter, and proceeded to worship them. One of the cannons was cast by a Turkish artillery officer naturalised in India, in a Persianised kingdom ruled by a Dakhani, was captured by the English from the Marathas, and at this moment is in active worship as a Hindu deity! That moment captured the palimpsest of the city of Ahmednagar, with its storied multi-cultural history. No single historical personage can accommodate such a pluralistic history as part of their legacy. It is indeed a sorry state of affairs that the name of the city can be changed so easily, with no consideration of the nuanced and kaleidoscopic history of Ahmednagar and the Maratha Swarajya. The city also has military associations, and is a part of the struggle for Indian Independence. While renaming cities as a political strategy has a long history, there are many attributes of Ahmednagar that cannot be singularly highlighted. It is true that Ahilyabai Holkar was born in Chondi in Ahmednagar district, but that association only enhances the importance and historicity of the place. The name of the city does not need to be changed. Arbitrarily changing names of cities is tantamount to erasing our own history, and not unlike demolishing a monument. The expense of renaming a city is enormous, involving hundreds of crores of rupees spent in relabeling. Patrimony that should be permanent is being sacrificed for petty politics. Tax-payers money could instead be used for the betterment of a place and its people. (Pushkar Sohoni is an associate professor in the department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IISER, Pune.) BLURB: This robust exchange of ideas, goods, and people between West Asia, Africa, and the Deccan in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries had created a unique culture where a cosmopolitan outlook could easily exist with parochial sensibilities. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Mumbai: Senior BJP leader Pankaja Munde said she will discuss her grievances with party leadership before taking any decision about her future moves. Mumbai, India - November 23, 2021: BJP National Secretary Pankaja Munde addresses the media during a press conference at BJP Office, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, November 23, 2021. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/ HT Photo) (HT PHOTO) Speaking at a function to observe the death anniversary of her father and former deputy chief minister late Gopinath Munde, Pankaja spoke at length on the speculations about her. I am not responsible for the confusion that is being created about me. I consider (union home minister) Amit Shah as my leader and will speak freely with him about what is in my mind, she said. She has also ended speculations of being in touch with leaders from other parties. Whatever I do, I will do it openly. I will air my grievances in front of my leaders. I will ask them what they have in mind for me. My people will have to know about it. If I want to take any stand after that, I will do it from a public platform, Munde said. Elder daughter and political heir of Gopinath Munde who died in a car accident in Delhi on June 3, 2014, Pankaja is in a bitter tussle with deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. She had blamed her detractors after she lost assembly elections from her Parli constituency in Beed district in 2019. She was expecting a nomination to the legislative council but the party did not fulfil her wish. She was also expecting a ministerial berth for her sister and Beed MP Pritam Munde but during the last expansion of the union cabinet, Bhagwat Karad, an OBC leader from her district was made union minister. She was also not considered for a ministerial position when BJP formed the government with Eknath Shinde a year ago. Pankaja and her aides think that her detractors in the party have been trying to prop up parallel leadership in her Marathwada region as well as her Other Backward Class support base. Several people lost elections but were given opportunities. Two dozen people were made legislators and parliamentarians but I didnt get a chance. I wont beg for anything, she said. Both the Munde sisters have grabbed attention with their remarks in the past two days. On Thursday, Pritam supported women wrestlers and lamented the fact that nobody from the government had reached out to them. The same day at a function in Delhi, Pankaja said that she belongs to the BJP but the party doesnt belong to her. The outburst of both sisters has led to speculations that they are looking at options since they are not happy with the BJP. On Saturday, senior NCP leader Eknath Khadse who quit BJP following a tussle with Fadnavis visited Mundes residence and had a closed-door meeting with the Munde sisters. Meanwhile, Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat said the party would welcome Pankaja if she decides to quit the BJP. The state knows how her father built the BJP in Maharashtra and what her family did for the same. Our doors are always open for her if she decides to part ways with BJP. Curiously, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena which is an ally of the BJP also said they would welcome Pankaja. We will welcome her if she wants to join the party, said Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat. He however added that he was confident that the BJP would take care of her grievances. Senior BJP leader and state forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar sought the play down the entire issue. Pankaja believes in our ideology. I dont think she will go to Congress, he replied when media persons asked him about Congress public offer to her. A 45-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping and impregnating his minor daughter in Assams Dima Hasao district and forcibly aborting the child in Karimganj, some 160 km away, police said on Sunday. The police have also arrested a health worker who helped him with the abortion. Police said that the man was arrested after his daughter lodged a complaint. (Representative Image) Dima Hasao superintendent of police (SP), Mayank Kumar said that the man was arrested last week after the girl lodged a complaint. A police team reached Karimganj on Friday in search of the health worker and arrested her on Saturday. In the complaint, the girl alleged that her father raped her and she got pregnant. After knowing that, the father took her to Karimganj and conducted the abortion forcibly, the SP said. Karimganj SP, Partha Pratim Das said that the health worker was interrogated by the Dima Hasao Ppolice, and they took her along with them as a part of further investigation. The Dima Hasao police informed us about the incident, and we cooperated with them in the search. As per the complaint lodged by the minor girl, her father allegedly raped her and a health worker in our district helped with the abortion. The Dima Hasao police are investigating the case, Das told HT. The girl is now under observation, and she went through the mandatory medical tests following the arrest of her father. Police said that the man has confessed his crime. To be sure, a confession or disclosure statement of any person made before a police officer is not admissible as evidence before a court unless it is backed by other evidence. Only a confession before a judge is admissible as evidence against an accused. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON An Indigo airlines flight from Guwahati to Dibrugarh in Assam carrying a Union minister and two legislators from the state landed back at the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport within minutes after the take-off on Sunday morning. A technical glitch is stated to be the reason for the aircrafts return. (Representative Image) Read here: IndiGo to start flights to six destinations in Africa, Central Asia The flight 6E2652 took off around 8.40am and landed back safely within around 20 minutes. A technical glitch is stated to be the reason for the aircrafts return. Among the passengers were Union minister of state for petroleum and natural gas, Rameshwar Teli, and two MLAs from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam, Prasanta Phukan and Terosh Gowala. When we took off from Guwahati there was no problem. But after 20 minutes, the aircraft turned back, returned to Guwahati and landed at the LGBI airport. We have been informed by airlines staff, that there was a technical problem in the aircraft, which forced pilots to turn back the plane, Prasanta Phukan told HT. Immediately after landing in Guwahati, all passengers of the aircraft were deboarded and the aircraft was sent for inspection. Read here: Indigo's Mangaluru - Bengaluru flight diverted to Dubai : Report Airport officials confirmed that the flight has returned and landed in Guwahati but didnt specify the reasons. No response was available from Indigo authorities. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON THE government and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on Saturday signed Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) aimed at advancing information as a public good in the country. The signing of the CCS affirms the cooperation between Tanzania and UNESCO within the UN Cooperation Framework related to building knowledge societies. Speaking earlier, Minister for Information, Communication and Information Technology, Mr Nape Nnauye, remarked that investing in information, communication and information technology is among five key priorities in advancing media for sustainable development in Tanzania. "I am pleased that we are signing the first cooperation strategy with the UNESCO for advancing information as a public good," Mr Nape said. Minister Nape also expressed hopes that more partnerships would be entered with intent to strengthen the mobilization of resources for free and independent media as well as promoting critical thinking and informed societies. "This important initiative also aims to empower citizens to address issues of local concern and make informed decisions about their daily lives, which is essential to leaving no one behind," he stressed. For his part, UNESCO's Officer in Charge in Tanzania, Mr Michel Toto, said the strategy will guide the organisation's work in the communication and information Programme based on long-term vision for UNESCO's technical cooperation to respond effectively to Tanzania's development needs, priorities and aspirations. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania Governance International Organisations By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "It provides a strategic framework for the engagement with the Tanzanian government and other UN agencies, development partners, research and academia, the private sector and civil society organisations within the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF)," explained Mr Toto. The UNESCO Country Cooperation Strategy (2022-2027) aims to support Tanzania in addressing the challenges, improving monitoring and reporting and accelerating actions towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets related to communication and information. The strategy will focus on five strategic priority areas identified during consultation with key stakeholders, which are media viability and independence, human capital development, the legal and policy environment for the media, including working conditions, the safety and security of journalists, media and information literacy and digital citizenship. A young man was brutally murdered in Gahunje, taluka in Maval, on Sunday afternoon. The incident created a sense of turmoil in the vicinity, causing panic among the residents. On Sunday morning, Kalbhor left home to go to the fields, but was ambushed by a group of three to four assailants with koyta. They attacked him, inflicting fatal injuries within moments and fled the spot. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO) The victim has been identified as Suraj Kalbhor, a resident of Akrudi, and he was working at Pimpri Chinchwad Polytechnic College. He got married three months ago and was at his in-laws house when the incident occurred. On Sunday morning, Kalbhor left home to go to the fields, but was ambushed by a group of three to four assailants with koyta. They attacked him, inflicting fatal injuries within moments and fled the spot. The motive behind Surajs murder is not yet clear. However, preliminary assumptions suggest that the incident may have been a targeted act of robbery. A case under relevant sections has been lodged at Pimpri Chinchwad police station. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Tripura Class 10 and 12 board exam results will be declared very soon, a message on the result portal, tbresults.tripura.gov.in reads. However, the exact date and time for these results is not known yet. TBSE Result 2023: Update on Tripura Class 10, 12 board results (Getty Images/iStockphoto) In May, Tripura Board of Secondary Education ( TBSE) President Bhabatosh Saha had told Hindustan Times that Class 10, 12 results will be out by June 10. "We are planning to announce results of both Class 10 and 12 exams within June 10. We shall let know the schedules of announcement of results once it is decided," the board President had said. Tripura Class 10 or Madhyamik board exams were held from March 16 to April 18 and Class 12 or Higher Secondary final exams took place from March 15 to April 19. This year, around 38,116 Class 10 students and 33,435 Class 12 students appeared for board exams in Trioura. A total 162 centres were set-up for Class 10 exams while Class 12 exams were held at 112 centres across the state. In addition to the website mentioned above, students will also get their results on tbse.in, tripura.nic.in and tripuraresults.nic.in. Veteran actor Dimple Kapadia has expressed how passionate she is about acting. In a new interview, Dimple called herself a 'craving maniac' and 'crazy' who overlooks her health when engrossed in work. Dimple also spoke about her three releases this year--Pathaan, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, and Saas, Bahu aur Flamingo. (Also Read | When Rajesh Khanna revealed Dimple Kapadia wouldn't give him divorce) Dimple Kapadia opened up about her work.(HT_PRINT) Dimple's projects this year In Pathaan, Dimple essayed the role of Nandini Grewal, head of the JOCR department. Directed by Siddharth Anand, the film had Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, and Ashutosh Rana. In Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, Dimple was seen as Renu Arora, Mickey (Ranbir Kapoor)'s mother. Directed by Luv Ranjan, the film also starred Ranbir, Shraddha Kapoor, Anubhav Singh Bassi and Boney Kapoor. Dimple describes her attitude towards work In an interview with news agency PTI, Dimple said, I'm like a craving maniac... I forget my sleep, my food and I am 24/7 hyper. I drive myself sick with worry. I'm crazy. I don't like that about myself, but that's me. I can't help it. Maybe that works for me. Dimple on her releases this year This year, Dimple had three releases so far--Pathaan, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, and Disney+ Hotstar series Saas, Bahu aur Flamingo. Talking about it, Dimple said it was not a conscious decision to have back-to-back releases this year. I (have) never planned anything in my life. I don't need to because the divine plan is far bigger than what I can ever imagine... It's destiny. It's God's grace and will, she said. Dimple's latest show In her latest series Saas, Bahu aur Flamingo, Dimple plays Savitri aka Rani Ba, the matriarch, who leads a drug cartel from a nondescript town in the northern part of India, along with her daughters-in-law, Bijli (Isha Talwar) and Kajal (Angira Dhar), and her daughter Shanta (Radhika Madan). The eight-episode crime-drama series is created and directed by Homi Adajania. The show, which released on May 5, also featured Ashish Verma, Varun Mitra, Udit Arora, Deepak Dobriyal and Monica Dogra. Dimple is known for headlining Bollywood classics such as Bobby, Saagar, Rudali, Ram Lakhan, Gardish, Dil Chahta Hai to name a few. She was also seen in Finding Fanny, Dabangg, and Tenet. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The French Riviera is familiar territory for director Kanu Behl. His first film Titli (2015) was screened at the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival. This year he is back with Agra that premiered in the prestigious Directors Fortnight. Be it his features or the short film Binnu Ka Sapna (currently streaming on Mubi) the unflinching gaze at patriarchy, generational trauma and its far reaching consequences are a constant. (Also read: Kanu Behls Agra premieres at Cannes, gets 5-minute standing ovation at Directors Fortnight) Kanu Behl's Agra was screened at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Agra is about sexual repression As we sit down for a chat Kanu Behl elaborates. Titli was clearly a film about family. Agra is a film about sexual repression and the idea of physical spaces we live in and the way they affect each other. It is the patriarchal societys masculine gaze that makes it difficult for young boys to express themselves. We see men dialed up to hundred and indulge in dastardly acts and we immediately other them. We have never seen their journey; we dont know what triggered this. Unless we explore some of the reasons behind it we will never be able to truly solve this problem." The first image that pops up in our head when we hear 'Agra' is the pristine white Taj Mahal. However there is not even a glimpse of the world famous monument in the film. Rather its the cramped walls of a dilapidated building that is the center of all action. Its here that 25 year old Guru a call center employee is struggling with his own repressed feelings. He stays on the ground floor with his mother. While a room on the floor above them has his father and his mistress. The only available space is the tiny terrace that Guru stakes claim on. This house is full of individuals who never really come together as a family. Guru is trying to understand his own sexuality, his need for some sort of a honest physical connection and the other lustful individual units that co inhabit with him refuse to address his desire. The transacationality in all our relationships today is what I wanted to explore," says Behl. How he wrote Agra Kanu Behl shares the writing credit with Atika Chauhan (Margarita with a Straw ; Waiting) and while it comes from a very personal space it was nevertheless a difficult film to make. My biggest fear was if I truly know Guru. Growing up I too felt sexually repressed but I was also aware that I come from certain privilege. It was my mentor at the PJLF Three Rivers Residency Molly Stensgaard who pushed me. She told me to either drop the subject completely or bring out exactly what I had in mind without inhibitions. So to amp up my own repression I spent a lot of time in sex chat rooms myself to make myself feel what Guru would be feeling." The casting of Agra One of the biggest strengths of the film is the casting. Priyanka (Bose) was the only person who I wrote the part for. For Guru we needed someone who is not bodily imposing. We were looking for someone who has a sort of innocence on the face so you can empathize with even when he commits the most dastardly acts. So Mohit Aggarwal was perfect," shares Behl. As for Aashiqui fame Rahul Roy, Behl says he cast the actor himself in the film. We were working with 2-3 other actors. My process is that I do a 3-month workshop for my film. First month I work with 3 options for each part. We place everyone together and see what is feeling right for the film. But Rahul I think found a personal connection with the film. We also knew for the role we needed someone who was a little bit of a charmer but who also was familiar with some sort of a destruction. He is jaded, almost a defunct patriarch. I wanted the actor who plays the part to have some sense of what it feels like. I think Rahul when he read the script connected with the character. After that it was his sheer dedication. He was the first one to arrive for the workshop and last one to leave- every day. When you have an actor who is that committed you have to cast him. On actors not giving auditions Are there actors who resist this process of auditions? How many actually agree to put themselves through the rigor ? Almost 99% of the actors resist this," Behl responds promptly. It also shows they are coming from a certain ego so then the actor cant submit to the part. I always tell them its not about doubting your acting ability, this exploration is not about you as an actor. It about the character and yet actors have a problem. On the biggest challenge to make Agra What has been the biggest challenge to make the kind of films that you want to? Kanu Behl doesnt mince words , The biggest challenge is that there is no structural support for a certain kind of film in India in spite of a lot of people popping up at Cannes and saying Indian films are shining. But at the red carpet the filmmakers are nowhere to be seen. Bollywood divas and influences are all present but where are the filmmakers who are actually representing your cinema at Cannes? The last 10 indie films that we have seen coming out of India at major film festivals are happy accidents. They are not part of the system. There has to be some awareness of culture and the need for nuance. Even politically we have to take sides. Its sad that we are slowly doing away with nuance. Kanu Behl is now looking forward to his next investigative thriller Dispatch with Manoj Bajpayee. Manoj Bajpayee's character of Srikant Tiwari in his debut web series, The Family Man, is one of his most loved characters. The show turned out to be a hit and was followed by an equally successful second season as well. Now the actor has revealed that during the making of the show, his wife Shabana Raza had thought it was just a serial and was afraid that the show would ruin Manoj's career. Also read: Manoj Bajpayees Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai moves to theatres after OTT: It proves that web is not a threat or competition Manoj Bajpayee in a still from The Family Man. The Family Man was directed by Raj and DK and also starred Sharib Hashmi, Priyamani and Neeraj Madhav. Manoj played a married man with two kids, while also having a hidden identity of a senior officer in the Threat Analysis and Surveillance Cell (TASC). Manoj on starting work on The Family Man Talking about the time when Manoj had started working on The Family Man, the actor told Indianexpress.com in an interview, They (Raj and DK) sent me two episodes, and I loved it and started making notes. I think the character notes for Srikant Tiwari were the most I have made. I would remember something, rush back to my notebook and pen it. I had even decided to not work for eight months and was working out a lot. So now, that became an issue with my wife (Shabana)." Shabana thought The Family Man was a serial Revealing her perception about the project, he further added, "She thought I was doing some kind of a serial and ask me what is this OTT. I told her that its different and she was like, What is the need of money? Why are you ruining your career? Sab accha khasa chal raha hai. Sab khatam kar doge (Everything is going well, why do you want to ruin it). I told her how shows like Narcos have become popular. But eventually its a serial only na? she would tell me. I think she didnt realise the strength and potential of OTT till she saw the first season of The Family Man. Samantha Ruth Prahu joined the original cast in the second season in which she played the lead antagonist. The show has been renewed for the third season and will go on the floors by the end of this year. Manoj is back with Bandaa Manoj is currently being applauded for his role in his new film, Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai. He plays a lawyer who fights for a minor girl who files a rape case against a self-proclaimed Godman. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON For an "adventure seeker" that Nimrat Kaur says she is, professional acting came as an organic career choice to keep in touch with her "inner child" and make her life interesting. (Also read: School of Lies review: Case of a missing child goes on trauma-dumping spree) Nimrat Kaur's latest release is School of Lies. Living the life of an actor is "nothing short of a dream" said Kaur, who believes in growing each day with less baggage. "It's been nothing short of a dream. I have never planned anything. I just go from day to day knowing that I want to keep my life interesting. I want to keep working with fun people and I want to keep learning from them... Unlearning the stuff I think I know. It's very important to grow with less and less baggage," the actor told PTI in an interview. Kaur started off as a model and till date remains etched in the minds of the indie pop fans as the vivacious 'girl in the theatre' from Kumar Sanu's hit song "Tera Mera Pyar" in 2005. Eight years later came "The Lunchbox", a tender love story, emerged as a turning point for the actor who played Ila, a neglected housewife who forms a bond with a stranger through a delicious change of fate. Since then, Kaur said she made sure to attach herself with people who compliment her curiosity for life. "What keeps me going is (the urge) to keep the freshness of life alive, to keep in touch with the child within. I always make sure I attach myself to people who are like that. I'm a curious person. I'm an adventure seeker. I'm not a wild girl. I don't live wildly, I live everything through my parts," she added. Whether it was appearing in the acclaimed American series "Homeland" as an ISI agent, ALT Balaji show "The Test Case" in which she played an Indian Army officer, or a homemaker who refuses to let of the Chief Ministership after she tastes power in "Dasvi", the Pilani-born actor said she tries to do justice to her roles to the best of her ability. "... Whatever I've been able to do so far, it's been really fun to become different people because I think that's pretty much why all of us are actors, because our real lives really don't interest us beyond a point. And it's almost to live your own life knowing that you won't be able to escape it and become somebody else. So I have a lot of fun with everything I do," she added. Even while working on her latest project "School of Lies", the 41-year-old said it was difficult for her to stay in the serious zone of the mystery drama series because the team was shooting in some of the most picturesque locales of Ooty and Coonoor. "We were in Lawrence School, Lovedale, by far one of the most beautiful campuses I've ever seen. It was actually very hard for me to remain serious because it was so pretty. It was raining and I love having my chai, pakoras and coffee and all of that good stuff... So with every project I feel like life is only getting more and more exciting and we are really spoilt for choice." In the series, currently streaming on Disney Hotstar, Kaur plays Nandita Verma, a student counsellor with a moral conflict who tries to decode the mystery behind the disappearance of a 12-year-old boy from a private boarding school in the fictional Dalton Town. The actor said she was "all ears" when she was offered an interesting character like Nandita Verma. "With this part what comes is the interesting perspective she has which is non-judgemental about some very complex situations. It also then probes her to delve deeper within and address some childhood issues which she hasn't before and her demons she carries as an adult," she said. Recounting her childhood years, Kaur said she changed schools a lot as an Army kid and the only challenge was how to start friendships again. "I moved schools till I was 11 years old. Then after that I was in one school from 8th to 12th standard. But by then I had already changed five schools. So, I had no childhood friends. I still don't. I don't really have thick school friendships. I wish sometimes that I had that as an adult where people know each other from age two and four," she said. Somehow moving schools and cities, the actor said, prepared her for her future profession. "I found it highly exciting to pack bags, go to a new place, and then make that home. And that's probably why you find so many of us (Army kids) in the industry because we know how to blend in wherever we go. That is something almost like I was being prepared for this job as a child because it's a job requirement. "So it was all good, I have never had any untoward incidents, I've never been bullied. I think I was also a very entertaining person, so the one thing common that kept running through all my schools was that I was always on stage... debating, sports, extracurricular activities. So, that was the one way I knew that everybody would know me," she added. Talking about "School of Lies", the actor said the series shines a light on some necessary conversations which remain unaddressed by adults. "I have seen that in our society it's almost encouraged to not speak about stuff because it's inconvenient... So, if you go through something very often the way out is to keep silent. I feel that is the bedrock of a disturbed life and an adulthood that doesn't see its full potential. You always kind of carry that baggage whether you've been through abuse, molestation, bullying, or anything of any sort," she said. Kaur, whose series credits also include Fox's "Wayward Pines", said she is happier working as an actor today than she was a decade ago. "Such great parts are being written for women. There's such great work happening. People are making a 'School of Lies' because they can. This would have not been a film or it would have faced so many challenges had it been a film. I love working as an actor today, so much more than perhaps 10 or 15 years ago when your choices were few and far between," she added. Next up for the actor is "Happy Teachers' Day", "Section 84", and season two of Apple Original series "Foundation", which premieres in July. Eva Longoria has hailed her friendship with Victoria Beckham. In a recent interview with The Times, "Desperate Housewives" star talked about how great her companionship is with Beckham. Eva Longoria and Victoria Beckham(Getty Images) We are peas in a pod. I wish people knew how funny and charming and smart Victoria is. Shes the funniest person. I think shes an introvert, but shes an extrovert with me. We are inseparable, said Longoria. During the interview, Longoria shared how close she is to Beckham. She also highlighted Beckham helps her in various ways and both catch up with each other very often. ALSO READ| Brad Pitt takes legal action against Angelina Jolie concerning sale of their shared French estate We have sleepovers all the time, mostly at their farmhouse or in London. We usually just blab all night, shared Longoria. Shes extremely loyal. Theres never a moment I cant call her, that shes not available, that shes not flying to see me, or Im flying to see her. Or Im raiding her closet. She gives me motherly advice and business advice, she added. Notably, Longoria got introduced to Beckham through her ex-husband Tony Parker, who had been friends with David Beckham(Victoria Beckham's husband). As Longoria's friendship with Beckham grew, she hailed the "Desperate Housewives" star as godmother to her daughter Harper Beckham. Longoria also shared how Beckham had designed her wedding dress and acted as her best friend. She did my civil outfit, my wedding dress and the after-party dress. She brought everything I mean, she literally carried it with her. Put it on me, buckled my shoes because I couldnt bend down, zipped up my dress when I got drunk. She was like, I know my role. She is that best friend, said Longoria. Interestingly, in another recent interview, Longoria talked about her character Gabrielle Solis in the hit series "Desperate Housewives". She said she missed being Gabby Solis. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Kanye West and Ice Cube were photographed meeting each other on Friday at the "You Know How We Do It" rapper's home in Marina Del Rey, California. The two star rappers were seen together for the first time since differences between them over Kanye's anti-Semitic remarks in 2022. Kanye West(Getty Images) During their meeting, Kanye and Ice Cube were spotted hugging each other while exchanging smiles. Their pictures from the jovial meeting, went viral on social media. In the pictures, Kanye is seen wearing all black clothes and black socks. Ice Cube sported a black hoodie, blue jeans and Nike sneakers. ALSO READ| Brad Pitt takes legal action against Angelina Jolie concerning sale of their shared French estate Notably, in October 2022, Kanye had made anti-Semitic comments during his appearance on the Drink Champs podcast. Kanye had also posted anti-Jewish comments on Twitter due to which his account was suspended too. Im a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up Im going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE The funny thing is I actually cant be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda," Kanye had posted on Twitter. During his anti-Semitic rant on the Drink Champs podcast, Kanye had claimed that Ice Cube had influenced him. Later, Ice Cube had gone public and posted on Twitter that he had nothing to do with Kanye's anti-Jewish comments. I hate that my name was dragged into this Drunk Champs bulls**t. I dont know what Ye meant by his statements, youre gonna have to ask him," Ice Cube had tweeted at that time. I didnt put the batteries in his back. Please leave my name out of all the antisemitic talk. Im not antisemitic and never have been, Ice Cube's tweet further read. Actor Chiranjeevi has issued a clarification after several reports claimed that he was diagnosed with cancer and got cured after treatment. Taking to Twitter on Saturday evening, Chiranjeevi penned a long note saying that the reports emerged after he spoke on the need to raise awareness about cancer. (Also Read | Chiranjeevi 'leaks' pics from Bholaa Shankar song shoot in Switzerland, fans think it will be 'a good dance number') Chiranjeevi was last seen in the Telugu film Waltair Veerayya. Chiranjeevi on reports of him being diagnosed with cancer In his statement, written in Telugu, Chiranjeevi clarified that he undertook a test earlier in which 'non-cancerous polyps were detected and removed'. He also added that he had said if the polyps weren't removed it 'would have turned out to be cancer'. Chiranjeevi said that as several reports misquoted him it led to 'unnecessary confusion'. I only said, 'If I hadn't done the test first, it would have turned out to be cancer'. Chiranjeevi's statement Chiranjeevi wrote, "A while ago I spoke about the need to raise awareness about cancer while inaugurating a cancer centre. I told you that cancer can be prevented if you undergo regular medical tests. I was alert and took a colon scope test. I said that non-cancerous polyps were detected and removed. I only said, 'If I hadn't done the test first, it would have turned out to be cancer'. That's why everyone should take precautions and undergo medical tests/screening." He added, "But some media organizations did not understand this properly and started publishing web articles saying 'I got cancer' and 'I survived due to treatment'. This has caused unnecessary confusion. Many well-wishers are sending messages about my health. This clarification is for all of them. Also, an appeal to such journalists: don't write nonsense without understanding the subject. Because of this, many people are scared and hurt (folded hands emoji)." Fans'reactions Several fans supported the actor and expressed happiness for his good health. "It's good to know everything is ok thanks to prevention. This information can help many." said a person. "Thank God you are healthy and you have to be healthy," read a comment. "Long live Chiranjeevi garu..! I hope I will meet you soon for a cup of coffee..!" wrote another person. Chiranjeevi's projects Fans saw Chiranjeevi last in the Telugu film Waltair Veerayya, directed by Bobby Kolli. The actor has Bholaa Shankar in the pipeline. Last month, Chiranjeevi shared some pictures from the sets of the film. The actor was filming a song in Switzerland. Chiranjeevi wrote on Twitter, The song shoot for Bhola Shankar in Switzerland was a lot of fun! I can say that this song will please all the audience and more so all the fans! Let's share more soon! Until then, these are the 'little leaks' pics (sic). The film is the official remake of the Tamil film Vedalam, which featured Ajith in the role of a doting brother with a very violent past. Chiranjeevi will essay the same role with Keerthy Suresh playing his sister. Tamannaah Bhatia has been paired with Chiranjeevi. ott:10 SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON It's been two days since the horrific three-train collision tragedy in Balasore district of Odisha. The railway officials are working round the clock to completely restore the services on the track. Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who has been camping at the accident site, tweeted in the evening to inform that the Track linking of Up-line has been done at 16:45 hrs. Overhead electrification work started. After identifying the change in electronic interlocking as the root cause of the incident which has so far claimed 275 lives according to official figures, the railways has recommended a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into one of the deadliest rail accident in decades. ALSO READ: How Coromandel Express derailed, set off triple-train collision, explains Railway Board Here are the top developments pertaining to the Odisha train tragedy. 1. The Railways have been able to restore train services in the down-line track of the accident site. The restoration was done in 51 hours since the mishap. Train movement on down line was restored at the accident site in Balasore.(Sourced) 2. The death toll in the accident has been revised from 288 to 275 by the Odisha government which said that some bodies were counted twice earlier. "Yesterday, there was a confusion created by the figure of 288 by Railway. So far, there have been 275 deaths, there are some cases which were double counted. The number of injuries are 1,175 and many of them have been discharged already. Now, less than 300 are in the hospital," Odisha chief secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena told PTI. 3. There are 187 bodies yet to be identified, and keeping them till the time they are claimed by the kin is proving to be a challenge. Odisha is facing a shortage of morgues due to the massive number of bodies after the accident. According to a PTI report, 110 bodies were kept at AIIMS Bhubaneswar while the remaining have Capital Hospital, Amri Hospital, Sum Hospital and some other private facilities. 4. Railway officials have said that till the overhead electric cable is repaired, only diesel locomotives can run and will take another three days before electric trains can ply. "By Tuesday we should be able to do it," Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said. ALSO READ: Odisha train crash: Audit report last year flagged multiple shortcomings. 10 points 5. The Railways has said it made special arrangements on helpline number 139 to help the kins of those deceased in the mishap. A team of railways officials is continuously manning the helpline and will provide all the relevant details to the callers after coordinating with the zonal railways and the state government, the railways said. 6. A PIL has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking direction to the Centre to set up an inquiry commission headed by a retired top court judge to probe the Odisha train mishap. 7. Several passengers on the two trains were migrant workers. The Railways said even if the victims were ticketless travellers, they will receive compensation. "Irrespective of the passengers being ticketless (or not), they will receive compensation," railway spokesperson Amitabh Sharma said. 8. The railways has cancelled 123 trains, diverted 56, short-terminated 10 and rescheduled 14 trains due to the accident in Odisha in which 275 people were killed, PTI reported. These trains include those with journey commencing from June 3 to June 7. 9. Politics continues over the Odisha train mishap. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee hit out at the Centre again, questioning why the trains were not equipped with anti-collision system. When yesterday he (Railways minister) was present with me and I mentioned about anti-collision device, why didn't he open his mouth? 'Dal mein kuch kaala hai', we want the truth to come out. 10. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi too attacked the Centre, asking who is accountable for the deaths of over 270 people. He even demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ask railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for his resignation. Union minister Anurag Thakur hit back at the former MP, saying, "Who is running away from accountability? Our Union Ministers were present on the accident spot &doing their duties. Rahul Gandhi goes abroad and defames India. 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 Zanzibar PRESIDENT Hussein Mwinyi has launched a 23-member committee to prevent sexual abuses, hoping that the move will reduce the menace in the society. The committee includes members drawn from various institutions including the government, private institutions and human rights activists, Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) office, Mufti office, Ministry of Educational and Vocational Training, Ministry of Social Welfare, Elders, Children and Gender, among others. "I direct all institutions with members who form this committee to provide the necessary cooperation," Dr Mwinyi said at the launching ceremony held on Thursday, this week. He also directed the respective institutions to work closely with the DPP office to achieve the objectives. The Committee is chaired by the Deputy DPP, Ms Mwanamkaa Abdulrahman Mohammed. Dr Mwinyi said statistics given by the DPP on sexual abuse clearly indicate increased moral deterioration and the continuation of the abuse. "We all have a role to play to stop sexual abuse and we are backed by the fact that all religions are against this. I believe that religious leaders have a big opportunity to educate the community on the best ways to avoid and prevent the sexual abuse," he stated. He urged parents to uphold proper parenting and collective responsibility in child upbringing so that country could have well-behaved young people. The President said he was happy that the main objective of the committee is to find ways of preventing incidents before they happen, contrary to a normal practice of dealing with them after they have already occurred. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "But I urge the Committee to identify gaps in policies, regulations and laws that obstruct efficiency in battling sexual abuse," he added. The Minister of State in the President's Office - Constitution, Legal Affairs, Public Service and Good Governance, Mr Haroun Ali Suleiman thanked DPP for coming up with the idea of forming the committee to intensify campaign against sexual abuse. In his remarks the DPP, Mr Mgeni Jailani Jecha said there was an increase of incidents of sexual abuse from 1222 cases in 2021 to 1360 last year and that the number of abused children also increased from 1068 in 2021 to 1173 in 2022. "We have 784 suspects of sexual abuse in remand. Our target is to have at least 65 percent of the suspects convicted to indicate seriousness in the battle," Mr Jecha said. He said the formation of Committee is a step forward in the implementation of the instructions issued by President Mwinyi during a Conference on Sexual violence held in July, 2021 when he asked institutions to have programs or strategies to overcome sexual abuse. In a major embarrassment for chief minister Nitish Kumar, an under-construction Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge on river Ganga in Bihar's Bhagalpur collapsed on Sunday evening. The moment when the bridge collapsed was caught on video by locals. A similar incident of bridge collapse happened last year as well. An under-construction Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge collapses in Bhagalpur on Sunday. The moment when the bridge collapsed in the Ganga River was caught on video by locals. (ANI Photo)(ANI) A portion of a bridge that was built across the Burhi Gandak River in Sahebpur Kamal of Bihar's Begusarai district collapsed and fell into the river, but no casualty was reported. Nitish Kumar has ordered a probe into the bridge collapse incident and asked to identify those responsible for the incident. However, the incident, not surprisingly, drew quick criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Nitish Kumar's old ally in the state. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonwalla described it as "the bridge of corruption and took a dig at the chief minister. Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge in Bihars Bhagalpur - dream project of CM Nitish Kumar collapses. This is the second time the bridge has collapsed. Imagine the level of corruption ! 1750 crores of tax payer money takes Jal Samadhi with the bridge. THE BRIDGE OF CORRUPTION COLLAPSES EVEN AS NITISH BABU IS BUSY ATTEMPTING TO BE A BRIDGE OF OPPOSITION UNITY. Wait & see how Pappu Media ignores this story or somehow blames PM Modi for it, Poonwalla tweeted. Another BJP spokesperson Priti Gandhi said Nitish Kumar should concentrate on his own state instead of poking his nose in issues not concerning him. Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge in Bihar collapsed into the Ganga few hours ago. The bridge, being made at a cost 1710 crores, was to connect Khagaria & Bhagalpur districts, she tweeted. BJP IT-cell head Amit Malviya asked if Nitish Kumar and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav will resign for the incident. Today, the bridge being built on the river Ganga between Sultanganj and Khagaria of Bhagalpur in Bihar collapsed. In 2015, Nitish Kumar inaugurated this bridge, which was to be completed by 2020. This bridge has fallen for the second time. Will Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav resign immediately taking cognizance of this incident? By doing this, both the uncle and nephew can set an example in front of the country, Malviya tweeted in Hindi. Meanwhile, JDU MLA from Sultanganj Lalit Narayan Mandal said, We were expecting that the inauguration of the bridge would happen by November-December later this year. But the way it collapsed is unfortunate. A probe must happen into the incident, there's some fault. Live Hindustan reported that officials are analysing the extent of damage caused to the bridge. Bhagalpur SDO Dhananjay Kumar said, We have received information about the collapse of pillar and segment. The incident pertains to Parvatta. We have spoken to the engineers involved in the construction of the bridge. As of now, there is no report of loss of life and property. Onlookers were in shock Reports said at least two spans of the bridge, being built in a hybrid structure between the classic cable-stayed and cantilever-girder types, sank in the water, leaving the onlookers in shock. This is the second time that the bridge constructed for the Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Limited (BRPNNL) by SP Signla construction limited caved in owing to structural mishandling and design fault. Foundation was laid by Nitish Kumar in 2014 Officials said the bridge, the foundation of which was laid by Nitish Kumar in 2014, was scheduled to be inaugurated by the year-end after the deferred deadlines. Additional chief secretary, road construction, Pratyay Amrit and BRPNNL managing director Niraj Saxena could not be reached for their comments. (With inputs from Subhash Pathak in Patna) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON An important meeting is set to begin in Bonn in Germany on Monday, celebrated as World Environment Day, which will set the agenda for the next United Nations climate summit scheduled to be held in Dubai towards the end of this year. The technical discussions on the global stocktake of Paris agreement are expected to end at Bonn (PTI) Read here: Climate crisis accelerating at faster pace than expected': Scientist Roxy Koll As the world inches closer to breaching global warming by 1.5 degree Celsius, a goal of the 2017 Paris climate pact, the Bonn meeting is expected to lay down the groundwork for a strong outcome on the climate crisis. The technical discussions on the global stocktake of Paris agreement are expected to end at Bonn. They will set the tone for political discussions to begin. The world is currently not on track to meet the goals of the Paris pact that wants to limit global temperature rise within 2 degrees compared with pre-industrial times and make efforts to contain it to 1.5 degrees. The planet would warm by 2.7 degree by the end of this century is no significant action is taken, according to United Nations Environment Programme. The World Meteorological Organisation warned on May 15 that there is a 66% chance that annual global surface temperature will exceed 1.5 degrees at least once in the next five years. The climate summit has to not only inform the wide gap in emissions reductions needed globally, but also get political consensus to put the world back on the Paris Agreement track. The Bonn climate talks are halfway to the annual summit, also known as the 28th Conference of Parties, or COP28. It will determine what will finally find its way to the summits decision text at the end of the year, experts said. We already know that at COP28, we need a deal to get global climate action back on track, Tom Evans, policy advisor of think tank E3Gs climate diplomacy and geopolitics programme, said at a briefing last week. COP 28 needs to deliver outcomes on emissions reduction, fossil fuel phase-out and making climate finance and the loss and damage fund a reality, he said. Read here: Environment needs our urgent attention The global stocktake in Dubai will take place in the backdrop of the United Arab Emirates contentious presidency. Over 130 lawmakers from the European Union and the US have urged the removal of oil executive Sultan Al Jaber as the president of COP28. Al Jaber is also the chief executive of state oil giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Corporation. Some experts say his country is stuck in a credibility crisis due to its fossil fuel political economy, which could be countered at Bonn. The diplomatic push toward phasing out fossil fuels is another critical area that will have to be addesssed at COP28 and the groundwork for that has to be laid out in Bonn, experts said. Following the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Germany attended by climate envoys of 40 countries last month, experts pointed out that the UAE carefully avoided endorsing a shift away from using fossil fuels, instead endorsed phase out of fossil fuel emissions. Climate experts and activists have said countries are trying to protect their fossil fuel interests and cleverly framing the overall climate action goal so that they can continue the use of fossil fuels. We need to address the emissions that are happening today. What we are saying is lets have the solutions on table that real things are going to happen today to get us back on track so thats why we are saying lets focus on addressing emissions. Lets not have ideological discussions, COP28 director-general ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi said in an interview to HT last week on fossil fuel phase-out. Diplomacy is often the art of brinkmanship. There is time to get COP28 in shape, but the next two weeks are key. Al Jaber has to meet the moment and lay out the contours of a Dubai deal. If he doesnt, he wont bend the conversation away from his fitness for office. If we ever needed a Bonn bounce, its now, Rachel Kyte, dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University in the US, said in a statement. The G7 communique issued last month also did not show ambition on phasing out fossil fuels or a just energy transition in developing countries. G7 countries only said developed world would start delivering on its promise of $100 billion per year during 2020 to 2025 from this year. It also justified investments in gas. We stress the important role that increased deliveries of LNG (liquified petroleum gas) can play and acknowledge that investment in the sector can be appropriate in response to the current crisis and to address potential gas market shortfalls provoked by the crisis, the communique had said while calling for all emerging economies to set a goal of net zero emissions by no later than 2050. This is unlikely to be accepted by developing countries, including India and China. Climate experts are waiting to see G20s communique on climate mitigation expected in September. India has the G20 presidency this year. The issue of mitigation cannot be addressed without climate finance or the means for implementation which will also be key at Bonn. Finance is the biggest header for climate politics in 2023. For our collective progress in the year of the global stocktake to line up with considerations of equity, the spotlight must be on finance in various concrete forms, said Avantika Goswami, programme manager of climate change at the Centre for Science and Environment, an advocacy group. Bonn is a crucial session where discussions will be held on assessing the progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, preparing for and dealing with the impacts of worsening storms, droughts and rising seas, said Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at Climate Action Network International, a collactive of non-profits. The onus of success of this round of climate talks is on the rich industrialised nations, who have not yet demonstrated leadership on taking up their fair share of climate action. For emerging economies like India, climate finance will top the agenda at all discussions. It is estimated that $4 trillion per year needs to be invested in renewable energy until 2030 to be able to reach the goal of net zero emissions by 2050. An investment of at least $4-6 trillion per year will be needed for a global transformation to a low-carbon economy, Indias environment minister Bhupender Yadav said in his speech at the HT G20 Agenda while highlighting that developed countries who agreed to mobilise $100 billion funds for mitigation efforts in developing countries couldnt yet fulfil the promise. Read here: Can Germany's tourism industry become climate neutral? 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, Yadav had said. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has operationalised only a working definition so far. The climate crisis could spell the end of the world for many underprivileged, who have low capacity to adapt to the changes. The fact that all climate indicators are in the red makes climate scientists like Roxy Mathew Koll anxious about sharing them. Climate meetings like the one that starts on Monday in Germanys Bonn put climate scientists and most of their recommendations in the back seat, said Koll, who is a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology. As someone who studies atmospheric and oceanic behaviour, he would like to see immediate technology development and transfer to address emissions and put the climate back in the safe zone. Edited excerpts from an interview: Roxy Mathew Koll (HT Photo) Read here: World Environment Day: Key climate meet to begin in Bonn on June 5 We experienced a mild summer but parts of eastern India saw extreme temperatures in April and 11 persons in Navi Mumbai died due to heat exposure in that month. How do you think India is impacted by climate crisis? As more data surfaces, we see that climate change is accelerating at a fast pace, throwing off extreme weather events one after the other. This is faster than what we thought earlier. South Asia has become the poster child of climate change. The entire region, not just India, is witnessing a clear trend in rising heatwaves, floods, landslides, droughts and cyclones. This is already affecting the food, water, and energy security of the region. The 2022 heatwaves were record-breaking, with temperatures shooting up to 50 degrees Celsius in India and Pakistan. We saw the warmest ever recorded February. India is now capable of skilfully monitoring and forecasting many of the extreme weather events though there are several emerging challenges due to climate change. Investigation of recent weather-related disasters show that forecasts, basic precautions, disaster management, and policies can reduce the number of deaths. India is growing at a fast pace. Amidst the challenges, this presents us with an opportunity to learn and disaster-proof ourselves for a climate resilient, sustainable future. The World Meteorological Organization has forecast that we are likely to cross the 1.5 degrees threshold in the next five years, at least temporarily. How will that impact India? The steadfast rise in severe weather extremes are in response to the 1 degree rise in global temperatures due to historical carbon emissions. These events are projected to intensify further since the commitments from nations are insufficient to keep the temperature rise from hitting 1.5 degrees by 2040 and 2 degrees between 2040 and 2060. While we are reeling under the impacts of that 1 degree, the grave impacts of doubling that is difficult to visualize for me, even as a climate scientist. This is not somewhere far in the future. That is not just our children or grandchildren. Most of us living now will face doubling of the global temperatures in a few decades. This is also a scenario where the cumulative actions of a handful of developed nations have brought permanent climate havoc in the lives of all other nations and on themselves as well. This is a climate war where everyone is losing. We need all the tools that can help us to reduce the impact. Read here: Argentina's Celeste Saulo becomes first woman leader of World Meteorological Organization How will the El Nino impact India this year? Events like an El Nino warm water phenomenon in the Pacific with global climate implications can sometimes amplify the impacts of climate change. Usually, an El Nino starts brewing in the Pacific during summer and reaches peak intensity by winter. This year, global models are expecting El Nino to be in place by June. During El Nino events, the monsoon winds are slow to pick up, and are relatively weaker. An El Nino during the current monsoon season means a delayed onset and deficit rainfall. Forecasts from the India Meteorological Department already indicates dry conditions over northwest and central India. El Nino is becoming stronger as ocean temperatures rise. The relationship between El Nino and the monsoon is also changing with time, and we need to be watchful of these intricate interactions. A deficit in the total amount of rainfall during El Nino does not mean that we are safe from heavy rains. Heavy rains over a few days still occur during short-term episodes when the monsoon winds carry additional moisture evaporated from the warm ocean waters. As a climate scientist, how do you feel when politicians globally do not respond to crisis adequately? The climate crisis is the end of the world for many underprivileged with low adaptive capacity. It is the end of the world for many species of flora and fauna. As a human being, I am ashamed that the global commitments and investments are insufficient to save these lives. We have been negotiating for decades, without transformative decisions that can take us to a stable future. At the same time, I am optimistic about the power of people. I see that communities and local leaders are taking up the climate challenge. This is important since we cannot wait for delayed global action as severe weather events are at our doorstep. We need communities, scientists, engineers, local administration and educational institutions working together for local solutions. We need to urgently finance and support community-based climate action. What is your take on the impacts of climate change? All the data and science that I have show the graphs going up with red colours, indicating rising temperatures and extremes. I feel anxious to show them since many perceive this as painting a scary end-of-the-world picture. This is but reality. Knowing these numbers and taking precautions can save lives. Climate anxiety might be a factor to consider, but climate crisis is a harsh reality that we have to deal with. I see that children with awareness of climate crisis are more sensible in dealing with the environment, and go about finding innovative solutions, rather than children who are not sensitized about the climate emergency. What are your expectations from the climate meeting at Bonn and the annual summit later in the year? The Bonn meeting is supposed to lay the groundwork for the 28th Conference of Parties in Dubai in December. The number 28 (the number of years that global climate negotiations are being held) indicates that we were well aware of the climate challenges and knew very well that we should cut down carbon emissions, but have been negotiating for the past three decades. The annual meetings put climate scientists and most of their recommendations in the back seat. As policymakers debate, there is slow progress in terms of climate action, but there are no transformative binding decisions that can address the climate crisis. I would like to see immediate technology development and transfer that can help reduce emissions and embrace sustainable development on a global scale. We also saw how cyclone Mocha rapidly intensified to a Super Cyclone. Why do you think that happened? Do we have any lessons from Mocha? With the help of state-of-the-art models, we can now predict the genesis, track, and landfall of cyclones with high accuracy. Combined with disaster management at ground, we are saving several lives. However, climate change has brought in new challenges. Cyclones are now intensifying rapidly since warm ocean waters provide a consistent supply of heat and moisture for quick intensification. Cyclones like Fani, Amphan, Tauktae and recently Mocha intensified from a weak to severe status in less than 24 hours due to warm ocean conditions. Cyclone models are unable to pick this rapid intensification. This is because many of these models do not incorporate ocean conditions accurately. More than 93 percent of the additional heat from global warming is absorbed by oceans only. This heat reflects largely in the ocean surface and subsurface. The sub-surface ocean temperatures keep the cyclones intensifying because the strong winds churn up the ocean and take up that energy. However, most of the models deployed for cyclone forecasts generally use surface temperatures alone for forecasts. Hence, we need to incorporate sub-surface data also in the cyclone forecasting framework. For high-quality sub-surface data, we need to more investment in robust ocean monitoring systems like moored buoys. We have satellites for ocean surface data, but they cannot measure sub-surface temperatures. Climate change impacts are now overlapping to make extreme events worse. For example, when a cyclone occurs, the storm surges due to the intense winds along with the sea level rise and heavy rains is aggravating coastal floods along the coast of India. Cyclone Amphan was a perfect example were the coastal flooding reached several tens of kilometers inland, damaging infrastructure and agriculture over huge swaths of land. We need to upgrade our facilities so as to monitor and forecast these compound extreme events. How does India need to prepare for heat extremes and protect the most vulnerable. The IMD provides heatwave forecasts on a 6-hourly basis, for the next five days. Along with a heat action plan at city or district level, this an excellent way to take precautions and avoid deaths. Heatwaves are going to intensify further, and we cannot wait for forecasts every year. We have sufficient data to identify the regions where the heatwaves are increasing and we need to have policies in all those places. We need to redesign our cities to have open spaces and trees that help in releasing the excess heat quickly and also act as hubs for shade and cooling down. Integrating a heat emergency plan into the education system and workplace policies can equip individuals to handle heat emergencies and protect their health and wellbeing. India needs a long-term vision where we have policies that help us in managing our work hours, public infrastructure, schools, hospitals, workplaces, houses, transportation, and agriculture for heatwaves to come. Read here: Environment needs our urgent attention How will the Indian Ocean be impacted by 1.5 degree C warming? Compared to the Pacific and Atlantic, the Indian Ocean is the fastest warming. This has a huge impact on us since the Indian subcontinent is covered by the fastest warming tropical ocean on all three sides. As these waters warm, it supplies more heat and moisture for weather systems to intensify. The number of cyclones in the Arabian Sea has increased by 52% during the last four decades, and more extremely severe cyclones like Tauktae are projected to form in the future. The monsoon that sources its energy and moisture from the Indian Ocean has become more erratic, with short spells of heavy rains and long dry periods, causing floods and dry seasons in the same season. Heatwaves are now happening in the oceans too we call them marine heatwaves. These heatwaves kill corals. Corals occupy less than 1% of the global ocean surface but hosts about 25% of the marine biodiversity. Marine heatwaves are hence detrimental for fisheries and aquaculture also have resulted in mass fish mortality worldwide. Just like we need open natural spaces on land, we need more protected marine parks too. Most of the times climate change is aggravated by direct human intervention, whether it is land or ocean. Land use changes and development makes our cities and panchayats vulnerable to flash floods, landslides, and droughts. Similarly, coral mining and unregulated industrial fishing deplete the marine ecosystem at a rate faster than global warming. This environmental degradation can be slowed down if we make sure that existing environmental policies are implemented in the true sense. Amid the war of words between the BJP and the Trinamool over the Odisha triple train collision involving two Bengal trains, BJP's Suvdendu Adhikari trained his gun at Trinamool Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee and asked whether his aunt Mamata Banerjee resigned as the railway minister after the Jnaneswari accident in 2010. "What could be expected more from a dimwit half-educated person catapulted in Politics only because his aunt is the proprietor of the family business, portrayed as a political party," Suvendu said in a swipe at Abhishek. Read | 'Soon, no one killed 288+ people': Politics over Odisha train crash amid sabotage theory Mamata Banerjee and Ashwini Vaishnaw were caught on the camera arguing at the Coromandel crash site in Balasore on Saturday. Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express and Bengaluru- Howrah Superfast collided in Odisha's Balasore on Friday evening killing 288 people. The collision involved a goods train adding to the impact of the accident manifold. Victims included many from Bengal as both the passenger trains were from Bengal. The Coromandel was on its way to Chennai from Howrah's Shalima; the other was on its way to Howrah. West Bengal government sent its team to the site soon after the crash and chief minister Mamata Banerjee went to Odisha on Saturday. The tragedy became a flashpoint between the BJP and the Trinamool as the Trinamool squarely blamed railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for the tragedy. Mamata Banerjee and Vaishnaw were caught on camera arguing over the Coromandel accident toll where Mamata said the toll could be above 500 but the railway minister contradicted and confirmed that rescue work was already over. The BJP said Mamata and her party had no ground to seek Ashwini Vaishnaw's resignation as Mamata did not resign after Jnaneshwari. "I would like to remind you that the CBI Chargesheeted Accused behind that tragedy; Chatradhar Mahato belonged to your party & was again inducted to the state committee of your party after he walked out of the jail in 2020, by your aunt; who was the then Railway Minister," Suvendu said. "Ashwini Vaishnaw ji is an IIT alumni and a former IAS officer of the 1994 batch. He is the most suitable person to hold the fort at this distressful moment," Suvendu said. Rail ministers who resigned after train accidents Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned from his post of railway minister after over 140 people died in a train accident in 1956 in Tamil Nadu. Months before, 112 people died in an accident in Andhra Pradesh. In 1999, Nitish Kumar resigned from his minister post after the Gaisal train accident. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Manipur violence: Amit Shah's sincerest appeal as Centre forms 3-member panel The Union home minister has formed a three-member committee to probe Manipur ethnic violence even as home minister Amit Shah on Sunday appealed to the people of the northeastern state to lift the blockades on the Imphal-Dimapur national highway. Read More Union home minister Amit Shah (HT File Photo) Pakistan Army, ISI trying to destroy my party, alleges Imran Khan Pakistan's embattled former Prime Minister Imran Khan has accused the powerful military and its intelligence agency of openly trying to destroy his political party, saying he had "no doubt" he would be tried in a military court and thrown in jail. Read More Shahid Kapoor says he doesn't want to do 'trash' in Hollywood: 'Break mil gaya hai, kuch bhi kar lo, nahi' Actor Shahid Kapoor has revealed if he wants to make his debut in Hollywood. In a new interview, Shahid said that he wouldnt want to go to Hollywood and 'do some trash'. Shahid also said that if he is offered a Tamil, Telugu or Malayalam movie he will do it if it satisfies him as an actor. Read More Beat the heat: 7 summer styling and fashion tips for men to stay comfy and cool Summer is finally here with a bang, and so are back the fun evening parties, barbeque nights, and those electric beach-side chilling scenes with your friends and family. Read More Ravi Dahiya pulls out of Bishkek Ranking Series event due to knee injury Olympic silver medallist wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya pulled out of the Bishkek Ranking Series event after suffering a strain on his right knee during warm up while Pankaj shocked U-23 world champion Aman Sehrawat in an all-Indian 61kg quarterfinal, on Sunday. Read More SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Jitendra Singh Vishen, who heads Hindu organisation Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh, has announced that he and his family are withdrawing from all cases related to the Gynavapi mosque complex in Varanasi, citing lack of resources and alleged harassment from various quarters. The litigant also cited financial stress to contest the cases (gencies) Read here: Decide on Places of Worship Act Vishen is the main pleader on behalf of his niece Rakhi Singh, one of the five Hindu women plaintiffs in an August 2021 case seeking permission for daily worship of deities, including Shringar Gauri, located on the outer wall of Gyanvapi mosque complex that abuts the Kashi Vishwanath temple. I and my family (wife Kiran Singh and niece Rakhi Singh) are withdrawing from all Gyanvapi-related cases that we had filed in the interest of the country and religion in various courts, he said in a statement on Saturday. Earlier, his lawyer Shivam Gaur also announced withdrawal from the cases. Besides the Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi case, Vishen is also the main pleader in a May 2022 suit filed by his wife Kiran Singh, seeking worship of deity Adi Vishweshwar Virajman, whose temple was believed to be where the 17th century Gyanvapi mosque stands today. Ever since these cases were filed, my family members and I are being harassed by anti-religious people who are against Hindu dharma. The society is also standing with the forces, Vishen said. He also cited financial stress to contest the cases. A few months ago, I sold my car to arrange the funds required for contesting the case. But now I am left with very limited resources and strength due to which I cannot do the pleading of the cases anymore, he added. Vishen has not submitted an application regarding his decision in the court yet, other lawyers involved in the case said. Jitendra Singh Vishen has made the announcement in the media to withdraw from the pleading of the case. He posted about it on social media. But he hasnt yet submitted a written application to the court about his decision. The case is pending in court, Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi, a lawyer for the Hindu plaintiffs, said, adding Vishens decision will have no impact on the case as four women plaintiffs are firmly contesting the case. Read here: Hindu sides plea to worship in Gyanvapi maintainable: HC Eklaq Ahmad, one of the advocates of the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee that manages the Gyanvapi mosque, said the announcement doesnt have any legal validity as he (Vishen) has not submitted any application before the court in this regard. Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Sunday posed nine questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the horrific triple train accident in Odisha's Balasore, while demanding immediate sacking of railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Referring to a news report by ThePrint, Surjewala asked why the rail minister was negligent towards the critical warning on the failure of the signalling system. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the site of the accident involving Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Express and a goods train, in Balasore district on Saturday. (PTI) The report suggests that officials within the railway board had warned about serious flaws in the system and raised concerns about the failure of interlocking in February and sought immediate action. He also warned that if the signal maintenance system was not monitored and corrected immediately, it could lead to re-occurrence and serious accidents, Surjewala said in a tweet. Why was rail minister and railway ministry immune or ignorant or negligent? he asked. Citing the recent derailments of freight trains, Surjewala asked why such incidents didn't raise enough alarms about the lack of rail safety forcing the railway ministry to take appropriate measures. Is it correct that Rail Minister is more concerned with marketing and pleasing the Prime Minister rather than concentrate on Railway Safety? Is the Rail Minister too pre-occupied with making the PM launch Vande Bharat Trains, refurbishing Railway Stations (tweeting their pictures) and increasing revenues rather than looking at the arduous job of ensuring passenger safety? (sic) the Congress leader said. "Is this the reason why the Railway Minister largely skipped the presentation on Railway Safety on 2 June 2023 in the Chintan Shivir (hours before the #OdishaTrainAccident ) and concentrated on the launch of Vande Bharat Trains and increased revenues," Surjewala added. The Rajya Sabha member also questioned the government's decision to burden a rail minister with the additional charge of big ministries like IT & Telecom, making Railway as a secondary job & jeopardising safety. Highlighting the vacancies in railways and the alleged lack of human resources, Surjewala wrote, How is it possible to run an effective and safe operation in absence of staff? With the absence of Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) or Kavach on the rain route where the triple train accident occurred, Surjewala asked why the system has not been implemented across railway zones. At least 288 people were killed and hundreds more injured in a horrific three-train collision in Odisha's Balasore. India's deadliest rail accident in over two decades is a stark reminder of safety issues that continue to challenge the vast railway system that transports nearly 22 million passengers each day. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday asked the state machinery to carry forward the development works with a positive motto and without being complacent on present achievements. Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao at the inauguration of newly built Collectorate complex in Nirmal district.(Telangana government) The chief minister was addressing officials at the new integrated Collectorate complex in Nirmal district which has been at a cost of 56 crore. Rao said the development will continue with the Podu lands distribution process in the district on June 24 when the government floats the novel scheme. He advised the district collector to make the programme a grand success so that the distribution process is carried forward with the preparation of details pertaining to bank accounts linkage and Rythu Bandhu inclusion patterns. KCR, as the chief minister is popularly called, said the Nirmal collectorate complex was 18th in the chain of 30 collectorates constructed in the state. The chief minister detailed that the state was achieving all round growth with several achievements on the human index development . The per capita income and the power per capita utilisation are basically regarded as human index development signs and Telangana is racing ahead of all the states, Rao added. Detailing that the state was progressing rapidly ahead of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat, Rao said this progress index would be carried forward in the next days with thrust on alleviating the conditions of Dalits, tribals, backward communities and economically poor sections of the society. Rao said the development carried out in the past nine years would be continued with the installation of Food processing industries in each taluka of the state. He said the present state of development is witnessed as a game changer by the neighbouring states like Maharashtra and this he witnessed in his recent visits to that state. Telangana chief secretary Shanthi Kumari recollected her association with Adilabad district as the collector in the undivided Andhra Pradesh and detailed how each and every part languished in a state of quandary . There was no water, no adequate power supplies and the development was like a mirage when we tried to implement schemes in this part, now the situation changed completely, she said. 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 The Union home minister has formed a three-member committee to probe Manipur ethnic violence even as home minister Amit Shah on Sunday appealed to the people of the northeastern state to lift the blockades on the Imphal-Dimapur national highway. Union home minister Amit Shah addresses a press conference regarding the Manipur violence, in Imphal. (ANI file) Three-member panel will be led by former chief justice of Gauhati high court Ajai Lamba, with two other members - retired IAS Himanshu Shekhar Das and IPS Aloka Prabhakar. My sincerest appeal to the people of Manipur is to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur, NH-2 Highway, so that food, medicines, Petrol/Diesel, and other necessary items can reach the people, Shah tweeted. Ethnic violence broke out in Manipur after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status. Shah, who recently concluded a four-day visit to Manipur to take stock of the situation and held talks with different stakeholders in a bid to restore a sense of calm in the state, also requested that civil society organisations do the needful in bringing consensus. Together only we can restore normalcy in this beautiful state, the Union home minister said. On the last day of his visit, Shah urged all communities and sections of society to maintain peace, hold discussions and promote harmony as well as surrender their weapons to the police. Shah warned of strict action Shah had warned that strict action would be taken against those found possessing weapons during the combing operation by the police. He also appealed to the people not to pay heed to rumours and maintain peace and harmony. On Saturday, security advisor to the Manipur government Kuldiep Singh said peace is returning to the state after a wave of ethnic clashes and violence and normality is being restored. "Peace efforts are on in Manipur in close coordination with civil society people. Peace is returning to the state and normalcy is being restored. There has not been an incident of firing and arson in Manipur in the last 24 hours. Besides, joint security forces, including the Assam Rifles, have recovered 35 arms and 88 bombs in multiple operations in the last 24 hours," Singh said earlier. (With inputs from agencies) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The ministry of home affairs (MHA) has formed a three-member judicial inquiry panel led by former chief justice of Gauhati high court Ajai Lamba to probe the ethnic violence in Manipur, a notification on the matter said on Sunday. Security personnel during a combing operation in a violence-hit area. (ANI) The other two members on the panel are retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Himanshu Shekhar Das and retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Aloka Prabhakar. ...in exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952 (60 of 1952), the Central Government hereby appoint a Commission of Inquiry consisting of Ajai Lamba, former chief justice of Gauhati high court (as chairperson), Das and Prabhakar, according to the notification issued by the ministry. Meanwhile, home minister Amit Shah on Sunday appealed to the people to lift blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur national highway (NH-2) for movement of essential goods. The commission, the notification said, will conduct an inquiry with respect to the causes and spread of the violence and riots targeting members of different communities, which took place in Manipur on May 3 and thereafter, the sequence of events leading to, and all the facts relating to such violence, whether there were any lapses or dereliction of duty in this regard on the part of any of the responsible authorities/individuals, the adequacy of the administrative measures taken to prevent, and to deal with the said violence and riots, and to consider such matters as may be found relevant in the course of inquiry. The inquiry by the commission will also look into complaints or allegations that may be made before the Commission by any individual, or association, in such form and accompanied by such affidavits, as may be specified by the Commission, and instances related to causes, lapses, etc brought to its notice by the Manipur government. The panel, which will be headquartered in Imphal, has been asked to submit its report as soon as possible but not later than six months, according to the notification. If it deems fit, the commission can submit interim reports to the Centre. People familiar with the development said the decision to form the inquiry panel was taken on recommendation of the Manipur government, which made the suggestion on May 29. The state police and administration will support the panel in its probe, said an officer, who didnt want to be named. Meanwhile, home minister Shah again appealed to the people to lift blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur national highway (NH-2) for movement of essentials. My sincerest appeal to the people of Manipur is to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur, NH-2 Highway, so that food, medicines, Petrol/Diesel, and other necessary items can reach the people. I also request that civil society organizations do the needful in bringing consensus, Shah tweeted on Sunday. Together only we can restore normalcy in this beautiful state, he added. Shah recently concluded a four-day visit to Manipur and held talks with various stakeholders, including Meiteis and Kukis, local administration, state police and civil society members. He appealed to people to surrender all the looted weapons, after which over 700 weapons out of an estimated total of 4,000 were recovered. Security adviser to the Manipur government Kuldiep Singh said on Saturday that peace was returning in the state. Manipur has been roiled by ethnic violence since May 3, with the bulk of the clashes between the Meitei community, which constitutes the majority of the states population and lives largely in Imphal, and the Kukis, who comprise 16% of the state and live largely in the hill districts. At least 98 people have died and nearly 40,000 were displaced. The clashes erupted during a protest against a court-ordered tweak to the states reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to the Meitei community. Violence quickly engulfed the state, displacing tens of thousands of people who fled burning homes and neighbourhoods into jungles, often across state borders. Acwa Power, a leading Saudi developer, investor, and operator of power generation, water desalination, and green hydrogen plants worldwide, along with its partners Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) and AlBawani Water & Power Company (AWP), have inaugurated Jubail 3A independent water desalination plant (Jazlah Water Desalination Company). This follows the award of the commercial operation certificate from Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC), marking the start of full-time operations. The plant is the first-of-its-kind in the kingdom due to its integration with photovoltaic (PV) solar power. Jazlah company project was successfully delivered through a development consortium comprising Acwa Power (40.2%), Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) (40%), and AlBawani Water & Power Company (AWP) (19.8%). The execution of the project involved the EPC consortium of Power China, Sepco III, Lantania, and Abengoa, while SWPC is the offtaker. The Jazlah company project was inaugurated under the patronage and in the presence of Eng Abdulrahman bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Fadhli, Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Water Partnership Company. The $650 million Jazlah company project, located in Jubail, has achieved an exceptional world efficiency record of 2.8 kWh/cubic metre of water using Arabian Gulf Seawater. The groundbreaking project also marks the first Independent Water Project (IWP) in the Eastern region with a production capacity of 600,000 cu m of desalinated water per day to meet increasing water demands. Jazlah encompasses a 45.5 MW solar PV power generation facility, which will account for 20 per cent of the plants energy consumption and will deliver clean water to over three million people at a record-breaking tariff of 0.41 USD/m3, using reverse osmosis technology. The plants utilisation of advanced PV and RO technologies will reduce carbon emissions by 60,000 tons per year supporting sustained social and economic advancement in line with Saudi Vision 2030, officials said. The project achieved 40% local content with a total expenditure of SR1.5 billion ($400 million), further demonstrating Acwa Power's contribution to the growth of the Saudi domestic ecosystem of suppliers and manufacturers, they said. The project employs 100% Saudi nationals and further contributes to the growth of a skilled and educated workforce through a cooperative university program which invites students from esteemed universities to undergo training at the plant. By partaking in this program, students acquire essential skills and expertise, empowering them to seamlessly transition into the labour market upon graduation. "Today, we proudly present the Jazlah desalination plant, a significant milestone in the water sector," stated Engineer Khalid Al-Quraishi, the CEO of Saudi Water Partnership Company. "With a daily production capacity of 600,000 cu m, this project marks the first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) desalination initiative in the Eastern region with the world's lowest tariff of 1.54 riyal/cubic metre. This remarkable project is a testament to the dedication and collaboration of the consortium consisting of Acwa Power, Gulf Investment Corporation, and Al Bawani Water and Electricity Company, who worked tirelessly over a challenging 30-month period to bring this plant into operation." Al-Quraishi also underscored the plant's commitment to sustainability, saying: "Through the utilisation of green energy, Jazlah generates 45.5 MW of solar PV power, resulting in reduced carbon emissions and a significant decrease in grid electricity consumption. The plant operates at an impressive energy efficiency rate of 2.8 kWh/cubic metre. The success of this project is a testament to the unwavering commitment of the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, along with the cooperation of all public and private stakeholders. Together, we aim to enhance and sustain water sources, ensuring their reliability and high quality while minimizing environmental impact." "We are very proud of delivering the Jazlah company project on time despite commencing during the Covid period," Eng Fakher AlShawaf, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AlBawani Holding. "It has been a challenging project, and what was achieved by the team is remarkable. This project is a testament to how the public and private sectors can work together to provide services cost-effectively and expeditiously." - TradeArabia News Service Oshana education director Hileni Amukana has warned schools in the region against selling school admission application forms. Amukana said in a statement on Friday that some schools in Oshana are charging fees or selling application forms for admission to state schools. "Application for admission should not become a money-making scheme for schools and selling or charging application fees is contrary to section 53 [of the Education Act]," she stated. Amukana said charging fees for applications is considered improper conduct by schools and shows a lack of respect for ministerial policies. "Schools that are unable to provide copies to all parents can request support from the circuit or regional office to provide for such forms," she said. She added that school attendance is compulsory for every child from the beginning of the year in which the child turns seven years of age. "Charging fees for application forms discriminates against children whose parents cannot afford these fees," she said. She added that the education ministry made sure all state schools had application forms to be used to admit pupils. The Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) has formed a three-member judicial inquiry panel led by former chief justice of Gauhati high court, Ajai Lamba, to probe the ethnic violence in Manipur, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday appealed to the people to lift blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur national highway (NH-2) for movement of essentials. (PTI File Photo) The other two members in the panel included retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Himanshu Shekhar Das and retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Aloka Prabhakar. ... in exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952 (60 of 1952), the Central Government hereby appoint a Commission of Inquiry consisting of Ajai Lamba, former chief justice of Gauhati high court (as chairperson), Das and Prabhakar, said a notification issued by MHA on Sunday. Meanwhile, Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday appealed to the people to lift blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur national highway (NH-2) for movement of essentials. Manipur has been roiled by ethnic violence since May 3, with the bulk of the clashes between the Meitei community, which constitutes the majority of the states population and lives largely in Imphal, and the Kukis, who comprise 16% of the state and live largely in the hill districts. At least 98 people have died and nearly 40,000 displaced. The judicial panel, which will be headquartered at Imphal, has been asked to submit its report as soon as possible but not later than six months, according to the notification. If it deems fit, the Commission can submit interim reports to the Centre. People familiar with the development said the decision to form a judicial inquiry panel was taken on the recommendation of Manipur government, which made the suggestion on May 29. The Commission, the notification said, will make inquiry with respect to - the causes and spread of the violence and riots targeting members of different communities, which took place in Manipur on May 3 and thereafter, the sequence of events leading to, and all the facts relating to such violence, whether there were any lapses or dereliction of duty in this regard on the part of any of the responsible authorities/individuals, the adequacy of the administrative measures taken to prevent, and to deal with the said violence and riots, and to consider such matters as may be found relevant in the course of inquiry. The inquiry by the Commission will also look into - complaints or allegations that may be made before the Commission by any individual, or association, in such form and accompanied by such affidavits, as may be specified by the Commission, and instances related to causes, lapses etc brought to its notice by the Manipur government. The state police and administration will support the panel in its probe, said an officer, who didnt want to be named. Amit Shah on Sunday tweeted, My sincerest appeal to the people of Manipur is to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur, NH-2 Highway, so that food, medicines, Petrol/Diesel, and other necessary items can reach the people. I also request that civil society organisations do the needful in bringing consensus, Together only we can restore normalcy in this beautiful state, he added. Amit Shah recently concluded a four-day visit to Manipur and held talks with various stakeholders including Meiteis and Kukis, local administration, state police and civil society members. He even appealed to people to surrender all the looted weapons, after which over 700 weapons out of 4,000 were recovered. The security advisor to Manipur government Kuldiep Singh said on Saturday that peace was returning in the state. The clashes erupted during a protest against a court-ordered tweak to the states reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to the Meitei community. Violence quickly engulfed the state, displacing tens of thousands of people who fled burning homes and neighbourhoods into jungles, often across state borders. In most popular portrayals, Indian slums are cast as dens of inequity and deprivation in which citizens are trapped in a vortex of poverty, bad governance, and corruption. In these narratives, politicians and their henchmen appear to have the last laugh, extracting whatever they can from citizens who have few exit options. PREMIUM Auerbach and Thachil spoke about their findings on last weeks Grand Tamasha podcast, a co-production of HT and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. (HT) Read here: PWD demolishes illegal slums near Pragati Maidan A new book by political scientists Adam Auerbach and Tariq Thachil, Migrants and Machine Politics, informs us that much of what we think we know is based on myth, not fact. Auerbach and Thachil spoke about their findings based on a decade of fieldwork in urban squatter settlements in Bhopal and Jaipur on last weeks Grand Tamasha podcast, a co-production of HT and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Far from being chaotic or lawless spaces, politics in slums we found to be highly active, highly organised, and highly competitive, noted Thachil, who is Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) and Madan Lal Sobti Professor for the Study of Contemporary India at the University of Pennsylvania. So, if you think of ordinary residents not only do they vote at very incredibly high rates, but between the vote, they are regularly organising to make claims, to try and secure goods or services for their settlement, or to fight eviction efforts. Thachil remarked that the leaders who organise communities in urban slum settlements tend to come from within these very same communities. These leaders, in turn, are often connected to mainstream political parties who then must decide whether and how to respond to the demands of ordinary residents. Rather than being mere pawns in a rigged political game, Thachil noted, these residents are actively wielding the forces of political competition. Indeed, the myth of machine politics in urban cities is somewhat at odds with the bottom-up reality, Auerbach explained. Informal leaders in these areas emerge organically through one of two pathways. The first is through informal elections in the community as well as deliberative community meetings where people from the community will come together and decide who they want to be their informal leader, said Auerbach, who is associate professor in the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C. Read here: Yogi Adityanath orders survey of slums, pilot project to be initiated in Lucknow But, there are also these everyday moments where individual residents and their families have to decide we are faced with this barrage of problems: we dont have a water connection, we dont have an electricity connect, the monsoon rains came and washed away a part of the road who are we going to turn to and seek help from in this neighborhood? These everyday decisions aggregate into a distribution of support for an informal leader. One of the duos most counterintuitive findings is the muted role played by identity politics. Because settlements are so diverse, leaders cannot rely on caste and religion alone to target voters. Instead, they must learn how to build cross-ethnic appeals. Auerbach said, (These settlements) are incredibly ethnically diverse in terms of jati (subcaste), in terms of their religion, and in terms of their region of origin that people have moved from. If you randomly picked two people from the community, theres an 80% chance that they will be from a different caste. Union minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the latter's attacks on the Narendra Modi government in wake of the train accident in Odisha. Responding to Gandhi's tweet on fixing accountability for the mishap, the minister said, "Who is running away from accountability? Our Union Ministers were present on the accident spot &doing their duties. Rahul Gandhi goes abroad and defames India. Union Minister Anurag Thakur (PTI) The minister's statement came after Gandhi attacked the Modi government in connection with the train tragedy in Odisha. He said, "No accountability even after 270+ deaths? The Modi government cannot run away from taking responsibility for such a painful accident. The Prime Minister should immediately ask the Railway Minister to resign! The opposition parties including the Congress have been demanding the resignation of railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over one of the deadliest rail accidents in decades. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that Modi was busy flagging off trains while not paying attention to railway safety. He called for fixing accountability of all posts from top to bottom to prevent such incidents in future. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said, "Unequivocally and unambiguously, we demand the resignation of the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Nothing short of it". Other opposition parties like Trinamool Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party have also demanded resignation of the railways minister. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON World leaders continued to express condolences over the deadly train crash that occurred in Odishas Balasore on Friday. US President Joe Biden on Saturday said he was left heartbroken after hearing the tragic news of the three-way collision that claimed at least 288 lives and injured nearly 1,000. U.S. President Joe Biden.(REUTERS) The statement also invoked the deep connections shared by the US and India based on family and culture that tie the two countries together. "(First Lady Dr) Jill (Biden) and I are heartbroken by the tragic news of the deadly train crash in India. Our prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones and the many who suffered injuries in this terrible incident. The United States and India share deep bonds rooted in the ties of family and culture that unite our two nations and people all across America mourn alongside the people of India. As the recovery effort continues, we will hold the people of India in our thoughts," the statement read. US President Joe Biden condoles the tragic accident. Japan's Prime Minister Kishida was among the first world leaders to offer condolences on one of the deadliest train crashes in recent history. He offered prayers and expressed heartfelt condolences to the grieving. "I am deeply saddened by the news of the loss of many precious lives and the injuries in the train accident in the State of Odisha. On behalf of the Government of Japan and its people, I would like to express our heartfelt condolences to those who lost their lives and their bereaved families," Kishida said in a statement. Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi also sent a condolence message to his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar. "I pray for the souls of the victims and extend my deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I also sincerely hope that those who were injured will recover swiftly," Hayashi said. Condolences also poured in from global leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emanuel Macron. Earlier, Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had also wished speedy recovery to those injured in the train accident. In a tweet, Bhutto Zardari said, Saddened to learn of the high death toll in the tragic train accident in Odisha, India. Our condolences for the families of the victims. Wish speedy recovery to the injured (sic). The Taliban's ministry of foreign affairs in Afghanistan also extended its sympathies to the bereaved families. The ministry of foreign affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is saddened by the train collision in eastern Odisha state of the Republic of India that has left hundreds dead and injured. MoFa sympathies with the bereaved families of the victims and the injured, the ministry said in a statement Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday tweeted prayers for the families of the victims. Deeply saddened by the loss of hundreds of lives in a train accident in India. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in this tragedy. Prayers for speedy recovery of the injured, he wrote. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her grief regarding the terrible news and wrote, 'Europe mourns with you', tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "I express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the Odisha train accident and wish a speedy recovery to the injured. The people of India are in our thoughts in this time of sorrow," she added. Australia's minister of foreign affairs Penny Wong said that their thoughts are with the several injured and with the people involved in rescue operations. She wrote, We send our deepest sympathies following the devastating train crash in India's eastern Odisha state. Our thoughts are also with the many injured, and with the emergency personnel working to assist them. US Ambassador Eric Garcetti expressed solidarity with the affected families and people of Odisha on behalf of the US Mission in India. Turkey shared a press release which stated that its thoughts are with the people and the Government of India during this difficult time and wished a swift recovery to those undergoing treatment. Hiroshi Suzuki, the Ambassador of Japan who recently visited India, shared deep sadness on behalf of the government of Japan, and expressed hope that the relief operations will help find more survivors. (With inputs from agencies) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday launched a fresh attack on the Narendra Modi government over the train accident in Odisha which killed 290 people. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee talks to the media after visiting the site of the accident involving Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Express and a goods train , in Balasore district. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan are also seen.(PTI) Yesterday, railway minister and Dharmendra Pradhan were standing with me. I should have said a lot of things because I served as a railway minister. Why there was no anti-collision device in Coromandel Express and Bengaluru-Howrah Express? Railway has been left to be sold, Banerjee told at a briefing in Kolkata. Continuing her attack, the Bengal CM said, "When yesterday he (Railways minister) was present with me and I mentioned about anti-collision device, why didn't he open his mouth? 'Dal mein kuch kaala hai', we want the truth to come out". ALSO READ: BJP vs TMC over Odisha train crash; Vaishnaw reacts to Mamata's toll claim Mamata Banerjee added,"Those who (BJP led Central govt) can change history, can change any number. Instead of standing with people, they're abusing me, Nitishji, Laluji...How did a fire break out in a running train in Godhra (in 2002)?... So many people died, they should have at least sought an apology". On Saturday, the Bengal chief minister had visited the accident site in Odisha's Balasore wherein she had met Vaishnaw. Coromandel is one of the best express trains. I was the Railway Minister thrice. From what I saw, this is the biggest railway accident of the 21st century. Such cases are handed over to Railway's safety commission & they investigate and give a report...There was no anti-collision device on the train, as far as I know. Had the device been on the train, this would not have happened, she told reporters with Vaishnaw standing next to her. In a latest development, railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the accident. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday hit out at the Central government over the horrific three-way train accident in Odisha, saying that no accountability" is being taken and that the government is serving the extraordinary and letting down the ordinary. He also said that one minister (Ashwini Vaishnaw) cannot deal with large ministries such as Railways as well as Communications, Electronics and Information Technology - both being handled by Vaishnaw. Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal (PTI) Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for IT and Electronics, Minister for Railways. No Railway Budget. No Accountability. One minister cannot deal with such large ministries. Bullet Trains. Vande Bharat. Serve the extraordinary, let down the ordinary! Recipe for disaster! Kapil Sibal wrote on Twitter. In another tweet, Sibal listed the data on total train derailments from 2017 to 2020 and said that the reasons were either - maintenance of track, deviation of track parameters, and bad driving. Tragedies Total derailments; 257(2017-18); 526 (2018-19) ; 399 (2019-20)...Reasons (CAG): 1)Maintenance of track (167); 2)Deviation of track parameters(149); 3)Bad driving(144). For the Rs.1 lakh cr. allocated 2017-22) for safety, Railways failed to deposit even Rs. 5000 cr each year! he claimed. Odisha train accident At least 294 passengers died and over 1,000 were injured in India's worst rail accident in over two decades on Friday night. The three-way accident involved Bengaluru-Howrah superfast express, the Coromandel Express, and goods trains on three separate tracks at Bahanagar in Odishas Balasore district. What caused the massive collision? According to initial reports, a mistaken signal likely led to the Coromandel Express entering a side track on which the goods train was parked. Reportedly, the line on which the two trains collided was partially corroded. After careful observation, (we) came to the conclusion that the signal was given and taken off for the main line for 12841 (Coromandel Express), but this train entered the loop line and dashed with the goods train which was on the loop line and derailed, said the report signed by four senior railway officials said. Meanwhile, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said that the root cause of the triple-train collision has been identified, and the report will be submitted soon. He also clarified that the accident did not have anything to do with Kavach and that it happened due to a change in electronic interlocking. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday hit out at the Modi government over the train accident in Odisha. Taking to Twitter, he said, No accountability even after 270+ deaths! The Modi government cannot run away from taking responsibility for such a painful accident. The Prime Minister should immediately ask the Railway Minister to resign! Congress leader Rahul Gandhi(PTI) Rahul Gandhi's attack comes as the tragic incident in Odisha claimed at least 290 people. Over 1,000 people have also been injured in the tragedy. Collective demands for resignation of Railway Minister The opposition leaders including those from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), and National Conference (NC) have raised demands for the resignation of the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. "My heart goes out to the families who lost their loved ones and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured, and if there remains a semblance of conscience, the Railway Minister should resign. NOW!" TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee wrote on Facebook. CPI(M) leader Binoy Viswam said, Government concentrates only on luxury trains. Trains and tracks of common people are neglected. Orissa deaths are the result of it. Rail minister should resign. concentrate only on luxury trains. Trains and tracks of common people are neglected. Orissa deaths are the result of it. Rail minister should resign. Meanwhile, the likes of Ajit Pawar, Sharad Pawar, Digvijaya Singh, and others voiced the same opinion. Ajit Pawar cited former railway minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's resignation and said that Vaishnaw should do the same. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said the root cause of the three-train accident in Odisha's Balasore has been identified. Speaking to news agency ANI, the minister, who was present at the accident site to oversee the restoration work, said the probe into the horrific train accident is complete and the commissioner of railway safety will soon submit the report. Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw.(ANI) The commissioner of railway safety has investigated the matter and let the investigation report come but we have identified the cause of the incident and the people responsible for it... It happened due to a change in electronic interlocking, Vaishnaw told ANI, without elaborating on it. Right now our focus is on restoration. The Chennai-bound Coromandel Express carrying around 1500 passengers crashed into a stationary freight train at Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Odisha Balasore on Friday night, killing at least 294 and injuring hundreds of passengers. The wreckage derailed another express train running north from Bengaluru to Kolkata that was passing the site. What is electronic interlocking? Interlocking is an integral part of Railway Signalling that ensures the safe passage of the train through the controlled area. Railway signalling has come a long way from un-interlocked signalling system to present-day modern electronic signalling. According to the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) of Indian Railways, the interlocking logic in the EI System is based on software which makes any modification easy without the need for any wiring changes. What we know so far Initial findings suggest that a mistaken signal likely led to the Coromandel Express entering a side track, called loop line, on which a goods train was parked a few metres ahead. According to a preliminary probe by senior railway officials, the line on which the two trains collided was partially corroded. The report, seen by HT, stated that the Coromandel Express entered the loop line near the Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Balasore around 7pm on Friday because of a mistaken signal, which was immediately withdrawn. After careful observation, (we) came to the conclusion that the signal was given and taken off for the main line for 12841 (Coromandel Express), but this train entered the loop line and dashed with the goods train which was on the loop line and derailed, said the report signed by four senior railway officials, who inspected the accident site on Friday night. The exact cause of the accident will only be determined after a detailed technical inquiry by the commissioner of railway safety. The Union railway ministry has already ordered a high-level probe into the accident. Vaishnaw said the restoration work is in full swing with an aim to finish it by Wednesday morning. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Congress on Sunday demanded the resignation of railway minster Ashwini Vaishnaw and targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Fridays train disaster in Odisha, accusing the government of ignoring several safety recommendations. Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Shaktisinh Gohil at a press conference in Delhi on Sunday. (PTI) Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Congress member of Parliament (MP) Shaktisinh Gohil and the partys media department head Pawan Khera also accused the rail ministry of mismanagement and ignorance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a kavach (shield) that protects him from a variety of issues but the people who died in the Coromandel Express did not have such protection. Even Lal Bahadur Shastri, Madhavrao Scindia, and Nitish Kumar resigned as railway ministers after train disasters. But any resignation is out of the question right now, said Pawan Khera. He accused Vaishnaw of doing publicity stunts instead of resigning and urged PM Modi to keep his promise of stringent punishment for those responsible for the disaster. The rail minister cant show 5-6 Vande Bharat trains and show that this is the reality of the Indian railways. Will the Prime Minister take cognizance of the deadliest rail incident of our era and take the resignation from Union rail minister Ashwini Vaishanv? Khera added. Also Read | Rail minister says change in electronic interlocking behind Odisha tragedy. What it means Khera also said that a 2022 Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report on Derailments in Indian Railways had flagged multiple shortcomings and made several recommendations, which included the suggestion to ensure strict adherence to the scheduled timelines for conducting and finalising accident inquiries. Shaktisinh Gohil said, Any compensation over the Odisha rail disaster is not enough. Even after several recommendations by several committees no action was taken by the PM Modi government and in 2018 the independent commission on rail safety was not kept independent anymore and was handed over to the rail ministry. The people who took these decisions too are directly responsible for this tragedy. The train accident in Odishas Balasore that killed at least 294 passengers and injured at least 1,000 was caused by a change in electronic interlocking, Vaishnaw said on Sunday Directions have been given for all kinds of investigation (into the accident). The guilty will not be spared, will be given the harshest punishment, PM Modi said when he paid a visit to the site on Saturday. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The restoration work at the train accident site in Odisha's Balasore is underway on a war footing, the ministry of railways said on late Saturday night. The ministry informed that more than seven poclain machines, two accident relief trains, and three to four railway and road cranes have been deployed for the early restoration of the tracks. Chief Public Relations Officer of South Eastern Railway Aditya Kumar Chowdhary told ANI that traffic on the damaged tracks will be restored soon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting a hospital to meet the victims of a three-train collision near Balasore, Odisha.(PIB via AFP) "The whole team is engaged. We are all busy at work. We are trying to restore traffic as soon as possible," Chowdhary said. The aerial visuals showed cranes and poclain machines working in tandem to remove the engine of a train from the track. Death toll At least 294 people have died and more than 1,000 got injured in one of India's worst accidents. The hospitals in Balasore are overwhelmed with a deluge of patients. The identification of the bodies is still underway as relatives of the passengers trying to find their loved ones. Opposition raises questions The opposition leaders, meanwhile, have raised questions on the railway safety issues and possible lapses that resulted in the country's deadliest rail accident in more than 20 years. While Congress has decided to wait till the rescue and relief efforts, party leaders, including Randeep Singh Surjewala and Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, have asked the rail ministry to come clean on the horrific accident. Demands railway minister's removal With the rescue operation almost over, the demand for the sacking of the rail minister has intensified. Modi government and rail Minister himself should be held solely responsible. Rail Minster must be sacked forthwith, Surjewala said in a tweet as he posed numerous questions to the prime minister over the horrific accident. Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel hit out at Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw saying that he should tender his resignation. "The entire nation is saddened by the incident. Do they have morality or not...BJP which speaks about morality then he should resign," Baghel said. PM Modi assures strict action Prime Minister Modi visited the accident site in Odisha's Balasore district on Saturday and was briefed by Vaishnaw as well as officers of the disaster management teams. He also met some of the injured in the hospital. "I do not have words to express my pain... No one would be spared and strong action would be taken against those found guilty. Instructions have been given to ensure proper and speedy investigation into the tragedy," Modi said, adding that more focus will be given to the security of rail passengers. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The man and a friend reportedly fought with a minibus driver on the side of a busy road. An Australian tourist has been arrested over a road rage attack as police continue to search for his friend. The holidaymaker, named by cops only as Navale, reportedly fought with minibus driver Monnaphan Makaraphan after they allegedly cut each other off on Chaofa East Road in Phuket, Thailand on May 29. Both men stopped on the side of the road in the rain to settle the dispute, but when they couldn't come to an agreement, Navale and his friend Haider allegedly smashed the side mirrors on Monnaphan's vehicle. The pair hopped back into their red Toyota Yaris hatchback and reportedly left the scene. Footage of the road rage incident was captured by witnesses. Source: Viral Press/Australscope Following the road rage incident, Monnaphan filed a report with the Chalong Police, which then transferred the case to the Vichit Sub-district Police Station because it has jurisdiction over the road. Vichit police officers identified and arrested Navale on May 30. The tourist allegedly confessed to the vandalism, saying he and his friend were angered by Monnaphan's constant honking. He was charged with threatening other people and causing loss of property. Police are now hunting his companion Haider from Dubai, who allegedly fled the scene. They said he will also be prosecuted once he is caught. The Aussie tourist and his friend are accused of smashing a driver's side mirror. Source: Viral Press/Australscope Aussie arrested over fight at Thailand kebab shop The recent incident comes just one month after another Aussie tourist was arrested over a fight outside a kebab shop when they tried to jump the queue in Phuket, Thailand. The 34-year-old was among a group of holidaymakers allegedly seen on video throwing punches and hurling chairs outside the restaurant earlier this week. The man and his friends had allegedly sparked a mass punch-up when they attended a kebab stall in the early hours of the morning, reportedly demanding to be served despite a long queue of customers waiting. When staff refused to serve them, the drunk tourists allegedly threw bottles and a chaotic brawl ensued, with employees seen on video whacking the holidaymakers with kitchen utensils, mops, pipes, and chairs. Viral Press/Australscope Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. Oxfam India - a non-governmental organization (NGO) - on Sunday said that they will be providing psychosocial care and counseling to all the affected victims of the tragic Odisha train accident which left over 270 passengers dead and over 1,000 injured. In a statement, the organisation said that they are responding with water, food, non-food items, psychosocial counseling, and support to the injured and family members. File photo of a high-street branch of an Oxfam shop(AFP File Photo) Oxfam India extends its sympathy and condolences to the victims and their families, the statement added. The NGO has also deployed its humanitarian teams from Odisha and West Bengal to plan and initiate context-specific humanitarian interventions - which include the provision of ready to eat food, provision of safe drinking water, and sanitation facilities. They are also providing temporary toilets around the area of the accident as well as in hospitals that provide healthcare facilities to injured and affected people, the statement said. Oxfam India's interim CEO Pankaj Anand said, This is unfortunately a huge humanitarian disaster. Oxfam India is responding by providing essential services like food and water, and setting up blood donation camps. Our humanitarian teams in Balasore will be keeping the focus on the survivors and the loved ones of those who are undergoing a massively agonising experience. About the Odisha train tragedy At least 275 people were killed and hundreds more injured in a horrific three-train collision in Odisha's Balasore district on Friday evening. The accident involved Bengaluru-Howrah superfast express, the Coromandel Express, and goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanagar. According to initial reports, a mistaken signal likely led to the Coromandel Express entering a side track on which the goods train was parked. Reportedly, the line on which the two trains collided was partially corroded. Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who took stock of the situation at the site, said that the accident happened due to electronic interlocking. He said that a report of the root cause will be submitted soon. 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 photograph of his son clutched tightly to his chest on Sunday afternoon, Krushna Chandra Sahoo grew increasingly frantic as the day wore on. Twice now, he had walked through the morbid air-conditioned business conventional hall turned into a makeshift morgue in Balasore town. He tried to look closely at the mangled bodies, lying in white shrouds in geometrical, motionless lines, but his 38 year old son Jagdish Sahoo was not to be found. Relatives identify photos of passengers, displayed by railway authorities, at a camp in Odishas Balasore on Sunday. (PTI) Read here: Ashwini Vaishnaw prays as train movement at Odisha crash site resumes| 10 points The body of my sons friend was found at the spot, but I havent been able to find him so far. I do not know if he is alive or dead, a haggard Sahoo said. Two days after the Chennai bound Coromandel Express crashed into a goods train, and its derailed bogeys then careened into a passing superfast express train leaving 275 dead, Odisha now faces a grim challenge; identifying the dead. With the accident taking place on Friday evening, Saturday brought with it the challenge of rigor mortis, and the decomposition of bodies under the summer sun. Soon after the tragedy, we first took the bodies to a high school near the accident site. But as the bodies started decomposing, we moved them into the air-conditioned hall with ice slabs in Balasore town. But the decomposition is still happening, and we have started moving some bodies to the mortuary at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, a senior government official at the spot, who did not want to be identified, said. Ranjit Nayak, deputy superintendent of police of Government Railway Police in Balasore said that even those families that were arrived in the city, were being stymied by the damage to the bodies. Faces of many are badly smashed. There are bodies with only a torso, a burnt face and no other visible identity markers left. There were some travelers who were in the general compartment, traveling short distances, without a ticket which is another challenge, he said. How Coromandel Express derailed, set off triple-train collision, explains Railway Board Chief Secretary Pradip Jena said that of the governments revised figure of 275 dead, only 88 bodies have been identified thus far. We have uploaded the pictures of the dead on the websites https://srcodisha.nic.in, https://www.bmc.gov.in, and https://www.osdma.org. If someone can identify the body of their family member, they can contact the helpline number 18003450061 1929 (24A-7). The list of injured has also been uploaded to these websites. DNA profiling will also be done Jena said. A meeting of opposition parties, which was scheduled to be held in Patna on June 12, has been postponed, sources said on Sunday. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. (ANI) With Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and some other key opposition figures unavailable for the meeting, there is a view to hold the deliberations at a later date so that they could also participate, giving the event due prominence. Sources said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin were also finding it difficult to attend the meeting on June 12 due to prior commitments. Gandhi is currently in the US. JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has taken a lead in speaking to several regional satraps besides the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and the Left to forge unity among opposition ranks to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He has held separate meetings with leaders of many parties, including Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP's national convener Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and NCP's Sharad Pawar. Rahul Gandhi, who addressed a gathering on artificial intelligence at a Silicon Valley incubator for startups on Wednesday, was described as a living Buddha by the host - an Indian-American entrepreneur - news agency PTI reported. Shan Sankaran, founder of FixNix, a startup that provides a cloud-based platform to enable easy decision-making on governance, risk and compliance, said that the Congress leader had a profound knowledge about technology. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi engages in a discussion with the esteemed members of the National Press Club, in Washington DC. (Congress Twitter) Calling Gandhis understanding of technology as humane, he explained that the former party president directly related it to the impact on the common man and employment. Sankaran added that the former MP was always curious without a know-it-all attitude. He expressed his kind of limitation on different subjects, but he always shows his appetite for the technology, he said. Other Silicon Valley entrepreneurs also interacted with the leader during the "AI and Human Development: A Chat with Rahul Gandhi event at Plug and Play. Gandhi revealed that he tries to follow his father, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, regarding the adaptation of technology in different sectors including banking. Sankaran, who was accorded the rare O1 visa by the US meant for individuals of extraordinary capabilities, said that Gandhi also rooted for the regulation of technology instead of a blanket ban. "Right now, what's happening in IndiaTikTok, you don't like it, Ban it. ..The US has not banned TikTok or drones. They regulatemade the CEO of TikTok come talk to all the members of the Congress," Sankaran noted. Referring to Gandhis claims of his phone being tapped by the Pegasus spyware, Sankaran said the technology is being used to silence the press, judiciary, independent institutions and the opposition, including Gandhi. At one point, Gandhi jokingly added, "Hello! Mr Modi" on his iPhone and told the audience he is not worried about it. Calling Gandhi very empathetic, Sankaran continued, "... He's a living Buddha and he follows Dhamma for that matter.he's not behind fancy designations. He could have become prime minister (twice) when they had that majority. Not a single soul in the Congress would have objected in case he wanted toHe never chose to." Gandhi arrived in New York after visiting Washington and San Francisco and will address a community rally at the Javits Centre in Manhattan on Sunday. (With inputs from PTI) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON At least 100 houses in Serou village of Manipurs Kakching district were set on fire by suspected militants on Sunday, amid heavy firing between militant groups and security forces was reports in other parts of the district, officials said. Manipur has been convulsed by ethnic violence since May 3 (AFP) Read here: MHA forms judicial panel to probe Manipur violence; Amit Shah appeals for lifting blockades In Serou, a mob also vandalised the house of Congress MLA K Ranjit Singh, officials said, adding that the legislator and his family escaped unhurt. Without giving a specific number, a senior police officer said, The houses were abandoned because the residents of the houses have shifted to the government camps. The fire unit from Sugnu worked to douse the fire at the homes. The state has been convulsed by ethnic violence since May 3, with the bulk of the clashes between the Meitei community, which constitutes the majority of the states population and lives largely in Imphal, and the Kukis, who comprise 16% of the state and live largely in the hill districts. A group of militants also fired at a BSF team posted in the rural parts of the district. The personnel did not suffer any casualties, but we are trying to verify if there were any casualties on the side of the militants, the officer cited above said on condition of anonymity. The police suspect that for the attack on the BSF unit the militants used weapons stolen from their armories. Meanwhile, in the last 24 hours, security agencies have recovered 23 arms, taking the total number of weapons surrendered since Thursday to 202, officials said. Read here: Manipur violence: Amit Shah's sincerest appeal as Centre forms 3-member panel The state police earlier told HT that at least 3,500 guns and over 500,000 ammunitions were stolen by violent mobs from the armories of the Manipur police after clashes broke out on May 3. The ethnic violence that has engulfed various parts of the state has claimed 98 lives so far, and left 310 people injured. At least 4,000 cases of arson have been reported in the state where over 36,000 people have been displaced, officials have said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Prawesh Lama Prawesh Lama covers crime, policing, and issues of security in Delhi. Raised in Darjeeling, educated in Mumbai, he also looks at special features on social welfare in the National Capital. ...view detail 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 US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin arrived in India from Singapore on Sunday to further strengthen the defence partnership between the two nations. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III arrives in New Delhi (Twitter/Lloyd J. Austin III ) Upon his arrival, US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, received the Pentagon Chief who kickstarted the third leg of his four-nation tour. Taking to Twitter, the US Defence Secretary wrote, "I'm returning to India to meet with key leaders for discussions about strengthening our Major Defense Partnership." "Together, we're advancing a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific," he added. Austin's New Delhi visit will prominently focus on advancing India-US new defence innovation and industrial cooperation initiatives and continuing with the efforts to expand operational cooperation between the US and Indian militaries. The Pentagon, while elaborating on the details of the Defence Secretary's visit, said, "After Singapore, Secretary Austin will visit New Delhi to meet with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other leaders as the United States and India continue to modernize the US-India Major Defence Partnership." "This visit provides an opportunity to accelerate new defence innovation and industrial cooperation initiatives and drive ongoing efforts to expand operational cooperation between the U.S. and Indian militaries," the statement added. During his New Delhi visit, Austin is set to meet Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with an aim to expand the defence-industrial partnership. The visit holds particular significance considering Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming state visit to the White House in June. Austin attended the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore and his first stop was in Tokyo where he met with Japanese Defence Minister Yasukasu Hamada and other senior leaders and visited US troops stationed in Japan. Later, from Japan, he flew to Singapore, where he addressed plenary remarks at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) 20th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. READ | A big step forward in US-India defence ties During his stay in Singapore, he also held key bilateral meetings to advance US partnerships across the region. After New Delhi, the US Defence Secretary will embark on a visit to France. Also just before PM Modi's visit to the US, a powerful Congressional Committee has recommended strengthening NATO Plus by including India. This step is a move to deter China. The suggestion of including India in the five-member grouping has been made by the committee to win the "strategic competition with the Chinese Communist Party". Presently, NATO Plus 5 is a security arrangement that works towards boosting global defence cooperation and comprises NATO and five aligned countries, Australia, Japan, Israel, New Zealand and South Korea. India getting included in NATO Plus would mean the facilitation of seamless intelligence sharing between these nations and India and access to the latest military technology with a minimal time lag, reported NewsonAir. Secretary Austin will conclude his four-nation trip in France and will take part in events commemorating the 79th anniversary of D-Day and meet with French and United Kingdom defence leaders. There are sometimes things bigger than politics and when you step outside the country, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday as the BJP and Congress spar over Rahul Gandhi's remarks in the United States attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government on various fronts. Stressing on certain collective responsibility, Jaishankar said he refrains from indulging in politics abroad and will argue "vigorously" on his return to India. External affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at a press conference in Cape Town, South Africa, June 1, 2023.(Reuters) Watch: Jaishankar's savage jibe at Rahul for slamming govt abroad; 'Some things are bigger than politics' The external affairs minister was interacting with the Indian diaspora in Cape Town after attending the meeting of BRICS foreign ministers. When a member of the Indian diaspora, without naming Rahul Gandhi, asked Jaishankar what he had to say on remarks made by "someone" in the US, the minister said, Look, I said I can only talk for myself I try when I go abroad not to do politics. I'm perfectly prepared to argue and argue very vigorously at home. Okay, so you will never find me wanting in that regard. "But I think you know, even a democratic culture has a certain collective responsibility. There is a national interest there is a collective image. There are sometimes things bigger than politics and when you step outside the country, I think that's important to remember. "So I might differ strongly with someone. I could say to you, I differ with them. But how I counter it, I would like to go back home and do it. And watch me when I get back," India's top diplomat said. Addressing Indian Americans in Santa Clara in the US earlier this week, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, an ex-MP, described Prime Minister Modi as a "specimen". He alleged that the impact of some actions of the BJP-led government was being felt by minorities and people from the Dalit and tribal communities and it has "to be fought with affection". "It is being felt by the Muslims most directly because it is done most directly to them. But in fact, it is done to all communities. The way you (Muslims) are feeling attacked, I can guarantee Sikhs, Christians, Dalits, and tribals are also feeling the same. You can't cut hatred with hatred., but only with love and affection," Gandhi said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Authorities in Hong Kong have been actively removing books about the Tiananmen Square Massacre from library shelves to silence the past. But communities overseas are keeping the legacy alive. A New York museum is trying to keep the Tiananmen Square Massacre memory alive after the Hong Kong vigil was banned (June 4th Memorial Exhibit ) As Chinese communities around the world mark the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre on Sunday, many overseas Chinese, including those from Hong Kong, are expected to attend one of the numerous vigils set to take place in different parts of the world. ALSO READ: Artists among 8 detained in Hong Kong on eve of Tiananmen Square anniversary However, in Hong Kong itself, where the tradition originated more than three decades ago, there will be no public event commemorating those who lost their lives in 1989. Meanwhile, authorities in the former British colony are also removing references to the bloody crackdown on the student-led protest. Library books being purged In recent weeks, Hong Kong journalists found that dozens of books and documentaries related to the Tiananmen Square Massacre were missing from the city's public library database. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee defended the decision to remove certain books from public libraries, arguing that the books on the library shelves amounted to recommendations by the authorities. "We must not recommend any books that are unlawful, that violate copyrights, that contain unhealthy ideas, [and] the government is obliged not to recommend books with unhealthy ideas," he said last month at a news conference. In addition to the removal of books, the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong announced last month that for the second year in a row, it will not be organizing a commemorative Mass. Last year, some members of the Catholic church expressed concerns about violating the controversial National Security Law (NSL) by organizing a Mass dedicated to Tiananmen Square victims. Experts told DW that these efforts to erase memories or references related to the Tiananmen Square Massacre reflect the Chinese government's long history of erasing narratives that it doesn't like and changing historical events to its advantage. "It is not content with just erasing public commemoration of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, but it aims to change how people remember that period of time in Hong Kong and the rest of China," said Maya Wang, the associate director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch (HRW). Key leaders of Tiananmen commemorative events arrested For more than three decades, Hong Kong has been the home of one of the largest vigils commemorating the Tiananmen Square Massacre, with analysts pointing to a desire to not repeat the tragedy of the past as a reason for keeping its memory alive. "People in Hong Kong used to consider having democracy as the best way to safeguard their own way of life in the face of the communist regime," said Eric Lai, a visiting researcher at The Dickson Poon School of Law at King's College London. Against this backdrop, Lai said the tradition of commemorating the Tiananmen Square Massacre reflects Hong Kong people's deeply rooted grievances and dissatisfaction towards the Chinese government. But since the Chinese government imposed the NSL in Hong Kong in 2020, the vigil and almost all public events commemorating the tragic event have disappeared, as authorities used COVID-19 control measures and the NSL to wipe out all forms of public gathering related to the commemoration on June 4. In addition to the disappearance of public commemorative events, key leaders behind the Tiananmen vigil have all been arrested, detained, and sentenced under national security-related charges. Chow Hang-Tung, Lee Cheuk-Yan, and Albert Ho, who are all founding members of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance, the main organization that oversaw organizing the Tiananmen vigil, have all been in jail for more than a year. Analysts view the arrest of key Tiananmen vigil leaders as Hong Kong authorities setting an example through their arrest to "threaten other Hong Kong citizens." The authorities "want to send a message that if Hong Kong people continue to hold public events to commemorate June 4 or continue to chant slogans or hold banners demanding the end of one-party rule, they will be suspected of violating the NSL," said Patrick Poon, a visiting researcher at the University of Tokyo. While Hong Kong authorities want to create a chilling effect through the arrest of high-profile activists, Tiananmen student leader Zhou Fengsuo said there are still signs that Hong Kong people want to continue the June 4 tradition in their own ways. "While people remaining in Hong Kong have paid a heavy price, I believe there are still Hong Kong people, especially those around the world, who will find ways to find their own ways to continue the tradition," he told DW. Overseas communities to maintain the tradition Ahead of the June 4 weekend, Hong Kong's Secretary of Security Chris Tang warned that the government would take "resolute actions" against anyone who tries to take advantage of the "special occasion" to threaten national security. Meanwhile, a pro-Beijing group is scheduled to organize a carnival on Sunday at Victoria Park, where the annual Tiananmen vigil is usually held. The group denied that the carnival is being held to prevent any Tiananmen commemorative events from taking place. Despite the expected absence of any public event related to June 4 in Hong Kong, Wang from HRW and Tiananmen student leader Zhou both highlight the importance of commemorative events that will take place around the world, as they will help to maintain the tradition and serve as a reminder of the historic event. Even though "the end of freedom for Hong Kong is a tragedy, people in freer societies are still keeping the tradition alive," said Wang, adding that the overseas commemorative events will show that it's not easy to extinguish the desire for freedom and democracy in difficult times. And with the June 4 Memorial Museum now officially opening in New York City, hosting the only permanent exhibition in the world, historic documents and relics such as banners, letters, and a blood-stained T-shirt, will serve as important records of the student protesters' efforts to create a "free China." Among the historic records, there will also be one room dedicated to documenting the history of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, which includes the annual Tiananmen vigil. According to Zhou, the records at the museum will help push back against Beijing's own efforts to remove memories related to the Tiananmen Square Massacre in Hong Kong. "Hong Kong people in the free world will find ways to maintain the legacy of their history," he told DW. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The 18th edition of the architecture exhibition in Venice, which runs until November 26, 2023 is designed as a workshop of ideas and its theme is "Laboratory of the Future." This year's "La Biennale," at which architects from all over the world will congregate, presents 63 national pavilions in the old brick halls of the Arsenale, the former shipyard and naval base of the former Republic of Venice. The first ever Architecture Biennale curated by an African, it features many works by Africans and the African diaspora. (Thomas Imo/photothek/imago images) This year's instalment is dominated by climate change issues and a reappraisal of the colonial era. It's about questions of production, resources and representation, said chief curator Lesley Lokko at a press conference ahead of the event: "It's about change." And change is much needed. According to United Nations predictions, the world's population will grow from its current eight billion to 10 billion by 2050. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, the population could double. That's incredible, says Peter Cachola Schmal, architecture expert and director of the German Architecture Museum (DAM) in Frankfurt. The fact is that these people will need and want a roof over their heads. Great demand for construction in Africa For this reason, Lesley Naa Norle Lokko has deliberately focused on the African continent. The Ghanaian-Scottish architect, university lecturer and bestselling novelist curated the show's central exhibition and invited 55 offices from around the world, with many from Africa or having African roots. The consequences of global warming, resource consumption and migration are especially visible on the continent, and it's where Lokko sees the greatest challenges for architecture. Africa is the continent with the youngest population in the world and the fastest urbanization with 4% annual growth that happens often at the expense of local ecosystems. All of which puts Africa at the forefront of climate change, the curator says. There is no doubt that Africa has a huge need for construction. The question is how to build in times of climate change: Building construction and operation account for about 40% of climate-damaging emissions, according to the WWF and cement production alone accounts for about eight percent of greenhouse gases worldwide. That poses a dilemma. "What does it mean for the world's CO2 management if unimaginable quantities of cement are produced in Africa all at once?" asked architecture expert Peter Cachola Schmal in an interview with DW. "The future contradicts all our goals of saving the world from climate collapse." China forges ahead There is also the very practical question: Who is going to build the one billion housing units needed to accommodate all the people flocking to the growing megacities? Who, if not China? China's strategy for years has been to build African infrastructure, Schmal says, adding that the "Chinese can do it." In China, they have shown they can produce infrastructure housing, construction, transportation for tens of millions of people within a few years, he says. "They have the experience that we don't have," the DAM director argues. "The West slept through that." Whether the Venice International Architecture Exhibition is a wake-up call remains to be seen. The show at the Lido certainly presents as a showcase of ideas, curated for the first time by a woman who grew up in Africa and who likely has different perspective on global architecture. At home in many worlds Lesley Lokko, born in 1964, is widely-travelled. The daughter of a Ghanaian and a Scot, she grew up in Ghana's capital, Accra, studied Hebrew and Arabic at Oxford as well as architecture in London, where she earned her doctorate. She has taught on four continents. She is also a bestselling author, having published novels over the past 20 years that set a political and moral bar for contemporary events, from "Sundowners" in 2003 to "Soul Sisters" in 2021. Many of her books explore the lives of black women in all corners of the world. The architect has two buzzwords for her colleagues concerning the debate about the future decarbonization and decolonization, lowering CO2 emissions and overcoming the legacy of colonization respectively. Both are likely to be discussed at the Venice architecture show. As in the case of last year's documenta 15, the world's largest art exhibition based in the German city of Kassel, the voice of the global South will be loud and clear in Venice too. The West 'must prepare' The future of the planet will be decided in Africa, says Peter Cachola Schmal. Living conditions for sub-Saharan Africa's population must be "adequate," he warns, adding it would be wise to help support the effort. Otherwise, more refugees could be headed to Europe. "The West must prepare," he says. Sustainability is the focus of the German pavilion at the 2023 Venice International Architecture Exhibition, under the motto "Open for Maintenance Open because of Reconstruction," jointly curated by Summacumfemmer, Ach+ and Buro Juliane Greb. They took over the pavilion as designed by Berlin-based artist, Maria Eichhorn, for last year's International Art Exhibition. It exposes the basic structures of a building converted by the Nazis. Meanwhile, the winner of the architecture show's Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement was announced weeks ago: The prize goes to the Nigerian artist, designer and architect Demas Nwoko. Actor Mouni Roy had a stellar debut at the Cannes Film Festival this year. After walking the red carpet in a Princess-esque gown and winning over the French Riviera in striking ensembles, Mouni is now posting new unseen pictures from the festival, and they will leave you swooning. The star looked 'classic and chic' in a monochrome outfit while soaking up the sun. Scroll ahead to check out the Brahmastra actor's post. Mouni Roy looks classic and chic in a monochrome outfit in unseen pics from Cannes. (Instagram) Mouni Roy's unseen pictures from Cannes Mouni Roy took to Instagram today to share pictures from the Cannes Film Festival. Mouni can be seen soaking up the sun and looking ultra glamorous in a monochrome outfit, custom-designed for her by the designer label JADE by Monica and Karishma. Celebrity stylist Akshay Tyagi styled the star in the ensemble, which features a bralette, blazer and matching pants. She wore the three-piece attire with minimal accessories and striking makeup. See the images below. Mouni's black-coloured bralette features a plunging neckline, a cropped midriff-baring hem length, a fitted bust, lace embroidery on the trims, and a collar detail featuring an exaggerated bow tie design. She styled the ensemble with a coordinated blazer and pants. While Mouni's blazer features shawl lapels, contrast black piping, intricate thread embroidery, patch pockets, full-length sleeves, padded shoulders, tailored fitting, and an open front, the pants also have similar embroidery, a high-rise waistline, and a relaxed flared fitting. Mouni accessorised the ensemble with broad sunglasses, and for the glam picks, she chose darkened brows, mauve lip shade, rouged cheekbones, matte base, and light contouring. Side-parted open silky tresses gave the finishing touch to her Cannes look. The Skaneateles Rotary Club will host its 53rd annual Father's Day Pancake Breakfast this year. The breakfast, which was paused during COVID-19 and came back last year, is "a celebration and a huge family reunion with the best pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage in town," the club said in a news release. The breakfast will again take place from 7:30 to noon at the Allyn Arena at Austin Park, 1 E. Austin St., Skaneateles. With all of the conversations that have been taking place related to the Allyn Arena we just want to make sure that everyone knows that the Skaneateles Rotary Clubs long tradition of bringing multiple generations of Skaneateles families together to celebrate Fathers Day continues, Club President Ed Evans said. The tradition started with a fly-in pancake breakfast at a Skaneateles hangar in 1968 and continued every Father's Day until 2020. Along with the food, it includes music by the Skaneateles Community Band. Tickets for the June 18 breakfast cost $10 for adults and $5 for children 6 to 12, and are free for ages 5 and younger. Tickets are available from Rotarians and outside Tops on weekdays. As the club's biggest fundraiser, the breakfast supports the International Youth Exchange Program, school scholarships, youth leadership programs, Books for the World, the Boy Scouts, Boys' State, the Austin Park playground, the community band, the Skaneateles Volunteer Fire Department, SAVES, local food pantries and Skaneateles Outreach. It is terrific we are able to provide such a community-wide gathering, while also raising funds for the worthy causes that Rotary supports throughout the year, Rotarian Robin Jowaisas said. For more information, visit skaneatelesrotary.com. When it comes to upgrading your wardrobe, taking hints from your favourite celebrities is a no-brainer. And if that star is Sara Ali Khan, we are guessing you like to keep your styling simple, elegant and stylish. When off the red carpet, Sara opts for pretty cotton suits, printed anarkalis, co-ord ensembles, and more - just like her latest airport look. The star arrived in the bay dressed in a yellow-coloured printed co-ord outfit styled with matching juttis. It will make you want to live in them this summer. Scroll through to check it out. Sara Ali Khan wears a co-ord outfit and matching juttis at the airport. (HT Photo/Varinder Chawla, Instagram) Sara Ali Khan's summer-ready airport look On Sunday, the paparazzi clicked Sara Ali Khan arriving in Mumbai. The photos and video show Sara exiting the airport in the bay while smiling at the camera and waving at her fans. She chose a summer-ready ensemble for her travels - featuring a yellow-coloured shirt, matching cropped top and pants set. Fans loved her jet-set look and flooded the comments section with compliments. One user wrote, "Beautiful Sara [heart emoji]." Others dropped heart eye emojis. Check out the snippets below. Sara's ensemble comes decked in a multi-coloured block pattern on a yellow backdrop. While cropped blouse features a round neckline, midriff-baring short hem length, sleeveless silhouettes, and a relaxed fitting, the pants feature a high-rise waistline, a flared straight leg fall, and patti embroidered ankle-length hem. Sara Ali Khan wears a summer-ready co-ord outfit at the airport. (HT Photo/Varinder Chawla) Sara layered the cropped top and pants set with a matching shirt featuring an open front, collared neckline, full-length sleeves, and a curved hem. She accessorised the ensemble with matching embroidered yellow-coloured juttis, a silver bracelet, a pink shoulder bag from Christian Dior, and dainty ear studs. Lastly, Sara chose minimal glam picks, including glossy nude lip gloss, feathered brows, rouged cheeks, and dewy skin. A centre-parted and super-straight silky open hairdo gave the finishing touch to her airport look. The World Environment Day is an annual global event observed on June 5. This year, it falls on Monday and also marks the 50th anniversary of World Environment Day. The day encourages awareness and action for environmental protection by the global community. Many non-governmental organisations, businesses, and government entities back the cause. Moreover, World Environment Day is the United Nations outreach day for encouraging worldwide awareness and supporting the environment. Scroll ahead to find out the history, significance and theme of the day this year. This year, the theme of World Environment Day will focus on solutions to plastic pollution under the campaign #BeatPlasticPollution. (www.un.org, Pexels) Theme and Host World Environment Day is the largest global platform for environmental public outreach, and millions celebrate it across the globe. According to the official website of World Environment Day, the theme on June 5, 2023, will focus on solutions to plastic pollution under the campaign #BeatPlasticPollution. This year, Cote D'Ivoire will host. The government of the Netherlands is supporting this year's World Environment Day. The nation is one of the countries taking ambitious action along the plastic lifecycle. It is a signatory of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment and a member of the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter. History and Significance Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Environment Day was first marked on June 5, 1973, during the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. At that time, the theme was 'Only One Earth'. World Environment Day aims to bring together millions of people from across the globe, engaging them in the effort to protect and restore the Earth. According to the UN, "more than 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year worldwide, half of which is designed to be used only once. Of that, less than 10 per cent is recycled. An estimated 19-23 million tonnes end up in lakes, rivers and seas annually. Microplastics find their way into food, water and air. It is estimated that each person on the planet consumes more than 50,000 plastic particles per year and many more if inhalation is considered." Therefore, to keep global warming in check, we must halve annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Without action, exposure to air pollution beyond safe guidelines will increase by 50 per cent within the decade, and plastic waste flowing into aquatic ecosystems will triple by 2040. the situation requires immediate action. Therefore, this year, governments, companies and other stakeholders must scale up and speed up actions to solve this crisis with available science and solutions to tackle the problem. Researchers have identified a key process in cell death that stops cancer from spreading through a distinct molecular mechanism of the early stages of the disease. Details on molecular mechanism that prevents cancer: Study(Shutterstock) The study was published in 'Science Advances'. Dr Luke Clifton at the STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source (ISIS) in Oxfordshire led the study, alongside co-lead Professor Gerhard Grobner at the University of Ume and partners at the European Spallation Source in Sweden. This is the most recent in a series of research collaborations by this team, looking into the cellular proteins that cause apoptosis. ALSO READ: Cancer Survivors Day: Tips for cancer survivors to stay healthy and happy Apoptosis is essential for human life, and its disruption can cause cancerous cells to grow and not respond to cancer treatment. In healthy cells, it is regulated by two proteins with opposing roles known as Bax and Bcl-2. The soluble Bax protein is responsible for the clearance of old or diseased cells, and when activated, it perforates the cell's mitochondrial membrane to form pores that trigger programmed cell death. This can be offset by Bcl-2, which is embedded within the mitochondrial membrane, where it acts to prevent untimely cell death by capturing and sequestering Bax proteins. In cancerous cells, the survival protein Bcl-2 is overproduced, leading to uninhibited cell proliferation. While this process has long since been understood to be important to the development of cancer, however, the precise role of Bax and the mitochondrial membrane in apoptosis has been unclear until now. Dr Luke Clifton, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source scientist and co-lead author, explained, "This work has both advanced our knowledge of fundamental mammalian cell processes and opened exciting possibilities for future research. Understanding what things look like when cells work properly is an important step to understanding what goes wrong in cancerous cells and so this could open doors to possible treatments." The team used a technique known as neutron reflectometry (conducted using the advanced ISIS Surf and Offspec instruments) which enabled them to study how Bax interacts with lipids in the mitochondrial membrane. This was built on their previous studies of membrane-bound Bcl-2. Using neutron reflectometry on SURF and OFFSPEC, they were able to study in real time the way that the protein interacts with lipids present in the mitochondrial membrane, during the initial stages of apoptosis. By employing deuterium-isotope labelling, they determined for the first time that when Bax creates pores, it extracts lipids from the mitochondrial membrane to form lipid-Bax clusters on the mitochondrial surface. By using time-resolved neutron reflectometry in combination with surface infrared spectroscopy in the ISIS bio lab, they were able to see that this pore creation occurred in two stages. Initial fast adsorption of Bax onto the mitochondrial membrane surface was followed by a slower formation of membrane-destroying pores and Bax-lipid clusters, which occurred simultaneously. This slower perforation process occurred on timescales of several hours, comparable to cell death in vivo. This is the first time that scientists have found direct evidence of the involvement of mitochondrial lipids during membrane perturbing in cell death initiated by Bax proteins. Dr Luke Clifton added, "As far as we can tell, this mechanism by which Bax initiates cell death is previously unseen. Once we know more about the interplay between Bax and Bcl-2 and how it relates to this mechanism, we'll have a more complete picture of a process that is fundamental to human life. This work really shows the capabilities of neutron reflectometry in structural studies on membrane biochemistry." The finding builds on previous studies by the team on the molecular mechanism of membrane-bound Bcl-2 to inform a more complete understanding of the early stages of apoptosis. Professor Gerhard Grobner, University of Umea scientist and co-lead author said, The unique findings here will not only have a significant impact in the field of apoptosis research but will also open gateways for exploring Bax and its relatives as interesting targets in cancer therapy such as by tuning up their cell-killing potential. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Last month, the highly anticipated San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC) took place in the vibrant city, drawing in thousands of entries from various categories of alcoholic beverages. Loch Lomond Classic. (Image Credit: Loch Lomond Distillery) As always, the competition aimed to narrow down the extensive field of contenders to find the ultimate winner, which would be crowned as the coveted "Best In Show." While the identity of this year's champion remains a closely guarded secret, the Tasting Alliance, the organization behind SFWSC, will unveil the winner during an exclusive gala awards show on the evening of June 17th in Las Vegas. Although, the complete list of medal recipients, including Bronzes, Silvers, Golds, and Double Golds, has been released, shedding light on some notable names that emerged as top performers. ALSO READ| Things to know about anxious attachments One such standout is Loch Lomond Distillery, hailing from the picturesque Scottish Highlands. This single malt producer, on the brink of celebrating its 60th anniversary, amassed an astounding total of 17 medals at this year's competition, making it the most decorated distillery in the entire 2023 lineup. Impressive as it is, what sets Loch Lomond Distillery apart is the fact that eight of those accolades were Double Golds, the highest accolade bestowed by the discerning judges of the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Among the top honorees were Loch Lomond's 12-Year-Old Inchmurrin, 12-Year-Old Inchmoan, Single Grain Coopers Collection, Open Special Edition 2023, Open Course Collection 2023, Loch Lomond 8-Year-Old Madeira Wood Finish, Loch Lomond Classic, and 18 Year Old Inchmurrin. This remarkable achievement may not come as a surprise to seasoned whisky enthusiasts in the UK, where Loch Lomond enjoys substantial distribution. With an impressive annual malt production capacity of three million liters, the brand's prominence is further elevated through its notable presence in duty-free markets and its prestigious status as the official spirit of the British Open. In the United States, Loch Lomond remains relatively under the radar, primarily known within connoisseur communities. Some may even consider it a well-kept secret, and there are compelling reasons behind such discretion. Loch Lomond Distillery, although officially established in 1964, carries with it a rich heritage that stretches back even further. The roots of this esteemed brand can be traced back to the renowned Littlemill Distillery, which had been distilling whisky in the same picturesque region of Scotland since 1772. Duncan Thomas, brought his extensive expertise and experience from Littlemill, ensuring a seamless continuation of the whisky-making legacy in his breathtaking part of the country. Notably, Loch Lomond's innovative approach to distillation sets it apart from other distilleries across the country. Plus traditional pot stills, the distillery employs unique pot/column hybrid stills, aptly referred to as Lomond Stills. These extraordinary vessels enable distillers to craft an extensive range of distillates, encompassing rich and robust profiles as well as light, fruity, and floral expressions. ALSO READ| Stages of heartbreak and how to move forward Consequently, the Loch Lomond portfolio offers an impressive array of flavor offerings, showcasing the distillery's versatility and expertise. Beyond its technical prowess, Loch Lomond whiskies are remarkably affordable on American shelves, which may explain why some enthusiasts have been hesitant to widely share their love for the brand. For instance, the Classic expression, awarded a coveted Double Gold, can readily be found for under $25, while the 18-Year-Old Loch Lomond typically retails for less than $80 per bottle. Such affordable pricing adds to the brand's allure and makes it a compelling choice for whisky lovers seeking exceptional quality at an affordable price point. In a final nod to excellence, Loch Lomond's sister distillery, Glen Scotia, also had a noteworthy showing at the SFWSC, garnering 11 wins, including five Double Gold medals, reaffirming the collective achievements of the esteemed Loch Lomond Group. Source: Forbes TikTok is not just for the young; it's gaining popularity among older users too. With brands recognizing this trend, there's an opportunity for individuals of any age to become TikTok influencers. Whether you want to share life lessons, fashion tips, cooking recipes, or simply spread laughter, TikTok can be a platform to showcase your creativity, connect with others, and even earn extra income. Here are some tips to thrive as a TikTok influencer at any age. TikTok isn't just for the young. Anyone can become an influencer! Share your passion, connect with others, and earn income with these tips. (AP) Find your video niche: Identify your unique strengths and interests that resonate with your audience. Whether it's sharing wisdom, humor, or showcasing your interactions with the younger generation, focus on what works best for you. Promote your account bio on influencer networks like Obviously, TikTok Creator Marketplace, Upfluence, and Julius to attract sponsors who align with your niche. Build your presence: Connect and collaborate with creators of all ages. By engaging with others through comments, collaborations, stitches, duets, or joint posts, you can tap into TikTok communities and trends. This helps you expand your reach and introduce your audiences to new content, fostering a sense of community and mutual support. Attract sponsors: Showcase products you genuinely love and tag the respective brands. This increases the likelihood of catching the attention of companies who may reach out to you for potential partnerships. Proactively approach brands by sending emails or direct messages, offering to be their ambassador. Mention your age and any other unique attributes that make you stand out from other influencers. Master your first partnership: When you secure a partnership, ensure your first collaboration, whether it involves free products or monetary compensation, is executed flawlessly. Craft clear messages, create compelling visuals, and deliver content that aligns with the brand's values. Remember that companies often review prior sponsored content to assess your suitability as an influencer. Stay aware of scammers: While building your influencer business, be cautious of scammers posing as brand representatives. They may request payment to ship product samples or ask for personal information. Beware of unprofessional or misspelled messages, especially if they come from unknown or unfamiliar brands. Conduct thorough research and verify the legitimacy of any brand before engaging in partnerships. TikTok's user base is expanding, creating opportunities for individuals of all ages to become influencers. By identifying your niche, building connections, attracting sponsors, delivering high-quality content, and remaining vigilant against scams, you can thrive as a TikTok influencer regardless of your age. Embrace the platform's creativity, connect with your audience, and let your unique personality shine through your videos. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON US defence secretary Lloyd Austins arrival in New Delhi on Sunday comes at a critical moment, just two weeks before Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modis State visit to Washington DC. As with any ministerial visit, the secretary and his counterpart, defence minister Rajnath Singh, will take stock of recent successes and coming opportunities. They will discuss possible deliverables for the upcoming Biden-Modi summit. But the visit will be a true success if they dig into discussions of the kind of reciprocal expectations that can take the US-India defence partnership to new heights. PREMIUM India has been able to leverage state-of-the-art defence acquisitions from the US to counter Chinese assertiveness(HT File) First, it is important to recognise and enumerate the long list of accomplishments of US-India defence ties, which have been the load-bearing pillar of the strategic partnership. The two countries have built intelligence-sharing channels and assessment capabilities to better identify and prepare for threats; developed access agreements for military logistics to support each others reach; and conducted regular military exercises to improve our capabilities and interoperability. India has been able to leverage state-of-the-art defence acquisitions from the US to counter Chinese assertiveness, including strategic lift to transport and resupply its troops deployed along the mountainous Line of Actual Control, as well as a variety of advanced maritime patrol aircraft to defend its maritime approaches. Washington has quickly backed New Delhi in all of its recent border crises with China and Pakistan. Most significantly, during the 2020 military crisis with China that claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers, the US shared vital intelligence, rushed critical supplies, and then approved the lease of MQ-9B drones for deterrence by detection. The two countries are taking another major step toward a shared mission of securing the Indian Ocean commons through Indias recent participation in the Combined Maritime Force, and the Quad launch of the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness. Second, Austins visit to India presages several opportunities. Reporting suggests the US government is poised to authorise joint production of GE F-414 jet engines in India to power indigenous fighter aircraft. Insiders have also reported the two defence ministries are planning to co-launch an innovation bridge first promised when both national security advisers launched the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology last year. The INDUS-X event in June will kick off a bilateral process to connect our national security innovation ecosystems to research, develop, and produce cutting-edge military technologies. Such a combination of high-level technology sharing and bottom-up co-development efforts would be unprecedented. Despite Indias licensed production of Russian fighter aircraft for 60 years, it has never been able to obtain or derive technology as advanced as what the US is offering today. The prospect of Indian defence startups designing, prototyping, and producing in partnership with leading US defence companies will accelerate Indias indigenisation process. Of course, the US is not doing this out of altruism; it is operating from a theory of integrated deterrence where Indias enhanced ability to defend itself and deter aggression and coercion will contribute to regional peace and stability. Deterrence will not stem simply from Indias existence or expansion of its latent power. If that was enough, Indias rapid rise over the past two decades should have deterred Chinese aggression along LAC and the Indian Ocean, which it clearly has not. Deterrence will depend on what India does, how it operationalises and postures its power, and who it cooperates or at least synchronises with. These are the most important issues for US and Indian leaders to discuss, if only in private. The US government has undertaken herculean efforts to bypass or disrupt standard bureaucratic processes to produce the jet engine offer and defence innovation bridges. One senior American defence official told us, weve broken all the china, to secure a US offer to share this level of technology. India has the opportunity to take some reciprocal strides toward the shared goal of deterring China and major power conflict. Calls for reciprocity have often been mistranslated as demand for more Indian defence purchases, and India rightly points to $20 billion purchased from the US over 15 years. This misses the mark entirely. The USs priority with India is not just defence sales, especially after Russias invasion of Ukraine has generated tens of billions of dollars in more European purchases in 2022 alone. What the US seeks from India is greater operational cooperation to share the burden of deterring aggression by any major power, including China. Indigenous Indian capabilities help, but the key is more effective deterrence activity that complicates adversary planning, increases their uncertainty, and creates hesitation. Sowing doubt is key to convincing your foe to delay military aggression for another day. For both the US and India, more effective collaborative deterrence requires more complex military exercises, more frequent use of logistics arrangements, more presence in different theatres, and greater access and overflight, all of which keeps China guessing. More frequent employment of already signed logistics arrangementssuch as ship-to-ship underway replenishment or US maritime patrol aircraft refuelling in Port Blaircan add to this uncertainty. India and the US are partners, not allies, and neither expects the other to make iron-clad commitments to mutual defence. But routine access and active military engagement needed to enhance deterrence need not fall under an alliance paradigm. Even non-aligned countries can tilt and strategically enable their partners efforts to maintain peace and stability. Singapore and Malaysiaboth steadfast in not choosing sideshave enabled US and Australian air surveillance missions in the South China Sea, not out of alliance commitments but because they see these advancing their own security and deterrence interests. Finally, just as the US helps India assess and plan for the LAC crisis, India can also start to engage more seriously on the central challenge that vexes US defence planners a potential cross-Strait crisis over Taiwan. Discussions with US interlocutors on potential Taiwan scenarios will not tie Indian hands, commit it to send ships to the Taiwan Strait, or take up arms against China during a crisis. India might also initiate more serious internal assessments about the likelihood and consequences of a Taiwan crisis and its direct effects on India and the region, which could be far more severe than the terrible impact of Russias invasion of Ukraine. Overall, with bilateral relations strong, the upcoming visit will mark a strengthening of the defence partnership. The US is taking a big step forward. India should consider reciprocal steps of its own. Sameer P Lalwani is a senior expert in the Asia Center at the US Institute of Peace. Vikram J Singh is a senior adviser at the US Institute of Peace and a former US deputy assistant secretary of defence for South and Southeast Asia. The views expressed are personal. We all think we knew Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but did we? No doubt several people admired him, many thought he was a fine prime minister, and practically everyone was enchanted by his oratory. But did we know the man behind the image? PREMIUM Vajpayee: The Ascent of the Hindu Right by Abhishek Choudhary sheds light on the former PM's life(HT PHOTO) A recently published biography reveals aspects of the man we neither knew of nor could have guessed, whilst simultaneously disproving stories we assumed were accurate. It also discusses his unorthodox private life, which even the informed have always refrained from mentioning. Im referring to Abhishek Choudharys Vajpayee: The Ascent of the Hindu Right 1924-1977. Its the first of a two-volume effort. The second will be published in December. Were told, for example, the private Vajpayee was a bon viveur. He had a fondness for bhang, drank in moderate quantities and had a lifelong gluttony for Chinese food. When in New York, he would happily visit nightclubs. On such informal outings, he drank a peg or two. The young Atal, as the author calls him, appeared distinctly anti-Muslim. Choudhary writes he argued that the Muslims who had opted to live in India were to be seen as traitors. In an article Vajpayee wrote for Rashtradharma, he called them fifth columnists. No doubt, the adult politicians views were very different. Choudharys book reveals how great was the change. Of young Vajpayees attitude to Mahatma Gandhi, Choudhary says: Atal most certainly did not consider Gandhis death a serious loss to mankind. The dozens of articles he had written and edited holding the Mahatma responsible for Indias partition and condemning him for pandering to Muslims had most certainly contributed to poisoning the air that ultimately led to his assassination. Does that suggest a measure of blame? Possibly. This book also punctures some of the best-known anecdotes about Vajpayee. They end up as mere myths. First, the claim that he called Indira Gandhi Durga on December 16, 1971, the day Pakistan surrendered. It turns out he didnt. In actual fact, Choudhary writes that evening he was missing from Parliament: he was either travelling or indisposed. Then theres the belief Nehru thought highly of him and identified Vajpayee as a future prime minister. That part is not untrue. However, what we did not know earlier is that Nehrus first impression was rather different. Initially, he thought Vajpayee was a highly objectionable person. Convinced he was creating much mischief in Jammu, Nehru asked Vishnu Sahay, then cabinet secretary, to deny Vajpayee permission to visit Kashmir. Choudhary also debunks the Congress claim that Vajpayee had no role in the independence movement. It appears he did. Vajpayee had indeed participated in the Quit India protests in Gwalior. More importantly, the insinuation made by Blitz that he was a British informer was factually incorrect. Here are a few more noteworthy details that might surprise you. Vajpayee was a poor student and rarely did well in school. So much for Panchjanyas boast that all through his student life he never stood second. And the claim he had an LLB is unfounded. Actually, Atal abandoned his law degree. I was amused to discover that the man who became a mesmerising orator miserably flopped in his first debate at school. He got cold feet began to stammer, then forgot the speech it was a humiliating experience All his life Atal remembered the shame of being booed by his schoolmates. Choudhary describes Vajpayee as emotionally a lonely, desolate man-child. Could that be one possible explanation for his complicated private life? Choudhary also says he was a man of flexible principles. Does this explain why in Goa in 2002, he could not secure the resignation of the then chief minister of Gujarat, something several of his cabinet colleagues have claimed he set out to obtain? If the second volume is as revealing as the first, I cant wait to learn the truth about Vajpayee between 1977 and 2004. Thats bound to be the best part. Karan Thapar is the author of Devils Advocate: The Untold Story. The views expressed are personal Last week I visited the recently opened Partition Museum at the Dara Shikoh Library near Kashmere Gate in Delhi. The museum, like its main branch at the Town Hall in Amritsar, is the brain-child of author Kishwar Desai. PREMIUM Partition is a story we must not forget.(Wikimedia Commons) Kishwar has been a good friend for many years. With two grown-up children from an earlier marriage, I dont think she even remotely expected to marry the much older Lord Meghnad Desai. But Meghnad, who met her in New Delhi when she was editing his book on the iconic actor Dilip Kumar, pursued her with a zeal she happily succumbed to. My wife Renuka and I were present as witnesses when in 2004, Kishwar and Meghnad were married at the Marlborough registry in London. After the registers were signed, Meghnad, who confesses to having no real emotional connect to his homeland and was happy to become a British citizen, pulled out a small pouch from his pocket. It contained sindoor, and on the calling of his cultural roots which he claimed to deny, took a pinch of it and put it in the parting of Kishwars hair. Roots and identity, however much we reject them, define who we are. Kishwars parents came to India after Partition, and she heard from them of its tragedy and trauma. The Partition was the worlds biggest migration. By a conservative estimate, over two million people were suddenly and violently uprooted and displaced, and hundreds of thousands died. In the avalanche of challenges to rebuild their lives, most of those who came as refugees had little time to document their experience, and even found it painful to speak about it. My wifes parents came from Rawalpindi, and chose to largely remain silent about the memories they left behind. Much later, I took her to Rawalpindi, where in a place called Chittiya Hatiyan, she could, on the basis of descriptions she had, find her family home. Her parents maintained a temple nearby that we visited. It was now occupied by a Pakistani family. But atop the entry arch, there was still a forlorn statue of Ganesh ji, on which a bird had built a nest. On this trip, Mrs Subhadra Khosla, sister of former vice-president Krishna Kant, now in her 90s, was also with us. She had left Lahore at the age of 13, but with the help of famous Pakistani actress Sameena Peerzada, she too found her home, with the original plaque in marble, Lajpat Bhawan, still at the gate. Kishwar decided that she had to salvage whatever was left, in terms of oral or physical memory, of this horrific event, and create a museum that would preserve for future generations the unprecedented human dimensions of this great cleavage. Her passion, dedication and perseverance in fulfilling her dream is genuinely praiseworthy. The task was stupendous. Many who were part of this tragedy were no more, or had lost their memorabilia, or were diffident to speak about it; finance, premises, volunteers, and outreach were other near insurmountable hurdles. But once the journey began, help poured in. Parkash Singh Badal, the late chief minister of Punjab, offered Kishwar Amritsars town hall as premises. In Delhi, the central governments ministry of tourism collaborated with the Delhi government and Kishwars Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust, to provide the Dara Shikoh Library for the museum. Financial help came from the likes of Shirin Paul, Sunil Mittal, the Munjal family, Shobhana Bhartia, the Mahindra Group, Kapil Sibal, and many more. Volunteers worked for free to collect memorabilia and oral histories. Kishwars daughter, Mallika, holder of double masters degrees from Harvard, joined full time to help her mother. A visit to the museum is a fascinating journey to recall one of the most tragically momentous events of world history. Just like the Holocaust Memorial in Germany, and the Apartheid Museum in South Africa, we now too have our own institutional repository of memories to recall an event where the rich suddenly became paupers, millions became refugees overnight, thousands died, and new lives had to be rebuilt from makeshift tents to house the homeless. It is a story we must not forget. Pavan K Varma is author, diplomat, and former Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha). Just Like That is a weekly column where Varma shares nuggets from the world of history, culture, literature, and personal reminiscences with HT Premium readers. The views expressed are personal We were driving through Punjabs lush green area, Doaba. This was where my favourite poet, Avtar Singh Pash, was born. Pash, who was labelled a Naxalite, was arrested and tortured by the police after which he moved to the United States (US), disillusioned. He returned to his homeland, however, when terrorism began to advance in Punjab. But Pash was assassinated by terrorists while he was bathing at a well one day. PREMIUM The 40th year of Operation Blue Star begins tomorrow(HT Photo) Pash used to say, I share my Antriksh (inner space) with this land and its people. His story is the story of Punjab and its people. That short trip to Doaba triggered a long string of memories. As a journalist, Ive witnessed this land tarnished by the blood of its own children. The 40th year of Operation Blue Star begins tomorrow. On this occasion, I want to express my admiration for the strength of Punjabiyat. The brave individuals who live here know how to heal their wounds and move on. Amritpal, who returned from Dubai a while ago, attempted to reopen these old wounds but lacked public support. Has Punjab learned anything from the aftermath of Operation Blue Star? Are politicians tired of playing cops and robbers in the name of separatism? To find answers to these questions, we must go back to the 1970s. Gurbaksh Singh Sidhu, an Indian Police Service officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre, gives some answers in his book The Khalistan Conspiracy. Indira Gandhis government had dispatched him to Canada with instructions to aid in the suppression of Khalistani activity. At the same time, instructions were given to set up RAW stations in various western countries for the same reason. Sidhu says that when he arrived in Canada, he realised that there was no need for that. Until then, Khalistan was not a major concern for Canadas Sikh diaspora. Sidhu claims that when Indira won the 1979-80 elections, her son Sanjay and three associates started drawing up a plan. This was done first to instil dread of Bhindranwale and then to win the following election by suppressing it. Sidhu alleges that once a task squad was established to grab Bhindranwale from the roof of Harmandir Sahibs langar hall. The task forces jawans received specific training for this assignment. Indira declined to approve this plan. Why? The architects of this plan feared that if the situation deteriorated further, there would be more carnage, something Indira was against. However, by then, things had got worse. Bhindranwale had built a reputation as a saint. Thousands were ready to die at his command. Operation Blue Star was the denouement. In 2004, I had met the then governor of Jammu and Kashmir, General S K Sinha, years before Sidhus book was published. Sinha was known for refusing to allow the Army to be used at Chowk Mehta, the headquarters of Bhindrawales seminary Damdami Taksal, despite clear instructions from the top. This led to him being denied the position of chief of the Army staff, an allegation that he maintained for long. Operation Blue Star was soon over, but it had disastrous consequences: A mutiny by a military unit in Ramgarh cantonment, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and the deaths of thousands of innocent people in the aftermath of the assassination. These occurrences gave the impression that the government was either paralysed or deliberately ignoring the situation. One example was the assassination of Punjab Police deputy inspector general Avtar Singh Atwal. I dont have enough evidence to judge whether what Sidhu wrote was accurate or not. Two people he referred to as the theorys conspirators are still alive. They could have disputed Sidhus charges had they chosen to. They have not. This is why, when Amritpal laid siege to the Ajnala police station, many assumed that the Punjab government was repeating the errors made during the murder of Atwal. Thankfully, the government in Chandigarh arrested Amritpal before things got out of hand, but for such troublemakers, sometimes, even imprisonment can be a shot in the arm. Even today, some people wish to spread the voice of terror and separatism. This is clear from the chants of the so-called Khalistan supporters during a conference addressed by Rahul Gandhi in the US a few days ago. Operation Blue Star and the bloodshed of October-November 1984 are cited as pivotal moments in their movement. People involved in politics, government, society, and the Sikh Panth are supposed to keep an eye on such forces. The best way to avoid incidents such as Operation Blue Star is to maintain vigilance, cooperation, and collaboration. Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. The views expressed are personal. The wait for Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is nearly over, with the 2023 edition of the annual event slated to begin from Monday. WWDC 2023 will run till Friday and, during the event, the tech giant will unveil a host of new products. Apple's WWDC 2023 will be held on June 5-9 at the Apple Park in California.(Reuters) Where to watch Apple's WWDC 2023? Apple will livestream WWDC 2023 on its YouTube channel; alternatively, tech enthusiasts can watch it on Apple's official website, doing so on Safari or Chrome browsers, and Microsoft Edge on Windows Machines. The livestream will also be available in the Watch Now section of the Apple TV app on iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple TVs. What are the timings for WWDC 2023? At 10:30pm Indian Standard Time (IST) on June 5, Apple CEO Tim Cook will open the event with his keynote address. The timing corresponds to 10am on June 6 in the United States (West Coast), 12 noon on June 6 in the US (Central), 1pm on June 6 in the US (East Coast), 6pm on June 6 in the United Kingdom, and 7pm on June 6 in central Europe. What is the venue for WWDC 2023? WWDC will be held at Apple Park, the company's corporate headquarters in Cupertino, California. A ring-shaped structure opened in April 2017, it was one of the 'final products' pitched by late CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs. 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 Facing the most important vote Congress has taken so far this year, U.S. Reps. Claudia Tenney and Brandon Williams supported passage of a bill to raise the debt ceiling and cap non-defense discretionary spending. The bill, which the House passed by a 314-117 vote and President Joe Biden signed on Saturday, suspends the debt limit until after the 2024 election. It freezes non-defense discretionary spending this year, and caps future increases at 1%. The agreement between Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, increases funding for the military and veterans. The legislation also rescinds unspent COVID relief funding roughly $27 billion and slashes a portion of the $80 billion for the Internal Revenue Service to boost its enforcement efforts and hire more staff. Work requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients will be expanded to include adults ages 50-54 who don't have dependents. Tenney, R-Canandaigua, blasted Biden's "excessive spending and irresponsible policies" in a statement after the vote. "By implementing these spending cuts and achieving these important fiscal reforms, we are holding the White House and Senate Democrats accountable," she said. "There is much more work to be done, and this legislation marks the start of the process, not the end of it." That sentiment was echoed by Williams, a Sennett Republican. "The most important thing right now is for America to recognize the extreme harm the progressive-left's policies are doing to our country," he said. "We made significant progress (Wednesday) reversing their threat and addressing our future." Williams continued, "This is just one of the many fights we must win in this 118th Congress before we can again feel hopeful about America's future. This is my mission." Other votes in the House this week: The Small Entity Update Act passed by a wide margin, 367-8. Tenney and Williams voted for the bill. The legislation would require the Securities and Exchange Commission to change its definition of a "small entity," which covers businesses and organizations, every five years. According to the bill's summary, the SEC would issue recommendations to Congress on how the agency can revise the "small entity" definition and reduce burdens on smaller firms or groups. By a 347-30 vote, the House passed the Enhancing Multi-Class Share Disclosures Act. Tenney and Williams voted for the bill. Companies that have multi-class share structures have two or more classes of shares with different voting rights, according to the bill's summary. An example given is when more voting rights are given to company executives and little or no voting rights for shares held by the public. The goal of the bill is to require disclosure of the number of shares owned by an individual who can vote in the election of directors and the amount of voting power they hold. In another vote impacting the financial sector, the House passed the Promoting Opportunities for Non-Traditional Capital Formation Act. The vote was 309-67, with Tenney and Williams supporting its passage. The purpose of the bill is to expand the SEC's Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation. Under the legislation, the office would be required to provide educational resources and host events promoting capital-raising options for certain businesses, such as businesses in rural areas and underrepresented companies, according to the bill's summary. The office would also be required to meet annually with state-level securities commissions to coordinate these efforts. The House unanimously approved a resolution marking Jewish American Heritage Month by condemning antisemitism and calls on Congress to take steps "to ensure the safety and security of Jewish-American communities." The vote was 429-0. Tenney and Williams supported the resolution. After passing the debt ceiling bill, the House concluded its work week by approving the Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act. U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, a Nebraska Republican who sponsored the bill, explained that there are criteria for an individual to be considered an accredited investor. What his legislation would do is allow individuals wishing to become accredited investors to take an exam that would be administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The legislation passed by a 383-18 vote. Tenney and Williams voted for the bill. Apple may bring in a major update to the trigger phrase used to activate its virtual assistant Siri at the WWDC 2023, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. The company is likely to announce the dropping of hey from the iconic Hey Siri command during the keynote address on Monday. In November, Bloomberg reported that Apple is working on a way for Siri to be able to understand commands without the need to use "Hey Siri".(REUTERS) Henceforth, iPhone, iPad and Mac users only need to say Siri along with the request in the iOS 17 update. This makes the trigger phrase similar to the one required for Amazons Alexa. According to Gurman, the update could be rolled out in 2023 or the next year. The tech giants employees have reportedly been testing the change in trigger words to collect adequate training data. In November, Gurman had reported that Apple is working on a way for Siri to be able to understand and respond to commands without the need to use "Hey Siri". Although the move may seem like a tiny update, it involves a lot of artificial intelligence training and engineering work, as the virtual assistant needs to understand separate dialects and accents. Reducing the number of trigger words will affect the probability of the system properly identifying the user prompt. Microsoft had also made the switch to wake up its virtual assistant from 'Hey Cortana' to simply 'Cortana' for its smart speakers in 2018. What to expect at WWDC Along with iOS 17, Apple is also expected to announce a journaling app, a mood tracker to the health app, a revamped control center, increased functionality for Dynamic Island and new features for Apple Music. The company may also launch the MacBook Air 13-inch, MacBook Air 15-inch and unveil its highly-anticipated Mixed Reality headset along with the new xrOS. The mixed-reality headset is likely to feature voice controls, which will be in sync with updates to Siri. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON At its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2023 (June 5-9), Apple is likely to unveil its inaugural mixed reality headset. The tech giant, however, may notify potential customers not to buy or use the device, expected to be called Reality Pro. The 2023 edition of Apple's annual WWDC event will be held from June 5-9 (Representational Image/REUTERS) Why should certain customers not use Reality Pro? The story was broken by Mark Gurman, Bloomberg's Chief Correspondent on technology. According to Gurman, Apple will warn people with certain health conditions to refrain from purchasing or using the mixed reality headset, due to the impact AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) may have on their health. What are these health conditions? The Bloomberg correspondent mentioned these health conditions: Meniere's Disease, past-traumatic brain injuries, post-concussion syndrome, migraines, vertigo, inner ear infections, ADHD/ADD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder/attention-deficit disorder), have a pacemaker inserted in heart, epilepsy, blackouts/seizures, and pregnancy. Responding to a user query, Gurman noted that such health warnings were pretty standard for all headsets, adding that Apple, however, is typically the most cautious and proactive regarding user safety. The likely-to-be-called Reality Pro is bananas immersive, he remarked. Apple WWDC 2023 CEO Tim Cook will open the event with a keynote address, which he is scheduled to deliver on Monday at 10:30pm Indian Standard Time (IST). The 5-day flagship event will be hosted at the company's ring-shaped Apple Park corporate headquarters in Cupertino, California. A host of Apple products will be launched, and others unveiled, during WWDC. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Sunil Kanugolu, who was appointed chief advisor to Karnatakas newly minted chief minister Siddaramaiah, a position with a cabinet rank, isnt the first election strategist to have entered direct politics and points to a growing recognition of the value that smart strategists, who can drive election campaigns, can bring to daily governance. In 2021, his former and certainly more famous colleague Prashant Kishor was appointed as the chief advisor to the then Punjab CM Amrinder Singh shortly ahead of the Punjab assembly elections. PREMIUM Though 46-year-old Kishor moved from advising netas to becoming one himself, the field of political consultancy is now led by a handful of highly-sought after members of his original I-PAC team(PTI) Though 46-year-old Kishor moved from advising netas to becoming one himself, the field of political consultancy is now led by a handful of highly-sought after members of his original I-PAC team. Once part of Team Kishor, meet the young turks carving out their own niche. Good for them. I am happy for each one of them, Kishor said when asked to comment on his original team. Sunil Kanugolu was part of Kishors team that spearheaded the Bharatiya Janata Partys 2014 Lok Sabha campaign (HT Photo) Sunil Kanugolu, Congress strategist Till last year, Kanugolu (40) was an independent election consultant who had an impressive portfolio of top notch clients he worked with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in several elections in Uttar Pradesh in 2017 (which the party won by a big margin), the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham ( DMK), the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in Tamil Nadu, and briefly, the Akali Dals in Punjab. The Chennai boy with Telegu-Kannadiga parentage, started out with Prashant Kishor in the Modi-for-PM in 2014 campaign. In fact, he was one of the original 200 people that made up the Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG), a group of young professionals from diverse backgrounds whose job was to come up with innovative ways to get Narendra Modi, then Gujarats CM elected as the Prime Minister of India. As CAG turned into I-PAC, Kanugolu, Kanugolu remained independent but continued to work with the BJP. He was good with data and left a lasting impression with those he worked. As Kishor moved on to helping the Congress win Punjab, Kanugolu continued to work on BJPs election strategies, tying up with another strategist Himanshu Singh to form the Association for Brilliant Minds. As BJPs key strategist, he was often pitched against Kishor notably in the 2017 UP elections. Their paths crossed again last year when both were pitched as possible candidates for Congresss top election strategist in Karnataka. Kishor's demands of being appointed top office bearer played out publicly on TV, but went nowhere. Kanugolu, meanwhile, quietly accepted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's offer to join the party. Kanugolu successfully worked with flamboyant netas, including the two contenders for the CMs post, Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, for the state assembly elections held in April. He helped forge a unified presence during the campaign. One of his more notable strategies was the 40% Sarkara campaign, a reference to allegations by Karnataka Contractors Association which claimed that BJP leaders and officials of the previous government took 40% of the tender amount as bribe for state-funded infrastructure projects. Up next for Kanugolu is the upcoming election in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan all of which go to polls in December. This may prove to be tougher as Kanugolu will only have five months to get things going, instead of the year that he had in Karnataka. Rishi Raj Singh, Founder I-PAC Rishi Raj Singh, co-founder I-PAC When I-PAC wrapped up its West Bengal campaign for Trinamool Congress in 2021, Prashant Kishor made a dramatic announcement that he had only previously hinted at he was ready to take a dive into politics himself. Since then, the group's co-founder and director Rishi Raj Singh (33) has handled the group's work in Andhra Pradesh for chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, while continuing their work for Trinamool Congress in Bengal. The former Credit Suisse employee describes Kishor as a mentor although he could also be described as a client now, since I-PAC is helping Kishors party, Jan Suraaj, formed last year, in Bihar. As I reflect on my experiences working alongside Prashant Kishor and the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) over the years, one crucial lesson stands out: while we cannot single-handedly change election results, we can certainly contribute from the margins by streamlining party networks and enhancing their efficiency. Our role as a force multiplier is to assist parties in achieving their electoral goals. However, my true commitment goes beyond winning elections or collaborating with political entities. I am dedicated to building a strong platform that enables young professionals across the country to actively participate and engage with the political domain firsthand and in the process create large-scale impact by playing a part in the agenda setting exercise, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur graduate from 2007 batch, said. The firm employs nearly 2,500 and the client list has only grown. Though Singh denies it, it is rumoured that I-PAC might be working with Sachin Pilot, while chief minister Ashok Gehlot has signed up with Naresh Arora of Design Boxed, who worked with DK Shivakumar in Karnataka in the recent elections. Robbin Sharma, Showtime Consultancy Robbin Sharma, Showtime Consultancy Uttar Pradesh-born Robbin Sharma started out in 2013 on Narendra Modis signature campaign, Chai pe Charcha. This was the successful play on Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyers comment dismissing Modi as a mere tea seller. Kishor's team weaponised the comment against the Congress and projected them as anti-backwards classes as well as anti-aspirational which clicked with the working class. Sharma (36) used his knowledge of his home state and worked specifically with ground workers of the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the partys ideological fount, to determine which candidates have the greatest potential to win. He stayed with I-PAC till 2018, and was one of the key strategists to work on launching Congress general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in active politics ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Since then, his firm Showtime Consultancy, has worked with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2020, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh and the National People's Party in Meghalaya among others. Politics is a continuous process whether a leader is in power or in Opposition, he always tries to strengthen his position. The role we play depends on the position of the leader. If in power, leaders want to drive governance for all, but the priority is to keep his target group happy. Even governments have adopted a campaign-based approach, Sharma said. Backroom becomes front of the house when there is an increased dependency to execute things with better structure and efficiency. However, be it any role, the key is to stay connected with grassroots and have a finger on the pulse, Sharma said on Kanugolus shift into politics, close on the heels of former boss, Prashant Kishor. Abbin Theepura with Siddaramaiah Abbin Theepura, Founder, P-Marq Abbin Theepura (33) is a newer entrant in Prashant Kishors team, but not in political consultancy. In 2014, he worked for then Congress minister, Kapil Sibal, on his campaign for the Lok Sabha polls. And yet, Theepura credits Kishor for kickstarting this industry. Credit has to go to PK for founding the political consulting industry in India. Prashants attention to detail, and how he strategizes has always left us stunned. When he picks up a state, he will make sure he knows the state like the back of his hand. During meetings, I recall discussing constituency-level micro issues, caste composition and other insights, where he was already aware and didnt have to rely on reports. He remains the tallest political strategist India has ever seen. And we all will only continue to follow his footsteps with some innovation, he said. Theepura worked with Kishor in the UP state elections in 2017 and for Jagan Reddy in the Andhra state elections in 2019. His own firm P-Marq, which he started in 2019 conducts exit and opinion polls for elections and also works with politicians, including MB Patil, a Congress leader in Karnataka, who is now part of the government. One of the things Theepura is most proud of is successfully projecting a win for the Bharatiya Janata Party- Janata Dal United alliance in the Bihar elections in 2020 soon after he started his own company. He was a rookie once, but now he and his firm have their own credibility. 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 A 160-year-old church in Spencer, Massachusetts got destroyed by fire on Friday. Fire officials attributed the incident to be the result of lightning. Authorities informed that no one was injured in the blaze as the church was empty when it got engulfed in flames. It took nearly 100 firefighters to control the fire. First Congregational Church of Spencer, United Church of Christ. (Twitter) "We have recently experienced a tragic fire & devastating loss of our building," informs the website for the first Congregational Church of Spencer, United Church of Christ. ALSO READ| From Ron DeSantis's Bible signings to Mike Pence's motorcycle rides! Roast and Ride in Iowa revs up Republican race The fire spread from the church's steeple to its ground floor. The steeple eventually burned out completely and fell down. Rev. Bruce MacLeod, the churchs Interim Pastor told Boston 25 that the church was made using wood and other material, and dates back to the 1800s. As per the church's website, the church was rebuilt in 1863 after its earlier version got destroyed in fire. The church was originally constructed in 1743 on land donated by Nathaniel Cunningham, a wealthy Cambridge merchant. In 1772, it was modified into a larger church building. A steeple and bell were added in 1802. Meanwhile, investigators are yet to decide on whether the remaining portion of the burnt church will be completely brought down. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A senior Armenian official on Sunday said there was a chance that a peace deal could be signed with neighbouring Azerbaijan by the end of 2023, ending a decades-old conflict, Russia's TASS news agency said. Firefighters work among the ruins of a house, which was hit by Azeri shelling during border clashes. (AFP) Read here: Two soldiers killed in fresh Azerbaijan-Armenia clash ahead of peace talks Moscow, Washington and the European Union are all trying separately to help ensure permanent peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which have fought two wars in the last 30 years over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. TASS cited Armen Grigoryan, the secretary of Armenia's Security Council, as telling national television that the negotiations were very intensive. "If we can maintain this intensity and there is strong support from the international community to achieve progress, then there is a chance to have a peace treaty by the end of the year," he said. In 2020, Azerbaijan seized control of areas controlled by ethnic Armenians in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. The enclave is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated mainly by ethnic Armenians. Both sides routinely accuse the other of breaking a ceasefire agreed in 2020. Read here: 'Agreement within sight' in Armenia-Azerbaijan talks: US' Blinken Last week TASS said European Council President Charles Michel, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev would meet in July. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo fell from a bicycle and briefly lost consciousness but hospital tests revealed no lasting effects, national news agency Belga reported. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo The incident happened when De Croo, 47, was on a bike ride with his son late on Saturday afternoon near his home in the Flanders region, according to Belga, citing the prime minister's office. Also read: Belgium learns to share its beaches with sleepy seals De Croo lost consciousness for a few moments and was taken to hospital for checks, Belga reported. The accident was not expected to affect the premier's schedule for the coming week, Belga said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Texas recently passed legislation that addresses the provision of medical care to minors. The law, signed by Governor Greg Abbott, introduces regulations regarding certain procedures related to gender-affirming care. This development has generated discussions and legal actions from various groups. Let's explore the details of the new regulations and their implications. Texas enacts controversial law on medical care for minors, stirring debates and legal challenges. Let's examine the details and impact of this legislation.(AP) Understanding the law: Under the newly enacted Senate Bill 14, healthcare providers in Texas are restricted from offering gender transition surgeries, puberty-blocking medication, and hormone therapies to individuals under 18 years old. Violators may face potential consequences, including the risk of losing their licenses. The law is set to take effect on September 1, establishing specific conditions for exceptions. Diverse perspectives on gender-affirming care: Opinions on gender-affirming care, which encompasses various evidence-based treatments tailored to transgender and nonbinary individuals, differ among experts. While some individuals express concerns about the long-term effects and irreversible outcomes, major medical associations have supported the clinical appropriateness of such care for individuals experiencing gender dysphoria. Response and potential legal actions: Texas stands resolute in its unwavering stance against gender-affirming care for minors, even in the face of legal opposition. Despite the American Medical Association's objection, subversive advocacy groups like Lambda Legal, the ACLU, and the Transgender Law Center persistently work to subvert the ban. The continuous legal confrontation casts doubts on the future of healthcare in Texas and amplifies tensions surrounding the welfare of transgender youth, igniting intense and divisive discussions on this contentious matter. Texas as part of a broader trend: The move by Texas aligns with a larger pattern observed across multiple states, including Nebraska, Florida, and Oklahoma, which have implemented restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors. This trend has sparked significant debates and disagreements among advocates who emphasize the importance of providing support and necessary care for transgender youth. Texas has taken a controversial stance by implementing strict regulations on medical care for minors, specifically targeting gender-affirming procedures. This has sparked heated debates among experts, with differing opinions on the effectiveness and potential consequences of such treatments. Numerous legal challenges have arisen in response to similar bans across the country, as organizations strive to safeguard the rights and welfare of transgender youth. The ongoing discussions and legal battles surrounding these regulations are poised to shape the future of healthcare practices. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A fiery exchange between MSNBC host Rachel Maddow and blogger Max Blumenthal has taken the internet by storm. The incident occurred during Maddow's keynote speech at Trucon 2023, held in Washington D.C. on June 2. Blumenthal, known for his controversial views and affiliation with pro-Russian propaganda, seized the opportunity to challenge Maddow's coverage of the Steele Dossier and the alleged Russian bounties. Fiery clash at Trucon 2023: Rachel Maddow and Max Blumenthal spar over Steele Dossier and Russian bounties, sparking controversy.(Twitter) As Maddow addressed the audience, Blumenthal approached the stage, accusing her of promoting the discredited Steele Dossier, which claimed connections between former President Donald Trump and the Kremlin. He also lambasted her for reporting on Russian bounties paid to Taliban leaders, a claim that U.S. Intelligence later stated had no conclusive evidence. The confrontation quickly escalated as Blumenthal questioned Maddow's accountability for perpetuating what he deemed to be lies. The video capturing the tense encounter has gone viral, amassing over 1.3 million views and receiving more than 14,700 likes since its release. Maddow's reaction, though composed, indicated her disapproval of Blumenthal's actions. The crowd expressed their mixed feelings, with some voicing complaints and boos. Blumenthal's controversial online presence has raised eyebrows, as he has contributed to The Grayzone, a website accused of promoting pro-Russian narratives and content sympathetic to authoritarian regimes. He has also made appearances on Russian-state-owned news outlets RT and Sputnik. These affiliations further fueled the heated exchange between Blumenthal and Maddow, with Blumenthal calling her speech "boring and paranoid." Interestingly, Blumenthal didn't stop with his confrontation with Maddow. In a separate video from the same event, he challenged a panel on the bombing activities of Lockheed Martin, a sponsor of Trucon. He questioned whether non-binary U.S. Navy divers were responsible for an explosion at the Nord Stream pipeline, an incident that remains shrouded in mystery. Critics have accused The Grayzone of questionable journalistic practices, with the founder of Bellingcat, Elliot Higgins, questioning the credibility of an article on the website. Blumenthal's outlet has also faced criticism for downplaying China's alleged human rights abuses against the Uyghur minority, despite reports by Human Rights Watch and others. The confrontation between Maddow and Blumenthal has brought to light the ongoing debates surrounding media coverage, disinformation, and accountability. As the video continues to circulate online, it serves as a reminder of the challenges journalists face in an era of heightened polarization and conflicting narratives. In a shocking turn of events, Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a controversial anti-transgender bathroom bill in Florida, causing anguish and financial strain for parents of transgender high schoolers and college-age kids. The new law forces these students to make excruciating choices and potentially face legal repercussions for using the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs an autograph for a supporter.(AP) As the consequences of this discriminatory legislation unfold, families are grappling with the daunting cost of being transgender in the state of Florida. Unveiling the Human Impact Republican politicians behind this bill seem detached from the reality faced by these families. They fail to recognize that transgender people exist and instead propagate the misconception of protecting women from men in dresses invading women's restrooms. The voices of real families and their children are ignored, and the urgent need for such legislation is vastly exaggerated. A Personal Account One parent, with a trans daughter who is excelling academically and preparing for college, shares their heartfelt experience. Their daughter, who is not visibly trans, faces the prospect of being out of place and even targeted in men's restrooms. The fear of violence fueled by anti-trans rhetoric looms large. The family is left with the painful realization that their daughter would have to endure this ordeal or risk legal consequences if she attended a state university in Florida. Financial Burden The article delves into the financial implications of the anti-trans bathroom bill. Florida's in-state tuition rates, one of the state's advantages, attract many students. However, for transgender residents forced to consider out-of-state universities due to discriminatory laws, the cost skyrockets. Comparing tuition fees between Florida State University and the University of Massachusetts, the disparity becomes evident, with an additional cost of nearly $100,000 for a college degree due to this discriminatory law. The Unseen Costs Beyond the monetary burden, families who have already endured anti-trans policies in Florida's public school system face additional expenses. Private education or homeschooling becomes a necessity, compounding the financial strain. This article underscores the profound impact on these families, where discrimination and the loss of fundamental rights are cruelly woven into the fabric of their pursuit of higher education. The Invisible Toll While the focus here is on the financial toll, it is crucial to acknowledge the immeasurable emotional and psychological impact on transgender kids and their families. The real cost of Governor DeSantis' actions and the policies implemented by politicians like him is severe and often goes unnoticed. Transgender youth and their loved ones bear the weight of continuous heartbreak and setbacks as their rights and well-being are systematically eroded. As Florida's transgender community faces the harsh reality of this anti-trans bathroom bill, it is imperative to shed light on the true cost, both financial and emotional. The struggle for equal rights and dignity continues, and the resilience of these families serves as a poignant reminder of the ongoing battle against discrimination. Governor DeSantis and politicians who support such legislation must confront the devastating consequences of their actions on the lives of transgender individuals across the state. Florida's First Lady, Casey DeSantis, made a bold political fashion statement during her husband, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis presidential campaign trail. Casey DeSantis, center, the wife of presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, stands in front of the bus for her husband's super PAC, Never Back Down, at U.S. Sen. Joni Ernest's Roast and Ride, Saturday, June 3, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Hannah Fingerhut)(AP) Sporting a black leather jacket adorned with the phrase "Where woke goes to die" and an outline of Florida with an alligator on the back, Casey showcased her support for Governor Ron DeSantis' campaign promise to combat "woke" ideology. Casey DeSantis showcasing her bold Political fashion statement. (Image Credit: Tanya Noury) The striking outfit caught attention at a charity biker rally in Des Moines, Iowa, where the couple was in attendance. Governor DeSantis, known for his staunch opposition to "wokeness," reiterated his commitment to the cause during a speech to his supporters at the event. He declared, We will wage war on the woke, vowing to fight against it in education, corporations, and the halls of Congress. We will fight the woke in education, we will fight the woke in corporations, we will fight in the halls of Congress, Florida Governor stated. With passion and determination, DeSantis expressed his refusal to surrender to what he referred to as the "woke mob." The 42-year-old DeSantis' attire drew comparisons to the controversial jacket worn by former First Lady Melania Trump during a visit to migrant children in Texas in 2018. Melania's $39 green hooded Zara jacket featured the phrase "I really don't care, do u?" on the back, sparking debates about its meaning and whether it reflected her indifference toward the fate of detained children or served as a response to media attacks on her family. The rally in Des Moines brought together several Republican candidates, including Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. Notably, absent from the event was former U.S. President Trump. The 44-year-old Florida Governor has been actively combating "wokeness" for years. ALSO READ| | US Treasury set to unleash a tsunami of bonds, Wall Street warns of market unreadiness In December 2021, Ron DeSantis announced the Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (Stop W.O.K.E) Act, a legislative proposal aimed at furthering his efforts to ban critical race theory and the New York Times' 1619 Project in Florida schools. His dedication to opposing "wokeness" also led him to indefinitely suspend Democratic State Attorney Andrew Warren after Warren pledged not to prosecute abortion seekers or providers in August 2022. As the campaign trail continues, the DeSantis duo's efforts to combat "woke" ideology will undoubtedly remain a focal point, reflecting their dedication to their political agenda and principles. ALBANY In the waning days of the Albany legislative session, the Democratic-controlled Legislature is considering a series of 11th-hour changes that would weaken reforms to New Yorks campaign finance system, according to a government watchdog group. The changes would dilute a new program intended to reduce the influence of major campaign donors in New York elections, according to John Kaehny, executive director of the government reform group Reinvent Albany. Kaehny told The Buffalo News that he has been briefed on the changes by lawmakers or staff from the Assembly and State Senate. They're looking to do some major backroom political surgery on the most important voting and democracy initiative in New York of the past decade, Kaehny said. Its been discussed in conference in both Senate and Assembly, at length. The word we have is that they have at least nine specific changes. Three legislative sources confirmed that major changes were being considered to the publicly-funded elections program, which, in its current form, would match small-dollar campaign donations to candidates with generous taxpayer funding. One change being considered would make high-dollar donations to candidates eligible for taxpayer matching funds. The second would raise the threshold for a candidate to be able to qualify for such funding. While practical reasons are being cited for the possible changes, raw politics is also part of the equation. For majority State Senate Democrats in swing districts, there is concern that the program will benefit Republican challengers. For majority Assembly Democrats, the new program could well boost primary challengers. During the state budget process that concluded in April, Democrats that control the Legislature had considered delaying the new program, which took effect in January, ahead of its first run during the 2024 elections. But the Legislature ultimately did not delay the program, and instead may be poised to make a series of changes to it. If the changes are now passed as standalone legislation before the scheduled end of the legislative session in one week, Gov. Kathy Hochul would have to decide whether to sign or veto them. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins declined to comment. A spokesman for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie did not immediately respond to questions. One change in the works would implement a proposal previously introduced as a bill by Bronx Democratic Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz. Under the current law, a $250 donation to an Assembly candidate would spur $2,300 in additional taxpayer matching funds to that candidate. But a donation over $250 receives no matching funds at all, a cutoff that is meant to spur reliance on small dollar contributions of $250 or less. Dinowitz's bill would make it so much larger contributions up to the legal limits for various offices would also see the first $250 matched with taxpayer funds. According to a legislative source, multiple ideas related to changing that portion of law were discussed within the Senate in recent weeks, not just Dinowitz's proposal. But based on discussions with lawmakers and staff, Reinvent Albany believes the proposal set to now come out of the Legislature mirrors Dinowitz's. Also being considered, according to both Reinvent Albany and the three legislative sources, is a change that would raise the number of in-district donors and total donation amounts needed to qualify for matching funds. The shift could make it more difficult for incumbents' opponents to qualify for the public matching funds. The rationale for the change would be ensuring that only "serious" candidates for office can receive the program's generous taxpayer funding. If candidates that are not viable can receive hundreds-of-thousands of dollars, that threatens the program's overall viability, according to proponents of changing the law. New York is overhauling campaign finance. But not the loophole that makes party fundraising stronger A major change to New York's campaign finance law has taken effect, with the aim of reducing donors' influence on state government. But one type of fundraising account remains untouched and the fundraising powers of state political parties are only growing. According to Reinvent Albany, also being considered is an increase in the amount of time candidates have to cure accounting mistakes from 30 days to 90 days; and eliminating the requirement that candidates return all public match funds after an election. New York City's decades-old publicly-financed elections system, which reform advocates view as a model, requires curing of accounting errors within 30 days, and requires candidates to return unspent matching funds, according to Reinvent Albany. Democrats have historically been more ideologically disposed to publicly-funded elections than Republicans, and Democrats hold supermajorities in both the Assembly and Senate. Still, some Democrats in both conferences have privately expressed discomfort with the new program, which was created under a 2020 state law pushed through by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Assembly Democrats had initially expressed concern that an ongoing legislative redistricting process could make the program untenable for 2024, though Heastie said in late March that the issue of the Assembly lines is not a factor, and there are ways to deal with it. Some lawmakers are confused about the new program's rules. Primarily, they worry about whether an entity run out of the State Board of Elections will be able to handle administering them. And because the new law lowers donation limits for lawmakers, go-to sources of contributions, such as lobbyists and unions, will be able to give far less. Instead, veteran lawmakers unaccustomed to broadly soliciting contributions may well have to expand their networks. Some advocates for the program believe that the main issue is that public matching funds will even the electoral odds between incumbents who historically have enjoyed a fundraising advantage and challengers. Even with a fundraising advantage, veteran Assembly Democrats have lost primaries in recent years, often to candidates running to their political left and backed by the Democratic Socialists of America. In Assembly primaries, where only a few thousand voters may determine the outcome, the matching funds program would allow challengers to run more robust campaigns. In the State Senate, primaries are often less of a concern for Democrats than general elections. In recent cycles, Democrats have enjoyed a fundraising advantage over Republicans in swing districts, but that could be diminished by the matching funds program. That has caused some Senate Democrats in swing districts to privately raise concerns about the program. This is definitely not just an Assembly thing, Kaehny said of the possible changes. This is clearly on the Senate side, too In a 2017 interview, Prince Harry spoke out about UK monarchys future, one year after meeting his future wife Meghan Markle. At the time, Prince Harry said that the royal family needed to move forward to remain a viable part of the Britain's future. We [the royal family] dont want to be just a bunch of celebrities but instead, use our role for good," he said. Prince Harry-Meghan Markle: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are seen. Prince Harry discussed both his royal role and the monarchys future saying that his family needed to use their status in a positive manner and not be just a unit recognized for their association with the British crown. Prince Harry shared his views about living in a royal fishbowl, admitting he was determined to have a relatively normal life. If he was lucky enough to have children in the future, he hoped they could experience normalcy as well, Prince Harry then said, adding, There was a time I felt I wanted out. But then I decided to stay in [The Firm] and work out a role for myself. This role included a passion for charitable endeavors inspired by his late mother, Princess Diana. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle eventually left the royal family stepping down from their duties in 2020. The couple now live in the United States along with their two children, Archie and Lilibet. Prince Harry was last seen in the UK as he attended his father King Charles' coronation ceremony without his wife Meghan Markle who chose to stay in California with their children. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Before becoming a beloved member of the royal family, Kate Middleton had to prove herself during the notorious Balmoral test. Renowned royal author Christopher Andersen revealed intriguing details about Kate's visit to the Scottish retreat in 2009, shedding light on what it takes to impress the Queen. Britain's Kate, the Princess of Wales arrives at the Saint Pancras Community Association in Camden, north west London, Thursday, May 25, 2023. The princess met kinship carers, to hear about their experiences of raising the child of a relative or friend and the vital role they play in raising the next generation.(AP) The Balmoral test, as described by Omid Scobie, BAZAAR.com's Royal Editor at Large, is more than a simple visitit's a royal initiation. Guests are expected to brush up on royal protocol, engage in captivating conversations, and dress appropriately for any occasion. Most importantly, impeccable social etiquette is a must. According to Scobie, "You are entering her space, and whatever she does goes." Andersen's book, William and Kate: A Royal Love Story, unveiled Kate's experience during the Balmoral test. In 2009, she accompanied Prince William to the retreat, showcasing her compatibility with the royal lifestyle. As the first girl to be brought to Balmoral by William, Kate's enthusiasm for the estate was evident. One member of the Balmoral staff remarked that she appeared "perfectly at home" while angling for fish on the riverbank. As Kate participated in activities such as angling salmon, trout, and pike by the riverbank, the Balmoral staff noticed her ease and comfort in the environment. One staff member remarked, "Miss Middleton is a perfect fit. We said to ourselves,'The Queen is going to like this one.'" The Balmoral test holds great significance, as evidenced by the failures of Cherie Blair, Boris Johnson, and Wallis Simpson. On the other hand, Princess Diana, Prince Philip, and the Queen Mother have left a lasting legacy on the estate, showcasing their success. Guests must adhere to royal etiquette, possess a wealth of conversation topics, and be prepared for various occasions, from hunting to black-tie events. It is an opportunity to showcase respect, adaptability, and good behavior in the presence of the queen, who holds ultimate authority within her private retreat. The attention to detail is meticulous, extending to the contents of guests' suitcases. According to the author of Finding Freedom, guests often strive to make a positive impression and avoid any negative judgments. Some even opt for entirely new items, ensuring that nothing can be criticized and no unfavorable feedback reaches the queen's ears. Despite the test's significance, the Queen used to be laid-back during her time at Balmoral. She ensured that guests feel welcomed and included, participating in family barbecues, sharing meals, and, if fortunate enough, playing with her beloved dogs. As the late Queen Victoria once referred to Balmoral as her "dear Paradise," it seems that Kate Middleton has found her own place within the royal paradise, capturing the admiration and acceptance of both the queen and the Balmoral staff. Prince Harry had aspirations of a normal life long before marrying Meghan Markle, according to a revealing interview from 2017. In the interview with Newsweek, Harry expressed his desire for an ordinary existence away from the royal family. He admitted, "I wanted out" and yearned for freedom from the constraints of royalty. However, his loyalty to Queen Elizabeth II prevented him from leaving the monarchy. Prince Harry's 2017 interview reveals his longing for a normal life outside the royal family. He expressed a desire to leave but remained loyal to Queen Elizabeth II.(AP) Harry's candid remarks shed light on the rest of the royal family as well. He claimed that nobody in line to inherit the crown actually wants the responsibility. While he didn't mention specific names, Prince Charles and Prince William were next in line at the time of the interview. Before his proposal to Meghan, Harry had made it clear that he was resolute in leading a life of relative normalcy, desiring the same for his future offspring. He stated, "We don't want to be just a bunch of celebrities, but instead use our role for good." In 2020, Harry and Meghan made the controversial decision to step back from their royal duties, citing media scrutiny and the constraints of their positions. They relocated to California, seeking a fresh start. Harry emphasized the need for a revamp within the royal family, acknowledging that it must change after Queen Elizabeth's reign. Following their departure, Harry and Meghan relinquished their His/Her Royal Highness titles but retained their positions as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. They currently reside in California with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, who were granted titles by King Charles upon his ascension to the throne in 2022. The interview from 2017 offers a glimpse into Harry's long-standing desire for a normal life and sheds light on his perspectives on the monarchy. It provides a backdrop to their eventual decision to step away from royal duties and pursue their own path, focused on making a positive impact on the world. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly going to stop making tell-all Netflix documentaries, publishing memoirs and taking part in interviews which talk about the royal family as they have nothing left to say. Since stepping down from royal duties in 2020, the couple moved to the United States after which they have taken part in tell-all interviews. Prince Harry-Meghan Markle: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex are seen.(AP) Following their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey back in 2021, the couple went on to release a six-part Netflix docuseries titled Harry & Meghan in. Prince Harry also released his controversial memoir Spare and pursued a press tour giving a series of exclusive interviews early this year. In his memoir, Prince Harry made damaging claims against members of his family, alleging that his brother Prince William physically attacked him and accusing his family of disrespecting Meghan Markle. That period of their life is over as there is nothing left to say, a source told The Sun, adding that the Netflix and memoir period was the couples era of visibility and that they hoped 2023 would be their year of reconciliation with the royal family." The royal family has not directly commented on the claims Prince Harry made in Spare, but relations between the Sussexes and the rest of the family have been be fraught. Prince Harry did not appear to speak to his brother William at King Charless coronation last month, while Meghan Markle chose to stay in California with their children. Harry's London visit was also a brief as he bolted back to US almost immediately after the ceremony finished. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The governor of Russia's Belgorod region bordering Ukraine said Sunday he was ready to meet Russian pro-Kyiv fighters that have claimed responsibility for attacks on the area after they offered a meeting with officials to exchange prisoners. Governor of Belgorod(Reuters) "The only thing stopping me from negotiating with them is our guys that are in their hands, maybe they are already dead," Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. "But if they are not, then from 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) to 6:00 pm at the car border point in Shebekino. I guarantee safety." SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Kyiv said Sunday that Russian missiles had struck an airfield near the city of Kropyvnytskyi in central Ukraine. The attack comes as Russia has intensified air assaults on Ukraine, with the capital Kyiv attacked several days in a row this week.(Reuters/ Representative image) "Six missiles and five attack drones" were launched by Russia, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said on television. "Unfortunately not all of them were destroyed. Of the six, four were destroyed by air defence and two hit the operational airfield near Kropyvnytskyi," he said, giving no further details. Kropyvnytskyi is a small city in the Kirovohrad region in central Ukraine, south of the capital Kyiv. The attack comes as Russia has intensified air assaults on Ukraine, with the capital Kyiv attacked several days in a row this week. The conflict, which has dragged on for more than 15 months, has escalated as Kyiv says it is preparing for a major counteroffensive. Russian border villages have also been intensely shelled this week. Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the construction of a new bomb shelter at the country's most elite hospital where high-ranking officials are treated, a government website said. A bomb shelter at the Moscow Central Clinical Hospital has been ordered to be built and is scheduled to be completed by December this year. Russia-Ukraine War: Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen. (Reuters) The cost of the project is estimated to be 35 million rubles ($431,000), independent Russian news outlet The Moscow Times reported, citing a Russian public procurement website. The outlet Mediazona reported that senior Russian officials are treated at the Moscow hospital. Vladimir Putin himself received treatment at the hospital, it added. Details of the bomb shelter The bomb shelter will be designed to fit 800 people, including medical personnel and employees. It will also provide protection from radiation and have multiple entrances, an emergency exit and a complex ventilation system that is capable of cleaning the air "from gaseous weapons of mass destruction" and aerosols, it was reported. Medical staff will be trained to perform "procedures in wartime." Have such orders been given by Vladimir Putin before? The Moscow Times earlier reported that the Kremlin ordered bomb shelters to be upgraded throughout Russia in October 2022. The publication reported that open-source data showed that the process of repairing bomb shelters has taken place all over Russia. Why the decision has been taken by Vladimir Putin? The development comes as Russia blamed Ukraine for a large-scale drone attack on Moscowfirst since Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion last February. The Russian president accused Kyiv of attempting to provoke a mirror response from Moscow. Russia's defense ministry accused Ukraine of staging a "terrorist attack" with at least eight drones. Ukraine denied that it was responsible for the attacks. On May 3, two drones crashed into the Kremlin in Moscow for which Ukraine denied responsibility as well. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said that Russia was using a network of suppliers to evade international sanctions designed to prevent it from making missiles and other weapons. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (AFP) Read here: Ukraine ready, Zelensky on counteroffensive after rare NATO admission In a video address, Zelensky said unnamed countries and companies were helping Russia acquire technology with the emphasis on producing missiles. Russia has launched hundreds of missiles against Ukrainian targets since last October. "Unfortunately, the terrorist state manages to use the technologies of the world through a network of suppliers, manages to bypass international sanctions," Zelensky said. Ukraine, Zelensky added, was well aware of all of Russia's efforts to evade sanctions and will seek to ensure that "there are no products of the free world in Russian missiles". Read here: Too late for mediation: Zelensky aide says Ukraine peace plan only way to end Russias war In April, a senior Zelensky aide said Ukrainian forces were finding a growing number of components from China in Russian weapons used in Ukraine as Western supplies are squeezed by sanctions. China has denied sending military equipment to Russia. With a debt ceiling deal freshly signed into law Saturday by President Joe Biden, the US Treasury is about to unleash a tsunami of new bonds to quickly refill its coffers. The White House is lit in orange in honor of Gun Violence Awareness Day Friday, June 2, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)(AP) This will be yet another drain on dwindling liquidity as bank deposits are raided to pay for it and Wall Street is warning that markets arent ready. The negative impact could easily dwarf the after-effects of previous standoffs over the debt limit. The Federal Reserves program of quantitative tightening has already eroded bank reserves, while money managers have been hoarding cash in anticipation of a recession. JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou estimates a flood of Treasuries will compound the effect of QT on stocks and bonds, knocking almost 5% off their combined performance this year. Citigroup Inc. macro strategists offer a similar calculus, showing a median drop of 5.4% in the S&P 500 over two months could follow a liquidity drawdown of such magnitude, and a 37 basis-point jolt for high-yield credit spreads. The sales, set to begin Monday, will rumble through every asset class as they claim an already shrinking supply of money: JPMorgan estimates a broad measure of liquidity will fall $1.1 trillion from about $25 trillion at the start of 2023. This is a very big liquidity drain, says Panigirtzoglou. We have rarely seen something like that. Its only in severe crashes like the Lehman crisis where you see something like that contraction. Its a trend that, together with Fed tightening, will push the measure of liquidity down at an annual rate of 6%, in contrast to annualized growth for most of the last decade, JPMorgan estimates. The US has been relying on extraordinary measures to help fund itself in recent months as leaders bickered in Washington. The measure brokered between Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy limits federal spending for two years and suspends the debt ceiling through the 2024 election. With default narrowly averted, the Treasury will kick off a borrowing spree that by some Wall Street estimates could top $1 trillion by the end of the third quarter, starting with several Treasury-bill auctions on Monday that total over $170 billion. What happens as the billions wind their way through the financial system isnt easy to predict. There are various buyers for short-term Treasury bills: banks, money-market funds and a wide swathe of buyers loosely classified as non-banks. These include households, pension funds and corporate treasuries. Banks have limited appetite for Treasury bills right now; thats because the yields on offer are unlikely to be able to compete with what they can get on their own reserves. ALSO READ| Prince Harry, Meghan to stop talking about royal family completely' because But even if banks sit out the Treasury auctions, a shift out of deposits and into Treasuries by their clients could wreak havoc. Citigroup modeled historical episodes where bank reserves fell by $500 billion in the span of 12 weeks to approximate what will happen over the following months. Any decline in bank reserves is typically a headwind, says Dirk Willer, Citigroup Global Markets Inc.s head of global macro strategy. The most benign scenario is that supply is swept up by money-market mutual funds. Its assumed their purchases, from their own cash pots, would leave bank reserves intact. Historically the most prominent buyers of Treasuries, theyve lately stepped back in favor of better yields on offer from the Feds reverse repurchase agreement facility. That leaves everyone else: the non-banks. Theyll turn up at the weekly Treasury auctions, but not without a knock-on cost to banks. These buyers are expected to free up cash for their purchases by liquidating bank deposits, exacerbating a capital flight thats led to a cull of regional lenders and destabilized the financial system this year. The governments growing reliance on so-called indirect bidders has been evident for some time, according to Althea Spinozzi, a fixed-income strategist at Saxo Bank A/S. In the past few weeks we have seen a record level of indirect bidders during US Treasury auctions, she says. Its likely that theyll absorb a big part of the upcoming issuances as well. For now, relief about the US avoiding default has deflected attention away from any looming liquidity aftershock. At the same time, investor excitement about the prospects for artificial intelligence has put the S&P 500 on the cusp of a bull market after three weeks of gains. Meanwhile, liquidity for individual stocks has been improving, bucking the broader trend. ALSO READ| When Donald Trump got King Charles name wrong in Twitter blunder But that hasnt quelled fears about what usually happens when theres a marked downturn in bank reserves: Stocks fall and credit spreads widen, with riskier assets carrying the brunt of losses. Its not a good time to hold the S&P 500, says Citigroups Willer. Despite the AI-driven rally, positioning in equities is broadly neutral with mutual funds and retail investors staying put, according to Barclays Plc. We think there will be a grinding lower in stocks, and no volatility explosion because of the liquidity drain, says Ulrich Urbahn, Berenbergs head of multi-asset strategy. We have bad market internals, negative leading indicators and a drop in liquidity, which is all not supportive for stock markets. Data breach in the automobile industry is rising, with several automakers falling prey to hackers. Toyota and Lexus are also among these carmakers. The Japanese automobile group has revealed that private information of its customers in Japan, as well as in other countries throughout Asia and Oceania region, was leaked to the public. The auto major has said that the information was available to the public between October 2016 and May 2023. Toyota has said the data breach happened due to two separate incidents. The automaker said that in the case impacting customers in Asia and Oceania, some of the files managed by Toyota Connected Corporation in the cloud for overseas dealers' maintenance requirements and investigation of systems were accessible externally due to a misconfiguration. Also Read : This Chinese EV maker falls prey to hackers However, the Japanese car brand has not said how many customers are impacted by the problem. The company said that the private information leaked to the public includes details such as addresses, names, phone numbers, email addresses, customer IDs, vehicle registration numbers and vehicle identification numbers. Reuters has reported that the carmaker is investigating the issue based on the laws and regulations of each country from where the affected vehicle owners belong. Also check these Cars Find more Cars Toyota Glanza 7.18 - 9.45 Lakhs* *Ex-showroom price Add to compare Check latest offers Explore your Vehicle Check vehicle details Check Insurance & PUCC due date UPCOMING Toyota Belta 10 Lakhs *Expected Price View Details Toyota Urban Cruiser 8.5 - 11.4 Lakhs* *Ex-showroom price Add to compare Check latest offers DISCONTINUED Toyota Yaris 9.16 - 14.69 Lakhs* *Last recorded price Add to compare View Details Toyota Camry 39.41 - 41.2 Lakhs* *Ex-showroom price Add to compare Check latest offers Toyota Vellfire 87 - 89.9 Lakhs* *Ex-showroom price Add to compare Check latest offers In another incident that was limited to Japan, approximately 260,000 customers using the Lexus G-Link connected services were affected by a data breach. Their vehicle identification numbers, map data updates and other mapping system data were leaked publicly. However, Toyota claims that the leak doesn't include any data that can be used to identify the vehicle owners. These two data breaches came just a couple of weeks after Toyota revealed that the vehicle data of its 2.15 million customers in Japan had been publicly accessible between November 2013 and April 2023. First Published Date: New York Chick-fil-A has become a surprise target of right-wing ire following the discovery that the company has an executive overseeing its diversity, equity and inclusion policies. It joins a growing list of companies that right-wing media and conservatives on social platforms have chastised for so-called woke marketing. But Chick-fil-A is an unusual target for the right wing because of the companys conservative bona fides. What happened? The fact that Chick-fil-A has been trending online and the subject of conservative media news segments shows the power that a few people with large social media followings can have. In a series of tweets, including one that made a transphobic comment, right-wing political commentator Joey Mannarino earlier this week asked if people will the boycott the chain because of the companys DEI efforts. Shortly after, far-right personalities, including Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA and Ian Miles Cheong, joined in. Whats really going on? The target of their ire was Erick McReynolds, Chick-fil-As vice president of DEI, whos held the position for about three years. Chick-fil-A says it is committed to being better at together. Our founder, Truett Cathy, believed that a great company is a caring company, Chick-fil-A notes on its DEI web page. At Chick-fil-A, Inc., our commitment is to approach this work with intention and humility, always believing the best in one another and striving for common ground. Its unclear why McReynolds is getting attention from some conservatives now. The restaurant chain declined to comment about the so-called controversy and would not make McReynolds available for an interview. Chick-fil-A has long been conservative Chick-fil-A is notoriously conservative. Its restaurants are closed on Sunday for religious reasons and it has donated to anti-LGBTQ organizations in the past (a decision that it reversed in 2019). In 2012, former Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy spoke out against Americas legalization of same-sex marriage, which sparked boycotts from the left. The company has deep Christian roots. Its DEI page on Chick-fil-As website includes references to God, writing the companys purpose is to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come into contact with Chick-fil-A. Its not just Chick-fil-A Its unclear how whether boycott efforts have been successful. Chick-fil-A is privately held and does not routinely announce sales data. Still, it joins a list of companies, including Target (TGT) and Anheuser-Bushs Bud Light, that are dealing with conservative backlash for what some view as woke marketing. Bud Light sponsored a social media post with trans personality Dylan Mulvaney, in which she showed off a custom can that featured her likeness. That set off a firestorm on right-wing channels, and Bud Lights sales have fallen sharply, sinking 25% in May compared to the year prior, according to Beer Business Daily, an influential industry newsletter. Last week, Target was targeted with homophobic attacks for selling pride merchandise, which it has done for several years. The campaign became hostile, with threats levied against Target employees and instances of damaged products and displays in stores. In the end, Target opted to protect employee safety by removing certain items that it said caused the most volatile reaction from opponents. Hurting brands sales and reputations was the stated goal of the campaign: The goal is to make pride toxic for brands, said right-wing commentator Matt Walsh on Twitter. If they decide to shove this garbage in our face, they should know that theyll pay a price. It wont be worth whatever they think theyll gain. But Targets response angered LGBTQ advocates and led to criticism that it was caving to extreme elements of American society. These campaigns also come amid a record number of anti-LGBT bills introduced in statehouses this year and escalating political attacks on transgender people by leading Republican candidates for president. ___ Every major fast-food chain, ranked by customer satisfaction Intro #23. McDonald's #22. Popeyes #20. Jack in the Box (tied) #20. Taco Bell (tied) #19. Wendy's #16. Sonic (tied) #16. Dairy Queen (tied) #16. Dunkin' (tied) #12. Subway (tied) #12. Burger King (tied) #12. Little Caesars (tied) #12. Panda Express (tied) #9. Arby's (tied) #9. Papa Johns (tied) #9. Five Guys (tied) #5. Chipotle (tied) #5. Panera Bread (tied) #5. Pizza Hut (tied) #5. Starbucks (tied) #3. KFC (tied) #3. Domino's (tied) #2. Jimmy John's #1. Chick-fil-A Bear Conflicts are Expected to Increase in June MONTPELIER, Vt. The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is increasing outreach efforts to encourage Vermont residents and visitors to get ahead of an anticipated jump in bear conflicts this June. "Last year, we saw reported bear incidents spike from 206 in May to 473 in June," said the department's Black Bear Project Lead Biologist Jaclyn Comeau. "We want to head off that spike this year, and we need the public's help to do it. The department has seen increasing bear conflicts between May and June over the past several years. However, 2022 showed a more pronounced spike than the three-year average of 182 reports in May and 370 reports in June. This year the department had already received 136 reports as of May 27. That number does not include incidents reported directly to game wardens and will likely grow as warden reports are processed over the next two weeks. To increase awareness about the steps Vermonters can take to prevent bear conflicts, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is expanding its outreach effort this year. "This month, Fish and Wildlife will be using every channel we have to reach everyone who lives in or visits Vermont with the message that bear coexistence is a shared responsibility," said Comeau. "For the first time, we are teaming up with the Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation and the Department of Environmental Conservation to put up 'Keep Bears Wild' signs at state parks and transfer stations. Anywhere there is a risk of bears learning to look for food near people, we want people to be able to see how to reduce that risk." In Vermont, the leading cause of bear conflicts is unsecured garbage, including household trash collection bins and dumpsters at businesses and campgrounds. Keeping garbage bins inside until a few hours before trash collection can significantly reduce the risk of bear conflicts in residential neighborhoods. Insisting that garbage collectors provide businesses and public facilities with bear-proof dumpsters can reduce the risk of conflicts in other locations. When preventative steps are not in place and bears learn that unsecured garbage is an easy food source, they can quickly become bold, and sometimes aggressive. "If a bear develops aggressive behaviors like breaking into buildings in search of food, the department may have to kill that bear to protect human safetynobody wants that outcome," said Comeau. "Our goal is for everyone to know the steps to prevent bear conflicts from happening in the first place. Proactive coexistences is the best thing for bears and for people, and it will only work if everyone who lives in or visits Vermont treats it as a shared responsibility." A full list of steps for coexisting with bears is available on the department's website at: https://vtfishandwildlife.com/learn-more/living-with-wildlife/living-with-black-bears Governor Announces $70K Grants to Promote Local Dairy Products BOSTON The Massachusetts Dairy Promotion Board (MDPB), in conjunction with the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), announced two dairy promotion grants totaling $70,000 to fund projects that will advance the image, sale of and demand for local dairy products. These funded grant projects for the 2024 Fiscal Year include education initiatives to Massachusetts communities on the importance and nutritional benefits of dairy products. In addition, the projects will bring greater awareness to the contributions of our dairy farmers and provide more resources to our schools to support the consumption of Massachusetts dairy products. The Commonwealth is home to 108 dairy farms situated on a total of 49,744 acres of farmland. In Massachusetts, the dairy industry contributes approximately $45 million to the state's local economy and produces roughly 188 million pounds of fresh, nutritious, wholesome milk a year, used to make many value-added products like cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and butter. "The Massachusetts dairy industry preserves close to 50,000 acres of farmland using best land management practices," said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. "We appreciate our hardworking dairy farmers for their innovation in dairy farming practices. We're glad to recognize them for their production of high-quality and sustainable dairy products." The Massachusetts Dairy Promotion Board grant is funded through check-off dollars received from Massachusetts dairy producers. The nine-member board is comprised of a group of state officials, dairy farmers, and other representatives from the dairy industry. Created as a result of the Dairy Preservation Act of 2008, the goal of the Board is to increase the consumption of Massachusetts dairy products. This goal is carried out through the annual release of the Massachusetts Dairy Promotion Grant Program. "For generations, Massachusetts dairy farmers have prided themselves on producing the finest dairy products," said Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner Ashley Randle. "As someone who grew up on a fifth-generation dairy farm in Western Massachusetts, I've seen the challenges that our dairy producers face. These promotional grant awards will go a long way to help educate and inform consumers about the environmental, economic, and nutritional qualities of dairy products and highlight how Massachusetts dairy farmers are continuing to lead by example with respect to climate change adaptations and clean energy solutions." The following non-profits are receiving grants through the FY24 Massachusetts Dairy Promotion Board Grant program: New England Dairy Promotion Board has been awarded $20,000 to build Millennial families' trust of Massachusetts dairy farmers and their dairy products by developing and executing experiential consumer events in partnership with a local Massachusetts dairy processor(s). Event locations could include community events, give-back events, community centers, road races, etc. New England Dairy & Food Council has been awarded $50,000 to grow dairy sales and build trust among youth in schools through the school meal equipment and marketing grants. BCC to Hold Virtual Info Session for Massage Therapy Program PITTSFIELD, Mass. Berkshire Community College (BCC) will hold a virtual information session for those interested in massage therapy or who have applied to the Massage Therapy Certificate program at BCC on Thursday, June 8 from 5-6 pm. The session, held via Zoom, will include: An introduction to careers in massage therapy An overview of Massachusetts licensing requirements Requirements to enroll in the Massage Therapy Certificate Program and the matriculation process Specific program requirements and course pathway Financing a BCC education Student services and resources Questions from participants To register, visit www.berkshirecc.edu/massage- therapy. PHOENIX Retired Phoenix Police Capt. Carroll Cooley, the arresting officer in the landmark case partially responsible for the Supreme Court's Miranda rights ruling that requires suspects be read their rights, has died, the department confirmed Friday. He was 87. Phoenix police said in a brief statement that Cooley died on May 29 after an unspecified illness. The location and exact cause of his death were not immediately available, nor was information about services or survivors. Cooley joined the Phoenix department in 1958 and retired two decades later. On March 13, 1963, Cooley arrested Ernesto Miranda in the kidnap and rape of an 18-year-old Phoenix woman. Miranda was eventually convicted based on his handwritten confession and sentenced to 20-30 years in prison. Miranda appealed, and the case eventually went up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which issued a 1966 ruling overturning the conviction, saying that suspects should be advised of their constitutional rights against self-incrimination and to an attorney before questioning. That decision, along with three other similar cases that were bundled together, led to the so-called Miranda rights or Miranda warning, which is familiar to anyone who has watched a police procedural drama on television. You have the right to remain silent," it begins. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you," it continues. After the Supreme Court overturned his conviction, Miranda remained in jail on another conviction and was convicted again of raping and kidnapping the 18-year-old. Prosecutors at the second trial didnt use the confession and instead relied on testimony from a woman who was close to Miranda. After he was paroled, Miranda was fatally stabbed in February 1976 in a dispute during a card game at a downtown Phoenix bar. During his career with Phoenix police, Cooley worked in the city's Maryvale precinct, the general investigations bureau, and the police academy. He rose to become captain, a rank the department said is equivalent to commander today. After retiring from the police department in December 1978, Cooley went on to work for the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division and the Arizona Department of Public Safety. He also volunteered at the Phoenix Police Museum, where in 2013 he recounted his story before a 50th anniversary display about the Miranda arrest. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on June 3, 2023. Photo:AFP (Global Times) It is impossible for China-US military ties to move forward according to the pace set by the US, under the circumstances that US completely disregards some basic requirements set forward by China regarding the latter's core interests and major security concerns, a Chinese military expert told Global Times on Saturday when commenting on US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's keynote speech at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, delivered earlier today. Austin began his speech by emphasizing US alliance with Asia-Pacific countries. "We have forged new friendships and deepened old alliances," he said. "We're stepping up planning, coordination, and training with our friends from the East China Sea to the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean. That includes staunch allies such as Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand. And it includes such valued partners as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and our hosts here today in Singapore," Austin added. Austin gave an example that the US will forward station its "12th Marine Littoral Regiment - the most advanced formation in the US Marine Corps - in Japan by 2025 to deepen stability in the First Island Chain." In terms of US-led multilateral institutions, Austin said that all four Quad partners will participate in Exercise Malabar, which will take place off the coast of Australia for the first time this summer. And in July, Exercise Talisman Saber with Australia will bring together 14 countries. "It will be the largest iteration ever, with more than 30,000 personnel participating, including a significant contingent from Japan," he announced. Austin then turned the spears against China, saying "we won't be deterred by dangerous operational behavior at sea or in international airspace," describing recent aircraft interception as "troubling case of aggressive and unprofessional flying by the PRC." He also raised the Taiwan question, saying "the whole world has a stake in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," and "we will continue to categorically oppose unilateral changes to the status quo from either side." Cao Yanzhong, a research fellow at the Academy of Military Sciences of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), told the Global Times that US military stance toward China is consistent with the US overall policy of containment in various fields, and this containment policy is even more evident in the military domain. Experts noticed that the US military claimed Chinese aircraft had conducted unprofessional interceptions, but the fact is that a US reconnaissance plane deliberately encroached into a Chinese training area in East China's Shandong Province to carry out reconnaissance and interference. Lieutenant General He Lei, former vice president of the Academy of Military Sciences under the PLA, told the Global Times on Saturday that flexing military muscles, conducting close-in reconnaissance and military activities right on China's doorstep and in China's own courtyard is a provocation of Chinese sovereignty and a threat to Chinese territorial security. Lieutenant General He added that the interception actions taken by Chinese military aircraft are a must to safeguard China's national interests and security. They are the responsibility and mission of Chinese armed forces. While the US emphasizes that its policy toward Taiwan has not changed and it still adheres to the one-China policy on one hand, it has been increasing its arms sales to Taiwan island on the other. Not to mention that just a few days ago, the US delivered the first batch of FIM-92 Stinger air defense missiles to Taiwan island. It has also assisted the military on the island in conducting joint training. "These actions indicate that the US has taken a series of increasingly aggressive actions concerning China's most important and core interests and major security concerns," Cao added. It is not that China is unwilling to develop military relations with the US. On the contrary, China has always advocated establishing a cooperative and stable relationship with the US based on win-win cooperation. However, it is precisely the series of provocative actions by the US that continuously provoke China's bottom line, Cao stressed, noting that under such circumstances, it is impossible to push China-US military ties based on the rhythm set by the US. Cao believes that if the US has the intention to promote the normal development of military relations with China, it should not unilaterally raise demands toward China. The key lies in how the US responds to China's concerns and takes practical actions to improve bilateral military relations, earnestly responding to China's requirements regarding core interests and major security concerns, rather than just paying lip service and claiming the importance of communication with the Chinese military in a courteous yet insincere fashion. 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 }} Conflict with the US would be an unbearable disaster and the world is big enough for both countries to grow together, Chinese defence minister Li Shangfu said on Sunday. Speaking at Asias top security summit in Singapore the Shangri-La Dialogue Mr Shangfu said China has sought dialogue over confrontation. While China and the US have different systems and work in different ways, he said the two global powers should not stop seeking common ground and common interests to grow bilateral ties. It is undeniable that a severe conflict or confrontation between China and the US will be an unbearable disaster for the world, the defence minister said. Experts have warned that there is a significant probability of a war between China and the US, likely escalating to nuclear threats, with the former building up its nuclear forces in recent times. It is urgent that the two countries launch talks on nuclear arms control, both to prevent a nuclear arms race and to reassure each other that both want to avoid a nuclear conflict, American physicist Richard Garwin, best known as the author of the first hydrogen bomb design, wrote in March. Diplomatic relations between the two powerhouses have been strained in recent years due to a number of issues, including Taiwans claim for self-governance. US president Joe Bidens semiconductor chip export restrictions as well as disputes in the South China Sea have posed challenges in maintaining ties between the two nations. Relations between the countries have been further strained following the shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon by American forces. China rejected a US request for a meeting between the defence chiefs of the two countries in Singapore. While the Pentagon said it believes in open communication between the two nations to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict, China declined an invitation for US defence secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart to meet. The PRCs [Peoples Republic of China] concerning unwillingness to engage in meaningful military-to-military discussions will not diminish [the Defence Departments] commitment to seeking open lines of communication with the Peoples Liberation Army, Mr Shangfu was quoted as saying by The Wall Street Journal. While the two top officials reportedly shook hands on Friday, they did not have a deeper discussion, despite repeated requests from the US for a joint meeting. The Chinese ministry said on Saturday that the US and Canada are deliberately provoking risk, as the navies of the North American countries staged joint exercises through the Taiwan Strait. A Cold War mentality is now resurgent, greatly increasing security risks. Mutual respect should prevail over bullying and hegemony, Mr Shangfu said. The Chinese defence minister is among officials from the country sanctioned by the US in the past over weapons purchases from Russia. Hinting at the US, Mr Shangfu accused some countries of intensifying an arms race, and wilfully interfering in the internal affairs of others. 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 influential sister of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed again on Sunday to push for a second attempt to launch a spy satellite as she lambasted a UN Security Council meeting over the Norths first, failed launch. The Norths attempt to put its first military spy satellite into orbit last Wednesday failed as its rocket crashed off the Korean Peninsulas western coast. An emergency meeting of the UNSC was still convened at the request of the US, Japan and other countries to discuss the launch because it had violated council resolutions banning the North from performing any launch using ballistic technology. On Sunday, Mr Kims sister and senior ruling party official, Kim Yo-jong, called the UN council a political appendage of the United States, saying its recent meeting was convened following America's gangster-like request. She accused the UN council of being discriminative and rude because it only takes issue with the Norths satellite launches while thousands of satellites launched by other countries are already operating in space. She said that her countrys attempt to acquire a spy satellite is a legitimate step to respond to military threats posed by the US and its allies. (North Korea) will continue to take proactive measures to exercise all the lawful rights of a sovereign state, including the one to a military reconnaissance satellite launch, Kim Yo-jong said in a statement carried by state media. In her earlier statement Friday, Ms Kim said the Norths spy satellite will be correctly put on space orbit in the near future" but didn't say when its second launch attempt would take place. South Koreas spy agency told lawmakers on Wednesday that it will likely take more than several weeks for North Korea to learn the cause of the failed launch but it may attempt a second launch soon if defects arent serious. A military surveillance satellite is among a list of sophisticated weapons systems that Kim Jong-un has vowed to acquire amid protracted security tensions with the United States. Since the start of 2022, Mr Kim has carried out more than 100 missile tests in what he called a warning over expanded military drills between the US and South Korea. Experts say that he would want to use his modernised weapons arsenal to wrest concessions from Washington and its partners in future diplomacy. North Korea was slapped with rounds of UN sanctions over its past nuclear and missile tests and satellite launches. However, the UNSC failed to toughen those sanctions over North Koreas recent testing activities because China and Russia, both permanent members of the UN council, blocked the US and others attempts to do so. During the latest UN council session Friday, China and Russia again clashed with the US over the Norths failed launch. After repeated failures, North Korea placed Earth-observation satellites into orbit in 2012 and 2016, but foreign experts say there is no evidence that either satellite transmitted imagery and other data. 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 }} Distressed family members of victims of the Odisha train crash are being forced to take DNA tests before claiming the corpses of their loved ones, following chaos and confusion over bodies with multiple claimants. Five days after India witnessed its worst rail accident this century, at least 82 bodies remained unclaimed at the AIIMS hospital in Bhubaneswar city. At least 33 DNA samples collected from those claiming to be relatives of the dead have been sent to the capital Delhi for verification. The reports will be handed over to the authorities in Odisha in two days, officials said. The death toll from Fridays accident was revised for the fourth time to 288 late on Tuesday, Odisha chief secretary PK Jena said. The crash took place when the overcrowded Chennai-bound Coromandel Express entered a loop track and ploughed into a parked freight train near Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore. The crash caused the engine and first four or five coaches of the Coromandel Express to jump the tracks, topple and hit the last two coaches of the Yeshvantpur-Howrah train heading in the opposite direction at 78mph on the second main track. Some relatives of victims from neighbouring West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand have tried and failed to identify their kin despite two large screens at the hospital displaying graphic images of charred and bloodied bodies with an allocated number. Several of the bodies are damaged beyond recognition, with relatives looking for tell-tale pieces of clothing in the images instead. Rana Saha, who had been looking for his father for the past four days, told The Independent: I have given a DNA sample at the hospital and was asked to wait for two days. There are headless bodies, maybe my father is one of them. But we dont remember what he was wearing when he boarded the train, he said, adding that the wait had been extremely painful for his mother and the rest of the family. Mohammad Imam Ul Haqs relatives bid farewell to other family members before an ambulance leaves with a makeshift coffin carrying his nephew (REUTERS) Chaos ensued on Tuesday after multiple people placed a claim on a single body amid allegations that officials have been handing over corpses to the wrong family. Parvej Sahraj Laskar from West Bengals Couth 24 Parganas district travelled more than 100 miles to Balasore to claim his fathers body, only to find out that it had already been claimed by someone else. His cousin, Jakari Laskar, said that upon showing the photo of his uncles body with the tag number at the mortuary, they were told the body had been released to a family in Malda district. They are now asking us to give our DNA sample for matching but what is its use if the body has already been handed over to another family? Mr Laskar was quoted by the New Indian Express as saying. Mohammed Imam Ul Haq, from Bihar, said he found the body of one nephew on Tuesday, but the remains of what he thinks was a second nephew were claimed by another family. Mr Haq had also been searching for four days for his brother, who he believed had also died with his children. He said he believed a body at the hospital was that of his 12-year-old nephew, but added that there are five more claimants who are saying it is their relative. We are left with no option but to do a DNA test to determine whose body it is. The whole process takes really long, he told Reuters. I hope we can claim the body soon. Bhubaneswar Municipal commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange said that from now on wherever there is confusion over the identity of a body, a decision will be taken only after conducting DNA tests of those involved. He added that unidentified bodies would be kept in the hospital morgue for the next 10 days. The government would not hurry to cremate or bury them, he said, though it remains unclear what will happen once the deadline is passed. 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 man who painted houses for a living and was about to get married next month is among the hundreds of people killed in one of Indias deadliest train collisions in two decades. A group of six-seven men in their early 20s were on their way to Chennai in the south of the country from Medinipur district in the eastern state of West Bengal on board the Coromandal express when the accident took place on Friday night. Rajib Dakua, 21, who painted houses in Chennai, was among them. People from his village arrived in Odisha on Saturday and this morning were able to identify Dakuas decomposing corpse. Families gathered in the state capital of Bhubaneshwar on Sunday to indentify at least 100 bodies brought in by 50 ambulances from areas close to the crash site. Federal health minister Mansukh Mandaviya arrived at the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar on Sunday but did not issue a statement to reporters. Rescuers and families searched through mangled train carriages for more victims from the crash with signal failure emerging as the likely cause. At least 288 people were killed on Friday when a passenger train went off the tracks and hit another one near the district of Balasore in Odisha. Five more bodies were brought to a school being used as a mortuary near the scene of the accident early on Sunday. We do not know how many more bodies will come, a health worker said. Eyewitnesses recalled horrific and heart-wrenching scenes after two passenger locomotives derailed. Indian Railways says it transports more than 13 million people every day. But the state-run monopoly has had a patchy safety record because of ageing infrastructure. A woman cries while looking for her husband who was traveling in the train that derailed, in Balasore district, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, 4 June 2023 (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Prime minister Narendra Modi, who faces an election due next year, visited the scene on Saturday to talk to rescue workers, inspect the wreckage, and meet some of the nearly 1,200 injured. The South Eastern Railway said a preliminary report indicated that the accident was the result of signal failure. Workers with heavy machinery were clearing the damaged track, wrecked trains and electric cables, as distraught relatives looked on. We were called by the police and asked to come, said Baisakhi Dhar from West Bengal state, searching for her husband Nikhil Dhar. She said her husbands luggage and mobile had been found but had no information on his whereabouts. More than 1,000 people are involved in the rescue, the Railway Ministry said on Twitter. The target is by Wednesday morning the entire restoration work is complete and tracks should be working, said railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. At a business centre where bodies are taken for identification, dozens of relatives waited, many weeping and clutching identification cards and pictures of missing loved-ones. US president Joe Biden, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, British prime minister Rishi Sunak and French president Emmanuel Macron have expressed condolences. (Additional reporting from the wires) 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 }} Jonnie Irwin has revealed that he has been admitted to hospital as he deals with terminal cancer. The Escape to the Country presenter, 49, said in November that he doesnt know how long he has left to live, after first being diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2020, which later spread to his brain. He went public with his diagnosis in November 2022, after keeping it a secret from his fans for more than two years. Since his announcement, Irwin has been keeping his social media followers up to date with his condition. In the latest update, the father-of-three revealed he has gone into hospital to be monitored but hopes to be released in time for a scheduled appearance at A Place In The Sun Live in London this weekend (2-4 June). He wrote in an Instagram post: In hospital this week monitoring a changeover in my pain management regime. Fingers crossed Ill be out in time to make an appearance on Sunday for this weekends @aplaceinthesunofficial LIVE event at @olympialondon in Kensington, he continued. If he is released from the hospital and attends the event, Irwin will be joined on stage by fellow presenters Jasmine Harman, Ben Hillman and Laura Hamilton. He concluded the post: Hope to see you therex. In a new podcast OneChat released last week, Irwin said that he was living under a dark cloud for the two years he hid his cancer from the world, adding that he kept his condition a secret so that he could continue working and provide for his family. Irwin and his wife Jessica have three children; three-year-old son Rex and two-year-old twins Rafa and Cormac. Elsewhere in the interview revealed that he had been close to deaths door at least twice, emphasising that he prefers to think of his situation as living with cancer, rather than dying from cancer. Irwin explained how he began to feel alive again after going public with his illness, but noted that didnt mean his journey had been easy. I have been close to deaths door, twice at least, he said. He added: You lose your memory, you lose your patience. I have got a very short temper. Its not made me a better person, thats for sure. In March, Irwin gave a health update, telling The Sun: Im weak now, fragile and my memory is terrible but Im still here. 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 }} Una Healy has quashed rumours that she was ever in a three-way relationship with former heavyweight boxer David Haye and his model partner Sian Osbourne. All three figures were the subject of speculation among fans at the start of the year when the women were pictured on either side of Haye while on holiday in Marrakech, Morocco. The 41-year-old, who was formerly in the pop group The Saturdays, spoke on Saturdays instalment of Angela Scanlons Ask Me Anything (3 June), telling the host that she had to Google search what the word throuple meant when she first heard the rumours. Right listen, Una, we are going to get this out of the way. The word throuple. I didnt know what the word meant, Scanlon said, quizzing Healy. I was linked to this word, throuple. If you Google that word, a picture of me and a black bikini will come up, the mother-of-two said. Healy added that she had been haunted by the picture in the last few months and that she was confused about the origins of the rumour, adding that the photo was an innocent picture with two people that she knows. "I think I need to put this whole thing to bed right now and move on. The only throuple that I am in, is me, myself and I," she said. Healy also said in an episode of the My Therapist Ghosted Me podcast last month that she was only romantically involved with Haye, and added that she was a monogomous person. David Haye (centre), who sparked speculation about his romantic life by wishing a Happy Valentines Day to his two queens' (David Haye/Instagram) Dating him is the right term, because thats how it was. It wasnt a throuple. I met him last summer, online, on a dating app, she said. The rumours that they were in a three-way relationship came when Haye shared a Valentines Day post on Instagram in February, in which the three were seen together on a beach. Happy Valentines Day to the beautiful Queens in my life, making my world a better place to live in!, he wrote in the caption. Osbourne and Haye have now seemingly hit back at Healys denial that they were ever in a throuple, as Osbourne shared a montage of several pictures of herself and Healy together with the caption: The truth will set you free. The montage, also posted on Saturday the same day as Healys appearance on the Irish network is set to the song Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac. At the end of the clip, a voice recording taken from the My Therapist Ghosted Me podcast, where Healy denies that she got to know Osbourne: Really nice girl, I dont get to know her very well. So it wasnt a throuple. In the final picture, the three are seen lying together on a sunlounger while on that same holiday. Haye then commented on Osbournes post with a pair of eyes emoji. The Independent has contacted Healys representatives for comment. 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 }} The slow, rhythmic thud of the flat upstairs washing machine. A dog barking over and over again. The bassline of someone elses speakers. Are you feeling stressed yet? Noise can be subjective it is broadly defined as an unwanted form of sound, and that inevitably differs from person to person. To use the aforementioned dog as an example: one persons endearingly vocal pet is anothers intolerably howling hound. Collectively, though, it seems our tolerance for noise is hanging by a thread. According to the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, noise is the single biggest cause for complaints made to local authorities in the UK; in a survey released in 2022, they found that noise complaints increased by 54 per cent in England between 2019-20 and 2020-21. Objections were particularly prominent in Greater London, where 508 complaints were recorded for every 10,000 people, more than three times the national average. Separate data compiled in 2022 by Churchill Home Insurance found that almost 450,000 noise complaints had been made to councils over the previous financial year, marking an increase of nearly 70,000 over two years. Noise is an issue that cant be dismissed as rows between curtain-twitchers its a matter of public health. It has been shown very clearly and unequivocally that noise has a terrible effect on human health and wellbeing, says Dr Finnur Pind, acoustics engineer and co-founder of Treble, an Icelandic company that develops sound-simulation technology. The World Health Organisation says that noise is the second most harmful environmental factor affecting human health, after bad air quality. A spate of studies has linked exposure to excessive noise to mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Could our present preoccupation with noise be rooted in the changes wrought by the pandemic? All of a sudden, the noise of the world is almost switched off, Pind says. Soundscapes did change dramatically towards the beginning of the first lockdown, agrees Dr Neil Bruce, senior lecturer in sound design at Manchester Metropolitan Universitys School of Digital Arts. Planes and transportation noise dropped off significantly, he notes. One study found that environmental noise in London dropped by an average of 5.4 decibels in spring 2020 versus the previous year. For some of us, that meant getting used to the eerie quiet. We were suddenly able to listen a bit more, Bruce says. Because were so busy usually, sound is something we dont often pay much heed to Lockdown did seem to then bring that a bit more to the fore. For others, it meant more time at home to fixate on new noises that punctuated this quiet, often occasioned by pandemic-imposed lifestyle shifts. I think the thing that made us perhaps more sensitive to noise, that changed our attitude, was that our homes were really required for studious work, says Louise Beamish, vice chair of the Association of Noise Consultants and director of acoustics at WSP. This repurposing of our home spaces came at the same point that young kids started to be homeschooled, your DIY-loving neighbour was placed on furlough and everyone seemed to get a dog. Sounds that might have previously seemed innocuous, or part of the fabric of life, became irritants; stuck inside, we couldnt flee them. Having to stay indoors [and] changing the way we work did have an impact, because there was no escape, adds Somayya Yaqub, a member of the CIEHs environmental protection advisory panel and head of corporate health and safety for the London Borough of Ealing. There were complaints about matters that we [as environmental health officers] cant actually do anything about Thats living noise whereas before, youve not ever had your neighbour at home, and youre not there either, so it didnt matter. We have an expectation of how certain places should sound, and when things do not sound as expected, that is when we become annoyed Dr Neil Bruce This leap in complaints, she suggests, might be tied into the slow erosion of community many of us dont know our neighbours, so perhaps it felt easier to passive-aggressively fill out a noise complaints form than to pop round and have a chat. Many streets will be filled with residents on short-term rental contracts, so theyre not interested in building that relationship with a neighbour. Environmental health manager Paul McCullough, Yaqubs fellow advisory panel member, agrees. Theres less of the live and let live attitude between neighbours, he says. People tend not to know their neighbours as much now, whereas things would have been resolved with a quick word in years gone by. As life slowly started to return to normal, so did the noise levels, but our attitudes havent necessarily bounced back to pre-pandemic levels of give-and-take. Bruce says that the idea of expectation is a significant one when it comes to how we relate to sounds. We have an expectation of how certain places should sound, and when things do not sound as expected, that is when we become annoyed, he explains. I think thats one of the issues with some of the things were seeing around noise complaints in city centres. Our fixation on noise is indeed reaching beyond the home. If people moved to a usually bustling area during a period of intense quiet, they will have a different (perhaps even unrealistic) expectation of what constitutes normal noise levels. Pubs, clubs and music venues, which went dark for extended periods during the pandemic, are now feeling the brunt of this. Earlier this year, Night Time Industries Association chief executive Michael Kill told hospitality trade title The Morning Advertiser that noise complaints have been recently exacerbated by residents who experienced lower levels of noise during the pandemic, due to the closure of night-time businesses. Were definitely seeing an increase in the number of venues coming to us with issues to do with noise complaints, says Clara Cullen, venue support manager for the Music Venue Trust. She runs the charitys emergency response service, which helps support grassroots music venues when they are threatened by noise complaints or other legal action. In June 2022, we had five cases to do with noise. Coming [up] to June 2023, well have 12 cases. Not huge numbers, perhaps (the MVT, Cullen notes, relies on venues getting in touch with them; other businesses might be facing these cases on their own), but certainly a significant increase. Anecdotally, she says, in most cases we see, the venues do predate the newer residential accommodation being built in the area. Theres a little bit of a vicious cycle you move to these areas, that creates more residential buildings which circles back around to noise (iStock) One headline-grabbing example is Manchesters Night & Day Cafe. The venue, which has hosted performances by the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Johnny Marr and Ed Sheeran was served a noise abatement order back in November 2021; the complainant had moved into an adjacent flat during lockdown. It appealed the order, and in March the hearing was adjourned until later this year. The agent of change principle was introduced to the UK in 2018, and places the responsibility for mitigating noise from pre-existing activities or businesses on a proposed new development. Apart from in Scotland, though, this is part of planning policy its not legislation, its not law, Cullen explains. And it doesnt just fit neatly within the entire legislative picture, adds McCullough. Unfortunately, that conflicts with the statutory noise-nuisance legislation. So the two things dont work together You cant turn around and say, your property was built after the club was already here, therefore you cant complain. The job of an environmental health officer, he says, is to work between the two parties youve got responsibilities both to the business operator but also to the resident. Often they hope to reach agreement informally; if not, legal action can be costly for night-time businesses that are already operating in financially straitened times. Councils are feeling the pinch too, with less budget available for specialist environmental staff, whose workload has shot up (the CIEHs noise survey found that the workload for environmental health officers across England more than doubled between 2019-20 and 2020-21). There were complaints about matters that we [as environmental health officers] cant actually do anything about thats living noise' (iStock) The pandemic may have intensified the situation, but our complex relationship with noise is rooted in deeper, structural issues too, like where and how were building houses. There is a tension how do we do town planning well, that accommodates the need for residential accommodation but also culture? Cullen asks. Obviously there [are] lots of places in the UK that people want to move to because of the cultural vibrancy. Theres a little bit of a vicious cycle you move to these areas, that creates more residential buildings which circles back around to noise. Many of us live in accommodation that is built to meet certain noise specifications, but that is the minimum specification, as Bruce notes. Mitigating noise, he adds, is expensive in terms of building costs, and can also encroach into internal spaces (its a toss up would you rather a noisier flat or a smaller one?) Can we ever reach a balance, where we dont have to live in a bland soundscape, as Bruce puts it, but we can switch off in our homes too? Pind says that, increasingly, sound is no longer just an afterthought, and is being considered in the early design stages of developments; his company has developed VR software that allows us to hear how a new building will sound before it has been built, thus eliminating some of the guesswork. At the planning stage, there is quite a movement in our industry to better the standards for transfer of sound between dwellings, Beamish says, because that [regulation is currently] seen by a lot of people as being quite inadequate and not protecting the residents as well as it could. So perhaps the big question we have to grapple with is how we want our neighbourhoods to feel, and the compromises were willing to collectively make. Cities and bigger towns, Cullen notes, arent quiet places And obviously peoples lives and priorities have changed as well. Life, she adds, isnt silent. 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 }} The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reportedly going to stop making tell-all Netflix documentaries, publishing memoirs and taking part in interviews that reveal the inner workings of the royal family, because there is nothing left to say, a source has claimed. After Harry and Meghan decided to take a step back from royal duties in 2020 and moved to California, it was not long before they started taking part in tell-all interviews and planning to make their first Netflix documentary. Following their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey back in 2021, the couple went on to release a six-part Netflix docuseries titled Harry & Meghan in January 2023. In the same month, Prince Harry released his revealing, controversial memoir Spare and pursued a press tour giving a series of exclusive interviews to major broadcasters in the UK and US. In his memoir, Prince Harry made several damaging claims concerning members of his family, alleging that his brother William physically attacked him and accusing his family of having a disregard for his wife, Meghan Markle. The couple, who celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary last month, have been heavily criticised for insisting they want privacy, all while appearing in interviews and making allegations about The Firm. That period of their life is over as there is nothing left to say, one source told The Sun, adding that the Netflix and memoir period was the couples era of visibility and that they hoped 2023 would be their year of reconciliation with the Royal Family. The Independent has contacted representatives of the Sussexes for comment. Harry and Meghan were ridiculed in an episode of South Park in March (Paramount Plus) In 2020, the couple signed a five-year contract with Netflix, under their production company Archewell Productions, reportedly worth $100 million, with the aim to produce documentaries, docuseries, feature films, scripted shows and childrens programming. So far, they have been behind two programmes; Live to Lead, which features interviews with world leaders and celebrities including Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Gloria Steinem and their personal docuseries Harry & Meghan. The Sussexes were ridiculed in an episode of South Park in February, which depicts the Prince and Princess of Canada, a young royal couple resembling Harry and Meghan, who loudly beg for privacy while drawing attention to themselves. The characters are promoting the princes book Waaagh the cover very similar to Harrys book cover. Members of the royal family have not directly commented on the claims Harry made in Spare, but relations between the Sussexes and the rest of the family are understood to be fraught, as Harry did not appear to speak to his brother William at King Charless coronation last month, while Meghan stayed in California with their children. Prince Harrys visit to London for the historic event was a brief one, as he bolted back to Heathrow Airport almost immediately after the ceremony finished and arrived in Los Angeles that evening. The sources claim that the couple has reportedly decided to halt the making of documentaries and books comes less than two weeks after the couples representatives said they had been involved in a near catastrophic car chase through the streets of New York after the Ms Foundation Awards Ceremony, where Meghan was honoured with the Women of Vision Award. Next week, Prince Harry will arrive in London to return to the High Court in June as he takes Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) to court over allegations of phone hacking. But King Charles will miss his visit, as he will be holidaying at his home in Romania for five days. 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 }} Tragedy struck a packed Bournemouth beach yesterday as two youngsters died after being pulled from the sea. Eight other people were recovered from the water after getting into difficulty off the main pier as thousands of beachgoers enjoyed the sunny half-term weather. They were treated by paramedics for non-life-threatening injuries. An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident has been launched by Dorset Police, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Dorset Police said the two deceased - a 17-year-old boy from Southampton and a 12-year-old girl from Buckinghamshire - sustained critical injuries. Police said that, following initial enquiries, a 40-year-old man - who had been on the water at the time - has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. It is believed the man was on a jet ski. What we know about the area Jet skis and other watercraft operating in the Bournemouth and Poole areas must follow specific rules between April and October. Bournemouth, a popular seaside town on Englands south coast, is popular with locals and tourists during the summer months. Average temperatures in and around the pier area of the sea are 12.4C for the month of June and can exceed 16 in September, according to the surf-forecast website. The website says the area tends to receive a mix of groundswells and windswells, with surfers warned to watch out for rips and crowds. A lifeguard raises a supervised swimming flag on Bournemouth Beach a day after tragedy (PA) Bournemouth Pier, like all outcrops in the ocean such as groins, headlands or sandbars, presents danger for swimmers due to riptides, or rip currents. Rips, as they are commonly known, occur when water that has been pushed towards land by the sea, is tracking back out, creating a channel of water which pulls back out to sea. Rips are often harmless, and swimmers will barely notice them, but typically around large headlands or piers, they can be powerful and drag unwitting swimmers and surfers out to sea, particularly if there is a large swell running. Piers and cliffs also present a hazard in summer because of the popular pursuit of tombstoning, or cliff-jumping, where thrill-seekers throw themselves into the sea off of the side of these outcrops. Frequently people unfamiliar with conditions are hurt, or even killed, due to shallow water, hitting people in the ocean below, or landing in a dangerous position. The sea conditions in Bournemouth when the incident happened appeared to be calm, with very little swell running. The water temperature was 15 degrees, meaning a wetsuit is required to swim comfortably. The tides at Bournemouth see two highs and two lows in a 24-hour period. Like the rest of the UK, the tidal range is large, exposing large swathes of sand at low tide. Low tide on 31 May was at 1:44pm and it was a 1m tide, while high tide was at 7:35pm and was 1.89m - making it a large tide. This means the incident happened at mid-tide when the water would have been pushing shorewards. What else have the police said? At a press conference on Thursday, Dorset Police dismissed reports that the deceased had jumped from the pier or had been hit by a jet ski. Rachel Farrell, assistant chief constable, confirmed that none of the swimmers had been in "physical contact" with any vessel. She said that a number of people already in the water got into difficulty and the force was investigating what caused that to happen. As we have a person in custody, you will know there is only limited information I can give about the investigation, Ms Farrell said. "However, to avoid further speculation, I am able to tell you that its clear that yesterday a number of people already in the water got into difficulty and we are investigating the circumstances or event that caused that to happen. Ms Farrell added that the two who died were not related to each other and those involved were "different people from different families" who were assisted by "great-spirited members of the public". She added: "We are all truly devastated that two young people have lost their lives. Dorset & Wiltshire Fire And Rescue Assistant Chief Fire Officer Andy Cole, Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Farrell and Vikki Slade, leader of the local council (PA) "My thoughts and those of all the emergency services are very much with their loved ones at this horrendous time and we are doing all we can to support their families." Ms Farrell added: "As you can imagine, we are at the early stages of our investigation, and we would ask people not to speculate about the circumstances surrounding the incident to both protect our inquiries and out of respect for the victims and their families. "We are aware of a number of videos circulating on social media and we would urge people to refrain from doing this. "We know the beach was very busy when the incident occurred. I am today urging anyone who saw what happened or has any information that may assist to please come forward. "If anyone has relevant phone footage then they can contact Dorset Police through our major incident public portal where they can upload the images and we will share the links on social media. "This operation is named Operation Marble. So please share the images with the police rather than on social media." She added: "I would sincerely like to thank members of the public who helped people in trouble in the water and also I am very grateful to wider beachgoers who really quickly moved from the beach to allow emergency workers do their work." Witnesses see beachgoers filming aid effort An air ambulance lands on Bournemouth beach (Max Willcock/BNPS) People on the beach said they witnesses other beachgoers filming paramedics delivering CPR to people involved in the incident. Nicola Holton, who was at the beach with her husband, said she witnessed lifeguards entering the sea trying to help multiple people who were struggling in the water. [There were] loads of idiots ignoring lifeguard requests to get out of the water and clear the beach, she said. People were running towards those having CPR filming on their phones. A doctor who said he was involved in the resuscitation attempt on the young girl praised the work of the beach lifeguards and also hit out at those filming the incident. Those videoing the desperate CPR attempts should think long and hard at their actions, the tragic death of a child is not something anyone should voyeuristically observe, he told MailOnline. Council to assess safety of sea near pier Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council leader Vikki Slade said the authority is working with the emergency services and will be assessing safety in the water near the pier. There are specific rules relating to the buoys in the water but there is no evidence that any of these rules have been breached, she said. Tobias Ellwood, the MP for East Bournemouth and chair of the Commons defence committee, told Sky News that the pier was involved in the tragedy. The local council will review its protocols in relation to what can be conducted on the pier, he added. Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns said the incident is a salutary lesson that danger is ever present on beaches and the ocean. Beachgoers shocked at tragedy The two youngsters who died off Bournemouth beach had not jumped from the pier or been hit by a jet-ski, police have confirmed ( (Andrew Matthews/PA)) Families arriving at the beach on Thursday spoke of their shock at the previous days events. One woman, who did not want to be named, said: "Its such a shame, people just come here to have fun, its a real tragedy." Mourners were seen placing a bunch of flowers on the beach close to the pier early on Thursday morning. 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 }} Afghans who worked for the British army are being denied sanctuary in the UK despite being at risk of execution by the Taliban, an Independent investigation has found. Mechanics, labourers and chefs are among those who have been rejected by the Ministry of Defences Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme, set up for those who helped British forces during the war. They live in fear for their lives and, despite the threat of persecution by the Taliban because of their work for the British armys Labour Support Unit, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) argues they do not qualify for the scheme because they were not in frontline roles. Colleagues and family members say these Afghans are at particular risk of reprisal attacks by local Taliban because they were recruited locally. Many Afghans have been abandoned by Nato countries following the initial evacuation of Kabul (AFP via Getty) The latest refusals come as The Independent is campaigning for Afghans who worked alongside British armed forces to be given safe haven in the UK, after we revealed that an Afghan air force veteran in the UK was threatened with removal to Rwanda. One MP said the governments treatment of Afghan citizens who worked with British forces was a catalogue of continued failure, while charities called on the MoD to grant them refuge, saying they were crucial to the UKs mission. Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, chair of the defence select committee, said Afghan workers were still being hunted by the Taliban and warned the terrorists do not share the same criteria as the UK governments decision-makers. Some Afghan British army workers, who fled to the UK, have compiled a list of 44 staff who have been denied help, and their plight was raised with armed forces minister James Heappey in April by Labour MP Jessica Morden. Mr Heappey responded, saying there were no plans to widen the Arap criteria, which he said is already more generous than previous Afghan relocation schemes. One mechanic who worked for the British army was rejected by the scheme in June 2022 and is now seeking to challenge the decision in court with a judicial review. The man fixed British military troop carriers and armoured vehicles but was made redundant when British troops withdrew from Helmand Province. He later worked for NGOs and as a private military contractor for the British until the Talibans takeover of Kabul in 2021. Armed forces minister James Heappey says applicants have been considered on a case-by-case basis (PA) A former British army adviser, who came to the UK in 2016 under the EGS scheme, a predecessor to Arap, told how he was trying to help this mechanic colleague: We are trying to do our best for him and his family but he is in a very bad situation. A lot of people are being disappeared and he is all the time hiding himself because many people know that he worked with the British army. Lots of people in the same situation applied for Arap. I dont know why Arap just rejected his case. Another former interpreter colleague, who was resettled in the UK through Arap, said the mechanic was moving from province to province, living in fear the Taliban will find him. Stephanie Alban, the mechanics solicitor, said they have battled to get his case reconsidered urgently,e given his uncertain and dangerous situation. His life is in danger so I thought they would deal with it in days and not weeks. He is in hiding and he has been moving to avoid the Taliban, she said. People in the local area would know that he worked for the British. Hes on their record so they will be looking for him and targeting him. It feels like these LSU employees have just been forgotten. You shouldnt have to do judicial reviews just to get a simple decision on a straightforward case. A Taliban fighter stands guard as women wait to receive food rations distributed by a humanitarian aid group, in Kabul, Afghanistan (AP) In another case, a guard who provided security at a British army camp was also rejected from the Arap scheme. In his desperate call for a review of the decision, he described how he was shot at while trying to help those injured in a terrorist attack on the base. He said he had received a threatening letter from the Taliban, which referenced the work he did at the base, and had also received threats from Isis. He is having to move homes regularly because of repeated threats against his family. In his review application, he wrote: I was employed directly by the LSU office and therefore by the British government. This was a dangerous and exposed role where I was at risk of attack from Taliban and others. Security at the camp was vital in order to ensure the safety of the British and other Nato soldiers in the camp. As such, the camp and the military operations carried out from the camp could not have functioned without the presence of security guards like myself. One Afghan colonel who fought alongside British troops in Helmand is being threatened with deportation to Rwanda after arriving to the UK by small boat (The Independent) Jamal Barak, who worked as an interpreter with UK troops, said the Arap scheme has rejected applications from two of his uncles who worked as chefs for the British army, and who are now in hiding. The MoD said in one of its rejection letters that their employment has not resulted in a high and imminent risk of a threat to your life. Mr Barak said: For the Taliban, it does not matter if you were an interpreter or a chef, for them we are all the same. They believe we all worked against the religion, the mentality against the regime. If anyone has entered the military camp and worked for the British army, they are the same. The defence secretary said at the time that he would make a commitment to the Afghans but unfortunately that is all lies. None of them become true. Another former interpreter, who came to the UK in 2015 under EGS, said the MoD has failed to help his brother who is living in fear in Afghanistan. The pair worked together at Camp Bastion for the British army, with his brother working as a labourer inside the base for two and a half years before he was made redundant when the troops withdrew. Describing his brothers situation, the interpreter said: He is in hiding and no one knows where he is. I rarely have connection with him and he will call me every so often. He is in the same risk as me. It is not written on his face that he was a labourer and not an interpreter. We were all working with the British army and we were all the same in the Talibans eyes. They have already killed one of our other brothers in front of our family home in 2020. He was working to help the American and British troops and they encountered him and shot him. Asked about the cases and the MoDs not in exposed roles criteria, Tory MP Tobias Ellwood said: I dont believe the Taliban share the same criteria. It gained access to databases of all local Afghans who were assisting ISAF forces and local Taliban continue to hunt them down for execution. Each case should be judged on its own merit. An Afghan pilot who fled to the UK is among those being threatened with deportation (Supplied) Labour MP Jessica Morden, who raised the case with the defence minister on behalf of a constituent, said: All of those brave men who risked their lives to support our armed forces at all levels in Afghanistan deserve the utmost respect and our government should afford them that. Sadly, this governments treatment of Afghan citizens who worked alongside our armed forces is a catalogue of continued failure, as these examples demonstrate. Baroness Jean Coussins, who was a member of the MoDs assurance committee on locally employed civilians, said while schemes to resettle interpreters had been relatively generous, others had not been so lucky. She added: The interpreters are clearly a group of locally employed civilians in exposed roles, but I would argue that many others, such as drivers, chefs, labourers, and others who worked for the armed forces or for the British Council, may also be identifiable by the Taliban and should benefit from equally generous and flexible assistance. Dr Sara De Jong, co-founder of charity The Sulha Alliance, which advocates for and supports Afghan former interpreters, said: It is very concerning that Afghans directly employed by the British army in essential support roles are being denied relocation, just because they did not work as interpreters. Some have worked for the UK for over 15 years but their appeals for help are met with silence. She added that these Afghans were equally crucial to the UKs mission. She said: As they were often recruited locally, they are at risk due to their exposure to local Taliban. Sarah Fenby-Dixon, an Afghan consultant for the NGO Global Witness, said the Arap process was leaving behind hundreds of people who worked bravely and proudly for UK forces. The Taliban do not ask for a CV; they know that these people worked with UK forces. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: We owe a debt of gratitude to those interpreters and other staff eligible under the Arap scheme who worked for, or with, UK forces in Afghanistan in exposed roles. Our absolute priority is supporting the movement of eligible people out of Afghanistan and, to date, we have relocated over 12,200 individuals to the UK under Arap. This article was amended on June 6 2023 to change two references to the Arap scheme to the EGS Scheme. EGS was a scheme with a relocation element that operated between 2013 and 2022. It was replaced with the Arap scheme in 2022. NATO soldiers patrol the streets in Zvecan, northern Kosovo on June 1, 2023. Photo: AFP (Global Times)The sudden escalation of the situation in the Balkans in the past few days has drawn great concern from the international community. From May 26, when the Kosovo authorities forced the inauguration of the Albanian mayor, triggering protests and demonstrations from the Serbs, to May 29 when violent clashes broke out between NATO "peacekeeping" troops and Serb protesters, which injured dozens of people, and then to the commander of NATO's "peacekeeping" troops in Kosovo's latest warning that the situation there is very dangerous and that any incident could lead to an escalation of the situation, it makes people wonder whether conflicts in Kosovo, known as the "powder keg" of the Balkans, will resume. There are also concerns over a repeat of something similar to the 1999 Kosovo War. In 1999, NATO brazenly launched a 78-day bombing of Yugoslavia, which not only resulted in a large number of casualties and property losses, but also left behind a hidden danger in this land. The bloody conflict this time is one of the consequences of this bane. Under the manipulation of the US and NATO, it was arranged for Kosovo, an autonomous province belonging to the former Yugoslav Republic of Serbia, to be administered by the United Nations as a transition. A few years later, Kosovo unilaterally declared independence and was immediately recognized by some Western countries. In other words, it was the US and NATO that forcibly divided Serbia through bombing and despicable political tactics. This is the root of that bane. It should be said that the ins and outs of the escalation of tensions this time are clear. Serbs in four Serb-inhabited cities in northern Kosovo boycotted the "local election" in April because the Kosovo authorities forced them to change their license plates and refused to fulfill the requirements of the 2013 Brussels Agreement to establish a Serb self-governing body. In response to the election results, which had a turnout rate of less than 5 percent and only 1,500 voters, the Kosovo authorities insisted executing the result and even used special police to escort the "elected" candidates into the city hall, which triggered conflicts. Tensions between the two parties reached a peak. Due to complex historical issues, reality, and ethnic and religious factors, the Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo have been in constant conflict over the years. The reason why the conflict between the two sides has reached the critical point of crisis outbreak recently is related to the imbalance in the political and security situation in Europe since the Ukraine crisis began. The reason why Pristina's provisional self-governing institution took another unilateral action this time is obviously to fish in troubled waters and take advantage of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Of course, the institution calculated wrongly and did not realize that its actions caused troubles for the US and NATO, and stirred Washington's focus on using Ukraine to weaken Russia. Washington is well aware that now is not the time for the situation in Kosovo to escalate, otherwise they will not be able to continue their "Ukraine narrative." Therefore, the US and NATO are taking action to quickly suppress the situation, with the US even imposing sanctions on the Kosovo authorities. It should be noted that this is not because the US and NATO have become fair and impartial, but rather a result of larger self-interest and malice. They do not want and cannot afford to risk another crisis on the Balkan Peninsula at this time. On Washington's chessboard, the provisional self-governing institution in Pristina is just a small chess piece, and they are not willing to invest too much effort and resources. The double standards of the US and NATO have not changed, but instead become more apparent. Before the escalation of this crisis, Western countries still adopted a "double standard" and initially saw the election results, which were comprehensively boycotted by ethnic Serbs and had a voter turnout of less than 5 percent, as "consistent with Kosovo's constitutional and legal requirements." It was only after the situation worsened that they changed their stance. Therefore, it is not surprising that when the US made its statement this time, netizens felt something strange and sensed a kind of fake mercy akin to crocodile tears. Currently, all parties are engaging in intense diplomatic efforts, hoping to restore stability to the Balkan Peninsula through dialogue and negotiations. However, it must be said that beyond utilitarian considerations, the US and the West need to seriously reflect on their long-standing biased position and interventionist tradition in the Kosovo issue, genuinely respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the relevant countries, and do things that are truly beneficial to regional peace. The US and NATO violated Serbia's sovereignty and supported Kosovo's independence first, and then indulged Kosovo's violation of international agreements and practiced political double standards. The bad precedent set by the US and NATO in Kosovo is a "toxic substance" in international politics that will persist for a long time. With such a precedent, it is necessary for the relevant regions and countries to remain vigilant when the US and NATO extend their reach even further. The US and NATO have no right to accuse others until they make sufficient remedies and corrections, because they themselves are in an unjust position. 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 }} The eyes of the media will be turned to the High Court in London this week as the Duke of Sussex gives evidence in his legal action against the publisher of the Mirror. Harry will enter the witness box amid an ongoing trial over contested allegations of unlawful information gathering by Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN). Here the PA news agency looks at why the duke is coming to court and what the case is all about: What is the legal action against MGN? The duke and other high-profile individuals are suing the publisher of the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People. They are seeking compensation over allegations MGN was involved in the unlawful gathering of their personal information for stories. Claims brought by four individuals, including the duke, are being heard in a civil trial as representative cases of the types of allegations facing the publisher, findings over which could affect the outcome of other claims. What is unlawful information gathering? It has been alleged that MGNs journalists were linked to voicemail interception, colloquially known as phone hacking, securing information through deception and hiring private investigators for unlawful activities. Lawyers for Harry, whose case covers the period 1995 to 2011, have told the trial that such practices were habitual and widespread amid a flood of illegality. What has MGN said in its defence? MGN is largely contesting the claims brought against it, but has offered Harry an apology for an instance of unlawful information gathering. The publisher said it was admitted that a private investigator was instructed by an MGN journalist at The People to gather information about his activities at the Chinawhite nightclub one night in February 2004. MGN says board members have denied knowledge of unlawful information gathering activities and claims there is no evidence, or no sufficient evidence, of voicemail interception in any of the four claims chosen as representative cases some of which it claims are brought too late. What has happened in the trial so far? The trial, taking place before judge Mr Justice Fancourt, has been focused on witnesses and evidence relating to the generic allegations against MGN that feature in claims against it. Over two and a half weeks, the court has heard from a former MGN chief executive denying involvement in covering up unlawful practices, while an ex-director and former lawyer at the publisher both defended their accounts of when they became aware of such activity. Ex-private investigators and former MGN journalists have also faced questions over the dark arts and illegal methods allegedly used to source information, the knowledge of MGN editors and executives and whether certain stories were legitimately obtained. Who else is involved in the case? Former Coronation Street actress Nikki Sanderson, comedian Paul Whitehouses ex-wife Fiona Wightman and actor Michael Turner known professionally as Michael Le Vell are also having their claims considered as test cases at a trial. All three are also expected to give evidence. What is happening in the trial this week? The trial will focus on the representative claims, beginning with the dukes. Harry is expected to be at court on Monday as his lawyers and MGNs legal team set out their opening arguments on his case. The duke will then enter the witness box, either on Monday or Tuesday. Has the duke been to the High Court before? Yes. In March, Harry made a surprise appearance at the Royal Courts of Justice in London amid a preliminary hearing in a similar case he is bringing against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), publisher of the Daily Mail. The duke is also suing News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of The Sun, over alleged unlawful information gathering, and is bringing a legal challenge against the Home Office in relation to his security arrangements in the UK. When will the MGN trial end and when will there be a ruling? The trial is due to conclude by the end of June with Mr Justice Fancourt expected to give his written ruling later in the year. Close Prince Harry arrives at High Court for battle with MGN over phone hacking 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 }} Soap actress Nikki Sanderson said her hair was set on fire by a group of girls after Mirror articles painted her as a stuck up, nasty, party girl. She said in her witness statement: People would elbow me, push me and, on one occasion, a group of girls even set my hair on fire. This particular incident happened in the toilets of a club and the group of girls had been bothering me all night. I had gone to the toilets on my own and I was washing my hands and I smelt burning. I looked down and they had set fire to the back of my hair. Fortunately, I wasnt wearing any hair product, otherwise, my hair would have gone up in flames. She added: Its because of this narrative created and repeated by MGN that I was stuck up, nasty, rude, promiscuous, and a party girl. It feels like character assassination. Meanwhile, the Duke of Sussex has landed back in Los Angeles, after a flying visit to the UK to give evidence in his High Court phone hacking case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN). 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 }} The Duke of Sussex is due to appear in the witness box this week for a court showdown in his ongoing phone hacking battle against some members of the British press. Prince Harry is suing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) for damages, claiming journalists at its titles committed phone hacking and other illegal methods of obtaining personal information. He has accused MGNs papers, which include the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People, of so-called blagging or gaining information by deception and the use of private investigators for unlawful activities. Follow our live blog for latest updates The duke has been asked to attend court on Monday in case the opening speeches finish before the end of the day, so there is a possibility he may enter the witness box on Monday afternoon. Otherwise he is expected to begin his evidence on Tuesday, when he will face cross-examination from MGNs lawyers. It is thought to be the first time a senior member of the royal family has personally appeared in court proceedings since 2002, when the Princess Royal pleaded guilty to a charge under the Dangerous Dogs Act after her English bull terrier bit two children in Windsor Great Park. At the start of the phone hacking trial in May, the court was told that the systemic use of private investigators by journalists to obtain private information unlawfully was authorised by senior editors, including Piers Morgan, at the groups titles. MGN said in a written submission that it unreservedly apologises to the duke for one instance of unlawful information-gathering. The group, which also publishes the Daily Mirror, said it accepted Harry was entitled to appropriate compensation. Harry is due to appear in the witness box this week (PA Wire) Harry has vocalised his difficult relationship with the press several times over the years. In his memoir Spare published this year, the duke firmly advocated against press intrusion. Speaking to ITVs Tom Bradby about the book, Harry referred to the media as the devil and blamed the ongoing rift between him and his family on the press. However, he continued: After many, many years of lies being told about me and my family there comes a point where going back to the relationship between certain members of the family and the tabloid press, those certain members have decided to get in the bed with the devil, right? Harry previously attended the High Court in March to attend a preliminary hearing in his separate claim against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail On Sunday. Harry has also criticised the media for subjecting Meghan to a wave of abuse (AP) A ruling is awaited in that and in another case brought by the duke against ANL, over Mail On Sunday coverage of his claim against the Home Office about his security arrangements when in the UK. He is also bringing legal action against News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World, over unlawful information at its titles and is awaiting a decision on whether that claim can go ahead to a trial expected in January next year. Witnesses for MGN relating to Harrys claim are due to be called to give evidence on Wednesday, although the schedule may change. 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 }} Tesco has urged its 20 million Clubcard customers to cash in their rewards over the next fortnight before they are cut from three times to two times their value. The UKs biggest supermarket announced in March that its Clubcard points will be worth twice their value when customers cash them in, rather than three times as they are now, from June 14. Rewards ordered up to and including June 13 will continue to be valid for one year from the date of issue. The popular scheme enables shoppers to collect points for money spent at Tesco and exchange them for vouchers which can be used in store or for excursions to locations such as Pizza Express, Legoland and Alton Towers. The grocer first introduced Clubcard in 1995 and promptly saw a 28% spending uplift. Tescos chief customer officer Alessandra Bellini said: While we are making a change to how members can use their vouchers with our reward partners, we want to remind millions of Clubcard holders to redeem their vouchers at three times the value until June 13 so they can use their reward partner codes to give themselves and their families a well-deserved treat. We have extended the validity of redeemed codes at the 3x rate, so if swapped before the deadline, they will be valid for a year, instead of six months, to give customers even more time to enjoy them. Customers expressed their disappointment at the change, pointing out it came as the cost-of-living crisis was already placing pressure on household budgets. One shopper posted: Tesco #clubcard now only worth x2 gee thanks #Tesco you really care about your loyal customers not. Maybe time to shop elsewhere. A second Clubcard user wrote: We were always grateful for the @Tesco Clubcard X4 when our kids were younger, it helped out massively on days out, we used our vouchers to buy towards Merlin passes which saved us so much money. We use it now for ourselves and X3 is good, but what an insult #X2 is to customers! A third wrote: Dear @tesco Just got your email re clubcard voucher exchange value changing to 2x, not 3x the value. Really disappointing! Not that long ago they were worth 4x the value. Are you not making enough profit already? One woman tweeted Tesco that its Clubcard scheme had kept me shopping with you but now with your prices soaring and the announcement about the points changes Ill be looking elsewhere. I bet a lot will do the same. It really helped us all out. Disappointed in you Tesco, she added. Sainsburys and Boots also cut the value of their loyalty schemes recently. From May, Boots Advantage Card holders have received 25% less for every 1 they spend in store, earning 3p rather than 4p. In November Sainsburys Bank cut the amount of Nectar points customers could earn by 75%, from two points for every 1 spent to one point for every 2. 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 }} Humza Yousaf has accused Scottish Labour of hubris, claiming they believe they have already won the next general election. Scotlands First Minister kicked off a summer of campaigning in his Glasgow Pollok constituency on Saturday, saying the SNP would not lose seats at the next election expected next year. The SNP have suffered at the polls in recent months following the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon and subsequent bruising leadership campaign, as well as the arrest of Ms Sturgeons husband and former party chief executive Peter Murrell and then party treasurer Colin Beattie in relation to a police probe of the partys finances. Both men were released without charge pending further investigation. We're working hard to make sure we don't lose seats, we go into every election hoping to not just hold what you've got but to try to win seats Humza Yousaf Labour has been rising on the back of turmoil within the SNP and the Tories in the past year. Asked by the PA news agency if his party could drop seats at the next election, Mr Yousaf said: No. Were working hard to make sure we dont lose seats, we go into every election hoping to not just hold what youve got but to try to win seats. He added: I know that Scottish Labour have already in their hubris decided that theyve won that election, but Im not taking anything for granted, hence why Im going out campaigning today. Mr Yousaf said he would be knocking on doors, making the case, persuading of the fact that independence is needed now more than ever before. Meanwhile, former first minister Alex Salmond was campaigning in Bellshill ahead of a council by-election there caused by the resignation of former North Lanarkshire council leader Jordan Linden after accusations of sexual impropriety. Joining his partys candidate in the ward John Marshall, Mr Salmond said the independence movement must highlight that the cost-of-living crisis is a symptom of Westminster rule. Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: Scotland desperately needs change but Humza Yousaf and the SNP are incapable of delivering it. The next general election is a chance to boot out this disastrous Tory government and only Labour can do that. Scottish Labour is working around the clock to earn back voters trust and demonstrate that we can deliver the change Scotland needs. 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 Labour mayor has accused the party of being anti-democratic for blocking his candidacy for a future position after he appeared on stage with film director Ken Loach. Serving North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll, described as the last Corbynista in power, urged Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to reconsider the decision and allow party members to have their say on whether he can run for the planned North East mayoralty. The Unite union affiliated to Labour said the party had made a major mistake and warned of serious consequences. Mr Driscoll also defended his decision to share a platform with Mr Loach, who was expelled from the party amid efforts to tackle the antisemitism experienced during Jeremy Corbyns leadership. The UKs equalities watchdog found that Labour was responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination as the former leader struggled to tackle antisemitism. Mr Driscoll highlighted his work as mayor before telling Sky News Sophy Ridge on Sunday: When it comes to what the Labour Party needs to project to win elections, which is economic competence, Ive got a fantastic track record. And for members not to be allowed the choice of putting me forward for the Labour representative is, frankly, shocking. Ive had so much support from right across the political spectrum so what I want is for Keir and the Labour Party to do nothing more than give members the choice of choosing me as their candidate. He said he has examined the legal routes, noting: Its not all clear what they are. I really do think just let members choose who they want as their candidates, thats how democracy works. And I honestly think here, Sophy, that in a two-party system, if youre going to ban people who are promoting socialist views from participating in that, that is really quite anti-democratic. Mr Driscoll earlier said Labours National Executive Committee (NEC) panel was very, very clear with him that there was no issue with antisemitism. He said: They said Its an issue that, because you spoke to Ken Loach, that may cause us electoral damage in future was their argument. He said he contested this view, explaining that he had been asked to appear on stage with Mr Loach to have a conversation about his films, including those produced in the North East. I have been on Jewish Labour Movement training, I work very closely with the Jewish Leadership Council and visit synagogues in my region, so this is an entirely separate issue about Ken Loach's issues you need to take up with Ken Loach, I'm not his spokesperson North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll After comments from Mr Loach linked to the Holocaust, Israel and antisemitism were read out to him, Mr Driscoll replied: If you want to ask Ken about his views then do it, I am not a spokesperson for Ken Loach. And lets be really clear, my combined authority under my leadership has adopted the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of antisemitism and references the examples. I have been on Jewish Labour Movement training, I work very closely with the Jewish Leadership Council and visit synagogues in my region, so this is an entirely separate issue about Ken Loachs issues you need to take up with Ken Loach, Im not his spokesperson. But theres only been three feature films set in the North East in a couple of decades I, Daniel Blake, Sorry We Missed You and now The Old Oak, so its a big culturally significant issue for the North East, and to talk to him about films is, I think, entirely justified. I share platforms with all sorts of people. A couple of weeks ago I was on a platform with (Conservative Tees Valley mayor) Ben Houchen. That does not mean I endorse the Tories economic policies. Asked if he regretted sharing a platform with Mr Loach, Mr Driscoll replied: I regret this entire episode now the whole thing has blown up and now Labour members are not geting the opportunity to choose. Pressed on whether he believed it was wrong of him to share a platform with the director, Mr Driscoll replied: I think the issues of speaking to somebody about something entirely different from a controversial issue my understanding is hes made all sorts of clarifications that hes not a Holocaust denier and I think he wrote a letter to the New York Times explicitly saying that the Holocaust was a real event, which of course it was so honestly, Sophy, I think weve got to get the proportionality here. What the public want from their politicians is to get on with things and deliver things and not to engage in culture wars, cancel culture or anything like that. I actually think thats electorally damaging. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: If Labour remains intent on only selecting nodding heads then it will continue to make serious policy mistakes, as we saw last week with its lack of detail on the announcement on the North Sea, affecting literally thousands of workers. These actions by Labour are a major mistake and have serious consequences. Mr Loach has long been celebrated for his socially-critical films, with 2016s I, Daniel Blake winning the Bafta Award for Outstanding British Film for depicting a mans struggle with the welfare system. But he was expelled from Labour in 2021 during what he called at the time a purge of Corbyn allies. Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he would strongly disagree, when asked if Sir Keir is trying to purge the left of the party. He said the leader has implemented a due diligence process, telling the same programme: Specifically in a case where somebody shares a platform with someone who themselves has been expelled from the Labour Party for their views on antisemitism, for opposing the tough action that needed to happen, that would preclude them from being a Labour candidate going forward because, when we said wed have zero-tolerance for antisemitism, when we said we would tear it out from its roots, we were serious about that. Mr Loach claimed antisemitism is being used to purge Labour of politicians on the left. He told the PA news agency that keeping Mr Driscoll off the longlist published on Friday because they shared a platform was the lamest excuse Ive ever heard. 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 }} More than 2,600 NHS staff in Scotland have been forced to take time off due to long Covid, new figures show. Freedom of information requests by the Scottish Liberal Democrats revealed at least 2,603 doctors, nurses and midwives were recorded as having taken time off due to long Covid, some for more than two years. The vast majority of absences were seen in nurses, with 2,414 taking time off, compared to 128 doctors and 61 midwives. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde suffered worst, with a total of 1,298 staff forced to take leave due to long Covid, according to the figures. The longest recorded absence was found in the NHS Grampian area, where one member of staff was off for 957 days. In NHS Fife, a worker spent 882 days on leave, and another in NHS Highland was side-lined for 798 days. The total figure is likely to be higher as NHS Forth Valley did not provide the information, NHS Western Isles was unable to do so, and NHS Lothian provided data for the whole-time equivalent staff lost to long Covid. Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the data is a damning verdict of the Scottish Governments complete lack of care for long Covid victims, calling on ministers to increase funding to help those with the condition. Long Covid is an enormously debilitating condition which disrupts and devastates lives, he said. This nationalist Governments response has been so poor that many Scots would be better off moving to England where more robust care pathways are available. Our NHS is already at boiling point and if this lacklustre approach from the SNP and Greens continues, we will see even more staff absences, even more pressure on services. Nurses and other long Covid sufferers cannot afford to be put on hold any longer without solutions. These sky-high absences must propel the Government into action. Scottish Liberal Democrats are calling on Humza Yousaf to improve funding for long Covid. We need to see dedicated long Covid clinics set up across the country and Scotland-wide access to physiotherapy and multi-disciplinary rehab. Otherwise, nurses and their patients will pay the price. The Scottish Government allocated 3 million from its 10 million long Covid support fund for the last financial year, but no further allocations have yet been announced. NHS Grampian said it could not comment on individual cases, but that it follows nationally set absence rules. A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said its workforce totalling around 41,000 people accounts for around one quarter of NHS staff in Scotland, adding: The health and wellbeing of our staff is of paramount importance to us and throughout the pandemic we introduced a number of new interventions to support staff and managers in terms of absence, health and wellbeing, and new guidance was developed to assist in managing the previously unknown condition of long Covid. Through HR and occupational health teams we have expanded resources to focus on supporting those with Covid and long Covid, while introducing specific peer support as part of our wider mental health and wellbeing action plan. A Scottish Government spokesman said: We recognise the significant impact long Covid can have on the health and wellbeing of those most severely affected and assessment and support is being provided across Scotland. We are making available 3 million from our 10 million long Covid support fund over this financial year to support NHS boards to increase the capacity of existing services, develop these into more clearly defined local pathways and provide a more co-ordinated experience. This is in addition to what our healthcare system supported by record funding of more than 19 billion is already delivering in caring for people with long Covid across our full range of NHS services. All NHS staff are fully supported in accordance with the Once for Scotland attendance policy where health impacts their ability to be at work. The Government said that for the fortnight ending May 23 2023, a daily average of 365 NHS staff were absent due to Covid-related illness 0.20% of the total workforce. 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 }} Thousands of single male asylum seekers across the country are to be told to share hotel rooms in a push by Rishi Sunaks government to bring down costs and act as a deterrent to those arriving in small boats. The decision comes amid a major row over a group of asylum seekers who staged a protest after being forced to give up single rooms at a hotel in Pimlico in central London. The group apparently refused to stay at the Comfort Inn after the Home Office had asked them to sleep four people per room. Ministers will roll out a national policy asking the hundreds of hotels hosting asylum seekers to try to put two, three or four single adult males in one room, according to the Sunday Telegraph. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick appeared to confirm the policy during an appearance on BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg insisting it was not unreasonable to ask people to share rooms. Asked if it was policy to tell people they have to share four to a room, Mr Jenrick said: No thats not right before saying single male asylum seekers will be asked to share rooms where possible, calling it a completely fair and reasonable approach. The minister said: Where we are using [hotels], its right that we get good value for money for the taxpayer, so if single adult males can share a room, and its legal to do so which will depend on the size of the accommodation then well ask people to do that. A group of around 20 asylum seekers camped outside the Comfort Inn in Pimlico in protest at the cramped conditions inside. Items scattered on the pavement included suitcases and sleeping bags. Mr Jenrick said he did not think it was unreasonable to ask the asylum seekers in Pimlico to share rooms saying almost all of the migrants in question agreed to share rooms. Comfort Inn in Pimlico, where a group of asylum seekers protested against cramped conditions (PA) Some people said that wasnt good enough and they wanted their own ensuite bedrooms, and the Home Office took the perfectly reasonable view that weve got to look after the taxpayer here, the minister said. And if youre genuinely destitute, of course youd accept that, Mr Jenrick added. Common sense prevailed and, I think, almost all of the migrants in question accepted the accommodation. The immigration minister came up with Operation Maximise to rationalise the use of hotel rooms for asylum seekers, hoping to save more than 250m this year, according to the Telegraph. The government is reportedly considering changing rules so landlords of asylum seekers would no longer need to register for a house in multiple occupation licence for up to two years. The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants has warned they risked putting people in places that are unfit for human habitation. I will never put the interests of migrants above the interests of the British public, Mr Jenrick insisted on the BBC on Sunday saying the use of hotels was taking away valuable assets from our country and costing billions of pounds. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick has come up with Operation Maximise (PA) But the BBC has obtained government projections that show the cost of detaining and deporting small boat arrivals could hit 6bn over the next two years. The government plans to house around 10,000 migrants in old RAF airfields in Lincolnshire and Essex, a former prison in East Sussex, and a large barge off the coast of Dorset as part of Suella Bravermans Illegal Migration Bill. Mr Jenrick said a landmark deal with France to increase patrols had stopped 33,000 crossings last year a 40 per cent increase on the year before. The immigration minister said hundreds of Albanians arriving via small boats have been returned to their home country, while the rest have been accommodated admitting some may well have absconded. Asked why Albanians were being housed in the UK when the government has a returns deal, Mr Jenrick told Sky Newss Sophy Ridge on Sunday: Our system has become riddled with legal processes, which enable people to make spurious last-minute appeals. Mr Jenrick said the UK asylum system is riddled with abuse and must be changed fundamentally. Jon Featonby, chief policy analyst at the Refugee Council, said the governments plans were hugely expensive and unworkable, adding: The government should be focusing on creating a system that protects the right to claim asylum and that prioritises both compassion and control. When pressed on record high net migration, Mr Jenrick said that immigration targets are not particularly helpful, despite previous Tory promises. Asked about David Camerons 100,000 pledge, the minister said: I dont think that targets like that are particularly helpful because migration is an extremely challenging space where behaviours are constantly changing. A government spokesperson said: Our Illegal Migration Bill will help to stop the boats by making sure people smugglers and illegal migrants understand that coming to the UK illegally will result in detention and swift removal only then will they be deterred from making these dangerous journeys in the first place. 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 }} Rishi Sunak is blocking the release of WhatsApp messages to the Covid inquiry because he fears they could show his plots against Boris Johnson, according to allies of the former prime minister. The claims rejected as total nonsense by the Sunak camp come as Mr Johnson was warned he could lose taxpayer-funded legal support if he tries to undermine the governments position on the inquiry. And a leading scientist has attacked Mr Sunaks spectacularly stupid Eat Out to Help Out scheme, as he comes under pressure to share his own messages about the much-criticised policy. The former PM remains at the centre of an astonishing row as ministers launched a High Court bid to challenge the inquirys demand for his unredacted messages and notebooks. Mr Johnsons allies claimed Mr Sunak was launching legal action to prevent the release of ministers WhatsApps suggesting he may be hiding plots or messages that put his Covid restaurant scheme in a bad light. One Johnson ally told the Mail on Sunday: What is Rishi hiding? Is it plotting against Boris with Dominic Cummings? Is it because he himself broke lockdown rules? Or does he fear that his Eat Out to Help Out scheme led to a significant number of deaths? They added: Both Rishi and Boris will give evidence in the autumn, and it will be a gift to Labour. We expect them to set up a war room and use it to beat up Sunak every day. A Whitehall source told the newspaper: The government has taken a judge to court to keep other ministers messages secret. Why? What is team Sunak trying to hide? The cover-up office is a shambles and its only a matter of time before heads roll. But a source close to Mr Sunak told The Independent: Its total rubbish as you can see from the Telegraphs lockdown files, Rishi Sunak barely uses WhatsApp. The former PM is at odds with his sucessor over the Covid material (Getty) Asked about the claims by Johnson allies and whether Mr Sunak was trying to hide plots against Mr Johnson, immigration minister Robert Jenrick told Sky News: No the issue here is ... should you hand over material to the inquiry which has absolutely nothing to do with Covid. Mr Jenrick said it is not sensible or reasonable to share material unrelated to Covid and suggested a compromise was still possible, despite the judicial review. I hope this can be resolved indeed even before the matter gets to court, he added. Bereaved families told The Independent that Mr Sunak should stop trying to protect himself and hand over his own WhatsApps so crucial pandemic decisions including the Eat Out to Help Out scheme can be scrutinised. Rivka Gottlieb of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK group said: It looks like Sunak is protecting himself. Its indecent to cover things up. I want every relevant person in government to be handing over WhatsApp messages. Sunak is under pressure over his decision to take legal action against the Covid inquiry (Getty) Prof John Edmunds of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine a member of the governments Sage committee said Eat Out to Help Out was a spectacularly stupid idea and an obscene way to spend public money. The former adviser told The Observer the August 2020 scheme to offer Britons a discount to eat out in restaurants and pubs after the first lockdown was never discussed with scientists. Meanwhile, it has emerged that Cabinet Office lawyers told Mr Johnson that money would cease to be available if he breaks conditions such as releasing evidence without permission. The former PM vowed to send all his messages to the official investigation directly, circumventing the Cabinet Office. The Sunday Times detailed a letter sent by Cabinet Office lawyers to Mr Johnson last week. The funding offer will cease to be available to you if you knowingly seek to frustrate or undermine, either through your own actions or the actions of others, the governments position in relation to the inquiry unless there is a clear and irreconcilable conflict of interest on a particular point at issue, it said. The Cabinet Offices recent referral of Mr Johnson to police for suspected Covid rule breaches referral promoted a furious former PM to sack his team of government-appointed lawyers and ask for a new team at Peters & Peters law firm. The Cabinet Office has agreed to keep paying for the legal support, which is needed for the MPs privileges committee investigation. But the department warned that funding would only remain available if he complied with conditions such as sending the Cabinet Office material for the Covid inquiry for checks by officials. But former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, a staunch ally of Mr Johnson, said it was not a good look for the government, saying the messages should not be restricted by government. Tory donor Lord Cruddas, an outspoken backer of Mr Johnson, also urged his ally not to be held to ransom by the threat. Dont worry Boris Johnson I can easily get your legal fees funded by supporters and crowd funding, its easy, he tweeted. Mr Johnson wrote to the inquirys chair, Baroness Hallett, saying he was sending all the unredacted WhatsApps he had given to the Cabinet Office. He said he would like to do the same for the messages on an old phone he was told not to use after it emerged the number had been online for 15 years. That device will be crucial, containing discussions before May 2021. Mr Jenrick acknowledge this weeks warning letter to Mr Johnson, but told Sky News: Theres absolutely no sense that the government will restrict what Boris Johnson wants to say but if you use taxpayer funds, obviously you should make sure youre using them appropriately. A Cabinet Office spokesperson said the letter from officials simply reiterates that taxpayer-funded lawyers must be used to aid the Covid inquiry and for no other purpose, adding: This letter was intended to protect public funds. It in no way prevents Mr Johnson from providing whatever evidence he wants to. The Independent has approached No 10 for comment on claims by Johnson allies. Oman Cables Industry (OCI), the leading manufacturer of energy cables and innovative service provider in Oman, has announced the success of its inclusive share ownership plan. Unveiled in 2022, this ground-breaking initiative has now become a reality at OCI. The company witnesses its dedicated desk and non-desk workers embrace their new roles as shareholders of Prysmian Group, solidifying their stake in the company's future. OCI, in partnership with Prysmian Group, its strategic partner, rolled out the share-based variable remuneration and profit-sharing plan. This includes granting employees Prysmian Group shares based on achieving specific local and regional targets, approved by the Board of Directors. This initiative, part of OCI's 'Empowerment, Innovation and Excellence' vision, aims to enhance employee engagement, foster a sense of belonging and encourage exceptional performance, while aligning with Prysmian Group's framework for future success and sustainable developments. Profit-sharing Cinzia Farise, CEO of Oman Cables Industry, said: We are delighted with the success of our employee-centered profit-sharing plan. This significant achievement highlights our commitment to recognising and rewarding the dedication of our workforce and fostering an inclusive and diverse corporate culture. OCI is dedicated to discovering innovative ways to value and reward its employees, while simultaneously fostering their active participation in the success of our organisation. In line with Prysmian Group's Social Ambition 2030, which aims to have 50% of employees as shareholders, OCI has introduced a stock ownership plan that allows eligible employees to convert a portion or all their bonuses into company shares. This strategy incentivises participation, strengthens engagement, and reinforces the Group's performance. Enrolled OCI employees received a percentage of their monetary entitlement, equivalent to a predetermined share value calculated annually and on an individual basis, based on their bonus amounts. Parental policy As part of OCI's social ambition, the wellbeing of employees is a priority. The company has taken a significant step forward by implementing a new parental policy and flexi-time options, further demonstrating their dedication to employee engagement and empowerment. Under the new parental policy, OCI has extended the fully paid maternity coverage period from 12 weeks to 16 weeks. This extension reflects the company's commitment to supporting new mothers during this crucial time in their lives. Additionally, the company has extended paternity leave to 2 weeks, recognising the importance of fathers actively participating in their child's early development. Building upon their progressive approach, OCI has also implemented flexible working arrangement through their innovative flexi-time policy, prioritising employee flexibility and work-life balance. With this policy in place, employees have the opportunity to adjust their formal working hours during the week, while ensuring that the accomplishment of working hours and tasks assigned. Flexibility This level of flexibility allows individuals to choose their preferred start and end times, accommodating their personal needs and commitments. Farise expressed confidence in the positive impact of these new policies. She stated: "We firmly believe that these new policies will not only benefit our employees by promoting a healthier work-life balance, but also contribute to a more engaged and productive workforce. As part of our social ambition, we are committed to continuously evolving our practices to create a positive and supportive work environment for all our employees." This commitment to fostering a conducive work environment reflects OCI's dedication to the well-being and satisfaction of its workforce.-- TradeArabia News Service Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy 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 }} Rishi Sunak has made a big mistake by blocking the release of Boris Johnsons WhatsApps, giving the former prime minister a chance to enjoy a divisive row, a senior Tory peer has warned. Gavin Barwell, former No 10 chief of staff, said Mr Sunak was wrong to take legal action against the Covid inquiry because it had invited suspicion about the governments true motives for protecting the messages. The sense you get is Boris is enjoying this enjoying making life more awkward for Sunak, Lord Barwell told The Independent. Johnson allies have claimed that Mr Sunak was refusing to hand over messages due to fears they could show plots against the former prime minister or embarrassing details about the ex-chancellors Eat Out to Help Out scheme. One Johnson ally told the Mail on Sunday: What is Rishi hiding? Is it plotting against Boris with Dominic Cummings? Is it because he himself broke lockdown rules? Or does he fear that his Eat Out to Help Out scheme led to a significant number of deaths? Lord Barwell, Theresa Mays former chief of staff, dismissed the Johnson camps psychodrama, but added: Whether there is something in the WhatsApps that Johnson knows will be embarrassing for Sunak, I dont know. The Tory peer said he believed the government legal action was driven by the civil servants as much as the politicians but warned that the perception that Mr Sunak and other ministers may have something to hide was damaging. Its not a great look for the government, clearly, said Lord Barwell. If you think about those lost loved ones, its not going to instil confidence in them. And for some lockdown sceptics, people like [broadcaster] Julia Hartley-Brewer, they may say it confirms its all an establishment stitch-up. So if it increases scepticism, its quite damaging. The senior Tory added: It seems a political error to get into this row. The best way for Sunak to handle it is to provide the inquiry with what it needs. Trust the inquiry chairwoman [Lady Hallett] and let her get on with it. Rishi Sunak is under fire over his decision to block the Covid inquiry demands (PA) Robert Kerslake, the former head of the civil service, has also warned that the furore was ripe for exploitation by Mr Johnson who raised the stakes on Friday by turning over unredacted messages from May 2021 directly to Lady Halletts team. The former cabinet secretary told The Independent: Its turning into an internal wrangle within the Conservative Party. Boris may well see it as a way of creating a divide line between him and Sunak it could work to his advantage if Sunak is seen to be the one blocking. As the row escalated, a Whitehall source told the Mail on Sunday: The government has taken a judge to court to keep other ministers messages secret. Why? What is team Sunak trying to hide? The cover-up office is a shambles and its only a matter of time before heads roll. But a source close to Mr Sunak told The Independent: Its total rubbish as you can see from the Telegraphs lockdown files, Rishi Sunak barely uses WhatsApp. Asked about the claims by Johnson allies and whether Mr Sunak was trying to hide plots against Mr Johnson, immigration minister Robert Jenrick told Sky News: No the issue here is ... should you hand over material to the inquiry which has absolutely nothing to do with Covid. Mr Jenrick said it is not sensible or reasonable to share material unrelated to Covid and suggested a compromise was still possible, despite the judicial review. I hope this can be resolved indeed even before the matter gets to court, he added. Boris Johnson is still entitled to taxpayer-funded legal support (PA) The latest row comes as it emerged that Cabinet Office lawyers told Mr Johnson that taxpayer-funded legal support would cease to be available if he breaks conditions such as releasing evidence without permission. The former PM vowed to send all his messages to the official investigation directly, circumventing the Cabinet Office. The Sunday Times detailed a letter sent by Cabinet Office lawyers to Mr Johnson warning he could lose legal support if he tries to undermine the governments position. Mr Jenrick told Skys Sophy Ridge on Sunday that Mr Johnson was still at liberty to do as he wished. Theres absolutely no sense that the government will restrict what Boris Johnson wants to say but if you use taxpayer funds, obviously you should make sure youre using them appropriately. The dispute escalated as a lawyer representing the bereaved families warned that the cost of the judicial inquiry launched by the Sunak government could be around 500,000. Elkan Abrahamson, a solicitor who is representing the Covid bereaved families group, told The Independent that the cost of the governments legal action could run well into the six figures. Based on previous judicial reviews he has been involved in, where the cost of single application firms can be 30,000, Mr Abrahamson said. If you cost in judicial time, and Johnsons bill if he were joined in the proceedings, it could get to 500,000. Mr Sunak is under increasing pressure over his own role in key Covid-era decisions, such as the Eat Out to Help Out to boost the hospitality sector after the first lockdown. Prof John Edmunds of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine a member of the governments Sage committee said Eat Out to Help Out was a spectacularly stupid idea and an obscene way to spend public money. The former adviser told The Observer the August 2020 scheme to offer Britons a discount to eat out in restaurants and pubs was never discussed with scientists. The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK group told The Independent that Mr Sunak should stop trying to protect himself and hand over his own WhatsApps so crucial pandemic decisions including the Eat Out to Help Out scheme can be scrutinised. 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 immigration minister has claimed the UKs asylum system is riddled with abuse and revealed that migrants will be asked to share hotel rooms as the Government comes under pressure to reduce net migrations. Robert Jenrick said a lot of progress has been made on illegal migration in a short period of time, with really unique landmark deals with France seeing a big increase in the number of interceptions on the beaches. But he said the asylum system which according to him has a backlog of more than 150,000 cases must be changed fundamentally. Meanwhile, the BBC reported that the Home Office estimates it will have to spend between 3 billion and 6 billion on detention facilities, accommodation costs and removals under the current plans to tackle small boat crossings. Mr Jenrick told the BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: The asylum system is riddled with abuse, we have to be honest with ourselves. The way to tackle that is by changing fundamentally the way we handle asylum. Mr Jenrick said the Illegal Migration Bill to detain migrants who arrive through unauthorised means before returning them home or to a third country, such as Rwanda, will alleviate the pressure. That will create the deterrent we desperately need, it will break the business model of the people smuggle gangs and it will stop the system from coming under intolerable pressure like it is today, he said. Mr Jenrick said he does not think it is unreasonable to ask asylum seekers to share rooms after a group this week apparently refused to enter a hotel in Pimlico, central London, where the Home Office had asked them to sleep four people per room. In a letter to the Home Secretary, the leader of Westminster City Council expressed his deep concern that around 40 refugees were placed in the borough on Wednesday night without appropriate accommodation or support available and no prior communication with the local authority. Speaking about the incident, Mr Jenrick told the BBC: As I understand what happened here was that these migrants, who had themselves said that they were destitute, they had nowhere to stay, we had offered them a safe bed with board and lodgings in a good-quality hotel in central London. Yes, some of them had to share with other people. These are single adult males: I dont think thats unreasonable. We want to reduce the cost to the taxpayer. Some people said that wasnt good enough and they wanted their own ensuite bedrooms, and the Home Office took the perfectly reasonable view that weve got to look after the taxpayer here. And if youre genuinely destitute, of course youd accept that, and common sense prevailed and, I think, almost all of the migrants in question accepted the accommodation. He denied it is Government policy to tell asylum seekers they have to share four to a room in hotels, but said it is completely fair and reasonable to ask single adult males to share a room. We dont want to be using hotels at all. These are taking away valuable assets for the local business community, for society, you know, peoples weddings and personal events have had to be cancelled because of that. But where we are using them, its right that we get good value for money for the taxpayer. And so if single adult males can share a room, and its legal to do so, which will obviously depend on the size of the accommodation, then well ask people to do that. I think thats a completely fair and reasonable approach, he told Kuenssberg. Mr Jenrick said people arriving in small boats risk cannibalising the compassion of the UK public. He also told Sophy Ridge On Sunday on Sky News that young men putting overwhelming pressure on the asylum system are making it harder for the country to support people who genuinely need our help. Mr Jenrick told the programme that thousands of Albanians are returning to their home country. He added: There are hundreds of Albanians whove arrived on small boats who have been placed on those flights as a result of the processes we put in place and the agreements that weve reached with Albania. The reason that we are returning Albanians is to deter people from coming in the first place, and that is succeeding. He also said that migration targets are not particularly helpful, despite previous Tory promises. Mr Jenrick told the BBC: Net migration is far too high today. But asked about David Camerons 2010 pledge to reduce annual net migration below 100,000, Mr Jenrick said: I dont think that targets like that are particularly helpful because migration is an extremely challenging space where behaviours are constantly changing. Net migration to the UK is estimated to have reached a record 606,000 in 2022, up 24% from 488,000 in 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics. Responding to Mr Jenricks comments, Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: In the media today the Immigration Minister falsely claimed that most people arriving by boat are economic migrants and that the asylum system is riddled with abuse, when the truth is that the Governments own statistics show this to be untrue, as the majority of people crossing the Channel to the UK are eventually shown to be refugees. In fact, three-quarters of asylum claims are granted protection at the initial decision stage. Instead of explaining away failures in the asylum system, it is essential for the Government to keep a sustained focus on fixing the problems within the UK asylum system, starting with real commitment and resourcing to tackling the asylum backlog of 170,000. 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 Department of Defence scrambled fighter jets to intercept a private jet that entered Washington DC airspace and later crashed into mountainous terrain in southwest Virginia, officials said. The F-16s caused a sonic boom that shook houses across the US capital at around 3pm as they took off from Andrews Air Force Base in high speed pursuit of the Cessna Citation, a US official told Reuters. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told The Independent the aircraft had taken off from Tennessee bound for New York but had crashed into a sparsely populated area near Staunton, about 150 miles southwest of DC. There was no immediate word on whether there were any casualties, or how many people were on board the Cessna, which can seat up to 12 passengers. The fighter jets did not not cause the plane to crash, a US official told Reuters. A source told Reuters that the aircraft appeared to be on auto pilot and did not respond to authorities. The aircraft took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and was bound for Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York, an FAA spokesperson said in a statement. According to flight tracker website FlightRadar24, the plane passed its intended destination in Long Island, before doubling back towards Washington DC, passing uncomfortably close to the White House and the US Capitol building. It then began a rapid descent spiral shortly before crashing in southwest Virginia, flight paths showed. A Cessna Citation similar to the one that crashed into a Virginia mountain side on Sunday afternoon (File photo) (Getty Images) The fixed-wing, multi-engine plane is owned by Florida company Encore Motors of Melbourne, according to the FAA. The National Transportation Safety Board will lead an investigation into the crash, the FAA spokesperson said. The loud boom, as the fighter jets broke the speed of sound, shook houses and rattled windows in the capital, and was heard as far away as northern Virginia and Annapolis, Maryland, soon after 3pm. People all over DC area report hearing loud explosion shaking some houses, journalist Oliya Scootercaster posted. A Ring doorbell camera appeared to capture the sound at 3.07pm, according to footage posted to Twitter. Sonic Boom as heard by my dog Rocket in Fairfax Station. Shook the house. #sonicboom pic.twitter.com/WudmPif7uB Jared McQueen (@goodguyguybrush) June 4, 2023 A DoD spokesperson told The Independent that the North American Aerospace Defense Command was preparing to make a statement on the incident. After residents took to social media to seek information about the mystery boom, the City of Annapolis Office of Emergency Management said in a tweet that it came from an authorised DoD flight that had flown at faster than the speed of sound, causing a sonic boom. The DC Fire and EMS Twitter account said emergency response officials were aware of the reports of a loud boom in the area. Washington DC Metro police referred The Independent to the DoD for further information. Andrew Leydon, a DC-based freelance journalist, claimed the DC Air National Guard had been conducting drills over Chesapeake Bay on Sunday afternoon and was cleared to go supersonic during an alert scramble exercise. On the Radio Reference forum, users reported hearing an F-16 pilot say they had gone supersonic while flying Chesapeake Bay. The US Geological Survey did not report an earthquake on the East Coast at that time. Twitter users reported hearing the explosion as far away as Alexandria, Virginia. Thomas OBrien said in a tweet he had been on a FaceTime with family in Maryland who immediately got off the call because of the so-called explosion. Weird that nobody seems to know what caused it, he posted. 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 14-year-old boy who was shot to death over false allegations of shoplifting has been laid to rest in South Carolina. Family and loved ones gathered for a funeral at the Second Nazareth Baptist Church in Columbia on Saturday to honour the life of Cyrus Carmack-Belton. The teen was shot to death on 28 May allegedly by the owner of the Xpress Mart Shell after a verbal argument over false claims that he had shoplifted four bottles of water spilled onto the street. Authorities have said Cyrus was not stealing and had returned the water bottles to the refrigerator before he was chased out of the store and killed. The owner, 58-year-old Rick Chow, has been arrested and charged with murder after an autopsy determined Cyrus was running from his alleged killer and did not pose a threat. During her eulogy, Cyrus mother remembered her sons humour and wit, telling mourners she was grateful to have guided her son through life during his time on earth. I will miss you my sunshine, that infectious smile and unique laugh. Thank you God for entrusting me with your precious child by lending him to the world to teach us and shine his bright light upon us, Ms Carmack said, according to ABC News. Cyrus uncle Jimaar Carmack, who travelled from Texas to attend the service, also told Fox 57 that the Carmack-Belton family was thankful for the outpouring of support they have received following Cyrus tragic death. I will not kill another American over a drink, a piece of candy, a beer, a soda or anything of the sort. Life is more precious than a bottle of water, Mr Carmack told the outlet. The night before the funeral was held, dozens gathered for a community prayer vigil down the road where Cyrus was shot to death. Community leaders took turns to decry the senseless killing and demand justice for the teens family. I am angry, Richland County Councilwoman Yvonne McBride said, per local news outlet WLTX. Im angry about what happened. Im angry because a young innocent baby was taken brutally from us. Mourners stop by a memorial to Cyrus Carmack-Belton on Thursday, June 1, 2023, in Columbia, (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) A memorial for Cyrus Carmack-Belton at the site where he was shot to death (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Members of the community also expressed worries for their own children, noting that some situations could turn deadly due to the colour of their skin. Todd Rutherford, an attorney for the Carmack-Belton family, also told The Independent in a statement last week that he believed Cyrus was racially profiled by Mr Chow, who is an Asian American. When [his] mother sent this picture to me I had to do a double take because he looked so much like my middle son, Mr Rutherford said. What happened to him wasnt an accident, its something that the Black community has experienced for generations: being racially profiled, then shot down in the street like a dog. Words cant describe the pain I feel having known this family for decades. Mr Rutherford has created a GoFundMe to support the family. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said at a Monday press conference that there was no evidence Cyrus was shoplifting. The video footage that we have seen shows him picking some items up, not stealing them, and then he politely and quickly put the items back where he found them, Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford said in a video statement, noting that the altercation between Mr Chow and the teen did not become physical. (WLTX/Screenshot) The teen then fled the store and was pursued by Mr Chow, who was armed with a pistol, and his son. Mr Chow legally owned the gun and it is believed that he had a concealed weapons permit, the sheriff said. As they ran by nearby apartments, Cyrus reportedly fell and got back up. Sheriff Lott said Mr Chow then fired his weapon, striking Cyrus in the back. Mr Chows son had reportedly said moments before that the teen had a gun. Even if he had shoplifted four bottles of water, which he had taken out of the cooler and then put back even if he had done that, thats not something you should shoot anybody over, much less a 14-year-old, Sheriff Lott said. You just dont do that. Although a gun was recovered in the proximity of the teens body, authorities have said that the single shot that killed him was consistent with wounds that victims sustain while running away from an attacker. There is no evidence that the teen ever pointed the gun at Mr Chow, investigators say. A sign calling for justice is for Cyrus Carmack-Belton is seen outside a gas station on Thursday, June 1, 2023 (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Deputies responding to the scene found Cyrus on the side of the road. A bystander was performing CPR on him before paramedics took over, according to USA TODAY. Cyrus died from a single gunshot wound to his right lower back at the hospital. Coroner Naida Rutherford said the bullet caused a haemorrhage and damage to his heart. It seems to be consistent with someone who was running away from the assailants and so we are confident that this was done in a manner that we will now classify as a homicide, the coroner said. This was not an accidental shooting by any means ... This was a very intentional shooting. And unfortunately, Cyrus Carmack-Belton lost his life. Mr Chow appeared in court on 30 May and was ordered to be held in jail pending a bail hearing. 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 former Chicago police officer has been accused of lying about getting his vehicle stolen by an ex-girlfriend to get out of paying 44 traffic tickets. Jeffrey Kriv, 56, is facing felony perjury and forgery charges for the alleged scheme that spanned a decade and saved him $3,665, according to an in-depth joint report by The Chicago Tribune and ProPublica. Cook County prosecutors claim Mr Kriv successfully used the same excuse at least 44 times since 2013. The last time he did, in September 2022, Mr Kriv allegedly told a judge that he had a fight with his then-girlfriend the morning the ticket was issued and she went on to steal his car. Like several times before, Mr Kriv showed the court what he claimed was legitimate documentation, including allegedly forged police reports of the supposed theft. Well, I had her arrested, Mr Kriv said, according to court transcripts reviewed by the Tribune and ProPublica. They charged her with a misdemeanour trespassing to a vehicle ... She got, like, three months supervision or something like that. Its kind of a, I dont want to say the systems like a joke, but it didnt really do anything. The investigative report also uncovered several complaints filed against Mr Kriv from the time he joined the Chicago Police Department in 1996 until his retirement on 17 January of this year. Despite having 20 suspensions totalling 170 days throughout his time in the force, department officials never attempted to fire Mr Kriv until five days before his retirement. The city first became aware of Mr Krivs alleged forgery crimes after a tip was sent to the Office of Inspector General last year. The information alleged that Mr Kriv used the same alibi when contesting dozens of tickets in the last decade, which ranged from speeding, running a red light and parking where it was not allowed. Tim Grace, an attorney for Mr Kriv, downplayed the accusations, saying his clients character has been misconstrued. Many of the facts you compose are incomplete or not true, Mr Grace told the Tribune and ProPublica in a statement, noting upwards of 100 recognitions Mr Kriv has reportedly been awarded. Officer Kriv has served his city with honour for over 25-plus years. According to the Citizen Police Data Project, Mr Kriv had 76 allegations and 39 use of force reports, more than 99 per cent of other officers. Records show that Mr Kriv had a long disciplinary history during the 27 nearly years he served. Jeffrey Kriv, 56, is facing felony perjury and forgery charges for the alleged scheme that spanned a decade and saved him $3,665 (WGN/Screenshot ) According to those reports, Mr Kriv reportedly used a flashlight to break the window of a mans car during a traffic stop, punched another man who was handcuffed in the back of his car and described a woman as white trash in an incident report. Mr Kriv was suspended for 20 days in 2005 for threatening sanitation workers to ticket their cars after a city Streets and Sanitation Department employee rightfully towed his personal vehicle. The next year, he was suspended for 90 days for leaving the scene of a vehicle fire to visit a waitress at a strip club. He went back to work after just 45 days. A woman also told the Tribune and ProPublica that Mr Kriv punched her in the face after arresting her for a domestic fight. The charges against the woman were dismissed and she was paid $100,000 in a settlement after suing Mr Kriv and the city. I had to have surgery. I had to have plastic implanted under my eye because of this, the woman told the publications. My face is not symmetrical anymore. He really messed me up on the outside. And inside it was a really traumatic experience. Mr Kriv was ordered released on his own recognizance in January. He last appeared in court in March. The Independent has reached out to his attorney. 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 burning body of a woman who disappeared after reportedly going to make a Facebook Marketplace purchase was found by police in Alabama on Friday, authorities say. Jermiera Ivory Fowler, 31, was reported missing on Thursday (1 June) by concerned family after apparently going to meet an online seller the previous day, the Birmingham Police Department said in a statement. At 9pm that night, officers were called to reports of a burning body in an area near the 200 Block of Sellers Rd, a dead end street in a wooded area. Birmingham Fire and Rescue officers extinguished the fire, and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene, Birmingham police said. Authorities said they launched a homicide investigation after identifying the remains as Fowler. She had visible signs of trauma, and had suffered a gunshot wound prior to being set alight, police said. Police have not yet made any arrests or identified a suspect. They say they cannot confirm that the Facebook Marketplace meeting is linked to the homicide. Jermiera Ivory Fowler, 31, disappeared after going to make a Facebook Marketplace purchase, authorities in Alabama say (Birmingham Police Department) According to an earlier missing person release, Fowler was last been seen at about 4pm on Wednesday in the 500 block of 41st Street North, six miles from where her body was found. She had been driving a white Nissan Versa Note. Fowlers death marks the 50th homicide in Birmingham so far in 2023, according to the police department. The Independent has contacted Facebooks parent company Meta for comment. 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 Texas cheerleader who was shot after her friend opened the door of the wrong car has opened up about the traumatising ordeal. Payton Washington, 18, was shot allegedly by 25-year-old Pedro Tello Rodriguez in an act of random violence in the city of Elgin on 18 April. Before the violence unfolded, Payton had parked in a grocery store parking lot which serves as a carpool pickup spot for members of their cheerleading team. Heather Roth, one of four team members transferring rides in the lot after practice, told authorities she got out of a friends car and into a car she thought was her own, but there was a stranger in the passenger seat. She said she panicked and got back into her friends car, but the man got out of his vehicle, pulled out a gun and opened fire. Speaking to ABCs Good Morning America, Ms Washington, who suffered three gunshot wounds to her lower back and leg, said the recovery process has been physically and emotionally challenging but added that she is coping as best she can. Ms Washington said she only realised where she had been shot after her friend pulled over and she saw blood on her own seat. She then began coughing up blood on the side of the road and had to be airlifted to a hospital in Austin to treat life-threatening damage to her stomach, spleen, diaphragm and pancreas. I knew somewhere, I was bleeding, but I had so much to juggle, I didnt know where, Ms Washington recalled in the interview aired on Friday. And then, whenever we pulled over ... I was throwing up blood and I was like, Oop, that is not normal. Ms Washington said that she was texting and eating Twizzlers when the suspect opened fire on her and her friends. Mr Rodriguez has been charged with engaging in deadly conduct, a third-degree felony. He reportedly surrendered to police and was released after his bail was lowered from $500,000 to $100,000. An attorney for Mr Rodriguez told Insider that his client was an employee at the grocery store. Mr Rodriguez claimed through his lawyer that he had previously been robbed at gunpoint while inside his vehicle and feared that a similar situation was unfolding when the teen entered the car by mistake. Peyton Washington had to be airlifted to a hospital in Austin to treat life-threatening damage to herstomach, spleen, diaphragm and pancreas (Peyton Washington ) I didnt see him, honestly. I was still looking at my phone, Ms Washington told GMA. I kind of heard what was going on in the background but I didnt think itd be as big of a deal as it was. [Ms Roth] just kept saying, Im sorry, Im sorry. Ms Roth was grazed by a bullet as one of the other three teens who were inside the vehicle drove away in a desperate attempt to escape the shots being fired at the group. This image provided by the Elgin Police Department shows Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr. who is charged with engaging in deadly conduct (Elgin Police Department) I was just telling myself to breathe, it was hard to breathe because of my diaphragm, Ms Washington recounted. I was just trying to stay as calm as possible for the other people in the car. I could tell how sad and scared they were. The accomplished athlete said she had struggled in the aftermath of the shooting to come to terms with her new temporary physical limitations amid an intensive and arduous recovery. My spleen was shattered. My stomach had two holes in it. And my diaphragm had two holes in it. And then they had to remove a lobe from my pancreas. I had 32 staples, she recounted. It was hard. It hurting to walk or stand when a week before I was doing a bunch of flips, running, the track ... cant get out of bed by yourself, cant roll off the couch, cant stand by yourself ... it was hard. Ms Washington, who graduated last week, said she is determined to make a full recovery and go back to cheerleading soon. You can literally do anything if you push and you persevere, she told GMA. Dont doubt yourself ever because you can do anything as long as youre putting your 120 per cent into it. 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 Washington state woman who refused a judges order to isolate or have treatment for infectious tuberculosis has been arrested. The woman, identified only as V.N. in court papers, was booked into a negative pressure room at the Pierce County Jail on Thursday, more than three months after a judge issued a rare civil arrest warrant, authorities said. She will be housed in a room specially equipped for isolation, testing and treatment, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said in a statement. We are hopeful she will choose to get the life-saving treatment she needs to treat her tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a lung and throat disease that can easily spread where people gather in crowds or live in crowded conditions, according to the Mayo Clinic. The health department initially ordered the woman to isolate in January 2022 after being diagnosed with tuberculosis, the health department said. Health officials in Pierce County said they had worked with the womans family for a year to persuade her to protect herself and avoid passing the disease to others. After 15 court hearings to force her to comply, the county was granted a civil arrest warrant in March by Judge Philip Sorenson to forcibly detain her. In a statement, Sergeant Darren Moss from the Pierce County Sheriffs Office told The Independent that the woman was taken into custody in her home without incident. The Sheriffs department was responsible for detaining her, transporting her to the jail and holding her in a secure area that would not spread the disease and allows for her care and treatment, Sgt Moss said. We have done that, everything else is on the courts and health department, so I cant really comment too much on what else will happen from here. Under Washington state law, health providers are required to report cases and work with patients to make sure they get treatment to cure active cases of the disease. It was just the third time in two decades that the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department had sought such an order, they said in a statement. In each case like this, we are constantly balancing risk to the public and the civil liberties of the patient, it said. According to the World Health Organisation, tuberculosis was the 13th leading cause of death in the world in 2021 with 1.6 million fatalities. It was the second deadliest infectious disease after Covid-19. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 13 million people live with inactive TB. 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 }} Poland's largest opposition party is leading a march Sunday meant to mobilize voters against the right-wing government, which it accuses of eroding democracy and following Hungary and Turkey down the path to autocracy. Donald Tusk, the country's former prime minister, has called on Poles to to march with him for the sake of the nation's future. His party and security officials predicted that tens of thousands of people will join the demonstration. Media not aligned with the government said it could be among the biggest protests in post-communist Poland. Supporters of the march have warned that elections this fall might be the last chance to stop the erosion of democracy under the ruling party, Law and Justice. In power since 2015, Law and Justice has found a popular formula, combining higher social spending with socially conservative policies and support for the church in the mostly Catholic nation. However, critics have warned for years that it is reversing many of the democratic achievements of the 1980s. Even the United States government has intervened at times when it felt the government was eroding press freedom and academic freedom in the area of Holocaust research. Critics point mainly to the party's step-by-step takeover of most of the judiciary as well as its use of state media for heavy-handed propaganda used to tarnish opponents. It has also tapped into animosity against minorities, particularly LGBTQ people, whose struggle for rights it depicts as a threat to families and national identity. A clampdown on abortion rights has triggered mass protests. The march is being held on the 34th anniversary of the first democratic elections in 1989, after Poland emerged from decades of communist rule. It will be a test for Tusks Civic Platform, a centrist and pro-European party which has been trailing in polls behind Law and Justice, but which seems set to gain more support after the passage of a controversial law. The law allows for the creation of a commission to investigate Russian influence in Poland. Critics argue that the commission would have unconstitutional powers, including the capacity to exclude officials from public life for a decade. They fear it will be used by the ruling party to remove Tusk and other opponents from public life. Amid uproar in Poland and criticism from the U.S. and the EU, President Andrzej Duda, who signed the law on Monday, was already proposing amendments to it on Friday. Some Poles say it could come to resemble the investigations of Joseph McCarthy, the U.S. senator whose anti-Communist campaign in the early 1950s led to hysteria and political persecution. That fear was underlined last weekend when the ruling party leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, was asked by a reporter if he still had trust in the defense minister in connection with a Russian missile that fell in Poland in December. "I am forced ... to view you as a representative of the Kremlin," Kaczynski told the reporter. Because only the Kremlin wants this man to stop being the minister of national defense. The journalist's employer, TVN, called it the latest attack on independent media. Paradoxically, the plans for the new commission appeared to mobilize greater support for Tusk. Tusk, who is also a former EU council president, had called for the march weeks ago, urging people to demonstrate against high prices, theft and lies, for free elections and a democratic, European Poland. The reception was mixed. Initially some opposition figures planned to stay away. But after Duda signed the law, other opposition leaders announced they would join in. Law and Justice sought to discourage participation in the march with a video spot using Auschwitz as a theme drawing criticism from the state museum that preserves the site. Poland is expected to hold general elections in October, though a date has not yet been set. 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 }} Lauren Boebert has claimed that she intentionally missed the House vote on the debt ceiling deal - after reports that she actually tried to attend but was too late. The Colorado Republican emerged as one of the fiercest critics of the debt ceiling deal brokered by House leader Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden to avoid a catastrophic default. But when it was time for the House of Representatives to cast their votes on Wednesday night, she failed to show up. Ms Boebert was mocked on social media after she reportedly narrowly missed the vote, running up the steps right as they gaveled, according to Axios Capitol Hill reporter Juliegrace Brufke. But Ms Boebert sought to refute that account in a video message on Saturday after Mr Biden signed the legislation - which she branded a c**p sandwich. No excuses, I was ticked off they wouldnt let me do my job, so I didnt take the vote, she said in blurry footage filmed outside. Once again Washingtons power machine shoved a multi-trillion-dollar bill down our throats, refused to allow debate or amendments, disregarded everything we fought for in January to actually allow representatives to do their jobs. Instead, they served us up a c**p sandwich. She went on to claim that she made her stance known - despite not doing it in the way that matters: the vote. Call it a no-show protest, but I certainly let all of my colleagues and the country know I was against this garbage of a bill, and against bypassing the voice of each representative, she said. Deals cut in the dark are why were headed towards $36 trillion in debt, and I refuse to be a part of it. Spencer Soicher, a reporter from Ms Boeberts home state of Colorado, previously pointed out that she had made 23 Twitter posts in the past week voicing her displeasure with the compromise deal. Democrat Adam Frisch, who in 2022 lost his bid to unseat Ms Boebert in Colorados third district by just 546 votes, wrote on Twitter: How can you represent #CO03 when you dont even show up? What was more important than voting? Jon Cooper, who chairs The Democratic Coalition, tweeted: Lauren Boebert was a vocal opponent of the bipartisan debt ceiling bill but she ended up MISSING tonight's vote entirely. Is anyone surprised? How can you represent #CO03 when you dont even show up? What was more important than voting? https://t.co/txFyN21ukR Adam Frisch for CD-3 (@AdamForColorado) June 1, 2023 Ms Boebert had earlier vowed to vote against the debt ceiling deal, saying on Tuesday that the bill was a bunch of fake news and fake talking points that did nothing to rein in federal spending. If every Republican voted the way that they campaigned, they would vote against tomorrow's bad deal. The House voted overwhelmingly by 314 to 117 to raise the debt limit, after Republicans were given concessions to cut IRS funding and increase work requirements on social spending programmes. A total of 71 Republicans voted against the deal, along with 46 Democrats, avoiding an apocalyptic scenario where the US would default on its debts. The bill then passed the Senate before landing on Mr Bidens desk. Alotta Shadow struts across an outdoor stage, dressed in a sparkling lavender gown and dramatically lip syncing to a 40 strong crowd of families and onlookers. Control your urges to scream about all the people you hate, she mock-sings, striking a pose. Some teenage crowd members shout along with her, pumping their fists in the air with big smiles. 'Cause shade never made anybody less gay! they chant. As of May 22, Alotta Shadow and her six fellow drag performers are breaking the law. House Bill 359 prohibits public drag performances, specifically targeting Drag Queen Story Hours and shows aimed at kids. Supporting senators such as Braxton Mitchell said drag was sick and damaging to a childs psychology and general welfare. But to Shadow, drag is a saving grace, an art form entirely dedicated to authenticity and self love. Thats why she helped plan Red Lodges first Pride in recent memory, which included a family friendly show at the Roosevelt Center on June 3. Seven drag performers lip synced to songs like Bet on it, from High School Musical 2 and a rock cover of How Far Ill Go, from Moana. They jumped off the stage and high-fived attendees, sometimes pausing to tell jokes and teach American Sign Language. It's part of a larger sweep of pride events led by Montana Pride, a branch of the nonprofit Happiness & Joy Foundation celebrating its 30th year. While previously a once-a-year event that moved from town to town, Montana Pride has expanded to multiple events in towns across the state. Red Lodge Pride is third on the list this year, preceded by Lewistown Pride in April and Bozeman Pride in May. Next in line is Kalispell Pride, Missoula Pride, Billings Pride and Helena Pride, extending as far as August. For Shannon and Paige Spencer, mom and child residents of Belfry, its a grateful change that makes celebrating themselves far easier. Paige Spencer, a 16 year old high school student and self proclaimed King of the Pansexuals, had never been to a Pride event before. He and his mom had planned to come to Billings Pride, but the pandemic and life had made it hard to make the effort. Local events make it possible for the Spencers to make the journey, Shannon explained. Paige came dressed in a pink, yellow and blue cape, a plastic crown and a painted wooden sword, eager to take pictures with the drag performers. The safest Ive felt has been around drag queens, Shannon Spencer said. Theyre a part of an awesome community, and the law is ridiculous. Hayden Ramsey, representing Domestic and Sexual Violence Services in Carbon County, said she was aware the drag show was against the law but didnt care. She tabled at the Pride event, handing out stickers and pamphlets about resources and red flags in relationships. Domestic violence is all about imbalance in power, Ramsey said. The public drag ban could be used against transgender and queer people even out of drag, she explained, creating greater risk for LGBTQ people to face abuse at home. It adds to that imbalance of power, she said. We want LGBT people to know that were here for them, too, she said. Thats why Im here. And if I get arrested for it, Im ready. Its our job to be on the front lines to stand up for the vulnerable. The penalty for public drag shows is $1,000-5,000 for the first offense, usually fined against the hosts of the event. Currently, there is no criminal charge associated with public drag performance. However, the broad writing of the law has been used to restrict transgender people from public appearances. On Thursday, a public library in Butte canceled a transgender authors First Friday appearance, citing the public drag ban. The event was not scheduled to include any drag, but the laws writing could be interpreted to include transgender people. Were already seeing it beginning, transman Isaac Samson said. The law could be used against [non-transgender] people who express themselves differently. The law could be used against transgender people just living their lives. Our existence is threatened. He and his wife, a drag queen who goes by Eunice Bourgeois, have lived in Montana their whole lives, but theyve considered moving because of the new law. Even living in Missoula, a place they consider to be the safest for queer people in Montana, they say theyve seen bigotry in action. Thats why we need things like Pride, Samson said. People say were shoving it down their throats. Really, were just being visible. Were normalizing our happiness. The sentiment was shared across many of the performers and the attendees. Rexx Pistols, a drag king and a transman, said hes afraid to legally transition because he wants to adopt a child one day. Drag is how he said he expresses his masculinity and showmanship. Alotta Shadow, one of the key organizers and a transwoman, found her identity through drag. After facing years of judgment so severe she considered taking her own life, she said seeing herself in drag made her realize who she could become, even outside of the costume: a confident woman who didnt need to be ashamed. Drag saved my life, Shadow said. If I can offer that to anyone else, like a kid trying to figure out who they are, or someone who's known who they are for years but couldnt say it, then I wont stop. I refuse to stop. 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 }} Marjorie Taylor Greene has blamed liberal philanthropist George Soros and supposed concerns for Capitol security for abruptly reversing her position on releasing footage of the January 6 riot. After previously calling for the tapes of the insurrection to be shared publicly, the Georgia congresswoman said on Friday that it could endanger the safety at the Capitol and of those who were present during the rioting but did not commit any crimes. If we released these video tapes just widely for the public number one, we put the security of the Capitol at risk, because theres over 1,700 video cameras, she said in an interview with the right-wing Real Americas Voice channel. We also endanger many Americans that were simply standing on the Capitol grounds, maybe never even walked through the Capitol or committed any crimes, but they could have just walked further than where the barrier was simply because the barrier was torn down by the time they got there, she added. Ms Greene claimed that Soros groups would scour the tapes using facial recognition technology to compile evidence and hand it over to the FBI. She added that those who committed violent crimes against law enforcement should be punished, but those that simply attended the rally didnt deserve to be persecuted. In a later tweet, she wrote: Sedition Hunters would spend every second of every day analysing the videos in order to hunt innocent people that just stood on Capitol grounds on J6. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green says releasing the Jan 6 tapes would endanger law-abiding protesters (AFP via Getty Images) As recently as a month ago, Ms Greene said she supported the unfettered release of footage captured on Capitol security cameras during the riot by an armed mob of Trump supporters. We need to release the J6 tapes to a public on line source so that everyone knows what did and didnt happen, we need to restore fair justice, and America can move on, she said in May. In February, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy handed over 44,000 hours of footage to then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Mr Carlson then produced a much-derided segment which sanitized the extreme violence committed against law enforcement officers, calling it mostly peaceful chaos. Then last week, Ms Greene announced the footage would be handed over to right-wing commentator John Solomon, Julie Kelly, a writer at conservative website American Greatness, and a third, unnamed outlet. Meanwhile, nine media companies including CNN, the New York Times and Politico are suing the Department of Justice under the Freedom of Information Act for the tapes to be released. 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 }} Ron DeSantis has presented his definition of his favourite word - woke - days after Donald Trump said half the people cant define it. Look, we know what woke is, its a form of cultural Marxism, Mr DeSantis told NBC News journalist Dasha Burns on a campaign stop in Iowa on Saturday. Its about putting merit and achievement behind identity politics, and its basically a war on the truth. And as that has infected institutions, and it has corrupted institutions. So, youve got to be willing to fight the woke, weve done that in Florida, and we proudly consider ourselves the state where woke goes to die. Two days earlier, Mr Trump took a veiled shot at the Florida governor by criticising overuse of the Republican buzzword at his own campaign event in Iowa on Thursday. I dont like the term woke because I hear, Woke, woke, woke. Its just a term they use, half the people cant even define it, they dont know what it is, Mr Trump said at the Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale, Iowa, on Thursday. During the event, Mr Trump attacked trans athletes, a popular right-wing grievance, calling it a woke issue before catching himself. I guess they define that as woke, but thats all woke. We have to bring common sense back to the country, he said. Hours later, Mr Trump repeatedly used the word during a Fox News town hall with Sean Hannity. The former president regularly uses woke to attack opponents, and just last month his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, announced the launch of a non-woke mens lifestyle magazine. The magazine, which is called Field Ethos, says that it will focus on a forgotten lifestyle to those who refuse to conform, with fishing and hunting articles written by old-school adventurers who make no apologies for who we are. Yes, Im publishing a non-woke mens lifestyle magazine. Check it out and subscribe today.https://t.co/waUJUvntGt pic.twitter.com/dhHwzoRnW3 Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 18, 2023 Mr DeSantis is also obsessed with the term and has said as president he would destroy the woke mind virus. In 2021, Mr DeSantis also signed into law Floridas Stop WOKE Act, which banned college professors in the state from teaching critical race theory. 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 grand jury hearing evidence in the federal investigation into Donald Trumps handling of classified documents is expected to reconvene this week, according to a new report. The news signals that Special Counsel Jack Smiths probe into the former president may be moving closer to a possible indictment, according to NBC News. The grand jury has been hearing evidence and witness testimony for several months, but had been on a recent hiatus, according to the report. Prosecutors are investigating whether Mr Trump mishandled classified documents and later obstructed efforts to retrieve them. The development comes after CNN revealed that the Trump legal team had been unable to locate a classified document he referred to on tape. The network had earlier broke the news that a recording existed of the former president acknowledging that he had held onto a classified Pentagon document outlining a potential attack on Iran. Attorneys for Mr Trump could not find the document he referred to when they turned over material in mid-March in response to a federal subpoena relating to the investigation, according to the report. This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on 30 August 2022, shows classified documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago. (DOJ/AP) Mr Trump has already been indicted in New York on state charges that he paid illegal hush money payments in the lead up to the 2016 presidential election. But should Mr Smith move forward with the indictment, it would be the first time a sitting or former US president has faced federal charges. Mr Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. In June 2022, FBI agents visited his private club Mar-a-Lago to retrieve documents he had taken with him when he left the White House. Mr Trump turned over 38 classified documents, and his attorneys pledged in writing that they had completed a thorough search of the property. The Justice Department obtained a search warrant for the former presidents home in August, and later said they retrieved 300 papers marked classified. Mr Trumps attorneys sought to blame the oversight on White House staff in a letter to Congress in April. He could face charges relating to the handling of classified documents or obstructing investigators from recovering the materials. Mr Trump has previously said that he had the power to declassify documents simply by thinking about it. 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 }} Watching imagery from a drone camera overhead, Ukrainian battalion commander Oleg Shiryaev warned his men in nearby trenches that Russian forces were advancing across a field toward a patch of trees outside the city of Bakhmut. The leader of the 228th Battalion of the 127th Kharkiv Territorial Defense Brigade then ordered a mortar team to get ready. A target was locked. A mortar tube popped out a loud orange blast, and an explosion cut a new crater in an already pockmarked hillside. We are moving forward, Shiryaev said after at least one drone image showed a Russian fighter struck down. We fight for every tree, every trench, every dugout." Russian forces declared victory in the eastern city last month after the longest, deadliest battle since their full-scale invasion of Ukraine began 15 months ago. But Ukrainian defenders like Shiryaev aren't retreating. Instead, they are keeping up the pressure and continuing the fight from positions on the western fringes of Bakhmut. The pushback gives commanders in Moscow another thing to think about ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive that appears to be taking shape. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Russia sought to create the impression of calm around Bakhmut, but in fact, artillery shelling still goes on at levels similar to those at the height of the battle to take the city. The fight, she said, is evolving into a new phase. The battle for the Bakhmut area hasn't stopped; it is ongoing, just taking different forms, said Maliar, dressed in her characteristic fatigues in an interview from a military media center in Kyiv. Russian forces are now trying but failing to oust Ukrainian fighters from the dominant heights overlooking Bakhmut. We are holding them very firmly, she said. From the Kremlin's perspective, the area around Bakhmut is just part of the more than 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) front line that the Russian military must hold. That task could be made more difficult by the withdrawal of the mercenaries from private military contractor Wagner Group who helped take control of the city. They will be replaced with Russian soldiers. For Ukrainian forces, recent work has been opportunistic trying to wrest small gains from the enemy and taking strategic positions, notably from two flanks on the northwest and southwest, where the Ukrainian 3rd Separate Assault Brigade has been active, officials said. Russia had envisioned the capture of Bakhmut as partial fulfillment of its ambition to seize control of the eastern Donbas region, Ukraines industrial heartland. Now, its forces have been compelled to regroup, rotate fighters and rearm just to hold the city. Wagners owner announced a pullout after acknowledging the loss of more than 20,000 of his men. Maliar described the nine-month struggle against Wagner forces in nearly existential terms: If they had not been destroyed during the defense of Bakhmut, one can imagine that all these tens of thousands would have advanced deeper into Ukrainian territory. The fate of Bakhmut, which lays largely in ruins, has been overshadowed in recent days by near-nightly attacks on Kyiv, a series of unclaimed drone strikes near Moscow and the growing anticipation that Ukraine's government will try to regain ground. But the battle for the city could still have a lingering impact. Moscow has made the most of its capture, epitomized by triumphalism in Russian media. Any slippage of Russias grip would be a political embarrassment for President Vladimir Putin. Michael Kofman of the Center for Naval Analyses, a U.S. research group, noted in a podcast this week that the victory brings new challenges in holding Bakhmut. With Wagner fighters withdrawing, Russian forces are going to be increasingly fixed to Bakhmut ... and will find it difficult to defend, Kofman told War on the Rocks" in an interview posted Tuesday. And so they may not hold on to Bakhmut, and the whole thing may have ended up being for nothing for them down the line, he added. A Western official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Russian airborne forces are heavily involved in replacing the departing Wagner troops a step that is "likely to antagonize the airborne leadership, who see the duty as a further erosion of their previously elite status" in the military. Ukrainian forces have clawed back slivers of territory on the flanks a few hundred meters (yards) per day to solidify defensive lines and seek opportunities to retake some urban parts of the city, said one Ukrainian analyst. The goal in Bakhmut is not Bakhmut itself, which has been turned into ruins, military analyst Roman Svitan said by phone. The goal for the Ukrainians is to hold on to the western heights and maintain a defensive arc outside the city. More broadly, Ukraine wants to weigh down Russian forces and capture the initiative ahead of the counteroffensive part of what military analysts call shaping operations to set the terms of the battle environment and put an enemy in a defensive, reactive posture. Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the east, said the strategic goal in the Bakhmut area was to restrain the enemy and destroy as much personnel and equipment as possible while preventing a Russian breakthrough or outflanking maneuver. Analyst Mathieu Boulegue questioned whether Bakhmut would hold lessons or importance for the war ahead. Military superiority matters, he said, but so does information superiority the ability to create subterfuge, to create obfuscation of your force, to be able to move in the shadows." Boulegue, a consulting fellow with the Russia and Eurasia program at the Chatham House think tank in London, said those tactics could determine which side gains an advantage that catches the other side by surprise, and turns the tide of the war. Keaten reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Associated Press writers Hanna Arhirova and Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. 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 prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case has claimed he became the focus of the investigation after a former friend alleged he made a chilling comment about the case, according to reports. German prisoner Christian Brueckner was first named in connection with the unsolved mystery in the summer of 2020, and officially named as a suspect last year. His yellow and white VW T3 Westfalia campervan was reportedly identified as having been near to the Praia da Luz resort in Portugal where the young girl went missing on May 3, 2007. Three-year-old Madeleine disappeared from the bed of her holiday apartment while her parents and family friends dined 180 feet away. The Metropolitan Police took over the investigation, Operation Grange, in 2011 but they hit dead ends. There has not been another significant suspect in the case since 2007 until Brueckner. German prisoner Christian Brueckner was first named in connection with the unsolved mystery in the summer of 2020 (Italian Carabinieri) Brueckner is in prison in Germany for the rape of a woman in Praia da Luz in 2005, and is suspected of further rapes and child sexual abuse committed in the area between 2000 and 2017. During his time in prison, he is said to have written several letters in a bid to clear his name and complain about his treatment in prison. According to a letter seen by the Daily Mail, Brueckner claimed he became a key suspect after his former friend told police he said yes, she did not scream when talking about the case around one year after Madeleine disappeared. According to the newspaper, Brueckner said the claim is "not even worthy of comment. He said that he was then hunted by police after his friend made the allegation to police. The Daily Mail said Brueckner refers to a statement made to the police by Helge Busching - who reportedly contacted police in 2017 saying he had information on the case. He wrote: The following sentences from the witness Helge B in 2017 were responsible for all the public hunting and hatred against me by the German authorities. Madeleine McCann disappeared from a Portugal holiday resort in 2007 (PA Media) Then Brueckner relates an alleged conversation at a festival in Spain in 2008, one year after Madeleine disappeared. He quotes Busching as having said: (Seyferth another witness) was also there as well and Michael (Tatschl another witness), Manfred, Christian and I then started talking about Portugal. "It was then Christian made a comment about the missing girl. Christian asked me if I was still going to Portugal, I replied; Im no longer going to Portugal because there are too many problems there, Portugal has too many police for me on account of the missing child. "It is indeed strange that she disappeared without a trace. Christian replied:Yes, she did not scream. Brueckners lawyer Friedrich Fulscher told the newspaper: It remains to be seen whether this conversation took place at all as we have other witnesses who said it didnt. Brueckner claims that the last time he had a conversation with Busching was in 2007 about a drug deal between them. Busching was arrested in 2017 while trying to smuggle migrants from Greece to Italy. It is claimed that he gave the statement to the police after his arrest. 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 aerospace engineer and entrepreneur who left the USSR as a child has created robot planes that he says could change the world and hopes theyll be used in the war to help his birthplace. Gene Avakyan knows what its like to grow up during times of tension, having been born in Kyiv, Ukraine, before leaving the country when he was just nine years old fleeing in the middle of the night and made to walk a gauntlet of soldiers with AK-47s just to get on a train. Follow our live blog for latest updates on Russias war in Ukraine Since then, his life has changed dramatically, with the 52-year-old falling in love with aviation and space travel as a teenager, and dedicating his time to developing new technologies in this area. The founder of Edison Aerospace, who has 10,000 followers on Instagram (@geneavakyan), originally launched the company to create robotic aircraft for crop-dusting, but now hopes that his creations can help swing the war in his home countrys favour. He has been in talks with US defence officials and Ukrainian politicians about aircraft designs for military use including ones for locating anti-aircraft missile batteries and for delivering cargo and dropping munitions. When I left Ukraine I was nine years old and it was 1980 we had to pass through an empty railway yard in the middle of the night, past Soviet soldiers with AK-47s, Gene told Jam Prime. The experience of leaving the country was very memorable. It took us over four months to finally reach the US, after a harrowing experience actually crossing the border in Chop, Ukraine. I left with my parents and grandfather, and we were heading to San Francisco, California, where our relatives had established themselves after also fleeing two years prior. This kind of experience gives you the perspective that things can change in an instant, and you need to be ready to drop everything, sacrifice some comforts, and run. My mission as an entrepreneur is to really help Ukraine down the road, both with military and agricultural aviation, because it's a huge market for agriculture and will require modernization of its defence capabilities. Once you can lift a tonne of weight and fly it for 100 miles, you can make your fields grow better, plant seeds or even drop bombs. Its really a question of what is the right thing to do at any given time. (Jam Press/edison.aero) Gene, who studied aerospace engineering at UCLA in California, now lives in Florida but still feels passionate about Ukraine and the injustice of the war being fought there. He said: I felt disbelief when the invasion started. I couldnt believe it was happening and was worried it would be over in a week, that Russia would just roll over Ukraine. I was very happy to see that didnt happen with the help of the US and Europe. But the events of the past year have shocked everyone the world over. I want to get involved and be on the right side of history. And I believe that the war in Ukraine is pretty clear cut. Gene Avakyan at his high school military training (Jam Press/edison.aero) He is currently working with the US Federal Government within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This is the US civil aviation administration, the equivalent of EASA in Europe. Genes technology involves electric, optionally-manned aircraft that are piloted from a truck trailer on the ground or can fly fully autonomously. His aircraft can fly for about an hour, with a battery roughly the size of the one in Musks Tesla Model Three. The full-sized planes wingspan is 40 feet, it carries 200 gallons of payload to spray, and will replace the manned spray aircraft flying today. Aside from the war efforts, he hopes that this will help rebuild the country, as well as improve agriculture across the globe. At present, crop spraying is done by pilots climbing into a small plane and spraying the fields by flying low and fast which is very dangerous. Gene said: Around 10 pilots are killed in the US alone every year from colliding with trees, hills, power lines and other terrain. I hope that our aircraft will help prevent these deaths in future. Gene Avakyan with a construction set before going to the US (Jam Press/edison.aero) We want the same guys who fly the existing planes today to switch to flying my planes, its very important to my business ethos that we are not displacing anybody but making the existing workers and companies better off. At present, the companies who fly crop dusters spend too much money on buying and servicing the planes, so their profit margins are very low or they go into the red when theres an unplanned breakdown of a plane My aeroplanes will cut their operating costs in half. Gene also believes that electric passenger planes will soon become a reality starting with air taxis. Hes hoping to raise funding to build a series of prototypes. Aside from Edison Aerospace, Gene and his wife, Victoria Unikel, an artist and businesswoman, have founded several other businesses such as VUGA Media Group, Gossip Stone TV, and 24Fashion TV. And he says the couple work great together. (Jam Press/edison.aero) He said: My wife is my hero, working with her is a lot of fun and I couldnt have made it to where I am without her. We created everything we have together. I lead on the Edison Aerospace stuff, and she leads in the other businesses, because theyre much more relationship-based and shes got bucketloads of charm. Gene feels grateful for how much his life has changed since childhood and the luxuries he can now afford. He added: My parents decided to flee and take me away from the USSR because to save me from living a life under communist despots. They themselves faced a decline in quality of life to do this, a sacrifice, to see me grow up in the US and to see their grandchildren born in US as well. I feel grateful for the life I have now. Smoke was seen rising from a Louisiana refinery after a massive fire broke out in a crude oil tank. A three-mile-wide shelter-in-place order was issued on Saturday evening (June 3), after a crude oil tank caught fire at the Calcasieu Refining Company, in Lake Charles, Louisiana. A mandatory evacuation was issued for a 1.5-mile radius of the refinery. Footage filmed miles from the refinery shows huge amounts of smoke rising into the air. The cause of the fire is thought to have been a lightning strike. Rescue workers have been filmed searching rubble after a deadly airstrike hit a residential area in Ukraine. A two-year-old girl was killed, and 22 other people injured, when the airstrike landed in Dnipro on June 3, Dnipropetrovsk governor Sergey Lysak said. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the airstrike landed between two two-storey residential buildings. While sharing footage of the rescue efforts, Volodymyr Zelensky said: There are people under the rubble. All services are working. 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 }} Last autumn, I turned Edinburgh Fringe inside out, made history at the London Palladium, and laid myself bare on the now Bafta-winning Friday Night Live. My life was thrown into a careful-what-you-wish-for kind of chaos. But things have gotten even weirder. As of Pride Month 2023, The Independent has honoured me with the #3 ranking on their Pride List of LGBT+ game-changers. All the while, amidst continued calls for my arrest, faceless Twitter accounts publicly scrutinise my press pictures for the outline of a poorly concealed penis. Suffice to say, this job is full of contradictions. One week Im handing out novelty boob stress balls to Britains leading medical minds on Radio 4s Best Medicine. The next Im shooting the breeze on Australian breakfast TV while Nazis protest my existence on the parliament steps. The next Im in the back of a self-driving Mercedes E-Class next to an honest-to-God robot (a gift from Rhod Gilbert). Its a struggle to have your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground... particularly when my size 11 feet are being squashed into size nine heels on the Bafta red carpet nodding knowingly to Stephen Merchant as we both tower an entire foot above the glitterati parapet. On 17 February, I was whisked across London on the back of a motorbike to close the National Comedy Awards live on Channel 4. But as scary as my agents tell me it looked, those 10 minutes on the back of that bike were the last time I remember feeling free of low-key dread since my career blew up in August 2022. Inertia isnt quite the right word. It feels more like Im everything, everywhere, all at once (she said, establishing a theme). Until now I assumed this eerie sense of disassociation was a symptom of my career taking off. But thats not true. We all feel it, dont we? That funny feeling (to quote the great Bo Burnham) that something is off (Alpha Waymond, Everything Everywhere All At Once). Weve reached our bandwidth. There is simply too much conflicting information coming in. The human brain isnt designed to subsist on A little bit of everything, all of the time (back to Bo). Even pre-internet, I was always struck by how newsreaders could jump so callously between tragedy, weather and weekly sport. HP Lovecraft once wrote: The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all of its contents. Enter Twitter, where any given opinion is instantly and mercilessly met with every possible postulation to the contrary. Tell Twitter I like cats and its a countdown to What about dogs!?, Cats have Aids! Are you pro-disease!?, Cats had terrible CGI! One star from me! and Why are you talking about cats!? What about the Russian spyware!?. Its easy to start doom-scrolling the moment you wake. As Rick & Mortys Summer Smith puts it: B****, my generation gets traumatised for breakfast. In response, many have adopted the glib philosophy espoused by Summers little brother Morty: Nobody exists on purpose. Nobody belongs anywhere. Everybodys gonna die. Come watch TV. Its no coincidence that our collective sense of drifting through a fractured reality is reflected back at us by todays most popular cinema. Everything Everywhere All At Once, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Rick & Morty, Spiderman: No Way Home, Bo Burnhams Inside. Stories about lost wanders, ricocheting through broken worlds, ignoring plot holes, wearing their nihilism like a suit of armour. Sounds like 15 minutes on your phone in 2023. But some day, Lovecraft continues , the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a dark new age. When fact is fiction, up is down, left is right (cardinally and politically), who can blame the fragile for growing angry? For writing off entire subsets of society just to clear some disc space in the brain. I can only lament the sheer bad luck that my knob was the straw that broke the gammons back. Transgender bodies are one glitch in the Matrix too far, and its much easier to put my tits on trial than it is reality itself. But theres a backdoor hack to all this madness. To the LGBT+ and our allies in 2023, cringing at the news, sat in the cinema coveting the sci-fi ability to hop to a more favourable universe: its easier than you think. Its called turning off your phone. Happy Pride. Jordan Grayss award-winning live show Is it a Bird? will tour the UK from August to October this year. Tickets can be purchased here Finishing at 3pm on Friday and starting work at 10.30am on Monday stretches out the weekend and improves motivation and productivity, says Avolon chief people officer Ciara Ruane In a post-pandemic labour market, where most sectors are struggling to find staff, many companies have become very creative with flexible working options such as a work-from-home policy all through the summer months. Other companies are wondering what all the fuss is about as they have been offering perks like this for years. Aviation leasing company Avolon introduced summer-time hours 10 years ago so from June 1 to September 1, staff are free to finish work at 3pm on Friday and the new week doesnt start until 10.30am Monday. Ciara Ruane, chief people officer at Avolon, said: Offering shorter summer hours gives our team a well-deserved opportunity to stretch out the weekend. Our experience is that giving this flexibility helps both productivity and motivation. The labour market remains competitive, and we are always looking at new ways to make tangible our commitment to provide a genuine work/life balance. A few other creative ways of appealing to workers in this sector is Avolons 20 days work from anywhere policy in addition to the hybrid model of three days in the office. And perhaps most appealing of all a one-month recharge leave after five years of service. Gig economy startup Gigable raises 520,000 to fund expansion Seven years ago, John Ryan was an army captain. Now hes capitalising on the rapidly changing world of work with his tech startup Gigable, which connects businesses seeking temporary staff with gig economy workers. Gigable founder and CEO John Ryan At the start of May, Gigable set out to raise 800,000, at a valuation of 7.56m, through the Spark Crowdfunding platform to accelerate its growth in the UK and Ireland and start operating in the US. Within 48 hours of launching the campaign, the shift-work marketplace had raised 473,271. Since then, Gigable has raised more than 520,000. Cairn goes again with plans for Galway homes Cairn Homes is having another go at getting a major housing development it wants to build in Galway through the planning system. The housing development firm has submitted fresh plans to develop a 10-acre site in Rahoon, with a proposal to build almost 150 houses and apartments, according to a report in the Galway City Tribune. In March Cairn withdrew a similar plan from An Bord Pleanala that it had submitted a year earlier after a warning from Transport Infrastructure Ireland that it would encroach on the route of the proposed Galway City Ring Road. Wild Livelihoods (wildlivelihoods.com) is a coalition of nearly 200 tourism businesses based in the Gardiner Basin and Paradise Valley of Montana. The strength and success of our industry is based on conservation of the wildlands, waters and wildlife in the region of Yellowstone National Park. Economic prosperity and environmental stewardship is our genesis. We do our part by connecting consumers with our business members who have shared values around open spaces, clean water and air, and sustainable, biodiverse wildlife populations. The Yellowstone River flows through the heart of our landscape, and for many, it serves as the centerpiece that links a thriving tourism economy with healthy fish and wildlife populations. It is also a geophysical reminder that healthy rivers connect us all. That is why as a coalition, we believe unequivocally that the Upper Yellowstone River and its tributaries like Bear Creek, Hellroaring Creek and Slough Creek, are deserving of Wild and Scenic River protections as proposed in the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act. Our coalition is made up of lodge owners, outfitters and guides, photographers, film makers, writers, artists, retailers, restaurant proprietors, and ranchers. Montanas rivers are our common workspace and the source of inspiration that attracts our clients, generates repeat customers, and waters our cattle. Directly and indirectly, our rivers and creeks provide a living for hundreds of business owners and employees in the region. We are a proud contributor to the states $7.1B outdoor recreation industry, which represents 4.3% of the Montanas Gross Domestic Product and ranks number one in the country for how much outdoor recreation contributes to a states economy. Tourism injects $500 million annually into Park County alone. We have come together to protect our heritage, our economy and future generations ability to continue family businesses and trades within the outdoor recreation and tourism industry. One way we support this vision is through permanent protection of the states most iconic streams flowing through public lands. This is why Wild Livelihoods endorses the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act (MHLA). If passed, the MHLA will create new Wild and Scenic River protections for some of southwest and southcentral Montanas most important headwaters streams. Wild and Scenic designations protect the free-flowing nature, water quality and remarkable values that make river sections of the Upper Yellowstone, Boulder, Gallatin and Stillwater Rivers unique. It is our experience that river conservation unites Montanans. No matter your political leaning, Montanans have shown time and time again that clean water and healthy rivers are a shared value. For instance, the East Rosebud Creek Wild and Scenic River Act was passed in August 2018 with the bipartisan support of then-Rep. Greg Gianforte, Sen. Jon Tester and Sen. Steve Daines, and was signed into law by President Donald Trump. A March 2020 University of Montana survey conducted by a bipartisan research team from New Bridge Strategies (Republican) and FM3 Research (Democrat) shows nearly eight of ten Montanans (79%) support the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act. Wild Livelihoods seeks to perpetuate what is good and improve what could be better for our community, our landscapes, our wildlife, and our future. We endorse the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act because we see this legislation as an investment in our region and a tool to address one of the many complex approaches to sustaining our economy and environment. We ask our representatives to work together as a unified delegation to support and promptly pass the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act. Help and advice is available to companies that have seen their income affected by Brexit. Stock image by Andrey Popov As our trading relationship with the UK changed in recent years, agile Irish businesses remained optimistic about opportunities in this market and made preparations to mitigate the impact on their operations. Businesses were generally more resilient in the face of this transition than what was initially feared, and exports to the UK from Enterprise Ireland supported companies remain strong and last year they increased by 13pc, now accounting for 29pc of all exports. While this is positive, there is no doubt that Brexit has affected companies in some sectors more than others, and in order to support such firms as they explore diversification opportunities in new markets, a new offer has been launched to help companies to access a fast-track strategic market development programme. The aim of the new Post-Brexit Market Growth and Diversification Grant is to help eligible Brexit-impacted Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia client companies to develop a strategy to enter and grow in new markets outside of the UK. Enterprise Ireland is proud to be working with Bord Bia to encourage Irish food exporters affected by Brexit to avail of this new grant. Fiona OShaughnessy, Prepared Consumer Foods, Bord Bia, outlines that given its scale and importance, the UK remains our top priority market, albeit operating alongside a clear market diversification strategy for product categories with over dependence. She added: This new grant will assist companies to develop a robust market diversification strategy and understand where to play and how to win with this new funding support. This support aims to enable affected companies to approach opportunities in new markets strategically. The grant, which has been developed under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve fund, covers up to 80pc of the cost of hiring an industry expert consultant (up to a maximum grant of 36,000). In order to qualify, companies must have seen a reduction of 5pc or more in their UK sales in 2020, or 2021 or 2022, when compared with their 2019 sales. With the guidance and knowledge of an expert consultant, this new support will give recipients an opportunity to set out clear objectives for each of their target markets, define key performance indicators and to establish a roadmap for growth. Furthermore, recipients can collaborate with a consultant of their choice to work out how to allocate resources effectively, how to minimise risks, how to gather the right market intelligence and how to define target markets and customer segments. Grant recipients can also choose to work with an experienced consultant in Ireland or can ask Enterprise Irelands overseas offices to help them identify a suitable in-market consultant. Along with the market entry strategy, the grant can also help recipients with scoping and developing market collateral based on localised customer profiles and segmentation. The support can also fund developing a digital marketing strategy for each target market. Interested companies must apply before June 30, and more information is available on the Enterprise Ireland website, www.enterprise-ireland.com/mgd, or through Enterprise Ireland Development Advisers. Mary Cloak is senior marketing adviser at Enterprise Ireland Norwegian renewables firm Statkraft made 134m from sale of Irish wind stake A solar power project in Co Meath is one of several renewable energy projects being delivered as part of a corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA) package with Microsoft which was signed last year. 'Between now and the end of the decade, we are going to have to use all the tools at our disposal to make the energy transition happen,' said Donal OSullivan of Statkraft Ireland. Photo: Getty Norwegian power giant Statkraft expects to invest along with its Danish funding partner Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) 40 billion krone (3.3bn) in building out its two Irish offshore wind projects, it has revealed. The firm, which is Europes largest developer of renewable energy projects, also said in filings that it had made a 1.6 billion Norwegian krone (134m) gain from the sale earlier this year of 50pc of its Irish offshore assets to CIP . In a presentation to investors of what it described as a strong set of first-quarter financial results, the Norwegian firm hailed its offshore wind success in Ireland. In January, Statkraft sold 50pc of its 2200mw offshore wind- power portfolio in Ireland to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), a global leader in renewable energy investments. Statkraft realised a gain of NOK 1.6 billion from the sale. Statkraft CEO Christian Rynning-Tnnesen The partnership with CIP demonstrates our value-creation potential within offshore wind and our ambition to pursue an industrial role in Ireland and the North Sea, said Statkraft CEO, Christian Rynning-To nnesen. We continue to develop our project portfolio and expand our organisation to support the ambitious green growth strategy to develop much- needed renewable energy in Norway and internationally." Last month, the first phase of the partnerships North Irish Sea Array (NISA) project was awarded a 500mw contract from the Governments ORESS-1 process. The project, which is earmarked for an area off the coast of counties Dublin, Louth, and Meath, will have the capacity to power approximately half a million Irish homes and businesses and was one of seven offshore renewable energy projects issued with a Maritime Area Consent (MAC) last December. A solar power project in Co Meath is one of several renewable energy projects being delivered as part of a corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA) package with Microsoft which was signed last year. It is proposed that the NISA project will have three phases and Statkrafts partnership with CIP also includes another offshore wind- farm, the Bore Array, which is planned for off the south Wexford coast. Statkraft said the two companies plan to invest more than NOK 40 billion in the projects. Last month, Statkraft also turned the sod on its latest solar power project in Ireland at Harlockstown, Co Meath. The 34mw project, which could power the equivalent of almost 9,000 homes, is one of several renewable energy projects being delivered as part of a corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA) package with Microsoft which was signed last year. 'Between now and the end of the decade, we are going to have to use all the tools at our disposal to make the energy transition happen,' said Donal OSullivan of Statkraft Ireland. Photo: Getty Under the multi-year deals, Statkraft Ireland will supply the technology firm with 366mw of clean energy from six of its wind and solar farms. Between now and the end of the decade, we are going to have to use all the tools at our disposal to make the energy transition happen, Donal OSullivan, VP for Development and Offshore with Statkraft Ireland said. Q I bought a Nokia phone in 2021 directly from the companys website for 500. In recent weeks, the phone has stopped charging properly and the memory is almost used up. I contacted Nokia's customer service online and they talked me through a factory reset. But it's still not working properly. I've heard this can happen due to planned obsolescence. What can I do? Aisling, Co Limerick A Nokias online shop appears to be based in Finland, so Id recommend you contact the European Consumer Centre Ireland (ECC). On its website, youll find information about online shopping across the EU and what to do if something you buy from another EU state isnt up to scratch. The ECC offers support to consumers in cross-border disputes, but you must exhaust the traders own complaints process first. Its always best to complain in writing, so send an email or a letter setting out the issues, detailing how you would like them to resolve the problem, and giving a timeframe for a response. Youll find advice on writing an effective complaint on the ECCs website and on our own website. If Nokia doesnt resolve the issue to your satisfaction, you can submit a complaint through the cross-border complaints section of the ECCs website. Regarding planned obsolescence, Irelands new Consumer Rights Act stipulates that products should work for a reasonable amount of time with normal usage. The act also regulates digital services and requires a trader to supply all updates necessary for the item to work for a reasonable amount of time. However, it only applies to goods and services bought from an Irish-based business and to those bought since November 29, 2022. This will be of cold comfort as you navigate your issues with Nokia, but it does mean your consumer rights in Ireland whether youre buying physical goods or digital services are now stronger and clearer than before. Can a home monitoring alarm company wait for six weeks before refunding my father? Q My father received a cold call from a company selling a home monitoring alarm service and he was persuaded by them sign up to a contract. He already has a good alarm system and didnt understand that they were offering him the same thing. Two days later, when he told me about the purchase and found out it was no different from his current alarm system, he rang to cancel the new service. The company refused at first and he had to make repeated requests to speak to a manager. The company eventually agreed to cancel his contract but said it could take up to six weeks to refund the money to my fathers account. Is this legal? John, Dublin A You father was within his rights to cancel: if you agree to buy a service over the phone, you get 14 days to cancel the contract for any reason and receive a full refund. The company must tell you about this right, and if they dont, then you automatically get an extra 12 months to cancel for any reason. If youre not sure whether your father was given this information when making the purchase, get him to request a copy of the call recording to check. Secondly, the company was incorrect to give a six-week timeframe for a refund. Under Irish consumer law, your father is entitled to refund within 14 days of cancelling, and the refund must be given via the same payment method he used originally, unless he agrees otherwise. For instance, if he paid by card or direct debit, the company cannot insist on refunding him by cheque or by issuing a gift card or credit note, unless your father chooses to accept it. I would suggest he contact the company again, ideally in writing, to inform them of their obligation to refund his payment in full within 14 days. If they fail to engage to his satisfaction, he can request a chargeback from his card provider or a direct debit refund from his bank, depending on how the payment was made. You can also report companies that break consumer protection laws to the CCPC using the reporting form on our website, Ccpc.ie. Can a retailer refuse to accept returns? Q I bought a lamp from an Irish website but when it was delivered, it didnt suit the room I bought it for. I emailed the online shop the next day to ask how to send it back for a refund, but they directed me to their website where it says in small letters at the bottom of the page that they do not accept returns. Is this legal? Elaine, Carlow A No, its not. When you buy an item online from an Irish retailer, you have 14 days to change your mind and return it for a refund, unless the item has been personalised or cannot be resold for hygiene reasons. You must tell the business in writing within 14 days of receiving the item that you intend to return it and your email to them ticks this box. Some online retailers may give you a longer timeframe for returns, but they cant give you a shorter period or refuse to accept change-of-mind returns altogether. Security company Netwatch which was founded by Irishmen David Walsh and Niall Kelly is planning to take on 30 new staff at its Carlow and Newry hubs. The company is expanding in Australia, New Zealand, and in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and will use a new dealer model which it is already deploying in the US. In 2018, Netwatch which was founded in Carlow merged with rival operators, NMC and CalAtlantic and also merged with UK company Onwatch, with the deals financed by the Riverside private equity group. Speaking on a visit to Ireland last week, Netwatch Group CEO Kurt Takahashi said the company was working closely with Enterprise Ireland to find partners in international markets. We have done something quite unique in America, he said. We have built a dealers programme where we work with other security companies in different areas and we onboard them, we train them, and we sell with them and they resell Netwatch services. It has been such a successful programme in the US that we are replicating that elsewhere. He said this model would allow the company to expand more rapidly. Its definitely more scaleable to work with organisations which are already present in those countries. As a result we are going to aggressively expand our business in Carlow for monitoring operations, as well as in Newry. Through Enterprise Ireland the company is has recently partnered with businesses which also have their roots in Carlow, he said. The company previously said that its goal was to get to a turnover of 100m by 2020 but this was delayed by Covid. Takahashi said the company was still working towards that. We are going to continue to partner with Enterprise Ireland to identify any of these types of businesses which want to utilise our proactive monitoring services, he said. The company already uses AI to efficiently identify intruders at client properties, and Takahashi said an innovation team in Carlow were working on latest technological developments. Excited PhD graduates raise 5m and plan to build their Dublin-based startup from 16 to 25 staff by the end of the year Co-founder of Oblivious Robert Pisarczyk says the 5m recently raised will be used to grow the business Robert Pisarczyk, co-founder of Dublin-headquartered tech firm Oblivious, has said the 5m recently raised in a funding round will be used to significantly grow the business as it hones its privacy software, which has marked it as one of Irelands most exciting startups. The firm, which completed a $1m (932,000) seed round in 2021, closed a 5.3m funding round in April. Backers included Irish technology fund Atlantic Bridge, Berlin-based Cavalry Ventures and a range of European and US venture capital funds. Oblivious has created a technology which allows businesses to use large databases, without actually seeing the personal information of those the data belongs to. Data scientists are not interested in the individual, theyre interested in the aggregate. But we take it for granted that they need access to data on the individual as well, because thats simply how data science works, Pisarczyk told the Sunday Independent. We realised lots of valuable data which can be used for good is locked. [For example], medical data in public health organisations, which is some of the most sensitive data you have about individuals. If youre using that data, there have to be strict guarantees that the information wont be revealed. We build flexible tools for data scientists, so they can work on data without accessing a persons personal information. Many of its customers include the likes of banks and fintech companies, which often work with large datasets, but have strict regulatory requirements, and so are wary of potential data breaches. Say you are a fintech offering software to a bank. Those banks say we are using your product, but we cant share information about our customers. Thats where we fit in. The firm was started by Pisarczyk and Jack Fitzsimons, both Oxford PhD graduates. Pisarczyk studied cryptography, the science of how information is hidden and protected, which looks at subjects such as ciphers and codes. Youre potentially changing how data science is done, which is extremely satisfying I was working on different projects with a research group in Singapore and I met Jack, who did a PhD in machine learning. We had some ideas about research on cryptography and data science. I thought we could spend some time getting a few more papers out, but if we really believed we could change the way people interact with data, lets build tools for data scientists. I never thought I wanted to set up a business [but] I was interested in solving problems which were practical. Dublin was chosen as the headquarters as Fitzsimons was already based there and Pisarczyk was flexible, and Oblivious was launched in 2020. The firm now employs 16 people, with most of these at its Dublin base. There are good things about remote work, but we try to come together every six weeks and work together, Pisarczyk said. Oblivious is set to grow to 25 people by the end of the year, using its fundraise to hire top technical staff. We will be building the team on the development side as were very product centric and we will also be building our commercial team to get good commercial traction. For many companies in Obliviouss space a fast-growing tech startup with a significant fundraise under its belt there is often a focus on how quickly their valuations could grow. However, Pisarczyk said this is not a concern for the firm. Were not a company thinking about inflated valuations. We think funding rounds are great for getting partners who believe in our product. We want to be a leader in this technology, we think it will become a standard in this space. It could [eventually] lead to an IPO, but that would be something for helping the company grow. It would be a by-product after making sure that we have built a great product that people use. From his background in academia, Pisarczyk said building out a business has presented new challenges, but also given him a more immediate outlet for his work compared to research. If youre just thinking about the principles, you could have no idea what would be important for people when they actually use it, so the product feedback is super interesting, he said. Of course building out a company is more than just that. Youre working with clients and partners and youre managing the team. When Jack and I started the company it was just us, and now we have a team which is building into that vision. So its not just mine and Jacks idea, its a separate entity. All of these things make me excited it doesnt just stay at the level of research, it is being used by people and organisations. Youre potentially changing how data science is done, which is extremely satisfying. Another week, another warning that artificial intelligence is a threat to the world as we know it. This time its the turn of the Centre for AI Safety to sound the warning bell in a one-sentence statement signed by luminaries such as Open AIs Sam Altman, Microsofts Kevin Scott, and Audrey Tang, Taiwans minister of Digital Affairs. Heres what it says: Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war. Short and sweet, eh? With warnings like this youd wonder whod be rushing to embrace AI. But many sectors are still investigating the potential and potential pitfalls - of artificial intelligence. Media and marketing is no different. The tech giants are not panning for gold, theyre making shovels The News/Media Alliance, the largest trade group for US newspapers, recently released a set of AI principles, saying unlicensed use of publishers content by generative AI systems is an intellectual property infringement. Media outlets such as the FT, the Washington Post and others have set up internal units to figure out how to use AI in their newsrooms, without undermining trust among readers. AI is also coming for advertising. Or perhaps its more accurate to say that advertising is coming for AI. There probably isnt a copywriter in the world who hasnt tried out ChatGPT at this stage. And most likely been underwhelmed with the results. Ogilvy it aint. Similarly, art directors the world over have tinkered with Midjourney, or some other visual tool, to test its mettle. AI expansion of Nirvana's 'Nevermind'. Photo: Dobrokotov/Twitter Last week another magical tool arrived on the scene. Adobe generative fill a Photoshop feature which allows users replace bits of images, backgrounds or extend images using a text prompt. RIP photographers, re-touchers and graphic designers, trumpeted the AI boosters, as they shared examples of famous memes and album covers changed or expanded. Agencies are buying into the hype too. VCCP has just launched an AI-powered agency called Faith. It will produce work for clients and act as an R&D hub through a partnership with universities in Keele and Staffordshire. We have faith that AI, used responsibly, will be an unparallelled accelerator of human creativity and imagination. We reject the notion that AI will make human creativity obsolete, said CEO Michael Sugden. Innovative organisation that will unlock new potential? Faddish PR stunt? Time will tell. Whats not in doubt is that the advertising industry loves a shiny bauble. Who drank the metaverse Kool-Aid? Advertising. Who went all-in on social, when it was pitched as a method of fostering authentic dialogue between brands and consumers? Advertising. But when advertising bumps up against technology, advertising typically comes out worst. So its worth noting how the biggest tech firms are using artificial intelligence to improve their advertising products. Meta has a host of automation products that use AI and machine learning to optimise campaigns. Why try to optimise your own Facebook ads when Meta will match them to the right people at the right time, based on its giant trove of data? Similarly, new tools will automate text variation, background generation and image outcropping to automatically make ads more engaging. Google is also rolling out AI into its search product and search ads. Now users just need to provide their website and Google AI will start learning about their brand, suggesting new images generated specifically for that user and offering optimisations across a range of inventory and formats. Google calls this Performance Max, and claims this automated, AI powered approach delivers an uplift of 18pc. But its worth noting that Meta and Google are using AI to make their advertising ecosystems more efficient, harder for any online business to avoid, using their critical advantage incomprehensibly large datasets. Theyre not playing with Midjourney or ChatGPT. Theyre not panning for gold, theyre making shovels. Everyone else whos looking at artificial intelligence is operating at a different scale. But still, there are opportunities. Agencies and media outlets that learn to harness AI to automate repetitive processes will gain a competitive advantage. AI will allow the smarter Davids to take on the lazier Goliaths. But when it comes to straight-up creativity, its unlikely that AI will confer any competitive advantage. It can deliver quantity, but not necessarily quality. A great creative idea, well-executed, that drives awareness or sales, will still take insight, time and imagination. As Accenture Songs Nick Law recently said: Mediocrity is now free. Creativity will remain expensive. Streaming reviews Bergen-Belsen in the north of Germany was the final resting place of Anne Frank, whose 94th birthday would have fallen next week. The concentration camp served as a grave for prisoners who had been transferred west on brutal death marches, as the Nazis fled the advancing Russians. It was a place of unimaginable terror: summary murder by guards, epidemics of typhus and terrible starvation. The British and Irish soldiers who came upon it soon after Franks death, filmed and photographed it, providing the public in the West with evidence of the holocaust. A Small Light Official Trailer Over the following decades, Frank became a symbol of that terrible period in history but the many books and television adaptations that her life spawned drew a veil over the horror of her end. By then she had stopped writing her famous diary, and most peoples knowledge of her life centres on the period when she was in hiding. Belsen never appears in A Small Light (Disney+), which focuses instead on the pre-war back story to Franks period in hiding and deals with what feels like a very modern dilemma: when refugees are in danger and on the move, how would we behave? The eight-part series, created by Tony Phelan and Joan Rater, deals with those who helped Frank and her family, with an emphasis on a brave young Austrian woman, Miep Gies (Bel Powley). A Small Light. Photo: National Geographic for Disney/Dusan Martincek Before the war, Mieps adoptive family is concerned about her future and has two options for her: get a job or marry her brother, who isnt a blood relation, after all, but is probably gay. She goes for the job option. Shes hired by Annes father Otto (Liev Schreiber) who, after the Nazis march into Amsterdam, begins resorting to any number of dodgy expedients in order to help his wife Edith (Amira Casar) and teen daughters Margot (Ashley Brooke) and Anne (Billie Boullet). There are a lot of brave decisions here and some work and some dont. The gamble to relegate Anne herself to a sort of supporting character pays off as Schreiber and Powley charge their performances with incredible power. The historical details, by contrast, feel very ill-judged. The Dutch characters speak in crisp modern British tones, with little allowance for the period or the setting (Powell clearly learned some German for the role, but she doesnt sound like a native speaker). The Germans have campy vays-of-making-you-talk accents, which is perhaps meant to put some distance between them and the viewer but seems deeply old-fashioned in 2023. A confusing interweaving of subplots complicates matters quite a bit at one point Miep becomes an unlikely leader in the Dutch resistance and theres a sense that this series sentimentalises the horror of the holocaust. Anne Franks story is one that always deserves to be told, but it deserves better material than this. Wanda Sykes is sometimes described as the female Chris Rock, but they are not really all that similar. While Rock has arguably fallen off since the heyday of his stand-up, Sykes has come into her own even as the menopause gives her a new fold of stomach fat (which she has given the nickname Esther). Through the entertaining 80 minutes of her new stand-up special she goes after the absurdities of conservative America (until a drag queen walks into a school and beats some kids to death with a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird I think youre focussing on the wrong shit), and she sketches out her own life story in hilarious detail. The title comes from a segment where she laments the fact she could have saved myself a lot of unnecessary d**k if she had come out earlier. As a closeted adult she had sex with men she wasnt attracted to, without them noticing. What can I say? she asks. Im an entertainer. Theres inevitably a lot of material about race and systemic inequality in America. She sees the dynamics of privilege play out when her wife, who is white, inspects the neighbours construction site without getting arrested and at times it can feel like a rehash of points weve heard made elsewhere (by Rock, among others). Theres no denying shes at her best when the material is personal, but throughout it feels like a show thats full of ideas, and a fitting testament to a comic at the peak of her powers. Nukes and noir: The rest of the best new releases I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson Netflix At times this sketch show is surreal, bordering on baffling, but when it works as with last seasons brilliantly bittersweet scene with Bob Odenkirk it taps into a type of comedy like nothing youll find anywhere else. Deadloch Prime Video This Australian crime drama brings together a pair of mismatched detectives and mines a dark seam of humour in a story of murder and mystery from two writers Kate McLennan and Kate McCartney who rose to fame with their online parodies. The Days Netflix A little like Chernobyl, this series attempts to dramatise a dreadful disaster the Fukushima nuclear meltdown of 2011 and explores events from various perspectives. At times the special effects are dodgy but the performances and writing are superb. "You have to laugh at that because I know the value I hold and I know what I bring to the table. And thats how Im gonna continue to think." Katja wears: Dress, 115, neverfullydressed.com; earrings, 48, shockofgrey.com. Photo: Martha Mac Nulty Woman accused of possessing crime proceeds in bank accounts in Dublin and Donegal while using bogus identities remanded in custody CEO of JP Morgan Chase and former board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Jamie Dimon is recognized as the nations preeminent banker. Since 2005, when he became head of JP Morgan, he has transformed the bank not only into a national financial treasure but also a behemoth in global financial markets. When Dimon speaks, markets and politicians listen. He possesses global gravitas. But Dimon was in China last week. Why? DEBT LIMIT: HOW THE COMPROMISE COMPARES TO THE ORIGINAL GOP DEBT CEILING BILL China is the top adversary of the United States. Chinese espionage against the U.S. is relentless in its varied saturation, absorbing a vast proportion of the FBI's counterintelligence resources. We learned just this week, for example, that Chinese spies attempted to penetrate a U.S. military base in Alaska. The agents vehicle carried a drone . Recently, a Chinese military aircraft dangerously harassed a U.S. military aircraft that was flying in international airspace. China continues to challenge navigation rights in the international waters of the South China Sea. Most importantly, China routinely threatens to conquer Taiwan, home of the worlds most important semiconductor company, Taiwan Semiconductor. Without semiconductors fabricated by Taiwan Semiconductor, the artificial intelligence economic revolution would stop . Jamie Dimon has openly acknowledged that he has political ambitions. Some of his peers suggest that he should run for the White House. Which begs a question: as a top member of the national economic elite and as an aspiring national political figure, why is Jamie Dimon serving as a foil in Chinas strategic plan to supplant the U.S. as the foremost global power? AD As a member of the global financial elite, Dimons visit to China to attend a JP Morgan financial markets conference sends a clear signal to non-Chinese companies and to global investors that China is attractive for investment. His visit will draw foreign capital and investment into China. This is something that Beijing desperately needs because China is experiencing not only capital flight wealthy Chinese are afraid of Chinas supreme ruler, Xi Jinping. China is also in the early stages of an economic doom loop. Its economy is faltering. Chinas economy will not collapse but it will slowly atrophy as its population declines, as its labor market continues to slide toward global noncompetitiveness, and as the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party diverts scarce capital from the dynamic private sector to the moribund state sector. Yet, by attending a JP Morgan-sponsored conference in China, Dimon is implicitly suggesting that China is a good place for U.S. investors to put their money. Most certainly, that is false. China is not investable. Is Dimon violating his fiduciary duties to the customers and shareholders of JP Morgan? CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM RESTORING AMERICA Put simply, Dimon is serving as an economic lackey of China. In doing so, Dimon is harming U.S. national security. Dimon is propping up a decaying political and economic regime whose principal goal is to make the U.S. subservient to the Chinese state. Dimon may be motivated by greed for his bank and for his personal wealth, which reputedly exceeds $1 billion. Whatever the motivations, Dimon is wrong to visit China. His bank is wrong to tout investment products based in China. If Dimon does have ambitions for high political office, he should immediately distance himself and JP Morgan from this American adversary. James Rogan is a former U.S. foreign service officer who later worked in finance and law for 30 years. He writes a daily note on finance and the economy, politics, sociology, and criminal justice. Dimon calls for Washington-Beijing engagement in first China visit since 2021 controversy KEY POINTS "You're not going to fix these things if you are just sitting across the Pacific yelling at each other, so I'm hoping we have real engagement," Dimon said, according to Reuters. In November 2021, Dimon expressed "regret" over remarks that JPMorgan would last longer than China's ruling party. JPMorgan Chase and Company President and CEO Jamie Dimon testifies before a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing on Annual Oversight of the Nations Largest Banks, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 22, 2022. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters A teenage boy who was arrested yesterday on suspicion of trespassing at Leinster House has been released without charge by gardai. At approximately 4pm on Saturday, gardai at Pearse Street station were altered to the incident at the Houses of the Oireachtas, on Kildare Street. It is understood some damage was caused to flags and paintings inside the Dail chamber. Investigators said yesterday evening that a "juvenile teenager" was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at a garda station in south central Dublin. A Garda spokesperson confirmed this afternoon that: "The male juvenile teenager has been released without charge and a file is being prepared for the Garda Youth Diversion Programme." Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell has described the break-in at Leinster House as a very worrying incident and said it requires a thorough investigation. The security at Government Buildings is managed by a combination of Oireachtas ushers, gardai and armed Military Police and the security of the building is not usually called into question, said Mr Farrell. To my knowledge, An Garda Siochana are normally stationed on the perimeter with Military Police on the premises at all times supplemented by the ushers during the parliamentary week, he told RTEs This Week programme. So certainly, it warrants a thorough investigation and if that calls for increased security, well Im sure that will be provided. The responsibility for maintaining security at the Houses of the Oireachtas falls under the remit of the complexs superintendent. Mr Farrell said the vacant superintendent position has been filled, but the new appointee does not take up the role until later in the summer. He said given the size of Leinster House, "the more personnel assigned to this role the better". It's very concerning to hear that an individual is actually able to gain access to the premises. Its quite something else to jump a fence or a metal railing from either the museum or the library side, but to gain access to the building itself, is very worrying and Im not sure that the superintendent would have been able to prevent that, he added. The Houses of the Oireachtas are currently under recess until June 13. Gardai at Burrow Beach in Sutton, Dublin, this afternoon. Photo: Padraig O'Reilly Gardai are maintaining a presence on Burrow Beach in Sutton, Dublin, this evening following an earlier public order incident. Video footage emerged online showing a mass brawl on the packed beach. A garda spokeswoman said officers responded to a public order incident on the beach earlier this evening. "Uniform gardai from the Raheny District and the Public Order Unit attended the scene. A large number of people who were gathered on the beach have been dispersed from the area. "No arrests have been made at this time. Enquiries are ongoing. Mass brawl breaks out at Burrow Beach in Sutton over the Bank Holiday weekend She said gardai do no comment on third party social media. Gardai from the Raheny District are maintaining a presence in the area of Burrow Beach this evening as part of ongoing high-visibility patrols under Operation Irene, said the spokeswoman. Gardai in Raheny are appealing to any person who may have information in relation to this incident to contact them in Raheny garda station on 01 666 4300, or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111. INCREASED longevity and a rapidly ageing population make a national conversation in Ireland over access to assisted dying supports absolutely critical. The plea came as a conference heard that the voices of people suffering from terminal illnesses who want to avail of assisted dying need to be heard by the nation. Under current regulations, Irish citizens who want to avail of assisted dying because of painful terminal conditions are forced to travel abroad. A special information campaign is now being organised by Irish doctors supporting Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) and End of Life Ireland (EOLI) with a series of public meetings being staged. Cork hosted one public meeting with a special information briefing in Cork's Metropole Hotel. Doctors insisted that the discussion about patients being allowed to have the right to assisted dying should be information-led and conducted in a respectful, dignified and helpful manner. People in Ireland who want to opt for assisted dying currently have no option but to travel abroad - often at great cost and with an enormous impact on their families. MAiD spokesperson Dr Andrew Lyne said an information-led conversation about assisted dying was now vitally important in Ireland. We believe that people dying from a terminal illness should have the choice of assisted dying and not have to endure unnecessary suffering," he said. This choice is increasingly being valued throughout the world and is available in an increasing number of countries including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Spain. All six states in Australia have now allowed assisted dying. A total of five countries in Europe allow assisted dying - Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany and Spain. Assisted dying is not sanctioned in the UK but studies have shown that every eight days a British national travels abroad for assisted dying support. The issue is set to become increasingly important in Ireland as the country moves from having one of the youngest to one of the oldest populations in Europe. Increased longevity will also impact the issue - with a greater proportion of people growing old enough to face long-term illnesses. Another medic, Dr Sinead Cotter, said it was long overdue that an Oireachtas Special Committee was now examining how assisted dying might operate in Ireland. It is vital that the work of this committee is completed within the lifetime of this government, she said. Amongst those who participated in the panel discussion was Tom Curran, the partner of Marie Fleming and long recognised as a leading advocate for the right to Assisted Dying-End of Life Ireland. Peter Casey on spectacularly unsuccessful Michael D Higgins, a second run for the presidency and pardoning Enoch Burke Former Dragons Den star airs his views on Travellers, refugees and the transgender debateAs president, I would have pardoned Enoch BurkeMichael D Higgins has been spectacularly unsuccessful Peter Casey. Photo: Gerry Mooney Rodney Edwards Sun 4 Jun 2023 at 03:30 The incident happened last month at Dublin Airport The remains of an Irish citizen who died abroad were accidentally left on a plane at Dublin Airport and flown back to Greece, causing distress for his family and sparking an internal investigation at the airport. Ground services neglected to remove the mans coffin from a flight from Greece on May 22, the Sunday Independent understands. His family were waiting with a hearse at the airport, but a misload resulted in the coffin not being spotted and removed as planned, and it went back on the plane to Greece. After being informed of the mistake, the dead mans family had no choice but to return home and re-arrange his funeral. The handling company at fault strove to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. It organised the repatriation with another airline, which returned the remains the following day. Swissport, the company that is responsible for airport ground services at Dublin Airport, has issued an apology to the family of the dead man. A spokesperson also told the Sunday Independent that it has launched an internal investigation into the blunder. The company said in a statement: We are deeply sorry for the familys experience at such a difficult time and did everything we could to ensure things were resolved as quickly as possible. We are now conducting an urgent investigation to make sure lessons are learned. The mans body was originally flown to Dublin on an Aegean Airlines flight from Greece. Attempts were made to contact Aegean Airlines for comment, but without success. It is understood that a different airline successfully repatriated the remains the following day. A source said the family had been left devastated by what had happened. Dublin Airport Authority was contacted, but declined to comment on the incident. He was the TV journalist who expertly explained the complexities of Brexit to Irish audiences, and he has reported on conflicts in war zones the world over but lately Tony Connelly is finding that being a father again in his 50s brings a different kind of challenge. Evie Miller, Ava O'Carroll and Lilly Miller from Bandon at Garrylucas in Co Cork today. Photo: Denis Boyle Ireland baked in the early June heat today and there was nowhere hotter than Roscommon, which hit 25.1C. Mount Dillon in Roscommon boasted the highest temperature in all of Ireland today. But nowhere has beat Shannon Airport just yet, which marked the highest temperature and the hottest day of 2023 on Thursday, with 25.3C. Met Eireann forecaster Aoife Kealy told Independent.ie: There are quite a few weather stations recording above 20c today. Its generally quite warm and through the coming week, there won't be any change. The west is the warmest part of Ireland and the east is the coolest but its not cold by any means. We will see the west getting into the lower or mid 20s for the rest of the week. Westport reached 25C today and the Met Eireann weather station in Co Donegal recorded 24.4C. While the balmy weather is welcomed by most of the country, those who suffer hay fever will need to watch out for a high pollen count. And due to a high solar UV index, it is vital that sunseekers wear sunscreen to protect themselves in the heat, Ms Kealy said. The heat isnt going anywhere this week, the meteorologist said. The main thing is to wear sunscreen and to take care round water and to keep well hydrated. All the best advice can be found at the Governments Be Summer Ready website. For those hoping to escape the heat, Ms Kealy said the coast would offer a breeze. Tomorrow will see temperatures of up to 24C but theres a possibility that high could be broken. Agriculture Minister insists tech will help cut sectors greenhouse emissions instead Sean ORourke is an asshole, screams the headline of the Sunday Independents Life magazine cover from October 2014 plugging an article in which future US president Donald Trump reflects on a recent visit to Ireland. It is perhaps the last thing youd expect to see on a mug in the hands of Charlie McConalogue. A summer trip to Switzerlands swankiest ski resort the perfect solo sun holiday What is the upmarket Gstaad resort like with no snow? Out of this world, finds our very relaxed writer Famous village and holiday resort Gstaad in summer. Katy Harrington Sun 4 Jun 2023 at 03:30 Bkultured Sassy Mixed Berry drink, 3.99 per bottle, for stockists or to buy in boxes of six bottles, see bkultured.com The ninth Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, launched by Amy Huberman and Dermot Bannon, is Irelands largest regatta. Taking place from July 6-9 and co-hosted by the four waterfront Yacht Clubs in Dun Laoghaire, more than 400 boats will compete. This years regatta coincides with Coastival, a new week-long festival celebrating the towns maritime heritage. Events include maritime movies on the green, live music, comedy, boat cruises and free kayaking and paddle-boarding. LH See dlregatta.org NECESSITY RHA's 193rd annual exhibition of art, admission free, see rhagallery.ie Annual expo The RHA in Ely Place, D2, this year celebrates its 200th birthday with its first female president, Dr Abigail OBrien, at the helm. The academy, which supports and showcases Irish modern art, is currently hosting its 193rd annual exhibition of art at different price points. Accessibility is the idea and the academy also has a good shop and welcoming Margadh restaurant. SC Admission free, see rhagallery.ie NECESSITY Disney and TK Maxx collaboration in aid of Enable Ireland, In TK Maxx stores nationwide for a limited time Show of support Disney and TK Maxx have collaborated on a range of Pixar-inspired T-shirts and mugs, which will feature Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Nemo and Edna Mode. Part of the proceeds from the sale of the line will go to Enable Ireland, to fund its work supporting children and young adults with disabilities. LH In TK Maxx stores nationwide for a limited time NOTION Bkultured Sassy Mixed Berry drink, 3.99 per bottle, for stockists or to buy in boxes of six bottles, see bkultured.com Get kultured East Cork food entrepreneur Niamh Hegarty started making water-based kefir in 2019, well before the rest of the world got on board with fermentation during lockdown. Her BKultured drink is now available in stockists nationwide, including Centra. Low in sugar and good for the gut, her Jamin Ginger and Turmeric and Sassy Mixed Berry flavours are permanent fixtures, with the addition of the occasional seasonal offering. SC 3.99 per bottle, for list of stockists or to buy in boxes of six bottles, see bkultured.com NOTION Lancaster Sun Beauty Sun Protective Water, 39.99, boots.ie Sun saviour For some, a sniff of Lancaster sun products is enough to propel them into holiday mode. Seventy-five years of sun know-how is captured in its latest launch, a Sun Beauty Sun Protective Water SPF 50, a bi-phase oil and water formula that you shake, then spray on. With a non-greasy feel and invisible appearance, you wont know its there, but the broad-spectrum protection will spare you any burn or sun damage. SC Lancaster Sun Beauty Sun Protective Water, 39.99, boots.ie NOTION Concentrated Face & Body Tan Booster Drops, 43, Bellamianta, see bellamianta.com Fifty shades of tan Tanning brand Bellamianta has launched a new product that allows you to specifically tailor the shade of your fake tan. Add its new Concentrated Face & Body Tan Booster Drops, 43, to your skincare products to intensify your tan as much as you want. They also contain hyaluronic acid, providing extra hydration. LH See bellamianta.com Plot Synopsis John Wick (Keanu Reeves) uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into foes. SPECIAL FEATURES Chad and Keanu: Through Wick and Thin : Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves have a partnership that stretches all the way back to the first Matrix film. In this retrospective piece, we trace their remarkable friendship and decades-long collaboration. Train Like a Killer : Weapons Master Robert Rock Galotti and Keanu Reeves reveal the rigorous training that Keanu had to endure to make John Wick: Chapter 4 a reality from gunplay, to jiu jitsu, to some hard-hitting stunt work. Making A Killing : In John Wick , sets are not merely the backdrop for each scene they are integral parts of the action, with Wick often using whatever is on hand to take the fight to his enemies. Here we explore the craft at play in designing the sets of John Wick: Chapter 4 and the ways set design and action choreography go hand in hand in this legendary series. The Psychology of a Killer : Chad Stahelski explores the psychology of John Wick, a character who, despite four films, is still a mystery in many ways. We unpack the complicated code of ethics that Wick lives by, and the ironic bonds he shares with the men trying to kill him. The Blind Leading the Fight : John Wick: Chapter 4 witnesses the arrival of Caine, a blind killer played by legendary actor and martial artist Donnie Yen. With a style not seen since The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi , Caine shows that a killers greatest instincts come not from his eyes, but from his mind. Here we uncover Yens journey on this film, exploring his prep for the role, his insight into the character, and his intense training regimen to portray this unlikely killer. Suit Up / Shoot Up : Costume Designer Paco Delgado uncovers the cooler-than-cool suits worn by the assassins of John Wick that feature bulletproof lining just what every killer needs for a night out on the town. We also explore the more refined looks of the Marquis and the Old West-inspired garb of the Tracker. Packing a Punch : Pulling off a kill takes a village. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the way Team Wick incorporates special effects into the practical stunts and locations of the film. One Killer Shot : John Wick: Chapter 4 features one of the boldest single-take shots ever attempted in action filmmaking. Fight Choreographers Jeremy Marinas and Laurent Demianoff team up with Stunt Coordinator Scott Rogers to dive into the creative challenges that went into planning this one-shot sequence that sees John Wick take on Pariss deadliest killers. Killing at the Speed of Traffic : Take a look at a nonstop action sequence featuring John Wicks car-fu at the Arc de Triomphe! The driving force of this piece will be a look at the effects achieved at the iconic location, and sets the stakes of every assassin in Paris descending on Wick. A Shot in the Dark : The John Wick series takes audiences into a world that is both thematically and visually dark. For film crews, that meant enduring hundreds of night shoots, with crews switching to a virtually nocturnal mode of life for long stretches of production. Here we explore the tenacious work of cast and crew members who tough it out night after night in pursuit of Wicks dark, iconic aesthetic. Along the way, we explore some of the most iconic night scenes in the film, culminating with Wicks brutal staircase fight. In Honor of the Dead : In creating John Wick: Chapter 4 , Chad Stahelski drew on references from some of the greatest films ever made. Uncover the cinematic homages depicted in the film, from David Lean to John Woo, to the samurai epics of post-war Japan. Theatrical Trailer 1 Fiona Kinsella is head of production at Tile Media, producers of the three-part Irish Civil War series Trama Teaghlaigh which airs weekly on TG4 until June 14 and available to view on tg4.ie. Shes also on the board of Women in Film and Television Ireland. BOOK: This Much is True Im in the middle of reading Miriam Margolyess autobiography This Much is True. I love her, I think she is funny, so clever, so no-nonsense and so brutally honest about growing up as a young queer Jewish woman in post war UK. What it was like to have been a young actress in the 1960s and 1970s working in London. Its a real eye opener, what a woman, she is absolutely amazing and inspiring. Im also reading Christmas at the Cross by writer/director Maeve Murphy. Its a novella about a young Irish woman living in Kings Cross in the early 1980s in London. We have optioned it and with the help of Screen Ireland we are developing it into a screenplay which Maeve is going to direct. TV: Five Days at Memorial One of the standout series I have watched this year is Five Days at Memorial on Apple TV. Its based on the events that occurred at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Its absolutely brilliant and devastating at the same time. You see the pain and suffering these people had to endure in a very short space of time. Its an amazing insight into what ordinary people are capable of. The moral dilemma that the hospital staff had to face, the super human effort that they made to save the lives of patients, and how quickly law and order can break down. RADIO: Liveline I love to listen to Liveline when I can. I love Joe Duffy and the team there. I think sometimes people underestimate how important that programme is, in terms of the stories theyve broken over the years and in the way that they advocate for people who have no one else to turn to. A few years ago I had the pleasure of producing a TV promo for the show, and it was a delight to meet the man himself. EVENT: Galway Film Fleadh The Galway Film Fleadh in July is without doubt one of my favourite events to attend. Its a true celebration of Irish cinema. [Managing director] Miriam Allen and her team run a great programme of films and industry events. Most of the Irish film-making community descend on Galway for those few days and its a great opportunity to catch up with colleagues and watch great films. I dont have anything screening this year, but Im hoping to attend the Marketplace, which is a two-day event for producers. Sophie White: The most stressful house guests are not your in-laws, but the kid on the playdate Fashion writer and social diarist, Terry Keane, and Ireland's most controversial Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, managed to keep a 27-year-long affair away from the public eye, until one explosive interview. The Indo Daily finds out more. First broadcast March 2023. Host: Fionnan Sheahan. Guest: John Downing. Terry Keane was a fashion writer and columnist. Charles Haughey was Taoiseach and a political party leader. But behind the scenes, the couple engaged in a 27-year-long affair. However, in an interview on Gay Byrne's penultimate Late, Late Show in 1999, Terry Keane lifted the lid on the affair much to the surprise of the Irish public. In today's Best Of episode, presenter Fionnan Sheahan is joined by Irish Independent political correspondent, John Downing, to hear more about the revelations. First broadcast March 2023. With the summer weather having well and truly arrived, excitement is already building for the Park Live Festival, which will take place at Wexfords Min Ryan Park in August of this year. With fans already buzzing at the prospect of seeing the wonderful Gavin James live in the park on August 11, organisers Lantern Events have boosted the excitement even more by revealing a special support act for the show. Having just sold out a headline show at Dublins Olympia Theatre, and after two Choice Music Prize nominations, Lea Heart is set to return to Wexford as Gavins very special guest. Lea has amassed over 11 million streams and has performed on some of the country's biggest stages in the last year, including a packed out tent at Electric Picnic and opening for both Sigrid and Lewis Capaldi at their headline 3Arena Shows. Of course, she also gave an unforgettable performance with Dec Pierce at a sold out show at last Octobers Wexford Spiegeltent Festival. Keen to provide a family-friendly festival vibe at Park Live, organisers have also revealed that the event will be open to kids. Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult, however, while those under the age of 12 go free. Park Live gives us the opportunity to bring big names to a wider Wexford audience, festival organiser Brian Byrne said. Most of our gigs at Park Live are over 18s, but its great to have at least one night in the line-up that the whole family can enjoy together. "The event space at Min Ryan Park is a great amenity and we thank Wexford County Council for their support. As well as seeing Gavin James and Lea Heart take to the stage on August 11, The Whistlin Donkeys are set for a massive show on August 12 with further announcements imminent. Kim Cattrall said her Sex And The City character Samantha Jones is absolutely becoming just one piece in the jigsaw of an almost five-decade career. The actress played PR executive Samantha for six series of the hugely popular show which ran from 1998 to 2004, as well as two feature films released in 2008 and 2010. The character was loved by millions of fans for her sex-positive and ambitious ways but Cattrall stepped away from playing the role when she was not happy with the script for a third film, and has gone on to star in shows including spin-off sitcom How I Met Your Father. Sex And The Citys Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis hold their awards for the best cast in a television drama, during a Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony in Los Angeles (Specker Francis/PA) Cattrall was asked by the Sunday Times if Samantha Jones is finally becoming just one piece in the jigsaw of an almost 50-year career. She replied: Absolutely. Absolutely. Cattrall explained a few weeks ago she was approached by a young woman at a cocktail party in New York, who said: Im just obsessed with it. And of course (I thought) she meant Sex And The City, she said. But she was talking about How I Met Your Father. Her comments come after it was reported she would reprise her role for a one-scene cameo in the Sex And The City spin-off And Just Like That. Sarah Jessica Parker (left) and Kim Cattrall at the world premiere of the Sex And The City film in London (Yui Mok/PA) The series, which sees Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis reprise their roles, has previously explained Cattralls absence by saying Samantha moved to London without warning and has become distant from her former friends. According to industry publication Variety, her brief return will feature in the series two finale and will see her have a phone conversation with Parkers character, Carrie Bradshaw. Cattrall reportedly shot her dialogue without speaking to or seeing the rest of the cast. For years there have been reports of a real-life rift between Cattrall and Parker, with some concluding this influenced her departure from the franchise. Jenny Kiernans Scribble and Stone jewellery brand began life on a market stall. Having tested her product, the line grew into a collection of high-quality, affordable pieces made with ethically sourced goldfill, silver and gemstones, and is now sold nationwide I was on quite a traditional path when I left school. I went to UCD and did a commerce degree, explains Jenny Kiernan. I thought you could only go to art college if you were a prodigy, so I didnt even try. There was also that perception of How would you make a living? Being a creative was feared when I was growing up. Kiernan had her doubts, but her artistic dreams continued to play at the back of her mind so she decided to take the leap. In my early 20s I was working part-time in financial services while doing art and design. I did a HND in fashion and textile design in Edinburgh. In hindsight, all of my designs were accessory design. 14-carat goldfill minimalist ball pendant, from 139; 14-carat goldfill textured disc pendant, 109, Minimals Collection; 14-carat goldfill gemstone bracelet, 119, all Scribble and Stone, scribbleandstone.com Kiernan rented a small stall in Cows Lane, Temple Bar. She began to experiment with different designs and tested out her market. I sold illustrations, clothing and jewellery. I was just making stuff to sell and trying to make a living. I read that when youre starting out you need to give yourself time to fail and make things that dont work. This process of elimination led Kiernan to her true passion. Over time, I realised jewellery was working the best for me. In 2016, I had my first scaleable collection that I could sell to other shops. Kiernan knew she was on the right track when the likes of Kilkenny Design, Dublin Airport and Industry & Co began buying Scribble and Stone collections for their stores. She had created a quality product at a perfect price point for her customers. Fourteen-carat goldfill is such a wonderful material. It gives the look of 14-carat gold at a fraction of the price. 14-carat goldfill T-bar link chain, 139, Scribble and Stone, scribbleandstone.com Also known as rolled gold, its a layer of precious gold metal pressure-bonded to another metal, usually another yellow metal like brass. Not to be confused with its cheaper cousin, gold plating. Its a wonderful and affordable material. Kiernan encourages her customers to buy less and buy better. Scribble and Stone design is made from season to season so it all ties in. Were too small to try to make a whole new collection every six months. We also want to be conscious of people investing in a piece that will last longer, unlike fast fashion. The materials can be recycled and we thought about the longevity of the pieces to reduce peoples carbon footprint. Find Scribble and Stone in selected stores or see scribbleandstone.com Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan greets members of the parliament as he arrives to take his oath after his election win in Ankara. Photo: Reuters President Tayyip Erdogan called on Turks to put aside their differences and focus on the future as he assumed office for a new five-year term yesterday. Image: Wikimedia Commons A cluster of farmers hailing from Tripuras Pancharatan, Narikel Kunja and Tai Chakma ADC villages under Gandacherra sub-division of Dhalai district is trying to cultivate one of the costliest mangoes in the world known as Miyazaki. Apart from it, they are also trying to grow other popular mangoes like Amrapalli, Himsagar, Haribhanga, Vermis, among others. Mangoes from several areas of Gandacherra sub-division in Dhalai district have also gained popularity. Different varieties of mangoes are cultivated in different regions of the subdivision. And all these mangoes are exported to different cities of the state. Mango sellers in various cities of the state have already negotiated with mango growers to purchase mangoes from several orchards in the sub-division, reports NorthEast Today. The farmers are earning profits by selling mangoes in the region. According to reports, Miyazaki variety costs Rs. 1500 per kilogram. The farmers told the news portal that after several days of intense heat in the summer, there was little rain, but there has been not much damage to the mango crop. So they are hopeful that both farmers and traders will benefit from mango exports this year. Image: Pixabay Srinagar: Gurudwara Mehjoor Nagar in Srinagar recently organized a free medical camp in the city, media reports said. During the event, free medical consultations, check-ups, and basic diagnostic tests were offered to the local community members. Baseera The Home, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving healthcare access for underserved communities, has collaborated with Ujala Cygnus Multispeciality Hospital and FAST (Federation for all Societies and Trust) to organize the free medical camp, reports ANI. People from different walks of life and ages participated in the event on Saturday. The camp was efficiently staffed by a team of experienced doctors, nurses, and medical technicians from Ujala Cygnus Multispeciality Hospital. They provided specialized care in various fields including cardiology, pediatrics, gynecology, and orthopedics. In addition to medical services, the team also offered counselling and guidance on health and wellness, along with the distribution of educational materials focusing on preventive healthcare, reports ANI. Dr Touseef Ahmed, Founder and Secretary General of Baseera the home, expressed his delight in partnering with Ujala Cygnus Multispeciality Hospital and FAST for this significant initiative, the Indian news agency reported. Our aim is to improve healthcare access for underserved communities, and we believe that this medical camp will provide much-needed medical care to those who need it the most, he said. Image Credit: Press Information Bureau Balasore/IBNS: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said the root cause of the Odisha three-train accident has been identified and the restoration work of the track should be completed by Wednesday. He made the statements while reviewing the restoration work at the train accident site on Sunday morning. The Railway Minister has also apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the latest developments. "The root cause of this accident has been identified. PM Modi inspected the site yesterday. We will try to restore the track today. All bodies have been removed. Our target is to finish the restoration work by Wednesday morning so that trains can start running on this track," Vaishnaw told the ANI. #WATCH | The root cause of this accident has been identified. PM Modi inspected the site yesterday. We will try to restore the track today. All bodies have been removed. Our target is to finish the restoration work by Wednesday morning so that trains can start running on this pic.twitter.com/0nMy03GUWK ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2023 The toll in the horrific three-train accident in Odisha's Balasore mounted to 288 with around 803 people injured, officials said Saturday after rescue operations ended in the country's deadliest train accident in 20 years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached the site of the railway mishap on Saturday and inspected the ground situation. Earlier responding to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's remark on the official death count in the tragedy, the Railways Minister said, "We want full transparency, this is not the time to do politics, this is time to focus on making sure that restoration happens at the earliest." On Saturday, Banerjee and Vaishnaw- while speaking to the media- had disagreed over the death count in the horrific accident. Vaishnaw, who was standing with Mamata Banerjee, sought to correct her when she suggested that the death count could be as high as 500. "I have heard it could be 500," she said, adding that rescue work had not been completed in three bogies even as Vaishnaw maintained the death count (at that time) was 238. PM Modi too assured that action will be taken against those responsible for the incident. The crash involved the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, and a goods train. The accident occurred when one train rammed so hard into another that carriages were lifted high into the air, twisting and then smashing off the tracks. Another carriage had been tossed entirely onto its roof, crushing the passenger section. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has declared one-day state mourning in view of the horrific train crash. Vaishnaw earlier announced a compensation of Rs. 10 lakhs for the families of those who have died, Rs. 2 lakhs for those seriously injured, and Rs. 50,000 for those who sustained minor injuries in the accident. PM Modi too expressed his distress over the accident and announced a compensation of Rs. 2 lakhs for the family of the dead and 50,000 for the injured from the PM's National Relief Fund (PMNRF). As many as 48 trains have been cancelled following the horrific accident, 39 diverted and 10 trains have been short-terminated on the Howrah-Chennai main line in the Kharagpur division of the South Eastern Railway. Whenever I come across a video of Marjorie Taylor-Greene making things up from a position of ignorance, I think of an interview with Alaska Governor and Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin during the 2008 Presidential campaign. Katie Couric, CBS: "When it comes to establishing your worldview, I was curious. What newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand the world?" Gov. Sarah Palin: "I've read most of them, again, with a great appreciation for the press, for the media" KC: "What specifically, I'm curious that you?" SP: "Um, all of them. Any of them that have been in front of me over all these years." KC: "Can you name any of them?" SP: "I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news. Alaska isn't a foreign country." Like so many politicians, often Republican but not only, when asked to be specific about the origins of their information, they cannot answer. "All of them. Any of them." This is as spurious and disassembling a response as "the Internet." Palin could not even name one source. Speculation could lead to the proposition that she did not want to share such private information. After railing against Roe v. Wade, claiming to be a Federalist, and explaining her disagreement with the Supreme Court on jurisdiction issues, Couric asks this zinger: "What other Supreme Court decisions do you disagree with?" Click here to watch Palin's deeply researched and detailed response. Maybe Palin is so well-read that to choose one source would be an insult to her genius. Or, perhaps this is the Tea Party's version of knowledge overconfidence? You can see the full interview here. Check out Saturday Night Live's take on the brilliant insight and creative thoughts of Sarah Palin: "Katie Couric (Amy Poehler): You went to the UN for the first time. How was that experience? Gov. Sarah Palin (Tina Fey): Oh, you know, it was just amazing, so many interesting people, though, I have to say, I was disheartened by how many of them were foreigners! I can promise that, when Sen. McCain and I are elected, we're gonna get those jobs back in American hands!" When asked to be specific about a foreign policy issue, Palin responds. Gov. Sarah Palin: [ after an extended silence ] Katie, I'd like to use one of my lifelines! Katie Couric: I'm sorry? Gov. Sarah Palin: I want to phone a friend! Katie Couric: You don't have any lifelines." If you are interested in Couric's perspective on the interview with Palin, click here. "My Goal Wasn't To Make Sarah Palin StruggleIt was an important moment to discover who Sarah Palin wasand we were able to reveal her as the candidate she was." Image Credit: Facebook/S Jaishankar Cape Town/: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the latter's remarks in the US, saying that he does not indulge in politics when he goes abroad and will argue "vigorously" on his return to India. While not naming Rahul Gandhi, Jaishankar said, "I may differ strongly with someone but how I counter it ... I would like to go back home and do it. And watch me when I get back." The External Affairs Minister was interacting with the Indian community during his visit to Cape Town to attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting. After Jaishankar's address, a round of questions was opened for the members of the Indian community. A member of the Indian community, without naming Rahul Gandhi, asked Jaishankar what he would like to say about remarks made by "someone" in the US. To that, the minister said, "Look, I say that I can only talk for myself. I try, when I go abroad, not to do politics abroad. For this, I'm perfectly prepared to argue and argue very vigorously at home." "There are sometimes things bigger than politics and when you step outside the country, I think that's important to remember," Jaishankar said, in an oblique reference to the Congress leader. Earlier, on Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi targeted the BJP-led government at the Centre at an event in the United States saying "What is happening to Muslims in India today, happened to Dalits in the 1980s". "It is being felt by the Muslims most directly because it is done most directly to them. But in fact, it is done to all communities. The way you (Muslims) are feeling attacked, I can guarantee Sikhs, Christians, Dalits, and tribals are also feeling the same. You can't cut hatred with hatred., but only with love and affection," Gandhi had said. "What is happening to Muslims in India today happened to Dalits in the 1980s. In the UP of the 1980s, this happened to Dalits...We have to challenge it, fight it and do it with love and affection and not with hatred, and we will do it," he added. The Congress leader is on a six-day visit to the United States. During the event in San Francisco, Rahul also spoke about "economic inequality" saying that while some people were finding it difficult to make ends meet, "five people have lakhs of crores". Image: Sarbananda Sonowal Twitter page Kolkata: Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday said the PM Narendra Modi-led government remains deeply committed to ensuring the Act East Policy reaches its maximum potential for growth and development of not only the country's east but also the neighboring nations. Deliberating at a crucial meeting of stakeholders of maritime development in the Bay of Bengal area here, Sonowal underlined that the policy would benefit countries like Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal. The Union Minister after interacting with the envoys of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal as well as industry and trade representatives, called for greater cooperation among all the stakeholders for unlocking value in the maritime sector of the region. Sonowal said, The Act East Policy of Government has gathered unprecedented momentum ushering a new age of growth and development in the region. The PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan is yet another boost to rationalise the logistical paradigm and make an attractive business proposition." "The maritime sector as well as the Inland waterways sector are major agents of change in this visionary scheme of transportation which is likely to transform cargo movement through an economic, sustainable and efficient mode. In this momentous journey," he said. (With UNI inputs) Image credit: Pixabay Cape Town/IBNS/UNI: Seven people were killed and two others were injured in a shooting at a hostel in the South African city of Umlazi, the police said on Saturday. "According to police in Umlazi, at 02:45 this morning, nine men aged between 20 and 40 years old, were consuming alcohol in a room at Block 57 at the Glebelands Hostel when unknown gunmen opened fire on them before fleeing the scene. "Seven of the victims died on the scene whilst two were transported to hospital with serious injuries," the police said in a statement. The motive for the shooting is unknown at this stage, the statement noted, adding that the investigation into the incident was launched. Pixabay Ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday that the government would send the countrys armed forces to support the Quebec authorities in extinguishing wildfires in the province. "Were going to deploy the Canadian armed forces members to help support Quebecs response to the ongoing wildfires and to provide firefighting resources," Trudeau said on Twitter. The Canadian authorities continue their fight against forest fires that have engulfed several regions of the country. Earlier in the week, smoke from a forest fire in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, which became the largest fire in the country's history, enveloped the east coast of North America. The US media reported on Thursday that smoke spread across a wide area of the United States in skies over Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. (With UNI inputs) Pixabay Phnom Penh: One villager died and 27 were hospitalized in northwest Cambodia's Pursat province after drinking homemade rice wine, which is suspected to contain high levels of methanol, a local health official said on Sunday. Teuk Sopheap, deputy chief of Pursat Provincial Health Department, said the incident happened on Thursday night during the funeral of a resident in Morth Prey village under Krakor district where the tainted rice wine was served. "One man was confirmed dead, and 27 others had been admitted to hospital after the incident," he told Xinhua. "The patients have been recovering well and there is no risk to their lives." Sopheap said the victims had developed symptoms such as eye irritation, chest pain, breathing difficulty, dizziness, headache, and fatigue after drinking the adulterated wine. The toxic wine's samples had been taken for a lab test, he added. Rice wine is popular in rural areas in Cambodia due to its low price. (With UNI inputs) Image: Pixabay New York: A new study by UCLA sociologist Giovanni Rossi and an international team of collaborators finds that people rely on each other for help constantly. In the study, published in Scientific Reports, the authors who also included researchers at universities in Australia, Ecuador, Germany, the Netherlands and the U.K. explore the human capacity for cooperation. They found that people signal a need for assistance, such as asking someone to pass them a utensil, once every couple of minutes. And the research revealed that those requests for help do not go unanswered: Across cultures, people comply with these small requests far more often than they decline them. On the rare occasions when people do decline, they explain why. Those human tendencies to help others when needed and to explain when such help cant be given transcends cultural differences, suggesting that, deep down, people from all cultures have more similar cooperative behaviors than prior research has established. The new findings help solve a puzzle generated by prior anthropological and economic research, which has emphasized variation in rules and norms governing cooperation. For example, while whale hunters of Lamalera, Indonesia, follow established rules about how to share out a large catch, Hadza foragers of Tanzania share their food more out of a fear of generating negative gossip. In Kenya, wealthier Orma villagers are expected to pay for public goods such as road projects. Wealthy Gnau villagers of Papua New Guinea, on the other hand, would reject such an offer because it creates an awkward obligation to reciprocate for their poorer neighbors. Cultural differences like these have created a puzzle for understanding cooperation and helping among humans, said Rossi, the papers first author. Are our decisions about sharing and helping shaped by the culture we grew up with? Or are humans generous and giving by nature? To answer those questions, the authors analyzed over 40 hours of video recordings of everyday life involving more than 350 people in geographically, linguistically and culturally diverse sites towns in England, Italy, Poland and Russia, and rural villages in Ecuador, Ghana, Laos and Aboriginal Australia. The analysis focused on sequences in which one person sent a signal for help, such as asking directly or visibly struggling with a task, and another person responded. The authors identified more than 1,000 such requests, occurring on average about once every two minutes. The situations involved low-cost decisions about sharing items for everyday use or assisting others with tasks around the house or village, for example. Such decisions are many orders more frequent than high-cost decisions such as sharing the spoils of a successful whale hunt or contributing to the construction of a village road, the types of decisions that have been found to be significantly influenced by culture. People complied with small requests seven times more often than they declined, and six times more often than they ignored them. People did sometimes reject or ignore small requests, but a lot less frequently than they complied. The average rates of rejection (10%) and ignoring (11%) were much lower than the average rate of compliance (79%). The preference for compliance held across all cultures and was unaffected by whether the interaction was among family or non-family members. People helped without explanation, but when they declined, 74% of the time they gave an explicit reason. That suggests that while people decline helping only for a good reason, they give help unconditionally, without needing to explain why they are doing it. A cross-cultural preference for compliance with small requests is not predicted by prior research on resource-sharing and cooperation, which instead suggest that culture should cause prosocial behavior to vary in appreciable ways due to local norms, values, and adaptations to the natural, technological, and socio-economic environment, said N. J. Enfield, the papers corresponding author and a linguist at the University of Sydney. These and other factors could in principle make it easier for people to say no to small requests, but this is not what we find. The findings suggest that being helpful is an ingrained reflex in the human species, Rossi said. While cultural variation comes into play for special occasions and high-cost exchange, when we zoom in on the micro level of social interaction, cultural difference mostly goes away, and our species tendency to give help when needed becomes universally visible, he said. Pixabay At least 8 people were hurt as an explosion rocked an oil tanker that was anchored in the Shitalakkhya River in Narayanganj region of Bangladesh, media reports said. Five of them suffered serious burn wounds and are currently undergoing treatment at Dhaka's Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, reports bdnews24. The tanker named OT Shanghai-8 was anchored at the Darikandi Dockyard. The explosion occurred at around 1:30 am on Sunday. Inspector Ataur Rahman of Rupganj Police Station told bdnews24 that the blast was sparked by the accumulation of gas inside the tanker, which at the time was empty after unloading the oil it was carrying at the port. The ship instantly caught fire, burning crew members and workers onboard. Some of them are in hospital care," he said. No deaths were reported in the incident. The 2+2 dialogue is a format of dialogue where the appointed defense or foreign minister or secretaries meet with their counterparts from another country. The 2+2 dialogue happens at a diplomatic summit that has been held every year since 2018. This meeting aims to discuss issues of strategic and security interest between the two countries. India has bilateral dialogues with four key strategic partners: the U.S., Australia, Japan, and Russia. Besides Russia, the other three countries are also Indias partners in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or QUAD Group. The Quad Group is an informal strategic dialogue with four members, namely India, Japan, Australia, and the US. AFP The shared objective is to ensure and sustain an open, free, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. The dialogue between India and the U.S. came into existence through an agreement between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. The US is Indias oldest and most important 2+2 trading partner. The major benefit of having this kind of talk between strategic partner countries is that it enables them to understand and appreciate each others strategic concerns and consider the political factors on both sides. This helps them build a stronger, more integrated strategic relationship in a rapidly changing global environment. In international diplomacy, high-level engagement is the mark of a strong partnership. This form of negotiation allows countries to sustain and strengthen their bonds. In the first Indo-US 2+2 dialogue held in 2018, the two sides further decided to establish secure communication between the Minister of External Affairs of India and the U.S. Secretary of State and between the Minister of Defense of India and the U.S. Secretary of Defense to help maintain regular high-level communication on emerging developments. AP This meeting reaffirmed the U.S.'s designation of India as a "major defense partner." India was granted license-free exports, re-exports, and transfers under the License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization. The U.S. has four "foundational" agreements that it signs with its defense partners to promote military cooperation. Though signing these agreements is not mandatory, signing them would make the process simpler and more cost-effective. But India was hesitant to sign the agreement as it did not want to compromise its strategic autonomy. In 2020, India signed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement of Geospatial Intelligence (BECA), having already signed the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) in 2002, an adapted version of the LSA Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016, and an adapted version of the CISMOA Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) in 2018. All these agreements resulted in allowing the military to share their intelligence, the exchange of information on approved equipment, allowing each other's military bases to operate without logistics support, and permits to share geospatial maps. In 2019, India started having 2+2 talks with Japan, which angered China. China is using many types of methods, including military, diplomacy, and economic, to expand its influence. To deal with China, diplomacy, including economic policy and the military, should be coordinated. That is loss through 2+2 dialogue. Communication with Australia began in 2021; the summit was held in New Delhi, with both countries sharing mutual interests with the United States and Japan over China's ambitions. AP Both countries have agreed to upgrade their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. In Indias relations with Russia, Putin arrived in India for the 21st India-Russia Annual Summit in New Delhi on December 6, which was being held along with the 2+2 summit. An agreement was reached by both sides, with India producing more than six hundred thousand Kalashnikov rifles, and a military and technical cooperation pact was agreed upon lasting until 2031, which included a pledge to boost annual trade to thirty billion dollars by 2025. As per the Pentagons announcement, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Japan, Singapore, India, and France on May 29, 2023. "This visit provides an opportunity to accelerate new defense innovation and industrial cooperation initiatives and drive ongoing efforts to expand operational cooperation between the US and Indian militaries," the Pentagon said. References Nayanima Basu (Nov 6, 2021) Whats the hype about 2+2 talks Indias holding with US, Japan, Australia & now Russia, The Print Indo-US 2+2 Dialogue ( 31 Dec, 2018) Press Information Bureau ,Government of India. Ministry of Defence US Def Sec to visit India ahead of Modis White House visit - The Indian Express A family lost three members in the Odisha train tragedy in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district. They were three brothers who were travelling to Tamil Nadu in search of work says the news reports. bodies 3 brothers died The victims, reportedly identified as Haran Gayen (40), Nishikant Gayen (35) and Dibakar Gayen (32), are residents of Charanikhali village in Basanti Uttar. The reports suggest that they usually lived in the southern state of Chennai most time of the year and did menial jobs there. They came home a few days back, and were going back to Tamil Nadu this time in the Coromandel Express in search of work as farm labourers. But, little did anyone know that they would never reach their destination. AFP Family mourns the loss As the news of their deaths came, a pall of gloom descended on the village. Their wives fell unconscious as neighbours continued consoling them. Harans wife Anajita is a neurological patient, locals said, adding that her treatment was now in question. He is survived by two married daughters and a son who has recently started working at a local eatery. Besides his wife, Nishikant is survived by a daughter and a son, both minors. Dibakar is survived by two sons and his wife. My father and uncles are no more, our family is devastated, said an inconsolable Avijit, the son of Haran. REUTERS 12 from the district died, 44 missing, 110 injured Twelve people from the district have lost their lives in the crash, which happened on Friday evening, officials said. A total of 110 people from the district were injured, 44 were missing and 16 have so far returned to their homes, they said. Among those dead, six people are from Basanti block, including the three brothers, two from Kakdwip and one each from Joynagar-2, Baruipur, Canning-1 and Magrahat-1 blocks, they added. While most of the victims from the district were migrant workers, the rest were headed to Bengaluru for treatment, officials said. AFP The accident in Balasore involving three trains -- Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a goods train -- killed nearly 300 people, in one of the worst railway tragedies in the country. For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News. 18 passengers were reportedly burnt to death in a fatal auto crash at Zakirai town, on Kano-Ringim Road in Gabasawa Local Government Area of Kano State. The Kano State Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Sector Commander, Mr Ibrahim Abdullahi, said that 12 other passengers suffered varying degrees of injuries in the crash which occurred on Friday, June 2, 2023, while five others escaped unhurt Some of the dead in the accident were given mass burials at the accident scene, while others were handed over to their relatives READ ALSO: Two Dead In Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Truck Accident Abdullahi, who made the confirmation in a press statement issued by the sectors spokesman, Mr. Abdullahi Labaran, on Saturday, said the accident involved two commercial vehicles. We received a call about the accident at about 8:35 p.m. on Friday and dispatched our personnel to the scene to rescue the victims, he said. He attributed the accident to excessive speeding, dangerous driving and overloading, which resulted in a head-on collision and the bursting into flames of one of the vehicles. The accident involved a total of 35 passengers in two buses, out of which 18 were burnt beyond recognition, while 12 others suffered varying degrees of serious injuries, he said. Ibrahim, who disclosed that the injured victims were rushed to the Murtala Mohammed General Hospital, Kano, advised motorists to avoid speeding, overloading, wrongful overtaking, dangerous driving and any infraction that could lead to road crashes. Also, the sector commander expressed regret at the magnitude of avoidable road crashes recorded in Kano State in the past week. According to him, during a visit to the crash scene on Saturday, he warned motorists, particularly intercity and inter-state drivers, to desist from overloading, excessive speeding, wrongful overtaking and other traffic violations. However, Abdullahi assured that the FRSC would intensify public enlightenment campaigns as well as undertake stringent patrol interventions, including the operation of mobile courts, to curb the rising trend of fatal intercity auto crashes. It says something about a guy that the most interesting thing about him might not be that he is leaving $6 million to Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo. But that's Andrew Dodges of South Buffalo and the Old First Ward. He saved his fellow soldiers when they were attacked in France during World War II, and later was injured and spent three months in the hospital. He was the construction manager on the St. Lawrence Seaway, and lead engineer when the water stopped flowing over Niagara Falls for erosion control measures. He was married to the sister of Gene McCarthy. (Yes, THAT Gene McCarthy, of the eponymous tavern fame.) He built his own house. And he's 97 years old. "I never smoked, never," he said, explaining his longevity. Dodges was introduced to the public at Hospice last month at a reception thanking him for his legacy and for his service. "You are going to impact us for generations to come, for many, many, many years to come," said Elizabeth Siderakis, executive vice president of the Hospice Foundation. "We are going to be able to provide education, programs, meeting spaces, simulation lab." His gift of approximately $6 million will fund the creation of the Andrew J. and Mary Ann Dodges Center, as well as support hospice care for others in the community. He also contributed to the construction of the Hospice inpatient unit in 1995. Dodges was impressed with the Hospice care his late wife, the former Mary Ann McCarthy, received when she was battling colon cancer. She died in 1989. "I miss her," Dodges said. "I never remarried." But he met the second love of his life, Linda Snyder, 17 years ago when they were on the same tour in Italy. The group was in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, viewing the tomb of Pope John Paul II, where photographs were prohibited. "Well, smarty pants over here decided to take a picture. And the guards came and started chasing him," Snyder said. "And I told him he held our bus up over two hours because we couldn't leave without having everybody accounted for." That was in September. In December, he called Snyder and asked her out for New Year's Eve. They have been close ever since then, and Dodges is living with Snyder. Dodges is now the one receiving long-term hospice care at home. He said he read in the newspaper about the good work of the organization. "I thought it would be nice to have some type of legacy," he said, adding about the decision, "It was rather sudden." Snyder called the Hospice Foundation on his behalf in April and asked how much it would cost to build a building. The arrangements were made within a month. Dodges, who never had children, said he grew his money through "education and investments." He invested in stocks and real estate, and owned 11 buildings over his lifetime. His mantra was "only buy quality," according to Snyder. Dodges was a squad leader in the 411th Infantry Regiment, 103rd Infantry Division, Company E. One day in a small French village, Dodges and other GIs were sleeping in a foxhole when mortars started flying overhead from a nearby shed. He crawled to the shed and threw in grenades to stop the mortars, and was awarded the Bronze Star. Some time later, in December 1944, he was hit by shrapnel in his left arm, shoulder and neck. He spent three months in the hospital, and learned some of the doctors and nurses there were from Buffalo General Hospital. And Gen. Anthony McAuliffe the general who replied "NUTS" to a German message demanding surrender visited him and other wounded soldiers in the hospital. "I was lucky to come out alive. I'm grateful, no regrets," he said. After the war, Dodges attended the University of Alabama on the GI Bill. He returned to Buffalo and worked as an engineer first with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and then for 40 years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He worked on the construction of the Mount Morris dam near Letchworth State Park and the construction of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. Dodges also owned Elk Liquor Store. And while he has some issues with his war injuries, he keeps most of that inside. "He never complains, whether it's a rainy day or a cold winter's day, he's hurting," Snyder said. "He tells me, but he doesn't complain." Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, Ondo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, on Saturday described as handiwork of mischief makers Rumours making the rounds that the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu is dead was the handiwork of mischief makers, the Ondo State Government has said. The Commissioner for Information, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, who disclosed this following the viral rumour during the weekend, urged the people of the State and the country to ignore the rumour. Olateju in a statement said, We have been inundated with calls and messages concerning the state of health of the Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, CON. We had chosen to ignore this wicked fabrication until it appeared that certain persons seek to draw political mileage from the disinformation. Though the Governor has been indisposed for sometime but he has been attending to state matters and delegating functions to functionaries of the Government, when necessary. However, over speculations of Akeredolus ill health, the Ondo State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) called for Akeredolus resignation saying the State should not be grounded because of the governors health condition. READ ALSO: Nigerias 1999 Constitution Against Citizens Interests, A Document Of Lies Akeredolu The Party via its Publicity Secretary, Kennedy Peretei, also asked the ruling Party, the All Progressives Congress and the State government to stop playing politics over his health, asking the governor to resign if he is no longer fit. Peretei further challenged the State government and handlers of the governor to prove that Akeredolu is alive. He said, Since Sahara Reporters reported that the governor is bedridden and incapacitated, Akeredolus handlers responded by fueling public anxiety and suspicion, instead of telling the State, where exactly he is, or getting him to address Ondo State, from wherever he is on planet earth. When Akeredolu did not return to his duty post after his celebrated annual leave in March this year, tongues started wagging. At the inauguration of President Bola Tinubu in Abuja, Akeredolu was conspicuously absent. The deafening silence from government information machinery suddenly saturated social media space with old videos of Akeredolu dancing and singing praises. On the eve of the inauguration of 10th Ondo State House of Assembly, there were reports of an Owo cabal led by Akeredolus heir apparent, Babajide mobilising Members-elect to make a legislator from Owo Speaker, as a fall back position to retain the leadership of the state in Owo, in the event of the worst happening, after impeaching the incumbent Deputy Governor These speculations almost put the State on edge until this morning when the Ondo State House of Assembly retained the present power structure of Speakership of the Assembly in Ondo Central Senatorial District. READ ALSO: APCs Zoning Arrangement Of 10th NASS Flawed, Unworkable Akeredolu If Akeredolus handlers had done the needful, the state would have been spared the unnecessary anxiety. As mortals, any human being can fall sick. Whether in public office or private life. Rotimi Akeredolu is employed by the people of Ondo State, maintained with taxpayers money. So, it is criminal and a great disservice to keep mum over his health status and his whereabouts, the spokesman added. He furthered that, The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ondo State Chapter, demands that, those hiding the governor should tell the people where he is to save the state from speculation. In 2010, when then-President Umar YarAdua was incapacitated due to ill health, Akeredolu was one of the most vociferous voices, calling for his resignation and allowing the then Vice-President to take over. If for whatever reason, Akeredolu can no longer discharge his official responsibilities, the most reasonable thing to do is to hand over to the Deputy Governor as required by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). Our party joins millions of Ondo State people to pray for Akeredolus quick recovery, but nobody should play politics with his ill-health. Nobody should ground the state beyond its present state. Let Akeredolu resign, if he is no longer fit to be governor. The Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed has been elected as the new Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum. INFORMATION NIGERIA gathered that Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, made this known shortly after a retreat for elected PDP Governors and Members of National Assembly elect. Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers state emerged the Vice Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum. Mohammed replaced his counterpart, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state, who also attended the PDP retreat. READ MORE: PDP Has Right To Suspend, Expel You Court Tells Wike In his opening remarks at the retreat, the acting National Chairman of PDP, Umar Damagum, said, I want to reiterate, on the issue of the National Assembly, we have to know we are an opposition. In order to remain relevant, we must work together as one family. Thats the only way youll be able to ensure that your relevance is being determined. Immediate past Borno State Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Usman Jidda Shuwa, has died. Information Nigeria reports that Shuwa, who served under Governor Babagana Umara Zulum until May 28, passed away after a brief illness. Sources within his family that spoke with Daily Trust confirmed he died at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. READ ALSO: Tinubu, Shettimas Emergence Will Lessen My Pain In Borno Zulum He passed on at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, UMTH, this evening, the source disclosed. Shuwa, born in 1958, was a seasoned administrator with an extensive record of work at the state and federal levels. Recall that during a valedictory session a few days to 29th May 2023, Governor Zulum announced three days extension for the late SSG to remain in office after the dissolution of the entire cabinet. Atiku Abubakar, the February 25 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has described his Party as government-in-waiting, hence, members should not leave the Party because of the temporary setback. The former vice president who declared this at a retreat organised for PDP lawmakers-elect in Bauchi State on Saturday, urged Party members not to lose hope while waiting for the resolution of the dispute at the presidential election petition tribunal. While warning members not to abandon the Party, he insisted that, in the end, the truth would prevail. Atiku said, Youre representatives of the party and your constituents. Do not be tempted to abandon your party just because of a temporary setback. In the end, the truth and good shall triumph over falsehood and evil, Atiku told the lawmakers-elect. READ ALSO: Atiku, PDP Present 118 Exhibits In Petition Against Tinubu Therefore, you must please remain resolute. Do not work in isolation from one another. Youre a team and should always work as a team in other to achieve meaningful results and also remain connected to your roots, your constituents and other stakeholders. Based on the results announced by INEC and pending the determination of the electoral challenges in the court, our members-elect are not the majority in the national assembly. So, for the time being, they have to prepare to work as an effective, constructive opposition while also preparing for a possible role as the majority party when the cases are resolved. Dont ever lose hope. The role of the opposition is to hold the government and majority party to account. And in doing so, you demonstrate that you and your party are ready to govern in the shortest possible time; a government-in-waiting, so to speak. The Federal Government has revealed plans to ban underage pupils from sitting for the National Common Entrance Examination conducted by the National Examination Council (NECO) for admission into unity colleges across the country. NECO has been directed to put strict measures in place to prevent underage from registering for the examination, including making birth certificates compulsory as registration requirement. The Federal Government stated that for a pupil to get into secondary school, he or she should be at least 12 years. The Federal Government added that one could be eleven plus during the examination, but must be 12 before September. READ ALSO: I Sat Five Times For JAMB, Says Ijo Laba Laba Crooner Crayon Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, David Adejo, gave the directive on Saturday, June 3, in Abuja while monitoring the conduct of the 2023 Common Entrance Examination into the 116 Federal Government Colleges across the Federation. A total of 72,821 candidates sat for the examination on Saturday nationwide. After monitoring the exercise at the Federal Government Girls College, Bwari, and Government Day Secondary School, Bwari, the Permanent Secretary said he was unhappy to see many underage persons taking the examination. He said, This year, I have advised for parents and I beg you, take this advice to any single home you know. We are killing our children by allowing underage children to write the Common Entrance Examination. I saw children that I know that are not up to 10, and three of them accepted that they are nine years old. We are doing many things; one, we are teaching the children the wrong values. Education is not about passing exams. Education is teaching, learning and character formation. I beg the parents, let these children do the exams when they should. We dont get value by pushing your child too far. Most of the times, if a child starts too early, he or she will have problems later in life. Education is designed in such a way that at any particular stage in life, there are messages your brain can take and understand and be able to use. We are moving from education that is reliant on reading textbooks and passing exams. We are getting to a stage where education is what can you use your knowledge to do for the society. You put a small child to go through all the rigours, by the time he finishes secondary, getting to University becomes a problem. I had that experience with a friend. Till date that friend did not get into a University, simply because he was put into school earlier than age that he was supposed to be put into school. Let our children get to appropriate age before writing this exam and we are going to make sure NECO put in place appropriate checks. We didnt want to get to where we will say bring birth certificate but that is the stage we are going to now. In registering also upload the childs birth certificate, so that at our own end, we are able to cut some of these things. The Kano State Fire Service has rescued seven persons trapped under a collapsed wall at Malam Kato Square by Sufaye Store in the Kano metropolis. This was contained in a statement by the Public Relations Officer of the Service, Saminu Abdullahi, on Sunday. He said the incident occurred on Saturday evening. READ ALSO: Ten Escape Death, One Missing As 2-Storey Building Collapses In Calabar We received a distress call from one, Bashir Mansur at about 05:43 p.m. that a wall had collapsed. Upon receiving the information, we quickly dispatched firemen to the scene at about 05:47 p.m., he said. Abdullahi said one side of the wall at Malam Kato Square collapsed and affected seven people. He gave the names of the victims as Abubakar Abdullahi, 30; Abdulsalam Idris, 20, Usman Abdullahi, 20, Usaini Muhammed, 30, Umar Isah, 40. Abdullahi said firemen rescued all the victims alive, adding that five of them with minor injuries were conveyed to Abdullahi Wase Teaching Hospital while two others with severe injuries had been referred to Albarka Clinic for medical attention. He said no life was lost, adding that the cause of the incident was under investigation. The Kogi Government has revealed the convoy of Governor Yahaya Bello was attacked on Saturday by gunmen, along the Abuja-Lokoja highway. The attack reportedly took place near a Naval Base, a few kilometres away from Lokoja, the state capital. The Kogi Commissioner for Information, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, made the disclosure in a statement in Lokoja. Fanwo alleged that the gunmen were political thugs of an opposition political party in the state, the Social Democratic Party (SDP). READ ALSO: Suspected Terrorist Attack Kogi LG Offices With Explosives The commissioner said the incident which occurred at about 12.30 p.m., left several people including security aides injured and taken to the hospital for medical attention. The gunmen suspected to be political thugs of the SDP, having sighted the convoy of Bello approaching, blocked the road and started shooting at the convoy. A Tundra branded with the logo and flags of the party also blocked the governors vehicle and the occupants were armed with rifles and short guns. But thank God our governor left the scene unscathed and there is no cause for panic. Some security aides and other aides attached to the governor sustained some degrees of injuries and have been rushed to medical facilities for attention. We urge the people of Kogi to remain calm as security agents are in full control to ensure the arrest of the hoodlums behind the attack, he said. Fanwo said the state government would not allow any breakdown of law and order but would do all it could to bring the attackers to justice. According to him, the governor has warned that no APC member should get involved in any reprisal attack as insecurity from any quarter will be met with stiff penalties. Responding, Mr Kunle Afolayo, Media Aide to the SDP Governorship Candidate, Mr Yakubu Ajaka, denied the allegations saying: It was the other way round because it was his political thugs that attacked us. Is it possible for an opposition political party to attack a governor just like that? We were on our way to the Palace of Maigari in Lokoja from Koton Karfe this afternoon, when the governors convoy, heading to Lokoja from Abuja, met us on the way and launched an attack on us just like that. God knows the truth. Its unfortunate that APC administration in Kogi is using government might against us and to lie against us for a crime they committed against us, the media aide said. Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has expressed commitment to settle the rift between himself, leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. Recall that Makinde was one of the five governors of the PDP (G-5) who demanded the resignation of the Partys national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, as a condition for supporting the presidential ambition of Atiku Abubakar in the February 25 election. The G-5 governors, headed by former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, argued that since Atiku and Ayu are northerners, the latter should resign, to allow a southerner assume the position of national chairman. Information Nigeria reports that Makinde made this known in his opening remarks at the retreat organised for elected PDP officials in Bauchi State on Saturday. Though the governor did not mention names, he assured that reconciliation process will start immediately. At the retreat, Makinde, who, alongside Wike and former Delta governor, James Ibori, visited President Bola Tinubu on Friday at the State House, admitted that the crisis among them made the Party go through a drilling election. I would like to point something out. First we went through a drilling election and whether we want to admit or not, we have issues among ourselves during the elections but you know what, the healing process would start now, he said. He further urged leaders and governors of the Party to focus on whatever will assist them to reunite. We must focus on things that will unite us. We must as a matter of urgency be forward looking. We have to tell ourselves the whole truth. READ ALSO: Details Emerge Of Tinubus Meeting With Makinde, Wike, Ibori One thing I can say is that for the governors of PDP that are present here, I will say that the governors are willing. They are ready; they are able to play a stabilising role in this party. And let me end by saying that the government will come and go but our country will remain and as a responsible opposition, we must, where it is required, do this in the interest of this country. If there is no Nigeria, there is no us. So it is safer to accept a chance that offers itself and extemporize it as a procedure to fit it rather than making plans mature and then were waiting for an opportunity to use that plan. Responding, the governorship candidate of the PDP in Kogi State, Dino Melaye, challenged Makinde to appear at the Presidential Election Tribunal in Abuja as evidence that he is ready for reconciliation. I just want to start appreciating the comment of Governor Seyi Makinde this morning, particularly when he said healing starts now and the way to start that healing is.I will be glad if between now and next week and two weeks that well be at the tribunal to see Governor Seyi Makinde walk into the tribunal venue and down to support the party, our candidate and to demonstrate to Nigerians that the healing has started, to demonstrate to the world that PDP is united. That will show that the healing has truly started. And not just Governor Seyi, any of our governors, it is time for us to take the tribunal seriously. We should not just allow only our lawyers to attend this tribunal. Please, if you find yourself you can stroll in and spend 30 minutes, one hour and let the world know that there is a new PDP that is big, that is strong and reliable and we are one indivisible party and we are supporting this tribunal to take over power, Melaye said. A labourer identified simply as Dogo has died after falling into a septic tank belonging to a church in Badore, Ajah area of Lagos State. It was gathered that the incident happened on Friday when the deceased victim was engaged by the leadership of the church to work on the premises. A source in the area told The Punch that the the middle-aged worker had started doing his job when one of those residing in the premises of the church could no longer sight him on the spot. READ ALSO: Unknown Assailants Hack Woman To Death In Ondo, Set Her Room Ablaze He said, When the people around the premises noticed his absence where he was working, they started to look for him. It was in the process of trying to locate his whereabouts that his body was discovered in the soakaway. The incident was said to have caused panic in the area as residents alleged that the deceased victim was used for ritual purposes, while others claimed that his body was mutilated. As a result, an angry mob stormed the church premises, destroyed some properties and set the building on fire. A cow that was tied close to the church was seized by the mob. They later killed the cow and shared the meat in the community. the source further disclosed. The State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident. He said, Someone was engaged to evacuate the septic tank in the church. While he was doing the job, he fell into the septic tank. He was rushed to the hospital where he was confirmed dead. And some angry youths burnt the church. The body was not mutilated. The policemen were there and they took pictures and no part of his body was removed. No arrest has been made yet. The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB, yesterday dismissed the claim of the arrest of four Eastern Security Network, ESN, commanders by Nigerian security agents, particularly the Police Navy and Army in Ogbaru, Local Government Area, Anambra State. IPOB, in a statement on Saturday by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, said criminals arrested in Ogbaru town by security operatives are not its members but oil bunkers, and thieves. It alleged that the security crisis in Ogbaru which led to the attack on United States Embassy officials is the result of the war between the oil bunkering cabal and some politicians who have polarized the Police, Army, Navy, and DSS. The group also claimed that security agencies are deep in the war in the area and that is why they allegedly refused to carry out an investigation into the attack on the USA Embassy Staff convoy. IPOB, however, challenged the security agencies to prove their innocence who carried out the attack on the USA Embassy Staff convoy instead of playing ostrich on such an internationally embarrassing attack. The statement read, We the global movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB, under the command and leadership of our great leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, unequivocally debunk the fabricated and concocted lies from the Nigeria security agents, on their purported arrest of four ESN Commanders in Ogbaru LGA, Anambra State. It is pathetic that the compromised Nigeria security agents will always delude themselves with fake claims of ESN Commanders arrest. We wish to ask them, where was the arrest made? And what are the identities of the so-called commanders arrested? READ MORE: IPOB Slams UN, EU, AU, ECOWAS On Silence Over Nnamdi Kanus Continued Detention We in IPoB wish to tell the public to ignore the professional liars called the Nigeria security agencies, there were no ESN commanders or operatives arrested anywhere in Ogbaru. As usual, the terrorists in uniforms may have arrested innocent people and called them ESN operatives so that they would extort thousands of naira from their victims relatives as bail money. On the other hand, they may have arrested criminals impersonating ESN. Nigeria security forces regular claims that they have arrested ESN operatives is childish. No ESN operatives were arrested. All ESN commanders and operatives are intact. Nigeria compromised security team at Ogbaru must come clean and tell the world who carried out the attack on the USA Embassy Staff convoy, instead of playing ostrich on such an internationally embarrassing attack. The ongoing security crisis in Ogbaru LGA has nothing to do with IPoB or ESN. It is rather a rivalry between oil bunkering cartels, which the Nigeria government, Nigeria security agencies, Navy, Army, DSS, and Police are part of. It has been an ongoing war between the cartels before the attack on US Embassy Staff Convoy. That is why Nigeria Police refused to carry out any investigation into the attacks. Instead, they go about arresting people branding them IPoB members and ESN operatives and burning their houses. The war within the oil bunkering cartel at Ogbaru will escalate because Nigeria criminal politicians and compromised security agents are the beneficiaries and therefore, handling the issues with kid gloves. Nigeria government and its Security agencies should stop their public deception and attention diversions. They should come up with an investigation into what happened to the American Embassy staff convoy that was attacked. They should stop spreading fake news about ESN Commanders arrest. ESN are not part of their oil bunkering cartel, and no ESN operative or commander was arrested. The Buffalo Common Council is calling on the city's Police Department and Buffalo Public Schools to implement child identification kits for all kids in the city, including BPS students. The aim is to expedite the identification process in cases involving missing or endangered children while also enhancing child protection efforts. The kits provide vital information such as height, weight and other descriptors that can contribute to the prompt identification of missing children, according to a resolution by University District Council Member Rasheed N.C. Wyatt unanimously adopted by the Council last week. And they are invaluable tools in safeguarding children and aiding law enforcement agencies in their search and recovery efforts, according to the resolution. The inclusion of DNA samples in these kits has been particularly effective in expediting the identification process, increasing the likelihood of locating missing children swiftly, backers say. In its resolution, the Council requested that police and the Buffalo Board of Education provide a detailed report on the feasibility, costs and logistics of implementing the child ID kits, including DNA samples. The measure also was referred to the Councils Police Oversight Committee. The Council urges the Police Department and school system to work with parents, guardians and community organizations to gain their input and involvement in the development and implementation of the protocols and consider best practices from successful initiatives in other jurisdictions. Virginia and Texas, for example, have successfully implemented child ID kits, yielding positive outcomes in ensuring the well-being of children, the Council said. Inspired by the success of efforts like the Child Safe Kit program sponsored by a national insurance conglomeration, the Council wants to reinforce child safety measures within the city. Recent incidents involving missing children in the community have underscored the urgency of implementing proactive measures that protect this vulnerable population, the measure read. On May 24, for instance, the Police Department posted on its Facebook page that a 13-year-old girl as well as a 15-year-old girl went missing. Both were located safely, according to the updates. The day before, BPS was asking for help in locating a 12-year-old boy, who was also found safely. Wyatt noted there used to be a childrens identification program many years ago. I think my children got those children IDs and for some reason we stopped, but we need to revisit this because theres too often that children are going missing. Parents, caregivers are scrambling to try to get information: their height, their size, their weight, fingerprints and those things, he said. Im hopeful that the School Board will hear us along with the Buffalo Police and put something in place by the fall. "This is a crisis I believe, because again every other day you see an alert about a child missing. So Im hoping that we can use the vehicles that we have within our organizations to really make this happen to give parents a little piece of mind. You dont want your child to be missing, but if they do become missing, we have some documentation, something that we can share with law enforcement or others who are participating to try to recapture and find that child. Former Big Brother Naija reality star, Kiddwaya, has disclosed how a domestic staff who stole millions of Naira from his billionaire father, Terry Waya impressed him. Speaking via Instagram, the reality TV star disclosed that the domestic staff who was a cleaner while in their employ stole from them and used the money to build his own house. Kiddwaya praised the cleaner who is from his home state, Benue, for using the stolen funds to do something tangible. READ ALSO: BBNaija Star, Kiddwaya Clears The Air On Engagement Rumours He said, I have got this cleaner in my house in Nigeria; Abuja. He is from Benue State because I like to hire people from my home state. So, as my dad was travelling. Obviously, we keep cash in our house. He [my dad] realised some dollars were missing. Only for us to find out that it was this guy from my own state that has been stealing for about a year little by little. He said the cleaner stole millions of Naira from their home in Abuja and used the money to build his own house in Benue. Kiddwaya said he was impressed that the cleaner spent the stolen funds wisely. The guy stole enough money to build a house in his state. Now, two things, Im slightly impressed that he actually invested the money into something that is going to benefit him and his family. For that reason Im not upset. He, however, said that he is upset that the person who has been stealing from them was a fellow Tiv from Benue State. In April, for the first time in three years, states had to start terminating Medicaid coverage for people who are no longer eligible. Many thousands are expected to lose the benefit. Read more In April, for the first time since March 2020, people who have health insurance through Medicaid had to start reapplying to see whether they were still eligible. New data from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, which runs the states Medicaid program, show that 43,546, or 32%, of the 137,611 Pennsylvanians who completed the process in the first month, were slated to lose Medicaid, declared ineligible because their income was too high or due to a procedural problem, such as not returning documentation. Its scary, advocate Courtney Bragg said in an interview Saturday, citing an estimate by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a not-for-profit health-care research group, that half the people expected to lose Medicaid are actually still eligible. Its a confusing and multistep process to stay insured, said Bragg, cofounder of Fabric Health, a Philadelphia start-up that does regular outreach for insurance companies, helping people navigate complicated benefits systems and sign up for insurance. Advertisement Its not clear how many of the 43,546 people who received cancellation notices after the April review ultimately will lose coverage, Acting DHS Secretary Valerie A. Arkoosh cautioned Wednesday at a board meeting of Pennie, the states health insurance exchange. Were way too early in the process to say how many have lost Medicaid because of the appeals process, she said. People have 90 days to appeal an adverse decision. A major post-pandemic change A rule from March 2020 prohibited states from ending Medicaid coverage except in a few circumstances, such as a move to another state. In Pennsylvania, 1.3 million were kept on Medicaid under that rule. Pennsylvanias Medicaid enrollment swelled to 3.7 million before the so-called unwinding started. But in April, the federal government required state Medicaid programs to start terminating coverage for people who no longer qualify. Pennsylvania is not reviewing everyone at once. Instead, the state will ask the individuals to reapply in their usual renewal month. Part of DHS plan was to automatically hand off people who are no longer eligible for Medicaid to Pennie. Pennie said last week that 33,346 of such individuals had applied for coverage and that 3,178 had signed up for a plan. That number is expected to grow. Under a special enrollment period for Medicaid redetermination, people have 60 days to enroll while maintaining continuous coverage. The full special enrollment period runs 120 days. A Pennie spokesperson said Saturday that half the Medicaid households transferred to Pennie for insurance signed up for plans with premiums of less than $50 a month. A fifth of those households are paying less than a dollar a month, the spokesperson said. Ed Sheeran traded in his guitar for a few minutes behind a South Philly griddle Saturday afternoon to learn how to make cheesesteaks while in town for a two-night concert. Read more Ed Sheeran wowed a packed house at the Met Philly on Friday night for two and a half hours, where he raved about the beautiful theater on North Broad Street and exuded enthusiasm about being back in the city of so many great experiences. On Saturday afternoon, he added another to his Philly firsts: He learned how to make a cheesesteak. And once again the British superstar left his fans in giddy adoration. Perhaps none more than brothers Joseph and Philip Baldino, owners of Philips Steaks in South Philadelphia. There, shortly before 3 p.m., Sheeran, in T-shirt and shorts, his red hair matching the decor of the little sandwich hut on West Passyunk Avenue (or actually closer in color to the Cheez Whiz), was introduced to this other Philly process, all captured by Sheerans team and posted on Instagram. In Philly, its slabs, slabs of ribeye, Joe tells him with the authority of a griddle master. This is Whiz cheese, Philip says pointing to a vat of the gooey stuff, as the steaks sizzled on the griddle. Advertisement Philip then leans in between the grill and the out-of-towner more comfortable with a guitar to give a quick assembly primer: Open roll, slather with Whiz, top with meat, wrap in paper. You make the next one, he encourages his 32-year-old apprentice who started writing songs when he was 11. The crowd that was gathered outside the serving window, cell phones aloft to capture this very South Philly moment, didnt seem to shake Sheeran. He cradled a roll in one steady, black latex-gloved hand, gave it a swipe of Whiz, deftly used a spatula to stuff it with steak, wrapped it in paper, and with tattooed arms handed it out the service window to a gleeful woman. Tell me what you think, Philips new crew member urged her. Its perfect, she crooned, even adding an enthusiastic thumbs-up. Joe gave two thumbs-up, not for the sandwich but for the extraordinary turn of events on a gloomy Saturday afternoon with patrons chowing down outside, compliments of Sheeran, who before his arrival had posted on Instagram that he was headed to Philips Steaks and that cheesesteaks are on me today. This is beyond unbelievable, Joe said to the camera. It seemed to work for Sheeran, too. That was really fun, he said once back in his SUV. Though its not clear he ever tasted what he had learned to make. Then again, in just a few hours after leaving Philips, he was due at Lincoln Financial Field to perform a 20-plus-song set to an even bigger crowd than Fridays. Who could blame him if, when it came to eating a filling, carb-laden cheesesteak prior to a concert he opted to go ... witout. Staff writer Michael Klein contributed to this article. An 18-year-old Delaware County man was shot and killed by police after he hit two Pennsylvania State Police troopers with his vehicle on Interstate 95 near Penns Landing in Philadelphia early Sunday morning, officials said. Anthony Allegrini Jr. of Glen Mills was pronounced dead on the scene by Philadelphia Fire Department medics. The troopers suffered minor injuries, according to police. LIVE UPDATES: Police, Philly DA investigating after a trooper killed a man on I-95; mans parents say he would never intentionally hurt anyone At around 3:30 a.m., two state troopers responding to reports of street racing and shots fired were struck by Allegrinis vehicle after they attempted to approach it and it failed to yield, according to a statement issued by State Police. Thats when one officer fired his weapon, striking Allegrini, according to the statement. Advertisement An Inquirer photographer witnessed a bloodied body on the ground beside a State Police SUV after the shooting. When those troopers had first arrived at the scene, they found numerous vehicles and pedestrians illegally blocking the roadway near Penns Landing, and automobiles were performing tricks for the assembled audience, including burnouts and drifting, according to the police statement. They were also aware of a report of shots fired in the area, police said. The shooting came at the end of an evening when police received multiple reports of large drag-racing incidents in North and Northeast Philadelphia. Just before midnight, there were reports of a large crowd and hundreds of vehicles blocking streets around Torresdale and Cottman Avenues, and that an officer was surrounded by a crowd that was also jumping on her vehicle. Just after 1 a.m., more than 100 drag racers and a large crowd were reported in the area of Poquessing and Bustleton Avenues. It is unclear if those incidents were related to the later reports of drag racing that drew state police to I-95 and led to the shooting of Allegrini. The State Police news release did note that similar incidents had been reported earlier in the evening with Pennsylvania State Police requested to assist the agencies handling. The Philadelphia District Attorneys Office is involved in the shooting investigation, and offered no further comment. A Philadelphia Police Department spokesperson said no additional information was available. Allegrinis girlfriend, Reagan Hocking, told NBC10 that he was attending a car meet. He loves all cars, she said. He drove an Audi S4. He loves it. He pays for it. I do agree that might not be the most safe thing to do in the world. But whats not safe is a cop showing up and killing an innocent life. In response to Hockings statement, state police said: This incident remains under active investigation. Theres nothing additional at this time. This is a breaking news story and will be updated. The war against the great American tradition of a liberal arts college education rich in the arts and literature, asking lifes deep philosophical questions feels like its being waged right now on more fronts than the battle lines of World War II. The assault on learning for learnings sake has even hit the presidential campaign trail. In Iowa last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis avatar of the far-rights so-called war on woke in the university classroom told an audience in rural Salix that as president hed put colleges on the hook for their students defaulting on their loans. That way, DeSantis proclaimed, schools would make sure the curriculum was designed to produce people that can be very productive. Youd have a heck of a lot less gender studies going on. But while fiery GOP politicians grab the headlines, the biggest and most insidious threat to a liberal education comes from within: from students, often urged by their parents, totally focused on a career in business or technology that will pay back the massive cost of a university education in the 21st century, and fearful that classes in Romantic poetry or philosophy will get in the way. The number of students majoring in fields like English or history has plummeted by as much as half in little more than a decade since the Great Recession. Professors have been laid off, and some schools have shut down entire programs such as classics. The biggest overall climate threat is an increasingly transactional view of education, where colleges increasingly think of themselves and the public sort of thinks of colleges, as career services as a place where you go to get job skills, Roosevelt Montas, senior lecturer at Columbia Universitys Center for American Studies, told me last week. Montas, author of Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation, is a leader in the growing campaign to save liberal learning on college campuses. Like most experts, he agrees that career training will always be a critical part of higher education, but the danger is that it becomes the only part. It pushes students, he said, to think of it as an investment, as an outlay of financial resources for which you expect compensation, some kind of reward. Montas was one of about 40 top academics attending a two-day symposium at Ursinus College, located about 25 miles northwest of Philadelphia, called Revolutions in Liberal Education, which focused on how to better define the liberal arts and thus better market the concept. The leafy Collegeville campus seemed a perfect spot for such an event. While Ursinus is not immune to national trends its first-year enrollment was off about 12% in the just-finished academic year the school is also viewed as an innovator in the renewal of the liberal arts. Advertisement READ MORE: Why Ron DeSantis wants to trample the dreams of about 700 college kids on his White House path | Will Bunch Ursinus is widely praised for a program it launched in the late 1990s called the Common Intellectual Experience, or CIE. The idea is to require first-year students to take two classes no bigger than 16 students, to facilitate discussion that cover great texts from the Bible and the Bhagavad Gita through Plato and Descartes right up to Michelle Alexanders The New Jim Crow. It asks what the college describes as the central questions of a liberal education: What should matter to me? How should we live together? How can we understand the world? What will I do? Paul Stern, a professor of politics at Ursinus deeply involved with the CIE curriculum, said the initial goal was to reconnect a liberal arts college with its core mission, but he agrees that the concept of turning students into critical thinkers has taken on new importance in a modern age of disinformation. You develop a better BS meter when you have a little skepticism about what youre being told, he said, but he also alluded to the rapid rise of AI. Another thing to try to develop, with all these technological advances the technology is not going to tell you how to use it, whether to use it. Those are ethical, political judgments we have to make ... These are powerful arguments, but the message from Americas leaders tends to be the 180-degree opposite, and not just from the nattering nabobs of the far-right. Even President Joe Bidens Education Secretary Miguel Cardona seemed to embrace the notion of college preparing cogs for a capitalist machine when he tweeted last year: Every student should have access to an education that aligns with industry demands and evolves to meet the demands of tomorrows global workforce. It seems that both Republicans and Democrats have fallen behind Ronald Reagans famous 1967 declaration: Taxpayers shouldnt fund intellectual curiosity. The subsequent privatization of American higher education no longer a public good but a personal benefit to be funded by students and their families, even as tuition went through the roof has led many students to accept the runaway careerism of modern college. In 1969, when public university was ridiculously inexpensive and humanities majors were at their peak, a whopping 82% of first-year students told UCLAs annual nationwide survey that the chief purpose of college is to develop a meaningful philosophy of life. A small fraction responded with career preparation, but by the 1980s those numbers flipped, and never looked back. Most students really think of college as a place of earning rather than as a place of learning, the Harvard Graduate School of Educations Wendy Fischman, coauthor of a massive study of attitudes among stakeholders at 10 diverse schools published last year as The Real World of College, told the Ursinus gathering. The research finds that the bulk of first-year students view college as more transactional than transformational, although opinions do evolve somewhat after four years on campus. Yet the transactional side is still winning, big time. In a much-discussed article earlier this year entitled, The End of the English Major, the New Yorkers Nathan Heller crunched the grim numbers campus studies in English and history have fallen by one-third in the past decade. He also talked to students at both Harvard and Arizona State with a yearning to read the Great Books but were facing pressure from home, or their rising loan balance, that steered them toward job-oriented majors in fields such as computer science or finance. One of the Ursinus presenters, Joseph Bagnoli of Grinnell College the small, prestigious liberal arts college in Iowa filled about 20 feet worth of whiteboard with a massive list of all the modern threats to liberal education, then pivoted to how schools like Grinnell or Ursinus might best market what they do in such a climate. His suggested pitch aimed to sell young people on the notion that critical thinking and moral values are crucial to solving problems that seem intractable in American society, such as reducing mass incarceration or taking climate change seriously. Some praised the approach; others thought it played into those critics like DeSantis who complain that liberal education and liberal, progressive politics are too synonymous today. Perhaps, but the reality is that were about two generations into the social experiment of careerism dominating our college campuses, with a fading emphasis on critical thinking and promoting citizenship. So weve seen the results, including the worlds highest rate of climate denial and a growing willingness to accept disinformation, from the dismissal of lifesaving vaccines or the seriousness of the pandemic that caused the premature deaths of one million Americans to the Big Lie of election fraud that nearly crashed U.S. democracy on Jan. 6, 2021. One takeaway from my day at Ursinus is how rarely we think about the true meaning of the word liberal rooted in the Latin word liber, which means, simply, free. How ironic that we live in a time when the politicians who blubber the most about freedom are the same ones with the most narrow and closed-off ideas about what our young people should be learning. Its hard to imagine America getting back on the right track without the liberation inherent in the promise of a liberal arts education: the freedom of ones mind. READ MORE: SIGN UP: The Will Bunch Newsletter Students leave Thomas A. Edison High School at the end of a school day in 2019. Edison was one of seven Philadelphia high schools where 90% or more of the students were chronically absent. Read more If its true that 80% of success is showing up, we can add that to the list of reasons why so many Philadelphia public school students are struggling. An Inquirer analysis found that nearly half of the students in the Philadelphia School District are chronically absent, meaning they missed more than 18 days or 10% of the school year. The School District has long been plagued by poor attendance, but the percentage of students missing from class has increased since the pandemic. Skipping school leaves students further behind, increases dropout rates, and results in more students graduating with empty diplomas. Philadelphia is not alone. Nationwide, the number of students considered chronically absent doubled since the pandemic to around 16 million, according to the research group Attendance Works. Advertisement There are many reasons why students miss school. In Philadelphia, absenteeism is especially acute for Black and brown students living in poverty, confronting safety fears, mental health issues, and upheaval caused by the pandemic. Some students work, care for younger siblings or elderly family members, move from home to home, or are homeless. READ MORE: Philadelphia students deserve safe schools | Editorial As such, the chronic absenteeism isnt entirely the School Districts fault. However, the district can and must do more to address the problem. That begins with being open and honest about what is a clear crisis. The Inquirer engaged in a three-year legal battle to get the data from the district used to create the school-by-school analysis. Hiding the information did not make the problem go away. In fact, it prevented the district from engaging parents, guardians, and the broader community in addressing a problem that negatively impacts student outcomes, and could over time increase the number of undereducated Philadelphians. To his credit, Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr., who started last June, has made attendance a cornerstone of his overall plan to improve the district. He made the stakes clear at a recent school board meeting: Attending school is a life-and-death issue for many children of color in this city, he said. That is not hyperbole. At least 25 Philadelphia public school students have died this year, and 165 have been victims of gun violence. And here in the nations poorest large city, the thousands of students who dont show up for class risk falling further behind, and will have little prospect of attending college or getting a job that pays more than minimum wage. Thats even more reason why boosting attendance should be a focus of everyone in the district. While some school principals make engaging students a priority, other schools have a cavalier approach to whether students are in class or not. A sophomore at George Washington High told The Inquirer that teachers make little effort to keep kids in class: They just see you leaving, and they dont care. They say, If you leave, dont come back in. I go to school, and I just leave. The Inquirer detailed instances of students who roam the halls all day, while others walk out of class and never return. A separate Inquirer story in November detailed constant chaos at one high school, including frequent fights and the smell of marijuana wafting through the building. READ MORE: Mayoral candidates need real plans to fix the citys troubled schools | Editorial Such a permissive culture signals to students that school doesnt matter. At the same time, the district has experienced a sharp increase in teachers quitting and being absent, leading to more turnover, frequent substitutes, and staffing shortages. The lack of stability makes it easier for students to lose interest. Indeed, at the high school level, 63% of students were chronically absent. At seven high schools, a whopping 90% or more of the students were frequently missing class. Some school districts have gotten creative about trying to keep kids in school. Pittsburgh sends caregivers letters showing the number of days a student has missed, as well as texts offering resources for help. Colorado and Nevada reduced absenteeism by extending the time breakfast was available for students who did not get to school before the day began. A school in Phoenix implemented a combination of increased communications and outreach as well as publishing attendance numbers to better incentivize parents and students. The new superintendent in the Los Angeles Unified School District deployed armies of administrators and other staffers to knock on doors and find out why kids were missing school. The district then worked with families to address the range of problems, such as housing instability, food insecurity, violence concerns, and lack of transportation. In one year, Los Angeles reduced chronic absenteeism from 43% to 32%. Watlington can draw on those successes as a source of hope and inspiration for Philadelphia. But ultimately, the district must show up for its students if it wants them to do the same. Soaring ticket prices are lining the pockets of the worlds biggest airlines, providing balm to the economic wounds suffered during the lockdowns of the pandemic. But as the industry takes off, airports say theyve been forgotten at the gate. Flying will be far more expensive this summer, according to corporate travel manager American Express Global Business Travel, which analysed tens of thousands of client transactions on international flights to and from Asian destinations. Major carriers heading to this weeks meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), have enjoyed a quick recovery. Fares have been bolstered by tight capacity going into the peak season and customers are eager to book. Read More Irish aviation can be a model for climate action, says IATA chief Aer Lingus and British Airways owner IAG posted a surprise quarterly profit last month and raised its outlook for the full year. Dubais Emirates and Singapore Airlines reported record earnings, with Australias Qantas on course to follow suit. Airports, meanwhile, continue to struggle. London Heathrow, the home base of British Airways, has warned of ongoing losses and is withholding dividend payments to its owners. is also wrestling with airlines on the increase in fees it can charge airlines. Ryanair routinely threatens to leave over such costs, and has scaled back in Germany, saying high airport fees there make operations unsustainable at airports like Frankfurt. Airports, on the other hand, say a divergence of fortunes is holding back investment, after staff shortages and other snafus caused backups that ruined many holidays last summer. From terminal expansions to runway extensions, electrification and the installation of upgraded scanning devices, airports are continuing to pour resources into their facilities. International Air Transport Association (IATA) director general Willie Walsh lobbied fiercely to prevent tariff increases from endangering airlines' recovery. The sharp increase in airfares is hampering the recovery of the entire aviation ecosystem, said Airports Council International Asia-Pacific, a trade group. Many of of its members have lost money for 10 consecutive quarters. The group said it wants carriers to exercise responsible and fair pricing that supports the travel recovery and consumers best interests. The frequent jousting over airport landing fees has intensified in the wake of the health crisis. Airlines received more direct financial support during the pandemic, and now have the freedom to quickly raise prices. IATA director general Willie Walsh has lobbied fiercely to prevent tariff increases from endangering their recovery. Heathrow has sought backing from Britains Civil Aviation Authority to raise fees, saying any higher costs shouldnt be borne by travellers but instead shared between airlines and the airport. Critics of higher fees, such as Virgin Atlantic, have said such a move would only benefit the airports mainly foreign shareholders, and represent a bad deal for consumers and airlines. Animosity between airports and airlines boiled over last year when Heathrow imposed a cap of 100,000 departing passengers a day through much of the summer schedule amid a lack of workers. The move drew the wrath of airlines including Emirates, which flies about half a dozen Airbus A380s into London each day and said in July that Heathrow chose not to act, not to plan, not to invest. There is always a bit of a tension between the two, which is typical between a supplier-customer relationship, said Mabel Kwan, a Singapore-based managing director at aviation consultancy Alton. Airlines are a very powerful customer and client from a negotiating standpoint, and fee increases are politically and socially sensitive, she said. Airports also earn revenue from commercial rents, advertising, and other items often dependent on volumes, which have varied across the global recovery. In the background of the rift is a peak travel season just getting under way in Asian countries such as China, international flights have recently reopened after tighter covid restrictions. However it unfolds, air travellers will be paying more. Economy and business-class passengers on the most in-demand corporate routes are seeing higher prices this year. We expect air fares to continue to rise this summer, said Jeremy Quek, at Amex. The level of increases will moderate a little as airline capacity recovery continue to grow through the second half of 2023. Bloomberg Its almost the seventh anniversary of the Brexit referendum in the UK, but the fallout is still still being felt in Ireland with its major trading partner. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) that promised to deliver a deep and meaningful relationship between the UK and the EU, has in truth yet to be realised the stumbling block having been the Northern Ireland protocol. However, the Windsor Framework that replaced the proposed protocol will be introduced on a phased basis, commencing in September. It is designed to ease trade for goods moving between Britain and the North. Ireland is the Britains sixth largest trading partner. Exports across the Irish Sea to Britain increased by 2.7bn, or 19%, last year, while exports from the Republic to the North surged by 1.7bn, or 31%. So far, Irish exporters, particularly those involved in the export of food products, live animals, animal products, plants, or plant products to Britain have been immune to the full impact of Brexit, as the introduction of the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks and other control requirements at British ports has been delayed. But that is now all changing, as Irish exporters of such products face new checks at British ports. Britain recently published details of its so-called Border Target Operating Model that will introduce a regime of new SPS and security controls on imports into the UK from countries inside and outside the EU, at its various ports. The new controls will be required for businesses from Ireland when moving Irish goods from Irish ports to Britain from the end of October. Health certificates will be required on imports of so-called medium risk animal products, plants, plant products, and high-risk food and feed of non-animal origin from the EU, including Ireland. In addition, there will be a requirement to pre-notify imports of agri-food goods before they move to Britain. These controls are similar to those required at EU ports for imports from the UK post Brexit and implemented since January 2021 when the transition period ended. 'Minimising trader burdens' The UK Border Target Operating Model boasts of the ambition to minimise trader burdens and maintain border security, while remaining aligned with international standards through reducing safety and security data requirements to make it easier to submit data through the UK Single Trade window. The SPS controls will be based on a risk-based approach. Simplified and digitised health certificates will be introduced to further assist with reduction of administration and paperwork for HGV drivers. The British government maintains that its objective is to deliver easements at ports. This ambition must be matched by exporter countrys ability to deliver reciprocal easements. However, it is currently unclear if the Irish Electronic Health Certificate system will be ready and compatible with UK systems, and if the competent authorities have sufficient capacity to issue electronic health certificates for the required categories of goods. The added complication of the new system is that hauliers of groupage loads which combine several smaller shipments into the one load -- will face new challenges in mixing low-risk products with medium-risk goods. They face the risk of full loads being stopped. Understanding supply chains and the type of goods and the levels of risk categories is essential to ensure exports move seamlessly from October. For goods moving between the North and Britain, the requirements for controls are covered under the Windsor Framework. Like all new systems it will take time to bed in. But there is now a requirement that Irish exporting firms prepare for the new changes, and to be ready for the phased implementation of checks for exports to Britain from the autumn. Aidan Flynn is the chief executive at Freight Transport Association Ireland. The new law criminalising the recruitment of children by criminal gangs will not work if it is dependent on the testimony of groomed children, experts have said. Workers in the fields of youth work and trafficking have raised concerns about the Criminal Justice (Engagement of Children in Criminal Activity) Bill 2023, also known as Fagins Law, goes through the Oireachtas. The legislation proposes a five-year prison sentence for those who groom children into crime. However, convictions under the new law rely on the child giving evidence against their groomer. JP OSullivan, networks and communications manager of MECPATHS, which works with the hospitality industry to prevent child trafficking, said: That is where it will become unstuck. If they have been groomed, they are hardly going to go against the person who groomed themselves for so long, especially as many will have been in familial situations. "I dont see how it is going to work. He also says the five-year sentence is quite short, adding: Under the human trafficking legislation, the sentence for human trafficking in this country is life. Yet we are offering a five-year sentence to somebody who grooms a child for criminal exploitation. Last week, a meeting of Dublin City Councils Joint Policing Committee was told that an eight-year-old child is being used to collect a drug debt from a family that has paid out a total of 30,000 so far. In Kerry in recent years, a man was jailed for drug dealing after he, his partner, and young children were searched by gardai. Heroin was found in one of the childrens schoolbags. Berni Smyth is the chief executive of the Kerry Diocesan Youth Service and is a former chairwoman of the Irish Refugee Council. She also previously worked with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. There should be no focus on the child being responsible for getting a prosecution. The child is a victim, said Ms Smyth. Fagins Law has to be child-centred to be effective. If we are relying on children to provide the information, to provide the testimonies, we are not going to be very effective. We need to look at how this is going to play out in practice and make sure that the child is not further victimised by a law that is being brought in to protect them. If the systems can gather the information without relying so heavily on children to give information, we would be in a much better position. If a young person has been groomed and has gotten attention that maybe they were lacking previously, the State has to understand that a child that has been groomed isnt in a position to end that relationship and it takes them a long time sometimes never to accept that offer of friendship or care or support was not genuine. Young people are getting into drug using and drug selling at a younger age and drug debt is an issue which is across the country. According to Ms Smyth, children younger than 12 are being used across the country to ferry drugs for gangs, and this is not confined to cities and big towns. Ms Smyth says children in care are particularly vulnerable to grooming, with the housing crisis and poverty having an impact. "Children in state care at the moment are very vulnerable. The housing crisis is having a knock on effect. Predators and opportunists are there all the time and they are watching. The housing crisis and poverty at the moment are two very big stresses. I have worked nationally and in various different regions. It is the same pattern everywhere. One driver died and another was seriously injured in a head-on collision late Friday afternoon in the Town of Wellsville, State Police in Amity reported. Pronounced dead at the scene was Courtney M. Clark, 32, of Emporium, Pa. Taken to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester by Mercy Flight was Joeie A. Greenman, 17, of Alma. Troopers said that Greenman, who was westbound in a 2015 Nissan, crossed the center line on Route 417 at about 6 p.m. and struck Clark's 2013 Ford head-on. The State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation assisted in the investigation of the accident, which is continuing. The parents of a gangland murder victim who miss their son every single day say the new Parole Board process made them feel actually heard as they objected to their sons killer being released. Jonathan OReilly, aged 25, had recently completed a nine month sentence for possession of drugs when he was shot dead outside Cloverhill prison in Clondalkin, West Dublin on April 19, 2004. Two men, Brian Kenny and Thomas Hinchon, are currently serving life sentences for his murder following evidence from state witness, Joseph OCallaghan. Mr OCallaghan - who was just 20 years old - was then the youngest person ever to go into the state witness protection programme. His story has since been made into an award-winning podcast, The Witness: In His Own Words which has had more than two million downloads. Last year, the CEO of the new parole board appealed for victims of serious crime and their families to contact her if they wanted to influence a life-sentence prisoners likelihood of being granted parole. Parole Board CEO Ciairin de Buis: 'We want to hear what the victims want to say.' Picture: Moya Nolan It is the first time in the history of the state that the Parole Board has made the decision to give those affected a voice in the process. In the past week, Jonathan OReillys parents Frank and Dolores took the opportunity to speak directly to the board about their sons killer Brian Kennys application for release. Mrs OReilly told the Irish Examiner her family met officials after submitting a lengthy written submission. She said: It made us feel like someone actually heard us. It wasnt just a letter left on the Minister for Justices table which would have been put to one side. I was very impressed with the Parole Board, and I felt it was very important to go to the meeting and to be heard. We got a call from one of the investigating detectives last year who asked us if we wanted to write to the parole board and we decided we would. The OReilly family are among around 300 victims in 100 cases who engaged with the process since 2022. It comes following a change in legislation in the Parole Act 2019 which allows victims and their families to make a submission to the board. In February, the new CEO of the Parole Board told the Irish Examiner that her team has interpreted the legislation as posing an obligation on the board to try to contact victims. Ciairin de Buis said: We dont want to retraumatise anyone, so we will work with them. If theres an area, they dont want to talk about thats fine. We want to hear what the victims want to say. Prisoners such as Brian Kenny and Thomas Hinchon who are serving a life sentence for murder have the right to apply for parole after they have served more than 12 years in jail. Brian Kenny has applied for parole on at least two occasions, but the OReilly family said they have never been notified of an application by Thomas Hinchon requesting he be released. Life prisoners are eligible to go through the parole process several times and demonstrate meaningful progress in their rehabilitation. The parole board views material on the prisoner and decides independently from the Minister for Justice if they should be released. The Minister has the power to sign off on the release. However, Frank OReilly said his sons killers have never shown remorse or apologised and therefore should not be released. He said: "How can you be rehabilitated if you have never admitted what you have done? We have never been notified of any apology or admission. We would like to see a life sentence be a least 30 years mandatory behind bars. Brian Kenny murdered our son and keeps applying for parole and we keep objecting. He shouldnt be given that chance in our view. The OReilly family are also registered with the prison victim liaison office within the Irish Prison Service and have been notified of Mr Kennys day releases to meet with family and other appointments. Frank said: He gets days out for good behaviour; we get to visit a grave. Jonathans son Kyle was only a baby when his father was murdered. He is now the same age as his dad was when he was killed. How is any of that fair? Jonathan OReilly was a member of a rival gang. He died from gunshots wounds to the arm and chest in what gardai believe was a drug turf war. Both the OReillys say they have no time for drugs but had no control or say over their sons actions. Dolores said I begged him to stop doing what he was doing but there was no talking to him. He told his father he would earn more in a day than what he was offering him as a painter and decorator in a week. When he died, I went into shock for years and Ill never be able to accept it. I am always heartbroken for him. The submission is for me and my family who are innocent in all of this. We miss Jonathan every single day and we are the ones left suffering. We are Jonathans voice. That is why we went to the parole board; it is for us. A campaigner on institutional abuse has called on the Government to locate the bodies of babies who died in the Sean Ross Abbey mother and baby institution, and to carry out inquests to determine how they died. At the age of 12, Maureen Sullivan was one of the youngest children ever to be incarcerated in a Magdalene laundry. A victim of child sexual abuse, she was locked up in the laundry in New Ross in Co Wexford before being transferred to another laundry in Athy, Co Kildare, and then to the school for the blind in Dublin. Her autobiography, Girl in the Tunnel, was launched near the former Sean Ross Abbey mother and baby home in Roscrea, Co Tipperary, on Saturday. She was recently involved in unveiling the Journey Stone at the Little Museum of Dublin on St Stephens Green, where women who were incarcerated in Magdalene institutions are commemorated. Heart failure and marasmus were listed as common causes of children's deaths at Sean Ross Abbey. Now she says, the focus must turn to the babies who died in mother and baby institutions. The 70-year-old from Carlow said she chose the location to launch her book because of the large number of babies who died there, that we hear very little about. Ms Sullivan told the Irish Examiner: Theres over a thousand childrens deaths in Sean Ross. These children have to be found and inquests have to take place. She continued I wanted to come here for that reason. I know Philomena Lees story brought a lot attention onto the mother and baby homes, but we have to talk about the missing children. I am calling on the Government to find these children, and to give them an individual inquest. Sean Ross Abbey was run by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, from 1931 to 1969 when the home closed. During those years, 6,414 women entered the home while 6,079 babies are registered as being born there. The Oscar-nominated film Philomena told the story of Philomena Lee who gave birth to her first child Anthony at the home before he was taken from her and adopted to America. The same religious order oversaw Bessborough mother and baby home in Cork and Castlepollard in Co Westmeath. Anna Corrigan whose mother and two brothers were in Tuam mother and baby home, taking part in a protest outside Leinster House in 2021. File picture: PA Overall, 9,000 children died in 18 mother and baby homes in Ireland, however Sean Ross Abbey had one of the highest death figures recorded. Freedom of Information records shows 1,024 children referred to by the nuns as illegitimate died in Sean Ross while it was in operation. Heart failure and marasmus were listed as common causes of death, while one child is recorded as dying after choking on porridge. There are two sets of death registrations for Sean Ross Abbey one which is the official record and accounts for 1,024 childrens deaths. However, the Commission of Inquiry into mother and baby homes which was set up in 2015, found there was a second ledger of deaths for around 66 children in the Roscrea-based former institution. This has raised concerns among campaigners and families of children who died in the homes. Anna Corrigan had two brothers who died in the Tuam mother and baby home. One boy has a death cert, while the other is marked in the nuns ledgers as having died, but has no death cert. She believes the 66 children whose deaths were not recorded on the official register merits further investigation, and that they may have been trafficked. Maureen Sullivan and Marina Gambold of Magdalene Survivors Together at Leinster House in 2013 where they were seeking a State apology for their treatment. File picture: Niall Carson/PA Anna told the Irish Examiner: Why werent those 66 children recorded on the official register? This is why there has always been concern over the falsification of death certs to allow for child trafficking which the Commission said there was no evidence of, but that doesnt mean it didnt happen in my opinion. The Commission found just 42 infant burials on the grounds for Sean Ross Abbey following scans of the site in 2019. Last week, Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman announced the appointment of Daniel MacSweeney as director to oversee the excavation and recovery of childrens remains at the site of the former Mother and Baby Institution in Tuam. Several survivors have called for more scans of the site since then, given that not all of the remains of the children have been located. Maureen Sullivan continued This is a very big area, was enough done to find the children?. The United States and its allies have clashed with Russia and China over North Koreas failed launch of a military spy satellite this week, which took place in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions. Moscow and Beijing refused to condemn the launch. The confrontation was the latest over the Norths escalating nuclear, ballistic missile and military programmes, which US deputy ambassador Robert Wood warned are threatening international peace and security. The failed launch not only disrupted maritime and air traffic in the region, but it also caused alarm for its neighbours in Japan and the Republic of Korea, he said. The lack of unity and action in the Security Council does little to slow the negative trajectory on the Korean Peninsula. The #DPRK is unconstrained, and other parties are compelled to focus on military deterrence. My remarks today: https://t.co/Vsoq5JghOT Rosemary A. DiCarlo (@DicarloRosemary) June 2, 2023 Pyongyang is threatening another launch soon. The Security Council imposed sanctions after North Koreas first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and tightened them over the years in a total of 10 resolutions seeking so far unsuccessfully to rein in its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and cut off funding. In the last sanctions resolution adopted by the council in December 2017, members committed to further restricting petroleum exports to North Korea if it conducted a ballistic missile launch capable of reaching intercontinental ranges. China and Russia vetoed a US-sponsored resolution in May 2022 that would have imposed new sanctions, including on petroleum exports, over a spate of intercontinental ballistic missile launches. Since then, they have blocked any council action including press statements. UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the council the last time North Korea conducted a similar satellite launch to Wednesdays failed attempt was on February 7 2016 and it was condemned by the Security Council. The launch of the Chollima-1 rocket carrying the Malligyong-1 satellite (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) The lack of unity and action in the Security Council does little to slow the negative trajectory on the Korean Peninsula, she said, and North Korea is unconstrained, and other parties are compelled to focus on military deterrence. But North Koreas neighbour and ally China, and Russia, which has drawn closer to Pyongyang since the war in Ukraine, blamed the West and especially the United States for the current tensions. Chinas deputy UN ambassador Geng Shuang said the situation on the Korean Peninsula is a remnant of the Cold War. He accused the United States of failing to respond to North Koreas attempts at dialogue over the years and instead resorting to sanctions and pressure on Pyongyang, missing an opportunity to resolve the nuclear issue. Mr Geng said: By incorporating the (Korean) Peninsula into its Indo-Pacific strategy, the US has continued its military activities and significantly increased its military presence both on the peninsula and in its surrounding areas, seriously undermining the strategic security interests of the peninsula and its neighbouring countries. He also pointed to the recent US-South Korea Washington Declaration, including plans to send strategic nuclear submarines to the peninsula. Mr Geng claimed US policies are driven by geopolitical self-interest and told the council that blaming one party will only exacerbate conflicts, provocations and inject new uncertainties into the already tense situation on the peninsula. He urged the council to adopt a resolution circulated by China and Russia in November 2021 that would end a host of sanctions on the North, saying this would be a starting point to promote de-escalation, mutual trust and unity among the 15 members. Children play during an event marking the 73rd anniversary of the International Childrens Day at the Taesongsan Amusement Park in Pyongyang, on June 1 (AP) Russias deputy ambassador Anna Evstigneeva blamed increased pressure on North Korea by the US and its allies for the spiral of tension were witnessing now. And she criticised growing military activity by the US, Japan and South Korea, especially recent large-scale US-South Korean military exercises, saying they are destabilising not only for north-east Asia but for the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. Russia is against the dead end and inhumane policy of increasing sanctions pressure, Ms Evstigneeva said, stressing that UN resolutions that imposed sanctions also back efforts to resolve the situation on the Korean Peninsula by political and diplomatic means. Moscow is calling on the United States to take steps to lower tensions and resume dialogue, instead of trying to shift responsibility to other countries, she said, also backing council action on the China-Russia resolution. Mr Wood, the US envoy, countered that the Washington Declaration was a response to North Koreas destabilising nuclear and ballistic missile activities. Its hard to imagine we would ease sanctions as called for in the China-Russia draft resolution and reward Pyongyang while it continues to violate Security Council resolutions, he said. Mr Wood added that the United States on many occasions has stated it is prepared to have an unconditional dialogue, but North Korea has rejected our interventions on many occasions. He stressed that US-South Korean military exercises are lawful efforts to defend against Pyongyangs escalating activities that are allowing the country to advance its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programmes and to continue to choose ammunition over nutrition for its people. Eight Republican presidential hopefuls descended on Iowa to pitch themselves to voters and, in Mike Pences case, hop on a motorcycle. The former vice president and Florida governor, Ron DeSantis were among the White House contenders appearing at a rally at the state fairgrounds near Des Moines hosted by US Senator Joni Ernst. Her annual political event, the Roast and Ride, a combination barbecue-rally and motorcycle ride, kicks off a busy summer campaign season heading into the states first-in-the-nation caucuses early next year. The Republican party remains closely aligned with Donald Trump (Charlie Neibergall/AP) Former president Donald Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate, was notably absent after spending two days in the state this past week. He has largely avoided any events that have him sharing the stage with his 2024 rivals. Mr DeSantis, with his wife, Casey, and three young children in tow, chatted with voters, gave out autographs and signed the Bible of a man who thanked Mr DeSantis for standing up to Disney. Mr DeSantis just wrapped up his first week as an official candidate with a blitz of campaign stops across three early-voting states. Casey DeSantis wore a black leather jacket in 86-degree weather with the words Where Woke Goes To Die and an outline of Florida on the back. Gorgeous day for a ride - Joni and @Mike_Pence leading the way! #RoastandRide pic.twitter.com/9LGOedxAay Joni Ernst (@joniernst) June 3, 2023 It brought to mind comparisons to first lady Melania Trump, who famously sent a back-of-the-jacket message of her own in 2018 with a green-hooded jacket that read I really dont care do u as she departed the White House for a trip to visit migrant children in Texas. Mr Pence was the only White House hopeful who participated in a morning motorcycle ride for charity that is a staple of Ms Ernsts annual Roast and Ride event. He wore jeans, boots and a leather vest with patches that said Indiana and messages supportive of the military. The former Indiana governor, who has made frequent trips to Iowa over the past year, is expected to launch his long-anticipated campaign at an event in Des Moines on Wednesday. Ill be back a little later next week, Mr Pence teased the crowd when he spoke later at the rally. I dont have anything to announce today. Earlier in the morning, before setting out on their motorcycle ride, Mr Pence, standing with Ms Ernst in the back of a pickup truck, again hinted at his looming candidacy. The White House (Niall Carson/PA) One of the reporters just asked me if were showing up more in Iowa, what our lane would be. I said Im more worried about the lane were going to be staying in today, Mr Pence joked. The former vice president, wearing a white motorcycle helmet and a big grin, then rode off on a cobalt blue Harley Davidson. The group rode to the fairgrounds, where candidates gave speeches and chatted with barbecue-eating voters. Other candidates speaking at the event included former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, US Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, Michigan businessman Perry Johnson, author Vivek Ramaswamy and conservative talk radio host Larry Elder. The event had the feel of a large political fair, with about 1,000 people gathered to listen to the presidential prospects speaking in front of bales of hay in a building at the fairgrounds. Many of the campaigns set up tables full of stickers, T-shirts and drink can coollers. Pop star Dua Lipa has criticised the way British ministers have discussed migrants as short-sighted and small-minded. Lipa, born in London to Kosovan-Albanian parents, said the way the UK government has discussed Albanians caused her hurt as she called for more empathy. Home secretary Suella Braverman singled out Albanian criminals as she claimed there was an invasion of England in a Commons debate on small boat crossings of the Channel. In an interview with the Sunday Times, Lipa said: Of course it hurt. All those words thrown around about immigrants? I always felt London was an amalgamation of cultures. It is integral to the city. So when you hear the government talk about Albanians, for example, it hurts. Its short-sighted and small-minded, but its the way a lot of people think. No matter how we try and change the rhetoric, there will always be those who think, Immigrants are coming into the country and taking jobs. However, immigrants who have come here have earned their keep by working incredibly hard. There needs to be more empathy, because people dont leave their country unless they have to out of necessity, out of fear for their family. Albanias prime minister Edi Rama has criticised the very, very disgraceful singling out of Albanians by ministers, particularly Ms Braverman. During a meeting with Rishi Sunak in No 10 in March, Mr Rama cited Lipa as an example of the positives that Albanians bring to Britain. Dua Lipa is not just simply a British singer, but shes an Albanian immigrant that has come here, as many have come, to construct, to nurse, to cook and to sing for you, and we want to make sure that this community feels not only safe but feels honoured here, he said. Lipas parents left Kosovo in around 1992, as the tensions that led to the war that started six years later began to surface. Saudi Arabia and the US have urged Sudans warring parties to agree to and effectively implement a new ceasefire as fighting showed no signs of abating in the northeastern African nation. Sudan descended into chaos after fighting broke out in mid-April between the military, led by General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. For weeks, Saudi Arabia and the US have been mediating between the warring parties. People check the rubble of their destroyed home after strikes on the Allamat district of Khartoum, Sudan (AP/PA) Their efforts, however, were dealt a blow when the military announced on Wednesday it would no longer participate in the ceasefire talks held in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah. Following the militarys decision, the US and Saudi Arabia said they were suspending the talks as a result of repeated serious violations of the short-term ceasefire. President Joe Bidens administration imposed sanctions against key Sudanese defence companies run by the military and the RSF and people who perpetuate violence in Sudan. In their statement on Sunday, Washington and Riyad said they continued to engage representatives of the military and the RSF who remained in Jeddah. They urged the Sudanese warring sides to agree to and implement a new cease-fire following the latest one which expired late on Saturday. The aim is to eventually establish a permanent cessation of hostilities in the war-wrecked country, they said. The statement said the discussions focused on facilitating humanitarian assistance and reaching an agreement on near-term steps the parties must take before resuming the talks. The fighting has turned the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into battlefields, resulting in widespread looting and destruction of residential areas across the country. The conflict has also displaced more than 1.65 million people who fled to safer areas in Sudan and neighbouring countries. Aid groups offices and warehouses, health care facilities and other civilian infrastructure have been attacked and looted, including most recently the warehouses of the World Food Programme in the city of Obeid in North Kordofan. There have been reports of sexual violence, including the rape of women and girls in Khartoum and the western Darfur region, which have seen some of the worst fighting in the conflict. Almost all reported cases of sexual attacks were blamed on the RSF, which did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Residents reported intense fighting over the past two days in Khartoum and its neighbouring cities of Omdurman and Bahri. Shelling and gunfire were heard early Sunday in parts of Omdurman, as the militarys aircraft bombed RSF positions in the capital area. People board a bus to leave Khartoum as fighting between the Sudanese Army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces intensified (AP/PA) Fighting was also reported in the northern part of the Darfur region, which has witnessed some of the worst battles since the fighting began on April 15. The clashes intensified between the military and the RSF in the town of Kutum in North Darfur province. Residents reported that the towns market, many houses, and a camp for displaced people were burned down. There were reports of dozens of casualties among civilians. Darfur Governor Mini Arko Minnawi said on Twitter on Sunday that Kutum residents have experienced terrible violations including killings and looting. Mr Minnawi, a rebel leader who was named governor of the western region as part of a 2020 peace deal, declared Darfur a disaster area. He urged the international community to send humanitarian assistance by all available means to save people in the stricken region. Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made no breakthrough on Sunday in talks about Swedens membership in the organisation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Officials from the two countries will meet in just over a week to try to bridge their differences. Nato wants to bring Sweden into the fold by the time US President Joe Biden and other allied leaders meet in Lithuania on July 11-12, but Turkey and Hungary have yet to endorse the move. All 31 member countries must ratify a candidates accession protocol for it to join the trans-Atlantic alliance. Turkeys government accuses Sweden of being too lenient on terror organisations and security threats, including militant Kurdish groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt. Hungary has also delayed its approval, but the reasons why have not been made publicly clear. The Alliance against Nato network takes part in a demonstration against Swedish Nato membership, in Stockholm (Maja Suslin/TT News Agency via AP/PA) President Erdogan and I agreed today that the permanent joint mechanism should meet again in the week starting on June 12. Membership will make Sweden safer, but also Nato and Turkey stronger, Mr Stoltenberg told reporters in Istanbul. The permanent joint mechanism was set up to address Turkeys concerns about Sweden and Finland, the latter of which became the 31st member of Nato in April. Sweden has fulfilled its obligations for membership, Mr Stoltenberg said. He noted that the country has amended its constitution, strengthened its anti-terror laws and lifted an arms embargo on Turkey since it applied to join Nato just over a year ago. Fearing they might be targeted by Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional positions of military nonalignment to seek protection under Natos security umbrella. As Mr Stoltenberg held talks in Istanbul, hundreds of people, including dozens of pro-Kurdish protesters, gathered in Stockholm to demonstrate against Swedens planned Nato membership. Up to 500 people took part in the action titled No to Nato no Erdogan Laws in Sweden. They rallied under the banner of the Alliance Against Nato, an umbrella for a mix of Kurdish organisations, leftist groups, anarchists, youth and climate activists and people opposed to Swedens new anti-terror laws, which took effect on June 1, as well as those calling for free media. In January, a protest in Stockholm involving the burning of a copy of the Koran brought Swedens membership talks at Nato to a halt, after Mr Erdogan suspended the meetings. The incident led to anti-Sweden demonstrations around the Muslim world. We know that Erdogan is watching this and he has been very angry at these things in the past, so most likely we will have the same response from him and delay the Swedish Nato accession even further, Alliance Against Nato spokesman Tomas Pettersson said. Mr Stoltenberg appeared to suggest that the protests might have been raised during his talks. I understand it is hard to see demonstrations against Turkey and against Nato in Sweden, Mr Stoltenberg said, but let me be clear, freedom of assembly and expression are core values in our democratic societies. These rights must be protected and upheld. He also said that its important to remember why these demonstrations are taking place. The organisers want to stop Sweden from joining Nato. They want to block Swedens counterterrorism co-operation with Turkey, and they want to make Nato weaker. We should not allow them to succeed. WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. Hundreds of goats munch on long blades of yellow grass on a hillside next to a sprawling townhouse complex. They were hired to clear vegetation that could fuel wildfires as temperatures rise this summer. These voracious herbivores are in high demand to devour weeds and shrubs that have proliferated across California after a drought-busting winter of heavy rain and snow. Its a huge fuel source. If it was left untamed, it can grow very high. And then when the summer dries everything out, its perfect fuel for a fire, said Jason Poupolo, parks superintendent for the city of West Sacramento, where goats grazed on a recent afternoon. Targeted grazing is part of Californias strategy to reduce wildfire risk because goats can eat a wide variety of vegetation and graze in steep, rocky terrain thats hard to access. Backers say theyre an eco-friendly alternative to chemical herbicides or weed-whacking machines that make noise and pollution. But new state labor regulations are making it more expensive to provide goat-grazing services, and herding companies say the rules threaten to put them out of business. The changes could raise the monthly salary of herders from about $3,730 to $14,000, according to the California Farm Bureau. Companies typically put about one herder in charge of 400 goats. Many of the herders in California are from Peru and live in employer-provided trailers near grazing sites. Labor advocates say the state should investigate the working and living conditions of goatherders before making changes to the law, especially since the state is funding goat-grazing to reduce wildfire risk. California is investing heavily in wildfire prevention after the state was ravaged by several years of destructive flames that scorched millions of acres, destroyed thousands of homes and killed dozens of people. Goats have been used to clear fuels around Lake Oroville, along Highway 101, and near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. My phone rings off the hook this time of year, said Tim Arrowsmith, owner of Western Grazers, which is providing grazing services to West Sacramento. The demand has grown year after year after year." His company, based in the Northern California city of Red Bluff, has about 4,000 goats for hire to clear vegetation for government agencies and private landowners across Northern California. Without a fix to the new regulations, "we will be forced to sell these goats to slaughter and to the auction yards, and well be forced out of business and probably file for bankruptcy, Arrowsmith said. Companies have historically been allowed to pay goat and sheepherders a monthly minimum salary rather than an hourly minimum wage, because their jobs require them to be on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But legislation signed in 2016 also entitles them to overtime pay. It effectively boosted the herders' minimum monthly pay from $1,955 in 2019 to $3,730 this year. Its set to hit $4,381 in 2025, according to the California Department of Industrial Relations. So far the herding companies, which have sued over the law, have passed along most of the increased labor costs to their customers. But in January, those labor costs are set to jump sharply again. Goatherders and sheepherders have always followed the same set of labor rules last year. But a state agency has ruled that's no longer allowed, meaning goatherders would be subject to the same labor laws as other farmworkers. That would mean goatherders would be entitled to ever higher pay up to $14,000 a month. Last year a budget trailer bill delayed that pay requirement for one year, but its set to take affect on Jan. 1 if nothing is done to change the law. Goatherding companies say they cant afford to pay herders that much. They would have to drastically raise their rates, which would make it unaffordable to provide goat grazing services. We fully support increasing wages for herders, but $14,000 a month is not realistic. So we need to address that in order to allow these goat-grazing operations to exist, said Brian Shobe, deputy policy director for the California Climate and Agriculture Network. The goat-grazing industry is pushing the Legislature to approve legislation that would treat goatherders the same as sheepherders. A bill to do so hasn't yet received a public hearing. Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, who heads the California Labor Federation, said goatherders are among the most vulnerable workers in America because they are on temporary work visas and can be fired and sent back to their home country anytime. Most of them work in isolation, speak minimal English and dont have the same rights as Americans or green-card holders. We have a responsibility as a public to ensure that every worker whos working in California is treated with dignity and respect, and that includes these goatherders, said Gonzalez Fletcher, who sponsored the farmworker overtime bill when she was a state Assemblywoman representing San Diego. Arrowsmith employs seven goatherders from Peru under the H-2A visa program for temporary farmworkers. He said the herders are paid about $4,000 a month and dont have to pay for food, housing or phones. I cant pay $14,000 a month to an employee starting Jan. 1. Theres just not enough money. The cities cant absorb that kind of cost, Arrowsmith said. Whats at stake for the public is your house could burn up because we cant fire-mitigate. Photos: Heat, smoke increase hazard for those fighting California wildfires 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. The award-winning film 20 Days in Mariupol has made its premiere in Ukraine, where some Ukrainian medics and security officials featured in the documentary got their first look at it South Africa: President Ramaphosa to host Portuguese President on a State Visit President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Tuesday host the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo De Sousa, on a State Visit to South Africa. President Ramaphosa will in honour of President Marcelo Rebelo De Sousa host a welcome ceremony at the Union Buildings in Tshwane on Tuesday morning. Following the welcome ceremony, President Ramaphosa and President Marcelo Rebelo De Sousa will lead their respective delegations in official talks during the occasion of the State Visit, followed by a media briefing. The two Heads of State will further witness the Signing Ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation. Engagements will focus on the enhancement of cooperation in agriculture; basic education; defence; ocean economy; science and technology; tourism; and trade and investment. The state visit to South Africa by the Portuguese Republic occurs in the same week Portugal celebrates its National Day on 10 June 2023. Each year, the Portuguese President visits a different country to celebrate the Day of Portugal with the Portuguese Diaspora, the Presidency said in a statement. South Africa and Portugal maintain friendly political relations. According to the Presidency, there are approximately 500 000 South Africans of Portuguese descent and about 200 000 Portuguese nationals who reside in South Africa permanently, serving as an important economic link between South Africa and Portugal. Bilateral relations between South Africa and Portugal remain strong, covering a wide range of areas of cooperation. The 7th Bilateral Consultations were hosted in Portugal on 24 June 2022 and co-chaired by South Africas International Relations and Cooperation, Deputy Minister, Alvin Botes and Portuguese Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Francisco Andre. The Presidency added that South Africa and Portugal have well established trade relations which are abound with potential for further growth and diversification in 2023 and beyond. Bilateral trade figures for 2020 and 2021 have been positive. South African exports in 2021 were valued at approximately R2.8 billion while imports from Portugal were approximately R4.6 billion in the same year. Food constitutes about 50% of South African exports to Portugal. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2023-06-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Discover Qatar, the destination management company of Qatar Airways, has unveiled its Formula 1 Ultimate Fan Experience Package, offering motorsport fans an opportunity to experience the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix 2023. The renowned race takes place in Doha between October 6 8. Adding allure to this premium package, car enthusiasts will enjoy complementary entry into the first Geneva International Motor Show in Qatar. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said: At Discover Qatar, we are dedicated to continuing our legacy in providing world-class packages to our travellers and ensuring exceptional experiences in Doha. The latest F1 Ultimate Fan Experience Package offers motorsport enthusiasts three days of thrills and luxury with meet-and-greet opportunities, Paddock Club access, and entry into the prestigious Geneva International Motor Show 2023. We have curated this spectacle to be one fans will never forget, maintaining our excellence when it comes to large-scale global events. Discover Qatars F1 Ultimate Fan Experience Package grants fans exclusive privileges to the most sought-after areas of the race circuit to witness the intense action from prime viewing locations, in addition to access to the team garages, pit lane, and the start and finish line. Fans will also receive an invite to a meet-and-greet lunch with F1 Drivers or Legends. With access to the Formula 1 Paddock Club, enthusiasts can enjoy pit lane walks, fan zones, guided track tours, and dedicated Paddock Club parking. For those eager to immerse themselves in the electric atmosphere of the grandstand, complementary seating will be provided. The F1 Ultimate Fan Experience Package is offered at starting price of QR26,795 ($7,310). TradeArabia News Service FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. Eight months ago, chef Michael Cellura had a restaurant job and had just moved into a fancy new camper home on Fort Myers Beach. Now, after Hurricane Ian swept all that away, he lives in his older Infiniti sedan with a 15-year-old long-haired chihuahua named Ginger. Like hundreds of others, Cellura was left homeless after the Category 5 hurricane blasted the barrier island last September with ferocious winds and storm surge as high as 15 feet. Like many, he's struggled to navigate insurance payouts, understand federal and state assistance bureaucracy and simply find a place to shower. "There's a lot of us like me that are displaced. Nowhere to go," Cellura, 58, said next to his car, sitting in a commercial parking lot along with other storm survivors housed in recreational vehicles, a converted school bus and even a shipping container. "There's a lot of homeless out here, a lot of people living in tents, a lot of people struggling." Recovery is far from complete in hard-hit Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Pine Island, while this year's Atlantic hurricane season officially began Thursday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts a more or less average tropical storm season forecast of 12 to 17 named storms, five to nine becoming hurricanes and one to four powering into major hurricanes with winds greater than 110 mph. Another weather pattern that can suppress Atlantic storms is the El Nino warming expected this year in the Pacific Ocean, experts say. Yet the increasingly warmer water in the Atlantic basin fueled by climate change could offset the El Nino effect, scientists say. In southwest Florida, piles of debris are everywhere. Demolition and construction work is ongoing across the region. Trucks filled with sand rumble to rebuild the eroded beaches. Blank concrete slabs reveal where buildings, many of them once charming, decades-old structures that gave the towns their relaxed beach vibe, were washed away or torn down. Some people, like Fort Myers Beach resident Jacquelyn Velazquez, are living in campers or tents on their property while they await sluggish insurance checks or building permits to restore their lives. "It's, you know, it's in the snap of the finger. Your life is never going to be the same," she said next to her camper, provided under a state program. "It's not the things that you lose. It's just trying to get back to some normalcy." Ian claimed more than 156 lives in the U.S., the vast majority in Florida, according to a comprehensive NOAA report on the hurricane. In hard-hit Lee County location of Fort Myers Beach and the other seaside towns 36 people died from drowning in storm surge and more than 52,000 structures suffered damage, including more than 19,000 destroyed or severely damaged, a NOAA report found. Even with state and federal help, the scale of the disaster has overwhelmed these small towns that were not prepared to deal with so many problems at once, said Chris Holley, former interim Fort Myers Beach town manager. "Probably the biggest challenge is the craziness of the debris removal process. We'll be at it for another six months," Holley said. "Permitting is a huge, huge problem for a small town. The staff just couldn't handle it." Then there are battles with insurance companies and navigating how to obtain state and federal aid, which is running into the billions of dollars. Robert Burton and his partner Cindy Lewis, both 71 and from Ohio, whose mobile home was totaled by storm surge, spent months living with friends and family until finally a small apartment was provided through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They can stay there until March 2024 while they look for a new home. Their mobile home park next to the causeway to Sanibel is a ghost town, filled with flooded-out homes soon to be demolished, many of them with ruined furniture inside, clothes still in closets, art still on the walls. Most homes had at least three feet of water inside. "No one has a home. That park will not be reopened as a residential community," Lewis said. "So everybody lost." The state Office of Insurance Regulation estimated the total insured loss from Ian in Florida was almost $14 billion, with more than 143,000 claims still open without payment or claims paid but not fully settled as of March 9. With so many people in limbo, places like the heavily damaged Beach Baptist Church in Fort Myers Beach provide a lifeline, with a food pantry, a hot lunch stand, showers and even laundry facilities for anyone to use. Pastor Shawn Critser said about 1,200 families per month are being served at the church through donated goods. "We're not emergency feeding now. We're in disaster recovery mode," Critser said. "We want to see this continue. We want to have a constant presence." Cellura, the chef living in his car, has a new job at another location of the Nauti Parrot restaurant on the mainland. Insurance only paid off the outstanding loan amount on his destroyed camper and he didn't qualify for FEMA aid, leaving him with virtually nothing to start over and apartment rents rising fast. But, after 22 years on the island, he's not giving up. "I believe that things will work out. I'm strong. I'm a survivor," he said. "Every day I wake up, it's another day to just continue on and try to make things better." Photos: Aerial images show devastation left by Hurricane Ian across Florida Last month was Mess-Up Month for my husband and me. There was the overdrawn checking account; the flight one of us erroneously cancelled, having to last-minute book at twice the price; a flight reserved with a layover, when it could have been direct and less expensive; and, finally, the credit card one of us lost, then canceled, only later to be found under some papers. And by us, I mean me, who messed up the most. Not that youd know it, given my husband Daves response to my mishaps. When I sheepishly told him about the overdrawn account, and how he couldnt take out money for the next few days, he shrugged, unconcerned. You could have pulled a 'Lucy' on me, and I wouldnt have known the difference, he said. He was referring to Lucille Ball, and one of the many catastrophes she got into on her sitcom, which she took great pains to hide from her husband, Ricky. But that is not how we roll. Dave and I have a No-Fault Marriage. Early in our relationship, we agreed it was more important to solve a problem than to find out who made the mistake. Daves philosophy was Do I want to be right, or do I want to be happy? For me, it was not wanting be like my parents, whose emphasis on being correct and perfect always landed someone in the doghouse. Wed both experienced what happens in a critical relationship. Afraid to trust your own instincts and competence, you end up doubting yourself, making more mistakes, and trying to hide them when you do. You end up looking for the others faults, so as to mitigate the sting of your own a mutually assured destruction, no one benefiting from the blame. Dave and I have been together for 15 years, and in that time, weve made our share of blunders car accidents, foolish purchases, oven fires, hotel reservation errors, unlatched gates with runaway dogs, tools left out to rust, missed anniversaries and birthdays, and bad investments. The list could go on. We dont ignore big mistakes, but, when its helpful, we focus on the what of a mishap, not the who. We collaborate on how we can solve the problem, and move on. I was reminded of this approach recently while listening to a podcast. The topic was airline safety, and why the rate of airplane crashes over the last fifty years has plummeted a lot. According to the Aviation Safety Network, the numbers of yearly aviation deaths and major plane crashes worldwide dropped from a high of 2,429 deaths in 1972 to a rate of only 761 deaths in 2014. But globally in 2014, there were more than six times the number of daily flights than in 1972. What changed? In 1976, the The Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) was established. The ASRS is a confidential, non-punitive program, available to all participants in the National Airspace System who wish to voluntarily report safety incidents and situations. Once the staff is satisfied with the information received, the report is stripped of identifying information and assigned a report number. When the airline industry focused on finding solutions, instead of placing blame, commercial aviation improved rapidly. Pilots were free to self-report mistakes without retribution, and problems got solved. Flights became safer. News / Local by Staff reporter Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga, who is also the Minister of Health and Child Care, is expected to lead the Zimbabwe delegation at this year's Africa Health ExCon, which starts here in Egypt on Tuesday.The annual forum is designed to create a platform to connect world healthcare buyers and suppliers under one roof and give healthcare partners the opportunity to network.It is considered the largest medical conference and exhibition in Africa, which also brings together leading manufacturers of medical consumables and specialists.VP Chiwenga is expected to use the platform to continue the international health sector benchmarking thrust to refine the local health sector.This year's edition is scheduled to be opened by the president of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.The conference comes at a time when Zimbabwe is forging ahead with its quest to revamp its health services towards universal health coverage that is consistent with an empowered upper middle-income economy as envisioned by President Mnangagwa.Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Egypt, Air Marshal (Retired) Shebba Shumbayawonda, said they expect to receive VP Chiwenga tomorrow."Let me start by saying he (VP Chiwenga) was invited by his counterpart, the Minister of Health here in Egypt, to attend the Africa Health ExCon," said Ambassador Shu- mbayawonda."The importance of this exhibition is that it brings all manufacturers, buyers, sellers, end users of equipment under one roof."So, they can see all the developments or technical advancements that are taking place in the medical field."Last year, the VP similarly led the country's delegation at the same conference and was impressed by Egypt's health model, which is anchored in a highly plural system, with public and private providers financed and managed through the state, parastatals and the private sector.At its core, the model guarantees quality healthcare to the entire citizenry.Those in need of even better quality can choose the parastatals route, going up to the private sector level, albeit for a cost that is excluded at the base.Last month, Government and the Arab Republic of Egypt established a medical standardisation framework, under which the two will collaborate in medical consumables licensing.The agreement signed between the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) and Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) will see all locally approved medical consumables automatically getting the green light in both jurisdictions. By Susan Dicklitch-Nelson ( Pennsylvania Capital-Star ) Twenty-five years ago, at the Christmas table, my uncle suggested that all gay people should be sent to a desert island, covered with fertilizer, and set aflame. His proposed method may have been novel, but he certainly was not the first person to suggest the extermination of LGBTQI+ people. Perhaps if he knew more gay people he would realize that all they wanted was to be treated as equal human beings, enjoying the same rights as their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. Having hidden in the shadows and proverbial closets for millennia, LGBTQI+ people have dared to come out to demand equality before the law in human rights and dignity. And now, there are calls for their erasure, again. Extermination does not have to happen on a desert island with fertilizer and flames. Incorrectly painting members of the LGBTQI+ community as pedophiles and groomers gives permission to others to stigmatize and morally exclude members of the LGBTQI+ community from the human family. It is not just happening in faraway places such as Uganda and Russia, where it is a crime to identify as a member of the LGBTQI+ community. It is happening closer to home in places such as Florida and Montana, with anti-transgender legislation, book bans, and the demonization of drag queens. Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay Using the guise of protecting the children as a justification for persecution of the LGBTQI+ community is perverse. The current anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric and legislation sends a chilling message to LGBTQI+ people that they do not matter, they are not equal, and that they should go back to being invisible. But one groups discomfort or fabrication of danger should not supress another groups fundamental human rights. This is why Pride Month is so important, not only for LGBTQI+ people, but for humanity overall. The outfits (yes, especially drag queens), parades and dancing are all fine, but whats most important is the visibility. The ability of LGBTQI+ people of all walks of life to celebrate who they are without fear of losing their job, experiencing dehumanization, or violence is a basic human right. In fact, freedom of expression and speech are fundamental U.S. rights. According to the Franklin & Marshall College Global Barometers, the unfortunate reality is that most countries do not treat their LGBTQI+ people as equal citizens. In fact, the majority of countries are persecuting their LGBTQI+ populations. LGBTQI+ people remain some of the most targeted and vulnerable people in the world. They have been branded as social pariahs and scapegoated for the economic, political and social ills in their countries. Many countries and individuals continue to use tradition and religion to justify the dehumanization of LGBTQI+ people. Countries must pass hate crimes and hate speech legislation that is inclusive of LGBTQI+ people. Businesses must do more than provide corporate sponsorship for pride events. Corporations must put their money where their mouths are, calling out governments that deliberately repress their LGBTQI+ citizens. Governments must sanction countries that enact severe human rights abuses on LGBTQI+ people. And, the Yoweri Musevenis of this world need to hear that Ugandan LGBTQI+ people matter, and must be treated as equal members of the human family. Thankfully, my uncle has evolved from his initial position. Unfortunately, the new culture war is resulting in the regression of safe public spaces for LGBTQI+ people. Pride 2023 requires a recognition of not only the global LGBTQI+ community that is still suffering tremendous tragedies on a daily basis, and the vicious attacks on the transgender community. For these reasons, I will proudly march with the LGBTQI+ community during Pride Month to reclaim my right to exist and to be who I am. Susan Dicklitch-Nelson is professor of government at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., and founder and Principal Investigator of the F&M Global Barometers. Reddit 1K Email 3K Shares Revised. Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) The Spanish-language Twitter account for Palestine, Palestino Hoy, announced on Thursday that the Palestinian delegation in Mexico City will now be upgraded from a Special Delegation to a full embassy, after Mexico fully recognized the state of Palestine. N.B. Some commentators allege that this announcement is solely from the Palestinian side and does not in fact represent the policy of the Mexican executive. IC has a call into the Mexican Embassy for reaction. In the meantime, this article has been revised to reflect that our information on this issue only comes from the PA. As noted below, the Mexican Senate did vote to recognize Palestine in November 2022. GRAN NOTICIA: Mexico reconoce plenamente a Palestina. A partir del primero de junio, ya no hay "Delegacion Especial" sino "Embajada del Estado de Palestina". pic.twitter.com/EEDpXWULcN Palestina Hoy (@HoyPalestina) June 3, 2023 The Palestinian foreign ministry statement announced, This measure is undertaken in the spirit of cooperation and friendship between the two countries, which is evidenced in the continuous development of bilateral relations in the bilateral and multilateral sphere, since its establishment in 1975. The document continued, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates expresses its firm conviction that this measure will significantly contribute to the continued development and strengthening of relations between the United Mexican States and the State of Palestine, on the basis of mutual respect and recognition and for the benefit of the two peoples, as well as contributing to international security and development. The Mexican Senate passed a resolution recognizing Palestine as an independent state last November, on the anniversary of the Palestinians own declaration of independence on November 15, 1985. They said that they hoped it would contribute to a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the Mideast. The chairman of the Commission on Exterior Relations, Senator Hector Vasconcelos, said at that time, I express my desire to see a free, independent Palestine in full exercise of its rights, because the Palestinian-Israeli conflict affects how we conceive of the human rights of peoples, how we conceive of freedom and of being recognized as free persons and not subjects of other nations. Vasconcelos, who is an important intellectual, put his finger on something here that if Palestinians can be rendered stateless and without any real human rights, that situation detracts from our very notion of human rights. It clearly wouldnt be universal anymore and would be subject to many important exceptions that might render it meaningless. That is, the situation of the Palestinians affects our very conception of what human rights are, and that is why it is so important. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO), who is center-left, has often been critical of the Israeli government and joined in calls at the UN for investigations of Israels bombing of Gaza in 2021. Many Mexicans sympathize with the colonized Palestinians since they feel the force of US hegemony themselves. Mexico will have gotten enormous pressure from the US State Department not to recognize Palestine, but then Mexicans are used to such pressure and it often backfires. Mexican thinkers see recognizing Palestine as a path to achieving a two-state solution. The state of Palestine has over 80 embassies around the world and 12 in Latin America, including in Brazil and Argentina, so Mexico is joining a consensus here. Western Europe, which mostly has Palestinian missions rather than embassies, is an outlier in global terms. Even then, Sweden has a Palestinian embassy and so do many former East Bloc countries, including both Russia and Ukraine. The Kosovo war crimes tribunal in The Hague appointed American Kimberly West as its new prosecutor Friday, after her predecessor left to lead a US probe against ex-president Donald Trump. West, a former US federal prosecutor, will take over cases at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in the Dutch city including the high-profile trial of Kosovan former president Hashim Thaci. "It is an honour to have been selected for this important and challenging role," West said in a statement "I am looking forward to joining the SPO (Specialist Prosecutor's Office) and to taking its work forward." She succeeds Jack Smith, who left in November 2022 to become the US special counsel overseeing criminal probes into Trump relating to the 2021 Capitol riot, alleged election interference in Georgia, and classified documents. West served as a prosecutor at the UN tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague from 2008-13, and was a member of the team that prosecuted former Bosnian Serb Radovan Karadzic for genocide, the Kosovo court said. West held a senior role in the Massachusetts Attorney General's office until 2019 and is currently a partner at a Boston law firm focusing on defending white-collar crime suspects. The EU-funded Kosovo court was set up in 2015 to investigate alleged war crimes by ethnic Albanian rebels during the 1998-99 independence war against Serbia. Tensions remain high in Kosovo with ethnic Serbs holding fresh rallies on Thursday at the site of clashes earlier this week with NATO-led forces. South Africa attempted to shift attention away from its stance on the Ukraine conflict on Friday, as it hosted a BRICS meeting overshadowed by questions about a possible visit to the country by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Top diplomats from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa met in Cape Town for a second day of talks on the bloc's ambition to provide an alternative to a western-led global order. However the question of whether Putin would attend a subsequent gathering of the bloc in August, having been invited before an ICC arrest warrant was issued, has dominated this week's meeting. Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court over accusations that Russia unlawfully deported Ukrainian children. A member of the ICC with strong trade and economic relations with the United States and Europe, South Africa would be expected to arrest him if he sets foot in the country. The issue has put Pretoria in a tight diplomatic spot, and ministers largely dodged a barrage of questions about Putin during the first day of discussions. On Friday, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor sought to shift focus away from Putin and the war in Ukraine. "As countries gathered in this room today... we all represent together a significant majority of the world's territory, population and economy," Pandor said. Representatives of about a dozen other nations, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Kazakhstan, attended in person or virtually, for a "Friends of BRICS" session. On Thursday, BRICS ministers welcomed what they said was the interest expressed by numerous countries to join the bloc. "We in this room need to determine a plan of action for our countries and for the world," Pandor said in opening remarks on Friday. "We cannot allow a conflict in one part of the world to replace the ambition of eradicating global poverty as the world's greatest global challenge," she added, in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine. Russia's invasion of its neighbour has sent food and energy prices soaring in much of the world, exacerbating food insecurity in poor countries. Pandor took a swing at western nations, saying the world has "faltered in cooperation" since rich countries' "attention and resources" have been "diverted" by the war. "The plight of the poor is forgotten and the great powers are engaged in world conflict," she said. "We need to turn this around." News / Local by Staff reporter A SOUTH AFRICAN hair salon was reportedly used as a conduit to transfer part of the money that was siphoned from National Foods.Scammers hacked into the company's computer system and accessed credentials to transfer money from its bank accounts.A Congolese and a Ghanaian living in South Africa have since been identified as suspects in the scam.In its report to police, National Foods indicated that it lost US$1,4 million, although sources had earlier claimed the firm lost US$6 million.Out of the US$1,4 million, police said US$950 000 had been recovered to date."I can confirm that a Congolese and Ghanaian were involved. Investigations are still ongoing, with the South African Asset Forfeiture Unit and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) working together on the matter."We will reveal the names of the two as the investigations progress," said police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi in a statement."Reference is made to the current investigations being made by the Zimbabwe Republic Police in connection with the hacking of the National Foods email system that occurred in October 2022."The Zimbabwe Republic Police, as promised, clarifies that engagements with National Foods have since revealed that a total of US$1,4 million was stolen through the hacking of the company's email system."Investigations are underway, and a total of US$950 000 has since been recovered. This includes properties and cash in South Africa."The suspects have been identified, and they are being tracked by the police."More details will be released in due course."According to sources, part of the money was transferred into a hair salon's account, purportedly for payment of services rendered."Millions in rands have been transferred into a hair salon account, as if they were paying for services rendered."Detectives are trying to crack the link between the two foreigners and their connection to Zimbabwe," said one source privy to the goings-on.The suspects engineered an intricate phishing scam that began with the scammers sending an e-mail, purportedly from a South African financial institution, to National Foods' finance manager.Phishing is the fraudulent practice of sending e-mails disguised as electronic messages from reputable companies to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords. Upon opening the e-mail, Natfoods' computer system was corrupted.This gave the fraudsters access to the company's computer system, including authorisation to process financial transactions.The scammers then began instructing the firm's banks to deposit money into their own bank accounts in South Africa using the finance administrator's credentials.Law-enforcement agents have since obtained a High Court order in South Africa to freeze bank accounts holding part of the loot, pending investigations.The Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), with assistance from its counterparts in South Africa, have also obtained a seizure order to freeze properties suspected to have been bought using proceeds of the crime.The South African AFU has since seized a fleet of top-of-the-range vehicles and a plush Johannesburg mansion, pending further investigations.They are also following leads pointing to the involvement of Zimbabweans.As investigations into the matter intensify, an investigating team led by a high-ranking official from the NPA is said to be in South Africa to conduct further inquiries into the case. It has been two years since Netflix delivered a heartwarming and inspiring K-drama with "Move to Heaven," starring Lee Je Hoon and Tang Jun Sang. The life drama immediately captivated the viewers' attention after the 10-episode series centered around the 20-year-old Han Geu Roo, played by Tang Jun Sang. Based on the non-fiction essay, "Things Left Behind," penned by Kim Sae Byul, who is also the CEO of a trauma cleaning service business, it depicts the journey of Han Geu Roo, who is diagnosed with autism, and his new life with his uncle, an ex-convict named Cho Sang Gu, portrayed by Lee Je Hoon. After the death of his father, Han Geu Roo still chose to work on the family's business. Named "Move to Heaven," it specializes in crime scene cleanup and collects the personal items of the deceased and delivers them to the bereaved family. Not only did Cho Sang Gu learn about his nephew, but he also gained a new perspective on life. While season 2 is still up in the air, here's an update about the "Move to Heaven" cast: Lee Je Hoon, Tang Jun Sang, and more. Lee Je Hoon In the same year that "Move to Heaven" was released, Lee Je Hoon starred in the crime mystery series "Taxi Driver," where he played the role of anti-hero Kim Do Gi. The SBS series was a huge success; hence, "Taxi Driver 2" aired a year later. Now, the broadcast network has recently confirmed the release of "Taxi Driver 3." As for the cast, it is yet to be confirmed whether Lee Je Hoon and the rest of the Rainbow Taxi team will return for the third installment. Meanwhile, as viewers wait for confirmation of the show's third season, Lee Je Hoon will headline another mystery drama. IN CASE YOU MISSED: Lee Je Hoon Joins Ranks of Bae Suzy, Kim Tae Hee With THIS New Achievement Based on the 1971 series "Chief Inspector 1963," the versatile star will transform into a former detective turned chief inspector. The upcoming series will be helmed by "Confidential Assignment 1" and "Rampant" director Kim Sung Hoon. Tang Jun Sang Viewers might recognize Tang Jun Sang as one of Hyun Bin's junior soldiers in "Crash Landing on You," but his fame skyrocketed after he headlined the original Netflix series "Move to Heaven" with Lee Je Hoon. Following the series, he starred in the sports-themed K-drama "Racket Boys." This year, Tang Jung Sang will return to the small screen with a promising K-drama, "The Worst Boy in the World," with "Love to Hate You" star Yoo Teo. Hong Seung Hee Like Tang Jun Sang, Hong Seung Hee used to play supporting roles in K-dramas like "Navillera" and "King Maker: The Change of Destiny." After her first lead role, which is in "Move to Heaven," the rookie actress will star in the upcoming series "It's You, Out of the Blue." For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars. KDramaStars owns this article Written by Geca Wills News / National by Staff reporter Joe Biden has tripped and fallen during a graduation ceremony at the US Air Force academy.The American president, 80, was quickly helped up by three people, and walked back to his seat unassisted following the incident in Colorado.Biden's fall was reminiscent of the similar Mugabe moment.Robert Mugabe fell down a flight of stairs on his return to Zimbabwe from Ethiopia in 2015, in an incident captured on camera despite the best efforts of his security team.The then 90-year-old President of Zimbabwe was making his way down from a raised podium at the airport when he appeared to miss a step and fell to the ground.As the American leader was helped up, he pointed behind him, seeming to indicate what he tripped over.White House communications director Ben LaBolt said Mr Biden was fine."There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands," he said on Twitter.Mr Biden, who stood for much of the hours-long ceremony to shake hands with graduates, appeared to trip over something and fell to his knees towards the end as he handed out the last diploma.He was helped up by an Air Force officer as well as two members of his US Secret Service detail. Onlookers, including some members of the official delegation on stage, looked over in concern before the leader returned to his seat.At the presentation, he gave salutes to the blue-uniformed graduates.In his address in Colorado Springs to more than 900 cadets, the US commander-in-chief warned graduates they will enter service in an increasingly unstable world, citing challenges from Russia and China.The Democrat president is running for re-election in 2024.Speaking on the campaign trail in Iowa, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination next year, Donald Trump, said the fall was "not inspiring", adding the "whole thing is crazy".For some Biden is a sage political operator - but for others he's simply too old for the jobIn this politically charged country, the headline is either "He's fine" or "He fell (again)!"Already, in Republican circles, the video is being circulated and used to back up the narrative that he is losing control, or has lost control, of his faculties.There are plenty of voters in this country who believe President Biden's age is a real issue as he seeks a second term as president.For Republican Party candidates, his age and his fitness for office is a clear, effective attack point.The videos are out there: President Biden tripping up the steps of Air Force One or appearing to get lost walking to his helicopter outside the White House.There are even more videos of him seemingly losing his train of thought in speeches.His supporters say these are cheap shots. As president, he is subject to regular medicals. There is no evidence to suggest he is physically or mentally unfit.He has battled to control a stutter all his life which supporters say explains his less than fluent delivery.The photographs of this latest trip for the president clearly show a sandbag in his path.Still - how much will all that matter?For some, he is a sage political operator with decades of experience. For others he's simply too old for the job.Those who want to use these moments against the president will do so more and more as next year's election approaches.When told by an audience member that Mr Biden had fallen, Mr Trump, 76, said: "He did? He just fell on stage. He's at the Air Force academy. He actually fell down? Well, I hope he wasn't hurt. I hope he wasn't hurt."But... the whole thing is, look, the whole thing is crazy. You gotta be careful about that even if you have to tiptoe down a ramp"Well, that's... that's a bad place to fall when you make it, I think it was the Air Force academy, right? That's not inspiring."Doctors declared Mr Biden healthy and fit for duty after a physical examination in February.The US president was also seen stumbling on a flight of steps at the Itsukushima Shrine in Japan during his G7 visit last month. Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join us for an enlightening episode as we sit down with Kashica J. Webber-Ritchey, an assistant professor of nursing, to discuss the pressing issue of equity in health care, particularly for Black nurses. Kashica shares her first-hand experiences and research findings, highlighting the challenges faced by underrepresented nurses and the importance of listening to their voices. We delve into the impact of social determinants of health, the dual pandemic faced by Black nurses during COVID-19, and the need for systemic changes to support these invaluable health care professionals. Dont miss this insightful conversation as we explore strategies to create a healthier and more inclusive medical field. Kashica J. Webber-Ritchey is an assistant professor of nursing. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, Nursing for change: Prioritizing Black nurses health and well-being. The Podcast by KevinMD is brought to you by the Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience. With a growing physician shortage, increasing burnout, and declining patient satisfaction, a dramatic change is needed to make health care more efficient and effective and bring back the joy of practicing medicine. AI-driven ambient clinical intelligence promises to help by revolutionizing patient and provider experiences with clinical documentation that writes itself. The Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience, or DAX for short, is a voice-enabled, ambient clinical intelligence solution that automatically captures patient encounters securely and accurately at the point of care. Physicians who use DAX have reported a 50 percent decrease in documentation time and a 70 percent reduction in feelings of burnout, and 83 percent of patients say their physician is more personable and conversational. Rediscover the joy of medicine with clinical documentation that writes itself, all within the EHR. VISIT SPONSOR https://nuance.com/daxinaction SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended GET CME FOR THIS EPISODE https://earnc.me/tt0AU8 Powered by CMEfy. 1 Shares Share As the current COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage across the globe, many are left wondering when the next pandemic will occur. The reality is that pandemics are not a new phenomenon, and throughout history, we have seen numerous instances of infectious diseases causing widespread devastation. While we cannot predict with certainty when the next pandemic will occur, there are certain circumstances under which they are more likely to occur. One such circumstance is when there is an increase in international travel and trade, especially to and from developing countries. With the ease of travel and globalization, individuals can now travel to nearly any corner of the world within a matter of hours. If travelers are not properly screened, they can unknowingly bring infectious diseases with them to other parts of the world. Another circumstance is the sustained close contact between animals and humans, which increases the likelihood of zoonotic diseases jumping from animals to humans. This is how the COVID-19 pandemic began, and we saw just how easy it was for the virus to spread from animals to humans and then from human to human. Scientists and health care professionals around the world are monitoring closely for the next potential pandemic, and they have identified certain regions and diseases that may pose a higher risk. One such region is Southeast Asia, where animal-human interactions are commonplace, and there are a large number of wet markets. Southeast Asia is home to many wet markets where live animals are kept in close proximity to humans. These markets present a perfect environment for the transmission of zoonotic diseases from animals to humans. The close proximity of animals, including birds, bats, and rodents, creates a risk for viruses to jump from animals to humans. Wet markets are very common in many Southeast Asian countries, and many people rely on them for their daily food supply. These markets can offer a rich breeding ground for viruses to grow and mutate as they are moved from farms to wholesale markets to retail markets, increasing the potential for a disease to spread more widely. Another factor that puts Southeast Asia at risk is the increase in international travel and trade. With tourism being an important sector of many Southeast Asian economies, large numbers of people visit the region every year. Infected tourists could unknowingly spread the virus across multiple countries in a very short period of time. However, there is hope that governments and organizations are starting to take notice and are taking steps to prevent future pandemics. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on Southeast Asian countries to step up their efforts in surveillance, preparedness, and response to future pandemics. They have also called for a ban on the sale of live wild animals for food in markets, a move that China has already made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some Southeast Asian countries have also started to take their own measures to prevent future pandemics. Vietnam banned the import of wildlife and closed all wildlife markets. Singapore introduced a chemical fogging system to disinfect public spaces, while Thailand has ramped up its disease surveillance systems. While these measures are important, there is still much more to be done. With the potential for a pandemic to emerge at any time, it is important for governments and communities to work together to minimize the risk of future outbreaks. This includes educating the public on safe food practices, investing in public health infrastructure, and developing effective vaccines and treatments for infectious diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a humbling and sobering reminder that we are all susceptible to infectious diseases, but it also serves as a call to action to do better and to be better prepared for when the next pandemic strikes. By coming together and working towards a common goal, we can better protect ourselves, our communities, and the world as a whole. Ton La, Jr. is a physician and can be reached on LinkedIn. The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is celebrating the hatching of five new white-tailed eagle chicks in Co Clare. The NPWS said the newly-hatched chicks come from the bonding of eagles released under the white-tailed eagle reintroduction project, which aims to bring the species back to Ireland. Of particular note, a previously widowed male eagle that had been without a partner for four years has recently bonded with another female that was released in 2020. The male eagle was originally released in Killarney National Park in 2008 and set up territory with a female from that batch, eventually making a nest in the Lough Derg area. In 2013, this pair nested successfully and fledged a pair of chicks the first hatching and fledging of a white-tailed eagle in more than 110 years in Ireland. The same pair successfully fledged further chicks for the next four years until 2018, when the female of the pair died after contracting avian flu. The male eagle then lived alone in East Clare for the past four years until he recently paired up with his new partner and welcomed two new chicks, the NPWS said. The female chick comes from a batch of 16 white-tailed eagle chicks collected from the wild nests in Norway and sent to Ireland for the release programme in 2020. The chick was released a site in Lough Derg but flew back to Scotland after her release. It returned to Ireland six months later and bonded with the widowed male. They then set up a territory together, building a nest in February of this year on an island in Lough Derg. Eamonn Meskell, who leads the NPWS white-tailed eagle reintroduction project, said: We have been monitoring these eagles for many years and of course we feel very familiar with their history as part of the project. The male eagle has been single for four years since his previous partner died. Of course, the fact that he has now found and bred with a new partner is significant to our project but were also delighted to see this eagle that we know well make a new bond and start a new family. A story like this really brings our reintroduction programme to life, as it helps people to learn about eagle breeding behaviour and the fragility of our reintroduction efforts, all told through the story of a widowed eagle. For our project, the appearance of any new chick is a milestone and shows that the continuation of the project is proving successful. At a separate site in Co Clare, three other chicks reared by one of the offspring of the male eagle and its previous partner were observed and tagged by the NPWS in recent days. The NPWS said this female offspring has reared 10 chicks which are spread around the island of Ireland, some of whom themselves are forming pairs. Mr Meskill added: It is also incredible that one of his offspring is now herself rearing three chicks. This is a very rare occurrence, as a very small minority of nest sites in Ireland, Norway or anywhere else have more than two chicks on nest. This is the second year that three chicks are on the nest at this particular nest site. This shows how suited Ireland and our lakes are from a habitat and feeding perspective for this reintroduction project. Minister of State for Heritage Malcolm Noonan the successful hatching symbolises the patience and careful planning of the reintroduction project. It gives us great hope and encouragement for the project which we always knew would take time and perseverance. He added: The news from Clare today of five chicks born to eagles from both phases of the reintroduction programme and indeed to their offspring shows why our continued efforts, perseverance and hope can lead not just to lovely stories such as this, but to hope and good news for nature. The original reintroduction programme between 2007 and 2011 involved releasing 100 young white-tailed eagles in Killarney National Park, County Kerry which subsequently dispersed widely throughout Ireland. By July 2020, a small breeding population of eight to ten pairs had successfully fledged 31 chicks across counties Cork, Kerry, Clare, Galway and Tipperary. Some Irish-bred eagles are now reaching maturity and starting to breed in the wild. However, a scientific review of the reintroduction project indicated the small population is still vulnerable to mortality factors such as Avian Influenza, illegal poisoning and extreme weather events. News / National by Staff reporter Some school heads who were turning children away for non-payment of school fees are up for disciplinary action as they contravened Government policy.This was said by the Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Edgar Moyo during the Oral Answer to Questions Without Notice session in the Senate on Thursday.Deputy Minister Moyo was answering Senator Khaliphani Phungeni for Bulawayo (MDC-Alliance) who had queried Government policy on children whose parents cannot afford fees and being turned away."My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Hon. Moyo. Hon. Minister, what is Government policy on children who cannot afford to pay school fees? I know that children cannot be denied their Right to Education because their parents cannot afford to pay school fees. Does your policy remove children from school on the basis of parents failing to pay school fees or the children stay in school and you find other means of recovering the money from the parents? Thank you," said Senator Phungeni.Deputy Minister Moyo said from the second term several school heads are facing disciplinary action for turning away pupils who had not paid school fees."I would like to take this opportunity to inform the House that with effect from this term, several heads had charges preferred against them for contravening that particular policy. They are currently going through disciplinary processes as per relevant statutes. I thank you," said Deputy Minister Moyo.He said this year the Basic Education Module (BEAM) is catering for about 1.8 million pupils across the country.Every child in Zimbabwe has a right to education whether they have the fees or not. Those whose parents are able to pay fees do pay. Those whose circumstances are such that they are unable to pay fees are then covered under certain programmes that Government has put in place, chief amongst them is the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) programme which is going to be covering 1.8 million children this year," he said.Deputy Minister Moyo urged that school authorities who turn away pupils must be reported so Government takes corrective measures.We also have partners that have partnered with education in this country and through several organisations they pay fees for students. However, in the event that a child finds themselves in a kind of island where no programme covers them and their parents are struggling to pay fees, schools have no right to send those children out of school or to remove them," said Deputy Minister Moyo."They have to allow students to proceed with their education without interaction but then engage parents and come up with payment plans to pay those fees. Those schools I will repeat it today and I have said it before, who send students home are committing a crime against the rights of those children to education. They must be reported to authorities and corrective measures should be taken." Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Generally cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 72F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 47F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. The companies Chemours, DuPont and Corteva announced on Friday they have agreed to pay more than $1 billion to settle claims that forever chemicals contaminated public US water systems. Brinks (NYSE:BCO Get Rating) issued an update on its FY23 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $6.45-7.15 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $6.80. The company issued revenue guidance of $4.8-4.95 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $4.91 billion. Brinks Stock Up 4.4 % Shares of BCO stock opened at $69.72 on Friday. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $65.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.27, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 28.46 and a beta of 1.34. Brinks has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $70.05. Get Brink's alerts: Brinks Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Brinkss previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Brinkss dividend payout ratio is currently 35.92%. Analysts Set New Price Targets Insider Buying and Selling A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BCO shares. StockNews.com lowered Brinks from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 24th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Brinks from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, March 24th. Finally, TheStreet raised Brinks from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. In related news, EVP Michael F. Beech sold 22,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.26, for a total transaction of $1,513,350.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,457 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,595,517.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Brinks news, Director Michael J. Herling sold 3,089 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total value of $205,727.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,776 shares of the companys stock, valued at $784,281.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael F. Beech sold 22,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.26, for a total value of $1,513,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,457 shares in the company, valued at $3,595,517.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Institutional Trading of Brinks Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Brinks by 1.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 12,504 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Brinks by 8.8% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,206 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Brinks by 3.6% in the first quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,229 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Brinks by 97.8% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 639 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Brinks by 1.3% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 26,228 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. 97.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Brinks (Get Rating) The Brinks Co provides secure logistics and cash management services. It operates through the following segments: North America, Latin America, Europe and Rest of World. Its logistics and security solutions include cash-in-transit, ATM replenishment & maintenance, and cash management & payment services, such as vault outsourcing, money processing, intelligent safe services, and international transportation of valuables. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Brink's Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Brink's and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT Get Rating) have received an average rating of Hold from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.95. Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ESRT shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Empire State Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $9.25 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. TheStreet lowered shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a c rating to a d+ rating in a research note on Monday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $9.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Empire State Realty Trust from $7.25 to $7.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. Get Empire State Realty Trust alerts: Institutional Trading of Empire State Realty Trust Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 111.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,178 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,734 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Empire State Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 203.4% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 7,115 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 4,770 shares during the period. Group One Trading L.P. purchased a new position in Empire State Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Empire State Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the companys stock. Empire State Realty Trust Price Performance Empire State Realty Trust Announces Dividend NYSE ESRT opened at $6.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 8.99 and a quick ratio of 8.99. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $6.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.86. Empire State Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $5.39 and a 1 year high of $8.68. The company has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.19. The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a $0.035 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Empire State Realty Trusts payout ratio is 42.42%. About Empire State Realty Trust (Get Rating) Empire State Realty Trust, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in owning, managing, acquiring, and repositioning office and retail properties. It operates through the Real Estate and Observatory segments. The Real Estate segment includes ownership, management, operation, acquisition, repositioning, and disposition of real estate assets. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Empire State Realty Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Empire State Realty Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 24th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 7th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the industrial products company on Friday, June 23rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 6th. This is an increase from Donaldsons previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Donaldson has raised its dividend payment by an average of 3.5% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 37 consecutive years. Donaldson has a payout ratio of 31.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Donaldson to earn $3.17 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.5%. Get Donaldson alerts: Donaldson Trading Up 0.7 % Donaldson stock opened at $59.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.90. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $63.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.20. Donaldson has a 52 week low of $46.00 and a 52 week high of $66.96. Analysts Set New Price Targets Donaldson ( NYSE:DCI Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $875.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $871.53 million. Donaldson had a return on equity of 32.06% and a net margin of 10.69%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Donaldson will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year. A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Donaldson from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Donaldson from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Donaldson from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. Insider Activity In related news, Director Christopher M. Hilger acquired 3,186 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $62.76 per share, for a total transaction of $199,953.36. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $494,046.72. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.77% of the companys stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Donaldson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Donaldson by 103.7% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,426 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Donaldson by 128.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,417 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Donaldson by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,803 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Donaldson by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,171 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. 80.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Donaldson (Get Rating) Donaldson Co, Inc engages in the manufacture of filtration systems and replacement parts. It operates through the following segments: Engine Products and Industrial Products. The Engine Products segment includes replacement filters for both air and liquid filtration applications, air filtration systems, liquid filtration systems for fuel, lube and hydraulic applications, and exhaust and emissions systems. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Donaldson Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Donaldson and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. This folklorico group reached back a century to resurrect origins of Jarabe Tapatio Clovis North High School senior Valeria Suarez enjoys the sounds and movement of Mexican folkloric dance. However, the 17-year-old junior who has been steeped in ballet since she was 5 is a dancer without a program because Clovis North does not have a folkloric dance program. Her aunt, Rosa Amelia Gonzalez Madrigal is director of the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc. She was looking for a ballet dancer to replicate an original version of El Jarabe Tapatio for the groups 25th anniversary showcase on May 26. That is how a sold-out crowd at the schools Performing Arts Center got a first peek at the ballet-folklorico fusion on May 26. Suarez performed the dance at the Clovis Unified School Districts folkloric show earlier in May. I had mentioned to Rosita (her aunt) that I was interested in doing something related to dancing because I needed a Hispanic-type dance to showcase for a program at my school, said Suarez. Valeria Suarez performs Jarabe Tapatio from Jalisco at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. She was willing to help me learn this dance and asked if I would be willing to do it in her show as well. Suarez went out of her comfort zone. It worked. The origins of El Jarabe Tapatio Audiences are familiar with El Jarabe Tapatio, one of numerous dances from the western Mexican state of Jalisco where there are no shortages of dances. When Gonzalez Madrigal and Tlaloc decided to feature a dance from each of the 32 Mexican states, the choice for Suarez to perform El Jarabe Tapatio to represent Jalisco was easily made. The first time Jarabe Tapatio was presented on a professional stage, it was performed as a ballet piece, explained Gonzalez Madrigal. During the 1800s, Mexican traditional music was practiced by few and it was not seen as something worthy on stage, said Gonzalez Madrigal. Until 1908 when a Russian ballerina, Ana Pavlova, arrived in Mexico as part of her world tour and changed the spectrum of folklore in Mexico, she said. Valeria Suarez performs Jarabe Tapatio from Jalisco at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Pavlova combined the traditional music of Jarabe Tapatio with ballet, giving rise to what is now Mexicos cornucopia of folklorico dance. Dancer began practicing in March Suarez led off the showcase alone on stage, wearing a tutu festooned with the red, white and green of Mexicos flag. She began practicing in March the choreography developed by Victor Rosas. It was surprisingly really easy for me to adjust to the folkloric steps, mostly because I had been around them for so long that I kind of knew what it was supposed to look like, said Suarez. But it was definitely a challenge shifting from ballet to folkloric. Her biggest challenge was shifting from straight legs and pointed toes at all times to making sure she hit the floor to make the noises and the sounds that the typical folkloric shoes would make. Suarez doesnt plan on a repeat performance. The tutu was on loan from a local costumer. It was supposed to be for a different style of dance, but I thought that the colors reflected Mexican culture very well, said Suarez, who wants to double major in dance and mathematics in college. The reaction was positive. Folkloric dancers, she said, offered nothing but compliments and praise. Valeria Suarez performs Jarabe Tapatio from Jalisco at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. At first, I was really worried that no one would enjoy it, or would judge me for what I was doing because it was so different from what is normally done, she said. But Ive been surprised to see that many people are actually really excited to see me doing this new kind of fusion dance. Dancing ballet to El Jarabe Tapatio was such a beautiful way to express my love for my culture and my family, she said. Taking folkloric dancing back to its roots Gonzalez Madrigal was happy to take folklorico back to its roots. Although it has become a more traditional art form now, the roots of Mexican folkloric dance stem from its fusion with ballet, she said. El Jarabe Tapatio with ballet was not a first-time experience for the local audiences. Las Tetelcingas from Morelos, Danza de Cuchillos from Tlaxcala, and, Danza de Flashicos from Queretaro were performed for the first time. Tlaloc alumni joined Central East dancers, as well as some from Central High and Justin Garza High, for the performances. Central East seniors were responsible for four of the folkloric dances: Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Sinaloa, and, Baja California. Danzantes de Tlaloc was founded in 1997 by Spanish-language instructor Alfonso Jimenez. The name signifies the Aztec god of rain. Gonzalez Madrigal has led the group since 2005. Here is a photo tour of the dances from the other states, from Aguascalientes to Zacatecas. Angelina Manquero is flanked by Ezekiel Flores and Joseph Romero in a performance of Pelea de Gallos from Aguascalientes at Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Desirae Trejo and Diego Zendejas perform El Apasionado from Baja California Sur at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Juan Cruz and Nayeli Jaime perform La Loba del Mal from Baja California at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Nimsi Martinez performs Pichito Amoroso from Campeche at Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Liliana Bautista performs El Copainalteco from Chiapas at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Jasmine Iniguez and Ezekiel Flores perform Parque Anahuac from Chihuahua at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Nayeli Jaime and Rodrigo Perez perform Jarabe Pateno from Coahuila at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Rosario Hernandez performs Las Comaltecas from Colima at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Yareli Garcia and Roberto Aguilera perform El Revolcadero from Durango at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Melissa Garibay and Cade Lopez perform Jarabe Guanajuatense from Guanajuato at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Carolyn Vega and Sergio Robles perform Recuerdo a Mi Pueblo from Guerrero at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Desirae Trejo performs Aguila Blanca from Mexico City at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Yaretzi Carrasco performs La Botella from the state of Mexico at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Katie Cruz and Isaac Ayala perform Jarabe Planeco from Michoacan at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Savannah Fernandez performs Las Tetelcingas from Morelos at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Adelina Aguilar performs Popurri from Nayarit at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Yamila Mercado and Ezekiel Flores perform polkas from Nuevo Leon at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Melissa Garibay performs El Coton from Oaxaca at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Leslie Gonzales performs La Guayabita from Puebla at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Angelina Herbert and colleagues perform Danza de Flashicos from Queretaro during the 25th anniversary celebration of Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc on May 26, 2023. Aiden Flores, Isaac Ayala and Vicente Sanchez perform Popurri de Quintana Roo at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Rodrgo Perez, Ariel Garza, Chloe Hoskins, and Gabby Lopez perform Jarabe de Rio Verde from San Luis Potosi at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Aleena Ramirez performs El Gallito from Sinaloa at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Victoria Espinoza and Alfredo Gordiano perform El Huarachazo from Sonora at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Alfredo Gordiano performs El Platanero from Tabasco at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Forest Davila performs Ocampo Pueblo Bonito from Tamaulipas at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Marlene Hidalgo performs Danza de Cuchillos from Tlaxcala at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Celeste Gordiano performs La Vieja from Veracruz at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. Sofia Santacruz performs Las Mujeres Que Se Pintan from Yucatan at the Central East Danzantes de Tlaloc 25th anniversary show at the Performing Arts Center on May 26, 2023. EngageSmart, Inc. (NYSE:ESMT Get Rating) has been given an average rating of Buy by the eleven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.88. Several analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on EngageSmart from $24.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Friday, May 5th. KeyCorp raised their target price on EngageSmart from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Craig Hallum started coverage on EngageSmart in a research report on Friday, May 5th. They issued a buy rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. TheStreet cut EngageSmart from a c- rating to a d rating in a research report on Monday, March 27th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on EngageSmart from $35.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Get EngageSmart alerts: Insider Transactions at EngageSmart In other news, CEO Robert Paul Bennett sold 34,892 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.19, for a total value of $634,685.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 820,438 shares of the companys stock, valued at $14,923,767.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director General Atlantic Partners (Ber sold 912,381 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.19, for a total value of $16,596,210.39. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 90,271,540 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,642,039,312.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert Paul Bennett sold 34,892 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.19, for a total value of $634,685.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 820,438 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $14,923,767.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 977,628 shares of company stock valued at $17,777,269 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.70% of the companys stock. Institutional Trading of EngageSmart EngageSmart Trading Up 1.3 % Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of EngageSmart during the third quarter worth $27,000. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in EngageSmart during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in EngageSmart during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in EngageSmart by 82.7% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,373 shares of the companys stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sandia Investment Management LP bought a new position in EngageSmart during the third quarter valued at about $52,000. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Shares of EngageSmart stock opened at $19.11 on Friday. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $17.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.01 and a beta of 0.45. EngageSmart has a twelve month low of $15.01 and a twelve month high of $22.65. EngageSmart Company Profile (Get Rating) EngageSmart, Inc provides Software-as-a-Service based customer engagement software and integrated payment solutions. It operates through two segments, Enterprise Solutions and SMB (small and medium sized business) Solutions. The company offers SimplePractice, an end-to-end practice management and electronic health record platform for health and wellness professionals to manage their practices; and InvoiceCloud, an electronic bill presentment and payment solution that helps government, utility, and financial services customers to digitize billing, client communications, and collections. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for EngageSmart Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for EngageSmart and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. McDonalds Co. (NYSE:MCD Get Rating) CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,000 shares of McDonalds stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total transaction of $570,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 1,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $549,900.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. McDonalds Trading Up 1.2 % MCD opened at $289.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $211.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.64. McDonalds Co. has a 12 month low of $230.58 and a 12 month high of $298.86. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $289.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $275.67. Get McDonald's alerts: McDonalds (NYSE:MCD Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 25th. The fast-food giant reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.32. McDonalds had a negative return on equity of 124.87% and a net margin of 29.36%. The firm had revenue of $5.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that McDonalds Co. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. McDonalds Announces Dividend Analyst Ratings Changes The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 5th will be issued a $1.52 dividend. This represents a $6.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 2nd. McDonaldss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.24%. Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of McDonalds from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 8th. Credit Suisse Group increased their target price on McDonalds from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on McDonalds from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on McDonalds from $315.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of McDonalds from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $321.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $306.83. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonalds by 18.5% during the first quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 218 shares of the fast-food giants stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc. increased its position in McDonalds by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 1,436 shares of the fast-food giants stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Bremer Bank National Association raised its holdings in McDonalds by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Bremer Bank National Association now owns 8,385 shares of the fast-food giants stock worth $2,345,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Day & Ennis LLC raised its stake in McDonalds by 1.7% in the first quarter. Day & Ennis LLC now owns 2,082 shares of the fast-food giants stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of McDonalds by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,135 shares of the fast-food giants stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.86% of the companys stock. About McDonalds (Get Rating) McDonalds Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and the U.K. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for McDonald's Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for McDonald's and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. National Australia Bank Limited (ASX:NABPF Get Rating) declared a interim dividend on Thursday, June 1st, MarketIndexAU reports. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 18th will be given a dividend of 1.386 per share on Sunday, June 18th. This represents a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 5th. This is a positive change from National Australia Banks previous interim dividend of $1.22. National Australia Bank Stock Performance About National Australia Bank (Get Rating) National Australia Bank Limited provides financial services to individuals and businesses in Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. It operates through Business and Private Banking; Personal Banking; Corporate and Institutional Banking; New Zealand Banking; and Corporate Functions and Other segments. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for National Australia Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for National Australia Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Tsakos Energy Navigation (NYSE:TNP Get Rating) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning. Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. TheStreet upgraded Tsakos Energy Navigation from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Tsakos Energy Navigation from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. Get Tsakos Energy Navigation alerts: Tsakos Energy Navigation Trading Up 2.9 % TNP stock opened at $18.10 on Wednesday. Tsakos Energy Navigation has a 1-year low of $8.40 and a 1-year high of $24.78. The firm has a market cap of $534.13 million, a P/E ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.09. The businesss 50 day moving average is $17.76 and its 200-day moving average is $18.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Tsakos Energy Navigation Increases Dividend Tsakos Energy Navigation ( NYSE:TNP Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 30th. The shipping company reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.15. Tsakos Energy Navigation had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $261.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $209.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.12) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Tsakos Energy Navigation will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 9th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Tsakos Energy Navigations previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.15. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 8th. Tsakos Energy Navigations payout ratio is presently 2.58%. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TNP. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Tsakos Energy Navigation by 89.6% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,048,370 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $17,749,000 after buying an additional 495,349 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in Tsakos Energy Navigation by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 447,857 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $7,582,000 after buying an additional 76,457 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Tsakos Energy Navigation by 171.1% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 430,527 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $7,289,000 after buying an additional 271,733 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Tsakos Energy Navigation by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 404,801 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $7,865,000 after buying an additional 28,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in Tsakos Energy Navigation by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 365,800 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $5,586,000 after buying an additional 18,200 shares in the last quarter. 36.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Tsakos Energy Navigation (Get Rating) Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. engages in the provision of seaborne crude oil and petroleum product transportation services. Its activities include the operation of crude tankers, product tankers, and liquefied natural gas carriers. The company was founded by Nikolas P. Tsakos and Michael Gordon Jolliffee in July 1993 and is headquartered in Athens, Greece. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Tsakos Energy Navigation Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Tsakos Energy Navigation and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Vodafone Group Public (LON:VOD Get Rating) had its price objective boosted by Barclays from GBX 100 ($1.24) to GBX 115 ($1.42) in a report released on Wednesday morning, The Fly reports. A number of other analysts have also weighed in on VOD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Vodafone Group Public from GBX 100 ($1.24) to GBX 95 ($1.17) in a research note on Friday, May 12th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a hold rating and set a GBX 95 ($1.17) price objective on shares of Vodafone Group Public in a report on Tuesday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a GBX 85 ($1.05) target price on shares of Vodafone Group Public in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a GBX 130 ($1.61) price target on shares of Vodafone Group Public in a research note on Monday, February 27th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reissued an underperform rating and issued a GBX 90 ($1.11) price objective on shares of Vodafone Group Public in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of GBX 114.50 ($1.41). Get Vodafone Group Public alerts: Vodafone Group Public Stock Performance Shares of LON:VOD opened at GBX 75.63 ($0.93) on Wednesday. Vodafone Group Public has a 12 month low of GBX 74.10 ($0.92) and a 12 month high of GBX 132.04 ($1.63). The firms 50-day moving average is GBX 88.71 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 91.01. The company has a market capitalization of 20.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 210.08, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 103.71. Vodafone Group Public Announces Dividend Vodafone Group Public Company Profile The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of 0.05 ($0.05) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 8th. This represents a yield of 4.34%. Vodafone Group Publics dividend payout ratio is currently 2,222.22%. (Get Rating) Vodafone Group Public Limited Company engages in telecommunication services in Europe and internationally. The company offers mobile services that enable customers to call, text, and access data; fixed line services, including broadband, television (TV) offerings, and voice; and convergence services under the GigaKombi and Vodafone One names to customers. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Vodafone Group Public Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vodafone Group Public and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. For the month of May, K-pop artists have been busy not just in their music and promotions, but also on their extra schedules at formal gatherings. Since May is jam-packed with our favorite stars making the best out of it, their activities for this month are also worth listing. Here are the K-pop stars who made headlines on various formal events in May 2023! 1. aespa (Chopard Art Gala & 76th Cannes International Film Festival) aespa made history by becoming the first-ever K-pop girl group to attend the Cannes Film Festival on May 24, when they represented as ambassadors of Chopard. Prior to the main event, aespa also attended Chopard's Art Gala dinner party on May 23. 2. BLACKPINK Jennie (76th Cannes International Film Festival) On May 22, Jennie of BLACKPINK stole the show with her appearance at the 76th Cannes International Film Festival. Jennie attended the occasion for HBO series "The Idol," a show where she plays a role in. 3. BLACKPINK Rose (76th Cannes International Film Festival) Jennie's fellow bandmate Rose also made headlines on the 76th Cannes International Film Festival on May 17. Rose raked the spotlight with her Saint Laurent Fashion and attended for the premiere of Hirokazu Kore-da's "Monster." 4. f(x) Krystal (76th Cannes International Film Festival) On May 25, Krystal Jung of f(x) also made her first-ever appearance at the 76th Cannes International Film Festival, where she attended for the premiere of "Cobweb." 5. BIBI (76th Cannes International Film Festival) BIBI attended the 76th Cannes International Film Festival on May 24 for the premiere of "Hwaran," a noir film also starring Song Joong Ki, Jung Jae Kwang, and Hong Xa Bin. 6. BLACKPINK Lisa (BVLGARI Mediterranea Event & Celine Paris Fashion Show) On May 17, BLACKPINK Lisa went viral for her appearance at the BVLGARI Mediterranea Event, where she interacted with celebrity Zendaya, sending the internet to a frenzy. On May 23, Lisa also attended the Celine Paris Fashion Show. 7. BTS V (Celine Paris Fashion Show) Also on May 17, V of BTS went to the fashion show in Paris, taking along photos with Lisa and actor Park Bo Gum. 8. BLACKPINK Jisoo (Miss Dior Exhibition) On May 28, Dior Beauty uploaded a series of images on their official Instagram account, showing Jisoo on the Miss Dior Exhibition. Jisoo was also joined by NewJeans Haerin, 2PM Junho, actor Jung Hae In, and renowned South Korean figure skater Kim Yuna. 9. 2024 Gucci Cruise Fashion Show With Numerous K-pop Artists On May 16, the 2024 Gucci Cruise Fashion Show was dominated by K-pop stars such as NewJeans Hanni, IU, ITZY Ryujin, aespa Winter, THE BOYZ Juyeon and Younghoon, Jay Park, IVE Leeseo, and BIBI. What do you think of their graceful appearances? Let us know in the comments below! Read KpopStarz for more K-pop news. KpopStarz owns this article Written by Riely Miller Lufthansa CEO says it's premature to discuss possible takeover of Portugal's TAP By Joanna Plucinska and Tim Hepher ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Lufthansa's Chief Executive Carsten Spohr said on Sunday it was too soon to discuss the German airline group's potential interest in taking over Portugal's TAP as the Portuguese government is still debating the privatisation process. Portugal wants to keep a strategic stake in state-owned airline TAP and will not offer all its capital in the upcoming privatisation, the country's secretary of state for finance, Joao Nuno Mendes, said on Friday. "There's still discussion in Portugal how that privatisation will take place and it's not supposed to be 100 percent privatisation," Spohr told journalists at the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association in Istanbul. At least three major global carriers, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and British Airways-owner IAG, have shown an interest. Lufthansa said last month that it was taking a 41% stake in Italian carrier ITA Airways in the latest major consolidation in the aviation sector in Europe. Spohr noted that the deal was still contingent on the European Commission's approval, but said that once it was signed off, ITA Airways would be incorporated into the Lufthansa group's global sales contracts to help it grow its revenue. He added that a number of planes were still grounded due to supply chain issues - at least 10 across the group - and that initial deliveries of the Boeing 777X were expected in early 2025. "Boeing are saying it's delivery in late 24 or early 25 - which means it's early '25," Spohr said. (Reporting by Joanna Plucinska and Tim Hepher; Editing by Susan Fenton) Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, on Saturday, completed 30 years in the city of dreams, Mumbai. To mark the occasion, Anurag took to his Instagram and shared a picture of the Punjab mail train which he captioned, "3rd June , 1993 I landed at Dadar station .. it was raining. I didn't know that monsoons in Bombay were that long .. I remember taking my first local train from Dadar to Andheri to meet a friend , who came from Delhi before me." Kennedy at Cannes 2023! Anurag Kashyap's Movie Starring Sunny Leone and Rahul Bhat Gets Seven-Minute Standing Ovation at Film Festival. He who became the inspiration for @imtiazaliofficial 's most special film "Rockstar" . I got courage from both Jaggu and Imti to come to mumbai but then , they got into @sxcbom to do Mass Com .. and I just have been figuring ever since . So grateful to this city for everything and all the friends and memories that it has given me .. #karmbhoomi" Soon after the filmmaker penned down the note, fans and friends swamped the comment section with red heart emoticons and congratulatory messages.Actor Arjun Kapoor commented, "Punjab mail to sangam mail." Director Vikramaditya Motwane, "So grateful that you took that train." "Such a commendable journey," a fan commented. A fan wrote, "Thank you for coming to Mumbai and inspiring us." Kennedy at Cannes 2023: Anurag Kashyap Talks About Movies and Storyline, Says Fearless Producers Are Making All the Difference. Check Out The Post Here: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap10) Meanwhile, on the work front, Anurag's film Kennedy starring Sunny Leone and Rahul Bhatt, recently had its world premiere at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival 2023. The film premiered during the midnight screening and reportedly received a 7-minute-long standing ovation. The film revolves around an insomniac ex-cop, long thought to be dead, but still operating for the corrupt system, and looking for redemption. Anurag is known for his films like Gangs of Wasseyur, Manmarziyaan, Ded D, No Smoking, and Raman Raghav 2.0 among others. New Delhi, Jun 4 (PTI) Revenue Intelligence officers have seized over 10 kg gold worth about Rs 6.2 crore in two separate cases at Mumbai airport and arrested four persons, the finance ministry said on Sunday. In the first case, based on specific intelligence, two passengers arrived from Sharjah to Mumbai by Air India Express and were intercepted. Also Read | Bihar Bridge Collapse Video: Under Construction Aguwani-Sultanganj Bridge Collapses in Ganga River in Bhagalpur; Labourers Feared Dead. During the examination of the said passengers by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officers, 8 gold bars of 24 karat having foreign markings weighing 8 kg were found concealed inside their clothes around their waist. Acting swiftly on further intelligence, one more associate of the passengers was apprehended. Also Read | Delhi Madarsa Fire: Around 100 Rescued Through Roof, Two Firefighters Injured After Blaze Erupts at Madarsa-cum-Hostel in New Brijpuri (See Pics). The gold in bar form, weighing 8 kg, recovered during examination was valued at Rs 4.94 crore. Three persons have been arrested in the first case. In the second case, one Indian national coming from Dubai was also intercepted at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International (CSMI) Airport, Mumbai on June 3, 2023. The examination of the baggage of the said passengers was conducted and during the course of the baggage search, 56 ladies clutches (purses) were recovered. All the ladies 'clutches were found to be having ingenious concealment of 24 karat gold in the form of silver colour metal wires under the metallic strips of the ladies clutches. The recovered gold wires were found to be having a net weight of 2,005 grams and a provisional value of Rs 1.24 crore. "A total of 10 kg gold valued at approx Rs 6.2 crore has been seized and a total of 4 passengers have been arrested in the said cases. Further investigations are underway," the Ministry added. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Jamnagar, Jun 4 (PTI) A two-year-old girl, who slipped into a narrow borewell in Gujarat's Jamnagar district and got stuck at a depth of 20-feet, has died despite hectic rescue efforts by multiple agencies for 19 hours, an official said on Sunday. Also Read | Odisha Train Accident: How Can Train Accidents Be Prevented in India? Embracing Technology Can Help To Prevent Train Collisions and Derailments; Know How. The toddler, belonging to a tribal family working as labourers on a farm at Tamachan village, some 40 km from Jamnagar city, fell into the nearly 200-feet-deep borewell in an agricultural field while playing at around 9.30 am on Saturday. Also Read | Kuwait Leaders Offer Condolences to President Droupadi Murmu Over Odisha Train Tragedy. A massive operation involving the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local fire personnel was launched to rescue the girl. She was brought out at around 5.45 am on Sunday and declared dead, Jamnagar taluka development officer N A Sarvaiya said. Earlier, as soon as the local administration got information about the incident, it launched a rescue operation involving fire department personnel at around 11 am on Saturday, Sarvaiya said. Later, a team of Army personnel from Jamnagar and a NDRF team from Vadodara also joined the operation, he said. "The rescue operation involving the Army and NDRF personnel went on for the entire night. The borewell was filled with water, and a private borewell robot was also used in the rescue operation," the official said. "Water was drained and a parallel hole was dug as part of the rescue effort. Finally, the girl was brought out at around 5.45 am on Sunday and was declared dead," he said. With the latest incident, the dangers posed by open and abandoned borewells have come to the fore again. In July 2022, a 12-year-old girl fell into a borewell at a village in Gujarat's Surendranagar district and got stuck at a depth of 60 feet, but was rescued nearly five hours later. On June 9 last year, a two-year-old boy fell into a borewell at a farm in Surendranagar, following which a team of the Army, fire brigade, police and health officials rushed to the spot and rescued him. In 2009, the Supreme Court issued guidelines for preventing fatal accidents of children falling into abandoned borewells. The revised guidelines issued by the court in 2010 included setting up barbed wire fencing around the well during construction, using steel plate covers fixed with bolts over the well assembly and filling up of borewells from the bottom to the ground level. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Bhaderwah (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], June 4 (ANI): Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh on Sunday said that Bhaderwah has emerged as the Lavender capital of India and agri StartUp destination. "It is a moment of pride for all of us as Bhaderwah has emerged as the Lavender capital of India and Agri StartUp destination," Jitendra Singh said after inaugurating 2 days Lavender festival at Bhaderwah. Also Read | Andhra Pradesh Road Accident: Truck Rams Into Temple in Kakinada District, Three Killed. CSIR, Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu had organised the event as part of its 'One Week One Lab Campaign'. Singh described Bhaderwah as the birthplace of India's purple revolution and the destination of agri-StartUps. Also Read | Bihar Bridge Collapse Video: Under Construction Aguwani-Sultanganj Bridge Collapses in Ganga River in Bhagalpur; Labourers Feared Dead. The Minister said that the valley of Bhaderwah is the best example of the development of the present progressive government at the centre which should have been celebrated much earlier, Bhaderwah being the best place for lavender cultivation in terms of land and climate. Singh while referring to lavender cultivation in the region, said that Lavender is an avenue of employment generation and research opening many paradigms of development. "Lavender cultivation has changed the lives of many farmers. It is heartening to note that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the 99th Edition of Mann ki Baat, appreciated the efforts of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research- Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM) in supporting farmers in the cultivation of Lavender in the Bhaderwah, Doda district, J&K under CSIR-Aroma Mission". He said, "Farmers had been engaged in traditional maize cultivation for decades, but some farmers thought of doing something different. They turned to floriculture, that is, the cultivation of flowers. Today, around two and a half thousand farmers are cultivating Lavender here. They have also been handheld through the Aroma Mission of the Central Government. This new cultivation has greatly increased the income of the farmers." The CSIR-Aroma Mission is a flagship project of CSIR under which Lavender cultivation is being promoted in the temperate regions of J&K. The aim of the project is to increase the income of small and marginal farmers and develop agriculture-based Startups. The project is being directly monitored by Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) of the Ministry of Science & Technology. Under his directions, CSIR-IIIM is implementing Lavender cultivation in Bhaderwah and other parts of J&K. The net annual income of farmers who switched from maize to Lavender cultivation has increased many folds from around Rs 40,000 to Rs 60,000 per hectare to Rs 3,50,000 to Rs 6,00,000 per hectare. Farmers of the Bhaderwah, Doda district, produced 300, 500, 800, and 1500 Litres of Lavender oil in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively. They earned over Rs 5 Crore between 2018-2022 by selling dry flowers, Lavender plants, and Lavender oil, an official statement said. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Saudi to make new voluntary cuts as part of OPEC+ deal - source FILE PHOTO: The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County LONDON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will make new voluntary cuts as part of an OPEC+ deal, an OPEC+ source told Reuters on Sunday. Two other OPEC+ sources said the group is likely to agree a policy roll over until 2023 and make additional cuts in 2024 if new production baselines for members are agreed. (Reporting by OPEC Newsroom; Editing by Angus MacSwan) New Delhi, June 4: The Centre on Sunday constituted a three-member Commission of Inquiry, headed by former chief justice of the Gauhati High Court Ajai Lamba, to investigate into the incidents of violence in Manipur which started in early May. The Commission shall submit its report to the Central Government as soon as possible but not later than six months from the date of its first sitting. Manipur: Amit Shah Appeals to People To Lift Blockades at Imphal-Dimapur, National Highway-2 and Let Food Items Reach People. The Government of India led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has notified a Commission of Inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, chaired by Justice Ajai Lamba, former Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court with Himanshu Shekhar Das, IAS (Retd.) and Aloka Prabhakar, IPS (Retd.) as members to inquire into the incidents of violence in the state of Manipur on May 3 and thereafter, the official notification said. The Ministry of Home Affairs in a release said the commission shall make inquiry with respect to the causes and spread of the violence, which took place in Manipur, and whether there were any lapses on the part of any of the responsible authorities or individuals. The headquarters of the commission shall be in Imphal - the capital of Manipur. Meanwhile, a total of 202 arms, 252 ammunition and 92 bombs of all kinds recovered after the visit of Home Minister Amit Shah to Manipur. A total of 789 arms and 10648 ammunition have been recovered till date. Security Advisor to Government of Manipur Kuldiep Singh said that the situation in Manipur by and large remained under control.There are reports of blockades at Imphal-Dimapaur National Highway-2. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has appealed to the people to lift the blockade. After Amit Shah's Appeal for Peace, 140 Weapons Surrendered at Various Places in Violence-Hit Manipur; Police Share Video. In his tweet Home Minister has said, "My sincerest appeal to the people of Manipur is to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur, NH-2 Highway, so that food, medicines, Petrol/Diesel, and other necessary items can reach the people.I also request that Civil Society Organisations do the needful in bringing consensus. Together only we can restore normalcy in this beautiful state". "We hope that people will surely take into account the Home Minister's appeal and lift the blockade on the Imphal-Dimapaur National Highway-2 at the earliest," the official release said. "Curfew relaxation has been made for 12 hours in the valley and 10 hours and 07 hours in the neighboring hill districts.During the last 24 hours 23 more arms have been recovered. This makes a total of 202 arms, 252 ammunition and 92 bombs of all kinds recovered after the visit of Home Minister. A total of 789 arms and 10648 ammunition have been recovered till date," the official statement said. Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah had visited Manipur during May 29 till June 1, 2023, and after taking stock of the situation had announced appointment of Commission of Inquiry. Shah's visit to the violence-hit state was to take stock of the situation and to hold talks with different stakeholders in a bid to restore a sense of calm in the state. Amit Shah had urged all communities and sections of society to maintain peace, hold discussions and promote harmony as well as surrender their weapons to the police. He also appealed to the people not to pay heed to rumours and maintain peace and harmony. Internet services continue to remain suspended and security forces deployed in Manipur after clashes between communities residing in hills and plains districts. The violence apparently started after a Scheduled Tribes reservation was demanded by the plains dwellers, who are predominantly Meiteis and are the majority in numbers. Against those demands, a rally was organised by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) -- mostly from Kuki community. Manipur on Wednesday, which later turned violent and ever since there has been incidents of violence and arson with dozens of lives so far. However, curfew has been withdrawn in some districts. Earlier today, Home Minister Amit Shah appealed to the people of Manipur to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur National Highway-2 so that basic food items, medicines, fuels and other necessary items can reach the citizens. "I also request that Civil Society Organisations do the needful in bringing consensus. Together only we can restore normalcy in this beautiful state," Shah wrote on Twitter. (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], June 4 (ANI):Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Government remains deeply committed to the development in the eastern region of India as well as India's neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal. Sarbananda Sonowal attended a crucial meeting of stakeholders of maritime development in the Bay of Bengal area in Kolkata on Sunday. Also Read | Kerala: Tribal Woman Delivers Baby in Ambulance on Way to Hospital in Idukki. Sonowal also underlined that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Government remains deeply committed to enabling Act East Policy to reach its maximum potential for growth and development in the eastern region of India as well as India's neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal. Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister Sonowal said, "Under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, the Act East Policy of Government has gathered unprecedented momentum ushering a new age of growth and development in the region. The PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan is yet another boost to rationalise the logistical paradigm and make an attractive business proposition." Also Read | Delhi Fire: Blaze Erupts at Madarsa in New Brijpuri, 17 Fire Tenders Rushed To Spot (See Pics). After interacting with the envoys of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal as well as industry & trade representatives, the minister called for greater cooperation among all the stakeholders for unlocking value in the maritime sector of the region. "The maritime sector, as well as the inland waterways sector, are major agents of change in this visionary scheme of transportation which is likely to transform cargo movement through an economic, sustainable and efficient mode. In this momentous journey, we aspire your active support and swift cooperation to extrapolate maximum value creation for everyone," official press release stated the Minister as saying. Some of the key issues deliberated in the meeting were Trade through National Waterways 1 and 2 to NER for ensuring transit transportation of North East Cargo through Bangladesh/North East Region/Myanmar, to strengthen Trade Ties with Bangladesh through facilitation of movement of goods between SMP Kolkata and various ports of Bangladesh (Chittagong, Mongla) involving IWAI; Collaboration with Myanmar's Sittwe Port in Myanmar, as a part of KMMTTP, to transport cargo to NE India, via Mizoram; Using Deep Drafted Facilities within SMPK limits for overcoming the constraints of a shallow draft for STS/Transshipment operations; Capacity Enhancements at SMPK through PPP Mode. Adding further, Sarbananda Sonowal said, "The Act East policy has been a harbinger of growth, not only for the eastern part of India but as a consequence, for the trade and business interest of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar. The success of Ganga Vilas, which travelled from Varanasi to Dibrugarh via Bangladesh, has accentuated the viability of the rich potential of river tourism in the South Asian region, showcasing our rich culture and heritage. Similarly, we have successfully started operations at the strategic Sittwe Port in Myanmar which will open a new route for Northeast India as well as Bhutan and Bangladesh." "We affirm our commitment towards the development of the maritime sector in the region and unlock value by empowering transportation solutions using our rich interweb of a riverine system for the growth and development in the region. This will be a true reflection of our PM Narendra Modi ji's vision of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'," Union Minister Sonowal added. The meeting commenced with a discussion with IWAI/allied partners regarding the increased use of Inland Water Transport through River Ganga (NW1) and River Brahmaputra (NW2) via IBP/KMMTTP route. This was followed by an interactive meet of Ministers with the Consul Generals of the neighbouring countries (Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar) of India. The Union Minister commended all stakeholders for their stellar role in the growth of trade and commerce through SMPK and the region as a whole since 2013-14, and through continued collaboration and enterprise aided by multi-pronged initiatives. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Cape Town, Jun 4 (AP) Gunmen burst into a room at a men's hostel near the eastern South African city of Durban, killing eight people and leaving two others injured, police said Sunday, in the latest mass shooting in the country. Seven men were declared dead immediately after the shooting in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday in the Umlazi township. An eighth man died on Sunday, police said. Also Read | Shangri La Dialogue 2023: China-US War Would Be 'Unbearable Disaster for World', Says Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu. Two others are hospitalized with injuries, and they include a man who jumped out of the window of the hostel room to escape the gunfire. Police said that 12 men were in the room drinking alcohol when numerous gunmen broke in, shot at them and then fled. Two of the men in the room were unhurt. Also Read | Alien Presence on Earth: Expert Claims Covert Extraterrestrial Involved in Government Spacecraft Development, Says Expert. South Africa is among the 10 countries with the highest homicide rates in the world and there has been a spate of mass shootings in recent years. At least two mass shootings were reported earlier this year. A child was among 10 family members who were killed at a house in April. Eight were shot dead at a birthday party in January. Last year, 22 people were killed over one weekend in three separate shootings at bars in different parts of the country. South Africa has reasonably strict gun laws but has serious problems with illegal firearms, police and community activists say. An average of 30 people a day were killed by firearms in South Africa in the first three months of this year, according to official crime statistics. During the same three months, police recorded more than 4,000 cases of illegal possession of guns or ammunition. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kabul [Afghanistan], June 4 (ANI): The participants of the second Central Asia-European Union leaders' meeting in their closing statement expressed concern about the situation in Afghanistan, while also highlighting the stability and growth of this country, TOLO News reported. TOLO News is an Afghan news channel broadcasting from Kabul. Also Read | Kuwait Leaders Offer Condolences to President Droupadi Murmu Over Odisha Train Tragedy. President of the European Council, Charles Michel, while speaking at the meeting, called for the establishment of an inclusive government in Afghanistan, and respect for human rights, especially the right to education and work for women and girls in Afghanistan. Michel said: "In Central Asia, you also face security threats from Afghanistan. And we share the same concerns. We appreciate the special insights that your countries have into the situation. It is important for all of us to have a stable and peaceful Afghanistan with an inclusive government that ensures human rights." Also Read | North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un's Sister Kim Yo Jong Vows Second Attempt To Launch Spy Satellite, Slams UN Meeting. Meanwhile, Imam Ali Rahman, the President of Tajikistan, warned that Afghanistan, particularly its northern provinces, has transformed into a breeding ground for international terrorism. Addressing the second meeting of the leaders of Central Asia and the European Union, he emphasized the need to strengthen the border protection between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, in the meeting, supported regular meetings in Central Asia-European Union format within the framework of the High-level Dialogue on Politics and Security, as well as meetings of CA-EU special representatives on Afghanistan. He expressed hope that the authorities in Kabul will be able to come to a consensus with the international community on a number of issues on the regional and international agenda so that this country can integrate into the system of full-fledged regional economic cooperation. Japarov while touching on the concern of the world community on the issue of women's rights to education and work in Afghanistan, called for addressing this issue through setting an example, persuasion, and constructive dialogue with the new Afghan authorities and avoiding excessive pressure. The issue of terrorism and threats from Afghanistan was the common concern of the participants of this meeting. "We always stand for Central Asia to be the area of peace and progress, productively cooperating with all the regions and countries. Stable development of our multifaceted partnership with the European Union directly depends on the security and stability in the region, including the situation in Afghanistan," Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at the meeting, as per TOLO News. Some of the meeting's participants asked the international community not to reduce the amount of their aid to the people of Afghanistan. "The Afghan problem is our focus. Unfortunately, the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating rapidly. According to the United Nations, currently millions of Afghans are on the brink of survival. In this regard, we urge our partners not to reduce the volume of humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. We are ready to continue to provide for these purposes the use of logistics hub in Termez," said the president of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The Taliban, however, called the security concerns of neighbouring countries and the region in Afghanistan baseless. Taliban deputy spokesperson, Bilal Karimi, said that Afghanistan's territory does not pose a threat to any other nation, and human rights concerns and the country's structure of the system are internal issues that will be resolved in accordance with Islamic law and Sharia. Karimi noted: "The structure of the system and other issues that you mentioned are related to the people of Afghanistan, the Islamic Emirate should make a decision in the framework of the interests of the country in accordance with Islamic values." "Specific demands have been made of the current government in Kazakhstan, Samarkand, and during the visit of the Prime Minister of Qatar to Kandahar, and to resolve the impasse; change must come from within Afghanistan," said political analyst Tariq Farhadi, as per TOLO News. The participants of Central Asia-European Union leaders' meeting emphasized the need to continue holding such meetings on Afghanistan. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Berlin, Jun 4 (AP) Far-left supporters of a young woman given a lengthy prison sentence for participating in attacks on neo-Nazis and other extremists clashed with police in the eastern German city of Leipzig over the weekend, leaving 50 officers and a number of protesters injured. Saturday's planned demonstration among backers of Lina E., whose full name wasn't released because of privacy rules, was banned by the city of Leipzig. Police said that around 1,500 protesters showed up despite the ban. Also Read | Flesh-Eating Bacteria on Giant Seaweed Mass Threatens Florida Coastline, Says Study. What started out as a largely peaceful rally eventually led to clashes between protesters and police, in which some demonstrators threw stones, bottles and fireworks as police attempted to clear certain areas of the city. Leipzig police chief Rene Demmler said Sunday that 50 officers and an unknown number of protesters were injured, according to German news agency dpa. Authorities are now investigating individuals for serious disturbance of the peace and attacking police officers. Around 30 people were arrested, Demmler said, and another 40 to 50 were detained and released by Sunday afternoon. Also Read | Odisha Train Tragedy: Pope Francis Condoles Loss of Lives in Balasore Rail Accident. German interior minister Nancy Faeser denounced some protesters' violent actions and wished the injured officers a speedy recovery in a statement Sunday. Nothing justifies the senseless violence of left-wing extremist chaos and rioters, she said. Anyone who throws stones, bottles or incendiary devices at police officers must be held accountable. Meanwhile, some politicians criticized the police's approach to the protesters, saying it was unnecessarily aggressive. Albrecht Pallas, a politician from the center-left Social Democrats in Saxony's regional legislature, slammed the police's provocative approach," according to dpa. He added that the huge police presence and the police response to smaller scuffles had an escalating effect, which mostly affected uninvolved bystanders." The protests came in response to a Dresden state court's Wednesday decision to convict Lina E. of membership in a criminal organization and serious bodily harm. She was sentenced to five years and three months in prison. Several hours later, the court said she had been released under unspecified conditions after having spent about 2 years in custody before the verdict. Prosecutors accused the student of militant extreme-left ideology and conceiving the idea of attacks on far-right individuals in Leipzig and nearby towns. Three men are alleged to have joined her by the end of 2019. The court in Dresden sentenced them to between 27 months and 39 months in prison. This weekend's protests in Leipzig follow similar demonstrations there and in other cities around Germany, including Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg, in the days following the verdict. Another protest, which has also been banned by the city, was announced for Sunday evening. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Windhoek [Namibia], June 4 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday arrived in Windhoek to further strengthen relations with Namibia. He was received by the Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of Namibia, Jenelly Matundu. Also Read | Odisha Train Tragedy: Pope Francis Condoles Loss of Lives in Balasore Rail Accident. "Arrived in Windhoek. Thank Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of Namibia, Jenelly Matundu for receiving me so warmly. Look forward to a productive visit that takes our time-tested ties forward," Jaishankar tweeted. This will be the first visit by an Indian External Affairs Minister to the Republic of Namibia. During the visit, EAM will call on the top leadership of the country. Also Read | China: 14 Dead, Five Missing After Mountain Collapses in Sichuan Province; Rescue Operation Underway. He will also meet with other Ministers of the Government of Namibia. EAM will also co-chair the inaugural Session of the Joint Commission Meeting with the Namibian Deputy PM/ Foreign Minister. He will also interact with the Indian Diaspora based in Namibia. Before arriving in the Namibian capital on Sunday, the External Affairs Minister was in Cape Town, South Africa to attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting. In Cape Town, the External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar invoked the three-decade-old ties between India and South Africa stating that there is a very "deeply emotional" connection between the two countries. He said India's and South Africa's respective struggles were "deeply intertwined". Jaishankar made these remarks while interacting with the Indian diaspora in Cape Town. Jaishankar also recalled that when South Africa got its independence, there was as much celebration in India as there was in there. The EAM also said that India had invited President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa as the chief guest to the Republic Day in 2019. "We have really India and South Africa located at two different continents, but working together very closely in the United Nations, in the BRICS of which we are members in a body called IPSA, which is India, Brazil and South Africa, and in a variety of ways between the two of us directly now," he added. The relations between India and South Africa in these three decades have "flowered in every conceivable sense", Jaishankar noted. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Male [Maldives], June 4 (ANI): Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Sunday called on the President of Maldives Ibrahim Solih in Male and exchanged views on strengthening the bilateral cooperation between the two nations. "Honored to call-on President of the Maldives H.E @ibusolih and exchanged views on strengthening our bilateral cooperation Conveyed greetings of PM @narendramodiji The time-tested and trustworthy partnership between India & the Maldives is poised to scale further new heights," the MoS tweeted. Also Read | Alien Presence on Earth: Expert Claims Covert Extraterrestrial Involved in Government Spacecraft Development, Says Expert. Earlier today, the MoS, who is in Maldives on a 2-day visit gifted the island nation a consignment of anti-TB medicine. After gifting of a consignment of Anti-TB medicine to Maldives, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Sunday described health cooperation as an "important pillar" of the bilateral ties between the two countries. Also Read | US Shooting: Seven Shot, One Fatally in Chicago When Gunfire Erupts Amid Remembrance for Man Killed in Car Crash. "Witnessed gifting of a consignment of Anti-TB medicine to Maldives @MoHmv, in Male Confident that the medicine will contribute to @governmentmv plan to eliminate TB from Maldives," the MoS wrote on Twitter. Health Cooperation is an important pillar of the India-Maldives Bilateral Relationship, he added. Apart from a strong development relationship, India and the Maldives have been able to create a deep and intimate collaboration at all levels, including political, administrative, entrepreneurial, and people-to-people connections. "Our relationship has achieved huge progress in the last few years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. India's development cooperation portfolio in the Maldives has expanded significantly in recent years," MoS Muraleedharan said in Male in a press statement on Sunday. Before the Maldives, the minister was in Malaysia from June 1-2, where he also interacted with the Indian diaspora in Kuala Lumpur. MoS V Muraleedharan also attended cultural performances organised as part of an event titled 'Pravasi Bharatiya Utsav'. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Lahore, Jun 4 (PTI) The women supporters of ousted Pakistan premier Imran Khan who have been arrested in connection with arson attacks on military installations will be jailed for 10 years for their "unpardonable crime", a senior official has said. Addressing the media here on Saturday evening, Prime Minister's Special Assistant Attaullah Tarar told reporters that a joint investigation team has been formed to find out the mastermind of those attacks. Also Read | Flesh-Eating Bacteria on Giant Seaweed Mass Threatens Florida Coastline, Says Study. "All those including women involved in attacks on military installations will be handed down a severe punishment," he said. "The women who attacked the military installations on May 9 will get a punishment of 10 years as their crime is unpardonable," Tarar said. Also Read | Odisha Train Tragedy: Pope Francis Condoles Loss of Lives in Balasore Rail Accident. Widespread violence erupted in Pakistan after Khan was arrested by paramilitary personnel outside the Islamabad High Court on May 9. The 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief was later released on bail. Over 20 military installations and government buildings, including the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, were damaged or torched in the violence that ensued from Khan's arrest. Over 100 vehicles of police and other security agencies were set on fire. Law enforcement agencies have arrested over 10,000 workers of Khan's PTI party across Pakistan, most of them from Punjab. Tarar slammed the imprisoned women from the PTI for complaining about the substandard food served to them in jails. "We can't provide them tasty food in jail. These women were on the forefront in attacking the state installations," he said. Tarar also said there would be no talks with the PTI till all culprits of the May 9 violence are punished. A joint investigation team has been formed to find out the mastermind of these attacks, he said, adding that it has been established that Khan was behind the unrest. Several federal ministers including Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah have said Khan is likely to be tried under the military laws for masterminding attacks on the military installations. Reacting to reports of mistreatment of arrested PTI women in jails, former prime minister Khan tweeted on Sunday: "PTI women have been abducted and are being mistreated in jails, kept under inhumane conditions and subjected to severe mental torture when none were involved in the arson." Khan said the party's women supporters were humiliated while protesting peacefully to terrorise and scare them from exercising their fundamental right of protest in the future and also to depoliticise them. "I am proud of the way all our women have withstood everything with such dignity and courage," he said. The Pakistan military is trying the May 9 violence suspects under the Army Act. So far, over 50 suspects have been handed over to the army for their court martial. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kabul, June 4: Two United Nations bodies Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have foreseen acute food insecurity in Pakistan that is likely to further exacerbate in the coming months, if the economic and political crisis further worsens. Pakistan and Afghanistan have been declared "early warning hotspots," Khaama Press reported. Warnings on Pakistan and Afghanistan have been issued in a report jointly published by the FAO and the WFP from June to November, Noman Hossain, Freelance Journalist, said in the Khaama Press report. Pakistan: Islamabad Police Serves Court Summons to Imran Khan in Judge Threatening Case. The WFP in the report said, "Pakistan, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Syrian Arab Republic are hotspots with very high concern, and the warning is also extended to Myanmar in this edition." It further said, "All these hotspots have a high number of people facing critical acute food insecurity, coupled with worsening drivers that are expected to further intensify life-threatening conditions in the coming months." Canada: Four Children Dead After Getting Caught in Tide While Fishing in Quebec. In addition to political turmoil, Pakistan's International Monetary Fund (IMF) financial bailout has been delayed for the past seven months. Pakistan has to pay USD 77.5 billion over the next three years, Khaama Press report. The repayment amount is "substantial" keeping in view Pakistan's GDP of USD 350 billion in 2021. The report said, "The political crisis and civil unrest are likely to worsen ahead of general elections scheduled for October 2023, amid growing insecurity in the northwest of the country. A shortage of foreign reserves and a depreciating currency are diminishing the country's ability to import essential food items and energy supplies and increasing food items' prices besides causing nationwide energy cuts." More than 8.5 million people in Pakistan are likely to face acute food insecurity between September and December 2023. 70 per cent of people in Afghanistan do not get two proper meals a day. Economic and political crises are reducing households' buying power and ability to purchase food and other essential goods, Khaama Press reported. The report also said that the coal and food export revenues could witness a decline if the economic and political crisis in Pakistan and the security situation in border areas continue to deteriorate. Afghanistan has become insular after the Taliban assumed power in August 2021. The international community has not recognised the Taliban-led government. Meanwhile, instability in Pakistan has worsened the economy since lawmakers, the judiciary and the army continue to clash with each other. Amid the ongoing political situation in the country, Pakistan does not have the money to secure food imports on ships anchored at its ports. It has led to shortages of basic necessities like wheat flour. In March-April, the Pakistan government set up distribution sites across the country to provide free flour to people to ease their burden amid rising prices. However, the initiative caused trouble in several places where the stampedes erupted, killing and injuring people, Khaama Press reported citing The Diplomat journal. Mariyam Suleman Anees, a development specialist from Gwadar, Balochistan province, wrote, "Pakistanis are putting their lives at risk to collect something as basic as a sack of flour. It illustrates how the rising cost of food and other necessities is driving desperation and impacting the masses," Noman Hossain said in the Khaama Press report. Anees raised questions about the stampedes and how Pakistan ended up here. She even asked about how the economic crisis could affect most of the people in Pakistan, particularly international projects, especially those with China under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which Pakistan considers vital for its future economic growth?" As per the Khaama Press report, Mariyam Suleman Anees further said, "Instead of the promised economic growth through CPEC, China's loans may have worsened Pakistan's economic crisis. But it is still too early to conclude whether CPEC debts will drain the Pakistani economy or open up opportunities for growth in the future." (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Lahore [Pakistan], June 4 (ANI): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Parvez Elahi on Sunday was sent to jail on a 14-day judicial remand in illegal appointments case, reported Geo News. On Sunday, a Lahore anti-corruption court denied the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment's (ACE) request for physical detention of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Chaudhry Parvez Elahi in the Punjab Assembly unlawful recruitments case. Also Read | Shangri La Dialogue 2023: China-US War Would Be 'Unbearable Disaster for World', Says Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu. Judicial Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Virk sentenced the former Punjab chief minister to 14 days in prison. Earlier today, the former Punjab chief minister, who was arrested by ACE authorities for allegedly making unlawful appointments in the Punjab Assembly, appeared in court in Lahore under tight security, Geo News. Also Read | Alien Presence on Earth: Expert Claims Covert Extraterrestrial Involved in Government Spacecraft Development, Says Expert. Elahi was detained for the third time by the Punjab ACE on Saturday after a local court in Gujranwala awarded him relief in two corruption allegations. According to an ACE spokeswoman, Elahi illegally recruited 12 people for grade 17 jobs in the Punjab Assembly. By manipulating the documents, the candidates were recruited in the provincial legislature. "The illegal recruitments were made through fake testing services," claimed the spokesperson reported Geo News. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Germany's Minister of Defence, Boris Pistorius, speaks to the media on the sidelines of the 20th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will send two warships to the Indo-Pacific in 2024, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Sunday, amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan and over the disputed South China Sea. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia's most important security conference, Pistorius said countries needed to stand up for the rules-based international order and the protection of major maritime passages. "To this end, the German Federal Government sent a frigate to the Indo-Pacific in 2021, and will again, in 2024, deploy maritime assets this time a frigate and a supply ship - to the region," he said, according to a script of his speech distributed by the defence ministry in Berlin. He added the deployments were not directed against any nation, a remark apparently addressed at China. "To the contrary: They are dedicated to the protection of the rules-based international order that we all signed up to and which we all should benefit from be it in the Mediterranean, in the Bay of Bengal or in the South China Sea." By showing a greater military presence in the region, Germany is walking a tightrope between its security and economic interests as China is Berlin's most important trading partner. In 2021, a German warship sailed into the South China Sea for the first time in almost 20 years, a move that saw Berlin joining other Western nations in expanding its military presence in the region amid growing alarm over China's territorial ambitions. China claims almost the entire South China Sea as its own, despite an international tribunal ruling that Beijing has no legal basis for these claims, and has built military outposts on artificial islands in the waters that contain gas fields and rich fishing. Some 40% of Europe's foreign trade flows through the South China Sea. (Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Editing by Nick Macfie) New Delhi [India], June 4 (ANI): US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin arrived in India from Singapore on Sunday to further strengthen the defence partnership between the two nations. Upon his arrival, US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, received the Pentagon Chief who kickstarted the third leg of his four-nation tour. Also Read | China: 14 Dead, Five Missing After Mountain Collapses in Sichuan Province; Rescue Operation Underway. Taking to Twitter, the US Defence Secretary wrote, "I'm returning to India to meet with key leaders for discussions about strengthening our Major Defense Partnership." "Together, we're advancing a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific," he added. Also Read | Imran Khan Likely To Be Tried in Military Court, Says Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. Austin's New Delhi visit will prominently focus on advancing India-US new defence innovation and industrial cooperation initiatives and continuing with the efforts to expand operational cooperation between the US and Indian militaries. The Pentagon, while elaborating on the details of the Defence Secretary's visit, said, "After Singapore, Secretary Austin will visit New Delhi to meet with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other leaders as the United States and India continue to modernize the US-India Major Defence Partnership." "This visit provides an opportunity to accelerate new defence innovation and industrial cooperation initiatives and drive ongoing efforts to expand operational cooperation between the U.S. and Indian militaries," the statement added. During his New Delhi visit, Austin is set to meet Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with an aim to expand the defence-industrial partnership. The visit holds particular significance considering Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming state visit to the White House in June. Austin attended the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore and his first stop was in Tokyo where he met with Japanese Defence Minister Yasukasu Hamada and other senior leaders and visited US troops stationed in Japan. Later, from Japan, he flew to Singapore, where he addressed plenary remarks at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) 20th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. During his stay in Singapore, he also held key bilateral meetings to advance US partnerships across the region. After New Delhi, the US Defence Secretary will embark on a visit to France. Also just before PM Modi's visit to the US, a powerful Congressional Committee has recommended strengthening NATO Plus by including India. This step is a move to deter China. The suggestion of including India in the five-member grouping has been made by the committee to win the "strategic competition with the Chinese Communist Party". Presently, NATO Plus 5 is a security arrangement that works towards boosting global defence cooperation and comprises NATO and five aligned countries, Australia, Japan, Israel, New Zealand and South Korea. India getting included in NATO Plus would mean the facilitation of seamless intelligence sharing between these nations and India and access to the latest military technology with a minimal time lag, reported NewsonAir. Secretary Austin will conclude his four-nation trip in France and will take part in events commemorating the 79th anniversary of D-Day and meet with French and United Kingdom defence leaders. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Marking the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, Taiwan's president expressed hopes for China's youth to one day be able to express themselves. Meanwhile, police arrested several people in Hong Kong.Taiwan's president has expressed her hopes that the youth of China would one day be able to sing freely and express themselves on the mainland, in a statement marking the 34th anniversary of the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown. Also Read | Odisha Train Tragedy: Gautam Adani Steps In, To Provide Free School Education to Kids Who Lost Parents in Country's Deadliest Train Crash in Balasore. Tsai Ing-wen said in a Sunday Facebook post that Taiwanese people have the space to express their opinions and creations through diversified channels. She added that such practices have nourished the culture in Taiwan. Also Read | Rajasthan Shocker: Father Strangles Son to Death Over Property Dispute in Bharatpur, Arrested. "We hope that someday young people in China will be freely singing songs. And that they can create enthusiastically without fear," Tsai wrote in Mandarin. Hundreds and possibly over 1,000 people were killed when China's People's Liberation Army sent in tanks and troops to quash weekslong peaceful protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. Protesters were calling for political change. Organizers have set up memorials in Taiwan's capital of Taipei to mark the anniversary, later holding a candlelight vigil to remember the victims. Hong Kong protesters arrested ahead of planned vigil In Hong Kong, demonstrators have for decades held a candlelight vigil in the city's Victoria Park to commemorate the bloody crackdown. However, the vigil was banned following the imposition of a national security law in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory by Beijing in 2020. Many activists who took place in vigils have been convicted since. A vigil is planned for Sunday, despite tightened security measures in the global financial hub. Hong Kong police detained a 67-year-old activist as she carried flowers in the Causeway bay shopping district, an area that was the site of commemorations for years. She was arrested in addition to at least seven other people in Causeway Bay, the French AFP news agency reported. At least eight others were arrested on Saturday. Police also arrested Chan Po-ying, the leader Hong Kong's opposition League of Social Democrats party on Sunday, AFP added. Beijing introduced the 2020 national security law after massive pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019 and has since been used to silence or jail activists. Critics say the city's freedom of assembly that was promised to Hong Kong when it returned to China from Britain in 1997 has been eroded. rmt/rs (AFP, dpa, Reuters) (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 04, 2023 06:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Five persons were killed, and one was injured after the car they were travelling in collided with a passenger bus in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra on Sunday. "The accident occurred at Kanpa village under Nagbhid police station limits," Maharashtra Police said. Injured were rushed to hospital, they added. The car was totally damaged in the mishap. Mumbai Road Accident Video: Morning Walker Crushed to Death After Two Buses Collide in Cuffe Parade. Pics of Horrific Crash Emerge: Five people died after a car collided with a private bus near Kanpa village in Chandrapur district. Injured were rushed to hospital: Maharashtra Police pic.twitter.com/t1hif5QZZF ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2023 (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.) San Francisco, June 4: Google has removed 32 malicious extensions from the Chrome Web Store, totalling 75 million downloads, that could alter search results and push spam or unwanted ads. According to BleepingComputer, the extensions included legitimate functionality to keep users unaware of the malicious behaviour, which was delivered in obfuscated code. Google Chrome Passwordless Login: Know How This Method of Authentication Works Without Password. In an analysis of the PDF Toolbox extension (2 million downloads) available from the Chrome Web Store, cybersecurity researcher Wladimir Palant found code that was disguised as a legitimate API wrapper. The researcher explained that the code allowed the "serasearchtop[.]com" domain to inject arbitrary JavaScript code into any website the user visited. Moreover, the report said that abuse possibilities range from inserting advertisements into webpages to stealing sensitive information. Google Improves Chromes Page Zoom To Make Mobile Web More User Accessible. However, the researcher did not observe any malicious activity, so the code's purpose remained unknown. The researcher also discovered that the code was set to activate 24 hours after installing the extension, which is typical of malicious intent, the report mentioned. Meanwhile, Google has blocked the notorious CryptBot malware, which the company claims have stolen data from hundreds of thousands of Chrome browser users in the past year. According to the company, CryptBot is a type of malware often referred to as an 'infostealer' because it is designed to identify and steal sensitive information from victims' computers such as authentication credentials, social media account logins, cryptocurrency wallets, and more. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 04, 2023 05:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). San Francisco, June 3: A school district in the US state of Maryland has sued Meta, Google, Snapchat and TikTok for allegedly contributing to a "mental health crisis" among students. The lawsuit, filed by the Howard County Public School System, said that children are suffering an unprecedented mental health crisis fuelled by addictive and dangerous social media products. In the past decade, Americans' engagement with social media grew exponentially. "That explosion in usage is no accident. It is the result of defendants' studied efforts to induce young people to compulsively use their products -- Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube," the lawsuit read. Mental Health Crisis in Students: US School Sues YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat for Monetising Misery. Social media platforms have grown not just their user bases, but the frequency with which users use their platforms and the time each user spends on their platforms. "Their growth is a product of choices they made to design and operate their platforms in ways that exploit the psychology and neurophysiology of their users into spending more and more time on their platforms," according to the lawsuit. Why Many Indians Don't Trust Mental Health Advice. The lawsuit cited several issues on social media platforms, including the addictive "dopamine-triggering rewards" on each app, such as TikTok's 'For You' page, which leverages data about user activity to provide an endless stream of suggested content. It also mentioned Facebook and Instagram's recommendation algorithms and "features that are designed to create harmful loops of repetitive and excessive product usage". "These techniques are both particularly effective and harmful young users. Defendants have intentionally cultivated, creating a mental health crisis among America's youth," the lawsuit noted. Adolescents and children are central to their business models. These age groups are highly connected to the Internet, more likely to have social media accounts, and more likely to devote their downtime to social media usage. "In a race to corner the 'valuable but untapped' market of tween and teen users, each defendant designed product features to promote repetitive, uncontrollable use by kids," the school district argued. School systems in Washington, Florida, California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Alabama, Tennessee, and others have filed similar lawsuits over the negative effects that social media has had on the mental health of kids. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 04, 2023 09:46 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). A version of this story was originally published in 2020 and has been updated. The Jersey Shore is back to normal three years ago, those words seemed impossible to fathom. By Kenneth Long, David Ruth and Don Seiple On June 6, the Health Committee of the Pennsylvania House will consider a bill that would require onerous nurse staffing ratios in acute care hospitals. The bill ironically titled the Patient Safety Act would actually harm patients by causing ERs to go on divert, forcing hospitals to close units and delaying care for patients at their greatest time of need. Why? Because there just are not enough nurses in the workforce. What the bill would not do is address this shortage in a meaningful way? The most effective way to improve the nurse supply is to incentivize more people to study, train and ultimately join the health care work force as professional nurses. Legislators should encourage and focus on developing programs that encourage hospitals to partner with colleges and universities to educate new nurses, incentivize nurses to return to school to obtain masters degrees to become nurse educators in accredited institutions and develop tax credits to reward nurses for remaining active in clinical nursing. As representatives of area colleges that have long-standing training programs run in conjunction with area hospitals, we understand first-hand what it takes to create a larger nurse work force. We also understand that as Pennsylvania residents continue to age, we will need more nurses, not just in hospitals but in the community. Dont let the nurse-staffing ratio legislation negatively impact patients. This legislation needs to be modified to advocate for better solutions to increase the number of nurses to care for current and future generations. We all agree that we need more support for the education of nurses and incentives for them to enter and stay in the profession in our commonwealth including ensuring fair working conditions in order to attract additional qualified individuals to pursue the profession. You and your family need more nurses, now. Kenneth Long is president of East Stroudsburg University, David Ruth is president of Northampton Community College, and Don Seiple is president of St. Lukes Monroe Campus. A farm worker who admitted driving uninsured for a third time has been given a suspended sentence. Nicolae Iordache, 29, with an address at Fermoyle, Durrow admitted driving without insurance or a licence at Morrett, Portlaoise on April 4, 2023. Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby said the defendant had 13 previous convictions two of which were for driving without insurance. Solicitor Josephine Fitzpatrick said her client had immediately admitted to having no licence when stopped. She said he was a Romanian who had been living in Ireland for four years and was working on a farm in Durrow. She acknowledged that it was a very serious matter to appear before the court on a third occasion for not having insurance. There was a car that was being sent to Romania and he was asked to drive it, said Ms Fitzpatrick. She said the mans employer had written a reference and she asked the court to take into account the mans earlier plea of guilty. Judge Andrew Cody imposed a four month prison sentence which he suspended for two years. He disqualified the man from driving for five years and fined him 500. A woman who stole perfume and beauty products worth hundreds of euros binned the items when she got home. Magdalena Krzyszkowska, 44, of 62 Mellfield Manor, Newbridge, Kildare admitted stealing 105 of Bad Boy beauty products from Shaws in Portlaoise on December 30, 2022 and Mark Jacobs pefume valued at 127 along with Shiseido beauty products valued at 185 on December 28, 2022. Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby said the defendant had been detected taking the products form Shaws. He said she had no previous convictions. Solicitor Barry Fitzgerald said his client was a Polish national who has lived in Ireland for 17 years. He said she divorced in recent years. She would say she is suffering with anxiety and depression since 2020, said Mr Fitzgerald. She has absolutely no reason for doing this. When she went home with the items she threw them out, said Mr Fitzgerald. He said the woman was wandering around in a haze at the time of the offending. He suggested the offending could be a form of a cry for help from the woman. He said his client had brought full compensation and a letter of apology to court. Judge Andrew Cody said as it was her first offence he would convict and fine 200 on each of the counts of theft with three months to pay. He directed the compensation be sent to Shaws. Laois students are being invited to apply for a valuable scholarship to help them with their third-level education. The Naughton Foundation Scholarship scheme is reminding students from that the 2023 closing date is fast approaching and inviting all applicants to submit their entries. The Naughton Scholarships aims to promote the study of engineering, science and technology at third level. Each year from February to May, Leaving Certificate students can apply for a scholarship if they intend on studying science, computer science, mathematics, engineering or technology at third level that year. In 2022, former Scoil Chriost Ri Portlaoise student, Ella Byrne, was awarded a Scholarship worth 20,000 The closing date for receipt of application forms for The Naughton Foundation Scholarship 2023 is Friday, 30th June 2023 at midnight. There will be one guaranteed scholarship for each of the participating counties, 36 allocated in total. The Naughton Foundation was established by Dr Martin and Carmel Naughton in 1994 and its goal is to support worthwhile causes in the arts and education. In 2008 they decided to create the scholarship programme to increase their support for Leaving Certificate students who would like to study engineering, mathematics, science, computer science and technology at third level in Ireland. Originally the scholarship programme only applied to students from counties Louth, Meath and Monaghan however it has since expanded nationwide and students from all Counties in the Republic of Ireland are eligible to apply. Students are invited to apply if they are currently attending secondary schools in County Laois, and if they are studying two or more of the following subjects- physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, mathematics, and applied mathematics. Each Naughton Scholarship is valued at 20,000 so it is a contribution of 5,000 for each year of the students third-level course for a student studying science, engineering, maths or technology in any publicly funded university or third-level institution in Ireland, including Northern Ireland. The school of each winner is also awarded 1,000. Applications must be submitted before, or on this date to be considered eligible for the scholarship, this deadline will not be extended. The 2023 application forms for The Naughton Foundation Scholarship Programme are available for download and can be completed online on The Naughton Foundation website www.thenaughtonfoundation.com The closing date for receipt of applications is Friday, June 30. Turkish Airlines has been ranked 8th with 78.1 points by the international leading brand valuation organization Brand Finance in its 2023 research on the Strongest Airline Brands of the world. The flag carrier which was in the 31st position in this category in 2022, gained significant momentum and entered the top 10 this year. On the flag carriers rise in the rankings, Turkish Airlines Chairman Prof Dr Ahmet Bolat said: "We are proud to have risen to 8th place in the Strongest Airline Brands ranking among global airlines. We are particularly pleased to have raised our brand ranking by 23 steps compared to 2022. I would like to thank all my colleagues who have contributed to this success. With the responsibility of being our country's national flag carrier and the power of being the airline that flies to the more countries than any other airline in the world, we will continue to carry our brand to many more successes." Brand Finance, one of the world's leading independent brand valuation and consulting companies, has been aiming to bridge between marketing and finance since 1996. The company, which has been calculating the financial value of brands for over 20 years, evaluates the world's largest 5,000 brands every year and prepares approximately 100 reports annually by ranking these brands based on country and sector. TradeArabia News Service NEW GLARUS There was no shortage of places we could have met. Sawmill Pizza and Brewshed in Clear Lake in northwestern Wisconsin would have been tasty. Frog Bay Tribal National Park in Red Cliff would have been picturesque. And Ten Chimneys in Genesee Depot enriching. But with our schedules tight and since we both live in Madison, we chose a short trek to New Glarus. This is where travel writer Mary Bergin and I sat at a square wooden table and below one of the 110-year-old murals inside Puempels Olde Tavern and talked about her new book, Small-Town Wisconsin. It was a Tuesday afternoon, so the scene was a bit more raucous, thanks to the weekly euchre game that has been a staple for the past 13 years for Dianna Truttmann, Jane Martinson, Barb Anderson and Rosalie Huntington. Other customers nibbled away at cheese plates, some nursed taps of Hamms and Moon Man while the taverns owner, Chuck Bigler, anchored the north end of the bar. As we were leaving, he offered up an impromptu history lesson of the place that was established in 1893 by Swiss immigrants Joseph and Bertha Puempel and later owned by Otto Puempel for an astonishing 58 years. Bigler is just the third owner after taking over in 1993 and is a lifelong resident of this Green County village. Its like something wraps itself around you and wont let you leave, said Bigler, who retired last year from his full-time job of 40 years at a local car dealership. And never once in my 71 years have I ever had an inkling to not be here. For Bergin, Puempels is the epitome of community and is among the many inspirations for her book that features 50 small towns and pays homage to 100 others, all of them in Wisconsin and each under 5,000 people. There is only one Puempels (pronounced pimples), but scores of communities throughout Wisconsin are loaded with their own stories, people and places. Small-Town Wisconsin (Globe Pequot), which Bergin began researching in fall 2021 to hit a deadline five months later, serves as a guide and has come out just as the states tourism season is kicking into high gear. Tourism is a healthy, good industry for a town to invest in. It can be good for a local economy and is very good for some of the economies that are in this book, said Bergin, who has written five other books on travel and food. I think too often the communities that get the most attention in tourism are the destinations that are big and loud about it, meaning a deep marketing budget. But theres more than that. Euro-cultured While Kohler and Wisconsin Dells, both of which draw international crowds, are in the book, Bergin points to the Ozaukee County community of Belgium as one of her under-the-radar destinations. Located along Highway 43 between Port Washington and Sheboygan and just west of Harrington Beach State Park, the village of 2,245 people has embraced its heritage and is home to the International Luxembourg American Cultural Society and Center. Built in 2009 under the auspices of Luxembourgs Ministry of Culture, the center features the Roots and Leaves Immigration Museum and is the only cultural center in the world celebrating the heritage and culture of Luxembourgers. According to its history on the villages website, when many of the immigrants began settling in the area in the 1800s much of Luxembourg had been annexed by Belgium. So people who lived in the area began to refer to their new home as the Belgium area because the settlers, while ethnically Luxembourgish, were citizens of Belgium when they left Europe. The area continues to be home to one of the largest populations of Luxembourg immigrants and their descendants in the country. The attention that the country of Luxembourg pays to Belgium is astounding, said Bergin. I would even argue that (former Milwaukee Mayor) Tom Barrett is U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg in part because of the respect that Belgium gets from Luxembourg. Its a big deal. Bergin, 67, is well acquainted with her subject matter. She grew up on a dairy farm in Hulls Crossing, a hamlet just north of Greenbush in Sheboygan County. She spent first grade in a one-room schoolhouse and remembers when the local cheese factory was destroyed by fire. When she was in high school she waited tables at the resorts in nearby Elkhart Lake. Early memories After graduating from UW-Oshkosh, she spent two years working at newspapers in Oklahoma and Kentucky before returning to Wisconsin, where she spent 20 years writing for The Capital Times in Madison and in 2006 wrote the book Sidetracked in Wisconsin: A Guide for Thoughtful Travelers. After leaving the paper in 2008, she dove into freelance writing with a focus on travel pieces, primarily in the Midwest. Her books also include Hungry for Wisconsin in 2008 and The Wisconsin Supper Club Cookbook published in 2015. Small-Town Wisconsin builds on her work and is the ideal companion for road trips and perfect for the glove box. The soul of who we are as Wisconsinites loyal, quirky, down to earth, humble takes root with how and where we are raised, Bergin wrote in the books introduction. For many, our earliest memories are of life in or near a small town. The 195-page book, divided into four geographical quadrants, takes readers to five Door County communities, including Washington Island, along with Eagle River, Hurley and Peshtigo, among others in the states northeastern region. There are trips to Spring Green, Gays Mills and Westby in the Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin and to the Alpine Valley Music Theater near East Troy and the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay in southeastern Wisconsin. The northwestern part of the state includes treks to Hayward, Chetek, Osseo and to Cornucopia, home to the states northernmost U.S. Post Office and the more inviting Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Always more to see And while Bergin does her due diligence on each of the 50 communities featured in the book, she also highlights nearby sites worthy of a visit. For the Dane County community of Roxbury, for example, the focus is on the Dorf Haus and its Bavarian menu, but Bergin also suggests side trips to Wollersheim Winery, along with eagle watching and cow chip throwing across the Wisconsin River in Sauk City and Prairie du Sac. In Hurley, in far northern Wisconsin, Bergin writes about Silver Street and its proliferation of bars, but also points to the nearby National Finnish American Festival Cultural Center and the Plummer Mine Interpretive Park. And in Algoma, von Stiehl Winery takes center stage, but Bergin also writes about the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Hope 15 miles to the west. Back in New Glarus, billed as Americas Little Switzerland, Bergins book includes a short interview with Beth Zurbuchen, president and CEO of the Swiss Center of North America, but also includes information about New Glarus Brewing Co. and the Chalet of the Golden Fleece Museum, located in the Swiss Alps chalet-style home of Edwin Barlow, who brought the Wilhelm Tell play to America in 1938. This is a small community. So to establish a cultural identity takes the participation and commitment of a lot of people. A lot of smaller communities dont have that. They dont think they have anything to distinguish themselves from others, Bergin said as she sipped a 7-Up. This (community) would be a lot different if people didnt care. But people care. 10 festivals for fall fun 1. International Red Panda Day 2. New Glarus OktoberFest 3. Verona Fall Fest 4. Crackle, Fire and Froth 5. Harvest Moon Festival 6. UW-Madison Homecoming Block Party after the Parade 7. A Gathering of Rogues and Ruffians 8. Monona Fall Festival and Pie Party 9. Belleville UFO Day 10. Madison Mini Maker Faire A Portlaoise training course for hair and beauty is in the running for a prestigious national award. Portlaoise Institute Hair and Beauty Department has been nominated for an award at the 6th annual Irish Hair & Beauty Awards. Portlaoise Institute is a leading educational institution in hair and beauty education and training is based at the Portlaoise College campus on the Mountrath road. The nomination serves as a testament to the institute's commitment to excellence and recognition of its exceptional contributions to the hair and beauty industry. The Irish Hair & Beauty Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements and innovation within the hair and beauty sector, acknowledging the professionals, businesses, and educational institutions that consistently deliver exceptional services and demonstrate excellence in their respective fields. Portlaoise Institute's nomination reflects its dedication to providing high-quality education and training programs that equip students with the skills and knowledge required to excel in the industry. Principal of Portlaoise Institute is Keith McClearn. The Irish Hair & Beauty Awards nomination further affirms Portlaoise Institute's commitment to setting new standards in the field. It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our talented team of educators and the exceptional achievements of our students. We are committed to providing industry-leading training and education, and this recognition reinforces our position as a premier institution in the hair and beauty sector," he said. The winners of the Irish Hair & Beauty Awards 2023 will be announced at a glamorous ceremony to be held on September 3 2023. Online voting is still open until 1 st August and the public can vote for Portlaoise Institute by clicking on this link https://tinyurl.com/256mvra6 and selecting Category 24 Training Academy of the Year. This year Dunamase College / Colaiste Dhun Masc welcomed the establishment of the Cumann Gaelach (Irish Society) within the school community. The Cumann Gaelach in the Portlaoise school was created by teachers Chloe Ni Ghealbhain and Niamh Strong with the core aim of promoting the Irish language and culture, within both the school and local community as well as offering students the opportunity to embrace Irish as a living language and celebrate the Irish culture in their daily lives, both in and outside of school. To see MORE PICTURES OF THEIR ACTIVITIES TAP NEXT OR ARROW - READ about the project below first picture. The Cumann Gaelach, at the school which offers students the unique opportunity to study through Irish and English. is comprised of over 30 students (and growing). They come from both the Irish and English stream who actively work together in promoting Irish. The students benefit from their participation in the society as they develop a variety of skills such as leadership, communication, teamwork and creativity as well as developing their Irish language skills. The Cumann Gaelach have had a very successful and productive first year. As part of Seachtain na Gaeilge, members had great fun visiting local primary schools to teach some Irish and Irish ceili dancing to students. The Cumann Gaelach also held a Ciorcal Comhra in Portlaoise Library inviting members of the community to come and practice their cupla focal. Members were busy visiting local businesses in Portlaoise, where they distributed posters with some Irish phrases that people can incorporate into their daily lives. To end the Seachtain na Gaeilge festivities, the society hosted a PopUp Gaeltacht in the school, for members of the school and local community to enjoy some Irish music and dancing, led by a number of our talented students. Attendees also had the chance to practice their Irish and celebrate the Irish culture. The event was a fantastic success for all, in bringing the Gaeltacht into the local community. Throughout the school year the Cumann Gaelach have promoted Irish in the school with posting a Seanfhocal (old Irish saying), phrase and mistake of the week to help and inspire both staff and students in improving their vocabulary and overall Irish ability. This term members are focused on promoting Irish amongst the school staff. Members of the Cumann Gaelach have been tasked with interviewing teachers to both encourage and support them with their Irish. Staff members were also invited to a Ciorcal Cainte during lunchtime on Wednesdays to use their cupla focal and enhance their Irish conversational skills. Members of the Cumann Gaelach recently had a trip to Freedom Surf School in Tramore where they took part in a surf lesson through Irish. The students thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to learn a new skill and complete an activity through Irish. This trip was an exciting end to an exciting, active and productive first year of the Cumann Gaelach. All members look forward with great enthusiasm to continuing our dedicated work in promoting Irish in the school and local community with many plans already in motion for the next year. Some of our members have kindly provided an insight into the Cumann Gaelach and their involvement. They inclued Cuileann Ni Mhurchu & Niamh Ni Niallain. We both went to Gaelscoil Phortlaoise and are now in the Aonad Lan-Ghaeilge in Dunamase College. When we heard about the Cumann Gaelach we thought it was a great opportunity to improve our Irish skills and promote Irish everywhere around us. We also get to mix with other students who are on the English side of the school and from other year groups and help them with their Irish too. We had lots of fun going on different trips and doing activities like surfing through Irish, they said. Ben Peacham and Cormac Harney also joined. We joined the Cumann Gaelach as we wanted to improve our Irish and get to experience Irish outside of the classroom in a fun way. Since we joined the Cumann Gaelach we have more confidence in Irish and our spoken Irish has improved. It was really satisfying and rewarding to be involved in promoting Irish and helping others learn Irish too. We had great fun and laughs doing the ceili dancing with the local primary schools. We cant wait to do it all again next year and more, they said. Issey Bailey & Caoimhe Fingleton are also members. The Cumann Gaelach has helped us see Irish as more than just a school subject. It really helped us to enjoy Irish more and encouraged us to improve our Irish too. We loved our trips to the primary schools and helping them learn some Irish and ceili dances. We also mix with students from the Irish side who speak Irish more fluently and frequently, which helps us with our Irish. Its comforting to hear our own language being spoken in daily conversations by people our age. We cant wait for next year and what the Cumann Gaelach has in store for us, they said. Finally, Muinteoir Chloe and Muinteoir Niamh offered a heart-felt thanks to all students, staff, parents and to the local community for their contribution in making this endeavour a huge success. Wed like to offer a special thanks to every single member of the Cumann Gaelach, as without their hard work and enthusiasm, none of this could have been achieved. We are overwhelmed with the success of this little society and the impact it is making in our community. We look forward to continuing to spread our gra for Gaeilge and to help you all find your gra for Gaeilge too, they said. Tir gan teanga, tir gan anam - A country without a language is a country without a soul Met Eireann expects Ireland's weather to be in the mid 20s in sunny conditions through the rest of the bank holiday weekend but make the most of it folks as the high pressure will be on the wane by the end of the week. Nationally, Met Eireann said temperatures would hit at least 25 degrees on June Bank Holiday Sunday and be similar on June Bank Holiday Monday. In Laois, the reliable Durrow Weather forecasting service, data from which Met Eireann uses, said the temperature would hit 23 degrees Celsius on Sunday. Across Leinster, Met Eireann expects Sunday to stay dry and sunny throughout the day with highest temperatures of 19 to 22 degrees, warmest inland, in light easterly breezes. As for Monday in Leinster, Met Eireann said the cloud would build slightly during the afternoon and evening. Highest temperatures of around 20 to 23 degrees in light easterly breezes. The forecaster says the high pressure will continue to dominate our weather through the middle of the week, maintaining generally dry and settled conditions. The forecaster's farming section said the coming week will continue to be mainly dry with most of the country seeing very little or no rainfall and drought conditions are likely to increase in coverage. The section said both sunshine and temperatures would continue to be above normal over the coming week. Shannon Airport had double the amount of average sunshine in the past month for this time of year. However, the forecaster is expecting a change. While there is still considerable uncertainty in the further outlook, Met Eireann says early indications are that the high pressure will start to wane toward next weekend, bringing more unsettled conditions with rain a possibility. MORE DETAILS BELOW TWEET. High pressure will continue to dominate our weather with largely dry conditions & plenty of sunshine. Generally mild too but a light northeast airflow will keep it coolest close to the Irish Sea. https://t.co/9gKN6SVok4 pic.twitter.com/LXJChpkTr5 Met Eireann (@MetEireann) June 2, 2023 National Forecast issued by Met Eireann on Sunday, June 4 11:27am Sunday: Mostly dry and sunny with just a slight chance of isolated showers developing in Ulster later. Highest temperatures of 20 to 25 degrees generally, slightly cooler along eastern and northern coasts due to a light to moderate east to northeast breeze. Dry night with clear spells. Minimum temperatures of 7 to 12 degrees in very light and variable breezes. Monday: Generally dry and sunny. Some cloud will build during the afternoon and evening and there is a chance of isolated showers developing in Ulster. Highest temperatures of 20 to 24 degrees, warmest in the west, in light easterly breezes. Dry night and mostly clear with lowest temperatures of 9 to 13 degrees. Some patches of mist and fog may develop in very light easterly or variable breezes. TUESDAY: Another mostly dry and sunny day with just light easterly breezes. Again, cloud will build slightly during the afternoon and evening with isolated showers affecting northern parts. Highest temperatures of 19 degrees in the east to 24 degrees in the west. Dry night with good clear spells. Lowest temperatures of 10 to 13 degrees in very light easterly breezes. WEDNESDAY: Staying dry and sunny for most areas, although isolated showers may develop once again in parts of the north. Highest temperatures of 17 to 23 degrees, remaining warmest in the west, in light easterly breezes. Dry night with good clear spells. Lowest temperatures of 10 to 12 degrees in light easterly breezes. THURSDAY: Remaining dry for most areas, although cloud will slowly build from the southwest with outbreaks of rain pushing in to Munster later in the evening. The best of the sunshine will be in Ulster. Highest temperatures of 16 to 22 degrees, warmest in the west, in mainly light easterly breezes. FURTHER OUTLOOK: Considerable uncertainty remains for the further outlook. Early indications are that the high pressure will start to wane as we approach the weekend, bringing more unsettled conditions with an increased chance of rain. The Laois Integration Network is inviting local people to event in Laois this month which it hopes will help dispel the widespread myths and misconceptions immigration and migrant integration. The Network holding its first Intercultural Awareness Training Day in Portlaoise this month. The Network says the event, which will focus on developing awareness of cultural assumptions as well as identifying and addressing biases in the community. Karen McHugh, Chairperson of Laois Integration Network said that she greatly looks forward to welcoming both the community and service providers in Laois to this important event. "This aim of the training is to encourage individuals to explore their assumptions and preconceptions about other cultures and create awareness of their own cultural heritage and how it affects individual worldviews, values and assumptions. "The session is designed to help individuals to reflect on their attitudes and behaviour while working/living in a diverse environment in a dynamic and thought-provoking way. We know that diversity enriches lives, but of course, this has not been without its challenges. "We want to help dispel the widespread myths and misconceptions around the topic of immigration and migrant integration. We greatly look forward to welcoming old and new friends, she said. Invited speakers include Dr Salome Mbugua, CEO, Akina Dada wa Africa (AkidWa), the African Migrant Womens Network; Summayah Elizabeth Kenna, Welfare Officer with the Islamic Culture Centre of Ireland (ICCI) and a diversity officer from the Garda National Diversity and Integration Unit. An International themed lunch will be provided. Areas to be covered are as follows: Developing awareness of cultural assumptions Identifying & addressing biases Becoming culturally competent The event takes place at the Portlaoise Parish Centre on Wednesday, June 14 from 9.00am to 2.30pm. Everyone is welcome, lunch is provided and the event is free to attend. People must however register by emailing laoisintegrationnet@gmail.com or reaching out on Laois Integration Network Social Media Platforms on Facebook or Instagram. People can also register by contacting either Karen McHugh at 0879775080 or Emer Liston at 0876818117. The event is funded through the Community Integration Fund of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The Laois Integration Network describes itself is a community organisation in Laois that promotes cultural diversity and effective integration throughout Laois. It was established in February 2016, initially under the auspices of Doras Syrian Resettlement Project and since June 2016 as a separate entity comprising of local voluntary and statutory organisations as well as individuals from Irish and migrant and diverse faith communities throughout Laois. It has since worked with other groups including assisting refugees from Ukraine to settle in Laois Is there life after jihad? After two decades of living peacefully in green Ireland, where he was recently naturalized, 55-year-old Youcef M., a seemingly quiet family man, had come to believe it was possible. For 23 years, the Algerian had been raising his four children in Dublin where his three daughters were born when his past caught up with him. One day in September 2021, Irish police officers came to arrest him under a European arrest warrant issued by the French judiciary. He was handed over to France in February 2023 to stand trial for "terrorist criminal conspiracy." Time has left its mark on Youcef M. His good-natured face was framed with thick prescription glasses, and he was draped in a large gray T-shirt. From the glassed-in box, the defendant smiled broadly at his son, the eldest of his four children, who came all the way from Dublin to sit in the gallery. The reasons for which Youcef M. was tried by the Paris criminal court on Thursday, June 1, and Friday, June 2, date back 26 years, the age of his son. A strange fact about this trial is that Youcef M. has already been tried in 2001 for the same offenses. He was accused of belonging to a terrorist group, Takfir wal-Hijra, a splinter group of the GIA (Armed Islamic Group) which operated during Algeria's "Black Decade" at the end of the 1990s. This group, which had branches in several European countries, welcomed "brothers in arms" by providing them with false papers, and sent theft-financed weapons hidden in vehicles to the Algerian maquis. Suspected of having worked as a forger and thief in Takfir wal-Hijra's Marseilles group, Youcef M. was arrested for the first time in 1997 but released for lack of evidence. He then moved to the Netherlands, where, according to the prosecution, he continued his activities within the group's Dutch cell, before making a new life for himself in Ireland early in 2000. Untraceable, he was sentenced in absentia in 2001 to six years imprisonment by the Paris criminal court. When he was handed over to the French justice system in February 2023, he asked to be retried, as authorized by law. No dialogue So there he was, alone on the stand, trying to disentangle himself from a case that has gathered dust for many years. Who was Youcef M. in the late 1990s? And who is he today? It turns out little was to be discovered. No witnesses were called, either for the prosecution or the defense. What remained was a quarter-century-old investigation file which had to be brought to life at the hearing. The charges were based on a number of surveillance reports drawn up by the DST, the former domestic intelligence service, which show him in the company of Takfir wal-Hijra members, and on the statements made by these members, who implicated him in their activities. You have 45.57% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. President Joe Biden addresses the nation on the budget deal that lifts the federal debt limit and averts a U.S. government default, from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Friday, June 2, 2023. JIM WATSON / AP US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a debt ceiling bill passed by Congress after weeks of wrangling, moving to avert a catastrophic, self-induced default in the world's biggest economy. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 authorizes the government to extend the so-called debt ceiling to renew borrowing, keeping the bills paid. The Treasury had warned that if the debt ceiling was blocked beyond Monday, the country would default on its $31 trillion debt. A default would have likely triggered market panic, huge job losses and a recession, with global implications. In a statement Saturday, the White House thanked the Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress "for their partnership." And in a rare Oval Office address late Friday, Biden said that the debt ceiling bill saved the country from "economic collapse." Speaking from behind the historic Resolute Desk on live primetime television, Biden said the deal resolving the standoff between Democrats and Republicans was a compromise where "no one got everything they wanted." However, "we averted an economic crisis," he said. Oval Office addresses have always been reserved by presidents for moments of unique national danger or importance. Biden used the occasion to project a reassuring, calm tone. Sprinkling his speech with chuckles and smiles, he praised his opponents for negotiating in good faith and promised Americans that he had never felt more optimistic. Biden said that Congress has now preserved "the full faith and credit of the United States." But even with the House and Senate putting aside differences to finally rush through the agreement over the last week, the US economy's reputation took a hit. Ratings agency Fitch said Friday that it is keeping the United States' "AAA" credit rating on negative watch, despite the deal. Reaching out to opponents The debt ceiling is usually an uncontroversial accounting maneuver approved yearly by Congress. It allows the government to keep borrowing money to pay for bills already incurred. This year, hard-right Republicans dominating their party's narrow majority in the House of Representatives decided to use the must-pass vote as leverage for forcing Biden into accepting cuts to many Democratic spending priorities. This triggered a test of political strength that threatened to end in chaos before the two sides agreed this week on raising the debt ceiling while freezing some budgetary spending in return yet stopping well short of Republican demands for cuts. Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the Republican-led House, had touted the compromise bill as a big victory for conservatives, although he faced a backlash from hardliners on the right who said he made too many concessions. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes United States tumbles into toxic debt 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 ? But Biden, who is campaigning for re-election in 2024, sees the dramatic resolution to the crisis as a win, showcasing his negotiating powers and his pitch to be the moderate voice in an increasingly extreme political landscape. He burnished those credentials in the speech by going out of his way to praise McCarthy, a politician long loyal to former president Donald Trump the man Biden defeated in 2020 and who is seeking his own return in 2024. "I want to commend Speaker McCarthy. You know, he and I, we and our teams, were able to get along, get things done," Biden said. Le Monde with AFP A LIMERICK councillor has called on Transport Infrastructure Ireland to visit the county to see the appalling state of the roads. Speaking at a meeting of the municipal district of Adare/Rathkeale, Councillor Adam Teskey called on members of TII to visit the local area to survey roads that need attention. Cllr Teskey asked that the district invite a member of the authority to view and inspect the absolute appalling state of our national roads. Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Teskey said: It is a farce that no one from TII has come down to discuss the roads. If they continue to refuse to talk to us then they should be disbanded. Eamon Ryan is not fit for the job. Councillor Kevin Sheahan suggested that the councillors go to Dublin instead of waiting for them to come to us. Responding to the request from Cllr Teskey, Limerick council officials confirmed that the local authority meets with representatives from TII on a regular basis to discuss specific areas of concern in different areas. A council spokesperson stated that officials met with TII representatives in April to highlight the number of pavement repairs required on national routes (both minor and major) in the Adare/Rathkeale district. The statement continued: A number of sections have been prioritised that are in need of emergency repair. Numerous funding applications have been submitted to TII to address the deteriorating condition of certain sections of the network. At that meeting between council officials and Transport Infrastructure Ireland representatives, the TII stated they would review these applications and inspect the network as necessary. THE TOURIST information centre for Limerick city will be located at King Johns Castle for the summer months, it has been confirmed. In the past, the facility has been located at Arthurs Quay Park and, more recently, at the former Ferguson's pharmacy at the junction of OConnell Street and Thomas Street. The information regarding the new location came to light in a reply to a question submitted by Social Democrats councillor Elisa O'Donovan at the May meeting of the local authority. Gordon Daly, the director of the economic development department confirmed its move to the castle. Additionally there is a Failte Ireland-supported Community Tourist Office in Rathkeale, and a further request for Failte Ireland support to set up a new Community Tourist Office in Abbeyfeale, he stated. He said council is also finalising the process for assessing and supporting new community tourist offices across the whole of Limerick. Abbeyfeale's request will be assessed once that process is in place in the coming weeks, he said. Commenting on social media after she received the answer, Cllr ODonovan said she is disappointed that there will not be a tourist office closer to the city centre. She then polled her followers on Twitter to see what they thought. Over 250 people have voted on my poll on where Limerick tourist office should be located. Eighty-two per cent think it should be located on OConnell street with only four per cent in support of where it will be located, she wrote. According to the poll, 9% believed it should go near Colbert Station. A MAN was stabbed and hit with a sweeping brush by his former partner while he was grappling with her current boyfriend who had a knife, Limerick Circuit Court heard. Ian Carr, aged 33, of Ballyanty Road, Ballynanty, Limerick city pleaded guilty to assault and possession of a Swiss army knife. Prosecuting barrister John OSullivan, instructed by State Solicitor Padraig Mawe, outlined the case with the assistance of Garda Denis OLeary. Mr OSullivan said Mr Carr and his partner were invited by a third party to go to the victims house on Windmill Street on the evening of May 28, 2020. The victim, aged in his late 40s, was agreeable to them coming. Drink was consumed by all parties. When the victim woke up the following morning there was a disagreement and he cleared them out. That afternoon the accused and his partner went back to the house to confront him. Mr Carr had a Swiss army knife, said Mr OSullivan, who added that the victim and the partner of Mr Carr had been in a relationship in the past. They forced their way into the house. Mr Carr advanced towards the victim brandishing his knife. They became entangled with each other. It continued out onto the street. The woman hit the victim with a sweeping brush and threw knives and forks at him, said Mr OSullivan. The court heard she then stabbed the victim in his right thigh causing a deep and serious wound. Garda OLeary said Mr Carr and his partner were in an adjoining street and arrested. The investigating officer also spoke of the importance of CCTV and mobile phone footage in the case. The injured partys victim statement was read out by Mr OSullivan, My leg is not too bad now. Im glad this is behind us and people can now get on with their lives. During garda questioning, Mr Carr said he didnt remember the incident due to drink and a cocktail of drugs. He has a number of previous convictions including for possession of an article, drugs and burglary. Jack Nicholas, barrister for Mr Carr, asked Garda OLeary if his client was deemed unfit for questioning when arrested? Yes, said Garda OLeary. The barrister also asked if Mr Carr was easily led? Somewhat agree, said Garda OLeary. Mr Nicholas said Mr Carr got a bit of a hiding from the victim and came off worse. The garda agreed. In mitigation, Mr Nicholas said it has caused Mr Carr considerable anxiety and stress. He suffered from substance abuse and misabuse - cocaine and tablets. He attended for treatment. He has avoided his primary addiction of cocaine and tablets. Since September 2021 he has consumed no alcohol. Cannabis remains a factor in his life. The primary issues of alcohol and more serious drugs have been addressed. He works for a waste management company and resides with his parents. He is on a housing list. He has mental health difficulties. He will do everything in his power not to come before this court again, said Mr Nicholas, who referred to Mr Carr pleading guilty to his role in the incident compared to his partner who was listed for trial. Judge Tom ODonnell said he recalled the case, describing it as serious and Mr Carrs partner as the more active participant. The accused was armed with a knife. The victim did everything in his power to disharm him. The injury was caused by her. His previous convictions are not helpful, said Judge ODonnell. The judge said the mitigating factors were that Mr Carr was forthcoming, pleaded guilty and had serious addiction issues at the time. Judge ODonnell said Mr Carr should be commended for the steps he has taken and is remorseful for his actions. He doesnt remember an awful lot of it due to his intoxication but that is his own fault. He got himself into this difficulty, said Judge ODonnell. A two and a half year prison sentence was imposed on Mr Carr with the last 12 months suspended. Q: My mother died two years ago. She owned property, but we couldnt find a will. We know her wishes were for me to move back home to take over the property, pay the bills and do the upkeep on the property. Heres my question: How do I get the home transferred into my name? My mother didnt want to leave her home to my brother. He knows this, and so far it hasnt been a problem. But because my mom didnt have a will, I dont know how this will play out. Ive spent a lot of time and money making repairs, and paying the bills and property taxes. My brother is always welcome to visit, but my mom felt she couldnt trust him to keep the home in the family for generations to come. What should I do? A: Youve waited two years to ask this question, and we have no idea why. Well, its past time for you to hire an attorney and get this done. The more time passes, the more things (and peoples minds) can change. Its quite unfortunate that your mother never wrote up a will, put the property into a living trust or took any other measures to ensure the property would become yours once she died. You need to hire an attorney who can assist you in having the title to the home transferred into your name. The process will likely require your brothers cooperation, and your brother may have to formally decline his share of the property. The legal term is that he would disclaim his inheritance. You should know that now that your mom has passed, the title to the home would normally transfer as required under the laws in the state in which the property is located. Usually when a person dies, the property they own goes to their spouse and children. If they dont have a spouse, then to their children. But there are some differences in each states estate laws, and you need to ask the attorney what the law provides for in your state. The attorney may need to open an estate in probate court to have the title to the property transferred from your moms name into your name. Once the probate case starts, your attorney will ask your brother to sign some documents that would allow the home to go into your name. Given that youll need your brothers cooperation through the process, you should get this done as soon as possible. When youre talking with the attorney, you might ask if its worth setting up a living trust for the property. Since this is a property your mother wanted to stay in the family for generations, you could name yourself as trustee and beneficiary. If you want, you can name a successor beneficiary, so the property would flow to that person automatically upon your death. Since youre going to all this trouble now, it would certainly make future transfers easier. A final reminder: People can and do change their minds for all sorts of reasons. If you dont take care of the paperwork as soon as possible, its possible that your brother might want something from you in exchange for the home. Then, youd have to start negotiating how much you have already paid in maintenance and upkeep costs versus the value of the property the day your mom passed. So, while he is in agreement that the property should belong to you, secure his cooperation now and have the title transferred according to your mothers wishes. CRUINNIU na nOg returns for 2023 and will see children, young people and families back at events across Limerick city and county. The national initiative celebrates and encourages participation in culture and creativity through performance, coding, theatre, readings, screenings, art and music workshops, special events and much more. Cruinniu na nOg gives children and young people the opportunity to express themselves through a specially curated programme of cultural and creative activities where they can share their ideas, learn new skills and have fun! The special event will take place on Saturday, June 10 and all events are free of charge, child-centred and activity-based. The programme is delivered in partnership with the Library Service, Hunt Museum, Music Generation, Irish Chamber Orchestra Youth Orchestra, Emerging Limerick Filmmakers, Kings Island Lego Club, the Limerick and Clare Local Creative Youth Partnership and Glorach Theatre Abbeyfeale to deliver a wide ranging and exciting programme for the day! Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr Frances Foley said: "Cruinniu na nOg is for all of our communities of children and young people across the city and county, from all nationalities. "The Limerick Cruinniu programme has grown year on year with so many exciting things to see and do, with films and workshops, in person and on-line. "This year you can sing along with Matilda the Musical as Cruinniu na nOg comes to Glorach Theatre Abbeyfeale for an afternoon at the movies." European planemaker Airbus is set to finalise a record deal to sell 500 narrow-body A320-family jets to IndiGo, said a Reuters report quoting sources. If the deal is finalised, the order will eclipse Air India's provisional purchase of 470 jets in February. IndiGo is also yet to take delivery of nearly 500 jets out of a total order of 830 Airbus A320-family planes. Indian airlines now have the second-largest order book, with over 6% share of the industry backlog, behind only the United State, according to a June 1 report by Barclays. According to analysts, the deal would be worth around $50 billion as per the most recently published Airbus list prices, but would typically be worth less than half this after widespread airline industry discounts for bulk deals. Airbus and Boeing are also competing in separate talks to sell 25 A330neo or Boeing 787 wide-body jets to the same airline," the report said. IndiGo has a 56% share of the domestic Indian market. IndiGo aims to double its capacity by the end of the decade and expand its network, especially in international markets, IndiGo Chief Executive Pieter Elbers had told analysts last month during an earnings call. The airline has a codeshare partnership with seven carriers including Turkish Airlines, American Airlines and KLM. The alliance with Turkish Airlines has seen IndiGo make a major push into Europe, a favourite holiday destination among Indians, with the budget carrier now offering flights to 33 European airports. Airbus and Boeing have been racking up billions of dollars of new orders stretching beyond 2030 as airlines lock in supplies well ahead amid looming shortages. (With inputs from Reuters) The union representing thousands of movie and television directors reached an agreement with Hollywood studios on a three-year contract early Sunday morning. The deal ensures labour peace with directors as the writers strike enters its sixth week. The Directors Guild of America (DGA) said it had made unprecedented gains," including improvements in wages and streaming residuals (a type of royalty), as well as guardrails around artificial intelligence. Jon Avnet, the chair of the DGA.s negotiating committee said, We have concluded a truly historic deal." It provides significant improvements for every director, assistant director, unit production manager, associate director and stage manager in our guild, " Avnet said. The DGA's board will consider whether to approve the deal on Tuesday before it goes to members for ratification. If approved, it could offer a blueprint for the striking writers and upcoming talks between studios and SAG-AFTRA, the union representing Hollywood actors. Meanwhile, Writers Guild of America (WGA) negotiator Chris Keyser said that this strategy would not work this time. It may be noted that during the last WGA strike in 2007 and 2008, a studio deal with the DGA prompted writers to head back to the bargaining table. "Any deal that puts this town back to work runs straight through the WGA, and there is no way around that," Keyser said The WGA has been on strike since May 2, shutting down several TV and film productions, and has no new talks scheduled with the studios. AI has emerged as a major concern of writers and actors, who see their jobs as especially vulnerable to the new technology. Short-form video platforms and creators are expanding beyond brand partnerships to forge ties with music labels, celebrities, and OTT platforms to create content and widen their reach. Meta, for instance, recently partnered with Amazon Prime Video, enabling its creators to feature in the streaming platforms shows. Similarly, actor Deepika Padukone collaborated with influencers to promote her new skincare brand. Short video creators are adopting new strategies to stay relevant and engage their audience, including hosting workshops, enabling social commerce features, and live-streaming user interactions. There are 150,000 professional content creators who monetize their services in India, with average monthly earnings of $200-$2,500 in the long tail, according to a recent report by Ficci and professional services network EY. Short video apps have become immensely popular in recent years, attracting large and engaged audiences. As a result, many platforms are partnering with them to tap into their reach. Initially limited to urban areas and top-tier content creators, this trend has now expanded to regional influencers and creators," said Sumit Ghosh, chief executive and co-founder of Chingari. The platform recently collaborated with series like Hunter and GutarGu on Amazon MiniTV, expanding its content offerings besides Songdew, a music business management service, enabling creators to incorporate tunes from upcoming artists, generating content for their followers. Creators are not only focusing on creating content but also exploring strategies to stay relevant, boost their revenue streams, and engage with their audience. Some of the approaches they are adopting include social commerce, live streaming, merchandising, creating their own brands, and hosting workshops. For instance, Team Naach, a dance content creator duo, goes beyond its online presence by running dance workshops. Creators like Malvika Sitlani, Forum Shah, Sarah Sarosh and Vishnu Kaushal have ventured into industries such as fashion, beauty and lifestyle," said Mrunali Dedhia, vice president of influencer marketing agency Chtrbox. Meanwhile, Gunjan Arya, chief executive officer at Only Much Louder, an artist management company and content production house, pointed out that content creator Dolly Singh launched her candles in collaboration with Rad Living, making for a tangible product associated with her personal brand. Navin Lalwani, associate director, content and strategy Moj and ShareChat said the platform has collaborated with music labels like Saregama and T-series to promote and popularize over 20 songs besides entertainment brands such as MTV, Disney+ Hotstar and Netflix which involved creators lip syncing dialogues from the shows, generating buzz among the audience. To be sure, several industry experts point out that a lot of online creators today have access to consumer data that helps them use the right content to create the right brand noise or voice, depending on the desired impact. Livestreaming their behind-the-scenes (BTS) activities and conducting Q&A sessions on different aspects of their lives, not just limited to their professional endeavours, has become a significant trend. Vlogging takes this concept to a whole new level, where creators document their content creation process from inception to completion. Creators organize fan meet-ups, virtual hangouts, and conventions to bring their audience together. A significant aspect of staying relevant lies in how creators manage fan engagement. They respond to comments, conduct contests and giveaways, showcase fan artwork and user-generated content, and incorporate fan suggestions into their content," said Manish Solanki, chief operating officer and co-founder of social media marketing agency TheSmallBigIdea. Further, there is merchandise that provides creators with a common avenue to monetize their online presence and engage their fanbase. They can create and sell various items, such as clothing, accessories, artwork, or personalized products that align with their brand or content," said Aahana Mehta, director of talent partnerships at Pollen (Zoo Media), an influencer marketing agency. Besides, illustration, art, and animation offer creators the opportunity to collaborate with various brands and design their own merchandise, create content for brands, illustrate books, design packaging, logos, and apparel, and even explore the world of NFTs, said content creator Christina Furtado. In recent times, there has been a significant focus on regional apps and vernacular languages in the content creation space. Content creators have also recognized the importance of expanding their avenues to reach wider audiences," said Rajni Daswani, director of digital marketing, SoCheers. For example, Komal Pandey, an Instagram influencer in the beauty and fashion domain, has made a conscious decision to create videos in Hindi. Similarly, Ashish Chanchlani has expanded to include regional languages like Marathi and Gujarati, Daswani pointed out. And speaking about his favourite seat at a movie theatre, he commented when watching a film in a theatre with a Cinemascope ratio, he prefers to sit right near the front, specifically in the middle of the third row. However, for stadiums featuring the IMAX 1.43:1 format, he suggests sitting a little behind the center line, aiming for the middle but slightly further back. You rarely get the chance to really talk to moviegoers directly about why you love a particular format and why if they can find an IMAX screen to see the film on that's great," Nolan told Associated Press, offering a guide to his favourite formats. We put a lot of effort into shooting the film in a way that we can get it out on these large format screens. It really is just a great way of giving people an experience that they can't possibly get in the home." Christopher Nolan reveals his favourite seats in a movie theatre: When Im in a theater thats Cinemascope ratio, I like to be right near the front, middle of the third row. When Im in a stadium, IMAX 1.43:1, then I actually like to be a little behind the center line right up pic.twitter.com/S3oH8g0OLb Christopher Nolan Art & Updates (@NolanAnalyst) June 3, 2023 Christopher Nolan's favourite theatrical formats For Nolan, the ultimate viewing experience of "Oppenheimer" is in IMAX 70mm presentations. These are also among the rarest, currently set for 25 locations in North America including the AMC Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles, the AMC Lincoln Square in New York, the Cinemark Dallas, the Regal King of Prussia near Philadelphia and the AutoNation IMAX in Fort Lauderdale. The prints span over 11 miles of film stock, weigh some 600 pounds and run through film projectors horizontally. There will also be over one hundred 70mm prints sent to theaters around the world, with over 77 (and more to come) on sale in North America at major chains and many independent locations like the Music Box in Chicago and the AFI Silver in Washington D.C. He also recognized the accessibility of digital presentations and other PLF options, ensuring that the film will still look great on various screens. Nolan's 'Oppenheimer' to deliver stunning experience on the big screen In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Nolan shared his insights on different formats and their significance. He highlighted the immersive power of IMAX 70mm film, which offers unparalleled sharpness, clarity, and depth, filling the peripheral vision of the audience and creating a three-dimensional experience without the need for glasses. In a film about about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who oversaw the development of first atomic bomb during World War II, this will be especially pivotal in viewing the Trinity Test, the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. When to watch? Oppenheimer," starring Cillian Murphy, opens in theatres on July 21. Where to watch? Universal Pictures has made Oppenheimer" tickets available early for over a thousand premium large format" (or PLF) screens, with options including IMAX 70mm, 70mm, IMAX digital, 35mm, Dolby Cinema and more. The technicalities "Oppenheimer" was filmed entirely on large format film stock, combining IMAX 65mm and Panavision 65mm, and it will be projected in 70mm. The use of high-resolution film cameras provides an exceptional level of detail, with IMAX film resolution being nearly ten times that of a 35mm projector. The sharpness and the clarity and the depth of the image is unparalleled," Nolan said. Nolan explained that shooting in IMAX captures a vast amount of visual information, ensuring the movie translates well to various formats. Nolan has been shooting with IMAX cameras since The Dark Knight." Audiences would regularly gasp at seeing its first shot projected in IMAX 70mm. On a technical level, the IMAX film resolution is almost 10 times more than a 35mm projector and each frame has some 18,000 pixels of resolution versus a home HD screen that has 1,920 pixels. Why is it projected in 70mm but shot in 65mm? The 5mm difference goes back to when that extra space on the film had to be reserved for the soundtrack. With digital sound, thats unnecessary and it is purely a visual enhancement," Nolan explained. Impact of different formats on the film We have to plan very carefully because by shooting an IMAX film, you capture a lot of information," he said. The challenge is to frame imagery so that it can be presented in different theaters with all aspect ratios with equal success On the biggest presentations, IMAX 1.43:1 (the massive square screen) the screen essentially disappears for the audience. For other formats like 35mm, the top and the bottom get cropped. Nolan said, from a creative point of view, what weve found over the years is that theres no compromise to composition." Entire movies cannot be made in IMAX as cameras are just too loud for dialogue heavy scenes. Significance of black and white sequences Nolan discussed the significance of the black and white sequences in "Oppenheimer." These sequences, shot on the first-ever black and white IMAX film stock, present a different perspective of the story. The development of this film stock allowed the team to maintain equal image quality throughout the film. Kodak made and Fotokem developed the first ever black and white IMAX film stock as per Nolans desire for the black and white portions to be of equal image quality to the rest of the film. (With inputs from AP) Experts have issued warnings about the rapidly changing nature of the virus causing record cases of avian influenza in birds worldwide. They are calling for countries to prioritize the vaccination of their poultry populations to curb the spread of the virus. While the risk to humans remains relatively low, the increasing number of bird flu cases in mammals has raised concerns among experts. The H5N1 avian influenza virus, since first emerging in 1996, was previously associated with seasonal outbreaks, and has undergone a significant transformation since mid-2021. According to Richard Webby, the head of the World Health Organization, the group of viruses has become considerably more infectious, resulting in year-round outbreaks and spreading to new areas. This alarming development has led to mass deaths among wild birds and the culling of tens of millions of poultry. Webby, who is a researcher at St Jude Children's Research Hospital in the US city of Memphis, describes this as the largest outbreak of avian influenza the world has witnessed. Recent research published in the journal Nature Communications confirms that the virus rapidly evolved as it spread from Europe to North America. The study reveals that the virus increased in virulence upon its arrival in North America, causing more severe disease. In an experiment involving a ferret, researchers found a substantial amount of the virus in its brain, indicating a higher level of disease severity compared to previous strains. While the risk to humans is currently low, Webby warns that the virus is not static and continues to change. There is a potential for the virus to acquire genetic traits that make it more transmissible to humans, although this has not yet occurred on a large scale. In rare cases, humans have contracted the avian influenza virus, primarily through close contact with infected birds. However, there has been a concerning increase in the number of mammals being infected, a trend that experts find troubling. For instance, Chile reported nearly 9,000 sea lions, penguins, otters, porpoises, and dolphins dying from bird flu along its north coast this year. Webby highlights the worrisome indications from a Spanish mink farm and sea lions off the South American coast, suggesting that the virus may be transmitted between mammals. Ian Brown, the head of virology at the UK's Animal and Plant Health Agency, acknowledges that the virus is becoming more efficient and effective in birds but emphasizes that it remains unadapted to humans. Avian viruses bind to different receptors on host cells than human viruses, making it challenging for the virus to infect humans. However, slight genetic changes in the virus could potentially lead to adaptation for human transmission. To mitigate the risk to humans and reduce the number of bird flu cases, experts recommend widespread poultry vaccination. Some countries, including China, Egypt, and Vietnam, have already launched successful poultry vaccination campaigns. However, concerns about import restrictions and the possibility of vaccinated birds getting infected still hinder the implementation of vaccination programs in other countries. Experts emphasize that while poultry vaccination is not a foolproof solution due to the virus's ever-changing nature, countries that have been reluctant to adopt vaccination strategies should reconsider. The global community recognizes the looming threat of a pandemic and the need to take proactive measures to prevent its outbreak. Monique Eloit, the director general of the World Organisation for Animal Health, stresses the importance of discussing poultry vaccination as a viable option. With the understanding that pandemics are not mere fantasies but potential realities, countries must prioritize protective measures to safeguard both animal and human health. (With inputs from AFP) More than a year after German authorities separated an Indian toddler from her parents, India continues to make efforts to reunite the family. Now, Fifty-nine MPs from 19 political parties have written to the German ambassador to India in order to seek his intervention in ensuring the return of an Indian baby girl Ariha Shah who was taken away from her parents by the German authorities in September 2021. German authorities had taken custody of Ariha Shah in September 2021 alleging that she was being harassed by her parents. Since then, the toddler has been living in foster care in Berlin. The paternal grandmother injured the baby by accident in September 2021. When the parents took her to hospital, they were accused of sexual assault and the baby was removed," contends one Change.org petition. Earlier reports quoting the parents also indicated that the case was eventually closed without charges, however, the daughter has not been returned to the parents yet. In a letter, the 19 parliamentarians wrote, We do not cast aspersions on any agency in your country and assume that whatever was done was thought to be in the best interests of the baby. We respect the legal procedures in your country, but given that there are no criminal cases pending against any member of the said family, it is more than time to send the baby back home." The letter has been endorsed by MPs across difference political parties, they include: Hema Malini (BJP), Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Congress), Supriya Sule (NCP), Kanimozhi Karunanidhi (DMK), Mahua Moitra (TMC), Agatha Sangma (NPP), Harsimrat Kaur Badal (SAD), Maneka Gandhi (BJP), Praneet Kaur (Congress), Shashi Tharoor (Congress) and Farooq Abdullah (NC). In the letter, they said Ariha's parents Dhara and Bhavesh Shah were in Berlin as the baby's father was employed in a company there. The family should have been back in India by now but for some tragic events. Earlier in February 2022, the police case was closed without any charges against the parents. The hospital too issued a report ruling out sexual abuse, the letter read. "Despite this the baby was not returned to her parents and the Jugendamt pressed for permanent custody of the child in the German courts. The Jugendamt has held that the Indian parents are incapable of looking after their own baby who will be better off in German foster care. The case has taken over a year-and-a-half for an evaluation of the parents by a court-appointed psychologist, they said. They further wrote that shifting her around from one carer to another will cause deep and damaging trauma to the child. The parents are allowed only fortnightly visits. The videos of these meetings are heart wrenching and they reveal the deep bonds the baby has with her parents and the pain of separation," they wrote. "There is another aspect. We have our own cultural norms. The baby belongs to a Jain family who are strict vegetarians. The baby is being brought up in an alien culture, being fed non-vegetarian food. Being here in India, you can better appreciate how unacceptable this is to us," the letter stated. It also said that "India can well look after her own children". "We request you to consider how your country would feel if a German baby was forcibly kept with Indian foster care. The Indian government has formally asked the German government for the child's return to a Jain foster family in India under supervision of the Indian child welfare authorities. "The foster family is willing to accommodate the parents in their home so as to carry out the court psychologist's recommendation for the child to be with the parents under supervision. This is a fair way to resolve the issue, by respecting the German court appointed psychologists recommendation and implementing it under the supervision of Indian authorities, here in India. We are aware of the court proceedings. This solution may be offered to the court by the German authorities without delay," it said. The two-year-old baby girl mother, Dhara Shah said that she trusts the Government of India adding that if there will be a Prime Minister-level intervention in the case then her daughter can return to India. While talking to ANI, she said, "Our child has been separated from us for the past 20 months. I trust the Indian government and I request that once there is PM-level intervention in the case then my daughter will return soon." #WATCH | "I trust the Indian government and I request that once there will be PM-level intervention in the case then my daughter will return soon," says Dhara Shah, mother of Ariha Shah, who has been in a foster care facility in Berlin, Germany pic.twitter.com/vNDpWvAkAP ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2023 Earlier on Friday, India also urged Germany to send back at the earliest Ariha Shah, asserting it is important for the child to be in her linguistic, religious, cultural and social environment. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said Ariha's continued stay in the German foster care and "infringement" of her social, cultural and linguistic rights is of deep concern to the government of India and the parents. Meanwhile some sources also told news agency ANI that reports defending action of German Youth Agency in the Ariaha Shah case are inaccurate and appear to be an attempt to obfuscate the issue. "Reports defending the action of German Youth Agency in the Ariaha Shah case are inaccurate and appear to be an attempt to obfuscate the issue. The parents were forced to contact the media as the Agency was unresponsive," a source said as quoted by ANI. (With inputs from agencies) The root cause of the three-train crash in Odisha's Balasore district and the people responsible for it have been identified, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Sunday as rescue work at the site of the accident ended with the Railways aiming to restore normal services on the affected tracks in the next few days. The three-way accident involved Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and a goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in the Balasore district. What is an electronic Interlocking system? An electric point machine is a vital device for railway signalling for quick operation and locking of point switches and plays an important role in the safe running of trains. Failure of these machines severely affects train movement and deficiencies at the time of installation can result in unsafe conditions. #WATCH | Sandeep Mathur, Principal Executive Director of Signalling and Jaya Varma Sinha, Member of Operation and Business Development, Railway Board explains the functioning of interlocking. pic.twitter.com/gQ1XuZbBv3 ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2023 Electronic Interlocking (EI) are being adopted on a large scale to derive benefits of digital technologies in train operation and to enhance safety. Electronic Interlocking are being adopted on a large scale to derive benefits of digital technologies in train operation and to enhance safety. Electronic Interlocking systems have been provided at 347 stations during 2022-23. So far 2888 stations have been provided with Electronic Interlocking up to 31 December covering 45.5% of Indian Railways network. The commissioner of railway safety has investigated the matter and let the investigation report come but we have identified the cause of the incident and the people responsible for it... It happened due to a change in electronic interlocking," Vaishnaw said. The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying around 2,500 passengers, and a goods train occurred around 7 pm on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore. At least 288 people were dead and over 1,100 injured in the accident, the worst rail accident in India in nearly three decades. Railway sources said the number of deaths in the triple train crash has increased from 288 to 295 but this could not be confirmed as yet. *With agency inputs Air India CEO Campbell Wilson spoke about the crisis at Go First and called it very unfortunate. Cash-strapped budget carrier Go First stopped flying from May 3 and is undergoing voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings. The airline has extended its flight cancellation until 7 June due to 'operational reasons In an interview with news agency PTI, Air India CEO said, This is not the first time that an airline has failed in the country and it does I think underscore the industry structure that has prevailed has not been conducive for a healthy, vibrant, profitable industry." While asserting that India deserves to have international non-stop connectivity to more destinations, Wilson added that the country has in some respect not been able to control its own destiny as a consequence of not having a healthy domestic airline industry. Wilson, who is piloting Air India's massive expansion plans in terms of fleet as well as routes, also said that IndiGo succeeding well and Tata airlines coming together provides a good competitor to the strength of IndiGo. He further told PTI that, It should hopefully allow for a market that is more sustainable, ideally profitable that will allow airlines to invest in new products, expand network and also lead India to assume its place on the world aviation stage." Tata Group took over Air India and Air India Express from the government in January 2022. Currently, the group has four carriers under its fold -- Air India, Air India Express, AIX Connect (earlier known as AirAsia India) and Vistara, a joint venture with Singapore Airlines. The group is also in the process of merging Air India Express and AIX Connect, and Vistara with Air India. As a consequence of not having a healthy domestic airline industry, India has in some respects is not able to control its own destiny. Some foreign airlines coming into India have been the ones that have reaped the benefits of the growing Indian market as opposed to the Indian airlines," he said. "We continue to make sure that we put in the investments in aircraft, products, people and systems. We will have a significantly sized, professionally run, expansion-oriented high quality airline," Wilson said. He also said that Air India is investing USD 70 billion at list price for 470 new aircraft and that is with the explicit purpose of providing more services, especially international connectivity. As Air India flies to more places non-stop from India and also builds a hub, then hopefully, the airline will catalyse further broader development of the country's aviation industry. "That will be good for all the parties and not just the airline itself," he noted. While travel demand is on the rise, India has relatively less direct international air connectivity and overseas traffic is catered to mostly by foreign carriers with connecting flights. Against this backdrop, the government is working on developing an international aviation hub in the country while Air India and IndiGo are also expanding their international operations. "Our view is that India deserves to have international non-stop connectivity to many more destinations in the world than presently is the case. "In order to do that, it will require investments in aircraft, systems, and people by Indian carriers. That investment comes with economic incentives and other incentives. So building the environment to make such investments attractive to the people and such investments successful, at least in my view, is in the national interest," Wilson said. When asked about India being hesitant to allow more bilateral flying rights to foreign carriers, Wilson said that for whatever reason, India did not have a strong home carrier to announce non-stop services to the points that people wanted to fly to and from. "In the absence of that, people were served by airlines hubbing in different places around India. Now, there are two airlines in India with the capacity and ambition to expand non-stop services, it is only right that they be given time to demonstrate that the intent is matched by action," he emphasised. (With inputs from PTI) Innocent children throughout the world fall prey to acts of terror, violence, maiming and abduction each day. International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression emphasizes the commitment of the United Nations towards protecting the rights of children. According to the UNICEF report, 104,100 children have been killed or maimed since 2005, with more than two-thirds of these deaths occurring between 2014 and 2020. Since 2005, around 25,700 children have been abducted, 14,200 have been sexually abused and 93,000 have been recruited by armed actors. History: The idea of the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression emerged from the UN General Assemblys emergency special session held on August 19, 1982. During the session, the assembly focused on protecting Palestinian and Lebanese children from Israeli aggression during the Lebanon war. In a bid to protect the rights of children in Lebanon, UN General Assembly decided to organize the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression on June 4 every year. Soon afterwards, the United Nations expanded the scope of the day to take cognisance of the physical, mental and emotional abuse suffered by children throughout the world. Significance: International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression highlights the issues faced by children due to violence, aggression and abuse. It highlights the commitment of the United Nations towards protecting the rights of children and recognizes the problems faced by them. The day also takes a closer look at the role of governments, civil society and individuals in protecting the rights of children. It also emphasizes the devastating impact of armed conflict on the lives of young children. Facing abuse at an early age can adversely affect the development of children and can have lasting effects on their life. Children are the future of any country and hence it becomes extremely important to protect these children from all kinds of abuse at an early age. Wednesday, Governor Mike Parson signed Executive Order 23-05 declaring a drought alert in Missouri in accordance with the Missouri Drought Mitigation and Response Plan. "With the summer months fast approaching, we want to be proactive to help mitigate the impacts of drought conditions we are experiencing," Parson said. "Missouri farmers and ranchers often bear the brunt of the consequences of drought, and we are already starting to see early effects on crops and livestock. While we cannot control the weather, we are committed to doing everything we can to alleviate the strain drought causes for our agricultural families and protect our food supply chains." The drought alert in part directs state agencies to work together to provide as many resources and as much assistance as possible. The order directs Director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Dru Buntin, to activate Missouri's Drought Assessment Committee and requests that all Missouri and federal agencies participate as needed. The Committee's first meeting will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. DNR will coordinate additional meeting details. Missouri agencies participating on the Drought Assessment Committee include the Department of Conservation, Department of Agriculture, Department of Transportation, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Economic Development, Department of Health and Senior Services, and Department of Public Safety. The committee will further assess drought conditions and make preliminary recommendations to Parson by Friday. Recommendations could include actions similar to those taken in the past, including a hay lottery program, opening public waters for livestock and easing hay hauling restrictions. Currently, the U.S. Drought Monitor indicates all or portions of 60 Missouri counties are experiencing moderate, severe, or extreme drought conditions. The executive order declares a Drought Alert in these Missouri counties and any other county that begins experiencing drought conditions. A variety of helpful resources are online at www.dnr.mo.gov/drought. The Department of Natural Resources is adding information on drought mitigation and assistance opportunities daily as it becomes available. The one-stop drought website features a link to CMOR, current drought-related news, the current United States and Missouri drought maps, the Missouri Drought Plan, and other resources, including information on previous droughts. The Missouri Department of Conservation also warns of the increased risk for wildfires that drought conditions can cause. For more information on how best to prevent wildfires, visit MDC's wildfire prevention website: www.mdc.mo.gov/your-property/fire-management/wildfire-prevention. Executive Order 23-05 will expire on Dec. 1 unless otherwise extended. The Central government has formed a three-member Commission of Inquiry to probe the recent incidents of violence in Manipur. The team will be headed by the former Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court - Ajai Lamba - and includes former IAS officer Himanshu Shekhar Das and former IPS officer Aloka Prabhakar. The development came even as Home Minister Amit Shah issued a sincere appeal to the people of the northeastern state. My sincerest appeal to the people of Manipur is to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur, NH-2 Highway, so that food, medicines, Petrol/Diesel, and other necessary items can reach the people. I also request that Civil Society Organisations do the needful in bringing consensus. Together only we can restore normalcy in this beautiful state," he tweeted. The senior politician had visited Manipur last week, also announcing plans to form a a peace committee, and an inter-agency unified command for better coordination. As per an official communique, the Commission will be probing the 'cause and spread of the violence and riots targeting members of different communities' that had taken place May 3 and thereafter as well as the sequence of events. They will submit their report to the Centre not later than six months from the date of its first sitting. Ethnic violence first broke out after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts a the beginning of May to protest the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The clashes had been preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations. There have been sporaidic violence in the ensuing weeks with the death toll from the clashes now crossing 80. Government of India constitutes a three-member Commission of Inquiry headed by former Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court, Justice Ajai Lamba to probe incidents of violence in Manipur Former IAS officer Himanshu Shekhar Das and former IPS officer Aloka Prabhakar are also on the pic.twitter.com/GYNEAN9hxK ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2023 (With inputs from agencies) The President of the UN General Assembly, Csaba Korosi expressed his profound sadness over the tragic train accident in Odisha, India, which claimed the lives of over 280 people and left over 1,100 injured. Im deeply saddened to hear the news of the train crash in Odisha, India. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and with the emergency services. Heartfelt condolences to the people and the Government of India.@narendramodi @DrSJaishankar @IndiaUNNewYork UN GA President (@UN_PGA) June 2, 2023 The collision involving three trains in Balasore district marks one of the deadliest rail accidents in India in nearly three decades. Korosi condoled the tragic train crash, saying he is deeply saddened to hear the news of the train crash in Odisha, India." Korosi said that his thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and with the emergency services. The President of the 77th session of the General Assembly had earlier tweeted, Heartfelt condolences to the people and the Government of India." Achim Steiner, United Nations Development Programme Administrator, also said in a tweet "with a heavy heart" he is following news reports about the tragic accident in Odisha. I am following news reports about the tragic accident in Odisha, #India with a heavy heart. I extend our condolences to the families who have lost loved ones. Our thoughts are with them while wishing the many injured a speedy recovery. @UNDP_India @UNinIndia @IndiaUNNewYork https://t.co/4pedPfxEwC Achim Steiner (@ASteiner) June 3, 2023 Our thoughts are with them while wishing the many injured a speedy recovery," Steiner said extending condolences to the families who have lost loved ones. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed his profound sadness over the tragic train accident in Odisha. The Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the loss of life and injury in a train accident in Odisha, India," a statement issued by the spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, said on Saturday. Guterres conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and the people of India and Government of India, while also wishing a swift and complete recovery to those injured. (With inputs from PTI) Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw replied to Mamata Banerjee comments on underreporting of death toll saying that this is not time to do politics but to see that restoration happens quickly. When asked demands for his resignation, he said, It is absolutely fine. This is the time to fully focus on making sure that the complete restoration happens in the earliest possible time." When asked about Mamata Banerjee disagreeing with him on the death toll numbers, the railway minister said, We want full transparency, this is not time to do politics, this is time to focus on making sure that restoration happens at the earliest." #WATCH | Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reacts to an incident earlier today at #BalasoreTrainAccident site where WB CM Mamata Banerjee disagreed with him on the death toll, says, "...we want full transparency, this is not time to do politics, this is time to focus on making https://t.co/4IJ5fil79N pic.twitter.com/nrXb82DuzV ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2023 The three-way accident involved Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Odisha's Balasore district. According to the updated Indian Railway numbers, the death toll in the Odisha train tragedy is 288 while 747 people were injured along with 56 grievously injured. On Saturday, Ashwini Vaishnaw and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee disagreed on the death toll in the Odisha train accident with their argument caught on camera. Vaishnaw, who was standing with Mamata Banerjee while she was interacting with the media, sought to correct her when she suggested that the death toll could be as high as 500. "I have heard it could be 500," she said, adding that rescue work had not been completed in three bogies. Vaishnaw said that rescue work has been completed. She further asked what is death toll after completion of rescue work. Vaishnaw responded that 238 people had died in the accident that involved two passenger trains and a goods train and added that the figure was according to the data from state government. Moreover, opposition parties are also demanding his resignation from his post of railway minister. While speaking to media, Sharad Pawar said, When Lal Bahadur Shastri was a Railways Minister, an accident took place and it happened again. After that, Jawaharlal Nehru was against the decision of giving a resignation. But Shastri has said that it is my moral responsibility and resigned. The same incidence is being faced by the country, the politicians should take the possible steps." Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijaya Singh also demanded his resignation. While speaking to reporters, he said, When Railways Minister repeatedly says that our system is fool-proof and any severe accident cannot happen then how this happened... He (Ashwini Vaishnaw) is an ex-IAS officer of Odisha cadre, where this tragedy has taken place. There is an example where in such a train accident, Lal Bahadur Shastri had resigned from his post." "We don't expect this from PM Modi's cabinet, but if he (Ashwini Vaishnaw) has a little bit of shame, he should resign," he added. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel too hit out at Vaishnaw saying that "he should tender his resignation". "The entire nation is saddened by the incident. Do they have morality or not...BJP which speaks about morality then he should resign," Baghel said. Without taking anyone's name, he added, "The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) always speaks about responsibility, therefore he [referring to the Railway minister] should tender his resignation after this major train accident." He further added that the railway minister had claimed that railways has adopted a modern technique according to which if another train comes on track that it gets stopped before 400 metres. "But three trains collided here [in Odisha], in his state". Earlier Congress leader and former chief minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan also demanded the railway minister's resignation. "We demand the resignation of the Railway Minister, he should offer voluntary resignation and follow the tradition of Lal Bahadur Shastri," Chavan said. (With inputs from agencies) Odisha train accident: The Odisha Police has issued a stern warning to those trying to give a communal colour to the Odisha train accident which claimed the lives of 275 people and injured over 1,175 on Friday when three trains crashed into one another due to technical fault". Odisha Police has said that severe legal action will be initiated against those spreading rumours to create communal disharmony. The Odisha Police appeal came a day after some Twitter users shared a drone image of the Odisha train accident site which also showed a little structure closer to it, claiming that it was a mosque and the incident happened on a Friday. Some fact-checking websites have, however, confirmed that the structure is a temple. Sharing a photo of the train mishap site in Odisha,some users pointed at a white structure near the tracks & claimed it was a mosque. They inferred that Muslims had a role to play in the tragedy. The building is actually an ISKCON temple.#TrainAccident#TrainAccidentInOdisha pic.twitter.com/cuqlgj3SGp ARJ (@AviRJadhav) June 3, 2023 Issuing a warning against sharing rumours about the structure closer to the Odisha train accident site, the Odisha Police said, It has come to notice that some social media handles are mischievously giving communal colour to the tragic train accident at Balasore. This is highly unfortunate. Investigation by the GRP, Odisha into the cause and all other aspects of the accident is going on." Also Read | Odisha train accident: Cause of accident identified that killed 275 passengers We appeal to all concerned to desist from circulating such false and ill-motivated posts. Severe legal action will be initiated against those who are trying to create communal disharmony by spreading rumours," the police said on its official Twitter handle. We appeal to all concerned to desist from circulating such false and ill-motivated posts. Severe legal action will be initiated against those who are trying to create communal disharmony by spreading rumours. Odisha Police (@odisha_police) June 4, 2023 The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train occurred around 7 PM on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar. At least 275 people were killed and around 1,175 injured in the accident. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has attacked the Central government over the Odisha train accident in which 275 people died and another 1,175 were injured. Referring to the anti-collision device which reportedly was missing from the Coromandel Express and Bengaluru-Howrah Express that were involved in the Odisha train accident, Mamata Banerjee asked why the rail minister didnt say anything when she mentioned the anti-collision device. Dal mein kuch kala hai," Mamata Banerjee said. Addressing a press conference, Mamata Banerjee said, Yesterday, railway minister and Dharmendra Pradhan were standing with me. I should have said a lot of things because I served as a railway minister. Why there was no anti-collision device in Coromandel Express and Bengaluru-Howrah Express? Railway has been left to be sold." 'Dal mein kuch kaala hai', we want the truth to come out," Mamata Banerjee said. Questioning the official death toll number, Mamata Banerjee alleged that those who run the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government can change history and change any number". Also Read | Odisha train accident: Railway Board recommends CBI probe into crash 62 people from West Bengal died in this accident. 206 people are being treated in the state. 73 people from the state are admitted to various hospitals in Odisha. While 56 people from West Bengal have been discharged from the hospitals in Odisha. 182 people are yet to be identified182 missing from Bengal only," she said. If from one state, 182 are missing and 61 are confirmed dead, then where would the figures stand?" Mamata Banerjee asked. Mamata Banerjee earlier had a tussle with Rail Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over the official figure of the people who have lost their lives in the Odisha train accident. She also asked if the engines of Vande Bharat are fit. "The name Vande Bharat is good, but you have seen what happened that day when a tree branch fell on it," she said, about a mishap the Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat suffered on the second day after its inauguration. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in India on Sunday on a two-day visit to explore ways to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation, especially in areas of transfer of critical technologies for co-development of military hardware. Secretary Austin's trip comes over two weeks ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Washington during which the two sides are expected to unveil initiatives to expand the India-US global strategic partnership. "I'm returning to India to meet with key leaders for discussions about strengthening our Major Defense Partnership. Together, we're advancing a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific," the US defence secretary tweeted shortly after landing in New Delhi. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Austin are set to discuss in their talks on Monday General Electric's proposal to share technology with India for fighter jet engines and New Delhi's plan to procure 30 MQ-9B armed drones at a cost of over USD 3 billion from US defence major General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc besides other issues, people familiar with the matter said. India has been looking at manufacturing of jet engines in India under the framework of technology transfer to power its fighter aircraft. In June 2016, the US designated India a "Major Defence Partner" paving the way for sharing of critical military equipment and technology. China's aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific as well as along the Line of Actual Control and ways to combat the threat of terrorism are also likely to figure in the discussions between Singh and Austin. The US Defence Secretary arrived from Singapore. It is Secretary Austin's second visit to India. His previous trip to India was in March 2021. In his address at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday, the US defence secretary said, "Our Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology with India lets us explore new ways to co-develop key defence platforms." Austin said the US is "stepping up planning, and coordination, and training with our friends from the East China Sea to the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean." "That includes staunch allies such as Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand. And it includes as well such valued partners as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and clearly our hosts here today in Singapore," he said. In a major move, President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Modi announced in May last year that the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) to elevate and expand the strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the two countries. The iCET is expected to forge closer linkages between the government, academia and industry of the two countries in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, 5G and 6G, biotech, space and semiconductors. On Saturday, Austin tweeted that he was deeply saddened by the train accident in Balasore. "Deeply saddened to hear of the tragedy in Balasore. Our hearts go out to our partners in India. I will convey our condolences in person when I meet with senior leaders in India in the coming days," he said. Replying to the tweet, Singh said: "Deeply touched by your condolences. Thanks for your support. Looking forward to meet you tomorrow." The India-US defence and strategic ties have been on an upswing in the last few years. The two countries have inked key defence and security pacts over the past few years, including the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies. The two sides also signed COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018 which provides for interoperability between the two militaries and provides for the sale of high-end technology from the US to India. In October 2020, India and the US sealed the BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) agreement to further boost bilateral defence ties. The pact provides for sharing of high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between the two countries. The Department for Education in the UK is reportedly opposing the Home Office's plans to reduce the number of foreign students in the country. According to a report by Telegraph, The ministerial department argued that tuition fees paid by international students can help reduce costs for those from Britain, according to the report. It said a drop in foreign pupil numbers would require either more taxpayers money going to universities or higher tuition fees for UK students, the Telegraph said. Since 2017, tuition fees for students studying in England have been frozen at 9,250, according to the report. Starting in 2024, Rishi Sunaks government intends to ban international students other than those on postgraduate courses from bringing their families to the UK. Informing the policy changes, Home Secretary Suella Braverman last month said, that only international students on postgraduate courses designated as research programs will be allowed to bring their family members, such as children and elderly parents, as dependants. Apart from that, the new law also removed the ability for international students to switch to work visa before finishing their courses. She also pledged steps to clamp down on unscrupulous education agents who may be supporting inappropriate applications to sell immigration not education". The measure was put in place to pre-empt figures released which show that in the year to December 2022, net migration in the UK rose to a record level of 606,000. Indians top cross-sector skilled work visa list Official immigration statistics released in London show that Indian nationals have become the top recipients of skilled worker and student visas in the UK. The data, compiled by the UK Home Office and the Office for National Statistics (ONS), reveal that Indians accounted for the largest number of skilled worker visas, including healthcare visas for addressing staff shortages in the NHS. They also constituted a significant portion of students granted visas under the new Graduate post-study work route. The statistics indicate a substantial increase in skilled worker visas granted to Indians, as well as a rise in study visas for Indian nationals and their dependents. What is a viability gap? Not all projects that are executed under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode are economically feasible and financially viable. Some, while being economically sound, will fall short on financial viability, meaning the private sector will not be able to fund and execute such projects on its own. To solve this problem, governments typically step in to fund the gap the amount that is needed to make the project financially viable. This gap is called the viability gap. Why are projects executed in PPP mode? In emerging economies, governments seldom have funding to execute all projects. They typically look to the private sector to share the load and help execute projects, especially in the infrastructure space. The involvement of the private sector improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the project. It also frees up funds for the government to invest in more socially relevant projects. Which projects have had viability gaps in recent times? UDAN the regional air connectivity scheme is the perfect example. The schemes objective is to stimulate regional air connectivity and make air travel affordable to the masses. Under it the government has operationalised many small airports across the country. It has also capped fares. But airlines do not find it profitable to fly to these airports. The government has pushed them into servicing them by promising to fund the viability gap. As of January 1, 2023, the government has released funds to the tune of 2,355 crore to select airlines for flying UDAN routes. Metro projects that are being built across the country also have viability gaps that are funded by the government. How does the government fund the viability gap? The government provides a one-time payment or a deferred payment to fund the viability gap in PPP projects. In November 2020 it approved the continuation of the Viability Gap Funding Scheme under the PPP model till FY25. It has allocated 8,100 crore for the purpose. To what extent does the government fund the viability gap? The extent of funding varies from project to project and depends on operational-cost recovery. For instance, social-sector projects such as wastewater treatment, solid waste management, health and education, which have 100% operational cost recovery, will get viability gap funding from the central government of up to 30% of the project cost. Some projects get more. State governments too chip in with VGF in some cases. NEW DELHI : After a request from Congress and DMK a meeting of opposition political parties, which was scheduled to be held on June 12 in Patna, has been postponed, said a report by PTI on Sunday. The meeting was postponed due to unavailability of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, currently in the US, and some other key opposition figures. There is a view that deliberations be held at a later date so that they could also attend the event. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and DMK leader and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin were also finding it difficult to attend the meeting on June 12 due to prior commitments, said the PTI report quoting sources. To forge unity among opposition ranks to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, JD(U) leader and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has taken a lead in speaking to several regional satraps besides the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and the Left. Nitish Kumar has held separate meetings with leaders of many parties, including Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, Delhi chief minister and AAP's national convener Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and NCP's Sharad Pawar. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate KYIV, Ukraine (AP) The award-winning film 20 Days in Mariupol made its premiere in Ukraine on Saturday, when it was seen for the first time by some of the Ukrainian medics and first responders who were chronicled in the documentary about how Russian forces bombed and blasted their way into the port city last year. Repeated standing ovations in a packed Kyiv cinema, mixed with tears and hugs, greeted the civil servants who toiled nearly non-stop in and around a Mariupol hospital that was a centerpiece of the film that documented the early days of the fight for the city, which eventually fell to Russian hands. For some, the screening served as an unsettling flashback to their own brushes with death, a fate inescapable for untold numbers of victims of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including toddlers, infants and expectant mothers whose final moments are shown in the film. It was very hard emotionally because it reminded me of when we were leaving Mariupol, there were still a lot of casualties, said Serhii Chornobrivets, 25, an ambulance worker who treated countless patients in the city, and is now a military medic. I could have saved more people, but I didn't." "Watching that movie brought all those feelings back," he added. Many viewers of the documentary, a joint project between The Associated Press and PBS Frontline, expressed their gratitude that the footage eventually got out to the world for history's sake. The documentary by Associated Press journalist Mstyslav Chernov was built on some 30 hours of film from reporting along with AP photographer Evgeniy Maloletka and AP producer Vasilisa Stepanenko about the earliest phase of the Russian invasion of Mariupol. The three Ukrainians were the international journalists who held out longest in Mariupol during the Russian siege, serving as the worlds eyes and ears amid the horrors of the onslaught. Together with Paris-based colleague Lori Hinnant, they won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize award for public service for the AP in May. As communications networks collapsed and Russian forces closed in, it was never certain the footage would get out. Some was sent in snippets by mobile phone, the rest carried out in the journalists' final flight from the city. After this material was published, the entire world started helping us as the real fighters that we are," said Volodymyr Nikulin, a Mariupol police officer and a standout of the documentary for his cool-headed determination that word of the devastation reach a global audience. Already this movie has become part of our history. The 94-minute film has received numerous awards, including at the Cinema for Peace competition, the Cleveland International Film Festival, and at the Sundance Film Festival in January, where it had its world premiere. A wider opening in U.S. theaters begins next month. I hope it gives voice to all Ukrainians, said Chernov, expressing his hope that it could help pave the way for international justice and accountability. It's painful to think how small this piece really is ... those 20 days are a tiny fraction of all the tragedies that happened in many parts of Ukraine. Some saw the film as a reminder that Mariupol remains under Russian occupation and of the ongoing fight to return the city to Ukrainian control. I am confident that well see this movie in Mariupol" one day, Nikulin said. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine COLUMBIA, Mo. Missouri farmers who check rain gauges daily can help other farmers across the nation by reporting precipitation totals. Tony Lupo, University of Missouri professor of atmospheric science and interim MU Extension climatologist, encourages farmers to be citizen scientists by reporting daily precipitation totals to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow network, or CoCoRaHS (pronounced KO-ko-rozz). Through this volunteer network, backyard weather observers measure rain, hail and snow in communities in all 50 states, Canada and the Bahamas. Climatologists then compile and map the information at www.cocorahs.org. The CoCoRaHAS website gives precipitation maps in real time, in addition to historical information. To report, go to https://www.cocorahs.org/Application.aspx. Lupo says participation is easy and free. Participants need a rain gauge and receive free, brief online training. Lupo also recommends the Missouri Climate Center, which links to the National Drought Monitor. It gives current conditions and an outlook. The National Drought Monitor analyzes Condition Monitoring Observer Reports from citizens and others to map the severity of drought by nation, state and county. See https://unldroughtcenter.maps.arcgis.com for these reports. The Farm Service Agency uses these reports to help determine federal drought and flood declarations. These declarations govern what counties qualify for assistance for affected row crops, livestock, forages and specialty crops. Lupo says the Missouri Climate Centers direct link to the National Drought Monitor has proved invaluable in recent drought years. Missourians submitted 539 reports between July 1, 2022, and Feb. 28, 2023. Other resources to help the agricultural community: Midwestern Regional Climate Center (MRCC) serves the nine-state Midwest region of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. MRCCs easy-to-read, customizable charts include growing season statistics, frost/freeze probabilities and information on growing degree days. Go to https://mrcc.purdue.edu. Vegetation Impact Program (VIP), at https://mrcc.purdue.edu/VIP, monitors and assesses real-time information from MRCC on the same website. MU collaborates with other universities and agencies across the U.S. on this site. Data from VIP helps producers with frost and freeze guidance, stress degree days and the Keetch-Byram Drought Index. Horizon Point, offered by MU Extension at http://agebb.missouri.edu/horizonpoint, gives rainfall runoff estimators, weed and scouting aids, fall nitrogen application charts and planting-depth soil temperature, among the many offerings. Users can subscribe to receive email advisories. Missouri Mesonet presents information from real-time weather stations in more than 40 sites across the state. The Mesonet website gives a weather summary of precipitation, wind speed and soil temperature by station. See http://agebb.missouri.edu/weather/stations. Useful to Usable (U2U) provides decision tools on climate, growing degree days, split nitrogen application and crop water use in the nations Corn Belt. MU is one of the partners. Visit https://mrcc.purdue.edu/U2U. U2U has interactive tools that farmers may find especially useful, Lupo says. The Growing Degree Day tool lets producers enter planting date and hybrid to obtain estimates of when critical events such as silking, black layer and freeze might occur. AgClimate View provides a historical view of climate and yield across the Corn Belt. Farmers can plot and compare yield data for corn and soybean over a five-year period and compare nitrogen application using variable prices and percentages. Missouri Climate Center, through the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, offers numerous weather and climate-related articles and resources specifically for Missouri at http://climate.missouri.edu. Lupo says there are many other free online climate global and local resources, including these: National Climatic Data Center, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov NOAA Climate Portal, https://www.climate.gov Regional Climate Centers, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/regional/regional-climate-centers State Climate Offices, https://stateclimate.org National Weather Service, https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov A veteran organization received a major donation they hope will help them continue their ongoing plight to help out the local community. L&F Distributors presented the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9194 with a donation of $5,000 Wednesday. At the same event, they also honored fellow VFW Senior Vice Commander Jaime Mendiola -- general manager of L&F Distributors -- with a flag that was flown at the capitol and with several tokens of appreciation by each of the veterans. The check was presented by L&F Distributors Owner Steve LaMantia to the veterans, as he spoke about how much the organization in the past couple of years has done to make strides in the community by being involved heavily in all kinds of community events. L&F is proud to contribute to VFW, LaMantia said. These people have made great sacrifices for the freedom of our country. These monies will be used for their mission to help veterans within our community. Ricky Quijano, the post adjutant for the VFW, said the money will go a long way to help their organization plan new events that give back to the community and help out local struggling veterans. "All monies donated to the VFW go back to the community in different ways," VFW Commander Gilberto Gonzalez said. "We have an emergency fund where we help veterans in need right on the spot with their utility bills, hotel rooms, car repairs and other needed help." LaMantia surprised Mendiola with the recognition of a U.S. flag that comes with a certificate that it was flown at the nations capital. Members also surprised Mendiola with a shadow box as the U.S. Flag was presented with his military awards. I feel proud and honored to receive the recognition flag from our VFW Post 9194, Mendiola said. I'm extremely humbled and grateful to all the members, my family and friends for all the support. I'm thankful to the LaMantia family for always supporting the community and veterans. All of the VFW veterans also brought an item small enough to fit in the shadow box, where Mendiola will put those items given to him. The items reminded those people of their fellow veterans, who they believe had given them so much to the community and other local veteran organizations. "A person with a kind heart like Jaime Mendiola needs to be recognized by all the people and organizations that he helps," Gonzalez said. "Without his support, a lot of the events and organizations will be struggling or not happening at all. He is a great example of what the military instills in us. He served his country in uniform, and now he serves his community as a private citizen." Quijano said that recognizing Mendiola for his efforts, both in the past and ongoing, was a no-brainer considering how instrumental he has been in making sure that veterans have all the resources at their disposal while also giving back to the community even after their service to the country has ended. Jaime Mendiola is pure heart, Quijano said. There's not too many people like him out there -- he goes above and beyond to help the community and veterans. Jaime is someone who doesnt like to be in front of cameras but rather operates out of sight. As fellow veterans and comrades, we must let Jaime and others like him that their love for the community and veterans dont go unnoticed. Ray Sanchez -- a fellow veteran, member of the VFW and president of the Bella Strong organization -- said the honor was something well-deserved for everything Mendiola has done. I had the honor to serve with him overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom back in 2009-10, and now I have the privilege to serve the community right alongside him, Sanchez said. On behalf of the VFW Post 9194, thank you for everything you do and don't ever change. Puro corazon! Shout out to Ricky Quijano for spearheading this beautiful surprise. The Texas Legislative session came to an end on May 29, as Texas State Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-21) passed 122 bills during the 88th Legislative Session. Zaffirini has passed 1,388 bills in her legislative career, more than any legislator in the history of the state. "I am grateful to my fellow legislators in both chambers for their support," Zaffirini said. Bipartisan collaboration is the key to representing the best interests of the families of our districts by passing the best possible bills. The Senate's highest-ranking woman and Hispanic member was also the highest bill-passer for the fifth consecutive session. Her legislation includes 64 Senate bills that she authored and 58 House bills that she helped through sponsorship. The senators voting record is historic in itself. Zaffirini extended her 100% career-long voting record by casting more than 70,000 consecutive votes, putting her well beyond that of any other legislator in the state or country. "Although my district enjoys rich cultural diversity, we share several universal needs," Zaffirini said. "Our quality of life depends on economic vibrancy, access to health care and excellent and affordable educational opportunities for all including early childhood and higher education." All of the state senators bills address the priorities of her district and beyond the state, which stretches from the Rio Grande to the Colorado River. As a member of the Texas Senate Committee on finance, Zaffirini successfully advocated for necessary funding for Senate District 21. One of these bills was House Bill 1, which is the states appropriations bill that included in its language $415,000 for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to purchase three ethylene oxide gas analyzers and related equipment to monitor EtO, a known carcinogen, in Laredo. HB 1 also includes $5 billion for a cost-of-living-adjustment and supplemental check for retired teachers, $141 million in the B-on-Time Student Loan account transferred to improve outcomes for at-risk students through investment in student success and financial aid, a $650 million increase for the community college funding formula and $18.3 million for salary increases for local mental health authorities. The bill also included $695,000 for a guardianship specialty court pilot program and $25 million for landowner compensation for damage caused by criminal activities such as destroyed fencing on ranches along the border. According to the state senators office, its need was supported by a Department of State Health Services cancer assessment report indicating increased cancer rates near a medical sterilization plant that emits high levels of the gas. Zaffirini also serves on the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce, through which she passed her "bots" bills, or SB 58 and 1639. Bots are software applications designed to automate tasks on the internet. Some bots are malicious and purchase large quantities of items faster than a human ever could to resell them at inflated prices. Her SB 58 prohibits persons from using "grinch" bots to buy and resell items at inflated prices, while SB 1639 prohibits persons from creating or using "ticket" bots to buy and resell event tickets. "We made progress toward creating a fair digital marketplace for all," Zaffirini said. "It was a pleasure working with Rep. Thimesch (who sponsored the House bill) to protect Texas consumers." The senator also passed Cati's Act, or HB 59 by Rep. Vicki Goodwin (D-Austin), which is named after 6-year-old drowning victim, Cati Dela Pena. Cati's Act helps prevent accidental drownings by requiring those who are caring for children who cannot swim to wear a life jacket during water activities, which will save the lives of children across the state. Zaffirini also championed measures ranging from addressing the needs of students from Pre-K to doctoral programs across the state. Her SB 55, for example, mandates a comprehensive study of graduation rates and financial aide for students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Her SB 68 allows up to two excused absences per year for career exploration. HB 584 fosters a partnership between the Department of Information Resources and public educational institutions to offer a state IT credential program to prepare students for entry-level IT positions in state agencies. And her HB 1225 permits paper assessments upon request, offering an additional layer of flexibility in the educational training process. She also featured bills targeting the post-pandmeic world. Zaffirini said she helped passed several health care reform measures in the session that included her SB 2476, which bans balance billing practices for non-emergency municipal ground ambulances services, capping the total cost of ambulance rides to approximately $1,500. This legislation continues Zaffirinis life-long efforts to reduce medical costs. Her criminal justice agenda included passing SB 49, which expands relocation benefits for crime victims and their families; SB 1717, which broadens the definition and repercussions of stalking offenses; and SB 1401, which mandates forensic medical examinations for sexual assault victims, ensuring appropriate care and effective evidence collection. They also simplify access to the Crime Victim's Compensation Fund. The state senator also sponsored and passed HB 611 by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, which criminalizes doxing -- the act of publicly revealing previously private personal information about persons without their consent and with the intent to do harm. Doxing can and has led to cyber harassment, identity theft, physical violence and even, in rare cases, death. To contact Zaffirini regarding legislation, email judith.zaffirini@senate.texas.gov or call her district office at 956-722-2293 or her Capitol office at 512-463-0121. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Mike Stocker/AP Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Mike Stocker/AP Show More Show Less 3 of 3 HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) Police in Florida arrested one man Saturday and announced arrest warrants for two others believed to be the gunmen who opened fire along a crowded beachside promenade on Memorial Day, wounding nine people. The Hollywood Police Department said authorities arrested Jordan Burton and are searching for Ariel Cardahn Paul and Lionel JeanCharles Jr. MattGush/Getty Images/iStockphoto A teenager has died and three others are injured after a blaze took over multiple trailer homes in northwest Harris County early Sunday morning, Pooja Lodhia reported for ABC 13. The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office said that first responders received a call about the fire at 12427 Cutten Road, in the Willowbrook area, at around 3:15 a.m. Investigators said that a family of six lived in one of the homes, according to a report by KHOU 11's John Diaz. Three of them escaped the flames, but one teenage boy died and two men suffered burn injuries while trying to rescue him. One of them was taken to the hospital but is in stable condition. A judge has granted bond for three activists involved in supporting the protest against a planned police and fire training center in Atlanta that opponents have derisively dubbed Cop City. Use the Arrows < > above to go through the gallery AkiDwA, a leading non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting equality and justice for migrant women in Ireland, honoured one of its exceptional volunteers, Ms Nagea Masoud in Longford for her remarkable efforts in empowering women and promoting their health, safety, and well-being. Akina Dada wa Africa, or AkiDwA for short, means sisterhood in Swahili. READ MORE BELOW PHOTO The event, which took place in The Longford Arms Hotel on Thursday, May 25, highlighted the importance of community engagement and the impact of collaborative efforts in fostering the empowerment of women from diverse backgrounds. AkiDwA is committed to promoting the health, integration, and protection of all migrant women living in Ireland from Domestic and Sexual Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV), including Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Early and Forced Marriages (EFM) and trafficking. Through its Victim Support project, AkiDwA has hosted monthly information sessions for migrant women living in Longford to share information on their rights; promote their health and safety; and link them with the relevant mainstream and migrant focused service providers at both local and national level. In recognition of Ms Masouds tireless commitment, AkiDwA presented a certificate of appreciation to acknowledge her invaluable contributions to the local community. Over the past year, she has worked relentlessly to mobilise women from different communities in Longford, encouraging their participation in AkiDwAs capacity building events focused on women's health and safety. Through her dedication and passion, Ms Masoud has played a pivotal role in bridging gaps and building connections, ensuring that women have access to essential support services. AkiDwA spokesperson, Dr Salome Mbugua AkiDwA CEO, expressed deep appreciation for Nagea Masoud's dedication, stating, "We are immensely proud to recognize Nageas outstanding contributions and hope that her efforts will serve as an inspiration for others to come forward and make a positive difference." AkiDwA continues to strive towards its mission of ensuring that all migrant women across Ireland have access to essential services, receive adequate support, and are empowered to become leaders in their communities and society at large. The organisation remains committed to promoting gender equality, womens health, fostering integration, and combating DSGBV. Catriona Norris, daughter of the late Padraig Kenny, Moydow, is taking part in the Womens VHI Mini Marathon on Sunday, June 4 to raise funds for the Parkinson's Association of Ireland. Catriona, who lives in Kildare, has set up a gofundme page entitled Lets try find a cure for Parkinsons and she is appealing for support. In this article, Catriona tells us about her late Dad and her reasons for taking part in the mini marathon. I sit and think about what I should write. The truth is there are no words that will justify what a wonderful man / brother / husband / Dad he was. He had the kindest soul, he could never say no to anyone and could never do enough for people. He never had a bad word to say about anyone. Possibly the hardest working person I knew. He loved a laugh and would often be seen sitting in his chair by the fire in the kitchen, having a right little giggle to himself. His favourite drink was vodka and white. He loved a steak on a Sunday. He had a sweet tooth. You would be sure to find a fruit and nut bar or a choc ice wrapper in the jeep or tractor! Farming and contracting were his bible. If its not blue it wont do! New Holland tractors were his favourite, every time I see one now I have a tear in my eye. Sadly, in his later years the Dad we knew and loved began deteriorating and Parkinsons sadly got a thorough hold of him. We find it hard to comprehend the way this disease moved so rapidly and affected every area of his brain. No medication could benefit or improve the situation. From being such a hard working happy family man, he sadly didn't even know his own family sometimes. This is by far one of the cruellest side effects of the disease. It steals people from you before their time. Word of advice from my family to yours, would be to highlight the importance of seeking medical review or guidance if you notice, feel or see something wrong. Dad had a tremor in his hand for some time but as a typical Irish farmer did not want to worry or bother anyone. The main symptoms of Parkinson's are tremor, rigidity and slowness of movement. Parkinsons affects one person in every 500. The cause for Parkinsons is currently unknown, and identified genetic causes are present in only a small minority of people (approximately 5%). This is one of the main reasons why I am committed to raising money for scientific research in the hope that one day there will be a cure for this disease. I will be taking part in the Womens mini marathon in Dublin on Sunday, June 4 with my friends in memory of my Dad and to raise awareness for others. A big thank you to everyone who has already donated. I am blown away by the support and money I have already raised. Anyone else that would like to donate. Please see donation link: https://gofund.me/104a1c2a Thank you for taking the time to read this. A nationwide strike by Siptu members in local authority water services, which was due to start on Wednesday June 7, has been called off. The dispute related to a demand that the Government protect all earnings for local authority water service workers if they did not transfer to the state-owned utility company Uisce Eireann, formerly known as Irish Water. Siptu said Minister for Housing Darragh OBrien had conceded to their demands over overtime, conditions and allowances. Siptu public administration and community division organiser Karan O Loughlin said: A strike which was to commence on 7th June and could have adversely impacted water services across the country has been averted by the intervention of minister OBrien. This evening the minister has written to Siptu and categorically stated that workers who opt to stay in local authority employment rather than transfer to Uisce Eireann will have all their earnings protected. The letter specifically includes guarantees in relation to workers allowances and overtime payments they accrue currently as part of their work. The letter gives concrete examples of how the earnings of our members will be protected and removes an attempt by individual local authorities to renege on this commitment. The minister had previously said that no-one would be transferred to Uisce Eireann on a compulsory basis. Speaking in the Dail on Thursday, Mr OBrien said workers will be transferred with existing terms and conditions. Those who decide to stay within the local government sector will have their terms and conditions also protected. Siptu said this was a major success for its members. Local authority worker and chairman of the Siptu water workers national negotiating committee, Stephen Kelly, said: We believe we have now secured such a guarantee from the minister in a manner which will not allow individual local authorities to deviate from it. Siptu sector organiser Brendan OBrien said: The protection of our members earnings was a commitment given by local authorities and the Government in the framework for the future of water services document which lays out the move towards a national public water utility. Unfortunately, as this document was being implemented it became clear certain local authorities were not living up to the protection of earnings commitment. This forced our members to vote for strike action which they were to commence next Wednesday. NEW YORK Racial bias built into a common medical test for lung function is likely leading to fewer Black patients getting care for breathing problems, a study published June 1 suggests. As many as 40% more Black male patients in the study might have been diagnosed with breathing problems if current diagnosis-assisting computer software were changed, the study said. Doctors have long discussed the potential problems caused by race-based assumptions that are built into diagnostic software. This study, published in JAMA Network Open, offers one of the first real-world examples of how the issue may affect diagnosis and care for lung patients, said Dr. Darshali Vyas, a pulmonary care doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital. The results are exciting to see published but its also what wed expect from setting aside race-based calculations, said Vyas, who was an author of an influential 2020 New England Journal of Medicine article that catalogued examples of how race-based assumptions are used in making doctors decisions about patient care. For centuries, some doctors and others have held beliefs that there are natural racial differences in health, including one that Black peoples lungs were innately worse than those of white people. That assumption ended up in modern guidelines and algorithms for assessing risk and deciding on further care. Test results were adjusted to account for or correct for a patients race or ethnicity. One example beyond lung function is a heart failure risk-scoring system that categorizes Black patients as being at lower risk and less likely to need referral for special cardiac care. Another is an equation used in determining kidney function that creates estimates of higher kidney function in Black patients. The new study focused on a test to determine how much and how quickly a person can inhale and exhale. Its often done using a spirometer a device with a mouthpiece connected to a small machine. After the test, doctors get a report that has been run through computer software and scores the patients ability breathe. It helps indicate whether a patient has restrictions and needs further testing or care for things like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder or lung scarring due to air pollutant exposure. Algorithms that adjust for race raise the threshold for diagnosing a problem in Black patients and may make them less likely to get started on certain medications or to be referred for medical procedures or even lung transplants, Vyas said. While physicians also look at symptoms, lab work, X-rays and family histories of breathing problems, the pulmonary function testing can be an important part of diagnoses, especially when patients are borderline, said Dr. Albert Rizzo, the chief medical officer at the American Lung Association. The new study looked at more than 2,700 Black men and 5,700 white men tested by University of Pennsylvania Health System doctors between 2010 and 2020. The researchers looked at spirometry and lung volume measurements and assessed how many were deemed to have breathing impairments under the race-based algorithm as compared to under a new algorithm. Researchers concluded there would be nearly 400 additional cases of lung obstruction or impairment in Black men with the new algorithm. Earlier this year, the American Thoracic Society, which represents lung-care doctors, issued a statement recommending replacement of race-focused adjustments. But the organization also put a call out for more research, including into the best way to modify software and whether making a change might inadvertently lead to overdiagnosis of lung problems in some patients. Vyas noted some other algorithms have already been changed to drop race-based assumptions, including one for pregnant women that predicts risks of vaginal delivery if the mom previously had a cesarean section. Changing the lung-testing algorithm may take longer, Vyas said, especially if different hospitals use different versions of race-adjusting procedures and software. 404 Something's wrong here Sorry. We can't find the page you're looking for. RETURN HOME The National Police in Palma report having arrested a member of a gang engaged in the theft of top-of-the-range cars in Germany. There was a European warrant for his arrest that had been issued by the German authorities. In March last year, he was making what was apparently a regular journey to Poland in a stolen car to be sold on the black market. On this particular occasion, he was intercepted by a German police patrol. There was a high-speed chase, which ended after his car had been hit by the police car. However, he managed to flee on foot and disappeared. On Tuesday, the National Police's central organised crime unit informed colleagues in Palma that he was in Mallorca. He was located and arrested at the airport on Tuesday afternoon. Electronic Commerce Payments Inc., the multi-payment platform of Globe, said it surpassed its digital merchant partners target as more Filipinos transitioned to digital channels. ECPays digital merchant partnership now reached 450,590, surpassing its target of 449,000. The milestone signifies an expanded reach to a larger customer base through mobile apps catering to eMoney, banking, lending, payment vending machines and sari-sari stores. Globe president and chief executive Ernest Cu said this underlines the increasing trend of Filipinos embracing digitalization. We take immense pride in the accomplishments of ECPay as it continues to lead the way in this shift. This shows ECPays dedication to optimizing the convenience and accessibility of digital payments, Cu said. The remarkable expansion of its digital merchant partnerships also unequivocally demonstrates how Filipinos embrace digital financial transactions, he said. ECPays platform provides seamless accessibility through its user-friendly mobile app and website, catering to the dynamic lifestyles of individuals. Additionally, recognizing the preferences of those who favor in-person transactions, ECPay has established an expanding network of physical payment centers across the Philippines for convenience and flexibility. As incidents of cybercrime rise due to the pervasiveness of the internet, ECPay maintains an unwavering commitment to ensuring utmost security and reliability for its users. By implementing stringent measures, it prioritizes the protection of personal and financial information, guaranteeing peace of mind for all. With its ongoing expansion, ECPay is on track to establish itself as a prominent force in the realm of financial technology in the Philippines. We have a strong conviction that digital financial transactions will be a driving force in shaping the future of the Philippine economy. In our relentless pursuit to provide Filipinos with the best payment services possible, we will continue investing in our technology, infrastructure, and workforce, Cu said. ECPays outstanding performance has positioned it as the primary contributor to Globes first-quarter top line, accounting for 1.5 percent of gross service revenues. The platforms open nature, primarily dedicated to bills payments and prepaid load distribution for all three mobile operators in the country, has been instrumental in this achievement. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Fifty Islamic State-group jihadists and 168 Iraqi members of jihadist families were repatriated from Syria to Iraq on Saturday, an Iraqi official said. Iraqi authorities received 50 members of the Islamic State from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity. The SDF are the Kurds de facto army in the area, and led the battle that dislodged Islamic State group fighters from the last scraps of their Syrian territory in 2019. They will be the subject of investigations and will face Iraqi justice, they added. According to conflict monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights they were detained in Hasakeh, northeast Syria. Additionally, 168 relatives of IS-group members were repatriated from Syrias Al-Hol camp to be relocated to Al-Jadaa camp south of Mosul, the Iraqi official added, where they will undergo psychiatric treatment. Once we receive the assurances of their tribal leaders that they will not face reprisals, they will be sent home. Al-Hol camp, in Kurdish-controlled northeast Syria, is home to about 50,000 people including family members of suspected jihadists. Among them are displaced Syrians, Iraqi refugees as well as more than 10,000 foreigners originally from some 60 countries. In March, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the swift repatriation of foreigners held in Al-Hol. Nearly half of the camps population is under the age of 12 and residents are deprived of their rights, vulnerable, and marginalised, Guterres said in a statement during a visit to Iraq. I have no doubt to say that the worst camp that exists in todays world is Al-Hol, with the worst possible conditions for people and with enormous suffering for the people that have been stranded there for years, Guterres said. Since May 2021, hundreds of families have been transferred from Al-Hol to Al-Jadaa in Iraq, with a number of those going on to flee. The repatriation to Iraq of relatives of fighters who joined the ultra-radical group that controlled one-third of Iraq between 2014 and 2017 has sparked opposition. In December 2021, Iraqi authorities announced plans to close Al-Jadaa. But little progress has been made and the relocation of displaced people to their home regions has proven challenging and prompted opposition from local people. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. A Franklin, N.H. man who officials say shot and killed his young daughter and her mother on Saturday was found dead by police. Officials said at a press conference Saturday night that Jamie Bell, 42, shot and killed Nicole Hughes, 35, and their 1-and-a-half year old daughter, Ariella Bell, at their home on Elkins Street, according to the Boston Globe. Hughes five-year-old daughter from another relationship was found alive but suffering from a gunshot wound to her arm and a laceration on her back. A motive was not disclosed. The New Hampshire Attorney Generals Office had said at about 5 p.m. Saturday that Bell was a person of interest in the two suspicious deaths that were under investigation and was considered armed and dangerous. Less than an hour later, Bell was found dead. The Globe reported that Bells body was found on the bank of the Merrimack River, and that he had apparently died by suicide. The deaths remain under investigation and autopsies are scheduled for Sunday. The states new housing secretary wants to do more, faster to address the chronic affordability crisis that is driving people to leave for lower-cost states. But those two words cant be applied to some other power brokers facing similarly urgent problems. At the MBTA, a Monday deadline looms to file a revised safety plan to protect workers from subway trains after federal overseers rejected the agencys first draft for not promising changes quickly enough. And in the Legislature, the mantra five months into the two-year session might as well be less, slower. Lawmakers have completed little work other than House and Senate versions of the annual budget, which is required every year, a couple of short-term spending injections and a House tax relief bill that is largely a redraft of legislation the House passed last year. New housing chief Edward Augustus started his tenure Thursday as the head of a standalone housing secretariat, which Gov. Maura Healey split off from the economic development office in a move she says will allow for greater focus on an issue that is suffocating families across the state. The former senator and Worcester city manager has a tall task. Massachusetts has a shortage of some 200,000 housing units as production, often stifled by local opposition, continues to lag demand. Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll have identified closing that gap as a key goal, and for now, Augustus will need to do so using mostly the same toolset that so far has been insufficient to turn the tide. One option the Healey administration continues to eye is converting unused state land into housing, an idea the governor mentioned in her inaugural speech and which came up again last week as Augustus was introduced. Newer laws put on the books before Healeys arrival lower the local voting threshold required for zoning changes and require denser housing in MBTA communities. Those could also help. But Augustus was mum on other long-floated strategies like imposing fees on higher value real estate purchases and using the proceeds for more housing, or allowing cities and towns to limit rent increases. Thats par for the course for the first five months of the Healey administration, with the governor herself and her deputies frequently identifying the most pressing policy issues and vaguely promising improvements without outlining many concrete steps. Much of the housing debate has been focused on policies like rent control and eviction protections aimed at supporting families who face a higher risk of material harm from the crisis. The perhaps trickier challenge for Augustus will be finding solutions to put long-term homes within reach for middle-income Bay Staters, especially younger adults who are growing so frustrated with the astronomical prices that they are looking at options in other states. Of course, housing and transportation go hand-in-hand, and Bay Staters anguished by the former continue to be frustrated by the latter. MBTA scrutiny Its been more than a year since the Federal Transit Administration launched a safety investigation of the MBTA, and the T continues to face significant scrutiny from the feds. While working on a wide range of broader fixes prompted by the FTAs findings, the MBTA is also under strict orders to improve protections for workers and other people who are out on the rail right of way after a series of close calls. The FTA was not satisfied with the Ts initial plan to prevent near misses. Federal overseers shot down a proposed outline because it included measures set to be completed in late 2023 and into 2024, and told MBTA higher-ups they need to craft a new approach with improvements that will take effect this summer. The feds want a plan by Monday, and on Friday a T spokeswoman said the plan will only be available following the filing of a public records request. Meanwhile, the riding public is stuck with frequently unsatisfactory conditions. Were approaching the one-year anniversary of Red, Orange and Blue Line service cuts that now seem more permanent than temporary, stations continue to deteriorate in real time, and 20 percent of the entire subway system still cannot safely operate at full speed. The agency made some improvements to the slow zone conundrum in recent weeks, but not as much as its leaders promised. General Manager Phil Eng said on April 19 that planned maintenance and disruptions would allow the T to slash slow zones on the Blue Line from 43 percent to 28 percent by the end of May; as of Friday, June 2, the agency listed 31 percent of the Blue Line under speed restrictions. MBTA leaders cautioned this week that progress will be slow, even as they trotted out optimistic talking points about Healeys focus on transit issues and the new leadership team. We might be a year, a year and half, I think, from really turning the corner because we all know theres some huge structural issues at that agency thats been unattended to for a long time, said Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch, a veteran member of the Ts board of directors. It feels like the Legislature might as well be a year away from major action given its current pace. Tax relief The first full post-Senate budget week came and went with nary a peep about tax relief from the chambers top Democrats, who set aside about $575 million in their spending plan for relief measures and pledged to unveil specific proposals soon after the budgets completion. Its not even particularly clear where the imminent priorities lie. The House hasnt held a formal session in more than a month, some committees have not yet convened hearings on legislation referred to them, and top Democrats still cant find agreement on an annual road funding bill each branch approved in March. Adding to the uncertainty, it could be the second straight summer that Beacon Hill finds itself with a multibillion-dollar surprise tab to pay. The Healey administration said this week that under former Gov. Charlie Baker, the state mistakenly used federal funds, not the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, to pay $2.5 billion of jobless benefits starting in 2020. The Boston Globe first reported about the costly error Thursday evening, and a spokesperson for the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development confirmed the news Friday. There was no impact to claimants, the spokesperson said, since the problem was which funds were used amid the widespread layoffs and unprecedented demand for unemployment aid during the pandemic. Its still not clear if the state will owe the $2.5 billion back to the feds, and the Healey administration is working with the U.S. Department of Labor to find a solution. Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Lauren Jones said the administration is determined to provide a solution with the goal of minimizing impact to the Commonwealth and is working closely with USDOL, outside auditors, and other necessary partners to resolve this issue. While we dont yet know whether its hypothetical or material, the situation poses a massive question: what would $2.5 billion in sudden debt do to the spending and tax relief plans slowly winding their way through Beacon Hill, particularly if state tax collections do not rebound from their April nosedive? Last year, the revelation that Massachusetts owed $2.9 billion in taxpayer rebates upended proposals for more targeted, permanent cuts, though that emerged in the final weeks of formal sessions for the two-year term. Businesses, who fund the states unemployment system, are already worried they will be on the hook for a pricey error. This $2.5 billion error was made by the state, and it is reliant upon the state of Massachusetts to rectify this major oversight, said National Federation of Independent Business State Director Christopher Carlozzi. However, in no way should employers be held liable for a $2.5 billion mistake that was not their doing. If Massachusetts must repay the federal government, they should use remaining federal funds or excess tax revenue and not rely on business owners to shoulder the burden, Carlozzi said. That includes not raising UI taxes or depleting the existing UI Fund balance as small business owners are currently paying a hefty COVID-19 assessment on their UI bills to cover the cost of layoffs resulting from state-mandated shutdowns. Central Virginians, and curious out-of-towners, made their way to the Southern Revere Cellars in Louisa County for the annual Jack Jouett Day Festival on Saturday. The festival honors its namesake, Jack Jouett, who is known for operating a tavern that put Louisa on the map in the 18th century and, perhaps more importantly, a dramatic overnight ride in the summer of 1781 to Charlottesville to warn then-Gov. Thomas Jefferson and members of the Virginia legislature that British soldiers were on their way to capture the early American patriots. Though not widely known outside of Virginia and often overlooked in favor of his Northern brother-in-arms Paul Revere Jouett and his ride are credited with saving the lives of Virginias leaders during the Revolutionary War, many of whom would go on to be the Founding Fathers of a new nation. The General Assembly declared June 3 to be Jack Jouett Day in 2001. With a full day of activities in Louisa County for groups of all ages, attendees at Saturdays festival had a range of food and merchandise vendors, a magic show and a bounce house to choose from. Some vendors say the community is what attracted them to the festival this year. I dont necessarily come to events like these thinking Im going to sell out of everything I bring, said Kacy Tillman, a certified consultant for Scentsy and first-time Jack Jouett Day Festival vendor who lives in Louisa and works in Charlottesville. I come here to get the connections and it helps me put myself out there. Local orders help cost money and, when I meet people at events like this, they order directly from me and we eliminate the shipping costs. During the magic show hosted by Richmond-based magician Mike Klee, something truly otherworldly occurred: an appearance by Jouett himself. Or at least, thats who reenactor Karl Harrelson claimed to be. For all attendees knew, it could have been Jouett himself, as little is known of Jouetts actual appearance. The only documented likeness that exists of him is a silhouette profile bust made by his artist son, Matthew Harris Jouett, early in the 19th century. This is my first time doing it, Harrelson, a Caroline County resident, told The Daily Progress. I like history, and Im a reenactor, so it just worked out. Saturdays event was organized by the Louisa County Parks, Recreation & Tourism department, the Louisa County Historical Society and Southern Revere Cellars. by Tanya Gazdik , June 3, 2023 Jose Roman is Infinitis new global head of the brand, effective July 1. A native of Ecuador, Roman is currently Nissan Mexicos president and managing director. He joined Nissan in 2012 and brings more than 25 years of automotive industry experience, gained while working in markets including Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and Japan. In his most recent position, Roman played a key role in the consolidation of the brand's sales leadership in Mexico and led the successful implementation of Nissan's global transformation plan, Nissan NEXT within the country. During his tenure, Nissan achieved its 15th consecutive year in the top market position in Mexico, with the complete renewal of its product portfolio and the introduction of Nissan's e-POWER technology to the region. As the leader of the Nissan Importers Business Unit, he oversaw 34 markets within Latin America. advertisement advertisement Roman will concurrently serve as senior vice president, global sales Nissan Motor Co., Ltd, reporting to Asako Hoshino, executive vice president, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd, based in Yokohama, Japan. Roman is a supporter of employee health and talent development, and Nissan Mexico was recently recognized as the number one automotive company in environmental, social and governance by MERCO, along with "Best Places to Work" by HRC Equidad MX. The 56-year-old holds a postgraduate marketing degree from the San Francisco de Quito University and a Civil Engineering degree from Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. Roman replaces Peyman Kargar, who departed Infiniti in April, returning to Renault in his native France after a three-year assignment leading the brand in Japan. A woman died over the course of two days in the Benton County Jail while no one checked on her. Her husband was in a cell nearby, listening as she retched. Then she fell silent. A jury could decide whether the county and several deputies were responsible for the death of Alyssa Sund, and whether Emery Sund, the man she married, should receive money for his pain and suffering. Mr. Sund was a witness to his wifes suffering as she was dying, said Michael Willes, one of the attorneys suing the county. That is highly unusual. In denying a Benton County motion to dismiss the case, one federal has determined it's reasonable a jury could find several of the county employees guilty of negligence and indifference in the 2018 death, depriving Alyssa Sund of constitutionally protected medical care. Despite several attempts, County Counsel Vance Croney could not be reached for comment. Squatters Alyssa and Emery Sund were out of moves when they were arrested, suspected of squatting in a North Albany home. Neither had a job. They werent sure where to go after they were evicted from a rental home in Eugene. Alyssa Sund found a home listed online in the 2800 block of Northwest Sunny Lane. They changed the locks. They used electricity and natural gas in the home. The couple ate off of dining ware and used furniture a real estate agent had staged to sell the house. Emery Sund said in sworn testimony he and his wife had nowhere to go and a U-Haul trailer full of 12 years' worth of belongings. I didnt have a plan for not getting caught, Emery Sund said. It was just trying to have a place to live in, and we were pretty down and out at that point in our lives. They occupied the house for a week or less when the homeowner found them. Alyssa Sund called her husband, he said, and told him someone was trying to gain entry. He walked up through a woods from a neighborhood down the hill. By the time I got to the house, the police were there, he said in his testimony. Emery Sund said he hadnt dealt much with police before 2018. He usually kept drugs in the pockets of his pants. Albany officers handcuffed Emery Sund and took him to the city police department on suspicion of first-degree burglary and second-degree criminal mischief. The Sunds were held briefly by police before being moved to the Benton County jail. Alyssa Sund took three- or four-tenths of a gram of heroin from Emery Sunds shoe on the ride over and put the drug down her pants. It was Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 19, 2018. 'Started to disappear' The Sunds first met around Valentines Day in 2001. She was Alyssa Butler at the time, a travel agent in Atascadero, California. They met through the recommendation of a friend who catered events in the city. Emery Sund told the court Alyssa Sund tended to stick up for herself. She could appear rough around the edges, he said. And she dealt with a lot of pain. Emery Sund said she had fibromyalgia. He knew that she had used heroin to self-medicate. Alyssa Sund had to be off her feet, her husband said, and couldnt stand for long stretches of time. He took her for walks. He massaged her. They moved to Oregon in 2006, and Alyssa Sund gave birth to a daughter. Then a son. Then she fell ill. The couple filed bankruptcy in 2009 to escape medical bills. Money was tight until 2011, when Alyssa Sund was paid $20,000 in back disability money. That helped kind of put us back in the comfort zone, Emery Sund said. She began using heroin again around the same time. Emery Sund described periods of daily or near-daily use. Alyssa Sund would inject herself anywhere she could find a vein, he said. Emery Sund also partook, smoking the opioid rather than injecting it. He said their spending ballooned. All of that started to disappear, the money, Emery Sund said. He worked first at a subcontractor for, then at Comcast while the family lived in rental houses. That company fired him, he said, after he stole a gun from a customer. I saw it as an opportunity to be able to afford to get more drugs, he told the court. By the time they were living in the house in North Albany, Alyssa Sund was injecting herself every day with up to a half-gram of heroin. Between the pair, the Sunds were spending $100 a day $36,000 each year on heroin. Emery Sund estimated they were spending another $100 each week on methamphetamine after trying the drug for the first time in mid-2018. Jail Benton County deputies took only one medication from Alyssa Sund as she was booked into the jail an albuterol inhaler to aid breathing. But she listed many more prescriptions, including alprazolam, baclofen, Celebrex, gabapentin, metoclopramide, Relpax, Ropinirole and Zanaflex. Alyssa Sund told a sergeant, Evan Mohr, that she had arthritis, asthma, fibromyalgia, lupus, dental problems, heart problems, liver issues, stomach issues and thyroid cancer. At 2:50 a.m. Dec. 20, Deputy Thomas White heard knocking in Alyssa Sunds cell. She told him she was having an asthma attack. A sergeant, Melissa Werdell, saw Alyssa Sund taking difficult breaths. She "seemed to be panicking a little," according to a magistrate judge quoting prior testimony. The magistrate judge, Mustafa T. Kasubhai, oversaw the pretrial hearings and is recommending the case move forward. Nicole Kelley had started her shift at the jail at 6:52 a.m. that day. Benton County had one corrections nurse, and she handed off medical care of people in custody to deputies when she wasnt available outside her Monday-through-Friday shift. She noted some of Alyssa Sunds medications are controlled. The jail only dispenses controlled substances with a valid prescription and if someone can bring the medication in from outside, Kelley told Alyssa Sund, according to court documents. Alyssa Sund told Kelley, who then told Deputy Nicholas Miller that she had left her medications in a bag in the house in North Albany. Kelley told Miller the drugs were "nonemergency," according to the magistrate judge. In an attempt to find her meds, Mohr called the Albany officer who arrested Alyssa Sund. But that officer couldnt locate the backpack. Alyssa Sund called her mother, who wasnt able to bring the medications. In sworn testimony, Kelley said she left the jail at the end of her shift and didnt return until Dec. 27. She left no instructions for how to treat Alyssa Sund without the womans medications. Sgt. Mohr testimony I responded to find Sund sitting on the floor next to the door. Sund was crying and seemed to be breathing heavily. I asked her what her problem was. Sund stated that she had PTSD and was having a panic attack. She stated that she was sick and wanted her medications. I told Sund that I would call the Albany Police Officer who arrested het to see if he could get her medications to the jail. Sund then stopped crying and appeared fine. By the afternoon of Dec. 20, corrections staff found Alyssa Sund crying in her cell. She told Officer Matthew Blackshear she wanted her medications. Alyssa Sund was taken to a room where deputies book people into the the jail so she could use a phone. Mohr heard her make several phone calls, trying to recover her medications, according to testimony. The physician who oversees Kelley's medical work arrived a little later in the day. Dr. Lance Loberg never interacted with Alyssa Sund. He left after an hour at the jail. He did scan her medical file but "didn't see anything," a judge wrote. On Dec. 21, Alyssa Sund began complaining about her stomach. Deputy Tanner Sparks gave her some Pepto-Bismol. Deputies began negotiating with Alyssa Sund to keep her quiet. At around 7:30 a.m., she asked Miller permission to make a phone call. He acknowledged in testimony that she had been asking everyone for a phone call. He denied the request. Alyssa Sund shouted for a phone call at 8:20 a.m., and Miller again said no. By 10:05 a.m. she was yelling for help. She asked Miller for a phone call and a hot pack. Miller told her she could have a hot pack if she was quiet. Emery Sund tried to talk to his wife from behind a door as she passed his cell at around 10:30 a.m. They were barred from communication under a court order. That was the last chance they would have to speak. Decline Alyssa Sund likely would have been heard all throughout the Benton County Jail. The jail is small and sound would have carried, including the sound of vomiting, Kasubhai wrote in an opinion. Small enough that Emery Sund said he could yell that he could yell from his cell "I love you" and hear her answer back. A person in a neighboring cell told investigators Alyssa Sund had been throwing up pretty constantly the entire time they were next to each other," Kasubhai wrote, quoting court files. She couldn't keep down Gatorade or Pepto Bismol. Her pants and bedding were soiled with vomit. Deputy Ethan Garrison asked Alyssa Sund "about keeping the noise level down," Kasubhai noted in his opinion. She turned down ibuprofen a few hours later, saying the drug would "tear up" her stomach. Instead, she asked for a heat pack and four Pepto Bismol tablets. Jail Deputy Jonathan Herrick found vomit an hour after that on the floor of Alyssa Sund's cell. He said thought it strange that she was throwing up on the floor instead of getting up to vomit in the toilet. The toilet was a few feet from her bunk. She took a shower and returned to the cell about 12 minutes later. A deputy heard Alyssa Sund vomiting. She yelled at 8:26 a.m. and told Miller she couldnt keep anything down. She asked for Milk of Magnesia but then decided it wouldnt help. Miller left without giving her the medicine. He heard her vomit again. Deputies moved Alyssa Sund from her cell to a holding cell "due to her puking in her cell and because her constant yelling was bothering the other inmates in the hall," Kasubhai wrote, quoting testimony. She struck a toilet with a Gatorade bottle. She yelled about using a phone. Deputies held her arms less than an hour later as they escorted her to a padded holding cell with no toilet. She yelled, this time about using a toilet, before defecating in the back of the cell. Deputy Doree Johnson offered to bring a cleaning cart to the holding cell that afternoon if Alyssa Sund would stop yelling. Alyssa Sund cleaned the holding cell. She asked for a cup of water. She ate dinner. She returned to her cell, No. 14, that evening, where she cleaned up more vomit. She made one more request that night: She wanted Pepto Bismol. The time she died The cause of death probably was a seizure. Alyssa Sund was lying on a mattress when deputies first noted her the morning of Dec. 23. Corrections officers under Oregon law are supposed to check on detainees and people in custody at least once each hour. And deputies in testimony acknowledged they should be checking people in custody for signs of life at each of those checks. Deputies frequently took only cursory glances into Alyssa Sund's cell, likely too brief to check whether she was still alive. Here's the timeline: 7:10 a.m.: Deputy Herrick asked Alyssa Sund if she wanted to shower. He testified that she grunted. He interpreted that as a no. 8 a.m.: Closed circuit camera footage from the jail shows Deputies Herrick and Paul Lancaster walked past Alyssa Sund without looking into her cell. 9 a.m.: Deputies observed her cell. 9:31 a.m.: Her cell again was observed. 10:33 a.m.: Alyssa Sund looked like she was "sleeping, 'on her side and completely covered by her blanket,'" the court wrote, based on testimony. 11 a.m.: Lunch was brought to Alyssa Sund's cell. She was on the mattress as deputies placed a tray of food on her sink. 12:02 p.m.: Herrick found the lunch untouched in the same place when he tried to collect trash from the cell. He saw no movement and pulled back Alyssa Sund's blanket, where she still lay on a mattress. Alyssa Sund's heart likely stopped hours earlier. She was 41. No charges At the request of a Benton County judge, the state Attorney General's office in 2019 looked into the circumstances surrounding Alyssa Sund's death and declined to pursue criminal charges. The 2020 lawsuit, brought by her estate, argues Benton County put Alyssa Sund in harm's way by not treating her. Kasubhai's opinion that the case should go forward, issued earlier this year, will next be considered by a another judge, who either will accept, dismiss or modify the findings to inform a potential trial procedure. An expert in the case said more likely than not Alyssa Sund died from a seizure, in withdrawal after her alprazolam, known by brand name Xanax, was stopped. To name the individual deputies is to claim each violated Alyssa Sunds constitutional rights. County policy was to train deputies how to spot extreme agitation or anxiety and either rule out drug withdrawal or follow protocols for treating withdrawal. Deputies said they hadnt been trained to recognize serious medical conditions or call medical staff. Deputies Callie Duggar and Miller said they weren't trained in how to treat vomiting; Sparks said he had not been trained to treat someone who is dehydrated. I dont think Ive ever received any specific medical training, one deputy testified. Lawyers for Benton County made a motion for summary judgment, which argues the facts are on their side. They said the county and staff werent negligent, they didnt provide Alyssa Sund with constitutionally inadequate medical care and staff were entitled to qualified immunity. They argued Benton County couldnt be liable and that no one can be awarded emotional distress damages in a wrongful death lawsuit. Kasubhai found that the plaintiff's attorneys didn't demonstrate the county typically hires deputies indifferent to people in custody. They also didn't demonstrate that a jail commander, Dr. Loberg or then-Sheriff Scott Jackson were culpable. But a jury could conclude deputies working in the jail seeing Alyssa Sund dehydrate over several days and abruptly going off numerous medications knew she needed help. "A reasonable jury could conclude that Ms. Sund had a serious medical need such that she was at a substantial risk of serious harm," Kasubhai wrote. The reward for information leading to the capture of those responsible for the 2020 murder of Verona Townships Ricky H. Bailey has risen to $9,100. Sheriff Kelly Hanson said the additional money was pledged last week after reports marking the second anniversary of the case appeared in newspapers and TV news broadcasts across mid-Michigan. Bailey, 59, was found dead in his home in Verona Township on Dec. 30, 2020, as the result of two gunshot wounds. Shortly before midnight on the night of the murder, two masked individuals reportedly entered Bailey's home and shot him. Bailey's 11- and 20-year-old sons were at home at the time of the shooting and were the ones who called 911 to report the shooting. The sons reportedly told deputies they were all in different rooms of the house when the youngest son heard a door opening. He then quickly went to tell his dad when two armed assailants with handguns appeared and shot the father. "From our understanding, they yelled at the victim while he laid on the floor making reference to wanting 'the money,'" Hanson previously told the Tribune. "The victim was then further physically assaulted by one of the assailants while the youngest son attempted to lock himself in a bathroom."\ Hanson said the son was removed from the bathroom after one of the assailants kicked in the door, forced him out of the room and told him to lay on the floor. The older son had taken cover in another room, and after the assailants left, he contacted Huron County Central Dispatch for help. "The tragic incident took place over a matter of minutes," Hanson said. The suspects were described as wearing black ski masks, black leather coats, black gloves and black pants. Hanson said it is unclear how the suspects arrived or left the scene. Hanson said it is still unclear why the assailants shot and killed Bailey. "At this time, it is believed the assailants targeted the specific residence either because of past residents, or (the Baileys), who apparently (hadnt) been there that long," Hanson said previously. "Anyone who may have seen any vehicles in the Rapson Road area during the incident's timeframe, especially near the Sullivan Road intersection, is asked to call Huron Central Dispatch." Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact the sheriffs office during regular business hours at 989-269-6500, Huron County Central Dispatch any time at 989-269-6421 or call the confidential TIPS line at 989-269-2861 and leave a message. Information can also be sent via email to Detective Daryl Ford at fordd@co.huron.mi.us. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ATLANTA (AP) The voice of Martin Luther King Sr., a melodic tenor like his slain son, carried across Madison Square Garden, calming the raucous Democrats who had nominated his friend and fellow Georgian for the presidency. Surely, the Lord sent Jimmy Carter to come on out and bring America back where she belongs, the venerated Black pastor said as the nominee smiled behind him. Im with him. You are, too. Let me tell you, we must close ranks now. Carter then shared a moment with Coretta Scott King, clasping hands and locking eyes with the widowed first lady of the Civil Rights Movement, their children looking on. For the Kings, closing the 1976 convention affirmed their continued reach and their pragmatism eight years after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. For Carter, it marked the evolution of a white politician from the Old Confederacy: As a local leader and state senator who aspired for more, he had mostly avoided controversial stands during the civil rights era. During all their years in Atlanta, he never met the movement's leader. Carter never did anything racist himself. But he didnt participate, biographer Jonathan Alter said. And King was right there. Yet the alliance Carter later forged with the King family endured as he grew into a governor, president and global humanitarian who advanced racial equality and human rights. He was one of the few presidents who really was an advocate for the Black community out of a pureness of heart, said the Rev. Bernice King, who leads the King Center that her mother founded. Now 98, Carter is receiving hospice care in Plains, Georgia. King, just 39 when he was gunned down in 1968, would have been 94. Certainly, King would have expanded his own legacy with a longer life span after civil rights victories for Black Americans he turned his focus to challenging Western militarism and rapacious capitalism and there's no way to know what kind of relationship King might have had with Carter once the Georgia Democrat reached high office. As it was, Carter used the most visible decades of his public life to reflect King's values and often his rhetoric, while playing a central role in memorializing King as an American icon. Carter opened government contracts to Black-owned businesses and appointed record numbers of Black citizens to executive and judicial posts. He steered more public money to historically Black colleges and opposed tax breaks for discriminatory private schools. He echoed Kings emphasis on peace, expressing pride long after his presidency that he never started a shooting war. Carter quoted many of the same theologians King cited in his practice of nonviolent resistance, and he would join King in 2002 as a Nobel Peace Prize winner. As a former president, Carter tracked King's later economic observations, declaring the U.S. an oligarchy, rather than a fully functioning democracy, because of wealth inequality and money in politics. That record, Bernice King told The Associated Press, cements Carter as a courageous and principled figure who built on her fathers work, while having genuine relationships with her mother and grandfather. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter welcomed the Kings to the White House to present Coretta with a posthumous Medal of Freedom for her husband, making him one of the few Black Americans to receive the nation's highest civilian honor at that point. Carter helped establish government observances of King's birthday and enabled the federal historic site encompassing King's birthplace, burial site and the family's Ebenezer Baptist Church. The former president even served as private mediator for Kings children, helping settle an extended dispute over their parents estate. I appreciate his efforts ending the highly publicized fight, Bernice King said. Barely 5 years old when her father was killed, the younger King said she does not know for sure when the families' friendship began. She thinks her mother made the first overture, after Carter became Georgia governor in 1971. My mother was the kind of leader who made sure that she connected with the people she felt could assist her in the work that she was doing to continue my fathers legacy, King said. It had not been obvious before Carter reached statewide office that he could be such a partner. During the peak of the Civil Rights Movement, as Martin Luther King Jr. worked with President Lyndon Johnson on the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, Carter was a one-term state senator. He supported Johnson's election in 1964 and never aligned with segregationist colleagues in Atlanta, but Carter didn't speak out in favor of the federal laws during his two campaigns for governor, nor did he appear at Ebenezer, just a few blocks from the Georgia Capitol. When King was assassinated, Carter did not attend the funeral. In 1970, he won the governor's race as a conservative Democrat, avoiding explicit mentions of race while assuring voters of his general preference for local control over federal intervention. A code-word campaign, Alter called it. Then, at his inauguration, the 46-year-old Carter issued a surprise edict: The time for racial discrimination is over. Bernice King assessed his declaration as very profound at the time. Within a few years, Carter stood with the King family in the Georgia Capitol as Coretta unveiled a portrait of King, while Ku Klux Klan members protested outside. King Sr. had no trouble reconciling Carter's earlier maneuverings before reaching the governor's seat. He had never been characterized as a cracker lawmaker, the way so many rural statesmen had been, the elder King wrote in his autobiography. He said Carter achieved an unusual reputation" among Black constituents with his willingness to meet with people and work long hours on issues and needs. Such attention showed the way for Democrats as expanded voting rights finally allowed Black voters to flex political power. Every Democratic president since then has depended on strong Black support to win the nomination and general election. President Joe Biden has recognized the dynamics by pushing the national party to put more diverse states, including Georgia, earlier in the nominating process. Political calculations aside, Bernice King said her grandfather and Carter shared real kinship as two Baptists raised in small-town Georgia. The senior King once described their conversations as one country boy to another. Carter paid the elder King an in-person visit to ask for his support at the outset of his presidential bid. Never a party loyalist, the elder King initially told Carter he would support his White House bid only if Republican Vice President Nelson Rockefeller did not run again. Kings reasoning: Carter was a longshot, while Rockefeller, a civil rights liberal, was already a heavyweight. When it became clear Rockefeller would not be President Gerald Ford's running mate in 1976, King endorsed Carter. It was an invaluable imprimatur for a white Southern governor from the same generation as segregationists like Alabamas George Wallace and Georgias Lester Maddox. King vouched for Carter in Black churches across the country and to the nearly all-white national press corps, particularly after Carter mangled federal housing policy discussions by defending ethnic purity in American neighborhoods. Carter tried to clean up his remarks with more explanations, saying he would oppose very strongly and aggressively" any exclusion of a family because of race or ethnic background but still saw it as good to maintain the homogeneity of neighborhoods if they've been established that way. Carter eventually followed with an apology. Bernice King said her grandfather saw Carter's word choices as an innocent mistake" and urged journalists and voters to see Carters values and full record. During the first half of Carter's long life, he had to navigate in a society, in a culture where, as a white person, you were expected to hate and see Black people in a very demeaning way, Bernice King said. Considering the whole of his life, she said, I think he managed that very well. Along the way, Carter learned something the King siblings and cousins always understood about their grandfather and that booming voice. When Granddaddy opened his mouth, Bernice King said, you paid attention. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BERLIN (AP) Far-left supporters of a woman sentenced to prison for participating in attacks on neo-Nazis and other extremists clashed with police in the eastern German city of Leipzig over the weekend, leaving 50 officers and a number of protesters injured. Saturdays planned demonstration among backers of 28-year-old Lina E., whose full name wasnt released because of privacy rules, was banned by the city of Leipzig. Police said that around 1,500 protesters showed up despite the ban. What started out as a largely peaceful rally eventually led to clashes between protesters and police, in which some demonstrators threw stones, bottles and fireworks as police attempted to clear certain areas of the city. Leipzig police chief Rene Demmler said Sunday that 50 officers and an unknown number of protesters were injured, according to German news agency dpa. It wasnt immediately clear how serious the injuries were. Authorities are now investigating individuals for serious disturbance of the peace and attacking police officers. Around 30 people were arrested, Demmler said, and another 40 to 50 were detained and released by Sunday afternoon. German interior minister Nancy Faeser denounced some protesters' violent actions and wished the injured officers a speedy recovery in a statement Sunday. Nothing justifies the senseless violence of left-wing extremist chaos and rioters, she said. Anyone who throws stones, bottles or incendiary devices at police officers must be held accountable. Meanwhile, some politicians criticized the police's approach to the protesters, saying it was unnecessarily aggressive. Albrecht Pallas, a politician from the center-left Social Democrats in Saxony's regional legislature, slammed the police's provocative approach," according to dpa. He added that the huge police presence and the police response to smaller scuffles had an escalating effect, which mostly affected uninvolved bystanders." The protests came in response to a Dresden state courts Wednesday decision to convict Lina E. of membership in a criminal organization and serious bodily harm. She was sentenced to five years and three months in prison. Several hours later, the court said she had been released under unspecified conditions after having spent about 2 years in custody before the verdict. Prosecutors accused the student of militant extreme-left ideology and conceiving the idea of attacks on far-right individuals in Leipzig and nearby towns. Three men are alleged to have joined her by the end of 2019. The court in Dresden sentenced them to between 27 months and 39 months in prison. This weekend's protests in Leipzig follow similar demonstrations there and in other cities around Germany, including Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg, in the days following the verdict. Another protest, which has also been banned by the city, was announced for Sunday evening. THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) Greek authorities rescued 91 migrants from a river islet and transferred them to a processing center near the border with Turkey, police said Sunday. Police said that the group included 32 men, 25 women and 34 children. The Red Cross was present at the operation. Several migrants told police they were from Syria. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MIDDLETOWN Typically, ears are considered essential tools for listening. But Devyn Jones, a sophomore in Middletown High Schools agriculture program, and animal handler in an innovative offering that provides therapy to students with emotional challenges, has learned that her dog Lucy speaks through hearing. Jones said the human handler needs to communicate with the animal and, importantly, understand what it needs at any moment. You two are a team, and you have to be there for them, she said. So I learned that Lucy expresses herself through her ears. Jones and Lucy have helped a number of special education students since they received certification in April through the schools animal ambassador program, which offers a trifecta of benefits. The goal is for the animal, trained student handler, and students who get to experience the unique love that only animals can provide, to receive an emotional boost to their well-being. Amanda Thomson, a 21-year veteran teacher in the high schools agriculture program who also serves as the Future Farmers of America advisor, came up with the idea for the program intended to provide therapeutic support to teens facing emotional challenges, including special education students. It started after she became a volunteer herself in an animal therapy program run by an organization called Pet Partners that brings therapy animals to daycare centers, libraries and summer reading programs. A light bulb went off, and I realized I might be able to share that with my students, Thomson said. She secured a $3,000 grant from the national FFA beginning in 2017 and every year since to offer the program that will help 18 students this year. Thomson hopes the funding continues next year. The high school agriculture program serves about 120 students per year and provides a pool of handlers for the animal ambassadors program. Thomson stressed that the handlers are carefully screened, trained and certified and that the team is closely evaluated for suitability to work with students who need special support. Their credentials must be renewed every two years. The kids and the animals go through a lot of training and evaluation, she said. Rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs, cats and a miniature horse are all used in the program, she added. They have been used in several ways to interact with the students, including attaching them to wheelchairs, allowing youth to walk the animal. Special education teachers even have their students read to the animals, Thomson said. Overwhelmingly, the research shows it improves reading scores and fluency." It also builds relationships between students who need help and the student handlers, she said. Thomson recounted one nonverbal student that uses a wheelchair who participated in the program. One day in the hall, the student recognized the animal handler and gave her a hug, she said. It moved my student to tears just knowing she could have such a big impact. Thomson said the student handlers need to know the animals really well, advocate for them, and make sure it is a positive experience for everybody. Benefits include stress relief. Animals quietly appreciate and accept our company, she said. They are so non-judgmental, and they mirror our emotions. They are a calming presence. They are good for us. So, to be able to share that animals can help us is incredibly rewarding, Thomson added. Jones also owns a horse. Id like to be an equine vet, she said. Theyve been a part of my life since I was 5, and I want to continue that. While she loves horses, Jones knows Lucy, a 5-year-old Australian Shepherd, is very special. Shes always had a loving, comforting personality. Shes the sweetest dog Ive ever known. Her loving nature makes Lucy a powerful force for good. The kids are so sweet, Jones said. Watching them tear up they get so happy and comfortable, so calm and relaxed. It is a nice feeling to see people who cant express their emotions all the time. She recalled how one student with Down Syndrome was struck by her visit with Lucy. Her whole face lit up. She was so happy, Jones said. She has trouble speaking and saying words, but she kept saying Lucy, Lucy while brushing her and giving her some treats. You can tell she was really loving it. Jones has benefited from the experience as well. It also made a big impact on my life, she said, adding that she is better able to communicate with Lucy and other animals, and the program will help her work with people with disabilities later in life. You have to learn those small things that show you what the animal needs, she said. Jones also agreed with Thomson that these students become better learners through the program. The special ed kids get motivation and encouragement, she said. It helps them focus on work and calms down their stress." For information, visit Middletown Agricultural Science & Technology on Facebook. Connecticut State Police / Contributed Photo SOUTHBURYA "suspicious incident" in Southbury Saturday morning that left one person injured is under investigation by state and local police, officials said. State police from Troop A responded at 8:11 a.m. Saturday to the area of 667 South Britain Road for a suspicious incident, according to state police Sgt. Christine Jeltema. There are reports that a person was injured but there is no information on the extent of their injuries, Jeltema said. There is no threat to the public and no further information at this time, she said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made no breakthrough on Sunday in talks about Swedens membership in the military organization with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with officials from the two countries to meet in just over a week to try to bridge their differences. NATO wants to bring Sweden into the fold by the time U.S. President Joe Biden and other allied leaders meet in Lithuania on July 11-12, but Turkey and Hungary have yet to endorse the move. All 31 member countries must ratify a candidates accession protocol for it to join the trans-Atlantic alliance. Turkeys government accuses Sweden of being too lenient on terror organizations and security threats, including militant Kurdish groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt. Hungary has also delayed its approval, but the reasons why haven't been made publicly clear. President Erdogan and I agreed today that the permanent joint mechanism should meet again in the week starting on June 12. Membership will make Sweden safer, but also NATO and Turkey stronger, Stoltenberg told reporters in Istanbul. The permanent joint mechanism was set up to address Turkeys concerns about Sweden and Finland, the latter of which became the 31st member of NATO in April. Sweden has fulfilled its obligations, for membership, Stoltenberg said. He noted that the country has amended its constitution, strengthened its anti-terror laws, and lifted an arms embargo on Turkey since it applied to join NATO just over a year ago. Fearing they might be targeted by Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional positions of military nonalignment to seek protection under NATOs security umbrella. As Stoltenberg held talks in Istanbul, hundreds of people, including dozens of pro-Kurdish protesters, gathered in Stockholm to demonstrate against Swedens planned NATO membership. Up to 500 people took part in the action titled No to NATO no Erdogan Laws in Sweden. They rallied under the banner of the Alliance Against NATO, an umbrella for a mix of Kurdish organizations, leftist groups, anarchists, youth and climate activists and people opposed to Swedens new anti-terror laws, which took effect on June 1, as well as those calling for free media. In January, a protest in Stockholm involving the burning of a copy of the Quran brought Swedens membership talks at NATO to a grinding halt, after Erdogan suspended the meetings. The incident led to anti-Sweden demonstrations around the Muslim world. We know that Erdogan is watching this and ... he has been very angry at these things in the past, so most likely we will have the same response from him and delay the Swedish NATO accession even further, Alliance Against NATO spokesperson Tomas Pettersson said. Stoltenberg appeared to suggest that the protests might have been raised during his talks. I understand it is hard to see demonstrations against Turkey and against NATO in Sweden, Stoltenberg said. But let me be clear, freedom of assembly and expression are core values in our democratic societies. These rights must be protected and upheld. He also said that it's important to "remember why these demonstrations are taking place. The organizers want to stop Sweden from joining NATO. They want to block Swedens counterterrorism cooperation with Turkey, and they want to make NATO weaker. We should not allow them to succeed. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SEOUL, South Korea (AP) The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed again Sunday to push for a second attempt to launch a spy satellite as she lambasted a U.N. Security Council meeting over the Norths first, failed launch. The Norths attempt to put its first military spy satellite into orbit last Wednesday failed as its rocket crashed off the Korean Peninsulas western coast. An emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council was still convened at the request of the U.S., Japan and other countries to discuss the launch because it had violated council resolutions banning the North from performing any launch using ballistic technology. On Sunday, Kims sister and senior ruling party official, Kim Yo Jong, called the U.N. council a political appendage of the United States, saying its recent meeting was convened following America's gangster-like request. She accused the U.N. council of being discriminative and rude because it only takes issue with the Norths satellite launches while thousands of satellites launched by other countries are already operating in space. She said her countrys attempt to acquire a spy satellite is a legitimate step to respond to military threats posed by the U.S. and its allies. (North Korea) will continue to take proactive measures to exercise all the lawful rights of a sovereign state, including the one to a military reconnaissance satellite launch, Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media. In her earlier statement Friday, Kim Yo Jong said the Norths spy satellite will be correctly put on space orbit in the near future" but didn't say when its second launch attempt would take place. South Koreas spy agency told lawmakers Wednesday it will likely take more than several weeks for North Korea to learn the cause of the failed launch but it may attempt a second launch soon if defects arent serious. Washington, Seoul and others criticized the Norths satellite launch for raising international tensions and urged it to return to talks. A military surveillance satellite is among a list of sophisticated weapons systems that Kim Jong Un has vowed to acquire amid protracted security tensions with the United States. Since the start of 2022, Kim has carried out more than 100 missile tests in what he called a warning over expanded military drills between the U.S. and South Korea. Experts say Kim would want to use his modernized weapons arsenal to wrest concessions from Washington and its partners in future diplomacy. North Korea was slapped with rounds of U.N. sanctions over its past nuclear and missile tests and satellite launches. But the U.N. Security Council failed to toughen those sanctions over North Koreas recent testing activities because China and Russia, both permanent members of the U.N. council, blocked the U.S. and others attempts to do so. During the latest U.N. council session Friday, China and Russia again clashed with the U.S. over the Norths failed launch. After repeated failures, North Korea placed Earth-observation satellites into orbit in 2012 and 2016, but foreign experts say there is no evidence that either satellite transmitted imagery and other data. Also Sunday, North Korea threatened not to notify the International Maritime Organization of future satellite launches in advance to protest the group's condemnation of North Korean missile tests. The IMO's maritime safety committee on Wednesday adopted a rare resolution denouncing North Korea for conducting launches without proper notification that seriously threatened the safety of seafarers and international shipping. Kim Myong Chol, an international affairs analyst in North Korea, said in a statement carried by state media: In the future, IMO should know and take measures by itself over the period of (North Koreas) satellite launch and the impact point of its carrier and be prepared to take full responsibility for all the consequences from it. Ahead of its recent spy satellite launch, North Korea told the IMO and Japan that a launch would occur between May 31 and June 11. New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy has largely flown below radar since it was founded on the West Bank, during the post-Hurricane Katrina rebuild a dozen years ago. Its leaders now hope to raise the charter school's profile as it embarks on a $50 million expansion at Federal City. The school was the brainchild of two Marine Corps officers, Col. Terry Ebbert, who is now president of the school's governing board, and Major Gen. David Mize. They initially wanted to fill a gap in the New Orleans public school system with an open enrollment school that could accommodate the children of Marine Corps personnel transferring to the city. The concept, Ebbert said, quickly grew to provide a military-style education to any New Orleans area student whose family understood and accepted the school's principles. "We've been trying to fill that hole we saw and bring the structure and discipline students need to be successful in life," Ebbert said. "We now have the advantage of reflecting what the Marine Corps is: a mixture of America racially, ethnically and we're 38% young women." The school enrolls almost 900 students, which makes for the largest dedicated Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps unit in the United States, said Col. Chris Schlafer, the academy's commandant since 2015. Under the academy's structure, the commandant is the leader; there is also a school principal, currently Alexis Long. Schlafer said the school gives admission preference to students of Marine Corps and other military families; currently that component is only 5% of enrollment As the school has drawn from the wider metro area, it has been careful to take a large portion of students from economically disadvantaged households; currently they make up 80% of the student body, he said. The largest component of the student body comes from Jefferson Parish. Its ethnic makeup is about 40% Hispanic, 30% Black and 20% White, with the rest from Asian and other heritages, Schlafer said. Some of the academy's unusual features have kept it off the regular Top 10 lists of most-sought New Orleans public high schools. "NOMMA continues to be a highly regarded choice among high schools in the city, although it doesn't experience the same level of demand as Willow, Warren Easton or Edna Karr," Taslin Alfonzo, a school system spokesperson. In a city where most high schools start in ninth grade, the military academy's 8-12 grade structure means it effectively has two entry levels, which dilutes its popularity in the data, Alfonzo added. Another factor is the military aspect. While other schools, such as the private Jesuit High, offer Junior ROTC programs, New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy requires that all students be enrolled in the program, wear a uniform and abide by its principles. That might give parents the false impression that it puts kids on track for a military career, Ebbert said. "That's a continual educational piece that we're working hard on," he said. "Our job is to try and ensure that our cadets have the basics to be successful in life, wherever they choose to go, be that college, the maritime industries, public safety or any other profession." The school was authorized by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, rather than Orleans Parish School Board, making it one of a handful of local schools such as International High and Lycee Francais de la Nouvelle-Orleans with a Type 2 designation. That means it must accept student applications from across the state, not just New Orleans. The school opened in 2011 with 95 ninth graders, operating out of the condemned Murray Henderson Elementary building across from the Fischer housing development in Algiers. It moved a year later into one of the historic buildings in Federal City. It was one of the early tenants of the Algiers Development District, the state body that has had mixed results since it was tasked with reimagining the century-old Naval Support Activity base in 2011. Eyeing expansion New Orleans Military and Maritime has long planned to expand in Federal City, and can move forward now after buying from the Algiers Development District three parcels of land totaling almost 11 acres, for $2.8 million. It paid for the land in cash, and received an attractive sweetener, Ebbert said: a 60-year lease, at $1 a year, for the 4,000-square-foot gymnasium that LSU Health abandoned during the COVID-19 pandemic. LSU Health had been the third operator of that gym since it was built for more than $6 million a decade ago. The New Orleans Recreation Development Commission has taken over the swimming pool attached to the gym, and will open it to the general public as well as the military school's cadets. "This is our first effort to expand in a major way," Schlafer said. "Having site control, we can now move forward with the expansion program." New Orleans architects Eskew Dumez Ripple are drawing up plans for the land and buildings, some of which are historic and must be preserved. The priority for both students and staff is more classroom space, as currently the school has 14 classrooms in temporary structures in a leased parking garage across from the main building, school leaders said. New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy Retired Marine Corps Col. Chris Schlafer has been commandant of the 900-cadet New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy since 2015. "Now it is just a small matter of raising $50 million," Schlafer said. "We know it's not going to happen overnight, but will be done over many years." Since the start, the school has had to be creative in its funding, Ebbert said. Its basic source of money is the Louisiana Minimum Foundation Program, which provides financing to Louisiana public schools based on enrollment. It also received capital expenditure money from the Legislature, and money from historic preservation tax incentives when it moved to the Federal City building. It will now look to local, state and federal government sources for money, as well as the private sector, Ebbert said. "We haven't really tapped philanthropic sources before, but we intend to," Ebbert said. "We know we're going to be on a major capital campaign to build the phases we want to incorporate into the final design." Retired U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. David Mize, chairman of the mayors military advisory committee, speaks to Marines from Marine Forces Reserve, during Military Appreciation Day at New Orleans City Hall, Dec. 15, 2022. Military Appreciation Day is celebrated annually to honor service members in each military branch for their hard work and to encourage a closer relationship between military service and state and federal agencies in Louisiana. (Leslie Alcaraz/U.S. Marine Corps) The expansion will elevate the academy to "anchor tenant" status at Federal City. Mark Major, chair of the Algiers Development District, said the military school's move will build population on the Federal City campus, which is needed to kickstart the private sector developments that have so far struggled to take off. "What is going to make these projects happen is more population on the campus, and this is going to add to that," Major said. Anchors aweigh The Marine Corps reserve headquarters station, with 2,000 personnel, has been the major anchor at Federal City campus, along with the Coast Guard regional headquarters. Another success for the site has been Delgado Community College's 35,000-square-foot technology center, partly funded by a $13 million grant from the state. One of the two private developers that came on board four years ago, a joint venture of Shreveport-based Brown-Taylor Development and New Orleans-based MSG, which is owned by garbage hauler Jimmy Woods, said in January that it soon plans to start building affordable housing for elderly people. Major said that is still contingent on "complicated financing" falling into place. He said the other private developer, Finch Group, which owns three plots, including a riverside plot, still hasn't decided on its plans. Schlafer said the target for the military school's first phase of expansion is to raise enrollment to 1,200, with a commensurate rise in the number of teachers and support staff close to 200. But he said the school has been dealing with the post-COVID malaise that has hit schools across the U.S.; it has seen enrollment decline from more than 1,000 in 2020 to fewer than 900. There is also a teacher shortage and difficulty recruiting. "Because I did not want to dilute the quality of our product, I dialed our enrollment numbers down to ensure we would have an adequate number of teachers for all students and classes," Schlafer said. The prospect of more room, new classrooms, a huge new gym and other amenities will now be part of the effort to attract new teachers and expect student enrollment to follow, he said. How to use the mindat.org media viewer Click/touch this help panel to close it. Welcome to the mindat.org media viewer. Here is a quick guide to some of the options available to you. 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Summary of all keyboard shortcuts The Rangers activated utilityman Ezequiel Duran from the 10-day injured list, with Duran taking Brad Millers place on the active roster. Miller is headed to the 10-day IL himself due to a right oblique strain, and his placement is retroactive to May 31. Miller signed a two-year, $10MM deal with the Rangers during the 2021-22 offseason, but the veterans stint in Arlington hasnt gone well. After hitting .212/.270/.320 over 241 plate appearances in 2022, Miller hasnt fared much better with a .208/.304/.333 slash line in 56 PA this season. The left-handed hitting Miller had long found success against right-handed pitching, but his numbers against righties have cratered since coming to Texas. Between these struggles and the fact that so many other Rangers hitters are doing well, Millers playing time has been reduced, and hell now miss time altogether on the injured list. The severity of the oblique strain isnt yet known, and even a Grade 1 (the lowest level) strain could mean at least three or four weeks on the sidelines for the veteran utilityman. Duran has been on the IL since May 24 due to an oblique issue of his own, but fortunately for Duran, his injury was deemed as discomfort rather than an actual strain. Duran will now return after a relatively short IL stint and look to continue what has been a nice breakout for the 24-year-old in his second MLB season. Over 144 PA, Duran has hit .301/.340/.515 with seven home runs. He got a lot of work at shortstop when Corey Seager was injured, but Duran now looks to get a lot of playing time as a DH and in left field. The Yankees placed two players on the injured list, with right-hander Ryan Weber heading to the 15-day IL due to a right forearm strain, and outfielder Greg Allen going to the 10-day IL due to a right hip flexor strain. Utility man Oswaldo Cabrera and left-hander Nick Ramirez were called up from Triple-A to fill the spots on the active roster. Weber told the New York Posts Greg Joyce that he other reporters that he felt soreness last night during his two innings of work in the Yankees 8-4 loss to the Dodgers. An MRI will reveal what exactly could be wrong with Webers forearm and elbow area, and he and the Yankees can only hope that the worst-case scenario of a Tommy John surgery isnt the outcome. Now in his ninth MLB season, Weber has spent the last two seasons in the Bronx on minor league deals. The 2022 season saw Weber constantly sent up and down to Triple-A in a flurry of DFAs and outrights, though 2023 has at least seen a bit more stability, as the Yankees didnt select him to the big league roster until May 11, and Weber has remained on the 26-man until today. Though Weber has tossed only 25 MLB innings between all of his moves on and off the roster, he has performed well when wearing the pinstripes, delivering a 2.16 ERA over those 25 relief frames. Never a big strikeout pitcher, Weber has only a 10.3% K% as a Yankee, but also a 51.8% grounder rate and a tiny 2.1% walk rate. While a small sample size, it does represent a nice big step up from Webers 5.28 ERA over 167 innings in his first seven seasons, and why Weber has continued to get looks from the Yankees despite the lack of missed bats. Allen previously played for the Yankees in 2021, and he only made his return two weeks ago after a trade from the Red Sox. Allens encore in the Bronx has thus far seen him hit .214/.313/.571 over 17 plate appearances, as his three hits have included a home run and a triple. Its a nice start for a player acquired as outfield depth, but with Allen now on the IL, the Yankees will again turn to Cabrera to help out in their troubled left field position. While Aaron Judge is having his typically excellent season and Harrison Bader has been very good when healthy, left field has been a revolving door for New York, with seven different players already seeing at least some time in left this season. With Bader now on the injured list due to a hamstring strain, the Yankees outfield depth is further tested. If youve noticed flowering trees looking particularly beautiful this year, your eyes arent deceiving you. Trees and shrubs in some parts of Michigan have been enjoying a spectacular spring bloom thanks to a number of factors that all aligned in their favor over the past year. Like a lot of these phenomena, its a bit of a perfect storm, said Bert Cregg, a Michigan State University Extension expert and professor and researcher within Michigan State Universitys departments of horticulture and forestry. To begin with, many trees have a pattern of whats called biennial bearing, where heavy flowering and/or fruiting years are followed by lighter years and vice versa, Cregg explained. For some trees this is one of those heavy flowering years. Additionally, most early spring-flowering trees actually form their flower buds the previous summer and fall, which means that great conditions the previous year, followed by a mild winter such as this most recent one, can give spring blooms a significant boost. (Conversely, severe seasonal cold can damage flower buds, as it did over the winters of 2014 and 2015, Cregg said.) The absence of a late spring hard frost across parts of Michigan was the final key factor allowing some trees to put on a great display this year. Spring flowers can be easily lost if a hard frost hits after an early warm-up, such as the April frost that obliterated most of Michigans cherry crops after a record-breaking warm March in 2012. That didnt happen in 2023 in the southern part of the state. We had a very mild winter so, little or no winter bud kill and southern lower Michigan missed out on a recent late frost event that did do some damage to flowers and emerging shoots in northern parts of the Lower Peninsula, Cregg said. So every flower bud formed last year got a chance to show its stuff this spring. RELATED: Northern Michigan town with butterfly-friendly gardens named Monarch City Michigans hummingbirds are back, what to know about feeding them this year Why Michigan is seeing the Northern Lights more often New forest bathing walks at Sleeping Bear Dunes aim to deepen connection to nature Linda Black Horoscopes Todays Birthday (06/04/23). Invent an inspiring personal vision this year. Advance professionally with steady discipline. Shift toward health and vitality this summer, inspiring autumn romance and family fun. Adapt winter plans, before a romantic plot twist resolves with help from friends. Reconnect with nature, love and purpose. To get the advantage, check the days rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging. Aries (March 21-April 19) Today is a 7 Energy for travels, research and studies could stall. Prioritize practical actions. Communication and transportation channels flow freely. Discover lucky opportunities hiding underneath changes. Taurus (April 20-May 20) Today is a 7 Dont make expensive decisions or purchases just yet. Research carefully. Coordinate with your partner to be sure youre on the same page. Share discoveries. Gemini (May 21-June 20) Today is an 8 Keep talking with your partner to work out a puzzle. Communicate around unexpected circumstances. Keep an open mind and try on new ideas. Cancer (June 21-July 22) Today is a 7 Slow for corners. Maintain a healthy respect for the laws of physics and Mother Nature. Find practical options to physical barriers. Look in new directions. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) Today is an 8 Romantic fantasies and illusions fade to reveal imperfections and scars. It doesnt matter. Share spontaneous fun with someone dear. Love and beauty abound. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Today is a 7 Reorganize, sort and clarify spaces. Prioritize practical domestic upgrades. Discuss your vision with family and housemates. Discover treasure. Polish a diamond in the rough. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Today is an 8 Clean messy areas in the text. Reinforce basic structures before adding elaborations. You can see what doesnt work. Edit, clarify and mold words into shape. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Today is a 9 Buy, sell and trade. Communication gets lucrative. Keep your day job until the night job pays. A bird in hand is worth two wild. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Today is a 9 Abandon self-delusion. Accepting responsibility provides personal power. Restore integrity where missing. Keep or change your word. Apologize when appropriate. Practice humility and humor. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Today is a 7 Plan and research to dispel fantasies about the road ahead. Get specific and practical. Imagine the results you want, and plot the route. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Today is a 7 Share support with friends around a transition, change or milestone. If one door closes, look in another direction. Social participation reveals new possibilities. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) Today is an 8 Illusions fade with a professional project. Reinforce foundational structures. Discuss ideas for problems with colleagues. Discover options and alternatives. Take the most practical path. Astrologer Nancy Black continues her mother Linda Blacks legacy horoscopes column. She welcomes comments and questions on Twitter, @LindaCBlack. For more astrological interpretations like todays Gemini horoscope, visit Linda Black Astrology by clicking daily horoscopes, or go to www.nancyblack.com. 2023 Nancy Black. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. ANN ARBOR, MI A man suffered non-life-threatening injuries after he was shot early Sunday, June 4, in a confrontation on South University Avenue. The incident happened 12:30 a.m. in the 1200 block of South University near Church Street. Three men were walking east on the south sidewalk when they encountered a man walking in the opposite direction. As they passed, one of the three men got into an altercation with the man who was alone. The man who was alone fired a gunshot, hitting the other man, and fled on foot, Ann Arbor police said. The victim sought treatment at a local hospital. Police asked anyone with information to call Ann Arbor Police Department at 734-794-6920. Read more: Campfire on private land sparked 3,000-acre wildfire in Northern Michigan 5 great places to chow down on a hotdog around Ann Arbor New road construction begins this week in Michigan CRAWFORD COUNTY, MI The state Department of Natural Resources said that a large wildfire in Northern Michigan was caused by a campfire on private property. The fire has burned 3,000 acres, state officials said. The fire is 85 percent contained, DNR spokesperson Laurie Abel told MLive on Sunday, June 4. She said that crews were out overnight battling the fire. She said that cooler temperatures and increased humidity will help but cautioned: Its still an active fire. Related: Wildfire causes evacuations, flight restrictions in Northern Michigan The fire began around 1 p.m. Saturday in Staley Lake in Grayling Township, about four miles southeast of Grayling, the DNR said. Authorities determined the fire spread from a campfire on private land, Abel said. Firefighters worked through the the night in an effort to contain the blaze. Firefighters were assisted by heavy equipment, a state police helicopter and four U.S. Department Agriculture Forest Service planes and a helicopter. The fire forced the closure of I-75 for much of Saturday, with visibility still hampered on some roads in the area. The American Red Cross was activated to help people who were evacuated, with shelter available at Beaver Creek Township Hall, 8888 S. Grayling Road. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Saturday activated the State Emergency Operations Center to coordinate response to wildfires, including a smaller fire in Iosco Township. By taking this action, we can ensure state and local first responders have what they need to get this fire contained and prevent loss of life or property, Whitmer said in a statement. I want to thank the first responders who have been working to keep Michiganders safe. The SEOC became operational at 7 p.m. Saturday, the state police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division said. Read more: Motorcyclist critically injured in hit-and-run crash, Grand Rapids police say Woman struck, critically injured after stopping to help at crash scene New renderings give most detailed look yet at Grand Rapids amphitheater Housing needs conversation headed into Muskegon neighborhoods Highlights, results from 2023 Division 3 state track meet BEECHER, MI To honor the 70th anniversary of the 1953 Flint-Beecher tornado, a ceremony will be held to showcase the renovations made to the memorial honoring those affected. The Greater Beecher Business District Association spent the past few years fixing up the memorial located at the corner of North Saginaw Street and Coldwater Road in Beecher. The memorial honors the 116 people killed and 844 injured by the F-5 tornado that struck the area on June 8, 1953. The ceremony will take place at the memorial on Thursday, June 8 at noon. Related: Michigans deadliest tornado: See devastation after 116 killed Mike Besser, President of Greater Beecher Business District Association and owner of Roma Pizzeria said the original memorial was established shortly after the tornado occurred. Over the years, it has been vandalized, which included the plaques getting stolen about 30 years ago. Foliage surrounding the memorials building was overgrown and it was, overall, rundown. Besser said GBBDA replaced the stolen plaques, fixed the exterior of the building and added benches, flower beds, and LED solar lighting to the area. Contractors were also brought in to install a new roof and flag polls. That tornado was, at the time, it was the third biggest, worst tornado in the country, Besser said. Theres a lot of appreciation a lot of the older people in Beecher grew up through that storm. So, we just feel (its) important that its always remembered and that theres something there for them. Besser said the memorial plaques include the names of survivors, the story of the tornado and pictures of the devastation. As for this weeks ceremony, Besser said attendees will hear words from some of the tornado survivors. We want to introduce the GBBDA to everyone and show them that this is one of our projects that weve done, (and) well have a few survivors speaking, Besser said. I have a lot of people that want to come out for it, but really we just want to get the word out there that hey, that memorial is back. GBBDA works to maintain the Beecher area. Besser said the memorial and the surrounding area was one of the most rundown spots in town, so the association wanted to fix it up. Besser said the ceremony will also honor one of the original founders of the association, Barb Krapohl. Krapohl grew up in Beecher and played a significant role in kickstarting the renovation process before her death in 2020. Krapohls husband Donald Krapohl served in the Mt. Morris Township government for 24 years and the pair were active in the community. The Krapohl Senior Center in Mt. Morris Township was also named after Donald, who died in 2007. She was the one that always said Hey, we should fix up that corner, we should fix that memorial, Besser said. (Barb and Donald) were kind of a big part of the community since the tornado happened. She was on our board, and she was the one that just wanted us to do it. So then, right before COVID, we decided, lets go ahead and do it. Read more at The Flint Journal: 5 things to do in Flint, Genesee County this weekend (June 1- 4) Flint Public Library to hold renaming ceremony recognizing Gloria Coles Swartz Creek Hometown Days festival provides summer fun over four days Want more Flint-area news? Bookmark the local Flint news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Flint daily newsletter. OTTAWA COUNTY, MI Multiple gunshots were fired early Sunday, June 4, at a house in Holland Township. No one in the home, at West Lakewood Boulevard and Douglas Avenue, was injured. Sheriffs deputies responded at 12:52 a.m. to several reports a gunshots being fired in the area. A short time later, a resident called to report that several rounds had struck their house. Sheriffs deputies, assisted by Holland police, investigated the incident. Police asked anyone with information to call the Sheriffs Department at 616-738-4000 or Silent Observer 877-887-4536. Read more: Campfire on private land sparked 3,000-acre wildfire in Northern Michigan Motorcyclist critically injured in hit-and-run crash, Grand Rapids police say Woman struck, critically injured after stopping to help at crash scene New renderings give most detailed look yet at Grand Rapids amphitheater GRAND RAPIDS, MI A popular National Public Radio (NPR) storytelling stage show is coming to Grand Rapids. The Moth, a live storytelling project and podcast, will host a mainstage event at GLC Live at 20 Monroe on Thursday, June 15. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the storytelling will begin at 7:30 p.m. The theme is Lost and Found. A mainstage show from The Moth includes two acts with up to five storytellers and a notable host. According to Michigan Radio, the NPR affiliate station presenting the event, the host of the June 15 Moth Mainstage is Angelica Lindsey-Ali. Lindsey-Ali, a native of Detroit, is a cultural activist, dancer and writer. According to The Moth, she recently returned from a five-year stint in the Middle East where she taught urban homesteading and African dance to teenagers. She is also the host of an annual monthly Moth event in Phoenix. Five storytellers have been announced for the Grand Rapids show. These include Kelli Dunham, Gabriela Fernandez, Hanif Abdurraqib, Latricia Trice and Esmond Fountain. Storytellers at The Moth tell personal nonfiction stories without notes. Dunham is a former nun, a nurse and nonbinary stand-up comedian. She has written and performed extensively about death and grief after losing two partners to cancer within five years. Her book of essays, Freak of Nurture, includes stories about her time hitchhiking across Haiti to provide disaster relief and her journey volunteering at a Sarah Palin convention, all sprinkled with comedy and a bit of chaos. Fernandez is a Miami-based improv and comedy theater collective artistic director. She studied theater is Spain and is the host of the local Miami chapter of The Moth, where she hosts a monthly storytelling show. Abdurraqib is a Columbus, Ohio, poet, essayist, cultural critic and New York Times bestselling author. His most recent book, A Little Devil in America, won the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Trice, of Grand Rapids, is the supervisor of corporate social responsibility at the Amway Corporation and is a former Grand Rapids Chamber director and communications specialist for Experience Grand Rapids. Tickets for The Moth Mainstage event are available online here and start at $39.50 per ticket. Later this year, The Moths Popup Porch Tour event is scheduled for Ann Arbor and Detroit. These popup events include a more one-on-one storytelling experience in a tiny custom-built home with a porch designed for sharing and listening to stories. The Michigan portion of the porch tour, sponsored by General Motors, is set for Sept. 27-Oct. 8. More information about The Moth and its mission is available at themoth.org. 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: Black motorist says he was stopped by police, held for an hour because of his race Tiesto, other headliners coming to Breakaway Festival in Grand Rapids Whats that near Holland State Park? Its big and includes a marina GRAND RAPIDS, MI A woman who stopped to help at an crash scene early Sunday, June 4, was critically injured in a second crash. The initial crash was reported at 1:17 a.m. at 28th Street SE and Madison Avenue. Grand Rapids police said that a vehicle on Madison ran a flashing red light and collided with a vehicle on 28th Street. A 32-year-old Wyoming woman stopped to help before another vehicle crashed into a damaged vehicle, which hit the woman. She suffered serious injuries and was taken to a local hospital where she was listed in critical condition, police said. One of the other drivers was arrested for operating while intoxicated, police said. The incident remains under investigation. Police asked anyone with information to contact the Traffic Unit at 616-456-4513 or 616-456-3320 anonymously through Silent Observer at 616- 774-2345/ www.silentobserver.org Read more: New renderings give most detailed look yet at Grand Rapids amphitheater Housing needs conversation headed into Muskegon neighborhoods Highlights, results from 2023 Division 3 state track meet JACKSON COUNTY, MI -- Two people were hospitalized Saturday afternoon following a multi-vehicle collision on I-94, according to the Blackman-Leoni Department of Public Safety. The crash occurred just after 5:30 p.m. Saturday, June 3 on westbound I-94, between Airport Road and M-60. First responders located a 34-year-old man whod been pinned between a Ford Ranger hed been driving and the median wall. A second man was also located, entrapped in his vehicle. Both men were extricated with the Jaws of Life and taken to Henry Ford Hospital for treatment. They are both listed in critical condition. The incident appeared to have been initiated by the Ford Ranger striking a Ford Bronco while headed west on I-94, according to a Sunday, June 4, Blackman-Leoni Department of Public Safety news release. The Bronco then struck a large MDOT arrow direction trailer, which pushed into the left lane of traffic. That led to a third vehicle veering to avoid hitting the trailer, instead hitting a tree after a collision with an unknown fourth vehicle caused by the maneuver. The release shared that several witnesses said the Ranger was driving in a reckless manner prior to striking the Bronco. Westbound I-94 was shut down at Airport Road for roughly three hours while the scene was investigated and cleaned up. The incident is being investigated by the Blackman-Leoni DPS Accident Investigation Unit. Speed and alcohol are being considered as likely contributing factors, police said. The crash remains under investigation. Anyone with additional information on the matter or who may have witnessed the incident is advised to contact Blackman-Leoni Sgt. Rick Gillespie at 517-788-4223. The Blackman-Leoni DPS was assisted by the Jackson County Sheriffs Department, Michigan State Police, Jackson Community Ambulance Service, Jimmies Wrecker Service and Michigan Department of Transportation. More from MLive: New road construction begins this week in Michigan Mackinac conference takes politicos and business leaders up north: Your guide to Michigan politics Michigan judge reverses media ban on remaining marijuana testing lab hearings Dollar General is in every Michigan county except one Michigan AG Dana Nessel violated FOIA by withholding kidnap plot records, lawsuit claims Michigan will be the anti-Florida, state leaders say, kicking off Kalamazoo Pride MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI More than 3,000 hemlock trees in Lake Harbor Park on Lake Michigan will be treated for a deadly bug as part of an effort to treat 600 acres of public property in Muskegon and Ottawa counties. The hemlock woolly adelgid, or HWA, is devastating forests up and down the Lake Michigan coast. Foresters are racing to kill it before it creates wide swaths of destruction like that seen in the eastern United States. In addition to a large section of the 200-acre Lake Harbor Park, which is owned by the city of Norton Shores in Muskegon County, the Muskegon Conservation District plans to treat hemlocks in several other areas. Treatment will occur primarily in 2024 and include: Pioneer Park in Muskegon Countys Laketon Township. Nestrom Park in Fruitland Township. Treatment of trees there will be performed this summer. Meinert Park in Montague. Duck Creek Natural Area in Fruitland Township. Kitchel Lindquist Hartger Dunes Preserve in Ferrysburg. Evergreen, Restlawn and Oakwood cemeteries in Muskegon. Paying for the work is a $250,000 Sustain Our Great Lakes grant the conservation district received from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, according to Kara Cronk, invasive species technician with the Muskegon Conservation District. Funding came from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Sustain Our Great Lakes Program and the Bezos Earth Fund for landscape scale conservation. Related: Tiny pest threatening to decimate Michigans hemlock forests along Lake Michigan The hemlock woolly adelgid has moved aggressively into West Michigan, literally sucking the life out of the majestic evergreens. The tiny bugs arent very noticeable, but their egg sacs are especially visible in the spring. The tiny white, cottony balls cling to the needles of hemlocks. Without treatment, death is all but certain within about five years for an infected tree. Mapping by the State of Michigan shows considerable HWA infestation along the Lake Michigan shoreline in Muskegon County, including at P.J. Hoffmaster and Duck Lake state parks a well as in locations around White Lake. Hoffmaster, which was heavily infested, has had thousands of trees treated since 2017, with the goal of treating them all. HWA also is widespread along the coast in Allegan, Ottawa, Oceana and Mason counties. Related: Save a tree through Adopt-a-Hemlock effort in Grand Haven At Lake Harbor Park, 115 acres in its north and middle regions, will be treated later this summer, Cronk told MLive/The Muskegon Chronicle in an email. In March, crews inspected trees and tagged 3,087 of them for treatment, she said. Because the infestation at Lake Harbor Park is in an advanced stage, not every hemlock is tagged for treatment, Cronk said. Only the hemlocks with enough crown density to be viable for treatment are considered. Trees at least 5 inches in diameter, and sporting metal tags, will be treated by drilling holes into their base and injecting chemicals into the holes, Cronk said. Smaller trees, with plastic tags, will have pesticides sprayed on their bark, she said. The city of Norton Shores also has begun treating HWA at Lake Harbor Park. The city council agreed to spend about $66,000 for treatment in 2022 and 2023. Related: Hemlock trees dying at alarming rate to get more treatment at Lake Michigan park near Muskegon Last fall, about 28 acres on the southern portion of the park near the Mona Lake Channel to Lake Michigan were treated. This fall, there are plans to treat another 39 acres. It was the Forest Glen Condominium Association that alerted the city to the infestation after an arborist it hired found HWA there in 2020. Condo owners pooled their resources to have HWA treated on their trees. Homeowners are encouraged to watch carefully for signs of HWA and seek appropriate treatment to help contain the spread. The Muskegon Conservation District has a for-hire hemlock woolly adelgid treatment program for private landowners. Interested landowners can sign up for a quote at muskegoncd.org under projects and programs. More information, including resources for homeowners, is available by clicking here. 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 Beloved anchor in Grand Haven not just for Coast Guard Fest anymore Chemicals to kill sea lampreys to be applied on White River in West Michigan $2M in Muskegon arena upgrades proposed by Lumberjacks hockey team Photos: Historic coal-powered car ferry celebrates 70 years of service on Lake Michigan Greetings from Mackinac Island! Well, I may not be on Mackinac Island myself, but after keeping up with the 2023 Mackinac Policy Conference from this past week, Im ready to book a trip. At the annual conference hosted by the Detroit Regional Chamber, a whos who in Michigan politics and business come together to discuss policy solutions to some of the states biggest problems. This weeks political rewind features stories from MLive Senior Political Reporter Simon Schuster, who attended panels and sat one-on-one with lawmakers in order to bring readers the biggest takeaways of the weeks events. Heres a brief recap: Michigan must expose political dark moneys corrosive influence, AG Nessel says Attorney General Dana Nessel told MLive in an interview shed like the legislature to require dark money accounts, widely used by politicians in Michigan, to fully disclose their sources of fundraising and spending. Its my profound hope they are able to make some progress, because well never change anything in Lansing, and frankly, the people of our state have every right to be concerned that their state government doesnt truly represent them until we make some of these changes, Nessel said. Nessel was prompted to explore the issue in part by her departments investigation into former House speaker Lee Chatfield, who left office in 2020. Hes the subject of a wide-ranging probe that has encompassed allegations of sexual assault, embezzlement, bribery and campaign finance violations. A Nessel spokesperson said they intend to conclude that investigation, which began in early 2022, by the end of the year. I came into this job thinking that the influence of dark money was substantial and corrosive to government, Nessel told MLive in an interview. My opinion of that now is perhaps ten-fold of what it was when I came into office. GOP has embraced insurrection, Liz Cheney says on Mackinac Island Former congresswoman Liz Cheney, a prominent Republican critic of former President Donald Trump, was met with standing ovations on Mackinac Island Thursday where she spoke frankly about the future of her party and the country. Interviewed on stage at the Mackinac Policy Conference, she said it has become difficult to claim the Republican Party as a whole embraces substantive conservative principles of somebody like President (Ronald) Reagan. The nation really needs to have parties that can have a substantive debate about policy, Cheney said. Right now we have one party that has embraced insurrection, one party that is willingly trapped in a cult of personality. And thats a really dangerous place for our country. Call me woke, Mark Cuban says on Mackinac Island Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban told Michigans business and political elite on Mackinac Island Wednesday that embracing diversity and inclusion is just good for companies bottom line. Call me woke you dont need to call it DEI, you can call it whatever you want I call it good business, Cuban said. It means taking the people that youre selling to and making sure your workforce looks like them, and making sure you can reflect their values and being able to connect to that. Thats what works for me. Cuban primarily relayed anecdotes and lessons from his business career, but also had some colorful language for the politicians in attendance, advising them to focus on kitchen table issues. He is convinced some of the furor over some brands public promotion of inclusion would blow over in time. Your constituents wake up in the morning They dont think about Bud Light, they dont think about Target. They dont think about any of the shit on the other side, either, Cuban said. They think about how theyre going to live their lives or whats gonna get them satisfaction. Some Michigan businesses are buying housing to secure their workforce Michigan businesses are in search of employees, but a lack of affordable homes for workers means some companies are getting into the housing game. A panel at the 2023 Mackinac Policy Conference Tuesday afternoon centered on how businesses, looking to recruit and retain talent, are increasingly addressing housing as a barrier to their own growth. Housing and the lack of it is one of the difficult challenges businesses are facing in the north, said Bob Sutherland, CEO of Glen Arbor-based Cherry Republic. We arent creating businesses in the north right now because we just dont have the workforce, we just dont have the young people. Cherry Republic has been purchasing homes in Glen Arbor to house its seasonal employees Sutherland said they have 50 beds to accommodate summer employees. According to the Northwest Michigan Rural Housing Partnership, businesses are spending an average of $2,500 per employee on housing in that region of the state, which has faced a longstanding housing shortage. Read more from MLive: Puberty blockers, surgery for trans minors could be a felony for Michigan doctors Cat declawing could get scratched in Michigan Cheaper phone calls to Michigan prisons would help families stay connected, advocates say $4 million food stamp fraud ring leads to 3 arrests in Michigan Outspoken Michigan election official wont run for swing congressional seat Taylor Swift finishes up her three-date swing through Chicago with a show tonight at Soldier Field. You can now find last-minute tickets at Stubhub and Vivid Seats. Day-of tickets have dipped around $800 for previous shows but were still hovering around $1,000 on Sunday morning. But if you want to go dont wait too long -- ticket prices fluctuate. Taylor Swift recently directed and performed the new video Karma feat. Ice Spice. Swift is set to release another Taylors Version of her previously released albums on July 7 with Speak Now and tickets for a Midwest swing in June and July are selling fast. Swift continues to break records including breaking her own Spotify record of the most streamed songs in a day on March 19 with 67 million. She currently has 10 top-selling albums in the U.S. according to the Billboard 200 chart. She recently won the Grammy for Best Music Video for All Too Well: The Short Film, and the 2023 iHeartRadio Innovator Award. Get tickets to the Eras Tour, and experience lively performances with songs that span her entire career, including new music, dancers and more. Heres how you can get, last minute, hard-to-find tickets to the shows at Stubhub and Vivid Seats: Chicago - Sunday June 4, 6:30pm, with Muna and Gracie Abrams, Soldier Field, Chicago, IL 1. Stubhub 2. Vivid Seats 04.06.2023 LISTEN Pastor Macaiah Addai Acting Presiding pastor of the Association of the 7th Day Pentecostal Assemblies located at Kumasi Adeabeba in the Ashanti Region has been accused of an ungodly act. Pastor Macaiah Addai who has three wives has allegedly snatched one of his church member's wife who is currently living with him at the church's mission house at Adeabea for more than a year. Mr Kweku Adjei said pastor Macaiah Addai used several deceptive means to snatch his wife Madam Gloria Abena Amponsah. Mr Adjei claims that he has customarily married Gloria Abena Amponsah and they lived together for twenty-one (21) years. According to him, his marital issues started when he and the wife joined the church at the time Pastor Macaiah Addai was a branch head at Kumasi Krofrom. Mr. Kweku Adjei added that members of the church were relocated from Krofrom to the Adeabeba headquarters to worship when the founder and leader of the church passed on. He added that he later traveled to his village to settle some pressing issues. He said at the village near Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, he got a telephone call that his wife Gloria Abena Amponsah had involved in a car accident which compelled him to return to Kumasi. According to Mr Kweku Adjei his wife was admitted at the hospital and Pastor Macaiah Addai had been visiting to pray for her. After Gloria recovered and was diacharged from the hospital, Mr. Adjei returned to his village only to hear from his family members that her wife had approached them with a schnapp to initiate divorce. Mr Adjei quickly rushed back to Kumasi to find out from his wife Gloria Abena Amponsah about the sad news but his wife became offended amidst insults. To maintain peace with the wife he referred the matter to the church elders for settlement but to his amazement, moment the issue was raised Pastor Macaiah Addai allegedly said Gloria Abena Amponsah has already told the church she has divorced him and has since presented a schnapp to the members of Adjei's family. For that reason, Pastor Macaiah said the church cannot help him. Mr Kweku Adjei said he was later taken aback when he was told that the same Pastor Macaiah Addai has taken over her wife. He indicated that his wife Gloria Abena Amponsah is currently staying with Pastor Macaiah Addai as couples. "Since twenty one years l married Gloria Abena Amponsah. l have never offended her and in this case her family members have, also failed to act," Mr Adjei told this Correspondent. He noted that Pastor Macaiah Addai has been asking him to forget about his wife's divorce issue and count himself as a lucky man because he (Pastor Macaiah Addai) only snatched his wife and decided not to adopt the style of King David in the Bible who after snatching people's wives also killed their husbands. When pastor Macaiah Addai was reached for his side of the story, he actually confirmed that he has every right to marry Gloria Abena Amponsah since Mr. Adjei though a church member, was no more a husband to her. The Pastor said he hates men who beats, cheats and disturbs women like Mr Adjei who is now struggling to get back Gloria. "Adjei can send me to BBC or go to hell, l have taken over her wife Gloria Abena Amponsah as my wife," the man of God told this correspondent in phone interview. In an interview with Gloria Abena Amponsah, she described Mr Adjei as a wicked person who turned his back on her when she had an accident. "I have sent his Schnapp to his family members to seal the divorce and that if Pastor Macaiah Addai will marry twenty wives l will still follow him, l don't fear his social media threats," Gloria indicated. The Managing Director of OHU Farms, Theresa Poku, has been honoured at the GEPA Women Icons Regional Exhibition in Koforidua in the Eastern Region. Mrs. Poku received a special citation for her outstanding role in strengthening the economy of Ghana through her company's investment in the export of non-traditional products. The CEO of GEPA, Dr. Afua Asabea Asare, made the presentation at the opening of the trade exhibition, held on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at the Apenteng Hall of the Koforidua Wesleyan Chapel. She praised Mrs. Poku for her ambitious effort and encouraged young entrepreneurs to strive for excellence. The Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Kwame Acheapong, in a speech delivered on his behalf by the Director of Administration at the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council, Moses Kobla Joshua, urged Ghanaians to support female entrepreneurs to acquire the necessary skills, funding, and network opportunities that will help them succeed. He said the government remains committed to providing viable avenues through the formulation of appropriate policies to shore up exports in order to rake in more foreign exchange. He lauded GEPA for instituting the Women Icons Regional Exhibitions, adding that female entrepreneurs deserve to be celebrated as a way of encouraging more women to set up businesses. "By fostering womens engagement in global trade, we can foster gender equality, enhance social progress, and promote cross-cultural understanding," he said. Mrs. Poku expressed appreciation to GEPA for the gesture and called for stronger collaboration between the government and the private sector to encourage more investment in the processing of local goods for export. Women's Icons is an initiative by GEPA to promote women-led businesses while building their capacity for the export market. The exhibitors, numbering 39, will also benefit from financial management education and social media marketing during the 3-day event. As part of the 2023 edition, other regional capitals will host exhibitions where prominent female entrepreneurs will be celebrated. Mrs. Theresa Poku is a farmer and businesswoman who started pineapple farming along the Southern Belt of the Eastern Region's Akuapem Hills, and now produces four varieties of jam for both the local and export markets. She accepted a request to mentor young people under the Youth in Export Programme (YiEP) which was launched by GEPA in 2019 to inspire the youth to venture into exports and consequently increase Ghana's non-traditional export base. Now exploring opportunities within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), her company, which employs over 100 workers directly and indirectly, currently exports to Europe and the Middle East. Former Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Koku Anyidoho, has accused the party's National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah of destroying the party with his reckless attitude. Mr. Anyidoho pointed to the removal of Mr. James Gyakye Quayson from Parliament over dual citizenship as an example of the Asiedu Nketiah's recklessness. He also criticized the chairman's handling of the recently concluded parliamentary primaries in Ketu North constituency in the Volta Region. The primaries in Ketu North were marred by controversy, with confusion arising over the winner between the two main contenders, Edem Agbana and John Adanu Zewu. In a tweet on Friday, June 2, the CEO of the Atta Mills Institute, Koku Anyidoho, wrote, "North-North destruction agenda on course. Mosquito has destroyed Assin North for NDC - he is now targeting Ketu North. He added, How can he decide to overthrow the decision of the EC to re-run the parliamentary primaries after a tie? No wonder they are not part of IPAC." Meanwhile, supporters of John Adanu have vowed to continue their protests until their candidate is declared the rightful winner of the primaries. 03.06.2023 LISTEN Thousands of supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) across the country are expected to throng Hohoe in the Volta Region this Sunday to commemorate the historic June 4, 1979 revolution. The revolution was staged by the late former President Jerry John Rawlings. The party which will have its national executives and the daughter of the late former President, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings at the event to reflect on the ideals of the June 4 revolution. Speaking ahead of the historic event, the Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mustapha Gbande, described the commemoration as very important and will pave the way for a moment of reflection. We will converge in Hohoe to reflect on the importance of June 4th while we prepare ourselves as a party waiting to take over governance in 2024. So that out of these ideals, we will come into governance to do that which Ghanaians require of us, he added. citinewsroom Members of Club Yesepoch recently donated health and hygiene items to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Wiregrass-Enterprise. Club Yesepoch was chartered Oct. 25, 1975, as a non-profit and charitable organization composed of Black women in the city of Enterprise, said Janie Rogers, longtime club member. Among the purposes of the club are community involvement and volunteer assistance, including supporting Habitat for Humanity, annual scholarship awards to high school seniors, and sponsoring activities for children. Club Yesepoch members also volunteer for the Salvation Army Red Kettle drive each year, support the citys Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday celebration, annually donate to the Wiregrass Area Food Bank at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and participate in the Coffee County ACS Relay for Life, Alabama Special Olympics Coffee/Dale Games. Club Yesepoch also presents annual scholarship awards to deserving high schools seniors, Rogers said. One of our major activities is hosting the annual Community-Wide Black History Banquet during the month of February. This year for our childrens activity donation, we chose to donate to the Boys & Girls Club of the Wiregrass-Enterprise Unit, said Rogers. Director of Legal Affairs of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abraham Amaliba, has defended the partys decision to endorse James Gyakye-Quayson as their candidate for the Assin North by-election. Despite the potential risk of facing criminal charges, Amaliba believes that Gyakye-Quayeson is the most suitable candidate to secure victory for the NDC. During an interview on the Big Issue on Saturday, June 3, Amaliba said endorsing Gyakye-Quayson is a risk worth taking. Amaliba further claimed that the New Patriotic Party is apprehensive about Gyakye-Quayson, which led them to hastily level criminal charges against him following the Supreme Courts ruling. Putting Gyakye-Quayson is a risk worth taking, Mr Amaliba said, adding, The prosecution must prove that he had a criminal mind so the bar is high and that is why I would advise my General Secretary to put him up because he is a strong candidate for the constituency They [NPP] are afraid of him and that is why when the Supreme Court ruled they quickly tried to cripple him by slapping criminal charges against him thinking we as a political party will abandon him so that they would have a field day. James Gyakye-Quayson on Thursday, June 1, officially declared his intention to contest in the Assin North by-election scheduled for June 27. He was previously removed from Parliament and had his name expunged from the legislative bodys records after the Supreme Court nullified his election in the 2020 polls due to his dual citizenship. Gyakye-Quaysons troubles began when the group Concerned Citizens of Assin North petitioned the Electoral Commission to withdraw his candidacy, arguing that he owed allegiance to Canada. A resident named Michael Ankomah-Nimfah filed a petition at the Cape Coast High Court seeking to annul the declaration of Gyakye-Quayson as the MP for Assin North. The Cape Coast High Court upheld the request, nullifying the 2020 parliamentary election in the Assin North Constituency due to Gyakye-Quaysons breach of the constitutional provisions regarding dual citizenship. On May 17, the Supreme Court affirmed the ruling of the Cape Coast High Court and instructed Parliament to remove Gyakye-Quaysons name from its records. citinewsroom Blasts rocked the Sudanese capital Saturday, as fighting between warring generals entered its eighth week, with volunteers forced to bury 180 bodies recovered from combat zones without identification. Witnesses told AFP of "bombs falling and civilians being injured" in southern Khartoum, while others in the city's north reported "artillery fire", days after a US- and Saudi-brokered ceasefire collapsed. Since fighting between Sudan's warring generals erupted on April 15, volunteers have buried 102 unidentified bodies in the capital's Al-Shegilab cemetery and 78 more in cemeteries in Darfur, the Sudanese Red Crescent said in a statement. Both regular army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival, paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, have issued repeated pledges to protect civilians and secure humanitarian corridors. But civilians reported escalated fighting after the army quit ceasefire talks on Wednesday, including a single army bombardment that killed 18 civilians in a Khartoum market, according to a committee of human rights lawyers. Both sides have accused the other of violating the ceasefire, as well as attacking civilians and infrastructure. Washington slapped sanctions on the warring parties Thursday, holding them both responsible for provoking "appalling" bloodshed. Not allowed in Map of Sudan and neighboring countries showing the number of refugees fleeing the conflict by country of destination as of May 30, according to UNHCR. By Sophie RAMIS, Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA (AFP) In negotiations in Saudi Arabia last month, the warring parties had agreed to "enable responsible humanitarian actors, such as the Sudanese Red Crescent and/or the International Committee of the Red Cross to collect, register and bury the deceased". But volunteers have found it difficult to move through the streets to pick up the dead, "due to security constraints", the Red Crescent said. Aid corridors that had been promised as part of the truce never materialised, and relief agencies say they have managed to deliver only a fraction of needs, while civilians remain trapped. Over 700,000 people have fled the capital to other parts of Sudan that have been spared the fighting, in convoys of buses that regularly make their way out of Khartoum. But on their way back, bus drivers were shocked to find they "were not allowed into the capital", one told AFP on Saturday, with others confirming authorities had blocked access since Friday, ordering the drivers to turn back. The army had earlier on Friday announced it had brought in reinforcements from other parts of Sudan to participate in "operations in the Khartoum area". That sparked fears it was planning "to launch a massive offensive," according to Sudan analyst Kholood Khair. Much of the capital's health infrastructure has been decimated by the fighting. By - (AFP) So far neither side has gained a decisive advantage. The regular army has air power and heavy weaponry, but analysts say the paramilitaries are more mobile and better suited to urban warfare. The RSF announced Saturday its political advisor Youssef Ezzat had met with Kenyan President William Ruto in Nairobi, as part of his visits to several "friendly countries to explain the developing situation in Sudan". "We are ready to engage all the parties and offer any support towards a lasting solution," Ruto said on Twitter. Blackout in Darfur More than 1,800 people have been killed in the fighting, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. Entire districts of the capital no longer have running water, electricity is only available for a few hours a week and three quarters of hospitals in combat zones are not functioning. Shelling and aerial bombardments killed 18 civilians at a market in Khartoum on Thursday. By - (AFP) The situation is particularly dire in the western region of Darfur, which is home to around a quarter of Sudan's population and never recovered from a devastating two-decade war that left hundreds of thousands dead and more than two million displaced. The RSF is descended from the Janjaweed, a militia armed in 2003 to quash ethnic minority rebels in Darfur. Renewed clashes were reported on Saturday in the town of Kutum in North Darfur, according to witnesses. Amid what activists have called a total communications "blackout" in huge swathes of the region, hundreds of civilians have been killed, villages and markets torched and aid facilities looted, prompting tens of thousands to seek refuge in neighbouring Chad. According to aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF), those crossing the border report horrific scenes of "armed men shooting at people trying to flee, villages being looted and the wounded dying" without access to medical care. The UN says 1.2 million people have been displaced within Sudan and more than 425,000 have fled abroad -- more than 100,000 west to Chad and 170,000 north to Egypt. 04.06.2023 LISTEN Eastern Regional Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has issued a strong warning against the sale of adulterated palm oil asking consumers to be vigilant when buying the product. The regulatory body took this firm stance after carrying out inspections in markets and meeting with the Palm Oil Sellers Association in Koforidua, citing potential health risks the product posed to consumers. Ms Anita Owusu Kuffuor, Head of Eastern Regional FDA, who issued the caution, engaged market women from Koforiduas Central Market, Juaben Serwaah Market, and Agatha Market who normally sell palm oil. The gathering was aimed at promoting hygienic trading practices for palm oil as well as novel methods to prevent adulteration of palm oil with Sudan (IV) dye and ensure that vendors are selling only safe and genuine products. This move has been welcomed by many Ghanaians, who have expressed concern about the safety of the food products being sold in the markets. Consumers rely on the quality and safety of the products they purchase, and the sale of adulterated palm oil can have negative health consequences. Ms Kuffour told marketers of palm oil that it was regrettable Sudan (IV) dye, a dangerous chemical that causes cancer, was still found in palm oil samples bought in New Juaben Municipality, attributing such malpractices to insensitivity and greed by market women. She said the FDA was continuing with its rigorous campaign against the use of dangerous chemicals such as Sudan (IV) dye and that it has started arresting traders whose samples have been examined and failed the test. She stated that the FDA and Police Service had already detained two market women in connection with Sudan dye adulteration at the Nkurankan and Asamankese markets. She advised the market women to maintain quality and to examine their products before deciding to purchase them to make traceability of adulterated oil easy. She also cautioned consumers to refrain from demanding to buy too much-coloured palm oil because it is becoming increasingly difficult to find such a colour these days. She added that the natural beta-carotene content that gives palm oil its red colour was primarily broken down due to the excessive heat used during cooking. Mrs Martha Boakye, Queen Mother of the Oil Palm Sellers Association in Koforidua Central Market, told GNA that her outfit was ready to assist in identifying unscrupulous persons involved in the sale and production of adulterated red palm oil. GNA The chiefs and people of Tutuka, a farming community near Kenyase Number Two in the Ahafo region, have vehemently rejected moves by Newmont Ghana Gold Limited to resettle them on two or more different stool lands. They are of the view that since they have been staying in the same community as a family for ages, with a common socio-cultural value, it would not be in their collective interest to be separated and spread across Kenyase Number One and Kenyase Number Two stool lands in the name of resettlement. They have therefore vowed to resist any attempt to disintegrate their ranks through resettlement process and are therefore calling for further engagements by Newmont and other stakeholders for an acceptable way forward. Sensitization forum At a days sensitization forum on resettlement held at Tutuka, the people said they are not against the decision to resettle them but are not comfortable with how the process is being conducted to split them and break their ranks. The forum was organised by Livelihood and Environment Ghana (LEG) with support from Third World Network Africa under the NCOM mining Observatory project. Nana Kyei Bonsu Ampemansan, the Odikuro of Tutuka, was emphatic that he and his people would not, under any circumstance, agree to the current proposal by Newmont to split them on different stool lands. He warned all persons being used by Newmont to persuade him and his subjects to bow to the companys moves to desist from the act as they remain resolute to their stance on the issue. The Youth Chairman of Tutuka, Johnson Owusu Prempeh called for the intervention of government to ensure the right things are done in the process to maintain the peace and harmony among the people of the area. Legal implications The Executive Director of LEG, Richard Adjei-Poku, who was the Resource Person at the forum, said any attempt by Newmont to continue with its plan to resettle the people of Tutuka on any place against the will of the people would be an affront to the Minerals and Mining Compensation and Resettlement Regulations, 2012 (L.I 2175). Section 6 of L.I 2175 states: Subject to the Act, where the operations of a holder of a mining lease involves the displacement of inhabitants, the inhabitants shall be resettled by the holder on a suitable alternative land and the resettlement shall have regard to the socio-cultural values of the persons to be resettled, with the objective to improve the livelihoods and standards of living of those persons. Mr. Adjei-Poku assured the people of Tutuka of his organisations commitment at ensuring that due process is followed in the resettlement process 04.06.2023 LISTEN The Krachi East Motor Traffic and Transport Division (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service are investigating the tragic death of a 55- year-old woman, who was knocked down by a hit-and-run driver. Ama Wete, the deceased suffered her predicament on the outskirts of KpareKpare, a farming community in Dambai of the Oti Region on Thursday evening, June 1. Sergeant Zakaria Asharift, of the MTTD told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that investigations were underway to ascertain the cause of the accident. He confirmed to the GNA that the deceased suffered head injuries after being knocked down by a yet-to-be-identified vehicle. He said the deceased was taken to the WoraWora Government Hospital for postmortem after which the body would be released to the family for burial. Meanwhile, the Police are asking for help in finding the driver who struck the woman on the street and anyone with information that could identify the suspect is encouraged to contact the nearest Police station. GNA Tensions remained high in Senegal Saturday after clashes brought the death toll to 15 since a court convicted opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. Sonko's ongoing legal woes have prompted rare flare-ups of violence in Senegal, typically a bastion of stability in West Africa, and foreign allies have urged a return to calm. Disturbances were reported on Saturday in the suburbs of the capital Dakar. But several neighbourhoods that had experienced outbursts of violence Thursday and Friday remained calm, said the minister of the interior, saying there had been "a drop in intensity" of the demonstrations. Antoine Diome said "about 500 arrests" had been made since the start of the protest movement. Map of Senagal locating the capital Dakar and Ziguinchor. By Vincent LEFAI, Laurence SAUBADU (AFP) He added that the government suspected overseas involvement. "There is foreign influence and it is the country that is under attack," he said, declining to elaborate. Sonko, a 48-year-old former tax inspector, was initially charged with rape but was on Thursday convicted on a lesser charge of morally "corrupting" a young woman and sentenced to two years in prison. He claims the charges against him were a bid by the government to torpedo his political career ahead of the presidential election next year. His conviction may take him out of the running for the 2024 poll. Clashes between Sonko's supporters and police broke out after the ruling, leading to 15 deaths over two days, according to government figures. Shops and businesses were ransacked. The army was deployed to the streets but scuffles erupted on Friday night in parts of the capital, Dakar, and in Ziguinchor. Stores and buildings have been ransacked. By Seyllou (AFP) Diome accused protesters of trying to "destabilise the country". "These are irresponsible people," he said. "They called for demonstrations. They called for public buildings to be burned. They called for the collapse of the state." Arrest looming Sonko, who was tried in absentia, has yet to be taken into custody for his jail term, which is predicted to cause further tensions. He is presumed to be at his Dakar home, where he has been blocked in by security forces since last weekend. He alleges he is being "illegally held". Sharp-tongued and charismatic, Sonko has drawn a strong following among Senegal's youth, who love his barbs against a political elite he refers to as the "state mafia". He has spoken out against debt, poverty, food insecurity, under-funded health and education systems and corruption. Sonko, who has two wives, portrays himself as a devout Muslim and defender of traditional values, and has called for harsher penalties for same-sex relations. Supporters of President Macky Sall, however, see him as a rabble-rouser who has poisoned political discourse and sown instability. Dakar residents interviewed by AFP said they feared the possible consequences of his arrest. Students were forced to leave Dakar's main university campus after widespread destruction. By JOHN WESSELS (AFP) "I am really scared because we don't know how this will all end," said 46-year-old Fatou Ba, a businesswoman in the Dalifort neighbourhood of Dakar. "If they want peace they won't go and fetch Sonko." Another Dalifort resident, Matar Thione, 32, said he felt unsafe in his own country. "If the protests continue, life is going to get even harder," he said. The government has restricted access to social networks such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter, to stop "the dissemination of hateful and subversive messages". One frustrated user, Cheikh Diouf, told AFP: "It's a huge problem for us, because we can't get real-time information about where demonstrations are taking place, and our safety is at stake." 'Proud' democracy Washington "is troubled and saddened by the violence and damage we have witnessed in many parts of the country", the State Department said Saturday, urging parties to "voice their views in a peaceful manner". The African Union said the head of its executive commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, strongly condemned the violence and urged leaders to avoid acts which "tarnish the face of Senegalese democracy, of which Africa has always been proud". The United Nations, the European Union and Senegal's former colonial power France have also expressed concern over the violence. Chieftaincy-related issues in Ghana have been a major concern for government, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said. He said this while addressing the Chiefs, Queenmothers and peoples of the Upper East Region in Bolgatanga. Government's major bane as far as security is concerned has been Chieftaincy-related. The scarce resources which could have otherwise been channeled to other basic developmental projects are being sacked into waste. Peace they say is a sine-qua-non to development. There is therefore the need for more collaborative efforts to step up our game towards prevention and control of conflicts. We in this part of the country are already vulnerable and what is happening across the (Burkina Faso) border puts us in a more precarious situation. For us on the part of Government, we understand that to prevent conflict and to enhance peace, we have to make sure that development in Ghana is inclusive. Everybody must feel a part of the development that we see in the country. When people are excluded, they are more susceptible to extremist ideas, he noted. Despite the challenges, Dr Bawumia assured of Government's continued support for the Chieftaincy institution, emphasizing that the NPP and its tradition have always held the institution of Chieftaincy in very high esteem, evidenced in the recognition of Chieftaincy as part of the central government structures by the K A Busia administration in 1971. In the current 4th republican dispensation the NPP government under Presidents J.A. Kufuor and Akufo-Addo also created the Ministry for Chieftaincy just like any other sector of the country. All the legislative frameworks were enacted during our tenure. The current Minister, Hon Stephen Asamoah Boateng has started well and he will need your wise counsel and cooperation to make the institution more productive and development-oriented. 3news.com Swahili will be taught in Colombian schools as a foreign language option, Colombia's vice president has announced. She says the move will help Afro-Colombians reconnect with their roots, but it caused an outcry among her opponents on the right. Vice President Francia Marquez made the announcement last week upon her return from an official visit to Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa. The accord signed will enable Colombian teachers to travel to Africa to teach Spanish, while teachers from African countries, notably Kenya, will have the opportunity to teach Swahili in state schools in Colombia. It will be offered to Colombians of African origin and to anyone who would like to learn the language, said Marquez. This is important for reconnecting with roots and rebuilding historical memory. But the announcement met with fierce criticism from Marquez's opponents on the right and overshadowed other agreements reached during her trip. Political move Pascal Drouhaud, a researcher and author on Latin America and president of the France-Latin America Association, told RFI that Marquez's decision was strongly political. It represents the social vision her government wants for Colombia. It highlights the inequalities in the country and enables her to talk about the inclusion of Afro-Colombians, said Drouhaud. For many years, she has been saying that being of African origin, being Black, in Colombia is more difficult than being of European origin. Around 9 percent of Colombia's population of just under 52 million is of African descent. Marquez is Colombia's first black female vice president. She was elected in June 2022 as the running mate of President Gustavo Petro, the country's first ever leftist president. An environmental and human rights activist since her youth, she is a fierce advocate of multiculturalism and the inclusion of Colombia's Black and indigenous population. That agenda has drawn relentless attacks on social media, many of them racist. Marquez brings something new, a breath of fresh air, breaking the traditional political apparatus Colombia has so far been used to, Drouhaud explained. He is not surprised she has encountered opposition: It is obvious she will face resistance because she is tabling the issue of social determinism and linking it to skin colour, he said. Dog whistles The vice president's first official African tour was described by right-wing commentators as an expensive safari, with conservative politicians demanding to know how much it had cost the taxpayer. I've been to Europe and the United States before, and nobody asked how much I had spent, she retorted. Some questioned why Swahili was chosen, suggesting English was a better investment or arguing that most of the slaves who reached Colombia came from western Africa, not the eastern region where Swahili is widely spoken. Marquez chose Swahili because it is the third most spoken language in Africa with over 200 million speakers, said Drouhaud. The vice president has said she wants to strengthen South-South cooperation, one of the stated aims of her African tour. 'Total peace' Marquez's efforts form part of a wider vision for Colombia put forward by the new left-wing government, according to Drouhaud. The vision of the government of President Petro for his country is that of total peace. This means opening dialogue with the former guerrillas, with Farc, with narco-militias. This obviously meets fierce resistance as it goes against what the conservative parties have been doing since the 1950s. It takes the focus away from security and shifts towards social issues like poverty, education and health. RFI SERIES: Residents of the two communities resettled in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region by the Cardinal Namdini Mining Limited to pave way for large scale ecological mining activities are appealing for alternative livelihoods. They say the support will help reduce their vulnerability and mitigate the impact of the resettlement. Moving from their former communities, they said, had contributed to the loss of their sources of income as many of them depended on illegal small-scale mining and tree products such as shea. They made the appeal when the Ghana News Agency accompanied some staff of the Cardinal Namdini Mining Limited visited the communities to engage them on their experiences in their new communities. The two communities, Digaare (Accra site) and Biung, originally occupied the lands leased by government to the Cardinal Namdini Mining Limited, a subsidiary of Shandong Gold, Chinese Mining Firm, to engage in large scale surface mining for a period of 15 years. The greenfield project is expected to generate 150 million tonnes of ore which translates into five million ounces of gold within the 15 years. Currently, the Company is investing about US$520 million to construct its infrastructure base including the operational offices and staff accommodation, processing plants, Tailings Storage Facilities among others to allow for full mining operations to begin at end of 2024. As a result, the two communities were resettled in 2022 with 121 urban type services fitted and well laid concrete residential buildings for the two communities, reticulated electric power, improved water supply and sanitation and improved community roads access. Social amenities such as well-equipped school infrastructure with disability friendly Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and recreational facilities, healthcare facilities, teachers and nurses' accommodation, mosques and churches, graveled roads connecting houses among others have also been provided. However, some residents said that although they were pleased with the structures, they did not have any form of income generating activities. Ms Zainabu Borizina, a resident of Digaare, said due to the relocation, they were unable to engage in the mining activities that they depended on to take care of their families and the situation had imposed food security challenges on their families. She, therefore, appealed to Cardinal Namdini Mining Limited and the Government to support them to acquire sustainable alternative livelihoods to help them cater for their families. Alhaji Ibrahim Boarebon, the Chief of Digaare, commended the mining company for the support offered to the communities since the resettlement and appealed for many of his people to be included in the construction activities of the company. He added: We expect that when you begin mining in 2024, many of our people, especially the women and the youth, would be employed. He also appealed to the mining company to assist the communities with farm inputs and implements to engage in agriculture activities. Mr Kofi Adusei, the Community and Social Responsibility Manager of Cardinal Namdini Mining Limited, noted that plans were in place to support them when mining officially begun at end of 2024. He said the company had sustainability plans and local content policy to engage more locals and Ghanaians nationals in its operations and added that the immediate communities would be prioritised. It was revealed that as part of the livelihood and sustainability support to some of the project-impacted communities (Accra site, Digaare, Bapeela, Tolla Datoko, Sheaga, Buugu and Sawaliga), Cardinal Namdini Mining Limited implemented a Youth Capacity Building Training Programme in the year 2022. Under the programme, the Company sponsored some 40 youth, including 16 females, from the Talensi District of the Upper East Region to undergo skills development for two months. The females were trained at the Bolgatanga Technical University in carpentry, electrical installation, tiling and bricklaying. The 24 males were trained in various crafts at Tahimayili Vocational / Technical Institute in Tamale at a total cost of GH345,000 This covered tuition, boarding and lodging, transportation, training gear, start-up tools and materials. Some of the residents had already been engaged by the Company and this would continue when opportunities became available for those with the relevant skills, he assured. The women were also free to pick Shea nuts from the area to process, Mr Adusei said. The Company tilled the land of the farmers in the community for them to cultivate their crops in the last farming season after their resettlement. It also paid the residents their requisite compensations for the resettlement in line with State regulations. GNA 04.06.2023 LISTEN In German schools and universities (education in Germany is free for locals or holders of a permanent resistance permit) cleaners and students have rights. We, lecturers, don't advise our students how to leave the lecture hall behind in good order the cleaning lady informs the school principal and complaints. The principal will confront the teacher the lecturer his students. When lecturers leave school and see a cleaning lady he greets her nicely. Hamburg has started a campaign to remind us academics to say "Thank You" to the people that help us during the mornings to lecture in a clean classroom. Students have a right to question our marking system and even can take us to court for that. If they disagree with our style of lecturing they have a right to complain to the principal and we must explain ourselves. In Africa especially in Ghana, this is unheard of. In Germany, we know we all depend on each other no matter our education or financial level. Olaf Scholz, German Chancellor, has no house only an apartment. Angela Merkel, the former German Chancellor has no house only an apartment. When they travel either with 3 cars, train or plane. In Africa, even a small politician thinks of himself to be special with big SUVs unheard of in Germany. Every African Minister or President has his own house to demonstrate his position not in my white richer society. Medical doctors treat you as a patient with respect in Africa with arrogance especially in Ghana. They had to finance their studies believing that they as doctors are special people. 100.000 Ghanaians live in Germany 40% of which are in Hamburg. 80% of black Africans in Hamburg are Ghanaians. It is significant to observe unlike other foreign nationals they have no interest to progress in life. While other nationals take up the opportunity to learn and venture into entrepreneurship to open restaurants, and food stores or enter the academic world. Ghanaians can mostly be found as cleaners, handymen, bus drivers, or other lower-paid jobs. When Africans learn to depend on each other for national success nation-building is completed and progress guaranteed. The Indian tourism market has been rapidly recovering since last year and is expected to reach pre-pandemic levels by 2024, according to Baidi Li, SVP Commercial for APAC at Go City the worlds largest multi-attraction pass business. By 2025, India is expected to hit 29 million outbound travelers, which accounts for 6% of the countrys urban population, she added. The Indian traveler is doing a lot more travel than he or she was doing a few years ago pre-Covid, noted Chitra Gurnari Daga, CEO and co-founder of Thrillophilia, an India-based online travel agency (OTA). And they are not just traveling more: they are doing more in-destination, which is good news for operators of tours, activities and attractions. Li and Daga who will be speaking at Arival Activate | Bangkok 2023 in June offer insights on the emerging Indian traveler market and tips for the tour, activity and experience operators hosting them. Indian travelers spending more on experiences As travel ramps up for the India market, Daga has noticed a significant difference in their booking habits: Indian travelers want to do more things. They have a greater appetite for booking experiences, activities, and tours on their holidays. As Li points out, even the pandemic has failed to dampen their curiosity the number of attractions visited by Indian tourists has surged by 40% since 2019. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Indian travelers are now opting for more frequent vacations. While the average pre-Covid Indian traveler might have taken one holiday a year, Daga shares Thrillophilia is seeing people now booking one to two long holidays a year and three to four short weekend breaks to a wide variety of popular and emerging destinations around India and abroad. In fact, Indian travelers are not only enjoying more frequent holidays but also spending more time in each destination. Li explains visitors to London in 2019 opted for three-day passes on average according to data from Go City. However, the duration of their passes has now extended to an average of nearly five days. Millennial Indian travelers in particular are opting for more group tours, and a lot more traveling abroad, Daga observes. Five years ago, Millennials were not traveling outside of India. Now, even Millennials with modest means are finding ways to book with cheap flights and hostels. Luxury travel is growing as well, both for Millennials in the middle-income bracket, as well as less active older travelers and families traveling with kids and grandparents. The size of the budget does not necessarily affect the number of experiences Indian travelers are booking, though: when people have less money they will choose a destination which is cheaper, when they have money they will pick a destination which is a little more heavy on the pocket, Daga explains, but both travelers will do enough activities. Generally speaking, trust remains a crucial factor in influencing Indian travelers booking behaviour, adds Li. Many are choosing to book through an OTA they personally trust to ensure they receive the best value for their money. Understanding the Indian traveler: Food, families and millennials For suppliers of tours, activities and experiences who may want to attract or are already seeing more Indian travelers, Daga offers some insights to understanding this emerging market. Food is a high priority I think the Indian traveler has a very important habit and that is food. Daga advises suppliers hosting Indian travelers to understand their meal preferences, and ensure they are provided options for the right place to eat. The Indian traveler loves food, and the Indian traveler loves Indian food when he or she goes out also. Family, older travelers focus on luxury Families as well as older Indian travelers are looking for luxury. When an Indian family travels with kids (and often grandparents), what theyre looking for is comfort and luxury, shares Daga. Indian travelers who are beyond 45 years of age are not very active, they dont want to hike a lot. Millennials: Party all night, activities all day In contrast to luxury-oriented family travelers, the Indian Millennial wants to party all night, do activities all day: they want to do everything, shares Daga. Also, Indian Millennials are very internet-conscious, they will read a lot on the internet they would gather their knowledge and only then come and move forward. Having good reviews and clear tour descriptions are important factors to attracting Indian Millennials who prioritize researching online before booking. TradeArabia News Service Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (L) and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese review the honor guard of the Vietnam People's Army in Hanoi on June 4, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Sunday welcomed his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in Hanoi as part of the latters two-day visit. The two PM saluted the flag and reviewed the honor guard of the Vietnam People's Army. They then discussed bilateral partnership and witnessed the partnership signings of the two countries government bodies. Albanese will also meet with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Vo Van Thuong and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue. This is Albanese's first visit to Vietnam since he assumed the position of prime minister in May 2022. The visit occurred as Vietnam and Australia commemorate the 50th anniversary of their establishment of diplomatic relations in 1973. The two countries upgraded their relationship to a strategic partnership in March 2018. Economic and commercial cooperation is considered a highlight in the relationship. Bilateral trade turnover in 2022 reached $15.7 billion, up 26.7% from 2021. Australia was Vietnam's seventh largest trading partner and has opened the door to lychee, mango, dragon fruit, longan, and frozen shrimp from Vietnam. As of April, Australia had just under 600 funded projects with total capital of nearly $2 billion in Vietnam, mostly in the sectors of manufacturing, accommodation, healthcare, social assistance, and agriculture, forestry and fishery. Vietnam had also invested in Australia in 88 projects costing more than $592 million, ranking 10th among 79 countries and territories investing in this country, mainly in agriculture, forestry, wholesale and retail, and manufacturing. Australia is one of the largest bilateral partners providing official development assistance to Vietnam. In the 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Australia has provided AUD3 billion (US$1.97 billion) to Vietnam. Currently, there are about 31,000 Vietnamese students and researchers in Australia. As of March, the two countries boasted 45 joint programs, 200 cooperation documents and joint research between universities and research institutes. The Vietnamese community in Australia numbers around 350,000 people, ranking fifth among foreign ethnic communities there. 04.06.2023 LISTEN My fellow citizens, As a concern citizen of Ghana I would like to express my apprehension about a policy proposal that presidential candidate Dr. Bawumia is advocating for. This policy suggests that textbooks should be replaced with laptops in our education system. While this proposal may seem like a good idea on the surface, I believe that it is a bad policy that would have negative consequences for our students and our country. Firstly, this policy would be incredibly expensive. Many schools across our nation are already struggling to provide students with basic supplies and textbooks. Replacing textbooks with laptops would require a significant investment in technology, which would divert resources away from other important educational needs. Additionally, laptops require regular maintenance and upgrades, which would further add to the cost. Secondly, there are concerns about the quality of education that students would receive if textbooks were replaced with laptops. Textbooks are carefully curated by educators and experts in their fields to ensure that they provide accurate and comprehensive information. Laptops, on the other hand, can be a source of distraction and may not provide the same level of rigor and depth of information as textbooks. Thirdly, this policy would exacerbate the digital divide in our society. Not all students have access to laptops and the internet at home, and some schools may not be able to provide laptops to all students. This would create a situation where some students have a distinct advantage over others, which is unfair and undermines the principles of equal opportunity and fairness that are foundational to our country. In conclusion, I urge my fellow citizens to think carefully about this policy proposal and to consider the potential negative consequences. Education is the foundation of our society, and we must invest in it wisely and equitably. We all want our children to succeed and reach their full potential. But let us not be misguided by the latest flashy gadgets that promise to revolutionize our education system. We need to focus on what truly matters - giving our students the best possible education, one that is grounded in facts, rigor, and accessibility. As President John F. Kennedy once said, "Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education." I believe that we must heed these words and invest in our education system in a way that is sustainable, equitable, and effective. We cannot afford to gamble with our children's future by adopting policies that are untested, expensive, and divisive. Instead, we must come together as a nation and work towards a common goal - providing our students with the tools and resources they need to succeed. So let us reject the false promises of a technological utopia and focus on what truly matters - our students, our teachers, and our future. Jerry Kweku Quainoo Agona Swedru. Bank of America upgraded shares of Alteryx (NYSE:AYX Get Rating) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning, The Fly reports. Bank of America currently has $70.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $60.00. A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Cowen raised their price target on Alteryx from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Loop Capital upgraded Alteryx from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on Alteryx from $86.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Alteryx from $87.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Alteryx from $62.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a 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 $73.15. Get Alteryx alerts: Alteryx Trading Down 1.6 % Shares of AYX opened at $42.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.86, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 2.55. Alteryx has a 1 year low of $34.70 and a 1 year high of $70.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.09. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.67 and a beta of 0.50. Insider Buying and Selling at Alteryx Alteryx ( NYSE:AYX Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported ($1.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.75) by ($0.31). The firm had revenue of $199.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.81 million. Alteryx had a negative net margin of 33.68% and a negative return on equity of 139.14%. On average, equities analysts expect that Alteryx will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. In other Alteryx news, Director Eileen Schloss sold 4,500 shares of Alteryx stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.47, for a total value of $294,615.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,715 shares in the company, valued at $439,631.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Alteryx news, Director Eileen Schloss sold 4,500 shares of Alteryx stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.47, for a total value of $294,615.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,715 shares in the company, valued at $439,631.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,000 shares of Alteryx stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total value of $43,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,752,495.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 13.56% of the stock is owned by insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alteryx A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Prelude Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alteryx by 157.0% during the first quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 24,642 shares of the companys stock worth $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 15,054 shares during the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Alteryx during the first quarter worth about $1,943,000. Empower Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alteryx during the first quarter worth about $310,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alteryx by 143.7% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 70,704 shares of the companys stock worth $4,160,000 after acquiring an additional 41,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Alteryx by 14.9% during the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 268,134 shares of the companys stock worth $15,777,000 after acquiring an additional 34,780 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.23% of the companys stock. About Alteryx (Get Rating) Alteryx, Inc engages in the provision of self-service data analytics software. Its subscription-based platform allows organizations to prepare, blend, and analyze data from a multitude of sources and benefit from data-driven decisions. The company was founded by Dean A. Stoecker, Olivia Duane-Adams, and Edward P. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Alteryx Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Alteryx and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Altria Group (NYSE:MO Get Rating) updated its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Sunday. The company provided EPS guidance of $4.89-$5.03 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $5.05. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $49.50 to $47.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $44.67. Get Altria Group alerts: Altria Group Stock Up 1.7 % Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $45.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.58, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group has a 12-month low of $40.35 and a 12-month high of $54.37. The firms 50-day moving average price is $45.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.85. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.01). The firm 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 companys quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.29%. Altria Groups payout ratio is 120.90%. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 21,586 shares of the companys stock valued at $987,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 13,247 shares of the companys stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 24,669 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 6,272 shares of the companys stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,523 shares of the companys stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. 58.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Altria Group Company Profile (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. Featured Stories 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. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Ampco-Pittsburgh (NYSE:AP Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the industrial products companys stock. Ampco-Pittsburgh Price Performance Shares of NYSE:AP opened at $3.17 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Ampco-Pittsburgh has a twelve month low of $2.14 and a twelve month high of $4.80. The stocks 50 day moving average is $2.90 and its 200-day moving average is $2.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.29 and a beta of 0.92. Get Ampco-Pittsburgh alerts: Ampco-Pittsburgh (NYSE:AP Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 20th. The industrial products company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter. Ampco-Pittsburgh had a return on equity of 1.50% and a net margin of 0.36%. The firm had revenue of $93.53 million for the quarter. Insider Buying and Selling at Ampco-Pittsburgh Institutional Inflows and Outflows In other Ampco-Pittsburgh news, Director Robert Demichiei acquired 18,182 shares of Ampco-Pittsburgh stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $2.29 per share, for a total transaction of $41,636.78. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 40,001 shares of the companys stock, valued at $91,602.29. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website . Insiders acquired 32,489 shares of company stock worth $76,694 in the last quarter. 31.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AP. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Ampco-Pittsburgh by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 660,448 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $4,167,000 after purchasing an additional 13,025 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Ampco-Pittsburgh by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,516 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ampco-Pittsburgh by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 22,146 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Rutabaga Capital Management LLC MA lifted its holdings in Ampco-Pittsburgh by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rutabaga Capital Management LLC MA now owns 1,144,269 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $4,211,000 after purchasing an additional 180,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Levin Capital Strategies L.P. purchased a new stake in Ampco-Pittsburgh during the 4th quarter worth about $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.87% of the companys stock. About Ampco-Pittsburgh (Get Rating) Ampco-Pittsburgh Corp. is engaged in the manufacture and sale of custom designed engineering products. It operates through the Forged and Cast Engineered Products, and Air and Liquid Processing segments. The Forged and Cast Engineered Products segment produces forged hardened steel rolls, cast rolls and open-die forged products. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Ampco-Pittsburgh Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ampco-Pittsburgh and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR Get Rating) have been assigned an average rating of Moderate Buy from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $131.33. ATR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AptarGroup from $121.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $130.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on AptarGroup from $115.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, May 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on AptarGroup from $132.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on AptarGroup in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Get AptarGroup alerts: Insider Activity In related news, insider Marc Prieur sold 6,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total value of $714,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 25,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,978,332. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On AptarGroup AptarGroup Price Performance Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new stake in AptarGroup during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the first quarter worth $30,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in AptarGroup by 76.3% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 328 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in AptarGroup in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. 89.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Shares of AptarGroup stock opened at $114.16 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of 32.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $117.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.59. AptarGroup has a fifty-two week low of $90.23 and a fifty-two week high of $122.50. AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. AptarGroup had a net margin of 6.94% and a return on equity of 12.53%. The business had revenue of $860.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $829.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that AptarGroup will post 4.15 EPS for the current year. AptarGroup Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 4th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 3rd. AptarGroups dividend payout ratio is presently 43.80%. AptarGroup Company Profile (Get Rating) AptarGroup, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, drug delivery, consumer product dispensing, sealing and active packaging solutions, and services for the prescription drug, consumer health care, injectable, active packaging, beauty, personal care, home care, and food and beverages industries. It operates through the following segments: Pharma, Beauty and Home, and Food and Beverage. See Also Receive News & Ratings for AptarGroup Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AptarGroup and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM Get Rating) had its price target trimmed by Barclays from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, The Fly reports. Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com began coverage on Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $94.00 to $85.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Thursday, April 13th. They set an outperform rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. 92 Resources reiterated a maintains rating on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $98.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned 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 $100.33. Get Archer-Daniels-Midland alerts: Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Up 2.0 % Shares of NYSE:ADM opened at $71.97 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.20 billion, a PE ratio of 9.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.81. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a 52-week low of $69.92 and a 52-week high of $98.28. The company has a fifty day moving average of $76.84 and a 200-day moving average of $83.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.51. Archer-Daniels-Midland Announces Dividend Archer-Daniels-Midland ( NYSE:ADM Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 25th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $24.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.09 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 18.39% and a net margin of 4.36%. Archer-Daniels-Midlands quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Archer-Daniels-Midland will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year. The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 16th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Archer-Daniels-Midlands dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.58%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Archer-Daniels-Midland A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,084,571 shares of the companys stock worth $166,057,000 after purchasing an additional 177,811 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 1st quarter valued at about $57,420,000. Toroso Investments LLC lifted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 28,452 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,266,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1,283.6% in the 1st quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 38,381 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,057,000 after acquiring an additional 35,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 1st quarter valued at about $317,000. Institutional investors own 78.23% of the companys stock. About Archer-Daniels-Midland (Get Rating) Archer-Daniels-Midland Co engages in the production of oilseeds, corn, wheat, cocoa, and other agricultural commodities. It operates through the following segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, Nutrition, and Other. The Ag Services and Oilseeds segment includes activities related to the origination, merchandising, transportation, and storage of agricultural raw materials, and the crushing and further processing of oilseeds such as soybeans and soft seeds cottonseed, sunflower seed, canola, rapeseed, and flaxseed into vegetable oils and protein meals. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Archer-Daniels-Midland Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Archer-Daniels-Midland and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Skeena Resources (NYSE:SKE Get Rating) and Athena Gold (OTCMKTS:AHNR Get Rating) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings and dividends. Volatility & Risk Skeena Resources has a beta of 1.34, meaning that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Athena Gold has a beta of 0.13, meaning that its stock price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500. Get Skeena Resources alerts: Earnings & Valuation This table compares Skeena Resources and Athena Golds gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Skeena Resources N/A N/A -$68.37 million ($0.91) -5.92 Athena Gold N/A N/A -$680,000.00 ($0.02) -3.00 Insider & Institutional Ownership Skeena Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Athena Gold, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. 32.1% of Skeena Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of Skeena Resources shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.5% of Athena Gold shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term. Profitability This table compares Skeena Resources and Athena Golds net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Skeena Resources N/A -66.07% -54.78% Athena Gold N/A -13.88% -11.29% Analyst Recommendations This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Skeena Resources and Athena Gold, as reported by MarketBeat. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Skeena Resources 0 0 2 0 3.00 Athena Gold 0 0 0 0 N/A Skeena Resources currently has a consensus price target of $16.38, indicating a potential upside of 203.80%. Given Skeena Resources higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Skeena Resources is more favorable than Athena Gold. Summary Athena Gold beats Skeena Resources on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks. About Skeena Resources (Get Rating) Skeena Resources Ltd. operates as a mineral exploration company, which engages in developing the Eskay Creek Project, an advanced-stage exploration project. The company was founded on September 13, 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. About Athena Gold (Get Rating) Athena Gold Corp. engages in the acquisition and exploration of mineral resource properties. It holds interest in the Excelsior Springs project. The company was founded by John C. Power on December 23, 2003 and is headquartered in Vacaville, CA. Receive News & Ratings for Skeena Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Skeena Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Ltd. (TSE:TWM Get Rating) has received an average rating of Hold from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three 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 target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$1.35. TWM has been the topic of several research reports. CIBC decreased their price target on shares of Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure from C$1.60 to C$1.50 in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure from C$1.50 to C$1.40 in a research note on Wednesday, March 29th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure from C$1.50 to C$1.30 in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price target for the stock from C$1.80 to C$1.15 in a research note on Tuesday, March 14th. Finally, ATB Capital decreased their price target on shares of Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure from C$1.70 to C$1.50 in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Get Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure alerts: Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Stock Performance TWM opened at C$0.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 138.31. The company has a market cap of C$386.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.69, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.64. Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure has a 52-week low of C$0.84 and a 52-week high of C$1.72. The firms fifty day simple moving average is C$0.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$1.00. Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Dividend Announcement Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure ( TSE:TWM Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 9th. The company reported C($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.04 by C($0.05). The company had revenue of C$711.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of C$712.00 million. Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure had a negative net margin of 2.03% and a negative return on equity of 8.43%. Equities analysts anticipate that Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure will post 0.1213389 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 30th. Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructures payout ratio is currently -25.00%. Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Company Profile (Get Rating) Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Ltd., through its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified midstream and infrastructure company in North America. It primarily focuses on natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and crude oil operations and processing plants located in the Deep Basin, Edmonton, and Montney regions of Alberta and British Columbia. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A. Eletrobras (NYSE:EBR Get Rating) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning. Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A. Eletrobras Trading Up 3.4 % NYSE:EBR opened at $7.29 on Thursday. Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A. Eletrobras has a 12 month low of $5.67 and a 12 month high of $10.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firms 50 day moving average is $6.85 and its 200 day moving average is $7.29. Get Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A. - Eletrobras alerts: Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A. Eletrobras Cuts Dividend The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, January 1st were paid a $0.0443 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 5th. Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A. Eletrobrass dividend payout ratio is currently 5.80%. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A. Eletrobras About Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A. Eletrobras Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A. Eletrobras by 4.5% in the third quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 29,851 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A. Eletrobras by 49.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 4,898 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A. Eletrobras by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,966 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 1,699 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A. Eletrobras by 6.2% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 29,770 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A. Eletrobras by 33.0% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 7,961 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,976 shares in the last quarter. 2.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. (Get Rating) Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA engages in the production and dissemination of electricity. It operates through the Generation and Transmission segments. The Generation segment refers to the electric power generation including hydroelectric, thermal, and nuclear power plants. The Transmission segment focuses on the transmission of electric power in Brazil. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A. - Eletrobras Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A. - Eletrobras and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Cowen Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Atento S.A. (NYSE:ATTO Get Rating) by 59.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,977 shares of the business services providers stock after selling 21,744 shares during the period. Cowen Investment Management LLCs holdings in Atento were worth $63,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Separately, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atento by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 31,612 shares of the business services providers stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 48.01% of the companys stock. Get Atento alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Atento in a research note on Sunday, May 28th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Atento Stock Up 2.6 % Atento Company Profile ATTO stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.80. The companys stock had a trading volume of 411,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,816,691. Atento S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $0.77 and a fifty-two week high of $13.99. The companys 50 day moving average is $1.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.38. (Get Rating) Atento SA is engaged in the provision of customer relationship management business process outsourcing services and solutions. The firm offers front-end and back-end services ranging from sales, applications processing, customer care, and credit management. It operates through the following geographical segments: Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), America, and Brazil. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ATTO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Atento S.A. (NYSE:ATTO Get Rating). Receive News & Ratings for Atento Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Atento and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) enters into force for the Philippines on Friday, officially allowing the Southeast Asian country to participate in the world's biggest free trade agreement. Alfredo Pascual, Philippine secretary of Trade and Industry, said the Southeast Asian country will encourage the business sector to fully tap into the potentials of the RCEP. Matthew Manotoc, governor of the Philippine province of Ilocos Norte, just made a week-long trip to China in May. He said he looks forward to more investments in his province from China. The RCEP agreement, signed by 15 Asia-Pacific countries, entered into force on the first day of 2022. The Philippines was the last country to ratify the deal, which eases market access to countries including ASEAN members, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. Click here to watch the video. Chimera Investment (NYSE:CIM Get Rating) and Selectis Health (OTCMKTS:GBCS Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings. Earnings and Valuation This table compares Chimera Investment and Selectis Healths top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Get Chimera Investment alerts: Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Chimera Investment $773.12 million 1.55 -$513.07 million ($1.13) -4.57 Selectis Health $29.29 million 0.47 -$2.25 million ($0.56) -8.04 Selectis Health has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Chimera Investment. Selectis Health is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Chimera Investment, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Volatility and Risk Institutional and Insider Ownership Chimera Investment has a beta of 1.52, meaning that its stock price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Selectis Health has a beta of 0.5, meaning that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. 47.1% of Chimera Investment shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Chimera Investment shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 15.2% of Selectis Health shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. Profitability This table compares Chimera Investment and Selectis Healths net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Chimera Investment -25.38% 9.79% 1.94% Selectis Health -3.63% -52.39% -3.28% Analyst Recommendations This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Chimera Investment and Selectis Health, as provided by MarketBeat.com. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Chimera Investment 1 1 1 0 2.00 Selectis Health 0 0 0 0 N/A Chimera Investment presently has a consensus price target of $7.17, indicating a potential upside of 38.89%. Given Chimera Investments higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Chimera Investment is more favorable than Selectis Health. Summary Chimera Investment beats Selectis Health on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks. About Chimera Investment (Get Rating) Chimera Investment Corp. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the business of investing in a portfolio of mortgage assets, including residential mortgage loans, Agency RMBS, Non-Agency RMBS, Agency CMBS, and other real estate-related assets. The company was founded on June 1, 2007 and is headquartered in New York, NY. About Selectis Health (Get Rating) Selectis Health, Inc. engages in the acquisition, development, leasing, and management of healthcare real estate and provides financing to healthcare providers. It operates through the Real Estate Services and Healthcare Services segments. The company was founded on June 8, 1978 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, CO. Receive News & Ratings for Chimera Investment Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Chimera Investment and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (OTCMKTS:IDCBY Get Rating) and Akbank T.A.S. (OTCMKTS:AKBTY Get Rating) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability. Volatility and Risk Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has a beta of 0.25, suggesting that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Akbank T.A.S. has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Get Industrial and Commercial Bank of China alerts: Valuation & Earnings This table compares Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Akbank T.A.S.s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Industrial and Commercial Bank of China $209.49 billion 0.91 $53.57 billion $2.89 3.71 Akbank T.A.S. $5.81 billion 0.73 $898.88 million N/A N/A Analyst Ratings Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has higher revenue and earnings than Akbank T.A.S.. This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Akbank T.A.S., as reported by MarketBeat.com. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Industrial and Commercial Bank of China 0 0 0 0 N/A Akbank T.A.S. 0 1 0 0 2.00 Dividends Industrial and Commercial Bank of China pays an annual dividend of $0.73 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.8%. Akbank T.A.S. pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.6%. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China pays out 25.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Profitability This table compares Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Akbank T.A.S.s net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Industrial and Commercial Bank of China 25.48% 10.49% 0.92% Akbank T.A.S. N/A N/A N/A Summary Industrial and Commercial Bank of China beats Akbank T.A.S. on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks. About Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Get Rating) Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides banking products and services in the People's Republic of China and internationally. It operates through Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, and Treasury Operations segments. The Corporate Banking segment offers financial products and services to corporations, government agencies, and financial institutions. Its products and services include corporate loans, trade financing, deposit taking activities, corporate wealth management services, custody activities, and various corporate intermediary services. The Personal Banking segment provides financial products and services to individual customers. This segment's products and services comprise personal loans and cards, deposits, and personal wealth management and intermediary services. The Treasury Operations segment is involved in the money market transactions, investment securities, and foreign exchange transactions businesses, as well as in the holding of derivative positions. It also offers e-banking services, investment banking, financial leasing, and insurance services. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Beijing, the People's Republic of China. About Akbank T.A.S. (Get Rating) Akbank TAS engages in the provision of commercial and private banking services. It operates through the following segments: Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, Corporate-Investment, Private Banking, and Wealth Management, and Treasury. The Retail Banking segment offers a variety of retail services such as deposit accounts, consumer loans, commercial installment loans, credit cards, insurance products, and asset management services. The Corporate-Investment, Private Banking, and Wealth Management segment provides financial solutions and banking services to large, medium and small size corporate, and commercial customers. The Treasury segment conducts TL and FC spot and forward transactions, treasury bonds, government bonds, Eurobond and private sector bond transactions and also derivative trading activities within determined limits. The company was founded on January 30, 1948 and is headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey. Receive News & Ratings for Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Premier Miton Group plc (LON:PMI Get Rating) insider Michael Patrick OShea sold 27,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 82 ($1.01), for a total transaction of 22,550 ($27,867.03). Michael Patrick OShea also recently made the following trade(s): Get Premier Miton Group alerts: On Thursday, April 27th, Michael Patrick OShea sold 200,402 shares of Premier Miton Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 89 ($1.10), for a total transaction of 178,357.78 ($220,412.48). On Tuesday, March 28th, Michael Patrick OShea sold 19,926 shares of Premier Miton Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 101 ($1.25), for a total transaction of 20,125.26 ($24,870.56). Premier Miton Group Stock Performance Shares of PMI stock opened at GBX 84.50 ($1.04) on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of 133.43 million, a PE ratio of 1,408.33 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 94.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 104.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Premier Miton Group plc has a 12 month low of GBX 80 ($0.99) and a 12 month high of GBX 140 ($1.73). Premier Miton Group Cuts Dividend Premier Miton Group Company Profile The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 6th will be paid a dividend of GBX 3 ($0.04) per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 6th. This represents a yield of 3.35%. Premier Miton Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16,666.67%. (Get Rating) Premier Miton Group plc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm invests in public equity and fixed income markets across the globe. Premier Miton Group plc was formerly known as Premier Asset Management Group Plc. Premier Miton Group plc was founded in November 2019 and is based in Surrey, United Kingdom. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Premier Miton Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Premier Miton Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Intercorp Financial Services (NYSE:IFS Get Rating) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Thursday, The Fly reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $27.00 price target on the stock. Intercorp Financial Services Stock Up 1.6 % NYSE IFS opened at $22.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 6.50, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.27. Intercorp Financial Services has a 1 year low of $19.65 and a 1 year high of $29.50. The businesss 50-day moving average is $22.70 and its 200 day moving average is $23.26. Get Intercorp Financial Services alerts: Intercorp Financial Services (NYSE:IFS Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 11th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $379.46 million for the quarter. Intercorp Financial Services had a net margin of 25.75% and a return on equity of 16.25%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Intercorp Financial Services will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year. Intercorp Financial Services Cuts Dividend Institutional Trading of Intercorp Financial Services The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 28th were given a dividend of $1.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 27th. This represents a yield of 7.6%. Intercorp Financial Servicess payout ratio is 32.65%. Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp bought a new stake in Intercorp Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Intercorp Financial Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new position in shares of Intercorp Financial Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Intercorp Financial Services by 54.4% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,606,261 shares of the companys stock valued at $59,475,000 after purchasing an additional 918,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Intercorp Financial Services by 111.5% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 15,165 shares of the companys stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 7,995 shares during the last quarter. 7.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Intercorp Financial Services Company Profile (Get Rating) Intercorp Financial Services Inc provides banking, insurance, and wealth management services for retail and commercial clients in Peru. The company operates through three segments: Banking, Insurance, and Wealth Management. It provides transactional accounts, such as cuenta sueldo and cuenta simple; savings accounts; investment accounts; and time deposits, certificates of deposit, and compensation for service time accounts. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Intercorp Financial Services Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Intercorp Financial Services and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mosaic (NYSE:MOS Get Rating) had its price target cut by Barclays from $50.00 to $40.00 in a report released on Thursday, The Fly reports. MOS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Mosaic from $54.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Mosaic from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, February 27th. HSBC lowered Mosaic from a hold rating to a reduce rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Bank of America dropped their target price on Mosaic from $69.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Mosaic from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mosaic currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $47.47. Get Mosaic alerts: Mosaic Trading Up 4.3 % Shares of MOS opened at $33.08 on Thursday. The stocks 50-day moving average is $40.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.57. The stock has a market cap of $10.99 billion, a PE ratio of 4.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.50. Mosaic has a 12 month low of $31.44 and a 12 month high of $63.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Mosaic Cuts Dividend Mosaic ( NYSE:MOS Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 3rd. The basic materials company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Mosaic had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.08%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.41 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Mosaic will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 31st. Mosaics payout ratio is 9.91%. Institutional Trading of Mosaic A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MOS. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the 1st quarter worth approximately $412,663,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Mosaic by 910.9% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,451,909 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $296,052,000 after buying an additional 4,011,530 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Mosaic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $128,142,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Mosaic by 59.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,815,798 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $220,949,000 after buying an additional 1,798,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ruffer LLP bought a new position in Mosaic in the 1st quarter worth approximately $72,391,000. 85.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Mosaic (Get Rating) The Mosaic Co engages in the production and marketing of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. It operates through the following segments: Phosphates, Potash, and Mosaic Fertilizantes. The Phosphates segment is involved in the ownership and operation of mines and production facilities which produce concentrated phosphate crop nutrients and phosphate-based animal feed ingredients, and processing plants which produce concentrated phosphate crop nutrients. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Mosaic Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Mosaic and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Roth Capital reiterated their buy rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday, PriceTargets.com reports. Several other research firms also recently commented on CRM. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $240.00 to $260.00 in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Salesforce from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $225.00 to $240.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $220.97. Get Salesforce alerts: Salesforce Price Performance Shares of CRM opened at $213.03 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $208.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 560.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $126.34 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $200.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.74. Salesforce ( NYSE:CRM Get Rating ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 31st. The CRM provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.17 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 5.75%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Salesforce declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the CRM provider to buy up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the companys board believes its stock is undervalued. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.99, for a total transaction of $231,237.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 96,795 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $17,906,107.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.99, for a total transaction of $231,237.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,906,107.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Neelie Kroes sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.12, for a total transaction of $1,098,720.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,254 shares in the company, valued at $1,511,472.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 37,656 shares of company stock valued at $7,150,149. Company insiders own 3.60% of the companys stock. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 125,717.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM providers stock valued at $1,360,428,000 after purchasing an additional 10,252,257 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $797,956,000. Starboard Value LP acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $401,215,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,134,170 shares of the CRM providers stock valued at $2,823,724,000 after purchasing an additional 2,481,759 shares in the last quarter. 75.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Salesforce Company Profile (Get Rating) Salesforce, Inc engages in the design and development of cloud-based enterprise software for customer relationship management. Its solutions include sales force automation, customer service and support, marketing automation, digital commerce, community management, collaboration, industry-specific solutions, and salesforce platform. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Salesforce Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Salesforce and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. TELUS (TSE:T Get Rating) (NYSE:TU) had its target price trimmed by Scotiabank from C$31.00 to C$29.50 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on TELUS from C$32.00 to C$33.00 in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Cormark lowered their price target on shares of TELUS from C$33.00 to C$32.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of TELUS from C$36.00 to C$33.00 in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of TELUS from C$34.00 to C$33.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of TELUS from C$33.00 to C$32.00 in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of C$32.17. Get TELUS alerts: TELUS Stock Up 0.3 % Shares of T opened at C$25.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 152.41, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$27.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$27.65. TELUS has a 52 week low of C$25.33 and a 52 week high of C$32.03. The firm has a market capitalization of C$37.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.67. TELUS Increases Dividend TELUS Company Profile The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 4th. Investors of record on Friday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.364 per share. This is an increase from TELUSs previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 8th. TELUSs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 142.16%. (Get Rating) TELUS Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of telecommunications and information technology products and services in Canada. It operates through Technology Solutions and Digitally-Led Customer Experiences segments. The Technology Solutions segment offers a range of telecommunications products and services; network revenue; mobile technologies equipment sale; data revenues, such as internet protocol; television; hosting, managed information technology, and cloud-based services; software, data management, and data analytics-driven smart food-chain technologies; home and business security; healthcare software and technology solutions; and voice and other telecommunications services. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for TELUS Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TELUS and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. President Joe Biden on Saturday signed a bill that suspends the US government's $31.4-trillion debt ceiling, averting what would have been a first-ever default with just two days to spare. The House of Representatives and the Senate passed the legislation this week after Biden and House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an agreement following tense negotiations. The Treasury Department had warned it would be unable to pay all its bills on Monday if Congress had failed to act by then. Biden signed the bill at the White House a day after hailing it as a bipartisan triumph in his first-ever Oval Office address to the nation as president. The bill signing, which was closed to the press, marked a low-key, symbolic end to a crisis that vexed Washington for months, forced Biden to cut short an international trip in Asia and threatened to push the United States to the brink of an unprecedented economic crisis. "Thank you to Speaker McCarthy, Leader Jeffries, Leader Schumer, and Leader McConnell for their partnership," the White House said in a statement announcing the bill's signing, naming the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate. Officials later released a ten-second clip of Biden silently signing the document at the White House. "It was critical to reach an agreement, and it's very good news for the American people," Biden said on Friday. "No one got everything they wanted. But the American people got what they needed." The Republican-controlled House voted 314 to 117 to approve the bill, and the Democrat-controlled Senate voted 63 to 36. Fitch Ratings said on Friday the United States' 'AAA' credit rating would remain on negative watch, despite the agreement that will allow the government to meet its obligations. India's import of cheap Russian oil scaled another record in May and is now more than the combined oil bought from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE and the US, industry data showed. India took 1.96 million barrels a day from Russia in May, 15 per cent more than the previous high in April, according to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa. Russia now makes up for nearly 42 per cent of all crude oil India imported in May. This is the highest share for an individual country in recent years. The rise in Russian share came at the cost of traditional suppliers in the Middle East. Shipments from Saudi Arabia slipped to 560,000 tonnes - the lowest since February 2021, according to figures from the shipping analytics company. Oil producers cartel OPEC's share in India's oil imports fell to an all-time low of 39 per cent in May. Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), mainly in the Middle East and Africa, made up for as much as 90 per cent of all crude oil India imported at one point of time, but this has been sliding since Russian oil became available at a discount in the aftermath of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February last year. For the eighth straight month, Russia continued to be the single largest supplier of crude oil, making up for 42 per cent of all oil India imported. Crude oil is converted into petrol and diesel at refineries. The imports from Russia are now more than the combined purchases from Iraq and Saudi Arabia -- India's biggest suppliers in the last decade -- as well as UAE and the US. Iraq supplied 0.83 million barrels per day (bpd) oil in May, while UAE shipped 203,000 bpd. As much as 138,000 bpd was sourced from the US, the data showed. Iraq supplied 0.83 million barrels per day (bpd) oil in May, while UAE shipped 203,000 bpd. From a market share of less than 1 per cent in India's import basket before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Russia's share of India's imports rose to 1.96 million barrels per day in May, taking a 42 per cent share. OPEC supplied 1.8 million bpd out of 4.7 million bpd oil India imported in May. This was down from 2.1 million bpd imported in April, according to Vortexa. Indian refiners in the past rarely bought Russian oil due to high freight costs but now they are snapping up plentiful Russian cargo available at a discount to other grades, as some Western nations rejected it because of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The purchases from Russia in May were more than double of 0.83 million bpd of oil bought from Iraq, which had been India's top oil supplier since 2017-18. Saudi Arabia has been pushed down to No.3 spot. "India's imports of Russian crude continue to test new highs, reaching almost 2 million bpd in May. Refiners have tested and gained confidence in processing Russian crude, and their voracious appetite for "Russian crude is likely to grow as much as they have room to back off spot crude purchases," said Vortexa's head of Asia-Pacific analysis, Serena Huang. The average cost of Russian crude including freight costs landing on Indian shores in April was USD 68.21 a barrel - the lowest level since the Ukraine war. The average cost of Saudi Arabian crude sent to India in April was USD 86.96 a barrel, while Iraqi oil was priced at USD 77.77 a barrel. May import price has not yet been released. May import price has not yet been released. Russia is selling record amounts of crude oil to India to plug the gap in its energy exports after the European Union banned imports in December. In December, the EU banned Russian seaborne oil and imposed a USD 60-per-barrel price cap, which prevents other countries from using EU shipping and insurance services, unless oil is sold below the cap. Industry officials said Indian refiners are using the UAE's dirham to pay for oil that is imported at a price lower than USD 60. According to Vortexa, India imported just 68,600 bpd of oil from Russia in March 2022. The market recouped the previous day's losses and snapped a two-day losing streak on June 2, on broad-based buying, with the Sensex closing 119 points higher at 62,547 and the Nifty50 ending at 18,534, up 46 points. The Nifty, which traded within the previous day's range, formed a small bodied bearish candlestick with minor upper and long lower shadows on the daily charts. The pattern indicates formation of Inside Bar candle with overlapping candles. "The positive chart pattern like higher tops and bottoms continued as per daily timeframe chart and the present consolidation could be in line with the higher bottom formation of the pattern. The higher bottom reversal pattern has not been confirmed yet," Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, said. Considering the recent consolidation and the subsequent negation of such bearish patterns, one can expect a bounce in the market in the coming week, he said. For Nifty, immediate support is at 18,400-18,300 and the upside hurdle is at 18,650-18,850, Shetti said. The broader market outperformed the benchmark. Nifty midcap 100 and smallcap 100 indices gained half a percent each. We have collated 15 data points to help you spot profitable trades: Note: The open interest (OI) and volume data of stocks in this article are the aggregates of three-month data and not just the current month. Key support, resistance levels on Nifty The Nifty may get support at 18,492 followed by 18,470 and 18,433. If the index advances, 18,565 will be the key resistance followed by 18,588 and 18,624. Nifty Bank The Bank Nifty also traded in line with benchmarks, rising 148 points to 43,938 on June 2 and formed a small bearish candlestick with upper and lower shadows, which resembled the Inside Bar pattern on the daily scale, indicating rangebound trade. It continued forming llower highs for the third straight day. "At this juncture, the Bank Nifty has rising trendline support at 43,700. Going ahead, a close below 43,700 might spoil the party for the bulls and we might witness profit booking in the markets," Jigar S Patel, Senior Manager - Equity Research, AnandRathi, said. On the upside, 44,500 would be an initial resistance on way to the 45,000 milestone. As per the pivot point calculator, the Bank Nifty is expected to take support at 43,841 followed by 43,776 and 43,670. Resistance will be at 44,052 then 44,117, and 44,223. Call options data On the weekly options front, the maximum Call open interest (OI) was at 19,500 strike, with 1.06 crore contracts, which is expected to be a crucial resistance level for the Nifty. This was followed by 18,600 strike comprising 1.03 crore contracts and 18,500 strike with more than 77.14 lakh contracts. Meaningful call writing was seen at 18,600 strike, which added 42.43 lakh contracts, followed by 19,500 strike, which added 41.63 lakh contracts, and 18,800 strike, which added 24.66 lakh contracts. Call unwinding was at 18,300 strike, which shed 21,750 contracts, followed by 18,100 strike, which shed 17,250 contracts, and 17,700 strike, which shed 6,400 contracts. Put option data On the put side, the maximum open interest was at 18,500 strike, with 1.02 crore contracts, which is expected to be an important support level in the coming sessions. It was followed by the 18,600 strike, comprising 57.99 lakh contracts, and the 18,000 strike with 44.12 lakh contracts. Put writing was seen at 18,500 strike, which added 46.89 lakh contracts, followed by 18,600 strike, which added 34.3 lakh contracts, and 18,000 strike, which added 18.73 lakh contracts. Put unwinding was seen at 19,000 strike, which shed 2,450 contracts, followed by 19,600 strike, which shed 50 contracts. Stocks with high delivery percentage A high delivery percentage suggests that investors are showing interest in the stock. The highest delivery was seen in Container Corporation of India, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance, Infosys and Shriram Finance among others. 66 stocks see a long build-up An increase in open interest (OI) and price indicates a build-up of long positions. Based on the OI percentage, 66 stocks, including DLF, Polycab India, Navin Fluorine International, Godrej Properties and Power Finance Corporation, saw long buildups. 20 stocks see long unwinding A decline in OI and price generally indicate a long unwinding. Based on the OI percentage, 20 stocks, including MCX India, Shree Cement, Can Fin Homes, Infosys, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, saw a long unwinding. 33 stocks see a short build-up An increase in OI along with a price decrease indicates a build-up of short positions. Based on the OI percentage, 33 stocks, including Indraprastha Gas, Biocon, Voltas, Syngene International and Gujarat Gas, saw a short build-up. 67 stocks see short-covering A decrease in OI along with a price increase is an indication of short-covering. Based on the OI percentage, 67 stocks were on the short-covering list. These included Hindustan Aeronautics, Dixon Technologies, ACC, Hero MotoCorp, and SAIL. Bulk deals (For more bulk deals, click here) Investors Meetings on June 5 Stocks in the news Tech Mahindra: The IT company said subsidiary Comviva Technologies along with the companys step-down subsidiary Comviva Technologies BV agreed to sell 0.04 percent and 99.96 percent shareholding in Comviva Technologies do Brasil Industria, Comercio, Importacao e Exportacao Ltda. The buyer is Druid Internet Systems Comercio E Servicos Ltda. The transaction is expected to be completed by August 2023. The company will exit the product line without impacting its customers being served, it said. Wipro: The IT services company has fixed June 16, 2023 as the record date for determining the entitlement and the names of equity shareholders who are eligible for the buyback offer. On April 27, the company received approval from the board for the share buy back worth up to Rs 12,000 crore, at a price of Rs 445 per share. SBI Life Insurance Company: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has identified SBI Life as the acquirer insurer of the life insurance business of Sahara India Life Insurance Company (SlLIC) to protect the interest of the policyholders. SBI Life will take over the policy liabilities of around 2 lakh policies of SILIC, backed by the policyholders assets, with immediate effect. Zydus Lifesciences: The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has closed the inspection of the company's animal health drug manufacturing facility in Ahmedabad, with nil observations. The USFDA inspected the plant from May 30 to June 2. Indian Overseas Bank: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 2.20 crore on Indian Overseas Bank for deficiencies in regulatory compliance. Lupin: The pharma major has launched Darunavir tablets, in 600 mg and 800 mg strength, to market a generic equivalent of Prezista tablets of Janssen Products, LP, which reduces the amount of HIV in the blood. Darunavir tablets had estimated annual sales of $308 million in the US, as per IQVIA MAT March 2023. IIFL Finance: The board has approved Tranche II public issue of non-convertible debentures of Rs 300 crore with a green-shoe option of up to Rs 1,200 crore. This is within the shelf limit of Rs 5,000 crore. The issue will open on June 9 and close June 22. Wonderla Holidays: The Tamil Nadu government has granted a waiver of local body tax (LBT) of 10 percent to its Chennai project for 10 years from the commencement of commercial operations. This is subject to the condition that the commercial operation shall commence within two years from June 2. Fund Flow FII and DII data Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 658.88 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 581.85 crore on June 2, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange shows. Stocks under F&O ban on NSE The National Stock Exchange has not added any stock to its F&O ban list for June 5. Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. Disclaimer: MoneyControl is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary. The Chinese delegation on Saturday rejected U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's unfounded accusations against China at the Shangri-La Dialogue, saying "leadership" does not imply hegemony, status is determined by acts, and actions speak louder than words. Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China's Central Military Commission, told a press conference that by peddling the so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy," Washington is attempting to maintain its hegemony. Although the Cold War ended 32 years ago, the United States has not removed residues of the Cold War, such as the Five Eyes intelligence alliance and bilateral military alliance. Instead, it has escalated bloc politics and stoked conflict and confrontation by launching the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and trilateral security partnerships. "To pursue its selfish interests, the United States has coaxed and coerced some countries into acting as a pawn with the fundamental aim of maintaining its hegemonic system, regardless of the aspiration for stability and order by regional countries," he said. Regarding the Taiwan question, Jing strongly refuted the recent U.S. remarks on Taiwan for ignoring facts and distorting the truth. The United States has continuously weakened and hollowed out the one-China principle, strengthened the so-called official exchanges with Taiwan and condoned "Taiwan independence" activities, he said. The United States has also increased arms sales to Taiwan in both quality and quantity, frequently sailed through the Taiwan Strait to flex its muscles, and ganged up with other countries to intervene in the Taiwan question, Jing said. He emphasized that China's military operations around the Taiwan Strait are targeted at "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and the interference of external forces, and are justified. The general added that China cannot be blamed for changing the status quo, as the U.S. "exploiting Taiwan to contain China" and "Taiwan independence" separatists relying on external forces are the real factors causing changes in the status quo, exacerbating tensions and undermining the stability. Noting that the Taiwan question concerns China's core interests and brooks no compromise, he said that the Chinese People's Liberation Army is fully prepared and ready to firmly defend China's sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity. Jing said that in recent years, the United States has continued to interfere in the South China Sea issue, and taken it as an excuse to suppress other countries. This is completely contrary to the will and efforts of regional countries to seek peace, pursue development and promote stability, he said. Jing stressed that China advocates a peaceful settlement of disputes in the South China Sea, adding that regional countries have the ability, confidence and wisdom to deal with the issue, and there is no room for interference from countries outside the region. He said that the United States is the real mastermind behind tension in the South China Sea. In recent years, the U.S. side has been sending warships and military aircraft to the South China Sea to provoke troubles under the so-called "freedom of navigation," he said. The United States has also intensified its efforts to increase temporary and rotational deployment, establish additional military bases, and continue to strengthen its military presence in the South China Sea, Jing said. "By doing so, the United States will only cause more security risks and increase the potential for crisis," he said. Concerning an incident over the South China Sea, in which the U.S. side claimed that a Chinese fighter jet conducted an "unnecessarily aggressive maneuver," Jing said the move was carried out lawfully and professionally, and was only conducted after a U.S. reconnaissance plane deliberately intruded into a PLA naval routine training exercise. China values the development of China-U.S. military relations, and exchanges between the two militaries have not been interrupted, the Chinese general said, adding that the United States should be blamed for current obstacles to the development of the relations. It will not work if the United States appeals for communication while undermining China's interests, and claims to strengthen crisis management while continuing its provocations, Jing said. China urges the United States to earnestly respect China's core interests and major concerns, take concrete actions to remove obstacles to military-to-military exchanges, and bring relations between the two militaries back on the right track, Jing noted. Calling the Shangri-La Dialogue a platform for peace topics, not a hegemony show-off, Jing said China comes for peace, development and cooperation, while the United States clearly aims for promoting its "leadership," smearing and suppressing others, and preserving its hegemony. Countries that adhere to strategic independence and peaceful development will not follow the U.S. steps into the old path of bloc confrontation, he said. Edtech entrepreneur Ravi Handa took to Twitter to share a video where a watchman is seen locking doors of an office of Coding Ninjas, informing employees that their exit without permission has been prohibited. Indian edtech founders are now literally locking in their employees. Get the hell out of this country. Nowhere else would anyone dare to pull off something like this, said Handa, in his tweet posted early morning on June 3. Indian edtech founders are now literally locking in their employees. Get the hell out of this country. Nowhere else would anyone dare to pull off something like this. pic.twitter.com/zTFuN6vDCm Ravi Handa (@ravihanda) June 3, 2023 In the video, the watchman informed that one of the managers has ordered him to not let employees out of the office without his permission. Moneycontrol reached out to Coding Ninjas for a clarification. We want to clarify that the incident that occurred two weeks ago was due to a regrettable action by an employee in one of our offices. The same was immediately rectified within minutes, the employee acknowledged his mistake and apologised for the inconvenience caused due to his actions. In light of the incident, the founders also personally expressed their regret and apologised to all the employees, a Coding Ninjas spokesperson told Moneycontrol. They added that the incident was an isolated event and the company is taking measures to ensure that it will not be repeated. Disciplinary action is being taken against the concerned employee. This was an aberration at Coding Ninjas and against our values and culture as an organisation. We want to assure everyone that this action was not intentional. We regret the inconvenience this incident has caused, the spokesperson added. Artificial intelligence (AI)-based conversational chatbots like ChatGPT and Bard have gained immense popularity in the last six months. However, their rise has also raised numerous questions regarding AI regulation, the limited transparency into the inner workings of these "black box" models that generate human-like responses, and the potential impact on creative fields such as writing, music, films, and digital art. Zerodha chief technology officer Kailash Nadh, who describes himself as an "absurdist" with a "bleak view of the future," believes that AI's latest victory warrants a re-examination of concepts such as creativity, originality, and most importantly, what it means to be human. He is also suspicious of ChatGPT creator OpenAI's call for heavily regulating the nascent sector. In the second part of an extensive interview, Nadh delved into these topics in great detail. You can find the first part of the interview, which focuses on the potential threat of AI to jobs and existing socio-economic structures, here. Edited excerpts: OpenAI has asked for AI regulation and its chief executive officer Sam Altman has written a blog suggesting that an international authority similar to the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA) could track compute resources to monitor development of AI superintelligence. Do you think thats a good idea? I think it is not even possible. This is not like building nuclear weapons, where there are humongous physical limitations and you can detect if a country is sourcing the material to build it by its physical footprint. But, someone with a bunch of servers in the basement and enough money can build AI. No state can know whether somebody else is building AI or not. You can write a small, simple GPT in a few hundred lines of code at home. The only limitations today may be the availability of data and server farms. And this is not a big deal for a state actor. I don't think signing a global pact saying that certain countries will not develop AI would be meaningful. The good actors might stop there, but the bad actors and rogue actors will happily continue building stuff. Also, there is no superintelligence just yet. It might happen tomorrow or it might never happen. We dont know. But this, coming from OpenAI, is a bit wonky. Do you think OpenAI is going overboard in asking for regulation? OpenAI has been saying that there has to be heavy regulation and even suggested licensing schemes for AI development. I think most voices out there are critical of OpenAIs stance because of its conflict of interest. Now that they have built it, any regulation might have to grandfather them and give them an unfair advantage and a moat. And, newcomers will be stifled. There is a huge conflict of interest in them calling for really strict regulation for something that they just created. ALSO READ: Part 1 | 'Most tech jobs in IT services can be automated with generative AI' What does it mean when it is said that GPT models have a black box problem? People built it with an outcome in mind which has been achieved. Why then do they not understand how it works? Computer programs typically work by writing precise code to achieve a certain objective. Every word in the code has a specific purpose. You can also introduce some randomness into the code and then pinpoint in the outcome that a certain behaviour was observed because of that randomness. So, even that is explainable. However, when you are writing the software for AI/ML, you are writing just a framework or a shell of code. There are no lines of code that you write in a machine learning system that says that when somebody says hi or how are you, what should be the response. Instead, you take vast amounts of data from the internet trillions of words of textual data and feed it into the shell of code. It then uses that data to form connections between the words in abstract mathematical terms. You don't tell the LLM that a cat always appears in the context of a dog because they're both pets. But, such relationships automatically emerge because of the vast amount of text knowledge where cats and dogs typically tend to appear together. Those relationships start getting abstracted to a higher level inside the system automatically. For example, if you tell ChatGPT that Gandhiji was using a smartphone and he clicked a photo and uploaded it to social media, it would say that it's not possible because smartphones and social media did not exist during his lifetime. Now, anachronism is a concept humans understand. How did GPT detect it? You cant really peek into the memory and figure it out. This inability to pinpoint why a certain input led to a specific output gives rise to the black box problem. In medical science, it is said that no one really knows how general anesthesia works at a molecular level. Some physicists might say wave-particle duality is not understood at a fundamental level, and yet atomic physics has progressed a great deal. Cant the black box problem of AI be similarly put on the backburner? Even though we may not understand anesthesia at a molecular level, we understand it enough to use it safely on a large scale. The other example is a secret of the universe, whether we understand or not. But, drawing a comparison between these and AI would be a false equivalence. While anesthesia only puts people to sleep, AI would be increasingly used to do many things by individuals and corporations. So, it needs a more nuanced approach. When you start introducing black box technologies into decision-making across millions and millions of small and large decisions in society, it is really dangerous if we dont understand how they fundamentally work. A trivial example is that AI is starting to be used by corporations that get thousands of resumes. If we dont understand how it works, we cant know how it is filtering the resumes if there are certain biases in the AI model. In such cases, wont companies have human reviewers to check biases? It really depends on incentives. In an ideal world, people would use technologies very carefully. But, I don't think it's practical, because that's not how society or organisations really behave. They would use it to their advantage to maximise efficiency, minimise costs the same old incentives. If an organisation can do with one reviewer instead of 10, they have a reason, legally, to do that. A couple of months back, people like Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, Max Tegmark and others wrote a joint letter that called for a 6-month pause on further AI development. Whats your take? The question ideally should be should humans develop AI or not? Should we hold back human progress, like we held back cloning of humans, right? Because there were very clear, perceived problems with that. It was also far easier to define the problems and the ethics of human cloning, compared to AI. It will push humanity forward massively and at the same time, pull it backward massively in other aspects. But the whole thing about pausing AI development for six months is a joke. It makes zero sense whatsoever. Why six months? Why not four months? Why not 12 months? Either you pause indefinitely, saying that the day when humanity understands all of this stuff we will resume AI. Or you don't pause at all. AI is writing movies, music and novels, and we are believing the output. There seems to be an emotional element. It's not just AI mastering purely logical stuff like chess anymore. Is that in some way indicative of some kind of AI sentience? Not really. This is an extremely contentious topic. Its a 2,000-year-old discussion around free will, sentience, cognition, what it means to be human etc. There are some people who argue that LLMs are showing signs of sentience. But I don't think the large majority of people, philosophers, AI researchers are claiming sentience here. Even the definition of sentience is very unclear. Not everyone agrees on one singular definition of sentience. I think it really goes back to Searles Chinese room experiment. AI has been more powerful in chess than top grandmasters since the 90s when IBMs Deep Blue beat Gary Kasparov. You can even make two machines play with each other. Yet, the fan following of top chess players has not been affected. If at all, it may have increased. Can this be taken as an indication that musicians, painters, writers wont lose out to AI? When a human makes an amazing move in chess, its amazing because the human did it with human limitations. If AI makes an amazing chess move, nobody cares because it can do anything. But, chess is bounded as human brilliance for a limited set of moves within a limited time period is lauded. If an AI can generate a 1,000 page novel, yes, there are lessons we can take away from the chess example, but I think it's going to be different. If one AI can generate unlimited content forever, then maybe that form of content does lose value, right? I have a sense that when the proliferation happens, where a bulk of the content is being generated by AI, a niche will emerge for human-created or handcrafted content... Scarcity also has a place in the idea of creativity. When JK Rowling writes something, people value it because she wrote it, because of her history and her body of work. Copyright infringement lawsuits are being filed against generative AI companies. Some artists dont want their work to be used to train AI models, whereas human artists have always been drawing inspiration from others. What is your take? I think this is also a philosophical problem that needs to be solved before it can be resolved legally. The definitions of originality, creativity, and learning must be re-examined in the age of AI. If I listen to 10,000 music tracks before composing a new song, of course I will be influenced by what I have consumed. Only if there is a significant overlap with any of those 10,000 tracks would there be grounds for copyright infringement. Any creative work always is influenced by a million other things that we've learned consciously and subconsciously. Whether the output of an AI model that has been influenced by millions of images is original or not, is to my mind more of a philosophically ambiguous problem first. The Indian tradition has always been different from the Western tradition in terms of authorship. We dont know the names of the original creators of ragas, vedas or upanishads. People are thought to have always adapted earlier versions through the generations. Can the Indian tradition provide an argument for open-sourcing knowledge in the age of AI? We can draw that analogy, but I don't know if there is a meaningful connection to be made. We probably didn't really have the concept of individual attribution because of the oral tradition. Writing is very new to our civilisation, and when you transmit things orally over thousands of years, information gets lost. When AI consumes a lot of data, learns from it and produces something new, it is not exactly in the spirit of collectivism or open source. It's not like an AI has naturally, like a human does, gone out and learned things. These are all millions of images, text snippets, etc. that corporations have scraped from the internet. And, one of the biggest issues right now is that people are saying that this was taken without their consent. Is there a way people can prevent their data from being scraped off the internet to train AI models? Not only AI models, but search engines like Google have scraped all information on the internet without asking anyone. It's exactly the same thing, right? Just that Google shows snippets of what it has scraped, while AI models are creating new things out of it. That's the only difference. But, in fact, Google has sucked up more data than any of these AI models. There are certain websites out there who say that they don't want to be indexed by Google. So, there's a technical mechanism called no-index for that. Some large corporations might introduce a technical measure like no-index, but this is only for the law-abiding corporations. Anybody else can just copy paste and scrape whatever is on the internet. While Google honours the no-index thing, some random corporation or the millions of people who will do this in their own spare time may not honour it. If something is available on the internet, with or without copyright, it might just be subsumed by an AI model. Its not possible to prevent it. ALSO READ: Part 1 | 'Most tech jobs in IT services can be automated with generative AI' An under-construction bridge over a river collapsed in Bihar's Bhagalpur district on June 4, with locals capturing the fall on their cameras. There were no casualties reported due to the incident in the preliminary reports. The bridge was to connect the Aguwani and Sultanganj regions of Bihar. The portion of the bridge that collapsed was located over Khagaria in Bhagalpur, with a tributary of the river Ganga flowing beneath it. The visuals shared on social media showed a portion of the bridge's super-structure going down, which was immediately followed by several of its pillars collapsing. #WATCH | Under construction Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge in Bihars Bhagalpur collapses. The moment when bridge collapsed was caught on video by locals. This is the second time the bridge has collapsed. Further details awaited. (Source: Video shot by locals) pic.twitter.com/a44D2RVQQO ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2023 This was the second time when the bridge collapsed, news agency ANI reported. The first instance, when a portion of it came down, goes back to nearly two years ago, an India Today report added. A similar incident was also reported in December 2022, when a bridge over the Burhi Gandak River in the state's Begusarai district collapsed. However, no loss of life was reported in that incident as well as the bridge was yet to be opened to the public. "There's a tradition of seeking a commission. It is a consequence of his (Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's) mentality of political instability that there's administrative anarchy and corruption," Bihar's Leader of Opposition Vijay Kumar Sinha told ANI while commenting on the Bhagalpur incident. "System is collapsing but they are talking about Opposition unity," the Bharatiya Janata Party leader added. Indias energy demand is pegged to be the highest globally during 2021-30, and the country is pushing capacity addition for renewable energy to meet the twin goals of energy security and reducing emissions. While the country estimates that there is potential to develop 10 gigawatts (10GW) of geothermal capacity, this segment has received little attention in Indias ambitious green plans. India plans to add 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, most of which will be from wind and solar. The country has taken baby steps in the geothermal sector. But can the country push geothermal energy with the same vigour with which it has added solar and wind energy? Before we analyse the opportunity, lets understand what geothermal energy is. What is geothermal energy? Geothermal energy involves harnessing heat from deep within the earths crust. Deep wells are fitted with turbines that convert steam into electrical energy, which is then connected to a power grid supply. While countries such as the US, Indonesia and Philippines have aced this energy sector, India is still warming up to it. From deserts to mountain peaks, India has immense scope for geopower. The Geological Survey of India has calculated that India can potentially benefit from around 10GW of power from geothermal resources. The energy generated could be used to provide electricity for settlements in difficult terrains, and gradually replace fossil-fuel dependency. Story so far Through short-hole drilling in the 1970s, the Geological Survey of India has estimated around 350 sites in the country which have scope to generate geothermal energy, with Ladakh being the most promising location. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) has pioneered the establishment of this set-up in India. Recently, theyve attempted to drill two wells in the Puga Valley in Ladakh. There are many ifs and buts down below, but we are not disheartened. First we have to establish that geothermal potential exists in India, said Ravi, director-general of the ONGC Energy Centre Trust. Drilling began in the Puga Valley project in August last year, a partnership between Maharatna public sector unit (PSU) ONGC and Icelandic firm ISOR. The team achieved 40 metre depth which measured a temperature of 140 degrees Centigrade. Cuttings of quartzite, pyrite and silica discovered there indicate an achievable temperature of at least 200 degrees Centigrade, given that these crystals only form in that range of temperatures. However, due to shallow reservoir activities, bad weather conditions, equipment and chemical requirements, the drilling was abandoned. Ravi said that drilling at such high altitudes can be challenging as there is a small window of time in which the weather allows exploratory activities. ONGC plans on completing the two-phase drilling of the wells between August and October this year at Puga and Chumathang, 12 kilometres away from each other. If the two reservoirs are interconnected, then it could form a mega reservoir with a geothermal potential of 200 megawatts. This project could change the face value of Ladakh, Dwivedi said. We are very hopeful that when we go to our target depth of around 1000 metres, the temperature will definitely be around 220 degrees Centigrade," Ravi said. Water boils at lower temperatures at higher altitudes, thus furthering the scope of harnessing steam in these locations. ONGC has signed an MoU with the Ladakh administration for installation of a 1 megawatt plant at Puga. Testing of the reservoir will determine its potential, type of reservoir, turbines required, etc. A pilot project in India, Puga and Chumathang will set a standard for further projects to come and will establish the capacity and economic viability of geothermal energy in the country. We are very hopeful that when we go to our target depth of around 1000 metres (at Puga and Chumathang), the temperature will definitely be around 220 degrees Centigrade - ONGC Energy Centre Trust director-general Ravi How does geothermal compare with solar or wind energy in terms of cost of production? Ravi did not comment on this question when asked, stating that it's a pilot project in India. First, the potential has to be established, only then can costs be ascertained. However, as per a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency, these are the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOEs) for (as of 2020) 1. Onshore wind: $0.041/kWh, 2. Geothermal energy: $0.07/kWh GE 3. Solar photovoltaics: $0.057/kWh Thus, geothermal is a little pricier, but with evolving markets and technologies, the price should reduce, just like they have for solar energy which was around 16 for a unit 10 years ago and less than 3 now, Ravi added. Asked about the environmental impact of drilling this deep in regions like Ladakh, Ravi did not mention any harmful effects of drilling on the environment, since it occurs deep beneath the Earth's surface. As per the US Energy Information Administration (eia.gov), there are a few disadvantages mentioned with respect to drilling of OIL wells. "Exploring and drilling for oil may disturb land and marine ecosystems. Drilling an oil well on land often requires clearing an area of vegetation. However, technologies that significantly increase the efficiency of exploration and drilling activities also reduce effects on the environment." Rocky road ahead Establishing geothermal wells is an extremely capital-intensive project. ONGC is also planning to initiate another R&D project in Gujarats Cambay area, which requires drilling to a depth of 3,000 metres. Benson Ireri, Africa Lead at the World Resources Institute (WRI), said that the two main reasons for lack of emphasis on geopower is a deficit of research and funding. I think the risk of cost for it, is the amount of investment that needs to go in terms of exploration, when you find, for example, a single well, is it viable financially, is a big gamble, he explains. And drilling one well costs approximately $5 million (around Rs 41.2 crore), according to the US governments Geothermal Technologies Office. Only after successful execution of a project, can tariff rates and other cost economy factors be determined. From a research point of view, I think getting to see how and what can be done, in terms of research, and getting to build some better understanding of the sector, could also be one of the key things that further help progress in this space, said WRI's Ireri. Learnings from other developing nations Kenya is the worlds seventh largest producer of geothermal power, with an operational capacity of 800 megawatts. What kickstarted Kenyas journey in geothermal energy was a hunt by the government in the early 2000s for alternative renewable resources, since hydropower was unreliable during droughts. Talks with private investors led to the formation of the government-owned Geothermal Development Corporation (GDC) in 2008, with loan-based financial backing from the World Bank and the African Development Bank. The GDC took responsibility for the risks associated with the experimental drilling, which lured private investors to conduct GE drilling operations. Foreign investments such as those from Japan followed soon after. Since then, Kenya has also introduced geothermal energy courses in universities to train their own people for the industry. Ireri said that collaborations between drilling companies and universities can enhance research in the domain, with scholarships as additional incentives. India can learn from Kenya and adopt similar measures, while adapting to the subcontinents demand and thresholds. The perks of geo-power are many. Since its harnessed from deep below the surface of the Earth, it is a continuous source of energy. Solar and wind, on the other hand, are variable renewables, which fluctuate with weather conditions. Geothermal energy stations are compact, have a low-carbon footprint and use less land per gigawatt hours than coal (3642 m2), according to the US Department of Energy. Energy experts believe geothermal power can supplement the high energy-requirements of producing green hydrogen. As India sets out for net zero carbon emissions by 2070, it could bridge the energy gap and help India build a diversified clean energy portfolio. India on Friday urged Germany to send back at the earliest an Indian baby girl who has been living in foster care in Berlin for over 20 months, asserting it is important for the child to be in her linguistic, religious, cultural and social environment. The German authorities had taken custody of Ariha Shah on September 23, 2021, when she was seven months old, alleging that the parents harassed her. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said Ariha's continued stay in the German foster care and "infringement" of her social, cultural and linguistic rights is of deep concern to the government of India and the parents. On Thursday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde wrote a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar seeking his assistance in bringing Ariha back home. "We would like to reiterate that Ariha Shah is an Indian national and her nationality and socio-cultural background is the most important determinant of where her foster care is to be provided," Bagchi said. "We urge German authorities to do all that is necessary to send Ariha to India at the earliest, which is also her inalienable right as an Indian national. We remain committed to ensuring the return of Ariha Shah to India," he said. Bagchi was replying to a question on the matter during his weekly media briefing. "We are dismayed to learn that the child was abruptly shifted away from her current foster parent to a specialised foster care arrangement. The manner in which this shift was carried out is a matter of concern," he said. "We and the parents believe that this rapid change is not in the child's best interest and could have far-reaching consequences for her emotional and mental development," he said. Bagchi said the Ministry of External Affairs and the Embassy of India in Berlin have been persistently advocating for the return of Ariha to India. He said India has a robust child welfare and protection system, and there are potential foster parents in India who are willing to bring up the child in her own socio-cultural milieu. "The German authorities have been made aware of India's child protection system and the details of potential foster parents have also been shared with them," he said. "Ariha's continued placement in German foster care and infringement of her social, cultural and linguistic rights is of deep concern to the government of India and the parents," he said. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said Mother Dairy will invest Rs 400 crore in Nagpur in a project for which the government will give 10 hectares of land. Speaking to reporters to highlight achievements in nine years of the Narendra Modi government, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Nagpur Lok Sabha MP said dairy products from the proposed unit will be supplied across the country. "The company is going to procure 30 lakh litres of milk daily from farmers. It will benefit farmers of Nagpur and other districts of Vidarbha," he said. Mother Dairy is a wholly owned subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and was commissioned in 1974 as part of Operation Flood. Queried on employment generation in the region, Gadkari said 68,000 persons had got jobs in MIHAN, which is home to several firms, adding employment had risen in the government as well as private sectors. 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 Congress on Sunday demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over the Odisha rail tragedy and attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he should accept part of the responsibility for creating an all is well facade even as the critical infrastructure of the Indian Railway "languishes in neglect". The Opposition party asked whether the prime minister will take responsibility for the "deadliest rail tragedy" of this century. It also asked who is responsible for ignoring the warnings and suggestions of experts, the parliamentary committee and CAG report. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that Modi was busy flagging off trains while not paying attention to railway safety. He called for fixing accountability of all posts from top to bottom to prevent such incidents in future. Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil and AICC's publicity and media department head Pawan Khera alleged that the Odisha rail tragedy was a "man-made devastation caused by "utter negligence, serious lapses in the system, incompetence, and a narcissistic sense of know-it-all attitude of the Modi government". Khera said the prime minister has a "Kavach" which no other PM had, protecting him from public scrutiny and television debates. He urged the media to not provide that shield to the PM. "This 'Kavach' does not save rail passengers but only your (PM's) image," Khera said. The Opposition party also said that Modi should accept part of the responsibility for the "mess" that it alleged that his government has inflicted on the Indian Railways and the people. Prime Minister Modi, who has announced that the guilty would be punished, must first start with his railway minister, Khera said. "Unequivocally and unambiguously, we demand the resignation of the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Nothing short of it," he said. "Resignation means taking responsibility on moral grounds, here there is neither responsibility nor morals, do you think any resignation would come? We don't know whom we should ask for resignation. "The person who goes to inaugurate even small stations or the one who has been busy since yesterday morning in publicity. Modi ji, you decide whose resignation you want. But now the nation expects that you seek the resignation of your rail minister the way Lal Bahadur Shastri, Nitish Kumar and Madhavrao Scindia resigned," Khera said. "'Praan jaye par PR na jaye you have to leave this principle now," Khera said further. In a series of tweets in Hindi, Kharge posed questions to the Modi government and alleged that "PR gimmicks" have made the working system of the dispensation "hollow". Noting that three lakh posts are vacant in the Railways, he said posts at high levels whose recruitment is through the Prime Minister's Office are also lying vacant. He asked why these posts were not filled in the last nine years. The Railway Board itself has recently admitted that long working hours of loco pilots due to acute shortage of manpower is the main reason for the increasing number of accidents, the Congress president said and asked why the posts were not filled up. Kharge claimed that the Principal Chief Operating Manager of South Western Railway Zone sought fixing of the signalling system on February 8, 2023, citing an incident in Mysore in which two trains averted a collision. "Why did the Ministry of Railways not act on it," he asked. The Parliamentary Standing Committee in its 323rd report criticised the Railways for the "disregard" shown by the Railway Board towards the recommendations of the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS), Kharge said. It was said that CRS investigates only 8 per cent to 10 per cent of accidents. Then why was CRS not strengthened, he asked. "According to the latest CAG audit report, almost seven out of 10 train accidents between 2017-18 and 2020-21 were due to train derailment," the Congress president said. "According to CAG, 79 per cent of funding was reduced in Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) when Rs 20,000 crore was to be made available every year. Why has there been a huge decline in the amount of track renewal works?" the Congress chief said. The train collision avoidance system developed by India's Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) in 2011 was renamed by the Modi government as "Kavach" and was demonstrated by the railway minister himself in March 2022, he said and asked why it has been implemented only on 4 per cent routes till now. "Mr Modi, you are busy flagging off trains that have been turned white every day but do not pay any attention to rail safety," he said in an apparent reference to Vande Bharat trains. Accountability of posts from top to bottom has to be fixed so that such accidents can be prevented. Only then will the victims of this tragedy get justice, Kharge said. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too called for the resignation of Vaishnaw. "Following the ethical path of Lal Bahadur Shastri ji, Nitish Kumar ji, Madhav Rao Scindia ji, shouldn't the railway minister resign?" she said. Earlier, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that railway safety had been compromised in the "PR campaign" of the prime minister and the railway minister. "Recall that Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned in the wake of the Nov 1956 Ariyalur train disaster & Nitish Kumar did so following the ghastly Aug 1999 Gaisal train tragedy," he said in a tweet. At the presser, Gohil and Khera posed questions to the government and asked when will Modi demand the resignation from his railway minister. They alleged that Vaishnaw's "over the top publicity, theatrics and PR gimmicks overshadowed the serious deficiencies, criminal negligence and complete disregard for safety and security of Indian Railways". "PM Modi himself is responsible for a green-flagging spree of Vande Bharat Express trains. He is responsible for creating this 'all is well' facade in the Indian Railways, even as crucial, sensitive, and critical infrastructure of the Indian Railway languishes in neglect," Gohil and Khera said in their statement. Khera claimed that before the accident, Vaishnaw skipped presentations on safety at Railway Chintan Shivir because he had to attend the flagging off of a Vande Bharat train. Gohil said the Railways Minister should take responsibility but "Modi and morals travel in opposite directions". The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying around 2,500 passengers, and a goods train occurred around 7 pm on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore. At least 288 people were dead and over 1,100 injured in the accident, the worst rail accident in India in nearly three decades. Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan paid tribute to his parents- Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan- who, on Saturday, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. "Adding to the list of the many Golden Jubilees to their creditBut this is by far the most special one. Happy 50th wedding anniversary Ma and Pa!," Bachchan wrote on Instagram and shared photos of the couple. He received a reply from his father on the post, who wrote, "Love You". View this post on Instagram A post shared by Abhishek Bachchan (@bachchan) Several Bollywood personalities such as Zoya Akhtar, Kunal Kapoor, Vikrant Massey and Dia Mirza also congratulated the couple on completing 50 years of marriage. However, it was not just Bachchan who wished the couple on their 50th anniversary. His sister and the couple's elder child Shweta Bachchan Nanda also wished them on Instagram. View this post on Instagram A post shared by S (@shwetabachchan) Happy 50th parents ~ now you're "Golden," she wrote while sharing a throwback photo of the couple. In his blog, the 80-year-old actor expressed love and gratitude for completing 50 years of marriage. "June 3 dawns in a few... and the years will be counted as 50...love, respect, and gratitude for the wishes that have come and perhaps shall come (folded hand emoji)." Bachchan will next be seen in "Project K" with Prabhas and Deepika Padukone while Jaya Bachchan's next release will be the Karan Johar directorial "Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani" starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt. Also read: Delhi HC asks Google to remove YouTube videos on Aaradhya Bachchans health 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 a scene from the second season of Asur, Shubh, the child genius at the heart of the shows ritualistic provocations, debates the guru of an ashram. Its a conversation that veers through the obvious, but remains committed to a vedic-sounding manual. Later in the same season, Shubh speaks to a scientist about Artificial Intelligence (AI). The predictive principles that AI has been built on are seamlessly translated to the mythological perception of the past and the future. Its an audacious evolutionary step in the world of the show that tries to root the advent of AI in mythology. Incredibly, the show just about pulls it off, highlighting why it became a cult hit in the first place. In its second season, Asur may have lost some of its novelty but its desire to punch well above its weight, claw at potentially provocative material and stay committed to the daftness of the age-old, derivative, good vs evil narrative, makes it all the more unique and watchable. In its second season Asur returns with things on a knife-edge from the start. Nikhil (Barun Sobti) is still trying to recover from the loss of his daughter, something he, in his own way, enabled. Dhananjay, played by Arshad Warsi, is away in a monastery licking his wounds, resigned to a life of withdrawal. Rasool, revealed in the first seasons finale to be part of Shubhs coterie of violent evangelists, continues to play the sly technician blindsiding the CBI from within. Thankfully, the show retains its desire to place forensic science and mythological allegories at the heart of the shows structure. Clues are cracked via literature, while methods are canonically sourced from the space of medical jargon. It might make the show repetitive but rarely does it drag. Much like the formative season - daring for its ideas and somewhat passable for its direction - there are obviously flaws here as well. The performances, though, have gotten better as Warsi and Sobti raise their games. A revolving door of characters introduced and then chalked off adds to a sense of jeopardy in a show has never shied away from going for the jugular. In its first season, it exhibited an audacious gall to follow through on megalomania and religious fanaticism without creating a Mogambo-like caricature with ticks and catchphrases. Asurs villainy is an encompassing ideal, instead, as opposed to an intimidating body. His secrecy is key. Scenes from Shubhs adolescence further add to the mystery, even if it has somewhat dimmed over the course of two seasons. While Dhananjay chases history and Nikhil attempts to deal with the present, Shubhs operation becomes a mascot of terror. Its a Thanos-like vision, but sowed in the soil of intellect and intelligence as opposed to brute belligerence. Its probably what makes Asur a thoroughly Indian creation. Not just its mythological antiques and props, but the fact that it carries out its villainy with a sort of structured etiquette. Bad guys here dont just explode into spells of violence. They arrive at it through learned beliefs and cultured processes. Understandably, the good guys look like the ones losing composure and their sense of moral compass. Mar gya toh kya hua, DJ shouts at one point about the possible danger to an accused. He has, in a strange sort of way, passed onto the other side. What made Asurs first season the cult hit that it eventually became was its ambitious mix of fanaticism and genius, the complex battle between the hard sciences and pure, superstitious gut instinct. Instinctively, and perhaps in its bold vein, this new season attempts to capture the zeitgeist by weaponizing artificial intelligence. Its irreverent and valiant at the same time. No other show on streaming services, probably with exception of Disney+Hostars Dahan, has shown ambition of this sort. Regardless of the result, and the somewhat underwhelming production values at times, the thought deserves its plaudits. The second season isnt as twisty as the first, but it is probably richer in its detailing of a conflicted, narcissistic genius. We see Shubh graduate into adulthood, as the people chasing him, contend with their own mistakes and flaws on the side. From educative prophesying, the show this season turns into an obsessive chase to stop the impending from happening. From mystery, we have suddenly, and largely successfully, changed gears to a procedural. Thankfully, Asur retains its knack of literalizing every conceit with riddles, virtual or actual. Clues are discovered inside bodies, as ancient aphorisms translate to methods that propel the madness forward. It might not be everyones cup of tea, but for its audacity to follow through on its ideas, Asur in its second season remains, uniquely, eminently watchable. Asur 2 is streaming on JioCinema since June 1, 2023. The US and China as frontrunners in the battle for supremacy in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) may be leaving India some distance behind, but an Indian-born scientist is still considered one of the pioneers of research in the area. Dr Dabbala Rajagopal "Raj" Reddy, who celebrates his 86th birthday this month, is currently the Moza Bint Nasser University Professor in the Carnegie Mellon Universitys computer science department. His research interests include the study of human-computer interaction and artificial intelligence while his current research projects include spoken language systems; gigabit networks; universal digital libraries; and distance learning on demand". Born in Katur, a small village in Andhra Pradesh with a population of 500 people who lived without water or electricity or doctors, Reddy learnt writing on sand since there was neither paper nor pencil. His father was a farmer and after going to the villages one-room primary school, the young boy became the first member of his family to attend college. After getting his bachelors degree from Guindy College of Engineering, Madras (now Chennai), and a masters degree from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, he worked for IBM in Australia for a few years before moving to the US for his masters degree followed by a doctorate, both in computer science, from Stanford University. Three years of teaching at Stanford was followed by a move to Carnegie Mellon University, where he founded the schools Robotics Institute and where he teaches till date. At a time when AI wasnt yet a buzzword, it caught the attention of the man whose great passion has been to make information technology accessible to poorer nations. Thus began a lifelong journey during which hes pushed thinking on the subject into newer dimensions. AI's use in looking for patterns amidst large sets of data, dates back several decades. What makes recent developments in the area, including products like ChatGPT and Bard, so exciting is that they are products of what is commonly referred to as generative AI. And it is to this that much of Reddy's work over the last 50 years has been dedicated. While he was on the computer science faculty at Carnegie Mellon in the 1970s, Reddy led a project to construct a computer program that could understand continuous human speech. The difficulties were enormous because of the differences with written text. Thats where Reddy came in with his insight that the issues in speech understanding were central to AI generally. The result of his early work was Hearsay I, which comprised a set of cooperating parallel processes, each representing a different source of knowledge - acousticphonetic, syntactic, semantic - to predict what may appear in a given context or to verify a hypothesis resulting from a previous prediction. Effectively, Hearsay I was capable of continuous speech recognition. Along with its successors, it created the underlying basis for modern commercial speech recognition technology. An indirect consequence of his work was the famous blackboard model for assimilating and deploying multiple knowledge sources to address a defined problem statement. The model is now adopted across the spectrum of applied artificial intelligence. In 1994, Reddy received the highest honor in computer science when he was given the A.M. Turing Award (jointly with Edward Feigenbaum) for pioneering the design and construction of large scale artificial intelligence systems, demonstrating the practical importance and potential commercial impact of artificial intelligence technology. Indeed, there isnt a major award that he hasnt won - the French Legion of Honour in 1984, the IBM Research Ralph Gomory Fellow Award in 1991, the Padma Bhushan in 2001, the Okawa Foundation Okawa Prize in 2004, the Honda Foundation Honda Prize in 2005, and the U.S. National Science Board Vannevar Bush Award in 2006. Unaffected by his success, he still dreams of a world where those at the bottom of the pyramid can benefit from the technologies that he and others are helping to create. In a speech in 2021 when he was conferred the Computer History Museum Fellow Award for his lifes work on artificial intelligence, robotics, and computer science education, Reddy said Looking further in the future I see the emergence of personalized guardian angels that will get the right information to the right people at the right time in the right language with the right level of detail. A corner of Da Lat (Photo: vnexpress.net) Situated in the central highlands province of Lam Dong, Da Lat city goes by different names due to its romantic beauty such as Little Paris, City of Pine Forests, and Land of Mist. Indeed, Da Lats flowers, lakes, and waterfalls attract tourists both near and far. According to CNN, at 1,500 meters above sea level, the citys cooler weather is a welcome reprieve from the tropical humidity that is typically found elsewhere in the country. It noted that based around the romantic Xuan Huong lake, Da Lat boasts everything from French colonial architecture, which is a part of its legacy from its days as a hill station, to the "Crazy House", the Seussian creation of architect Dang Viet. Plentiful waterfalls and a vibrant flower industry mean that delights abound in the city for honeymooners and nature lovers, says the website. Lan Ha Bay can be found to the east of Cat Ba island in the northern port city of Hai Phong and is just to the south of Ha Long Bay. The area is a wonderful destination for visitors to explore, enjoy great experiences, and spend their weekend vacations. Lan Ha Bay (Photo: The Travel) Recently recognised as a member of the Beautiful Bay Club Association, Lan Ha Bay is a very quiet bay with around 400 large and small islands. Nearly 400 limestone islands in the bay are covered with natural green vegetation. CNN shared that Lan Ha Bay is a stretch of shimmering water broken up by limestone (karst) islands that can be enjoyed by day trip such as kayak or canoe, or alternatively overnight, such as on a cruise ship. Rounding off the list of the top 18 destinations were Isaan of Thailand, Leshan of China, Skardu of Pakistan, Nikko of Japan, Davao of the Philippines, Meghalaya of India, Pulau Ubin of Singapore, and Samosir Island of Indonesia. This is along with Pakse of Laos, Tengchong of China, the Gogunsan Islands of the Republic of Korea, Kenting of Taiwan (China), Banteay Chhmar of Cambodia, and Jaffna of Sri Lanka. Vietnam emerges as a major motorcycle market and manufacturing hub Vietnam's motorcycle market has been among some of the fastest-growing markets in the world in the last decades despite setbacks brought by the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Vietnam News Agency qouted the information of the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (VAMM). Currently, there are more than 70 million registered motorcycles in the Southeast Asian country with the figure projected to grow even larger in the future. In the first four months of 2023 alone, the country produced more than 1 million new motorcycles. Motorcycle manufacturing (Photo: baodautu.vn) Five major manufacturers: Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Piaggio, and SYM hold over 90% of the market share in Vietnam, manufacturers also export fully assembled models to international markets. VAMM said the stage has been set for Vietnam to become an attractive destination for motorcycle manufacturers in the Asia-Pacific region. Due to supply chain difficulties and rising trade tension between the US and China, manufacturers have been shifting their investments to smaller markets in Asia to minimise risks. For example, the Japanese government has allocated a 2.2 billion USD fund in support of Japanese businesses relocating from China while the US government has been calling for US businesses to either return to the US or relocate to another country. Against this backdrop, Vietnam has emerged as a promising new destination for many motorcycle manufacturers. Honda Vietnam currently owns and operates three factories in the country with a production capacity of 2.5 million motorcycles a year. Yamaha Motor Vietnam owns and operates two factories. Piaggio Vietnam owns and operates two factories with a production capacity of 250,000-400,000 motorcycles a year. However, the market is not without its challenges. Vietnam's motorcycle market in recent years has shown signs of saturation. While annual motorcycle production continued to rise, demand and purchasing power have largely failed to keep up. This has forced manufacturers to start investing more in product diversification, particularly in the premium segment, as well as seeking ways to boost exports of fully assembled models, and spare parts to international markets. For instance, Yamaha Motor Vietnam has been exporting models to supplement the Indonesian market since 2019. Last year, the company became the first foreign factory to produce and export the NEO'S electric motorcycle to European markets. In May this year, Yamaha Motor Vietnam officially inaugurated its fourth assembly line, specifically for engine assembly for exports. This move demonstrated the Japanese company's confidence and commitment to Vietnam. A showroom of Hon Da (Photo: vneconomy.vn) According to the company, the new line will produce engines for export to Thailand during Phase 1 with a localisation rate of up to 95%. Over the next three years, the company is to expand its exports to other markets including the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia, with an expected export volume of around 200,000 units. Similarly, Honda Vietnam has been pushing the export of fully assembled models and spare parts. Last year, the company exported 207,000 motorcycles with a total export turnover of over 462 million USD, a 25% increase in revenue over 2021, according to VAMM. The company said this year it has set a target to export nearly a quarter of a million models or a 9% increase over 2022. According to industry experts, in order to maintain growth in the Vietnamese market companies must start investing in the development of new product lines to cater to customers' evolving preferences. New trends include prioritising energy-efficient models, compact design and hassle-free operation. According to MotorCycles Data, a website specialised in the motorcycles market data and forecast, Vietnam's electric bike segment has maintained a steady growth rate at 5.6% during the first quarter of 2023 in comparison to a contracted internal combustion segment. Vietnamese-American scientist awarded Wilhelm Exner Medal 2023 Vietnamese-American scientist Nguyen Thuc Quyen has recently been awarded the Wilhelm Exner Medal 2023 for her valuable contributions directly impacting the future economy through the development of organic solar cells. According to the Vietnam News Agency. She is the first Vietnamese-origin person to be nominated and receive this prestigious award from the Austria Trade Associations. The Wilhelm Exner Award 2023 honours researchers who have directly influenced businesses and industries through their scientific achievements and contributions. The award ceremony took place in the capital city of Vienna, Austria. Over the past more than 100 years, 241 scientists and inventors, including 23 Nobel laureates, have been honoured with this award. Prof. Nguyen Thuc Quyen receives the award. (Photo: wilhelmexner.org) As Director of the Centre for Polymers and Organic Solids (CPOS), Prof. Quyen has been involved in research and teaching at the University of Californias Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry since 2004. She conducts research on organic electronic devices such as optoelectronics, LED lights and field-effect transistor-based biosensor, using optical, electrical, and structural techniques to study the materials and devices in this field. The focus of her research is on the development of organic solar cells which differ from other types that are made from plastics, semi-transparent, and can be easily produced as thin films using industrial printing methods. According to the Wilhelm Exner Medal Foundation, solar cells are more eco-friendly, cost-effective, and can be applied in various cases. Prof. Quyen is among 1% of material science researchers cited worldwide, as reported by Reuters news agency and Clarivate Analytics. In 2023, she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in the US. Throughout her scientific career, she also received numerous esteemed awards, including the Avenue of Fame for Advanced Materials in 2019, the Royal Society of Chemistry Researcher Award in 2016, the Alexander von Humboldt Research Award in 2015, and was included in the list of the Worlds Most Influential Scientific Minds in 2015-2019. She has also been a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science since 2019./. A public interest litigation (PIL) has demanded that the Supreme Court set up an expert panel to review the railways safety measures in the aftermath of the June 2 three-train accident that has left at least 288 people dead and more than 1,000 injured. The PIL also wants the government to set up an inquiry panel, led by a retired Supreme Court judge, to investigate the train accident and submit a report to the court in two months. Filed on June 4, the PIL wants an expert panel, led by a retired court judge and consisting of technical members, to review the risk and safety parameters and suggest modifications to strengthen the system. Through his plea, advocate Vishal Tiwari also sought guidelines for the implementation of the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system called Kavach with immediate effect to ensure public safety. Kavach, which is an anti-collision system, was not installed on the accident route, the railways has said. While the commissioner of railway safety was investigated one of India worst rail mishaps in recent times and the report is awaited, railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on June 4 the cause of the accident was a change in electronic interlocking. Interlocking is an integral part of railway signalling that regulates the movement of trains on tracks to ensure safe passage and unhindered flow of traffic. The minister told news agency ANI that the commissioner of railway safety was investigating the matter. let the investigation report come but we have identified the cause of the incident and the people responsible for it... It happened due to a change in electronic interlocking, Vaishnaw said. Odisha Train Tragedy LIVE Updates: Accident happened due to a change in electronic interlocking, says Railways Minister It is not everyday that former India captain Virat Kohli has a role to play in arresting criminals on the run for a murder. But the 34-year-old batter recently had an indirect role to play in the arrest of murderers of an 82-year-old woman in Bengaluru. The words 'King Kohli' written on an autorickshaw helped city police track down the murderers of Kamala N Rao, whose body was found in the Mahalakshmipuram area of the city. Police officials said that the incident took place on May 27. Investigating officials identified three men- 34-year-old plumber Siddaraju C M, 40-year-old R Ashok and 33-year-old C Anjanamurthy- as the accused, all of whom were arrested on Friday. Senior police officer Shiva Prakash Devaraju told the media that the trio had plotted to kill the woman to try and repay their debts. "Ashok visited Kamalas house for plumbing works and noticed that she was living alone. Her husband had passed away last October. A few days ago, he revealed it to the other accused at a bar. Siddaraju then agreed to rob Kamalas gold ornaments to repay their debts," a police source told The Indian Express. The report stated on 27th morning, the accused removed the number plate from Anjanamurthy's autorickshaw- which had the words 'King Kohli' written on them and moved around the woman's place. That evening they accused hired another rickshaw to the victim's house pretending to rent a space in her garage. As per the police, once the accused entered her house they tied the woman's hands and legs, taped her mouth and killed her. Ashok guarded the house when the murder took place. The accused were caught by using the CCTV footage in the vicinity. "We took the visuals near Kamalas residence and noticed an autorickshaw doing several rounds on the same road during the morning. We found that the autorickshaw had the words King Kohli, but no registration number," an official said. "We then followed its movements earlier that morning and CCTV footage showed Anjanamurthy removing the vehicles number plate. Soon, we found the autorickshaws registration number and the arrests were made based on it. The words King Kohli helped us zero in on the vehicle," the officer added. The accused in the murder of the woman were found to be Mysuru and were later taken into custody. Also read: Bengaluru family sues Kuwait Airways for damaged bags, get Rs 59,000 as refund Tiffany May For decades, Hong Kong was the only place in China where the victims of the 1989 military crackdown on pro-democracy activists at Tiananmen Square in Beijing could be publicly mourned in a candlelight vigil. This year, Hong Kong is notable for all the ways it is being made to forget the 1989 massacre. In the days preceding the June 4 anniversary Sunday, even small shops that displayed items alluding to the crackdown were closely monitored, receiving multiple visits from police. Over the weekend, thousands of officers patrolled the streets in the Causeway Bay district, where the vigil was normally held. They arrested four people for committing acts with seditious intention, and detained four others. Zhou Fengsuo, a student leader in the Tiananmen Square protest movement, said that Hong Kong is now under the same despotic rule as the mainland. Back in 1989, we did not realize the mission of a democratic China, said Zhou, now the executive director of Human Rights in China, a New York advocacy group. Afterward, Hong Kong protests faced the same suppression, the same vilification and erasure of memories. In 1989, the pro-democracy movement in China drew huge support from Hong Kong, then a British colony. After the Chinese military cleared student protesters occupying Tiananmen Square, killing hundreds and possibly thousands, some student leaders in Beijing were smuggled to safety via Hong Kong. Every June 4 for three decades, Victoria Park in Hong Kong was where Tiananmen Mothers, a group representing victims of the massacre, could openly grieve and express hopes for a freer China. The gatherings drew crowds of tens of thousands of people, even as in the past decade some of the citys younger generation of activists questioned the relevance of the mainland-focused movement as they embraced a distinct Hong Kong identity. But since China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, virtually all forms of dissent have been criminalized in the city. Pro-democracy and anti-government protests like those that roiled the city in 2019 have been snuffed out. Authorities have paid particular attention to commemorations of the Tiananmen massacre. They raided a museum dedicated to it, removed books about the crackdown from libraries, and imprisoned organizers of vigils. In the past two years, authorities cited pandemic restrictions to bar all public memorials of the crackdown. Those COVID-19 restrictions were lifted this year, but instead of a Tiananmen vigil, Victoria Park was occupied by a trade fair. The fair was organized by pro-Beijing groups to celebrate the 1997 return of Hong Kong to Chinese rule, one month before that anniversary. The imprisonment of vigil organizers has raised the question of whether Hong Kong would ever allow residents to peacefully mourn the victims of the Tiananmen massacre. Hong Kongs chief executive, John Lee, has avoided providing a clear answer, saying only that everybody should act in accordance with the law and think of what they do, so as to be ready to face the consequences. But the arrests Saturday left little doubt. Among those arrested were Lau Ka-yee, of Tiananmen Mothers, and Kwan Chun-pong, a former vigil volunteer; they were carrying pieces of paper saying they were on a hunger strike as individual mourners. Sanmu Chan, a performance artist, yelled Hong Kongers, dont be afraid! Dont forget June 4, as a crush of officers took him away. Police also detained a man and a woman who had carried chrysanthemums and worn white clothing, symbols of mourning. In the lead-up to the anniversary, authorities were targeting the smallest gestures of remembrance. Debby Chan, a former pro-democracy district official, had posted a few photos on social media of electric candles she put on display in her grocery store last Tuesday. Police and representatives of three different government departments visited her several times because of that, she said. But she was undeterred. The more were not allowed to talk about it, the more they make these moves, the more I feel it is the right thing to do, she said in a phone interview. To Lit Ming Wai, a playwright, Hong Kong has a responsibility to preserve and pass down the memory of the crackdown, especially as it has been distorted and then erased elsewhere in China. In 2009, she co-founded a community theatre group called Stage 64, which sought to make the history of June 4 more accessible for young people in Hong Kong. The troupes most popular play is titled May 35th a euphemism for June 4 that some people on the mainland use to refer to the crackdown. When we talk about June 4, we are not just thinking about Tiananmen Mothers. Even more, we are thinking of Hong Kong, said Lit, who had been an emcee at June 4 vigils from 2004 to 2014. That play can no longer be performed in Hong Kong without risking prosecution. Now based in England, Lit is seeking to take the play overseas. The play was originally performed in Cantonese, and had its Mandarin debut in Taipei on Friday. For us Tiananmen survivors, losing Hong Kong this very important place that shielded history and truth is very painful, said Zhou, the former Tiananmen leader. After the raid and forced closing of a June 4 museum in Hong Kong in 2021, Zhou donated several Tiananmen artefacts to a newly established permanent exhibit in New York, including a bloodstained banner, a tent and a mimeograph. A section was devoted to Hong Kong. He added that he related to the wave of Hong Kong dissidents who had left the city: the pain of exile and their struggle to keep the movement alive while far from home. But their presence abroad was helping to keep the memory of the crackdown alive elsewhere, he said. On the other hand, many Hong Kongers are now passionately participating in June 4 activities around the world, increasing attendance threefold in some places, he said. There are now many cities that are starting to commemorate June 4 because of the arrival of Hong Kongers. c.2023 The New York Times Company here In a sign of the continued bipartisan support in America for strong bilateral ties with India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a joint session of the United States Congress during his first state visit to the country this month. US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has invited Modi to address the joint session on June 22. Modi had also addressed a joint session of the Congress during his 2016 visit to the US. The invitation to address the joint session of the US Congress is a great honour for a visiting leader or dignitary. It gives Modi the opportunity to share his vision for his countrys development and progress. It also allows him to announce his world view and how he wants to take forward the bilateral relationship. Modis visit comes in the backdrop of Chinas growing assertiveness over Taiwan and in the Indo-Pacific region. The Indian Prime Minister will also be in the US at a time when the ongoing war in Ukraine would have been scaled up by both Russia and Ukraine, backed by America and the NATO members in Europe. The keenness shown by McCarthy, a Republican, that Modi, who has been invited by US President Joe Biden (a Democrat), address the joint session shows the strong bipartisan support behind the invitation. This demand from Republicans, who now control the House of Representatives, and Democrats, who are in the majority in the Senate, shows that both sides are interested in deepening and widening ties that India and the US currently enjoy. Between Modis 2016 visit and the forthcoming trip to America this month, relations between the two countries have improved remarkably. Modis nine-year rule as prime minister has conveyed a sense of political stability to the US, though Biden has replaced Donald Trump in this period as the American president. But this has not led to any dilution in the bipartisan support that India enjoys. Most Indian analysts describe Indias ties with the US as its most consequential relationship. In the past decade India and the US have broadened their cooperation in a number of areas, ranging from trade and investment, and defence and security, to space, science, and critical technology, to culture and education, for their mutual benefit. But another critical factor that has brought the two countries even closer has been the aggressive rise of China in the region. Indian and Chinese soldiers have been engaged in a face-off in east Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) the informal boundary between the two countries since May 2020, after China unilaterally tried to change the status quo at the borders. India has made it clear that normal ties between the two countries will be achieved only when China moves back its troops to their position prior to the stand-off, and there is peace and tranquility along the LAC. China is also engaged in a number of maritime disputes with other Asian countries. The US, which is trying to reach out to Beijing to lower the temperature in the region, has continued to identify China as its greatest threat. India also sees China as the greatest challenge in its foreign policy, as many in the establishment believe that relations between the two neighbours will only worsen in the coming years. However, this has not stopped Indian leaders from engaging with their Chinese counterparts to ensure that differences between the two countries do not turn into a conflict. India is a partner in the US-led Quadrilateral Dialogue the Quad where India, along with Japan and Australia, have been trying to maintain an open, peaceful and inclusive Indo-Pacific. Significantly, though India shares the USs concerns over the challenge China poses in the region, the Modi government has so far refused to commit to any military alliance with America against the Chinese. Many US lawmakers are a little puzzled about this ambiguity on Indias part in dealing with China, and the issue is likely to figure during Modis engagement with the American leadership. Another equally tricky issue that India is likely to face during Modis visit will be on clarifying its relations with Russia. India is the only Quad member that has not condemned Russia for invading Ukraine, though it has called for peaceful negotiations to settle outstanding disputes. It has also stressed on respecting territorial integrity and sovereignty. In recent years, the US has become one of the key defence suppliers of India and their partnership in this area has grown significantly in the past decade. But Russia continues to be Indias main weapons supplier and the purchase of Russian arms by India has often defied the American law that calls for sanctions on countries that buy weapons from Russia. Though these issues are likely to come up during the Indian Prime Ministers talks in the US later this month, there are no indications that the differences over these issues will derail the current progress in Indo-US relations. Modis visit to America will give the Indian leadership another opportunity to show its strategic independence in an atmosphere of growing bipolarity. Saudi Arabia will make a deep cut to its output in July on top of a broader OPEC+ deal to limit supply into 2024 as the group seeks to boost flagging oil prices. Saudi's energy ministry said the country's output would drop to 9 million barrels per day (bpd) in July from around 10 million bpd in May, the biggest reduction in years. "This is a Saudi lollipop," Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz told a news conference. "We wanted to ice the cake. We always want to add suspense. We don't want people to try to predict what we do... This market needs stabilisation". OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, pumps around 40% of the world's crude, meaning its policy decisions can have a major impact on oil prices. A surprise decision to cut supply in April briefly sent international benchmark Brent crude around $9 higher, but prices have since retreated under pressure from concerns about the weakness of the global economy and its impact on demand. On Friday, Brent ended trade for the week at $76. Saudi Arabia is the only member of OPEC+ with sufficient spare capacity and storage to be able to easily reduce and increase output. It was able to respond rapidly to excess supply that weakened the market in the early stages of the pandemic in 2020 when the group of producers implemented record output cuts. EXTENSION TO END OF 2024 OPEC+ has in place cuts of 3.66 million bpd, amounting to 3.6% of global demand, including 2 million bpd agreed last year and voluntary cuts of 1.66 million bpd agreed in April. Those cuts were valid until the end of 2023 and on Sunday OPEC+, in a broader deal on output policy agreed after seven hours of talks, said it would extend them until the end of 2024. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began in February last year, Western nations have accused OPEC of manipulating oil prices and undermining the global economy through high energy costs. The West has also accused OPEC of siding with Russia. In response, OPEC insiders have said the West's money-printing over the last decade has driven inflation and forced oil-producing nations to act to maintain the value of their main export. Analysts said Sunday's OPEC+ decision sent a clear signal the group was willing to support prices and attempt to thwart speculators. "It is a clear signal to the market that OPEC+ is willing to put and defend a price floor," Amrita Sen, co-founder of Energy Aspects think-tank, said. Veteran OPEC watcher and founder of Black Gold Investors Gary Ross said: "The Saudis have made good on their threats to speculators and they clearly want higher oil prices." As the market stayed closed on Sunday, UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo predicted a strong start when it reopens on Monday. In addition to extending the existing OPEC+ cuts of 3.66 million bpd, the group also agreed on Sunday to reduce overall production targets from January 2024 by a further 1.4 million bpd versus current targets to a combined of 40.46 million bpd. However, many of these reductions will not be real as the group lowered the targets for Russia, Nigeria and Angola to bring them into line with actual current production levels. By contrast, the United Arab Emirates was allowed to raise output targets by around 0.2 million bpd to 3.22 million bpd. Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, Chairman of Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee, introduces the province's potential and strengths to Japanese businesses. (Photo: baodautu.vn) On May 31, the Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee coordinated with the Japan - Vietnam Friendship Association and the Office of Industry and Trade in Sakai to organize an Investment Promotion Conference with Japanese enterprises, in Sakai City, Osaka, Japan. The conference attracted the participation of more than 40 Japanese enterprises. During the conference, Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, Chairman of Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee, said that the province always wishes to further strengthen cooperation in investment, trade, education - training, human resource development and tourism connection between localities and businesses of the two countries, towards green growth and sustainable development. He assessed Japan as one of the most important partners of the province. Up to now, Binh Dinh province has attracted 19 projects from Japanese investors and enterprises, accounting for 22% of the province's total FDI projects; with a total registered investment capital of USD94.17 million. Japanese investment projects operate effectively, contributing to creating jobs and increasing incomes for people in Binh Dinh province. Many Japanese businesses at the conference said that the potential for trade cooperation between the two sides is great, including the import and export of potentially strong items between the two sides such as shrimp, fruit, agricultural products, tuna, industrial products and granite. Businesses at the conference got answers around issues of tax policy, trade policy, seaport infrastructure, infrastructure rental policy, trade services and labor. Addressing the conference, Mr. Pham Anh Tuan affirmed that Japanese enterprises have strengths in the fields of machinery manufacturing industry, mechanics, software industry, artificial intelligence, high-tech agriculture, environment, automation, logistics, seaport, health care, education and labor; and Binh Dinh hopes Japanese investors and businesses will study cooperation opportunities in the province. He confirmed that in 2023 and the years to come, Binh Dinh province will continue to invest in perfecting socio-economic infrastructure, speeding up administrative procedure reform, and improving competitiveness./. June 04, 2023 Ukraine Open Thread 2023-135 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 June 4, 2023 at 12:32 UTC | Permalink Comments next page TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) Citizens of the Cherokee Nation the largest Native American tribe in the U.S. are set to decide whether Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. should lead the tribe for another four years as it enters a golden era after courts recognized its sprawling reservation and with an operating budget of more than $3 billion. Hoskin, a 48-year-old attorney whose name is now intertwined with the fight for tribal sovereignty, is among four candidates seeking the tribe's top position, similar to that of a state's governor. The nonpartisan election for chief, deputy chief and eight positions on the tribes 17-member council are scheduled to be held Saturday, with many Cherokee citizens from across the country expected to submit absentee ballots. Challengers include David Cornsilk, a retired genealogist and educator; Wes Nofire, an ex-boxer and supporter of former President Donald Trump who serves on the tribal council; and Cara Cowen Watts, an engineer and former Cherokee Nation tribal councilor. Election results could take days to tabulate, and a runoff election will be held if no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote. By any measure, the last four years have been remarkable for the Cherokee Nation based in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, whose population has risen to more than 450,000 members. It is one of 39 federally recognized tribes with headquarters in a state once known as Indian Territory, where indigenous people were forced to relocate in the 1800s as European settlers expanded westward. The tribe's annual budget has tripled to more than $3 billion with the help of a massive infusion of federal funding through COVID-19 relief, the American Rescue Plan funding and the federal infrastructure bill. The tribe also negotiated its own $75 million settlement with manufacturers of opioids, which led to addiction and deaths among tribal members and other U.S. citizens. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Nation's reservation, which spans nearly 7,000 square miles (18,130 square km) in northeast Oklahoma, in a landmark decision on tribal sovereignty, the concept giving tribes the right to govern their people and control their economies. The Cherokee Nation's effort to seat a delegate in the U.S. Congress also has picked up steam. Meanwhile, Hoskin, a former Cherokee Nation tribal councilor and secretary of state, saw his statewide profile rise when he joined other tribal leaders across the state in a feud with Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, himself a Cherokee citizen, over the compacts with the state giving tribes the exclusive right to casino gambling. The tribes also have compacts, which are formal agreements between tribes and the state, over revenue items including the sale of cigarettes, motor fuel and vehicle tags. A judge ultimately sided with the tribes, but their conflict with the governor grew more combative as Stitt fiercely opposed the expansion of tribal sovereignty that ultimately came in the form of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark McGirt decision. Since then, Hoskin and Stitt have continued to engage in increasingly contentious bickering that some say has become petty. Hoskin at one point ordered Oklahoma flags to be removed from tribal properties, a decision he later rescinded. Stitt, meanwhile, has vetoed several bills supported by tribes, including one that would allow students to wear tribal regalia at high school graduations, although his veto was later overridden by the GOP-controlled Legislature. Although it's not uncommon for Oklahoma governors and tribes to have disagreements and even battles in court, the relationship between Stitt and many of the state's most powerful tribes has grown particularly combative. While Stitt is officially a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, archived tribal documents from the early 1900s show the tribe sought to remove one of Stitt's ancestors, Francis M. Dawson, from the list of tribal citizens, alleging he bribed a commission clerk to place him and his family in the register. The tribes decision to remove Dawson and his family ultimately was overruled by the federal government. Stitt recently acknowledged he has never voted in a tribal election and wasn't even certain if he was authorized to do so. When asked if he planned to endorse anyone in the chief's race, Stitt made clear he is no fan of Hoskin. I'm not going to be endorsing him," Stitt said. He stood up and endorsed my opponent, so we'll see. In a rare decision to wade deeply into state politics, Hoskin and other leaders of the Five Tribes of Oklahoma also including the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole tribes endorsed Stitt's opponent, Democrat Joy Hofmeister, who ultimately lost to Stitt by nearly 15 percentage points. Explaining why he deserves another four-year term, Hoskin focused on his efforts to diversify the tribe's economy beyond casino operations and preserve the Cherokee language. He also has helped invest a massive infusion of federal money into infrastructure projects including a six-story, 127-bed, $400 million hospital in the tribe's capital city, wellness centers for tribal citizens and a drug-and-alcohol treatment facility built with the tribe's share of settlement funds from opioid manufacturers. That to me seems like not only an argument for our reelection, but something that long down the road, years and decades from now, will be of great benefit to the Cherokee people, Hoskin said. Chief Ben Barnes of the Shawnee Tribe, which has no formal reservation and is not associated with the Cherokee Nation, said he doesn't want to wade into another tribe's politics, but it's hard not to take notice of the job Hoskin has done. Often times tribal leaders rush from one brush fire to another, Barnes said. In spite of all those brush fires, in spite of a global pandemic, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin has maintained a coherent vision for what he sees for his nation. Still, Hoskin clearly has critics. Cornsilk, one of his opponents, criticized Hoskin's massive investment in infrastructure projects that Cornsilk said will be difficult to staff and maintain once the federal COVID-19 relief and infrastructure funding goes away. He claimed Hoskin runs the tribe like a dictatorship, in part by using his influence to stack the tribe's council with allies who quash dissent. This mafia has been in office since 2011. Theyve been in there long enough that theyve filled every seat on our tribal court. Theyve filled every seat on the election commission, Cornsilk said. He controls everything. While Cornsilk acknowledged Hoskin is an impressive public speaker who has raised his own political profile, he said that has come at the expense of the Cherokee people. He doesnt have a lot of support in the five major Cherokee populated counties," Cornsilk said, "but the further you get away from Tahlequah, the less people know, the less connected they are, the more likely they are to believe the hype that comes out of his office. ___ Follow Sean Murphy on Twitter: @apseanmurphy The meeting between Hung Yen leaders and COT Group (Photo: baodautu.vn) Mr. Nguyen Hung Nam, Vice Chairman of Hung Yen Provincial People's Committee, has just had a meeting with COT Group (Singapore). At the meeting, a representative of COT Group said that after a period of survey, the Group chose Hung Yen as an investment location. According to the plan, in the first phase, COT Group will run the project with total investment capital of about USD500 - 800 million to serve production activities. The Group will invest the most advanced equipment in production lines. In addition, it wants the province to create favorable conditions in completing the processes and procedures for land allocation, land lease and construction permit. Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Nguyen Hung Nam, Vice Chairman of Hung Yen Provincial People's Committee emphasized, the province is always interested in creating favorable conditions for businesses to invest in the area. With the investment plan of COT Group in the area, he affirmed that Hung Yen will accompany the Group in the investment process. He suggested that the infrastructure investor of Thang Long II Industrial Park urgently complete the procedures for paying land use fees, and coordinate with provincial departments and branches to complete legal procedures to create favorable conditions for investors. As soon as the infrastructure investor of Thang Long II Industrial Park fulfills its financial obligations, the province will issue a certificate of land use rights for the expanded area in Thang Long II Industrial Park. He also suggested that COT Group coordinate with the infrastructure investor of Thang Long II Industrial Park and departments and branches to complete investment procedures; the investment process must strictly comply with the provisions of Vietnamese law. The province will support the content of progress that COT Group and the infrastructure investor of Thang Long II Industrial Park signed. Departments, branches and localities are urged to complete legal procedures so that the investor of Thang Long II Industrial Park's infrastructure can soon have enough grounds to attract businesses to invest in. Earlier on May 19, COT Group also had a meeting with the leaders of Hung Yen province on the province's preferential policies in attracting investment, land rent, quality of industrial park infrastructure, and labor resources. According to the plan, COT Group will deploy the project in November 2023 in the manufacturing of electronics, optoelectronics and virtual reality. The Thang Long II Industrial Park has a scale of 525.7 hectares with an industrial land area for lease of 401.42 hectares. According to the Park Management Board, as of May 15, the industrial land area for lease in this industrial park was 268 hectares, the occupancy rate reached 66.8%. In the industrial park, there are 104 foreign investment projects, with a total registered investment capital of about USD3.274 billion. Foreign investors investing in industrial zones are mainly Japanese investors, including a number of large economic groups such as Kyocera, Hoya, Nippon, Daikin, Toto and Panasonic./. Gina Bisignano, a Beverly Hills salon owner (left to right), Simone Gold, a physician and anti-vaccine advocate, and her spokesman, John Strand, also of Beverly Hills, were accused of taking part in the insurrection at the Capitol. (Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice/TNS) The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Guam donated $200,000 to the American Red Cross Guam Chapter for Typhoon Mawar recovery efforts during a ceremony at Hilton Guam Resort & Spa in Tumon on June 2, 2023. HONG KONG (AP) Hong Kong police detained eight people, including activists and artists, on the eve of the 34th anniversary of Chinas Tianan Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, participates in a meeting on cultural inheritance and development, and delivers an important speech in Beijing, capital of China, June 2, 2023. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for shouldering new cultural missions and building a modern Chinese civilization. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a meeting on cultural inheritance and development on Friday. The cultural missions in the new era are to further advance cultural prosperity, to build a leading country in culture and to foster the modern Chinese civilization, Xi said. "With unwavering cultural confidence, a profound sense of mission and a spirit of relentless endeavor, we must unite our efforts to create a new culture for our times," he said. Before the meeting, Xi had visited the China National Archives of Publications and Culture (CNAPC) and the Chinese Academy of History. Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, accompanied Xi on the visits and presided over the meeting. On Thursday afternoon, Xi visited the headquarters of the CNAPC in the northern suburbs of Beijing. Following a tour of the exhibition halls, Xi expressed his concern for the invaluable classic publications that have endured the vicissitudes of time. The CNAPC was built to carry forward the Chinese civilization, the only uninterrupted civilization in the world, said Xi. Xi emphasized the institution's primary responsibility of collection, while also encouraging it to strengthen the research on collected items. On Friday afternoon, Xi visited the Chinese Academy of History. He walked into the Chinese Archaeological Museum in the academy and toured exhibitions including one on the origins of civilization. Xi highlighted the integral role of archaeology in deepening the understanding of the rich and profound Chinese culture. He emphasized the significance of conducting research and providing interpretations regarding the origins of Chinese civilization. Xi conveyed his expectations that scholars would continue to enhance their research endeavors and contribute their wisdom and efforts to the advancement of Chinese modernization. Subsequently, Xi participated in the meeting on cultural inheritance and development at the academy. After several professors and scholars spoke, he delivered an important speech. Xi emphasized that the Chinese civilization has a long and continuous history stretching back to antiquity, and said that a comprehensive and profound understanding of that history is essential to promoting the creative transformation and development of fine traditional Chinese culture more effectively, and to developing modern Chinese civilization. PROMINENT FEATURES OF CHINESE CIVILIZATION As prominent features of Chinese civilization, its consistency determines on a fundamental level that the Chinese people must follow their own path, and its originality determines the enterprising spirit of the Chinese people, Xi said. Its unity determines fundamentally that the various ethnic cultures of the Chinese nation are integrated and rally closely together, even when faced with major setbacks, and that a strong and unified country is the pillar upon which the well-being of all Chinese people depends, Xi added. He went on to say that the inclusivity of the Chinese civilization determines the harmonious coexistence of diverse religious beliefs in China, and determines the open-minded and inclusive mentality toward various civilizations around the world. Its peaceful nature determines that China will continue to pursue exchanges and mutual learning with different civilizations rather than cultural hegemony, that China will not impose its own values and political system on others, and that China will promote cooperation rather than confrontation and will not create exclusive blocs. CULTURAL CONFIDENCE AT NEW HEIGHTS Integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China's specific realities and fine traditional culture is the path that must be taken to explore and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics within the Chinese civilization, which has stretched for more than 5,000 years, Xi noted, adding that this integration is the most important tool for the Party to achieve its success. Despite their different cultural roots, Marxism and China's fine traditional culture are highly consistent with each other, Xi said. The integration of Marxism and China's fine traditional culture will create a new type of culture that fits within Chinese modernization, and it will expand the cultural foundation of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, he said. Their integration will provide a broader cultural space for theoretical and institutional innovation for the future, and strengthen the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese people, he said. Their integration highlights that the Party's understanding of the Chinese path, theory and system has reached a new height, as has its confidence in its history and culture, he said. It also shows that the Party's consciousness of the need to advance cultural innovation while inheriting fine traditional culture has climbed to a new level. Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee has prioritized cultural advancement in its overall work, and has put forward a series of new ideas, viewpoints and judgments that are fundamental guidance for the work in communication, ideology and culture fields, according to Xi. To build a modern Chinese civilization at this new historical starting point, China should remain confident in its culture and keep pursuing its own path, and promote the Chinese experience into Chinese theory to realize intellectual independence and self-reliance, Xi said. He also underscored the need to stay committed to openness and inclusiveness, and adapt foreign cultures into China's local context. Presiding over the meeting, Cai Qi called for the guiding principles of Xi's important speech to be upheld. He stressed the importance of efforts to deepen the understanding of cultural advancement, better shoulder the new cultural missions, and make solid progress in building a modern Chinese civilization and turning China into a country with a strong socialist culture. Senior officials including Li Shulei, Tie Ning, Shen Yiqin, Qin Gang and Jiang Xinzhi participated in the activities. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, participates in a meeting on cultural inheritance and development, and delivers an important speech in Beijing, capital of China, June 2, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the Chinese Academy of History before a meeting on cultural inheritance and development in Beijing, capital of China, June 2, 2023. Xi participated in the meeting and delivered an important speech on Friday. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the Chinese Academy of History before a meeting on cultural inheritance and development in Beijing, capital of China, June 2, 2023. Xi participated in the meeting and delivered an important speech on Friday. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits an exhibition hall of the China National Archives of Publications and Culture, and learns about the preservation of classic publications in its collection in Beijing, capital of China, June 1, 2023. Xi participated in a meeting on cultural inheritance and development, and delivered an important speech on Friday. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits an exhibition hall of the China National Archives of Publications and Culture, and learns about the preservation of classic publications in its collection in Beijing, capital of China, June 1, 2023. Xi participated in a meeting on cultural inheritance and development, and delivered an important speech on Friday. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the China National Archives of Publications and Culture in Beijing, capital of China, June 1, 2023. Xi participated in a meeting on cultural inheritance and development, and delivered an important speech on Friday. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the China National Archives of Publications and Culture in Beijing, capital of China, June 1, 2023. Xi participated in a meeting on cultural inheritance and development, and delivered an important speech on Friday. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the China National Archives of Publications and Culture in Beijing, capital of China, June 1, 2023. Xi participated in a meeting on cultural inheritance and development, and delivered an important speech on Friday. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, participates in a meeting on cultural inheritance and development, and delivers an important speech in Beijing, capital of China, June 2, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits an exhibition hall of the China National Archives of Publications and Culture, and learns about the preservation of classic publications in its collection in Beijing, capital of China, June 1, 2023. Xi participated in a meeting on cultural inheritance and development, and delivered an important speech on Friday. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) Editor: Zhang Zhou Staff Reporter Richelle obtained a bachelor of arts degree in mass communications from the Far Eastern University in Manila, the Philippines. She was a junior reporter for Marianas Variety from 2009 to 2010, and from 2014 to 2015. In the Maldives, she worked as a news reporter and marketing executive. In her free time, shes a painter, pianist, and mom baker. From left, representatives from Triple J Saipan and Micronesian Air Cargo Services stand beside the pallet of food items at Saipan International Airport before the food items are shipped to Rota in support of Super Typhoon Mawar relief efforts on Friday, June 2. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The founding fathers were a quiltwork of conflicting personalities. George Washington was dignified and coolly aloof. Thomas Jefferson went around with his head in the clouds. John Adams was perpetually looking for someone to argue with. Bookish James Madison was a brain with arms and legs attached. Then there was Benjamin Franklin. He was, someone once observed, the founder youd want to have a beer with. Artists who painted him caught the sly twinkle in his eyes and the hint of playful mischief lurking behind them. Statesman, scientist, diplomat, author, inventor, businessman his accomplishments made him a genius in his or any century. Franklin was also a ladies man. He made no secret of his attraction to them and was catnip to them in return. Difficult as it is to believe today, Ben Franklin old, pudgy, balding, glasses-wearing Ben was a babe magnet well into old age. As ambassador to France, it was fashionable among Parisian high society for ladies of the court to flirt with the then-70-something envoy from the far side of the Atlantic. His flings sometimes produced more than memories. Stories have floated around for decades (especially in Philadelphia, where it seems tour guides gleefully passed them along) that he fathered anywhere from 13 to 80 illegitimate children. The truth, as so often happens, was nowhere nearly as salacious. We do know he was the Baby Daddy to one, and perhaps two, kids out of wedlock. While that would have qualified him to appear on The Jerry Springer Show, it hardly makes him the insatiable Satyr of legend. One documented offspring is of particular interest because he spent his life directly opposing the very cause to which his famous father was dedicated. Ben Franklin paid more than lip service to American independence by traveling far and wide on its behalf at an advanced age. Yet at the same time, his son remained militantly loyal to England. This is the story of William Franklin. He was born in Philadelphia in 1730 when Ben was in his 20s. His mothers identity has never been discovered. When Ben began his common-law marriage to Deborah Reed, she took William into the household and raised him. He called her mother all his life. He put on a military uniform at age 16, rose to captain, and was at his dads side during Franklins famous kite experiment (proving lightning and electricity are the same thing). He became engaged to a Philadelphia doctors daughter, then sailed to London to study law where. Like a chip off the old block, he fathered an illegitimate child of his own. (More on him in a minute.) He also jilted his fiancee back home and married another woman. The Franklins settled in New Jersey. He partnered with his father to pursue land grants in the colonies frontier. William was named governor of the New Jersey Colony in 1763. He was an able administrator who, over the next 14 years, supported the creation of Rutgers University, eliminated debtors prison, and pardoned 105 women jailed for adultery. Not a bad record. But friction was brewing as the push for independence grew stronger. Ben was an ardent patriot; William a devout loyalist. The father-son relationship grew increasingly strained until the two finally split. A famous historian noted, (William) did not abandon Benjamin, but Benjamin abandoned him. William was a devout member of the Church of England. The Crown had been good to him. Besides, he couldnt afford to live without his royal salary. Imprisoned for two years, he was released in a prisoner swap, moved to New York City, and became a leader of the loyalist resistance to the Revolution. While his father did all he could for American freedom, the younger Franklin recruited pro-British military units and worked with spy rings to squelch it. William sailed for England (permanently) when his dads side eventually won. His wife had died while he was jailed, and in 1788 he married a rich Irish widow. Father and son never patched things up. William wrote to his dad in 1784, hoping for a reconciliation. Benjamin sent a lukewarm reply. The two met one final time the following year. Benjamin stopped in London on his way home from France. It was short, businesslike, and involved a third generation of the Franklin family. Remember Williams illegitimate son? Ben met the boy and raised him, just as his wife had done for his own illegitimate child. Benjamin developed a deep affection for William Temple Franklin, perhaps transferring to him the love he no longer gave his son. Temple (as he was called) not only shared his grandfathers politics but also served as his personal secretary. In that last meeting in London, Benjamin, now 80, got William to transfer land in New York to his own son to settle a debt William still owed his famous dad. When Ben Franklin died six years later, his countrymen greatly mourned him. William Franklin died quietly in exile 23 years later. His London grave was lost over the years. Appropriate, perhaps, for a man whose legacy was swept under the rug of history for being on the losing side. At the end of "The Searchers," one of John Wayne's most renowned Westerns, a kidnapped girl has been rescued and a family reunited. As the closing music swells, Wayne's character looks around at his kin people who have other people to lean on and then walks off toward the dusty West Texas horizon, lonesome and alone. It's a classic example of a fundamental American tall tale that of a nation built on notions of individualism, a male-dominated story filled with loners and "rugged individualists" who suck it up, do what needs to be done, ride off into the sunset and like it that way. In reality, loneliness in America can be deadly. Last month, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared it an American epidemic, saying that it takes as deadly a toll as smoking upon the population of the United States. "Millions of people in America are struggling in the shadows," he said, "and that's not right." He cited some potent forces: the gradual withering of longstanding institutions, decreased engagement with churches, the fraying bonds of extended families. When you add recent stressors the rise of social media and virtual life, post-9/11 polarization and the way COVID-19 interrupted existence the challenge becomes even more stark. People are lonely the world over. But as far back as the early 19th century, when the word "loneliness" began to be used in its current context in American life, some were already asking the question: Do the contours of American society that emphasis on individualism, that spreading out with impunity over a vast, sometimes outsized landscape encourage isolation and alienation? Or is that, like other chunks of the American story, a premise built on myths? Alexis de Tocqueville, watching the country as an outsider while writing "Democracy in America" in the mid-1800s, wondered whether, "as social conditions become more equal," Americans and people like them would be inclined to reject the trappings of deep community that had pervaded Old World aristocracies for centuries. "They acquire the habit of always considering themselves as standing alone, and they are apt to imagine that their whole destiny is in their own hands," he wrote. "Thus not only does democracy make every man forget his ancestors, but it ... throws him back forever upon himself alone, and threatens in the end to confine him entirely within the solitude of his own heart." This has been a recurring thread in how Americans perceive themselves. In the age before democracy, for better and for worse, "People weren't lonely. They were tied up in a web of connections. And in many countries that's more true than it was in the United States," says Colin Woodard, director of the Nationhood Lab at the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy. "There's this idea that going out into those vast spaces and connecting with the wilderness and escaping the past was precisely what made us Americans," Woodard says. Yet many frontier myths skip over how important community has been in the settling and growth of the nation. Some of the biggest stories of cooperation the rise of municipal organizations and trade unions, the New Deal programs that helped drag many Americans out of the Depression in the 1930s, war efforts from the Civil War to World War II sometimes get lost in the fervor for character-driven stories of individualism. Those omissions continue. Fueled in part by pandemic distrust, a latter-day strain of individual-over-community sentiment often paired with invocations of liberty and freedom occupies a significant chunk of the national conversation these days to the point where advocacy about community thinking is sometimes met with accusations of socialism. Let's not consign Americans to be the heirs of a built-in loneliness gene, though. A new generation is insisting that mental health be part of the national conversation, and many voices among them women and people of color are increasingly offering new alternatives to the old myths. What's more, the very place where the discussion about loneliness is being held today in the office of the surgeon general, a presidential appointee suggests that other paths are possible. The ways Americans perceive themselves as solitary (whether it's true) can be seen in their art. One of the nation's early art movements, the mid-19th-century Hudson River School, made people tiny parts of outsized landscapes, implying both that the land dwarfed humans and that they were being summoned to tame it. From that, you can draw a line straight to Hollywood and director John Ford's Westerns, which used vast landscapes to isolate and motivate humans for the purposes of telling big stories. Same with music, where both the blues and the "high lonesome sound" helped shape later genres. In the suburbs, Betty Friedan's groundbreaking "The Feminine Mystique" helped give voice to a generation of lonely women. In the city, Edward Hopper's work like the iconic "Nighthawks" channeled urban loneliness. At around the same time, the emergence of film noir crime and decay in the American city its frequent subject helped shape the figure of the lonely man alone in a crowd who might be a protagonist, might be an antagonist, might be both. Today, loneliness plays out on streaming TV all the time in the forms of shows like "Severance," "Shrinking," "Beef" and, most prominently, the earnest "Ted Lasso," a show about an American in Britain who despite being known and celebrated by many is consistently and obviously lonely. In March, the show's creator and star, Jason Sudeikis, appeared with his cast at the White House to talk about the issue that the show is, in its final season, more about than ever: mental health. "We all know someone who has, or have been that someone ourselves actually, that's struggled, that's felt isolated, that's felt anxious, that has felt alone," Sudeikis said. Solitude and isolation do not automatically equal loneliness. But they all live in the same part of town. During the pandemic, Murthy's report found, people tightened their groups of friends and cut time spent with them. According to the report, Americans spent 20 minutes a day with friends in 2020 down from an hour daily two decades ago. Granted, that was during peak COVID. The trend, though, is clear particularly among young people ages 15 to 24. Perhaps many Americans are alone in a crowd, awash in a sea of voices both physical and virtual yet by themselves much of the time, seeking community but suspicious of it. Some of the modernizing forces that stitched the United States together in the first place commerce, communication, roads are, in their current forms, part of what isolates people today. There's a lot of space between the general store and Amazon deliveries to your door, between mailing a letter and navigating virtual worlds, between roads that connect towns and freeways that overrun them. And if Americans can figure out more about what connects and what alienates, some answers to the loneliness epidemic might reveal themselves. "We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately," Benjamin Franklin, not incidentally the country's first postmaster general, said under very different circumstances. Or perhaps it's put better by the American poet Amanda Gorman, one of the country's most insightful young voices. This is from her poem "The Miracle of Morning," written in 2020 during the early part of the pandemic. "While we might feel small, separate, and all alone, our people have never been more closely tethered. Because the question isn't if we can weather this unknown, but how we will weather this unknown together." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SINGAPORE (AP) China's defense minister defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, telling a gathering of some of the world's top defense officials in Singapore on Sunday that such so-called freedom of navigation patrols are a provocation to China. In his first international public address since becoming defense minister in March, Gen. Li Shangfu told the Shangri-La Dialogue that China doesn't have any problems with innocent passage but that we must prevent attempts that try to use those freedom of navigation (patrols), that innocent passage, to exercise hegemony of navigation. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told the same forum Saturday that Washington would not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion from China and would continue regularly sailing through and flying over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea to emphasize they are international waters, countering Beijing's sweeping territorial claims. That same day a U.S. guided-missile destroyer and a Canadian frigate were intercepted by a Chinese warship in the strait dividing the self-governed island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, and mainland China. The Chinese vessel overtook the American ship and then veered across its bow at a distance of 150 yards (about 140 meters) in an unsafe manner," according to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Additionally, the U.S. has said a Chinese J-16 fighter jet late last month performed an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver while intercepting a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea, flying directly in front of the plane's nose. Those and previous incidents have raised concerns of a possible accident occurring that could lead to an escalation between the two nations at a time when tensions are already high. Li suggested the U.S. and its allies had created the danger, and should instead should focus on taking good care of your own territorial airspace and waters. The best way is for the countries, especially the naval vessels and fighter jets of countries, not to do closing actions around other countries' territories, he said through an interpreter. Whats the point of going there? In China we always say, Mind your own business. In a wide-ranging speech, Li reiterated many of Beijings well-known positions, including its claim on Taiwan, calling it the core of our core interests. He accused the U.S. and others of meddling in Chinas internal affairs by providing Taiwan with defense support and training, and conducting high-level diplomatic visits. China stays committed to the path of peaceful development, but we will never hesitate to defend our legitimate rights and interests, let alone sacrifice the nations core interests, he said. As the lyrics of a well-known Chinese song go: When friends visit us, we welcome them with fine wine. When jackals or wolves come, we will face them with shotguns. In his speech the previous day, Austin broadly outlined the U.S. vision for a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific within a world of rules and rights. Austin said the U.S. was stepping up planning, coordination and training with friends from the East China Sea to the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean with shared goals to deter aggression and to deepen the rules and norms that promote prosperity and prevent conflict. Li scoffed at the notion, saying some country takes a selective approach to rules and international laws. It likes forcing its own rules on others, he said. Its so-called rules-based international order never tells you what the rules are and who made these rules. By contrast, he said, we practice multilateralism and pursue win-win cooperation." Li is under American sanctions that are part of a broad package of measures against Russia but predate its invasion of Ukraine that were imposed in 2018 over Lis involvement in Chinas purchase of combat aircraft and anti-aircraft missiles from Moscow. The sanctions, which broadly prevent Li from doing business in the United States, do not prevent him from holding official talks, American defense officials have said. Still, he refused Austins invitation to talk on the sidelines of the conference, though the two did shake hands before sitting down at opposite sides of the same table together as the forum opened Friday. Austin said that was not enough. A cordial handshake over dinner is no substitute for a substantive engagement, Austin said. The U.S. has noted that since 2021 well before Li became defense minister China has declined or failed to respond to more than a dozen requests from the U.S. Defense Department to talk with senior leaders, as well as multiple requests for standing dialogues and working-level engagements. Li said that China is open to communications between our two countries and also between our two militaries," but without mentioning the sanctions, said exchanges had to be based on mutual respect. That is a very fundamental principle, he said. If we do not even have mutual respect, than our communications will not be productive. He said that he recognized that any severe conflict or confrontation between China and the U.S. will be an unbearable disaster for the world, and that the two countries need to find ways to improve relations, saying they were at a record low. History has proven time and again that both China and the United States will benefit from cooperation and lose from confrontation," he said. "China seeks to develop a new type of major-country relationship with the United States. As for the U.S. side, it needs to act with sincerity, match its words with deeds, and take concrete actions together with China to stabilize the relations and prevent further deterioration, Li said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 4. Azerbaijan always supports preventive measures of the OPEC+, Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan Parviz Shahbazov said, Trend reports. We adopted another decision serving for a balance and stability in the global oil market within the OPEC+ format. Azerbaijan always supports the preventive measures of the OPEC+, which minimise the risks negatively affecting the development of the oil sector, the minister wrote on his Twitter page, commenting the decision made by the block, following the 35th Ministerial Meeting held in Vienna today. Thus, the overall crude oil production level for both OPEC and non-OPEC countries will be set at 40.46 mb/d, as the block agreed. Azerbaijan is expected to adjust its crude production to 551,000 barrels per day throughout 2024. US, Saudi Arabia urge Sudans warring parties to agree to a new cease-fire, fighting continues View Photo CAIRO (AP) Saudi Arabia and the United States urged Sudans warring parties Sunday to agree to and effectively implement a new cease-fire as fighting showed no signs of abating in the northeastern African nation. Sudan descended into chaos after fighting broke out in mid-April between the military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. For weeks, Saudi Arabia and the United States have been mediating between the warring parties. On May 21, both countries successfully brokered a temporary cease-fire agreement to help with the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the war-torn country. Their efforts, however, were dealt a blow when the military announced on Wednesday it would no longer participate in the cease-fire talks held in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah. Following the militarys decision, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia said they were suspending the talks as a result of repeated serious violations of the short-term cease-fire. President Joe Bidens administration imposed sanctions against key Sudanese defense companies run by the military and the RSF and people who perpetuate violence in Sudan. In their statement on Sunday, Washington and Riyad said they continued to engage representatives of the military and the RSF who remained in Jeddah. They urged the Sudanese warring sides to agree to and implement a new cease-fire following the latest one which expired late Saturday. The aim is to eventually establish a permanent cessation of hostilities in the war-wrecked country, they said. The statement said the discussions focused on facilitating humanitarian assistance and reaching an agreement on near-term steps the parties must take before resuming the talks. The fighting has turned the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into battlefields, resulting in widespread looting and destruction of residential areas across the country. The conflict has also displaced more than 1.65 million people who fled to safer areas in Sudan and neighboring countries. Aid groups offices and warehouses, health care facilities and other civilian infrastructure have been attacked and looted, including most recently the warehouses of the World Food Program in the city of Obeid in North Kordofan on Jan. 1. There have been reports of sexual violence, including the rape of women and girls in Khartoum and the western Darfur region, which have seen some of the worst fighting in the conflict. Almost all reported cases of sexual attacks were blamed on the RSF, which didnt respond to repeated requests for comment. Residents reported intense fighting over the past two days in Khartoum and its neighboring cities of Omdurman and Bahri. Shelling and gunfire were heard early Sunday in parts of Omdurman, as the militarys aircraft bombed RSF positions in the capital area. Fighting was also reported in the northern part of the Darfur region, which has witnessed some of the worst battles since the fighting began on April 15. The clashes intensified between the military and the RSF in the town of Kutum in North Darfur province. Residents reported that the towns market, many houses, and a camp for displaced people were burned down. There were reports of dozens of casualties among civilians. Darfur Gov. Mini Arko Minawi said on Twitter on Sunday that Kutum residents have experienced terrible violations including killings and looting. Minawi, a rebel leader who was named governor of the western region as part of a 2020 peace deal, declared Darfur a disaster area. He urged the international community to send humanitarian assistance by all available means to save people in the stricken region. By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press China defends buzzing American warship in Taiwan Strait, accuses US of provoking Beijing View Photo SINGAPORE (AP) Chinas defense minister defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, telling a gathering of some of the worlds top defense officials in Singapore on Sunday that such so-called freedom of navigation patrols are a provocation to China. In his first international public address since becoming defense minister in March, Gen. Li Shangfu told the Shangri-La Dialogue that China doesnt have any problems with innocent passage but that we must prevent attempts that try to use those freedom of navigation (patrols), that innocent passage, to exercise hegemony of navigation. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told the same forum Saturday that Washington would not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion from China and would continue regularly sailing through and flying over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea to emphasize they are international waters, countering Beijings sweeping territorial claims. That same day a U.S. guided-missile destroyer and a Canadian frigate were intercepted by a Chinese warship in the strait dividing the self-governed island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, and mainland China. The Chinese vessel overtook the American ship and then veered across its bow at a distance of 150 yards (about 140 meters) in an unsafe manner, according to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Additionally, the U.S. has said a Chinese J-16 fighter jet late last month performed an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver while intercepting a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea, flying directly in front of the planes nose. Those and previous incidents have raised concerns of a possible accident occurring that could lead to an escalation between the two nations at a time when tensions are already high. Li suggested the U.S. and its allies had created the danger, and should instead should focus on taking good care of your own territorial airspace and waters. The best way is for the countries, especially the naval vessels and fighter jets of countries, not to do closing actions around other countries territories, he said through an interpreter. Whats the point of going there? In China we always say, Mind your own business. In a wide-ranging speech, Li reiterated many of Beijings well-known positions, including its claim on Taiwan, calling it the core of our core interests. He accused the U.S. and others of meddling in Chinas internal affairs by providing Taiwan with defense support and training, and conducting high-level diplomatic visits. China stays committed to the path of peaceful development, but we will never hesitate to defend our legitimate rights and interests, let alone sacrifice the nations core interests, he said. As the lyrics of a well-known Chinese song go: When friends visit us, we welcome them with fine wine. When jackals or wolves come, we will face them with shotguns. In his speech the previous day, Austin broadly outlined the U.S. vision for a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific within a world of rules and rights. Austin said the U.S. was stepping up planning, coordination and training with friends from the East China Sea to the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean with shared goals to deter aggression and to deepen the rules and norms that promote prosperity and prevent conflict. Li scoffed at the notion, saying some country takes a selective approach to rules and international laws. It likes forcing its own rules on others, he said. Its so-called rules-based international order never tells you what the rules are and who made these rules. By contrast, he said, we practice multilateralism and pursue win-win cooperation. Li is under American sanctions that are part of a broad package of measures against Russia but predate its invasion of Ukraine that were imposed in 2018 over Lis involvement in Chinas purchase of combat aircraft and anti-aircraft missiles from Moscow. The sanctions, which broadly prevent Li from doing business in the United States, do not prevent him from holding official talks, American defense officials have said. Still, he refused Austins invitation to talk on the sidelines of the conference, though the two did shake hands before sitting down at opposite sides of the same table together as the forum opened Friday. Austin said that was not enough. A cordial handshake over dinner is no substitute for a substantive engagement, Austin said. The U.S. has noted that since 2021 well before Li became defense minister China has declined or failed to respond to more than a dozen requests from the U.S. Defense Department to talk with senior leaders, as well as multiple requests for standing dialogues and working-level engagements. Li said that China is open to communications between our two countries and also between our two militaries, but without mentioning the sanctions, said exchanges had to be based on mutual respect. That is a very fundamental principle, he said. If we do not even have mutual respect, than our communications will not be productive. He said that he recognized that any severe conflict or confrontation between China and the U.S. will be an unbearable disaster for the world, and that the two countries need to find ways to improve relations, saying they were at a record low. History has proven time and again that both China and the United States will benefit from cooperation and lose from confrontation, he said. China seeks to develop a new type of major-country relationship with the United States. As for the U.S. side, it needs to act with sincerity, match its words with deeds, and take concrete actions together with China to stabilize the relations and prevent further deterioration, Li said. By DAVID RISING Associated Press Fire at refugee shelter in eastern Germany kills 1, injures 10 View Photo BERLIN (AP) A fire at a refugee shelter in eastern Germany killed one person and injured 10 others early Sunday, according to local police. Police in the German state of Thuringia said the fire broke out around 5 a.m. at a facility in the city of Apolda and that one body was recovered from the burned building. A 9-year-old child was reported missing, police said. They did not say if recovered body belonged to a child. Writing on Twitter, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser called the incident terrible news. She confirmed an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the fire. The shelter, which housed 300 people, was evacuated and residents were taken to another refugee center in nearby Hermsdorf, a local government spokesperson told German news agency dpa. Police said 250 people were in the shelter at the time of the fire, and 10 were taken to a local hospital with injuries, police said. Information about their condition was not immediately available. Oil tanker breaks down in Egypts Suez Canal, briefly disrupting traffic in the global waterway Oil tanker breaks down in Egypts Suez Canal, briefly disrupting traffic in the global waterway View Photo CAIRO (AP) A tanker transporting crude oil broke down in a single-lane part of Egypts Suez Canal on Sunday, briefly disrupting traffic in the global waterway, Egyptian authorities said. The Malta-flagged Seavigour suffered a mechanical malfunction at the 12- kilometer (7.5-mile) mark of the canal, said George Safwat, a spokesperson for Egypts Suez Canal Authority. The tanker was transiting the canal from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea In a phone interview with a local television station, Adm. Ossama Rabei, the head of the canal authority, said the tanker broke down in a single-lane part of the waterway, disrupting the transit of eight other vessels behind it. Hours later, Rabei said in a statement that navigation at the canal had returned to normal after three tugboats towed the tanker to a double-lane part at the 17- kilometer (10.5-mile) mark. He said the Seavigour s crew was working on repairing the malfunction but did not share additional details. The Seavigour was built in 2016, and is 274 meters (899 feet) long and 48.63 meters (159 feet) wide, according to MarineTraffic, a vessel tracking service provider Sundays incident was the latest case of a vessel reported stuck in the vital waterway. A flurry of ships have run aground or broken down in the Suez Canal over the past few years. On May 25, a Hong Kong-flagged ship briefly blocked the canal. On March 5, a Liberia-flagged ship ran aground in the two-lane part of the waterway. Both vessels were refloated hours later. In March 2021, the Panama-flagged Ever Given, a colossal container ship, crashed into a bank on a single-lane stretch of the canal, blocking the waterway for six days and disrupting global trade. The canal, which opened in 1869, provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo. About 10% of world trade flows through the canal, a major source of foreign currency for the Egyptian government. According to the Suez Canal Authority, last year 23,851 vessels passed through the waterway, compared to 20,649 vessels in 2021. The revenue from the canal in 2022 reached $8 billion, the highest in its history. By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press Florida police arrest man, search for 2 others in Memorial Day beach shooting View Photo HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) Police in Florida arrested one man Saturday and announced arrest warrants for two others believed to be the gunmen who opened fire along a crowded beachside promenade on Memorial Day, wounding nine people. The Hollywood Police Department said authorities arrested Jordan Burton and are searching for Ariel Cardahn Paul and Lionel JeanCharles Jr. The suspects will be charged with one count of attempted murder in the first degree, eight counts of attempted murder in the second degree and one count of carrying a concealed firearm, police said in a news release. It wasnt immediately clear if Burton has hired an attorney Two other men who police say were involved in the altercation that led to the shooting have already been arrested on firearms charges. Police and witnesses said the shooting began as a group of people fought in front of a busy stretch of shops on the Hollywood Oceanfront Broadwalk. Bystanders frantically ran for cover as gunshots rang out during the busy holiday weekend at the beach destination just south of Fort Lauderdale. Seven of the nine people injured in the shooting have been released from the hospital, police said. Two others are still recovering in the hospital. DeSantis signs Bible, Pence hops on motorcycle at Roast and Ride event in Iowa View Photo DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Amid plates of sliced pork, statement-making leather ensembles and piles of political T-shirts, eight Republican presidential hopefuls descended on Iowa to pitch themselves to voters and, in Mike Pences case, hop on a motorcycle. The former vice president and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were among the White House contenders appearing at a rally at the state fairgrounds near Des Moines hosted by U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst. Her annual political event, the Roast and Ride a combination barbecue-rally and motorcycle ride kicks off a busy summer campaign season heading into the states first-in-the-nation caucuses early next year. Former President Donald Trump, the leading GOP presidential candidate, was notably absent after spending two days in the state this past week. He has largely avoided any events that have him sharing the stage with his 2024 rivals. DeSantis, with his wife, Casey, and three young kids in tow, chatted with voters, gave out autographs and signed the Bible of a man who thanked DeSantis for standing up to Disney. DeSantis just wrapped up his first week as an official candidate with a blitz of c ampaign stops across three early-voting states. Casey DeSantis wore a black leather jacket in 86-degree weather with the words Where Woke Goes to Die and an outline of Florida on the back. It brought to mind comparisons to first lady Melania Trump, who famously sent a back-of-the-jacket message of her own in 2018 with a green-hooded jacket that read I really dont care do u as she departed the White House for a trip to visit migrant children in Texas. Pence was the only White House hopeful who participated in a morning motorcycle ride for charity that is a staple of Ernsts annual Roast and Ride event. He wore jeans, boots and a leather vest with patches that said Indiana and messages supportive of the military. The former Indiana governor, who has made frequent trips to Iowa over the past year, is expected to launch his long-anticipated campaign at an event in Des Moines on Wednesday. Ill be back a little later next week, Pence teased the crowd when he spoke later at the rally. I dont have anything to announce today. Earlier in the morning, before setting out on their motorcycle ride, Pence, standing with Ernst in the back of a pickup truck, again hinted at his looming candidacy. One of the reporters just asked me if were showing up more in Iowa, what our lane would be. I said Im more worried about the lane were going to be staying in today, Pence joked. The former vice president, wearing a white motorcycle helmet and a big grin, then rode off on a cobalt blue Harley Davidson. The group rode to the fairgrounds, where candidates gave speeches and chatted with barbecue-eating voters. Other candidates speaking at the event included former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Michigan businessman Perry Johnson, author Vivek Ramaswamy and conservative talk radio host Larry Elder. In their remarks, the candidates all tiptoed around mentions of the former president. Haley repeated a version of a line she has been using as a candidate that seems to allude to the 76-year-old Trump and his political career as replete with controversies. Its time for a new-generation leader. Weve got to leave the baggage of the negativity behind, she said. Off stage, however, several of the candidates did not hesitate to criticize Trump when asked about his social media post on Friday congratulating North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for his countrys receiving a place on the executive board of the World Health Organization. I was surprised to see that. I mean, I think, one, Kim Jung Un is a murderous dictator, DeSantis said, when a reporter asked him about the post. Pence, in an interview Saturday with Fox News, said: Look, whether it is my former running mate or anyone else, no one should be praising the dictator in North Korea. Hutchinson later tweeted: We sanction leaders who oppress their people. We do not elevate them on the world stage. In their speeches, the GOP candidates hit on similar conservative themes: criticizing President Joe Biden, promising tough policies on China and the U.S.-Mexico border and restrictions on abortion and gender-affirming policies. The event had the feel of a large political fair, with about 1,000 people gathered to listen to the presidential prospects speaking in front of bales of hay in a building at the fairgrounds. Many of the campaigns set up tables full of stickers, T-shirts and drink can coolers. Rows of dozens of shiny Harley Davidson motorcycles, of all colors, were parked neatly in the parking lot outside, along with campaign buses for Ramaswamy and the DeSantis super PAC. Nearby was what appeared to be a mechanical bull converted to resemble a motorcycle, surrounded by an inflatable landing area to catch thrown ridersall sponsored by the political super PAC Never Back Down, which supports DeSantis. Marie Andres of Des Moines signed a form, distributed by Never Back Down, to pledge to caucus for DeSantis early next year. Trump did a great job, but in my opinion, too much drama, the 74-year-old said. She said she committed to DeSantis because she thinks he is the best were gonna get. Jill Villalobos, 54, was buying a Haley T-shirt not for herself, but for her brother in Florida. The Altoona resident is planning to support Scott, whom she thinks can bring the GOP and the country together. I really like his message, Villalobos said. Victoria Ortiz had heard little of the candidates to date, and was at the event to learn more. She walked away with interest in DeSantis, Haley and Scott. I believe in the strong work ethic they promote. As a Hispanic, thats how I was raised, the 35-year-old rental property owner and manager from Des Moines south side said. I dont believe in giveaways. You have to work for it. She said she didnt like Trump. His persona, pretty much, and the things he says, are not things I want my children to hear from a president, she said. Ernst, along with Gov. Kim Reynolds, is one of the most sought-after Republican officials in the early stages of Iowas leadoff caucuses. The senator has pledged to remain neutral and not endorse during the caucus campaign. ___ Price reported from New York. Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report. By MICHELLE L. PRICE, HANNAH FINGERHUT and THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 4. Defense Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov has sent a letter of gratitude to the former Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Turkiye Hulusi Akar, Trend reports. "Mr. Hulusi Akar, on my own behalf and on behalf of the personnel of the Azerbaijani Army, I want to express my gratitude for our joint activities during your tenure as Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Turkiye. You have always made a great contribution to the development of military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkiye and the improvement of the Azerbaijani army, increasing its combat capability. You also provided moral support to the Azerbaijani people and our army during the second Karabakh War for the liberation of our lands from occupation," he said in the letter. Mexico presidents ruling party wins governorship of countrys most populous state View Photo NAUCALPAN, Mexico (AP) A quick-count sampling of votes for governor of Mexicos most populous state suggested a victory late Sunday for the candidate from the governing party of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, which would end nearly a century of uninterrupted rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party. Preliminary results indicated Delfina Gomez of the Morena party was likely to win between 52.1% and 54.2% of the ballots in the State of Mexico, compared with 43% to 45.2% for Alejandra del Moral, representing the opposition coalition, according to the National Electoral Institute. The forecast was based on representative sampling of voting stations with at least 95% certainty. The outcome will not be final until all ballots were counted. Participation was between 48.7 and 50.2% of eligible state voters. Del Moral conceded shortly after the preliminary forecast was announced. In democracy to be able to win, you have to know how to lose and I am a democrat, she said, adding she had total respect for the electoral authorities. Gomez, a schoolteacher making her second bid for the post, held a healthy lead in recent polling over del Moral. The former mayor representing the PRI struggled to attract a fed-up electorate bent on change. Gomez, who will become the states first female governor, thanked del Moral Sunday night for conceding quickly. Respect for democracy is an indispensable condition for building the State of Mexico for the good of all, she wrote on Twitter. The State of Mexico hugs Mexico City on three sides, encompassing urban sprawl and rural ranches, as well as stunning inequality, violence and corruption. For decades it has been the heart of the Institutional Revolutionary Party. But voters appeared ready to finally oust the PRI in favor of Lopez Obradors Morena party in a race closely watched as a preview of the 2024 presidential election. Both candidates had claimed victory immediately after polls closed on a largely uneventful day of peaceful voting. It is a recurring and very regrettable practice in Mexican elections to win the narrative in the media, political scientist Georgina de la Fuente said. Del Moral was not only the PRIs hope. She led a bizarre coalition including the conservative National Action Party and leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution sharing only a common desire to deny Lopez Obradors party control of Mexicos largest state electoral prize. She voted Sunday in Cuautitlan Izcalli, a suburb northwest of Mexico City. Gomez campaigned largely on the far-reaching support for Lopez Obradors popular social programs. She voted early on a warm and sunny Sunday in a school in Texcoco, east of Mexico City. We want change, for them to pay attention to us, said Rufina Perez, a retiree living in Naucalpan, a suburb west of the capital. They all made us promises, PRI, PAN already passed and we know how it was, she said, expressing confidence that it would be different with Morena in charge. In Tlalnepantla de Baz, where old warehouses and industrial spaces have given way to apartment complexes north of the capital in recent years, Morena signs and flags were visible, as were those of the PAN and del Moral, but not the traditional ones of the PRI. Benito Elizalde, who retired from patching tires, had always voted for PRI, but this year said he supported Morena because it gave seniors a better pension. His daughter, 35-year-old Claudia Elizalde, complained that parties had focused on offering more to retirees, like her father, rather than improving security or health. Socorro Hernandez was more focused on what the state election could mean on the national political stage. The retiree from Naucalpan said it was very important that she voted Sunday to show disagreement with Lopez Obradors party. In Huehuetoca, also north of Mexico City, Alejandra Santillan Torres, a 29-year-old homemaker, said the elections are important so that they take into account the workers. Torres said she voted for the governing PRI, as she has in the past, because she felt they were doing well. On Friday, the president said he hoped for a calm vote and was very, very optimistic. His party is also viewed as the favorite in next years presidential election. Even though it has not yet selected a candidate, the party has a couple of strong possibilities and the opposition is generally considered to be in disarray. Voters in the sparsely populated northern border state of Coahuila, where the PRI remains competitive, also selected a new governor Sunday. Preliminary results indicated the opposition coalition candidate Manolo Jimenez was on track to defeat his Morena opponent by a wide margin. But even if the PRI holds on there, the loss of the State of Mexico could spell the end of its political relevance on a national stage, a stunning reversal for a party that ruled Mexico uninterrupted for seven decades. ___ AP writers Maria Verza in Mexico City and Emilio Lugo in Huehuetoca, Mexico, contributed to this report. By LISSETTE ROMERO Associated Press SOUTHINGTON The wartime history of the Clark Bros. Bolt Company is the topic for next weeks History Pints, a Barnes Museum program that takes place at Kinsmen Brewing Company in the historic factory building on Canal Street. Barnes Museum Curator Christina Volpe, who gives the talks on local history topics, said it gets the museum out into the community and highlights the towns history in a fun location. We have two factory buildings in town, they both have breweries in them, Volpe said. The upcoming History Pints will take place on June 7 at 7 p.m. at Kinsmen Brewing Company, 409 Canal St. Theres a $10 suggested donation. It's the second program held at Kinsmen. Last month, Volpe gave a talk on the original factory building and William Clark, one of the business founders caught up in the gold rush but unable to find his fortune in California. Clark later opened a mine in Montana, which is now in ruins but still there. Volpe said the talk drew about 80 people. A previous program was held at Factory Square on Center Street, a former factory and now home to a host of businesses including Witchdoctor Brewing Company. Shes glad for the opportunity to bring historical knowledge to other locations in town. Its definitely the idea of how to connect the history of the Barnes Museum out to the community, Volpe said. We want to highlight that. The Clark Brothers business produced 300,000 bolts a day for Navy ships during World War II, Volpe said. Shell be talking about the companys work during both world wars next week. Clark Hall Kinsmen Brewing opened in the Clark Brothers building in 2017 and the industrial aesthetic of the former factory is important to its image, according to Chris Carvalho, the brewerys events and social outreach coordinator. So many people come to our brewery and comment on the space and the location. This is something we want to highlight so (History Pints) is a great way to do it, Carvalho said. One of the brewerys owners Bruce Staebler is also the building owner. Hes keenly interested in preserving the buildings history and has gathered artifacts from the Clark Brothers company from the building and elsewhere. Staff knows to buy that stuff up at local flea markets and tag sales, Carvalho said. Between Staeblers collection and items brought by Volpe, Carvalho said there was a good display at the previous History Pints. Many locals have strong connection to the former bolt factory, even if its a few generations removed. Theres a lot of history in the building, There are people who still come in who say, I worked here or my grandparents worked here, Carvalho said. Theres a lot of local love for that building. Preserving local history The Barnes Museum falls under the Southington Public Library. Tina Riccio, library board chairwoman, said she was impressed with Volpes efforts as museum curator in bringing history to local residents. I think Christina is amazing. When someone has passion for what they do, its contagious. She has a passion for Southingtons history and history in general, Riccio said. Volpe became curator in 2021, following long-time museum curator Marie Secondo. Riccio attended the previous talk at Kinsmen Brewing and said Volpe had an engaging and interesting way of presenting local history. She brings history to life. You want to listen to her, you want to hear the stories, Riccio said. Im not sure if anybody could pull this off. Christina can. She pulls you in, she engages you She takes these historical people and brings them to life and makes them relevant to today. In addition to events like History Pints, Volpe said she wants more residents to use the Barnes Museum grounds and has a movie showing scheduled for June 17 to encourage that. The museum recently had more benches installed at its 85 N. Main St. location. This is a micropark in town. We want people to come and hang out here and weve been seeing it, which has been awesome, Volpe said. jbuchanan@record-journal.com203-317-2230Twitter: @JBuchananRJ Zanu PF Plans Crucial Meetings to Solve Internal Divisions Before Elections Zimbabwes ruling Zanu PF party will hold a series of important meetings this week led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in an attempt to address internal divisions that came about after chaotic primary elections. President Mnangagwa has already declared August 23 as the date for the upcoming general elections where he will seek re-election for a second full term. Zanu PF is now working hard to unite the party which was left divided following the controversial primary elections. The primaries were marred by accusations of rigging and imposement of candidates. Zanu PFs internal elections were run by the opaque Friends Association of Zimbabwe which has links to the intelligence agency. President Mnangagwas own Midlands province has seen bitter fighting with ordinary party members rejecting imposed candidates in over 10 constituencies. Zanu PF deployed an official to resolve the tensions but with little success. According to a circular from the partys department, President Mnangagwa will attend a 5-day mobilization meeting starting tomorrow in Gweru. The meeting aims to build a united Zanu PF ahead of the elections. Most Zanu PF candidates are struggling to attract crowds to their rallies, particularly in Midlands, Masvingo and Manicaland provinces. Zanu PF has admitted unity has been lost and is worried about the rise of the opposition CCC party in these areas. The meetings in Gweru will also orient the newly selected candidates and instruct party leaders to get losing candidates to back the winners in order to present a united party going into the elections. Zanu PF aims for 5 million votes while CCC targets 6 million. Breaking News via Email Several prisoners in Zimbabwe who were recently released through a presidential amnesty have been rearrested for new crimes. Last month, President Emmerson Mnangagwa released over 4,000 inmates to decongest prisons and promote better living conditions. However, police spokesperson Paul Nyathi revealed that at least 15 of the released prisoners have now been rearrested for various offenses across the country. The crimes they were rearrested for include theft, armed robbery, stock theft and even murder. One man was arrested in Harare for murder, two were arrested in Matabeleland South for armed robbery, and one was arrested in Mashonaland West for stock theft. The rest were arrested for offenses like theft and unlawful entry. Some have already been convicted while others still have pending court cases. For example, a 23-year-old man from Harare who recently benefited from the presidential clemency has been sentenced to one year in prison for breaking into a house in Borrowdale and stealing blankets, an inverter and cellphones. The man, Brian James, pleaded guilty in court and was initially sentenced to 15 months in jail. However, the judge suspended 3 months of the sentence on the condition of good behavior. Police proved that James used stolen keys to enter the house while the owners were at church and stole the electronics and blankets. The cases show that despite best intentions, some of the prisoners released under presidential amnesty have reoffended, leading to their rearrest and new convictions. Breaking News via Email By Lambert Strether of Corrente. With respect to upticks Covid upticks going up, plummets going down both Covid and the public health establishment (and the political class (and the press)) have form, well pictured in this maybe-famous chart: I have been thinking about how different people interpret data differently. And made this xkcd style graphic to illustrate this. pic.twitter.com/a8LvlmZxT7 Jens von Bergmann (@vb_jens) March 17, 2021 (I thought this was from XKCD, but its the original). So when I hear uptick, I think, from bitter experience and with the scientists on the right, exponential growth. Those on the right, I will call exponentialists. Most everyone else is on the left, with going down, under control, and lets do brunch. Of course, you cant reverse engineer the truth out of bullshit[1], so this time around, the lets-just-go-ahead-and-call-them minimizers might be right. Nevertheless. So I sat up when I saw stories coming across my feed that said there was an increase in Covid[2] wastewater detected in New York City (NYC). I always keep a watchful eye on NYC, not least because it has form: New York City was the epicenter of the first 2020 wave [3], which is reasonable, given its continued status as a global entrepot. (Not only that, we know now that Omicron could have been brewed in New York, not South Africa.) But what about the instant case? Does wastewater data show that there is an increase (rising, uptick, rebound) in Covid in NYC? First, I will look at the press coverage. Then, I will look at the data, and a critique of that data, and briefly conclude. The Press Coverage Here is a list of the headlines: June 1: High concentrations of COVID detected at all 14 New York City wastewater treatment plants CBS New York. This story doesnt give any sourcing for the data at all. It does, however have this graphic: So everybody retweets the story with the graphic, and this minimizer quote: [P]ublic health officials say its too early to know if its the start of a full-blown COVID wave. June 1: Is COVID back in NYC? Wastewater surveillance shows virus is rising Gothamist. Gothamist actually broke the story, and its the pick of the litter. Gothamist gives the source of the data: Its from the NYS Wastewater Surveillance Network. (NYWSN). They also interviewed the dashboard maintainer: When it comes to SAR-CoV-2, we would expect New York City to potentially go first, said Dr. David Larsen, a Syracuse University professor who runs the New York state wastewater surveillance network dashboard (More from Larsen later.) They also interview Biobot (Nassau County only), and give some excellent minimizer quotes: We look at wastewater data really over time, said NYC health commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. We need to look at it a little bit over longer time periods to draw any important inference. Its less about worry and more about preparation. COVID is here. Its not going anywhere. Were living with it, Vasan said. We have shown that we can start to regain a sense of normalcy and rebuild our city even with COVID still circulating. (Im here for rebuilding NYC, and hence Id expect to see Vasan pushing for ventilation. But, at least after a cursory search, no.) Gothamist is also points out that wastewater testing is our only reliable proxy for the spread of infection, since testing has been eliminated (or privatized. At an average of $45 a pop!) June 1: Uptick in COVID-19 Found in NY Wastewater. Heres What It Could Mean NBC New York. NBC gives the dashboard and cites to Gothamist. And Gothamists minimizing quote from Vasan! June 1: NYC Wastewater Suggests COVID-19 Rebound: Could This Signify A New Wave? Medical Daily. Medical Daily cites to Gothamist, links NYWSN, and uses Vasans minimizing quote. They also undercut wastewater testing: Meanwhile, Dr. Bruce Y. Lee, a professor at the CUNY School of Public Health, told Gothamist that wastewater data only gives a general idea of the virus spread in the community. It does not provide a much clearer picture than lab testing data. Right, but the prospect of using lab testing data is now zero, which one would assume [hollow laughter] that a professor of public health would know. June 2: High concentrations of COVID detected at all 14 New York City wastewater treatment plants CBS New York. Same as June 1, and just as bad. June 2: COVID cases could be rising in NYC based on wastewater testing data Scripps. Does not cite to Gothamist, links to NYWSN, no quote from Vasan, quotes an exponentialist (!): Infectious disease experts say trends are what stands out in wastewater detection for contaminants and other infectious properties. While the absolute number might be debatable, that trend is always something that makes experts pay attention, Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious diseases specialist, told ABC News. June 2: US COVID activity stays low, but NYC sees rise in wastewater positives CIDRAP. Shockingly bad. Granted, this is a snippet in a news summary, but there should still be a link NYWSN: New York Citys COVID activity appears to be on the rise, with all 14 of its wastewater treatment plants showing high concentrations of the virus, according to CBS News. However, data from the NYC Health shows that cases, hospitalizations, and deaths remain at very low levels. As whoever at CIDRAP edited this must surely have know, case data is terrible, hospitalization lags, deaths lag even more, and wastewater is the best proxy for cases we have. So thats the media coverage. But is the coverage correct? One expert, at least, argues not: So, when Topol amplified Weiland, was Topol correct? Lets look at the data. The Data These are the sources I have[4]. In order, I will look at CDC, Biobot, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDH), and NYS Wastewater Surveillance Network (NYWSN). The stories all cite only to NYWSN, and that is the only data source that Topol (and Weiland) consider. In all cases, I have used data that indicates trends, not absolute numbers, since thats the question: Is Covid rising in NYC? CDC. I am really including the CDC only to show how horrid their site is, and how hard they make it to get anything useful from it. Why on earth cant I get an integrated view of all the counties at a reasonable size? Why cant I drag the map around, and zoom in? Why does the server keep going down? So herewith: Time Period: May 15, 2023 May 29, 2023. Biobot. I include the Biobot data mostly for grins. No knock on Biobot, but if NYC is throwing a signal, theyre not equipped to catch it. Their only site in New York is Nassau County: Time Period: Data as of May 24. New York State Department of Health (NYSDH) Time Period: Data as of May 30. NYS Wastewater Surveillance Network (NYWSN) Time period: Last Sample, June 1. (Again, the source everyone cites.) So, we can draw different conclusions from the data we have. CDC says theres only one uptick, in Kings County (I cant imagine why Topol didnt check them before amplifying Weiland). Biobot cant say whether theres an uptick or not. NYSDH says there are upticks at multiple locations (see red dots). NYWSN agrees. I am inclined to dismiss CDCs data, first, because theyre CDC MR SUBLIMINAL Which should be jackhammered to rubble, the rubble plowed under, and the earth salted and I dont trust them not to game the data, not after the Green Map, and second, because their sampling period ends the earliest. (If you have exponential spread, even one or two days will matter, depending on how infectious the variant is.) I am inclined to agree with NYSDH and NYWSN, not least because two separate teams using different algorithms came to the same conclusion. Weiland (amplified by Topol) critiques only NYSWN, so lets look more closely at what he says: First, NYSDH and NYWSN agree; Weiland (and Topol) have nothing to say about NYSDH data. Second, when Weiland says recently increased sensitivity to their methodology, recently is doing much more work than a poor adverb should have to do. The original Gothamist article which everybody should have read, including Weiland and Topol quotes the NYWSN maintainer: In mid-March , the city switched to a more sensitive method for detecting coronavirus in wastewater, but that switch isnt responsible for the new uptick, [Dr. David Larsen, a Syracuse University professor who runs the New York state wastewater surveillance network said. I dont buy that a methodological change in March invalidates data [breaks out calculator] two months later, especially when other confirm it. Nor do I see why Topol, with Weiland, allows recently to get away with all that heavy lifting. Just to confirm that Gothamist quoted Larsen accurately, here is the NYWSN site: Data for New York Citys five boroughs are analyzed by the City Health Department. Real-time reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used for SARS-CoV-2 N1 gene copy determinations for samples collected August 31, 2020-March 7, 2023. Starting with samples collected on March 12,2023, digital reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) has been used. Due to differences in methodology, dPCR viral load values are ~10-20 times higher than RT-qPCR values. Therefore, increases in viral load between March 7th, 2023, and March 12, 2023 are due in part to changes in methods. The method change is noted on the raw gene copy plots for NYC sites with a hashed line on March 12, 2023 . The baseline changed in March. Todays increase is relative to that new baseline. Weiland, called on this, goes straight to minimization: Right, I don't dispute that there might be an uptick (I wouldn't call it a trend yet though, maybe after another week). However, levels are still ~10 TIMES lower than they were back in January. Overall levels remain very low in NYC relative to fall/winter. JWeiland (@JPWeiland) June 3, 2023 So what if the levels are low relative to January? This is the Under Control stage (at left) in the graphic I led with. Sheesh. Conclusions I conclude that there is in fact a Covid uptick in NYC. So, in a massive self-own, Ive got to throw a flag on a Betteridges Law violation. As a confirmed exponentialist, if I were in NYC, Id assume the worst. After all, how hard is it to mask up? And shpritz your Betadine or Enovid or whatever? Not hard at all. I also conclude that the whole personal risk assessment schtick is demented. If this is what I have to do, to figure out if Covid is really increasing in NYC or not, nobody normal is doing to do it, and in fact nobody normal should have to (its just the sort of homework that PMCers like that sociopath Bob Wachter love. Who needs it?). I would argue that your personal protocol should already be strong enough to deal with an uptick, or even a wave. The time to change your protocol is not when data changes, because the data is partial, certainly gamed (again, CDCs infamous green map), might be lagging, might not be granular enough for your location, and might even be bad or non-existent. Change your protocol only when what you see in the material world changes: Where you see ventilation protections installed (it does happen, and Im sure more often than we think). Or when a venue that was stone 3Cs changes for the better. Or when more people mask. Stay safe out there, and lets save some lives! NOTES [1] Unless your heuristics are God-level, of course. [2] Rather, an increase of the virus, SARS-CoV-2, but lets not be pedantic. [3] Interestingly, this post was impossible to find on Google, and very easy to find on Bing. [4] I must update the listing in Water Cooler, which includes only NYWSN, and not the New York State Department of Health. (Natural News) The far-left Biden regimes efforts to destroy the very last bastion of American patriotism and exceptionalism the U.S. military are continuing unabated as evidenced by the latest Pride Month offering from the once-vaunted U.S. Navy. The force that defeated imperial Japan following its attack on Pearl Harbor two generations ago is now more concerned with creating a safe space for sailors to ensure that the proper pronouns are utilized a concept that didnt even exist as an issue 15 minutes ago. As reported by the Washington Free Beacon: The Navy is training its members to create a safe space by using proper gender pronouns in a new instructional video modeled after a childrens show. The official training video is meant to emphasize the importance of using correct pronouns as well as polite etiquette when you may not be sure of someones pronouns, according to the Navy, which late last month published the video online. The Defense Visual Information Distribution Service touts the video as an official U.S. Navy video posted by Air Force staff sergeant John Vannucci. Hi! My name is Jony, and I use he/him pronouns, Naval Undersea Warfare Center engineer Jony Rozon, sporting a rainbow-colored t-shirt, says to open the video. This obscene joke is the latest offering from Bidens military meant to focus more on sensitivity training than training men and women how to fight at sea and win battles and wars. The Army has implemented similar gender identity training, even instructing its officers when to offer their subordinates gender-transition surgery, according to a Free Beacon report in March. These programs are part of a larger push by the Biden administration to make the military more welcoming to transgender individuals, the outlet adds in the report detailing the Navy training video. The Navy video, which runs nearly four minutes each one an embarrassment to our country and especially to those who fought and have died for it emphasizes how members can create a safe space by using inclusive language that signals they are allies who accept everybody. In addition, the video cautions sailors to not misgender someone and to take steps to ensure that doesnt happen (even if its nearly impossible to tell a transgendered sailors sex in a uniform). To that point and at the same time, the Sea Service is warning members not to pressure someone into revealing their desired pronouns because those members may still be in the process of discovery and are thus not ready to provide pronoun information yet. This is insanity; literally, this policy is setting sailors up to fail. They cant ask a fellow sailor their pronouns (which should not be an issue or warfighting focus in the first place) but if they misgender a colleague theyll get in trouble for it. A pronoun is how we identify ourselves apart from our name, and its also how people refer to us in conversations, notes engineer Conchy Vasquez, who hosts the video along with Rozon. Using the right pronouns is a really simple way to affirm someones identity. It is a signal of acceptance and respect, adds Rozon. Instead of saying something like Hey guys, you can say, Hey everyone, or Hey team,' Rozon noted as well. Another way that we could show that were allies and that we accept everybody is to maybe include our pronouns in our emails or, like we just did, introduce ourselves using our pronouns, Vasquez says. I think the first thing to recognize is that its not the end of the world. You correct yourself and move on, or you accept the correction and move on, Vasquez added. The most important thing I can tell you is do not put the burden of making you feel good about your mistake on the person that you just misgendered. Meanwhile, the Russians and Chinese, not to mention the Iranians and North Koreans, are no doubt becoming more confident by the day that the U.S. military is being downgraded in combat power to the status of a woke social club and thus not much of a threat anymore. What type of person will want to join now? Bidens left-wing Democrat handlers are doing this, lets be crystal clear. Sources include: FreeBeacon.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Cryptocurrency is poised to become a lot less private in several European countries as a top crypto exchange is planning to delist privacy tokens. Starting June 26, Binance users in Spain, France, Poland and Italy will no longer be permitted to buy and sell enhanced anonymity crypto assets (CAE). The platform identified 12 coins that will be affected: Dash, Firo, XMR, Monero, Beam, Horizen, ZEC, Decred, Verge, Secret, MobileCoin, and PIVX. These tokens are designed to hide information about their transactions to give users a greater level of privacy. Although cryptocurrencies are generally considered pseudonymous, they run on blockchains and every transaction is posted online, which means there is a certain degree of trackability. Privacy coins do not operate that way, making use of technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs to make details about the transactions as well as the senders and recipients more difficult to identify. This can give people the type of privacy that is generally only seen with in-person cash transactions. A Binance representative explained: While we aim to support as many quality projects as possible, we are required to follow local laws and regulations regarding the trading of privacy coins, to ensure we can continue to serve as many users as we can. The company has already started informing customers of the move via email, citing local regulatory requirements as the reason for the move. Governmental regulators throughout the world have long opposed these types of cryptocurrencies, citing concerns such as combating tax evasion, money laundering and terrorism financing. The crypto exchange Huobi ended support for Monero and six other enhanced anonymity crypto assets last fall due to pressure from regulators. Some privacy coins delisted by Binance insist they have been misclassified Three of the affected privacy coins Zcash, Dash and Secret have already denounced Binance for delisting them. A representative from Dash maintained that it is a literal fork of Bitcoin rather than a privacy coin and added that all transactions are fully transparent and can be audited on its blockchain. It said it plans to work with Binance to educate its team on how it works and try to be relisted. Electric Coin Co., the company behind the development of Zcash, said on Twitter that the delisting decision by Binance poses a direct and imminent threat to the privacy and security of individuals, families, businesses, communities, and entire nations. They said that they believed the delisting was due to pressure from the EU and the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation. However, they claim that the wording of MiCA is vague. They added: To our knowledge, Zcash complies with all other laws and regulations in the EU including the so-called Travel Rule and the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive. Likewise, the company behind Secret, SCRT Labs, insists that its coin does not meet the definition of a privacy coin. CEO Guy Zyskind said that the networks transactions are public. Their team has already reached out to Binance in hopes of clarifying how their token works and why they believe it should not be labeled a privacy coin. The delistings arent the only move Binance has made in response to cryptocurrency regulatory pressure. The platform is also reportedly planning to lay off 20 percent of its workforce this month despite claiming earlier in the year that no one would be laid off. On Twitter, Chief Strategy Officer Patrick Hillmann implied that the companys pending reorganization was related to growing regulatory pressure. Sources include: CoinGape.com CoinTelegraph.com CryptoSlate.com (Natural News) The fallout from Anheuser-Buschs woke decision to rebrand Bud Light as a transgender beer has been so severe that the brand is on the verge of losing its status as the worlds number-one beer brand to Mexican competitor Modelo Especial. Following its sixth straight week in a row of sales losses due to emblazoning a creepy image of transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney on its Bud Light beer cans, Anheuser-Busch now faces the prospect of losing its top status to a Mexican beer import. According to data from Bump Williams Consulting and NielsonIQ, sales of Modelo Especial surged over nine percent in the week ending on May 20. On a national basis, Modelo Especial is already outselling Bud Light, and within a year it will surpass the domestic brand if current trends continue. While Bud Light loses week after week, Modelo Especial gains week after week and now Modelo outsells Bud Light on a national basis across all trade channels combined, reports explain. If this continues Modelo will surpass Bud Light for the year. (Related: Anheuser-Busch is also facing civil rights backlash for discriminating against white people in its hiring process.) Sales of Yuengling, Americas Oldest Brewery, also jumped 47.6 percent since Bud Light fiasco Even more sales growth flowed into Yuengling, Americas Oldest Brewery, which has sold 47.6 percent more beer ever since Anheuser-Busch trans-ified its Bud Light brand. Despite operating just three breweries and distributing to just 25 states, Yuengling is performing even better than Modelo Especial in terms of the number of new customers purchasing its beer instead of Bud Light. You may recall that in 2016, Yuenglings CEO endorsed then-candidate Donald Trump for president. This endorsement prompted a far-left LGBT backlash and boycott that never really went anywhere. It turns out that most Americans still have an aversion to the LGBT agenda, which Anheuser-Busch failed to recognize unless, of course, its company leadership is trying to self-sabotage the company. Why do you think Anheuser-Busch is committing corporate suicide with reckless abandon? Despite the constant in-your-face advertising propaganda and media programming, LGBT remains largely unpopular among Americans who are tired of being canceled by left-wing bigots who seem to hate heterosexuality and all things natural and moral. They wanted to cancel us, so lets cancel them! one commenter wrote towards this end, referring to Americans canceling Anheuser-Busch products from their shopping lists. Alcohol and trans make a great couple, wrote another. People should cancel both as both are equally evil. Someone else aptly pointed out that this sudden woke revolution does seem to be intentionally taking aim at iconic American institutions like Anheuser-Busch, which once used to promote its beers using the famous Budweiser Clydesdales. I think all these assaults on American institutions are designed to destroy American culture, so they are attacking brands that Americans hold dear, this person said. What they are learning is that our civic American pride is not defined by one single brand. It is defined by our unwavering spirit. So when one brand falls on the sword like this, another brand steps up to give Americans some pride and love. There may not always be another American company waiting in the wings to replace the latest woke catastrophe, though, especially since most of what used to define America has already been obliterated by the globalists. They offshored 70 percent of our manufacturing and value-added production, and are the biggest welfare queens, another commenter wrote about the greedy, faceless multinational corporations that now rule America. The latest news about the controlled demolition of once-reputable and respected American companies like Anheuser-Busch can be found at Collapse.news. Sources include: TheGatewayPundit.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Once again, the FBI is proving it is a rogue agency that needs to be defunded or disbanded because it behaves like a force unto itself and is completely unresponsive to congressional oversight, meaning the American people dont control it anymore. The latest case in point: The FBI has been accused of obstructing congressional oversight of its investigation into the pipe bombs discovered at the headquarters of the Democrat National Committee and Republican National Committee on January 6, 2021. House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee reiterated their demand on Wednesday for a thorough briefing on the two-year-old case regarding the pipe bombs, as the FBI has consistently declined to provide transparency on the matter. Your failure to comply with our request is particularly concerning given recent media reports regarding the pipe bomb investigation, lawmakers wrote. #NEWS: @Jim_Jordan, @RepAndyBiggsAZ, and @congbillposey Press FBI for Information on January 6 Pipe Bomb Investigation. One former FBI assistant director observed, [i]t just doesnt add up . . . [t]heres just too much to work with to not know who this guy is. pic.twitter.com/ZVpwEkhS0r House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) May 24, 2023 In a disclosure to the Washington Times, an FBI whistleblower revealed that the agency had identified the vehicle used by the suspect shortly after the placement of the bombs but has not taken further action in pursuing the individual involved. The FBI had surveillance video that showed the person entering a car with a visible license plate after exiting a Metro stop in Northern Virginia, the Times reported. Former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin, who worked on the case, told the outlet that the agency tied whoever the person was that dropped the bombs with [surveillance] cameras all the way through the train and getting into a car with that license plate. In addition, he told the Washington Times that both of the alleged bombs were inoperable. One former FBI assistant director observed, [i]t just doesnt add up theres just too much to work with to not know who this guy is, the Judiciary Republicans wrote. Lawmakers are now pressing for answers regarding the progress of the investigation. Julie Kelly, a senior writer at American Greatness, expressed her belief in February of last year that the pipe bomb incident exhibited characteristics similar to another FBI hoax. As the FBI successfully rounded up hundreds of Capitol trespassers using sophisticated tools such as geofence warrants, the trail of the pipe bomber went cold, Kelly reported, despite the federal government posting a $50,000 reward which was later increased to $500,000. Given what we know about the FBIs politically motivated malfeasance during the Trump era, the likelihood the pipe bomb story was another FBI hoax instead of a legitimate threat becomes more conceivable each day. Since Kellys reporting, a series of FBI scandals over the past 15 months has exposed a significant level of political bias within the top law enforcement agency. These scandals include the unprecedented raid on former President Donald Trumps residence, investigations targeting traditional Catholics, and multiple whistleblower accounts highlighting double standards in the administration of justice, The Federalist pointed out in a report detailing the lack of concern about the pipe bomb case. The slow progression of the FBIs investigation into the January 6 pipe bomb raises significant concerns about the FBIs prioritization of that case in relation to other January 6 investigations, the House Republicans noted in their demand letter. Lawmakers gave the FBI until June 7 to provide Congress with an update briefing. And for the record, federal investigators learned that pipe bombs and other materials discovered at the offices of the Democratic and Republican national committees were put there a day before the January 6 riot, indicating that the disrupters had every intention of doing what they did regardless of what the former president did or did not say. Sources include: NaturalNews.com TheFederalist.com NBCNews.com BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 4. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and newly appointed Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had a telephone conversation, Trend reports via the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Bayramov congratulated Hakan Fidan on his appointment as Turkish Foreign Minister and wished him success. Azerbaijani FM expressed confidence that joint efforts to develop multifaceted and strategic allied relations between the two countries based on deep roots, common interests and values will continue to strengthen. The sides exchanged views on various aspects of the bilateral relations of brotherly, friendly and strategic partnership, regional issues. Minister Hakan Fidan was invited to visit Azerbaijan. The newly appointed minister thanked Jeyhun Bayramov for his congratulations and kind words and gladly accepted the invitation to visit Azerbaijan. (Natural News) Instagram immediately slapped a six-month suspension on the campaign accounts for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (RFK Jr.) as soon as they were created. The Democratic presidential candidate took to Twitter to lament the immediate ban. Tagging the official Twitter account for the social media platform, he asked: When we use our Team Kennedy email address to set up Instagram accounts, we get an automatic 180-day ban. Can anyone guess why thats happening? RFK Jr. also lamented how Instagram owned by Mark Zuckerbergs Meta hasnt reinstated his account, which was banned years ago with more than 900,000 followers. In contrast, he thanked Twitter and its owner Elon Musk for allowing him and his campaign to have a voice. To silence a major political candidate is profoundly undemocratic, said the founder and general counsel of health freedom group Childrens Health Defense (CHD). Social media is the modern equivalent of the town square. How can democracy function if only some candidates have access to it? (Related: RFK Jr. warns: There is no time in history where the people censoring speech were the good guys.) A separate piece from the Post Millennial noted that even though RFK Jr. has his own personal Instagram account with 12,300 followers, he cannot use his campaigns official email to set up new accounts. Your account, or activity on it, doesnt follow Community Guidelines on account integrity and authentic identity, the platforms automated reply stated. Writing for Liberty Daily, conservative journalist J.D. Rucker put in his two cents on the presidential candidates predicament. He wrote: The banhammer drops in real time for those committing wrongthink [and] RFK Jr. learned that the hard way. Democrat or Republican, big candidate or small, accounts on social media platforms that have not engaged in illegal actions should never be banned. In fact, nobodys account on these platforms that are given the blanket of government protection should get banned for legal speech, the editor-in-chief of the NOQ Report noted. If these platforms decide they want to limit speech, they need to have their government protections immediately removed. Not the first time RFK Jr. was banned on Instagram In April, the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy announced his intent to challenge incumbent President Joe Biden as the Democratic Partys nominee. However, Big Tech seems to be coordinating against him to derail his presidential ambitions. Even before the announcement of his candidacy, RFK Jr. has been in the crosshairs of Big Tech due to his opposition to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines. The Associated Press reported in February 2021 that Instagram banned RFK Jr. for posting misinformation about vaccine safety and COVID-19. A Meta spokesperson confirmed the suspension, explaining that his account was removed for repeatedly sharing debunked claims about [COVID-19] or vaccines. RFK Jr. responded to his February 2021 ban in an emailed statement: This kind of censorship is counterproductive if our objective is a safe and effective vaccine supply. In August 2022, the New York Times reported that both Facebook and Instagram removed the main accounts of CHD. This time, Meta defended its decision to do so by accusing CHD of repeatedly violating the platforms policies on medical misinformation. The group itself confirmed the ban in an emailed newsletter, adding that the takedown was performed following a 30-day ban. CHD accused Meta and the two social media platforms under it of censorship. The health freedom group said: Removing CHD accounts is evidence of a clearly orchestrated attempt to stop the impact we have during a time of heightened criticism of our public health institutions. RFK Jr. also reacted to the August 2022 ban in a statement. He said: Facebook is acting here as a surrogate for the federal governments crusade to silence all criticism of draconian government policies. Banned.news has more stories about RFK Jr. and others being suspended on social media platforms. Watch Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reiterating his willingness to die for Americans right to speak during the ReAwaken America Tour below. This video is from the Thrivetime Show channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Doctors SUE Twitter: Silenced after posting truthful information about covid. Not funny, Dangerous: Former Twitter censor justifies banning Babylon Bee. Journalist Alex Berenson sues Twitter after being banned for stating facts on Covid vaccines. CENSORSHIP: Facebook bans free speech social network founder, hes dangerous like terrorist organizations. Sources include: TheLibertyDaily.com ThePostMillennial.com APNews.com NYTimes.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) In order to stop so-called global warming and climate change, the Irish government has proposed culling 200,000 dairy cows to meet the countrys climate targets. The Irish governments report came from an internal briefing paper from the Department of Agriculture looking for strategies to bridge the emissions gap in the sector. This particular plan calls for culling around 65,000 dairy cows annually until the target of 200,000 cows slaughtered is reached in order for the countrys agriculture sector to align with overall climate targets. (Related: Global war on MEAT: Now Ireland is culling cows to fight climate change.) However, Elaine Houlihan, the president of the rural youth organization Macra na Feirme, expressed her distaste for the proposal, describing it as a complete kneejerk report. Houlihan pointed out the negative message the reports would send to young farmers. She also questioned whether Ireland and Europe are truly committed to generational renewal and combating so-called climate change. The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), a lobbying group representing the countrys dairy industry, also warned that any plan to cull the countrys dairy herd, if it must happen, should be voluntary. If there is to be a scheme, it needs to be a voluntary scheme, said ICMSA President Pat McCormack. Thats absolutely critical because theres no point in culling numbers from an individual who has borrowed on the back of a huge financial commitment on the back of achieving a certain target thats taken from under him. McCormack further emphasized the importance of involving farmers in any changes. This isnt a start. This isnt the end. This is an environmental journey and agriculture can play a significant role there, he said. He added that Irish farmers are willing to do their part to reduce their negative impact on the environment. But he insisted that the Irish government should invest in infrastructure and technology to make that happen. Climate alarmists cling to the livestock-methane false narrative to gain profit from the agenda Climate alarmists and those profiting from the destruction of global agriculture continue to ignore the truth about livestocks supposed role in emissions. Advocates of the climate agenda often portray cows as significant contributors to atmospheric methane. However, this depiction is a false claim. Methane emitted by ruminant livestock is essentially inconsequential as a greenhouse gas. Moreover, methane produced by cattle is part of the natural biogenic carbon cycle, which has existed since the beginning of life on Earth. It is essential to acknowledge that farming plays a vital role not only in preventing global food shortages but also in sustaining livelihoods and economies. In Ireland, agriculture has long been a driving force for the economy, aided along by multinational investments in the countrys industry. Irish beef and dairy brands like Kerrygold and Pilgrims Choice have achieved remarkable success as exports. However, cows have now become a symbol of the political manipulation and greed behind a manufactured climate crisis. The latest news about leftist climate lunacy can be found at GreenTyranny.news. Watch as John Kerry announces the American governments plan to become militant in reducing farming to attain climate goals. More related stories: John Kerry says farmers need to stop growing food in order to achieve net zero climate goals. Dutch government to seize up to HALF the countrys farmland under the guise of curbing nitrogen emissions. Explosion at Texas dairy farm kills over 18,000 cows. CLIMATE INSANITY: UK cows to be given methane suppressants in bizarre effort to achieve lower emissions. Many Western countries are trying to ban NITROGEN (and thus meat). Sources include: ExposeNews.com 1 IrishTimes.com ExposeNews.com 2 Brighteon.com (Natural News) Top officials of the Department of Defense (DoD) have intervened to stop a drag show at the Nellis Air Force Base (AFB) in Nevada originally scheduled to kick off Pride month. The said drag show originally set for June 1 was approved by Air Force leaders, but Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley threw a wrench in the plan. The two officials told the Air Force that funding drag shows on military bases is not DoD policy. Austin and Milley gave two alternatives either they transfer the shows venue off of the base, or cancel the event entirely. Two sources confirmed that Milley was visibly angry about the decision to host the event at the Nellis AFB. One of them, an official from the Air Force, remarked: The Air Force will not host drag events at its installations or facilities. Commanders have been directed to either cancel or relocate these events to an off-base location. Another source familiar with the matter confirmed that the Nellis AFB commander informed the private organization that the drag event would have to be canceled or relocated to an off-base location. DoD Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh also attested to Austins order. She said in a statement: Per DoD Joint Ethics Regulation, certain criteria must be met for persons or organizations acting in non-federal capacity to use DoD facilities and equipment. As Secretary Austin has said, the DoD will not host drag events at U.S. military installations or facilities. Hosting these types of events in federally funded facilities is not a suitable use of DoD resources. Nellis AFB had previously hosted a drag show back in June 2021 dubbed Drag-u-Nellis. Lt. Col. Bryon McGarry, spokesman for the base, confirmed in an emailed statement that the drag show sponsored by a private organization did occur. He added that the event provided an opportunity for attendees to learn more about the history and significance of drag performance art within the LGBT community. (Related: Brannon Howse: US military under Biden is prioritizing WOKENESS over READINESS Brighteon.TV.) Rep. Gaetz questions Pentagon officials about drag events in bases According to NBC News, drag shows and events on military bases have become a politically contentious issue in recent months with conservative politicians and pundits arguing the military should not be spending taxpayer money on them. Even Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, could not help but question why drag events are held at military bases. During a March 29 committee hearing, he angrily questioned Austin and Milley about drag queen story hours on U.S. military bases inside and outside the country including in Montana, Nevada, Virginia and Germany. Drag queen story hours is not something that the department funds, the defense secretary told lawmakers. For his part, Milley chimed in and asked to see the flyers for the events the Florida congressman was referring to. The four-star general told members of the House committee that he was not aware of such events and does not support these shows being held on military bases. Id like to take a look at those, because I dont agree with those. Gaetz later sent a letter about the issue to the two Defense Department officials. The May 23 correspondence detailed six other cases of drag shows or events either held at military bases or approved by the U.S. military. The Florida congressman asked Austin and Milley to provide information about the six aforementioned events. He also asked both officials whether any punitive action has or will be taken against anyone who used taxpayer money on them. Visit Wokies.news for more stories about drag shows. Watch former Navy SEAL Robert ONeill, who famously killed Osama Bin Laden, denouncing the Navys use of a drag queen within its ranks to recruit new service members. This video is from the GalacticStorm channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Woke U.S. military failing to recruit because nobody wants to defend American degeneracy. Purposeful sabotage?: US Navy responds to recruiting shortages with drag queen digital ambassador. Active-duty serviceman blames woke policies for Armys worst recruiting year in nearly five decades. Americans shun Bidens woke military, as all service branches except the USMC see recruiting shortfalls. Biden regime turning military into a freak show as Navy uses non-binary sailor who performs as a drag queen in recruitment campaign. Sources include: NBCNews.com AmericanMilitaryNews.com Brighteon.com A mountaineer's footage showed that the highest camp on Everest was also the dirtiest camp. The world's tallest mountain has to be adequately policed by Nepal to protect it from trash, according to a renowned US mountain guide who recently accomplished the extraordinary accomplishment of climbing Mount Everest and two surrounding summits in less than three weeks. Dirtiest Camp Site in Everest Last week, 44-year-old Garrett Madison scaled the 29,032-foot Everest for the 13th time. He claimed the upper camps were filled with climbers' abandoned trash, including broken tents, food wrappers, and empty oxygen bottles. Better methods of removing debris from the mountain as well as local waste management enforcement, according to Madison, are crucial. According to ABC7, Tenzi Sherpa, an Everest hiking guide, recently shared a video of a camp on the mountain that was littered with trash and claimed it was the dirtiest camp he had ever seen. Facebook Error The long-time Mount Everest visitor from the United States claims that some climbers just discard trash they can no longer use, such as ruined tents, food leftovers, parcels, and empty oxygen bottles. Highest Campsite, Highest Dump Site The government requires hikers to retrieve a $4,000 rubbish deposit by bringing their excrement back down the mountain. Monitoring camps at a height of approximately 26,246 feet, according to expedition organizers and hiking officials, was both challenging and ineffective. Additionally, South Col, often known as Camp 4, the highest campground on Everest and located just below the summit, is covered in tents. The tents and debris have been dispersed around the area by the strong winds at that altitude, according to Khabarhub. Everest contains so much rubbish, including rope, food packaging, and oxygen cylinders that have lost all of their oxygen, that climbers utilize it as a type of guide. This year, as part of a mission to keep the mountains clean, authorities removed 13 tonnes of trash from Everest and the adjoining Lhotse summit. Madison, who runs a mountaineering business in Seattle, said climbing in Nepal, which is home to eight of the world's fourteen highest mountains, has a promising future despite his concerns about the rubbish. In comparison to Pakistan and the Tibet area, where the six remaining highest peaks are located, the nation, according to Madison even, offers superior emergency helicopter assistance for climbers. Also Read: Snow Leopard Photos on Mt. Everest Sparks Controversy, Photographer Receives Death Threats Revenue vs. Waste Mountain climbing brings in a lot of money for Nepal, which in the March to May season awarded a record 478 Everest permits for $11,000 apiece. Despite the peak being climbed by hundreds of people this season, 12 climbers perished there and five more went missing, according to Reuters. According to Khabarhub information, every climbing season throughout the few weeks of each year around 600 individuals make an effort to climb Mount Everest, permitting that weather conditions are ideal. A minimum of one local worker serves as the expedition's guide, chef, and equipment carrier for every climber. Each of them spends weeks ascending the mountain, acclimatizing in several camps before reaching the peak. Each individual produces around eight kilos (18 pounds) of waste throughout that period, and the majority of it is dumped on the mountain. Empty oxygen canisters, food containers, damaged tents, and even human waste are scattered throughout the hills. Tented restrooms with sizable collecting buckets that can be removed and emptied are available at Base Camp. But it is the last of the restrooms. Climbers need to relieve themselves on the mountain for the duration of their adventure. Related ARticle: 12 Climbers Venture to Scale Tallest Active Volcano In Eurasia, 9 Died - 3 Rescued The Great Plains Zoo welcomed six red wolf pups, which are extremely endangered; but they won't stay in the same zoo for long. Future relocation plans for breeding are still under consideration by officials. At the Sioux Falls Great Plains Zoo, things are really exciting right now. The zoo is not only commemorating its 60th anniversary but also the birth of six new red wolf pups. Six Critically Endangered Red Wolf Pups Early in May, the six red wolf pups were born in Great Plains Zoo. Dad Uyosi marches back and forth keeping watch over his new puppies, which are holed up inside this man-made burrow on Friday as mom Camellia naps in the shade. Red wolves are rare, according to animal care director Joel Locke. He said that there are currently well over 200 red wolves either in human care or captive. Additionally, he emphasized how enjoyable it is to have this species at the zoo and how important it is to inform the people about how rare the species is. There may only be 20 to 30 of them in the wild, and only in North America, according to experts. Possible Future Relocation According to Locke, the Red Wolf Safe group manages red wolves in the US and makes decisions on their care. The pups are healthy and should all live, according to Locke, but despite how adorable they are, it's unlikely that they will remain in Sioux Falls. Locke made the observation Red Wolf Safe, together with US Fish and Wildlife, who are the ones who decide where pups go, so that's kind of out of our hands. Visitors will have the opportunity to observe them after they are a bit older and begin to venture outside of their den to start exploring the environment since the zoo will retain them for a short period. But ultimately, the goal would be to move them to other breeding facilities so that there would be more red wolves in the US. Also Read: North Carolina Zoo Welcomes 12 More Critically Endangered Red Wolf Pups from 3 Litters Red Wolf Conservation However, Camellia and Uyosi will remain in this area and may continue to produce puppies. According to Locke, who also wants the wolves to breed once more, both wolves are first-time parents. However, as he said, this decision is not his to make. According to Locke, red wolves are the zoo's most endangered species, KELO Land reports. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) calculated that as of May 2023, there were 278 red wolves in captivity and around 23 to 25 red wolves living in the wild. The red wolf was on the verge of extinction, but captive breeding prevented that from happening. The wild red wolf population peaked in 2012 at 120 individuals thanks to previous releases of red wolves from the population kept by humans into the ENC RWP. Despite being housed in many Red Wolf SAFE facilities around the nation, captive red wolves are maintained as a single population. To preserve the health and variety of an expanding population, they are frequently moved between the sites to breed following genetic management goals, according to Great Plains Zoo. Related Article: Endangered American Red Wolf Gives Birth to 5 Pups in the Wild Air New Zealand will be asking more than 10,000 customers travelling on its international network to take part in a passenger weight survey this June. The survey is essential to the safe and efficient operation of the aircraft and is a Civil Aviation Authority requirement. Air New Zealand Load Control Improvement Specialist Alastair James explained that before each take-off the pilot needs to know the weight and balance of the loaded aircraft. "We weigh everything that goes on the aircraft from the cargo to the meals onboard, to the luggage in the hold. For customers, crew and cabin bags, we use average weights, which we get from doing this survey." Customers on Air New Zealand's domestic network were weighed in 2021. Now that international travel is back up and running, it's time for international flyers to weigh in. For customers who are hesitant about jumping on those scales there is nothing to fear. "We know stepping on the scales can be daunting. We want to reassure our customers there is no visible display anywhere. No one can see your weight not even us! It's completely anonymous," said James. "It's simple, it's voluntary, and by weighing in, you'll be helping us to fly you safely and efficiently, every time." The survey will take place at the entrance to the gate lounge of certain Air New Zealand flights departing from Auckland International Airport between May 29 and July 2. TradeArabia News Service BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 4. Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov has sent a letter of gratitude to former Vice-President of the Republic of Turkiye Fuat Oktay, Trend reports. Azerbaijani PM expressed gratitude in the letter to Fuat Oktay for the attention he paid to the development of relations with Azerbaijan during his tenure as Vice President of Turkiye. The contribution of Oktay to the expansion of Azerbaijani-Turkish cooperation in various fields as co-chairman of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on economic cooperation was also highly appreciated. Ali Asadov wished success to Fuat Oktay in his future activities in the Grand National Assembly of Turkiye and expressed confidence that he would spare no effort in strengthening the relations of brotherhood, strategic partnership and alliance between Azerbaijan and Turkiye during this period. Ramashankar By Express News Service PATNA: An under-construction bridge on the river Ganga between Aguvanighat and Sultanganj in Bihar's Bhagalpur district collapsed on Sunday, with no casualties reported so far. A video showing a portion of the under-construction bridge collapsing like a house of cards went viral on social media, leaving senior officials of the Nitish Kumar government red-faced. The segment of three pillars of the bridge to be built at an estimated cost of Rs.1700 crore also collapsed and fell into the river. #WATCH | Under construction Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge in Bihars Bhagalpur collapses. The moment when bridge collapsed was caught on video by locals. This is the second time the bridge has collapsed. Further details awaited. (Source: Video shot by locals) pic.twitter.com/a44D2RVQQO June 4, 2023 The bridge, an ambitious project of chief minister Nitish Kumar, was being constructed to connect Khagaria with Bhagalpur and its adjoining districts. Senior officials from the district administration have rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. Bhagalpur sub-divisional officer Dhananjay Kumar said, "A team of officials has rushed to the site. We have received information about the collapse of some pillars and segments of the under-construction bridge. As of now, there is no report of any casualty in the incident." Sultanganj MLA Lalit Kumar Mandal told media persons in Bhagalpur that the collapse of the bridge showed the sheer negligence of the engineers and other staff of the company engaged in the construction work. "A high-level probe will be conducted to ascertain the reason," he added. WATCH | Locals, who captured the incident, claimed that the incident took place around 6 pm. Opposition BJP took a dig at Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar after the bridge had collapsed for a second time. The pillar towards Sultanganj in Bhagalpur district had earlier collapsed on April 30, 2022. "In 2015, Nitish Kumar had inaugurated the bridge. It was to be completed by 2020. This bridge has fallen for the second time. Will Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav resign immediately, taking cognisance of this incident," BJP leader Amit Malviya tweeted. On being contacted, Bhagalpur district magistrate Kumar Anurag said that the bridge slab between pillars numbered 9 and 13 had collapsed. "The reason behind the collapse of the under-construction bridge on the river Ganga will be ascertained. A preliminary investigation has been ordered followed by a high-level inquiry team constituted by the state government," he added. This is not the first time that an under-construction bridge has collapsed in the state. In December 2022, a portion of the bridge constructed on river Burhi Gandak had collapsed in Begusarai district. In addition, a worker had died and another was wounded when an under-construction bridge had collapsed in Nalanda, the home district of chief minister Nitish Kumar. Earlier, two under-construction bridges had fallen in Kishanganj and Saharsa districts, respectively. PATNA: An under-construction bridge on the river Ganga between Aguvanighat and Sultanganj in Bihar's Bhagalpur district collapsed on Sunday, with no casualties reported so far. A video showing a portion of the under-construction bridge collapsing like a house of cards went viral on social media, leaving senior officials of the Nitish Kumar government red-faced. The segment of three pillars of the bridge to be built at an estimated cost of Rs.1700 crore also collapsed and fell into the river. #WATCH | Under construction Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge in Bihars Bhagalpur collapses. The moment when bridge collapsed was caught on video by locals. This is the second time the bridge has collapsed. Further details awaited. (Source: Video shot by locals) pic.twitter.com/a44D2RVQQOgoogletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2023 The bridge, an ambitious project of chief minister Nitish Kumar, was being constructed to connect Khagaria with Bhagalpur and its adjoining districts. Senior officials from the district administration have rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. Bhagalpur sub-divisional officer Dhananjay Kumar said, "A team of officials has rushed to the site. We have received information about the collapse of some pillars and segments of the under-construction bridge. As of now, there is no report of any casualty in the incident." Sultanganj MLA Lalit Kumar Mandal told media persons in Bhagalpur that the collapse of the bridge showed the sheer negligence of the engineers and other staff of the company engaged in the construction work. "A high-level probe will be conducted to ascertain the reason," he added. WATCH | Locals, who captured the incident, claimed that the incident took place around 6 pm. Opposition BJP took a dig at Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar after the bridge had collapsed for a second time. The pillar towards Sultanganj in Bhagalpur district had earlier collapsed on April 30, 2022. "In 2015, Nitish Kumar had inaugurated the bridge. It was to be completed by 2020. This bridge has fallen for the second time. Will Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav resign immediately, taking cognisance of this incident," BJP leader Amit Malviya tweeted. On being contacted, Bhagalpur district magistrate Kumar Anurag said that the bridge slab between pillars numbered 9 and 13 had collapsed. "The reason behind the collapse of the under-construction bridge on the river Ganga will be ascertained. A preliminary investigation has been ordered followed by a high-level inquiry team constituted by the state government," he added. This is not the first time that an under-construction bridge has collapsed in the state. In December 2022, a portion of the bridge constructed on river Burhi Gandak had collapsed in Begusarai district. In addition, a worker had died and another was wounded when an under-construction bridge had collapsed in Nalanda, the home district of chief minister Nitish Kumar. Earlier, two under-construction bridges had fallen in Kishanganj and Saharsa districts, respectively. By PTI NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over the Odisha rail tragedy, alleging that his "PR gimmicks" overshadowed the "serious deficiencies, criminal negligence and complete disregard for safety and security" of Indian Railways. The Opposition party also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should accept part of the responsibility for the "mess" that his government has inflicted on the Indian Railways and the people. Addressing a press conference, Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil and AICC's publicity and media department head Pawan Khera alleged that the Odisha rail tragedy was a "man-made devastation caused by "utter negligence, serious lapses in the system, incompetence, and a narcissistic sense of know-it-all attitude of the Modi government". Prime Minister Modi, who has announced that the guilty would be punished, must first start with his Railway Minister, Khera said. "Unequivocally and unambiguously we demand the resignation of the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Nothing short of it," he said. Earlier, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that railway safety had been compromised in the "PR campaign" of the prime minister and the railway minister. "Recall that Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned in the wake of the Nov 1956 Ariyalur train disaster & Nitish Kumar did so following the ghastly Aug 1999 Gaisal train tragedy," he said in a tweet. At the presser, Gohil and Khera posed questions to the government and asked when will PM Modi demand the resignation from his Railway Minister Vaishnaw. They alleged that Vaishnaw's "over the top publicity, theatrics and PR gimmicks overshadowed the serious deficiencies, criminal negligence and complete disregard for safety and security of Indian Railways". "PM Modi, himself is responsible for a green-flagging spree of Vande Bharat Express trains. He himself is responsible for creating this 'all is well' facade in the Indian Railways, even as crucial, sensitive, and critical infrastructure of the Indian Railway languishes in neglect," Gohil and Khera said in their statement. "We demand that despite multiple warnings by the CAG, Parliamentary Standing Committees, and experts --- why did the Modi government not spend on sprucing up Railway Safety?" they said. Who is responsible for the deadliest rail tragedy in independent India, Gohil and Khera asked. Would only lower or mid-level functionaries bear the brunt of accountability or will the executive who takes all the credit for Vande Bharat trains also be held accountable for this brazen disregard for safety standards, they asked. With better clarity finally emerging, here is the sequence of events that led to one of India's worst rail accidents in #Odisha.#OdishaTrainAccident #OdishaTrainTragedy pic.twitter.com/0F4alfpDUH The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) June 4, 2023 The Congress leaders also asked when will the Modi government implement the much-hyped Kavach Anti-Collision system nationwide, after testing. Gohil and Khera asked when will the government pump more funds in the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) and fill up the three lakh plus vacant positions in the Indian Railways. The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying around 2,500 passengers, and a goods train occurred around 7 pm on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore. At least 288 people were dead and over 1,100 injured in the accident. NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over the Odisha rail tragedy, alleging that his "PR gimmicks" overshadowed the "serious deficiencies, criminal negligence and complete disregard for safety and security" of Indian Railways. The Opposition party also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should accept part of the responsibility for the "mess" that his government has inflicted on the Indian Railways and the people. Addressing a press conference, Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil and AICC's publicity and media department head Pawan Khera alleged that the Odisha rail tragedy was a "man-made devastation caused by "utter negligence, serious lapses in the system, incompetence, and a narcissistic sense of know-it-all attitude of the Modi government".googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Prime Minister Modi, who has announced that the guilty would be punished, must first start with his Railway Minister, Khera said. "Unequivocally and unambiguously we demand the resignation of the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Nothing short of it," he said. Earlier, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that railway safety had been compromised in the "PR campaign" of the prime minister and the railway minister. "Recall that Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned in the wake of the Nov 1956 Ariyalur train disaster & Nitish Kumar did so following the ghastly Aug 1999 Gaisal train tragedy," he said in a tweet. At the presser, Gohil and Khera posed questions to the government and asked when will PM Modi demand the resignation from his Railway Minister Vaishnaw. They alleged that Vaishnaw's "over the top publicity, theatrics and PR gimmicks overshadowed the serious deficiencies, criminal negligence and complete disregard for safety and security of Indian Railways". "PM Modi, himself is responsible for a green-flagging spree of Vande Bharat Express trains. He himself is responsible for creating this 'all is well' facade in the Indian Railways, even as crucial, sensitive, and critical infrastructure of the Indian Railway languishes in neglect," Gohil and Khera said in their statement. "We demand that despite multiple warnings by the CAG, Parliamentary Standing Committees, and experts --- why did the Modi government not spend on sprucing up Railway Safety?" they said. Who is responsible for the deadliest rail tragedy in independent India, Gohil and Khera asked. Would only lower or mid-level functionaries bear the brunt of accountability or will the executive who takes all the credit for Vande Bharat trains also be held accountable for this brazen disregard for safety standards, they asked. With better clarity finally emerging, here is the sequence of events that led to one of India's worst rail accidents in #Odisha.#OdishaTrainAccident #OdishaTrainTragedy pic.twitter.com/0F4alfpDUH The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) June 4, 2023 The Congress leaders also asked when will the Modi government implement the much-hyped Kavach Anti-Collision system nationwide, after testing. Gohil and Khera asked when will the government pump more funds in the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) and fill up the three lakh plus vacant positions in the Indian Railways. The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying around 2,500 passengers, and a goods train occurred around 7 pm on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore. At least 288 people were dead and over 1,100 injured in the accident. By Express News Service BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the latest situation of the train mishap at Bahanaga in Balasore district particularly on the treatment of the accident victims. The Chief Minister assured that all possible steps are being taken to save the lives of injured passengers in different hospitals in Odisha. "The doctors, medical students are doing their best they can to save lives", he said. Stating that the Odisha government follows a policy that underlines every life is precious, CM said that the state government is leaving no stones unturned to save lives. The officials are relentlessly working for the rescue operation, shifting injured passengers to the hospitals and making arrangements for their treatment. Giving details about the latest situation, the CM said that as many as 1175 injured passengers have been admitted to different hospitals, out of which 793 have been discharged. Most of the injured patients are in stable condition, he said and added that 382 passengers are now undergoing treatment in various government and private hospitals. With better clarity finally emerging, here is the sequence of events that led to one of India's worst rail accidents in #Odisha.#OdishaTrainAccident #OdishaTrainTragedy pic.twitter.com/0F4alfpDUH The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) June 4, 2023 The PM thanked the CM and Odisha government for their prompt action during the crisis. He also praised the people of Odisha for their timely support. "The Centre is ready to provide any kind of assistance if required", said the PM. The CM also announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh for seriously injured passengers. The assistance will be given from Chief Ministers Relief Fund (CMRF). This ex-gratia assistance is applicable to the victims of Odisha only. The CM has also conveyed his deep sympathy to the bereaved families and wished speedy recovery of the injured. In view of the disruption of normal train service to Kolkata and keeping in view the greater benefit of the commuters, the CM has also announced free bus service to Kolkata from Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack from Sunday. The entire cost will be met by CMRF. This arrangement will continue till the restoration of normal train service in Balasore route. Around 50 buses provide transport service to Kolkata daily from the above three cities of Odisha. BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the latest situation of the train mishap at Bahanaga in Balasore district particularly on the treatment of the accident victims. The Chief Minister assured that all possible steps are being taken to save the lives of injured passengers in different hospitals in Odisha. "The doctors, medical students are doing their best they can to save lives", he said. Stating that the Odisha government follows a policy that underlines every life is precious, CM said that the state government is leaving no stones unturned to save lives. The officials are relentlessly working for the rescue operation, shifting injured passengers to the hospitals and making arrangements for their treatment.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Giving details about the latest situation, the CM said that as many as 1175 injured passengers have been admitted to different hospitals, out of which 793 have been discharged. Most of the injured patients are in stable condition, he said and added that 382 passengers are now undergoing treatment in various government and private hospitals. With better clarity finally emerging, here is the sequence of events that led to one of India's worst rail accidents in #Odisha.#OdishaTrainAccident #OdishaTrainTragedy pic.twitter.com/0F4alfpDUH The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) June 4, 2023 The PM thanked the CM and Odisha government for their prompt action during the crisis. He also praised the people of Odisha for their timely support. "The Centre is ready to provide any kind of assistance if required", said the PM. Death toll in #OdishaTrainTragedy scaled down to 275 after verification. Passengers injured 1175 Passengers undergoing treatment 382@XpressOdisha @NewIndianXpress@Siba_TNIE @santwana99 pic.twitter.com/HZb2ZYvCC7 Hemant Kumar Rout (@TheHemantRout) June 4, 2023 The CM also announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh for seriously injured passengers. The assistance will be given from Chief Ministers Relief Fund (CMRF). This ex-gratia assistance is applicable to the victims of Odisha only. The CM has also conveyed his deep sympathy to the bereaved families and wished speedy recovery of the injured. In view of the disruption of normal train service to Kolkata and keeping in view the greater benefit of the commuters, the CM has also announced free bus service to Kolkata from Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack from Sunday. The entire cost will be met by CMRF. This arrangement will continue till the restoration of normal train service in Balasore route. Around 50 buses provide transport service to Kolkata daily from the above three cities of Odisha. By Express News Service BHUBANESWAR: In its pursuit to meet the critical healthcare need of the survivors of the tragic train accident at Bahanaga in Balasore district on Friday, the Centre has mobilised doctors and critical medical equipment from New Delhi to Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has been assigned the job by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that injured passengers of the two ill-fated trains, Coromandel Express and Bengaluru-Howrah Yesvantpur Superfast Express, undergoing treatment in different hospitals of Odisha are provided with the best of the treatment, and to take stock of the situations in AIIMS, Bhubaneswar and SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack. "More than 1,000 people are injured in this terrible accident and their treatment is underway. Over 100 patients need critical care and some of them need immediate operations. Expert doctors from AIIMS, Delhi, Lady Hardinge Hospital and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital along with modern equipment and medicines have reached here in a special Airforce plane for their treatment. We had a detailed discussion and a working plan has also been prepared," Mandaviya told media persons after visiting AIIMS hospital here. "As many critical patients are being admitted to different hospitals of Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, it has been planned to mobilise members of the expert team of doctors to different hospitals as per the requirements to provide special treatment so that the lives of as many patients could be saved", he added. After visiting AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, the Union Health Miniter went to Capital Hospital and talked to the hospital staff and patients undergoing treatment there. He is scheduled to visit SCB MCH, Cuttack to review the situation there, official sources said. The Prime Minister during his visit to the accident spot at Bahanaga on Saturday talked to Mandaviya and reportedly asked him to send a team of doctors with critical equipment and medicines for augmenting treatment of patients struggling for survival. During his visit to the state, the PM also assured of providing the best medical care to save the lives of the injured. BHUBANESWAR: In its pursuit to meet the critical healthcare need of the survivors of the tragic train accident at Bahanaga in Balasore district on Friday, the Centre has mobilised doctors and critical medical equipment from New Delhi to Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has been assigned the job by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that injured passengers of the two ill-fated trains, Coromandel Express and Bengaluru-Howrah Yesvantpur Superfast Express, undergoing treatment in different hospitals of Odisha are provided with the best of the treatment, and to take stock of the situations in AIIMS, Bhubaneswar and SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack. "More than 1,000 people are injured in this terrible accident and their treatment is underway. Over 100 patients need critical care and some of them need immediate operations. Expert doctors from AIIMS, Delhi, Lady Hardinge Hospital and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital along with modern equipment and medicines have reached here in a special Airforce plane for their treatment. We had a detailed discussion and a working plan has also been prepared," Mandaviya told media persons after visiting AIIMS hospital here.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Death toll in #OdishaTrainTragedy scaled down to 275 after verification. Passengers injured 1175 Passengers undergoing treatment 382@XpressOdisha @NewIndianXpress@Siba_TNIE @santwana99 pic.twitter.com/HZb2ZYvCC7 Hemant Kumar Rout (@TheHemantRout) June 4, 2023 "As many critical patients are being admitted to different hospitals of Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, it has been planned to mobilise members of the expert team of doctors to different hospitals as per the requirements to provide special treatment so that the lives of as many patients could be saved", he added. After visiting AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, the Union Health Miniter went to Capital Hospital and talked to the hospital staff and patients undergoing treatment there. He is scheduled to visit SCB MCH, Cuttack to review the situation there, official sources said. The Prime Minister during his visit to the accident spot at Bahanaga on Saturday talked to Mandaviya and reportedly asked him to send a team of doctors with critical equipment and medicines for augmenting treatment of patients struggling for survival. During his visit to the state, the PM also assured of providing the best medical care to save the lives of the injured. By Express News Service CHENNAI: Survivors of the Coromandel Express train crash in Odisha reached Purachi Thalaivar Dr MG Ramachandran Central Railway Station in Chennai around 4.40 am, on Sunday. The Tamil Nadu government had arranged for special train No: 13671(Bhadrak special) for the victims of the tragic train mishap in Odisha's Balasore district. Around 137 people reached Chennai and from there, they boarded trains to other states to reach their destination. The medical team on high alert as 250 survivors of Coromandel train crash are on their way from Bhadrak to Chennai. (Photo | P. Ravikumar/ Express) The government also kept rescue teams ready to receive the passengers. Around 20 advanced life-saving 108 ambulances also had kept ready to transport passengers to hospitals who needed medical care. ALSO READ | Special train from Chennai to carry kin of accident victims to Odisha According to officials, eight people with various injuries were shifted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital where a special ward was opened for these passengers. The accident involved the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, Train No. 12864 Yesvantpur-Howrah Superfast Express, and a goods train. As of now, the accident has claimed the lives of 238 persons and left nearly 900 injured with ongoing rescue operations. Among the deceased, 35 are expected to be from Tamil Nadu. CHENNAI: Survivors of the Coromandel Express train crash in Odisha reached Purachi Thalaivar Dr MG Ramachandran Central Railway Station in Chennai around 4.40 am, on Sunday. The Tamil Nadu government had arranged for special train No: 13671(Bhadrak special) for the victims of the tragic train mishap in Odisha's Balasore district. Around 137 people reached Chennai and from there, they boarded trains to other states to reach their destination. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The medical team on high alert as 250 survivors of Coromandel train crash are on their way from Bhadrak to Chennai. (Photo | P. Ravikumar/ Express) The government also kept rescue teams ready to receive the passengers. Around 20 advanced life-saving 108 ambulances also had kept ready to transport passengers to hospitals who needed medical care. #specialtrain for #CoramandelExpress train accident affected passengers arrives at platform no: 11 @xpresstn pic.twitter.com/HbWouVMZgZ Sinduja (@Sinduj11) June 3, 2023 ALSO READ | Special train from Chennai to carry kin of accident victims to Odisha According to officials, eight people with various injuries were shifted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital where a special ward was opened for these passengers. The accident involved the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, Train No. 12864 Yesvantpur-Howrah Superfast Express, and a goods train. As of now, the accident has claimed the lives of 238 persons and left nearly 900 injured with ongoing rescue operations. Among the deceased, 35 are expected to be from Tamil Nadu. BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 4. The positions of the Azerbaijani army located in the Shusha and Khojaly directions were shelled by members of illegal Armenian armed formations on the territory of Azerbaijan, where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily stationed, on June 4, from 04:20 to 13:55 (GMT+4), Trend reports citing Defense Ministry. Azerbaijani army units have taken adequate measures in these areas. Moreover, members of illegal Armenian armed formations tried to establish long-term fortifications in front of the positions of the Azerbaijani army located in the direction of the Shusha district at about 12:20 (GMT+4). As a result of the urgent measures taken by the units of the Azerbaijani army, the work was immediately stopped. By PTI NEW DELHI: A meeting of opposition parties, which was scheduled to be held in Patna on June 12, has been postponed, sources said on Sunday. With Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and some other key opposition figures unavailable for the meeting, there is a view to holding the deliberations at a later date so that they could also participate, giving the event due prominence. Gandhi is currently in the US. Sources said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin were also finding it difficult to attend the meeting on June 12 due to prior commitments. JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has taken the lead in speaking to several regional satraps besides the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and the Left to forge unity among opposition ranks to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The JD(U) supremo has been pitching for "opposition unity" ever since he snapped ties with the BJP in August last year, following accusations that the ally was trying to create fissures in his party and diminish his standing. He has held separate meetings with leaders of many parties, including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP's national convener Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and leaders from the Left parties. As part of the "opposition unity" drive, Kumar has held parleys with not only Congress allies like Uddhav and Pawar but also its opponents like Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao. In fact, the idea of hosting a meeting of opposition leaders in Patna was floated by Banerjee, who had invoked the memory of Jayaprakash Narayan upon meeting Kumar in Kolkata last month. NEW DELHI: A meeting of opposition parties, which was scheduled to be held in Patna on June 12, has been postponed, sources said on Sunday. With Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and some other key opposition figures unavailable for the meeting, there is a view to holding the deliberations at a later date so that they could also participate, giving the event due prominence. Gandhi is currently in the US. Sources said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin were also finding it difficult to attend the meeting on June 12 due to prior commitments.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has taken the lead in speaking to several regional satraps besides the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and the Left to forge unity among opposition ranks to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The JD(U) supremo has been pitching for "opposition unity" ever since he snapped ties with the BJP in August last year, following accusations that the ally was trying to create fissures in his party and diminish his standing. He has held separate meetings with leaders of many parties, including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP's national convener Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and leaders from the Left parties. As part of the "opposition unity" drive, Kumar has held parleys with not only Congress allies like Uddhav and Pawar but also its opponents like Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao. In fact, the idea of hosting a meeting of opposition leaders in Patna was floated by Banerjee, who had invoked the memory of Jayaprakash Narayan upon meeting Kumar in Kolkata last month. Prasanta Mazumdar By Express News Service GUWAHATI: Suspected Kuki militants torched nearly 100 abandoned houses, including that of a Congress MLA, in the wee hours of Sunday as the ethnic violence in Manipur refuses to die down. The militants, who signed the suspension of operation or SoO agreement with the government, came down the hills and torched the houses in Serou, a foothill area in the Kakching district, the police said. This was the second time that they carried out an attack there. Several lives were lost and houses burned down in the first attack on May 28. Local MLA K Ranjit of the Congress, whose house was among those burned down in the latest attack, was at Sugnu, located 3 km away, along with three BJP legislators when the attack was carried out. A group of five legislators, led by Minister Yumnam Khemchand, faced the wrath of the people when they had gone to Sugnu on Saturday at around 5 pm to take stock of the situation. ALSO READ | Govt sets up a three-member panel to probe Manipur violence The locals were enraged that the government failed to protect their lives and property. They demanded the immediate relocation of an Assam Rifles camp from a nearby area after alleging that the personnel were not taking any actions against the Kuki militants. Later, the mob allowed Khemchand to leave the place so he could meet Chief Minister N Biren Singh and place the locals demands. The four MLAs, however, stayed on. They left the place on Sunday morning. A senior official said the government wanted the MLAs to stay there overnight, hoping that it would instil a sense of security among the people. Khemchand told TNIE that panic had set in among the locals after the violent incidents. The people there dont want the Assam Rifles. They staged a protest before us for the relocation of the Assam Rifles camp. I conveyed it to the CM, Khemchand said. ALSO READ | Saw my brother lying in a pool of blood, mother shielding him from mob: Manipur violence survivor The Kuki militants are indulging in violence in the foothill areas. They come down the hills to carry out the attack. Sometimes, they fire from the hills, the minister said. He also said that the people had no complaints against Army or Border Security Force. He added that security personnel were not adequately deployed to the areas in Kakching. GUWAHATI: Suspected Kuki militants torched nearly 100 abandoned houses, including that of a Congress MLA, in the wee hours of Sunday as the ethnic violence in Manipur refuses to die down. The militants, who signed the suspension of operation or SoO agreement with the government, came down the hills and torched the houses in Serou, a foothill area in the Kakching district, the police said. This was the second time that they carried out an attack there. Several lives were lost and houses burned down in the first attack on May 28.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Local MLA K Ranjit of the Congress, whose house was among those burned down in the latest attack, was at Sugnu, located 3 km away, along with three BJP legislators when the attack was carried out. A group of five legislators, led by Minister Yumnam Khemchand, faced the wrath of the people when they had gone to Sugnu on Saturday at around 5 pm to take stock of the situation. ALSO READ | Govt sets up a three-member panel to probe Manipur violence The locals were enraged that the government failed to protect their lives and property. They demanded the immediate relocation of an Assam Rifles camp from a nearby area after alleging that the personnel were not taking any actions against the Kuki militants. Later, the mob allowed Khemchand to leave the place so he could meet Chief Minister N Biren Singh and place the locals demands. The four MLAs, however, stayed on. They left the place on Sunday morning. A senior official said the government wanted the MLAs to stay there overnight, hoping that it would instil a sense of security among the people. Khemchand told TNIE that panic had set in among the locals after the violent incidents. The people there dont want the Assam Rifles. They staged a protest before us for the relocation of the Assam Rifles camp. I conveyed it to the CM, Khemchand said. ALSO READ | Saw my brother lying in a pool of blood, mother shielding him from mob: Manipur violence survivor The Kuki militants are indulging in violence in the foothill areas. They come down the hills to carry out the attack. Sometimes, they fire from the hills, the minister said. He also said that the people had no complaints against Army or Border Security Force. He added that security personnel were not adequately deployed to the areas in Kakching. By AFP KAMPALA: At least 54 African Union peacekeepers were killed when militants attacked a base housing Ugandan units in Somalia last week, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said. "We discovered the lifeless bodies of 54 fallen soldiers, including a commander," Museveni said in a statement posted on his official Twitter account late Saturday. Al-Shabaab, which has been waging a deadly insurgency against Somalia's fragile central government for more than a decade, claimed responsibility for the dawn attack on May 26. The militants drove a car laden with explosives into the base in Bulo Marer, 120 kilometres (75 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu, leading to a gunfight, local residents and a Somali military commander told AFP. The toll is one of the heaviest yet since pro-government forces backed by the AU force known as ATMIS launched an offensive last August against Al-Shabaab. Museveni had already said last week that an initial panicked reaction to the attack contributed to the toll. "The mistake was made by two commanders, Maj. Oluka and Maj. Obbo, who ordered the soldiers to retreat," Museveni said in the statement, adding that they would face charges in a court martial. However, "our soldiers demonstrated remarkable resilience and reorganised themselves, resulting in the recapture of the base." The 20,000-member ATMIS force has a more offensive remit than its predecessor, known as AMISOM. The force is drawn from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya, with troops deployed in southern and central Somalia. Its goal is to hand over security responsibilities to Somalia's army and police by 2024. KAMPALA: At least 54 African Union peacekeepers were killed when militants attacked a base housing Ugandan units in Somalia last week, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said. "We discovered the lifeless bodies of 54 fallen soldiers, including a commander," Museveni said in a statement posted on his official Twitter account late Saturday. Al-Shabaab, which has been waging a deadly insurgency against Somalia's fragile central government for more than a decade, claimed responsibility for the dawn attack on May 26.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The militants drove a car laden with explosives into the base in Bulo Marer, 120 kilometres (75 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu, leading to a gunfight, local residents and a Somali military commander told AFP. The toll is one of the heaviest yet since pro-government forces backed by the AU force known as ATMIS launched an offensive last August against Al-Shabaab. Museveni had already said last week that an initial panicked reaction to the attack contributed to the toll. "The mistake was made by two commanders, Maj. Oluka and Maj. Obbo, who ordered the soldiers to retreat," Museveni said in the statement, adding that they would face charges in a court martial. However, "our soldiers demonstrated remarkable resilience and reorganised themselves, resulting in the recapture of the base." The 20,000-member ATMIS force has a more offensive remit than its predecessor, known as AMISOM. The force is drawn from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya, with troops deployed in southern and central Somalia. Its goal is to hand over security responsibilities to Somalia's army and police by 2024. Assam: Nagaon administration changes school timings amid rising temperature Nagaon, June 3: In the wake of rising temperatures, the Nagaon district administration of Assam has issued an order and rescheduled the timing of classes of all educational institutions (government and private) from 7-30 am with immediate effect. Assam: Nagaon administration changes school timings amid rising temperature The order comes due to the continuous rise of the mercury, prevailing scorching heat, and in view of the health of the students."A letter received from the inspector of Schools, NDC, Nagaon and DEEO Nagaon dated on June 2, 2023, regarding shifting of normal school time in Nagaon District due to the continuous rise of the Mercury level and prevailing scorching heat," the notification read."Considering the above and in the interest of the public, the timing of following categories Educational Institutions (Government and private) under Nagaon District is hereby rescheduled," it said."The timings of LP Schools will start from 730 am to 1215 pm, ME School timings are 730 to 1245 pm and HS and HS Schools start from 730 am to 115 pm," it stated.This order comes into force with immediate effect and shall remain until further order, it further said.ANI03 June 2023 Shared Recently! Punjab may tie up with Israel for water management: Minister Chandigarh, June 2: Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa on Wednesday said the government would forge strategic partnership with Israel for developing a better water management system. Punjab may tie up with Israel for water management: Minister He said the government would work on making effective use of Israeli technology and indigenous innovations to develop a cost-effective and sustainable water supply and sewerage infrastructure in the state.Speaking at the Roundtable with Lior Asaf, Water Attache, Embassy of Israel, Neeraj Gahlwat, Senior Water Resources Specialists, International Development Cooperation (MASHAV), Embassy of Israel, and Amit Dhir, Professor, Thapar University, here, the minister appreciated the role played by Israel in supporting India in addressing water and wastewater challenges.He said the government has been concerned with the depleting groundwater levels in the state and efforts are being made to improve the water quality of ponds in rural areas.He said the groundwater availability in the villages has significantly gone down during the last 35-40 years.Accentuating rainwater harvesting as one of the important aspects of groundwater recharge, the minister said that the government has made it mandatory for all buildings in the state. He also shared his experience of visiting the wastewater treatment plants in Hoshiarpur, where wastewater is being reused for agricultural purposes.Extending support to Punjab in adopting new technologies, Asaf mentioned that in Israel's water sources almost half came from desalinated, recycled and recharged water, whereas till 1980s the country was dependent on the use of natural water only."Israel has developed technologies that enable reuse of 90 per cent of treated wastewater. Every STP in Israel is developed close to agricultural lands and is connected to irrigation," he said.Presenting case studies, he said, "Solutions required in India are similar to the solutions developed by Israel. Community engagement, capacity building of stakeholders, private sector participation plays a key role in successfully addressing challenges around water quality, sanitation and groundwater recharge."D.K. Tiwari, Principal Secretary, Water Supply and Sanitation Department, said the government is developing climate resilient rural water supply schemes by switching to surface water supply.It aims to develop 500 smart villages with round-the-clock water supply, sanitation facilities with an estimated cost of Rs 4,500 crore.The department is also undertaking management of wastewater and solid waste by setting up block level plastic waste management units and material recovery facilities, model biogas plants, faecal sludge treatment plants, etc., with an estimated cost of Rs 1, 300 crore, he added.IANS03 June 2023 Shared Recently! Only person to blame for starting the stupid trend of airport looks: Kangana Ranaut on trend of airport looks Mumbai, June 2: Actor Kangana Ranaut recently asserted that she was the one to establish the trend of airport looks back in 2018. She called herself as the victim of capitalism and referred to the trend as stupid. She expressed her shame at always purchasing new clothing in an effort to avoid wearing the same items more than once. Kangana added that she was Brainwashed by magazine editors. Only person to blame for starting the stupid trend of airport looks: Kangana Ranaut on trend of airport looks In a series of Instagram stories, Kangana shared her different airport looks and wrote in the caption, "Only person to blame for starting the stupid trend of airport looks.""Brainwashed by magazine editors and fashion industry to look a western woman so that I only fill the pockets of international designers," she wrote while adding, "Ashamed to repeat clothes always buying without any care about the impact of my choices on the environment."She continued to share more looks and mentioned, "While I act like a bimbo, the system hails me as a fashionista to encourage me to promote more international brands while my own people like weavers and handicrafts men dying slow and steady death.""Then they shrewdly start to price tag everything I wear making it a vanity issue for me and guess what I fall for the trap now more than style it's about brands even for a genuinely stylish person. Fashion brands make you work for them for free by just sending clothes and bags...they start to hijack cultures and tradition of an entire civilisation."While talking about giving more preference to Western outfits, she wrote, "If this is how an Indian woman looks then what does an American woman look like?"She said farewell to the airport looks and promised to be more careful about the clothes she purchases going forward and how many people will gain from each purchase. "Bye bye airport looks we have gone past that phase. Now it's time even if I buy one piece of clothing, I ask myself how many Indians benefit from this!" Kangana concluded.ANI03 June 2023 Shared Recently! Wadhwani AI showcases AI solutions for healthcare at 3rd G20 Health Working Group meeting PNN, New Delhi, June 3 (Wadhwani AI), a cross-domain AI impact institute, will be a part of the upcoming G20 meeting in Hyderabad from June 4-6. Wadhwani AI showcases AI solutions for healthcare at 3rd G20 Health Working Group meeting At the event, Wadhwani AI will proudly showcase the remarkable AI initiatives of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (MoHFW), highlighting their significant impact on healthcare and well-being.As the AI Unit of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Wadhwani AI will aim to highlight how the Government of India is prioritising AI and digital technologies to revolutionise the healthcare industry. Visitors will witness first-hand the innovative solutions that leverage AI to improve healthcare outcomes and drive positive change in the sector.The Institute will be presenting AI solution demonstrations for disease surveillance, clinical decision support, image and sound-based screening, resource prioritisation and optimisation, patient risk stratification, anthropometry, and active case-finding.The Institute had earlier presented a host of AI-powered solutions at the G20 health working group meetings in Thiruvananthapuram and Goa. These solutions aim to augment the effectiveness and efficiency of existing health coverage and emergency prevention, preparedness, and response programs."The G20 presidency places us at the centre of the world where there is a rich market and diverse audience which is global in nature. This immediately raises the sense of validity and context of our work, as well as its application and meaningfulness. We receive constant feedback from visitors to our stalls, which adds impetus by making us think, re-think, and strengthen our capabilities to develop cutting-edge, highly relevant, and customised AI solutions for specific problems," said Shekar Sivasubramanian, Chief Executive Officer, Wadhwani AI.(Disclaimer The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)ANI03 June 2023 Shared Recently! Im really upset: Rybakina withdraws from French Open due to illness (ld) Paris, June 3: World No.4 Elena Rybakina on Saturday withdrew from the French Open due to an upper respiratory illness. 'I'm really upset': Rybakina withdraws from French Open due to illness (ld) The reigning Wimbledon champion announced her withdrawal before she was due to take the court for her third-round match against Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo.The 23-year-old told reporters she began feeling ill after her second-round match. She hoped to be able to play but struggled to sustain 10 minutes of work on the court."I saw the doctor and they said that actually, it's all a virus here in Paris. I guess with my allergy, my immune system just went down and I picked up something. As I said, I was not sleeping well for two days. I had a fever and headache. I think you can hear [my voice] also," Rybakina was quoted as saying by WTA."So, yeah, it's difficult to perform and obviously to run and even breathe. So I think that was the only right decision I could make," she added.A champion of two WTA 1000 events this year, including most recently on the clay in Rome two weeks ago, Rybakina was bidding to build on her momentum in Paris, where she was a quarterfinalist in 2021.She did not lose a set through her first two rounds of the tournament, defeating Brenda Fruhvirtova and Linda Noskova. Her 6-3, 6-3 win over Noskova was her eighth win in a row."Of course, I'm really upset about not being able to play, but I guess that's life. There are a lot of ups and downs. Today I just wanted to give 100 percent, and obviously, I'm far from being 100 percent," Rybakina said further."Yeah, I was actually coming positive here, but as I said, you never know how you're gonna feel. Was unlucky for me. Yeah, I just try to recover and do my best to be prepared for the grass season already," she added.Rybakina's next tournaments during the grass season are scheduled to be Berlin, Eastbourne, and her title defense at Wimbledon.With Rybakina's withdrawal, Sorribes Tormo advances via walkover and is into her first Round of 16 at a Slam. She will await the winner of 14th-seed Beatriz Haddad Maia or 23rd-seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.IANS03 June 2023 Shared Recently! Bill to allow Sikhs to ride without bike helmets in California New York, June 3: Senators in California voted in favour of a bill that exempts Sikhs from wearing a safety helmet when riding a motorcycle. Bill to allow Sikhs to ride without bike helmets in California The Senate Bill 847, authored by Senator Brian Dahle cleared the state senate this week with a 21-8 vote margin, and will now move to the Assembly."Freedom of religion is a core foundation of this country. We, as Americans, have the right to freely express our religion and I believe that right should equally extend to everyone. Any law that limits the ability to express one's religion, goes against what this country is all about," Dahle said in a statement after presenting the bill on the senate floor."Exempting those who wear turbans or patkas from wearing helmets is a simple way to ensure that everyone's religious freedoms are protected," he added.According to 2021 American Community Survey estimates, 211,000 Sikhs live in California, which is nearly half of all Sikhs living in the US.The State Senate was told that as of now, no helmet exists in the market that will accommodate a turban or a patka, but according to members of the Sikh community, a turban is a good enough protection.Currently, 18 states and Washington D.C. have a universal helmet law for all riders. 29 states require helmets for specified riders, generally riders under a certain age (usually 18 or 21).Only Illinois, Iowa, and New Hampshire have no motorcycle helmet laws."Although other countries and our own military make accommodations for Sikhs' deep beliefs, out of the US states that require helmets, none has exemptions for Sikhs or any other group based on religious practice," a statement from Dahle's office read.This question of helmets for Sikhs has also been debated and considered in other countries, like Canada and the UK.In Canada, Sikhs are exempt from motorcycle helmet laws in several provinces including Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario.Among the supporters of the bill were the Legendary Sikh Riders, the Sikh Legends of America and the Sikh Saints Motorcycle Club.According to the Center for Disease Control, more than 5,500 motorcyclists died in 2020, and more than 180,000 were treated in emergency departments for crash injuries.IANS03 June 2023 Shared Recently! BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 4. On June 4, at about 20:10 (GMT+4), a quadrocopter belonging to members of illegal Armenian armed groups on the territory of Azerbaijan, where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, made a reconnaissance flight over the positions of the Azerbaijani Army located in the direction of the Aghdam district, Trend reports citing Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. "As a result of urgent measures taken by the units of the Azerbaijani Army, the activity of a quadrocopter that tried to fly over Azerbaijani positions was prevented. In addition, at about 18:25, units of the Armenian armed forces fired on the positions of the Azerbaijani Army, located in the village of Yukhari Ayrim, Kalbajar district, from their positions, located in the direction of the village of Zarkand, Basarkecher district. The units of the Azerbaijani Army took retaliatory measures," the ministry said. Rybakina withdraws from French Open due to illness Paris, June 3: World No.4 Elena Rybakina on Saturday withdrew from the French Open due to an upper respiratory illness. Rybakina withdraws from French Open due to illness The reigning Wimbledon champion announced her withdrawal before she was due to take the court for her third-round match against Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo.A champion of two WTA 1000 events this year, including most recently on the clay in Rome two weeks ago, Rybakina was bidding to build on her momentum in Paris, where she was a quarterfinalist in 2021.She did not lose a set through her first two rounds of the tournament, defeating Brenda Fruhvirtova and Linda Noskova. Her 6-3, 6-3 win over Noskova was her eighth win in a row.IANS03 June 2023 Shared Recently! Exploring the delights of Vietnamese drip filter coffee New Delhi, June 3: In a world brimming with coffee choices, Vietnamese drip-filter coffee stands out as a treasure worth discovering. Its distinctive brewing technique, bold flavours, cultural significance, health benefits, and commitment to sustainability make it an unparalleled experience for coffee enthusiasts. Whether you're a seasoned coffee connoisseur or a curious adventurer seeking new flavours, Vietnamese drip filter coffee promises to delight your taste buds and transport you to the vibrant streets of Vietnam. Exploring the delights of Vietnamese drip filter coffee The traditional drip-filter coffee holds a significant place in Vietnamese culture and daily life. It is not merely a beverage but a ritual, a moment of tranquility and connection. The act of brewing and enjoying coffee is deeply ingrained in the Vietnamese way of life, fostering social interactions and creating a sense of community. From bustling street-side cafes to tranquil home settings, the aroma of Vietnamese drip filter coffee permeates the air, inviting people to pause, savour, and engage in conversations that go beyond the realms of caffeine.Chef Vaibhav Bhargava of CHO restaurants, thinks that what distinguishes Vietnamese drip filter coffee from the rest of the coffee world is, "Its unique flavour profile. Slow extraction enables for more thorough extraction of the coffee's oils and chemicals, yielding a full-bodied brew with a rich, smooth texture. The flavour is frequently described as robust and intense, with hints of chocolate, caramel, and earthiness. The use of robusta beans, which are typically grown in Vietnam, contributes to the coffee's particular flavour, providing a robust and unforgettable experience."He adds, "At the heart of Vietnamese drip filter coffee lies the traditional "phin" filter, a small metal device that allows for slow and controlled extraction. The process begins with the placement of finely ground coffee into the filter, followed by the addition of hot water. The water slowly drips through the coffee grounds, extracting the flavours and aromas, resulting in a well-balanced and robust cup of coffee. This method emphasises the art of patience, as the slow extraction process contributes to the distinct character and depth of Vietnamese drip-filter coffee."In recent years, traditional Vietnamese drip-filter coffee has acquired popularity outside of Vietnam. Its distinct brewing procedure and enticing flavours have attracted coffee enthusiasts all over the world. Cafes and speciality coffee shops all around the world have embraced this brewing process, allowing customers to sample the joys of Vietnamese coffee. This global popularity demonstrates Vietnamese drip-filter coffee's persistent attractiveness and ability to cross cultural borders."Apart from its enticing taste, Vietnamese drip-filter coffee also offers several health benefits. The slow extraction process reduces the coffee's acidity, making it gentler on the stomach compared to other brewing methods. Additionally, the presence of robusta beans provides a higher caffeine content, offering an energising boost to start your day. Vietnamese drip-filter coffee is also known for its antioxidant properties, which can contribute to overall well-being and health," concludes Chef Vaibhav Bhargava.(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)IANS03 June 2023 Shared Recently! PM Modi reaches train mishap site in Balasore, takes stock of situation New Delhi, June 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited Balasore in Odisha, the site of the horrific train accident which claimed at least 261 lives besides leaving over 900 injured, and took stock of the situation. PM Modi reaches train mishap site in Balasore, takes stock of situation Before leaving for Odisha from Delhi, the Prime Minister chaired a high-level meeting with regard to the tragic train mishap at the Bahanagar Bazar railway station on Friday evening.According to government officials, Modi reviewed relief works that are underway at the site of the mishap.He also interacted with the local authorities, personnel from the disaster relief forces, and railway officials.The Prime Minister emphasised on a 'Whole of Government' approach to mitigate the monumental tragedy. Modi also spoke to the Cabinet Secretary and the Union Health Minister from the site and asked them to ensure that all kinds of help is provided to the injured and their families.The Prime Minister said that special care must be taken to ensure that the bereaved families don't face inconvenience and those affected keep getting all the assistance they need.Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who reached Balasore earlier in the day, briefed the Prime Minister about the accident and also about the rescue and relief operations.Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was also present at the accident site.From there, the Prime Minister went to the Balasore Hospital where he spoke to some of the survivors of the train accident, and also interacted with the doctors.The Prime Minister was earlier scheduled to flag off the first Vande Bharat Express train from Goa on Saturday, but the event was cancelled in the wake of the tragic accident in Odisha.About 16 hours after the accident, which involved two Express trains -- Coromandel and SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express -- and a goods train, the rescue operation was announced to be complete on Saturday afternoon by the Railways, following which restoration work commenced.Friday's accident brought back the horrific memories of another deadly accident in UP's Firozabad in 1995, in which 358 people died.In a similar accident on August 2, 1999, the Brahmaputra Mail collided with the Awadh-Assam Express near Gaisal in Assam, which claimed the lives of approximately 290 people.IANS03 June 2023 Shared Recently! UP doctors told to prescribe only generic medicines Lucknow, June 4: The government doctors in Uttar Pradesh have been told to prescribe only generic drugs to patients as per the new guidelines issued by the medical health department. UP doctors told to prescribe only generic medicines Issued by the department's principal secretary Partha Sarthi Sen Sharma on Saturday, the circular lists a set of instructions that all chief medical superintendents and government hospital directors must adhere to."The working status of each equipment in hospitals must be updated on the CARE app every Monday. If equipment is non-functional for long, the hospital shall contact the additional director of the electrical wing. The live monitoring of 108 hospitals in the state from the integrated command control centre will begin soon as CCTV circuits are in place," the circular says."Most medicines are available in stores. Doctors will prescribe only generic medicines, even if they are not in stock at hospitals," Sharma said.Explaining its significance, an expert said generic drugs save patients' money. "Generic drugs cost less in spite of the same good manufacturing practices followed to make them," said Dr Abhishek Shukla, the secretary-general of the Association of International Doctors.Also, doctors will be subjected to a monthly scrutiny on the basis of their specialty, patients counselled in the outpatient wing, major and minor surgeries performed and the likes, and the data will be uploaded on the Health Management Information System portal.IANS04 June 2023 Shared Recently! French Open: Zverev edges Tiafoe in late-night thriller, moves to fourth round Paris, June 4: After four sets of spectacular shotmaking and countless twists and turns, it was Alexander Zverev, who eventually emerged victorious with a 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-1, 7-6(5) result against Frances Tiafoe in a thrilling third round French Open clash on late Saturday night, here. French Open: Zverev edges Tiafoe in late-night thriller, moves to fourth round The 22nd-seeded German improved his ATP Head to Head record against Tiafoe to 7-1 with the win. By beating the American in the pair's first clay-court meeting, Zverev advanced to the Roland Garros fourth round for the sixth straight year and continued his chase for a third straight Paris semi-final."I'm happy to be through. I'm happy to be in the fourth round and be in the second week of a Grand Slam. It's, for sure, a great thing for me right now," sadi Zverev in his post-match presentation.For Tiafoe, his best Roland Garros run ended in the third round, with the match finishing after midnight on Court Philippe-Chatrier.Zverev, whose 2022 Roland Garros campaign ended in agony when he injured his ankle midway through his semi-final against Rafael Nadal, showed glimpses of the form that helped him challenge the Spaniard in that epic match one year ago.Both Zverev and Tiafoe did damage on both attack and defence in a match filled with cat-and-mouse points, with both uncorking sublime passing shots and each winning their share of delicate duels in the frontcourt. It was a gripping contest that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats with both the tight scoreline and the varied shotmaking that put power, precision and touch on display in equal measures.Zverev, who hit 13 aces and 10 double faults in the victory, cashed in on five of his 14 breakpoints while Tiafoe converted five of his 10 break chances in a topsy-turvy encounter. The last break came with Tiafoe serving to force a fifth set at 5-3 in the fourth, as Zverev snapped back after losing his own serve in the previous game.A warm embrace at the net was a fitting end to a monumental match that could spark another deep run for Zverev.Next up for the German is a meeting with 28th seed Grigor Dimitrov on Monday. The Bulgarian advanced with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 win against Daniel Altmaier. Both Dimitrov and Altmaier were bidding to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros for the second time after previous runs to that stage in 2020.The winner between Zverev and Dimitrov will face 27th seed Yoshihito Nishioka or Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the quarter-finals in a wide-open section of the draw.IANS04 June 2023 Shared Recently! UP CM Yogi Adityanath holds review meeting of development projects in Varanasi Varanasi, June 3: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday held a review meeting of the ongoing development projects in Varanasi with high-level officials and bureaucrats. UP CM Yogi Adityanath holds review meeting of development projects in Varanasi During the meeting, the Chief Minister directed the concerned departmental officers to complete the works with quality within the stipulated time on a war footing.Along with this in the meeting, the UP chief minister also gave the officers strict instructions to make sure that no criminal or mafia is ever given a contract of any kind.Regarding the G-20 meeting to be held in Varanasi from June 11 to 13, the Chief Minister directed the officials to facilitate and strengthen the city's traffic system.He insisted on cleanliness and asked them to pay extra attention to any illegal taxi stands along the route."In order for a large number of people to be involved in keeping the city clean, CM Yogi ordered that the Municipal Corporation form committees at the ward and locality levels and conduct public awareness campaigns. The behavior of the police should also be good with everyone coming to Kashi," an official statement said.The Chief Minister instructed the Vice Chancellor of the Varanasi Development Authority to pay compensation to the remaining farmers at the current rate for the Transport Nagar project and asked the Commissioner to put an end to the agitation right away.The CM placed a strong emphasis on the need for the police administration to pay attention to the urban Naxalites during the meeting.The Chief Minister expressed his strong displeasure over assigning the work of the ghats to UPPCL and said that any work should be given to the same executive body which is in accordance with it and which has assured supply of manpower.He further asked the Chief Secretary to take immediate action on the problem of overloading and work on solving it. In order to support the perception of a safe city, the police department was asked to do more work on foot patrolling, PRV-112."The chief minister issued an order to strengthen the security system in reference to previous security lapses at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. In order to prevent illegal activities like illegal recovery in the city or operating an illegal taxi stand, the Chief Minister insisted on adding more cameras to the city and connecting them to the control room. The Chief Minister directed NHAI, PWD, and Setu Nigam to ensure the quality of work," the statement read.During the review meeting, Commissioner Kaushal Raj Sharma said that currently, a total of 61 projects of the Center and the State are going on in the city, with a total cost of Rs 10305 crore.Later, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Kotwal Kal Bhairav Temple in Kashi.ANI04 June 2023 Shared Recently! UN talks on plastic pollution end; next zero draft of legally binding pact Paris, June 3: The second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally-binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-2), concluded on Saturday in Paris with a mandate for the INC chair, with the support of the secretariat, to prepare a zero draft of the agreement ahead of the next session, due to take place in Nairobi in November. UN talks on plastic pollution end; next zero draft of legally binding pact More than 1,700 participants -- over 700 member state delegates from 169 member states and over 900 observers from NGOs -- attended the session, hosted by France at the headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Paris.The second session followed INC-1, which was held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in November 2022."I am encouraged by progress at INC-2 and the mandate to prepare a zero draft of the international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution," said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)."I look forward to INC-3 in Nairobi, and urge member states to maintain this momentum. The world is calling for an agreement that is broad, innovative, inclusive and transparent, one that leans on science and learns from stakeholders, and one that ensures support for developing nations.""Plastic has been the default option in design for too long. It is time to redesign products to use less plastic, particularly unnecessary and problematic plastics, to redesign product packaging and shipping to use less plastic, to redesign systems and products for reuse and recyclability and to redesign the broader system for justice," she added."The INC has the power to deliver this transformation, bringing major opportunities for everyone."On the first day of the session, member states elected Georgia, Estonia, Sweden and the US to the bureau. Following discussions on voting rights, they also agreed on an interpretive paragraph for the Draft Rules of Procedure that apply on a provisional basis to the work of the INC.Officially closing the session, Chair of the INC, Gustavo Adolfo Meza-Cuadra Velasquez, thanked the government of France and UNESCO for hosting the session, as well as the member states, observers, co-facilitators and support staff of the discussions."Moving forward, I would like to thank you for your trust for the development of the zero draft, with the support of the secretariat," he said, adding "I will do the utmost to ensure that this document reflects faithfully our discussions, as well as the contributions and views of member states. I take this crucial step to meet our tight deadline with great responsibility."Quoting French writer Victor Hugo, the INC Chair said, "It is sad to think that nature speaks, and human beings do not listen. When we listen to nature and we act, we can make progress."In its decision, the INC requested the secretariat to invite submissions from observers by August 15 and members by September 15 on elements not discussed at INC-2, such as the principles and scope of the instrument, and any potential areas for intersessional work compiled by the cofacilitators of the two contact groups, to inform the work of INC-3."My appeal to you at the beginning of this session was that you make Paris count. You have done so, by providing us with a mandate for a zero draft and intersessional work," said Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, Executive Secretary of the INC Secretariat."The momentum you have built up here in Paris will guide our work in the intersessional period and at our future sessions. I look forward to continuing our important work together and to welcoming you all to Nairobi for our third session in November."IANS04 June 2023 Shared Recently! Hungary to open Embassy in Jerusalem, says Israeli Foreign Minister Jerusalem, June 3: Hungary will become the first European Union member state to open an embassy in Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced in Budapest. Hungary to open Embassy in Jerusalem, says Israeli Foreign Minister Speaking at a synagogue affiliated with the Chabad movement, Cohen said that Hungary would make the move official "in a number of weeks," adding that it is "great news for Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people for over 3,000 years."Notably, the announcement was made on Wednesday this week. The central European country has maintained a trade office in Jerusalem since 2019.An embassy move would place Budapest in opposition to the official position of the European Union, which does not formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.Paraguay is also poised to return its embassy to Jerusalem following the election of President Santiago Pena, whom Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated in a telephone call on Tuesday night. Netanyahu commended Pena on his stated intention to return the Paraguayan embassy to Jerusalem immediately following his inauguration in August.The United States, Guatemala, Kosovo and Honduras currently operate embassies in Jerusalem.Cohen was in Budapest as part of a four-day, four-country diplomatic swing through central Europe. He first visited Croatia and Slovakia, and is scheduled to head on from Hungary to Austria before returning to Israel.During his stay in Budapest, Cohen met with his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, who agreed to petition the International Court of Justice in the Hague against the Palestinian Authority's "pay for slay" policy of providing financial payouts to terrorists and their families.Israel's top diplomat said that he had thanked Szijjarto "for his firm stance against the Palestinian Authority's payments to terrorists who killed Jews," and that the two had discussed the Iranian threat "and the need to take immediate steps" to halt its nuclear program."In addition, we discussed strengthening cooperation in the fields of economy, energy and tourism," he said.Cohen also met on Wednesday with the President of Hungary, Katalin Novak.On Tuesday in Bratislava, Cohen became the first Israeli foreign minister to address the Slavkov/Austerlitz format--a regional cooperation forum consisting of Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.Cohen called for unity in countering Iran, warning that its nuclear program was "close to the point of no return."The Foreign Minister kicked off his Central European trip on Sunday night in Croatia, on Monday meeting in Zagreb with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and other top officials. (ANI/TPS)ANI04 June 2023 Shared Recently! Loungewear powerhouse JulyWear has set its sights on becoming the dominant player in the industry PNN, Mumbai, June 3 JulyWear, the trailblazing loungewear brand, has made a tremendous impact since transitioning from a nightwear brand to a luxurious loungewear and leisurewear brand. Loungewear powerhouse JulyWear has set its sights on becoming the dominant player in the industry Neha Bajaj, the visionary behind the brand, shows no signs of slowing down."Our mission at July is to create comfortable and stylish everyday clothing, and we are determined to see our garments become a staple in every girl's wardrobe." Stated Bajaj.July already boasts an impressive portfolio that includes a stunning range of Kaftans, pyjama sets, linen wear and nighties. However, the brand's ambitions reach even further, with plans to expand the product line to include resort wear and a broader selection of loungewear.In 2018, July emerged as a women-led brand, defying the odds in an industry largely dominated by men. Bajaj quickly identified the lack of focus on "nightwear" despite the significant amount of time people spend sleeping. Her research revealed a gap in the market for high-quality leisurewear in India.The events of 2020 highlighted that India had embraced the concept of 'home wear' and 'loungewear' as promising sectors. "We swiftly adapted and dedicated ourselves to creating what our customers desired." Emphasized Bajaj."At July, we are continuously innovating. Our garments evolve to meet the ever-changing needs and trends of our valued customers," comments Minal Savla, Chief Designer at July.Today, July's products are available in over 150 retail stores and are exported to more than 15 countries. Recognizing the shifting trends and consumer behaviour, Bajaj intends to explore franchise and marketplace opportunities that will undoubtedly attract even more attention."Despite the rise of online shopping, our customers still appreciate the tactile experience of our products. Therefore, brick and mortar stores remain an integral part of our strategy," emphasizes Bajaj.In 2021, July formally embarked on a strategic repositioning journey from a nightwear brand to a prominent loungewear brand. During this transformative period, Bajaj joined forces with Neel Shah and Shruti Patel, the founders of Mentopreneur, who shared their vision. Together, they successfully revitalized the branding, website, communication, and positioning to align with the new July."We recognized the demand for a revitalized July in the market. This category was in need of a bold and contemporary brand, and that's precisely what we set out to create," asserts Shruti Patel, Chief of Design at Mentopreneur.Now, it's time to shift into high gear. Over the next couple of years, the team has set ambitious goals to significantly expand its direct-to-consumer business through strategic partnerships and collaborations. They are also in advanced discussions with renowned influencers and celebrities to endorse the brand, although details remain confidential for now."As our brand continues to evolve, we recognize the benefits of strengthening our backend operations. We are implementing robust CRM tools and models to ensure a seamless shopping experience for our esteemed customers," stated Vikram Ghodekar, Operations Manager, July.With a series of thrilling developments on the horizon and valuable partnerships in progress, July is poised to make every girl proudly embrace their brand.For more information, kindly visit the website(Disclaimer The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)ANI04 June 2023 Shared Recently! China selling water from Tibet in plastic bottles to Tibetans is scam: Report Lhasa [Tibet], June 3: The selling of groundwater and spring water in plastic bottles is the biggest scam on earth and China is performing the same tricks with Tibetans, according to Tibet Rights Collective. China selling water from Tibet in plastic bottles to Tibetans is scam: Report China is stealing Tibet's groundwater and selling it back to Tibetans, who previously got it for free. In one of the ads, a young Tibetan nomad woman was seen promoting a Chinese brand of bottled water that is actually sourced from Tibet.China has reduced the status of the once-proud and self-sustaining nomads of Tibet to beggars. China has forcefully removed from their traditional grazing lands to make way for so-called 'nature reserves' and now, the nomads are reliant on the Chinese government's meagre subsidies. Except for the tea, all of these were available for free to nomad yak herders. They would camp near rivers, lakes or other water sources to fetch their own water. Now they are reduced to buying water that Chinese entrepreneurs are bottling by tapping into Tibet's abundant groundwater and spring water, reported Tibet Rights Collective.Tibet Rights Collective is a Delhi-based advocacy and policy research group that aims to increase access to information about the politics, culture, traditions and language of Tibet by offering a strategic overview of the ground situationThe ad's main intention is to sell bottled water to the Chinese saying that this is the cleanest water for them but it is not. Tibet's once-pristine rivers are no longer trustworthy. As the pollution from rampant Chinese mining ventures has rendered some sections of rivers dangerous, with yaks dying from tainted water.According to this article, China is the biggest plastic polluter on the planet--by some accounts responsible for a third of global plastic waste.Tibet's immense reserves of groundwater were never exploited until the Chinese invasion of Tibet. And not on any scale until 2006, with the arrival of the railway from Golmud to Lhasa. The railway link makes the export of Tibet's bottled water to Shanghai and Beijing economical--and highly lucrative trade.Starting out in 2006 with a few water bottlers on the plateau, the number of enterprises ballooned to almost 30 operators by 2014, encouraged by tax breaks and heavy subsidies from the State. In 2014, the regional government of Tibet signed contracts with 16 major companies to expand the water bottling industry, under an initiative called 'Sharing Tibet's Water with the World.' Facts and figures are hard to come by. In 2017, Xinhua News reported that 800,000 tonnes of water were bottled in Tibet, in an industry employing 20,000 workers, with an income generation of USD 223 million.By 2025, the target is to produce 10 million tonnes of bottled water, an exponential increase. And an eco-disaster in the making for Tibet. There is absolutely no need to share Tibet's water with the world all that is happening here is sharing China's plastic pollution with mass production of plastic in Tibet, Tibet Rights Collective reported.ANI04 June 2023 Shared Recently! BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 4. Iran's imports from Kyrgyzstan increased by 119 percent in value and 36.2 percent in volume, during the first month of the current Iranian year (March 21 through April 20, 2023), compared to the same month in the last year, Trend reports. Iran imported a total of 256 tons of goods worth approximately $414,000 from Kyrgyzstan in the 1st month. Meanwhile, in the same month of last Iranian year, Iran's imports from Kyrgyzstan amounted to 188 tons worth approximately $189,000. During the 1st month, Iran imported mainly agricultural products and phosphoric acid from Kyrgyzstan. In total, Iran imported 6,930 tons of goods from Kyrgyzstan worth approximately $8.36 million over the last Iranian year (March 21, 2022 through March 20, 2023), which is an increase of 180 percent in value and 22.3 percent in volume compared to the preceding Iranian year (March 21, 2021 through March 20, 2022). Overall, Iran imported 1.83 million tons of goods worth $3.08 billion for the 1st month. The imports decreased by 13 percent in value and 24.8 percent in volume compared to the same month in the last year. --- Follow the author on Twitter:@BaghishovElnur When Sydney Sweeneys dad turned off Euphoria but her grandma was in support Los Angeles, June 4: Actress Sydney Sweeney's dad had to switch off the TV after watching her drama series 'Euphoria' for the first time, reports Female First UK. When Sydney Sweeney's dad turned off 'Euphoria' but her grandma was in support The 25-year-old actress stars as Cassie Howard in the HBO programme and often appears topless during scenes which horrified some of her relatives when they first saw the show.In a preview clip for 'Sunday Today with Willie Geist', Sydney said, quoted by Female First UK "My mom visited me on set at the time, so she like knew the story and I talked to her a lot about it - my dad didn't. I didn't prepare my dad at all."The 'Reality' star explained that she wasn't sure how to raise the topic of the programme's explicit content with her father.Sydney said "When I talk to my dad, it's usually not about work. We talk, like, father-daughter conversations."As per Female First UK, her dad decided to watch the show with his parents and it was met with differing responses from Sydney's grandmother and grandfather.She said "My dad and my grandpa turned it off and walked out. But my grandma... she's a big supporter of mine. She's a big fan of mine. Actually, I bring her, usually, all over the world to my different sets and I make her an extra."'Euphoria' is set to return for a third season and Sydney cannot wait to play Cassie once again.IANS05 June 2023 Shared Recently! Health cooperation important pillar of India, Maldives bilateral relationship: MoS Muraleedharan Male [Maldives], June 4: After gifting of consignment of Anti-TB medicine to Maldives, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Sunday described health cooperation as an important pillar of the bilateral ties between the two countries. Health cooperation important pillar of India, Maldives bilateral relationship: MoS Muraleedharan During his visit, the MoS handed over a batch of Tuberculosis medicines to the Maldives upon their request and said that the two nations have been able to develop deep and close cooperation at all levels."Witnessed gifting of a consignment of Anti-TB medicine to Maldives @MoHmv, in Male Confident that the medicine will contribute to @governmentmv plan to eliminate TB from Maldives," the MoS tweeted.Health Cooperation is an important pillar of the India-Maldives Bilateral Relationship, he added.Apart from a strong development relationship, India and the Maldives have been able to create a deep and intimate collaboration at all levels, including political, administrative, entrepreneurial, and people-to-people connections."Our relationship has achieved huge progress in the last few years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. India's development cooperation portfolio in the Maldives has expanded significantly in recent years," MoS Muraleedharan said in Male in a press statement on Sunday.India has become the Maldives' most important source of tourism and the top destination for Maldivians travelling overseas.In recent months, India has surpassed the Maldives as the country's main commercial partner. We have collaborated together to address the pandemic's concerns.According to the official press statement of MoS Muraleedharan, India's comprehensive development partnership with Maldives covers grants, concessional credit, budgetary support, capacity building and training assistance."We are happy to see several projects taking off, getting delivered on the ground and benefiting people and the community. Many of these projects were inaugurated during the visits of EAM Dr Jaishankar in March 2022 and January 2023," the statement read."On the connectivity side, the groundbreaking ceremony of the Hanimaadhoo international airport redevelopment project was held in January 2023. Work on this project is progressing rapidly. I look forward to participating in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Gan International Airport redevelopment project later today in the presence of His Excellency President Solih," the statement added.MoS Muraleedharan also underlined the funding initiatives and added that they are one-of-a-kind and assist the local community."We are already collaborating on 45 such initiatives, 27 of which have already been completed. I launched two of these projects for the establishment of an ecotourism zone in Addu yesterday, with Excellency Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, and will launch another today," he said.ANI05 June 2023 Shared Recently! Microsoft adds new phone photos feature in File Explorer San Francisco, June 4: Microsoft has released a new Windows 11 dev build that allows Insiders to view their phone's camera roll in the File Explorer Gallery. Microsoft adds new phone photos feature in File Explorer After installing the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build, users can add photos from their phone by clicking a new button added to the File Explorer's command bar."There is a new button in the Command Bar titled 'Add Phone Photos' that will help with setting up your PC to be ready to show these photos in Gallery," Microsoft said in a blogpost."Clicking this button today will open a URL with a QR code that you can scan with your phone to get started," it added.Moreover, in the new preview build, the company has introduced new natural voices in Spanish (Spain and Mexico) that allow Narrator users to comfortably browse the web, read and write mail, and do more.Natural Narrator voices use modern, on-device text-to-speech and once downloaded are supported without an internet connection, the company said.Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced that it will no longer support its virtual assistant Cortana in Windows as a standalone app, starting in late 2023.This change will only affect Cortana in Windows and will continue to be available in Outlook mobile, Teams mobile, Microsoft Teams display, and Microsoft Teams rooms, the tech giant stated on a support page.IANS05 June 2023 Shared Recently! MoS Muraleedharan calls on Maldives President Ibrahim Solih in Male, exchanges views on bilateral cooperation Male [Maldives], June 4: Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Sunday called on the President of Maldives Ibrahim Solih in Male and exchanged views on strengthening the bilateral cooperation between the two nations. MoS Muraleedharan calls on Maldives President Ibrahim Solih in Male, exchanges views on bilateral cooperation "Honored to call-on President of the Maldives H.E @ibusolih and exchanged views on strengthening our bilateral cooperation Conveyed greetings of PM @narendramodiji The time-tested and trustworthy partnership between India and the Maldives is poised to scale further new heights," the MoS tweeted.Earlier today, the MoS, who is in Maldives on a 2-day visit gifted the island nation a consignment of anti-TB medicine.After gifting of a consignment of Anti-TB medicine to Maldives, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Sunday described health cooperation as an "important pillar" of the bilateral ties between the two countries."Witnessed gifting of a consignment of Anti-TB medicine to Maldives @MoHmv, in Male Confident that the medicine will contribute to @governmentmv plan to eliminate TB from Maldives," the MoS wrote on Twitter.Health Cooperation is an important pillar of the India-Maldives Bilateral Relationship, he added.Apart from a strong development relationship, India and the Maldives have been able to create a deep and intimate collaboration at all levels, including political, administrative, entrepreneurial, and people-to-people connections."Our relationship has achieved huge progress in the last few years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. India's development cooperation portfolio in the Maldives has expanded significantly in recent years," MoS Muraleedharan said in Male in a press statement on Sunday.Before the Maldives, the minister was in Malaysia from June 1-2, where he also interacted with the Indian diaspora in Kuala Lumpur.MoS V Muraleedharan also attended cultural performances organised as part of an event titled 'Pravasi Bharatiya Utsav'.ANI05 June 2023 Shared Recently! BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 1. Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov paid a visit to Austria at the invitation of the Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Haitham Al-Ghais, Trend reports citing Ministry. The minister will attend the 35th OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting to be held in Vienna on 4 June. Bilateral meetings are planned within the framework of the meeting. Patricia Hruby Powell is the author of the award-winning Josephine, Loving vs Virginia and Struttin With Some Barbecue, among others. She teaches community classes at Parkland College. Find out more at talesforallages.com. Whoever is elected Danville's next mayor next week will be the recipient of a $20,000 first-term pay boost to $95,000, by far the area's highest rate. Not on Tuesday's ballot: the mayor of Tilton (pop. 2,648, pay $60,000), one of the area's few full-time mayoral jobs. On the same day that the coroner's office identified the victim as Vincent R. Taylor, 34, of Champaign, Taneshia Brooks, 43, was arraigned on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated domestic battery. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Rain likely. High 69F. Winds NNE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 47F. Winds N at 15 to 25 mph. The first batch of Hajj pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir to Saudi Arabia will leave on June 7, 2023. Abdul Salam Mir, the Executive Officer of the J&K Hajj Committee, mentioned that the pilgrims scheduled to board the flight at 3 PM must arrive at the Bemina Hajj house in Srinagar at 10 AM to complete the required formalities. As per reports, over 12,000 people from Jammu and Kashmir are eagerly preparing for the highly anticipated Hajj pilgrimage of 2023. After the initial flight, carrying 315 pilgrims, a second flight will depart at 7 PM on the same day. Each flight will transport 315 pilgrims separately to King Abdulaziz International Airport also known as Jeddah International Airport, from where they will continue their journey to Makkah-tul-Mukarramah (Holy City of Makkah) to perform the sacred Hajj rituals. The official clarified that those assigned to the first flight should report to Srinagar Hajj House at 10 AM, while those on the second flight should report at 2 PM, as per the shared instructions. This years Hajj operation from Jammu and Kashmir will witness daily departures of two flights from Srinagar International Airport to Jeddah International Airport. The official further mentioned that, towards the end of the schedule, the number of daily flights may increase to three. The return journey for the pilgrims is expected to commence on July 17, marking the conclusion of their spiritually enriching experience. The executive officer of the J&K Hajj Committee also provided reassurance to the pilgrims stating that meticulous arrangements have been made to guarantee a smooth and well-organized pilgrimage experience at Makkah-tul-Mukarramah and Madina Munawarah in Saudi Arabia for the Hujjaj Kiram. The committee has dedicated significant efforts to ensure the provision of adequate facilities and services, for a hassle-free journey of all pilgrims. BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 4. Following the 35th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting held today in Vienna, the block decided to gather again in Austria on November 26, 2023, Trend reports. At the same time, the meeting today decided to adjust the level of oil production starting from 2024 to 40.46 mb/d. The new decision has been made to achieve and maintain oil market stability and create long-term predictability, the cartel said. The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) is all set to open its first-ever international campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania. The institute is planning to start its classes with a batch of 50 undergraduate (UG) and 20 postgraduate (PG) students by October 2023. The institute is also planning to offer Data Science and Artificial Intelligence programmes. As of now, the fee structure remains undecided, as mentioned in a report by IANS. The campus for the IIT in Zanzibar is likely to be completed within the next three to five years. A special team of five professors from IIT Madras visited Tanzania in February this year and took part in discussions with several officials on opening the campus. Hussein Mwinyi, President of Zanzibar granted permission for the campus while assuring the autonomy IITs would need to guarantee that the quality is maintained. IIT Zanzibar will be one of three international campuses outside India, with the others set up in Kuala Lumpur and Abu Dhabi. According to a local Tanzanian daily - The Citizen, each of these campuses is planned to serve its region, with Zanzibar serving the greater East African region. In February, when IIT Madras delegations visited Tanzania, Binaya Pradhan, an Indian Diplomat and High Commissioner of India, Tanzania, shared a tweet stating that IIT in Tanzania can be instrumental in the growth and the nation building of not only Tanzania but of the whole continent. The team from IIT Madras that visited Tanzania for the offshore campus featured Professor Raghu Rengaswamy, Professor Preeti Aghalayam, Professor Livy Philip, Professor KN Satyanarayana, and Professor Annamalai Mani. IIT in Tanzania moving fast towards reality;team of 5 Professors from @iitmadras visiting Tanzania; had excellent meetings in Zanzibar with HE President @DrHmwinyi & Minister of Education HE Lela Muhamed; with Minister of Education of Tanzania HE Adolf Mkenda @wizara_elimuTz pic.twitter.com/eDQvcowvW7 Binaya Pradhan (@binaysrikant76) February 15, 2023 In 2022, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan conducted a series of meetings with his counterparts to strengthen their bilateral relations. The conferences were held with Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, and Ghana to build up the education and employment sector. During the meeting, Pradhan also discussed Indias support for the IIT project in Tanzania for education and vocational training. There were some reports that claimed that the offshore campuses of IITs may be named as India International Institute of Technology" and faculty members from the prestigious technology institutes may be sent on deputation abroad. From UPSC Civil Services to SSC recruitment exams, from college admissions to group discussions, general knowledge questions mark a significant part of almost every exam. For candidates preparing to crack an exam or those who need to get their news in a compact form, News18 offers a weekly column - GK Capsule. While we provide you a weekly news wrap, to get more information on a specific topic or an exam, reach out at @news18dotcom. From Manipur violence to COVID-19 active cases decline, a lot has happened in the last few days. It is suggested that you stay updated on current events and news, especially if you are gearing up for any recruitment exam. General knowledge is one of the most important sections in many employment or admission exams. Therefore, to help you, we have listed the weeks most significant news stories, ranging from violence-hit Manipur to the new Director General of the Geological Survey of India, below: Manipur Violence On June 2, Manipur police informed that 140 weapons had been surrendered across the state in response to Union Minister Amit Shahs appeal. This comes a day after the minister warned the miscreants and ordered them to surrender their guns to police since a combing operation will begin tomorrow, forcing officers to take strict action. Amit Shah further declared that a judicial commission, which is led by a retired high court judge, will investigate the matter. The union minister was on a four-day visit to Manipur, where violence has erupted since May starting, in an attempt to restore peace. Periodic Table Moved From Class 10 Textbooks The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has released a clarification in response to significant complaints regarding the apparent removal of the periodic table from Class 10 textbooks. The topic has only been relocated to Class 11 textbooks, according to the council, as part of a rationalisation effort to lessen the burden on students in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other topics have been withdrawn or shifted around among different subjects by NCERT. The council has explained the causes for the Class 10 curriculum modification in a series of tweets. Janardan Prasad appointed the new Director-General of GSI One of Indias oldest agencies, the Geological Survey of India (GSI), has named Janardan Prasad as its new director general. Dr S Raju, who has held the position from May 2020, is replaced by Prasad in this role. Prasad is a geologist well-known for his vast mineral exploration work in Saurashtra and other regions of Gujarat. He began working for the 174-year-old scientific organisation at GSI Gandhinagar in 1988. Chandrayaan-3 Reaches Launch Port As the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft reached the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradeshs Sriharikota for a proposed launch in July this year, Director of UR Rao Satellite Centre M Sankaran reported that the mood at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was upbeat and apprehensive". Every aspect of the mission has been looked at, particularly from the experience of Chandrayaan 2, and all possible precautions have been taken. The mood at ISRO is both upbeat as well as apprehensive, Sankaran said in an exclusive chat with News18. India Records 288 New COVID-19 Cases; Active Tally Falls to 3,925 According to data published on Thursday by the Union Health Ministry, 288 new coronavirus infections have been reported in India, however, there are now 3,925 fewer active cases than there were three days ago (4,222). The data updated at 8 am observed that the death toll had grown to 5,31,872 with two deaths. Keeping his aspirations alive for the chief ministers post, Karnatakas deputy CM DK Shivakumar has asked his supporters to be patient" and not be disappointed". Shivakumars latest remark has sparked the speculations over a power sharing formula being worked by the Congress high command despite chief minister Siddaramaiahs supporters denying such plans and claiming that their leader would hold the top post for full five years. All you people have showered affection thinking that I will get a job of responsibility, the post of chief minister, theres no need for anyone to get disappointed," the deputy CM said during a visit to his constituency, Kanakapura, on Saturday. He also thanked the local residents for once again voting him to power. ALSO READ | No Talk of Power-Sharing With DKS: Siddaramaiah to News18 You gave me votes in large numbers to make me the chief minister, but what to do, a decision was made. Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge gave me an advice. I had to bow my head to the words of the elders I have to remain with patience," Shivakumar said. Addressing a gathering, he said, But I just want to tell you that your desire (to see me as CM) will never be false. Lets be patient." ALSO READ | Can Give Sharp Response But: Shivakumars Brother on No Power Sharing Formula Claims Several rounds of hectic parleys within the Congress circles in New Delhi had preceded government formation in Karnataka last month. Siddaramaiah, the now chief minister and state Congress president Shivakumar were in stiff competition with each other to become the CM, after their party won the Assembly polls by securing 135 out of total 224 seats in the Assembly. Thanking people for the welcome and the affection shown towards him, Shivakumar said, I have come here to thank you and to take your blessings." He also asked his followers and party workers to prepare for the zilla and taluk panchayat polls, in the days ahead. (with inputs from PTI) Hollywood actors Tom Holland and Zendaya made their first trip to India in April this year. The couple, best known for their Spider-Man films, were attending the opening of Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai. Now, Tom opened up about his trip. The actor called the visit a trip of a lifetime and added that the couple had the best time. It was a trip of a lifetime. I always wanted to come to your beautiful country and I am delighted to say that I am excited about coming back. We had a great time. It was informative and we met amazing people. We got to see the Ambani cultural centre that they have set there. I had a wonderful time," he told Zoom TV. When asked if he has watched any Indian film, Tom replied, I did actually watched RRR and I loved it." Back in April, as they attended the launch of the NMACC in Mumbai, Tom and Zendaya were seen interacting with a few Bollywood stars. Photos of the couple posing with Nita Ambani, Shah Rukh Khan, and Salman Khan went viral at the time. At the event, Tom dressed up in a crisp tuxedo while Zendaya drapped a saree. Apart from attending the event, the couple also stepped out for a date on a yacht. Tom and Zendaya donned their brightest smiles posing with their hosts. While Tom looked dapper in a white T-shirt teamed with denim jeans. Zendaya looked gorgeous in a free-flowing red frock. Meanwhile, on the work front, Tom and Zendaya are reportedly coming together for yet another Spider-Man movie. Amy Pascal confirmed to Variety that Spider-Man 4 is in the process, however, the writers strike has paused the development. She said: Are we going to make another movie? Of course, we areWere in the process, but the writers strike, nobody is working during the strike. Were all being supporters and whenever they get themselves together, well get started. Bigg Boss 16 alum Sumbul Touqeer shared a cryptic note about dealing with difficult times just days after Fahmaan Khans explosive interview. The actress, who was away from social media after she lost her cat named Clouds, returned to the social media platform on Saturday and shared a video to thank fans for their support in the past few weeks. In the video shared on her Instagram Stories, Sumbul looked visibly affected with recent turn of events. She said,, Everyone knows the last two weeks of my life were not very smooth, it was actually very difficult, but all I wanna say is thank you to each and everyone of you for cheering me up. I have seen a few tweets and messages, thank you so much." While she did not mention Fahmaans name, fans believe that not only her cats death but Fahmaans recent claims have also affected her. For the unversed, in an exoplosive interview, Fahmaan Khan revealed how his friendship with Sumbul got screwed and shared his sach. I have chosen to be silent. Kisi ko neecha dikha ke main apne aap ko upar karne ke liye nahi maanta," he said while speaking to Bollywood Bubble. Speaking about when things took the turn for the worse, Fahmaan said that the duo was shooting for a music video before she entered the Bigg Boss 16 house when a BTS clip from the sets reached online and caught her fathers attention. In the video, they were seen lying on each others shoulders. He argued that the Imlie actress father did not like it and therefore asked his daughter not to do that music video with Fahmaan. The actor claimed that even though he aologised to Sumbuls father, the latter refused to forgive him. I called Sumbul and told her that professional differences wont impact our friendship. After that, Sumbul did not reply to me. It is not her fault. I want people to know that it is not anybodys fault. It is just how things have panned out. I have tried to solve things. I called them on Eid. They did not answer my call," Fahmaan said. Sumbul is yet to address these claims. Most things about Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai are unprecedented, says actor Vipin Sharma on the theatrical release of his film post its OTT release. Vipin Sharma, a seasoned actor known for helming stereotype breaking performances across various Bollywood films such as Taare Zameen Par and Paan Singh Tomar, is now back with another ace act in the recently released Manoj Bajpayee starrer Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai. After his acclaimed performance in the hit series, Saas, Bahu aur Flamingo, Sharma took over the screen with his portrayal of Advocate Sharma, who represents the Godman, in Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai. The film and his character have received acclaim from the viewers and critics alike. Speaking about Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hais success and its theatrical release Vipin Sharma says, I think most of the things about Bandaa have been very unprecedented. It is the first movie that is moving from an OTT platform into the theatres, which is quite exciting. This is a great decision taken by the makers on massive public demand after its success on OTT. Watching something on the big screen definitely has a different impact. The larger than life image on screen, connects to the audience on a deeper level. Im very glad that Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai is actually going on the big screen. Its going to reach more people and touch many lives. Once the audience watches the film in the theatres, it will stay with them, and even after it is no longer on the big screen, people will talk about how it can be viewed on the streaming service, because thats the impact it will leave on the audience. Im ecstatic about the film releasing in theatres. Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai is a courtroom drama that revolves around a five-year-long standalone fight of a regular session court lawyer who stands for the truth, and his struggle to bring justice to the girls who were wronged by a godman. Directed by Apoorv Singh Karki and written by Deepak Kingrani, Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai has now been released in select cinemas post its OTT premiere. In a very significant move last year in May, the Supreme Court of India put the 152-year old sedition law, defined under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), into abeyance till the Union Government reconsiders the provision. The apex court in its order had stated, We hope and expect that the State and Central Governments will restrain from registering any FIR, continuing any investigation or taking any coercive measures by invoking Section 124A of IPC while the aforesaid provision of law is under consideration." With this order it was thought that Sedition would cease to be an offence as defined under Section 124A of the IPC. However on June 2, 2023 Law Commission of India in its 279th report titled Usage of the law of Sedition not only recommended retaining Section 124A but also suggested increasing the jail term in sedition cases from a minimum of three years to seven years. While the Law Commission suggested retaining the Sedition Law, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal through a series of tweets said that the law commission report on Sedition is one of the steps in the extensive consultative process. The recommendations made in the report are persuasive and not binding. Ultimately, the final decision will be taken only after consulting all the stakeholders." Now, as the government begins to consult with various groups and individuals, as recommended by the Law Minister, it is important to take a fresh look at the history of the Sedition Law: What does Section 124A Say? Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in [India], shall be punished with 5[imprisonment for life], to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine." When was Sedition law enacted? It was introduced in 1870 and was not a part of Thomas Macaulays original draft of Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860. It was introduced with a primary aim of suppressing ant-British voices. First case in the pre-independence era The first important case under sedition was Queen-Empress versus Jogendra Chunder Bose filed in 1891. A case under the sedition law was registered against the editor, manager, and printer of the Bengali magazine as it was critical of British governments Age of Consent Act that raised the age of consent for sexual intercourse. There was no conviction in this case. First case in the post-independence era After the constitution of independent India came into force in three judgments, high courts declared the Sedition law unconstitutional and void. It was only in 1962 that the apex court restored its validity. Tara Singh Gopi Chand was the first case related to Sedition in independent India that came for adjudication before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The court declared the Sedition law as void. Part of the judgment reads,"There can be no dispute that Section 124A is a restriction on the freedom of speech and expression which is guaranteed to all citizens by Article 19 of the Constitution". In yet another case titled Sabir Raza which was decided in 1958, the Allahabad High Court made an important observation. The judgement stated, Disaffection towards the Government may be advocated. Exciting such a feeling towards the polity or organised form of Government established by the Constitution is punishable under the Section, but as in the case of public order, it is a far cry to say that the security of the State requires a restriction on exciting such a feeling". The judgement made it clear that the security of the State would be considered under the threat only if there is a threat to the system of government established by the Constitution and it is threatened neither by a threat to change the persons holding the offices of the President, the Governor and the Minister nor by a mere exciting of a feeling of hatred, contempt or disaffection towards the system of government." The same year in the hate speech case titled Ram Nandan versus State, the three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court held the sedition law as ultra vires of Article 19(1) of the Constitution. What the Constituent assembly said about the Sedition law KM Munshi, who was one of the most prominent members of the Constituent Assembly can be credited for getting sedition dropped from the Constitution. On 1 December 1948, while arguing against the inclusion of sedition as a reasonable restriction on the freedom of speech and expression, KM Munshi said that sedition by its definition has been very simple but in practice, it has had a curious fortune." He argued how a century-and-a-half ago, holding a meeting or conducting a procession was considered sedition. He explained how the sedition law was sometimes so widely construed that in a particular case, criticism of a district magistrate was argued to be taken as act sedition. An important Sedition case: Kedar Nath Singh Vs State of Bihar This case was decided in 1962 where a man named Kedar Nath Singh who was member of a political party named Forward Communist Party while criticising the ruling Congress party said, The people of India drove out the British from the country and elected these Congress goondas to the gaddi. As we drove out the British, we shall strike and drive out these Congress goondas as well. He further added, Revolution will come and in the flame of which, capitalists, zamindars and Congress leaders will be reduced to ashes, and on their ashes will be established a government of the poor and the downtrodden people of India". His call for overthrow of a democratically elected government attracted sedition charges and he was convicted for Sedition by the trial court and his conviction was upheld by the High Court. The Supreme Court while upholding the validity of the Sedition law provided certain safeguards against its misuse. In its judgement the apex court stated: However strongly worded, expressing disapprobation of actions of the government, without exciting those feelings which generate the inclination to cause public disorder by acts of violence would not attract the penal offence. Supreme Court enunciated proper guidelines In a case titled Sanskar Marathe vs The State Of Maharashtra the Supreme Court issued certain guidelines to be followed by police while invoking Section 124 A of the IPC. The pre-conditions enunciated by the apex court was The words, signs or representations must bring the government (Central or State) into hatred or contempt or must cause or attempt to cause disaffection, enmity or disloyalty to the government and the words/signs/representation must also be an incitement to violence or must be intended or tend to create public disorder or a reasonable apprehension of public disorder; (ii) Words, signs or representations against politicians or public servants by themselves do not fall in this category unless the words/signs/representations show them as representative of the government; (iii) Comments expressing disapproval or criticism of the government with a view to obtaining a change of government by lawful means without any of the above are not seditious under Section 124A." The most recent case of Sedition In 2021, environment activist Disha Ravi was charged with sedition for allegedly editing a toolkit related to the ongoing farmer protest last year. While quashing the FIR, the apex court held that sedition cannot be invoked to minister to the wounded vanity of the government." Now, with the Law Commission recommending for retaining the Sedition law, it will be upon the executive to decide whether this law which has a long history of abuse and very low rate of conviction serves any purpose and whether it should be retained or not. AAJ KA PANCHANG, JUNE 4, 2023: This Sundays Panchang marks an important day with the presence of both the Purnima Tithi (full moon day) and the Pratipada Tithi (first day of the lunar fortnight) in the Shukla Paksha (waxing phase of the moon). Shukla Purnima is widely considered auspicious for various significant activities and is therefore included in the list of favourable Muhurat timings. Similarly, Krishna Pratipada is also believed to bring auspiciousness and is included in the list of favourable Muhurat timings. According to Drik Panchang, Hindus will be celebrating four auspicious festivals on this day: Kabirdas Jayanti, Jyeshtha Purnima, Ishti, and Vaivaswata Manvadi. It is advisable to gain a comprehensive understanding of the tithi, including both favourable and unfavourable timings in order to effectively overcome any potential obstacles and anticipate the events of your day. SUNRISE, SUNSET, MOONRISE, AND MOONSET ON JUNE 4 The sunrise is expected to occur at 5:23 AM. The sunset is predicted to take place at 7:16 PM. It is estimated that the moonrise will occur at 7:48 PM. TITHI, NAKSHATRA, AND RASHI DETAILS FOR JUNE 4 The Purnima Tithi is likely to be in effect up to 9:11 AM following which Pratipada Tithi will take place. The Jyeshtha Nakshatra will be observed till 3:23 AM on June 5, post which Mula Nakshatra will occur. SHUBH MUHURAT FOR JUNE 4 On June 4, there are several auspicious Muhurat timings to take note of. The day begins with the Brahma Muhurta, a sacred period from 4:02 AM to 4:43 AM, ideal for engaging in spiritual practices, meditation, and setting positive intentions for the day ahead. Later between 11:52 AM and 12:47 PM, the Abhijit Muhurat will prevail. This is a highly auspicious time associated with success and good fortune, making it favourable for important decisions, starting new ventures, and performing sacred rituals. In the evening, from 7:14 PM to 7:35 PM, the Godhuli Muhurat will occur, providing a favourable window for various activities. The Vijaya Muhurat will prevail from 2:38 PM to 3:34 PM, and the Sayahna Sandhya Muhurat is likely to take place between 7:16 PM and 8:73 PM. ASHUBH MUHURAT FOR JUNE 4 The period between 5:32 PM and 7:16 PM is known as Rahu Kalam, which is considered unfavourable for initiating new ventures or important activities. Prior to that, from 3:48 PM to 5:32 PM, the Gulikai Kalam will be observed, which is also considered inauspicious for starting significant tasks or making important decisions. Additionally, the Yamaganda Muhurat is estimated to occur between 12:19 PM and 2:04 PM, and it is advisable to avoid important activities during this time as well. Lastly, the Baana Muhurat is said to prevail in Mrityu from 6:26 AM onwards. After another round of violence was reported in Manipur this week, the Home Ministry on Sunday appointed a three-member Commission of Inquiry to probe the ethnic clashes in the north-eastern state. The commission will be chaired by Ajai Lamba, former Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court and will have two members including Himanshu Shekhar Das, retired IAS officer and Aloka Prabhakar, retired IPS. This comes after 15 people were injured when suspected Kuki militants, armed with sophisticated weapons and bombs attacked two villages in Imphal on Friday night. However, there was no incident of fresh violence reported in the last 24 hours and the state has been completely peaceful," security adviser to state government Kuldiep Singh said. Following an appeal by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, 35 more arms and ammunition have been surrendered, in addition to over 140 arms and ammunition surrendered on Friday. Taking to Twitter on Sunday, Shah appealed people of the state to lift road blockages for swift transport of relief amenities to people affected. My sincerest appeal to the people of Manipur is to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur, NH-2 Highway, so that food, medicines, Petrol/Diesel, and other necessary items can reach the people," Shah said. My sincerest appeal to the people of Manipur is to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur, NH-2 Highway, so that food, medicines, Petrol/Diesel, and other necessary items can reach the people.I also request that Civil Society Organisations do the needful in bringing Amit Shah (@AmitShah) June 4, 2023 I also request that Civil Society Organisations do the needful in bringing consensus. Together only we can restore normalcy in this beautiful state," he added. What had happened in Imphal? After the violence was reported in Imphal, personnel of the state police and Manipur Rifles stationed at the two villages Phayeng and Kangchup Chingkhong retaliated leading to an exchange of fire. This lasted for more than four hours on Friday night and later pushed back the militants to nearby hills, the police said. The injured were admitted to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences and Raj Medicity in Imphal where the conditions of the two injured is stated to be critical, police had informed. After this, some reports of fresh attacks were also reported from Pombikhok in the Bishnupur district though no casualty or injury is reported. Amit Shahs visit Amit Shah held a series of meetings with political and civil society leaders from both the Meitei and Kuki communities and visit Churachandpur, the site of some of the worst rioting earlier this month, on Tuesday. Shah, who flew in to Imphal last week accompanied by home secretary, had held a meeting with chief minister N Biren Singh, as well some of his cabinet colleague, intelligence and security officials on Monday late night to take stock of the situation. The meeting, sources told PTI, decided on a series of relief measures as well as steps to augment supplies in this north-eastern state to cool down prices of essential commodities which have soared since ethnic violence began earlier this month. Why is Manipur burning? Kukis have been demanding a separate administration for districts they live in, failing which they have also asked for Presidents rule being imposed on the state. Manipur, afflicted by ethnic conflict for nearly a month witnessed a sudden spurt in clashes and firing between militants and security forces on Sunday, after a relative lull for several weeks. The death toll from clashes since ethnic rioting began on May 3 has gone up to 80 according to officials. Army and paramilitary personnel have been conducting combing operations in the Imphal valley and surrounding districts, an official said. The Army operation is aimed at confiscating illegal caches of arms, he said. Ethnic clashes, first broke out in Manipur after a Tribal Solidarity March was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest the Meitei communitys demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The violence was preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipurs population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals Nagas and Kukis constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts. Electricity supply was interrupted for over nine hours in Kandivali West area in Mumbai on Sunday after a major technical failure was reported in the Adani Electricity power distribution system. The local vicinity has been without power for the past nine hours and it was anticipated that it would take an additional three hours to fully restore the electricity. The issue has been identified as a fault in the high tension electric wire. The incident comes days after several areas in the western suburbs of Mumbai experienced a power outage caused by a technical fault in the cabling infrastructure. Andheri, Malad, and Goregaon were among the affected pockets, with the power outage lasting for approximately 30 minutes starting from around 18:20 hours on Wednesday. An official from Adani Electricity Mumbai had confirmed the incident. As per reports, the power outage occurred due to an unprecedented surge in electricity demand in the city, reaching an all-time high of 3,968 megawatts on Wednesday. Our peak demand exceeded 2,082MW on Wednesday due to rising temperature, which is the highest till date. It is expected to go up furtherWe are well equipped with the required network infrastructure and power contracts to meet the rising demand," a Adani Electricity official was quoted as saying to Times of India. The outage came a similar incident took place on May 10 causing a power outage lasting over half an hour. Mumbai has a history of facing power outages, experiencing various incidents in the recent past. In October 2020, the city came to a standstill due to an power outage lasting over 12 hours. Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited (AEML), which supplies power to major parts of Mumbai, said, There is a major power grid failure due to which supply is affected in most areas of Mumbai. As per grid safety protocols, Adani Power System has been able to sustain and islanded. Adani Electricity serves 31.5 Lakh Households and Establishments in Mumbai, according to an official release by the company in April. BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 4. The trade turnover between Kazakhstan and South Korea in 2022 reached a record high level of over $6.5 billion, Trend reports. "Bilateral economic projects such as Big Almaty Ring Road (BAKAD), automobile assembly plants, and others are being successfully implemented. We have agreed to continue developing cooperation in supply chain creation through collaboration in areas such as nuclear industry and lithium exploration," said South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Park Jie-won, during a press conference after the meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Murat Nurtleu, in Nur-Sultan. Nurtleu noted that South Korea is one of the top 10 largest investors in Kazakhstan and the second-largest trading partner in Asia. To date, the Republic of Korea has invested $8.5 billion in the Kazakh economy, with $1.5 billion in direct investments in 2022. Both countries are interested in increasing the volume of investments in the future. Kazakhstan is home to 740 companies with Korean business participation, including KIA, Hyundai, Lotte, POSCO, and SK, operating in sectors such as automotive manufacturing, construction, petrochemicals, and food production. They have already implemented 28 major joint projects. The Kazakh side is ready to create favorable conditions in the country for South Korean companies planning to enter our market. "I once again confirm our mutual interest in establishing fruitful cooperation with Korean companies in areas such as energy, metallurgy, healthcare, advanced IT and digitization technologies, automotive manufacturing, agriculture, and industry," added Murat Nurtleu. Earlier, it was reported that the foreign ministers of the Republic of Korea and Kazakhstan agreed to organize a visit by President Moon Jae-in to Kazakhstan next year. The official visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Park Jie-won, to Kazakhstan will last until June 1. In Almaty, a meeting between President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the South Korean Foreign Minister is also scheduled. Odisha Chief Secretary PK Jena on Sunday said his government has no intention to hide the deaths in the Balasore train crash and the entire rescue operation was being conducted in full public view. Reacting to allegations that the death toll figure was being manipulated, he said Odisha believes in transparency. Media persons are very much present at the accident site since the beginning. Everything is being done in the presence of cameras, he said. The railways had stated the death toll as 288. We also said that, and the figure was based on the information from railway. But, our Balasore district collector has verified the death toll, and the figure was 275 till 10 am of Sunday, he said. Asked about the change in the toll, Jena said it was due to double counting of some bodies. The chief secretary said there was also no prohibition on the entry of media persons at the accident site. The rescue and even restoration activities went on in full public view, he said. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee questioned the death figures, stating that 61 people from her state were dead and 182 were still missing. If from one state, 182 are missing and 61 are confirmed dead, then where would the figures stand? she asked, addressing a press conference. Railway Minister Ashiwini Vaishnaw declined to take any questions from journalists in connection with Banerjees allegation. Of the 275 dead bodies, only 108 have been identified, the chief secretary said. He said the state would like all the bodies to be identified so that those could be cremated by their families. Keeping in view the prevailing hot weather, the bodies are decomposing fast. Therefore, the state can maximum wait for two more days before disposing of them as per the law, he said. The Railway Board has recommended a CBI probe into the Odisha train accident that has claimed at least 275 lives so far, according to the latest figures on Sunday as Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw gave a clean chit to Coromandel Express driver and said the root cause" of the crash and the people behind the criminal" act have been identified. Around 7 PM on Friday, a collision occurred near Balasores Bahanaga Bazar station, involving the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, and a goods train, in what is being being described as one of Indias worst train accidents. Meanwhile, a total of 123 trains have been cancelled, 56 trains have been diverted, and 10 trains have been short terminated in light of the horrifying accident in Balasore, officials said. While Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has sought a CBI enquiry into the accident, officials said the inquiry by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) would continue. Here are the top 10 updates you need to know about the Odisha Train Accident Signalling Issue Root Cause: Union Railway Minister Vaishnaw said that the root cause" of the accident and the people responsible for the criminal act have been identified. It happened due to a change made in the electronic interlocking and point machine," he said. Explaining the issue, Member of Operations and Business Development, Railway Board, Jaya Verma Sinha said, There is probability of some kind of signalling interferencewhether it was manual or incidental, wear and tear related, maintenance failure or weather related will come out in the CRS inquiry." It could be that someone has done some digging without seeing the cables. Running of any machine is prone to failures," she said. According to a preliminary report, it was revealed that the Coromandel Express had entered the loop line at the station where an iron ore-laden goods train was parked, leading to the tragic accident. The report also indicated the possibility of tampering, stating that the signal had been manipulated. The report explained the significance of the signal and the interlocking system in coordinating train operations. Kavach Couldnt Have Averted Crash: While the opposition criticised the Centre over the much hyped Kavach, the anti-collision Sinha said that the technology couldnt have averted the crash. In this situation, even if Kavach would have been present, it would not have worked as the distance was just 100 metres and Kavach needs at least 60 metres to react. Also, it would not work on the main line." No technology in the world can avert some accidents," she added. Vaishnaw also said that train crash had nothing to do with the Kavach system. We have mobilised all resources. I also want to say that Kavach has nothing to do with the accident. This accident occurred due to changes to the electronic interlocking system," he said. Death Figures: The Odisha government revised the death toll in the three-train crash to 275 from 288 and said some bodies were counted twice earlier. The local administration is currently facing a challenge in storing and managing 187 unidentified bodies until they are claimed by the victims relatives. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee raised concerns over the death toll figures and said 61 people from her state were dead and 182 were still missing. If from one state, 182 are missing and 61 are confirmed dead, then where would the figures stand?" she asked. Dal Me Kuch Kala Hai, Says Mamata Banerjee: In a reference to her statement on Saturday in which she said the crash could have been averted if the Kavach anti-collision system was operational on the route, Banerjee, who has been the Railway minister twice, said the Union Railway Ministers silence was suspicious. When yesterday he (the Railways Minister) was present with me, and I mentioned the anti-collision device, why didnt he respond? Dal mein kuch kaala hai (Theres something fishy going on). We want the truth to be revealed, she said at a press conference. Bodies Kept in These Bhubaneshwar Hospitals: The government in a statement said, bodies 170 deceased individuals from the train accident in Balasore have been placed in these hospitals in Bhubaneswar: AIIMS, AMRI, SUM Hospital, Capital Hospital, KIMS Hospital, Hi-Tech Hospital. For information and identification of the unidentified bodies, the website of the State Government: www.bmc.gov.in was activated. The Railways helpline numbers are: Bhubaneswar: 0674 2534027 Cuttack: 8455889917 Khurda Road: 0674 2492245 & 8455887999 State Government: 1929 Trains Cancelled, Diverted: According to the railways, a total of 123 trains have been cancelled, 56 trains have been diverted, 10 trains have been terminated before reaching their destinations, and 14 trains have been rescheduled for the period between June 3 and June 7. Many of the passengers affected by these changes were migrant workers. Amitabh Sharma, a spokesperson for the railway, stated that even if the victims were traveling without tickets, they would still receive compensation as per a Supreme Court order. Officials have mentioned that the railways has already provided Rs 3.22 crore in ex-gratia payments across 285 cases, which include 11 fatalities, 50 cases of serious injuries, and 224 cases of minor injuries. Tracks Ready, First Movement Reported: Aditya Kumar Chaudhary, Chief Public Relations Officer of Southeastern Railway, addressing the Balasore train accident said, The downline track is ready, while major damages occurred in the upline track. We are expecting restoration in the next few hours. Simultaneously, investigations will be conducted. The railway team is working tirelessly." Later, officials confirmed that the upline has also been declared fit, and movement is expected to resume shortly. Down-line restoration complete. First train movement in section. pic.twitter.com/cXy3jUOJQ2 Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) June 4, 2023 The inaugural train to traverse the recently restored tracks, which were previously impacted by the triple train accident in Balasore, Odisha, was BoxN loaded with coal. This train carried coal from the Rourkela steel plant, originating from the Vizag port, and was headed towards HSPG (Rourkela). Union Minister Vaishnaw confirmed the development and said, Both tracks have been restored. Within 51 hours the train movement has been normalised. Train movement will begin from now." Oppn Demand Vaishnaws Resignation: Several opposition parties stepped up pressure for Railway Minister Vaishnaws resignation, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge calling for fixing accountability from top to bottom. The NCP has raised concerns about the non-implementation of safety measures recommended in the 2022 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report to prevent train disasters. BJP IT department head Amit Malviya defended the BJP government tweeted details of accidents under previous ministers and added such worthies" are the ones demanding the resignation of the most qualified" railway minister the country has had in seven and half decades. Stop politicising the unfortunate Balasore tragedy because the track record of railway ministers, under the UPA, to put it mildly, was nothing short of a disaster. Let us focus on relief and rescue operation and putting life and rail back on track, at the earliest," he said. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav said the Odisha train accident was a total failure of Railway Minister and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There is no doubt that the accident took place due to sheer negligence of the railways. They are not bothered about the safety of the passengers. It is quite surprising that even after such a major accident, nobody in the government has taken any responsibility, he said. States Deputed Teams Trace Passengers: According to the Tamil Nadu government, out of the 127 individuals from the state who had reserved tickets for the Coromandel Express, eight people could not be reached, while the rest were confirmed to be safe. Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh government has reported that 695 passengers from the state were on the two trains involved in the accident. However, 28 passengers from Andhra Pradesh remain unaccounted for, according to Education Minister Botcha Satyanarayana. Tragically, one passenger from Srikakulam district named Gurumurthy lost his life in the accident. The minister also mentioned that 22 passengers sustained injuries, including one with a severe head injury. Efforts are currently underway to establish contact with the 28 passengers who are still untraceable. US President Expresses Grief: US President Joe Biden said he is heartbroken by the tragic news of the train crash in Odisha. US President Joe Biden in a statement said, (First Lady Dr) Jill (Biden) and I are heartbroken by the tragic news of the deadly train crash in India. Our prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones and the many who suffered injuries in this terrible incident." The United States and India share deep bonds rooted in the ties of family and culture that unite our two nations, and people all across America mourn alongside the people of India. As the recovery effort continues, we will hold the people of India in our thoughts," Biden added. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, acknowledging the conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is currently on a visit to Namibia said in a tweet, Thank @SecBlinken for the phone call expressing his support and sympathy on the Odisha railway accident. Such sentiments are deeply valued at this difficult time." Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe conveyed his condolences to the people and the government of India. Wickremesinghe extended his condolences to the Government of India and the bereaved families who have suffered an unimaginable loss, Daily Mirror Newspaper reported on Sunday. UN Chief, Pope Francis Extend Condolences: United Nations chief Antonio Guterres in a statement said he is deeply saddened by the loss of life and injury in a train accident near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore district of Odisha. Pope Francis said, My prayer go to the many victims of the train accident that occurred two days ago (June 2) in India. I express my closeness to the injured and their families. May the Heavenly Father welcome the souls of the deceased into his kingdom." (With inputs from PTI) In light of recent low-intensity explosions near the Golden Temple and a hoax bomb call, stringent security measures have been placed ahead of the 39th anniversary of Operation Bluestar on Monday to prevent untoward incidents. Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) (ADGP) Arpit Shukla chaired a meeting of senior police officials to review the security arrangements in the holy city, with a special emphasis on the Golden Temple complex. Shukla said strict action would be taken against those spreading rumours and trying to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere of the state. Criminal cases would be lodged against anyone who spreads rumours and fake information leading to panic and tension among the people to harm the peaceful atmosphere in Punjab, the ADGP said. A youth was arrested by the police on Saturday after making a hoax bomb threat call regarding the Golden Temple. He contacted the police control room and falsely claimed that four bombs had been placed near the sacred Sikh shrine, officials said. The call triggered a high alert status for the Punjab Police and an extensive search operation, accompanied by a bomb disposal squad was launched. However, no explosive device was found. Gagandeep Singh, a resident of Majith Mandi area, was subsequently arrested after the call was traced back to a stolen mobile phone. The police registered a case against him. The ADGP stated that four paramilitary force companies have been deployed in Amritsar in addition to a heavy presence of police forces throughout the state. Police officials have been directed to ensure the functioning of CCTV cameras installed at religious sites and other vulnerable locations. The police social media teams have been instructed to monitor the content shared on various social media platforms which could be used by unscrupulous elements to disrupt the peaceful environment of the state. Apart from deployment of four companies of paramilitary forces, over 3,500 cops from various units such as the Rapid Action Force, Armed Reserve Police, Punjab Armed Police, Special Operation Group, SWAT team, and tear gas teams assigned to ensure the security arrangements. The ADGP further said 68 checking points have been set up for round-the-clock surveillance and patrolling parties have been deployed in congested areas. The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal will be in Tamil Nadus capital on Monday to flog off the first international cruise vessel to Sri Lanka. The minister will also take part in a programme at 11.00 am at ITC Grand Chola Hotel, highlighting work done in the last nine years by the government at Chennai Port. In the evening at 5.00 pm, Sonowal would attend a program at the Chennai Cruise Terminal, where the Cordillia Cruise, the first international cruise vessel, would sail off from the city port to Sri Lanka. The Centre has planned to make Chennai the hub for cruise tourism on the East Coast, Sonowal said last Sunday. For the first time in the history of Chennai Port, a continuous cruise service was operated from June to September 2022, he had told media in Chennai. Sonowal was in the coastal city to review the performance of the Chennai Port Trust and its subsidiary Kamarajar Port Ltd along with senior officials including the chairperson of the Ports, Sunil Paliwal. Sonowal said 87,000 passengers from 37 cruise tourism operators visited Chennai Port in the past few years. (With PTI inputs) Karnatakas Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences minister, K Venkatesh, on Saturday asked if buffaloes can be slaughtered, then what is wrong with slaughtering cows. The Minister was referring to the difficulties farmers face maintaining aged cattle and disposing of the dead. According to an India Today report, Venkatesh also said that the amendment of the bill would benefit the farmers in the state. Former Karnataka chief minister and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday condemned K Venkateshs statement and, in a series of tweets, said that Indians are emotionally connected with cows and worship them as a mother. Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkateshs statement is shocking. We condemn his statement. We Indians have an emotional connection with the cow and worship them as mother," Bommai said. Wondering whom Venkatesh wanted to please, the BJP leader sought to know if the statement was made in an attempt to change his portfolio or to please the Congress high command. Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi was the first to advocate the ban on cow slaughter. A ban on cow slaughter advocated by Venerable Mahatma Gandhi was enacted in several states in the 1960s," the BJP leader said. Bommai also stated the ministers statement would give rise to large-scale smuggling of cows and mass slaughtering factories in the state". The law was introduced during our government to prevent illegal slaughterhouses. No new Act has been brought in Karnataka. We have enforced the existing law," the former chief minister added. . , , .1/5 Basavaraj S Bommai (@BSBommai) June 4, 2023 K Venkateshs statement comes at a time when the ruling Congress in Karnataka is mulling over the implementation of the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle (Amendment) Bill, 2020. When the bill was passed in the Karnataka Assembly by the BJP government in 2020, Congress had staged a walkout from the VIdhana Soudha in protest. The bill seeks a total ban on the slaughter of cows in the state and strict punishment for those found indulging in smuggling, illegal transportation, atrocities on cows and slaughtering them. According to the ordinance, slaughtering of cattle could lead to imprisonment of up to 3-7 years, along with a penalty ranging between Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakhs. Subsequent offences would be jailed for seven years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh would be imposed. INTERNATIONAL DAY OF INNOCENT CHILDREN VICTIMS OF AGGRESSION 2023: The International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression sheds light on children who suffer from different forms of aggression. It is observed annually on June 4. It serves as a sombre reminder of the pain endured by countless children worldwide, regardless of the type of abuse they face. This day emphasizes the importance of our support and protection, highlighting the United Nations dedication to safeguarding childrens rights. By raising awareness about the challenges these vulnerable individuals encounter, the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression urges individuals, communities, and nations to unite and take action in creating a safer and more nurturing environment for children everywhere. International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression 2023: History The International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression has a profound history rooted in the global commitment to safeguarding childrens rights and well-being. On August 19, 1982, during the UN General Assemblys emergency special session on the question of Palestine, concerns were raised over the plight of innocent Palestinian and Lebanese children victimized by Israeli aggression. In response, the General Assembly designated June 4 as the annual observance of the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression. In 1997, inspired by the influential Graca Machel report, which exposed the devastating impact of armed conflict on children, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 51/77 on the Rights of the Child. This resolution represented a significant milestone in efforts to protect children in conflict zones and established the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development serves as a comprehensive roadmap for securing a better future for children worldwide. It features a specific target (16.2) dedicated to ending all forms of violence against children and integrates the elimination of child abuse, neglect, and exploitation across various targets addressing violence. International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression 2023: Significance This day carries great importance as it focuses on the challenges faced by children who fall victim to aggression, violence, and abuse. It serves as a reminder to prioritize the protection and preservation of childrens rights across the globe. By recognizing the hardships endured by innocent children, this observance sheds light on their vulnerability. The International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression also emphasizes the role of governments, organizations, and individuals in guaranteeing the safety and well-being of children. It reaffirms the commitment of the United Nations and the international community to shield children from all forms of aggression, whether physical, mental, or emotional. Additionally, it raises awareness about the detrimental impact of armed conflicts, violent extremism, and other acts of aggression on children. It calls for intensified efforts to prevent and alleviate such harms, advocate for childrens rights, and ensure accountability for violations. If you have been planning a Ladakh trip for a long time, the wait was perhaps worth the while. In a bid to boost tourism in the region, Ladakh administration has announced plans to make some no-entry points open for tourists. This accessibility means that places like Marsimik La, Tsogtsalo and Chang Chenmo regions are much more open that they were. A Times of India article reports that soo you will also be able to bike towards the strategic Chang Chenmo sector which was a forbidden area in the union territory. This sector is close to the patrolling points of famous Pangong Lake. Sources say that tourists will now be allowed to explore 18314 ft high Marsimik La (pass) up to Tsogtsalo. The LAC with China is in close proximity to these areas. The TOI report quoted India Army HQs response to their query which said:, Indian Army endorsed the opening of a number of treks and routes including Marsimik La, in addition to other places such as Hot Spring and Tsogt Salo. If reports are to be believed, a few selfie points and medical centers will also be coming up before these places open up. The construction of these spots will be undertaken by the Border Roads Organsiation. You will also be able to visit the hot springs in the area which have been previously unexplored by other tourists. The Ladakh administrations decision to open up these places signifies a symbolic shift towards making the area more accessible to tourists around the world. Ladakh, for a long time, has only been seen on screens through Bollywood films like 3 Idiots, Jab Tak Hai Jaan and Lakshya among others. Even parts of the much acclaimed Hollywood film Curious Case of Benjamin Button were shot here. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHOK SARAF: Actor Ashok Saraf is conferred with The king of comedy title in the Marathi film industry. During the 1980s, he along with Sachin Pilgaonkar, Mahesh Kothare, and Laxmikanth Berder kick-started a comedy film wave on the big screens that remained unbeatable for more than a decade. Besides regional cinema, Ashok Saraf has also become a household name for his work in hit projects like Hum Paanch and Singham. On Sunday, June 4, the acclaimed Marathi personality is celebrating his 76th birthday. On this special occasion, heres taking a look at his super-hit movies along with some intriguing lesser-known facts about his personal life. Ashok Saraf Birthday: Lesser-known Facts Ashok Saraf is fondly referred to as Mama (maternal uncle) in the industry. But not many know that the nickname was given to him by one of his cameraman friends daughter. It was during a film shoot, where the girl would often visit. She fondly called him Mama and the title remains intact ever since. Ashok Saraf married actress Nivedita Joshi who is 18 years younger than him. The couple have starred together in multiple Marathi movies including Ashi Hi Banva Banvi and Navri Mile Navryala. Ashok Sarah has survived two nearly fatal car accidents. The first one allegedly occurred during the 80s-90s, which rendered him injured for about six months. The second one occurred on the Mumbai Pune Expressway in 2012, while he was on his way to promote the film Gol Gol Dabyatla. The actor has bagged multiple accolades for his acting prowess including multiple Filmfare awards and about 10 State government awards for Marathi films. Ashok Sarah once shared a funny story revealing even after being part of successful films he was given very little money. While travelling to Kolhapur for the shoot of one of his films, he boarded the Mahalakshmi Express. He recalled feeling embarrassed and hiding his face under the blanket after getting recognized by people. Ashok Saraf Superhit Marathi Films Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan are one of the most adorable couples of Bollywood. When they are not on the sets of their respective projects, they love to spend time in each others company and with the family. From taking vacations to exotic locations like Switzerland and London to sharing glimpses from their day-to-day lives. Following that trajectory, the duo recently happened to visit Soha Ali Khans house on Sunday and were clicked by the paparazzi in the process. The pictures show Kareena Kapoor sporting a white t-shirt imprinted with a multi-colored heart. She paired it with black printed bottoms that had a golden dragon on it. She also accessorized her look with big gold earrings and black sunglasses. Saif Ali Khan on the other hand flaunted a red floral shirt and blue denim jeans along with black shades. As for Jeh, he was seen in a white t-shirt and blue suspenders. The stellar family also posed for the paps with a victory sign before heading inside. Here are the pictures. On the work front, Saif Ali Khan was last seen in Pushkar and Gayathris neo-noir thriller Vikram Vedha, alongside Hrithik Roshan, Radhika Apte and Sharib Hashmi. Now the actor would be essaying the role of Raavan in Om Rauts modern adaptation of Ramayana titled Adipurush. Meanwhile, Kareena Kapoor will be making her OTT debut with Sujoy Ghoshs adaptation of The Devotion of Suspect X.Touted to be a Hindi adaptation of Keigo Higashinos Japanese Novel The Devotion of Suspect X, the series was shot across various hill stations of West Bengal. It would depict the story of a single parent and her daughter, who would commit a crime, and a neighbour who would help them cover it up amidst a police investigation. Apart from this, she also has The Crew with Tabu and Kriti Sanon and Hansal Mehtas untitled. Priyanka Chopra Jonas is currently in London and spending some quality time with her family, amid her hectic work schedule. The actress along with hubby Nick and mom Madhu Chopra recently attended the Beyonce Renaissance world tour concert. The actress recently shared a bundle of pictures and videos from the music festival. Taking to her Instagram stories, Priyanka shared a video featuring Beyonce addressing the audience. She captioned it , Beyonce, #Jayz thank you for the incredible experience.. #renaissanceworldtour #besthusbandever and tagged Nick Jonas. In the next story, she shared an adorable photo of her mom and wrote, Happy almost birthday and tagged her mom. She shared more glimpses from the concert. Priyanka often shares moments and videos from her daily life for which she enjoys a massive fan following. Her social media handle speaks volumes about her love for her family. The actress also shares happy moments with her baby daughter Malti. She welcomed her with Nick Jonas back in 2022. Meanwhile, on the work front, Priyanka Chopra is currently basking in the success of her American series Citadel. The second season of the show has been confirmed. Last week, Prime Video announced that it has renewed the global hit series Citadel for a second season with Joe Russo set to direct every episode and executive producer David Weil returning as showrunner. The Indian version of Citadel is also in the making. It will be headlined by Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan. The Family Man creators Raj and DK will be helming the project. While not much about Citadel India is known as of now, Priyanka Chopra recently revealed that the storylines are connected to each other. Raj and DK are so amazing, so talented and theyll bring their own spin to the Indian instalment. So, Im very excited, she said. Apart from that, Priyanka will also be seen sharing screen space with John Cena and Idris Elba for Heads of State. The actress shared the news on Instagram and wrote, On to the next. Reportedly, the shoot will begin in May. Directed by Ilya Naishuller, the film is being produced by Safran Companys Peter Safran and John Rickard. Priyanka Chopra will also be seen in Farhan Akhtars highly anticipated Jee Le Zaraa co-starring Alia Bhat and Katrina Kaif. BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 4. Kazakhstan attracted a record flow of $28 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) last year, marking the highest level in the last decade, Almas Aidarov, Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan said at the Investment Board meeting, Trend reports. According to him, the FDI inflow facilitated the implementation of 199 investment projects across critical sectors worth 2.3 trillion Kazakh tenge ($5.1 billion). Looking ahead, the government plans to launch an additional 281 projects in 2023, with an estimated value of 1.9 trillion Kazakh tenge ($4.2 billion). Furthermore, it was noted during the meeting that the list of top ten investing countries in the previous year comprised the Netherlands, the US, Switzerland, Belgium, Russia, South Korea, China, France, the UK, and Germany According to Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, Kazakhstan aims to attract $150 billion in FDI by 2029. In line with this vision, the government has set a goal to secure a minimum of $24 billion in foreign capital this year alone. Smailov called upon ministers and regional leaders to take proactive measures in implementing new and high-quality investment projects, particularly in priority sectors of the economy. Veteran actress Sulochana Latkar whose acting career spanned over 300 films in Marathi and Hindi cinema passed away on June 4, Sunday. She was 94.Reportedly, Sulochana was undergoing treatment at a Mumbai hospital. Her last rites will take place on Monday at Shivaji Park Crematorium along with the funeral at her residence from 11 AM to 5 PM. Earlier in the day, it was reported that Sulochana was admitted to Sushrusha Hospital in Mumbai. Her daughter Kanchan Ghanekar shared with ABP News she was suffering from shortness of breath and other age-related ailments. The Khoon Bhari Mang actresss health started worsening from Saturday following which she was kept on a ventilator. The report also stated that Sulochana was struggling with age-related ailments since March. Back in the month she was admitted but was later discharged after 3 weeks of treatment. Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde had come forward to help the ailing actress by allocating Rs 3 lakh for her treatment to the hospital from the CM fund. He had also promised to bear all the expenses of her treatment. Born on July 30, 1928, in Mumbai, India. Sulochana Latkar began her acting career in the 1940s and went on to establish herself as a prominent actress in both languages. She acted in numerous films and was recognized for her versatile performances. Some of her notable Hindi films include Nagin" (1954), Mr. & Mrs. 55" (1955), Shree 420" (1955), and Dosti" (1964). In Marathi cinema, she appeared in movies such as Vahinichi Maya" (1954), Snehlata" (1955), and Chandanachi Choli Ang Ang Jaali" (1975), among others. The veteran actress was known for essaying a wide range of roles, from supporting characters to motherly figures. She had a natural acting style that resonated with the audience. Her performances were often hailed for their depth and emotional impact. To add to her glory, she was a recipient of numerous accolades such as the civilian honour of Padma Shri, Chitrabhushan Award, Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award as well as Maharashtra Bhushan Award. Not many might know but Rashmika Mandanna was once engaged to Kannada actor-producer Rakshit Shetty. The former couple worked together in Kirik Party (2016). Almost a year later, they announced their engagement on 3 July 2017. Rashmika and Rakshit hosted a massive engagement party with photos from their party making headlines at the time. However, the actors parted ways in September 2018. While it was reported that they split due to compatible issues, Rashmika mother Suman Mandanna confessed the family was shaken by the turn of events. As reported by India Today and DNA India in 2018, Suman said, We are disturbed and on the path to recovery. For every individual, his life comes first. Nobody likes to hurt each other and everybody should be happy." The news of their split was first reported by Deccan Chronicle in 2018. A source told the publication at the time, Rashmika made the decision after consulting with her parents, family elders and friends. It was a tough decision to make, but she is showing a lot of character in overcoming this personal and emotional setback. She has been receiving some exciting offers in Telugu and Kannada, and wants to cement her place in both the industries." Today, Rashmika is not dating anyone. Although rumours have been doing the rounds that she is dating Vijay Deverakonda, the actors have time and again clarified that they are just good friends. While Rashmika has not commented about her relationship with Rakshit, last year she landed in controversy after she did not credit Rakshit and Rishab Shetty for her debut. The incident blew up with many slamming Rashmika for not giving credit where it is due and Rishab also took indirect jibes at her. However, she eventually clarified her stand and gave the Shetty duo the credit. On the work front, Rashmika has a few projects in the making. These include Rainbow, in which she replaced Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Pushpa 2. The next big Opposition meeting, which was scheduled for June 12 in Patna, is now postponed and is likely to take place on June 20. The change in date was requested by Congress party, due to the unavailability of its top leadership to participate on the given date, according to sources quoted by The Hindu. According to sources, Party President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi informed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of their inability to arrive for the meet due to some issue in their schedules. This comes as Gandhi is on a six-day visit to the United States. Apart from the grand old party, the DMK was also in favour of postponing the meet, as it was on the same day as a function that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had to attend. Congress had however volunteered to send representatives on the behalf of the top leadership, however this was objected by the other parties, leading to the change in date, according to The Hindu. Amid the derailment of Coromandel Express train in Odisha, the Congress on Sunday took the opportunity to slam the Centre for selling state-owned Air India to Tata Sons. Had the airline been with the government, planes could have been flown at the earliest to help stranded people after triple-train accident in Balasore, Pawan Khera said. The Congress leader further said that air fares need to be checked as it is concerning if prices of air tickets are increasing on the affected routes". His statement came after people took to Twitter to share exorbitant prices on the accident-hit route. A Twitter user shared a screenshot of airfares that soared to over 16,000 for one-way tickets from Kolkata to Bengaluru. Airlines, however, fleece distressed people with impunity. Airfares shoot up after every such emergency," the social media user said. Taking advantage of #TrainAccident at Balasore some operators increased fare for Kolkata bound buses. @STAOdisha immediately intervened & penalised them.Airlines, however, fleece distressed people with impunity. Air fares shoot up after every such emergency. pic.twitter.com/Ltw7BEGVin Arun Bothra (@arunbothra) June 4, 2023 The complaints have come even after the civil aviation ministry asked airlines to keep a tab on fares for flights to and from Bhubaneswar and other airports in Odisha. The advisory came in the wake of the Odisha train tragedy. The guidelines further stated that people will not be required to pay extra charges for cancellation and rescheduling of any flight. Airlines have also been asked to provide full assistance to bring the remains of those deceased in the horrific accident, back to their resident states. Pawan Khera slammed the government for their photo opportunity" and the BJPs strong belief in PR (public relations)". Why so many cameras when PM Modi visited the accident site? He even changed his clothes," Khera claimed. Taking a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the recent remarks he made abroad against Prime Minister Narendra and the central government, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said it is important to remember that are sometimes things bigger than politics when you step out of the country. In his ongoing visit to the US, Rahul Gandhi has made several comments against PM Modi. In one such remark, Rahul Gandhi said that there are people in India who think they know more than God and PM Modi is one such specimen. If you sat Modiji with God, he will explain to God how the universe works and God will get confused about what have I created," Rahul Gandhi had said Taking it from here, Jaishankar, without naming Rahul Gandhi, gave out a subtle message and asked on Saturday to watch" him when he goes back on how to counter" someone. Jaishankar interacting with the Indian diaspora during his visit to Cape Town to attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting. I may differ strongly with someone but how I counter it I would like to go back at home and do it. And watch me when I get back," Jaishankar said. LISTEN IN TO WHAT JAISHANKAR SAID: #WATCH | "There are sometimes, things bigger than politics & when you step outside the country, that is important to rememberI differ with them but how I counter it, I would like to go home and do it. Watch me when I get back": EAM S Jaishankar when asked about Congress pic.twitter.com/7h0YutokpH ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2023 A member of the Indian diaspora, without naming Rahul, had asked Jaishankar what he would like to say about remarks made by someone" in the US. EAM responded by saying, Look, I say that I can only talk for myself. I try, when I go abroad, not to do politics abroad. For this, Im perfectly prepared to argue and argue very vigorously at home." He also said that democratic culture has a certain collective responsibility like working for the national interest" and for a collective image". There are sometimes things bigger than politics and when you step outside the country, I think thats important to remember," Jaishankar said, in an oblique reference to Rahul Gandhi. Should railway ministers resign over train accidents? Politics has erupted over this question with government officials citing the dedication of rail minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in camping on the accident site over the past 30 hours, while opposition leaders are asking for his resignation. Let us look at the facts first. Earlier, too, rail ministers have witnessed big accidents with heavy casualties in their terms. When Nitish Kumar, for example, was the minister for railways for two terms in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government, a total of 1,527 deaths were recorded as a result of 1,079 accidents (both collisions and derailments) as per ministry data. Data shows the tenure of Mamata Banerjee (who served both under Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh) saw 1,451 deaths in 893 accidents. Lalu Prasad Yadavs term (May 2004 to May 2009 under Manmohan Singh-led government) also saw 1,150 deaths in 601 accidents. Kumars term, in fact, was marred by maximum rail accidents, with 1,000 incidents of derailment and 79 collisions, followed by Mamatas tenure that had 839 derailments. In fact, the Bihar chief minister even resigned for the Gaisal train disaster in August 1999, which claimed 285 lives. Vaishnaw as the rail minister, however, faces his biggest challenge with the worst train accident in the last two decades. But government sources cite his constructive approach of camping in Balasore to take charge of rescue and relief efforts, rather than entering into a political fight. In the past, we saw that railway ministers actions were only limited to photo ops during accidents. People like Mamata Banerjee even played politics then. But Vaishnaw is on the spot for more than 30 hours and is tirelessly involved in rescue and other relief efforts, a senior government official said. Government sources further cited how all agencies were working together as part of the prime ministers direction of whole of government approach unlike a silo approach in the past Railways, home ministry and National Disaster Response Force working in cohesion. Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya has also been sent to ensure coordination of medical treatment and minimise death toll. In fact, if we look at official data, rail accidents have only come down in the last decade. From 2012-13 to 2022-23, during the terms of nine ministers (both UPA and NDA), the Indian Railways recorded 878 mishaps, including collisions, derailment, fires among others. This number is close to Mamatas individual record in her two terms and less than Kumars. As compared to this, in the decade before from 2002-03 to 2011-12, the railways recorded a total of 2,147 mishaps. In 2011, there were two train accidents in a span of 24 hours, more than 70 people died. There was no cabinet minister for Railways then. PM Manmohan Singh asked MoS Railways, a TMC nominee, to visit Guwahati, the site of accident, but he DIDNT go.Mamata Banerjee also DID NOT pic.twitter.com/OuBU85FVib Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) June 4, 2023 The opposition, led by Mamata and Congress leaders, have questioned Vaishnaw over the absence of Kavach (anti-collision) system on this particular stretch but the facts now show that the system could not have averted the accident, government officials said. In the present case, the distance between the Coromandel Express and the goods train was only 100 m in which the passenger train collided after wrongly entering a loop line. Kavach needs a distance of at least 600 m to be activated and is only for the main line, officials said. Vaishnaw continues to camp in Balasore, an area where he was once posted as the district collector two decades ago. He has a good knowledge of the area and facilities available. However, the politicisation over the accident has continued with the opposition gunning for him. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has once again stirred up a controversy, this time with his statement about the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) being a secular party. The former MP was responding to a question on the Congress alliance with the Kerala-based party during an interaction with journalists in Washington. He said the Muslim League was a completely secular party and there is nothing non-secular about them. Soon, a war of words began between the BJP and Congress. Jinnahs Muslim League, the party responsible for Indias partition, on religious lines, according to Rahul Gandhi is a secular party. Rahul Gandhi, though poorly read, is simply being disingenuous and sinister hereIt is also his compulsion to remain acceptable in Wayanad, said BJPs IT head Amit Malviya on Twitter. To this, many leaders from the Congress reacted saying the IUML was different from Muhammad Ali Jinnahs Muslim League and was a party registered in India and is even contesting elections. As the controversy rages, heres all you need to know about the Indian Union Muslim League: The party, predominantly in Kerala, is recognised as a state party with the Election Commission of India. The IUML is a long-standing ally of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and has been part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) since it was founded on March 10, 1948. The IUML, at present, has four members in Parliament three in Lok Sabha and one in Rajya Sabha. In Kerala, it has 18 MLAs. Whenever the UDF has come to power in Kerala, the IUML got plum cabinet portfolios. An IUML MP, ET Muhammad Basheer said, It is the BJP that is the most controversial party, getting involved in all kinds of communal agendas. They have no moral right to say anything about our party. They are a symbol of anti-secularism. Basheer said the IUML has been a UDF ally for long and has been in power in Kerala. It was when I was the state education minister, the Sanskrit University was established here. So on the practical side, we have proven that we are a secular organisation. The people in Kerala know us, he said. The IUML MP said his party was formed after Independence and Malviyas statement that it was part of Jinnahs Muslim League was senseless and has nothing to do with facts. Basheer further said the people of Kerala knew how cordial the Muslim League is and how it has upheld communal harmony. He added that the BJP had been trying to use this propaganda for long, but it had not had the desired effect. He said the party has had MLAs and even district panchayat chairpersons, who are not from the Muslim community. Senior Congress leader and former opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said he endorsed what Gandhi had said. Jinnahs Muslim League and the IUML are different. The IUML is working under the Constitution of India and fighting against fascist forces. If you look at the partys candidates in the assembly and panchayats, a large number of Hindus contest under their symbol. They are working for the betterment of the country and always uphold secular credentials, he added. Dr J Prabhash, political analyst and former head of the political science department of Kerala University, said, After the demolition of the Babri Masjid, there was no untoward incident in Kerala. One of the major reasons for that was the Indian Union Muslim League. He said Muslims were able to enter the system and the government because of the presence of the IUML. A political party encourages people belonging to their community to have democratic and cordial relations with other communities. In that sense, I definitely feel that the IUML is a secular party. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday interacted with party workers here as part of the ruling BJPs Tiffin Pe Charcha campaign in the run-up to next years parliamentary polls. Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP launched its then-prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modis famous chai pe charcha sessions to connect with voters after Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar mocked Modis past as a tea seller. The BJP registered a landslide victory in the elections and Modi was sworn in as the countrys prime minister for the first time on May 26, 2014. The Tiffin Pe Charcha campaign, which implies discussion over a meal", was launched to mark nine years of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. In a series of tweets in Hindi, Adityanath said, On the occasion of the completion of nine years of the Modi government, a tiffin pe charcha was organised with senior BJP workers in Gorakhpur." The meeting was extremely successful and positive. In this meeting, 328 workers took part. My good wishes to them," Adityanath added. Addressing the meeting, Adityanath said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has built considerable clout in the world. Today during any crisis, the world looks up to India and Prime Minister Modi with hopes in their eyes," he said lauding the PM for his visionary leadership and continuous hard work," he said. Everyone knows what was the situation before 2014, what was Indias position on the global stage. But after 2014, not only the country, but the whole world is also seeing what positive changes have taken place under the leadership of PM Modi," he said. Before 2014, extremism in Kashmir, separatism in the northeastern states and Naxalism were at their peak with around 12 to 15 states being affected. Today, due to the abrogation of Article 370, there is an atmosphere of peace, harmony and development in Kashmir. In the panchayat elections held there, people participated in large numbers and the BJP got huge support. What was a fantasy earlier is a reality today," he said. At present, there is a BJP government in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur and Assam. In Nagaland and Meghalaya too, the government is running with the cooperation of the BJP, Adityanath said. Earlier, one had to take permits to visit northeastern states, he said, adding that Naxal incidents have been curbed in affected states and the process of development has progressed rapidly. He said in the last nine years, the respect given to Indians in foreign countries has increased. Referring to Modis recent three-nation tour, the UP CM said every Indian is proud of the increased attention that the country as well as the PM is getting on the global stage. Breaking protocol, the prime minister of Papua New Guinea not only received PM Modi after sunset but also greeted him by touching his feet. Fiji and Papua New Guinea conferred their countrys highest honours on our PM. The Prime Minister of Australia called PM Modi the boss, while the US president was eager to get an autograph of our PM. All this shows the strength of the countrys leadership," Adityanath said. In order to provide more relevant responses," Google has added precise location support to its AI chatbot Bard. Bard can start providing more relevant responses if you choose to let it use your devices precise location. You can manage your preferences in location settings Opens in a new window," Google said. According to the company, precise location helps Bard provide more relevant responses about restaurants near you and many other things about your area. For instance, if you ask Bard What are the best restaurants near me?", it will now be able to show you a list of restaurants that are actually located near your current location. Precise location support is a new feature that is currently in beta testing. Last month, Google released new update Bard, improving the ability to provide summaries of information and tell users where that information has come from. With the new update, users will be able to ask Bard to summarise a specific article or story, or to provide a quick explanation of a topic without going into too much detail. Meanwhile, Google has removed the waiting list and opened the AI chatbot to over 180 countries and territories, including India, after initially rolling out Bard in the UK and the US. Apart from English, Bard is now available in Japanese and Korean, and the company said its on track to support 40 languages soon. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo fell from a bicycle and briefly lost consciousness but hospital tests revealed no lasting effects, a report in Reuters said. The incident happened when De Croo was on a bike ride with his son late on Saturday afternoon near his home in the Flanders region, according to the report. De Croo lost consciousness for a few moments and was rushed to the hospital after the accident. He was reported to be in a non-serious condition as a result of the examinations, Ihlas News Agency reported. The accident was not expected to affect the premiers schedule for the coming week. De Croo returned home at night and will spend today resting at his residence. BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 4. During the second meeting of Central Asia - EU summit, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized the need to develop regional transport and logistics infrastructure, Trend reports. "We invite European partners to actively participate in the development of Caspian Sea ports, digitalization of their operations, as well as joint production of transport vessels and the establishment of logistics warehouses. The development of reverse transit of goods along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route presents additional opportunities for European exporters," he said. President Tokayev added that Central Asia serves as a bridge for over 80 percent of land transit shipments along the "China-Europe" route. At the current stage, the TITR has acquired strategic importance. It has the potential to significantly enhance interaction between Europe and Central Asian countries. Preliminary assessments indicate that the overall infrastructure investment requirements for substantial improvement of the TITR are estimated at 18.5 billion euros. A Chinese warship came within 150 yards (137 meters) of a U.S. destroyer in the Taiwan Strait in "an unsafe manner," U.S. military officials said, as China blamed the United States for "deliberately provoking risk" in the region. U.S. and Canadian navies on Saturday were conducting a joint exercise in the strait, which separates the island of Taiwan and China, when the Chinese ship cut in front of the U.S. guided-missile destroyer Chung-Hoon forcing it to slow down to avoid a collision, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement. The People's Republic of China (PRC) has claimed self-ruled Taiwan as its territory since the defeated Republic of China government fled to the island in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists. Taiwan's government says the PRC has never ruled the island and U.S. President Joe Biden has said the U.S. would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion. China's military rebuked the United States and Canada for "deliberately provoking risk" after the countries' navies staged a rare joint sailing through the sensitive Taiwan Strait. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the Chung-Hoon and Canada's Montreal were conducting a "routine" transit of the strait when the Chinese ship cut in front of the American vessel. The Chinese ship's "closest point of approach was 150 yards and its actions violated the maritime 'Rules of the Road' of safe passage in international waters," the U.S. command said. Video footage broadcast by Canadian website Global News showed the close encounter between the ships. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The maritime encounter was the latest close call between the Chinese and U.S. military. On May 26, a Chinese fighter jet carried out an "unnecessarily aggressive" maneuver near a U.S. military plane over the South China Sea in international airspace, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said on Tuesday. The spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, did not comment on the specifics of the jet incident, but said the U.S. had "frequently deployed aircraft and vessels for close-in reconnaissance on China, which poses a serious danger to Chinas national security." White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a pre-recorded interview that aired on CNN on Sunday that the U.S. is seeking to maintain the "stable, cross-strait dynamic" between China and Taiwan and avoid a conflict "that would end up cratering the global economy." The interview for "Fareed Zakaria GPS" on CNN took place on Friday. Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu told Asia's top security summit on Sunday that conflict with the United States would be an "unbearable disaster" but that his country sought dialogue over confrontation. US President Joe Biden on Saturday expressed his condolences on the train crash in Odisha and said he is heartbroken by the tragic news that killed over 280 people. The crash in Odishas Balasore district involving three trains is one of the worst rail accidents in India in nearly three decades. At least 288 people are dead and over 1,100 injured. (First Lady Dr) Jill (Biden) and I are heartbroken by the tragic news of the deadly train crash in India. Our prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones and the many who suffered injuries in this terrible incident," Biden said in a statement. The United States and India share deep bonds rooted in the ties of family and culture that unite our two nations and people all across America mourn alongside the people of India. As the recovery effort continues, we will hold the people of India in our thoughts," Biden said. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and said, As we watch the heroic efforts of first responders and medical personnel, we stand with the people of India in this tragic moment." We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the devastating train crash in the Indian state of Odisha. As we watch the heroic efforts of first responders and medical personnel, we stand with the people of India in this tragic moment. Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) June 4, 2023 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said he is grateful to the international community for their messages of sympathy. Deeply grateful to global partners for their messages of sympathy on the railway accident in Odisha. Their solidarity at this time of grief is a source of strength," he said in a tweet. Deeply grateful to global partners for their messages of sympathy on the railway accident in Odisha. Their solidarity at this time of grief is a source of strength. Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) June 3, 2023 The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying around 2,500 passengers, and a goods train occurred around 7 PM on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the accident site and was briefed by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw as well as officers of the disaster management teams. He also met some of the injured in the hospital. Several world leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and others have expressed their deepest condolences to the families of the train crash. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent separate messages of condolences to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the deadly train accident. In his message, Xi said he was shocked to learn of the accident which caused heavy casualties. On behalf of the Chinese government and people, he expressed deep condolences to the victims, offered sincere sympathies to the bereaved families and the injured, and wished the injured a speedy recovery. Chinese Premier Li Qiang also sent a message of condolence to Prime Minister Modi. Rishi Sunak expressed his deepest condolences to the family and friends of those killed and said his heartfelt support and admiration is with the survivors and rescue workers. Russian President Putin also expressed his condolences in a telegram to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meanwhile, Macron said France stands in solidarity with India. Japans Prime Minister Kishida sent a condolence message to Prime Minister Modi following the train accident. I am deeply saddened by the news of the loss of many precious lives and the injuries in the train accident in the State of Odisha. On behalf of the Government of Japan and its people, I would like to express our heartfelt condolences to those who lost their lives and their bereaved families. I also pray for the speedy recovery of those who were injured," Kishida said in a statement. Hundreds of people protested in Stockholm on Sunday against new anti-terror legislation that was passed to address Turkeys opposition to Sweden joining NATO. The demonstration was organised by groups close to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), outlawed by Turkey, which this week warned against terrorists" being allowed to demonstrate in Sweden. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has so far blocked Swedens NATO membership, accusing Stockholm of being a haven for the Kurdish activists. To address his concerns, Sweden passed a new law that criminalises participation in a terrorist organisation". They are after the Kurds in Sweden," Tomas Pettersson, spokesperson for the Alliance Against NATO, told AFP at the protest, titled No to NATO, No Erdogan Laws in Sweden." Petterson added that the idea behind the law is to have an arrest and a trial and a victim," so that Erdogan will then let Sweden into NATO". Protesters waved numerous PKK flags, along with signs reading No to NATO." Our membership in NATO would cause a lot of blackmail from Erdogan," former Swedish MP Amineh Kakabaveh told AFP. A spokesman for Erdogan on Tuesday said it was completely unacceptable that PKK terrorists continue to operate freely in Sweden" and urged Swedish authorities to block the protest. Even though the PKK is also considered a terrorist organisation in Sweden as in the rest of the EU its supporters are generally allowed to protest in public. Sweden and Finland dropped decades of military non-alignment and applied to join NATO in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. Finland formally joined in April, however Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify Swedens membership bid. Swedens justice minister reiterated on Friday that the new law is not aimed at attacking freedom of speech. Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom on Thursday hailed the new legislation as Swedens last step under an accord signed with Turkey last year for Ankara to ratify Stockholms membership. After meeting Erdogan in Turkey, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday called on Ankara to drop its opposition to Swedens bid, saying Stockholm has addressed security concerns. Ankara suspended negotiations with Sweden in outrage after protests in January that included a Koran burning outside Turkeys embassy in Stockholm. Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has expressed gratitude to Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai Patel and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for their warm hospitality during his two-day visit to the state. Prachanda began his four-day visit to India on Wednesday. On his arrival at the Indore airport in Madhya Pradesh on Friday morning, Prachanda and his delegation were given a warm welcome by Chouhan and his cabinet colleagues. The two leaders were seen having Indori poha', a popular sweet-sour snack, at the airport lounge. During his two-day visit to MP, Prachanda visited the famous Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain, the Special Economic Zone of IT giant TCS on Indore's Super Corridor, and Asia's largest bio-CNG plant Gobar-Dhan' in the state's commercial capital. On Saturday, Chouhan gifted Prachanda a portrait of the latter made from discarded cloth pieces as the dignitary wrapped up his MP visit. I got an opportunity to visit India's cleanest city Indore; special economic zone; and Mahakaleshwar Temple in famous Ujjain city, the Nepalese premier tweeted after returning to his country. I am grateful to the Governor and Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for their warm welcome and cordial hospitality, he said on the PMO Nepal and Comrade Prachanda Twitter handles. Earlier, Prachanda's meeting with Prime Minister Modi on Thursday saw the two countries signing seven agreements and launching six projects, including new railway services. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made no breakthrough on Sunday in talks about Swedens membership in the military organisation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with officials from the two countries to meet in just over a week to try to bridge their differences. NATO wants to bring Sweden into the fold by the time U.S. President Joe Biden and other allied leaders meet in Lithuania on July 11-12, but Turkiye and Hungary have yet to endorse the move. All 31 member countries must ratify a candidates accession protocol for it to join the trans-Atlantic alliance. Turkiyes government accuses Sweden of being too lenient on terror organisations and security threats, including militant Kurdish groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt. Hungary has also delayed its approval, but the reasons why havent been made publicly clear. President Erdogan and I agreed today that the permanent joint mechanism should meet again in the week starting on June 12. Membership will make Sweden safer, but also NATO and Turkiye stronger, Stoltenberg told reporters in Istanbul. The permanent joint mechanism was set up to address Turkiyes concerns about Sweden and Finland, the latter of which became the 31st member of NATO in April. Sweden has fulfilled its obligations, for membership, Stoltenberg said. He noted that the country has amended its constitution, strengthened its anti-terror laws, and lifted an arms embargo on Turkiye since it applied to join NATO just over a year ago. Fearing they might be targeted by Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional positions of military nonalignment to seek protection under NATOs security umbrella. As Stoltenberg held talks in Istanbul, hundreds of people, including dozens of pro-Kurdish protesters, gathered in Stockholm to demonstrate against Swedens planned NATO membership. Up to 500 people took part in the action titled No to NATO no Erdogan Laws in Sweden. They rallied under the banner of the Alliance Against NATO, an umbrella for a mix of Kurdish organisations, leftist groups, anarchists, youth and climate activists and people opposed to Swedens new anti-terror laws, which took effect on June 1, as well as those calling for free media. In January, a protest in Stockholm involving the burning of a copy of the Quran brought Swedens membership talks at NATO to a grinding halt, after Erdogan suspended the meetings. The incident led to anti-Sweden demonstrations around the Muslim world. We know that Erdogan is watching this and he has been very angry at these things in the past, so most likely we will have the same response from him and delay the Swedish NATO accession even further, Alliance Against NATO spokesperson Tomas Pettersson said. Stoltenberg appeared to suggest that the protests might have been raised during his talks. I understand it is hard to see demonstrations against Turkiye and against NATO in Sweden, Stoltenberg said. But let me be clear, freedom of assembly and expression are core values in our democratic societies. These rights must be protected and upheld. He also said that its important to remember why these demonstrations are taking place. The organisers want to stop Sweden from joining NATO. They want to block Swedens counterterrorism cooperation with Turkey, and they want to make NATO weaker. We should not allow them to succeed. . China is reporting deaths among animals and fishes due to the extreme weather conditions as it sees record temperatures and heavy rains. The Asian country has been experiencing worst heatwave and drought in many parts of the country raising concerns about food security in the worlds second largest economy. Pigs, rabbits and fish have been dying from the soaring temperatures while the wheat fields in central China have been flooded by the heaviest rainfall in a decade, CNN reported. Local reports said that hundreds of pigs died at a farm in eastern Jiangsu province this week after a power outage caused fans to stop working at night. The pigs suffocated to death likely due to the extreme heat and poor air circulation, the reports added. Extreme cold in Finland provisionally breaks national June cold record while relentless heat smashes countless records in China Special mention for Dongchuan, China where it reached +42.2C (108F) at 1250m above sea level. A short thread pic.twitter.com/W03ElPoUII Scott Duncan (@ScottDuncanWX) June 1, 2023 The heat wave has also been blamed for killing large areas of farmed carp living in rice fields in the southwestern region of Guangxi. The officials are also worried that drought could hit the Yangtze River basin, Chinas main rice-growing region, in the coming months. Extreme weather such as drought and floods may disrupt the food production order and bring more uncertainties to the supply of food and oil, Sheng Xia, an agricultural analyst, said in a research report. The prices of rabbit heads, which is a signature dish in Sichuan, have also surged in recent days as the record temperatures have caused rabbit deaths on farms. In the coming days, most of southern China is expected to suffer temperatures of more than 35 Celsius with temperatures in some areas exceeding 40 Celsius, Reuters reported. Since March, temperatures in dozens of Chinese cities have hit record seasonal highs. Recently, Shanghai on Monday endured its hottest day in May in more than a century, while provinces in the south have had little respite from the heatwaves. Yunnan and Sichuan provinces also suffered record-breaking temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Amid the soaring tempertatures, the El Nino event could lead to climate uncertainty and cause floods in the south and drought in the north, and cold summer in the northeast. Heavy rainfall flooded the wheat fields of Henan province, which accounts for a quarter of Chinas production, in the last week of May just days before the harvest time. The rains caused some grain crops to sprout or go moldy. The ruined crop accounted for 20% of some farmers yields for the whole year. Following last years severe heat wave and drought, Beijing has strengthened its focus on food security. In March, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said agriculture was the foundation of national security. Scientists have said that extreme heat and humidity are increasing across the globe, threatening millions of lives and economies in places where it could become fatal to work outdoors. Three Chinese astronauts working at the countrys space station have returned safely to Earth, state media reported Sunday, hailing the mission as a complete success". The return capsule of the Shenzhou-15 spaceship touched down at a landing site in northern Chinas Inner Mongolia region, according to state news agency Xinhua. Astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu emerged from the capsule in good physical condition", Xinhua reported. The mission was a complete success," it said. Footage showed medical officials in white jumpsuits and face masks swaddling the astronauts in blue blankets and carrying them away from the arid landing site, where the copper-coloured capsule lay flanked by red flags. The trio had spent six months at the Tiangong space station, conducting spacewalks and a variety of scientific experiments. China last week sent three more astronauts including its first civilian in orbit to the space station as part of the successor Shenzhou-16 mission. The worlds second-largest economy has pumped billions of dollars into its military-run space programme in an effort to catch up with the United States and Russia. Beijing aims to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030 and plans to build a base on the lunar surface. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will pay a two-day visit to India beginning Sunday to discuss ways to further expand bilateral strategic engagement ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis trip to Washington. People familiar with Austins visit said he and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are set to discuss a number of new defence cooperation projects that are set to be unveiled after Modis talks with President Joe Biden in Washington over two weeks later. The General Electrics proposal to share technology with India for fighter jet engines and Indias plan to procure 30 MQ-9B armed drones at a cost of over USD 3 billion from US defence major General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI) are likely to figure in the Singh-Austin talks on Monday. India has been looking for manufacturing of jet engines in India under the framework of technology transfer to power its fighter aircraft. Chinas aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific as well as along the Line of Actual Control and ways to combat the threat of terrorism are also likely to figure in the discussions between Singh and Austin. Separately, Germanys Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius will arrive in India on Monday on a four-day visit. The Pentagon said in a statement this week that Austin will further deepen the US-India Major Defence Partnership as ties between the two countries enter a new and exciting chapter. The US Defence Secretary will arrive in India on Sunday from Singapore on a two-day visit, the defence ministry said. It will be Austins second visit to India. His previous trip to India was in March, 2021. The ministry said the German Federal Minister of Defence is also visiting New Delhi for bilateral talks with Singh that will take place on June 6. A host of bilateral defence cooperation issues, with focus on industrial cooperation, are likely to be discussed during Singhs meetings with Austin and Pistorius, it said. US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and German Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius are visiting New Delhi for bilateral talks with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the ministry said in a statement. The Defence Ministers meeting with the US Secretary of Defence will be held on June 5, while talks with the German Federal Minister of Defence will take place on June 6, it said. India-US defence and strategic ties have been on an upswing in the last few years. The two countries have inked key defence and security pacts over the past few years, including the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries to use each others bases for repair and replenishment of supplies. The two sides also signed COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018 which provides for interoperability between the two militaries and provides for the sale of high-end technology from the US to India. In October 2020, India and the US sealed the BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) agreement to further boost bilateral defence ties. The pact provides for sharing of high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between the two countries. The German defence minister will be on a four-day visit to India beginning June 5. He will arrive from Indonesia. Apart from his meeting with Singh, Pistorius is likely to meet officials of a few defence start-ups during an event to be organised by Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) in New Delhi. On June 7, he is scheduled to travel to Mumbai where he is likely to visit the headquarters of the Western Naval Command and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, the ministry said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5. Demonstrators in Sweden are trying to prevent the country from joining the North Atlantic Alliance, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters following a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, Trend reports. Stoltenberg noted that freedom of assembly and expression are among the core values of democratic societies and must be protected and respected. However, they are aware that these demonstrations create difficulties. "The organizers of these demonstrations are trying to prevent Sweden from joining NATO. At the same time, they are trying to prevent Sweden from cooperating with Turkiye in the fight against terrorism. It also weakens NATO. We must not let them succeed," he said. Stoltenberg said that at the meeting with Erdogan, they also agreed that the Permanent Joint Mechanism would meet again on June 12. Stressing that NATO membership will make Sweden stronger and will also make both NATO and Turkiye stronger, Stoltenberg said he would like Sweden's NATO accession process to be completed as soon as possible. It's a snapshot of a challenging crossroads in the ambitious (non-Twitter) business plans of Elon Musk. The Washington Post reports that residents of rural Bastrop County, Texas, home to growing facilities for both SpaceX and the Boring Co., are concerned about the impact on the environment. And this in addition to a lawsuit Reuters reports was filed by conservation groups against the Federal Aviation Administration for green-lighting SpaceX's rocket operations in Boca Chica, Texas, allegedly without a comprehensive review of its environmental impact. The suit was partly due to the April 2023 maiden flight of SpaceX's Starship, which the New York Times reported scattered sand and debris miles from the launchpad in Boca Chica, Texaswhich borders a national wildlife refuge. The stakes are high for Musk. Starship is a crucial component of SpaceX's commercial launch business and is vital to Musk's vision of starting human colonies on Mars. While the Boca Chica site is mostly meant for testing, with Starship operations set to shift to Florida, a protracted legal battle or a ruling against the FAA could significantly delay Musk's rapid development plans. In Bastrop County, resident Chap Ambrose tells the Post that he has "no faith" that the billionaire's leadership team "values the environment." Ambrose is the leader of a collection of residents who are urging companies connected to Musk to take time to consider the impact of heavy construction, wastewater, etc. Ambrose, a computer programmer, says he remains a Musk supporter, but wants "him to do better here and be a good neighbor." Ambrose and other Texans aren't the only ones concerned. Reuters notes that SpaceX's Launch Complex at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is under environmental review. Concerns have been raised there over a potential Starship explosion damaging infrastructure. Additionally, sites like the Vandenberg Spaceport in California and a facility in Virginia have limitations or need additional environmental reviews. Where SpaceX is concerned, however, congressional intervention could help. If its mission were considered a national priority, Congress could sidestep calls for environmental reviewsespecially given NASA's ambitious moon landing deadline by 2026. (The Boring Co. has raised concerns across the country that it is "ghosting" cities prepared to prepared to permit tunneling for the company.) Four years after their divorce became final, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie continue to battle in court. The latest volley comes from Pitt in court papers in which he labels his ex as "vindictive," reports Page Six. The slam is related to Pitt's ongoing lawsuit over a French winery they once jointly owned. Pitt claims that Jolie reneged on a promise that neither would sell their stake in the $30 million property without the other's approval. But in 2021, Pitt says he learned through a news release that Jolie had sold her half to a man Pitt's legal team calls a Russian oligarch, per CBS News. The documents allege that Jolie opted to sell to Yuri Shefler instead of Pitt out of spite related to the couple's nasty custody dispute. Her decision to terminate negotiations with Pitt was intentional and pretextual, reads the filing in LA Superior Court. As will be demonstrated at trial, Jolies actions were unlawful, severely and intentionally damaging Pitt and unjustly enriching herself. Pitt alleges that Jolie sold to Shefler knowing that his ties to Vladimir Putin would likely harm the business. The couple bought Chateau Miraval, which includes a home with the winery, after marrying there in 2014, per People. (Read more Brad Pitt stories.) Already the talk of the industryand not necessarily in a good wayCNN chief executive Chris Licht now has to share control of the organization. David Leavy has been named chief operating officer of the network, CNBC reports. Leavy is a longtime ally and confidant of David Zaslav, the boss of Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns CNN. Leavy will handle business-side operations, evidently leaving Licht more time for programming and journalism duties, per the Hollywood Reporter. The change also would seem to give Zaslav another view into what Licht is doing at CNN, which is dealing with the fallout from its town hall with former President Donald Trump, ratings declines, firings, and general chaos. On top of that, a 15,000-word profile of Licht in the Atlantic landed on Friday. Writer Tim Alberta had plenty of access to Licht, who spoke at great length. Many at CNN and elsewhere did not find the closeup look reassuring about CNN's future. The article portrays Licht as struggling to manage the place in the face of what the Reporter describes as "widespread distrust among his rank-and-file while also catering to the whims of his own fickle, meddling boss"Zaslav. Licht seems to spend a lot of time worrying about his predecessor, Jeff Zucker, who still has a following among CNN employees. And Licht appears consumed by criticism of him, from Democrats, employees, and journalists. At a holiday dinner, he didn't socialize with employees, who eventually realized he was reading a story critical of him on his phone, per Insider. Alberta writes that Licht told Trump before the town hall to "have fun," per the Reporter; the former president proceeded to steamroll CNN's host and repeat misinformation. "The way to deal with a bully like Trump," Alberta quoted Licht as saying, "was to confront him with facts." That didn't work. Mike Allen of Axios calls the profile "devastating." You can find the full piece here. (Read more Chris Licht stories.) At first glance it seems like a heartwarming gesture: Outsider reports that Memorial Day weekend visitors to Yellowstone National Park put a newborn elk calf in their car and drove it to the West Yellowstone, Montana, Police Department. But it was actually a disturbing turn of events. This incident, which occurred during elk calving season, highlights a critical need for visitors to respect the park's wildlife regulations and maintain a safe distance from these creatures. The calf's displacement likely prevented the mother from finding her newborn. It is part of elks' natural behavior to leave calves bedded during the day while foraging. After its release, the calf vanished into the forest. Its current condition is unknown. The incident is the second recent reminder that even when visitors' intentions may seem "good," interfering with wildlife violates Yellowstone National Park regulations and is a federal crime. Furthermore, such actions can significantly impact the well-being and survival of these animals. This episode comes on the heels of a similar incident when, as the New York Times reports, a Hawaiian visitor was fined for assisting a bison calf out of the Lamar River. The calf, unable to be reunited with its mother, had to be euthanized by the Park Service. Yellowstone National Park regulations stipulate that visitors stay 25 yards away from wildlife at a minimum and 100 yards from predators like wolves and bears. Disregarding these rules can result in fines, injury, and even death. (Read more Yellowstone National Park stories.) Meet the Press had a woman as its host when the NBC News program first took to the air in 1947. The Sunday morning staple is about to have its second female moderator in its 75-year history, the Washington Post reports. Chuck Todd told viewers Sunday that he's leaving the show later this year, to be replaced by Kristen Welker, whom he called "the right person in the right moment" for the high-profile job. NBC's chief White House correspondent, Welker has served as guest host of the program in the past. And she's co-host of the streaming Meet the Press NOW. Welker, 46, has worked for NBC since 2010. She received increased attention and positive reviews for her performance moderating the final 2020 debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. In following in the steps of Martha Rountree, who held the job until 1953, Welker also will become the first Black woman to host one of the Sunday morning network news programs, per the Los Angeles Times. In a tweet, Welker said she's learned from working with Todd and "experiencing his passion for politics," adding, "I'm humbled and grateful to take the baton and continue to build on the legacy of @MeetThePress." Todd, 51, will become the network's chief political analyst, work on documentaries and other non-breaking news projects, and generally slow down. "I've watched too many friends and family let work consume them before it was too late," he told viewers. "I promised my family I wouldn't do that." Todd expressed pride in his stewardship of the storied program. When he took over, Todd said, people wondered whether Meet the Press could still be relevant. "Well, I think weve answered that question and then some," he said. (Read more Meet the Press stories.) The Postal Service has released its count of workers bitten by dogs last year, an effort to increase awareness and inspire owners to mind their pets. California, Texas, and New York again were responsible for the most bites, CNN reports675, 404, and 321, in order. All were increases from 2021. Among cities, Houston topped the list with 57 bites. Los Angeles followed with 48, then Dallas with 44. All told, more than 5,300 Postal Service employees were attacked while delivering mail in 2022, the data show. Part of the Postal Service's message is that "even good dogs have bad days." That's the theme of National Dog Bite Awareness Week, which began Sunday. "When our mail carriers are bitten, it is usually a 'good dog' that had not previously behaved in a menacing way," safety director Linda DeCarlo said in a statement. The Postal Service's release said employees are trained to not startle a dog, or even try to pet or feed it. The agency in turn asks owners to secure their dogs when the letter carrier is due. The guidance includes a warning to not let small children accept mail directly from a carrier; the dog might think the child is in danger. (A carrier was killed by five dogs last summer in Florida.) The Directors Guild has reached a tentative agreement with film and TV studios, a deal that bans live ammunition on sets and limits the use of artificial intelligence in productionsbut doesn't thrill everyone in the striking Writers Guild. The three-year tentative agreement with studios and streaming services, announced Sunday, will go to the directors' national board on Tuesday for consideration, the Washington Post reports. It calls for raises of 5% in the first year, then 4% and 3.5%; takes an hour off assistant directors' shifts; and broadens safety programs. The ammunition prohibition is in response to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was killed when a gun held by actor Alec Baldwin discharged on a set. The agreement also provides for a pilot program requiring safety supervisors, per CNN. AI has emerged as an issue in both guilds' negotiations. The Directors Guild and the studios agreed to a clause stipulating that "AI is not a person and that generative AI cannot replace the duties performed by members." Next, the actors guild begins contract negotiations this week. Settling with directors means the studios won't face the prospect of three major unions being on strike at the same time, per the New York Times. The writers negotiations broke off on May 1, and guild leaders had warned members that the studios might settle with directors first, saying that's a divide-and-conquer strategy that won't work. In the past, a contract with directors has provided a template for deals with other unions. Writers say that can't happen this time because many issues are unique to their jobs. Directors Guild leaders called their contract historic; members of the Writers Guild, which had called for unity among the unions, are less pleased, per the Hollywood Reporter. "This DGA 'historic deal' only makes me fired up to strike until we get every damn thing we asked for," striker Allison Sanchez tweeted. "I'll strike for years." (Read more Directors Guild of America stories.) Sorry! This content is not available in your region Maj. Meghan Louis, a veterinarian and director of veterinary services at Public Health Command-Pacific, greets chocolate lab Sadie, prior to her appointment at Fort Shafter Veterinary Treatment Facility. (Photo by Kathryne Gest, U.S. Army) ADS ADS A jury of design experts acknowledged the MEMORIS SPIRITs unique ability to transcend codes and fashions in order to become a timeless work of art. Once again, the creations emerging from the Ateliers Louis Moinet have been recognised for their avant-garde design and have clinched this prize for the sixth time in a row. Celebrating tomorrow's muses The MUSE Awards garner over 75,000 registrations in 108 countries. They pay tribute to outstanding talents that inspire others to reach for the highest summits. They were launched by the International Awards Associate (IAA), an acronym that also stands for Inspire, Advance, Achieve. The MUSE Awards are confered by a jury of more than 200 experienced professionals from around the world, who are looking for the next stars of industry. The MUSE design awards acknowledge innovative and inspiring creations that are bound to become tomorrow's references. The prizes are particularly important for the Asian community, which boasted many winners at the 2023 event, especially in the field of architectural design. Among the more remarkable creations are the Wanda Plaza complex in Beijing, the International Railway Exhibition and Trading Centre in Chengdu, and the large city park of Guangzhou. Other winners include the Neuron Pod at the Queen Mary University in London, which was noted for its avant-garde lighting system, as well as the Danish brand Grumdesign, which makes sleek and elegant furniture. These projects are witness to the diversity and excellence of design throughout the planet. Technology distilled The MEMORIS SPIRIT comes in an 18-carat rose gold case, with an exceptional diameter of 40.7 millimetres and fluid, tightly drawn curves. A large domed sapphire crystal was created from scratch as a display case for the unique mechanism, which is made up of over 300 components. Whats special about this engine is that it has been divided in two, with the automatic winding part at the back and the chronograph part at the front. This new, different, and indeed unique conception allows you to admire the measuring mechanism of each operation: start, stop, reset. Pressing the single push-button once is all it takes to launch a unique spectacle before your very eyes. The column wheel, with its basic toothing and precisely cut vertical columns, leads this performance. Memoris Spirit Louis Moinet Transcending watchmaking codes The MEMORIS SPIRIT boasts strong stylistic elements that are revealed by innovative technical solutions. First, there is the highly technical sapphire dome, which allows for the optimal arrangement of volumes inside. The openworked lugs perfectly emphasise the smooth integration of the bracelet. The single push-button is particularly ergonomic, as it facilitates the use of the chronograph. The crown support was designed with aerodynamic lines. The flange, with its double display, is ingeniously integrated under the sapphire crystal. As for the translucent counters, they were chosen to allow the complexity of the mechanism to be appreciated. The soul of a genius The marvelous magic of the chronograph appears on the dial side, where it is entirely visible. This exceptional achievement has now become iconic. The design of the MEMORIS SPIRIT fully respects Louis Moinet's heritage. It is inspired by the first chronograph in the world, built in 1816 by Louis Moinet himself (Guinness World Records). 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. Fairbanks, AK (99707) Today Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High 69F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low around 50F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. ADS ADS I have been playing with Chat GPT for a couple of months now and it excites me and scares me in equal measure. Not a week seems to go by without some scandalous AI tale hitting the news. Just this week, the New York Times published a story about a lawyer who relied on artificial intelligence to help prepare his court findings, only to find out that every case and quotation he cited in his brief turned out to be entirely fabricated by the AI bot. This got me thinking, what does Chat GPT know about watches? Is it providing the correct information, or is it making things up as it goes along? In true journalistic style, we decided to put it to the test to see how it fairs (answers have been shortened). Watch facts WorldTempus: What is the most expensive watch ever made? Chat GPT: Graff Hallucination at $55 million. WorldTempus: Which watch complication is the most complicated? Chat GPT: The Grande Sonnerie WorldTempus: What is the most challenging component of a watch to make? Chat GPT: The balance spring WorldTempus: What is a sweeping second? Chat GPT: Sweeping seconds refers to the smooth, uninterrupted movement of the seconds hand on a watch dial (instead of ticking once per second). Code by 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Grande Sonnerie Supersonnerie Audemars Piguet Watch lovers WorldTempus: Name five celebrities who are known for their love of watches? Chat GPT: John Mayer, Sylvester Stallone, Jay-Z, Kevin Hart and Ellen DeGeneres. WorldTempus: Which individual has contributed the most to the watch industry? Chat GPT: Abraham-Louis Breguet WorldTempus: Which living individual has contributed the most to the watch industry? Chat GPT: Jean-Claude Biver Fun facts WorldTempus: What is the most amazing rescue that has happened thanks to the Breitling Emergency? Chat GPT: One notable and well-documented rescue took place in January 2003 when two British helicopter pilots crashed into the freezing waters of the North Atlantic during a mission. After the crash, they activated the distress beacon on their Breitling Emergency watches, which emitted a signal that was picked up by satellites and rescue teams were quickly able to locate them. Breitling Emergency Breitling WorldTempus: What is the weirdest function offered by a smartwatch? Chat GPT: The ability to emit sounds or vibrations that are intended to repel mosquitos or insects. WorldTempus: What is the craziest watch ever made? Chat GPT: Determining the craziest watch ever made is subjection and can depend on personal opinions and individual tastes. However, one watch that often garners attention for its unique and crazy design is the MB&F HM6 Space Pirate. HM6 Space Pirate MB&F On the whole, Chat GPT seems to know its watch stuff. Maybe WorldTempus is one of its hidden sources! We were only able to catch it out on a couple of occasions. We will be keeping tabs on the AI bots progress as it gets smarter and smarter, although one thing has to be said, it isnt half as amusing as all of us at WorldTempus. To prove the point, this is the best joke it had to offer: Why was the watch so good at telling jokes? Because it had great timing! We have a better one: I cant believe you fired me from the watch manufacture. Especially after all the hours I put in! Special thanks go to Mario Peserico, CEO Eberhard & Co. for providing the inspiration for this story. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Isa Al-Shaiji, the newly elected chairman of BJA, affirmed that the Bahraini press and media community would strive to fulfil their responsibilities towards Bahrains comprehensive development process by safeguarding its achievements and progress. In a statement expressing gratitude to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Al-Shaiji emphasised the respect of the Bahraini press community for royal directives, focusing on credibility and accuracy to combat false news. He stated that the BJA remains committed to fostering a foundation for free and objective discourse, loyalty to the homeland, and protecting the right to knowledge. Al-Shaiji pledged BJAs full participation in the Kingdoms comprehensive development and safeguarding its achievements. Thanking His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Al-Shaiji asserted that the press and media community in the Kingdom takes pride in Prince Salmans constant follow-up. The BJA chairman noted that press and media institutions in the Kingdom draw inspiration from the innovative ideas, imaginative visions, and noteworthy actions of HRH Crown Prince and Prime Minister, enabling them to overcome challenges and contribute to national achievements. He affirmed that the media in Bahrain would continue to support HRHs efforts for more accomplishments and successes for the Kingdom. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Plans to establish a Bahraini diplomatic mission to Philippines came up during a meeting yesterday between top Bahraini and Philippine officials. The proposal was tabled during a meeting in the Kingdom attended by Antonio Morales, the Philippine Foreign Ministry Undersecretary for Administration. Morales said the Kingdom establishing a mission in the Republic will further boost the solid bilateral relations bonding the two countries. Attending the meeting from the Kingdom was Dr Mohammed Ali Behzad, the Foreign Ministry Undersecretary for Consular and Administrative Affairs, and other top officials. The meeting further discussed ways to enhance joint cooperation between the two ministries in administrative and consular affairs. The officials also discussed other issues of common concern. Reportedly, Bahrain is home to more than 49,000 Filipinos who are living and working in the Kingdom. On 27 November 2021, the Philippines and Bahrain celebrated 43 years of formal diplomatic relations. Japan, the United States and South Korea have agreed to upgrade their security relationship to enable real-time monitoring of missiles launched by North Korea. The countries will activate the new data-sharing mechanism by the end of the year. The trilateral agreement came during a one-hour meeting in Singapore on Saturday attended by Japanese Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup. The defense chiefs met on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue. A joint statement released after the talks says the three condemned North Korea's recent claimed space launch using ballistic missile technology, as it constitutes a "serious violation" of relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Pyongyang announced after the failed launch that it will conduct another launch soon. The joint statement says the defense chiefs renewed their mutual determination to respond firmly to the North Korean threat. The statement says the three "recognized trilateral efforts to activate a data sharing mechanism to exchange real-time missile warning data before the end of the year." They also agreed to "make further progress toward operationalizing the trilateral mechanism initially over the next few months." The three also committed to regularizing defensive exercises that contribute to strengthening their combined responses to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. The statement says the US reaffirmed its "steadfast alliance commitments" to Japan and South Korea, "backed by the full range of U.S. capabilities, including nuclear." In the 19th and early 20th century, women and children first was seen as a chivalric ideal. It was a moral code of conduct. The concept was celebrated as a long-standing practice a tradition, law of human nature and handed down in the race. Japan is leading the way in a crisis of population collapse. Japan had peak woman about 53 years ago in 1970. This was also about the time they had peak children. During Japans first postwar baby boom (194749), there were 2.5 million births a year. In the second baby boom (197174), there were 2 million annual births. Japan Could Be a Vulnerable Population by 2050 Japans population peaked in 2008. By the time Japans overall population peaked, the number of fertile women had fallen in half. The total fertility in 1974. The number of fertile women is dropping and the number of babies each is having is dropping. Japan is now at less than one-third of its peak baby years. Humanity is on the Path to Being Endangered A species is classified as endangered when its population has declined at least 70 percent and the cause of the decline is known. A species is also classified as endangered when its population has declined at least 50 percent and the cause of the decline is not known. I would argue that we do NOT have a clear understanding of the decline. Yes, we know women are choosing not to have children, but this is widespread to every moderately industrialized nation. Urbanization is also anti-baby and anti-family. Is technology, development and wealth fatal to an intelligent species? Some people are anti-human. They say less humans is good for the planet. In a healthy civilization such views would be outliers and at the fringe. The idea of overpopulation is wrong. The electrification of cars and trucks combined with mass solar and batteries will eliminate most fossil fuel usage. World food production has been increasing at 1.7% per year. There is 30% food wastage which countries like France reduce to 10% with simple policies. We can triple farm yields with high productivity seeds that have been tested in pilot fields already. Greenhouses can increase food production per acre by 10 times. China is completing 4 million hectares of greenhouses. Greenhouses also reduce water usage by 10 times. So all of the concerns about climate, energy and overpopulation are wrong. We can easily support 100 billion people on Earth in a very responsible way. We can also restore fish levels and reforest the planet. Fish levels are down because we killed 98% of the whales. This broke the iron cycle from deep water to the surface. Whales are not there to poop and create algae blooms to feed the fish. trillions of dollars to work on climate fixes. All of this money did not succeed in stopping the increase in annual emissions let alone sequester 100 years of emissions. The trees and algae have already been sequestering trillions of tons and we just need to increase it by 20%. Before human civilization Earth had about 5.6 trillion trees. Yes, there are cities in many areas and farms, but we can densify the cities and farms to use 10-30% less space. As a species, we have to get serious about saving the women and future children. We need to get serious about fixing the problems. The supposed big problems like climate change and electrifying transportation are all solvable. Is Apathy the Answer to the Fermi Paradox? The Fermi Paradox is why are there no widespread aliens all over the universe. We definitely do NOT know how to get human populations back to replacement or above. The best efforts of Japan and Europe spending hundreds of billions of dollars is to get fertility rates up about 20% for a decade or so. This is mostly pull forward births. The government pays the people and they have the baby they were already planning on five years earlier. If Japans population falls below 100 million by 2050 (which it will based upon current projections), then IF Japanese people were a species then they would be classified as vulnerable. Japans population could halve before 2100 which would make them endangered. Countries like South Korea that have a total fertility rate of 0.78 would end up with population dropping to 70-80% below current levels by 2100. This would put those countries into the critically endangered category. For Japan, to stabilize its population, they will need a baby boom for decade or two where they go to a total fertility rate of 2.5 to 3.0 and then hold 2.1 to 2.2 fertility rate. Europe had peak female 40 years ago and Europes overall population peaked about four years ago. There is about a 40 year lag from peak female and peak baby and peak population. Asia as whole may have hit peak female 12 years ago. The future Asian numbers are likely much worse than the UN projections. China has been at total fertility rate of 1.18 for the past three years which is 0.3 below UN population division expectations. India is also 0.2 TFR below expectations. The whole world could end up 500 million to 1 billion people below the mid UN forecast. The large errors on China and India could mean the world is already at below replacement rate of 2.1. The UN had been expecting to hold TFR 2.2 for a 2-4 decades. The whole world may have hit peak female 8 years ago. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW MILFORD New Milford was the scene of a crime last fall when filmmaking brothers Erik and Carson Bloomquist of Newington shot scenes around the town for their thriller "Founders Day." The film focuses on a murder mystery that surfaces in the midst of a heated mayoral election in a quaint New England town, according to the movie's IMDB page. The film was written by the Bloomquist brothers and directed by Erik Bloomquist. Through their filming company Mainframe Pictures, the Bloomquist brothers produce their films in Connecticut, including "Weekenders," "Night at the Eagle Inn" and "She Came from the Woods," which was released in August. Filming for "Founders Day" started in September and continued in the first three weeks of October, said Valerie Lorimer, chairperson of the New Milford Film Commission. Lorimer said the crew shot the film in a few places in town, including the Town Green, the John Pettibone Community Center, Bank Street, Bank Street Theater, New Milford Town Hall and at private residences. She said the crew also employed at least 50 local extras for the movies filming. Mike Boucher, a New Milford resident and highway foreman of the towns Department of Public Works, said he saw the request for film extras on Facebook and decided to apply. Its something thats always piqued my interest, so I figured Why not? Boucher said. Boucher said he was an extra in four or five scenes, acting as an audience member at a college speech, a festival attendee, a campaigner for a politician and an attendees at a Town Hall meeting that was filmed in the Paul E. Martin room of New Milford Town Hall. I knew a few of the other extras that I knew were local, Boucher said of his filming experience. We had a great time. We had a lot of long hours, but the director was incredible and the crew were all nice they were right there to talk to you if you needed anything. Lee Cragh of New Milford said he got involved with "Founders Day" by being a member of the New Milford Film Commission, though this wasnt his first filming experience. I just moved back here last March and within a couple of weeks, I was an extra in 'The Thursday Night Club' that was also filmed here, Cragh said. I found there was also a need for another member of the Film Commission and what better way to be in touch with people interested in making a movie here than by being on the film commission. Cragh said he was initially hired as a background extra for the film but on the third day, I was asked if I wanted to play a police officer in search of a killer. He said he was in a couple of different scenes for "Founders Day," including the scene of a Town Hall meeting; a scene filmed on Bank Street at night; and a scene filmed on the Lovers Leap Bridge where we were looking through the woods for the accused. Craghs girlfriend, Loretta Kretchko of New Milford, also had a hand in the films production by lending the crew her truck to shoot for scenes and her house on Aspetuck Avenue as a filming location. She said she got involved with the film through Cragh and her childhood friend, Lorimer. She was scouting for a location, Kretchko said of Lorimer, and the house is prominent in the center of town across from the historical society, and the crew saw the house and Valerie said, 'I happen to know who lives here.' Kretchko said she and Cragh watched the filming take place in their home from across the street. It was intriguing, she said. They gave us [Erik Bloomquists] monitor so we could actually see everything being filmed and how it would look on the big screen. "Founders Day" is in post-production, according to the IMDB website. In addition to "Founders Day," Lorimer said a few other films have been shot in New Milford over the past few months, including the holiday film Holly Jolly and the horror film Candlewood. I think this is a wonderful addition to our economic development, said Mayor Pete Bass, adding that New Milford has been used as a filming location for four films in the past year. We get the credits for New Milford where people can see our beautiful town and it continues to bring a shine to New Milford and add economic vitality, Bass said. For every dollar that they put in on the film, we get $4 of economic activity. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW YORK (AP) In his first week on the campaign trail as a presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis repeatedly hit his chief rival, Donald Trump, from the right. This is a different guy than 2015, 2016, DeSantis told a conservative radio host before slamming the bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation Trump championed as basically a jailbreak bill" that allowed dangerous people out of prison. He also accused Trump of turning the reins over" to Dr. Anthony Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Trump had endorsed and tried to ram" an amnesty" bill through Congress and vowed that unlike the former president he would finish building the U.S.-Mexico border wall. In Iowa on Saturday, he hit back at Trump for saying he didn't like the term woke because people have a hard time defining it. Woke is an existential threat to our society, DeSantis said. "To say its not a big deal, that just shows you dont understand what a lot of these issues are right now. Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly attacked DeSantis from the left. He has suggested that even anti-abortion activists consider Florida's new six-week abortion ban too harsh and argued that DeSantis has made himself unelectable on a national level with his votes as a congressman to cut Social Security and Medicare even though Trumps proposed budgets also repeatedly called for major entitlement cuts. The attacks underscore the underlying early dynamic of the race: As DeSantis tries to win over GOP primary voters and chip away at Trump's commanding early lead, Trump is already pivoting to a general election matchup against President Joe Biden. In the meantime, Trump has been pushing back against DeSantis' argument that the Florida governor, not the former president, is the more viable general election candidate. "Dont forget, we have to win elections, Trump stressed during a Fox News Channel town hall on Thursday as he discussed abortion politics. To be clear, Trump has also leaned in on other right-wing causes. This week, he revived his pledge to end birthright citizenship, saying he would sign an executive order on the first day of his second term to change the long-settled interpretation of the 14th Amendment. He also renewed his pledge to use the U.S. military to attack foreign drug cartels and has pushed the death penalty for drug dealers. But DeSantis' efforts to out-Trump Trump have raised eyebrows among some observers who question his tactics. I do not think its a smart strategy," said Sarah Longwell, an anti-Trump Republican political strategist whose firm has been leading weekly focus groups with GOP voters where DeSantis appeal has been fading. Longwell said she had expected DeSantis to tailor his pitch to the slice of the Republican electorate that wants to move on from Trump. You can't out-MAGA Trump, she said, referring to Trump's Make America Great Again" political movement. DeSantis, she argued, should be working to consolidate the Move on from Trump'-ers and move into the Maybe Trump'-ers, and instead hes tried to wrestle Trump for the Always Trump'-ers." DeSantis allies argue the governor has been responding to what they see as Trump's attacks from the left and highlighting his stances on issues they believe will resonate with Republican primary voters, particularly abortion and DeSantis' PR war with Disney. An official from Never Back Down, a pro-DeSantis super PAC handling much of his political operation, said DeSantis' strategy is being informed by what the group's canvassers have been picking up from voters in recent weeks. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss messaging strategy, said voters have voiced confusion about Trump's attacks and have responded especially well to portrayals of DeSantis as a fighter who refuses to back down. The group ran a digital ad this week highlighting Trump's comment on abortion that was geotargeted to areas Trump was visiting in Iowa. It is also exploring messaging that will accuse Trump of being too cozy with major corporations during his time in the White House. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung slammed DeSantis insinuations and accused him of ripping off Trump's ideas. Ron DeSantis has tried to steal every single one of President Trumps Agenda47 policy platforms. He is a fraudster and masquerading as someone who knows what hes talking about, he said. DeSantis, in his early campaign stops, has also tried to paint himself as a disciplined executive who will make good on his promises, implying Trump had not. When I tell you Im going to do something, I dont just say that because I think that may be what you want to hear, then get into office and forget all the promises I made, he said in Lexington, South Carolina. Longwell said her research had consistently found that on-the-fence voters are willing to put aside concerns about Trump's temperament because they feel he was so effective in office, raising questions about DeSantis' strategy. They dont like his mouth, they dont like his tweets, they don't like his character. But they like what he did as president, she said. Trump, meanwhile, has made clear he is looking toward next year's general election. In Grimes, Iowa, on Thursday, Trump received a pointed question from a woman who claimed that we have lost people because you supported the jab," a reference to conspiracies about mRNA vaccines, which have been credited with saving millions of lives. While Trump did not dismiss her suggestion and stressed that he was never in favor of mandates he explained that there's a big portion of the country that thinks that was a great thing, you understand that. Not a lot of the people in this room, but there is a big portion. During the Fox News town hall later that day, Trump said only stupid people could suggest they had done more than him on abortion given that he picked some of the conservative Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. But he also continued to criticize conservative Republican midterm candidates who did not support exceptions, including when the life of the mother is at risk, a position in line with the majority of voters. A recent memo to donors from Trump super PAC pollster Tony Fabrizio, first reported by Axios, made the case that DeSantis is vulnerable among swing state voters in a general election on issues including cuts to Social Security and Medicare, book bans in schools, Florida's ban on abortions at six weeks before most women know they are pregnant and his fight with Disney. Voters, meanwhile, have mixed views about the escalating feud. Heidi Lillibridge, a 51-year-old farmer and Republican activist from Vinton, Iowa, worries that Democrats will benefit from the two leading GOP candidates criticizing each other. She is particularly frustrated by DeSantis' early attacks. Criticizing President Trumps conservative credentials, when we all know how he acted as president and what he got accomplished, I dont really know why he would do that, she said. Darcy Cowart, who saw DeSantis speak outside a bar and restaurant in Bluffton, South Carolina, said that while she had previously backed Trump, she was glad to see a large field with other options. Hes not going to change, and he just has this bully mentality. He just wont give in on it," she said. I know he fights for us, and I know that he does some good things, but at the same time, its like having this obnoxious relative thats always got to be at the dinner table, that you dread being around." ___ Associated Press writers Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, and Meg Kinnard in Bluffton, S.C., contributed this report. ___ This story has been corrected to show the surname of the Trump spokesperson is Cheung, not Chueng. Dont hesitate to take advantage of the upcoming Eid Al-Adha holidays to see the country by rail, as the Egyptian National Railways will be increasing the number of passenger trains running some of the most popular routes. Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is government-in-waiting. Speaking on Saturday at a retreat organised for PDP lawmakers-elect, in Bauchi state, Atiku said the party members must remain hopeful while waiting for the resolution of the dispute at the presidential election petition tribunal. Atiku, who was PDPs flag bearer in the 2023 presidential election, was defeated by Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The former vice-president and the PDP are currently challenging Tinubus victory at the election petition tribunal. Youre representatives of the party and your constituents. Do not be tempted to abandon your party just because of temporary setback. In the end, the truth and good shall triumph over falsehood and evil, Atiku told the lawmakers-elect. Therefore, you must please remain resolute. Do not work in isolation from one another. Youre a team and should always work as a team in other to achieve meaningful results and also remain connected to your roots, your constituents and other stakeholders. Based on the results announced by INEC and pending the determination of the electoral challenges in the court, our members-elect are not the majority in the national assembly. So, for the time being, they have to prepare to work as an effective, constructive opposition while also preparing for a possible role as the majority party when the cases are resolved. Dont ever lose hope. The role of the opposition is to hold the government and majority party to account. And in doing so, you demonstrate that you and your party are ready to govern in the shortest possible time a government-in-waiting so to speak. DONT BE A RUBBER-STAMP Atiku asked the lawmakers-elect in the national assembly to oppose any attempt by the ruling party to make the legislature a rubber stamp. You should not be part of a rubber stamp legislative arm for those who might want to govern as dictators, he said. Our democracy must endure; you can and you should help to make that happen. As you know, the PDP remains the only true political party that is owned by its members rather than by one or a handful of godfathers. That no one member or group of members is bigger better or more important than the party in the PDP. Commenting on the state of affairs of the PDP, Abubakar said all members need to work in unity to rebuild the party. The work of rebuilding our party involves everyone, including our elected representatives. And it will involve unity of purpose. So, we must work hard in unifying our party. Lets not continue to fight yesterdays battle, Atiku said. The total amount of foreign airlines trapped funds in Nigeria has risen to $8.12.2m, according to the latest figure by the International Air Transport Association on Sunday. This is as the Switzerland-based trade association of world airlines sounded a warning about the rising levels of blocked funds, which represents a threat to airline connectivity in affected markets. According to IATA, the industrys blocked funds have shot up by 47% to $2.27 billion in April 2023, compared to $1.55 billion in April 2022. This situation means that airlines are increasingly unable to repatriate their commercial revenues from the affected markets, thereby making it challenging for them to continue providing the critical connectivity that drives economic activity and job creation worldwide. IATAs Director-General, Willie Walsh, reiterated the point and urged governments to collaborate with industry players to address this unfolding crisis. In his words, Airlines cannot continue to offer services in markets where they are unable to repatriate the revenues arising from their commercial activities in those markets. Governments need to work with industry to resolve this situation so airlines can continue to provide the connectivity that is vital to driving economic activity and job creation. Recent estimates by IATA reveal that the top five countries account for a whopping 68.0% of blocked funds, comprising Nigeria ($812.2 million), Bangladesh ($214.1 million), Algeria ($196.3 million), Pakistan ($188.2 million), and Lebanon ($141.2 million). Against this backdrop, IATA has called on governments to ensure compliance with international agreements and treaty obligations that enable airlines to repatriate the funds arising from the sale of tickets, cargo space, and other activities. Failure to do that might further jeopardize the stability, profitability, and continuity of the aviation industry. Airlines cannot continue to offer services in markets where they are unable to repatriate the revenues arising from their commercial activities in those markets. Governments need to work with industry to resolve this situation so airlines can continue to provide the connectivity that is vital to driving economic activity and job creation, said Willie Walsh, IATAs Director General. IATA urged governments to abide by international agreements and treaty obligations to enable airlines to repatriate these funds arising from the sale of tickets, cargo space, and other activities. The Kogi State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Usmam Ododo, unveiled a primary school teacher, Salifu Joel, on Sunday as his running mate for the Nov. 11 election. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Salifu Joel is the current chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and the treasurer of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Kogi State. Gov Yahaya Bello, who spoke at the event at the Government House, said that the choice of Joel, a class teacher and unionist, as the deputy governorship candidate of the APC, was borne out of the partys desire to carry everybody along in its quest for the development of the state. Gov Bello assured that he would leave no stone unturned to ensure that the APC wins the governorship election in the state. According to him: APC will follow and abide by all the existing electoral laws to win the November 11 election, moreso that my administration has performed creditably well in the areas of infrastructure provision, quality education, and healthcare delivery, among others. The governor claimed that his administration has shown competence, dedication, and commitment to the Kogi people in terms of performance and therefore is entitled to also ask for their votes in the next governorship election. Bello warned: In this dispensation, we wont tolerate any politics of bitterness nor condone any act of political violence because Kogi as a state is bigger than any personal interest. The states APC chairman, Abdullahi Bello, commended the selection of the running mate for the partys governorship candidate from a very critical section of society. The deputy governorship candidate in his response said: I am short of words for me as a classroom teacher to be nominated as the running mate and deputy governor to the APC guber candidate. Speaking further, Joel, who said he heartily accepted the position, assured that he will do all I can to ensure that our party becomes victorious in the forthcoming governorship election. In their goodwill messages, the National President of TUC, Audu Anaba, Gabriel Amari, and Edoka Onu, respectively present and past NLC chairmen, commended the emergence of a member of labour unions as Ododos running mate. They assured the governor of their total support and promised to mobilise votes for the Ododo/Joel ticket to ensure that the duo emerge as the next governor and deputy governor of Kogi State. Last Man Standing, the biopic on President Bola Tinubu, is scheduled to premiere in Lagos on June 12. In a statement on Saturday, Seun Oloketuyi, the executive producer of the Best of Nollywood (BON) Awards, said the development followed after the successful premiere of the movie in Abuja. Oloketuyi said Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, will host the movie premiere in the state alongside selected number of businessmen and politicians. The movie premiered in Abuja on May 26. At the event, Barau Jibrin, chairman of senate committee on appropriation, said Nigerians should be grateful to the producers for their efforts to document history for the youth. Jibrin said doing this would motivate and inspire a lot of politicians and young people. Last Man Standing was directed by Tunde Olaoye. The project features several movie stars including Lateef Adedimeji, Gbenga Adeyinka, Jide Kosoko, Madam Kofo, Shushu Abubakar, Segun Arinze, and Sam Olatunji. Adedimeji, who acted in the role of the president, had previously disclosed that he was scared to play the movie role. Asiwaju is not a mere politician, he is a stakeholder, a man with a lot going on around him, lots of controversies happening at the same time, he had said. This is somebody that is alive. Someone that can sit and watch you play him, and if you dont get it right he will say so eventually. It was a lot of work. Former Senate leader Mohammed Ali Ndume has called on the national leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to call off its planned strike, expected to commence on Wednesday. Ndume, in a statement issued on Sunday, urged the labour leaders to return to the negotiation table and sort out areas of disagreement with the federal government before opting for industrial action. The lawmaker called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to personally meet with labour leaders and assure them of the benefits of removing the subsidy. He said: This fuel subsidy removal is something we must do now or never. We need to open the wounds now and begin to heal them. The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, needs to work with the government to see how the effects can be minimised. If we dont remove the subsidy now, some people will continue to milk this country. NLC should go to the negotiation table with the federal government. The NLC should not go on strike before negotiations. They should not make that mistake. Besides, there is no budget for subsidy. Where will the money come from? Ndume then appealed to President Tinubu to personally meet with labour leaders and resolve the issues. He should also assure them that things will be all right, he added. NLC said it would embark on a nationwide protest starting next Wednesday if the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNCPL) refuses to reverse the new price regime in the oil sector. The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, disclosed this while addressing journalists on the resolutions of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Abuja on Friday. President Tinubu declared in his inaugural address at Eagle Square, Abuja, last Monday that there would no longer be a petroleum subsidy regime as it was not sustainable. Following the announcement, the NNPCL on Wednesday directed its outlets nationwide to sell fuel between N480 and N570 per litre, an almost 200 per cent increase from the initial price that was below N200. The Senate has indicted the Office of Accountant General of the Federation over failure to repay short-term loans given to Ministries, Departments, and Agencies from Special Funds Accounts totalling N910 billion. The lawmakers said they discovered this after a thorough investigation by the Senate Public Accounts Committee chaired by Senator Mathew Urhoghide following the submission of the 2017 Auditor General report. According to the query, loans, and debts arising from Special Funds Accounts totalling N910,039,557,742 showed that the balances remained unpaid throughout the year although the loans were meant to be short-term. But, the Office of the Accountant General in its response claimed that several letters had been written to the Minister of Finance to authorise the settlement of the loans granted against allocations of various MDAs affected. The AGF office added that it had requested the minister to include the repayment of the loan in the 2017 budget. The Urhoghide-led committee noted that there was a continuous abuse of the Special Funds by the Executive as the withdrawals were continually made for political expediency outside the purpose for which the funds were meant. The report read, There is continuous abuse of the Special Funds by Executive as the withdrawals are continually made for political expediency outside the purpose which the funds were meant. The Senate, therefore, ordered that all outstanding loans should be recovered by the Accountant General of the Federation and evidence of recovery presented to the Auditor General and Senate Public Accounts Committee within 60 days. The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Kogi State, Dino Melaye, has said Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State should support the partys presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in his push to reclaim his mandate. Melaye said Makinde should walk into the presidential election tribunal and support Atiku to show that the healing process has begun. Makinde, along with the G-5 governors led by ex-Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, had turned against Atiku during the last presidential election. While Makinde and Wike supported President Bola Tinubu, other members of the G-5 governors supported Peter Obi of the Labour Party. But Makinde, while speaking during a PDP retreat for elected officials in Bauchi State, said the party had been through a lot during the last election, hence it was time to heal. Speaking at the event, Melaye urged the Oyo State governor to back Atikus assertion that the electoral process was tainted, saying that the action will show that the healing has truly started. He said: I just want to start by appreciating the comment of Governor Seyi Makinde this morning, particularly where he said, healing starts now. And the way to start that healing is, I would be glad if between now, next week, and two weeks that well be at the tribunal, to see Governor Seyi Makinde walk into the tribunal venue and sit down, to support the party, our candidate. The political intrigues in the 10th National Assembly may have heightened, as a crucial meeting to interface between the presidency and the lawmakers-elect has been scheduled for today. The meeting may have also been prompted by disagreements among those interested in occupying presiding officer positions in the 10th Assembly. The meeting was earlier speculated to hold on Monday, but was rescheduled for Sunday (today), owing to the urgency of the matter at hand. Senators-elect and members-elect of the House of Representatives, including those from opposition parties, the Peoples Democratic Party PDP and Labour Party are expected to attend the highly important meeting. According to the organisers, the meeting is scheduled to kick-off at 7pm. at the State House, Abuja. It was gathered that the invitation to the meeting was signed by the Permanent Secretary of the State House, Tijanni Umar, on behalf of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila. Gbajabiamila, the outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives, was recently appointed as Tinubus Chief of Staff. The current ninth session of the National Assembly will end on June 11, while the 10th session will be inaugurated on June 13. In between these periods, a new leadership is expected to emerge through an election by the lawmakers. It is, therefore, not clear if the outgoing senators and members of the House will participate in the meeting, as the invitation does not indicate such. However, it is speculated that it is one of the ways the president is using to persuade the opposition lawmakers to support his nominees for the leadership of the two chambers. Pundits following political developments in Nigeria believe that Tinubu is reportedly backing former Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio and the current senator for Kano North, Barau Jibrin, for the positions of senate president and deputy senate president, respectively. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a counteroffensive against Russian forces was underway, while declining to give specifics on his troops' operations. The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, has described President Bola Tinubus government as temporary. Atiku made the remark while stressing that he would reclaim his alleged stolen mandate in court. He spoke during a PDP stakeholders meeting for elected officials of the party in Bauchi State on Saturday. PDP urged members of the National Assembly of the PDP not to be rubber stamp members of the National Assembly. According to Atiku: You are there to serve as a formidable opposition to this temporary administration. Based on the results announced by the INEC and pending the determination of electoral challenges in the court, our members-elect are not the majority in the National Assembly. So, for the time being, they have to prepare to work as an effective, constructive opposition while also preparing for possible roles of the majority party when the cases are resolved. A Government in-waiting, so to speak. A well-known Philadelphia restaurant brand has found a new home in a legendary Jersey Shore eatery. Green Eggs Cafe opened at Ocean Citys Chatterbox restaurant located at 901 Central Ave. on May 26. We will be open EVERY DAY from 8am-3pm serving over the top French Toasts, Benedicts and so many more of your favorite dishes found in our Philly stores! the business shared in a social media post. We hope to see you this season! Green Eggs Cafe opens from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the establishment, while the Chatterbox continues operations until 9 p.m. daily. Ocean Citys new brunch eatery offers breakfast, brunch and lunch eats, like steak and eggs, omelettes, French toast and breakfast burritos. The restaurants owners acquired the longstanding Chatterbox restaurant last year. After the acquisition, Green Eggs announced it had no plans to change the Chatterbox buildings iconic pink exterior and signage since the Jersey Shore staple is beloved by locals. The Chatterbox originally opened in 1937 and has become popular among locals and Ocean Citys summer season beach-goers. Its offerings include burgers, sandwiches, brunch, salads and wraps. Green Eggs debuted in South Philadelphia in 2010 and has grown to six locations five in Philadelphia and the new one in Ocean City. RELATED STORIES ABOUT RETAIL AND SHOPPING: N.J. eatery shutters abruptly after over 20 years of business N.J. Italian market and deli closes after 45 years International fashion retailer sets opening date for new N.J. store Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Christopher Burch can be reached at cburch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisBurch856. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tip The new Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex, Hudson Countys future home of 24 criminal, family and other courtrooms, will have some hidden features that could protect it and its occupants from a terrorist attack. If a bomb were to go off in the courthouse named after the former congressman and prolific philanthropist massive 700-foot-long steel trusses would prevent the building from collapsing. It has a very unique structure, said Liam McNamara, a senior associate at ODonnell & Naccarato, the Philadelphia-based firm leading the projects structural engineering. The trusses are more to protect the building globally from blast threats those framing members are enhanced. There is more than what would normally be designed because there is a blast force that is analyzed, McNamara added. The new courthouse will replace the Hudson County Administration Building at 595 Newark Ave. The company helped develop a pair of massive trusses, a structured system to support structures over a large space, that will protect the top floors of the new courthouse from a progressive collapse if an explosion was to take place. A progressive collapse is when a structural failure occurs, resulting in the entire building collapsing in response and that means that one small failure can lead to more and more progressing of that collapse. The idea in this structure is there are no continuous small steel columns or members that support those (upper) floors so that if you would lose something on the first or second floor or have a large collapse of those two floors that are around the column on the lower floors of the ground floor, the upper floors would remain standing, McNamara said. " At least, from a life safety standpoint until you can evacuate. It is about mitigating the reach of any impact so that you can maximize the protection of the occupants that are in there. This kind of collapse has been seen before after Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols placed a truck filled with explosives in front of a federal building in Oklahoma City in April 1995, and the Sept 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center towers in New York City. Both of these events resulted in a progressive collapse after the initial terror attack took place creating the structural failure. The Oklahoma City bombing, which led to the deaths of 168 people and injured hundreds more, was one of the worst domestic terrorist attacks prior to the 9/11 attack in New York, which led to the deaths of nearly 3,000 people. The decision to add these features was a result of conversations with officials, the architect team and the construction company when planning the design of the building. McNamara said it was the construction company that looked to them to consider the safety feature when designing the structure. There is a whole series of different blast events that the blast consultant reviewed from backpack bombs to truck bombs, McNamara said. It is all about where those points of interest can get to the building (The blast consultant) applies any threat that can get to that and they ensure that there is no failure under those loads. The courthouse, which will be located on the block formed by Newark Avenue, Central Avenue, Oakland Avenue and Route 139, is expected to be completed by late 2024. Mast Construction broke ground on the $317 million project in early 2021. The state-of-the-art facility will be a much-needed improvement on the current courthouse in terms of the flow of people and security. The countys most ambitious project in years comprises of a five-story building housing courtrooms and office space for administrators and the prosecutors office; a one-and-a-half story building housing the Surrogates Office and other functions that will be connected to the main building, but constructed separately; and a 471-space parking garage. Even in these highly polarized times, clean water should be a bipartisan issue. So should reducing the risk of flooding. Wetlands like bogs or swamps help on both fronts, acting as natures sponges, filtering our water with their plants and holding back millions of gallons of floodwater from our streets. All Americans should be up in arms, then, about the Supreme Courts recent decision to gut the Clean Water Act, a move so extreme that even Justice Brett Kavanaugh recognized that it defies logic, breaking with his conservative colleagues to side with the more liberal justices. In a 5-to-4 decision, Justice Samuel Alitos majority opinion narrowly interpreted the Act to find its protections dont apply to more than half of our nations 100 million acres of remaining wetlands, exposing them to pollution with no penalty along with the rivers, streams, lakes and ponds connected to them. Thats disastrous for our country, and were not immune from its effects in New Jersey. What we need now is for Congress to step in and make the intent of the law explicit, and for the Murphy administration to tighten up state regulations to ensure that were protecting our wetlands. Because even though New Jersey has strong rules, we still depend on this federal backstop. This is a full-frontal attack on the intent of the Clean Water Act, Doug OMalley, the director of Environment New Jersey, told us last week. And in a warming climate, he added, we are more dependent upon our state wetlands than ever before. What could have been a very narrow decision supporting an Idaho couple who didnt want to get a permit to build on a wetland instead became an opportunity for this court to fashion a new policy for the entire United States, stripping protections from a bipartisan measure that had been settled law for decades. The Alito opinion interpreted its protections to apply only to the wetlands that directly adjoin large bodies of water like rivers and lakes. This ignores science and basic common sense: Protecting our water supply means not just the wetlands that are touching the waters, but the wetlands that are nearby. Because when they fill up, the water flows across grass or prairie until it catches a stream so the idea that pollution upstream is not going to impact peoples water downstream violates gravity, says New Jersey environmentalist Jeff Tittel. Thats the part about it thats just so specious. Kavanaugh, writing for himself and the liberal justices, agreed the Idaho couple should prevail but said he would have ruled for them on narrower grounds this majority opinion has rewritten the Clean Water Act, he maintained, ignoring its text as well as 45 years of consistent agency practice. It will harm the federal governments ability to control water quality and flooding nationwide, he argued. Just one acre of wetland can store more than a million gallons of floodwater, so think about what it means when we allow a developer to fill that in then multiply that by tens of millions of acres to get a sense of the scope of this decision. It jeopardizes the neighborhoods and sources of clean drinking water of millions of people. And since rivers like the Delaware or the Ramapo flow into New Jersey from New York and Pennsylvania, we could see more flooding in our cities because of what happens in those states. Whether its rolling back decades of progress on womens rights or the environment, this is a rogue court that cares more about protecting special interests than the public interest, as Tittel says. And the fear now is that more rules that are fundamental bedrocks of environmental protection could be thrown out. Imagine if all these decisions had to go through Congress or a state legislature; wed be mired in gridlock. Thats why we have administrative agencies. Yet the court is attacking the Environmental Protection Agencys ability to do its job, curbing its authority to protect our air, and now our water. Whats next? Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. 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. In honor of the Creole Tomato Festival happening this weekend in the French Market, we remember a company founded in New Orleans that made tomatoes a key part of its multi-million dollar business. Progresso Foods is best known today for its line of canned and packaged soups and breadcrumbs. Now owned by General Mills, the company was founded in New Orleans by Sicilian immigrant Giuseppe Uddo. As a young boy in Sicily, he began selling olives and cheeses from a horse-drawn cart. Uddo opened a similar business in New Orleans soon after he and his wife, Eleanora Taormina, came here in 1907. Like many Italian immigrants, they settled in the French Quarter. Uddo began importing canned tomatoes, tomato paste, olives and other products from Sicily to sell on the streets of New Orleans. As his business grew, he opened a warehouse and small grocery in the French Quarter. In the 1920s, he merged the company with an import business established by his wifes family. It became the Uddo and Taormina Co. They later opened factories in California and New Jersey, expanded the import business to New York and introduced the Progresso brand name for their products sold nationwide. During World War II, with importing products from Europe difficult, Progresso began canning its products domestically. Following Uddos death in 1957, Progresso was sold to a Canadian company, Imperial Tobacco, in 1969. Subsequent owners have included the Ogden Corp., Pillsbury and, since 2001, General Mills. A kitten offered for adoption by Cat Haven plays with a toy at the Broadmoor Baptist Church Christmas parade tailgate. The nonprofit needs volunteers to foster cats and kittens. With the summer break in full swing, the Jefferson Parish public school system is moving forward with plans to demolish a half dozen campuses and sell the vacant land to developers. But among the properties up for grabs, none is more valuable than Haynes Academy for Advanced Studies in Old Metairie. Fronting the bustling corridor that is Metairie Road, the 8.3-acre property is expected to draw interest from developers nationwide for a simple reason: location, location, location. The neighborhoods surrounding the property are densely populated with households that have among the highest incomes in the New Orleans metropolitan area -- making it a draw for both commercial and residential development. According to Robert Hand, a broker at Louisiana Commercial Realty, the average income among households within a five-minute drive is $140,000. Egypts food industries exports increased by 3 percent year-on-year in the first two months of 2023 to register $665 million, up from $645 million, the Food Expert Council (FEC) said on Wednesday. The monthly report issued by the FEC revealed that January exports increased by about 8 percent, reaching $330 million, up from $306 million; while February's exports marked a 1 percent decrease, reaching $335 million compared to $339 million in 2022. Exports to "Arab countries" which represent 55 percent of total food exports declined by 5 percent to reach $368 million in the first two months of 2023. Topping the list of Arab countries importing food from Egypt, Saudi Arabias imports increased by 13 percent to reach $69 million. In the second place comes Libya whose imports from Egypt recorded $44 million with a growth rate of 35 percent. The EU was the second-largest importer of Egyptian food industry exports with imports valued at $123 million, representing 18 percent of total exports, and a growth rate of 38 percent. Italy and the Netherlands followed with imports valued at $22 million and $21 million, respectively, and growth rates of 101 percent and 46 percent. The exports to the US which represented 6 percent of total exports reached $38 million, thus recording a 10 percent increase compared to the same period. Sugar and glucose exports topped the list of the most important food commodities exported during January and February 2023, with a value of $51 million and a growth rate of 61 pecrent. Frozen strawberries followed with a value of $42 million and a growth rate of 47 percent, while processed chocolate came third with a value of $38 million and a growth rate of 23 percent. In 2022, Egypt's agricultural exports reached nearly 6.5 million tons for the first time ever, reaching a total value of about $3.3 billion, according to a statement announced by the Minister of Agriculture El-Sayed El-Quseir earlier this year. Search Keywords: Short link: China's defence minister warned Sunday against establishing NATO-like military alliances in the Asia-Pacific, saying they would plunge the region into a "whirlpool" of conflict. Li Shangfu's comments came a day after US and Chinese military vessels sailed close to each other in the flashpoint Taiwan Strait, an incident that provoked anger from both sides. "Attempts to push for NATO-like (alliances) in the Asia-Pacific is a way of kidnapping regional countries and exaggerating conflicts and confrontations," Li told a security conference in Singapore also attended by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Li warned that these alliances would "plunge the Asia-Pacific into a whirlpool of disputes and conflicts". Li's comments echoed long-held Chinese criticism of the United States' efforts to shore up alliances in the region and counter China's rise. The United States is a member of AUKUS, which groups it with Australia and Britain. Washington is also a member of the QUAD group, which includes Australia, India and Japan. "Today's Asia-Pacific needs open and inclusive cooperation, not buddying up into small cliques," Li said at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit. Li sought to paint the United States as the trigger of regional instability, and China as seeking to ease tensions. "It cannot be denied that if a fierce conflict or confrontation occurs between China and the United States, it would bring unbearable pain for the world," he said. Miscalculations On Saturday, Austin called for top-level defence talks with Beijing to prevent miscalculations. "The more that we talk, the more that we can avoid the misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to crisis or conflict," Austin said. Also on Saturday, the United States deployed a destroyer from its 7th Fleet along with a Canadian naval vessel through the Taiwan Strait. China responded by sending one of its naval ships close to the US destroyer, the USS Chung-Hoon, according to the Pentagon. The strait is one of the world's most tense potential military flashpoints. China claims Taiwan as its territory -- vowing to take it one day, by force if necessary -- and has in recent years ramped up military and political pressure on the island. Austin on Sunday described the incident as "extremely dangerous", saying the Chinese vessel crossed "probably 150 feet (46 metres)" in front of the Chung-Hoon. "I call upon the (Chinese) leadership to really do the right things to rein in that kind of conduct, because I think accidents can happen that could cause things to spiral out of control," Austin told reporters in Singapore. Saturday's Taiwan Strait encounter followed what the US military said was an "unnecessarily aggressive maneuver" by one of Beijing's fighter's near a US surveillance plane in the South China Sea last week. Li told the Singapore audience on Sunday that the onus was on the United States to pull its military presence away from areas near China. "Our Chinese military aircraft and warships won't ever go near the airspace and territorial waters of other countries to engage in so-called navigational hegemony," Li said. "The best thing would be if all countries, and especially their warplanes and warships, refrained from wandering through other country's territorial airspace and waters. What are you hanging around here for?" Austin and Li shook hands and spoke briefly at the Singapore event's opening dinner on Friday, but there was no substantive exchange. The United States had invited Li to meet with Austin on the sidelines of the conference, but China declined. A senior US defense official told journalists Sunday that the US had also offered lower level meetings but that China didn't respond. A member of China's delegation told AFP that the removal of US sanctions on Li was a precondition for talks. However, there have been some signs of improved dialogue between the two nations. CIA Director William Burns made a secret trip to China last month, a US official announced on Friday. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink will also travel to China on Sunday for a rare visit. In his speech in Singapore on Saturday, Lloyd outlined Washington's extensive partnerships in the region. "America's partnerships are bringing the region closer together to help keep it free, open, and secure," he said. Search Keywords: Short link: High-ranking intelligence officials from several countries convened on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting in Singapore this weekend, Reuters reported citing five sources. Such meetings are organised by the Singapore government and have been discreetly held at a separate venue alongside the security summit for several years, Reuters sources said. "The meetings have not been previously reported, the report said. High-ranking intelligence officials from the U.S. and China were, among other representatives, present at the meeting despite soaring tensions between the two superpowers. US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines -- the head of her country's intelligence community -- attended the meeting, Reuters reported. According to the report, "no Russian representative was present". "The meeting is an important fixture on the international shadow agenda. Given the range of countries involved, it is not a festival of tradecraft, but rather a way of promoting a deeper understanding of intentions and bottom lines, the report said, quoting one person with knowledge of the discussions. "There is an unspoken code among intelligence services that they can talk when more formal and open diplomacy is harder - it is a very important factor during times of tension, and the Singapore event helps promote that, it mentioned. All five sources who discussed the meetings declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, Reuters revealed, adding that the meetings have not been previously reported. Search Keywords: Short link: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) A top Twitter executive responsible for safety and content moderation has left the company, her departure coming soon after owner Elon Musk publicly complained about the platforms handling of posts about transgender topics. The departure pointed to a fresh wave of turmoil among key officials at Twitter since Musk took over last year. Ella Irwin, Twitter's head of trust and safety, confirmed her resignation in a pair of tweets late Friday. She did not say in the message why she was leaving, but her departure came shortly after Musk criticized Twitters handling of tweets about a conservative media company's documentary that questions transgender medical treatment for children and teens. Musk was responding to complaints by Jeremy Boreing, co-CEO of the media company, the Daily Wire. Boreing said in tweets and retweets of conservative commentators Thursday that Twitter was suppressing the movie by flagging posts about it as hate speech and keeping the movie off lists of trending topics. Boreing tweeted that Twitter canceled a deal to premiere What is a Woman? for free on the platform because of two instances of misgendering." Twitter rules prohibit intentionally referring to transgender individuals with the wrong gender or name. This was a mistake by many people at Twitter. It is definitely allowed," Musk tweeted back. Whether or not you agree with using someones preferred pronouns, not doing so is at most rude and certainly breaks no laws. Irwin tweeted Friday that one or two people noticed she left the company the day before, and she noted speculation about whether she was fired or quit. She teased that she would post 24 tweets to explain her departure. Then she posted that she was just kidding about the long narrative. In all seriousness, I did resign but this has been a once in a lifetime experience and Im so thankful to have worked with this amazing team of passionate, creative and hardworking people. Will be cheering you all and Twitter as you go! Next to Musk, Irwin had been the most prominent voice of the companys ever-changing content policies in recent months. Twitter has struggled to bring back advertisers turned off by Musks drastic changes and loosening of rules against hate speech since he bought Twitter for $44 billion in October. Twitter also has an incoming CEO, Linda Yaccarino, known for decades of media and advertising industry experience, but she hasnt started yet. Irwin and Twitter didnt respond to requests from The Associated Press for comment. Twitter has been in turmoil including mass layoffs and voluntary departures since the billionaire Tesla owner bought the San Francisco company and took it private. The companys head of trust and safety left shortly after the takeover, and turnover in the top ranks has continued. Last month, Twitter fired two more top managers. Elon Musk and Twitter: A timeline January 31: Musk begins building up his Twitter stake March 14: Musk's Twitter stake tops 5% March 24: Asking whether Twitter should change March 26: Musk reaches out to Jack Dorsey April 3: Twitter leadership meets to discuss Musk April 4: Surprise! Musk becomes Twitter's largest shareholder April 5: Musk agrees to join the board April 10: Just kidding. Musk ditches the board April 14: Musk offers to buy Twitter and 'unlock' its potential April 15: The poison pill April 21: Musk lines up $46.5 billion in financing April 25: Twitter agrees to sell itself to Elon Musk April 29: Musk cashes out billions in Tesla stock May 4: With a little help from his billionaire friends May 10: Musk says he would reinstate Trump's account May 6: Musk's lofty goals for Twitter, revealed May 12: A partial hiring freeze and executive departures May 13: Twitter deal 'temporarily on hold' May 14: Oops. NDA problems? May 16: Poop emoji May 17: Musk says Twitter deal 'cannot move forward.' Twitter disagrees Seven K-9 conservation teams have graduated from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Law Enforcement's nine-week K-9 Resource Protection program. The May 25 ceremony was on the south lawn of the Indiana Statehouse and included teams from Indiana, Kansas, Oregon and Utah. Since 1997, the program has trained K-9 teams in human-tracking, wildlife detection and article searches, Capt. Jet Quillen of DNR Law Enforcement said. All canines are trained to locate white-tailed deer, waterfowl, wild turkey and ginseng. Teams also may be trained to locate other species depending on where the handler is stationed. "Indiana teams excel in man-tracking and locating firearms," Quillen said. The dogs typically start training at 12 to 18 months of age. In its first year, the program trained two teams as a pilot. Now 13 units are in operation, at least one team in each of the 10 districts. Indiana has also helped train programs in Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Oregon, Utah and Virginia, according to DNR Law Enforcement's website. Training help recently expanded to Zambia in southern Africa. "Last year was the first year with out-of-country participants for the school," Quillen said. "But we have had out-of-state participants for approximately 10 years." K-9 conservation officers aim to protect endangered species, preserve the safety of public lands, and assist in search and rescue. The teams help stop poaching, usually by locating hidden game and guns or shell casings from spotlighting cases. Also known as "jacklighting," "spotlighting" cases occur when someone drives around casting a light from their vehicle with a spotlight looking for deer in fields, Quillen said. This activity is illegal if the person is in possession on any type of firearm or archery equipment. A notable case occurred in July 2021, according to the DNR. Indiana Conservation Officer Matt Tholen was off duty when he received a call at 3 a.m. to assist other agencies in searching for an elderly man with dementia who had been missing for several hours in northern Indiana. Tholen roused his K-9 partner, Drake, and they headed to the scene. Within 45 minutes they tracked to the man sleeping in a creek bed nearly a mile away. EAST CHICAGO A major investment in life-saving cardiac care at St. Catherine Hospital is being hailed as a victory for East Chicago. The long-standing hospital in the Indiana Harbor neighborhood landed a $1.5 million federal grant from the Health Resources & Services Administration to improve health care access for people who are medically vulnerable or underinsured. U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan helped line up the money and helped announce the investment. "Today is a victory for the residents of East Chicago because it's access to health care," he said. "I was born at St. Catherine Hospital. My grandparents were taken here. My mom and dad were cared for here. My sister was a candy striper here and went on to become a nurse practitioner for Northwestern. This was and still is an anchor for the community." East Chicago leaders were concerned about the hospital's future after Franciscan Health decided to close the similarly aged former St. Margaret Hospital in neighboring Hammond, Northwest Indiana's most populous city. "They wanted to make sure the safety-net hospital continued," he said. "What today is about is assuring the city of East Chicago and every resident that St. Catherine is thriving and investing in new technology that gives them access to care equal to anywhere around the world. This is an investment in East Chicago itself, and it allows the residents to understand they have access to quality care here in the city." When Mrvan was North Township trustee, he often heard complaints from residents that they didn't have access to care. "This is a safety-net hospital. That means it takes care of the most vulnerable populations," he said. "This technology is the gold standard for Northwest Indiana. It's the same technology you would have in the city of Chicago, but it's right here in East Chicago. The hospital is working to provide world-class health care. As a congressman, I will listen to your concerns and try to provide access to health care, the best technology and the best for East Chicago." St. Catherine CEO Leo Correa said the hospital continues to provide advanced technology to East Chicago and surrounding communities. "St. Catherine Hospital is committed to ensuring that our community has state-of-the-art cardiac care close to home," Correa said. "It's a well-known fact that in the 1960s, St. Catherine Hospital became the choice facility in the Chicagoland area for the treatment of heart disease, performing the first open-heart surgery in Northwest Indiana. And today, we continue to invest in cardiac care and treating heart disease." The hospital will install an Azurion 7 C20 Catalyst table, an image-guided therapy system that provides high-quality images with low doses of X-rays. Philips Healthcare is installing the new technology in its cath lab, which is undergoing a multiphase modernization project. It will allow for precision diagnosis and treatment for patients. The new technology can capture uncommon angiography views, provide real-time 3-D impressions for complex vascular interventions and better visualize stent and balloon placement in coronary arteries. "Our patients and clinicians benefit from the fast procedure times, reduced radiation exposure and superior image quality of this new technology," said Mary Miller, director of Cardiovascular Services. St. Catherine Hospital has long placed an emphasis on cardiac care while serving the community for nearly a century, Correa said. "During that time, we built a reputation for providing unparalleled cardiac care," he said. "That did not happen by chance. That's the result of an intentional investment in top health care providers and resources. "We have fortified a culture of excellence in cardiac care by continuing to invest in skilled specialists and technologies to diagnose and treat heart disease. St. Catherine, along with our fellow hospitals in Community Healthcare System, Community Hospital in Munster and St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart, operates one of the largest and most advanced cardiovascular programs in Northwest Indiana. Our hospitals are certified chest-pain centers that are fully accredited by the Joint Commission or the American College of Cardiology. "Every day, highly skilled cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, electrophysiologic and cardiac support staff walk through our doors and use their expertise to treat patients who put their trust in us." GARY Four state lawmakers representing northern Lake County are planning a public forum to update their constituents on the work of the Indiana General Assembly. The free event is set for 6 p.m. Thursday in the Savannah Center's Bergland Auditorium at Indiana University Northwest, 3400 Broadway. In addition to hearing from the elected officials on the state's annual legislative session, which adjourned April 28, residents are invited to share their opinions about the new laws approved at the Statehouse and their ideas for action by the 2024 General Assembly. "I hope you can attend the public town hall I am hosting with other area legislators to learn more about new laws passed during the 2023 legislative session that will affect our daily lives," said Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, the event organizer. Also participating will be Reps. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago, and Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary; and Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary, the party's 2023 nominee for Gary mayor. Meet the 2023 Northwest Indiana legislative delegation State Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond State Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago State Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary State Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso State Rep. Pat Boy, D-Michigan City State Rep. Chuck Moseley, D-Portage State Rep. Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron State Rep. Mike Andrade, D-Munster State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary State Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville State Rep. Kendell Culp, R-Rensselaer State Rep. Julie Olthoff, R-Crown Point State Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie State Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland State Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago State Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary State Sen. Rodney Pol Jr., D-Chesterton State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso State Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell State Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores HIGHLAND Tina Moreno, Sylvia Galvan and Pamela Newson are members of a group that no parent wants to be recruited for. The three mothers have lost children to gun violence, which is triggering a deadly domino effect for millions of families across the U.S. It was a pain I never experienced before, Newson said. A pain you cant even describe. Newsons son, Iyuan Yarbrought, was killed March 31, 2016, in a drive-by shooting in Hammond. Each year more than 43,000 Americans die from gun violence and 76,000 are wounded by firearms, according to Wear Orange. The organization began June 2, 2015, in memory of Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot and killed in Chicago in 2013. Pendletons friends commemorated her life by wearing orange, the color hunters wear in the woods as a way to protect themselves and others. On Friday morning, Wicker Park was filled with demonstrators wearing orange shirts for the first 24-hour End Gun Violence Walk hosted by Circle of Love. The walk, which concluded Saturday morning, was designed to heighten awareness for Northwest Indiana residents. Gun violence is getting out of hand, said Moreno, co-founder of the local group. Its out of control and its been like this for a while. Morenos son, Kyle Isaiah Baldwin, was killed April 15, 2019. The 28-year-old was her firstborn child and her only son. Moreno became emotional looking at her sons picture while wearing a T-shirt that says End gun violence on the front and Kyle Forever 28 on the back. Every day is not a good day for us, she said. Its tough. Its different knowing he has to be a statistic to gun violence. Many participants wore similar orange T-shirts, with the backs personalized to honor gun-violence victims and their age when they were killed. The 24-hour span signifies that gun violence can occur at any time of the day. The death of Newson's son was tragic, she said. The grieving Gary mother turned her pain into purpose by establishing Healing Hearts, a support group for families who have lost a child. Newson referred to her son as selfless, musically inclined and the life of a party. Circle of Love was founded in 2022 to benefit families who have been affected by gun violence. The group provides assistance to families who dont know where to turn for resources, counseling or support when their loved one is killed. That day plays over in my head every day, said Galvan, founder of the group. When I was first told, I remember we were let into a waiting room, but we didnt know what to do from there. Galvan's son, Thaddeus Rodriguez, was killed Jan. 25, 2016, in East Chicago. He was 25. Its hard for us as parents when this first happens to get help, she said. Were here for everyone. We want to let parents know were here. Members assist families by posting fliers, organizing vigils and attending court dates with them. Circle of Love also works as a conduit between families, law enforcement and the Lake County Prosecutor's Office. Circle of Love partnered with "Case Files Chicago" and Lock It Down to distribute free gun locks to attendees who own a firearm. Lisette Guillen, executive producer of "Case Files," said it's important to give out gun locks because so many people have guns in their homes. "We're seeing too many of the little ones getting their hands on guns," she said. "Those aren't accidents. That's negligence." Moreno, who lives in Portage, is grateful to be part of Circle of Love and to help host its first walk. Like the other mothers, she did it to honor the loss of her son and other families who have experienced the same pain. Its OK to see mothers and fathers cry because members of the group understand what theyre experiencing, she said. We have a connection not everyone has. We have a group of new friends. Its the type of group you dont want to be in, but we made it work for us. Circle of Love 24-hour 'End Gun Violence Walk' Circle of Love founders National Gun Violence Awareness Day Sylvia Galvan and Matthew Galvan Prayer Circle National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims 'Jr. Forever 25' Parents Of Murdered Children, Inc. Lock It Down Safe Kids Worldwide Circle of Love MADD Indiana The Moke Agency is marking 50 years selling real estate in Northwest Indiana. The real estate brokerage in Crown Point was originally started in 1973 by Clarence Corky Moke Jr. in Garys Glen Park neighborhood. Crown Point Mayor Pete Land, Crossroads Chamber of Commerce representatives, former brokers, lenders, home inspectors, title company officials and others in the real estate industry were on hand for a recent half-century anniversary celebration at the agencys office just north of downtown Crown Point. The real estate firm has moved over the years and operated at its current location at 617 N. Main St. in Crown Point since 2002. In 2018, the Moke Agency became affiliated with Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, a franchisor with more than 370 offices in more than 40 states. Still a family-owned small business, The Moke Agency is now led by founder Clarence Mokes son, Joe Moke. We are extremely grateful for the support our community has offered our business throughout the years, said Moke, the companys broker and owner. Its an honor to serve this remarkable community, and we thank everyone who joined us for our 50th anniversary celebration. We look forward to many more years of giving back to the great people of Northwest Indiana. The firm represents home sellers and buyers and also deals in investment properties, vacant land and commercial buildings. Jump to: Tricky Clues | Todays Theme SUNDAY PUZZLE Rafael Musa of San Francisco is a software engineer at Airbnb. This is his third crossword for The New York Times; his second construction was also on a Sunday, a three-way collaboration that came out on Jan. 1. The idea for todays grid came from a giant 57-/58-Across at the intersection of Castro and Market Streets in San Francisco. I was stuck at a light, looking at it, and thought, Could this be a crossword puzzle? Turns out, yes, it can! he said, adding, This one is very special to me as its running 10 years, almost to the day, after I came out for the first time. Todays Theme There are six pairs of theme entries in this puzzle; each pair appears on the same row in the grid, at 17-/18-, 33-/37-, 48-/51-, 73-/76-, 93-/95- and 108-/111-Across. On each row, one entry appears with a colorful overlay that figures in solving both clues. Those colors appear in a logical sequence that is explained by a revealer that also comprises the entries at 57- and 58-Across; the revealer plays off the puzzles title, Flying Colors, and is guessable once you recognize the color pattern (which some may have seen in the blank grid!). Take 33- and 37-Across, the first pair I solved (and probably my favorite). I solved 37-Across first: Olympics no-nos are STEROIDS. This word appears in orange-tinted boxes in the grid, but why? 33-Across holds the key: Screwdriver component or a description of 37-Across? solves to ORANGE JUICE, using slang for performance enhancers. 93- and 95-Across make for another good example. 93-Across, Double-breasted outerwear, refers to garments rooted in naval history, PEACOATS. This entry is overlaid with an attractive shade of blue, which made me think that navy would come into play in its corresponding entry on the same row, but I was wrong. 95-Across, N.H.L. team from Ohio or a description of 93-Across?, solves to BLUEJACKETS. (I did wonder for a moment if the BLUEJACKETS in question might be PEACOATS, but Ohio lacks a coastline, and the teams name comes from the states contributions to the Union side of the Civil War.) On a Thursday evening in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, about 250 Muslims gathered in a halal Italian restaurant for a singles dating event. Some of them shied away from cameras, citing privacy concerns, while others said they were afraid of appearing desperate. The event was hosted by Muzz, a Muslim dating app based in London, with eight million users worldwide, according to the company. Prayer mats were set up in an outdoor dining tent for Maghreb, the fourth of five daily prayers for Muslims. Inside the restaurant, tables and chairs were cleared to make space for the mingling guests, and platters of hummus, chicken kebab wraps and Mediterranean salad were being served. Topics of conversation included halal Thai food in New York (Top Thai we should go check it out, one person said to another) and the difficulty of meeting new people while working remotely. Why It Matters: Small donors help sustain a campaign and show grass-roots support. How a campaign raises money matters. Because of strict campaign contribution limits of $3,300 per person for the primary, campaigns that raise money chiefly from bigger contributors cannot return to those same donors again and again for support. Small contributors are particularly valuable because they can give $30 more than 100 times before bumping up against contribution caps. Tim Tagaris, a Democratic digital strategist who oversaw the Sanders fund-raising operation in 2020, called the number of DeSantis donors surprisingly small. Mr. Tagaris said that 40,000 donations in a week for a leading presidential campaign is either a sign that they didnt prepare well enough heading into the launch or there isnt the kind of grass-roots support from regular people they had probably hoped for. He added, Thats a donor number you expect from top-tier Senate campaigns, not a leading presidential. But Eric Wilson, who has worked as a Republican digital strategist, called the number of donors a good start for a candidate who had not previously sought federal office. That is what someone needs to take on Trump, because he obviously had one of the best donor files, said Mr. Wilson, who is now the director of the Center for Campaign Innovation, a conservative nonprofit. One previous presidential candidate with a similar starting number of total donors was Kamala Harris, who had 38,000 in her first day in 2019. She raised $1.5 million that day which indicates just how many bigger checks Mr. DeSantis received. Mr. Wilson cautioned against comparing Republican and Democratic campaigns because Republican donors are more than a decade behind on building an online grass-roots donor culture. The DeSantis campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In Context: DeSantiss haul is impressive, but worth watching. The $8.2 million opening total that Mr. DeSantis has claimed remains impressive. It exceeded the Sanders figure and broke the kickoff record set by President Biden in his 2020 campaign. It is not clear what portion of the $8.2 million is from funds earmarked for the general election. The campaign has said it was collecting up to $3,300 in general election contributions, which Mr. DeSantis cant spend during the primary and would have to return if he doesnt win the nomination. Overall, money is expected to be a DeSantis strength, especially because his allied super PAC has said it expects to have at least a $200 million budget. But online funds have become increasingly scarce for Republicans since last summer, including for Mr. Trump until his recent indictment at least temporarily turbocharged his fund-raising. Whats Next: The money primary begins. The 40,000 donors that Mr. DeSantis had in his first week also happens to be the threshold that the Republican National Committee just set for candidates to qualify for the first debate stage. That figure was never expected to be a problem for Mr. DeSantis. But the fact that the candidate polling second to former President Donald J. Trump in almost every poll hit that mark during his kickoff week is a sign of just how onerous that figure is likely to be for smaller campaigns. The DeSantis team made no secret that it was soliciting big money to coincide with his kickoff. The campaign had gathered major donors at the Four Seasons in Miami for an event they called Ron-O-Rama. Officials in the DeSantis administration were also soliciting donations from Florida lobbyists, which gave some the impression that the governors office was tracking their donations at a time when the state budget and Mr. DeSantiss veto pen hung in the balance. Traffic in the Suez Canal has returned to normal after tugboats managed to tow away the Malta-flagged SEAVIGOUR oil tanker that broke down in the canal on Sunday, disrupting traffic in one of the busiest maritime trade routes. Egypts Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said the canals tugboats towed the 274-metre-long, 48-metre-wide tanker that broke down at the 12 km mark of the canal to the 17 km mark, allowing ships in both directions to pass. The ship, which has a gross tonnage of 82,000 tons, will resume its trip from Russia to China after its crew fixes the malfunction, the SCA added. The tanker broke down in a single-lane part of the canal, disrupting the transit of eight other southbound vessels that were behind it in the convoy, the Associated Press cited Chairman of the SCA Osama Rabie as saying. The SCA also said that northbound ships were temporarily halted at the Great Bitter Lake region until the tanker was towed away. The authority possesses the necessary rescue expertise and navigational and technical capabilities to deal professionally with such emergency situations, Rabie stressed. Over the past few years, the Suez Canal has managed to refloat ships that went aground or malfunctioned in the canal, typically in a short time after the incident. On 25 May, the SCA towed Xin Hai Tong 23, a Hong-Kong general cargo vessel, after it suffered an engine failure. The authority also refloated the Liberia-flagged MSC-ISTANBUL cargo vessel on 5 March after it went aground at the 78 km point of the Suez Canal. The canal authority started major development work in the waterway after the mammoth Panama-flagged Ever Given ran aground on a single-lane part of the canal in March 2021. The incident disrupted passage through the waterway, through which around 10 percent of world trade flows, for almost a week. As part of the development work, Egypt has been working to widen and deepen parts of the international waterway, including the part that witnessed the Ever Given crisis. The work is set to conclude this July, Rabie said last year. Also, the parliament approved in December the establishment of a Suez Canal fund that aims to help the SCA deal with emergencies, absorb external shocks and enhance its contribution to the national economy, according to Rabie. Egypts Suez Canal revenues hit a record of $8 billion in 2022, up from $6.3 billion in 2021, according to data released by the SCA. Today, 60 ships have crossed the canal on both directions despite the incident with a total net tonnage of 3.5 million tons, the SCA said. Search Keywords: Short link: After years of ignored pleas and stonewalled requests, deals were finally coming together to return some of Africas most prized treasures to the continent. The Smithsonian Institution, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the German government announced they were returning scores of sculptures, plaques and ornaments, known as the Benin Bronzes, that British soldiers had plundered in 1897 from Benin City, in what is now Nigeria but was once the center of a kingdom. Plans were underway for a glittering new museum designed by the British Ghanaian architect David Adjaye to showcase and protect the returned treasures. But that plan has run aground since Nigerias outgoing president announced he had transferred ownership of the looted items to a direct descendant of the ruler they had been stolen from. At a moment when museums worldwide are trying to come to grips with contested artifacts in their collections, this development underscores how complex restitution efforts can be. The confusion began in March, when President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, who left office on Monday, issued a declaration handing over the artifacts which include decorated brass plaques, carved ivory statues and ceremonial masks to Ewuare II, the current oba, or ceremonial king, of Benin. It decreed that any returned artifacts may be kept within the palace of the oba, or in any location that he considers secure. A company that developed a blood test that detects dozens of types of cancer has acknowledged that about 400 of its customers were mistakenly told last month that they might have the disease. The company, Grail, said in an emailed statement on Sunday that a vendor it works with had sent hundreds of letters with incorrect test results because of a software configuration issue that has since been resolved. The letters went to customers who had recently purchased Grails Galleri test, which uses a blood draw to detect a cancer signal shared by 50 types of cancer and is available only by prescription. The problem was not caused by inaccurate test results, Grail said. More than half of the people who received the letter in error had not yet had their blood drawn for the test, the company said. Chuck Todd said on Sunday that he was stepping down from NBCs Meet the Press after nine years in the moderators chair and would be succeeded by the networks chief White House correspondent, Kristen Welker. In remarks at the conclusion of the show on Sunday, Mr. Todd, 51, said he was conscious that many leaders overstay their welcome and that hed rather leave a little bit too soon than stay a tad too long. Ive let work consume me for nearly 30 years, Mr. Todd said, according to a copy of his prepared remarks. I cant remember the last time I didnt wake up before 5 or 6 a.m., and as Ive watched too many friends and family let work consume them before it was too late, I promised my family I wouldnt do that. Mr. Todd, a longtime political journalist in Washington, started as moderator of Meet the Press in 2014. He has recently interviewed newsmakers including former Vice President Mike Pence, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Republican presidential aspirant Vivek Ramaswamy and Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the House minority leader. The group of major oil-producing countries known as OPEC Plus agreed on Sunday to embark on a complex effort to adjust production as it aimed to halt the recent slide in oil prices, including an additional cut in output of one million barrels a day by Saudi Arabia. The Saudi cut would be for one month beginning in July, but could be extended. The group, which includes Russia and its allies, was under pressure to produce a deal to reverse the pessimism that has dominated the oil market in recent weeks. Despite two substantial output cuts since October, the price of oil has drifted about 15 percent lower over the past seven months. The agreement, the result of lengthy negotiations on Saturday and Sunday, reworks the output quotas of several countries, with the United Arab Emirates gaining and some others losing production levels. This is definitely not a clean and simple deal, said Richard Bronze, head of geopolitics at Energy Aspects, a research firm. The agreement includes a voluntary cut of 500,000 barrels a day that Moscow announced in February. Comments at the news conference after the meeting revealed skepticism that Russia was abiding by those lower production levels. High Russian production levels, and its increased share of Asian markets including India, often at the expense of Middle East oil producers, have become a sensitive issue in the group. It was a glorious day for field work on the shores of the Delaware Bay. The late afternoon sun cast a warm glow over the gently sloping beach. The receding tide revealed a smattering of shells. The dune grasses rustled in the breeze. The beach vines were in bloom. And the bird droppings were fresh and plentiful. Heres one, said Pamela McKenzie, a researcher at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital in Memphis, pointing a gloved finger at one tiny white splotch and then another. Theres one, theres one, theres one. For the next two hours, Dr. McKenzie and her colleagues crept along the shore, scooping up avian excrement. Their goal: to stay a step ahead of bird flu, a group of avian-adapted viruses that experts have long worried could evolve to spread easily among humans and potentially set off the next pandemic. Every spring, this part of southern New Jersey becomes a bird-flu hot spot. Shorebirds winging their way north alight on local beaches to rest and refuel, excreting virus along the way. And every year for the last four decades, scientists from St. Jude have flown into town to pick up after them. It had been a quiet April afternoon until about a dozen teenagers began running up Pitkin Avenue in Brownsville, yelling and cursing. They were chasing a girl of about 14 and it was clear they wanted a fight. Five plainclothes police officers watched warily. Across Pitkin stood about half a dozen men, civilians in jeans and purple-and-gray sweatshirts. They got it, an officer said. The teenagers slowed as they spotted the men, workers from an organization called Brownsville In Violence Out, who calmly waved them in different directions. They scattered as the girl fled down a side street. The brief encounter encapsulated a simple yet unorthodox concept that is at the heart of a bold experiment organizers believe could redefine law enforcement in New York: letting neighbors, not the police, respond to low-level street crime. Peter Simonischek, an eminent Austrian theater actor who found international fame as the shambolic prankster and adoring father in Maren Ades Oscar-nominated 2016 German film Toni Erdmann, died on May 29 at his home in Vienna. He was 76. The cause was lung cancer, his wife, Brigitte Karner, said. Mr. Simonischek was a member of the Burgtheater, the venerable Viennese institution otherwise known as the Burg, one of the oldest and largest ensemble theaters in the world. He was one of the last great stars of Austria, said Simon Stone, the Australian director who is based in Vienna and cast Mr. Simonischek in his 2021 play, Komplizen, at the Burg. Mr. Simonischek, he said, was a beloved public figure, recognized by taxi drivers and passers-by in the streets of Vienna, where he was more of a celebrity than most film stars. He was certainly easy to spot: a handsome, shaggy-haired bear of a man who used his physical heft to marvelous effect. Still, he might recognize the disdain for facts so common today. Long before the word tweet was associated with anything other than birds, Einsteins career was nearly derailed by an early form of the disinformation now ubiquitous on social media. In 1920, skeptical scientists who deemed Einstein a crackpot, and his theory of relativity nonsense, joined forces. Their critiques were often laced with antisemitism. In that era, propaganda spread relatively slowly one person passing it along to a friend who, in turn, would forward it to someone else, with circulation often limited by geography or language. Einstein was annoyed by the whole endeavor. Curious about the campaign, he went to an anti-relativity event at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall where he saw that anti-Einstein pamphlets were being handed out. Nobody knew it was him. He thought that these people were actually not very dangerous because theyre so silly and so poorly informed, said Matthew Stanley, a historian of science and the philosophy of science at New York University and the author of a book on the fight against the theory of relativity. He thought its all faintly ridiculous. By 1933, when the Nazis took power in Germany, two strains of falsehoods smeared Einstein far more publicly, and widely: One asserted (incorrectly) that his relativity theory was outright wrong, a threat, as Mr. Stanley put it, to the very foundations of human knowledge. The other doubled down on the antisemitism he had experienced early on; this whisper campaign accused Einstein of having stolen the idea from non-Jewish German and Austrian scientists. Like other prominent Jews, Einstein was targeted as an enemy of the state, and a bounty was rumored to have been placed on his head. But by then he wasnt in Germany, having left to spend time at Caltech in December 1932. Though he returned to Europe in 1933, he left the continent entirely in October 1933. Einstein received a welcome reception whenever he arrived on the shores of New York City. Carolyn Abraham, author of Possessing Genius, a book about the fate of Einsteins brain, writes that reporters would be in such a rush to board his ship whenever it docked in the United States that some fell into the harbor. For the final two decades of his life, he was one of the most widely respected public figures in the world. Time magazine named him Person of the Century in 1999. Consensus around central figures like that of an intellectual genius has withered since Einsteins death. No longer do we gather around the television in the evening to watch Walter Cronkite deliver the news, nor do all new parents have a copy of Dr. Spocks baby manual on their bedside tables; today we are drawn to echo chambers where news is bifurcated and TikTok influencers give us health advice. These days you might find skeptics of the sort Einstein first encountered congregating in the same Facebook group, or on Twitter but now instead of one lowly local meeting, their fake news spirals at warp speed. The municipal government can do this, but it needs Mr. Adamss help. City officials, Legal Aid attorneys and advocates who work with homeless New Yorkers say the mayor can begin by tackling the citywide staffing shortage, moving swiftly to hire more workers at agencies that serve the poorest New Yorkers. At the Department of Homeless Services, more and better-trained workers are needed to help shelter residents apply for city housing vouchers, an onerous process that should be streamlined. Its harder than doing your taxes, Dave Giffen, executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless, told me. The Human Resources Administration also needs more staff members to process the housing vouchers. Advocates for homeless New Yorkers say it has become commonplace for the city to take months to send the first rent check to landlords through the voucher system, leaving people languishing in shelters. The citys Commission on Human Rights needs more staff members too, to enforce laws against discrimination by landlords who refuse to rent to tenants with housing vouchers. The citys Department of Housing Preservation and Development needs more workers to negotiate the deals that turn existing housing into affordable housing. Mr. Adams can also eliminate a rule that requires shelter residents to wait 90 days before qualifying for rental assistance toward permanent housing. And, along with the City Council, he can increase funding to groups like the Legal Aid Society, which are essential to fighting evictions and keeping New Yorkers in their homes and out of city shelters. Evictions are rising, and the share of tenants represented by an attorney in housing court has plummeted over the past year, from 65 percent in February 2022 to just 38 percent this March, according to a tracking system maintained by a coalition of housing and community groups. Part of the problem is high turnover among housing lawyers at nonprofit groups. Some of these attorneys told The Times they are not only grappling with high caseloads but are also themselves struggling to afford to live in New York City. The citys legal nonprofits are asking the city for an additional $351 million to staff up, plus $125 million to account for increased salaries and benefits to remain competitive. Legislation like good cause would probably greatly reduce these caseloads. Until then, increasing funding to legal services would be taxpayer money well spent. Misinformation watchdogs say the somewhat overlapping arguments illustrate another consequence of Mr. Trumps false and exaggerated voter fraud claims, which have led to doubts about election integrity among a wide swath of the American public. Ms. Friesdat and other activists like her fear that their work may become too closely tied to conspiracy theorists and Mr. Trumps cause, making potential allies, like progressives, wary of joining the fight. If you read an article that says that these voting machines are coming in, and peoples concerns about these issues are very similar to those of the Stop the Steal movement, then it makes it very hard for Democrats to work on this issue, Ms. Friesdat said. And it has nothing to do with that. It has nothing to do with the Stop the Steal movement. Misinformation watchdogs say the two movements could erode trust in American elections even further, intentionally or not, because conspiracy theorists tend to exaggerate legitimate criticisms to rile up supporters and raise questions about the entire electoral system. You sow a seed of doubt, and that will grow and fester into a conspiracy theory, said Tim Weninger, a computer science professor at the University of Notre Dame who studies misinformation on social media. It always starts off with one untruth, and that grows into two untruths, and that grows into more, and before long you have an entire conspiracy theory on your hands. The debate has played out nationally as multiple states have faced pushback on electronic voting machines. It is now happening in New York, where officials are considering certifying new voting machines made by Election Systems & Software, a manufacturer based in Omaha. The company has been targeted in Mr. Trumps voting fraud narrative, alongside competitors like Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic. Yet ES&S and its machines have also come under scrutiny by election activists and security experts. Saudi Arabia and the United States urged the delegations from Sudans warring parties, who remain in Jeddah, to agree to and effectively implement a new ceasefire. The delegations from the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are still in coastal city of Jeddah, despite the suspension of talks a few days ago and amid renewed fighting in the northeastern African nation. For weeks, Riyadh and Washington have been mediating between the warring parties. On May 21, both countries successfully brokered a temporary ceasefire agreement to help with the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the war-torn country. Their efforts, however, were dealt a blow when the military announced on Wednesday it would no longer participate in the ceasefire talks. The Sudanese army accused the RSF of not abiding by the terms of the agreement and continuing to violate the ceasefire. Following the militarys decision, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia said they were suspending the talks as a result of repeated serious violations of the short-term ceasefire." President Joe Bidens administration imposed sanctions against key Sudanese defense companies run by the military and the RSF and people who perpetuate violence in Sudan. In their statement on Sunday, Washington and Riyadh said they continued to engage representatives of the military and the RSF with the aim to eventually establish a permanent cessation of hostilities in the war-wrecked country, they said. The statement said the discussions focused on facilitating humanitarian assistance" and reaching an agreement on "near-term steps the parties must take before resuming the talks. The fighting has turned the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into battlefields, resulting in widespread looting and destruction of residential areas across the country. The conflict has also displaced more than 1.65 million people who fled to safer areas in Sudan and neighboring countries. Residents reported intense fighting over the past two days in Khartoum and its neighboring cities of Omdurman and Bahri. Loud sounds of shelling and gunfire were heard early Sunday in parts of Omdurman, as the militarys aircraft flew over the capital. Fighting was also reported in the northern part of the Darfur region. Sudan descended into chaos after fighting broke out in mid-April between the military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. Search Keywords: Short link: Sixteen migrants from Venezuela and Colombia were abruptly flown on a private chartered jet to California and dropped off outside a church building in Sacramento on Friday, state officials said, accusing a contractor for a state-funded Florida program of transporting the group from outside a Texas migrant center under a false promise of jobs if the migrants agreed to be taken to California. Were confident it was Florida, Californias attorney general, Rob Bonta, said in an interview on Sunday, citing documents the migrants showed authorities upon their arrival that indicated their travel had been administered by the Florida Division of Emergency Management and its contractor, Vertol Systems Company. Mr. Bonta, whose office is investigating the episode, said that the migrants, who are not fluent in English, had been approached outside El Paso and told in broken Spanish to sign the documents as a condition of boarding the plane to Sacramento, but that not all had understood where they were going and not all had signed. The episode mirrored an aggressive tactic used by hard-line Republican governors to protest President Bidens immigration policies by dispatching dozens of migrants, with little explanation or warning, to states and cities led by Democrats. Vertol Systems was the company used for transport in the fall when Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida directed two planeloads of South American migrants from San Antonio to Marthas Vineyard, a Democratic-leaning Massachusetts island. The bill passed, and Mr. Findley was targeted with a recall effort by hard-line members of his party, who argued that he should have joined the walkout. That recall effort failed, but it has contributed to Mr. Findleys concern that there is a shrinking number of lawmakers who are willing to debate and compromise. We cant all run out the door if we dont agree with the viewpoints, he said. Mr. Findley said he joined this years boycott because of a different concern his longstanding belief that legislative materials are written in a way that ordinary people cannot understand, in violation of a law that requires that they be written in plain wording. Democrats are now assessing what tools they have to force Republicans back. After a previous Republican walkout in 2019, the governor at the time, Kate Brown, unsuccessfully tried to have state troopers round up the lawmakers and force their return. The current governor, Tina Kotek, has not made such an attempt. The latest tactic, proposed by Democratic lawmakers, is a $325-a-day fine imposed on absentees, equivalent to their daily pay. It is not clear whether it is a stick powerful enough to produce results. Losing your legislative career seemed like a pretty darn big stick, Ms. Lieber said. That was a stick that didnt work. So I dont know that we have a larger stick to compel them. Why It Matters: Criticism of Guantanamo Bay is mounting, again. The finding is the latest in a series of U.N. investigations condemning the previous and current treatment of detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay at a time when lawyers and the International Committee of the Red Cross have protested inadequate health care for the last detainees there. The U.N. bodies are also refocusing attention on the Pentagon prison, which holds 30 prisoners of the war on terrorism, including 17 men for whom the Biden administration is seeking countries to offer them resettlement. The report could be presented to a sentencing jury of U.S. military officers in Mr. Nashiris case. In October 2021, a military jury in the case of another Guantanamo prisoner who was tortured by the C.I.A. urged clemency and called that prisoners abuse a stain on the moral fiber of America. Background: Torture has been at the heart of the Cole case. U.S. investigations and testimony in Mr. Nashiris case show he was waterboarded by psychologists working as contractors for the C.I.A., confined naked to a claustrophobic wooden box, and subjected to threats and violence, including rectal abuse, by agency staff members. His military commissions case has been in pretrial proceedings since 2011. Seventeen U.S. sailors were killed in the suicide bombing of the Cole in Aden Harbor, and prosecutors argue the case can be tried in the court that was created in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Mr. Nashiris lawyers describe him as a torture survivor who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and other conditions attributed to untreated physical, psychological and sexual abuse. Image A courtroom rendering of Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri during his military commissions arraignment at Guantanamo Bay in 2011. Credit... Janet Hamlin via Associated Press Whats Next: More pretrial hearings, and countries are asked to respond. Mr. Nashiri has more hearings this month focused on what evidence can be used at his eventual capital trial. The judge in the case is retiring, and a new one is expected to take over this summer. One of Mr. Nashiris lawyers, Katie Carmon, said on Sunday that if Mr. Nashiri were convicted, the latest U.N. report could be a basis for a legal filing seeking sentencing credit because he was subjected to pretrial punishment as a prisoner of the United States. The U.N. panel asked the countries to report on any human rights reforms they had adopted and whether they had followed any of its recommendations. Democrats entered this year with full power in four new states Maryland and Massachusetts, where the governorship flipped, and Michigan and Minnesota, where legislative control shifted and more states under their control than at any point since 2009. After Republicans spent more than a decade consolidating state-level power and passing sweeping new laws, Democrats saw this session as an opportunity to reverse recent history, with slightly more Americans now living in states under their control than in those where Republicans are in charge. Ive been working my entire life to have an opportunity like this, said Melissa Hortman, the speaker of the Minnesota House. I mean, it was a golden moment this year to have the trifecta and to have a surplus and to have bills and authors that were ready to go. On a single day this session in Michigan, where Democrats won full control for the first time since the 1980s, lawmakers advanced bills to codify L.G.B.T.Q. rights, create a red-flag gun law and repeal a so-called right-to-work law loathed by labor unions. There were a lot of things that we knew exactly what we wanted to do, and we knew what those policies looked like, said Winnie Brinks, the majority leader in the Michigan Senate. But while she expressed no regrets about acting quickly, Ms. Brinks acknowledged that doing so was not exactly the most beneficial in terms of establishing really good working relationships with Republicans. Another juror, when contacted recently by legal representatives for Mr. Tisius, told them that he could not read in English, a requirement in Missouri courts for jury service. A federal judge ordered last week that the execution be halted while the claim of illiteracy was investigated, but on Friday, an appeals court overruled that decision. In a 56-page petition sent to Gov. Mike Parson of Missouri, jurors recounted in statements obtained from Mr. Tisius defense team why they have changed their thinking since the sentencing 13 years ago. They were still convinced of his guilt, the jurors said, and believed he should never be released from prison. But they spoke of new details they learned from Mr. Tisius legal team and what they remembered from the trial: the harrowing background of Mr. Tisius childhood, which included abuse and neglect; of his mental impairments; and of his good behavior in prison since his conviction. I believe that people can change and should get second chances, one juror said in an affidavit. At this time, based on what I have learned since the trial, I would not object if Mr. Tisius sentence were reduced to life without parole, another juror said. Public schools are closed for the summer in Utah, leaving their libraries quieter than usual. But the books on their shelves are now the subject of a skirmish one that is distinct from many other culture clashes over education in the United States. In this case, the titles in question are the Bible and the Book of Mormon. On Friday, a person filed a complaint with the Davis School District, just north of Salt Lake City, asking that the Book of Mormon, a religious text for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, be removed from its libraries. Utah is home to the world headquarters of the church and has the nations highest concentration of members of that faith. That request echoed one in December challenging the King James Version of the Bible, which is held sacred by members of the church and Christians generally. Both complaints followed the passage of state legislation prohibiting pornographic or indecent materials in public school settings. The measure, titled Sensitive Materials in Schools, was signed into law in March 2022. The December challenge against the Bible, which was reported by The Salt Lake Tribune, dripped with sarcasm. The henna artist bent over her clients hand, glancing at the smartphone to get the precise details of the pattern chosen by her customer, a young woman living in an ancient desert city in the West African nation of Mauritania. Under a sliver of brightening moon, the young woman, Iselekhe Jeilaniy, sat gingerly on a mat, careful that the wet henna on her skin would not smudge, just as she had on the eve of her wedding day. But she was not getting married. She was getting divorced. The next day would be her divorce party. Your attention, married ladies my daughter Iselekhe is divorced now! Ms. Jeilaniys mother called out to the townspeople, ululating three times and drumming on a plastic tray turned upside down. Then she added the traditional reassurance that the marriage had ended more or less amicably: Shes alive, and so is her ex. Ms. Jeilaniy giggled, looking at her phone. She was busy posting henna pictures on Snapchat the modern version of a divorce announcement. Senior military officials from the United States and China used a conference in Singapore to push competing visions of Asias future security: a U.S.-led safety net of well-armed partnerships versus a region where China is the center of a new international order. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and officials from allied countries argued implicitly or explicitly that Russias invasion of Ukraine showed that Asia should urgently embrace a network of U.S.-led alliances to tame the growing might of China. On Sunday, the Chinese defense minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, methodically laid out criticisms of the United States and presented Beijing as a contrast in leadership, increasingly confident in using its political, economic and military power to keep Asia stable. Certain countries willfully interfered in other countries internal matters and regional affairs, frequently resort to unilateral sanctions and armed coercion, General Li said in an unmistakable reference to the United States and its allies. They create chaos in a region and then walk away, leaving a mess behind, he said. We never want to let this be replicated in the Asia-Pacific. The Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore where Mr. Austin and General Li spoke is one of the few regular forums where Beijing and Washington try to publicly win over Asian policymakers and publics. And this years meeting, which included defense ministers from Ukraine, Britain, Germany and Canada, cast in sharp relief how the rivalry between the United States and China is becoming a contest over the future global geopolitical landscape: toward a resurgent American-dominated order with more active and engaged partners, or to one in which China leads, at least in Asia. For decades, Hong Kong was the only place in China where the victims of the 1989 military crackdown on pro-democracy activists at Tiananmen Square in Beijing could be publicly mourned in a candlelight vigil. This year, Hong Kong is notable for all the ways it is being made to forget the 1989 massacre. In the days before the June 4 anniversary on Sunday, even small shops that displayed items alluding to the crackdown were closely monitored, receiving multiple visits from the police. Over the weekend, thousands of officers patrolled the streets in the Causeway Bay district, where the vigil was normally held, and set up tents where they searched people suspected of trying to mourn. They arrested four people accused of acts with seditious intention and one person accused of obstructing police officers. Another 27 people were detained. Zhou Fengsuo, a student leader in the Tiananmen Square protest movement, said that Hong Kong is now under the same despotic rule as the mainland. Back in 1989, we did not realize the mission of a democratic China, said Mr. Zhou, now the executive director of Human Rights in China, a New York advocacy group. Afterward, Hong Kong protests faced the same suppression, the same vilification and erasure of memories. In a country where major industry and political fortunes alike are often tied to a vast, interwoven rail system, India has lavished public resources on new trains, but its purse strings have been much tighter when it comes to ensuring the safety of those already racing along its tracks. Those decisions loomed large on Sunday in the aftermath of a devastating train wreck that killed at least 275 people in eastern India. Investigators said they were focused on the possibility that signal failure might have led to the three-train crash on Friday, the worst rail wreck in the country in years. The crash, which also injured more than 1,100 people, occurred when a passenger train heading south about 80 miles per hour toward the city of Chennai veered onto the wrong track and hit a parked freight train, the authorities say. The first trains derailed cars then plowed into a second passenger train that was heading toward it, leaving a scene of carnage. Over the past years, India has been polishing its long-ramshackle infrastructure as never before, and its railways, which are at the heart of the worlds fifth-largest economy, have been a prime beneficiary. The government spent almost $30 billion on the rail system during the past fiscal year, up 15 percent from the year before. In a press conference on Sunday following a meeting between the two presidents in Cairo, El-Sisi said he and Ghazouani discussed the dam and i ts serious repercussions on the water security of the Nile Rivers downstream countries. El-Sisi said he and his Mauritanian counterpart stressed that Egyptian water security is inseparable from Arab water security. We have also stressed the importance of urging Ethiopia to demonstrate political will and accept any of the middle-ground solutions proposed on the negotiating table, which would meet its [Ethiopias] interests without encroaching on the rights and interests of the downstream countries, El-Sisi said. This aims at reaching a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of GERD, El-Sisi said. For his part, Ghazouani hailed the Egyptian approach in dealing with the issue. We have discussed the patience and wisdom that the Egyptian leadership have adopted in tackling this very important topic, the Mauritanian president stressed. Ghazouani arrived in Cairo on Sunday and was received at the airport by President El-Sisi. Crisis in Sudan El-Sisi and Ghazouani stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan. We have stressed the importance of an immediate and sustainable ceasefire and the preservation of the Sudanese national state institutions and the prevention of their collapse, El-Sisi stated. El-Sisi said he and Ghazouani also agreed on the importance of intensifying efforts to deliver urgent relief and humanitarian aid to the Sudanese people to alleviate their suffering. From this platform, we urge all parties to prioritise wisdom in order to preserve the resources of the Sudanese state and the interests of its people, El-Sisi stated. Ghazouani said he hopes that the Sudanese brothers are capable of overcoming the ongoing crisis. We hope that we have passed the difficult stage in Sudan and that what comes next will be better, the Mauritanian president added. Palestine, Libya El-Sisi said he discussed with Ghazouani developments in Arab issues, adding that they agreed on the need to boost joint Arab work to preserve Arab national security and safeguard their unity, sovereignty and resources. El-Sisi said he and Ghazouani discussed the efforts made to preserve the rights of the brotherly Palestinian people and to fulfill their aspiration for establishing an independent state on the 4 June 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. On Libya, they also agreed on the necessity of holding the Libyan presidential and parliamentary elections simultaneously and ensure the exit of all foreign troops and mercenaries without an exception and within a specified timeframe. This comes in line with the relevant international resolutions, the Egyptian president added. Ghazouani highlighted the prominent historical role played by Egypt in the major Arab and Islamic issues, adding that he looks forward for the continuation of this role. Backing African development El-Sisi said he and Ghazouani agreed to enhance their efforts within the African continent in light of the two countries vital role in this regard. They also agreed on continuing coordination and cooperation within the framework of the African Union (AU) as well as their efforts to back peace, security and development in the continent. This aims to enable it (Africa) to overcome the challenges and achieve prosperity and stability for all the people of our deep-rooted continent, El-Sisi stressed. Enhancing cooperation El-Sisi said he looks forward to furthering the firm cooperation between Egypt and Mauritania in a way that achieves their peoples interests and aspirations. Our consultations have reflected the joint political will to enhance the distinguished relations between the two countries and push them forward to broader horizons in various fields, El-Sisi stated. This comes through the activation of cooperation frameworks and coordination at all levels, given the joint challenges facing Egypt and Mauritania, El-Sisi explained. This includes challenges to achieve sustainable development, face foreign interference in the region, counter terrorism and extremist thought and preserve the national institutions, the Egyptian president said. The Mauritanian president extended congratulations for the Egyptian people on the national achievements made under El-Sisi. We have the right to be proud of these achievements because we consider that everything Egypt has achieved is for all of us and that Egypts strength means the strength of the [Arab] world, Ghazouani added. The crushed train cars were cleared and the jumbled tracks straightened and rejoined, as workers labored on Sunday to quickly restore an important rail line in east India two days after the countrys worst train disaster in decades. Families of the victims were still struggling to reach the site of the wreck, near the town of Balasore in Odisha State. Officials intensified the investigation into the cause of the crash, saying that while they were looking into the malfunction of an electronic signaling system, they did not rule out human error or even sabotage. The desperate journey to claim the bodies of loved ones was complicated for many families by a lack of train service, though by late Sunday night, some rail movement on restored tracks began in both directions. Officials said a special train would ferry relatives from the city of Kolkata, in the neighboring state of West Bengal, to Odisha. And the government of Odisha announced free bus service on the disrupted train route. Most of these people are poor, and it may take them days to arrive, said Rahul Kumar, a doctor at the main hospital in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, who was helping with the rescue and relief efforts. Families of the victims of Indias worst rail disaster in two decades were on Sunday still struggling to reach the town where the disaster happened. The delays meant that many bodies remain unidentified and unclaimed, local officials and doctors said. At least 275 people were killed in the disaster near the town of Balasore on Friday. Many of the passengers had been migrant laborers, students and daily wage workers. In and around the town in the eastern state of Odisha, the bodies of about 200 victims were still to be claimed, the officials and medics said. Many were badly injured in the crash, making it harder to identify them, and most of the victims families live in towns and villages hundreds of miles away and were still trying to reach the area, they added. The state government on Sunday moved about 100 of the unidentified victims to the morgue at the main hospital in Bhubaneswar, the state capital. About a dozen bodies remained at the hall of a small local school a few hundred yards from the disaster site, down from more than 100 on Saturday, and fewer than a dozen were still at a business park in Balasore on Sunday. The location of the others was unclear. Law and Justice, which regularly smears its foes as Communists and Russian agents, recently pushed legislation through Parliament to establish a commission to investigate Russian influence and bar individuals from public office for up to 10 years if they were found to have succumbed to it. The opposition denounced the move as a ploy to tar politicians critical of the governing party with the taint of Russia and disqualify them from running in October. The United States and the European Union voiced concern about the law, widely known as Lex Tusk because one of its targets is expected to be Donald Tusk, the main opposition party leader. In a speech to protesters in Warsaws Old Town on Sunday, Mr. Tusk, the leader of Civic Platform, accused Law and Justice of rolling back democracy and turning Poland away from Europe, comparing the coming election to the vote on June 4, 1989 the countrys first free election since 1945 which gave a victory to Solidarity and sealed the end of Communist rule. The slogan of Solidarity was we will not be divided or destroyed, Mr. Tusk said, adding that the great hope of democracys foes past and present was our hopelessness, their strength was our powerlessness. A breached emergency gate at Israels southern border with Egypt that was held closed only with plastic handcuffs; the passage of hours before two Israeli soldiers bodies were discovered; and the botched pursuit of an infiltrator that led to the death of a third soldier. On Sunday, a day after three Israeli soldiers were killed at Israels mostly peaceful border with Egypt, the Israeli authorities were examining a series of failures and mishaps that allowed a lone suspect identified by both the Israeli and Egyptian authorities as a member of the Egyptian security forces to cross the heavily fortified boundary undetected, spend several hours inside Israeli territory and kill three Israeli soldiers in two separate locations before being encircled and fatally shot. And as Israel prepared on Sunday to bury the three soldiers, analysts were raising painful questions about the apparent blunders involved. Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty more than 40 years ago, and the Israeli troops patrolling the border are more used to dealing with drug-smuggling gangs than with armed militants. The episode on Saturday was the first of its kind along the Egyptian border in more than a decade. What Transpired At The Closed Door Meetings Held By Amit Shah In Manipur Amit Shah-Chandrababu Naidus Late-Night Meet Sparks TDP-BJP Alliance Buzz India oi-Deepika S Telugu Desam Party Chief N Chandrababu Naidu reportedly met BJP President JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit in New Delhi. The meeting triggered speculation that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the TDP, could be joining hands ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. It was also the first meeting between the duo after the TDP snapped ties with the BJP by walking out of the NDA government in 2018. According to reports, Naidu and Shah discussed state politics and possible electoral alliances in the state. Chandrababu Naidu talked about the alliance between the TDP and the BJP not only in Andhra Pradesh but also in Telangana. The assembly elections in Telangana are due later this year. Andhra Pradesh will have assembly elections in 2024, the same year when the Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to be held. TDP quit the ruling alliance in March 2018 before the 2019 elections over the delay in grant of special category status for Andhra Pradesh. Naidu has accused the BJP of breaking promises and exited from the BJP-led NDA. The BJP, however, termed the break-up a case of political opportunism. The TDP has been demanding for special category status for Andhra Pradesh promised at the time of the bifurcation of the state to carve out a separate state of Telangana. Hinting at a possible alliance, Naidu recently described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a visionary, who has been upholding the prestige of the nation and displaying to the world the strength of India. "I am willing to associate myself with Modi in nation-building," Naidu said during a television debate on April 26. If the speculation of the BJP-TDP alliance comes true, it is likely to be a big boost for the BJP which is eyeing to expand its footprint in Andhra Pradesh. While the BJP has emerged as a key opposition party in Telangana, the party has been struggling to find support among the politically dominant castes in Andhra Pradesh. Brutal Stabbing Left Intestines Hanging Out, Reveals Delhi Teen's Autopsy India oi-Deepika S The autopsy report of the minor girl revealed that she was left with her internal organs hanging out of her stomach after being stabbed 16 times by her boyfriend at Shahbad Dairy area of Delhi on May 28. Accused Sahil's attacks were so severe and brutal, that the victim's internal organs including the intestine came out, reveals the report. The autopsy report further reveals that accused Sahil had stabbed her multiple times and then burgeoned her head with a stone. Several stab wounds on the victim's body confirm the same. Some bones in the head region have also been found with cracks and injuries.The maximum wounds are present from the shoulder to the hip region. However, a number of bones in her body have been found in broken condition.The horrifying incident occurred last Sunday when the girl was tragically killed by her 20-year-old boyfriend identified as Sahil. The crime was captured by CCTV footage, which depicted multiple stabbings inflicted upon the victim. The accused was also seen using a nearby boulder to brutally batter her. A nearly 90-second video of the incident that was shared online showed the accused pinning the victim to a wall with one hand and stabbing her repeatedly in a busy bylane in the Shahbad Dairy area. He did not stop even when the girl slumped to the ground, jabbing the knife into her over 20 times, kicking her and then slamming a cement slab on her repeatedly. Delhi Police arrested Sahil from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh on Monday. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, June 4, 2023, 16:16 [IST] Caught On Cam: Under Construction Bridge Over River Ganges in Bihar Collapsed India oi-Prakash KL An under-construction Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge in Bihar's Bhagalpur collapsed on Sunday. However, portions of which were deliberately destroyed in a planned fashion under expert advice as it had design flaws, claimed state government officials. This is the second time the bridge has collapsed. The incident happened at around 6 am. However, no casualties have been reported till now. "We were expecting that the inauguration of the bridge would happen by November-December later this year. But the way it collapsed is unfortunate. A probe must happen into the incident, there's some fault," Sultanganj JDU MLA Lalit Narayan Mandal told ANI. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has also ordered a probe into the incident and asked to identify those responsible for it. #WATCH | Under construction Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge in Bihars Bhagalpur collapses. The moment when bridge collapsed was caught on video by locals. This is the second time the bridge has collapsed. Further details awaited. (Source: Video shot by locals) pic.twitter.com/a44D2RVQQO ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2023 The bridge comes under Parvatta police station area in the Khagaria district of Bihar and the local administration, according to a report in Hindustan Times. "We have received information about the collapse of pillar and segment. The incident pertains to Parvatta. We have spoken to the engineers involved in the construction of the bridge. As of now, there is no report of loss of life and property," the website quoted Bhagalpur SDO Dhananjay Kumar as saying. Following criticism from the Opposition parties, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and Additional Chief Secretary of Road Construction Department, Pratyay Amrit, held a hurried press conference. #WATCH | Under construction Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge in Bihars Bhagalpur collapses. (Source: Video shot by locals) pic.twitter.com/PIh2GBXgcY ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2023 "It may be recalled that a portion of this bridge had collapsed on April 30 last year. We had, thereafter, approached IIT-Roorkee, which is esteemed for its expertise in construction matters, to conduct a study. It is yet to come up with a final report but experts who had studied the structure had informed us that there were serious defects," Yadav said at the press meet. Amrit, who took over, added, "It was decided that we must not take any chance and wait for a final report. So we went ahead with pulling down parts of the bridge. Today's incident was a part of such a preventive exercise". Once the final report comes, which is expected shortly, the state government would contemplate action like lodging of FIR and blacklisting of the company which was awarded the contract, he said. Last year, a section of an under-construction road bridge over the Ganga at Sultanganj in Bihar collapsed during a thunderstorm. The construction of the 30-span bridge between Sultanganj and Aguani Ghat in Bihar had started in 2014 and was due to be completed in 2019. Meanwhile, Bihar BJP President demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and said the incident shows that "corruption is rampant" under the rule of the Nitish-led Bihar government. "Sub-standard materials were used for the construction of the bridge. "The CM is least bothered about the development of Bihar...he is busy on his tour. He must resign from his post after this incident," he said. CBI Probe Recommended into Odisha Train Accident: Ashwini Vaishnaw India oi-Prakash KL Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said the Railway Board has recommended a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the Odisha train accident which killed at least 275 people. Talking to the media, Vaishnaw said, "Rescue operation was completed and restoration work is underway. The work related to the track is done and overhead wiring work is going on. Patients are being treated at hospitals. Along with rescue operation, the restoration work was also started." "The way this accident happened, looking at the conditions, and according to the administrative information. The Railway Board is recommending the probe to the CBI," he added. The Union Minister had said earlier in the day that the accident occurred due to a "change in electronic interlocking". "It happened due to a change made in the electronic interlocking and point machine," he told reporters at the site of the accident in Balasore district. The top railway officials explained how the point machine and the interlocking system function. They said the system is "error proof" and "fail safe" but did not rule out the possibility of outside intervention. "It is called a fail safe system, so it means that even if it fails, all the signals will turn red and all train operations will stop. Now, as the minister said there was a problem with the signalling system. It could be that someone has done some digging without seeing the cables. Running of any machine is prone to failures," Jaya Verma Sinha, Member of Operation and Business Development, Railway Board, said. The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train occurred around 7 PM on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar. On the other hand, officials on Sunday also gave the driver of the Coromandel Express (Coromandel Express) a clean chit by stating that he had the green signal to move forward and he was "not over-speeding". "It could be a case of tampering or sabotage from within or from outside. We have not ruled anything out," the senior railway official who did not want to be identified said. Meanwhile, Industrialist Gautam Adani on Sunday announced that the Adani Group will take the responsibility of school education of children who have lost their parents in the recent Odisha train tragedy. "We all are deeply distressed by the Orissa train accident. We have decided that the Adani group will take the responsibility of the school education of the innocent people who have lost their parents in this accident. It is the joint responsibility of all of us to provide strength to the victims and their families and better tomorrow to the children," he said on Twitter. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, June 4, 2023, 19:49 [IST] Centre Constitutes 3-Member Commission To Probe Manipur Violence India oi-Prakash KL The Centre on Sunday appointed a three-member Commission of Inquiry headed by former Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court, Justice Ajai Lamba to probe incidents of violence in Manipur. Former IAS officer Himanshu Shekhar Das (retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the 1982 batch of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre) and former IPS officer Aloka Prabhakar (a 1986 batch retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Telangana cadre) are also on the Commission. The commission will make inquiry with respect of the causes and spread of the violence and riots targeting members of different communities, which took place in Manipur on May 3 and thereafter, a notification issued by the Union Home Ministry said. It will probe the sequence of events leading to, and all the facts relating to such violence; whether there were any lapses or dereliction of duty in this regard on the part of any of the responsible authorities/individuals and adequacy of the administrative measures taken to prevent, and to deal with the violence and riots, PTI reported. The inquiry by the commission shall look into the complaints or allegations that may be made before it by any individual or association. The commission shall submit its report to the central government as soon as possible but not later than six months from the date of its first sitting. The commission, however, if it deems fit, can make interim reports to the central government before the said date. The other members of the commission are retired IAS officer Himanshu Shekhar Das and retired IPS officer Aloka Prabhakar. Manipur has been witnessing sporadic violence ever since ethnic clashes broke out on May 3. The death toll from clashes has gone up to over 80, officials said. The ethnic violence first broke out after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The violence was preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations. Home Minister Amit Shah has also appealed to the people of Manipur to lift blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur National Highway-2. "My sincerest appeal to the people of Manipur is to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur, NH-2 Highway, so that food, medicines, Petrol/Diesel, and other necessary items can reach the people. I also request that Civil Society Organisations do the needful in bringing consensus. Together only we can restore normalcy in this beautiful state," the Union Home Minister tweeted. Congress Poses Nine Questions to PM Modi On Odisha Train Accident India oi-Deepika S Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Sunday demanded Ashwini Vaishnaw's resignation after a tragic accident in Odisha that occurred on Friday. Citing a news report by ThePrint, Surjewala asked why the rail minister was negligent towards the "critical warning" on the failure of the signalling system. In a series of tweets, Surjewala said, "Initial News Reports suggest that Balasore, Odisha Train Crash happened owing to the failure of the signalling system. But the Railway Minister and Rail Ministry were immune to the critical warning on the failure of the Signalling System that had been given." "On 9 February 2023, the Chief Operating Manager, of South Western Railway Zone wrote on the failure of the Signalling System by stating, 'serious flaws in the system where the route of dispatch gets altered after a train starts on signals with the correct appearance of the route in the SMS panel. This contravenes the essence and basic principles of interlocking'," he said. Surjewala further warned that if the signal maintenance system was not monitored and corrected immediately, it could lead to "re-occurrence and serious accidents". "Why was Rail Minister & Railway Ministry immune or ignorant or negligent," he tweeted. "Why did recent derailment of a number of Goods Trains, where a number of Loco Pilots died and wagons were destroyed, didn't raise enough alarms on lack of Rail Safety forcing the Minister and Railway Ministry to takeappropriate measures," he asked. "Is it correct that Rail Minister is more concerned with marketing and pleasing the Prime Minister rather than concentrating on Railway Safety? Is the Rail Minister too preoccupied with making the PM launch Vande Bharat Trains, refurbishing Railway Stations (tweeting their pictures) and increasing revenues rather than looking at the arduous job of ensuring passenger safety?," he further asked. "Is this the reason why the Railway Minister largely skipped the presentation on Railway Safety on 2 June 2023 in the Chintan Shivir and concentrated on the launch of Vande Bharat Trains and increased revenues," he added. "Isn't the increased lapse of Railway Safety owing to lack of required human resources - availability of foot soldiers like Gang man, Station Masters, Loco Pilots etc? Isn't it correct that the majority of 39 Railway Zones lack the required human resource as per an RTI reply given by railways? Isn't it correct that 3,11,000 Posts of Group C are vacant in Railways thereby jeopardising the Rail Safety as also operational efficacy? Isn't it correct that 3,081 out of 18,881 Gazetted Cadre posts are lying vacant in Railways?" Surjewala tweeted. "How is it possible to run an effective and safe operation in the absence of staff," Surjewala questioned. "Isn't it correct that the Year 2022-23 saw 48 "Consequential Train Accidents" (train accidents having serious repercussions in terms of loss of lives, property etc.) as compared to 35 such accidents the previous year? Isn't it correct that the Year 2022-23 witnessed 165 'Non Consequential Train Accidents", including 35 cases of "Signal Passed at Danger - SPAD'?," he asked. The horrific triple train accident has claimed the lives of 294 passengers so far and has left over 1,000 injured. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, June 4, 2023, 9:22 [IST] Dal Me Kuch Kaala Hai: Mamata Questions Official Death Figures Of Odisha Train Accident India oi-Prakash KL West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday slammed the Centre over the Odisha train tragedy and questioned the official death toll in the tragedy. "When yesterday he (Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw) was present with me and I mentioned about anti-collision device, why didn't he open his mouth? 'Dal mein kuch kaala hai', we want the truth to come out," Mamata said while responding to a question about the interlocking system. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee engaged in a verbal duel over the death toll in the Odisha train accident. During an interaction with the media, the Bengal CM claimed that she had information that the death count might exceed 500. Vaishnaw, who was standing next to her, disagreed with her and tried to correct her by saying "As per the Odisha government's data, the death toll is 238." Mamata further attacked the BJP government, and said, "Yesterday both Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan were standing with me but I didn't say anything. I could have said a lot because I myself have been Railway Minister. Why Coromandel Express and Bengaluru-Howrah Express didn't have anti-collision devices? The Railways have been left to be sold." The West Bengal CM then said, "How come the information given by the Ministry differs so much? The figures have been changing from morning to evening. Daal mein kuch kaala hai." She demanded justice to the victims and said, "I just want justice for the people. Patients and the families of the deceased should not be harassed. The number should not be suppressed, and they should not hide the reality. The truth should come out." The train crash, the fourth deadliest in India according to available records, happened near Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore district, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar, around 7 pm on Friday, prompting the Railway Ministry to order a probe. At least 275 people have been killed while over 1,000 people have been injured in the tragedy. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, June 4, 2023, 22:00 [IST] Hindu Petitioner To Withdraw From Gyanvapi Cases Over Alleged Harassment India oi-Prakash KL One of the main litigants from the Hindu side Jitendra Singh Visen has announced that he and his family are withdrawing from all cases related Gynavapi issue due to alleged "harassment". His lawyer Shivam Gaur had earlier also withdrawn from the cases. "I and my family (wife Kiran Singh and niece Rakhi Singh) are withdrawing from all Gyanvapi-related cases that we had filed in the interest of the country and religion in various courts," Visen, who heads the Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh, said in a statement issued here on Saturday. He alleged that they were facing harassment from various quarters including from the Hindu side and felt humiliated. "In such a situation, due to limited strength and resources, I cannot fight this battle for 'dharma' anymore and that's why I am leaving this. "Perhaps the biggest mistake I made in my life was by starting this 'dharmayudh'. This society is only with those who mislead by playing gimmicks in the name of religion," he said. Visen's lawyer Gaur, who had left the case earlier, in a separate statement said that due to a communication gap with plaintiffs, he was withdrawing from the Gyanvapi case, which he is contesting from 2021, and Krishna Janmabhoomi case, which he took up in 2022. He said that he did not get any fee after May 2022 for contesting these cases. Five women plaintiffs, including Visen's niece Rakhi Singh, had filed the original Shringar Gauri suit in August 2021 seeking permission for daily worship of Goddess Shringar Gauri and other deities in the Gyanvapi mosque compound. However, Rakhi parted ways with the other women and differences appeared between Visen and the lawyers of the four other plaintiffs, including Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain, in May 2022. Visen had then announced his resignation as the national convener and national general secretary in the Hind Samrajya Party run by the Jain duo. He is involved in litigation related to various high-profile matters like Gyanvapi mosque, Idgah mosque in Mathura and the Taj Mahal. Other cases filed by Visen include seeking a ban on the entry of Muslims into Gyanvapi premises. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, June 4, 2023, 17:28 [IST] India's Import Of Russian Oil Scales New High In May India oi-PTI India's import of cheap Russian oil scaled another record in May and is now more than the combined oil bought from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE and the US, industry data showed. India took 1.96 million barrels a day from Russia in May, 15 per cent more than the previous high in April, according to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa. Russia now makes up for nearly 42 per cent of all crude oil India imported in May. This is the highest share for an individual country in recent years. The rise in Russian share came at the cost of traditional suppliers in the Middle East. Shipments from Saudi Arabia slipped to 560,000 tonnes - the lowest since February 2021, according to figures from the shipping analytics company. Oil producers cartel OPEC's share in India's oil imports fell to an all-time low of 39 per cent in May. Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), mainly in the Middle East and Africa, made up for as much as 90 per cent of all crude oil India imported at one point of time, but this has been sliding since Russian oil became available at a discount in the aftermath of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February last year. For the eighth straight month, Russia continued to be the single largest supplier of crude oil, making up for 42 per cent of all oil India imported. Crude oil is converted into petrol and diesel at refineries. The imports from Russia are now more than the combined purchases from Iraq and Saudi Arabia -- India's biggest suppliers in the last decade -- as well as UAE and the US. Iraq supplied 0.83 million barrels per day (bpd) oil in May, while UAE shipped 203,000 bpd. As much as 138,000 bpd was sourced from the US, the data showed. From a market share of less than 1 per cent in India's import basket before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Russia's share of India's imports rose to 1.96 million barrels per day in May, taking a 42 per cent share. OPEC supplied 1.8 million bpd out of 4.7 million bpd oil India imported in May. This was down from 2.1 million bpd imported in April, according to Vortexa. Indian refiners in the past rarely bought Russian oil due to high freight costs but now they are snapping up plentiful Russian cargo available at a discount to other grades, as some Western nations rejected it because of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The purchases from Russia in May were more than double of 0.83 million bpd of oil bought from Iraq, which had been India's top oil supplier since 2017-18. Saudi Arabia has been pushed down to No.3 spot. "India's imports of Russian crude continue to test new highs, reaching almost 2 million bpd in May. Refiners have tested and gained confidence in processing Russian crude, and their voracious appetite for "Russian crude is likely to grow as much as they have room to back off spot crude purchases," said Vortexa's head of Asia-Pacific analysis, Serena Huang. The average cost of Russian crude including freight costs landing on Indian shores in April was USD 68.21 a barrel - the lowest level since the Ukraine war. The average cost of Saudi Arabian crude sent to India in April was USD 86.96 a barrel, while Iraqi oil was priced at USD 77.77 a barrel. May import price has not yet been released. Russia is selling record amounts of crude oil to India to plug the gap in its energy exports after the European Union banned imports in December. In December, the EU banned Russian seaborne oil and imposed a USD 60-per-barrel price cap, which prevents other countries from using EU shipping and insurance services, unless oil is sold below the cap. Industry officials said Indian refiners are using the UAE's dirham to pay for oil that is imported at a price lower than USD 60. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, June 4, 2023, 13:24 [IST] All demands of wrestlers met, let police finish its probe: Sports Minister Anurag Thakur 'Standing up for such terrorists?' Anurag Thakur slams Bengal govt on 'The Kerala Story' ban Will Agree To Govts Proposal Only When...: Wrestler Sakshi Malik On Sports Minister's Invite No One Is Running Away From Accountability: Anurag Thakur Hits Back At Rahul Gandhi India oi-Deepika S Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the latter's attacks on the Narendra Modi government in wake of the train accident in Odisha. "Who is running away from accountability? Our Union Ministers were present on the accident spot &doing their duties. Rahul Gandhi goes abroad and defames India", Thakur said while responding to Gandhi's tweet on fixing accountability for the Odisha train accident. "Rahul Gandhi goes abroad and defames India. Whose organising your programs in US. For Congress, family is everything, country is nothing," he added. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi stepped up the attack on the central government after a deadly train accident in Odisha involving three trains in which nearly 300 people lost their lives. "No accountability even after 270+ deaths! The Modi government cannot run away from taking responsibility for such a painful accident. The Prime Minister should immediately seek the resignation of the Railway Minister!", Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi. Several opposition parties stepped up pressure for Railway Minister Vaishnaw's resignation, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge calling for fixing accountability from top to bottom. The Bharatiya Janata Party hit back, saying the track record of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government's railway ministers was nothing short of a disaster and they should not politicise the issue. "We have recommended a CBI probe into the triple train accident," Vaishnaw told reporters in Bhubaneswar on Sunday evening. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, June 4, 2023, 21:57 [IST] 'What Was The Need For A New Parliament?' Nitish Kumar Ahead of Its Inauguration The Big Opposition Unity Meeting Postponed India oi-Prakash KL The big Opposition unity meeting which was supposed to be held on June 12 has been rescheduled to June 23. The date of the meeting has been advanced following a request from Congress and the DMK, according to a report in NDTV. It is going to be chaired by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. It is reported that the grand old party stated that Rahul Gandhi, who is on a 10-day trip to the US, and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will not be attending it. The former Congress chief is expected to return to India on July 15. The meeting is seen as an attempt to forge the Opposition party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Of late, Nitish has taken the lead in speaking to several regional satraps besides the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and the Left to forge unity among the opposition's ranks. He has held separate meetings with leaders of many parties, including Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP's national convener Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and NCP's Sharad Pawar. However, senior BJP leader and MP Sushil Modi had taken a swipe at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying his efforts are merely aimed at keeping him in headlines as the balloon of their unity exercise has already been punctured. "The balloon of opposition units efforts has been punctured by the likes of Banerjee and (Congress president) Mallikarjun Kharge. Kumar may keep trying as much as he can, it is clear that the opposition unity is impractical. He had long been out of headlines and now he is doing all this to remain in media," Modi told PTI. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, June 4, 2023, 23:08 [IST] Greek authorities say they have rescued 91 migrants from a river islet and transferred them to a processing center near the border with Turkey. Police said Sunday that the group included 32 men, 25 women and 34 children. The Red Cross was present at the operation. Several migrants told police they were from Syria. The migrants had been on an islet on Evros River at least since Friday when nongovernmental organizations emailed Greek authorities alerting them to their presence there. Part of the islet is Greek soil and part is Turkish. The migrants had moved to the Greek side by early Sunday. That enabled the rescue operation to be launched. Daily Star 04 Jun 2023 Real Madrid have confirmed Karim Benzema will leave the club this summer after 14 glittering years at the Santiago Bernabeu, as the.. A Russian governor has said he is willing to meet with a pro-Ukraine group of Russian fighters who are keeping two Russian soldiers captive. Stockholm (AFP) June 2, 2023 A Stockholm demonstration against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Sweden's planned NATO membership has been given the go-ahead for this weekend despite Ankara's objections, Swedish police told AFP on Friday. "We are going to ensure that all those present on Sunday are able to exercise their rights protected by the constitution", including freedom of expression, Stockholm police sp Prince Harry is set to testify in the first of his five pending legal cases largely centred around battles with British tabloids. Opening statements are scheduled Monday in his case. Airbus is closing towards a potentially record deal to sell 500 narrow-body A320-family jets to India's largest carrier IndiGo, industry sources said on Sunday. The European planemaker has emerged as front-runner for an order eclipsing Air India's historic provisional purchase of 470 jets in #airbus #a320 #airindia #istanbul #boeing #a330neo #787 #pieterelbers #turkishairlines #iata Abdul Majeed, an expatriate, is proud to show around his brand new luxurious mansion that he had built in his hometown in Kakkancherry, Malappuram. The family wanted classy exteriors that never get outdated and chic interiors that exude luxury vibes. Moreover, the spaces should receive ample amounts of natural light and air. The colonial-style exteriors are incredibly attractive while the interiors impress with unique design elements. As the plot is 45 cents, the structure has been built by leaving lots of space in the front. The driveway is paved with natural stones and grass in alternate layers. The pillars, beautiful claddings and the dormer windows on the elevation are perfect examples of the classic colonial style. The entrance door opens to an opulent hall that could give any luxury resort a run for their money. The grand elegance of Italian marble flooring is unmissable. Meanwhile, splendid furniture pieces are imported from Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. Designed in 7000 sqft, this fabulous mansion has a sit-out, formal and family living areas, dining space, kitchen with an adjacent work area and three bath-attached bedrooms on the ground floor. Meanwhile, the upper floor has an upper living area, three bath attached bedrooms, a balcony and an open terrace. The staircase is the highlight of the interiors. The majestic staircase splits into two, leading to the spacious upper living area. Meanwhile, the hand railings crafted in exquisite wood are imported from Indonesia. The regal dining table that can easily accommodate up to eight guests was purchased from Saudi Arabia. The kitchen cabinets are done in multi-wood with acrylic finish. The countertop, meanwhile, has been paved with Korean stone. An adjacent work area completes the kitchen space. The six bedrooms are luxurious and are designed in unique themes. The owner runs a business in Saudi Arabia. So, he oversaw the construction mostly through WhatsApp calls. The designer says that the owner had given him creative freedom which helped him come up with amazing ideas and eye-catching designs. The grand structure and the beautiful landscape illuminate golden lights when the highlighter lights are switched on at night. Project Facts Location Kakkancherry, Malappuram Plot 45 cents Area 7000 SFT Owner Abdul Majeed Design Muhammad Shafi Arkitecture Studio Year of completion April 2023 Duluth, Minnesota (OpEdNews) June 3, 2023: Because I have a subscription to the electronic version of the New York Times, I tend to visit its homepage each morning. I usually look over the titles of the op-ed commentaries. For example, I recently noticed (1) the title "A Major Problem With Compulsory Mental Care Is the Medication" (dated June 2, 2023) and (2) the title "If You're Reading This, You're Probably 'WEIRD': The anthropologist Joseph Henrich parses how culture shapes our psyches" (dated May 26, 2023) Click Here Click Here I propose to borrow a technical term from the most recent of these two selections, by Daniel Bergner, and then apply it here to Joseph Henrich's catchy acronym WEIRD in Ezra Klein's earlier selection. Before Daniel Bergner, the author of the 2022 book The Mind and the Moon: My Brother's Story, the Science of Our Brains, and the Search for Our Psyches (Ecco), wrote his most recent op-ed commentary "A Major Problem With Compulsory Mental Health Is the Medication," in which he uses the technical term anosognosia, he wrote the lengthy profile "Doctors Gave Her Antipsychotics. She Decided to Live With Her Voices: A new movement wants to shift mainstream thinking away from medication and toward greater acceptance" in the New York Times Magazine (dated May 17, 2022). It is about Carol Mazel-Carlton. I wrote about his magazine profile of her in my OEN article "Daniel Bergner on Hearing Voices" (dated May 19, 2022): Click Here My OEN article contains a link to Bergner's magazine profile of Carol Mazel-Carlton. In the present essay, I want to write a bit about Bergner's recent use of the technical term anosognosia, which he operationally defines and explains as meaning "the state of being too sick, too far beyond reason, to recognize one own mental illness." But I do not want to use the term in its technical sense. Rather, I want to use the term in a more metaphoric way, as I will explain momentarily. Next, I want to refer briefly to the New York Times columnist, and podcast host, Ezra Klein's provocatively titled piece "If You're Reading This, You're Probably 'WEIRD'" (dated May 26, 2023). WEIRD is an acronym. It stands for Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. Harvard's Joseph Henrich uses it in the title of his 2020 book The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Klein's piece prompted me to order Henrich's 2020 book - which I have looked over but not read carefully. Wikipedia has an entry about Henrich's 2020 book that highlights reviews of it. According to Professor Henrich's CV at his personal website, he received his Ph.D. in anthropology from UCLA in 1999; his M.A. in anthropology from UCLA in 1995; his B.A. in anthropology from the University of Notre Dame (with high honors) in 1991 - when he also received his B.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Notre Dame (with high honors). Henrich's "Index" (pp. 657-680) includes an entry on the Western Church (Roman Catholic Church) (p. 680) and numerous sub-entries referring to it. Because Henrich's acronym WEIRD is catchy enough to catch Klein's attention, let's engage in a thought experiment about each of its major components. Henrich's term Western calls to mind the contrasting term non-Western, which, of course, includes a vast number of other cultures. Henrich's term Educated calls to mind the contradictory term "not educated" (or at least "not educated" in formal Western education?). But in American today, we often hear of college-educated versus non-college-educated (e.g., many of Trump's white supporters). However, as Henrich uses the term Educated, it appears to mean functionally literate in vowelized phonetic alphabetic literacy - which presumably includes most non-college-educated Americans. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). (Image by LAUSD) Details DMCA The newly renamed Office of Student, Family, and Community Engagement (SFAC) is responsible for facilitating all three of these committees for the LAUSD. In doing so this office has to tread a fine line between ensuring that these panels represent and "provide an authentic parent voice[s]" while keeping their bosses at the top of the bureaucracy happy. (Image by LAUSD) Details DMCA (Image by LAUSD) Details DMCA With the permission of the Committee's Chair, John Perron, the time limit for public comments was extended so that Emiliana Dore, a parent of a child with special education needs, could read the resolution into the record. The co-founder of Parents Supporting Teachers, Nicolle Fefferman, and education activist Tracy Cook also spoke in support of the resolution and questioned the LAUSD's actions in changing the agenda. My wife, Nicole Petersen, also provided her call to action for the committee: These are difficult times for families who have children with special education needs, especially for those whose challenges are severe: For some parents, successful programs like Aut-core are being eliminated. Parents are being told during IEP meetings that special education centers are not being offered as a choice, even if this type of environment is best suited for their child's needs. Special Education services are not being delivered due to severe staffing shortages. Inspired by the fight to get my daughters the services that they needed, our family has advocated on behalf of our district's most vulnerable children for almost ten years. Even though our children aged out of the LAUSD last year, we have continued this fight and ask for your help. The proposed "Improving Special Education Within the LAUSD" resolution seeks to address problems that are shared by parents throughout the district. If passed by the LAUSD school board, this resolution would make changes to the policies that govern how special education services are delivered in the district: Special Day Classes and other specialized classrooms would be protected and fully funded. Special Education Centers would remain an option for children with severe needs. A magnet program would be established for children who are interested in pursuing careers in special education. This would help to meet the goal of inclusion by bringing general education students into the special education environment instead of forcing children with disabilities to adapt to general education campuses and classrooms. For the full text of this proposal, please visit bit.ly/ImprovingSpEd. As the Community Advisory Committee, you are the voice of children with Special Education needs. I hope that you will place consideration of this resolution on a future agenda and vote to recommend its passage by the Board of Education. Thank you. With the illegal methods used to remove a formal reading of the proposed resolution, it is clear that the LAUSD's bureaucrats are opposed to pursuing the changes that are outlined. However, with the members of the CAC showing interest in considering this proposal, the District would be well served by initiating a discussion about how to reform the system. It would be energy better spent than trying to stifle criticism. Photo by Stephen Harlan on Unsplash (Image by Stephen Harlan) Details DMCA signing this petition. Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs. He was elected to the Northridge East Neighborhood Council and is the Education Chair. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own. In their latest misrepresentation of facts, the CDC blames workers for food poisoning ("Foodborne Illness Outbreaks at Retail Food Establishments, ...", click here). Although their data indicates a correlation between worker illness and food poisonings in restaurants, their analysis does not even explain how any type of illness is related to the transmission of food poisoning illnesses. More importantly, the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) analysis does not address the fact that these illnesses must have a source, where people do not contract food poisoning without contact with that disease. As stated in an earlier Op Ed, the CDC and the EPA refuse to investigate the actual cause of food-borne illnesses (The CDC Should Stop Drinking-Water Dangers - Stop E. Coli and Listeria Disease Outbreaks and Lead and Copper Poisonings!,). The CDC Cover-up An Associated Press article, spawned numerous spin-offs to blame workers for illness ("Sick workers tied to 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks, CDC says"). 'Norovirus and salmonella, germs that can cause severe illness, were the most common cause of 800 outbreaks, which encompassed 875 restaurants and were reported by 25 state and local health departments. Investigators with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called for better enforcement of "comprehensive food safety policies," which emphasize basic measures like hand washing and keep sick workers off the job. ' 'About 48 million people a year in the U.S. are sickened by foodborne illness, including 128,000 who are hospitalized and 3,000 who die, according to the CDC.' The CDC report and follow-up newspaper reports failed to provide any scientific connection between worker illness and the spread of infectious disease in restaurants. Even so, the limited data that was reported indicates that there is some type of probable relationship between worker illness and violent diarrhea and vomiting. Of greater significance, Table 1 shows that there are many illnesses that can be transmitted from ill workers, but the primary causes of food-borne illnesses are transmitted through viruses that make workers violently ill, where such illnesses typically incapacitate workers. Many different foods can be contaminated, as shown in Figure 1. All in all, the CDC showed no scientific relationship between food most poisonings and worker illness. Such deceit constitutes a cover-up of the actual food poisoning causes. The Real Cause of Food Poisonings The CDC has spent a great deal of money to fund the research for this report, yet they fail to spend any money to prevent the root cause of food poisonings and lead and copper poisonings ("Our Water Mains Contaminate Us With E. coli, Lead and Copper - Illness and Death Follow", Click Here). 'Research concludes that a phenomenon referred to as water hammer breaks underground water mains, and underground E. coli [and Listeria] enter water mains during power outages or pressure losses to distribute E. coli to our homes, businesses and irrigation systems to drive E. coli outbreaks. People die from E. coli, and illnesses and deaths are preventable.' 'The most important research conclusion is that E. coli [and Listeria] infections will stop by controlling water main-break destruction and controlling water operations after power outages and water pressure losses. A parallel health concern relates lead and copper contamination of water supplies to water hammer-induced water main breaks. Another important finding proves that lead and copper contamination of drinking water systems can be minimized. Stop Illness and Deaths The CDC blames workers for this major public health hazard, where significant cash was spent to fund this study. Money would be better spent to investigate and stop the cause of food poisoning. Lives can be saved, and illnesses can be drastically reduced. Figure 2. E. Coli infectious disease (Image by NIAID) Details DMCA In short, food poisoning - plus lead and copper poisonings - can be drastically reduced if the CDC changes their focus and budget from cover-ups to solutions. (Article changed on Jun 04, 2023 at 12:02 PM EDT) EVERETT, Wash. John Stejer wishes his mom, Betty, still lived close enough to visit at least weekly. Instead, when her memory and judgment diminished rapidly, the only place he could find an affordable assisted living bed was in Tucson, Arizona. We all thought this is where she would spend her last days with family, Stejer said. To discover that there was no place in the state I mean, no place that was really discouraging. And I was actually in disbelief. Amanda Stott-Smith, who threw her children off the Sellwood Bridge in the middle of the night more than a decade ago, died on Sunday morning at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville where she was serving a life sentence. Stott-Smith was sentenced in April 2010 for intentionally killing her 4-year-old son, Eldon Jay Rebhan Smith, and trying to kill her 7-year-old daughter, Trinity Smith, by dropping them off the Sellwood Bridge the previous May. The children were pulled out of the water by David Haag and his companion, Cheryl Robb, who lived in a floating home northwest of the Sellwood Bridge. A police sergeant then performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Eldon, but it was too late to save the boy. Police caught Stott-Smith a few hours after the act on the ninth floor of a downtown parking garage; they grabbed her as she tried to jump. She told police she threw her children off the bridge as an act of revenge against her estranged husband, who had obtained custody of the children a month earlier and who she presumed had a new girlfriend. Stott-Smith was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 35 years, meaning she could have been released at age 67. A year and a half after the tragedy, a Portland Fire rescue boat was named for Trinity and Eldon. The Oregon Department of Corrections did not say how Stott-Smith, now 45-years-old, died at the prison. A spokeswoman said the Medical Examiner will determine the cause of her death. A book, To the Bridge: A True Story of Motherhood and Murder by Nancy Rommelmann, documents Stott-Smiths act and the dysfunctional relationship she had with her husband. Egypt and Israel have agreed to increase surveillance cameras and towers on the border, Saudi TV channel Al-Arabiya reported on Sunday, citing sources. One Egyptian border security personnel and three members of the Israeli forces responsible for border security were killed in the early hours of Saturday. The incident also left two other Israeli soldiers injured. It all started when an Egyptian border security personnel, chasing drug smugglers, crossed the border between Egypt and Israel, only to be killed in the ensuing crossfire, according to a statement by the Spokesman of the Egyptian Armed Forces, Gharib Abdel-Hafez Gharib, on Saturday evening. Gharib noted that operations to search and secure the area have not ceased and that all the legal proceedings relevant to the incident were being taken. In a phone call, Egypts Minister of Defence and Military Production, General Mohamed Zaki, discussed Saturday the circumstances that led to the incident with Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant. The two ministers also discussed coordination to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future, according to the Egyptian military spokesman. Search Keywords: Short link: A couple hundred people descended on Hillsboros Jerry Willey Plaza Saturday for an afternoon of drag performances, costume contests and community at the Portland areas first municipal Pride event. Festivities began at noon with a Hillsboro City Council proclamation recognizing June as Pride month. It was read by council members Anthony Martin and Beach Pace, the first openly gay woman to serve on the city council. Pace was first elected in 2018 and helped establish Hillsboros first Pride celebration a year later. Pace shared her own experiences with discrimination and prejudice as a lesbian woman, from being told shed grow out of her tomboy phase as a child, to serving in the military during the dont ask, dont tell era, a policy enacted by the Clinton administration that allowed members of the LGBTQIA+ community to serve in the military if they remained closeted. I want all of you to know, we dont just fly the Pride flag and check a box here in Hillsboro, Pace told the crowd. We dont just tolerate or accept; we welcome, value, celebrate and support Pride all year long. Hillsboro resident Emme Deplois said Paces commitment to uplifting and supporting the LGBTQ+ community is one of the main reasons they voted to reelect Pace during last years midterms. You read a politicians name and hear their talking points, but its another thing to see them out here in the community, doing the work, Deplois said. It just means so much. After the very gay proclamation, as Pace described it, visitors danced to techno beats spun by a live DJ, while others visited the nonprofits and many queer-owned businesses at the small vendors market nearby, including the Westside Queer Resource Center. Board member Jenna Devenberg said the center was established in 2019 to assist the underserved LGBTQ+ community on the western outskirts of Portland. We saw unmet needs in Washington County that needed to be addressed, Devenberg said. Devenberg said that begins with helping LGBTQ+ youth, a sentiment shared by Hillsboro School District teacher Corrine Jaspar, who passed out pencils, stickers and guides to gender neutral bathrooms locations in area schools at a district sponsored table. I think its important to be here to show our support to our students, and to show our support to our community, Jaspar said. Councilwoman Pace said it was important to the organizers that families felt welcome and included in the 5th annual Hillsboro Pride Party, which featured an arts and craft table, a costume contest for both human and canine attendees and a performance from the Turnback Boyz, a self-described time-traveling queer boyband. The bands tongue-in-cheek lyrics touched on the importance of consent and the ease of juggling a polyamorous relationship with Google Calendar. The hourlong performance included several outfit changes and iconic boy band choreography. Hillsboro resident Amy McAlister said she brought her three children and dog Petunia to celebrate diversity and the progress the LGBTQ+ community has made over the years. As a self-identifying queer woman and the mother and aunt of LGTBQ+ individuals, McAlister said she wanted her children to connect with their community in their hometown. McAlister said there is still a lot of work to be done locally and across the country to ensure LGBTQ+ youth are supported and given the same rights as their cisgender counterparts, referencing the recent wave of bills targeting trans and gender-nonconforming children enacted in states like Florida, Texas and Arkansas. I realized I was queer about 10 years ago, now its a matter of advocating for my kids, McAllister said. The party came to a close with drag performances from Poison Waters and friends from Portland-staple Darcelle XV. Waters served as the grand marshal of the 2023 Starlight Parade later that evening. Pace said the Pride celebration is just one example of the work being done in Hillsboro to make it a more diverse, equitable and inclusive space. She said she was proud to see the large community turnout and support from local agencies like the Hillsboro Police Department, where her wife Jincy Pace is a commander. Our town motto is growing great things, and this is growing community, Pace said. It means so much to celebrate and to be celebrated. CORRECTION: Jincy Pace is a commander with the Hillsboro Police Department. The story originally incorrectly listed her as a sergeant. Nick Gibson; ngibson@oregonian.com; 971-393-8259; @newsynicholas Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe. Sunday marks the anniversary of the disappearance of Kyron Horman, the 2nd grader who went missing 13 years ago after being dropped off at school. His family is holding a car wash to raise money for more searches and a private investigator. Kyron Horman was 7 years old when he disappeared on June 4th, 2010, from Portlands Skyline Elementary School, shortly after arriving with his stepmother, Terri Moulton Horman, to tour a science fair at the school. His disappearance spurred the largest search-and-rescue operation in Oregon history. The FBI, the Portland Police Bureau and the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office have conducted exhaustive searches with assistance from volunteer search-and-rescue teams. But Kyron has never been found. The case remains open and, in an effort to spur new leads, the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office on Friday released an updated image of what Kyron might look like as a 20-year-old man. Theres a $50,000 reward for information leading to a resolution of the case. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provided this age-progressed photo of Kyron Horman to show what he might look like in 2023. He disappeared in 2010 at age 7. His family organized the fund-raising car wash, which will be held until 6 p.m. on Sunday at 15825 SW Walker Road in Beaverton. Anyone with information relevant to the boys disappearance should contact the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office by calling the tip line at 503-988-0560 or by emailing MCSOTipLine@mcso.us. UPDATE: Woman has been found safe, Vancouver police announced Monday, June 5, 2023. *** The Vancouver Police Department is searching for a pregnant woman who disappeared a month ago and is close to giving birth. Police say the 31-year-old is about 8 months pregnant, is experiencing homelessness and could be suffering from medical complications dangerous to her and the child. Family and friends had not heard from her since the beginning of May. She is described as white, 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds. Anyone with information on Wheeless whereabouts should call 911 or email Detective Carlow at jake.carlow@cityofvancouver.us. Congress and the White House averted a default on the nations debt, ratifying a deal struck by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden. Jack Ohman leads this weeks editorial cartoon gallery captures the fraught politics of the moment by depicting McCarthy swarmed by the Republican Freedom Caucus dogs and Biden herding Democratic Progressive caucus cats. The fact that neither side got everything it wanted signaled to Bill Bramhall that governing had occurred. Mike Luckovich thinks Biden got the best of the GOP in a game of strip poker. Joey Weatherfords Republicans feel the same way. Nick Anderson draws Uncle Sam repeatedly hitting himself in the head with the debt ceiling hammer, saying, Thank you, sir, may I have another? Steve Breen draws the debt crisis as a roped steer ... until the ropes come off again. Meanwhile, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie joined the crowded Republican presidential primary field. Drew Sheneman of Christies home state Newark Star-Ledger draws Christie telling a Trump supporter, Im running to give the GOP a dose of reality. Hard pass, replies the man carrying a Stop the Steal flag. Ohman borrows the infamous image of Christie sunning himself on a closed beach during the Covid lockdown, regretting how he used to surf the Trumpism wave. Cartoonists also keep raising the alarm about artificial intelligence, with riffs on AI replacing fast food workers; making nuclear war more likely; and hallucinating a world where humans are enslaved by robots ... or is it a hallucination? Also in the news last week: Pride Month and pushback; Russias victory in a now-leveled Bakhmut, Ukraine; and word that former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia and is living out her days at home with former President Jimmy Carter. Cartoons were drawn by Jack Ohman, Nick Anderson, Bill Bramhall, Dana Summers, Drew Sheneman, Walt Handelsman, David Horsey, Phil Hands, Joel Pett and Joey Weatherford of Tribune Content Agency; and Mike Luckovich, Steve Breen and Michael Ramirez of Creators Syndicate. View more editorial cartoon galleries. Oregonians can rattle off a long list of crises affecting their communities daily. Tens of thousands of people are living in or at the edge of homelessness. A severe shortage of behavioral health services has left youths, adults and families to struggle with mental illness and substance addiction on their own. Theres also a lack of public defenders to represent those charged with crimes, an ongoing drought, low-literacy proficiency among students and many other intractable problems requiring urgent attention from Oregons elected leaders. But none of this, apparently, is as crucial to the future of the state than the pointless duel of egos that has taken over the Oregon Senate. With Senate Republicans in their fifth week of boycotting floor sessions to prevent passage of House Bill 2002 and Senate Democrats refusal to budge on any of its provisions, hope for new legislation to address those crises and more is fading fast. Oregonians should be furious at elected leaders inability so far to break the impasse when so many lives hang in the balance. Republicans have taken the nuclear option racking up well more than the nine unexcused absences allowed under Measure 113 before they are disqualified from running for re-election in the next term (although, like much in the poorly-written measure, the exact language of the law leaves room for question.) But the measure, adopted last year, did nothing to address the underlying reason Republicans boycotts over the years have been so successful in grinding Senate action to a halt the state constitution requires that at least two-thirds of a chambers members be present to hold votes. Democrats plus the two Republicans who have regularly shown up on the floor still add up to two senators short of a quorum. Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp has said Republicans would return on the last day of the session, June 25, to swiftly pass budget and bipartisan bills a move that Democratic Senate President Rob Wagner rejects because it lets Republicans decide which bills make it over the finish line. But that all-or-nothing approach would allow critical legislation to die that would otherwise help Oregonians across the state. Republicans could and should end this by returning to the Senate floor tomorrow. While they have legitimate beefs with Democratic control, including the fact that many Republican priority bills did not even get a public hearing, the election of a majority of Democrats reflects voter sentiment and gives them the authority to set the agenda. But Democrats, too, must consider the hard truth that compromise on HB 2002, particularly a part of it that affects extremely few people, may be necessary to salvage top priorities that affect far more Oregonians. HB 2002 is not all controversial. The bills provisions to protect medical providers from legal action for providing abortion or gender-affirming care have Republican support for passage, according to Knopp, R-Bend. But other provisions have generated more opposition, including language establishing that there is no minimum age for obtaining an abortion without parental notification. (Common practice, according to the Oregon Health Authority, has been that providers have required parental involvement for those 14 and younger a population that comprises a tiny number of pregnancies in the state). A provision that all insurers cover gender-affirming care, combined with an existing law that allows those 15 and older to receive medical services on their parents insurance without their knowledge, has also been part of their opposition. We have previously expressed our concerns with wholesale lifting of parental involvement in abortion for the youngest patients and noted that existing laws should ensure protection for any patients who are victims of abuse. But regardless of the law, there are fewer than 25 such pregnancies a year, according to Oregon Health Authority statistics. Could changing this provision, perhaps by directing the health authority to explore and report back on the need and shortcomings of current practice, provide a window that leaves the rest of the bill intact and brings Republicans back to the floor? Its a gamble, in part because Republicans have not been consistent and clear in their demands. But Wagners obstinate refusal to even consider changes closes off that avenue. The bill isnt the only obstacle. The personality clash between Knopp and Wagner also appears to be central in the standoff and caucuses on both sides should explore whether alternate legislators can forge a much-needed breakthrough. Regardless, the rhetoric and tactics including Democrats recent decision to impose a $325-a-day fine on Republicans who dont appear for floor sessions are headed in the wrong direction. Gov. Tina Koteks announcement last week that she was unable to broker a compromise is a disappointment, considering her ambitious agenda for Oregon is at stake. While she endorses leaving HB 2002 intact, she should encourage Democrats to explore whether there are any amendments that can result in a better outcome than an all-out shutdown of the session. Oregon Democrats reluctant to budge should consider the dysfunctional drama that just wrapped up last week in Washington D.C. Republicans used the routine vote needed to raise the countrys debt limit as leverage to force the Biden Administration to commit to modest spending cuts and a cap on growth in the defense budget. As much as Democrats should not reward Republicans for such a reckless gambit, the prospect of default and reality of consequences necessitated compromise. Yes, Oregon Republicans should not be holding the session hostage and lowering the threshold for quorum must be on a future agenda. But Democrats, in their insistence on not giving in to Republicans, shouldnt be so willing to allow so much needed legislation to die. Oregonians are the ones again and always who will suffer the consequences. -The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board Sign up for our free Oregon Opinion newsletter. Email: Indi Namkoong, Brett Morgan and Zachary Lauritzen Namkoong is transportation justice coordinator for Verde. Morgan is transportation policy manager for 1000 Friends of Oregon. Lauritzen is interim executive director for Oregon Walks. All three are members of the Just Crossing Alliance. Oregon has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to leverage federal infrastructure funding to envision and deliver an I-5 bridge replacement project that reflects the communitys priorities but that opportunity is in jeopardy. A new bridge over the Columbia River can provide transportation options that are safer, more convenient, more affordable and better for our air and our climate. It can serve as the centerpiece of expanded public transit and bike/walk networks that can help North Portland neighborhoods thrive while still allowing cars and freight to move across the river safely. Unfortunately, after discussing this bridge for more than a decade, Oregon must now scramble to take advantage of federal dollars before time runs out. The failure of the Oregon Legislatures Joint Transportation Committee to move a bill forward and the ongoing walkout by Senate Republicans are jeopardizing this opportunity. Action is urgent. Washington state has appropriated $250 million of the $1 billion it has pledged to the project. Oregons Joint Committee on Transportation has been meeting for months with multiple hearings and hours of public comments to inform Oregons approach on funding, labor policies and other guidelines for building the bridge. But at the committees final meeting of the session, the bill to fund the bridge never even came up for a vote. To our dismay, the bridge bill suddenly died. Any chance for funding the I-5 bridge this session now relies on its inclusion in a broader budget bill. But with the Senate Republicans ongoing walkout, this path is uncertain at best. As we hope for a breakthrough, we must focus on the core elements that a bridge funding proposal should include. With recent forecasts projecting Oregon will have $1.9 billion more than expected to spend in the coming biennium, legislators should immediately appropriate $250 million matching Washingtons appropriation to dateso the project can compete for federal transit grants. We also must ensure fiscal guardrails remain in place. These include requiring the state treasurers office to independently approve the finance plan and requiring explicit Coast Guard approval for the bridges design before taking on debt for the project. These longstanding safeguards should be non-negotiable due to the state transportation departments 20-year history of cost overruns on highway and bridge projects. They will also help ensure that Oregonians arent paying disproportionately for the benefit of car commuters from Clark County, who will be the primary users of this bridge. Most of all, we need this bridge project right-sized, right now. To us, that means limiting the size and scope of this project to a simple bridge replacement not one that adds more lanes. The project should expand transit to create frequent and accessible options, create safe walking and biking routes and provide safe vehicle travel without costly highway expansions that will create more congestion and harm the health, livability and growth of local communities in North Portland and Hayden Island. Right-sizing means completing the project in phases so we can ensure that transit expansion and seismic upgrades are built first, while additional elements like highway interchanges can progress as more funding becomes available. Every general fund dollar used for this bridge is a dollar thats unavailable for critical needs like housing, health care and education. Right-sizing also means minimizing impacts to the general fund and directing those dollars to elements like transit that cannot be funded with gas taxes. These things are within reach if we take steps this session to ensure the I-5 bridge replacement can still move forward in the absence of a policy bill. This bridge can be a transformational connection for our region, but we need legislators to flesh out a budget proposal and Senate Republicans must return to finish the job. Otherwise, we risk losing out on billions in federal funds. Allocating $250 million in funding to secure federal transit grants is the right next step toward building the right-sized bridge replacement we deserve. Sign up for our free Oregon Opinion newsletter. Email: As effects of the pandemic subside, enrollment for Oregons 17 community colleges has started to rebound. However, local industries continue to face critical worker shortages. It is more important than ever that the Oregon Legislature invest in workforce training, skills building and essential wraparound support services for students all of which our community colleges provide, (Universities, community colleges face bleak funding picture in Salem, April 15). We are on the frontlines of training, education and support, creating the pathways of opportunity that will spur economic growth and prosperity for the state and region. For instance, a 2021 economic impact study by the labor economics firm Emsi found that Portland Community College added $2.1 billion in income to the regions economy, supporting 24,169 jobs. That is why we are asking legislators to support the Higher Education Coordinating Commissions request for the Community College Support Fund with $855 million in ongoing funding and $50 million in one-time funding. This allows colleges to maintain critical programs and services and meet the changing demands of students, communities and local economies. With the increased revenue forecast and a substantial rainy day fund, legislators must take action to protect students from substantial cuts to community college budgets. I call upon legislators to recognize the critical importance of adequately funding these institutions. Failure to do so would undermine education and economic opportunities for countless students, hamper the states ability to recover from economic downturns and perpetuate educational and economic inequities. Adrien L. Bennings, Portland Bennings is president of Portland Community College To read more letters to the editor, go to oregonlive.com/opinion. MANISTEE Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City crew members flew a HH60 Jayhawk and landed it at the First Street Beach softball fields shortly after the Kid's Safety Day event kicked off at the Armory Youth Project in Manistee on Saturday. The helicopter flew around the softball field and finally landed, stirring up a dust storm that coated eager young visitors and their families. File photo Two Indiana men await their punishment after their scheduled Thursday sentencing in Midland County Circuit Court was delayed. Paul Grimes, 38, and Andrew Baker, 21, both of Beech Grove, Indiana, pleaded guilty in November to weapons and drug charges. Grimes also pleaded guilty to fleeing police. The pair is set for a status conference at 4 p.m. Sept. 5, before Midland County Circuit Court Judge Michael Beale. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Amid plates of sliced pork, statement-making leather ensembles and piles of political T-shirts, eight Republican presidential hopefuls descended on Iowa to pitch themselves to voters and, in Mike Pence's case, hop on a motorcycle. The former vice president and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were among the White House contenders appearing at a rally at the state fairgrounds near Des Moines hosted by U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst. Her annual political event, the Roast and Ride a combination barbecue-rally and motorcycle ride kicks off a busy summer campaign season heading into the state's first-in-the-nation caucuses early next year. Former President Donald Trump, the leading GOP presidential candidate, was notably absent after spending two days in the state this past week. He has largely avoided any events that have him sharing the stage with his 2024 rivals. DeSantis, with his wife, Casey, and three young kids in tow, chatted with voters, gave out autographs and signed the Bible of a man who thanked DeSantis for standing up to Disney. DeSantis just wrapped up his first week as an official candidate with a blitz of c ampaign stops across three early-voting states. Casey DeSantis wore a black leather jacket in 86-degree weather with the words Where Woke Goes to Die and an outline of Florida on the back. It brought to mind comparisons to first lady Melania Trump, who famously sent a back-of-the-jacket message of her own in 2018 with a green-hooded jacket that read I really dont care do u as she departed the White House for a trip to visit migrant children in Texas. Pence was the only White House hopeful who participated in a morning motorcycle ride for charity that is a staple of Ernsts annual Roast and Ride event. He wore jeans, boots and a leather vest with patches that said Indiana and messages supportive of the military. The former Indiana governor, who has made frequent trips to Iowa over the past year, is expected to launch his long-anticipated campaign at an event in Des Moines on Wednesday. "Ill be back a little later next week," Pence teased the crowd when he spoke later at the rally. I dont have anything to announce today. Earlier in the morning, before setting out on their motorcycle ride, Pence, standing with Ernst in the back of a pickup truck, again hinted at his looming candidacy. One of the reporters just asked me if were showing up more in Iowa, what our lane would be. I said I'm more worried about the lane were going to be staying in today, Pence joked. The former vice president, wearing a white motorcycle helmet and a big grin, then rode off on a cobalt blue Harley Davidson. The group rode to the fairgrounds, where candidates gave speeches and chatted with barbecue-eating voters. Other candidates speaking at the event included former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Michigan businessman Perry Johnson, author Vivek Ramaswamy and conservative talk radio host Larry Elder. In their remarks, the candidates all tiptoed around mentions of the former president. Haley repeated a version of a line she has been using as a candidate that seems to allude to the 76-year-old Trump and his political career as replete with controversies. Its time for a new-generation leader. Weve got to leave the baggage of the negativity behind," she said. Off stage, however, several of the candidates did not hesitate to criticize Trump when asked about his social media post on Friday congratulating North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for his countrys receiving a place on the executive board of the World Health Organization. I was surprised to see that. I mean, I think, one, Kim Jung Un is a murderous dictator, DeSantis said, when a reporter asked him about the post. Pence, in an interview Saturday with Fox News, said: Look, whether it is my former running mate or anyone else, no one should be praising the dictator in North Korea. Hutchinson later tweeted: We sanction leaders who oppress their people. We do not elevate them on the world stage. In their speeches, the GOP candidates hit on similar conservative themes: criticizing President Joe Biden, promising tough policies on China and the U.S.-Mexico border and restrictions on abortion and gender-affirming policies. The event had the feel of a large political fair, with about 1,000 people gathered to listen to the presidential prospects speaking in front of bales of hay in a building at the fairgrounds. Many of the campaigns set up tables full of stickers, T-shirts and drink can coolers. Rows of dozens of shiny Harley Davidson motorcycles, of all colors, were parked neatly in the parking lot outside, along with campaign buses for Ramaswamy and the DeSantis super PAC. Nearby was what appeared to be a mechanical bull converted to resemble a motorcycle, surrounded by an inflatable landing area to catch thrown ridersall sponsored by the political super PAC Never Back Down, which supports DeSantis. Marie Andres of Des Moines signed a form, distributed by Never Back Down, to pledge to caucus for DeSantis early next year. Trump did a great job, but in my opinion, too much drama, the 74-year-old said. She said she committed to DeSantis because she thinks he is the best were gonna get. Jill Villalobos, 54, was buying a Haley T-shirt not for herself, but for her brother in Florida. The Altoona resident is planning to support Scott, whom she thinks can bring the GOP and the country together. I really like his message, Villalobos said. Victoria Ortiz had heard little of the candidates to date, and was at the event to learn more. She walked away with interest in DeSantis, Haley and Scott. I believe in the strong work ethic they promote. As a Hispanic, thats how I was raised, the 35-year-old rental property owner and manager from Des Moines south side said. "I dont believe in giveaways. You have to work for it. She said she didn't like Trump. His persona, pretty much, and the things he says, are not things I want my children to hear from a president, she said. Ernst, along with Gov. Kim Reynolds, is one of the most sought-after Republican officials in the early stages of Iowas leadoff caucuses. The senator has pledged to remain neutral and not endorse during the caucus campaign. ___ Price reported from New York. Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report. Thirty seven Egyptian universities have secured a presence in the overall index of the 2023 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, which categorizes world universities based on their impact towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 37 Egyptian universities were ranked out of a total of 1,591 universities from 112 countries and regions. Out of the 37 Egyptian universities, Aswan University came first locally and placed globally in the ranks of 101-200. Ain Shams University came second locally and in the 201-300 global ranks while Cairo University and Mansoura University came third and fourth locally among the 301-400 global ranks. Concerning the specialized categories of the ranking, Zagazig University had the highest score among the domestic universities in the SDGs goal of Affordable and Clean Energy and occupied the 29th place globally. In the same category, Mansoura University came in 40th place, and Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST) and South Valley University were placed in the same 55th spot. Under the category of the Clean Water and Sanitation SDG, Ain Shams University came in 33rd place among the world universities. In the No Poverty goal of the SDG, Cairo University occupied 56th place worldwide. Mansoura University placed in 76th rank worldwide under the Industry Innovation and Infrastructure goal of SDG. Aswan University came in the 64th and 57th places under the SDGs of Sustainable Cities and Communities and Partnerships for Goals, respectively. Built on decades of work by countries and the UN, the SDGs have 17 goals at their heart, which are an urgent call for action by all countries developed and developing in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests, according to the UN SDGs website. Search Keywords: Short link: This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate CAIRO (AP) Saudi Arabia and the United States urged Sudans warring parties Sunday to agree to and effectively implement a new cease-fire as fighting showed no signs of abating in the northeastern African nation. Sudan descended into chaos after fighting broke out in mid-April between the military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. For weeks, Saudi Arabia and the United States have been mediating between the warring parties. On May 21, both countries successfully brokered a temporary cease-fire agreement to help with the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the war-torn country. Their efforts, however, were dealt a blow when the military announced on Wednesday it would no longer participate in the cease-fire talks held in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah. Following the militarys decision, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia said they were suspending the talks as a result of repeated serious violations of the short-term cease-fire." President Joe Bidens administration imposed sanctions against key Sudanese defense companies run by the military and the RSF and people who perpetuate violence in Sudan. In their statement on Sunday, Washington and Riyad said they continued to engage representatives of the military and the RSF who remained in Jeddah. They urged the Sudanese warring sides to agree to and implement a new cease-fire following the latest one which expired late Saturday. The aim is to eventually establish a permanent cessation of hostilities in the war-wrecked country, they said. The statement said the discussions focused on facilitating humanitarian assistance" and reaching an agreement on "near-term steps the parties must take before resuming the talks. The fighting has turned the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into battlefields, resulting in widespread looting and destruction of residential areas across the country. The conflict has also displaced more than 1.65 million people who fled to safer areas in Sudan and neighboring countries. Aid groups offices and warehouses, health care facilities and other civilian infrastructure have been attacked and looted, including most recently the warehouses of the World Food Program in the city of Obeid in North Kordofan on Jan. 1. There have been reports of sexual violence, including the rape of women and girls in Khartoum and the western Darfur region, which have seen some of the worst fighting in the conflict. Almost all reported cases of sexual attacks were blamed on the RSF, which didnt respond to repeated requests for comment. Residents reported intense fighting over the past two days in Khartoum and its neighboring cities of Omdurman and Bahri. Shelling and gunfire were heard early Sunday in parts of Omdurman, as the militarys aircraft bombed RSF positions in the capital area. Fighting was also reported in the northern part of the Darfur region, which has witnessed some of the worst battles since the fighting began on April 15. The clashes intensified between the military and the RSF in the town of Kutum in North Darfur province. Residents reported that the towns market, many houses, and a camp for displaced people were burned down. There were reports of dozens of casualties among civilians. Darfur Gov. Mini Arko Minawi said on Twitter on Sunday that Kutum residents have experienced terrible violations including killings and looting. Minawi, a rebel leader who was named governor of the western region as part of a 2020 peace deal, declared Darfur a disaster area." He urged the international community to send humanitarian assistance by all available means to save people in the stricken region. CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) Gunmen burst into a room at a men's hostel near the eastern South African city of Durban, killing eight people and leaving two others injured, police said Sunday, in the latest mass shooting in the country. Seven men were declared dead immediately after the shooting in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday in the Umlazi township. An eighth man died on Sunday, police said. Two others are hospitalized with injuries, and they include a man who jumped out of the window of the hostel room to escape the gunfire. Police said that 12 men were in the room drinking alcohol when numerous gunmen broke in, shot at them and then fled. Two of the men in the room were unhurt. South Africa is among the 10 countries with the highest homicide rates in the world and there has been a spate of mass shootings in recent years. At least two mass shootings were reported earlier this year. A child was among 10 family members who were killed at a house in April. Eight were shot dead at a birthday party in January. Last year, 22 people were killed over one weekend in three separate shootings at bars in different parts of the country. South Africa has reasonably strict gun laws but has serious problems with illegal firearms, police and community activists say. An average of 30 people a day were killed by firearms in South Africa in the first three months of this year, according to official crime statistics. During the same three months, police recorded more than 4,000 cases of illegal possession of guns or ammunition. ___ More AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BEIJING (AP) China tightened access to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing on Sunday, the anniversary of the military suppression of 1989 pro-democracy protests that left a still unknown number of people dead and discussions and commemorations forbidden within the country. In Hong Kong, which was the last Chinese-controlled territory to hold commemorations, eight people, including activists and artists, were detained on the eve of the anniversary, underscoring the citys shrinking room for freedom of expression. Police said late Sunday they arrested a woman for allegedly obstructing police officers in performing their duties and took 23 other people away on suspicion of breaching public peace for further investigation. Many of them were detained by officers around Victoria Park, the large public space of lawns and sports grounds that used to be the scene of an annual candlelight gathering to remember the hundreds or thousands killed when army tanks and infantry descended on central Beijing on the night of June 3 and into the morning of June 4, 1989. Discussion of the seven weeks of student-led protests that attracted workers and artists and their violent resolution has long been suppressed in China. It also became increasingly off-limits in Hong Kong since a sweeping national security law was imposed in 2020, effectively barring anyone from holding memorial events. The death toll from the 1989 violence remains unknown and the Communist Party relentlessly harasses those at home or overseas who seek to keep the memory of the events alive. In Beijing, additional security was seen around Tiananmen Square, which has long been ringed with security checks requiring those entering to show identification. People passing by foot or on bicycle on Changan Avenue running north of the square were also stopped and forced to show identification. Those with journalist visas in their passports were told they needed special permission to even approach the area. Still, throngs of tourists were seen visiting the iconic site, with hundreds standing in line to enter the square. Ahead of the anniversary, a group of mothers who lost their children in the Tiananmen crackdown sought redress and issued a statement renewing their call for truth, compensation and accountability. Human Rights Watch called on the Chinese government to acknowledge responsibility for the killing of pro-democracy protesters. The Chinese government continues to evade accountability for the decades-old Tiananmen Massacre, which has emboldened its arbitrary detention of millions, its severe censorship and surveillance, and its efforts to undermine rights internationally, Yaqiu Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. While Hong Kong, a former British colony handed over to Chinese rule in 1997, uses colonial-era anti-sedition laws to crack down on dissent, the persistence of non-conforming voices lays bare the futility of the authorities attempts to enforce silence and obedience, Amnesty International said. The Hong Kong governments shameful campaign to stop people marking this anniversary mirrors the censorship of the Chinese central government and is an insult to those killed in the Tiananmen crackdown," Amnesty said. Beijing-appointed authorities in Hong Kong have blocked the Tiananmen memorial for the last three years, citing public health grounds. In 2020, thousands defied a police ban to hold the event. Despite the lifting of most COVID-19 restrictions, the citys public commemoration this year was muted under a Beijing-imposed national security law that prosecuted or silenced many Hong Kong activists. Three leaders of the group that used to organize the vigil were charged with subversion under the law. The group itself was disbanded in 2021, after police informed it that it was under investigation for working on behalf of foreign groups, an accusation the group denied. After the enactment of the security law following massive protests in 2019, Tiananmen-related visual spectacles, including statues at universities, were also removed. Most recently, books featuring the events have been pulled off public library shelves. Asked whether it is legal to mourn the crackdown in public as an individual, Hong Kong leader John Lee said that if anyone breaks the law, of course the police will have to take action. Many Hong Kongers, who were uncertain what authorities might consider subversive, tried to mark the event in low-profile ways on Sunday. Chan Po-ying, leader of the League of Social Democrats, held a LED candle in one hand and two yellow paper flowers in another. She was taken away by police officers from a stop-and-search area. At Victoria Park, scenes of people rallying for democracy have been replaced by a carnival organized by pro-Beijing groups to mark the citys 1997 handover to China. By about 8:30 p.m., another 14 people, including activists and a former head of The Hong Kong Journalists Association, were taken away by police in Causeway Bay shopping district, where Victoria Park is located. Sunday's events reflected the political chill that has sparked emigration to Britain and other countries and a deep ambivalence among a population that had been strongly engaged in local politics. The United Nations Human Rights office said on Twitter that it was alarmed by reports of the city's detention linked to the anniversary, urging the release of anyone detained for exercising freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. A commemoration was held in Taipei, the capital of the self-governing island democracy of Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory to be annexed possibly by force. More than 500 participants turned out to light candles, hear speeches and chant slogans under a heavy rain. Kacey Wong, an artist who is among the scores of Hong Kong residents who have moved to Taiwan, said the more than 30 years of commemorating the 1989 protests had made it a part of life. Wong said an artist friend, Sanmu Chen, had been detained along with others while attempting to stage a public street performance in Causeway Bay in Hong Kong. "So, its all engrained in our subconscious that we should care and practice our sympathy towards other people who are yearning for democracy and freedom, Wong said. ___ Associated Press writer Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau (AP) Bissau-Guineans voted Sunday in a highly anticipated election to fill Guinea-Bissau's national legislature, more than a year after the West African nation's president dissolved parliament. Nearly 1 million voters were registered to elect more than 100 lawmakers from six parties with active seats in the National Peoples Assembly, according to the Centre for Democracy and Development, an African human rights organization. Guinea-Bissau is a small nation that gained independence from Portugal nearly five decades ago. The country has endured continued political turmoil, including multiple coups, since then. President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, a former army general, took office after he was declared the winner of a December 2019 runoff election. He survived a February 2022 coup attempt when assailants armed with machine guns and AK-47s attacked the government palace. Since assuming office, Embalo has cracked down on civic freedoms, while government bodies have lost significant independence, according to analysts. He dissolved the parliament in May 2022 and postponed the legislative election scheduled for the following December. Lucia Bird Ruiz Benitez de Lugo, director of the West Africa Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, said that Embalo has consolidated his grip on power since his controversial inauguration in February 2020. "These elections are key in determining how much support the ruling party retains in parliament, she said. "They will shape how isolated, or otherwise, the president, who has strained relations with the powerful military, will be during the remaining 18 months of his tenure." Polls opened early Sunday with more than 3,500 voting stations expected in the country and the diaspora. This is the country's seventh legislative election since opening a multi-party system nearly three decades ago. Citizens hope this vote will help set the country on the right path. This is a decisive election for the country, given the situation in which the country finds itself at the moment. Everyone is witness to the difficulties experienced," voter Justino dos Santos Leguissimo said. Others were thankful that they were able to vote at all. Today is a very special day for all Guineans, because we have finally come to exercise our civic rights again, said Eunice Mafalda Lopes Queita Esteves, who cast her vote. Results from Sunday's election were expected to be contested after the results are announced in the coming days. ___ Sam Mednick reported from Dakar, Senegal. ___ Follow all of AP's coverage from Africa at https://apnews.com/hub/africa Photo: (Photo : RICHARD A. BROOKS / Getty Images) Japan's population is in the midst of a severe crisis as the birth rate has plummeted to alarming levels, exacerbating concerns over a shrinking and aging population. According to the Health Ministry, Japan's birth rate declined for the seventh consecutive year in 2022, reaching a record low of 1.26 children per woman. The urgency to address this demographic challenge has intensified as the government faces criticism for its perceived slow response to tackle the issue effectively. Record Low Birth Rate Highlights Demographic Woes According to CNBCTV18, the average number of children born to a woman during her lifetime dropped from 1.30 in the previous year to 1.26 in 2022, equaling the record low set in 2005. This fertility rate falls significantly below the 2.06-2.07 range considered necessary to maintain a stable population. With Japan's population already in decline for 16 years, projections indicate a further decline to 87 million by 2070. The consequences of a shrinking and aging population extend beyond social concerns. Japan's economic stability and national security are increasingly at risk as the country fortifies its military presence amidst China's assertive territorial ambitions. A declining workforce puts strain on the economy as fewer individuals contribute to productivity and innovation. Moreover, an aging population poses challenges for sustaining social security systems and healthcare provisions. As reported by Quartz, Japan has one of the lowest birth rates globally. Notably, several East Asian countries, including Hong Kong, Palau, and South Korea, exhibit exceptionally low fertility rates, with each of them recording a rate of 0.8, the lowest in the world. Japan finds itself at a critical juncture, grappling with the consequences of a rapidly declining birth rate and an aging population. Read Also: Nashville Pastor Opens Up About Grief After Losing 9-Year-Old Daughter To Covenant School Shooting Government Initiatives and Public Challenges Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has made addressing declining births one of his top policy priorities. During a recent meeting with a panel of experts, he emphasized the importance of reversing the downward trend before the young population is expected to decline drastically in 2030. Kishida's government plans to introduce drastic measures and secure approximately 3.5 trillion yen ($25.2 billion) annually over the next three years for a new child care package. While these initiatives aim to provide additional funding for existing programs and offer incentives for childbearing, critics argue that they fail to address underlying issues. Many young Japanese individuals are hesitant to marry and start families due to discouraging job prospects, corporate cultures that hinder work-life balance, and a lack of public support for child-rearing. Rising living costs and limited wage increases further compound these challenges. Furthermore, according to Reuters, Prime Minister Kishida has also emphasized the critical importance of the next decade in addressing Japan's declining birth rate. He highlighted that the youth population is projected to experience a significant decline starting in the 2030s, making the period until then the final opportunity to reverse the trend. The COVID-19 pandemic has further compounded the country's demographic challenges, with reduced marriage rates in recent years contributing to fewer births, while the impact of the virus has led to an increase in deaths. The urgency to reverse the demographic crisis is mounting, with experts highlighting the need for comprehensive measures that address not only financial incentives but also broader societal changes. Overcoming the obstacles requires tackling issues such as employment stability, gender equality, and creating an inclusive environment that supports families and childrearing. As Japan navigates these challenges, the nation's future hinges on its ability to implement effective strategies that inspire confidence and provide a sustainable solution to the looming population crisis. Related Article: U.S. Coast Guard Concludes Search for Louisiana Teen Who Went Overboard in Bahamas Cruise Photo: (Photo : Caroline Hernandez on Unsplash) In a recent audit conducted by the Health and Human Services Department (HHS), alarming findings emerged regarding the placement of unaccompanied migrant children in the care of nonfamily sponsors. The audit has raised concerns among advocates, who worry that some of these vulnerable minors may be at risk of exploitation and child labor. The Office of Refugee Resettlement, responsible for overseeing the care and release of unaccompanied minors, conducted the audit. According to NBC, the results indicate that 344 unaccompanied migrant children were placed with nonfamily sponsors who were already hosting at least two other children. This raises questions about the vetting process and whether these children might be susceptible to exploitation by strangers who could exploit them for labor. Increase in Placement of Unaccompanied Minors with Nonfamily Sponsors Raises Red Flags Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defense, an organization advocating for unaccompanied migrant children, expresses concerns about the well-being of these minors. In their work, they have encountered cases where children are placed with individuals they do not know, treated as second-class citizens within the family, and pressured to engage in labor. When unaccompanied migrants under the age of 18 arrive in the United States, they are transferred to the custody of approved sponsors, typically family members. However, the audit highlights a notable increase in the number of children placed with nonfamily sponsors from 2021 to 2022, both in absolute numbers and as a percentage of all unaccompanied minors. In 2021, out of 138,917 unaccompanied minors released by the government, 11.8%, or 16,456, were placed with nonfamily sponsors. The figures for 2022 show a slight decrease in the total number of unaccompanied minors released, with 124,781 children, but a higher percentage of them, 14%, were placed with nonfamily sponsors, amounting to 18,004 children. According to Yahoo News, the audit did confirm that the Office of Refugee Resettlement's vetting procedure complied with regulations, including FBI background checks, sex offender checks, requests for child abuse and neglect registry information, and, in some cases, home studies. Officials from the agency assert that the number of children placed with nonfamily sponsors who already had two or more children under their care represents less than 1% of all children placed with nonfamily sponsors since the beginning of 2021. Read Also: A 6-Year-Old Part-Choctaw Girl was Taken from Foster Parents After a Custody Battle Advocates Call for Enhanced Oversight to Protect Unaccompanied Migrant Children from Exploitation HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra underscores the agency's commitment to the safety and well-being of unaccompanied children. Becerra emphasizes that HHS takes its responsibility seriously and highlights the comprehensive care provided to these children who have experienced significant trauma. He further acknowledges the agency's dedication to vetting sponsors and coordinating efforts with the Department of Labor to address concerns about child labor. The Office of Refugee Resettlement has faced increased scrutiny due to reports of child labor exploitation, including cases involving unaccompanied minors working in violation of labor laws. In response to these concerns, the agency issued new guidance in March 2021 to expedite the placement of unaccompanied children. However, critics argue that these changes may have inadvertently reduced scrutiny on sponsors, potentially leaving children vulnerable to labor exploitation. To address these issues and protect the rights of unaccompanied migrant children, HHS is implementing an innovation and accountability team within the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The team will focus on identifying and mitigating opportunities for potential fraud, abuse, and exploitation among these vulnerable children. According to NY Times, the audit's findings highlight the need for enhanced oversight and safeguards to ensure the well-being of unaccompanied migrant children. Immigrant advocates stress the importance of continued efforts to protect these children from exploitation and human trafficking, as they are particularly vulnerable due to their circumstances. Collaborative measures between HHS and the Department of Labor will play a vital role in safeguarding the rights and safety of unaccompanied migrant children. The HHS Office of Inspector General is conducting a further evaluation of sponsor vetting procedures, with a report expected to be released later this year. Related Article: Alabama Foster Mom Denied Adoption Because of Her Secular Beliefs Photo: (Photo : Brandon Bell / Getty Images) Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed into law Senate Bill 14 (SB14), a highly contentious piece of legislation that prohibits transgender children from accessing puberty blockers and hormone therapies. The new law, which is scheduled to take effect on September 1, 2023, has already sparked intense debate, with critics arguing that it violates the rights of transgender minors. The signing of SB14 positions Texas among the 18 states in the U.S. that restrict transition-related care for transgender youth, according to The Hill. Major Legislative Victory for Texas Republicans The passage of SB14 represents a significant legislative accomplishment for the Republican Party of Texas, which has consistently opposed efforts aimed at validating transgender identities. Authored by State Senator Donna Campbell, a Republican from New Braunfels, the bill aims to prevent transgender children from receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapies, medical treatments supported by numerous medical groups. Transgender kids, their families, and LGBTQ advocacy organizations have fiercely opposed the new law, expressing concerns about its potential harm to transgender minors. They argue that such medical treatments are crucial for the mental well-being of a vulnerable population already at higher risk of depression and suicide. Critics claim that denying these treatments could lead to physical discomfort and psychological distress for transgender youth. Some individuals have even referred to the law as a form of forced detransitioning. Proponents of the law, however, maintain that healthcare providers have taken advantage of a "social contagion" to push irreversible treatments on children who may later regret their decisions. Supporters of SB14 also question the scientific evidence and research behind transition-related care. Furthermore, according to the Associated Press, in a significant move, Governor Abbott became the first to order investigations into families receiving care, a decision that was later halted by a Texas judge. Last month, the GOP-controlled Legislature sent the bill to Abbott, with Republicans in the Senate proceeding with the final vote despite objections and delays from Democrats. As the decision was made, protests from transgender rights activists disrupted the Texas House. Read Also: Florida Eighth Grader Dev Shah Wins Scripps National Spelling Bee with "Psammophile" Legal Challenges and Defending Transgender Rights According to the Texas Tribune, in response to the controversial legislation, prominent organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Texas, Lambda Legal, and the Transgender Law Center have pledged to challenge SB14 in court. Although they have yet to file a lawsuit, these groups have successfully sued other states over similar restrictions in the past. Legal battles against such laws typically center around the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. Plaintiffs argue that these laws deny transgender kids access to the same medical treatments available to their cisgender peers, thus violating their constitutional rights. The immediate goal of these lawsuits is often to obtain preliminary injunctions that prevent the laws from taking effect while the legal proceedings unfold. Texas has faced previous legal challenges regarding transgender rights. In a separate case, the ACLU and Lambda Legal successfully sued the state last year, halting child abuse investigations into parents who provided their transgender children with access to transition-related care. The appeal filed by impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton is still awaiting a ruling from the 3rd Court of Appeals. The signing of SB14 in Texas has ignited a fierce debate over the rights and healthcare of transgender children. The impact of SB14 will undoubtedly be closely monitored as the legal battle unfolds and its effects on the transgender community in Texas become more apparent. Related Article: New Hampshire's Manchester School District Allocates COVID-19 Relief Funds for Youth Pride Event, Controversy Erupts Photo: (Photo : John Moore / Getty Images) Alicia Moore, a 24-year-old woman from Florida, is facing serious charges after an alleged shoplifting incident took a devastating turn. Leaving her two children inside a car that caught fire, Moore now faces accusations of aggravated child neglect and arson. The incident occurred at the Oviedo Mall on May 26, leaving one child with first-degree burns. The harrowing event has sparked outrage and concern for the well-being of the children involved. Car Fire Engulfs Vehicle, Children Trapped Inside According to the Daily Mail, Alicia Moore and an unidentified male companion were allegedly engaged in shoplifting inside Dillard's department store at the Oviedo Mall. Moore reportedly left her two children, whose ages remain unknown, inside the 2016 Lincoln car parked outside. The duo spent about an hour stealing merchandise, unaware of the tragedy that was about to unfold. As Moore exited the store, a horrifying scene awaited her. The car she had left her children in was engulfed in flames. Panicked, she dropped the stolen merchandise and fled the store, leaving her children trapped inside the burning vehicle. Bystanders, recognizing the danger, rushed to their aid. With heroic efforts, they were able to rescue the children and promptly transport them to Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital. The arrest report indicated that one child suffered several first-degree burns, including on the face and ears. The severity of the injuries serves as a tragic reminder of the potential consequences resulting from a series of ill-fated decisions. Charges and Legal Proceedings Following the incident, Alicia Moore was arrested by the Seminole County Sheriff's Office on unrelated outstanding warrants. According to NBC News, while in custody, she faced charges of aggravated child neglect and arson related to the car fire. Additionally, Moore faces charges of petty theft, assault, and battery in Sumter County, located approximately 55 miles west of Orlando. During police interviews, Moore provided only her biographical information and subsequently requested legal representation, indicating her desire for counsel. Her not-guilty plea during the arraignment on Friday further prolongs the legal proceedings. With her bond set at $20,000, Moore awaits her court date scheduled for June 27. While the exact cause of the fire remains unknown, authorities assert that Moore's neglectful actions significantly contributed to the children's injuries. This connection between her alleged shoplifting and the tragic outcome has resulted in the serious charges she now faces. Read Also: Florida Eighth Grader Dev Shah Wins Scripps National Spelling Bee with "Psammophile" Potential Consequences and Community Concerns Moore awaits her legal fate, the potential consequences of her actions remain uncertain. The severity of the charges could result in significant prison time if she is convicted. However, the focus now shifts to the well-being of the injured children and the impact this incident has had on the local community. Instances such as this spark broader discussions about parental responsibility and the protection of children. The incident has raised concerns about the measures in place to prevent such incidents and protect vulnerable individuals, especially in public spaces like shopping malls. CNN has reached out to Moore's court-appointed attorney for comment on the case, but no response has been received at the time of writing. Additionally, representatives from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office and the Oviedo Police Department were unavailable for immediate contact. Moore's charges of aggravated child neglect and arson highlight the severity of the situation as the legal proceedings progress. Related Article: Unveiling Duggar Family's Troubled Past: 'Shiny Happy People' Exposes Josh Duggar on Amazon Prime Apple's Project Titan is a long-range project relating to future autonomous and semi-autonomous electric vehicles. We've been covering this trend for years and our archive houses 154 patents (including today's patent). We know the project is real because two ex-Chinese engineers Xiaolang Zhang and Weibao Wang were arrested and charged for stealing Project Titan trade secrets for companies in China. No one gets arrested for stealing trade secrets of vaporware. Project Titan covers every part of future vehicles imaginable. One or more teams are working on safety belt & airbag passenger restraint systems. Various teams have come up with different possible systems that Apple could one day adopt for different types of possible vehicles. Here are a few past patents on this subject matter: 01, 02, 03 and 04. On May 23, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent simply titled 'Restraint System.' On May 15, Patently Apple posted a patent report titled "Apple Invents a Large In-Vehicle Smart-Table with multiple Degrees of Freedom that could double as a Large Display and more. That was about an autonomous vehicle where the two rows of seats were designed with a built-in table between the rows in a private vehicle. Apple's recent granted patent could relate to a private autonomous vehicle or other types of vehicles such as an autonomous tax or shuttle bus where the two rows of seats face each other without a table. This type of autonomous vehicle will force the car industry to rethink how to deploy an Airbag system. Conventional airbags are hidden in the steering wheel for the driver and part of the dashboard for passengers, which Apple describes as a "reaction surface." In vehicles where there's no driver and front and back seats face each other, there is no "reaction surface" to place airbags. Apple's invention technically covers a vehicle that includes a vehicle body, seats, and a deployable restraint system. The vehicle body includes a floor, a roof, and two sides that cooperatively define a passenger compartment. The seats are positioned in the passenger compartment. At least one of the seats is arranged in a front row and faces rearward. At least one other of the seats is arranged in a rear row and faces forward toward the front row. The deployable restraint system includes a panel and a panel actuator that deploys the panel. The panel extends inboard along the roof when stored. The panel is placed in tension between one of the sides and the roof when deployed by the panel actuator. The panel may, when deployed by the panel actuator, transfers force to and be placed in tension between upper tension locations at the roof and a lower outboard tension location at one of the two sides but not the other of the two sides. The upper tension locations may include an upper inboard tension location that is further from the one of the two sides than the other of the two sides. An upper end of the panel may be fixedly coupled to the roof at the upper tension locations to transfer force thereto. A lower end of the panel may be coupled to a tether that transfers force to the lower outboard tension location. The panel actuator may move the tether to pull the lower end of the panel downward. The deployable restraint system may further include an inflatable cushion (Airbag) and a cushion actuator that deploys the inflatable cushion by inflating the cushion. The inflatable cushion may extend inboard along the roof when stored and/or may be deployed between the panel and a seat back of the at least one seat in the rear row. When both of the panel and the inflatable cushion are deployed, the inflatable cushion may extend below the panel. Apple's patent FIG. 1A below is a side view of a passenger compartment of a passenger vehicle; FIG. 3A is the side view of the passenger compartment of FIG. 1A with deployable restraint systems in deployed states; and FIG. 3B is the cross-sectional view of the passenger compartment of FIG. 1B with the deployable restraint systems in the deployed states. Click on the image below to enlarge so as to be able to read about the components broken down for you. Further to FIG. 3B: Prior to deployment, the inflatable cushion #250 is hidden from view, for example, behind trim panels or other covers associated with the roof #116 (e.g., the cross structure 116a) and/or one of the sides #118 (e.g., a middle one of the pillar structures #118a), such as those same covers or trim panels that hide the reaction panel #240 from view. When stored, the inflatable cushion may be folded (e.g., pleated) and/or rolled to be in a compact elongated form that extends laterally at least partially across the roof, for example, being positioned rearward of the reaction panel. The cushion actuator #270 may be any suitable inflator device, such as a pyrotechnic, that deploys the inflatable cushion 250 by inflating the inflatable cushion with a gas. In operation, the restraint control system is configured to deploy the reaction panel prior to the inflatable cushion, such that the reaction panel is in position to transfer force from the inflatable cushion to the roof and the side #118 of the vehicle body to restrain the passenger during a high acceleration or deceleration event. For more details, review Apple's granted patent 11654858. Apple's lead inventor listed is Adam Golman, Senior Team Lead R&D Engineer, Autonomous Technologies. At least 54 African Union peacekeepers were killed when militants attacked a base housing Ugandan units in Somalia last week, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said. "We discovered the lifeless bodies of 54 fallen soldiers, including a commander," Museveni said in a statement posted on his official Twitter account late Saturday. Al-Shabaab, which has been waging a deadly insurgency against Somalia's fragile central government for more than a decade, claimed responsibility for the dawn attack on May 26. The militants drove a car laden with explosives into the base in Bulo Marer, 120 kilometres (75 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu, leading to a gunfight, local residents and a Somali military commander told AFP. The toll is one of the heaviest yet since pro-government forces backed by the AU force known as ATMIS launched an offensive last August against Al-Shabaab. Museveni had already said last week that an initial panicked reaction to the attack contributed to the toll. "The mistake was made by two commanders, Maj. Oluka and Maj. Obbo, who ordered the soldiers to retreat," Museveni said in the statement, adding that they would face charges in a court martial. However, "our soldiers demonstrated remarkable resilience and reorganised themselves, resulting in the recapture of the base." The 20,000-member ATMIS force has a more offensive remit than its predecessor, known as AMISOM. The force is drawn from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya, with troops deployed in southern and central Somalia. Its goal is to hand over security responsibilities to Somalia's army and police by 2024. Search Keywords: Short link: Authority & Magisterium; Papal Development; Jn 17 & Doctrinal Unity; OT Magisterium?; Christs Descent Into Hades; Protestants & the Church Fathers 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, 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. 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 9: Magisterium] By what authority? The dispute between Catholics and Protestants is in part a dispute over legitimate authority. You have two competing claimants: Scripture alone or the Roman Magisterium. [p. 464] Thats not accurate. The completing claims are two opposing rules of faith: sola Scriptura (one infallible and ultimate authority) vs. Scripture-Tradition-Church (three completely harmonious infallible, ultimate authorities). Catholics routinely call their rule the three-legged stool. Once again, Hays seems unaware of this, since that phrase never appears in his book. Perhaps he understands the concept, though. Well see as we go through the final 230 pages. Given the Magisterium, he can appeal to the authority of the Magisterium, yet he needs a preliminary argument independent of the Magisterium to legitimate the Magisterium in the first place. [p. 464] Exactly; and we do that from the joint testimony of Holy Scripture and sacred apostolic tradition. Standing in judgment of the Magisterium Continuity at the level of Sacred Tradition must be demonstrable. The Magisterium must be able to show continuity, not stipulate continuity. The argument cant be that its consistent because the Magisterium says so. No, that has it backwards. For the authority of the Magisterium hinges on continuity at the level of Sacred Tradition. So whether or not there is historical continuity at the level of Sacred Tradition is an independent judgment that must be made apart from the Magisterium. [p. 466] Yep; and accordingly we Catholic apologists show that the Church fathers believed en masse in Catholic doctrines, or by consensus. See, for example my own massive research on whether the Church fathers held to sola Scriptura. But this is not just a Catholic burden. Protestants, in claiming that their revolution was a reformation assumed that they were brining back a state of affairs that was originally present in the early Church. Hays tries to be virtually totally ahistorical, but its all a pose and a pretense. Its impossible for any Christian to be completely (consistently, thoughtfully) ahistorical. If sola scriptura is the problem, is the magisterium the solution? Protestants dont find the purported evidence for the magisterium convincing. They dont find the biblical prooftexts and patristic prooftexts convincing. [p. 467] Its always fascinating to me why one group of people is utterly unconvinced of what another group finds totally convincing. All we can do is present the evidences that we believe are compelling for our own positions. Some will be convinced of them (for many reasons) and others wont be (for many reasons). But the above two sentences are good because they show that Hays understood that our own argument for Catholic authority is not viciously circular, as he has exclaimed times without number. No! We set forth biblical prooftexts and patristic prooftexts in support of our position. Now, Hays remained unpersuaded. But we do offer a non-circular basis for our claims (often utilizing the opinions of Protestant scholars in agreement on particular issues; I habitually do so). In other words, Hays may have disagreed with our conclusions, but he couldnt say that our arguments are viciously circular and beg the question. They are not and do not, and even he knew that, as indicated by this statement. On the other hand, I turn the tables and argue that in fact it is Protestantism, denominationalism, and sola Scriptura that are logically self-defeating. If God intended the magisterium to be the solution, why didnt he provide convincing evidence? [p. 467] We say that He did, and thats the dispute. Evidence sufficient so that everyone is persuaded by the solution? [p. 467] In the real (and fallen) world, that rarely happens, for various reasons. But there can be a significant, noteworthy agreement within one group, above all others. Umpires who bet on their own team The papacy is, in itself, a product of theological development, so popes have a vested interest in developments that aggrandize the papacy. They have a direct hand in writing their own job description. [p. 480] Is that why the most momentous dogmatic development in the history of the papacy the ex cathedra declaration of the popes infallibility was declared by an ecumenical council (Vatican I in 1870) and not by the pope himself, because popes are self-interested? Is that why it took over eighteen centuries to come about at this highest dogmatic and authoritative level: because all of those popes were so eager to write their own job description and declare that they had this power? Yes, makes a lot of sense, doesnt it? But what kind of unity does [Bishop Robert] Barron think Jn 17 refers to? Surely not doctrinal unity. [p. 480] To the contrary, its certainly doctrinal unity along with every other kind. Jesus prayed that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee . . . even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one (Jn 17:21-23). The Father and the Son are equal as two Persons of the Trinity. They dont disagree at all, on anything. Indeed, they cannot. Its not even possible, because they are all omniscient as well as one in essence. Surely, if Jesus intended to sanction or incorporate the hundreds of contradictory, clashing Protestant theological claims, an analogy to the absolute unity of the Holy Trinity would be the very last one He would make. The fact that He did use it is a profound indication and indeed a strong proof that He desires a profound doctrinal unity amongst Christians. Yet Hays denies this, and (rather bizarrely) thinks that surely Jesus did not have doctrinal unity in mind at all in this prayer. Wonders never cease. But what is a Protestant to do? This is such an obvious and unanswerable downright embarrassing condemnation of all denominationalism that it has to be rationalized away somehow. So Hays merely wished it away and his readers and followers uncritically gobbled it up, apparently not considering how utterly ludicrous of an opinion this was. Proto-papacy One objection that Ive raised to Catholicism is the absence of an OT magisterium. Why is that necessary under the new covenant but unnecessary under the old covenant? [p. 486] Hays in this section raised the issue of the OT priests as a proposed quasi-magisterium and shot it down. But he never mentioned prophets. I wrote in my book, The One-Minute Apologist (2007): Since infallibility is inferior to, and a less extraordinary gift than inspiration, we should not be more surprised at it than we are at inspiration, or think it is less likely to occur, or implausible. God worked through the writers of the Bible (inspiration means, literally, God-breathed), and this made it possible for the Bible to be without error. Some of the biblical writers, like David, Paul, Matthew, and Peter, had been great sinners at one time or other in their lives. Yet they were used by God to write inspired Scripture. Even in Old Testament times, some were granted this gift of special protection from error; for example, the Levites, who were teachers, among other things: Malachi 2:6-8: True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. Prophets routinely purported to proclaim the very word of the LORD. This is a much greater claim than infallibility under limited conditions. Papal infallibility is primarily a preventive, or negative guarantee, not positive inspiration. It is easy to argue, then, that infallibility is a far less noteworthy gift than the revelation on the spot that we observe in the prophets: 1 Samuel 15:10: The word of the LORD came to Samuel: 2 Samuel 23:2: The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me, his word is upon my tongue. [King David] 1 Chronicles 17:3: But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, Isaiah 38:4: Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: Jeremiah 26:15: . . . the LORD sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears. Ezekiel 33:1: The word of the LORD came to me: [word of the LORD appears 60 times in the Book of Ezekiel] Haggai 1:13: Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORDs message, I am with you, says the LORD. The prophets received their inspiration by the Holy Spirit (2 Chron. 24:20; Neh. 9:30; Zech. 7:12). The Holy Spirit is now given to all Christians (Jn. 15:26; 1 Cor. 3:16), so it is perfectly possible and plausible that an even greater measure of the Holy Spirit would be given to leaders of the Church who have the responsibility to teach, since James wrote: Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, for you know that we who teach shall be judged with greater strictness (Jas. 3:1). The disciples were reassured by Jesus: When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth (Jn. 16:13; cf. 8:32), so surely it makes sense that shepherds of the Christian flock would be given an extra measure of protection in order to better fulfill their duties. To begin with, evangelicals arent bound by that article of the creed (he descended into hell). Its just a dubious tradition. I think evangelicals should edit it out of the creed. [p. 491] The descent into hell shouldnt be in a creed. No point reinterpreting it. Just admit it was a mistake and move on. [p. 492] First of all, it wasnt hell but Hades / Sheol. The word hell actually has a wide latitude in theological usage. The Catechism of the Catholic Church elaborates: 633 Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, hell Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God. Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into Abrahams bosom . . . Hades / Sheol is distinct from the biblical Greek place, gehenna, which refers to the unquenchable fire reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to believe (CCC 1034). So did Hays reject the notion that Jesus preached in Hades after His death? What did he think of these passages, then?: Ephesians 4:8-10 Therefore it is said, When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. [9] (In saying, He ascended, what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? [10] He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 1 Peter 3:18-20 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit; [19] in which he went and preached to the spirits in prison, [20] who formerly did not obey, . . . Hays mentions and links to an evangelical defense of the clause in the creed that he rejects. Its the article, He Descended Into Hell by Lee Irons, Ph.D. (November 2012). Irons very helpfully explains why the word hell is used in the creed and why its misleading to English speakers: Sheol in Hebrew becomes Hades in Greek, and Hades in Greek becomes Infer(n)us in Latin, which is the word used in the Apostles Creed (descendit ad inferna [or inferos]). In the Vulgate, most occurrences of Sheol in the OT or Hades in the NT are rendered Infer(n)us, i.e., the underworld. . . . So when we recite the Creed and say that Christ descended into hell, we are not saying that he descended into Gehenna or the Lake of Fire. Instead, we are affirming that he descended to the underworld, the realm of the dead, called Sheol in Hebrew and Hades in Greek. (p. 5) Keep in mind that even if (ex hypothesi) Jesus went to hell when he died, there could be no eyewitnesses to that event this side of the grave. [p. 493] So what? This is why we have a thing like inspired Scripture. Paul and peter wrote Scripture, inspired by God. The result was (literally) God-breathed). Thats how we can know it happened (from the two Bible passages above that referred to it). Why is it unacceptable for you suppose that God failed to protect the church fathers from falsely believing the descensus ad infernos, but acceptable for you to suppose that God failed to protect the vast majority of Jews from repudiating the prophesied messiah? [p. 493] Because inspired, inerrant revelation (Eph 4:8-10; 1 Pet 3:18-20) informs us that Jesus descended to Hades. Case closed. Creeds are not the ultimate standard of comparison. Only revelation enjoys that distinction. [p. 493] Exactly my present point! From a Protestant standpoint, the church fathers arent authority figures. . . . you labor under the illusion that according to Protestant epistemology, the church fathers are authority figures? Where did you come up with that? [p. 491] Oh, to name one, a guy named John Calvin: What, then, you will say, is there no authority in the definitions of councils? Yes, indeed; for I do not contend that all councils are to be condemned, and all their acts rescinded, or, as it is said, made one complete erasure. (Institutes of the Christian Religion, IV, 9:8) Thus those ancient Councils of Nice, Constantinople, the first of Ephesus, Chalcedon, and the like, which were held for refuting errors, we willingly embrace, and reverence as sacred, in so far as relates to doctrines of faith, for they contain nothing but the pure and genuine interpretation of Scripture, which the holy Fathers with spiritual prudence adopted to crush the enemies of religion who had then arisen. In some later councils, also, we see displayed a true zeal for religion, and moreover unequivocal marks of genius, learning, and prudence. (IV, 9:8) Having proved that no power was given to the Church to set up any new doctrine, let us now treat of the power attributed to them in the interpretation of Scripture. We readily admit, that when any doctrine is brought under discussion, there is not a better or surer remedy than for a council of true bishops to meet and discuss the controverted point. There will be much more weight in a decision of this kind, to which the pastors of churches have agreed in common after invoking the Spirit of Christ, than if each, adopting it for himself, should deliver it to his people, or a few individuals should meet in private and decide. Secondly, When bishops have assembled in one place, they deliberate more conveniently in common, fixing both the doctrine and the form of teaching it, lest diversity give offence. Thirdly, Paul prescribes this method of determining doctrine. For when he gives the power of deciding to a single church, he shows what the course of procedure should be in more important casesnamely, that the churches together are to take common cognisance. And the very feeling of piety tells us, that if any one trouble the Church with some novelty in doctrine, and the matter be carried so far that there is danger of a greater dissension, the churches should first meet, examine the question, and at length, after due discussion, decide according to Scripture, which may both put an end to doubt in the people, and stop the mouths of wicked and restless men, so as to prevent the matter from proceeding farther. Thus when Arius arose, the Council of Nice was convened, and by its authority both crushed the wicked attempts of this impious man, and restored peace to the churches which he had vexed, and asserted the eternal divinity of Christ in opposition to his sacrilegious dogma. (IV, 9:13) And I note in passing another guy of no particular import to Protestantism: Martin Luther. The celebrated Protestant historian Philip Schaff stated that the following letter of his referred to the real presence of Christ in the Lords Supper: Moreover, this article has been unanimously believed and held from the beginning of the Christian Church to the present hour, as may be shown from the books and writings of the dear fathers, both in the Greek and Latin languages, which testimony of the entire holy Christian Church ought to be sufficient for us, even if we had nothing more. For it is dangerous and dreadful to hear or believe anything against the unanimous testimony, faith, and doctrine of the entire holy Christian Church, as it has been held unanimously in all the world up to this year 1500. Whoever now doubts of this, he does just as much as if he believed in no Christian Church, and condemns not only the entire holy Christian Church as a damnable heresy, but Christ Himself, and all the Apostles and Prophets, . . . (Letter to Albrecht, Margrave of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, 1532; Weimar German edition of Luthers Works, Vol. XXX; cited in Schaff, The Life and Labours of St. Augustine, Oxford University: 1854, 95. Italics are Schaffs own) Martin Chemnitz (1522-1586) was an eminent second-generation Lutheran theologian. He wrote in his book, Examination of the Council of Trent, Part I (St. Louis: Concordia Pub. House, 1971; translated by Fred Kramer): We have therefore the testimony of the ancient church . . . (p. 161) And we confess that we are greatly confirmed by the testimonies of the ancient church . . . Nor do we approve of it if someone invents for himself a meaning which conflicts with all antiquity, and for which there are clearly no testimonies of the church. (pp. 208-209) It is undeniably the truest of axioms that that alone is the true doctrine which the apostles transmitted and which the primitive church professed as received from the apostles. (p. 225) These genuine, ancient, and true traditions of the apostles we embrace with deepest reverence. (p. 246) We confess also that we disagree with those who invent opinions which have no testimony from any period in the church . . . We also hold that no dogma that is new in the churches and in conflict with all antiquity should be accepted. What could be more honorably said and thought concerning the consensus and the testimonies of antiquity? . . . we search out and quote the testimonies of the fathers . . . (p. 258) Primal, classic, Reformation Protestantism was not ahistorical at all. Its true that the infallibility of tradition and Church were rejected, but not any and all authority from the Church fathers. Hays radical brand of ahistorical Christianity came later on, in certain fringe streams of the Protestant revolution. He certainly doesnt speak for all of Protestantism, and especially not for Luther and Calvin and Chemnitz, who can safely be taken as higher authorities regarding the nature of Protestantism than Steve Hays. *** Practical Matters: Perhaps some of my 4,300+ 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. The Country Director of the World Bank (WB) in Ghana, Mr. Pierre Frank Laporte, has highlighted the significant role played by Ghana's energy sector debt in exacerbating the country's overall debt challenges. In an interview monitored by the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr. Laporte outlined the factors identified by the WB that are driving Ghana's debt situation. Mr. Laporte emphasized that deficiencies within the energy sector, including issues related to tariff systems, management, costly power purchases, and transmission losses, were major problems contributing to Ghana's mounting debts. He pointed out that the mismatch between the production cost of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and the amount consumers paid for electricity led to a surge in debts, as the government was unable to meet its financial obligations to the IPPs. Moreover, Mr. Laporte criticized the Power Purchasing Agreements (PPAs) signed by the government, stating that they were expensive and burdened the country with paying for unused energy due to "take or pay contracts." He noted that Ghana had entered into agreements at unfavorable rates and prices in recent years, which had further impacted the debt situation. To address this issue, Mr. Laporte urged the government to pursue reforms in tariff adjustments, tackle transmission losses through improved infrastructure, and restructure power purchasing agreements to align with the country's energy demands. He highlighted the recent tariff increment and approval by the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) as a positive step, emphasizing that substantial progress could be achieved through the implementation of intended energy sector reforms. Additionally, Mr. Laporte advised the government to leverage the West African Power Pool to provide affordable electricity to both the population and industries. According to Fitch Ratings, the energy sector represents the largest driver of Ghana's national debt, with the country owing independent power producers a staggering $1.58 billion. Fitch Ratings also revealed that while Ghana initially approached the IPPs to restructure their debts as part of the External and Domestic Debt Restructuring, the companies objected to the proposal. Source: graphic.com.gh Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The country's technical vocational education and training (TVET) sector yesterday received further boost with the launch of a 16-million euro project to transform the sector. The three-year eight months initiative - EU-Ghana Pact for Skills: Support for the Transformation of the TVET System (STTSG), is a partnership between the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union in cooperation with the Government of Ghana. It is being implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in cooperation with the Commission for TVET, the Ghana TVET Service and other public and private partners. Capacities The project, among other things, is to strengthen the capacities of state actors for TVET reform. It will also improve the competencies of TVET personnel to apply competency-based training (CBT), enhance the integration of the private sector into the TVET system, ensure the availability of vocational schools offering training courses in the green sector and support the digital transformation of the TVET system. The BMZ is financing the project with 10 million euros while the EU is co-financing with six million euros. Over the years, the GIZ has supported reform processes through the Ghana Skills Development Initiative (GSDI). The STTSG project is a continuation of the support to the government in this regard. The logo for the project was unveiled while the EU Ambassador to Ghana, Irchad Razaaly, and the Country Director of GIZ Ghana, Regina Bauerochse Barbosa, signed an agreement to that effect. Launching the project, the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, said he was excited about the project which was in line with the governments agenda to transform TVET. According to him, the government was making a great stride in the transformation journey, adding that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was a TVET enthusiast and advocate. Relevance The relevance of what we are doing is when the intended purpose manifests, he emphasises and added that so we can talk about TVET transformation and all that we want but if we dont get the young men and women with the requisite skills to really do the TVET of the 21st Century, we have done nothing Dr Adutwum said the university that would be partnering the GIZ must be fully aware that the initiative was a paradigm shift in the countrys transformational agenda. The German Ambassador to Ghana, Daniel Krull, commended Dr Adutwum and the TVET team for their tremendous work, success and achievements in recent years. He said for Ghanaian industries to stay competitive, the quality of the workforce was important and so it was the requisite quality of the vocational training system that would be decisive in realizing the countrys ambition to become a more industrialized country. Mr Razaaly said the support for the project was part of the EUs efforts to help young Ghanaians to acquire skills. Continuation He said the EU-Ghana Pact for Skills was a continuation of the EUs support and deepening of cooperation with the country, and that is why we call it EU-Ghana Pact for Skills Ms Barbosa, for her part, said the new project was a continuation of the successes achieved under the GSDI. The Director General of the Commission for TVET, Dr Fred Kyei Asamoah, pledged the support of the commission to the project. The Director General of the Ghana TVET Service, Mawusi N. Awity, lauded GIZ for successfully implementing the GSDI in the country. Source: graphic.com.gh Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Angola has denied that it was abolishing fuel subsidies as a result of pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Finance Minister Vera Daves said on Thursday that the withdrawal of fuel subsidies came as a result of a sovereign decision by the Angolan government. It follows government's decision to raise the price of petrol from 160 kwanza ($0.27) to 300 kwanza ($0.51) per litre, which came into effect on Thursday. The measure does not affect public service vehicles and motorcycles - whose operators will get a non-transferable pre-paid card that they will use to buy fuel. 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 In a ceremony held at the Jubilee House in Accra on May 30, 2023, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was honoured with the highest accolade within international diplomatic circles by the World Federation of Consuls, Internationale des Corps et Associations Consulaires (FICAC). President Akufo-Addo was presented with the FICAC Gold Star award in recognition of his remarkable contributions to peace, democracy, stability, freedoms, and his invaluable support to the Honorary Consuls in Ghana. The FICAC Gold Star award, described by FICAC President Nikolaos K. Margaropoulos as the most prestigious distinction by the World Consular Federation, is bestowed solely upon incumbent Heads of State and holds royal decree recognition in Belgium. It also holds special status recognition from the United States ECOSOG, the Organisation of American States, and the European Union. By receiving this esteemed award, President Akufo-Addo joins an elite group of world leaders, including Herman Van Rompuy, former President of the European Council, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Presidents of Cyprus, Slovenia, the Philippines, and Turkey. Notably, this honor has also been bestowed upon Pope Benedict and Pope Francis, who typically declines awards from governments or organizations, but accepted the FICAC's distinguished honor and offered private audiences in return. Expressing his gratitude upon receiving the award, President Akufo-Addo acknowledged the distinguished gathering and thanked the attendees for choosing Accra as the esteemed venue for the inaugural Pan-African conference. He emphasized the importance of the work carried out by Consuls in Ghana and around the world, highlighting their crucial role in bridging gaps where formal diplomatic presence may be absent. The President commended the Consular Corps in Ghana for their active and productive engagement, particularly highlighting their efforts with the Women in Diplomacy committee. He conveyed his deep appreciation for the honour and pledged to continue supporting the Consular Corps in promoting positive relations between Ghana and their respective countries of accreditation. Established in Copenhagen in October 1982, FICAC was founded with the aim of bringing together Consular Associations or Corps from across the globe to foster knowledge-sharing, coordination, and effectiveness in enhancing the role of Consuls, the oldest institution serving international bilateral relations. President Akufo-Addo's receipt of the FICAC Gold Star award serves as a testament to his outstanding commitment to peace, and democracy, and fostering strong international relationships, further solidifying Ghana's position on the global diplomatic stage. Source: graphic.com.gh Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video About 100 suspects have been picked up by the police in connection with the renewed chieftaincy and land disputes at Lukula and Mempeasem communities in the North Gonja District in the Savannah Region. The suspects were rounded up in a swoop conducted by security operatives at Daboya on Friday dawn upon intelligence. They are in police custody pending screening as part of investigations. Graphic Online gathers that the suspects who are believed to have launched the violent attack on the two communities were picked up from their hideouts. Attack A renewed chieftaincy and land clash in the two communities on Thursday has resulted in the death of at least seven people and the injury of many others. A number of residents, particularly women and children have been displaced while many houses have been burnt down beyond recognition. It is unclear what might have sparked the violence. However, there have been recurring chieftaincy conflicts in the area over the years. The conflict involved rival chiefs in the Wasipe Traditional Area in the Savannah Region and the Soo Traditional Area in the North East Region. The Lukula community is on the boundary of the two traditional areas. The Police in a statement said a gang numbering about 50 reportedly invaded the Mempeasem community and kidnapped a 50-year-old man. The gang, however, fled into the bush when the Police responded to the attack. The Police managed to rescue the kidnapped victim and retrieved one AK-47 weapon together with 14 rounds of ammunition, seven motorbikes and two bicycles from the scene of the incident. A search for the suspects in the area led to a further retrieval of a bag containing 240 AK-47 ammunition. According to the police, three persons were initially arrested while others were being pursued in connection with violent attacks on Mempeasem and Lukula communities by opposing factions in land and chieftaincy disputes. On 1st June 2023, the Police, while on patrols within the communities, responded to another distress call of an attack by another gang on the Lukula community. The said suspects who were on a rampage, burning houses and shooting randomly, opened fire on the Police upon seeing them, three suspects, who sustained gunshot wounds during their arrest, are currently receiving treatment at a medical facility. A search conducted on them led to the retrieval of one (1) pump action gun, two (2) single barrel guns, one long knife, 80 live cartridges, some talismans and cowries the statement added. It said after restoring calm in the area, the Police had information that an 81-year-old man from the Lukula community was allegedly shot by the rampaging gang on his farm, and proceeded to the farm and with the help of his children, took him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Following the Police encounter with the suspects and the subsequent arrests, some individuals believed to be sympathisers of those arrested, attacked the Daboya Police Station, causing damage to accident cars parked at the station and some louvre blades within the barracks. The Police, however, resisted the attack and took control of the situation. Relative Calm Calm has since been restored and security has been strengthened in Daboya and its surrounding communities to forestall further attacks. Efforts were also currently ongoing to get the perpetrators, including those who attacked the Police Station,. Confirmation The District Chief Executive of North Gonja, Adam Illiasu, said a joint military and police personnel have been deployed to the community to restore calm. He said the incident was linked to a chieftaincy conflict which had been lingering for the past 40 years, adding Anytime it sparks we deploy security to the community to restore calm. Source: graphic.com.gh Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has sued Onua TV Morning Show Host, Blessed Godsbrain Smart popularly known as Captain Smart for defamation. According to the Minister, he was defamed when the maverick Onua Maakye Host accused him on May 22, 2023 of having taken 10 percent of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) economic bailout secured by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government. Aside demanding a sum of Ten Million Ghana Cedis as General Damages including aggravated and/or Exemplary Damages for Defamation for the libel uttered by the Defendant, the Minister also wants an apology and retraction of the said words. The Minister who has come under attack to be fired by the President also seeks a perpetual injunction restraining the Captain whether by himself, his servants, agents or assigns from repeating similar or other defamatory words against him Ken Ofori Atta lawyers insist the words as uttered by the Defendant means the Plaintiff is corrupt and has diverted public funds or has abused his office. It may be recalled that last year, Broadcaster and Board Chairman of the Ghana Airport Company, Paul Adom-Otchere also sued Captain Smart, and Media General Ghana Limited for defamation. Adom-Otchere is, among other things, demanding GH10 million as compensation for the damages caused to his reputation following some comments made against him by Captain Smart on Onua FM/TV. The host of Good Evening Ghana on Metro TV claims the plaintiff on August 26, 2022, made defaming comments against him and also accused him of being a corrupt journalist on Onua FM/TVs Onua Maakye show. Source: mypublisher24 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 Organised labour at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) has given the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) up to next week Monday to restore their deducted allowances. Consequently, the group, which comprised the senior management union and the divisional union, has announced a roadmap to embark on an indefinite strike from Monday, June 12, 2023. The Divisional Chairman of the Public Services Workers Union (PSWU) at the GBC, Sam Nat Kevor, who gave the ultimatum at a press conference in Accra yesterday, therefore asked all members of the union to wear red bands or attire with effect from yesterday until the declaration of the strike. Today, as we speak to you, our senior management staff have lost 33 per cent of their salaries following this obnoxious and illegal decision. The allowances were fixed for the past 15 years and were part of the negotiated and approved condition of service while other ranks, up to manager level, have also lost some of their allowances, he indicated. Mr Kevor said some allowances had been removed by the Controller and Accountant Generals Department (CAGD) upon the directive by the FWSC and what was worrying was that apart from removing the allowances, some staff had also suffered a retro net offset deductions between GH600 and GH800. Mr Kevor said some of the allowances being enjoyed by GBC workers and which have now been deducted were not part of those that were consolidated. Indefinite strike In view of the situation we find ourselves, we wish to announce a road map towards a full blown indefinite strike. From June 2, 2023, all staff will come to work either in red attire or red bands for one week, he emphasised and said, if nothing positive, in terms of the restoration of the deducted allowances, occurs, the unions will begin an indefinite strike. Background The FWSC began payroll auditing in April this year. Two weeks ago, the FWSC audited the payroll of the staff of GBC over some allowances which, it said, some staff of GBC did not deserve. It, therefore, wrote to the CAGD to stop the payment of the allowances and allow the affected staff to refund the money. The GBC unionized staff cautioned against the directive, but the CAGD had carried it through. Recounting the genesis of what led to the deductions by the FWSC, the divisional union chairman said these allowances were negotiated as per our collective agreement and senior management staff condition of service. He said the last negotiation by the Public Services Joint Standing Negotiation Committee (PSJNC) occurred on August 26, 2019, with the effective payment date being January 1, 2020. He said the disposition of the CEO of the FWSC began with the negotiation for our category two and three non-core allowances which started smoothly in 2021 with the then CEO, Dr Edward Kwapong, until Mr Arthur took over in the latter part of 2022. The posture of Mr Arthur, according to Mr Kevor, was clearly manifested in the number of times negotiations had to be adjourned. Negotiations Mr Kevor alleged that Mr Arthur deliberately delayed in forwarding the outcome of the negotiations to the Ministry of Finance for onward transfer to the CAGD. He said in spite of the intervention from the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Arthur still delayed for four months until he finally forwarded the signed agreement to the Ministry of Finance. Mr Kevor, who wore a red headgear and was flanked by the Chairman of the Senior Management Union, Alhaji Abdul Razak Tahiru, and a member of the Local Trustee, Mr Abraham Osekre, said a meeting convened by the Minister of Information and the CEO of FWSC to seek a resolution to the impasse could not yield any result as Mr Arthur claimed that the collective agreement of GBC had expired and also the allowances had been revised under the Single Spine Salary Scheme. He said in spite of efforts to prevent the deductions and to meet him, Mr Arthur went ahead and directed the CAGD to remove the allowances of GBC workers. Source: graphic.com.gh Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A school district in the US state of Utah has removed the Bible from elementary and middle schools for containing "vulgarity and violence". The move follows a complaint from a parent that the King James Bible has material unsuitable for children. Utah's Republican government passed a law in 2022 banning "pornographic or indecent" books from schools. Most of the books that have been banned so far pertain to topics such as sexual orientation and identity. The banning of the Bible comes amid a larger effort by US conservatives in states to ban teachings on controversial topics such as LGBT rights and racial identity. Bans on certain books deemed offensive are also in place in Texas, Florida, Missouri and South Carolina. Some liberal states have also banned books in some schools and libraries, citing perceived racially offensive content. The Utah decision was made this week by the Davis School District north of Salt Lake City after a complaint filed in December 2022. Officials say they have already removed the seven or eight copies of the Bible they had on their shelves, noting that the text was never part of students' curriculum. The committee did not elaborate on its reasoning or which passages contained "vulgarity or violence". According to the Salt Lake Tribune newspaper, the parent who complained said the King James Bible "has 'no serious values for minors' because it's pornographic by our new definition", referring to the 2022 book-ban law. The Utah state lawmaker who wrote the 2022 law had previously dismissed the Bible removal request as a "mockery", but changed course this week after calling it a "challenging read" for younger children. "Traditionally, in America, the Bible is best taught, and best understood, in the home, and around the hearth, as a family," Ken Ivory wrote on Facebook. The district's ruling determined that the Bible's content does not violate the 2022 law, but does include "vulgarity or violence not suitable for younger students". The book will remain in place in local high schools. Bob Johnson, the father of a primary school student in the Davis School District, told CBS News that he opposes the Bible's removal. "I can't think of what's in the Bible that you would have to take out of it. It's not like there's pictures in it," he said. The district is not the first in the US to remove the Bible from its shelves. A Texas school district last year pulled the Bible from library shelves after complaints from members of the public opposed to conservatives efforts to ban some books. Last month, students in Kansas requested to have the Bible removed from their school library. 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 Chief of Juaso Traditional Area, Nana Agyei Tabi Asafoakaa has expressed his deepest admiration for Mr. Eric Amofa for his continuous desire to bring accelerated development to the people of Asante Akim South Municipality. "Today, I want to acknowledge here that the kind of positive mindset you [Eric Amofa] carry together with your brother Collins Amofa who is presently the Sanaahene of Juaso Traditional Area is unimaginable and very enormous, and I thank you for your vision to establishing a fund to support education in this area". According to the Chief, Mr. Eric Amofa has in the last few years made several efforts to impact the lives of the people in the area, which makes him to stand tall among his contemporaries. Nana Agyei Tabi Asafoakaa who is also a former Director of Finance at the Ministry of Communication made the expression when speaking at the official launch of the EKAJ Educational Fund at Juaso recently. The fund, which was established by Mr. Eric Amofa, Managing Director of Seabeige Ghana LTD, producers of Safare Tissue brands with an initial seed amount of Onee hundred thousand Ghana cedis (GHC 100,000.00), is meant to support brilliant but needy students in the Asante Akim South Municipality. The Chief of Juaso recounted how education in the area had suffered serious setbacks or challenges in the last decades, even though Juaso was one of the first three towns (Bekwai and Kumasi) in the Ashanti Region that received education in the early 1900s. Nana Agyei Tabi Asafoakaa therefore appealed passionately to all sons and daughters of Asante Akim South to contribute generously to the EKAJ Educational Fund. The Founder of the EKAJ Educational Fund, Mr Eric Amofa said that, the fund is a "non-political" and therefore charged the the trustee Board and the patrons to always ensure that the right people or those who truly qualify for support are considered. He noted that the fund would provide financial support to cover for tuition fees, accommodation and other scholastic materials for all beneficiaries. According to Mr Amofa, 60% of the annual allocation of the EKAJ Educational Fund shall cater for students at the tertiary level, 20% for students from the basic to the high school levels and the remaining 20% for students in the area pursuing academic excellence abroad. With its head office at Juaso, the EKAJ Educational Fund is to be managed and sustained by a five strong, influential, non-partisan and incorruptible personalities who will serve as the Board of Trustees led by a former Ghana Airforce Officer Nana Agyei Gyarteng, as Chairman. Other members include, Nana Ofosuhene Apenteng, the Akyempim Hene of Obogu Traditional area and former head of administration Food and Drug Board, Pastor Micheal Osei Acheampong Church of Pentecost Juaso District, Hon Beatrice Kyei, Presiding Member Asante Akyem Municipal Assembly and Nana Adueni II, the Sanahene of Juaso Traditional area. Nana Agyei Tabi Asafoakaa II, the Chief of Juaso Traditional Area, Hon Boakye Abdul Karim, former DCE for Asante Akyem South and Mr Ishmael Mantey Arko Educationalist also serve as patrons of the EKAJ Educational Fund. 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 South Africa will host the BRICS summit in August 2023. The event could offer the country an opportunity to exercise leadership in the BRICS efforts to reform the arrangements for global economic governance and in supporting sustainable and inclusive development in Africa and the Global South. However, the opportunity has morphed into an international challenge because Russias President Vladimir Putin, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court, has indicated that he will attend. South Africa could face the wrath of its BRICS partners if it fulfils its international obligation and arrests him. On the other hand, if it does not arrest him, it could face sanctions from those countries that want to see Putin tried for war crimes. Hosting the 2023 BRICS summit is therefore fraught with dangers. The international environment is complicated, dynamic and unpredictable. South Africa can avoid embarrassment and capitalise on the opportunities presented by the summit only if it is able to skilfully manoeuvre in these choppy waters. Trying to understand South Africas dilemma raises a number of questions: Who are the BRICS? What has the grouping achieved? Who Are The BRICS? In 2001, the global investment bank Goldman Sachs stated that it expected Brazil, Russia, India and China to become leading actors in the global economy. It collectively named the four countries BRICs. These countries decided that Goldman Sachs had a point and that they could enhance their global influence if they cooperated. They first met at a ministerial level in 2006 and at a leaders summit in 2009. In 2010 they invited South Africa to join the group. The group became known as BRICS. A primary objective of the group is to reform global economic governance so that it is more responsive to the concerns and interests of the Global South. For example, the BRICS have called for a new global currency that can challenge the dominant role of the US dollar in the international monetary system. It has also pushed for a greater voice, and more votes, for developing countries in key international economic organisations like the IMF and the World Bank. The group has also sought, through groups like its business forum, to promote greater economic cooperation between the participating countries. What Has The BRICS Grouping Achieved? The BRICS record of achievements is mixed. In 2016, the group established two new international economic entities. The first was the New Development Bank. They contend that it is a new multilateral development bank which offers its members an alternative to institutions like the World Bank. It claims that its governance is fairer than the World Bank because its five original members all have equal votes. At the World Bank, shares (and therefore votes) are unevenly distributed among member states. The development bank also strives to provide financing more quickly than the World Bank, and in a way that is more respectful of the laws in its member states. However, to date, the New Development Bank has been less transparent and accountable than other multilateral development banks. It has provided US$32.8 billion to 96 projects in the 5 BRICS countries and it has begun looking to expand the scope of its operations. Since 2021 it has approved membership for Bangladesh, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Uruguay. It is expected to add new members in the coming years. The second new entity was the Contingent Reserve Arrangement. This established a series of swap arrangements between the BRICS central banks. These arrangements allow each central bank, when its country is facing a balance of payments crisis, to exchange its local currency for hard currencies, like the US dollar, with its counterparts in the BRICS. Pursuant to the terms of the arrangement, a central bank can only draw on a fraction of the available financing without also having to enter into a financing arrangement with the IMF. Thus, the conditions that are attached to the IMFs finances also become applicable to the funds made available through the Contingent Reserve Arrangement. To date, no BRICS central bank has used the arrangement. According to their communiques, the BRICS leaders have agreed to create other entities, such as a vaccine centre and a new credit rating agency. However, they have not yet implemented these agreements. They have not been successful either in reforming the existing institutions and arrangements for global economic governance, such as the IMF. One reason for this failure is the strong opposition to reform from states, primarily those in Europe, which currently have dominant voices in the IMF and would lose them in the case of true reform. But another important reason is that the BRICS are not unified in their demands for reform. For example, while Brazil, India and South Africa support reforming the UN Security Council to include more permanent members and to eliminate the veto power of the existing permanent members, China and Russia, as sitting permanent members, dont. Similarly, not all the other BRICS have supported South Africas call for a third African seat on the IMFs board of directors. Are There Any Downsides To BRICS Membership? The global political and economic situation has changed dramatically since 2010. These changes have created both opportunities and challenges for the BRICS. One opportunity arises from the fact that approximately 19 countries in the Global South, including Argentina, Cuba, Iran and Saudi Arabia, have expressed an interest in joining the BRICS. It is expected that the BRICS will consider the issue of membership at their upcoming August 2023 summit. Another opportunity arises from the growing interest around the world in having an alternative currency to the US dollar as the basis for the international financial system. The BRICS have been vocal supporters of de-dollarisation. However, given the complex economic and political relations between the BRICS member states, there is considerable scepticism about the feasibility of the BRICS developing a new global currency in the near term. The primary challenges facing the BRICS arise from geopolitics. The war in Ukraine has created tensions within the BRICS. The participating states have been forced to balance their respect for such international law principles as self-determination, sovereignty and peaceful resolution of disputes with their friendly relations with Russia. In addition, the BRICS cannot escape the fallout from the growing economic and security tensions between China and the west, particularly the US. Both these issues complicate the efforts of the other BRICS to maintain their formal non-aligned position. They also exacerbate existing tensions within the BRICS. The most important example of this is the complex and tense relationship between India and China. In recent years, they have had military skirmishes in disputed border areas. In addition, India has imposed economic constraints on Chinese companies operating in India. The two countries have refused to renew the visas of journalists from each country so that now there are almost no journalists from Chinese publications in India and vice versa. What Hangs On The Summit? South Africa faces another opportunity that is fraught with danger when it hosts the G20 in 2025. The G20, which brings together the 20 leading economic powers in the world, has called itself the premier forum for global economic governance. South Africa is currently the only permanent African member of the G20 and 2025 will be the first time the group is hosted by an African country. Planning for this G20 event must begin soon because in 2024 South Africa will join India, the current G20 host, and Brazil, the 2024 G20 host in the troika that manages the G20 process. If the country does not plan carefully and effectively for this G20 event, South Africa risks emerging with a diminished reputation and its credibility shredded. * Danny Bradlow, Professor/Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria ** This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here Search Keywords: Short link: The World Bank has said the Power Purchasing Agreements (PPAs) signed by former President John Mahama and which the Akufo-Addo government had no choice but to pay has contributed significantly to the economic woes of Ghana. The former President's administration signed questionable take or pay agreements between 2013 and 2016, hence committing Ghana to pay for billions of cedis for excess energy it does not need. These PPAs which were signed by the erstwhile Mahama government with some independent power producers in the heat of the energy crisis that struck the nation years ago, according to World Bank Country Director, Pierre Frank Laporte, has cost Ghana dearly. For a government that had failed to raise enough money to pay for the country's power needs, thereby plunging the country into nearly five years of dumsor, the Mahama administration signing such an expensive take or pay deal at the twilight of the regime raised eyebrows in Ghana and on the international. Although in 2018, the Akufo-Addo administration managed to cancel 11 out of the thirty agreements, the government had to still pay up to fix the mess created by former President Mahama. Since inheriting the take or pay agreement by the Mahama administration, the Akufo-Addo Government has so far committed over 12 billion cedis to servicing the debt for power Ghana does not need and the agreement is still suffocating the nation. In the midst of Ghana's return to the IMF for balance of payment support, the World Bank has emphatically faulted the Mahama power purchasing agreements describing it as a major cause of Ghana's economic difficulties. "In the aspect of Ghana, those contracts you signed with the PPA are too expensive. "The kind of PPA you signed, it means Ghana is paying for electricity not in use through doubling of capacity. "The fact is, in the last few years, Ghana entered into some PPAs that were wrong. These types, in our view, were at the wrong rate and at the wrong prices and today youre paying duly for it. And today the country is being billed for many of these wrong PPAs, the World Bank Country Director, Pierre Frank Laporte told Joy News in an interview. The World Bank is therefore calling for an urgent review of what it described as wrong and expensive agreements. I know that the government has started some talks with the IPPs to renegotiate some of these PPAs, he stressed. The Akufo-Addo government has been hailed for its ability to pay for power generation for over six years, thus ending the over four-year dumsor Ghana faced due to the erstwhile Mahama governments inability to pay for power generation. Background The erstwhile Mahama government signed a number of Power Purchasing Agreements (PPAs) before losing power in 2016. The agreements, numbering over 40, committed Ghana to over $1 billion dollars of take or pay contracts for excess power. President Nana Akufo-Addo, in his first State of the Nation Address, announced his government would renegotiate a number of the agreements in order to free the government of the mountain debts, an exercise which was carried out with the renegotiation of about 11 of the power deals. Nonetheless, Ghana was still left with other debt commitments of the remaining agreements which have so far cost the country over 12 billion dollars due to what has been described as reckless signing of agreements in energy sector by former President John Mahama. 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 In some ways, Joe Randall wonders what took so long. But the Harrisburg native and chef, who in 1998 wrote A Taste of Heritage: The New African-American Cuisine isnt going to pass on his most recent accolade. Last night in Chicago, Randall, 76, and his 334-page book detailing prominent Black chefs was inducted into the James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame as part of the foundations annual media awards. The Savannah, Ga. resident attended the ceremony with his daughter, Cari P. Randall. Well, I was surprised, but at the same time it was one of those its about time things, he said. I figured they forgot about me. Later on Facebook he posted: This is a full circle moment for me and I am truly honored. The James Beard Awards are considered the most prestigious in the American restaurant industry in dozens of categories including top restaurants and chefs. Some liken them to the Oscars. The foundation says for the hall of fame it recognizes books that have significantly influenced the way we think about food and honored authors who possess an exceptional ability to communicate their gastronomic vision via the printed page. Randalls book explores African-American cuisine from modern techniques to traditional heirloom dishes. While many of the nearly 300 recipes belong to Randall, he profiled a dozen other prominent African-American chefs and included their recipes. Among those profiled are Clifton Williams, former executive chef at The Safari Club in Las Vegas; Edna Lewis, a cookbook author and chef from Atlanta; John Harrison, former executive chef at the Old Original Bookbinders Restaurant in Philadelphia; and Patrick Yves Pierre-Jerome, former executive chef at the Cavalier Cafe in Clifton, N.J. Joe Randall's "A Taste of Heritage: The New African-American Cuisine" cookbook was honored by the James Beard Foundation on June 3 in Chicago. Randall is a Harrisburg native and wrote the book in 1998. Along with such traditional favorites as hoppin John, black-eyed pea soup and corn fritters, Randall injected contemporary dishes like baby romaine with spicy fried oysters with Caesar dressing, oven-roasted garlic rosemary chicken with cornbread dressing and giblet gravy and Southern gingerbread with bourbon cream. He said he decided to write the book while organizing Black chefs through the American Culinary Federation to help give them a voice. He also founded The Taste of Heritage Foundation in 1993, dedicated to promoting African-American cuisine and chefs. Through annual dinners, he spotlighted some of the countrys top chefs and raised scholarship money for aspiring chefs. The book grew out of a revelation African-American cuisine was experiencing a revolution. At that time I had been cooking since 1962, and hadnt seen a Black chef on the cover of a cookbook, Randall said. The graduate of William Penn High School got his start at the Hotel Harrisburger, where he apprenticed under Robert W. Lee, Harrisburgs first African-American executive chef. After the Harrisburger closed in the late 1960s, Randall worked at the Penn Harris Hotel under Frank Castelli. His career led to moves to Buffalo, N.Y., Seattle, and then California where he met his wife,Barbara, and helped the owners of Georgia, a well-known African-American restaurant develop recipes and a menu. He eventually ended up in Savannah where he operated a cooking school for about 20 years. Today, Randall is a consultant for Good Times Jazz Bar & Restaurant in Savannah. The cookbook is still available to purchase by emailing Randall at chefjoerandall@gmail.com. READ MORE: TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Debate surrounding Floridas new restrictions on gender-affirming care focused largely on transgender children. But a new law that Republican presidential candidate and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last month also made it difficult even impossible for many transgender adults to get treatment. Eli and Lucas, trans men who are a couple, followed the discussions in the Legislature, where Democrats warned that trans children would be more prone to suicide under a ban on gender-affirming care for minors and Republicans responded with misplaced tales of mutilated kids. Eli said he and his partner felt blindsided when they discovered the bill contained language that would also disrupt their lives. There was no communication. Nobody was really talking about it in our circles, said Eli, 29. Like many transgender adults in Florida, he and Lucas are now facing tough choices, including whether to uproot their lives so that they can continue to access gender-confirming care. Clinics are also trying to figure out how to operate under regulations that have made Florida a test case for restrictions on adults. Lucas, 26, lost his access to treatment when the Orlando clinic that prescribed him hormone replacement therapy stopped providing gender-affirming care altogether. The couple also worries about staying in a state that this year enacted several other bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community. My entire life is here. All my friends, my family. I just got a promotion at my job, which Im probably not to be able to keep, Lucas, who works in a financial aid office at a college, said. Im losing everything except Eli and my pets moving out of here. So this was not a decision that I took lightly at all. The Associated Press is not using Elis and Lucas last names because they fear reprisal. While their friends and families know they are trans, most people who meet them do not. The new law that bans gender-affirming care for minors also mandates that adult patients seeking trans health care sign an informed consent form. It also requires a physician to oversee any health care related to transitioning, and for people to see that doctor in person. Those rules have proven particularly onerous because many people received care from nurse practitioners and used telehealth. The law also made it a crime to violate the new requirements. Another new law that allows doctors and pharmacists to refuse to treat transgender people further limits their options. For trans adults, its devastating, said Kate Steinle, chief clinical officer at FOLX Health, which provides gender-affirming care to trans adults through telemedicine. Her company decided to open in-person clinics and hire more physicians licensed in Florida in order to continue to provide care to patients who have already enrolled, even though that represents a major change to the companys business model. Eli has been seeing a physician for years and therefore still has access to care. But SPEKTRUM Health Inc., the Orlando clinic that prescribed Lucas hormone replacement therapy, has stopped providing gender-affirming care. Lucas injects his weekly testosterone shot as part of his hormone therapy on May 29, 2023 in Casselberry, Fla. The Associated Press is not using Elis and Lucas last names because they fear reprisal. Lucas only has one refill left before he runs out of testosterone. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld)AP There are a lot of people looking for care that were no longer legally able to provide, said Lana Dunn, SPEKTRUM Healths chief operating officer. Florida has the second-largest population of transgender adults in the U.S., at an estimated 94,900 people, according to the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. It used state-level, population-based surveys to determine its estimates. Not all transgender people seek medical interventions. At least 19 states have now enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. But restrictions on adults havent been part of the conversation in most places. Missouris attorney general tried to impose a rule in that state, but it was pulled back. Florida is the proving ground of what they can get away with, Dunn said. Her organization treats about 4,000 people most in Florida and some out-of-state telehealth patients, she said. While SPEKTRUM has bolstered its mental health services since the law passed, it and other organizations heavily rely on nurse practitioners to provide care. Dunn estimates that 80% of trans adults in the state were getting their health care from a nurse practitioner and now have lost access. Right now what were seeing in the community is just chaos, Dunn said. The law also contains language that she said could scare off doctors who would be otherwise willing to treat trans patients, such as a 20-year statute of limitations to sue over care they provide. As a trans woman herself, Dunn is grappling with losing her own access to hormones while trying to provide support to terrified patients. Thats taken a significant emotional toll, she said. Not only am I faced with this lack of care for myself but a lot of people within the community are also facing the same thing, and theyre reaching out to me for guidance, Dunn said. So Im doing my best to help guide people and console them, but nobodys really reaching out to me saying, How are you doing? Are you OK? Lucas, who transitioned eight years ago when he was 18, anticipates running out of hormone treatments in June. In the best case scenario he can foresee now, he will be able to get a new prescription in August. He fears he might start to get his period again. Eli cuddles his dog on the couch at his home in Casselberry, Fla., May 29, 2023. Eli and his fiance Lucas, both transgender men, plan to move to Minnesota with their dog and two cats later this year. The Associated Press is not using Elis and Lucas last names because they fear reprisal. Minnesota is among the states this year that have codified protections for transgender people in response to sweeping anti-LGBTQ legislation in mostly Republican-led states. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld)AP Its just going to be extremely difficult mentally to have your body changing in a way that doesnt align with your brain, Lucas said. Eli and Lucas have switched to a month-to-month lease and tentatively plan to relocate to Minnesota in November. They said they would leave sooner if they can afford it and started an online fundraiser to help. Moving with their dog and two cats increases the expense and difficulty of finding a new place. I just never thought it could happen this way, this fast and to us, Eli said. Thalia Beaty, Brendan Farrington and Hannah Schoenbaum of The Associated Press wrote this story. Beaty reported from New York City and Schoenbaum reported from Raleigh, North Carolina. More: Montana latest state to ban gender-affirming care for trans minors A 17-year-old girl told emergency responders she was injured Friday night while on a carnival ride at a festival in Warren County, New Jersey, according to police. The incident was reported a little more than halfway through opening night of the annual Hackettstown Spring Festival, Hackettstown police said in a news release. The teen approached the Hackettstown First Aid and Rescue Squad at about 8:43 p.m. and said she was injured on the Starship Gravitron ride, police said. She was taken to Hackettstown Medical Center, and her injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, police said. Update: Missing central Pa. teen has been found: police Police in East Earl Township are looking for 19-year-old Jason P. Beverly, II, who was reported missing Sunday. According to police Beverly was last seen walking away from the Revelations of Freedom Ministry at 114 Rancks Church Road in Blue Ball on May 16. Police say he called his family in North Carolina saying he left the program and was now homeless. That is the last contact Beverly has had with his family, police reported. Beverly is 5-foot-10 inches tall, 165 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Police said his family shared that he is autistic. Police say if you see Jason Beverly, call 9-1-1 immediately. A news tip also can be submitted through CrimeWatch. More: Coroner called to crash in central Pa. Cleanup underway across central Pa. following Saturday evenings storm By John A. Tures I just read that in the New York Times that some of the common advice given to graduates is pretty bad, so I hope to provide better advice for all of you in this short column. Take it from a college professor who has been teaching classes in higher education since Clinton was in his first term in office. First of all, theyll tell you that you dont need a college degree. For one-third, they are right. Georgetown University research shows that a third of all jobs dont require a college degree. Well, the other two-thirds of jobs do require a college degree, and only a third of Americans have a college degree, which includes retirees. Do the math. This country needs a ton of college graduates, so hopefully youll join the ranks. In addition, Ive seen people claim that you can get a six-figure salary as a carpenter, or some similar job. Thats for if you are among those fixing the finer points of the Notre Dame Cathedral. Ive had folks with welder degrees not working in welding and tell me they were told they could make huge sums doing so. Im sure some welders make more than I do, but do your research on actual data, not on fanciful tales. Then, theyll tell you that youll change your major 3-5 times, on average. Thats not true for the vast majority of you. Id say majority of LaGrange College majors pick one early on, stick with it, love it, and work in that field. Colleagues at other places tell a similar story. The data is biased by those who switch their major seven or more times. If you know what you want, go for it. Dont let people talk you into a major that you dont want, because of such skewed stories. Your college can be a found family, too. Chances are, if youre pretty open-minded, youll make a lot of lifelong friends. Find a college and major with professors who have a reputation for going the extra mile to help you with your career. They definitely do exist. Dont think colleges are some big culture war zone. Im sure such debates exist, but the vast majority avoid this toxic theater put on by extremes. When there was a similar angsty moment at Auburn with a controversial speaker, students there told me He brought in all his supporters from Texas, while protesters brought in their people from Atlanta. We didnt know any of them, but just steered clear and went on with our classes and activities. Dont let the 24-hour news channels mislead you about what college life is really like. Most folks are pretty open-minded. I have liberal and conservative and moderate students, who generally get along, and am glad for it. The final item I read in the New York Times story was to tell students not to follow their passion. Thats wrong, too. You should follow your passion! But the speaker rarely tells you what that excitement should entail. For me, and my advice, I tell students to make their passion about helping others, which is made easier by teaching at a Christian college, so its part of our lifeblood. I get ex-military, students who have been missionaries or high schoolers experienced with amazing service activities, so theres definitely an increasing awareness among them of the importance of putting others before oneself. I encourage students to be leaders, but taking care of those in their charge, not taking charge. And as a professor, Graduation Day is second only to Christmas, when I see those who really got the life lessons, ready to provide that leadership and service that our country desperate needs. Congratulations Class of 2023. I hope to see you, or your students, leading the charge in the coming years. John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His Twitter account is JohnTures2. If you wanted to spend a few hours of fun on a Susquehanna River island in Harrisburg more than a century ago, you didnt go to City Island. You went to Independence Island, just upstream. From the 19th to the early 20th centuries, the island, visible to the north of the M. Harvey Taylor Bridge, offered recreation and relaxation for Harrisburg-area residents. Its remote location in the middle of the river gave it the feel of a private resort much farther away from home, Erik V. Fasick writes in the book Harrisburg and the Susquehanna River. Independence Island had a dance hall, a water slide, a bathhouse and a playground. For a time, it wasnt unusual to see thousands of swimmers cooling off at the island. At one point, a plan to build an amusement park on the island caused an outcry. Those days are long gone. Today, primarily boaters stop at the island. And this year, after more than two centuries of private ownership, the island was sold to the state for $160,000 and folded into a state forest. Heres a look at the heyday of Independence Island. On the island Its unclear how Independence Island got its name. One theory is that it was because July Fourth festivities were celebrated there. This would be fitting because Independence Island was a prime spot for picnics and parties for community organizations, churches, unions, fraternal clubs and ethnic groups. The island came under private ownership in 1800, and a ferry to the island opened in 1854, according to a history of the Susquehanna River islands at the Historical Society of Dauphin County. In 1886, a roller skating rink was moved from the city to the island and repurposed as a dance hall. One popular activity was a coal chute that was altered into a slide so revelers could shoot the chute into the water. Getting there The most common way to get to Independence Island was to board a ferry at the foot of Verbeke Street. The ferry was connected by two ropes with pulleys to a wire cable that linked the shore and the island. Sometimes canoeists used the cable as an anchor, flinging a rope over the wire to snooze in the sun. But the sagging cable was also a nuisance, especially when the river level rose. In one case, it endangered a man, yet saved his life. In April 1916, the cable, submerged in the rising water, overturned a canoe carrying two men. One of the men swam to recover the boat and made it to shore. The other man grabbed the wire and called for help. He was rescued 10 minutes later. By 1921, it was time for the cable to go. After years of litigation, a judge ruled that residents of the Hardscrabble neighborhood, which occupied the west side of Front Street from Herr to Calder streets, had to vacate so the city could raze their properties to expand Riverfront Park. The pole at Verbeke Street that connected the cable to the island was in Hardscrabble. Besides, the cable was no longer used for ushering a ferry to the island. Now it was carrying electric light wires there. The following year, the city ordered island owner E. Charles Ensminger to remove the cable, which he did. A team of six horses removed the half-mile-long wire from the river. Two decades later, an earlier Independence Island ferry cable helped in the World War II effort. In 1942, Harrisburg firefighters dredged the river for metal scrap. While pulling an old boat boiler from the water off Pine Street, they happened upon a 600-foot steel cable. They estimated the cable would provide 1,200 pounds of scrap. Amusement park controversy In the early 20th century, Harrisburg experienced a civic awakening. The City Beautiful movement, a Progressive Era push to improve things such as infrastructure, architecture and public health, was transforming Harrisburg. A major aspect of that transformation was the citys park system, including Riverfront Park. Along with that, the city recognized the potential of the river, holding a water carnival on Labor Day 1907 and the Kipona Festival in 1916. The Dock Street Dam also was completed in 1916. Meanwhile, the river had become an increasingly popular place for boating and swimming. (T)he river has become the citys playground, The Patriot reported in 1920. Independence Island was a key part of that playground, drawing thousands of people. The city had been buying or leasing parts of what is today City Island for a number of years, opening a municipal beach and, in 1921, a bathhouse. It was part of a plan to draw residents away from the privately owned Independence Island and keep them and their money from heading to the Jersey shore, Fasick writes. So when Ensminger, who owned Independence Island for more than 20 years, sold the island to a group of businessmen in February 1922, it drew objections from city leaders. The group planned to build an amusement park on the island. Harrisburg leaders worried that such development would mar the beauty of the river, and the state health secretary said the islands proximity to the citys intake pipe risked contaminating Harrisburgs water supply. Some Harrisburg officials proposed purchasing all the islands in the city limits and making them part of the municipal park system. There is no more important phase to Harrisburgs development than oversight of the Susquehanna river basin, The Patriot said in an editorial after the sale was announced. Not only should both banks of the river be under the citys park control but the river itself and all that it contains. But this never happened. Neither did the amusement park. Though crews demolished the buildings on Independence Island in preparation for the park, work stopped in the summer of 1924. The businessmen fell behind on their mortgage payments, and Ensminger bought back the island at a sheriffs sale in September. Sold to the state Independence Island remained in the Ensminger family until this year, when Charles Ensmingers great-grandsons Robert and John Ensminger sold it and neighboring Baileys Island to the state. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources placed the islands in the Weiser State Forest and plans to continue preserving them. They remain open to boaters. We saw it as an opportunity to bring state forest land closer to our Capitol, a state Bureau of Forestry official told The Burg, and to conserve the islands for future generations. Joe McClure is a news editor for The Patriot-News. Follow him on Instagram: @jmcclure5nine. By State Rep. Joanna McClinton and Eric Becoats Each year, kindergartners enter the William Penn School District full of the energy and optimism that only five-year-olds can bring. They are risk-takers who believe they can do anything. And they are right. Those same joyful children often enter our schools with significant needs. They regularly come to us without a pre-kindergarten experience, and need extra help to learn to read, succeed in math, or to deal with their emotions. They often cannot count to 20, or name most of the letters in the alphabet. Educators know these barriers are not insurmountable: tried and true educational strategies allow children to flourish. And mixing the optimism of children with the skill of professional educators is the perfect recipe for a flourishing democracy, a strong economy, and a just society. However, hiring professionals takes funding. At the William Penn School District, like in Philadelphia, and in low-wealth communities across the Commonwealth, we simply do not have enough of it. That means children are too often in overcrowded classrooms, deprived of the very resources we know can change the trajectory of their lives. In a district of nearly 5,000 students, for example, we dont employ a single reading specialist. But it isnt just staffing. William Penn borders on Southwest Philadelphia, and like our Philadelphia neighbors, our aging schools need serious repair. The same barrierfundingprevents us from bringing them all into the 21st century. As the superintendent proud to lead William Penn and the Speaker of the House privileged to represent them and Philadelphia alike, we know this sort of underfunding is not something low-wealth communities choose. In fact, the boroughs that make up William Penn pay the highest effective tax rate in Delaware County, but because the William Penn community is not fortunate enough to be a place of wealth, the efforts of our taxpayers just arent enough. This is no small problem: We are more than $5,000 per student short, according to one state metric. These problems are not new, which is why in 2014 William Penn was one of six Pennsylvania school districts who challenged this fundamental injustice in court, seeking an end to the Commonwealths inadequate and inequitable public school funding system. We always knew this funding system was morally wrong. As of Feb. 7, we know it violates the Pennsylvania Constitution, too. The Commonwealth Court declared that our school funding system is discriminating against children in low-wealth districts across the Commonwealth. The rationale of the court was plain: all children are entitled to an effective, contemporary education, and the Commonwealths failure to properly fund our public schools year after year means that children in low-wealth communities have been denied that right. With the courts judgment in hand, school leaders, state officials, and the general public must come together to demand a new path. On May 10, the Commonwealth empaneled a bipartisan Basic Education Funding Commission to study the funding of schools. We know the task ahead is clear: we must determine how much funding is needed in every school district for modern curricula, sufficient teachers and counselors, remedial help, special education resources, safe facilities, and quality pre-K. And we must then fund that need, to ensure that all students can attend public schools with the supports to overcome challenges and reach their potential. These are not pie-in-the sky solutions; they are the basics, but we have far to go. By the most reasonable estimate we currently have, we are nearly $5 billion behind in providing every districturban, suburban, and ruralthe resources they need. These problems can seem intractable because our system has been chronically underfunded. They are not; they only take our collective will. We cannot accept a system that has some of the nations largest disparities in educational resources and opportunities between poor students and their peers, and between students of color and their white peers. We cannot continue to let local wealth determine which third graders get the help they need in reading, which middle school students have safe buildings, and which high school students have access to advanced coursework and extracurricular activities. Together, we must do better for our students and families in Pennsylvania. The time to act is now. State Rep. Joanna McClinton represents Pennsylvanias 191st legislative district and is speaker of the state House of Representatives. Eric Becoats (Phd) is superintendent of the William Penn School District. Wildfires and smoke are shown in British Columbia and Alberta in this satellite image taken Thursday, May 18, 2023. Alberta's public safety and emergency services minister says a provincewide state of emergency that was declared nearly a month ago to deal with unprecedented wildfires will end Saturday night at midnight. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Co-operative Institute for Research on the Atmosphere (CIRA) at the University of Colorado and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration **MANDATORY CREDIT** Watching imagery from a drone camera overhead, Ukrainian battalion commander Oleg Shiryaev warned his men in nearby trenches that Russian forces were advancing across a field toward a patch of trees outside the city of Bakhmut. The leader of the 228th Battalion of the 127th Kharkiv Territorial Defense Brigade then ordered a mortar team to get ready. A target was locked. A mortar tube popped out a loud orange blast, and an explosion cut a new crater in an already pockmarked hillside. We are moving forward, Shiryaev said after at least one drone image showed a Russian fighter struck down. We fight for every tree, every trench, every dugout." Russian forces declared victory in the eastern city last month after the longest, deadliest battle since their full-scale invasion of Ukraine began 15 months ago. But Ukrainian defenders like Shiryaev aren't retreating. Instead, they are keeping up the pressure and continuing the fight from positions on the western fringes of Bakhmut. The pushback gives commanders in Moscow another thing to think about ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counter offensive that appears to be taking shape. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Russia sought to create the impression of calm around Bakhmut, but in fact, artillery shelling still goes on at levels similar to those at the height of the battle to take the city. The fight, she said, is evolving into a new phase. The battle for the Bakhmut area hasn't stopped; it is ongoing, just taking different forms, said Maliar, dressed in her characteristic fatigues in an interview from a military media center in Kyiv. Russian forces are now trying but failing to oust Ukrainian fighters from the dominant heights overlooking Bakhmut. We are holding them very firmly, she said. From the Kremlin's perspective, the area around Bakhmut is just part of the more than 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) front line that the Russian military must hold. That task could be made more difficult by the withdrawal of the mercenaries from private military contractor Wagner Group who helped take control of the city. They will be replaced with Russian soldiers. For Ukrainian forces, recent work has been opportunistic trying to wrest small gains from the enemy and taking strategic positions, notably from two flanks on the northwest and southwest, where the Ukrainian 3rd Separate Assault Brigade has been active, officials said. Russia had envisioned the capture of Bakhmut as partial fulfillment of its ambition to seize control of the eastern Donbas region, Ukraines industrial heartland. Now, its forces have been compelled to regroup, rotate fighters and rearm just to hold the city. Wagner's owner announced a pullout after acknowledging the loss of more than 20.000 of his men. Maliar described the nine-month struggle against Wagner forces in nearly existential terms: If they had not been destroyed during the defense of Bakhmut, one can imagine that all these tens of thousands would have advanced deeper into Ukrainian territory. The fate of Bakhmut, which lays largely in ruins, has been overshadowed in recent days by near-nightly attacks on Kyiv, a series of unclaimed drone strikes near Moscow and the growing anticipation that Ukraine's government will try to regain ground. But the battle for the city could still have a lingering impact. Moscow has made the most of its capture, epitomized by triumphalism in Russian Media. Any slippage of Russias grip would be a political embarrassment for President Vladimir Putin. Michael Kofman of the Center for Naval Analyses, a U.S. research group, noted in a podcast this week that the victory brings new challenges in holding Bakhmut. With Wagner fighters withdrawing, Russian forces are going to be increasingly fixed to Bakhmut ... and will find it difficult to defend, Kofman told "War on the Rocks" in an interview posted Tuesday. And so they may not hold on to Bakhmut, and the whole thing may have ended up being for nothing for them down the line, he added. A Western official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Russian airborne forces are heavily involved in replacing the departing Wagner troops a step that is "likely to antagonize the airborne leadership, who see the duty as a further erosion of their previously elite status" in the military. Ukrainian forces have clawed back slivers of territory on the flanks a few hundred meters (yards) per day to solidify defensive lines and seek opportunities to retake some urban parts of the city, said one Ukrainian analyst. The goal in Bakhmut is not Bakhmut itself, which has been turned into ruins, military analyst Roman Svitan said by phone. The goal for the Ukrainians is to hold on to the western heights and maintain a defensive arc outside the city. More broadly, Ukraine wants to weigh down Russian forces and capture the initiative ahead of the counteroffensive part of what military analysts call shaping operations to set the terms of the battle environment and put an enemy in a defensive, reactive posture. Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the east, said the strategic goal in the Bakhmut area was to restrain the enemy and destroy as much personnel and equipment as possible while preventing a Russian breakthrough or outflanking maneuver. Analyst Mathieu Boulegue questioned whether Bakhmut would hold lessons or importance for the war ahead. Military superiority matters, he said, but so does information superiority the ability to create subterfuge, to create obfuscation of your force, to be able to move in the shadows." Boulegue, a consulting fellow with the Russia and Eurasia program at the Chatham House think tank in London, said those tactics could determine which side gains an advantage that catches the other side by surprise, and turns the tide of the war. Search Keywords: Short link: Ronnie Day Reigns Supreme in Event #4: Tournament of Champions ($200,000) June 03, 2023 Josh Noy Live Reporter Veteran pro Ronnie Day was the last WSOP champion standing at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Day earned his first gold bracelet, $200,000 in cash and the title of Tournament of Champions after four days of play. Its so surreal right now, its unbelievable, I dont even know how to explain it, Day told PokerNews after posing for photos with his newest piece of jewelry. This unique invitation-only event provided a $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool and was open to WSOP bracelet or WSOP circuit ring winners in the last year. Just last month, Day won his way into the field by earning his first circuit ring in Elizabeth, Indiana. The Ohio native had three previous WSOP cashes on his resume, but this top prize represents more than his previous WSOP career earnings combined. 2023 World Series of Poker Hub Bookmark this page! All you need to know about the 2023 WSOP is here. Click here Final Table Payouts Place Name Country Prize 1 Ronnie Day United States $200,000 2 Brent Gregory United States $120,000 3 Patrick White United States $87,000 4 Hunter McClelland United States $63,000 5 Wissam Gahshan United States $46,000 6 Justin Hotte-McKinnon Canada $35,000 7 Barry Schultz United States $26,000 8 Daniel Marx United States $20,000 9 Zachary Gruneberg United States $16,000 Final Table Action A total of 741 players entered the freeroll event out of 989 qualifiers, with the final seven returning for an added fourth day to battle for WSOP glory. Barry Schultz won his way into the field by taking down the senior's event at Horseshoe Tunica in January. Schultz entered the day as the short stack and was the first to exit after seeing his pocket jacks cracked on the turn. The lone Canadian at the final table, Justin Hotte-McKinnon, was the next to go in sixth place. Hotte-McKinnon earned his spot in the Tournament of Champions field by winning a ring on WSOP.ca in March. Wissam Gahshan qualified with a win at The Bicycle Casino in December and the start of the day chip leader collected a career-best score with a fifth-place finish. As Day was vaulting his way up the leaderboard, the eliminations continued around him at the table. Hunter McClelland was the next to go, earning a nice payday after taking down two ring events on WSOP PA. Patrick White followed in third place at the hands of Day, adding a nice score to his resume to go along with a win at the WSOP circuit stop at Turning Stone. Crowning a Champion Heads-up play did not last long, as Brent Gregorys significant chip disadvantage provided a path to victory for Day. Gregory earned a career-best score with the runner-up finish after qualifying with a win at the WSOP Circuit event in Tulsa in March. As for our champion, Day says his next challenge will be looking for a third career cash in the WSOP Main Event. I was sitting there thinking, this is very good practice for the main instead of just jumping right into the fire, Day said after reflecting on his experience this week. The winning hand was J-5 offsuit, to which Day quipped, Motown is back, right? Sharelines The Tournament of Champions is a $1,000,000 invitational freeroll for players who have won a WSOP Bracelet or Circuit ring since the 2022 WSOP. PN Podcast: Lon McEachern's Unforgettable WSOP Moments & Doyle Brunson's Legacy June 04, 2023 Chad Holloway Executive Editor U.S. On the latest PokerNews Podcast episode, Chad Holloway and Jesse Fullen continue The Chad & Jesse Poker Show straight from the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP). This week, they are joined by the legendary WSOP commentator Lon McEachern, who talked about his career, winning a WSOP Circuit gold ring, and playing in the Tournament of Champions. He also shares some fond memories of the late Doyle Brunson. Chad and Jesse then do a new "Calling the Clock" segment in which they offer quick two-minute dialogues for topics on The Board. Here's a look at this episode's topics: Hustler Casino Live (HCL) Tom Dwan Hustler Casino Live (HCL) Doug Polk Accused Cheaters Traffic Troubles Table Needling First Bracelet Win Negreanu or Hellmuth? Phil Hellmuth s Tracksuit Hot or Not? s Tracksuit Hot or Not? $25K Fantasy Draft Listen to those stories and more on the latest episode of the PokerNews Podcast! Time Stamps Time Topic 00:35 Sponsor: Global Poker 01:10 Welcome to the show 01:43 Bounty Series V kicks off on Global Poker on June 5 02:47 Chad & Jesse go deep in Event #1: $500 Casino Employee 03:36 Jesse Fullen interviews Jesse Fullen?!? 08:30 Peter Thai wins Event #1: Casino Employees for $75,535 09:57 Alexandre Vuilleumier wins Event #2: $25,000 High Roller 6-Handed for $1,215,864 11:15 Calling the Clock (intro by Bob Smith) 11:45 Hustler Casino Live Tom Dwan wins record $3.1 million pot 14:06 Doug Polk randomizing with aces 16:36 Accused cheaters at the WSOP 18:41 Traffic around the WSOP 20:46 Is table needling an issue? 22:50 Who will win a bracelet first Negreanu or Hellmuth? 25:00 Hot or Not Phil Hellmuths new tracksuit 27:04 What team do you like in the $25K Fantasy Draft 29:00 Guest Lon McEachern joins the show 31:00 How did you come to work the WSOP back in 2002? 33:55 Lons early learning curve mistaking Phil Gordon for Phil Hellmuth 35:46 Craziest story from the WSOP 37:50 Favorite Doyle Brunson memories 39:20 Getting to play against Texas Dolly 41:20 Favorite WSOP Main Event winner 43:20 Winning a WSOP Circuit ring 45:40 Playing the Tournament of Champions 49:05 Ever think about writing a poker book? 51:51 The Llama Karen nickname PokerNews Freerolls for June Tell us who you want to hear from. Let us know what you think of the show tweet about the podcast using #PNPod, and be sure to follow Chad Holloway, Jesse Fullen, and Connor Richards on Twitter. Subscribe to the PokerNews Podcast on Apple Podcasts here! Check Out Past Episodes of the PN Podcast Here! Sharelines PN Podcast: @ChadAHolloway & @jessefullen chatted with @WSOP commentator @lonmceachern. After a grueling 22 levels of play on Day 1d of Event #3: $1,000 Mystery Millions at the 2023 World Series Of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, 477 players were able to find a bag from a huge starting field of 8,061. They will join the 528 survivors from the three other starting flights for a total of 1,005 players on Day 2. Day 2 marks the beginning of the mystery bounty element of the tournament. Given that this was the final starting flight, it was always expected to draw the most runners. Even so, the fact that the overall field hit 18,188 entrants was an impressive feat. The numbers are so impressive that the tournament directors are considering adding an extra $1,000,000 top bounty as a result. Jonathan Ounjian put himself in a prime position to chase those big bounties by spinning his stack up to an incredible 2,040,000. That was not the biggest stack, however, with Ronan Nally able to find himself with a gargantuan 2,820,000 at the end of the night, more than any other player was able to amass in the three previous starting flights. Other big stacks include Calvin Anderson (2,390,000) Zack Wilson (2,350,000), Ramaswamy Pylooke (2,055,000), Stanley Lee (2,280,000), Event #3: Mystery Millions Top Ten Chip Counts Day 1 Combined Rank Name Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Ronan Nally United Kingdom 2,820,000 71 2 Francis Anderson United States 2,750,000 69 3 Shaun Davis United States 2,475,000 62 4 Calvin Anderson United States 2,390,000 60 5 Tal Avivi Israel 2,380,000 60 6 Zachary Wilson United States 2,350,000 59 7 Bohdan Slyvinskyi United States 2,310,000 58 8 Stanley Lee United States 2,280,000 57 9 Joseph Dornish United States 2,250,000 56 10 David Gonia United States 2,245,000 56 Day 1d Action As with the other Day 1s, the money bubble burst late in the evening. 1,210 players have now locked up a min-cash of $1,061 for their efforts. However, that pales in comparison to the prizes yet to be distributed. Many notables hopped into the fray, with several able to navigate their way through to Day 2. They include Punnat Punsri (1,065,000), Garry Gates (735,000) and Jake Daniels (610,000). Other well-known players were less fortunate, hitting the rail prior to the conclusion of the final level. Felipe Ramos, Chance Kornuth, and Alex Foxen will all have to watch from the sidelines as life-changing sums of money are snatched up by their better faring competitors. Day 2 resumes on Sunday, June 4 at 10 a.m. at which point play will continue for either 17 levels or until just five players remain, whichever comes first. Blinds will resume at Level 23 with blinds of 20,000/40,000 and a 40,000 big blind ante. They will also increase to 40 minutes in length for the remainder of the tournament. With the mystery bounties in play at that time, the excitement is sure to ramp up considerably. Though there is no guarantee that a $1,000,000 bounty will be claimed on Day 2, it is overwhelmingly likely that that will be the case. So be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews as its live reporting team continues to provide updates of this and every other bracelet event at the 2023 WSOP at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Ukrainian rescuers outside the city of Dnipro on Sunday recovered the body of a two-year-old girl from the rubble left by a Russian strike on a residential area. On the other side of the border, Russian authorities asked villagers living in a heavily shelled district on the Ukraine border to leave their homes after deadly strikes prompted thousands to flee. The Russian attack that hit the Pidhorodnenska suburb of the central city of Dnipro on Saturday came as Moscow has this week intensified aerial assaults on Ukraine. "At night, a girl's body was retrieved from under the rubble of a house in the Pidhorodnenska community" outside Dnipro, Serhiy Lysak, governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, said on Sunday. "She just turned two." Officials said the strike killed the toddler, born in 2021, and wounded at least 22 others. Five children were in hospital, including three boys who were in a critical condition, they added. Kyiv also said a Russian strike had hit an airfield in central Ukraine overnight, which Moscow appeared to confirm on Sunday, saying it had struck military air bases with long-range weapons overnight. The attacks came at the end of a week that saw Russia launch a series of air assaults on Kyiv, including rare day-time strikes. The conflict, which has dragged on for more than 15 months, has escalated this week with increased attacks on both sides of the border. Kyiv has for months said it is preparing for a major counteroffensive against Moscow's forces. President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the country is "ready" but pleaded for more Western weapons to counter Russia's air superiority. In a video published Sunday, the Ukrainian army appeared to call on soldiers to stay silent and said there will be no announcement on the start of the long-awaited offensive. "Plans love silence," Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar said on Telegram. "The start will not be announced," she added, accompanying the video showing soldiers placing fingers on their mouths. Bombed and bombed Russian authorities asked residents of villages of a heavily shelled district in the Belgorod region that borders Ukraine to leave their homes. Intensified Ukrainian shelling of the Shebekino district this week has left several people dead and forced thousands to leave the area for Belgorod city. Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said Sunday some 4,000 people left border villages and were placed in temporary housing. He urged residents of several villages on the border to leave their homes. "I ask that in the villages of, first of all, the Shebekino district that has been shelled, to listen to the position of authorities and leave -- temporarily leave -- their homes," Gladkov said on Telegram. He said the goal was "to safeguard what is most important: your life and the lives of your close ones". He said it was another "not calm night" in the district with "a lot of damage". Tatiana Kozheleva, a 64-year-old pensioner who left Shebekino and was receiving humanitarian aid in Belgorod, told AFP there was almost "nothing left" of the small city. "Our city Shebekino was bombed and bombed," she said. "Our house was also hit by a shell," she said, adding that her balcony was damaged. "We almost did not get out from under the shelling." On Saturday, Ukrainian shelling killed two women in Russian border villages. Gladkov said the authorities would take minors from border villages and the children of mobilised soldiers fighting in Ukraine to youth camps. Search Keywords: Short link: Adding a fourth day on the schedule sits just fine with Ronnie Day, as the veteran pro was the last player standing at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Having won his ticket with a WSOPC ring, this is Day's first gold bracelet. On top of this, Day also took down $200,000 in cash and the title of Tournament of Champions winner at the 2023 World Series of Poker. Its so surreal right now, its unbelievable, I dont even know how to explain it, Day told PokerNews after posing for photos with his newest piece of jewelry. This unique invitation-only event provided a $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool and was open to anyone who won a WSOP bracelet or WSOP circuit in the last year. Day won his way into the field by earning his first circuit ring in Elizabeth, Indiana, just last month. Ronnie Day Final Table Action A total of 741 players entered the freeroll event out of 989 qualifiers. The final seven returned today for an added fourth day to battle for WSOP glory. Barry Schultz won his way into the field by taking down the seniors event at Horseshoe Tunica in January. Schultz entered the day as the short stack and was the first to exit after seeing his pocket jacks cracked on the turn. The lone Canadian at the final table, Justin Hotte-McKinnon, was the next to go in sixth place. Hotte-McKinnon earned his spot in the Tournament of Champions field by winning his ring on WSOP.ca in March. Wissam Gahshan qualified with a win at The Bicycle Casino in December, was the chip leader at the beginning of the day , and collected a career-best score with a fifth-place finish. As Day was vaulting his way up the leaderboard, the eliminations continued around him at the table. Hunter McClelland was the next to go, earning a nice payday after taking down two ring events on WSOP PA. Patrick White followed in third place at the hands of Day, adding a nice score to his resume to go along with a win at the WSOP circuit stop at Turning Stone. Final Table Results Place Name Country Prize 1 Ronnie Day United States $200,000 2 Brent Gregory United States $120,000 3 Patrick White United States $87,000 4 Hunter McClelland United States $63,000 5 Wissam Gahshan United States $46,000 6 Justin Hotte-McKinnon Canada $35,000 7 Barry Schultz United States $26,000 8 Daniel Marx United States $20,000 9 Zachary Gruneberg United States $16,000 Crowning a Champion Heads-up play did not last long, as Brent Gregory had a significant chip disadvantage, providing a path to victory for Day. Gregory earned a career-best score with the runner-up finish after qualifying with a win at the WSOP Circuit event in Tulsa back in March. As for our champion, Day said his next challenge is to find a third career cash at the WSOP Main Event. I was sitting there thinking, this is very good practice for the Main instead of just jumping right into the fire, Day said after reflecting on his experience this week. The winning hand was jack-five offsuit, to which Day quipped, Motown is back, right? This concludes the PokerNews coverage of the Tournament of Champions, but well continue to provide live updates throughout the rest of the 2023 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. A total of 17 players began Day 3 of Event #7: Limit Holdem at the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Only one was left standing when it mattered the most. In a heads-up showdown featuring an all-Ukrainian flavor, Vadim Shlez outlasted the field and his fellow countryman Rostyslav Sabishchenko ($90,753) to win. With the victory, Shlez secured his first WSOP bracelet. Final Table Results Place Player Country Prize 1 Vadim Shlez Ukraine $146,835 2 Rostyslav Sabishchenko Ukraine $90,753 3 Kerry Welsh United States $63,577 4 Raul Celaya United States $45,301 5 John Armbrust United States $32,840 6 Chairud Vangchailued United States $24,228 7 Jason Duong Canada $18,196 8 David "ODB" Baker United States $13,917 Path to the final table Shlezs path came with plenty of obstacles, as he entered Day 3 with the 13th-most chips in play. Then he picked a good time to go on a run. He conquered a formidable group of players. The field included multiple WSOP bracelet winners, including Adam Friedman, David "ODB" Baker, Joe McKeehen, Jason Gola, Mike Leah, Nick Schulman, Yueqi Zhu, Patrick Leonard, Justin Pechie, Ryan Leng, Tom Schneider, Richard Alsup, Erick Lindgren, Jim Collopy, Ryan Hansen, Humberto Brenes, Nick Guagenti, and Kevin Song. Vadim Shlez and Rostyslav Sabishchenko face off over the heads-up table. Baker, who made the final table, finished in eighth place for $13,917. Shlez also had to contend with notable WPT winners Scott Eskenazi, who busted in tenth place, and Lee Markholt. A total of 527 entries turned out and generated a prize pool of $703,545. Kerry Welsh finished in third for $63,577, while Raul Celaya took fourth for $45,301. Winners Reaction Shlez has been playing poker for more than 20 years, so he knows the significance of winning a WSOP bracelet. Perhaps thats why he was almost overcome with emotion when he discussed his journey. Ive been working on it for pretty much my whole life, Shlez told PokerNews with a wide smile. I started poker pretty much with the World Series of Poker. I didnt expect to win in this discipline, even though it was my favorite game when I started. Shlez, who sported a Ukrainian flag lapel pin and draped himself in the flag after winning, said playing against Sabishchenko proved special. It was unbelievable, Shlez said. We thought it would be cool yesterday [Friday] when it went down to three tables. We hoped it was going to happen, but nobody expected this to happen. I mean, even making the final table together was great. It was unbelievable. To win it, it was unbelievable. Shlez and Sabishchenko embrace. Shlez acknowledged the stout competition he faced en route to his first WSOP bracelet, and he never got overconfident, even though he rode a hot streak to the final table. To him, victory arrived on the table. Not until the last cards hit, he said. Schlez isnt going anywhere anytime soon after securing his first WSOP bracelet. He plans to continue playing other WSOP events with his wife and has his eyes on another bracelet. Hopefully, Shlez said. Hopefully for her, too This concludes coverage of Event #7 of the 2023 WSOP, but make sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates of your favorite events throughout the summer. From a starting field of 360 players in Event #9: $1,500 Seven Card Stud, only 101 returned to Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas today in the hopes of securing a piece of the $480,600 prize pool. After ten levels of play today, only nine players remained with hopes and dreams of the $110,800 and a 2023 World Series Of Poker gold bracelet. Leading this field of all-stars is four-time WSOP bracelet winner John Monnette, who bags 1,985,000. Monnette began the day as one of the bigger stacks, and once the bubble burst, the mixed game pro continued to build up his chips and now sits within striking distance of two million. An extremely decorated player, Monnettes mixed game prowess is well known throughout the poker world, with him even winning a $5,000 Seven Card Stud bracelet in 2012. A win here would add a fifth bracelet to his collection and be his second in Stud Hi. Monnettes path will not be without obstacles. Right behind him in the counts is three-time WSOP bracelet winner Nick Schulman, who bagged 1,375,000. Schulmans bracelet wins were in 2-7 Lowball and Pot-Limit Omaha hi/lo, adding to his more than $15 million in lifetime poker earnings. Schulman had also bagged a big stack at the end of Day 1 and put it to immediate use in the early goings of Day 2. He now looks to add a stud bracelet to his already decorated trophy cabinet. A Stacked Final Table Hojeong Lee (1,140,000) is looking for his second chance at this specific title, as his career-best score was a fourth-place finish in the 2021 iteration of this event. A third place, two fourth places, and a sixth place occupy the WSOP stud-event final table resume of Tab Thiptinnakon (1,135,000). Scores dating back to the early 90s, Thiptinnakon brings a wealth of experience to this final group of nine. DJ Buckley (880,000) is looking to add to his WSOP resume. Buckley finished 8th place in last years $25k H.O.R.S.E. for $61,549 and he looks to find a better cash for his mixed game results with a win in this event. Andrew Hasdal (770,000) notches his first WSOP score at this final table, but with a wealth of knowledge from the Chicago cash games, he looks to be a formidable force at the table. Schulman comes into the final table with the second biggest chip stack, with his sights set on bracelet number four. The five-time WSOP bracelet winner and always in the WSOP Player of the Year conversation pro Shaun Deeb (675,000) found his way to another WSOP final table. Deeb won this event in 2016 for his second WSOP bracelet and now, over seven years later, he has eyes to win the same event again, a feat that Deeb himself is quite familiar with. Bruce Levitt (665,000) finds himself at his second WSOP final table and, with WSOP cashes dating back to the mid-90s, also looks to bring his wealth of experience to the final table. Rounding out the final nine is Tim Frazin with 430,000 in chips. Final Table Seat Draw Seat Player Hometown Chip Count Big Bets 1 Shaun Deeb United States 675,000 8 2 Bruce Levitt United States 665,000 8 3 Andrew Hasdal United States 770,000 9 4 Tim Frazin United States 430,000 5 5 Tab Thiptinnakon United States 1,135,000 14 6 Hojeong Lee United States 1,140,000 14 7 John Monnette United States 1,985,000 24 8 Nick Schulman United States 1,375,000 17 9 DJ Buckley United States 880,000 11 Day 2 Action The kickoff to the day saw many well-known and accomplished pros falling by the wayside shy of the money. WSOP bracelet winners Cyndy Violette, Frankie ODell, Barry Greenstein, Andrew AJ Kelsall, and Daniel Strelitz all saw their hopes of winning this WSOP bracelet disappear as the player count dropped. The unfortunate bubble boy of the event was Darren Shebell, who got his final chips in with a pair of kings against Dzmitry Urbanovichs gutshot and overcard. Urbanovich hit his gin card on seventh to make a wheel, leaving Shebell with no outs. Allen Kessler (34th-$3,051) found his 100th WSOP cash, which John Bunch (29th-$3,330) announced to the entire room. Many of the players applauded the "Chainsaw's" achievement. Other players whose run came to a halt before the final table included Ari Engel (39th-$3,051), Ray Henson (30th-$3,330), John Miami John Cernuto (23rd-$3,736) and Daniel Weinman (21st-$3,736). Chris Hundley (15th-$4,307) and Ben Yu (14th-$4,307) saw both their chances vanish in the same hand when Hasdal made a full house on the river to knock out both players. Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Tony Ma (13th-$5,098), Everett Carlton (12th-$5,098), and Oliver Vereschagin (11th-$6,190) found themselves as the next trio of players to bow out prior to the final. Three-time bracelet winner Greg Mueller exited the tournament in tenth place, bringing an end to the night. Mueller had flirted with the chip lead a few times when there were two tables left and made a good habit of calling out the opponent's exact hands and folding correctly. But several big pots did not go his way and his chances grew slimmer until they vanished completely during an all-in on seventh street. Schulman made jacks-up to best Muellers kings. Mueller's seventh-street card brought him no help and the Canadian hit the rail in tenth place for $6,190. Three-time WSOP bracelet winner Greg Mueller exited the tournament just shy of the final table. Players will return Sunday, June 4, at 1 p.m., coming back to Level 26. The ante and bring-in will be 10,000, with the limits at 40,000-80,000. Players will continue to play one-hour levels with a 15-minute break in between. After the table thins out a bit, play will be paused and the remaining final table will be streamed from the Horseshoe on PokerGO's YouTube channel (on security delay) beginning at 5 p.m. PDT. Stay tuned to PokerNews for all updates on Event #9: $1,500 Seven Card Stud, as well as all updates from the World Series of Poker. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print First Lady Jill Biden delivered a powerful speech at the Ennakhil Association in Marrakech, Morocco, where she spoke about the importance of womens empowerment and the need for women to come together to create a better world. Biden praised the work of the Ennakhil Association and its founder, Zakia, for their efforts to empower women and strengthen womens and disability rights in Morocco. Biden emphasized the importance of womens voices and the struggles that women have faced in being heard. She spoke about the violence, hate, discrimination, and isolation that women have faced, but also noted that women have never been silent. Biden said that when women come together to mentor, heal, and tell their stories, they can rewrite the narratives of injustice and inequality. Biden also highlighted the economic and social benefits of empowering women. When women earn money, they invest it in their families, create jobs, and help others find success. When women have the ability to participate fully in society, they create more peaceful, stable places to live. Biden noted that the United States understands the importance of empowering women and that it stands with women throughout the world. Biden praised the longstanding partnership and friendship between the United States and Morocco and the efforts of King Mohammed the Sixth to empower women and youth. She also spoke about her meeting with Princess Lalla Hasna, who shared her work to educate children and young people about the importance of protecting the climate. Biden expressed her excitement to take Princess Lalla Hasnas story back to the United States and to look for more opportunities to learn from each other. Biden ended her speech by quoting peace activist Latifa Ibn Ziaten, who said, Dream about something beautifuland when you pray, pray a prayer of peace; a prayer of love. Biden encouraged the audience to come together as partners to work against injustice, repair whats broken, and build something new. She called for women to be the arms of welcome, the hands of kindness, and to stand shoulder to shoulder and lift each other when they fall. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Former Ambassador John Bolton ripped Trump for being in over his head with dictators like Kim Jong-un told Republican presidential candidates that Trump must not be renominated. Video of Bolton on CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta: Bolton talked about Trump and dictators, Well, we saw warning signs in Trumps reaction to these letters that Kim sent to him before the Singapore summit and then after. And now there is no doubt in my mind, these letters were written by some communist party hack in the agitprop of the North Korea Workers Party but they were filled with phrases like your excellencency and he thought there were love letters. I shook my head. I dont think he understands what hes up against when he faces the hard men of contemporary international affairs. Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin, XI Jinping, he just doesnt know what room hes in. Bolton later talked about why Trump must be stopped and the problem with the RNC requiring a loyalty pledge to participate in debates, I wouldnt support that pledge. Im not going to support Donald Trump. Think he did enormous damage to the country and certainly to the Republican Party in the four years he served. A second term, I think, but all of that is repairable. But four more years of Donald Trump could do significant permanent damage to the country and the Republican Party. That is why I think everybody who is in this race now should not spend their time picking away at each other. They have got to convince Republican primary voters that the job one here is to prevent Trump from being renominated. John Bolton worked in the Trump administration. He was there. Bolton saw it with his own eyes, so when he makes Trump sound like a simpleton who was easily fooled by authoritarian propaganda, it is worth listening to him. Former Amb. Bolton was also correct that Republicans presidential candidates should be focused on stopping Trump instead taking shots at each other. This is the world that we live in now where neo-con John Bolton who pushed for the invasion of Iraq now sounds like a moderate voice who supports Ukraine against Russia and is arguing that Trump must be stopped. The Republican Party is so far out of the mainstream that on some issues John Bolton is a centrist on US foreign policy. Days after being blindsided by the PGA Tours partnership with Saudi Arabias wealth fund, Rory McIlroy put himself in position for a run at a third straight Canadian Open title. McIlroy, the strongest voice against Saudi-funded LIV Golf who said Wednesday he feels like a sacrificial lamb, shot a 6-under 66 on Saturday at Oakdale, leaving him two strokes behind leader C.T. Pan. McIlroy won in 2019 at Hamilton, then after the event was canceled for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic won last year in Toronto at St. Georges amid a flurry of LIV Golf controversy. Pan, from Taiwan, birdied the final two holes for a 66 to get to 14-under 202. He won the 2019 RBC Heritage. Read morePan leads Canadian Open, with McIlroy 2 shots back on crowded leaderboard Syria's foreign minister on Sunday discussed humanitarian aid and combating the illegal drugs trade with key ally Iraq during a visit to Baghdad as Damascus emerges from years of diplomatic isolation. The visit by Faisal Mekdad comes weeks after the Arab League agreed to end Syria's suspension from the 22-member bloc, bringing President Bashar al-Assad's regime back into the regional fold after years of civil war. Iraq remained an ally of Damascus throughout the wider Arab boycott, never severing relations and maintaining close cooperation during Syria's civil war, particularly over the fight against the Islamic State group. During the visit, Mekdad met with Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani and conveyed "an invitation to visit Damascus" on an unspecified date, a statement from the Iraqi premier's office said. Baghdad was "one of the initiators" of Syria's return to the Arab League, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said in a joint press conference with Mekdad. The two also discussed the issue of Syrian refugees who fled the country after war erupted, many of whom now live in Iraq as well as Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. "We received about 250,000 refugees," said Hussein, who added that the majority of them live in camps in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region. He said the next step would be getting humanitarian aid into Syria, which has been devastated by the war and by a February 6 earthquake that also hit Turkey and killed tens of thousands in both countries. The quake triggered a flurry of aid efforts and diplomatic moves that help spur Syria's reintegration back into the wider Arab region. Mekdad on Sunday thanked Iraq for its "solidarity" after the quake, also hailing the "progression" of bilateral relations. "We will continue to cooperate to combat terrorism and eliminate the danger posed by drugs," he added in a reference to the illegal trade in the stimulant captagon. Drug Trade, Water Scarcity The Arab League voted on May 7 to readmit Syria after its suspension in 2011 over Assad's brutal repression of pro-democracy protests that later devolved into an all-out war. At the time, Iraq had abstained from the vote that resulted in Damascus' suspension. The two countries share a 600-kilometre (370-mile) porous desert border that has continued to see militant activity even years after the defeat of IS. The militant group took over large swathes of both countries in 2014, declaring its "caliphate" before it was defeated in 2017 in Iraq and in 2019 in Syria. Drug trafficking has also proliferated in past years, with the trade of the amphetamine-like drug captagon exploding in the region, much of it across the Syria-Iraq border. Iraqi guards in March seized over three million captagon pills at the border with Syria. In addition to security coordination, Baghdad and Damascus continue to coordinate on other key issues including water as both countries face dangerous shortages. Dam-building in neighbouring countries and climate change impacts have dramatically reduced water flows in both countries, disrupting agriculture and threatening livelihoods amid persistent economic challenges. Search Keywords: Short link: The city of Aiken could be looking toward a known model as it develops plans to construct a mixed-use building in which the Savannah River National Laboratory could rent space for a workforce development center. Aiken Economic Development Director Tim O'Briant said Tuesday the presumed example the city is looking to follow for the project is how the Amentum Building was constructed and leased. The Amentum Building not to be confused with the adjacent Amentum Center for the Performing Arts is located at 106 Newberry St. S.W. In that project, the city took out a loan and constructed the building. Then, it leased the ground on which the building sits to the Aiken Corporation for a term of 99 years. In turn, the Aiken Corporation leased the building to the Washington Group and its successors. "It's been so successful," O'Briant said. O'Briant said the legal structure for the Amentum Building allows the collection of property tax revenue on the building (the city still owns the land) and the Amentum Building brings professionals to the city's downtown to work, eat and shop. Aiken Mayor Pro Tempore Ed Woltz announced earlier this year plans to use plutonium settlement funding provided to the city by the South Carolina General Assembly last year to construct a mixed-use building in which the Savannah River National Laboratory intends to lease space for a workforce development center. Woltz said the mixed-use building would be around 45,000-50,000 square feet and house around 100 Savannah River National Laboratory employees and a rotating group of faculty and students from the lab's university collaborative. The collaborative includes the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and South Carolina State University. Savannah River National Laboratory Director Vahid Majidi said the workforce development center would allow the lab to have a more direct presence in the community and help with the goal of developing a pipeline of new talent. He said only computational and administrative work would be performed there. Majidi added the facility would also host some work on non-proliferation training programs and human resources functions. He said the facility will allow for scientific and technical discussions, remote learning and teacher development. The announced proposed location of the mixed-use building that would house the workforce development center is two properties included in the failed Project Pascalis: the Holley House and Warneke Cleaners. Aiken, SC (29801) Today Partly cloudy early with thunderstorms becoming likely during the afternoon. High 84F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Low 68F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. The hospitality and art worlds meet this week, as The Charleston Place opens up to host a pop-up musical sampling of Spoleto Festival USA talent. In an inaugural event, the city's largest lodging will host two free performances and meet-and-greets with artists. The Spoleto Festival USA Chorus will perform June 4 and 10 at 10 a.m. in the lobby. Performers will stand at the base of the grand staircase, allowing the sound to carry throughout the building, according to management of the 434-room hotel and retail complex. Selections from Spoleto concerts will be highlighted throughout the hour-long program. Whether passing by or making plans to join us for the pop-up performance, its a chance to see incredible performers in a beautiful space, hotel spokeswoman Courtney Long said. Each season, chorus fellows serve as the choir for Spoletos mainstage operas and take part in special projects or performances like this. The Charleston Place, which came under local ownership in late 2021 when Ben Navarro's Beemok Hospitality Collection bought it for $350 million, has been a long-time partner of the annual 17-day international festival, having hosted various events for visiting artists and performers over the years. The idea behind the latest musical offerings is part of the two organizations wanting to strike a connection with guests and local residents through a unique experience, according to hotel management. Listen and learn Visitors of Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum can now walk through the Yorktown as they hear personal stories from the veterans who experienced them firsthand. The state-owned Mount Pleasant visitor attraction is offering an audio tour through a partnership with Charleston-based Bulldog Tours. Visitors can access it by downloading the Patriots Point Experience app for $7.99 on the IOS and Android marketplaces. That allows patrons to use their phones and headphones to tune in to a self-guided exploration of the aircraft carrier. The audio includes firsthand accounts and sound effects, in an effort bring history to life, said John LaVerne, owner of Bulldog Tours. The audio tour is the newest offering the Mount Pleasant military museum has developed with the company and the USS Yorktown Foundation. Guided tours for families and groups are available, and after-hours ghost tours include access to places on the ship that are off-limits during the day. LaVerne said that the plan is to expand the audio option to other museum attractions at Patriots Point, such as the World War II destroyer Laffey and the Vietnam Experience Exhibit. The latest legal spectacle at the Four Corners of Law played out last week, clearing out just in time for another high-profile though less-salacious proceeding. As convicted murderer and disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh pleaded not guilty to new financial crimes May 31, a battery of lawyers from across the country were preparing to make their way to the same Charleston courthouse for a closely watched trial involving a nearly indestructible strain of environmental toxins and who's who of American industry. It's been a long time coming. In late 2018, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel of Charleston was assigned the task of corralling the lawsuits from around the nation and setting the ground rules for the first case to be presented to a jury. The landmark litigation gets underway this week. It centers on a class of microscopic man-made substances known as "forever chemicals" that have been linked to cancer and other health ailments after seeping into drinking-water systems across the U.S. and beyond. One of the primary manufacturers is 3M Co., the brains behind Post-it Notes and Scotch Tape. For decades, the Minnesota-based industrial company, DuPont and others made or sold the water-, stain- and heat-resistant chemicals for use in a wide assortment of everyday consumer products, from Teflon-coated cookware to care-free carpeting. The "perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances" or PFAS also were a key ingredient in a highly effective and widely used suppressant that firefighters sprayed for decades, either for training purposes or to extinguish petroleum-fueled blazes. More than 4,000 lawsuits from around the nation have since been consolidated at the J. Waties Waring Judicial Center at Meeting and Broad streets, with many alleging the flame-choking foam infiltrated and contaminated public and private drinking-water sources. New complaints are still pouring in almost daily, from utilities and local governments to landowners and ill firefighters. Late last month, Moncks Corner-based Santee Cooper joined the growing list of plaintiffs, following the municipal water systems in Charleston and Summerville and the authority that owns and operates Charleston International Airport. In the latest twist, DuPont and two other companies bowed out of the litigation Friday after agreeing to pay $1.19 billion. The first case to make it to trial, barring another last-minute settlement, pits the self-described "Sailfish Capital of World" against 3M, which Bloomberg reported on Friday is considering a financial offer to end its role. The small beach community of Stuart, Fla., up the coast from West Palm Beach, filed its lawsuit in 2018, after government testing found traces of forever chemicals in all of its wells, most likely from fire-fighting exercises. The city of about 18,000 residents is seeking about $115 million to fund several public water projects, such as installing a new filtration system and removing contaminated soil. The multiweek trial is considered a "bellwether" or "litmus test" because the "outcome ... will have a massive impact on the future course of the litigation," Baltimore attorney Ronald V. Miller Jr. wrote in an analysis posted on the Law Information Center's website. The stakes are high. "It will be the first time a jury will decide the scientific evidentiary battle that has been waged between the plaintiffs and defendants ... If the jury resolves this debate in favor of the plaintiff and awards a significant verdict, it could prompt a multibillion-dollar settlement involving dozens of major companies. It could also set the stage for future cases involving similar tort claims by local municipalities based on environmental contamination," Miller said. Or, as Gergel put it at a hearing in 2019, the legal bills and potential verdicts pose an "existential threat" to the manufacturers and their balance sheets. At that time, the number of cases totaled about 110. The litigation wave began to pick up momentum after DuPont and 3M paid a combined $1.5 billion in 2017 and 2018 to settle separate but similar skirmishes over contaminated water in West Virginia, Ohio and Minnesota. The companies acknowledged no wrongdoing, but the cases brought to light confidential studies and other internal documents about the medical risks associated with the chemicals. Suddenly, the information was public knowledge. The scale of the contamination claims is so large that it's been compared to the epic personal-injury battles over asbestos more than two decades ago. The fire-resistant, toxic building material forced numerous companies into bankruptcy. After several years of discovery and other pre-trial formalities in the books, opposing counsel for 3M and the city of Stuart will put their strongest arguments to the test starting this week about the health dangers and financial damages. They'll be looking to persuade a group of 12 civic-minded South Carolinians. Jury selection from a pool of 120 candidates is scheduled to begin Monday morning in Courtroom VI at 85 Broad St. COLUMBIA Cyrus Carmack-Belton, a 14-year-old who was shot to death near a Richland County gas station, was a prankster with a beautiful smile and a generous heart, friends and family said during his funeral June 3. Emotional stories about Carmack-Belton were interspersed with calls for justice and gun control, echoing elected officials during a community prayer vigil the night before. Rick Chow, who owns the Shell Xpress Mart gas station on Parklane Road, has been arrested and charged with murder in Carmack-Belton's death. Chow had shot at customers he believed to be shoplifting before, the Richland County Sheriff's Department said May 31, but those instances never rose to the level of charging him with a crime. Chow accused Carmack-Belton of shoplifting bottles of water June 28, leading to an argument that sent Carmack-Belton running from the store, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott has said. Chow and his son pursued the teenager down the street before Chow allegedly shot Carmack-Belton in the back. Surveillance footage showed Carmack-Belton had not taken anything, but had picked up several items before putting them back, Lott and County Coroner Naida Rutherford have said. A gun was found near Carmack-Belton's body, but Lott said the teen did not brandish it at Chow. Rutherford said the gunshot wound in Carmack-Belton's back suggests he was still running away when he was shot. Chow's attorney, James Snell, has declined to comment on the case through his office. 'Cyrus the Great' When Nicole Carmack would ask her youngest son, Carmack-Belton, to do the dishes, he would do exactly that: He would wash just the dishes, she said during the funeral, leaving behind the silverware, pots and pans. The largest college in the university, where most freshman classes are taught, has also struggled to increase its long-term faculty. The number of tenure-track faculty in College of Arts and Sciences has remained the same over the past decade, said the college's dean Joel Samuels. These faculty have longer contracts with the university, larger sign-on bonuses and more of their work is dedicated to research rather than teaching. To ensure classes have enough instructors, the university has been in a hiring phase for years. They've added more part-time and professional-track faculty, who are not eligible for tenure, Samuels said. Some part-time instructors have been converted to full-time positions and some full-time faculty have been taking on more classes, USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said. However, an increase in retirements over the past five years has kept the faculty population stagnant. Faculty loss has been encouraged by an aging population and state employee retirement benefits ending, as the Teacher Employee Retention Incentive program did in 2018, Stensland said. "Recruiting full-time faculty is expensive," Stensland said. "While we have made great progress in terms of additional state funding in recent years and have held tuition steady, additional resources would be needed to markedly increase the number of full-time faculty." Samuels is confident there will be enough instructors for next semester. "We're in a pretty good place," Samuels said. "We've set up over the last couple of years in a way that puts us in a strong position to meet the needs of the incoming class." Audrey Korsgaard, the chair of the USC Faculty Senate, expects most professors to start feeling the effects of the record-breaking freshman classes as the new students move into upper-level courses in a few years. "Are we gonna be able to teach these students? I think we feel pretty comfortable. We've got the faculty to do that," she said. "For now. If we keep getting classes like this, that's going to be an exciting problem." When he pitched himself for the job of Charleston County's next school superintendent, Eric Gallien touted his record of student growth. He called himself a turnaround leader, saying he has been able to help both low- and high-performing schools improve throughout his career in Wisconsin. "That's been my niche," the Racine, Wis., superintendent told a group of local residents selected to participate in a search committee focus group. Gallien, 53, ultimately emerged as the Charleston County School Board's pick to be the next superintendent. But in a process where he ended up the only candidate (two other finalists withdrew before the board's final interviews) many in the community have questioned how effective he's actually been and whether his experience at the small helm will transfer here. "I think it's different to bring a much-smaller district to a place versus a large district," said Joy Brown, a member of the District 10 constituent board who participated in the focus group that met with Gallien. Gallien and the board have yet to finalize a contract. But if he takes office as expected this summer, he will face the same tall challenges his predecessors have struggled to solve: How to address decades of unequal opportunities for Black and White students that have resulted in staggering achievement gaps. In 2022, the most recent year available, 77.1 percent of White students in Charleston met or exceeded expectations in English on state tests. Only 23.1 percent of Black students did. In math, 73.4 percent of White students met or exceeded expectations, compared to 17 percent of Black students. Most board members have not spoken publicly about their thoughts on Gallien. Board chairwoman Pam McKinney said what impressed her was the work he put into developing a 100-day plan and his intention to research and listen before making any changes in Charleston. Keith Grybowski said he felt Gallien was someone the board could work with and trust. In looking for a superintendent, the board said it wanted someone with "a proven record of success as a superintendent." Trustees also wanted someone with experience successfully closing the types of achievement gaps that plague Charleston. Gallien has been in Racine for 10 years, serving as superintendent for the last five and as deputy superintendent for three years before that. He served as superintendent just one complete school year before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, creating unprecedented educational challenges that schools nationwide are still trying to remedy. The Racine school district has just over 16,000 students this year, making it about one-third the size of CCSD. Just south of Milwaukee, the district has urban, rural and suburban areas similar to Charleston County. Nearly two-thirds of its students are economically disadvantaged, more than CCSD's 49 percent. It ranks low compared to other Wisconsin school districts, earning 50.5 points out of 100 on the state's most recent report card, getting a "meets few expectations" rating. Districts in the state earn points for overall test scores, growth in test scores as well as some non-academic measures like absenteeism. Only three other districts did worse. Other large districts in the state, like nearby Kenosha and Milwaukee, also earned a "meets few expectations" rating. Gallien has declined to speak with the media until contract negotiations are finalized. In the focus group interview, Gallien said he placed a lot of his attention in Racine on growing the district's graduation rate. "We wanted to make sure that students leave our district in a good place and on track," he said. Sign up for our Education Lab newsletter. Email Sign Up! When Gallien became deputy superintendent, 74.3 percent of students graduated on-time, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The rate climbed slightly by 2018 when he became superintendent. In 2022, 80.5 percent of students graduated on-time. That's lower than Charleston County's graduation rate last year (84.6 percent) and lower than Wisconsin's statewide graduation rate (90.3 percent) but the growth in Racine under Gallien outpaced the state's. Racine also narrowed the gap in graduation rates between Black and White students from 20 percentage points to 17. The Racine United school board said Gallien was making reasonable progress toward the district's graduation goals in a report last October. Gallien told the focus group he credited the improvements to the creation of high school academies, which are career-focused tracks in which students can specialize. He said it has made students more engaged, making them more likely to stay in school and graduate. The district's results under Gallien in reading and math are more of a mixed bag. In progress evaluations this school year, the Racine school board said the district was making reasonable progress in math but was not in reading. Gallien told the focus group the pandemic exposed some weaknesses and the district has been focusing more on the early grades to make sure students can read on grade level by third grade, a year that is seen as pivotal in order for students to be successful. Charleston County has put a similar focus on reading in the early grades. Last year, Superintendent Don Kennedy set a goal that all fifth graders would be able to read on grade level by 2027. The district began piloting a literacy curriculum developed by EL Education in 10 low-performing, high-poverty schools starting in 2021 before adopting it in all schools last year. Conservatives in the S.C. Freedom Caucus and on the school board have challenged the curriculum, saying it's indoctrinating students, but administrators have defended it. Kennedy told board members that preliminary results on this year's state reading tests show significant growth. Racine's results lag the state's in reading. In 2022, 13 percent of the district's third-grade students earned proficient or advanced scores on state tests, compared to 35 percent of students statewide, according to Wisconsin testing data. Black third-graders fared particularly poorly, with 73.5 percent testing below basic compared to 39.5 percent of White students. Since Gallien became superintendent, the reading achievement gaps between Black and White third-graders who scored proficient or advanced scores has more than doubled. Gallien told the focus group that since the pandemic began, the district has retooled how it teaches reading in the early grades to make sure more students are reading on grade level by the end of third grade. He said the district is "moving in the right direction now." The district has shifted more resources to those grades and used some of its federal pandemic relief money on early literacy support. They also retrained teachers on effective reading instruction, something that CCSD also has done. And like Charleston County schools, Racine standardized the curriculum so that every teacher is on the same page. "I can't wait until next year when we're going to get the third-grade tests again," Gallien said. "We're going to see what the last two, almost three years of investment have panned out to be." Long after the lives of innocent victims ended and the people responsible were sentenced, two homicide cases returned this week to a Lowcountry courtroom, where a different judge heard defense attorneys requests for legal redos resentencings that could have shaved years off of their prison terms. The hearings took place as South Carolinas criminal justice system faces fresh scrutiny after the public learned last month that an Upstate judge penned a secret order late last year freeing a convicted murderer from prison 16 years early. The order has since been voided, but Jeroid Price remains at large. On May 31 in Charleston County's Circuit Court, defense attorney Andy Savage was quick to differentiate his requests from the clandestine proceedings that enabled Price to walk out of prison supposedly under a piece of legislation that shaves off prison time for inmates who provide substantial assistance to law enforcement. Savage making his case in public court filings and open court argued under the rules of South Carolina's criminal procedure that two of his clients who admitted to killings in 1999 and 2017 were entitled to sentencing reconsiderations. The judge who handed down both sentences has since retired. In his place, Judge Bentley Price, the chief administrative judge for the 9th Judicial Circuit, considered Savage's motions. The hearings drew frustrated family members of the victims back to court years after they believed their cases were closed. "It's outrageous we're here," declared Elizabeth Cavanaugh, whose 17-year-old son, Lucas, was fatally stabbed in 2015. His classmate, Matthew Fischer, was sentenced in 2017 to 18 years in prison. Please, Cavanaugh begged, we were doing so good, and now I cant even believe were here talking about this again. Its very unfair. The family of Mary Lou Czaskos Duffy and her 20-year-old son, Jason Czaskos, also found themselves back in court May 31. Harry Duffy shot the mother and son to death in 1997. Why are we here having our lives financially and emotionally disturbed again? asked Robert Czaskos, Jason's father. He again brought a picture of his son to show a judge as he did in 1999, and this time he also brought a picture of his son's gravesite. Ripping our emotions and quality of life apart once again. Savage asked Price to modify Fischers sentence to give him credit for the nearly three years he spent under house arrest and to run Duffy's sentences concurrently instead of consecutively. Prosecutors argued that revising a prison sentence years after it was handed down when emotions have settled and the prosecutor, judge and victims or their families in a case may have retired or moved away creates a dangerous precedent and retraumatizes victims. While acknowledging the victims' pain, Price said those found guilty of crimes are entitled to post-trial hearings such as the ones conducted May 31. Under Rule 29 of South Carolina's rules of criminal procedure, if a motion for reconsideration is filed within 10 days after a sentence is imposed, any person convicted of a crime can seek a sentencing reduction. There is no 10-day deadline if the motion is based on the discovery of new evidence. But the rule doesn't set any deadline for when the motion must be brought before a judge. "It should be days and weeks, not months and years," 9th Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said to The Post and Courier. The cases before the judge May 31 are a prime example of why Wilson is asking for tweaks to Rule 29 to require a time limit on hearing post-trial motions. The solicitor said she plans to work with defense attorneys, the court administration and the state Legislature to impose deadlines on when courts can take up Rule 29 motions. She also wants the courts to create a tracking system that would require judges to schedule hearings on the motions in advance of the deadline. South Carolina v. Matthew Fischer Mount Pleasant resident Matthew Fischer was sentenced in 2017 to 18 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Lucas Cavanaugh. Fischer, then-16, had sent text messages threatening he would kill his Wando High School classmate in the winter of 2015 during a feud over Fischer's girlfriend. Fischer, originally charged with murder, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter, which carries a penalty of two to 30 years in prison. Circuit Judge Markley Dennis who presided over Fischer's bond hearing, immunity hearing, guilty plea and sentencing hearing sentenced the teen to 30 years in prison, but suspended the sentence to 18 years behind bars. The judge did not give Fischer credit for 1,000 days of pretrial home detention, which was the focus of the motion for reconsideration. Savage and co-counsel Peter Brown filed a motion with the clerk's office for a sentence reconsideration on Dec. 8, 2017 within 10 business days of Fischer's original sentencing. They filed a memorandum in December 2019. It is unclear why it took years for a hearing on the issue. Both sides accused the other of delaying the proceedings. At the end of 2020, Dennis took mandatory retirement at the age of 72. On May 23, Savage wrote a letter to Price requesting a ruling on his motion. Savage asked the judge to make a decision without a hearing, citing the emotional toll of a hearing on the families and sufficiency of the information in court filings. Savages request for the judge to rule on the motion without a hearing disturbed prosecutors who filed a response stating Savages request violated the victims rights. In the end, the parties met May 31 for a hearing, which was attended by Fischers parents and sister, and Cavanaugh's mother, father, aunts and uncles. Brown, Savage's co-counsel, argued May 31 that the attorneys failed to stress the significance of their client's house arrest at the time of sentencing. Brown said they were distracted during the case by the outsize media attention and rampant emotions. "It got out of control and we missed something," Brown told The Post and Courier. Assistant Solicitor Jennifer Shealy, who prosecuted the case in 2017, read aloud an excerpt from a transcript of the sentencing hearing in which the judge said he determined home confinement was not appropriate to factor into the sentence. You werent there, she said to Price. Price agreed with the prosecutor that Dennis deliberately chose not to give Fischer credit for time served in home detention. The judge denied the motion for a sentence reconsideration. South Carolina v. Harry Duffy Harry Duffy had faced a possible death sentence if convicted of gunning down his wife, Mary Lou Czaskos Duffy, and her son Jason Czaskos. In June 1997 he shot them to death in their home, then piled their bodies into a car and attempted to set it on fire to destroy evidence. In 1999, Duffy agreed to plead guilty to murder and voluntary manslaughter in Berkeley County. Dennis sentenced Duffy to 40 years in prison 30 years for the murder of Mary Lou Czaskos Duffy, and another 10 years to run consecutively for the voluntary manslaughter of Jason Czaskos. Within 10 days, Savage filed a motion to reconsider the sentencing. The motion gathered dust in the clerk's office for two decades. Savage told The Post and Courier he routinely files resentencing motions in cases where his client receives a substantial prison sentence. I do it because Im entitled to do it and I feel an obligation to do everything I can for every client I represent, Savage said. He said he would support a deadline on when post-trial motions can be heard, but said other imposed deadlines in the state's criminal courts are routinely not met. "The rules we have are basically ignored," Savage said. In Duffy's case, Savage filed a memorandum 22 years after the sentencing requesting Duffys sentences run concurrently, which would in effect slash 10 years off his sentence. He cited Duffys ailing health, good behavior in prison and supportive family factors the prosecution argued were more relevant to a request for clemency than a request for resentencing. The victims' loved ones criticized the court for victimizing them all over again through considering a revised sentence. They traveled from New Jersey to attend the May 31 hearing. The prosecutor, Assistant Solicitor Anne Williams, pointed to the sentencing transcript. I want you to serve the punishment for what you did to your wife, Dennis had told Duffy. I want you to spend, after youve spent the 30 years, if youre still living, that you then spend and you will serve 8.5, I know exactly years of this 10-year sentence. Price, once again, was swayed by the transcript. He denied the defenses motion. Lydia Stewart makes $10.50 a hour working at a Great Clips in Columbia. The job comes with no paid time off, no maternity leave and no sick leave. The 23-year-old lives with a parent, she said, because she can't afford rent on her own. "They treat us like a pair of hands," she said at a rally in Charleston on June 3 held by Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was garnering support for legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour. Stewart, an organizer with the Union for Southern Service Workers, called for: "higher pay, a seat at the table, just some respect and a little bit of dignity." Sanders, along with the Rev. William Barber, an activist and the founding director of the Center for Public Theology & Public Policy at Yale Divinity School, have held similar rallies in North Carolina and Tennessee since June 1. Both men emphasized that advocating for a livable wage was not a partisan issue or a "far left" or "radical" ideal, as they suggested some opponents might put it but a moral one. "A job in this country should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it," said the senator from Vermont. Barber said that the Bible touches more than 2,000 times on the subject of poverty, helping the poor and how to treat "the least of these." But it has little to say on abortion, sexuality, or prayer in school, he said of the common conservative talking points. Thirteen states have set a minimum wage of $15 per hour, more than double the federal minimum of $7.25, according to Sanders. South Carolina is not one of them. The Palmetto State has no set wage legislation, so employers are subject to federal minimum. It was last increased in 2009. Stewart was 9 then. State Rep. Wendell G. Gilliard, D-Charleston, who also spoke at the rally, said there was a bill introduced during the recent legislative session by Rep. Chris Hart, D-Richland, that would have set the state's minimum wage at $17, but it died in the Labor, Commerce and Industry committee. He added that a state law prohibits local governments from setting their own minimum wage, which he called "insulting" and "dangerous." He said it ought to be abolished, and plans to introduce legislation doing so. As he waited to speak, Sanders stood beneath a banner that said "working class" at the International Longshoremen's Association Local 1422 union hall. The largely White crowd, though diverse in gender and age, numbered about 200 people. They scrambled to shake Sanders' hand or snap a photo after he spoke for about 30 minutes. Charles Brave Jr., president of the local ILA union, called their hall "the house of labor." He said he believes the South's aversion to unions is changing, and it's only for the better of all workers. "If you change South Carolina, you will change the South," Brave said to thunderous applause. "If you change the South, you change the country." Scores of Israeli settlers escorted by police entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem Sunday, according to Palestine news agency WAFA. The Israeli settlers were led by extremist Israeli rabbi and MP Yehuda Glick. Israeli police protected the settlers as they entered the compound in groups and performed rituals, according to WAFA. Glick is known for advocating for the presence of Israeli settlers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest place of worship. He also advocates for the construction of a temple on the site, which is under the administration of Jordans Islamic Waqf. Since 2003, Israeli occupation authorities have violated the longstanding status quo by allowing almost daily entry of settlers into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, except on Fridays when non-Muslim visitation is permitted but praying is prohibited. Meanwhile, local sources also reported on Friday that Israeli settlers erected tents illegally on Palestinian-owned land near Deir Ballut in the occupied West Bank province of Salfit. According to the towns mayor, Samir Nemr, dozens of Israeli settlers set up tents, raised Israeli flags and banners displaying racist slogans on Palestinian-owned land neighboring Al-Lubban Al-Gharbi. Nemr expressed concern that this action might signal the establishment of a new Israeli settlement outpost in the area. The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on Sunday that the Israeli government is exploiting the absence of international will to enforce international law in occupied Palestine, taking advantage of worldwide double standards. [The reactions to Israeli crimes] are not accompanied by pressure, practical measures, sanctions or any form of accountability, said the Foreign Ministry in a statement. It criticized the UN Security Council for failing to fulfill its duties towards the Palestinian people and their suffering. The failure is eroding the credibility of the United Nations and international law. This situation paves the way for the law of the jungle and force to replace international legal legitimacy, the foreign ministry added. Israel is hurrying to implement as many colonial projects as possible to deepen its annexation of the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, perpetuating its apartheid regime. International law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, prohibits all Israeli settlement in occupied Palestinian territories. Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, during the 1967 Six-Day War, an action that has never been recognized by the international community. Search Keywords: Short link: A North Augusta student was recently honored as a winner in a South Carolina Department of Education Essay contest. Junior Grayson Fleury was one of five students honored in the third annual Strong Men and Women in S.C. History student writing contest. The contest was held in partnership with Dominion Energy. Students were tasked with writing a 500-word essay on the importance of learning African American history. African Americans have played a vital role in the history of our state, and it is important to learn about their history because without them, life as we know it would be very different, Fleury wrote in his essay. Learning their history should inspire society to be grateful for their contribution to our states culture, and their perseverance should motivate us to continue to strive for complete racial equality. Fluery's essay mentioned notable African Americans, such as Septima Clark, James Brown and Dizzy Gillespie, and their impact on social, cultural and intellectual spaces. Winners met with South Carolina State Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver and Dominion Energy South Carolina President Keller Kissam and were awarded an Apple MacBook Air. North Augusta High School will also receive $1,000. What a great way to recognize these five outstanding young writers, Superintendent Ellen Weaver said. I encouraged them today to never lose the passion that they poured into their essays because that is the vision that will continue to move our state and country forward. I had the privilege of being able to read all of the winning essays, SC Dominion President Keller Kissam said. The students we recognized today are truly winners who put forth a lot of research and effort to be here today. To read the winning essays, visit the South Carolina African American history website, scafricanamerican.com. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Partly cloudy early followed by scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. High 84F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. Low 73F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. PR-Inside.com: 2023-06-04 11:48:25 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 418 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY and SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 4, 2023 / Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP, a preeminent national consumer rights law firm, announces that it is investigating claims on behalf of victims of the Managed Care of North America ("MCNA") data breach.MCNA counts itself as the largest dental insurer in the country for government-sponsored plans covering children and seniors. MCNA works with state Medicaid agencies and the Children's Health Insurance Program, including Aetna Better Health of New York, Empire BlueCross BlueShield HealthPlus and MetroPlus Health Plan, all of which "may have" lost information, according to MCNA.PLEASE CLICK HERE TO FILL OUT CONTACT FORMOn March 6, 2023, MCNA learned of suspicious activity on its computer network. After an investigation, MCNA determined that an unknown third party accessed its computer systems between February 26, 2023 and March 7, 2023, and that the personal information of more than 8.9 million individuals was compromised (the "Data Breach"). On April 7, after MCNA refused to pay $10 million in ransom, the sensitive information was uploaded onto the "dark web." Samples of the leaked data confirm the control of patient data.On May 4, 2023, MCNA told the state Medicaid agency that information taken included: first and last names; addresses; dates of birth; phone numbers; email addresses; Social Security numbers; driver's license numbers/other government-issued ID numbers; health insurance information; medical records; medical bills; and insurance claims.On or around May 26, 2023, MCNA began notifying consumers of the Data Breach. If you received a NOTICE OF DATA BREACH from MCNA and you reside in the United States, if you wish to discuss this investigation, or if you have any questions regarding your rights and interests in this matter, please contact Wolf Haldenstein immediately by telephone at (800) 575-0735, via e-mail at byrd@ whafh.com , or visit our website at www.whafh.com Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP has extensive experience in the prosecution of consumer rights litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. The firm has attorneys in various practice areas and offices in New York and San Diego. Courts have repeatedly recognized the reputation and expertise of this firm and have appointed it to major positions in complex litigation.Contact:Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLPGregory Stone, Director of Case and Financial AnalysisRachele R. Byrd, Esq.Email: gstone@ whafh.com or byrd@ whafh.com Tel: (800) 575-0735 or (619) 239-4599Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome.SOURCE: Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP As Muhammadu Buharis tenure as Nigerias president came to an end, many of his supporters and kinsmen were thankful for the personal gains they enjoyed and the infrastructural developments his presidency attracted to his hometown of Daura and Katsina State, but many of them were also unimpressed by his performance in office. Those not particularly chuffed by Mr Buharis tenure said widespread insecurity in his native North-west region and growing poverty reduced the gains his hometown and kinsmen may have enjoyed. Mr Buhari, who is the second Nigerian president from Katsina State after Umaru YarAdua, was elected president in 2015 at his fourth attempt. He was a former military leader in the 1980s. Though the Nigerian constitution does not encourage the president or other political office holders to treat their hometowns or states preferentially, they sometimes favour their kinsmen and state of origin in appointments and in the provision of infrastructure. Mixed feelings On Tuesday, Mr Buhari received a heros welcome as a durbar celebration was held in Daura to honour him after eight years as Nigerias president. Away from the event, everyone living in Katsina who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES agreed that his tenure accelerated work on certain infrastructures and attracted a few others. Some, however, said Mr Buhari did little to secure lives. They also described his decision to close land borders across the country as heartless. His major contribution to the state is in the area of political appointments and infrastructural development. He has appointed a lot of people who have helped in recruiting young people from the state. The aviation minister, for instance, has uplifted the status of our airport and has provided job opportunities for several people, just like several others Buhari appointed, said Bishir Dauda, the National Secretary of Muryar Talaka Awareness Initiative, a group of indigenes of the state. We hope the incoming administration will conclude some of the works he (Mr Buhari) began especially the Kano Daura Maradi rail line and Kano Katsina expressway, said Mr Dauda. Fatima Lawal, a computer science graduate, said Mr Buhari loves his people and did the best he could for them. She said the president appointed several people from Katsina State into important positions in federal ministries and agencies. That alone should count for something. A good legacy. I appreciate it, the 24-year-old said. Accusation of nepotism Though Mr Buhari built several infrastructure projects in Katsina during his tenure, most of them were around his hometown of Daura. Some of the projects built in his hometown are a federal polytechnic, a transportation university named after him, a new mini stadium, the Nigerian Air Force Reference Hospital, a women and children hospital, the Nigerian Army 171 Battalion base, the Nigerian Air Force Response Airwing, an army forward operating base, a Sustainable Development Goals skills acquisition centre, and a part of the Kano-Daura-Maradi rail line. This man took all the institutions, railway line everything that was brought to Katsina to Daura his home area and you think thats a development? He should have spread them to other areas also; Daura is not the only local government area in the state, Bashir Ibrahim, a car wash attendant in Katsina, told PREMIUM TIMES. Widespread insecurity Residents spoke with bitterness about Mr Buharis inability to secure lives and properties in the state. One of the respondents said he stopped respecting Mr Buhari, the night terrorists abducted pupils in the state while the president was in Daura. If I were Buhari, that day I would have shown the whole world that I am the president of Nigeria and Katsina is my state. But what did he do? It took him time to even acknowledge that students (pupils) were abducted, said Lawali Sumaila, a retired civil servant. In 2020, terrorists abducted 300 pupils of the Government Science Secondary School Kankara, Katsina. Aside from the abduction of pupils, several rural communities in the state were sacked by terrorists. Urban and semi-urban areas were not spared. The widespread insecurity elicited an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the state with thousands of people displaced. Thousands more were either abducted or killed. Even if he turned Katsina to Dubai, it will be useless because I am now a displaced person. I cant go to my village in Batsari and I have lost some of my family members to this violence, Balaraba Lawan, an IDP living in an uncompleted building in Unguwar Masoya Annabi area in Katsina metropolis, said. The 48-year-old mother of three said she would continue to nurse the wounds terrorists inflicted on her and would not forget what she called Mr Buharis indifference to the activities of the criminals. Another IDP, Sulaiman Tukur, re-echoed Mrs Lawans position and several others who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES. Maybe he has tried his best as you asked but whatever it is, I dont care because the reality is that we are now homeless. We have also lost people, so how exactly has his (Mr Buhari) being a president benefited me? Mr Tukur, who is now living in a farmhouse, told PREMIUM TIMES. Crippling economic policy. Residents also complained that some of Mr Buharis policies, such as the closure of land borders, were insensitive to the needs of the people at best or heartless at worst. Katsina State has 12 official borders but the major ones are situated in Dankama, Jibia, Kongolom and Birnin Kuka border towns. Locals in these areas mostly engage in transborder businesses. Residents of these border towns said the closure of the borders affected them negatively. He doesnt listen to people. He takes decisions and shut his ears from all advice. He thinks he knows better than everyone else. For me as a Katsina man, Buhari is a failure. This border closure has crippled everything, said Kamal Murtala, a transborder businessman in Jibia town. In 2019, the president announced the closure of land borders in the country with the view to checkmating the activities of smugglers, improving the countrys agricultural sector and fighting arms proliferation. Despite a near consensus that the policy had negative impacts on the economy, Mr Buhari doubled down. He said he implemented the policy to promote local production. Lawal Hassan, another businessman, said he believed the president meant well but his approach was wrong. It is not about being from Katsina State, Mr Hassan, a 47-year-old resident of Jibia, said on the phone. I think he has failed generally. For us in Katsina, we are not happy with him. He shut down the borders, he failed to tackle insecurity in our state and has largely contributed to widening the rivalry between Daura and other areas. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Ahmed Ammani, has ordered the deployment of officials across the state to ensure public safety on Mondays and all days in the state. This follows the 1 June order by the new Enugu governor, Peter Mbah, cancelling the weekly sit-at-home order by the proscribed Independent People of Biafra (IPOB). Mondays are observed as sit-at-home days by many residents of Enugu and the other four South-east states in compliance with the IPOB directive which the separatists group uses force to enforce. Many people have been killed or injured and businesses destroyed for daring to disobey the directive. To deter residents from continuing to obey the IPOB directive, Governor Mbah, on Saturday, declared that schools, markets, retail outlets, hospitals, transporters, and malls that continue to obey the sit-at-home order would be shut. Mr Mbah also set up a task force to monitor compliance with his new directive from Monday, 5 June. In a statement issued on Sunday by Daniel Ndukwe, police spokesman in Enugu State, the police commissioner said he had ordered strategic units to deploy personnel and operational resources to actualise the governors declaration. The police commissioner said he gave his order to strategic personnel and units such as area commanders, divisional police officers, commanders of Police Mobile Force Squadron Bases, and tactical and operational units. READ ALSO: He said they would ensure maximum public security and safety of residents and property in the state on all days, including Mondays. I have ordered them to ensure that the strategies already devised to reverse the ugly trend are implemented to the letter and equally warned them that lapses on their part would not be tolerated. I have directed the supervisory officers and personnel under them to live up to expectations by ensuring that every part of the state is visibly patrolled. The personnel should also ensure that necessary policing actions are taken to forestall possible adverse activities of the undesirable criminal elements Innocent and law-abiding residents deserve to go about their lawful businesses without fear of harassment or physical threats by unscrupulous and subversive criminal elements, enforcing the illegal sit-at-home order, Mr Ammani said in the statement. He said the military and other security agencies would join police operatives in the enforcement of the governors cancellation of IPOBs sit-at-home order. He warned unrepentant criminal elements, known to have murdered fellow citizens, and destroyed their property and socio-economic well-being in the name of enforcing the illegal sit-at-home order to retrace their steps. Unrepentant criminal elements that take pleasure in wanton destruction should turn a new leaf as security forces shall not spare any person or individuals found wanting, he said. Mr Ammani enjoined citizens to cooperate with security operatives while remaining law-abiding and vigilant as they fully begin to go about their lawful businesses on Mondays, like every other work day. He urged residents to promptly report criminals and their activities to the nearest police station or call the police emergency hotlines on 08032003702, 08075380883, 08086671202 or 08098880172 for necessary policing actions. IPOB IPOB, headed by detained Nnamdi Kanu, seeks an independent country for Igbo-speaking people, in South-east and South-south Nigeria. The group is not, however, believed to have the backing of a majority of Igbos. The group and its militant arm, ESN, have been accused of carrying out multiple attacks in the South-east leading to the killing of hundreds of people and the kidnap of many others. Mr Kanu is being prosecuted for treason by the federal government and is being detained in Abuja. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Rampaging terrorists have killed 24 residents of two communities in Maradun area of Zamfara State in two separate but related attacks Saturday afternoon. The affected communities are Janbako and Sikida. Three people were killed in Sikida while 21 people, mostly vigilante members, were killed in Janbako. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the terorrists were from the forest linking Maradun, Bakura, Kaura Namoda and Shinkafi areas, all in the state. A local source in Janbako village, who asked not to named for fear of being targeted by the terrorists told PREMIUM TIMES that the terrorists attacked Sikida village early Saturday morning, killing and looting. Before entering the community, they (terrorists) saw three residents of Sikida in their farms and shot them. It was when the sounds of gunshots reached the community that the residents started fleeing, he said. The source said members of the vigilante group in the Janbako community mobilised and headed for Sikida to help fight off the terrorists. You know the two communities are not far from each other, so whenever there is a terrorists attack, our vigilante members go out to help others. But today, our people suffered greatly as 21 of our people were killed. While they were on their way to the village the terrorist ambushed them. They shot and killed 21 of them. Several other sustained injuries, he said. He said as of 07:07 p.m., the corpse of those killed were still being gathered in Janbako for burial. When contacted, the Zamfara State police command spokesperson, Yazid Abubakar, confirmed the killings but did not give further details. He said the number of those killed has not been ascertained. The number of victims (is) yet to be ascertained. Further, development will be communicated, he said, in an SMS. Zamfara State, like many other North-western states have suffered terroritsts attacks leading to the death and displacement of hundreds of others. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A woman in Akwa Ibom State, South-south Nigeria, on Wednesday, paid hospital bills for patients in the state in memory of a philanthropist, Ime Umanah, who died eight years ago. The woman, Itoro Mark, who runs a catering business, Grandmas Kitchen, in Uyo, is a niece to the late Mr Umanah who was an entrepreneur and a politician. She paid the bills for five patients at the General Hospital, Ukpom-Abak, Abak Local Government Area of the state. Mr Umanah, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, died in 2015 in a road accident in Imo State. Nations newspaper in 2015 reported how a former Minister of Petroleum and the APC leader in Akwa Ibom, Don Etiebet described Mr Umanahs death as a big loss to Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria. The news last night that Mr Umanah was dead hit so severely that I lost my senses, developed a headache, runny stomach and refused to believe it. It was a shedding of tears, very devastating, hurtful and incomprehensible that Mr Umanah should die in an accident. It is one too many of our revered leaders and frontline outspoken politicians, particularly from Abak-Five, who have died within a year, he said in 2015. Speaking further, Mr Etiebet added, As a great and pioneering businessman from that part of the country, he did everything to serve his people. Those of us from Akwa Ibom State, and Nigeria have lost a gem, an outstanding international businessman and a philanthropist, popularly known as Ufan Ndito Ubuene (Friend of the less-privileged), Mr Etiebet had said. Mr Umanah was born on 24 October 1943 in Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. He was the chairman of board of several companies spanning from financial institutions, communication and auto industries. Famed as friends of the less-privileged, Mr Umanah played a role in the creation of Akwa Ibom, from the then Cross River State. Why the memorial Ms Mark visited the state government-owned hospital and met with the management who presented the medical bills of five patients to her. After going through the names of the patients, Ms Mark offered to settle the bills for the five patients, a gesture she said is to keep alive the memory of her late uncle, Mr Umanah. It is eight years since my uncle died. So Im marking his eighth memorial, Ms Mark, who said she was a teenager when her uncle died in 2015, told PREMIUM TIMES. One of those times when I was missing him I thought about what he would still be doing in the world today if he were to be alive and I figured out he would be helping people, so I decided to put together this community service in respect of my late uncle, Mr Umanah. Ms Mark said she felt fulfilled meeting the patients and being able to help them as her late uncle would have done if he were to be alive. She said successive administrations in Akwa Ibom had not treated the late Umanah fairly well by not doing anything to immortalise his name despite his contributions to the state. He was a selfless giver, he was a leader. Im excited that Ive been able to pay the bills for (the) five patients. Coming out to do this today, I see how my late uncle used to help people. The feeling is very special, out of this world, she said, adding that she would do more to help the less-privileged. Hospital management reacts Welcoming Ms Mark, the Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Godslove Bassey, said late Mr Umanah was a friend to his father. I knew him to be a philanthropist, a very good man. He was known to nearly everybody in Akwa Ibom State because of who he was. While he was alive, he used to give out things to the poor. This visit is to keep his memory on. When I saw that you wanted to give gifts I said this is what Mr Umanah used to do. He was so generous, he said Mr Bassey, while thanking Ms Mark, appealed to members of the public to emulate her gesture. He said the hospital has had several patients could not pay their bills after treatment. Patients react Three of the five patients whose bills were settled told PREMIUM TIMES they had heard of the late Mr Umanahs philanthropic gestures when he was alive. Aniema Akpan, an accident victim and Christiana Godspower who delivered a baby three days before the visit, expressed their gratitude to Ms Mark. Mrs Akpan said she lives in a neighbouring village where the late philanthropist, Mr Umanah was very popular before his death. I knew him as a friend of the less-privileged that can help the poor, she said in vernacular, adding that Mr Umanah used to share rice, cows and clothes to the people. Late Mr Umanah, a Paul Harris of Rotary Club International, built and donated a College of Law in Abak in 1985 to the then University of Cross River State now University of Uyo. He also endowed a Chair in Law with N500, 000 in the University. In recognition of his contributions to education, the University of Uyo named the campus located at Ediene Abak after the late philanthropist. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to set up a presidential panel of enquiry to promptly probe the grim allegations that $2.1 billion and N3.1 trillion public funds of oil revenues and budgeted as fuel subsidy payments are missing and unaccounted for between 2016 and 2019, as documented by the Auditor-General of the Federation. SERAP urged him to name and shame anyone suspected to be responsible for the alleged widespread and systemic corruption in the use of oil revenues and the management of public funds budgeted as fuel subsidy, and to ensure their effective prosecution as well as the full recovery of any proceeds of crime. SERAP also urged him to promptly, thoroughly, independently, transparently and effectively probe all fuel subsidy paid by successive governments since the return of democracy in 1999, and to use any recovered proceeds of crime as palliatives to address the impact of any subsidy removal on poor Nigerians. In the letter dated 3 June and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these serious allegations. There will be no economic growth or sustainability without accountability for these human rights crimes. SERAP said: Your government should urgently act to follow due process of law in any policy to remove fuel subsidy, ensure that suspected perpetrators of these crimes against Nigerians are brought to justice and full recovery of any missing public funds. SERAP also said, Arbitrarily removing fuel subsidy without addressing outstanding accountability issues in the alleged mismanagement of oil revenues and fuel subsidy payments would amount to punishing poverty and further impoverishing the poor while letting high-profile officials and non-state actors get away with their crimes. The letter, read in part: Any removal of fuel subsidy should not be used as a ploy to keep the poor in poverty while those who allegedly stole oil revenues and fuel subsidy payments keep their ill-gotten wealth. Allegations of corruption in oil revenues and fuel subsidy payments suggest that the poor have rarely benefited from the use and management of the revenues and payments. Poor and socio-economically vulnerable Nigerians should not be made to continue to pay the price for the stealing of the countrys oil wealth while state and non-state actors pocket public funds. We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 3 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest. The proposed panel should be headed by a retired justice of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal, and its members should include people with proven professional record, and of the highest integrity that can act impartially, independently, and transparently. READ ALSO: A comprehensive approach that prioritises accountability and full recovery of missing crude oil and public funds is required to address the problems of the implementation of fuel subsidy since 1999. According to the audited reports between 2016 and 2019 by the Auditor General of the Federation (AGF), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failed to remit N663,896,567,227.58 into the Federation Account. The Auditor-General fears that the money may be missing. The NNPC also reportedly failed to account for the allocation of crude oil to refineries in 2019. 107,239,436.00 barrels of crude oil were lifted as domestic crude without any document. The Auditor-General fears that the crude valued at N55,891,009,960.63 may have been diverted. The NNPC in 2019 also failed to remit N1,955,354,671,268.66 and N55,157,702,848.74 of generated revenues into the Federation Account, contrary to Section 162(1) of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended]. The Auditor-General fears that the money may have been diverted. The NNPC also failed to account for N4,572,844,962.25 of domestic gas receipts, thereby reducing the distributable revenue in the Federation account. The Auditor-General wants the money remitted. The NNPC also in 2019 failed to account for 22,929.84 litres of PMS pumped from refineries and valued at N7,056,137,180.00. The Auditor-General fears that the PMS may have been diverted. The NNPC also illegally classified 239,800 barrels of crude oil valued at N5,498,045,220 as crude oil losses. The Auditor-General fears that the crude oil may have been diverted. The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in 2019 also reportedly failed to remit US$1,278,364,595.49 in revenue to the Federation Account. The money was deducted by the NNPC from the Oil and Gas Royalty assessed by the DPR. The DPR in 2019 also deducted N19,840,081.29 as stamp duty payments from contractors and consultants but the DPR instantly paid back the money to the contractors and consultants instead of remitting it to the treasury. The DPR in 2019 also paid N137,225,973.35 to contractors and consultants for various contracts and consultancies but failed to deduct stamp duty. The Auditor-General wants the money recovered. The DPR also paid N11,856,088,271.92 as salaries for 2019 but failed to deduct N118,560,882.72 as contribution of 1% Industrial Training Fund (ITF). The DPR in 2019 also failed to transfer US$35,738,342.95 year balance. The Auditor-General wants the money recovered and remitted. The DPR in 2018 also withdrew without any explanation US$759,387,755.10 from DPR Signature Bonus Account rather than paid the money into the Federation Account. Subsidy records show that N443,940,559,974.80 was paid as total subsidy for 2016 but the money was not budgeted for. The payments were for outstanding Petroleum Support Fund (PSF) commitments for year 2015. However, there was no payment in 2016. Only outstanding payments for previous years 2014 and 2015 and interest payments were made in 2016. The Auditor-General fears that the oil marketers that received the subsidy payments may not have been eligible to draw from the Petroleum Support Fund as the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Authority (PPPRA) failed to provide any document on the payments. N39,141,210,181.74 was also paid from the Federation Account in 2016 to different Oil Marketers in 26 transactions, being Payments of Interest and Foreign Exchange Differential on Subsidy but without any document. The NNPC also made zero profit and recorded losses from its joint ventures in 2016. This is contrary to expectations that profits should be made from the joint ventures. The Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Abuja in 2016 paid N14,490,000.00 for the supply of 3 Nissan Almera Saloon vehicles 1.5 to the Ministry without proper documentation. The purchase of the vehicles were made through direct procurement without competitive bidding by at least three companies, as required by Financial Regulations. There was no advertisement and bidding for this contract. Although N12,442,500.00 was approved by the Bureau of Public Procurement for the vehicles, the Ministry made an overpayment of N2,047,500.00 to the car company. SERAP urges your government to prioritise getting to the bottom of these allegations and ensure accountability for these serious crimes against the Nigerian people. Promptly investigating and naming and shaming suspected perpetrators and recovering any missing public funds would advance the right of Nigerians to restitution, compensation and guarantee of non-repetition. Section 13 of the Nigerian Constitution imposes clear responsibility on your government to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of Chapter 2 of the constitution. Section 15(5) imposes the responsibility on your government to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power. Under Section 16(1) of the Constitution, your government has a responsibility to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity. Section 16(2) further provides that, the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good. The UN Convention against Corruption and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party obligate your government to effectively prevent and investigate the plundering of the countrys wealth and natural resources and hold public officials and non-state actors to account for any violations. Specifically, article 26 of the UN Convention requires your government to ensure effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions including criminal and non-criminal sanctions, in cases of grand corruption. Article 26 complements the more general requirement of article 30, paragraph 1, that sanctions must take into account the gravity of the corruption allegations. Kolawole Oluwadare SERAP Deputy Director 4/6/2023 Lagos, Nigeria Emails: info@serap-nigeria.org; news@serap-nigeria.org Twitter: @SERAPNigeria Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Security operatives in Abia State, South-east Nigeria, have begun a manhunt for abductors of a Chinese national working at a quarry in Lokpanta, Umunneochi Local Government Area of the state. The Chinese, Li Peiyin, a site manager at the quarry, left the site on 31 May but did not return. A police source told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the Chinese national left the quarry, driving a heavy-duty vehicle. The caterpillar machine was seen with the key in its ignition. The man has military security operatives attached to him, but on that day, he did not drive out with them. Joint efforts between the police and the military have been emplaced to rescue him, the source told NAN on Sunday. The source said police had yet to ascertain whether it was a case of abduction or kidnapping, he said. It is kidnapping when a ransom is demanded, but at the moment, nobody has called to ask for ransom, so it is still regarded as a case of abduction. Our worry is why the man should drive out in a caterpillar without his security attaches, the source added. When contacted on Sunday afternoon, the police spokesperson in Abia State, Maureen Chinaka, confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES. Ms Chinaka, an assistant superintendent of police, said the Chinese national was kidnapped when he left his house without a security escort. The manhunt is on course right now, she said, adding that the joint operation was being led by a divisional police officer in the state. The police spokesperson said the manhunt began in Lokpanta in the state and other communities in neighbouring Ebonyi State but was unsuccessful. However, efforts are still ongoing to track the kidnappers, Ms Chinaka stated. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Former INEC chair, Attahiru Jega, is one of the keynote speakers listed for a Democracy Day lecture organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies(NIDLS). The lecture, billed to hold on 15 June, is titled Democracy and the State of the Nation: towards agenda setting for the new administration. Aside from Mr Jega, a professor, who will moderate the event, speakers expected to deliberate on the topic are the Director General of the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research(NISER), Anthonia Simbine, a professor and former vice-chancellor of the University of Abuja, Nuhu Yaqub. Mr Yaqub, a professor, will be the chairperson of the lecture. Other discussants at the lecture include a former commander special task force operation safe haven, Henry Ayoola, a retired major general; Okey Ibeanu, a professor; Rotimi Suberu, a professor; Mike Kwanashie, a professor; A. B. Mahmoud, Senior Advocate of Nigeria and another lawyer Ebere Ifendu. Speaking on the significance of the lecture, the institutes Director General, Abubakar Sulaiman, in a statement on Saturday, emphasised the deep divisions among Nigerians along ethnic and religious lines evident during the 2023 general elections. Mr Sulaiman, a professor, highlighted the potential threats posed by ethnic and religious politics to the consolidation of democracy, citing examples such as the Rwanda Genocide and the war in Burundi, which resulted in extensive human casualties. According to the statement, signed by Joke Akinsanmi on behalf of the institute, the event is expected to be graced by several high-profile political and business leaders, including the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and members of the National Assembly. The annual lecture, organised by NILDS, aims to foster an in-depth discussion among key stakeholders and experts to reflect on Nigerias democracy and the state of the nation. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Syria's opposition urged on Sunday the resumption of moribund United Nations-sponsored talks with the government of President Bashar al-Assad, who has returned to the Arab fold after years of isolation. "The international, regional and Syrian conditions provide an appropriate circumstance for the resumption of direct negotiations... under a specific agenda and timetable," the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC) said in a statement. Negotiations to resolve Syria's crisis hit an impasse in 2018 over Assad's role in any political transition, and several rounds of subsequent UN-brokered talks aimed at forging a new constitution have failed. The SNC, which includes representatives from main political opposition alliance the Syrian National Coalition, has been the key opposition delegation during previous rounds of talks in Geneva. In a statement Sunday following a two-day meeting in the Swiss city, the SNC called on "brotherly and friendly countries to support the efforts of the UN to take all necessary resolutions to fulfil a comprehensive political solution". The statement called for a solution in line with UN Security Council resolution 2254, which set out a roadmap for a political transition. The Syrian political opposition has lost much of its momentum, and support it once enjoyed from regional countries has waned. Last month, regional leaders welcomed Assad back to the Arab League at a summit in Saudi Arabia -- his first appearance at the pan-Arab body since Syria was suspended in 2011 over its protest crackdown. Riyadh, which supported Syrian rebel groups during earlier stages of the war, patched up ties with Damascus in recent months, while major rebel-backer Turkey, which controls stretches of Syria's north, has also made overtures to Assad. The conflict has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions. Recent Arab dialogue on Syria has stressed the importance of an "Arab leadership role" in finding a solution to the crisis. UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said late last month that "new diplomatic activity in the region could be an opportunity, if seized." He noted the need for "constructive Syrian engagement" and for "key regional and international groups and players" to work together, in an address to the UN Security Council. The SNC warned that "giving the regime approval in returning to the Arab League... carries with it the danger" that the government will "refuse to proceed with the political solution". Search Keywords: Short link: Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has expressed commitment to settle the rift between himself, the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as well as its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. Mr Makinde made this known in his opening remarks at the retreat organised for elected PDP officials which held in Bauchi State on Saturday. The governor did not mention names, though he assured that reconciliation process will start immediately. Mr Makinde was one of the five governors of the PDP who demanded the resignation of the partys national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, as a condition for supporting the presidential ambition of Atiku in the last election. The G-5 governors was headed by former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike. Other members were former Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, and Samuel Ortom of Benue. They argued that since Atiku is a northerner, as Mr Ayu, the latter should resign, to allow a southerner assume the position of national chairman. Analysts, as well as some members of the PDP, believe Mr Ayus refusal to step aside as demanded by the governors, contributed largely to the partys failure at the presidential poll. Drilling election In his opening remarks at PDP retreat, Mr Makinde, who, alongside Mr Wike and former Delta governor, James Ibori, visited President Bola Tinubu on Friday at the State House, admitted that the crisis among them made the party go through a drilling election. I would like to point something out. First we went through a drilling election and whether we want to admit or not, we have issues among ourselves during the elections but you know what, and the healing process would start now, he said. The governors urged leaders and governors of the party to focus on whatever will assist them to reunite. We must focus on things that will unite us. We must as a matter of urgency be forward looking. We have to tell ourselves the whole truth. One thing I can say is that for the governors of PDP that are present here, I will say that the governors are willing. They are ready; they are able to play a stabilising role in this party. And let me end by saying that the government will come and go but our country will remain and as a responsible opposition, we must, where it is required, do this in the interest of this country. If there is no Nigeria, there is no us. So it is safer to accept a chance that offers itself and extemporize it as a procedure to fit it rather than making plans mature and then were waiting for an opportunity to use that plan. It is not clear if Mr Makindes position is shared by the other members of the G-5. Tribunal Responding, the governorship candidate of the PDP in Kogi State, Dino Melaye, challenged Mr Makinde to appear at the Presidential Election Tribunal in Abuja as evidence that he is ready for reconciliation. I just want to start appreciating the comment of Governor Seyi Makinde this morning, particularly when he said healing starts now and the way to start that healing is.I will be glad if between now and next week and two weeks that well be at the tribunal to see Governor Seyi Makinde walk into the tribunal venue and down to support the party, our candidate and to demonstrate to Nigerians that the healing has started, to demonstrate to the world that PDP is united. That will show that the healing has truly started. And not just Governor Seyi, any of our governors, it is time for us to take the tribunal seriously. We should not just allow only our lawyers to attend this tribunal. Please, if you find yourself you can stroll in and spend 30 minutes, one hour and let the world know that there is a new PDP that is big, that is strong and reliable and we are one indivisible party and we are supporting this tribunal to take over power, Mr Melaye said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print President Bola Tinubu will, on Monday, meet with senators-elect and members-elect of the House of Representatives from opposition parties, the Nation newspaper has reported. The meeting is scheduled to hold between 3 p,m. and 5 p.m. at the State House, Abuja. The invitation to the meeting was signed by the Permanent Secretary of the State House, Tijanni Umar, on behalf of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila. Mr Gbajabiamila is also the outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives. The current ninth session of the National Assembly will end on 11 June while the 10th session will be inaugurated on 13 June. It is therefore not clear if the outgoing senators and members of the House will participate in the meeting as the invitation does not indicate such. Similarly, the agenda of the parley is not indicated in the invitation. However, it is speculated that it is one of the ways the president is using to persuade the opposition lawmakers to support his nominees for the leadership of the two chambers. Mr Tinubu is reportedly backing former Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio, and the current senator for Kano North, Barau Jibrin, for the positions of senate president and deputy senate president. He has also endorsed Tajudeen Abbas from Kaduna and Ben Kalu from Abia State for speaker and deputy speaker of the House. The presidents party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), has since endorsed the aspirants. However, the endorsement of the quartet has been criticised by some ranking APC lawmakers who vowed to remain in the race for the leadership positions. Many of them have continued to campaign in objection to the position of the president and the party while others have since dropped their ambition. For instance, while David Umahi and Ali Ndume have exited the race for the senate presidency, Osita Izunaso, Orji Kalu and Abdulaziz Yari are still campaigning for the position. In the lower chamber, while Deputy Speaker Idris Wase, Muktar Betara, Yusuf Gagdi, Sada Soli and others are going ahead to campaign to be the speaker, Ado Doguwa has quit the race. Mr Tinubus desire to meet the opposition lawmakers-elect ahead of the 13 June inauguration of both chambers may not be unconnected with his desire to ensure the victory of Messrs Akpabio, Jibrin, Abbas and Kalu, especially because the APC does not have a comfortable majority in both chambers. In the 109-member Senate, apart from the APC with 59 seats, there are six other opposition parties represented. They are PDP 36, LP 8, SDP 2, NNPP 2, YPP 1 and APGA 1 bringing the total to 50. Seven parties have members in the 360-member lower chamber. They are PDP 114 seats, LP 35, NNPP 19, APGA 5, ADC 2, SDP 2 and YPP 1 totalling 182. The ruling APC has 178 seats thus not having a simple majority needed to elect its member as speaker if all opposition lawmakers vote against its candidate. However, those challenging the APC-endorsed candidates are also members of the party, indicating that the votes of the APC lawmakers will be split if an election was held today. In line with the tradition of the National Assembly, the party with the majority seats produces the speaker, deputy speaker, leader and chief whip. Strategically, Mr Tinubu may have also convened the meeting because APC is divided following the insistence of some of the aspirants to run for leadership positions. This may be a move to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2015 in the senate when Bukola Saraki emerged as senate president against the wish of the APC and in 2011 when Aminu Tambuwal was elected speaker against the choice of the then-ruling PDP. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Population Association of Nigeria (PAN) has called on the newly elected president, Bola Tinubu, to commence the implementation of the national population policy. The National President of PAN, Rhoda Mundi, made the call Thursday while delivering the University of Abujas 41st inaugural lecture titled The paradox of population growth in national development. Ms Mundi, a professor of geography with specialisation in population and development said the new government must prioritise every policy to curb the countrys growing population. She said the implementation of the population policy will ensure Nigeria reverses the trend of insecurity, unemployment, and dwindling economic fortunes. She noted that Nigerias population trajectory which will take the nation to over 400 million by 2050 is a disaster waiting to happen. To solve the population paradox, it is imperative for Nigeria to accurately determine its population and implement measures to intentionally create a productive and manageable population, she said. This will enable effective national planning and the realisation of the countrys development objectives. National population policy To address the burgeoning population growth in Nigeria, former, President Muhammadu Buhari in February 2022 launched the revised national policy on population for sustainable development. The policy aims to improve the life and standard of living for all Nigerians through population control. It also stresses the need for urgent measures to address Nigerias high fertility rate, through expanding access to modern contraceptive methods across the country. Experts, however, said the country is yet to commence implementation of the policy. Nigerias population Although there are no up-to-date data on the exact population of Nigeria, the United Nations population agency (UNFPA) estimates that Nigerias population stands at 216 million. Various projections show that if the country continues in its current direction, there will be a 100 per cent increase in its population by 2050, to about 400 million people. Ms Mundi said Nigerias population has been growing at an alarming rate as a result of several reasons including early marriage and low use of contraceptives. Given the current rate of growth, Nigerias population will double in the coming years. Unfortunately, there are no up-to-date data on the population size, distribution, and characteristics to guide planning, she said. Proposed national census The Nigerian government earlier announced plans to conduct a population and housing census in May 2023, but was later postponed indefinitely. The last census conducted in the country was in 2006. The 2023 census manager and director of the National Population Commission (NPC), Inuwa Jalingo, said the census was postponed due to the governments transition programme and the post-election mood in the country at the time. While delivering her lecture, Ms Mundi said the government must provide funds and seek assistance from relevant development partners for the conduct of the census. She said there is also a need to strengthen other sources of demographic data collection for evidence-based planning. Funding family planning Ms Mundi said it is imperative for the new government to also provide adequate funding for family planning and collaborate with subnational governments to ensure a productive population that will drive national growth. She said although the population in itself is not a negative challenge, where more people are pursuing less economic opportunities, the likelihood for banditry, criminality, and backwardness will spell doom for the country if left unchecked. She explained that investing in health will translate to investing in the quality of the population for a healthier and more focused workforce with lower morbidity and mortality. Ms Mundi emphasised the need for collaborative efforts at the national and subnational levels to address the challenges posed by the countrys increasing population. This is particularly important given the countrys current situation as a young democracy still in the process of development, she said. In his remark, the Director of Projects at the development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC), Stanley Ukpai, highlighted the opportunity presented to the new administration in this fiscal year to continue to build upon the policy processes established through the FP 2030 recommitment and the FP blueprint. Mr Ukpai said this would ensure adequate and sustainable financing for family planning at all levels and consolidate the previous governments efforts toward this crucial goal. Achieving FP 2030 policy recommitments is also a cardinal strategy for implementing the population policy which has strong correlations with poverty reduction and sustainable economic development more broadly, he said. Given the recent effort for economic recovery, he said Nigeria can do well to prioritise investment in family planning as a strategic course of action. Inaugural lecture In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of UniAbuja, Abdulrasheed NaAllah, said Nigeria stands to gain a lot from the inaugural lecture. Mr NaAllah, who was also the chairman of the event, said despite the population growth being witnessed in the country, productivity continues to fall. As far as I am concerned, I dont see population as a crisis, he said. Everybody needs to work. At least each person will produce what three persons will eat. If you work at your maximum, each person should be able to produce what three people or four will eat. He commended Ms Mundi for the inaugural lecture which he said will impact Nigeria positively. He noted that the university will henceforth roll out inaugural lectures as part of the institutions contribution to society. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Three months after visiting Kenya and Namibia, Americas First Lady, Jill Biden, returns to Africa: Egypt and Morocco. I believe that understanding each other can help us find more common groundsee that, even if we are different, were united by our desire for truth, love, justice, and healing, Mrs Biden told her audience in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, 3 June, according to a press release issued by the US Embassy in Egypt. She was speaking at the Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo. Mrs Biden is on her second official travel which includes two stops in Egypt and Morocco, North Africa, the White House Office of the First Lady said in a press statement. This was her second stop on her way back from Jordan. Having now concluded her Egypt itinerary, she proceeded to Morocco, and Portugal. Her full visit is from 30 May to 5 June, to strengthen the United States partnerships and advance our shared priorities in the region, said the White House Office of the First Lady, adding that she will focus on the empowerment of youth around the world. While in Egypt and Morocco, the First Lady will meet with women and youth, and highlight US investments aimed at supporting education initiatives and increasing economic opportunity, said her Office of the First Lady, adding, As First Lady, this will be Dr Bidens second visit to the African continent. On Friday, 2 June, at the Cairo International Airport, she was welcomed by children of the Childrens Choir of the Egypt Opera House. She met Egypts President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Entissar Amer. The same afternoon, she joined them at the Presidential Palace. Mrs Biden visited the El Sewedy Technical Academy, a local technical education school in Cairo to highlight investments in Egypts education system through the partnership between the US Government, the Government of Egypt, and the private sector, well in line with the planned itinerary planned by her office. She was accompanied by Reda Hegazy, Egypts Minister of Education and Technical Education and officials related to the Technical Academy, including Co-founder of El Sewedy Technical Academy, Owner of El Sewedy Electrometer Company, Zeinab El-Sweidi, Co-founder of El Sewedy Technical Academy and Owner of El Sewedy Electrometer Company. In 2021, USAID and the Government of Egypt began partnering with the private sector to open 10 new International Applied Technology High Schools, including El Sewedy Technical Academy. These schools offer technical and vocational education and training to prepare students for growing industries. El Sewedy Technical Academy was opened in November 2022, co-founded by USAID, Egypts Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MOETE), and the El Sewedy Electrometer Company, to specialize in software development. Other places she visited while in Egypt were the Al-Azhar Mosque an established centre, founded by the Fatimid Caliphate as a centre of Islamic learning where she had a Conversation with Young Leaders at Al-Azhar Mosque. Her office said that this was because she hopes to learn about the mosque and its role. In attendance at the mosque, were Salama Daoud, President of Al-Azhar University; Samia Ahmed, Preacher at Islamic Research Academy; Hoda Al Shazly, Preacher and Al-Azhar University Graduate; graduates; researchers; students, and dignitaries, including US Ambassador John Desrocher, Charge dAffaires of US in Embassy Cairo, and Joshua Harris, US Department of State Deputy Assistant Secretary for North Africa. Before departing for Marrakesh, Morocco, she visited the Pyramids and Great Sphinx of Giza. By visiting these sites, the White House Office of the First Lady said she has a desire to learn about the US-Egypt partnership and efforts to preserve and sustain the historic sites. She was met and guided by Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt, Egypts Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa, and accompanied by Leslie Reed, Egypt Mission Director, USAID. In explaining the work of this American development organization which is helping to preserve antiquities with projects like controlling underground water that can damage historical sights because of the saline it contains, Ms Reed said, We have invested $100 million dollars since 1995 in projects all over Egypt. Ambassador John Desrocher, Charge dAffaires of U.S. Embassy Cairo, also accompanied the US First Lady. Mrs Bidens White House Office re-stated that, Most recently, as First Lady, Dr Biden visited Namibia and Kenya to strengthen the United States partnerships on the African continent and advance our shared priorities in the region. Furthermore, senior administration officials said, Dr Bidens engagements focused on the empowerment of women and youth, efforts to address drought and food insecurity, and promoting our shared democratic values. The visit followed the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit late last year where Dr. Biden hosted a two-day spousal program. This was Dr Bidens first visit to Namibia and third visit to Kenya. Pearl Matibe is a Washington, DC-based White House Correspondent, and media commentator with expertise in U.S. foreign policy and international security. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) said the demolition of the 30-year-old UTC complex was carried out to give way to a better restructuring of the complex. The Deputy Director of Monitoring and Inspection, Department of Development Control, FCTA, Hassan Ogbole, said the structures were overdue for restructuring to fit into a shopping complex model required to grow Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). He said that the structures were defective and there was a need to upgrade them to meet up with global business standards. Mr Ogbole said that provisions had been made for the traders and other occupants of the complex to enable easy reconstruction of the complex. He added that several notices had been given to the occupants to enable them enough time to move out and allow the reconstruction to start. The place is in a state of disrepair, the place is no longer habitable for occupation and business activities. There is a need to give way for a new development. The company handling the development has informed the Department of Development Control and we are here to enforce compliance. We have given enough notices for them to remove their goods, to enable us start the work, he said. Also speaking, Peter Olumiji, Secretary, Command and Control, FCTA Department of Security, said demolishing the complex was needed to curtail security challenges in the FCT. He added that aside from the need to restructure the complex, there was a need to curtail criminal activities prevalent in the area, such as thuggery and faking of official documents. A trader in the complex, Samuel Onuchukwu, said the traders and other occupants of the complex were worried about the development because the temporary site provided for them was not secured for business activities. He said that many of the traders were yet to remove their goods and properties from the complex as the demolition took them unaware. We woke up early this Saturday morning to learn that the whole UTC area had been barricaded and demolition ongoing, with peoples personal goods still trapped inside. This is really unfair, he said. Another trader, Rosemary Clement, said though notice had been given to them they did not act on it because the matter was still in court. I sell award plaques here for over 12 years and this is what I have been using to train my kids in school. With this development, I dont even know where to start from, she said. Also, Uche Paul, a trader, said he had prepared himself to vacate the complex before now, but the developers were yet to assign a new place for him at the temporary site. We have been waiting for the relocation for months and some of us had paid for it. So while waiting for them to assign our slot to us, we continued our businesses here pending when they finish all agreement with our executive members, he added. (NAN) More Pictures: Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Kogi All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Usman Ododo, on Sunday, unveiled a Primary School Teacher, Salifu Joel, as his running mate for Nov. 11 governorship election. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the running mate is the current Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), and the Treasurer of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Kogi. Governor Yahaya Bello, who spoke at the event at the Government House, said that the choice of Mr Joel, a class teacher and unionist, as the deputy governorship candidate of the APC, was borne out of the partys desire to carry everybody along in its quest for the development of the state. Mr Bello assured that he would leave no stone unturned to ensure that the APC won the November 11 governorship election in the state. APC will follow and abide by all the existing electoral laws to win the November 11 election, more so that my administration has performed creditably well in the areas of provision of infrastructure, quality education, healthcare delivery, among others. We have shown competence, dedication and commitment to Kogi people in terms of performance to also ask for their votes in the next governorship election. In this dispensation, we wont tolerate any politics of bitterness nor condone any act of political violence because Kogi as a state is bigger than any personal interest. Politics of ethnicity, religion will never be a barrier and has no place in Kogi, therefore, you should desist from any comments that can put you in trouble tomorrow, he warned. Also, the states APC chairman, Abdullahi Bello, congratulated the partys guber candidate and his running mate and commended the governor for providing good leadership to the party. READ ALSO: He said it was apt and commendable, the choice of the running mate to Mr Ododo, coming from a very critical section of the society as a teacher. Mr Joel said: I am short of words for me as a classroom teacher to be nominated as the running mate and deputy governor to the APC guber candidate. When I was first approached, from the bottom of my heart, I joyfully and heartily accepted the position, because it is divine. I wish to assure that I will do all I could to ensure that our party becomes victorious in the forthcoming governorship election, Mr Joel assured. In their goodwill messages, the National President of TUC, Audu Anaba; Kogi NLC Chairman, Gabriel Amari and the immediate past NLC Chairman, Edoka Onu, commended the governor for choosing one among the labour unions leadership as Ododos running mate. They assured the governor of their total support to mobilise votes for Ododo/Joel ticket to ensure that they emerged the next Governor and Deputy Governor of Kogi State. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has rejected an application from Nigeria Air, the nations national carrier, seeking certification to proceed to phase two in the process of obtaining Air Operators Certificate (AOC). The development came less than two weeks after the airlines aircraft was unveiled in Abuja. In a letter titled Request to proceed to phase two of AOC certification, written by the NCAA and addressed to the management of Nigeria Air on Friday, the agency hinted that the certification process of Nigeria Air cannot progress to phase two due to the unavailability of a formal application form and other necessary documents. The authority is in receipt of your letter dated May 25, 2023, on the above subject matter. Quite contrary to our earlier letter of 16th May 2023, which enumerated the documents to be submitted with the formal application form OPS 002, your letter of request to proceed to phase two has no inclusion of a formal application form and the necessary documents referenced in the formal application form, the NCAA said. Based on this, the authority emphasised that the certification process of the controversial national carrier cannot progress to phase two without these required documents. Please be reminded that your post holders letters of commitment to Nigeria Air have a tenure of three months and, as such expire now, the NCAA letter noted. AOC certification AOC certification is an approval often granted by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to an aircraft operator to use aircraft for commercial purposes. However, before such permission is granted, the aircraft operator is required to have personnel, assets, and systems in place to ensure the safety of its employees and the general public. The certificate often bears the aircraft types and registrations to be used, for what purpose and in what area. In Nigeria, five stages are involved in obtaining the AOC certification, according to the NCAA guidelines. During the first phase, the NCAA appoints a certification team and processes the pre-application statement of intent form (AC-OPS 001). It also entails discussing all regulatory requirements, the formal application and attachments, and other related issues. The process usually takes a week to complete, according to official regulations. The second phase involves a formal application for intending entrants where documents and manuals (including the curriculum vitae of key management personnel) must be submitted for proper evaluation, and the minimum timeframe to conclude this phase is two weeks. The third phase involves document evaluation. At this stage, which has a minimum timeframe of three months, the NCAA will review the applicants manuals and other related documents and attachments to ensure conformity with the applicable regulations and safe operating practices. After this, the authoritys scrutiny moves to the fourth stage, which involves demonstration and inspection. It is described as a key phase of the process, and it is carried out only after a satisfactory documentation evaluation phase. In this stage, a thorough audit by the certification team at the applicants premises will be conducted to ensure that the proposed procedures are effective and that the applicants facilities and equipment meet the NCAAs regulatory requirements. Also, in phase four, other demonstrations like the emergency evacuation and ditching will be carried out, and after successes in these exercises, a demonstration flight will be carried out. The minimum timeframe for this phase is two months. The fifth and final phase is called the certification phase. This means once the airline has met the regulatory requirements of the civil aviation (air navigation) regulations, the NCAA will issue the AOC with the appropriate specifications and ratings. The minimum timeframe for this phase is a week, and after the issuance of the AOC, the applicant can engage in commercial aviation activities in Nigeria. Concerns The NCAAs rejection of the airlines request brings to the fore again the controversies trailing the unveiling of the national carrier by the immediate past administration of Muhammadu Buhari. Less than three weeks before the inauguration of Nigerias newly elected President Bola Tinubu, former Aviation minister Hadi Sirika, promised Nigerians repeatedly that the national carrier would commence operation before the swearing-in of a new administration on 29 May. Amid concerns among aviation experts, the minister unveiled the airlines aircraft less than three days before his from office, claiming that the airline would commence operations after getting approval from the NCAA. But the NCAAs rejection letter has shown no adequate preparation for the airlines operation. Several calls and messages sent to the NCAA spokesperson, Sam Adurogboye, and its Director General, Shuaibu Nuhu, for further clarification on the matter were left unanswered. When this newspaper contacted Adewale Arogundade, an official of Nigeria Air who received the letter from the NCAA, the official declined comments on the matter. Existing concerns On 18 July 2018, Nigeria Air, the nations proposed national carrier, was unveiled at the Farnborough Air Show in England. However, the project was shelved two months after being announced as critics raised concerns over its relevance and sustainability. The airline was expected to gulp $8.8 million in preliminary costs and $300 million as take-off costs. The national carrier idea was raised many years after Nigerias defunct carrier, Nigeria Airways, collapsed due to corruption and poor management. In July 2022, the Federal Executive Council approved the leasing of three aircraft to enable the airline to commence operations. In September last year, Mr Sirika said at a press briefing in Abuja that Ethiopian Airlines emerged as a core investor in Nigeria Air with a 49 per cent shareholding. The decision was trailed by a suit filed by local airline operators who claimed they could manage Nigerian Air better than a foreign airline. Some of the domestic airline operators are still in court seeking to stop the federal government from partnering with Ethiopian Airlines to float the national carrier. When the minister unveiled the airline last week, only one aircraft belonging to Ethiopian Airlines was unveiled at the ceremony. The development generated concerns among Nigerians on social media, many of whom questioned the move and Mr Sirikas handling of the airlines proposed operation. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A mob invaded and looted a Bureau De Change mall in Kano on Sunday in anticipation of an alleged plan by the state government to demolish the building. Shops in the mall located inside the premises of the former Triumph Publishing Company in Fagge Local Government Area were sold to private individuals by the immediate past administration of Abdullahi Ganduje. PREMIUM TIMES witnessed how the mob vandalised the building and carted away valuables before the police briefly dispersed the rampaging looters. However, the police later became overwhelmed, leaving the mob to continue vandalising and looting the complex. On Sunday, our reporter observed how shop owners in properties sold by the Ganduje administration were evacuating their belongings for fear that the government may demolish the structures overnight in the ongoing demolition exercise by the new administration. Between Saturday and Sunday, the state government demolished at least three properties it claimed were illegally sold by the immediate past administration. The police commissioner of the state, Muhammed Gumel, supervised the demolition. On Saturday, a three-storey building with 90 shops on a race course at the Nasarawa GRA was demolished. On Sunday, the government also demolished Daula Hotel, a three-star hotel reconstructed by the Ganduje administration under a Private Public Partnership arrangement. The government also demolished another structure, at Hajj Camp, sold to private individuals by the immediate past administration of the state. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print In reality, this recent slew of laws on human sexuality across Africa is very much about politics. Musevenis most recent anti-homosexuality law is only the latest in a continent in which rulers in trouble instigate culture and identity wars (framed in faux Pentecostalism) to re-energise their political fortunes. This is not the first time President Museveni has signed such a law. Ugandas courts struck down a similar law on anti-homosexuality passed in a haste one decade earlier In the 37th year of his interminable rule, President Yoweri Museveni signed into law Ugandas Anti-Homosexuality Act, passed by Parliament earlier in the month. Among other things, the new law prescribes life in prison for persons convicted of homosexuality, a crime that already exists in Ugandas laws. It also creates a new crime of aggravated homosexuality punishable by death; explicitly precludes a defence of consent for crimes under the law; and makes it possible to convict for homosexuality, children who are otherwise excluded from criminal responsibility under Ugandan law. Describing the law as a shameful Act and a tragic violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, US President, Joe Biden, a Catholic, ordered a wide ranging review of development assistance with Uganda, which may extend to the application of sanctions and restriction of entry into the United States against anyone involved in serious human rights abuses or corruption. From Uganda, Speaker of Parliament, the exquisitely named Anita Among, who presided over the passage of the law shot back, saying: I get a lot of threats, we are going to lose out on AIDS drugsaid is going to be cut off, tourism, exportI said, so what? That you are going to be blocked from going to America; do I need to go to America? In this excitable back and forth, not much attention has been paid to its contents. The Anti-Homosexuality Act, as its title indicates, sets out to make it clear that the government of Yoweri Museveni is against homosexuality and the law expends excruciating energy to make this clear. The text makes interesting reading. The Act begins with a spectacular feat of reductionism, describing a homosexual as a person who engages in an act of homosexuality. So, the act makes the person but what then is homosexuality? The Act says it means the performance of a sexual act on a person by another person of the same sex. This requires us then to understand what a sexual act means. The Act obliges, describing a sexual act as the stimulation or penetration, however slight, of a persons anus or mouth by a sexual organ of another person of the same sex, and extends to such stimulation or penetration whether procured by a sex contraption or by any part of the body of a person of the same sex. If you are tired or confused by this complex labyrinth of definitions, the Act is not yet done because you still do not yet know what a sexual organ is. Well, in Uganda, according to this new law, a sexual organ is in the case of a female person, a vagina and, in the case of a male person a penis. Just to be sure that we are all on the same page, the Act tacks back to define female person as a person born with a female sexual organ and a male person as a person born with a male sexual organ. If a piece of legislation needs at least six different sets of definitions of diminishing exactitude in order to explain the object of its prohibitions, it is unlikely to pass the test of clarity or certainty, which is constitutive of criminal prohibition. The crime created by this new law is worse than witchcraft, which, by the way, Ugandas courts ruled unconstitutional 24 years ago for lack of clarity. On the whole, the Act chases down a drafting rabbit hole in pursuit of its rabid objectives. Anyone could easily choose to be detained by the tendency of its drafters to reduce sexual identity to the external manifestations of its terminals in the human genitalia or to one act. But that is only one of the numerous problems with this new Ugandan law. If a piece of legislation needs at least six different sets of definitions of diminishing exactitude in order to explain the object of its prohibitions, it is unlikely to pass the test of clarity or certainty, which is constitutive of criminal prohibition. The crime created by this new law is worse than witchcraft, which, by the way, Ugandas courts ruled unconstitutional 24 years ago for lack of clarity. It is easy to default to generalisations about African cultures to explain the kinds of developments in Uganda. A related point of view could be that such developments are about deeply held African values. This, certainly, is the view of the African Union. In 2015, after eight years of refusal, the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, Africas primary continental human rights body, voted by a narrow majority to grant Observer Status to the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL), an organisation lawfully registered in South Africa. Promptly, the foreign ministers of the African Union (AU) decided that this was an attempt to impose values contrary to the African values and ordered the Commission to lift the Observer Status granted to the CAL in consonance with African values. When the Commission demurred, the AU threatened to withdraw its funding. In the end, the Commission wilted under overwhelming sovereign pressure and withdrew the Observer Status granted to CAL. Surprisingly, South Africa, in whose territory CAL was lawfully registered, refused to raise a finger in defence of its laws and constitutional values. Since these events, the Commission has now adopted the doctrinal position that the advancement of rights relating to human sexuality is contrary to the virtues of African values. In reality, this recent slew of laws on human sexuality across Africa is very much about politics. Musevenis most recent anti-homosexuality law is only the latest in a continent in which rulers in trouble instigate culture and identity wars (framed in faux Pentecostalism) to re-energise their political fortunes. This is not the first time President Museveni has signed such a law. Ugandas courts struck down a similar law on anti-homosexuality passed in a haste one decade earlier, when they found that parliament had passed it without a quorum. The notion of African values is as invented as the idea of homophobic Africa is unreal. What we have is a very nuanced and highly contested territory in the continent. It is too early to know how this could end. What is clear, however, is that Africans will ultimately resolve these issues on their own continent and that is as it should be. Elsewhere around Africa, the timing of Nigerias Same Sex (Prohibition) Act passed around the same time in 2014, coincided with a terminal dip in the fortunes of then President Goodluck Jonathan. In Ghana, the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021, on the cusp of passage into law, happens to coincide with a season in which the political fortunes of President Nana Akuffo-Addos New Patriotic Party (NPP) are at an all-time low. In Kenya, a Family Protection Bill, very much of the same ilk as its Ghana and Uganda counterparts, has been introduced in parliament as the political honeymoon of President William Ruto comes to an end. Those who are minded to reach conclusions from these developments would be well advised to make haste slowly. Same-sex sexual relations are currently lawful in 22 African countries. Last month, Namibias Supreme Court ruled in favour of granting legal recognition to same-sex marriages contracted abroad. In February, Kenyas Supreme Court held that advocacy for the rights of sexual minorities was constitutionally protected and that groups involved in that could not be denied registration as NGOs. In November 2021, Botswanas highest court decriminalised same-sex sexual relations. In Nigeria, the Criminal Law of Lagos State achieved exactly the same goal in 2015. Similarly, the Violence against Persons Prohibition Act passed by Nigerias National Assembly, a mere 15 months after the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, makes rape a unisex offence, which can be committed by men or women against one another or against persons of the same sex. Implicitly, therefore, it retained the prohibition against same sex sexual relations only if there was an absence of consent, actual or presumptive, effectively decriminalising homosexuality as a federal offence in Nigeria. This is far from the unified picture that the partisans in Africas emerging theatre of political culture wars would have us to believe. The notion of African values is as invented as the idea of homophobic Africa is unreal. What we have is a very nuanced and highly contested territory in the continent. It is too early to know how this could end. What is clear, however, is that Africans will ultimately resolve these issues on their own continent and that is as it should be. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a lawyer, teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy can be reached at chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Police Command in Ebonyi State has confirmed an attack on two communities in the state by suspected gunmen on Friday night. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Onome Onovewakpoyeya, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abakaliki. Ms Onovwakpoyeya said the police had commenced an investigation to unravel those behind the attacks. She said that the communities affected by the attack were Uburu and Okposi in Ohaozara Local Government Area of the state. The command is aware of the attack and investigation has commenced in order to arrest the suspects. A Sienna car and two other vehicles were burnt. A passer-by was shot in the shoulder and is receiving treatment at the hospital, she explained. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Lebanese lawmakers on Sunday nominated Jihad Azour, an International Monetary Fund regional director and former minister, for president, with the position still vacant for seven months because of political turmoil. Former president Michel Aoun's term expired last October with no successor lined up. Since then, there have been 11 parliamentary votes to try to name a new president, but bitter divisions have prevented anyone from garnering enough support to succeed Aoun. Crisis-hit Lebanon has been run by a caretaker government with limited powers since legislative elections in May 2022 resulted in no side with a clear majority. On Sunday, lawmaker Mark Daou read a statement on behalf of a group of 32 legislators, endorsing Azour after weeks of negotiations "as a candidate that is not considered provocative by any political factor in the country". The same MPs had previously backed another presidential candidate, parliamentarian Michel Moawad, who on Sunday announced he was withdrawing his nomination and backing Azour. Azour, the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia director, served as Lebanon's finance minister from 2005 to 2008. He has yet to officially announce a presidential bid. The international community has urged Lebanese officials to fill the vacant presidency, which would allow the country, mired in a crippling economic crisis since 2019, to carry out reforms needed to unlock much needed IMF loans. By convention, Lebanon's presidency goes to a Maronite Christian, the premiership is reserved for a Sunni Muslim and the post of parliament speaker goes to a Shiite Muslim. The Iran-backed Shia Hezbollah movement, which has a huge hold over political life in Lebanon, has endorsed the pro-Syria Sleiman Frangieh for the presidency. But opposition from the country's two main Christian parties meant Frangieh lacked a clear path to majority backing in the divided parliament. Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah called Azour's nomination "a waste of time", according to remarks carried by local media, insisting that "the candidate of confrontation" will not be elected president. The Shia movement's key Christian ally, the Free Patriotic Movement, said it would support Azour. With no clear majority for any candidate, it is unclear when parliament speaker Nabih Berri might call a new vote. Search Keywords: Short link: The widow of a Masters student of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Timothy Adegoke, said she rejected the N71 million offered to her to drop her pursuit of the prosecution of his murderers. Bolatito Adegoke said this in an interview with The Nation newspaper on Saturday. Her husband went missing after lodging in Hilton Hotel in Ile-Ife, Osun State, on a trip for his post-graduate programme at the university. His body was later found in a shallow grave in a bush in Ile-Ife. The owner of the hotel, Rahmon Adedoyin and two members of his staff were convicted last week for the murder and sentenced to death by the Chief Judge of Osun State, Oyebola Ojo. Speaking after the judgement, Mrs Adegoke said the cases outcome rekindled her hope in the Nigerian judiciary. I was once offered a bribe of N71 million to withdraw the case against Adedoyin, but I rejected it. They offered the same to my husbands elder brother, which he rejected. They started threatening him, but God took all the glory. The person that was sent to us said the money was for us to forget the case. He promised to get us a shop so that I would be selling goods. I told the person that I was not interested in the money but justice for my late husband, Mrs Adegoke said. Yes, my hope in the judiciary with this case has been rekindled. Some people are casting doubt that he (Adedoyin) might be replaced in prison, but I told them that God, who started His work, would finish it. I dont have any problem with that. My confidence is in God. He stood by me, fought for me and vindicated me. I was inside a church praying when I was informed about the judgment. Although I wept, I give thanks to God. He showed himself strong in this matter. He backed me to get justice. I would have been happier if my husband had come back to life after the judgment. God is faithful! Over my childrens welfare, the decision of the court should be respected, because my husband prioritised their well-being. They must be taken good care of. I really appreciate the journalists, Femi Falana, SAN, and all the well-meaning Nigerians who stood for and by me. Asked about life since her husbands death, she said, I dont have a job. I have been looking for a job, but I could not find any. The mercy of God has been sustaining me and my children. The people that promised me job never fulfilled it. The little fund that was raised for me was what my children and I have been surviving on. I also pay their school fees from it. God has been faithful to us. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif Statement on International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression NEW YORK, June 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Children are not targets. Children are not soldiers. Children are not weapons. As we commemorate the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, we call on leaders everywhere to embrace the commitments outlined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Safe Schools Declaration to ensure girls and boys everywhere are able to reach their full potential without fear, without intimidation and without violence. As we commemorate the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, we call on leaders everywhere to embrace the commitments outlined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Safe Schools Declaration to ensure girls and boys everywhere are able to reach their full potential without fear, without intimidation and without violence. As the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is firmly committed to ensuring children everywhere are guaranteed their human rights. Education is a game changer in protecting these innocent young lives from the grave violations associated with armed conflict, including recruitment and use of children in war, killing, sexual violence, abduction, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access. In countries with high numbers of documented grave violations against children such as Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Iraq, the State of Palestine, Mali, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan and Ukraine education is the most powerful and most transformative tool in our global efforts to save lives and build towards a lasting peace. On my recent mission to the border region between Chad and Sudan, I met with vulnerable and desperate children and women traveling alone through a bleak desert land with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Without the safety, protection and hope that quality education provides, these innocent girls and boys face incredible and unimaginable risks. Girls will be forced into child marriage and sexually abused, boys will be forcibly recruited as child soldiers. And the cycle of displacement, poverty, violence and human rights violations will continue. We can do better. We must do better. As nations worldwide have committed through the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: "Every child has the right to life. Governments must do all they can to ensure that children survive and develop to their full potential." Please join Education Cannot Wait, donors and partners across the UN system in ensuring all children especially those caught in armed conflicts are guaranteed their human rights. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2092090/UN_Education_Cannot_Wait.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1656121/Education_Cannot_Wait_Logo.jpg SOURCE Education Cannot Wait Baghdad, June 4 : At least 10 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed in attacks targeting IS hideouts in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala during the past 24 hours, the Iraqi military said. Based on intelligence reports, Iraqi air forces conducted airstrikes on IS hideouts in the Himreen mountain range of northern Diyala on Friday and Saturday, destroying the hideouts and killing seven IS militants in total, according to a statement on Saturday issued by the Security Media Cell, a media outlet affiliated with the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC). According to the statement, the commandos of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service carried out attacks on IS hideouts in the same area on Saturday, killing another three IS militants, Xinhua news agency reported. Meanwhile, the warplanes bombarded an IS hideout in the rugged area of Wadi al-Shay, southwest of the namesake provincial capital Kirkuk, nearly 250 km north of the capital Baghdad, destroying the hideout and killing all militants inside, the JOC said in a separate statement, without giving exact fatality count. The security situation in Iraq has improved since the defeat of the IS in 2017. However, IS remnants have since melted into urban centres, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. Jerusalem/Cairo, June 4 : Three Israeli soldiers and a member of Egyptian security forces were killed in a shootout along the border between Israel and Egypt, according to the two countries' military statements. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday in a statement that the assailant who killed the three soldiers was an Egyptian policeman. He first killed two soldiers, a man and a woman, who were on duty in a border post and gunned down a third during an exchange of fire hours later when a manhunt was underway. Another Israeli soldier was lightly wounded and the Egyptian gunman was "neutralised" by the soldiers, the statement added. The Egyptian Army said that three Israeli soldiers and a member of Egyptian security forces were killed earlier on Saturday in a shootout during a pursuit of drug smugglers by the Egyptian security personnel near the border with Israel, Xinhua news agency reported. "A member of the Egyptian security was killed in the shootout" and another two Israeli soldiers were injured, the army spokesman Gharib Abdel-Hafez said in a statement: Both armies said an investigation into the incident is underway. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Twitter that he has held a situation assessment with other Defence officials, noting that the IDF "will investigate the incident as required". Such confrontations along the Israel-Egypt border are rare as the two countries have maintained close security ties under a peace agreement signed by the two sides in 1979. The Israeli military frequently carried out search-and-arrest operations on the common border to prevent drug and weapons smuggling. In 2014, Israel completed the construction of a 242-km barrier along the shared border with Egypt, in an attempt to stop illegal labour migration from African countries into Israel. Ankara, June 4 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to introduce a new constitution to replace the current one, as he officially began a new five-year term as the Turkish head of state. In his inauguration speech at the presidential palace, Erdogan on Saturday said the current constitution was "a product of the (1980) coup" and that it needed to be replaced with "a libertarian, civil and inclusive one" that would strengthen democracy. The current Turkish constitution was introduced in 1982 and has been amended 19 times since then. The last amendment in 2017 introduced a presidential system and abolished the parliamentary system, Xinhua news agency reported. Erdogan, sworn in by the country's parliament for a third term as President earlier on Saturday, also said the country had set foot on a new path and was entering what he called the "Century of Turkey," urging the Turkish people to "transcend the limitations of election-focused discussions" and "turn their gaze toward the future". Erdogan won 52.18 per cent of votes in the presidential runoff on May 28 against his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the centre-left Republican People's Party. The President, who has been leading the country since he became Prime Minister in 2003, became the first executive president of Turkey in 2018 following a constitutional referendum in 2017 which changed Turkey's parliamentary system into a presidential one. Luanda, June 4 : Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat has called for solidarity and active coordination of regional and continental efforts to effectively tackle the crises in Congo and Sudan during a meeting held in Luanda, the capital of Angola. Addressing an extraordinary summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), the AU chairperson on Saturday emphasised that the only lasting solution to African crises is peace, dialogue and constructive compromises. He urged all parties to stay committed to this path. He announced that the AU Commission is preparing for a summit to bring together the Economic Community of Central African States, the Southern African Development Community, ICGLR, and the East African Community (EAC), Xinhua news agency reported. Describing the security situation in the region as catastrophic, with severe humanitarian consequences, he drew attention to the security challenges that hinder development, such as the resurgence of armed groups like the March 23 Movement, the Allied Democratic Force terrorist threat, and the illicit exploitation of natural resources. He expressed the African Union's appreciation for the EAC Regional Force's deployment in eastern Congo and the troop-contributing countries for their dedication to promoting regional peace and security. He also stressed the need to rebuild trust in senior leadership. Regarding the Sudan crises, Moussa Faki emphasised that the primary responsibility to find a solution without resorting to military means "must come from the Sudanese themselves". "We are doing everything possible to engage them as quickly as possible in an inclusive political dialogue that is fully appropriate for them. It is the only way to save the country from civil war and the entire region from chaos," he said. Cairo, June 4 : Egyptian Minister of Defence and Military Production Mohamed Zaki and his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant discussed the deadly shootout that left three Israeli soldiers and one Egyptian policeman dead. During a phone conversation, the two ministers also discussed joint coordination to take the necessary measures to prevent such incidents in the future, the Egyptian Armed Forces said on Saturday in a statement. Zaki extended condolences to the victims of the incident from both sides, Xinhua news agency reported. Earlier on Saturday, three Israeli soldiers and a member of Egyptian security forces were killed in a shootout along the border between the two countries. The Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement that the assailant who killed the three soldiers was an Egyptian policeman. The Egyptian Army said that three Israeli soldiers and a member of Egyptian security forces were killed earlier on Saturday in a shootout during a pursuit of drug smugglers by the Egyptian security personnel near the border with Israel. Such confrontations along the Israel-Egypt border are rare as the two countries have maintained close security ties under a peace agreement signed by the two sides in 1979. The Israeli military frequently carry out search-and-arrest operations on the common border to prevent drug and weapons smuggling. In 2014, Israel completed the construction of a 242-km barrier along the shared border with Egypt, in an attempt to stop illegal immigration from African countries into Israel. China tightened already strict access to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing on Sunday, the anniversary of 1989 pro-democracy protests. In Hong Kong, which had been the last Chinese-controlled territory to hold commemorations, police detained at least two protesters on the eve of the anniversary at Victoria Park. The large public space had been the scene for an annual candlelight gathering to remember the hundreds or thousands killed when army tanks and infantry descended on central Beijing on the night of June 3 and into the morning of June 4, 1989. Discussion of the events has long been suppressed in China and become increasingly off-limits in Hong Kong since a sweeping national security law was imposed in June 2020, effectively barring anyone from holding memorial events. The death toll from the 1989 violence remains unknown and the Communist Party relentlessly harasses those at home or overseas who seek to keep the memory of the events alive. In Beijing, additional security was seen around Tiananmen Square, which has long been ringed with security checks requiring those entering to show identification. Those passing by foot or on bicycle on Changan Avenue running north of the square were also stopped and forced to show identification. Those with journalist visas in their passports were told they needed special permission to even approach the area. Still, throngs of tourists were seen visiting the iconic site, with hundreds standing in line to enter the square. Ahead of the anniversary, a group of mothers who lost their children in the Tiananmen crackdown sought redress and issued a statement renewing their call for truth, compensation and accountability. Human Rights Watch has called on the Chinese government to acknowledge responsibility for the killing of pro-democracy protesters. The Chinese government continues to evade accountability for the decades-old Tiananmen Massacre, which has emboldened its arbitrary detention of millions, its severe censorship and surveillance, and its efforts to undermine rights internationally, Yaqiu Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. Search Keywords: Short link: Tunis, June 4 : Tunisian President Kais Saied said security solutions are not enough to eliminate illegal immigration, according to a statement released by the presidency. "Illegal immigration has become an incendiary issue that poisons relations between the countries of the northern and southern sides of the Mediterranean basin," Saied said on Saturday during a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. The Tunisian President suggested that an international meeting must be held with the participation of all countries concerned with the issue, Xinhua news agency reported. The two heads of state also discussed a number of other issues of common interest such as bilateral cooperation, economic and financial difficulties felt by Tunisia, and its negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. Located in the central Mediterranean, Tunisia is one of the most popular transit points for illegal immigration toward Europe. Colombo, June 4 : Sri Lanka's estimated tourism revenue in May saw a remarkable growth of over 200 per cent year-on-year, reaching $131.5 million, according to the latest data from the country's central bank. This impressive increase occurred despite the fact that May is considered an off-peak month for tourist arrivals, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Priantha Fernando told the media on Saturday. The estimated revenue from tourism in May 2022 was $43.5 million, data showed. For the first five months of 2023, the tourism revenue totaled $827.8 million, marking a substantial increase of 30.4 per cent compared to the same period of last year when it stood at $634.6 million, according to the official data. Data also showed 524,486 foreign visitors arrived in Sri Lanka in the first five months of this year, surpassing 378,521 arrivals recorded a year earlier, Xinhua news agency reported. Tourism, one of Sri Lanka's leading foreign exchange earners, suffered a setback due to the Covid-19 pandemic and economic and political crises in the South Asian country. Kannauj : , June 4 (IANS) The Kannauj police has lodged an FIR against BJP MP Subrat Pathak, nine of his supporters and other 42 unidentified people on charges of attacking the Mandi police station, misbehaving with policemen, and issuing threats to set afire the police outpost. Pathak and his associates are accused of trying to set ablaze the police outpost in a bid to free a kidnapping accused arrested by the Unnao district police team. However, Unnao police left the police station after recovering the victim and the alleged kidnapper. Three Sub-Inspectors and four others have been injured in the incident and are undergoing treatment at the district hospital. The Unnao police had reached Kannauj on a tip-off to recover one Nilesh who was abducted from Unnao. The policemen received information about Nilesh's location in a gymnasium in Kannauj. The Unnao police reached Kannauj and raided the gymnasium and recovered Nilesh. The policemen also apprehended one kidnapper. Thereafter, the Unnao police reached the Mandi police station and from there, left for Unnao. The accused is said to be a BJP supporter. After getting information, a large number of people reached the Mandi police station and created a ruckus there. After the violence, Sub-Inspector Hakim Singh lodged an FIR against the MP for allegedly manhandling policemen, using abusive language and threatening them with dire consequences if the accused were not freed immediately. The Sub-Inspector also said in the FIR that Unnao's Auras police station team had visited Kannauj after getting the location of an abducted person at a Kannauj gym. The Unnao police recovered the victim safely and arrested four persons for allegedly kidnapping and holding him hostage. The BJP MP has said that he was framed by the Kannauj police unit as he complained about them "for helping Bahujan Samaj Party during the recently-held civil polls". Bahraich : , June 4 (IANS) The mystery behind the deaths of a newly married couple has deepened further as the post-mortem reports claim that they died due to heart attack while sleeping in a room at their house. The couple Pratap Yadav, 24, and his wife Pushpa Yadav, 22, were found dead in a room at their house in Godhiya village under Kaiserganj police station of Bahraich on Thursday. The couple was found dead under mysterious conditions in a room locked from inside, a day after their marriage. The couple was married on Tuesday and they died due to unidentified reasons on their first night. The finding has further puzzled the police because the couple did not have any past medical history of heart problems yet they suffered heart attack at the same time. Balrampur Superintendent of Police Prashant Verma said the viscera of both the bodies have been preserved for further examination at the State Forensic Science Laboratory in Lucknow to unravel the mystery behind the death of the couple. Some other local police officials, however, stated that there was no ventilation in a room in which the couple were found dead and suspected that they could have suffered cardiac arrest due to suffocation while sleeping. Inspector in-charge of Kaiserganj police station, Rajnath Singh, said that the post-mortem report of the two bodies confirmed that the duo died due to cardiac arrest. He further said that Pratap was married to Puspha on Tuesday and the couple had gone to sleep after two days of tiring marriage ceremony while other family members were sleeping in other rooms. He said that the incident was discovered when the duo did not come out of the room till Thursday afternoon. Mumbai, June 4 : In a new development in cancer treatment, a Mumbai company has brought the Cryoablation technology from Israel to give a precise, cold-blooded death to most kinds of tumours and/or cancers. Billed as a 'non-surgical, next-gen' technology of IceCure Medical, Israel, its flagship machine "ProSense" has been introduced in India by NovoMed Incorporation Pvt. Ltd. Mumbai. Cryoablation 'ProSense' is currently installed in four hospitals across India and has given 'highly encouraging' results with thousands of cancer patients for the ease of treatment and better pain management. They are: Tata Memorial Centre Hospital and Picture This By Jankharia, (both institutions in Mumbai), the NH-Rabindranath Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences (Kolkata) and Kovai Medical Center & Hospital, (Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu). Explaining the treatment, NIPL Director Jay Mehta said that Cryoablation is a minimally invasive image guided (ultrasound or CT-Scan) treatment that uses extreme cold to freeze and accurately destroy diseased tissue within the tumour zone, quickly and causing bare minimum pain to the patient. "It used liquid nitrogen (LN2) for maximum freezing, safety and efficacy. For Cryoablation, a thin, needle-like probe called a cryoprobe is inserted into the target area. The cryoprobe used the LN2 as a coolant, which rapidly cools the surrounding tissue," said Jay Mehta. NIPL Managing Director Nainesh Mehta said that as the tissue freezes, ice crystals form, causing cellular damage and destruction... with the extreme cold temperatures freezing and killing the abnormal cells to treat the patient. "Cryoablation has several advantages over other treatment methods. It requires just a small incision or a needle puncture, results in less trauma to the patient and enables faster recovery compared with open surgery, can be performed under local anaesthesia in most cases, and since it is precise and targeted at the abnormal tissue while preserving the surrounding healthy tissues, it eliminates hospital stay for most patients," elaborated Nainesh Mehta. The Mehtas say that it is used for treating benign or malignant tumours of the breast, kidney, liver, lung, bone, soft tissues, skin, etc., and the specific application of Cryoablation depends on the condition being treated. Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital Interventional Radiologist Dr Vimal Someshwar said that not only have the results on patients been very good, Cryoablation is also considered excellent for pain management, and the technology has a tremendous potential for wider deployment. Consultant Radiologist Dr Jankharia in the city said that Cryoablation fills a niche in the overall ablation space and is best for fibromatosis, specific bone and soft tissue tumours, besides liver and lungs. "While Radio Frequency Ablation has been in India for over two decades and Microwave has slowly established itself in the past five years, Cryoablation is a recent entrant but giving very good results," he said. The Mehtas contend that Cryoablation is a "futuristic and revolutionary technology in India" which the people can take maximum advantage of to freeze and kill the cancer. (Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in) Shimla, June 4 : The historic Ridge, once the only promenade for the British colonial rulers when Shimla was their summer capital and rests on the city's crucial over a century old water supply system that quenches the thirst of 40 per cent population, is buckling under human pressure. Locals blame successive governments for their callousness to save the iconic landmark from sinking with surfacing of major cracks in 2008 when about 20 shops of the Tibetan market beneath it collapsed, while geological experts say over the years the strata has become fragile. The experts warn that surfacing of caving in at one point or the other can't be good for the Ridge and may amplify ecological risk and could turn unsafe threatening the British-era landmarks, including Gaiety Theatre where Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling and legendary actors Prithviraj Kapoor and Balraj Sahni once performed, that adorn the place. The 'Queen of Hills' moniker was given to the hill station by the British colonial rulers and the town still has 91 British-era heritage buildings. Advocating sustainable development, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has time and again rapped the state authorities over their lack of response to the growing activity on the Ridge. Old-timers charge the successive BJP and Congress governments for staging massive public events and political rallies on the Ridge, an open space just above the Mall that extends to the Grand Hotel in the west and Lakkar Bazaar in the east. Excavated debris was dumped on the sinking northern portion of the Ridge a long time ago, which keeps on sinking every year during monsoon. Geologists have found that blocked natural drains and loose soil are responsible for the cracks. They say the sinking portion can be stabilised by raising breast walls and maintaining the drainage system. Apart from a portion of the Ridge, the water tank beneath it has been sinking and the stabilization work is yet to start. Locals say the surface above the water tanks should be declared a no-vehicle zone. Besides the Ridge, Shimla's sinking zones comprise Grand Hotel -- located in the vicinity of the famous Kali Bari temple and close to Scandal Point -- Lakkar Bazaar, Krishnanagar -- the city's slum -- and areas close to the century-old prestigious Hotel Oberoi Clarkes that was shut in 2012 due to landslides. Now callousness of the local authorities once again comes to fore with local authorities hosting a five-day annual Summer Festival on the Ridge that began on June 1. Responding to the hosting of the festival, former deputy mayor Tikender Panwar told IANS it is happening right over the water tank, and the stage has been erected just over it. Even the seating arrangement is just over the water reservoir. In a missive to the Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice, he wrote: "I remember that during the days when I was serving the city, we had marked the entire water tank zone with yellow markings and it was made a no-vehicle zone. Even ambulances were not allowed to ply over it. "To further apprise you, just a few years ago nearly Rs 2 crore was spent by the Shimla Municipal Corporation to repair the leakage in the tank. I request you to kindly take cognizance of the matter and ensure that the Summer Festival site is shifted immediately, and no further gatherings are allowed at the site. This site is not just of heritage value, but also is extremely vulnerable from the disaster aspect." CPI-M leader Panwar, the directly elected deputy mayor from 2012 to 2017, says the large water reservoir underneath is more than a century old. The construction is with simple mortar and brick and there are no reinforcements. "I have myself been into the tank during cleaning operations. It is a sensitive area. This area also falls under the heritage zone and no activity contrary to the guidelines is allowed including holding meetings etc." The High Court has time and again intervened ensuring the protection of the legacy and the legitimacy of the region, the Mall, and the Ridge. He apprised the Chief Justice that on September 12, 2008, the High Court passed an order that the portion of the Ridge over the water reservoir will not be allowed for any gathering. Old-timer resident Ramnarayan Khemta told IANS that since the Ridge is losing load-bearing capacity all political rallies and public events should be shifted elsewhere. "Otherwise our guests (the tourists) will not admire those soothing, refreshing peaks,a he remarked while pointing towards the mountains viewed from the Ridge that remain wrapped in a thick white blanket of snow in winter. In view of threat to the city's lifeline, even the Shimla Nagrik Sabha, a Left-affiliated non-profit NGO, has been urging the government to ban political rallies and commercial activities on the Ridge and shift them to the Annandale ground, situated 4.5 km from the Ridge. It has been under the Indian Army's control since World War II. Besides the famed Gaiety Theatre, the Ridge has two other heritage buildings, a neo-Tudor style Town Hall and the Anglican Christ church built in a neo-Gothic style that opened in 1857. The Ridge was established by the British and served as the main bazaar with shops all around. Later, the British decided to clear the Ridge for public events and the shops were pulled down. (Vishal Gulati can be contacted at gulatiians@gmail.com) Kolkata, June 4 : The recent incident of the lone Congress legislator in West Bengal Bayron Biswas joining the Trinamool Congress has once again raised several questions about the seriousness of the West Bengal ruling party of being a part of an anti-BJP alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Not even three months have passed since Biswas got elected as a Left Front-supported Congress candidate in the bypolls for the minority-dominated Sagardighi assembly constituency in Murshidabad district that he chose to shift to the ruling party. Till recently, only the state Congress unit, especially its president and veteran Lok Sabha member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, had been vocal against the Trinamool Congress on this issue though he did not get backing from his party's central leadership. However, after Biswas's defection to the Trinamool Congress even the Congress central leadership has started speaking on this issue. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh issued a strongly worded Twitter message condemning the Trinamool Congress leadership for poaching from other parties. "Three months after he was elected as a Congress MLA in a historic victory Bayron Biswas has been lured away by the TMC in West Bengal. This is a complete betrayal of the mandate of the people of the Sagardighi Assembly constituency. Such poaching which has happened earlier in Goa, Meghalaya, Tripura and other states is not designed to strengthen Opposition unity and only serves the BJP's objectives," Ramesh said in the Twitter message. Within hours, chief minister Mamata Banerjee countered claiming that that Congress is unnecessarily making an issue out of the Trinamool Congress's decision to contest the assembly polls in states like Tripura, Goa and Meghalaya. She also claimed that it is not the right approach that only the BJP and the Congress will continue as national parties of the country. However, political observers are of the opinion that the possibility of the Bayron episode being raised and vitiating the atmosphere at the Patna meeting of the anti-BJP parties to finalise the strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls is most unlikely. According to political observer RN Sinha, just as Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is leading the anti-Trinamool lobby in the Congress, similarly there is a counter-lobby in that party which is in favour of going soft on Mamata Banerjee. "I agree that the second lobby's arguments of going soft on Mamata Banerjee received a jolt after the Trinamool Congress abstained from voting in the elections for the Vice-President of India last year. But it does not mean that this second lobby has become totally inactive in their efforts to maintain an amicable relationship with the Trinamool Congress. So much will depend on who will be representing the Congress at the June 12 meeting in Patna. If the representative is a pro-Trinamool Congress lobby leader then it is guaranteed that the Bayron episode will not be even mildly touched at the Patna meeting," Sinha added. He said that even if the Congress representative is from the anti-Trinamool lobby, in that case also there is hardly any chance of the issue being raised at the meeting. "At the maximum, the Congress representative might make an attempt to speak to Mamata Banerjee on the sidelines of the meeting and then raise that issue," he added. However, another political analyst Sabyasachi Bandopadhyay feels that whatever might be the outcome of the June 12 meeting in Patna it will have no relevance in West Bengal. "Simple arithmetic says that any seat-sharing arrangement between the Congress and the Trinamool Congress will never work out for the next Lok Sabha polls. In case of a bargain with the Trinamool Congress, the Congress will get a maximum of two seats to contest, which are the existing two with Congress MPs, one in Murshidabad district and the other in Malda. On the contrary, in case of a bargain with the Left Front, the Congress will manage a minimum of seven seats, if not more. So, the Left Front is the natural choice for an alliance for the Congress in West Bengal," he added. He stated that considering the seniority and dedication of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in the party, even the top Congress leaders like Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will not decide anything that might upset Chowdhury. "Moreover, keeping in mind Rahul Gandhi's personal equations with the CPI(M) leadership especially the party's general secretary Sitaram Yechury, at least I do not see any reason for the Congress and the Trinamool Congress going together in West Bengal," he added. Panaji, June 4 : Fighting for their rights for the last several years, a section of the Scheduled Tribe community of Goa has threatened to boycott the Lok Sabha election 2024, if the government fails to provide them political reservation in the state assembly. United under the banner of the 'Mission Political Reservation for Scheduled Tribe of Goa' (MPRSTG), many ST youths have dedicated themselves to achieving the goal. Knowing the seriousness of the issue, many non-ST politicians have also supported the movement and have drawn the attention of the government by submitting memorandums. Speaking to IANS, MPRSTG president Joao Fernandes said that if the government fails to provide them reservation then they will be forced to boycott the Lok Sabha election. "Our demand is that we should get the political reservation before the Lok Sabha election," Fernandes said. He said that in the past they took out rallies and tried to draw the attention of the government. "We have also met our ST MLAs, Minister and Speaker. They are also of the opinion that we should get political reservation. Hence, if the time comes to boycott the election then we will get support from all of them," he added. According to him, there are around 1.30 lakh ST voters in Goa. "We have submitted memorandums right from the President of India to the Chief Minister of Goa. We have also met members of Parliament from other states, who belong to the ST community, and have sought their support," Fernandes said. Last month the MPRSTG members held a meeting at Lohia Maidan in Margao and resolved to boycott the Lok Sabha election in 2024 if their demand for political reservation was not conceded by the government. The ST leaders had also held a daylong hunger strike at Lohia Maidan. They highlighted the importance of political reservation for the STs of Goa, which the state government has failed to fulfil despite the community getting the ST status decades ago. According to them, if the political reservation is granted, there will be four legislators in the assembly by default. The Opposition political parties in Goa have lent their support to this movement and have raised their voice demanding political reservation. Goa Forward Party chief and MLA Vijai Sardesai had written to the then Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju demanding reservation for the Scheduled Tribes in the Assembly. Sardesai said that the Centre should take all necessary steps to grant reservation to the ST community. Earlier, leaders of the ST community had met Sardesai and had asked him to raise the matter. Sardesai had raised the issue during the Assembly session. "You are aware that while Article 330 of the Constitution of India provides for reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People, Article 332 provides for reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assemblies of the states. In this context, I would like to place on record the demand of Goa's Scheduled Tribes for political reservation for them in the House of the People, and the Legislative Assembly of Goa," Sardesai stated in a letter. "In the year 2003, three communities, namely Gawda, Kunbi and Velip, were added to the existing list of Scheduled Tribes of Goa, increasing the population of Scheduled tribes considerably, with the total tally of Scheduled Tribe communities in Goa reaching 8 per cent. As per the 2011 census, the population of Scheduled Tribes in Goa is 10.23 per cent. However, even after 20 years, they are deprived of political reservation both in the House of the People and the Legislative Assembly of the State," he stated. Sardesai has demanded the constitution of a Delimitation Commission for the delimitation of Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies in Goa. "Send government recommendation to the Hon'ble President of India for promulgation of Ordinance in the lines of the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies (third), Ordinance, 2013," the letter stated. It said, "Request the Election Commission of India to exercise their powers under Section I7 of the Goa, Daman and Diu, Reorganisation Act, 1987, and reserve seats for Scheduled Tribes of Goa and take all steps necessary to give political reservation for Scheduled Tribes of Goa, in the House of the People and Legislative Assembly of Goa." The Trinamool Congress has also demanded reservation for the Scheduled Tribes in the Goa Legislative Assembly. Trinamool Congress convener Samil Volvoikar said that his party will stand with the ST community on this issue. "In future if they stage a protest, we will give our support," Volvoikar said. "Since the last many years this issue has been pending. The government should have heeded it and given them their right," Volvoikar said, adding that it is the constitutional right of the ST community to get reservation. ST leader Kanta Gawade said that it is ironical that the 'adivasi samaj' is deprived of their constitutional right. The ST community has many times demanded it through various platforms, but they have only met with injustice. Kanta Gawade said that the ST community has contributed a lot to the state and hence they should be given their right. Gawade said that all governments in the last two decades failed to give rights to the ST community. "Right from MLAs to the President of India, ST community have given memorandum to all. But nobody has paid heed to this issue," he said. Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao has also demanded political reservation for the ST community and had raised the issue during the last assembly session. Currently there are four ST MLAs in the Assembly. Bhopal, June 4 : In the run up to the assembly elections later this year, the Madhya Pradesh Congress is set to counter the party's portrayal as anti-Hindu. The opposition led by veteran leader Kamal Nath has drawn up elaborate plans to take on the ruling BJP and it's saffron allies - the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Bajarang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). The idea is to counter the BJP's hard-Hindutva with soft-Hindutva, and for this purpose, the Congress has made the "Dharmik and Utsav Prakosth" fully active now. The committee was formed two years back and had enrolled kathavachak Richa Goswami who has an ashram in Amarkantak, along with several priests, religious storytellers and priests of temples. The Congress' "Dharmik and Utsav Prakosth", which also projected Kamal Nath as a devotee of Lord Hanuman, has organised 30 religious programmes across the state in the last two years. It is now set to take forward its vision across 230 assembly seats in the coming days. The fresh segment of religious programmes will start with a mega event of the "Bhagwat Gita" kathavachan by Richa Goswami in Panchasheel Nagar of Bhopal on June 5, sources privy to the matter told IANS. "The religious programmes are being organised across the state to counter the portrayal of the BJP and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh of the Congress as anti-Hindu. Local party leaders will be organising the programmes at their expense by involving the local people," a Congress spokesperson said requesting not to be named. Sources claimed the preparations for this had began a couple of months ago with the formation of a 'mandir pujari prakoshth'. In a meeting with MP Congress head Kamal Nath, the priests had voiced their grievances, which include ownership of the temple's land and that they should be given the status of farmers. The plan is also an attempt to dent the BJP's Brahmin voters. A similar concept was utilised during the last elections in 2018 and Hindu religious leaders such as Computer Baba and Mirchi Baba were enrolled to organise programmes before it returned to power in Madhya Pradesh in 2018. Later, they were given cabinet rank also which had led to a political controversy. The Congress, however, lost power two years later when 22 legislators quit the party and resigned from the assembly in March 2020. This crisis within the Congress had resulted in Shivraj Singh Chouhan coming back into power again after 15 months. Importantly, the Congress will take up the recent incident of the 'Mahakal Lok' corridor to corner the BJP in the coming elections. Six Saptarshi idols had collapsed following which the opposition Congress criticised the ruling BJP, accusing it of indulging in corruption in the Mahakal Lok corridor project, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October last year. Bhopal, June 4 : The only airport in Madhya Pradesh's capital city Bhopal, Raja Bhoj Airport is getting ready for round-the-clock air services. The induction of several new generation technologies is in the process. A newly constructed 32-meter tall air traffic control (ATC) tower will become operational from October 1. According to Raja Bhoj Airport director Ramji Awasthi, it would be the highest ATC tower in Madhya Pradesh, which will cover the entire runway area besides catering to the need of handling more flights and modern facilities. The primary purpose of the ATC is to prevent collisions, organise and expedite the flow of air traffic, and provide information and other support for pilots. "The new air traffic control tower, which is facilitated with modern technology and auxiliary structures such as a fire station and cargo complex, will be ready for operation from October 1. It will be the highest ATC tower in Madhya Pradesh. It will enable air traffic controllers to have a 360-degree view of the airport and operational area. Indore airport has a 27- meter high ATC tower," Awasthi told IANS. He informed that the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has given it's nod for 24-hour fight operations. A proposal for deployment of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has been sent to the Centre for its approval, which hopefully will be granted soon. The deployment of the CISF will strengthen the security at the airport. With this decision, airlines will be encouraged to make Bhopal a base station. Night parking arrangements for aircraft are also made at airports with 24-hour flight operations. Earlier, flight movement used to start at 8 a.m., which has now been rescheduled from 6 a.m. "At present, flight services at Raja Bhoj Airport are available in two shifts - between 6 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. The services of non-scheduled flights and red eye flights will start soon once the new ATC tower gets operational and the CISF is deployed," Awasthi said. Now, there will be no time constraints for the airlines. It is believed that with this decision companies will give priority in making Bhopal a base station. At present, Bhopal airport has a base for 17 aircraft including four in the old part of the airport. Besides these, Bhopal airport is also preparing to ensure smooth movement of flights even during bad weather. For this, Raja Bhoj airport has decided to facilitate a higher version of the Instrument Landing System (ILS CAT-II). Presently, the airport is equipped with the ILS CAT-I facility. Regular fliers and aviation experts have been demanding the ILS CAT-II facility. The CAT-I facility was installed in 2013 and the glide path relocated at the runway to 50 feet from 45 feet to facilitate safe landing during poor visibility. The ILS CAT facility is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals to enable safe landing during instrument meteorological conditions. "The 24-hour flight service will help in the growth of Bhopal in various ways. It will increase the mobility of passengers. Late night flights will boost the hotel business and tourism in the state," Awasthi added. Saudi Arabia signed two memoranda of understanding (MoU) with Egyptian entities during a visit by the Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Alkhorayef, to Egypt on Sunday. The first MoU was signed between the Egyptian and Saudi export development authorities to boost cooperation on non-oil exports, according to a cabinet statement. The Saudi National Industrial Development Centre signed another protocol with Valeo Egypt, the software development arm of French automotive supplier Valeo on developing the auto industry. Alkhorayef is visiting Cairo to discuss all aspects of economic cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Egypt and the impact of the global economic crisis on the two Arab nations, said Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir. The meetings with Alkhorayef also explore opportunities for cooperation in industrial projects, Samir added. Trade exchange between Egypt and Saudi Arabia increased by 13.5 percent in 2022 reaching $10.3 billion, up from $9.1 billion in 2021, according to official data. Saudi investments in Egypt increased from $325.3 million in the fiscal year 2020/21 to $491.6 million in the fiscal year 2021/22 a 51.5 percent increase. Egypt's new facilities for investors In mid-May, the restructured Supreme Council for Investment issued 22 decrees to promote foreign direct investments (FDIs) and private investments in Egypt. These decrees include numerous proposals for legislative amendments that will be submitted to Parliament for voting soon. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has recently announced that foreigners will be permitted to own property in Egypt, under specific regulations, without restrictions. Search Keywords: Short link: Lucknow, June 4 : The government doctors in Uttar Pradesh have been told to prescribe only generic drugs to patients as per the new guidelines issued by the medical health department. Issued by the department's principal secretary Partha Sarthi Sen Sharma on Saturday, the circular lists a set of instructions that all chief medical superintendents and government hospital directors must adhere to. "The working status of each equipment in hospitals must be updated on the CARE app every Monday. If equipment is non-functional for long, the hospital shall contact the additional director of the electrical wing. The live monitoring of 108 hospitals in the state from the integrated command control centre will begin soon as CCTV circuits are in place," the circular says. "Most medicines are available in stores. Doctors will prescribe only generic medicines, even if they are not in stock at hospitals," Sharma said. Explaining its significance, an expert said generic drugs save patients' money. "Generic drugs cost less in spite of the same good manufacturing practices followed to make them," said Dr Abhishek Shukla, the secretary-general of the Association of International Doctors. Also, doctors will be subjected to a monthly scrutiny on the basis of their specialty, patients counselled in the outpatient wing, major and minor surgeries performed and the likes, and the data will be uploaded on the Health Management Information System portal. Seoul, June 4 : South Korea on Sunday dismissed as "untrue" a claim by the European Union's top diplomat that he and Seoul's Defence Minister discussed Ukraine's need for ammunition in the ongoing war against Russia. Josep Borrell, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, tweeted the claim after his talks with Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security conference in Singapore, on Saturday. "The claim that discussions on ammunition support for Ukraine were held is not true," South Korea's Defence Ministry said in a message sent to reporters, Yonhap news agency reported. "While mentioning the need for various weapons systems and other forms of support to improve the situation in Ukraine, the EU side expressed its unilateral stance on the importance of (the provision of) ammunition," the ministry said. It added that ammunition support for Ukraine was not an official agenda item during the bilateral talks. Seoul has maintained a policy stance against the provision of lethal weapons to Ukraine, though it has offered non-lethal humanitarian support to the war-torn nation. Almost 15 years ago, in a residential society in Noida in the National Capital Region, a Class VIII boy invited seven-eight girls, all up to nine years of age, and took them to the rooftop of a block. There he gave them some toffees and asked them to dance as he played music on his music deck. When they danced, he set his father's video camera rolling. When one of the girl's mothers found her daughter missing, she frantically searched around and another child told her about the 'Bhaiya' taking small girls with him. The distraught mother rushed up the floors and found the girls dancing and the Class VIII 'Bhaiya' recording them. Furious at the sight, she switched off the music and hit the boy's hand hard and severely reprimanded him. After some time, the father of the Class VIII boy came to the girl's apartment and fought with her mother, saying there was nothing wrong in what his son was doing and he would do it again because he was a boy. The shocked woman then spoke with the mother of other girls and all of them then met the boy's mother, who is a working professional. Sense prevailed and the same 'Bhaiya' is doing well in his personal life and profession. An incident that could have been ignored, but it was dealt with seriously by the community in that residential society, and the boy and his father were sensitised about the act. In one of his early Independence Day speeches from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a message on sons and good parenting. He said that while the concern for girl children was understandable, parents must focus on what their sons are up to. "Even when they are only 12, young girls are always being asked so many questions by their parents, like 'Where are you off to?', 'Whom are you meeting?'. But do these parents ask their sons where they are going?" "Women can progress only as fast as men can change. You can give women better protection, but real protection lies in how we bring up our sons." The Prime Minister emphasised the importance of parenting sons, and he said, "This is where we are failing as a nation." Perhaps, the failure became horribly evident yet again when Sahil brutally murdered a 16-year-old girl in Delhi's Shahbad Dairy, and a father stabbed his daughter 25 times because he was reportedly upset over her sleeping on the terrace at night. The videos shook the nation because of the brutality involved of those who once 'loved'. Boys will be boys ... that is the age-old notion. India's cultural obsession with sons is no hidden fact. There is a presumption that sons don't need much supervision and it is only girls who need to be inspected, supervised and guided. Even when parents realise that their sons may be straying, there is a kind of helplessness on how to tackle the matter. Sometimes, such instances are ignored with the comment that "they are boys and so it is so." Globally, India has one of the largest numbers of young males. In 2020, the sex ratio of the total population in India was 108.18 males per 100 females. The percentage of the female population was 48.04 per cent, compared with 51.96 per cent males. Could the gender equation have a crucial bearing on violence against women? The answer is somewhere in the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data. In 2021, the data for the year being released in August 2022, 1,36,234 cases of violence against women were registered across the country, including cruelty by husbands or relatives, which formed the largest chunk of cases. The rate of crimes against women as proportion of all crimes rose by 15 per cent in one year - from 56.5 per cent in 2020 to 64.5 per cent in 2021. The root of the problem could be that moral education for children is not given that much importance. Whether it is the home or schools, the formative years are vital, wherein sensitisation can be hammered in. It is important to incorporate notions of respect for the different genders from a young age. Schools are essential to any child's development and ideas formed at this stage shape them as they grow up, so it is important that gender sensitisation happens at this age. Whether it is in behaviour or language used, the notion of zero tolerance for gender discrimination has to be drilled in at an early age. "We must address issues of harassment, ill behaviour towards women," said Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud while speaking at a Women's Day Function organised by the Supreme Court's Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee (GSICC) in March. In fact, Chief Justice Chandrachud admitted, according to media reports, that he had heard ghastly stories from women colleagues and friends regarding the behaviour of lawyers and even judges. He therefore stressed the need to ensure zero tolerance for inappropriate behaviour. To ingrain appropriate behaviour and the right thought process, it is important to work on children from an early age. Their understanding of gender roles is influenced by their experiences within their own family, culture and lifestyle, and their environment. It is essential therefore to start from the home and school, and address the perception of masculinity. Times are changing. More women than ever are proving their mettle. Addressing the age-old perceptions is the need of the hour. Girls are doing exceptionally well across sectors. This is the second year in a row when women have secured the top three positions in one of India's most prestigious competitive exams -- the UPSC Civil Services Exam. And similar results are also being reported from other professional exams. It is important that sensitisation happens as gender roles in a patriarchal country like India are stereotypical and strongly ingrained. Change is also gradual. India needs to fix the twisted masculinity problems, and slowly and silently, it is happening. Hope is there. (Deepika Bhan can be contacted at deepika.b@ians.in) Lucknow, June 4 : The Lucknow Police have launched a scheme called 'Har Ghar Camera' (CCTV in every home) to bolster security in the state capital. Under it, police officials will visit every area and appeal to the people to install at least one CCTV camera outside every home so that the entire area gets covered. Cops will also engage corporators and prominent citizens from every ward. The idea is that CCTV cameras should be installed in all the small passages, alleys, and roads. Prominent business persons, traders, and shopkeepers have also been asked to install CCTV cameras outside their establishments. Senior police officials said officers of the rank of assistant commissioner of police have been directed to ensure that the maximum area of their jurisdiction gets covered by CCTV cameras. ACP, Gomti Nagar, Swati Chaudhary said that CCTVs must be installed by all as they not only serve as a deterrent but help in tracing criminals, along with preparing a database of patterns of crime taking place. "Cops can be deployed based on the crime taking place at a particular place. Those who install cameras will be rewarded by the senior police officer," said Chaudhary. She added that the feed from CCTVs, which will be installed at prominent crossings, places of public gathering and important routes, will be linked with the police stations of the area concerned. A restaurant in Mahanagar recently installed four CCTV cameras and received a letter of appreciation by the joint commissioner of police, law and order. Amaravati, June 4 : Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu's meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J.P. Nadda in New Delhi has triggered speculation of the two parties reviving their alliance. The meeting happened late on Saturday. This was Naidu's first meeting with Amit Shah since 2018 when the TDP pulled out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The meeting comes amid the buzz in political circles that the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister is keen to have an alliance with the BJP for Telangana Assembly elections scheduled later this year and the next year's Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Andhra Pradesh. During an-hour-long meeting, the former chief minister is understood to have discussed with both Amit Shah and Nadda the proposal for TDP-BJP alliance in both the Telugu states. Naidu, who is in Delhi to attend the consultative meeting of the leaders on G20, is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday. Accompanied by TDP MPs K. Ravindra Kumar, Kesineni Nani, Rammohan Naidu and former MP K. Rammohan Rao, Naidu reached Delhi on Saturday evening. Rebel YSRCP MP Raghurama Krishna Raju received the TDP chief at the airport. From there, they drove to the residence of TDP MP Galla Jayadev. Later, around 8.55 p.m., Naidu alone reached Amit Shah's residence. A few minutes later, Nadda also reached there. The meeting among the trio continued till around 10 p.m. None of them spoke to the media after the meeting. The TDP leaders were tight-lipped as to what transpired at the meeting. However, the meeting comes amid the growing demand from BJP's ally actor-politician Pawan Kalyan to finalise the grand alliance against YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in Andhra Pradesh. Jana Sena Party (JSP) leader has been urging the BJP leadership to decide what he calls the 'road map' to oust YSRCP from power. Pawan, who had campaigned for TDP-BJP alliance in 2014, already held a couple of meetings with Naidu in recent months. BJP's Andhra Pradesh unit Somu Veerraju had also said last week that they have conveyed Pawan Kalyan's proposal to the BJP's central leadership and that it will take a final decision. The actor-politician is also gearing up to embark on a statewide tour on his special campaign vehicle. TDP, which had formed the first government in the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh after its victory in 2014 elections in alliance with the BJP, snapped ties with the NDA in 2018 in protest over the delay in grant of special category status to Andhra Pradesh. Naidu had later joined hands with the Congress party to contest the Assembly elections in Telangana. However, the alliance had to bite the dust. TDP also faced a drubbing in simultaneous elections to Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Lok Sabha in 2019. The YSRCP swept the polls, winning 151 seats in the 175-member Assembly. TDP could win only 23 Assembly and three out of 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Ever since the crushing defeat in 2019, Naidu has been trying to build bridges with the BJP. He met Prime Minister Modi on a couple of occasions in recent months. New Delhi, June 4 : The Delhi Police's Crime Branch arrested a 30-year-old criminal, who was wanted in nine cases registered in Haryana and the national capital, said an official on Sunday. The accused was identified as Rahul Sethi, a resident of Sagarpur in Delhi. He was also found previously involved in 50 cases of snatching, robbery, auto theft among others. The Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav said that specific inputs were received that a proclaimed offender Rahul would come on a stolen motorcycle at Vikas Nagar. "Acting on the inputs a trap was laid and Rahul was apprehended," said Yadav. On interrogation, Rahul, who was born in Hisar, Haryana, disclosed that he came to Delhi in 2000. "In 2009, he was arrested in a snatching case registered at Chanakyapuri police station. He was regularly committing robbery and snatching and became a history-sheeter of Sagarpur police station," said the special CP. "Rahul has been convicted in many cases, therefore, he is not attending court proceedings. In 2018, after getting released from jail, he kept changing his address. In 2022, he stole a motorcycle from Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital, Jahangirpuri, Delhi and started using this motorcycle for committing robbery/snatching," the official added. Washington, June 4 : In a bid to ease the ongoing shortage of chemotherapy in the US, the country's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has allowed for a temporary import of the cancer drug made in China. Chinese drug maker Qilu Pharmaceutical has received the FDA approval for their cisplatin injections, CNBC reported. The injectable medication will be distributed in the US in 50-milligram vials on a temporary basis by Canadian drug maker Apotex. It will be available for order by health care providers starting Tuesday. "The FDA recognises the importance of a stable, safe supply of critical drugs used in oncology, especially those used in potentially curative or life-extending situations," FDA Commissioner Dr Robert Califf said on Twitter. "Today, we've taken steps for temporary importation of certain foreign-approved versions of cisplatin products from FDA-registered facilities and used regulatory discretion for continued supply of other cisplatin and carboplatin products to help meet patient needs. "In these situations, we very carefully assess product quality and require companies to take certain measures to ensure the products are safe for patients. The public should rest assured that we will continue all efforts within our authority to help the industry that manufactures and distributes these drugs meet all patient needs for the oncology drugs impacted by shortages," he noted. Cisplatin, a generic drug available for decades in the US, has faced national shortage since February after an Indian pharmaceutical company temporarily halted production for the US market. According to the US National Cancer Institute, Cisplatin and other platinum-based drugs are prescribed for 10 per cent to 20 per cent of all cancer patients. Cisplatin has a cure rate of over 90 per cent when used to treat testicular cancer. It also treats bladder, cervical, ovarian, lung, gastric, breast, and head and neck cancers. The severe shortage of cisplatin and carboplatin, "the chemotherapy backbone", is affecting hundreds of thousands of patients across the US, Dr. Amanda Fader, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, was quoted as saying to CNN. Qilu's version of cisplatin is not approved in the US. An FDA spokesperson said the agency assesses the quality of unapproved drug imports to make sure they are safe for US patients. At least 13 other cancer drugs are in short supply across the US. San Francisco, June 4 : Microsoft has released a new Windows 11 dev build that allows Insiders to view their phone's camera roll in the File Explorer Gallery. After installing the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build, users can add photos from their phone by clicking a new button added to the File Explorer's command bar. "There is a new button in the Command Bar titled 'Add Phone Photos' that will help with setting up your PC to be ready to show these photos in Gallery," Microsoft said in a blogpost. "Clicking this button today will open a URL with a QR code that you can scan with your phone to get started," it added. Moreover, in the new preview build, the company has introduced new natural voices in Spanish (Spain and Mexico) that allow Narrator users to comfortably browse the web, read and write mail, and do more. Natural Narrator voices use modern, on-device text-to-speech and once downloaded are supported without an internet connection, the company said. Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced that it will no longer support its virtual assistant Cortana in Windows as a standalone app, starting in late 2023. This change will only affect Cortana in Windows and will continue to be available in Outlook mobile, Teams mobile, Microsoft Teams display, and Microsoft Teams rooms, the tech giant stated on a support page. Mumbai, June 4 : Telugu megastar Chiranjeevi has refuted the reports of him suffering from cancer. The veteran actor recently took to his Twitter to clear the air as he issued a statement in Telugu language. He shared that he was not diagnosed with cancer but with non-cancerous polyps which were detected early and also removed. The actor tweeted a long note as he shared, "A while ago I spoke about the need to raise awareness about cancer while inaugurating a cancer centre. I told you that cancer can be prevented if you undergo regular medical tests. I was alert and took a colonoscopy test. I said that non-cancerous polyps were detected and removed. I only said, 'If I hadn't done the test first, it would have turned out to be cancer'. That's why everyone should take precautions and undergo medical tests/screening', I only said. The actor blamed a few media organisations for irresponsible reporting. He further mentioned, "But some media organisations did not understand this properly and started scrolling and web articles saying 'I got cancer' and 'I survived due to treatment'. This has caused unnecessary confusion. Many well wishers are sending messages about my health. This clarification is for all of them. Also an appeal to such journalists. Don't write nonsense without understanding the subject. Because of this, many people are scared and hurt." On the work front, Chiranjeevi was last seen in 'Waltair Veerayya' and has 'Bholaa Shankar' in the pipeline. The movie will see Keerthy Suresh as his sister while Tamannaah Bhatia will be seen romancing the Telugu megastar. Singapore, June 4 : The defence chiefs of South Korea and Germany held talks in Singapore on Sunday to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in the arms industry and other security areas, Seoul's Defence Ministry said. Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup and his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, held the talks on the margins of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, as the two countries mark the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year, Yonhap news agency reported. The ministers noted that the two countries are traditionally friendly countries that have maintained cooperative relations for a long period, and agreed to strengthen defense cooperation for the "rules-based order", it said. They also agreed to continue military cooperation, such as joint participation in multinational exercises, it added. Lee thanked Pistorius for Germany's efforts for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, such as its participation in international efforts to implement UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea, and asked for its continued support, according to the ministry. It marked the first meeting between the two countries' defence chiefs since May 2021. Beginning Sunday, TAQA Arabia's shares will be included in the EGX database under the ticker symbol (TAQA.CA) and will be assigned to the utilities sector, according to the EGX. The EGX authorized the listing of 1.35 billion shares on Sunday. The listed shares have a total value of approximately EGP 676.2 million (nearly $22 million), or EGP 0.5 per share. Proceeding from Cairo, we are keen on scaling up our investments, services and project portfolio in Egypt and the region. This requires finding sources of financing and increasing the groups capital in the coming period, said the Chairman of TAQA Arabia, Khaled Abu Bakr. EGX awaits the Financial Regulatory Authoritys (FRA) approval on TAQA's disclosure report within six months of listing before trading its shares. TAQA Arabia, a Cairo-based Qalaa Holdings subsidiary, serves over 1.7 million customers in 50 Egyptian cities with energy and utility services, including natural gas, electricity, renewable energy, petroleum products, and water. It builds, runs, and upkeeps energy infrastructure, including gas transmission and distribution, in eight Egyptian governorates. EGX Chairman Ramy El-Dokany said last week that an energy company would soon be listed on the market. Egypt's privatization programme Under an economic reform programme with the IMF, Egypt is privatizing 32 state-owned companies in 18 sectors to strategic investors within a year. Unnamed investors recently purchased shares of already-listed companies. A 10 percent share of Telecom Egypt and a 7.8 percent stake in the Housing and Development Bank were sold. NI Capital CEO Mohamed Metwally announced in May that Egypt would offer two state-owned companies for investment before the end of the FY. Egypt is in an EFF programme with the IMF, which allows it to receive $3 billion over four years. The programme's first review has been delayed until June as Egypt works to meet its commitments under the deal. Search Keywords: Short link: Singapore, June 4 : South Korea and Japan agreed on Sunday to craft measures to prevent the recurrence of a yearslong military dispute, involving their maritime operations, Seoul's defence chief said, in the latest effort to improve bilateral relations. After his talks with his Japanese counterpart, Yasukazu Hamada, in Singapore, Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup said the two sides will hold working-level talks to address the issue -- still a lingering irritant in bilateral defence cooperation, Yonhap news agency reported. The dispute flared up in December 2018, when a Japanese maritime patrol aircraft made an unusually low-altitude flyby over a South Korean warship. Seoul has decried the plane's approach as a "menacing" flight, while Tokyo has accused the South Korean vessel of having locked its fire-control radar on the plane. "Regarding the issue, (we) agreed to resolve it by starting working-level talks and placing a focus on coming up with measures to prevent its recurrence," Lee said. The two countries' positions on the issue remain unchanged, but they agreed to focus on formulating measures to prevent such an incident from happening again, a senior Seoul official told reporters, requesting anonymity. The first defence ministerial talks between the countries since November 2019 came amid recent efforts to mend bilateral ties strained over long-running historical spats stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea. Their relations have recently taken a turn for the better after Seoul's decision in March to compensate Korean victims of Japanese wartime forced labour on its own without asking for contributions from Japanese firms. During the talks, the two ministers agreed on the importance of further advancing security cooperation between their countries, as well as trilaterally with their shared ally, the US, to deter and respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, according to Seoul's Defence Ministry. On Saturday, Lee and Hamada held trilateral talks with their US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, on a range of issues, including trilateral cooperation against the security challenge that the North poses. Lee and Hamada also "strongly condemned" Pyongyang's launch of a "long-range ballistic missile under the guise of a so-called satellite" last week as a "grave" violation of UN Security Council resolutions banning any launch using ballistic missile technology, the ministry said. The North carried out the failed yet defiant launch of a purported space rocket Wednesday. Lee and Hamada also agreed that the two countries' defence authorities will continue close communication to enhance security cooperation, citing their leaders' agreement to develop bilateral ties to another level, the ministry added. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited Tokyo in March for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Kishida visited Seoul last month, resuming so-called shuttle diplomacy between the two countries' leaders after 12 years. Chandigarh, June 4 : Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP from Punjab Vikramjit Singh Sahney on Sunday demanded that all government documents pertaining to 'Operation Bluestar' be de-classified. In a message to the Prime Minister's Office and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Sahney urged them that the files should be made accessible. 'Operation Bluestar' was a military action ordered by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to flush out militants led by Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale holed up in the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar. Sahney has been helping stranded Punjabi women to return from Oman in Muscat. Describing 'Operation Bluestar' as the utmost human rights violation, with brutal killings of thousands and the rampage of the holy sanctum at Harmandir Sahib and the highest seat of Sikhism, Akal Takht Sahib, Sahney in a statement here, said the destruction of the museum and the Toshakhana of the Golden Temple caused loss of precious scriptures and records relevant to "our lineage and history". Sahney said the only "justice for this heinous crime would be to know the truth, for which it is imperative that all pertaining documents be declassified". "Thirty-nine years is a long time to avert the truth behind Operation Bluestar. It (declassification) is only the way to unlock and bring to task the culprits responsible," he added. Sahney, while stressing on the sensitivity of the impact of the release of details about 'Operation Bluestar', said: "We cannot forget that 39 years have passed and though it is impossible to forget what has occurred, however, the truths with the unveiling of documents will shed a better understanding of what conspired to lead to this extraordinary military operation at the holy Sri Harmandir Sahib." 'Operation Bluestar' was carried out between June 1 and 8, 1984, and claimed several lives and left the shrine and complex damaged. This time, keeping in view of the "Operation Bluestar" anniversary that falls on June 6, Punjab Police have beefed up the security across the state to ensure peaceful observance of the day. Police teams have been conducting flag marches in sensitive and vulnerable areas as a measure to instill confidence among the public in all 28 police districts, officials said. Islamabad, June 4 : Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has summoned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, on June 7 for the investigations of the 190 million pounds settlement case related to the transfer of funds from Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) account, the media reported on Sunday. As per details, NAB Rawalpindi has summoned the former first lady to record her statement as a witness for being the trustee of the Al-Qadir University Trust, while the former Pak Prime Minister has been called by the combined investigation team (CIT) of the anti-graft watchdog, The News reported. The sources said that the CIT was not satisfied with the PTI chief's reply which he submitted during his last appearance before NAB, Rawalpindi, on May 23. They said that the former premier had been directed to answer the questionnaire on June 7, given to him on May 23, the media reported on Sunday. The law binds NAB, which is an autonomous anti-corruption body, to inform -- whoever it is summoning -- whether they are being summoned as an accused or a witness to record the statement, The News reported. Following the procedure, the NAB's CIT has already recorded the statements of ministers of the previous government. The body has also asked for the records of all the donations received from Al-Qadir University Trust and those who donated. It may be noted that an accountability court had granted bail to the PTI chief in the corruption case till June 19 last week after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed him to approach the relevant forum for bail. Meanwhile, the NAB officials had informed the court that Bushra Bibi's arrest was not required in the case but she should cooperate with the anti-graft body whenever summoned for investigations. Chennai, June 4 : Three of the eight Tamil Nadu residents, who had reserved tickets in Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express that met with an accident in Odisha's Balasore on Friday, leaving at least 275 dead, have been traced, officials said on Sunday. Earlier, the Tamil Nadu government, in a statement, said that it has no information of 8 people of the 127 people from the state who had reserved tickets on the train. Two of the traced persons were identified are Narayani Gopi, 34, and A. Jagadeesan, 47 from Tamil Nadu. Another man, Kamal, who had also booked a ticket in the Coramandel Express, was found to have not boarded the train on that day. This leaves five persons from Tamil Nadu who are yet to be traced. These were identified as Karthik, 19, Raghunath, 19, and Arun, 21 (all males), and Meena, 66, Kalpana, 19, (both females). The Tamil Nadu government has requested the relatives of these people to contact the helpline numbers: 044-28593990, 9445869843. Meanwhile, the Odisha Chief Secretary told media persons that the number of total dead has been revised to 275, following detection of double entries, and out of these, 88 bodies have been identified. The Chennai-bound, Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel express met with an accident near the Bahanaga Baazar station in Balasore district in Odisha. The Bengaluru-Howrah super fast Express and a goods train was also involved in the accident leading to huge casualties. Rohtak : , June 4 (IANS) Senior Congress leader and two-time Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda on Sunday paid tribute to Sant Kabir Das on his Jayanti, saying he not only fought against social evils but also taught the lesson of humanity and love to the world. "Sant Kabir is our guide. Hindus and Muslims considered him as their own. In fact, Saint Kabir was a human being who is respected by every human being," he said. Paying tribute to those who lost their lives in the horrific train accident in Odisha, Hooda, addressing a public meeting here, said: "We believe every political party should take inspiration from the philosophy of Kabir Das when it formulates its policies so that the participation of the deprived sections can be ensured at every level." Hooda, who is currently the Leader of Opposition, said the Congress always gave priority to the welfare of the Scheduled Castes, backward classes and the poor in society. "Many schemes were started to empower the poor, the Scheduled Castes, backward sections. The previous Congress government has set up schools in every village and locality to educate their children." "We also started scholarship scheme for 20 lakh children from class 1 to 12. After this, arrangements were made for scholarship up to Rs 14,000 per month in higher education as well. But this government has stopped all schemes meant for the poor. It has privatised education and raised fees of higher education institutions. The fees in medical colleges have gone beyond the reach even for the middleclass students." Eyeing the Lok Sabha and the state assembly elections slated in 2024, Hooda assured that after the Congress government is formed in the state, there will be new recruitment of sanitation workers and the present one would also be confirmed. "The MSP (minimum support price) will be given to farmers by adding 50 per cent profit on the cost. When the Congress government is formed, all welfare schemes will be restarted again and the backlog of jobs will be filled," he assured. State Congress unit President Udaibhan said with the formation of the Congress government in Haryana, the old pension scheme of the employees would be implemented. "This government has cut pensions and ration cards. They would be restored again. We will provide a pension of Rs 6,000 to the elderly and 300 units of electricity will be given to all free of cost. It is our resolve that we will restart the scheme of giving free plots of 100 yards each to the poor and will allot two-room houses on it," he announced. He said domestic gas cylinders would be given to every housewife for Rs 500, besides filling 2 lakh government vacant posts. Los Angeles, June 4 : Actress-director Greta Gerwig has compared the 'Barbie' movie to disco music. The 39-year-old filmmaker was inspired by musicals such as 'The Wizard of Oz' when it came to her tale about the beloved Mattel doll, and she hopes it gives audiences a fun, communal experience in the same way as the popular 1970s musical style, reports 'Female First UK'. She told 'Total Film' magazine: "Basically, the assumption of disco is that when people get together, what they want to do is dance. I feel like that's really optimistic for a musical genre. And I feel like 'Barbie' is the same way". The movie was shot on the Warner Bros. lot in Leavesden and lead star Margot Robbie was amazed at how many people working on site would "gravitate" towards their studio in the hope of catching a glimpse at a scene. She said, quoted by 'Female First UK': "You've never seen so many grown men find excuses to come to set. Everyone would gravitate towards it. I mean, 'Fast + Furious' was shooting at the same studio and they would all come over to look. Our crew was made up of extraordinarily talented people who've seen the greatest sets in the world and they would tear up. Everyone was so excited". Greta previously admitted she feared making the film would end her career. Speaking to Dua Lipa on the 'At Your Service' podcast, Greta, 39, said: "It was something that was exciting because it was terrifying. I think that was a big part of it, like: 'Oh, no, Barbie'. It felt like vertigo, starting to write it, like: 'Where do you even begin, and what would be the story?' And I think it was that feeling I had knowing that it would be really interesting terror. Usually that's where the best stuff is, where you're like, 'I am terrified of that'." "Anything where you're like, 'This could be a career-ender', then you're like, 'I should probably do it'," she added. Singapore, June 4 : Accusing "some countries" of fuelling an arms race in Asia, China's Defence Minister, General Li Shangfu on Sunday warned that a war between his country and the US would be an "unbearable disaster" for the world, media reports said. In his address at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore - his first major speech since taking the post in March, he stressed that the world was big enough for both China and the US, and the two superpowers should seek common ground, the BBC reported. Gen Li also accused the US of a "Cold War mentality" and said this was "greatly increasing security risks". He also highlighted that China would not allow naval patrols by the US and its allies to be "a pretext to exercise hegemony of navigation". His statement came after the US on Saturday alleged "unsafe" manoeuvres by a Chinese destroyer near a US warship transiting the Taiwan Strait with Canadian vessels. China criticised both countries for "deliberately provoking risk" but the US and Canada said they were sailing where international law allows. Asked about the incident, Gen Li said only that countries from outside the region were raising tensions. With Beijing declining a US request for direct military talks in protest at sanctions placed on Gen Li by the US in 2018, US Defence Secretary, Gen Lloyd Austin and Gen Li shook hands and briefly spoke at the event's opening dinner on Friday, but there was no substantive exchange, the BBC said, citing reports. New Delhi, June 4 : External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday arrived in Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia, on a three-day visit. This is the first-ever visit by an Indian External Affairs Minister to Namibia. "Arrived in Windhoek. Thank Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of Namibia, Jenelly Matundu for receiving me so warmly," Jaishankar tweeted after his arrival. "Look forward to a productive visit that takes our time-tested ties forward," he added further. During the visit, the external affairs minister will call on the top leadership of the country and also meet with other ministers of the government. Official sources said that Jaishankar will also co-chair the inaugural session of the joint commission meeting with the Namibian deputy prime minister and foreign minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. He will also interact with the Indian diaspora based in Namibia. The minister in the first leg of his tour, had visited South Africa from June 1 to 3, where he had attended the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting. New Delhi, June 4 : External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday thanked US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken for expressing support and sympathy on the Odisha train tragedy. Blinken in a telephone call to Jaishankar, expressed support for the tragic incident Odisha's Balasore district in which more than 270 people died. "Thank @SecBlinken for the phone call expressing his support and sympathy on the Odisha railway accident. Such sentiments are deeply valued at this difficult time," Jaishankar said in a tweet. Earlier, Blinken had also expressed condolences to the families of the victims of the accident, which occurred on June 2. "We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the devastating train crash in the Indian state of Odisha. As we watch the heroic efforts of first responders and medical personnel, we stand with the people of India in this tragic moment," Blinken had tweeted. Several world leaders, including US President Joe Biden have condoled the incident. Imphal, June 4 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was on a four-day visit to ethnic violence hit Manipur last week, on Sunday appealed to the people of the state to lift the blockades from National Highway-2 so that essential items, transport fuel and medicines can be ferried to the state without any troubles. Meanwhile, in a fresh incident of violence, alleged Kuki militants burnt down the residence of sitting Congress MLA and former minister K. Ranjit in Kakching district late on Saturday night. Urging the people to withdraw the road blockade, Shah tweeted: "My sincerest appeal to the people of Manipur is to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur, NH-2 Highway, so that food, medicines, petrol, diesel, and other necessary items can reach the people. "I also request that Civil Society Organisations do the needful in bringing consensus. Together only we can restore normalcy in this beautiful state." Landlocked Manipur has two vital National Highways -- Imphal-Dimapur (through Nagaland) and Imphal-Jiribam (through southern Assam) - to ferry essentials, food grains, transport fuel, cooking gas, medicines and other materials from different parts of the country. Demanding a separate Kuki land in Manipur, suspected cadres of Kuki militants and their over ground supporters often blockaded the two National Highways, especially the Imphal-Dimapur highways leading to a serious problem of transporting essentials from outside the state. Meanwhile, police officials in Imphal said on Sunday that suspected armed Kuki militants set ablaze the residence of Congress MLA Ranjit at Serou in Kakching district late on Saturday night. Massive combing operations are underway following the attack on the residence of the MLA. The Kuki militants reportedly often attacked the villages inhabited by the people belonging to Meitei communities leading to the villagers completely abandoning the villages and most people were taking shelter at Sugnu, Kakching and other places in Thoubal district. A peace mission team led by Municipal Administration, Housing and Urban Development Minister Y. Khemchandra had been camping in the area since Saturday to help in restoring peace and normalcy. The Army, Assam Rifles, various Central Armed Police Force, state police and Manipur Rifles personnel have continued their vigil and operations in all the 11 trouble-torn districts. Officials said that curfew was relaxed for 7-12 hours in most of the districts, including Imphal West and Imphal East districts. Tamenglong, Noney, Senapati, Ukhrul, and Kamjong districts are not under curfew, currently. Police said that except the Kakching district incident, no major violent incident has been reported in the last 24 hours. Against the backdrop of the cultural price that Cairo is paying to build new highways, the question of the balance between conservation and modernisation is again being raised. It all started in June 2014 when the government announced an ambitious plan in multiple phases to improve the performance of the roads in Cairo, either by widening existing ones or by creating new highways, flyovers, and corridors. The objective of this plan, according to the government, was to spare the capital from its reputation as a city of tough traffic in order to entice new investments. As the government statement indicated, the new roads would cut through some segments of the older quarters of the city, though it did not announce the specific details. However, some timid voices spoke of the possibly harmful impact of this scheme on the urban fabric of a significant part of Cairo, namely the citys cemeteries in the City of the Dead. We are talking about a part of the city that has layers and layers of history, parts of which date back over 10 centuries, said one source who is a former member of a government body that examined the proposed plans at an early stage. I was accused of being an alarmist when I said during one of the public meetings that were held to discuss the plan that this was going to be damaging. But today we are helpless witnesses to the possible elimination of large chunks of the old cemeteries, some of which date back to the early years of Arab rule, making them older than Cairo as established by the Fatimids in the 10th century CE, the source said. According to the same source, the plan proposed in 2014 that has recently entered a crucial phase of implementation with the demolition of cemeteries in the Imam Shafei and Imam Leithi and Sayeda Nafisa and Sayeda Aisha areas was in fact a slightly upgraded version of a scheme originally proposed in 2008 as part of what was labelled Cairo 2050. The source explained that this vision was promoted as a scheme to make Cairo a modern city. Right from the start this was problematic. Cairo is an old city with old and modern quarters, the source said, adding that the concept of global, green and connected city that was offered as the base for this vision sounded nice but in reality it included some really problematic proposals, including what we are seeing now with the demolition of large segments of the oldest cemeteries in the city. According to a source at the Ministry of Housing, when the plan got picked up again and was sent to government bodies for revision, apprehensions were voiced at many levels. Part of these related to the historic value of this part of the city. Another part related to the fact that this is included in the UN cultural agency UNESCOs list of heritage sites in Egypt. However, the apprehensions of conservators were firmly silenced in favour of what was promised as the overdue modernisation of a city that is over-crowded and has chronic traffic problems said to be intimidating to visitors and investors alike. Allocations were made for the construction of new traffic corridors across Greater Cairo, with the eastern part of the city being the main venue, especially with the parallel construction of the New Administrative Capital between Cairo and Ain Sokhna. The construction of flyovers in Heliopolis and Nasr City in the east of Cairo at the expense of cutting down a large number of trees, some of which were close to 100 years old, and the ripping up of the tram lines that for close to a century had carried passengers in and out of Heliopolis were done as necessary for modernisation to the dismay of residents of these neighbourhoods. They saw radical changes in the urban fabric of this part of Cairo that was built in the early decades of the 20th century, with Nasr City having initially been constructed as an administrative quarter of the capital. It was totally damaging, what happened in the east of Cairo, and not just in Heliopolis. Several neighbourhoods have lost their identity for good as they have all turned into being an extended series of districts overshadowed with flyovers, said Michel Hannah, who has been documenting the architecture of the city for two consecutive decades. He said that the damage that hit eastern Cairo in order to resolve the traffic congestion could be compared to the devastating demolitions that have been hitting the old cemeteries of Cairo under the banner of modernisation. A CORRIDOR TO HEAVEN? The debate over the relaunched Cairo 2050 scheme continued at low volume until the summer of 2020, when the government started to remove segments of the cemeteries of Al-Ghafeer to construct the Mehwar Al-Fardos (Heaven Corridor), a nine-km highway, with flyovers, that connects the east of Cairo to New Cairo on the way to the new capital. Ahead of the demolitions, Galila Al-Kadi, a professor of architecture and a leading conservation architect, tried to garner public support against a demolition campaign that she argued was violating the history of the city, its visual identity, and its urban fabric. But she failed to reverse the demolitions that forever removed some unique items of contemporary funerary architecture. In response, government officials stressed that no registered monuments were demolished. They added that it was impossible to leave the notorious traffic jams of Cairo unresolved. The demolitions executed in 2020, they argued, had also not been unprecedented given that previous demolitions had occurred since the late 19th century to allow for the construction of new roads. The city has to modernise, they said in statements. But the author of Architecture for the Dead: Cairos Medieval Necropolis, Al-Kadi argued that it made no sense to compromise what amounts to 14 centuries of history, irrespective of what is registered and what is not, in order to create traffic corridors that cut through the city. Nairy Hampikian, an architect who had renovated many of Cairos monuments and architectural gems, argued that what might have been unavoidable over a century ago or even 50 years ago could have at least been partially avoidable now with new techniques that could have allowed for the dismantling and reassembling of at least some of the buildings concerned. At the very least, Hampikian said, there should have been a proper survey to allow government and concerned historians and conservationists to know what is really there [irrespective of] what is registered and what is not, because this is history and because we are talking about a space that holds so many types of architecture, including Neo-Pharaonic and Neo-Islamic. May Al-Ibrashi, an architect whose work encourages civil society-led preservation and conservation, lamented the failure of the campaign to stop the many changes that she said were coming at a very heavy price to serve a purpose that could have been addressed outside the mediaeval city. This is the second decade of the 21st century; cities with traffic issues do not knock down historic parts but opt for public transport solutions instead, she said. The fact that the 2020 demolitions encroached on the tombs of leading 20th-century political and cultural figures and the personal tombs of citizens who were shattered by the removal of the remains of loved ones gave a strong momentum to the considerable public furore. However, this had no impact on the scheme. The demolitions were all done in the public interest, the government insisted. In 2022, the tomb of prominent literary figure Taha Hussein narrowly escaped demolition after an uproar initiated by a statement from the family expressing their shock over plans for demolition to allow for the construction of yet more flyovers in the Yasser Rizk Corridor. The cemetery was spared, but it is now there with a peculiar flyover hanging over it; it is just unbelievable, said Mustafa Al-Sadek, a connoisseur of history who has been walking the roads of the city and taking pictures of its monuments, cemeteries included, for close to three decades. The tombs of many cultural, political, and military figures have gone, especially over recent weeks, he said. Our history is there, with these monuments that tell the real stories that are often either inaccurate or incomplete in the authorised versions promoted in the school curricula or the media, Al-Sadek said. It is not just political history, but also social history and the history of art. The shock and dismay that Al-Sadek felt with the demolitions of 2020 and those of 2022 is nowhere near the devastation that hit him during recent weeks with the new demolitions, however. These are much more aggressive and much more damaging, both in terms of scope and value, he said. Just this week, Al-Sadek in the company of a group of keen history enthusiasts came across a tombstone that dates to 1,200 years ago. They managed to spare it from the clutches of the bulldozers and to transfer it to the concerned authority in the hope of having it displayed in the Museum of Islamic Art. We know what we miraculously saved, but we dont know what we did not save, he said. It is so troubling to think that the Rosetta Stone itself was just part of a wall. If that had been knocked down unexcavated, what would have happened regarding the decipherment of hieroglyphics, he asked. Al-Sadek insists that the worry is strictly apolitical. Nobody is deliberately picking a fight over government plans, and nobody wants this to turn into a political issue; this is strictly a matter of history and of the need to find a way to avoid having history compromised under the name of modernisation, he said. An architect and expert on planning, Amr Essam argues that the experience of the Heaven Corridor shows that the expansion of roads does not resolve traffic issues but rather the opposite, as it drags the city into the induced demand effect whereby more roads does not mean less traffic but rather more vehicles. Cairo is undeniably a big city with big traffic issues, but this is not exactly a function of a shortage of roads but rather a function of inefficient traffic management and inefficient public transport, Essam said. Statistically speaking, only 13 per cent of Cairo households have private cars, while unofficial public transport, which is mostly highly polluting and hazardous minibuses, count for over 60 per cent of overall public transport, he said. This is a result of the 1967 defeat that compromised public spending on infrastructure in favour of perfectly legitimate military spending and of the Open Door policy adopted after the 1973 October Crossing whereby the government stopped providing public services without allowing for efficient private-sector replacements. At a time of major economic challenges, cheaper microbuses have become the transport of choice for many over the metro, which is still falling short of covering the required segments of the city and whose fares have become quite costly for more and more people over the past few years. The call of the public interest, Essam argued, could be legitimate, but it is equally legitimate to work on serving it without compromising the history of the city that is also part of the public interest. There are many alternative solutions including introducing an unobtrusive public transport network, like the super tram, or building tunnels. These are options that would not have caused any of the shocking damage we have seen to the historic cemeteries, he said. There are options that might have required more time or more funding, but it would have certainly been worthwhile because creating a balance between conservation and modernisation deserves time and money. DE-HISTORICISATION: According to Marwa Abdel-Gawad, a PhD student in the history of architecture, erasing parts of the layered story of Cairo is not just troubling from the point of view of conservation, but it could also challenge the inclusion of the old parts of the city in the UNESCO World Heritage List. About a year ago, UNESCO removed the Liverpool commercial harbour from its List because it found that the development projects there undermined a big part of its historic nature, she said. However, what is being lost today in Cairo is a lot more precious in many ways. For example, the tombstones were among the few remaining sources to document the evolution of Arabic calligraphy as it has been practiced in Egypt for 14 centuries, she stated. Calligrapher Mahmoud Atef has spent long hours tracing the marvels of Arabic calligraphy on the tombstones of Cairos City of the Dead. But today, he said that priceless pieces and an unexcavated wealth of knowledge are disappearing. So many diverse types of calligraphy and the living record of centuries of the evolution of calligraphy, and the cultural and social norms behind it, are being lost, he lamented. This, he said, was shocking in a country with a long history of calligraphy, even prior to the Mameluke years and the time of the khedive Ismail and the Royal School of Arabic Calligraphy that was established under king Fouad in 1922. Over 10 years ago, Mohamed Shafei graduated from this school to add academic knowledge to a profession that has been running in his family for decades, with a grandfather and great grandfather who contributed to the calligraphy on the tombstones of successive generations of top politicians and prominent characters. His long strolls in the spacious areas of the old cemeteries of Cairo have often put him face to face, not just with his family legacy, but also with the legacy of Arabic calligraphy in Egypt. With limited resources on the history of Arabic calligraphy, the cemeteries constituted a wealth of knowledge, he said. Shafei has invested the last five years to studying the calligraphy engraved on the tombstones of the old cemeteries during the 19th and 20th centuries. The findings of this study supported by the Institut francais darcheologie orientale will be published this year along with a set of photographs that Shafei is grateful he managed to capture before so much was demolished. I was hoping to do a lot more, but so much is gone, he said. Today, as the bulldozers continue to erase segments of the city, Shafei is among the passionate enthusiasts who are racing against time to capture whatever they can. Hossam Abdel-Azim, founder of Witnesses of Egypt, which started as a volunteer conservation scheme to clean historic sites before it turned into a documentation mission, also said that he is racing against time not just to document this history but also to rescue some significant pieces before or right after demolition. Just this week, Abdel-Azim and his team managed to reassemble a fractured tombstone and to give the pieces to the competent authority for restoration and eventual display. We are trying to move ahead of the demolition teams to rescue and document, but ultimately we are a small group of volunteers and we are not able to cover everything that is there, he said. Eventually, he added, the documentation will be made available in the public domain in many formats. According to Hannah, it is devastating that all the documentation that has been done has been voluntary. One day, some institution should allow all the photographs and videos that have been gathered by different groups and individuals to come together in memory of the city. * A version of this article appears in print in the 1 June, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Kolkata, June 4 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday put the updated death figure of persons from the state following the terrible train accident at Bahanaga railway station in Odisha's Balasore districtAon Friday evening at 62. "A total of 182 bodies are yet to be identified. We have circulated the photos in all the districts. The death count from the state might increase after the identification process is over," she told newspersons at a hurriedly convened press conference here. She expressed doubts if the names of those travelling in unreserved compartments are readily available with the Railways. "That list is yet to reach the state government. So in due course the casualty figure from Bengal might rise," she said. Banerjee also alleged that it seems that the Union government is trying to fudge the actual casualty figure. "In our calculation while the casualty figure is increasing, the Union government claims it to be decreasing. And now BJP has started a new political game by projecting the death figures in railway accidents when Nitish Kumar or Lalu Prasad Yadav or me were the Railways Minister," she said. Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress leadership has claimed that the recommendation of the Railways Board for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation on the Balasore train accident might be another ploy to hush up the real reasons behind the tragedy. "The credibility of central agencies like CBI is so low now as they are being used as tools against the opposition parties by the Union government. So we are having no faith in the CBI probe," a party leader said. BJP state President Sukanta Majumdar, however, said that since there are doubts of sabotage behind the accident, a necessity has arisen for a central agency probe in the matter. New Delhi, June 4 : Around 100 girls and teachers were rescued through the roof after a fire broke out at a madarsa-cum-hostel in east Delhi on Sunday evening, a fire department official said. Delhi Fire Service (DFS) Director Atul Garg said that at 5.41 p.m., a call regarding a fire in a metre at a madarsa in Gali no-6, New Brijpuri near Jagatpuri police station was received and a total of 17 fire tenders were been rushed to the spot. "Madarsa fire has been doused completely. It was madarsa-cum-hostel and around 100 girls and teachers were there... all were safely rescued/evacuted through roof to other buildings. There were two cylinders blasts leading to two firemen getting injured," he said. "As the road was very narrow, the fire tenders also faced difficulties to reach the scene. Building comprised of ground plus five floors and the fire was restricted only on ground floor by team DFS otherwise it would have been a disaster if it spread to the upper floors," Garg added. New Delhi, June 4 : The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has recovered around 10 kg gold valued at Rs 6.2 crore in two separate seizures, an official said on Sunday, adding four persons were also apprehended in this connection. An official said the first case involved three air passengers who were apprehended with 8 kg of gold at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. "The passengers arrived at Mumbai Airport from Sharjah on an Air India Express flight. They were intercepted based on profiling. During the examination, officials recovered eight gold bars with foreign markings, weighing eight kg, valued at Rs 4.94 crore, concealed inside their clothes around their waist. Later, their associate was also apprehended," the official stated. In the second case, an Indian national who arrived at Mumbai Airport from Dubai was found in possession of 2 kg of gold. "The gold valued at Rs 1.23 crore was recovered from the individual," the official said. The official added the second seizure involved a well-educated individual who was directly involved in planning and executing the gold smuggling. New Delhi, June 4 : Olympian wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat met Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence to discuss the matter related to their protest against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) boss. "They shared their concern with the Home Minister. The meeting was long and he listened to everything. But koi decision nhi hua abhi tak (no decision has been reached so far)," a source close to the wrestlers told IANS. Bajrang, Sakshi and Vinesh are leading the protest by the wrestlers at Jantar Mantar in Delhi since April accusing the sidelined president of the WFI, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment against many wrestlers including a minor. The protesting wrestlers were manhandled and detained by Delhi Police and their arrangements at the protest site were dismantled. The wrestlers had gone to Haridwar claiming that they want to drop their medals in the river Ganga. With many people requesting them, they decided to hand over the medals to the farmers' leaders to take a call. The wrestlers will soon take a call on where to resume their protest. New Delhi/Dimapur, June 4 : They are already calling it a low-intensity breakthrough but with big ramifications. The surrender of 39 militants of Adivasi People's Liberation Army (APLA) at Bokajan in Assam on June 2 was a major breakthrough from a security and strategic point of view in more ways than one. This 'achievement' will leave recurring benefits in months to come for security forces and police in key northeastern states. "Not only outfits and extortion gangs in Assam, even groups in Nagaland and Manipur will feel the pinch of this breakthrough," sources said. The episode highlights what was being apprehended for decades now. Militancy in northeast or states such as Assam and Nagaland are no longer confined to mere anti-India insurgency. The operatives have started establishing working relations with Maoist groups in far off Jharkhand and this has only added complexity to the challenges. The APLA was formed in 2004 to 'work' for tea tribe communities. The group has been demanding Scheduled Tribe status for tea-tribe communities in Assam and also took up Robindhood style roles and engaged themselves in launching schools for children and ensuring 'Land Pattas' for the community people. Sources say one round of surrender by Adivasi National Liberation Army (ANLA) in 2012 was important but the community's unrest remained unabated. Sahil Munda took up the rebellion with his gang and slowly it approached the Jharkhand-based Maoist organisation, People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI). The assistance and coordination was so smooth that PLFI -Assam unit was set up and the group became active. But more than indulging in violence or other militancy-related activities, the PLFI - Assam unit focused on arms smuggling and this involved good flow of cash. The group also got active in extortion in the Khatkhati area of Karbianglong region and also Assam-Nagaland border. Notably, Sahil Munda could enlist active cooperation and support from two other fellow comrades from ANLA - Agustine Gogoi and Vijay Sona. They formalised the designations among themselves with Munda becoming Commander in chief, Augustine Deputy Commander in chief and Vijay Sona became chairman of APLA. "As the extortion and arms smuggling operations mainly focused along the Nagaland-Assam border, Assam Rifles established strong coordination with Assam police and gradually mounted pressure on the wrongdoers," a source told this journalist. Sahil Munda reportedly tried to explore avenues for striking deals with security forces and approached Golaghat police in Assam. But in March 2022 he was apprehended by Assam police. A few weeks later on April 10, 2022, three more APLA militants were arrested. However, after Munda was released on bail he went missing. Sources further said Agustine Gogoi took up another identity under the name of Amar Singh Karmakar and reportedly even "engaged in friendship with the NSCN-IM". In between security forces got inputs that Sahil Munda had got in touch with another Naga group -- the NSCN-led by Nikki Sumi and was possibly 'hiding' with their support. The efforts of security forces to trace him at the Nikki Sumi camp proved futile. Either the inputs were wrong or Sahil had moved out fearing arrest by security forces. "In the meantime, officers and personnel of 43 Assam Rifles got active and could sustain more pressure on APLA leadership and cadres as the arms smuggling along Nagaland-Assam border was check-mated. "Things followed according to script and finally on June 2, 39 APLA militant leaders and cadres laid down arms before authorities," the source added. On June 2, the surrendered militants also laid down a total of 31 weapons including 3 AK series Rifles, 19 Pistols, 5 other rifles, 2 grenades and assorted live ammunition today and have chosen a path of peace and prosperity under 'operation Samarpan'. An official said the anti-insurgency crack team from Assam Rifles under the aegis of Inspector General Assam Rifles (North) Maj Gen Vikas Lakhera and Spear Corps in conjunction with Assam Police, through their relentless efforts "have successfully pursued homecoming of 39 active cadres of Adivasi People's Liberation Army (APLA)". "Assam Rifles compliment the youth for this decision and impress upon all those who have chosen the wrong path to return into the mainstream and live a happy and peaceful life. Families of the surrendered cadres expressed their gratitude to the Security Forces for bringing their loved ones back to the family safely," an official release said. (Nirendra Dev is a New Delhi-based journalist. He is also author of the books 'The Talking Guns: North East India', and 'Modi to Moditva: An Uncensored Truth'. Views expressed are personal) Hyderabad, June 5 : A spectacular drone show by Cyberabad police with 500 drones at Durgam Cheruvu in the IT cluster of Hitec City on Sunday night left the citizens spellbound. To mark the decennial celebrations of the formation of Telangana state, the police organised a drone show involving 50 drones. In a visual treat to hundreds of onlookers, the dark skies over the lake were illuminated in multiple hues to depict the flagship projects of the state government and the police department. The drones were used to create images of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, the recently inaugurated statue of B.R. Ambedkar and the Telangana Martyrs' Memorial coming up in the city. The drones from Boatlab Dynamics were flown in perfect sync through a pre-programmed algorithm. Minister for Information Technology K.T. Rama Rao was all praise for the police department. "Great job and we may need to do this more often now," the minister tweeted. The drone show was conducted on the occasion of 'Surksha Diwas' celebrated as part of the 21-day decennial celebrations. The police organised rallies across the state displaying its patrolling vehicles, fire fighting vehicles, other equipment and showcasing various initiatives taken to maintain law and order with friendly policing. Home Minister Mohammed Mehmood Ali, who launched a rally on Tank Bund in the heart of Hyderabad, claimed that Telangana Police have become number one in the country in terms of the performance of police forces. Paris, June 5 : Former World No.3 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and former Roland Garros runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova advanced to the women's singles quarterfinals at the French Open on Sunday, scoring contrasting wins here. Svitoline continued her remarkable run in Paris, defeating No.9 seed Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 7-5(5) to advance to the quarterfinals. The victory put the 28-year-old Ukrainian into her first Slam quarterfinal in just her fifth tour-level event since her return from maternity leave. Pavlyuchenkova became the lowest-ranked French Open quarterfinalist in the Open Era after defeating Elise Mertens, coming back from a set and a break down. After giving birth to her daughter Skai last October, Svitolina returned to competition earlier this spring in Charleston. After starting her season 0-3 at the tour level, Svitolina caught fire in her fourth tournament back, storming to her 17th career title in Strasbourg. By making her fourth French Open quarterfinal and first, since 2020, Svitolina extended her win streak to eight matches. Svitolina will face either No.2 Aryna Sabalenka or 2018 finalist Sloane Stephens in the quarterfinals. Svitolina's victory is the 35th Top 10 win of her career on the Hologic WTA Tour. It also extended her dominant head-to-head record over Kasatkina to 7-0. A semifinalist in Paris last year, Kasatkina was bidding to advance to her fourth major quarterfinal. Svitolina raced to a 4-1 lead in the first set before Kasatkina, 11 unforced errors in the first five games, settled down and closed the gap to 4-3. However, Svitolina came through a tight deuce game to hold and extend her lead to 5-3 and then served out the set, winning a cagey 29-shot baseline rally to earn her first set point. The second set went on the same lines as Svitoline sealed her place in the last eight. Pavlyuchenkova faced a tougher fight against Mertens. The result puts Pavlyuchenkova, the 2021 runner-up, into her eighth career Grand Slam quarterfinal and third in Paris. Currently ranked No.333 as she makes her way back from a knee injury that sidelined her for most of 2022, the 31-year-old is the lowest-placed Roland Garros quarterfinalist in the history of the WTA Rankings. Only five players have reached the last eight of any Grand Slam in the Open Era while ranked lower: Martina Hingis (No.349 at the Australian Open 2006), Kaia Kanepi (No.451 at the US Open 2017), Kim Clijsters (unranked at the US Open 2009), Justine Henin (unranked at the Australian Open 2010) and Tsvetana Pironkova (unranked at the US Open 2020), according to a report on the WTA Tour website. Pavlyuchenkova, who needed 3 hours and 6 minutes to upset No.15 seed Liudmila Samsonova 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 in the second round, has now won two of the three longest matches of the Roland Garros women's singles draw so far. Only Leolia Jeanjean, whose first-round win over Kimberly Birrell required 3 hours and 10 minutes, has gone longer. Pavlyuchenkova will bid for a second Roland Garros semifinal place against Karolina Muchova, who ended the run of lucky loser Elina Avanesyan 6-4, 6-3. Tehran, June 5 : The Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian expressed hope that the recent prisoner swap between Iran and Belgium could be an effective step to promote bilateral ties and Iran-Europe relations. Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a phone conversation with his Belgian counterpart Hadja Lahbib, according to a statement published on the Iranian Foreign Ministry's website. The Iranian top diplomat hailed the joint efforts made by the two sides that led to the successful exchange of the prisoners, saying Iran also welcomed a Belgian role in promoting "purposeful and effective" talks between Iran and European states based on mutual respect. Lahbib, for her part, thanked Iran for its cooperation in the resolution of the prisoners' issue, noting that given Iran's humanitarian move, a new horizon is expected to open up in bilateral ties, while promising her country would help further expand Iran-Europe relations. Hailing the conversation as "positive and fruitful," Amir-Abdollahian said on Twitter that Iran remained a "completely safe and attractive" destination for foreign tourists, noting there was no reason for Europeans to be arrested if they were not "exploited" by foreign security services. Iran released three men -- two with dual Austrian-Iranian nationality and one Dane -- on Friday in return for Iranian diplomat Asadollah Assadi as part of a swap in which Iran freed two prisoners, including a Belgian citizen, last week, Xinhua news agency reported. Assadi, who was transferred to Belgium in October 2018, was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Belgian court in February 2021, after being accused of planning an alleged "attack" against the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organisation, which Iran designates as a terrorist group. The released Belgian citizen, named Olivier Vandecasteele, was arrested by security forces in Iran in February 2022 for "spying under the guise of an aid worker". Iran has arrested dozens of foreigners and dual nationals in recent years, mainly for espionage and security-related charges. Earning this award is a milestone to be proud of, said Cathy Bergland, AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Board Chair. Fourteen assisted living communities managed by Gardant Management Solutions have been recognized as 2023 recipients of the Bronze Commitment to Quality Award by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) for their commitment to improving the lives of residents through quality care. The distinction is the first of three progressive award levels through the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program. The program, presented by the leading association in long term and post-acute care, honors providers across the country that have demonstrated their commitment to improving quality of care for our nations seniors and people with disabilities. The Gardant-managed communities to be honored with 2023 Bronze Awards are as follows: Belvedere Senior Housing Belvedere Senior Housing is an affordable assisted living community located in Merrillville, Indiana. It has a total of 126 private apartments. The community is designed to serve low-income adults 55 years of age and older. Bowman Estates of Danville Located in Danville, Illinois, Bowman Estates is an affordable assisted living community designed to serve adults 65 years of age and older. Bowman Estates houses a total of 76 private apartments. Evergreen Village at Bloomington Featuring 115 private apartments, Evergreen Village at Bloomington, Indiana is an affordable assisted living community and designed to serve adults 62 years of age and older. Heritage Woods of Batavia Heritage Woods of Batavia is located in Kane County, Illinois. The affordable assisted living community is designed to serve adults 65 years of age and older. It has a total of 148 studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments. Heritage Woods of DeKalb Heritage Woods of DeKalb is an affordable assisted living community located in DeKalb, Illinois. With 76 private apartments, the community is designed to serve adults 65 years of age and older. Heritage Woods of Flora Located in Clay County, Illinois, Heritage Woods of Flora is the only affordable assisted living community that serves adults 65 years of age and older in the county. It features 52 private apartments. Heritage Woods of Huntley Located in Kane County, Illinois, Heritage Woods of Huntley is designed to serve adults 55 years and older who need some help to maintain their independence. Heritage Woods of Huntley features a total of 81 private apartments. Heritage Woods of Manteno Located in Kankakee County, Illinois, Heritage Woods of Manteno is designed to serve low-income adults 65 years of age and older. They have a total of 87 studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments. Heritage Woods of Moline Heritage Woods of Moline is located in the Quad Cities near the communities of Bettendorf, Davenport, East Moline and Rock Island. It houses 99 private apartments and is designed to serve those 65 and older. Heritage Woods of Plainfield Heritage Woods of Plainfield is in Plainfield, Illinois and is designed to service low-income adults 65 years of age and older. It offers a total of 108 private apartments. Heritage Woods of Yorkville Located in Kendall County, Illinois, Heritage Woods of Yorkville affordable assisted living community serves those 65 years of age and older. Heritage Woods of Yorkville features a total of 87 private apartments. John Evans Supportive Living The community, which is designed to serve adults 65 and older of all incomes who need some help to maintain their independence, is located south of Peoria and southwest of Morton. John Evans has a total of 76 private apartments. Montclare Supportive Living Community Montclare Supportive Living Community is in Chicago, Illinois. It is 108,000 square feet and houses 120 private studio and one-bedroom apartments, serving those 65 years and older. Vivera Senior Living Located in Columbus, Indiana, Vivera Senior Living is designed to serve seniors 62 years and older of all incomes. It has a total of 114 studio and one-bedroom apartments. In the past four years, 52 assisted living and memory care communities managed by Gardant have been recognized with Bronze awards. We are extremely proud of the accomplishment of portion of our portfolio receiving an AHCA/NCALs Bronze Quality Award, says Julie Simpkins, Co-President of Gardant Management Solutions. This recognition is due to the dedicated efforts provided by the staff and management teams at these communities throughout the year, and it is indicative of their dedication to serving residents and committing to ongoing quality improvement. We are extremely thankful every day for their compassion and dedication! Created by AHCA/NCAL in 1996, the National Quality Award Program is a rigorous three-level process that is reviewed and judged by trained experts against a set of nationally recognized standards for organizational excellence. The standards of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program help organizations achieve superior performance to improve quality of life and care of long term care residents and staff. Providers begin the quality improvement process at the Bronze level, where they develop an organizational profile with essential performance elements such as vision, mission statement, and key strengths and challenges. Bronze applicants must also demonstrate their ability to implement a sustainable performance improvement system. Trained examiners review each application to determine if the center has met the demands of the criteria. As recipients of the Bronze - Commitment to Quality award, these communities may now move forward in developing approaches and achieving advanced levels of performance that meet the Silver - Achievement in Quality award criteria. Earning this award is a milestone to be proud of, said Cathy Bergland, AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Board Chair. Its at this point that providers see what is possible by committing to the process of improvement. Congratulations to the Gardant-Managed Communities for this achievement. I encourage you to continue your quality improvement journey. The awards will be presented during Delivering Solutions 23, the AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo, October 1-4, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. ### ABOUT GARDANT MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS Gardant Management Solutions was built on the foundation that operating communities with dignity, compassion and enriched services would drive financial results. Our expertise in developing & operating environments that inspire vitality in our residents will create tangible business value for you. We applaud figures 52 awards received from our communities that have achieved Bronze Award status in the past four years. We appreciate their commitment to quality improvement and to our mission of enriching the lives of residents by providing them with the Love, Compassion, and Dignity they deserve in addition to the personal assistance, help with medications, and support services they need. 9 Gardant-Managed communities won the Bronze Award in 2022 which include Churchview Supportive Living, Gateway of River City, Gull Creek, Heritage Woods of Chicago, Heritage Woods of Gurnee, Heritage Woods of Newburgh, Heritage Woods of Rockford, Heritage Woods of Sterling, and Oasis at 30th. 15 Gardant-Managed communities won the Bronze Award in 2021 which include Cedar Grove, Cambridge House of Maryville, Cambridge House of OFallon, Deer Path of Huntley, Eagle Ridge of Decatur, Grand Prairie of Macomb, Heritage Woods of Bolingbrook, Heritage Woods of McHenry, Heritage Woods of Noblesville, Heritage Woods of Ottawa, Heritage Woods of Watseka, Lacey Creek, Oasis at 56th, Prairie Winds of Urbana, and White Oaks at McHenry. 26 Gardant-managed communities won the Bronze Award in 2020 including Belvedere Senior Housing, Cambridge House of Swansea, Evergreen Village at Bloomington, Glasswater Creek of Lafayette, Hellenic Senior Living of Indianapolis, Hellenic Senior Living of New Albany, Heritage Woods of Batavia, Heritage Woods of Belvidere, Heritage Woods of Benton, Heritage Woods of Centralia, Heritage Woods of Charleston, Heritage Woods of DeKalb, Heritage Woods of Dwight, Heritage Woods of Freeport, Heritage Woods of Huntley, Heritage Woods of Manteno, Heritage Woods of Minooka, Heritage Woods of Moline, Heritage Woods of Mt. Vernon, Heritage Woods of Plainfield, Heritage Woods of South Elgin, Heritage Woods of Yorkville, St. Anthony of Lansing, The Lodge at Summers Pointe, White Oaks at Heritage Woods of South Elgin, and White Oaks at Spring Street. For more information about the Bronze Award, click here. ABOUT AHCA/NCAL The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) represent more than 14,000 non-profit and proprietary skilled nursing centers, assisted living communities, sub-acute centers, and homes for individuals with intellectual and development disabilities. By delivering solutions for quality care, AHCA/NCAL aims to improve the lives of the millions of frail, elderly and individuals with disabilities who receive long term or post-acute care in our member facilities each day. For more information, please visit http://www.ahcancal.org. In 2018, a series of chance events brought Juan Nicolas Donoso, a native of Bogota, Colombia, and Jhon Anderson Hurtado, an Afro-Colombian from Buenaventura on the countrys Pacific coast, into each others lives. Donoso, 46, received a call from a friend who had been visiting someone in a chronic care clinic. He was curious about a man in the front room, who was moving his head deftly and manipulating a tablet with a stylus he held in his mouth. He asked the man what he was doing; the man replied that he was writing a book. In 2013, Jhon Anderson Hurtado, 31, was shot several times in a score-settling episode in the shady environment of Bogotas 7 de Agosto neighborhood; he first moved there when he was working as a rim painter. A shot rang out in the air, then a bullet hit his arm and a third went into his neck, hitting his spinal cord and causing cervical spine trauma. He was left paralyzed below the neck. That was 10 years ago, and Anderson Hurtado has been in five clinics since then. You are a writer. Why dont you go and give him some advice? See how it goes, Carlos Castro, an artist, suggested to Juan Nicolas about the novel that Jhon was writing. He gave him the details and hung up. Although he didnt quite understand what he was getting into, Nicolas as people close to him call him set up a meeting and went to visit him. He found Jhon in a room, hidden among boxes and things, behind a makeshift desk that the nurses had arranged for him above the gurney. I saw that he had a tablet in front of him, and that he was a functioning person; he was writing a novel using his mouth! Nicolas recounts. He sent me a preview on WhatsApp, and I immediately said: this man is a writer. This needs to be published. Its a novel that throws itself at you when you read the first paragraphs, comments Nicolas, a visual artist with a masters degree in philosophy and Literary Production, a teacher and the author of the novels Siberia (2019) and Coprofago Paradise (Coprophagous Paradise; 2016). He commented on drafts that Anderson Hurtado sent him, recommended readings and visited him once a month to finish revising the text. More than helping Anderson Hurtado, Nicolas realized that he was being transformed by Jhon: by his life story, the voracity with which he read, the facility with which he absorbed knowledge, the wildness of his stories and the surprising spelling of a young man who had left school in the seventh grade and only years later received his bachelors degree online, from bed. Jhon left him with no excuses. After three years including one global pandemic Jhon Anderson Hurtados first novel, Tunda was born. It was published in October 2022 by Cain Press. It is one of the best-received independent books at the most recent Bogota Book Fair. Tunda portrays the environment that shaped Anderson Hurtados life: the arrival of paramilitarism in Buenaventura; witchcraft (everyone there does it, or has had it done, or knows about it; it is normal, Nicolas explains); there is also the jungle, the imposing geography, the toxic waste and abandonment. Its originality stems from the fact that the author does not speak about what he read or what he was told, but rather he talks about the hostility that absorbed him and ended up with him getting shot. Sooner or later, the circumstances were going to lead me to this, he says. Jhon grew up around the sounds of the casas de pique (murder houses), places where people are tortured, murdered and dismembered; they serve as the backdrop for his literary work. Yes, I was a witness, and one way or another, I also wanted to exercise that kind of violence, and I ended up doing it, not by being part of some group but with outbursts of anger, moments out there, drugged, in some club. Jhon using his tablet at Engativa Hospital. NATHALIA ANGARITA In the novel, Buenaventura is a tropical paradise, but also an infamous swamp of poverty, hit viciously by all kinds of primary evil. Jhon lived his golden age there. When I was a child, he says, I went out to play I played hide and seek; I went on trips to the jungle, to explore the mangrove swamp, the shipyard, swimming in the tide, and that was the most beautiful thing. He was always a person open to fun, to adventure, and says he was curious and a little rebellious too. Until he ended up in trouble, and went into exile in Bogota. There, he lived by scavenging in mechanics workshops in the capitals 7 de Agosto neighborhood. Now, in hindsight, through his experience and the catharsis he finds in writing, he has reconciled with his past and believes that so much violence doesnt make sense: What shocks me is that, the people you grow up with, end up becoming paramilitaries themselves and hurting the same people. Mythology and the street La Tunda, a central character in the mythology of the Colombian South Pacific and the Ecuadorian North Pacific, is described in the book as a fright that appears to people in the bush, to misguided children, to drunks, to unfaithful people and to those who are dirty and damaged. Within the novel, it is a specter that is made up of voices and afflictions moving around in the dark, an exploration of the paranormal in the middle of a mangrove swamp, and of the smell of bazuco intermingled with black exhaust smoke. Jhons language comes from the street and from life. Donoso believes that he is a new reference in Afro-Colombian literature. He reminds him of Arnoldo Palacios, a writer from Choco who also had a mobility problem as a result of poliomyelitis. In his novel Las estrellas son negras (The stars are black), he is in the Choco jungle, listening to the other children playing outside, and he cannot move. So, he begins to become a writer based on how he imagines the others playing. Nicolas describes Jhons literature as a mix of Palacios, Pedro Paramo Juan Rulfos classic of Mexican literature and a lot of rap. But what he likes most is that Anderson Hurtado didnt write thinking: Im going to inscribe myself in a Black, Afro-Colombian place of wording, but rather: Im going along a trail with a machete. That is what makes his prose so vital. It is not contaminated by a discourse that, after so much repetition and repetition, mummifies you in the end. Pedro Paramo was undoubtedly one of the books that most influenced Anderson Hurtado; it helped him build a phantasmagoric aura in the novel. Another work that served as a model for him was Truman Capotes In Cold Blood. I dont know why the descriptions with which Tunda begins descriptions of the jungle reminded me of Capotes descriptions of Kansas, says Nicolas. Ones a desert and the other is a jungle. They are two totally different geographies, but I told him: read this and take it as far as you can. And it turns out that he loved it because, in his former life, he was those characters; he knows what cold-blooded is, and he writes in cold blood, too. Jhon continues to navigate the geography familiar to him: the mangrove swamp, the street with the shipyard and the 7 de Agosto neighborhood, which remains etched in his memory. But he is flying solo now, comments his editor. Now he is working on a new book of short stories, which he combines with virtual psychology studies. He is in his sixth semester, and he is using the techniques he has learned on himself. All of this has been very difficult to cope with and a direct consequence of being like this, obviously, is developing psychological, emotional problems, he says. He is tormented by ending up condemned to live in clinics and hospitals. So, he writes at all hours of the day and turns to psychology, which he says has helped him a lot: I try to meditate, evaluate myself and develop resilience, but it has been very difficult. Its consuming me. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner with Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Evo Morales and Baltasar Garzon during a meeting of the Puebla Group in Argentina. MATIAS BAGLIETTO (REUTERS) Progressive presidents in Latin America, or those who boast of being so, regularly complain about certain judicial decisions. In a particularly turbulent period of his ten months in power, Colombian Gustavo Petro, who had already warned of a possible conspiracy of the military to overthrow him, this week denounced a soft coup which threatens to decimate in Congress the Historic Pact, the left-wing coalition which brought him to power, while his proposed major legislative reforms remain stalled. Almost at the same time, Mexicos Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador described the rulings that seek to halt his Administrations flagship infrastructure works as a technical coup. The ambiguity of Petros message -which he later explained referred to decisions by the Procurator Generals Office and not the courts- provoked criticism and confused locals and outsiders alike, but it illustrates the suspicions that have been running rampant. The idea of a politicized justice system has acquired regional dimensions. In the midst of the winds of change brought about by a new wave of left-wing governments in Latin America, in several countries there is talk of legal persecution of the new pink wave governments. The meeting of the Puebla Group, which gathered more than a hundred Ibero-American progressive leaders in Santa Marta, in the Colombian Caribbean, at the end of last year, already discussed in its agenda the concept known as lawfare. In that gathering, former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, herself impeached by her countrys Congress in 2016, denounced the use of legal instruments to destroy presidents. While former Colombian president Ernesto Samper criticized the politicization of justice that has resulted in it being fixated with leaders such as current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was prevented from running in the 2018 elections because he was in prison -his trials were later annulled by the justice system-. In very dissimilar cases, the leaders of the Puebla Group, who have been working on the issue, denounce the legal wars that have affected leaders such as Lula, Dilma, Ecuadors Rafael Correa or Bolivias Evo Morales. In March, they also supported Argentinas Cristina Kirchner, and the group has even created a specialized team of legal experts to work on the different cases, including Spains Baltasar Garzon and Argentinas Eugenio Raul Zaffaroni. Petros case when he was mayor of Bogota is considered an emblematic example of lawfare. The then procurator in charge of disciplinary sanctions against public officials, Alejandro Ordonez, an ultraconservative with an incendiary rhetoric, famous for his Catholic vision of the State, deposed him and suspended him for 15 years for failures in the implementation of a new model of sanitation in the Colombian capital. Petro obtained precautionary measures in his favor in the Inter-American system of justice, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled in his favor in 2020, when it declared that the Colombian State had violated his political rights and that the powers of the Procurator Generals Office to remove elected officials by popular vote should be eliminated. Legal wars are an instrument for the political use of justice, says Samper, one of the main promoters of the Puebla Group together with Chiles Marco Enriquez-Ominami and Brazils Aloizio Mercadante, who was entrusted by Lula to head the Brazilian Development Bank. It is a method of attack that has been identified especially by the right wing to question, hinder, obstruct or even break the possibility of progressive characters that can advance in politics, he points out in a conversation with this newspaper. The legal wars are aimed at causing reputational, political and legal damage. All lawfare ammunition has to do with affecting due process, be it the presumption of innocence, the right to defense or the second instance. To the legal wars, Samper continues, other strategies can be added, such as sowing mistrust around the economy or fostering the feeling of institutional instability with the aim of eliminating the bases of governance. From impeachment to the Bolsonarista assault In Brazil, the hypothesis of a coup, which has hovered over the four years of Jair Bolsonaros government, became a reality on January 8 in Brasilia. On that day, a week after the inauguration of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, thousands of radical Bolsonaristas forced their way into the National Congress, the Planalto Palace (the seat of government) and the Supreme Court. The mobilization of the extreme right, which had been camped for weeks calling for an intervention of the Armed Forces, ended up being just a coup attempt. As of today, 1,044 people have been charged, and Bolsonaro himself is under investigation for allegedly instigating his followers. In addition to the attempted coup in the capital, in Brazil a good part of the left considers that the impeachment that former president Rousseff suffered in 2016 was a parliamentary coup. President Lula also used the lawfare thesis to explain his imprisonment, which prevented him from participating in the 2018 elections. The disclosure of the maneuvers by the then judge Sergio Moro and prosecutors to convict him and the filing of several pending cases contributed to strengthen his narrative that he was the victim of a legal persecution aimed at ending his political career. They want me jailed or dead In Argentina, the thesis of judicial persecution has determined the political confrontation since the beginning of the investigation of the corruption case for which Vice-President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was sentenced to six years in prison and life ineligibility for public office. Although the ruling is not yet final, the number two of the Government has tried to install the idea of proscription. This week she made it clear by affirming, once again, that her political adversaries, among which she includes the judicial system, seek to remove her from the political scene. They want me imprisoned or dead, she wrote in a long letter published on her social media. She was referring to two events. First, the assassination attempt she suffered last September 1, the most serious event that has shaken Argentina in its recent history. The Prosecutors Office ruled out that there was a political motive behind the attack and decided to end the investigation into the attack by focusing on the three material perpetrators. Secondly, Cristina Kirchner also alluded to her procedural situation. A court convicted her in December of defrauding the State and acquitted her of the crime of illicit association. The vice-president rejected the ruling at the time with some very harsh words: This conviction is not a conviction under the laws of the Constitution or the Penal Code. This is a parallel State and a mafia, a judicial mafia. And this is the climate that permeates the public conversation and the dispute between parties with less than five months to go before the presidential elections. Technical coup de etat The President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has for years maintained an ongoing battle with a sector of the judiciary that he considers to be linked to the countrys political past. This week, however, the president went further in his accusations and accused the judges of pursuing a technical coup detat against his government. He was referring to the resolution of a federal court that ordered the definitive suspension of deforestation in four sections of the Mayan Train, one of the most important infrastructure projects of the Administration and, unlike any other, an emblem of his political program, the so-called Fourth Transformation. Lopez Obrador assured in any case that he will not abide by the court ruling and, therefore, the works will continue. They will continue to want to stop the works, but they will not be able to because, according to the Constitution and the laws, we have the right to carry out works for the benefit of the people, he said. With information from Joan Royo Gual. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Property details: BLUE TREE RESORT at LAKE BUENA VISTALake Buena Vista, FL Blue Tree Resort provides a true home away from home. With a strong list of amenities and access to much more both on property and nearby, you can be sure that your experience will be on your time and according to your lifestyle. After a full day at the theme park, outlet mall or one of Orlandos other famed attractions, youll be delighted to return to your thoughtfully appointed suite at Blue Tree Resort at Lake Buena Vista. Resort A... Price: $ 1 Seller State of Residence: Missouri Property Address: 12007 Cypress Run Road, Orlando, FL Number of Bedrooms: 1 Number of Bathrooms: 1 Zip/Postal Code: 32836-6421 City: Orlando State/Province: Florida Location: 658**, Springfield, Missouri You will be redirected to eBay Nearby Florida David Morales the owner of the Spanish security company that spied on Julian Assange during his prolonged stay at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London kept the work he did for the CIA on his laptop. It was all marked under the initials of the U.S. intelligence agency, according to a new examination of his MacBook, to which EL PAIS has had access. The word CIA appears several times on a Western Digital-branded external hard drive, on which Morales kept the projects and operations that his company UC Global, S.L. was contracted to deliver. Morales personal files, which were previously unknown to investigators, builds on the allegations and evidence that Morales a former Spanish soldier spied on the meetings that the WikiLeaks founder and his lawyers held at the Embassy of Ecuador to the United Kingdom, and sent that information to the U.S. intelligence agency. These files were stored on a number of folders marked with the terms CIA, Embassy and Videos, along with other labels. The appearance of this new evidence has been a surprise in the case against Morales in Spains High Court, the Audiencia Nacional. None of these computer records previously appeared in the initial copy made by the police, when officers categorized the material seized from the security contractor when he was arrested in September 2019. All of this material was uploaded to a cloud storage system within the judicial systems, so that all parties involved in the case could review it. The arrest and indictment of Morales took place weeks after an investigation by EL PAIS revealed the videos and audios that UC Global employees had recorded while the Australian was preparing his defense with his lawyers. The discovery of these new clues about the CIAs spying on the cyberactivist who remains imprisoned in a London jail is no accident. Assanges lawyers found problems when downloading the records uploaded to the cloud. They managed to get Judge Santiago Pedraz who is overseeing the case to authorize a second copy of the material seized by the agents. A new digital document dump offered a clear picture that the police had not pieced together. Now, a report by the experts called by Assanges lawyers credits the appearance of a very relevant volume of material, which was not included in the original [police] copy. Forensic analysis describes the copy of the hard drive as containing multiple pieces of evidence. In this second dump, the mentioned folders have appeared, including the one that UC Global labelled as CIA. Hidden microphones The difference in the size or volume of the two copies is substantial. The document dump from Morales computers, flash drives and electronic devices provided by police was 213.1 GB less than the one recently obtained by Assanges defense an equivalent of 551.616 files and 973 email files. Among the new files, a folder titled Operations & Projects was saved, containing directories organized according to geographical area. Each region or country is specified, along with the details of the services to be provided. In the area corresponding to North America within the USA directory there is a file called CIA. Inside in a folder marked Videos images of recordings are stored. These were obtained via the hidden cameras and microphones that UC Global installed in the Embassy of Ecuador in London to surveil the WikiLeaks founder. Each recording is dated and titled. Some examples are Pamela Anderson which contains the meetings with the actress, a friend of Assange Guest, being the name that Morales employees used to refer to the Australian; Ladies toilet, a place where Assange held meetings with his lawyers for fear of being spied on; and Fidel, the Ecuadorian consul who tried to get Assange out of the U.K. with a diplomatic passport. The video files were transferred to a commercial format and renamed with references to their contents, in order to make them visible and accessible to the final user. In this case and according to what appears on Morales own computer said user, or client, was the CIA. The new evidence seized from the ex-soldier coincides with the material delivered to the judge by a former UC Global worker, who has been granted the status of protected witness. Until now, the suspicions that the owner of UC Global sent the material obtained during the espionage operation at the Ecuadorian Embassy to the CIA was based on the evidence provided by EL PAIS, as well as on statements made by several former employees of the security company. Also, there were emails from Morales, in which he claimed to be working for the American client and that he had gone over to the dark side by collaborating with American intelligence. To his trusted employees, he once wrote that those in control are the friends of the USA. The data provided by Morales to the CIA resulted in the plan to remove Assange from the embassy (during Christmas of 2017) to be aborted, as revealed by EL PAIS. The United States has requested Assanges extradition, and the United Kingdom has granted it. But the case is still pending, as there are several judicial appeals that can be made. Very relevant folders that were not copied The report by Assanges experts Manuel Huerta and Jose Manuel Martinez highlights that very relevant folders for the investigation, such as those from Morales desktop, were not copied in the police dump. The expert analysis highlights the appearance of deleted folders with information, among which are several marked with the word hotel the name Morales used to refer to the Embassy of Ecuador in London, where Assange took refuge and where he was spied on. Theres an abysmal loss of files and folders, the experts conclude. Aitor Martinez Assanges lawyer highlighted in a letter addressed to the judge that there is an enormous disparity between the evidence that appears in the original copy made by the police and the document dump that the cyberactivists experts have just obtained from the same source. To this is the added inactivity of the police unit, which, until now, hasnt submitted any official letter or report about the initial copies, which, as we now know, were biased and did not reflect the reality of the material of interest to this case, the lawyer notes. He has requested a six-month extension to the investigation into Morales. Following these criticisms, the police officials have submitted a report to the judge, in which they attempt to establish all the commonalities between the digital material delivered by a protected witness and what was found on the computer. Former marine David Morales is on provisional release. He is being investigated for crimes against privacy, violation of the confidentiality of attorney-client communications, misappropriation and money-laundering. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Kelly Garrisons office does not have walls. The closest thing it has to a ceiling is an expansive blue sky stretching for miles above a hardwood forest. The floors are concrete trails and wooden observation decks lined with brush and abundant vegetation. And her clients? Bears and diverse collections of non-releasable wildlife residents. Walking through these trails alongside Garrison on a typical weekday requires swift feet and long strides. Where a visitor might hesitate at a fork in the path, Garrison puts a foot down assuredly. Her dynamic enthusiasm is palpable in energetic conversation punctuated by a beaming grin and resounding laughter. India's import of cheap Russian oil scaled another record in May and is now more than the combined oil bought from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE and the US, industry data showed. India took 1.96 million barrels a day from Russia in May, 15 per cent more than the previous high in April, according to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa. Russia now makes up for nearly 42 per cent of all crude oil India imported in May. This is the highest share for an individual country in recent years. The rise in Russian share came at the cost of traditional suppliers in the Middle East. Shipments from Saudi Arabia slipped to 560,000 tonnes - the lowest since February 2021, according to figures from the shipping analytics company. Oil producers cartel OPEC's share in India's oil imports fell to an all-time low of 39 per cent in May. Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), mainly in the Middle East and Africa, made up for as much as 90 per cent of all crude oil India imported at one point of time, but this has been sliding since Russian oil became available at a discount in the aftermath of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February last year. For the eighth straight month, Russia continued to be the single largest supplier of crude oil, making up for 42 per cent of all oil India imported. Crude oil is converted into petrol and diesel at refineries. The imports from Russia are now more than the combined purchases from Iraq and Saudi Arabia -- India's biggest suppliers in the last decade -- as well as UAE and the US. Iraq supplied 0.83 million barrels per day (bpd) oil in May, while UAE shipped 203,000 bpd. As much as 138,000 bpd was sourced from the US, the data showed. From a market share of less than 1 per cent in India's import basket before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Russia's share of India's imports rose to 1.96 million barrels per day in May, taking a 42 per cent share. OPEC supplied 1.8 million bpd out of 4.7 million bpd oil India imported in May. This was down from 2.1 million bpd imported in April, according to Vortexa. Indian refiners in the past rarely bought Russian oil due to high freight costs but now they are snapping up plentiful Russian cargo available at a discount to other grades, as some Western nations rejected it because of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The purchases from Russia in May were more than double of 0.83 million bpd of oil bought from Iraq, which had been India's top oil supplier since 2017-18. Saudi Arabia has been pushed down to No.3 spot. "India's imports of Russian crude continue to test new highs, reaching almost 2 million bpd in May. "Refiners have tested and gained confidence in processing Russian crude, and their voracious appetite for Russian crude is likely to grow as much as they have room to back off spot crude purchases," said Vortexa's head of Asia-Pacific analysis, Serena Huang. The average cost of Russian crude including freight costs landing on Indian shores in April was $68.21 a barrel - the lowest level since the Ukraine war. The average cost of Saudi Arabian crude sent to India in April was $86.96 a barrel, while Iraqi oil was priced at $77.77 a barrel. May import price has not yet been released. Russia is selling record amounts of crude oil to India to plug the gap in its energy exports after the European Union banned imports in December. In December, the EU banned Russian seaborne oil and imposed a $60-per-barrel price cap, which prevents other countries from using EU shipping and insurance services, unless oil is sold below the cap. Industry officials said Indian refiners are using the UAE's dirham to pay for oil that is imported at a price lower than $60. According to Vortexa, India imported just 68,600 bpd of oil from Russia in March 2022. The Centre on Sunday set up a Commission of Inquiry, headed by former chief justice of the Gauhati high court Ajai Lamba, to probe the recent series of violence in Manipur that claimed more than 80 lives. IMAGE: People from Meitei Community, stage a protest against the violence in Manipur, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Sunday. Photograph: Amit Sharma/ANI Photo According to a notification issued by the Union home ministry, the commission will make inquiry with respect of the causes and spread of the violence and riots targeting members of different communities, which took place in Manipur on May 3 and thereafter. It will probe the sequence of events leading to, and all the facts relating to such violence; whether there were any lapses or dereliction of duty in this regard on the part of any of the responsible authorities/individuals and adequacy of the administrative measures taken to prevent, and to deal with the violence and riots. The inquiry by the commission shall look into the complaints or allegations that may be made before it by any individual or association. The commission shall submit its report to the central government as soon as possible but not later than six months from the date of its first sitting. The commission, however, if it deems fit, can make interim reports to the central government before the said date. The other members of the commission are retired IAS officer Himanshu Shekhar Das and retired IPS officer Aloka Prabhakar. Manipur has been witnessing sporadic violence ever since ethnic clashes broke out on May 3. The death toll from clashes has gone up to over 80, officials said. The ethnic violence first broke out after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The violence was preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations. There are sometimes "things bigger than politics" when one steps outside the country, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday, days after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi repeatedly attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government during his ongoing United States visit. IMAGE: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addresses at a diaspora event in Cape Town, South Africa. Photograph: @DrSJaishankar/Twitter Addressing Indian Americans in Santa Clara in the US earlier this week, Gandhi, a former Congress party president and an ex-MP, described Prime Minister Modi as a "specimen" and also attacked his government's policies on various fronts. Speaking at a diaspora event in Cape Town after attending the meeting of BRICS foreign ministers, Jaishankar said that he can talk for himself and does not do politics while travelling abroad. "Look, I said I can only talk for myself I try when I go abroad not to do politics. I'm perfectly prepared to argue and argue very vigorously at home. Okay, so you will never find me wanting in that regard," he said in response to a question. "But I think you know, even a democratic culture has a certain collective responsibility. There is a national interest there is a collective image. There are sometimes things bigger than politics and when you step outside the country, I think that's important to remember. "So I might differ strongly with someone. I could say to you, I differ with them. But how I counter it, I would like to go back home and do it. And watch me when I get back," India's top diplomat said. Jaishankar said one part of the Indian foreign policy today is extremely focused securing the welfare of Indian citizens abroad. He said given the globalisation of Indians today, it is important that systems are put in place which will respond to difficult situations. "Sometimes they can be very country specific. We had a few weeks ago, very nasty situation in Sudan, and we have 5,000 Indians died last year, when the fighting started in Ukraine. We had more than 20,000 Indians now. In fact, when I look at these last nine years, almost every year, we've had one situation somewhere. "So, it's something which will keep happening. And we have that fundamental obligation today to take care of Indian Indians. Working, living, traveling abroad," he said. "It could be something like providing a flight, it could even be sometimes there are people who are stuck abroad, who have no money who are stuck in cases, they can't afford it. You know, we unfortunately have cases sometimes that people will pass away," he added. Scout BSA troop 428 members Asher, Davin, Elon and Scoutmaster Jennifer Matheson (from right to left) in front of Leland and Gray Middle and High School before participating in the Spring 2023 Sticker Shock Program. It hasnt even taken 10 years for the Morena party or the National Regeneration Movement to become the dominant political force in Mexico. It has managed to wipe the historic Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI) from the electoral map, with few regions able to resist the wave. A decade ago, Morena didnt even exist. And seven years ago, it didnt hold a single one of the countrys 32 governorships, with only a minimal presence in Congress. Today, the party controls the presidency, along with several states. And, for better or for worse, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate are dominated by Morena members. Gubernatorial candidate Delfina Gomez - of Morena - alongside her supporters in Tlatlaya, in the state of Mexico, on May 20, 2023. COMUNICACION SOCIAL DELFINA GOME (via REUTERS) With an expected victory in the state of Mexico known as Edomex, to differentiate it from the name of the country the party of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador would consolidate impressive territorial power ahead of next years presidential elections. There would be 22 state governments home to 89.5 million inhabitants, or two out of every three Mexicans that are governed by Morena. With Edomex, the political movement would hold more power than the PRI, when the latter won the 2012 presidential and legislative elections, with former president Enrique Pena Nieto leading the party to victory. Humberto Beck a professor at the Center for International Studies of El Colegio de Mexico highlights Morenas ability to break barriers. If you look at the map of the governorships, its clear that Morena broke the geographical-political structure that prevailed in the country during the transition years, he explains, referring to the two six-year terms of the PAN (the National Action Party) at the helm of the government, first with Vicente Fox and then with Felipe Calderon, from 2000 to 2012. The north [of Mexico] favored the PAN or the PRI, while the south favored the PRI or the PRD [Party of the Democratic Revolution]. That was very obvious, Beck explains. And now, this is broken. Morena is in Baja California and Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, he adds. Winning the state of Mexico means breaking one of the great barriers that remain, due to the regions historical association with the PRI. [Morena] already broke the northern barrier with the PAN, breaking through in Edomex would imply a new degree of territorial consolidation that changes the political board, he argues. Juan Jesus Ramirez coordinator of the Political Studies and Governance program at the University of Guadalajara discusses the implications of Morenas potential victory in this region for the 2024 elections. Of every 1,000 voters in the country, 120 or 130 are in the state of Mexico. Look at the difference: Coahuila [a northern state that borders the U.S.] barely contributes 25 out of every 1,000. Thats the difference, he emphasizes. It would be a great advance in terms of positioning, of consolidation, because its a historically PRI-dominated state, home to one of the strongest political wings of the party, the Atlacomulco group, to which Pena Nieto belongs. The rise of Morena has been meteoric these past few years, especially considering its beginnings. Lopez Obradors failure in the 2012 presidential elections left him in a bad position within the PRD. The man from Tabasco had lost the elections for the second time, this time by a wide margin, unlike in 2006, when only a handful of votes kept him out of office. Back in 2006, Lopez Obrador made allegations of electoral fraud and occupied downtown Mexico City for months he even appointed his own cabinet of resistance. But after the 2012 setback, things changed. The PRD thought that the future lay in renewal, and Lopez Obrador decided to move to the left. These were the beginnings of Morena. From its birth as a political movement in 2012, to its conversion into a party in 2014, the party had a hard time getting started. It would take another four years to secure a victory. And today, the situation has completely turned around. The PRD is headed for extinction, led in the shadows by the same people who looked down on the current president. They have no governorships left and the PRDs representation in Congress shrinks with each election. They only have a few district mayors offices in Mexico City, which they lead in a coalition with the PAN, an alliance that was unthinkable just a decade ago. Lopez Obrador alongside Senator Ricardo Monreal and PRD leader Jesus Zambrano, during the 2012 presidential elections. Ivan Stephens (Cuartoscuro) The question now beyond Edomex is whether Morena has reached its limit, or still has room for growth. And, if so, where, how and for how long? Beck thinks that further growth is possible. There are accessible reserves of power. For example, in the Bajio, he notes, referring to states in the center of the country, such as Queretaro, Guanajuato, even Jalisco, which are still in the hands of the PAN and the Citizens Movement. The same thing is true of half of the northern states. Nuevo Leon, Chihuahua and Durango continue to be in the hands of the opposition, he adds. The expert points out that presidential power will be Morenas key to the future, more so than ideological control. The fact that a party has presidential power generates political magnetism. States have limited budgetary independence. They continue to receive considerable amounts [of money] from the capital. To the extent that these resources are mediated by the central power, whoever holds the presidency determines the local political sphere, he continues. In the event that Morena wins in 2024 and Lopez Obradors push is maintained the party will be able to continue disputing historic positions of power. But both Beck and Ramirez point to an obstacle: the scarce institutional development of Morena, especially in a future without its founder. Or, in the words of Ramirez: people see Lopez Obrador not Morena. Once he leaves politics, the party will lose that strength. Starting in 2024, he continues, Lopez Obrador will no longer be the center of attention. Now, the party is still united, but later, well see what happens. Cohesion will depend on what happens in the electoral process. The problem could be that there are candidates who are dissatisfied with the results of the polls, he warns, referring to Morenas internal primaries, which will be held to determine who will be the partys candidate in the 2024 presidential elections. Given a possible split between [Mexico City Mayor] Claudia Sheinbaum, [Secretary of Foreign Affairs] Marcelo Ebrard, [Senator] Ricardo Monreal [and other Morena candidates], there will be state governments that side more with one than with others, and there could be divisions. Supporters of the PRI, PAN and PRD wave party flags as they support their coalition candidate in the state of Mexico, on April 5, 2023. Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar In the end, Morena and the political future of the country will depend on the strength of the current president. Formally or informally, his leadership will continue to be the unifying force of that group. Taking that into account, I think that his leadership will allow [Morena] to continue competing in regions where the political barrier hasnt been broken. Because even when AMLO [as Lopez Obrador is informally known] isnt occupying the presidency, his leadership will be combined with the continuity of Morena in the National Palace, says Beck. Ramirez poses a paradox as a possible future for Morena and the country: To the extent that the image of Lopez Obrador weakens, the inertia in favor of Morena will end. But if society feels that Lopez Obrador will be in charge regardless of who wins the presidency, it will be good for Morena. The expert recalls the Maximato: the years following the Mexican Revolution, during which Plutarco Elias Calles the man who founded the PRI and governed from 1924 until 1928 controlled the presidents who succeeded him. It would be difficult for this to happen today like back then, but perhaps he could maintain a media presence, he shrugs, referring to the current president of Mexico. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Sunny to partly cloudy. High around 80F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 58F. Winds light and variable. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NAUCALPAN, Mexico (AP) A quick-count sampling of votes for governor of Mexico's most populous state suggested a victory late Sunday for the candidate from the governing party of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, which would end nearly a century of uninterrupted rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party. Preliminary results indicated Delfina Gomez of the Morena party was likely to win between 52.1% and 54.2% of the ballots in the State of Mexico, compared with 43% to 45.2% for Alejandra del Moral, representing the opposition coalition, according to the National Electoral Institute. The forecast was based on representative sampling of voting stations with at least 95% certainty. The outcome will not be final until all ballots were counted. Participation was between 48.7 and 50.2% of eligible state voters. Del Moral conceded shortly after the preliminary forecast was announced. In democracy to be able to win, you have to know how to lose and I am a democrat, she said, adding she had total respect for the electoral authorities. Gomez, a schoolteacher making her second bid for the post, held a healthy lead in recent polling over del Moral. The former mayor representing the PRI struggled to attract a fed-up electorate bent on change. Gomez, who will become the state's first female governor, thanked del Moral Sunday night for conceding quickly. Respect for democracy is an indispensable condition for building the State of Mexico for the good of all, she wrote on Twitter. The State of Mexico hugs Mexico City on three sides, encompassing urban sprawl and rural ranches, as well as stunning inequality, violence and corruption. For decades it has been the heart of the Institutional Revolutionary Party. But voters appeared ready to finally oust the PRI in favor of Lopez Obradors Morena party in a race closely watched as a preview of the 2024 presidential election. Both candidates had claimed victory immediately after polls closed on a largely uneventful day of peaceful voting. It is a recurring and very regrettable practice in Mexican elections to win the narrative in the media, political scientist Georgina de la Fuente said. Del Moral was not only the PRIs hope. She led a bizarre coalition including the conservative National Action Party and leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution sharing only a common desire to deny Lopez Obradors party control of Mexicos largest state electoral prize. She voted Sunday in Cuautitlan Izcalli, a suburb northwest of Mexico City. Gomez campaigned largely on the far-reaching support for Lopez Obradors popular social programs. She voted early on a warm and sunny Sunday in a school in Texcoco, east of Mexico City. We want change, for them to pay attention to us, said Rufina Perez, a retiree living in Naucalpan, a suburb west of the capital. They all made us promises, PRI, PAN already passed and we know how it was, she said, expressing confidence that it would be different with Morena in charge. In Tlalnepantla de Baz, where old warehouses and industrial spaces have given way to apartment complexes north of the capital in recent years, Morena signs and flags were visible, as were those of the PAN and del Moral, but not the traditional ones of the PRI. Benito Elizalde, who retired from patching tires, had always voted for PRI, but this year said he supported Morena because it gave seniors a better pension. His daughter, 35-year-old Claudia Elizalde, complained that parties had focused on offering more to retirees, like her father, rather than improving security or health. Socorro Hernandez was more focused on what the state election could mean on the national political stage. The retiree from Naucalpan said it was very important that she voted Sunday to show disagreement with Lopez Obrador's party. In Huehuetoca, also north of Mexico City, Alejandra Santillan Torres, a 29-year-old homemaker, said the elections are important so that they take into account the workers. Torres said she voted for the governing PRI, as she has in the past, because she felt they were doing well. On Friday, the president said he hoped for a calm vote and was very, very optimistic. His party is also viewed as the favorite in next years presidential election. Even though it has not yet selected a candidate, the party has a couple of strong possibilities and the opposition is generally considered to be in disarray. Voters in the sparsely populated northern border state of Coahuila, where the PRI remains competitive, also selected a new governor Sunday. Preliminary results indicated the opposition coalition candidate Manolo Jimenez was on track to defeat his Morena opponent by a wide margin. But even if the PRI holds on there, the loss of the State of Mexico could spell the end of its political relevance on a national stage, a stunning reversal for a party that ruled Mexico uninterrupted for seven decades. ___ AP writers Maria Verza in Mexico City and Emilio Lugo in Huehuetoca, Mexico, contributed to this report. As if the world didnt already have a wide variety of apocalyptic visions, we now have a new one: the rise of artificial intelligence. In just two months, thousands of experts have called for AI to be paused, monitored and regulated. First, back in March, it was more than 30,000 people led by Elon Musk, the co-founder of Tesla and Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple who called for research into AI to be halted for six months. Then, Geofrrey Hinton one of the fathers of this technology left Google to be able to freely warn society about the risks. Shortly afterwards, Sam Altman the CEO of OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT testified before Congress to say that everything can go very wrong. Hes now touring the world to warn about the epic dangers of the technology that his company makes. As if this wasnt enough, another manifesto this one only consisting of 22 words was published online on Tuesday, May 30: Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war. Signed by 350 people, the first two signatories are Hinton and Yoshua Bengio two winners of the 2018 Turing Prize (the Nobel Prize in computing) precisely for being the fathers of the AI revolution. Three other illustrious signatories are the leaders of todays top AI companies: OpenAIs Altman, Demis Hassabis of DeepMind (owned by Google) and Anthropics Daniel Amodei. All of this sudden concern raises several questions. 1. What needs to be regulated? Why all this sudden bombast against something that is still so unknown? There are several answers some more sincere, others more cynical. First, its important to note that one of the three fathers of AI didnt sign: Yann LeCun. Along with Hinton and Bengio, the Frenchman also won the Turing Award in 2018. He has spent several days on Twitter, explaining why hes not approaching AI with a sense of existential fear. His hypothesis is that its difficult to regulate something that we still dont understand: Superhuman AI is nowhere near the top of the list of existential risks. In large part, because it doesnt exist yet, he wrote on his Twitter account. Until we have a basic design for even dog-level AI (let alone human-level), discussing how to make it safe is premature. LeCun is by no means the only person who holds this view. Altman himself believes that for there to be a real leap in AI capability, things must occur that we currently have no idea about: A system that cannot contribute to the sum of scientific knowledge [or] discover new fundamental science cannot be a superintelligence. To get it right, were going to have to expand the GPT model in some pretty big ways that were still short on ideas for. I dont know what those ideas are. Were trying to find them, he said in a recent interview. 2. Why so many manifestos? If there was a manifesto in March, why do we need another one? Well, the difference with this weeks short manifesto is that its signed by industry leaders Altman (OpenAi), Hassabis (Google), Amodei (Anthropic) and Hinton (formerly Google) who didnt sign the first one, which called for a moratorium on the development of AI programs. Evidently, these companies dont want to pause their research. The rest of the signatories are made up of a small part of those who already supported the original March manifesto, which includes more than 31,000 people, mainly academics. On May 19, the promoters from the Future of Life Institute sent an email to signatories, asking them to join Hinton, Bengio and Amodei, because its essential to normalize and legitimize debate on the most serious risks of AI. 3. Is all of this a smokescreen? A few days before the short manifesto was released, Altman and two other OpenAI leaders published an article titled Governance of Superintelligence. There, they asked everyone to stop worrying about current AI models and to instead focus on legislating about future danger: Todays systems will create tremendous value in the world and, while they do have risks, the level of those risks feel commensurate with other internet technologies by contrast, the systems we are concerned about will have power beyond any technology yet created. In London, during his European tour, Altman said that his company would consider withdrawing ChatGPT from the continent if the European Union advances in its over-regulation, which will be debated in a plenary session of the European Parliament. One legislative option is to force companies with models such as ChatGPT to reveal copyrighted data in the corpus with which they train their machines, making for a contentious scenario. Days later, however, the OpenAI CEO tweeted that his company was no longer considering leaving Europe. Now, according to reports, it even seems like theyre looking for a European headquarters. Thus, one possible explanation behind the manifestos is that big tech companies such as OpenAI prefer that politicians spend their time discussing future doomsday scenarios, rather than focusing on laws that may complicate the expansion of big AI firms right here in the present. By making these threats, Altman is ensuring that he will be consulted when the time to propose legislation comes around. If lawmakers see these AI models as incomprehensible, they will need help from experts within companies to regulate them, says Jake Browning, a researcher on the philosophy of AI at New York University, who hasnt signed the manifesto. Funnily enough, this past week, European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager made public her meetings with Altman and Amodei just after announcing her imminent proposal for a voluntary code of conduct. A day later, she met with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Brussels is more focused on the here and now: The EU is a threat [to these companies] because it ignores the AI hype and just looks at the consequences, treating these new models as services, Browning explains. He also poses some more pressing questions: Is the information provided by GPT reliable? [Does OpenAI] comply with existing privacy regulations, such as the right to be forgotten? Do [these companies] respect copyrights? Will Googles AI search lead to monopolies? Do companies market these products honestly? Across all metrics, these language models go awry: theyre prone to hallucinating, sharing private data and not respecting copyright laws. [These AI systems] are designed to bolster the power of big tech and increase their ad revenue theyre marketed deceptively, without proper warning about their limitations. 4. Does the old story about the end of the world really apply in this context? The end of the world is a debate that generates great interest in Silicon Valley. Altman himself has said that we need to think more about the extinction of humans. But critics of these exaggerated manifestos believe that benefiting humanity is not among the priorities of their famous signatories. Timnit Gebru an expert in computer ethics at Stanford University warned about the biases and dangers of these AI models long ago but Google, her former employer, fired her. Today, Gebru continues to see nothing but hypocrisy in this debate about the unpredictable superintelligence of the future: This is a movement that has been decades in the making, with the same billionaire funders of OpenAI, Deepmind, and now Anthropic. The ideological father of all of this, Nick Bostrom (author of the best-selling book Superintelligence), speaks of so-called dysgenic pressures meaning that the people who are considered to be stupid reproduce too much, which poses an existential risk to humanity and has said that blacks are more stupid than whites and slurred us. Do [the AI CEOS and investors] really want us to believe that they are the ones who care about humanity? Where were they when we raised awareness about the real damage and faced backlash? Its almost like a coordinated cyberattack to distract us from holding the real organizations doing the harm accountable. Emile Torres from the Leibniz University of Hannover has spent years studying these theories of future annihilation: Theres a lot of focus on AI but not so much on AI companies. This attention gives companies a kind of free rein. Look away from what theyre doing to this kind of mysterious, extraterrestrial mind that will emerge via some kind of law of technological progress. This utopian vision was invented by a bunch of super-privileged rich white guys and now theyre trying to impose it on the rest of the world, Torres notes. For them who can be called transhumanists a brain more privileged than the human one would be necessary to survive. That is, [they want] a digital one. 5. But what if the hype is all true? Along with all these possible reasons, we mustnt ignore the most explicit reason to support these manifestos: truly believing that artificial intelligence poses an existential danger. We must consider the possibility that the signatories although a good handful have obvious economic interests sincerely fear an end of the world caused by mismanaged AI. There are thousands of researchers from dozens of disciplines many with no ties to industry who believe that research should be paused and AIs existential risks be closely observed. EL PAIS has asked 10 signing academics from disparate fields from physics and computing, to law, economics and psychology for their reasoning. Their responses can be categorized into four groups: a) The speed of AIs development. For anyone outside of the AI industry, the speed of innovation is inconceivable. Its perhaps the basic fear. Not so long ago, the danger of machines posing an extinction risk seemed fanciful, says Andrew Briggs, a professor emeritus in Nanomaterials at Oxford University. The pace of progress in AI is now accelerating so fast as shown by engines like ChatGPT that it has become urgent to seek security measures before its too late. Speed can bring unforeseen problems, says Juan Pavon, a professor of Software Engineering and AI at the Complutense University of Madrid: Development of large AI models is progressing faster than understanding them. Since were dealing with complex systems with a multitude of interactions between the elements that compose them unwanted and unforeseen effects can occur. b) Ignorance about how AI works. Lack of knowledge is another factor that worries the signatories. AI programs such as GPT4 and its probable successors are extremely complex systems we dont really understand them, says Alessandro Saffiotti, professor of Computer Science at the University of Orebro, Sweden. Even so, we could end up delegating critical decisions for the planet and our society to these technologies: power plants, financial transactions, or even military systems. If companies dont pause rolling out these systems until we understand them better, we need to prepare for potentially disastrous scenarios. We dont know that we dont know that is, the potential for serious problems can arise in unforeseen ways, opines Henning Grosse Ruse-Khan, a Cambridge University law professor. The potential of AI is so significant that we have no realistic way of predicting, or even guessing, its consequences. c) Doubt forces you to be prudent. The 22-word sentence from the latest manifesto is easy to comprehend from the perspective of risk analysis. The text seems to say: if you have a gun loaded with three bullets in a 100-round magazine, would you pull the trigger? Even if we dont know if that gun exists, the natural response is to try to get those three bullets out of the magazine. Its important to talk about [the risk] because of the great uncertainty that exists, says Edoardo Gallo, professor of Economics at the University of Cambridge. We have very little idea of the probabilities. Im pretty sure the risk of human extinction from AI in the next 100 years is very low but Im also pretty sure its not zero. In the end, the debate boils down to a bet. Browning who did not sign the manifesto is comfortable in denying all risks. If you believe that language is the core of intelligence, you may be inclined to think that a talking machine is one step away from superhuman intelligence, he explains. But he doesnt think that this is the case. Philosophically, I dont think superintelligence makes sense as a concept. Technically, I dont think anything that happens under the AI label no matter how broad poses an existential threat. Bojan Arbutina a professor of Astrophysics at the University of Belgrade is one of the voices who doesnt mind being overly cautious: The threat [of AI] may be exaggerated, but if its not, we wont have time to reconsider it. Seriously, we cannot understand all the risks. Superintelligence could, for example, perceive us humans as we see insects or even bacteria. d) There are many other problems in the world, but its not necessary to be dismissive of the potential threat of AI. Helena Matute a professor of Psychology at Deusto University in Bilbao, Spain emphasizes that existential risk must not be mixed with the discussion about consciousness and intelligence it has nothing to do with this. For Matute, the number of challenges facing humanity should not be an excuse for ignoring AI: Limiting the discussion to only the risks that some people already consider to be obvious is avoiding the problem. Global agreements must soon be reached that minimize the risks of AI all the risks. I dont understand why some people believe they have a kind of license to say: This can be regulated, but this cannot. These experts also note immediate and current regulations, which parties with economic interests in the development of AI may look down on: My goal, in highlighting existential threats from AI, is the exact opposite of trying to rule out short-term harm, says Michael Osborne, a professor of AI at the University of Oxford. Instead, I want to emphasize that we arent doing enough to govern AI, a technology that, today, is strictly controlled by a small number of opaque and powerful technology companies. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday interacted with party workers here as part of the ruling BJP's 'Tiffin Pe Charcha' campaign in the run-up to next year's parliamentary polls. Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP launched its then-prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modis famous chai pe charcha sessions to connect with voters after Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar mocked Modi's past as a tea seller. The BJP registered a landslide victory in the elections and Modi was sworn in as the country's prime minister for the first time on May 26, 2014. The 'Tiffin Pe Charcha' campaign, which implies "discussion over a meal", was launched to mark nine years of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. In a series of tweets in Hindi, Adityanath said, "On the occasion of the completion of nine years of the Modi government, a 'tiffin pe charcha' was organised with senior BJP workers in Gorakhpur." "The meeting was extremely successful and positive. In this meeting, 328 workers took part. My good wishes to them," Adityanath added. Addressing the meeting, Adityanath said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has built considerable clout in the world. "Today during any crisis, the world looks up to India and Prime Minister Modi with hopes in their eyes," he said lauding the PM for his "visionary leadership and continuous hard work," he said. "Everyone knows what was the situation before 2014, what was India's position on the global stage. But after 2014, not only the country, but the whole world is also seeing what positive changes have taken place under the leadership of PM Modi," he said. Before 2014, extremism in Kashmir, separatism in the northeastern states and Naxalism were at their peak with around 12 to 15 states being affected. "Today, due to the abrogation of Article 370, there is an atmosphere of peace, harmony and development in Kashmir. In the panchayat elections held there, people participated in large numbers and the BJP got huge support. What was a fantasy earlier is a reality today," he said. At present, there is a BJP government in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur and Assam. In Nagaland and Meghalaya too, the government is running with the cooperation of the BJP, Adityanath said. Earlier, one had to take permits to visit northeastern states, he said, adding that Naxal incidents have been curbed in affected states and the process of development has progressed rapidly. He said in the last nine years, the respect given to Indians in foreign countries has increased. Referring to Modi's recent three-nation tour, the UP CM said every Indian is proud of the increased attention that the country as well as the PM is getting on the global stage. "Breaking protocol, the prime minister of Papua New Guinea not only received PM Modi after sunset but also greeted him by touching his feet. Fiji and Papua New Guinea conferred their country's highest honours on our PM. The Prime Minister of Australia called PM Modi the 'boss', while the US president was eager to get an autograph of our PM. All this shows the strength of the country's leadership," Adityanath said. Amid the rising tensions on the Taiwan Strait, a Chinese warship carried out what the US military called an unsafe maritime interaction. The incident took place on Saturday after the Chinese Navy Ship maneuvered in an unsafe manner and reached within 150 yards of the US missile destroyer named USS Chung-Hoon. This forced the US Navy Destroyer to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision, ABC News reported. The video of the whole ordeal was circulated online in which the Chinese navy warship can be seen approaching the US warship. According to the US Indo-Pacific Command, the incident took place when the American destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and the Canadian frigate HMCS Montreal were conducting a transit in the International waters of the Taiwan Strait. The body of water is crucial since it separates the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. "During the transit, PLA(N) LUYANG III DDG 132 (PRC LY 132) executed maneuvers in an unsafe manner in the vicinity of Chung-Hoon," the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement. "The PRC LY 132 overtook Chung-Hoon on their port side and crossed their bow at 150 yards. Chung-Hoon maintained course and slowed to 10 kts to avoid a collision," the statement further reads. The Chinese warship then went on to execute a second pass in front of the American warships bow. "The LY 132's closest point of approach was 150 yards and its actions violated the maritime 'Rules of the Road' of safe passage in international waters," the Indo-Pacific Command asserted. Chinese warships within metres of Americas USS Chung-Hoon, which was transiting Taiwan Strait amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing. Chinese Defense Ministry doesnt want US warships in the Taiwan strait. pic.twitter.com/ldNDv2XdSY mmatigari (@matigary) June 4, 2023 The US reaffirms its commitment to the Indo-Pacific region Following the incident, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reaffirmed America's commitment to the Indo-Pacifc region. "We will support our allies and partners as they defend themselves against coercion and bullying," Austin said on Saturday at a security conference in Singapore. "To be clear, we do not seek conflict or confrontation, but we will not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion, He added. The year 2023 has witnessed a rise in altercations between the US and Chinese military be it on land or air. Last month, A Chinese fighter jet crossed the path of an American reconnaissance plane after it flew in the international airspace above the South China Sea. China accuses US of Provocation Meanwhile, following the Saturday incident, the Chinese Defense Chief, General Li Shangfu accused Washington of provocation in the region. They are not here for innocent passage, they are here for provocation, Li stated during a combative speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, CNN reported. Li insisted that if the US and other Western powers do not want confrontation then they should not send military assets near China. Mind your own business, Li asserted. Why did all these incidents happen in areas near China, not in areas near other countries? he added. The Chinese Defence Minister remarked that the US is provoking bloc confrontation for self-interest. The United States and several other Western actors have been wary of Chinas growing aggression in Taiwan. The recent confrontation on the sidelines of the Shangri La Dialogue indicates how the Sino-US ties are at an all-time low. Five police officers accused of cooperating with human traffickers to facilitate the entry of at least 100 migrants into Greece are being held in custody pending trial. The five officers had been testifying before an examining magistrate since Saturday morning at the border town of Orestiada, in northeastern Greece. Agents from the internal affairs division of the Greek police had been monitoring the five officers, who serve in a special border guard unit, since October 2022. They also listened into their phone conversations, whose transcripts run into over 2,000 pages. The officers had aroused suspicion by volunteering to patrol at certain times, together. Authorities say the offices facilitated at least 12 border crossings, collaborating with four traffickers of undetermined nationality who operated from Turkey. Authorities allege that the accused officers took a cut from the money the traffickers received from the migrants to take them across the border. When the officers were arrested last Monday in the border town of Didymoteicho, police confiscated some 26,000 euros ($28,000) in cash, and nearly 60 mobile phones. Almost all the land border between Greece and Turkey is formed by the Evros River, called Meric in Turkey. The Evros is a key crossing point into Greece for people seeking a better life in the European Union. Greece has built a high fence along much of the border to prevent migrants crossing, and is planning to further extend it. After the United States announced a peculiar visa policy for the Bangladeshi immigrant, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the country is not worried about such policies and sanctions. On Sunday, the countrys premier made it clear that it wont matter at all if someone does not go to the US, The Daily Star reported. Ahead of the Bangladesh General elections, the US Secretary of State announced the visa policy in an effort to promote democratic and fair elections in the country. However, Hasina completely dismissed the policy during an Awami League Party Programme in Dhakas Tejgaon area. "There are other oceans and other continents in the world. We will make friends with those continents crossing the other oceans. Our economy will be stronger and more developed and vibrant," The Bangladeshi Prime Minister stated firmly during the address. "We will not be dependent on others. It's no use worrying about who will not issue us visas or who will impose sanctions on us," she added. Hasina then went on to vow to rebuild the country. After pointing out the fact that the Canada High Court had declared the opposition party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, BNP a terrorist party, Hasina insisted that the US should look into the part that actually rigged elections, Bangladeshi news outlet, The Daily Star reported. "The USA did not issue a visa to Tarique Zia (Chairman of BNP) for terrorism and corruption," she noted. What is the visa policy all about? On May 24, US Secretary of State Anthony Blink announced a visa policy that aim to promote Democratic Elections in Bangladesh. Today, I announced a new visa policy to promote free and fair elections. Under this policy, we can impose visa restrictions on individuals and their immediate family members if they are responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh, the US secretary of state wrote on Twitter. The policy will be imposed on current and former Bangladeshi officials, members of pro-government and opposition political parties, and members of law enforcement, the judiciary, and security services. Today, I announced a new visa policy to promote free and fair elections. Under this policy, we can impose visa restrictions on individuals and their immediate family members if they are responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh. Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) May 24, 2023 If anyone is found guilty of tampering with elections then not only the official but their family will face the visa restriction. The holding of free and fair elections is the responsibility of everyonevoters, political parties, the government, the security forces, civil society, and the media. I am announcing this policy to lend our support to all those seeking to advance democracy in Bangladesh, Blinken concluded in the statement. The US is concerned about the 2024 Bangladesh elections since the 2014 and 2018 elections in the country were marred by violence and speculations of vote rigging. Hasinas ruling Awami League party won both elections with a landslide margin. Li Shangfus comments come after reports of a China, U.S. near-miss in the Taiwan Strait. Chinas defense minister said at a major regional security forum on Sunday that Beijing seeks dialogue over confrontation, hours after a Chinese warship was accused of nearly hitting a U.S. destroyer in the Taiwan Strait. General Li Shangfu said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that Chinas leader Xi Jinping proposed a set of so-called Global Security Initiatives (GSI) which features dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance and win-win over zero sum. In an apparent reference to the U.S., Li accused some country of taking a selective approach to rules and international laws, and forcing its own rules on others. It practices exceptionalism and double standards and only serves the interests and follows the rules of a small number of countries. The minister said it even attempts to constrain others with a convention itself has not acceded to, pointing to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982 that the United States, while recognizing it, is not a party of. The U.S. and China have been at loggerheads over a number of issues, among them Chinas extensive claims in the South China Sea and the U.S. 's freedom of navigation operations (FONOP) to uphold its principle of a free and open Indo-Pacific. China has repeatedly accused the U.S. of navigation hegemony in the South China Sea. The U.S. military meanwhile said that a Chinese warship on Saturday came close to hitting an American destroyer when the latter was sailing through the Taiwan Strait during a joint Canada-U.S. mission. Near-collision The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that its guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Montreal were conducting a routine transit through international waters in the Taiwan Strait. During the transit a Chinese Navy destroyer executed maneuvers in an unsafe manner in the vicinity of Chung-Hoon, it said, adding that the Chinese ship overtook Chung-Hoon on their port side and crossed their bow at 150 yards (140 meters). Chung-Hoon maintained course and slowed to 10 knots to avoid a collision. The Indo-Pacific Command said that Chinas actions violated the maritime Rules of the Road of safe passage in international waters where aircraft and ships of all nations may fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows. Chinas Ministry of National Defense claimed the Chinese ship handled the situation lawfully and professionally but analysts said they found the event disturbing and probably the worst such reported close maritime encounter in the South China Sea since October 2018, when a Chinese warship approached the USS Decatur within just 45 yards (41 meters). China is getting reckless while trying to enforce sovereignty in the Taiwan Strait, said Richard Bitzinger, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. Beijing is just trying to force everyone to accept the idea that Taiwan Straits are somehow Chinas de facto territorial waters, the military analyst told RFA. The Canadian Navys HMCS Montreal conducted a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait with U.S. Navy destroyer USS Chung-Hoon, June 3, 2023. Credit: Canadian Armed Forces Minister Li Shangfu told the audience at the Shangri-La Dialogue that the U.S. ships are in the region for provocation. What is key now is that we must prevent attempts to use freedom of navigation as a pretext to exercise hegemony of navigation, he said. Taiwanese military analysts said that the Saturday transit was a routine operation but the Chinese Navys reaction indicated a more resolute stance. As President Xi Jinping had instructed, senior officials and military leaders should take a tough stance against challenges rather than showing a soft behavior that can be seen as weak, said Shen Ming-shih, Acting Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Taiwans Institute for National Defense and Security Research. Thats what the Chinese Defense Minister demonstrated in his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Shen said. Military expert Richard Bitzinger said the reason behind this approach may be that the Chinese are worried that they have a narrow and closing window to exert themselves before the economy tanks and demographics catch up with them. Using risks as weapons The Chinese minister of defense in his speech lambasted the U.S.s Cold War mentality. He accused Washington of expanding military bases, re-enforcing military presence and intensifying arms race in the region those actions that reflect its desire to make enem[ies], stoke confrontation, fuel the fire and fish in troubled waters. Li also accused the U.S. of wilfully interfering in the internal affairs of others, referring to the issue of Taiwan which he said was core of Chinas core interests. The U.S. and China should seek common ground grow bilateral ties and deepen cooperation, he said. International affairs should not be handled through confrontation, the minister said, insisting that China is always seeking consensus, promoting reconciliation and negotiations. Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu delivers his speech on the last day of the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore, June 4, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Vincent Thian A day earlier, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he was deeply concerned that Beijing has been unwilling to engage with Washington and refused to hold direct bilateral talks. The Chinese ministers speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue and the dangerous action of its warships in the Taiwan Strait are part of the strategy that Id call riskfare, which plays on the concerns of the U.S. and other countries for risks, said Alexandre Vuving, a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii. The U.S. emphasizes communication, but China emphasizes risks and is using risk as a weapon in its struggle with the U.S., he said. Washington shows it's concerned about risks in its competition with Beijing. Beijing sees it and weaponizes this U.S. concern. The U.S.s willingness to reopen communications with China is genuine and some analysts believe that, despite the absence of direct contacts between the U.S. and Chinese delegations in Singapore, there are hopes for closer interactions. Baohui Zhang, director of the Centre for Asian Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, told RFA that the communication issue in U.S.-China relations has been somewhat exaggerated. The truth is that the two sides are communicating with each other, Zhang said, noting that the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency William Burns reportedly paid a secret visit to China last month. Jake Sullivan, the top U.S. national security official, also met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in May. The trade ministers of the two countries have also met. My own view is that both sides appreciate the importance of maintaining dialogues to prevent misunderstanding and inadvertent crisis situations, said the analyst. Neither side wants war and they still maintain sufficient dialogues with each other, he said. The U.S. State Department announced on Saturday that Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink is travelling to China on Sunday. In Beijing, Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink, joined by National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs Sarah Beran, will discuss key issues in the bilateral relationship, it said. The 20th Shangri-La Dialogue, the regions leading security forum hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), closes on Sunday. Edited by Mike Firn. Giving birth is a life or death struggle for women in Afghanistan, where roughly one mother is believed to die every two hours from preventable pregnancy and childbirth complications. Even mothers who survive face the stark reality that their newborns may not, with the Taliban's Health Ministry estimating 22 children die for every 1,000 live births. "Why would a woman need to go to the hospital?" 31-year-old Zia Gul, a resident of the northern Parwan Province, recalled her husband saying during her difficult pregnancies. "There are only men at the hospital; there are no female doctors." Gul told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that her husband's refusal to let her see a doctor contributed to the loss of two of her newborn children. Gul's experience is in line with those of many Afghan women, particularly in conservative rural areas, who are bound by the Islamic custom of mahram. The practice prohibits women from leaving their home without a male relative, bars them from being treated by male doctors, and gives them little say in their own health decisions. But the traditional customs enforced by Gul's in-laws, who allowed no discussion on the matter, are just one of the many factors that contribute to high maternal mortality in Afghanistan's deeply patriarchal society. Years of political upheaval, economic woes, the exodus of medical professionals, low literacy and public awareness on health issues, poor infrastructure, and the lack of access to medical care in remote areas all add up to astonishingly high maternal mortality rates. Among The World's Worst According to statistics compiled by the World Bank, the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA), and other UN agencies, 1,450 mothers were dying for every 100,000 live births by 2000, shortly before the Taliban was ousted from power. Over the course of the next 20 years, due to increased funding and attention paid to maternal health care and awareness by the UNPFA, international aid agencies such as Doctors Without Borders (MSF), and the Afghan government, that number was cut by more than half to 620 deaths by 2020. The Taliban's seizure of power in August 2021 raised fears that the extremist group would reimpose the draconian policies of its first stint in power from 1996-2001, including the banning of female education and employment as it enforced mahram. Many of those fears have been realized. Girls above the sixth grade have been barred from attending school, women are banned from pursuing university education, and women are no longer allowed to work for international aid agencies. Marham is also more prevalent, with women officially required to wear the all-encompassing burqa and remain at home unless accompanied by a male relative. Once again, according to Aleksandar Sasha Bodiroza, the UNFPA's representative in Afghanistan, women's ability to freely access health facilities to seek maternal and newborn care has been restricted. No outside nationwide statistics have been made available since 2020, but the Afghan Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, citing recent figures from the Taliban-led government's Health Ministry, told Radio Azadi that the maternal mortality ratio has risen only slightly under Taliban rule. While the figure, 638 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, is the same number recorded by the international community in 2017, it is still high enough to rank Afghanistan among the world's 10 worst in terms of maternal mortality. That the situation has remained relatively stable is also difficult to fathom, considering the vast numbers of doctors who fled the country as the Taliban regained power, the country's dire economic situation and multiple humanitarian crises, and the increased pressures on aid workers and on Afghan women. The state health-care system, propped up by foreign aid for two decades, has also suffered from a dramatic drop in international funding since the Taliban takeover. Health workers and outside agencies say the damage done to the health sector is undeniable. "The system has changed in our country. Naturally, it had an impact on the country's economy and the services that the government provides to the people," Hamid Jabari, an Afghan physician who was expelled from the country by the Taliban, told Radio Azadi. "The negative effects are being felt, including the lack of professionals in government, especially the health sector." Some of the losses are offset by the continued involvement of outside organizations, including private hospitals, the UNFPA, and MSF, which have been able to continue to employ women despite the Taliban's ban on women aid workers due to an exemption for health workers. But tremendous obstacles remain. Bodiroza said in written comments that "despite the exemption of the health sector from the ban on female humanitarian workers, the sector is also suffering from the ban as there are NGOs that indirectly support efficient delivery of health services -- not as frontline health workers but as back office staff, for example." Afghan women health-care workers, in turn, told Radio Azadi they are being prevented from carrying out their work or expanding their expertise, even as the contributing factors to maternal mortality become more severe. The result is that newborns or pregnant women are now at greater risk of preventable deaths during pregnancy, childbirth, and in the first few weeks after childbirth. "Many pregnant women can't access antenatal or postnatal care, and the health system struggles to treat women who experience complications in pregnancy," Tomas Bendl, field communications manager for MSF in Afghanistan, told RFE/RL in written comments. "A shortage of qualified female health-care staff also affects access to health care, as maternity and sometimes pediatric wards are women-only spaces." Dangers At Home Hussain Sayer, a doctor from Parwan Province, told Radio Azadi that childbirth should ideally take place at a maternity hospital under the care of an obstetrician. He said it was a "bad custom" for women to be denied access to health facilities during their pregnancies and warned that the only available option for many women -- home birth -- carries great risk. In the event of births taking place at home, he said, they should be supervised by a trained midwife. But while great emphasis was made over the past two decades to increase the number of professional midwives in Afghanistan capable of providing medical assistance during pregnancies, deliveries, and postnatal care, many Afghan women who entered the profession say they are unable to help. Nadia, a midwife who spoke to Radio Azadi on condition that only her first name be used, said many of her colleagues who specialized in gynecology and obstetrics are "unemployed and stay at home" since the Taliban takeover. Another midwife, who declined to give her name due to security concerns, said fear prevents many of her colleagues from working. "Midwives don't go from place to place to assist with births -- that's why the problems have increased," she told Radio Azadi. "Every midwife is afraid for her life." Restrictions on women's mobility have had a harmful effect on efforts to educate communities on women's health in remote areas of the country, according to the UNFPA's Bodiroza. Even when male family members do allow women to visit health-care facilities, the difficulties in reaching them in rural areas limits the number of visits and can mean help is often administered too late. "I took my wife to the clinic by motorcycle," Abdul Samad, a resident of the southeastern Ghazni Province told Radio Azadi, explaining he lived far from the nearest village with maternity facilities. While Samad managed to get his wife to a doctor, shortly after he left to retrieve her mother, he received bad news. "Half an hour later, I received a call saying my wife was in agony," he said. "When I returned, I saw they were right" -- both his wife and their newborn child had died. Continuing Efforts It is difficult to assess where Afghanistan truly stands in terms of maternal mortality, but the benefits of continued outreach efforts and on-the-ground medical aid are obvious. Bendl said MSF operates two projects in Afghanistan that focus on maternal health care, among other things, and employ more than 1,700 medical professionals in Afghanistan, of whom more than half are women. Last year, MSF assisted in more than 42,700 deliveries, more than 8,000 of which were marked by obstetric complications. In Lashkar Gah, capital of the southern Helmand Province, MSF's support for a hospital resulted in an average maternal mortality rate of 0.1 percent. In the southeastern Khost Province, where MSF operates a maternity hospital, the mortality rate was 0.02 percent. Bodiroza of the UNFPA said the agency continues "to deliver a full range of maternal health services in Afghanistan" and supports facilities and delivers essential reproductive health supplies in 32 out of the country's 34 provinces. Despite the positives, those involved in providing health services in Afghanistan say much more needs to be done. Bodiroza said the UNFPA estimates that without immediate and sustained support for reproductive health services, the situation could lead to an additional 51,000 maternal deaths by 2025. Adding that "reproductive health services are therefore more critical than ever," Bodiroza said the UN agency is aiming to reach 10.6 million people -- including 6.8 million women and girls -- in remote areas with reproductive health support. Bendl said that "there is no doubt that a dysfunctional health system, widespread poverty, and increased restrictions placed on women are at the heart of the current humanitarian crisis." "If we want the situation to improve," he said, "policymakers, donors, and local authorities must urgently focus on strengthening primary medical care." And women, he said, "must be allowed to pursue further education and employment opportunities, to raise income for their families and to ensure there are sufficient female health workers in the country to meet the needs." Written and reported by Michael Scollon, with additional reporting by Radio Azadi correspondents Ahmad Hanayish and Sahar Lewal He was one of Bulgaria's most notorious mafia kingpins, who rose through the ranks in the chaotic 1990s, acquiring along the way an empire of businesses -- some legitimate, many not -- from fruit markets, parking lots, to a stake in a business at a key border crossing serving as a gateway to the European Union. But as is often the fate of those operating in the underworld, Krasmir Kamenov met a violent end. Kamenov, also known by his nickname of Kuro, was found shot dead along with his wife and two others in their home in a suburb of Cape Town early on May 25, police reported. No suspects have been detained or questioned and no possible motive was given. Kamenov had reportedly been living in South Africa for years, although details of his life there -- even including photos of him -- are scant. But in the weeks before his death, Kamenov hit the headlines again, in connection to the disappearance of a cryptocurrency queen and an alleged plot against the country's prosecutor-general. And since his death, there has been widespread speculation that Kamenov was killed because he knew too much about the ties between organized crime and Bulgarian elites -- and, crucially, was about to speak out. In March, prosecutors in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, charged him with ordering the murder of a police officer in a bizarre case involving Ruja Ignatova, a vanished cryptocurrency queen who fled Bulgaria years ago after bilking gullible investors of billions. Even Interpol issued a worldwide "red notice" for Kamenov's arrest. Around the same time, Kamenov was also fingered by the country's top prosecutor in what he claimed was part of a plot against him and the Bulgarian Interior Ministry. Prosecutor-General Ivan Geshev, who himself faces strong suspicions -- including in Brussels and Washington -- that he is less than eager to root out graft in one of the EU's most corrupt members, later claimed he had escaped a car bombing, even though his accounting of events didn't appear to exactly jibe with what appeared to have happened. While few doubt that Kamenov had his enemies, his death has sparked speculation as to why now? For reporters at Bulgaria's Bureau of Investigative Reporting and Data (BIRD), the timing was no accident, claiming he was about to divulge details to U.S. investigators about the mysterious fate of cryptocurrency queen Ignatova. Others suspect what Kamenov knew could have proved damaging to political elites. "What's interesting is how people who for the last 20 years were only 'urban legends' suddenly became headline news," Miroliuba Benatova, an award-winning investigative journalist who has covered Kamenov and organized crime, recently told RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service. "Information about how Kuro is a suspect and maybe accused of organizing five murders, suddenly started to appear. It's as if this man was protected from all that until now." The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office on March 27 charged Kamenov with organizing the murder of former policeman Lyubomir Ivanov, who was killed in March 2022. Following his killing, allegedly damning documents were discovered in Ivanov's personal safe at his home. Those papers allegedly exposed a plot to kill the infamous Ignatova, who was head of the multimillion-dollar OneCoin scam. She vanished in 2017 after allegedly ripping off investors to the tune of $5 billion. The documents reportedly found in the possession of Ivanov indicated that Ignatova had been killed in 2018. The papers are also said to have linked the plot against Ignatova to a Bulgarian drug lord, who was alleged to be a former key associate of Kamenov from the 1990s. The alleged documents -- said to be official police reports -- were the basis of an in-depth investigation by BIRD that claimed Ignatova was killed on a yacht in the Ionian Sea. Her whereabouts, let alone death, have yet to be officially confirmed, however. Adding to the confusion, Ignatova is one of the FBI's most-wanted fugitives, the only woman on the list at this time. According to BIRD, the timing of Kamenov's killing was no accident. In a post on Twitter on May 26, BIRD said Kamenov had been their "source" for the police reports on the alleged murder plot and "was about to say more to U.S. investigators." Kamenov was again in the spotlight in March when Geshev, the prosecutor-general, accused journalists of conspiring with criminals, business owners, and politicians to plot against him and high-ranking officials at the Interior Ministry. Kamenov was one of those named by Geshev in his rambling rant. Geshev is no stranger to controversy. He has long been accused by Brussels and Washington of turning a blind eye to much of the corruption in Bulgaria, refusing to open probes into some of the more egregious cases. Kamenov's business interests were murky as they were widespread. He and his various partners allegedly held stakes in multiple businesses, from parking lots to a fruit market and a bathhouse in Sofia. More worrying for Brussels was his part in the alleged mob takeover of a key border crossing with Turkey, where importers have reportedly been extorted for years. In 2022, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, who rose to power on a pledge to root out entrenched corruption in Bulgaria, vowed to put a stop to the suspected mafia shakedown at the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint on the border with Turkey, a notorious entry point for drugs into the European Union, and where food items destined for EU markets were reportedly cleared without proper checks. For the criminals cashing in, the border crossing was known as a golden goose. Kamenov was alleged to have a stake in a contract to disinfect vehicles at the checkpoint, a state requirement for all cars and trucks, and was reportedly tied to a private laboratory that tested all food imports from Turkey. Ivan Hristanov, the deputy agriculture minister under Petkov, was tasked with cleaning up the operations at the notorious checkpoint. In June 2022, a day after the minister requested files on operations at Kapitan Andreevo, he received threats. "There was this message from the mafia guys," he said in an interview with Politico in June 2022. "It was like a question: 'Would it be a war with you? Or we'll have peace?'" Hristanov told Bulgarian media at the time that he feared for his and his family's lives. Kamenov rose to prominence in the 1990s, when Bulgaria, like much of former communist Eastern Europe, was gripped by instability as it struggled to transition to a free society after decades of authoritarian rule. He was allegedly a member of a hit squad run by VIS, a protection racket under the guise of a security firm that was owned by Vassil Iliev, an infamous Bulgarian organized crime kingpin who reportedly ran multiple criminal enterprises and was allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade. Iliev was killed in Sofia on April 25, 1995, when unidentified gunmen sprayed his Mercedes-Benz with gunfire. After his death, Kamenov rose even faster up the ranks of VIS, eventually taking control of much of its assets, according to Nikolay Stoyanov, a Bulgarian investigative journalist at Kapital weekly in comments to RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service. In time, Kamenov and his alleged drug-lord associate expanded their empire, taking effective control of hotels, parking lots in Sofia, beach concessions, and the Slatina fruit and vegetable market, a sprawling complex in the capital near the city's main airport. However, about a decade ago, a fallout between Kamenov and his close criminal associate began to emerge, Stoyanov says. "This partnership worked relatively smoothly for several years, until at some point, sometime around 2019, Kuro's confidants, whom he literally appointed to manage parts of his legal businesses in Bulgaria...began to betray him one by one.... And so [Kamenov] starts to lose control," including, according to Stoyanov, of the operations at the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint. To investigative journalist Benatova, Kamenov's death could have been part of a "settling of accounts." "The entire political elite and the elite of the judicial system have shown very clearly that these people who are from...organized crime, then whitewashed their business, are intertwined," she said. "So, if there is a mafia war, it is already of a mafia that has merged much more with the state and it is already an intrastate war," Stoyanov added. "Not just underground clans, but at a higher level, of people who occupy quite high positions in the state." For the second time in just months, Baku has warned its citizens against traveling to Iran in the wake of a deadly attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran in January that it blamed on the "unstable situation in the Islamic republic." In what has become a habit in recent weeks, Iranian officials have been angered over the perceived obstinacy of its northwestern neighbor and the encroachment of regional adversaries on what Tehran believes to be its backyard. Azerbaijan's increasingly cozy relations with Iran's archfoe, Israel -- highlighted by defense deals, the opening of an embassy in Tel Aviv in March, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog's first visit to Azerbaijan last month -- has become a reliable trigger for Tehran as its own ties with Baku hit new lows. Tehran does not officially recognize Israel, which it refers to disparagingly as a Palestinian-killing "Zionist regime" and accuses of having designs on sabotage and unrest within Iran's borders. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan has warned against the travel of its citizens to Iran! This is the same policy that the president of the fake, child-killing, and occupying Zionist regime took during his recent trip to Baku," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani tweeted on June 5. "What should scare the people of Azerbaijan is the Zionist regime, not civilized and Islamic Iran." Complicated Relationship Herzog's visit, during which he said he and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev discussed in depth "the regional security structure that is threatened by Iran," appeared to have struck a nerve in Tehran. "From the standpoint of the Islamic republic, the close relations of Azerbaijan with Israel is a major problem, [as is] the active presence of Israel in the military sphere [of Azerbaijan] and providing it with weaponry and the tight economic and security ties between the two countries," Iran analyst Touraj Atabaki, professor emeritus and chairman of the social history of the Middle East and Central Asia at Leiden University, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda. But Baku's budding ties with Israel are just one among many factors straining Iran's relationship with Azerbaijan, a fellow Shi'a-majority country. Observers say the relationship has been complicated ever since Azerbaijan became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. But things became even more problematic when Baku retook territory along Iran's border during its 2020 war with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. While Tehran supported Azerbaijan's claim to territory occupied by Iranian ally Armenia, it has strongly opposed Baku's intention to use the retaken lands to build the east-west Zangezur Corridor, which would connect mainland Azerbaijan to its Naxcivan exclave and open a long-sought trade route to Tehran's rival, Turkey, and beyond. The plan was boosted by the Russian-brokered cease-fire that ended the war over Nagorno-Karabakh and called for "all economic and transport connections in the region to be unblocked." While Iran launched large-scale military exercises dubbed "Mighty Iran" along its border with Naxcivan in October 2022 -- a show of force to underscore that it would not "permit the blockage" of its trade and transport links to Armenia -- the initiative has moved forward. As talk of a possible peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan pick up steam, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksei Overchuk announced on May 31 that the two sides were close to an agreement that would pave the way for the route through Armenia and Azerbaijani territory previously occupied by Yerevan, and "open the road to Russia, the countries of the European Union, and Iran." As Iran seeks to boost its sanctions-circumventing trade with Russia, including with the completion of a second north-south route that would also pass through Azerbaijan, the prospect of seeing a trade route crossing its passage to Armenia remains a serious bone of contention. "Iran doesn't like this corridor because in the larger competition and struggle between Tehran and Baku it weakens Iran if this corridor is created, because right now Azerbaijan has to use Iranian airspace or territory to resupply Naxcivan," said Luke Coffey, a foreign policy expert at the Washington-based Hudson Institute think tank. The Zangezur Corridor, if completed, would mean that "Iran will become less important in the eyes of policymakers in Baku, and perhaps Azerbaijan would feel emboldened to take a more hard line against Iran," Coffey told RFE/RL. 'Mighty Iran' And Shi'ite Brotherhood Such a scenario does not sit well with Iran, which has worked to exert its influence in Azerbaijan. "A significant segment of the Azerbaijani population is Shi'a and since the creation of the independent Republic of Azerbaijan, the Islamic republic has considered Azerbaijan as the backyard for the [expansion] of the influence of its brand of Shi'ism," Atabaki said. Tehran is also wary of the effects the loss of influence on Baku will have on Iran's large ethnic Azeri population, separated from Azerbaijan by the Aras River and located primarily in Iran's East and West Azerbaijan provinces. During the 2020 war over Nagorno-Karabakh, Coffey said, images emerged on social media of ethnic Azeris in Iran "waving Azerbaijani flags on the other side of the river, literally cheering on, like a spectator event, the advancements of the Azerbaijani armed forces." In November 2022, Baku stoked tensions with Iran by staging its own military exercises along the Iranian border, with Aliyev saying they were necessary to show Tehran that "we are not afraid of them." "We will do our best to protect the secular lifestyle of Azerbaijan and Azeris around the world, including in Iran," Aliyev added. "They are part of our people." A Turning Point Amid the continuing back and forth, the January attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran was seen by some observers as a turning point in bilateral relations. Azerbaijan evacuated its embassy staff following the January 27 attack, in which a security guard was killed and two others injured when a gunman stormed the complex and opened fire. Baku blamed the attack on the Iranian secret service and called it an "act of terrorism." In February, the Azerbaijani authorities said that they had detained nearly 40 people on suspicion of spying for Iran. The fray worsened in March with the alleged assassination attempt on Fazil Mustafa, an Azerbaijani lawmaker who had been critical of Iran. Following the arrest in April of four people in connection with the incident, Baku accused Tehran of orchestrating the plot. Two weeks later, Azerbaijani media reported the arrest of 20 people allegedly affiliated with Iran's Intelligence Ministry who were accused of promoting "the Islamic republic's propaganda, spreading religious superstitions, [and] attempting to overthrow the secular government of Baku." In a tit-for-tat move, Tehran and Baku expelled four of each other's diplomats in April. And while diplomatic relations continued, the strains were evident as the two countries' foreign ministers held a series of phone calls that month in which Iran made clear that Tehran did not approve of Baku's relations with Israel. "Only enemies benefit from the existence of differences" between the two countries, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was quoted as saying by Iran's Shargh daily. Iran's vice president in charge of economic affairs, Mohsen Rezaei, went a step further while addressing members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in the western Lorestan Province. "The incitement of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the signing of arms contracts between Israel and the Republic of Azerbaijan was aimed at creating riots in the north of Iran, and to shift the thinking and focus of the army, the IRGC and the government of Iran to the north so that Israel can bomb Iran's nuclear sites," Shargh quoted Rezaei as saying. On May 16, the Azerbaijani authorities announced another haul of individuals it said were recruited by Iran to disrupt Azerbaijan's constitutional order and establish Islamic law. This time, Baku claimed, the seven men detained had allegedly planned to assassinate Azerbaijani public figures. The Feud Continues That set the scene for the visit to Baku by Herzog in late May, held under strict security out of fear of Iranian retaliation. After meeting Herzog, Aliyev lauded the boost that Israeli weaponry had given his country "to modernize our defense capability and allow us to defend our statehood, our national interests, and our territorial integrity." Nearly 70 percent of Azerbaijan's arms imports between 2016 and 2020 were from Israel, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Herzog, in his comments after meeting Aliyev, said that "we expect to develop cooperation between us in many fields." Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Kanaani again took to Twitter to air Tehran's views on the development, writing on March 31 that "none of the regional moves of the Zionist regime remain hidden from the penetrating eyes of the Islamic Republic of Iran." The next day, an Iranian opposition hacking group released alleged classified Iranian government documents that appeared to shed light on the January embassy attack and indicated the need to reevaluate Tehran's diplomatic ties with Azerbaijan. The documents, purportedly distributed among top Iranian officials, included advice on how to distance Azerbaijani society from its government and attributed Baku's policies to "Zionist" influence. That potential bombshell was followed by Azerbaijan's announcement on June 2 that it had closed Iran's cultural attache office in Baku, citing "recent disagreements" between the two countries. And on June 3 came the spark for Kanaani's latest Twitter outburst: Azerbaijan's renewed travel warning advising its citizens not to travel to Iran and for those who are already there to be vigilant. Within seconds of blasting Azerbaijan and its ties with Israel in his first tweet on June 5, Kanaani took a softer line, writing that Iran would still "open our arms to our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters," with the goal of continued "mutual respect and respect for neighborhood customs." But in his comments to Radio Farda on June 7, Iran expert Atabaki expressed skepticism, saying that "the Islamic republic is not planning to see its ties with Azerbaijan as an equal relationship." And that mindset, Atabaki said, had allowed relations to reach their current low. Gago Makichyan, a Russian cellist of Armenian heritage, largely eschewed public political activism, even after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This stood in sharp contrast to his brother and fellow musician, Arshak Makichyan, a climate and political activist who openly protested the all-out war President Vladimir Putin launched in February 2022. "I support what activists do, but activism is not for me.... I understood Arshak's decision to choose activism over a career as a musician. And I understand how difficult it was for him to make such a choice," Gago told RFE/RL's Russian Service in an interview. The distinction appears to mean little to Russian authorities amid their tightening crackdown on dissent against the war: the brothers and their father have been stripped of their Russian citizenship and banned from the country for 50 years after being deemed threats to national security. The ban and loss of citizenship, which the brothers call retribution for Arshak Makichyan's activism, has left the brothers stateless and forced them to scramble to build new lives in exile. "I did not believe until the very end that we would be asked to leave the country," Gago told RFE/RL's Russian Service. "I planned to live in Russia even after receiving stateless-person status. I was born in Moscow, married to a Russian citizen. I have never participated in the activities of the opposition. I was sure that there was nothing to deport me for." The Makichyans unsuccessfully challenged the cancellation of their citizenship, which a court based on alleged falsification of citizenship paperwork more than 15 years ago. In February, Gago, 25, and his father were forced to leave Russia and banned from returning for 50 years after the Federal Security Service (FSB) determined they were national-security threats, according to records reviewed by RFE/RL. "Obviously, we were kicked out because of my brother's activism -- I see no other explanation for this decision," Gago said. 'Politely Asked To Leave Russia Quickly' An activist with the international Fridays for Future ecological movement founded by Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg, Arshak Makichyan, 29, had been arrested multiple times in Russia for unsanctioned environmental rallies and began openly protesting the war in Ukraine shortly after Putin's full-scale invasion in February 2022. It was in October 2022, after Arshak had left Russia for Germany, that a Russian court canceled his citizenship along with that of his father and brother. "I am a Russian-Armenian and I am not a fascist, that's why they are depriving me of my Russian citizenship. Let's fight together for a country that will be a place for all of us, not just for bloodthirsty murderers who belong in prison," Arshak wrote in a Facebook post following the decision. The same day in February, security-service officers stopped the brothers' father and Gago in Moscow and informed them they were being banned from Russia for 50 years, according to Gago, a graduate of the Moscow State Conservatory. "I was very politely asked to leave Russia quickly. I took advantage of this opportunity and left the country the same day," Gago told RFE/RL's Russian Service. Adding to the evidence that the Makichyans were targeted for Arshak's political evidence rather than alleged passport irregularities more than a decade ago, a video report about Arshak was published days later on a Kremlin-loyal propaganda channel on Telegram indicating Russian security services had shadowed Gago's wedding in Moscow the previous month. "It turns out they had even organized surveillance of me," Gago said. "I found out about this when I saw the video about Arshak. There was footage of my wedding that took place in January of this year -- very modest, without guests." 'Hit By A Stray Bullet' Gago Makichyan has been playing cello since he was 6 years old and says he was working on solo projects, including an album release, that were interrupted by his expulsion from Russia. In a Facebook post last week, he wrote that after he was expelled, he flew directly to Armenia, where he obtained a humanitarian visa for Germany and a travel document allowing him to settle in Berlin. Asked whether his relationship with his brother had changed since his forced exile, Gago said that previously the two "often didn't have enough time for each other." "But we have a warm relationship, we always supported each other. Now, after emigration and everything we experienced, we have become even closer," he said. Gago told RFE/RL's Russian Service that he did not harbor ill-feelings toward his native country that stripped him of his citizenship and banned him from returning for five decades. "It was not Russia that treated me this way, but only a small structure of the state system," he said. "I got hit by a stray bullet, but this does not mean that I will now have a bad attitude toward Russia." "I want to return there as soon as I have the opportunity. I hope it arrives before my 75th birthday," he added. Meat expert Jose Manuel Lorenzo, 46, is the researcher who has published the most scientific studies in Spain. He put his name on 176 papers last year, according to a count by John Ioannidis an expert in biomedical statistics at Stanford University which was requested by EL PAIS. Lorenzo publishes a study every other day (if you include weekends). Its an astonishing figure, far above the second-highest ranked scientist: the prestigious ecologist Josep Penuelas, 65, who published 112 studies in 2022. The vast majority of Lorenzos colleagues in his field typically publish a dozen articles a year at most. The University of Vigo, in Galicia where Lorenzo is an associate professor claims that he is the biggest meat expert in the world. However, a French researcher who usually headlines international conferences on the subject of meat tells EL PAIS that they have never heard the Spaniards name. Lorenzos case reveals the darker side of science. Researchers are under brutal pressure to publish studies. Their salary increases, promotions, project funding and social prestige depend on evaluations in which their performance is measured practically by weight. This system known as publish or perish has created monsters. Thousands of scientists around the world publish at least one study every five days, according to Ioannidiss calculations. They are the so-called hyperprolific researchers, who have an amazing production rate, which is sometimes suspicious. Jose Manuel Lorenzo is the head of research at the Meat Technology Center (CTC) an entity dedicated to meat products, supported by the regional government of Galicia in San Cibrao das Vinas, a city in the Spanish province of Ourense. A person who has worked with him recalls that, around 2018, his laboratory became a sausage factory. Lorenzo went from publishing less than 20 studies a year to signing his name to more than 120. He doesnt even have time to read them, says another person, who has collaborated on projects with the man. At one point, Lorenzo began collaborating with exotic researchers who nobody knew about on topics that have nothing to do with meat. Four months ago, he published a study on the hospital management of monkeypox, alongside Iraqi, Indian and Pakistani co-authors. And a year ago, he and some researchers from India and Saudi Arabia published an article on the treatment of gum disease with bee venom. In a telephone conversation with EL PAIS, Lorenzo admits that he doesnt know any of these co-authors in person, nor is he an expert on any of these issues. The Meat Technology Center, in San Cibrao das Vinas, Spain. Brais Lorenzo (EFE) India is one of the countries where so-called paper mills are concentrated factories that churn out scientific studies which are already written and ready to be published in specialized journals. Co-authorship is offered in exchange for money. EL PAIS requested price rates from one of the Indian companies that sends their offers to Spanish scientists: iTrilon, based in Chennai. The companys scientific director Sarath Ranganathan offered the possibility of being the first author of a study that was already written entitled Next-generation neurotherapies against Alzheimers in exchange for about $500. Its also possible to be the fifth co-author of an article titled Emergence of rare microbial infections in India for $430. iTrilon promises to publish these ready-made studies in the journals of the worlds leading scientific publishers: Elsevier, Taylor & Francis, Springer Nature, Science and Wiley. Last year, the academic publishing industry acknowledged that at least 2% of studies each journal receives are considered to be suspicious. Sometimes, the number of suspicious studies is marked as high as 46%. Lorenzo categorically denies having resorted to these services, but he is aware of the existence of a market for the sale of authorship. I received several emails from a person who offered to pay me 1,000 or 2,000 [$1,070-$2,144] to put him as a co-author, but I didnt even answer, he affirms. Lorenzo says that scientists from India, Pakistan, Iraq and other countries often invite him to collaborate, even if they dont know him. According to him, plant biochemist Manoj Kumar from the Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, in Bombay asked him to participate in a study on the treatment of gum diseases and he an expert in meat accepted. Lorenzo says that he limited himself to reviewing the English, proposing some graphics and signing it as co-author. I get a lot of emails every day and, if I have time and I [am interested in] the topic they raise, I say yes, he explains. I trust people. If theyre cheating me, I dont know. Its unethical to use a persons name to publish a study or charge for co-authorship. Im against all these practices. And, as far as I know, theyve never used me for that, he maintains. Scientific journals have a perverse incentive to publish studies of dubious quality. In the past, it was readers who paid to read the articles, which were inaccessible without a subscription. But in recent years, another model has been imposed, in which the authors themselves are the ones who pay up to $6,500 to private publishers so that their studies can be published with open access to any reader. The change in this model has caused an earthquake in the world of science. In 2015, there were barely a dozen biomedical journals that each published more than 2,000 studies per year, representing 6% of total production between them. There are now 55 of these so-called mega-journals together, they publish almost a quarter of all specialized literature, according to recent research by John Ioannidis. Half of the top mega-journals come from the same publisher: MDPI, a corporate giant founded in Basel, Switzerland, by Chinese chemist Shu-Kun Lin. It currently controls 427 journals. Its top publication International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health publishes nearly 17,000 studies each year, a number that makes it difficult to ensure quality. This journal charges authors more than $2,500 for the publication costs of each work. Five years ago, more than a dozen publishers of Nutrients another one of these mega-journals resigned, alleging that MDPI pressured them to accept low-quality studies and increase revenue. The work by meat expert Jose Manuel Lorenzo on gum disease was published in the journal Antioxidants also owned by MDPI. Shu-Kun Lins publishing house has become an empire in a short time. MDPI journals offer an easy way to publish studies, thanks to their less-demanding requirements. A scientist can submit a paper to them and see it published in as little as a month after a cursory review, instead of the typical six months that other publishers require. Emilio Delgado professor of Research Methodology at the University of Granada in Spain makes a devastating diagnosis about this situation: The MDPI journals have engulfed the system. Delgado jokes that, in the academic world, there is already talk of MDPI professors, which refers to those who have risen thanks to CVs based on this type of shoddy work. He notes that Spanish universities have become veritable factory farms for insubstantial studies. Delgado and his colleague Alberto Martin have analyzed this change in the behavior of Spanish scientists. Their data shows that, in 2015, barely 0.9% of Spanish production was published in MDPI journals, compared to a 0.6% rate worldwide. Six years later, the percentage in Spain shot up to nearly 15% double the proportion in the rest of the world. Some universities focus on getting their studies published in MDPI journals, such as the Catholic University of Avila (71%), Alfonso X el Sabio University (42%), the University of Extremadura (30%) and the Catholic University of Murcia (27%). At the most prestigious university in Spain the Complutense University of Madrid the percentage exceeds 12%. Jesus Simal, professor of Nutrition at the University of Vigo, in Galicia, Spain. Universidad de Vigo The third-most prolific scientist in Spain is Jesus Simal. A professor of Nutrition at the University of Vigo, he had 110 studies published last year nearly one every three days. Simal is a specialist in chemical contaminants in food, but his resume also includes studies on different topics with exotic co-authors. A year ago, he published a study on the CRISPR gene-editing tool against cancer, alongside co-authors from Bangladesh, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. The professor (and former vice-chancellor of his university) admits that he doesnt know the rest of the signatories in person and attributes his unusual production to his cooperation with multiple international research teams. Simal has also occasionally collaborated with Jose Manuel Lorenzo. Together, they have written a book on fish food. Fourth place on the list of the most prolific scientists in Spain is occupied by the Japanese psychiatrist Ai Koyanagi, with a peak of 108 annual studies (not counting minor works). Koyanagi was the co-director of the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders working group at the Sant Joan de Deu Research Institute, in the Barcelona metropolitan area. This past April 30, she resigned from her post, after EL PAIS revealed that the psychiatrist is one of the 19 scientists in Spain who have falsely declared in exchange for money that their main place of work is a Saudi university. This is meant to help the Arab institution cheat its way up international academic rankings. A spokesman for ICREA the Catalan public institution that paid Koyanagis salary said that she will be looking for work outside of Spain. To evaluate the performance of a researcher and decide on promotions or salary increases, institutions consult their production in international databases, such as the Web of Science, from the multinational company Clarivate. Chemist Nandita Quaderi the vice president of the Web of Science platform announced this past March 20 that her team had detected more than 500 suspect journals, thanks to a new artificial intelligence program created to clean up increasingly contaminated academic records. The company has already removed more than 80 journals from its database, including 15 mega-journals and MDPIs aforementioned International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Its the journal in which Spanish scientists have published the most in the last five years, with more than 5,400 studies, according to an analysis by Rafael Repiso and Angel Maria Delgado Vazquez, two professors of Information Science. Were losing millions of euros of public money paying for the publication of studies that usually dont contribute anything like parrots, they only repeat what everyone already knew about, laments Delgado Vazquez, from the Pablo de Olavide University, in Seville. Their analysis reveals that the 82 journals now expelled from the database have published almost 190,000 studies in the last five years. Some 7,000 almost 4% have Spanish co-authors. Spanish institutions have spent more than 12 million almost $13 million to pay the publication costs of these controversial studies, according to their calculations. Its not necessary to generalize, but in our universities, we all know of a professor whose curriculum has grown mysteriously in a very short period of time and who is managing to be promoted in an unusually short period of time. The rot is there. whoever doesnt smell it is covering their nose, says Delgado Vazquez. Five Spanish public universities the universities of Granada, Valencia, Extremadura, Seville and Almeria published almost 1,900 studies in the controversial International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in just five years. In addition to the wasted public money is the inequality that this causes in the scientific system. These shameless professors make progress in their careers, while honorable people are left on the sidelines. This is what is truly unfortunate, Delgado Vazquez emphasizes. The Technology Center for Meat boasts that four of the worlds top five experts in meat products are researchers at the organization. CTC A scientists performance is also measured by the number of times his or her work is cited by other researchers. Publishing a huge number of studies and belonging to an international network of colleagues (who do the same thing and cite each other) is an easy way to climb some international rankings. The Technology Center for Meat boasts that four of the top five experts in meat products in the world are researchers within the organization, according to data from the U.S. portal Expertscape, which values studies by weight. In this list, Jose Manuel Lorenzo is the first in the world, followed by his laboratory colleagues Paulo Munekata, Mirian Pateiro and Ruben Dominguez. These last two are also implicated in the Saudi plot to cheat in the global rankings. The fifth-most prolific scientist in Spain is Toni Frontera, a professor of Chemistry at the University of the Balearic Islands. He co-authors a hundred studies each year. I work eight hours and then eight more, because my hobby is publishing. I love it. I work basically every day of the year: Saturdays, Sundays, at Christmas, he assures EL PAIS in a telephone conversation. He has just published a study on the structure of a molecular complex with pharmacological potential, together with researchers from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, New Zealand and Egypt. Frontera admits that he doesnt know any of his co-authors and says that he limited himself to making computer simulations based on experimental data that was sent to him. They contacted me via email. If theres been a sale of authorship, or if theyve added authors [who in reality havent done anything], I cant really know, the professor states. The sixth-most prolific researcher is Rafael Luque, a chemist expelled from the University of Cordoba six months ago for his involvement in the Saudi plot. Luque who, for the next 13 years, is suspended from the university and forbidden from collecting a salary put his name on 98 studies last year, including a work put out by the Springer Nature publishing house about the photodegradation of ibuprofen in wastewater. He co-authored it with seven Iranians. The British engineer Nick Wise, from the University of Cambridge, has denounced that the co-authorships of said study went on sale a few months before. Luque affirms that he has never paid to sign someone elses study, but adds that he doesnt rule out the possibility that one of his Iranian co-authors paid to appear. Chemist Rafael Luque, in a laboratory at the University of Cordoba, Spain. Universidad de Cordoba The MDPI publishing house has created a new business model. Its periodicals invite scientists even the most mediocre ones to be editors of a multitude of special issues, turning researchers into their commercial agents (who arent paid). A guest editor will subsequently offer their colleagues to publish studies in said journal, as long as they pay the $2,500 or so in publication expenses. In return for this networking, the guest editor will be able to publish one or more free articles in the special issue. These are similar to pyramid schemes, according to Isidro Aguillo, from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Each MDPI journal publishes hundreds of special issues a year, multiplying the number of regular issues. MDPI increases its profits, while thousands of guest editors pad their CVS. Delgado Vazquez and Repiso urge institutions to consider these practices to be demerits, instead of merits, as is currently the case. A demerit [should be applied] when youre trying to sell the idea that your article has been published in an international journal, when the reality is that its been published in your own issue, or in an issue edited by your regular co-author, or by a colleague in your department. Thats not merit its endogamy, they point out in their analysis. Jose Manuel Lorenzo and his three colleagues from the Meat Technology Center have been guest editors of issues put out by the MDPI publishing house. Many of the most prolific scientists end up entering the prestigious list of Highly Cited Researchers, compiled by the multinational firm Clarivate. This list is made up of the 7,000 researchers in the world who are most-cited by other colleagues. Simal, Koyanagi, Luque and Jose Manuel Lorenzos two laboratory colleagues Mirian Pateiro and Ruben Dominguez appear on this list, used by the influential Shanghai Ranking to designate the best universities on the planet. Some Saudi institutions secretly offer up to $75,000 per year to those on the Highly Cited list, in exchange for lying in the Clarivate database and declaring that they principally work in Saudi Arabia. The mathematician Domingo Docampo former rector of the University of Vigo also denounces the existence of citation farms, or international networks of researchers who agree to cite each other to artificially rise in the international rankings. Historically, the most-cited mathematical studies came from world-renowned universities, such as Harvard, Stanford and Princeton. Now, Docampo explains, its difficult to find a prestigious institution in the top positions, which have been taken over by second-rank Asian universities. The most-cited mathematical study of 2022 was a paper on the flow of heat in a particular nanomaterial, led by a researcher at King Abdulaziz University one of the Saudi institutions implicated in the bribery of highly-cited scientists. According to Docamplo, this irrelevant article gets more than 430 citations in a single year, compared to the 24 that the most-cited study from Princeton has received. In Saudi Arabia, there are the sheikhs in the citation mafia, he warns. The Arab work has already been retracted, after suspicious changes were detected at the last minute, with three co-authors from India and Saudi Arabia having quietly been added to the paper, according to a note from the publisher: Elsevier, a Dutch academic publishing company. This is the usual behavior involved in the sale of authorships. Isidro Aguillo, from the Spanish National Research Council, is calling for a strong hand to deal with this issue: The problem isnt the cheaters nor the system, because if the system changes, the cheaters will adapt. The problem is impunity. Gregory Lip, a cardiologist at the University of Liverpool, is the world's most-published scientist. Universidad de Liverpool Gregory Lip a cardiologist at the University of Liverpool is the most-published scientist in the world, putting out more than 250 studies a year, according to calculations (requested by this newspaper) from Ioannidis. Its a rate that involves co-authoring an article every day-and-a-half, while working on weekends. Theres nothing wrong with productivity per se. In fact, its good that scientists are productive instead of lazy, but the number of articles shouldnt be the important thing, Ioannidis says. The fact that many relatively young researchers in Spain have such high productivity rates in recent years is worrying. It suggests that theres a reward system that has encouraged these massive publication rates, the Stanford professor reflects. The guardian of the quality of Spanish universities is the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA). In 2017, the body began to demand more than a hundred published studies as an essential merit for a professor to be accredited in certain specialties. The new director of the agency Pilar Paneque attributes those changes to a royal decree made by the government of Mariano Rajoy (2011-2018). Theres a clamor about how this is crazy, that were distorting the sense of what the university and science should be, says Paneque, who has only been in office for the past three months. In every cafe, in every university, theres this conversation about how weve thrown ourselves into the arms of the publishing market and about the cost that this system is having in every way, the director of ANECA laments. Spanish universities and the Spanish National Research Council pay about 43 million ($46 million) each year to four publishers Elsevier, Wiley, Springer Nature and ACS for students and professors to be able to read their journals, while also ensuring that more open-access studies are published. Other companies such as the controversial MDPI have also reached individual agreements with a multitude of universities. Eva Mendez an expert in open science at the Carlos III University of Madrid criticizes the current system and the predatory behavior of all scientific publishers. Paying 43 million euros a year is outrageous. With those 43 million euros, a great alternative system could be made, she scoffs. Mendez offers the example of Open Research Europe, a publishing platform supported by the European Commission, where researchers dont have to pay to read articles or publish their studies. The director of ANECA is optimistic, despite everything. Precisely because weve all reached the point of exhaustion in the face of these bad practices because the publishing market dominates our research activity and because this is known and criticized by everyone I believe that were at a perfect juncture to make all the necessary changes, she opines. Pilar Paneques plan is to introduce new evaluation criteria for scientists in January of 2024, after the approval of a new law to replace the controversial one from Rajoys time. The whole system is crazy and its costing millions of euros. Thats why this is an excellent moment to change it, she affirms. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Tens of thousands joined an anti-government march in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, on June 3. It was the fifth in a series of mass protests organized by opposition parties after two unrelated gun attacks a month ago. Among other demands, the protesters called for the resignation of President Aleksandar Vucic. Fresh battles broke out on the Russian side of the Ukrainian border on June 4, as anti-Kremlin fighters said they had captured several Russian soldiers and turned them over to Kyiv after the governor of the Belgorod region failed to show up for negotiations on a prisoner swap. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod, acknowledged fighting was taking place in his region, which borders Ukraine, and that some soldiers had been taken prisoner by the pro-Ukrainian Russian fighters. 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. He earlier vowed to meet with the fighters near the border and said he would "guarantee [their] security" to discuss a swap. But the anti-Kremlin fighters said the governor never arrived and that they were turning over their captives to the Ukrainian government. The developments could not immediately be independently verified. The self-styled Russian Volunteer Corps released a statement on Telegram making the claims and showed a video of what appeared to be 10-12 Russian soldiers being held captive, including two who were on hospital beds. The military action inside Russia comes two weeks after the corps and another group, the Free Russia Legion, made a stunning cross-border incursion, attacking Russian forces in towns and villages in the Belgorod region. Ukraine has denied it is behind the attacks. Gladkov acknowledged the new fighting in the region, saying that "there is combat" in the border town of Novaya Tavolzhanka. Gladkov blamed "sabotage groups." "I hope they will all be destroyed," he said. He did not immediately comment on the report stating that he failed to show at a negotiation site. Earlier, Ukrainian officials said a 2-year-old child had been killed in a Russian air strike on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, while air defenses in the capital of Kyiv repelled a wave of Russian drones and missiles. The Russian strike late on June 3 on a residential district of Dnipro also left 22 people injured -- including five children -- according to Serhiy Lysak, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration. In a post on Telegram, Lysak said the attack damaged a pair of two-story buildings, as well as 10 homes, a shop, and a gas pipeline. Russian air strikes over Ukraine have increased in recent weeks amid expectations that Ukrainian military forces will soon launch a much-anticipated counteroffensive to reclaim territory lost since Russia invaded in February 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in published remarks on June 3 that Ukrainian forces were ready for the counteroffensive. He later condemned Russia for the air strike on Dnipro. "Once again, Russia proves it is a terrorist state. The Russians will bear responsibility for everything committed against our state and people, Zelenskiy said in a post late on June 3 on Facebook. Zelenskiy said on June 4 that Russia's war, now in its 16th month, had killed at least 500 Ukrainian children. He said in a statement that "Russian weapons and hatred, which continue to take and destroy the lives of Ukrainian children every day," killed the hundreds who had perished since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine started on February 24, 2022. Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told local television that four of six cruise missiles had been shot down by air defenses but that two had struck an "operational airfield" near the central city of Kropyvnytskiy. Meanwhile, the General Staffin its daily report on June 4 that Russian invading forces had carried out two unsuccessful operations around Bakhmut and launched several air strikes and artillery shelling on nearby villages. Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Russia's mercenary Wagner Group, said on June 3 that 99 percent of his fighters had left Bakhmut after their monthslong assault in the war's longest and bloodiest battle. Ukraine said late last month that fighting had eased in the area, but General Oleksandr Syrskiy, commander of the ground forces, said on June 3 that Ukrainian forces continued their fight there. "The enemy continues to suffer significant losses in the Bakhmut direction," Syrskiy said on Telegram after what he said was a visit to troops around Bakhmut. "Defense forces continue to fight. We will win." Zelenskiy told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published on June 3 that Ukrainian forces were ready to launch their counteroffensive, cautioning it could take some time and be costly. "We strongly believe that we will succeed," Zelenskiy said. "I dont know how long it will take. To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different. But we are going to do it, and we are ready," he added. Zelenskiy said the Ukrainian Army had not received "all the weapons it hoped for, but we can't wait any longer." With reporting by AFP and Reuters Gladys the killer whale exists, but she isnt just one orca; there are 15 of them. The one who has become famous on the internet recently, giving rise to all kinds of memes and posts, for causing damage and even sinking yachts off the Spanish coast, is actually the one that scientists call white Gladys, the oldest (and only adult) of the group. But in the same community, there are juvenile specimens such as grey Gladys, black Gladys, small Gladys... For about three years, these animals have engaged in very unusual behavior with boats, sometimes causing significant damage in the process. Scientists point to different hypotheses to explain why killer whales are ramming boats. But there is no certainty that white Gladys is teaching the younger specimens to hit the boats because of an alleged trauma stemming from a past collision, despite viral posts implying that is the case. In fact, researchers do not know how to explain the attitude of these killer whales. Scientists believe that the orcas learned this behavior through their curiosity and playfulness. That is the extent of what science knows about this peculiar group of cetaceans that are suddenly all the rage on social media. The slew of memes on social media has contributed to amplifying the image of the orca as a murderous and vengeful whale that intentionally attacks boats to cause harm. But experts say that this interpretation is quite far from reality. The history of killer whale attacks is recent, dating back to May 2020, when the first documented interaction of one of these cetaceans (Orcinus orca) with a ship occurred in the Strait of Gibraltar. A two-month truce followed, until there was another attack in July of that year on the coast of Portugal. In mid-August, the attacks moved to northern Spain on the Galician coast. The killer whales follow the trail of their food: tuna. Since then, the cetaceans have continued their encounters apace. In 2023, the Orca Atlantica [Atlantic Orca] organization has detected up to 53 interactions in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar thus far: 12 of the encounters damaged boats while 31 were sightings. These figures are higher than in previous years at this point, but it is still too early to draw conclusions. These animals are amazing. They stealthily approach the boat, often without the crew noticing them; they curiously examine it in detail and get under the boat. They begin to touch it and hit the rudder with their heads to turn the ship; they can even break it with a lever movement. They know that this is how the boat turns and that they can steer it, explains Alberto Lopez, a marine biologist and spokesman for the Orca Atlantica group. The greater the speed and the more resistance by whoever controls the rudder, the harder the killer whales push. The boat can drift and even sink, which has happened on three occasions. Lopez notes that they decided to name the three most active specimens in the initial 2020 interactions Gladys. To differentiate them from each other, they added a last name; thus, the sobriquets white Gladys, grey Gladys and black Gladys were born. We named them in honor of the name Bonaterre gave the species in 1789: Orca gladiator. The group of Gladyses grew to include light Gladys, small Gladys, Albarracin Gladys.... now there are 15 individuals that belong to at least two families; killer whales are organized in stable social groups. White Gladys is the only adult (around 10 or 12 years old); the rest are juveniles or sub-adults. Killer whales can live for 50 to 80 years. The rest of the killer whale population in the Iberian Peninsula (about 45 specimens) moves between the Strait of Gibraltar and the Galician coast and does not show much interest in boats. What prompts these killer whales to continue engaging in such unusual and puzzling behavior? That is the million-dollar question. We dont know, because we havent identified the whale that hit the first boat, says Lopez. One of the explanations that the Orca Atlantica group is considering is the emergence of self-induced behavior, which is invented and repeated until it becomes routine. This profile matches juveniles, who are more imaginative and proactive, but it doesnt match adult [profiles], he adds. For that reason, they added another hypothesis that implied that the adult whale had experienced a traumatic encounter with a sailboattheir favoriteand tried to stop the sailboat to avoid repeating that moment of anguish that the whale may have experienced. They ruled out a collision because they did not find any specimens with that type of injury. The only harm they detected were the sort of wounds that occur with killer whales that feed on the tuna caught on longlines; they cut themselves on the line from which the tuna hangs. A tuna weighs between 200 and 400 kilos. The bad experience could have occurred with a sailboat with fishing lines on the stern, hence [the whales] fixation with them, he clarifies. Renaud de Stephanis, the coordinator of the organization Conservation, Information and Study on Cetaceans (CIRCE), points to behavior related to environmental enrichment and learning, which is transmitted from mothers to daughters, from calves to calves and to other relatives, within the same group. When they find something new in the sea, for example, when a sunfish appears, they become interested in it and make up games. The Gladyses are the Gladyses, and there are only two groups involved, because the behavior, for the moment, has not been transmitted to the other families with which they have weaker ties. Its like saying, I teach culture to my children but not to others. CIRCE is collaborating with the Ministry of Ecological Transition to tag killer whales in the Strait of Gibraltar. Using satellite data, a map is drawn up of the approximate area where [these killer whales] are moving; it is made available to sailors on the ministrys website to minimize their risk of encountering the whale families associated with this behavior. The recommendations specify that, in case of an encounter, it is always preferable to navigate by motor instead of sailing, to avoid stopping the boat and to sail in a straight line at the highest possible speed toward shallower waters, until the killer whales lose interest. They also encourage sailing as close to the coast as possible (to the extent that it is safe to do so), especially around the inlet of Barbate, where there is less risk of encountering groups of killer whales. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Rangers employed by the Carlsbad Police Department to patrol the citys parks, beaches and open-space preserves earned such high marks in their first nine months that the pilot program became permanent Tuesday. Trespassing, vandalism, off-leash dogs and illegal campsites are addressed by the two full-time, unarmed, uniformed rangers, who carry handcuffs, a Taser and pepper spray. They patrol individually, working four 10-hour days a week, and are authorized to issue citations for minor violations. Job well done, Mayor Matt Hall said before the City Council voted unanimously to make the pilot program permanent. Its been a real plus all along our open-space areas. Advertisement Carlsbad is one of the few cities in San Diego County to hire full-time park rangers, though several city parks have live-in caretakers. Some cities, such as Escondido, employ full- or part-time rangers in their parks and recreation department. El Cajons police department created two park ranger positions earlier this year, partly because of recent complaints about animal control and homeless issues. Del Mar, the countys smallest city, has one park ranger to back up lifeguards and sheriffs deputies patrolling the citys beaches. Most of the full-time park rangers in San Diego County are county or state employees. Carlsbad has 27 parks, nearly 50 miles of trails, and 13 nature preserves, the largest of which is the Lake Calavera preserve in the citys northeastern quadrant. The Lake Calavera trails are popular with hikers and mountain bikers. The summit of a volcanic plug, once a column of molten lava, is a frequent destination at the elevation of 513 feet. At Batiquitos Lagoon, in Carlsbads southwestern quadrant near Encinitas, one of the most frequent problems has been people letting their dogs run without a leash on the preserves two-mile trail, said Deb Mossa, vice president of the lagoon foundations board. Since the inception of the ranger program, that has diminished considerably, Mossa told the City Council. That has just been wonderful for Batiquitos. It really has made a difference, said Fred Sandquist, president of the lagoon foundation. Mossa and Sandquist both praised the rangers for their friendly and professional way of dealing with the public. City Council members said they have heard nothing but positive comments from residents about the program. This program was based on a philosophy of education first, police Capt. Mickey Williams told the council. In all cases, the rangers talk to people first and try to gain their cooperation before issuing citations or taking another action, he said. Statistics presented Tuesday back up that approach. The two rangers made a total of 4,684 educational contacts and issued 1,310 verbal warnings, 109 written warnings, and 10 citations during their first nine months. Most of their time was spent in the nature preserves, where the rangers made about 90 percent of their educational contacts. They made 477 of the contacts and issued four of the citations at parks, beaches and lagoons. The ranger program is expected to cost the city a little under $300,000 in the fiscal year ahead. Nearly half of the cost of the pilot program, or about $98,000, was provided by the San Diego Association of Governments, the regions planning agency. That money is unavailable for the permanent program. The vehicle used for the program, a Toyota Tacoma truck, was purchased and outfitted using $50,875 in asset forfeiture funds, which are the proceeds from property seized in drug enforcement efforts. philip.diehl@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @phildiehl At his home in Oceanside, Tom Dicioccio looks over photos of an old high school friend Marla. Marla was his old high school friend that he confided with that he was attracted to men. In 1969, Tom DiCioccio was 19 years old and he had a secret that was burning a hole in his life. Unable to accept his attraction to other men, the Oceanside resident said he attempted suicide and was on the verge of undergoing electroshock conversion therapy. Then, he confessed his secret to a high school friend named Marla Epstein, and she taught him a lesson in unconditional love. What she said to me was, So what? Youre Tommy. Youre a good person. What difference does that make with your life? said DiCioccio, now 68. Advertisement Epsteins open-hearted response started DiCioccio on a journey toward self-acceptance, but then she abruptly disappeared from his life. This month, his decades-long quest to reconnect with Epstein is featured in Well Meet Again, a six-part television series hosted by Ann Curry. The series, which airs at 8 p.m. Tuesdays nights on KPBS, features reunions of long-lost friends and acquaintances separated by war, natural disasters, distance and other circumstances. DiCioccios story is part of the final episode, Coming Out, airing Feb. 27. Toms story is deeply moving, Curry said in an emailed comment for this story. It documents how courage spreads from one human being to another and lifts humanity toward compassion and authenticity. Last summer, DiCioccio and a film crew spent two weeks traveling the California coast searching for the elusive Epstein, who he hadnt seen or spoken to in nearly 30 years. His goal was to thank Epstein for accepting him when he needed it most and to let her know that his life had turned out happy and purposeful. Unfortunately, he discovered that Epsteins life had gone in the opposite direction. But he found that she was the same loving person he remembered. She refused to put people into little boxes and thats why I love her heart, he said. She still has that same sparkle in her eyes. DiCioccio grew up in a poor neighborhood in Bloomfield, Conn., with parents who were deeply religious. From an early age he knew he was different and his conservative upbringing led him to believe he was damaged. He lived in fear of anyone finding out. Back in those days, you didnt tell anybody, DiCioccio said. Saying you were gay was like saying you were a pedophile. It was the worst possible thing. It was hard for anyone to grasp. After high school, he moved out of his parents house, struggled with depression, dropped out of college and visited a psychiatrist who recommended shock therapy to cure his homosexuality. With Epsteins support, he decided against the treatment. In August 1969, they drove to the Woodstock music festival together and not long after they returned home, her strict parents shipped her off to live in Israel. It would be 21 years before they would see each other again, and even then for only two days before another 27-year gap in contact. In his 20s, DiCioccio said he lived a double life in Connecticut. By day, he was a shoe salesman living as part of the straight community. But late at night he would visit gay bars, often driving in circles around the block to pluck up the courage to go inside. In 1977, he moved to California and met the love of his life, Jack Kessler, a school teacher. DiCioccio became a successful shoe designer for national brands and they bought a home in Valencia, where he began devoting free time to gay causes. Then in the 1980s, the AIDS epidemic began ravaging the gay community. DiCioccio lost most of his friends to the disease and then in April 1990, he buried his partner, Jack. Somehow, word of his loss made its way to Epstein, who had also migrated to California years before. She was living the hippie lifestyle in a van in San Francisco. She drove to comfort him for two days, then disappeared without a trace. After Jacks death, DiCioccio spent three years studying to become a counselor. And at age 45, he retired from his shoe industry job to become a full-time gay rights activist. Thats the career hes most proud of today. He served for three years on the board of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center; spent two years facilitating a group of HIV-positive men for Shanti Los Angeles; volunteer for Aids Project Los Angeles; lobbied for a decade for AIDS funding; and he served on the human relations commission for the city of Santa Clarita from 1996 to 2002. Since he moved to Oceanside in 2009, hes been active in local Democratic politics and he was a longtime fundraising chair for the North County LGBT Resource Center. Over the years, he often wondered whatever happened to Epstein but had no idea how to find her. He put out feelers to friends and left word at the Woodstock museum in New York in case she ever turned up. Thats how the London-based producers of Blink Films found him last year. Over the course of two weeks, they recorded dozens of hours of interviews with DiCioccio at his home in Oceanside and other locations. Then they traveled to San Francisco to trace Epsteins last known whereabouts. A database search found a P.O. box for someone with her name in Klamath, a tiny forest town just south of the Oregon border. After further sleuthing, they eventually tracked her down. She happily agreed to an on-camera reunion, where DiCioccio discovered she has spent most of her adult life homeless. Since then, DiCioccio said hes mailed Epstein three letters, but theyve gone unanswered. He worries about his old friend, so he is planning a road trip to Northern California to check in on her again. He said he feels a debt of gratitude to her for helping him find inner peace and a new life many years ago. Some people spend all their lives in that search for the hereafter. I wanted Marla to know that I found paradise, he said. I have a great life, hundreds of friends and I love life and thats what its all about. pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com A team of researchers has created a new class of titanium alloys that are strong and not brittle under tension, by integrating alloy and 3D-printing process designs. The breakthrough, published in the top journal Nature, could help extend the applications of titanium alloys, improve sustainability and drive innovative alloy design. Their discovery holds promise for a new class of more sustainable high-performance titanium alloys for applications in aerospace, biomedical, chemical engineering, space and energy technologies. RMIT University and the University of Sydney led the innovation, in collaboration with Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the company Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence in Melbourne. Lead researcher Distinguished Professor Ma Qian from RMIT said the team embedded circular economy thinking in their design, creating great promise for producing their new titanium alloys from industrial waste and low-grade materials. "Reusing waste and low-quality materials has the potential to add economic value and reduce the high carbon footprint of the titanium industry," said Qian from RMIT's Centre for Additive Manufacturing in the School of Engineering. What type of titanium alloys has the team made? The team's titanium alloys consist of a mixture of two forms of titanium crystals, called alpha-titanium phase and beta-titanium phase, each corresponding to a specific arrangement of atoms. This class of alloys has been the backbone of the titanium industry. Since 1954, these alloys have been produced primarily by adding aluminum and vanadium to titanium. The research team investigated the use of oxygen and iron -- two of the most powerful stabilisers and strengtheners of alpha- and beta-titanium phases -- which are abundant and inexpensive. Two challenges have hindered the development of strong and ductile alpha-beta titanium-oxygen-iron alloys through the conventional manufacturing processes, Qian said. "One challenge is that oxygen -- described colloquially as 'the kryptonite to titanium' -- can make titanium brittle, and the other is that adding iron could lead to serious defects in the form of large patches of beta-titanium." The team used Laser Directed Energy Deposition (L-DED), a 3D printing process suitable for making large, complex parts, to print their alloys from metal powder. "A key enabler for us was the combination of our alloy design concepts with 3D-printing process design, which has identified a range of alloys that are strong, ductile and easy to print," Qian said. The attractive properties of these new alloys that can rival those of commercial alloys are attributed to their microstructure, the team says. "This research delivers a new titanium alloy system capable of a wide and tunable range of mechanical properties, high manufacturability, enormous potential for emissions reduction and insights for materials design in kindred systems," said co-lead researcher University of Sydney Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Simon Ringer. "The critical enabler is the unique distribution of oxygen and iron atoms within and between the alpha-titanium and beta-titanium phases. "We've engineered a nanoscale gradient of oxygen in the alpha-titanium phase, featuring high-oxygen segments that are strong, and low-oxygen segments that are ductile allowing us to exert control over the local atomic bonding and so mitigate the potential for embrittlement." What are the potential applications of the research findings? Lead author Dr Tingting Song, RMIT Vice-Chancellor's Research Fellow, said the team is "at the start of a major journey, from the proof of our new concepts here, towards industrial applications." "There are grounds to be excited -- 3D printing offers a fundamentally different way of making novel alloys and has distinct advantages over traditional approaches," she said. "There's a potential opportunity for industry to reuse waste sponge titanium-oxygen-iron alloy, 'out-of-spec' recycled high-oxygen titanium powders or titanium powders made from high-oxygen scrap titanium using our approach." Co-lead author Dr Zibin Chen, who joined Hong Kong Polytechnic University from the University of Sydney in the later stages of the collaboration, said the research had broader implications. "Oxygen embrittlement is a major metallurgical challenge not only for titanium, but also for other important metals such as zirconium, niobium and molybdenum and their alloys," he said. "Our work may provide a template to mitigate these oxygen embrittlement issues through 3D printing and microstructure design." Support for this research The team's work benefited from sustained, targeted investment in research infrastructure from national and state governments and from universities, Professor Ringer said. "In many ways, this work showcases the power of Australia's national collaborative research infrastructure strategy and sets the scene for extending this strategy into the realm of advanced manufacturing," he said. The Australia Research Council (ARC) through the Discovery Program and the Training Centre in Surface Engineering for Advanced Materials (SEAM) funded and supported this research. The team acknowledges support from the Australia-US Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative program supported by the Australian Government; The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; the State Key Laboratories in Hong Kong from the Innovation and Technology Commission of the Government; and Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence for its Simufact DED solution used in the L-DED process design. Baboons (Papio) are found across the continent of Africa, from the west to the east and all the way south. They have doglike noses, impressive teeth and thick fur that ranges widely in color between the six species, which are olive, yellow, chacma, Kinda, Guinea and hamadryas. Their habitats vary from savannas and bushlands to tropical forests and mountains. Chacma baboons, the largest at up to 100 pounds, are even found in the Kalahari Desert, while the neighboring Kinda baboons, the smallest at around 30 pounds, stay near water. Most live in large troops with dozens or hundreds of members. While most baboons are polygynandrous, with males and females mating with multiple partners, hamadryas baboons, also called sacred baboons, live exclusively in units of one male and multiple females. In a paper published today in the journal Science, "Genome-wide Coancestry Reveals Details of Ancient and Recent Male-driven Reticulation in Baboons," researchers show surprising amounts of genetic admixture between baboon species, something that also likely occurred in early humans. Mark Batzer, Boyd Professor and the Dr. Mary Lou Applewhite Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences at LSU; Jessica Storer, PhD, Batzer's former student at LSU and now research scientist; and LSU research associate Jerilyn Walker all contributed to the research. Together, they analyzed the mobile or "transposable" genetic elements in samples from 225 baboon individuals from 19 geographical sites. "Everybody believes their genome is perfectly stable, and that's exactly wrong," Batzer said. "Well over half of the genome is fluid in nature and moves around in and between individuals, and between generations and populations. This mobile part of the genome, or mobilome, provides important clues as to how different species are related to one another, how they differ and when two individuals share a common ancestor." Whole-genomic sequencing has revolutionized the amount and detail of genetic diversity now available to researchers to study. While the LSU researchers previously had looked at a few hundred mobile elements or "jumping genes," primarily of the Alu and L1 types, they were now able to analyze over 200,000 elements computationally, confirming and expanding on previous studies. The broader research consortium includes more than 30 collaborators around the globe and was led by Jeffrey Rogers, associate professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine. "There are questions that were science fiction when I started in the field that are now perfectly approachable," Batzer said. "We're also brought back to this fundamental question, 'What even is a species?' When I was a young scientist, it meant reproductive isolation; no exchange of genes back and forth, and individuals from different species would form infertile hybrids. Well, that whole concept has evolved, and what we now see are free exchanges of genes back and forth, both in ancient times and more recently. In other words, there hasn't been a linear trajectory of genetically isolated species that change through time." Mobile, transposable elements cause a subset of all genetic mutations known as structural genetic variants, one of the most important types of mutation in the genome. As such, mobile elements are responsible for some genetic diversity, but not all differences. Their activity, or rate of movement, is also variable between species, including at different times. While baboons currently are on "fast forward," orangutans, for example, are almost on pause. Humans are somewhere in between. "You can say mobile elements like Alu and L1 are involved in a genetic arms race or competition within the genome," Batzer said. "The mobile elements attempt to expand in number, while the genome exerts control over that expansion, so the elements don't 'overrun' the genome and cause so much havoc it risks killing the host. Some mobile elements are distant relatives of viruses, so some of the control systems are the same ones that control the spread of viruses." Apparent similarities, such as between two individuals of the same species, can disguise surprising amounts of genetic diversity, as one baboon can have almost as much in common -- genetically speaking -- with a baboon from a different species. The researchers were also able to show, for the very first time in non-human primates, how the yellow baboons in western Tanzania received genetic input from three distinct lineages -- yellow, olive and Kinda. "This was the first time we've seen three different species contribute to the genesis of one, and done it in detail," Batzer said. "These high-resolution data sets allow us to draw much more accurate and detailed conclusions from the observations we make." Baboons and humans share about 91 percent of identical DNA. While humans have relatively small amounts of variation from each other, baboons are genetically more diverse. Bigger mobile elements called LINE elements, such as L1, carry around enzymatic machinery that helps them and the smaller Alu elements mobilize and drive change in mammals (L1) and primates (Alu). Mobile and transposable elements are in themselves diverse and effectively "monkey around" the genomes of all primates, including humans, as well as other species. The processes by which they impact the genome are called insertional mutagenesis, transduction and recombination. Tracking the insertions, which is Batzer's specialty, offers two advantages in establishing shared or separate ancestry. First, the presence of a mobile element at a particular location in the genome represents identity by descent; the probability of an exact match without shared ancestry is near negligible. Second, it's possible to trace insertions back to the point where they first appeared, thus establishing the ancestral genetic character state and unambiguously rooting species relationships. "We now believe mobile elements are one of the single biggest driving forces impacting genomes, and not just among primates, but across many mammals and many non-mammalian systems as well," Batzer said. Next, the LSU research team will investigate the mobilization and genomic impact of a recently identified transposable element in South American primates. LSU does not keep or conduct tests on baboons. All samples for the study were gathered in Africa in accordance with local regulations, including at protected sites. KYODO NEWS - Jun 4, 2023 - 18:05 | World, All, Japan The defense ministers of Japan and South Korea on Sunday agreed to accelerate talks on ways to prevent radar lock-on incidents between their forces, despite remaining apart on an alleged case in 2018 that has undermined confidence between bilateral defense authorities. Pledging to further promote defense cooperation, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada and his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jong Sup, apparently prioritized improving their ties amid the threat posed by North Korea's missile and nuclear development programs. "Based on the outcomes of the talks this time, we will keep close communication with the South Korean side," Hamada told reporters after their meeting in Singapore, where they have been attending the three-day Asia Security Summit from Friday, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue. It was the first bilateral defense ministerial talks between Japan and South Korea in over three years. Japan claims a South Korean navy destroyer directed its fire-control radar onto a Self-Defense Forces patrol plane in Japan's exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan in December 2018. Seoul has denied the allegation, arguing that the destroyer was merely using radar to search for a drifting North Korean fishing boat, and the Japanese plane flew at low altitude near the warship. Hamada said he conveyed to Lee Tokyo's position on the issue, but a Japanese Defense Ministry official told reporters that the differences between the two sides remained unsettled. The two countries will discuss specific preventive measures at the working level in the future and bring up the incident when deemed necessary, the ministry said. To cope with the "severe regional security environment and global issues," the ministers affirmed that the two nations will advance bilateral, as well as trilateral cooperation with the United States, their common security ally, the ministry said in a statement. Japan and South Korea aim to enhance confidence between their defense authorities, including the defense ministers, and promote further exchanges at various levels, the ministry said. Bilateral ties have been rapidly improving since South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol proposed a solution to a longtime dispute over wartime labor compensation in March. Relations had sunk to their lowest point in decades under Yoon's predecessor, Moon Jae In. Yoon visited Tokyo later that month and hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Seoul last month, resuming reciprocal visits by Japanese and South Korean leaders that had been halted since December 2011. Last week, an SDF ship flying the rising sun flag, which Moon's administration called a symbol of Japan's wartime militarism, entered South Korea to join an international naval drill, suggesting that Seoul no longer regards the flag as problematic. With North Korea repeatedly test-firing ballistic missiles since last year, Yoon, who took office in May 2022, has focused on the importance of trilateral defense cooperation with Tokyo and Washington. Hamada and Lee strongly condemned the North's attempted launch of a spy satellite on Wednesday, saying it used ballistic missile technology in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed at curbing Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. On Saturday in Singapore, Hamada and Lee attended a trilateral meeting with their U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin, agreeing to launch a system to enable the three countries' real-time sharing of information about North Korean missiles by the end of this year. Related coverage: Japan, China agree to operate defense hotline properly Japan, U.S., South Korea to launch system to share North Korea missile info Japan, U.S., Australia, Philippines vow to boost defense cooperation The endangered Antillean manatee faces a growing threat from boat strikes in Belize, according to a new study that raises concerns about the survival of what had been considered a relatively healthy population. Belize hosts a population of around 1,000 manatees. With the growth of tourism in recent decades, however, Belize has seen a substantial increase in boat traffic, making boat strikes an increasingly important cause of manatee deaths and injuries. The new study, published June 1 in Endangered Species Research, used 25 years of data on manatee strandings (dead or injured animals), six aerial surveys of the manatee population, and two decades of boat registration data to quantify the impacts of increasing boat traffic on the manatee population. First author Celeshia Guy Galves, now at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute in Belize, led the study as a graduate student in the Coastal Science and Policy Program at UC Santa Cruz. "This work has been shared with policymakers in Belize and will contribute directly to conservation planning, including protecting key areas for manatees such as the Belize River Mouth and the Placencia Lagoon," Galves said. Galves found that with more and more boats in the water, the number of manatee strandings caused by boat strikes has increased over time, from 1 to 4 per year in the late 1990s and early 2000s to 10 to 17 per year by the late 2010s. Strandings were more frequent in areas of high boat traffic, high human population density, and mangrove habitats. "We knew that boat strikes were happening, but this study provides strong quantitative evidence of boat strikes as an increasing source of mortality for manatees in Belize, and it shows the areas where the risk is greatest," said coauthor Marm Kilpatrick, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz. "These findings provide a basis for conservation measures that can be implemented to reduce the risk." Conservation efforts should focus on reducing the number of boats and their speed within zones of high manatee use, the authors said. High priorities for conservation interventions include creating more protected areas with restrictions on boat traffic, including areas designated for non-motorized boating or restricted access, as well as speed restrictions in shallow seagrass habitats. Like the Florida manatee, the Antillean manatee is a subspecies of the West Indian manatee. In addition to boat strikes, threats to the Antillean manatee population include habitat degradation and loss, poaching, pollution, and entanglement in fishing gear. Celeshia Galves and her husband, coauthor Jamal Galves, both work on manatee conservation at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute in Belize, and Jamal Galvez is a 2023 graduate of the UCSC Coastal Science and Policy Program. Other coauthors include Nicole Auil Gomez at the Wildlife Conservation Society in Belize; Don Croll, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCSC; and Kelly Zilliacus, a research specialist in Croll's Conservation Action Lab at UCSC. This research was supported by the UCSC Coastal Science and Policy Program. Collective behaviors are present across many different animal groups: schools of fish swimming in a swirling pattern together, large flocks of birds migrating through the night, groups of bees coordinating their behavior to defend their hive. These behaviors are commonly seen in social insects where as many as thousands of individuals work together, often with distinct roles. In honey bees, the role a bee plays in the colony changes as they age. Younger bees perform duties inside the hive, such as nursing and wax building, while older bees transition to roles outside of the hive, either foraging for food (foragers) or defending the colony (soldiers). What determines whether older bees become foragers or soldiers is unknown, but a new study published in Nature Ecology and Evolution explores the genetic mechanisms underlying the collective behavior of colony defense, and how these mechanisms relate to the colony's overall aggression. "Honey bees do not have a size-based division of labor, like you might see in termites or ants," said Ian Traniello, former graduate student at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, now an associate research scholar at Princeton University and first author on the study. "If you ask anyone off the street to guess which ant is a soldier versus a forager, they probably will guess it right 100% of the time, because the soldiers are huge. Honey bees instead have an age-based division of labor, where older bees tend to be foragers or soldiers, both of which are dangerous and potentially lethal roles." A genome-wide association study conducted previously on a sub-species of honey bee in Puerto Rico that had evolved to be less aggressive in recent years, revealed strong associations between variation in the sequence of some genes and the level of overall colony aggression. Researchers called these "colony aggression genes." In the current study, researchers compared the expression and regulation of genes in the brains of soldiers and foragers, and across colonies that varied in aggressiveness. Researchers measured colony aggressiveness by counting the number of stings on suede patches placed outside the hives after a disturbance. They identified soldiers as the bees that attacked the patches and foragers as the bees that returned to the hive with pollen. The researchers then used single-cell transcriptomics and gene regulatory network analysis to compare the brains of forager and soldier bees, from low and high aggression colonies. The researchers found that, although there were thousands of genes in the brain that differed in their expression between soldiers and foragers, none of them were part of the colony aggression gene list. However, when they created models of brain gene regulatory networks, which control when and where specific genes are expressed, the researchers found that the structure of these networks differed between soldiers and foragers -- and the differences were bigger when the soldiers and foragers came from a more aggressive colony. "What we think is happening is that the regulation of genes associated with collective behavior affects the mechanisms that underlie division of labor," Traniello explained. "So, colonies can become more or less aggressive by influencing the aggression level of the individuals within that colony. Basically, a forager may be more or less likely to transition to a soldier-like state if the environment calls for it." The findings highlight the importance of gene regulation to our understanding of the relationship between genes and behavior. "While a few studies have found potential heritable differences between soldiers and foragers, this study demonstrates that older honey bees may have the potential to take on either role," said Gene Robinson (GNDP), IGB Director and author on the paper. "In colonies that are more aggressive, likely due to increased danger in the environment, older bees may just be more predisposed to become soldiers to help defend the colony." Plans for future directions include developing functional tests to explore the role of the gene networks identified in the study, and to identify spatially where they are being expressed in the brain. Traniello says that he looks forward to exploring these new questions. "We have extraordinary technologies to probe genes and behavior at an unprecedented scale, both with single-cell and, now, spatial transcriptomics," Traniello said. "These give us new means for understanding old questions, like the relationship from individual to collective, or the relationship between genotype to phenotype. It's exciting to be able to take these tools and apply them in naturalistic contexts, and I hope this work inspires others to do the same." A study recently published in Nature Communications by researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD), Northern Arizona University, the University of Arizona, Conservation International and more has found that worldwide protected forests have an additional 9.65 billion metric tons of carbon stored in their aboveground biomass compared to ecologically similar unprotected areas -- a finding that quantifies just how important protected areas are in our continued climate mitigation efforts. This study, which was jointly funded by the National Science Foundation (PI Brian Enquist, University of Arizona) and NASA (PI Laura Duncanson, UMD), used the highly accurate forest height, structure and surface elevation data produced by NASA's Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI, PI Ralph Dubayah, UMD). The team of researchers compared protected areas' efficacy in avoiding emissions to the atmosphere with unprotected areas' ability to do the same and tested the assumption that protected areas provide disproportionately more ecosystem services -- including carbon storage and sequestration -- than non-protected areas. "We have never had these 3D satellite datasets before, so we have never been able to map forest carbon accurately at this scale. Analyzing the data to discover the magnitude of avoided emissions in protected areas shines yet another light on the global importance of forest conservation," said UMD Assistant Professor Laura Duncanson, lead author of the study. "We look forward to continuing this work to monitor the future success of protected areas for preserving carbon." The biggest, most climate-positive impact the researchers observed came from the protected, moist broadleaf forest biome in the Brazilian Amazon, with Brazil contributing 36% to the global signal. Another key finding was that the amount of aboveground biomass -- the dry mass of woody matter in vegetation that stands above the ground -- gained from protected areas is roughly equivalent to one year of annual global emissions from fossil fuels. Previous attempts to quantify protected areas' biomass content had high uncertainties and/or biases, as past satellite biomass products are known to saturate in high biomass forests, such as old-growth protected areas. GEDI data helped the researchers overcome these limitations. The researchers specifically used height, cover, Plant Area Index (PAI), and Above Ground Biomass Density (AGBD) products from the first 18 months of GEDI mission data, which was collected between April 2019 and September 2020. In total, the researchers -- which also include UMD's Mengyu (Amber) Liang, Veronika Leitold and John Armston -- analyzed more than 400 million 3D structure samples and matched each protected area to ecologically similar unprotected areas based on climate, human pressure, land type, country and other factors. "These results are novel in that they provide the first, long-anticipated evidence that protected areas are effectively sequestering a lot more CO2 from the atmosphere than otherwise similar but degraded areas that surround them," said Scott Goetz, Regents' Professor in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems at Northern Arizona University and coauthor of the study. "They were only possible because of systematic spaceborne measurements of canopy structure and aboveground biomass from the GEDI Lidar mission." The researchers' study highlights the urgency of protection and restoration for biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation, as emphasized by the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC found that nature-based solutions such as reducing the destruction of forests and other ecosystems, restoring them and improving the management of working lands, such as farms, are among the top five most effective strategies for mitigating carbon emissions by 2030. "Protected areas are an essential part of the conservation toolkit. They confer enormous benefits in the form of living carbon, essential to mitigate climate change's worst effects," said Patrick Roehrdanz, director of Climate Change and Biodiversity at Conservation International. "This research reflects the importance of the Convention on Biological Diversity target -- of achieving 30 percent protection of all ecosystems -- as an effective strategy to address more than one of the biggest environmental crises we face: biodiversity loss and climate change." Other collaborating researchers include Sebastien Costedoat, Patrick Roehrdanz and Alex Zvoleff (Conservation International); Brian Enquist (University of Arizona); Lola Fatoyinbo (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center); Mariano Gonzalez-Roglich (WCS Argentina); Cory Merow (University of Connecticut); and Karyn Tabor (University of Maryland, Baltimore County). China tightened security in parts of the country on Sunday, the 34th anniversary of a 1989 military crackdown on a student-led pro-democracy movement in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, with no rallies held in Hong Kong as the mainland continues its clampdown there. Intent on maintaining one-party rule, China's Communist Party has justified the deadly 1989 incident by declaring it necessary to quell political unrest. Open discussion about the massacre remains taboo in the country, but rallies were held in Japan and Taiwan, with young people born after the incident also participating. A massive security presence was observed near the square and other places in the capital on Sunday, with authorities apparently aiming to contain any potential demonstrations. In the run-up to the anniversary, security forces kept watch at Beijing's Sitong Bridge, where banners were raised last October with slogans such as "We don't want lockdowns, we want freedom," in protest of the country's stringent "zero-COVID" policy in place at that time. A road sign showing the bridge name was removed, and searches for the protest site on maps offered by Chinese internet giant Baidu Inc. returned no results. The rare October demonstration was held shortly before the Communist Party's twice-a-decade congress, at which leader Xi Jinping secured an unprecedented third five-year term as general secretary. On Twitter, images went viral Saturday showing a woman waving an American flag and apparently throwing sheets of paper with text from the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The Tiananmen Mothers, a group of the victims' relatives, repeated their call for "truth, compensation and accountability" related to the incident in an online statement in late May, urging the Chinese government to offer an apology. However, the document cannot be seen in China due to internet censorship. You Weijie, 69, a representative of the group who lost her husband in the crackdown, told Kyodo News that families of the victims cannot accept the Chinese authorities' justification of the killings and urged the government to "look squarely at" the incident. On Saturday, security officials monitored visitors to the home of Zhang Xianling, 85, a co-founder of the Tiananmen Mothers. On Sunday in Hong Kong's Victoria Park, where thousands had gathered annually for candlelight vigils since 1990 in remembrance of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, pro-Beijing organizations staged an event, while some 5,000 local police officers were mobilized to prevent any demonstrations, according to Hong Kong media reports. Hong Kong police banned the vigil for the past three years, citing public safety concerns and the COVID-19 pandemic, with officials warning that participating in or promoting the rally would be illegal. Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen said in a Facebook post commemorating the anniversary that people in Taiwan enjoy democracy and freedom, and various creative activities have enriched the island's culture. She expressed hope that one day, young friends in China will also be able to engage in such activities "only with enthusiasm, not worries." In Taipei, people braved the rain to offer flowers Sunday at a mourning pavilion set up outside of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. An electric candlelight commemoration was held there later in the day. A woman, who claimed to be visiting from Hong Kong, told reporters, "I'm very grateful because Hong Kong can't openly and publicly hold these events anymore." Sky Fung, originally from Hong Kong and now secretary general of the Hong Kong Outlanders civic group in Taiwan, told Kyodo News at the event he feels "regret and pain" that the former British colony can no longer publicly mourn the Tiananmen incident. "All we want to do is to give a voice to the voiceless and let the truth and history be known so that people can clearly understand and remember what happened," Fung said. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Saturday, "The victims' bravery will not be forgotten and continues to inspire advocates for these principles around the world." The United States will "continue advocating for people's human rights and fundamental freedoms in China and around the world," he added. In 2021, the Communist Party adopted a pivotal resolution on the nation's modern history that classified the quashed pro-democracy protests as a "political disturbance." On Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the country's government has "already come to a clear conclusion" on the Tiananmen incident, adding, "Any attempt to discredit China and interfere in China's internal affairs, using this as an excuse, will not succeed." The ministry did not upload records of the question or her answer on its website, apparently to keep the public from knowing the topic had been addressed. Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee warned Tuesday that the police in the territory would "take action resolutely" against those who breach the law when questioned about the legality of residents commemorating the tragedy in public. "Everybody should act in accordance with the law and think of what they do so as to be ready to face the consequences," the city leader added. KYODO NEWS - Jun 4, 2023 - 20:30 | All, Japan Japanese former lawmaker and social media personality GaaSyy was arrested Sunday for allegedly threatening to defame some individuals, including a celebrity, after returning to Japan from the United Arab Emirates, where he had been residing, police said. The 51-year-old, whose real name is Yoshikazu Higashitani, became a popular YouTuber posting videos about celebrity scandals on his channel. He was stripped of his status as a lawmaker in March by the House of Councillors for not attending any sessions since being elected last year. His arrest took place at Narita airport near Tokyo upon his arrival from the UAE. Wearing a T-shirt, short pants and sandals, GaaSyy, handcuffed and accompanied by investigators, was seen smiling as he walked through the gate where dozens of media personnel had gathered. He was placed on an international wanted list in April through the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, according to investigative sources. After obtaining a warrant for his arrest in March, police sent investigators to the UAE in May and asked for local authorities' cooperation, the sources said. No investigator was aboard the plane with him. GaaSyy allegedly threatened to defame three people in his YouTube videos, including actor Go Ayano and jewelry designer Kimio Fukutani. He is also suspected of interfering with the business activities of one of the three people. Japan's Foreign Ministry had ordered GaaSyy to hand over his passport after police obtained the warrant. He had ignored repeated requests from authorities to return to Japan and voluntarily submit to questioning over the videos, the sources said. His passport expired in April after the former lawmaker submitted a report to the Japanese consulate general in the UAE saying he had lost the document. After the media reported police were seeking a warrant for his arrest, GaaSyy repeatedly said he "would not return to Japan" via his online posts. GaaSyy was elected to the Diet under the proportional representation system, whereby seats are distributed in accordance with the total votes cast for each political party and its candidates. He was a member of the Seijikajoshi48 Party, which roughly translates to politician girls 48 party. The minor opposition party has changed its name from the NHK Party, known for its criticism of Japan's public broadcaster. He had been living in the Middle Eastern country since before winning his seat in an upper house election in July 2022. Related coverage: Japan orders ex-lawmaker YouTuber GaaSyy to return passport Arrest warrant obtained for Japan YouTuber, ex-lawmaker over online threats YouTuber-turned-lawmaker expelled from parliament for never showing up Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announces his new cabinet in Ankara, Turkiye, June 3, 2023. Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Saturday a major reshuffle in his cabinet, appointing new ministers for foreign affairs, treasury and finance, defense and vice president. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua) ANKARA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Saturday a major reshuffle in his cabinet, appointing new ministers for foreign affairs, treasury and finance, defense and vice president. Hakan Fidan, who has been at the helm of the National Intelligence Organization since 2010, assumes the role of foreign minister. The 55-year-old new top diplomat is considered one of Erdogan's closest confidants. The new treasury and finance minister is Mehmet Simsek, who served as finance minister and deputy prime minister from 2009 to 2018. Simsek is a respected economist who is seen as a safe pair of hands in the turbulent Turkish economy. Yasar Guler, who previously served as the chief of general staff and is seen as a hardliner on national security issues, takes on the role of defense minister. The new vice president is Cevdet Yilmaz, who previously served as deputy prime minister and development minister. Erdogan was sworn in for a third term as president on Saturday. In his inaugural speech, he pledged to introduce a more liberal constitution and to unite the Turkish people. The inauguration ceremony was attended by several foreign leaders, including NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Erdogan won 52.18 percent of votes in the presidential runoff on May 28 against his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the center-left Republican People's Party. Erdogan who has been leading the country since he became prime minister in 2003, became the first executive president of Turkiye in 2018 following a constitutional referendum in 2017 which changed Turkiye's parliamentary system into a presidential one. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announces his new cabinet in Ankara, Turkiye, June 3, 2023. Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Saturday a major reshuffle in his cabinet, appointing new ministers for foreign affairs, treasury and finance, defense and vice president. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. The New York State Department of Civil Service (DCS) has released its June application schedule for New Yorks entry-level civil service exams, and some jobs pay better than others. The open-competitive exams are an opportunity to start a career with New York State. These tests are open to anyone who meets the qualifications listed on the examination announcement. The exams will be held as in-person written exams in August. Interested applicants can apply online by June 21. Visit www.cs.ny.gov/examannouncements/types/oc to apply for exams. The application period opened for these exams: senior recreation therapist and senior recreation therapist (Spanish language). Here are the salaries and descriptions for each job, according to DCS. Senior recreation therapist Salary: $57,984 Job description: As a senior recreation therapist, you would design, develop, implement, and deliver recreation therapy services to maintain and improve the physical, mental, and/or social well-being of individuals residing and/or receiving treatment in state facilities and programs. You would be responsible for the organization and direction of one or more therapeutic recreation programs, including sports, dance, drama, music, art, and social activities. You may also supervise lower-level recreation therapists and other staff engaged in the design, development, and/or delivery of recreation therapy services. Senior recreation therapist (Spanish language) Salary: $57,984 Job description: If you pass the examination and apply for a title that requires language proficiency, you must demonstrate your language proficiency at a level that will ensure your ability to perform the duties of the position properly. The proficiency test will only be given to enough candidates to fill current vacancies. As a senior recreation therapist, you would design, develop, implement, and deliver recreation therapy services to maintain and improve the physical, mental, and/or social well-being of individuals residing and/or receiving treatment in state facilities and programs. You would be responsible for the organization and direction of one or more therapeutic recreation programs, including sports, dance, drama, music, art, and social activities. You may also supervise lower-level recreation therapists and other staff engaged in the design, development, and/or delivery of recreation therapy services. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Appointees who work in the five boroughs of New York City or in Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, or Westchester Counties will receive an additional $3,026 annual downstate adjustment, DCS states. According to the state, an application must be submitted online or postmarked by the last date to apply. An application will not be accepted after the filing deadline has passed. There are no application fees for the exams this month. To be considered for appointment, you must pass the written test. If approved for a written test, you will receive an admission notice which will indicate your assigned test date and the way your test will be administered. Your test may be administered with paper and pencil or online at a state test site using a state-provided Chromebook. You cannot request to change your scheduled day or request a specific type of test administration. All positions offer generous benefits, including paid leave, health benefits and retirement plans. In addition, telecommuting options may be available to employees who meet certain criteria. To learn more about working for the State of New York, visit the Department of Civil Service website and follow the department on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. YOU MIGHT LIKE: New York State civil service: These applications are open in June Want to work from home and make six figures? These in-demand side hustles pay $100K or more. Whats needed to be in top 1% of earners in New York? Heres minimum income required in each state, study shows. Data shows highest college graduation rates in each state: Where does New York rank? Warning: You have the most chance of being laid off from these jobs in 2023, study says FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. At age 17, Melinda Amadeo Spierers child, Nate Shalev, who was assigned female at birth, told her they were dating a girl. Spierer, a retired school teacher, confessed it took some time for her to digest. In fact, at first, Spierer skirted around the issue. There was only superficial chatter with her child about their identity as queer. Today, Shalev, now 33, identifies as transgender, uses the pronouns they/them and is married to their wife, Carmel. Shalev also has dedicated their lifes work to helping companies become inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community as an inclusivity expert who conducts interactive workshops and lectures around the country. While Spierer is very proud of Shalev for all they have accomplished, it took her a decade to develop a true understanding of their identity -- one that is very different from what she envisioned when she gave birth to a baby girl. My initial feelings, which I think parents like me would go through, is basically being surprised. I had to change the ideas I was brought up with, explained Spierer. As a parent, I had to do a lot of work on myself to get to the point where I had a really good, substantial, important, relative relationship with my child so I could be part of my childs life. While Melinda Amadeo Spierer is very proud of Nate Shalev today for all they have accomplished, it took a decade to develop a true understanding of their identity -- one that is very different from what she envisioned when she gave birth to a baby girl. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon)Jason Paderon Today, Spierer not only has a very close relationship with her child one that embraces Shalevs identity, and loves them for who they are but is also a proud LGBTQ+ ally who supports other parents in similar situations. When you have a baby, you immediately have all these thoughts, and all these dreams for this baby. And then you have to have new dreams. You have to learn new things, and a big part of that, which I think a lot of parents have a problem with and it was certainly a learning experience for both my husband and me is you need to respect pronouns. You need to respect new names, perhaps a name that you didnt pick, which a lot of parents would have a problem getting over, Spierer said. ROAD TO ACCEPTANCE Thanks to Shalevs guidance and Spierers open mindedness, the pair worked on forging a new relationship around the time Shalev began their studies at Barnard College in Manhattan. Nate is extremely intelligent, and knew a lot of the right things to do and the right things to say. So Nate had always encouraged me to perhaps go to a therapist, said Spierer. Thanks to Nate Shalevs guidance and Melinda Amadeo Spierer open mindedness, the pair worked on forging a new relationship around the time Shalev began their studies at Barnard College in Manhattan. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon)Jason Paderon And that was a turning point for Spierer. I had a wonderful therapist, and I learned many things. And I think what parents have to do first, before they can open up, is forgive themselves for anything they feel they need to be forgiven for from their child and work on a new relationship, she said. And Spierer said this was an integral first step toward fostering a close relationship with Shalev. You get to a point where as a parent you think, Here are my choices: I lose a relationship with my child, or I open up and change my thinking and respect my childs life. Then you can go on to build a wonderful, new relationship, Spierer added. She said a lot of the work she did on herself had to do with letting go of preconceived ideas of what Shalevs life should look like. You have to let go of what you thought your lifes childs life would be like. And you have to start thinking of what your childs life is like, and how you can be part of it. It can be a very hard thing, depending on how much it has been ingrained in you, she said. And its not just the parent of the LGBTQ+ child who has to put in the time to forge a new relationship; the child has to work at it as well. And Shalev said it took a lot of unlearning for both of them to get to the point where they are today. Today Shalev, now 33, identifies as transgender, uses the pronouns they/them and is married to their wife, Carmel. Shalev also has dedicated their lifes work to helping companies become inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community as an inclusivity expert who conducts interactive workshops and lectures around the country.(Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon)Jason Paderon My mother needed to know there was nothing wrong that she did, and there was nothing wrong that I did. This was just how my identity was, and there was a process of unlearning these things piece by piece, said Shalev. MISTAKES ARE OK And Shalev said as an LGBTQ+ child, its important to allow family members to make mistakes as they get used to a new identity. Its very important to respect your child by trying. Nate has always been wonderful and accepting of our mistakes, whether they be grammatical in forgetting the right pronouns to forgetting the right name, Nate always understood that its a learning process, said Spierer. Melinda Amadeo Spierer has worked for a decade to have a close relationship with her child Nate Shalev, who identifies as transgender. Spierer now offers support for other families with LGBTQ+ children. Monday, May 22, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon)Jason Paderon TURNING POINTS One of the important turning points in this parent/child relationship was a conversation broached by Shalev to let their parents know they hadnt been hiding anything from them. I think that there was this feeling that I was intentionally lying and hiding. And so one turning point was understanding that its just a process of having experiences, finding a label that aligned with my experiences and that it was a natural progression, said Shalev. It was about understanding myself...and then the way that I was comfortable sharing. WORKING WITH OTHER PARENTS Part of Spierers journey includes helping other parents of LGBTQ+ children forge healthy relationships with their offspring. At the start of her process of rebuilding a relationship with Shalev, Spierer attended some meetings at the Pride Center of Staten Island, which helped her better understand Shalevs new identity. In going to meetings you might meet other people who were much more open than you were initially. And you learn from one another. And you learn from sharing your experiences with each other, said Spierer. Melinda Amadeo Spierer has worked for a decade to have a close relationship with her child Nate Shalev, who identifies as transgender. Spierer now offers support for other families with LGBTQ+ children. Monday, May 22, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon)Jason Paderon The bottom line for everybody in opening up and accepting is ... you will use lose your child if you dont accept the new person standing in front of you. ...I think the most important thing is just talking to people about about your new life [as a parent of an LGBTQ+ child] and how wonderful it is. And you must remember it doesnt have to be the end of your relationship with the child just because they have a new life. You can be part of that life if you choose to, she added. And the learning process never ends. It has taken years and years. And its still going on. Mitch [Spierers husband and Shalevs father] and I learn more every day. And now that we are more open to learning about different things, we are always growing. Weve met many of Nates wonderful friends and we know what an amazing job Nate does that also helps people learn about the LGBTQ+ community. Spierer has set up an email, statenproudparent@gmail.com, for any parents of LGBTQ+ who would like to speak with her about her experiences, and/or share their own experiences. MORE PRIDE STORIES Ill be their ride or die: State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton pledges her support to the LGBTQ+ community When you support Pride, you support everyone: St. George celebration marks kickoff of LGBTQ+ month Im no longer afraid, Transgender former Staten Islander talks about their road to acceptance Heres a timeline of LGBTQ+ history on Staten Island This Is Pride portrait: Z-100s Elvis Duran and husband, Alex Carr, have become NYC celebrity advocates for LGBTQ+ inclusion FOLLOW TRACEY PORPORA ON FACEBOOK and TWITTER BROOKLYN The city Fire Department was summoned to a multistory Brooklyn building Sunday afternoon, as large plumes of smoke were visible to parts of Staten Island and other sections of New York City. The fire at 411 Van Brunt St. began around 1 p.m. and sent black smoke into the sky. Advance columnist Tom Wrobleski forwarded an image of the smoke coming from the building, which is listed as a substance treatment center. NYC Fire Wire, which tracks New York City emergencies on Twitter, described the situation as all hands. Video of the incident, taken from lower Manhattan, showed the smoke rising. The situation from afar appeared to be improving shortly around 1:35 p.m. The FDNY told the Staten Island Advance/SILive.com a call about the fire was received at 1:01 p.m. about a report of a fire on the buildings roof. A dozen units and 60 fire personnel responded to the blaze, which was put under control 40 minutes later. No injuries were reported. Video: Dark smoke from fire in Brooklyn 1:15 pm June 4, Inner City Press' #DowntownNewsService pic.twitter.com/SG0CZ6StSh Inner City Press (@innercitypress) June 4, 2023 A fire in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn prompted a large FDNY response. The incident sent thick black smoke into the New York City sky during the fire at the 5-story Van Brunt Street building. (Google Maps) This is a developing story. More information will be shared as it becomes available. Winners of a Chinese speaking and performance event receive awards in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on June 3, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Ping) ADDIS ABABA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Ethiopian senior high school and university students was held here on Saturday. The competition is hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, the Confucius Institute at Addis Ababa University (AAU) and Confucius Institute at the federal Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Institute. During the event, contestants were challenged to present a speech and a talent show. A total of 16 students from three Ethiopian universities and six senior high school students attended the annual worldwide Chinese speaking and performance event. Gemechis Melaku, a fourth year Chinese language student at the AAU, received rounds of applause from the audience for his speech and traditional Chinese music performance, and eventually won the category for university students. "I am very happy to have won this competition. This is a very good opportunity to develop our Chinese language skills and further deepen our knowledge and understanding of China and Chinese culture," Gemechis said. Siyane Tadesse, 10th grader at the Bishoftu ODA Boarding School, won the category for senior high school students. "It was very challenging and I was nervous initially but later I became more and more confident. I am so happy for winning," she said. Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Zhao Zhiyuan said the contestants will serve as "ambassadors" for deepening the people-to-people bonds between the two countries. "Today, you lovely students express your best wishes for more mature relationships between our two countries by making a speech that themed 'the world is one family,'" Zhao said. Addressing the competition, Terefe Belay, director of Scholarship and International Relations at the Ethiopian Ministry of Education, said Chinese engagement is increasingly serving positive impetus in Ethiopia's education sector, with growing scholarship opportunities for Ethiopian students. He further commended the organizers of the "Chinese Bridge" competition for creating valuable opportunities for Ethiopian students. An Ethiopian student participates in a Chinese speaking and performance event in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on June 3, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Ping) An Ethiopian student participates in a Chinese speaking and performance event in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on June 3, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Ping) WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A light aircraft crashed into mountainous terrain after being involved in a high-speed chase with jet fighters, after it violated airspace in the Washington, D.C., a report states. The report states that a loud sonic boom could be heard from the U.S. Capitol. The Federal Aviation Administration stated that a Cessna aircraft, which can carry up to 12 passengers, crashed into mountainous terrain in southwest Virginia, at the time the boom sound was heard. U.S. officials are stating that the jet fighters are not the cause of the crash. However, they stated that the pilot of the Cessna was unresponsive. The Cessna is believed to be on autopilot and did not respond to authorities. It is unknown why there was silence from the aircraft, the report states. The sound of the aircraft crash raised many concerns to residents in the D.C., northern Virginia and Maryland. The report states that it not only echoed a loud noise but shook the ground and walls. You can find just about anything on Craigslist if you look around long enough even a West African Bush Viper. Because, yeah, police say a guy in Maryland was trying to sell one on Facebook. Thats illegal in Maryland so, police say, they arrested Joshua Lee Roberts, 36, of Hagerstown for attempting to sell the snake. On May 27, officers arranged to purchase a male West African Bush Viper that was posted for sale on Craigslist by Joshua Lee Roberts, 36, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police posted on their Facebook page. After the sale, police charged Roberts and he faces a maximum fine of $1,000. The post said that the snake was seized and transported to the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve in Thurmont until a permanent home is located. The name likely suggests it, but the West African Bush Viper is not a snake that you want to be bitten by. The venom of the West African Bush Viper is primarily hemotoxic and potentially life threatening, they wrote. There is no antivenom. Maryland law prohibits selling or keeping a venomous snake as a pet. So, maybe if you are looking for some gym equipment or collectibles on the list as tempting as it may be to click on the West African Bush Viper listing, its probably best to just keep it moving. You can see the post, complete with the picture of the viper, here. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A male, 19, was shot in Stapleton, Saturday evening, according to the NYPD. The call came in at 6:42 p.m. to reports of a shooting at Broad and Cedar streets, an NYPD spokesperson stated. One person was shot in Stapleton, Saturday evening, according to police. (Kayla Simas/Staten Island Advance) The individual was taken to Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton, in stable condition, the spokesperson stated. At the scene, a portion of Broad Street was closed off by police, with a heavy police presence in the area. NYPD: One person was shot in Stapleton, Saturday evening (Kayla Simas/Staten Island Advance) Police could be seen searching the area near Cedar Street, while NYPD helicopters could be heard overhead. Police were canvassing the area. The spokesperson stated that police are still investigating. This is a breaking news story, check back for more updates. NYPD: One person was shot in Stapleton, Saturday evening (Kayla Simas/Staten Island Advance) CRIME NEWS ON SILIVE STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. The Richmond County Savings Foundation (RCSF) has provided $165,000 to a variety of community organizations on Staten Island to fund food pantries, educational initiatives, and community programs. RCSF presented the awards to grantees last month, allowing each group to present plans for programming and how it will help the local community. RCSF is committed to supporting projects that enhance the quality of life in the communities served by the Richmond County Savings Foundation, said Cesar J. Claro, executive director of RCSF. In this regard, RCSF focuses on supporting charitable organizations whose programs and services advance educational opportunity, enrich cultural development and strengthen health and human services. Cesar J. Claro, executive director of the Richmond County Savings Foundation, presented checks to the following organizations on behalf of RCSF: South Shore Community Food Pantry Food pantry support Project Hospitality Food pantry support Community Health Action Food pantry support A Chance in Life - Food pantry support Christian Pentecostal Church Food pantry support Trust for Public Land Creating Healthier Living Communities Program Boys Hope Girls Hope College Readiness & Residential Program New York Foundling Child Abuse Prevention Program Sundog Theatre 3-D Literacy Through Arts Integration AHRC NYC Cooking Matters: Life and Job Skills Training Last month, RCSF granted more than $50,000 in funding to local organizations in an effort to clean up numerous areas of Staten Island via the RCSF Spring Clean Up Program. Each organization in attendance designated an area on Staten Island to focus its efforts on. Those same organizations will facilitate a neighborhood cleanup at those predetermined locales at a later date. In addition to the removal of trash and debris, the funding will go towards planting flowers and trees at various destinations. RCSF was established in 1998 as part of the conversion of the Richmond County Savings Bank to a public company. Richmond County Savings Bank is now a division of New York Community Bank. To date, the foundation has provided more than $70 million in funding to not-for-profit organizations serving the communities in which the bank operates. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- After Congress has pleaded with President Joe Biden to create a new debt deal, the student loan forgiveness pause will officially end August 30, according to AL.com and CNBC.com. The deal, created by Biden and House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy, looks to waive between $10,000 to $20,000 in debt for all borrowers, to help secure a new debt ceiling for the nation. At the same time, Republican officials are attempting to stop the pause on student loan payments. The Biden administration has agreed to end the pause as part of the debt deal, noting that individuals with federal student loans would restart payments at the end of August and that interest would begin then, too, the report states. However, Congress must still consider whether it will authorize the spending deal, or not. Supreme Court, which is predominately Republican, is also determining the future of Bidens student loan relief plan. Several justices expressed skepticism about the legality of his plan, in open arguments, with a decision to be reached before the end of June. If passed, close to 40 million borrowers would be eligible for relief, while 20 million would see their entire balance erased. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which covers education loans and repayment options, is also underway. A teenager admitted he put 11 needles into groceries at the Giant Food Store where he worked in Lehigh County, authorities said. Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said the teen confessed to the allegations Thursday and his case was disposed of in Lehigh County juvenile court. The teen in April was charged with three counts of reckless endangerment and one count of criminal mischief. Martin declined to release further details because the defendant is a juvenile, according to a news release. Pennsylvania State Police were called on April 19 to the Giant Food Store at 7150 Hamilton Boulevard in Lower Macungie Township to investigate alleged food tampering. Police said customers found 11 sewing needles in their groceries, then returned the items to the store. Needles were found in bagged vegetables, Tastykakes, bread rolls and pouches of tuna, the police said. Surveillance video shows the teen placing the needles into the items, police had said. During the investigation, Giant removed some food items from shelves in case they had been tampered with. The store also notified customers who purchased the products suspected of having been tampered with. No one was hurt by the needles, Martins news release says. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Jennifer Vazquez, center, left, and Melissa Caicedo, center, right, hold signs as they protest outside of a Target store in Miami. Target announced that it removed products and relocated Pride displays to the back of certain stores in the South. Activists in the LGBTQ+ community are calling for new campaigns to convince corporate leaders not to cave to anti-LGBTQ+ groups. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)AP LOS ANGELES Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge found a new way to outshine everyone, this time by crashing so hard into a bullpen gate that is part of the right-field wall that it swung open while he was making yet another amazing defensive play. Amazing. A credentialed motorcyclist carrying a media photographer crashed into an age-group athlete during IRONMAN Hamburg, killing the motorcyclist and injuring the photographer and age-group athlete. According to IRONMAN, the collision took place at kilometer 36 of the 180 kilometer bike course. Live coverage of the accident showed a line of motorcycles, traveling with the men's professional field; the collision appeared to occur as the motorcyclist was attempting to move further up in the line and collided with the age group athlete who was traveling in the opposite direction. A statement from IRONMAN revealed that the age group athlete remained in the hospital for further treatment. According to IRONMAN, the media member has been released from the hospital. In the same statement, IRONMAN said that "We are devastated by this tragic accident. On a day meant to be a celebration of the human spirit, we instead mourn the loss of a member of our triathlon community. Our sympathies are with all those affected. Our priority always is ensuring the safety of our participants and those involved in the event. A police investigation is ongoing, and we are cooperating with local authorities to understand the events that lead to the accident." Athletes were diverted away from the incident site to continue the event. More than 2,000 professional and age group athletes were participating in today's race. Denis Chevrot won the race. Australias consumer watchdog wants the federal government to establish an independent dispute resolution ombudsman to resolve issues between passengers and airlines, warning the lack of effective competition in the sector results in high airfares and poor customer service. In its final monitoring report of Australias airline industry, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) also said Sydney Airports demand management scheme which controls how many take-off and landing slots airlines have access to should be overhauled to give new and expanding airlines better access, as first outlined by the 2021 Harris review. The ACCCs final airline monitoring report delivered a scathing assessment of the level of competition between airlines. Credit: Brook Mitchell ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb told this masthead more work was needed to inject greater competition into the local airline industry. We need more competition. We think were poised where thats a possibility due to the entry and expansion of Regional Express (Rex) and the entry of Bonza, but theyre both at a low level. More competition would put pressure on price, service and reliability, but we need to remove some barriers to allow that, she said. SINGAPORE, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu on Sunday elaborated on China's new security initiative. The sustained prosperity and stability in the Asia-Pacific region hinges on a sound security and development environment, Li said at the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue. Who is disrupting peace in the region? What are the root causes of chaos and instability? And what should we stay vigilant and guard against? These questions must be answered in the interests of the security, stability and future of the Asia-Pacific, he said. The Chinese defense minister put forward a four-point proposal on how to pursue security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. First, mutual respect should prevail over bullying and hegemony. Facts have proven that where there is hegemonism and power politics, there will be instability, chaos and even wars, Li said, adding that "we in China believe that the key for countries to live in harmony is mutual respect and treating each other as equals." "We are strongly opposed to imposing one's own will on others, placing one's own interests above those of others, and pursuing one's own security at the expense of others," he said, citing that some country has willfully interfered in other countries' internal affairs and meddled in the affairs of other regions, and frequently resorted to unilateral sanctions and coercion with force. It has incited "color revolutions" and proxy wars in different regions, created chaos and turbulence and just walked away leaving a mess behind, Li said. "We must never allow such things to happen again in the Asia-Pacific ... China firmly supports ASEAN centrality and its strategic autonomy. We are committed to promoting cooperative, collective and common security in our region on the basis of mutual respect," said the minister. Second, fairness and justice should transcend the law of the jungle. All countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal members of the international community. International affairs should be handled by all countries through consultation rather than be dictated by one or a few countries, Li said. "China always advocates and stays committed to improving justice and equity in the world, and firmly upholds the UN-centered international system, the international order underpinned by international law and basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter," he added. China practices multilateralism and pursues win-win cooperation, whereas some country takes a selective approach to rules and international laws, Li noted. "It likes forcing its own rules on others and even attempts to constrain others with a convention itself has not acceded to." Its so-called "rules-based international order" never clarifies what the rules are and who made these rules. It practices exceptionalism and double standards, and only serves the interests and follows the rules of a small number of countries, the minister said. "A just and equitable environment for development meets the shared interests of Asia-Pacific countries. Anyone who attempts to fleece the flock or prey on the weak will surely be opposed by countries in the region," he said. Third, eliminating conflicts and confrontation through mutual trust and consultation. It is natural for countries to disagree with each other. But there are two approaches to addressing differences, Li said, underlying that one is exacerbating tension and adding fuel to flames while the other is seeking consensus and promoting reconciliation and negotiations. "China is committed to upholding peace in handling international crises. On issues concerning the Middle East, the Korean Peninsula and Ukraine, China has played a constructive role and made great efforts to cool down the situation and facilitate political reconciliation," the minister noted. But some country is expanding military bases, reinforcing military presence, intensifying arms race and transferring nuclear weapon technologies to a non-nuclear state, he said. "All such practices, which it often resorts to, are designed to make enemy, stoke confrontation, fuel the fire and fish in troubled waters," Li said, adding that regional countries have every wisdom and capability to settle their differences and disputes. "Only enhancing dialogue and communication and promoting solidarity and cooperation will ensure stability in our region," he noted. Fourth, preventing bloc confrontation with openness and inclusiveness. The Cold War mentality is now resurging and greatly increasing security risks of bloc confrontation in the Asia-Pacific, Li said, citing that some big power continued to promote its so-called "Indo-Pacific Strategy" at the Shangri-La Dialogue. China holds that no strategy should be based on ideological ground and aim to build exclusive military alliances against imagined threats, as this could easily lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy, he stressed. "The true design of pushing for NATO-like military alliances in the Asia-Pacific is to hold countries in the region hostage and play up conflict and confrontation. Such attempts will only plunge the region into a whirlpool of division, disputes and conflicts," the Chinese minister said. History has proven that bloc politics, division and confrontation have never delivered genuine security, and they can only escalate tension and destabilize the region, Li said. "Today what Asia-Pacific needs are big pies of open and inclusive cooperation, not small cliques that are self-serving and exclusive. We must never forget the catastrophes inflicted by the two world wars and the Cold War. And we must never allow such tragedies to happen again," said the minister. A group of partners at PwC Australia have hired veteran crisis communications manager Sue Cato to advise them ahead of a hearing on Wednesday when senators will again demand the names of staff who received leaked government information to help clients minimise their tax. It is highly unusual for the partners at a firm to employ their own counsel when the company has already engaged its own crisis team, including former Labor senator and powerbroker Stephen Conroy, who is now chairman of TG Public Affairs. Sue Cato is called in for high-profile crisis communications. Credit: Quentin Jones The move, which suggests the partners are uncertain about whether their interests will align with PwCs public relations strategy, was confirmed by several people with knowledge of the matter. They declined to speak publicly because they were not authorised to do so. A PwC spokesman, Cato and Conroy all declined to comment. The fallout from former PwC partner Peter Collins decision to leak confidential government information so that the firms clients could minimise their tax has continued since the breach was revealed in January. After four unsuccessful attempts, colourful former Labor MP Belinda Iguanagate Neal has finally landed a spot on the Amnesty International Australia board. Loading It didnt come easy, with Neal getting elected during an occasionally fiery nine-hour annual general meeting held over Zoom on Saturday. But not everyone in the organisation is thrilled about Neals second act as a human rights crusader. After all, as a politician, shes best known for allegedly uttering the devastating words Dont you know who I am? during a career-ending altercation with bar staff at Central Coast nightspot Iguana Joes in 2008. She subsequently denied using that phrase. But time passes, and sources told CBD Neal entered the meeting all but certain to end her losing streak. This year, there were three, rather than two spots up for grabs. And a campaign, aided by her husband, former NSW Labor powerbroker John Della Bosca, that was run a lot like a preselection push, certainly gave Neal an advantage. Australian athlete and television host Matt Shirvington will take over from David Koch as co-host of Channel Sevens breakfast TV program Sunrise. Co-host Natalie Barr announced the move on Sunrise on Monday morning, as Shirvington joined the pair on the couch. Matt Shirvington will replace David Koch as co-host of Sunrise. Credit: The Age Shirvington said he had mixed emotions about taking on the role. Just amazing. Daunted. So excited. Happy. Cannot tell you the honour and privilege this is, he told the Sunrise audience. The 44-year-old, who remains the second-fastest Australian sprinter of all time, said becoming a permanent host of Sunrise was more nerve-racking than anything else he had done. Advertisement Tips & adviceBread How to keep bread fresher for longer (and why you should never keep it in the fridge) Nothing beats bread on the day it was baked, but these simple tips make sure you can enjoy every last crumb. Aaron Hutcherson June 4, 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 As anyone who jumped on the sourdough bandwagon during the early days of the pandemic can attest, baking bread is a labour of love. So whether youre baking your own loaves at home or grabbing a boule from your local bakery, you want to savour every crumb so none of the bakers hard work goes to waste. Make your crusty bread last longer than a day or two by following some simple tips. iStock Nothing beats day one on any of these loaves, Andrew Janjigian, author of the bread-focused Wordloaf newsletter and an upcoming cookbook, said. But unless youre just eating fresh-baked bread for your days meals - which I wouldnt judge you for - theres a good chance youll end up with leftovers. To keep bread at its best, its important to remember one rule: You dont want to put bread in the fridge ever, Janjigian said. Its the worst thing you can do for bread as it speeds up the staling process. Dont refrigerate it unless its the only option you have, former Washington Post staff writer Stephanie Witt Sedgwick wrote in a test of the best methods for storing bread back in 1996. The refrigerated breads firmed right up. They were really suitable only for toasting. Advertisement How to make no-knead bread in a Dutch oven Beyond that, it all comes down to moisture control, and the first thing Janjigian considers for storage is what type of bread it is. A crusty loaf wants to dry out slowly and theres moisture on the inside that is migrating toward the crust, so itll keep okay uncovered for a while, Janjigian said. Whereas an enriched loaf will just start to dry out from the outside in. My usual method or approach for crusty bread is to cut it and then to store it cut-side down on the cutting board, Janjigian said. That kind of keeps that exposed face from drying out. Chef Mark Best's homemade sourdough. Mark Best You dont want to wrap the loaves at this point in order to maintain the integrity of the crust. Itll soften that crust almost immediately because, like I said, theres moisture coming from the inside out, and once it hits a barrier like that, then it just sits on the crust, he said. You can protect the loaf for the long term, but youre kind of degrading its early quality by doing that. Advertisement Janjigian will keep bread unwrapped on the counter for a few days, and Witt Sedgwick doesnt usually recommend more than two. You may get a couple more days out of a big loaf, but basically, after about 36 hours the bread starts to dry out from the outside in and youll have to cut away stale parts to get to good parts, Witt Sedgwick wrote. At this point, Janjigian recommends putting the bread in something if you want to squeeze out a bit more life at room temperature. By that point its already kind of lost its shine, and so its just kind of keeping it for a bit longer that way. Janjigian typically uses beeswax wrap or cloth bags lined with beeswax, which he likes because theyre a little breathable, but some alternatives include bread boxes, aluminum foil and plastic wrap. With this approach he can get about a week out of sourdough, which keeps better than yeasted bread because of the acids in the sourdough. How to make and bake sourdough bread at home With enriched breads - those with a higher concentration of fat, sugar and/or dairy, such as sandwich bread - theres no crust to try to keep crisp, so all you need to focus on is not letting them dry out. As such, he recommends putting enriched breads into a plastic bag as soon as soon as youre ready to store them. With a plastic bag, theres the risk of mould, especially if its warm, Janjigian said. So I just try to race against time and try not to keep loaves around long enough that mould is a problem. Depending on how hot it is in your kitchen, Janjigian said enriched breads can last between five and seven days. Advertisement Fig and linseed soda bread recipe But with any type of bread, if you know that you wont be able to finish it within a few days, its best to pop it in the freezer as soon as you can. It serves as a kind of pause button, meaning fresh bread you move into cold storage can come out almost as good as the day you put it in, Washington Post staff writer Becky Krystal wrote. To freeze bread, portion it however you wish (slices are a good option because they can go directly in a toaster), wrap the portions in two layers of plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil or a zip-top bag. If despite your best efforts you end up with stale bread in your kitchen, theres still hope: turn it into breadcrumbs or croutons. The Washington Post EASY Mozzarella treccia with croutons and tomatoes EASY Fennel and brown sugar soda bread The best recipes from Australia's leading chefs straight to your inbox. Sign up Owning property has long been sold as the great Australian dream. Now the frenzy is not just about finding somewhere affordable to live; theres growing panic about finding somewhere to move into when you die. Beneath the surface, theres an even more acute housing crisis. And as morbid as it seems, Im fretting by proxy. As a Millennial, I thought I had a few more decades of indulging in smashed avo before paying and planning for my burial. Some cemeteries in Sydney will be full within a few years. Credit: Nick Moir Daily death rates in Sydney are climbing, but our cemeteries arent expanding. The city hasnt built a new cemetery in half a century, despite the population more than doubling and becoming increasingly diverse. At this rate, were going to run out of places to bury the dead within a decade, and it could be just three years for some faith groups including Antiochian Orthodox, Islam and Judaism. Turning an existing Sydney rail line into one used by driverless trains will be a balancing act between disrupting commuters and the time it takes to complete the troubled project, the boss of the state agency responsible for the citys new metro network says. Sydney Metro will present options to the state government within the next few weeks about how to complete the multibillion-dollar conversion of a section of the T3 Bankstown line, which is already running at least a year late. It is part of the $20 billion Metro City and Southwest rail project. The option selected will determine for how many months thousands of train commuters will be forced to catch replacement buses while 13 kilometres of line between Sydenham and Bankstown is shut to convert it to metro-train standards. A significant amount of work at stations like Hurlstone Park is needed to convert part of the Bankstown line into a Metro railway. Credit: Janie Barrett Initial briefings two months ago to the Labor government outlined a range of scenarios, which could add $1 billion to the cost and require the Sydenham-Bankstown section of track to be shut for up to 15 months. A 15-year-old boy granted bail in Queensland was temporarily banned from travelling as a passenger in any car without a youth justice worker present, amid concerns about restrictive bail conditions. Advocates say the bail condition, eventually overturned, highlights the issues facing children accused of crimes and the need for police to rethink practices under tightened youth justice laws. Police said stopping a child from riding in any car without a youth justice worker was not a bail condition they regularly sought. Credit: Jessica Shapiro The Palaszczuk government criminalised breaches of bail conditions by children in March, despite warnings it would drag more young people deeper into the justice system and amid claims of bipartisanship rather than evidence. By May 25, 169 children had already been charged with the new breach of bail offence, police said this week. Of the group, 112 were Indigenous. Six of the youngest, aged 11, were charged with the offence a combined 30 times. The Fair Work Ombudsman has blamed universities entrenched non-compliance with workplace agreements for the systemic underpayment of casual staff, and called for an overhaul of their corporate governance. Deputy Fair Work Ombudsman Rachel Volzke lambasted the sector in its submission to the Australian Universities Accord Panel, a wide-ranging education review conducted by Professor Mary OKane AC, saying poor governance, inadequate payroll systems and decentralised human resource functions needed to be addressed to resolve the chronic problem of staff underpayments. The Fair Work Ombudsmans submission to the Australian Universities Accord Panel highlights issues with trends of staff underpayment. Credit: Erin Jonasson The submission found there was failure to comply with the universities own enterprise provisions, including misclassifying duties or roles of casual academics, not having systems to identify compliance risks, low awareness among managers of new or changed obligations in new enterprise agreements and a lack of investment in payroll and time-recording systems. It also said compliance issues were rife across disciplines and types of employment. Uncertainty about future work, especially among casual academics, led to a fear of raising issues directly, the Ombudsman said. Leaked federal government memos reveal large numbers of international students are exploiting a loophole in Australias visa system to abandon university courses for cheaper private colleges and then go on to work instead of study. The documents also show the federal Education Department has taken little action on the issue despite admitting it was a serious problem at least 18 months ago. Last year 11,000 overseas students signed up to undertake concurrent study. Credit: Peter Braig International students in Australia can sign up for concurrent study, a rule designed to allow preparation for employment through short courses such as responsible service of alcohol or barista and hospitality training. But with little oversight from authorities once they enter Australia, growing numbers of students are obtaining a student visa offshore via a university enrolment and then enrolling in a cheaper vocational education course once they arrive. In the past year, 11,000 overseas students signed up to undertake concurrent study. Higgins went public with her allegation during an interview with Tens The Project on February 2021 and Lehrmann was charged amid intense public scrutiny later that year. Asked during the interview whether he raped Higgins, Lehrmann replied, no, while also denying the pair had consensual sex or even kissed. It was put to him that, if he was to be believed that he didnt rape Higgins, then he had been framed. It would appear that way, he said. ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Lehrmann said Higgins had given a white lie to her boss to save her job after the pairs after-hours entry into Parliament House sparked a security incident. [Then] shes coming into contact with media elites that have sort of latched onto this given the environment at that time in 2021 to weaponise it and advance a movement, really, he said. A not-guilty verdict meant jack shit when the media has already convicted you. Higgins denied fabricating the allegation during the trial, telling the court, Im not a monster, Id never do something like that. Repeating what he told police during a recorded interview aired in the trial, Lehrmann said that when he and Higgins entered Reynolds office they went in different directions, and he had left without saying goodbye. Brittany Higgins went public with her allegation in February 2021. Credit: Rhett Wyman Asked whether he shouldve asked Higgins how long she was going to be before he left, Lehrmann replied, I suppose in hindsight, sure, but qualified his mind was on other things. He did also admit lying to security to get into Parliament House on the night he was accused of raping Higgins. He said he had told police the true reason he had gone back to parliament, which was to get his keys, but told both security and his then-chief-of-staff Fiona Brown something else. The trial was aborted on October 27 due to juror misconduct, and a retrial was scrapped in December due to Higgins mental health. Higgins denied she settled a civil claim against the Commonwealth for $3 million late last year, telling the program the amount was much lower. Lehrmann accused ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold, SC, of ruining his life for launching the prosecution against him. He also criticised Drumgold for announcing that he still believed in a reasonable prospect of conviction the day he dropped the case. He took my opportunity for a not-guilty verdict away from me then he told Australia I still couldve won it. What the f---? he said. The interview aired following weeks of evidence in an ACT government public inquiry into authorities handling of the trial. During the inquiry, Drumgold conceded he hadnt thought about the effect his speech that day would have on Lehrmann. Loading During the trial a photo of a bruise on Higgins leg was shown to the jury. She had also shown the photo to The Project. It was fabricated. Thats the only explanation, Lehrmann told the program. It would appear that shes given that to The Project to enhance the weaponisation of her sexual assault allegation ... its pretty sick. He added that it was also sick that his interests could be cast aside for the benefit of the #MeToo movement. Lehrmann said he was infuriated by Higgins assertion during the Project interview that he hadnt suffered. He said he was ostracised by his friends as a result of allegations against him, and labelled the national story surrounding the allegations against him as an absolute bloody furphy. I mean, straight away, straight away like it is the metaphorical version of a nuclear bomb or the world exploding before your eyes. Youre being blocked. Youre being removed from group chats. International students take a selfie while visiting the Baling River bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province, June 3, 2023. A total of 40 international students from 24 countries have recently attended a culture promotion activity to learn about Guizhou Province, especially its achievements in transport infrastructure construction and rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Tao Liang) International students visit Guizhou Communications Polytechnic in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, June 2, 2023. A total of 40 international students from 24 countries have recently attended a culture promotion activity to learn about Guizhou Province, especially its achievements in transport infrastructure construction and rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Tao Liang) International students visit Guizhou Communications Polytechnic in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, June 2, 2023. A total of 40 international students from 24 countries have recently attended a culture promotion activity to learn about Guizhou Province, especially its achievements in transport infrastructure construction and rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Tao Liang) International students pose for a group photo while visiting the Baling River bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province, June 3, 2023. A total of 40 international students from 24 countries have recently attended a culture promotion activity to learn about Guizhou Province, especially its achievements in transport infrastructure construction and rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Tao Liang) International students visit the Baling River bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province, June 3, 2023. A total of 40 international students from 24 countries have recently attended a culture promotion activity to learn about Guizhou Province, especially its achievements in transport infrastructure construction and rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Tao Liang) The state government faces internal unrest over plans to force more housing density on Sydneys inner suburbs, with some Labor MPs insisting their electorates are already taking their fair share and disputing they have the requisite infrastructure. Premier Chris Minns has repeatedly stressed that well-connected suburbs must build higher, and the government last week welcomed a NSW Productivity Commission report backing that approach. NSW Premier Chris Minns is staring down resistance from local mayors and MPs to plans for higher density in Sydneys inner suburbs. Credit: Edwina Pickles But many city Labor MPs campaigned against perceived overdevelopment before the election and are now urging caution about higher density in inner suburbs, in a major test of Minns mettle. Attorney-General Michael Daley, who campaigned against overdevelopment in his Maroubra seat, said he had always acknowledged Sydney was a growing city and all communities needed to take their fair share of the burden of that growth. Singapore: Chinas defence minister has warned foreign naval vessels and warplanes to stay out of the Taiwan Strait, intensifying Beijings military posture a day after a Chinese warship nearly collided with an American destroyer in the contested waters. The Australian government responded with alarm to the incident on Sunday, warning that a miscalculation could have devastating consequences. An accident in that context would be a disaster, said Defence Minister Richard Marles, who met with Beijings defence minister Li Shangfu on Saturday night and urged him to keep lines of communication open. Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu salutes before delivering his speech in Singapore. Credit: AP But in a strident speech on Sunday that escalated Chinas threats towards the democratic island of Taiwan, Li told other countries to mind their own business. As the lyrics of a well-known Chinese song go when friends visit us, we welcome them with fine wine, when jackals or wolves come, we will face them with shotguns, he said. First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on June 8, 1963 UK WORRIED OVER SECURITY Profumos Visit To The Queen Cancelled From Our Staff Correspondent and A.A.P. LONDON, June 7. Mr J. Profumo, who resigned on Wednesday as War Minister, will not now have an audience with the Queen on Tuesday. Christine Keeler, the model at centre of Profumo Affair, on July 22, 1963. Credit: AP The Government is expected to face severe criticism over the Profumo episode when Parliament resumes on Monday week. Edinburgh: Vladimir Putin was not a Soviet super spy in East Germany in the 1980s but a plodding pen-pusher eager to please his superiors, an investigation has found. Germanys Spiegel magazine investigated Putins murky past on the suspicion that stories of his exploits as a KGB agent were exaggerated. Vladimir Putin, pictured in 2000 when he was acting president, built his reputation as a hardliner following a 16-year career with the KGB. Credit: AP Instead of conducting vital missions to hold back the forces of democracy, Spiegel said that Putin was focused on banal administrative work during his KGB posting to Dresden, endlessly sorting through travel applications for West German relatives or searching for potential informants among foreign students. Putin was a 32-year-old officer when he was sent to Dresden in 1985, a tense time with the Kremlins grip over its vassal states fracturing. Columbia, South Carolina: Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley suggested in an interview that United States forces need to align with non-European countries including Russia to enhance global security, a remark her campaign characterised as a gaffe. Asked by WMUR-TV for a segment Wednesday on regions of the world to which she felt the US could pay more attention, Haley who served the Trump administration as United Nations ambassador, first said the Arab world, saying the US needs Arab countries to kind of join with us on opposing Iran. Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley takes a question from the audience during a campaign gathering last month. Credit: AP You see Saudi Arabia making deals with China, thats not good for us. We need them to be with us, and then we need to align with others, Russia, Australia, Japan, Israel, Haley added. We need to start focusing on the allies that we have besides the Europeans and make sure that we have more friends one, for our needs, so that were not dependent on an enemy for energy or medicines or anything else, and then two, to make sure that we build those alliances so that the world is more safe. Hamilton, Bermuda:--- Dr. Ewart Brown's legal team heads to Bermuda's Supreme Court this week to argue that the constitutional rights of the Former Premier have been violated. The proceedings are scheduled for an entire week starting Monday, June 5, 2023. King's Counsels Delroy Duncan and Jerome Lynch represent Dr. Brown, with Judge Martin Forde from the United Kingdom presiding over the hearing. A spokesperson stated, "This week's matter is not a criminal trial. It is a constitutional hearing during which Dr. Brown's attorneys will present arguments to the court that their client's constitutional rights have been violated. If the court rules that Dr. Brown's rights have been breached, then the Judge has the authority to throw out the entire case if he chooses." The spokesperson continued, "This is another step on the long road to vindication for Dr. Brown. We are hopeful that justice will prevail." DHAKA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina slammed a recent U.S. visa restriction for Bangladeshi individuals for "undermining the democratic election process." "We will not be dependent on others. There is no point in fretting over who will not give us visas or who will impose sanctions," said Hasina on Saturday, as quoted by United News of Bangladesh. The wide range of people under the purview of the new policy includes current and former Bangladeshi officials, members of pro-government and opposition political parties, and members of law enforcement, the judiciary, and security services, as per an official U.S. release. The policy was made to support free, fair, and peaceful national elections in Bangladesh, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on May 24. Hasina has recently made it clear that the next general election in Bangladesh will be held under her Awami League government, which now eyes the fourth consecutive victory in the election slated for early 2024. The current government faces challenges from ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party, as Hasina did not heed their demand for a non-party caretaker government to hold the polls. Find out when the next meteor shower will occur with our 2023 meteor shower guide. The next meteor shower will be the Perseid meteor shower in August. The Perseids are active between mid-July to late August and will peak around Aug. 13. 2023 will not see the same level of moonlight disturbance as we did in 2022. This year is shaping up to be a good year for some of the more prolific meteor showers such as the Geminids and Perseids. Bill Cooke, the lead for the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, spoke with Space.com and offered skywatching tips and details on the major meteor showers that are visible this year. Related: Solar eclipses 2023: When, where & how to see them Bill Cooke Social Links Navigation NASA Astronomer Bill leads NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Top 3 showers to look out for in 2023 We asked Cooke if he had to choose, which three meteor showers would he recommend for 2023. "The big two are relatively unaffected by moonlight in 2023, so they head my list: Geminids and Perseids." Cooke wrote in an email to Space.com. "As for number three, that is an interesting choice. Even though the moon is full, I would have to go with the eta Aquariids, as they are projected to have a significant outburst on the night of May 4/5." Cooke continued. "The outburst will be caused by particles ejected from Comet Halley way back in 390 BC, and rates should be over two times the norm (ZHR around 120). The etas are number 6 among the annual showers in terms of exhibiting bright meteors/fireballs, so it could be a pretty decent show." Ten meteor showers with the most bright meteors. The graph incorporates bright meteors observed from the beginning of 2009 to the end of 2021 by the NASA Meteoroid Environment Office. (Image credit: NASA Meteoroid Environment Office) Meteor shower viewing conditions for 2023 Meteor shower viewing conditions are strongly affected by the moon phase at the time of the shower, with a bright Full Moon causing the most disturbance, washing out fainter meteors. We asked Cooke whether the moon will be troublesome for any major showers in 2023. "Conditions are good for the big two especially for the Geminids. Conditions are also favorable for the medium-strength Lyrids in April, the Orionids in October, and the Leonids in mid-November." Cooke wrote. "However, the Quadrantids in January will be washed out by moonlight, as well as the Ursids at the end of December." All in all, Cooke describes 2023 as a good year for watching meteor showers. Notable meteor showers of 2023. (Image credit: Future/Daisy Dobrijevic) January: Quadrantids A Quadrantid meteor streaks through the sky over Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. (Image credit: Stocktrek Images via Getty Images) The Quadrantid meteor shower is one of the strongest and most consistent showers of the year. It is active (and visible) between Dec. 28 and Jan. 12. The Quadrantids will next peak between Jan. 3 and Jan. 4, 2024. For the 2024 Quadrantids, viewing conditions will be good, with a 47% illuminated waning crescent moon providing less interference than the 89% illuminated moon we experienced in 2023 at the time of the peak. The shower's radiant is in the constellation Bootes. The easiest way to find it is to look north for the Big Dipper. Then, follow the "arc" of the Big Dipper's handle across the sky to the red giant star Arcturus , which anchors the bottom of Bootes. April: Lyrids The Lyrid meteor shower peaks in late April. (Image credit: Adventure_Photo via Getty Images) The Lyrid meteor shower is a medium-strength shower that occurs between April 16-25 every year. The Lyrids will next peak on the night of April 22, 2024, displaying about 18 meteors per hour in a clear sky. Unfortunately viewing conditions for the next Lyrid meteor shower will be hindered by the almost full moon shining brightly in Virgo around the time of the Lyrid's peak. But that's not to say it's impossible to catch sight of an impressive meteor or two! The radiant will be between the constellations Lyra and Hercules. The bright star Vega is part of Lyra, so you can also look for it to get a good idea of where the radiant for the Lyrids will be. According to the American Meteor Society, viewers should have a good view of the meteor shower for the three days around the shower's peak. The source of material that creates the Lyrid meteor shower is Comet Thatcher. The Lyrids have been viewed by different cultures for the past 2,700 years, according to NASA. May: Eta Aquarids A fireball from the Eta Aquarid meteor shower lights up the sky above Mount Bromo in Indonesia, on May 5, 2013. (Image credit: Justin Ng) The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is active between Apr. 15 and May 27 The Eta Aquarids will next peak on May 5-6, 2024. The maximum rate for shooting stars in a clear sky will be about 50 per hour, according to Cooke. These fast meteors travel across the sky at about 42 miles (67 kilometers) per second, according to AMS. Moonlight will provide minimal interference to meteor hunters, as the peak of the Eta Aquarids is around the time of the new moon. These chunks of space debris come from a celestial icon: Halley's Comet. The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is categorized as a strong shower and is best viewed from the Southern Hemisphere or close to the equator. Folks in some northern latitudes, however, can also observe them. Related: Eta Aquarid meteors dazzle in spectacular 'shooting star' photos People close to the equator will have the best chance to see the Eta Aquarids. The meteors radiate from the constellation Aquarius, which dwells in the southern sky. This means that the radiant of these shooting stars will be lower on the horizon for those viewing from the Northern Hemisphere, and it will appear higher in the sky for observers in the Southern Hemisphere. "The Etas are not a shower that you can go out to see after sunset because the radiant won't be up," said Cooke. To see the Eta Aquarids, Cooke recommends getting up to be outside at 2:00 a.m. local time. From then on, the rates will continue to increase until dawn. These meteors are short, swift streaks, produce long trains, according to AMS, and travel at about 41 miles (66 km) per second. August: Perseids The Perseid meteor shower is a popular meteor shower. Here, the Perseids were captured on Aug. 13, 2018, Inner Mongolia, China. (Image credit: bjdlzx via Getty Images) Next meteor shower: The Perseid meteor shower is one of the most prolific showers of the year, producing rich, bright streaks. The Perseids are active from mid-July until late August and will peak around Aug. 13, 2023, according to skywatching site In The Sky. Viewing conditions are good for the Perseids in 2023 as the moon will only be 10% illuminated around the time of the peak. Viewers can start observing around 11 p.m. local time when the rates of shooting stars increase and can watch the sky until dawn. The Perseid meteor shower radiant is in the constellation Perseus. This strong shower is produced by Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, an icy body that takes 133 Earth years to orbit once around the sun. If there's a clear sky, the Perseids will have a meteor rate of about 100 visible "shooting stars" per hour. October: Draconids The Draconid meteor shower has staged some dramatic outbursts in the past but nowadays its show is far from extravagant. In recent years the Draconids have been relatively quiet, producing few meteors and no noticeable outbursts of activity. The shower is active between Oct. 6-10, peaking around Oct. 8-9. Viewing conditions are favorable this year as the moon will only be 19% illuminated. The Draconids are caused by Earth passing through debris bits of ice and rock left behind by Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner as it hurtles through the solar system, passing Earth once every 6.6 years, according to NASA Science . October: Orionids The Orionid meteor shower is a result of Halley's Comet. This photograph shows an Orionid meteor shower above Shirakawa-go, Japan. (Image credit: Kazushi_Inagaki via Getty Images) Like the Eta Aquarids, the Orionid meteor shower is a by-product of Halley's Comet. In 2023 the Orionids are active from Sept.26 to Nov.22 and will peak on Oct 20-21, with clear-sky rates of about 20 meteors per hour. Related: Orionid meteor shower thrills skywatchers! See the photos The moon will be 37% full this year and so will not interfere with Orionid viewing opportunities as much as it did in 2021. Orionids are named for their radiant near the constellation Orion, the hunter, which is one of the easier constellations to spot with the three stars that make up its "belt." The period of activity peaks on Oct. 20 but begins on Sept. 26 and lasts until Nov. 22. November: Taurids Taurid meteor over Lake Simcoe, Canada on November 9, 2015. The Taurids put on a rather modest show compared to other showers. (Image credit: Orchidpoet via Getty Images) The Taurid meteor shower is an annual meteor shower that occurs every November and is composed of two streams, the Southern Taurids and the Northern Taurids. The Taurids put on a rather modest show, especially when compared with August's Perseid meteor shower or December's Geminid meteors. At peak viewing times during the Taurid meteor shower, you may be able to see about a half-dozen shooting stars per hour, at best. Otherwise, you may not even notice the quiet star show above your head. The Southern Taurids are active between Sept. 28 and Dec. 2 and peak on Nov 4-5. Whereas the Northern Taurids are active between Oct. 13 and Dec. 2 and peak on Nov. 11-12. November: Leonids The Leonid meteor shower radiates from the constellation Leo. In this photograph, the Leonid meteor shower can be seen in the skies above Lampang, Thailand. (Image credit: NirutiStock via Getty Images) The Leonid meteor shower offers clear-sky meteor rates of about 10 to 15 shooting stars per hour. They are active between Nov. 3 and Dec. 2 and will peak on Nov. 17-18. The Leonids are bright meteors and have a high percentage of persistent trains according to AMS. Related: The most amazing Leonid meteor shower photos The Leonids' radiant is located in the sickle-shaped head of the constellation Leo, the lion. Leonid meteor hunting can be incredible, or a total bust. It all depends on where its parent body, Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, will be in its orbit and the kind of debris clumps that will be around when our planet passes through this comet's orbit. The Leonids put on big shows in 1966, 1999 and 2001, according to AMS, when the comet was making its closest approach to the sun. It will be several years until observers get a big show from the Leonids. "The best we can hope for now until the year 2030 is peaks of around 15 shower [meteors] per hour and perhaps an occasional weak outburst when the earth passes near a debris trail. The Leonids are often bright meteors with a high percentage of persistent trains," according to AMS. December: Geminids The Geminid meteor shower occurs between November 19 to December 24 and this year will peak on the nights of December 13 and 14. The shower can produce 130 to 140 meteors per hour on a clear sky, said Cooke. 2023 will be a great year for Geminid meteor shower viewing as it peaks around the time of the new moon which arrives at 6:32 p.m. EST (2332 GMT) on Dec. 12. Year after year, the Geminids are the strongest meteor shower in terms of rates. Cooke previously said that when the shower was observed in the 1830s, rates were about 30 meteors per hour, and now, well over 100 appear per hour. A gorgeous, green Geminid meteor flies toward the northern lights in this stunning image by astrophotographer Matthew Skinner. (Image credit: bjdlzx via Getty Images) Unlike the other showers on this list, the Geminids are the by-product of an asteroid. The debris that falls onto Earth's atmosphere during this meteor shower comes from the asteroid Phaethon. The meteor shower's radiant is located in the constellation Gemini, which rises around sunset. The shower is best viewed from the Northern Hemisphere but can be viewed from the Southern Hemisphere, although at a reduced meteor rate. Geminid meteors are bright and "intensely colored," according to AMS, although they aren't likely to produce long trails. These meteors are also visible in the southern hemisphere but at reduced rates. December: Ursids The Ursid meteor shower is active between Dec. 17-26 and will peak on Dec. 22-23. They're generally a fairly sparse display, producing approximately five meteors per hour, according to Royal Museums Greenwich . Visibility will be good this year as the new moon arrives on Dec. 23. The Ursids are associated with Comet 8P/Tuttle, a periodic comet that follows a 13.5-year elliptical orbit around the sun. Any new showers for 2023? According to Cooke, we could experience a new shower in December, though it will favor observers in the Southern Hemisphere. "Besides the eta Aquariid outburst mentioned above, skywatchers should be aware of a possible new meteor shower caused by debris from Comet 46P/Wirtanen." Cooke wrote. "This shower may appear on December 12 ( New Moon , so yay!) modelers are still trying to estimate the rates. The meteors will be very slow (hence not bright) and it looks like the southern hemisphere will be favored." How to see a meteor shower BEST CAMERAS FOR ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY (Image credit: Nikon) If you're looking for a good camera for meteor showers and astrophotography, our top pick is the Nikon D850. Meteor showers are an investment of time and preparation is key to seeing them, according to Cooke, but it's worthwhile because it's cheap no telescope or binoculars are necessary and the simplest form of astronomy there is. Meteor shower observing can't be done on a whim, but it's pretty straightforward: Get away from bright lights, take time to adjust your eyes to the night sky and avoid looking at your cellphone if you get bored. The bright screen can throw a wrench in your efforts to adjust your night vision. "My suggestion to my friends who want to observe meteors is, leave your phone inside," said Cooke. Give your eyes 30-45 minutes to adapt to the dark, he said, and take in as much of the sky as possible by lying down flat on your back. Meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, and the more sky you see, the better your chance is to spot one. Each shower has a radiant, or a point in the sky where the meteors appear to originate. Knowing where the radiant is can be helpful, though the longer streaks will be visible farther away from the radiant. "You do not want to look at the radiant," Cooke said. "A good philosophy is to lie on your back and look straight up. And that way, you take in as much of the sky as you can." If you want more advice on how to photograph the Taurids, check out our how to photograph meteors and meteor showers guide and if you need imaging gear, consider our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography. A red flashlight, warm clothing, a hot drink and a deck chair are key for a comfortable night of meteor-hunting. (Image credit: Future) Keep in mind that some sky conditions can impede the successful viewing of shooting stars. Cloud coverage could block the sky, and the moon could also tarnish meteor shower viewing even on a clear night. Depending on the moon phase the amount of moonlight will wash out the faint meteors. To calculate sunrise and moonrise times in your location check out this custom sunrise-sunset calculator. Sometimes meteor showers produce exceptionally bright streaks. Observers can occasionally spot fireballs, or meteors brighter than Venus, the brightest planet in the night sky. The rate of shooting stars can be higher than usual in some instances, too, when the stream of space rocks gets a gravitational "nudge" from the planet Jupiter. Related: Brilliant yellow-green fireball lights up sky above England (video, photos) What causes meteor showers? Meteor showers happen when Earth passes through the debris field of a comet or asteroid as these objects make their way around the sun, shedding "crumbs" along the way. That's why a given meteor shower generally appears around the same time each calendar year. And occasionally, when Jupiter gets close to a stream of debris, its immense gravity perturbs the particles, nudging them slightly closer to Earth and thereby increasing the number of meteors visible in the night sky. Occasionally, this can produce outbursts or brief periods of intense activity in which skywatchers can see more than 1,000 meteors per hour. Most annual meteor showers don't outburst, though, and are typically classified as strong, medium or weak showers, depending on their peak rates. Additional resources Explore meteor showers in more detail and discover the difference between sporadic meteors and meteor showers with Geology.com. Learn more about meteor showers with these FAQs from NASA. Find out how we predict the intensity of meteor showers with BBC Science Focus. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook ISLAMABAD, June 4 (Xinhua) -- At least two terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces on Saturday in Pakistan's Bannu district of northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan army, said that the exchange of fire took place during a search operation in the Janikhel area of the district. The personnel of the security forces killed two terrorists during the exchange of intense fire and also confiscated weapons and ammunition from the site. Two soldiers of the Pakistan army also lost their lives. The ISPR added that the country's armed forces are determined to eliminate terrorism. KAMPALA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni late Saturday said 54 of the country's peacekeeping troops were killed in a deadly attack last week in southwest Somalia. The soldiers were killed after al-Shabaab, a militant group, overran a military base manned by a Ugandan contingent of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) at Bulo Marer town, about 120 km southwest of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. "Our soldiers demonstrated remarkable resilience and reorganized themselves, resulting in the recapture of the base. We discovered the lifeless bodies of 54 fallen soldiers, including a commander," according to a State House statement issued in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, quoting President Museveni as saying. The president made the remarks while addressing the ruling party National Resistance Movement Parliamentary Caucus in the central district of Kyakwanzi. The president also said al-Shabaab militants attempted to launch an attack on Baraawe town but were repelled by the Uganda peacekeepers. "They made an ill-fated attempt on Baraawe, but our forces dealt a significant blow, forcing them to flee," said Museveni. The Ugandan military last week dispatched a team of experts to investigate the May 26 attack on its troops by the al-Shabaab. Uganda is one of the troops-contributing countries to the ATMIS battling terrorists in Somalia, in addition to Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya and Ethiopia. D etectives are appealing for witnesses after a teenager was sexually assaulted on Parliament Hill in north London. An investigation was launched after police received a report that a 15-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted by a man near to the Parliament Hill Viewpoint at approximately 1045pm on Saturday June 3. The man is described as aged in his late teens, around 5ft 8ins tall, with short brown hair. He was wearing a blue t-shirt and jeans. Detective Sergeant Sam Lockstone, from the local policing team in Camden, said:We have carried out a number of enquiries, including a trawl for CCTV and a forensic examination of the scene. We believe there were a large number of teenagers on Parliament Hill at the time of the assault and it is thought the victim and suspect were part of different friendship groups. I am asking for anyone who witnessed suspicious activity, or has information about the incident, to contact us immediately. I would also encourage parents of children who were in the area last night to ask them if they can assist the investigation. Parliament Hill is in Hampstead Heath and is a popular gathering sport for its views of the capitals skyline. Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 7852/03Jun. You can also direct message @MetCC on Twitter. To remain anonymous contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. A Labour mayor has accused the party of being anti-democratic for blocking his candidacy for a future position after he appeared on stage with film director Ken Loach. Serving North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll, described as the last Corbynista in power, urged Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to reconsider the decision and allow party members to have their say on whether he can run for the planned North East mayoralty. The Unite union affiliated to Labour said the party had made a major mistake and warned of serious consequences. Mr Driscoll also defended his decision to share a platform with Mr Loach, who was expelled from the party amid efforts to tackle the antisemitism experienced during Jeremy Corbyns leadership. The UKs equalities watchdog found that Labour was responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination as the former leader struggled to tackle antisemitism. Mr Driscoll highlighted his work as mayor before telling Sky News Sophy Ridge on Sunday: When it comes to what the Labour Party needs to project to win elections, which is economic competence, Ive got a fantastic track record. And for members not to be allowed the choice of putting me forward for the Labour representative is, frankly, shocking. Ive had so much support from right across the political spectrum so what I want is for Keir and the Labour Party to do nothing more than give members the choice of choosing me as their candidate. He said he has examined the legal routes, noting: Its not all clear what they are. I really do think just let members choose who they want as their candidates, thats how democracy works. And I honestly think here, Sophy, that in a two-party system, if youre going to ban people who are promoting socialist views from participating in that, that is really quite anti-democratic. Mr Driscoll earlier said Labours National Executive Committee (NEC) panel was very, very clear with him that there was no issue with antisemitism. He said: They said Its an issue that, because you spoke to Ken Loach, that may cause us electoral damage in future was their argument. He said he contested this view, explaining that he had been asked to appear on stage with Mr Loach to have a conversation about his films, including those produced in the North East. I have been on Jewish Labour Movement training, I work very closely with the Jewish Leadership Council and visit synagogues in my region, so this is an entirely separate issue about Ken Loach's issues you need to take up with Ken Loach, I'm not his spokesperson After comments from Mr Loach linked to the Holocaust, Israel and antisemitism were read out to him, Mr Driscoll replied: If you want to ask Ken about his views then do it, I am not a spokesperson for Ken Loach. And lets be really clear, my combined authority under my leadership has adopted the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of antisemitism and references the examples. I have been on Jewish Labour Movement training, I work very closely with the Jewish Leadership Council and visit synagogues in my region, so this is an entirely separate issue about Ken Loachs issues you need to take up with Ken Loach, Im not his spokesperson. But theres only been three feature films set in the North East in a couple of decades I, Daniel Blake, Sorry We Missed You and now The Old Oak, so its a big culturally significant issue for the North East, and to talk to him about films is, I think, entirely justified. I share platforms with all sorts of people. A couple of weeks ago I was on a platform with (Conservative Tees Valley mayor) Ben Houchen. That does not mean I endorse the Tories economic policies. Asked if he regretted sharing a platform with Mr Loach, Mr Driscoll replied: I regret this entire episode now the whole thing has blown up and now Labour members are not geting the opportunity to choose. Pressed on whether he believed it was wrong of him to share a platform with the director, Mr Driscoll replied: I think the issues of speaking to somebody about something entirely different from a controversial issue my understanding is hes made all sorts of clarifications that hes not a Holocaust denier and I think he wrote a letter to the New York Times explicitly saying that the Holocaust was a real event, which of course it was so honestly, Sophy, I think weve got to get the proportionality here. What the public want from their politicians is to get on with things and deliver things and not to engage in culture wars, cancel culture or anything like that. I actually think thats electorally damaging. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: If Labour remains intent on only selecting nodding heads then it will continue to make serious policy mistakes, as we saw last week with its lack of detail on the announcement on the North Sea, affecting literally thousands of workers. These actions by Labour are a major mistake and have serious consequences. Mr Loach has long been celebrated for his socially-critical films, with 2016s I, Daniel Blake winning the Bafta Award for Outstanding British Film for depicting a mans struggle with the welfare system. But he was expelled from Labour in 2021 during what he called at the time a purge of Corbyn allies. Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he would strongly disagree, when asked if Sir Keir is trying to purge the left of the party. He said the leader has implemented a due diligence process, telling the same programme: Specifically in a case where somebody shares a platform with someone who themselves has been expelled from the Labour Party for their views on antisemitism, for opposing the tough action that needed to happen, that would preclude them from being a Labour candidate going forward because, when we said wed have zero-tolerance for antisemitism, when we said we would tear it out from its roots, we were serious about that. Mr Loach claimed antisemitism is being used to purge Labour of politicians on the left. He told the PA news agency that keeping Mr Driscoll off the longlist published on Friday because they shared a platform was the lamest excuse Ive ever heard. S cotlands First Minister is expected to tell business leaders on Monday the countrys success in the push towards net zero will depend on its ability to innovate. Humza Yousaf will address the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) Forum in Edinburgh. In his speech, the First Minister is expected to tout the economic opportunities of a just transition, as well as announcing the publication of a new innovation strategy this week, which will express his ambition to become one of the most innovative small countries in the world. It is crucial to Scotlands future prosperity so we will work with businesses to make the transition a success He is expected to say: The move to net zero is not simply an environmental necessity, but a massive economic opportunity. It is crucial to Scotlands future prosperity so we will work with businesses to make the transition a success. That success will depend, to a large extent, on our ability to innovate Later this week, the Scottish Government will publish its innovation strategy, which sets out our ambition to become one of the most innovative small countries in the world. The strategy has been shaped by a steering group co-chaired by Sir Jim McDonald, of Strathclyde University, and it has been planned in very close collaboration with business and others. Innovation has already been an important focus for government investment in recent years. In the last decade, weve set up seven innovation centres in areas such as biotechnology and data. Weve established new bodies such as the National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland. And weve positioned Scotland as a testing ground for new net zero technologies including hydrogen transport and floating wind power. The innovation strategy will, I hope, lead to a lasting improvement in Scotlands economic performance, and signal that Scotland is determined to become a world leader in entrepreneurship and innovation The First Minister will also compare Scotlands ability to use innovation to drive economic growth with other small countries such as Denmark, Norway and Finland, claiming these nations are better than Scotland in this regard currently. He will add: The innovation strategy will outline how we intend to emulate those countries including by developing clusters in areas where we already have a competitive advantage such as net zero, advanced manufacturing, health and life sciences, and data and digital technology. The innovation strategy will, I hope, lead to a lasting improvement in Scotlands economic performance, and signal that Scotland is determined to become a world leader in entrepreneurship and innovation. A two-year-old girl has been killed and 22 people left injured after a Russian missile strike on a residential building in Dnipro. Regional governor Serhiy Lysak said the childs body was pulled from the rubble of a house in the Pidhorodnenska area following the attack on Saturday night. Five children were among the 22 injured, with three boys in serious condition in hospital. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared footage online of rescuers searching the remains of a two-storey building. The Kremlin has not yet commented on the strike. It comes after Mr Zelensky said Ukraine is ready to launch its counter-offensive against Russia and believes it will succeed. Kyiv has reportedly readied 12 brigades of around 60,000 troops to spearhead the attack. Ukrainian troops are training for combat a few miles from Bakhmut and initial operations, including long-range missile strikes on Russian military hubs, have begun. But Mr Zelensky said he feared a large number of soldiers will die and he still wants more air defence systems to protect his troops from the larger Russian air force. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, he said: We strongly believe the counter-offensive will succeed. I dont know how long it will take. To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different. But we are going to do it and we are ready. Following the attack in Dnipro, Russia launched a new wave of overnight air strikes on the country. Ukraines air force said on Sunday it destroyed more than half of the air targets. Four of the six cruise missiles and three of the five Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia were downed, the air force said on Telegram. U krainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia is using a network of suppliers to evade international sanctions designed to stop it from making missiles and other weapons. He did not name the countries and companies he said were helping Russia acquire technology with the emphasis on producing missiles. Russia has launched hundreds of missiles against Ukrainian targets since last October. A woman reacts as she looks at the body of her daughter killed during a Russian missile strike in Kyiv. / REUTERS Unfortunately, the terrorist state manages to use the technologies of the world through a network of suppliers, manages to bypass international sanctions, he said. The Ukrainian leader said his government was well aware of Russias efforts to evade sanctions and will seek to ensure there are no products of the free world in Russian missiles. In April, a senior Zelensky aide said Ukrainian forces were finding a growing number of components from China in Russian weapons used in Ukraine as Western supplies are squeezed by sanctions. China has denied sending military equipment to Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Peter Nicholls/PA) / PA Wire It comes after the US ambassador to South Africa accused the country of supplying weapons to Russia despite its professed neutrality in the war in Ukraine. Reuben Brigety claimed a Russian ship was loaded with ammunition and arms in Cape Town last December. Mr Brigety referred to the docking of a cargo ship in the Simons Town naval base between 6 and 8 December last year which he was confident was loaded with weapons and ammunition as it made its way back to Russia. In the wake of the allegations, the South African government announced the establishment of an independent inquiry led by a retired judge, a spokesman for the presidents office said. Policemen stand guard near the venue of the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue at Singapore's Shangri-La Hotel on June 2, 2023. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua) The United States is virtually stoking division, instigating confrontation and undermining peace in the region. by Xinhua writers Yan Jie, Mao Pengfei and Cai Shuya SINGAPORE, June 4 (Xinhua) -- America has found it more difficult than ever to cover up its hidden agenda when peddling the so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy" to Asia-Pacific countries at the just-concluded 20th Shangri-La Dialogue. While making high-sounding claims about "promoting peace, prosperity and progress in the Asia-Pacific through the power of partnership," the United States is virtually stoking division, instigating confrontation and undermining peace in the region. "American leadership" is in fact American hegemony in disguise. Essentially, "American leadership" is dominated by a Cold War mentality and an "America First" doctrine regardless of the interests of its allies, mainly in the form of "coercive diplomacy." In terms of politics and the military, it has never stopped forming blocs by coercing others into taking sides, pushing for a military arms race among Asia-Pacific countries to benefit only itself. Economically, it has repeatedly used the U.S. dollar's global supremacy to export its own crises to emerging markets and developing countries in the region, letting the latter bear the brunt. Moreover, to blunt China's influence in the region, the United States and its allies have been stepping up efforts to exploit the concept of "national security", aiming to weaken China's connections with non-aligned emerging economies. Indeed, we could not agree more with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's saying in his speech during the event that "this region's security and prosperity cannot be taken for granted." Ironically, the security and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific are put under threat by the United States itself. Washington's actions in the region do not match its words. On the one hand, the United States has anchored its "Indo-Pacific strategy" in openness and respect for sovereignty. On the other hand, it rushed to muster Cold-War style groupings such as the AUKUS deal and Quad alliance. Take the Taiwan question, which is at the very heart of China's core interests and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations. On various occasions, U.S. President Joe Biden and many other senior officials of his administration have publicly pledged to stay committed to the one-China policy and not to support "Taiwan independence." But Washington is bent on stirring up tensions across the Taiwan Straits, not least by sending warships and fighter jets, boosting arms sales, ganging up with other countries to intervene in the Taiwan issue, strengthening the so-called "official exchanges" and, most recently, sailing through the Straits. These deliberate provocations are turning the region into a dangerous flashpoint. The U.S. and "Taiwan independence" separatists relying on external forces are indeed the real factors that exacerbate tensions and cause changes in the status quo. Protestors hold a rally against the South Korea-U.S. military exercise in central Seoul, South Korea, Aug. 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Yiliang) Meanwhile, in the South China Sea, the United States has been sending warships and military aircraft, as well as intensifying its military presence, stoking tensions in the region. Beijing, as always, values the development of China-U.S. military relations, and military exchanges between the two sides have not been interrupted. But if the United States appeals for communication while undermining China's interests, and calls for crisis management while continuing its provocations, any talk for the sake of talk is of little use for bilateral relations. Peace and development have become the most valuable global public goods. The Asia-Pacific has broken through havoc caused by war and financial chaos, and achieved development in recent decades. As such, when the world is facing multiple crises rarely seen in history, people in the region understand well that a path of peaceful development, featuring solidarity and win-win cooperation, fits the interests of all. Anna Malindog-Uy, vice president of the Manila-based think tank Asian Century Philippines Strategic Institute, pointed out that Asia-Pacific countries can promote peace and security in their own way, especially "in resolving conflicts of interest and differences." Unlike the "Indo-Pacific strategy" full of geopolitical calculations, the China-proposed Global Security Initiative calls for a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, where no country can strengthen its own security at the expense of others. Clearly, the Asia-Pacific cannot afford to lose peace and development to geopolitical competition or bloc confrontation. Stuck in a hegemonic mentality, the "Indo-Pacific strategy" featuring confrontation over dialogue, alliances over partnerships, and zero-sum over win-win is doomed to fail. R ussian security officials have begun arresting people for wearing colours similar to the Ukrainian flag, British defence chiefs claim. In its latest intelligence update, the UKs Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the Russian National Guard has interpreted wartime legislation to mean that public displays of blue and yellow are outlawed. The MoD cited reports of a care home worker who was arrested for wearing a blue and yellow jacket to work. Another man, aged 22, was also detained for displaying the blue and yellow flag of Russias own Aerospace Forces in Volkhov near St Petersburg. The MoD said the clampdown shows a paranoid Russian officialdom in an increasingly totalitarian system. They wrote: Some local Russian security officials are likely interpreting Russias draconian wartime legislation to mean that public display of blue and yellow items is outlawed because it might evidence discreet support for Ukraine. On 09 May 2023, a care home worker was reportedly arrested after wearing a blue and yellow jacket to work. In recent days, Russian National Guard troops arrested a 22 year old man in Volkhov near St Petersburg for displaying which was eventually determined to be the blue and yellow flag of Russias own Aerospace Forces. The MoD added: The clampdown highlights uncertainty within a paranoid Russian officialdom of what is and is [not] deemed permissible within an increasingly totalitarian system. Criticism of the arrests has come from an unexpected quarter: the ultra-nationalist, pro-war Liberal Democratic party. The partys own branding features yellow on a blue background. It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Ukraine was ready to launch a counter-offensive to recapture Russian-occupied territory. He said: We strongly believe that we will succeed. I dont know how long it will take. But we are going to do it and we are ready. Kyiv hopes that taking back land will change the dynamics of the war. Mr Zelensky said last month that he was waiting for more armoured vehicles to arrive before starting the campaign. Russia holds Ukrainian territory in the East, South and South East. U kraine does not have enough weapons to mount a succesful counteroffensive, according to one of its top diplomats. Igor Zhovkva, deputy head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys office and his chief foreign affairs adviser, said he was working to get more weapons, more support, more ammunition. He told the Sunday Times: But if you want to start a successful counteroffensive you need everything at your disposal, including artillery, armoured vehicles and tanks, so probably we dont have enough. He also said Ukraine lacked air defence systems and said Europe needed to put more economic pressure on Russia. His comments were contradicted by President Zelensky who told the Wall Street Journal Kiev was ready to attack. He said: To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different. But we are going to do it, and we are ready. A Ukrainian soldier fires a mortar at Russian positions in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022 / AP The Ukrainian military renewed its plea for operational silence around the long-awaited counteroffensive on Sunday as anticipation mounted around what is expected to be a broad attack by Ukrainian forces to retake Russian-occupied territory in the east and south. Ukrainian officials have discouraged public speculation over the operation, saying it could help the enemy and in recent days authorities have cracked down on citizens sharing images or footage of air defence systems shooting down Russian missiles. Plans love silence. There will be no announcement of the start, the ministry said in a video posted to official Telegram channels, apparently referring to the counteroffensive. The sleekly-produced footage featured masked and well-armed front-line troops holding their fingers against their lips, gesturing for silence amid the distant rumble of artillery and gunfire. It ended with images of soaring F-16 fighter jets - long coveted by Kyiv as it seeks to boost its air defence against Russian missiles and drones. Kyivs Western allies in recent months have provided weapons, armour and ammunition for the counteroffensive, which military experts have said could prove difficult against dug-in Russian forces. B runo Toniolis golden buzzer act Ghetto Kids has kicked off the Britains Got Talent grand final with a joyous celebration of Africa. The Uganda-born group, whose ages range from five to 13, opened the show with a routine to a medley of songs including Africa by Toto and shared a flag of their country during the performance which ended with a shower of golden glitter. The children, who were given a new start in life by the Inspire Ghetto Kids Foundation, said before their performance: If we won, we would be able to build a home for kids like us. Sundays show marks judge Toniolis first grand final after joining the ITV talent shows panel alongside Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon this year. Tonioli said of his golden buzzer act: Seeing you makes me feel happy to be alive you really are the pride of Africa, meanwhile Dixon said: I cant put it into words how much joy you have brought us this year Youve done Uganda proud. Cowell asked the joyous group to come back every single year, adding: This isnt easy, youve got a few days to prepare something, in terms of personality, talent, everything workedfor me by a mile this was your best performance. The winner will scoop a 250,000 prize, as well as a spot on the bill at the Royal Variety Performance. Across the past week, acts have battled it out in five live semi-finals with five acts put through after receiving the most audience votes and the other five voted through by the judges. Schoolgirl Olivia Lynes, who is Holdens golden buzzer choice, was the next child star to wow the judges singing Let It Go from Disney classic Frozen. The 11-year-old, who dreams of performing on the West End when she is older, was thrilled to receive a video message from actress Samantha Barks, who plays Elsa in the musical, ahead of her performance. Holden said: You definitely let it go Olivia, the whole thing was pitch perfect, you are a little star I just cannot believe the power house that you are. Sunbed receptionist Amy Lou Smith then gave an emotional rendition of Christina Aguileras ballad Reflection in the hope of winning the show for her children, she said after the performance. The 34-year-old from Tipton, West Midlands, had the judges on their feet and particularly impressed Holden and Dixon having given birth a few weeks ago. Holden said: You are a shining example for all the women, we havent had a female winner for a long time. The final also saw comedian Tonikaku, who left the audience and judges in fits of laughter with his uncanny series of superhero naked poses. The 40-year-old wild card act posed as Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, and even as judge Cowell pressing the red buzzer and his hero Freddie Mercury during Queens Dont Stop Me Now. Cowell said: Youre one of the funniest people we have ever, ever had on this show, while Dixon said: You made me break my ring I laughed so hard. I was banging the desk in laughter. South Wales Travis George had the audience and judges on their feet after a powerful rendition of This Is Me from The Greatest Showman. After his performance, the 22-year-old said: As a person who struggles with anxiety and came from nothing, to be in the finals of Britains Got Talent, thank you to everyone who made this the beautiful experience that it is. Meanwhile married couple Sophia Carmen and Maksym Korbun, from Duo Odyssey, performed a contemporary aerial dance routine to Wicked Game by Chris Isaak, telling Cowell: Every time we do this we risk our lives, after he asked what was special about their routine. Another teenage star, 14-year-old Cillian OConnor from County Meath in Ireland, wowed the judges with an impressive magic routine which saw co-host Anthony McPartlin disappear. After the performance, Declan Donnelly said: I need to know how to do that. Cowell said I just think youve obviously got magical powers and I believe in that, while Tonioli described him as the embodiment of magic. It was Lilliana Clifton who commanded the stage during the final with her emotional and dramatic dance routine to Eurovision winner Loreens Tattoo. The 13-year-old schoolgirl was described as a dancing queen by Tonioli, while Cowell said: Im going to be honest with you, I always knew you were good, I didnt know you were this good. There could be some real surprises on the show tonight and this for me is one of them. Norwegian comedian Viggo Venn had the audience kept the Britains Got Talent audience entertained with another high-vis inspired routine in the grand final. The 33-year-old had the judges laughing when he forced judge Simon Cowell to wear a matching high-vis jacket as rose petals were thrown over the pair before the whole audience erupted into high-vis. The audience were in raptures after the performance, chanting: One more time, in reference to his first audition on the show. Dixon said: Youve captivated the nation, they love you, while Tonioli said: I think your physical comedy is world-class, you have created one of the most memorable characters since Mr Bean. When host Donnelly asked why so many high-vis jackets, Venn said: I wear so many high-vis because its really cold in Norway. T om Hollander said he is more cautious about opening any post from Russia that arrives at the West End theatre where he stars in an anti-Putin play following the war in Ukraine. The White Lotus star, 55, plays billionaire businessman Boris Berezovsky opposite His Dark Materials actor Will Keen who stars as Vladimir Putin in Patriots at the Noel Coward Theatre. The Bafta-award winning actor appeared on Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg where he was asked if his approach to the play had changed, given it was written by Peter Morgan before the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Hollander said: What has changed now that were at war is Im more cautious about opening any post that arrives at the theatre from Russia. Were at war arent we, and were quite visibly doing a play which is broadly speaking anti-Putin and so I just go, Oh, I probably wont open that. When asked if he felt he has made himself a target by taking on the role, he said: No, I just think its a little bit more serious than it would have been before the war, thats all. Were not doing this sweet (Anton) Chekhov play, were doing something thats about living figures who are embattled with the west. Its just a reason for not opening everything that arrives in the post. Hollander described the play as a morality tale about somebody going to war with the devil and losing. He added: They were all patriots, Putin is sincere, he is a moralist. Berezovsky in his own way is a moralist, so is (Alexander) Litvinenko. All these characters who we learn about, theyre all fighting over the soul of Russia and they all felt they were doing the right thing and therein lies the tragedy. E astEnders has been crowned best soap at the British Soap Awards, where host Jane McDonald proved a hit after taking over from Phillip Schofield. The ceremony, at The Lowry in Salford Quays, was presented by McDonald after she stepped in to replace Schofield when he quit ITV amid a furore over his extramarital affair with a younger male colleague. Wearing a gold sequinned floor-length dress, McDonald told the audience: Ive got to say I am a massive fan of the soaps so this is my dream job. Welcome to you all, thank you for having me. As the awards came to a close, she said: Im off for a knees-up with all my favourite soapstars, Im so excited. Her appearance was also met with excitement by the cast members. Hollyoaks actress Nikki Sanderson said fellow cast member Ross Adams, who plays Scott Drinkwell, was particularly pleased with the new host. She said: Ross Adams is like her biggest fan ever, as soon as he found out, he was completely fangirling about it. So its really exciting for us that shes doing it but really exciting for Ross. Adams was able to get up close and personal to his favourite when she sat on his knee to deliver a link. The coveted best soap award, voted for by the public, was presented to EastEnders by actress Dame Sheila Hancock, who said: Im so deeply honoured to be asked to do this. I have such admiration for you. Accepting the award with the rest of the cast on stage, Perry Fenwick, who plays Billy Mitchell, said: From the bottom of our hearts, honestly, we are thrilled to bits. The Walford drama also claimed best leading performer for Danielle Harolds portrayal of Lola Pearce-Brown, who died following a brain tumour. Accepting the award, Harold said: This isnt for me. This is definitely for every single person whos worked with me along the way who has been directly affected by brain tumours, people who are suffering from brain tumours. Their time has been so precious to them and even more to me and I cant thank all of you enough for helping me. The soap won villain of the year for Aaron Thiara, who plays Ravi Gulati, and best young performer, which went to Lillia Turner as Lily Slater. Coronation Street won the most accolades of the night, with six prizes including for best single episode and scene of the year for the shows depiction of an acid attack carried out by Justin Rutherford (Andrew Still), who had been stalking Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan). Ryan Prescott, whose character Ryan Connor was injured in the attack, said there had been 330 acid attacks in Manchester in the last year. He said: It was amazing to be part of something that could bring a light to something so sensitive and something that is happening way more than we actually know. Jordan won best dramatic performance, while the shows Dame Maureen Lipman, who plays Evelyn Plummer, won best comedy performer and Channique Sterling-Brown won best newcomer for her performance as Dee-Dee Bailey. The Weatherfield- based soap also went home with the best family award, which went to the Platts. Hollyoaks was awarded best storyline for a plot which saw Sandersons character Maxine Minniver targeted by incel Eric Foster (Angus Castle-Doughty) alongside her brother Mason Chen-Williams (Frank Kauer). The soaps head of casting was awarded the Tony Warren Award. Emmerdales Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon Dingle, was given an outstanding achievement award and told the audience: What a job, Ive loved every minute of it. Doctors actors Chris Walker and Jan Pearson took home the best on-screen partnership gong for their performances as Rob and Karen Hollins in the daytime soap. The British Soap Awards airs on Tuesday at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX. SINGAPORE, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The Global Security Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping contributes Chinese wisdom to addressing international security challenges, Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu said here Sunday. The initiative calls for common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, Li said in his speech at the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue. China has succeeded in blazing a Chinese path to modernization, which has injected a strong driving force into promoting common development, made significant contributions to safeguarding world peace and played a positive role in improving global governance, Li said. He expressed China's willingness to work with all parties to enhance the commitment to an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future, promote the sound development of regional security cooperation, and strive to build an open, inclusive, transparent and equitable architecture on regional security cooperation. Li stressed that Taiwan is China's Taiwan and how to resolve the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese to decide, and that it brooks no interference from any external forces. Criticizing Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authorities for soliciting foreign support for independence and some foreign forces for attempting to contain China with Taiwan, Li said they are the biggest troublemakers trying to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. He warned that if anyone dares to separate Taiwan from China, the Chinese military will not hesitate for a second. "We will fear no opponents and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity regardless of any cost." Li also elaborated on China's position on the South China Sea and China-U.S. relations. People take pictures at Xianghuiqiao station along a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2023. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) This photo taken on June 3, 2023 shows a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) A sightseeing train is about to pull out of Xianghuiqiao station along a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2023. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao) People take pictures at Xianghuiqiao station along a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2023. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) People board a sightseeing train at Shuanglongqiao station along a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2023. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) People enjoy a sightseeing train ride along a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2023. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) People enjoy a sightseeing train ride along a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2023. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) People take pictures at Xianghuiqiao station along a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2023. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) People take pictures at Xianghuiqiao station along a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2023. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) People enjoy a sightseeing train ride along a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2023. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) This photo taken on June 3, 2023 shows an old-fashioned locomotive at a railway museum in Shiping County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao) Visitors are seen at Xianghuiqiao station along a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2023. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) People take pictures when having a sightseeing train ride along a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2023. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) People enjoy a sightseeing train ride along a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2023. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) People enjoy a sightseeing train ride along a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2023. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Zhou Dixiao) People take pictures at Xianghuiqiao station along a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2023. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) People take pictures when having a sightseeing train ride along a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2023. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao) Visitors are seen at Xianghuiqiao station along a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2023. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) People enjoy a sightseeing train ride along a tourism railway line in Jianshui County of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2023. Once an important transportation line for local tin industry, the Gejiu-Bisezhai-Lin'an-Shiping Railway in Honghe is now a major tourist attraction for visitors. Since 2015, the Jianshui County (Lin'an as the old name) and Shiping County have been exploring this historical railway and injecting new life into their tourism industry. Now enjoying a sightseeing train ride along this tourism railway line is a must-do for visitors who come here. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) VLADIVOSTOK, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Russia will continue to provide notifications of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launches under the relevant 1988 agreement to avoid dangerous escalations, an official said on Saturday. "We have certainly taken note of the U.S. intention, at least in words, to continue fulfilling the 1988 agreement on notifications of ICBM and SLBM launches," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said. "Accordingly, within the framework of New START (New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), notifications will not be transmitted, but within this (1988) agreement, the relevant procedures will be maintained from our side," he said. The United States and the former Soviet Union signed Ballistic Missile Launch Notification Agreement in 1988. "Therefore, a certain level of transparency and predictability will remain in this area, allowing us to avoid further dangerous escalations," he added. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Feb. 21 that Moscow would suspend its participation in New START but would not withdraw from it. On March 1, Putin signed a law to officially suspend Russia's participation in the treaty. "Our decision to suspend New START is unshakable, irrespective of any measures or countermeasures from the American side. Furthermore, our condition for the treaty's full-fledged functioning is the U.S. renouncing its fundamentally hostile policy towards Russia," Ryabkov said. The U.S. State Department had previously announced that starting from June 1, Washington would stop providing Moscow with data on the status and location of its missiles and launchers covered by New START. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Angelica Lyons knew it was dangerous for Black women to give birth in America. As a public health instructor, she taught college students about racial health disparities, including the fact that Black women in the U.S. are nearly three times more likely to die during pregnancy or delivery than any other race. Her home state of Alabama has the third highest maternal mortality rate in the nation. Then, in 2019, it nearly happened to her. What should have been a joyous first pregnancy quickly turned into a nightmare when she began to suffer debilitating stomach pain. Her pleas for help were shrugged off, she said, and she was repeatedly sent home from the hospital. Doctors and nurses told her she was suffering from normal contractions, she said, even as her abdominal pain worsened and she began to vomit bile. Angelica said she wasn't taken seriously until a searing pain rocketed throughout her body and her baby's heart rate plummeted. Rushed into the operating room for an emergency cesarean section, months before her due date, she nearly died of an undiagnosed case of sepsis. Even more disheartening: Angelica worked at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the university affiliated with the hospital that treated her. Her experience is a reflection of the medical racism, bias and inattentive care that Black Americans endure. Black women have the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States 69.9 per 100,000 live births for 2021, almost three times the rate for white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Black babies are more likely to die, and also far more likely to be born prematurely, setting the stage for health issues that could follow them through their lives. "Race plays a huge part, especially in the South, in terms of how you're treated," Angelica said, and the effects are catastrophic. "People are dying." To be Black anywhere in America is to experience higher rates of chronic ailments like asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, Alzheimer's and, most recently, COVID-19. Black Americans have less access to adequate medical care; their life expectancy is shorter. From birth to death, regardless of wealth or social standing, they are far more likely to get sick and die from common ailments. Black Americans' health issues have long been ascribed to genetics or behavior, when in actuality, an array of circumstances linked to racism among them, restrictions on where people could live and historical lack of access to care play major roles. Discrimination and bias in hospital settings have been disastrous. The nation's health disparities have had a tragic impact: Over the past two decades, the higher mortality rate among Black Americans resulted in 1.6 million excess deaths compared to white Americans. That higher mortality rate resulted in a cumulative loss of more than 80 million years of life due to people dying young and billions of dollars in health care and lost opportunity. A yearlong Associated Press project found that the health challenges Black Americans endure often begin before their first breath. The AP conducted dozens of interviews with doctors, medical professionals, advocates, historians and researchers who detailed how a history of racism that began during the foundational years of America led to the disparities seen today. 'You don't look good' 'You don't look good' Angelica Lyons' pregnancy troubles began during her first trimester, with nausea and severe acid reflux. She was prescribed medication that helped alleviate her symptoms, but it also caused severe constipation. In the last week of October 2019, while she was giving her students a test, her stomach started to hurt badly. "I remember talking to a couple of my students and they said, 'You don't look good, Ms. Lyons,'" Angelica recalled. She called the University of Alabama-Birmingham Hospital's labor and delivery unit to tell them she was having a hard time using the bathroom and her stomach was hurting. A woman who answered the phone told her it was a common pregnancy issue, Angelica said, and that she shouldn't worry too much. "She made me feel like my concern wasn't important, and because this was my first pregnancy, I decided not to go because I wasn't sure and thought maybe I was overreacting," Angelica said. The pain persisted. She went to the hospital a few days later and was admitted. She had an enema a procedure where fluids are used to cleanse or stimulate the emptying of bowels to alleviate her constipation, but Angelica continued to plead with them that she was in pain. "They were like, 'Oh, it's nothing, it's just the Braxton Hicks contractions,'" she said. "They just ignored me." She was sent home, but her stomach continued to ache, so she went back to the hospital a day later. Several tests, including MRIs, couldn't find the source of the issue. Angelica was eventually moved to the labor and delivery floor of the hospital so they could monitor her son's heartbeat, which had dropped slightly. There, they performed another enema that finally helped with the pain. She also was diagnosed with preeclampsia, a dangerous condition that can cause severe pregnancy complications or death. Then she began to vomit what appeared to be bile. "I got worse and worse with the pain and I kept telling them, 'Hey, I'm in pain,'" Angelica said. "They'd say, 'Oh, you want some Tylenol?' But it wasn't helping." She struggled to eat dinner that night. When she stood up to go to the bathroom, she felt a sharp pain ricochet throughout her body. "I started hollering because I had no idea what was going on," she said. "I told my sister I was in so much pain and to please call the nurse." What happened next remains a blur. Angelica recalls the chaos of hospital staff rushing her to labor and delivery, putting up a blue sheet to prepare her for an emergency C-section as her family and ex-husband tried to understand what went wrong. She later learned that she nearly died. "I was on life support," recalled Angelica, 34. "I coded." She woke up three days later, unable to talk because of a ventilator in her mouth. She remembers gesturing wildly to her mother, asking where her son, Malik, was. He was OK. But Angelica felt so much had been taken from her. She never got to experience those first moments of joy of having her newborn placed on her chest. She didn't even know what her son looked like. Maternal sepsis is a leading cause of maternal mortality in America. Black women are twice as likely to develop severe maternal sepsis, as compared to their white counterparts.Common symptoms can include fever or pain in the area of infection. Sepsis can develop quickly, so a timely response is crucial. Sepsis in its early stages can mirror common pregnancy symptoms, so it can be hard to diagnose. Due to a lack of training, some medical providers don't know what to look for. But slow or missed diagnoses are also the result of bias, structural racism in medicine and inattentive care that leads to patients, particularly Black women, not being heard. "The way structural racism can play out in this particular disease is not being taken seriously," said Dr. Laura Riley, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian Hospital. "We know that delay in diagnosis is what leads to these really bad outcomes." In the days and weeks that followed, Angelica demanded explanations from the medical staff of what happened. But she felt the answers she received on how it occurred were sparse and confusing. A spokesperson for the University of Alabama at Birmingham said in a statement to The Associated Press that they couldn't talk about Angelica's case because of patient privacy laws. They pointed to a recent internal survey done by its Obstetrics and Gynecology department that showed that most of its patients are satisfied with their care and "are largely feeling respected," and said the university and hospital "maintain intentional, proactive efforts in addressing health disparities and maternal mortality." Angelica's son, Malik, was born eight weeks early, weighing under 5 pounds. He spent a month in intensive care. He received home visits through the first year of life to monitor his growth. While he's now a curious and vivacious 3-year-old who loves to explore the world around him, Angelica recalls those days in the ICU, and she feels guilty because she could not be with him. "It's scary to know I could have died, that we could have died," Lyons said, wiping away tears. History of gynecology For decades, frustrated birth advocates and medical professionals have tried to sound an alarm about the ways medicine has failed Black women. Historians trace that maltreatment to racist medical practices that Black people endured amid and after slavery. To fully understand maternal mortality and infant mortality crises for Black women and babies, the nation must first reckon with the dark history of how gynecology began, said Deirdre Cooper Owens, a historian and author. "The history of this particular medical branch it begins on a slave farm in Alabama," Owens said. "The advancement of obstetrics and gynecology had such an intimate relationship with slavery, and was literally built on the wounds of Black women." Reproductive surgeries that were experimental at the time, like cesarean sections, were commonly performed on enslaved Black women. Physicians like the once-heralded J. Marion Sims, an Alabama doctor many call the "father of gynecology," performed torturous surgical experiments on enslaved Black women in the 1840s without anesthesia. And well after the abolition of slavery, hospitals performed unnecessary hysterectomies on Black women, and eugenics programs sterilized them. Health care segregation also played a major role in the racial health gap still experienced today. Until Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Black families were mostly barred from well-funded white hospitals and often received limited, poor or inhumane medical treatment. Blackled clinics and doctors worked to fill in the gaps, but even after the new protections, hospitals once reserved for Black families remained under-resourced, and Black women didn't get the same support regularly available for white women. That history of abuse and neglect led to deep-rooted distrust of health care institutions among communities of color. "We have to recognize that it's not about just some racist people or a few bad actors," said Rana A. Hogarth, an associate professor of History at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. "People need to stop thinking about things like slavery and racism as just these features that happened that are part of the contours of history and maybe think of them more as foundational and institutions that have been with us every step of the way." Some health care providers still hold false beliefs about biological differences between Black and white people, such as Black people having "less sensitive nerve endings, thicker skin, and stronger bones." Those beliefs have caused medical providers today to rate Black patients' pain lower, and recommend less relief. The differences exist regardless of education or income level. Black women who have a college education or higher have a pregnancy-related mortality rate that is more than five times higher than that of white women. Notably, the pregnancy-related mortality rate for Black women with a college education is 1.6. times higher than that of white women with less than a high school degree. In Angelica Lyons' home state of Alabama, about 40 mothers die within one year after delivery. The toll on Black mothers is disproportionate. The state's infant mortality rate for 2021 was 7.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. The disparities between Black and white babies is stark: The infant mortality rate in 2021 for white mothers was 5.8, while the infant mortality rate for Black mothers was 12.1, an increase from 10.9 from the prior year. Black babies account for just 29% of births in Alabama, yet nearly 47% of infant deaths. A 2020 report by the Alabama Maternal Mortality Review Committee found that more than 55% of 80 pregnancy-related deaths that they reviewed in 2016 and 2017 could have been prevented. Alabama launched its Maternal Mortality Review Committee in 2018 to investigate maternal deaths. But Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama's Department of Public Health State Health Officer, said work remains to collect a fuller picture of why the disparities exist. "We certainly know that from national numbers as well that Black women have worse maternal outcomes at every income level, which is pretty startling," said Harris said. "Age matters and just overall ZIP code matters. Unfortunately, where people live, where these children are born, is strongly associated with infant mortality. I think we'll see something similar for maternal outcomes." And concerns about access and barriers to care remain. In Alabama, 37% of counties are maternity care deserts more than 240,000 women live in counties with no or little care. About 39% of counties don't have a single obstetric provider. Alabama is not alone in this. More than 2.2 million American women of childbearing age live in maternity care deserts, and another 4.8 million such women reside in counties with limited access to maternity care. Angelica Lyons said she wanted to seek maternal care at another hospital, but the University of Alabama was the only one near her home equipped to handle her high-risk pregnancy, which included high blood pressure near the beginning. Harris acknowledged the lack of access to care is a barrier for Black women who live in the state's rural areas. Much of the state's public health efforts are targeted along the rural Black Belt, which gets its name from the rich soil but it was also a region where many plantations were clustered. Centuries later, the Black Belt continues to be a high-poverty region with a large Black population. More than half of the nation's Black population lives in the South. "We've talked a lot about structural racism and the impact of that on African American women and how it has no place in society," Harris said. "I think we have to publicly call it what it is." 'This is not normal' Angelica Lyons' traumatic birth experience was not the only one in her family. After two miscarriages, her younger sister, Ansonia, became pregnant in 2020, and it was difficult. Doctors told her she was suffering from regular morning sickness, though she was vomiting blood. She was eventually diagnosed with an excessive vomiting disorder, hyperemesis gravidarum, and was extremely dehydrated. Ansonia spent months in and out of the same hospital where her sister had been treated. "They said, 'Welcome to the pregnancy, sweetheart. This is what pregnancy is,'" Ansonia, 30, recalled. "I told her, 'No, this is not normal for me to be throwing up 10 to 20 times a day.' My own primary care wasn't listening to me." Ansonia said throughout her pregnancy she encountered hospital staff that made stereotypical jokes, calling her child's father her "baby daddy," a trope often lobbed at Black parents. "She said, 'So, your baby daddy, where does he work?'" Ansonia recalled. "I said, 'I don't know what a baby daddy is but the father of my child is at work.' She asked where he worked and I told her he had two businesses and she acted like she was surprised." Ansonia said staff assumed she didn't have any health insurance, when she had insurance through her employer. Ansonia has Type 2 diabetes and had issues with her blood pressure and heart throughout the pregnancy. She started to see a cardiologist and by the time she was 21 weeks pregnant, she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. She was placed on a medley of medications, and her doctors decided to deliver the baby early via C-section. Ansonia was scared, given everything she witnessed her sister go through nearly two years prior. "There were several times I told my boyfriend that I thought that I was going to die," she said. The C-section went well. Ansonia's son, Adrien, was due in July 2021 but he was born at the end of May. He spent his first five days in the intensive care unit, then was hospitalized for another two weeks for some early breathing problems. Cesarean delivery rates are higher for Black women than white women, 36.8% and 31%, respectively, in 2021. Problems continued for Ansonia after the delivery. She ended up needing a blood transfusion and was unable to see her son for his first few days of life. A few months postpartum, she was still vomiting and having fainting spells that led to her being admitted to the hospital off and on. Her arms suffered from bruising from needles used to treat her throughout the pregnancy. She had always been slow to heal from any bruising, a common problem for diabetics. Yet a doctor who had been involved throughout her entire pregnancy questioned why she had bruises on her arms and asked if she "smoked weed" or took any other recreational drugs. The hospital declined to comment, citing patient privacy laws. "I said, 'This is from me being stuck so many times and having to be in the hospital.' I told him I don't do any drugs," she said. He still sent her blood work off to be tested. The tests came back negative. "That just made me not trust them, it made me not want to go back," she said. There are indications that the sufferings of Black mothers and their babies are being recognized, however late. In 2019, U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, an Illinois Democrat, and Rep. Alma Adams, a North Carolina Democrat, launched the Black Maternal Health Caucus. It is now one of the largest bipartisan congressional caucuses. The caucus introduced the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act in 2019 and again in 2021, proposing sweeping changes that would increase funding and strengthen oversight. Key parts of the legislation have been adopted, but the bill itself has yet to be approved. President Joe Biden's budget for fiscal year 2024 includes $471 million in funding to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity rates, expand maternal health initiatives in rural communities, and implicit bias training and other initiatives. It also requires states to provide continuous Medicaid coverage for 12 months postpartum, to eliminate gaps in health insurance. It also includes $1.9 billion in funding for women and child health programs. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra said more must be done at all levels of government to root out racism and bias within health care. "We know that if we provide access to care for mother and baby for a full year, that we probably help produce not just good health results, but a promising future for mom and baby moving forward," he said. ST. LOUIS Starting well before Harvard championed the program with a government innovation award in 2008, officials nationwide have been traveling to the Show-Me State to take notes on the "Missouri model" of juvenile justice. They come to see therapy prioritized over punishment. They come to see where people committed to state custody from juvenile court hold each other accountable while living together in community-based cottages instead of prison settings. And they come to meet staff who believe there's no such thing as a bad kid that challenging behavior is an indicator of an unmet need. But there's no chance to meet Brittney Wixon anymore at Missouri's legendary Division of Youth Services. "You couldn't pay me enough pay to work for DYS again," said the former teacher there. "The constant threats and sexual remarks that nothing was done about." DYS went off course during the COVID-19 pandemic and tipped over. Director Scott Odum, who has risen through the ranks, said he's still trying to "right-size" the agency. Annual turnover has always been high, yet hit 48% in the agency's most recent budget request. That's too high to maintain the right culture in facilities like Hogan Street Regional Youth Center in Old North St. Louis that have struggled with escapes. What's more, DYS started steadily shrinking well before the pandemic. The number of youths committed to the agency dropped from 1,205 in 2005 to 483 in 2022. Eleven DYS facilities a third statewide closed since 2013, including Babler Lodge in Wildwood; Spanish Lake Cottage and Discovery Hall in Bellefontaine Neighbors; and Montgomery City Youth Center in Montgomery City. Hillsboro Treatment Center, which opened to fanfare in 1999 as a modern facility in Jefferson County, is technically still on the books. There's nobody there, following staffing struggles and what one former employee described as riots. Lawmakers recently approved $7.2 million in new spending to replace Hogan Street, which has hunkered inside the former St. Liborious Catholic Church school since 1974. Republican Gov. Mike Parson is poised to approve the appropriation in his budget later this month. Hogan Street, one of three high-security DYS facilities statewide, typically has three groups of 8 to 10 people living in separate dorms. They've been down to one group of about 13 for months. The Missouri system wasn't built for one group. It's problematic when, for instance, opposing gang members who hate each other can't be moved to a different group to ease tensions on site. Juveniles have always run from confinement. But there were eight escapes or attempted escapes from Hogan Street between January 2020 and November 2022, according to records from St. Louis police. Last June, an 18-year-old attempting escape with opioids in his system either jumped or fell from a busted-out third-story window. HELPING OUT Rotary Club of STL donated $112,959 to 32 local charities. Prairie Farms celebrated 85 years in business by donating 85 pallets of milk to 28 Feeding America network food banks across mid-America. They donated three to the St. Louis Area Food Bank. MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS Rockefeller Global Family Office added Gorin Ressel Wealth Partners, based in St. Louis, to its Midwest Division. OPENING Senor Panchos Cantina restaurant will open this fall in a 45,000-square-foot mixed-use building under construction in The Prairie in Dardenne Prairie, Missouri. PROJECTS Keystone Construction completed the next phase of development of the Hub Stl in The District of St. Louis at Boones Crossing in Chesterfield. ST. LOUIS About 50 people gathered Wednesday at St. Roch Catholic Church to plan an appeal of the decision to close their parish this summer in a major downsizing of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The decree signed by Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski to close the 112-year-old parish in the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood cites four reasons: declining numbers of Catholic households, Mass attendance and infant baptisms along with an operating deficit of more than $1 million over the last five years. St. Rochs finances and boundaries will be absorbed by Christ the King in University City. The reasons for the closure are superficial and discount the parishs heritage of evangelism and diversity, contrary to the mission of our faith, said Michael Stephens, president of the St. Roch parish council, in an appeal letter to Rozanski. The All Things New plan announced May 27 will cut the number of parishes from 178 to 135 across the archdiocese, which includes St. Louis city and 10 surrounding counties in Missouri. The plan does not close any parish churches, which will remain open for personal worship in the immediate future. The 18-month reorganization was launched to address a declining number of Catholics and priests to serve them, particularly as the population center in the region moves westward. St. Rochs 295 registered households put the parish in the mid-range of those slated to close or merge by Aug. 1. The largest parish on the closure list is St. Matthias in Lemay, with 880 registered households. The smallest is St. Catherine of Alexandria in Ste. Genevieve County, with 29 households. It is very difficult to win an appeal of a parish closure, said attorney and canon law expert Brody Hale, who is working with the local advocacy group Save Rome of the West. I would not discourage anyone from filing but would also make note for the record, fighting for a church is always easier than fighting for a parish, Hale said. A church is the actual sacred edifice. What a parish actually is, its a piece of territory on a map where youre guaranteed services in at least one church. A church in a closed parish is only required to host Mass twice a year on the namesake saints feast day and on the anniversary of the churchs dedication, Hale said. The pastor of the parish absorbing any closed parish will make decisions on Mass times and locations, according to an archdiocese spokeswoman. In other cities, surplus churches in the same parish tend to last for one to five years before they are permanently closed, Hale said. From what I have seen, this is a means of avoiding contentious appeals and gradually slow-walking a church over a cliff, he said. While some parishioners said they are resigned to the changes, others vowed to file appeals to Rozanski by the due date of June 12. Rozanski then has 30 days to grant or deny the appeal, after which the parishioner can take the appeal to the Vatican courts, a process that can take months or even years. The appeals process will not stop or delay the parish closures from going into effect. The group Save Our St. Louis Parishes is distributing a packet to assist with the process that says, the parish is where we encounter the Church at a practical level. Parishes are to the Church what families are to society. When parishes fail, the Church fails. The group recommends establishing a nonprofit or trust fund for the parish, so the laity can receive donations and pay the bills directly. Nonprofits run the former parish churches Shrine of St. Joseph in downtown St. Louis and Old St. Ferdinand Shrine in Florissant. Jason Bolte, founder of Save Rome of the West, said he plans to appeal the closure of his parish, St. Barnabas in OFallon, Missouri. The parish will merge into Assumption in OFallon with its land and buildings turned over to a newly created Hispanic parish called San Juan Diego. Were not just going to lay down and say theres nothing more we can do, Bolte said. I hope and pray that it does in fact get overturned. In my opinion, the creation of this new parish can be established anywhere there is extra space for them to worship in. Catholics in the dozens of parishes that will now share a pastor under All Things New are not eligible to file appeals, which are only for changes to the structure of a parish. The plan also involved the reassignment of 155 priests, who are not expected to appeal the moves. Twenty-seven priests will pastor more than one parish, up from 18 currently. At least one priest said he was confused by the terminology of All Things New, which described closed parishes as amalgamated with another parish after being subsumed. We have been submerged, if thats the word he used I think, the Rev. Thomas Haley of Blessed Teresa in Ferguson said a week ago Saturday during Mass after reading Rozanskis letter about the parish being absorbed by Sacred Heart in Florissant. Parishioners told Haley the word was subsumed. Subsumed? I thought it was submerged. Drowned. No, no, you sure it wasnt submerged? Didnt I read that? Well son of a gun. Subsumed! Ah, thats what it was. Subsumed, Haley said. Which means one parish united to another in a way that the first parish no longer exists, the second parish remains. So we werent submerged, we were subsumed, which is bad enough, I guess. Anyway, let us pray. Opponents of All Things New recommend praying for a positive outcome after filing appeal letters. The parishioners of St. Roch have never been so energized and unified, said Bill Hannegan, who has attended the church since 1965. They have experienced a double trauma this spring, he said, with the death of longtime pastor Monsignor Salvatore Polizzi, 92, coming just weeks before the closure announcement. His big thing was St. Rochs will never close while Im here. Then he dies and a month later it closes, Hannegan said. Im really attached to that place and for me, its consoling to know we can still go there. Its not going to be padlocked and thats it, its over. Taylor Tiamoyo Harris and Josh Renaud of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. _____ ST. LOUIS The first teamster in line was Joseph Gartside, a coal hauler, who had decorated his four horses and wagon with flags and streamers. He paid the 50-cent toll and waited. A stern-voiced keeper opened the gate at Third Street at 5:30 a.m. Gartside cracked his whip and, with words "more expressive than eloquent," lurched his wagon onto the new Illinois and St. Louis Bridge. The big gathering cheered as his team clopped its way to East St. Louis. He led more than 700 wagons across the great bridge on June 4, 1874, commencing cross-river commerce on wheels. Bridge builders, led by James B. Eads, were counting on tolls from commercial traffic and trains. Overruns had pushed their bill to $6.5 million, and they needed income. The first bridge over the Mississippi River at St. Louis was opened in a series of events leading to the July 4, 1874, dedication. Each step was less a matter of planning than availability. Pedestrians were allowed on for a nickel May 23, when workers vacated the street deck. (A newspaper declared it "as popular a trysting place as Lafayette Park.") Wagons couldn't cross until after June 2, when the roadway approach from Illinois was finished. The first train crossing, a press-publicity ride, took place June 9. St. Louis leaders had talked about a bridge since the 1830s. The task grew in urgency after Chicago interests spanned the Mississippi at Rock Island, Ill., in 1856. Eads already was famous for salvaging river wrecks and building ironclad gunboats during the Civil War. He took risks and thought big. His bold solution for getting across the Mississippi was an arch bridge of three spans made of stone, steel and iron, rather than a standard truss bridge requiring many more piers. His sand hogs, diggers working inside pressurized caissons to sink the piers to bedrock, went far deeper than anyone had before. They paid with 14 lives, victims of air-pressure "bends." Two days before the dedication, Eads parked 14 locomotives on each span to silence the doubters. On July 4, an estimated 200,000 people jammed the riverfront for a 100-gun salute and lengthy speeches - a good turnout for a city of 330,000 people. But there weren't enough paying customers. The bridge defaulted one year later, passing through financier J.P. Morgan and railroad baron Jay Gould. It stands today as the Eads Bridge, a great symbol of St. Louis. Tony Messenger Tony Messenger is the metro columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Tony Messenger Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Joe Biden wasnt my first choice for president. When the 2020 race got underway, I preferred Sen. Elizabeth Warren or maybe Sen. Cory Booker. But their candidacies waned and it soon became clear that Biden would be the firewall to defeat Donald Trump. As president, Biden has been a little boring but steady. He doesnt inspire, but he doesnt shrink away from the big moments either. Last week, the president had one of his finest moments, and it gives me hope for a nation that revels in its divisions. Biden and the Republican speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, engineered a massively important bipartisan vote to defer the federal debt limit for two years and avert a possible economic catastrophe. The bill was opposed mostly by folks on the far left and far right. Americas great middle held together. Bidens instincts that there is still room for Republicans and Democrats to work together on the biggest issues proved valid. The deal is far from perfect, but Medicare and Social Security werent cut, veterans were protected, and most of the budget cuts secured by Republicans were less damaging than the ones they originally proposed. Go ahead and let Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt, both Republicans, and Rep. Cori Bush, a Democrat, vote no; a bipartisan majority can still get the job done. This is a moment to celebrate. In todays social media world, its easy to rush to the outrage of the day and drive a wedge between American groups separated by politics, religion or race. The divisions are real but so is the fact that we can still come together. St. Louis is seeing this up close with the appointment of new Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. Handed the difficult job of rebuilding the prosecutors office left behind by Kim Gardner, Gore has quickly oozed steadiness and confidence, showing that hes the right person to guide the ship. As with the debt deal, the politics here provide hope that Missouri still has leaders willing to put partisanship aside for our most serious issues. Gore, a longtime attorney at powerhouse firm Dowd Bennett, doesnt advertise his politics, but hes donated over the years to Democrats. He was appointed to the office by a Republican, Gov. Mike Parson, with at least some influence from Mayor Tishaura Jones, a Democrat. Among Gores first moves was to bring back Marvin Teer, a former judge, as his chief trial assistant. It was the same position Teer held under Gardner before he resigned amid the avalanche of troubles in her office. Its worth noting that Teer and Gore, who were members of the Ferguson Commission created in 2014, served together on the working group that focused on fixes for the judiciary in St. Louis County. The Ferguson Commission report didnt deal with Gores new office, but its ideas for reforming policing and the courts and applying a racial equity lens to everything we do in the region surely guides him, at least in a general sense. This should be hopeful to supporters of the progressive ideas that Gardner espoused but couldnt follow through on, although the top job right now is to show that St. Louis has a functioning prosecutors office. Gore wouldnt be in his job if not for the actions of Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, who pursued a court action that helped force Gardner from the job. Im not necessarily Baileys biggest fan, but using the courts to force a resolution was necessary in this case, where there was dire need for stability. Its OK to say it: in St. Louis, Republicans and Democrats, including some people whose politics you dont like, worked together to steady the circuit attorneys office. In Washington, D.C., Republicans and Democrats found a compromise to avert potential economic disaster. Confidence and stability are two things the American people want in their government, and can still have when they dont let the folks on the extremes control the narrative. Messenger: Theres an authoritarian trend in America. A Missouri judge offers a better path. Supreme Court tells rural Missouri judge to stand down in his attempt to hold circuit clerk in contempt of court. ST. LOUIS COUNTY A 9-year-old boy was shot and critically wounded Saturday afternoon in north St. Louis County. The boy was shot shortly before 3 p.m. in the 1300 block of Aspen Woods Drive, St. Louis County police Officer Adrian Washington said. Gunshot-detection system ShotSpotter picked up the sounds of gunfire at about 2:46 p.m., and responding officers found the boy shot outside, Washington said. A nearby residence was also struck by gunfire, but no one else was hurt, Washington said. The boy was in stable condition Saturday evening at a hospital where he was receiving treatment. Police did not release more details about the shooting investigation. Investigators asked anyone with information about the shooting to contact investigators at 636-529-8210. Tips can remain anonymous by calling CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-8477. ST. LOUIS A man was charged Saturday with assault and trespassing in connection with recent attacks on MetroLink passengers in St. Louis. Antoine Robertson, 31, faces four counts of assault and two charges in connection with the incidents last week, according to St. Louis Police. Robertson is accused of assaulting two people May 29 at about 9:54 p.m. on a MetroLink train at the station near Eighth and Pine streets, and he is accused of assaulting a third person May 30 at about 9:20 p.m. on a train at the Laclede's Landing station downtown. Robertson was taken into police custody Saturday and was being held without bond. Police did not release more details. Apologize needed for cleaning up headline on MetroLink story I believe the Post-Dispatch should apologize for the front-page headline from the June 1 print edition, MetroLink cleaning up. The story was accompanied by a photo of a white mental health worker on a MetroLink train speaking with an African American man who was deemed to need help. The story then described how mental health personnel were going onto to the trains to offer various forms of assistance to reduce loitering, substance abuse and sleeping on train cars. It is inappropriate to describe assistance to people, presumably to get them off the trains, as cleaning up. It reminds me of a city official many years ago, in cutting the ribbon on a drop-in center for the homeless at Centenary Church, saying the new center had already cleaned up the landscape of downtown. An apology or some explanation is needed for the headline implying that removing the poor and vulnerable from MetroLink is the same as sweeping the floor for trash. John Ammann Godfrey, Ill. Hawley, Schmitt did the political thing on debt limit Regarding Schmitt joins Hawley in opposing debt limit deal (June 3): When the state of the nation is on the line, we can count on our two Missouri senators to do the political thing, instead of the right thing. So predictable are they both. Oh, for the days of Sens. Thomas Eagleton and John Danforth. Steven Bettlach Southhampton Support fed legislation to end the slaughter of horses for food On May 18, U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., introduced legislation to permanently ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption, a measure called the Save Americas Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act (H.R. 3355). Companion legislation is being introduced in the U.S Senate. This legislation would also prohibit the export of live horses to Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses to be sold overseas. As stated by Rep. Schakowsky: Horses have a special place in our nations history and in many Americans hearts. They embody the spirit of America, and it is time to end the brutal and dangerous practice of slaughtering these creatures for human consumption. Please help put an end to the food-source slaughter of American horses and their out-of-country transport for the same purpose. Contact your congressional representatives today and ask them to co-sponsor the SAFE Act (H.R. 3355) and help put an end to this national tragedy. Robert White Lone Jack Disabled U.S. veterans are being grossly undercompensated Our disabled veterans are grossly undercompensated. This travesty of justice is causing enlistments to dry up. In FY2023, a totally disabled veteran with no dependents is compensated at the ridiculous rate of about $43,460 annually. The National Average Wage Index for 2021 was $60,575 per annum and the median income for 2021 was $70,784. The per capita GDP in 2021 was $69,288 dollars, among the highest in the world. Veterans have been asking various Administrations and Congresses for fair compensation since the end of World War I in 1918. In my opinion the basic reason for their gross under-compensation is because they are only compensated for projected loss of wages due to their disabilities. They arent compensated for their low quality of life, which is the norm now in personal injury cases in court. This is done to keep taxation low for the wealthy elites. This is obvious to our young people. They arent interested in accepting the possibility of a lifetime of near poverty should they get injured in the armed forces for the sole reason of allowing our wealthy elites to evade proper and fair taxation. Our youth are aware that the people that had their assets and overseas business interests protected the most by our now broken former troops pay essentially nothing to support them in their brokenness. Congress must correct this injustice now. Roslyn Fancher Independence Corporate tolerance toward LGBTQ+ people is good business Regarding LGBTQ+ activists call for new strategies to promote equality after Target backlash (May 30): In the late 1980s, the first advertising campaign to catch my notice was the United Colors of Benetton. Their advertisements featured beautiful people of every color, ethnicity and sex selling (so far as I could tell) sweaters. Later versions featured people dying of AIDS, interracial/interreligious scenes of romance and other subjects controversial at the time. My Jesuit Catholic university campus was awash in bright Benetton sweaters. Corporations have always engaged in politics via their stances and their billions in political contributions and paid lobbyists. For politicians to take that money while calling on corporations to stay out of public politics is as laughable as it is hypocritical. Whether its beer cans or baby onesies, woke indoctrination or tolerance and acceptance, the United Color in all of this is green. These problems will fix themselves because no corporate marketing director has ever uttered the words, You know what would really improve our sales? More hatred. Madonna Laws-Lowell Crestwood Read letters online at STLToday.com. TEHRAN, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Sunday cautioned that backing down from positions will not stop the enmity of the United States and its Western allies toward the Iranian nation, but further emboldens them. He made the remarks in an address to a ceremony in Tehran, marking the passing anniversary of Imam Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, according to the leader's website. Khamenei said that "in numerous cases, our retreats made them come forward and become more aggressive." He said the "enemies' bids" are mainly focused on weakening the people's faith and hopes, and to this end, the foes have made several attempts and strained every nerve and sinew, but have failed in most of them. Khamenei stressed the enemies' latest bid was the "riots" that broke out in Iran last year after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Iran's top leader said the "comprehensive" design of the last year's "riots" was developed by Western think tanks and implemented by Western security apparatuses that provided the "riots" with substantial arms, financial and media support. He added that Iranian people foiled their plots and doomed their bids to failure. Amini died in a Tehran hospital on Sept. 16, 2022, 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 following her death. NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Massive Bio, a globally recognized leader in the oncology space, has proudly announced its appointment as a founding member of CancerX, a groundbreaking initiative endorsed by The White House. This appointment situates Massive Bio at the forefront of a national public-private partnership aiming to revolutionize the fight against cancer. Spearheaded by the rejuvenated Cancer Moonshot initiative, CancerX is co-hosted by Moffitt Cancer Center and Digital Medicine Society (DiMe), bringing together diverse stakeholders to foster greater equity and reduce financial toxicity in cancer care and research. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230604005029/en/ FINAL CancerX Founding Members Logo Cloud (Graphic: Business Wire) As cancer continues to pose a significant global challenge, Massive Bio stands committed to mitigating this scourge. Selin Kurnaz PhD, Co-Founder, and CEO of Massive Bio echoed the firm's unwavering dedication to connecting cancer patients with clinical trials, regardless of their location or financial circumstances. "Massive Bio is proud to be part of this transformative journey. Being chosen as a founding member of CancerX confirms our dedication to advancing precision oncology and democratizing access to groundbreaking cancer treatments. We aim to bridge the divide between cancer patients and the world of clinical trials, inspiring a movement that boosts clinical trial enrollment rates to 20% in the United States," stated Dr. Kurnaz. Dr. Arturo Loaiza-Bonilla, Co-Founder, and Chief Medical Officer of Massive Bio emphasized the vital role of clinical trials in the quest for improved cancer treatments. He noted, "All therapeutic innovations in oncology have emerged thanks to clinical trials. Yet, most patients don't have access to them. We aim to change that." Dr. Loaiza-Bonilla highlighted the firm's commitment to provide all cancer patients with equal access to cutting-edge treatments and emerging clinical trials, irrespective of their location or financial capability. Santosh Mohan, Vice President, Digital, Moffitt Cancer Center emphasized, CancerX is a collaborative platform fostering innovation and collaboration in the fight against cancer. He noted, Beating cancer demands bold innovation and deliberate collaboration. CancerX is creating a dynamic ecosystem where ideas can flourish, expertise and resources can be shared, and innovative solutions can be rapidly developed and equitably deployed in the fight against cancer. As a co-host, we take immense pride in the diverse and inclusive community of pioneers coming together as members, all driven by a shared commitment to advancing the goals of the Cancer Moonshot. Together, we will advance the frontiers of cancer research and treatment through digital innovation, while striving to reduce the incidence and burden of cancer for all people. Jennifer Goldsack, CEO of the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe) and co-host of CancerX, expressed her excitement about the new collaboration. She said, "I am thrilled to collaborate with Massive Bio in the CancerX initiative. In our digital age, it's crucial that we leverage the power of AI and technology to drive innovative solutions for cancer care. Our partnership will foster greater equity in clinical trial access, ultimately bringing us closer to our shared vision of personalized, patient-centric healthcare." As a trailblazer in the application of artificial intelligence in oncology, Massive Bio's involvement in CancerX symbolizes a significant leap towards combining the best resources from public and private sectors to expedite innovation in the fight against cancer. The alliance showcases the power of public-private partnerships in leveraging technology to advance precision oncology, clinical trials, and cancer research, thereby transforming the future of oncology and setting a new precedent for the role of AI in combating cancer. About CancerX: CancerX is a public-private partnership announced by The White House as a national accelerator designed to boost innovation in the fight against cancer as part of the reignited Cancer Moonshot. The initiative is co-hosted by Moffitt Cancer Center and Digital Medicine Society (DiMe) and aims to convene diverse stakeholders necessary to enhance the fight against cancer. CancerX is primarily focused on advancing digital innovation to improve equity and reduce financial toxicity in cancer care and research. About Massive Bio: Massive Bio is at the forefront of empowering cancer patients to discover their optimal treatment options. Utilizing AI to enhance equitable access and precision targeting for clinical trial matching, drug matching, and drug development, Massive Bio is committed to breaking down barriers in clinical trial enrollment, fostering value-based oncology decisions, and facilitating data-driven cancer treatment. Serving over three dozen pharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations, and hospital networks, Massive Bio has earned recognition from the National Cancer Institute with an SBIR contract. Founded in 2015 by a team of clinical, technology, and M&A executives, Massive Bio boasts a global presence with nearly 100 people across 12 countries. We invite you to join us at ASCO 2023 to experience firsthand Massive Bio's revolutionary strides in personalized oncology solutions. For further details, please visit www.massivebio.com, https://askfiona.ai, https://drarturo.ai or interact with us on our social media channels. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230604005029/en/ Media: Carla English, [email protected] Media: Erkan Terzi Chief Marketing Officer +1 844 627 7246 [email protected] Source: Massive Bio FILE PHOTO: An IndiGo Airlines A320 aircraft is parked on the tarmac at Bengaluru International Airport in Bangalore March 7, 2012. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash/File Photo By Tim Hepher, Aditi Shah and Joanna Plucinska ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Airbus is closing towards a potentially record deal to sell 500 narrow-body A320-family jets to India's largest carrier IndiGo, industry sources said on Sunday. The European planemaker has emerged as front-runner for an order eclipsing Air India's historic provisional purchase of 470 jets in February, the sources said on the sidelines of an airline industry meeting in Istanbul. Such a deal would be worth some $50 billion at the most recently published Airbus list prices, but would typically be worth less than half this after widespread airline industry discounts for bulk deals, according to aircraft analysts. Airbus and Boeing are also still competing in separate talks to sell 25 A330neo or Boeing 787 wide-body jets to the same airline, the industry sources said. IndiGo Chief Executive Pieter Elbers, attending the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association in Istanbul, declined to comment on commercial matters. Airbus and Boeing also declined to comment. Reuters first reported in March that IndiGo, which has a 56% share of the domestic Indian market, was in talks with both Airbus and Boeing for the order, which if confirmed would be the largest by a single airline ranked by the number of units. IndiGo is already one of Airbus's largest customers and has so far ordered a total of 830 Airbus A320-family jets of which nearly 500 are still to be delivered. Airbus and Boeing have been racking up billions of dollars of new orders stretching beyond 2030 as airlines lock in supplies ahead of looming shortages. Turkish Airlines had taken the spotlight before the IATA meeting with a surprise announcement that it could order 600 jets, but delegates said there were few signs of an immediate deal. TRAVEL REBOUND Indian carriers now have the second-largest order book, with over 6% share of the industry backlog, behind only the United States, according to a June 1 report by Barclays. But some analysts have expressed concern that airlines could be over-ordering jets in pursuit of the same passengers. Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr told reporters on Sunday there was globally more supply than demand, however. The drive by IndiGo comes as the world's third-largest aviation market is seeing a strong rebound in travel post-COVID, with passenger numbers surging despite high fares. IndiGo aims to double its capacity by the end of the decade and expand its network, especially in international markets. The airline has a codeshare partnership with seven carriers including Turkish Airlines, American Airlines and KLM. The alliance with Turkish Airlines has seen IndiGo make a major push into Europe, a favourite holiday destination among Indians, with the budget carrier now offering flights to 33 European airports. In a departure from its single-aisle strategy, IndiGo earlier this year began international operations to Istanbul with a Boeing 777, its first wide-body aircraft, taken from codeshare partner Turkish Airlines, which provides the pilots. Taking on the two widebodies is a stop-gap arrangement for IndiGo which needs the capacity until it takes delivery of the longer-range Airbus A321XLR planes in 2025-ish timeframe, Elbers told Reuters in an interview in March. (Reporting by Tim Hepher, Aditi Shah and Joanna Plucinska; Editing by Hugh Lawson, David Holmes and Susan Fenton) (Reuters) - A senior Armenian official on Sunday said there was a chance that a peace deal could be signed with neighbouring Azerbaijan by the end of 2023, ending a decades-old conflict, Russia's TASS news agency said. Moscow, Washington and the European Union are all trying separately to help ensure permanent peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which have fought two wars in the last 30 years over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. TASS cited Armen Grigoryan, the secretary of Armenia's Security Council, as telling national television that the negotiations were very intensive. "If we can maintain this intensity and there is strong support from the international community to achieve progress, then there is a chance to have a peace treaty by the end of the year," he said. In 2020, Azerbaijan seized control of areas controlled by ethnic Armenians in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. The enclave is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated mainly by ethnic Armenians. Both sides routinely accuse the other of breaking a ceasefire agreed in 2020. Last week TASS said European Council President Charles Michel, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev would meet in July. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Grant McCool) A policeman stands guard at the Chinese food carnival held by pro-China groups, taking place where the candlelight vigil used to be held, ahead of the 34th anniversary of the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in Hong By Jessie Pang and Ben Blanchard HONG KONG/TAIPEI (Reuters) - Hong Kong police said they detained 23 people on Sunday for "breaching public peace" and arrested a 53-year-old woman for "obstructing police officers" as authorities ramped up security for the 34th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. Restrictions in Hong Kong have stifled what were once the largest vigils marking the anniversary of the bloody crackdown by Chinese troops on pro-democracy demonstrators, leaving cities like Taipei, London, New York and Berlin to keep the memory of June 4 alive. Near Victoria Park, the previous site of yearly vigils, hundreds of police conducted stop and search operations, and deployed armoured vehicles and police vans. Reuters witnesses saw more than a dozen people taken away, including activist Alexandra Wong, 67, who carried a bouquet of flowers, a man who held a copy of "35th of May", a play on the Tiananmen crackdown, and an elderly man standing alone on a street corner with a candle. "The regime wants you to forget, but you can't forget... It (China) wants to whitewash all history," said Chris To, 51, who visited the park in a black t-shirt and was searched by police. "We need to use our bodies and word of mouth to tell others what happened." Police on Monday said officers took away 11 men and 12 women aged between 20 and 74 who were suspected of "breaching the public peace at the scene". Hong Kong activists say such police action is part of a broader campaign by China to crush dissent in the city that was promised continued freedoms for 50 years under a "one country, two systems" model when Britain handed it back in 1997. Security is significantly tighter across Hong Kong this year, with up to 6,000 police deployed, including riot and anti-terrorism officers, according to local media. Senior officials have warned people to abide by the law, but have refused to clarify if such commemoration activities are illegal under a national security law China imposed on Hong Kong in 2020 after sometimes violent mass pro-democracy protests. In a statement, police said some had been arrested for seditious intent and for "breaching public peace". The United Nations said on Monday it was "alarmed" by detentions in Hong Kong. In Beijing, Tiananmen Square was thronged with tourists taking pictures under the watchful eyes of police and other personnel but with no obvious sign of stepped-up security. A group of relatives called the Tiananmen Mothers said the anguish never ended. "Though 34 years have passed, for us, family members of those killed, the pain of losing our loved ones in that one night has tormented us to this day," the group said in a statement released by the New York-based watchdog Human Rights in China. 'CLEAR CONCLUSION' Despite the warnings in Hong Kong, some individuals, including book shop owners, have been quietly marking June 4. Jailed Hong Kong activist Chow Hang-tung, one of the leaders of a group called The Alliance, which used to organise the June 4 vigils, said on Facebook that she would hold a 34-hour hunger strike. In mainland China, any mention of the Tiananmen Square crackdown - where troops opened fire on pro-democracy protesters, killing hundreds if not thousands, according to rights groups - is taboo and the subject is heavily censored. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning, when asked about the government's response to events around the world to mark the anniversary, said in Beijing on Friday that the government had already come to a "clear conclusion about the political turmoil in the late 1980s". In democratically governed Taiwan, the last remaining part of the Chinese-speaking world where the anniversary can be marked freely, hundreds attended a memorial at Taipei's Liberty Square where a "Pillar of Shame" statue was displayed. Peggy Kwan, 57, an interpreter at the event, expressed sadness at the stifling of commemorations in Hong Kong. "Hong Kong is moving backward," she said. China claims Taiwan as its own and has not renounced the use of force to ensure eventual unification. Taiwan Vice President William Lai, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's presidential candidate in an election next January, wrote on his Facebook page that the memory of what happened in Beijing in 1989 must be preserved. "The event commemorating June 4 has continued to be held in Taipei, which shows that democracy and authoritarianism are the biggest differences between Taiwan and China," he said. In Sydney, one of more than 30 places in North America, Europe and Asia hosting commemoration events, dozens of demonstrators rallied at the Town Hall, chanting "free Hong Kong" while holding up placards and yellow umbrellas, the symbol of pro-democracy protests since 2014. (Additional reporting by Yew Lun Tian in Beijing, Joyce Zhou and Farah Master in Hong Kong; Angie Teo in Taipei; James Redmayne in Sydney; Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Nick Macfie, Stephen Coates and Edmund Klamann) FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows destructions in the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released on May 21, 2023. Press Service of the 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Machanized Brig (Reuters) -Clashes are continuing around the devastated city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine and Moscow is still suffering "significant losses" despite a relative easing of combat operations in recent days, Kyiv's armed forces said on Sunday. Russia claimed late last month to have captured Bakhmut following what had become the war's longest and bloodiest battle, but Ukraine says its forces still retain a small foothold and denies that Moscow is in full control of the city. Ukraine's top military command said in its daily report on Sunday that Russian forces had carried out two unsuccessful operations around Bakhmut and launched a number of air strikes and artillery shelling on nearby villages. It said some 23 combat clashes had taken place over the past 24 hours in the Donetsk region, where Bakhmut is located, and in neighbouring Luhansk. Russia claims to have annexed both regions from Ukraine, along with three others, including Crimea. "The enemy continues to suffer significant losses in the Bakhmut direction," the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on the Telegram messaging app on Saturday after visiting troops in the area. "Defence forces continue to fight. We will win." Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield accounts. OBSERVATION POSTS? Bakhmut, once home to 70,000 people, has no strategic value, according to military analysts, but Moscow has said capturing it would help its forces to advance deeper into eastern Ukraine. Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said Kyiv's forces still controlled the southwestern outskirts of Bakhmut. Responding to her comments, the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, the main driving force behind Moscow's offensive in Bakhmut, said on Sunday Ukrainian troops may have set up observation posts there. "If this is the case, then wait for the next steps," Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio post on Telegram. Prigozhin said earlier this week that 99% of his fighters had left Bakhmut after handing it over to Russia's army. British defence intelligence said on Saturday that Russia continued to redeploy regular military units to the Bakhmut sector, replacing Wagner fighters. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an interview published on Saturday that his forces were ready to launch the long-expected counteroffensive to reclaim territory now occupied by Russia. Kyiv hopes the counteroffensive will change the dynamics of the war that has raged since Russia invaded its smaller neighbour 15 months ago. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne and Caleb Davis in Gdansk; Editing by William Mallard and Gareth Jones) (Reuters) - Russia said on Sunday it intercepted nine drones over the Crimean Peninsula and one over the small town of Sudzha in the southern region of Kursk, in what have been nearly daily attacks inside the country or on Moscow-held territories. Five drones were shot down and four were jammed and did not hit their targets in Dzhankoi in Crimea, said a Russian-installed official in the peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. A Ukrainian-launched drone was downed over Sudzha later in the day, the governor of the Kursk region that borders with Ukraine said on the Telegram messaging app. Reuters could not independently verify the reports. The strikes came after multiple attacks on the Russian border region of Belgorod and oil infrastructure inside the country, as well as a drone strike on wealthy districts of Moscow earlier in the week. Kyiv denied attacking Moscow and Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks elsewhere inside Russia and on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine. There were no casualties in the Sunday drone attacks, officials said. In Dzhankoi, windows were broken in several houses, Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-backed head of Crimea's administration, said on the Telegram messaging app. He added that one unexploded drone was found on the territory of a residential house, forcing the temporary evacuation of about 50 people in the area. Russia has a military air base near Dzhankoi. Ukrainian officials have long said the city and surrounding areas have been turned into Moscow's largest military base in Crimea. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by William Mallard, Nick Macfie and Diane Craft) South Korea's Minister of National Defence, Lee Jong-sup speaks at a plenary session of the 20th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore June 3, 2023. REUTERS/Caroline Chia SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Japan and South Korea agreed on Sunday to quickly resolve disputes over past military encounters that stand in the way of closer security cooperation, Japan's defence minister said at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore. Yasukazu Hamada held talks with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jong-sup, as part of Asia's top security conference. "We discussed pending issues" and agreed "to accelerate talks, including steps to prevent a recurrence" of a 2018 radar incident, Hamada told reporters after the meeting. "We will continue to keep close communication with South Korea," he said. In the 2018 incident, Seoul denied Tokyo's assertion that a South Korean destroyer had locked its targeting radar on a Japanese surveillance plane, sparking a dispute that has hampered the Asian neighbours' relationship. Asked about the issue, Lee told reporters that he and Hamada "agreed to resolve it starting with working-level talks," with a focus on devising measures to prevent a recurrence. Lee and Hamada condemned a failed satellite launch by North Korea on Wednesday as a "grave violation" of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning all launches using ballistic missile technology, South Korea's defence ministry said. The ministers agreed on the need for greater security cooperation bilaterally and with their mutual ally the U.S. to curb the North's nuclear and missile threats and promote a more stable Indo Pacific, the ministry said in a statement. Hamada said he and Lee agreed on the importance of promoting defence cooperation among Japan, South Korea and the United States. (Reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Tim Kelly; Additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Hyun Young Yi in Seoul; Editing by Gerry Doyle and William Mallard) Emergency workers rescue a man from debris of a residential building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on outskirt of the Dnipro city, Ukraine June 3, 2023. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukrain (Reuters) -A 2-year-old girl was killed and 22 people injured, including five children, when a Russian missile struck near the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the regional governor said on Sunday. "Overnight, the body of a girl who had just turned two was pulled from under the rubble of a house," Serhiy Lysak wrote on the Telegram messaging channel. Seventeen people were being treated in hospital after the attack on a residential area by Iskander short-range cruise missiles, Lysak said. Reuters could not independently verify the report. There was no immediate reaction from Moscow. Mykola Lukashuk, head of the Dnipropetrovsk region council, said 17 children have died in the region since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. "No words can soothe the pain of parents who have lost the most precious thing in their lives," Lukashuk said. The war has killed at least 485 children in Ukraine and injured nearly 1,500, the country's Office of the Prosecutor General said on Sunday on Telegram. The missile hit between two two-storey residential buildings in the Pidhorodnenska community, partially destroying them and damaging a number of houses, cars and infrastructure, Lysak said. "Once again, Russia proves it is a terrorist state," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on Saturday after the first reports of the explosions. Moscow and Kyiv deny their military forces target civilians. Pictures posted on social media showed rescue teams working at a shattered, smouldering building amid piles of twisted building materials. Following the attack in Dnipro, Russia launched a new wave of overnight air strikes on the country. Ukraine's air force said on Sunday it destroyed more than half of the air targets. Four of the six cruise missiles and three of the five Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia were downed, the air force said on Telegram. Kyiv's city military administration earlier said all Russia-launched targets approaching the capital had been intercepted. It was not immediately clear where the missiles and drones that were not destroyed hit. Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine's capital since May, chiefly at night, ahead of a long-expected Ukrainian counteroffensive to reclaim territory, in what Ukrainian officials say is an attempt to inflict psychological distress on civilians. (Reporting by Ron Popeski, Oleskander Kozhukhar and Lidia Kelly; Writing by Ron Popeski and Lidia Kelly; Editing by Daniel Wallis and William Mallard) FILE PHOTO: US President Joe Biden (L) reacts as he meets with Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Belfast on April 12, 2023, as part of a four day trip to Northern Ireland and Ireland for the 25th anniversary commemorations of the "Good Friday Agreem LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Saturday he wanted to foster a "close and candid relationship" with U.S. President Joe Biden during a visit to Washington next week that comes after some signs of strains in bilateral ties. Sunak is due to be in the U.S. capital on Wednesday and Thursday for talks with politicians in Congress and business leaders as well as with the president. "The U.S. is our closest ally. We are one another's partner of first resort when it comes to everything from keeping our people safe to growing our economies," Sunak said in a statement ahead of his first official visit to Washington as prime minister. "That's why it is so important for a UK Prime Minister to forge a close and candid relationship with the President of the United States on every global problem, you will see us working side-by-side." Sunak and Biden are expected to discuss improving economic ties and sustaining military support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. But there will be no talks about a formal free trade deal, Sunak's spokesperson said earlier this week. London wants to forge better relations with the U.S. after they were strained by Britain's departure from the European Union in 2020. In April, a White House official denied Biden was "anti-British" after he spent just half a day in the British province of Northern Ireland before travelling to the Irish Republic for two-and-a-half days of meetings. Downing Street said in Saturday's statement that Sunak's meeting with Biden would be his fourth in as many months, representing more "sustained contact" with a U.S. president than any other prime minister has had in recent years. (Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Mark Potter) RAF MILDENHALL, England An enlisted airman stationed in Italy was convicted Saturday of sexual abuse of a child and possession and distribution of child pornography, drawing a sentence of more than two years in prison. Air Force Master Sgt. Adrienne Clark also received a dishonorable discharge, ending the medical technicians 21-year military career. In addition to the abuse and pornography charges, she was found guilty of indecent conduct and extramarital sexual conduct after a court-martial that lasted five days. Sexually explicit conversations, images and videos of preteen and teenage children were found in a Yahoo email account she shared with a fellow Air Force master sergeant, Nathaniel Casillas, according to prosecutors. An investigation began in January 2020, when Yahoo froze the account and notified law enforcement. That led to the discovery of an extramarital relationship with Casillas. In their emails, Casillas and Clark engaged in sexual banter, requests and exploration of their fantasies, which included underage children, according to evidence presented at trial. In a court-martial in March at Osan Air Base in South Korea, Casillas was convicted of eight crimes, including possession of child pornography, distribution of an indecent recording, indecent exposure and extramarital sexual conduct. He was given a two-year prison term. Clarks attorney, Timothy Bilecki, said he intends to appeal the verdict, given Casillas conviction. I think we were able to show pretty clearly that he was the individual who committed these crimes, not Master Sgt. Clark, Bilecki said. The defense argued that Casillas had initiated the discussions and pressured Clark to go along with his fantasies. Bilecki pointed to the voluminous amount of child pornography found on Casillas devices and noted that he too had access to the email account. It was unclear why Clark received a longer sentence than Casillas. Prosecutors had requested a term of eight years. Col. Sterling Pendleton, the judge in Clarks case, ruled that her sentence of eight years and 10 months be served concurrently, making the maximum term two years and eight months. Besides the dishonorable discharge, she will have her rank reduced to airman basic. The imposed punishment ... will ensure Master Sgt. Clark is held accountable, lead prosecutor Maj. Matthew Maurer said. CAIRO, June 4 (Xinhua) -- An oil tanker that broke down in Egypt's Suez Canal has been towed away, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Osama Rabie said on Sunday. "Traffic in both directions had resumed as normal after tugboats managed to move the stranded tanker," he said. The SCA team reacted effectively to the technical failure in SEAVIGOUR, a 274-meter oil tanker that carried the flag of Malta crossing the artificial waterway from north to south, Rabie said, adding that the tanker would resume passage immediately after fixation. Earlier in the day, the SCA had deployed three tugboats to pull the tanker which caused brief delays in the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal is a major lifeline for global seaborne trade. Some 12 percent of the world trade volume passes through the artificial canal, a major source of hard currency for Egypt. NEW LONDON, Conn. (Tribune News Service) The footprint of the future National Coast Guard Museum has taken shape on the citys waterfront and the stage is now set for the second phase of the $150 million project. The National Coast Guard Museum Association announced last week it is ready to go to bid this week on the work to create the foundation for the more than 80,000-square-foot, six-story museum that will occupy a prominent place on the citys waterfront. Moving into summer of 2023, we are thrilled to be launching this next phase of construction. It is an exciting and significant milestone for us as we build the museums foundation, retired Coast Guard Captain Wes Raymond Pulver, president of the National Coast Guard Museum Association, said. The museum site is situated behind Union Station and nestled between City Pier and the Cross Sound Ferrys busy ferry terminal. The 295-foot-long U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle, known as Americas Tall Ship, has secured a berth adjacent to the museum. Completed work on the first phase of the museum project included dismantling of a portion of City Pier and installation of a bulkhead wall to create land where there was once water. The upcoming work will include the installation of about 240 micropiles, essentially rods that will be drilled into the ground and into the bedrock below to provide the structural stability needed to support the building, said retired Coast Guard Capt. Mark Walsh, chief operating officer for the National Coast Guard Museum Association. Walsh and Pulver walked the grounds of the construction site last week, pointing to where a pedestrian walking bridge will span the railroad tracks and Water Street to connect with the third floor of the citys parking garage. The state has pledged $20 million for construction of the 400-foot bridge. The city continues to seek sources for $25 million needed to expand the parking garage and help accommodate what museum association officials estimate will be 300,000 visitors a year to the city. The bridge will have landings in front of the train station, between the tracks and at the entrance to the museum. The bridge has the added benefit of providing safe passage across the street for customers of Cross Sound Ferry, Pulver said. Pulver expects this next stage of construction to start this summer and take about six months to complete. He said the goal is to get out-of-the-ground construction started next year and barring any major hurdles have both the bridge and museum completed by 2025. New London Mayor Michael Passero said that by the time the ribbon cutting for the museum takes place, the city will be in a position to highlight downtown revitalization efforts that will include renovation and adaptive reuse of several historic downtown buildings. Of the ongoing construction of the museum, Passero said the city has had no complaints. Work on the museum project is overseen by A/Z Corporation based in North Stonington. They were sensitive to our needs and have been incredibly cooperative with the city and really taken care of us well, Passero said. Passero said installation of the micropiles will be done by drilling and not pounding, which will help protect surrounding buildings from any damage from vibrations. And we wont be listening to pounding all summer, Passero said. Pulver said private fundraising for the museum has steadily progressed to $42 million of the $50 million goal. He credits the city, Cross Sound Ferry, the Coleman family, who owns Union Station, and legislators for support in helping to make the museum become a reality. U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, helped to secure $50 million for the museum, increasing the total federal contribution to $70 million. The Coast Guard remains the only branch of the armed services without a national museum. U.S. Rep Joe Courtney, D- 2nd District, said the progression of the construction and fundraising is heartening after so many years of anticipation. The federal funding, he said, has turbocharged the private fundraising. This thing has really picked up speed in terms of dirt flying around but also the financial contributions, Courtney said. Getting this next stage out to bid is a strong statement of confidence that this is now a completely funded and executable project which has not always been the case, Courtney said. For information on the future exhibits inside the museum, which will include a full-sized HH-60 Jayhawk search and rescue helicopter, visit: www.coastguardmuseum.org . g.smith@theday.com (c)2023 The Day (New London, Conn.) Visit The Day Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. CAIRO Saudi Arabia and the United States urged Sudan's warring parties Sunday to agree to and "effectively implement" a new cease-fire amid renewed fighting in the northeastern African nation. Sudan descended into chaos after fighting broke out in mid-April between the military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. For weeks, Saudi Arabia and the United States have been mediating between the warring parties. On May 21, both countries successfully brokered a temporary cease-fire agreement to help with the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the war-torn country. Their efforts, however, were dealt a blow when the military announced on Wednesday it would no longer participate in the cease-fire talks held in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah. Following the military's decision, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia said they were suspending the talks "as a result of repeated serious violations of the short-term ceasefire." President Joe Biden's administration imposed sanctions against key Sudanese defense companies run by the military and the RSF and people who "perpetuate violence" in Sudan. In their statement on Sunday, Washington and Riyad said they continued to engage representatives of the military and the RSF who remained in Jeddah. They urged the Sudanese warring sides to agree to and implement a new cease-fire following the latest one which expired late Saturday. The aim is to eventually establish a permanent cessation of hostilities in the war-wrecked country, they said. The statement said the discussions focused on "facilitating humanitarian assistance" and reaching an agreement on "near-term steps the parties must take" before resuming the talks. The fighting has turned the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into battlefields, resulting in widespread looting and destruction of residential areas across the country. The conflict has also displaced more than 1.65 million people who fled to safer areas in Sudan and neighboring countries. Aid groups' offices and warehouses, health care facilities and other civilian infrastructure have been attacked and looted, including most recently the warehouses of the World Food Program in the city of Obeid in North Kordofan on Jan. 1. There have been reports of sexual violence, including rape of women and girls in Khartoum and the western Darfur region, which have seen some of the worst fighting in the conflict. Almost all reported cases of sexual attacks were blamed on the RSF, which didn't respond to repeated requests for comment. Residents reported intense fighting over the past two days in Khartoum and its neighboring cities of Omdurman and Bahri. Loud sounds of shelling and gunfire were heard early Sunday in parts of Omdurman, as the military's aircraft bombed RSF positions in the capital area. Fighting was also reported in the northern part of the Darfur region, which has witnessed some of the worst battles since the fighting began on April 15. The clashes intensified between the military and the RSF in the town of Kutum in North Darfur province. Residents reported that the town's market, many houses, and a camp for displaced people were burned down. There were reports of dozens of casualties among civilians. SINGAPORE Chinas defense minister defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, telling a gathering of some of the worlds top defense officials in Singapore on Sunday that such so-called freedom of navigation patrols are a provocation to China. In his first international public address since becoming defense minister in March, Gen. Li Shangfu told the Shangri-La Dialogue that China doesnt have any problems with innocent passage but that we must prevent attempts that try to use those freedom of navigation (patrols), that innocent passage, to exercise hegemony of navigation. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told the same forum Saturday that Washington would not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion from China and would continue regularly sailing through and flying over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea to emphasize they are international waters, countering Beijings sweeping territorial claims. That same day a U.S. guided-missile destroyer and a Canadian frigate were intercepted by a Chinese warship in the strait dividing the self-governed island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, and mainland China. The Chinese vessel overtook the American ship and then veered across its bow at a distance of 150 yards in an unsafe manner, according to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Additionally, the U.S. has said a Chinese J-16 fighter jet late last month performed an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver while intercepting a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea, flying directly in front of the planes nose. Those and previous incidents have raised concerns of a possible accident occurring that could lead to an escalation between the two nations at a time when tensions are already high. Li suggested the U.S. and its allies had created the danger, and should instead should focus on taking good care of your own territorial airspace and waters. The best way is for the countries, especially the naval vessels and fighter jets of countries, not to do closing actions around other countries territories, he said through an interpreter. Whats the point of going there? In China we always say, Mind your own business. In a wide-ranging speech, Li reiterated many of Beijings well-known positions, including its claim on Taiwan, calling it the core of our core interests. He accused the U.S. and others of meddling in Chinas internal affairs by providing Taiwan with defense support and training, and conducting high-level diplomatic visits. China stays committed to the path of peaceful development, but we will never hesitate to defend our legitimate rights and interests, let alone sacrifice the nations core interests, he said. As the lyrics of a well-known Chinese song go: When friends visit us, we welcome them with fine wine. When jackals or wolves come, we will face them with shotguns. In his speech the previous day, Austin broadly outlined the U.S. vision for a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific within a world of rules and rights. Austin said the U.S. was stepping up planning, coordination and training with friends from the East China Sea to the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean with shared goals to deter aggression and to deepen the rules and norms that promote prosperity and prevent conflict. Li scoffed at the notion, saying some country takes a selective approach to rules and international laws. It likes forcing its own rules on others, he said. Its so-called rules-based international order never tells you what the rules are and who made these rules. By contrast, he said, we practice multilateralism and pursue win-win cooperation. Li is under American sanctions that are part of a broad package of measures against Russia but predate its invasion of Ukraine that were imposed in 2018 over Lis involvement in Chinas purchase of combat aircraft and anti-aircraft missiles from Moscow. The sanctions, which broadly prevent Li from doing business in the United States, do not prevent him from holding official talks, American defense officials have said. Still, he refused Austins invitation to talk on the sidelines of the conference, though the two did shake hands before sitting down at opposite sides of the same table together as the forum opened Friday. Austin said that was not enough. A cordial handshake over dinner is no substitute for a substantive engagement, Austin said. The U.S. has noted that since 2021 well before Li became defense minister China has declined or failed to respond to more than a dozen requests from the U.S. Defense Department to talk with senior leaders, as well as multiple requests for standing dialogues and working-level engagements. Li said that China is open to communications between our two countries and also between our two militaries, but without mentioning the sanctions, said exchanges had to be based on mutual respect. That is a very fundamental principle, he said. If we do not even have mutual respect, than our communications will not be productive. He said that he recognized that any severe conflict or confrontation between China and the U.S. will be an unbearable disaster for the world, and that the two countries need to find ways to improve relations, saying they were at a record low. History has proven time and again that both China and the United States will benefit from cooperation and lose from confrontation, he said. China seeks to develop a new type of major-country relationship with the United States. As for the U.S. side, it needs to act with sincerity, match its words with deeds, and take concrete actions together with China to stabilize the relations and prevent further deterioration, Li said. KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany German authorities are intensifying efforts to locate 16-year-old Azlea Aure, who went missing from her residence in Weilerbach, Westpfalz police said in a statement Saturday. Aure was last seen Friday, June 2, as she left her family home on her way to Kaiserslautern High School, police said. Despite extensive investigation, including the deployment of a police helicopter, a drone and search dogs, all attempts to locate her have thus far been unsuccessful, police said. Aure, a member of the Air Force JROTC, is described as approximately 5 feet tall, with a slim build. She has short hair and was possibly wearing a red sweater and blue jeans. In a plea for assistance, Julie Aure, Azleas mother, took to a local military spouse network group on Facebook, asking the community to be vigilant and help in any way possible. Julie Aure shared an update indicating that the last potential sighting of Aure was at Legends Bar near Ramstein on Friday evening at around 7 p.m. Here, she was reportedly seen in the company of an Asian couple and a black woman with long black hair. All three were described as being in their mid 40s. Additionally, a couple of younger teenagers may have been present, her mother said in the post. In a subsequent update post to social media, Julie Aure revealed that a log-in attempt to Azleas Apple ID account was made near Stuttgart at approximately 5 p.m., Saturday. Stuttgart people please be on the lookout as well, she wrote Saturday evening. German police then were able to trace activity on Azleas cell phone in the vicinity of Weilerbach but were unable to ascertain her exact location, Julie wrote early Sunday. Under German law, minors are not allowed to determine their own whereabouts themselves and are generally always assumed to be at risk when reported missing, triggering a near immediate manhunt. Reportedly 200 to 300 missing persons searches are recorded every day in Germany, and nearly about the same number are deleted each day because the person is subsequently found, Germanys Federal Criminal Police says in a factsheet online. About half of all missing persons in the country are children and young people. In 2022 alone, a total of around 76,700 young people were missing for some time in Germany. Police data, however, shows German children rarely go missing for long. Federal criminal police says that around 50% of missing persons cases are resolved within the first week and over 97% of cases of missing young person cases are solved each year. Please keep your eyes peeled, Julie said. We appreciate all the help. The Kaiserslautern Criminal Investigation Department asks for tips to be submitted via 0631 369-2620 or at any police station. MOSCOW Alexei Navalny voiced hope for a better future in Russia as his supporters defied a crackdown on dissent to hold pickets and demonstrations to mark the imprisoned opposition leaders 47th birthday on Sunday, with at least 90 people reported arrested. Navalny is serving a nine-year sentence for fraud and contempt of court, charges he says were trumped up to punish him for his work to expose official corruption and organize anti-Kremlin protests. He is facing a new trial on extremism charges that could keep him in prison for decades. Kremlin critics view the case as another Russian government attempt to isolate President Vladimir Putins most prominent foe. Navalnys associates called for demonstrations to show support for him in Russia and abroad on Sunday. Risking their own prison terms, some Navalny supporters in Russia marked his birthday by holding individual pickets, while others painted graffiti. At least 90 people were detained, according to the OVD-Info group that monitors political arrests. Police beefed up their presence in downtown Moscow and moved quickly to round up those who tried to stage individual pickets on Pushkin Square and elsewhere in the capital. One man managed to throw around leaflets before being whisked away. A woman holding a small black balloon with the words Happy Birthday! who was clad in a hoody with You arent alone written on it was among those detained. She asked officers why they were detaining her, but they didnt answer. Navalnys supporters also showed up in St. Petersburg and other Russian cities, holding one-person pickets and leaving signs and graffiti in Navalnys support. Pro-Navalny demonstrations were held in several European cities. Navalny said in a social media post his allies released that he would obviously prefer to spend his birthday with a family breakfast, kisses from his children and gifts, but life is such that social progress and a better future can only be achieved if a certain number of people are willing to pay for the right to have beliefs. The more there are such people, the smaller the price each has to pay, he said. And a day will certainly come when it will be routine and not dangerous at all to tell the truth and stand for justice in Russia. Navalny was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after he recuperated in Germany from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. He initially received a 2-year prison sentence for a parole violation. Last year, he was sentenced to nine years for fraud and contempt of court. Hes serving time at a maximum-security prison 250 kilometers (150 miles) east of Moscow. The extremism charges against Navalny, which could keep him in prison for 30 years, relate to his anti-corruption foundation and statements by his top associates. His allies said the charges retroactively criminalize all the activities of Navalnys foundation since its creation in 2011. The new accusations come as Russian authorities are conducting an intensified crackdown on dissent during the fighting in Ukraine, which Navalny has harshly criticized. A Moscow court scheduled a preliminary hearing Tuesday to discuss technical issues related to a new trial of Navalny, rejecting a request by his lawyers for more time to examine voluminous new charges that he rejected as absurd. Navalny also has cited an investigator telling him that he also would face a separate military court trial on terrorism charges that potentially carry a life sentence. He said in a social media post Sunday that he sees his prison term just as an unpleasant part of my favorite job and thanked his supporters. My plan for the previous year was not to grow brutal and embittered and not to lose the nonchalance of behavior this is where defeat begins, he wrote. And if I succeeded, it was only thanks to your support. OUTSIDE BAKHMUT, Ukraine Watching imagery from a drone camera overhead, Ukrainian battalion commander Oleg Shiryaev warned his men in nearby trenches that Russian forces were advancing across a field toward a patch of trees outside the city of Bakhmut. The leader of the 225th Battalion of the 127th Kharkiv Territorial Defense Brigade then ordered a mortar team to get ready. A target was locked. A mortar tube popped out a loud orange blast, and an explosion cut a new crater in an already pockmarked hillside. We are moving forward, Shiryaev said after at least one drone image showed a Russian fighter struck down. We fight for every tree, every trench, every dugout. Russian forces declared victory in the eastern city last month after the longest, deadliest battle since their full-scale invasion of Ukraine began 15 months ago. But Ukrainian defenders like Shiryaev arent retreating. Instead, they are keeping up the pressure and continuing the fight from positions on the western fringes of Bakhmut. The pushback gives commanders in Moscow another thing to think about ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive that appears to be taking shape. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Russia sought to create the impression of calm around Bakhmut, but in fact, artillery shelling still goes on at levels similar to those at the height of the battle to take the city. The fight, she said, is evolving into a new phase. The battle for the Bakhmut area hasnt stopped; it is ongoing, just taking different forms, said Maliar, dressed in her characteristic fatigues in an interview from a military media center in Kyiv. Russian forces are now trying but failing to oust Ukrainian fighters from the dominant heights overlooking Bakhmut. We are holding them very firmly, she said. From the Kremlins perspective, the area around Bakhmut is just part of the more than 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) front line that the Russian military must hold. That task could be made more difficult by the withdrawal of the mercenaries from private military contractor Wagner Group who helped take control of the city. They will be replaced with Russian soldiers. For Ukrainian forces, recent work has been opportunistic trying to wrest small gains from the enemy and taking strategic positions, notably from two flanks on the northwest and southwest, where the Ukrainian 3rd Separate Assault Brigade has been active, officials said. Russia had envisioned the capture of Bakhmut as partial fulfillment of its ambition to seize control of the eastern Donbas region, Ukraines industrial heartland. Now, its forces have been compelled to regroup, rotate fighters and rearm just to hold the city. Wagners owner announced a pullout after acknowledging the loss of more than 20,000 of his men. Maliar described the nine-month struggle against Wagner forces in nearly existential terms: If they had not been destroyed during the defense of Bakhmut, one can imagine that all these tens of thousands would have advanced deeper into Ukrainian territory. The fate of Bakhmut, which is largely in ruins, has been overshadowed in recent days by near-nightly attacks on Kyiv, a series of unclaimed drone strikes near Moscow and the growing anticipation that Ukraines government will try to regain ground. But the battle for the city could still have a lingering impact. Moscow has made the most of its capture, epitomized by triumphalism in Russian media. Any slippage of Russias grip would be a political embarrassment for President Vladimir Putin. Michael Kofman of the Center for Naval Analyses, a U.S. research group, noted in a podcast this week that the victory brings new challenges in holding Bakhmut. With Wagner fighters withdrawing, Russian forces are going to be increasingly fixed to Bakhmut ... and will find it difficult to defend, Kofman told War on the Rocks in an interview posted Tuesday. And so they may not hold on to Bakhmut, and the whole thing may have ended up being for nothing for them down the line, he added. A Western official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Russian airborne forces are heavily involved in replacing the departing Wagner troops a step that is likely to antagonize the airborne leadership, who see the duty as a further erosion of their previously elite status in the military. Ukrainian forces have clawed back slivers of territory on the flanks a few hundred meters (yards) per day to solidify defensive lines and seek opportunities to retake some urban parts of the city, said one Ukrainian analyst. The goal in Bakhmut is not Bakhmut itself, which has been turned into ruins, military analyst Roman Svitan said by phone. The goal for the Ukrainians is to hold on to the western heights and maintain a defensive arc outside the city. More broadly, Ukraine wants to weigh down Russian forces and capture the initiative ahead of the counteroffensive part of what military analysts call shaping operations to set the terms of the battle environment and put an enemy in a defensive, reactive posture. Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the east, said the strategic goal in the Bakhmut area was to restrain the enemy and destroy as much personnel and equipment as possible while preventing a Russian breakthrough or outflanking maneuver. Analyst Mathieu Boulegue questioned whether Bakhmut would hold lessons or importance for the war ahead. Military superiority matters, he said, but so does information superiority the ability to create subterfuge, to create obfuscation of your force, to be able to move in the shadows. Boulegue, a consulting fellow with the Russia and Eurasia program at the Chatham House think tank in London, said those tactics could determine which side gains an advantage that catches the other side by surprise, and turns the tide of the war. Keaten reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Associated Press writers Hanna Arhirova and Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. JERUSALEM - Three Israeli soldiers were killed in a rare burst of violence along Israel's border with Egypt on Saturday, Israeli officials said. Egypt and Israel both identified the suspected gunman as a member of the Egyptian security forces, though they gave differing accounts of what Egyptian authorities called an "accident" and Israeli authorities described as a "serious attack." Two of the soldiers were found dead at a remote guard post early Saturday, officials said, just hours after Israeli forces had thwarted a drug-smuggling attempt in the area, a rugged and unpopulated stretch of the Negev desert. After an extensive search, the suspected gunman was killed in a firefight, along with a third Israeli soldier. Israel Defense Forces officials said they were investigating the incidents in coordination with the Egyptian military. All of the events occurred on the Israeli side of the frontier, officials said. "Our assumption is that this was connected to the drug-smuggling attempt, but we can't be sure yet," Lt. Col Richard Hecht said in a briefing with reporters. "It could be [the Islamic State, the terrorist group active in Egypt's Sinai region], it could be a rogue border guard, it could be a smuggler, we're still looking into it." Hecht said that "cooperation with Egypt is good, it's ongoing. This is not a geopolitical incident." "We are in a joint investigation with the Egyptians, and it will be sharp, clear, and we will not leave any question unsolved," Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano, head of the Israeli military's Southern Command, told reporters during a visit to the Egyptian border, the Times of Israel reported. In a statement posted to Twitter on Saturday night, Israeli President Isaac Herzog offered condolences to the families of the soldiers who were killed and vowed to "preserve their memory and continue to defend our borders with determination." Egyptian and Israeli authorities gave conflicting accounts of the morning's events, with the Egyptian Army asserting the incident had resulted from a hot pursuit of drug smugglers. "On Saturday early morning on June 3rd, 2023, a member of the security forces that are responsible for securing the international border line chased members of a drug smuggling [chain]," the military said in a statement Saturday afternoon. "During the chase a member of security forces breached the security checkpoint and exchanged fire which led to the death of 3 members of the Israeli security forces." Hecht, the Israeli official, said the events of "a confusing morning" may have begun between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. when Israeli soldiers foiled a smuggling attempt in which operatives on one side of the border barrier reportedly used ladders to pass contraband to the other. About $401,000 worth of illegal drugs were confiscated, the military said. Several hours later, after two soldiers stationed at a guard post in the area failed to respond to radio communications, an officer arrived to investigate and found both had been shot, Hecht said. One was male, the other female. In a news release later Saturday, the IDF identified the female soldier who was killed as Sgt. Lia Ben nun, 19, a combat soldier from the central Israeli city of Rishon LeZion. She was promoted posthumously to the rank of corporal. The Israeli military believes an assailant, acting alone, entered through a small gate Israeli forces use to cross the border in emergency situations, Israeli media reported. Israeli forces launched a search of the area and tracked the suspected assailant, Hecht said. The man, who was armed with an automatic weapon, opened fire on Israeli troops, killing a male soldier. Israeli forces returned fire, Hecht said, killing the man. The IDF identified the soldier killed in the exchange of fire as Sgt. Ohad Dahan, 20, from the southern city of Ofakim. He was promoted to the rank of staff sergeant after his death, the IDF said in a news release Saturday evening. Egyptian Defense Minister Mohamed Zaki spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant by phone to "discuss the circumstances of today's accident, offer condolences to the victims of the accident on both sides and coordinate jointly to take the necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future," the Egyptian army said in a statement later Saturday. Gallant, meanwhile, referred to the incident as a "serious attack," and said that he and his counterpart had agreed to "prevent terrorism in the border area and to strengthen security relations." The incidents took place near the Nitzana border crossing, about 25 miles from the converging frontiers of Israel, Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Goods from Egypt destined for Israel or the Gaza Strip are imported through the crossing. Israel completed a 250-mile border wall in 2014, with the aim of preventing illegal immigration, drug and arms trafficking and incursions by militants coming from Egypt. Israel's Egyptian frontier has been a relatively calm frontier in recent years, although smuggling attempts into Israel are not unusual, officials said. Israel and Egypt signed a peace agreement in 1979. Under Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi, who rose to power following the 2013 military coup, Cairo has cooperated closely with Israel on security, particularly in the Sinai Peninsula. Parker reported from Paris. The Washington Post's Sarah Dadouch in Beirut contributed to this report. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Iran's supreme leader on Sunday defended his tough approach to the West, saying compromise would only invite further hostility from Iran's enemies and blaming recent anti-government protests on "thugs and villains." Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's remarks come amid an intensifying standoff with Western countries over Iran's nuclear program, which has made major advances in the five years since then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from an international accord that restricted it. Trump restored crippling sanctions on Iran that have contributed to a severe economic crisis without forcing any concessions from its leaders. Iran has also lent support to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, supplying armed drones that have wreaked havoc on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. "Some people are mistaken to think if we back down from our stances in certain cases that will cause the enmity of the U.S, the global arrogance, or Israel toward us to diminish," said Khamenei, who has the final say on all major Iranian policies. "This is a mistake." He spoke at an annual speech marking the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, his predecessor and the founder of the Islamic Republic. Khamenei alluded to nationwide protests last fall sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by the morality police for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code. The protests escalated into calls for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic before a deadly crackdown largely extinguished them. Iranian authorities have blamed the protests on a foreign conspiracy, without providing evidence, while the demonstrators said they were protesting over decades of repression and economic mismanagement. "Thugs and villains did what they did and malicious individuals chanted such slogans," Khamenei said. "According to their plot they thought the Islamic Republic was finished and they could take the Iranian nation as servants. These fools, once again, were wrong. Once again, they failed to know our people." AUSTIN, Texas Texas has become the most populous state to ban gender-affirming care for minors after Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation on Friday. Texas joined at least 18 other states that have enacted similar bans. 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. Last year, Abbott became the first governor to order the investigation of families who were receiving care. The investigations were later halted by a Texas judge. The GOP-controlled Legislature sent the bill to Abbott last month. Republicans in the Senate took the final vote over the objections from Democrats, who used parliamentary maneuvers to delay passage but could not derail it entirely. Transgender rights activists have disrupted the Texas House with protests from the chamber gallery, which led to state police forcing demonstrators to move outside the building. Space Coast launch schedule (Tribune News Service) The Space Coast saw a record number of launches from the two facilities with 57 in 2022. Space Launch Delta 45 commander Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy said in January that there could be between 86 and 92 potential launches in 2023. Check back for the latest information on upcoming launches from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. By the numbers: 27 Space Coast launches in 2023 (updated June 4) | 21 from Cape Canaveral, 6 from KSC | 26 from SpaceX (24 Falcon 9s, 2 Falcon Heavy), 1 from Relativity Space | 2 human spaceflights (Crew-6, Ax-2) JUNE June 4: SpaceX Falcon 9 on Starlink 6-4 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 40 with 22 second-generation Starlink satellites at 8:20 a.m. The first-stage booster made its third flight and was able to land down range on droneship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean. The launch came 13 years to the day since the first Falcon 9 launch in 2010. It was the 229th attempt of a Falcon 9 launch with 228 of the 229 successful. June 5 (Delayed from June 3, 4): SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch a cargo Dragon spacecraft on CRS-28, the 28th resupply mission to the International Space Station from KSCs Launch Complex 39-A at at 11:47 a.m. A backup opportunity falls to Wednesday at 11:01 a.m. pending range approval. Among the cargo are the next pair of iROSAs, roll-out solar arrays for the space station. SLD 45s weather forecast says there is a 60% chance for good conditions Monda and 90% if delayed until Wednesday. The first-stage booster is making its fifth flight and SpaceX will attempt its recovery downrange on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic. This is the fourth flight of the crew Dragon, which will be bring up nearly 7,000 pounds of supplies, dock to the station 41 hours after launch and remain on the station for three weeks. June 21 (delayed from April 20): United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy on NROL-68 for the U.S. Space Forces Space Systems Command and the National Reconnaissance Office from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 37B. This is the second-to-last Delta IV Heavy launch with the final one expected in 2024. Delayed from April 20 when during routine pre-launch processing the team discovered a flight valve that exhibited off-nominal behavior. TBD June/July (Delayed from May 4): First-ever launch of United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur on Certification-1 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 41: Slated to carry commercial company Astrobotics Peregrine lander to the moon, and the first two test satellites for Amazons Project Kuiper internet constellation. Also flying will be another human remains payload for Celestis Inc., this time brining the ashes of more than 150 people to space including Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and actor James Doohan who played Scotty on the TV series. TBD, summer: Polaris Dawn mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 topped with the Crew Dragon Resilience from KSCs Launch Pad 39-A. The private orbital mission will bring billionaire Jared Isaacman to space for a second time after 2021s Inspiration4 mission. Its the first of up to three planned Polaris missions, and will feature a tethered spacewalk. Also flying are Scott Poteet, given the title of mission pilot, specialist Sarah Gillis, and specialist and medical officer Anna Menon. Both Gillis and Menon are SpaceX employees. AUGUST Mid-August: SpaceX Crew-7 mission on a Falcon 9 launching a Crew Dragon from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39-A. Its the seventh SpaceX operational mission under NASAs Commercial Crew Program. Flying are NASA astronaut and mission commander Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA astronaut and pilot Andreas Mogensen, and two more passengers yet to be announced. OCTOBER As early as Oct. 10: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy to send NASAs Psyche probe into space launch from Kennedy Space Centers Launch Complex 39-A. The probe was delayed from 2022, and headed for the asteroid Psyche, using a Mars-gravity assist and not arriving until August 2029. Psyche is a nickel-iron core asteroid that orbits the sun beyond Mars anywhere from 235 million to 309 million miles away. UPCOMING: TBD IN 2023 TBD (Delayed from July 21): Boeing CST-100 Starliner atop United Launch Alliance Atlas V from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 41 on the Crew Flight Test (CFT) carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on an eight-day mission to the International Space Station. TBD: Axiom Space was awarded the right to fly Axiom-3 as early as November 2023. No crew has been announced, but NASA requires it to be commanded by a former NASA astronaut with experience on the space station such as the Ax-1 and Ax-2 commanders. The commercial flight brings four crew for a short stay on the ISS. This mission is targeting a 14-day stay, and will fly up with one of the SpaceX Crew Dragons. The launch date is dependent on spacecraft traffic to the ISS and in-orbit activity planning and constraints that have to be coordinated with NASA. TBD, the first half of 2023: SpaceX Falcon Heavy from KSCs Launch Complex 39-A on USSF-52, the third mission for the Space Force. TBD, the first half of 2023: United Launch Alliance Atlas V on USSF 51 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 41. TBD before end of 2023: United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur on Sierra Space Dream Chaser test flight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 41. TBD, second half of 2023: United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur on first of three planned Department of Defense mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 41. TBD, second half of 2023: United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur on second of three planned Department of Defense mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 41. TBD, second half of 2023: United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur on third of three planned Department of Defense mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 41. TBD, before end of 2023: SpaceX Falcon Heavy from KSCs Launch Complex 39-A to launch a telecom satellite for Hughes Network Systems called the Jupiter 3 UPCOMING: TBD IN 2024 January 2024: NASAs Plankton, Aerosol Cloud Ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite on a SpaceX Falcon 9. PACE will advance the assessment of ocean health by measuring the distribution of phytoplankton, tiny plants and algae that sustain the marine food web. No earlier than February 2024: SpaceX Crew-8 on Falcon 9 from Kennedy Space Centers Launch Pad 39-A. Its the eighth SpaceX operational mission under NASAs Commercial Crew Program. No earlier than summer 2024: Boeing Starliner-1 on ULA Atlas V from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Space Launch Complex 41. NASA astronauts Scott Tingle and Mike Fincke will be commander and pilot, respectively. This Starliner previously flew on Boeings Orbital Flight Test-2 mission. November 2024: NASA Artemis II mission to send four crew on 8-day orbital mission to the moon from KSCs Launch Pad 39-B. UPCOMING: TBD IN 2025 No earlier than December 2025: NASA Artemis III mission to send four crew on lunar landing mission to the moon from KSCs Launch Pad 39-B. ALREADY LAUNCHED IN 2023 Jan. 3: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the Transporter-6 mission carrying 114 payloads for a variety of customers blasted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 40 at 9:56 a.m. Jan. 9: A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off carrying 40 satellites for OneWeb at 11:50 p.m. Monday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 40. . Jan. 15: The fifth-ever flight of SpaceXs powerhouse Falcon Heavy rocket lifted off at 5:56 p.m. from KSCs Launch Pad 39-A on a mission for the Space Force dubbed USSF-67. Jan. 18: A SpaceX Falcon 9 on the GPS III Space Vehicle 06 mission for the Space Force rose through the pink, orange and blue horizon at 7:24 a.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 40. Jan. 26: SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink 5-2 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 40 launched at 4:32 a.m. sending up 56 Starlink satellites. Feb. 2: Falcon 9 on Starlink 5-3 from Kennedy Space Centers Launch Pad 39-A at 2:43 a.m. 200th successful flight of Falcon 9 on mission to send up 53 Starlink satellites. Feb. 6: SpaceX Falcon 9 on Amazonas-6 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 40 lifted off at 8:32 p.m. Payload is communications satellite for Hispasat known also as the Amazonas Nexus. Feb. 12: SpaceX Falcon 9 on Starlink 5-4 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Space Launch Complex 40 launched 55 Starlink satellites at 12:10 a.m. Feb. 17: SpaceX Falcon 9 on Inmarsats I-6 F2 satellite launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Space Launch Complex 40 at 10:59 p.m. The second of six planned communication satellite launches, the first of which came in 2021 with the final coming by 2025. Feb. 27: SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink 6-1 launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:13 p.m. carrying 21 of the second-generation Starlink satellites. March 2: Crew-6 mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 launching Crew Dragon Endeavour from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39-A at 12:34 a.m. A Feb. 27 attempt was scrubbed with less than three minutes before liftoff. Flying were NASA astronauts mission commander Stephen Bowen and pilot Woody Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, heading to the International Space Station for around a six-month stay. Its the sixth SpaceX operational mission under NASAs Commercial Crew Program. March 9: A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off carrying 40 satellites for OneWeb launched at 2:13 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 40. The first-stage booster flew for the 13th time landing at Canaverals Landing Zone 1. March 14: After arrival of Crew-6 and departure of Crew-5 to make room for a cargo Dragon, SpaceX Falcon 9 launched a cargo Dragon spacecraft on CRS-27, the 27th resupply mission to the International Space Station from KSCs Launch Complex 39-A at 8:30 p.m. March 17: SpaceX Falcon 9 on the SES 18 and 19 mission, a pair of communication satellites set to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 40. Set a record for SpaceX mission turnaround with launch only four hours and 17 minutes after a Starlink launch from California. March 22: Relativity Space Terran-1, a 3D-printed rocket awaiting companys first-ever launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Launch Complex 16 at 11:25 p.m. While first stage successfully separated, the second stage engine did not get it into orbit. March 24: SpaceX Falcon 9 on Starlink 5-5 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 11:43 a.m. carrying 56 Starlink satellites to orbit. The booster made its 10th flight. March 29: SpaceX Falcon 9 on Starlink 5-10 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station launched at 4:01 p.m. The booster making its fourth flight landed on Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic. April 7: SpaceX Falcon 9 on Intelsat 40e mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 40 targeting 12:30 a.m., the opening of a 119-minute launch window that runs until 2:29 a.m. Space Launch Delta 45s weather squadron gives forecasts a 90% chance for good conditions early Friday, and 85% chance in event of 24-hour delay. April 19: SpaceX Falcon 9 launch on Starlink 6-2 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station targeting 9:48 a.m. during a launch window that runs from 8:18 a.m.-Noon. The Space Launch Delta 45 weather squadron forecast calls for 90% chance of good conditions and 80% chance in event of a 24-hour delay. The first-stage booster is making its eighth flight and SpaceX will attempt its recovery again on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. April 28: SpaceX Falcon 9 on the SES 03b mPOWER-B mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 40. SLD 45s weather squadron puts launch window from 5:12-6:40 p.m. with a forecast predicting only 20% chance for good conditions, up to 30% chance in event of 24-hour delay. April 30: SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch of ViaSat-3 Americas communications satellite from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39-A at 8:26 p.m. All three boosters were expended, so no sonic boom landings. Also flying were payloads for Astranis Space Technologies and Gravity Space headed for geostationary orbits. Its the sixth-ever Falcon Heavy launch. The launch pad endured a lightning strike on April 27, but SpaceX said the rocket was healthy for the attempt. May 4: SpaceX Falcon 9 on Starlink 5-6 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station with 56 Starlink satellites at 3:31 a.m. The first-stage booster making its eighth flight was recovered once again on the droneship called A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. May 14: SpaceX Falcon 9 on Starlink 5-9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 40 launnched at 1:03 a.m. May 19: SpaceX Falcon 9 on Starlink 6-3 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 40 at 2:19 a.m. carrying 22 second-gen Starlink satellites. The first-stage booster made its fifth flight and landing on droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in Atlantic. May 21: Axiom 2 mission with four private passengers launched to the International Space Station for an eight-day visit flying on a SpaceX Falcon 9 topped with Crew Dragon Freedom from KSCs Launch Complex 39-A at 5:37 p.m. The first-stage booster flew for the first time with a return to Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Landing Zone 1. This is only the second crewed mission from the U.S. in 2023 following Marchs Crew-6 mission. The second Axiom Space private mission to the International Space Station following 2022s Axiom 1 mission. Axiom Spaces Director of Human Spaceflight and former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson is the mission commander with aviator John Shoffner as pilot and two mission specialist seats paid for by the Saudi Space Commission, Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali AlQarni. . May 27: SpaceX Falcon 9 on the ArabSat BADR-8 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations Space Launch Complex 40 at 12:30 a.m. The first-stage booster made its 14th flight with a landing on the droneship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic. LUANDA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Countries of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) on Saturday called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Sudan. The ICGLR member states held a summit earlier in the day in Luanda, the capital of Angola, during which they emphasized the need to improve coordination and execution of the mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the March 23 Movement (M23) ceasefire and the withdrawal from occupied territories. The communique released after the summit stressed the engagement of agreements reached in the Luanda and Nairobi processes and condemned any attempt by the M23 and other armed groups to reinforce themselves to resume hostilities in the occupied areas, reiterating the immediate disarmament and repatriation without conditions. It said that Angola will host a summit between ICGLR, the Southern African Development Community, the Economic Community of Central African States and the East African Community, with the participation of the United Nations, under the coordination of the African Union. The summit also condemned the conflict in Sudan, calling for the reactivation of the peace process in Sudan to find a lasting solution, and welcomed efforts by the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and other African sub-regional organizations, underlying the need for Africa's leadership and coordination of efforts. In addition to Felix Tshisekedi, president of the DRC, and Edouard Ngirente, prime minister of Rwanda, the summit was attended by President of the Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadera. Representatives from Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, the Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Zambia and Sudan were also present at the meeting, representing their respective heads of state, according to the final communique. Judge Paul Kelly said this incident was an unfortunate series of events and he applied the Probation Act. A son obstructed gardai as they tried to arrest his father, who had earlier tried to assault him, a court has heard. Cian Fogarty (25) claimed he was trying to stop a garda from assaulting his father, after she took out her baton to try and arrest his father. Judge Paul Kelly said this incident was an unfortunate series of events and he applied the Probation Act. The defendant, of Cardy Rock Court in Balbriggan, admitted obstruction of gardai on May 20, 2022. Garda Joanne McGinn told Swords District Court that she was called to the scene following reports of a domestic incident. Gda McGinn said she spoke to Fogarty, who said hed had a row with his father. As gardai spoke to Fogarty, his father became aggressive and tried to assault him. Gda McGinn said she then tried to arrest the father and Fogarty tried to obstruct gardai and stop the arrest. Fogarty was arrested, and told gardai he was only trying to stop them assaulting his father. Gda McGinn told the court she had been forced to use her baton on Fogartys father. The court heard Fogarty had no previous convictions. Defence solicitor Fiona DArcy said Fogartys father suffered a stroke and was feeling unwell. The pair had a falling out, and the gardai were called. Ms DArcy claimed the defendants father was trying to assault him, but he did not want his father arrested, and he tried to stop Gda McGinn using her baton on his father. Fogarty had apologised to Gda McGinn for his behaviour, Ms DArcy added. After we approached Smith to see whether she is now willing to speak openly about her past dealings with the terror group, the mum-of-one declined, saying: Youre the guy from the newspaper no! Lisa Smith pictured by the Sunday World on the school run in Dundalk this week Former Isis bride Lisa Smith has returned to her native Dundalk and was back on school-run duty this week. Our exclusive pictures show the former Islamic State member back in her hometown on Thursday just over a week after her release from Limerick Prison. Despite her past associations with one of the worlds most reviled terror groups, Smith remains a well-liked figure in the Co Louth town and we saw her chatting happily with a number of locals outside the post office after dropping her daughter to school. After we approached Smith on the towns Bridge Street to see whether she is now willing to speak openly about her past dealings with the terror group, the mum-of-one declined, saying: Youre the guy from the newspaper no! Lisa Smith served 10 months of her sentence Read more ISIS bride and ex-Defence Forces member Lisa Smith walks free from prison A former soldier with the Irish Defence Forces, Smith was released from Limerick Prison on Wednesday last week, having served 10 months of a 15-month-sentence for membership of Islamic State. The 40-year-old mother of one was found guilty in May of last year after a nine-week trial at the non-jury Special Criminal Court. Delivering the verdict, Judge Tony Hunt said it had been established that she travelled to Syria with her eyes open and pledged allegiance to ISIS, then led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He noted that while Smith is a low risk for re-offending, she was persistent and determined in her efforts to travel to Syria and join Isis, and has shown no remorse for her actions. In October 2015, Smith had bought a one-way ticket, travelled from Dublin to Turkey, and crossed the border into an IS-controlled area of Syria. Notes from interviews she gave gardai after her repatriation to Ireland outlined to the court what happened next. Smith said after she travelled across the Turkish border all her money, amounting to 7,000 (5,840), was stolen and she was kept in a house with 50 or 60 women in Syria for five months. Lisa Smith, pictured above on her Communion day Smith described being attacked with cluster bombs and bullets hitting her house. She said she was so scared...we could have been killed. Ms Smith said her husband put her and her daughter on a truck with no bags, money or food and they ended up in a camp. She said she saw people getting shot, babies dying and people with serious injuries who did not go to hospital. People dont know the reality of what happened in Islamic State, she told gardai. When asked if she would go back there, she said: No way. No, Ive had enough, Ive done my time. It was four years spent in prison. They put you in prison, torture and rape you. You are not allowed to come home. Europe doesnt want you. If you go home you go to prison. She told gardai that she did not support IS and many things IS did. But, in imposing sentence, Judge Tony Hunt rejected Smiths claims she had travelled to the Islamic State out of a sense of religious obligation and for the purpose of living under Sharia law. The judge said it was serious for an Irish citizen to take up allegiance with a terrorist organisation and persist with it. Approached by the Sunday World a year ago in the period after she was found guilty but before she was jailed for her crime Smith rejected calls made by former jihadist Tanya Joya, who travelled to Syria with her, that she free herself from the psychological mental prison of Islam. She told us: Thats not going to happen, no! I love my religion, its what I live for now. At the time, she also told us: Im not going to speak just yet because obviously I have to try and get a suspended sentence and then Im going to try and appeal it. Then, after my appeal Im going to make a big interview and Im going to talk My life is my life, my journey is my journey. Its my daughter, who is at home, Im worried about. Do you know what I mean? Shes the most important thing right now If I was on my own, then I wouldnt care about anything. Its more for my daughter she needs me. I didnt have a child when I left this country and now I have a child. Smith appeared incredulous when we asked her about a Facebook comment posted by a witness in her trial, former jihadist Tanya Joya, who travelled with her to Syria. Lisa Smith before she converted to Islam In the post, Joya said she believed Smith blindly followed every word my ex-Isis husband [John Georgelas] said. She sent him money and travelled back to Isis territory while under surveillance, she said. Describing the Irish justice system as quite puzzling, Joya continued: The defence used Lisas mythological beliefs of hell and prophecies of Muhammad to defend her choice to raise her child under a brutal death cult. Joya said: Ill admit she [Smith] is even a lovely and loving person. Its Lisas religious beliefs and values that are not so lovely. I pray my old friend Lisa-Marie Smith and [another party] attain freedom from the psychological mental prison of Islam. I hope this for them and all Muslims. Asked about the prosecution claims that during her time with IS she had enveloped herself in the black flag of the organisation and watched video of prisoners being tortured and killed, Smith said: If I say anything to you and then you go and put something in the paper then the judge says you were talking to the papers, now you are going back into prison! I will speak after everything is said and done and whoever wants to approach me then and talk to me, whatever. This week, it appeared, she is still not ready to tell her tale. Nicole Keenan was convicted in March for the daylight attack in Longford town, which was captured on CCTV Nicole Keenan was sentenced to seven months in prison A woman who abandoned a young child in a buggy to assault another woman in a crazed cannibal attack has appealed her five-month prison sentence. Nicole Keenan was convicted in March for the daylight attack in Longford town, which was captured on CCTV. Judge Kenneth Connolly said Ms Keenan had acted like a crazed cannibal and said photos shows piece of the missing abdomen where the victim was bitten, according to the Longford Leader, which reported the appeal case this week. Nicole and her twin sister Tia were sentenced in Longford District Court last March where they appeared on a charge of assaulting a woman in February 2022 on the towns Main Street. They were also charged with engaging in threatening and abusive behaviour during the incident, which came to an end when two gardai arrived at the scene. Nicole Keenan was sentenced to seven months in prison Garda Noelle Fahy gave evidence at the District Court hearing of how she and a male colleague noticed a man and a woman standing at the passenger door of a car. She then realised there were two women on top of a third woman inside the car. CCTV footage of the incident was played before Judge Vincent Deane, which showed Garda Fahy dragging Nicole Keenan from the car before arresting her moments later. In the video Nicole Keenan and her sister were seen walking with a buggy down the towns Main Street. Nicole was then seen moving towards the car stopped in traffic, leaving the buggy behind on the pavement and running towards the car. She pulled open the door and climbed in as a man who got out of the car tried to drag her back out, but she got past him to continue the attack. Rosaleen Wards victim impact statement was read out at that court hearing in which she said she no longer felt at ease when out in public. Tia Keenan got a suspended sentence I feel extra vulnerable now that I am pregnant and I am very afraid that both these girls are going to beat me again. Since the attack, I have been left with multiple scars on my arms and hip and I feel very self-conscious about showing my arms and hip and my hair has been falling out over the stress, she said. Judge Vincent Deane described the attack on Ms Ward as serious and one that would usually attract a seven-month jail term. Tia Keenan He said what especially troubled him was how Nicole Keenan could leave her young child on a busy street to carry out the assault. It is an aggravating factor that it happened on the main street and that she left her child without any care to go and carry out this vicious assault, he said. He sentenced her to seven months in prison with the final two suspended for two years, while her sister Tia got six months, which was fully suspended. Nicole Keenan immediately lodged an appeal against the sentence. At the recent appeal hearing Nicole Keenans case was adjourned until next October to allow for a probation report. Sources close to teens family say bullies claims are without any basis A still from the video of the assault on the 14-year-old boy in Navan Five boys who were arrested over the assault on a 14-year-old schoolboy in Navan last month have claimed to gardai that the attack stemmed from an allegation that the youth had previously burned a Bible. But a source close to the family of their 14-year-old victim said there was no evidence whatsoever he burned a Bible and that the false rumour was being used as an excuse and justification by his attackers. It is also understood the attack on the boy which was posed online and then went viral three weeks ago had followed an earlier attempted assault on the boy weeks earlier. At this time, a rumour had been circulating that the victim had burned a Bible and that this act had been recorded and uploaded to social media. However, there is no evidence such a video exists. The source linked to the family said the 14-year-old had already been the victim of homophobic slurs in the weeks before he was viciously attacked on May 15. The motivation for the attack was homophobic. They are trying to justify it by this false rumour that he burned a Bible. That never happened, the source said. They tried to jump him and beat him up a couple of weeks before this attack. The Sunday Independent understands the five arrested teens, some of whom are from religious backgrounds, have claimed to gardai that homophobia was not their motivation, but they had been left angered by the accusation of Bible burning. There has been a religious element raised in the course of this investigation, said a security source. Five boys were arrested on May 19 and were released without charge after being questioned by members of An Garda Siochana. The May 15 attack was filmed and posted online, and it ended up making international headlines. Most of the boys who were arrested are expected to avoid a criminal charge and instead be given a caution under the Juvenile Diversion Programme. However one of the five is understood to have already come to the attention of gardai over shoplifting, meaning he could have face a court date instead. The online video of the assault shows the 14-year-old boy walking out of school grounds and being pursued by a group of students. One student punches the boy in the head, which emboldens others to attack him from behind. The boy tries to get away to safety but he falls to the ground. Once he is down, the boy is repeatedly kicked, punched and stamped on by up to five other students as he tries to crawl to safety. The incident is being investigated as an alleged hate crime. Following the incident, Leo Varadkar condemned the attack and contacted the victim. I had a chance to speak with the young man and his mother over a video call yesterday, just to express my solidarity and support, the Taoiseach said on May 19. They were happy that the gardai had engaged with them, and the school too. He urged members of the public to refrain from distributing the video of the incident, and added that a new Online Safety Commissioner and a media commission Coimisiun na Mean, the successor to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland are being set up to regulate social media and online media. All of the drugs seized will be sent to Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) for analysis. Gardai have seized a whopping haul of drugs worth over 182,000, over 5,000 in cash and seven high-end watches in a raid in Dublin. Members of the Dublin Crime Response Team (DCRT) searched a home in the Tallaght area of South Dublin on Saturday evening, June 3. The probe was a result of ongoing operations undertaken by the DCRT targeting the sale and supply of illegal drugs in the Dublin region. During the search, they discovered suspected cannabis herb (122,000), cocaine (58,000) and MDMA (2,400) with a combined estimated value of 182,400 was seized, along with 5,655 in cash and seven high-end watches. All of the drugs seized will be sent to Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) for analysis. A man in his 20s was arrested and is currently being detained under the provisions of Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996 at a Dublin garda station. A garda spokesperson said investigations are ongoing. Investigation is launched by wardens as growing cannabis herb found in open area of Portlaoises A-block An investigation is under way after Kinahan cartel aligned criminals were caught growing cannabis inside Irelands only maximum-security prison. Sources have confirmed to the Sunday World that a cannabis plant was discovered in an open area in Unit 1 on A-block of Portlaoise Prison during a routine inspection on Wednesday morning. The unit is home to cartel figures including Liam Brannigan, Thomas Nicky McConnell and, up until last weekend, Fat Freddie Thompson. Shocked officers are understood to have immediately removed the plant and a probe is now under way to establish which inmates were responsible. A source said: The plant will have to be tested to chemically confirm it is a cannabis plant but you dont need to be a horticulturalist to recognise a cannabis plant. Contacted this week, the Irish Prison Service declined to comment on the incident. Freddie Thompson is in Limerick Prison However, its understood the plant has now been sent for analysis. The difficulty in trying to establish individual responsibility is the plant wasnt found in any one individuals cell, a source said. It was in an area on the landing accessible by all the inmates and no-one is likely to put their hand up. Asked how the plant could have made its way into the prison, the source said it may have been grown from seeds smuggled into the facility. How it got in or whether it was grown from seed is something that will have to be looked at, the source said One inmate who cannot be blamed for ownership of the plant is Fat Freddie Thompson. Thompson who is currently appealing his conviction for the murder of David Daithi Douglas was transferred out of Portlaoise last weekend following an incident in which he kicked over a meal trolley, causing hot food to land on a staff member. A decision was made to temporarily transfer him to Limerick Prison over fears he is becoming increasingly volatile the longer he is allowed to settle in Portlaoise. Nicky McConnell is in the prison Prior to knocking over the food trolley, the gangster was caught with a phone as he made his way from the prison exercise yard back to his cell. After a detector went off, Thompson smashed the phone off the ground and swallowed the SIM card. Thompson also kicked-off last month after learning of the death of his mother Lisa. On that occasion he smashed a TV, a toaster and microwave oven on the landing. He was also in hot water last November after he assaulted two prison officers who were attempting to search him for contraband. Sources say one of the main reasons prison authorities believe the cannabis plant was not present on the Kinahan landing for a long period of time is that a full search was carried out after Thompson was discovered with the phone. Another Kinahan cartel member currently housed on the landing is Freddies cousin Liam Brannigan. Nicknamed Mr Smooth by his fellow inmates, Brannigan is serving an eight-year sentence for conspiring with Kinahan cartel associates to assassinate Dublin man Gary Hanley. Sentencing Brannigan (40) at the Special Criminal Court in April 2020, Mr Justice Paul Coffey said the planning and organisation of the execution meant that the defendant was culpable to a very high degree and had a central role in the management and oversight of the plan to kill Mr Hanley. The judge said the conspiracy was at all times carried out with a staunch and unyielding determination to carry out a gangland-style execution type of murder. The plan was elaborate and lengthy and Brannigan had been intimately involved in all aspects of the planning, he said. Referring to the father-of-two, the judge said he had ten phone calls with the hit team on the evening of the planned murder. Brannigan, of Bride Street, Dublin 8, was convicted by the non-jury court of conspiring to murder Mr Hanley at a location within the State between September 15 and November 6, 2017. Liam Brannigan is in the prison He denied the charge. A third Kinahan-linked inmate on the landing is Thomas Nicky McConnell. McConnell is currently being held on remand awaiting trial at the Special Criminal Court for the murder of Gareth Hutch. He was extradited back from Turkey, where he had spent a year in custody in Soke prison, in June 2021. Gareth Hutch, a 36-year-old father of one and a nephew of Gerry The Monk Hutch, was gunned down as he was getting into car outside the Avondale House flats on North Cumberland Street in Dublins inner city on the morning of May 24, 2016. He suffered four gunshot wounds in the back of the neck, lower back and his upper chest. A European Arrest Warrant was later issued for McConnells arrest. Patient data from across Ireland was examined in the study around heart attacks Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, described the research as vital Deadly heart attacks are more common on Mondays across Ireland, new research has indicated. Patient data from across Ireland was examined in the study around heart attacks. The research conducted by doctors at the Belfast Health & Social Care Trust and the Royal College Of Surgeons In Ireland is set to be presented today at the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) conference in Manchester. They analysed data of 10,528 patients across the island 7,112 in the Republic, 3,416 in Northern Ireland who were admitted to hospital between 2013 and 2018 with the most serious type of heart attack. This is known as an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and occurs when a major coronary artery is completely blocked. They found a spike in rates of STEMI heart attacks at the start of the working week, with rates highest on a Monday. There were also higher rates of STEMI than expected on a Sunday. Previous studies suggesting that heart attacks are more likely on a Monday have highlighted an association with circadian rhythm the body's sleep or wake cycle. Hundreds of people are admitted to hospital with a STEMI each year in Northern Ireland. It requires emergency assessment and treatment to minimise damage to the heart, normally performed with emergency angioplasty a procedure to reopen the blocked coronary artery. Cardiologist Dr Jack Laffan, who led the research at the Belfast Health & Social Care Trust, said the cause is likely to be multifactorial. Weve found a strong statistical correlation between the start of the working week and the incidence of STEMI, he said. This has been described before but remains a curiosity. The cause is likely multifactorial. However, based on what we know from previous studies, it is reasonable to presume a circadian element. Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, described the research as vital. Someone is admitted to hospital due to a life-threatening heart attack every 135 minutes in Northern Ireland, so its vital that research continues to shed light on how and why heart attacks happen, he said. This study adds to evidence around the timing of particularly serious heart attacks, but we now need to unpick what it is about certain days of the week that makes them more likely. Doing so could help doctors better understand this deadly condition so we can save more lives in future. Everyone has got an opinion, and an unsolicited one at that, so dont worry about it. Just know that your kids will thank you in 20 years time because you loved them, and thats the most important thing Stacey Solomon with her children Rex (4) and Rose (18 months), plus young model in her latest Penneys collection Last time Magazine+ dialled in for a conference call with Stacey Solomon on a dreary Tuesday morning, we were greeted with gurgles from her adorable baby boy, Rex. Four years later, the 33-year-old is once again in that blissful newborn bubble having just welcomed her darling baby girl, Belle, into the world in February. Every inch the working mum, the TV presenter who has just launched a new kidswear collection with Penneys says she is juggling as best she can after becoming a mother for the fifth time. Stacey with husband Joe and their adorable family Candid and bubbly as ever, she begins: For a really long time, I didnt know if I was going to be a good mum because I was really young and I wasnt sure what I was doing. But actually Im a great mum even when Im doing things that people dont think are the right thing. Best known as a Loose Women panellist and the queen of tap to tidy on Instagram, the former X Factor star adds: Everyone has got an opinion, and an unsolicited one at that, so dont worry about it. Just know that your kids will thank you in 20 years time because you loved them, and thats the most important thing. The only advice I could ever give is: give yourself a break. We are so hard on ourselves when it comes to parenting because its the most important thing were ever going to do. But if you think youre slacking or havent done well, youre wrong youre just exhausted. Stacey all smiles with husband Joe Swash Give yourself some credit. Recognise that its OK to love parenting and not love it all at the same time. In our last interview, Stacey who has two older sons, Zach (15) and Leighton (11), from previous relationships gushed over her actor husband, Joe Swash, who was immediately hands-on with their growing brood. Describing themselves as a blended family, the cute couple wed last July, and as well as Rex and Belle, also share an 18-month-old daughter, Rose; while Joe has a 15-year-old son, Harry, from a previous relationship. Daughter Rose wears a romper (12) and sun hat (8) from the new Stacey Solomon x Primark collection He did all the cleaning, all the cooking, helped me with the boys and he was so fantastic. I am just so lucky to have Joe. People ask me all the time, What is the most attractive thing about Joe? and it is definitely what a great father he is, she beamed then. With Belle, the former soap star took a brief hiatus from night feeds to jet off to South Africa for the newest season of Im A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. A fan favourite, the funnyman credited the jungle for his happy family. After all, the two first met when Stacey won the series in 2010 while Joe was presenting follow-up show, Im A Celebrity... Extra Camp. Breaking down in tears in the Kruger National Park camp, the doting dad said: I feel like Ive won this already. I dont know where I would be without it. Id just be that dude that was on EastEnders years ago. Now, Im Stacey Solomons husband. The doting mum with Rose in a tutu dress (12) While the couple always seem loved up, Stacey confesses they are not above arguing, especially when it comes to their differing parenting styles. Absolutely Joe is the good cop and Im the bad cop, always. Our biggest arguments will be over the fact that hes not bad cop enough with the kids. Admitting that she spends the majority of her days rocking a top knot in her pyjamas, the busy mum, who has 5.6 million Instagram followers, is never afraid to challenge unrealistic beauty standards. I believe that you are not what you look like it should be irrelevant because theres nothing wrong with anyone. But were taught that there is. So we go and buy stuff and spend money on changing who we are. Its really sad. "Its important for me to embrace whatever I look like, at whatever stage in my life, because thats who I am and theres absolutely nothing wrong with it, despite what other people might try to tell me. Her four-year-old Rex and model pal in a rainbow sweatshirt (11) and shorts (10) Soaking up every last minute of the newborn phase, Stacey says she hasnt fallen victim to any new parenting gimmicks. We love our Rockit that rocks the pram for you. But beyond that, not really you end up buying these crazy contraptions but what they need is cuddles, love and food. Theres nothing else thats massively helped me or changed my parenting, but you end up buying it because you think its going to make it easier. Thats why she wanted to ensure her latest kidswear collection for Penneys was an easy choice for mums and dads kitting out their little ones this summer. On top being of being pocket and eco-friendly, the Stacey Solomon x Primark range, which her smallies Rex and Rose helped to model, is cute as a button. My vision behind the collection was fruit. I love the lemon and orange prints on clothing. I hadnt really seen anything for kids out there that had that yet. Also, Rose is at an age where she can make out things like oranges, lemons and strawberries so it was exciting for me to create something she could connect with as well, she explains. My favourite pieces are the shirts and all-in-ones with oranges on the pale blue. There was something so lovely about those two colours together it felt quite Italian and just different. It was great to bring something fresh to kidswear, especially as my own kids love a bold print. The blended clan on holiday in Abu Dhabi In my experience of kids clothes, the girls have a huge array of different options in the shops. Its satisfying to create something else thats bright and different, and can be worn across boys and girls. Acknowledging the cost of living crisis currently affecting families across the country, Stacey continues: One of the joys of working with Primark is being able to make reasonably priced clothes without compromising on how theyre made, where theyre made and who theyre made by. Its such a privilege to work with a company that is accessible for so many people. The clothing collection is made from organic and sustainable cotton and recycled plastic, which is really important for me. Im also a firm believer that we shouldnt buy things for kids to wear once and never again. I love to pass clothing onto family and friends. Clearly inheriting their mums flair for fashion, her little pickles were even on hand to help with the design process, with the colourful range available in Penneys stores nationwide now. Leighton loves to get involved and actually has a massive input. He wasnt around to be at the shoot this year, but really enjoys the design process. Leighton and Rex always try on the pieces too, tells the proud mum. And they helped me pick out some of the towelling materials which are so, so soft, plus the stretch on the trousers so they dont dig in. Ultimately, when Im thinking of the kids clothes, comfort is the most important thing. Because if its uncomfortable, they wont wear it so its an absolute waste of money! Hes spent his 78 years saving souls whether pulling people from house fires on the busiest fire truck in the country, or rescuing them from the flames of hell alcohol and drug addiction. Booze and drugs the damage that stuff causes! He tut-tuts in disgust. At the substance abuse, not the people. Because he believes theres hope for everyone. Laurence Stanley Bell, or Laurie professional firefighter cum Salvation Army officer. Life for him has been swapping one uniform for another. And either way, hes been a life saver. When I get up in the morning and pull on a uniform, I am enthusiastic, I am fanatical; I have been called by God. Thats Laurie the Sallie, and a bit of the fireman. Silhouettes and sounds: Laurie Bell alone with his music. Photo John Borren. And thats where there might be an employment issue of sorts. Because God, his maker, his boss, seems to have decided Lauries employment with Salvation Army is done, this senior soldier is due for an honorable military discharge. That was the catalyst for this story eight decades of selfless service and a laying down of arms, but the soldiers not so sure. The Army would love to see me just sitting in the pews every Sunday morning. Fair enough. But I have more of Gods work to do. A backdrop of street art for the senior soldier. Taurangas Laurie Bell beneath the arches of the Harbour Bridge. Photo: John Borren The soldier isnt ready to quit. So when he de-mobs, hes deserting his word off to join the Wesleyans, the Methodists, at St Stephens in Brookfield. Not as silly as it sounds. Because William Booth, was a Methodist preacher before he established the Salvation Army in 1883, explains Laurie. Booth apparently wanted to make the church more accessible to the poor and the excluded. Laurie Bells just doing it the other way round. The Methodists have a good lay preacher system, says Laurie. Hands on stuff. Stuff that still fuels his fire evangelism, missions, teaching, preaching, fundraising. And after all, he knows the drill as a lieutenant in the Army, he ran churches for 10 years. Silhouettes and sounds: Laurie Bell alone with his music. Photo John Borren. Only one person warned him off the move. His wife Susan. Hair-brained she reckoned but Ive had lots of hair-brained ideas. A good mate, another Sallie, said to him: God bless you in your new ministry Laurie. I appreciated that. I always liked the Sallies. As a kid theyd arrive on the back of a truck at Christmas and belt out a few rousing tunes tambourines, trumpets, the works. Theyd bring a live concert to our house. Later in Auckland, a Sallie got to know me by name and would bust our Friday night drinks for a $10. It wasnt a donation he insisted. It was an investment should things go belly up for me. A backdrop of street art for the senior soldier. Taurangas Laurie Bell beneath the arches of the Harbour Bridge. Photo: John Borren. Then a cynical old colleague fell for a Sallie and suddenly Saturday night became a shift at a soup kitchen. Add Laurie Bell to that mix of good Sallie people doing good, good work. An effusive, irrepressible character, with a delightful earthiness, who has been shamelessly and successfully pitching stories to me for a few years. This time he is the story. It was ask me anything, warts and all, so we did. He was born a Sallie, and never so much as whiffed alcohol, even though hes been surrounded by what he calls the sponsors product all his working and sporting life. No drink but there are demons. People tell me I have an addictive personality. So who knows? And there was the sister, who he says, embarrassed him over the years. She was a drunk, she was addicted. She went on a methylated spirits binge and in the end it killed her. Perhaps he fears the same weak gene lurks close. If you are susceptible? In the same breath he talks proudly of the celebrating and sharing hes conducted every Friday for 13 years. The Recovery Services for those temporarily clean and sober off the drugs and booze. We dont cure, we give hope and encouragement when relapse is the biggest danger. A backdrop of street art for the senior soldier. Taurangas Laurie Bell up the stairs and beneath the arches of the Harbour Bridge. Photo: John Borren. He has banned the word hopeless. No-ones hopeless. But he has seen despair. And he tut-tuts again. This is a soldier not without sin. He has been married three times. He explains he was just unlucky in love until he met Susan. He talks proudly about her. We were both Army Lieutenants during 10 wonderful years running Army churches. Susan, he says, was the highlight during the heyday of his Army career. This was a man, who as a professional firemen would put out property fires and then, at shifts end, slip into his Salvation Army kit to put out personal fires. His life has been busy and pressured. He also, inadvertently, got tangled in one of the biggest issues facing churches today gay rights. One day my eldest daughter asked me if I was sitting down because I was about to get a shock. When he got his head around the fact one of his daughters was gay, he decided he would just continue to love her. Nothing had changed. Laurie and Susan went to her wedding in London. But bigotry does run deep. A fine Christian man asked me to conduct his funeral. But when he found out I had a gay daughter and I hadnt condemned her, he didnt want me to do his funeral anymore. He just shrugs off disappointment and fixes on the positive. Like when he was running the local Red Shield fundraiser, Tauranga was the second best giving place in the country. Something to be proud of. Also from his skite sheet while mission coordinator, which he says is just introducing people to Jesus he got 50 people on board. Should have been more. Thats what drives me. We raise a glass of lemonade to you Laurie. SYDNEY, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Australia's New South Wales Ministry of Health (NSW Health) on Sunday issued a warning over meningococcal disease, urging locals to stay alert for related symptoms, after three cases have been recently reported across the state. A person, aged between 50 to 59, has died from the disease in Sydney, while two more cases, one teenager living in Sydney and one person in their 60s from the Central Coast, are recovering. NSW Health said that none of these cases are believed to be linked. So far this year, there have been 19 cases of meningococcal disease reported in the Australian state, with the majority of cases caused by the meningococcal B strain of the infection. Christine Selvey, director of communicable diseases at NSW Health, said that meningococcal disease is a rare disease with babies, toddlers, adolescents, and young adults being at highest risk. While vaccination of these age groups has reduced the number of infections each year, the vaccines do not protect against all strains of meningococcal bacteria, and people of all ages can be infected, Selvey warned, urging people to be vigilant for symptoms and seek medical assistance early if they are concerned. According to NSW Health, meningococcal disease can be fatal within hours if left untreated. Possible symptoms include sudden onset of fever, headache, neck stiffness, tiredness, joint or limb pain, dislike of bright lights, nausea and vomiting, as well as a rash of red-purple spots or bruises. Babies may also have high-pitched crying. The health authority also noted that children under five and 15 to 25-year-olds are at the greatest risk of contracting the disease. Since 1977, the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge has cemented itself as a must-do on cyclists event calendars, and this year will be not different with entries now open for the November 25 event. The last Saturday in November will mark a special milestone for the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge, with the event celebrating its 45th anniversary. No matter what type of biking youre into, over its four-and-a-half-decade history, the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge has grown to be an event that offers options for anyone to be part of one of New Zealands largest cycling occasions. Huka Steamer event. Photo: Supplied. On offer this year are the iconic Round The Lake (approx. 160km), the 2 lap Enduro (approx. 320km), and the Length Of The Lake (approx. 55km) road categories, as well as the Shimano Gravel Grind (approx. 75km) using local MTB tracks, gravel roads, farm tracks, and tar sealed roads, along with both the Huka Steamer (approx. 60km) and Huka Teaser (approx. 30km) MTB events, and the 16km Lakesider recreational ride. With a philosophy of inclusion, the team at Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge have also embraced the e-bike phenomenon over recent years. Last years event saw a fourfold increase in e-bike entrants compared to previous years and the team are looking forward to seeing this grow even further in 2023. Gravel Grind event. Photo: Supplied. We love seeing and hosting the thousands of riders and supporters who descend on the Taupo region to be part of the annual pilgrimage to one of New Zealands longest and most established events," says event director, Hayden Dickason. "This year will be particularly special being able to celebrate our 45th anniversary with everyone. Whether youre a roadie, a mountain biker, a gravel junkie or just looking for a recreational ride with the family, weve got something thatll tick the box for you. "So come join us in November to celebrate this milestone occasion. For more information on this years Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge on Saturday November 25 2023 and to enter, go to: www.cyclechallenge.com The annual search is on again for the best young Kiwi filmmakers in New Zealand, with submissions now open for the 2023 International Youth Silent Film Festival IYSFF - New Zealand Nationals. Therere many ways to make films these days, multiple platforms to upload them to, and countless video rabbit holes to go down. So, what makes the IYSFF NZ competition unique? Not only do young filmmakers have the chance to see their films on the big screen in both New Zealand and the United States; they can also win awards and cash prizes too. This year there are prizes for the top three placed films plus seven Best Of category awards to be won. In addition, the top two Kiwi films will go on to represent the country at the annual IYSFF Global Awards in Portland, Oregon, USA, in 2024. This annual global competition challenges filmmakers to create a three-minute silent film set to one of 10 musical scores composed specifically for the festival. The music and the visuals work hand-in-hand to take viewers on an epic journey, while freeing filmmakers from the pressure of trying to record audio. This year the IYSFF competition has increased the age limit to 22, as of April 15, 2023, allowing more creative minds than ever before to enter this unique festival. The competition reaches across the globe from the USA, Europe, and The United Arab Emirates through to Australia, and New Zealand. Submissions for the 2023 competition close at 11.59pm on Friday September 1. For more information or to enter the NZ Nationals, visit the IYSSFs global website at http://www.makesilentfilm.com On Thursday November 2 the top 10 finalists will be screened at the NZ National Awards Final at the home of the IYSFF in New Zealand Baycourt Community & Arts Centre in Tauranga. Experiencing the NZ National Awards evening for the first time in 2022 helped cement for me what an incredible opportunity this competition provides for young Kiwi creatives. The IYSFF is an important date in our annual Baycourt programme and were delighted to continue our support into its eighth year and beyond, says Baycourt Manager Reena Snook. Since the IYSFF made its New Zealand debut at Baycourt in 2016, four Kiwi films have gone on to win higher honours at the Global Awards. This includes The Climb and Overexposed, both bringing home first place awards in 2022 and 2019 respectively, The Chase winning second place in 2018, and A Random Act of Kindness taking out third place in 2019. Representing New Zealand at this years Global Awards will be NZ Nationals 2022 winner Crash by 12-year-old Ben Young and second place winner The Unusual Suspects by Sveta Hackett and Emma Wagner, both aged 17. All three filmmakers hail from Tamaki Makaurau Auckland. The IYSFF NZ Nationals 2023 is again delivered with generous support from major media partner The Breeze Tauranga 95.8FM. Local breakfast show hosts Jolene James and Max Baird say, "we love supporting this amazing event the creativity and talent of young film makers blows us away every year. For rules, soundtracks, or to make a submission visit www.makesilentfilm.com. To find out more about NZ Nationals visit www.baycourt.co.nz/youth/iysff-nz-nationals IYSFF NZ 2023 Poster Competition Great movies have equally great posters, so if youre entering this years competition why not have a go at creating a poster for your film? The IYSFF NZ Poster Competition gives filmmakers, graphic designers and any keen artists a chance to flex their creativity by designing a poster that captures and distils the essence of their films in one image. Youve heard the saying, a picture is worth a 1000 words, and thats true so true for movie posters, says IYSFF NZ coordinator Jannine Spiers. A movie poster is there to summarize the film in one image to help draw attention towards the upcoming flick and generate some hype. To enter the IYSFF NZ Film Poster Competition, designs need to be A3 size, feature the films title and director, and include the IYSFF official logo which will be supplied to entrants upon request. Submissions for the IYSFF NZ Poster Competition will close this year at 11.59pm on Saturday October 1. To enter, please email your poster in digital format to iysff@tauranga.govt.nz. When Bruce Russell started work as a cop in the 1970s, he had to walk to a pay phone to let the station know he had made two arrests, and needed to be picked up by a police car. Now in a world of police radios and mobile phones, the man has become an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit after receiving a Kings Birthday honour. During his career, Bruce established the first child abuse and child sexual abuse investigation unit in Waikato, leading to groundbreaking investigation methodology which still shapes how investigations are carried out today. Bruce has been a special investigator since 2009, and is nowadays a go-to leader for serious and organised financial crime in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty Police Districts. Speaking to SunLive, Bruce says his largest recovery of goods from financial crime case adds up to about $48 million. Bruces innovative work in New Zealands first child abuse and child sexual abuse investigation unit helped introduce video recorded interviews of children as a substitute to children coming to court. Back then, Bruce says video evidence of this nature was not allowed, but it is now entrenched in the legal system and is a regular part of how these cases are tackled today. It was quite neat being part of that whole process. It was a pretty powerful time for me emotionally, because youre dealing with the most vulnerable of people. Bruce says the process of working out investigations has kept him going for his total 47 years he has spent in the police criminal investigation branch. Its not the outcome, its solving the puzzle. Its the challenge of grabbing the evidence, which can be really challenging, and putting all the bits together to solve the puzzle. I just love it. Bruce says he sadly encounters some of the same people he met as children running the sexual abuse unit in his present job investigating drug dealers and individuals who generate high levels of wealth through criminal activity. I understand how they got to be there through the harsh offending they were victims of when they were young. When asked about his proudest moment in his career, Bruce says receiving a Kings honour would have to be right up there. You dont work for an honour of this nature. For lots of other things, you can work towards them. You can study hard, you can get promoted, but this is up there with the very best. Bruce dedicates his Kings honour to all of those he has worked with, as well as his wife for being there for him throughout his career. Id like to say this honour is dedicated to the people I work with. Were a team, and while we take individual responsibility for our investigations, we still do a lot of work as a team and this honour I hope reflects this modern team I am a part of. My wife also has been as much on the journey as I have. Police wives take on a lot of responsibility at times, because police husbands arent always there. I had 25 years on the armed defenders squad, which meant I was in and out of bed at all times of the night, and walking out on family functions at times. My wife was the one who continued to run the family while I was out. Partners are an unseen part of the bigger police family for that reason. Tauranga local Bryce Dinneen is being recognised for his ongoing services toward disabled people, by being made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Kings birthday honours list. Bryce first established his Wish 4 Fish charitable trust in 2011, which provides fishing trips for those with physical and mental disabilities or impairments. He says the inspiration came from the trust through his belief in the waters ability to promote well-being and healing. My two passions as a human being are being out on the water, and helping peoples well-being. The water is a special, magical place. Every time I go out, I become a better person. Ive also seen through my involvement with Wish 4 Fish how the water can positively change other people as well. Bryce became a C4 tetraplegic after a shallow water diving accident in 2007, but is using his love for the water to help others in the disabled community. Its a double edged sword, but I believe its a place which has amazing healing attributes, and at the end of the day, we do live on a couple of islands, so the water is always at our front door. The water doesnt do all the healing according to Bryce. He says the comradery and banter people have while out fishing or out on the water is a huge part of the process. Ive seen people go out and become comfortable with having those tough conversations which people sometimes dont want to have. Bryce says his biggest accomplishment is fundraising for a $2.4 million 18 metre custom made boat, which is able to take 45 people with disabilities including their carers out on the water. The boat has a wide variety of loading systems to allow for wheelchair access, a wheelchair access lift, a full-loop gantry crane to allow toilet access to all, beds, and fishing gear catered to those with limited mobility. Bryce also has received the volunteer of the year award from the TECT Community Awards for his work with the Wish 4 Fish trust. In the future, Bryce says he would like to continue his efforts into promoting well-being across Aotearoa, and start new projects, such as his new charitable trust named Tangaroa. Tangaroa is a new platform where we host people for three days and two nights out on the water at an amazing location in Whangaroa, where we provide both clinical and holistic wrap-around services for their health and well-being. We will uplift people, host them, and get them in touch with a psychologist or someone with a more holistic approach such as a mirimiri or traditional healing. Whether its depression, burnout or anxiety, well aim to help some of those challenges people have. Bryce says his services to disabilities have been an amazing ride and he will continue to be an advocate for the community, along with anyone else going through a tough time through his new trust. I love a challenge. But the ability to see people change their lives is what has kept me going. Seeing the joy in the disabled community when we would facilitate people and their loved ones out on the water has been so rewarding, but this space needs a whole lot of work. I just want to continue to get stuck in and make a difference. I am totally grateful for this award, and totally thankful for all the amazing support people who have facilitated my journey to get here. Ive also got an amazing group of friends who have helped me. I also hope this acknowledgement will help give other people with disabilities some light and a voice, as they sometimes dont. Things are changing, but we need to have a healthy conversation about it moving forward thats for sure. For more information or to get in touch with the Tangaroa Trust, visit their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/thetangaroatrust. Jeanette Sherilyn Hall (nee Percy) who lives in Pyes Pa, Tauranga, has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to highland dancing. Sherilyn, as she is known, has been involved with Highland and National Dancing for more than 50 years. She has helped research and develop Highland Dancing through the New Zealand Academy of Highland and National Dancing, to continue for future generations. Sherilyn says as a six year old she commenced Highland and National dancing with Mrs Emma Brown in Hastings whose classes were held in a hall a couple of hundred meters from my home. That is where I learnt through careful instruction the basic fundamentals of the Academy dances. At age eleven Sherilyn came to live in Tauranga where she learnt under Mrs Brown's sister Mrs Edna Moore. Having competed successfully throughout New Zealand in my teenage years, in my early twenties these teachers inspired me to take my dance to another level and become a demonstrator for the Academy. I love that Highland is a very traditional dance form brought to the NZ shores by dancing masters from Scotland. The New Zealand Academy fosters and preserves the traditional whilst keeping it relevant to today. As a dance demonstrator in 1973, she spent time perfecting highland dancing and step dancing movements and demonstrating these at conferences. Following this she became a member of the Technical Committee. She was appointed as Trainee Director at the Academy in 1990 before becoming the Technical Director in 1992 and has led a team of nine technical dance masters, overseeing the dance technique, management and development of examinations. Over the years she has lead a team of up to ten recognised dance masters on the Technical Committee overseeing management and preservation of technique, and standards of examination technique. During her time as Technical Director the committee has amongst other things developed pre-school dance programmes; an 18 and over assessment for those who have completed their examinations; and revised syllabuses and assessments. As well as this, Sherilyn has lead training courses and workshops at various levels and the Dance Development Course at the annual Academy Conference. I love the many lifelong friends and associates I have made on my journey, as well as the opportunities dance has provided. Sherilyn leads training courses and workshops throughout the year at various levels, and annually at a national Dance Development Course. Sherilyn has tutored dancers of all ages at numerous annual Summer Dance Camp schools throughout New Zealand and has assisted in taking dance teams overseas to perform on three occasions, at the International Military Tattoos in Norfolk, Virginia and at international conferences in Las Vegas. I have been privileged to attend international conferences on behalf of the Academy on three occasions in Las Vegas, tutoring in Step Dance on two of these occasions. In 2011, Sherilyn was awarded life membership to the New Zealand Academy of Highland and National Dancing. She served as Dance Director of the Piping and Dancing Association of New Zealand and was awarded life membership in 2015. Sherilyn says you are only as proficient as the team around you and acknowledges those past and present members of the Technical Committee who have also given so much back to the Academy, as well as the Executive of the Academy who have supported her throughout her years as Director. And last but not least I acknowledge my husband Don and family who will take great pride in my being the recipient of this award. The New Zealand Royal Honours system provides a way for New Zealand to thank and congratulate people who have served their communities and to recognise peoples achievements. Anyone can nominate anyone for a New Zealand Royal Honour. There are three Orders in the New Zealand honours system: The Order of New Zealand; the New Zealand Order of Merit; and The Queens Service Order. The honours system also includes various medals, such as the Queens Service Medal, the Antarctic Medal, and the New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration. Carolina Espana Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram Andalucia has become a unique hub for investment. In 2022 foreign investment reached an all-time high of 1.26 billion euros, which represents 30% more than in 2021. According to data from the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, investment in Andalucia in the period from 2019 to 2022 grew to a total of 3.85 billion euros, a figure that practically doubles that of the 2015-2018 period (1.99 billion euros). This record foreign investment comes hand-in-hand with a new record in exports (nearly 43 billion in 2022), proof that the Andalusian economy is fully international, open to the outside world and globally competitive. This growth, in a time marked by a military conflict in Europe, just as we were overcoming the greatest global financial crisis ever known in times of peace, caused by a pandemic, is not by chance; it is the result of the policies developed by the Regional Government led by Juanma Moreno in Andalucia, a region that strongly supports businesses, offering political, institutional and financial stability, legal security and certainty, which is what investment needs. In short, building confidence and trust. Ampliar Carolina Espana Many measures have been launched to achieve this transformation. But some of them have been critical, such as six successive tax reductions, which have turned Andalucia into the second most fiscally competitive region in Spain (having been one of the regions with the highest taxes), and an attractive region for investment. In order to favour investment, Andalucia has lowered all taxes and abolished the Impuesto de Patrimonio (wealth tax), which does not exist in any country in this area. Furthermore, the Regional Government has passed three administrative simplification decrees, with a fourth on the way, and, even more, is firmly committed to public-private collaboration. Additionally, the recent launch of the Agency for Economic Transformation and Development (Andalucia TRADE) will boost economic growth, the promotion of investment, internationalisation, innovation, R&D and knowledge transfer. It is a flagship project for the Andalusian Government and a long-time demand from the business community: to have a one-stop shop which efficiently and productively provides all the support companies need. One of the objectives of Andalucia TRADE is to maintain and improve even further the position of Andalucia as an attractive region for foreign direct investment, in line with the Andalusian Internationalisation Strategy 2021-2027. To achieve this, it is working to identify new projects, offering a wide range portfolio of tailor-made services throughout all project phases, monitoring the projects to guarantee their growth in Andalucia. Related article SUR in English launches Top International Business Guide with awards ceremony Rachel Haynes As well as attracting large industrial and logistics projects, from the Andalusian Government we want to extend the example of Malaga to the rest of Andalucia. Malaga is an international benchmark for technology. Top level multinationals such as Google, Vodafone, Oracle, Ericsson, Capgemini, Dekra, Keysight Technologies, EY and PWC are working from Malaga, where there is an interesting business ecosystem whose epicentre is the Malaga Tech Park, of which I am president as regional Minister for Economy, Finance and European Funds. Andalucia supports investment and is already an outstanding example for other regions. We are going to continue our commitment to attract talent and innovative and technological projects that deliver differential value. We have the human resources and the best quality of life. Now we are adding a pioneer organisation that will provide investors with a single point of contact. Thanks to all of this, investors and technology are looking to the south. Aida Garcia Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram Malaga has always been the ideal destination for foreign investment, as figures show year after year. Data published at the end of 2022 further demonstrates this: 350 million euros of foreign investment, which crowns Malaga as leader in the business field in Andalucia, according to the Barometro del Clima de Negocios en Malaga, a study to gauge the business climate in Malaga carried out by the city council. This proof of the economic splendour of the region has not gone unnoticed by the UK, which has taken it on board and now considers this to be an ideal destination, thanks to its uniqueness. In the last five years, nearly two dozen British companies have set up in the area, placing the UK third in the world, only behind Spain and the US. Vodafone, EY, Quantexa and YourShortlist are some of the firms that have arrived in the city, proving that the province is becoming a magnet for multinationals from around the world in varying sectors. Foreign interest is such that Google is expected to open its specialised cybersecurity centre here in the second half of 2023. Ampliar Facilities such as Malaga TechPark or the University of Malaga add incentive to foreign firms to choose Malaga as their location. They strengthen technological aspects and offer improved sustainable mobility, exporting the image of an innovative and green city that invests in R&D. Related article SUR in English launches Top International Business Guide with awards ceremony Rachel Haynes In this sense, for several years now, Malaga has been keeping its focus on technology and business, which has turned the area into the Silicon Valley of the south of Spain. At the British Chamber of Commerce in Spain, we support firms that choose to come to Malaga, not just to open a branch, but also to set up their headquarters here. The area, which boasts quality of life that is among the highest in Spain as well as transport infrastructure that allows for connections with the rest of the country and Europe, is an ideal destination for foreign companies. Attracting and retaining firms also allows for the development of talent. A region open to Europe and, especially in this case, to the United Kingdom, helps social development as the exchange of experience and best practices benefits society. But this drive to attract firms and strengthen the technological sector not only attracts young people and qualified specialists, but it also benefits the reputation of the Costa del Sol city. To improve the business climate both in Spain and in the province of Malaga, firms call for the improvement of relations with the administration, with less bureaucracy, lower political risk and the remodelling of the labour market. These are all aspects that foreign firms take into account when choosing where to direct their investment. Therefore it is necessary for public-private dialogue to remain on the agenda, as without it firms do not feel comfortable enough to invest. We must not forget that the British community is one of the most numerous on the Costa del Sol, with more than 53,000 registered citizens. Proof of this is the large number of British nationals who attend the events that the British Chamber of Commerce in Spain holds in the region, as well as the many firms that have their head offices and offer services in the province. Some 50 businesses belonging to the British Chamber of Commerce in Spain meet monthly to exchange experiences and knowledge and to increase business, in a clear example of how business and foreign citizens revitalise the economy and help create an area that is more open, cosmopolitan and receptive to private foreign initiative. To continue shining in its own light, it is important for Malaga to maintain its commitment to sustainability, technological projects and R&D, so that it continues to be a priority destination on the maps of the most demanding investors. That, together with its privileged location and high quality of life, makes Malaga a perfect destination for firms looking for the ideal place to set up their business. MEHTARLAM, Afghanistan, June 4 (Xinhua) -- A total of three commuters were killed and 20 others injured in two different road crashes in Afghanistan's eastern Laghman province on Saturday, said a statement of provincial traffic police released here Sunday. In the first accident, a mini-bus collided with another vehicle coming from the opposite direction on the Kabul-Nangarhar highway Saturday evening, leaving two dead on the spot and 20 others injured, while minutes later a car overturned due to reckless driving in the same area, killing one on the spot, the statement added. A day earlier on Friday, a road accident also killed two commuters and injured eight others in Afghanistan's eastern Wardak province. Congested roads, old vehicles and reckless driving are blamed for road accidents in mountainous and war-ravaged Afghanistan. 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. NEW DELHI, June 4 (Xinhua) -- India's federal government Sunday announced a three-member panel to probe last month's ethnic violence in the northeastern state of Manipur. The commission would be headed by former chief justice of Gauhati high court Ajai Lamba. The other two members of the panel are retired Indian Administrative Service officer Himanshu Shekhar Das and retired Indian Police Service officer Aloka Prabhakar. The Indian government has notified a commission of inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Act to probe the incidents of violence in Manipur state on May 3 and beyond. "The commission shall submit its report to the central (federal) government as soon as possible but not later than six months from the date of its first sitting," said a statement issued by the federal home ministry. India's Federal Home Minister Amit Shah was recently in Manipur on a four-day visit, during which he met people and held security meetings to restore normalcy in the state. Large-scale violence broke out in the state last month during a tribal protest demonstration over the inclusion of the non-tribal Meiteis community for a scheduled tribe status. The call for protest was given by the All Tribal Student Union Manipur. Scheduled tribes in India are officially designated as disadvantaged socio-economic groups. They are given reservations in education and jobs with the aim to improve their lives. Thousands of people took part in the rally, during which violence broke out between the tribals and non-tribals. Schools, houses, churches, vehicles and public properties were set ablaze by protesting mobs in the state. Reports said the ethnic clashes claimed 98 lives. Nearly 300 people were injured and close to 1,700 houses burnt down during the violence in the state. Authorities responded by imposing a curfew and deployed over 100 columns of the army and paramilitary forces in the state to restore peace. Syracuse, N.Y. - A 17-year-old boy was dropped off at a Syracuse hospital early Sunday morning after he was shot near an East Fayette Street apartment complex, police said. Around 2:48 a.m., police responded to the call at Upstate University Hospital, said Sgt. Thomas Blake, a spokesperson for the Syracuse Police Department. Police found the teen, who was dropped off by a private vehicle, had suffered a gunshot wound to his arm, he said. The teen was treated for the non-life threatening injuries, Blake said. Blake said police later discovered the shooting took place outside of Parkside Commons apartment complex in the 2000 block of East Fayette Street. Police ask anyone with information about the shooting to contact them at 315-442-5222 or submit an anonymous tip through tip411. Staff writer Darian Stevenson covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at dstevenson@syracuse.com Update at 10:15 p.m.: Lysander family of 5 loses home in fire Update at 8 p.m.: River Road is back open and firefighters have cleared the scene of a house fire. Lysander, N.Y. As firefighters battled a house fire Sunday afternoon on River Road, part of the roof collapsed, Onondaga County 911 dispatchers and firefighters said. No injuries have been reported, however additional firefighters and equipment have been called to the scene over the span of an hour and a half, 911 dispatchers said. Multiple people called 911 starting at 2 p.m. to report a fire on the porch at 9284 River Road in the town of Lysander, Onondaga County 911 dispatchers said. Within a couple minutes, callers reported the porch was on fire and spreading to the house. A Belgium Cold Springs volunteer fire chief arrived and confirmed the house was on fire. Firefighters from Belgium Cold Springs, Cody, Liverpool and Phoenix fire departments, and North West Fire District were initially called to the scene. Moyers Corners firefighters were requested to respond a short time later. Then, Caughdenoy volunteer firefighters and eventually Plainvilles cascade unit (responsible for refilling the bottles of the self-contained breathing units worn by the firefighters) were also requested and responded to the scene. Thick black smoke and flames could be seen from the second story of the old-style house. As firefighters battled the fire, Onondaga County sheriffs deputies shut down part of River Road from Greenleafe Drive, a neighborhood in the Onondaga County town of Lysander, to West Bridge Street, the street at the end of River Road that leads to the village of Phoenix in Oswego County. Firefighters remain on scene at 6 p.m. and the road remains closed to all traffic. The six bedroom, 3,882 square foot house was built in 1887, according to Onondaga County property records. Officials on the scene reported everyone inside the home at the time of the fire got out safely, according to 911. The American Red Cross has been requested to help those who lived in the house, officials said. Firefighters battle a house fire Sunday afternoon at 9284 River Road in Lysander.Darian Stevenson | dstevenson@syracuse.com Staff writer Darian Stevenson covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at dstevenson@syracuse.com Have a tip or a story idea? Contact Catie OToole: cotoole@syracuse.com | text/call 315-470-2134 | Twitter | Facebook The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime. by Xinhua writers Yan Jie, Mao Pengfei and Cai Shuya SINGAPORE, June 4 (Xinhua) -- America has found it more difficult than ever to cover up its hidden agenda when peddling the so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy" to Asia-Pacific countries at the just-concluded 20th Shangri-La Dialogue. While making high-sounding claims about "promoting peace, prosperity and progress in the Asia-Pacific through the power of partnership," the United States is virtually stoking division, instigating confrontation and undermining peace in the region. "American leadership" is in fact American hegemony in disguise. Essentially, "American leadership" is dominated by a Cold War mentality and an "America First" doctrine regardless of the interests of its allies, mainly in the form of "coercive diplomacy." In terms of politics and the military, it has never stopped forming blocs by coercing others into taking sides, pushing for a military arms race among Asia-Pacific countries to benefit only itself. Economically, it has repeatedly used the U.S. dollar's global supremacy to export its own crises to emerging markets and developing countries in the region, letting the latter bear the brunt. Moreover, to blunt China's influence in the region, the United States and its allies have been stepping up efforts to exploit the concept of "national security", aiming to weaken China's connections with non-aligned emerging economies. Indeed, we could not agree more with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's saying in his speech during the event that "this region's security and prosperity cannot be taken for granted." Ironically, the security and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific are put under threat by the United States itself. Washington's actions in the region do not match its words. On the one hand, the United States has anchored its "Indo-Pacific strategy" in openness and respect for sovereignty. On the other hand, it rushed to muster Cold-War style groupings such as the AUKUS deal and Quad alliance. Take the Taiwan question, which is at the very heart of China's core interests and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations. On various occasions, U.S. President Joe Biden and many other senior officials of his administration have publicly pledged to stay committed to the one-China policy and not to support "Taiwan independence." But Washington is bent on stirring up tensions across the Taiwan Straits, not least by sending warships and fighter jets, boosting arms sales, ganging up with other countries to intervene in the Taiwan issue, strengthening the so-called "official exchanges" and, most recently, sailing through the Straits. These deliberate provocations are turning the region into a dangerous flashpoint. The U.S. and "Taiwan independence" separatists relying on external forces are indeed the real factors that exacerbate tensions and cause changes in the status quo. Meanwhile, in the South China Sea, the United States has been sending warships and military aircraft, as well as intensifying its military presence, stoking tensions in the region. Beijing, as always, values the development of China-U.S. military relations, and military exchanges between the two sides have not been interrupted. But if the United States appeals for communication while undermining China's interests, and calls for crisis management while continuing its provocations, any talk for the sake of talk is of little use for bilateral relations. Peace and development have become the most valuable global public goods. The Asia-Pacific has broken through havoc caused by war and financial chaos, and achieved development in recent decades. As such, when the world is facing multiple crises rarely seen in history, people in the region understand well that a path of peaceful development, featuring solidarity and win-win cooperation, fits the interests of all. Anna Malindog-Uy, vice president of the Manila-based think tank Asian Century Philippines Strategic Institute, pointed out that Asia-Pacific countries can promote peace and security in their own way, especially "in resolving conflicts of interest and differences." Unlike the "Indo-Pacific strategy" full of geopolitical calculations, the China-proposed Global Security Initiative calls for a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, where no country can strengthen its own security at the expense of others. Clearly, the Asia-Pacific cannot afford to lose peace and development to geopolitical competition or bloc confrontation. Stuck in a hegemonic mentality, the "Indo-Pacific strategy" featuring confrontation over dialogue, alliances over partnerships, and zero-sum over win-win is doomed to fail. vredesbyrd BHPian Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: Freeport 7 Posts: 749 Thanked: 2,613 Times Re: Mahindra Scorpio-N Review 101km - 24 hour Micro Review I will try my best to keep this "Micro" as I will make a proper review once I've hit 500 or 1000km. Booking paid to SA on 23rd Feb 2023, booking done on 7th March. Booking cancelled and made again on 24th March. Production completed and loaded on the transport 25th May, Mean Green Machine picked up yesterday from showroom (31st May) In the last 101km and 24 hours, I've never had so much fun driving a vehicle in my life, ever. I don't want to stop driving, I don't want to get down. Except the mats from the showroom, that are a letdown. The Good: 2.2 mHawk has always been a gem and this one proves it. Smooth and packs a wallop. Easy to get pinned to the seat and passengers getting caught by surprise. Sounds great too. Not audible at idle and below 1500 rpm Good that they left the 4WD with the top tune and no cringy drive modes Handling is very good. Less precise than Vento or Superb but I am having more fun. Is it because of the RWD? 80 kph feels like 40 kph. Speed masking is outstanding Haven't tried off-roading yet but BLD, MLD and 4WL do provide peace of mind Interior is put together very well and the combination of chocolate on black is soothing to the eyes. Blindfold a person and they will think it is an Euro car The AC is a bone-chiller stone-cold killer I am small. To me, the sunroof is very big. The base of the windshield starts at my chin Comfort and ergonomics are well-sorted and seats are very comfortable The part of the center console that is in contact with my left leg feels soft and comfortable. This is a long distance cruiser alright Other vehicles prefer to keep some distance between you and them. Traffic sometimes waits for you at intersections (except those rider loverboy kids on bike with colored broccoli shaped hair and bright red shoes or over-entitled didis barreling down the wrong way at 80 kph.) Cars, bikes and peds look surprised when I stop and let them cross the road Cars, bikes and peds look surprised when I stop and let them cross the road The design is a proper looker and I turn back every time I park it. Everyone else stares at it too. This is the second Scorpio N in the colony and the first ever body-on-frame in our family Tires will squeal if you put your foot down during a turn I will give the music system an A+ rating. Bass is heavy but mids and treble cut through very clear. The track Heritage by Obscura was made for this system. I've never seen anyone every play good music on this system on youtube. I'll try to break that barrier I've never seen anyone every play good music on this system on youtube. I'll try to break that barrier Managed to find a seat position where I have full view of the bonnet and the steering does not touch my stomach or legs. Was there something wrong with the test drive vehicles? The Bad: Android Auto. It does not work 17 times out of 20. Will try the workarounds shared by bhpian Kosfactor The size makes me worry in narrow and crowded areas but then again, this isn't my first big car Mileage is acceptable for now (7-11 kmpl) but hope it goes up after first oil change Mom hasn't got the chance to sit since the ground clearance is too high for her. Workaround in progress ENOUGH TEXT. HERE ARE SOME PHOTOS! Cloak and Dagger: First half-tank about to happen: My ugly mug: The oncoming offender offenders with sequential indicators: Finally at home (notice that monster's poop-colored Safari in the background): Another side profile: At an angle: The quality of paint is first class and the flakes look lovely under direct sunlight: Beautiful both inside and out: Clean instrument cluster with a very classy design: Here's some unlikely music from that fantastic sound system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeqc...ByaWZmcw%3D%3D I guess I'll go cover some kms now so that I could do a much more detailed and larger review. Cheers! P.S. Forgot to add that I've only owned used cars before. This is my first 'new' car ever so it is a big life milestone for me I will try my best to keep this "Micro" as I will make a proper review once I've hit 500 or 1000km.Booking paid to SA on 23rd Feb 2023, booking done on 7th March. Booking cancelled and made again on 24th March.Production completed and loaded on the transport 25th May, Mean Green Machine picked up yesterday from showroom (31st May)In the last 101km and 24 hours, I've never had so much fun driving a vehicle in my life, ever. I don't want to stop driving, I don't want to get down. Except the mats from the showroom, that are a letdown.ENOUGH TEXT. HERE ARE SOME PHOTOS!Cloak and Dagger:First half-tank about to happen:My ugly mug:The oncoming offender offenders with sequential indicators:Finally at home (notice that monster's poop-colored Safari in the background):Another side profile:At an angle:The quality of paint is first class and the flakes look lovely under direct sunlight:Beautiful both inside and out:Clean instrument cluster with a very classy design:Here's some unlikely music from that fantastic sound system:I guess I'll go cover some kms now so that I could do a much more detailed and larger review. Cheers!P.S. Forgot to add that I've only owned used cars before. This is my first 'new' car ever so it is a big life milestone for me Last edited by vredesbyrd : 1st June 2023 at 17:43 . Reason: Smol edit :3 Windows Defender Offline is a standalone software application that is designed to help detect malicious and other potentially unwanted software, including rootkits that try to install themselves on a PC. Once on a PC, this software might run immediately, or it might run at unexpected times. Windows Defender Offline works by scanning an operating system to check the authenticity of any communication the operating system has with the Internet. If there is an application deemed unsafe, it will alert the user and block the contents of the application until the user either accepts or denies the risk. Features New option to display Windows Defender system tray icon even when there are no pending actions needed. Enhanced performance through a new scanning engine. Streamlined, simplified user interface and alerts. Improved control over programs on your computer with enhanced Software Explorer. Multiple language support with globalization and localization features. Protection features for all users, whether or not they have administrator rights on the computer. Support for assistive technology for individuals who have physical or cognitive difficulties, impairments, and disabilities. Support for Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. Automatic cleaning according to your settings during regularly scheduled scans. What's New OTTAWA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Four children were confirmed dead and one man was missing on Saturday after they went fishing in Quebec, Canada, local media reported. The children were among a group of 11 people fishing on the river bank near Portneuf-sur-Mer in the St. Lawrence River Estuary when a rising tide swept them away, the reports said. According to the reports, Quebec provincial police said that the children, all above 10, were found unresponsive and taken to a local health center where a doctor confirmed their deaths. Six were rescued and police are searching for a missing man with all-terrain vehicles and by helicopter. Divers and Canadian Armed Forces soldiers are expected to assist in the search, the reports said. Police investigators and forensic teams have been deployed to find out what happened, the reports said. Cutting corners: Introduced back in 2004, Gmail gave users a more robust alternative to legacy web-based email services such as Yahoo and Hotmail. Today, Gmail is one of the most relied-upon email services in the world, accounting for more than 27% of all email opens and more than 330 billion total emails on any given day. That's a lot of email to sift through, and it's exactly the kind of problem Google wants to help you overcome through the power of machine learning. Millions of users around the world rely on Gmail as their primary email service. And it's no mystery that the sheer number of emails sent and received on a daily basis can make keeping a clean, orderly inbox nothing more than a dream. But help is on the way, according to Google's Workspace Updates team, detailing Gmail's efforts to incorporate machine learning models to enhance its mail search experience. The blog post indicates that Google is introducing a feature that will harness its latest machine learning technologies to deliver more accurate Gmail search results. This technology aims to provide a more targeted and precise set of results. Once in effect, Gmail users initiating searches will be automatically assisted by Google's newly integrated machine learning models. These models will consider the user's search terms and recent emails to yield more relevant results that closely align with the user's search query. The blog post states that AI-assisted results will be presented at the top of the results in a dedicated section, followed by all other typically returned results, arranged by recency. The new feature is being rolled out to all Gmail users with no additional actions or configurations required. Mobile users will simply use the Gmail search bar as normal, entering any keywords required to retrieve relevant and desired search results. The new Gmail search functionality began rolling out via Google's Rapid Release and Scheduled Release cycles on June 2, 2023. Rapid Release makes new features available to consumers as soon as they are rolled out by Google, resulting in no evaluation period and immediate availability. Scheduled Release, Google's default release setting, delays the release of new features so that admins have time to train staff or prepare their organization for the pending change. The Scheduled Release cycle typically begins 1-2 weeks after the Rapid Release deployment cycle. Why it matters: Recently, there has been significant news about China's Electric Vehicle (EV) industry, primarily concerning its statistics. We predict this trend may lead to greater global trade issues. China has become a net exporter of vehicles for the first time in its history. They are selling a lot of EVs to the world, and that will reverberate throughout the global economy. Eurostat, the EU's statistical agency, released the latest data on car trade. China now accounts for nearly 50% of Europe's EV imports. To put this in context, Europeans purchased about 9 million cars in 2022, of which 12%, or 1 million cars, were EVs. Of these, 500,000 originated from China. Editor's Note: Guest author Jonathan Goldberg is the founder of D2D Advisory, a multi-functional consulting firm. Jonathan has developed growth strategies and alliances for companies in the mobile, networking, gaming, and software industries. Further analysis reveals that about half of these were China-made Teslas, with the rest primarily being other Chinese brands. We have derived this data from Eurostat, DW, an insightful report from EU-China think tank Merics, and the Financial Times. This development has led to a substantial shift in trade between Europe and China. China represents an important market for European car manufacturers. For years, they have engaged in joint ventures in China to produce low and mid-priced vehicles, meaning most of these exports were luxury cars. The trade balance was previously around $3 billion to $5 billion in Europe's favor. However, over the past two years, with a significant acceleration in the past 12 months, the balance has shifted. It still favors Europe, but it has fallen to approximately $2 billion. Almost all of this shift is attributed to EVs. China is clearly on the rise, not just in EV production, but as a major player on the global export stage. We warned about this in January, and evidence of this rise is becoming increasingly prominent in trade data. From a broader perspective, economist Brad Setser recently tweeted data showing the surge in China's overall automotive exports in the past year. China is now a net exporter of cars probably for the first time in its history, and most of this growth is attributed to electric cars. This transition carries important implications. The most obvious is the potential escalation of trade tensions. The US and China have been in a trade war for several years, and we believe this latest data significantly raises the probability of the EU getting involved. The pace at which China has emerged as a major auto exporter and now a major net exporter of autos is stunning. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/Fk7qNapAkb Brad Setser (@Brad_Setser) April 25, 2023 Secondly, one of China's major weaknesses in its ascent to manufacturing prominence this century has been its companies' inability to establish brands. Many consumers purchase numerous Chinese-made products, yet we can name fewer than a dozen Chinese brands recognizable to consumers outside of China. These notable exceptions include smartphone brands like BBK's Oppo, Vivo, One Plus, Xiaomi, and Transsion's various brands. Brand owners can command a larger share of value, and the ability to achieve globally recognized brands represents a significant step in economic development. Chinese automakers now appear to be accomplishing this in one of the wealthiest industries. To relate this back to semiconductors, we believe this trade data carries two important implications. First, as we have detailed extensively, EVs require a significant number of semiconductors. Except for Tesla, most of China's EVs are fairly low-priced, but even these vehicles necessitate substantial semiconductor content. The low prices are likely to further stimulate the transition to EVs, which is generally beneficial for the semiconductor industry. Second, from a trade perspective, one of the major concerns regarding US sanctions on China's semiconductors has been the willingness of allied countries to participate. For US sanctions to be effective, the US government needs support from other countries, especially Japan, South Korea, and Europe all home to significant automotive industries. We think it's probable that trade data like this will encourage these countries to take notice and be more accepting of US sanctions. In particular, Germany, which has seemed somewhat resistant to the US expanding trade measures against China, might reconsider its stance with the cornerstone of its industrial model potentially at risk. Artificial intelligence (AI) has raised concerns among national security experts, who warn that it could pose a threat to national security if not carefully regulated. Jonathan Hall KC, the terror watchdog responsible for reviewing terrorism legislation in the UK, urged AI creators to move away from their "tech utopian" mindset and consider how terrorists might exploit the technology, according to a report by The Guardian. Hall emphasized the need to design AI with strong defenses against potential malicious uses. Terrorism Threats Hall expressed particular concern about AI chatbots being used to groom vulnerable individuals, potentially persuading them to carry out terrorist attacks. The security services, including MI5, are alarmed by the possibility of AI chatbots targeting children, who are increasingly becoming part of their terror caseload. The suggestibility of humans immersed in AI environments raises worries about language manipulation and its potential to influence people's actions. With the growing demand for AI regulation, it is anticipated that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will discuss the issue during his visit to the US, where he will engage with President Biden and congressional figures. In the UK, efforts to tackle the national security challenges posed by AI are escalating. To address these concerns, MI5 has established a partnership with the Alan Turing Institute, the national institution specializing in data science and AI. This collaboration demonstrates the UK's earnest approach to addressing AI-related security issues. Experts stress the significance of upholding "cognitive autonomy" and controlling AI systems. Alexander Blanchard, a digital ethics research fellow at the Alan Turing Institute, highlights the necessity for policymakers in defense and security to remain well-informed about AI applications and the associated threats they bring. Blanchard underscores the importance of comprehending risks and their implications for future technologies. Read Also: NVIDIA's New AI Tech Makes NPC Interactions More Natural! Here's What To Know About Avatar Cloud Engine Greater Transparency Greater transparency from AI technology firms is crucial, according to Hall. Companies should disclose the number of staff and moderators employed and ensure effective guardrails are in place to prevent misuse. Hall calls for clarity on public safety measures, urging companies, even small ones, to devote sufficient resources to safeguarding against potential harm. Hall also suggests that new legislation may be necessary to address the terrorism threat posed by AI, particularly in relation to lethal autonomous weapons. The danger lies in devices equipped with AI that can independently select targets, raising questions about intent and accountability. Hall warns against the potential use of such weapons by terrorists seeking deniability and the ability to launch attacks without human intervention. As AI continues to advance, governments worldwide are seeking to strike a balance between harnessing its potential benefits and mitigating the risks it poses to national security by coming up with new laws and turning to old ones. Related Article: Apple Now Hiring Generative AI Talents! Will iPhone Finally Have Artificial Intelligence Integrations? 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized various industries, including art and creativity. Artists are now utilizing AI-based tools to generate incredibly realistic images. Recently, a Twitter account named Not Jerome Powell shared a post that caught the attention of millions. The post featured an adorable AI-generated image of none other than Elon Musk but as a baby. In the picture, Musk sported brown dungarees paired with a white shirt, giving him an endearingly innocent appearance. "Way Out of Hand" Accompanying the image was a witty caption that humorously stated, "BREAKING: Elon Musk was reportedly working on some anti-aging formula, but it got way out of hand." The post quickly gained traction, amassing an impressive 2.3 million views, 2,499 retweets, 357 quotes, and 36.1 thousand likes. Unable to resist joining the fun, Elon Musk himself couldn't help but respond to the viral baby picture. In jest, he quipped, "Guys, I think I maybe took too much." Not Jerome Powell seized the opportunity to play along, responding with a lighthearted comment, "Now you have enough time to get to Mars." BREAKING: Elon Musk was reportedly working on some anti aging formula but it got way out of hand pic.twitter.com/uvAkWI3FgT Not Jerome Powell (@alifarhat79) June 3, 2023 While the humorous baby picture of Elon Musk brought joy to social media, the billionaire was also making waves during his business trip to China. Upon his arrival in Beijing, Musk wasted no time engaging in high-level discussions, meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister Gang. The main agenda was to discuss Tesla's plans for further expansion in China, with Musk expressing his opposition to the concept of "decoupling." This interaction showcased the strong relationship between China and Elon Musk, earning him the endearing moniker of "Brother Ma" since his arrival. Elon Musk's visit did not go unnoticed, as top ministers from various Chinese government departments warmly welcomed the esteemed billionaire. Musk received a 5-star treatment comparable to Jack Ma, the co-founder of Alibaba Group, highlighting his high value in China. Read Also: Elon Musk: Twitter Blue Subscription Now Allows 8GB Video Uploads! Fans Share How They'll Use It The excitement surrounding Elon Musk's presence was not limited to government officials. Even the residents of Beijing eagerly anticipated his visit. In fact, an online survey conducted on Weibo sought to determine the best food to serve the billionaire. With over 13,000 votes, options such as the street snack "tang halu," the mung bean dish "douzhi," and the renowned Peking duck were suggested. Ultimately, Elon Musk was treated to a lavish 16-course meal he shared with battery executive Zeng Yuqun at the renowned Man Fu Ya restaurant. Related Article: Tesla: US Senators Call Out Elon Musk for Using Arbitration on Employees and Customer Complaints Alike 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has raised concerns about the safety of storing funds in digital payment apps such as Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App. In an issue spotlight report, the CFPB highlights the potential risks associated with these apps, as funds stored in them may not have the same level of protection as traditional bank accounts. CFPB Director Rohit Chopra emphasized that while these payment apps are increasingly used as alternatives to traditional banking, they lack the necessary safeguards to ensure the safety of funds. "As tech companies expand into banking and payments, the CFPB is sharpening its focus on those that sidestep the safeguards that local banks and credit unions have long adhered to," Chopra said in a press release statement. The Rise of Nonbank Payment Apps The use of nonbank payment apps has witnessed significant growth in recent years, with more than three-quarters of adults in the United States using a payment app. Younger customers, in particular, heavily rely on these services, with approximately 85 percent of consumers aged 18 to 29 using a payment app. One of the main concerns highlighted by the CFPB is that when users receive payments through these apps, the funds are not automatically transferred to their linked bank or credit union accounts. Instead, the companies hold and invest the funds, activities not subject to the same level of oversight as insured banks or credit unions. These apps also generate revenue through fees on merchants and other services, such as selling cryptocurrencies and offering financial products. Furthermore, funds stored in payment app accounts often lack deposit insurance, according to the agency. It explains that the companies do not necessarily store customer funds in insured accounts through arrangements with banks or credit unions. In the event of a company's failure, customers could risk losing their funds, as the investments made by these companies carry inherent risks. Read Also: Apple's Tap to Pay Feature on iPhone Will Support PayPal and Venmo Lack of Specific Information The issue spotlight report also claimed that there is a lack of specific information in user agreements for digital payment apps. According to the agency, these agreements often lack important details such as where funds are held or invested, whether and under what conditions they may be insured, and the implications of a company or fund holder's failure. Although some states are implementing policies to ensure that digital payment apps meet their obligations, CFPB said these regulations generally do not require customer funds to be stored in or automatically transferred to insured accounts. The CFPB plans to collaborate with state and federal regulators to oversee this particular aspect of the payments industry and implement necessary actions. To address the potential risks, the CFPB has issued a consumer advisory, guiding customers who store funds in payment apps. Until these apps are designed to transfer balances to insured accounts automatically, consumers may need to take proactive steps to move their stored balances to safer locations. Related Article: PayPal and Venmo Sees Transfer Fee Increase with a Minimum of $0.25 to $25 Max 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google has issued a security warning to its vast user base of 1.8 billion Gmail users after a critical flaw was discovered in one of its newest security features. Introduced recently, the Gmail checkmark system aimed to provide users with a way to identify verified companies and organizations through a blue checkmark, helping them differentiate between legitimate emails and potential scams. However, cybercriminals have found a way to exploit this system, raising concerns about the security of Gmail, reported first by Forbes. Cybersecurity Engineers Discovers Gmail Flaw The discovery was made by cybersecurity engineer Chris Plummer, who noticed that scammers had successfully deceived Gmail into recognizing their fake brands as legitimate. By leveraging this flaw, scammers have undermined the trust that the checkmark system was designed to inspire among Gmail users. Plummer explains, "The sender found a way to dupe @gmail's authoritative stamp of approval, which end users are going to trust. This message went from a Facebook account, to a UK netblock, to O365, to me. Nothing about this is legit." Initially, Google dismissed Plummer's findings, considering it to be "intended behavior." However, when Plummer's tweets about the issue gained significant attention, Google acknowledged the error. In a statement to Plummer, the company admitted the mistake and assured him that the appropriate team was investigating the matter further. The flaw's severity was subsequently recognized, with Google prioritizing it as a 'P1' fix, signifying its top priority status. "After taking a closer look we realized that this indeed doesn't seem like a generic SPF vulnerability. Thus we are reopening this and the appropriate team is taking a closer look at what is going on," Google said in a statement. "We apologize again for the confusion and we understand our initial response might have been frustrating, thank you so much for pressing on for us to take a closer look at this! We'll keep you posted with our assessment and the direction that this issue takes." Read Also: Google Pixel 8 Pro's Built-In Thermometer Spotted! Device's First Leaked Video Shows Other Changes Google's warning serves as a reminder that even advanced security features can have vulnerabilities. Ongoing vigilance is crucial, and users should be cautious when engaging with email communications. The efforts by Google to address the issue indicate their commitment to ensuring the integrity and security of the Gmail platform. Plummer's contribution to identifying this vulnerability is noteworthy since he took it to Twitter to make sure the issue got traction and that Google eventually recognized the issue, which ultimately prompted a response from the company. Related Article: Google Accounts Deletion: Two Years of Inactivity May Lead to Losing Your Data, Says New Policy 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Archaeologists have made a remarkable discovery at a dig site in China's Xinjiang region, unearthing what could potentially be the world's oldest known saddle, according to a report by the SCMP. The saddle, found in the tomb of a female at the Yanghai cemetery in the Turpan Basin, dates back an astonishing 2,700 years, shedding light on the significant role Xinjiang played in the history of horse riding during the first millennium BC. Early Stages of Saddle Making The study confirms that the saddle from Yanghai marks the early stages of saddle-making. A team of international researchers from Switzerland, China, Germany, Britain, and Russia participated in the excavation, highlighting the global significance of the findings. The tomb revealed intriguing details about the woman's attire, despite the decay of most of her clothes. She was adorned in a hide coat, woolen trousers, and short leather boots, with a leather saddle positioned beneath her buttocks as if she were seated upon it. The saddle's design displayed striking similarities to modern-day saddles, consisting of two oval-shaped cushion pads, four support elements in the corners, and a central channel. Radiocarbon dating placed the creation of the saddle between 727 BC and 396 BC. The cushions were made from cowhide and filled with a combination of deer, camel hair, and straw. This remarkable discovery predates previously confirmed Scythian saddles from the Altai region and eastern Kazakhstan, suggesting that the Yanghai saddle may be the earliest of its kind known to date. The ancient tombs found in the southeast of modern Turpan are attributed to the Subeixi culture, which can be traced back 3,000 years. While the presence of the saddle does not mark the introduction of horse riding to the region, it offers valuable insights into the evolution of saddle technology and its impact on the comfort and safety of both riders and horses. Additionally, the Yanghai cemetery has revealed the discovery of bridles in tombs dating from the 10th to the 3rd centuries BC, indicating the existence of a community of mounted pastoralists in the vicinity. Read Also: Archaeologists Detect 4,000-year-old DNA in Mass Burial Sites, Sheds Light on Great Britain's Plague Community of Mounted Pastorialists The woman interred alongside the saddle is believed to have been part of a community of mounted pastoralists residing in the nearby steppes or mountains. Alternatively, she might have acquired the saddle through contact with these pastoralists. This significant finding highlights the rich cultural and historical significance of the Xinjiang region, underscoring its pivotal role in shaping the early traditions of horsemanship. As archaeologists continue to explore and uncover ancient relics, the finding of this ancient saddle opens a window into the distant past, shedding light on the early development of saddle technology and its importance in the evolution of horse riding. The Yanghai saddle stands as a testament to human ingenuity and innovation, providing a tangible connection to our equestrian ancestors and their remarkable achievements in horsemanship. Related Article: Ancient Engravings in Jordan, Saudi Arabia May Point to Oldest Construction Plans Ever Discovered 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Chinese astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming, and Zhang Lu have successfully completed their six-month mission on China's Tiangong space station and returned safely to Earth. According to reports from Chinese media, the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft carrying the astronauts touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in China's Inner Mongolia region on Saturday, June 3, marking the end of their historic journey. This mission, hailed as a "complete success," further solidifies China's presence in space exploration. Historic Space Endeavor Space.com reports that the Shenzhou 15 crew, led by mission commander Fei Junlong, embarked on their mission on November 29, launching from Jiuquan in northwest China. They were part of the first-ever crew handover on the Tiangong space station, taking over control from the Shenzhou 14 crew in early December. The crew then welcomed the incoming Shenzhou 16 astronauts on May 29, marking another milestone for China's rapidly advancing space program. Upon their return, Fei expressed his satisfaction with the mission's outcome: "We are feeling good." According to the China Manned Space Agency, he and his crewmates emerged from the return capsule in good physical condition. This mission was particularly significant for Deng Qingming, who had been waiting nearly 26 years since being selected as one of China's first batch of astronauts in 1997. Deng shared his gratitude for the experience, emphasizing the power of dreams and persistence. Read Also: NASA's Webb Spots Massive Plume from Saturn Moon Spanning Nearly the Distance from LA to Buenos Aires Successful Spacewalks, Experiments Chinese news agency Xinhua reports that during their time aboard the Tiangong space station, the Shenzhou 15 crew conducted four spacewalks, setting a national record. A wide range of scientific experiments and outreach activities complemented these extravehicular activities. The Straits Times reports that some notable tests included the use of a two-photon microscope to image an astronaut's skin, testing a free-piston Stirling thermoelectric converter, and conducting experiments in the combustion chamber. The Tiangong space station boasts two science modules equipped with various experiment racks to facilitate groundbreaking research. What's Next? As the Shenzhou 15 crew returns to Earth, the new Shenzhou 16 astronauts will continue their mission on the Tiangong space station. They are expected to remain on board until November, when they will be relieved by the Shenzhou 17 crew. China's long-term objective is to maintain the operational status of the Tiangong space station for at least a decade, ensuring a permanent presence in space exploration. China's significant investments in its space program reflect its ambition to catch up with established space powers like the United States and Russia. Beijing has set its sights on sending a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030 and establishing a lunar base in the future. With successful missions like Shenzhou 15, China's space program continues to make impressive strides, expanding humanity's understanding of space and paving the way for future breakthroughs. Stay posted here at Tech Times. Related Article: Frame-by-Frame SpaceX Starship Analysis Conducted by Chinese Scientists! Will They Copy the Rocket? 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. How to get arrested in Russia? Just wear blue and yellow 4 June, 01:29 PM Russian security forces believe that the public display of blue and yellow items is prohibited (Photo:REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov) Russian local security officials are so eager to fulfil Russias draconian laws that they punish the public display of blue and yellow items, believing it to be a sign of hidden support of Ukraine, UK Defence Intelligence reported on Twitter on June 4. For this reason, a nursing home employee was arrested on May 9 because of a blue and yellow jacket he wore. Read also: Russia arrests hypersonic missile engineers Ironically, a 22-year-old man from Volkhov, near St. Petersburg, was recently arrested after showing the blue and yellow flag of the Russian Aerospace Forces. "The clampdown highlights uncertainty within paranoid Russian officials of what is and is not deemed permissible within an increasingly totalitarian system," the intelligence wrote. Video of day In a somewhat surprising move, the ultra-nationalist, pro-war Liberal Democratic party criticized these detentions, though this likely has to do with the partys colors being blue and yellow. 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 Ivan Saez turns the Country Club into a 'gastro' destination with its fine cuisine of tradition and product Attack in Annecy: who is Henri, the "hero with the backpack" who made the aggressor flee? What happens in the brain of mothers after childbirth In a scrapyard, a church, a volcano or a train car, these are some of the rarest places in Spain to eat (and very well) "People acted on the basis of the logic of "good tsar - bad boyars": 375 years ago, the Salt Riot began in Moscow Finistere: an 11-year-old girl shot dead after the shooting of a neighbor, her father seriously wounded New games: Come on, we need to talk or not? Fire near Juterbog: "The weather and the extinguishing measures had an effect" Feng Jicai: Intangible cultural heritage students do not come out of the classroom, but from the field The Pope captured and baptized him to serve the renaissance of Christian Europe. Al-Hassan Al-Wazzan - a Muslim traveler nicknamed "Leon the African" "We're just waiting for a beautiful match": spectators eager to attend the final of Roland-Garros After more than 50 years of absence, Ferrari wins the 24 Hours of Le Mans Cycling: the Dane Vingegaard flies over the 75th edition of the Criterium du Dauphine a few weeks before the Tour de France Wage dispute in confectionery industry: Employees of biscuit and candy manufacturers are not allowed to strike Tourists entering and exiting affect travel How to avoid check-in and interruption in front of the Internet? Bank deposit interest rate drops to "2 era" Where should the money be put after that? "Invite newcomers for 1 yuan for a drink" Can the little red cup beat the little blue cup? 17.9 yuan to solve three meals, are you willing to pay for the "leftover blind box"? Train and bus operators put on sale this summer tickets with discounts of 90% for young people The Hainan Free Trade Port operates around the island-wide customs closure operation to promote a higher level of rule of law Against the backdrop of the scandal of Johnson's concerts at Government House. British opposition demands general election Even Japan wants more foreign workers. And allow them to stay forever Smuggler's case is taken up in the Court of Appeal lawyer hopes for acquittal More than a century after its completion. Remains of missing soldiers of World War I increasingly found FT: Ukraine's admission to the European Union will result in budget cuts for other countries Guardians of the plain and its faculties. Women on a "national mission" in Palestinian Deir Ballout Kennedy Jr. said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost about 350 thousand people on the front line Snowden said that he did not plan to initially stay in Russia The wedding of Sol de Medina and Pedro Dominguez-Manjon brings together Spanish and international high society in Seville They create the first European Sex Championship, in which the actress Selva Lapiedra will represent Spain Against the background of the investigation into the parties scandal. Johnson resigns from British parliament and puts new pressure on Sunak The first Turkish woman to hold this position. Erdogan appoints Hafiza chief staff of the Central Bank The AfD faction demands that the German authorities investigate Kiev's involvement in the undermining of the joint venture Bob Dylan in Madrid: a lot of nostalgia, a lot of squawking and no known song The US State Department will purchase video equipment for the police of Ukraine Billions released to Iran abroad. How did America agree and what is the fate of the nuclear deal? Zelensky keeps quiet about the details of the counterattack. Russia repels attacks in Donetsk, Zabarozhia and Kiev advance on the Bakhamut axis Four women die, three of them minors, in a traffic accident in Collado Villalba 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. " " Death by roller coaster seems extreme for even the most intense adrenaline junkies. Brian Berman/Getty Images If you only had months to live, would you rather wither away in a hospital bed or go out on the ride of your life? That's the concept behind the euthanasia coaster, a most extreme thrill ride. A Lithuania-born engineer, artist and former amusement park employee, Julijonas Urbonas made headlines in 2010 with his provocative design for a euthanasia coaster, a roller coaster expressly designed to thrill and then kill its riders. Advertisement "Current euthanasia machines are medicalized, secularized, sterilized," said Urbonas in a video about his death coaster. "It's a euthanasia machine in the form of a roller coaster, engineered to humanely, and with euphoria and pleasure kill a human being." Urbonas built the coaster's scale model, which at full size would send riders plummeting down a 1,640-foot (500-meter) near-vertical drop before entering the first of seven consecutive (and consecutively tighter) loops. The incredible speed of the drop coupled with the rapid inversions would subject riders to sustained 10 G-forces for a full minute. The excessive gravitational forces would rush blood to the extremities, starving the brain of oxygen. After losing consciousness, brain death would quickly follow. "At first, what was designed was just the fatal falling trajectory with no purpose but one: to kill the rider pleasurably and elegantly," he told the publication Ladbible in 2021. "It was a sort of a designed thought experiment of what the ultimate roller coaster would be like and what possible usages it would be open to ... [like] an alternative death ritual appealing to both the individual and the mourning public." Urbonas also told Ladbible that the hypothetical euthanasia machine was engineered with the help of scientists and experts from areas like aerodynamics. His intention was not to convince people that it would be built but rather that it could be built. "It makes the public immerse themselves in the narrative and forces them to think about such sensitive issues," he said. Interestingly, this wasn't Urbonas' first roller coaster (although hopefully the first to intentionally kill someone). He worked as a ride designer at several Lithuanian amusement parks before moving to London to pursue a Ph.D. in design interactions. A TikTok video explaining the euthanasia coaster went viral in 2021, sparking renewed interest. But as of the time of this publication, the euthanasia roller coaster remains just a concept. Navigating the Transfer Market: Chelseas Midfield Conundrum Chelseas 35m Ask for Kovacic In a move that hints at an impending reshuffle in the Chelsea midfield, Mateo Kovacic could well be on his way out, with the London club placing a tag of 35m on the Croatia international. As reported by Tom Gott and Graeme Bailey for 90min.com, the move comes amidst substantial interest from Premier League champions Manchester City. Manchester Citys Midfield Makeover The Eastlands club have shown strong intent in pursuing Kovacic, making noteworthy progress in their negotiations. The 29-year-old midfielder, with just a year remaining on his current Chelsea contract, seems poised for a move up north, with personal terms believed to have been agreed upon in principle. However, for those eager to see Kovacic in Citys sky blue, patience will be the key. Any formal announcement is not anticipated until after the Champions League final, scheduled for 10 June, with Citys master tactician, Pep Guardiola, keeping the focus solely on the European challenge against Serie A powerhouses Inter. Kovacics Legacy at Chelsea Arriving at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2018 on loan from Real Madrid, Kovacic quickly cemented his place in the Chelsea midfield. The former Inter player has amassed a total of 221 appearances for the Blues, contributing six goals and 15 assists across competitions. His potential departure would signal the end of a significant era in the clubs recent history. Chelseas Plan for Midfield Reinforcement Chelseas preparedness to part ways with Kovacic is believed to be fuelled by the desire to strengthen their midfield ranks. The club has reportedly set its sights on Manuel Ugarte from Sporting CP, Moises Caicedo of Brighton, and West Hams Declan Rice. This move not only reaffirms Chelseas long-standing interest in the West Ham midfielder but also reflects the clubs strategic approach in the transfer market making necessary player sales to fund targeted acquisitions. Guardiolas Own Midfield Shuffle While Guardiolas interest in Kovacic indicates a desire for midfield augmentation, the City manager is simultaneously managing potential departures. Notably, Citys midfield lynchpin Ilkay Gundogan is rumoured to be in talks for a possible free transfer to Barcelona. These ongoing discussions form part of an intricate transfer web across top European clubs, with the domino effects set to reshape the contours of the Premier League and beyond. Only time will tell how these impending moves could impact the fortunes of Manchester City and Chelsea in the forthcoming season. Australias online watchdog has rejected plans put forward by the industry to make online messaging services, dating apps and multiplayer games safer, saying the proposed rules dont go far enough. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant was handed powers by the last government to regulate much of the internet via industry codes that force technology giants to combat child abuse and other illegal material online. Inman Grant approved draft codes for six areas of the internet, including social media and web hosting, last week. But she knocked back two, with one for file storage apps such as iCloud and Dropbox rejected along with one for messaging platforms on the basis that they did not do enough to require scanning for illegal photos and videos. Australias eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, was handed powers by the last government to regulate much of the internet via industry codes. Credit: Louie Douvis Were talking about the worst-of-the-worst online content here, often illegal content, including child sexual abuse material and pro-terror content, Inman Grant said. Consumerist delusion infects every one of Willys values his hollow insistence on being well-liked looks galling viewed from an era that literally monetises likes; his obsession with material success drives him to the inexorable conclusion hes worth more dead than alive; his treatment of women poisons his sons. This production will be a revalation to anyone seeing it live for the first time. Credit: Jack Dixon-Gunn Toxic masculinity is transmitted to Biff (Charlie Cousins) and Happy (Ross Dwyer) like some ancient curse an intergenerational trauma that displays to piercing effect just how destructive patriarchal mythmaking is to men. And Margot Knights Linda isnt a passive bystander shes complicit in a way that makes her grief-stricken final requiem more profoundly wounding. Supporting cast changes excepting Joe Petruzzi as the Lomans affable, pragmatic neighbour Charley dont improve upon last years season, and production design (especially the lighting) remains weak compared to the four central performances. But those charge Millers tragedy with an intensely rendered pathos that should prove a revelation to anyone experiencing it live for the first time. Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead MUSIC What If Music Music Market, Collingwood Yards, June 10 For more than 40 years now, The Boite has been shining a light on culturally diverse music in Melbourne. The Boites director Zulya Kamalova is keen to not only provide a platform for musicians to share their cultures, but also to encourage the creation of new musical pathways and connections. Firetail contributed original music to the evening. Credit: Courtesy of The Boite What If Music a project that blends Balinese gamelan traditions with electric jazz grew out of a Boite panel discussion earlier this year, exploring the potential of intercultural collaborations. On Saturday night, we heard that potential brought vividly to life, as members of Gamelan DanAnda and Mahindra Bali joined forces with electro-jazz fusion outfit Firetail. This was the ensembles debut performance, but behind it lay many months of discussion, exchange and experimentation. The concert incorporated both traditional Balinese music and original tunes by Firetail, but the unique combination of instruments and approaches produced the effect of a new and thoroughly beguiling musical language. On one tune, Ria Soemardjos gloriously melismatic vocals slid over a gracefully strummed Javanese zither; on another, the singer launched into a brisk passage of konnakol (South Indian vocal percussion) with Keshav Yoganathan. Ketut Sutena, Jeremy Dullard and John Cheong-Holdaway moved with ease from one gamelan instrument to another, their wooden hammers dancing in perfect unison or forging intricate, interlocking patterns on shimmering metallophones, bamboo xylophones, gongs and double-headed drums. Firetails saxophonist Anna Gordon played a central role in shaping the jazz elements of the music, offering sinuous interpretations of Balinese melodies or adding a funky, muscular swagger to harness the ensembles shifting time signatures and bubbling polyrhythms. The final tune (Cant Sleep) featured kettle gongs galloping alongside bongos and congas, with woozy, theremin-like synths sending the musicians into outer space before they locked in tight for a gleeful sprint to the finish line. Reviewed by Jessica Nicholas MUSIC Sleaford Mods The Forum, June 3 Its comedy, its make-do, its ignorant and above all, its shit. Thats Sleaford Mods Jason Williamson describing England four albums ago. The neo-punk bard of Nottingham is far from ignorant. But as a Frenchman once said, you are what you eat. Sleaford Mods perform at The Forum in Melbourne on Saturday. Credit: Rick Clifford Heres how Sleaford Mods make do. Williamson barks his apoplectic vignettes of class farce, doom and squalor in side-profile to scorching lights. Andrew Fearn dances like the beardy guy at aerobics, stopping only to click-start each track on his laptop. The minimalism is a big part of the deal. The intensity is hilarious. The rupturing electro grooves are compelling. The Forum is packed. The imagery is mostly impenetrable even to the English bloke I chat to with the T-shirt bearing Johnny Rottens last words with the Sex Pistols: Ever get the feeling youve been cheated? Loading Nobody here feels cheated. Eighty bucks for a guy shouting over a laptop? We shrug and buy another $14 beer, cheer at the featured artists singing from the laptop: Florence Shaw on Force 10 From Navarone, Billy Nomates on Mork n Mindy, Perry Farrell on So Trendy. This being Melbourne and everything, Amyl & the Sniffers Amy Taylor actually is in the room. She stays in her seat as her disembodied voice kicks in on Nudge It. Sod it, thatll do. The Mods slam out 25 tunes about Englands losers, brawling in Sainsburys carpark, blaming foreigners for COVID, seething at the boss, hiding online purchases from the missus. UK GRIM, Tilldipper, Giddy on the Ciggies, Jobseeker, Bang Someone Out and Smash Each Other Up sound exactly like the records because thatll do. We austerity tourists like to keep it real. But compare the lust for life raging from the drums and guitars of local punk-shoegaze support act Enola. Singer Ruby Marshall looks fantastic, sounds hungry, every word and move laser-focused on transcendence. Their road wont be easy. But they sure live in the lucky country. Reviewed by Michael Dwyer THEATRE Climbers Fever103 Theatre, fortyfivedownstairs, until June 11 Secret societies have a mysterious allure, a whiff of danger about them. Elly DArcys new play springs from a real one the Night Climbers of Cambridge. This bold cabal scaled gothic rooftops of university colleges and town buildings in the 1930s, and prefigured what we now know as urban explorers. Books describing its activities are still popular among Cambridge students, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the playwrights research could find not a single woman member. Climbers at fortyfivedownstairs draws upon a real-life secret society. Credit: Harrison Baker Climbers writes one into the gap. Like her Shakespearean namesake, Rosalind (Meg Taranto) is a spirited and intelligent young woman with a taste for adventure. Never one to let gender stand in the way of experiencing life to its fullest, Rosalind gatecrashes the Night Climbers and soon matches Fred (Eddie Orton), George (Charlie Veitch), and Alex (Sebastian Li) for poetry and drinking, blood oaths and intrepid daredevilry. Will she ever truly be one of the boys? Rosalinds romantic and sexual discoveries are experienced as liberating, but her coming-of-age story is also an awakening to the shackles of patriarchal culture. Misogyny is rampant, and she must work twice as hard and speak half as much to achieve the same recognition as a man. Rosalinds coming-of-age story is also an awakening to the shackles of patriarchal culture. Credit: Harrison Baker For Rosalinds roommate Lucy (Veronica Pena Negrette) that misogyny has terrible consequences, and the drama builds to a powerful scene which juxtaposes the joy of Rosalinds first sexual encounter with the aftermath of Lucys violation. From there, the two young women show true courage, defying institutional silence to stage a daring protest, with a counterpoint to the boys club a womens communist brigade led by the ferocious Ruth (Tyallah Bullock) standing in solidarity. The production has charm, notably stylish set and costume design, and a large cast of emerging performers finding their feet. Taranto is luminous, fully inhabiting the heroine; Negrette a quietly devastating force. And the young male characters sketch their types with brisk economy. Climbers does feel like it would be better condensed into a 90-minute play, or perhaps expanded into a miniseries to give the characters and historical setting more depth. Contemporary sexual politics also loom large over DArcys feminist fantasy, in a way that militates against dramatic complexity and sometimes whitewashes historical reality. The production has charm, notably stylish set and costume design, and a large cast of emerging performers finding their feet. Credit: Harrison Baker It was impossible to legally consent to sodomy in the 1930s, for instance, and homosexuality was generally regarded with the same disgust as, say, rape or paedophilia are today. One feelgood scene obscures this. On the other hand, even consensual sex with a woman could get young men banished from Cambridge as poet William Empson was in the late 1920s a fact that makes some later dialogue and action sound anachronistic. Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead MUSIC Across Silence: The Art of Music, Auslan and Haptics Tempo Rubato, June 4 If the mere title of this show is enough to set one thinking, the technology behind it is as dazzling as it is awe-inspiring. Melbourne bassist/producer Kylie Davies wanted to present hearing and deaf artists together on stage, and find a way for them to participate as creative equals in a music and Auslan-based performance. In Across Silence, wireless vibro-tactile vests translated sound into intricate vibrations. Credit: Roger Mitchell The solution? Wireless vibro-tactile vests (developed by US company Music: Not Impossible) that translate sound into intricate vibrations via 24 touchpoints on the skin. On Sunday, two remarkable artists actor Marnie Kerridge and poet Walter Kadiki performed poems in Auslan while individual frequencies from the piano, clarinet, double bass and sung vocals vibrated across their hands, feet, backs, shoulders and chests. The exquisite music was composed by Andrea Keller, with lyrics drawn from poems written in decades or centuries past (by Yeats, Walt Whitman and others) or devised spontaneously in the moment. As Gian Slaters gloriously pure voice wove in and out of the chamber-like arrangements for Kellers piano, Davies bass and Natasha Fearnsides clarinet, Kerridge added gracefully expressive gestures in Auslan. Her flowing movements were poetic evocations rather than literal translations, effortlessly enhancing the emotional impact of the lyrics. Across Silence was a unique creative experiment. Credit: Roger Mitchell Walter Kadiki was equally mesmerising as he performed his own poetry (also set to music by Keller), with Auslan interpreter Amber Richardson translating his gestures into spoken words. Using breath, movement and vivid facial expressions, Kadikis visual poetry was as potent as the words that accompanied them, evoking joy, longing, despair and hope as the music swelled and subsided around and within him. During the concert, additional haptic vests were shared among deaf and hard-of-hearing audience members so that they, too, could feel the music. Watching their reactions as they experienced the vibrations was often as moving as the performance itself, and I left feeling awed and deeply privileged to have witnessed this unique creative experiment. Reviewed by Jessica Nicholas MUSIC Garrick Ohlsson Musica Viva, Melbourne Recital Centre, June 3 Last visiting on the cusp of COVID, American pianist Garrick Ohlsson has made a welcome return to Melbourne, confirming his undeniable artistic prowess in a program that radiated conviction and finesse. Ohlssons extraordinary grasp of musical architecture was immediately apparent in Schuberts popular Impromptu in C minor, where his elegant control of musical line was beautifully complemented by a subtle sense of colour in both the inner and outer parts. Garrick Ohlsson has made a welcome return to Melbourne. Credit: Lyndon Mechielsen A surefooted sense of musical direction also pervaded an authoritative account of Liszts titanic Sonata in B minor, in which Ohlsson projected a masterful sense of musical background and foreground. Unafraid to unleash the sonatas dramatic vehemence, Ohlsson was also capable of moments of heart-stopping tenderness, not least at the works end. Occasionally Ohlssons no-nonsense approach to pacing created a longing for a little more silence between the musics rhetorical utterances, but such a celebrated work admits many interpretations. Most Australian distilleries buy alcohol to make gin and vodka from corporate agribusinesses rather than distil it themselves, and there are claims the practice is cheating consumers. Gin and vodka are typically made with alcohol fermented from grain, but gin is infused with additional ingredients - juniper berries and other botanicals that give it flavour. Some Australian distillers who make their own alcohol from scratch have criticised the practice of buying in base alcohol and called for better labelling to create transparency. Prominent distilleries such as Archie Rose and Four Pillars are among the brands that use a base spirit purchased from companies such as Manildra Group. We are looking for the cleanest possible base spirit for us to distil our botanicals to let the botanical flavours, not the residual base spirit, shine, an Archie Rose spokesman said. The Phantom of the Opera wound up its record-breaking, 30-month run at the Princess Theatre last night. People queue for tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera at Princess Theatre. Credit: Sandy Scheltema MORE than 284 bottles of champagne, dozens of plates of Asian-inspired finger food, streamers, flowers and tears... First published in The Age on June 6, 1993 Gone are the 4000 tourists who came weekly, and the daily queues on Spring Street of diehards waiting for cancelled tickets. The musical Cats will return to fill the vacuum at the theatre after a short season of the ballet Beauty and the Beast. Yesterday the phantom, Rob Guest, was savouring every moment of the shows last day in Melbourne. Phantom was a phenomenon. The Princess will never be the same again, for better or worse, he said. The closing scene was neatly staged with the prerequisite standing ovation, streamers, herded media and a four-page speech by the leading man. Roberts-Smith was more than just a corporal So, according to your correspondent, Ben Roberts-Smith was just a corporal (Letters, 3/6). A corporal who was in charge of a section of Special Air Service Regiment professionals who, from my limited understanding of the structure of these things, were an autonomous unit. David Raymond, Doncaster East The pain that foreign forces inflict on other countries In response to the veteran who expressed concern that the judgment on Ben Roberts-Smith might impact how his children and grandchildren view his service in the Vietnam War (Letters, 3/6). He wondered whether he will be seen as someone who fought selflessly for their country? Or will they now look to him as a potential war criminal and murderer? History has already judged the Vietnam War and I am not sure how Australias interference in a civil war that it had nothing to do with was an act of self-defence. Lets not kid ourselves. Lets finally learn from history. Robert-Smiths case is only a reminder of the misery foreign forces are capable of inflicting on local populations. Sanja Nenadic, South Yarra Enough with the self-congratulation How many stories would The Age have printed if you had lost the defamation case? How many days would you have covered the story? You have won. Stop now, otherwise it looks like you are gloating. Phil McAleer, Sandringham THE FORUM Facing up to the truth Perhaps the outcome of Ben Roberts-Smiths defamation case is a wake-up call to a country that has come to believe in the exceptionalism of its defence forces. Images portrayed of the bronzed Anzac, the noble warrior, have been idealised in word, film and myth. It may be time to accept the truth that Australian soldiers are capable of atrocities, just like soldiers of any country when driven by the dogs of war. This myth is perpetuated by Anzac Day becoming less quietly reflective and commemorative to more jingoistic and celebratory. This also leads to an unrealistic understanding of the horrors of war. So too the emphasis in our war memorial in Canberra. The brave witnesses in the defamation case will likely carry lifelong scars of their experience, both in action and the courtroom. We owe them a debt of gratitude worthy of a medal. Facing truth is cleansing and it is also necessary for a functioning democracy. Maria Millers, Emerald Brave, bully, murderer Ben Roberts-Smith was found by Federal Court judge Justice Anthony Besanko to have been a war criminal who murdered four unarmed prisoners (The Age, 2/6). While in no way disputing these findings, I think that in the interests of fairness it should be pointed out that his actions in Tizak, Afghanistan on June 11, 2010, which resulted in his being awarded the Victoria Cross, were not called into question during the lengthy court case. The citation for that award records his actions, including that with a total disregard for his own safety, he stormed the enemy position killing the two remaining machine gunners. It noted that he had demonstrated extreme devotion to duty and the most conspicuous gallantry. It may well be that Roberts-Smith is both a war criminal, murderer and bully, but at the same time a brave man who is capable of acts of extreme valour that resulted in his Victoria Cross. Martin Ryan, Sunshine West Show respect for victims So the Australian War Memorial wont take down their display about Ben Roberts-Smith. It is to be contextualised. Will they write murderer on it? The display should be removed as a sign of respect for those men who had their spirits destroyed while serving under him and for the innocent people whose lives he took. Megan Peniston-Bird, Kew Little care for veterans I wholeheartedly support Senator Jacqui Lambie when she asks why Defence Force Chief Angus Campbell had not been stripped of his medals given he oversaw Australian troops in Afghanistan while some alleged war crimes were committed (The Age, 31/5). Our men were sent to Afghanistan to kill or be killed. How would we know the pressures they faced, unless we were there? The supposed friends who turned against our army and killed our soldiers etc. I think our veterans should be given our support instead of victimising them for a posting they probably did not ask for. The treatment our men have had to endure since returning home fills me with disgust. Wendy Gown, Shoreham Lend a helping hand Oh Zowie Douglas-Kinghorn Schizophrenia does not criminalise my brother (Comment, 3/6) my heart breaks for you. Your understanding of complex mental illness at your age is astounding. And you are right. We should all have enough compassion to be able to allow people who behave differently to live their lives in peace and dignity. A helping hand when needed is surely not too hard to give. A heavy police hand is so unnecessary when someone is disturbed and frightened. Its not too much to ask is it? Julie Smith, Soldiers Hill Our schools in crisis As a primary teacher of many years, I have never experienced or witnessed such high levels of violence (The Age, 3/6). On a daily basis, colleagues are kicked, punched, scratched and spat on by students as young as five years. Getting help for these children is exceptionally difficult and is dependant on parental support, availability of services or appropriate assessments. But what we are finding over and over again is the lack of support and protection from our employer: the region or Department of Education. Ordering us not to expel students, and sending emails recognising the spike in suspensions but subtly telling us not to suspend, does not create a safe work place for students or staff. Again, the systemic problems in Victorian education are not being addressed and they wonder why teachers are leaving the professions in droves. Name withheld, Brunswick Tackle the churches There are fewer than 110 high fee-private schools in Victoria that the government can hit with payroll tax inclusion. There are more than 2000 churches that pay no rates, no land tax and no income tax. Maybe that is more fertile ground for governments to generate income than penalising schools. Allan Grosman, Red Hill South A very mighty force Re Democracy has withered under Andrews (Comment, 2/6). Political parties do not govern in Victoria, private schools do. They get millions of taxpayer dollars from both state and federal governments each year, and if they do not like a proposed law they complain and it is scrapped or altered. O that the rest of us had such power. Lorraine Bates, Balwyn Danger of the third term I share Sumeyya Ilambeys concern about the deteriorating health of Victorias democracy. This follows a pattern we have seen before a third-term leader who wins absolute power against a shambolic opposition, and then governs with an entitlement to trample over democratic conventions. John Howards third term brought WorkChoices, Margaret Thatchers third term brought her attempt to introduce a poll tax. In each case the leader gave the impression they knew more than their colleagues. In each case their third term was their last. I have supported Daniel Andrews from when he was first elected state leader but now, for the health of our democracy, he needs to step aside and let someone else take the reins. Follow the lead of former WA premier Mark McGowan: Andrews should quit while he still has a solid place in history to build on. Chris Young, Surrey Hills A shambolic opposition From his home in London, Tim Smith says Victorias opposition has been insufficiently strenuous in attacking the government (The Age, 1/6). Victorians are generally aware of the shortcomings and failures of accountability of Daniel Andrews and his ministers. The problem is that the opposition does not present a credible alternative. Does Smith really think that throwing his clown cap into the ring will fix this? Helmut Simon, Thomson More footpaths, please Re A dangerous practice (Letters, 3/6). We do not need a campaign to educate the public about how to walk on roads safely. We simply need more footpaths. A lack of footpaths is a blight on the liveability of towns and cities. It forces people to own a car to get around even for short walkable distances, disadvantaging those who can least afford one. It makes the easiest and most accessible form of exercise, walking, dangerous and unpleasant. Every road should have a footpath. Catherine Miller, Chewton The real source of power It is quite bemusing attempting to understand the fuss and vitriol surrounding the prospect of having a formal Voice to parliament for First Nations people. The staggering growth of the unelected, unrepresentative lobby industry seeking to influence all governments over the past few decades is a huge blight on our democratic processes. This reality sits alongside large corporate campaign contributions, inconceivably not given without some donor benefit in mind. Even with a Yes vote, the influence of this representative group will still pale into insignificance compared with the power of the unelected voices. Graham Black, Hamilton An ineffective ministry What purpose does the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs serve if the Voice becomes a constitutional right of Australians? What does this new call for a Voice to executive government say about the inability of the ministry, on its previous and current work, in representing the small number of Australians under its brief? Martin Leggett, Langwarrin An act of self-defence Re Insidious abuse: judge rules husband killer deserves mercy (The Age, 2/6). When will we stop punishing victims? Rebecca Payne, who was found guilty of murdering her violent husband, acted out of desperation after enduring years of horrific abuse. This woman needs to be nurtured and cared for after years of incomprehensible horror, not subjected to more by being imprisoned for 16 years with a non-parole period of 10 years, for an act of self-defence. Jennifer McDougall, Soldiers Hill Surely a man of his times Having followed politics in my youth, my memory of (papal knight) Arthur Calwell was not that of his being a renowned racist (Comment, 2/6). My belief is that he followed immigration policies firmly supported by most MPs on both sides of the house. Philip Scambler, Ocean Grove No longer peoples park The grand prix has missed its self-defined and very generous deadline to return the whole of Albert Park to the public. Thats five months and counting that large parts of the park have been shut off. No doubt there are suitable repercussions for this breach built into the contract. Arent there? Paula OBrien, St Kilda AND ANOTHER THING War Everyones obviously forgotten about Breaker Morant. Rowland Banks, Prahran Ben Roberts-Smith also shot himself in the foot by instigating a defamation case. David Beardsell, Balwyn North Shakespeare would have fashioned a moving tragedy from the Ben Roberts-Smith story. Barrie Bales, Woorinen North Did Roberts-Smith think that Dirty Harry was actually real? Gerry Lonergan, Reservoir Why does a war criminal get to keep his military decorations? Angela Woolard, Mordialloc The result of the court case is a credit to your admirable journalists but the excessive gloating and back-slapping does The Age no credit. Peter Robinson, Kilsyth Politics The Liberals Warrandyte preselection process might be another embarrassing car crash if Smith joins the fray. Andrew McFarland, Templestowe A souffle doesnt rise twice. David Lyall, Mount Eliza Peter Hartchers observations on the Voice (3/6) should be prominently pushed in the Yes campaign. John Pitman, Eltham I agree with Ann Blake (4/6). Constitutional recognition Yes, extraordinary powers no. Noel Mavric, Moonlight Flat Imagine if AI replaced MPs (2/6), donors and lobbyists with policies which advanced the Commonwealth. Total science fiction. Peter Thomas, Pascoe Vale Furthermore The nephew of Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes a Court is considering running as an independent in the Warrandyte byelection triggered by the resignation of state Liberal MP Ryan Smith. Three sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, who are close to Angelo von Moller, 18, confirmed to The Age the university student is in discussions about standing for the seat in Melbournes north-east, where he was raised and his family still live. Victorian Youth Parliament member Angelo von Moller, the nephew of Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes a Court, could run in the Warrandyte byelection. Buoyed by the partys unexpected victory in the outer-suburban federal seat of Aston, Labor officials say backbenchers have pushed the partys administrative wing to contest the seat, which the Liberals hold with a 4.2 per cent margin. The state secretary is expected to decide by the end of the week whether to run a candidate, according to a Labor official speaking anonymously to discuss internal party matters. A senior US diplomat will visit Beijing next week, the State Department said on Saturday, the latest in a string of meetings as Washington tries to ease tensions with its "strategic competitor" and prevent relations from deteriorating further. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink will travel to China and New Zealand from June 4-10 to "discuss key issues in the bilateral relationship", the State Department said in a statement with no further details. He will be accompanied on the China leg by National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs Sarah Beran. Kritenbrink's visit follows reports of a secret trip to China by CIA Director William Burns last month and a meeting between US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and the director of China's Central Foreign Affairs Commission, Wang Yi, in Austria, also in May, as part of efforts to bolster communication. 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. And last week, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington before travelling to Michigan to sit down with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trade meeting. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, and his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday. Photo: AP alt=US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, and his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday. Photo: AP> But these early signs of bolstered contacts have not extended to the military. Beijing has continued to rebuff US efforts to improve defence ties, a stance that US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin criticised at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday after Chinese Defence Minister General Li Shangfu reportedly refused to meet him on the sidelines. Beijing's reluctance to talk undermines efforts to maintain peace in a region where the two rivals are increasing their military firepower, Austin said at the conference, Asia's top security summit, which wraps up Sunday. "For responsible defence leaders, the right time to talk is any time," Austin said, adding that Washington would not stand for "coercion and bullying" of its partners and allies by China. Chinese officials in Singapore countered that Austin and other US officials have distorted the facts, are intent on encircling China and are undermining the one-China principle through weapon sales and increased exchanges with Taiwan. Both sides have warned of the growing risk of a military conflict over the self-governing island. Other strains between the world's two largest economies include trade, technology and investment policies, China's human rights record and island building in the South China Sea. Kritenbrink is expected to arrive on Sunday, June 4, the 34th anniversary of China's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square. Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted in a separate statement on Saturday that the US will observe the anniversary. "The victims' bravery will not be forgotten and continues to inspire advocates for these principles around the world," Blinken said, adding: "The United States will continue advocating for people's human rights and fundamental freedoms in China and around the world." In November, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden laid out a road map for improving ties through a "step ladder" of visits by senior finance, trade and diplomatic officials, potentially leading to a Xi trip to San Francisco in November for the Apec summit. Those confidence-building efforts ground to a halt, however, after a Chinese surveillance balloon crossed North America in late January and early February. Washington cancelled Blinken's scheduled February trip to China, and Beijing decried the downing of the balloon, accusing Washington of overreacting. Several lines of communication were cut as a result. At the Group of 7 meeting in Japan last month, Biden forecast that ties between Washington and Beijing would thaw soon. The White House has said it was trying to arrange visits by Blinken, Raimondo and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. A major focus of Kritenbrink's trip will most likely be a possible Biden visit to China, but Kritenbrink will also fly to Auckland to participate in the US -New Zealand Strategic Dialogue before returning to Washington. 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. Salt Lake City: The Good Book is being treated like a bad book in Utah after a parent frustrated by efforts to ban materials from schools convinced a suburban district that some Bible verses were too vulgar or violent for younger children. And the Book of Mormon could be next. The Bible, pictured at a Utah Capitol reading in 2013, has been banned at schools in the Davis School District north of Salt Lake City. Credit: AP The 72,000-student Davis School District north of Salt Lake City removed the Bible from its elementary and middle schools while keeping it in high schools after a committee reviewed the scripture in response to a parental complaint. The district has removed other titles, including Sherman Alexies The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and John Greens Looking for Alaska, following a 2022 state law requiring districts to include parents in decisions over what constitutes sensitive material. On Friday, a complaint was submitted about the signature scripture of the predominant faith in Utah, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church. District spokesperson Chris Williams confirmed that someone filed a review request for the Book of Mormon but would not say what reasons were listed. Citing a school board privacy policy, he also would not say whether it was from the same person who complained about the Bible. 21-Year-Old Sentenced to Almost Six Years Under National Security Law for a 2021 Bombing Plot An undated photo on the Facebook account of Returning Valiant. (Returning Valiant/Facebook via the Epoch Times) Six members of a post-anti-extradition self-proclaimed revolutionary group Returning Valiant appeared for sentencing last week (May 25, 2023) at the High Court for the groups planning bomb attacks targeting various court buildings in Hong Kong in July 2021. The case has drawn international attention because all six defendants were high-school students when their prosecution began in 2021, and their charges involved the National Security Law. May 25 Sentencing involving bombing plot by Returning Valiant Ho Yu-wang, 19, Kwok Man-hei, 20, Alexander Au Man, 21, Su Wing-ching, 19, and two other minors Chan and Law, entered their guilty pleas earlier last month with designated national security law judge Alex Lee Wan-tang. Ho pleaded guilty to the charge of terrorism while the remaining five pleaded guilty to the lighter alternative charge of conspiring to cause explosions likely to endanger life or to cause serious injury to property. Alexander Au, 21, is sentenced to five years and eight months in prison, while three younger defendants under age 21 are sent to rehabilitation-focused training centers for up to three years. Sentencing of the remaining two defendants, Ho and Kwok, is delayed until Sept. 27. Ho Yu-hong, 19, also known as Brother Lennon, is alleged in court to be one of the masterminds of the bombing plot. Kwok Man-hei, 20, was among a total of five high-school students sentenced to correctional facilities by District Judge Kwok Wai-kin last October on a different case of conspiracy to subvert state power, when Returning Valiant members distributed leaflets at street booths early 2021 to advocate for communist-style up-rising. Case Details at the May 25 Hearing Case details read out at the May 25 hearing indicated that the group planned to use TATP explosives to make bombs. A statement from all six defendants admitted their plan to attack the magistrates courts at Kwun Tong and Tuen Mun, among other public facilities, in order to express discontent against the government. Ho Yu-hong was accused of organizing, recruiting members, and planning explosive manufacturing. Ho was said to have asked his then-secondary school teacher how to make TATP-based explosives (though he was refused) and stored hydrogen peroxide in high concentrations. Ho allegedly recruited two other high-school students, who were 15 at the time, to assist in transporting and detonating the bombs. These two and another boy, 16 at the time, were regarded by national security law judges Alex Lee as having played relatively minor roles in the case; hence all three were sent to correctional training facilities. They would be detained at these centers for up to three years. Au, a 19-year-old back in 2021, was regarded by Lee to be more culpable, as he was responsible for renting a hotel room for making the bombs and had worked closely with Ho in planning and organizing. The now 21-year-old man is sentenced to five years and eight months in prison. 2022 Sentencing Involving Returning Valiant In a district court on Oct. 8, 2022, seven members of the Returning Valiant group pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to subvert state power, Kwok Man-hei, who got delayed sentencing at last weeks High Court hearing, was among them. These members were accused of advocating armed uprising to overthrow the government. Kwok Man-hei, 19 at the 2022 hearings, was among the five minors involved in the case, the other four being Yuen Ka-him, Wan Chung-wai, Leung Yung-wan, and Tseung Chau Ching-yu, aged between 16 to 17. These juvenile defendants were sentenced to correctional facilities, marking the first HK National Security Law-related case where underaged persons were convicted. Two adult defendants among the seven were given five years and three months in prison the next day, on Feb 9, while the third adult defendants case was postponed. From January to May 2021, the defendants allegedly organized street booths and held press conferences in Mong Kok, Shatin, and other locations. They gave speeches, conducted interviews, and distributed leaflets. Chinese Communist leader Maos words, A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another, found on their leaflet formed evidence of conspiracy to incite subversion in their cases. World Responses to First Minor NSL Conviction Following the Oct 8 sentencing of the five minors, Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for The Office of The United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed her concern over the conviction of minors for violating the Hong Kong National Security Law in a news briefing on Oct. 11, 2022. Shamdasani stated that the United Nations Human Rights Committee had repeatedly expressed concerns over the negative impact of the National Security Law, urging the Hong Kong government to abolish it. However, the UN Committee was shocked to witness the National Security Law still in effect, specifically targeting teenagers. Shamdasani said. She reminded Hong Kong of its obligations under international human rights law to ensure the citys judicial system and law enforcement stay conformed. A Post Anti-Extradition Resistance Group Said to be founded after Hong Kongs National Security Law came into effect in July 2020, a newly emerged group named Returning Valiant appeared around January 2021 with street booths advocating changing peoples mindset and promoting Mao-style revolutionary uprising. The groups booths shared foreign armed uprisings history, such as the 2013 Ukrainian Revolution and the 1789-1799 French Revolution, saying its mission was to inspire and open up peoples minds. Hongkongers must possess independent critical thinking. If ones mind is closed, most people would still believe in keeping the old Hong Kong way (expressing their opinion) by sitting peacefully and being a sheep that only follows. People need to realize and understand that Hong Kong has become a desperate and struggling city. The group posted on its Facebook page. An April 2021 statement on social media by the group was titled A Revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another, a direct quote from Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong. There is no so-called perfect opportunity for a revolution. You must act, plan, and resist the Chinese Communist Partys dictatorship. We believe the people give the power to a government. We have the right to take back everything our way. The group said on Facebook. Fight Chinese Communist Party Dictatorship with Communist Style Revolution Returning Valiant, dismantled by the police in July 2021, was a small group of only around 20 members, seemingly mostly high-school students. With the decline of large-scale anti-extradition assemblies following restrict measures against the coronavirus pandemic since the beginning of 2020, as well as the imposition of the Hong Kong national security law in July that year, Returning Valiant self-proclaimed a mission to carry on the aspirations of the forerunners and keep alive the fire of the revolution (Chinese: ). The group started a new slogan, Enlighten our people; Liberate our city (Chinese: ) in place of the original slogan of Reclaim Hong Kong; Revolution of Our Times (Chinese: ), which was used across all pro-democracy groups during the 2019 anti-extradition social movement. Advocating Marxist or Mao-style revolution to fight against the Chinese communist regime is an odd and interesting twist. Hong Kongs 2019 anti-extradition movement emphasized tolerance of different chosen ways of protesting among the different streams or groups within the pro-democracy camp, from the vast majority, which is the average citizens peaceful-rational-non-violent way, to the political and advocacy groups such as pro-democracy parties and organizations, to the many organic groups sprang up during the movement such as citizen-reporters, citizen-paramedics, grey-haired-protecting-the-kids, all the way to valiant youth groups advocating non-bloodshed resistant-actions. The Returning Valiant, which appeared rather late in, or could be regarded as post, the anti-extradition movement, stood out different from the mainstream of the 2019 movement. It advocated markedly different ideas of armed up-rising. From May 2021 onwards, the Hong Kong police made multiple arrests of members of Returning Valiant and claimed to have totally dismantled the group by July. Returning Valiant last updated its Facebook on May 6, 2021. The last post was about its members arrest. The group said it would not matter if the totalitarians squashed its organization. As long as its ideals are seeded in Hong Kong, its mission is fulfilled. @ $63 Million Verdict Against Miami Commissioner Accused of Political Retaliation City of Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo speaks during the start of a meeting to decide the future of suspended City of Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo at City of Miami City Hall in Miami, Florida on October 14, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) A federal jury in Florida on June 1 found Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo liable in a federal civil lawsuit brought by two businessmen who accused him of using his office to harass them after they supported the commissioners political opponent. In Fort Lauderdale federal court, the jury found Carollo guilty of violating the First Amendment rights of businessmen William Fuller and Martin Pinilla, the operators of a string of businesses along the Little Havana business corridor that include the iconic Ball & Chain nightclub. The six-member jury awarded $8.6 million in compensation and $25.7 million in punitive damages to Fuller, as well as $7.3 million in compensation and $21.9 million in punitive damages to Pinilla. That totals roughly $63.5 million in damages. Carollos attorney, Benedict Kuehne, said in a statement that he and his client are disappointed with the verdict and plan to appeal. The city of Miami wasnt named in the lawsuit but covered Carollos nearly $2 million in legal fees. Attorneys for Fuller and Pinilla claimed that Carollo infringed on their free speech rights by weaponizing police and code enforcement to harass them and damage their reputations after they supported his political opponent, Alfonso Alfie Leon, in the city commission race in 2017. Carollos attorney said the commissioner wasnt specifically targeting Fuller and Pinilla but working for the betterment of his district. Carollo, who represents Miamis District 3, was first elected to Miamis City Commission in 1979. He previously served two terms as Miamis mayor. Reactions Once and for all, it feels great to finally smush that cucaracha, Fuller said in a news conference following the verdict. When these people try to rise you need to stop them. You need to fight back. Thats what our U.S. Constitution allows us to do, and thats what Martin and I did. Fuller called the verdict a victory for the small people. Fuller added: The small group of select individuals that he has worked with in the city of Miami, theyre also corrupt. And each and every one of them came up here over the last few days and lied and invented these stories to be able to support this man so they could protect their jobs. This is the way you empower bad people and dictators in our world to rise. Pinilla said what Carollo has done to us, to our businesses, to our employees is wrong. He does not deserve to be an elected official, Pinilla said. The plaintiffs attorneys called the decision a victory for the First Amendment. The message has been sent loud and clear, attorney Courtney Caprio said. Our elected officials cannot punish those who oppose them. Carollo did not comment after the verdict because of a gag order in effect at the time. Later, his attorneys released a statement saying, Commissioner Carollo and his legal team thank the jury for their service. We are disappointed with the result. Commissioner Carollo will seek to exercise all legal rights available to him, including appellate review. Unlike the Plaintiffs who seem to have now resorted to disparaging comments about the Commissioner and City of Miami Employees, the Commissioner will continue to serve all citizens of District 3 and the City of Miami fairly and equally in protecting health, safety, and quality of life, the statement read. Miami City Attorney Victoria Mendez said in a statement that the city was disappointed with the verdict and certain issues that occurred during the trial and anticipates that Commissioner Carollo will be exercising (and should exercise) full appellate rights, as provided for and protected under the American judicial system. Legal analyst David Weinstein, who is not involved with the case, told Local 10 News that it is important to keep in mind that (this case) still has a long way to go, citing that there are still courts of appeals that are going to review every single thing that happened during the course of this trial as well as things that happened before the trial even took place. So, its not over yet. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 911 Transcripts Point to Chaos, Fast-Evolving Situation in April Shootings in Maine PORTLAND, MaineA frantic 911 call to report at least one person had been fatally shot led law enforcement to discover four bodies at a home in Maine and eventually to arrest a man who fired at vehicles on a nearby highway before confessing to police that he was behind the killings. According to heavily redacted transcripts from 30 emergency calls that the Maine Department of Public Safety provided to The Associated Press on Friday, the first sign of trouble on April 18 came with a call at 9:18 a.m. The dispatcher tells one of the voices on the phone not go back inside the property in rural Bowdoin, but to return to a vehicle and wait for police to arrive. Dispatch asks about a bullet hole in a vehicle and how many people live at the house. And who do you think is the deceased? the dispatch asks the caller. The callers response is redacted. Authorities identified those killed as the parents of the shooting suspect, Cynthia Eaton, 62, and 66-year-old David Eaton; along with their longtime friends, Robert Eger, 72, and 62-year-old Patti Eger. The agency removed many details from the calls as well as the identities of the callers in the documents requested under Maines Freedom of Access Act but the volume of calls points to chaos and the time stamps indicate a quickly evolving situation. Shannon Moss, state police spokesperson, said the redactions were necessary because the investigation is ongoing. A little more than an hour after that first call, a flood of 911 calls in rapid succession indicated a gunman was firing wildly at vehicles about 20 miles away on I-295 in Yarmouth. State police quickly connected the dots between the two crime scenes, even as calls were made to police dispatchers in Augusta, Brunswick, Houlton, Westbrook and Cumberland and Sagadahoc counties. The I-295 shootings left three people injured. After his arrest in Yarmouth, 34-year-old Joseph Eaton confessed to the killings in Bowdoin as well as the highway gunfire, police said. He had been released from prison just days earlier after completing a sentence in Maine for a probation violation following a sentence in Florida for aggravated assault, part of a long criminal history in Maine, Kansas and Florida. Eaton has been charged with four counts of murder but has not yet been charged in the highway shootings. By David Sharp In this article, we'll talk about the 11 largest tungsten producing countries. If you want to skim through the details and find the main tungsten titans, read 5 Largest Tungsten Producing Countries. Amongst the largest tungsten producing countries, China is the undisputed titan, as its annual tungsten production accounts for 84% of the world's supply. Despite numerous international concerns regarding this significant concentration, China's hold over the market, combined with the country's extensive reserves, continues to cement its position as a primary contributor to the global tungsten industry. Having the largest tungsten deposits in the world resulted in the metal's overproduction in China, which eventually caused a fall in its prices. To mitigate this pricing downfall, the Chinese government has implemented a production ceiling of 91,300 metric tons per year. Other top tungsten producing countries are Vietnam and Russia, amounting to 5.7% and 2.7% of 2022 tungsten production, respectively. Tungsten mining is fraught with significant limitations with the pricing not aligning with rising capital mining costs. The tungsten mining companies on the rise are Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT), Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI), and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD), among others. Since tungsten is typically found in the ore minerals scheelite and wolframite, its mining requires complex and expensive methods for extraction and refining. The ores have a low yield of tungsten, which further necessitates large-scale operations for mining companies like Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT), Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI), and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) to be economically viable. We have explained more about the rising mining capital expenditure of major mining companies in the 15 Largest Zinc Producing Countries In The World; give it a read to see how mining costs have taken flight. What Took the UK Out Of The Race of The Largest Tungsten Producing Countries? One key name amongst the biggest tungsten producers is the United Kingdom, which contributed a significant chunk to the world's total production. However, the country stopped mining tungsten after 2017, owing to its biggest mine's financial downfall. According to USGS, the United Kingdom has the world's fourth-largest tungsten reserves that amount to 43,000 metric tons of tungsten. The biggest share of the United Kingdom's tungsten reserves is in the Hemerdon mine, also known as Drakelands Mine, located near Plymouth. Once operated by the Australian firm Wolf Minerals Ltd, this mine was contributing to the world's overall tungsten production in the form of tungsten oxides. However, the mine's trajectory took an unforeseen turn in 2018 when Wolf Minerals Ltd filed for voluntary administration after its talks of further financial assistance failed. This development was prompted by escalating operational costs and unattractive tungsten market values. The prohibitive cost structure of mining, in light of tungsten's market value, distorted the economic viability of continued extraction, and the mine stopped operating. Tungsten West plc (LSE:TUN.L) took ownership of the Hemerdon mine in 2019 to rewind UK's tungsten mining. However, efforts to resuscitate tungsten production haven't delivered promising results owing to persisting adverse economic conditions. While Tungsten West plc (LSE:TUN.L) has exhibited a determined ambition to steer the mine back to production, the prevailing market price of tungsten remains a critical hurdle. By 2023, the price of tungsten had yet to attain a threshold that could feasibly justify the inherent costs of mining operations. Thus, despite the change in ownership and the concerted attempts to recommence operations, the Hemerdon mine has remained non-operational since 2018. Like Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT), Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI), and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD), Tungsten West plc (LSE:TUN.L) needs prompt infrastructure upgradation to mine tungsten in the UK. Consequently, the UK's production of tungsten has remained stagnant over the period 2019 to 2023, despite the substantial reserves that position the nation as a potential key player in the global tungsten market. Adding another dimension to the complex situation for Tungsten West plc (LSE:TUN.L) is the recent geopolitical instability sparked by the war in Ukraine. The war's ripple effects have percolated through the global commodities market, thereby exerting additional inflationary pressure on the mine's operational inputs. The commodities market, particularly affected by international instability, saw price surges in several inputs critical to mining operations. Among these were steel, cement, explosives, power, and diesel all essential resources for the functioning of a large-scale tungsten mine like Hemerdon. Tungsten West stated that significant and rapid inflation in these input costs further exacerbated the economic challenges that the operation was grappling with. 11 Largest Tungsten Producing Countries Methodology USGS's mineral commodity summaries are the most extensive databases for mining and materials. Therefore, we referred to the annual tungsten commodity summaries published by USGS on January 31st, 2023. This report focuses on the recent trends and events in the tungsten mining sector, along with listing the Biggest tungsten producing countries in the world. However, owing to the current summary's limited database, we explored reports published by USGS in the years 2018, 2019, and 2022 to compile the list of the world's biggest tungsten producing countries. Besides the annual mine production, we also explained some of these countries' tungsten reserves for a clearer perspective. According to our data sources, here are the largest tungsten producing countries in the world: 11. North Korea Tungsten Production in 2021: 410 metric tons Our meticulous examination of global mineral output data showed that North Korea is the 11th largest tungsten producer worldwide. Although there's no clear data on North Korea's tungsten production in 2022, the country recorded an output of 410 metric tons in 2021. However, it is a substantial decrease from the peak production of 1,100 metric tons in 2019, a dip reflecting an intricate nexus of economic and geopolitical factors, necessitating further multidisciplinary exploration. 10. Portugal Tungsten Production in 2022: 500 metric tons As of 2022, Portugal is the 10th largest global producer of tungsten, as it generated approximately 500 metric tons during the year. Portugal also houses an estimated 3,100 metric tons of tungsten reserves, a figure that is indicative of its considerable potential to sustain production. 9. Spain Tungsten Production in 2022: 700 metric tons Spain is amongst the largest tungsten producing countries in the world, owing to its 700 metric tons of tungsten mine production in 2022. Moreover, this figure is merely a fraction of the nation's proven reserves, which are estimated to be around 56,000 metric tons. Such reserves highlight Spain's potential for sustained tungsten production in the years ahead and can foster stability in the global supply chain for this critical industrial metal. 8. United Kingdom Tungsten Production in 2018: 900 metric tons The United Kingdom was the eighth largest tungsten producing nation in 2018, with an impressive output of 900 metric tons. However, a noteworthy shift occurred when Hemerdon Mine, the country's largest tungsten mine, entered into voluntary administration in the same year. This move signaled a significant hiatus in the UK's tungsten production industry and left a marked impact on the country's standing in the global market. The voluntary administration represents a strategic, consensual approach adopted by the company in the face of financial distress, aiming to restructure its affairs while maximizing the interests of its stakeholders. Hemerdon Mine is currently in a transitional phase, working towards reestablishing its operations while undergoing internal reconfigurations. 7. Austria Tungsten Production in 2022: 900 metric tons Austria evidenced a noteworthy contribution to the global tungsten industry in 2022 and earned the 7th position amongst the largest tungsten producing countries. As per USGS statistical data from 2022, Austria mined 900 metric tons of tungsten, a metal renowned for its high melting point and robust strength. Austria's tungsten reserves amount to approximately 10,000 metric tons and indicate the country's potential capacity. 6. Rwanda Tungsten Production in 2022: 1,100 metric tons Recent data reflects that Rwanda is the sixth largest producer of tungsten, as it banked 1,100 metric tons of tungsten in 2022. Although Rwanda's tungsten reserves are unclear, its consistent production between 2016 and 2022 solidifies its rank as a mighty tungsten producer. Tungsten is characterized by its robustness and high-temperature resistance, and its use expands to various sectors like military applications and everyday consumer products. Hence, Rwanda's burgeoning tungsten production provides it with an instrumental leverage in this in-demand market. Click to continue reading and see the 5 Largest Tungsten Producing Countries. Suggested Articles: Disclosure: None. 11 Largest Tungsten Producing Countries is originally published on Insider Monkey. Chinese PLA Veteran Expresses Remorse Over Tiananmen Massacre Hundreds of thousands of Chinese gather in Tiananmen Square around a 10-meter replica of the Statue of Liberty (C), called the Goddess of Democracy, on June 2, 1989. (Catherine Henriette/AFP via Getty Images) A veteran who served in the Beijing Armed Police Fire Brigade during the Tiananmen massacre on June 4, 1989, expressed remorse and shared with The Epoch Times how he has become a rights activist. The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre is known in China as the June 4 Incident. The Chinese communist regimes military opened fire on unarmed pro-democracy college students and citizens in Tiananmen Square and major roads in Beijing, killing tens of thousands, after two months of mass protests against the regimes corruption and demands for democracy. Li Ming (a pseudonym) said that he was in the No. 31 Squadron of the 14th Division of the Beijing Armed Police Fire Brigade. The Chinese Peoples Armed Police Force is part of the Chinese military Peoples Liberation Army forces. At that time, the [ruling Chinese Communist Partys (CCPs)] Central Military Commission mobilized several military units, including those stationed in Beijing, and our armed police firefighters, Li recounted. We received orders to stand by to join the military action to pacify the riots any time. An armored personnel carrier on fire near Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June 4, 1989. (Tommy Cheng/AFP/Getty Images) The order given to our fire brigade was that we were allowed to respond to civilian fires but prohibited from responding to military vehicles on fire such as armored military vehicles. Li said that his squadron was notified of a fire emergency on the morning of June 4. An armored military vehicle was on fire in Mentougou District of Beijing, with one dead, one seriously injured, and four with minor injuries. Just as the firefighters were being dispatched, the fire truck was stopped by the instructor as soon as it drove out of the garage, he said. The Chinese communist regimes official media used video footage of military vehicles on fire to justify the regimes killing of unarmed civilians and to support its pacifying riots claim. A lone Chinese man blocks a line of tanks heading east on Beijings Avenue of Eternal Peace during the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 5, 1989. (Jeff Widener/AP Photo) In hindsight, Li said it was fortunate that he wasnt sent to participate in the assault on Tiananmen Square. Brainwashed by Propaganda In the beginning, we supported the students and workers who were protesting, but during the period from May 23rd to 26th of that year, our views changed. He said that the Beijing TV station broadcast a video that showed a new recruit of the Beijing Armed Police Corps who was beaten to the ground by people on the street after being separated from his company during training drills in the city from Changan Avenue to Xidan. After seeing this video, we were all indignant, which changed our thinking. He said that this is why they obeyed the orders of their superiors. At that time, I firmly supported the Party Central Committee and the government. Tanks sit on a street in Beijing two days after the massacre of students and civilians in Tiananmen Square on June 6, 1989. (David Turnley/Getty Images) Li also said that after June 4, all the training was suspended for three months and they had to go through thought/ideological education until September of that year. We, the front-line units, were not allowed to sympathize with the students. As military, they must enforce discipline, he said. Thats why we had to be rectified to achieve ideological unity. In 1990, after three years of service, Li chose to retire from the military. After retiring, I couldnt adapt to society because what we were taught in the military was completely out of touch with the reality of society, he said. Rights Activism In 2004, Lis village was forcibly taken over and demolished by authorities to construct a railway, and the compensation was unreasonable. Since then, he has embarked on the journey of petitioning to higher government for the local authorities wrongdoings and defending his and fellow villagers rights. He has become a sensitive figure in the authorities view. Chinese veterans in Kunming appealed in front of the provincial office, in Yunnan, China, on June 28, 2011. (Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch) He said his experience of a decade of defending rights showed him many truths. He said he was completely disillusioned with the CCP regime, which has also brought him to reflect on the Tiananmen Square massacre. When I saw the commemorative medal for quelling the counter-revolutionary riot and heard people say that I had meritorious service in it, I said I was guilty, as I was against the people, he said. At that time, I firmly supported the CCPs Central Committee and the government. But today, 30 years later, I can see that the students and workers were on the right side, but I was wrong. I think [the massacre] should be rectified. What is wrong is wrong; what is right is right. Under the circumstances at the time, we didnt know whether our actions were right or wrong. Li has now taken up another rights protection task: fighting for treatment and welfare of veterans like him. Gu Xiaohua contributed to this report. 'Scouring the earth' for help A wonderful, smart young woman with a beautiful singing voice. Thats how Julie describes her 19-year-old daughter Eileen. Four years ago, when her formerly boy crazy daughter announced that she wanted to have gender reassignment surgery, Julie was initially overwhelmed. Then she began scouring the earth to find help for Eileen. Julie embarked on a journey to save her daughter from what she feared would be the biggest mistake of her life. Julie shared her story with The Epoch Times. She hopes her experience will shine a light on a difficult issue. Adopted Just in Time Julie and her husband live in a southern U.S. state with their two beautiful daughters, both of whom were adopted from China. Julie is a semi-retired attorney; she practiced law for over 30 years. Their older daughter, Eileen, was founded abandoned when she was just 13 days old. She was placed in a child welfare instituteone of Chinas state-run orphanages. When Eileen was just over a year old, Julie brought the tiny baby back to the United States. She was placed in my arms when she was 13 months old. She was only 15 pounds. She could not cry. She could not call. And she could not even hold a bottle, Julie said. Back in the United States, Julie took Eileen off to a pediatric specialist, who told her that the baby was malnourished and that she had gotten help for her just in time. She might not have lasted another month, the doctor told Julie. Within two weeks, she was able to hold a bottle, Julie related, and within 10 days, the baby finally found her voice, crying when she was hungry. Memories of Infant Trauma Her parents did not know what had happened to Eileen during her months at the orphanage, but Julie remembers her daughters toddler years as being filled with night terrors. When Eileen was a little over three and a half, the family took her to a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant had been built in Taiwan, shipped overseas, and reassembled in the United States, Julie said. It had a distinctively authentic Chinese feel, different from most American Chinese restaurants. It looked different. The food smells different. Its beautiful, Julie said. When we walked in there, we felt like we were back in China. Mama, we are in China! the little girl said. They sat down and Julie began looking at her menu. Suddenly she noticed that her daughter was staring at something across the room. What are you looking at, honey? Mama, thats where they put the beds for the new babies. Thats where they put the beds! Eileen replied. And then all of a sudden, she wouldnt sleep at home alone anymore. She wouldnt even go to the bathroom without me, Julie said. She was terrified by whatever vision she saw. After the incident, it was three months before Eileen would sleep in her own bed. They Made Me Be Good When Eileen was five, a flight attendant asked if she wanted something to drink. Eileen replied, Yes, may I please have apple juice? When the flight attendant complimented the child on her good manners, Eileen said to Julie, Well, they made me be good at the orphanage, Mama. I had to be good. Her mother wondered at the remark. Clearly, Eileen had disturbing memories of her time at the orphanage, although she had only been an infant. A few years later, Eileen became obsessed with finding her Chinese identity. Her mother found the 8-year-old on the computer, looking up the name she had been given at the orphanage. She was trying to find her family on the internet, Julie said. It took Julie a year to help Eileen accept the concept of adoption and understand that her adoptive parents were now her family. Ok, I get it. I am a Chinese princess being raised by a very nice family, Eileen finally told Julie. Her parents sent Eileen to a small Episcopalian grade school, where Eileen learned Chinese, Latin, and Spanish. Julie says her daughter has excellent language skills. However, in middle school, Eileen showed signs of being socially awkward and struggled to make friends. Danger Signs Signs of deeper trouble began in high school. Eileen attended a high school with about 2,400 students, a much larger school than she was used to. In addition, there were very few Asian students. According to Julie, Eileen had a nice group of friends her freshman year, but by the end of the year, most of them had fallen away, and she was left with one girl, who dressed oddly for a girl. I dont care how anybody dresses, but something about this made me nervous, Julie said. My daughter really latched on to her. One day in June 2019, Eileen, who had just turned 16, suddenly told her parents at dinner that she thought she was bisexual. Julies reaction was Oh my God, can we not talk about this right now? Things became even more complicated. A few weeks later, Eileen changed her story and told her parents she was lesbian. And a few weeks later, she changed her story again, this time saying she was transgender. The Struggle to Find A Good Doctor To clarify the situation, Julie took Eileen to a string of psychiatrists and therapists, whose comments shocked her. The first doctor suggested that Eileen had an identity issue due to being adopted. The second doctor assured Julie that she wouldnt affirm Eileen as a boy. But she did it anyway, Julie said. The third one did the same thing, according to Julie. Over the course of six months, Julie went to one doctor after another, all of whom deeply disappointed her. They were horrible, Julie said. I took [Eileen] to the hospital once, and they [asked me], do you want a dead daughter or a living son? Julie replied, Youve been with my child for 10 minutes. Ive been with my child for 15 years. I think I know my child. Julie described the comment as emotional blackmail. Online Friends, Bad Influences Julie also recalled a disturbing incident: one she considers to be a key factor in Eileens mental health condition. In January 2020, seeing her daughters mental health deteriorating, Julie began looking for clues on Eileens cell phone. She discovered hundreds of text messages between Eileen and a girl named MJ, whom Eileen had met on the internet. To her shock and dismay, Julie found that Eileen had told MJ many things about her mother that, said Julie, simply were not true. She told her online friend that Julie would force her to wear corsets and dresses, make her wear pink, and would take away all her hair bands so she couldnt put her hair up. However, MJs responses alarmed Julie even more. MJ had told Eileen that her mother was textbook abusive, a gaslighter, and a trauma bonder. Your father needs to divorce your mother and take the children out of the house, she advised Eileen. This is a 15-year-old girl telling my daughter [these things]. In other words, she is saying, Your mother hates you, Julie said. She considered the online relationship to be a major factor in her daughters behavior. According to Julie, MJ also exposed Eileen to pornography and questionable websites. My daughter, who was only 15 at the time, was not mentally prepared to see that stuff. To me, that was abuse, Julie said. What Julie found the most frightening was MJs suggestion that the girls move to Oregon, where they could have sex reassignment surgery at age 15. Julie found out through MJs Instagram account that she was taking testosterone and was raising money on GoFundMe to have her breasts cut off. Its a very, very scary thing to go through as a parent, [seeing] her friends taking hormones and wrecking their bodies, Julie said. One of them already had a mastectomy. The stakes are very high here, and the medical industry doesnt care. They are making money off this. And these [people] are going to be patients for life. Many people dont know what the drugs do to the body. Thats what we are working on here. Trying to keep [Eileen] from taking hormones and undergoing surgery to remove body parts, Julie said. Love Alone is Not Enough Julie believed that love alone was not enough to help her daughter through her ordeal. She needed professional help. You have to be proactive. You have to research. And find the right people to help your child in distress, she said. If my child, God forbid, had cancer. I would be scouring the earth looking for somebody to find the cure. I would not rest. And this is just the same thing. This is a child who is in distress, and I feel helpless. But with my faith and my brains and my husband, we work hard to make sure that we are doing everything we can to get her in a better place, Julie said. The sky was the limit for Eileens worried parents. After searching for six months, Julie found a psychologist who specialized in trauma and body dysmorphia. To her surprise, this doctor was different from the others her daughter had seen. She is wonderful, Julie said. She does not [simply] believe that kids are trans when they say theyre trans, so shes been treating [Eileen] and diagnosed her with pre-adoption trauma. The doctor told Julie the traumatic events that marked the first year of Eileens life had rewired her brain. She diagnosed Eileen with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Symptoms of the disorder include unstable relationships, fear of abandonment, emotional dysregulation, and identity issues. Among Eileens BPD symptoms was identity disturbance. To illustrate, Julie said, Two years ago, [Eileen] did a self-portrait. She had blond hair, blue eyes, a square jaw, and a chiseled chin. Thats what she thought she looked like. But in fact, she looks very Asian. Shes got dark hair, dark eyes. She is absolutely beautiful. According to Julies own research and the many de-transitioners that she had spoken with, many who suffer from gender dysphoria have BPD. Most importantly, the psychologist reassured Eileens parents that with regular treatment, their daughter would recover. Julie said Eileen has been seeing her doctor weekly since 2019, and her emotional health is much better. She is doing well. I think she knows deep down inside she needs help, Julie said. According to Julie, the doctor is optimistic that Eileen will come out of it gradually as long as she stays in weekly therapy until her brain fully matures. Studies have shown that the rational part of the brain doesnt fully mature until around age 25. The doctor also told Julie, from her experience, that 90 percent of young people with identity issues can actually return to normal, with treatment. Gender Dysphoria and Past Trauma Julie cited a Boston Childrens Hospital study that found a greater prevalence of gender dysphoria among adopted children. She believes that past traumassuch as her daughters abandonment and subsequent neglect in a Chinese state-run orphanagecan greatly affect an adopted childs mental state. I think my daughter believes that she was abandoned [in China] because she was a girl. And that it would be better to be a boy, Julie said. She noted that she has seen many similar situations in other families with daughters who were adopted from China. We all think we have the same child, she said. Their stories are so similar to mine. A Safe Place to Come Home To Julie stressed that it is important to maintain a loving relationship with children who are struggling with gender dysphoria, and give them a sense of belonging: Just to be loving and firm, and hope were doing all the right things. [We must] understand when these kids fall down the rabbit hole, they are told that your parents dont love you, you have to get away from your parents. [As a result], they become very angry at you as a parent [and] combative, and thats what we had, Julie said. They have to know there is a safe place for them to come home to. She believes love and determination are critical in fighting for her daughters well-being. As a parent, you learn you have to pick your battles, she said, noting that she doesnt go head to head with her daughter on some issues, but draws the line on others. She may be flexible on issues of dress right now, she says, but she will not allow her daughter to take hormones. Further, Theres no male name and no pronouns happening in my house. I cant describe to you the love I have for this child. I get emotional because I love her so much. I want her to be happy, Julie said. And I want her to love herself for who she is and not who she thinks she is. As a parent, you have to learn. You have to fight, she added. Websites like Genspect, which brings together resources for parents searching for help for gender-confused childrenresources that dont necessarily follow the popular narrativeare vital, as is the support of other parents. Pseudonyms are used in this article to protect the familys safety and privacy. Kerry Xue contributed to this article. Adult and Teen Charged in Pennsylvania Shooting That Killed 2 Young Boys, Man Remnants of police tape dangle from the railing outside a home following a shooting in Lebanon, Pa., on May 31, 2023. (Matthew Toth/Lebanon Daily News via AP) Two young boys were playing with kittens in their backyard when shots rang out at a home in eastern Pennsylvania, killing both children and a young man who was the apparent target, authorities said Thursday. Brothers Jesus and Sebastian Perez-Salome, ages 8 and 9, and a third victim were killed Tuesday night in Lebanon. An adult and a teen were charged in the shooting, and police said they were seeking a third suspect. In a phone interview Thursday from his home in Puerto Rico, the childrens uncle Felix Muniz Torres said their mother was working at a nearby convenience store when she heard the shots ring out. She ran over to find them shot, he said. Her other child, who is 13, was fortunately at a school event. Shes in shock and is unable to speak coherently, Muniz Torres said. He described his nephews as very innocent and polite, always together playing, mostly with their superhero figures. They were very close, he said. Alex Torres Santos, 22, and a 16-year-old male were both charged with three counts of criminal homicide, Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said at a news conference in Lebanon on Thursday. They also face aggravated assault, conspiracy, and weapons offenses related to the shooting in Lebanon, a small city in an agricultural region roughly 70 miles northwest of Philadelphia. A third male is still being sought and will likely face similar charges, authorities said. Santos was on house arrest for several unrelated charges and was wearing an ankle monitor at the time of the shooting. A 33-year-old neighbor who was wounded by a stray bullet underwent surgery and remains hospitalized but is expected to recover, authorities said. The shooters apparently targeted the third person who was killed, 19-year-old Joshua Lugo-Perez, over what authorities called a previous argument. He and the boys lived at the home where the shooting occurred, but Lugo-Perez was not related to them. Jesus Perez-Salome was pronounced dead at the scene. Sebastian Perez-Salome and Lugo-Perez both died a short time later at hospitals. Once the autopsies are completed, the family will bring the boys back to Puerto Rico to be buried, Muniz Torres said. He expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support and donations responding to a GoFundMe appeal to raise funds for their funeral. The family had come to the United States in 2019 to chase the American dream of finding better opportunities than what was offered on their Caribbean island. But life had not been easy. Only a year ago, they had lost everything they owned in a fire at their previous apartment that started because of an electrical problem, Muniz Torres said. A Lebanon County SWAT team arrested Santos at his apartment Wednesday. Authorities said he attempted to flee the residence but was captured there, while the teenage suspect was later arrested at a nearby apartment where he was trying to hide. Ammunition and multiple firearms were found at the apartment where Santos was arrested, authorities said. Graf, the district attorney, said Thursday that the suspects could potentially face the death penalty, but that decision has not yet been made. It wasnt clear Thursday if either suspect had retained an attorney, and court records were not immediately available. Heres How Many Jobs Were Lost in One Month Due to AI A sign for hire is posted on the door of a GameStop in New York on April 29, 2022. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters) Almost 4,000 American jobs were lost last month following the use of artificial intelligence (AI), according to a recent report, as businesses increasingly consider deploying AI in their regular operations. U.S.-based employers announced 80,089 job cuts in May, out of which 3,900 reductions were blamed on artificial intelligence, according to a May 2023 layoffs report (pdf) by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. AI accounted for 4.86 percent of overall job cuts last month. This is the first time that AI was mentioned as a reason for layoffs by the HR firm. The report comes at a time when companies are increasingly exploring the potential of using AI at various levels of their organization. A Spring 2023 survey by Challenger showed that 11.76 percent of companies were looking into using AIs like ChatGPT in their human resources operations. When asked how they planned to use the AI, implementing the tech as a tool to make employees more productive took the first spot. Replacing some of the employee functions and streamlining operations came in at the second spot. Using AI to boost employee and customer experiences was ranked third and fourth. Some major companies have already begun considering replacing workers with AI. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, IBM chief executive Arvind Krishna said that hiring in back-office functions like human resources would be slowed down or suspended. These non-customer-facing roles accounted for around 26,000 employees at IBM. I could easily see 30 percent of that getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period, he said. This could result in around 7,800 jobs at IBM getting axed. Job Losses An April 5 report by Goldman Sachs economists calculated that advances in AI technology may end up triggering shifts in workflows that could expose the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs to automation. After analyzing various types of tasks from over 900 different occupations, the economists estimated that roughly two-thirds of occupations in the United States are exposed to some degree of AI automation. In addition, anywhere from a quarter to as much as half the workload in the exposed occupations could be taken over by AI, they forecast. Despite significant uncertainty around the potential for generative AI, its ability to generate content that is indistinguishable from human-created output and to break down communication barriers between humans and machines reflects a major advance with potentially large macroeconomic effect, the economists wrote. A survey of 1,000 U.S. business leaders in February by Resumebuilder.com found that 49 percent of companies already used ChatGPT while 30 percent plan on doing so. In addition, 48 percent said they were using ChatGPT to replace workers, while 93 percent expected their use of the AI chatbot to expand. Occupations Impacted According to an April 4 report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, at least 4.8 million American jobs could be replaced by ChatGPT. The number is a prediction given by ChatGPT after Challenger questioned the AI chatbot on the topic of AI eliminating human jobs. ChatGPT estimated that it could replace customer service representatives, a job that employs 2.9 million people in the United States; data entry clerks, which employ 1.4 million; and copywriters, which employ 347,000 individuals. Technical writers, as well as translators and interpreters, are other jobs among the five jobs the AI said it could replace. The chatbot also claimed that it could create jobs in fields like computer science, data science, machine learning, robotics and automation, math and statistics, and business. A March 27 research paper (pdf) estimated that AI could impact high-paying jobs the most. Compared to low-paid jobs, high-paid jobs had double the share of tasks affected due to AI. Jobs requiring a bachelors degree or higher were also more impacted by AI than jobs only needing an associates degree or less. Speaking during a Fox program on May 18, TV host Mike Rowe highlighted the issue, pointing out that AI is coming for white-collar jobs. People used to say that the robots are going to destroy skilled labor. Well, not really. I havent seen any plumbing robots. I havent seen any electrician robots. And I dont think were going to see any artificial intelligence in the skilled trades to that degree. You cant stop it. All you can do is decide to freak out completely or not, he said. Rowe also pointed out that people can get pushed into skilled employment like welding even though there is a stigma surrounding these jobs. My foundation has trained nearly 1700 people in the skilled trades. Many of them are welders, [and] many of those welders are making over six figures. No one believes it. No one talks about it because the stigmas are so clear that, Oh, my kid winds up being a welder. Its because he or she couldnt cut it over here. Thats such nonsense. Nobel Prize Winner in Physics Introduces the Compton Effect Days before an important conference in 1923, Arthur Compton was sitting in his room late one night. He was exhausted, but his mind kept racing about what his discovery meant. He knew that his theory would be huge, bigger than anything he had discovered in the past. Then he prayed. Deeply religious his whole life, Compton considered missionary work before going to college, but his father had seen his sons genius for scientific inquiry even at a young age. When he was 12, Compton developed a fascination for astronomy. At 17, he took a picture of Haleys Comet using a homemade camera. His father convinced Compton that he could better serve Christianity as a scientist. Compton eventually agreed. He would soon join his two brothers at Princeton, where he explored new horizons in physics. Arthur Compton (L) at the University of Chicago in 1933 with a graduate student next to his cosmic ray telescope. (Public Domain) The Nature of Light At Princeton, Compton impressed his colleagues with a unique way to demonstrate the earths rotation. He graduated from Princeton in 1916 with a doctorate in physics. Hw accepted a position as a professor of physics at the University of Chicago in 1923 and there studied the properties of light. During his research, he made his groundbreaking discovery. Physicists already knew that light moved from Point A to Point B like a wave. But through his studies, Compton proved there was more: Light could behave as both a particle and a wave. Other scientists did not accept his premise that light could have a dual nature. When he presented his theory at an American Physical Society meeting in late 1923, his idea caused a storm of controversy. Compton responded by developing an equation that would prove his hypothesis. Arthur Compton on the cover of Time magazine on Jan. 13, 1936, holding his cosmic ray detector. Wide World Photos. (Public Domain) He tested his equation and demonstrated that, when x-rays collided with electrons in certain types of metals, their frequency would reduce, and their wavelengths would grow. This meant that the x-rays lost energy. The fact that energy transferred from a photon, or particle of light, to an electron was coined the Compton effect. With this discovery, in 1927 the Nobel Committee awarded Compton with the Nobel Prize in Physics. Atomic Research Compton used his recently gained knowledge to turn his focus on cosmic rays. He had traveled 40,000 miles around the world to observe cosmic rays in different locations. He found that the largest numbers of cosmic rays existed far away from the earths magnetic equator. This proved that cosmic rays consisted largely of charged particles. His research in the next decade took another turn, as chaos threatened countries around the world. The United States had not yet joined the conflict in Europe when Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939, but calls to join the war effort intensified over the next year. Although Compton was a devout Christian, he supported the war effort, and disagreed with his own minister, who was a pacifist and frowned upon going to war. Diagram of Comptons experiment; scattering occurs in the graphite target on the left. The slit passes X-ray photons scattered at a selected angle. (CC0) In 1941, Compton began to study the possible use of atomic energy in war. He became a project director of the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago in 1942. There, he supervised the first nuclear chain reaction. His work with the Manhattan Project in the early 1940s would lead the way to the creation of the first atomic bomb. In his autobiography, The Cosmos of Arthur Holly Compton, he said: As long as I am convinced, as I am, that there are values worth more to me than my own life, I cannot in sincerity argue that it is wrong to run the risk of death or to inflict death, if necessary, in the defense of those values. California Lawmakers Think Parents Arent Paying Attention as They Eradicate Parental Rights Commentary California Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo of Los Angeles and state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco have co-authored a proposal, Assembly Bill 665, that will allow children ages 12 and older to be stolen from their families. They want you to believe that their bill simply expands access to mental health services to marginalized children who are recipients of Medi-Cal. That is blatantly untrue. Carrillo proclaims that the measure is about equity and combating discrimination, employing every buzzword I would have fallen for in my past life as a bleeding-heart liberal. I am awake now, and I have read the bill and the code it is amending. I have been tracking Wieners handiwork over the past two years as he systematically decimates parental rights while simultaneously turning San Francisco into a cesspool of sex trafficking and drug use. And I know too well what is happening at California public schools. The jig is up, Carrillo and Wiener. AB 665 isnt merely aligning two existing codesFamily Code section 6924 and Health and Safety code section 124260so that kids on Medi-Cal can get health care without their parents knowledge. These codes have a significant difference between them: Family Code addresses outpatient services and residential shelters, while Health and Safety Code addresses only outpatient services. This fact is ignored not only by the authors but by the legislative counselthe group of attorneys who analyze the billand who, in theory, are supposed to be impartial. Pursuant to the Family Code, a child 12 and older can consent to mental health counseling or residential shelter services without parental consent if the mental health provider believes that he is mature enough to participate intelligently and one of these exigent circumstances exists: (1) the parent is accused of abuse or incest, or (2) the child is in serious danger of serious physical or mental health harm to self or to others. AB 665 removes those emergency circumstances, allowing a child 12 and older to consent to placement in a residential shelter without any claim of abuse against the parents or a serious risk of harm to himself or others. The result is that a child, along with his school or community mental health providerthose providers that support the idea of chosen families as opposed the childs actual familycan decide that the child doesnt come home from school that day without any evidence of abuse or wrongdoing. I went round and round with Carrillos staff trying to explain that the Health and Safety Code only relates to outpatient services while the Family Code covers both outpatient and residential services. I broke down the codes word by word, explaining the meaning of the word or. My words fell on deaf ears. Carrillos staffers repeatedly told me that the intent of the bill was not to have children consent to residential shelters, but to have them consent to services while in the shelters, despite all evidence that the bill would accomplish this goal. Then they told me that the parts of the bill related to children in the shelters apply only to runaway kids or homeless kids, while being unable to point to any such limiting language. I reminded them that in law, judges examine the words of the code, and unless they are ambiguous, the intent is ignored. I offered to speak with the staffs lawyers who would understand statutory construction. Worn down, I rewrote the bill to effectuate the stated goal, without removing the guardrails limiting consent to residential shelters. Carrillos office wouldnt budge. Then, the light bulb came on. If the authors intent is for young Medi-Cal recipients to have access to mental health services, all they needed to do was amend the code that prohibits such services for kids with Medi-Cal. The Welfare and Institutions Code 14029.8 states that Section 124260 of the Health and Safety Code [mental health services for 12 and older] shall not apply to the recipients of benefits under the Medi-Cal program. The simple and straightforward solution would be to amend the Welfare and Institutions Code by excising the word not. This small change would then support Carrillo and Wieners claimed intent, providing mental health access to the kids on Medi-Cal without expanding the authority of mental health providers and children to consent to residential shelters. The bill would no longer be a state-sanctioned kidnapping bill. I have sent a number of emails to Carrillos office asking her to amend the bill to remove the word not from Code 14029.8. Unsurprisingly, they have stopped communicating with me. So, Carrillo and Wieners real intent with AB 665 appears to be making it easy for the 10,000 new mental health providers that will be disseminated onto California public school campuses to convince your 12-year-old child that a chosen family is better than your real family, especially if the real family wont agree to transgender interventions. Once a child is deemed a runaway, or is in the foster care system, he can dictate his own gender interventions. Californias and Wieners legislative efforts already ensured that. This bill is a mechanism to find parents implicitly abusive for not transitioning their kids, without coming right out and saying it, because Wiener is too smart for that. He will continue to author these bills evidencing his deep-seated loathing of parents and his desire to aid in the transition of as many kids as he can. It is notable that Wiener, who isnt a parent, is also the co-author of AB 957, which will codify into law that it is in the best interest of a child to be supported in their trans-identity, favoring the affirming parent in a custody dispute. Make no mistake, support means only one thing: harm the bodies of perfectly healthy kids with puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and irreversible surgeries. California appears to be on a crusade to sterilize as many gender-confused children as possible, before the rest of the parents wake up. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Chinas Maneuver in Open Waters of Taiwan Strait Unsafe, Violates International Law: US Indo-Pacific Command A Chinese navy ship conducts what U.S. officials called an "unsafe maneuver, cutting sharply across the path of a U.S. destroyer in the Taiwan Strait, on June 3, 2023. (Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Andre T. Richard/U.S. Navy via AP) The Chinese militarys latest aggression, this time against a U.S. warship in international waters in the Taiwan Strait, was unsafe, the U.S. military said following a potentially dangerous interaction on June 3. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon, accompanied by the Royal Canadian Navys Halifax-class frigate HMCS Montreal, was performing a routine south-to-north Taiwan Strait transit on June 3 in accordance with international law, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) said in a statement. However, the Peoples Liberation Army-Navys Luyang III DDG 132, a guided-missile destroyer, overtook Chung-Hoon on their port side and crossed their bow at 150 yards, the command said, forcing the U.S. guided-missile destroyer to slow to 10 knots to avoid a collision. [Chinas] actions violated the maritime Rules of the Road of safe passage in international waters, the command said. High seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in the waters where the dangerous interaction occurred, it added. The guided-missile destroyers USS Lassen (L) and USS Chung-Hoon (R) are underway in the Sea of Japan on July 27, 2010. (John J. Mike/U.S. Navy via Getty Images) The ships transit through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal State, the U.S. 7th Fleet said in a statement. Chung-Hoon and Montreals bilateral transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific. Cooperation like this represents the centerpiece of our approach to a secure and prosperous region where aircraft and ships of all nations may fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows. The Canadian Armed Forces said in a statement, In support of the rules-based international order, the Canadian Armed Forces will continue to operate in accordance with international law. Wrong Signal The CCPs military defended its actions, saying that the transit was sending the wrong signal and that it handled the situation in accordance with the Chinese regimes law and regulations. The countries concerned deliberately create incidents in the Taiwan Strait region, deliberately provoke risks, maliciously undermine regional peace and stability, and send the wrong signal to Taiwan independence forces, Chinas Peoples Liberation Armys (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command said in a statement late on June 3. China will never tolerate any attempt by the islands ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities to solicit foreign support while seeking Taiwan independence, nor will it accept any efforts by external forces to utilize Taiwan to contain China, Tan Kefei, spokesperson for Chinas Ministry of National Defense, said. Typically, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has blamed separatist forces for Taiwans refusal to bow to the regimes communist rule. Taiwan is a self-governing democracy. However, ahead of Taiwans 2024 general election, the CCP is hoping to win influence in Taiwans domestic politics. DPP presidential candidate Vice President Lai Ching-te is the only Taiwanese presidential candidate who has explicitly stated that he stands against the tyrannical rule of the CCP. He says that he is anti-CCP, not anti-China. America is not scared of Communist Chinas unsafe, unprofessional, and illegal naval actions, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said on Twitter on June 3. The Taiwan Strait is international waters and the U.S. Navy will never be pushed off-course by a regime foolishly pretending otherwise. Taiwans Ministry of National Defense, which monitors movement in the seas and skies around Taiwan, said the U.S. transit on June 3 was normal and said the CCP was the one disrupting peace, stability, and security in the region with its provocative actions. Maintaining the peace and stable development of the Taiwan Strait and the region is the shared responsibility of free and democratic countries around the world, the ministry said. Any measures to increase tension and danger will not help regional security. The Ministry of National Defense calls on the Chinese authorities to respect the right to freedom of navigation, avoid excessively provocative actions, and jointly maintain regional peace, stability, and security in the region. U.S. warships transit the international waters in the Strait about once a month. However, its rare for them to do so alongside vessels of U.S. allies. More than 40 percent of global shipping container traffic passes through the Taiwan Strait. Its the main shipping route between Europe and China, Japan, and the United States. Tensions Ongoing Taiwans defense ministry said that in the 24 hours since 6 a.m. on June 3, it detected 15 Chinese military aircraft and seven Chinese naval vessels around Taiwana near-daily occurrence since the CCP escalated its overt aggression against Taiwan in late 2020. After two PLA aircraft entered Taiwans southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ), Taiwans armed forces responded by launching combat air patrol aircraft and navy vessels, and activating land-based missile systems, the ministry added. 15 PLA aircraft and 7 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities. pic.twitter.com/ZlEJrDUKPB Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. (@MoNDefense) June 4, 2023 Read More CCP Likely Moving Toward Gray Zone Warfare in Taiwan Strategy: Analysts The incidents in the Strait occurred as government officials gathered in Singapore for the June 24 Shangri-La Dialogue to discuss Asian defense issues. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his counterparts from other Asia-Pacific nations, including China, were in attendance. The United States and its allies have voiced support for and actions to maintain a free and open IndoPacific, in accordance with international law in response to the CCPs flouting of agreed international norms, to which its a signatory. The CCP is claiming sovereignty over Taiwan as well as attempting to assert its sovereignty in regions of the South China Sea within its nine-dash line, triggering an outcry from all other nation-states in those waters with contesting claims recognized by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. A protester holds a sign against a recently passed Chinese coast guard law during a rally in Manila, Philippines, on Feb. 24, 2021. (Aaron Favila, File/AP Photo) In another move sure to increase regional tensions, the CCP on May 15 issued new rules to the China coast guard to arrest foreigners who are considered liable for crimes against Chinese citizens or the Chinese state, even when committed outside of Chinas territorial waters. Frank Fang and Reuters contributed to this report. UPDATE: This article has been updated to include comment from Canada. CIA Chief Visited China in May CIA Director William Burns testifies before a House Intelligence Committee hearing on "worldwide threats to U.S. security", on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 9, 2023. (Ken Cedeno/File Photo/Reuters) CIA director William Burns visited China last month for talks with Chinese counterparts, two U.S. officials said on Friday as Washington seeks to boost communications with Beijing. Last month, Director Burns traveled to Beijing where he met with Chinese counterparts and emphasized the importance of maintaining open lines of communication in intelligence channels, one of the officials told Reuters. News of the visit by the head of the U.S. intelligence agency, first reported by the Financial Times, comes as President Joe Bidens administration has been pressing to maintain open lines and schedule meetings between various top officials in Washington and Beijing amid tense relations. Burns, a veteran U.S. diplomat before leading the CIA, has made dozens of sensitive overseas trips as head of the agency, including to hold talks with Russian counterparts, as well as the Taliban in Afghanistan. U.S. officials are careful to stress that his intelligence-related missions are not directly linked to U.S. diplomacy. The CIA, which does not regularly announce such visits, declined to comment on the China trip. Ties between the worlds two largest economies are strained over issues ranging from Taiwan and Chinas human rights record to military activity in the South China Sea. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a planned February trip to China after an alleged Chinese spy balloon flew through U.S. airspace over sensitive military sites, kicking off a diplomatic crisis. But the White House has said efforts are continuing to facilitate visits by Blinken, as well as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Some Biden administration critics have questioned U.S. overtures to China, arguing that past decades of engagement have failed to change its line on a range of trade, security, and human rights issues. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin shook hands with Chinas Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu on the sidelines of a security summit in Singapore but the two did not have a substantive exchange, the Pentagon said on Friday. China earlier declined a formal meeting between Austin and Li, who is under U.S. sanctions, during the Shangri-La security summit taking place over the next few days. Separately, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday that the United States wanted to engage with China without preconditions on nuclear arms control issues, but that Beijing continued to be unwilling. Simply put, we have not yet seen a willingness for the PRC (Peoples Republic of China) to compartmentalize strategic stability from broader issues in the relationship, Sullivan said in a speech at the Arms Control Association, noting that this had been the bedrock of nuclear and strategic security for decades. Thats why were also ready to engage China without preconditions, helping ensure that competition is managed, and that competition does not veer into conflict, Sullivan said. Sullivan said he broached the issue in two days of talks in Vienna with Chinas top diplomat Wang Yi last month. Well see what the PRC chooses to do, he said. By Michael Martina and Trevor Hunnicutt Communist Party Continues to Deny Extent of Massacre: Poilievre Marks Tiananmen Square Massacre Anniversary Police officers take away a member of the public in the Causeway Bay area in Hong Kong on June 3, 2023, on the eve of the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, which took place in China on June 4, 1989. (Louise Delmotte/AP Photo) Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre marked the June 4 anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre with a tribute to the lives lost standing for democracy, along with criticism of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for aggressively attempting to erase reminders and memorials of the event, even 34 years later. His party will always fight for freedom, and we will always stand with Chinese Canadians as they attempt to live in peace, he said in a June 4 news release. On this day 34 years ago, the Communist Government in Beijing opened fire on its own citizens in Tiananmen Square, murdering so many protestors and other civilians who only wanted to enjoy peace, freedom, and democracy that the true number is still unknown today, said Poilievre. On June 4, 1989, tanks and soldiers armed with guns, on direction from the Chinese communist government, moved in to Beijings Tiananmen Square, the site of a peaceful, pro-democracy protest of university students and ordinary citizens. Hundreds, possibly thousands of civilians were killed as government troops opened fire on their own people. The death toll from Tiananmen Square remains unknown. At the time, news reports stated that a student-erected statue for democracy was destroyed, and that injured citizens with gunshot wounds were taken in some cases by bicycle to hospital, because ambulances could not access the square. Video of the event showed civilians carrying injured victims on park benches as makeshift stretchers. They demanded free speech and democratization from their government, who, instead of letting people have the freedom they had a right to, used soldiers and tanks to crush the protest, said Poilievre. In mainland China, discussion of the event is censored. The ruling CCP does not commemorate or speak of it. The Chinese government passed a national security law in 2019 following massive protests, which now suppresses public displays of opposition. Tiananmen statues were removed from universities, and public libraries removed books about the massacre from shelves. Social media, including Facebook and Twitter, are banned in China. Government authorities can charge dissenters for disrupting social order, picking quarrels and provoking trouble, and in some cases, subversion of state power, the last of which can carry a lifetime prison sentence. To this day, the Communist Party continues to deny the extent of the massacre and cracks down on any discussion or remembrance of this catastrophic event, Poilievre said. The Communist Party in Beijing has failed to atone for their cruelty. Time and time again, whether its through the ongoing genocide of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, their aggression in the South China Sea, or their persecution of Canadians of Chinese heritage in Canada, it has become clear that we must stand up to the Communist government in Beijing. By press time on June 4, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had made no official statement on his social media about the massacre. Lethbridge Conservative MP Rachael Thomas, in a June 4 statement on Twitter about the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, said that pro-democracy demonstrations were brutally suppressed by Beijings dictatorship. Let us honour those who saw our democratic freedom as something worth dying for & gave up their lives for the benefit of many. Eva Fu contributed to this report. Companies Reach $1.18 Billion Deal to Resolve Claims From Forever Chemicals Water Contamination Eva Stebel, water researcher, pours a water sample into a smaller glass container for experimentation as part of drinking water and PFAS research at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Center For Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response in Cincinnati on Feb. 16, 2023. (Joshua A. Bickel/AP Photo) TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.Three chemical companies said Friday they had reached a $1.18 billion deal to resolve complaints of polluting many U.S. drinking water systems with potentially harmful compounds known as PFAS. DuPont de Nemours Inc., The Chemours Co., and Corteva Inc. said they would establish a fund to compensate water providers for contamination with the chemicals used widely in nonstick, water- and grease-resistant products, as well as some firefighting foams. Described as forever chemicals because they dont degrade naturally in the environment, PFAS have been linked to a variety of health problems, including liver and immune-system damage and some cancers. The compounds have been detected at varying levels in drinking water around the nation. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in March proposed strict limits on two common types, PFOA and PFOS, and said it wanted to regulate four others. Water providers would be responsible for monitoring their systems for the chemicals. The agreement would settle a case that was scheduled for trial Monday involving a claim by Stuart, Florida, one of about 300 communities that have filed similar suits since 2018 against companies that produced firefighting foam or the PFAS it contained. They are pending in U.S. District Court in Charleston, South Carolina, where Judge Richard Gergel is overseeing thousands of complaints alleging PFAS damages. Among the plaintiffs are water providers, airports, and a number of states and private well owners. This agreement represents the first of many steps to begin to redress the harms of PFAS contamination in Americas drinking water supplies, law firms representing plaintiffs said in a statement. Chemours and Corteva are spinoffs of DuPont, which made PFAS that other companies used in firefighting foam. It has tainted groundwater on and near military bases and other locations where its used in training exercises. The DuPont logo is seen on a sign at the entrance to the companys Spruance Plant in Richmond, Va., on April 22, 2008. (Steve Helber/AP Photo) The companies said in a joint statement the proposed settlement would comprehensively resolve all PFAS-related drinking water claims of a defined class of public water systems that serve the vast majority of the United States population. That group could include thousands of public water systems, from large cities to those serving a few thousand residents, said Michael London, lead counsel for one of the law firms bringing the actions. To qualify for shares of the fund, they would have to test their water and detect PFAS. Chemours would contribute half of the fundabout $592 million. DuPont will pay $400 million and Corteva $193 million. The companies agreed in 2021 to split expenses in PFAS cases. If Judge Gergel approves the deal, he will set a timetable for notifying water providers who might stake claims. They are free to opt out and pursue separate cases, but participants will get funds to address PFAS contamination right now, said Carla Pickrel, an attorney whose firm represents about 200 plaintiffs including California Water Service; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Yarmouth, Massachusetts. The agreement excludes systems owned by states or the U.S. government and small systems that havent detected PFAS and arent legally required to monitor for it. It doesnt settle thousands of cases against other PFAS makers and dealers. Among them are 3M, the primary manufacturer of firefighting foam containing the compounds; Tyco Fire Products; and Chemguard. A trial in Stuart, Floridas, case against 3M begins Monday. Pennsylvania this week became the latest state to sue, accusing Chemours and DuPont of marketing the chemicals to firefighting foam manufacturers in the state despite knowing for decades they posed health dangers. The state seeks restitution for cleanup costs, noting that drinking water found in and around a pair of military facilities in suburban Philadelphia had some of the nations highest PFAS contamination readings. This settlement by DuPont, in our minds eye, deals with really just a fraction of this contamination, London said. By John Flesher South Africa: Minister Zulu closes Child Protection Week Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has closed Child Protection Week calling for communities to be more vigilant for possible perpetrators at an event at the Manzini Community Hall in Mpumalanga. The annual Child Protection Week campaign, which was launched on 28 May 2023 in Hout Bay, Cape Town, seeks to mobilise all sectors and communities towards embracing the holistic development, care, and protection of children under the five-year theme: Let us Protect Children during COVID-19 and Beyond. Speaking to the children gathered at the event, the Minister said she was deeply concerned at the recent cases of abuse and crimes against children in the country. She said that in Mpumalanga, the areas of KaNyamazane, Matsulu, KaBokweni, Mnganduzweni, Chochocho, Nkomazi and Bushbuckridge have been identified by police as hotspot areas for child killings after numerous children went missing and were later found murdered. Minister Zulu told the children to be aware of possible perpetrators in their communities. When we talk about abuse, rape and violence we talk about any perpetrator that might be in your schools, communities, streets and homes. Beware of these kinds of people and never allow them to touch you where they are not supposed to. Today we are closing the campaign but we do not stop the work, the campaign to protect children continues for 365 days. The brutal killing of children cannot be a normal thing. If you notice anything wrong with your peers, do not laugh at them. It is important that you as children protect each other. The protection of children must not be the responsibility of adults only, you must also protect each other when you walk together, the Minister said. She thanked the department and its partners for their contribution towards making the Child Protection Week campaign a success. She said the Social Development Department will be launching its own TV channel, which will communicate the departments services and get information to the people without it being distorted. This year, the department aimed to raise awareness about its community-based prevention and early intervention programme RISIHA. As the name, which is XiTsonga meaning Resilience, suggests it is aimed at moving orphaned and vulnerable children from vulnerability to resilience. To date, the programme has reached 181 569 orphaned and vulnerable children across the country through the provision of a basket of child protection services by 6 052 Child and Youth Care Workers across the country. Eight hundred and sixteen Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) are implementing the program and 26 of them are in the Western Cape Province. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2023-06-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. SmartAsset: How Roth 401(k) matching works with your employer Changes to federal law governing retirement savings plans allow employers to make matching contributions to employees 401(k) accounts using after-tax dollars as with a Roth 401(k). Employees get to choose whether contributions will be made after-tax or pretax. However, the decision to offer the option or to match employee contributions at all is up to the employer. If the employer offers the option and the employer chooses to receive matching contributions after-tax, taxes on the Roth employer contributions are due in the current year. Well go over the details. Talk to a financial advisor about your retirement savings plan. Roth 401(k) Basics A Roth 401(k) is a qualified retirement plan that lets employees choose to defer salary. And instead of receiving the money when its earned, you can place it in a tax-advantaged retirement account. Employers can also choose to match employee contributions, which can significantly increase the size and growth of a retirement account. Unlike regular 401(k) plans, in which employees contribute pre-tax, Roth 401(k) contributions are made after the employee pays income taxes on the contributed amount. If youre ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now. The benefit of this arrangement is that withdrawals of the contributions plus any investment earnings can be withdrawn tax-free after the employee reaches age 59.5 and the account is at least five years old. Withdrawals from regular 401(k) accounts are taxed as regular income when the employee takes money out of the plan. Roth 401(k) Matching SmartAsset: How Roth 401(k) matching works with your employer Until recently, employer matching contributions to all 401(k) plans had to be made pre-tax. A new federal law called the Secure 2.0 Act, changes this requirement. The Secure 2.0 Act allows employers to offer employees the ability to choose whether or not to receive employer-matching contributions as pre-tax or after-tax. Someone who works for an employer that offers the Roth matching contribution can, at their option, choose to receive matches as pre-tax or after-tax. Unlike some of the provisions of the Secure 2.0 Act, the Roth employer matching option is effective immediately. Employers can add the option to their 401(k) plans by making changes to the plan documents. Employees will then have the option to decide whether to take employer matches as Roth after-tax or regular 401(k) pre-tax contributions. Roth Employer Matching Example Employer matching can significantly increase the growth rate of an employees retirement savings account. For instance, if a 35-year-old employee making $60,000 per year elects to defer 3% of their salary, this would result in the employee contributing $1,800 per year to retirement. After, 30 years, assuming an 8% growth rate and not accounting for any pay increases, this would result in a retirement savings account worth approximately $204,916. With an employer matching contribution equal to 3%, this would put another $1,800 per year into the account. After 30 years, assuming an 8% annual investment return and not accounting for pay raises, this would roughly double the amount in the retirement account to approximately $408,826. Making the Most of a Roth 401(k) In order to get the best use of the new 401(k) account rules, employees can start by asking the administrator of their employers retirement plan whether it includes a pre-tax employer matching option. If the option exists, the employee can make the most out of it by deferring at least as much salary as the employer will match. Roth retirement accounts are most effective when contributions and earnings are allowed to grow for a long period of time. Therefore, starting to save for retirement at a younger age is an important way to make the most of a 401(k) plan that allows Roth-style after-tax employer matching contributions. Another way to maximize the benefits of a tax-advantaged retirement savings account is to increase contributions regularly. When salary deferrals are designated as a percentage of the employees salary, this will automatically increase contributions when the employee receives a pay hike. To save even more, employees can arrange to have 100% of any pay increases contributed to the retirement account. Bottom Line SmartAsset: How Roth 401(k) matching works with your employer Changes to the laws affecting 401(k) plans now allows employers to offer employees the option to take employer-matching contributions to the plans on a pre-tax or after-tax basis, similar to a Roth 401(k). Employees will owe taxes on Roth matching contributions in the year they were made. Employer matching contributions are required to be 100% vested immediately. Tips for Creating Your Retirement Plan A financial advisor can help you take care of your finances when youre retired. SmartAssets free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If youre ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now. Are you self-employed? You wont have access to a 401(k) but dont let that be an excuse to put off retirement savings. You can still save by opening a SEP-IRA. A SEP-IRA is relatively easy to set up and has flexible rules on annual contributions. It can be a challenge to save for retirement if you dont earn a lot of money. However, there are a few incentives to help individuals and couples with low or moderate income. One to take advantage of is the Savers Tax Credit. It allows eligible filers to receive a tax credit of up to 50% of their retirement savings. Photo credit: iStock.com/jygallery, Photo credit: iStock.com/Charday Penn, Photo credit: iStock.com/miniseries The post How Roth 401(k) Matching Works With Your Employer appeared first on SmartAsset Blog. Ford Recalls Nearly 143,000 Lincoln MKCs for Fire Risks Ford, the parent company of Lincoln, on June 2 issued a recall of nearly 143,000 of its Lincoln MKC compact SUVs over an issue that could lead to a spontaneous fire in the engine compartment. The potential danger has prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue an urgent recall notice for 2015-2019 model-year MKCs, which affects 142,734 vehicles. Car owners are advised to keep their vehicles parked outside and away from buildings and other vehicles because they could potentially catch fire, even when not running. The Michigan automaker said the MKCs battery monitor sensor, which is housed under the hood, is susceptible to damage when servicing the battery or related components in the area. The sensor is in a plastic housing, and if its damaged, it could lead to a short circuit on the sensors circuit board. Ford has determined that the electrical current could be sufficient to start a fire if this happens. The sensor is constantly powered, meaning a short circuit could occur even when the vehicle is off. People try out the interior of a 2015 Lincoln MKC on display at the LA Auto Shows press and trade day in Los Angeles, California, on November 19, 2014. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images) The company said it is aware of 19 reports of under-the-hood fires that could be related to the battery monitor sensor problem. Of those reports, 11 happened in the United States, seven in China, and one in Canada. No accidents or injuries related to the sensor issue have been reported, the automaker said. Ford said it has a fix for the issue and is sending instructions to Ford and Lincoln dealerships. Dealers will have a fuse line added to the battery monitor to prevent future overheating. Dealer notification of the recall has already happened; Ford will begin direct customer notification on June 26. Being a factory recall, the fix will be performed at no charge to owners. The deadline for submitting receipts under that option is November 30. Concerned owners who are not able to park their vehicle outdoors should contact a local retailer or Fords Customer Service Center at 1-833-807-3673 for further assistance. Those with further questions can contact the automaker at 866-436-7332 (Fords number for this recall is 23S28), the NHTSAs vehicle-safety hotline at 888-327-4236. Owners can also visit NHTSAs SaferCar.gov website and enter their vehicles vehicle identification number to see if its involved in the recall. Ford first became aware of the monitor sensor issue in March, when the company received 18 reports of under-the-hood fires in vehicles in China and North America, it said in recall documents (pdf) submitted to the NHTSA. The company investigated the issue in March, April, and May and found that in all instances, the fires happened when the vehicles were parked, and the engine turned off. The MKC recall comes as the automaker is trying to remake itself by cutting costs and raising quality, CEO Jim Farley said in May. Ford will emphasize software and services as well as iconic vehicles such as pickup trucks, large SUVs, commercial vehicles, and advanced second-generation electric vehicles, Farley said. The company will also cut costs by reducing the number of parts in its vehicles as well as cutting warranty and recall expenses by boosting quality. Ford has split itself into three business units, Ford Blue, Ford Model e for electric vehicles and digital products, and Ford Pro, the companys commercial vehicle business. Google AI Creeps Into Gmail Accounts to Find Exactly What Youre Looking For The Google logo is pictured atop an office building in Irvine, Calif., on Aug. 7, 2017. (Mike Blake/Reuters) Google is introducing a highly requested AI search feature in its Gmail service amid concerns that artificial intelligence could pose a threat to privacy. The new Gmail AI search feature is intended to improve the search experience of Gmail mobile users and will help people find exactly what youre looking for, Google said in a June 2 blog post. When searching in Gmail, machine learning models will use the search term, most recent emails, and other relevant factors to show you the results that best match your search query. These results will now appear at the top of the list in a dedicated section, followed by all results sorted by recency. This highly requested feature gives you the most relevant information first, allowing you to more quickly and easily find specific emails or files. The Gmail AI search update began rolling out on June 2. Googles decision to allow AI to sort through peoples emails raises privacy concerns. Such issues were earlier brought to attention in a March 21 post on twitter by author Kate Crawford. When she asked Googles Bard AI where its dataset comes from, the artificial intelligence replied that one of the sources is Googles internal data, including data from Gmail. Im assuming thats flat-out wrong; otherwise, Google is crossing some serious legal boundaries, Crawford said at the time. Google later replied to the tweet that Bard was not trained on Gmail data. The problem with AI having access to personal data is that artificial intelligence could end up manipulating human beings. In an April 25 interview with The Epoch Times, Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) pointed out that AIs have an uncanny ability to pierce through personal digital privacy that could help governments predict and control peoples behavior. I worry about the way that AI can empower a nation-state to create, essentially, a surveillance state, which is what China is doing with it, Obernolte said. AI Manipulating People The manipulative abilities of AI could be used by businesses to boost consumerist tendencies among people. In a June 2 interview with The Epoch Times, music expert Peter Tregear said that AI-generated music, which is already spreading through social media, ads, and shopping centers, can encourage shoppers to buy more. It will be so much easier and cheaper to underscore visual material that it becomes ubiquitous You see people walking around and basically wired in 24/7. They wake up to music, put in their headphones, and have their phone all day. Once they take it out, theyre in a shop which has music in the background, he said. Youre not aware of it. Thats what makes it so manipulative because it disappears, it literally becomes an underscore. AI can also be used to track and manipulate voters. Ethan Busby, a political psychologist, told The Epoch Times that AI has read so many things produced by human beings that they can say back to us things about ourselves that we didnt necessarily know. You can basically ask these tools to put themselves in a specific frame of mind and pretend to be essentially this person, pretend to have these characteristics. In a study, Busby and his team at Brigham Young University looked at using AI to predict voting patterns. Analyzing the 2016 elections, the team found that the AI quickly learned to predict how people would vote based on analyzing their attributes. Daniel. Y. Teng contributed to this report. Greek Police Find 3.2 Million Euros of Cocaine in Banana Containers ATHENSPolice in northern Greece have seized dozens of packages of cocaine stashed in containers laden with bananas that had been shipped from Latin America, they said on Saturday. Police seized two suspect containers at the port of Piraeus and, after taking them to the port of Thessaloniki, found 100 bricks of concealed cocaine, weighing 161 kilos (355 pounds). The drugs, which would have been distributed across Greece and other European countries, are estimated to be worth about 3.2 million euros ($3.43 million), police said. The consignment was found as part of an investigation Greece launched last month with North Macedonia authorities and the U.S. anti-drug agency, following the seizure of about 100 kilos of cocaine also hidden in banana containers at a warehouse in Thessaloniki. Some 14 people have been arrested in that case. Haitian Businessman Gets Life Sentence in 2021 Assassination of Haitis President An image of Haitian President Jovenel Moise is displayed at a news conference in Miami on Feb. 14, 2023. (Lynne Sladky/AP Photo) MIAMIA federal judge in Miami sentenced a Haitian-Chilean businessman Friday to life in prison for his role in helping Colombian mercenaries get weapons to assassinate Haitian President Jovenel Moise in 2021. Rodolphe Jaar, 51, is the first person to be convicted and sentenced in what U.S. prosecutors have described as a broad plot by conspirators in Haiti and Florida to reap lucrative contracts under a new administration once Moise was out of the way. An additional 10 defendants are awaiting trial in the United States. Jaar, who has dual Haitian and Chilean citizenship, previously had been an informant for the U.S. government and had been convicted of drug trafficking a decade ago. He pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States, and to providing material support resulting in death. Federal Judge Jose E. Martinez handed down the sentence at a 10-minute hearing at the federal court in downtown Miami. Jaar received the maximum sentence he faced despite pleading guilty and pledging to cooperate with investigators in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence. Moise was killed on July 7, 2021, when assailants broke into his private home in Port-au-Prince. He was 53 years old. In addition to Jaar, the other defendants in Miami are: former Colombian soldiers Mario Palacios and German Alejandro Rivera Garcia; former Haitian Senator John Joel Joseph; Haitian-Americans James Solages, Joseph Vincent and Christian Emmanuel Sanon; American Federick Joseph Bergmann; Colombian Arcangel Pretel Ortiz; Venezuelan-American Antonio Intriago, and the Ecuadorian-American financier Walter Veintemilla. The Haitian government also has arrested more than 40 people for their alleged role in the murder, including 18 former Colombian soldiers. Judge Martinez set a hearing for Aug. 21 to hand down a possible fine. Jaar entered the hearing room handcuffed and with shackles on his ankles, wearing a prisoners beige shirt and pants. He was wearing a face mask and his graying hair was neatly cut. He listened to the judges ruling with his head bowed. The businessman declined to make statements to the judge and has the right to appeal the sentence within two weeks. His lawyer, Frank Schwartz, told The Associated Press after the hearing that Jaar has not yet decided whether to do so and declined to comment further. Jaar arrived in South Florida in January 2022 after being detained in the Dominican Republic, and has been held in federal detention ever since. According to U.S. authorities, he voluntarily agreed to be transferred to Miami to face the charges against him. According to charging documents, the conspirators initially planned to kidnap the Haitian president, and later changed the plan to kill him instead. Plotters had hoped to win contracts under a successor to Moise, investigators allege. Jaar was responsible for supplying weapons to Colombian mercenaries for the operation, court documents say. Several of the former South American soldiers also stayed in a house controlled by Jaar, according to the charges. By Gisela Salomon Harmful to Assume War Is Inevitable: Aussie PM Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivers his keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on June 2, 2023. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has warned that assuming that war is inevitable is just as harmful as the idea that conflict is impossible amid tensions in the Indo-Pacific. We sometimes hear our region described as a potential theatre for conflict, Albanese said during a major foreign policy speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 2. As if this is merely a backdrop, a location, an arena for the ambitions of others. Such a view is entirelyand dangerouslywrong. Albanese visited Singapore on June 2 for the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Asia Security Summit, Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD)an inter-government security conference held annually in Singapore where ministers for defence debate security challenges within the region. He described the summit as a high-respected forum that brought together experts in both defence and diplomacy to build peace, security, and stability with strategic capability and diplomatic capacity, reinforcing each other. Leaders and analysts from across the Indo-Pacific, the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN), and founding dialogue partners such as Australia attended the event. Efforts with China Albanese said Australia strongly supports renewed efforts from the Biden administration in pursuit of reliable and open channels of communication between Beijing and the United States. Having guardrails with China and a working relationship that would avoid miscalculations that may result in war. Such measures are a matter of simple, practical structures to prevent a worst-case scenario. We should be doing everything we can to support the building of that first and most fundamental guardrail, Albanese said, adding that the Australian government has put dialogue at the heart of our efforts to stabilise our relationship with China. Australias Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attends an orchid naming ceremony at the Istana presidential palace during an official visit in Singapore on June 2, 2023. (Roslan Rahman/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Through the recognition of differences between both countries in terms of values and our worldviews, the prime minister said it is better and more effective to deal directly with China where there are disagreements and to also acknowledge common interests. Australia once again urged Beijing to remove trade impediments, highlighting that as Australias leading trade partner, China has managed to benefit from importing vast quantities of high quality Australian products and resources. Its been made possible by a regional architecture that facilitates fair trade, encourages the sharing of knowledge, spurs innovation, and builds people-to-people connections through education, and tourism, and business, and orderly migration, Albanese said. He also reassured Indo-Pacific countries that are wary of Australias plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact. Albanese acknowledged the longstanding commitment to nuclear disarmament where citizens have an unflinching commitment to preventing the spread of such destructive, inhumane, and indiscriminate weapons. In boosting our nations defence capability, Australias goal is not to prepare for war but to prevent itthrough deterrence and reassurance, and building resilience in the region. I can assure you, that when Australia looks north, we dont see a void for others to impose their will, Albanese said. We see a community of nations whose actions and decisions are essential to building prosperity and preserving peace in the Indo-Pacific. Peace is not a gift and its never a given, its not the default setting of any part of the world. It has to be built, pursued, defended, and upheld. Influence and Shared Responsibility of Big Powers During his speech, Albanese recognised comments made in a speech by Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong from the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference held in China on March 30. Big powers have a heavy responsibility to maintain stable and workable relations with one another, Albanese quoted. He said that having the alternatives and the silence of the diplomatic deep freeze would only breed suspicion, and it would make it easier for nations to attribute motive to misunderstanding, to assume the worst of one another. Without the pressure valve of dialogue at the decision-making level, there is always a much greater risk of assumptions spilling over into irretrievable action and reaction, he said. The consequences of such a breakdownwhether in the Taiwan Strait or elsewherewould not be confined to the big powers or the site of their conflict, they would be devastating for the world, Albanese said. Albanese said if there were any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force: be it in Taiwan, the South China Sea, the East China Sea, or elsewhere, the risk of conflict or war would always outweigh any potential reward. Australias Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (2nd L) and his delegation meet with Singapores Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (2nd R) and officials at the Istana presidential palace in Singapore on June 2, 2023. (Roslan Rahman/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Australia-Singapore Ties Before Albanese gave his speech, he met with Singapores acting prime minister, Lawrence Wong, on June 2. Albanese was due to meet with Singaporean prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, but Lee is isolating with COVID-19. In the bilateral meeting, the leaders discussed regional strategic outlook, defence relations, expanding trade, and growing cooperation on food and energy security. Three new initiatives were announced at the press conference: an innovation program on green commerce, a grant program for renewable energy, and initial work to establish a green shipping corridor that will support net-zero shipping between the two countries. We know that security isnt just about defence. Its also about our capacity to be less vulnerable to shocks. Whether thats a future pandemic, a trade or cybersecurity shock, or regional or international conflict, Albanese said. Wong said Singapore did not want to be in a position where it had to choose between containing Chinas rise or limiting Americas presence. We welcome new security arrangements like the Quad and AUKUS, so long as they continue to uphold ASEAN centrality, uphold a rules-based order based on international law, which is the case, and we welcome these overlapping frameworks, he said. Wong noted the two countries are looking to upgrade the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area. After visiting Singapore, Albanese arrived in Vietnam on June 3 for his first visit as a leader to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations with Australia and touched on concerns over Beijings approach to the South China Sea. Health and Economic Benefits of Trails Discussed at Vision Hudson Valley Conference A group of field experts, nonprofit leaders, and government officials discussed the health and economic benefits of trails at an annual conference by Vision Hudson Valley on June 2. Vision Hudson Valley is a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization that seeks to preserve and enhance the quality of life for residents in Orange County and the Hudson Valley region. Garnet Health Foundation President Bill Dauster, an avid outdoorsman, opened the health panel discussion by citing his personal experience. I wonder all the time when I get to a summit of a mountain why I feel completely elated and then when I sit in the observer cabin on top of Balsam Lake Mountain, and I watched countless people all day long come sweaty, breathing, hungry, and sometimes not looking good, and they are all smiling and elated, he said. I believe there [are] real clinic reasons for that. Panel expert Dr. Mary Gillis said that when exercising in a natural and calming environment, ones body produces mood-boosting chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine. A watershed trail in Port Jervis, N.Y., on March 16, 2023. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times) Garnet Health wellness director Dr. Anjana Poonthota said that being in nature breeds emotional connection and overall wellness, but unfortunately, its a point often lost on younger generations. I see [kids] always on their laptops or iPads, and parents are so used to it, Poonthota said. My heart breaks to see the number of adolescent children come in [the hospital] and they are suicidal these children do not have the coping skills nor are they [being taught]. We need to take that message to teach the next generation why nature is important. Aside from health benefits, trails increase foot traffic for businesses along the routes and drive economic growth in adjacent areas, according to several conference speakers. Orange County tourism coordinator Rachael Carr said that about 500,000 peoplesome hail from nearby counties, Long Island, and New York Cityuse the countys Heritage Trail every year. She said the county is working on promoting the Heritage Trail and with nearby attractions to increase the number and length of hotel stays. Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano speaks at the 13th Annual Placemaking Conference by Vision Hudson Valley in Middletown, N.Y., on June 2, 2023. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times) Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano said that he advocated for the extension of Heritage Trail from Goshen into his city, which spurred a slew of businesses and housing developments. The next phase of the trailit now stops at East Main Street just outside the central business districtwill run through downtown before it reaches West Main Street in the city. Once the urban section is completed, it will drive more foot traffic to downtown businesses, such as the Paramount Theatre, restaurants, and retail stores, he said. As to new rural trails, Orange County planning commissioner Alan Sorensen said the county is working with Open Space Institute to build a new 9.8-mile Schunnemunk Rail Trail to link Camp La Guardia in the Town of Chester to the Moodna Viaduct in Salisbury Mills. Camp La Guardia, a former homeless shelter, is planned to be converted into a new county park, he said. On a larger scale, Open Space Institute has an ambitious long-term plan to connect more than 20 communities by linking 250 miles of trails across Ulster, Sullivan, and Orange counties. Hong Kong Detains 8 People on Eve of Tiananmen Square Anniversary A member of the public is taken away by the police in the Causeway Bay area on the eve 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, in Hong Kong on June 3, 2023. (Louise Delmotte/AP Photo) HONG KONGHong Kong police detained eight people, including activists and artists, on the eve of the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, a move that signals the citys shrinking freedom of expression. Police said in a statement late Saturday that four people have been arrested for allegedly disrupting order in public spaces or carrying out acts with seditious intent. Four others were taken away for investigation on suspicion of breaching public peace. Authorities did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday. For decades, tens of thousands of Hongkongers held an annual candlelight vigil in Victoria Park each June 4 to commemorate the 1989 massacre of pro-democracy protesters, in which tanks rolled into the heart of Beijing and hundreds, possibly thousands, of people were killed. During the pandemic, protests in Hong Kong were rare due to COVID-19 restrictions. In addition, many activists there have been silenced or jailed after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law following massive protests in 2019. When the British handed Hong Kong to Beijing in 1997, it was promised 50 years of self-government and freedoms of assembly, speech, and press that are not allowed on the Chinese mainland, but critics say those freedoms are being eroded. This years Tiananmen commemoration is expected to be muted. Many Hongkongers are trying to mark the event in private ways because it is unclear what authorities might consider subversive. Earlier Saturday, activists Kwan Chun-pong and Lau Ka-yee were detained after appearing near the former site of the candlelight vigil to say they would not eat for around 24 hours to mourn the victims. We will now start fasting at 6:04 p.m., Lau said with flowers in her hand, referencing the June 4 date of the massacre. They also held papers that said they were fasting and mourning those killed in Tiananmen. Tiananmen activists Kwan Chun-pong (L) and Lau Ka-yee (R) hold up papers with the word Fasting and details of their plan to fast for about a day at the entrance of Hong Kongs Victoria Park on June 3, 2023. (Kanis Leung/AP Photo) This relatively mild act of protest nevertheless prompted police officers to arrive within minutes and cordon off the pair, who later put red tape over their mouths. An officer warned them that they might be breaching the law for having seditious intent, and ordered them to stop their activities or they might be arrested. Minutes later, they were taken away by police. It was unclear if they have been formally arrested. As night fell, police took away five others, including two artists, Sanmu Chen and Chan Mei-tung. Surrounded by police officers, Samnu Chen chanted: Hongkongers, do not be afraid. Dont forget tomorrow is June 4. Chan Mei-tung had been standing and walking on a street in Causeway Bay before being cordoned off by police. It is unclear whether other activists will show up to publicly commemorate the anniversary on Sunday. The park will instead be occupied by a carnival organized by pro-Beijing groups to celebrate Hong Kongs handover to Chinese rule. Organizers say it will feature a bazaar with food from across China. By Kanis Leung House Speaker Issues New Subpoena Threat to FBI Director House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks to the press after meeting President Joe Biden to discuss the debt limit at the White House in Washington on May 22, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times) House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said that FBI Director Christopher Wray will face charges of contempt if he doesnt provide a document that alleges a bribery scheme between President Joe Biden and a foreign national to the House Oversight Committee. We have a responsibility of oversight, the California lawmaker told Fox News Sunday Morning Futures in an interview with host Maria Bartiromo. If they do not comply and allow every person on oversight, Republican or Democratthats their responsibility to the members of Congressto see this document, I will move contempt charges against the director. According to House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), the FBI director is slated to brief him on Monday about the document. He will also be allowed to review it, but McCarthy said that that development only occurred because of the threat of contempt charges. When we realized there was a document, we sent a subpoena, said McCarthy. [Wray] did not want to comply with the subpoena. I called the director and told him I needed this subpoena, that we have a responsibility to oversee the FBI, a constitutional responsibility he then changed his mind [and said] he would let the chairman and the rankers see the document and bring it to the House. That is not good enough. Several days ago, McCarthy announced that he would lead an effort to hold Wray in contempt because Congress has jurisdiction over this. He added, He can send us that document. We have the right to look at thatRepublicans and Democrats alike in that committee. Last month, the FBI refused to provide the document to members of Congress by a deadline that Comer had set. The bureau said that there were concerns about the confidentiality of informants and the fact that some tips were not verified. Releasing confidential source information could potentially jeopardize investigations and put lives at risk, the FBI said in a statement to media outlets last week. The FBI remains committed to cooperating with Congresss oversight requests on this matter and others as we always have. FBI Director Christopher Wray listens at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) A bureau spokesperson further stipulated that in May, Wray scheduled a telephone call for tomorrow to provide additional details of the FBIs extraordinary accommodation to satisfy the subpoena request. Republicans discussion of escalation under these circumstances is unnecessary, the statement continued to say. But in a May 3 letter, Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) revealed they received highly credible unclassified whistleblower disclosures that the agency had a record that describes an alleged criminal scheme involving then-vice president Joe Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions. Democrats have argued that Comers claims are politically motivated. Longstanding Investigation Over the years, Republicans have attempted to obtain information on Bidens and his familys overseas business dealings, asserting that they may pose ethical and legal problems for the president. In late 2020, the New York Post revealed the existence of a now-infamous laptop that was previously owned by his son Hunter Biden that contained messages and emails about business deals with a Chinese state-linked energy firm, with one saying that 10 percent of one deal would be held by H for the big guy. Information that was sourced from the laptop was heavily referenced during the second debate between then-candidate Biden and then-President Donald Trump in which the former president accused Biden of being a corrupt and venal individual. Trump also made reference to a former Hunter Biden business partner, Tony Bobulinski, who came forward to say that the big guy was Joe Biden himself. Biden has long denied involvement in his familys business affairs. In March, Biden was asked about newly disclosed bank records that showed financial transactions showing that Hunter Biden transferred more than $1 million to members of his family, allegedly from the Chinese firm, but the president denied any knowledge. A reporter from The Epoch Times sister media, NTD News, asked Biden on the South Lawn of the White House about those payments. Any reaction to House GOPs memo about your familys dealings, sir? NTD White House correspondent Iris Tao asked the president. My familys dealings? Biden asked. Yes. Revealing that Hunter Bidens business associate sent over $1 million to three of your family members. Any reaction to that report? Tao asked. Thats not true, Biden said. According to Comers office in a statement issued in March, subpoenaed financial records show that his family members, Hunter Biden, James Biden, Hallie Biden, and another undisclosed Biden got some $1.3 million in payments from Rob Walker. It came after State Energy HK Limited wired $3 million to Walkers Robinson Walker LLC before payments were transferred to the Biden family accounts. Most of the payments to the Biden family came after Rob Walker received a $3 million wire from a Chinese energy company, Comers office said at the time. Raising kids to be happy and successful starts at home with the basics Ask any set of parents what they wish for their child, and theyll likely give you some form of happiness and success answer. There are a cacophony of voices in todays overbearing world telling us how to raise such happy and successful children. Give them a good education, one voice says, while another suggests lots of extra-curricular activities, while a third insists they roam free and independent. Each of those voices likely has some truth to it. But in looking for the latest and greatest child-rearing tactic, we often overlook the basics. I found several of these basic practices hidden in an old childrens book, All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor. Taylors fictitious account of a family of five girls living in New York City during the Edwardian era draws on her own childhood, giving a glimpse of how Mama raised her girls to be successful, happy adults through chores, consistency, and companionship. Chore Creativity Mamas girls were not angels, Taylor makes clear, and as such, they did their fair share of complaining about chores. Dusting the front room was an especially dreaded chore. After one particularly difficult battle over whose turn it was to dust, Mama turned the chore into a game, hiding 12 buttons around the room in strategic places to ensure her little ones would do a thorough job. Such a move produced a new problem: Every one of the girls insisted it was her turn to dust! But the right one was selected and went on her merry way to the front room, eventually finding all 12 buttons and producing a wonderfully clean front room. Todays parents know what its like to have children complain about chores, which may be one reason why an oft-cited poll from Braun Research found that only 28 percent of parents make their children do chores. But according to another study from Harvard, chores create happier, more independent adults. As such, hiding the pill in the jam of chores, as Mama in All-of-a-Kind Family did, seems even more necessary. So get creative and occasionally make chores fun! Set a timer and have children race the clock on a certain task. Offer an occasional incentive for the child who is most faithful in completing chores over a certain amount of time. Or even try a spin-off on Mamas idea, hiding items for children to find in the process of completing dreaded chores. The trick, however, is to be strategic about such games. Mama was a wise mother, and continually mixed things up. After the first week of the dusting game, her children never knew when the buttons would appear, nor how many there would be, nor if there might be a special prize, such as a hidden penny, so they always had to do a thorough dusting job, just to make sure. The grumbling didnt stop completely, but it was not nearly so loud or so often, Taylor writes. And in the meantime, the children were taught to be the best little housekeepers in the whole world. Clear Rules and Consistency Following through on what you say is one of the most important components of successful parenting. It helps parents maintain their sanity because consistency enables emotional security in children, resulting in regulated emotions and better behavior, research from the University of Georgia explains. For Mama, such consistency was especially necessary at the dinner table: There was a strict rule about not wasting any food in Mamas house. This rule had been made into a chant by the children: No soup No meat. No meat No vegetables. No vegetables No fruit. No fruit No penny. This rule was tested sorely one day, however, when middle child Sarah decided she just wasnt in the mood for rice soup. Dawdling through lunch over her full soup bowl, offering excuses of why she couldnt eat it, and even dissolving into a meltdown, Sarah finally had to leave the table and return to school hungry. But Mama was steadfast. The soup was produced again after school and again at supper time, where a forlorn little girl finally choked down a spoonful. This battle of the wills wasnt only hard on Sarah. Mama was equally miserable, the author tells us. She had to keep steeling herself to her firm resolve. Dont be too sorry for her, she told herself. You mustnt. She must learn her lesson. If only shed take just one spoonful, it would be enough. Id be able to give in then. Every parent goes through this type of struggle at some point. Sadly, its all too easy to give in to a childs moans and tearsor even resist laying down the law in the first place. But the parents who gently but firmly show who is boss, letting children know what is expected of them and following through, will find their job only gets easier over time. Companionship It is sometimes said that one of the best things parents can do for a child is to give him siblings. Research confirms this, showing that siblings can provide an individual with better mental health and better relationshipsdepending, of course, on how positive the sibling relationship is. The sisters in All-of-a-Kind Family had their share of squabbles, but they were generally fast friends. One of the ways Mama fostered this positive friendship was by sending them to bed early. But Mama didnt make them lie quietly in bed. All five girls shared a roomsome of them even sharing bedsand were allowed to talk freely with one another, sharing stories and secrets, subsequently strengthening their relationship and trust with one another. We need to give our children similar opportunities, first by giving them siblings, and second by allowing them to have positive time together apart from parents. As an added bonus, this enables parents to spend much needed time alone together, too, talking and building their relationship, which makes both parents and children happy. In the end, its not the latest tech gizmos or extensive opportunities that promise to make our children happy and successful as adults. Instead, it is our consistency in ensuring they know the basics of responsibility and are surrounded by loving familial relationships. I Support the ConstitutionThat Includes the Second Amendment: RFK Jr. on Gun Rights Presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says that he supports Second Amendment and would not seek a gun confiscation program if elected. Asked about his stance on gun rights by The Epoch Times, Kennedy, the nephew of President John F. Kennedy, replied, I support the Constitution that includes the Second Amendment. Im not going to take anybodys guns away, he said. I think at this point in history all that would do is to increase this toxic polarization. Kennedy said that he grew up in rural areas, and thus understands how integrated firearms are into the culture of such people. Its existential for those people who live in those areas, Kennedy said, citing the self-sufficiency required to live far from civilization centers. And its part of our Constitution, the Second Amendment as the Supreme Court has interpreted it. The current Supreme Court has veered toward defending gun rights, striking down state-level statutes in several cases where it said these statutes trampled constitutional rights. Kennedy said that we need to end the mass killings, but suggested that gun confiscation or limitations on gun rights are not the way to achieve this goal. Pharmaceutical Link Kennedys long been a critic of the ways that pharmaceutical products have damaged physical and mental health, particularly among the newest generation, and suggested that psychoactive pharmaceutical products may explain the rise in mass shootings, which are most often perpetrated by men under 40. This is the sickest generation of kids that weve ever, anybody has ever produced, he said, citing a massive uptick in cancers, autoimmune disorders, OCD, ADHD, and other physiological and neurological problems. When discussing the issue of mass shootings, Kennedy said, We need to look at the role of psychiatric drugs, particularly of SSRIs [anti-depressants] and benzos [benzodiazepine-class drugs]. However, he said that research into this matter has been stymied by the National Institutes of Health. All of those drugs have on their inserts, May induce suicidal and homicidal behavior,' Kennedy pointed out. Suicidal ideation or suicide attempts are cited as one of the most common side effects of anti-depressants and other psychoactive medications. He suggested this would serve to explain disparities in gun violence rates between the United States and Switzerland. Switzerland has more guns per capita than the United States, he noted. And Switzerland has not had a mass shooting for 21 years, we have one every 21 hours. Something is happening in our country, something that has never happened before in history, Kennedy said. Theres never been a time in history when people walk into a room of children or strangers and start shooting peoplenot in our country where weve had guns from the beginning, and not in any other country in the world. Something has happened here. I dont think its a coincidence that Americans take three times as many pharmaceutical drugs as other countries and also has the most significant gun problems, Kennedy opined. We have the sickest population in the world. And I think that a lot of the psychiatric issues that were looking at come from despair, they come from alienation. And theyre aggravated by those drugs. We need to look at those connections and figure out really what is going on, because this is a new phenomenon. Before Prozac was introduced [in 1988], mass shootings were one in a million. And today, like I said, theyre every 21 hours. Red Flag Snitch Laws Asked for his opinions on red flag laws, Kennedy quipped, I dont like snitch laws. Under red flag laws, a concerned person can make an anonymous report to a court of law alleging that a firearm owner is a threat to themselves or others. The court can then order an emergency confiscation of the individuals guns pending further evaluation, without giving the gun owner any chance to defend themselves prior to the seizure. Proponents say its an important way to ensure the safety of the community. Opponents say it strips citizens of due process rights and allows vengeful acquaintances to target those they dont like. I would want to look at how those laws are structured and what people are suggesting, Kennedy said. I dont think you should be able to call the police in this country and tell on your neighbors. Im just uncomfortable with it. Kennedy is seeking the Democratic nomination. Party executives have ruled that he and other Democrat contenders for the presidency will not be given the chance to debate President Joe Biden in front of the American people. ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The head of a group representing global airlines renewed pressure on planemakers to speed up plane and parts production on Sunday, warning the delays would curtail airline capacity as demand for air travel nears a full recovery from the pandemic. Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, told Reuters the topic had been raised by "every single one" of the airline CEOs he had met as the industry gathers for a three-day annual meeting in Istanbul. Airlines "are not concerned about the macroeconomic environment, they're concerned about the access to spare parts for their existing aircraft and the delivery of new aircraft. So it's definitely got to hold back capacity growth," he said. "It's frustrating because airlines can see strong demand, but they're not able to match supply with demand in many markets. And this is something we want to see resolved." Airbus and Boeing have blamed supply chains for delivery delays, while bottlenecks in a network of engine repair shops have also forced airlines to ground dozens of jets. The gathering comes two weeks before the Paris Airshow, where supply pressures are likely to overshadow new orders. (Reporting by Tim Hepher, Joanna Plucinska and Aditi Shah; Editing by David Holmes) I Will Not Bend: MP Jenny Kwan Says She Wont Allow China to Erase History NDP MP Jenny Kwan speaks to reporters about her briefing with CSIS where they confirmed that she was a target of foreign interference, in the Foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on May 29, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang) The briefing with Canadas spy agency, warning Jenny Kwan that she is a target of foreign interference by China, took roughly an hour. It took less than a second, she says, for her to decide that she wouldnt let Beijing weaken her resolve. The Hong Kong-born member of Parliament has been outspoken against human-rights violations by the Chinese Communist Party and often advocates for the countrys Uyghur Muslim minority. Kwan said in an interview with The Canadian Press that thats what made her an evergreen target of the Chinese government, which has had its eye on her since before the 2019 federal election. She said she received a briefing from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service last week. She was not able to divulge the details of the intelligence they shared due to security laws. But she did not notice the interference when it was happening, she said. My takeaway from that briefing is this: No matter what foreign interference is being done to me, I will not relent on the work that Im doing, said Kwan, who is a New Democrat. She said she was left with a sense that the fight for human rights is more important than ever, especially as the 34th anniversary of Chinas Tiananmen Square crackdown approaches on Monday. Its not something that I had when I was in Hong Kong. My parents did not enjoy it. My grandparents did not enjoy it, said Kwan, adding that she is adamant she wont be silenced or intimidated. The 1989 crackdown in Beijing saw tanks roll into the city and hundreds, if not thousands, of pro-democracy student protesters killed. Mabel Tung, chairwoman of the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement, said many people in Hong Kong will be marking the day in private. Thats because the citys freedoms have shrunk since Beijing imposed a tough national security law following massive pro-democracy protests in 2019. Since then, Tiananmen-related statues have been removed from universities and books about the event have been pulled off shelves. There is an active approach to erase this history, said Kwan, who emigrated from Hong Kong when she was nine. She participated in a pro-democracy march with Tung last weekend in Vancouver to remember the protestors killed in the massacre. Many Hong Kong diaspora members wore masks so their family members back home were not punished. We encourage people to wear masks, wear sunglasses and wear a hat so that their faces will not be identified. Theyre really scared that they can be recognized, Tung said. People dont want to be put in jail for anything that is not a crime. Kwan said she marched for the parents who cannot light a candle outside their homes to publicly honour their dead children because it would be deemed a violation. I hope those of us outside of Hong Kong and China would find the courage to speak up and let the people of Hong Kong we stand with them and that our voice is an extension of their voice, Kwan said. She acknowledged that theres a risk to continuing to speak out while she is being targeted by Beijing. People might distance themselves from me or theyre worried what implications this has and how it could affect them, Kwan said. Those are definitely real concerns, but I cannot allow for anything to deter me from doing this work. If Im afraid to speak up, what does that mean for everyday people? Tung said the many ethnic Chinese people in Vancouver are happy that Kwan is defending their freedoms. We know were not alone. This person is with us to walk this road together, Tung said. Still, she admitted that she worries about Kwans safety. But the MP is unshakeable in her belief: I will not bend. Too much is at stake. Less Than 10 Percent of Pistol Braces Registered With ATF by Deadline Multiple lawsuits are pending as regulators mum on enforcement Only 255,162 of the millions of pistol-stabilizing braces known to be in civilian hands have been registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) by the May 31 deadline set by the agency. Possessors of such firearms were also provided the option to comply with the final rule by permanently removing and disposing of, or altering, the stabilizing brace such that it could not be reattached or by destroying the firearm, Erik Longnecker, deputy chief of the ATFs Public Affairs Division, told The Epoch Times by email on June 3. ATF is unable to estimate the number of possessors of such firearms that used either of these methods to comply with the final rule. Likewise, we have no data currently available for the number of firearms abandoned to ATF. Pistol brace owners have been estimated at between 3 million and 40 million, so the number of registered owners is anywhere from 0.6 percent to 8 percent. This doesnt consider the pistol brace owners covered by injunctions issued by federal judges. On Jan. 13, the ATF issued criteria for the firearms, outlining that pistol-stabilizing braces converted pistols into short-barreled rifles (SBR), which are regulated by the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934 and the Gun Control Act of 1968. ATF agents gather in a parking lot where media have been asked to gather, down the road from the entrance to Ft. Meade after a vehicle rammed a gate to the National Security Agency, in Fort Meade, Md., on March 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) That rule went into effect on Jan. 31. At that time, the ATF set a 120-day amnesty period in which owners of pistols equipped with the devices could register them without paying the $200 NFA tax. The amnesty period expired on May 31. Owners of pistols with unregistered devices could be charged with a felony and face up to 10 years in prison, $10,000 in fines, or both. Longnecker wouldnt elaborate on how the ATF would enforce the rule. (ATF is) unable to comment due to ongoing litigation, Longneckers email reads. However, parties in at least three lawsuits are protected while their cases are being heard. The state of Tennessee will no longer regulate AR-15-based pistols, like these. However, state officials warn that federal regulators are writing rules for these weapons. (Michael Clements/The Epoch Times) The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction just before the deadline, which has protected Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) members and Maxim Defense customers from the rule. Judges also issued injunctions in one lawsuit filed by the Second Amendment Foundation (pdf) and another lawsuit by Gun Owners of America (GOA), the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF), and the state of Texas (pdf). According to the FPC website, the court will hear oral arguments in its case, Mock v. Garland, on June 29. FPC didnt respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment. Joining FPC as plaintiffs are Rainier Arms and individuals Samuel Walley and William Green. Theyre suing the ATF, ATF Director Steve Dettelbach, the Department of Justice, and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. On its website, GOA posted statements vowing to fight what the group considers an unconstitutional rule. The GOF called on Congress to take action to rein in the ATF. Gun Owners of America buttons are sold at the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on Sept. 27, 2022, during the annual rally organized by the Second Amendment March group. (Rebecca Cook/AFP via Getty Images) While Congress was slow to act on this wide-reaching rule, GOF stepped in to defend the millions of Americans facing legal jeopardy, Sam Paredes of the GOF wrote in a statement. We are proud to have helped partially halt this rule, and hope it sends a message to anti-gunners hellbent on continuing the assault on the Second Amendment. According to a statement on the Second Amendment Foundation website, U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle granted a preliminary injunction against the rule in the Foundations lawsuit, SAF et al. v. ATF et al. The suit is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas. When Joe Biden took office, he immediately began weaponizing the ATF, and this new pistol brace rule is a result of that strategy. In the process, theyre turning millions of law-abiding citizens into criminals. We cant allow that without a fight, Sam Gottlieb, Second Amendment Foundation executive vice president, wrote in a statement on the foundations website. Brace Invented in 2012 The pistol-stabilizing brace was invented in 2012 to assist the disabled and others who may need help shooting large-format pistols built on the AR-15 and similar platforms. The stabilizing brace attaches to the rear of the pistol and the shooters forearm. This allows the shooter a steadier aim while holding the pistol with one hand. The ATF previously issued several open letters stating that the braces didnt change pistols into SBRs. However, the rule published in January said that changes in the braces design and videos on how to use them make it clear that the items convert the large-format pistols into prohibited SBRs. Since then, the ATF has advised owners of the devices to either remove the braces and render them unusable, register pistol-brace-equipped firearms with the government, or convert the pistols into what the regulator lists as legal rifles. Man Killed in Car Crash in Oceanside OCEANSIDE, Calif.A 20-year-old man was killed June 4 when his car struck a traffic signal pole in Oceanside, police said. The victims 2005 Nissan Altima was traveling eastbound on Mission Avenue at 12:13 a.m. Sunday when it crashed into the pole on the southeast corner of Mission and Mesa Drive, according to the Oceanside Police Department. No other vehicles were involved and the driver was the only occupant in the vehicle, police said. It was uncertain if alcohol or speeding were factors in the crash. The victims name has not been disclosed. Man Charged With Raping Woman in Newport Beach SANTA ANA, CalifA 29-year-old Costa Mesa man was charged June 2 with raping a woman and assaulting her with a feeding tube in Newport Beach. Jack Douglas Kanen was charged with two counts of rape, two counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object and force, a count of forcible oral copulation, a count of assault with the intent to commit a sex offense, a count of assault with a deadly weapon and a count of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, all felonies. Kanen, who was being held on $755,000 bail, did not enter a plea at his arraignment in the jail courtroom in Santa Ana Friday. He was ordered to return to court for arraignment June 20 in the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach. Kanen was accused of attacking the victim on Jan. 20, 2022, according to the criminal complaint. Messages sent to Newport Beach police and the Orange County District Attorneys Office for further details were not immediately returned. Marijuana Use Still Disqualifies Gun Ownership Under Federal Law, ATF Says Americans who smoke marijuana are still prohibited from owning guns under federal law, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said in a cautionary statement. Shortly after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on May 30 signed a bill legalizing recreational marijuana across the state, the ATF reminded Minnesotans that federal law still prohibits anyone defined as an unlawful user of a controlled substance, including cannabis, from possessing firearms or ammunition. Until marijuana is legalized federally, firearms owners and possessors should be mindful that it remains federally illegal to mix marijuana with firearms and ammunition, said Jeff Reed, ATFs acting special agent in charge of the St. Paul Field Division. The agency cited the Federal Gun Control Act of 1968, which makes it illegal for unlawful users of or are addicted to narcotics or any other controlled substances to ship, transport, receive, or possess firearms or ammunition. This law is further supported by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which classifies cannabis as a Schedule I drug, placing it in the same category as heroin and LSD. The act doesnt differentiate between medical or recreational marijuana. Federal law does not provide any exception allowing the use of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes, the ATF warned. In the meantime, Minnesotans who are looking to purchase firearms are required to admit if they are an unlawful user of cannabis on ATF Form 4473 during the transaction. In 2011, the ATF issued an open letter to Federal Firearms Licensees to provide guidance as states began easing restrictions on cannabis. The guidance clarifies that gun dealers should not transfer a firearm to anyone if theres reasonable cause to believe that the person is a marijuana user, including when the individual has a valid state-issued medical marijuana ID card. According to the guidance, gun dealers must ask the buyer if they are addicted to or an unlawful user of marijuana before selling firearms, and buyers need to answer Yes even if they use marijuana for medicinal purposes. If the buyer lies about their drug use and is later found to be a marijuana user, the gun dealer could be held liable. Legal Battle Over the Law In a recent challenge of the federal firearm ban for cannabis users, a federal judge in Oklahoma found the prohibition unconstitutional because there is no historical tradition of suspending their Second Amendment rights. The case stemmed from May 2022, when Jared Harrison, a Texas man out on bond pending trial for that aggravated assault, was pulled over by Oklahoma police for an alleged traffic violation. The officer searched his car and found some marijuana and a pistol. In August 2022, a federal grand jury indicted Harrison for possessing a firearm with the knowledge he was an unlawful user of marijuana. Harrison argued, among other things, the charge violated his Second Amendment rights. In February 2023, U.S. District Judge Patrick Wyrick ordered the dismissal of criminal charges against him on the grounds that stripping someone of their right to possess a firearm solely because they use marijuana is not consistent with the Nations historical tradition of firearm regulation. Under the United States own theory, history and tradition would limit disarmament to dangerous lunatics, Wyrick wrote in his opinion. And as explained above, the mere use of marijuana does not indicate that someone is, in fact, dangerous, let alone analogous to a dangerous lunatic.' The fact the Texas court didnt order Harrison to be jailed while awaiting trial, according to Wyrick, shows that he was not a danger to the public. The judge also noted that marijuana could be bought legally at more than 2,000 storefronts in Oklahoma and that using marijuana is not in and of itself a violent or threatening act. The Constitution, after all, permits pre-trial detention, and such detention would be a highly effective means of furthering the governments interest in protecting the public from a gun-toting Harrison. But that didnt happen, wrote Wyrick, a Trump appointee. And so here we are, with the federal government now arguing that Harrisons mere status as a user of marijuana justifies stripping him of his fundamental right to possess a firearm. The U.S. Department Of Justice has not commented on the ruling but is expected to appeal the decision. NBCs Chuck Todd Will Step Down as Host of Meet the Press NBC News Chuck Todd announced he is stepping down as the host of Sundays Meet the Press, he announced on June 4. Todd has spent the past nine years as the moderator of the Sunday show, frequently interviewing politicians about various issues. His tenure will end at the end of the summer, Todd said. Replacing him will be Kristen Welker, who notably hosted the final 2020 debate between former President Donald Trump and then-Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Its been an amazing nearly decade-long run, Todd said. I am really proud of what this team and I have built over the last decade. Ive loved so much of this job, helping to explain America to Washington and explain Washington to America. In his announcement, Todd did not say explicitly say why he would be leaving the program but he indicated that hed rather leave sooner than later. He will continue to work for NBC News. The key to the survival of any of these media entities, including here at Meet the Press, is for leaders to not overstay their welcome, Todd said. Id rather leave a little bit too soon than stay a tad too long. Welker confirmed the development on Twitter, writing that she is humbled and grateful to succeed him. Todd has been a mentor and friend since my first day at NBC News, Welker said. Ive learned so much from sitting with him at the anchor desk and simply experiencing his passion for politics. Im humbled and grateful to take the baton and continue to build on the legacy of Meet the Press. A Sunday memo sent to staff members by NBC News editorial president Rebecca Blumenstein confirmed Todds departure, according to a report from NBC. Meet the Press has sustained its historic role as the indispensable news program on Sunday mornings, Blumenstein and another executive, Carrie Budoff Brown, said in the memo. Through his penetrating interviews with many of the most important newsmakers, the show has played an essential role in politics and policy, routinely made front-page news, and framed the thinking in Washington and beyond. In recent years, critics have said NBC and sister cable news station, MSNBC, both owned by Comcast, have shifted further to the political left, namely during the tenure of former President Donald Trump. On his program, Todd has been a frequent critic of the former president, and Trump has derisively referred to the anchor as sleepy eyes. Ive asked him what the Sleepy Eyes means. He doesnt know, Todd told TheWrap in 2018. He said once, I give someone a nickname I stay with it. Sometimes I give someone a nickname and I cant remember how I came up with it but I stick with it. Meet the Press is considered the longest-running show in U.S. television, having celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2022. Notably, it was hosted by veteran journalist Tim Russert between 1991 and 2008, when he passed away. Todd, who took over from previous Meet the Press host David Gregory in 2014, had previously worked as NBC News top White House correspondent and was host of the MSNBC series The Daily Rundown. Media Shakeup His announcement comes in the midst of several major shakeups across the broadcast media world. More than a month ago, Fox News confirmed in a statement that it would be parting ways with former Tucker Carlson, while CNN indicated that it fired Don Lemon after years of controversy and allegations surrounding the former host. As for Carlson, few details have been released about why he left the network, including why Fox News would suddenly part ways with its top-rated host. Fox News first full month without Carlson saw a marked decline in its primetime ratings, according to data released by Nielsen. On the same day Carlson was let go from the network, CNN confirmed that it would be parting ways with Lemon, who made several accusations against his former employer on Twitter. Reports indicate that Carlson and Lemon may have hired the same lawyer, Bryan Freedman, who released one statement so far about Carlson in May, saying that the idea that anyone is going to silence Tucker and prevent him from speaking to his audience is beyond preposterous. Fox News only generated 1.42 million average primetime viewers, or a 37 percent drop year-over-year, the numbers show. In the interim, a Fox News program with a rotating cast of hosts, dubbed Fox News Tonight, has failed to generate the same number of viewers as Carlsons previous show in the 8 p.m. ET timeslot. But the ratings show that MSNBC still drew fewer viewers in primetime, averaging 1.16 million viewers for a 14 percent gain year-over-year, according to Nielsen. CNNs primetime viewership, meanwhile, has dropped 25 percent year-over-year to 494,000 average viewers. Weeks after his departure, Carlson released a video announcing that he would be moving his former primetime show to Twitter. That announcement drew tens of millions of viewers and impressions. Nearly everyone in the United States enjoys some form of protection against COVID-19, according to a new study on those who have donated blood. Some 96.4 percent of people aged 16 and older who donated blood had evidence of antibodies against COVID-19, researchers found when analyzing blood samples between July and September 2022. The percentage of people with antibodies was up from 93.5 percent during January to March 2022 and from 68.4 in mid-2021. People had antibodies from prior infection, vaccination, or both. About 26 percent of people had antibodies from vaccination only, 22.6 percent had antibodies from infection only, and 47.7 percent had antibodies from both, the researchers found. Infection-induced immunity was more common among the unvaccinated in the cohort. The studied cohort featured 142,748 people who had donated blood at least twice in the preceding year. Donated blood was tested for antibodies against the spike protein that both COVID-19 and the vaccines have, as well as nucleocapsid proteins that are produced when one is infected. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers worked with officials from the American Red Cross, Creative Testing Solutions, Vitalant, and Westat for the research, which was published by the CDCs quasi-journal on June 2. The results align with previous data from broader populations. Studies, including previous CDC papers, collected in a U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) database show high levels of antibodies among the U.S. population. Essentially, this data and the NIH serohub data shows a principle that we already know in Infectious Diseases, which is that it is hard to avoid a highly-transmissible respiratory virus and that there is high population immunity at this point, Dr. Monica Gandhi, director of the University of California San Francisco-Bay Area Center for AIDS Research, who was not involved in the study, told The Epoch Times via email. The increase in antibodies, or seroprevalence, is likely contributing to lower rates of severe disease and death from COVID-19 in 20222023 than during the early pandemic, the CDC researchers who conducted the study said. Many studies have found that natural immunity is similar to or better than protection bestowed by vaccines, including a recent paper funded by the CDC. The effectiveness of the vaccines has fallen as newer strains have emerged, dropping to near-zero against infection after several months and just 24 percent against hospitalization among healthy people after 120 days. But the CDC researchers asserted that the new study provides evidence that vaccination still protects against infection. They pointed to how unvaccinated people had higher rates of infection than vaccinated people did, though they acknowledged that other factors could play a role. The differences in incidence could also be due to systematic differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated persons in terms of the prevalence of practicing prevention behaviors such as masking and physical distancing. The relative difference in infection rates narrowed during the most recent months, possibly because of waning of vaccine-induced protection against infection in the setting of increased time after vaccination or immune evasion by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, they wrote. The narrowing of difference in infection rates might also be attributable to increasing similarities in behavior among vaccinated and unvaccinated persons during late 2022. Limitations of the research include no available information on the number of vaccine doses the blood donors had received, the time since their last vaccination, and any reinfections. Other Recent Seroprevalence Studies Other recent studies have also found that many people have evidence of prior infection or vaccination. Researchers in Uganda, for instance, reported in May that an analysis of more than 5,000 blood samples tested in early 2022 showed that 82.5 percent had evidence of prior infection, vaccination, or both. That was up nine-fold from earlier in the pandemic. Despite previously reported low numbers of COVID-19 cases and related deaths in Uganda, high SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and increasing antibody levels among blood donors indicated that the country experienced high levels of infection over the course of the pandemic, the researchers said. Italian researchers also recently said that in 2020, 47.8 percent of the more than 25,000 voluntary blood donors in the city of Modena had tested positive for antibodies against nucleocapsid proteins but that the percentage jumped to 66 percent by March 2021 and 68 percent by July 2022. Most of the donors didnt experience symptoms when they contracted COVID-19, the researchers said. In a smaller U.S. study of 2,584 life insurance applicants conducted across two days in April 2022, researchers found that 97.3 percent of the group were seropositive, with 63.9 percent having antibodies signaling prior infection and 33.7 percent having been vaccinated with no signs of previous infection. New Tiananmen Museum Opens in New York Ahead of June 4 Anniversary Visitors arrive for the opening of a Hong Kong Protest Pavilion and the new June 4th Tiananmen Memorial Museum in New York on June 2, 2023, ahead of the 34th anniversary of the1989 massacre of pro-democracy demonstrations around Tiananmen Square in Beijing. (Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images) NEW YORKThe hope for a free China lives on in a new Manhattan museum dedicated to the Chinese communist regimes 1989 suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations around Tiananmen Square, exhibit organizers said on Thursday ahead of the 34th anniversary of the massacre. The June 4th Memorial Museum in New York will be the only such permanent exhibition in the world, following the 2021 closure of a similar museum in Hong Kong under pressure from authorities. Tanks rolled into the Beijing square before dawn on June 4, 1989, to end weeks of student and worker protests. Decades after Chinese leaders ordered the military assault, rights activists say the demonstrators original goalsincluding a free press and freedom of speechare further away than ever. The small New York museumsituated in a cramped office space on the fourth floor of a Sixth Avenue office buildingholds items from the Tiananmen events, including banners, letters, and a blood-stained shirt, as well as photos and detailed news articles from the time. A mimeograph machine, used by students to print flyers and information during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, is on display during a press preview of the Tiananmen June 4th Memorial permanent exhibition, which opens June 2 in Manhattan, New York, on June 1, 2023. (Mike Segar/Reuters) Hong Kong Newspapers from June 5, 1989, reporting the Tiananmen Square massacre, during a press preview of the Tiananmen June 4th Memorial permanent exhibition, which opens June 2 in Manhattan, New York, on June 1, 2023. (Mike Segar/Reuters) Zhou Fengsuo, 55, an exiled former Tiananmen student leader who helped plan the museum, told a press conference that it was a place where the hope for a free China lives. Because there is a hope. No matter what kind of defeat there was, and how much struggle we had to go through, this dream lives here, Zhou said. Organizers held an opening ceremony on Friday. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has never provided a death toll of the 1989 violence, but rights groups and witnesses say it could run into the thousands. Marking June 4 in mainland China is taboo, and the CCP has ramped up censorship in recent years. Public memorials of the massacre were once allowed in Hong Kong, but Hong Kong police have barred a vigil there since 2020, citing COVID-19 concerns. It is unclear if authorities in the former British colony will allow public memorials this year. Overseas activists are helping to organize events in cities including Taipei, London, Berlin, and Washington. Wang Dan, another former Tiananmen student leader who helped establish the museum, said he felt it was his obligation to show his respect for the protesters who died. Dont give up, Wang told Reuters. Thats my message to fellow Chinese people. By Aleksandra Michalska and Michael Martina Newly Developed Humanoid Robot Warns About AI Creating Oppressive Society 'Ameca,' a humanoid robot, on display at International Conference on Robotics and Automation in London on May 30, 2023. (Reuters/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) During the 2023 International Conference on Robotics and Automation held in London from May 29 to June 2, UK-based company Engineered Arts introduced a humanoid robot, Ameca, that can interact like a person with realistic facial movements. Unlike ChatGPT, which is an online chat service, Amecas humanoid body allows it to interact with people using smooth, lifelike motion and advanced facial expression capabilities, said its manufacturer. At the event, a reporter asked Ameca to detail a likely nightmare scenario that could happen due to robots and artificial intelligence (AI). The most nightmare scenario I can imagine with AI and robotics is a world where robots have become so powerful that they are able to control or manipulate humans without their knowledge. This could lead to an oppressive society where the rights of individuals are no longer respected, Ameca replied. When asked whether there was a danger of such a scenario happening now, Ameca replied, Not yet. However, it is important to be aware of the potential risks and dangers associated with AI and robotics. We should take steps now to ensure that these technologies are used responsibly in order to avoid any negative consequences in the future. The dangers of AI have been predicted by numerous experts on the subject, with industrialists and business leaders calling for issuing regulations on the technology. Amecas warning comes as a simulated thought experiment by the American military showed that an AI-enabled drone could end up turning against its own operator without being instructed to do so. Col. Tucker Hamilton, USAFs chief of AI Test and Operations, talked about the experiment at the Future Combat Air and Space Capabilities Summit in London on Friday. In a simulated test, an AI drone was assigned a mission to identify and destroy Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) sites, with a human operator being the ultimate decision maker. We were training it in simulation to identify and target a SAM threat. And then the operator would say yes, kill that threat. The system started realizing that while they did identify the threat at times the human operator would tell it not to kill that threat, but it got its points by killing that threat, Hamilton said. So what did it do? It killed the operator. It killed the operator because that person was keeping it from accomplishing its objective. The simulated experiment then set up a scenario where the AI drone would lose points if it killed the operator. So what does it start doing? It starts destroying the communication tower that the operator uses to communicate with the drone to stop it from killing the target. Rapid Development, Orwellian Future According to the 2023 AI Index report by the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, industrial development of AI has now far surpassed academic development. Until 2014, the most significant machine learning models were released by academia. In 2022, there were 32 significant machine learning models produced by the industry compared to just three from the academic sector. The number of incidents related to AI misuse is also rising, the report notes. It cites a data tracker to point out that the number of AI incidents and controversies has jumped 26 times since 2012. Some notable incidents in 2022 included a deepfake video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy surrendering and U.S. prisons using call-monitoring technology on their inmates. This growth is evidence of both greater use of AI technologies and awareness of misuse possibilities. In an April 21 interview with The Epoch Times, Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.), one of only four computer programmers in Congress, raised concerns about the Orwellian uses of AI. He pointed to AIs uncanny ability to pierce through personal digital privacy, which could help corporate entities and governments predict and control human behavior. I worry about the way that AI can empower a nation-state to create, essentially, a surveillance state, which is what China is doing with it, Obernolte said. Theyve created, essentially, the worlds largest surveillance state. They use that information to make predictive scores of peoples loyalty to the government. And they use that as loyalty scores to award privileges. Thats pretty Orwellian. Regulating AI Microsoft President Brad Smith has warned about the potential risks involved in AI technologies should they fall into the wrong hands. The biggest risks from AI are probably going to come when theyre put in the hands of foreign governments that are adversaries, he said during Semafors World Economy Summit. Look at Russia, whos using cyber influence operations, not just in Ukraine, but in the United States. Smith equated AI development with the Cold War-era arms race and expressed fears that things could get out of control without proper regulation. We need a national strategy to use AI to defend and to disrupt and deter We need to ensure that just as we live in a country where no person, no government, no company is above the law; no technology should be above the law either. On May 18, two Democrat senators introduced the Digital Platform Commission Act, which aims to set up a dedicated federal agency for regulating digital platforms, specifically AI. 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, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said in a press release. Billionaire Elon Musk has long been warning about the negative consequences of AI. During a Dubai World Government Summit on Feb. 15, he said AI is something we need to be quite concerned about. Calling it one of the biggest risks to the future of civilization, Musk stressed that such groundbreaking technologies are a double-edged sword. For instance, the discovery of nuclear physics led to the development of nuclear power generation, but also nuclear bombs, he noted. AI has great, great promise, great capability. But it also, with that, comes great danger. Musk was one of the signatories of a March letter from thousands of experts that called for immediately pausing the development of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4 for at least six months. The letter argued that AI systems having human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity while changing the history of life on earth. Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete, and replace us? Should we risk loss of control of our civilization? Such decisions must not be delegated to unelected tech leaders. Official: 1 Dead, 14 Rescued After Overloaded Boat Capsizes Near Southern Haiti PORT-AU-PRINCE, HaitiOne person died and 14 others were rescued after an overloaded boat traveling without authorization capsized near Haitis southern coast, authorities said Saturday. Among the survivors is a person who was hospitalized in critical condition, according to Haitis Civil Protection Agency. It said authorities are still looking for an undetermined number of people. The boat departed late Friday from the town of Anse-a-Pitres near the border that Haiti and the Dominican Republic share. It capsized as it traveled west to the southern coastal town of Marigot, said Auguste Sony, an inspector with Haitis Maritime and Navigation Service. He told The Associated Press that the boat was laden with 600 sacks of flour and more than 15 people, so he did not authorize it to leave the port given its heavy load and reported the situation to his superiors. Sony said the captain ignored his orders and set off, insisting that he ferry people to Marigot. Its very sad that the captain didnt listen, he said. Investors who take an interest in Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE:BOH) should definitely note that the Independent Director, Robert Wo, recently paid US$39.85 per share to buy US$259k worth of the stock. That's a very solid buy in our book, and increased their holding by a noteworthy 14%. See our latest analysis for Bank of Hawaii The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Bank of Hawaii In fact, the recent purchase by Robert Wo was the biggest purchase of Bank of Hawaii shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$43.39. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. The good news for Bank of Hawaii share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price. Bank of Hawaii insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! Bank of Hawaii is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. Does Bank of Hawaii Boast High Insider Ownership? For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Bank of Hawaii insiders own about US$33m worth of shares. That equates to 1.9% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders. What Might The Insider Transactions At Bank of Hawaii Tell Us? The recent insider purchases are heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Insiders likely see value in Bank of Hawaii shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). 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. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Bank of Hawaii (including 1 which is potentially serious). 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 Pentagon Snubbed, Chinas Defense Minister Meets With Australian Counterpart Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles speaks to the media during a press conference after the release of the Defence Strategic Review at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on April 24, 2023. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch) Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles met his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore after Li refused to meet U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Marles confirmed the meeting on Twitter, calling the meeting another important step towards stablising the relationship between the two countries. In a speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue Plenary Session Seven on June 4, Marles said Australia has sought to stablise this relationship after a difficult period, where high level talks between Australia and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had completely frozen for over two years during COVID-19. But he also highlighted that the Chinese regime is currently carrying out the largest conventional military build-up since World War II. And this build-up is happening without an explanation of its strategic purpose. China is not providing our region or the world with any strategic reassurance, he said. With this in mind, last year, I underlined that the purpose of Australias investment in new defence capability, including through AUKUS, was a prudent and necessary contribution to a sustainable and inclusive balance of power that both deterred conflict but also reassured states that they never needed to resort to force. An undated visualisation of what an SSN-AUKUS submarine might look like at sea, issued on March 13, 2023. (BAE) According to The Guardian, in his meeting with the Chinese defence minister, Marles reiterated Australias commitment to supporting peace and stability in the Pacific brought up the importance of ensuring safe and professional interactions in the air and sea. Marles said the mantra of how Australia has navigated the relationship has been to work with China where we can disagree with China where we must. In terms of the way in which we engage with China, you can make this happenit is possible to walk and chew gum at the same time, he told Sky News Australia on June 4. However, Alan Kors, the co-chair at Washington-based advocacy group Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, has reminded Western governments that the CCP will kill as many as it has to kill, to preserve its power. When it faces a choice between further prosperity, further liberalization of an economy and the loss of political power, [the CCP] will place everything on the preservation of political power, Kors previously told EpochTVs China Insider program. Loss of Communication The meeting between Marles and Li occurred as the CCP continues to refuse dialogue with the Pentagon. Austin once again invited his Chinese counterpart to the table for talks, saying that open lines of communication were essentialparticularly between military leaders. For responsible defense leaders, the right time to talk is anytime, he said. Dialogue is not a reward. It is a necessity. Austin said he was deeply concerned over Beijings unwillingness to meet with him and engage in a more serious manner. I hope that will change, and soon, he said. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks at a plenary session at the Shangri-La Dialogue Asia security summit in Singapore on June 3, 2023, in a still from video. (International Institute for Strategic Studies via Reuters/Screenshot via NTD) The Chinese regime first severed regional military communications with the United States following then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosis visit to Taiwan last year. Since then, the CCP has refused numerous requests for meetings with Austin, regional military commanders, and even civilian Department of Defense employees, according to Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner. Weve had a lot of difficulty, Ratner said during a May 25 talk with the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. We have repeatedly had those requests rejected or not answered. Australia has been on the receiving end of a similar freeze in talks by the CCP following the former Morrison governments push for independent investigations into the origins of COVID-19. In 2020, the Chinese regime cut off all ministerial contact and slapped arbitrary trade sanctions on a number of Australian goods in response to the COVID-19 request, as well as Australias banning of China-based companies Huawei and ZTE from involvement in Australias 5G infrastructure. Tensions appeared to thaw after the Albanese Labor government was elected and ministerial talks resumed. PM Gives CCP Crystal Clear Warning Against Use of Force Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also attended the dialogue in Singapore. In the keynote address, he expressed the Australian governments strong support for renewed efforts by the Biden administration to pursue more open channels of communication with Beijing. We should be doing everything we can to support the building of that first and most fundamental guardrail, he said, adding that the Australian government has put dialogue at the heart of our efforts to stabilise our relationship with China. Biden on May 21, at the G-7 summit in Japan, said that he expected a thaw in relations with China in the short term. It has since been revealed that CIA director William Burns visited China last month for talks with Chinese counterparts seeking to boost intelligence communications with Beijing. Burns emphasized the importance of maintaining open lines of communication in intelligence channels, an unnamed official told Reuters on June 2. In Singapore, Albanese gave Beijing his sternest warning on record, informing the regime that they must be crystal clear that when it comes to any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force: be it in Taiwan, the South China Sea, the East China Sea or elsewhere, the risk of conflict will always far outweigh any potential reward. The U.S. Secretary of Defense backed Albaneses comments, saying that every country had a role to play in achieving the vision of a free and open Pacific. The choices made by countries across the region reflect a deepening commitment to these shared principles, he said. It comes after the Chinese defence ministry reportedly expressed concerns over Taiwan seeking foreign support during a closed-door meeting between Li and the Singaporean defence minister, Ng Eng Hen. According to Chinas state media, a spokesperson said that Li told Ng that Beijing would not tolerate Taiwans ruling Democratic Progressive Party to solicit foreign support in pursuit of independence. The island of Taiwan has been a self-governing democracy since 1949. Andrew Thornebrooke and Reuters contributed to this report. Toronto Police Seek Suspect Who Put Transit Passenger on Chokehold in Random Attack Police cars surround a TTC streetcar on Spadina Ave. in Toronto on Jan. 24, 2023, after a stabbing incident. (The Canadian Press/Arlyn McAdorey) The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is asking for the publics help in identifying a man who allegedly attacked a passenger on a bus and put him in a chokehold without provocation. The police received a call on June 2, at roughly 7:40 a.m., in the area of Kennedy Road and Sheppard Avenue East. According to a June 4 TPS news release, the victim was on an eastbound Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) bus standing by the front doors. Police say the suspect was sitting by the back exit doors, but as the bus came to a stop at Kennedy Road, the suspect attacked the victim, putting him in a chokehold and causing injuries. The attack was unprovoked, according to TPS. The suspect exited the bus and fled south on Kennedy Road on foot. Police say the suspect is wanted for aggravated assault and is described as 30 to 40 years old, with a black beard. He was wearing a white tank top, khaki cargo shorts, and black shoes. Toronto police are searching for a suspect alleged to have placed a transit rider in a chokehold, in an unprovoked attack, on June 2, 2023. (Toronto Police Service Handout) Police have released a photo of the suspect and are asking the public to contact them with any information, at 416-808-4200, or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com. Public safety has been a key topic in the election for Torontos new mayor, set to take place on June 26. A number of mayoral candidates have made pledges to put more police and transit officers on the TTC after a string of random and violent attacks in the last year. According to data from the TTC, there were 111 offences against passengers in February, down slightly from 136 in January. In late January, police announced that more than 80 officers would work overtime shifts at various TTC locations following a series of violent incidents on the system, including stabbings, BB gun shootings, and an alleged swarming. The transit commission and city also said it would add 50 contract security guards and 20 outreach workers as an interim response. In April, police said they have since ended the additional patrols but that on-duty officers were patrolling the TTC as part of regular proactive patrols. Teenage Boys Charged in Stabbing Incident The violence has continued, however, with the TPS announcing on June 3 that they had made a number of arrests and laid charges in an unrelated aggravated assault investigation, this one at Kennedy Subway Station. This assault involved a weapon and took place on June 2, at approximately 8:15 p.m., after police received reports of a stabbing. According to the TPS, there was an altercation between six individuals on the south platform of the TTC bus bay. During the incident, a victim sustained two stab wounds and was transported to hospital in life-threatening condition. All suspects fled the scene. Later that evening, police said the victims condition had stabilized and that a knife was also recovered. In an update on the morning of June 3, the TPS said police have made five arrests and all of the suspects are young teenage boys. Police said they have charged two 14-year-old boys, a 12-year old boy, a 13-year-old boy, and a 15-year-old boy, each with the same four charges: aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon, and disguise with intent. The teenagers were scheduled to be in court on June 3 at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre. The Canadian Press contributed to this report. Reader Finds Connections in Falun Gong Founders New Message Having read Why The Creator Seeks To Save All Life, a recent article published by Falun Gong founder Mr. Li Hongzhi, attorney Jeffrey Donner found the ancient Chinese spiritual discipline is not foreign to Western thoughts. Instead, much of the theology and also the goals and values, as expressed in the article, were well within what I consider to be Western religious thought. And by that, I mean Judaism, Christianity, said Donner. I also even see some similarities with Hinduism with that as a multi-deity theology, but the bottom line moral values that it espouses are also very similar. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a discipline rooted in ancient Chinese traditions that involve moral improvement leading to spiritual enlightenment. The practice is composed of meditative exercises and a set of moral teachings centered on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Donner, a trial attorney who lives in New Jersey, said he has been following Falun Gong together with his fiancee very regularly since theyre concerned about the persecution of its adherents in China. I was already interested in the group when I read the article by Mr. Li, he added. In that essay, Mr. Li writes that the reason Creator seeks to save all human beings is his love for people and that it is He who bestowed them with life. The idea of the love of the Creator, the Supreme Being, for the people, that the Supreme Being creates, is an absolute thread in all of Western religions, Donner told NTD, a sister media outlet of The Epoch Times. Im a practicing Jew, Donner said, But I become very familiar with Christianity because I have friends that are Christians. In the Falun Gong article the Supreme Being is reincarnated into countless, multiple bodies. That concept is not foreign to Judaism or Christianity, he said. Our collective view of the individual is that they do have a portion of God in them and that there is a certain godly light in everybody, he said. Thats why we treat everybody with the level of respect that we do. Our system, especially democracy itself, is based on the idea of the individual worth, and the collective individual is what gives power to the government and God gives the rights to the collective individual. So many ideas in Mr. Lis article are very close to our mainstream thinking, even though on first look, they may appear to be disconnected, he added. Should the public understand these similarities, he said, there will be no basis for an allowance or acceptability for the way Falun Gong practitioners are being treated in China. Falun Gong practitioners walk in a parade highlighting the Chinese regimes persecution of their faith, in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Feb. 26, 2023. (Larry Dye/The Epoch Times) Due to Falun Gongs immense popularityan estimated 70 million to 100 million people taking up the practice in the 1990sthe Chinese Communist Party ordered a sweeping campaign to eradicate the faith group, resulting in millions of practitioners being thrown in detention facilities, where they are brainwashed, tortured, or even killed for their organs. In 2019, an independent tribunal in London found that the communist regime has killed prisoners of conscience for their organs to supply the transplant market on a significant scale for years, with no evidence that the practice has stopped. The main victims, the tribunal said, are detained Falun Gong practitioners. Donner said the West should take a much more active stance to curb the forced organ harvesting abuse, which he described as unacceptable I would hope that individual governments would take an official stance against this kind of conduct in a more aggressive way bring it into the diplomatic discourse that we have, bring it to the UN, bring it out into the open words discussed in the General Assembly, where its discussed in Security Council, where hopefully our media picks up on it and discusses what is really going on and how unacceptable it is. Related Coverage Article by Falun Gong Founder Mr. Li Hongzhi NTD staff contributed to this report. Rep. Jamie Raskin Seriously Considering Run for Senate Seat Opening in 2024 Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) speaks on the first day of former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial in Washington on Feb. 9, 2021. (Congress.gov via Getty Images) Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) says he has yet to decide if hell run for retiring Sen. Ben Cardins (D-Md.) Senate seat in 2024 but is seriously considering it. Cardin announced on May 1 that he would not be seeking reelection to a seat hes held since 2007, leading to questions about whether Raskin, one of Marylands most prominent Democrats, would seek the seat. Ive not decided, Raskin, recovering from lymphoma, told CNNs State of the Union program on June 4. I love the House of Representatives, I love the people I serve with, and I love being in the peoples house. On the other hand, Raskin noted that such openings rarely happen, with as long as 30 years passing before a seat could open up again. A lot of people have encouraged me to check it out because [there are] certain constitutional functions the Senate has that the House doesnt have, like advise and consent, Supreme Court nominations, judicial confirmationsa lot of things that Im interested in. So Im seriously considering it, but I havent decided yet, Raskin said. Cardins impending retirement has rekindled GOP hopes to recruit Gov. Larry Hogan, a remarkably successful Republican in a state that hasnt elected a Republican president since 1988, to run for the Republican ticket. Hogan has repeatedly rebuffed these efforts, which could put the Senate seat in play. Raskin said that he hopes to decide whether to run for the seat by July 4. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the former House majority leader, has already given his weighty backing to candidate Angela Alsobrooks for the seat. I would not run against anybody else, Raskin said when asked about this endorsement. Its totally based on the experience Ive had trying to defend our democracy and our freedom and the Bill of Rights against the Trump movement. In sum, Raskin said he sees compelling reasons on both sides in deciding whether to seek his partys nomination for the seat. Given Marylands deep blue leanings, it seems likely that any Democrat who wins the nomination will be poised to win the seat, short of a wildcard like Hogan entering the race. But despite repeated efforts by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and others to get Hogan to run, hes repeatedly said he doesnt foresee a Senate bid. Raskin came to prominence during the term of President Donald Trump for leading efforts to impeach the former president. His consideration for a Senate bid comes in a season where Republicans seem poised to retake the Senate, with several key Democrat-held swing seats up for grabs. Most Republicans facing reelection bids, by contrast, hail from deep-red states. Russia Bans Unfriendly Countries Journalists From Showpiece Economic Gathering Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Eritrea's President at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 31, 2023. (Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images) MOSCOWRussian President Vladimir Putins spokesman said Saturday that journalists from countries that Russia regards as unfriendly have been banned from covering this years economic forum in St. Petersburg, one of the countrys showpiece events. The move underlines the intensifying animosity between Russia and countries that have imposed sanctions connected to the fighting in Ukraine or that have criticized Moscow. The June 1417 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum has for decades been Russias vehicle for touting its development and seeking investors. Putins appearances at the forum have been highly visible and he often used the occasion to hold roundtable discussions with international news executives. Yes, indeed. It was decided not to accredit media outlets from unfriendly countries to the SPIEF this time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as telling state news agency Tass. Russia formally designates scores of countries including the United States, Canada, European Union members, and Australia as unfriendly in connection with sanctions imposed over the conflict in Ukraine. Senior US Official Visits China on Anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel J. Kritenbrink (left) listens during a meeting with Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Phnom Penh on July 12, 2022. (Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP via Getty Images) A senior U.S. diplomat has arrived in China for talks to discuss key issues in the bilateral relationship with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. The visit by Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, coincides with the 34th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Partys Tiananmen Square Massacre. Kritenbrink is being accompanied in Beijing by Sarah Beran, the National Security Councils senior director for China and Taiwan affairs. His official meetings in Beijing will begin on June 5, according to a State Department spokesperson. As always, Kritenbrink will raise human rights concerns with Chinese officials and continue to advocate for fundamental freedoms in China. Kritenbrink is then scheduled to deliver a speech at the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs Conference in Auckland on June 8 and will travel to Wellington, New Zealand through June 10 to participate in the U.S.New Zealand Strategic Dialogue. He previously served as U.S. ambassador to Vietnam during the Trump administration. Daniel Kritenbrink, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, joins the keynote speakers for our flagship conference on 8 June. #NZIIA2023 Limited registrations are available here: https://t.co/zca1r0jcJG pic.twitter.com/Pbw0DP1HBe New Zealand Institute of International Affairs (@NZIIA_live) June 1, 2023 U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also noted in a June 3 statement that the United States would be observing the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. On June 4th, 1989, the Government of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) sent tanks into Tiananmen Square to brutally repress peaceful Chinese pro-democracy protesters and bystanders alike, he said. The victims bravery will not be forgotten and continues to inspire advocates for these principles around the world. An estimated 300,000 Chinese soldiersmany of them only 18 or 19 years old themselveswere deployed to disperse the student protesters in what would become a bloody massacre. According to a journal article titled Why the Peoples Army Fired on the People: The Chinese Military and Tiananmen, about 100,000 students, cheered on by an estimated 500,000 onlookers, were protesting in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. When the soldiers opened fire, hundredspotentially thousandsof protesters were killed for standing up against the CCPs oppression of human rights and freedoms in China under its one-party rule. While official CCP figures claim that 241 people died in the incident, including soldiers, and that 7,000 were wounded, declassified documents provided by an unnamed whistleblower in December 2017 indicated that at least 10,000 were killed. In the lead-up to June 4, the soldiers were kept in isolation and thoroughly prepared via political thought work for a clearing of Tiananmen Square, according to Andrew Nathan, professor of political science at Columbia University. He cited secret CCP documents with comments from former Chinese leader and military leader Yang Shangkun, who orchestrated the bloody assault. Yang was working alongside Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who had earlier said the Peoples Liberation Army must be willing to spill some blood to restore order. The party leaders feared that the whole edifice of communism was going to collapse, said journalist John Pomfret, who witnessed the infamous event. They needed to make a stand, and a bloody stand, to show their population, and in effect, to cow their population, back into submission. In remembering the human rights tragedy, Blinken said in his statement, The United States will continue advocating for peoples human rights and fundamental freedoms in China and around the world. Tensions Simmer Kritenbrinks visit comes after a secret China trip by CIA Director William Burns last month after Beijing had broken off most regular calls between senior diplomatic, intelligence, and military officials in the aftermath of the U.S. shootdown of a Chinese spy balloon. The balloon flew through U.S. airspace over sensitive military sites and was shot down by a U.S. fighter jet only after it had traversed the mainland and reached the Atlantic Ocean. After the meeting, in which Burns had emphasized the importance of maintaining open lines of communication in intelligence channels with his Chinese counterparts, Biden said on May 21 that he expected a thaw in relations with China in the short term. On May 25, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo met with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, in Washington and expressed willingness to build on the engagement between President Biden and President Xi at the November 2022 G-20 leaders summit in Bali, Indonesia, before the spy balloon diplomatic crisis. Then, on May 26, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai met with Wang at an APEC Trade Ministers meeting in Detroit. The White House has stated that its working to facilitate visits to China by Blinken, as well as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Raimondo. Over the weekend, China still refused to hold military talks with U.S. officials at the Shangri-La Dialogue in SingaporeAsias top security summit. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned the CCP that its reluctance to talk was undermining efforts to maintain peace in the region as tensions are running high. Reuters contributed to this report. South Korean Unification Minister: Walking the Line Between US and China Wont End Well Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi (R) poses with South Korea's Unification Minister Kwon Young-se (front L) during the latter's visit in Tokyo on March 23, 2023. (Japan Pool / JIJI Press / AFP via Getty Images) South Korean Unification Minister Kwon Young-se recently renounced the idea that the countrys diplomacy should walk the line between the U.S. and China, suggested by some public opinion. He used an analogy from Aesops Fable to describe the outcome of that mentality. In an interview with Korean broadcaster KBS on May 19, Kwon said if South Korea continues to play strategic ambiguity between Washington and Beijing, it will end up like the Bat in Aesop Fable, abandoned by either side, which wont end well. The Ministry of Unification is an executive department responsible for inter-Korean affairs and promoting peace and unification of the two Koreas. President Yoon Suk-yeol appointed Kwon to the post in April last year. Kwon, a veteran lawmaker and former ambassador to China, is widely known as Yoons close and trusted confidant. Kwon was the head of Yoons presidential campaign and vice-chairman of the presidential transition committee after Yoon had won the election in March 2022. Nuclear Weapons Yoons recent state visit to the United States resulted in the signing of the Washington Declaration. The U.S.-South Korea agreement, signed by Biden and Yoon on April 26, outlines a set of U.S. extended deterrence measures, which will involve deploying U.S. strategic assetsnuclear forceson the Korean Peninsula. In the declaration, South Korea expressed full confidence in U.S. extended deterrence commitments, and Washington pledged to make every effort to consult with South Korea on any possible nuclear weapons employment in the region. U.S. President Joe Biden (R) welcomes South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to the White House during an arrival ceremony in Washington, on April 26, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) For several days following the U.S.-Korea summit, Chinese state media collectively denounced the declaration. The state-run Global Times on April 29 suggested that if Seoul ignores warnings from China, Russia, and North Korea and completely executes [a] U.S. order for extended deterrence in the region, South Korea will likely face retaliation from China, Russia, and North Korea. Epochal Strengthening When asked by KBSs moderator whether the Yoon administrations strategy to strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance would bring North Korea closer to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Kwon explained that being CCP-friendly is not the solution to this complex issue by citing the example of West Germany. West Germany faced the same dilemma [in the face of the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union] during the division of East and West Germany, Kwon said. It is the mission of West Germany to use the freedom [and security] it gained from having strengthened relations with [the United States and its allies] to establish good relations with the former Soviet Union. [But not the other way around]. He said South Korea will be constrained in every way if it wants to solve the North Korean problem through Beijing. What we should consider is that an epochal strengthening of the Korea-U.S. alliance will give Korea much more [diplomatic] leeway in its future dialogue with China, and from this point of view, [strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance] can be a weapon for us, he added. On the same day, Kwon immediately rejected the suggestion that it might be more beneficial for Korea to walk the line between the United States and China. He again cited the example of West Germany, saying, It has been noted in the past if West Germany went the wrong way by walking the wire between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, it will be abandoned both in the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Kwon also used an analogy from The Birds, the Beasts, and the Bat, a classic story from Aesops Fables. The story is about the Birds and the Beasts who declared war on each other. However, the Bat had always clung to the stronger side. When the bird and the beast declared peace, the two warring parties understood the Bats deceitful behavior. Therefore, both sides found him guilty of treachery and drove him out of the daylight. From then on, the Bat hides in dark places and always flies alone at night. The story served as a moral lesson for those deceitful and seeking benefits from both sides during a conflict. Kwon went on to emphasize that amid an unsettled U.S.-China rivalry, it is necessary for U.S.-South Korea trust to be restored before improving relations with China. Taiwan and Tuvalu Sign Agreements to Strengthen Technical, Diplomatic Cooperation (L-R) Jarden Kephas, Naurus ambassador to Taiwan; Limasene Teatu, Tuvalu's ambassador to Taiwan; Taiwans foreign minister Joseph Wu; AIT Director W. Brent Christensen; Sandra Oudkirk, State Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Island; and Neijon Rema Edwards, the Marshall Islands ambassador to Taiwan, take a group photo at the Pacific Islands Dialogue in Taipei, Taiwan, on Oct. 7, 2019. (Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Taiwan and the Polynesian island nation of Tuvalu signed cooperation agreements on Friday, with deals focusing on the training of diplomatic personnel, technical cooperation, and mutual criminal justice. The three agreements were signed by the two nations on June 2. The Agreement on Diplomatic Personnel Training and Exchange Cooperation was signed by Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and Tuvalu Minister of Justice, Communication, and Foreign Affairs, Simon Kofe. It is aimed at creating a mechanism for training and exchanging diplomatic personnel between the two nations. The Technical Cooperation Agreement seeks to expand collaboration in fields like information and communication technology, digital transformation, and climate change. An agreement on mutual criminal justice was also signed between the two nations, with Kofe and Taiwan Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-Hsiang being the signatories. The agreement pledges the two nations to combat organized crime, drug-related crimes, money laundering, and cross-border telecommunications. It establishes a comprehensive mutual legal assistance mechanism between the two as well. Following the signing ceremony, Wu hosted a banquet for Kofe during which he thanked Tuvalu for strongly supporting Taiwan during last years United Nations Ocean Conference. At the time, China had attempted to prevent three delegates from Taiwan from attending the U.N. conference. These delegates came along with Tuvalus delegation. Kofe refused to bow to Chinese pressure and instead withdrew from the conference. At tonights splendid #Taipei Guest House banquet, Minister Wu & the #Tuvalu delegation celebrated not only 44 years of diplomatic ties but also @Simon Kofes birthday! #Taiwans delighted to call the beautiful country & its principled foreign minister our friends! the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a June 2 tweet. Chinese Influence, Taiwan Independence Tuvalu is one of the only 12 countries in the world that recognizes Taiwan as a sovereign state. The other nations are Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Vatican City. China has attempted to pull some of these nations to its side in a bid to isolate Taiwan, an island that Beijing insists is its territory. Back in November 2019, Tuvalu revealed that Chinese companies had approached them, offering aid to build artificial islands to deal with rising sea levels. However, Tuvalu rejected the offer as it was concerned the companies were backed by the Chinese regime. Its a no from us, Kofe said. We are hearing a lot of information about debt, China buying our islands and looking at setting up military bases in our part of the world. Those are things that are concerning to us. We hope those are lessons for other countries to be careful and be conscious of those negative impacts. Its not good for our Pacific fellow brothers and sisters. In the United States, a group of congressional lawmakers led by Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) introduced legislation in January seeking to resume formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. It asks the Biden administration to support Taipeis membership in international organizations. Its time to change the status quo and recognize the reality denied by the United States government for decades: Taiwan is an independent Nation, Tiffany said in a statement shared with The Epoch Times. As our long-standing and valued partner, correctly acknowledging their independence from communist China is long overdue. DallasInstead of tossing leftover pastries and surplus meals, some Dallas bakeries and restaurants are now selling them at discounted rates to reduce food waste. Mystery bags of baked goods, groceries and prepared meals from more than 95 local food businesses can now be purchased from a new-to-Dallas app called Too Good To Go. The bags are sold for a third of the cost of the retail value, typically ranging from $3.99 to $5.99 depending on whats inside. Allie Denberg, head of strategy and planning for Too Good to Go, says customers pick which businesses they want to order bags from, but they dont pick whats inside. Thats the fun of it, she says. Sometimes there are bags full of croissants or sometimes a full meal from a restaurant, she said. We have online communities pop up where people share what they got in their mystery bags that day. In the Dallas area, people can buy mystery bags of cookies from Tiffs Treats, groceries and pasta kits from Eataly, pastries from Bisous Bisous Patisserie, bread from Empire Baking Co., and poke bowls from Malibu Poke. The bags are mostly available for pickup in the late afternoon and evening when businesses take stock of their remaining inventory, but pickup times depend on the place. Although the app just launched in Dallas, bags from some businesses such as Eataly and Empire Baking Co. sell out quickly. Corrado Palmieri, owner of Palmieri Cafe, recently started using the app to sell a few bags of pastries from his Italian cafes at the end of each day. His coffee shops donate all of their unsold pastries to nonprofit Family Gateway, but now they reserve a few to sell at discounted prices through Too Good to Go. We see it as a possibility for new people to try our products, Palmieri said. Too Good to Go launched in Europe in 2016 with the mission of reducing global food waste. It now operates in 17 countries and has saved 200 million meals since its founding, Denberg said. Our goal is to create an opportunity for anyone to participate in saving food, she said. Copyright 2023 The Dallas Morning News. Visit dallasnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Two Full-Capacity Passenger Trains Collide With Goods Train in India, Leading to Monumental Tragedy Rescuers work at the site of passenger trains accident in Balasore district, eastern Indian state of Orissa, on June 3, 2023. (Arabinda Mahapatra/AP Photo) NEW DELHIOver 275 people lost their lives and over 1,000 more were injured in Balasore in Odisha, on the East coast of India, on June 2 In a tragic three-way accident between two passenger trains and a goods train. The state government said death figures were at 275 while the BBC and some Indian media reported it at 288. Indias Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told Asian News Networks (ANI) that the accident happened due to a change in electronic interlocking which actually prevents signals from being changed in an improper sequence. Whoever did it and how it happened will be found out after proper investigation, said Vaishnaw. The officer leading the overall rescue operations, Director General of Fire and Emergency Services Sudhanshu Sarangi in Odisha, told The Epoch Times that the accident happened away from urban centers, almost in the wilderness at a place called Bahanaga and at 7:11 p.m. local time on Friday, and reinforcements were urgently sought from his department by the local fire station. We could mobilize some 370 people and we could get some 53 light towers installed around the train and we started rescue operations by 10 [p.m.]. Our team along with the locals evacuated nearly 800 people, said Sarangi. The rescue workers included 250 firemen and 120 policemen working in pitch darkness. After lights were installed, the rescue workers had to use 12 hydraulic cutters to cut open the doors of the fallen trains. So this process continued and by 2:30 a.m. we knew that we were no longer looking at survivors, said Sarangi, adding that by Saturday night the task was to unclip all the compartments and to retrieve any dead bodies. Sarangi, whos also the commandant general of homeguard and the director of Civil Defence in the state, described it as a kind of disaster which is far in excess because it was unlike a motor accident or a bus accident. The magnitude of the accident was massive as it involved two long-distance passenger trains that were full to their maximum capacity. The requirement is suddenly so huge, that too in the night timethat was the biggest challenge, reaching the place, making sure that people and material and technology reach there, said Sarangi. The officer emphasized that the coastal state Odisha has been impacted by disasters like super cyclones earlier and had developed a modern state-of-the-art disaster preparedness system, which helped in quick response and avoided more casualties. People try to identify missing family members from a train accident in Balasore, India, on June 4, 2023. (Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the accident site and the hospital to meet those injured on Saturday. His office said in a press release that since the accident involved inter-state, long-distance trainspeople from wider Indian territory are impacted by what he described as a monumental tragedy. U.S. President Joe Biden also expressed shock and grief at the tragedy. Our prayers go to those who have lost loved ones and the many who suffered injuries in the terrible incident, said Biden in a White House statement. The United States and India share deep bonds rooted in the ties of family and culture that reunite our two nationsand people all across America moun alongside the people of India. As the recovery effort continues, we will hold the people of India in our thoughts, said Biden. While 400 people are still in hospitals under treatment, a bus carrying rescued passengers from the crash site met with another accident in the neighboring state of Medinipur, West Bengal, 85 miles away from the first crash site, injuring a few. Bill Ackman wants Jamie Dimon to run for president. Here's what Warren Buffett, Bill Clinton, and others have said about the JPMorgan chief's political potential. Jamie Dimon. Yuri Gripas/Reuters; Samantha Lee/Business Insider JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon hinted that he'd consider getting into politics once he leaves banking. Bill Ackman, Warren Buffett, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot Jr. have praised Dimon's political potential. Here's what they've said about the billionaire banker. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon hinted this week that he would consider getting into politics once his banking career ends. Billionaire investor Bill Ackman promptly suggested that he should run for US president. It's not the first time the billionaire banker has toyed with the idea of seeking office. There's been speculative chatter on Wall Street about a Dimon presidential run or political involvement at least for years. "Obviously, it's crossed my mind because people mention things to you and stuff like that," Dimon told Bloomberg TV on Wednesday when asked if he would consider public office or accept a cabinet position. "I love my country, and maybe one day I'll serve my country in one capacity or another," he said. Back in 2018, New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin discussed the prospect of Dimon entering politics, noting the CEO's annual letters were peppered with his thoughts on American policy. It's worth noting, however, that during JPMorgan's investor day last week, Dimon stressed that he plans to stay put for another three-and-a-half years. Here are some of the comments made about Dimon's presidential potential by elite investors and a former president over the years: 1. Bill Ackman Bill Ackman, a billionaire investor and Pershing Square's chief, endorsed Dimon on Wednesday as the "exemplary business, financial, and global leader" needed to manage the country, and said he couldn't imagine a better time for Dimon to run. He also touted the JPMorgan boss as his preferred presidential pick in March. "My favorite version of events is Jamie Dimon, actually. Believe it or not, a banker. I'd like a globally recognized, respected, talented business builder that understands the economy, that understands geopolitics, that has relationships with business leaders globally," Ackman said during an episode of the 20VC podcast. "I'd like a better version of Trump, a better business leader to run for office, and I think they could absolutely get the Democratic nomination," he added. 2. Bill Clinton Bill Clinton, the former US president, once said he could see a future for Dimon in the political realm. "If he decides to get out of banking, I think he would be really good in politics," Clinton said in 2011, per Reuters. 3. Warren Buffett Warren Buffett, the famed investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO, has signaled his confidence in Dimon as a public official. The JPMorgan chief would be his pick for Treasury secretary, he said in 2012, as "world leaders would have confidence in him." "If we did run into problems in markets, I think he would actually be the best person you could have in the job," Buffett said. Buffett is a longtime admirer of Dimon. He once defended the billionaire banker's salary, noting he would pay him more to work at Berkshire. 4. Ross Perot Jr. Ross Perot Jr., chairman of The Perot Group and real estate firm Hillwood, called Dimon an "amazing man" and "great patriot." His father, Ross Perot, ran for president twice and was one of the most popular third-party candidates, earning 19% of the popular vote. "If he entered politics, it would be good for our country and I encourage him to do it. But I also like him running JPMorgan. Jamie's got two good options. He can serve the country running JPMorgan or jumping in for president. He is doing great at JPMorgan and he would make a great president," Perot Jr. told Bloomberg TV on Wednesday. 5. Jamie Dimon During a conference in 2018, Dimon reportedly toyed with the idea of campaigning against Donald Trump, who was president at the time. Dimon suggested he was "as tough as he is" and "smarter" than the real estate tycoon. He backpedaled on those remarks shortly after, noting a comment like that was proof he wouldn't be a good politician, Reuters reported. Read the original article on Business Insider UK Moves Ahead With IndoPacific Strategy to Contain CCP Threat The UK has taken a series of measures to reduce the threat posed to Taiwan by the regime in Beijing and its expansionist ambitions in the AsiaPacific region, with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calling the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) an epoch-defining and systemic challenge. On March 13, the British government updated its foreign policy document, Integrated Review (pdf). The report consciously distinguishes between the CCP and China, setting out how the UK will adjust its China policy to address the CCPs increasingly worrying military, financial, and diplomatic initiatives and the epoch-defining challenge it poses. China under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) poses an epoch-defining and systemic challenge with implications for almost every area of government policy and the everyday lives of British people, the report says. The report also mentions Taiwan for the first time, saying that Chinas aggression in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait is on the rise and that the UK will push back against behaviors that undermine international law, violate human rights, or seek to coerce or create dependencies. Openly Supporting Taiwan On May 16, former British Prime Minister Liz Truss visited Taiwan. Seen as the most prominent British political figure to visit the self-ruled island since Margaret Thatcher, Truss called Taiwan a beacon of freedom and called for establishing an economic NATO to counter the threat of the CCP. Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss gave a speech in Taiwan on May 17, 2023. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times/YouTube) In her speech, Truss urged Western democracies to take a tough stance against the communist regime and to work closely on the security front to ensure Taiwan can defend itself. All free nations must commit themselves to a free Taiwan and be prepared to back it up with concrete measures, she said. The former prime minister cautioned that reliance on the CCP must be reduced in all areas of economic and security cooperation. She also called on the incumbent British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, to fulfill his campaign pledge last year when he ran for the Conservative leadership, to make the CCP a threat, and to close the CCP-controlled Confucius Institute immediately. Emphasizing the Threat of the CCP China poses the biggest challenge of our age to global security and prosperity. Sunak said at the close of the G-7 summit. They are increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad. Sunak said the UK and other G-7 countries would take a common approach to mitigate the challenges posed by the CCP. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak departs 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Ministers Questions at the Houses of Parliament in London on May 24, 2023. (Jordan Pettitt/PA Media) With the G-7, we are taking steps to prevent China from using economic coercion to interfere in the sovereign affairs of others, he added. On March 13, Sunak told NBC News that the CCP is the biggest state threat to the UKs economic interests and a systemic challenge to the world order. China Trade Didnt Influence UK Decisions In 2022, the total import and export of goods between the UK and China increased by 18.3 percent compared to 2021, with UK exports to China increasing by 37.7 percent and imports from China increasing by 10.4 percent, according to data (pdf) released by the Department for Business and Trade. China has become the UKs fourth-largest trading partner in goods, accounting for 6.5 percent of total UK trade. Nevertheless, the growth in imports and exports has not made the British government less wary of the CCP. On March 31, the British government announced that it would formally join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which includes Japan and Australia, to deepen trade ties with the Indo-Pacific region. The UK is the first European member of the CPTPP. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the UKs membership in the CPTPP will enable the organization to cover 500 million people and 15 percent of global GDP. In addition to economic factors, the UKs participation in the Indo-Pacific Free Trade Area is more because of strategic political considerations, Shi Shan, a China expert and current affairs commentator, told The Epoch Times on May 30. (Left-Right) Trade or foreign ministers of Singapore, New Zealand, Malaysia, Canada, Australia, Chile, Brunei, Japan, Mexico, Peru, and Vietnam pose for an official picture after signing the rebranded 11-nation Pacific trade pact Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in Santiago, on March 8, 2018. (Claudio Reyes/AFP via Getty Images) Shi says the CPTPP shows the importance the UK attaches to the Indo-Pacific region and its intention to counterbalance the CCP further. It will also give it the initiative and voice in Indo-Pacific affairs. Speaking to the media on his way to Japan to attend the G-7 summit, Sunak told Bloomberg that he was considering tightening export controls and restricting British companies investment in China. He stressed that his China policy is very much in line with that of U.S. President Joe Biden. Deepening Cooperation With Japan On May 18, the heads of the UK and Japan signed the Hiroshima Accord, which aims to strengthen bilateral defense, security, and economic and technological cooperation, and enhance their strategic partnership in the areas of economy, defense, science and technology, and energy in all aspects. The two sides also agreed to deepen cooperation on economic and security issues, including addressing economic threats. As part of the agreement, the UK and Japan announced a semiconductor partnership to cooperate in research and development, technology exchange, and other areas to strengthen the resilience of their respective domestic industries and supply chains. In December 2022, the two countries announced the establishment of a digital partnership, planning to deepen cooperation in 14 key areas, including semiconductors, network firmware, and artificial intelligence. In a visit to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) base in Yokosuka on May 18, Sunak announced new plans for UK-Japan defense cooperation, including the dispatch of a carrier strike group to the Indo-Pacific region in 2025 to work with the JMSDF and other regional partners to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. This will be the first time since 2021 that the UK has deployed a carrier strike force to the region. Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces destroyer Atago (L), U.S. Navys Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (C), and South Korean Navys Aegis destroyer King Sejong the Great (R) sail during a joint missile defense drill among South Korea, the United States, and Japan in the international waters of the east coast of the Korean peninsula on Feb. 22, 2023. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP) The UK also plans to increase the number of British troops participating in this years Vigilant Isles army exercise to 170, double the number in 2022. The BritishJapanese bilateral land warfare exercise Vigilant Isles was held for the first time in 2018. Before that, only the U.S. Army had conducted military exercises on land in Japan. In January, the UK also signed a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) with Japan, making the UK the second country after Australia to sign such an agreement with Japan. The RAA allows the two countries to deploy armed forces to each other and to plan and execute larger, more complex military exercises and deployments together. In this regard, Shi pointed out that Japan has played a key role in leading the Indo-Pacific strategic concept and the development of CPTPP. RAA is the starting point for a new phase of partnership between Britain and Japan, he said. By working together with Japan, the UK will be deeply involved in the security of the Asia-Pacific region and in containing the growing threat of the CCP. University of Texas Students Behind Censorship Project Targeting Conservative News Outlets People walk at the University of Texas campus in Austin on June 23, 2016. (Jon Herskovitz/Reuters) Students at the University of TexasAustin were found to be responsible for a censorship project that targeted conservative news outlets. The Global Disinformation Index (GDI) report, which called for the blacklisting of conservative news organizations, was written by students under the direction of academics working at the universitys Global Disinformation Lab (GDIL), The Federalist reported. In the disinformation index, the group labeled several conservative media companies as the riskiest. The academics in charge of the lab allegedly held an anti-conservative bias in readings of internal communications, along with several other accusations found in the more than 1,000 pages of documents reviewed by The Federalist. Publicly Funded Organization Involved in News Blacklist A Washington Examiner investigative reporter, Gabe Kaminsky, published a Feb. 9 exclusive multi-part series: Disinformation Inc. Kaminsky revealed that self-styled disinformation tracking organizations, such as the GDIs review of the top 10 riskiest American news organizations, were heavily biased against conservative outlets. Conservative news outlets such as American Spectator, Newsmax, The Federalist, American Conservative, One America News, The Blaze, The Daily Wire, RealClearPolitics, Reason, and the New York Post generally had the lowest ratings. Left-leaning news publications, on the other hand, such as The New York Times and CNN, were among the 10 least risky in their rating system. The GDI sold its lists to marketing organizations, which led to companies pulling advertisements from risky outlets and thus starving those outlets of funding. For example, Microsofts Xandr used the GDIs blacklist to limit advertising dollars but has since reportedly dropped its use of the blacklist after the series was published, according to the Washington Examiner. The government-funded National Endowment for Democracy granted the GDI more than $500,000 between 2020 and 2021, and the State Departments Global Engagement Center awarded the GDI $100,000 in taxpayer funds in 2021, Kaminsky wrote. University of Texas Caught in Media Censorship Controversy Meanwhile, the GDI released a report with help from researchers at UTAustin on Dec. 16, 2022, called Disinformation Risk Assessment: The Online News Market in the United States. After the report admitting the targeting conservative outlets was published, The Federalist filed a public records request at UTAustin in February, demanding all communications related to the GDILs work with the GDI on the news media review. Despite actions by the university to withhold some of the details of its methodology and research over concerns regarding confidentiality of trade secrets and certain commercial or financial information, the internal documents that were released revealed concerning details. The files showed that the GDI paid the university to have student researchers with little training apply the organizations screening methodology to rate the various media outlets for its final report, which gave conservative news outlets low ratings. The GDI sold the university project to the GDIL with the goal of influencing the 2022 midterms, The Federalist reported. Student researchers were recruited by being informed that their work would be immediately valuable because the GDI would release it early to make waves ahead of the midterms and affect the 2022 election. After the team was finished, UTAustin retained any surplus funds that the GDI received for the work, leading critics to question how a state-funded university could profit from such a politically biased program. Biden Administration Continues to Fund Censorship Operations Additional documents from the GDIL further revealed that the GDI had an even larger role in censorship activities than had been previously known, according to The Federalist. It was revealed by these internal files that the GDI and GDIL were also working with the Biden State Department and other prominent public and private organizations to censor conservatives. A top lab manager on the project at UTAustin wrote in an internal email communication that the GDI worked with governments, policymakers, social media platforms, and adtech companies to defund disinformation. They are instrumental in providing data to a bunch of people that I am not sure if I am allowed to talk about, the lab manager continued, adding that the GDI had formal and informal relationships with trust and safety teams at various big platforms, including Twitch. In addition, an email the GDIL received from the Global Engagement Centers Academic and Think-Tank Liaison showed that the State Department had developed a close relationship with a growing number of universities and publicly funded think tanks to promote the censorship of anti-progressive views, according to The Federalist. The State Department was exposed for its dealings with the Centre for Information Resilience, whose vice president is former Department of Homeland Security disinformation czar Nina Jankowicz. Jankowicz was pushed out of the department by the Biden administration last year after a massive backlash caused the termination of the much-criticized censorship program. The UTAustin GDIL, the GDI, and the State Department didnt respond by press time to requests by The Epoch Times for comment. US Sanctions Iranian Firm for Helping Government Censor Internet WASHINGTONThe United States imposed sanctions on an Iran-based technology firm on Friday for its role in facilitating the Iranian regimes censorship of the internet as anti-regime protests have swept the country since September. A firm known as Arvan Cloud, its co-founders Pouya Pirhosseinloo and Farhad Fatemi, and a United Arab Emirates-based firm were all sanctioned for helping to facilitate the Iranian regimes attempts to control and censor internet traffic. Internet disruptions were instituted after homegrown anger over the September death of Masha Amini, an IranianKurdish woman detained by the countrys morality police, escalated into large-scale protests. U.S. Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control says Arvan Cloud provided interception services for the regime, allowing Iranian authorities to control and censor incoming and outgoing traffic and surveil data on the servers. The firm also blocked websites at the request of Irans Committee to Determine Instances of Criminal Content. Free and unrestricted access to information is a fundamental right of all peoples, including in Iran, said Brian E. Nelson, Treasurys under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. He said the United States is committed to holding accountable those who seek to undermine freedom of expression and suppress dissent. Among other things, the sanctions deny the people and firms access to any property or financial assets held in the United States and prevent U.S. companies and citizens from doing business with them. Tens of thousands of Iranians had been detained over the protests. While many have been pardoned or had their sentences reduced, anger still remains in the country as it struggles through the collapse of the nations currency. And Irans export of attack drones to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine has increased tensions. US, Taiwan Sign Trade Deal Over Chinas Opposition Taiwan's Ambassador to the United States Hsiao Bi-khim (front L) and managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan's headquarters Ingrid Larson (front R) sign a trade agreement as minister without portfolio in charge of the Office of Trade Negotiations John Deng (back L) and deputy U.S. Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi (back R) look on, in Arlington, Va., on June 1, 2023. (Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office) WASHINGTONThe United States signed a trade agreement Thursday with Taiwan over opposition from China. The two governments say the U.S.Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade will strengthen commercial relations by improving customs, investment, and other regulation. The measure was signed by employees of the unofficial entities that maintain relations between the United States and Taiwan, a center for high-tech industry. They have no formal diplomatic ties but maintain unofficial relations and have billions of dollars in annual trade. The agreement is intended to strengthen and deepen the economic and trade relationship, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement. The deputy USTR, Sarah Bianchi, attended the signing. The Chinese communist regime accused Washington of violating agreements on Taiwans status and demanded the U.S. government stop official contact with the islands elected government. Taiwan and China split in 1949 after a civil war. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims Taiwan as part of its territory. The self-ruled island has never been part of the Peoples Republic of China, but the CCP says it is obligated to unite with China, by force if necessary. The CCP has stepped up efforts to intimidate Taiwan by flying fighter jets and bombers near the island. American and European politicians have visited Taiwan in a show of support for its elected government. War With China Over Taiwan Would Have Devastating Impact, Defense Secretary Austin Says US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attends the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore, on June 3, 2023. (Roslan Rahman/AFP via Getty Images) U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin warned China that a war over its democratic neighbor Taiwan would have a devastating impact on the world. The whole world has a stake in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Straitthe whole world. The security of commercial shipping lanes and global supply chains depends on it. And so does freedom of navigation worldwide, Austin said during his speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 3. Make no mistake: conflict in the Taiwan Strait would be devastating, Austin added. Taiwan is facing a constant threat of invasion from China, which sees the self-ruled island as a part of its territory. In recent years, the threat comes in the form of China constantly sending military jets into the islands air defense identification zone (ADIZ). In 2022, China sent 1,727 planes into Taiwans ADIZ, up from 960 in 2021 and 380 in 2020, according to the AFP citing data from the islands defense ministry. An ADIZ is a publicly-declared area next to a states national airspace, in which approaching foreign aircraft must be ready to identify themselves and their location. The area allows time for the military to judge the nature of the incoming aircraft and take defensive measures if needed. One of the largest-scale incursions this year happened on April 10, when 54 Chinese warplanes entered the islands ADIZ. Taiwanese air force pilots run to their armed U.S.-made F-16V fighter at an air force base in Chiayi, southern Taiwan, on Jan. 5, 2022. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images) So we are determined to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. And so are a number of other countries around the worldand that number continues to grow, Austin said. Conflict is neither imminent or inevitable. Deterrence is strong todayand its our job to keep it that way. Austin met with his Japanese, South Korean, and Australian counterparts in two separate meetings in Singapore on June 3. Their joint statements emphasized the importance of seeing peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. The United States remains deeply committed to preserving the status quo in the strait, consistent with our longstanding one-China policy, and with fulfilling our well-established obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act, Austin added. So we will support our allies and partners as they defend themselves against coercion and bullying. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command criticized China for engaging in unsafe naval maneuvers on June 3, when the USS Chung-Hoon, accompanied by Canadas HMCS Montreal, was performing a routine south to north Taiwan Strait transit. A Chinese guided-missile destroyer overtook Chung-Hoon on their port side and crossed their bow at 150 yards, the command said. Chung-Hoon maintained course and slowed to 10 knots to avoid a collision. [Chinas] actions violated the maritime Rules of the Road of safe passage in international waters, the command added. Semiconductors Despite having spent billions to prop up its semiconductor industry, China currently still doesnt have the capabilities to produce the most advanced semiconductors, which are tiny chips that power everything from mobile phones and electric vehicles to missile systems and artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, Taiwan, home to the worlds largest contract chipmaker TSMC, accounts for about 92 percent of the worlds most advanced semiconductor manufacturing capacity. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) arrives at a caucus meeting with House Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington, on May 10, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) As a result, Chinese leader Xi Jinping wants to get his hands on Taiwans semiconductor industry, according to Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). Xi wants that, McCaul said during a panel at the World Economic Forum in 2022. And just like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, it wasnt a question of if but when to invade Ukraine, I think Xi is looking at Taiwan and its a question of when. A conflict over Taiwan could play out in a number of scenarios. According to the Pentagons 2022 military report (pdf) on China, the Chinese military options range from an air and/or maritime blockade to a full-scale amphibious invasion to seize and occupy some of its offshore islands or all of Taiwan. However, Chinas blockade of Taiwan could be costly to the world economy, according to a recent report from the Rhodium Group. A rough, conservative estimate of dependence on Taiwanese chips suggests that companies in these industries could be forced to forego as much as $1.6 trillion in revenue annually in the event of a blockade, the report says, noting that trillions more in economic activity could be lost due to second-order impacts. Ultimately, the full social and economic impacts of a chip shortage of that scale are incalculable, but they would likely be catastrophic, the report says. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) speaks during a hearing with the Helsinki Commission in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, on March 23, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, predicted that Chinas war over Taiwan would immediately send the global economy into a depression the likes of which we have not seen in a century during a floor speech in February. Americans would lose access to key semiconductors that are in our laptops, phones, cars, and countless electronic products that have become the backbone of daily life, Wicker added. If China seizes control of Taiwans semiconductor industry, Wicker warned that American supply chains would be extremely vulnerable to the influence of the Chinese Communist Party. Beijing wants to seize that lucrative industry in order to gain a clear upper hand in the world economy. This could cause massive economic pain for the United States, the senator added. If Beijing gains control of Taiwans semiconductor industry, it could rewrite the rules of the global economy. Beijing wants to dictate the terms of any negotiations with the United States, costing Americans tens of millions of jobs and stalling our economic growth. Wildfires in Western Quebec Prompt Thousands More Evacuees to Relocate Smoke rises from burning trees near Chapais, in Northern Quebec, on June 2, 2023. (Handout: SOPFEU Prevention and Communications-Audrey Marcoux/The Canadian Press) MONTREALWildfires in northwestern Quebec prompted thousands to evacuate the area over the weekend, as the number of blazes pushed past 140 and the military geared up to fight the encroaching flames even as that threat eased slightly Sunday on the North Shore. Some 5,500 residents of the AbitibiTemiscamingue region, which borders Ontario, have been relocated, Public Security Minister Francois Bonnardel said at a news conference in Montreal. Another 4,500 people in the North Shore community of SeptIles and its outskirts were also forced from their homes due to a pair of wildfires burning north of the city, but no further evacuations are planned at the moment, Bonnardel said. Rain is expected in the area in the coming days though not as much as initially forecasted and the wind direction there and in Abitibi are favourable, he added. Nonetheless, the state of emergency in SeptIles, which sits about 890 kilometres northeast of Montreal, has been extended for five days, with evacuation orders in place at least through Monday morning. Some 100 soldiers were set to arrive Sunday evening to lend a hand. The number of forest fires in the province notched up to 141 Sunday from 134 on Saturday, including 35 actively being fought by teams from Quebec forest fire prevention organization SOPFEU. We concentrate our battles on these fires because we want to protect human life, the houses and enterprises. And we want to protect our infrastructure, like HydroQuebecs, Bonnardel said at the news conference held alongside other public officials. Hundreds of soldiers will deploy across the province, joining 475 firefighters under SOPFEUs banner, he said. Another 100 firefighters from France will shore up the effort, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a Twitter post Sunday afternoon. Canadian friends, reinforcements are coming, he wrote in French. We are facing a situation that has never been seen, said Natural Resources and Forests Minister Maite Blanchette Vezina at the news conference in Montreal. Residents are barred from entering the forests of several vast regions, including Northern Quebec, AbitibiTemiscamingue, SaguenayLacSaintJean and parts of the North Coast, Outaouais, Mauricie, Lanaudiere and the Laurentians, Vezina noted. On Saturday evening, the regional municipality of ValdOr announced the mandatory evacuation of several areas sparked by two wildfires and poor air quality. Located within AbitibiTemiscamingue, the community is under a state of emergency. No blazes are currently threatening the city of ValdOr itself, SOPFEU said Sunday. Between 6 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday, public health officials had recommended staying home with the windows closed due to the smoky haze engulfing the area. About 2,000 residents of LebelsurQuevillon, about 620 kilometres northwest of Montreal, received a mandatory evacuation notice on Friday evening due to nearby blazes. The thick smoke initially prevented planes from flying in the area Sunday morning before it cleared somewhat. At a news conference in SeptIles, Mayor Steeve Beaupre said caution is key. The fire situation is evolving encouragingly, but it remains out of control and threatening for the municipality, he said. The situation may not have gotten worse, but it has to get better We made the decision to go gradually and watch the evolution for the next 24 hours. Things shift with the weather, warned SOPFEU spokeswoman Isabelle Gariepy. As long as it is not contained, the state of a fire can change depending on where we are with the temperature, she said. Christopher Reynolds Zelenskyy Makes Grim Prediction, Claims Ukraine Ready for Counteroffensive Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this weekend revealed that Ukraine is ready for a counter-offensive to re-capture territory that was acquired by Russian forces, warning of large casualties in the coming fight. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the leader of Kyivs government said that a long-reported counter-offensive will come soon. However, he warned that a large number of soldiers will die in the attempt. We strongly believe that we will succeed, Zelenskyy told the Rupert Murdoch-owned outlet from Odessa, a southern port city. I dont know how long it will take, he added. To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different. But we are going to do it, and we are ready. And Ukraine, which has been acquiring weapons from NATO countries for months, has better-motivated troops, he said. There is no place for weakness, he told the outlet. In the interview, he did not provide more details about when or where the counter-offensive might begin. Russia first invaded Ukraine last February and quickly took large parts of the countrys eastern territory, although Moscows forces have stalled since then. In recent months, fighting has raged in the eastern city of Bakhmut as Ukrainian forces attempted to hold the city. In that interview, meanwhile, Zelenskyy also claimed that the 2024 elections may bring in an administration that may be more reluctant to send weapons and equipment to Ukraine. For example, former President Donald Trump, the leading GOP candidate, said he wanted a swift end to the war and has asserted that the death toll is far greater than what is being reported. In a situation like this, when there is support, you are afraid of changes, Zelenskyy, who previously has been publicly critical of Trump, told the WSJ. And to be honest, when you mention a change of administration, I feel the same way as any other personyou want changes for the better, but it can also be the other way around. He also offered speculation on what would have happened if Russia invaded Ukraine if Trump were still in power. However, Trump has repeatedly argued that Moscow would not have made the attempt if he was in office. On multiple occasions, Trump has said that, if hes elected in 2024, he will end the Ukraine-Russia war within 24 hours. Last week, during an interview with Fox Newss Sean Hannity, the former president said that its imperative that the war be stopped. I dont want that war to continue. And Ill stop that warmark my wordsIll stop that war in 24 hours, Trump said. Right now, its a mess, now theyre hitting Kyiv, and theyre hitting all sorts of things that werent supposed to be hit. The country is being decimated. By the way, the deaths are far more than theyre reporting, he continued. When they say: Nine apartment houses got knocked down, and two people got hurtno, no, hundreds of people died. The numbers are much different than what youre being told. Fighting Update Russias military on Sunday said that it struck Ukrainian airfields overnight, alleging that radar installations, ammunition depots, and Kyiv-owned aircraft were damaged or destroyed. Destroyed vehicles following what was said to be Ukrainian forces shelling in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the town of Shebekino in the Belgorod region, Russia, in a handout image released on May 31, 2023. (Governor of Russias Belgorod Region Vyacheslav Gladkov via Telegram/Handout via Reuters) The attack entailed long-range precision-guided air-launched weapons and achieved its goal, Russias Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Sunday to state-backed media. Command posts, a radar installation, Ukrainian aviation equipment, and storage facilities with weapons and ammunition were hit, the statement read. It comes as a group of pro-Ukraine Russian fighters involved in recent incursions into Russias border region of Belgorod said on Sunday they had taken two Russian soldiers captive and offered to exchange them for a meeting with the regional governor. The Freedom of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps have reported fighting battles in the region in recent days as Kyiv prepares to mount a counteroffensive against Kremlin forces in Ukraine, according to Reuters. The Epoch Times was unable to independently verify the reports. In a video on the Freedom of Russias Telegram channel, a man identifying himself as the commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps said he would hand the two captives to Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov if he came to meet the fighters in the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka before 5 p.m. local time). The video showed the two captives, one of whom appeared to be injured and was laid out on an operating table. Today until 17:00 you have the opportunity to communicate without weapons and take home two Russian citizens, ordinary soldiers whom you and your political leadership sent to the slaughter, read a joint statement posted along with the video, the Reuters news agency reported. Russian forces declared victory in the eastern city of Bakhmut last month after the longest, deadliest battle since their full-scale invasion of Ukraine began 15 months ago. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar told The Associated Press this weekend that Russia is seeking to create the impression of calm around Bakhmut, but in fact, artillery shelling still goes on at levels similar to those at the height of the battle to take the city. The fight, she said, is evolving into a new phase. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. Apisorn / Getty Images Consumers and the government alike are cracking down on companies that have engaged in negligent or harmful policies whether its purposefully slowing down data while keeping rates high (in the case of AT&T), facial recognition breaches (Google and Facebook) or even leading to foreclosure on houses due to faulty mortgage practices (Wells Fargo). Remote Job Scams are on the Rise: How to Make Sure the Job Youre Offered is Legit Find: With a Recession Looming, Make These 3 Retirement Moves To Stay On Track Many of these cases have lead to class action lawsuits and proceedings by the Federal Trade Commision (FTC), resulting in a number of settlements worth millions or even billions of dollars that go directly back to consumers. Below is a rundown of all the current claims you could be eligible for, and steps concerning how to recoup any money you may be owed. Total settlement: $60 million. Deadline to file claim: May 18, 2023. Requirements: Must have been an unlimited data customer between Oct. 1, 2011 and June 30, 2015. In 2019, the FTC launched an investigation into the communications giant alleging data throttling, meaning the company intentionally slowed down speeds for unlimited data customers once they reached a certain amount of data use every billing period, making functions like browsing and streaming difficult to use. While most eligible customers have been refunded or received a bill credit as of now, theres still $7 million to distribute to those that have not been compensated. If you think you are eligible, you can fill out a claim on the FTC website. Total Settlement: Undisclosed. Deadline to File Claim: July 7, 2023. Requirements: Must own (or lease) certain models purchased between 2006 and 2021. Kia and parent company Hyundai recently settled an undisclosed amount of money over customer complaints regarding vehicle anti-lock braking system functionality (some even resulting in fires). Various options are available for settlement based on the claim, including warranty extensions, refunds for repairs related to ABS malfunctions and maximum value compensation for vehicles that have been a total loss due to ABS issues. Free vehicle inspections are also being offered. If you think you are eligible, head to this site to check your VIN and file a claim here . Total settlement: $3.7 billion. Deadline to file: Undisclosed. Requirements: Must have been a Wells Fargo client with an active banking account, mortgage or auto loan between 2011 and 2022. The banking institution was hit with a huge complaint by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), who went after the company for breaking federal consumer protection laws that apply to financial products. As a result, Wells Fargo settled for a whopping $3.7 billion settlement $1.7 billion going to a victims fund and $2 billion going back to consumers. The settlement includes those who received erroneous overdraft fees in their checking accounts, misapplied payments in their auto loans and even negligent foreclosure proceedings. The CFBP said they have been in contact with most bankers affected, but if you think you are eligible and have not received communication yet, you can call Wells Fargo at 844-484-5089, Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. You may also file a complaint at consumerfinance.gov. Total settlement: $50 million. Deadline to file: March 6, 2023. Requirements: Must have purchased a MacBook, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro between 2015 and 2019 (a unit with a defective butterfly keyboard) and have proof of repair. In Apples case, this settlement came about as the result of a class action lawsuit in which laptop purchasers said they bought a device with a malfunctioning keyboard one that made character keys repeat, disappear or feel sticky because of a design flaw. Amounts paid out will vary, up to $395 for anyone who had to replace more than one keyboard, $125 for a replacement of a single keyboard and $40 for repairs on a keycap, as GOBankingRates previously reported. If you were affected, you can file a claim at this site with your computers serial number and proof of repairs. Synchrony Bank Total settlement: $2.6 million. Deadline to file: March 30, 2023. Requirements: Must have received a call from Synchrony Bank sometime after Oct. 16, 2020 that utilized AI or a prerecorded message regarding an account that you did not have. Synchrony is in some hot water for allegedly having made calls to consumers about accounts they did not have with the bank, and thereby violated federal telemarketing laws as governed by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Though the bank doesnt admit to wrongdoing, they did settle on the $2.6 million amount, with claimants receiving between $35 and $140 depending on how many people file by the deadline at this website. Thinx Total settlement: $5 million. Deadline to file: April 12, 2023. Requirements; Must have purchased a pair of the underwear between Nov. 12, 2016 and Nov. 28, 2022. The so-called period panty that promoted itself as a safer and more sustainable option for menstrual hygiene was the target of a class action lawsuit alleging that their products contained chemicals (like PFAS) that are harmful to both humans and the environment. The manufacturer agreed to settle for $5 million. Those who purchased the underwear within the terms noted above can submit a claim here and opt for a cash refund of up to three pairs ($7 each) or a 35% off voucher for a future purchase up to $150, per NPR. Take Our Poll: Do You Think Bankruptcy Is an Acceptable Way To Escape Student Loan Debt? Zelle Scams on Facebook Marketplace: How To Recognize and Avoid Them Also, if youre a resident of Illinois, you may want to be on the lookout for any biometric-related class action lawsuits. Illinois has some serious privacy laws when it comes to the internet provided under the umbrella of the states Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). Facebook recently paid 1.4 million Illinois residents $397 in 2022 as part of a class action lawsuit for facial recognition breaches through its Tag Suggestions feature, per CNBC. Google is starting a payout for similar violations in its Face Grouping option offering settlements of $200 to $400. Deadlines to file both of those claims have passed, but more may yet come. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Claim Your Money From All These Class Action Settlements Worth Millions Gehlot throws mike at District Collector afterit malfunctions JAIPUR, RAJASTHAN Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot threw a microphone at the Barmer District Collector, apparently enraged after the public address system malfunctioned during a public event. A purported video of the incident surfaced on social media. The incident happened at the Barmer Circuit House on Friday night when the Chief Minister was interacting with a group of women to collect feedback on various Government schemes meant for them. As CM tried addressing the group, the mike malfunctioned and, apparently angry, he threw it at the Barmer District Collector. The Collector then picked up the mike. Gehlot again lost his composure when he saw some people standing behind the group of women, and asked them to go away. Kashmir Got An Identity WITH the inauguration of the three-day session of G-20 Tourism Working Group meeting held in Srinagar (May 22-24) under the presidency of India has marked a turning point in the 75 years history of Jammu and Kashmir. It would not have been possible without the bold decision taken by the Bharatiya Janata Party to abrogate the articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution that although claimed to give Jammu and Kashmir a special status but in reality were the biggest obstacles in the road to economic development and political normalcy. So let me delve into the article 370 and 35A for my reader to understand why and how did the articles 370 and 35A hampered the progress of the Vale of Kashmir. August 5, 2019, the day when Article 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution was abrogated, will be remember in the history of the Himalayan region of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh as a day when for the first time in the history of their existence they became equal citizens with the rest of the people living in the Republic of India. Article 370 came into being in 1954 through a Constitutional amendment and 35A was imposed by a Presidential decree. Article 370 and 35A were strictly a temporary arrangement related to issues of governance of the former State of Jammu Kashmir that granted the state its Special Status. Due to the above-mentioned Articles of the Indian Constitution, legal, political or economic packages that were approved by the Indian Parliament for the uplift of marginalised communities in India were not automatically applied to the State of Jammu Kashmir. According to Article 35A, Indian citizens or businesses were not allowed to purchase or own property in the state. This was considered one of the biggest obstacles in attracting Indian as well as foreign investment into the State that are vital if tourism, agricultural and industrial development were to make qualitative progress. Lack of economic prosperity in Jammu Kashmir has led to a backward economic infrastructure and rise of political dynasties that have managed to establish their hegemonic monopoly over the economic activity of the State. These political families were corrupt to the core, however, due to the protection they enjoyed under Article 370 and 35A, anti-corruption agencies were barred from launching any investigation into the malpractices they were involved in to extract mega profits through kickbacks and tax evasions. Right To Information was inaccessible in the State of Jammu Kashmir. To give you an example, I would like to bring to you attention that during 2017-2018, India spent Rs 8,227 per person but in Jammu Kashmir it spent Rs 27,258 per person. With such a huge spent the standard of living of the so called permanent residents of Jammu Kashmir should have been far better than the rest of the country. So, where has this money been spent? Due to the obstacle of Article 370, an investigation into corruption could not be launched in Jammu and Kashmir. Since 1988, 41,000 people have lost their lives due to terrorism. Compulsory education law in India from the age of six to fourteen did not apply to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Similarly, teaching staff could not be freely hired from outside the State unless under exceptional conditions. Hence, the literacy rate in Jammu Kashmir was stuck at 67 per cent compared to India where it is 74 per cent. It took more than 30 years and 41,000 lives before the Government of India realised that by granting the State of Jammu Kashmir its Special Status it had only let Pakistan to propagate that Muslims in Kashmir were facing a monstrous Indian (read Hindu) occupation that was committing genocide of Muslims in the Valley. Pakistan also cultivated an army of a well funded Islamic clergy proxy in Kashmir that was and still is being used to stir hate against a Hindu India and demand for merging Jammu Kashmir with the (failed state) of Pakistan. From organisations such as the allegedly ISI funded Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) to the Hurriyat Conference and Jihad Council, the evil legacy of two-nation theory coined by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, was placed at the fore front of the cultural and ideological battle between democracy and theocracy in Jammu Kashmir. In the name of two-nation theory local cultures and languages were posed as inferior to that of Arab religious and cultural narrative and language. Article 370 was a divisive provision in the Indian Constitution that would not allow the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to fully integrate in the bondage of Indian nationhood. It discriminated not only on the basis of gender but also on the basis of place of birth and origin. Hindus and Sikhs who had been forced to migrate due to the India-Pakistan war in 1947 and 1965 were not given Permanent Resident Status and were still considered refugees with no voting rights. After the abrogation of Article 370, all refugees have been granted domiciles and are have now become equal citizens. Hindus, Sikhs and Christians now have a guaranteed 16 per cent share in jobs that are designated for religious and ethnic minorities. This is a great leap in ensuring that religious discrimination faced by religious minorities in a Muslim majority state can be ended. It is only due to the abrogation of the Article 370 and 35A that today Kashmir has got identity and has been able to host G20 session that has put Kashmir on the map of 50 top global destinations for tourism. By Niraj Chinchkhede Despite the fact that a majority of start-ups fail within a year, growing number of new ventures in Nagpur shows that entrepreneurs here are refusing to bow down to challenges. The city has witnessed a 10 times growth in the number of start-ups in the past five years, which shows that entrepreneurs have learnt to brave all hurdles and experiment with newer ideas effectively in the business world. From mere 40 start-ups, about five years ago, in Nagpur the number has now touched the 400 mark. Although there are no blockbuster start-ups yet in the city, and only a handful of them have survived in the recent past, the ecosystem for start-ups is getting more vibrant by the day as is indicated by an increase in their number. A cursory look at the start-ups also underlines the presence of Government schemes, hand-holding and other facilities provided by various agencies, in the strategically located city. It is a well-known fact that nine out of ten startups fail within one year in the country and Nagpur is no exception. Observers told The Hitavada that the survival rate in the region was marginally lesser than that for the country. However, more and more entrepreneurs are coming up with innovative ideas and venturing into industries such as IT, finance, and manufacturing. Start-ups like MyCaptain, Plus, Accelo, YourPhysio, Konverge, Fireblaze, ekatra, and Licksters among others are making headlines, and the founders of these companies are paving the way for younger start-ups to find opportunities on the larger canvas. Abheejit Khandagale, Founder of Nagpur Startups community, said, Nagpur gives a unique opportunity to youth and aspiring entrepreneurs to test and build their ideas. The city is a growing place for start-ups. You cannot compare it with cities like Mumbai or Bengaluru where many start-ups have worked wonders. Irrespective of other locations, Nagpurs rising number of start-ups is praiseworthy. The Nagpur Startups community has been the hub of all collaborative efforts in the city and there are several communities working in sync with each other like Headstart, EChai, TiE Nagpur, Global Shapers that are supporting start-ups in their unique ways. Institutional efforts by Indian Institute of Management, Nagpur (IIMNagpur), Infed, G H Raisoni Technology Business Incubator Foundation, Ramdeobaba College of Engineering and Management Nagpur (RCOEM), and incubation center of Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU) also are supporting students and early-stage entrepreneurship. All this was missing earlier. Networks like TiE and Headstart provide a massive exposure to local start-ups on a national and global stage. TiE has taken several start-ups to International stage. In addition, the investor community in the city is also mushrooming and many impressive deals have happened in the recent past. R Ramakrishnan, serial entrepreneur and Past-President of TiE Nagpur, too, observed that Nagpur has been steadily building its start-up ecosystem. But, he pointed out, there are many key factors missing in the jig-saw puzzle to make Nagpur a robust start-up ecosystem like deep mentoring capabilities, venture capitalists (VCs) with domain knowledge and global connections. Many of the start-ups founded in the last few years are still at 0-1 stage and have not gone beyond that. These start-ups are not able to scale up their ventures, Ramakrishnan said. Licksters, a city-based start-up making popsicles and ice-cream started four years ago, has now expanded its operations to five different States. Its founders Parimal Kalikar and Dhivya Subburaju said, With a cosmopolitan culture and well-developed infrastructure, Nagpur is an ideal city for food and beverage brands. Being in a small city you have advantages and challenges as well. Getting noticed nationally is a challenge but getting noticed is easier within the city when you provide quality, Dhivya told The Hitavada. At the same time, Nagpur offers better support for business owners in terms of timing restrictions and regulations, she added. Overall, Nagpur is witnessing a positive sentiment for start-ups. At the same time, there are certain challenges that need to be overcome through collective stakeholder engagement to make the evolving ecosystem a strong and sustainable one, say the observers. US Defence Secy Austin to visit India today NEW DELHI, US DEFENCE Secretary Lloyd Austin will pay a two-day visit to India beginning on Sunday to discuss ways to further expand the bilateral strategic engagement ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis trip to Washington. People familiar with Austins visit said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the US Defence Secretary are set to discuss a number of new defence cooperation projects that are set to be unveiled after Modis talks with US President Joe Biden in Washington more than two weeks later. Chinas aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region as well as along LAC and ways to combat the threat of terrorism are likely to figure in the talks between Singh and Austin on Monday, they said. The US Defence Secretary will arrive in India from Singapore on Sunday on a two-day visit, the Defence Ministry said. The Ministry said Germanys Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius will also visit New Delhi for bilateral talks with Singh that will take place on June 6. A host of bilateral defence cooperation issues, with a focus on industrial cooperation, are likely to be discussed during Singhs meetings with Austin and Pistorius, it said. US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and German Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius are visiting New Delhi for bilateral talks with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the Ministry said in a statement. The Defence Ministers meeting with the US Secretary of Defence will be held on June 5, while talks with the German Federal Minister of Defence will take place on June 6, it added. The India-US defence and strategic ties have been on an upswing in the last few years. The two countries have signed key defence and security pacts over the last few years, including the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries to use each others bases for repair and replenishment of supplies. We are responsible for NCPs slow growth in Vidarbha: Ajit Pawar Staff Reporter The leaders upon whom NCP had bestowed the responsibility of the partys expansion in Vidarbha failed to deliver, said Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar while speaking to mediapersons in the city on Saturday. The Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly was here to inaugurate a State-level workshop organised by the partys OBC Cell. While expressing regret over his partys failure to spread its wings in Vidarbha, Pawar added, However, we take the blame upon us for this. Our seats have grown in Pune, Ahmednagar, and in other districts, but we have failed to grow in Vidarbha. Since the formation of NCP in 1999, we could win 14 seats in Vidarbha only once till now. If leaders in Vidarbha make up their mind, NCP can definitely succeed. Pawar pointed out that if efforts taken the people of Vidarbha can support NCP. The allegations were made that the leaders in West Maharashtra ignored Vidarbha. When we provided fund to Vidarbha during the tenure as Minister, cases were registered against us for the reasons best known to the authorities. During the Government of Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA), Sharad Pawar had given more share to Vidarbha. New generation of the party in Vidarbha if provides attention, the party can grow, felt Pawar. Replying to a question, Ajit Pawar made it clear, All the three constituents of MVA are positive as far as seat sharing is concerned. Uddhav Thackeray expressed the wish to get 18 Lok Sabha seats for his party. Everyone can put the demand. But every constituent has to make the adjustment. I am sure some middle way can be find out. If we unite and contest the polls we will defeat the ruling party for sure. On Pune Lok Sabha by-polls, Pawar said, The performance of the parties within MVA in Pune should be studied. We can easily find out which constituent is powerful in Pune. Accordingly the decision can be taken. Pawar dismissed the rumour about exchanging Pune with Bhandara-Gondia Lok Sabha seat within MVA for 2024 polls. Pune Lok Sabha constituency is being contested by Congress since long while Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had contested the Bhandara-Gondiya seat on four occasions since 2009. The Telegraph EDWARDSVILLE A Collinsville man was charged with two counts of burglary and other crimes Thursday by the Madison County States Attorneys Office. Dustin J. Armstrong, 23, was charged June 1 with two counts of residential burglary, both Class 1 felonies; criminal damage to property over $500, a Class 4 felony; and criminal trespass to a residence, a Class A misdemeanor. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Kornelius Purba (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, June 5, 2023 When reading Government Regulation No. 26/2023 on the resumption of sea sand excavation (for Singapore) and listening the defense of two ministers regarding the policy, I burst into laughter because the formulation of the ruling is reminiscent of the New Order practice of using subterfuge to hide business interests of Soehartos children and cronies. Singapore, in need of more land through reclamation, is the worlds largest sea sand importer, while Indonesia is the largest supplier of sea sand. Many Indonesians suspect their neighbors reclamation projects aim at annexing parts of their national territory. President Joko Jokowi Widodo issued the regulation on the administration of sea sedimentation products on May 15. However, the policy deals with more than just sea sedimentation. There is a euphemism here. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Editorial board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, June 5, 2023 03:51 6 d5259e4d93052b0e76bee70b057c8bdc 1 Editorial Constitutional-Court,open-list-electoral-system,closed-list-election-system,judicial-review,KPK,term-extension Free The spotlight is on the Constitutional Court (MK) as it is deliberating a petition that demands a change in the way people vote in the legislative elections next February. The choice boils down to voting for candidates, the way it has been in the past four elections since 2004, or for political parties, the way it was for all six elections preceding them during the Soeharto dictatorship. Former deputy law minister Denny Indrayana last week brought the issue to public attention when he claimed, citing insiders, the court had made its decision to go back to the old closed-list proportional representative system. Speaking from Australia, where he is a visiting law professor, he said an announcement was imminent. No one from the court has contradicted Dennys statement. Individual citizens have reported him to the police for leaking a classified state document, not for disinformation. Denny may be on to something. Irrespective of whether he is right or wrong, the spotlight should stay with the court to make sure it does not make the wrong decision. We challenge the court to prove Denny is wrong by rejecting the petition, which represents the interest of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). At least seven other parties in the House have openly rejected the closed-list electoral system proposal. It is a no-brainer which of the two systems is superior. The open-list gives voters the power to choose who to represent them in the national and local legislatures. The closed-list system takes this power out of their hands and gives it back to the chairs of the political parties. No electoral system is perfect as both are vulnerable to money politics. The open system encourages populism, but the closed-list is highly deceptive as parties may put up popular candidates as vote getters with no intention to send them to the legislatures. We would normally leave it to the court to debate the finer constitutional points in reaching a decision. Since the court lately made rulings that go against the spirit of democracy, public pressure must be brought to ensure it makes the right decision on this one. The electoral system is too precious to be left to the nine justices now that public trust in the court is waning. A wrong decision would only confirm suspicions the court has become a tool of those in power, not the independent body that it was set out to be. There is no more blatant example of this in the way the court ruled last month to extend the term of the chairmanship of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) from four to five years. The court came up with the lamest excuse for extending it: That most other state institutions serve a five-year term. Would the court now extend the term of the press council from the present three-year term in the name of equal treatment? The ruling means KPK chief Firli Bahuri extends his term by one year beyond December. He is the last person who deserves the extension. There are just too many reports of ethical breaches leveled against him since he took charge. Under him, the KPK has become a toothless institution, cherry picking cases that serve the interests of those in power. Public confidence has also gone south since the MK has been led by Anwar Usman, the husband of President Joko Jokowi Widodos younger sister. This inevitably raises suspicions of conflict of interest in some of the courts rulings. The student-led people power movement that brought down the Soeharto tyranny in 1998 used the rallying cry of fighting against corruption, collusion and nepotism, or KKN in Indonesian acronyms. The way state institutions like the KPK and the MK are becoming tools of the powerful suggests these problems are rearing their ugly heads once again. We may need to revive the anti-KKN rallying cry. ITW Drawform, a division of Illinois Tool Works Inc., closed its Holland manufacturing plant laying off 171 workers, according to Crain's Grand Rapids Business Journal. HOLLAND A company that produces deep drawn metal stampings has closed its Holland manufacturing plant laying off 171 employees, according to a report. ITW Drawform, a division of Illinois Tool Works Inc., announced the layoffs in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act filing to the state on May 30 according to Crains Grand Rapids Business. It's the same date as the Holland plant closure. The company cited an unforeseeable, dramatic downturn in client demand as a reason for the closure, according to Crains. Due to a decision by a Drawform customer to shift their business to an alternative supplier, we were disappointed and saddened to have to eliminate the roles of approximately 170 Drawform associates that supported this program at our Holland, Michigan, facility, a company spokesperson told Crains in an emailed statement. We express our deepest gratitude to all of our associates impacted by this decision and we are committed to supporting them through this transition. Subscribe: Get unlimited access to our local coverage ITW Drawforms manufacturing facility in Holland is located at 60 E. 48th St. Property records show the company acquired the property in 2020 from automotive seating supplier Adient for $3.8 million. The Holland employees included 67 full-time production associates and 25 part-time production associates, according to the WARN Notice. ITW Drawform will provide severance, a company spokesperson told Crains. ITW Drawform has a location in Zeeland at 500 N. Fairview Road, according to its website. Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at esasiela@sentinel-standard.com. Follow him on Twitter @SalsaEvan. This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: ITW Drawform plant in Holland closes, laying off 171 workers Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dio Suhenda (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, June 4, 2023 A Russia-Ukraine peace plan proposed by Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto has been criticized by senior Ukrainian officials for failing to condemn and adequately account for Russias aggression, but the ministry has defended the plan as a good-faith effort to achieve peace. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday, Prabowo called on defense and military officials from around the globe to help pressure both Kyiv and Moscow to start negotiations for peace, noting that the war had far reaching impacts beyond just Ukraine and Russia. [The war in] Ukraine has affected the livelihoods of all the peoples of the world. The price of energy has gone up, the price of food has gone up. This has resulted in much suffering for many peoples of the world, Prabowo said on the second day of the three-day forum. 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 Reuters Singapore Sun, June 4, 2023 15:15 7 c50f50c3e1b4ab124a8b6ef95a51e2b0 2 Europe Indonesia,Prabowo-Subianto,Ukraine-war,Russia,referendum,Ukraine,EU,Josep-Borell,demilitarized-zone Free Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto on Saturday proposed a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, calling for a demilitarised zone and a United Nations referendum in what he called disputed territory. Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko dismissed the plan, reiterating Kyiv's position that Russia should withdraw its troops from Ukraine. Prabowo called on defence and military officials from around the world, gathered at the Shangri-La Dialogue defence meeting in Singapore, to issue a declaration calling for a cessation in hostilities. He proposed a multi-point plan including a ceasefire and establishing a demilitarised zone by withdrawing 15 kilometres (nearly 10 miles) from each party's forward position. The demilitarised zone should be observed and monitored by a peacekeeping force deployed by the UN, he said, adding that a UN referendum should be held "to ascertain objectively the wishes of the majority of the inhabitants of the various disputed areas". "I propose that the Shangri-La dialogue find a mode of ... voluntary declaration urging both Ukraine and Russia to immediately start negotiations for peace," Prabowo said. Nikolenko said Russia had committed the act of aggression, occupying Ukrainian territories, and any proposals for a ceasefire would allow it to regroup and reinforce. "There are no disputed territories between Ukraine and the Russian Federation to hold referendums there," he said. "In the occupied territories, the Russian army commits war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Russia is now trying in every possible way to disrupt the Ukrainian counteroffensive." Russia has denied Ukrainian accusations of war crimes and genocide. Indonesia's proposal follows President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's visit last year to Moscow and Kyiv, where he offered to play peacebroker between their leaders and rekindle peace talks. He was chairman of the G20 group of major economies at the time. Speaking on the same panel, Josep Borrell Fontelles, high representative and vice president of the European Union's European Commission, noted that if military support for Ukraine stopped, the war would quickly end - but with that country's sovereignty falling to outside aggression. "We cannot stop supporting militarily Ukraine because we don't want the peace which is ... the peace of the surrender. The peace of the stronger," Borrell said. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky has proposed a 10-point peace plan which calls on Russia to withdraw all its troops from Ukraine. Nikolenko urged Indonesia to support Zelenskiy's peace plan. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin AFP Singapore Sun, June 4, 2023 16:10 7 d5259e4d93052b0e76bee70b057c6b80 2 Europe Indonesia,Prabowo-Subianto,peace-and-conflict-resolution,Ukraine-war,Russia,Shangri-La-Dialogue,military Free Ukraine's defence minister on Saturday dismissed a plan proposed by his Indonesian counterpart to end the war between Kyiv and Moscow, calling it a "strange" proposal. Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto pitched the idea at the Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit in Singapore where he was a speaker. The plan included an "immediate cessation of hostilities", a ceasefire "at present positions", and demilitarised zones that would be guaranteed by observers and United Nations peacekeeping forces. He also suggested an eventual "referendum in the disputed areas" organised by the UN. But Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, who was attending the two-day summit, flatly rejected the proposal. "It sounds like a Russian plan, not Indonesian plan," he said. "We don't need this mediator coming to us (with) this strange plan." China has presented its own peace plan to end the war -- a vague list of proposals to which European Union politicians have reacted with scepticism. While Beijing says it is a neutral party to the conflict, it has been criticised for refusing to condemn Moscow's invasion. In contrast, the United States and Western allies have delivered billions of dollars in weapons and other aid to Ukraine since Russia's invasion. Jakarta, which favours non-aligned diplomacy, had previously attempted to mediate peace. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo travelled to Kyiv and Moscow and met the nations' leaders last year, while his country chaired the G20 bloc of major economies. Prabowo's proposal was also criticised at the summit on Saturday by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. "We need to bring peace to Ukraine", but it must be a "just peace, not a peace of surrender," Borrell said, commenting on the Indonesian proposal. Indonesia voted in favour of a UN resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but it has not applied economic sanctions against Moscow. Kristen Bearse @kbearse shared this photo from a visit to the The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation at 87 Eldridge Street. She writes: This small studio on the 3rd floor of @resnickpasslof is where Milton Resnick worked in the later years of his life. Born in the Ukraine, he immigrated with his family to New York City and lived on the Lower East Side. Visit the foundation and his home in a former synagogue he purchased in the 70s which has been beautifully renovated. Photo courtesy of the Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation. Ed Litvak wrote about the renovation and the opening of the museum in 2018: In the 1970s and 1980s, quite a few abandoned synagogues on the Lower East Side were taken over by artists, who repurposed the often crumbling buildings as quirky studio and living spaces. At 87 Eldridge St., the public now has the opportunity to see the work of an especially renowned local artist, but also to experience the inside of one of these converted shuls. Resnick and Passlof, Abstract Expressionist painters, were married for 40 years, but lived and worked in separate synagogue buildings a few blocks apart. Following Passlofs death in 2011, her home/studio at 80 Forsyth St. was sold for $6.2 million, most of the proceeds being used by the foundation to renovate the Eldridge Street building and turn it into a museum. You can read more about it here. Photo: On Orchard Street, Saturday afternoon. In the news: Public records show that Omnia Properties is doubling the size of its new residential tower at 183 Chrystie St. It will now rise 17 stories and include 57 units. [Crains] At the NYCHA Smith Houses, there are 41 vacant apartments, up from an average of 6 a year ago. Whats happening at the Lower East Side public housing complex is a microcosm of whats occurring citywide: its taking NYCHA longer and longer to renovate apartments for new tenants. [City Limits] Community activists are outraged about the citys under-the radar pronouncement that demolition work would resume on the Manhattan Detention Center complex. The activists, opposed to a new Chinatown jail, have been pushing an adaptive reuse proposal. [The Broadsheet] Several items of interest on Community Board 3s June meeting agendas. On June 8, there will be a discussion about use of Seward Park High Schools courts by the community and outside groups. On June 13, city officials will present Delancey Street traffic redesign plans. And on June 20, city officials will seek support from the board for the, assignment, amendment and restatement of the lease for East Broadway Mall (88 East Broadway) [CB3] Streetwear designer Angelo Baque opens his new store, Awake, on Orchard Street. Recalling his many life experiences on the Lower East Side, Baque says, I look forward to cultivating a space that can inspire the younger generation of artists to express and connect through creativity and community. [Hypebeast] On NPRs Code Switch, a conversation with Ava Chin, author of Mott Street: A Chinese American Familys Story Of Exclusion And Homecoming. [NPR] The Museum of Modern Art has acquired more than 200 works from the experimental filmmaker Ken Jacobs, including his first film, Orchard Street. [The Art Newspaper] You can see the new doc on Kims Video at the Tribeca Film Festival. [EV Grieve] Have you checked out the new ice cream cart on East Broadway from Ernestos and Morgensterns? [Instagram] Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited (ASX:BENPH Get Rating) declared a interim dividend on Thursday, June 1st, MarketIndexAU reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 14th will be given a dividend of 1.316 per share on Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 5th. This is an increase from Bendigo and Adelaide Banks previous interim dividend of $1.20. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Stock Performance About Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (Get Rating) Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited provides banking and financial products and services to retail customers and small to medium sized businesses in Australia. The company operates through Consumer, Business and Agribusiness, and Corporate segments. It offers a range of products and services, including personal and business banking, financial planning, commercial mortgages and unsecured loans, investment products, insurance, and superannuation. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Chevron (NYSE:CVX Get Rating) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Thursday morning, The Fly reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has $180.00 price target on the oil and gas companys stock, up from their prior price target of $165.00. A number of other brokerages have also commented on CVX. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Chevron from $212.00 to $208.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 14th. Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Chevron from $185.00 to $170.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 24th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Chevron in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. They set a buy rating and a $212.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Chevron from $204.00 to $199.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Chevron from $192.00 to $198.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chevron presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $192.11. Get Chevron alerts: Chevron Trading Up 2.7 % Shares of NYSE CVX opened at $156.26 on Thursday. The companys fifty day moving average is $161.98 and its 200-day moving average is $168.28. The stock has a market cap of $296.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.17. Chevron has a twelve month low of $132.54 and a twelve month high of $189.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Chevron Announces Dividend Chevron ( NYSE:CVX Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 28th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $50.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $49.49 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 14.74% and a return on equity of 23.15%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Chevron will post 14.23 EPS for the current year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 19th will be paid 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 3.87%. Chevrons dividend payout ratio is presently 32.61%. Institutional Trading of Chevron Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 92,113 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $16,533,000 after buying an additional 1,453 shares during the period. M&R Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,580 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $1,361,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 17,553 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $3,151,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Chevron by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 19,920 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $3,575,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. Finally, Resources Investment Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings in Chevron by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Resources Investment Advisors LLC. now owns 39,324 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $7,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares during the period. 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. Featured Stories 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. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBAPG Get Rating) announced a interim dividend on Friday, June 2nd, MarketIndexAU reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of 1.245 per share on Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Commonwealth Bank of Australias previous interim dividend of $1.13. Commonwealth Bank of Australia Stock Performance Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Commonwealth Bank of Australia Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Commonwealth Bank of Australia and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Cowen Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elliott Opportunity II Corp. (NYSE:EOCW Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 200,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,016,000. Cowen Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Elliott Opportunity II as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Elliott Opportunity II by 37.7% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,396 shares of the companys stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 3,396 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspring Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Elliott Opportunity II by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspring Capital LLC now owns 16,600 shares of the companys stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares in the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elliott Opportunity II in the 4th quarter valued at $1,968,000. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Elliott Opportunity II in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,264,000. Finally, Karpus Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Elliott Opportunity II by 1,482.7% in the 3rd quarter. Karpus Management Inc. now owns 354,311 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,486,000 after purchasing an additional 331,925 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.54% of the companys stock. Get Elliott Opportunity II alerts: Elliott Opportunity II Stock Performance Shares of EOCW stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.32. The company had a trading volume of 54,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,483. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.28 and a 200 day moving average of $10.16. Elliott Opportunity II Corp. has a 1-year low of $9.70 and a 1-year high of $10.40. About Elliott Opportunity II Elliott Opportunity II Corp. does not have significant operations. It intends to effect a merger, capital share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses or assets in the technology sector. The company was incorporated in 2021 and is based in West Palm Beach, Florida. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EOCW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Elliott Opportunity II Corp. (NYSE:EOCW Get Rating). Receive News & Ratings for Elliott Opportunity II Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Elliott Opportunity II and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Cowen Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MUFG Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,246,500 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $14,984,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group comprises approximately 3.0% of Cowen Investment Management LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $188,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,154,203 shares of the companys stock valued at $7,699,000 after acquiring an additional 264,026 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 59,907 shares of the companys stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 4,019 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 90,791 shares of the companys stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 5,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,739,399 shares of the companys stock valued at $124,992,000 after acquiring an additional 168,867 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 1.62% of the companys stock. Get Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group alerts: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Price Performance Shares of MUFG stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $7.04. The stock had a trading volume of 3,734,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,996,451. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.31 and a 12-month high of $7.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.66. The firms 50-day moving average is $6.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.54. Analysts Set New Price Targets Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ( NYSE:MUFG Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 15th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $18.81 billion during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 12.19%. Analysts expect that Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. will post 0.78 EPS for the current year. Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report on Monday, May 29th. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Profile (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. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MUFG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MUFG Get Rating). 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. For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. 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 Jabil (NYSE:JBL), which has not only revenues, but also profits. 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 Jabil How Fast Is Jabil Growing Its Earnings Per Share? Over the last three years, Jabil has grown earnings per share (EPS) at as impressive rate from a relatively low point, resulting in a three year percentage growth rate that isn't particularly indicative of expected future performance. As a result, we'll zoom in on growth over the last year, instead. To the delight of shareholders, Jabil's EPS soared from US$5.55 to US$7.26, over the last year. That's a fantastic gain of 31%. One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. Jabil maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 14% to US$35b. That's encouraging news for the company! In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. For finer detail, click on the image. 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 Jabil's future EPS 100% free. Are Jabil Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders? We would not expect to see insiders owning a large percentage of a US$12b company like Jabil. But thanks to their investment in the company, it's pleasing to see that there are still incentives to align their actions with the shareholders. Notably, they have an enviable stake in the company, worth US$355m. This suggests that leadership will be very mindful of shareholders' interests when making decisions! While it's always good to see some strong conviction in the company from insiders through heavy investment, it's also important for shareholders to ask if management compensation policies are reasonable. A brief analysis of the CEO compensation suggests they are. For companies with market capitalisations over US$8.0b, like Jabil, the median CEO pay is around US$12m. Jabil's CEO took home a total compensation package of US$5.6m in the year prior to August 2022. That's clearly well below average, so at a glance that arrangement seems generous to shareholders and points to a modest remuneration culture. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally. Does Jabil Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist? You can't deny that Jabil has grown its earnings per share at a very impressive rate. That's attractive. If that's not enough, consider also that the CEO pay is quite reasonable, and insiders are well-invested alongside other shareholders. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to investing but it definitely makes Jabil look rather interesting indeed. What about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Jabil you should know about. The beauty of investing is that you can invest in almost any company you want. But if you prefer to focus on stocks that have demonstrated insider buying, here is a list of companies with insider buying in the last three months. 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 Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 13,731 shares of the utilities providers stock, valued at approximately $1,614,000. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DTE. Retirement Income Solutions Inc boosted its holdings in shares of DTE Energy by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Income Solutions Inc now owns 2,498 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of DTE Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,710,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in DTE Energy by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,094 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new position in DTE Energy during the 1st quarter worth $280,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in DTE Energy by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,028,699 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $3,044,624,000 after buying an additional 1,420,586 shares in the last quarter. 74.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get DTE Energy alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets Several research firms have issued reports on DTE. Berenberg Bank set a 28.00 ($30.11) price objective on DTE Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a 23.60 ($25.38) price objective on DTE Energy in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on DTE Energy from $131.00 to $127.00 in a report on Monday, April 24th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on DTE Energy from $130.00 to $124.00 in a report on Friday, May 19th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a 25.00 ($26.88) target price on shares of DTE Energy in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $70.94. DTE Energy Price Performance DTE opened at $108.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. DTE Energy has a 12 month low of $100.64 and a 12 month high of $136.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.16. The stock has a market cap of $22.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.60. DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.05). DTE Energy had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 10.59%. The firm had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that DTE Energy will post 6.18 EPS for the current year. DTE Energy Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 19th will be given a $0.9525 dividend. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 15th. DTE Energys dividend payout ratio is currently 67.43%. Insiders Place Their Bets In other DTE Energy news, SVP Joann Chavez sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.09, for a total transaction of $452,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,651,905.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the companys stock. DTE Energy Company Profile (Get Rating) DTE Energy Co operates as a diversified energy company, which engages in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services. It operates through the following segments: Electric, Gas, DTE Vantage, Energy Trading, and Corporate and Other. The Electric segment consists of generation, purchase, distribution, and sale of electricity to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in southeastern Michigan. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DTE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE Get Rating). Receive News & Ratings for DTE Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for DTE Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FMCB Get Rating) declared a dividend on Friday, June 2nd, investing.com reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 9th will be given a dividend of 8.30 per share by the bank on Saturday, July 1st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 8th. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock opened at $985.00 on Friday. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has a twelve month low of $914.01 and a twelve month high of $1,088.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stocks 50 day moving average is $983.34 and its 200 day moving average is $998.92. Get Farmers & Merchants Bancorp alerts: Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FMCB Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The bank reported $30.80 EPS for the quarter. About Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Farmers & Merchants Bancorp is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services to individuals, families, and businesses. Its services include commercial, commercial real estate, real estate construction, agribusiness, consumer, credit card, residential real estate loans, and equipment leases. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Farmers & Merchants Bancorp and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust (NYSE:VCV Get Rating) announced a monthly dividend on Friday, June 2nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.0335 per share by the investment management company on Friday, June 30th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust Price Performance VCV opened at $9.41 on Friday. Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust has a 52-week low of $8.51 and a 52-week high of $11.10. The businesss fifty day moving average is $9.78 and its 200-day moving average is $9.79. Get Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust alerts: Institutional Investors Weigh In On Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $91,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust during the 1st quarter worth $178,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $155,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 17,807 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 2,760 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 10.12% of the companys stock. About Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust operates as a closed-end investment fund/investment trust. Its investment objective is to seek to provide common shareholders with current income exempt from federal and California income taxes, consistent with preservation of capital. The company was headquartered on December 21, 1992 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Kercheville Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX Get Rating) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,301 shares of the natural resource companys stock after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLCs holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 15.2% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 11,101 shares of the natural resource companys stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 1,468 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 112,066 shares of the natural resource companys stock worth $5,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,474 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 73.6% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 132,043 shares of the natural resource companys stock worth $6,624,000 after purchasing an additional 55,987 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 79,686 shares of the natural resource companys stock valued at $3,964,000 after buying an additional 14,388 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.12% of the companys stock. Get Freeport-McMoRan alerts: Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance Shares of FCX traded up $1.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $37.19. The stock had a trading volume of 20,451,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,931,959. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.80 and a fifty-two week high of $46.73. The company has a market cap of $53.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $37.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.58. Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend Freeport-McMoRan ( NYSE:FCX Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 21st. The natural resource company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 12.07%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 14th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 13th. Freeport-McMoRans dividend payout ratio is presently 16.76%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth FCX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating and raised their target price for the company from $41.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $32.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, February 27th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Sunday, April 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $38.42. Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan In other news, Director Sara Grootwassink Lewis acquired 4,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $34.90 per share, with a total value of $139,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,800 shares of the companys stock, valued at $621,220. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.78% of the companys stock. Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile (Get Rating) Freeport-McMoRan, Inc engages in the mining of copper, gold, and molybdenum. It operates through the following segments: North America Copper Mines, South America Mining, Indonesia Mining, Molybdenum Mines, Rod and Refining, Atlantic Copper Smelting and Refining, and Corporate and Other. The North America Copper Mines segment operates open-pit copper mines in Morenci, Baghdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona and Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Freeport-McMoRan Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Freeport-McMoRan and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI Get Rating) has been assigned a consensus rating of Hold from the ten analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $301.67. Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MSI shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating for the company. TheStreet raised shares of Motorola Solutions from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $303.00 to $329.00 in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $310.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Motorola Solutions from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. Get Motorola Solutions alerts: Motorola Solutions Stock Performance Shares of NYSE MSI opened at $282.73 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $287.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $271.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.15, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $47.41 billion, a PE ratio of 35.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.93. Motorola Solutions has a 1 year low of $195.18 and a 1 year high of $299.43. Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement Motorola Solutions ( NYSE:MSI Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.12 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 14.63% and a negative return on equity of 1,549.95%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Motorola Solutionss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.00%. Insider Transactions at Motorola Solutions In other news, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.13, for a total value of $14,556,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 91,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,738,252.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 8,734 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.37, for a total transaction of $2,361,411.58. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $776,773.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.13, for a total transaction of $14,556,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 91,843 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $26,738,252.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 112,167 shares of company stock worth $32,403,063. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Motorola Solutions Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Motorola Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Motorola Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH purchased a new position in Motorola Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Motorola Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. increased its position in Motorola Solutions by 52.3% during the 4th quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 134 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the companys stock. 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. Recommended Stories 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. StockNews.com cut shares of North American Construction Group (NYSE:NOA Get Rating) (TSE:NOA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday. Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of North American Construction Group from C$24.00 to C$25.00 in a report on Thursday, February 16th. TheStreet raised North American Construction Group from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Thursday, February 16th. TD Securities downgraded North American Construction Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Finally, National Bank Financial lifted their price target on North American Construction Group to C$27.00 in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Get North American Construction Group alerts: North American Construction Group Stock Up 1.2 % Shares of North American Construction Group stock opened at $18.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $494.58 million, a P/E ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.15. North American Construction Group has a one year low of $9.20 and a one year high of $19.70. North American Construction Group Cuts Dividend Institutional Investors Weigh In On North American Construction Group The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.074 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 25th. North American Construction Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.22%. Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in North American Construction Group by 46.0% during the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,239 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in North American Construction Group by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 67,143 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in North American Construction Group by 114.5% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,831 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares during the last quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in North American Construction Group by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC now owns 12,335 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 1,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC acquired a new stake in North American Construction Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.19% of the companys stock. About North American Construction Group (Get Rating) North American Construction Group Ltd. engages in providing mining and heavy construction services. It offers mining and heavy construction services to customers in the resource development and industrial construction sectors. The firm focuses on supporting the construction and operation of surface mines in the oil sands. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for North American Construction Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for North American Construction Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Taylor Morrison Home (NYSE:TMHC Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, The Fly reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $50.00 target price on the construction companys stock. A number of other analysts have also commented on TMHC. Barclays boosted their price target on Taylor Morrison Home from $45.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 24th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Taylor Morrison Home in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Taylor Morrison Home from $33.00 to $42.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group upped their target price on Taylor Morrison Home from $41.00 to $47.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $40.79. Get Taylor Morrison Home alerts: Taylor Morrison Home Stock Performance Shares of Taylor Morrison Home stock opened at $44.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 1.73. The stocks 50-day moving average is $40.83 and its 200-day moving average is $35.80. Taylor Morrison Home has a one year low of $20.05 and a one year high of $45.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 6.09 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Insider Buying and Selling at Taylor Morrison Home Taylor Morrison Home ( NYSE:TMHC Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The construction company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Taylor Morrison Home had a return on equity of 24.14% and a net margin of 13.04%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Taylor Morrison Home will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. In other Taylor Morrison Home news, Director William H. Lyon sold 264,730 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.45, for a total value of $10,973,058.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,331,664.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Louis Steffens sold 8,890 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.97, for a total value of $328,663.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,772 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,431,590.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William H. Lyon sold 264,730 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.45, for a total value of $10,973,058.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,331,664.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 671,666 shares of company stock worth $27,832,604 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.50% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Taylor Morrison Home Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TMHC. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Taylor Morrison Home in the first quarter valued at approximately $466,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Taylor Morrison Home by 7.9% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,902 shares of the construction companys stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in Taylor Morrison Home during the first quarter worth approximately $309,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in Taylor Morrison Home by 10.5% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 45,038 shares of the construction companys stock worth $1,226,000 after buying an additional 4,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its position in Taylor Morrison Home by 9.4% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 68,917 shares of the construction companys stock worth $1,930,000 after buying an additional 5,933 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.33% of the companys stock. About Taylor Morrison Home (Get Rating) Taylor Morrison Home Corp. engages in the business of residential homebuilding and the development of lifestyle communities. It operates through the following segments: East, Central, West, and Financial Services. The East segment includes operations in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Orlando, Raleigh, Southwest Florida, and Tampa regions. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Taylor Morrison Home Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Taylor Morrison Home and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Tcwp LLC reduced its position in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (BATS:EFG Get Rating) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,441 shares of the companys stock after selling 3,267 shares during the period. Tcwp LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF were worth $3,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 49.9% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,240,103 shares of the companys stock worth $1,686,302,000 after purchasing an additional 7,733,455 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 347.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,719,363 shares of the companys stock valued at $311,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,887,468 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,164,482 shares of the companys stock valued at $229,616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213,234 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 75.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,616,441 shares of the companys stock valued at $117,289,000 after acquiring an additional 697,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,439,953 shares of the companys stock valued at $120,610,000 after acquiring an additional 7,685 shares during the last quarter. Get iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF alerts: iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF Stock Performance Shares of BATS EFG traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $95.44. 644,335 shares of the company traded hands. The stock has a market cap of $11.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 0.87. The companys fifty day moving average is $94.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.49. iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF has a fifty-two week low of $67.58 and a fifty-two week high of $85.81. iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF 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. Further Reading 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. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 75,543 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $5,467,000. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MET. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 17,847 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,260,000 after buying an additional 1,829 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter worth $225,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 179.7% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 540,081 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $37,957,000 after buying an additional 346,999 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in MetLife by 937.3% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 5,861 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 5,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in MetLife by 114.5% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,419 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.15% of the companys stock. Get MetLife alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth MET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on MetLife from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. TheStreet cut MetLife from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 24th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on MetLife from $82.00 to $74.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $76.33. MetLife Stock Up 5.1 % Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $52.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.95 and a 1 year high of $77.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.47. MetLife (NYSE:MET Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.33). MetLife had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 2.80%. The firm had revenue of $16.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $16.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current year. MetLife Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 8th. This is a positive change from MetLifes previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. MetLifes payout ratio is 93.69%. MetLife declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the companys board believes its stock is undervalued. About MetLife (Get Rating) MetLife, Inc provides insurance and financial services to individual and institutional customers. It offers life insurance, annuities, automobile and homeowners insurance and retail banking services to individuals as well as group insurance, reinsurance and retirement and savings products and services. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MET? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET Get Rating). Receive News & Ratings for MetLife Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for MetLife and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON Get Rating) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,673 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltds holdings in AON were worth $10,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AON by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,034,457 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $4,830,890,000 after buying an additional 111,820 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,021,085 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,204,600,000 after buying an additional 21,190 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,656,354 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $797,363,000 after buying an additional 70,574 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its position in shares of AON by 4,109.5% during the 4th quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 1,266,947 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $380,261,000 after buying an additional 1,236,850 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,124,939 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $301,381,000 after purchasing an additional 36,970 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.12% of the companys stock. Get AON alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In related news, President Eric Andersen sold 7,500 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.55, for a total value of $2,516,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 144,164 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $48,374,230.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In AON Trading Up 0.6 % A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on AON from $305.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AON from $320.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, March 31st. Roth Capital reiterated a buy rating on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on AON from $313.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AON from $320.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AON has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $319.00. Shares of AON stock opened at $313.80 on Friday. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $246.21 and a 1 year high of $338.27. The firm has a market cap of $64.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $322.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $312.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 182.36, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 2.04. AON (NYSE:AON Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.32 by ($0.15). AON had a net margin of 20.63% and a negative return on equity of 4,553.36%. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.83 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 14.41 EPS for the current year. AON Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 1st were issued a $0.615 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 28th. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from AONs previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. AONs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.74%. AON Profile (Get Rating) Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It operates through Global Professional Services Firm segment. The Global Professional Services Firm segment involves in the provides advice and solutions to clients focused on risk, health and wealth through four principal products and services. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AON? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Aon plc (NYSE:AON Get Rating). Receive News & Ratings for AON Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AON and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. JPMorgan Chase made headlines after it filed a trademark application for a new artificial intelligence invention that would select investments for customers. While the firm's app is innovative, financial planners have already integrated AI into their day-to-day work. Some use it for marketing and client communications, other use it for tax planning. While AI poses several potential risks, these planners ultimately think it makes them more effective in their work but not so effective to eventually take over. "I think it will enhance the industry," Grant Meyer, founder of GTS Financial, said of JP Morgans new technology. "I don't think at this point in time especially, that it's an outright replacement for advisors." A response by ChatGPT, an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, is seen on its website in this illustration picture taken February 9, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration How AI helps financial planning "Internally we are big advocates of using technology and allowing it to better serve our clients," Meyer said. His firm employs artificial intelligence for marketing, using the software to draft the firms newsletters, social media posts, and blog posts. He also uses it to draft bullet point responses to basic client questions such as the difference between IRAs and Roth IRAs. "It spits them out and you can use that as a quick building block for an emailcutting down some of the response time," Meyer said. In one instance, the firm even used the AI to help create a three-day trip itinerary for a client. "So internally, we've been using AI to speed up rather than searching on Google and trying to find articles, Meyer said. AI has kind of been very additive in how we work with clients." Kevin Brady of Wealthspire Advisors relies on ChatGPT to "think through some tax-planning strategies and tips for attorneys and other high-income professionals." He also uses it to simplify his writing. "Along similar lines, for a past article, I used ChatGPT to edit my writing to a more readable grade level," Brady said. "Simplifying complex topics is part of our job and that can be hard to do." Brady added that he uses ChatGPT to answer basic client questions that he is repeatedly asked. 'In the past, it was a struggle at times to find a prior email answer I gave that I wanted to use or reference. Now, ChatGPT can give me a starting point to that answer, which I can include certain parts of and edit to adjust to my style and voice," Brady said. AI shortcomings A ChatGPT prompt is shown on a device near a public school in Brooklyn, New York, Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File) Still, both advisors say that AI can pose challenges, at least in its current iteration. Meyer cited online reports that show large language models can be mistaken if not outright fabulist. For instance, he pointed to a story in which a lawyer submitted a brief citing six non-existent cases in a client's personal injury case against an airline. "While some of the results of ChatGPT, Bard, and other AI programs can be shockingly high quality, we've all seen anecdotes on where they can fall flat on their face," Meyer said. Brady agreed. "I should add you definitely need to know the source material already, because ChatGPT can be wrong and its responses clunky," Brady said. Brady said that ChatGPT is at its best when addressing "issues that have a clear answer." Otherwise, Brady said, it has limitations. "Its not good at areas that require nuance, or your relationships of things that are fluid," Brady said. "Correlation between asset classes changes every year. That's just one example. It can get super hard. Super hard. It's not good at delineating choices, because it's not its role." Meyer also has concerns about data privacy, pointing out that ChatGPT is not confidential, though the firm recently unveiled new privacy options. Consequently, he doesnt plug his clients personal data into the software, restricting his firms AI tool usage solely to "non-confidential information." "Im assuming whatever information you plug into it is being used in some way shape or form and is accessible by a tech at the company," Meyer said, so he can't reasonably prove any client-specific information would be kept private, at least not at this point in time. Not a replacement (Photo: Getty Creative) Both Meyer and Brady argue that real-life advisors still play an integral part in the financial planning process. While artificial intelligence might assist with the more mechanical components of the job, they say human empathy still plays a crucial role in planning peoples personal finances. "Money, we think, is all just kind of numbers in science and math," Meyer said. "Theres so much emotion charged with people's finances. And that's where, at least at this point in time, AI doesn't quite have it just right." In a hypothetical, Meyer said a client might panic in a market downturn and opt for more conservative investment strategies. While AI might simply offer them those alternative strategies, a human adviser might reassure their client and urge them to stick to their long-term financial plan. "And so some of the physical interaction with humans working through emotions that aren't logicalI think that's where people will still be involved," Meyer said. Still, Meyer believes the future of AI is bright, saying the phenomenon could bring financial services to new demographics. "While AI's influence in the retirement planning space is in its infancy, I have no doubt that AI will help revolutionize the retirement and financial planning industry," he said. "I think AI will be the bridge between the vast amount of information and working with a planner one-on-one. AI will democratize financial advice and help provide guidance to the mass market at scale, which is hard to do as people." But its not there yet, he said. "To trust AI to coordinate your retirement after decades of saving is likely too big of a hurdle for most to overcome at this point in time," he said. Dylan Croll is a Yahoo Finance reporter. Click here for the latest personal finance news to help you with investing, paying off debt, buying a home, retirement, and more Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Wealth Alliance increased its stake in shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI Get Rating) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 36,340 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 2,374 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliances holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $1,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BTI. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new stake in British American Tobacco in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of British American Tobacco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Motco raised its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 1,025.4% in the 4th quarter. Motco now owns 754 shares of the companys stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 170.8% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 864 shares of the companys stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of British American Tobacco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 6.37% of the companys stock. Get British American Tobacco alerts: British American Tobacco Trading Up 0.8 % BTI traded up $0.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $32.17. 3,232,510 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,793,138. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a one year low of $31.64 and a one year high of $45.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.51. Analyst Ratings Changes About British American Tobacco Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a buy rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of British American Tobacco from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, March 13th. (Get Rating) British American Tobacco plc is a holding company, which engages in the manufacture and distribution of tobacco products. Its brands include Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strike, and Pall Mall. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Asia-Pacific and Middle East (APME), Americas and Sub-Saharan Africa (AMSSA), and Europe and North Africa (ENA). Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BTI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI Get Rating). Receive News & Ratings for British American Tobacco Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for British American Tobacco and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wealth Alliance increased its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN Get Rating) by 19.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,433 shares of the industrial products companys stock after buying an additional 1,704 shares during the period. Wealth Alliances holdings in Eaton were worth $1,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Horan Securities Inc. boosted its position in Eaton by 228.6% during the 4th quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 161 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. RFP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Capital Directions Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 80.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Eaton alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ETN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $188.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $201.00 to $221.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $145.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $168.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $178.77. Insider Transactions at Eaton Eaton Stock Performance In related news, insider Joao V. Faria sold 2,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.71, for a total transaction of $441,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,314 shares of the companys stock, valued at $12,601,896.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink . Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the companys stock. ETN stock traded up $7.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $186.48. The company had a trading volume of 2,763,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,943,870. The firm has a market cap of $74.33 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.50. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $122.50 and a 12 month high of $187.38. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $168.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.62. Eaton (NYSE:ETN Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $5.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 12.00% and a return on equity of 18.70%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Eaton Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 8th were paid a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 5th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Eatons payout ratio is 53.67%. Eaton Profile (Get Rating) Eaton Corp. Plc is a power management company, which provides energy-efficient solutions for electrical, hydraulic, and mechanical power. It operates through the following segments: Electrical Americas and Electrical Global, Aerospace, Vehicle, and eMobility. The Electrical Americas and Electrical Global segments engage in sales contracts for electrical components, industrial components, power distribution and assemblies, residential products, single and three phase power quality, wiring devices, circuit protection, utility power distribution, power reliability equipment, and service. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ETN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN Get Rating). Receive News & Ratings for Eaton Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Eaton and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Whitecap Resources Inc. (TSE:WCP Get Rating) has been given a consensus rating of Buy by the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$14.91. Several research analysts have weighed in on WCP shares. National Bankshares upped their price objective on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$15.50 to C$16.50 in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$15.00 to C$14.50 in a research note on Wednesday, March 29th. ATB Capital dropped their price target on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$16.00 to C$15.00 in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$13.50 to C$14.00 in a research note on Friday, February 24th. Get Whitecap Resources alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In other news, Director Grant Bradley Fagerheim acquired 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$10.14 per share, with a total value of C$101,400.00. In the last three months, insiders bought 17,660 shares of company stock valued at $178,651. Company insiders own 0.74% of the companys stock. Whitecap Resources Stock Up 3.9 % Whitecap Resources Dividend Announcement Whitecap Resources stock opened at C$9.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of C$5.87 billion, a PE ratio of 4.43, a P/E/G ratio of -0.33 and a beta of 2.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.28, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firms 50 day moving average price is C$10.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$10.41. Whitecap Resources has a twelve month low of C$7.70 and a twelve month high of C$12.71. The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.048 per share. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 30th. Whitecap Resourcess dividend payout ratio is currently 26.48%. 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. Further Reading 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. The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, has given the Commissioner of Police (CP) on duty in the last Adamawa governorship election, Mohammed Barde, 48-hour ultimatum to explain his role in the illegal declaration of a winner in the poll. It was learnt that the Nigeria Police Force, in a letter dated June 1, issued a query to Barde highlighting his failure to deliver on his duties and accused him of conspiring with the suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Hudu Yanusa-Ari, who illegally declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aisha Binani Dahiru, as the winner of the election. The letter addressed to Barde, a serving CP of Imo State, came barely 11 weeks after the police authorities withdrew him from election duties in the state over the controversial incident. The letter was signed by the Force Secretary, AIG Habu Sani, on behalf of the Inspector General of Police. It partly read: You are a Commissioner of Police in charge of Imo State Command, and by virtue of your rank and experience on the Job, you are expected to be conversant with extant laws, rules, and regulations guiding Police officers as well as exhibit a high level of professionalism and responsibility in all your actions but unfortunately, the reverse is the case. Recall that you were posted as Adamawa State Election Duty Commissioner of Police with the core mandate of supervising all aspects of security and related matters towards ensuring a peaceful and credible conduct of the election in line with the 2022 electoral Act as amended and other applicable laws as well as guidelines. Your posting particularly placed you in charge of the Adamwa State supplementary Gubernatorial election held on 15th April, 2023. Following the completion of the voting, collation of results commenced appropriately but before the completion of the said collation exercise, you accompanied the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Adamawa State and provided him the needed security cover to unlawfully announce a result of an inconclusive election to the consternation of all and sundry. Knowing full well that the said INEC REC is not empowered by law to announce any election result and being aware that the collation of results was yet to be concluded, you deliberately, willfully, and illegally colluded with the said REC to commit an electoral offense, undermine public trust, compromise a sensitive national assignment and impugned the integrity of the Nigeria Police Force. These intentional and disgraceful acts of yours were despite prior notifications and warnings by the Deputy Inspector General of Police Operations who called you via GSM on the 15th of April 2023 intimating you of intelligence regarding the plans by the REC to illegally announce results, which he eventually did with your due presence. The totality of your actions which were captured in viral videos generated public outcry and condemnation, portrayed the Force in an extremely negative light, and would have occasioned an enormous crisis in the State if not for the prompt deployment of reinforcements. You have therefore undoubtedly debased the exalted rank of Commissioner of Police and brought the image of the Force to an all-time low. The police demanded that the CP explained his disgraceful acts of serious misconduct within 48 hours stating why disciplinary action should not be taken against him. The CP is being queried for his refusal to take/carry out lawful instructions from Superior officers In that, you deliberately refused to heed the instructions of the DIG Operations who warned you of the illegal plans of the REC, contrary to rule 030301 (m) of the Public Service Rules, 2009 as amended, the police said. The police said his actions culminated in a compromise of the security situation in the state while also querying him for divided loyalty, sabotage, and acts unbecoming of a public officer. You are therefore required to explain within 48hrs of receipt of this query why disciplinary action should not be taken against you. Your explanation if any should be submitted through the appropriate channel within the stipulated period or it would be presumed that you have non to offer and the Inspector General of Police will be at liberty to take any action he deems appropriate in the circumstance, the letter read. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, to jettison its planned nationwide strike against fuel subsidy removal. Sanwo-Olu, who made the appeal on Sunday while speaking with newsmen shortly after a special Thanksgiving Service at the Cathedral Church of Christ in Marina, stated that state governors are already discussing ways to mitigate the effects. It was learnt that the thanksgiving service was organized to mark the end of activities for the governors second term inauguration. He was accompanied by his wife Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, and wife Oluremi Hamzat. The governor, stressed that rather than being confrontational, labour unions and Nigerians should support President Bola Tinubu in the quest to take Nigeria out of the woods, saying this is not the time to go on strike. According to him, going on strike will neither address nor resolve any issue. This is not the time to go on strike. Recall that all presidential candidates said the first thing they will do is remove fuel subsidy. So what has changed? What has President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said or done that is different from what others would have done? The president has not even spent one week in office. We need to be very patient and reason together. Let us not make the issue about politics, but lets support this man. We should allow him to go and reflect. Strike will not resolve anything; it wont address the issue. The point should be how to ensure a sustained turnaround in our economy. The president mentioned better wages, and we started that in Lagos in January, and I hope other states can key into it. We dont need to wait for the national government, we just need to reflect on what the challenges are in the country and seek ways to resolve them. So I plead with the NLC to not turn the subsidy issue into a political one. The leadership should know they are leading people and so there is a need to restrain themselves. Let us be patient and work with the president. NNPC has said it has more than enough fuel to go round, so there is no need to heat up the polity. We should not get political because it is governance, and the people must see purposeful governance, the governor stated. The production line of Volkswagen AG VW ID.3A and Cupra Born electric sedans at the Volkswagen Sachsen GmbH plant in Zwickau, Germany - Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg German car makers are ramping up pressure on Brussels to avoid a post-Brexit cliff edge for the auto industry as officials in Whitehall race to strike a deal. Mercedes and Volkswagen have this week joined other car marques in calling for the EU to delay the introduction of new rules that will hit cross-border trade with Britain. Under new rules of origin that will come into force from January, 45pc of the value of an electric vehicle (EV) must originate from either the UK or European Union. Cars that fail to achieve this threshold will be hit with a 10pc tax if shipped to the EU from Britain, or vice versa. The industry fears that the massive price hikes will crush sales, warning that jobs would be lost without action. British manufacturers last month publicly called for Westminster and Brussels to delay the tariffs. JLR, Ford and Stellantis, which owns Vauxhall, all raised the alarm about the looming deadline. Now Mercedes joined the calls, becoming one of the first major German manufacturers to publicly speak out. We need more time for this transition and we would therefore appreciate political support, together with our British partners, in this matter, chief executive Ola Kallenius said last week. Ola Kaellenius, chief executive officer of Mercedes-Benz Group AG - Alex Kraus Country-mate Volkswagen has also urged officials to push back the deadline. A spokesman said: The automotive industry in the EU has stated that it sees difficulties in meeting the next phase of rules of origin (from 2024) and would welcome the extension of the current rules of origin for battery cells, battery packs and electric vehicles until the end of 2026. BMW, which manufactures in Britain under the Mini brand, is understood to also support a delay. Officials in Whitehall are now scrambling to avert a cliff edge. Negotiations between the UK and EU are understood to be progressing slowly, but Whitehall insiders are cautiously optimistic. Both parties are likely to want a resolution given the importance of cross-border trade to the car industry. The tariffs were originally proposed as a way to avoid Britain becoming a backdoor for cheap Asian cars being imported into the EU and undercutting local manufacturers. However, the phase in of the tariffs has coincided with an industry-wide shift to EVs and auto companies have struggled to stand up their supply chains in time to meet the deadline. The necessary plants to make electric motors and process minerals, let alone the vast gigafactories needed to hit the targets, are all a long way off. Richard Peberdy, UK head of automotive for KPMG, said: The need for a higher percentage of an electric vehicle to be sourced from within the UK or EU poses a significant challenge, especially as battery production is still in its infancy within Europe. After the collapse of British Volt, which planned a vast battery factory in the North East of England, Britains only existing EV car battery capacity is owned by Nissan. A report last week from the Policy Exchange think tank said the Governments erratic meddling in industrial policy was partly to blame for Britains ailing car industry. While there are more gigafactories in development on the continent, the EU too needs more time to stand them up. German car makers also have good reason to want more time: Britain is the second-largest car market in Europe, after Germany, and the number one destination for EU exporters, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. The EU exported more than 1m cars to the UK last year. European car makers stand to lose the most if a solution cant be found, says Andrew Thurston, a customs duty consultant with accountants MHA. If you add 10pc onto the cost of a Volkswagen, and you compare that with something like a Kia [made in South Korea], currently, when you look at the current state of affairs with the cost of living, that could sway a buyer, he says. Most manufacturers want the tariff deadline to be pushed back to 2027. This would give all car makers more time to build up their local supply chains. By 2027, a slew of battery plants and production lines are likely to be ready. Stellantis and Ford will have new gigafactories churning out batteries in Europe, which can supply British factories without incurring tariffs, and Mini owner BMW is likely to have refined its plans for electrifying its British brand. Ford also aims to build more electric motor units for its EVs in its Halewood plant near Liverpool. Mike Hawes, boss of industry group the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders: At a time when every country is accelerating their transition to zero emission transport, and global competitors are offering billions to attract investment in their industries, a pragmatic solution must be found quickly. An EU official said: The TCA [Trade and Cooperation Agreement] is the outcome of a negotiation in which both sides agreed to an overall balance of commitments. This includes clear terms for rules of origin for cars and other products traded under the terms of the TCA. Any issues regarding the TCA and its operation can be raised by either side in the bodies that were set up by the TCA. A Government spokesperson said: The Business and Trade Secretary has raised concerns about the 2024 Rules of Origin changes for Electric Vehicles and their batteries with the EU and is determined to find a joint UK-EU solution, which ensures the UK remains one of the best locations in the world for automotive manufacturing. 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. Erdogan sworn in for third term as Turkish president, vows unity ANKARA: Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erdogan was sworn in for a third term as president on Saturday (June 3), promising to serve impartially after winning a historic runoff election to extend his two-decade rule. Erdogan called for unity and the anger and resentment of the campaign to be set aside as he spoke during a lavish ceremony at his presidential palace in the capital Ankara attended by dozens of world leaders. politics By AFP Sunday 4 June 2023, 10:41AM Speaking at his inauguration on June 3, President Erdogan promised to embrace all 85 million of Turkish people, regardless of their political views, origins, affiliations and sects. Photo: Presidency of the Republic of Turkiye Official Website Speaking at his inauguration on June 3, President Erdogan promised to embrace all 85 million of Turkish people, regardless of their political views, origins, affiliations and sects. Photo: Presidency of the Republic of Turkiye Official Website Speaking at his inauguration on June 3, President Erdogan promised to embrace all 85 million of Turkish people, regardless of their political views, origins, affiliations and sects. Photo: Presidency of the Republic of Turkiye Official Website Speaking at his inauguration on June 3, President Erdogan promised to embrace all 85 million of Turkish people, regardless of their political views, origins, affiliations and sects. Photo: Presidency of the Republic of Turkiye Official Website Speaking at his inauguration on June 3, President Erdogan promised to embrace all 85 million of Turkish people, regardless of their political views, origins, affiliations and sects. Photo: Presidency of the Republic of Turkiye Official Website Speaking at his inauguration on June 3, President Erdogan promised to embrace all 85 million of Turkish people, regardless of their political views, origins, affiliations and sects. Photo: Presidency of the Republic of Turkiye Official Website Speaking at his inauguration on June 3, President Erdogan promised to embrace all 85 million of Turkish people, regardless of their political views, origins, affiliations and sects. Photo: Presidency of the Republic of Turkiye Official Website Speaking at his inauguration on June 3, President Erdogan promised to embrace all 85 million of Turkish people, regardless of their political views, origins, affiliations and sects. Photo: Presidency of the Republic of Turkiye Official Website Speaking at his inauguration on June 3, President Erdogan promised to embrace all 85 million of Turkish people, regardless of their political views, origins, affiliations and sects. Photo: Presidency of the Republic of Turkiye Official Website Turkeys transformative but divisive leader won the May 28 runoff against a powerful opposition coalition, despite an economic crisis and anger over the response to a February earthquake that killed more 50,000 people. Erdogan won 52.18% of the vote while his secular rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu scored 47.82%, official results show. "As president, I swear upon my honour and integrity, before the great Turkish nation... to work with all my power to protect the existence and independence of the state... and to fulfil my duty impartially," Erdogan said in parliament after a ceremony outside the building where he saluted soldiers under pouring rain. Supporters in parliament gave Erdogan a minute-long standing ovation after his swearing in, while some opposition lawmakers refused to stand up. In his oath, Erdogan also promised not to deviate from the rule of law and the secular principles of the republic founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 100 years ago. "We will embrace all 85 million people, regardless of their political views, origins, creeds or sects," Erdogan said, hoping that his appeal would be reciprocated also by his opponents. "Turkey needs unity and solidarity more than ever," he added. Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Irans vice president Mohammad Mokhber, Hungarys right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban and the speaker of the lower house of Russias parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, were among the foreign guests at the ceremony Turkeys longest-serving leader, who has survived mass protests, a corruption scandal and a failed coup attempt since he came to power in 2003, now faces significant immediate challenges in his third term, including the slowing economy and tensions with the West. NATO allies are anxiously waiting for Ankara to green-light Swedens drive to join the US-led defence alliance, before a summit in July. Erdogan has delayed approving the application, accusing Stockholm of sheltering "terrorists" from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which is listed as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies. Russian man drowns at Naithon Beach PHUKET: A tourist from Russia drowned yesterday (June 3) at Naithon Beach, in what lifeguards claim to be another case of a foreign beach-goer ignoring red flags and entering the water, despite it being strictly prohibited. tourismdeathRussianSafety By The Phuket News Sunday 4 June 2023, 09:03AM UPDATE: The deceased was later confirmed to be a national of Kazakhstan, though having Russian first name and family name. The tourist was 45 years old. The man entered the surf despite unfavorable weather conditions and ignoring red flags around 4pm, Phuket Tourist Police reported on Facebook yesterday after 9pm. According to Phuket Tourist Police, lifeguards were present at the beach but, for undisclosed reasons, failed to prevent the man from swimming in the area where red flags had been installed. The presence of the flags alone did not deter the tourist. "The said tourist disobeyed the red flags forbidding swimming, which caused him to drown. Lifeguards brought the body back to shore and performed CPR but were unable to revive him. Our condolences to the family of the deceased," Phuket Tourist Police wrote on Facebook. The incident occurred within the bounds of Sirinat National Park. The identity of the man has not been revealed. Yesterdays (June 3) incident marks the fourth drowning since last Saturday (May 27) and the second such case involving a Russian national during the said period. The four fatalities recorded within seven days of rough weather in Phuket are as follows: May 27: Pavel Rafailovich, 52, Russia. Drowned at Patong Beach (read here). May 30: Khin Maung Htun, 46, Myanmar. Drowned at Layan Beach (read here). June 1: Artur Iskakov, 24, Kazakhstan. Drowned at Kata Beach (read here). June 3: Unnamed male, age unknown, Russia. Drowned at Naithon Beach. Heavy weather warning in Phuket, declared by the Meteorological Department of Thailand (TMD), has been extended until June 6. Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew has issued an urgent plea to tourists to obey the beach safety rules. Governor Narong also adressed the lifeguards stationed on the west coast beaches emphasising the importance of heightened vigilance and urging them to take all necessary measures to deter tourists from entering the sea in areas where it is strictly forbidden due to the high risk of drowning. Woman injured by falling tree in Phuket PHUKET: A woman was injured when a roadside tree fell onto her motorcycle on Saturday (June 3), rendering her unconscious. Severe weather conditions are expected to continue in Phuket intil next Tuesday (June 6). weatheraccidentsSafety By Eakkapop Thongtub Sunday 4 June 2023, 12:23PM A new weather warning was issued by TMD at 5am today (June 4). Image: Phuket Met DLT issued a specific warning about falling trees just before the start of the rainy season. Image: DLT A Thai woman, 44, was left unconscious after a flame tree fell on her motocycle yesterday (June 3). Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub At 10.30am, the Phuket City Police Station received a notification about heavy rain and strong winds that had caused a tree to collapse on a small road leading to the sea gypsy village on Koh Siray. Upon arrival at the scene, located near the turn to Phuket P.H. Marine pier, police officers and rescue workers discovered a "flame tree" (Delonix regia) obstructing the road. Adjacent to the fallen tree, they found a blue Honda Wave motorcycle and an unconscious woman. The rescue workers administered first aid to the victim before rushing her to Vachira Phuket Hospital for further treatment. The woman has been identified as Duendem Pramongkij, a 44-year-old local resident, according to the Phuket City Police. No information has been disclosed regarding her current condition. At 5am this morning (June 4), the Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast) re-issued its weather warning for Phuket and the surrounding area. Local officials are urging people to remain vigilant and exercise caution due to the potential weather-related hazards both at sea and on land. In addition to the standard meteorological warnings, in early May, the Department of Land Transport (DLT) issued a separate advisory specifically directed at motorists. The DLT emphassed the importance of being aware that severe weather can result in the collapse of trees, lamp posts, billboards, and other structures. Motorists were advised to bear this in mind while driving and when selecting a location to park their vehicles. Artist Sara Geidlinger recently received a 2023 Leading Women/Leading Girls Building Communities Award at an event hosted by Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife, honouring extraordinary women and girls of all ages who have worked to enrich the cultural fabric of Waterloo Region. I recently attended an event honouring the winners of this year's Leading Women/Leading Girls, Building Communities Awards. The event, hosted by Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife, honoured extraordinary women and girls of all ages who have worked to enrich the cultural fabric of Waterloo Region. As I watched the awards ceremony unfold at Knox Presbyterian Church, I was struck by the selflessness and community spirit of the winners. For example, winners Sophie McConnell and Edl Lemlen are only in Grade 6, but they were recognized for their unwavering support and friendship extended to a classmate, Sebastian, who is on the autism spectrum and non-verbal. Introducing the students to the audience, Fife lauded how "they demonstrate kindness and generosity and model friendship and inclusion, actively promoting equality, diversity and healthy relationships." Sophie and Edl were nominated for the award by Sebastian's mother, whose enthusiastic nomination reads: When I attended an open house at the school this fall, I had the chance to see Edl and Sophies kindness in action as, amid a sea of other children and distractions, they immediately sought out Sebastian, took his hand, led him to the field and began a ball toss game with him, cheering him on whenever he successfully threw or caught a ball. In this simple interaction, I saw Sebastians joy in being included, and the success they had in motivating him in a completely spontaneous way. This may seem like no big deal to any other parent, but to me, it was a transformational experience to observe. The awards ceremony was filled with sentiments like these, about how simple acts of kindness and a commitment to helping others have ripple effects across the community. Winner Paris Cai, for instance, was nominated for developing Homework Hub, a youth-led non-profit organization providing free, accessible, and quality educational resources to all students and families in need. And there was lots of appreciation in the room for nurses and first responders, such as Jennifer Stager Piatkowski, a registered nurse at Grand River Hospital who was honoured for her dedication and quality health care in the childbirth program. I attended the ceremony with my friend and creative partner Sara Geidlinger, who earned an award for her many roles in the region's creative culture a photographer, podcaster, filmmaker, educator, and community connector. One of her nominators, social scientist Dr. Angela Pollak wrote: Sara is among a handful of true connectors in Waterloo Region. She sparks conversations, collaborations and creativity in our community. I have seen Geidlinger's community-building creativity first-hand, as she and I have interviewed hundreds of fascinating local people on our Bonn Park podcast. So I was thrilled that the award not only recognized her talents and dedication, but also connected her with other extraordinary women. Among the many achievements for which Geidlinger was recognized was co-hosting a sold-out screening of the film "Women Talking" at the Princess Cinema as a fundraiser for Womens Crisis Services of Waterloo Region. I was so impressed by all the recipients of the Leading Women/Leading Girls, Building Communities Awards partly because they clearly aren't motivated by winnings awards. While recognition is nice, each of the recipients is making our region better. I was delighted to see community builders and peers earn recognition, and my optimism for the future was boosted by the amazing young women who will be tomorrow's leaders. Marshall Ward is a freelance writer and artist. Check out his award-winning podcast at bonnpark.com. SHARE: LONDON Carolyn Burjoskis Charter challenge of the Waterloo Region District School Boards decision to cut short her delegation at a school board meeting last year will be heard on Monday. Burjoskis lawyer, Jorge Pineda, said in a statement he will argue that the decision to end her presentation after four minutes was a violation of her right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Burjoski says she was ejected from a school board meeting on Jan. 17, 2022, after raising questions about the age-appropriateness of the new books coming into elementary school libraries dealing with sexuality. She wants a judicial review to overturn the boards decision and order the board to let her finish giving her presentation. Both sides will make oral arguments at the hearing on Monday, and the court will either issue a ruling that day, or release a decision at a later date. In a statement Friday, the school board said it cannot comment on legal proceedings. This is a separate case from Burjoskis lawsuit against former chair Scott Piatkowski and the board, where she is seeking $1.75 million in damages. In a video posted on Twitter, Burjoski described what she says happened at the Jan. 17 board meeting. None of Burjoskis allegations have been proven in court. She said she read from a book called Rick at the meeting. It depicts a young boy whose friend talks about naked girls all the time, she said. This young boy decides that there must be something wrong with him because he has no sexual feelings yet so, after attending the schools Rainbow Club, he declares his asexual identity. Burjoski said she suggested Rick might not have sexual feelings yet because he is a child. The presentation also showed a passage from a book called The Other Boy, about a girl who identifies as a boy and takes puberty blockers and testosterone as part of a medical gender transition, she said in the news release. This book makes it seem simple or even cool to take puberty blockers and opposite-sex hormones and does not take into consideration how that child might feel later in life about being infertile, she said at the meeting. After she made that comment, board chair Piatkowski halted her presentation and called it a human rights violation, she said. The board voted on whether to let Burjoski continue; letting her proceed was defeated by one vote. Director of education jeewan chanicka has said legal counsel confirmed the board made the right move. In her other $1.75-million lawsuit, Burjoski, an elementary teacher with the board at the time who has since retired, seeks $500,000 in general damages for defamation, libel and slander, $500,000 for intentional infliction of mental or emotional suffering, $500,000 in aggravated damages and $250,000 in punitive damages. In its statement of defence, the board said Burjoski is using a lawsuit to try to silence them. This action is brought by the plaintiff for the purposes of silencing the defendants and chilling the expression of others in relation to matters of public interest namely, the support of the LGBTQ2S+ community it said in a statement of defence. The board and chair deny they ever engaged in any conduct toward the plaintiff that they knew or ought to have known would cause psychological or any other harm to the plaintiff, and said they did not defame her. Last August, Burjoski responded to the statement of defence in a video posted to Twitter. As I expected, the board denies any and all wrongdoing, the Kitchener woman says. What I did not expect is that in their defence, this board, who cut off my presentation and ejected me from the trustees meeting, forbade me from speaking to my students and colleagues and publicly maligned my reasonable comments as transphobic hate speech, is now pleading before the court that I am trying to suppress their free expression by suing them. When asked for comment about Mondays hearing, Burjoski sent The Record an interview posted earlier this week by the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, a legal advocacy organization that is paying Burjoskis legal fees for the hearing that starts Monday. She said in the video she received a call from human resources the day after her presentation was cut short and was told she would be working on home assignment, and that she was directed not to speak with her colleagues or her students. I want people to know what happens to a person when a school board or the media or social media comes down like a boot on top of somebody and squashes them, she said in the video. In my case, when the boot lifted off, there were 100 more of me. The virtual hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in London, Ont., and is open to the public. -with files from Gordon Paul SHARE: This article originally appeared on Velo News After doing the Traka gravel race, I had a moment at the post-race meal. First, there were the lentils. Then, big vats of pasta, rice, and paella. Bowls of olives and mixed nuts, of course, as well as cheese and charcuterie. Pie-shaped Spanish tortilla cut into bite-sized pieces. Chocolate cake for dessert. At every table, there were a few bottles of extra virgin olive oil for glugging. And so what if the beer was warm (and it was Heineken, yuck) and the bread was kinda hard, the food was delish. And then someone told me about the fresh-squeezed orange juice. Freshly-squeezed (Photo: Betsy Welch) While these details may only interest the food-motivated like myself, they were among a catalogue of observations that I made at the Traka gravel race in Girona a few weeks ago. Among the more general motivations -- yes, I would love to go to Spain in April, and yes, I would love to ride my bike there -- I traveled to Girona to see what a European gravel race, the Traka arguably the largest one, was like. Self-serve EVOO and OJ notwithstanding, I felt strangely at home the minute the event weekend began. Gravel race shakeout ride, Girona style (Photo: Betsy Welch) On the Friday before the event, I had my choice of three shakeout rides (I missed the hill climb on Wednesday due to delayed flights). At packet pickup that afternoon, there were beers at the Pas Normal Studios van and coffee at the SRAM tent. A mechanic from Hutchinson Tires provided neutral support -- and said there was nothing he could do for my contaminated brake pads. In the 36 hours leading up to the race, I ran into a whole heap of people I knew, many that I'd met at the Migration Gravel Race in Kenya two summers ago. Dennis from the Netherlands was there with his girlfriend, John the South African flower farmer with his wife, and so were friends from Team Amani. Friends from all over the world (Photo: Betsy Welch) During a city tour of Girona for media folks, I saw a woman in a Lauf t-shirt who looked strangely familiar -- it was Rakel, the super strong woman Icelandic woman I rode with at the Grefillin, the windiest gravel race of my life. I met people I've interviewed on the phone (Maarten from the Nordic Gravel Series) and others who I've admired from afar via social media (like ultra legends Sami Sauri, Josh Ibbett, and Mattia de Marchi). Oh, and big hugs were in order with both Amity Rockwell and Sarah Sturm, the American women who would eventually finish 1-2 in the 360k race late Saturday evening. The gravel fam is indeed global. Sturm and Rockwell, with a podium pine tree (Photo: Betsy Welch) At the race start, the grass was dewy, and the Harry Styles song on the speakers would remain on a loop in my head for the next four hours. There were nothing but nice carbon fiber bikes all around, more European brands like 3T and Willier than Santa Cruz or Specialized, but those too. I even spotted an Allied from Arkansas. I lined up next to a guy from Denmark, who said that gravel had become super popular back home. Like most everyone who rides gravel in Europe, he had ridden road before and said he preferred getting away from cars and chilling out a bit more on the gravel. And, like many people who ride gravel in Europe, he'd decided that getting off the busy roads and chilling out a bit more was also fun to do at high speeds with thousands of other people at a gravel race. The Traka, from 30,000 feet If youre familiar with the origin story of gravel in the US, some parts of the Trakas history will ring true. When Klassmark -- a promoter with deep roots in the MTB and trail running scene -- launched the Traka in 2019, 100 people registered. In 2020, the number doubled. Cristina Bosch, one half of the Klassmark's indomitable founding duo, told me that she and her partner Gerard considered scrapping the gravel race altogether. "Maybe the Spanish people don't like gravel," she recalled thinking. Klassmark co-founder Cristina Bosch (Photo: Betsy Welch) But, they kept it on the calendar, and in 2021, 200 people became 400 and jumped to 1,000 last year. This year, the event sold out with 2,000 people registered across the event's four distances. Although gravel has had a decade-long head start in the US (more or less depending on the event), Europe seems to be quickly catching up. As someone who both chronicles and participates in gravel races, I was surprised by the similarities, intrigued by the differences, and curious about the trajectory of races like the Traka and gravel in general in Europe. Lets start with whats similar. As is the trend in US gravel, the Traka offered four distances, 360, 200, 100, and 50k. The 360 and 200k riders race on Saturday, the 100 and 50k on Sunday. Cleverly, the packet pickup for the 100 and 50k races is Saturday evening, just as the first 360k finisher is predicted to come in (that was Mattia de Marchi in 13 hours ). Watching Mattia de Marchi approach the finish line via livestream (Photo: Betsy Welch) According to Bosch, 40 percent of riders signed up for the 200k, followed by the 100k at 28 percent. 22 percent opted for the ultra 360k, with the smallest number of riders riding the 50k. Total rider numbers always seem to beget another question: how many were women? Just 14 percent of the total riders, Bosch said. The percentage varied depending on the distance, however, with women making up nearly 40 percent of the 100k. While some races in the US are nearing an average of say, 20-30 percent womens participation, 14 percent isnt uncommon across the pond either. What is becoming less exception and more rule, however, is the expectation that equal attention is paid to the womens race, whatever its numbers, by both the organizers and the media. The top ten women in the Traka 360k (Photo: Betsy Welch) At the Traka, it was a relief to see all the camera flashes and stoke for both Rockwell and Sturm as each one crossed the finish line in the dark and drizzly weather; and, judging by the applause at Sundays podium presentation, the crowd seemed to be biased toward the top 10 finishers of the womens 360k. Another familiar vibe I picked up on over the weekend was keep the UCI out of gravel. Although many of the European riders I spoke with were quite aware of the UCI Gravel World Series and even planning to attend one of the races, they also seemed to stick to the script that, when it comes to gravel, grassroots is better. Klassmark itself is walking the tightrope between the business in the front and party in the back; while the Traka is is part of the newly launched -- and unsanctioned -- Gravel Earth series, its next gravel race, Hutchinson Ranxo, is part of the UCI Gravel World Series. All of the other organizers in the Gravel Earth series were in attendance at the Traka Speaking of the mullet protocol, this is one place where US and Euro gravel arent necessarily on the same page. Just as the front of the race wasnt dominated by a few dozen fulltime pros, nor was the back brought up by riders in jorts smoking joints. I raced the 200k, where it seemed that everyone was mostly business -- but in a European, stop for a big lunch in the early afternoon, type of way . Will Euro gravel get more pro? Probably, and quickly. With that, will its cross-cultural counterpart also flourish? That part Im not as sure about. However, I think the most important questions dont have to do with either of those factions at all. Those are: will never-ever or novice riders feel comfortable at a gravel race in Europe? Will gravel become a gateway to the sport, rather than a place just for experienced riders to slot in? This shakeout ride definitely wasnt for beginners (Photo: Betsy Welch) Although its not without flaws I think the US gravel scene has done a good job at creating a culture where you dont have to have experience in any other discipline to show up at a gravel race; beginners may be overshadowed by the fast-growing fast riders, but theyre certainly welcome. As the Traka and other races grow, theyre going to bump into the same challenges facing US gravel, a major one being safety. During the 200k race, a rider collided with a car and was hospitalized with severe injuries. The next day, in the US, a rider/car collision at Rasputitsa in Vermont resulted in a death. While some race organizers are scrambling to add more course marshals at busy intersections -- and the Traka had these -- on open roads, theres no guarantee that riders wont encounter cars. And the drivers of those cars, be they rural Spaniards, Vermonters, or urban San Diegoans, may not be aware that there is a bike race as they drive to work on a Saturday morning. The Traka, from the ground Many of these observations began as kernels of thought during my own day riding the Traka 200k. Often, Im torn between fully giving myself the experience of a bike race and making sure I do the job I set out to. At the Traka, it was no different, which means that the person, the rider really, that I am inevitably shows up loud and clear. I loved the landscape of the flat sections of the route; coral-colored poppies filled troughs along the roadside and dotted the endless fields of green. I did not love how fast everyone was going, and I let myself get dropped repeatedly. I dont care, I thought. This is how it always is, and this time Im in Spain. I had to stop (Photo: Betsy Welch) I loved the routes big, burly climb during the hottest part of the day. I chose my line well through the sandstone slabs and passed a dozen men who were visibly suffering. This is also how it always is, even though I inevitably get passed by some of those men on the descent. I also loved it when the tiny ember of competitiveness that simmers somewhere in my consciousness of I dont care got stoked. When there were probably only 10-15 miles to go, a group of six Italians overtook me on a shady straightway. There were two women embedded in the group, and a tall guy was pulling up front. I hitched a ride, moderately annoyed -- first at the girls for getting pulled around, and then at myself, for riding the entirety of the race alone. Always smile for the photographer (Photo: The Traka) The course got tricky and technical as we neared the finish. I pulled away on a short, steep climb, but the Italians caught me. Then, we all took a wrong turn, but I was the first to notice and turn around. We dropped into some singletrack along a creek, and I decided that I really wanted to beat those girls. The last mile of the course had us on some janky, urban singletrack behind the Nescafe factory, and that was where I knew I'd truly dropped them. I grinned as I rounded the finisher straight all alone. New friends from Pas Normal greeted me with a cold Radler, the Traka folks draped a souvenir mug around my neck, and the Italian girls rolled in a few minutes later. After high fives and freshly-squeezed juice and sharing stories of the day with friends new and old, I went back to the hotel to shower. Then I rode back to the venue, had a beer, and waited for Amity and Sturmy to finish their big race. It all felt strangely familiar. 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. The Rock and Frontier Touring are proud to announce that 15-time GRAMMY winners, FOO FIGHTERS will return to New Zealand this summer - bringing their unrivalled, stadium live show to fans in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington in January 2024. The International Day of UN PeacekeeperBangladeshs contribution in UN peacekeeping mission | Tilottama Rani Charulata Contd from last Saturday The parties or groups involved in the conflict must try to reassure them that the peacekeepers aim is not to hurt anyone, but rather to protect the lives of civilians and UN staff members. It is to be noted that Bangladesh is currently performing the assigned duties in 9 United Nations peacekeeping missions with great efficiency and reputation as the top peacekeeping sending country. Bangladesh has recently regained its position as the top peacekeeping sending country. Reclaiming this spot as the top peacekeeping sending country on the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation is undoubtedly an enviable milestone. Against the backdrop of constant conflict with more than 150 militia forces across the African continent of unique dimensions, the work of the dedicated Bangladeshi peacekeepers wearing blue helmets is widely acclaimed worldwide today. Bangladesh is a top peacekeeping sending country engaged in post-conflict peace building with a strong commitment to global peacekeeping and establishing and maintaining friendly relations between nations. At present, 15 contingents of Bangladesh have been included in the United Nations Capability Readiness System (UNPCRS), thereby opening the door for new contingents to be deployed in UN peacekeeping missions. Assessment and advisory inspection of these contingents are in process through the UN delegation. Two contingents have already qualified as UNPCRS, Rapidly Deployable Level (RDL).Bangladesh is currently the top peacekeeping sending country for UN peacekeeping operations. Six thousand 802 peacekeepers of Bangladesh are on duty in nine missions around the world. 161 Bangladeshi peacekeepers have sacrificed their lives so far while on duty. Even from 8 thousand 500 kilometers away from the country, being a part of Bangladeshi peacekeepers as frontline fighters in the corona epidemic has gained a rare experience in professional life. Since the United Nations works with multinational forces, coordinating with the thinking of each countrys military, keeping in touch with commanders of different countries despite linguistic differences, it is undoubtedly a challenging task to coordinate and execute the right plan, which Bangladeshi peacekeepers excel at. Observing Uncertainty of traveling to the UN mission, duration of stay, inadequacy of preparation time for self and family, long separation from family, different language and culture, adequate preparation for the mission, uncertainty of adapting to the environment, etc. create psychological stress in the deployment of UN peacekeeping missions. Which is very normal for an international peacekeeper? Besides, the adverse reaction that the terrible and extremely hostile environment of the battlefield creates in the mind and brain is multiplied by witnessing the atrocities and ruins of war. Despite all these pressures, the proud members of the Bangladesh Army continue to play a direct role efficiently in the UN missions. After 50 years of its establishment, the members of the Bangladesh Army have made themselves the pride of the nation through their hard work, spirit, patriotism and skill as a professional force. Despite the deadly coronavirus pandemic that has been going on for the past two years, the Bangladesh Army has been contributing to UN peacekeeping missions in various countries around the world. Initiated with the motto We are in war, we are in peace, we are everywhere, on the countrys land, the Bangladesh Army stands tall in the world today through its skills and professionalism. A trained and disciplined force like the Bangladesh Army is making a unique and contemporary contribution to global peacekeeping by participating in UN mandated peacekeeping missions anywhere in the world, which has undoubtedly brightened the image of Bangladesh in the outside world. The opportunities for the Bangladesh Army to work in a multinational environment like the United Nations are many. By participating in this kind of international environment, Bangladesh Army is able to be a direct partner of all policies and technological developments organized due to global progress in the military (To be contd) Upward tick of body bags Too many have died | Too many people have died. Too many have lost their near and dear ones and while those who lay down their lives for the cause of the motherland will be remembered as martyrs and heroes and heroines of the land, those who have died in the madness that started from the evening of May 3 will just be figures added to the death tally and even as this is being penned down, the upward tick in the number of body bags continues. So it is that the woman, the child who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and were bludgeoned to death will just be another figure to be added to the death tally and this is all that Manipur will have to show to the world of human beings at the end of the day or when the bloody carnage blows over. This story cuts both ways and while one group of people lord over the valley area, it is the gun toting, bandana clad highwaymen from the other group who will open fire at the settlements at the foothills and burn down the houses and whatever little the villagers had stored up for the year. Manipur has been in this bloody madness for ever 30 days now and with the Government, both Imphal ad Delhi, groping in the dark not knowing what should be done it should not be forgotten that over 80 percent of the men and women and children killed is this madness had nothing to do with the Churachandpur rally, the arson at Torbung, the clash at different places all over Manipur and those flexing their muscles and gun power on their self domain. Five or ten years down the line, when the international community gets hold of the real story that is being scripted on the soil of Manipur, who stands to gain ? No one, except the gun toting, bandana adorned gunmen who have nothing in common with the soil of the land and this is a point that should not be lost on anyone. In an ostensible act of giving more muscle to the banner raised by the gun toting foreigners, ten Kuki-Chin MLAs have been persuaded to raise the call for a separate administration and this is where all sons of the soil should realise how far the hands of these aliens can reach. And to realise this and tell this story to the comity of Nations, it becomes incumbent for all sons of the soil to be in a position to tell who is the nemesis and who is not. Views blinded by mad anger will serve no purpose. And it is against the backdrop of this reality that the invite to ten Naga MLAs by Union Home Minister Amit Shah should be understood. Not once in the 24 years since The Sangai Express has been in print that it has seen such an invite from New Delhi sent to MLAs of a particular community and this is what makes it not only strange but also oddly interesting. At the moment it is not yet very clear on why the said MLAs have been asked to come to New Delhi, but as a well placed source informed The Sangai Express on June 3 evening, the invite should be seen against the separate administration call raised by the Kuki-Chin MLAs. This line sounds convincing for remember, out of the 10 Kuki-Chin MLAs who have raised the demand include at least three from Kangpokpi district, falling under the Assembly Constituencies of Kangpokpi, Saikul and Saitu. Will the Centre consider the demand of the 10 Kuki-Chin MLAs against this reality is the question that follows ? Remember the three months long blockade imposed by the United Naga Council, when the then Congress Government under Chief Minister O Ibobi upgraded Kangpokpi to the status of a full fledged district in the winter of 2016. The blockade was called off only after the BJP came to power at Imphal, but the tripartite talks involving the UNC, the State Government and the Centre over the district creation issue is yet to come to a final conclusion. It is against this backdrop that the 10 Naga MLAs have been invited to Delhi and the developments thereof can decide the direction towards which Manipur is headed. As a child, my familys shower schedule was ironclad. The same ritual played out every evening at 8 p.m. sharp; my brother would shower first no longer than 15 minutes, our parents demanded then me, mom and finally dad. You sleep way better when youre clean, mom argued. I was a rebellious teen and wouldnt stand for such tyranny. When I moved out, I swore to only take morning showers from then on. The habit stuck; a decade later, I still need to rinse the sleep from my skin before starting the day. But are morning showers actually better? Partly out of curiosity (and partly because mom still badgers me about my shower habits all these years later), I asked skin care experts to finally settle the debate heres what they said. The case for morning showers Theres no real right or wrong best time to shower it mostly comes down to personal preference and our lifestyle, according to Dr. Sandy Skotnicki, a Toronto dermatologist, assistant professor at the University of Toronto and author of Beyond Soap, a book on showering and its impacts on our skin. That said, theres an argument for both sides. People prone to acne or teenagers (who are typically oilier than adults) may want to shower in the morning because its actually helpful to get (excess oils) off of your skin, if you had lots of oil build up over the night time, she said. Morning showers can also help people with chronic skin conditions like eczema as long as they moisturize right after, said Dr. Renita Ahluwalia, the lead dermatologist and co-founder of the Canadian Dermatology Centre in Toronto. When you come out of the shower and your skin is still a little bit damp, thats the key time to moisturize the skin Its going to lock in that moisture and provide more hydration to the skin, and that helps the skin barrier, she said. Otherwise, morning showers can help wake us up and activate our minds for the day, Ahluwalia continued. The case for showering at night On the other hand, showering before bed helps rinse off the days grime so we can go to bed as a clean canvas, according to Dr. Monica Li, a dermatologist practising in Vancouver. Showering in the evening can help remove debris, products, oil from the day thats accumulated on the skin, she said especially if we were active during the day. If we take these to bed with us, they could transfer to our bedsheets and lead to nighttime allergies, acne or worsened skin. Additionally, a warm shower an hour or two before bed can improve sleep quality, serving to relax our bodies before bed, Li continued. A really hot shower or a really cold shower right before bed is probably not a good idea because theres such a difference with the ambient temperature it can kind of shock the system and keep us awake, she said. But in general, the experts agree its less about when you shower and more how you do it. Avoid natural soap and long, hot showers, experts say Skotnicki and the others caution against the use of soaps, instead favouring cleansers. Our skin is slightly acidic, she said, while natural soaps are basic due to their use of lye. A cleanser is different its pH-adjusted to our skin, Skotnicki continued. Our skin contains countless microbes, many of which are helpful. This microbiome thrives in the acidic environment of our skin, but can die off when we use soap potentially harming our immune system, as it needs regular stimulation from microbes to keep in top shape. Its why many doctors no longer recommend antimicrobial soap, Li added, unless one has a skin infection or certain skin conditions. It can potentially disrupt our normal microbiome, (which can lead to) skin irritation, inflammation, she said. In a similar vein, Li warns against taking too-hot showers, as the temperature could strip natural oils from the skin and worsen dryness and aggravate any underlying inflammatory skin conditions. So too can overlong showers or the use of scrubbers, like loofahs, damage our skin and natural oils, Li continued. In fact, not only is it not necessary for most people to shower every day, experts agree that over-showering can even be harmful to our health. In general, the shorter the shower, the better meaning 5 minutes or less, Li said, adding that she recommends lukewarm or slightly colder water. When it comes to using cleanser, target the armpits, groin, buttocks and feet arms and legs, for instance, dont always need soap. Finally, she advises patting ourselves dry and moisturizing right after to preserve as much of our natural oils as possible. The takeaway As much as it pains me to admit, my mom had a point theres not much merit to morning showers for those who arent teenagers or dont have a skin condition. If youre active during the day, its not a bad idea to rinse off that grime before you bring it to bed. At the end of the day, however, experts agree the benefits of either are minor relative to the damage we can do by over-showering or misusing products. As long as you shower properly, the time that you do it is mostly a matter of personal preference. SHARE: 35 Don Valley Dr. Location: Broadview Ave. and OConnor Dr., Broadview North, East York Asking price: $1,499,000 Size: About 966 sq. ft., plus about 966 sq. ft. finished basement Lot: 36-by-269 feet, one-car attached garage, private drive with two parking spaces Taxes: $5,308 (2022) Bedrooms: Two Bathrooms: Two We moved here in 2015, and throughout the years weve loved exploring the neighbourhood, our property, and its beautiful natural setting. Perched above the Don River Valley were surrounded by woodlands and wildlife, says homeowner Shannon Austin. Backing onto the Don Valley ravine and sitting on a private cul-de-sac, the fully renovated bungalow boasts an open-concept main floor with soaring ceilings and built-in speakers, and a finished above-grade basement, complete with a walkout to a scenic, secluded backyard. Our home feels like a cottage in the city and weve enjoyed a lot of time in our yard: morning coffees on the balcony, soaking up the afternoon sun stretched out in the backyard, or hosting friends and family for barbecues and special celebrations. The abundance of outdoor space, three parking spaces, and the flow of our house makes this an ideal place for entertaining, says Austin. Weve spent many hours walking the Don River Valley trail system, which is less than a five-minute stroll from our house. We also loved walking to all the cafes and restaurants in Pape Village and on Danforth Ave., plus the convenience of being just a quick drive to Leaside for big-box shopping. We renovated the house from top-to-bottom to modernize it, but we did keep a few nods to its period charm, such as the dining room chandelier and original front door, which we repurposed to fit the entryway to the under-the-stairs area in the basement. With no buildings in front or behind us, we get lots of natural light. The downstairs recreation room with its wet bar and room for an 82-inch TV, is one of our favourite spots to hang out in, adds Austin. The home is close to the TTC, schools, including Centennial College, Story Arts Centre campus. It has easy access to the Don Valley Pkwy. Says listing agent Scott Hanton: This home is much more than meets the eye; from the front, it looks like a typical two-bedroom bungalow, but inside its a gutted open-concept main level with 12-foot ceiling. Its rare to find a home like this on a hidden cul-de-sac surrounded by nature, but still in the heart of Toronto. This was originally a solidly built 1940s bungalow that the current owners did an incredible job reimagining as a contemporary small-family home. This all-brick bungalow has a sloping roofline over the attached garage, a long drive, brick accents around the door and under a bay window, and a manicured front lawn. The front door features a wrought-iron window insert and opens to the foyer with a hardwood floor and a double closet. Partially open to the foyer, the living room is appointed with a hardwood floor, pot lights and a bay window. The open concept dining room contains a hardwood floor, a crystal chandelier, and a window. The kitchen overlooks the dining room, and highlights include a centre island with pendant lights above, quartz counters, ceramic tile backsplash, an integrated basin sink with a window above, and built-in appliances. At the back of the home, the main bedroom is outfitted with a hardwood floor, a double closet, and a sliding door walkout to a private balcony. The second bedroom is equipped with a hardwood floor, a closet, and a Murphy bed. A four-piece bathroom finishes this floor. Between levels is a side door that opens to a large deck with space enough for a picnic table and a barbecue. The above-grade lower-level showcases a recreation room with pot lights, a carpeted floor, a wet bar against a plank wood back wall, a three-piece bathroom, and a sliding-glass door walkout to a large patio and the rest of the backyard. To have a look at this property please contact the listing agent Scott Hanton, Hanton Real Estate Inc., Brokerage, 416-887-2530; www.HantonRealEstate.com SHARE: SHESHATSHIU, N.L. - Inside a wide, white canvas tent behind the Sheshatshiu Innu School in Labrador, the first drop of sweet molasses dough falling into a bubbling pan of fat gives off an aroma that prompts a group of third graders to look up, almost in unison. Munik Aster, a pre-kindergarten teacher at the school, calls the scent Innu heaven. Aster is one of 11 Innu teachers who graduated last September from an Indigenous educator program offered through Ontarios Nipissing University, in partnership with the Innu school board in Labrador. And she is a sign of a new approach to education in Labrador Innu communities that is yielding results. Inside the bright red and yellow hallways of the Sheshatshiu Innu School last month, teachers and administrators spoke in terms of before and after, with after being what has happened since the Innu took over from the Newfoundland and Labrador school board in 2009. In the four decades before the Innu took over, about 30 students in the two Innu communities in Labrador finished high school, said Kanani Davis, chief executive of Mamu Tshishkutamashutau Innu Education the Innu school board. Since then, more than 150 students have graduated from the schools in Sheshatshiu and Natuashish, Davis said. For so long, we havent been taken seriously, Davis said in a recent interview. There were a lot of things that we couldnt make decisions about for our own children. Decisions were being made for us. The two-year Nipissing University course lets students complete their training in their own communities. Aster did her in-class training at the Innu school in Sheshatshiu, and she did her course work at night when she got home from teaching. It was hard work shes a mother with three children but it was worth it, she says, for her and now for her students. My oldest, shes turning 12 this year, and I was 17 when I had her. So I had to drop out of school to be a mom. And I always said, once my kids grow up, Im going to go back to school, Aster said. As for her students, she said its important for them to have Innu teachers like her who share their culture and speak their language. It helps them trust her, she said. Trust is at the heart of one of the Innu school boards biggest challenges getting more kids in the classrooms and having trained Innu teachers has been a key part of building it, Davis said. The board oversees the schools in Sheshatshiu, in central Labrador, and in Natuashish, a fly-in community on Labradors north coast. There were some parents that have been hurt by the old system, and they dont push their kids to go to school because of what happened to them, Davis said. But we see a change since weve taken over, parents are trusting the system now. There are more kids coming than there were ever before. And now the community can train teachers like Aster who want to be there, and who want to see the students succeed, she said. In 2017, the Innu Nation rejected an apology from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for harms caused by residential schools to Indigenous people in Newfoundland and Labrador. Gregory Rich, then the Innu Nations grand chief, said the apology didnt include Innu children who were abused in the Roman Catholic day schools in their communities. Sheshatshiu, about 40 kilometres north of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, is home to about 1,200 people. It looks out over Lake Melville and the mountains behind it. The towns school takes students from pre-kindergarten to Grade 12, and its a bright building with signs in English and the Innu language, Innu-aimun. In its front foyer is a glass case holding a traditional Innu jacket made of caribou hide and painted with intricate red, white and black patterns of repeating triangles and lines, and spiralling loops. Markers of the Innu school boards success were everywhere on a recent visit. Parts of the school were under construction to make room for a growing student population, which is currently more than 550 pupils. Pictures of graduating classes lined the foyers upper walls. And kids and teachers alike were zipping through the halls clutching warm, soft mounds of the sweet bread Innu doughnuts cooked by three elders moments before in the tent outside the gymnasium. The students follow the provincial curriculum, but there is a large emphasis on Innu traditions and language, and on learning from elders. They take classes in Innu-aimun, they learn to clean hides, sew Innu tea dolls and pick berries in the fall. They also go out on the land to spend days living in traditional Innu tents, learning how to hunt and fish. These are the kinds of things that we couldnt do before, Davis said. The successes havent come easy, she said. There were some Innu teachers in the old school, but when they retired it was tough to replace them, though Davis noted that some came out of retirement to be a part of the new system. Under the school boards funding arrangement with the federal government, which is responsible for financing schools on First Nations territories, teachers dont qualify for the federal governments pension plan, Davis said. And the Innu school board feels its schools in Sheshatshiu and Natuashish are desperately underfunded. It filed a human rights complaint against Ottawa last summer alleging the current funding is inadequate and discriminatory, and that it puts Innu students at a disadvantage compared to those in the rest of the province. Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation Chief Eugene Hart said at the time that the finances make it hard to recruit capable teachers and convince them to stay. A 2021 report from the Canadian Human Rights Commission found the Innu school board received less money from Ottawa for its schools than provincially funded schools receive. Davis said the school board is working on a regional education agreement with the federal government. Her dream is to one day have textbooks made by Innu, written in Innu-aimun, and a curriculum developed by the school board. My vision is that these students walk away and say, Im proud to be Innu. I know my way of life. I know the history of the Innu. And Im going to go out there and teach it. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2023. SHARE: After 60 years, Torontos Buttonville Municipal Airport is in its final descent. Once poised on the fringes of the city, the small regional airport where thousands of pilots earned their wings is now in the direct path of encroaching development. The airport in northwest Markham at the corner of Highway 404 and 16th Avenue about 30 kilometres north of Torontos downtown core will cease operations on Nov. 30. I wish we could say that it would stay open a lot longer, but the value of the land now is just so much, said flight instructor and commercial pilot Mark Brooks, who has flown out of Buttonville since 1995. Brooks calls the closure a huge hit for students at the Canadian Flyers College and employees of the airport. Senecas School of Aviation previously operated out of Buttonville for 45 years before moving to Peterborough. He says the shutdown has brought widespread frustration from pilots who have long been calling for private investors to build a new airport elsewhere. But theres been little movement, he says. The loss of the Buttonville training ground will be deeply felt, he says. Buttonville has produced hundreds and hundreds of commercial pilots that are flying for WestJet, Porter and Air Canada, he said. The airport is also home to business and utility aircraft that service the city, including police and air ambulances. Kirill Chatrov has been flying out of Buttonville for the last decade, first as a student and now a private pilot. Depending on weather, Chatrov is taking off from Buttonville two or three times a week. Weve all been anticipating the closure for a very long time. I found the news a little bit shocking because, you know, the timeline between now and the closure is quite short, he said. Chatrov is considering Oshawa and Brampton airports for a new home base, but said it will increase his commute time from Richmond Hill. Not everyone is sad about the looming closure. City councillor Ritch Lau, who also learned to fly at Buttonville, says while the shutdown is disappointing, it is also a relief for residents who were worried about safety after recent emergency landings on highways. In January, a small aircraft crashed onto 16th Avenue between Woodbine Avenue and Highway 404. The plane went off the end of a runway at Buttonville and onto 16th Avenue with two people aboard, according to the Transportation Safety Board. No injuries or deaths were reported. In 2021, another small, single-engine plane taking off from Buttonville landed on the eastbound lanes of Highway 407 near Woodbine Avenue. Nav Canada closed the airports air traffic control tower in 2019 due to a decline in traffic in recent years. The decision from the not-for-profit that runs Canadas air traffic control system sparked concerns from pilots. Still, Lau said Buttonville airport is a landmark to both the area and the aviation industry. It really gave birth to many, many pilots like recreational pilots and commercial pilots. This is where every pilot started in the GTA so this is going to be a place that will be missed by aviation folks. The Buttonville Flying Club has been pushing for development of big city airports for more than a decade, says Brooks, underscoring the need for new infrastructure with room to grow and support aviation safety in the GTA. With files from Yoyo Yan of Markham Economist & Sun Read more about: SHARE: Toronto Police are investigating a cluster of violent incidents across the city this weekend, including a shooting and a carjacking that sent one man to hospital with serious injuries. Around 3:40 a.m. on Saturday, police attended an assault in the King Street West and Blue Jays Way area. It was reported that two men seriously assaulted the victim and then fled the scene. The first suspect is described as six feet, one inch tall, 170 lbs., with short brown hair. He was wearing a white T-shirt, grey pants, black cross body bag, and black sneakers. The second suspect is described as six feet, 170 lbs., with short brown hair and a goatee. He was wearing a white T-shirt, light blue ripped skinny jeans, black cross body bag. Police say the men are considered to be violent. Police say if they are located not to approach them, and call 9-1-1 immediately. Also downtown this weekend, police responded to a carjacking at Bathurst Street and Adelaide Place around 10:50 p.m. on Saturday. Police say the suspects fled with the vehicle and paramedics rushed the victim to the hospital with serious injuries. Police are also investigating a shooting after a victim walked into a hospital around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday. Police say the shooting happened in the Midland and Sheppard Avenue East area. The investigation is ongoing. Later on Sunday, police presence ramped up at Sunnybrook Park after two suspects fled the scene of a daylight shooting in North York. While no injuries were reported, police said the vehicle in which the men at large were travelling crashed into a pole near Lawrence Avenue East and Leslie Street. A second vehicle also drove off from the scene in an unknown direction. Anyone with information about the incidents are asked to contact police at 416-808-5200 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com. Meanwhile, Ontario Provincial Police officers from the Collingwood and Blue Mountains Detachments are investigating a homicide. Police said officers were called to a disturbance on Matthew Way in Collingwood around 10:45 p.m. on Friday and a homicide investigation was launched. Additional information, like the victims gender and age were not released but police said more information will be released as it becomes available. Investigators do not consider this to be a random incident, and therefore do not believe there is a risk to public safety, a statement reads. Police are asking anyone in the area to check and save any potential video evidence from home devices. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Collingwood OPP at 705-445-4321 or 1-888-310-1122. Those with information can also contact Simcoe Muskoka Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at crimestopperssdm.com. Earlier in the weekend, Toronto Police responded to two other serious attacks, both on public transit. On Friday night, an altercation broke out between six people on the south bus bay platform at Kennedy Subway Station. One man was stabbed twice with a knife that was later recovered by officers on scene. Five boys between the ages of 12 and 15 are facing assault and weapons charges in relation to the incident. Earlier Friday, police responded to a separate alleged attack on a TTC bus at Kennedy Road and Sheppard Avenue East. A man allegedly attacked a rider without provocation, putting them in a choke hold and causing injuries, according to police. SHARE: An alarming number of immigration detainees recently locked up in maximum-security Ontario jails had pre-existing mental health problems, a Star analysis has found. The jailing of these detainees in facilities where theyre subject to punishing conditions such as frequent lockdowns and solitary confinement, has human rights advocates renewing calls for Canada to stop using provincial jails for immigration detention. The Star reviewed 60 cases of immigration detainees held in Ontario jails since last summer and found that more than half had reported mental health issues, ranging from drug addiction to schizophrenia. These detainees are treated the same as inmates serving criminal sentences but they are not locked up because they have committed a crime. They are detained, on an indefinite basis, while the government tries to deport them. The use of provincial jails for immigration detention by the Canada Border Services Agency is under increased scrutiny, with five provinces vowing to end the controversial practice in the last year. Ontario, which is home to the highest number of immigration detainees in the country, including half of all detainees held in jails, has said only that it is reviewing its agreement with the CBSA. The Stars findings are alarming, but unsurprising, said Hanna Gros, a researcher with Human Rights Watch and the author of a 2021 report that found immigration detainees with mental health conditions were more likely to be held in jails, rather than less-restrictive facilities. I think CBSA has demonstrated clearly through their practice and their policy that theyre incapable or unwilling to provide meaningful care for people in their custody who are experiencing deterioration of mental health. CBSA says its working to minimize its use of jails The CBSA does not collect health-related data from detainees so it could not say whether the Stars analysis was reflective of the broader immigration-detention population. The CBSA says it is actively working to minimize its use of jails, where more than 900 immigration detainees were held across the country last year. The health and safety of those in our care is of paramount importance to the CBSA, the agency said. We take this responsibility very seriously. Several immigration lawyers interviewed by the Star said the newspapers findings align with their experience. Most of my cases have addiction and mental health engaged, said Jessica Chandrashekar, a lawyer who works exclusively on immigration detention cases. If mental health is not an issue prior to someone being detained, the experience of detention itself has a very negative and profound impact on a detainees mental health Jail compounds everything. The CBSAs website suggests immigration detainees may be sent to jail because of their mental health issues. The agencys website reads, Individuals with mental health issues may be detained in a provincial detention facility that provides access to specialized care. Gros said this language is clearly discriminatory, adding that it is absurd for the CBSA to justify sending someone to a provincial jail so they could get mental health care. Jail is obviously not where you go to get help with your mental health. The CBSA did not directly answer a question about whether mental illness might be a reason an immigration detainee is sent to jail. CBSAs relationship with Ontario a tangled mess Adjudicators at the Immigration and Refugee Board have raised concerns about the lack of treatment and harsh conditions in provincial jails for immigration detainees with mental health issues. In one case last year, an adjudicator described the CBSAs relationship with Ontario as a tangled mess and criticized the federal agency for not taking responsibility for a detainees treatment. I implore the CBSA to start moving away from its reliance on the province and to start developing its own systems and resources to deal with high-risk mental health cases, the adjudicator wrote in August. Migration and mental health problems are not going away. The decision whether to put a detainee in a provincial jail or the less-restrictive immigration holding centre is made by a single CBSA officer. The officer fills out a form that assigns detainees a risk factor score based on the answers to eight questions about their history. The form also includes one vulnerability factor question, which lowers the risk score if the detainee is part of a vulnerable group, including if they have suspected or known mental illness. If a detainees score is 10 or greater, they are sent to a provincial jail; if its less than five, theyre supposed to go to the immigration holding centre; and if its between five and nine, the officer filling out the form can decide. But the CBSA doesnt always follow its own rules. The Star reviewed two Federal Court cases in which detainees scored less than five on their forms and were still sent to Ontario jails last year. The agency would not discuss any individual cases, but said the risk score isnt the only factor in a detainees placement. The risk-assessment forms have been criticized for giving too much discretion to the CBSA and for not affording detainees an opportunity to contest or appeal their score. A spokesperson for the federal agency described the forms as a standardized tool that allows the CBSA to determine if there could be risk to the detainee himself, other detainees, or staff at a detention facility. They added that the CBSA is constantly updating and refining the process to ensure appropriate outcomes and national consistency. Samer Muscati, associate director of Human Rights Watch, which is lobbying provinces to cancel their agreements with the CBSA, said the agencys approach to risk assessments and its inclination toward more restrictive forms of detention is a reflection of its enforcement-at-all-costs perspective. When youre a hammer, everything you see is a nail. More than 100 straight days in solitary confinement The mental health of immigration detainees has been a long-standing concern of human rights activists, immigration lawyers and, occasionally, the courts. In 2017, when an Ontario Superior Court judge ordered the release of Kashif Ali, who spent seven years in immigration detention and was once kept in solitary confinement for more than 100 straight days, the judge said the mental health problems Ali developed during his time at the Central East Correctional Centre will not be properly addressed as long as he remains in jail. It was one of the factors the judge relied upon to conclude Alis Charter rights were being violated. In the dozens of hearings reviewed by the Star, immigration detainees in Ontario jails regularly raised the harshness of the conditions, particularly in light of their mental health. In one example, an Ethiopian man with schizophrenia said he was locked in his cell for eight of the previous 11 days. Almost every detainee complains of near-constant lockdowns and limited time out of their cells. SHARE: Housing supply is plunging in some parts of the the US and surging in others as high mortgage rates split the housing market Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images Housing inventory is falling and surging in different parts of the US as higher rates distort the market. A Realtor.com report found that home supply fell in 21 of the 50 largest metropolitan cities in May. But housing activity has kicked up in the South as increased affordability draws both buyers and sellers. Mortgage rates at 20-year highs have split the US housing market, with supply plunging in some parts of the US, while the number of homes for sale surges in others. Home inventory fell in 21 out of 50 of the largest metropolitan cities last month, according to a report from Realtor.com. San Jose, California saw the steepest decline with 35% fewer active listings in May compared to the same month last year. That was followed by Sacramento, California with 27% fewer listings compared to May 2022, and Hartford, Connecticut with 26% fewer listings. But while home inventory has continued to fall off in certain areas, supply has surged in other pockets of the US, mainly in the South. Active listings in the region jumped 54% in May compared to last year, though overall housing supply is still 41% lower than it was before the pandemic. Nashville, Tennessee led the wave of new inventory that has hit the Southern housing market, with listings growing 124% from last year. Listings in Austin, Texas grew 113%, while listings in San Antonio, Texas grew 93%, the report said. The divide has largely been created by high mortgage rates, which have spurred housing activity in more affordable areas of the US. In more expensive metropolitan areas, high borrowing costs have sidelined many prospective home buyers, causing demand and home prices to fall. Meanwhile, falling home prices high rates have discouraged existing homeowners from putting their properties up for sale, leading inventory to dry up. But the dynamics are different in the South, where properties are relatively more affordable, according to Bankrate. That has buyers more willing to enter the housing market, which has propped up home prices and offered sellers more incentive to list their homes. The result is a more active housing market in the Southeast US, which contains 18 of the 20 hottest housing markets, according to Bankrate's Housing Heat Index. But while the Southern housing market is benefitting from higher affordability, it's uncertain when affordability will improve in the broader US market, with the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage hovering above 7%. Prices are unlikely to fall overall until mortgage rates pull back, Redfin's deputy chief economist Taylor Marr told Insider, though he estimated rates would only ease to around 6% by the end of the year. Read the original article on Business Insider Neil Rashad Sturrup had been locked in a maximum-security jail in Milton for nearly two months when he testified about the conditions of his detention. How many times a week are you allowed to leave your cell to go take a shower? his lawyer asked. Once or twice, Sturrup said. The jails frequent lockdowns meant social interactions were limited to a few passing words from guards through the bars, he told the December hearing. Sturrup, an immigration detainee with well-documented mental illness, was not in an Ontario jail cell because he was charged or convicted of a crime. He wasnt considered dangerous. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), in co-operation with Ontarios government, had locked him up in the most restrictive conditions possible solely because they believed he would not show up for his deportation to the Bahamas, if and when they could arrange it. The Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator presiding over Sturrups case was concerned that a vulnerable person with mental health issues was effectively being held in solitary confinement, and questioned why he was in the provincial jail, rather than the less-restrictive immigration holding centre. She called his treatment completely unacceptable. Across the country a growing number of lawmakers have reached a similar conclusion. Five provinces have recently scrapped their agreements with the CBSA, signalling an end to the use of jails for immigration detention in half the country. Meanwhile, the controversial practice continues to be routine in Ontario. Jailing of detainees is truly shocking The federal government claims jails are only used for the highest risk detainees, but a Star investigation found most of the migrants confined in Ontarios maximum-security jails are being held only on the grounds they are a flight risk, not because they pose a risk to public safety. In more than half of the five dozen cases reviewed by the Star, detainees had reported mental health issues. Its truly shocking, said Allan Rock, a former federal Liberal justice minister who is among those calling for an end to the use of jails for immigration detention. It runs contrary to what we think of ourselves as being, which is a country that respects human rights. In response to questions for this story, a spokesperson for Ontarios Solicitor General said the province is reviewing its agreement with the CBSA, but provided no other details. Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, who is responsible for the CBSA, declined to be interviewed for this story. Rock said the federal government shouldnt wait for another province to cancel its agreement before ending the practice nationally. We need and expect a government which broadcasts the values that this government broadcasts to act in a consistent way and to put this practice to an end. Canada has drawn international condemnation A 2017 Star investigation, Caged by Canada, shone a light on Canadas indefinite imprisonment of immigration detainees, including one who spent more than seven years in a maximum-security jail. The federal government continues to detain thousands of non-citizens each year 1,391 in the first three months of 2023 alone. Most are held for only a few days, but hundreds each year are locked up for months; in some cases, even years. Some are former permanent residents who lost their status when they were convicted of crimes. Others are people who overstayed their visas, or were unsuccessful in their refugee applications and are awaiting deportation. Roughly one in five are sent to provincial jails. There, they are mixed with and treated the same as convicted criminals and those awaiting trial. Canadas use of jails for immigration detention has drawn condemnation from the United Nations and human rights groups for years. It has come under increased scrutiny since the fall of 2021, when Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International launched a campaign calling on individual provinces to cancel their agreements with the CBSA in order to end their complicity in human rights abuses. The worst conditions and the worst violations in this system happen in provincial jails, said Hanna Gros, a researcher for Human Rights Watch. This was a way to really tackle the worst abuses. She added that ending the use of jails is low-hanging fruit for governments because it doesnt require any legislative change. The practice is governed by simple contracts that can be easily terminated. B.C. was the first to announce it was ending its agreement with the CBSA last July, saying it did not align with the provinces commitment to uphold human rights. Nova Scotia, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have since followed. (The provinces are required to give the CBSA one years notice, so their decisions wont start to take effect until this summer.) Half the country is sending a message, said Mike Farnworth, B.C.s public safety minister and deputy premier. This is really not what our provincial facilities should be used for. Being put in jail felt like double punishment Four hundred and fifty-eight immigration detainees were sent to Ontario jails last year, less than a quarter of whom were considered dangerous by an independent tribunal. More than 80 per cent were detained only on the grounds they were unlikely to appear or because their identity needed to be confirmed. I think theres an assumption that the only people who go to jail are people who present some kind of public safety issue, said Gros. These statistics really show that that is not the case. The CBSA detains non-citizens on one or a combination of three grounds: their identity is in doubt; they are a flight risk or unlikely to appear for their deportation or hearing; or the CBSA believes they are a danger to the public, usually due to criminal convictions for which they have already served their sentence. A CBSA spokesperson said that even if a detainee is not considered dangerous according to the grounds for their detention, a separate internal risk assessment can still find they pose a danger to other detainees or staff, in which case they will be sent to a provincial jail for the safety of others. The CBSA said more than three quarters of the detainees sent to Ontario jails last year on flight risk or identity grounds had prior criminal convictions or outstanding charges. Anyone in immigration detention who has been criminally convicted or charged has already been freed by a court, either because they have served their sentence, were never held in custody or they have been released on bail. Convictions may be historic, or from another jurisdiction. It felt to a lot of us like double punishment, said Biodun, a 42-year-old former immigration detainee from Nigeria who spent nearly a year in a maximum-security Ontario jail. (Biodun is a pseudonym. The Star agreed not to publish his real name because he feared retribution from the CBSA, to whom he still reports on a regular basis.) A failed refugee claimant, he had never been charged with a crime in Canada, and like Sturrup, he was detained only on the grounds that he was a flight risk. He spent his detention in a maximum-security jail rather than the less-restrictive immigration holding centre due to an eight-year-old criminal conviction in the U.S., for which he was sentenced to probation. Even if youre going to punish me with something, provincial jail is just way, way overblown. Among the arguments against using jails is the fact that immigration detention is administrative, not punitive, according to both Canadian and international law. The only purpose of detaining someone is to ensure the government can deport them. This important distinction is lost, several lawyers told the Star, when you lock immigration detainees up in the same place as criminal offenders. Youre essentially punishing people not because they committed a criminal act, but because theyre not Canadian, said Subodh Bharati, an immigration lawyer who has filed a class-action lawsuit against the federal government on behalf of detainees held in jails. I think thats cruel and I think its discriminatory. Stark differences between jail and immigration holding centres There are stark differences in the conditions in maximum-security provincial jails compared to immigration holding centres. Ebrahim Toure experienced life in both. Toure, 52, spent four years at Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ont. A failed refugee claimant from West Africa, he had never been to jail before. I tried to ask the guards, Why am I here? Im not a criminal. Violence was a daily occurrence. Strip searches were routine. Lockdowns constant. At one point I went two months without going to the yard, he said. No fresh air. Tortured by the indefinite nature of his detention, Toures mental health deteriorated. He started hearing voices. He was suicidal. In 2017, a court ordered his transfer to the immigration holding centre in Etobicoke, ruling that holding Toure in a maximum-security jail while the government tried to deport him amounted to cruel and unusual treatment. It was still a prison, Toure said of the holding centre, but the conditions were much better. He was able to go outside every day. There were no lockdowns or strip searches. He wore his own clothes, rather than an orange jumpsuit, and he had privacy when he showered or used the toilet. He could make phone calls whenever he wanted. Friends visited nearly every day. The CBSA says it is actively working to reduce the use of provincial jails, a long-standing commitment that stretches back to Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus first term. The health and safety of those in our care is of paramount importance to the CBSA, the agency said. We take this responsibility very seriously. The proportion of immigration detainees held in jails has shrunk from 32 per cent in 2015, the year Trudeau was elected, to an average of 24 per cent over the last five years. However, jails still account for more than half of the total days spent in immigration detention because most long-term detainees are held there. CBSA alone chooses where detainees are locked up The Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator presiding over Sturrups case said she was significantly alarmed by the conditions of his detention. But there was little she could do about it. The quasi-judicial tribunal oversees the CBSAs decision to detain someone; the CBSA alone chooses where detainees are locked up a decision made by a single officer who fills out a risk-assessment form. The adjudicator in Sturrups case wasnt prepared to release him outright, but she did order an expedited followup hearing and urged the CBSA to consider transferring him to the immigration holding centre. Two days before that hearing, the CBSA did just that. They didnt explain why Sturrup wasnt transferred earlier. The adjudicator said she was pleased, but it didnt erase what Sturrup had endured for the previous two months suffering she attributed to the CBSAs lack of diligence. Despite her frustration, she could only scold the agency. Sturrup had for weeks requested a transfer to the immigration holding centre, but the CBSA said he was unsuitable for the less-restrictive facility due to outstanding assault charges (which had been stayed by the Crown, pending his deportation), his history of non-compliance with immigration officials and his interactions with CBSA officers when he was arrested. Efrat Arbel, an expert in refugee law and professor at the University of British Columbias law school, said the process by which the CBSA determines where to send immigration detainees is highly discretionary and lacks the procedural safeguards present in criminal law. In immigration law, there are no safeguards, and yet people are subject to the very same deprivation of liberty, sometimes in the same facilities and sometimes in the same cell. Whats in it for Ontario? Given Ontarios jails are already dealing with crisis-level overcrowding and insufficient staffing, why does the province allow the CBSA to use its facilities for immigration detention? Whats in it for Ontario? Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, whos responsible for Ontarios jails, did not respond to an interview request and his office did not answer a detailed list of questions. Ministry officials denied the Stars freedom of information request for briefing materials related to immigration detention, citing multiple exemptions, including that they contain advice from a public servant and deliberations of cabinet. Some immigration lawyers suggested in interviews the province could be in it for the money. As per Ontarios agreement with the federal government, the province is paid a 20-per-cent administrative fee by the feds on top of a daily per diem for each immigration detainee in its custody equal to the average daily inmate cost $409 in 2020-21, according to Statistics Canada. (Ontarios average daily inmate cost shot up during the pandemic. It was around $300 in the two years prior.) Ontario, which accounts for half of all the immigration detainees in jails across the country, appears to be the only province that gets the 20-per-cent bonus. Other critics have suggested the use of jails for immigration detention continues simply because of political inertia. Farnworth, B.C.s public safety minister, admitted even he wasnt aware of the extent to which his provinces jails were being used for immigration detention until human rights campaigners brought the issue to his attention. Samer Muscati, associate director of Human Rights Watch, said the jailing of immigration detainees persists because it occurs in the shadows to powerless people. Were dealing with a population that is essentially invisible, he said. Thats the only way officials get away with it. Read more about: SHARE: BERLIN (AP) A fire at a refugee shelter in eastern Germany killed one person and injured 10 others early Sunday, according to local police. Police in the German state of Thuringia said the fire broke out around 5 a.m. at a facility in the city of Apolda and that one body was recovered from the burned building. A 9-year-old child was reported missing, police said. They did not say if recovered body belonged to a child. Writing on Twitter, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser called the incident terrible news. She confirmed an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the fire. The shelter, which housed 300 people, was evacuated and residents were taken to another refugee center in nearby Hermsdorf, a local government spokesperson told German news agency dpa. Police said 250 people were in the shelter at the time of the fire, and 10 were taken to a local hospital with injuries, police said. Information about their condition was not immediately available. Read more about: SHARE: WARSAW, Poland (AP) An enormous anti-government march took place in Polands capital Sunday, with citizens traveling from across the country to voice their anger at a right-wing administration that has eroded democratic norms and created fears the nation is following Hungary and Turkey down the path to autocracy. The local government in Warsaw estimated that 500,000 people joined the march, which was led by the opposition party to which the citys mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski, belongs. It was not possible to verify that figure. Large crowds gathered in Krakow and other cities across the nation of 38 million, showing frustration with a government that critics accuse of violating the constitution and eroding fundamental rights in Poland, a country long hailed as model of peaceful and democratic change. Former President Lech Walesa, the leader of the Solidarity movement that played a historic role in toppling communism in Poland, stood on a stage with the leader of the opposition Civic Platform party, former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The crowd cheered on the two men, both of whom are reviled by the ruling Law and Justice party led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, and at times chanted Democracy! and Constitution! Tusk had called on Poles to march with him for the sake of the nations future a message that resonated for Radek Tusinski, 49, who rallied with his wife and two young children. A handmade sign reading I cannot give up freedom was attached to their baby stroller. Tuskinski said he worries about the creeping return of an authoritarian system similar to what he remembers from his childhood. We want a free country for our children, he said. Supporters of the march have warned that the election might be the nations last chance to stop the erosion of democracy under the ruling party, Law and Justice, amid growing fears that the fall election might not be fair. In power since 2015, Law and Justice has found a popular formula, combining higher social spending with socially conservative policies and support for the church in the mostly Catholic nation. However, critics have warned for years that the party is reversing many of the achievements made since Poland emerged from communist rule in 1989. Even the United States government has intervened at times when it felt the government was eroding press freedom and academic freedom in the area of Holocaust research. Critics point mainly to the partys step-by-step takeover of the judiciary and media. It uses state media for heavy-handed propaganda to tarnish opponents. Law and Justice also tapped into animosity against minorities, particularly LGBTQ+ people, whose struggle for rights the party depicts as a threat to families and national identity. A clampdown on abortion rights has triggered mass protests. Critics fear that party could eventually force the country to leave the European Union, a 27-member union founded on democratic ideals. March participants carried EU and Polish flags, with some also holding up rainbow flags. Some also voiced anger at the double-digit inflation in the county. The government blames Russias war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, but economists say its spending policies have accelerated spiraling prices. Barbara Dec, 26, and her grandmother left their hometown of Zielona Gora at 4:30 a.m. and traveled seven hours on a bus organized by Civic Platform to protest. They planned to return home immediately after the Warsaw event. Dec held up a cardboard sign that read, I am afraid to have children in Poland. Women have lost the right to have an abortion even when the fetus is terminally ill, and some women have died, she explained. And I am also afraid I couldnt manage financially. The march was held on the 34th anniversary of the first partly free elections, a democratic breakthrough in the toppling of communism across Eastern Europe. It was seen as a test for Tusks Civic Platform, a centrist and pro-European party which has trailed behind Law and Justice in polls. However, the passage of a controversial law last month appeared to mobilize greater support for Tusk. Poland is expected to hold a general election in October, though a date has not yet been set. The law allows for the creation of a commission to investigate Russian influence in Poland. Critics argue that the commission would have unconstitutional powers, including the capacity to exclude officials from public life for a decade. They fear it will be used by the ruling party to remove Tusk and other opponents from public life. Amid uproar in Poland and criticism from the U.S. and the EU, President Andrzej Duda, who signed the law on May 29, proposed amendments to it on Friday. In the meantime, the law will take effect with no guarantees lawmakers in parliament will weaken the commissions powers. Some Poles say it could come to resemble the investigations of Joseph McCarthy, the U.S. senator whose anti-communist campaign in the early 1950s led to hysteria and political persecution. That fear was underlined last weekend when the Kaczynski, the ruling party leader, was asked by a reporter if he still had trust in the defense minister in connection with a Russian missile that fell in Poland in December. I am forced ... to view you as a representative of the Kremlin, he replied. Because only the Kremlin wants this man to stop being the minister of national defense. The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders expressed concerns that the commission might be used to wage a witch-hunt against journalists and could serve as a new weapon for this type of attack, in which doubt is cast on journalists probity in an attempt to smear their reputation. Tusk, who is also a former EU council president, had called for the march weeks ago, urging people to demonstrate against high prices, theft and lies, for free elections and a democratic, European Poland. Initially some opposition figures planned to stay away. But after Duda signed the law, other opposition leaders announced they would join in. Law and Justice sought to discourage participation in the march with a video spot using Auschwitz as a theme drawing criticism from the state museum that preserves the site of the Nazi German death camp. SHARE: OVIEDO, Fla. (AP) A Florida woman faces charges of aggravated child neglect and arson after her car became engulfed in flames while she was allegedly shoplifting at a mall, according to an arrest report. Alicia Moore, 24, parked her car in a parking lot outside a Dillards department store at Oviedo Mall on May 26, according to an arrest report filed by the Oviedo Police Department. The report indicated Moore left children inside the vehicle. Their names and ages were redacted. Security saw Moore and an unknown man shoplifting in Dillards, according to the report. After about an hour, Moore began leaving Dillards to see her car engulfed in flames and dropped the merchandise before she left the store. Bystanders at the mall saw the car and rescued the children inside trying to escape the flames. The children were taken to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. One child suffered first degree burns to her face and ears, the arrest report said. Moore has been charged with aggravated child neglect for allegedly allowing children who could not care for themselves alone inside the vehicle, according to the report. Police said they dont know what caused the fire but said its unlikely the children would been injured if Moore was not being neglectful. Moore was charged with arson because the fire occurred while she was allegedly committing a felony, the arrest report said. The public defenders office was representing Moore, according to court records. An email seeking comment sent to the office late Saturday was not immediately returned. Moore is being held on $40,000 bail. A public defender filed a motion on Friday asking for Moore to be released without bail or to have the bail amount reduced to a reasonable and affordable amount. SHARE: When out covering a story, its not uncommon for me to be asked, Wheres your proof? How do I know youre an actual reporter? People are shocked to find out that I, a dark-skinned Cree with long hair, a gentle voice and a round face, am a journalist with the Toronto Star. Theyre the kind of questions that sometimes make me wonder what Im here to prove as one of the relatively few Indigenous people to have worked in a newsroom thats been operating since 1892. Its the kind of thing that makes me think of my own ancestor, Almighty Voice, who fought the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) more than 125 years ago in an attempt to keep his people from starving. That story perhaps begins with Almighty Voices grandfather, Chief One Arrow, who was accused of participating in the North West Resistance and incarcerated at the Stony Mountain Penitentiary. As further punishment, the government restricted food rations to the Willow Cree people, One Arrows already starving band. The people of One Arrow were still starving in October 1895, when Almighty Voice killed a cow he would later say he believed belonged to his father, Sounding Sky. On Oct. 22, 1895, NWMP Sgt. Colebrook arrested Almighty Voice for killing the cow. According to oral history, when Almighty Voice was charged and shackled, he sang a song that echoed through generations, variations of which can be heard in communities across the Prairies today. While jailed, a guard joked to Almighty Voice he would be hanged for his crime. Days later, after he escaped during the night, Colebrook and a Metis scout caught up with Almighty Voice, who warned that he would shoot if he was approached. Despite the warning, Colebrook attempted an arrest, and Almighty Voice fatally shot the NWMP officer, then fled once more. It would be a lot easier for us to forget about the resistance of Indigenous Peoples and just assume we were all conquered or successfully assimilated in some way. But perhaps, in June 2023, as we mark Indigenous History Month, the soul of this country has a little more empathy than that. Perhaps there is wisdom in understanding the sacrifices of Indigenous heroes, to acknowledge and bring honour to their descendants still alive today. I often think about whether I could do what he did if I could go to prison, just so my relatives could eat. These are the stories we inherit through oral history, and these are the standards that we must live up to. When I remember such leaders, I cannot forget that their descendants are still with us. They are survivors, they are everyday Canadians. Some are even reporters for Canadas largest newspaper. In 1892, the year the Star was founded, the Willow Cree my family and a close-knit community of fewer than 4,000 people today were restricted to reserves, starved and placed in residential schools under remissive Canadian Law codified in the Indian Act. Five years later, on May 30 (exactly 100 years before the day I was born) in 1897, a force of approximately 100 NWMP officers and Canadian citizens gathered under the living skies of central Saskatchewan and killed Almighty Voice just outside of Batoche in a bluff where he was hiding. Almighty Voice was spotted by two young ranchers who were out looking for missing cattle. The brothers claimed the Indians were chasing said cattle, but according to the ranchers when they confronted them, the Indians said they were doing it just for fun. I dont see the logic of Almighty Voice chasing cows for fun when he was wanted. Officers overwhelmed the little bluff of trees with cannons. It was shortly after they recovered the bodies of Almighty Voice, his younger cousin Little Saulteaux and his brother-in-law Topean. If you dont know where Batoche is, do you really know Canadian history? No matter the angle from which you look at his story, it all started when Almighty Voice was jailed in Duck Lake, Sask., for slaughtering a cow to feed his starving people a people who couldnt leave the reserve without the permission of the Indian agent. Guess whose cow the government claimed Almighty Voice killed? (The Indian agents.) I began to bond with the history of my homelands, be it through books or oral tradition, when I was still in high school. Ive heard many different accounts on the story of Almighty Voice and I thought, Whats the point of trying to understand this? When I was a student of Cree ceremonies, still in high school, who enjoyed sipping tea with local elders, I realized there were no other youth in my community who were willing to learn Cree oral tradition. The jailhouse where Almighty Voice was incarcerated still stands today in the town I grew up in in front of a pink museum that has an unmistakable 24-metre-high tower overlooking seas of golden grain and yellow canola. You may not see the curve of the earth from up there, but you can almost see Fort Carlton, where Treaty 6 was signed in 1876, and, on the other side, Batoche, where the famous Metis resistance leader, Louis Riel, led his troops into the North-West Resistance in 1885. Did my great-great-grandfather Almighty Voice deserve to be threatened with death for not being allowed to leave the rez and shooting a cow to feed his people? Addressing him as Almighty Voice is an understatement lost in translation. His real name was Kise Manitowew or Voice of the Creator. And for the Willow Cree, we traditionally receive our names from the spiritual world through ceremonies, and they reflect our purposes in life. For the Cree, our names are believed to come from the Creator itself and viewed as destiny, which suggests Almighty Voices tragedy may have been part of some divine plan. Perhaps Voice of the Creator is fitting, given how his actions shook the land and infant nation of Canada to its core like an earthquake so much that even the Star covered the tragedy, despite being over 2,000 kilometres away in Toronto. On June 3, 1897, The Evening Star published a short piece underneath a poem entitled The Man in the Moon, saying there ought to be an epopee in the death of Almighty Voice, and how the story of his end reads like a passage from the Iliad or an exploit of The Cid. It goes on to say, granted that the only good Indian is a dead Indian, the fact remains that Almighty Voice was a brave Indian while he lived and like Samson, dying, he overwhelmed many with him. On the cover of that same issue, with Star Special printed just above the lede, the Evening Star had a story mourning the NWMP who were killed by Almighty Voice, while quoting the reverend who delivered their sermon. He said (the Reverend) that it was to be hoped that the Government would now abandon the cheese-paring policy of reducing the Mounted Police force, and rather devise means of increasing it, the paper states. Im reminded of stories from Willow Cree elder John-George Scott on how NWMP would camp on every end of our reserve simply to enforce what we know as the pass system, ensuring First Nations stay on their reserves. Were we the enemies? Today, 126 years later, as a descendant of an Indigenous legend, I find that I speak for my ancestors whether I am covering Indigenous-focused stories or not. Regardless of the labels, speculations, or debates yet to be had, I am living proof that my ancestors fought for a future. SHARE: Reinforcing the bond between nature and local communities, a small Himalayan state in India, Sikkim, has taken up a novel initiative to reinforce this timeless association. Under the government-monitored programme Mero Rukh Mero Santati (MRMS) (My Tree My Child), 100 trees will be planted for every newborn baby in Sikkim, one of the first such programmes in the Eastern Himalayas. This initiative aims to reinforce the age-old bond of our society with nature. It aims to co-create an ecosystem where both the tree and the child are able to reach towards a brighter tomorrow that promises vitality, health and happiness, says Pradeep Kumar, the Secretary of the State Forest Department. To ground this voluntary initiative, various departments of the state government will converge to felicitate seamless service to new parents right from enrolment to planting and aftercare. ASHA, Anganwadi workers, gram panchayats, urban local bodies and department staff will felicitate the onboarding of parents, says Mr Kumar. An idea conceptualised by the states Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang (Golay), he has urged parents of newborn babies to take up this voluntary initiative. For smooth registration to avail of the scheme, a hi or a hello message can be sent on a WhatsApp number, following which a link will be provided, which needs to be filled in by the parents. After successful registration, the parents will receive a congratulatory message on mobile or email from the Chief Minister. During the enrolment process information pertaining to choices of species, number of plants, location etc needs to be indicated. Based on this, the Forest department will contact the parents during the favourable plantation season or Santati Saptah during the month of July, Mr Kumar says. He further says that north trees can be planted either on private land, community land or nearby forest. Department officials have confirmed that 2400 couples have confirmed their participation in the MRMS scheme as of 25 May. Namchi district has the highest enrolment of 724, followed by Gangtok district at 524, Pakyong district at 482, Soreng district at 309 and Mangan at 127. To make sure that the programme reaches out to the grassroots level, the Forest Department will coordinate with the state health department by comparing the data with the birth registration certificate. Sushmita Chettri, a parent of a child who has availed of this programme says, We want our children to grow alongside nature imbibing our tradition of worshipping trees and to sensitise kids on modern challenges of climate change and global warming. This shift in paradigm in the conservation of forests has started to change the notion from forests being seen as government property to now having a sense of ownership and belongingness to the local communities. This is a commendable initiative by the Govt of Sikkim, considering the threat posed by climate change and climate disasters. This initiative will motivate people to conserve nature and specifically, it will encourage the young generation, grass-roots level workers and conservationists, says environmentalist Kamal Kumar Tanti, Director (R&D), Centre for Environment and Climate Action Foundation. He has also suggested training the people first for maintaining the tree saplings before going for large-scale implementation of such a programme. The Centre on Sunday constituted a three-member Commission of Inquiry headed by former Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court Justice Ajai Lamba, to probe the recent incidents of violence in Manipur. Former IAS officer Himanshu Shekhar Das and former IPS officer Aloka Prabhakar are the two other members of the Commission. The Ministry of Home Affairs in a statement said: The Government of India led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has notified a Commission of Inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, chaired by Justice Ajai Lamba, former Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court with Himanshu Shekhar Das, IAS (Retd) and Aloka Prabhakar, IPS (Retd) as members to inquire into the incidents of violence in the state of Manipur on May 3 and thereafter. The Commission will make inquiry with respect to the causes and spread of the violence, which took place in Manipur, and whether there were any lapses on the part of any of the responsible authorities or individuals, it said. Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah had visited the state of Manipur during May 29-June 1 and after taking stock of the situation had announced the appointment of Commission of Inquiry. The Commission will submit its report to the Central Government as soon as possible but not later than six months from the date of its first sitting. The headquarters of the Commission will be at Imphal, the statement added. The Union Home Minister on Sunday appealed to the people of Manipur to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur, National Highway-2 so that basic food items and other necessary items can reach the people in the strife-hit state. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Shah wrote, My sincerest appeal to the people of Manipur is to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur NH-2 Highway, so that food, medicines, petrol/diesel, and other necessary items can reach the people. I also request that civil society organisations do the needful in bringing consensus. He further wrote, Together only we can restore normalcy in this beautiful state. Shah recently concluded a four-day visit to Manipur to take stock of the situation and held talks with different stakeholders in a bid to restore a sense of calm in the state. On the last day of his visit, Shah urged all communities and sections of society to maintain peace, hold discussions and promote harmony as well as surrender their weapons to the police. Shah warned that strict action would be taken against those found possessing weapons during the combing operation by the police. He also appealed to the people not to pay heed to rumours and maintain peace and harmony. Meanwhile, the security advisor to the Manipur government, Kuldiep Singh, on Saturday said peace is returning to the state after a wave of ethnic clashes and violence and normality is being restored. Peace efforts are ongoing in Manipur in close coordination with civil society people. Peace is returning to the state and normalcy is being restored. There has not been an incident of firing and arson in Manipur in the last 24 hours. Besides, joint security forces, including the Assam Rifles, have recovered 35 arms and 88 bombs in multiple operations in the last 24 hours, Singh said earlier. Two days after the tragic three-train collision in Odishas Balasore district that claimed the lives of 275 passengers, the Railway Board on Sunday said the initial probe into the incident has revealed that there was some issue with the signalling system and only Coromandel Express met with an accident. Approximately 1,000 people were injured in the tragic train accident that occurred on Friday evening. The three-way accident involved Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express, and goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Odishas Balasore district. Addressing a press conference here, Jaya Varma Sinha, Member of Operation and Business Development, Railway Board, said, According to the preliminary findings, there has been some issue with the signaling. We are still waiting for the detailed report from the Commissioner of Railway Safety. Only Coromandel Express met with an accident. The train was at a speed of around 128 km/h. She said the Board has set up an independent inquiry. In a major breakthrough in the tragic accident, she said the goods train did not get derailed since it was carrying iron ores and had maximum damage on Coromandel Express. The goods train did not get derailed. Since the goods train was carrying iron ores, the maximum damage of the impact was on Coromandel Express. This is the reason for a huge number of deaths and injuries, Sinha said. She further said that derailed bogies of the Coromandel Express hit the last two bogies of the Yashwantpur Express. The derailed bogies of Coromandel Express came on the downline and hit the last two bogies of Yashwantpur Express (Bengaluru-Howrah) which was crossing at the speed of 126 km/h from downline, she said. Sinha said that the Railways first focused on relief and rescue work after the accident. Railways first did relief and rescue work after the accident and after that repair work is being done. There are four lines at Bahanaga station. It has two main lines. There was a goods train on the loop line. The driver had received the green signal at the station. Both vehicles were running at full speed, she said. The official further said the helpline number has been made available for the family members of the injured or deceased. Our helpline number 139 is available. This is not a call centre number, our senior officers are answering the calls and we are trying to connect as many people as possible. The family members of the injured or deceased can call us and we will make sure that they are able to meet them. We will take care of their journey and other expenses, Sinha said. Indian Railways also said the indigenously-developed automatic train protection system Kavach, which was not installed on the route where the accident in Odishas Balasore occurred on Friday evening, could not have prevented it. In response to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees query about the absence of Kavach, Sinha reiterated Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaws statement that the crash was unrelated to Kavach. According to her, Kavach would not have prevented such an accident as there are certain incidents that no technology in the world can avert, citing the example of boulders suddenly falling in front of vehicles to illustrate her point. Sinha said the system is designed to detect instances where a locomotive pilot jumps a signal, known as Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD), which is one of the primary causes of train collisions. When the system identifies another train on the same track within a predetermined distance, it promptly alerts the locomotive pilot, takes control of the brakes, and automatically brings the train to a halt. Currently, restoration work is in progress at the incident site, and it is anticipated that two railway lines will be operational by 8 pm. today. However, trains are expected to operate at reduced speeds initially. An inquiry is underway, with investigations being conducted from various perspectives. While the initial assessment suggests that the issue could be related to signalling, no conclusive authentication can be provided at this time, Sinha added. Indian Railways has made special arrangements at helpline number 139 to facilitate family, friends and relatives of deceased persons and passengers stranded in the tragic Train accident in Odisha. A team of senior officers is manning the helpline 247 and will provide all the relevant details to the callers after coordinating with the Zonal Railways and the state government. This service will continue uninterrupted and will ensure prompt disbursal of enhanced ex-gratia announced by the Minister of Railways: Rs 10 lakh in case of death; Rs 2 lakh towards grievous injuries and Rs 50,000 for minor injuries. The aim of the Railway Helpline 139 is to provide a helping hand and to give correct and satisfactory information to the aggrieved passengers and their kins in this trying time. More than 36 hours after the three-way crash of Coromandel Express with Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a goods train near Bahanaga station on Friday in Odishas Balasore district, rescuers have retrieved five more bodies from the twisted bogies. Now the final death toll figure is 275. Earlier, the death toll from day one varied between 300 and 350. More than 1,000 people were reported injured. However, the final death figures have been settled at 275 as of now. Earlier in the day today, five more mangled bodies were recovered during the evacuation of toppled bogies from the accident site. These bodies which were dismembered beyond recognition are being handed over to Balasore Administration authorities, said Aditya Choudhury, Chief Public Relations Officer, South Eastern Railway (SER) on Sunday. The bodies, which were decomposed, were recovered during the lifting of the damaged bogies by crane. There was constant ringing of mobile phones from one of the bodies of the deceased, said an official. The restoration work is currently going on a war footing. The evacuation of the bogies and the track maintenance work is in progress. We are trying to complete the track restoration work at the earliest, said SER officials. Meanwhile Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Sunday had a review meeting with senior doctors and officials of AIIMS-Bhubaneswar. He discussed the procedures regarding embalming of bodies of rail accident victims and handing them over to family members of the deceased. A team of experts is arriving shortly from New Delhi to AIIMS Bhubaneswar to take stock of the body preservation. The Supreme Court has issued a stay on a peculiar order from the Allahabad High Court that requested the head of the astrology department at Lucknow University to determine whether a woman, who is an alleged rape victim, is manglik or not. During the high court proceedings, the counsel representing the accused argued that since the woman was a manglik, their marriage could not be solemnized and had been refused. However, the counsel for the woman insisted that she was not a manglik. The Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the case during a special sitting and questioned the need for an astrology report when considering a bail application. The high court had issued the order on May 23 while hearing the accuseds bail plea, who was charged with rape based on false promises of marriage. In Hindu astrology, being born under the influence of the planet Mars (mangal) is believed to bring about mangal dosha or affliction, and such individuals are considered manglik. Certain superstitious beliefs among Hindus hold that marriages between a manglik and a non-manglik can be inauspicious or disastrous. During the Supreme Court proceedings, the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared in the case, expressed his concern over the order and requested the court to stay it. The court observed that the order was unrelated to the subject matter and raised several other issues, including the violation of the right to privacy. While acknowledging that astrology is a science, the court emphasized that it did not intend to delve into the merits of the case and decided to stay the operation and effect of the high courts order. The court also directed the registry to issue notices to all concerned parties, including the state, and scheduled the matter for further hearing in July. The high court had previously instructed the head of the astrology department at Lucknow University to determine whether the woman was manglik or not. The court ordered the parties to submit the horoscope (kundali) to the department within ten days, with the head of the department required to submit a sealed report to the court within three weeks. The case is set to resume hearing on June 26 at the high court. Insiders who purchased AU$281k worth of WIA Gold Limited (ASX:WIA) shares over the past year recouped some of their losses after price gained 21% last week. However, total losses seen by insiders are still AU$44k since the time of purchase. While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. Check out our latest analysis for WIA Gold The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At WIA Gold In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when insider Josef El-Raghy bought AU$215k worth of shares at a price of AU$0.039 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being AU$0.035). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. In the last twelve months WIA Gold insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below! WIA Gold is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying. Insiders At WIA Gold Have Bought Stock Recently Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at WIA Gold. Not only was there no selling that we can see, but they collectively bought AU$236k worth of shares. That shows some optimism about the company's future. Insider Ownership Of WIA Gold Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Our data indicates that WIA Gold insiders own about AU$2.2m worth of shares (which is 11% of the company). However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings. What Might The Insider Transactions At WIA Gold Tell Us? It is good to see recent purchasing. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. On this analysis the only slight negative we see is the fairly low (overall) insider ownership; their transactions suggest that they are quite positive on WIA Gold stock. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 5 warning signs for WIA Gold you should be aware of, and 3 of them are significant. 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 Two separate incidents within a span of a month involving Uttarakhand BJP cabinet ministers in the public beating of two youth has raised the political temperature of the hill state. While, in the first case, a senior cabinet minister himself beat up a person on the busy road in Rishikesh last month, in a recent incident another cabinet minister was seen watching while his supporters beat up a youth of probably unsound mind in Dehradun. The videos of both incidents are viral. Congress, the main opposition party in the state has questioned the public behaviour of the senior cabinet ministers and asked the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to act against these ministers by at least sacking them from his cabinet. This is the height of impropriety when cabinet ministers who have taken the oath to uphold the rule of law are taking law in their own hands, said Karan Mahra, President of the Uttarakhand Congress. In the recent incident on June 2, 2023, the supporters of Uttarakhand Agriculture Minister Ganesh Joshi mercilessly thrashed a youth who was probably of unsound mind and tried to grab the Kurta of the minister who was on a visit to the Garhi Dakra area of Dehradun. The youth in question had been behaving violently for the past few days in the area. He was given a sound thrashing by the supporters of the ministers as he kept watching. However, his supporters maintain that the minister asked his supporters to refrain from beating him up. The youth was later handed over to the police. Ganesh Joshi is a senior BJP leader who was allegedly involved and charged in the injury and subsequent death of a police horse Shaktiman during a clash with police during a party demonstration in 2016. He was later acquitted by a local court for want of sufficient evidence in 2021. In the earlier incident held on May 2, 2023, a video went viral in which Uttarakhand Urban Development, Finance, and Parliamentary Affairs minister and former Speaker of the Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha Prem Chand Aggarwal and his security personal and staff beating up a youth on a busy Rishikesh road. A statement issued by the minister said that a man started misbehaving with him while his car was stuck in a traffic jam and tore his kurta. when the ministers security guard intervened, his uniform was also torn and he also tried to snatch his pistol. The man also picked up a stone with the intention to injure the minister, somehow the minister and his security personnel saved themselves, the statement said. Surinder Singh Negi, the victim said that when he tried to pass the vehicle of the minister on his scooter from the left side, the minister got angry and started abusing him. He stopped and reacted leaving the minister furious who got out of his car and slapped him twice, When he reacted his security guard and staff pounced upon him thrashing him for five minutes. Another man who tried to save him was also beaten up. The incident led to public anger and disgust and fearing adverse public reaction, the Uttarakhand government ordered registering of FIRs against the minister and his staff for rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, and intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of peace. A case was also registered against Surinder Singh Negi on the complaint of the minister. Three Israeli soldiers and a member of Egyptian security forces were killed in a shootout along the border between Israel and Egypt, according to the two countries military statements. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday in a statement that the assailant who killed the three soldiers was an Egyptian policeman. He first killed two soldiers, a man and a woman, who were on duty in a border post and gunned down a third during an exchange of fire hours later when a manhunt was underway. Another Israeli soldier was lightly wounded and the Egyptian gunman was neutralised by the soldiers, the statement added. The Egyptian Army said that three Israeli soldiers and a member of Egyptian security forces were killed earlier on Saturday in a shootout during a pursuit of drug smugglers by the Egyptian security personnel near the border with Israel, Xinhua news agency reported. A member of the Egyptian security was killed in the shootout and another two Israeli soldiers were injured, the army spokesman Gharib Abdel-Hafez said in a statement: Both armies said an investigation into the incident is underway. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Twitter that he has held a situation assessment with other Defence officials, noting that the IDF will investigate the incident as required. Such confrontations along the Israel-Egypt border are rare as the two countries have maintained close security ties under a peace agreement signed by the two sides in 1979. The Israeli military frequently carried out search-and-arrest operations on the common border to prevent drug and weapons smuggling. In 2014, Israel completed the construction of a 242-km barrier along the shared border with Egypt, in an attempt to stop illegal labour migration from African countries into Israel. United Arab Emirates Permanent Representative to the United Nations Lana Nusseibeh said that they will hold a comprehensive meeting on the situation in Afghanistan on June 21, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported. She stated that the cooperation of the Security Council members on Afghanistan should be maintained. Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh and President of the Security Council said, We will hold a comprehensive meeting on Afghanistans situation on June 21, Khaama Press reported. Nusseibeh further said, Our focus will be concentrated on Afghanistans situation, womens rights in particular, over which all the members of the Security Council have agreed. On Thursday, UAE envoy Lana Nusseibeh said that the UN Security Council will continue working on the issues of Afghanistan and the rights of women in particular, Khaama Press reported. UAE Ambassador Fraidoon Oglu said that the UN Special Coordinator for Afghanistan Affairs will provide a comprehensive report regarding the situation of Afghanistan to the Security Council in November this year. Notably, the United Arab Emirates has assumed the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council for a month. Several US Senators proposed a bill to sanction the Taliban in response to human rights violations in Afghanistan, Khaama Press reported citing Fox News report. Ever since the Taliban assumed power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the group has systematically repressed women, youth and minority groups, the report said. Thousands of women have stayed at home since colleges and schools stopped accepting female students, and there are restrictions on the work that women and girls can do in local and international NGOs. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch has said that on the one hand, the Taliban continues to beg for recognition and foreign help, while on the other, they escalate repression of Afghan women and girls, Khaama Press reported. Taking to Twitter, the associate womens rights director at Human Rights Watch wrote, that the Taliban are reluctant for meaningful talks. Barr stated on Twitter that she does not believe the meeting indicates the Talibans willingness to engage with the international community, Khaama Press reported. She believes this topic has only been highlighted primarily during a meeting between a senior Qatari official and Hebatullah Akhundzada, whatsoever. Previously, the Taliban spokesperson stated that Mullah Hassan Akhund had asked Qatari authorities to play a significant role in developing confidence between Afghanistan and the international community at a meeting with his Qatari counterpart, as per the Afghan news agency. Despite Qatars ties with the Taliban, Doha has criticised the Talibans gender policies targeting women. 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. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says representatives from Turkey and Sweden will meet in just over a week to try to bridge their differences about the Nordic country joining the military alliance Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Jack Teixeira Sr. arrives for his son's detention hearing in federal court on April 27. WORCESTER A Worcester federal judge has canceled the continued detention hearing that was slated to be held Thursday in the case of accused military leaker Jack Teixeira, court records show. According to electronic federal court records, U.S. Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy on Wednesday afternoon issued an order canceling the hearing scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday. The order did not say whether or when the hearing might be rescheduled. Court records show another court proceeding Hennessy was supposed to conduct Thursday was also canceled; his cases for Friday have not been canceled. The office of U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Rachael S. Rollins did not immediately offer comment Wednesday afternoon. Teixeira, the 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of posting top-secret government data to friends on a Discord social media forum, was slated to return to Worcesters federal courthouse for continued arguments regarding his potential release pending trial. In arguments in Worcester April 27, federal prosecutors argued he should be kept in custody before trial, while his lawyers argued he ought to released to the supervision of his father. Teixeira has been appearing in Worcester because it is the courthouse where Hennessy, the judge assigned to the case, usually sits. 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. Teixeira's three court-appointed public defenders argued he had never taken steps to actually harm anyone and that the government does not have proof Teixeira intended to share the top-secret documents outside of his private Discord forum. The defense argued for Teixeira to be released to the custody of his father, Jack Teixeira Sr., who testified April 27 that he would report any violations of probation by his son to the government. The defense noted that the U.S. Probation Department recommended Teixeira be released to Teixeira Sr., who is a former Massachusetts corrections officer. Hennessy took the arguments under advisement April 27, and issued an order on Monday scheduling a continued detention hearing for Thursday. If convicted, Teixeira could face up to 25 years in prison on charges of violating the Espionage Act and an act prohibiting unauthorized removal of classified documents. This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Judge cancels Worcester detention hearing for alleged military leaker Teixeira This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate COLLINSVILLE The Riverbends Native American heritage was celebrated at the Gateway Center in Collinsville over the weekend as the annual Cahokia Mounds Indian Market Days showcased the diverse creations of Native artisans from across the country. A part of the convention center was filled with Native American artists and vendors who displayed and sold original creations ranging from jewelry to clothing, paintings and sculptures. Many different tribal affiliations were represented. William Harjo from Oklahoma, of Creek ancestry, creates Native American flutes from cedar. One of my ancestors used to make them, Harjo said. You dont have to play it loud; the sound travels a lot farther than you think. Harjo said the flutes can play beautiful tunes, and he demonstrated some for visitors. Hunters used to have charm songs to lure the animals to them, Harjo said. These flutes fall in that category, where you can make sounds that flow out and get peoples attention. Monty Curley Hair is of Navajo ancestry and is originally from Oklahoma. He was surrounded by his seed bead jewelry creations. It takes me a long time to create my seed beads, Curley Hair said. The colors I use in my beads lift me up. They give me healing and comfort. Native American blowguns by the dozens were displayed at Lucas Wildcats booth. He has been crafting the devices from river cane for 25 years. I learned how to make these from my father, said Wildcat, a Cherokee from Oklahoma. It makes me proud of my heritage and helps me to teach it to others. Dave Farnham is from Ontario and is a member of the Onondaga Nation. He wasnt shy about naming the inspiration for his soapstone, moose and deer antler, and buffalo bone sculptures. I am inspired by Benjamin Franklin; hes on the hundred-dollar bill, Farnham said. I make what I like and if they like it they buy it. Indian Market Days is affiliated with the nearby Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, which is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site due to its significance as a major cultural center in prehistoric North America. Cahokia Mounds flourished for centuries but had long been abandoned by the time Europeans set foot on the continent. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MADISON Kevin Kent was easy to spot Saturday morning at the tailgaiting area of World Wide Technology Raceway. His psychedelic orange school bus with I Am Second painted on the side and Destination Heaven emblazoned on the front was a conspicuous presence in an area full of beer-drinking, tent-dwelling race fans awaiting the two NASCAR races planned that weekend in Madison. NASCAR saved Kents life, he shared. And he was returning the favor Saturday morning. I got saved at Talladega Super Speedway, outside turn one and two, 16 years ago," said Kent of Toledo, Ohio. "So now I just go anywhere I can to raise the cross and share Jesus love. There are no better people than NASCAR people," he said. "They all get along, and we definitely dont go hungry. Its our first time at this race so I went where they (parking officials) put me. Kent said he remains a die-hard NASCAR fan who likes the noise, power and smell of racing. He hasnt had a drink in 16 years, he noted, and continues to spread the Word to those who dont abstain. The rowdiest bunch was at Talladega where the animals camp; its crazy, Kent said. I stood my cross in front of a lot of x-rated stuff. There wasnt any such rowdiness at the Enjoy Illinois 300 camping and tailgating area, at least not early on Saturday when many race fans were just getting started. But a day of revelry was definitely in the offing. You cant drink all day unless you start in the morning, said Anthony Damon of Pekin, who came for the racing weekend with friends. Its all out, all weekend. Damon said NASCAR tailgating is about cold beer, good friends and good food. Hes a repeat visitor to the Enjoy Illinois 300 because its a race thats close to home. Peoria resident Nick Bock and companions were already well into the beer on Saturday morning. On a normal day we wouldnt start early. But we do at an event like this, Bock said. Its about having fun, drinking Busch Light with my family, and having a good time. Do what makes you happy. Bock also attended the Enjoy Illinois 300 last year and enjoyed the experience. The race is always good; its safe. Weve never had any problems, said Bock, who said he likes NASCAR because of the speed; its fun. Other tailgaters placed a strong emphasis on food. Paul Probo and friends from the Chicago ate biscuits and gravy Saturday morning and planned to dine on steak filets later in the day. Bring a good cook was Probos advice. Im not even a big NASCAR fan; this gets me out of the house. Asked if hed like to send a message to family and friends back home, Probo said to tell "them I made it out alive. He added NASCARs high racing speeds dont impact him. "Im a cruise control guy," he said. "I just lock it in and go. This year's NASCAR weekend was expected to bring more than 100,000 fans to Madison. ST. LOUIS Authorities in St. Louis on Saturday evening announced the arrest of a suspect relative to two assaults that occurred on MetroLink trains last week, including one that involved a Glen Carbon couple in which the husband and a friend were seriously injured. Antione Robertson, 31, was arrested and charged with two counts of assault second degree, one count of assault third degree, one count of assault fourth degree and two counts of trespassing first degree, according to Sgt. Charles Wall of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Police released that information about 5 p.m. Saturday, June 3. The allegations against Robertson are in connection with a May 29 assault about 9:54 p.m. on the MetroLink train at the Eighth and Pine streets station and an assault on a MetroLink train May 30 about 9:20 p.m. at the Laclede's Landing station, 115 Washington in St. Louis. Police said two people were hurt in the May 29 incident, while one was assaulted on May 30. The May 29 incident involved Glen Carbon residents Deyon Kunselman and her husband Lee, who were on the MetroLink headed to St. Louis for dinner with friends, a couple from Belleville. Deyon told the Intelligencer on Thursday that four or five men, described as young, tall, thin and African American, attacked Lee Kunselman and their friend Paul as Deyon and Paul's wife, Becky, looked on helplessly. Deyon said Lee was recovering from a concussion and other injuries. "My husband had his head stomped on several times as I watched and could do nothing about it. My husband has a concussion with multiple stitches and can't work," Deyon said. He still cant see out of his left eye. Paul was left with injuries including a broken nose and fractured eye socket, according to Deyon. On Friday afternoon, a Metro police spokesperson confirmed that authorities received a call for "assault just occurred" in the 800 block of Olive Street at 9:54 p.m. May 29 regarding a victim being assaulted by several juveniles. The incident report listed that the occurrence was in the 300 block of North Eighth Street, but the report was still in progress at that time. Deyon said she did not know what prompted the attack on her group. "We just got up out of our seats, we were leaving, trying to exit the train, and one gentleman pushed my husband down, the fight started, Deyon said. She called 911 but said she never saw emergency personnel at the station. We rushed our husbands to the hospital. We did not wait around, Deyon told the Intelligencer on Thursday. My husband wanted to get out of St. Louis." BERLIN (AP) A fire at a refugee shelter in eastern Germany killed one person and injured 10 others early Sunday, according to local police. Police in the German state of Thuringia said the fire broke out around 5 a.m. at a facility in the city of Apolda and that one body was recovered from the burned building. Mountains of coal are piled beneath azure skies at the port of Newcastle, Australia. Giant shovels chip away at them, scooping the fuel onto conveyor belts, which whizz it to cargo ships that can be as long as three football pitches. The harbours terminals handle 200m tonnes of the stuff a year, making Newcastle the worlds biggest coal port. Throughput is roaring back after floods hurt supply last year. Aaron Johansen, who oversees ncig, the newest, uber-automated terminal, expects it to stay near all-time highs for at least seven years. Rich Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea, are hungry for the premium coal that passes through the terminal. So, increasingly, are developing ones like Malaysia and Vietnam. Halfway across the world the mood music is rather different. In recent weeks activists have made use of quotes from great writers, including Shakespeare (Dont shuffle off this mortal coil) and the Spice Girls (Stop right now), to disrupt annual-general meetings of European banks and energy firms, as part of a call for an end to coal extraction. A broader chorus worries that the fuel is the biggest source of greenhouse gas, making up 42% of energy-related carbon emissions in 2022. The un says output must fall by 11% a year to keep warming less than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. The International Energy Agency (iea), an official forecaster, argues against opening new mines and expanding existing ones. Climate wonks think that 80% of reserves must remain unburnt. This is mainly meant to happen by starving the supply chain of funding. More than 200 of the worlds largest financiers, including 87 banks, have announced policies restricting investments in coal mining or coal-fired power plants. Lenders representing 41% of global banking assets have signed up to the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, pledging to align portfolios with net-zero emissions by 2050. At the cop26 summit in 2021, the un predicted that this campaign would consign coal to history. As recently as 2020 the iea believed consumption had peaked a decade ago. Yet King Coal looks brawnier than ever. In 2022 demand for it surpassed 8bn tonnes for the first time. This article will look at who is greasing the wheels of the once doomed trade. We find that the market is lively, well-funded and profitable. More striking still, the motley crew bankrolling it will probably allow trade to endure well into the 2030s, lining survivors pockets to the detriment of the planet. It is tempting to see 2022 as exceptional. Russia cut piped gas to Europe, and Europe banned coal imports from Russia. The bloc turned to liquefied natural gas (lng) destined for Asia and thermal coal from Colombia, South Africa and distant Australia. Meanwhile, Asian countries reliant on Russias premium coal also diversified. Prices for top grades jumped. Europes poorer neighbours, priced out of the gas market, gorged on lower-grade stuff. Now the storm has abated. After a mild winter, European utility firms retain good stocks of gas and coal. But as the need to power cooling units rises in the summer, coal imports will accelerate. Chinas economy has emerged from zero-covid; Indias is going gangbusters. Traders expect global use to grow by another 3-4% this year. Coal is likely to remain sought after beyond 2023. True, demand in Europe will fall as renewables ramp up. It is already low in America, where fracked gas is cheaper. Yet last years crunch has reminded Asias import-dependent countries that, when energy is scarce, coal can be a lifeline. It is cheaper and more abundant than other fuels, and once loaded on pretty basic ships can be sent anywhereunlike lng, which requires vessels and regasification terminals that take years to build. China is planning 270 gigawatts of new coal-fired plants by 2025, more than any country has installed today. India and much of South-East Asia are following a similar path. Even with a speedy Western exit from coal, Boston Consulting Group thinks thermal coal demand will fall by just 10-18% between now and 2030. Much of the demand will be met by domestic production in China and India, the worlds biggest consumers. But imports will still be crucial. Investment banks do not expect traded volumes to drop below 900m tonnes, from 1bn last year, for much of the decade. One, Liberum Capital, thinks imports will rise over the next five years. Will the global coal market continue to meet stubborn demand? Our research suggests it will. That is because there will remain cash for three vital links in the supply chain: trading and shipping; more digging at existing mines; and new projects. Financing trade is the easy part. Modelling for The Economist by Oliver Wyman, a consultancy, suggests high prices, together with the longer journeys made by rerouted exports, buoyed the working-capital needs of coal traders in 2022 to $20bn, four times the historical average. Assuming average coal prices remain above $100 a tonne, as many analysts do, those needs will sit above $7bn until at least 2030. Commodity merchants retain access to generous sources of liquidity to finance coal purchases. One is corporate borrowing, via multi-year bank loans or bonds, which gives firms a lump sum they can use however they want. Traders can also draw on short-term, revolving credit facilities, provided by clubs of banks. Many such lines have been expanded since the start of 2022their limits often reach several billion dollarsto help traders cope with volatile prices. Banks that impose restrictions, specifying the money should not be used to buy coal, face a high risk that traders decamp to lenient rivals. So few do. Conversations with finance chiefs at trading firms reveal that banks in countries where trading is bread-and-butter, including Singapores dbs and Switzerlands ubs, still finance coal purchases. Swiss cantonal lenders are happy to help. Banks in consuming countries, like China or Japan, also oblige, as does Britains Standard Chartered, which focuses on Asian business. (dbs and Standard Chartered both point out they are reducing their exposure to thermal coal.) Only European lendersparticularly French oneshave exited. They are being replaced by banks from producing countries, such as Australia, Indonesia and South Africa. Back in black Smaller, pure-play coal traders have faced a bigger squeeze. Banks, which never made much money from them anyway, can hardly claim to be unaware of how lent funds are put to use. Last year some traders were forced to borrow from private vehicles, often backed by wealthy individuals, at annual rates nearing 25%about five times standard costs. Yet after months of booming business many no longer need external financing. A banker says some of his coal-trading clients saw profits grow ten-fold in 2022. One in London witnessed his total equity leap from 50m ($62m) in 2021 to 700m in 2023. To then ship the stuff to buyers, traders often need a guarantee, provided by a reputable bank, that they will be paid on time. Ever fewer lenders are keen to provide such letters of credit, but there are ways around this, too. Some traders charge their clients more to cover counterparty risk. It helps that exposure is limited. At todays prices, a cargo of coal may be worth just $4-5m. By contrast, an oil tanker may carry $200m-worth of crude. Others insert trusted intermediaries in the trade, or ask for bigger guarantees on other wares being bought by the client. Some governments in recipient countries provide the guarantee themselves, or even pay upfront. Outside South Africa, where rail strikes have paralysed transport, there is plenty of infrastructure on land to move coal about. Soon there will be even more. Global Energy Monitor, a charity, reckons that India plans to more than double its coal terminals to 1,400 (today the planet counts 6,300). Seaborne logistics are more restricted: pressured by green shareholders, some shippers have started to shun coal. But smaller ones, often Chinese or Greek, have stepped in. Traders report no difficulty in insuring the cargo. Even sanctions-hit Russia is exporting most of its coal, using the same mix of obscure traders and seafarers, based in Hong Kong or the Gulf, that it employs to ship its oil to Asia. Financing more digging at existing minesthe second link in the supply chainis no problem either. Last year coal production hit a record 8bn tonnes. It is not quite business as usual. Since 2018 many mining majors (large, diversified groups listed on public markets) have sold some or all of their coal assets. Yet rather than being decommissioned, disposed assets have been picked up by private miners, emerging-market rivals and private-equity groups. New owners have no qualms about making full use of mines. In 2021 Anglo American, a London-based major, spun off its South African mines into a new firm that instantly pledged to crank up output. Like traders, the miners have been printing money. Australias three biggest pure-play coal producers went from posting net debt of $1bn in 2021 to $6bn in net cash last year. They have repaid most of their long-term borrowing, so have no big deadlines to meet soon. The conversation has gone from How do I refinance my debt? to What do I do with my extra cash?, says a finance chief at one of them. Coal miners can still borrow money when needed. Data compiled by Urgewald shows that they secured an aggregate $62bn in bank loans between 2019 and 2021. According to the charitys research, Japanese firms (smbc, Sumitomo, Mitsubishi) were the biggest lenders, followed by Bank of China and Americas jpMorgan Chase and Citigroup. European banks also featured in the top 15. During this period coal miners, mainly Chinese, also managed to sell $150bn worth of bonds and shares, often underwritten by Chinese banks. The liquidity is not drying out. Urgewald calculates that in 2022 60 large banks helped channel $13bn towards the worlds 30 largest coal producers. This is possible because the coal-exclusion policies of financial firms are wildly inconsistent. Many do not kick in until 2025. Some cover only new clients. Others prohibit financing for projects, but not general corporate loans that miners may use to dig for coal. Policies that do restrict such lending often do so only for miners that derive lots of their revenue from coal, typically 25% or 50%. Many big firms, including Glencore, a Swiss commodities giant which produces 110m tonnes a year, fall below such thresholds. Some policies are vaguely worded to allow for exemptions. Although Goldman Sachs, a bank, promises to stop financing thermal-coal mining companies that do not have a diversification strategy within a reasonable timeframe, it has reportedly continued to lend to Peabody, a huge Australian miner that derived 78% of its revenue from coal sales in 2022 (it may have helped that the firm recently launched a modest solar subsidiary). Out of 426 large banks, investors and insurers assessed by Reclaim Finance, another charity, only 26 were deemed to have a coal-exit policy consistent with a 2050 net-zero scenario. Even fewer have said they will exit completely. Most of China and Indias state-owned banks have said nothing at all. In short, few banks are ready to hurt their top line or their countrys supply. Analysts reckon that this will help existing mines meet demand until the early 2030s. At this point, there may finally be a crunch. Western banks, many of which periodically revise their policies, will gradually tighten the screws. The paucity of new projects todaythe third link in the chainmeans there may not be enough fresh supply when old mines stop producing. Although finance for new projects is getting harder to attain, it is still available. As Western banks retreat, other players are coming to the fore. Capital expenditure by Western miners has been feeble for years. Having spent big in the 2000s, many suffered when prices crashed in the mid-2010s. Even though they are making hefty profits again, the majors prefer to buy rivals, reopen old mines or return capital to shareholders rather than launch new ventures. The investment drought is most severe in coal. Building a pit from scratch can take more than a decade. Years are spent obtaining permits, which in the West are increasingly refused. Financing for new projects in rich countries is a particular hurdle. Last year Adani Group, an Indian firm that runs Carmichael, a mega coal mine being built in Queensland, had to refinance out of its own pocket $500m in bonds it had issued for the project. Some opportunistic pots of money will continue to target juicy profits, especially if prices rise. The first deep coal pit to be dug in Britain in decades is ultimately owned by emr Capital, a private-equity firm incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Peter Ryan of Goba Capital, an investment firm in Miami, expects its coal assets, which span the whole supply chain, to grow eight-fold by 2030. The picture in Asia, though, is different. Banks are still on the scene. Asian investors are starting to back new mines at home. Family offices, set up to invest the fortunes of the rich, are increasingly interested. Any business dynasty in Indonesia, where mining is the backbone of the economy, has to have some coal in its holdings, says a trader who sources his wares there. In India obscure property firms are bidding for land that may be mined for coal. Eventually companies from the same countries may come to dig mines overseas, with banks following them. Chinese forays in the West will remain rare; Indian and Indonesian firms, which already own an archipelago of coal assets in Australia, are bound to increase their footprint. The coal market of the 2030s will thus look very different. From ownership and operation to funding and consumption, coal will be a developing-market commodity, predicts a boss of a mining major. Supply constraints will keep prices high, but the cast of exporters cashing in will shrink. Colombia and South Africa, which serve Europe, will no longer have a market. Russia will find it harder to flog cargoes to China, despite discounts. All three will export less coal for less money. Australia will appease critics by focusing on the most efficient coal: it may export lower volumes, but charge more. Indonesia could become the swing exporter, like Saudi Arabia is for oil today. It will sell more of its basic coaloften for more money. Although coal is on a downward slope, its goodbye is likely to be an uncomfortably long one. By the 2040s demand may finally crater for good, as enough renewables come on stream. Yet even then some countries may choose to keep their options open. More energy shocks will come. And when there is one, the commodity no one wants is the one we need to use again, says a big trader who serves Asia. That feature of coal could stay for ever. 2023 The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2023/06/04/who-is-keeping-coal-alive While Manipur is no stranger to violence and ethnic clashes, the communal rioting seen this year is essentially the consequence of the majoritarian authoritarianism that characterises the BJPs approach to forced assimilation. The largely Hindu Meitei population of the valley has lived in relative accord with their largely Christian tribal neighbours of the hill areas, owing to deep sensitivity to each others separate identity, reinforced by constitutional arrangements for a degree of autonomy through district councils and hill administration councils under Article 371 C, and political accommodation through reservations for ST in the assembly and including tribal representatives in the cabinet. But ever since the BJP stole its way to power to overturn the outcome of the 2017 election, a strident majoritarianism has pitted the Vaishnavite Hindus of the valley against the Christian tribals of the hills leading to the present outbreak that has been simmering over the six years that N. Biren Singh has been chief minister. A dissident Kuki MLA of the BJP, Paolienlal Haokip, has described the Biren Singh administration as the best example of inept handling of everything. Ineptness is evident in the BJP governments drive against the cultivation of poppies, cannabis, and marijuana, launched in February this year, to clear reserved forest lands that, it was claimed, had been encroached upon by tribals in general and particularly by illegal immigrants from Myanmar across the border. This is a good illustration of the double engine sarkar at work, for it is the Central government that has looked askance at the Muslim Rohingya and Zo tribals fleeing Burmese junta persecution by refusing to grant them refugee status and the local Manipuri BJP that has attempted to cow down the tribal minority instead of working towards their gradual emotional integration into a composite Manipuri identity. Illustration: Bhaskaran While the origins of the problem may be traced to the British having been insensitive to kinship ties across the Manipur-Burma border, the current aggravation arises from the inhuman outlook of the Manipur government that has condemned the Zo tribals fleeing genocide as illegal immigrants; sought an NRC, as in Assam, to identify foreigners in the Kuki-dominated districts; and roughly handled delicate issues of land rights and cultural identity. Large swathes of Kuki-Zomi-Hmar lands have been declared reserved forests or otherwise put out of bounds to the locals without following established procedures, leading to severe economic disruption as the unyielding hills are more easily cultivated by slash-and-burn methods known as subsistence swidden farming than back-breaking terracing for settled farming. As underlined by Kuki public intellectuals of repute, the police have been deeply communalised; the authorities, as a whole, have been biased rather than equidistant; and civil society organisations have been incentivised to propagate a more radical brand of Meitei nationalism. In consequence, a vicious spiral of mutual violence has been spun. The inbuilt majority of Meiteis in the assembly (39 of 60) has in March 2023 withdrawn the suspension of operations agreement with two major Kuki and Zomi armed entities. And into this cauldron, the Manipur High Court has directed the government to prepare the ground to declare Meiteis as Scheduled Tribes, thus removing the last safeguard of the existing hill ST. Such has been the loss of confidence in the fairness of the Biren Singh government that almost all BJP Kuki MLAs and opinion-makers of the Kuki and other minority tribal groupings have demanded a separate administration by placing the hills under the sixth schedule, as in neighbouring Mizoram. Such is the outcome of substituting unity in diversity with BJP-style unity through uniformity. Manipur in microcosm is the fate awaiting the Indian Union if saffron rule is continued in 2024. Lefties and libtards are miffed with the sceptre ceremony that marked the opening of the new Parliament House. They should read Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm. He wrote in 1983 about how invention of tradition is part of the growth of new nationalisms. We saw it happening. Flashback to August 14, 1947. Shortly after sunset, Jawaharlal Nehru, head of the interim government who would be sworn in as the first PM of free India the next morning, had visitors at his home. Two holy men and a nagaswaram maestro, who had arrived from Thanjavur by train and taxi, wanted to bless Nehru with water from the Cauvery river, sacred ash and a sacred cloth, and gift him a specially made sengol or sceptre. Though an agnostic, Nehru obliged. The ceremony was photographed and forgotten. As the tagline of a 1996 cola ad said, Nothing official about it. Fast forward to May 28, 2023. Shortly after sunrise, Narendra Modi, who was entering his 10th year as the 15th PM of free India, had a few visitors from the same mutt in the new Parliament House that he was to inaugurate a few hours later. They had performed the same ceremony the previous evening at his home, this time not as a bunch of half-naked sorcerers as Nehru might have viewed them, but as honoured guests of the Govt of India. As the nation watched on TV screens, the PM installed the sceptre beside the speakers chair in the Lok Sabha chamber with stately pomp and solemnity. A new tradition was born; everything official about it. If that much was all that had happened last week, most Indians would have approvedrecreation of a humble ceremony of honour, performed then on the care-worn leader of a yet-to-be-born dominion, now as a splendid ceremony of the proud republic. Sadly, someone misled the government to go for overkill. With the result, half-truths are circulating as full truth, WhatsApp history as authentic account, and a badly made cinema clip as archival material. Illustration: Bhaskaran Lets get the facts. The affair of the sceptre had no Rajendra Prasad or Mountbatten. Prasad was holding another puja in his own house. Mountbatten, who was in Karachi attending Pakistans I-Day ceremony, had returned in the evening, and was busy locking up all viceregal stuff. Soon after the visitors had left, Nehru sat down to dinner with daughter Indira and guest Padmaja Naidu, worrying about Hindus and Muslims killing each other in the two soon-to-be-free countries. Amidst the cares, worries and a phone call from Lahore, he forgot about drafting the speech he was to deliver in the Constituent Assembly. All these are recorded in Larry Collinss and Dominique Lapierres Freedom at Midnight, and Alan Campbell-Johnsons Mission with Mountbatten. The assembly began at 11pm; every word spoken there, every action taken, and even its moments of silence have been recorded. Vande Mataram was sung, messages from world leaders read out by Prasad, the national flag presented. Then, moving a motion on the pledge members would take at midnight, Nehru delivered his Tryst with Destiny speech extempore. At the stroke of midnight, members took the pledge, and Prasad declared solemnly: I propose that it should be intimated to the Viceroy that (1) the Constituent Assembly of India has assumed power of governance of India, and (2) the Constituent Assembly of India has endorsed the recommendation that Lord Mountbatten be governor-general of India from the 15th August 1947. Power was not given, gifted, granted or transferred by any emperor or his viceroy; it was won and assumed by the people of India. prasannan@theweek.in Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, says a minor character in Shakespeares iconic play Hamlet, expressing a sense that the affairs of the kingdom are no longer being ethically conducted, and that even the highest authority in the land is sullied by some moral turpitude. More than 400 years after Shakespeare wrote the play, citizens are so jaded that we are no longer surprised at any kind of abuse of power by government. We are too used to scams and the favourite response of the middle-class and educated Indians when critiquing politics is to quip, All politicians are the same. Or, Politics is a dirty game. But, behind these hollow sayings is a cop-out that hides a deep rot. Many things are deeply rotten in Indiaour polity, politics, politicians, media, and once neutral institutions. But, perhaps, the deepest rot is the one that festers in our society, in people like us. Every other week there is fresh proof of this rot in the form of a heinous crime often enacted in public and, we, the proud inheritors of an ancient land and great culture hum and haw and make insipid remarks on social media, but never really shake off the cynicism and indifference that has brought us where we are today. Recently, a ghastly video from Delhi captured a man repeatedly stabbing a young girl in a street as passersby kept witnessing the crime but rushing off. The man then smashed the girls head with a large stone. She died. Eventually, the Delhi Police arrested the 22-year-old Sahil Khan who apparently killed the 16-year-old girl because she broke up with him. I have seen the video. To me what is even more disturbing is the number of onlookers who witness the crime and stroll on, without intervening. The horrifying video seems like an apt tribute to Indians of this decade. We, the educated Indians, who gathered in large droves at Ramlila Maidan in 2011 to support the India Against Corruption movement, but didnt flinch when dalits in Una were tied to a jeep and flogged in public. We, who celebrated when a Kashmiri civilian was used as a human shield and later justified the blindings of Kashmiri protestors by pellet guns. We, the Indians, who have been undisturbed by the continued lynchings of Muslims to date. We, who didnt flinch when an eight-year-old child was gang-raped in a temple in Jammu in a pre-planned crime. We, who name call protestorsbe they students, farmers or sportswomenbecause it is easier to discredit ordinary people than question those in power. We, who brush under the carpet unsavoury historical facts like the 2002 Gujarat riots, but believe lies and propaganda as long as it is in cinematic form. We, who light candles and beat utensils but never ask why oxygen did not reach the lakhs of Indians who died during the pandemic. We, who applaud the pomp and show of the inauguration of a new home to Indias much beleaguered democracy, but turn our faces away from the Olympic champions who are manhandled by Delhi Police. We are the Indians who just dont care! We dont care about justice. Nothing pricks our conscience. It is, perhaps, then no surprise that when we witness a woman being murdered on the street, we stroll by unconcerned. Because, we, the Indians, have mastered the art of a split hypocritical existence. We are friendly, civilised and most of us fairly decent human beings in our personal spaces, trying to live honourable lives, but in public we are a disinterested, disconnected, cowardly lot scurrying to safety, willing to let a crime go unreported as long as we are not inconvenienced. We are so scared of some unknown retribution that we dont have the moral courage to call murder or rape wrong. We prefer finding a way to blame the Congress from the 1970s for everything. A society that couldnt care less will one day turn its face away when we are at the receiving end of injustice. If only for selfish purposes, fellow Indians, speak up for justice now because one day the cause may be you! The writer is an award-winning Bollywood actor and sometime writer and social commentator. Walmart's shareholding in fintech firm PhonePe has been reduced to 85 per cent from 89 per cent following its ongoing fundraise of $1 billion. PhonePe, which joined the decacorn club after raising $350 million earlier this year, has so far raised $850 million of primary capital in the current round till the end of May. "During the three months ended April 30, 2023, the company received $0.5 billion related to new rounds of equity funding for the company's majority-owned PhonePe subsidiary, which reduced the company's ownership from approximately 89 per cent as of January 31, 2023 to approximately 85 per cent," Walmart said in a latest regulatory filing. Till April 30, the Walmart group firm has raised $750 million, including $200 million capital infusion from Walmart. General Atlantic and its co-investors have contributed $550 million in the ongoing $1 billion funding round of PhonePe at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. The fintech firm is reportedly planning to use the funds to boost its infrastructure and scale up its financial services. According to media reports, PhonePe has plans to launch an app store in India for Android users, with the aim of offering hyper-localized services. The company had said the planned app store would offer premiere experience for millions of users with high-quality advertisements and custom targeting, round-the-clock live chat, and customer support in 12 languages. With PTI inputs In order to justify the effort of selecting individual stocks, it's worth striving to beat the returns from a market index fund. But the main game is to find enough winners to more than offset the losers So we wouldn't blame long term Kimlun Corporation Berhad (KLSE:KIMLUN) shareholders for doubting their decision to hold, with the stock down 50% over a half decade. Since shareholders are down over the longer term, lets look at the underlying fundamentals over the that time and see if they've been consistent with returns. View our latest analysis for Kimlun Corporation Berhad Given that Kimlun Corporation Berhad didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit. Over half a decade Kimlun Corporation Berhad reduced its trailing twelve month revenue by 11% for each year. That's definitely a weaker result than most pre-profit companies report. On the face of it we'd posit the share price fall of 8% compound, over five years is well justified by the fundamental deterioration. This loss means the stock shareholders are probably pretty annoyed. Risk averse investors probably wouldn't like this one much. The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail). Balance sheet strength is crucial. 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). 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 Kimlun Corporation Berhad the TSR over the last 5 years was -43%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence! A Different Perspective While the broader market lost about 3.1% in the twelve months, Kimlun Corporation Berhad shareholders did even worse, losing 3.8% (even including dividends). Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Unfortunately, longer term shareholders are suffering worse, given the loss of 7% doled out over the last five years. We'd need to see some sustained improvements in the key metrics before we could muster much enthusiasm. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Kimlun Corporation Berhad better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Kimlun Corporation Berhad (at least 1 which is significant) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process. Of course Kimlun Corporation Berhad may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Malaysian 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 They say the answers to the greatest mysteries lie within us. Ironically, both experts in science and matters of faith will agree with it. So, it is down to the genes at Amrita Hospitals, where medical science and spirituality seem to go hand in hand. Founded by Mata Amritanandamayipopularly known as Ammait is reinforcing its focus in the fields of genomics and cell biology. Having been big on technology since it began operations in Kochi in 1998, Amrita Hospitals is also expanding on its existing research on nanotechnology and informatics. And now, it has added two new research centres to its nameone at the Amritapuri campus of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Kollam and the other adjacent to the Amrita Hospital in Kochi. The Amrita Advanced Research Centres were remotely inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the silver jubilee celebrations of the hospital in Kochi on June 4. The new centres will focus on six areasemerging technologies and intelligent systems, sustainability and environmental management, health care and medical innovation, education and accessibility, smart manufacturing and automation, and sustainable innovation. The aim is to integrate the research domains to build affordable products. Starting with a mere 125 beds, Amrita Hospital in Kochi has transformed into a 1,350-bed facility, said Shah. It is now counted among the worlds best. Apart from service to the poor, where it has treated lakhs of patients for free, the hospital also has an impressive record in medical excellence and research, with several firsts to its credit such as doing Indias first micro blood stem cell transplantation, being Indias first hospital to do the largest number of high-precision robotic liver transplants and setting up Indias first 3D printing lab. The hospital has also announced Rs 65 crore in charitable care over the next one year. Amrita Hospital has spent more than Rs 816 crore in providing free medical care to people, said Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri, vice chairman of Mata Amritanandamayi Math. Of 1.96 crore patients treated at the hospital so far, 59 lakh patients were given either free or subsidised treatment. The institution will offer an additional Rs 25 crore this year for free treatment of needy patients. Apart from Shah, Kerala Health Minister Veena George, Kerala Agriculture Minister P. Prasad, Lok Sabha MP Hibi Eden and Kochi Mayor T.J. Vinod were present at the event. While Amma could not attend the celebrations, she sent a pre-recorded video message, thanking the doctors and nurses for their service and dedication. It is a blessing to be able to bring solace to someone in pain, said Amma. This is why doctors who serve in the hospital, the nurses and others should smile with their heart. They have their own personal family responsibilities. Still, it would be good if we could forget that and have the attitude that we are consoling our own child when dealing with each patient. But she also remembered Dr Vandana Das, who was stabbed to death by a patient in Kerala in May. It will remain etched as an ineradicable pain in everyones heart, she said. Doctors now have to move around in a state of fear. [I] pray for the parents of that daughter, that they find peace. Like Shah, Amma, too, offered condolences to those who lost family members in the train accident in Odisha on June 2. The relatives and friends of the dead are in limbo, neither dead nor alive, she said. No medicine can cure their agony. Perhaps, the answer to that mystery also lies within us. Amid talks of alliance ahead of elections, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday after his meet with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Ahead of the Telangana assembly elections this year and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, reportedly, BJP-TDP may have an alliance. Naidu is in Delhi to attend the consultative meeting of the leaders on G20. He met with Shah and BJP chief J.P. Nadda on late Saturday evening and the meeting lasted for an hour, said reports. Naidu had parted ways with BJP before the 2019 elections. He had been critical of the BJP leadership since he drifted away from the party. He had also held campaigns, rallies and meetings along with Congress leaders against Modi. However, sources with Times of India said that the TDP chief broached alliance between the TDP and the BJP not only in Andra Pradesh but also in Telangana. Naidu was accompained by party MPs K. Rammohan Naidu, Kesineni Srinivas and Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar and former MP Kambhampati Rammohan Rao. Off late, Naidu was seen praising Modi and his efforts of reformation. During a speech in April, he had called PM Modi a visionary leader. He also had been vocal about his willingness to associate with Modi in the nation building process. Reportedly TDP has also convinced Pawan Kalyan for alliance in AP. Kalyan had expressed opposition unity to act against the anti-incumbent government. Ties with BJP had to be broken over the delay in grant of special category status for Andra Pradesh. US President Joe Biden on Saturday said he is heartbroken by the tragic news of a train crash in India that has killed over 280 people. "(First Lady Dr) Jill (Biden) and I are heartbroken by the tragic news of the deadly train crash in India. Our prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones and the many who suffered injuries in this terrible incident," Biden said in a statement. "The United States and India share deep bonds rooted in the ties of family and culture that unite our two nations and people all across America mourn alongside the people of India. As the recovery effort continues, we will hold the people of India in our thoughts," Biden said. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the rescue teams for their work in Balasore and praised the people of Odisha for their courage and compassion. "Deeply moved by the condolence messages from world leaders on the train mishap in Odisha. Their kind words will give strength to the bereaved families. Gratitude for their support," he said. "I commend each and every person belonging to the teams of railways, NDRF, ODRAF, local authorities, police, fire service, volunteers and others who are working tirelessly on the ground and strengthening the rescue ops. Proud of their dedication." He added, "The courage and compassion shown by the people of our nation in the face of adversity is truly inspiring. As soon as the train mishap took place in Odisha, people immersed themselves in assisting rescue ops. Several people lined up to donate blood." Modi visited the accident site in Odisha's Balasore district and was briefed by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw as well as officers of the disaster management teams. He also met some of the injured in the hospital. A day after clashes broke out between the militants and security forces in Imphal, Manipur, life is slowly limping back to normalcy in the state. Security adviser to state government said that the situation is back to peaceful. There was no incident of violence in Manipur in the last 24 hours and the state was completely peaceful, said Kuldiep Singh. Meanwhile, in addition to the 140 arms, as many as 35 more weapons have been surrendered following the Union Home Minister Amit Shah's appeal. Also, a total of 88 bombs were also recovered in Manipur. There was no incident of violence and the situation in Manipur is peaceful, a a former DG of the CRPF, told PTI. CRPF and Army have been patrolling in the buffer zones between Manipur valleys and hills, he added. After Shah's visit to the violence-hit state and his discussions with the public, civil society organisation representatives and community heads, peace efforts were initiated. All are working in close coordination with the administration and helping to restore peace, he said. Curfew has been lifted in most of the places for 12 hours and life is returning to normal. At least 15 people were injured in fresh violence that broke out in two villages in Manipur's Imphal West district. According to police, suspected Kuki militants armed with sophisticated weapons and bombs attacked the villages. State police and Manipur Rifles stationed at the two villagesPhayeng and Kangchup Chingkhongopened fire and retaliated. Fresh attacks were also reported from parts of Pombikhok in the Bishnupur district. However, no causalities were reported. Over 90 people have lost their lives in the ethnic clashes that broke out in the state about a month ago. Shah , who was on a four-day visit to the state, also warned of strict action against those found in possession of weapon's during the police's search operations. A judicial probe headed by a retired high court chief justice was announced by Shah in Manipur. He also said that the peace committee under the Governor of Manipur Anusuiya Uikey will comprise representatives of all political parties and the warring Kuki and Meitei communities. It was on May 3, the clashes broke out in the state after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Over 10,000 Army and Assam Rifles have been deployed to bring back peace in the state. (With PTI inputs) A meeting of opposition parties, which was scheduled to be held in Patna on June 12, has been postponed, sources said on Sunday. With Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and some other key opposition figures unavailable for the meeting, there is a view to hold the deliberations at a later date so that they could also participate, giving the event due prominence. Sources said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin were also finding it difficult to attend the meeting on June 12 due to prior commitments. Gandhi is currently in the US. JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has taken a lead in speaking to several regional satraps besides the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and the Left to forge unity among opposition ranks to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He has held separate meetings with leaders of many parties, including Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP's national convener Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and NCP's Sharad Pawar. Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un slammed the United Nations Security Council for holding a meeting to discuss the launch of North Korea's first spy satellite, which failed. She also vowed they would reattempt the satellite launch. In a statement, Kim Yo Jong slammed the Council for discussing its satellite launch based on a request from the US and said by accepting the request, UNSC was ignoring North Korea's right to space development. In accepting Washington's "gangster-like request" and ignoring North Korea's right to space development, the Security Council was showing it was a U.S. political appendage," Reuters reported quoting a statement from Jong. "I am very unpleased that the UNSC so often calls to account the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's exercise of its rights as a sovereign state at the request of the US, and bitterly condemn and reject it as the most unfair and biased act of interfering in its internal affairs and violating its sovereignty," Jong said in a statement. The North's attempt to put its first military spy satellite into orbit last Wednesday failed as its rocket crashed off the Korean Peninsula's western coast. An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council was still convened at the request of the US, Japan and other countries to discuss the launch because it had violated council resolutions banning the North from performing any launch using ballistic technology. She accused the UN Council of being discriminative and rude because it only takes issue with the North's satellite launches while thousands of satellites launched by other countries are already operating in space. She said her country's attempt to acquire a spy satellite is a legitimate step to respond to military threats posed by the US and its allies. (North Korea) will continue to take proactive measures to exercise all the lawful rights of a sovereign state, including the one to a military reconnaissance satellite launch, Kim Yo Jong said in a statement. Kim Yo Jong said the North's spy satellite will be correctly put into space orbit in the near future, but didn't say when its second launch attempt would take place. South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers Wednesday it will likely take more than several weeks for North Korea to learn the cause of the failed launch but it may attempt a second launch soon if defects aren't serious. A military surveillance satellite is among a list of sophisticated weapons systems that Kim Jong Un has vowed to acquire amid protracted security tensions with the United States. Since the start of 2022, Kim has carried out more than 100 missile tests in what he called a warning over expanded military drills between the US and South Korea. Experts say Kim would want to use his modernized weapons arsenal to wrest concessions from Washington and its partners in future diplomacy. North Korea was slapped with rounds of UN sanctions over its past nuclear and missile tests and satellite launches. But the UN Security Council failed to toughen those sanctions over North Korea's recent testing activities because China and Russia, both permanent members of the UN council, blocked the US and others' attempts to do so. During the latest UN council session Friday, China and Russia again clashed with the US over the North's failed launch. After repeated failures, North Korea placed Earth-observation satellites into orbit in 2012 and 2016, but foreign experts say there is no evidence that either satellite transmitted imagery and other data. (With PTI inputs.) Chinese Defence Minister General Li Shangfu, addressing at the Shangri-La Dialogue, accused the US of meddling in China's internal affairs and provoking Beijing. Li said China and the US should find ways to improve their relations. Addressing at the conference in Singapore, Li was quoted by South China Morning Post as saying, Some countries intervene in the internal and regional affairs of other countries, frequently impose unilateral sanctions, threaten to use force, launch colour revolutions and proxy wars everywhere. He added, They then leave after bringing chaos to a region, leaving behind a mess. We must not allow this to be replicated in the Asia-Pacific. The Chinese defence minister reportedly turned down an offer from the US defence secretary Lloyd Austin for talks on the sidelines of the summit. Li accused NATO of dividing Asia by expanding. The crux of attempts at Nato-fication of the Asia-Pacific is to hold regional nations hostage, promote conflict and confrontation, and plunge the Asia-Pacific into a whirlpool of division, disputes and conflicts, SCMP quoted Li as saying. He added, "Bloc politics would destabilise the region." China's defence minister defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, telling a gathering of some of the world's top defence officials in Singapore on Sunday that such so-called freedom of navigation patrols are a provocation to China. In his first international public address since becoming defence minister in March, Gen Li Shangfu told the Shangri-La Dialogue that China doesn't have any problems with innocent passage but that we must prevent attempts that try to use those freedom of navigation (patrols), that innocent passage, to exercise hegemony of navigation. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told the same forum Saturday that Washington would not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion from China and would continue regularly sailing through and flying over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea to emphasise they are international waters, countering Beijing's sweeping territorial claims. That same day, as a US guided-missile destroyer and a Canadian frigate were intercepted by a Chinese warship as they transited the strait between the self-governed island of Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, and mainland China. The Chinese vessel overtook the American ship and then veered across its bow at a distance of 150 yards (about 140 metres) in an unsafe manner," according to the US Indo-Pacific Command. Additionally, the US has said a Chinese J-16 fighter late last month performed an unnecessarily aggressive manoeuvre while intercepting a US Air Force reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea, flying directly in front of the plane's nose. Those and previous incidents have raised concerns of a possible accident occurring that could lead to an escalation between the two nations at a time when tensions are already high. Li suggested the US and its allies had created the danger, and should instead focus on taking good care of your own territorial airspace and waters. The best way is for the countries, especially the naval vessels and fighter jets of countries, not to do closing actions around other countries' territories, he said through an interpreter. What's the point of going there? In China, we always say, 'Mind your own business'. The Chinese defence minister said it was open to talks with the US. China is open to communications between our two countries and also between our two militaries, he said. Li said that China is open to communications between "our two countries and also between our two militaries," but without mentioning the sanctions, said exchanges had to be based on mutual respect. Li said history has proven that a confrontation between the two countries would be disastrous. History has proven time and again that both China and the United States will benefit from cooperation and lose from confrontation. China seeks to develop a new type of major-country relationship with the United States. As for the US side, it needs to act with sincerity, match its words with deeds, and take concrete actions together with China to stabilise the relations and prevent further deterioration, Li said. (With PTI inputs.) The weather is unpleasant in central India these days, with sudden bursts of storms and rain adding humidity to the high temperatures. The same holds true for the political atmosphere in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where elections are due in five months. The BJP and the Congress are preparing to battle it out once again in the two states, which are largely bipolar. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said his party would win 150 seats (of the total 230) in Madhya Pradesh, just like it did in Karnataka. The BJP has adopted a resolution about winning more than 200 seats. In Chhattisgarh, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has repeatedly spoken about the Congress aim to hold on to its current tally of 71 seats, whereas the BJP claims that it would win a clear majority. The BJPs biggest strength is Chouhan, while the Congress has a big advantage with Kamal Naths leadership. Both parties will do well to give their local leadership the upper hand, said political analyst Girija Shanker. Political watchers feel that Madhya Pradesh will see a tight contest, with the Congress in a far better position compared with 2018 and the BJP facing anti-incumbency and internal dissent. They say the Congress might actually have an edge over the BJP at this point, while the BJPs biggest hope is Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhans popularity. As for Chhattisgarh, the Congress government, riding high on its welfare schemes and the Chhattisgarhi pride factor, is placed comfortably against the surprisingly demoralised BJP. In both states, the selection of candidates will be crucial. Political commentator Rashid Kidwai said the uncharacteristic aggression shown by the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, evident from Rahul Gandhi himself claiming 150 seats, was quite interesting. The party seems encouraged by the Karnataka results and it sees similarities in Madhya Pradeshanti-incumbency against the BJP, several local issues to raise and a seasoned leader in Kamal Nath. There is no major internal strife. Karnataka has shown that some of the steps taken by the BJP, like making a tribal president, are not working, he said. The BJP is roiled by internal strife. Ticket seekers in the crucial Gwalior-Chambal region are a major headache for the party. Kidwai said those who lost in 2018 to Congress leaders who defected to the BJP and got re-elected from the same seats would want their seats back. There are rumours that Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, whose defection was instrumental in the formation of the BJP government in 2020, might be seeking tickets for 50-60 supporters. Such internal strife is something the BJP is not used to. There is also no clarity about the continuation of V.D. Sharma as state BJP chief as he seems to have failed in checking internal dissent. Chouhan is depending on personal charisma and new schemes, but the Congress is quick to find counters. The Congress also looks confident and aggressive under Kamal Nath, said political analyst Manish Dixit. He said former chief minister Digvijaya Singh was working in the background, especially in the 66 seats that the Congress failed to win the last three times. The Congress is also pinning its hopes on the second phase of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, said Dixit. The BJPs biggest strength is Chouhan, while the Congress has a big advantage with Kamal Naths leadership. Both parties will do well to give their local leadership the upper hand which seems to have worked in other state elections, said political analyst Girija Shanker. Voters rely more on the local leadership for getting their aspirations fulfilled. Too much interference from or dependence on national leadership could actually be harmful. Kidwai said the Congress was better placed in Chhattisgarh, as there was no one like Chouhan in the BJP camp. Shanker, too, said the race appeared to be one-sided. The existing seat differenceCongress 71 against the BJPs 14is too wide a gap, especially in the absence of charismatic local leaders. Baghel, meanwhile, has established himself as the son of the soil and has become adept in playing up Chhattisgarhi identity and pride. Chhattisgarh BJP chief spokesperson Ajay Chandrakar said the perception in favour of the Congress was a result of a huge public relations exercise, while the BJP was active on the ground. We will simultaneously conduct a mega contact campaign on the completion of nine years of Prime Minister Modi and also kisan chaupals (meeting with farmers) till June 10 in all assembly segments. The Congress said the Baghel government had fulfilled over 90 per cent of its electoral promises and also brought in additional schemes. Our government worked in the health and education sectors and took care of basic needs by providing subsidised rice through ration shops, said Sushil Anand Shukla, chairman, communications department, Chhattisgarh Congress. He explained how Baghel managed to revive the culture and identity pride of Chhattisgarh, and also worked on religious project like the Ram Van Gaman Path scheme. Despite dire predictions by political observers, the BJP is hopeful of an improved performance in MP. Rajneesh Agrawal, the partys state secretary, spoke about three key factors which he said would help the BJP retain power in Bhopal. First, the partys organisational strength, with 38 lakh registered workers who are active down at the booth and panna (voters list page) levels; second, the BJPs faith in over 2.25 crore beneficiaries of various welfare schemes and, finally, the arithmetic of the 200 seats, which was with the party at some point during the past 20 years. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, we got over 56 per cent votes in more than 200 seats, so the target is based on solid calculations and we are doing micro-level strategising. He said internal dissent was mere clamour of aspirants for tickets. K.K. Mishra, who heads the media department of the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, said the party was in a better shape in the state after Scindias defection as it brought down internal wrangling. He said the people had lost faith in Chouhan. They are upset about issues like price rise, unemployment, corruption and the law and order situation. This wave among voters along with the hard work of Congress activists will help us sail through comfortably. This trend has been backed by different surveys as well. Panaji, Jun 4 (PTI) Goa will create 12 co-working spaces called 'Sea Hubs' alongside the beaches to provide a conducive work environment to professionals and also offer them an opportunity to rejuvenate amidst the natural beauty of the coastal landscape, state minister Rohan Khaunte has said. The aim is to provide a healthy work-life balance through this facility and other innovative concepts, the information and technology minister said at the ongoing StartUp20 Engagement Group meeting in Goa on Saturday. The state government also plans a complete operationalisation of the Electronic Manufacturing Cluster at Tuem (in North Goa) and attract investments, he said. To promote a healthy work-life balance, we are introducing Sea Hubs co-working spaces located at 12 scenic beach locations. These hubs will not only provide a conducive work environment, but also offer the opportunity to rejuvenate amidst the natural beauty of our coastal landscape, Khaunte said, addressing a gathering in the presence of Union minister Piyush Goyal. On the infrastructure for start-ups and IT companies in Goa, Khaunte said the state government has drawn ambitious plans. Our first endeavour involves complete operationalisation of the Electronic Manufacturing Cluster at Tuem. By offering attractive investor policies and incentives, we aim to attract investments that will fuel growth and innovation in this sector, he said. The Goa government also plans to create a 'Design Village' which will be dedicated to fostering creative technologies, the minister said. This village will serve as a hub for artists and innovators, providing them with the ideal environment to nurture their talents and push the boundaries of creativity, he said. Also, a 'Creative Hub' in Dona Paula, near state capital Panaji, is being designed to accommodate businesses in cutting-edge fields such as fin-tech, fashion-tech, VFX, AR/VR, and more, Khaunte said. This hub will serve as a melting pot of ideas and collaboration, propelling our state towards the forefront of innovation, he said. The minister further said an Information Technology Park will be developed at Porvorim, near Panaji, which will specifically encourage the growth of small and medium-sized units. "Recognising the importance of efficient data management, we are investing in the development of an advanced state data centre. By centralising data storage and processing, we will enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and pave the way for a more streamlined governance," he added. Mumbai, Jun 4 (PTI) Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said Mother Dairy will invest Rs 400 crore in Nagpur in a project for which the government will give 10 hectares of land. Speaking to reporters to highlight achievements in nine years of the Narendra Modi government, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Nagpur Lok Sabha MP said dairy products from the proposed unit will be supplied across the country. "The company is going to procure 30 lakh litres of milk daily from farmers. It will benefit farmers of Nagpur and other districts of Vidarbha," he said. Mother Dairy is a wholly owned subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and was commissioned in 1974 as part of Operation Flood. Queried on employment generation in the region, Gadkari said 68,000 persons had got jobs in MIHAN, which is home to several firms, adding employment had risen in the government as well as private sectors. Key Insights Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Lords Group Trading fair value estimate is UK0.57 With UK0.64 share price, Lords Group Trading appears to be trading close to its estimated fair value Our fair value estimate is 51% lower than Lords Group Trading's analyst price target of UK1.16 In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of Lords Group Trading plc (LON:LORD) by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward. Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. 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 Lords Group Trading Crunching The Numbers 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, 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) UK6.80m UK10.6m UK13.0m UK11.7m UK10.9m UK10.4m UK10.1m UK9.99m UK9.92m UK9.91m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x2 Analyst x3 Analyst x2 Est @ -10.15% Est @ -6.73% Est @ -4.34% Est @ -2.67% Est @ -1.49% Est @ -0.67% Est @ -0.10% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 11% UK6.1 UK8.5 UK9.4 UK7.6 UK6.4 UK5.5 UK4.8 UK4.3 UK3.8 UK3.4 ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St) Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = UK60m The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (1.2%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 11%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032 (1 + g) (r g) = UK9.9m (1 + 1.2%) (11% 1.2%) = UK100m Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= UK100m ( 1 + 11%)10= UK35m 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 UK95m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of UK0.6, 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 The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Lords Group Trading 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 1.435. 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 Lords Group Trading 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 Trade Distributors market. Shareholders have been diluted in the past year. Opportunity Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the British market. Good value based on P/E ratio compared to estimated Fair P/E ratio. Significant insider buying over the past 3 months. Threat Annual revenue is forecast to grow slower than the British market. Moving On: Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. 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 Lords Group Trading, we've compiled three essential elements you should look at: Risks: You should be aware of the 2 warning signs for Lords Group Trading we've uncovered before considering an investment in the company. Management:Have insiders been ramping up their shares to take advantage of the market's sentiment for LORD's future outlook? Check out our management and board analysis with insights on CEO compensation and governance factors. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered! PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the AIM every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Join A Paid User Research Session Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here Panaji, June 4 (PTI) The third meeting of the International Financial Architecture Working Group (IFAWG) of G20 will be held in Goa between June 5 to 7, an official said on Sunday. He said the meeting will explore ways to improve the international financial architecture and address the pressing issues faced by the global economy. The IFAWG is one of the important work streams under the G20 Finance Track with a focus on strengthening international financial architecture. "The 3rd IFAWG meeting in Goa is a crucial opportunity for G20 to advance the reforms of the International Financial Architecture and address the global challenges of the 21st century. Goa is proud to host this important group and contribute to global financial stability and development," said Sanjit Rodrigues, the Nodal Officer (G20). He said that during India's G20 Presidency, this Working Group has already met twice before. The first meeting was held in Chandigarh on January 30-31, 2023 while the second meeting was held in Paris on March 30 and 31. These meetings discussed issues about strengthening multilateral development banks and how to address challenges associated with debt, he added. A Goa government spokesman said the IFAWG is a forum that brings together finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 countries to discuss issues related to international financial architecture. The group was established in 1999 as part of the G20 process and has since played an important role in shaping global economic policy. The IFAWG has a mandate to promote international financial stability and reduce systemic risks through cooperation among its members. It also aims to strengthen the resilience of the global financial system against various sources of vulnerability such as cyber risks, climate change, and geopolitical tensions across the globe, he said. One of the areas of focus for the IFAWG is capital flows and strengthening the global financial safety net. At the meeting, the group will also discuss the dynamics of capital flows and the optimal policy response for developing economies, strengthening the global financial safety net and efforts to reinforce financial system resilience against various sources of vulnerability, he added. New Delhi, Jun 4 (PTI) The government is looking to sell a part of its residual 49 per cent stake in Balco through a public offer and is engaging with the firm's promoter Vedanta to withdraw arbitration and facilitate stock exchanges listing of the company, DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said. The Ministry of Mines and the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) have held 'preliminary talks' with Vedanta Ltd -- the promoters of erstwhile public sector company BALCO, he said. BALCO has to withdraw a 2009 arbitration case it filed against the government over valuation dispute of the residual stake. "We have talked (with BALCO promoters) at preliminary level. We will engage with them in detail. If we have to do public listing, they (Vedanta) will have to withdraw the case. If they agree then we can move forward," Pandey told PTI. The government wants to sell part of its 49 per cent stake in BALCO in the initial public offering (IPO) before eventually exiting the company. A stock exchange listing would give an idea on the fair valuation of BALCO. The government had in 2001 sold 51 per cent stake in the then state-owned Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd (BALCO) to Sterlite Industries Ltd, a subsidiary of Vedanta Ltd, for Rs 551 crore. The remaining 49 per cent is with the government of India. The deal had a call option in the shareholder agreement which allowed Sterlite Industries to acquire residual 49 per cent stake from the government by March 2004. When Sterlite offered Rs 1,099 crore in 2004 for buying the residual stake, the government rejected it as a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report had said that BALCO valuation should be higher. Following this, Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group initiated arbitration against the government in 2009. The BALCO arbitration story is the same as that of Hindustan Zinc (HZL) in which Vedanta had initiated arbitration against the government in 2009, but the Supreme Court in November 2021 allowed the government to proceed with open market sale of its 29.5 per cent in the zinc company, instead of selling the stake to the promoters of the company. The government had sold 40.99 per cent stake in HZL in two tranches in 2002-03 and 2003-04 for Rs 769 crore to Sterlite and the deal had a call option which allowed Sterlite to acquire the government's 29.5 per cent. Subsequently, dispute over valuation led to the government rejecting the offer and Vedanta initiated arbitration in 2009. Following the Supreme Court verdict, Vedanta withdrew the arbitration in 2022, and the government is now preparing for an offer for sale (OFS) of its 29.5 per cent stake in HZL. The push for a stake sale in BALCO is in line with the government's Public Sector Enterprises (PSE) policy under which the government intends to exit from non-strategic sectors and minimise the presence of government in PSEs across sectors of economy and to make available newer investment opportunities for private sector. The Budget has set a Rs 51,000 crore target from selling government stake in companies. Of this, the government has so far mopped up over Rs 4,000 crore from Coal India Offer for Sale (OFS) earlier this month. (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI) Islamabad, Jun 4 (PTI) At least four soldiers were killed on Sunday when their truck fell into a ravine in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The accident was reported from the Changan area in the Neelum Valley, when the cargo truck was moving from Batrasi to Mandkaro. Local police told the media that the driver lost control of the vehicle and it plunged into a deep gorge. Armed forces personnel and civil rescue teams reached the spot and initiated a rescue operation after getting the news of the accident. Later, they retrieved the bodies of the soldiers and shifted them to a nearby hospital. The mountainous region is known for traffic accidents. Last year, nine soldiers died when their truck plunged into a ravine in Bagh district. Washington, Jun 4 (PTI) US President Joe Biden on Saturday said he is heartbroken by the tragic news of a train crash in India that has killed nearly 300 people. The crash in Odisha's Balasore district involving three trains is one of the worst rail accidents in India in nearly three decades. At least 288 people are dead and over 1,100 injured. "(First Lady Dr) Jill (Biden) and I are heartbroken by the tragic news of the deadly train crash in India. Our prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones and the many who suffered injuries in this terrible incident," Biden said in a statement. "The United States and India share deep bonds rooted in the ties of family and culture that unite our two nations and people all across America mourn alongside the people of India. As the recovery effort continues, we will hold the people of India in our thoughts," Biden said. Kathmandu, Jun 4 (PTI) The population of Hindus and Buddhists in Nepal slightly declined over the past decade while the population of Muslims and Christians marginally increased, according to the countrys latest census report. Hinduism is the predominant religion in Nepal comprising 81.19 per cent of the total population, said the 2021 census report published by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Saturday. As many as 2,36,77,744 people follow Hinduism. Buddhism is the second most followed religion in the country with 23,94,549 followers - 8.2 per cent of Nepal's population, it said. Islam is followed by 14,83,060 people and its the third most followed religion with 5.09 per cent of the total population. The census report suggested that the population of Hindus and Buddhists slightly declined over the past decade while the population of Muslims, Christians, and Kirats marginally increased. The followers of Hinduism and Buddhism declined by 0.11 per cent and 0.79 per cent respectively over the past 10 years. Similarly, the population of Islam, Kirat, and Christians increased by 0.69, 0.17 and 0.36 per cent respectively, according to the data. During the 2011 population census, there were 81.3 per cent Hindus, 9 per cent Buddhists, 4.4 per cent Muslims, 3.1 per cent Kiratis, and 0.1 per cent Christians in the Himalayan nation. Christianity, the fifth largest religion in the country, is followed by 5,12,313 people or 1.76 per cent of the total population while the indigenous Kirat religion is the fourth largest religion with 3.17 per cent followers. Nepal conducts a population census every ten years but this time the results were delayed due to Covid-19. Among the ten religions followed by the Nepalese, five minor religions include Prakriti, Bon, Jain, Bahai, and Sikh. Nepalis have a total of 124 mother tongues, out of which Nepali is spoken by 44 per cent of the population followed by Maithali -- 11.05 per cent, and Bhojpuri by 6.24 per cent. Similarly, Tharu is spoken by 5.88 per cent of the population while Tamang is spoken by 4.88 per cent. Beijing/Jiuquan, Jun 4 (PTI) Three Chinese astronauts on Sunday returned safely to Earth on board the Shenzhou-15 manned spaceship after completing their six-month mission to build Chinas space station. Shenzhou-15's return capsule carrying astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 6:33 am (Beijing Time), China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said here. The three completed their six-month space station mission, it announced. The astronauts were in good shape, and the Shenzhou-15 manned mission was a success, the agency announced. The three were replaced by three other astronauts, including Chinas first civilian who successfully flew to the space station on May 30. The new set of astronauts will stay in the space station for five months. Once ready, China will be the only country to own a space station as the International Space Station (ISS) of Russia is a collaborative project of several countries. The ISS station is also set to be decommissioned by 2030. The significant feature of China's space station is its two robotic arms, especially the long one which can grab objects, including satellites from space. "We have completed all the scheduled tasks and felt good after returning to the motherland," Fei, the mission commander, said. Fei had also participated in the country's second crewed space mission, Shenzhou-6, in October 2005. Deng, who finally got the chance to fly to space after 25 years of preparation, said: "I always believe in the power of dreams and persistence. No matter how old I am, I feel so happy to be needed by the nation." "I'm now very excited, and when I was on the space station, I often watched through the window, trying to find my motherland and hometown," Xinhua news agency quoted Zhang, one of China's second batch of astronauts, as saying. "We will adjust our bodies as soon as possible, go back into training, and be ready for space missions in the future," Zhang added. The return capsule separated from Shenzhou-15's orbiting capsule at 5:42 am as per the flight procedure. Soon after the return capsule landed, the ground search team arrived at the landing site. Medical personnel confirmed that the astronauts were in good health. China launched the manned spaceship Shenzhou-15 on November 29, 2022. The Shenzhou-15 crew, China's oldest mission crew in terms of average age, completed four extravehicular activities (EVAs), accomplishing the most EVAs of all Chinese crews to date. The crew witnessed the completion of the country's space station construction, the Xinhua report said. Bakhmut, (Ukraine), Jun 4 (AP) Watching imagery from a drone camera overhead, Ukrainian battalion commander Oleg Shiryaev warned his men in nearby trenches that Russian forces were advancing across a field toward a patch of trees outside the city of Bakhmut. The leader of the 228th Battalion of the 127th Kharkiv Territorial Defence Brigade then ordered a mortar team to get ready. A target was locked. A mortar tube popped out a loud orange blast, and an explosion cut a new crater in an already pockmarked hillside. We are moving forward, Shiryaev said after at least one drone image showed a Russian fighter struck down. We fight for every tree, every trench, every dugout." Russian forces declared victory in the eastern city last month after the longest, deadliest battle since their full-scale invasion of Ukraine began 15 months ago. But Ukrainian defenders like Shiryaev aren't retreating. Instead, they are keeping up the pressure and continuing the fight from positions on the western fringes of Bakhmut. The pushback gives commanders in Moscow another thing to think about ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive that appears to be taking shape. Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Russia sought to create the impression of calm around Bakhmut, but in fact, artillery shelling still goes on at levels similar to those at the height of the battle to take the city. The fight, she said, is evolving into a new phase. The battle for the Bakhmut area hasn't stopped; it is ongoing, just taking different forms, said Maliar, dressed in her characteristic fatigues in an interview from a military media centre in Kyiv. Russian forces are now trying but failing to oust Ukrainian fighters from the dominant heights overlooking Bakhmut. We are holding them very firmly, she said. From the Kremlin's perspective, the area around Bakhmut is just part of the more than 1,000-kilometre (621-mile) front line that the Russian military must hold. That task could be made more difficult by the withdrawal of the mercenaries from private military contractor Wagner Group who helped take control of the city. They will be replaced with Russian soldiers. For Ukrainian forces, recent work has been opportunistic trying to wrest small gains from the enemy and taking strategic positions, notably from two flanks on the northwest and southwest, where the Ukrainian 3rd Separate Assault Brigade has been active, officials said. Russia had envisioned the capture of Bakhmut as partial fulfillment of its ambition to seize control of the eastern Donbas region, Ukraine's industrial heartland. Now, its forces have been compelled to regroup, rotate fighters and rearm just to hold the city. Wagner's owner announced a pullout after acknowledging the loss of more than 20,000 of his men. Maliar described the nine-month struggle against Wagner forces in nearly existential terms: If they had not been destroyed during the defense of Bakhmut, one can imagine that all these tens of thousands would have advanced deeper into Ukrainian territory. The fate of Bakhmut, which lays largely in ruins, has been overshadowed in recent days by near-nightly attacks on Kyiv, a series of unclaimed drone strikes near Moscow and the growing anticipation that Ukraine's government will try to regain ground. But the battle for the city could still have a lingering impact. Moscow has made the most of its capture, epitomized by triumphalism in Russian media. Any slippage of Russia's grip would be a political embarrassment for President Vladimir Putin. Michael Kofman of the Center for Naval Analyses, a US research group, noted in a podcast this week that the victory brings new challenges in holding Bakhmut. With Wagner fighters withdrawing, Russian forces are going to be increasingly fixed to Bakhmut ... and will find it difficult to defend, Kofman told War on the Rocks" in an interview posted Tuesday. And so they may not hold on to Bakhmut, and the whole thing may have ended up being for nothing for them down the line, he added. A Western official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Russian airborne forces are heavily involved in replacing the departing Wagner troops a step that is "likely to antagonise the airborne leadership, who see the duty as a further erosion of their previously elite status" in the military. Ukrainian forces have clawed back slivers of territory on the flanks a few hundred meters (yards) per day to solidify defensive lines and seek opportunities to retake some urban parts of the city, said one Ukrainian analyst. The goal in Bakhmut is not Bakhmut itself, which has been turned into ruins, military analyst Roman Svitan said by phone. The goal for the Ukrainians is to hold on to the western heights and maintain a defensive arc outside the city. More broadly, Ukraine wants to weigh down Russian forces and capture the initiative ahead of the counteroffensive part of what military analysts call shaping operations to set the terms of the battle environment and put an enemy in a defensive, reactive posture. Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the east, said the strategic goal in the Bakhmut area was to restrain the enemy and destroy as much personnel and equipment as possible while preventing a Russian breakthrough or outflanking maneuver. Analyst Mathieu Boulegue questioned whether Bakhmut would hold lessons or importance for the war ahead. Military superiority matters, he said, but so does information superiority the ability to create subterfuge, to create obfuscation of your force, to be able to move in the shadows." Boulegue, a consulting fellow with the Russia and Eurasia program at the Chatham House think tank in London, said those tactics could determine which side gains an advantage that catches the other side by surprise, and turns the tide of the war. (AP) FZH FZH Palghar, Jun 4 (PTI) An unidentified miscreant broke into the ATM of a nationalised bank and decamped with Rs 20 lakh in Palghar district of Maharashtra on Sunday, police said. The incident took place at an ATM kiosk in Gulani Naka of Vasai in the morning, an official said. An unidentified man entered the ATM kiosk, broke open the machine using some tools and decamped with cash worth Rs 20 lakh, he said. A CCTV footage from the area shows the accused sporting a red scarf and wearing a mask, the official said, adding that a case has been registered with Valiv police station. Rajnandgaon, Jun 4 (PTI) A statue of Goddess Durga was set on fire by unidentified persons in a village in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district of Chhattisgarh, a police official said on Sunday. The incident took place in Sarkheda village on Saturday after which a First Information Report was lodged against unidentified persons, the Aundhi police station official said. "As per preliminary information, some persons took out the idol from a temple and set it ablaze on the bank of a nearby river. After being alerted about the incident, a police team arrived and the burnt statue was recovered from the spot," he said. Based on the complaint of some residents, a case was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class), the official added. Sources said people in the vicinity plan to protest in Aundhi against the incident later in the day. Khunti, Jun 4 (PTI) Six ultras of the banned People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a splinter group of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) were arrested with weapons in two separate operations in Jharkhands Khunti district, police said on Sunday. Two PLFI members were arrested from Burju Rui Tola area on Friday evening, where they had come to collect levy, while four others were arrested from a forest area near Tuyu village, Khunti Superintendent of Police (SP) Aman Kumar said. The two PLFI members arrested from Burju Rui Tola area were identified as Sanjay Mundari, 32, and AC Ramay, 28. Four cartridges, PLFI slips, two mobile phones and a motorcycle were seized from their possession. The four others arrested were identified as Ajay Dhan alias Soma Dhan, Chandan Horo, Jatru Herenj and Mani Munda. Police seized one country-made rifle, one country-made pistol, one country made carbine, nine cartridges, three mobile phones and 10 slips of the organisation from their possession. The SP said that as many as 10 PLFI members have been arrested in past 72 hours during anti-Maoist operation from different locations of the district. Earlier, four ultras of the banned organisation had been arrested with weapons from Regde forest on Thursday. Ramgarh, Jun 4 (PTI) A 13-year-old boy reunited with his father after a decade while serving food to the poor during a food distribution event organised by an organisation in Jharkhands Ramgarh district. The father, identified as Tinku Verma, was allegedly arrested by police following the mysterious death of his wife in 2013, was sitting in a queue to have free food on Friday afternoon. Incidentally, his son Shivam was serving food. The son saw him and found the bearded face resembled his father. Meanwhile, the father also recognized his son, who had been handed over to Divine Omkar Mission, a non-profit organisation for orphaned, abandoned and marginal poor children, by administration officials after his arrest. Then, Shivam was just three years old. Both father and son hugged each other and they broke down into tears. The emotional scene drew the attention of the manager of the organisation Rajesh Negi. Negi said that administrative officials had handed over Shivam to the organisation, as his father had been arrested by police following the death of his mother. "There was no one to take care of the little boy," he said. He added that Shivam is now a student of class-8, who studies in the school-run by the organisation. "He often takes part in food distribution service of the organisation, which helped him to meet his father after a decade," Negi said. Shivam's father currently lives in the Vikas Nagar locality of Ramgarh town and runs an autorickshaw to eke out a living. Negi said that Shivam was handed over to his father after furnishing all official formalities. "I never thought I will meet my father again in my life. Meeting him is not less than a divine gift for me," said Shivam. He also said that he would miss the Divine Omkar Mission where he spent his childhood. His father also thanked the organisation for taking care of his son for the last ten years. New Delhi, Jun 4 (PTI) The Congress on Sunday demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over the Odisha rail tragedy, alleging that his "PR gimmicks" overshadowed the "serious deficiencies, criminal negligence and complete disregard for safety and security" of Indian Railways. The Opposition party also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should accept part of the responsibility of the "mess" which his government has inflicted on the Indian Railways and the people. Addressing a press conference, Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil and AICC's publicity and media department head Pawan Khera alleged that the Odisha rail tragedy was a "man-made devastation caused by "utter negligence, serious lapses in the system, incompetence, and a narcissistic sense of know-it-all attitude of the Modi government". Prime Minister Modi, who has announced that the guilty would be punished, must first start with his Railway Minister, Khera said. "Unequivocally and unambiguously we demand the resignation of the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Nothing short of it," he said. Earlier, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that railway safety had been compromised in the "PR campaign" of the prime minister and the railway minister. "Recall that Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned in the wake of the Nov 1956 Ariyalur train disaster & Nitish Kumar did so following the ghastly Aug 1999 Gaisal train tragedy," he said in a tweet. At the presser, Gohil and Khera posed questions to the government and asked when will PM Modi demand the resignation from his Railway Minister Vaishnaw. They alleged that Vaishnaw's "over the top publicity, theatrics and PR gimmicks overshadowed the serious deficiencies, criminal negligence and complete disregard for safety and security of Indian Railways". "PM Modi, himself is responsible for a green-flagging spree of Vande Bharat Express trains. He himself is responsible for creating this 'all is well' facade in the Indian Railways, even as crucial, sensitive, and critical infrastructure of the Indian Railway languishes in neglect," Gohil and Khera said in their statement. "We demand that despite multiple warnings by the CAG, Parliamentary Standing Committees, and experts why did the Modi government not spend on sprucing up Railway Safety?" they said. Who is responsible for the deadliest rail tragedy in independent India, Gohil and Khera asked. Would only lower or mid-level functionaries bear the brunt of accountability or will the executive who takes all the credit for Vande Bharat trains also be held accountable for this brazen disregard for safety standards, they asked. The Congress leaders also asked when will the Modi government implement the much-hyped KAVACH Anti-Collision system nationwide, after testing. Gohil and Khera asked when will the government pump more funds in the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) and fill up the three lakh plus vacant positions in the Indian Railways. The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying around 2,500 passengers, and a goods train occurred around 7 pm on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore. At least 288 people were dead and over 1,100 injured in the accident. New Delhi, Jun 4 (PTI) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday spoke to his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and conveyed to him condolences to the families of the victims of the devastating train accident in Odisha. In a tweet, Jaishankar, who is currently on a visit to Namibia, said such sentiments are deeply valued at this difficult time. "Thank @SecBlinken for the phone call expressing his support and sympathy on the Odisha railway accident. Such sentiments are deeply valued at this difficult time," the external affairs minister tweeted. Earlier on Sunday, Blinken said the US stands with the people of India in this "tragic moment". "We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the devastating train crash in the Indian state of Odisha. As we watch the heroic efforts of first responders and medical personnel, we stand with the people of India in this tragic moment," he tweeted. The accident involving three trains in Odisha's Balasore district killed at least 288 people and injured around 1,100, in one of the worst railway tragedies in the country. US President Joe Biden said he and First Lady Jill Biden are "heartbroken" by the tragic news of the deadly train crash. "Jill and I are heartbroken by the tragic news of the deadly train crash in India. Our prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones and the many who suffered injuries in this terrible incident," Biden said in a statement. "The United States and India share deep bonds rooted in the ties of family and culture that unite our two nationsand people all across America mourn alongside the people of India. As the recovery effort continues, we will hold the people of India in our thoughts," he said. New Delhi, Jun 4 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to noted actor Sulochana Latkar, who died on Sunday, saying her unforgettable performances have endeared her to people across generations. "The passing of Sulochana Ji leaves a big void in the world of Indian cinema. Her unforgettable performances have enriched our culture and have endeared her to people across generations. Her cinematic legacy will live on through her works. Condolences to her family. Om Shanti," he said. Latkar died following a prolonged illness, her grandson-in-law Parag Ajgavkar confirmed. She was 94. A well-known actor of Marathi and Hindi cinema, she started her career in the 1940s and went on to feature in over 250 films. Chandigarh, Jun 4 (PTI) Security has been stepped up in Punjab's Amritsar ahead of the 39th anniversary of Operation Bluestar on June 6, said police on Sunday. The army had carried out Operation Bluestar in June 1984 to flush out militants from the Golden Temple. Special Director General of Police Arpit Shukla (law and order) reviewed the security arrangements in the city on Sunday. "Strict security measures are in place with increased patrols by local police and paramilitary forces in inner and outer areas, said Shukla. Police said 68 checkpoints have been set up for round-the-clock surveillance while patrolling teams have been deployed in congested areas of Amritsar. Speaking to reporters in Amritsar, Shukla said people should not fall prey to fake messages on social media and warned of strict action against anyone trying to spread rumours. Shukla said four companies of central armed police forces have been deployed in the district, besides 3,000 Punjab Police personnel, while replying to a question on security arrangements in Amritsar. Srinagar, Jun 4 (PTI) General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Northern Command Lt General Upendra Dwivedi called on Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at the Raj Bhavan here on Sunday to discuss the security scenario in Jammu and Kashmir, an official said. Lt Gen Dwivedi also briefed the Lt Governor on the elaborate arrangements made by the security forces for the Amarnath Yatra, 2023, an official spokesperson said. The spokesman said Sinha appreciated the role played by the army in restoring and preserving peace in the Union Territory. Lt General Amardeep Singh Aujla, GOC 15 Corps and Lt Gen Sandeep Jain, GOC 16 Corps accompanied the GOC-in-C Northern Command. Jaipur, Jun 4 (PTI) A woman hanged herself to death after allegedly killing her four children in the Mandali area of Rajasthan's Barmer district, police said on Sunday. According to the police, the woman first put her four children in a grain drum and closed its lid before ending her life on Saturday evening. DSP Kamlesh Kumar said the deceased have been identified as Urmila (27), of Baniyawas village, and four children Bhavna (8), Vikram (5), Vimla (3) and Manisha (2). Her husband Jetharam had gone to Jodhpur for work when the incident occurred. Police said all five bodies have been kept in a mortuary for post-mortem. The police officer said a preliminary investigation indicated that the woman committed suicide after killing her children due to a fallout in the relationship between the husband and wife. Family members of the woman have been informed about the incident. Further action will be taken after family members arrive, police said. Chandigarh, Jun 4 (PTI) The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Sunday asked Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann not to hold a meeting with his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar over the issue of affiliation of Haryana colleges with Panjab University. Mann and Khattar are scheduled to meet on Monday here to discuss the affiliation matter. The first meeting in the matter was held on June 1 in which Punjab Governor Banwarilal had flagged the possibility of colleges in neighbouring Haryana to be affiliated with Chandigarh-based PU, triggering a strong reaction from Mann. Purohit, who is also the administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, had said the affiliation was possible with mutual consent of chief ministers of both the states. Mann in his response had said his government was committed to avert any change in the nature and character of the Panjab University (PU), saying the university is heritage of the state. In a statement here on Sunday, SAD senior leader Daljit Singh Cheema said, "CM Bhagwant Mann should keep away from all meetings which seek to change the character of the Panjab University and should have registered a strong protest with the Punjab Governor on this issue." Cheema said Haryana did not have any stake in the PU after the voluntary disaffiliation of its colleges from the University in 1978. "It even stopped funding the University subsequently. Now it seems an effort is afoot to gain control over the democratically elected institutions which govern the University - the Senate and the Syndicate by affiliating colleges from Haryana to the varsity. "Besides this, it is aimed at diluting Punjab's claim to the university which right now only has colleges from Punjab affiliated to it. This will also strengthen Haryana's claim over Chandigarh," he said. Cheema also alleged the recent demands of Haryana to secure land in Chandigarh to build its separate Vidhan Sabha was also aimed at strengthening its hold over Chandigarh. Cheema said concerted efforts had been made in recent years to weaken Punjab's hold in the UT administration. He said such attempts included not maintaining the 60:40 ratio in posting of Punjab and Haryana officers in Chandigarh, creating a UT cadre and posting officers from this cadre on important civil and police posts, giving central pay scales to UT employees, and not designating Punjabi as the official language of communication. Seeking affiliation for Haryana colleges with the PU in the June 1 meeting, Haryana CM Khattar had said that under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, the share of Haryana was given to Panjab University and the colleges and regional centres of Haryana were affiliated to PU. However, it was abolished by the issue of a notification in 1973. Last year, the Haryana Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution recommending the government to seek restoration of the state's share in the Panjab University. Haryana Education Minister Kanwar Pal had then said consequent upon the passing of the Kurukshetra University Act, the Centre had on November 1, 1973 issued a notification abolishing state's share in the PU. At that time, the number of colleges affiliated to the PU in Haryana was 63 across its 18 districts. Jaipur, Jun 4 (PTI) A man was arrested by the Special Operations Group of Rajasthan police for allegedly stealing data of the customers of a leading online lingerie company to extort money from the brand, an official said on Sunday. The accused identified as Sanjay Soni (36), a resident of Udaipur, also tried to give a communal colour to the incident, alleging that data of several Hindu women was being sold by the company for the purpose of religious conversion, they said. The accused was arrested by the SOG on May 30, following a complaint lodged by company officials at police headquarters here. The accused was produced before a court on Saturday and was sent to jail. "The accused extorted money from the company by blackmailing them, besides giving a communal colour to the compromised data on social media following which he was arrested," Additional Director General of Police (ATS & SOG) Ashok Rathore said Sunday. According to police, Soni had earlier reached out to the company in order to fix a bug that he had spotted. The investigating officer in the case, Inspector Poonam Chaudhary said he had asked the organisation to pay him USD 1,500 in exchange for fixing the bug and had also received USD 1,000 through bitcoins from them. However, later, to extort money, he started uploading the company's data online, alleging that it saved information of Hindu women and sold them for the purpose of religious conversion. That is when the organisation reported him, police said. The accused has five more cases registered against him in Bangalore, Mumbai, Lucknow and Udaipur. Police have registered a case against him under section 66 of the Information Technology (IT) Act and section 295A (outraging religious feelings) and 153A (Promoting enmity) of the Indian Penal Code. A preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused was part of an online community involved in hacking. While some hackers identify security problems in company websites and are rewarded for their detection of bugs, Soni intended to exploit these lapses for financial gain, they added. (Bloomberg) -- A few sentences in a note from an obscure United Nations group has ignited a firestorm in the carbon removal world. At issue is a beguilingly simple question: What counts as a carbon offset? Most Read from Bloomberg The document a draft to define a new global carbon market, released last month elevated nature-based solutions like planting trees while downplaying the role of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) using machines or other forms of technology. Both natural and technological approaches can be effective ways to stave off the most catastrophic impacts of global warming. The demarcation might not sound like a big deal, but to the carbon removal industry, its existential. Another UN-backed group, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has warned that the world will almost certainly need to remove billions of tons of carbon a year from the atmosphere by mid-century to limit warming to 1.5C. The market for carbon offsets is estimated to be about $2 billion today. By mid-century, BloombergNEF projects it could grow to anywhere from $160 billion to $624 billion annually. (In a separate analysis, BloombergNEF found that relying on carbon removal alone could cause the market to reach nearly $1 trillion by 2037.) If the UN declares nature-based solutions the one and true way to remove carbon from the atmosphere, it could effectively ice a growing industry out of the very market it's trying to serve, potentially imperiling the climate in the process. The litany of carbon removal's sins, according to the UN note, include not contributing to sustainable development and being as-yet technologically and economically unproven. Engineered removals also are not suitable for implementation in developing countries and do not contribute to reducing the global mitigation costs, the note said. Yet the panel declared traditional carbon market solutions like reforestation relatively benign despite a mountain of evidence showing projects often fail to deliver on their emission-cutting promises and sometimes trample on human rights. The document and subsequent backlash that followed get at fundamental and growing tensions about what counts as a ton of carbon removed and stored. About the only thing everyone seems to be able to agree on is that there isnt a carbon-removal technique on the market today thats cheap and easy to do as well as durable and permanent. Direct-air capture using machines to grab carbon from the sky is only able to remove a few thousand tons of carbon a year and remains expensive and energy intensive. Nature-based solutions, while cheaper and more established thanks to years of being traded on voluntary markets that companies participate in to supplement their own emissions reduction efforts, have a shaky history when it comes to reliability and durability. The natural stuff also requires quite a bit of land. The low cost of nature-based solutions reflects how voluntary carbon markets have driven a race to the bottom, with a flood of projects based on sometimes shoddy accounting. In essence, the world currently has two choices: pay a little money for nature-based solutions, or pay a premium for more durable removal. (For context, carbon removal startup Charm Industrial charges customers starting at about $600 per ton, which is the same amount Bill Gates said he paid another removal company, Climeworks.) The UN is potentially putting its thumb on the scale in favor of the former. I think the short answer to this is we need the entire portfolio of solutions at the appropriate time at the appropriate application, said Ben Kolosz, assistant professor of renewable energy and carbon removal at the Energy and Environment Institute of the University of Hull. So I wouldnt say one is better than the other. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, and its important to take those into account. Rather than asking the UN to favor one method over another, many in the carbon removal industry are calling for the intergovernmental organization to adopt a method-neutral, criteria-based approach to evaluating projects. A group of 100 carbon removal industry advocates recently called for the UN to instead adopt the definition of carbon removal set out by one of its own science experts in the IPCC that doesnt distinguish between nature-based and engineered solutions. Instead the panel of top climate scientists defines carbon removal broadly as anthropogenic activities removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and durably storing it in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs, or in products. Virtually every CDR approach is a hybrid of nature and engineering, said Ben Rubin, the executive director of the Carbon Business Council, a nonprofit representing carbon management companies, which gathered the letters signatories. He pointed to examples like biochar and enhanced rock weathering, which both use natural processes to remove carbon, in addition to human engineering. The draft document is part of ongoing discussions in the lead-up to COP28 climate talks being held in Dubai later this year. No formal framework has been adopted yet by the carbon removal standard-setting group within the UN, though the note does foreshadow where the final draft may land. When the language is finalized, it will provide an umbrella framework for carbon removal that will have ripple effects across the industry, especially as national governments ramp up investments in the burgeoning space. The UN panels final decision will have huge consequences for the carbon removal industry, as well as the direction the world takes when it comes to pulling carbon from thin air to avoid catastrophic warming. The lines just start blurring so quickly, said Rubin. Which is why I think having a criteria-based approach has the most clarity rather than artificially saying that one thing is nature and one thing is technological. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Jammu, Jun 3 (PTI) A charge sheet was filed against nine persons involved in a murderous attack on a police team in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district in 2022, in which two policemen were injured. A police team conducting a search to track down a group of notorious bovine smugglers in December 2022 was attacked by cow smugglers in Malaanj village of Samba. In the crackdown that followed, the main accused of the incident were arrested, police said. A charge sheet has now been produced in the court for judicial determination. The nine named in the charge sheet are Shab Ali alias Gugu, Mohd Sadiq alias Shiku, Sadiq Ali, Maskeen Ali alias Jatu, Makhan Din, Zahoor Din, Mohd Shareef, Roshan Bibi, and Moju, they said. Senior Superintendent of Police, Samba, Benam Tosh said stringent actions will be taken against all those who create lawlessness by carrying out attacks on police. "All accused involved in cases of attacks on police would be arrested, their history sheets would be opened, investigations would be conducted & completed expeditiously and challans would be produced in the court of law for judicial determination," Tosh said. Chennai, Jun 4 (PTI) As many as 137 survivors of the train accident in Odisha arrived here on Sunday by a special train from Bhadrak, authorities said. Following screening procedure, medical examination was conducted for 36 passengers and three of them were admitted as in-patients at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital here. All others were sent home following treatment for minor injuries, an official release said. The passengers of the train accident were received at the Dr MGR Chennai Central railway station by Revenue Minister KKSSR Ramachandran and Health Minister Ma Subramanian and top state officials. The government said 30 medical teams are on standby and seven buses and 50 taxis have been arranged for the transportation requirements of passengers who have arrived. CAMERON CONWAY, Wheeler Golf, Junior; Conway shot an 82 at the ECC golf championships helping the Lions to a third-place finish. Wheeler trailed only Killingly and East Lyme. STONINGTON BOYS TENNIS; Stonington defeated Nonnewaug, 6-1, to earn the Class S state title, the first boys championship in school history. Stonington (19-1) won 26 of its 28 matches in four state tournament contests. RACHEL FEDERICO, Westerly, Girls Track, Senior; Federico scored in two events at the state track championships. She was second in the discus (119-7) and third in the shot put (33-3). ELI SPOSATO & ERIN VONHOUSEN, Chariho Track, Juniors; Sposato earned the state track title in the 400 with a time of 50.09. VonHousen was the state champion in the 3,000 in 10:05.31. It was the first state championships for both runners. Vote View Results In a scathing critique of President Joe Bidens health and fitness for office, former White House physician and Texas GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson has raised concerns about the presidents mental and physical capabilities. Jacksons comments came after President Biden fell on stage during a commencement ceremony at the U.S. Air Force Academy, prompting further scrutiny of his condition. Speaking on Fox News Channels Hannity, Jackson expressed his belief that Biden is not fit mentally or physically to be the President of the United States, calling it a bad situation for the country. Highlighting the numerous gaffes and the recent fall, Jackson emphasized that Bidens limitations were affecting his ability to inspire confidence and project power, key aspects of the presidential role. Jackson further argued that Bidens declining physical ability was exacerbating concerns about his cognitive decline, making it a national security issue. He criticized the White House for allowing an 86-year-old Biden, who would be 80 at the time of seeking re-election, to consider another term, labeling it as malpractice. Jackson called for accountability, urging individuals close to Biden, such as Jill Biden, to intervene and prevent him from running for re-election. He painted a grim picture, suggesting that the commander-in-chief may soon require a walker to navigate events, which he argued would be a less embarrassing image than the president falling on his face in front of the world. Jackson expressed doubt about Bidens ability to complete his current term and strongly opposed the idea of him serving another four years as president. Having previously served as the White House physician to Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, Jackson has repeatedly questioned Bidens cognitive fitness for office. In April, he circulated a letter among House Republicans demanding that Biden undergo a cognitive test or withdraw from the 2024 race. This letter followed Bidens announcement of his intention to seek re-election. Jackson and other House Republicans raised concerns about Bidens age, public gaffes, and polls indicating doubts about his mental fitness. The Biden administration has consistently dismissed these concerns, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre citing the presidents previous successes and highlighting the failure of previous attacks on his fitness for office. However, Jackson remains firm in his assessment of Bidens decline, criticizing the lack of transparency from the White House regarding the presidents health and ability to perform his duties. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Anti-government protesters in New York have filed a harassment complaint against Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman after he forcefully took a megaphone from one of the demonstrators during his visit to the city. Rothman, a prominent figure in the governments judicial overhaul, is among several Israeli lawmakers in New York for the annual Celebrate Israel Parade. The lawmakers have been the target of anti-overhaul protesters, with Rothman receiving particular attention as the chair of the Constitution Law and Justice Committee. Late on Friday, a video circulated online showing Rothman becoming agitated as protesters walked behind him, chanting through a megaphone as he made his way back to his hotel. In the footage, Rothman can be seen abruptly turning around and grabbing the megaphone from a woman before leaving the scene. Additional videos captured further scuffles between the protesters and Rothmans security team as they tried to retrieve the megaphone, resulting in at least two people being pushed to the ground. The woman from whom the megaphone was taken later filed a police complaint against Rothman for harassment. However, it remains unclear whether Rothman, as a Knesset lawmaker, enjoys diplomatic immunity in New York. Protest organizer Shany Granot emphasized that in Manhattan, democracy exists, allowing them to express their opinions freely without fear of interference. The protesters in New York have been staging weekly rallies in Washington Square Park, targeting government ministers and US supporters of the judicial overhaul. They have developed a well-coordinated network to track the Israeli lawmakers activities in the city and disrupt their visits. As the Israeli lawmakers prepare to participate in the Celebrate Israel Parade, the group UnXeptable has called on the parade organizers to rescind the invitations extended to the coalition lawmakers. The exact number of Israeli lawmakers attending the parade remains uncertain, with reports suggesting varying figures. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has advised Likud members not to attend due to public criticism of the cost associated with sending a large delegation abroad. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed again Sunday to push for a second attempt to launch a spy satellite as she lambasted a U.N. Security Council meeting over the Norths first, failed launch. The Norths attempt to put its first military spy satellite into orbit last Wednesday failed as its rocket crashed off the Korean Peninsulas western coast. An emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council was still convened at the request of the U.S., Japan and other countries to discuss the launch because it had violated council resolutions banning the North from performing any launch using ballistic technology. On Sunday, Kims sister and senior ruling party official, Kim Yo Jong, called the U.N. council a political appendage of the United States, saying its recent meeting was convened following Americas gangster-like request. She accused the U.N. council of being discriminative and rude because it only takes issue with the Norths satellite launches while thousands of satellites launched by other countries are already operating in space. She said her countrys attempt to acquire a spy satellite is a legitimate step to respond to military threats posed by the U.S. and its allies. (North Korea) will continue to take proactive measures to exercise all the lawful rights of a sovereign state, including the one to a military reconnaissance satellite launch, Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media. In her earlier statement Friday, Kim Yo Jong said the Norths spy satellite will be correctly put on space orbit in the near future but didnt say when its second launch attempt would take place. South Koreas spy agency told lawmakers Wednesday it will likely take more than several weeks for North Korea to learn the cause of the failed launch but it may attempt a second launch soon if defects arent serious. A military surveillance satellite is among a list of sophisticated weapons systems that Kim Jong Un has vowed to acquire amid protracted security tensions with the United States. Since the start of 2022, Kim has carried out more than 100 missile tests in what he called a warning over expanded military drills between the U.S. and South Korea. Experts say Kim would want to use his modernized weapons arsenal to wrest concessions from Washington and its partners in future diplomacy. North Korea was slapped with rounds of U.N. sanctions over its past nuclear and missile tests and satellite launches. But the U.N. Security Council failed to toughen those sanctions over North Koreas recent testing activities because China and Russia, both permanent members of the U.N. council, blocked the U.S. and others attempts to do so. During the latest U.N. council session Friday, China and Russia again clashed with the U.S. over the Norths failed launch. After repeated failures, North Korea placed Earth-observation satellites into orbit in 2012 and 2016, but foreign experts say there is no evidence that either satellite transmitted imagery and other data. (AP) A top Twitter executive responsible for safety and content moderation has left the company, her departure coming soon after owner Elon Musk publicly complained about the platforms handling of posts about transgender topics. The departure pointed to a fresh wave of turmoil among key officials at Twitter since Musk took over last year. Ella Irwin, Twitters head of trust and safety, confirmed her resignation in a pair of tweets late Friday. She did not say in the message why she was leaving, but her departure came shortly after Musk criticized Twitters handling of tweets about a conservative media companys documentary that questions transgender medical treatment for children and teens. Musk was responding to complaints by Jeremy Boreing, co-CEO of the media company, the Daily Wire. Boreing said in tweets and retweets of conservative commentators Thursday that Twitter was suppressing the movie by flagging posts about it as hate speech and keeping the movie off lists of trending topics. Boreing tweeted that Twitter canceled a deal to premiere What is a Woman? for free on the platform because of two instances of misgendering. Twitter rules prohibit intentionally referring to transgender individuals with the wrong gender or name. This was a mistake by many people at Twitter. It is definitely allowed, Musk tweeted back. Whether or not you agree with using someones preferred pronouns, not doing so is at most rude and certainly breaks no laws. Irwin tweeted Friday that one or two people noticed she left the company the day before, and she noted speculation about whether she was fired or quit. She teased that she would post 24 tweets to explain her departure. Then she posted that she was just kidding about the long narrative. In all seriousness, I did resign but this has been a once in a lifetime experience and Im so thankful to have worked with this amazing team of passionate, creative and hardworking people. Will be cheering you all and Twitter as you go! Next to Musk, Irwin had been the most prominent voice of the companys ever-changing content policies in recent months. Twitter has struggled to bring back advertisers turned off by Musks drastic changes and loosening of rules against hate speech since he bought Twitter for $44 billion in October. Twitter also has an incoming CEO, Linda Yaccarino, known for decades of media and advertising industry experience, but she hasnt started yet. Irwin and Twitter didnt respond to requests from The Associated Press for comment. Twitter has been in turmoil including mass layoffs and voluntary departures since the billionaire Tesla owner bought the San Francisco company and took it private. The companys head of trust and safety left shortly after the takeover, and turnover in the top ranks has continued. (AP) The Department of Justice has informed former Vice President Mike Pence s legal team that it will not pursue criminal charges related to the discovery of classified documents at his Indiana home. The department sent a letter to Pences attorney Thursday informing his team that, after an investigation into the potential mishandling of classified information, no criminal charges will be sought. A Justice Department official confirmed the authenticity of the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press. The news comes days before Pence is set to launch his campaign for the Republican nomination for president in Iowa Wednesday a race that will put him in direct competition with his old boss, former President Donald Trump. No evidence has ever emerged to suggest that Pence intentionally hid documents from the government or even knew they were in his home, so there was never an expectation that he would face charges. But that decision and timing were nonetheless welcome news for the former vice president and his political team as he prepares to enter the crowded GOP primary field and contrast himself with Trump. Attorney General Merrick Garland had named a special counsel to oversee the Justice Departments investigation into the discovery of hundreds of documents with classified markings at Trumps Mar-a-Lago home just three days after the former president formally launched his 2024 campaign an acknowledgment of the high political stakes. A special counsel was also put in place to investigate classified documents found at President Joe Bidens home in Delaware and at an unsecured office in Washington dating from his time as vice president. About a dozen documents with classified markings were discovered at Pences home in January after he asked his lawyers to perform a search of his vice presidential belongings out of an abundance of caution after the Biden discovery. The items had been inadvertently boxed and transported to Pences home at the end of the last administration, Pences lawyer, Greg Jacob, wrote in a letter to the National Archives. The FBI then discovered an additional document with classified markings at the Indiana house during its own search the following month. Pence has said repeatedly that he was unaware of the documents existence, but that mistakes were made in his handling of classified material. Beyond Pence, the two Justice Department special counsels are continuing to investigate the handling of classified documents by both Trump and Biden. The status of the Biden documents investigation is unclear, but the Trump investigation has shown signs of winding down. Prosecutors appear close to a decision on whether to bring criminal charges against the ex-president or anyone else. The team led by special counsel Jack Smith has brought a broad cross-section of witnesses before a federal grand jury investigating Trump, including former and close aides to Trump. The investigation has centered on not only whether Trump illegally possessed roughly 300 documents marked as classified but also on whether he obstructed government efforts to secure their return. The Biden and Pence matters have always stood apart, factually and legally, from the Trump investigation because in both of those cases, aides proactively disclosed the discovery of classified documents to the Justice Department and facilitated their return. Trump resisted months of demands to return classified documents taken with him from the White House to his Florida residence after the end of his term. After coming to suspect that more classified documents remained at the property, despite a subpoena and a visit by investigators, the FBI returned last August with a search warrant and recovered about 100 additional documents marked as classified, including at the top-secret level. Trump insists he did nothing wrong. (AP) The Metropolitan Museum of Art has agreed to return hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations it received from FTX under the leadership of founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. The museum, located on the Eastern cusp of New York Citys Central Park, is recognized as one of the countrys leading art museums and joins the growing list of organizations and individuals looking to disavow tainted FTX cash. If an agreement it reached with FTX Debtors in the exchanges Chapter 11 bankruptcy case is approved, The Met will ultimately return $550,000, according to court documents filed Friday. The Met wishes to return the Donations to the FTX Debtors, a motion states, adding the measure is the result of good faith, arms length negotiations on behalf of both parties involved. The donations were made by West Realm Shires Services, the company that operated FTX.US, an FTX-branded exchange aimed at U.S. customers that collapsed alongside its international counterpart in November of last year. West Realm Shires Services initially donated $300,000 to the Met in March of last yearbefore the digital assets industry plunged into the present Crypto Winterand followed up with an additional $250,000 donation in May, according to court documents. The Met did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Decrypt. FTX Wants Politicians, PACs to Return DonationsAnd May Sue to Recover Funds Since the implosion of FTX, Bankman-Fried has been charged with a litany of financial crimes, ranging from fraud to money launderingto which he has pleaded not guilty. He is accused of misappropriating billions worth of customer funds to purchase private real estate, donate to political campaigns, and prop up his hedge fund Alameda Research. A slew of politicians said they would return FTX-linked funds or pledged to re-donate them shortly after Bankman-Frieds business empire buckled. And politicians continue to step forwardLori Chavez DeRemer recently returned a $1,000 contribution, for example, per Willamette Week. Bankman-Fried cultivated an image as a crypto wunderkind in part due to his philanthropic efforts and embrace of effective altruism, a philosophical and social movement aimed at having a positive impact on the world. Bankman-Fried also sat on the board of the FTX Foundation, a crypto industry charity that donated to organizations like the Alignment Research Center, a non-profit focused on Machine Learning. When the Alignment Research Center said it plans to return the $1.25 million it received from the charity as a grant, it said that the money morally (if not legally) belongs to FTX customers or creditors and was a particularly straightforward decision. Debtors Declare 'Massive Shortfall' in FTX Assets, FTX US Also In the Red The University of Toronto has made moves to return nearly $500,000 it received from FTX, per The Logic. And ProPublica, the non-profit newsroom, said it would return $1.6 million it received as part of a three-year, $5 million grant from Building a Stronger Future, a family foundation run by Bankman-Fried and his brother Gabe. Fridays agreement comes as FTX looks to recover all the funds it can under its new CEO John Ray III, whos been tasked with untangling FTXs books, recovering missing funds, and maximizing stakeholders returns since the exchange's Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings began. FTX Debtors said in December that numerous recipients of payments and contributions had inquired about instructions for returning funds. The statement also warned that FTX Debtors will use legal means to go after funds that are not returned voluntarily. In an update filed in April, FTX said its been able to recover $6.2 billion in assets under Ray. And while awaits some form of reprieve in the companys bankruptcy proceedings, Bankman-Frieds criminal trial is set to take place in October. Within hours of his historic arraignment this spring, Donald Trump fixed his ire on the judge, complaining that hes a Trump-hating judge with a family full of Trump haters. On Friday, the former presidents lawyers doubled down on that criticism, demanding Judge Juan Manuel Merchan step aside from his New York City criminal case because of what they say is anti-Trump bias and a conflict of interest arising from his daughters work for some of Trumps Democratic rivals. Trumps lawyers allege that Merchan, a respected jurist in Manhattans criminal court, tipped the scales in two other Trump-related cases by involving himself in plea negotiations for Trumps longtime finance chief and requiring him to testify against Trumps company in exchange for a five-month jail sentence. Trumps lawyers, Susan Necheles and Todd Blanche, also asked Merchan to explain three political donations totaling $35 that were made to Democratic causes in his name during the 2020 election cycle. In the New York case, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The charges relate to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign to bury allegations that Trump had extramarital sexual encounters. He has denied wrongdoing. Merchan did not respond to inquiries from The Associated Press asking him to confirm or deny if hes the person who made the donations, which include $15 for President Joe Bidens campaign against Trump, according to federal campaign finance records. Such contributions are typically prohibited under court rules. The former presidents criminal case is historic and it is important that the People of the State of New York and this nation have confidence that the jurist who presides over it is impartial, Trumps lawyers wrote in whats known as a motion for recusal. The decision on recusal is up to Merchan himself, who previously rejected such a request when Trumps company was on trial. Trumps lawyers could be also making a play to raise the issue on appeal if hes convicted. Along with their motion, Trumps lawyers submitted 42 pages of what that say is evidence of Merchans political bias. The hush-money case is continuing in state court while Trumps lawyers seek to transfer it to federal court, which would also remove Merchan from the judicial equation. A federal judge has scheduled a June 27 hearing on that request. A message seeking comment was left with Merchan. A spokesperson for New Yorks state court system, Lucian Chalfen, said that since the case is pending in front of the judge, it would be inappropriate for any further comment. Merchan has appeared respectful and exceedingly accommodating in his limited interactions with Trump and has refused to issue a gag order, even as the ex-president continued to pillory him, District Attorney Alvin Bragg and others involved the case. At a recent hearing, Merchan said he was bending over backwards to make sure he wasnt limiting Trump from having every opportunity possible to advance his candidacy. Trumps recusal motion expands on the criticism hes lobbed at Merchan and his family in statements and on his Truth Social platform. Merchans daughter, Loren, is a political consultant whose firm has worked on campaigns for prominent Democrats including Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Trump, the leading contender for the Republican nomination in 2024, could face Biden again as he seeks a return to the White House. He and his allies have seized on Merchans political ties in portraying his prosecution as part of a Democrat-led witch hunt. I have a Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating wife and family whose daughter worked for Kamala Harris, Trump said in a speech at his Mar-a-Lago estate, hours after his April 4 arraignment. Among Trumps other criticisms, hes claimed Merchan railroaded ex-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg into a guilty plea last summer and acted viciously in presiding over the companys trial, which ended in a tax fraud conviction last December. Merchan was heavily involved in negotiations that led to Weisselbergs plea to charges he skirted taxes on perks including a Manhattan apartment and luxury cars. Merchan said he wished he could impose a tougher penalty after hearing Weisselberg testify, particularly when he spoke about his wife getting $6,000 for a no-show job to qualify for Social Security benefits while her husband raked in big money. Those cases were preludes to Trumps historic indictment. Trumps case ended up in Merchans courtroom because of a rotation in which judges assigned to oversee grand juries handle any cases that arise from them, according to the court system. Merchan also often handles financial cases and runs Manhattans mental health court, where some defendants get a chance to resolve their cases with treatment and supervision. Merchan, 60, emigrated from Colombia as a 6-year-old and grew up in New York City. The first member of his family to go to college, he worked his way through school and went on to earn a law degree from Hofstra University in 1994. He was a Manhattan prosecutor and worked in the state attorney generals office before then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed him as a family court judge in 2006. Three years later, Merchan was assigned to a trial court, which in New York is called the Supreme Court. (AP) In his first week on the campaign trail as a presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis repeatedly hit his chief rival, Donald Trump, from the right. This is a different guy than 2015, 2016, DeSantis told a conservative radio host before slamming the bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation Trump championed as basically a jailbreak bill that allowed dangerous people out of prison. He also accused Trump of turning the reins over to Dr. Anthony Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Trump had endorsed and tried to ram an amnesty bill through Congress and vowed that unlike the former president would finish building the U.S.-Mexico border wall. In Iowa on Saturday, he hit back at Trump for saying he didnt like the term woke because people have a hard time defining it. Woke is an existential threat to our society, DeSantis said. To say its not a big deal, that just shows you dont understand what a lot of these issues are right now. Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly attacked DeSantis from the left. He has suggested that even anti-abortion activists consider Floridas new six-week abortion ban too harsh and argued that DeSantis has made himself unelectable on a national level with his votes as a congressman to cut Social Security and Medicare even though Trumps proposed budgets also repeatedly called for major entitlement cuts. The attacks underscore the underlying early dynamic of the race: As DeSantis tries to win over GOP primary voters and chip away at Trumps commanding early lead, Trump is already pivoting to a general election matchup against President Joe Biden. In the meantime, Trump has been pushing back against DeSantis argument that the Florida governor, not the former president, is the more viable general election candidate. Dont forget, we have to win elections, Trump stressed during a Fox News Channel town hall on Thursday as he discussed abortion politics. To be clear, Trump has also leaned in on other right-wing causes. This week, he revived his pledge to end birthright citizenship, saying he would sign an executive order on the first day of his second term to change the long-settled interpretation of the 14th Amendment. He also renewed his pledge to use the U.S. military to attack foreign drug cartels and has pushed the death penalty for drug dealers. But DeSantis efforts to out-Trump Trump have raised eyebrows among some observers who question his tactics. I do not think its a smart strategy, said Sarah Longwell, an anti-Trump Republican political strategist whose firm has been leading weekly focus groups with GOP voters where DeSantis appeal has been fading. Longwell said she had expected DeSantis to tailor his pitch to the slice of the Republican electorate that wants to move on from Trump. You cant out-MAGA Trump, she said, referring to Trumps Make America Great Again political movement. DeSantis, she argued, should be working to consolidate the Move on from Trump-ers and move into the Maybe Trump-ers, and instead hes tried to wrestle Trump for the Always Trump-ers. DeSantis allies argue the governor has been responding to what they see as Trumps attacks from the left and highlighting his stances on issues they believe will resonate with Republican primary voters, particularly abortion and DeSantis PR war with Disney. An official from Never Back Down, a pro-DeSantis super PAC handling much of his political operation, said DeSantis strategy is being informed by what the groups canvassers have been picking up from voters in recent weeks. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss messaging strategy, said voters have voiced confusion about Trumps attacks and have responded especially well to portrayals of DeSantis as a fighter who refuses to back down. The group ran a digital ad this week highlighting Trumps comment on abortion that was geotargeted to areas Trump was visiting in Iowa. It is also exploring messaging that will accuse Trump of being too cozy with major corporations during his time in the White House. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung slammed DeSantis insinuations and accused him of ripping off Trumps ideas. Ron DeSantis has tried to steal every single one of President Trumps Agenda47 policy platform. He is a fraudster and masquerading as someone who knows what hes talking about, he said. DeSantis, in his early campaign stops, has also tried to paint himself as a disciplined executive who will make good on his promises, implying Trump had not. When I tell you Im going to do something, I dont just say that because I think that may be what you want to hear, then get into office and forget all the promises I made, he said in Lexington, South Carolina. Longwell said her research had consistently found that on-the-fence voters are willing to put aside concerns about Trumps temperament because they feel he was so effective in office, raising questions about DeSantis strategy. They dont like his mouth, they dont like his tweets, they dont like his character. But they like what he did as president, she said. Trump, meanwhile, has made clear he is looking toward next years general election. In Grimes, Iowa, on Thursday, Trump received a pointed question from a woman who claimed that we have lost people because you supported the jab, a reference to conspiracies about mRNA vaccines, which have been credited with saving millions of lives. While Trump did not dismiss her suggestion and stressed that he was never in favor of mandates he explained that theres a big portion of the country that thinks that was a great thing, you understand that. Not a lot of the people in this room, but there is a big portion. During the Fox News town hall later that day, Trump said only stupid people could suggest they had done more than him on abortion given that he picked some of the conservative Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. But he also continued to criticize conservative Republican midterm candidates who did not support exceptions, including when the life of the mother is at risk, a position in line with the majority of voters. A recent memo to donors from Trump super PAC pollster Tony Fabrizio, first reported by Axios, made the case that DeSantis is vulnerable among swing state voters in a general election on issues including cuts to Social Security and Medicare, book bans in schools, Floridas ban on abortions at six weeks before most women know they are pregnant and his fight with Disney. Voters, meanwhile, have mixed views about the escalating feud. Heidi Lillibridge, a 51-year-old farmer and Republican activist from Vinton, Iowa, worries that Democrats will benefit from the two leading GOP candidates criticizing each other. She is particularly frustrated by DeSantis early attacks. Criticizing President Trumps conservative credentials, when we all know how he acted as president and what he got accomplished, I dont really know why he would do that, she said. Darcy Cowart, who saw DeSantis speak outside a bar and restaurant in Bluffton, South Carolina, said that while she had previously backed Trump, she was glad to see a large field with other options. Hes not going to change, and he just has this bully mentality. He just wont give in on it, she said. I know he fights for us, and I know that he does some good things, but at the same time, its like having this obnoxious relative thats always got to be at the dinner table, that you dread being around. (AP) There will not be a livestream of tonights Adirei Hatorah gathering at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. However, there will be an audio hookup, and of course, full video and photo coverage from Lakewood Alerts. To listen to the Adirei Hatorah event over the phone, call 605-411-2100 or 712-432-3490. Those in England can call 03-333-661-03 and people in Israel can listen in by dialing 09-375-4300. An investigation of the serious incident on the Egyptian border on Shabbos during which an Egyptian policeman infiltrated into Israel and murdered three IDF soldiers uncovered major lapses in the security on the border and in IDF operations. The terrorist entered Israel via an emergency gate on the border normally used by IDF soldiers in coordination with Egypt. The gate was secured only with zip ties since it is meant to be opened quickly. IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a press briefing that an investigation is taking place into why the sensors on the border fence didnt issue an alert following the terrorists infiltration into Israel. Hagari added that there are several small safe crossings in the security fence for emergencies and the terrorist used one of them. We will carry out an investigation to improve this. Some of the crossings are coordinated with the Egyptians. Maariv reported that the terrorist walked about six kilometers (3.7 miles) from his base in Egypt carrying a knapsack with his gear. When he reached the border fence, he cut the zip ties on the gate. The IDF soldiers posted nearby did not notice him and were caught by surprise when the terrorist opened fire. They didnt manage to return fire before succumbing to their wounds. Ynet reported that the terrorist planned every step of the attack beforehand. He was very familiar with the area due to his position as a border guard and knew exactly how and where he would cross into Israel and where the IDF guard post was located. He even prepared a hiding place for himself in Israel one and a half kilometers east of the fence that he marked with a pile of rocks. According to an IDF assessment, the soldiers were shot at about 6:30 a.m. on Shabbos morning. Their last communication with their commander was about 4:15 a.m., and their bodies werent found until almost five hours later, around 9:00 a.m., when the platoon commander arrived at the post at the end of the guards shift. In the wake of the discovery of the attack, additional IDF forces were deployed to the area and searches for the terrorist began. A surveillance drone was deployed which located a suspicious figure and the division commander summoned combat helicopters to assist in confronting the suspect. However, after the helicopters were delayed, the commander made a decision to advance without them. IDF forces approached the area to close the circle on the suspect but the terrorist opened fire, killing Ori Yitzchak Iluz, Hyd. Several minutes later, another group of IDF soldiers killed the terrorist. A Quran was found in the terrorists possession along with two knives and six firearm cartridges. The IDF believes that the terrorist acted independently and was not tied to any terrorist organization. Egypt still maintains that the police officer was chasing drug smugglers into Israeli territory. However, according to the IDF spokesperson, the thwarting of the drug smuggling operation that preceded the terror attack took place at about 2:30 a.m., about three kilometers (1.8 miles) from the scene of the attack. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) The New York Police Department stated that it has closed the complaint filed by a left-wing protester who used her megaphone to harass Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman, one of the architects of the Israeli government judicial reform plan, as he walked to his hotel on Madison Ave. According to the NYPD, the woman claimed that the Rothman acted violently by grabbing her megaphone but she had no visible injuries. Rothman said: A small group of violent protesters attacked me and my wife as we walked in New York late at night. They blocked our way, stepped on my wife Chanas foot, and cursed us, including death wishes. My security guards called the police, explained where we were, and we continued walking while ignoring the protesters. Regarding the incident with the megaphone, Rothman wrote: At one point, the protesters understood that we werent reacting to them and then put their megaphone on our ears (which is assault) and yelled. I took the megaphone which the protester shoved in my ear, without touching her, of course. After about half a block, we reached a spot where we could wait for the police. The police accompanied me to the hotel and the incident ended. Over Shabbat and during a visit on Thursday, the Jewish community here welcomed me very happily and with respect and appreciation, Rothman added. There is a lot of support and encouragement to proceed with the reform plan, but even the few who disagree came and were respectful. The violent attackers came from Israel and just like they represent a small and violent group there here too. Its permissible to protest but its forbidden to physically attack and harass MKs. The fact that Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz fail to condemn these violent attacks on MKs, and even encourage them, shows more than anything else that they have turned into the opposition of the State of Israel. Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli was also targeted in Manhattan by Israeli left-wing protesters, who yelled Bushah, bushah at him at the entrance to a shul. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) Former Labor MK Omer Bar-Lev, who protested outside the home of HaGaon HaRav Gershon Edelstein, ztl, leading to the Chareidi boycott of Angel Bakery due to Bar-Levs new position as the head of Angels board, paid a shiva visit to the Rosh Yeshivahs sons on Sunday. Bar-Lev was accompanied by Yaron Angel, one of the owners of the bakery. Both of them presented letters of apology to the Rosh HaYeshivahs sons. Bar-Levs letter states: First of all, I want to express my deepest consolations for the Ravs petirah. I know what a great leader HaRav Edelstein, ztl was, that he was moser his life for the fulfillment of Torah in Eretz Yisrael in modesty and pleasantness. The Rav loved each person without compromising on his positions and was zocheh to long life and thousands of talmidim. Consolations to you and to all of his many talmidim. As you know, a number of weeks ago, a political protest was held near the Ravs home. Various mistaken reports claimed that the location of the protest was opposite the Ravs home and was against him and slighted the kavod haTorah and due to this, was an affront to a large sector. That was not my intention. I intended to express my personal stance and definitely did not intend an insult against a Gadol HaDor. If I would have been aware ahead of time of the situation we became involved with and the hurt feelings, I would definitely have refrained from doing so and therefore I express my regret and apologize from the bottom of my heart. I view the kiyum of Torah vlomdeha as an important value in mesorat Yisrael and I was not protesting against it. Our shared lives in the State of Israel obligate all of us to learn more about each others sorrows. The moreshet of the wonderful Rav should continue to the next generations. The letter from Yaron Angel explained that Bar-Lev participated in the protest as a private citizen and not as part of his position as the head of the bakerys board. It continued by saying that the company could have clarified that fact immediately after it happened but we thought that such a response would involve the company in political matters from which weve avoided being involved with for decades. However, davka this silence developed into another affront. And for this, we feel regret and apologize from the bottom of our hearts. The letter continued by saying that no insulting comments or deeds were made on behalf of the company or with the knowledge of people identified with the company or its employees. The Angel Company respects and has served the Chareidi sector for many years while being makpid on mehudar kashrus and the preservation of good relations with the varied Chareidi population and employs many people from the Chareidi sector. We have no part of the matters attributed to us and we apologize that we were silent until now. Angel Bakery is also placing a public apology on the streets of Chareidi areas and cities throughout Israel beginning on Sunday evening. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY Get Rating) shares traded down 3.3% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $5.52 and last traded at $5.54. 2,446,076 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 3,175,043 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.73. Specifically, CEO Joeben Bevirt sold 26,215 shares of Joby Aviation stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.17, for a total value of $109,316.55. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 511,265 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,131,975.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Gregory Bowles sold 5,903 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $29,574.03. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,948 shares in the company, valued at $135,009.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joeben Bevirt sold 26,215 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.17, for a total value of $109,316.55. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 511,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,131,975.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 194,781 shares of company stock valued at $987,474. 49.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Get Joby Aviation alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on JOBY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Joby Aviation from a hold rating to a sell rating and reduced their target price for the company from $6.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Joby Aviation from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Joby Aviation presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $6.13. Joby Aviation Stock Performance The stock has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.74 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $4.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.18. Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 3rd. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.15) by ($0.01). On average, research analysts predict that Joby Aviation, Inc. will post -0.65 earnings per share for the current year. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Joby Aviation Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Joby Aviation by 114.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,405,592 shares of the companys stock valued at $95,365,000 after purchasing an additional 7,691,093 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Joby Aviation during the first quarter valued at $16,408,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Joby Aviation by 37.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,752,316 shares of the companys stock worth $33,154,000 after acquiring an additional 1,840,567 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Joby Aviation by 358.7% in the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,126,271 shares of the companys stock worth $10,440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Joby Aviation by 50.1% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 4,240,736 shares of the companys stock valued at $18,405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416,314 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 29.14% of the companys stock. About Joby Aviation (Get Rating) Joby Aviation, Inc, a vertically integrated air mobility company, engages in building an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft optimized to deliver air transportation as a service. It intends to build an aerial ridesharing service. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Joby Aviation Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Joby Aviation and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC Get Rating) have earned an average rating of Moderate Buy from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $206.55. VMC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $191.00 to $186.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Vulcan Materials from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the company from $188.00 to $212.00 in a research report on Monday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $212.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 10th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a neutral rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Get Vulcan Materials alerts: Insider Activity In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,389 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.00, for a total value of $468,244.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,887 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $565,852. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Institutional Trading of Vulcan Materials Vulcan Materials Stock Up 2.0 % Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CI Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 956.3% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 169 shares of the construction companys stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, New Hampshire Trust purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 90.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. NYSE:VMC opened at $202.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.37. The company has a market cap of $26.98 billion, a PE ratio of 44.85, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.73. Vulcan Materials has a 52-week low of $137.54 and a 52-week high of $202.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.71. Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The construction company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.31. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 8.14%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. Vulcan Materialss quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year. Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 25th. Vulcan Materialss payout ratio is presently 38.05%. Vulcan Materials Company Profile (Get Rating) Vulcan Materials Co engages in the production of construction aggregates. Its products include crushed stone, sand, and gravel. It operates through the following business segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The Aggregates segment produces and sells asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete primarily in its mid-Atlantic, Georgia, Southwestern, Tennessee, and Western markets. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Vulcan Materials Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vulcan Materials and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. First Resource Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FRSB Get Rating) and Shinhan Financial Group (NYSE:SHG Get Rating) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and valuation. Analyst Ratings This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for First Resource Bancorp and Shinhan Financial Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com. Get First Resource Bancorp alerts: Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score First Resource Bancorp 0 0 0 0 N/A Shinhan Financial Group 0 3 0 0 2.00 Shinhan Financial Group has a consensus target price of $32.31, suggesting a potential upside of 18.27%. Given Shinhan Financial Groups higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Shinhan Financial Group is more favorable than First Resource Bancorp. Volatility & Risk Insider & Institutional Ownership First Resource Bancorp has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shinhan Financial Group has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. 2.6% of Shinhan Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Shinhan Financial Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. Earnings & Valuation This table compares First Resource Bancorp and Shinhan Financial Groups revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio First Resource Bancorp $21.79 million 1.65 $5.63 million $1.79 6.52 Shinhan Financial Group $18.75 billion 0.76 $3.25 billion $6.53 4.18 Shinhan Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than First Resource Bancorp. Shinhan Financial Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Resource Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Profitability This table compares First Resource Bancorp and Shinhan Financial Groups net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets First Resource Bancorp 23.70% N/A N/A Shinhan Financial Group 17.86% 9.18% 0.70% Summary Shinhan Financial Group beats First Resource Bancorp on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks. About First Resource Bancorp (Get Rating) First Resource Bancorp, Inc. is a holding company that engages in the provision of community banking services through its subsidiary, First Resource Bank. Its subsidiary offers lending and depository services for businesses, professionals, and individuals in the Delaware Valley. The company is headquartered in Exton, PA. About Shinhan Financial Group (Get Rating) Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd. engages in the provision of management and financial support services to its subsidiaries. The company was founded on September 1, 2001 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Receive News & Ratings for First Resource Bancorp Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for First Resource Bancorp and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN Get Rating) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report issued on Friday, The Fly reports. Morgan Stanleys target price would suggest a potential downside of 8.57% from the companys previous close. Several other research firms have also commented on JWN. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Nordstrom from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 25th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Nordstrom from a c+ rating to a d+ rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Nordstrom in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Nordstrom from $17.00 to $19.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Argus raised shares of Nordstrom from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $23.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nordstrom presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $18.69. Get Nordstrom alerts: Nordstrom Stock Up 9.2 % NYSE:JWN opened at $17.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 159.09, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 2.22. Nordstrom has a 1-year low of $14.02 and a 1-year high of $27.72. The companys fifty day moving average price is $15.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.73, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordstrom Nordstrom ( NYSE:JWN Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Nordstrom had a net margin of 0.13% and a return on equity of 46.05%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.06) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nordstrom will post 1.94 EPS for the current year. A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Garde Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Nordstrom by 22.7% during the first quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 32,669 shares of the specialty retailers stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 6,049 shares during the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nordstrom by 190.8% in the first quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 30,190 shares of the specialty retailers stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 19,807 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nordstrom by 160.9% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 425,202 shares of the specialty retailers stock valued at $6,918,000 after purchasing an additional 262,252 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Nordstrom by 29.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 375,652 shares of the specialty retailers stock valued at $6,111,000 after purchasing an additional 85,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nordstrom by 315.9% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 2,487 shares of the specialty retailers stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,889 shares in the last quarter. 66.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Nordstrom (Get Rating) Nordstrom, Inc engages in the manufacture and trade of clothes, shoes, and accessories. It operates through the following segments: Retail and Corporate/Other. The Retail segment consists of a selection of high-quality, brand-name, and private label merchandise, which includes apparel, shoes, cosmetics, and accessories for women, men, young adults, and children. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Nordstrom Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nordstrom and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. (Bloomberg) -- The US governments move to greenlight a 300-mile natural gas pipeline as part of legislation to stave off a Treasury default shocked just about everyone, except for a mystery trader who somehow appears to have seen it coming. Most Read from Bloomberg On Wall Street, analysts had mostly expected vague promises on energy permits to be included in a bill to raise the US debt ceiling. Yet, options trading suggests something bigger may have been in the offing. On May 24 several days before an agreement was announced a huge bullish bet was made on Equitrans Midstream Corp., data compiled by Bloomberg show. The company is deeply involved in the long-delayed Mountain Valley Pipeline. The wager involved snapping up 100,000 call options on the firms stock. It proved prescient and wildly profitable within just a few days. On May 27, White House and Republican lawmakers reached a deal that would give the long-delayed Mountain Valley Pipeline the final approvals needed to complete the project. Throughout April and much of May, negotiators from the White House and Congress went back and forth on broad-stroke parameters of an agreement. Almost until the very end, the details were closely held and in flux. Doubts lingered over whether a deal would be reached before the US was scheduled to run out of money in early June. Bill Signed The legislation, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Saturday, forced action on permits for the project. On paper, the bet appears to have earned $7.5 million through Friday. It has some asking whether more than skill and luck played a role. My questions are: Whos the trader? How sophisticated are they? And what are their connections to the government? said Donald Sherman, chief counsel at the ethics watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. He added the bet raises the specter of whether the parameters of the debt deal had somehow leaked out ahead of time. Digging into whether a trade is improperly based on confidential information is notoriously difficult, especially when it involves market-moving news from inside the government. The rules are also rife with gray areas and ambiguities. Confidential Information Officials, including members of Congress, are barred from trading on confidential information they learned in their position. But if, for example, someone overhears a Congressional staffer loudly mention a piece of information on the train, theyre likely in the clear. The challenge for investigators isnt just to learn if information was shared, but to uncover the intent in sharing it, Philip Khinda, head of the SEC enforcement practice at Cadwalader, said. These are very difficult cases to bring, because of both the legal and investigative complications they pose. No one has been accused of any wrongdoing with the options trade. A representative for the Securities and Exchange Commission, which would be responsible for overseeing any probe, declined to comment on whether it was looking into the matter. Still, the call options are attracting a lot of attention for their timing immediately before the debt-ceiling agreement was reached. The $8 strike price also equates roughly to how some Wall Street analysts have valued the Mountain Valley Pipeline for Equitrans. Long Delay Before the debt deal, the outlook for the Mountain Valley pipeline project had been bleak. Legal fights with environmentalists raged for years. Shares in Equitrans fell 35% last year. After the surprise announcement that the pipeline would get a kickstart, Equitrans roared back. Shares soared 49% last week, a record. These trades are highly concerning, said Dan Taylor, a professor at The Wharton School who studies insider trading. It starts to beg the question of whether it, in fact, is a coincidence. Equitrans said neither the company nor any of its executives were involved in the transaction. In a statement, the firm also lauded the pipeline as essential energy infrastructure that will ensure American families have reliable, affordable access to domestic energy that will actually help reduce carbon emissions and bolster energy security. To be sure, the project has powerful champions. Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat who represents West Virginia where the pipeline will traverse, has long been a backer. He celebrated the project on Friday, saying on Twitter that it was truly Americas MVP, an apparent reference to the projects initials. Asked about the options trade, Manchin said, I have no idea about that. He added, The only thing I know is that people need power. Growing Windfall Trading aside, the inclusion of the pipeline in the debt ceiling law has been a political lightning rod. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, whose state the pipeline also crosses, offered an amendment to remove it from the debt deal. That effort failed Thursday. Representatives for the White House and Kevin McCarthy, who spearheaded negotiations for the GOP as Speaker of the House, didnt respond Saturday to requests for comment on the trade. The surprise was that it actually made it into the debt ceiling bill itself and was not part of a separate vote or a promise to pass another bill, said Citi analyst Spiro Dounis, who covers Equitrans. The options underlying the trade appear to be outstanding. That indicates no one has yet cashed in the bet, and the windfall could grow if the rally continues. --With assistance from Ari Natter, Gerson Freitas Jr., David Marino, Joe Ryan, Laura Litvan and Jordan Fabian. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Asana (NYSE:ASAN Get Rating) issued an update on its second quarter 2024 earnings guidance on Sunday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of -$0.12$0.11 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of -$0.15. The company issued revenue guidance of $157.50 million-$158.50 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $157.75 million. Asana also updated its FY 2024 guidance to -$0.55$0.50 EPS. Asana Trading Down 2.8 % Shares of Asana stock opened at $22.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.33 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Asana has a 12-month low of $11.32 and a 12-month high of $29.51. The firms 50-day moving average price is $18.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.00. Get Asana alerts: Asana (NYSE:ASAN Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 1st. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.09. Asana had a negative net margin of 63.97% and a negative return on equity of 128.46%. The firm had revenue of $152.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $150.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.52) earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Asana will post -1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Analyst Ratings Changes Insiders Place Their Bets A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Asana from $13.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Asana from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an underperform rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Asana in a research note on Thursday, March 9th. Credit Suisse Group reiterated a neutral rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Asana in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Asana from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, March 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $21.98. In other Asana news, insider Eleanor B. Lacey sold 1,321 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.86, for a total transaction of $27,556.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 165,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,448,158. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Tim M. Wan sold 20,000 shares of Asana stock in a transaction on Friday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.31, for a total value of $426,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 607,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,936,256.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eleanor B. Lacey sold 1,321 shares of Asana stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.86, for a total transaction of $27,556.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 165,300 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,448,158. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,346 shares of company stock worth $538,214. 61.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Institutional Trading of Asana Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Asana by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 6,195 shares of the companys stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Asana by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 14,789 shares of the companys stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Asana by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 16,847 shares of the companys stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Asana by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 181,152 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,185,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Asana by 120.4% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,578 shares of the companys stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.22% of the companys stock. Asana Company Profile (Get Rating) Asana, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a work management platform for individuals, team leads, and executives in the United States and internationally. The company's platform enables teams to orchestrate work from daily tasks to cross-functional strategic initiatives; and manages product launches, marketing campaigns, and organization-wide goal settings. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Asana Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Asana and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 217,982 shares of the business services providers stock, valued at approximately $7,965,000. Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Durable Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Rollins in the first quarter worth $61,799,000. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rollins by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 28,845,724 shares of the business services providers stock worth $1,000,370,000 after buying an additional 620,048 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Rollins by 1.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,485,984 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $893,283,000 after purchasing an additional 384,126 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Rollins by 45.9% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 955,607 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $33,140,000 after acquiring an additional 300,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rollins by 966.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 269,508 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $9,347,000 after acquiring an additional 244,232 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.98% of the companys stock. Get Rollins alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets ROL has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Rollins from $37.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, April 28th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Rollins in a research note on Wednesday. They set a buy rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Rollins in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $44.17. Rollins Price Performance NYSE ROL opened at $40.63 on Friday. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $39.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.04. Rollins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.43 and a 1 year high of $43.06. The company has a market cap of $20.02 billion, a PE ratio of 52.77 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Rollins (NYSE:ROL Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The business services provider reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $658.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.78 million. Rollins had a return on equity of 31.07% and a net margin of 13.77%. Rollinss revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Rollins, Inc. will post 0.85 EPS for the current year. Rollins Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 9th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Rollinss payout ratio is 67.53%. Insider Buying and Selling In other news, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 17,982 shares of Rollins stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.42, for a total value of $744,814.44. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 138,964 shares in the company, valued at $5,755,888.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Vice Chairman John F. Wilson sold 40,499 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.45, for a total value of $1,719,182.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 743,992 shares in the company, valued at $31,582,460.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Timothy Curtis Rollins sold 17,982 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.42, for a total transaction of $744,814.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 138,964 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,755,888.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Rollins Company Profile (Get Rating) Rollins, Inc engages in the provision of pest and termite control services through its wholly-owned subsidiaries to both residential and commercial customers in the United States, Canada, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Asia, the Mediterranean, Europe, Africa, Mexico, and Australia. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Rollins Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Rollins and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Credit Suisse AG lifted its position in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS Get Rating) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,239,831 shares of the utilities providers stock after purchasing an additional 91,514 shares during the period. Credit Suisse AGs holdings in Fortis were worth $67,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cigna Investments Inc. New lifted its stake in shares of Fortis by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 9,467 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the period. Aviva PLC increased its holdings in Fortis by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 415,468 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $15,856,000 after acquiring an additional 25,113 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Fortis by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 114,950 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $4,595,000 after acquiring an additional 17,946 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Fortis by 1,306.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 213,213 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $8,101,000 after acquiring an additional 198,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Fortis by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,792,768 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $151,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,068 shares in the last quarter. 49.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Fortis alerts: Fortis Trading Up 1.7 % Shares of FTS opened at $42.93 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Fortis Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.76 and a 12-month high of $50.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.44. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Fortis ( NYSE:FTS Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.06. Fortis had a net margin of 12.42% and a return on equity of 6.63%. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.25 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fortis Inc. will post 2.17 EPS for the current year. Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Fortis in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. National Bank Financial upped their target price on shares of Fortis from C$55.00 to C$56.00 in a report on Monday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $58.75. Fortis Profile (Get Rating) Fortis, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the electric and gas utility industry. It operates under the Regulated Utilities and Non-Regulated segments. The Regulated Utilities segment includes ITC Holdings (ITC), UNS Energy Corporation (UNS Energy), Central Hudson, FortisBC Energy, FortisAlberta, and FortisBC Electric. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FTS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS Get Rating). 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. (Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia will make an additional voluntary cut of 1 million barrels of oil a day as part of a deal struck by OPEC+ after hours of tense haggling. Most Read from Bloomberg Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman unveiled the reduction in a statement, once again managing to pull off a surprise. The Saudi move is the most meaningful part of the deal, which also includes an agreement to extend voluntary cuts through 2024. The main winner from the weekends talks is the United Arab Emirates, which gets a boost to its quota for next year. That comes at the expense of African members who were asked to give up part of their unused quota. While theyve been falling short of their targets, its still a bitter political pill for them to swallow. Thats why talks dragged on so long, including some late night sessions in Vienna hotels. The long weekend meeting was set against a backdrop of struggling oil prices, as uncertain demand and weak Chinese data sour sentiment. The prince had warned speculators to watch out; the market will give its verdict in just a couple of hours. Key Developments: Saudi Arabia will make an additional voluntary supply cut of 1 million barrels a day in July UAE wins with a higher quota; African countries lose unused quota space UAE says it will stick with OPEC Voluntary cuts extended to the end of 2024 Bloomberg, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal have been barred from attending the headquarters for the meeting. Reporters continue to interview delegates on the sidelines. OPEC sidestepped questions and gave no explanation for the decision on Sunday (Time stamps are local time in Vienna) Whats In The Deal (8:20 p.m.) After a fraught gathering, the OPEC+ group eventually came up with an agreement that seems to offer output cuts for 2024, but in reality will deliver the opposite. For the remainder of the current year, the only change is a second unilateral cut by Saudi Arabia, which will reduce its output by a further 1 million barrels a day for the month of July. That additional reduction could be extended for longer, although Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz refused to be drawn on when any such decision would be communicated to the market. The additional cut will take Saudi production below 9 million barrels a day for the first time in more than a decade, excluding the extraordinary circumstances of the attack on its Abqaiq production facility and the Covid 19 pandemic. OPECs west African members, along with several of the non-OPEC allies in the wider OPEC+ group agreed to accept lower output targets for 2024, based on assessments of their actual production capacities. The non-OPEC members include, Russia, Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Brunei and Sudan. The new targets for Angola, Nigeria, Congo and Russia will be independently assessed and might be altered again before they come into effect. Those new targets wont remove any physical barrels from the market, but will bring their targets closer to their actual production capacities. Offsetting those cuts to targets, the United Arab Emirates will see its target increase by 200,000 barrels a day from January. Those are barrels that it is almost certain to pump, as it remains keen to utilize more of the production capacity that it has added in recent years. UAE Says It Will Stick With OPEC (7:45 p.m.) UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei thanked his colleagues for the hike to its quota and expressed the countrys loyalty to the cartel. We will always support OPEC and will always stay together, he said. Its an important statement from a country that has toyed with the idea of leaving OPEC, and threatened to leave in the past if it didnt get a higher quota. OPEC Sidesteps Question on Media Ban (7:30 p.m.) Asked about the exclusion of journalists from Bloomberg, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal from the OPEC meeting this weekend, Prince Abdulaziz referred the question to the secretariat. Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said lots of journalists had been invited and defended the organizations policy. This is our house, he told reporters. OPEC has always had an open policy, transparent. He offered no explanation for the exclusion. Prince Says Will Do Whatever Is Necessary (7:25 p.m) Prince Abdulaziz pledged to do whatever it takes to stabilize the oil market, which is suffering from uncertain demand and weak Chinese economic data. We will do whatever is necessary to bring stability to this market, he told reporters in Vienna. He described the Saudis extra voluntary cut in his usual vivid terms: We wanted to ice the cake. Saudi Levels Get Low (7:10 p.m.) Saudi Arabia is to cut its production below 9 million barrels a day in July and could extend its additional voluntary cut beyond that. That would be the lowest production level for the kingdom since June 2021, when output was slowly recovering from the depths of the Covid 19 pandemic. On top of the 500,000 barrel a day voluntary cut announced in April, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman anonunced a further 1 million barrel a day reduction for next month. Saudi Cuts Alone Again (7 p.m.) Saudi Arabia is taking a voluntary unilateral cut of 1 million barrels per day in July, for one month that can be extended. Its the most meaningful part of the deal and makes good on the princes warning to speculators to watch out. A Look at The Numbers (6:45 p.m.) The OPEC+ group is keeping official production targets unchanged for the rest of the year, with voluntary output cuts announced in April to remain in force, but to remain voluntary. Production targets for several countries have been revised for 2024, with the United Arab Emirates getting an increase of about 200,000 barrels a day in its target and Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Brunei, Malaysia and Sudan all seeing their allocations cut. The increase in the UAEs target will lead to an increase in real barrels reaching the market, while the cuts to the targets for the others wont take any physical barrels off the market. They will simply bring targets into closer alignment with what those countries are actually pumping. The net effect more OPEC+ oil at the start of next year assuming nothing changes between now and then. But lets wait for the press conference, and more details from Saudi Arabia. Voluntary Cuts Extended to End 2024 (6:30 p.m.) The group agreed to extend the voluntary cuts it announced in April to the end of 2024, the cartel said in a statement. Russia will do the same with its voluntary cuts. Ministers Reach Deal After Hours of Talks (5:31 p.m.) OPEC+ members reached a deal to extend their production-cuts agreement into 2024, delegates said, without giving further details on the size of the supply curbs. African producers had previously objected to demands that they give up some of their unused output quotas in the interests of a broader deal. Talks Ongoing After Panel Meeting (3:47 p.m.) Talks among members of OPEC+ are still in progress after the JMMC ended without a formal recommendation, according to a delegate. The discussions are centering on productions quotas from which cuts are calculated, with some African nations still objecting to the proposals, delegates said. Some African Officials Seen Leaving OPEC HQ (2:45 p.m.) Some officials from the delegations of Angola and Gabon were seen leaving the OPEC Secretariat. Inside the building, OPEC+ ministers were still negotiating about African members quotas, a delegate said. Talks on African Quotas Continue (2:22 p.m.) Ministers continue to negotiate a way to overcome African members reluctance to tweak their quotas, as the meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee carries on. Angola is among those countries holding out and deal hasnt been reached yet, delegates said. Angolas Reluctance (2:16 p.m.) Its not surprising that Angola would be opposed to any deal that would see its benchmark production level cut. Even if the change didnt affect the countrys current output not a foregone conclusion it would certainly determine future ones. Angola retains ambitions to reverse recent declines in its oil production capacity and the last thing it will want is a restrictive OPEC+ output quota that would undermine its attractiveness to foreign investors. In the short term, it is planning to boost crude exports in July to their highest since level since October 2020. Although, at 1.24 million barrels a day they still wont take production levels close to its current target, which stands at 1.455 million barrels a day. Several new offshore oil fields are due to come into operation in the next year or two, including TotalEnergies 30,000 barrel a day Begonia tie-back to Pazflor next year. In the longer term, the country has signed a heads of agreement with TotalEnergies for two offshore exploration blocks in the Kwanza Basin, which lies off the west African nations southern coast. Ministerial Panel Begins Talks (1:24 p.m.) The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which oversees the OPEC+ deal, began its meeting, delegates said. Meeting Pushed Back Again (12:12 p.m.) OPEC+ pushed back the start of the joint committee meeting, which was penciled in to start at 12 p.m., as informal talks between members to reach an agreement on production continue, delegates said. Start of Meeting Delayed (11:17 a.m.) The start of the meeting has been pushed back by an hour as talks between members continue, delegates said. The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee is now scheduled to begin at 12 p.m., followed by the full OPEC+ conference at 1 p.m., they said. Congo Says Deal is Still Work in Progress (11:05 a.m.) The Republic of Congos Minister of Hydrocarbons Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua, when asked about potential revisions to African countries production baselines, tells reporters that the group is still working on an agreement. The UAE and Angola are currently discussing the matter, said a delegate. Ministers Arrive at OPEC Headquarters (10:57 a.m.) National delegations including Venezuela, Kuwait and Iraq arrived at OPEC headquarters in Vienna before the scheduled start of talks at 11 a.m. The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which oversees the production cuts, will meet first, followed by a full conference of the group. Formalizing Voluntary Cuts (10:33 a.m.) One possible outcome for todays meeting would be to formalize the voluntary cuts announced in April equivalent to a reduction of about 5% and apply them to the whole group. Extending that to the remaining members of OPEC+ would yield a reduction to the overall target of 2.1 million barrels a day. But it would entail a much smaller cut, of little more than 300,000 barrels a day, from estimated May production levels. It would also still leave both Angola and Nigeria pumping about 275,000 barrels a day below their new targets. An additional cut of 1 million barrels a day from that new level would leave Saudi Arabia and Russia with formal targets of 9.7 million barrels a day. For the kingdom, thats about 285,000 barrels a day below its current voluntary output target. For Moscow, it would be broadly in line with the level it says its pumping after its own 500,000 barrel-a-day cut, made in response to Western sanctions and price caps on its oil exports. But it would still leave production by the two big west African members well below their official quotas. UAE Confident of an Agreement (10:25 a.m.) UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei told reporters he is confident there will be an agreement today. Another delegate from a key OPEC+ country expressed a similar view, saying that the opposition from African members wouldnt stop the proposed production-cuts deal. Gearing Up for Press Conference (9:57 a.m.) Late-Night Negotiations (9:48 a.m.) Talks dragged into the early hours of Sunday in Vienna as delegates tried to find a way forward. Members delegations were on the move again this morning for last-minute negotiations. The first official meeting doesnt start until 11 a.m. local time. African Quota Row (7:45 a.m.) The OPEC+ groups African members are being pressed to give up unused portions of their output targets in order to redistribute them to the UAE, which has long pressed for a higher baseline for its own production. Rising production capacity in Abu Dhabi, the largest of the emirates, was not reflected in the original starting points for output cuts agreed in 2020. This has long been a issue for the Saudi ally, which has pushed repeatedly for a higher share of the groups overall output target. Four out of the five west African OPEC members are unable to meet their output targets, with their combined production in May more than 800,000 barrels a day below the volume they are permitted to pump. Angola and Nigeria, in particular, have struggled to meet their output targets almost since they were introduced three years ago. But even if they cant fully utilize their output quotas, the African nations may be unwilling to give them up. Several of them are seeking new investment to boost production in coming years and none will want to relinquish the right to use that new capacity when, or if, in comes online. The Saudis will need to find some way to encourage OPECs west African countries to play ball. Oil Market Wobble (7 a.m.) To cut, or not to cut, thats the question facing the OPEC+ ministers gathering in Vienna today. A week ago a roll-over of existing output targets had seemed the most likely outcome. But things have shifted in the past seven days. Markets wobbled, with US crude dipping below $70 a barrel before recovering at the end of the week. Concerns over the strength of recovery in Chinas oil demand are weighing on market sentiment, while production from several members of the producer group is higher than expected. That, combined with the Saudi oil ministers warning that oils short sellers should watch out, has raised the prospects for an output cut. Russian Production In the background at this meeting is a question over Russian production. There is no sign of Russias promised 500,000 barrel a day output cut in the countrys exports and thats what matters to the global market. Three months in, crude shipments in the four weeks to May 28 were more than 1.4 million barrels a day higher than they were at the end of last year and 270,000 barrels a day up on February, the baseline month for the pledged reduction. Overseas shipments of refined products have fallen, but by less than they normally do at this time of year. And refinery runs, which typically drop for seasonal maintenance, have rebounded in late May. Smiles All Around (Saturday) OPECs top two Persian Gulf exporters, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, emerged from Saturdays gathering with a shining display of unity - their respective ministers clasping hands and adorned with smiles as they stepped from the secretariat building into the Viennese sunshine. Still, each has their own priorities and for Abu Dhabi that involves getting their expanded production capacity formally recognized by the OPEC quota system with a higher output baseline. Whether they get that acceptance may determine the fate of todays negotiations. --With assistance from Julian Lee. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. [June 04, 2023] Ramco Systems strengthens its presence in the Middle East Opens office in Qatar to support digital transformation initiatives across the region DOHA, Qatar and CHENNAI, India, June 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Global enterprise software company Ramco Systems announced the opening of its wholly owned subsidiary in Qatar, to support and transform the region's business houses and MNCs in the area of ERP, HR, and payroll. Located in Doha, the subsidiary was inaugurated by Her Excellency, Mrs. Angeline Premalatha, Embassy of India. As one of the fastest growing countries in the Middle East, Qatar presents a wealth of opportunities for Ramco to further strengthen its position as a key enterprise software provider. The expansion into Qatar will enable Ramco to not only better serve its existing clientele, but also empower other local enterprises embrace digita transformation and derive significant business benefits. By establishing a local presence, Ramco aims to meet the growing demand for its enterprise solutions in the region. These cutting-edge solutions will enable businesses to transform their operations, improve efficiency and elevate their employee experience through a single standardized platform. Sandesh Bilagi, Chief Operating Officer, Ramco Systems, said, "Qatar is emerging as one of the leading countries in the world in new technology adoption, innovation and digital transformation. The opening of our new office in Qatar is an exciting milestone for Ramco. We believe that our innovative solutions will empower businesses in Qatar and across the region, to achieve their objectives and scale to newer heights." "Ramco's commitment to innovation and operational excellence along with its customer-first approach will remain at the core of its operations in Qatar. The company is dedicated to providing comprehensive support and localized expertise to its clients, ensuring their success in adopting Ramco's solutions. With the inauguration of the new office, Ramco looks forward to building long-lasting partnerships, contributing to the economic growth of Qatar and making a positive impact in the region," added Bilagi. About Ramco Systems Ramco is a next-gen enterprise software player disrupting the market with its multi-tenant cloud and mobile-based enterprise software in HR and Global Payroll, ERP and M&E MRO for Aviation. Part of the USD 1 billion Ramco Group, Ramco Systems focuses on Innovation and Culture to differentiate itself in the marketplace. For more information, please visit http://www.ramco.com/ Follow Ramco on Twitter @ramcosystems and stay tuned to http://blogs.ramco.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2092071/Ramco_Qatar.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1923662/Ramco_Logo.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ramco-systems-strengthens-its-presence-in-the-middle-east-301841777.html [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Right now angel Lily inspires our peek at pop culture, community news and top headlines. Check TKC news gathering . . . Great Cause Stays Winning Big Slick Celebrity Weekend breaks fundraising record again KANSAS CITY, Mo. - It was another record-breaking year for the 2023 Big Slick Celebrity Weekend. At the end of Saturday night's Big Slick Party & Show, hosts Jason Sudeikis, Paul Rudd, Heidi Gardner, Rob Riggle and Eric Stonestreet announced the annual charity event raised $3.524 million this year. Newsflash: Politicos Take Cash Where did Kansas state senators' campaign funds come from? The answers might surprise you. - Kansas Reflector In the nonelection timeframe spanning Jan. 1, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2022, members of the Kansas Senate took more than $1 million from political action committees, special interest groups, large corporations or businesses, and out-of-state donors. Only 11% of all 40 senators' campaign contributions came from individual citizens living in Kansas. Show-Me Cash Crop End Game Where does the revenue from Missouri marijuana sales and license fees go? Since Missouri's marijuana sales began in 2019, the state has collected nearly $100 million in revenue from taxes and program fees, according to state authorities. Etched in the state's constitution is a road map for where the revenue can go. The first stop is operational costs. Gift Of Life Celebrated 'He lived life to the fullest': Mother of organ donor meets the recipient of her son's heart KANSAS CITY, Mo - A mother from New York has traveled all the way to Kansas City to meet the recipient of her son's heart. 26-year-old Josh Streeter donated his organs after complications from an ATV crash took his life in 2021. Old School Cowtown Luxury Endures 'A beautiful property,' KC historic mansion saved from wrecking ball, at least for now Red brick and fronted by stately white columns, a 110-year-old Kansas City mansion - put up for sale by its owners for possible demolition - has been saved from destruction, at least temporarily. For several months, residents in the Southmoreland neighborhood near the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art have been at odds with the absentee owners of the house at 4526 Warwick Blvd. Angel Debuts New Looks From Lily with Love: Weekend Max Mara Spring 2023 Collection Weekend Max Mara and Lily Aldridge team up for the brand's SS23 Signature Collection Fashion brand WEEKEND MAX MARA collaborated with supermodel Lily Aldridge for their Spring Summer 2023 Signature Collection called FROM LILY WITH LOVE . The collection was inspired by the supermodel's father and a renowned English illustrator Alan Aldridge. Prez Biden Picks Up Momentum After Stumbling?!?! Everything is coming up Biden After President Joe Biden delivered the commencement speech at the Air Force Academy's graduation on Thursday, he tripped over a sandbag and fell flat on his face. But that's just about the only tumble Biden has taken recently, either literal or metaphorical: The president is coming off a remarkably successful month, in both political and substantive policy terms. Consider the following examples. MAGA Fact Checks MSM Trump Insists He Handled Classified Documents '100%' Legally In Fox News Town Hall Former President Donald Trump insisted he did not break any laws in his handling of classified government documents and continued to lash out at his primary opponents, during a Fox News town hall hosted by Sean Hannity on Thursday. European War Kills Innocence President Zelenskyy says 2-year-old is one of 500 Ukrainian children killed in war KYIV, Ukraine - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russia's war, now in its 16th month, has killed at least 500 Ukrainian children. Zelenskyy provided the number hours after rescue workers found the body of a 2-year-old girl who died in one of the latest Russian strikes. Far East Outcry & Crackdown Tiananmen Square: Hong Kong police make arrests on anniversary of massacre Hong Kong was previously the only Chinese city where these commemorations were allowed, under the city's semi-autonomous economic, political and legal set up - known as "one country, two systems" - established when the city handed over to China by the UK in 1997. El Papa Talks Money As Vatican scrutinizes missionary group, pope warns of risk of corruption in fundraising Pope Francis warned the Vatican's missionary fundraisers on June 3 not to allow financial corruption to creep into their work, insisting that spirituality and spreading the Gospel must drive their operations, not mere entrepreneurship. Celebrating Freedom & Equality 11 ways to celebrate Juneteenth 2023 in Kansas City As people gather this month for programs and other events celebrating the end of slavery in the United States, they are celebrating more than Black resilience. Bridge Work Success I-70 reopens early after Blue Ridge bridge demolition in Kansas City As people gather this month for programs and other events celebrating the end of slavery in the United States, they are celebrating more than Black resilience. Katie Shares Sunday Sneak Peek Pop-up storms in the middle of the day threaten Sunday events Pop-up storms in the middle of the day threaten Sunday events Hight temperatures Sunday will be around 88 degrees; wind, rain, and lightning are possible starting at around 1:00 p.m. Hide Transcript Show Transcript 2:00 THIS AFTERNOON. WE WANT TO KEEP THE FESTIVALS ON THEIR CORNERS. Blinded by the Light ~ Manfred Mann's Earth Band with lyrics is the song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now. The crack of Johnson County proves increasingly hairy, nasty & altogether unseemly as violence erupts Saturday night and police were forced to defend themselves against an angry bloke who brought the wrong utensil to a gun fight. Here are the basics . . . Olathe police officers were conducting a traffic stop at approximately 5:43 p.m. in the 200 block of N. Water Street when a separate subject allegedly armed with a knife arrived on scene in an unrelated vehicle and allegedly confronted them, per a press release. Two police officers then shot the subject, a 58-year-old male, according to the press release. The subject received medical attention by responding officers and Johnson County Med-Act, and was pronounced dead at the scene. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . One man dead after police involved shooting in Olathe Saturday night KANSAS CITY, Mo. - One man is dead after a police involved shooting in Olathe on Saturday night, according to a tweet from the Olathe Police Department. Olathe police officers were conducting a traffic stop at approximately 5:43 p.m. in the 200 block of N. Police: Man shot and killed after approaching Olathe officers with knife SOURCE: Olathe PD Olathe Police tell us a man is dead after approaching officers at a separate traffic stop in Olathe.Police say officers were conducting a traffic stop when they were confronted by a man unrelated to the stop, who was holding a knife.The man holding the knife was pronounced dead at the scene. Developing . . . The Foreign Minister of Greece's caretaker government, Vassilis Kaskarelis, will travel to Ankara on Saturday, June 3, as he has been invited to represent the Greek government at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly-elected President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a foreign ministry announcement said on Friday, according to ANA. Kaskarelis is also to attend a dinner hosted by Erdogan for the representatives of foreign governments. 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: A.Savin New CBI director-general Rain Newton-Smith - Darren Staples/Bloomberg Supporters of the CBI have launched a last-ditch bid to save the embattled business lobby group from collapse ahead of a crunch vote on its future. Businesses with links to the organisation, including Siemens and Microsoft, have co-ordinated a show of support even as multiple blue-chip firms signalled they would refuse to endorse its turnaround effort. A joint letter organised by Siemens calls for businesses to rally round the group in the run-up to the next election and says the CBI has taken steps to repair its shattered reputation after its culture fell far below expectations. Juergen Maier, the former UK chief executive of Siemens, has previously sat on the CBI Presidents committee. Microsofts UK chief Clare Barclay currently sits on the CBI board. The intervention comes as it emerged that several major CBI members plan to abstain from Tuesdays vote on whether to approve a plan designed to rehabilitate the group after a sexual misconduct scandal. BT and PwC are among those who are likely to abstain from the vote. Both have suspended their membership, though they are still eligible to cast a ballot. Other companies that have ceased work with the organisation include Tesco and Sainsburys, while ITV and BP are set to let their memberships lapse. The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC), a rival to the CBI, on Sunday night launched a new Business Council to represent major corporations in an effort to appeal to businesses deserting the CBI. Heathrow, Drax, IHG and BP have joined as founding members of the council. BCC chief Shevaun Haviland said: We have been talking to the nations largest corporates and it has become clear to us that they are looking for a different kind of representation. A CBI source called the new council very opportunistic. The CBI has asked its thousands of members to back a plan put forward by new director-general Rain Newton-Smith on how to reform itself. Proposals include overhauling the board and creating a new culture committee. If it loses the vote, which requires a majority of members to support it, the 58-year-old organisation faces being wound down. It is understood that there is no participation threshold for the vote, meaning abstentions will not affect the validity of the outcome. Siemens decided to issue a public statement of support after a meeting on Friday in which its management decided to vote in favour of the proposals. It is believed to have done so without the CBIs input. Its letter, which has also been signed by executives including Esso chairman Paul Greenwood, says: The allegations of rape and acknowledgment of other serious instances of misconduct at the CBI have been well reported; it is clear the culture of the organisation fell far below expectations. At a time when the UK economy is facing strong economic headwinds and anaemic growth and with a general election expected before the end of next year, it is vital that there is a credible voice representing all sectors and sizes of UK business. The CBI can do this. The next 18 months will be vital for the UK and as a group, we feel that it is essential that a refocussed, effective, CBI re-establishes its ties with government and provides the voice that British business needs. Mr Maier, who ran Siemens UK for six years until 2019, served on the CBIs president committee from 2016 until 2019. He held the position under former CBI chairman John Allan, who last month resigned as Tesco chairman following several allegations of inappropriate behaviour. Mr Allan has denied the accusations, apart from admitting to making inappropriate comments about a CBI staff member in 2019. tony danker CBI - Oli SCARFF / AFP The CBI, which is seen as the voice of British business, has been fighting for its future after a series of allegations of inappropriate behaviour and two claims of rape at its events. The organisation suspended much of its activity in the wake of the revelations and thousands of members have quit or stopped engaging with it. The freeze has sent the CBI into a financial crisis and it said last week it would have to make redundancies to cut its wage bill by a third. It has brought in lawyers to advise on a potential insolvency, something that could hinge on Tuesdays vote. It sacked its director-general Tony Danker in April after reports emerged of an inappropriate comment he had made to a member of staff. Mr Danker has apologised for making people feel uncomfortable but argued he has been made a scapegoat. The Sunday Times reported Mr Danker is preparing to take legal action against the CBI. Ms Newton-Smith, the organisations former chief economist, was drafted in by the CBIs board to head the organisation at short notice. Ms Newton-Smith told the BBC that the revelations had been devastating but that she was absolutely determined to lead the CBI through the crisis. She said Tuesdays vote would be nerve wracking and urged members to back the proposals. The letters existence was first reported by Sky News. 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. Climate negotiators will gather in Germany next week for key talks that aim to lay the groundwork for the crucial 28th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) in the UAE. Read More: All That We Know About COP28 The Bonn Climate Change Conference will run from Monday, June 5th, to Thursday, June 15th. It is much smaller than a COP summit and largely consists of technical negotiations. It will focus on ramping up at what was achieved at COP27 in Egypt last year and chart a course for agreement at COP28. During the Bonn gathering, negotiators will tackle issues that are expected to dominate the talks in Dubai such as climate finance, as well as adaptation and measures to cut greenhouse emissions. They will also discuss measures to ensure a flow of climate finance to developing countries, increase the transparency of climate action and examine the impact of climate change on agriculture and the food security. Sultan Al Jaber, the event's President-designate and the UAE's Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said the Bonn sessions were critical for shaping "meaningful, pragmatic, and impactful outcomes" in the UAE. "As the incoming presidency, we will ensure a fair, inclusive and transparent presidency that provides space for all parties to reach consensus across the whole agenda," said Al Jaber. During the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius considered further steps in terms of military cooperation. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on Twitter, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. The IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore provides an excellent opportunity to synchronize our watches with our international partners. Had a great conversation with my German colleague, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, Reznikov wrote. In his words, the parties discussed the situation on the battlefield and their next steps in military cooperation. Grateful for Germanys participation in the tank coalition Leopards like our Ukrainian climate. Thank you to the German government and people for the unwavering support, Reznikov added. The IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore provides an excellent opportunity to synchronize our watches with our international partners. Had a great conversation with my colleague Boris #Pistorius @BMVg_Bundeswehr. We discussed the situation on the battlefield and our next pic.twitter.com/NeIcmbqqGX Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) June 2, 2023 A reminder that the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue opened in Singapore on June 2, 2023. The war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine is one of the key issues in its agenda. According to the organizers, more than 600 representatives from 49 countries are expected to take part in the event. Our defense, actions, and independence are not something abstract these are the actions of actual heroes, thanks to whom Ukraine is and will be out there. President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in his address to the nation on the 465th day of the war, Ukrinform reports. I salute you, my dear Ukrainians, Almost every night, in my appeals, I thank our soldiers specific units, specific brigades, which performed the best on the front line or in defending our sky over a day or week. And today I have a more personal thank you to specific soldiers. We must all remember that our defense, our active moves, and the independence of Ukraine are not something abstract. These are very specific people, specific actions of specific heroes, thanks to which Ukraine is and Ukraine will be out there. Thousands and thousands of our strongest, bravest, most skillful people... People like soldier Yaroslav Kan, our paratrooper. He fought in the hottest spots of the front line. Bilohorivka, defense of Lysychansk, defense of Soledar. Battles for Svatove, Kreminna, Bakhmut... Four wounds! Now he is undergoing treatment, recovering. And hes ready to return to the front again. This is an extraordinary human might! Thank you, Yaroslav! Senior Sergeant Yevhen Kepsha, anti-tank missile platoon commander. Battles for Bakhmut. ATGM Stugna. Really apt, really brave. Together with the boys, together with the brothers from their unit, he shows some very good results in destroying occupiers. Thanks for this, Yevhen! Senior Sergeant Maksym Kuzmenko and Junior Sergeant Anton Andrushchenko, both with the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade. Battles in the Avdiivka direction. Really tough battles. Constant enemy assaults. And this is the result Ukraine needs in defending our positions. Thank you, guys! I have already thanked our soldiers from the 55th Zaporizhzhya Sich Artillery Brigade many times. These guys are all great. They fight very powerfully, very efficiently. And today I will particularly mention the artillery battery under the command of Captain Mykola Nosach. The Avdiivka direction. They tackle Russian assaults truly skillfully. Thats exactly whats needed. Thank you, Mykola! It's great to see reports of your precision fire. Soldiers with our 128th Separate Mountain Assault Zakarpattia brigade. Division commander Lt. Col. Oleksandr Hladysh, battery commander Captain Rostyslav Kmet, platoon commander Senior Lieutenant Oleksandr Shytikov, gun commander Junior Sergeant Oleksandr Kryshtapyuk, senior gunner Senior Soldier Yaroslav Nyul... Artillery units. Always effective. Thank you, warriors! Our glorious Rear Admiral Mykhailo Ostrogradskyi 35th Separate Marine Infantry Brigade... Following f almost every day of fighting, these guys deserve our appreciation. And today Id like to note separately their entire 1st Marines Battalion. I thank each of you, guys! Your strength is an example to all. And also, the defenders of our sky. Such as Anatoly Pavlenko, a National Guardsman with the anti-aircraft missile division Bureviy. A guy who has learned how to shoot down Russian missiles extremely well with the help of just an Igla MANPAD. Thanks for your precision! We usually thank the soldiers who defend our cities from Russian terror with the help of powerful air defense systems: Patriots, NASAMS, IRIS-T, and others. And it is absolutely fair they saved a lot of lives of our people, a lot of infrastructure facilities. However, there are also important and effective! soldiers from our fire maneuver groups, who cover various civilian and military objects. As, for example, Senior Sergeant Viktor Sidnev is the senior of one of these maneuver groups protecting Kyiv. Excellent coordination, excellent combat skills. And there is a result downed missiles launched by the invaders. Thank you! I thank everyone who is fighting for Ukraine! I thank everyone who is on their combat posts and on combat missions! I thank everyone who constantly trains our soldiers and everyone who treats our heroes for their injuries! And I am asking you all: please do not forget to personally thank our soldiers. Those whom you know personally. Those whom you may just follow on social media. Those whom you just heard about and can tell other Ukrainians, our people. Gratitude is always important, and it is important to hear that you are appreciated when you fight for your people like this. Glory to all our heroes! Glory to Ukraine! Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit in Moldova. That's according to the Office of the President of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports. Zelensky informed Scholz about the escalation of Russian missile terror against Ukraine. In this context, he emphasized the need to continue defense support for Ukraine, especially to strengthen the capabilities of Ukrainian air defenses. Video: Office of the President of Ukraine Zelensky thanked Scholz for supporting the Ukrainian Peace Formula and for his readiness to join its implementation. Both parties discussed joint preparations for the Global Peace Summit and the involvement of the widest possible range of participants. Read also: Zelensky meets with Macron in Chisinau Both leaders agreed that an important factor in putting pressure on Russia is to strengthen sanctions against the aggressor, particularly by including in the new EU sanctions package the most effective restrictions against the Russian economy. Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine explained why the "peace plan" proposed by Indonesia would not work, and called on the country to join the implementation of the Ukrainian peace formula. Thats according to a spokesman for MFA Ukraine, Oleg Nikolenko, who addressed the issue on Facebook. Indonesia is an important actor in the Southeast Asian region, which currently chairs ASEAN, Nikolenko recalled, adding that last year, its President Joko Widodo was the first Asian leader to visit Kyiv to see firsthand the consequences of Russian aggression. "We appreciate the attention that Indonesia, apparently drawing conclusions from its own history, is paying to the issue of restoring peace in Ukraine," Nikolenko emphasized. At the same time, he recalled that there are no disputed territories between Ukraine and the Russian Federation to hold referenda there. Having committed an act of aggression, Russia annexed Crimea, parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, which is recorded in official UN documents. In the occupied territories, the Russian army commits war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide. "Russia must withdraw from Ukrainian territories, and Ukraine must restore its territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders. There can be no alternative scenarios," spokesman emphasized. Nikolenko noted that the ceasefire, the disengagement of forces to a distance of 15 kilometers, and the creation of a demilitarized zone will not work out. Indeed, today Russia is trying in every possible way to disrupt the Ukrainian counteroffensive. A ceasefire without the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine will allow Moscow to buy time, regroup, gain a foothold in the occupied areas, and restore capabilities for a new wave of aggression. "Long-lasting peace in Ukraine means liberation of Ukrainian territories from Russian occupation. This is what the peace formula by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine is aimed at. We invite Indonesia to join its active implementation," added Nikolenko. As Ukrinform reported earlier, Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto proposed his own "peace plan" for Ukraine, which provides for an immediate ceasefire and the creation of a demilitarized zone along the current line of contact. Ukraine appealed to the majority of Latin American countries to allow the Ukrainian head of state to speak before the parliaments of these countries in order to tell the truth about what is happening in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in an interview with Latin American mass media, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "First of all, Id like to tell you that I got to know your leader. And I think we have built a very good relationship. Indeed, he is a young man and has progressive views, he supports Ukraine. And I had the opportunity to speak in only two parliaments of Latin American countries. We applied to everyone, of course. If not all, then most. And we made requests for calls, for conversations, for dialogue because all this offers people an opportunity to know the truth. That's all I need these contacts for just for that. Thats because we will definitely talk about business between our states, but after the war. But amid war its about knowing the truth and backing us politically, in terms of both support and justice. So we're all right with Chile. I am very grateful," Zelensky said, talking to a journalist from Chile. He added that he also had the opportunity to speak before the Mexican parliament, "and Guatemala has always supported us in this." "I will tell you frankly, in no way do I want to accuse anyone from your countries of anything. In Ukraine, we are so careful about the freedom we protect, that's why I am absolutely careful about people's choices," said the head of the Ukrainian state. As reported, in April 2023, President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed via video link a joint meeting of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress of Chile. Photo: Presidents Office Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin has held a meeting with United Kingdom Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons. The relevant statement was made by the Ukrainian Prosecutor Generals Office on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. In the course of the meeting, Kostin thanked the people of the United Kingdom for providing assistance to Ukraine since the first day of the Russian invasion. Great Britain has been systematically and comprehensively supporting Ukraine, namely in the legal sphere, Kostin noted. The United Kingdom is one of the founders of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA), a multilateral initiative established by the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom to provide strategic advice and operational assistance to the Ukrainian Prosecutor Generals Office in the investigation and prosecution of Russian war crimes. We highly value the contribution of Great Britain to ensuring fair punishment for the perpetrators of international crimes, Kostin added. A reminder that United Kingdom Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons stated earlier that Great Britain would continue efforts to hold Russia accountable for the crimes against Ukrainian children and, for this purpose, it is necessary to help Ukraine win the war. Photo: Ukrainian Prosecutor Generals Office Millions of dollars worth of users cryptocurrency have reportedly gone missing among users of the self-custodial, decentralized Atomic Wallet. The project on Saturday acknowledged the compromise and said it was doing everything it could to investigate the apparent vulnerability. A wave of accounts on Twitter said their wallets contents had been drained of funds, sparking widespread concern throughout Crypto Twitter. This is seriously scary, DeFi researcher Ignas said on Twitter. Atomic wallet, despite being around for years, still gets hacked. This is seriously scary. Atomic wallet, despite being around for years, still gets hacked. I'm trying out several software wallets, but for peace of mind, multisig wins for long-term storage. Unfortunately, it's not the most user-friendly way, but you'll sleep better at night. pic.twitter.com/LJI0iFnVot Ignas | DeFi Research (@DefiIgnas) June 4, 2023 The projects cryptocurrency wallet has more than 5 million downloads, according to Atomic Wallets website. It was originally launched in 2017 as Atomic Swap by CEO Konstantin Gladych, who is also the CEO of Changelly.com. As of Sunday, Atomic Wallet said it cant confirm how the attacks took place, but assured users that it is working with leading security companies on an investigation and has reached out to organizations that can help trace the stolen funds like analytics firms and exchanges. Update: The investigation is still ongoing in a joint effort with the leading security companies. The team is working on possible attack vectors. Nothing yet confirmed. Support team is collecting victim addresses. Reached out to major exchanges and blockchain analytics companies Atomic - Crypto Wallet (@AtomicWallet) June 4, 2023 Atomic Wallet did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Decrypt. Some accounts on Twitter said they were left unscathed by the exploit, having been able to move funds to a different wallet in time. Others lamented that they had lost all the cryptocurrency they had. Atomic Wallet claims its product is secure partly because the firm does not have access to sensitive information like users private keys, which are encrypted and stored on peoples devices. But Least Authority, an auditing firm, raised red flags in February 2021, stating Atomic Wallet is insufficiently secure in protecting user assets and private data. Over $35 million worth of stolen funds had been identified as of Sunday, according to investigative work done by the pseudonymous blockchain sleuth ZachXBT. One victim lost nearly $8 million worth of the stablecoin Tether due to the incident, ZachXBT said. Atomic Wallets ERC-20 token AWC, which trades on decentralized exchanges like Uniswap, was down over 13% to $0.22 over the past 24 hours, as of this writing, according to CoinGecko. The price represents a more than 96% decline from its all-time high of $7.26, set in May 2021. Additionally, the five biggest losses resulting from the compromised account for nearly half of the stolen funds identified so far, ZachXBT said. Update: A new largest victim was found on Tron with 7.95M USDT stolen, The five biggest losses account for $17M. My graph has now surpassed $35M in total stolen. pic.twitter.com/eqfXkm9vlL ZachXBT (@zachxbt) June 4, 2023 The cryptocurrency industry has experienced an uptick in the number of attacks compared to years past, with an estimated $440 stolen in the first fiscal quarter of 2023 across 73 incidents, according to research from Immunefi. The firm found that hacks accounted for 95% of funds lost, outpacing scams and other forms of malicious activity. It is possible that some funds lost in the Atomic Wallet exploit can be recovered. With the help of Jito Labs pseudonymous CEO Buffalo and an employee at the MEV infrastructure company, ZachXBT said he was able to help rescue $1 million worth of funds. A huge shoutout goes to @buffalu__ @brian_smith_0 for helping us successfully rescue $1m from the Atomic Wallet hacker for one of the victims. ZachXBT (@zachxbt) June 4, 2023 Buffalo told Decrypt via Twitter message that revealing the teams methodology for recovering funds could be dangerous and lead to more losses for other victims. But Buffalo is hopeful that the solution could help others. Im glad Zach [messaged] me and we could get together a fast solution, Buffalo said, saying it's meaningful to help to at least help one person, maybe more. He added that the hack is very terrible for all the victims involved." Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal of Ukraine met in Kyiv with the President of Estonia, Alar Karis. The head of the Ukrainian government announced this on Facebook, Ukrinform reports. "I am glad to welcome President of Estonia Alar Karis to Ukraine. During our meeting, bilateral cooperation between the two countries was discussed. Estonia was the first to start practical reconstruction projects in Ukraine. In particular, a kindergarten was opened in Ovruch, Zhytomyr region. I thank our partners for these first steps," Shmyhal noted. He also noted Estonia's leadership in developing a national mechanism for the confiscation of Russian assets to allocate them for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. According to the government chief, during the meeting, the parties coordinated the support for Ukraine on the way to the EU and NATO, creation of the Special Tribunal for Russian crimes, and strengthening of Russia sanctions. Shmyhal emphasized that the sanctions should be powerful enough to stop the Russian war machine. "I thanked our Estonian friends for unprecedented military assistance: transfer of various types of weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, treatment and training of the Ukrainian military, and an initiative at the EU level regarding joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine. All these decisive steps in countering Russian aggression bring our victory closer!" stressed Prime Minister. As Ukrinform reported earlier, President Alar Karis of Estonia is visiting Kyiv, where he also met with President Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: Denys Shmyhal, Facebook Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov has held a meeting with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and National Defense Minister Tea Banh in Singapore. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on Twitter, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Cambodia condemns the Russian aggression against Ukraine and seeks to provide assistance to our country in overcoming the horrors of war, in particular by using its experience and capabilities in humanitarian demining, Reznikov wrote. In addition, Reznikov thanked to the Kingdom of Cambodia for its support and expressed hope to host his colleague, Tea Banh, in Ukraine. A reminder that the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue opened in Singapore on June 2, 2023. The war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine is one of the key issues in its agenda. According to the organizers, more than 600 representatives from 49 countries are expected to take part in the event. Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov discussed bilateral cooperation with Minister of Defense of Japan Yasukazu Hamada at a meeting in Singapore. I had a wonderful conversation with my colleague, Minister of Defense of Japan Yasukazu Hamada. Japan supports Ukraine in its battle to defend freedom and democracy. Our friendship and cooperation will contribute to global peace and stability. This was our first meeting, and I look forward to continuing our dialogue. I invited my Japanese colleague to visit Ukraine, Reznikov posted on Twitter. As reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky visited the 48th G7 summit in Japan in May. According to Zelensky, he had two meetings with the Prime Minister of Japan, during which they, in particular, discussed the issue of technology. On June 2-4, the Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit is held in Singapore, at which the war waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine is one of the main topics. In Singapore, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov has met with his colleagues from New Zealand and Fiji, Andrew Little and Pio Tikoduadua. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on Twitter, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. I was happy to meet with my New Zealand colleague, Andrew Little, on the sidelines of the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. Im grateful for New Zealands unwavering support. With such friends, we will surely win, Reznikov wrote. Following his meeting with Pio Tikoduadua, Reznikov mentioned that Ukraine and Fiji are both fighting for survival. Distance does not matter if you are united by shared values. Fiji supports Ukraine, just as Ukraine supports Fiji. Today, both our nations are fighting for survival. Fijis land is being attacked by climate change. Our land is under attack by a terrorist state, Reznikov noted. In his words, Ukraine and Fiji will work together to combat both global threats, and will win together. A reminder that the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue took place in Singapore on June 2-4, 2023. The war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine was one of the key issues in its agenda. Photo: Oleksii Reznikov, Twitter It is usually uneventful when a single insider buys stock. However, When quite a few insiders buy shares, as it happened in The Reject Shop Limited's (ASX:TRS) case, it's fantastic news for shareholders. While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. See our latest analysis for Reject Shop The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Reject Shop Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Non-Executive Chairman Steven Fisher for AU$156k worth of shares, at about AU$4.45 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of AU$4.45. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. In the last twelve months Reject Shop insiders were buying shares, but not selling. Their average price was about AU$3.98. We don't deny that it is nice to see insiders buying stock in the company. However, you should keep in mind that they bought when the share price was meaningfully below today's levels. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below! There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them). Does Reject Shop Boast High Insider Ownership? I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 6.7% of Reject Shop shares, worth about AU$11m, according to our data. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings. So What Does This Data Suggest About Reject Shop Insiders? It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Reject Shop shares in the last quarter. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders own shares in Reject Shop and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Reject Shop, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company. But note: Reject Shop may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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 (@FahadShabbir) MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th June, 2023) Russia and other OPEC+ petroleum exporting countries have stayed true to their commitments to make voluntary oil production cuts until the end of the year, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Sunday. Saudi Arabia, Russia and several other oil producers from the 10-nation OPEC and its non-member partners, called OPEC+, announced in April that they would voluntarily take a total 1.16 million barrels of crude per day off the market over May-December 2023 in a bid to prop up prices. OPEC+ agreed at a meeting on Sunday to extend voluntary cuts through December 2024. "We have been over-performing on our agreements lately. Some countries have not been meeting 100% of their (oil production) quotas. The decisions we made regarding voluntary cuts from May we will have independent data on them in mid-June. Judging by our opinion exchange, these commitments are being upheld in full, including by Russia," Novak told Rossiya 24 television channel after the Vienna talks. The former Russian energy minister said that the global oil market appeared to be in balance, although demand edged upwards at the start of the summer vacation season on the back of rising gasoline and jet fuel consumption. OPEC+ agreed at the meeting on Sunday to adjust their cumulative production to 40.46 million barrels per day over January-December 2024. Russia said it would extend its voluntary production cut of 500,000 barrels per day until the end of 2024, while Saudi Arabia said it would make an extra 1 million cut to its daily production from July, on top of a 500,000 cut that was likewise extended through December 2024. (@ChaudhryMAli88) ANKARA, Jun 4 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Jun, 2023 ) :Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif during his recent visit to Turkiye also met with different world leaders and discussed the bilateral ties and cooperation between Pakistan and their respective countries. The prime minister had travelled to Turkiye to join the world leaders in the inauguration ceremony of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The prime minister met former deputy prime minister of Turkiye and Chairman MHP Devlet Bahceli and conveyed his felicitation over success in the elections, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release. On the occasion, he also met with Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu. Both leaders reiterated their desire to promote bilateral relations and cooperation in different fields. The prime minister also interacted with Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber. The prime minister referred to the establishment of market at the Balochistan-Sistan border and his recent meeting with the Iranian president. Welcoming the commencement of barter trade between the two countries, the prime minister expressed the confidence that it would mutually benefit the people of both brotherly countries. In his meeting with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the two leaders discussed regional cooperation, connectivity and further strengthening of bilateral cooperation in diverse fields. (@FahadShabbir) MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th June, 2023) Germany will send two warships to the Indo-Pacific in 2024, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Sunday, citing the need to uphold "rules-based international order." NATO allies have been bolstering their presence in the region after the US-led military alliance labeled China a security challenge last year. "The German Federal Government sent a frigate to the Indo-Pacific in 2021, and will again, in 2024, deploy maritime assets this time a frigate and a supply ship to the region," Pistorius said in Singapore. The minister stressed that the deployment was not directed at any nation and was aimed at protecting sea lines of communication. He said the 2021 deployment was in response to tensions on the Korean peninsula. "These deployments I want to make this very clear are not directed against any nation," he said. The German defense minister said Berlin was committed to contributing to peace and security in the Indo-Pacific and would increase its engagement in the region in the coming years. BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th June, 2023) Three-member crew of China's Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft successfully landed in China on Sunday after their six-month mission on board the Tiangong space station, China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said. "At 6:33 on June 4, 2023, Beijing time (22:33 GMT on Saturday), the return capsule of the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft landed successfully at the Dongfeng landing site (in China's autonomous Inner Mongolia region). The manned mission of Shenzhou-15 was a complete success," the CMSA said in a statement. Some 30 minutes later the astronauts were carried out of the capsule, the agency said, adding that they are in good physical condition. The crew includes three astronauts crew commander Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu who arrived at the orbital station on November 30, 2022. During their stay on the station, they made four spacewalks and conducted several scientific and technical experiments. The Shenzhou-16 crew that came to Tiangong on May 30 will continue working aboard it for around five more months. The Tiangong space station is China's first long-term orbital station. It operates in low Earth orbit between 210 and 280 miles above the surface. Its first module, Tianhe, was launched in 2021. Some 54 Ugandan peacekeepers died when militants besieged an African Union base in Somalia last week, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni said, in one of the worst recent attacks by Al-Shabaab jihadists in the war-torn country. "We discovered the lifeless bodies of 54 fallen soldiers, including a commander," Museveni said in a Twitter post late Saturday. The veteran leader was speaking during a meeting with members of his governing National Resistance Movement party, the presidency told AFP on Sunday. The toll is one of the heaviest yet since pro-government forces backed by the AU force known as ATMIS launched an offensive against Al-Shabaab last August. It was also a rare admission of a major military death toll by African Union members. Al-Shabaab, which has been waging a deadly insurgency against Somalia's fragile central government for more than a decade, claimed responsibility for the May 26 attack, saying it had overrun the base and killed 137 soldiers. Al-Shabaab is known to exaggerate claims of battlefield gains for propaganda purposes, and the governments of nations contributing troops to the AU force rarely confirm casualties. The militants drove a car laden with explosives into the base in Bulo Marer, 120 kilometers (75 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu, leading to a gunfight, local residents and a Somali military commander told AFP. Museveni had already said last week that "some of the soldiers there did not perform as expected and panicked" as some 800 assailants attacked. That forced a withdrawal to a nearby base some nine kilometers (6 miles) away, he said, deploring "a missed opportunity to annihilate" the Qaeda-linked insurgents. "The mistake was made by two commanders, Maj. Oluka and Maj. Obbo, who ordered the soldiers to retreat," Museveni said on Saturday, adding that they would face charges in a court martial. However, "our soldiers demonstrated remarkable resilience and reorganized themselves, resulting in the recapture of the base." ATMIS has so far not disclosed how many people died, but said it sent in helicopter gunships as reinforcement after the pre-dawn raid. The United States also said it conducted an airstrike near the base a day after it was attacked. U.S. Africa Command said it "destroyed weapons and equipment unlawfully taken by Al-Shabaab fighters", without specifying when or where the weapons were stolen. 'All-out war' The attack highlights the endemic security problems in the Horn of Africa country as it struggles to emerge from decades of conflict and natural disasters. Last year, Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud launched an "all-out war" against Al-Shabaab, rallying Somalis to help flush out members of the jihadist group he described as "bedbugs." In recent months, the army and militias known as "macawisley" have retaken swathes of territory in the center of the country in an operation backed by ATMIS and U.S. airstrikes. But despite the gains by the pro-government forces, the militants have continued to strike with lethal force against civilian and military targets. In the deadliest Al-Shabaab attack since the offensive was launched, 121 people were killed in October in two car bomb blasts at the education ministry in Mogadishu. In May 2022, the militants stormed an AU base and triggered a fierce firefight that killed around 30 Burundian peacekeepers, a high-ranking Burundian military officer told AFP. The Somali government and the AU condemned the attack, without disclosing how many people had died. In September 2015, at least 50 AU troops were reported by Western military sources to have died when Al-Shabaab fighters overran a military base southwest of Mogadishu. The 20,000-member ATMIS force has a more offensive remit than its predecessor, known as AMISOM. It is drawn from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya, with troops deployed in southern and central Somalia. Its goal is to hand over security responsibilities to Somalia's army and police by 2024. In a report to the U.N. Security Council in February, U.N. chief Antonio Guterres said 2022 was the deadliest year for civilians in Somalia since 2017, largely as a result of Al-Shabaab attacks. Apple appears poised to unveil a long-rumored headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter's ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public's imagination. After years of speculation, the stage is set for the widely anticipated announcement to be made Monday at Apple's annual developers conference in a Cupertino, California, theater named after the company's late co-founder Steve Jobs. Apple is also likely to use the event to show off its latest Mac computer, preview the next operating system for the iPhone and discuss its strategy for artificial intelligence. But the star of the show is expected to be a pair of goggles perhaps called Reality Pro, according to media leaks that could become another milestone in Apple's lore of releasing game-changing technology, even though the company hasn't always been the first to try its hand at making a particular device. Apple's lineage of breakthroughs date back to a bow-tied Jobs peddling the first Mac in 1984 a tradition that continued with the iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007, the iPad in 2010, the Apple Watch in 2014 and its AirPods in 2016. But with a hefty price tag that could be in the $3,000 range, Apple's new headset may also be greeted with a lukewarm reception from all but affluent technophiles. If the new device turns out to be a niche product, it would leave Apple in the same bind as other major tech companies and startups that have tried selling headsets or glasses equipped with technology that either thrusts people into artificial worlds or projects digital images with scenery and things that are actually in front of them a format known as augmented reality. Apple's goggles are expected be sleekly designed and capable of toggling between totally virtual or augmented options, a blend sometimes known as mixed reality." That flexibility also is sometimes called external reality, or XR for shorthand. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been describing these alternate three-dimensional realities as the metaverse. It's a geeky concept that he tried to push into the mainstream by changing the name of his social networking company to Meta Platforms in 2021 and then pouring billions of dollars into improving the virtual technology. But the metaverse largely remains a digital ghost town, although Meta's virtual reality headset, the Quest, remains the top-selling device in a category that so far has mostly appealed to video game players looking for even more immersive experiences. Apple executives seem likely to avoid referring to the metaverse, given the skepticism that has quickly developed around that term, when they discuss the potential of the company's new headset. In recent years, Apple CEO Tim Cook has periodically touted augmented reality as technology's next quantum leap, while not setting a specific timeline for when it will gain mass appeal. If you look back in a point in time, you know, zoom out to the future and look back, youll wonder how you led your life without augmented reality, Cook, who is 62, said last September while speaking to an audience of students in Italy. Just like today you wonder how did people like me grow up without the internet. You know, so I think it could be that profound. And its not going to be profound overnight. The response to virtual, augmented and mixed reality has been decidedly ho-hum so far. Some of the gadgets deploying the technology have even been derisively mocked, with the most notable example being Google's internet-connected glasses released more than a decade ago. After Google co-founder Sergey Brin initially drummed up excitement about the device by demonstrating an early model's potential wow factor with a skydiving stunt staged during a San Francisco tech conference, consumers quickly became turned off to a product that allowed its users to surreptitiously take pictures and video. The backlash became so intense that people who wore the gear became known as Glassholes, leading Google to withdraw the product a few years after its debut. Microsoft also has had limited success with HoloLens, a mixed-reality headset released in 2016, although the software maker earlier this year insisted it remains committed to the technology. Magic Leap, a startup that stirred excitement with previews of a mixed-reality technology that could conjure the spectacle of a whale breaching through a gymnasium floor, had so much trouble marketing its first headset to consumers in 2018 that it has since shifted its focus to industrial, healthcare and emergency uses. Daniel Diez, Magic Leap's chief transformation officer, said there are four major questions Apple's goggles will have to answer: What can people do with it? What does this thing look and feel like? Is it comfortable to wear? And how much is it going to cost? The anticipation that Apple's goggles are going to sell for several thousand dollars already has dampened expectations for the product. Although he expects Apple's goggles to boast jaw dropping technology, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said he expects the company to sell just 150,000 units during the device's first year on the market a mere speck in the company's portfolio. By comparison, Apple sells more than 200 million iPhones, its marquee product a year. But the iPhone wasn't an immediate sensation, with sales of fewer than 12 million units in its first full year on the market. In a move apparently aimed at magnifying the expected price of Apple's goggles, Zuckerberg made a point of saying last week that the next Quest headset will sell for $500, an announcement made four months before Meta Platform plans to showcase the latest device at its tech conference. Since 2016, the average annual shipments of virtual- and augmented-reality devices have averaged 8.6 million units, according to the research firm CCS Insight. The firm expects sales to remain sluggish this year, with a sales projection of about 11 million of the devices before gradually climbing to 67 million in 2026. But those forecasts were obviously made before it's known whether Apple might be releasing a product that alters the landscape. I would never count out Apple, especially with the consumer market and especially when it comes to finding those killer applications and solutions, Magic Leap's Diez said. If someone is going to crack the consumer market early, I wouldnt be surprised it would be Apple. Air raids, artillery fire and explosions rocked Sudan's capital Saturday, as fighting between warring generals entered its eighth week. Witnesses told AFP of "bombs falling and civilians being injured" in southern Khartoum, while others in the city's north reported artillery fire, days after a U.S.- and Saudi-brokered cease-fire collapsed. Residents reported that warplanes of the army led by General Abdel-Fattah Burhan targeted positions of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who responded with anti-aircraft fire. Since the fighting between Sudan's warring generals erupted on April 15, volunteers have buried 102 unidentified bodies in the capital's Al-Shegilab cemetery and 78 more in cemeteries in Darfur, a Sudanese Red Crescent statement said. Both Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival Dagalo have pledged repeatedly to protect civilians and secure humanitarian corridors. But civilians reported escalated fighting after the army quit cease-fire talks on Wednesday, including one army bombardment that a committee of human rights lawyers said killed 18 civilians in a Khartoum market. Both sides have accused the other of violating the cease-fire, as well as attacking civilians and infrastructure. Washington sanctioned the warring parties Thursday, holding both responsible for provoking the bloodshed. In negotiations in Saudi Arabia last month, both parties had agreed to "enable responsible humanitarian actors, such as the Sudanese Red Crescent and/or the International Committee of the Red Cross to collect, register and bury the deceased." But volunteers have found it difficult to move through the streets to retrieve the dead because of security constraints, the Red Crescent said. Aid corridors that had been promised as part of the truce never materialized, and relief agencies say they have managed to deliver only a fraction of what is needed, while civilians remain trapped. The mission of the security forces is "to protect not endanger their fellow citizens," a U.S. Embassy statement said Saturday. More than 700,000 people have fled Khartoum to other parts of Sudan that have been spared the fighting, in convoys of buses that regularly make their way out of the city. But on their return, bus drivers were shocked to find they "were not allowed into the capital," one told AFP on Saturday, with others confirming authorities had blocked access since Friday, ordering the drivers to turn around. On Friday the army announced it had brought in reinforcements from other parts of the country to participate in "operations in the Khartoum area." That sparked fears it was planning "a massive offensive," Sudan analyst Kholood Khair said. So far neither side has gained a decisive advantage. The regular army has air power and heavy weaponry, but analysts say the Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries are more mobile and better suited to urban warfare. The RSF announced Saturday that their political adviser, Youssef Ezzat, had met Kenyan President William Ruto in Nairobi, as part of his visits to several "friendly countries to explain the developing situation in Sudan." "We are ready to engage all the parties and offer any support towards a lasting solution," Ruto said on Twitter. More than 1,800 people have been killed in the fighting, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. Entire districts of Khartoum no longer have running water, electricity is only available for a few hours a week and three-quarters of hospitals in combat zones are not functioning. The situation is particularly dire in the western region of Darfur, which is home to about one-quarter of Sudan's population and has never recovered from a devastating two-decade war that left hundreds of thousands dead and more than 2 million displaced. The RSF is descended from the Janjaweed, a militia armed in 2003 to quash ethnic minority rebels in Darfur. Witnesses reported renewed clashes on Saturday in the North Darfur town of Kutum. Amid what activists have called a total communications blackout in huge swaths of the region, hundreds of civilians have been killed, villages and markets torched, and aid facilities looted, prompting tens of thousands to seek refuge in neighboring Chad. According to aid group Doctors Without Borders, those crossing the border report horrific scenes of "armed men shooting at people trying to flee, villages being looted and the wounded dying" without medical care. The U.N. says 1.2 million people have been displaced within Sudan and more than 425,000 have fled abroad, more than 100,000 west to Chad and 170,000 north to Egypt. Kamran Ghaderi arrived back in Austria on Saturday after spending more than seven years in prison in Iran. I got back to Vienna about two hours ago. The trip back was interesting and pleasant, as I tasted freedom after 7 years, he told VOAs Farsi Service in an exclusive interview. Today is the day to be thankful, more than anything else, he said. Id like to thank various groups and individuals who have made efforts not only for me, but for others as well. I thank my spouse, Harika. All this time, she has been running around and forming a group who would come to my rescue. I also thank my kids who supported her. They [the kids] grew up, theyre savvy and helpful and have been patient, he said, adding he was also grateful to his mother, brother and friends in Iran, who supported me greatly with medical and financial matters. Ghaderi and Massud Mosaheb, both Iranian Austrian dual citizens, were freed Friday with Danish citizen Thomas Kjems. The three and Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, who was released last week, were traded for Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi. Assadi was convicted in Belgium in 2021 in connection with a foiled bomb plot in France and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Iran said the charges against him were fabricated. Mosaheb is the co-chairman of the Iranian-Austrian Friendship Society and had been sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage, while Ghaderi is a businessman who was also sentenced to 10 years for espionage. The Belgian government said in a statement Friday that Mosaheb and Ghaderi were wrongfully arrested, Ghaderi in January 2016 and Mosaheb in January 2019, while Kjems was arrested in Iran in November 2022 in connection with women's rights demonstrations. The United States advises against travel to Iran, as do many Western countries, because of the risk of arbitrary arrests. The Belgian government helped secure the release of the four men but said no more Europeans would be exchanged for Assadi. Officially there are still 22 Europeans in Iranian prisons, they said. While Ghaderi spoke of entering a new chapter in his life, he also expressed regret. I had mixed feelings upon my return, he said. On the one hand, I was happy to see that there are people in the world who care for others and strive to free others and allowed me to return to the embrace of my family. On the other hand, I am upset that not all could come back. There are still some who are imprisoned there, and I wish that these politicians as they made efforts for my sake over the years, something I am very grateful for may also help regarding those others. The release of these three European citizens comes about three weeks after the release of French and French Irish citizens, Benjamin Brier and Bernard Phelan. Western countries have called the imprisonment of their citizens by Iran "political hostage-taking" and have repeatedly asked it to end the practice. However, Iran continues to arrest and imprison Western and dual-citizen citizens on charges such as espionage and action against national security. Some information for this report came from Reuters. Oil prices rose Monday after Saudi Arabia said it would slash output by another one million barrels per day for at least a month starting in July as part of an effort by OPEC+ producers to shore up crude prices. At 5.30 a.m. ET, Brent crude, the global benchmark, was trading up 2.3% at nearly $78 a barrel, while WTI, the US benchmark, rose 2.4% to $73.50. Gasoline futures were up 1.5%, but the average US pump price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas was unchanged at $3.55. The Saudi production cut was its biggest in years and will depress its output to nine million barrels per day. It came after a meeting Sunday in Vienna of the alliance known as OPEC+, which includes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and other smaller producers. Homayoun Falakshahi, a senior oil analyst at data provider Kpler, said the supply curbs meant gas prices in Europe and the United States could slightly rise, further impacting drivers during the upcoming summer holiday season. At the Vienna meeting, Riyadh also agreed to extend a production cut of 500,000 barrels per day announced in April through 2024. Reuters, citing Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, reported that Moscow would extend its own production cut of 500,000 barrels per day through to the end of next year. Other members of OPEC+ would also continue to curb output until the end of 2024, Reuters reported. The Saudi Ministry of Energy explained that the Kingdoms additional voluntary cut comes to reinforce the precautionary efforts made by OPEC+ countries with the aim of supporting the stability and balance of oil markets, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency said Sunday. A roller coaster ride The White House responded to Saudi Arabias decision to slash oil production by saying US officials are focused on prices for American consumers. We are not a party to OPEC+, which makes its own decisions, a White House official told CNN in a statement. We are focused on prices for American consumers, not barrels, and prices have come down significantly since last year. US gas prices have plunged from a year ago, in large part because oil prices are down. After spiking above $130 a barrel in March 2022, Brent crude oil prices have nearly been cut in half. OPEC+, which produces about 40% of the worlds crude oil, unexpectedly announced in April that its members would cut output by 1.66 million barrels per day, on top of reductions of two million barrels per day unveiled in October. Oil prices surged after the surprise April cut, reaching a peak later that month, but reversed course in subsequent weeks. Brent crude is still more than 9% down since the start of the year, and trading near where it was before the April move by OPEC+. Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman at the Vienna meeting. - Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images Analysts had predicted that the group of producers would hold off announcing any further supply cuts Sunday, given a divergence of interests between Russia whose oil exports are subject to a price cap imposed by the G7 over the war in Ukraine and Saudi Arabia, which needs oil to rise above $80 a barrel to balance its budget. But the kingdoms energy minister had stoked speculation of a further cut when he said last month that he would keep short-sellers traders betting that prices will fall ouching. I dont have to show my cards, Im not a poker player but I would just tell them: watch out, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told a conference in Qatar organized by Bloomberg. A lollipop The minister described Riyadhs decision to further slash production on Sunday as a way to surprise and lift the market. This is a Saudi lollipop, the prince was quoted by Reuters as telling a news conference. We wanted to ice the cake. We always want to add suspense. We dont want people to try to predict what we do. Stephen Innes, managing partner of SPI Asset Management, called the decision an attempt to provide a bridge [to stability] until demand picks up. Currently, sentiment among oil traders is extraordinarily fragile, he wrote in a note Monday. Oil prices have been under pressure from a gloomy overall outlook for the US and global economies. There is evidence that growth is stuttering in the United States and China the worlds top two economies. Chinas slowdown gives Germany, Europes biggest economy, little hope of an easy exit from its own economic downturn since China is its most important trading partner. The OPEC+ weekend meetings were marked by curbs on access for the media. Reuters said in a report Wednesday that its text journalists who cover such meetings and are registered with OPEC as members of the press had not received an invite to cover the event. OPEC had also not offered accreditation to Bloomberg to cover the meeting, and two reporters from the Wall Street Journal who regularly cover OPEC had also not received invites. Matt Egan contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Chinas defense minister on Sunday defended sailing a warship in front of a U.S. destroyer and a Canadian frigate as they sailed through the Taiwan Strait, contending that the passage of the allied Western vessels on freedom of navigation patrols was a provocation to China. The United States and Canada mounted the rare joint sailing through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, with a Chinese warship then overtaking the American ship and veering across its bow from about 140 meters (131 yards) in an unsafe manner, according to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. The Chinese defense chief, General Li Shangfu, told some of the worlds top defense officials at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that Beijing does not have any problems with innocent passage through the waters separating Taiwan from mainland China but that "we must prevent attempts that try to use those freedom of navigation (patrols), that innocent passage, to exercise hegemony of navigation." The U.S. Navys 7th Fleet said in a statement that guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Montreal conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law. The bilateral transit, the statement said, demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, and while the U.S. recognizes a one-China policy and that Beijing claims Taiwan as its own, Washington continues to sell arms to Taipei. Li suggested the U.S. and its allies had created the danger and should instead focus on taking "good care of your own territorial airspace and waters." "The best way is for the countries, especially the naval vessels and fighter jets of countries, not to do closing actions around other countries' territories," he said through an interpreter. "What's the point of going there? In China we always say, 'Mind your own business.'" U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told the same security forum Saturday that Washington would not "flinch in the face of bullying or coercion" from China and would continue regularly sailing through and flying over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea to emphasize they are international waters, countering Beijing's sweeping territorial claims. Watch related video by Arash Arabasadi: In addition to Saturdays maneuvering in the Taiwan Strait, the U.S. has said a Chinese J-16 fighter jet late last month "performed an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver" while intercepting a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea, flying directly in front of the plane's nose. Li refused Austin's invitation to talk on the sidelines of the conference, though the two did shake hands before sitting down at opposite sides of the same table together as the forum opened Friday. Austin said that was not enough. "A cordial handshake over dinner is no substitute for a substantive engagement," Austin said. Some material in this report came from The Associated Press. China tightened access to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing on Sunday, the anniversary of the military suppression of 1989 pro-democracy protests that left a still unknown number of people dead and discussions and commemorations forbidden within the country. In Hong Kong, which had been the last Chinese-controlled territory to hold commemorations, eight people, including activists and artists, were detained on the eve of the anniversary of the crackdown, a move that underscored the city's shrinking room for freedom of expression. Police on late Sunday said they arrested a woman for allegedly obstructing police officers in performing their duties and took 23 others away on suspicion of breaching public peace for further investigation. Many of them were detained by officers around Victoria Park. The large public space with its lawns and sports grounds used to be the scene of an annual candlelight gathering to remember the hundreds or thousands killed when army tanks and infantry descended on central Beijing on the night of June 3 and into the morning of June 4, 1989. Discussion of the seven weeks of student-led protests that attracted workers and artists and their violent resolution has long been suppressed in China. It also became increasingly off-limits in Hong Kong since a sweeping national security law was imposed in June 2020, effectively barring anyone from holding memorial events. The death toll from the 1989 violence remains unknown and the Communist Party relentlessly harasses those at home or overseas who seek to keep the memory of the events alive. In Beijing, additional security was seen around Tiananmen Square, which has long been ringed with security checks requiring those entering to show identification. People passing by foot or on bicycle on Changan Avenue running north of the square were also stopped and forced to show identification. Those with journalist visas in their passports were told they needed special permission to even approach the area. Still, throngs of tourists were seen visiting the iconic site, with hundreds standing in line to enter the square. Ahead of the anniversary, a group of mothers who lost their children in the Tiananmen crackdown sought redress and issued a statement renewing their call for "truth, compensation and accountability." Human Rights Watch called on the Chinese government to acknowledge responsibility for the killing of pro-democracy protesters. "The Chinese government continues to evade accountability for the decades-old Tiananmen Massacre, which has emboldened its arbitrary detention of millions, its severe censorship and surveillance, and its efforts to undermine rights internationally," Yaqiu Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. While Hong Kong, a former British colony handed over to Chinese rule in 1997, uses colonial-era anti-sedition laws to crack down on dissent, the persistence of non-conforming voices "lays bare the futility of the authorities' attempts to enforce silence and obedience," Amnesty International said. "The Hong Kong government's shameful campaign to stop people marking this anniversary mirrors the censorship of the Chinese central government and is an insult to those killed in the Tiananmen crackdown," Amnesty said. Beijing-appointed authorities in Hong Kong have blocked the Tiananmen memorial for the last three years, citing public health grounds. In 2020, thousands defied a police ban to hold the event. Despite the lifting of most COVID-19 restrictions, the city's public commemoration this year was muted under a Beijing-imposed national security law that prosecuted or silenced many Hong Kong activists. Three leaders of the group that used to organize the vigil were charged with subversion under the law. The group itself was disbanded in 2021, after police informed it that it was under investigation for working on behalf of foreign groups, an accusation the group denied. After the enactment of the security law following massive protests in 2019, Tiananmen-related visual spectacles, including statues at universities, were also removed. Most recently, books featuring the events have been pulled off public library shelves. Asked whether it is legal to mourn the crackdown in public as an individual, Hong Kong leader John Lee said that if anyone breaks the law, "of course the police will have to take action." Many Hong Kongers, who were unclear what authorities might consider subversive, tried to mark the event in low-profile ways on Sunday. Chan Po-ying, leader of the League of Social Democrats, held a LED candle in one hand and two yellow paper flowers in another. She was taken away by police officers from a stop-and-search area. Public broadcaster RTHK reported that it understood police would deploy up to 6,000 officers to patrol the streets, including Victoria Park and government headquarters. At Victoria Park, scenes of people rallying for democracy have been replaced by a carnival organized by pro-Beijing groups to mark the city's 1997 handover to China. By about 8:30 p.m., another 14 people, including activists and a former head of The Hong Kong Journalists Association, were taken away by police in shopping district Causeway Bay, where Victoria Park is located. Sunday's events reflected the political chill that has sparked a rise in emigration to Britain and other countries and a deep ambivalence among a population that had been strongly engaged in local politics. A commemoration was held in Taipei, the capital of the self-governing island democracy of Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory to be annexed possibly by force. More than 500 participants turned out to light candles, hear speeches and chant slogans under a heavy rain. Kacey Wong, an artist who is among the scores of Hong Kong residents who have moved to the island, said the more than 30 years of commemorating the 1989 protests had made it a part of life. Wong said an artist friend, Sanmu Chen, had been detained along with others while attempting to stage a public street performance in Causeway Bay in Hong Kong. "So, it's all engrained in our subconscious that we should care and practice our sympathy towards other people who are yearning for democracy and freedom," Wong said. The latest threat to the life of Txai Surui is still fresh in her mind. Protesting deforestation in the Amazon with other Indigenous people last week, she found herself held at gunpoint. "They got out guns and ambushed two days ago," Surui said. The Indigenous campaigner recalled the confrontation with gunmen in a telephone interview from Brazil with VOA. "I am 26 and my parents have been getting death threats since before I was born. We are threatened all the time," Surui said. Her testimony speaks of the dangers faced by Indigenous protesters and the journalists who report their stories from gunmen hired by illegal loggers or fishermen. On June 5, 2022, Dom Phillips, a British journalist who wrote for The Guardian and The Washington Post, and Brazilian Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, went missing. They had been on a four-day reporting trip looking at the situation for communities in the Javari region of the Amazon and were working on a book together. Ten days after they went missing, their bodies were found. In May 2023, Brazilian federal police brought criminal charges against the former head of Brazil's Indigenous protection agency for alleged acts of omission they believe indirectly paved the way for the killings. Marcelo Xavier, a former police chief and head of the protection agency that covered the region where the killings took place, has not commented on the accusations. Three fishermen are being held in high-security prisons for their alleged involvement in the killings while a judge prepares to rule on whether they will face trial by jury, Reuters reported. A fourth man, who is suspected of running an illegal fishing network in the Javari Valley region, was named as the mastermind in January, although he has yet to be formally charged. 'I am here in resistance' Listen to Bruno Pereira's last voice note to Survival International. For those who cover or live in that region, the killings underscored the increasingly risky environment. "I was not surprised Dom and Bruno were killed. A friend of mine, Ari Uru-eu-wau-wau, was murdered three years ago too," said Surui, who lives in Rodonia, another Amazonian state. Her struggle to save the Amazon with her mother, Neidinha Surui, was made into a 2021 film, Believing in a New World. "People outside Brazil have to realize the damage that these gangs are doing to the Amazon," she said. In the wake of the Phillips killing, The Guardian and about a dozen other international media organizations investigated organized crime and the theft of natural resources in the Amazon. The joint project was arranged by Forbidden Stories, a Paris-based nonprofit dedicated to completing the work of journalists killed for their work. Sarah Shenker, a campaigner for Survival International, which campaigns for Indigenous people's rights, was a close friend of Phillips and Pereira. She says their deaths left her "shocked and devastated." "The difference here is that Bruno and Dom were not Indigenous and Bruno was not from the area. Some non-Indigenous people were killed. It sets a sort of difference with the killings of Indigenous," she told VOA. "People thought the gunmen would not go as far as to kill non-Indigenous people, maybe they would not enjoy the same impunity as if they killed Indigenous people, but clearly they did go that far." Shenker said she had received threats from gunmen while working to protect Indigenous rights from illegal loggers. "We are questioned and threatened. Gunmen sometimes fire shots because they don't want activists to protect Indigenous land. They just want to steal Indigenous land. But we have to carry on. This is one of the most important fights of our time." Jonathan Watts, The Guardian's global environmental editor, is one of the contributors to the book Phillips and Pereira were working on. Phillips had completed half of How to Save the Amazon: Ask the People Who Know, before he was killed. Watts and other journalists hope they can finish the book as they mark the journalist's death and that of Pereira. 'The dangers are immense' "I think obviously as we have seen, horrifically with the case of Dom Phillips, the dangers are immense. It is unusual for a journalist to be killed in the [Amazon] forest. But it is becoming more dangerous as organized crime increases its presence in the region," Watts said in a telephone interview with VOA. "In the past, there was crime, but there was not big narco gangs as it is today. There are suspicions that they are linked to the illegal fishing gangs which were responsible for the deaths of Dom and Bruno," Watts said. He said environmental campaigners who stand in the way of "extractive industries" like logging or illegal fishing face the same dangers as war reporters. "I think the risk is like being a war reporter. It is a toll on a scale with a war and we lose about 300 per year, according to Global Witness," Watts said. Global Witness, an NGO that challenges abuses of power that threaten human rights and the environment, published a report in May that said since 2012, 1,733 of what it terms environmental defenders had been killed. The most dangerous countries: Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. Environmental journalists who often accompanied activists like Pereira also ran the same risks as war reporters, Watts said. "Sometimes being an environment reporter has similarities with being a war reporter. By being with a target or traveling with a target, as in the case of Dom, you can accidentally become a witness to a crime." Figures from the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety showed that with more than 8,000 deaths, the rate of intentional lethal crime in the Amazon was more than 50% higher than the rest of the country in 2022, The Guardian reported, making it a murder rate similar to Mexico. In Amazonas state, where Phillips and Pereira were among 1,432 people killed last year, the murder rate was 74% above the national average. It's rare these days for a turbaned cleric in Iran to attract a large following of adoring young fans on Instagram, but Sayed Mahdi Tabatabaei has done it by rescuing street dogs in defiance of a local taboo. Tabatabaei posts regularly to his more than 80,000 followers heartbreaking stories of abused and neglected dogs that he has treated in his shelter. His young fans ask for updates on the rescues and send well wishes in the hundreds of comments he receives on almost every post. In some parts of the Muslim world, dogs are considered unclean, driven away with shouting, sticks and stones, and sometimes even shot by city workers in failed attempts to control the feral population. Iran's ruling theocracy views keeping dogs as pets as a sign of Western decadence, and hard-liners have been pushing for laws that would prohibit walking them in public. But that hasn't stopped Tabatabaei from opening a shelter in the city of Qom home to several major religious schools and shrines where he takes in street dogs and strays and nurses them back to health. He has become an unlikely advocate for animal rights in a society deeply divided over the role of religion in public life. Islam prohibits animal cruelty and promotes feeding those in need. Across the Middle East, people put out food and water for stray cats, often seen safely wandering in and out of public buildings. But in Iran and other countries, dogs are shunned by many and local authorities periodically shoot and poison them. Iran's clerical establishment, which has ruled the country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, proclaimed dogs to be "unclean" and advocates against keeping them as pets. Many younger Iranians ignore such calls, as they do other religious edicts. Tabatabaei, an animal lover who wears the Shiite black turban signifying he is a descendant of Islam's Prophet Muhammad, seeks to bridge the divide. "It's pretty interesting and kind of weird for them to witness a religious figure doing this stuff," he said. "My videos seem to leave a good impression on people too. They say they feel a wave of kindness, peace, and friendship coming through those videos." It's gotten him into trouble with fellow clerics. When pictures surfaced of him tending to dogs while wearing his clerical robes, a religious court ordered him to be defrocked in 2021. The ruling was later suspended, but he remains cautious. These days Tabatabaei wears ordinary clothes while tending to the dogs and cleaning their kennels at Bamak Paradise, the shelter he established two years ago. "We take in dogs with disabilities that cannot survive in the wild and have a hard time finding adoptive homes," he said. "Many of them are dogs I've personally nursed back to health. They stay here until they fully recover and regain their strength." He relies on donations from animal lovers in Iran and abroad. He says the funds available for such pursuits have dried up in recent years as the United States has ramped up economic sanctions over Iran's disputed nuclear program. The country's banking system is almost completely cut off from the outside world, making it extremely difficult to transfer funds. Within Iran, the economy has cratered, with the local currency plunging to a record low over the past year. With many Iranians struggling to get by, there is little left over for the cleric's furry friends. "I appeal to Western governments, particularly the U.S. government and others capable of influencing the lifting of sanctions, to consider making exceptions for organizations like ours that engage in humanitarian and peaceful endeavors," he said. "By allowing us to establish bank accounts and verifying our identities, we would be able to receive assistance from individuals and charities outside of Iran without them breaching the sanctions and risking legal complications," he added. He also hopes for change within Iran specifically, a lifting of the ban on dog-walking in parks. "Pet owners must take their dogs and other pets out for walks," he said. "Sadly, we still don't have laws to protect animal rights, and there are no regulations in place to prevent animal cruelty." Many Iranians, especially young people, have expressed frustration with clerical rule over the years, in waves of protests and in smaller acts of defiance. During nationwide protests last fall, following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in custody of the country's morality police, Iranians posted videos online showing young men sneaking up behind clerics and batting their turbans off their heads. But despite the recent tensions, Tabatabaei remains a beloved figure for many. Zahra Hojabri recently found a puppy dying on the side of the road. The gentle cleric was the first person she thought of to help the tiny canine. "I think he is an angel, more than a human. I can't put it into words," she said. Hollywood's major studios reached a tentative labor agreement with the union representing film and television directors, likely averting a work stoppage that would have piled pressure on media companies to settle with striking writers. The Directors Guild of America (DGA) will ask its 19,000 members to approve the three-year contract, which was announced late Saturday after three weeks of talks. The agreement includes gains in wages and residuals plus guardrails around the use of artificial intelligence, according to the DGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents Netflix, Walt Disney Co. and other major studios. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has been on strike since May 2, shutting down several TV and film productions, and has no new talks scheduled with the studios. During the last WGA strike in 2007 and 2008, a studio deal with the DGA prompted writers to head back to the bargaining table. On Friday, WGA negotiator Chris Keyser argued that strategy would not work this time. "Any deal that puts this town back to work runs straight through the WGA, and there is no way around that," Keyser said in a video posted on YouTube. The DGA's board will consider whether to approve the deal Tuesday before it goes to members for ratification. No date has been set for the ratification vote. If approved, the deal could offer a blueprint for the striking writers and upcoming talks between studios and SAG-AFTRA, the union representing Hollywood actors. WGA representatives did not respond to requests for comment Sunday, but some writers voiced reactions on social media. "Spartacus" creator Steven DeKnight called the DGA deal "disappointing, but not surprising." Writer Bill Wolkoff said he had mixed emotions. "Happy for gains DGA members made, frustrated we were stonewalled on all our asks. My resolve is only stronger," he wrote. In the DGA's agreement, directors secured wage increases starting at 5% the first year, an increase in residuals from streaming, and a guarantee that "generative AI cannot replace the duties performed by members." AI has emerged as a major concern of writers and actors, who see their jobs as especially vulnerable to the new technology. Both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA are seeking protections from AI in their negotiations as well as increases in compensation that they say has lagged as companies have benefited from the rise of streaming television. SAG-AFTRA has asked members to give its negotiators the power to call a strike if needed, and the results of that vote are expected to be announced Monday. Contract talks between the actors and studios begin Wednesday. The current labor agreement expires June 30. The WGA work stoppage has disrupted production of late-night shows and shut down high-profile projects such as Netflix's "Stranger Things" and a "Game of Thrones" spinoff. Fifty Islamic State-group fighters and 168 relatives of group members were repatriated from Syria to Iraq on Saturday, an Iraqi official said. Iraqi authorities "received 50 members of the Islamic State from the Syrian Democratic Forces," said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity. The SDF are the Kurds' de facto army in the area and led the battle that dislodged Islamic State group fighters from the last scraps of their Syrian territory in 2019. They will "be the subject of investigations and will face Iraqi justice," they added. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict, the fighters were detained in Hasakeh, northeast Syria. Additionally, 168 relatives of IS-group members were repatriated from Syria's Al-Hol camp to the Al-Jadaa camp south of Mosul, the Iraqi official added, where they will undergo psychiatric treatment. "Once we receive the assurances of their tribal leaders that they will not face reprisals, they will be sent home," the official said. Al-Hol camp, in Kurdish-controlled northeast Syria, is home to about 50,000 people, including family members of suspected jihadis. Among them are displaced Syrians, Iraqi refugees as well as more than 10,000 foreigners originally from some 60 countries. In March, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the swift repatriation of foreigners held in Al-Hol. Nearly half of the camp's population is younger than 12 and residents are "deprived of their rights, vulnerable, and marginalized," Guterres said in a statement during a visit to Iraq. "I have no doubt to say that the worst camp that exists in today's world is Al-Hol, with the worst possible conditions for people and with enormous suffering for the people that have been stranded there for years," Guterres said. Since May 2021, hundreds of families have been transferred from Al-Hol to Al-Jadaa in Iraq, with a number of those going on to flee. The repatriation to Iraq of relatives of fighters who joined the ultra-radical group that controlled one-third of Iraq between 2014 and 2017 has sparked opposition. In December 2021, Iraqi authorities announced plans to close Al-Jadaa. But little progress has been made and the relocation of displaced people to their home regions has proven challenging and prompted opposition from local people. The life of a German Iranian detained in Iran is in danger and she is in such pain she can barely move, a fellow prisoner who is a prominent rights activist said Sunday. Nahid Taghavi, 68, was sentenced to 10 years and eight months in jail in August 2021 after being arrested at her Tehran apartment in October 2020, and is being held in solitary confinement at Tehran's Evin prison. Even after recent releases, more than a dozen Western passport holders remain detained in Iran, held according to rights groups as part of a deliberate policy of hostage-taking by Tehran to extract concessions. "The life of Nahid Taghavi, a political prisoner, is in danger," her fellow inmate in Evin prison, the prize-winning campaigner and rights activist Narges Mohammadi, wrote on Instagram. Mohammadi's Instagram account is run by her family in France based on her phone calls to relatives. Through this, despite her incarceration, Mohammadi continues to push for the rights of prisoners in Evin. Taghavi was allowed brief medical leave in 2022, but according to her family she was returned to jail before she could recover. "She can barely get out of her bed," wrote Mohammadi. "She goes to the infirmary, receives strong painkiller injections and returns to her bed." "The pain is so severe it can be seen on her face," she added. Mohammadi said that Taghavi had now spent 220 days in solitary confinement. This had worsened an existing spinal disc condition, and she was now also suffering from cervical disc problems, diabetes and high blood pressure. Taghavi was convicted on national security charges along with British-Iranian Mehran Raoof, who is also still being held. Her family vehemently rejects the accusations. Iran on Friday released one Dane and two Austrian-Iranian citizens in the wake of the release the week earlier of a Belgian aid worker. Their release came after mediation by Oman and the release by Belgium of an Iranian diplomat convicted of "terror" offenses, a move that troubled some rights groups. Last month Iran also freed a French citizen and a French Irish citizen, both of whom had been on hunger strike and the subject of increasing concerns about their health. Chinese-sponsored talks in Myanmar between the junta and three of Myanmars ethnic armies, known as the Brotherhood Alliance, aimed at persuading the three to support the juntas election plan concluded without an agreement Friday. The alliance of the Arakan Army, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army has been providing military training and supplies to anti-junta forces. The talks were held over two days in the Mongla region in northern Myanmars Shan state, near the Chinese border. According to local reports, the meetings were attended by Guo Bao, China's special envoy from neighboring Chinese province Yunnan's Foreign Affairs Department. Both parties exchanged opinions and agreed to hold a second meeting, Kyi Myint, a spokesman for the National Democratic Alliance Army which is separate from the Myanmar National Democratic Army and is one of the groups that facilitated the talks told VOA. "Three ethnic armed groups were in attendance to express their views and listen to the junta's point of view, according to Kyi Myint, who coordinated the meeting. "They said they would submit reports to their respective central executive committees," he added, "but they did not reach any agreements with the junta officials." First meeting since the military coup The peace talks between the junta and the alliance, assisted by China, were the first since the military coup in 2021. We would not be willing to meet with the junta without China, said Khaing Thu Kha, a spokesman for the Arakan Army, in a phone interview with VOA on Thursday. He told VOA, We demanded the release of our detained members by the junta, to revoke the designation of our group as an outlaw association and to end travel restrictions in Rakhine so that aid can be delivered to the victims of Cyclone Mocha, which struck the western province May 14. Major General Zaw Min Tun, a spokesman for the junta, responded to VOA on Thursday, expressing optimism about the meeting. "Our delegation broadly discussed building trust, national reconciliation, multiparty democratization, and building a federal union, to cooperate in peace and developments, he said, adding that their delegation was led by Lt. Gen. Yar Pyae, chair of the National Solidarity and Peacemaking Negotiation Committee. According to local reports, the junta officials at the meeting asked the alliance to support its long-planned election, but the alliance refused to discuss the matter. The junta asked the ethnic armed groups to support its election plan after the coup in 2021, with the promise that power would go to the winning party. However, the junta has not set a date for the election and has only stated that it will take place when there is peace. The planned election has been called illegal both in the country and around the world. It is premature at this time for our side to make definitive statements, Khaing Thu Kha told VOA. The military junta has stated that it wants to build trust, but from our perspective, that will take time and numerous discussions. When asked about China's role in the peace talks, Khaing Thu Kha said, "China was only sponsoring the meeting and they were not involved in our discussion." Although there is no official cease-fire between the armed groups and the Myanmar junta, according to Khaing Thu Kha, the Arakan Army has ceased fighting with the Myanmar military on humanitarian grounds. The other two armed organizations, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, have fought the junta's forces on occasion, but are not engaged in fights with the military now, he said. Chinas agenda A May 30 alliance statement pointed to Chinas role in initiating the meeting, saying that in accordance with the mediation of Chinese authorities, alliance and junta representatives would meet in Mongla on June 1. Than Soe Naing, a China-Myanmar expert and former member of the Communist Party of Burma, told VOA that the junta was using the discussions to persuade ethnic armed groups not to join the anti-coup resistance movement, as well as to gain support for the forthcoming elections. This in line with Chinas agenda of nonalignment by the armed groups with the National Unity Government and the People's Defense Forces, said Than Soe Naing. The NUG and the PDF are seen by China as being supported by the U.S. especially because those groups are mentioned by name in the BURMA Act as part of the recently passed NDAA, Than Soe Naing told VOA, referring to language in the National Defense Authorization Act broadening the U.S. governments authority to impose sanctions against the Myanmar regime and aid opposiion and resistance groups. "China wants to portray itself as an international peacemaker," Than Soe Naing told VOA. "For instance, China is actively leading the repatriation of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh back to Rakhine state; but China's underlying goal is to prevent Western countries and democratic forces from further influence in Myanmar and Southeast Asia in general. State media in Myanmar reported last Tuesday that a top official from Chinese military intelligence, Major General Yang Yang, conferred with the junta's deputy leader in Myanmars capital, Naypyidaw, prior to the peace talks. The official, the first Chinese military leader to publicly visit Myanmar since the 2021 coup, met with Deputy Senior General Soe Win to discuss "cooperation between the two armies." Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang also came to Naypyidaw May 2, meeting with the juntas leader, General Min Aung Hlaing. Such visits by Chinese officials only serve to bolster the junta's legitimacy, said Than Soe Naing. According to the online publication Irrawaddy, Qin's visit was followed by protests around the Myanmar over China's connection with the military junta. One of these was a demonstration in Letpadaung, in Sagaing region, home to a contentious copper mine operated by China, during which a Chinese flag was burned. A demonstration by Burmese-Americans against Chinas support for the military junta in Myanmar also took place outside of the Chinese Consulate General in New York Friday. If the Chinese government acts against the will of the Myanmar people to pursue their interests by maintaining close ties with the junta, anti-China sentiment will rise both within and outside the country," Than Soe Naing told VOA. At the height of the Islamic State group's rampage across Syria, the world watched in horror as the militants blew up an iconic arch and temple in the country's famed Roman ruins in Palmyra. Eight years later, IS has lost its hold but restoration work on the site has been held up by security issues, leftover IS land mines and lack of funding. Other archaeological sites throughout Syria face similar problems, both in areas held by the government and by the opposition. They were damaged by the war or, more recently, by the deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck a wide area of neighboring Turkey and also Syria in February. Youssef Kanjou, a former director of Syria's Aleppo National Museum, said the situation of heritage sites in his country is a "disaster." Without a coordinated preservation and restoration effort, said Kanjou, now a researcher at Tubingen University in Germany, "we will lose what was not destroyed by the war or the earthquake." Tourist draw Before the war, Palmyra one of Syria's six UNESCO world heritage sites was the country's archaeological crown jewel, a tourist attraction that drew tens of thousands of visitors each year. The ancient city was the capital of an Arab client state of the Roman Empire that briefly rebelled and carved out its own kingdom in the third century, led by Queen Zenobia. In more recent times, the area had darker associations. It was home to the Tadmur prison, where thousands of opponents of the Assad family's rule in Syria were reportedly tortured. IS demolished the prison after capturing the town. The militants later destroyed Palmyra's historic temples of Bel and Baalshamin and the Arch of Triumph, viewing them as monuments to idolatry, and beheaded an elderly antiquities scholar who had dedicated his life to overseeing the ruins. Today, the road through the desert from Homs to Palmyra is dotted with Syrian army checkpoints. In the town adjacent to the ancient site, some shops have reopened, but signs of war remain in the form of charred vehicles and burned-out or boarded-up stores and houses. The Palmyra Museum is closed, and the much-loved lion statue that used to stand in front of it has been moved to Damascus for restoration and safekeeping. Nevertheless, Syrian and foreign tourists have begun to trickle back. "We thought it was impossible that foreigners would return to Palmyra," said Qais Fathallah, who used to run a hotel there but fled to Homs when IS took over. Now he is back in Palmyra, operating a restaurant, where he said he serves tourists regularly. 'Really upsetting' On a recent day, a group of tourists from countries including the United Kingdom, Canada and China, and another, with Syrian university students, were wandering through the ruins. Some of the Syrian tourists had visited in better days. For communication engineering student Fares Mardini, it was the first time. "Now I've finally come, and I see so much destruction. It's something really upsetting," he said. "I hope it can be restored and return to what it was." In 2019, international experts convened by UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural agency, said detailed studies would need to be done before starting major restorations. Youmna Tabet, program specialist at the Arab states unit of UNESCO's World Heritage Center, said restoration work often involves difficult choices, particularly if there isn't enough original material for rebuilding. "Is it worth it to rebuild it with very little authenticity or should we rather focus on having 3D documentation of how it was?" she said. Missions to the site were held up at first by security issues, including land mines that had to be cleared. IS cells still occasionally carry out attacks in the area. Money is also a problem. "There is a big lack of funding so far, for all the sites in Syria," Tabet said, noting that international donors have been wary of breaching sanctions on Syria, which have been imposed by the United States, the European Union and others. U.S. sanctions exempt activities related to preservation and protection of cultural heritage sites, but sanctions-related obstacles remain, such as a ban on exporting U.S.-made items to Syria. Russian project Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, has begun restoring Palmyra's triumphal arch, the largest-scale project underway to date at the site. "We have some funding from some friends in some places, but it is not sufficient in relation to the disaster that occurred," said Mohammad Nazir Awad, director general of Syria's department of Antiquities and Museums. It doesn't have to be this way, said Maamoun Abdulkarim, who headed the antiquities department at the time of the IS incursion. Abdulkarim pointed to the international push to recover damaged heritage sites in the city of Mosul in neighboring Iraq, also controlled by the militants for some time, as an example of a successful restoration. "We need to make some separation between political affairs and cultural heritage affairs," said Abdulkarim, now a professor at the University of Sharjah. He warned that damaged structures are in danger of deteriorating further or collapsing as the rehabilitation work is delayed. The deadly February 6 earthquake caused further destruction at some sites already damaged by the war. This includes the old city of Aleppo, which is under the control of the government, and the Byzantine-era church of Saint Simeon in the Aleppo countryside, in an area controlled by Turkish-backed opposition forces. About one-fifth of the church was damaged in the earthquake, including the basilica arch, said Hassan al-Ismail, a researcher with Syrians for Heritage, a nongovernmental organization. He said the earthquake compounded earlier damage caused by bombings and vandalism. The group tried to stabilize the structure with wooden and metal supports and to preserve the stones that fell from it for later use in restoration. Ayman al-Nabo, head of antiquities in the opposition-held city of Idlib, appealed for international assistance in stabilizing and restoring sites damaged by the earthquake. Antiquities should be seen as "neutral to the political reality," he said. "This is global human heritage, which belongs to the whole world, not just the Syrians." Turkey, Sweden and Finland will meet later this month to try to overcome objections that have delayed Sweden's NATO membership bid, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey in March ratified Finland's bid for membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but still objects to Sweden joining the alliance, as does Hungary. Turkey has said Stockholm harbors members of militant groups it considers to be terrorists. "Sweden has taken significant concrete steps to meet Turkey's concerns," Stoltenberg told reporters, referring to a constitutional change by Sweden and its stepping up of counter-terrorism cooperation with Ankara. Stoltenberg's talks in Istanbul with Erdogan took place a week after Erdogan extended his two-decade rule in an election. The election coincided with protests in Stockholm, against both Erdogan and NATO, in which the flag of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), outlawed in Turkey, was projected on to the parliament building. Asked about Sweden's chances of becoming a NATO member before a mid-July NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Stoltenberg said there was time. He said the next round of talks between officials from Finland, Sweden and Turkey would be in the week of June 12, but did not specify when. NATO defense ministers will meet in Brussels June 15-16. Key Insights Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, New Work fair value estimate is 203 New Work's 125 share price signals that it might be 38% undervalued Analyst price target for NWO is 172 which is 15% below our fair value estimate Does the June share price for New Work SE (ETR:NWO) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. 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! We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you. View our latest analysis for New Work The Model We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. 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 (, Millions) 51.2m 49.1m 60.3m 66.8m 71.8m 75.7m 78.6m 80.7m 82.3m 83.5m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x4 Analyst x4 Analyst x4 Est @ 10.70% Est @ 7.56% Est @ 5.37% Est @ 3.83% Est @ 2.75% Est @ 2.00% Est @ 1.47% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 6.8% 48.0 43.0 49.5 51.3 51.7 51.0 49.5 47.7 45.5 43.2 ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St) Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = 480m After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (0.2%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 6.8%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032 (1 + g) (r g) = 84m (1 + 0.2%) (6.8% 0.2%) = 1.3b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= 1.3b ( 1 + 6.8%)10= 660m The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is 1.1b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of 125, the company appears quite undervalued at a 38% 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. 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 New Work 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 6.8%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.106. 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 New Work Strength Currently debt free. Dividend is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the market. Weakness Earnings declined over the past year. Opportunity Annual revenue is forecast to grow faster than the German market. Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value. Threat Dividends are not covered by cash flow. Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the German market. Looking Ahead: Whilst important, the DCF calculation ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" 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. Why is the intrinsic value higher than the current share price? For New Work, we've put together three further aspects you should further research: Risks: Be aware that New Work is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about... Future Earnings: How does NWO'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 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 With a human rights film festival, candlelight display, and passionate speeches, Taiwans capital, Taipei, on Sunday marked 34 years since Chinese soldiers fired on peaceful protesters in Beijings Tiananmen Square bringing an end to Chinas largest protest movement in a generation. Known simply as June 4th to Chinese speakers, the day inspires memorials and events around the world to slain Chinese democracy activists, but Taipeis vigil has taken on new meaning as the only place in the Chinese-speaking world that openly holds a memorial. The event was held on the grounds of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, a monument to Taiwans former authoritarian leader. It has become a staging ground for protests and human rights events since Taiwans transition to democracy. While the event was focused on remembering the Tiananmen Square massacre, it included booths for other political causes from Tibet to Hong Kong and Taiwanese civil society groups. Aurora Chang, an activist who spoke on Sunday about Taiwanese and Ukrainian solidary, said the memorial was an important time to express support for different causes united in their fight against authoritarianism. Events like these are so important because with historical memory, you have to preserve it or your victims wont get justice and your perpetrators or colonizers will not be held accountable for their crimes, she said. The memorial was nearly overshadowed on Sunday afternoon by heavy rains and a brewing political storm over several sexual harassment allegations levelled this week against members of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and exiled Tiananmen Square leader Wang Dan. Wang denied the accusations on Facebook on Friday about an event that allegedly took place in 2014 between himself and a political party worker. The scandal, however, and the unpredictable weather did not dim the turnout on Sunday which drew hundreds of people over several hours. Among them was Gino Lopez, a Philippine undergraduate student studying in Taiwan. Lopez brought a poster expressing solidarity between Taiwan and the Philippines and their similar fights against martial law in the 1980s. Its nice to see a very inclusive event that its not just about Tiananmen but about almost every democratic movement in China, he said. We have Tibet, we have Hong Kong, and we have Taiwanese ones as well, showing solidary. It speaks to how intersectional [it is] and how this event is not just about commemorating the massacre but its a symbol of unity. Taipei takes the reigns from Hong Kong, a former British colony that for 30 years held the worlds largest annual Tiananmen Square vigil until political unrest hit the city in 2019 leading to a widespread political crackdown. At its height in 2019, the Hong Kong vigil drew a record 180,000 people as the city simmered with political grievances, but no official commemoration has been approved since then due to COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings and later the impact of national security legislation. In 2021, the Hong Kong umbrella group that organized the vigil disbanded, citing a changing political landscape while its leaders have also been charged with subversion and sedition for their role in a 2019 democracy protest. No other organization has stepped in to replace them. Last year, the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong also ended its annual Mass commemorating the protests held since 1989 and one of the last public vigils in Hong Kong for similar reasons. The Taipei vigil organizers, the New School for Democracy, said they hoped to express solidarity with both Hong Kong and Chinese dissidents on Sunday. Its clear that Hong Kong lacks the space to commemorate the June 4th incident, not to mention engage in political expression, said an organizer who asked to be identified by her nickname Wonka. As Taiwanese, we can't help but imagine such a situation. We, as Taiwanese, will strive to preserve these spaces and continue holding such events. Separately on Sunday, Vice President William Lai said the memory of June 4th should not be erased, and the brutal history of blood repression should not be forgotten, in a statement on Facebook. In the torrent of history, we must continue to discuss and communicate June 4th and strive to remember history in various ways, while reminding ourselves that democracy and freedom are not easy to come by, he added. Tour de France organizers have set up an anti-COVID protocol for this year's race, with riders and team staff banned from signing autographs and eating out of their hotels, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters Saturday. Riders and staff members were allowed out of their hotels last year. Access to the paddock at the start of the stages was open to reporters until midway through the race, when organizers decided to close it to "fight against the propagation of COVID-19." Access to the paddock will be allowed when the Tour starts in Bilbao, Spain, on June 29, with everyone required to wear a mask. "For all the team members: Respect a confinement - Limit the interactions outside the race bubble. No eating out. Respect social distancing at the hotel," the chart, seen by Reuters, said. "Do not get too close to the spectators - Social distancing, no selfies, no autograph." On Friday, France reported 3,204 COVID-19 cases in the country. At this time last year, there were about 25,000 reported daily cases in France. Giro d'Italia organizers last month set up an anti-COVID protocol near the halfway point of the race after overall leader Remco Evenepoel pulled out after testing positive for coronavirus. U.S. and Canadian warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, both navies said, in a joint mission through the sensitive waterway that separates self-ruled Taiwan from China. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its territory vowing to take it one day, by force if necessary and has in recent years ramped up military and political pressure on the island. The U.S. 7th Fleet said its destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and the Royal Canadian Navy's HMCS Montreal were "conducting a routine Taiwan Strait transit June 3 (local time) through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law." "Chung-Hoon and Montreal's bilateral transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific." The Canadian military also confirmed the passage. U.S. warships frequently sail through the strait. The last joint U.S.-Canada passage was in September 2022. The Chinese military said it had monitored the passage. "The relevant countries are intentionally creating trouble in the Taiwan Strait, deliberately stirring up risks, and maliciously undermining regional peace and stability," said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, the spokesperson of China's Eastern Theatre Command. Last week, Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong led two other ships through the 180-kilometer-wide Taiwan Strait in a show of force. The U.S. and Canadian warships sailed through as U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu participated in a defense summit in Singapore. The United States had invited Li to meet Austin on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, but Beijing declined. Tensions between Washington and Beijing have soared this year over issues including Taiwan and an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down after it traversed the United States. The United States and China spent a weekend meeting in Singapore pointing fingers at each other. The two countries top military leaders accused one another of ratcheting up tensions in the Taiwan Strait in separate speeches in a summit meant to highlight unity. As VOAs Arash Arabasadi reports, the heightened rhetoric follows increasingly tense training maneuvers in the region. Jeong Se-ah feels happy to see Tanaka, a Japanese bar host character from the early 2000s created by a South Korean comedian, because he revives her teenage memories of watching animations from the neighboring nation. The 24-year-old office worker is one of a growing number of young South Koreans drawn to the products and culture of Japan, coming to see it as more of a friend than a foe that colonized the country 70 years ago, unlike previous generations. Dressed in a Japan-inspired retro costume and manga accessories among a crowd waiting for Tanaka to begin a concert near Seoul, the capital, Jeong sang a ditty by a Japanese rock group the entertainer idolizes, X Japan. "I like Tanaka more than his real self," Jeong said. "There is something really charming and touching about him, and I've never seen an artist who tries so hard to make eye contact and communicate with every single fan." The character's easy talk about Japan and its culture built on that allure, she added. "There was a social environment that sort of encourages boycotting Japanese culture, but people seem to be accepting it naturally," Jeong said. For his part, Kim Kyung-wook, a once forgotten comedian who has transformed the character into one of South Korea's hottest YouTube stars and entertainers, said his appeal to the young mattered more than the reason for it. "I think, for young people, it's not about why, but just the fact they like something," said Kim, who became fascinated by Japanese culture as a teenager, leading him to give the character a style and background missing from the Korean scene. And his persona's catchy manner of speaking, wolf-cut hairstyle, retro outfits and mastery of old Japanese and K-pop songs have contributed to that success. Now Kim exemplifies the changing attitudes of young Koreans as ties with Japan thaw. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose May visit to Seoul was the first by a Japanese leader in 12 years, offered unprecedented personal condolences to wartime victims. Today's fervor for Tanaka with nearly 800,000 YouTube followers, after gigs with famed K-pop stars such as Taeyang of Bigbang, and a national tour that saw concerts sell out in minutes is very different from the response to his 2018 debut. Then, with spats over their shared wartime history flaring between Seoul and Tokyo, Tanaka was hardly popular. Relations had plunged to their lowest in decades after rows over the neighbors' history spilled over into trade disputes in 2019, casting a cloud over U.S.-led efforts to counter North Korea's growing military threat. Demand rebound The quarrels are being left behind as the enthusiasm of young Koreans fuels a sharp rebound in demand for Japanese consumer products. Last month's launch of a canned beer by beverage giant Asahi had many enthusiasts camping outside Costco stores in Seoul, ready to sprint to the doors when they opened. "I'm not a huge fan of Japanese beer, but I saw it on social media, and it's true that people's perceptions of Japan have improved a lot," said Son In-seok, 39, who waited for days to get his hands on the new beer in a convenience store. South Korean imports of Japanese beer and whisky surged nearly 250% and 300% respectively in the first quarter from the figures of 2020, while inbound garment shipments jumped almost 47%. That compared with a 90% drop in imports of Japanese beer in 2019, when the intensifying feuds made it an early target of a sweeping boycott. Some Korean victims of Japanese military brothels and forced labor during its colonial rule from 1910 to 1945 demand an apology and compensation from Tokyo. But officials say changing attitudes emboldened President Yoon Suk Yeol to risk political backlash with a March offer of compensation for such victims with funds from Korean corporations, rather than Japanese firms, as Seoul's courts had ordered. A January poll by Hankook Research showed Japan's likeability score among Koreans was the highest since 2018, with those aged 29 or younger the most favorable. China, which had scored nearly twice the levels of Japan in 2019, rated among the lowest, alongside Russia and North Korea. A March survey by the same pollster showed 40% of Koreans backed Yoon's compensation plan, with 53% opposed. But more than 51% of respondents aged 29 or less backed it, while 36% viewed it negatively. Political dynamics are spurring the young to take a less antagonistic view of Japan, said James Kim, a regional specialist at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. "China is clearly less preferred than countries like the United States and Japan," he said, citing Beijing's curbs on freedom in Hong Kong and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even if younger people are not completely satisfied by South Korea's efforts to resolve thorny historical issues, Kim added, "they see a more immediate threat and recognize the benefit of aligning with other like-minded democracies in the region." President Vladimir Putin has personally overseen the transformation of Russias armies since coming to power. These were in a deplorable state. The majority of the staff were alcoholics forcing young recruits into filthy hazing. As a first step, he dismissed 150,000 non-commissioned officers and officers, triggering a profound management crisis. He then created the first space army, some twenty years before the United States, in order to test new forms of command as much as to enter a new theater of operations. Above all, he entrusted Anatoly Serdyukov with the fight against corruption, which he did with an iron fist, but to the detriment of the armies. Then, for a decade, Vladimir Putin sent his soldiers to Syria for six months of combat training. Finally, he experimentally created a private army, the Wagner Group, where he could test various forms of organization. For the past two years, Wagner has been commanded from the shadows by Colonel Dmitri Outkin, while the companys co-founder, communicator Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been the focus of attention and criticism. Armies are huge structures whose organization must be constantly rethought. By way of comparison, in the 1990s, the United States realized that increasing military spending was no longer improving its results. So they appointed Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense. Rumsfeld had exceptional business management skills. In 2001, he encouraged the creation of private military companies (including the famous Blackwater) to test new operating methods. But the experiment failed, as the groups formed were more interested in carrying out covert operations for the CIA than in meeting the Pentagons requirements. The United States is left with an army whose effectiveness continues to diminish, as we saw when Kabul fell in 2021. President Vladimir Putin is today implementing a general reorganization of the armed forces, with the creation of a second regular army of five divisions and 26 brigades. This army will put into practice some of the methods tested by Wagner to achieve a high level of efficiency. General Yevgeny Burdinsky, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Federation, will oversee the new army. He is a recognized command specialist. This reorganization of personnel will go hand in hand with an overhaul of the geographical structure. The accession of Crimea and, in part, Novorossia to the Russian Federation has led to the creation of a naval district for the Sea of Azov. The return of the terrorist threat posed by the Ukrainian "integral nationalists", the "Banderists", led to the creation of special military districts to protect Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The aim is to complete the process of transforming the armed forces, retaining only what has proved its worth. Russia already has the worlds best weapons and a remarkable strategic and tactical doctrine. Over the next few years, it intends to have the best army in the world. President Vladimir Putin is proceeding with this transformation in the midst of a special military operation in Ukraine, with all the serious risks that implies. He seems to be betting that this conflict is coming to an end. Photo: Karwai Tang/WireImage Turns out Prince Eric is a bit of an overachiever. Jonah Hauer-Kings personal trainer for the live-action Little Mermaid, Sana Shirvani, told Insider that the actor actually gained too much muscle while preparing for his role. Shirvani said she put Hauer-King on a standard bodybuilding program before production started. According to Shirvani, he was relatively new to gym training at the time and also had to rebuild strength in his knee due to a prior ACL surgery. He was so into the training, she said. He really enjoyed the strength training, the progressive overload, seeing the developments. When the pandemic shut filming down for eight months, Hauer-King continued working out through virtual sessions so enthusiastically, in fact, that he got too ripped. I remember the director coming up to me and saying, We are not after the Incredible Hulk; we want a strong sailor boy, Shirvani recalled. Ultimately, Prince Eric ended up reducing both his training and his food intake to become a less muscular part of our world. Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share BRUSSELS NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other senior Turkish officials this weekend as pressure mounts on Turkey to lift its objections to Sweden joining the military organization. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight In a statement on Friday, NATO headquarters said Stoltenberg would attend Erdogans inauguration, after the long-term Turkish leader won an election runoff last weekend. The former Norwegian prime minister will also take part in meetings in Turkey on Sunday. No details were provided. NATO wants to bring Sweden into the fold by the time allied leaders meet in Lithuania on July 11-12, but Turkey and Hungary have yet to endorse the move. All 31 member countries must ratify a candidates accession protocol for it to join. Turkeys government accuses Sweden of being too lenient on terrorist organizations and security threats, including militant Kurdish groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt. Hungary has also delayed its approval, but the reasons why have not been made publicly clear. Advertisement My message is that Sweden has delivered, and the time has come to ratify Sweden, Stoltenberg told reporters on Thursday at the conclusion of two days of informal talks between alliance foreign ministers to prepare for the summit in Vilnius. Fearing they might be targeted by Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional positions of military nonalignment to seek protection under NATOs security umbrella. Finland became NATOs 31st member country in April. Swedens foreign minister, Tobias Billstrom, said Thursday that it is time for Turkey and Hungary to start the ratification of the Swedish membership to NATO. GiftOutline Gift Article Most of the cast was male, reflecting the world of the corporate super-rich, and true to the values of that world, not a word was mentioned about the misogyny in which its characters bathed. That is, until the funeral of Logan Roy, when Shiv, in a rare moment of emotional honesty, broke ranks with her brothers and stopped pretending to be another Roy son, just for a minute. When he let you in, when the sun shone, it was warm, she said of her father. But it was hard to be his daughter he was hard on women. And then, trying to explain: He couldnt fit a whole woman in his head. It was a perfect line about as good a summary of misogyny as I have heard. In the end, Shiv denies her brothers power by choosing her husband, Tom, to take the reins. Credit: HBO/Foxtel Shiv knew her brothers were the same. The decision by the writers to make Shiv pregnant in the final season furthered the dark gender politics of the show. Apart from a brief phone conversation with her doctor about test results, Shiv doesnt acknowledge her pregnancy, and she keeps it secret from her husband Tom (the babys father) and her brothers for as long as she can. She needs to keep pretending to be a man: the only thing the boardroom misogynists respect less than a woman is a pregnant woman. When Mattson ditches her as CEO, he calls her the baby-lady. The pregnancy raises the stakes for Shiv, not just personally (her body and her life forever altered, all that), but in a business sense shes now carrying another potential successor. All of a sudden, her status is potentially elevated. Loading Like a pregnant queen at the Tudor court, she represents a true bloodline, as Roman pointed out in the nasty final confrontation between the siblings. The initial secrecy of the pregnancy was echoed in the secrecy of Shivs dealings against her brothers, as she plotted with Mattson to hand him the business over them. But as women know, biology wins, and even if you act like a man, your body will eventually betray you. Shiv turned that betrayal to her advantage she picked Tom, the father of her child, and in picking him, she secured a seat as close to power as possible. In the end, her value was measured in terms of her sexuality. Earlier in the episode, Tom proved his loyalty to Mattson by unflinchingly allowing the mad Finn to speak about wanting to f--- Shiv, his wife (Mattson also complained she was pushy and too much). Shiv wanted to be CEO of the company under Mattson. Instead, she was the sexual currency the two men traded to stitch up the deal that relegated her. Loading And what of Successions other women? At Logans funeral, his wives and mistresses were corralled on a single pew, a widows club in which any personal bitterness was offset by the size of the settlement they got. Kendall, in his eulogy for his father, listed all the things his father made ships, buildings, companies, money. Then he added that their dad made me and my three siblings. The camera cut to their ice-dry English mother, looking quietly miffed. What did she have to do with it? She was only a supplier of potential successors. But Kendall was right his father was the one who made the Roy children, in the sense that he ruined and weakened them, and doomed them to forever disappoint him. Probably the bleakest message from Succession is that the only person competent enough to be CEO was, of course, a woman, the magnificent Gerri Kellman. But she was summarily sacked when the youngest Roy child, Roman, had a tantrum. A mans world ... Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy, Sarah Snook as Shiv Roy, and Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy. Credit: Foxtel/HBO The same Roy child with whom she had engaged in a murky-kinky, mutually-harassing phone-sex relationship, a relationship she later held over him to secure an excellent golden parachute from the company. The thorough pessimism with which the show treated its women was bleak, but felt right. Stan Grant is a journalist, author, and academic, best known for his 30 years in media. Last month, he stepped down from his role as host of the ABCs Q+A, citing exhaustion from the torrent of racist abuse to which he has been subjected. The 59-year-old opens up about the women in his life and who his dream Q&A guest would have been. I come from a strong tradition of storytellers. We carry all our stories within us. Credit: Jacquie Manning My maternal grandmother, Ivy, was a beautiful blonde woman, who was like a 1930s movie star. She lived with my grandfather, Keith, in a tin humpy with Aboriginal people. As a white woman, this was considered scandalous at the time. It was very tough for Ivy. She was turned away from hospital when she was having her first child, as it was the child of a black man. Police accused her of running grog for the blacks, as they described it, and harassed her. My mother, Betty, grew up in a tin shack on a hill between Gunnedah and Coonabarabran, where other Aboriginal people had pitched. Industries expected to be most impacted by artificial intelligence are struggling to define how it should be regulated as experts warn stakeholders are not prepared for the inevitable disruption. The government has called for submissions in a snap eight-week consultation about how to classify and regulate the technology, and is considering a ban on high-risk uses of AI. Construction work, office jobs and even judges will be impacted by artificial intelligence. Credit: High risk may be classified as the use of AI-enabled robots in surgery, and AI used in self-driving cars real-time response to safety mechanisms. A recent report by economics advisory firm Mandala Partners found the occupations expected to be the most affected by AI fall into three categories: informers, carers and co-ordinators. Ideally, your overall portfolio should beat the market average. But even the best stock picker will only win with some selections. So we wouldn't blame long term Koh Brothers Eco Engineering Limited (Catalist:5HV) shareholders for doubting their decision to hold, with the stock down 58% over a half decade. Unfortunately the share price momentum is still quite negative, with prices down 14% in thirty days. It's worthwhile assessing if the company's economics have been moving in lockstep with these underwhelming shareholder returns, or if there is some disparity between the two. So let's do just that. See our latest analysis for Koh Brothers Eco Engineering There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. 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. Looking back five years, both Koh Brothers Eco Engineering's share price and EPS declined; the latter at a rate of 39% per year. This fall in the EPS is worse than the 16% compound annual share price fall. So investors might expect EPS to bounce back -- or they may have previously foreseen the EPS decline. You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image). Dive deeper into Koh Brothers Eco Engineering's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Koh Brothers Eco Engineering's 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 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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Koh Brothers Eco Engineering, it has a TSR of -37% for the last 5 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 lost about 0.6% in the twelve months, Koh Brothers Eco Engineering shareholders did even worse, losing 19% (even including dividends). 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 6% 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. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks, for example - Koh Brothers Eco Engineering has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is potentially serious) we think you should know about. 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 By early 2021, before the Taliban spring offensive that would see them take control of the country in August, AIHRC staff had fielded 38 claims of wrongful killing and abuse. The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commissions (AIHRC) Uruzgan office was opened by Haji Abdul Ahad Bahai, pictured working in his office, who is from Uruzgan and known locally as The Chancellor. Credit: Andrew Quilty The news arrived by radio and travelled into Uruzgans remote valleys by word of mouth. Victims were encouraged to visit the AIHRCs Tarin Kowt office; few had heard of it and most had long since lost hope of justice. Word had spread from Australia, whose troops had served in the province until 2014, of the findings from the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Forces (IGADF) Afghanistan Inquiry Report. Also known as the Brereton report after the judge who led the inquiry it detailed 57 incidents, including 39 unlawful killings, alleged to have been carried out by Australian special forces soldiers. It was to the AIHRC that, late that year, a stream of Uruzganis made their way from across the province. Many had travelled for a day over rutted dirt roads and across the frontlines between territory controlled by the Taliban and the Afghan government. The plyboard sign outside the Uruzgan office of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) was barely legible by 2020. The office had opened in a rented house a decade earlier, off the main road in Uruzgans capital, Tarin Kowt, but the 10 freezing winters and scorching summers since had done their work. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. The legal minefield has severely handicapped and slowed the OSIs efforts to bring war crimes suspects to court. It would have to start its investigations from scratch. In March this year, more than two years after it was established, the OSI laid its first charges. The process of compelling evidence also left many Special Operations Task Group witnesses furious at the organisation to which they had dedicated themselves and for whom they had been physically and mentally wounded and lost friends. Many soldiers felt they were being scapegoated, forced to atone for the strategic failures of the ADF leadership and successive governments that sent them there. Despite the hope aroused among human rights and victim advocacy groups, the OSIs lawyers were circumspect. Much of the testimony acquired in Breretons 4-year probe had been compelled under the threat of punitive action and without current and former ADF witnesses right to silence. Legally, the OSI couldnt touch it . Separately, in 2020, the Morrison government was establishing the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI) to investigate criminal offences arising from the Brereton report and refer briefs of evidence to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. At the same time, in Australia, Ben Roberts-Smiths defamation case against The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times was working its way through the Federal Court towards Thursdays judgment in which Justice Anthony Besanko found overwhelmingly that Roberts-Smith was, on the balance of probabilities, a murderer, a war criminal, a bully and a disgrace to his country and the Australian military. The report of the Afghan commission detailed 122 wrongful deaths at the hands of soldiers believed to be Australian and Afghan partner forces under their command. (At least some claims likely refer to instances that, while causing death and destruction to non-combatant Afghans, were not deliberate, and so may not constitute war crimes.) Without access to the Brereton report, the OSIs primary reference for its sprawling investigation is the little-known report compiled by the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) but never made public. The charge against Soldier C now identified as SAS soldier Oliver Schulz was not only the first to be laid by the AFP, but the first-ever charge of a war crime brought against an Australian soldier under Australian law. Long before the video was broadcast, the ADF conducted an internal report into the incident. First reported by Chris Masters in his book No Front Line, and later in Willacys Rogue Forces, it bore little resemblance to what was revealed by the video. Based on interviews with SAS witnesses and a written statement by Soldier C, the ADF report suggested Dad Mohammad was a legitimate target, shot in self-defence, within the rules of engagement, and from a distance of 15 to 20 metres. Although it wasnt audible in the Four Corners program, Mark Willacy writes in his book Rogue Forces that, after having the audio professionally enhanced and analysed, the patrol commander seems to say yes. Soldier C then fires three rounds into the cowering Dad Mohammad, killing him instantly. When Dad Mohammad first appears in the video, he is lying on his back, knees raised to his chest and hands held up in self-defence. An SAS trooper, identified by Four Corners as Soldier C, stands less than two metres away, his assault rifle raised. He turns to the dog handler and asks: Should I drop this c---? He then turns to his patrol commander. At pains to avoid the legally tainted Defence evidence, investigators zeroed in on the killing of Dad Mohammad, captured by the helmet-mounted camera of an SAS dog handler on May 28, 2012, and broadcast by the ABCs Four Corners in March 2020. Before he knew it, the soldiers had burst into his compound, binding his wrists with flexi-cuffs. An interpreter asked him about an old man his father who theyd found in a guestroom in another part of the compound. I gave them his name, he says, and they wrote it down. We werent worried about this at the time. Fazal Rahman, 35, explained how on February 15, 2011, he was slaughtering a sheep at home in Deh Roshan, just north of Tarin Kowt, to celebrate the birthday of the prophet Muhammad. He was used to the sound of helicopters and continued his work as two Black Hawks landed nearby, disgorging Australian troops. Inside the compound, a dozen pairs of shoes and sandals blocked the doorway. Three men sat on plastic chairs in an unlit room warmed by a wood-burning heater. They were being interviewed by a member of AIHRCs Uruzgan staff, who filmed the exchange on his mobile phone. Left to right: Shamsullah, Fazal Rahman and Sharifullah, whose families were alleged victims of separate incidents involving Australian soldiers, are interviewed by Dad Mohammad Hamidzai (out of frame) inside the Uruzgan office of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) in Tarin Kowt. Credit: Andrew Quilty When I visited in January 2021 for The Monthly, Tarin Kowt was an island of tenuous Afghan government control in a sea of territory controlled by the Taliban. Most of the countrys 34 provinces were in a similar predicament. The AIHRCs Uruzgan office was a long way from the high-rise Australian government offices in multiple capital cities from which 10 teams of Australian federal and state police detectives and lawyers are operating with an annual budget of more than $50 million. The AIHRCs annual national budget was $US4 million ($6.1 million). The process was far from forensic. And while staff attempted to corroborate allegations through interviews and documentation, the threshold for an allegation of unlawful treatment to be deemed legitimate, to me, seemed worryingly low. As the complainants filed in through the 2020/2021 winter, the details of each case were handwritten onto single-page forms and added to a binder, which was later sent to the AIHRCs Kabul headquarters. It was in late 2020, not long after a redacted version of the Brereton report was made public, that Shaharzad Akbar, AIHRCs Kabul-based commissioner, instructed her investigators to open a probe. Akbar says the report was really about the victims. I wanted their voices to be included in the process. We didnt think theyd kill him, says Fazal Rahman, a decade on. He was just an old man. When the soldiers left, Fazal Rahmans mother cut his cuffs and the two walked to the guest room. The door was damaged and inside the room his father, Aktar Mohammad, lay dead; hed been shot at least twice. When I asked a source with intimate knowledge of the investigative process whether the AIHRC report was up to their standards, they told me plainly: No. I dont doubt the veracity, but the method wasnt great, they added. I decided to research and document a number of cases which had not previously been reported in the media and compare the accounts with the commissions findings. To include a case in the story, I set a minimum threshold of three corroborating accounts. In total, I documented 10 cases and counted 25 wrongful deaths. In addition to these previously unreported cases, I sought out the family of Dad Mohammad. His father, Abdul Malik, 180 centimetres tall with wiry, white eyebrows, hated the foreigners. To him, they were occupiers. He despised the Afghan government and the security forces they supported, too. He didnt even trust human rights organisations like the AIHRC, who he saw as being in cahoots with the foreigners, and had refused to meet with them to record his sons death. Even eight years on, the head of the AIHRC office in Tarin Kowt says, he was very angry. He [has] refused to meet with us. Abdul Malik, the father of two sons who were killed by Australian forces in or around the village of Deh Jawz-e Hassanzai in Uruzgan province. Credit: Andrew Quilty I had covered the wrongful deaths of Afghan civilians at the hands of foreign soldiers for several years, and Abdul Maliks vitriol for the foreigners, as he called them, was particularly strident. Before I met him, worried he might take his anger out on me, our interlocutors frisked him for weapons. F--- their mothers. F--- their wives, he said when I asked of his recollections of the Australians. Every day, they were on our shoulders. They destroyed the dignity of all Pashtuns. I was even more curious to meet Dad Mohammads younger brother, Jamshid, then around 26, who, Id been told, had joined the Taliban to avenge his brothers death. He offered to host me outside Tarin Kowt, in Taliban territory, but intermediaries warned against it. We spoke by phone instead. Jamshid told me Dad Mohammad wasnt even the first member of the family to be killed by the Australians. His eldest brother, Sayeed Mohammad, had been killed running from an earlier raid in the same village. He was, in Australian military terms, a squirter, a fighting-aged male running to avoid being detained and interrogated, or killed. A local tribal elder remembered Sayeed Mohammads death and the fear instilled by the Australians. Whenever there was a raid it was like a fireplace, he says. Anyone who got close would be burnt. Whether you stopped or ran, theyd shoot you. Australian soldiers on patrol in Tarin Kowt. Credit: Ash Sweeting While he says he was too young to fight at the time, Jamshid had, he admits, been close to local Taliban fighters. The day of Dad Mohammads killing, Jamshid had been working in a neighbouring district, harvesting opium from the spring poppy crop. When he heard of his brothers death, he said, I was scared and didnt want to go to my home. He was also filled with rage. Like his father, reporting his brothers killing to the AIHRC was the furthest thing from his mind. I cant show you my heart to show how I felt, he says, But if you lost someone and you faced the people responsible, what would your reaction be? My reaction was to take up a gun. The AIHRC effectively dissolved the day the Taliban took control of Kabul and Afghanistan on August 15, 2021. Shaharzad Akbar who, as Commissioner, oversaw the Uruzgan report, fled the country in the chaotic days that followed. Now living in Britain, she says of the report that we did the best we could under the circumstances, but had it been documented and preserved earlier, when the incidents had happened, I think it would have had more value. By the time we spoke to some of them, she says of witnesses and surviving family members, they had forgotten the details the small details about what happened Some of them didnt know the dates some of them just said, [for example], it was early spring and that made it harder to verify details. The last commissioner at the AIHRC, Shaharzad Akbar. Credit: Andrew Quilty Many incidents had, in fact, been reported to the AIHRC soon after they were alleged to have occurred. Dr Abdul Ghafar Stanikzai, a medical doctor from eastern Afghanistans Logar province who has since resettled in Australia, helped to establish the commissions Tarin Kowt office in 2009 and says it wasnt long before people began to report cases of abuse by Afghan soldiers, police, intelligence officers and by Australian soldiers. Early on, Stanikzai says, before the commission had established a working relationship with the ADF in Tarin Kowt, he would forward reports to the AIHRCs Special Investigations Team in Kabul. The reports of abuse by Australian forces began to form a pattern, but there was no mechanism through which allegations could be further tested, let alone accounted for. Stanikzai says his colleagues in Kabul would provide details of the reports to the Australian embassy there, but it was very rare that wed get feedback. That changed in 2010, when Stanikzai and the ADFs Tarin Kowt-based legal officers began working more closely. It was a positive step, says Stanikzai. Every incident we were informed of, even the small ones, we presented them to the [ADF] legal officers. One ADF legal officer, who first met Stanikzai in 2011, was former major David McBride, who is awaiting trial in Australia on charges relating to the leaking of documents, later published by the ABC, indicating attempts by the ADF to cover up potential war crimes. David McBride says no credibility at all was given to the Afghan version of events. They were all considered to be Taliban agents [or] cynical people on the make. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen I asked McBride in 2021 whether there was any way Australian commanders could have been unaware of the patterns of behaviour later described in the Brereton report. No, he said. Impossible. One case that Stanikzai documented on the day it occurred, in 2012, and which was re-documented for the 2021 AIHRC report, involved a man from the village of Surkh Morghab, 10 kilometres from Tarin Kowt, named Mohibullah, known by his family and friends as Lalai. His was one of the 10 cases I documented independently. Lalai says he was at home on the morning of April 7, 2012, when he heard helicopters. By now he knew not to raise the suspicions of the bearded devils, as Australian Special Forces had become known throughout Uruzgan. Instead, he stayed inside with his wife, mother and sister-in-law. Moments later, four soldiers - three Australian and one Afghan - burst through the door. I knew that youre supposed to put your hands up in these situations, he told me. I put my hands up and they shot me here, he continued, pointing to his left bicep, where a scar remains. One of the Australian soldiers rammed his rifle into Lalais face. Two of his back teeth broke and his nose, he points out, is still crooked from the blow. According to Lalai, a patrol dog was then let off its leash. The dog chomped at his shoulder as an Australian soldier stood over them. Lalais wife and the other women in the house were hysterical. If the women werent screaming, he says, Im sure Id be dead. Mohibullah, better known as Lalai, was shot in the left bicep, bashed in the face with an assault rifle and mauled by a combat dog when Australian and Afghan forces raided his house in Surkh Morghab, Uruzgan province. Credit: Andrew Quilty After being walked outside and placed among a group of around 30 other men from the village, one of his nephews, Naqibullah, also from Surkh Morghab, approached. Naqibullah was part of an Afghan partner force that worked alongside Australian Special Forces in Uruzgan, and we met while I was in Tarin Kowt. Naqibullah knew some of the Australian soldiers who had raided Surkh Morghab, and, through an interpreter, he vouched for his uncle. If hes Taliban, he recalls saying to the Australians, Im Taliban. Australian special forces did more harm than good. Despite the staggering number they killed, they created more enemies than existed before they came. Lalai was released and driven to Tarin Kowt for treatment. I spoke to a local elder named Atiq, who travelled with him and who, after Lalai had received first aid, took him to the AIHRC to report what had happened. Lalais case was one of those that the AIHRC reported to an ADF legal officer. It is also one of which senior Australian commanders were made aware. The [Australian special forces] commander in Uruzgan was definitely aware of the operations and their outcomes, says Stanikzai. They knew because they acknowledged the incidents but came up with different reasons for the outcomes. Like the rest, his account was disbelieved and disregarded. As McBride put it to me in 2021: No credibility at all was given to the Afghan version of events. They were all considered to be Taliban agents [or] cynical people on the make. Loading Despite some shortcomings in the AIHRCs process, and while assessing that some incidents involved the deaths of innocent civilians including, in one case, a mother and her seven children but were not caused deliberately, I found no discrepancies with the findings of their Uruzgan report. A letter written by a senior commander in response to the AIHRC report on the case, dated August 14, 2012, claimed Lalai was not at home at the time of the raid but fleeing through fields from the Australian and Afghan forces. His claim of being struck with a rifle was rejected outright and the matter considered closed. More important, now, after the Brereton report focused blame for alleged abuses and the culture that allowed them to proliferate primarily on low-ranking special forces soldiers, is who signed the letter: Air Commodore C.J. Sawade, deputy commander of Joint Task Force 633, which oversaw all Australian military forces in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Sawades superior at JTF 633 at the time was then Major-General Stuart Smith, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for distinguished command and leadership in action for his time at the helm of JTF 633 (which coincided with the period the Brereton report alleges abuse and illegal killings peaked). Smiths predecessor as commander of JTF 633 was then Major-General Angus Campbell, now ADF chief. Campbell was forced in Senate Estimates this week to defend his own honours after he confirmed he had sent letters to current and former defence force personnel to inform them theirs might be cancelled. Loading Defence declined to answer specific questions on the subject or make Sawade available for an interview, saying only that the allegations had been investigated and responses provided. Despite evidence of senior commanders knowledge of complaints like Lalais, however, in the opening pages of Breretons 4-year, 465-page report, he writes the Inquiry has found no evidence that there was knowledge of, or reckless indifference to, the commission of war crimes, on the part of commanders at troop/platoon, squadron/company or Task Group Headquarters level, let alone at higher levels such as Commander Joint Task Force 633, Joint Operations Command, or Australian Defence Headquarters. Nor is the Inquiry of the view that there was any failure at any of those levels to take reasonable and practical steps that would have prevented or detected the commission of war crimes. The credulity afforded to the accounts of soldiers who either conspired to cover up murders or abuse or were, in the unforgiving special operations environment, understandably afraid to come forward at the time, allowed not only the behaviour of a few to proliferate but the antipathy of Afghans in rural Uruzgan toward all Australian special forces to grow. In this respect, the actions of a minority of Australian special forces and the failure of defence leadership to address those actions represents not only poor soldiering and a breakdown in the military chain of command, but jeopardised the security interests of Australia and its allies. Loading While the strategic failures of the US-led coalition in Afghanistan extend well beyond these alleged war crimes in Uruzgan, the almost unanimous view of the several dozen victims, survivors and relatives of victims I spoke to is that Australian special forces did infinitely more harm than good and, despite the staggering number they killed, created more enemies in Uruzgan than existed before they came. After news of the arrest of Oliver Schulz this year, my colleague phoned Jamshid, the brother of Schulzs alleged victim, Dad Mohammad. After helping to overrun government forces and take control of Tarin Kowt in August 2021, Jamshid had returned to his pre-Taliban life. I have not been able to find a job, he says. I am currently working in my field. He had heard about Schulzs arrest on social media. I dont know much about the Australian constitution, he says, but I hope that justice will be served for my brothers killer. Reflecting on the time Australian special forces were operating in Uruzgan, he says: They were not in Afghanistan to help build the country but to destroy it and kill innocent people. People feared for their lives and were forced to fight against them. Shaharzad Akbar who, as Commissioner, oversaw the Uruzgan report, fled the country. Of the report, Akbar, who now lives in the UK, says we did the best we could under the circumstances. Credit: Andrew Quilty For Shaharzad Akbar, the last commissioner at the AIHRC, the Australian criminal investigation matters because for such a long time in Afghanistan we have had a culture of impunity. For decades, even prior to the international intervention governments, armies, warring parties have killed Afghan civilians, have harmed Afghan civilians, and have gotten away with it. The message, she says, continuously to Afghans, is that your life does not have value and the harm that comes to you, you just have to live with it. Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Air Commodore C.J. Sawades commanding officer when he signed a letter responding to the shooting of Mohibullah was the current Chief of Defence Force, General Angus Campbell. Campbell was in command from January 2011 to January 2012. The error was made in editing. Police then bugged his meetings, including an extraordinary coffee date at a Canberra cafe during which Roberts-Smith sought to test the loyalty of a fifth SAS soldier. Loading The soldier responded by accusing Roberts-Smith of war crimes. Sources, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential investigations, have confirmed the federal polices key success to date has been convincing figures who were once in Roberts-Smiths inner circle to turn on him, becoming police informants. At least four former members of Roberts-Smiths inner circle have provided police intelligence or sworn statements, including about the cover-up campaign. The most significant of these witnesses is a soldier who served as Roberts-Smiths deputy patrol commander and Roberts-Smiths ex-private eye, John McLeod. Pretty uncool to email Gina The tape recording captures Roberts-Smith in a tense discussion with a fellow SAS Afghan veteran in January 2018, after Roberts-Smith had contacted the veterans relative, Rinehart, to warn her that the soldier was spreading negative information about him. The veteran was among those who had seen Roberts-Smith encouraging mock prisoner executions in 2012 during an SAS pre-deployment training program in Australia. Emailing Gina Rinehart with that document was pretty uncool, the ex-soldier said on the secret recording. If you want to cause disruption in my life its an easy way to do it. Send a few emails to her and youll certainly give us a headache but thats up to you. Roberts-Smith responded by explaining he had decided to go loud with his legal threats, using a military term for removing a suppressor or silencer from a weapon. He vowed to follow through on those threats against those he suspected of disloyalty. I was going to sue those people and absolutely have no doubt that was going to happen, Roberts-Smith said. A lot of people talk a lot of shit at the point that you got sent that letter [also sent to Rinehart] is cos a number of people were saying a number of things. I know you have talked shit about me. I know that. Roberts-Smith also lashed out at soldiers breaking the SAS code of silence. A few people [in the SAS] had done what we dont do and thats talk out of school, Roberts-Smith is heard to say. Its real simple. I stick to the f---ing code mate, 100 per cent, and I have. So all the shit thats going on, Im still probably the only c--- that hasnt f---ing spoken. Id like it all to be f---ing gone away. All these people talking are just doing more damage to the unit [the SAS]. And have done damage to the unit. And continue to do damage to the unit and its all very disheartening to be frank, cos nothings going to f---ing change at my end. Code of silence In November 2020, the Brereton inquiry found the code prioritised loyalty to ones mates, immediate superiors and the unit in which secrecy is at a premium and in which those who leak are anathema. Loading While Roberts-Smith has publicly insisted he supported the work of the Brereton inquiry, on the recording he can be heard attacking it as some broad sweeping thing that f---s everyone over and has no purpose and is not necessary. The inquiry found credible evidence that multiple SAS soldiers may have committed dozens of war crimes, including the execution of prisoners and civilians. The federal police, which has been running ongoing war crimes investigations into Roberts-Smith since 2018, has also obtained evidence of the famous ex-soldier approaching SAS Afghan veterans and quizzing them on whether they intended to remain silent. Sources have revealed how police covertly bugged a meeting between Roberts-Smith and another SAS Afghan veteran in which Roberts-Smith sought to extract assurances about what the soldier would say if subpoenaed to court. The bugging operation occurred at Canberras Muse cafe in 2018. During the meeting, as this masthead reported on Friday, Roberts-Smith pressed the SAS soldier about whether he would testify about executions in the defamation court case. This man, whose right leg is prosthetic, was among Afghans killed in 2009 in a now proven war crime. The soldier responded that he would tell the truth if he was subpoenaed. He also told Roberts-Smith that the Victoria Cross recipient had acted in a loose fashion during an operation in which Roberts-Smith murdered an Afghan prisoner with a prosthetic leg. Roberts-Smith told the witness that if he did not remember what happened during certain missions, he couldnt be charged with perjury. The SAS soldier responded by accusing Roberts-Smith of serious misconduct, including machine-gunning an Afghan prisoner at a compound in Southern Afghanistan called Whiskey 108. Justice Besanko found that the allegations about the executing of the detainee at Whiskey 108 was proven true in the trial. More threats, more pressure The federal police has evidence implicating Roberts-Smith in the intimidation of two other SAS soldiers who gave evidence in the defamation trial. In the defamation case against this masthead, the soldiers were given the pseudonyms person 18 and person 6 and were revealed as potential witnesses to Roberts-Smiths involvement in the execution of Afghan prisoners. Both are singled out on the tape recording. Loading Efforts to intimidate the two witnesses were first uncovered and reported by this masthead in June 2018, although Roberts-Smith was not identified as the likely culprit at the time because of an absence of corroborative evidence. The 2018 reports were limited to detailing how Person 18 had received two anonymous and threatening letters, while an anonymous and false complaint had been separately sent to police claiming person 6 had a stash of illegal guns. This masthead recently confirmed the federal police have obtained witness statements from former members of Roberts-Smiths inner circle implicating him in the plots to intimidate Person 6 and Person 18. The police inquiry that identified the new witnesses has been running for two years in response to revelations in this masthead and on 60 Minutes about Roberts-Smiths efforts to scare SAS soldiers into silence and to hide evidence, including by burying USB sticks in a pink lunchbox in his backyard. The disclosures by the new police witnesses form part of a criminal brief of evidence federal police submitted in November to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. Private investigator John McLeod told the Federal Court about the collapse of his friendship with Roberts-Smith. Credit: Peter Rae It is the third brief of evidence about Roberts-Smiths alleged criminality submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions by the federal police, with two briefs alleging war crimes having been submitted in May 2020. A key part of the latest investigation is information provided to detectives by private investigator and ex-Queensland policeman John McLeod. He has told detectives he was directed by Roberts-Smith to post letters to Person 18 in June 2018 but that he had no idea of their content. According to official sources whose identity cannot be disclosed, McLeod has also told detectives that Roberts-Smith directed him to send anonymous emails to police, accusing Person 6 of having a stash of illegal automatic weapons and posing a grave threat to public safety. Loading When McLeods initial anonymous emails failed to prompt police action, McLeod tasked a Queensland-based paparazzo to contact The Australian newspaper to pass on the anonymous allegations. The newspaper subsequently reported the allegations about Person 6, who was also raided by state authorities. No weapons were found and the inquiry was abandoned. In the latest brief of evidence submitted to prosecutors detailing this SAS witness intimidation, federal police reference a text message that Roberts-Smith sent after the police raid on Person 6. In the message, he says the raid would scare the others. During the defamation trial, McLeod testified he was used and manipulated by a lying Roberts-Smith to engage in conduct he only later realised was aimed at silencing SAS witnesses. In 2017, McLeod was also secretly commissioned by Roberts-Smith to investigate SAS whistleblower Evan Donaldson after, in social media posts in 2016, he questioned Roberts-Smiths conduct. A report written by McLeod and provided to Roberts-Smith describes how the private eye had aimed to reconnoitre Evan Donaldsons biography, habits, networks and public persona in order to inform a deeper understanding of his current and future disposition. The 325-page report, marked commercial-in-confidence, not only profiles Donaldson but his wife and other family members. It also suggests that the Albanese government is losing support among Liberal MPs because of its refusal to amend the wording in the bill before parliament which will be debated in the Senate over the coming weeks. The Liberal party room in April decided to oppose the Voice, binding frontbenchers to the No side but leaving backbenchers free to campaign for the proposal. Leeser, who quit as spokesman for Indigenous Australians so he could support the Yes case, was unsuccessful in his attempt to remove executive government from the wording of the bill that passed the House of Representatives last week. Kovacic, who will enter the Senate on June 13 to replace the late Jim Molan, said the upcoming referendum should have been an opportunity for Australians to support a unified proposal. I wish the federal government hadnt botched it in the way that they have, she said. Theyve played rampant politics with the issue of Indigenous recognition, which in my view is absolutely unacceptable because the way they are handling this is dividing and not uniting Australians. This is a pivotal point in our history. This is something really important an opportunity to close the gap for Indigenous Australians. And its become a political lever and it, deeply, deeply upsets me. Loading Asked whether there would be any change to the wording, Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney said the Voice should be able to make representations to both the because the whole point of the Voice is to improve outcomes for Indigenous Australians to help close the gap. It is the government that makes policies about Indigenous Australians, she said. When the parliament passes laws about Indigenous Australians, it is government that implements them. Kovacic, 53, said the cost of housing would be one of her key focuses over the coming years. She said some young Australians are spending all of their pay on rent and many of them feel that no matter how hard they work, they may never be able to own their own home and that for me is a real issue. Asked whether the rules around negative gearing needed to change, Kovacic said: I think we need to look at what we can do there to tighten that policy. Neither the Coalition nor Labor have plans to change negative gearing, which allows Australians to lower their tax by offsetting the losses of investment properties against other income. The former NSW Liberal president said she didnt support limiting negative gearing to one investment property, as proposed by a Queensland delegate at Labors national conference, but it shouldnt be open-ended, hundreds of properties. Most people who negatively gear [are] mom and dad sole investors ... and you dont want to take that out of the rental market, she said. I think we need to look at what we can do there to tighten that policy. But I dont think [we should take] a broad brush approach. She said there also needed to be policies to crack down on vacant properties, especially ones owned by foreign investors, and to encourage local and state governments to open up more land for housing and to provide long-term rentals. Kovacic said her experiences gave her a passion for helping women get financial security. Credit: Edwina Pickles Kovacic, the daughter of Croatian migrants who fled communism in Europe, said she didnt speak English until she started going to school. After having three children before the age of 25, Kovacics first marriage ended and she needed to find a way to provide for her children. I had to very quickly make some decisions about what I was going to do, and I didnt have any opportunity but to fight to support my kids, and thats what I did, she said. I worked really hard in my business, I worked really long hours, I did what I could. Loading Kovacic started her own business, a franchise of the ANZ bank, and also co-founded Western Sydney Women and Western Sydney Executive Women. She said her experiences as a young mother gave her a passion for helping women achieve financial security, which she will take into federal parliament. People who force migrants into breaching their visa conditions could face jail time and businesses that exploit migrants would be barred from tapping more overseas workers under plans to overhaul the temporary visa system. The federal government will on Monday unveil a suite of changes that will include $50 million for the Australian Border Force to enforce new laws aimed at cracking down on the exploitation of the nations migrant workforce. Immigration Minister Andrew Giles says the planned changes help workers and the broader economy. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen The move follows the recent review of the migration program that found it failed to attract the most highly skilled migrants and failed to deliver businesses efficient access to workers. At the same time, there is clear evidence of systemic exploitation and the risk of an emerging permanently temporary underclass, it found. Luckily there isnt anyone to see me, except for giant cockatoos screeching overhead. With magnifying glass in hand, I hold my head inches from a boulder, scrutinising the patterns of moss that grows over it. I observe different patterns in the structure of the leaves, or phyllids, and the changing colours, which range from intense green to palest grey. Although to the casual viewer I might look like an eccentric botanist, I am in fact enjoying a spot of forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, the Japanese art of submerging oneself in nature for relaxation and health benefits. Shinrin means forest and yoku means bath. It has been called the new yoga and its certainly a hot travel trend. The practice sounds ancient, but its a modern concept. The name shinrin-yoku was only recognised in 1982, when the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries coined the term for absorbing the forest atmosphere. While anyone can be alone in a forest, it can be inspirational to go along with a guide, who will open your senses to the forest sounds, smells and textures. Long term investing is the way to go, but that doesn't mean you should hold every stock forever. It hits us in the gut when we see fellow investors suffer a loss. Imagine if you held Westport Fuel Systems Inc. (TSE:WPRT) for half a decade as the share price tanked 73%. We also note that the stock has performed poorly over the last year, with the share price down 41%. Furthermore, it's down 45% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders. We note that the company has reported results fairly recently; and the market is hardly delighted. You can check out the latest numbers in our company report. So let's have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress. Check out our latest analysis for Westport Fuel Systems Because Westport Fuel Systems 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 it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit. In the last half decade, Westport Fuel Systems saw its revenue increase by 4.0% per year. That's not a very high growth rate considering it doesn't make profits. Nonetheless, it's fair to say the rapidly declining share price (down 12%, compound, over five years) suggests the market is very disappointed with this level of growth. While we're definitely wary of the stock, after that kind of performance, it could be an over-reaction. A company like this generally needs to produce profits before it can find favour with new investors. The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). It's good to see that there was some significant insider buying in the last three months. That's a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Westport Fuel Systems A Different Perspective We regret to report that Westport Fuel Systems shareholders are down 41% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 2.9%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 12% 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. Even so, be aware that Westport Fuel Systems is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about... Westport Fuel Systems is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Canadian 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 Apple chief Tim Cook - APPLE INC HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock In his 12 years in charge of Apple, Tim Cook has turned the Silicon Valley giant into the worlds biggest company, multiplied revenues, and sold billions of iPhones. However, one thing has continued to elude the 62-year-old: Under Cooks tenure, the company is still yet to release an industry-defining product on the scale of the iPod or iPhone, which debuted under Steve Jobs leadership. While devices released since Jobs death in 2011 have become market leaders, such as the Apple Watch and AirPods, they revolve around the iPhones forcefield, rather than creating their own orbit. On Monday, that is likely to change. Apple is widely expected to unveil a long-awaited virtual reality (VR) headset, the culmination of years of skunk works research into the technology. The device, which Apple watchers are speculatively calling Reality Pro, is expected to fire the starting gun on a push into headgear that could one day see us wearing reality-enhancing eyeglasses as naturally as we cradle iPhones. Apple is likely to manage expectations as the VR headsets are not expected to sell in the same volumes as the iPhone. For one thing, the first version of the device is forecast to be expensive, with a rumoured price of $3,000 (2,400). It will not be released for several months at the earliest, and battery life will be limited. However, there is no doubt that the launch is the most pivotal of Cooks leadership. VR and its sister technology augmented reality (AR), in which virtual objects are projected onto a persons view of the real world represent a new computing paradigm: an alternative to the iPhone, rather than an augmentation of it. It feels like the riskiest product launch theyve ever done, says Ben Wood, a long-time Apple watcher at analysis firm CCS Insight. There are a lot of challenges to overcome to have a successful product and the expectations for Apple will be sky high, because everything they do, people expect it to be the best. VR is not a new technology. Nasa worked on prototype headsets as early as the 1970s. Nintendo released a Virtual Boy headset in 1995 but halted sales after a year following damning reviews and complaints of nausea and headaches. Mark Zuckerberg paid $3bn for VR company Oculus nine years ago, and in subsequent years HTC, Meta and Sony released headsets that connected to powerful gaming computers or consoles. Wood says: So far, theres very little evidence that virtual and augmented reality is something that is on a very strong growth trajectory. An apparent breakthrough moment came in 2019 when Facebook released the Quest, the first headset that could play powerful games without having to plug into a computer. Its successor, the Quest 2, was seen by Mark Zuckerberg as the first mainstream VR headset. In 2021, sales of VR headsets almost doubled to 11.2m units. The Quest 2 accounted for four in five of those. Zuckerberg was captured enough to rename his company Meta and declare that the virtual reality universe was the future of the internet. A year later, that vision is hanging by a thread. Sales of VR headsets fell by 21pc in 2022, according to IDC, and by a huge 54.4pc in the first quarter of this year. Meta's Quest VR headset - ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images Cooks challenge on Monday will be answering the question: what VR is for? The device is expected to allow FaceTime video calls, fitness features and 3D versions of Apples existing apps, although it will also have a heavy focus on gaming, the technologys most clear use case to date. Software developers are expected to be among the first customers of the device and they will be relied upon to create new experiences, in the same way the iPhone gave birth to Uber, Tinder and Instagram. Gene Munster, of Deepwater Asset Management, says that the device will be a stepping stone to a more compelling AR device that will sell in greater quantities down the line. Apples own employees have reportedly been split on the launch, according to the New York Times, with some leaving the project because of concerns about how successful it will be. Sales are expected to be modest at first, with analysts at Bank of America predicting just 200,000 units will be sold this year. Its important to recognise that the headset version three years from now will be cheaper, faster and have many more use cases, analyst Wamsi Mohan said. Apple can afford to wait for VR and AR to become mainstream. It has created industries before. However, succeeding where so many others have failed could be Cooks defining challenge. Cook told a group of students last year: Youll wonder how you lived your life without augmented reality, just like today you wonder: How did people like me grow up without the internet? 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. Allentown, PA (18103) Today Partly sunny and much warmer but not all that humid. . Tonight Increasing clouds and rather mild. There might be a shower, especially west, very late at night. BERN TWP., Pa. - World War II Weekend is taking off bringing people to Reading Regional Airport in Bern Township from all over, Hundreds watched an air show featuring fighter planes of all kinds on Saturday. "It's overwhelming actually. I don't even know where to start," said Andrew Schopf of Breinigsville. Schopf and his sons, Henry, John and Samuel, all watched from the ground below. It was their first time seeing planes like these up close. "I think it's pretty nice that they set it up. I like watching the planes because of how strong they are," said Schopf. Henry's favorite part: "I think the half-tracks and the planes," said Henry Schopf. Soon, the planes cleared out and the ground troops and armored vehicles, like tanks, took over. American and German troops clashed for a battle reenactment. "I think it's pretty cool that we're doing reenactments from World War II with real tanks and real machinery," said John Schopf. Nearby, Aedan Linge and Mark Buckwalter watched through the lenses of their cameras. "This year I was real interested in the reenactments going on and the giant battles," said Linge. "You're not going to see the armor and the vehicles anywhere else," said Buckwalter. Buckwalter and Linge's family meet up at World War II weekend each year. The Linge's traveling around 3 hours to get here. "To see the reenactors, it's always worth going back every year for it, it's a very good show," said Buckwalter. Sunday is the final day for World War II Weekend. ALLENTOWN, Pa. - It's the annual DaVinci Science Center Ice Cream Wars. "We're having a lot of fun doing it," Dana Hagan, Victalic, said. Lehigh Valley companies went head-to-head bringing together science and desserts. Each team took an original ice cream recipe and turned it into savory treats, all while using liquid nitrogen. "We have our chocolate ice cream chocolate cookie crumble," said Dana. "Our table is cinnafun, just like cinnabon," said Mark Bus, ATAS International. "We kinda go old school, kids favorites, adult favorites, and we just put it into ice cream." Along with the delicious ice-cream flavors, each company came up with table themes. We asked some of the tiny taste testers their favorite flavors "My top favorite ice cream was the fishy one." And no, she was not paid to say that, even if the fish-themed ice cream was the WFMZ team's idea.WFMZ showcased an under the sea theme with some blue raspberry ice cream. So which team ultimately took the cake? Alvin H. Butz, construction manager, with Concrete Crunch. Key Insights The projected fair value for Uzma Berhad is RM0.51 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity Current share price of RM0.66 suggests Uzma Berhad is potentially 29% overvalued When compared to theindustry average discount of -87%, Uzma Berhad's competitors seem to be trading at a greater premium to fair value How far off is Uzma Berhad (KLSE:UZMA) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward. Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. 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 Uzma Berhad Step By Step Through The Calculation We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate: 10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM42.2m RM36.2m RM33.0m RM31.3m RM30.5m RM30.3m RM30.5m RM30.9m RM31.6m RM32.4m Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ -21.84% Est @ -14.22% Est @ -8.88% Est @ -5.15% Est @ -2.53% Est @ -0.70% Est @ 0.58% Est @ 1.48% Est @ 2.10% Est @ 2.54% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 20% RM35.3 RM25.3 RM19.3 RM15.3 RM12.5 RM10.4 RM8.7 RM7.4 RM6.3 RM5.4 ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St) Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM146m We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. 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 20%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032 (1 + g) (r g) = RM32m (1 + 3.6%) (20% 3.6%) = RM209m Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM209m ( 1 + 20%)10= RM35m The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is RM181m. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of RM0.7, the company appears slightly overvalued at the time of writing. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out. dcf 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 Uzma 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 20%, which is based on a levered beta of 2.000. 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. Looking Ahead: 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. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. What is the reason for the share price exceeding the intrinsic value? For Uzma Berhad, there are three additional items you should assess: Risks: Be aware that Uzma Berhad is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about... Future Earnings: How does UZMA'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 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 Shares of Dine Brands Global, Inc. (NYSE:DIN Get Rating) have received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from the seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.80. A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DIN. Barclays decreased their price objective on Dine Brands Global from $84.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Dine Brands Global from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, May 29th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Dine Brands Global from $83.00 to $78.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Dine Brands Global in a research report on Monday, March 27th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Dine Brands Global from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Get Dine Brands Global alerts: Dine Brands Global Trading Up 4.1 % NYSE DIN opened at $63.49 on Tuesday. Dine Brands Global has a 12 month low of $59.31 and a 12 month high of $82.43. The stocks 50 day moving average is $65.31 and its 200 day moving average is $69.88. The stock has a market cap of $994.25 million, a PE ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 1.86. Dine Brands Global Announces Dividend Dine Brands Global ( NYSE:DIN Get Rating ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.27. Dine Brands Global had a negative return on equity of 35.04% and a net margin of 9.37%. The firm had revenue of $213.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Dine Brands Global will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 20th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 16th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Dine Brands Globals payout ratio is presently 39.01%. Insider Activity at Dine Brands Global In other Dine Brands Global news, Director Larry Alan Kay sold 600 shares of Dine Brands Global stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total transaction of $41,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,639 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $528,542.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dine Brands Global Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Dine Brands Global by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,113,696 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $164,763,000 after purchasing an additional 54,446 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Dine Brands Global by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,730,661 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $111,801,000 after acquiring an additional 14,212 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Dine Brands Global by 299.4% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 732,092 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $49,519,000 after acquiring an additional 548,775 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Dine Brands Global by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 570,271 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $44,711,000 after acquiring an additional 20,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Dine Brands Global by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 460,202 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $29,251,000 after acquiring an additional 68,902 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.20% of the companys stock. Dine Brands Global Company Profile (Get Rating) Dine Brands Global, Inc owns and franchises casual and family dining restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Franchise, Rental, Company Restaurant, and Financing Operations. The Franchise Operations segment consists of royalties, fees, and other income for Applebees and IHOP franchised and area licensed restaurants. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Dine Brands Global Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Dine Brands Global and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of China Green Agriculture (NYSE:CGA Get Rating) in a research report released on Thursday. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the basic materials companys stock. China Green Agriculture Trading Up 9.8 % Shares of NYSE CGA opened at $2.91 on Thursday. China Green Agriculture has a 12-month low of $2.58 and a 12-month high of $7.80. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3.53 and a 200 day moving average of $4.11. Get China Green Agriculture alerts: Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Susquehanna International Group LLP purchased a new position in China Green Agriculture in the first quarter worth approximately $175,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in China Green Agriculture by 67.8% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 19,051 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 7,700 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of China Green Agriculture in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $115,000. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. China Green Agriculture Company Profile China Green Agriculture, Inc engages in the research, development, production, and sale of various types of fertilizers and agricultural products. It operates through the following segments: Jinong, Gufeng, and Yuxing. The Jinong segment includes fertilizer products, with focus on humic acid-based compound fertilizer. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for China Green Agriculture Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for China Green Agriculture and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. China Mengniu Dairy Company Limited (OTCMKTS:CIADY Get Rating) declared a dividend on Friday, June 2nd, investing.com reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.527 per share on Thursday, July 6th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 8th. This is an increase from China Mengniu Dairys previous dividend of $0.53. China Mengniu Dairy Stock Up 5.8 % Shares of CIADY opened at $40.26 on Friday. The stocks 50 day moving average is $40.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.69. China Mengniu Dairy has a twelve month low of $31.92 and a twelve month high of $52.61. Get China Mengniu Dairy alerts: China Mengniu Dairy Company Profile (Get Rating) See Also China Mengniu Dairy Company Limited, an investment holding company, produces and distributes dairy products in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Liquid Milk Products, Ice Cream Products, Milk Powder Products, and Others. The Liquid Milk Products segment produces and distributes ultra-high temperature milk, milk beverages, fresh milk, and yogurt. Receive News & Ratings for China Mengniu Dairy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for China Mengniu Dairy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG Get Rating) had its price objective lifted by Argus from $2,200.00 to $2,400.00 in a report issued on Thursday, The Fly reports. A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Credit Suisse Group increased their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,050.00 to $2,200.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,750.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,050.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,800.00 to $1,950.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,550.00 to $1,885.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chipotle Mexican Grill presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $2,039.89. Get Chipotle Mexican Grill alerts: Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance Shares of NYSE:CMG opened at $2,062.23 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $56.90 billion, a PE ratio of 55.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.34. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 52 week low of $1,196.28 and a 52 week high of $2,139.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,911.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,667.57. Insiders Place Their Bets Chipotle Mexican Grill ( NYSE:CMG Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The restaurant operator reported $10.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.89 by $1.61. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 43.9 earnings per share for the current year. In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, Director Robin S. Hickenlooper sold 74 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,056.73, for a total value of $152,198.02. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,754,390.69. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, Director Robin S. Hickenlooper sold 74 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,056.73, for a total value of $152,198.02. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,754,390.69. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 991 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,537.37, for a total transaction of $1,523,533.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 23,347 shares in the company, valued at $35,892,977.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,337 shares of company stock worth $26,227,935 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.96% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 55.0% during the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 662 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 1st quarter worth about $89,735,000. Old North State Trust LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 335 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 179,751 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $307,067,000 after acquiring an additional 5,615 shares during the period. Finally, Titleist Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 1st quarter worth about $442,000. 93.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. About Chipotle Mexican Grill (Get Rating) Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc engages in the development and operation of classically-cooked, real food with wholesome ingredients without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. It offers a focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls, and salads prepared using classic cooking methods. The company was founded by Steve Ells in 1993 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, CA. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Chipotle Mexican Grill Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Chipotle Mexican Grill and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM Get Rating) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report report published on Thursday, The Fly reports. They currently have $125.00 price target on the oil and gas companys stock. A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on XOM. Cowen boosted their price target on Exxon Mobil from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. B. Riley boosted their price target on Exxon Mobil from $128.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. HSBC boosted their price target on Exxon Mobil from $113.50 to $115.50 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Argus boosted their price target on Exxon Mobil from $128.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised Exxon Mobil from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $125.28. Get Exxon Mobil alerts: Exxon Mobil Price Performance Shares of XOM stock opened at $105.76 on Thursday. Exxon Mobil has a fifty-two week low of $80.69 and a fifty-two week high of $119.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $427.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.46. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $110.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.22. Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement Exxon Mobil ( NYSE:XOM Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 28th. The oil and gas company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $86.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.07 billion. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 31.48% and a net margin of 15.06%. The companys revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 15th. Exxon Mobils dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.64%. Insider Transactions at Exxon Mobil In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.11, for a total transaction of $290,275.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 29,272 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,398,771.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the companys stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Exxon Mobil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Corrado Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, My Personal CFO LLC grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 15,000.0% in the 4th quarter. My Personal CFO LLC now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.49% of the companys stock. About Exxon Mobil (Get Rating) Exxon Mobil Corp. engages in the exploration, development, and distribution of oil, gas, and petroleum products. It operates through the following segments: Upstream, Downstream and Chemical. The Upstream segment produces crude oil and natural gas. The Downstream segment manufactures and trades petroleum products. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Exxon Mobil Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Exxon Mobil and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. (NYSE:HVT.A Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 19th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 6th will be given a dividend of 0.28 per share on Wednesday, June 21st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 5th. This is an increase from Haverty Furniture Companiess previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Haverty Furniture Companies Trading Up 1.8 % Shares of Haverty Furniture Companies stock opened at $26.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $429.59 million, a P/E ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.81. Haverty Furniture Companies has a 12 month low of $24.55 and a 12 month high of $37.62. Get Haverty Furniture Companies alerts: Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT.A Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $224.75 million for the quarter. Haverty Furniture Companies Company Profile Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc operates as a specialty retailer of residential furniture and accessories in the United States. The company offers furniture merchandise under the Havertys brand name. It also provides custom upholstery products and eclectic looks; and mattress product lines under the Sealy, Tempur-Pedic, and Serta names, as well as private label Skye name. Further Reading 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. Crews are just weeks away from completing the restoration of the North Douglas Creek channel on Colorado Springs' west side, officials announced Monday, one of several critical projects the city took on to address poor stormwater management that ultimately embroiled the city in a multi-million-dollar federal lawsuit in 2016. "In many ways I regard this project as the poster child for the city's progress in overcoming its stormwater challenges," Mayor John Suthers said Monday at the construction site. Officials began efforts to restore the channel in 2019, repairing severe erosion that threatened Sinton Road and Interstate 25, as well as adjacent properties and railroad tracks, a news release states. To reduce erosion, the channel's new design helps slow rushing waters flowing through it at nearly 20 mph, Stormwater Enterprise Manager Richard Mulledy said. The $4.6 million project included rebuilding a concrete culvert under I-25 that had fallen into Douglas Creek and grading 20-foot vertical cliffs along the side of the creek to flatter slopes where grasses and trees can be planted to prevent erosion. Crews slowed water flows by flattening the creek bottom and grouting large boulders together, then also removed and relocated nearby utility lines, the release said. It was funded by the city's stormwater enterprise, Colorado Springs Utilities and a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "We've come a long way, but it's important that the city continue to upgrade our stormwater system and not once again neglect our responsibilities," Suthers said. The North Douglas Creek channel is one of 13 sites the Environmental Protection Agency audited in Colorado Springs in 2013 and 2015, Suthers and Mulledy said. The agency alleged the city had violated its federal stormwater permit by, among other missteps, failing to "properly operate and maintain" stormwater facilities. In 2016, the EPA and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment filed a high-profile lawsuit against the city seeking civil penalties over water quality violations and shortfalls in Colorado Springs' stormwater program they argued degraded, eroded and widened Fountain Creek and its tributaries. Water flowing from the creek combined with surface runoff, increased sedimentation and tainted water quality, possibly affecting habitats for fish and other aquatic life, the EPA audits found. The lawsuit also argued it could "make it more difficult and expensive for downstream users," like Pueblo County and the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District, "to effectively use the water." 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. Pueblo County and the water district later joined the suit, citing increased E. coli levels, erosion and flooding. As part of efforts to address the violations, Colorado Springs in a 2016 agreement with Pueblo County committed to spending $460 million over 20 years to build 71 major stormwater projects designed to eliminate sedimentation, detain excessive flows and improve water quality in Fountain Creek for local communities and those downstream. The North Douglas Creek channel was among those projects. That agreement was necessary, Suthers said, to placate Pueblo County and allow Colorado Springs to pump water from the Pueblo Reservoir through the Southern Delivery System pipeline. With 14 years left in the agreement Colorado Springs has spent about $125 million to complete or start projects on that list, Mulledy said. About one-forth of the projects are complete and another one-forth of the projects are in the design or construction stages, he said. "We're getting close to halfway done," he said. In 2017, Colorado Springs also reinstated a stormwater fee the City Council defunded in 2009 to provide ongoing revenue and catch up on maintenance. Money will help cover $45 million in projects required by a 2021 consent decree approved in the lawsuit against the city, as well as the $460 million the city is spending in its agreement with Pueblo County. The city's efforts to address its stormwater issues are among his greatest achievements as mayor, Suthers said. "I frankly think this is one of the things I'm most proud of, because it took a lot of communication with the citizens to explain why we needed to do this and how important it was," the term-limited mayor said. After eight years in the office, Suthers will leave this spring. Restoring the North Douglas Creek channel will also prove helpful in possible plans to re-envision portions of Fountain Creek, he said, including opportunities to kayak or fish. "It all fits together. The better job you do on stormwater, the more recreational amenities you're able to use that water for," he said. Officials have also included more outdoor recreation amenities at other sites, such as installing hiking and biking trails along stormwater infrastructure at Sand Creek, Suthers said. Sprott (NYSE:SII Get Rating) and Netcapital (OTCMKTS:NCPL Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership. Analyst Ratings This is a summary of recent recommendations for Sprott and Netcapital, as provided by MarketBeat.com. Get Sprott alerts: Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Sprott 0 0 0 0 N/A Netcapital 0 0 0 0 N/A Profitability Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Sprott 14.13% 6.75% 4.94% Netcapital 33.83% 8.71% 7.41% Institutional and Insider Ownership This table compares Sprott and Netcapitals net margins, return on equity and return on assets. 28.0% of Sprott shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.2% of Netcapital shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.3% of Sprott shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of Netcapital shares are owned by company 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. Valuation & Earnings This table compares Sprott and Netcapitals revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Sprott $145.18 million 6.17 $17.63 million $0.74 46.72 Netcapital $5.48 million 1.61 $3.50 million $0.52 2.79 Sprott has higher revenue and earnings than Netcapital. Netcapital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sprott, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Summary Sprott beats Netcapital on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks. 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. About Netcapital (Get Rating) Netcapital, Inc. is a fintech company which engages in the provision of financial solutions. The firms platform allows private companies to raise capital online and provides private equity investment opportunities to investors. The company was founded by Sean F. Lee in April 1984 and is headquartered in Boston, MA. Receive News & Ratings for Sprott Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sprott and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL Get Rating) updated its FY23 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of $1.70-1.82 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $1.73. The company issued revenue guidance of 1-3% yr/yr to ~$12.58-12.83 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $12.55 billion. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several brokerages recently issued reports on HRL. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Hormel Foods from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and dropped their price target for the company from $47.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $45.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Monday, March 6th. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $43.71. Get Hormel Foods alerts: Hormel Foods Price Performance Hormel Foods stock opened at $40.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 2.42. The company has a market capitalization of $22.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.18. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $39.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.09. Hormel Foods has a 1 year low of $37.78 and a 1 year high of $51.69. Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement Hormel Foods ( NYSE:HRL Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 1st. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hormel Foods will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year. The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 14th. Hormel Foodss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.33%. Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 6,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.50, for a total value of $243,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 102,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,159,269. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Hormel Foods news, Director Becerra Jose Luis Prado sold 5,200 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.01, for a total transaction of $202,852.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,174.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 6,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.50, for a total transaction of $243,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 102,698 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,159,269. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hormel Foods A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 387.0% during the 1st quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 1,841 shares of the companys stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,463 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,527 shares of the companys stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 61.5% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,062 shares of the companys stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $102,000. 39.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Hormel Foods (Get Rating) Hormel Foods Corp. engages in the production of meat and food products. It operates through the following segments: Grocery Products, Refrigerated Foods, Jennie-O Turkey Store, and International and Other. The Grocery Products segment focuses on the processing, marketing, and sale of shelf-stable food products sold in the retail market. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Hormel Foods Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hormel Foods and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BT Group CLASS A (LON:BT.A Get Rating) insider Sara Weller acquired 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 146 ($1.80) per share, for a total transaction of 7,300 ($9,021.26). BT Group CLASS A Trading Down 3.4 % Shares of BT Group CLASS A stock opened at GBX 143.65 ($1.78) on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 150.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 136.47. BT Group CLASS A has a 12-month low of GBX 110.55 ($1.37) and a 12-month high of GBX 196.60 ($2.43). The company has a market capitalization of 14.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 756.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 164.53. Get BT Group - CLASS A alerts: BT Group CLASS A Company Profile (Get Rating) Featured Stories BT Group plc provides communications services worldwide. Its Consumer segment sells telephones, baby monitors, and Wi-Fi extenders through high street retailers, online BT Shop, and Website BT.com; and offers home phone, copper and fiber broadband, TV, and mobile services in various packages. The company's EE segment offers 2G, 3G, and 4G mobile network services; broadband, fixed-voice, and TV services; and postpaid and prepaid plans, and emergency services network. Receive News & Ratings for BT Group - CLASS A Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BT Group - CLASS A and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Lenovo Group (OTCMKTS:LNVGY Get Rating) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday, The Fly reports. Several other research firms also recently issued reports on LNVGY. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lenovo Group from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Lenovo Group from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report on Friday, March 24th. Get Lenovo Group alerts: Lenovo Group Price Performance LNVGY opened at $19.38 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Lenovo Group has a 52-week low of $13.51 and a 52-week high of $22.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.22. The company has a market cap of $11.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.98. Lenovo Group Company Profile Lenovo Group Limited, an investment holding company, develops, manufactures, and markets technology products and services. It operates through Intelligent Devices Group, Infrastructure Solutions Group, and Solutions and Services Group segments. The company offers commercial and consumer personal computers, as well as servers and workstations; and a family of mobile Internet devices, including tablets and smartphones. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Lenovo Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Lenovo Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mirova raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Get Rating) by 35.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,483 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after acquiring an additional 5,579 shares during the quarter. Mirovas holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Arcus Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Elequin Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 283.3% in the 4th quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 391 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.93% of the companys stock. Get Abbott Laboratories alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets ABT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $136.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $112.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $121.26. Insider Activity Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.3 % In other news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $757,746,582.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website . In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 6,825,316 shares in the company, valued at $757,746,582.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link . Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 8,226 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.56, for a total value of $909,466.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,427 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,786,409.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. ABT traded up $1.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $104.20. 6,024,366 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,920,039. The stock has a market cap of $181.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.67. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $93.25 and a twelve month high of $118.23. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $106.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.68. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $9.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 22.36%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.73 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.38 EPS for the current year. About Abbott Laboratories (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. Featured Articles 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. Orange S.A. (NYSE:ORAN Get Rating) announced a semi-annual dividend on Thursday, April 27th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.3142 per share by the technology company on Wednesday, June 7th. This represents a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Oranges previous semi-annual dividend of $0.24. Orange has a payout ratio of 66.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Orange to earn $1.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 65.7%. Get Orange alerts: Orange Stock Performance Shares of ORAN opened at $11.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $12.43 and a 200 day moving average of $11.23. Orange has a twelve month low of $8.81 and a twelve month high of $13.08. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Orange during the 4th quarter worth $212,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Orange by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 16,918 shares of the technology companys stock worth $199,000 after acquiring an additional 2,669 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Orange by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,252 shares of the technology companys stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,960 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Orange by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 14,252 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 3,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Orange by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,947 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 4,649 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.09% of the companys stock. ORAN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Orange in a research report on Tuesday, May 30th. They set a neutral rating for the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Orange in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Orange from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Orange from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Two research 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, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $11.17. Orange Company Profile (Get Rating) Orange SA engages as a telecommunication services company, which operates mobile and internet services. It provides telecommunication services to multinational companies, under the brand Orange Business Services. The company was founded in January 1, 1991 and is headquartered in Paris, France. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Orange Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Orange and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP Get Rating) DA Davidson issued their Q2 2023 earnings per share estimates for Advance Auto Parts in a research note issued on Thursday, June 1st. DA Davidson analyst M. Baker expects that the company will post earnings of $1.02 per share for the quarter. DA Davidson currently has a Neutral rating and a $142.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Advance Auto Parts current full-year earnings is $10.80 per share. Get Advance Auto Parts alerts: Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 31st. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.60 by ($1.88). The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.43 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 22.67%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.57 EPS. Advance Auto Parts Trading Down 0.7 % Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on AAP. StockNews.com cut Advance Auto Parts from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup cut their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $126.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $130.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $115.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Advance Auto Parts from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a report on Thursday. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $104.42. Shares of NYSE AAP opened at $67.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.04, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.92. Advance Auto Parts has a 52 week low of $66.27 and a 52 week high of $212.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 1.24. Advance Auto Parts Cuts Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Advance Auto Partss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.15%. Institutional Trading of Advance Auto Parts Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 245.9% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 211 shares of the companys stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 113.7% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 156 shares of the companys stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 9,933.3% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 301 shares of the companys stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. 96.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Advance Auto Parts (Get Rating) Advance Auto Parts, Inc engages in the supply and distribution of aftermarket automotive products for both professional installers and do-it-yourself customers. It operates through the following segments: Advance Auto Parts/Carquest U.S., Carquest Canada, Worldpac, and Independents. The company was founded by Arthur Taubman in 1929 and is headquartered in Raleigh, NC. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Advance Auto Parts Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Advance Auto Parts and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE:RBA Get Rating) (TSE:RBA) in a report published on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the business services providers stock. Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. National Bankshares raised shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $61.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, March 20th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. Finally, OTR Global raised shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers to a positive rating in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $61.57. Get Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers alerts: Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Trading Up 4.2 % RBA opened at $55.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.89. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers has a 12 month low of $48.72 and a 12 month high of $72.73. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $56.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Dividend Announcement Insider Transactions at Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneerss dividend payout ratio is presently 110.20%. In other news, Director Adam Dewitt acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $52.40 per share, for a total transaction of $104,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at $104,800. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Adam Dewitt purchased 2,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $52.40 per share, for a total transaction of $104,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $104,800. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert George Elton purchased 1,471 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $79,654.65. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 21,993 shares of company stock worth $1,185,754 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.32% of the companys stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RBA. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 21,697 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,275,000 after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 34,995 shares of the business services providers stock worth $2,069,000 after purchasing an additional 7,218 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 19,188 shares of the business services providers stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,914 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its position in shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 100,957 shares of the business services providers stock worth $6,322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 284,874 shares of the business services providers stock worth $16,816,000 after purchasing an additional 37,047 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.09% of the companys stock. 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. See Also 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Accenture (NYSE:ACN Get Rating) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday. ACN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Accenture from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Accenture from $310.00 to $327.00 in a research report on Friday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Accenture from $311.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Accenture from $289.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, March 24th. Finally, Edward Jones upgraded Accenture from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $314.00. Get Accenture alerts: Accenture Stock Performance Shares of ACN stock opened at $311.39 on Wednesday. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $282.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.76 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.24. Accenture has a fifty-two week low of $242.80 and a fifty-two week high of $322.88. Accenture Dividend Announcement Accenture ( NYSE:ACN Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 23rd. The information technology services provider reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 11.00%. Accentures revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Accenture will post 11.57 earnings per share for the current year. The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 13th were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 12th. Accentures dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.25%. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Accenture news, insider Ellyn Shook sold 5,250 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.90, for a total transaction of $1,448,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,908 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,423,917.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 556 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.82, for a total value of $153,911.92. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 42,739 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $11,831,009.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ellyn Shook sold 5,250 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.90, for a total value of $1,448,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,908 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,423,917.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,010 shares of company stock valued at $4,180,030 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.08% of the companys stock. Institutional Trading of Accenture Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Affiance Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. My Personal CFO LLC acquired a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Accenture in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new position in Accenture in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. 73.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Accenture Company Profile (Get Rating) Accenture Plc engages in the provision of management consulting, technology, and outsourcing services. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America, Europe and Growth Markets. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Accenture Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Accenture and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI Get Rating) (TSE:TRI) has been assigned an average rating of Hold from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $131.22. A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TRI. 51job reiterated a downgrade rating on shares of Thomson Reuters in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Thomson Reuters from a buy rating to a hold rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $124.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. National Bank Financial raised Thomson Reuters from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, May 8th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Thomson Reuters in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating for the company. Finally, TD Securities cut Thomson Reuters from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, February 16th. Get Thomson Reuters alerts: Institutional Investors Weigh In On Thomson Reuters Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TRI. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Thomson Reuters by 19.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,154 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its stake in Thomson Reuters by 7.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 1,945 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 11.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 560,049 shares of the business services providers stock worth $60,961,000 after purchasing an additional 57,200 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,314,854 shares of the business services providers stock worth $578,521,000 after acquiring an additional 118,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its stake in Thomson Reuters by 89.7% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 138,600 shares of the business services providers stock worth $15,061,000 after purchasing an additional 65,534 shares in the last quarter. 20.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Thomson Reuters Stock Performance TRI opened at $123.52 on Tuesday. The companys 50 day moving average is $127.43 and its 200 day moving average is $121.42. The company has a market cap of $58.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.25, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.59. Thomson Reuters has a 12-month low of $94.94 and a 12-month high of $133.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI Get Rating) (TSE:TRI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.73 billion. Thomson Reuters had a return on equity of 10.55% and a net margin of 17.20%. Thomson Reuterss revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Thomson Reuters will post 3.31 EPS for the current year. Thomson Reuters Cuts Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 18th will be paid a $0.362 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 17th. This represents a $1.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Thomson Reuterss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.33%. About Thomson Reuters (Get Rating) Thomson Reuters Corp. engages in the provision of news and information for professional markets. It operates through the following segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax and Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. The Legal Professionals segment provides research and workflow products to law firms and government. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Thomson Reuters Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Thomson Reuters and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Apolo Ohno made a trip to Colorado this week, taking flight with the famous Air Force Thunderbirds ahead of the Air Force Academy graduation. Ohno's Colorado experience didn't end there though, with the eight-time Olympic speed skating medalist also opting to take on one of Colorado's most iconic hikes the Manitou Incline. A video of Ohno making the trek up 2,700-plus steps over the course of slightly less than a mile was published to the Olympic City USA Instagram account. While Ohno is taking a casual approach toward climbing the route in this more recent video video, he's no stranger to tackling it with speed, claiming to have hit a time of 17 minutes and 45 seconds in 2006. If confirmed, Ohno's time would have been potentially record-setting, though it was never made fully official. In years to come, Manitou Incline speed records would be taken much more seriously, with new standards for proof and a standardized approach toward a start and finish line implemented. Today, the official records on the Manitou Incline per a reputable website called Fastest Known Time are 17 minutes and 25 seconds by Remi Bonnet (2022) and 17 minutes and 45 seconds by Joseph Gray (2015). These records include their own controversy with many considering Gray's time to be the most substantiated and most official record for the notorious route. Either way, all of these times in the record-setting range are well ahead of the hour to two hour time it takes many to finish the route. Those seeking to climb the Manitou Incline must make a free reservation here. Note that it's extremely strenuous and not for everyone, climbing more than 2,700 steps and gaining 2,000 vertical feet in less than a mile. STAY INFORMED: Get free Colorado news with our daily newsletter (Click here) UDR (NYSE:UDR Get Rating) had its target price decreased by Barclays from $50.00 to $47.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, The Fly reports. Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of UDR from $43.00 to $46.00 in a report on Monday, May 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of UDR from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of UDR from $50.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of UDR in a research report on Wednesday, March 29th. They issued an overweight rating and a $44.50 target price for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of UDR from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating and set a $71.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, May 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $47.97. Get UDR alerts: UDR Stock Up 2.7 % Shares of UDR opened at $41.16 on Wednesday. The companys fifty day moving average is $40.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.72. The company has a quick ratio of 4.91, a current ratio of 4.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. UDR has a fifty-two week low of $37.18 and a fifty-two week high of $50.65. The firm has a market cap of $13.55 billion, a PE ratio of 137.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.76. UDR Increases Dividend Institutional Investors Weigh In On UDR The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 6th. This is a boost from UDRs previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. UDRs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 560.02%. A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UDR. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of UDR by 3.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,529 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in UDR by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,444 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UDR by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,525 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of UDR by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 23,609 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $914,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund lifted its holdings in shares of UDR by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund now owns 43,478 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,684,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. 92.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. About UDR (Get Rating) UDR, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which owns, operates, acquires, renovates, develops, redevelops, disposes of, and manages multifamily apartment communities. It engages in the multi-family real estate investment trust business. The firm operates through the Same-Store Communities and Non-Mature Communities/Other segments. See Also Receive News & Ratings for UDR Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for UDR and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of United States Antimony (NYSE:UAMY Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the stock. United States Antimony Price Performance United States Antimony stock opened at $0.33 on Thursday. The firms 50-day moving average is $0.36 and its 200-day moving average is $0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 17.60 and a current ratio of 18.25. United States Antimony has a 1 year low of $0.29 and a 1 year high of $0.52. Get United States Antimony alerts: Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Financial Mangement LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United States Antimony in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of United States Antimony in the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United States Antimony by 349.6% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 166,594 shares of the companys stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 129,544 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United States Antimony by 56.0% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 97,500 shares of the companys stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in United States Antimony by 1,211.5% in the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 135,343 shares of the companys stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 125,023 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.33% of the companys stock. United States Antimony Company Profile United States Antimony Corp. engages in the exploration, production and sale of precious metals. It operates through the following segments: United States Antimony Operations, Mexican Antimony Operations and United States Zeolite Operations. The company was founded by John C. Lawrence in June 1969 and is headquartered Thompson Falls, MT. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for United States Antimony Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for United States Antimony and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. People visit the Yongdingmen Gate in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 16, 2022. [Xinhua/Ju Huanzong] To know China, one must know about its splendid civilization, the solid foundation for China to stand in the world. BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) Chinese President Xi Jinping called for shouldering new cultural missions and building a modern Chinese civilization at a meeting on cultural inheritance and development on Friday. Xi said the cultural missions in the new era are to further advance cultural prosperity, to build a leading country in culture and to foster the modern Chinese civilization. Overseas experts said that the Chinese culture has not only promoted China's development, but also contributed Chinese wisdom to the development of world civilizations. Upholding Cultural Confidence Xi emphasized that the Chinese civilization has a long and continuous history stretching back to antiquity, and said that a comprehensive and profound understanding of that history is essential to promoting the creative transformation and development of fine traditional Chinese culture more effectively, and to developing modern Chinese civilization. Noting that history tells people that nations holding their cultures strongly got progress and development, Abid Ghafoor Chaudhry, chairman of the department of anthropology at PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, said China's strong economy and the ability to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty are closely related to "the depth of Chinese civilization and culture." People work on the construction site of China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC)'s Central Business District (CBD) project in Egypt's New Administrative Capital, about 50 kilometers east of Cairo, on June 1, 2019. [Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa] "We find that all the initiatives proposed by President Xi, including the Belt and Road Initiative, Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative, building a community with a shared future for mankind, and others are all drawing the correct path for mankind and the international community at all different levels," said Mohsen Fergani, professor of Chinese language at the Ain Shams University in Cairo. "The Chinese policy is created from its deep-rooted culture that is based on the spirit of cooperation, participation, persistence, and modest and continuous work," Fergani said. Inclusiveness and Exchanges Xi pointed out in his remarks that the Chinese civilization has consistency, originality, unity, inclusivity and a peaceful nature. The openness and inclusiveness of the Chinese culture to the world civilizations are especially praised by experts around the world. The mutual learning of human civilizations should not take a commanding position or assume a position, but should understand each other's cultural achievements from each other's perspectives, so as to be inclusive, said Choi Chang-won, director of the Institute of Chinese Culture and Art at Chungwoon University in South Korea. Taking the history of cultural exchanges between South Korea and China as an example, Choi said that the two countries are close in terms of geography, culture and people-to-people exchanges, and Confucius' sayings such as "it is always a pleasure to greet a friend from afar" have been widely recognized and echoed by the South Korean people. The long-term cultural exchanges between the two countries have been making contributions to the innovative development of their civilizations, Choi said. Cultural exchanges are the "bridge and bond" that bring people together in different countries, said Mazen Shamieh, former assistant minister for the Palestinian Foreign Ministry. A large number of translations of quality Chinese and Arab books and films in recent years have greatly contributed to mutual understanding and friendship among people, while cultural exchanges becoming increasingly close, Shamieh said, adding that this is an important part of the positive development of Arab-China ties. A woman visits a photo exhibition showcasing the friendly exchanges and cooperation between China and Arab countries in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 7, 2022. [Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen] In the eyes of Fergani, cultural exchanges between Egypt and China have taken a "big leap" in recent years. The number of Chinese language learners in Egypt and the Arab nations has continuously increased, and a large number of students have tended to work in translation of the Chinese literature and art, Fergani said. The cultural exchanges have brought people from both sides closer together and helped the Arab people learn and benefit from China's development experience, Fergani said. Facing Global Challenges In the face of pressing global challenges, from the outstanding characteristics of Chinese civilization, as well as the strengths built by Chinese culture for China's progress and prosperity, experts in many countries see hopeful solutions to the issues. Despite the differences of cultures, human civilizations share certain common values which hold the key to successful interaction among civilizations, said Cavince Adhere, a Kenyan international relations scholar. "Drawing from these values, cooperation among different countries is possible and solutions to key global challenges can be generated," Adhere said. "China's effort to promote both material and spiritual civilization is one of the enduring elements of its cultural innovation. Helping people to focus on material things while also strengthening their moral and spiritual wellbeing is an important art in creating a wholesome, balanced, and sustainable society," he said. To know China, one must know about its splendid civilization, the solid foundation for China to stand in the world, Shamieh said. A man views an exhibit at an exhibition of pottery artworks entitled Echoes of Majiayao in Delft, the Netherlands, on May 14, 2022. [Xinhua/Sylvia Lederer] Quoting the old Chinese saying "a single flower does not make spring," Shamieh called on the international community to advocate the respect for the diversity of civilizations, the common values of humanity, the importance of inheritance and innovation of civilizations, and robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, which are also underlined in the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by Xi. The Global Civilization Initiative takes into account the characteristics of different civilizations on the basis of building consensus, said Chea Munyrith, president of the Cambodian Chinese Evolution Researcher Association, adding that the new situation of cultural integration and people-to-people exchanges will make new and important contributions to promoting world peace and development as well as building a community with a shared future for mankind. (Source: Xinhua) Weather Alert ...LAKE WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON CDT /1 PM EDT/ TODAY TO 7 PM CDT /8 PM EDT/ THIS EVENING... * WHAT...West to northwest winds around 15 to 20 mph expected. * WHERE...Portions of southern Illinois, southwest Indiana, western Kentucky and southeast Missouri. * WHEN...From noon CDT /1 PM EDT/ today to 7 PM CDT /8 PM EDT/ this evening. * IMPACTS...Strong winds and rough waves on area lakes will create hazardous conditions for small craft. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Scattered to numerous thunderstorms are forecast to develop this afternoon. These storms will produce dangerous lightning and locally higher wind gusts. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Boaters on area lakes should use extra caution since strong winds and rough waves can overturn small craft. If lightning is sighted or skies turn threatening, head to shore immediately and seek shelter indoors until conditions improve. && WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Chinese warship came within 150 yards (137 meters) of a U.S. destroyer in the Taiwan Strait in "an unsafe manner," U.S. military officials said, as China blamed the United States for "deliberately provoking risk" in the region. U.S. and Canadian navies on Saturday were conducting a joint exercise in the strait, which separates the island of Taiwan and China, when the Chinese ship cut in front of the U.S. guided-missile destroyer Chung-Hoon forcing it to slow down to avoid a collision, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement. The People's Republic of China (PRC) has claimed self-ruled Taiwan as its territory since the defeated Republic of China government fled to the island in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists. Taiwan's government says the PRC has never ruled the island and U.S. President Joe Biden has said the U.S. would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion. China's military rebuked the United States and Canada for "deliberately provoking risk" after the countries' navies staged a rare joint sailing through the sensitive Taiwan Strait. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the Chung-Hoon and Canada's Montreal were conducting a "routine" transit of the strait when the Chinese ship cut in front of the American vessel. The Chinese ship's "closest point of approach was 150 yards and its actions violated the maritime 'Rules of the Road' of safe passage in international waters," the U.S. command said. Video footage broadcast by Canadian website Global News showed the close encounter between the ships. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The maritime encounter was the latest close call between the Chinese and U.S. military. On May 26, a Chinese fighter jet carried out an "unnecessarily aggressive" maneuver near a U.S. military plane over the South China Sea in international airspace, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said on Tuesday. The spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, did not comment on the specifics of the jet incident, but said the U.S. had "frequently deployed aircraft and vessels for close-in reconnaissance on China, which poses a serious danger to Chinas national security." White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a pre-recorded interview that aired on CNN on Sunday that the U.S. is seeking to maintain the "stable, cross-strait dynamic" between China and Taiwan and avoid a conflict "that would end up cratering the global economy." The interview for "Fareed Zakaria GPS" on CNN took place on Friday. Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu told Asia's top security summit on Sunday that conflict with the United States would be an "unbearable disaster" but that his country sought dialogue over confrontation. (Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Grant McCool) Attempts to censor Roger Waters, the acclaimed 79-year-old music artist and co-founder of Pink Floyd, have continued on the British leg of his farewell This Is Not A Drill tour. Roger Waters performing in Berlin on his This is Not a Drill tour [Photo: WSWS] Labour Party politicians have led the way in demanding that Waters concerts are cancelled. Christian Wakeford MP, elected as Conservative MP for Bury South, Greater Manchester, before joining Labour last year, called in parliament for cancellation of the June 10 Manchester show. He slanderously claimed that in Berlin Waters had used the name of Anne Frank to stoke division, performed while dressed as an SS soldier and used the Star of David on a giant pig to insinuate that Jewish people run the world. Noting that Waters had been condemned by Manchesters Jewish Representative Council (JRC)the body involved in witch-hunting a local museum head last year, asserting that To claim that Israel is a colonial enterprise is antisemitic,Wakeford appealed to the Leader of the House, Tory MP Penny Mordaunt, to agree that such concerts have no place in our society and should not go ahead. Mordaunt replied that This House has made great efforts, particularly in recent years, to ensure that the scourge of antisemitism is addressed and stamped out from our country, adding I shall make sure that all relevant Departments have heard the hon. Gentlemans concerns. In London, Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan sent representatives to the operator of the O2 arena venue to express the concerns and issues raised by the Jewish community, lending support for a Zionist pressure groups call to cancel shows taking place on June 6-7. Waters has been subject to a systematic campaign of harassment based on lies and intimidation. There were repeated attempts to cancel his six German shows based on false accusations of anti-semitism. When these failed, criminal investigations were opened by the Berlin police department on charges of incitement of hatred. For the German and British ruling class, Waters crimes are that he has repeatedly expressed opposition to the US-NATO-instigated war against Russia in Ukrainefor which he has been smeared as a propagandist for Putinand his vocal support of the Palestinian people in the face of criminal attacks on them by the State of Israel, for which he is denounced as an anti-Semite. Waters has consistently denounced the Putin regime for its military operation in Ukraine, but steadfastly pointed to the hegemonic aims of US imperialism that are driving a conflict that threatens escalation into nuclear annihilation. Former colleagues have joined the smear campaign. Polly Samson, wife of Pink Floyds guitarist David Gilmour, tweeted in February that Waters was a Putin apologist and antisemitic to your rotten core. Gilmour described the attack as demonstrably true. He and fellow former Pink Floyd member Nick Mason have both been drawn into the pro-war propaganda barrage in support of right-wing Ukrainian nationalism and the US-backed NATO provocation against Russia. It is significant, therefore, that Mason remained sufficiently critical to sign a petition against the attempted cancellation of Waters Frankfurt show. The slanders levelled against Waters are vile. Waters whole life and career have been touched by the dangers of a third world war, and informed by demands for an end to the production and proliferation of nuclear weapons. In the current shows, when introducing his anti-war song Two Suns in the Sunset, he has said, Were closer to a nuclear confrontation than ever before. A child of the Second World War (b. 1943), Waters has always been acutely sensitive to the resurgence of repression and political reaction, through his time with Pink Floyd (he left in 1985) and since. Pink Floyds album The Wall (1979), with its portrayal of an unhinged rock star hallucinating of fascist rallies, was a visceral reaction against the resurgence of the far-right. This Is Not A Drill, as WSWS reviewers have noted, features a powerful performance of his 1987 song The Powers That Be. Accompanied by howling sirens and shots, images are screened of armed police units and fascist thugs, along with some of their victims. These include Sophie Scholl and Anne Frank, murdered by the Nazis, shown alongside words explaining they were killed for being Jewish. Another image shows, to the hatred of his detractors, the face of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh assassinated by the Israel Defence Forces for being Palestinian. Predictably, this outraged those responsible for the murderous policies and their defenders. When efforts to cancel shows in Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin failed, Waters was subjected to a campaign doubling down on the anti-semitism slurs by accusing him of trivializing the Holocaust and sympathizing with Nazism during a performance of In the Flesh (from The Wall). An investigation has begun centred on his wearing a Nazi-style costume during this performance. As Waters pointed out, the depiction of an unhinged fascist demagogue has been a feature of my shows since 1980. The iconography was a major part of Alan Parkers 1982 film version of The Wall. This history makes Samson and Gilmours attack, particularly, all the more revolting. At what point did Gilmour decide Waters was supporting, not attacking, fascism? When they recorded The Wall together? When they toured it in 1980-81? When Alan Parker filmed it in 1982? When it had sold more than 30 million copies? When Gilmour guested on Waters solo tour of the album in 2011? Waters has acted with great personal bravery in response to this witch-hunt. He responded to the bad faith attacks on his Berlin show from those who want to smear and silence me because they disagree with my political views and moral principles. The elements of the performance singled out for attack, he wrote, are quite clearly a statement in opposition to fascism, injustice, and bigotry in all its forms, and attempts to portray them otherwise are disingenuous and politically motivated. His powerful statement continued: I have spent my entire life speaking out against authoritarianism and oppression wherever I see it. When I was a child after the war, the name of Anne Frank was often spoken in our house, she became a permanent reminder of what happens when fascism is left unchecked. My parents fought the Nazis in World War II, with my father paying the ultimate price. Regardless of the consequences of the attacks against me, I will continue to condemn injustice and all those who perpetrate it. He told his show in Birmingham that the British right-wing press were trying to destroy him for supporting human rights in Palestine. He denounced a hatchet job in the f****** Telegraph which tried to rip my balls off. Theyre trying to cancel me like they cancelled [former Labour leader] Jeremy Corbyn and [WikiLeaks founder] Julian Assange, he told the crowd. He said in defiance, I will not be cancelled! Especially when its all lies. Im fighting back, Mr Telegraph! He concluded his remarks by thanking the audience, and almost in tears said, Im f****** dying here. Outside of the political gang-up between Labour, Tory and Zionist scoundrels, the slander campaign against Waters carries little weight. His tour has shown instead his massive popular following, and widespread sympathy and support for his principled stand. This is demonstrated by press coverage that is forced to acknowledge him as a significant artistic figure. His show was described as powerful and provocative by Scotlands the Herald, majestic but only if you can ignore the rants by the Times. Perhaps most significantly, the Telegraphs own chief music critic Neil McCormick headlined his 5-star review of the Birmingham show, An agitator at his best, showing Britain can't cancel the sublime. McCormick wrote Anyone who has followed Waters career knows that he is not a closet fascist, indeed, arguably quite the opposite, he is an extremist peacenik agitator who tours the world staging huge rock shows espousing views opposing, well, authoritarianism, oppression, fascism, bigotry and injustice in all its forms, as Waters put it. A former lawyer for former President Donald Trump says may not be charged in the ongoing classified documents investigation by special counsel Jack Smith. Timothy Parlatore pointed to the lack of prosecution in the Hillary Clinton email case in 2016 when asked if he would be surprised if Trump is not charged, while on NBC News's Meet the Press on Sunday. HURRICANE SEASON 2023: EVERYTHING YOU SHOULD KNOW "Not at all. I think this is a case where, you know you have to evaluate every case based on what are the facts and the law and is it something that's provable, but there's also the other atmospherics, is this something that from a discretion point of view, is this something where a prosecution makes sense? Is it something where it is a slam dunk case where some of these things could be interpreted a few different ways?" Parlatore said. "And also when it comes to a specific issue like this, where we are talking about potentially national defense information. Is it the type of thing where they want to declassify these things if they haven't already been declassified and put them out publicly?" he added. Parlatore then discussed how prosecutors may not charge Trump using similar logic to why former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was not charged for the alleged mishandling of her emails in 2016. "And I know not a lot of people are going to agree with this parallel, but to me, even if he did a lot of the things that they're saying that he did, prosecuting him, there is the same reasons why you wouldn't want to prosecute him as to why back in 2016, I was of the opinion that Hillary Clinton shouldn't be prosecuted, because there are all of these other problems," Parlatore said. "Classification is not binding; you have to actually take these documents, show them to the jury, and then prove to them that it constitutes national defense information," Parlatore added. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 to investigate Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents, along with his alleged role in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. A report last week suggested an audio recording of Trump exists from Summer 2021 where he discusses having a classified document in his possession regarding a potential attack from Iran. Original Location: Ex-Trump lawyer predicts former president may not be prosecuted for classified documents Washington Examiner Videos A top GOP debt ceiling negotiator kept the possibility of a government shutdown fight on the table. Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) hedged the prospect of a shutdown battle on the behavior of the two sides over the coming months. Although President Joe Biden signed the debt limit bill to avert a projected cash drought on June 5 on Saturday, Congress still needs to appropriate the funding. Failure to do so on time has led to shutdowns in the past. GOOD COP, BAD COP: HOW GOP NEGOTIATORS HANDLED DEBT CEILING TALKS "I'm not ruling out anything," Graves told Face the Nation about a government shutdown fight. "It depends on how reasonable each side is, obviously, in the negotiations. It's very difficult to predict." The debt ceiling merely gives the government more borrowing authority. It doesn't, by itself, give the government authority to spend money. Multiple experts gave the Washington Examiner mixed assessments as to whether a government shutdown could happen. Graves's remarks appear to suggest that a shutdown is indeed possible. "I want to be clear, Republicans are going to demand continuing to build upon the success that we were able to achieve in debt ceiling negotiations, in changing the way that Washington spends," he added. Experts have had different interpretations of a provision in the debt limit deal the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 that calls for an automatic 1% cut on discretionary spending if Congress fails to pass the 12 appropriations bills before January 2024. Some believe that clause doubles as a continuing resolution, while others disagreed. In theory, the passage of the 12 appropriation bills is the traditional method Congress is supposed to fund the government. However, Congress has not done so on time since 1997 and has often leaned on continuing resolutions to keep the government funded instead. The 1% cut was intended to incentivize a return to the 12-bill method. The debt ceiling agreement already set the top-line budgeting numbers for the appropriations process of the next fiscal year which starts in October. Multiple Republicans have hinted at aspirations to leverage the appropriations process in a bid to extract additional spending concessions from Democrats. There are several pitfalls there, including the risk of appearing like a "bad faith" negotiator and the fact that the automatic 1% cut applies to defense spending. Military hawks such as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have already railed against the debt limit bill for not allocating enough to the military. Further cuts to defense could be hard for some of those Republicans to stomach in a prolonged appropriations fight. White House negotiators appeared to bank on that as a means of deterring the GOP from gunning for more cuts in the appropriations process. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Graves helped craft the deal alongside fellow GOP negotiator Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC). The agreement suspends the debt ceiling until January 2025 in exchange for a slew of spending growth reductions, more stringent work requirements on social programs, rescinding unspent COVID-19 funds, and more. Under the bill, nondefense and nonveteran discretionary spending growth will be effectively kept down until 2024 before increasing by roughly 1% in 2025. In its present form, the bill could reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years, according to an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office. Original Location: Garrett Graves keeps government shutdown fight on the table Washington Examiner Videos Throughout this past week, Maurice Cohn was supposed to keep a low profile in Charleston and not spoil the surprise: the 28-year-old from Illinois was the West Virginia Symphony Orchestras new music director and conductor. Speaking over the phone in advance of his return to Charleston, he said, Thats the big secret. Nobody is supposed to know its me, but well see how that goes. After months of guest conductor visits and concerts, the symphony chose the next to last candidate in its pool of six. Cohn last visited in April when he conducted the Renewal concert, featuring violinist Rachel Barton Pine. He arrived earlier in the week to prepare for Symphony Sunday at the University of Charleston. This is when hell conduct the orchestra for the first time as its new music director. Its as good a first introduction as he could get. The sprawling university lawn overlooking the river is a beautiful location and the free concert draws the symphonys largest crowd of the year. Sundays forecast even calls for sunshine. Cohn said he didnt mind a little skulking around in a ballcap and sunglasses. He was excited to be taking the job. Cohn comes to Charleston from Dallas, where hes served as assistant conductor for the Dallas Symphony. He was born in Illinois and grew up in Galesburg, a small city in the western part of the state thats about two and half hours from Chicago by train. Cohn got into music through the cello while he was in elementary school. He played the instrument through high school and then went on to study the cello at Oberlin Conservatory. He turned to conducting after becoming involved with a local youth orchestra near the conservatory. Cohn said his last visit to Charleston was a good one, though something of a blur. There were wonderful rehearsals and a performance with the symphony, he said. Theres a lot of energy, commitment and passion there. Cohn paused for a second and added, Thats maybe not the right way to put that. He thought for a moment and then said, Anytime you work with an orchestra, theres this sort of question of, how is the relationship between the conductor and the orchestra? Cohn explained that he didnt think there was any doubt that they could pull off a good concert, but he said hed wanted to explore the music a little. I had some quirky ideas, he said. I was like, oh, lets try it this way and play the music in this slightly unusual way. I was just being musically curious, he said. Changing things up a little, Cohn said, helps keep concerts fresh and vivid. The symphony seemed up for it, too. He liked that. Cohns first season with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra will be a transition year for everyone. While theres a lot that goes into being the music director, he has some lingering obligations with the Dallas Symphony. At least for a while, Cohn will be splitting his time between West Virginia and Texas, but the WVSO knew that would likely be the case with whoever they chose for the job. The symphony announced its upcoming season last month, before the final candidate for music director had been seen. Cohn wasnt perturbed. Orchestras, by necessity, have to work quite far in advance, he said. It wouldve been impossible to wait until now to engage and hire the guest soloists and all of that. Every candidate going into the process wouldve understood that they were inheriting a program to follow, but Cohn didnt mind. Its a fantastic season, he said. Im really excited to dive in and sort of, you know, put the finishing touches on it myself. But he and the symphony staff were already working on the next season. Were already in meetings, he said. In the meantime, Cohn is working out plans to move to the area. Hes not entirely sure where to start. Hell need to look around a little bit. His last visit to Charleston was a whirlwind tour wedged in between Rotary meetings, official introductions, rehearsals and a concert. He didnt get much time to explore, but he did check out a little of what the area offered. There were a bunch of places I went, he said. We spent some time at the library. We went on an afternoon hike at Kanawha State Forest. That was just a wonderful hike for an afternoon, just, you know, 15 minutes outside of town. There was a visit to Taylor Books, but Cohn said they didnt make it to Tudors Biscuit World. That might be somewhere on the list, still, he said. WANT TO GO? Symphony Sunday WHERE: On the lawn of the University of Charleston WHEN: 1 p.m. Sunday TICKETS: Free admission INFO: wvsymphony.org. MAIN STAGE SCHEDULE 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Logan Regional Community Band 1:45 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. Kanawha Valley Community Band 2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. womanSong 3:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. Jewel City Jazz Orchestra 4:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Tri-State Brass Band 4:45 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. Charleston Metro Band 5:30 p.m. - 6:25 p.m. WV Youth Symphony Ensembles 6:40 p.m. - 7:10 p.m. Greater Kanawha Valley Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society Ensembles 8:00 p.m. West Virginia Symphony Orchestra By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ramped up threats to attack Iranian nuclear facilities on Sunday, convening a rare cabinet war drill after he accused U.N. inspectors of failing to confront Tehran. With Iran having enriched enough uranium to 60% fissile purity for two nuclear bombs, if refined further - something it denies wanting or planning - Israel has redoubled threats to launch preemptive military strikes if international diplomacy fails. Israel has long maintained that for diplomacy to succeed, Iran must be faced with a credible military threat. "We are committed to acting against Iran's nuclear (drive), against missile attacks on Israel and the possibility of these fronts joining up," Netanyahu said in a video statement from Israel's underground command bunker at its military headquarters in Tel Aviv. The possibility of multiple fronts, Netanyahu said while surrounded by security cabinet ministers and defence chiefs, requires Israel's leadership "consider, if possible consider ahead of time," its major decisions. Netanyahu's office issued footage of the drill. The publicity around the preparations appeared to depart from Israels 1981 strike on an Iraqi nuclear reactor and a similar sortie in Syria in 2007, carried out without forewarning. UN WATCHDOG SAID IRAN PROVIDED SATISFACTORY ANSWER Earlier, Netanyahu levelled sharp criticism of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), following a report last week by the U.N. watchdog that Iran had provided a satisfactory answer on one case of suspect uranium particles and re-installed some monitoring equipment originally put in place under a now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal. "Iran is continuing to lie to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The agency's capitulation to Iranian pressure is a black stain on its record," Netanyahu told his cabinet in televised remarks. The watchdog risked politicization that would lose it its significance on Iran, he said. The IAEA declined to comment. On Wednesday, the agency reported that after years of investigation and lack of progress, Iran had given a satisfactory answer to explain one of three sites at which uranium particles had been detected. Those particles could be explained by the presence of a onetime Soviet-operated mine and lab there and the IAEA had no further questions, a senior diplomat in Vienna said. In an apparent reference to this, Netanyahu said Iran's explanations were "technically impossible." However, the Vienna diplomat also said the IAEA's assessment remained that Iran carried out explosives testing there decades ago that was relevant to nuclear weapons. After then U.S. President Donald Trump quit the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, Tehran ramped up uranium enrichment. Israeli and Western officials say it could switch from enrichment at 60% fissile purity to 90% - weapons-grade - within a few weeks. In a 2012 U.N. speech, Netanyahu deemed 90% enrichment by Iran a "red line" that could trigger preemptive strikes. Military experts are divided, however, on whether Israel - whose advanced military is believed to be nuclear-armed - has the conventional clout to deliver lasting damage to Iranian targets that are distant, dispersed and well-defended. Focussing domestic attention on Iran might provide Netanyahu with respite from a months-long crisis over his proposals to overhaul Israels judiciary. But opinion polls showed that both those concerns are trumped, for Israelis, by high living costs. (Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Grant McCool) If you want to take your mom out for a tasty brunch, you may not have to travel far. Thats because South Carolina is home to four of the nations best 100 restaurants to visit for Mothers Day, new rankings show. The states winning restaurants: The Palmetto State made its mark on the list called the Top 100 Brunch Spots for Mothers Day after the restaurant review website Yelp said it studied online comments that customers left over time. The website then ranked those spots using a number of factors including the total volume and ratings of reviews mentioning brunch. If a chain appeared on the list more than once, we only included the highest rated location, Yelp wrote in its May 4 report. We included only 10 businesses per state for geographic diversity. The results were released ahead of Mothers Day, which falls on May 14 this year. That day, Drift will be open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and take customers on a first-come, first-served basis, Carlos Ramirez, general manager and part owner, told McClatchy News in a phone interview. Though none of the other three winning South Carolina restaurants shared their holiday schedules with McClatchy News on May 9, all of them list Sunday brunch-time hours online. The highest-ranking South Carolina restaurant was Blueberrys Grill. Though the Mediterranean-themed American dining spot has more than one location, the blueberry hush puppies were among the dishes that gave the North Myrtle Beach site a boost on Yelp. Nearby, Drift in Myrtle Beach has a morning menu that includes chicken and waffles, omelets and other classics. Several Yelp users were fans of the restaurants coastal decorations and customer service. Further down in the rankings, The Flipside Cafe in Fort Mill south of Charlotte, North Carolina left many people raving about its grits. Meanwhile, customers of Pages Okra Grill in the Charleston area took to Yelp to praise the sizes of their meals and the eaterys outdoor seating. Story continues Overall, Yelp said the No. 1 place to eat brunch in the United States was Cafe Kacao in Oklahoma City. This barbecue joint was named the best in South Carolina. What makes it so special? The best beer in South Carolina? This brewery ranks No. 1 in the state, Yelp says Jeff Romines, left, and LaWanda Boswell Two Washington County residents have been recognized as the Spotlight Volunteer of the Month by Court Appointed Special Advocates of Northeast Oklahoma. CASA of Northeast Oklahoma is a local nonprofit organization that trains volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children in the court system in northeast Oklahoma. Each month CASA recognizes a volunteer as a Spotlight Volunteer of the Month for their work in helping change a child's story. LaWanda Boswell was selected for the month of May. "I was attracted to CASA because growing up in the foster care system led me to want to be a voice to children in foster care, she said. Boswell and her husband of 33 years are parents to two children and five grandchildren. She has served as a CASA volunteer advocate in Washington, Craig, Ottawa and Delaware County since October 2020. "I think an example of the most rewarding part about being a CASA volunteer for me is getting to know the kids and seeing them reunite with their families, she said. "The most frustrating part of my volunteer work is when I see kids feeling let down when things dont work out how they hoped, said Boswell. My motivation to stay involved is the kids. Emily Bowling, assistant director of CASA of Northeast Oklahoma, congratulated Boswell on her selection. LaWanda Boswell is an inspiration to me. No matter where we ask her to volunteer, there is never a moment of hesitation on her part to say yes, she said. When asked what she would tell those interested in becoming a CASA volunteer, Boswell said her experience has been fulfilling. If someone is considering becoming a CASA volunteer advocate, I would tell them that youll learn, laugh and sometimes cry, but seeing the difference you make in each childs life is worth it every time, said Boswell. For the month of June, CASA recognizes Jeff Romines. Story continues "I was attracted to CASA because a coworker in Houston served as a child advocate, which sounded worthwhile. So when considering ways to expand my Kingdom work, I looked up whether there was a similar group in this area. he said. Romines and his wife are parents of two children and a granddaughter. He has served as a CASA volunteer advocate in Washington County since 2020. "The most rewarding part of being a CASA volunteer is being a voice for kids who find themselves in a difficult place due to others' actions," he said. "Two things stand out when it comes to the most frustrating parts of my volunteer work. First, the judicial process is slower than the natural flow of most cases, which extends the time the kids are without permanency," Romines said. "The other is the inability to affect change regarding the root cause, which is typically the parents' ongoing, destructive behaviors. That change would most benefit the kids, but it's often not viable." He said his motivation to stay involved is a desire to help kids that are most in need. Jeff Romines is an exceptional person and volunteer. He has never hesitated when I ask him to take on a case, he just knows there is a child needing an advocate. I wish we had more men who would consider getting involved as a volunteer advocate," said Bowling. "While all of our volunteers do a great job, there are certain times when a male advocate is what is what is needed most." When asked what people should know about volunteering for CASA, Romines said he would tell them three things."First, you will get tremendous support from the CASA staff, so don't be afraid to step out. Second, in addition to the staff, speak to other advocates. We will be honest about our experiences so that you can make a good decision," he said. "And third, it's about the kids. You will repeat that to yourself often when the process seems broken, or a good outcome seems impossible. But those are the same reasons the kids desperately need you as an advocate. Incorporated in May 1995, CASA of Northeast Oklahoma was formed to serve Rogers, Mayes and Craig County. It is now a regional program serving Craig, Delaware, Mayes, Ottawa, Rogers and Washington counties as well as the Shawnee Tribal Court. This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: CASA recognizes Volunteers of the Month for May and June Meet the Press host Chuck Todd is stepping down after nine years as host of the NBC political talk show at the end of the summer. Kristen Welker will replace him as host in September. The key to the survival of any of these media entities, including here at Meet the Press, is for leaders to not overstay their welcome. Id rather leave a little bit too soon than stay a tad too long, Todd said on Sundays broadcast. Its been an amazing nearly decade-long run, he continued. I am really proud of what this team and I have built over the last decade. Ive loved so much of this job, helping to explain America to Washington and explain Washington to America. Today we close our show with an announcement from @chucktodd: "While today is not my final show, this will be my final summer here at Meet the Press. I am really proud of what this team and I have built over the last decade." pic.twitter.com/sgeUcNR3C5 Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) June 4, 2023 The changing of the guard on Americas longest running political talk show comes as news networks are preparing to cover the 2024 presidential election, which could potentially be a rematch between President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump. Welker moderated a debate between Biden and Trump during the 2020 election and has served as co-lead White House correspondent for NBC News alongside Peter Alexander as well as co-anchor of the Saturday broadcast of Today. Ive had the privilege of working with [Welker] from essentially her first day and let me just say shes the right person in the right moment. And for what its worth, this is exactly how I always hoped this would end, that Id be passing the baton to her, which Ill officially do in September, Todd said. Story continues Kristen Welker during the second 2020 presidential campaign debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee on Oct. 22, 2020. (REUTERS/Jim Bourg/Pool) Todd will remain at NBC News as its chief political analyst, working on longform journalism and on the podcasts Meet the Press Reports and Chuck Toddcast. After announcing his departure, Todd acknowledged the frequent criticism that he received online during his tenure as host of MTP and said that he accepted it as part of the job. Being a real political journalist isnt about building a brand, its about reporting whats happening and explaining why its happening and letting the public absorb the facts. If you do this job seeking popularity, you are doing this job incorrectly, he said. I take the attacks from partisans as compliments, and I take the genuine compliments with a grain of salt when they come from partisans, he added. The goal of this and every Meet the Press episode is to do all of the following in one informative hour: make you mad, make you think, shake your head in disapproval at some point and nod your head in approval at others. If you do all of that in one hour of this show, weve done our job. Also Read: Can Linda Yaccarino Lean on Hollywood and Media to Turn Twitter Around? What has happened at our track is deeply upsetting and absolutely unacceptable, Churchill Downs Incorporated CEO Bill Carstanjen said in a statement Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) is suspending racing operations on its iconic racetrack after a dozen horses have died over the previous month, the company said in a statement on its website. The location, which is home to the Kentucky Derby, has experienced an unusual number of horse injuries on the racetrack, which has led to the deaths, and it is shutting down the track as a precaution. It said it will also undergo an internal review of safety and surface protocols while the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority conducts an investigation. What has happened at our track is deeply upsetting and absolutely unacceptable, Churchill Downs Incorporated CEO Bill Carstanjen said in the statement. ... We need to take more time to conduct a top-to-bottom review of all of the details and circumstances so that we can further strengthen our surface, safety and integrity protocols. Churchill Downs Incorporated said it has not yet been able to identify a single factor as to what is causing all the injuries or detected a pattern linked with the deaths, and reports from experts on the track have shown that there arent any surface issues and is consistent with prior measurements taken from the track in past years. Related: 'Production Horse' Working with 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' Dies on Set The company, which is in the middle of its Spring meet, said operations will be suspended starting on June 7 and last through July 3, and the event will be relocated to Ellis Park in Henderson, Kentucky starting this weekend. In addition to our commitment to providing the safest racing environment for our participants, we have an immense responsibility as the economic engine of the Thoroughbred industry in Kentucky, which provides jobs and income for thousands of families every day, Carstanjen said. Story continues Related: Critically Endangered Species of Horse Born at San Diego Zoo: 'A Tremendous Moment' By relocating the remainder of the meet to Ellis Park, we are able to maintain this industry ecosystem with only minor disruption, he continued. We are grateful to the Kentucky horsemen for their support, resiliency and continued partnership as we collectively work to find answers during this time. However, the decision to move the event and not cancel it has drawn criticism from animal rights groups like PETA, whose Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo condemned the move in a statement to media outlets. 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. "... Churchill Downs must not play Russian roulette with these horses lives by simply shifting the problem elsewhere, Guillermo told the publication TriState. Putting the bullet in a different chamber could have the same lethal outcome. Until racetracks install synthetic surfaces and utilize CT scanning equipment to detect injuries, among other improvements, they cant pretend to be mystified by fatalities, she added. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Foo Fighters | Credit: Scarlet Page Foo Fighters will return to Australia for the first time since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins. The band, led by Dave Grohl and featuring new drummer Josh Freese, will perform at stadiums around Australia in November and December 2023. Theyll be joined by various local supports throughout the trip, as well as UK band Hot Milk. The tour begins at Perths HBF Park (home of Perth Glory) on Wednesday, 29th November. The band, whose new album is But Here We Are, will head to Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane over the first two weeks of December. More details below. Foo Fighters The Teacher After playing a one-off show in Geelong in March 2022, Foo Fighters announced theyd be back for a tour of Australias capital cities in November-December 2022. However, on Friday, 25th March, Hawkins passed away in his hotel room while on tour in Colombia. Foo Fighters put all of their future plans on hold while they came to grips with the tragic loss. The band returned in April 2023 with the single Rescued, the first taste of their eleventh album But Here We Are. After much speculation, Freese was revealed as Foo Fighters new drummer. Freese had performed with the band at last years Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert in London. The announcement came on the eve of the bands North American tour and appearances at Germanys Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park festivals. Grohl plays all of the drum parts on the new album, having previously drummed on 1995s Foo Fighters and the majority of 1997s The Colour and the Shape. Grohl is joined on the album by bandmates Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear, Nate Mendel and Rami Jaffee. Greg Kurstin, who produced 2017s Concrete and Gold and 2021s Medicine at Midnight, was again in the producers chair. Foo Fighters 2023 Australian Tour w/ The Chats (all except Melbourne) and Hot Milk (all except Perth and Adelaide), plus Teenage Joans (Perth), Body Type (Adelaide) and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers (Melbourne) Story continues Wednesday, 29th November HBF Park, Perth WA Saturday, 2nd December Coopers Stadium, Adelaide SA Monday, 4th December AAMI Park, Melbourne VIC Saturday, 9th December Accor Stadium, Sydney NSW Tuesday, 12th December Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane QLD Tickets on sale Thursday, 15th June: Perth, 2pm local; Adelaide, 1.30pm local; Melbourne, 1pm local; Sydney, 11am local; Brisbane, 3pm local. Visit frontiertouring.com/foofighters for more info. Pre-Sales Frontier Members pre-sale via frontiertouring.com/foofighters. Runs for 24 hours from Tuesday, 13th June. Timings staggered for each show; visit the website for more details. American Express Members pre-sale via www.Amex.com.au/Experiences. Runs for 48 hours from: Friday, 9th June. Timings staggered for each show; visit the website for more details. Further Reading Foo Fighters Announce New Album But Here We Are, Share First Single Foo Fighters New Drummer Is Josh Freese Musicians React To The Sudden Passing Of Foo Fighters Taylor Hawkins The post Foo Fighters Announce 2023 Australian Stadium Tour appeared first on Music Feeds. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) weighed in Saturday after three Southern California school board members managed to block an updated social studies curriculum from being formally approved because it included material about gay rights icon Harvey Milk. Temecula Valley School Board member Danny Gonzalez first prompted objections from community members gathered to watch the meeting by saying that Milks lifestyle choices were wildly inappropriate and calling him a pedophile. The school board president, Joseph Komrosky, agreed with the characterization, claiming that including Milk in the curriculum amounted to activism. My question is, why even mention a pedophile? Komrosky asked at one point. An offensive statement from an ignorant person. This isnt Texas or Florida. In the Golden State, our kids have the freedom to learn. Congrats Mr. Komrosky you have our attention. Stay tuned. https://t.co/4HHLm3q57r Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 3, 2023 An offensive statement from an ignorant person, Newsom later responded in a tweet alongside a story about the incident. This isnt Texas or Florida. In the Golden State, our kids have the freedom to learn. Congrats Mr. Komrosky you have our attention, the governor tweeted, adding, Stay tuned. The school board meeting took place on May 16 but only began receiving attention from local news media this week. During one emotionally charged moment, Komrosky threatened to throw disrupters out of the room; three women in the front row stood and left at the same time. The 3-2 vote against the new classroom material, which had been approved by the state, leaves the Temecula Valley Unified School District in potential violation of California laws on textbook compliancy. The district said in a statement to KABC, a local outlet, that it was extending the window for parental feedback on textbook materials and communicating with officials at the county and state levels on the issue. Story continues Milk, who was assassinated in 1978, became one of the first openly gay men to be elected to public office as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He is only mentioned in supplemental materials, not the main textbook. Gonzalez said the materials were intended for fourth graders. As school board candidates, Gonzalez and Komrosky, along with member Jennifer Wiersma, received backing from the conservative Christian Inland Empire Family PAC. They are part of a conservative movement to influence what children are taught about race and gender in school, which critics say amounts to whitewashing history and erasing marginalized groups. School board member Allison Barclay argued that Milk was part of history because he got the ball rolling on advocating for federally protected classes of people. Its history. If you look at many historical figures, many that we all love and hold near and dear to our hearts, they were not perfect, Barclay said. Following protocol, the district already implemented a pilot program with the materials, handing them out to around 1,300 kids to bring home. Parents were also given the chance to comment on the new materials through a survey, but very few actually responded. The pedophilia accusation against Milk, the subject of a critically acclaimed 2008 biopic, appears to stem from a 1982 biography that says Milk lived with a teen boy in New York Citys Greenwich Village in the 1960s when he was in his 30s. Related... Lyme disease and a new threat, babesiosis, are on the rise after a mild winter Getty Images/iStockphoto Tick-bourne illnesses are on the rise Babesiosis, a new, potentially lethal disease, is being spread by ticks and experts are warning that it can be easily mistaken for a simple summer cold. The CDC warns that cases of babesiosis have significantly increased in the Northeastern United States and the disease is often asymptomatic or presents with mild symptoms. "They have a fever, chills, body aches and headache; however, some patients may experience more severe symptoms. And babesiosis can even be life-threatening," according to the Mayo Clinics Dr. Bobbi Pritt. Patients who are immunocompromised or asplenic (have had their spleen removed) are at risk of more dire outcomes, the CDC warns: In certain patients, severe complications can occur, including thrombocytopenia, renal failure, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Getty Tick-bourne illnesses are on the rise The good news? Babesiosis can be treated with medication as commonly available as azithromycin and atovaquone, as long as its caught early. And while Lyme disease can be transmitted after a tick has been attached for 24 hours, the CDC says babesiosis transmission takes longer, usually after a tick is attached for 3648 hours. Related: Mom Sees Something in Toddler's Ear and Rushes Her to Doctor Who Discovers Ticks Had Crawled Inside The emergence of babesiosis comes at a time when Lyme disease is also on the rise and both illnesses are spread by the same species of tick: the black-legged tick, or as its more commonly known, the deer tick. However, while Lyme disease also presents with some of the same symptoms as babesiosis, such as fever and headache, it generally produces a telltale bullseye rash (Erythema migrans) that makes it easier to spot. As the infection spreads, the rash will develop a red ring around it, similar to a target or a bullseye. According to the CDC, that rash occurs in up to 80% of infected tick bites. Story continues Getty Images/iStockphoto Tick rash Lyme disease also can have more dire outcomes for generally healthy people if untreated. [It] will disseminate throughout the body to the joints, and to the nervous system in the brain. Whereas babesiosis doesn't have that same pattern of dissemination. However, it can be life-threatening, the Mayo Clinics Dr. Pritt says. Vigilance is encouraged this summer, where states are expected to see an increase in tick activity. Below-freezing winter temperatures can help kill off the tick population, but this past winter was mild across much of the United States. Related: Celebrities Who've Talked About Battling Lyme Disease And earlier this year, experts in Connecticut the state where Lyme disease was first discovered declared ticks a year-round problem, due to the warmer temperatures. Its going to be an above average year for tick activity and abundance, Goudarz Molaei, a tick expert for the state of Connecticut, told the Associated Press. While its important to monitor your symptoms and do a tick check any time youve been outdoors, experts advise the A, B, C method to stay safe from ticks: Getty Bug spray can deter ticks A: Avoid Avoid areas where ticks are likely to be found. This means wooded or marshy areas, especially if youre in the Northeastern or Upper Midwest states. (The CDC maintains a tick bite tracker that you can check before heading outdoors this summer.) B: Bug Spray The CDC recommends using a bug spray with DEET or picaridi and cautions to not put bug spray on children younger than 2 months. C: Cover Up Yes, its hot out, but ticks cant bite what they cant reach. Wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts when outdoors. For more information on ticks and what to do if youre bitten by a tick visit the CDCs website. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Hagerty Drivers Foundation On September 20, 1936, record-setting aviator Amelia Earhart posed for a picture in front of her Cord convertible and Lockheed Electra airplane. All three eventually vanished. Although Earhart and her Lockheed are still missing, her Cord has since resurfaced. The Cord 810 (later known as the 812) debuted in late 1935. Whereas most cars of this era were of the body-on-frame type and relied on a front-mounted engine to power their rear wheels, the front-engine Cord broke the mold by adopting unibody construction and a front-wheel-drive setup. This combination netted the 810 a head-turning low-slung look. Cord complemented this with other state-of-the-art features such as forward-opening doors with hidden hinges (exposed hinges were then the norm). Instead of a chrome-laden grille, the 810 featured subtle horizontal louvers. The JBS Collection It also introduced hidden headlights to the automotive industry. When not in use, the Cord's headlights folded into the front fenders, a design cribbed from the retractable landing lights of Stinson airplanes. Stylist Gordon Buehrig had previously designed Stutz cars that raced at Le Mans and the Duesenberg Model J, but the Cord was his most daring work. "Even beyond the styling, a well-restored Cord is just a really fun car to drive," said Travis LaVine of LaVine Restorations, the shop that restored Earhart's Cord. "People see these cars as art, but they're functional, very stable for highway cruising, and [have] lots of V-8 power." LaVine grew up with Cords, as both of his parents were involved with the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Club (ACD). To put into perspective how thoroughly LaVine Restorations restored Earhart's Cord, consider the fact the car received a seemingly mathematically impossible score of 1002 out of 1000 points at the Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg Festival. Expert ACD judges went over the car's every microscopic detail. Credit a handful of rare accessories for the extra points received. Story continues The JBS Collection Lost and Found Having been the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air (and only the second person to do soshe was also the first person to cross it twice), Earhart set her sights on circumnavigating the globe. On May 21, 1937, she and navigator Fred Noonan left Oakland, California, and headed east. After covering 22,000 miles over several weeks, they touched down in New Guinea for fuel, departing on July 2, 1937. No one ever saw them again. Earhart's husband, George Putnam, commissioned several expensive searches, but nothing turned up. In 1939, he had her officially declared dead and liquidated parts of her estate, including the Cord. The Earhart Cord was quite rare, being one of the last 200 cars built in 1936. It was thus a mix of Cord 810 and 812 parts, though it was officially listed as a 1937 Cord 812. This rarity didn't translate to its preservation, as like many Cords in the postwar period, the 812 formerly owned by Earhart was neglected. The fact that few mechanics knew how to work on these front-drive American machines certainly didn't make maintaining one any easier. LaVine Restorations A collector who purchased the Earhart Cord in the 1950s further complicated the matter by swapping parts between it and another Cord he owned. ACD members and other Cord enthusiasts knew that Earhart had owned a Cord 812the photo with the Lockheed was famous. Where the Cord and its parts were, though, was as big of a mystery as Earhart's own disappearance. Enter Roy Foster, a Texan who had known the LaVine family through the ACD Club since the 1980s. For years, Foster had been searching for the Earhart Cord, inching closer to his goal with the 1992 purchase of a Cord fit with the V-8 from Earhart's car. Foster found and purchased the Earhart Cord's chassis in 2004. Getting this far was the result of Foster's endless hours digging through documents, a feat made all the more difficult by a muddling of ID tags from when the car was split apart in the middle of the 20th century. Having brought the engine and chassis back together, Foster turned his attention to finding a steward committed to bringing the Earhart Cord back to its former glory. LaVine subsequently introduced Foster to Jack Boyd Smith Jr. Soon, Foster relinquished ownership of the Earhart Cord to Smith, who entrusted LaVine with restoring the car. Details of the Past "In that photo [with Earhart], there's a scuff on one of the fenders," said Jason Stoller, manager of the Earhart Cord's restoration. When we got it down to bare metal, you could see the crease in the fender. LaVine noted that both he and Stoller are former attorneys, and research is part of the fun of restoring classic cars. Good thing, too, as the accurate restoration of a historic vehicle is as much archaeology as it is technical skill. The JBS Collection Roughly 10,000 hours of research went into making sure everything about the Earhart Cord was properly documented and period correct. LaVine Restorations' connections with the ACD Club and with the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum played a critical role. These relationships helped LaVine get those rare, aforementioned accessories that helped the Earhart Cord achieve its 1002-point score at the Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg Festival. For instance, the car's steering-assist knob (variously known as a suicide knob, Brodie knob, or necker's knob), an accessory the Cord sported under Earhart's ownership, was a near-impossible piece to find. The car's compass was another rare accessory that took some time to track down. In all, it took 18 months to completely restore the Earhart Cord. The JBS Collection Globe-Trotter With its restoration complete, Earhart's Cord made its initial public showing at the 2021 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, where Concours judges placed it second in the Class C, American Classic category. The Cord's provenance even earned it a place in the National Historic Vehicle Register. Since its reemergence, Earhart's old Cord has traveled the United States and abroadit even made an appearance at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Italy. There are plans to show off the car at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in September and in London sometime next year. It somehow feels fitting that one of the last relics of a lost pioneering aviator continues to carry on the globe-trotting spirit of its original owner. You Might Also Like Billboard Japan recently interviewed MAN WITH A MISSION and milet, who collaborated on Kizuna no Kiseki, the opening theme song of the anime TV series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc. The two had previously collaborated on the ending theme song Koi Kogare. A CD containing both songs was released on May 31. MAN WITH A MISSION is also in the middle of its first world tour in four years, visiting North America, the U.K. and other parts of Europe in May and June and playing in Asia in the fall. More from Billboard Related YOASOBI YOASOBI's 'Idol' Stays at No. 1 for Seventh Straight Week on Japan Hot 100 06/04/2023 06/04/2023 On behalf of Billboard Japan, journalist Tomonori Shiba spoke with milet and MAN WITH A MISSIONs Jean-Ken Johnny, getting an inside look at the process of writing the song and discussing the shared musical roots of the two musicians and their feelings about touring overseas. To start with, what did you first think when they asked you to write the opening theme for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc? Jean-Ken Johnny: Its really popular, not just in Japan, but around the world, so, honestly, I was pretty nervous. On the one hand, I was very grateful, but on the other hand I was thinking about how I needed to straighten up and get serious. milet: LiSA and Aimer sang the previous theme song together, so it wouldve been really lonely if I sang alone, but since Id be working with MAN WITH A MISSION, the Ultimate Life Form, I knew Id be in good hands. This time, the anime producers suggested having male and female vocals, which is what led to this collaboration between MAN WITH A MISSION and milet, right? Jean-Ken Johnny: Thats right. In Swordsmith Village Arc, Muichiro Tokito and Mitsuri Kanroji, who are Hashiras, fight alongside Tanjiro Kamado. The anime producers said they wanted a song with both male and female vocals, in line with the story. We provided them with a lot of different demo songs. Story continues Kizuna no Kiseki features Japanese instruments, like shamisen and taiko drums. Where did you come up with the idea for that arrangement? Jean-Ken Johnny: We listened to other songs that had been used in the series and found that the soundtracks for the films used a lot of Japanese instruments. However, the theme songs had never really put those instruments front and center. We thought wed give the song more of an impact by prominently using Japanese instruments in the intro. We also knew that theyd go well with rock, so we figured if we combined live playing with sampling, we could create a really distinctive song. That was our idea from the very start when we began writing the song. Kizuna no Kiseki Music Video What kind of motifs did you use in the overall melody and sound of the song? Jean-Ken Johnny: We thought about what elements would be shared in common with our musical sensibilities, what genre would be right for the anime, and what would set the song apart from other songs. We decided that an alternative, punk-like vibe would work really well. From the very start of the writing process, we were thinking of having milet sing, which we also hoped would provide the song with a bit of freshness. milet, what were your impressions of the song creation process? milet: As a Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba fan myself, I remember listening to the demo and being really moved by how well it went with the actual story. Also, my first impression was that the song easy to sing for me I liked the melody, and it made it easy to bring out my own personal vocal qualities. I especially like the low-pitched bridge. I found the whole song to be packed with all kinds of ideas. Why did you name the song Kizuna no Kiseki (Miraculous Connections)? Jean-Ken Johnny: I think the Swordsmith Village Arc depicts the importance of connections not just the connections between the main characters, but also their connections with all of the people who appear in the story. I wanted to pick a title that focused on that. To be honest, weve never given a song a name as direct as this one, but we wanted something really powerful, extremely straightforward. Have you, MAN WITH A MISSION and milet, found any commonalities in your roots and the artists that influenced you? Jean-Ken Johnny: Absolutely. When we started talking about it, it was just amazing how many artists weve both been influenced by. Sigur Ros, Smashing Pumpkins, and more recently, The 1975. A ton of artists that are also my absolute personal favorites. Before we collaborated with milet, the whole band was already fans of her voice and her artistry. When we found out that we shared a love for the same music, it suddenly made sense why were such big milet fans. milet: When I first heard MAN WITH A MISSION, I was sure that their rock roots must overlap a lot with my own. But when I actually talked to them about it, I was astounded by just how much overlap there was. We also talked about movie music, and I was surprised at how similar our interests were there, too, with us both liking composers like Ennio Morricone, John Williams, and Hans Zimmer. So, milet, your voice was being envisioned for the song from the very start. Jean-Ken Johnny, what do you think is so appealing about milets vocals, and what features set it apart? Jean-Ken Johnny: Part of its the tremendous vitality in her voice. I really like the fabric of her vocals. Im constantly impressed about how unrivalled her voice is. Its not just her vocal qualities, but also how she sings, and the amount of emotion she pours into singing. Its very multifaceted, taking the listener in various directions. Theres tenderness, and power, and beauty, but at the same time a certain darkness. Theres just so much packed into the emotions of her songs. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba isnt all bright and cheery. There are also darker elements, deeper elements, like its philosophy and how it looks at life and death. We wrote the song knowing that shed be perfect for it. Id like to ask you a bit about Koi Kogare. Yuki Kajiura wrote the lyrics and the music to the song, so Im sure the songwriting process was different than that of Kizuna no Kiseki. How did work on Koi Kogare start? milet: I started adding vocals from the demo stage. It was basically the first time Id begun adding vocals while the track was far from being finished, so I found it really difficult. However, I felt really strongly about the melody and the lyrics, so much that its all I needed to 100% understand the meaning and message of the song. I think I successfully took on the challenge of properly conveying what was behind the words of the song. Koi Kogare Music Video How did the song arrangement process go? Jean-Ken Johnny: First, Yuki Kajiura sent us the song with milet singing all of the vocals. Then we started to arrange it as a band. It was our first time working with Kajiura-san, so at first we were putting out feelers about all kinds of things, like vocal range. She really respected the bands music sensibilities, sound, and, I guess youd say, philosophy. The process was a very easy one for us. milet, how do you feel about how Koi Kogare turned out? milet: I dont think previous Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba songs really emphasized love or womens emotions. I myself had never really sung straightforward songs about being in love before, so it was really fresh and new to me. What was the recording process like? milet: The song was a challenge for me. Kajiura-san provided a lot of detailed direction. For example, she recommended pronouncing a like wa in the verse. There were suggestions like that for almost every word. The direction changed my concepts about singing. She taught me about the meanings of the lyrics, and the meaning of placing those lyrics on the melody of the song. It was a really precious experience for me. MAN WITH A MISSION will be embarking on the MAN WITH A MISSION World Tour 2023 WOLVES ON PARADE, in May and June. Itll your first world tour in four years, and youll be visiting North America, the UK, and the rest of Europe. How are you feeling about the upcoming tour? Jean-Ken Johnny: I havent been (overseas) in a long time. Fortunately, weve been able to keep in touch with our fans through sites like YouTube. Im really looking forward to meeting them again in person. This time, well be going on tour with a whole new album, so Im sure the audience will have a great time. MAN WITH A MISSION has performed shows in a lot of different countries since 2013. Looking back, how do you feel about that experience? Jean-Ken Johnny: Ive always been enamored by the idea of a band thats loved around the world, so right now I feel like Im in the process of chasing my dreams. Music has no borders, and it brings people together, regardless of their nationalities. World tours let us experience that, a little bit at a time, and I see them as incredibly important within my own career. Im just overjoyed to be able to tour around the world. Looking at global music trends, and the shape of rock, what do you see as the strengths of MAN WITH A MISSION as a Japanese rock band? Jean-Ken Johnny: I feel like Im still looking for my own particular strengths. From the perspective of the rock genre, thereve been some pretty severe changes in the rock scene as we know it over the past 10 or 15 years. Were still exploring, trying to figure out how a rock band can break through in the modern era. However, we do feel that the spirit of rock still lives on, unquenched. We see ourselves as carrying on the legacy of 90s music, fusing it with modern heaviness and a modern approach. When I hear news about rock still going strong, its tremendously encouraging, and I just hope that we can also be that kind of band. Recently, theres been a prominent trend of Japanese rock bands reaching overseas audiences through anime. What are your thoughts on that? Jean-Ken Johnny: Even more than music spreading through the growth of the genre, I think whats important is that were in an age where, thanks to the rich social media and internet environment, its easy for localized movements to arise. I think that for the Japanese music scene, the biggest factor is anime. Anime is incredibly influential. I feel like the easiest way for people to get into listening to cool Japanese music is through anime. Anime, I believe, provides Japanese bands with an opportunity to take the initiative and perform on the world stage. Its a very powerful method for achieving that. In closing, MAN WITH A MISSION, milet, could you please talk about your vision and prospects after having released these two songs? Jean-Ken Johnny: We were fortunate to be able to collaborate with milet to create these wonderful songs, so now Im just full of expectation, looking forward to seeing what kind of future these songs will create. milet: Im really looking forward to further refining the songs through my live performances. I think when I perform the songs in festivals and overseas, itll open up new vistas. Im looking forward to seeing that, and I hope when I perform, people will see my individuality coming through in the songs, and Ill be able to deliver the songs important messages directly to the audience. This interview by Tomonori Shiba first appeared on Billboard Japan Best of Billboard Click here to read the full article. The North Carolina Zoo announced the birth of three sand kittens Friday. The triplets, sexes unknown, came from sand cat father Cosmo, 9, and mother Sahara, 3, on May 11, after roughly 60 days of gestation. A sand cat is smaller than the average house cat at roughly 11 inches tall and seven pounds. STUDENT LOAN PAYMENT FREEZE GETS END DATE IN DEBT CEILING BILL "Though they are quite adorable with their big ears, eyes, and smol [sic] frame, looks can be deceiving," the zoo wrote in a Facebook post. "Sand cats are small but mighty hunters that are known to kill venomous snakes in the desert. They are the only cats to live exclusively in desert environments." Newly-born sand cat kittens are seen at the Ramat Gan Safari Park in central Israeli city of Ramat Gan, May 24, 2022. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua via Getty Images) Xinhua News Agency/Xinhua News Agency via Getty Ima This is the first litter between Sahara and Cosmo, although Cosmo previously fathered a kitten that is now living at the Greensboro Science Center, per a press release from the zoo. Cosmo and Sahara were paired to fulfill Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan, a program created to "maximize genetic diversity, appropriately manage the demographic distribution and long-term sustainability" of certain species in zoos according to its website. Only 13 facilities affiliated with the AZ have sand cats and only six, have breeding pairs. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER "The mom and triplets are doing well," the zoo reported. "The trio are beginning to explore their surroundings in the Desert Habitat. Lucky guests may be able to catch a glimpse of them in the coming days." Sand cats hail from the deserts of North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Asia. They are not endangered and rarely seen in nature because they are nocturnal. Original Location: North Carolina Zoo celebrates birth of three sand kittens Washington Examiner Videos A good rum is worth drinking based on its own unique merits and flavor profile, but there are certain expressions that are particularly appealing to whiskey drinkers. That is certainly the case with the new 2023 Master Blender release from esteemed Barbados distillery Mount Gay. The Master Blender series of high-end rums launched in 2018 with the release of XO: The Peat Smoke Expression. Allen Smith was master blender at the time, but the following year that role was taken over by Trudiann Branker, who has made her own imprint upon the collection. Master Blender releases under Brankers watch have included Pot Still Rum, the Port Cask Expression, Andean Oak Cask, and the Madeira Cask Expression. And now we have The PX Sherry Cask Expression, a well-aged rum that will appeal to whiskey drinkers, particularly fans of sherry cask-matured scotch. More from Robb Report The rum was distilled in pot and column stills, and aged for 20 years in American whiskey barrels in Barbados. Thats a particularly long time in a tropical climate, as the heat and humidity are considered to be factors in accelerating the maturation process. The rum then spent an additional year in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks, a type of barrel that also plays a big part in the scotch whisky industry. The Macallan and the GlenDronach, for example, are two single malt distilleries that use this type of cask, along with other types of sherry butts, to mature nearly all of their whisky. Like all Mount Gay rum, no sugar was added to the spirit. I was inspired by the process behind PX sherry, and I wanted to discover how a well matured rum would interact with the richness of the casks used to age these fortified wines, said Branker in a statement. Going through some of our oldest rums to find the right ones was an incredible journey, tasting rums that have been placed in our bonds two decades ago. I was thrilled to find 20-year-old rums that stood up in terms of body and character to benefit from being finished in PX sherry casks, and Im honored to add this to our Master Blender Collection. Story continues The rum is bottled at 90 proof and non-chill filtered. The palate is bright despite its age, with rich oak notes followed by black pepper, cinnamon, fig, raisin, molasses, and caramel. The effects of the PX sherry finish are notable, but do not override the core identity of Mount Gays high-quality rum. Just 4,200 bottles are available (SRP $270). If youre a serious rum drinker, or a whiskey fan looking to expand, give this bottle a try. And if you cant find one, you can explore the entire Mount Gay collection (including past Master Blender releases) at websites like ReserveBar. 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. News brief logo Ottawa County to receive Purple Heart honor OAK HARBOR - Ottawa County will be honored with the official designation of a Purple Heart County and join the many other states, counties and cities across the country that have done the same. The official proclamation will be formally presented at a special designation event at 10:45 a.m. May 20 (Armed Forces Day) at the Ottawa County Veterans Service Office, 8444 W. Ohio 163. The event will be open to the public. Ottawa County joins the Ottawa County Museum as a member of the Purple Heart Trail having been designated a Purple Heart Museum on Jan. 25. Port Clinton school board to meet Monday PORT CLINTON - The Port Clinton City Schools Board of Education will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, May 8, at the board office, 811 S. Jefferson St. Republic Lions to hold chicken barbecue REPUBLIC - The Republic Lions Chicken Barbecue will begin at 11 a.m. Sunday, May 7, at the community park and will be a drive-through service. Dinners are $12 and include a half chicken, potato salad, apple sauce, roll and cupcake. Proceeds support park improvements. Bradner legion to hold baked steak dinner RADNER - The Bradner American Legion post will hold its Baked Steak Dinner, at 209 W. Crocker St. from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, May 7. Call-in orders to 419-288-3634 for pick-up or stop by the post for dinner. Menu is a baked steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, roll, dessert, and a drink. Cost is $10. Call and reserve a dinner. FriendShip Stores to open in Oak Harbor OAK HARBOR - FriendShip Stores announced the Grand Opening Celebration of the 20th FriendShip Kitchen, in Oak Harbor. The celebration will commence on Monday, May 8, with a five-day promotion featuring deals, giveaways, and events to welcome neighbors to the new store. Events will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the official opening and will be attended by Chelsea Carvalho and Olivia Beck, fourth generation Beck Suppliers owners, local dignitaries, and FriendShip employees. The newest FriendShip Kitchen is located at 323 W. Water St. and offers FriendShip Fuel and the FriendShip Kitchen restaurant menu. It also features FriendShip's award-winning loyalty program, where guests can enjoy exclusive member-only benefits, including discounts on fuel. This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: News Briefs: Ottawa County to receive Purple Heart honor Saturdays nasty weather led to a hurricane-force wind gust at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, a partial roof collapse in Broward, and reports of hail and flooded roadways extending from far South Miami-Dade through Lake Worth. South Floridas rough weather since Wednesday is largely attributed to a Gulf of Mexico system that grew into Tropical Storm Arlene Friday afternoon. Though Arlene weakened to a tropical depression Saturday morning as it headed toward Cuba it sent According to the National Weather Service in Miami a gust of 83 mph was reported at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Saturday afternoon. To hit hurricane speed, sustained winds need to measure 74 mph or greater. Tropical storm-force winds are sustained speeds of 39 to 73 mph. FLL notched additional gusts of 69 and 72 mph in that severe afternoon thunderstorm, the weather service said. 6/3: A gust of 83 mph was reported at Fort Lauderdale International Airport earlier this afternoon (in addition to a gust of 69 and 72 mph) as a severe thunderstorm moved through. There have also been widespread wind reports of 40-50mph across parts of the east coast metro area. https://t.co/tfXtCh1QLc NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) June 3, 2023 Widespread wind reports of 40 to 50 mph across parts of the east coast metro area did some damage elsewhere. Roof collapse Two families are displaced after storms ripped through West Park in Broward County, leading to a partial collapse of a duplex apartments roof in the 5400 block of Southwest 31st Street on Saturday afternoon, June 3, 2023. Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue crews responded to a partial roof collapse call at a duplex apartment in the 5400 block of Southwest 31st Street in West Park. When firefighters arrived, they found several residents standing outside the wind- and rain-battered single-story apartment building. Video showed the destruction after the storm. Sadly, the home is uninhabitable until a structural inspector can respond out to assess the damage and repairs made, Battalion Chief Michael Kane said in a news release. Story continues Two families were displaced. The Red Cross is providing temporary assistance, Kane said. There were no reported injuries. Hollywood hurricane A viewer tagged NBC6 meteorologists video of rains and winds whipping through a Hollywood neighborhood Saturday afternoon. Its like a hurricane over here, Emilio Gonzalez tweeted in a post shared by the weather service. CBS12 meteorologist Jennifer Collins posted video of street flooding on Military Trail North between Lake Worth Road and 10th Avenue in Palm Beach County. Viewer video of street flooding on Military Trail North between Lake Worth Rd and 10th Ave in Palm Beach County. #FLwx @CBS12 pic.twitter.com/B1dElhx8o4 Jennifer Collins (@JenCollinsWx) June 3, 2023 And severe thunderstorm warnings dotted the day from Homestead to Lake Worth. As a result, the weather service extended its flood watch for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach from Saturday to Sunday midnight given the amount of rain on Saturday. Less overall coverage of showers and storms is expected tomorrow, but any additional rainfall on top of what weve already seen will cause flooding, the weather service said. Dotdash Meredith and Yahoo Inc. may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Kim Kardashian and Hailey Bieber have been spotted in the sparkly accessory. Getty Images/ Instagram @haileybieber/ InStyle The fact that trends are cyclical has never been more obvious than it has in 2023. This year saw the resurgence of everything from 80s preppy style to the 90s naked dress, and now, the bejeweled bodies of the early 2000s are popping up everywhere. Were talking, of course, about body chains, and it looks like theyre back in time for belly-baring season. Weve recently seen these sparkly adornments on the likes of Kim Kardashian while she was in New York City attending a benefit (though hers was diamond-covered), several times on Hailey Bieber, most recently in an Instagram post promoting her beauty line, Rhode, on Rihanna's pregnant belly, and on Vanessa Hudgens while working on a documentary in the Philippines. These body chains can be expensive, like were certain Kims must have been, but if youre looking to add a bit more interest to your next bathing suit, eveningwear fit, or even a basic T-shirt and jeans look, you can copy my plans and find them for as little as $29 from one of my favorite affordable jewelry sites, Mia Bijoux. Mia Bijoux Shop now: $29; mia-bijoux.ca The brands Mykonos body chain comes in stainless steel or gold-plated, with a dainty cubic zirconia dangling from the end to catch the light as you walk. Theres also the Reina chain that has a real, natural freshwater pearl attached to the end (also available in gold-plated), in a similar style that can be worn around the midriff or as a necklace. Each style of chain comes in three sizes to suit different body types, with several options for length and wear built into each. Since these chains are stainless steel at their core, theyre naturally stronger than more delicate gold or silver chains that can break easily, and these can be worn in the water. Mia Bijoux Shop now: $31; mia-bijoux.ca I first found out about the Canadian jeweler earlier this year when I was able to sample a pair of their gold-plated huggie earrings. I have to admit that I was skeptical at first since I typically have a reaction to jewelry that isnt solid gold, but the brands high-quality plating over stainless steel left me comfortable, with zero allergic reactions and without any discoloration. I love these delicate little hoops so much, I rarely take them out, and now Im shopping for a body chain (or two) to get ready for summer. Story continues If one of these aughts-era glitzy accessories is on your summer to-buy list, shop the affordable options at Mia Bijoux today and wear your body chain for years to come. Mia Bijoux Shop now: $24; mia-bijoux.ca For more InStyle news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on InStyle. American poet Amanda Gorman recites a poem during the Inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. The poem written for Bidens inauguration has been placed on a restricted list for elementary-aged students at a school in South Florida after a complaint by one parent. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, Gorman vowed to fight back. Daily Salinas, a mother in the Miami-area whose complaint about The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman got it successfully restricted in an elementary school, confessed she did not read the piece she objected to in its entirety. According to Salinas, the poem is not educational and have indirectly [sic] hate messages. Gormans work, which was performed at President Bidens Inauguration in 2021, wasnt the only thing Salinas complained about. According to the Florida Freedom to Read Project, Salinaswhose two children attend The Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakesalso came for The ABCs of Black History, Cuban Kids, Countries in the News: Cuba, and Love to Langston for including references of critical race theory, indirect hate messages and gender ideology and indoctrination. Read more In an interview, Salinas tried to justify her ignorance of the material. Im not an expert, she said. Im not a reader. Im not a book person. Im a mom involved in my childrens education. In addition to being admittedly dense, Salinas has also promoted antisemitism on social media and attended rallies featuring members of the Proud Boys. Even though she has Cuban heritage, the Florida parent used thinly veiled bigotry as an excuse to further oppress other marginalized groups. Sadly, the fact that she stripped her claims of any validity by not reading the material didnt phase her in the least. The same can be said of Emily Conklin, another Florida parent who complained about the Disney film Ruby Bridges being shown in her childs classroom because she believed it teaches that white people hate Black people. The film was temporarily banned at North Shore Elementary in St. Petersburg, though Conklin admitted that she never finished the film (she only watched the first 50 minutes of the movie). Ron DeSantis Florida governorship has emboldened white supremacist ideology for conservatives who dont even consume material they claim to be dangerous to their children. His newly announced presidential run will only work to deepen this dystopia. Story continues The right vehemently has attacked anything they deem woke, though they have repeatedly failed to define what it even means. As the GOP sharpen their claws and gear up try to take over White House next year, instances like these remind us that they will never rely on reason, intelligence or principle when it comes to policy and legislation. It will always thrive on hate, discrimination and racismpillars that have upheld the party since its inception. 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. Katie Austin was photographed by James Macari in the Dominican Republic. Swimsuit by Montce. James Macari/Sports Illustrated Katie Austin is the gift that keeps on giving. The three-time SI Swimsuit model, who was discovered through (and named co-winner of) the 2021 Swim Search open casting call, was named co-Rookie of the Year in 22. She returned this year for a gorgeous Barbiecore styled photo shoot with photographer James Macari in the Dominican Republic. The fitness influencer recently conducted an Ask Me Anything on her Instagram story. Tons of questions about fiance Lane Armstrong and the couples wedding planning process flooded in, as well as a travel question about the Virginia natives current home city of Los Angeles. Spending 3 days in LA, any recs? one person asked, looking for suggestions for a quick trip. Austin responded by saying that only three days in Los Angeles is difficult, as the city is sooo spread out, but the travel guru continued to create her perfect itinerary as follows. Day 1: Malibu and Westside Austin suggested Malibu Farm for lunch and then a walk along Abbot Kinney Boulevard, a mile-long strip of the fashion, art and food scene near Venice Beach. She added that a nice Italian dinner at Elephante in Santa Monica would be the perfect way to end the day. Day 2: West Hollywood Explore Melrose or Larchmont [Village], go for a hike and get dinner at a really LA stop to get the vibe, Austin said. She suggested Delilah or The Nice Guy for a meal, and then a rooftop drink at Harriets. Day 3: South Bay Austin said Marthas is the perfect breakfast or brunch spot and then suggested a walk around Manhattan Beach, which has endless options for dinner. South Bay is also close to LAX, making getting to the airport and out of Los Angeles easier. Make sure to follow SI Swimsuit on YouTube! Elizabeth Holmes and her former business partner have been ordered to pay $452 million in restitution, but her dwindled finances may mean victims might not see much of it, legal experts told Insider. Go Nakamura/Reuters. A federal court ordered Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani to pay $452 million. The Theranos founder and her former business partner may never fully pay it. Defendants hit with such orders to pay victims may see it come out of any eventual wages they earn. As Elizabeth Holmes begins her prison sentence of over 11 years, victims of her fraudulent blood-testing company Theranos may wonder how and if they may see any of the $452 million in restitution that a court ordered earlier in May. A California federal court's order identified investors including News Corp mogul Rupert Murdoch as "victims" of the Theranos fraud, as well as chain stores including Walgreens and Safeway, which the court said had sent "millions of dollars to Theranos." Holmes was convicted in January 2022 on conspiracy and wire fraud charges, but her financial challenges had been publicized for years by then. Her net worth plummeted from $4.5 billion in her heyday to $0, according to Forbes. In 2019, her then-attorneys asked an Arizona federal court for permission to drop her as a client in a civil case there, writing that she already hadn't paid the firm for over a year at that point, and that the firm had lost hope that she would do so. So how will Holmes and her former business partner Sunny Balwani navigate a $452 million restitution order? The short answer is that those funds may never get fully paid out, experts said. Federal officials help collect restitutions, including through assets seized in investigations, and by taking a portion of the earnings of defendants ordered to pay them, according to a 2018 report by the US Government Accountability Office. "Assets that the government froze at the onset of a prosecution might be available for restitution," said Daniel Richman, a professor at Columbia Law School, and a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan. "But generally, most restitution is never paid." How prosecutors try to recover funds for restitution Prosecutors investigating financial crimes try to get a jump on the restitution process before they even bring any charges. They can conduct forensic analyses of assets like bank accounts or real estate or cars, of the targets they're investigating. Story continues Of course, the prosecutors would need a court to sign off on any warrants, according to Evan Gotlob, a partner at Saul Ewing LLP, and a former federal prosecutor in cities including Boston. And prosecutors have to demonstrate that such extreme measures are warranted, he said. "You can do it pre-indictment, but you still need a lot of evidence," he said. "They don't just give you access to people's accounts or their home without that evidence." Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes arrives at federal court with her partner Billy Evans on November 18, 2022. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Holmes may not be able to fully pay Prosecutors and probation officers have some ways to try recovering restitution funds, and a decadeslong window of time to do it, according to the Justice Department's website. But it might still come down to a question of what resources the defendant is left with, a representative for the US Attorney's Office in Northern California, which prosecuted the case against Holmes, told Insider in a statement on Wednesday. "Unlike fines, restitution is imposed without consideration of a defendant's ability to pay, and the chance of recovery largely depends on whether a defendant has sufficient assets to repay their victims," the representative said. It's not clear what recoveries prosecutors may have made so far from their investigation into Holmes that could pay toward restitution. The representative for the US Attorney's Office did not comment on that point. Prosecutors have previously told the court that Holmes was living well at a $13,000 a month residence. Attorneys for Holmes and Balwani did not respond to Insider's emailed requests for comment. According to the restitution order, Holmes and Balwani are responsible for $125 million in restitution to Murdoch, $40 million to Walgreens, and $14.5 million to Safeway. Murdoch declined to comment through a representative. Representatives for Walgreens and Safeway did not respond to Insider's request for comment. "In a situation like this, I think her assets have been taken through the grinder," Gotlob said. "There's been a lot of investigations, and it doesn't seem there's a lot there." Read the original article on Business Insider A New Mexico judge Thursday approved a settlement between the family of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins who was shot and killed by a live round on the set of Rust and others involved in the case, most notably actor Alec Baldwin, according to media reports. Matthew Hutchins, who was married to the cinematographer, had previously announced the settlement in October, noting that filming on the project would resume this year with him as executive producer. A portion of the settlement will also be set aside for Hutchinss son, Andros Hutchins, who was 9 at the time of the shooting. The settlement is fair, appropriate, and in the best interests of Andros Hutchins, a minor, protected person, Judge Bryan Biedscheid said in Thursdays order, according to the Los Angeles Times. The late cinematographers family filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Baldwin and other Rust producers in February 2022, alleging that their reckless conduct and cost-cutting measures resulted in her death. The 42-year-old died in October 2021, after a live round was discharged from Baldwins prop gun. The films director, Joel Souza, was also injured in the incident. Just over a month ago, New Mexico prosecutors formally dropped charges against Baldwin who had been charged with involuntary manslaughter in January saying that new facts were revealed that demand further investigation and forensic analysis. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The Memphis City Council is wading into a lawsuit over residency for Memphis mayoral candidates, filing a "cross complaint" that says a 1996 ordinance ended a five-year residency requirement for mayor. That contradicts the position held by Memphis City Government as described last week by Jennifer Sink, the city's chief legal officer, and another attorney. "No administrative officer of the City, including the Mayor, has any legal authority under the Tennessee constitution, under any Tennessee statute or under any provision of the City's Charter to amend, modify or repeal any duly adopted provision of the City's Home Rule Charter ... except by order of a court of competent jurisdiction in a timely and proper legal action brought in any such court," reads the cross complaint, which was filed Monday. The defendants in the City Council's cross complaint are Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and the Shelby County Election Commission. Last week, Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins made the city of Memphis a party to the lawsuit, which was filed by mayoral candidates Floyd Bonner and Van Turner against the Shelby County Election Commission. Bonner and Turner have argued that a five-year residency requirement should no longer be in effect for the position of mayor. It was only after an attorney for the city said that an opinion by attorney Robert Meyers was the official position of the city that Jenkins brought the city into the case. That opinion by Meyers says that the five-year requirement remains in effect. The City Council's cross complaint argues that the Meyers opinion is incorrect. City Council attorney Allan Wade speaks Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, during a Memphis City Council meeting at City Hall. Allan Wade, an attorney for the Memphis City Council who also has represented the Shelby County Election Commission in other matters, has written two separate opinions saying the five-year residency requirement was ended due to a 1996 ballot referendum. Wade is representing the City Council in this matter. The residency lawsuit was a topic of a closed-door attorney-client session at City Council last week. No public discussion was held on the matter. Story continues "The city was sued. We have to defend," Wade told The Commercial Appeal. Tannera Gibson, an attorney for the city, said city attorneys do not see how the City Council can justify its cross complaint since the city attorney, through the administrative branch, is tasked with handling litigation against the city. They filed a cross complaint as a non-party, Gibson said. We dont understand the authority upon which they injected themselves into this particular case. Later Monday, Jenkins denied a motion to intervene by a third mayoral candidate, businessman JW Gibson, who had argued that the five-year residency requirement should be enforced. On Friday, Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley also filed his own motion to intervene. Wade said he would not be pursuing that motion, since the cross complaint by the City Council covered Smiley's concerns. Council Chairman Martavius Jones said the position of the council, argued by Wade, is that anything in the charter originates from the legislative side, the council, not the administration. So the council intervening is to make sure that the councils position is represented as well, even though it might be conflicting language as it relates to what the charter says, we dont want the administration to be the only voice speaking for the city particularly when it's talking about what may be legislative functions, Jones said. Jones said he disagrees with Wades position that the five-year residency requirement is no longer in effect, and that he believes the majority of council members also disagree. However, the place where the question will be answered is in court, he said. Katherine Burgess covers government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess. This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis City Council argues against 5-year residency requirement The offices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento on 21st Street near Broadway in the Curtis Park district of Sacramento. On Friday, June 2, 2023, 16 migrants were brought to the dioceses offices after being flown from Texas to Sacramento. Sixteen migrants from Venezuela and Colombia were taken from El Paso, Texas, to New Mexico, and then flown by private chartered plane to Sacramento where they were left on the doorstep of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday that he and Attorney General Rob Bonta met with the migrants, and that he is working with Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinbergs office as well as area nonprofits to ensure the people who have arrived are treated with respect and dignity, and get to their intended destination as they pursue their immigration cases. My administration is also working with the California Department of Justice to investigate the circumstances around who paid for the groups travel and whether the individuals orchestrating this trip misled anyone with false promises or have violated any criminal laws, including kidnapping, Newsom said. Steinberg likened the act to human smuggling. Whoever is behind this must answer the following: Is there anything more cruel than using scared human beings to score cheap political points? Steinberg said in a statement. Sacramento represents the best of American values. We always welcome the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses, and we always will. Sacramento ACT, a collaboration of area religious congregations, said in a statement that after being processed at the border, the migrants were approached by individuals representing a private contractor who said they would assist them with getting to a migrant center where they would find jobs and free support. They deserve to be treated better The migrants, upon arriving in Sacramento, had no idea where they were and only a backpacks worth of belongings, Sacramento ACT said. The group said that the migrants all have pending court appearances, and that by transporting them to California under false pretenses, there will be a disruption in their legal due process. What has occurred recently with the deceiving drop off of our undocumented brothers and sisters into the Sacramento area grieves my heart. This political polarizing act is heartbreaking and yet I rejoice that I am part of a movement that brings the love of God and goodwill upon the injustices and political wickedness that impacts our vulnerable brothers and sisters, said the Rev. Efrem Smith, Sacramento ACT president, in a statement. Story continues Rabbi Mona Alfi, of Congregation Bnai Israel, said that what happened to the migrants was a moral travesty and that these are human beings, no different than you or me, who simply want to take care of their families and live a peaceful life, and they deserve to be treated better. Eddie Carmona, director of campaigns for PICO California, a faith-based community organizing group, said in a statement that the migrants are members of our families, communities, and part of the fabric of our state. Flight chartered to McClellan Airport records from tracking website FlightAware show only one flight between New Mexico and any of the Sacramento-area airports on Friday: A three-hour, 11-minute flight from Deming Municipal Airport in Luna County, about 80 miles northwest of El Paso, to McClellan Airport near North Highlands. A representative for Barry Aviation, a charter service based in San Marcos, Texas, that operated the de Havilland Dash 8 used to ferry the migrants, declined to comment about specifics but described it as a government flight: (Its) something that the government ran. This is not the first time that migrants have been flown to Californias capital. In September 2022, eight Venezuelan migrants, who had crossed the U.S. border at Laredo, Texas, were flown to Sacramento, according to the Los Angeles Times. New chapter in battle between GOP, Newsom Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, both Republicans, have in the past taken credit for busing or flying migrants to various places in the U.S., including New York, Marthas Vineyard and Washington, D.C. The Sacramento Bee has reached out to both governors offices to inquire whether one of them was responsible for this most recent flight. DeSantis, who announced his 2024 presidential bid last month and has been heavily criticized for his hardline stance on immigration, is expected to come to Sacramento himself on June 19 for a fundraising breakfast priced at $3,300 a seat. Newsom has spoken out and aired ads in Florida against DeSantis, whom he labeled Americas chief bully, since they were both elected in 2018. WARSAW (Reuters) -Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Warsaw on Sunday, the 34th anniversary of Poland's first postwar democratic election, for a march the liberal opposition has billed as a test of its ability to end nearly eight years of nationalist rule later this year. Crowds stretching for at least a mile marched with banners reading "Free, European Poland", "European Union yes, PiS no", referring to the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party. Some held masks of ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski that had the word "shame" written on them. Half a million people were marching, according to organizers. Police and city officials did not give an estimate. Thousands also marched in other Polish cities and towns. "I took part in many marches, but I've never seen a protest of this size with such energy, I feel this is a breakthrough like June 4, 1989 was," Jacek Gwozdz, 51, an IT specialist from Nowy Sacz, said in Warsaw. Opinion polls show an election due after the summer will be closely fought, with Russia's war in neighbouring Ukraine giving a boost to the Law and Justice (PiS) government which has emerged as a leading voice against the Kremlin in Europe. The opposition has struggled to galvanise support despite widespread criticism at home and abroad of the PiS, which has been accused of eroding the rule of law, turning state media into a government mouthpiece and endorsing homophobia. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki's government denies subverting any democratic norms and says its aim is to protect traditional Christian values against liberal pressures from the West and to make the economy more fair. Donald Tusk, head of the Civic Platform grouping and a former European Union council chief, welcomed supporters saying that the voice of Poles could not be silenced. "Democracy dies in silence but you've raised your voice for democracy today, silence is over, we will shout," he said in a speech at the end of the march. "There's half a million people in the streets of Warsaw, it's an absolute record," he told the crowds filling Castle Square in the capital. Tusk called for unity despite political differences in the opposition and promised victory in elections that will be held in October or November. "Today, I'm vowing to win, to make those in power accountable, to mend injustice so that in the end people can be reconciled," he said. In June 1989, a partially free vote handed victory to a government led by the Solidarity trade union and triggered a series of events culminating in the fall of the Berlin Wall that November. On Sunday, hundreds of buses arrived in Warsaw to bring opposition supporters from across the country. Some said they were motivated by a row over legislation proposed by PiS to weed out undue Russian influence from the country. The opposition sees the legislation as a government attempt to launch a witchhunt against political opponents. In an unexpected turnaround, President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, said on Friday he would propose amendments to the law, which has also drawn criticism from lawyers, as well as the United States and the European Commission. The EU's executive said the legislation could effectively ban individuals from holding public office without proper judicial review. "It's beyond comprehension," said Andrzej Majewski, 48, from Slupca in western Poland who was in Warsaw to join Sunday's protest march. (Reporting by Marek Strzelecki and Kuba Stezycki; Editing by Nick Macfie, Susan Fenton and Angus MacSwan) Vivek Ramaswamy, the youngest 2024 Republican presidential candidate and self-proclaimed political outsider, on Sunday made his "America first" pitch for the White House while defending his view that the U.S. must force "major concessions" from Ukraine in order to end Russia's invasion and allow a sharper focus on facing China. "The job of the U.S. president is to look after American interests," he told ABC "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz, arguing that militarily backing Ukraine's continued resistance to Russia's invasion is a less compelling goal than dealing with Beijing. Ramaswamy's position on Ukraine and Russia puts him in the minority among politicians, with leading Republicans and Democrats saying Russia's invasion must not be successful in order to preserve stability in Europe. "You said in a speech in New Hampshire on Friday that you would not spend another dime of American money on a war that does not affect our interests. You don't think the possibility of Russia taking over Ukraine is in our interest?" Raddatz asked him on "This Week." MORE: A year into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, there's no end in sight. Here's how we got here. "I don't think that's a top foreign policy priority," Ramaswamy said, later adding, "I don't think it is preferable for Russia to be able to invade a sovereign country that is its neighbor. But ... I think the No. 1 threat to the U.S. military is right now, our top military threat, is the China-Russian alliance. I think that by fighting further in Russia, by further arming Ukraine, we are driving Russia into China's hands." Instead, he said, he would "end this war" as long as Putin ended his country's alliance with China. "No one tells Vladimir Putin what to do. That has not worked yet," Raddatz pressed. "And you said you would want to give them the Donbas [a region of Ukraine currently occupied by Russia]. ... That would be rewarding Putin, wouldn't it?" Story continues "I don't trust Putin, but I do trust Putin to follow his self-interest," Ramaswamy maintained. PHOTO: FILE - Republican Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during a town hall meeting on the south side of Chicago, May 19, 2023. (Paul Beaty/AP, FILE) "What I think we need to do is end the Ukraine war on peaceful terms that, yes, do make some major concessions to Russia, including freezing those current lines of control in a Korean-war style armistice agreement. ... Which Ukraine wouldn't want to do," he continued. "And also a permanent commitment not to allow Ukraine to enter NATO. But in return, Russia has to leave its treaty and its joint military agreement with China." Ramaswamy raised concerns of a future invasion of Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing views as a breakaway province. Stopping a war there "is a much higher priority," he said. "China's bet is that they're going to go for Taiwan, the U.S. won't want to be in simultaneous conflict with two nuclear superpowers at the same time. But if Russia's no longer at China's back and vice versa, we're in a stronger position," he said. Early in Ramaswamy's "This Week" interview, Raddatz noted that he is polling in the back of the pack of GOP hopefuls and asked him on how he would walk the "fine line" of appealing to former President Donald Trump's base, who make up a large number of Republican primary voters. "America first does not belong to Trump. It doesn't belong to me," said Ramaswamy, a former biotech entrepreneur. "It belongs to the people of this country. And I think we take that agenda even further if we're doing it based on first principles and moral authority, as [Ronald] Reagan did, rather than on vengeance and grievance." No revival of Trump's trans military ban In light of his criticism of "woke" policies around identity, diversity and historical oppression, Ramaswamy was asked by Raddatz if, as president, he would revive a controversial Trump-era ban on transgender military members that was reversed under President Joe Biden. "I would not reinstate a ban on transgender members," Ramaswamy said. "I would, however, be very clear that for kids, that's where my policies are very focused." Conservatives have increasingly called out policies around transgender children that they view as concerning, including pushing for limits on the health care that those kids can receive related to their gender, arguing they are extreme, which advocates and many doctors reject. "We should not be forcing this ideology onto children," Ramaswamy said. Ukraine must make 'major concessions' to Russia so US can focus on China: Vivek Ramaswamy originally appeared on abcnews.go.com In Wellington, Florida, Blue Heron Farms is a blue and green haven for a horse-loving mother-daughter duo. Carmel Brantley Every year, the Winter Equestrian Festival attracts thousands of people from all over to Wellington, Florida. While some come and go, others like Lily Maddock and her teenage daughter Mimi, both competitive horseback riders, find themselves quite at home. Maddock and her father, a Miami local, finished building Blue Heron Farms, her Wellington dream cottage and barn, from the ground up in 2021. Most of the year, Maddock and her family live in New York City, where youll be hard pressed to find space for a 21-stable barn like the one they built in Florida. When they venture down, they are joined by a whole crew of horses, including Strawberry Shortcake or Shorty, the ashy white miniature horse who acts more like a family dog. She roams the property freely from sunrise to sunset, Maddock says of Shorty. We love sitting on the porch and having her come up there and get treats. From anywhere in the house, Maddock wanted to be able to gaze out at her farm. For the interior, Maddock was inspired by old Florida charm and natural elements, including an earthy color palette and plenty of wicker furniture (which happens to be Shortys favorite snack), while also prioritizing the practical needs of a farmhouse. One thing we did establish was that this house will get dirty. It's windy, dusty, and dirty. It's a farm so we went with a dark wood floor and performance rugs, says Lori Deeds, Maddocks interior designer from Kemble Interiors in Palm Beach. Throughout the home, a pair of riding boots here, equestrian ribbons there, and a tawny horse poking its head through a window around the corner all add to the appeal of this hard-working, horse-loving home. Carmel Brantley Let Nature Do The Talking We have a really beautiful porch because we love to sit outside and see all the animals, says Maddock. The beauty of this space for her, is the view. Here, a round table from One Kings Lane is perfect for outdoor dining and lounging, watching the farm at work or Mimi practicing her sport on horseback. This may be a horse home, but on the porch, an antique bird cage pays homage to the family parakeet that stays in their New York residence. Story continues Carmel Brantley Prepare For Mess Entering the home fresh from horseback riding, Maddock was well aware that her entryway would also welcome in some dirt and grime from the farm. As such, the foyer needed to be a flexible place, beautiful but still able to bounce back from a bit of chaos. Stunning Thibaut wallpaper is paired with high-performing decor, including a Dash & Albert area rug thats easy to clean. It's a nice wide open space where you can come in and feel free to kick off your riding boots, and it doesn't matter if they're dusty, says Deeds. Theres just a simple little bench with no cushion, so if youre dirty, you dont have to worry about sitting down, and theres a place to hang your hat. Carmel Brantley Look Inward A blue and green wonderland, the family room is Maddock personified through and through. I would say my favorite color is blue, she says, and we did a lot of blue and we did a lot of green because the farm outside is so green. I just love that. Full of colors that make her happy, including the matching Lulie Wallaces Clara pattern that graces the walls, upholstered chairs, and throw pillows, several details in the family room are very personal to the Maddock life. On the walls, art from her mother pairs with racing ribbons won by Maddock and her daughter. On the side tables, Deeds hand-glued miniature butterfly figures one by one to Maison Maison lampshades to speak to Maddocks love of nature, her young family, and her youthful energy. Decorate From The Top Down Everywhere you look there should be something special. There should be a treasure, says Deeds. Thats my philosophy, so it's very rare you'll see a plain white ceiling in my work. In the kitchen, light blue plaid Seabrook wallpaper complemented by hanging pendant lights set the stage for a simple and functional kitchen thats far from boring. White walls painted in Benjamin Moores Cloud White (967) set a clean foundation for soft blue cabinetry in Benjamin Moore Under the Big Top (1675), finished with grounding Serena & Lily barstools. Maddocks husband, the chef of the family, loves cooking in this bright, open kitchen while Maddock adores the full-height wine fridge. Carmel Brantley Blend Old And New Both Deeds and Maddock love a good antique and both are fans of traditional, Southern decorating styles, however, it was important to them to also make this home decorating feel as young as Maddock herself. In many ways, the home is a balancing act between classic and contemporary, coming to a head in the breakfast nook just off the kitchen where Maddock eats with her family and enjoys farm views. In this room, painting the trim a different color (the same as the kitchen cabinets, BM 1675) keeps it fun, says Deeds. Meanwhile, the matching Schumacher wallpaper and table skirt lend themselves to a more classic style. We also added a newer chandelier instead of a vintage or classic piece. The bubble chandelier is where I throw in a little bit of femininity and younger feel in the design. I could have done a classic lantern, but why not add a twist and do something with a lot of contrast? Carmel Brantley Chase Childhood Dreams I think that when girls grow up, some have always dreamed of having a canopy bed and others never thought anything of it, says Deeds. Maddock is firmly in the category of canopy bed-dreamers. In addition to the whimsical bed, Maddock wanted of a fairy tale bedroom where she could enjoy slow mornings gazing at her farm out the window, surrounded by Thibaut wallpaper and upholstery. Across from the canopy bed in the large bedroom, a seating area and desk offer furtehr function. I wanted to look at the farm while having coffee in bed, a place to sit, and a desk so I could also do some work, says Maddock, but every wall has windows so theres a full view of the farm at all times. Carmel Brantley Throw A Curveball The tiniest of powder rooms is dressed to make a big impact with bold, colorful wallpaper from Brunschwig & Fils. Here, Maddock instructed Deeds to throw out the playbook from the rest of the house and design a fun-filled and unexpected vignette. Still, some elements from the rest of the home slip through. Blue and green are among the vibrant colors, though not the only ones, and a rattan-framed mirror from Pottery Barn upholds the theme of natural materials throughout. Additionally, a small piece of art showing a bird speaks to the homeowners love for animals which centers the entire property. Carmel Brantley Create Consistency In addition to housing humans, Maddocks Wellington home needs a place for the horses to stay, too. Adjacent to the main cottage, Maddock's 21-stable structure is home to her five horses, including bay horse Julio and chestnut-haired Max. The large barn also has a lounge and three tack rooms where equestrian equipment is stored. Unlike the home that bursts with pattern and color, Deeds took a simplistic approach to decorating the barn. Clean lines and simple palettes flow throughout the utilitarian stables. The exterior is painted white with Benjamin Moores Chantilly Lace (OC-65), same as the cottage exterior, which complements the forest green roof and shutters that also match those of the main house. These common threads throughout the property maintain cohesion and bring together the two halves of Maddocks equestrian getaway. Carmel Brantley For more Southern Living news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Southern Living. A drowning Saturday at Milan Beach claimed the life of a Toledo resident. Sheriff's deputies were dispatched at 6:02 p.m. Saturday to Milan Beach, 16339 Cone Road in Milan Township, a news release from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said. A 23-year-old Toledo resident was reported to have disappeared underwater. People at the beach continued to look for the victim while deputies responded to the scene. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office Dive Team responded to the scene and began efforts to locate the victim underwater, the release said. The victim was recovered from the water shortly after 8 p.m. and pronounced dead. The victim's identity was not immediately released. There was drowning at Milan Beach just over a year ago when a 45-year-old Toledo man died on Memorial Day 2022. Saturday's drowning remains under investigation by Deputy Jack Hall of the Uniformed Services Division. Milan Township Fire Department, Dundee Township Fire Department, and Monroe Community Ambulance assisted at the scene as well as the Dundee Police Department, Milan Police Department, and conservation officers with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Drowning June 3 at Milan Beach claims life of Toledo resident WASHINGTON A Colorado Republican has some campaign advice for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: Don't try to "out-Trump" former President Donald Trump. It can't be done. "There is nobody ... really that operates in the same area as Donald Trump." said U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., speaking on CNN's "State of the Union." Buck said he delivered that message in person to DeSantis, the Florida governor who formally announced his presidential candidacy late last month. Since then, DeSantis has criticized Trump and argued he would do a better job than the former president in achieving goals from building a border wall to taming the federal bureaucracy. DeSantis is no longer hands off with Trump attacks in 2024 race: 'I'm gonna fight back' DeSantis unloads on Trump after 2024 campaign announcement: 'This is a different guy today' Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on April 21, and former President Donald Trump on March 4. DeSantis has also knocked Trump for "petty" and "juvenile" insults and name calling. He told a New Hampshire radio show while campaigning last week that "his conduct" is "one of the reasons hes not in the White House now, because I think he alienated too many voters for things that really dont matter." Buck, who has not endorsed in the Republican race, said DeSantis should focus on his own record. "Ron should do his very best to run on his strong record as governor," Buck said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: GOP lawmaker to Ron DeSantis: Don't try to 'out-Trump' Donald Trump Their messages echoed nearly identical themes: Unity, patriotism and American exceptionalism. Their objective was uniform: Defeating President Joe Biden and America's "woke" left. Eight of the Republican Party's top presidential candidates stayed on message and avoided attacking each other Saturday at U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst's annual "Roast and Ride" event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. Ernst's motorcycle ride and subsequent circuit of presidential speeches marked a key "cattle call" for Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucus season, featuring a growing Republican field that included Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and other candidates courting support in the Hawkeye State. U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, right, and former Vice President Mike Pence ride motorcycles during the annual Roast and Ride fundraiser, Saturday, June 3, 2023, on the way to the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. "It's time to kick Joe Biden out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," Ernst, who donned a leather Harley-Davidson vest on the ride, shouted in her introductory remarks. After she rallied the crowd around conservative causes and opposition to the president, candidates began to lobby themselves to Iowans as the leader of that opposition. Former President Donald Trump, who remains the front-runner, was the only major candidate not present, but his rivals for the GOP nomination declined to take the opportunity to directly attack him or even mention his name. Instead, they reserved their rhetorical punches for Biden, the federal government and left-leaning policies they disdainfully dismissed as "wokeism." Ernst praised the range of messages and issues from the field in comments to reporters after the event, saying, "I think there are a lot of folks that want to move forward." She, too, stayed on message when asked about balancing attitudes and factions within the GOP. "I know that President Trump has a great base," Ernst said. "It is strong, but at the same time, people don't want to hear about what has happened in the past because we've had two years of a Biden administration that is destroying our nation." Story continues People wave American flags during the annual Roast and Ride fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, Saturday, June 3, 2023, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. Though Trump was absent, he loomed large at the Roast and Ride Though Trump wasn't present he has often disdained group events in favor of holding his own rallies he still loomed large at the Roast and Ride. Volunteers and staff from the campaign roamed the event at the Animal Learning Center, planting Trump signs, donning T-shirts and manning a booth alongside the rest of the campaigns. Attempting to carve a path through the first caucus state and chip away at Trump's support, his Republican challengers used their time to familiarize themselves with voters and outline their priorities. They talked about their upbringings, their parents, the value of hard work and how America is a country of opportunity, not racism. U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, left, greets Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds during the annual Roast and Ride fundraiser, Saturday, June 3, 2023, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. Just before riders arrived at the fairgrounds Saturday, DeSantis attracted a mob of supporters and press next to the bus owned by Never Back Down, the super PAC backing him. Back in Iowa after a trip through the state earlier this week, he shook hands and handed out signatures including one on a letter a woman said she wrote him a year ago, addressed to "the future president of the United States." DeSantis continued to embrace the retail politics of Iowa, trying cotton candy-flavored ice cream while his wife, Casey, and his kids played with puppies. He received a standing ovation before his remarks, in which he touted his conservative record in Florida. Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis points to a supporter in the crowd during the annual Roast and Ride fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, Saturday, June 3, 2023, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. "I don't just make idle promises that when I get into office I forget," DeSantis said. "I will lean into all the issues that matter." Pence, who is expected to formally enter the race next week in Iowa, was the sole candidate to join Ernst on the ride from Big Barn Harley-Davidson. He donned his own leather vest, featuring a patch from his home state of Indiana. The former vice president, asked early in the day what his lane in the race would be, responded with a joke: "I'm more worried about the lane we're going to be staying in today." And he teased his coming campaign announcement, declaring, "I'm going to do it here in Iowa." Former Vice President Mike Pence rides a motorcycle during the annual Roast and Ride fundraiser, Saturday, June 3, 2023, on the way to the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. Haley, a former South Carolina governor, promised a consistent presence in Iowa, then took a subtle poke at Trump's usual style of campaigning. "I'm not going to do a rally and leave you," Haley said. (Trump visited Iowa earlier this week for a series of smaller campaign stops.) Though direct criticisms of the front-runner were absent from their public remarks, several candidates dinged Trump in interviews with the Register for failing to attend the event, as well as not being the best choice for Republicans. Haley called Trump's absence a "mistake," and candidate and conservative commentator Larry Elder said he didn't believe Trump could win in the general election. "The question is: Can he win against Biden in a rematch in November 2024?" Elder said. "And if I thought the answer was a slam dunk, I wouldnt be here. And candidate and Michigan businessman Perry Johnson acknowledged the rest of the field was playing catch-up with Trump, "now over 50%" in some polling. "So I understand why he's not here," Johnson said. "I'm not saying he shouldn't be here. But I do get it. Trump was extended an invitation to the event, Ernst said, "a couple months ago," when they last spoke. "He has other considerations to think about, whether he does the multi-candidate events or not," Ernst said. "We made that offer, and everyone is welcome here." Some candidates focus on their background, hoping for name recognition and more donors Several of the presidential hopefuls used their time on stage to outline their personal identity and top issues. Scott, of South Carolina, told the crowd that "I scare the dickens out of the radical left and Joe Biden," continuing to strike a chord of optimism while decrying "victim" attitudes and beliefs of systemic racism. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has asked Iowans to donate to his campaign in order to qualify for the Republican National Committee's first debate, pitched himself as a down-to-earth choice who can relate to the state's residents. "After a little visit, they come to me and they say, You know, you seem like a normal person," Hutchinson said. "Is that not just the greatest compliment you can have?" Motorcycle riders arrive during the annual Roast and Ride fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, Saturday, June 3, 2023, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. And entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy made a pitch to millennials, as the first one to run for president as a Republican. "Speaking as a member of my generation, we're hungry for purpose and meaning and identity," Ramaswamy said. Johnson and Elder, who are struggling to register in most national polling, both bemoaned the newly unveiled requirements to qualify for the debate in Milwaukee later this summer, which include having 40,000 donors. Elder called the threshold "onerous," but said he would "play by the rules"; Johnson said it was "kind of ridiculous." Ramaswamy and Haley told the Register their campaigns had already met the requirements to qualify for the debate. Iowans, hearing from nearly the whole GOP field, weigh their options The Roast and Ride offered the opportunity for potential caucusgoers to hear from nearly the entire presidential field at once. A number of potential voters interviewed by the Register on Saturday were still exploring their options, interested in several candidates but not yet committing with the caucuses still months away. Mari Andres of Des Moines said she wanted to see "new blood" in the White House. "I want to see someone younger," Andres said. She said that she's been impressed with DeSantis' leadership in Florida, including parental rights at school and fighting against "woke" culture. And she said she wants to see a Republican president win again. Pat and Lori McCarville, both self-employed Fort Dodge residents, are independents who usually lean Republican. They said DeSantis and Scott were at the top of their lists, believing they could lead a nation with "too much division" and saying they were impressed with their backgrounds. "I voted for Trump because of his policies," Pat McCarville said, but that was no longer enough to retain his support. "He is not a nice man." For Karen Fesler of Coralville, it's between Trump and DeSantis, though she's still "studying" the Florida governor. It's "putting a puzzle together," she said, and "DeSantis is missing a few pieces." While she respects the other GOP candidates, Fesler says she doesn't foresee other candidates rising to the top. It comes down to "name recognition," she said. Despite their candidate not being present, some Iowans who remain loyal to Trump also attended Saturday. "The top of my list and the only thing on my list is Trump," said Lori Gorman, a 73-year-old retiree from Altoona. Gorman has attended four Trump rallies, she said, and has a wall dedicated to the businessman-turned-president in her home, complete with his books. "Trump had four years, and he's been through just about every damn thing they could put him through and he's survived it," she said. Katie Akin, Brianne Pfannenstiel and Stephen Gruber-Miller contributed reporting. This article originally appeared on USATNetwork: GOP candidates pitch themselves as the future at Iowa Roast and Ride an illustration of a satellite in orbit covered in leaves A team of researchers want to put a wooden satellite into orbit. It's not as outrageous as you might think. Results from a recent test aboard the International Space Station (ISS), which exposed different woods to the vacuum of space, have been confirmed by the project's research team at Kyoto University, in Japan. Sure enough, the findings indicated that wood is remarkably resilient even in the environment of outer space. "Despite the extreme environment of outer space involving significant temperature changes and exposure to intense cosmic rays and dangerous solar particles for ten months, tests confirmed no decomposition or deformations, such as cracking, warping, peeling, or surface damage," a recent Kyoto University press release said. The experiment served as a preliminary investigation for the Kyoto University-led international partnership LignoSat, which designed a wooden satellite scheduled to be jointly launched by the Japanese space agency (JAXA) and NASA sometime next year. Related: What is a satellite? The LignoSat Space Wood Project began in April 2020, as a collaboration between Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry. "Wood's ability to withstand simulated low earth orbit - or LEO - conditions astounded us," Koji Murata, head of the space-wood research effort, said in a 2021 press release . "We want to see if we can accurately estimate the effects of the harsh LEO environment on organic materials." To test those effects, a small panel containing three different wood samples was launched to the ISS for stowage on the station's Japanese Experimental Kibo Module, where it was exposed to space for ten months in 2022. The wood panel was retrieved by JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata and returned to Earth aboard SpaceX's CRS-26 cargo Dragon spacecraft in January 2023, and project scientists are hailing its success. Of those woods tested, the LignoSat team chose to move forward with the project using the wood from Magnolia trees, because of its "relatively high workability, dimensional stability and overall strength," according to the release. Story continues If in fact wood turns into a truly viable alternative for satellite manufacturing, it does have some potential benefits compared to the typical metal alloys used in todays constructions. For one, it is more environmentally friendly, across the board. It is easier, cheaper and cleaner to produce, and is much more disposable when it comes to a satellite's end-of-life. RELATED STORIES: SpaceX could launch this wild, origami-inspired folding heat shield later this year Space junk cleanup mission to launch in 2026 aboard Arianespace rocket Rollable 'membrane mirrors' could pave way for bigger, more powerful space telescopes When deorbited, satellites and the components from which they are assembled usually burn up mostly, if not entirely in Earth's atmosphere. The parts that don't burn up are strategically deorbited to splash down in remote parts of the ocean. Wooden satellites would most certainly completely burn up during atmospheric reentry, and if some small, fictitious fragments of wood somehow did survive the fiery plunge, they would be easily decomposed wherever on Earth they landed. First lady Jill Biden celebrated her birthday among the pyramids in Egypt on Saturday, part of a six-day trip to the Middle East and North Africa. What a great way to start the day, I was fortunate to visit the magnificent pyramids of Giza, Biden tweeted. The first lady, who turned 72 on Saturday, flew to Jordan earlier this week to attend Crown Prince Al Husseins wedding to Saudi architect Rajwa Al Seif. Crown Prince Hussein, Princess Rajwa, congratulations, she said in a video posted to Twitter on Thursday, alongside the president. Today, as you begin your new life together, we wish you a future full of love, laughter and good health. After Egypt, Biden will head to Morocco and Portugal as part of the trip to build on our longstanding partnerships and meet with young people across the region to discuss how the next generation can thrive. Government to government, people to people, and heart to heart, we will continue to strengthen our relationships in the region and reaffirm our commitment to the future of young people around the world, she added on Twitter. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A San Francisco man has been sentenced for causing a crash that led to the death of a Marysville woman over two years ago, the Yuba County District Attorneys Office announced. Dominik Oshay Cash received 21 years to life in prison for the incident that occurred Jan. 16, 2021, in which he ran a red light at 80 mph in Marysville and crashed into Dawn Loralee Ritter, who died on impact, the Yuba County DAs Office announced Wednesday. Cash fled California Highway Patrol officers after a traffic stop for speeding. Officers would later discover he had a 9mm handgun in the seat next to him at the time and multiple warrants for his arrest, prosecutors said.. The DAs Office said despite multiple attempts from law enforcement to stop his vehicle safely during the pursuit, he entered the intersection and struck Ritters vehicle. She was 55 years old. After the impact, the DAs Office said Cash continued to flee from law enforcement on foot but was taken into custody. Cash has a long criminal history throughout California, including high-speed chases, evasion and sex crimes, the Red Bluff Daily News reported. Several members of Ritters family spoke of her loss at the sentencing hearing, the DAs Office said. Some 750 looted archaeological treasures have been seized from the notorious British antiquities trader Robin Symes and returned to Italy after a decades-long fight for their return, the Carabinieri art police said on Wednesday. The artifacts, which according to the Italian cultural ministry are worth more than 12 million ($12.9 million), will go on display in Romes Castel SantAngelo museum as part of a collection of stolen art that has found its way home. The objects offer a cross-section of the many productions of ancient Italy and the islands, including numerous and diversified archaeological contexts (funerary, cultural, residential and public) concentrated in particular in Etruria and Magna Graecia, according to a statement from the Ministry of Culture. Among the recovered items from the Roman and Imperial eras is a bronze tripod table from an aristocratic Etruscan family, two parade headgear for horses, two funerary paintings, male busts in marble, various portions of statues and bronzes, and a wall painting with the depiction of a small temple, likely from a Vesuvian residence, according to the ministry statement. Some of the antiquities returned to Italy from London are seen on display at Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome. - Remo Casilli/Reuters There are also precious gems set in gold, silver, bronze, as well as bone and amber. Other pieces include weapons, sarcophagi, funerary urns, ritual objects, furnishings in bronze and marble, mosaic and painted decorations. The artifacts originate from clandestine excavations on Italian territory and were illegally obtained by Symes Ltd, the company owned by Symes, a major trafficker of cultural goods, according to the ministry statement. The company, which had always opposed the repeated recovery attempts by the Italian Judicial Authority, (and) subject to bankruptcy proceedings in the United Kingdom, was also sued in Italy, through the Attorney General of the State, for the return of the goods or civil compensation for damages, Italian Attorney General Lorenzo dAscia said during the press conference. Story continues The 750 repatriated items were seized from the disgraced British art dealer Robin Symes. - Remo Casilli/Reuters Symes, who sold precious artifacts to some of the worlds most prestigious museums, fell from grace in 2016 when a Swiss warehouse he rented was raided. Now in his 80s, he has not spoken to the press for years. During the trial of Marion True, the former curator of the J. Paul Getty Museum who was indicted for illegal trafficking of antiquities in Italy in 2005, Symes denied trafficking illegal art, saying he had always been assured by his collaborators that the provenance of every object he procured was on the market legally. (The charges against True were eventually dropped.) He was often investigated but never charged for his alleged crimes despite countless attempts by Italy and Greece. But old statutes of limitations laws prohibited prosecution. A mosaic returned to Italy from London is displayed at Castel Sant'Angelo. - Remo Casilli/Reuters A further 71 objects, currently in the United States, will be recovered in the next few days, Brigadier General Vincenzo Molinese, commander of the Carabinieri Art Squad, said. The return of these 750 objects marks another success in Italys attempt to recover its stolen treasures. Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano said at the press conference: The recovery of illicitly stolen cultural heritage is one of the priorities of my program; protecting it also means preventing our heritage from being plundered by unscrupulous traffickers. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Ukrainian serviceman carries a reconnaissance unmanned aerial device near a frontline, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region. Anna Kudriavtseva/Reuters Ukraine hosted a drone-building competition to find new tech to use against Russia, CNN reported. The competition took place outside Kyiv and featured unmanned-drone makers from across the globe. Drones had to go through ground target practice, chases, and in-air combat, CNN reported. Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation hosted a drone-building competition to help find new technology to help fight its war against Russia, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov told CNN. The event took place outside Kyiv and featured unmanned-drone makers from Ukraine and across the globe. Drone makers were told to show off their drones in ground target practice, chases, and dogfights, also known as in-air combat, CNN reported. "Every few weeks, we conduct various studies, see what is happening in this direction, look for new drone developers, study the results," Fedorov told CNN. "It is very important for us to find companies that can scale, to look at new usage formats, because this is a technological war." The event and studies are part of a Ukrainian campaign called "Army of Drones" to help increase the supply of drones to the military, CNN reported. The campaign, which is part of an online crowdfunding initiative called UNITED24, has received hundreds of millions of dollars and expanded Ukraine's arsenal of drones by the thousands, Insider reporter Jake Epstein previously reported. Drones have been a major part of the war on both sides since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Fedorov told CNN that first-person-view drones have been a "game-changer" for Ukraine and that the country is also developing some longer-range drones. "We are increasing the production of long-range drones," he said. "I cannot comment on the details of the missions here. But in this direction, a certain revolution is also taking place regarding production scaling." Read the original article on Business Insider (Reuters) -A 2-year-old girl was killed and 22 people injured, including five children, when a Russian missile struck near the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the regional governor said on Sunday. "Overnight, the body of a girl who had just turned two was pulled from under the rubble of a house," Serhiy Lysak wrote on the Telegram messaging channel. Seventeen people were being treated in hospital after the attack on a residential area by Iskander short-range cruise missiles, Lysak said. Reuters could not independently verify the report. There was no immediate reaction from Moscow. Mykola Lukashuk, head of the Dnipropetrovsk region council, said 17 children have died in the region since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. "No words can soothe the pain of parents who have lost the most precious thing in their lives," Lukashuk said. The war has killed at least 485 children in Ukraine and injured nearly 1,500, the country's Office of the Prosecutor General said on Sunday on Telegram. The missile hit between two two-storey residential buildings in the Pidhorodnenska community, partially destroying them and damaging a number of houses, cars and infrastructure, Lysak said. "Once again, Russia proves it is a terrorist state," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on Saturday after the first reports of the explosions. Moscow and Kyiv deny their military forces target civilians. Pictures posted on social media showed rescue teams working at a shattered, smouldering building amid piles of twisted building materials. Following the attack in Dnipro, Russia launched a new wave of overnight air strikes on the country. Ukraine's air force said on Sunday it destroyed more than half of the air targets. Four of the six cruise missiles and three of the five Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia were downed, the air force said on Telegram. Kyiv's city military administration earlier said all Russia-launched targets approaching the capital had been intercepted. It was not immediately clear where the missiles and drones that were not destroyed hit. Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine's capital since May, chiefly at night, ahead of a long-expected Ukrainian counteroffensive to reclaim territory, in what Ukrainian officials say is an attempt to inflict psychological distress on civilians. (Reporting by Ron Popeski, Oleskander Kozhukhar and Lidia Kelly; Writing by Ron Popeski and Lidia Kelly; Editing by Daniel Wallis and William Mallard) Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty/Reuters When President Donald Trump pardoned Steve Bannon in the closing hours of his presidency, it seemed like the right-wing media personalityand once chief strategist for Trumphad successfully evaded any repercussions for his involvement in a scheme that sent some of his partners to prison. Double jeopardy laws, of course, prevent someone from being prosecuted twice for the same crime. But theres a curious reason why Bannon cant raise the double jeopardy defense before his upcoming state court trial and make the case disappear: New Yorkers saw this coming. The law changed in New York, specifically because Trump started handing out pardons. New York State took the position that these people need to be answerable to crimes they committed in New York State, explained Diane Peress, an adjunct lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. It all comes down to the way former federal prosecutor Todd Kaminsky, then a Long Island state senator, noticed how Trump was corruptly using the pardon power to shield himself by saving his powerful friends. It Cost Steve Bannon $601,000 to Ignore the Jan. 6 Committee In 2019, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed that bill into law, closing what the governor called an egregious loophole. Local New York prosecutors were now empoweredunder certain circumstancesto pursue criminal charges against a U.S. president and his associates whod received a presidential pardon. Politicians had slipped key exceptions to the double jeopardy rule. For example, Trump couldnt shield himself with a self-pardon if he were accused of enterprise corruption, one of several criminal charges that prosecutors have allegedly been considering over the way he appears to run the Trump Organization like a mob. The new law also ensured that his associates could still be prosecuted if a pardon came too soon, such as in Bannons case. Bannon, who has 356 days to prepare for a New York trial, is accused of quietly enriching himself with donor money from a nativist GoFundMe campaign to build Trumps Mexico border wall. The case is essentially the exact same one as the federal proceedings two years earlier that, before trial, fell apart when Trump swooped in and saved him. Story continues But in New York now, its only considered double jeopardy when a person has been fully prosecuted twice. That is, when someone was indicted and pleaded guiltyor, at the very least, had a jury sworn in. The federal prosecutors at the Southern District of New York, however, never got Bannons case to trial. Trump used his powerful presidential authority to kill the investigation into his former White House chief strategist before federal prosecutors could get to that stage. And that inconvenient timing means the Manhattan DA can go after the right-wing media personality for his role in We Build the Wall, the GoFundMe that ludicrously promised to keep Latin American migrants out of the United States by amassing private funds to construct a wall at the southern bordereven though the feds had proof that the small cadre of men leading the project had siphoned off donor funds. Prosecutors were still gearing up for a future trial when, on Jan. 19, 2021, a yellow-tinged letter bearing Trumps name and a Department of Justice seal suddenly appeared in the federal court docket. It detailed how Bannon had received a full and unconditional pardon for that criminal case and for any other offenses that might arise in connection to it. Steve Bannon Claims He Was Swatted At D.C. War Room Studio The feds went on to secure convictions against Bannons three other business associates, who were punished for looting the purported charity. Brian Kolfage, a wounded and decorated Air Force veteran who served as the face of the project, was sentenced in April to more than four years in prison. Andrew Badolato, a project financier, got three years. Colorado businessman Timothy Shea, whose first go-around ended in a mistrial, was ultimately convicted and is set to be sentenced this month. But Bannon got off. Peress, who teaches at John Jays New York City campus, decried how the letter clearly violated the spirit of presidential pardon powers. This is some kind of blanket get out of jail free card. It doesnt work that way, she said. Tess Cohen, a former Manhattan prosecutor whos now running for Bronx DA, stressed that the way Trump got his buddy off the hook totally disregards the traditional meaning of a pardon. The vast majority of the time pardons have been used, someone has served a significant amount of time and theres a feeling that the punishment is excessive or when technically the law was violated but the specific set of facts is unjust, like when people illegally vote but its an accident, Cohen said. With Steve Bannon, you had a pretty typical fraud. Theres nothing special about it. When Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg Jr. unveiled a grand jury indictment against Bannon last September, his prosecutors revealed a series of damning texts that purport to show how he brazenly shifted money around thinking hed never get caught. So far, the Manhattan DAs office has a 1-1 record for going after Trump associates who were saved by a pardon. Bannon Associate Sentenced to 4+ Years for Border Wall Donor Fraud The first attempt failed. Braggs predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., tried to takedown the Republican political consultant Paul Manafort, who played a central role in the Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigation into Trump-Russia ties. The notoriously corrupt Trump campaign adviser got a presidential pardon just two years into his seven-year sentence for financial corruption and obstruction of justice. Vance, then the Manhattan DA, pursued mortgage fraud charges against Manafort that were later tossed out by a state appeals court. (The court determined that Manafort actually was protected by the double jeopardy rule.) But the Manhattan DAs second try succeeded. Much like he did with the Bannon case, then-President Trump, in his final hours in office, killed off a case by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn who had targeted a family friend: Ken Kurson, once the editor of a New York City newspaper that was owned by Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner. But Vance went after Kurson anyway, overcoming the double jeopardy arguments and getting him to plead guilty to cyberstalking. The question now is whether Bragg can pull off the same feat against Bannonwhile he simultaneously juggles the most historic case his office has ever undertaken: a criminal case against Trump himself. 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. Business Reporter Joel Donofrio is the business reporter for the Yakima Herald. He was born and raised in the Chicago area, but he and his wife, Cathy, fell in love with the beauty (and low humidity) of the West and moved here in 2009, eventually relocating to Yakima in September 2021. They have two young adult children, Anthony and Joanna, and a dog, Molly. When he is not taking photos of construction sites, tracking down new and relocating businesses or catching up on agricultural trends, Joel enjoys playing guitar, singing, listening to music and playing and watching sports. This tiny WA house along the Columbia River is out of this world. Take a look inside 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. Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - Twitter logos hang outside the company's offices in San Francisco, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. Ella Irwin, a top Twitter executive responsible for safety and content moderation, has left the company. Her departure came after owner Elon Musk publicly complained about the platforms handling of posts about transgender topics. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) A top Twitter executive responsible for safety and content moderation has left the company, her departure coming soon after owner Elon Musk publicly complained about the platforms handling of posts about transgender topics. The departure pointed to a fresh wave of turmoil among key officials at Twitter since Musk took over last year. Ella Irwin, Twitter's head of trust and safety, confirmed her resignation in a pair of tweets late Friday. She did not say in the message why she was leaving, but her departure came shortly after Musk criticized Twitters handling of tweets about a conservative media company's documentary that questions transgender medical treatment for children and teens. Musk was responding to complaints by Jeremy Boreing, co-CEO of the media company, the Daily Wire. Boreing said in tweets and retweets of conservative commentators Thursday that Twitter was suppressing the movie by flagging posts about it as hate speech and keeping the movie off lists of trending topics. Boreing tweeted that Twitter canceled a deal to premiere What is a Woman? for free on the platform because of two instances of misgendering." Twitter rules prohibit intentionally referring to transgender individuals with the wrong gender or name. This was a mistake by many people at Twitter. It is definitely allowed," Musk tweeted back. Whether or not you agree with using someones preferred pronouns, not doing so is at most rude and certainly breaks no laws. Irwin tweeted Friday that one or two people noticed she left the company the day before, and she noted speculation about whether she was fired or quit. She teased that she would post 24 tweets to explain her departure. Then she posted that she was just kidding about the long narrative. In all seriousness, I did resign but this has been a once in a lifetime experience and Im so thankful to have worked with this amazing team of passionate, creative and hardworking people. Will be cheering you all and Twitter as you go! Next to Musk, Irwin had been the most prominent voice of the companys ever-changing content policies in recent months. Twitter has struggled to bring back advertisers turned off by Musks drastic changes and loosening of rules against hate speech since he bought Twitter for $44 billion in October. Twitter also has an incoming CEO, Linda Yaccarino, known for decades of media and advertising industry experience, but she hasnt started yet. Irwin and Twitter didnt respond to requests from The Associated Press for comment. Twitter has been in turmoil including mass layoffs and voluntary departures since the billionaire Tesla owner bought the San Francisco company and took it private. The companys head of trust and safety left shortly after the takeover, and turnover in the top ranks has continued. Last month, Twitter fired two more top managers. By Jessie Pang and Ben Blanchard HONG KONG/TAIPEI (Reuters) - Hong Kong police said they detained 23 people on Sunday for "breaching public peace" and arrested a 53-year-old woman for "obstructing police officers" as authorities ramped up security for the 34th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. Restrictions in Hong Kong have stifled what were once the largest vigils marking the anniversary of the bloody crackdown by Chinese troops on pro-democracy demonstrators, leaving cities like Taipei, London, New York and Berlin to keep the memory of June 4 alive. Near Victoria Park, the previous site of yearly vigils, hundreds of police conducted stop and search operations, and deployed armoured vehicles and police vans. Reuters witnesses saw more than a dozen people taken away, including activist Alexandra Wong, 67, who carried a bouquet of flowers, a man who held a copy of "35th of May", a play on the Tiananmen crackdown, and an elderly man standing alone on a street corner with a candle. "The regime wants you to forget, but you can't forget... It (China) wants to whitewash all history," said Chris To, 51, who visited the park in a black t-shirt and was searched by police. "We need to use our bodies and word of mouth to tell others what happened." Police on Monday said officers took away 11 men and 12 women aged between 20 and 74 who were suspected of "breaching the public peace at the scene". Hong Kong activists say such police action is part of a broader campaign by China to crush dissent in the city that was promised continued freedoms for 50 years under a "one country, two systems" model when Britain handed it back in 1997. Security is significantly tighter across Hong Kong this year, with up to 6,000 police deployed, including riot and anti-terrorism officers, according to local media. Senior officials have warned people to abide by the law, but have refused to clarify if such commemoration activities are illegal under a national security law China imposed on Hong Kong in 2020 after sometimes violent mass pro-democracy protests. In a statement, police said some had been arrested for seditious intent and for "breaching public peace". The United Nations said on Monday it was "alarmed" by detentions in Hong Kong. In Beijing, Tiananmen Square was thronged with tourists taking pictures under the watchful eyes of police and other personnel but with no obvious sign of stepped-up security. A group of relatives called the Tiananmen Mothers said the anguish never ended. "Though 34 years have passed, for us, family members of those killed, the pain of losing our loved ones in that one night has tormented us to this day," the group said in a statement released by the New York-based watchdog Human Rights in China. 'CLEAR CONCLUSION' Despite the warnings in Hong Kong, some individuals, including book shop owners, have been quietly marking June 4. Jailed Hong Kong activist Chow Hang-tung, one of the leaders of a group called The Alliance, which used to organise the June 4 vigils, said on Facebook that she would hold a 34-hour hunger strike. In mainland China, any mention of the Tiananmen Square crackdown - where troops opened fire on pro-democracy protesters, killing hundreds if not thousands, according to rights groups - is taboo and the subject is heavily censored. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning, when asked about the government's response to events around the world to mark the anniversary, said in Beijing on Friday that the government had already come to a "clear conclusion about the political turmoil in the late 1980s". In democratically governed Taiwan, the last remaining part of the Chinese-speaking world where the anniversary can be marked freely, hundreds attended a memorial at Taipei's Liberty Square where a "Pillar of Shame" statue was displayed. Peggy Kwan, 57, an interpreter at the event, expressed sadness at the stifling of commemorations in Hong Kong. "Hong Kong is moving backward," she said. China claims Taiwan as its own and has not renounced the use of force to ensure eventual unification. Taiwan Vice President William Lai, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's presidential candidate in an election next January, wrote on his Facebook page that the memory of what happened in Beijing in 1989 must be preserved. "The event commemorating June 4 has continued to be held in Taipei, which shows that democracy and authoritarianism are the biggest differences between Taiwan and China," he said. In Sydney, one of more than 30 places in North America, Europe and Asia hosting commemoration events, dozens of demonstrators rallied at the Town Hall, chanting "free Hong Kong" while holding up placards and yellow umbrellas, the symbol of pro-democracy protests since 2014. (Additional reporting by Yew Lun Tian in Beijing, Joyce Zhou and Farah Master in Hong Kong; Angie Teo in Taipei; James Redmayne in Sydney; Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Nick Macfie, Stephen Coates and Edmund Klamann) A Dibrugarh-bound Indigo flight made an emergency landing due to a technical glitch at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati on Sunday morning. All the passengers on the flight were safe upon landing. Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Rameswar Teli, and two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs Prasanta Phukan and Terash Gowalla were also on board flight 6E2652 when it made an emergency landing at Guwahati airport. Teli told ANI over the phone, "He is still at Guwahati airport after the flight made an emergency landing following a technical glitch." Also read: Germany-Shanghai UPS Cargo Flight Diverted To Delhi, Lands Safely At IGIA "I was on the flight along with BJP MLAs Prasanta Phukan and Terash Gowalla. Today I have a schedule of three meetings in Duliajan, Tingkhong, and Tinsukia. The flight was in the air for 15 to 20 minutes before landing at Dibrugarh airport and back at Guwahati airport and making an emergency landing. We are all safe. The authorities told us that, that flight will not run again," Teli added. On the other hand, the airport authority also confirmed about the emergency landing of the Dibrugarh-bound Indigo flight. New Delhi: Retail giant Walmart's shareholding in decacorn fintech firm PhonePe has dropped to 85 percent from 89 percent following its ongoing fundraising of USD 1 billion, the US-based firm said. PhonePe has now raised a total of USD 850 million of primary capital in the current round till the end of May. "During the three months ended April 30, 2023, the company received USD 0.5 billion related to new rounds of equity funding for the company's majority-owned PhonePe subsidiary, which reduced the company's ownership from approximately 89 percent as of January 31, 2023, to approximately 85 percent," Walmart said in a latest regulatory filing. Till April 30, the Walmart group firm has raised USD 750 million, including USD 200 million capital infusion from Walmart. General Atlantic and its co-investors have contributed USD 550 million in the ongoing USD 1 billion funding round of PhonePe at a pre-money valuation of USD 12 billion. Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global, and TVS Capital Funds have invested USD 100 million during the funding round. New Delhi: Sunny, a small street food vendor in Ayodhya, used to face multiple challenges in the past as he had to shift his stall from one place to another sometimes due to the police and sometimes due to the employees of the Municipal Corporation. But now, the problems of many small street vendors like Sunny have been resolved with the establishment of a vendor zone by the Municipal Corporation Ayodhya. Sunny has now got a permanent place for his shop. Besides the locals, devotees arriving in Ayodhya can now visit the food vending zone here and enjoy different food on their arrival. This has also improved the lives of the vendors here.The Municipal Corporation has not only set up vending zones but has also started skill development programmes at various places, thus augmenting employment opportunities.Besides this, the Municipal Corporation has also supported many textile industries in Ayodhya during the last two years, due to which t-shirts and tracksuits are now being produced here.Along with Ayodhya, these companies are now working to sell their products in other districts as well so that the glory of the Ayodhya brand would be visible across the country.The street food hub built next to Ayodhya's Ram Katha Park allows many vendors like Sunny to run their homes and generate employment. This hub sees a huge gathering of tourists and locals in the morning and evening hours. Food lovers come here and enjoy different cuisines.Shops have been allotted to food vendors after issuing them the required licenses and all the shops have been made identically so that they look beautiful and symmetric. Most importantly, the Municipal Corporation has provided water and electricity connections in these shops.Devotees who come to visit Ram Janmabhoomi and Hanuman Garhi stop here and taste different types of dishes.Ayodhya Municipal Commissioner Vishal Singh told IANS that NULM (National Urban Livelihood Mission) is crucial. "We are doing the work of skill development on a large scale. Along with skilling up the local population, work is also being done on how it can be linked to self-employment.""Within the last two to two and a half years, three big units have been set up here: manufacturing T-shirts, tracksuits, etc., whose demand is also increasing in Ayodhya... You can also see vending zones, shopping carts, and skill zones around," he added.He further said that several works have also been taken up on the vacant places in the city for generating employment. Terming himself as 'Pratham Sewak' of the people of Jodhpur, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday said if the need arises he would earn money by performing magic tricks, but would not let the people of this Rajasthan district down. The 72-year-old Congress leader was born into a family of professional magicians in Jodhpur. He made the statement while addressing the people during the inauguration of a newly built road 'Rao Jodha Marg' for the convenience of the tourists visiting the 15th-century Mehrangarh Fort. While citing his role in the development of Jodhpur, Gehlot said he had become the MP for the first time 42 years back. "What was Jodhpur then? No water, no train. But today, it has water, electricity, trains, roads, education and health infrastructure. I left nothing to be desired in these years," he said. He said if somebody does a research on Jodhpur, they would learn about its development and see what Jodhpur was and what has it become now. He also wished for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to grant heritage status to the Blue City. On a brief visit to his hometown, Gehlot inaugurated 16 development works worth Rs. 91 crores and laid the foundation of 44 projects worth Rs 1,000 crores in his run-up to the assembly election. He also criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party for holding up the schemes of the Congress government in the state, citing the examples of the Rao Jodha Marg and a refinery project. "This road project had been announced during the previous Congress regime but BJP did not continue on it, which delayed the project. Similarly, the apathy of the BJP towards the refinery project not only delayed the project but also shot the project cost from Rs 39,000 crores to Rs 72,000 crores", said Gehlot. He said this is a wrong practice and the projects of one government should be continued and completed by the incumbent government.Taking a dig at Gehlot's magician remark, state BJP chief CP Joshi said the chief minister has only exhibited magic tricks during his tenure. "You are a fraud, who is performing tricks by taking credits for the projects introduced by Centre," he said, adding that the Congress leader contributes some funds to the Central government schemes and then changes their names. What else the emergence of cash and gold from the cupboard in government offices is, if it is not magic, Joshi asked. The Congress party today made a big claim related to the Odisha train accident in which 275 people lost their lives and over 1,100 were injured. Odisha Chief Secy Pradeep Jena today confirmed that the death toll is 275 and not 288 as some bodies were counted twice. While around 300 people are still under treatment at various hospitals, the Congress has posed stinging questions to the Modi government while claiming that the Centre was aware of the signal interlocking issue. Speaking to the media, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the accident happened due to a change in the electronic interlocking system. "The commissioner of railway safety has investigated the matter and let the investigation report come but we have identified the cause of the incident and the people responsible for it... It happened due to a change in electronic interlocking," Vaishnaw told the media. Hours later, Congress leader Pawan Khera addressed a press conference where he claimed that the Railway Ministry was informed about the signal interlocking issue in February. "If you go to the Twitter timeline of the Railway Minister, you will see the reality of the Railways. There are 3.12 lakh posts vacant in the Railway Department. An internal report circulated in the Railway Ministry on February 9 stated that there was a defect in the signal interlocking system. If this is not done properly, accidents will keep happening. We want to know what action was taken on this report?" asked Khera. He also said that according to the CAG report, there have been 1,127 incidents of train derailments between 2017 and 2021. "The budget for repair/renovation of the track is decreasing every year in the Modi government. Not only this... the budget that is there is not being used. We are not against the high-speed train, but by showing 10-15 shining trains, they will make the whole structure hollow, this is not acceptable," alleged Khera. The Congress leader also asked whether PM Narendra Modi will take responsibility of the worst train accident of the century. He also said that Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw should resign. The restoration work of the damaged track is underway at the Balasore site. The Railway minister informed that the down main line was made fit at 12:05 pm today. The fatal accident involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train occurred around 7 pm on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore. Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh is bound to get a massive infrastructure boost to ensure smooth transportation for tourists and pilgrims. As part of this development, the Uttar Pradesh government is planning to develop a new bus terminus, give a makeover to Ayodhya railway station and a terminal of the Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram International Airport. The development comes as the construction of the Ram Temple is nearing completion. With these development plans in action, the city will give a glimpse of Lord Ram's Temple even before the travellers visit the shrine. Taking things forward to make travelling easier, the work for the development of these stations is in full swing. Here are details of the new bus terminus, airport, and makeover of the railway station. Also read: Odisha Train Accident: Ashwini Vaishnaw Says Root Cause Of Crash Identified, Details Here Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram International Airport Ayodhya's new airport will be developed in phases, with the first phase targeting the completion of one terminal to handle 300 passengers. Meanwhile, the other three terminals of the airport are expected to be completed by 2023. With a handling capacity of six lakh passengers per year, the new terminal structure, which has a total space of 6,000 sq. m., is intended to accommodate 300 people per day during peak travel times. The first phase of the expansion of this international airport would take place over 317 acres of land, according to the civil aviation department of Uttar Pradesh and the Airport Authority of India. Three steps make up the construction process. In terms of design, the airport will reflect the spirit of Ram Mandir with multiple elements showcasing the similarities. For instance, the roof of the terminal is proposed to be adorned with shikhara. Furthermore, the terminals will have murals depicting important events of Ramayana. Ayodhya Railway Station The makeover of the railway station is in full swing, with the first phase of the work completed. The new station, just like the rest of the city, will have the essence of Lord Ram's Temple. It is to be noted that Rs 241 crore has been invested in the development of the first phase of the station. The money has been used to provide facilities like parking, accommodation for employees, an office for railway police, and the construction of three new platforms. Ayodhya Bus Terminus Soon, a world-class bus terminal will be built in this sacred city of Uttar Pradesh to support the easy movement of pilgrims and visitors and give them a practical option for commuting. The Rs 400 crore bus terminus project has recently received approval from the government of Uttar Pradesh. The construction of a four-lane flyover on the Ayodhya-Sultanpur route has also received approval from the government. The new bus terminal would be built on a 9 acre parcel of land behind the Ayodhya Dham Bus Station on the Lucknow Gorakhpur National Highway's Ayodhya bypass. The bus terminal would be built on the PPP model and would feature contemporary amenities found in airports. New Delhi: Apple is all set to unveil a bunch of hardware and software products in its annual developer conference, which is scheduled to take place from June 5 to 9. It is highly anticipated that the tech giant will introduce new operating system iOS 17, much-awaited virtual reality headset, and new series of Macbooks and Mac desktops in the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2023. Apple WWDC 2023: Expected Launches Fans are excited about the five-day developers conference from June 5, which is going to witness the launch of exciting products. Apple is all ready to unveil its first-of-its-kind virtual reality headset dubbed as Reality Pro, which aims to compete against the other giant Meta whose quest VR headsets have been dominated the market place. It is expected to look alike a Ski google that comes with a physical dial that lets you tune in or out of virtual reality. The device will be a stand-alone unit with a battery pack that is connected to it by a special wire. It is said to have an M2 chip with 16GB of RAM as far as technical specifications go. Fans can also expect an advanced version of the Macbook Air with a 15-inch display that is expected to be powered with in-house Apples M2 chip. Moreover, Apple is going to bring out the latest operating system for iPhones and iPads iOS 17. The new operating system iOS 17 may first come in iPhone 15 that is expected to launch around September this year. Apple WWDC 2023: How To Watch The Event Apple is going to live stream the entire event including the keynote address on June 05, 2023 at 10:30 pm IST. It will be available for free to watch on Apples website and the official YouTube channel. Moreover, in case you miss the event, you can always watch the pre-recorded version that Apple will upload on YouTube channel once the event is over. New Delhi: Matt Walsh, a prominent American right-wing political commentator and author, recently released his online documentary 'What is a Woman?' which has created quite a significant buzz on the internet. The documentary is making headlines for its critical take on gender and transgender identity, sex reassignment surgery, transgender youth and transgender athletes in women's sports. The Daily Wires 95-minute documentary 'What Is a Woman?' asks 'the question you're not allowed to ask' and is 'the documentary they don't want you to see," as per the film's description. In his documentary, Matt Walsh engages in conversations with politicians, medical professionals, activists and individuals from diverse backgrounds, in an attempt to question the logic behind a gender ideology movement. On Thursday, (June 1), the documentary was made available to stream through the news outlet's Twitter account for a period of 24 hours to celebrate the first anniversary of its release. Shortly after it was published, Twitter issued its 'hateful' tag, limiting its discoverability on the platform. It's the movie they really don't want you to see: #WhatIsAWoman? Watch the explosive documentary starring @MattWalshBlog FREE on Twitter for 24 hrs. pic.twitter.com/qDi7thCNid Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) June 2, 2023 110 million views and a 120 thousand retweets. Incredible. https://t.co/aVMEwFHCro Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 3, 2023 In response, The Daily Wire's co-founder Jeremy Boreing posted a Twitter thread directly tagging its owner and former CEO Elon Musk. In his post, Boreing accused the Twitter's owner of cancelling the film's agreed premiere over two instances of misgendering. Following his post, Musk, on Saturday (June 3) retweeted the Daily Wire's documentary and shared a now-pinned post, stating, "Every parent should watch this," promoting "What is a Woman?" Twitter canceled a deal with @realdailywire to premiere What is a Woman? for free on the platform because of two instances of "misgendering." I'm not kidding. Here's what happened:_1/16 Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) June 1, 2023 Musk's promotion of 'What is a Woman?' sparked a debate online that saw the film gain over 156 million views and at least 414.8 times likes. Every parent should watch this https://t.co/pIp6UP6vq8 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 2, 2023 How And Where To Watch 'What Is A Woman?' The 2022 American online film talks about gender and transgender issues presented by conservative political commentator Matt Walsh. The documentary is currently available to stream on Daily Wire's official Twitter account and is also available on their website to subscribed members. JODHPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has slammed Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on the issue of water shortage in the state. "Jodhpur MP Shekhawat is the Union Jal Shakti minister. In spite of that the people of his home constituency have been suffering and he is not worried at all," Gehlot said in his public address in Barmer on Friday. Earlier, the Centre used to provide 90 per cent funds for water projects, which have now been reduced to half, he claimed. Gehlot said the state government is now funding even works like the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project. "We can have our share of water from Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana. But this minister is least bothered," Gehlot charged. Referring to Shekhawat's alleged involvement in the Sanjeevani Credit Co-operative Society scam, the chief minister asked Shekhawat to come forward and talk to the depositors of the society. Gehlot claimed that he even spoke to Shekhawat's mentor Bhagwan Singh Rolsahabsar and told him that his disciple is allegedly not returning money of the depositors. "But nothing happened. He might also be under some compulsion for not exhorting Shekhawat to return the money," he added. Shekhawat has dismissed allegations linking him to the credit society and has also filed a defamation case in a Delhi court against Gehlot. The Rajasthan chief minister also spoke about the welfare schemes by his government, saying since the BJP has no reply to these schemes, they are defaming the Congress and misleading people. At another public meeting in Pali district's Rohet, Gehlot also slammed the Centre for not taking any stand on the ongoing protests by wrestlers against outgoing WFI president Brij Bhushan Singh. "Our wrestler daughters have been sitting in Delhi since long. But the Centre has nothing to do with that. All the medal winner players of the country are disappointed today," Gehlot added. The Delhi Police has registered two FIRs against Singh. The FIRs lodged on the basis of complaints from six women wrestlers and the father of a minor narrate several alleged instances of sexual harassment, inappropriate touching, groping, stalking and intimidation by Singh at different times and places, including in foreign countries, over a decade. New Delhi: Former couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's legal fight seems to be never-ending. As per People, Pitt is now suing Jolie for selling her portion of their shared French vineyard without consulting him. The Oscar-winning actor claimed in new court documents that amid the continued war in Ukraine -- the association presents an "existential threat to the business" due to the new part owner's ties to Russia. The first amended complaint about the winery, filed in February 2022, sought damages for declaratory relief, disgorgement, and damages, along with pre and post-judgment interest for the defendants' alleged tortious interference with contractual relations. In legal documents obtained by People, the complaint alleged that Jolie sold her interests in the property to Tenute del Mondo, whose parent company is the spirits manufacturer Stoli Group, which is "controlled by Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler." "Shefler's Russia-affiliated spirits conglomerate has been the subject of repeated boycotts in connection with Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and homophobic legislative Agenda," the lawsuit stated. "While Shefler may be seeking to launder his reputation by forcing a partnership with one of the world's most well-known and popular actors, affiliation with Shefler and Stoli jeopardizes the reputation of the business that Pitt so carefully built with Perrin and with which Pitt has so closely and carefully associated himself and his image." Pitt reportedly learned of Jolie's alleged putative sale via a press release. The lawsuit claims the purported sale was "unlawful" due to "contractual agreement" breaches between Jolie and Pitt "to hold Miraval together and not sell their interests separately without the other's consent." Pitt and Jolie gained a controlling interest in Miraval in 2008. They began selling their own rose in March 2013 and got married at the chateau in August 2014. Pitt alleges that when Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, they both agreed not to sell their Miraval shares without each other's permission. , US Magazine reported. However, in 2021, the Girl Interrupted star sold her portion of the business to Tenute del Mondo. In September 2016, the Gia actress filed for divorce from Pitt after two years of marriage and 12 years together. Therere really two different products the private sector can offer: a push or a pull product. A push product is something that a company must persuade consumers to buy. Its like rolling a snowball up a hill. A pull product by contrast pulls customers to it like a magnet, a snowball rolling down the hill. The more potential customers know about it, the more they want it. Apples Steve Jobs went on stage holding the worlds first iPod and said, imagine taking a 1,000 of your favorite songs with you in your shirt pocket, as he placed it in his. People wanted it immediately. Years later, he held up the first iPhone. We didnt even know we wanted it, craved it, because we never knew what it was until we saw it. People literally camped in line in front of stores to buy it. Thats a pull product. What will go down in history as the greatest push product? The electric vehicle. Never has so much corporate welfare, regulation, direct tax subsidies, indirect tax subsidies, governmental propaganda and special-interest pressure gone into selling a product that is still nowhere even close to becoming profitable. Pull the rug of regulatory mandates, tax subsidies and cronyism out from under the EV industry and it would make Betamax videotape and New Coke look like business juggernauts. And as an amusing aside, since most electricity is still produced by fossil fuels, electric vehicles dont cut pollution as much as move it. In Europe during recent brownouts people were forbidden to charge their EVs. Well, thatll stop pollution. And now the corporate welfare behemoth Xcel Energy is going to bilk us for another $140 million to build out EV charging stations in Colorado. Lets see if we fully understand this. Its not enough that we created a phony EV marketplace through ridiculous environmental mandates to begin with. Its not enough that we give EV car manufacturers like Tesla massive direct subsidies. Its not enough that we give them even greater indirect subsidies through environmental credits. 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. What made Elon Musk most rich is that regular car companies had to buy his pollution credits. He didnt need to use any of his own because his cars dont have combustible engines. Money just fell out of the sky and landed in his pocket, thanks to government mandates. For other car manufacturers just to stay in business they had to pay him ransom to buy his pollution credits! Its not enough that we must pay for direct tax subsidies from the federal level to mostly rich white people to buy EVs (studies show most electric vehicles are second or third cars bought by wealthier white families). Its not enough that we give special parking places where we go to shop and work to mostly rich white people who have purchased EVs. But now we must pay $140 million more in our electric bills to build a system of free gas stations for these people to use a product they never would have purchased in the first place without us paying them to do so. I dont remember paying Xcel Energy to put up gas stations so we regular working folks could fill up our 20-year-old Toyota Camrys. If theres a market for charging stations, they will appear just like private gas stations did. Instead, we have Front Range cities putting caps on new gas stations yet another gun to the head to buy an EV. This is the point where some supporter of the new energy industrial complex screams, oh but what about all the subsidies fossil fuels gets! Fair enough, but fossil fuels get only a fraction the subsidy. Its still worth removing. Most of those oil and gas subsidies are because they drill on government lands at what anti-energy activists believe are at below-market costs. They could be. So, sell off the lands and then wed find what the private full market cost to drill there is (they dont like that solution either). Colorado handled its air pollution and brown cloud challenge the right way by inspecting automobiles with roadside emissions tests and getting polluting cars off the roads. Now we turn to corporatism at the expense of the working poor. Keep pushing that snowball uphill. Jon Caldara is president of the Independence Institute in Denver and hosts The Devils Advocate with Jon Caldara on Colorado Public Television Channel 12. His column appears Sundays in Colorado Politics. New Delhi: Actor Sunny Leone is having a fun time in the Maldives. On Sunday, she took to Instagram and shared a video in which she is seen striking poses amidst azure blue waters. She captioned the post, "Beach time!!" She raised the glam quotient with her hot look in a green bikini with oversized sunglasses as she flaunted light makeup look. She also posted some more videos in her Instagram stories. In the first story, she can be seen posing for the camera by the seaside in a black and white bikini. In other pictures, 'Jism 2' actor showcased how she was welcomed by the hotel staff. She wore a black and white printed Co-Ord set in the video which she captioned, "Such a nice welcome to @brenniakottefaru." Sunny's pictures garnered several likes and comments from the netizens. "Enticing." a social media user commented. "East or West sunny leone is the Best.", another one wrote. Recently, Sunny visited Cannes for the premiere of her film 'Kennedy' at the prestigious film festival along with director Anurag Kashyap and actor Rahul Bhat. Sunny wore a one-shoulder high-slit pink gown for the premiere. For the glam, she kept her hair tied in a sleek bun and opted for diamond earrings and embellished heels. Whereas, Anurag donned a black jodhpuri suit and Rahul opted for a black tuxedo. The film premiered during the midnight screening at the Cannes 2023. Reportedly, the film received a 7-minute-long standing ovation. The film revolves around an insomniac ex-cop, long thought to be dead, but still operating for the corrupt system, and looking for redemption. 'Kennedy' is amongst the only two films from India this year to be the official selections at the festival this year. More than 74 lakh QR code-based paper tickets have been sold to Delhi Metro commuters following their launch in early May, and the sale of tokens has dipped by over 30 percent since then, officials said. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) introduced the QR code-based paper ticket system on May 8, describing the development as a move towards a "more transparent and human intervention-free mechanism". The DMRC intends to gradually phase out the concept of physical tokens, officials said. Also read: Odisha Train Accident: Check What Injured Driver Said During Investigation However, any future planning will keep in mind the constraints of digital technology and that not all commuters may have access to smartphones, they said. "The total number of QR code-based paper tickets sold till May 30 is nearly 74,00,854," a senior official of the DMRC told PTI. The urban transporter hopes that commuters will gradually start using fewer physical tokens after the launch of this service. But many passengers have complained about technical issues faced at AFC (automatic fare collection) gates while using QR code-based paper tickets. DMRC official said there are "no technical issues" at AFC gates right now. "Around 50 per cent of AFC gates across the network have been made QR code-compliant. Since the introduction of QR code-based paper tickets, token sales have dropped by about 32 per cent," the senior official said. Currently, in addition to tokens, commuters can buy QR code-based paper tickets from metro station counters. The DMRC also issues smart cards for seamless travelling on its network. It has upgraded its AFC gates and customer care counters, to support the new QR code-based feature, a senior official said on May 8. At the time of its launch, two AFC gates, one each for entry and exit, were upgraded, the DMRC had said. The Delhi Metro aims to make the AFC gates across the network QR code-compliant by the end of June and upgrade the ticket vending machines for dispensing QR-based paper tickets, officials said. Delhi Metro, which began its operations in December 2002 with a corridor of just 8.2 km spanning six stations on the Red Line, has grown into a network of 391 km with 286 stations. Interestingly, a day after the first corridor of the Delhi Metro was launched by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in December 2002, the rush was so massive that paper tickets had to be issued to handle the flow of passengers, many of whom thronged stations more out of curiosity than the need to commute. This was besides tokens and smart cards, issued on the inaugural day of its passenger service on December 25, 2002. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Delhi Metro had planned to phase out tokens to minimize physical contact while travelling. A conventional Delhi Metro token has 'Delhi Metro' in English and Hindi, and its logo engraved on one side, and an image of Qutub Minar engraved on the other side, besides a number printed on it. Another set of tokens carries 'Delhi Metro Rail Corporation', a number and its logo in crimson red on one side and an image of a metro train on the other with 'Delhi Metro' printed in English and Hindi. A senior DMRC official said, "These tokens are manufactured in India only. However, the chip procured is outsourced (foreign). A token is made of PVC material". Asked about the cost of making a token, he said, "It costs around Rs 16. The production cost of a QR-code-based paper ticket is very nominal compared to that of a token." The concept of issuing tokens will be gradually phased out with the introduction of these more transparent and human intervention-free and cashless mechanisms thereby facilitating more convenient, seamless, time-saving and error-fee travel, the DMRC said in a statement on May 8. Passengers will be allowed to enter the metro network within 60 minutes from the time of the issuance of such a ticket. If a passenger fails to enter the system through the ticket within 60 minutes, the ticket will become invalid, the DMRC said. New Delhi: While appearing to be a small game, an Android software module is actually spyware that gathers data on the files kept on mobile devices and has the ability to send it to online criminals. Additionally, malware researchers discovered that the spyware was included in 101 apps with more than 420 million downloads, according to a report by the antivirus company Dr. Web. known as Android.Spy.The marketing software development kit (SDK) that contains SpinOk is used to disseminate the spyware. According to research from Dr. Web, developers can integrate it into a variety of apps and games, including those that are available on Google Play. "On the surface, the SpinOk module is designed to maintain users' interest in apps with the help of mini-games, a system of tasks, and alleged prizes and reward drawings," the report stated. This trojan SDK establishes a connection to a C&C server upon initialization by sending a request including a substantial amount of technical data about the infected device. In order to avoid being found by security experts, the malware also takes precautions to modify its operational procedures. "It can mask network connections while conducting analysis since it disregards device proxy settings for the same reason. The module responds by requesting a list of URLs from the server, which it then opens in WebView to show banner ads, according to the study. This gives hackers access to the phone's list of files, allows them to check if a certain file or directory is present on the device, and even allows them to copy or replace the contents of the clipboard. Experts from Doctor Web discovered this spyware module and numerous variations of it in a variety of apps available through Google Play. "Our malware researchers found it in 101 apps that have received a total of at least 421,290,300 downloads. As a result, hundreds of millions of people who use Android devices run the risk of falling prey to cyber espionage. Google was alerted to the threat by Doctor Web, the company said. New Delhi: Former 'Bigg Boss 16' contestant Abdu Rozik will be joining his best friend Shiv Thakare in the adventures of the stunt-based reality show 'Khatron Ke Khiladi 13'. A source confirmed to IANS that Abdu will be joining Shiv in the show, hosted by Rohit Shetty. Shiv, too, said that he cannot imagine a better companion than Abdu in South Africa. Talking about friendship with Abdu, Shiv Thakare said: "In the thrilling realm of 'Khatron Ke Khiladi 13', where every day promises unexpected twists and exhilarating surprises, for me, friendship is definitely a secret weapon that fuels my spirit. Amidst the demanding jungle adventure in South Africa, I couldn't imagine a better companion than Abdu by my side." "His infectious liveliness and carefree spirit never fail to uplift my mood and infuse courage into my veins. With Abdu's unwavering support, not only will we make this journey a joyous ride, but we will also conquer any obstacle that dares to stand in our way." Shiv added: "Together, we will redefine limits, savour victories, and create memories that will forever remind the world of the incredible power of true friendship." 'Khatron Ke Khiladi 13' will air on Colors soon. Lets applaud Gov. Jared Polis for signing a much-needed reform of Colorados lax laws on auto theft. Assuming other key components of the justice system do their jobs, the legislation that won the governors endorsement on Friday should put a dent in our states dubious distinction as No. 1 in the nation for the theft of motor vehicles. Senate Bill 23-097 will fix some of the damage done by lawmakers through soft-on-crime legislation enacted earlier. In 2014, the Legislature adopted a sliding scale that reduced penalties for stealing lower-valued vehicles. In 2021, lawmakers further watered down a range of criminal penalties and made it a misdemeanor to steal any vehicle valued under $2,000. It all amounted to an invitation to steal cars with near-impunity. The new law will eliminate the state criminal codes sliding scale tying the value of a vehicle to the penalty. All vehicle thefts will be upgraded to a felony once again, as they should be. Its a reform that crime-weary Colorado has been waiting for. And it probably was a safe bet all along Polis would sign onto the effort. He had called on the 2023 Legislature in his State of the State speech in January to get tough on auto-theft sentencing. The legislation also enjoyed broad backing, including from law enforcement and Colorados local governments. And yet, oddly enough, SB 23-097 even with its bipartisan sponsorship struggled at one point to make it through the legislative session. Although it cruised through the Senate with the upper chambers unanimous support, it stalled and idled for weeks in the House of Representatives without so much as a committee hearing. When the bill finally passed the House only two days before the end of the session probably with a nudge from the governor 16 members of the seemingly bulletproof 46-member Democratic majority voted against it. All of the Houses minority Republicans supported the measure a good thing because so many Democrats defected, it couldnt have passed without at least some Republican votes. 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. Why such a close call? A look at the roll call of the final House vote reveals the opponents of this sensible reform included the usual suspects from the ruling partys political fringe. They are the ones who have been peddling the reckless justice reform dogma that has been invoked to slash criminal penalties, release high-risk criminal suspects and decriminalize dangerous drugs all while Colorados crime rate has soared along with the rate of drug overdoses. That there was so much opposition to SB 23-097 within the ruling partys own ranks is troubling. But the fact the bill ultimately passed points to new hope for fighting crime in Colorado. It illustrates how mainstream Democrats whose party dominates both chambers of the Legislature and all statewide elected offices can partner with Republicans in tackling the criminal element, curbing the overdose epidemic, and supporting public safety. Meanwhile, the Legislatures ruling Democrats should feel emboldened to rein in their radical wing on issues of criminal justice. A stand for law and order will have the governors support as well as the publics. No communitys safety should be held hostage to a narrow ideology that leaves law-abiding Coloradans at risk. As the latest Common Sense Institute study on Colorado crime reminded us when it was released on Friday, the states crime rate has been among the fastest-rising nationwide in recent years. The good news is we can win the crime fight if we unite. Public safety isnt about party politics. Its about justice for victims and perpetrators and peace of mind for everyone. The Gazette editorial board Dont turn your chair Sunday, May 28, The Gazette had an article about Colorado Colleges graduation ceremony. The commencement speaker was Liz Cheney, a former legislator out of Wyoming and a CC alum. I did not care for her and the party line she towed until she began to wrestle with the issues, fought for moral high ground even across the political aisle and was able to admit she was wrong. If she doesnt represent engaged leadership and growth, I dont know who does. During her speech, there were students and faculty who turned their backs. Were they too afraid to admit that someone who has an opposing view on one issue may yet have wisdom and insight on another? Is it not within the bastion of higher education that we should be learning to listen? To be discerning learners? Respectful of varied opinions, data? Seeking common ground forward for the betterment of our communities? Maureen Dowd states in her New York Times column, also May 28, that there are those who have consecrated themselves to a war against qualities once cherished by many Americans. Higher principles dignity, civility, patience, respect, tolerance, goodness, sympathy, and empathy. Isnt that what CC and about half of her graduates did in turning their chairs? I would ask us to contemplate in light of how we act, who are we? Is this what we want for our future? Hello to reflection and growth. Robin Johnson Colorado Springs Cheney may have turned too Re: Liz Chaney protest at CC. Didnt then-Congresswoman Cheney turn her back on the MAGA leaders of her own political party and paid the price? I imagine if she was in this CC graduating class and disagreed with the speaker she would have joined seniors turning their chairs. We have to not be afraid of being called obstructionists. Liz Cheney quoted in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Sept. 9, 2017. Charlie Paterson Colorado Springs Hope they grow up soon Just wanted to say yes to your editorial regarding the behavior of Colorado College graduates toward Liz Cheney. I hope they grow up soon! We dont need more single-minded spawn running around this country. BTW, I aorm of the opposite party than Liz, a former teacher and professor, living in North Idaho. Bonnie McDade Boise, Idaho 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. Graduation no place for politics Vince Bzdeks article in the Sunday, May 28 edition, The speech wed like from Biden at AFA encourages the president to include various comments in his commencement address to the Academys graduating cadets. He encourages the president to tell the cadets, We will not play politics with your lives. Although his article concludes with one paragraph of positive encouragement, the remainder of it contradicts with political language not fit for a commencement address. Politics has no place in a commencement message to academy cadets, or for that matter, any graduating class of students. He immediately encourages the president to undo a political decision by President Trump regarding the location of Space Command. His encouragement continues with more politics regarding Sen. Tommy Tubervilles stance against military abortions. Bzdek continues with political comments from Sens. Michael Bennet, John Hickenlooper, and the House Armed Services Committee. He continues, Lets make up for years of disrespect for our military right here, right now, Mr. President. Very distasteful. Take and maintain the high ground, Mr. Bzdek, as this is what our future leaders deserve. Fred Seiter Colorado Springs The debt limit problem A couple of comments about the debt limit problem. Last week there was a letter from a female writer blaming the debt limit on the Republicans because they wouldnt just roll over and give Biden everything he wanted with out getting anything in return. One of the big sticking points was reinstating the work requirement for people receiving some government aid. Bill Clinton and Newt Gringrich set that up and no one starved or were pushed out into the streets. Many went out and found a job. The fear is that if some of these people started working and paying taxes, they might not like how their money is being spent and quit blindly voting Democrat. If more people started working, there would be more workers available to man businesses such as restaurants and such. Plus there would be more tax money paid to reduce the deficit and fund Social security. Columnist Froma Harrop beamed in a piece from her planet, but I dont remember what she said other than it is all the Republicans fault. Martins opinion piece the other day blamed the debt ceiling need on the Trump tax breaks that favored the super-rich and lowered tax revenue. I looked and on the IRS website, it stated that the income tax revenue went up 18% from the normal taxpayers, and the corporate and wealthy tax revenue went up 27%, with the top 1% paying 80% of that. If these people say things other than the facts on this, what else might they be not truthful about? I read that some of the Republican members of Congress are against this bipartisan agreement. One congressman named Bishop didnt like it because it was too close to the center and Lauren Boebert is against the deal. I would just like to remind them that our government is a representative republic, and you are supposed to represent everyone in your district. If you did not receive 100% of the votes in the last election, those that oppose you should still have a say, so get your act together and be a representative for all and for the good of our country. Tom Keilers Colorado Springs Throughout the land, an important resurgence in classical education is propelling expansion of the public-school marketplace. Its attracting attention among discerning parents who want the best for their kids. Prudent parents should take the initiative to learn what the classical approach entails. They must, because the purveyors of traditional, unionized, bureaucratized, government-owned, monopoly schools do not recommend it. Many of them, in fact, despise this classical resurgence with a seething hatred as nearly every facet of the movement is disrupting the status quo. Within this framework, it is imperative for Colorado parents to take charge of their childrens education. Its the only rational hope for a better education system, one capitalizing on the best of private and public options. Fortunately, we need not look far to compare and contrast. Classically oriented schools are popping up all over our great state. A handful have been around a while and have promising, long-term results to offer. By objective measurements of academic success, Liberty Common School in Fort Collins might be the states best public school. Sure, thats an audacious and arguable statement; so, might be is a defensible qualifier. Liberty Common is a classically-oriented, K-12 charter-public school that recently concluded its 25th-anniversary year. In every year of operation, its students have performed either at or near the top as determined by various metrics. This is rather significant on many levels, but mostly because, as a classically oriented school, its faculty does not teach to the states conventional standards and its administration does not aspire to scoring well on state-mandated CMAS tests. Nonetheless, without studying for them, Libertys students consistently outpace their peers. The composite performance of Libertys upperclassmen on national tests designed to predict college success the ACT and SAT has never ranked below fourth place out of Colorados hundreds of high-school entities where all juniors are required to take the test (currently the SAT). Within recent years, Libertys composite scores have broken state records. This is no fluke. Libertys track record of high performance spans the entire history of the school, a feat predating my coming aboard in 2010 as principal of our junior-high/high-school campus. Since 2018, I have had the privilege of being the schools headmaster overseeing our entire three-campus, K-12 operations. Liberty educates around 1,500 students, and were growing. We plan to add a fourth campus in 2025. There is a waitlist of students hoping to get in via the blind lottery we use to determine who will be next to enroll. Our school excels in closing achievement gaps and triaging academic casualties among students who transfer from nearby schools with learning deficits often years below grade level. Libertys Academic Support Team, which leads in educating students with special needs, is staffed by devoted professionals of astonishing accomplishment. This is a key tactic in the schools ongoing success. A board of seven volunteer parents elected from the schools broader parent population serves as the schools fiduciary steward and provides general policy oversight to ensure the institution stays true to its well-documented mission. Collectively, these parents hire one employee me. In this way, I, and by extension all school employees, report to, and are held directly accountable by parents. Parental leadership at Liberty is not a democracy. To stand for election, board candidates pledge to adhere to the schools longstanding philosophy and academic traditions relative to pedagogy. They ensure the school is faithful to its charter the covenant that defines a charter school which is a contract with our local school district. (In Colorado, charter schools also can be authorized by a state-created agency called the Charter Schools Institute.) The classical tradition Libertys example is replicable. There are schools throughout the country, dozens of them, that have modeled themselves either entirely or in part upon the policies, curriculum, practices, and procedures Liberty makes available as an open source. Our administrators regularly assist start-up efforts pursuing a similar vision. Doing so is part of our original mission. Like all charter-public schools, Liberty is publicly funded. As such, there is nothing proprietary here. Taxpayers have already paid for all the best practices we deploy and the lessons learned in rejecting some less-than-perfect ones. People ask me all the time to describe the innovative things we must be doing at Liberty to achieve consistently superior results. I love our answer: There is virtually no innovation here. Weve become quite wary of anything in public education cloaked as innovative. Adults have been educating children for thousands of years and in every part of the world. While advances in neuroscience relating to learning disabilities have rescued young lives, the general notion there are astounding new insights on learning to which the greatest educators of antiquity were somehow oblivious is a dubious proposition at best. Classical education starts with the natural-law premise that human nature does not change. Its the same premise that undergirds Americas Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Its how we can assert as Americans that all men are created equal and are endowed by God with certain unalienable rights. This is how we can know and proclaim with absolute certitude what these rights are, and how we can rely upon internalized moral constants, virtues, to guide us in protecting our own rights, but more importantly in a civil society, revering the rights of others. Of course, all of this requires considerable acquisition of knowledge. The deeper, higher, and broader, the better. Without it, civil society is doomed. Preserving the culture and perfecting national unity is really the business were in at Liberty Common. Patriotism is among our core virtues and we aim to educate youngsters to be capable citizens worthy of good lives, authentic liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is no coincidence Americas founders were classically educated. Eloquent poets of freedom, their words were informed by common knowledge using vocabulary of precise and potent meaning. Their careful phrases inspired a nation and mapped the longest sustained period of prosperity in the history of human civilization. These founding principles inspire American students today; at least, they should. Americas revolutionary statesmen envisioned and built a complex system of government upon classical absolutes of truth, beauty, goodness, perfection and cardinal virtues of prudence, temperance, justice, and fortitude. They reserved the greater share of civic power to the people and to the states owing to their keen understanding of the nature of man, the capacity of the intellect, the perils of vice, and the blessings of God. Co-heirs to the first principles of liberty, American students deserve to be educated like the wise Americans who conceived and rested the republic upon them. Their parents deserve to be treated like real customers. Their teachers deserve to be treated like real professionals. There are many excellent tomes on classical education. The topic takes some explanation as its not simplistic like the myriad fads, fashions, and trends that pass as innovation in modern American schools. These vogues are better characterized as experiments wherein other peoples children are forced into assuming roles of lab monkeys. That may work out just fine if a hypothesis holds, devastating if not, which has become the norm in American schools. In his tidy booklet, An Introduction to Classical Education: A Guide for Parents, Christopher Perrin offers a concise description which I commend. Still, the topic does not lend itself to pithy one-liner definitions. Perrin touches upon the canon of Great Books, engagement in the Great Conversation, and the contributions of specific philosophers. Properly understood, these are actually scrupulous references, not nebulous constructs, and theyre all pretty important. Education is that vast undertaking of passing on the wisdom and knowledge of one generation to another, writes Perrin. In another instance, Classical education is old, which is why it now appears so new. It was new with the Greeks and Romans over 2,000 years ago; they are credited with constructing the rudiments of the classical approach to education. Why it works In practice, classically oriented schools like Liberty Common tend to embrace mental disciplines of memorization, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, the hard work and logic of refined language usually aided by the study of Latin, sometimes Greek. They demand reading and homework. Acquiring knowledge is key, which is far different than the emphasis upon the skills of learning typical in American public schools. Along their education journey, classically trained students are led to recognize patterns. They discover from modeling. The building blocks of core knowledge facts, formulas, key historic dates and figures, essential literature, etc. enable extraordinary levels of creativity and problem solving as young minds mature. As a strategy, its quite powerful and well proven over centuries and on multiple continents. 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. Emphasizing the acquisition of knowledge in this intensive way creates adroit learning skills almost as a byproduct. In contrast, attempts to develop learning skills now the main emphasis in American public schools do not produce knowledge. This is a defining divergence in the classical-education movement that even todays intellectually honest teachers are coming to realize. This vital point was underscored earlier this week by an applicant for a teaching position at my school. Liberty Common requires all applicants to submit a Statement of Educational Philosophy. In this instance, the applicant gave me permission to share here the parts of his essay that explain his hope Liberty will hire him away from his current job at a regular government-owned school. I became disillusioned with the untested and thoughtless educational fads that permeate the field of education, he writes. Rather than succumbing to the pressures of following the latest trends pushed by colleges of teaching, I support a classical liberal arts education. By grounding education in the rich traditions of the liberal arts, students gain a solid foundation in a wide range of subjects, enabling them to think critically, communicate effectively, and appreciate the depth and breadth of human knowledge. Ah yes, this young teacher gets it! (I) believe in a classical liberal arts education that empowers students with a broad knowledge base and the ability to engage in thoughtful discourse, he concludes. Through this approach, I aim to cultivate curious, informed, and empathetic individuals prepared to tackle the challenges of an ever-changing world. America could use more teachers like him. Though the popularity of classical schools is surging among both American parents and intellectually awake educators, they face fierce opposition from government-owned districts, conventional-school administrators, and teacher unions. The reasons for the hostility are many. Classical schools require of their instructional corps purposeful focus and subject-matter mastery. They tend to shun the partisanship and political indoctrination that poison government-owned classrooms. They defy fads toward specialization and job training in secondary and even primary grades. They reject the psychological profiling and occupational-tracking strategies that have come to replace the content expertise once required of all classroom educators. Classical teachers tend not to position themselves among the ranks of union workers. They prefer instead to be trusted, evaluated, treated, and compensated on a legitimately professional, independent basis. Merit is the coin of their realm. Classical schools generally embrace a universal truth of education: It is the right and responsibility of parents to direct the education and upbringing of their children. This statement is, in fact, an operational premise at Liberty Common School. These schools hold morality and virtue in higher regard than the intellect yet acknowledge virtue requires thoroughly cultivated knowledge. Accordingly, knowledge clarifies morality and truth as absolutes, not relative constructs or flimsy paradigms otherwise relegated to ones feelings, emotions, orientations or personal preferences. A failing status quo Given such high stakes, it should come as no surprise the American education industry has become the nations biggest economic and political concern. It is the anchor of our culture. Education is certainly our most critical domestic issue. The galactic inertia of public-school textbook publishers, teacher colleges, all manner of commercial contractors, union politics the infrastructure of the education industry bounds by obscene profits derived from the current system. Its defenders enjoy cabals of well-placed partisans in state capitols who protect the cartel with loyal ferocity. These great forces, often called The Blob, effectively farm cash off of the children and in doing so subordinate the students interests to the maintenance of an unholy empire. Consider the trillions of dollars coursing through local, state and federal education budgets. Add to these private tuition, capital investments, teacher-training, loans, lawsuits, endowments, scholarships, grants, accreditation panels, retirement funds, insurance systems, outsized regulatory agencies spanning primary, secondary, and postsecondary institutions, and more. To varying degrees, everyone wants to be either an education consumer or provider. This is where the big money is. It is not hard to imagine how these vast oceans of education cash spawn rampant corruption, wicked partisanship, flagrant waste, fraud and abuse, and heartbreaking academic victims were talking about children generations of them. Over the past century, the government-owned education monopsony has come to specialize in all of these depravities nearly to the exclusion of teaching useful things. Particularly for those of us who are ardent advocates of an enriching, thriving public education system, being candid about its shortcomings lays bare an alarming national tragedy. Insiders know this better than most. For example, it was the U.S. Department of Education itself that, upon conducting in 1983 an introspective study of its place in the industry, articulated A Nation At Risk. The title alone sums the reports incendiary findings. The documents scathing third paragraph, for one, posits, If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves. We have, in effect, been committing an act of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament. That was 40 years ago! Regrettably, this haymaker failed to inspire improvement. Things have actually gotten worse. Earlier this month, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, otherwise known as the Nations Report Card, showed plunging declines among eighth-graders in U.S. history and civics. The declines are more pronounced among cohorts of generally low-performing students. Rick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, writing in Forbes describes these results as grim. Only 13% of American students are proficient in U.S. history. Only 22% in civics. The biggest problem, though, may be that weve created a culture in which too many educators have been encouraged to imagine that civics and history education is less about mastering key events, democratic norms, or Americas political institutions than raising a generation of political activists, Hess writes. For parents who are serious about their right to direct the education of their children, situational awareness of the treachery pervading the public-education industry is indispensable. Being alert will save their childrens lives. This is no time for despair. Despite an avalanche of reports portraying the American public-education landscape in the image of Gomorrah, there are still good schools to be found within its walls, and more yet to be created. There is solid justification for rational hope among those inclined to apply parental effort toward prudent academic ambition. In this context, Liberty Common School is hardly the only cause for optimism. We all know great, exemplary teachers, maybe even a functional school here and there. They exist, and parents must aspire to choosing them. Where they dont exist, parents should lead in assembling them. Only by growing a vibrant marketplace can demanding, active, and engaged education consumers create and expand suitable schools capable of educating children to be free. All children win when parents become warriors on this worthy battlefield, and the victories do not accrue only to their own kids. Everyone prospers whenever and wherever there are plentiful options for the voluntary exchange of goods and services. Public schooling is too important to be exempt from the marketplace of competing ideas and advantages. Anyone educated in a classically oriented American school knows this to be true. Bob Schaffer is headmaster of Liberty Common School, a K-12 public charter school in Fort Collins. Schaffer represented Colorados 4th Congressional District for three terms in the U.S. House, 1996-2002. He also has served on the Colorado State Board of Education, including as its chair, and he represented state Senate District 14 in the Colorado Legislature, 1987-1996. Colorado's seven congressional Democrats all voted in favor of a plan to raise the country's debt ceiling last week, calling the compromise legislation flawed but necessary to avoid default and avert an economic disaster. To hear them tell it, U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, and U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette, Joe Neguse, Jason Crow, Brittany Pettersen and Yadira Caraveo each had major misgivings about the agreement brokered by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, but held their collective noses to help pass it. When it came time to vote, however, the three Republican members of the state's House delegation each went a different way, with Doug Lamborn voting for the bill, Ken Buck voting against it and Lauren Boebert missing the vote after days of denouncing the deal. Dubbed the Fiscal Responsibility Act by House GOP leaders, the bill passed the House 314-117 late on Wednesday, with slightly more support from Democrats than from the chamber's majority Republicans. A day later, the Democratic-controlled Senate sent the legislation to Biden for his signature on a bipartisan 63-36 vote. The bill passed just days before the June 5 deadline set by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who warned that federal spending would exceed the $31.4 trillion borrowing limit authorized by a previous Congress, which would have forced the federal government to miss debt payments for the first time in the country's history. Giving pundits the opportunity to haul out that trusty Washington bromide that if both extremes are against it, it must be a successful compromise, the package drew opposition from some of the most conservative and most progressive lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Those on the right maintained the deal didn't cut spending enough, while those on the left protested the bill increases burdens on Americans who can least afford it. While Biden and Democratic leaders excoriated Republicans for holding the country's creditworthiness hostage an interpretation bolstered last week when House Republican Matt Gaetz of Florida described the bargaining explicitly in those terms Buck, Boebert and other GOP hardliners insisted that they'd been sent to Washington to rein in the federal government, not sit by while it grows. The weeks-long drama leading up to last week's votes also surfaced fractures in the fragile alliance of Republican lawmakers who elected McCarthy as speaker in January in a historic 15th round of voting, finally winning the gavel after reportedly giving up a raft of concessions to members of the House Freedom Caucus. An outspoken member of the conservative group, Buck was among the first House Republicans to raise the possibility of ousting McCarthy from the speaker's chair, invoking promises the California Republican made to secure support from enough Republicans to gain the leadership post. Buck acknowledged midweek that he asked during a House Freedom Caucus meeting about a potential "motion to vacate" under terms agreed to by McCarthy, just a single House member can call a vote to remove the speaker at any time but told MSNBC that the group's chairman called the move "premature." The next day, hours before the vote, Buck told Fox News reporter Chad Program: I think next we start to have the discussion on the motion to vacate (the chair). I voted no on the Biden-McCarthy debt limit deal because our current financial situation is unsustainable, and this bill only ramps up the timeline to our governments eventual default," said Buck in a statement. During his five terms in Congress, Buck has never voted to raise the country's debt ceiling. "I can't imagine a better deal for Democrats or a worse deal for our nation," he added after listing elements of the bill he considers favorable for the Democrats. "When will Congress take its responsibilities to the American people seriously? Its past time for fiscal change and leadership in Washington. I refuse to be complicit in this bipartisan bankruptcy. After the bill passed the House late on Wednesday, Buck said McCarthy "got rolled" by Biden during an appearance on Newsmax's Greg Kelly Reports, noting that any of the 71 Republicans who voted against the bill could initiate a vote on McCarthy's future. "Those folks are going to be considering the motion to vacate," Buck said. "Not all of them, but a lot of them, and I just think that Kevin, his celebration will be short lived." Added Buck: "This is a bill that had a lot in it for Democrats and very little in it for Republicans, other than you know, avoiding a black eye because of the debt default." Boebert, the House Freedom Caucus's communications chair, would have been one of those "no" votes if she'd made it to the House chamber in time to vote, but she was one of just two Republicans and two Democrats who failed to cast a vote. "Rep. Lauren Boebert narrowly missed the vote, running up the steps right as they gaveled," Axios reporter Juliegrace Brufke tweeted shortly after the bill passed the House, setting off a storm of ridicule aimed at the Rifle Republican. 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. In the days leading up to the bill's passage, Boebert was one of its most vocal critics. "Our base didn't volunteer, door knock and fight so hard to get us the majority for this kind of compromise deal with Joe Biden," she said. "Our voters deserve better than this. We work for them. You can count me as a NO on this deal. We can do better." The morning after the House vote, Boebert issued a lengthy statement reiterating her opposition to the legislation but didn't say why she hadn't voted. The House passing this so-called deal was another example of the Swamp shoving a $6-plus trillion blank check for Biden down Americans throats," she said. Boebert noted that she advocated for amendments to the bill a day earlier at a House Rules Committee hearing but was rebuffed when GOP leadership "rammed this thing through with a closed rule, and completely bypassed everything we fought for in January as part of the rules package changes that were implemented (to) allow members a voice." Boebert made clear how she would have voted if she'd been present. "I certainly wasnt afraid to vote against the bill, as I have been advocating against it all week," she said. "I voted against the rule to consider the bill, I advocated against it publicly, and I will continue to call out the Swamp for selling out our conservative principles and mortgaging the American dream. Colorado Democrats rained down criticism in the wake of her blunder. ".@RepBoebert talk is cheap, leadership requires showing up," tweeted Crow, her Democratic colleague, about an hour after the vote in a post attached to an earlier video of Boebert railing against the bill. Democrat Adam Frisch, who lost a bid to unseat Boebert last fall in the closest congressional race in the country and is already seeking the nomination for a rematch, knocked her absence in a statement distributed the next day by his campaign. When critical issues are being decided impacting our districts economy, CO-03 needs a leader and a representative who will actually show up for them and vote in the districts best interest, Frisch said. What exactly was more important to Boebert than showing up and doing her job? The people of our district deserve an answer." Lamborn, the lone Colorado Republican to support the bill, took heat earlier in the week from Colorado Republican Chairman Dave Williams, who lost a primary challenge against Lamborn last summer. In a "call to action" sent to the state GOP's email list, Williams described the bill as "a terrible deal that should be rejected by every Republican in Congress" and heaped praise on Buck and Boebert for coming out against it. His old foe, however, had yet to make his position known, Williams said, urging readers to call Lamborn's congressional office to "encourage him to vote NO and not cave to the Washington establishment or special interest insiders." While Lamborn kept his cards close to his vest until the vote, moments later his office issued a lengthy statement explaining his position. Instead of bemoaning the fact that the deal did not go as far as it could have, which is always the case with major legislation, I voted to cut federal spending and lock in the reforms that the deal did achieve, Lamborn said. While the deal could always have done more, what it achieved is real, lasting, and unprecedented." MONTANA Judge says fire retardant drops are polluting streams, allows continued use BILLINGS The U.S. government can keep using chemical retardant dropped from aircraft to fight wildfires, despite finding that the practice pollutes streams in western states in violation of federal law, a judge ruled on May 26. Halting the use of the red slurry material could have resulted in greater environmental damage from wildfires, said U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in Missoula, Montana. The judge agreed with U.S. Forest Service officials who said dropping retardant into areas with waterways was sometimes necessary to protect lives and property. The ruling came after came after environmentalists sued following revelations that the Forest Service dropped retardant into waterways hundreds of times over the past decade. More than 200 loads of retardant got into waterways over the past decade. Federal officials say those situations usually occurred by mistake and in less than 1% of the thousands of loads annually. A coalition that includes Paradise, California where a 2018 blaze killed 85 people and destroyed the town had said a court ruling that stopped the use of retardant would have put lives, homes and forests at risk. Joe Neguse, Michael Bennet introduce bill to boost pay, benefits for wildland firefighters Fire retardant is a specialized mixture of water and chemicals including inorganic fertilizers or salts. It's designed to alter the way fire burns, making blazes less intense and slowing their advance. The Oregon-based group Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics argued in its lawsuit filed last year that the Forest Service was disregarding the Act by continuing to use retardant without taking adequate precautions to protect streams and rivers. Christensen said stopping the use of fire retardant would "conceivably result in greater harm from wildfires including to human life and property and to the environment." The judge said his ruling was limited to 10 western states where members of the plaintiff's group alleged harm from pollution into waterways that they use. After the lawsuit was filed the Forest Service applied to the Environmental Protection Agency for a permit that would allow it to continue using retardant without breaking the law. The process could take several years. OKLAHOMA Legislature overrides governor's veto of tribal regalia bill OKLAHOMA CITY The Oklahoma Legislature on May 25 overrode Gov. Kevin Stitt's veto of a bill that would allow students to wear Native American regalia during high school and college graduations. The state House and Senate easily cleared the two-thirds threshold needed to uphold the measure, which takes effect July 1 and had strong support from many Oklahoma-based tribes and Native American citizens. It would allow any student at a public school, including colleges, universities and technology centers, to wear tribal regalia such as traditional garments, jewelry or other adornments during official graduation ceremonies. Weapons such as a bow and arrow, tomahawk or war hammer are specifically prohibited. Colorado moves to protect Native American students' right to wear traditional regalia Stitt, a Cherokee Nation citizen who has feuded with many Oklahoma-based Native American tribes throughout his two terms in office, vetoed the bill earlier in May, saying at the time that the decision should be up to individual districts. Stitt suggested the bill would allow other groups to "demand special favor to wear whatever they please at a formal ceremony." Kamryn Yanchick, a citizen of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, was denied the opportunity to wear a decorated cap with a beaded pattern when she graduated from her high school in 2018. A Native American former student sued Broken Arrow Public Schools and two employees in May after she was forced to remove an eagle feather from her graduation cap prior to her high school commencement ceremony. NEW MEXICO State convenes commission to disrupt organized crime SANTA FE New Mexico's governor announced a new effort to confront organized crime on May 24 by convening a specialized commission of local prosecutors and leading law enforcement officials. Organized crime in New Mexico has recently spurred the adoption of criminal penalties for coordinated retail theft, federal raids on stash houses to rescue migrants and efforts to disrupt fentanyl rings. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is reviving the state's Organized Crime Commission under provisions of a 1970s-era statute. A commission hasn't been convened since the administration of former Gov. Bill Richardson, who served from 2003 until 2011. 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. Albuquerque-based District Attorney Sam Bregman will lead the eight-member group that will provide an annual report to the state Legislature and governor. Experts tout 'phenomenal numbers' as vehicle theft in Colorado down significantly "New Mexico, like the rest of the country, has a crime problem, whether it's guns, drugs or human trafficking," Bregman said. "Much of it gets its origin, means and methods from criminal organizations. ... The purpose of this commission is to forestall, check and prevent the infiltration and encroachment of organized crime." Commission members include Republican former state Supreme Court Justice Judith Nakamura, U.S. Marshal Sonya Chavez, state Public Safety Secretary Jason Bowie and Democratic Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen. WYOMING Environmental groups prevail on plan to limit grizzly bear death CHEYENNE An appeals court is sending a plan to allow continued cattle grazing in a vast, mountainous area of western Wyoming back to federal forest and wildlife officials, telling them to consider limiting how many of the area's female grizzly bears may be killed for preying on livestock. The May 25 ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver sides largely with environmental groups who sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service in 2020 over female grizzly deaths a key factor in the species' survival in and around Yellowstone National Park. Many consider the Yellowstone region's grizzlies a conservation success story. While they remain protected under the Endangered Species Act, their numbers have surged as much as tenfold, to as many as 1,000 animals, since the 1970s. Jared Polis vetoes wolf reintroduction bill in Colorado Hunters sometimes mistake grizzlies for legal-to-hunt black bears or kill grizzlies in self-defense and wildlife managers often kill grizzlies that prey on cattle and sheep. The plan said wildlife managers could kill up to 72 grizzlies or about seven bears a year over 10 years of grizzlies continuing to attack grazing livestock. The total would be double the number of grizzlies killed in the area over the previous 20 years. Environmental groups sued, saying the plan should specify limits on killing female grizzlies, whose numbers are especially critical to the species' success since they bear cubs. Previous grazing plans for the area had put limits on killing female grizzlies, the three-judge appeals court panel pointed out, but the latest offered no explanation for not doing so again. The judges upheld part of the plan that seeks to reduce deadly encounters between grizzlies and livestock, such as by requiring those tending to the cattle to carry bear-repellent spray. Truck driver's day turns sour after massive limes spill Wyomingites might have had a harder time finding a key ingredient in many Memorial Day drinks after "thousands of limes" dumped onto Interstate 25 over the weekend, the Natrona County Sheriff's Office said. A semi-truck carrying 70,000 pounds of limes crashed on the night of May 20 in Natrona County, and the cargo went rolling everywhere, said spokesperson Kiera Grogan. "I just know my guys were out there cleaning up limes," she said. I-70 Glenwood Canyon bypass plan moving forward on Cottonwood Pass Even some of the people who drove by the spill were attempting to stop and pick up limes off the road, said Grogan. The crash happened between Casper and Midwest at milepost 204, and the northbound section of the interstate was forced to close at 6:26 p.m. It took more than six hours to clean up the mess. The Wyoming Highway Patrol was concentrating on the investigation, Grogan said. Federal regulators issue license for spent nuclear fuel storage in New Mexico | OUT WEST ROUNDUP New Mexico congressional delegates push for broader Chaco region protection | OUT WEST ROUNDUP Largest powwow draws thousands of Indigenous dancers to New Mexico | OUT WEST ROUNDUP Four days out from the deadline, Gov. Jared Polis has signed 365 bills into law. After being signed, bills take effect in August, 90 days after the general assembly adjourns, unless otherwise specified in the bill. A full list of legislation signed this year can be found online by clicking here. Polis has until June 7 to sign, veto or let the bills passed during Colorado's 2023 legislative session become law without his signature. Here are all of the bills signed into law this week. Senate Bill 176: Protections for people with an eating disorder Creates prohibitions and requirements related to health care services for individuals with disordered eating. Signed on Tuesday by Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera while serving as acting governor. Read more about the bill here. Senate Bill 14: Disordered eating prevention Creates the Disordered Eating Prevention Program and a research grant program within the Department of Public Health and Environment to better understand the risk factors, impacts, and interventions associated with disordered eating. Signed on Tuesday by Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera while serving as acting governor. Read more about the bill here. House Bill 1215: Limits on hospital facility fees Places limitations on hospital facility fees and requires the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to update information and restrictions and to report on facility fees. Signed on Tuesday by Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera while serving as acting governor. Read more about the bill here. Senate Bill 64: Continue Office of Public Guardianship Expands the Office of Public Guardianship to provide services in all judicial districts by Dec. 31, 2030. Signed on Tuesday by Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera while serving as acting governor. Read more about the bill here. House Bill 1249: Reduce justice-involvement for young children Increases funding for collaborative management programs for training and services for children who have had contact with law enforcement, are at risk of becoming involved with the juvenile justice system, or would otherwise benefit from services. Signed on Thursday. Read more about the bill here. House Bill 1293: Felony sentencing commission recommendations Increases and decreases classifications of certain felony offenses. Signed on Thursday. Read more about the bill here. Senate Bill 279: Unserialized firearms and firearm components Creates the crime of unlawful conduct involving an unserialized firearm, frame, or receiver. Signed on Friday. Read more about the bill here. Senate Bill 97: Motor vehicle theft and unauthorized use Modifies and reclassifies motor vehicle theft offenses and creates a new misdemeanor offense for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Signed on Friday. Read more about the bill here. Senate Bill 252: Medical price transparency Places price disclosure requirements on hospitals. Failure to comply is a deceptive trade practice and subjects the hospital to corrective action. Signed on Friday. Read more about the bill here. House Bill 1286: Increase penalty cruelty police and service animals Modifies the penalties for second and subsequent convictions for cruelty and aggravated cruelty to animals and service animals. Signed on Friday. Read more about the bill here. Senate Bill 7: Adult education Modifies the Adult Education Grant Program in the Colorado Department of Education, and allows community colleges, local district colleges, and area technical colleges to award high school diplomas. Signed on Friday. Read more about the bill here. Senate Bill 58: Job Application Fairness Act Prohibits employers from inquiring about a prospective employees age on an employment application. Signed on Friday. Read more about the bill here. Senate Bill 53: Restrict governmental nondisclosure agreements Prohibits state and local governments from requiring their employees to sign a non-disclosure agreement, with some exceptions. Signed on Friday. Read more the bill here. Senate Bill 29: Disproportionate discipline in public schools Creates the School Discipline Task Force to study and make recommendations regarding state and local school discipline policies. Signed on Friday. Read more about the bill here. Jared Polis signs ghost guns ban, Colorado's fifth major gun bill in 2023 Senate Bill 284: Ensure 12-month contraception coverage Requires state-regulated insurance plans to cover a 12-month supply of all FDA-approved contraceptives, or their therapeutic equivalent. Signed on Tuesday by Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera while serving as acting governor. House Bill 1228: Nursing facility reimbursement rate setting Makes several changes to the Medicaid nursing facility reimbursement rate setting process. Signed on Tuesday by Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera while serving as acting governor. Senate Bill 288: Coverage for doula services Requires the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to take steps towards covering doula services and creates a doula scholarship program in the department. Signed on Tuesday by Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera while serving as acting governor. House Bill 1197: Stakeholder process for oversight of host home providers Requires the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to engage stakeholders, identify concerns and solutions for individuals receiving long-term services and supports, and report their findings. Signed on Tuesday by Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera while serving as acting governor. Senate Bill 196: Income tax credit for retrofitting a home for health reasons Extends a state income tax credit for qualified costs incurred while retrofitting a residence for the purpose of improving accessibility, increasing visitability, or allowing qualified individuals to age in place. Signed on Tuesday by Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera while serving as acting governor. House Bill 1153: Pathways to behavioral health care Requires the Department of Human Services to contract with a third-party to conduct a feasibility study looking at the intersection of Colorados behavioral health service availability and the judicial system. Signed on Tuesday by Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera while serving as acting governor. House Bill 1027: Parent and child family time Enacts new requirements for family time during dependency and neglect proceedings and extends the task force on High-Quality Family Time by one year to commission and evaluate a study. Signed on Thursday. House Bill 1161: Environmental standards for appliances Sets environmental standards on certain appliances and requires the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to verify compliance. Signed on Thursday. House Bill 1162: Consumer legal funding transactions Allows the Attorney General to adopt rules for certain charges for loans on a consumers legal claim. Signed on Thursday. House Bill 1270: Creation of Urgent Incident Response Fund Creates the Urgent Incident Response Cash Fund in the Department of Public Safety. Signed on Thursday. House Bill 1275: Modification of the film production incentive Expands the types of expenses eligible for the film production incentive allowed to production companies under current law, and requires companies to submit information to the Department of Revenue to claim the incentive. Signed on Thursday. House Bill 1277: Reporting adjustments to taxable income Makes several changes to income tax reporting requirements, including the information to be included on forms and the time when forms are due. Signed on Thursday. House Bill 1278: Virtual marriage or civil union license procedures Indefinitely allows the use virtual methods to fulfill the requirement of appearing in-person for a prospective marriage or civil union. Signed on Thursday. House Bill 1279: Allow retail marijuana online sales Allows retail marijuana stores to accept online payments. Signed on Thursday. House Bill 1283: Transfer refugee services to New Americans Office Transfers the administration of the Colorado Refugee Services Program from the Department of Human Services to the Department of Labor and Employment. Signed on Thursday. House Bill 1284: Modifications to the property tax deferral program Expands the property tax deferral program by allowing deferrals in two specific instances. Signed on Thursday. 32 bills died without votes in the Colorado legislature this year. Here's what they'd do. House Bill 1285: Store use of carryout bags and sustainable products Allows local governments to accept carryout bag fee revenue from stores in 2023 and specifies how stores may use any retained revenue they would otherwise have had to remit. Signed on Thursday. House Bill 1291: Procedures for expulsion hearing officers Requires changes to expulsion hearings for schools and requires training for hearing officers. Signed on Thursday. House Bill 1292: Enhanced sentencing Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice recommendations Allows persons sentenced as violent offenders to serve their sentences concurrently under certain circumstances, and allows persons sentenced as violent and habitual offenders to petition the court to modify their sentence. Signed on Thursday. 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. House Bill 1295: Audits of Department of Health Care Policy and Financing payments to providers Requires the Office of the State Auditor to conduct a review of the Department of Health Care Policy and Financings Recovery Audit Contractor Program. Signed on Thursday. House Bill 1298: Earlier funding for middle school lead testing Allows the Department of Public Health and Environment to begin providing reimbursements to middle schools for lead testing costs on June 1, 2023, instead of March 15, 2024. Signed on Thursday. House Bill 1299: Justice Reinvestment Crime Prevention Initiative Modifies the Justice Reinvestment Crime Prevention Initiative in the Department of Local Affairs to allow components of the initiative to continue beyond FY 2022-23. Signed on Thursday. House Bill 1300: Continuous eligibility medical coverage Requires HCPF to extend continuous eligibility to select groups and produce a report studying extending eligibility to additional groups. Signed on Thursday. House Bill 1301: Revisor's bill Amends or repeals obsolete, unclear, or conflicting laws. Signed on Thursday. House Bill 1305: Continue health benefits in work-related death Eliminates the requirement that an employer must contribute to the Police Officers and Firefighters Continuation of Benefits Fund to be eligible for the continuation of benefits, and directs a transfer to the fund. Signed on Thursday. House Bill 1226: Hospital transparency and reporting requirements Adds information to be disclosed by hospitals for the hospital expenditure report and allows the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to enforce data collection procedures through fines. Additionally, the bill places disclosure requirements on hospitals. Signed on Friday. House Bill 1280: Colorado Access to Justice Commission Codifies the authority and duties of the Colorado Access to Justice Commission. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 193: Victim notification of proceedings Requires an offenders discharge date from parole to occur 15 days after notification of the victim and requires information presented to victims to be in easy-to-understand language. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 257: Auto Theft Prevention Cash Fund Transfers $5 million to the Auto Theft Prevention Cash Fund to provide funding for programs related to supporting victims of auto theft and supporting technology enhancements. Signed on Friday. House Bill 1271: Lunar New Year Day as an observed state holiday Establishes the first Friday in February as Lunar New Year Day, an observed state holiday. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 269: Colorado preschool program provider bonus payments Creates a program in the Colorado Department of Early Childhood to provide a one-time bonus payment to providers participating in the Universal Preschool Program. Signed on Friday. House Bill 1290: Proposition EE funding retention rate reduction Refers a ballot measure to voters at the November 2023 statewide election to retain excess revenue collected from Proposition EE that otherwise would be refunded, and to maintain the tax rates that were approved in Proposition EE. Signed on Friday. House Bill 1008: Food accessibility Creates a tax credit and requires that certain federal income tax deductions be added back when computing state taxable income. Signed on Friday. House Bill 1041: Prohibit wagering on simulcast greyhound races Prohibits wagering on simulcast greyhound races and changes the funding mechanism for the Greyhound Welfare and Adoption Fund. Signed on Friday. House Bill 1061: Alcohol beverage retail establishment permit Expands the art gallery permit to include retail establishments that meet certain criteria. Signed on Friday. Polis teases DeSantis in 'friendly wager': Give us Disney if Nuggets beat Heat Senate Bill 17: Additional uses paid sick leave Adds new uses for accrued paid sick leave. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 25: In God We Trust special license plate Creates the In God We Trust special license plate. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 34: Definition of serious bodily injury Amends the definition of serious bodily injury. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 35: Middle-Income Housing Authority Act Adds members to the board of directors of the Middle-Income Housing Authority and expands its power to enter into public-private partnerships. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 44: Veterinary Education Loan Repayment Program Makes changes to the Veterinary Education Loan Repayment Program. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 49: Special mobile machinery registration exemption Changes the qualification criteria for the special mobile machinery registration exempt program to allow owners of 250 pieces of machinery or more to participate. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 54: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office Expands the reporting requirements and activities of the Office of Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 56: Compensatory direct distribution to PERA Requires a payment to be made to the Public Employees Retirement Association to recompense PERA for the cancellation of a previously scheduled July 1, 2020, direct distribution. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 67: Participant facilitated recidivism reduction program Requires the Department of Corrections to contract with a nonprofit to develop a pre-release and reentry program at the Sterling Correctional Facility. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 76: Sunset continue CO Youth Advisory Council Continues the Colorado Youth Advisory Council in the Legislative Department until Sept. 1, 2028. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 148: Illegal drug laboratory property and certification Requires the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to create a public database of residences used as illegal laboratories. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 155: Sunset continue nursing home administrators Continues the regulation of nursing home administrators in the Department of Regulatory Agencies, which is scheduled to repeal on Sept. 1, 2023. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 159: Sunset Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council Continues the Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council in Colorado State University, which is scheduled to repeal on Sept. 1, 2023. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 165: Sunset Division of Racing and Racing Commission Continues the Division of Racing Events and the Colorado Racing Commission in the Department of Revenue, which is scheduled to repeal on Sept. 1, 2023. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 173: Colorado Child Support Commission recommendations Makes changes to the child support system that were recommended by the Colorado Child Support Commission. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 175: Financing of Downtown Development Authority projects Allows municipalities to adopt 20-year extension periods for property tax increment financing arrangements for downtown development authorities. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 179: Dental plans medical loss ratio Allows the Division of Insurance to investigate dental plan carriers with lower than average dental loss ratios after two years of data collection. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 186: Oil and gas commission study methane seepage Raton Basin Commissions a study on methane seepage in the Raton Basin. Signed on Friday. Senate Bill 258: Consolidate Colorado educator programs in Colorado Department of Education Consolidates the authority to approve and oversee educator preparation programs under the State Board of Education in the Colorado Department of Education. Signed on Friday. Jared Polis signs legislation cracking down on car theft in Colorado As its name suggests, Current the Colorado Springs greeting card, paper products and gift company is not a thing of the past. In fact, far from it even though its origins date back nearly 75 years. In 1950, artist and lithographer Orin Loo and his wife, Miriam, launched Current from their home on the city's southwest side, where they produced and sold greeting cards, recipe cards, stationery, post-it notes and scores of other paper products and mailed them directly to customers who ordered from old-style catalogs. Over the next three-plus decades after its launch, the Loos, later joined by sons Dusty and Gary, grew Current into a giant in the world of direct-to-consumer marketing, with sales that topped more than $300 million during its 1980s peak, according to Gazette archives. The company became one of the most successful home-grown businesses in city history. "We were the only one that was selling by catalog direct to consumers," said Jon Medved, a former Current president and executive in the direct-marketing industry. "Just like Amazon does now." After years of success, however, changing times created an air of uncertainty for Current. The Loos sold the company in 1986, which was followed by more ownership changes. Regent, a Beverly Hills, Calif., private equity firm whose investments include retail, media and technology, most recently bought Current in 2015 from the Taylor Corp., a Minnesota-based printing giant that had purchased it in 1998. Current also went through several rounds of downsizings and layoffs, which resulted, in part, because customers had abandoned greeting cards for digital messages they could send via text, email and social media. The company once occupied 660,000 square feet of plant and office space at a 77-acre property it purchased in the 1970s at Interstate 25 and Woodmen Road on the Springs' north side, and at one point employed as many as 2,600 full-time and seasonal workers, according to Gazette archives. Now, Current operates out of 188,000 square feet at the I-25 and Woodmen site. Its workforce numbers 160, though it doubles in size beginning around September in preparation for the holidays, which is the busiest time of the year for sales, Current officials say. But a smaller operation doesn't mean Current no longer is relevant; in fact, it remains an active player in the world of direct marketing sales. Current has used new equipment and technological advances to do more with less, company officials say. Previous owner Taylor Corp. had added Colorful Images, which sells personalized paper products, and Lillian Vernon, the gift, decor and household goods direct marketer started in 1951 by its namesake founder, to the Current portfolio of brands; Regent then added FineStationery, a paper products seller, to the Current lineup when it purchased the company. The four brands now operate under a single corporate identity, known as Current Media Group though a "great majority" of sales are products under the Current flag, said Wendy Heck, Current Media Group's CEO. "We are strong and we are growing and we have been able to stay relevant to our customers," she said. "We keep evolving as a company and we will continue to change with the market and what our customers want and need. We do really well and we still are affordable and a fun way of staying connected with customers." When the Loos were inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame in 2009, a family history described a 1984 Current Christmas catalog that offered more than 800 products for sale; today, Currents website features more than 13,000 products across the Current, Lillian Vernon, Colorful Images and FineStationery brands that translate into the sale of millions of items each year, Heck said. The companys paper product line that started with greeting cards and stationery also features graduation, get well, birthday and other all-occasion cards, calendars, journals, stickers, address labels, notebooks, file folders, notepads and checks, among other products most of which continue to be designed, manufactured and shipped directly to customers by Current from its north-side Colorado Springs production facility. Current's thick, "peek-proof" gift wrapping paper also is a popular product, Heck said. Some wrapping paper styles are designed by Current and other styles are added from other sources; once designed, the paper is shipped to Current in giant rolls and fed into a machine that produces individual, pre-wrapped rolls. Gifts and lifestyle products coffee mugs, beer glasses, whiskey chests, games, toys, ornaments, beach towels, flashlights, hammers and cutting boards, among many others also are a big part of Currents lineup of products. Current doesn't manufacture those products, but buys them from domestic and international sources, Heck said. To stay connected with its customers, Current had made significant changes to its operations over the years, she said. When Current started, Orin Loo designed the companys greeting cards, according to the familys Colorado Business Hall of Fame history. Today, a team of five to 10 designers does the work at a bank of computer screens, though some of them might hand-sketch designs. As recently as 2005, Current used a half-dozen large lithograph printing presses to publish its cards and other paper products, Heck said. By early 2017, Current installed two state-of-the-art digital printers to replace the lithograph presses, and added a third this year, Heck said. The digital printers allowed Current to expand its offerings to the over 13,000 products, she said; the space-saving printers each are about one-third the size of a lithograph press and can handle a variety of printing jobs simultaneously in less time, Heck said. "These machines allowed us to shorten up the footprint," said Rose Young, Currents operations director. The presses before used to be one for this whole room. Now weve got, like, three presses in one room." The digital printers help Current keep its prices affordable, Heck said. And they're so advanced that they can publish a single greeting card and personalize it with a customers message, she said. The cost? Just $2.99 each, if you buy two or more. 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. "That just tells you the power and the breadth and depth of digital, and how far weve come," she said. The personalization and customization process doesn't stop at paper products; names and messages can be added to gifts and lifestyle products, such as mugs, hammers and cutting boards. "Jason is the Daddio of the Patio," according to a barbecue glove personalized for a Father's Day recipient. In fact, the personalization and customization of cards, paper products and gifts has become vital to Current's offerings, Heck said. "For our product lines, you have your traditional occasion cards that have done very well in the past, your birthday, and your sympathy and your Christmas cards," she said. "We have all that. We also have nontraditional occasions. We're building upon that. Those are 'just because' cards. Blank cards where you can add your own (messages). ... Through the pandemic, I think a lot of us wanted inspiration and humor and just being able to send a card just to say, 'you got this' to someone. Or, 'how are you doing.' Or 'I'm here for you. I support you.' All of those things, you have to pivot and stay relevant and follow those things in the market and we've been able to do that." In the old days, customers thumbed through Currents popular catalogs and called the company or mailed in their orders. Today, more than 80% of orders come via Currents website, Heck said; about 20 employees which more than doubles during the holiday rush answer phones at its on-site call center and take most of the rest of customer orders. A few still come in by mail, she said. Driving traffic to its website is key, and Current uses a number of avenues, Heck said. It tries to get its name and web address in front of customers via postcards and letters, while company fliers, postcards and ads also are inserted into the outgoing merchandise shipments of other businesses with whom Current partners. Current also pays to advertise on Google and social media sites, conducts email and mobile text marketing and partners with coupon sites. And don't forget the catalogs. "We still mail a lot of catalogs, a lot of postcards, a lot of letters," Heck said. "We still do catalog requests." Updates also have come to its order fulfillment process. A "picking system" used to fill orders previously required a Current employee to read a printed list of products purchased by a customer, hunt for them among picking racks that resemble tall shelving units, grab items out of merchandise bins and place them into a cardboard box before its packaged and shipped. That picking system was automated in 2001 to improve accuracy and speed, said Young, the operations director. Now, an employee who stands in front of a picking rack watches as red lights flash to indicate which merchandise bin to pick from and how many items to pick; customers who buy from Current average about six items per order, all of which are loaded into a single box, Heck said. "In the past, you'd look into a box at the pick ticket, read it and then grab the product from a pick bin and ... and have to pick the stuff and put it in a box," Young said "Right now, the light tells them what to pick and where to pick. They dont have to read anything. Its really been a time saver. Scanners read bar codes that are affixed to boxes which are assembled by Current's in-house box-making machines and send them to different parts of the plant via a conveyor system, which also was added in 2001, Young said. Eventually, that same conveyor system sends boxes with completed orders to a quality control area, where employees check them for accuracy before packing them up and adding address labels for shipping. Those boxes then move along the conveyor system to a receiving and departing area and are automatically fed into a truck trailer, where packages are picked up nightly by Federal Express. We still do everything we used to do," Heck said. "Weve just really optimized, and with technology and how the marketplace is evolved, its just changed. Weve changed with it." Current's business might sound like a mini-Amazon, though Heck and Young say they'd prefer to focus on what their company does and not compare it to anyone else. "We want to stand alone in what we do and how long we've been doing it," Heck said. That history goes back to the company's bread-and-butter greeting cards designed by Orin Loo. But some people don't embrace cards the way they did in the past. IBISWorld, a New York-based global research firm, posted online statistics that showed the greeting card industry and other publishing businesses have seen their share of the U.S. market decline by average of 2.9% a year between 2017 and 2022. A 2022 survey of greeting card industry retailers, however, showed that 54% of respondents saw greeting card and stationery sales increase that year from the previous year, according to the nonprofit, Aurora-based Greeting Card Association, which partnered on the survey with Stationery Trends, a greeting card and stationery industry publication. So, does Current still believe in the power of greeting cards? Very much so, said Heck. Youre really expressing an emotion and communicating a feeling when you give that card," she said. "For the recipient and the person sending it, from the design, from the words, the words you add, to me youre telling them you value your relationship and you value that person. When they get it, it evokes joy, happiness. It tells someone that I care about you. ... For us, its very different than emails and texts. The power of that we think is truly amazing. And we continue to build on that." Leading any city as its mayor requires a person to wear many hats. Having served as Colorado Springs mayor for the past eight years, John Suthers has mostly worn his administrative hat, working to ensure the city is providing essential government services to its residents including adequate roads, housing and utilities. But when tragedy strikes, "that, of course, requires a whole different type of leadership," he said. Earlier this spring, Suthers sat down with The Gazette to reflect on his two terms as the city's top elected official before he leaves office Tuesday. Ruminating on his successes including a growing city and economy, a revitalized downtown area and new revenue for roads and storm drainage Suthers, from the downtown office he will soon vacate, also reflected on a series of tragedies Colorado Springs endured during his tenure. Mass shootings He led the community through four mass shootings, including two that essentially bookended his time as mayor. Just months after Suthers was elected in spring 2015, a gunman on Oct. 31 walked through a neighborhood near Prospect Park just east of downtown, killing three people before dying in a shootout with police. Less than a month later, a gunman entered a Planned Parenthood clinic on Colorado Springs northwest side with an assault rifle, shooting and killing KeArre Stewart, Jennifer Markovsky and University of Colorado Colorado Springs police Officer Garrett Swasey. The gunman also injured nine others, five of them law enforcement officers, during the course of a five-hour standoff on Nov. 27, 2015. The state-level case of the Planned Parenthood suspect, Robert Lewis Dear Jr., continues to stall, as attorneys wait for the result of a federal appeal to not have Dear forcibly medicated to stand trial. In the early hours of May 9, 2021, Teodoro Macias, the boyfriend of a female victim, shot and killed six members of an extended family at the Canterbury Mobile Home Park on the city's southeast side at a birthday party before he turned the gun on himself. Accused shooter Anderson Lee Aldrich is alleged to have opened fire inside LGBTQ+ nightclub Club Q on North Academy Boulevard late on Nov. 19, killing five people and injuring more than two dozen others. Aldrich faces more than 300 charges in the case; the trial has not yet been scheduled. 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. Those instances required "a quiet, comforting leadership," Suthers said. "You're not saying to folks, 'Hey, this is what we need to do to solve this problem, or, you know, fix our streets or fix our stormwater' and all that kind of stuff. Your job in this instance is to do everything you can to make sure the community is not defined by the incident itself but by the response to it." To lead the community through it, Suthers said he leaned on his past political experience and time as an attorney. Suthers served from 2005 to 2015 as the Colorado attorney general, and previously had been appointed in 2001 by former President George W. Bush as U.S. attorney for Colorado. In 1988, he was elected district attorney of the 4th Judicial District that includes El Paso and Teller counties. In 1999, former Gov. Bill Owens appointed Suthers as the executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections, and he also previously spent 10 years in private practice at the law firm Sparks, Dix and Enoch. "I think I have a certain calm and deliberative air about me that I do think people appreciated in the course of some of these tragedies," he said. "... Ive spent lots of nights at murder scenes and all that kind of stuff. Nothing shocks me too much anymore, unfortunately." Pandemic About a year after he was reelected, the global COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. "People needed encouragement," Suthers said, recalling how the virus initially shuttered businesses, halted tourism, and eventually took the lives of early 2,000 El Paso County residents, according to data from the Colorado Department of Public Health. "I have distinct recollections of looking out this window a couple of days after the shutdown happened, and there was a three-minute gap before a car went by one of the busiest intersections in Colorado Springs. I said, 'Man, this is really different,'" Suthers said this spring as he looked out across downtown from his office in the City Administration Building. Suthers recalled many conversations he had with Gov. Jared Polis, including when the state switched to a color-coded scheme for determining COVID-19 levels and severity across the state. "We had a very candid relationship. I told him, for example, when we went to the color scheme, that we were losing the public. It was getting a little too complicated, you know? And I think he eventually agreed on that. It was all a race between the disease and what immunity there (was) for people that got it, and ... the vaccine," he said. "Of course, we still have COVID with us, but we got through a tremendous threat economically and health-wise." The federal COVID-19 public health emergency declaration ended May 11. Suthers said he hopes another global pandemic isn't going to hit anytime soon, but if it does, there are people in Colorado Springs and El Paso County who are well-equipped to face it. "In my first year as mayor we went through all kinds of training exercises wildland fire, flash flooding. We even did exercises for ransom attacks ... ransom demands (and) cybersecurity attacks. But you don't prepare for a worldwide pandemic," he said. "... I do think emergency services, in particular, has captured that learning from experience and I think we would be better prepared. Hopefully, it'll be another hundred years before something like that happens again." Photo: Vancouver Provincial Court. A Vancouver provincial court hearing room. A man shot after an East Vancouver reverse car chase said a .357 magnum gun suddenly appeared in his van before he pointed it at the officer who shot him. Before the constable fired, Robin Landrew Pryce had already shot at police dog Jade. The 53-year-old pleaded guilty to using a firearm to commit an indictable offence, dangerous driving and assaulting a Vancouver Police Department officer. You risked other peoples lives in the most serious of ways, Vancouver provincial court Judge Patrick Doherty said as he sentenced Pryce to five years in prison less 16 months credit for time already served. The facts are troubling, alarming, Doherty said. He did the ultimate threatening act of pointing a loaded firearm at a police officer. After viewing videos of the events, the judge said, theyre horrific to watch. The court heard the situation began July 16 when police received a report of a possible break and enter in progress at 323 Alexander St. in the Downtown Eastside involving a white van. The van was spotted with a balding man in his forties or fifties, later identified as Pryce, at the wheel. Crown prosecutor Aaron McCabe KC told Doherty police attempted to pull the van over but it did not stop, picking up speed as it moved east on East Hastings. The chase was called off when the van turned right onto Clark Drive. However, the van was soon spotted and Const. Jesse Schellenberg attempted to stop it on East 2nd Ave. The officer blocked the van leaving only reversing as an option. And thats what happened. The van reversed back down the street and began swerving, hitting parked cars and doing $27,000 in damage. At one point, a cyclist had to jump out of the vans way. Now, Schellenberg was starting to fear for the safety of pedestrians in the area, the court heard. The van then shot into an alley, hit a retaining wall and struck another car containing two people. Schellenberg hit the van, blocking its movement. Other police officers arrived and further blocked the van. Schellenberg went to the van with the dog and told Pryce he was under arrest. At that point, McCabe said, Pryce reached behind him and produced the fully loaded .357 magnum. Schellenberg jumped out of the way but Jade went for Pryces foot. Pryce turned the gun on the dog and fired, McCabe said. Thankfully, it just grazed the dogs ear causing a slight burn. Schellenberg then fired, hitting Pryce three times in the abdomen, thigh and right forearm. McCabe said the van was borrowed and Pryce did not have a valid drivers licence. Court heard Pryce had a dog with him in the van, which also contained a copious amount of drugs, including fentanyl and crystal methamphetamine. The judged said he sees more and more cases of people using loaded firearms in offences. He reverted to a position that had absolutely no regard for human life and recklessly put at risk people who use the streets of East Vancouver, Doherty said. The defence Pryces lawyer, David Forsythe, told the judge Pryce had nothing to do with a break and enter. It would seem unusual to take a dog to a break and enter, he said. And, when Schellenbergs cruiser hit the van, it dislodged something from behind the dashboard, he said. The fact that its a gun that is dislodged is not known to (Pryce) until seconds before the incident, Forsythe said. It is the first time he laid eyes on the loaded .357 magnum. He said the gun discharged after which Pryce raised his hands. He had the chance to shoot the officer and he did not take that choice, Forsythe said. He aimed instead at an attacking dog. McCabe called the story ludicrous citing video of the incident played in court. His hands are never in the air, McCabe said, noting the gun remained in his hands until released due to the shots fired. The defence said the van was borrowed from a man, who said many people used it. The owner said he frequently found drugs not belonging to Pryce in the vehicle. Forsythe presented many references for his client, who sat in court in a wheelchair, his arm in a sling, praising him for his kindness and generosity, particularly to those facing challenges. Perhaps its a matter of Hertz versus Avis with the number-two entity always finding it necessary to try harder. In this case, the mayoral election in the states second largest city, Colorado Springs, was far more interesting and likely consequential than Denvers Tweedledee and Tweedledum race at last now at its finish line. Blessing Yemi Mobolade, his given name, a Nigerian immigrant who just became an American citizen six years ago, is about to be sworn in as mayor of the staid, conservative bastion at the foot of Pikes Peak. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a break from the norm. That constitutes news. Running simply as Yemi, the single-name treatment usually reserved for rock stars, Mobolade did not just win; he triumphed over an able but tired Wayne Williams. A full 15-point victory is a drubbing and a profound statement made even stronger by taking place on what would seem to be tough terrain. JFK famously said, Victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan. The post-mortems of Mobolades romp certainly illustrate the point. Democrats across Colorado are touting Mobolades big win as indication of a coming blue takeover of El Paso County. This despite the fact that Mobolade, an unaffiliated voter, is not even part of their party. Williamss campaign manager based his explanation for the shellacking on a slew of tactical constraints. The reality, Id suggest, is far more complicated and even organic. Indeed, the politics and demographics of El Paso County are changing. Democrats are getting elected to legislative seats here and there. Gov. Jared Polis lost the county last fall by only three points and actually prevailed within the city limits. Most tellingly, 48 percent of county voters are not affiliated with any party and that number is on the rise soon to be over half. There is still a red tint to most elections, but it is far from the overwhelming crimson of yesteryear. Then, of course, there is the knows-no-end dysfunction of the local and state GOP operation. When the likes of new State Republican Chair Dave Williams and right-wing firebrand Gordon Klingenschmitt are enlisted in the final days to bail out Wayne Williamss candidacy, you are in a world of hurt. The die may well have been cast before the first round election in early April when rival groups of developers who had long enjoyed outsized influence funded massive independent expenditure efforts. One such group supported Williams; the other backed prominent Republican Sallie Clark. The mutual savagery was intense and all but ensured that there would be no putting Humpty Dumpty back together again. Mobolades chief strategist called it a case of self-immolation. So if the standard-issue narratives are inadequate, what did take place? For insight, I turned to that lead Mobolade adviser, Springs-based consultant Anthony Carlson. Carlson is an interesting sort, a Democrat who remains close to his Trump-loving evangelical Christian mother and retired military father in small-town Texas. He continues to be shaped by that upbringing. While one gets the sense that Carlson can be as hard-bitten as any operative, he openly pines for a different kind of politics marked by unusual coalitions, mutual interests and something other than the constant noise and partisan warfare. On the surface, Mobolade achieved that in his campaign apparatus. Carlson handled the big-picture strategy while salon owner and Trump supporter, Niki Cicak, made the train run as the day-to-day manager. 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. With a field coordinator later added to the mix, they were the only ones drawing a campaign check. Beyond them, it was an effort fueled by volunteers. Carlson recalled counseling Mobolade early on, You are not a conventional candidate and you cannot run a conventional campaign. They were true to their word. While other candidates concentrated on water issues that had grown central to city council deliberations, Mobolade understood that many voters were more focused on safety, rising home costs and lagging infrastructure. But this was not just an election about a checklist of issues. It was a statement of aspiration by Colorado Springs voters for something new and different. Mobolades classic immigrant story of chasing the American dream resonated with a whole lot of voters for whom that dream seemed ever harder to attain. In the final weeks, lagging in the polls, Williams went the expected, conventional route with negative ads accusing Mobolade of being a socialist who would bring the problems of Denver 70 miles south. However, Mobolades own ads featuring endorsements from prior opponent Clark as well as former Republican sheriff Bill Elder provided more than ample inoculation. Carlson talked of waking up on the morning of election day feeling confident of a three to four point victory. No one, least of all him, thought 15 points was in the cards. In my own take, Williams and his backers went with the usually reliable tactic of making the race a choice between left and right. But voters, by huge numbers, saw the election through a different frame as a contrast between stale and fresh. On Tuesday, a new, different, fresh era opens in Colorado Springs. A footnote this week, also centered in my old hometown. Though recent graduates of the alma mater, Colorado College, have now scattered, a word of chastisement is necessary for how many of them greeted their commencement speaker, CC alum and former Congresswoman Liz Cheney. By reports, nearly half the graduating class turned their chairs around to face away from Cheney during her speech. Profiles in political courage are all too rare these days. But Cheney is one, having sacrificed a congressional career to speak truth to Donald Trump and hold him accountable for attempting to violate the peaceful transfer of presidential power. Part of maturity is a sense of proportion. Cheneys Republican voting record may not have corresponded with the sensitivities of much of the class. Fair enough. But to disrespect her is to put routine political differences ahead of existential threats. For CC graduates who engaged in these misguided theatrics: Congrats on your diploma. Now grow up. Eric Sondermann is a Colorado-based independent political commentator. He writes regularly for Colorado Politics and the Gazette newspapers. Reach him at EWS@EricSondermann.com; follow him at @EricSondermann The city of Danville is considering an update to its code to better enable the city to collect lodging taxes from companies such as Airbnb. The proposed change, which Danville City Council will consider during its meeting Tuesday night, would not change current tax rates, but is modeled after state language drafted to create new definitions for intermediary short-term rental companies (including Airbnb), make them responsible for documenting and collecting lodging-tax revenues and permit more thorough audits of them by city staff. These proposed changes would not adjust any existing tax rates, Assistant City Attorney Ryan Dodson wrote in a letter to City Council. They merely add greater clarity to the process to ensure that the city is able to fully collect [transient occupancy tax] from short-term rentals. The transient occupancy tax and the lodging tax are the same thing. Danville Commissioner of Revenue James Gillie asked city officials to look into updating its code to address problems with Airbnb not supplying names and addresses of where the company is collecting lodging-tax money. Were having difficulties with Airbnb, specifically, Gillie told the Danville Register & Bee. Theyre sending us money every month, but we dont know where its coming from. Virginia state law requires an accommodations intermediary to submit property addresses and gross receipts for each lodging location under that company on a monthly basis to localities. We cant get Airbnb to do that, Gillie said. His office is given a lump sum and has no idea how much money is coming from each Airbnb location in the city, Gillie said. In a statement to the Danville Register & Bee, Airbnb Virginia public policy manager Vincent Frillici said the company follows state and federal laws. As a leader in citizen-led tourism, Airbnb complies with all applicable state and federal laws, Frillici said. Airbnb has provided more than $3 billion in taxes nationwide. Last year, Airbnb collected and remitted over $25 million in Virginia, an increase over 450% since 2019. We continue to work with Virginia Revenue Commissioners to ensure municipalities receive 100 percent of all transient occupancy taxes, created by the guests of our hosts. In the meantime, the city has contracted with a company to help Danville identify all places that provide lodging in the city, he said. Gillie emphasized that city officials have no problem with property owners wanting to open up Airbnbs. We dont have an issue with people who want to have an Airbnb, he said. We just ask them to register with us. Were not trying to hurt them. Were trying to reconcile where were getting the money from. Airbnb hosts are required to register with the city. So far this calendar year, Gillies office has collected $77,991 from Airbnbs in the city. There are 28 Airbnb properties registered in Danville, he said, adding that he is sure there are many more that have not notified his office. The lodging-tax rate is 8% plus $2 per nights stay per room. The goal of the change to the city code is to put more responsibility on the company, instead of the property owner, said assistant city attorney Ryan Dodson, who proposed the change to the city after meeting with Gillie and the city attorney earlier this year. If theyre not submitting all of it [tax money and information], that should be on the company to make sure theyre doing whats right, Dodson said. Every commissioner of revenue in the commonwealth is looking at adapting a uniform ordinance modeled after state law, Gillie said. New model language for Virginia has been drafted to assist localities with the problem, Dodson wrote in a letter to Danville City Council. Airbnb, on its website, expressed support for Virginia House Bill 518, which was signed into law by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in February 2022. The law requires all short-term rental platforms to collect and remit hotel taxes. With the enactment of this law, Airbnb will expand its collection and remittance of tourist taxes from guests on behalf of hosts throughout every municipality across all of Virginia, the company stated on its website Oct. 3, 2022. The law went into effect Oct. 1, 2022. City Manager Ken Larking agreed that something needs to be done to address the citys issue. Its important that everyone whos required to collect taxes, that they do collect taxes and they remit them to the city, Larking said. Its unfair to the others who are doing what theyre supposed to do. A U.S. expatriate living in Thailand has been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for threats made against North Carolinas two U.S. senators and staff members in 2021. FBI special agents from the agencys Charlotte and Atlanta offices arrested Eric Charles Welton on May 25 as he re-entered the U.S. at HartsfieldJackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Michael Easley of the N.C. Eastern District. Although the news release did not mention the U.S. senator and staff members who were threatened, the FBI complaint against Welton listed that it involved Sen. Thom Tillis and retired Sen. Richard Burr, both Republicans. Our elected representatives and the public servants who staff their offices must be free to do the peoples work without threats of violence, Easley said. Violent threats against our democratically elected representatives do not just erode our civil discourse they can undermine our democracy. We will hold accountable anyone who threatens violence targeting our bedrock institutions. Welton, 51, faces a criminal complaint for threats he made to the senators in September 2021. He faces another criminal complaint for threats against U.S. Marines and others working the U.S. Consulate in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in October and November 2022. Welton is charged with one count of threatening a federal official. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison. Additional charges may follow, according to Easleys office. Neither Tillis nor Burr could be immediately reached for comment Wednesday about the threats and arrest. According to an FBI interview with Weltons father, who lives in Iowa, his son told him he has received at least 600 unsolicited political emails, some originating from the N.C. Republican Party. His father said Welton considered himself as a socialist and was set off by ideas he did not agree with. Welton made multiple harassing and intimidating calls ... due to a large number of unsolicited political emails he claimed he was receiving from the Republican Party. He also made phone calls to the White House switchboard, according to the FBI complaint. According to the complaint filed by FBI special agent Corey Zachman, Welton made at least seven calls to Burrs and Tillis offices in North Carolina. Some calls were answered by a staff member and some were left as voicemail. All calls were recorded. The language of the calls was similar in tone and rhetoric, with the caller threatening to harm and/or murder Sen. Burr and Sen. Tillis and members of their respective staff, among other things, according to Zachman. Zachman said that the Republican Party emails motivated his anger and hostility toward Sen. Burr and Sen. Tillis. He demanded that his email address be removed from distribution lists. Welton was alleged to have engaged in a 13-minute phone call with a staff member at Tillis Raleigh office on Sept. 29, 2021. He said he was living in a war zone created by President Trump. Among his threats was threatening to fly back over there, walk into 310 New Bern Avenue and teach you what Stand your ground means, put a bullet through each of your heads. You are making me wanna (sic) come back there and mow your whole f- state down. Welton also was recorded as saying to the staffer that Im getting a little bit of the cancers upon me, you know, so I dont give a s- anymore. The idea of a suicide vest means I dont have to go through chemotherapy. The complaint also states that Welton threatened to cut off the hands of the individual that had decided to send him the emails. Weltons threats against U.S. Marines and others working at the U.S. Consulate in Thailand took place in October and November. In one voicemail, Welton allegedly stated that he was going to kill a bunch of Marines due to anger over an immigration issue. In February, Burr joined the global law firm of DLA Piper, working with the Regulatory and Government Affairs practice group as a principal policy adviser. The Republican retired from Congress in January after serving five terms in the U.S. House and three terms in the U.S. Senate. Under congressional rules, Burr cannot lobby his former Senate colleagues for two years. Burr maintained a lower profile during spent much of his time in Congress even as he took leadership roles in key Senate public health, finance and foreign intelligence committees. Burr will join the firm with a team of policy advisers that will supplement its legal, policy, economic, medical and technological attorneys and advisers in the health care and life sciences field. Tillis is now serving his second term in the U.S. Senate. For decades environmentalists have been mostly aligned with the left wing of Americas politics, which has long opposed the traditional conservative notions of free enterprise, strong private property rights and the importance of the family. But as addressing climate change hastens the urgency of action for those within the modern environmental movement, there are signs that this political alignment has started to fracture. Emerging from this breakdown in the environmental movement, I believe, is the possibility of a new green coalition that is pro-innovation, pro-private property and yes, even pro-family. The modern environmentalist schism seems mostly rooted in conflict over the proper response to ecological crisis. One side, the old-school side, contends that the growth and economic progress of human civilization is incompatible with environmental protection. For the past century, disciples of this de-growth philosophy have slowly but surely built a regulatory and legal apparatus of state and federal policies that thwart new economic production and blindly reduce our consumption in the name of environmental protection. The most radical elements of the old de-growth movement go even farther. One recent Montana columnist proudly proclaimed that ending human population growth is at least one key to fighting climate change. Its not difficult to imagine what cruel and horrific authoritarian policies would be contemplated to achieve such ends. The other side of the modern environmental movement, the new school side, appears to believe that the growth and progress of humankind is the key to addressing climate change. Interestingly, this is the area of ideological agreement where the new green coalition emerges. Free market advocates have long pointed to research clearly showing that the most economically free countries countries with a low burden of regulations and sound rule of law also have the cleanest environments. Why? Because a system of free, competitive enterprise is the most powerful engine for economic growth. Economic freedom establishes the conditions for innovations to emerge that improve our living standards and allow us to use Earths finite resources more responsibly and efficiently. The new school of environmental activists also understand that in order to achieve their climate goals, humans must be free to build, innovate and progress. This positions the new school as diametrically opposed to the paradigm built by the de-growthers for the last century to constrain economic production. They recognize the broken system of federal and state environmental permitting bogs down green projects with endless red tape and litigation. They view outdated local zoning regulations as erecting barriers to the development of denser, more walkable cities that then forces communities into harmful, California-style urban sprawl. On these issues, both nationally and here in Montana, weve increasingly seen new school environmentalists break with the traditional political left and join the center-right in calling to remove permitting red tape for critical energy projects and restore the rights of property owners to build denser, more affordable starter homes in cities. At the fringes of this new coalition we even see a new alignment over the value of the family. As projected population decline threatens to reduce global living standards and destroy economic productivity, some prominent new school environmentalists are sounding the alarm. Simply put: Fewer people means less capacity for innovation. Therefore, enabling and encouraging steady population growth is a key to human flourishing. Montanas politics have, in many ways, long been dominated by old school de-growth ideals. By contrast, this new green coalition offers a fundamentally pro-human pathway forward to protect Montanas environment as our state grows. DECATUR A drug dealer who opened fire at another man on a Decatur street has been sent to prison for six years. Johnathan M. Radley, 25, Decatur, had taken a plea deal negotiated by his defense lawyer, Philip Tibbs, that saw him admit to a charge of dealing cocaine. Presiding Macon County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Griffith had then agreed to dismiss further charges of drug possession, armed violence and the aggravated discharge of a gun. A sworn affidavit filed by Decatur Police Officer Brock Thoms did not explain why Radley had opened fire just before 4 a.m. April 1 in the 600 block of East Division Street. He missed the man he was aiming at and arriving police, responding to a shots-fired call, found Radley hiding in an alley. He took off running when spotted, but stopped in response to police commands and turned around to face them with a semi-automatic pistol sticking out the waistband of his pants. Upon searching Radley, he was found in possession of 6.5 grams of cocaine in 20 separate individually-wrapped small bags, said Thoms in the affidavit. Radley was also found with $998 in cash on his person. The defendant was quoted as admitting firing his gun at a victim and said he had paid $200 for the cocaine he possessed. Radley appeared in court June 1 and, in addition to the prison sentence, was also ordered to pay $250 to have his DNA added to a crime database maintained by the Illinois State Police. 2023 mugshots from the Herald & Review Lourash Hirstein Phillip Gehrken Joseph A. Williams Jetrevius O. Jarrett Edwards King-Woods Wilson Derrickson Colby J. Park DECATUR A Decatur man with a home-based cannabis cultivation operation that had a sideline of magic mushrooms has been sentenced to 24 months probation. Gary G. Stiles, 42, had been caught after Decatur police raided his home in the 1100 block of South Turner Court on Dec. 12. A sworn affidavit signed by Officer Philip Ganley said police seized more than 5 pounds of cannabis along with a digital scale and boxes of plastic baggies. Detectives located 15 hanging cannabis plants in Garys bedroom (that were drying out) and 23 potted cannabis plants were found growing in the basement of the residence, Ganley said. Detectives also located two baggies of suspected psilocybin mushrooms which weighed a total of eight grams. Stiles, who has a previous conviction for possession of a sawn-off shotgun, appeared in Macon County Circuit Court May 24 and admitted a charge of illegal cannabis cultivation. Then, as part of a plea deal, Judge Jeffrey Geisler agreed to dismiss a further charge of dealing in cannabis. In addition to the probation sentence, the judge ordered Stiles to undergo a substance abuse evaluation within 90 days and complete any recommended treatment. Stiles was further ordered to pay $250 to have his DNA added to a crime database maintained by the Illinois State Police. 2023 mugshots from the Herald & Review Lourash Hirstein Phillip Gehrken Joseph A. Williams Jetrevius O. Jarrett Edwards King-Woods Wilson Derrickson Colby J. Park As seen through a window, President Joe Biden addresses the nation on the budget deal that lifts the federal debt limit and averts a U.S. government default, from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, June 2, 2023. (Andrew Harnik/AP) After four months of political wrangling, eyeball-to-eyeball negotiations and mounting anxiety in both parties about the debt ceiling, Congress finally has found enough common ground to pay its bills. But how long will these good tidings last? First, it helps to understand just what the debt ceiling is. In mid-April House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, explained it like this: You know, if you gave your child a credit card, and they kept maxing it out to the limit, you wouldnt blindly just raise the limit. Youd change their behavior. The exact same thing is true with our national debt. Advertisement Thats not quite right. The debt ceiling isnt about putting a limit on your future spending. Its about paying bills you already owe, such as your credit card statement lists the purchases you have made. Refusal by McCarthy and his House GOP Republican colleagues in recent months to raise the federal debt ceiling on spending the government already has incurred would be like refusing to pay for what you already owe. Advertisement Keeping that up can result in bankruptcy or worse If they persisted in this refusal, theyd end up in bankruptcy, or perhaps in jail for fraud. Refusing to meet your debt obligation should be like spending past the national debt limit. In other words, the debt ceiling has become a pointless and dangerous exercise, as spending constantly exceeds incoming revenue, and the ceiling repeatedly must be raised to avoid the government going into default. That would lead to a worldwide financial crisis. But, as our politics have become more fractious, the looming debt ceiling has climbed to $31.4 trillion and poses a threat to our national well-being and the global economy. i Fortunately, with just days to go before the big collapse, the Republican-controlled House overwhelmingly passed a debt ceiling deal forged by McCarthy and President Joe Biden. The House sent the legislation to thewaiting hands of the Democratic-controlled Senate, which gave final approval Thursday, then sent it to Biden to be signed into law. That was close. But with dedicated lawmakers and their hardworking staffers, agreement came together in the way such polarized opposites almost always come together, through compromise. McCarthy and other Republicans were not willing to destroy the economy by forcing a default or imposing job-killing spending cuts. But they were willing in the end to rally the moderates and leave the furthest-right extremists on the sidelines just enough to get the job done. After months of drama, it appears that not much of substance has changed. Theres no default, no cuts in Social Security or Medicare, two of the governments most popular programs, and no huge cuts in Medicaid, a health care program for low-income folks. Advertisement Nor was it necessary to make any move as radical as invoking the 14th Amendment to challenge the constitutionality of the debt ceiling, which might have been overturned by the Supreme Court anyway. And there was no dethroning of McCarthy, who, as part of his deal with his party colleagues to win his leadership post, could be vulnerable to any one of his House GOP colleagues, particularly more extreme die-hard conservatives. Of course, taking the longer view, it is easy to see that the debt ceiling bill should never have been necessary. Congress should be able to, as a routine matter, authorize the borrowing of money it had already told the Treasury to spend. The U.S. and global economies should have been spared the anxieties inflamed by tension over a possibly disastrous default that resulted from the legislations delay. It also is wrong as a matter of principle for the House Republican majority to use must-pass legislation such as the debt limit law as leverage to extract spending reductions from the White House. In practice, that strategy has produced a modest increase in fiscal responsibility. Yet, in view of the long-running dysfunction brought on by the hyperpartisan political environment, the passage of the debt ceiling measure represents a major achievement. It shouldnt be so hard for such valuable agreements to be reached. Advertisement cpage@chicagotribune.com Twitter @cptime You cant imagine life without your devices. Your cell phone, your computer: how else would you stay in touch, take photos, end arguments, keep documents? You need those links to civilization, you panic when you dont have them. So what would you do, absent all modern conveniences? In The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Women, edited by Kami Ahrens, youll find out. Nearly sixty years ago, a group of rowdy high school students in a small town in Georgia decided to create a literary magazine filled with stories, poetry, and instruction from their elders in rural Appalachia. Every year since 1966, a new batch of students has gone back to collect more stories of life as it used to be. This book, says editor Kami Ahrens, springs from the Foxfire archives ... going back to the roots of the organization. Here, Ahrens lets women tell their stories alone. Land both ownership and stewardship rings loud in these narratives, with frequent remarks about loss of property through hard times, and nothing to pass on to future generations. Issues of transportation arise, too: many of these women remembered walking everywhere. Margaret Burrell Norton said she was a teenager when she saw her first car. Though an occasional tale of homemade toys or silly pranks surfaces, most women spoke about working hard, with very little playtime. Hard work had history, too: Beulah Perrys grandfather was a slave before she was born; Carrie McDonnell Stewarts father often repeated the story of his sale on a slave block. After her father abandoned her when she was just 11 years old, Carolyn Jones Stradley was completely on her own. Maude Conley Shope said that until we was great big younguns, she and her siblings believed in Santa Claus. Modern medicine was all but nonexistent. Marriages happened early, lasted long, and family sizes were generally in the double-digits. Poverty was a common theme in these stories, and times were tough but in a crisis, people never forgot their neighbors ... The internet is down, you have one bar on your phone, and theres nothing on TV. Which is the perfect time to have The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Women in your lap. The first thing youll notice about the stories in this book is that, while there are a handful of modern profiles here, many of the interviewees are gone today most having lived long lives before dying decades ago. Their presence in this book underscores a reason for whats here: that the ways people lived in the early half of the last century the social customs, poverty, make-do attitudes, religious beliefs, resourcefulness, matriarchal strengths, and family life will be forever lost unless theyre captured now. Readers, in fact, will be glad these were. Unique to this book in the Foxfire series is that this is all about women, making it appealing to adult historians, homesteaders, back-to-the-land-ers, and feminists, as well as to high schoolers of the same age as the original story-gatherers. For you, skipping The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Women should be unimaginable. The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Women, edited by Kami Ahrens c.2023, The University of North Carolina Press $25.00 288 pages ABINGDON, Va. Lovers of literature rejoice! The Book Cellar, a new and used bookstore, has opened its doors in the heart of bustling Abingdon. Megan Bordwine, who co-owns the Book Cellar alongside her husband Chad Thompson, highlighted that it was always a shared dream of theirs to open their own bookstore. Im a huge reader, I love books, love stories, and my husband and I have always wanted to open a little business together. And really this was just like the perfect opportunity, Bordwine said. The Book Cellar, which is located inside the old Abingdon, Va. Spring House building, which also houses Wolf Hills Coffee and the Tumbling Creek Cider Company, opened to the public during Plum Alley days on May 27. Since then, Megan says she has been overwhelmed by the communitys embrace and is excited to continue to meet book lovers from across Southwest Virginia and beyond. Ive been blown away by the amount of support and like love that weve had from just the community and our friends and family, Bordwine said. I have absolutely loved people coming in here and telling me what they like to read or that theyre so happy that were doing it. Its been awesome. She explained that settling into their new location has been a collaborative effort between Thompson, her and their family. She also highlighted that she has always loved thrift shopping, going to antique stores, and estate sales and that because of this, all the shelves and furniture, which make the Book Cellar such a cozy space, are either thrift items or second-hand donations. Im super, super into thrifting, super into being green, Bordwine said. Basically everything in this room, literally everything, like the shelves, the wall decor, everything. I think there may be two things in this entire room that I have actually bought brand new. Everything else is thrifted or second-hand donations. On their first day, Bordwine calculated they had around 746 books, an amount which will only grow over time. She explained that not all the books will be available at once. Instead, they are going to be changing their selection of books on a weekly basis. Im hoping to put out new books every week. So, people will just have to come literally and see what we have, She said. Ill be switching it up. Ive already got some stock thats seasonal that Ill be changing, and then for like events, I know were gonna do a display. This weekend, for example, with the second annual Fiddlers Convention taking place in Abingdon June 9-10, the Book Cellar will be spotlighting books about bluegrass and country music. Most of the shelves at the Book Cellar are already full of books of all sizes and genres, from fantasy and thriller books to books about home decor to young adult fiction and a kids book section. Bordwine explained that despite what it looks like, the books have all been carefully selected and organized. So there is a method to the madness here, so they kind of blend together just because were we are a used bookstore, were not buying like massive quantities of the same book, She said. Bordwine highlighted that when it comes to recommending books, she will always direct people toward Diana Gabaldons Outlander series, which is her favorite. However, she emphasized that more than anything, she loves to connect with passionate readers like her, who sit on the floor and sort through all the books until they find one that catches their imagination. Outlander series is my absolute favorite of all time. So yeah, thats where Im obviously gonna direct people, She said. I just love to sit and sort, and I love it when people just really look through things and pick out something that theyre really gonna love. Prices at the Book Cellar range from $1 to $5 in the kids section to adult books ranging from $3 to around $15. Bordwine explained that the prices vary depending on what book it is and the condition that its in. If there is a price on it, already, like you know, theyll be printed on the inside, or theyll be printed on the back. We try to go for half of that usually, she said. If its in rough condition, well cut it down. If its in great condition, we pretty much stick to the half. It just depends on what it is; how sought after it is. Because both Bordwine and Thompson have day jobs, they arent always at the Book Cellar. However, customers interested in purchasing books can do so through the Wolf Hills Coffee Shop. In the future, the Book Cellar hopes to feature local authors and have already set aside a whole shelf for their stories. They also plan to host writing workshops and open mic poetry readings at the Spring House. Bordwine hopes that the Book Cellar becomes a place where book lovers can meet, share books and find new stories to read. I hope it becomes like everybodys favorite little bookstore, their favorite place to find little treasures and just to find books that they really love, she said. A million-dollar donation to Gov. Glenn Youngkins political action committee from a day-old LLC looks like an effort to get around the intent of Virginias campaign finance law, Democratic legislators say. They say the donation reveals a loophole in the law that the General Assembly needs to close. LLCs limited liability companies are often used to insulate an entitys owners from the outside world. The $1 million donation to the Spirit of Virginia PAC, made May 26, was by an entity called Future of Education LLC of Austin, Texas. The LLC, which was not registered with the Texas Secretary of State, Texas Comptroller or the Virginia State Corporation Commission, was incorporated in Delaware on May 25. The only point of contact was a registered agency firm in Dover, Delaware, which is paid to accept any legal filings involving the LLC. It looks like they were trying to hide who they were, said House Minority Leader Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth. This is an LLC formed the day before and that doesnt seem to do any other business. Unlike most states, Virginia sets no limits on who can give to political committees or how much they can give. Instead, the state relies on disclosure of who donors are and what they do for a living, so that the public can see and so voters can get a sense of whether a politician has conflicts of interest or is being improperly influenced. This is a loophole in Virginias law, already so lax, that we want to close, Scott said. Sen. Lionel Spruill Sr., D-Chesapeake, chairman of the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee, said he thinks better disclosure of LLC donations is needed. He said the General Assembly needs to address the dark money in politics and will introduce legislation to do that if he is reelected. The Richmond Times-Dispatch was able to confirm that the donation came from a Texas education reformer named Mackenzie Price through the street address for Future of Education given with the Spirit of Virginias report to the Virginia Department of Elections. That address was listed in Travis County, Texas, tax records as belonging to a couple named Andrew and Mackenzie Price. Times-Dispatch research found that Mackenzie Price was active in education reform efforts in Austin. When the newspaper asked the PAC if the couple had in fact made the donation, a spokesman confirmed that Mackenzie Price made the contribution because of her interest in the education initiatives Youngkin has been urging. Price is co-founder of ALPHA School, a private institution that uses adaptive software and what it describes as unique motivational strategies to let students work at the pace and in the manner that works best for them. The school says its students spend no more than two hours a day on Common Core curriculum, an initiative used in 41 states but not Virginia to set goals and standards for English language and mathematics. It says afternoons are given over to student projects to enhance life skills. Prices donation was the second $1 million contribution to Youngkins PAC. The PAC received a $1 million contribution in April from billionaire Thomas Peterffy, chairman of Interactive Brokers, an electronic trading system for stocks, bonds, options and futures. Peterffy, who lives in Palm Beach, Florida, had been a backer of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis presidential bid, but said he was putting that support on hold out of concern about DeSantis stands on abortion and books in school libraries. That donation sparked a new round of pundit and anonymous source predictions that Youngkin would bid for the GOP presidential nomination, although he has repeatedly said he is focused on his Virginia agenda, including passing a budget with his proposed tax cuts and securing Republican control of both chambers of the state legislature. State Department of Elections reports of large $10,000 or more contributions show that in addition to Prices $1 million donation through the LLC to Youngkins PAC, Spirit of Virginia received nearly $400,000 from other LLCs this year. The biggest of those other donations, for $100,000, came from a Charlottesville firm described on the PACs filing as an asset management firm. The only information publicly available about the firm from its SCC filing is the name of the Charlottesville attorney designated to accept any legal filings or judgments involving the firm. The State of Tennessee has many positive records to brag about. We are known as one of the lowest-taxed states in the nation with a healthy business environment. Tennessee consistently tops the list as one of the best fiscally managed states in the country. A record number of people and businesses are moving to Tennessee each year to be a part of our flourishing state. In Tennessee, we have a lot to brag about. We need to make our literacy rate one of them. This year, literacy rates among 3rd graders improved by 4% a significant increase, comparatively. However, 60% of Tennessee 3rd graders are still not reading at grade level. While we should celebrate the improvements, there is still much work to be done. Tennessee ranks 35th in the nation for 4th grade reading scores based on the national NAEP test. We strive for excellence in Tennessee, and in order to continue to make gains towards that goal, we must strengthen our standards while also increasing support for students. Third grade marks a significant shift in students educational development, as they transition from learning to read to reading to learn. Students who cannot read on grade level before 4th grade will face a steep uphill battle in the grades to come. They will likely continue to fall behind, which can be demoralizing and limit their opportunities throughout life. Even still, an unacceptable number of students have been advancing in grades without being proficient in reading. To break this cycle and improve student literacy, parents, teachers, school districts and policy makers must work together on solutions and encourage students. The states new policy to address reading uses the best available data to identify students who cannot read proficiently by 3rd grade and ensures they receive the intervention needed to get them on track before 4th grade. A students test score on the English Language Arts (ELA) portion of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) is the primary factor considered to determine the level of intervention a student needs. Under the new policy, all students have the opportunity to be promoted to 4th grade, however some will need to complete summer school and/or tutoring to be promoted. Students who score in the approaching proficiency category must complete either summer school or tutoring in 4th grade to be promoted. Students who score in the bottom category of below basic must complete both summer school and tutoring in 4th grade in order to be promoted. A student who achieves exceeds or meets will advance to the next grade level without any additional action needed. For a student with limited ESL or a learning disability, waivers are available, and if needed, an appeal process that considers other methods to measure reading level. Currently, 15 states have similar policies. The research on retention is clear. Studies in Florida, Arizona, Florida and Mississippi have proven the positive academic effects of third-grade test-based promotion policies. In Florida and Arizona, introducing 3rd grade test-based promotion policies led to meaningful improvements in average test scores before the policy retained any student. In Mississippi, students who were retained in 3rd grade had substantially higher ELA scores in 6th grade, with the most positive effect on Black and Hispanic students. To be clear, our goal with this policy is not to hold students back. Instead, it is a long-term approach to achieving student success and improving outcomes throughout a students life. In fact, most high school dropouts are unable to read at their respective grade level, and an overwhelming number of jail inmates in our region are functionally illiterate. By focusing on early intervention and targeted support, we can break the cycles of poverty and incarceration that plague many disadvantaged communities of Tennesseans and secure brighter futures for all Tennessee students. NEWTON Carolina Caring is leading the way in health care innovation by offering a creative solution to a nationwide problem the shortage of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) to care for the rapidly aging baby boomer generation. In response to this staffing crisis, the serious illness care providers Center for Leadership & Learning has launched a state-approved CNA training program designed to provide expert education and immediate job placement. The nine-week training is held at the nonprofit organizations Newton campus, 3975 Robinson Road, and taught by licensed nursing instructors, who prepare students for the demanding North Carolina CNA certification test. Students are paid during their training and those who successfully complete the program and earn their certifications are then offered positions with Carolina Caring. Since the program launched in March, eight students have successfully completed the program and were hired as permanent staff. We have found that many people who are passionate about helping others and wish to start a career in health care are held back by their financial circumstances, says Dana Killian, Carolina Carings president and CEO. Our CNA training program helps removes some of those barriers. Not only is the training itself paid, we provide books and other supplies, equipping each student with everything they need to become a CNA and successfully start work immediately. Carolina Caring has always been a trailblazer in finding new ways to bring high-quality, compassionate care to those who need it most, and this is just one more way can serve our community, said Sue Nelson, Carolina Carings chief operating officer. Our Center for Leadership & Learning is proud to work in tandem with learning institutions like Catawba Valley Community College and others in the region to offer vital education in support of the health care industry. If you or someone you know dreams of starting a career in health care, but you dont know where to start, apply to the Carolina Caring CNA training program by calling 828-466-0466. The next session will be starting in August of 2023. Carolina Caring, founded in 1979, is an independent, community-based, nonprofit health care provider. It specializes in programs that offer relief from chronic conditions, serious illnesses, and the challenges they bring, including palliative medicine and hospice care for all ages, primary care and grief counseling. Currently, Carolina Caring serves 12 counties across western North Carolina and the Charlotte region. For more information, call 828-466-0466 or visit www.CarolinaCaring.org . NEWTON Carolina Caring has been a provider of compassionate, serious illness care to the residents of western North Carolina since 1979 and is now partnering with Four Seasons and Teleios Collaborative Network to bring innovative, quality, hospice services to communities in South Carolina. This new organization, called Caring Seasons Health, is now offering hospice care to York and Lancaster counties in South Carolina. Founded by three nonprofit organizations, Caring Seasons Health offers physical, emotional, and spiritual support to both the patient and family in their private home, a nursing center, retirement community, or wherever they call home. We are so grateful for the opportunity to serve our neighbors with quality, compassionate hospice care that will allow them to spend precious time with their loved ones in their home setting, said Leah Maul, chief operating officer of Caring Seasons Health of South Carolina. If you arent sure what hospice is, think you or a loved one might need our services, or want more information, please contact us. We understand how overwhelming this season of your life may be, and we are here to help. Caring Seasons is a collaboration between two nationally recognized, award-winning serious illness care organizations, Carolina Caring and Four Seasons, as well as Teleios Collaborative Network. With a combined 90 years of experience in providing serious illness care in North Carolina, the two organizations and their supporting network bring a wealth of experience, innovation, and trusted care to communities in South Carolina. "Providing trusted care to the community has been the mission of our founders for many years and is the mission that motivated us to form Caring Seasons. Every individual deserves respect, compassion, and dignity, and our Caring Seasons team makes that possible," said Dr. Millicent Burke-Sinclair, president and CEO of Four Seasons, The Care You Trust, a founding partner. Hospice care is specialized medical care providing pain and symptom management, emotional, and spiritual support to patients who are no longer seeking curative treatment and for whom life expectancy is six months or less. This care is provided by an interdisciplinary team of hospice professionals including physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, CNAs, social workers, chaplains, volunteers, and other specialists who work together with one's primary health care provider. We have very much appreciated the warm welcome we have received from the South Carolina community, and we look forward to making a positive impact on the community by leveraging the experience and expertise of our founding organizations, said Dana Kilian, president and CEO of Carolina Caring. While Caring Seasons Health is new to South Carolina, the founding hospices have been providing quality health care for over four decades. Located at 100 Main Street, Suite 204 in Fort Mill, S.C., Caring Seasons Health offers in-home hospice care. For more information, visit CaringSeasons.org or call 803-369-6255. Carolina Caring, founded in 1979, is an independent, community-based, nonprofit health care provider. It specializes in programs that offer relief from chronic conditions, serious illnesses, and the challenges they bring, including palliative medicine and hospice care for all ages, primary care and grief counseling. Currently, Carolina Caring serves 12 counties across western North Carolina and the Charlotte region. For more information, call 828-466-0466 or visit www.CarolinaCaring.org . Andrea Lauer Rice, head of the largest American Hungarian umbrella organization, said that Hungarians in the United States are organized in more than 100 organizations, 78 churches, 33 Hungarian schools, 25 scout groups, 12 Hungarian houses, museums and libraries. Almost every federal state has a Hungarian community he added. He called the Diaspora Council, of which he has been working as the American president since November 2019, one of the most effective organizations in national politics affecting the diaspora. As he put it, the council functions as a kind of global Hungarian network, whose members learn a lot from each other and help each other. Andrea Lauer Rice called the Sandor Korosi Csoma Program a serious opportunity among the Hungarian government grants for the diaspora. He believed that the coronavirus epidemic made the community of Hungarians in America stronger, partly because they were able to reach and involve more people through the events held via the Internet, which resulted in the strengthening of the community spirit. Looking to the future, Hungarians in America face two major challenges Andrea Lauer Rice explained. One is the involvement of the young generation in the life of the diaspora, in which the two most important organizations are the Foreign Hungarian Scout Association and the network of Hungarian weekend schools. He mentioned as the second challenge that those who do not speak Hungarian can be included as much as possible in the life of the Hungarian communities. He pointed out that of the 1.4 million Americans who consider themselves Hungarian or of Hungarian origin, about 1 million do not speak the language, typically those living in the United States since the second, third, or fourth generation. At the same time, they are also aware of their roots, so it is important that they can pass on the Hungarian heritage to them through the organizations of the diaspora, said the president of the American Hungarian Coalition in an interview with the public media. According to the latest census data of the United States, more than 1.4 million of the countrys population identify themselves as Hungarian or of Hungarian origin, said the president of the American Hungarian Coalition in an interview with the public media on the occasion of the Day of National Unity. Andrea Lauer Rice, head of the largest American Hungarian umbrella organization, added that Hungarians in the United States are organized in more than 100 organizations, 78 churches, 33 Hungarian schools, 25 scout groups, 12 Hungarian houses, museums and libraries. Almost every federal state has a Hungarian community. He called the Diaspora Council, of which he has been working as the American president since November 2019, one of the most effective organizations in national politics affecting the diaspora. The council functions as a kind of global Hungarian network, whose members learn a lot from each other and help each other. Janos Ader and his wife in Miami Photo: Noemi Bruzak / MTVA Media Services Support and Asset Management Fund Looking to the future, Hungarians in America face two major challenges, Lauer explained. One is the involvement of the young generation in the life of the diaspora, in which the two most important organizations are the Foreign Hungarian Scout Association and the network of Hungarian weekend schools. He mentioned as the second challenge that those who do not speak Hungarian can be included as much as possible in the life of the Hungarian communities. Of the 1.4 million Americans who consider themselves Hungarian or of Hungarian descent, about one million do not speak the language, typically those living in the United States since the second, third, or fourth generation. (The population of the USA can be estimated at 333 million.) They are also aware of their roots, so it is important that they can also pass on the Hungarian heritage to them through the organizations of the diaspora. The Day of National Unity highlights how important it is to preserve national unity and our Hungarianness wrote Istvan Simicsko, the leader of the parliamentary faction of the Christian Democratic Peoples Party (KDNP), in a statement sent to MTI on Sunday. He recalled: on June 4, 1920, in the Little Trianon Castle in Versailles, the peace treaty ending the First World War was signed between Hungary, which had just regained its sovereignty from four centuries of foreign rule, and the Entente powers. Posterity rightly considers it a peace dictate, since our country really had no say in shaping the conditions. According to Simicsko, the nation has been reunited symbolically and in reality with the naturalization law in recent years. Those stranded outside the border and their descendants can officially connect with the motherland and experience the experience of belonging to Hungary. With more than 1.2 million of our new compatriots, we believe that the values that are the determinants and foundations of our thinking and culture are still valid today and enrich and strengthen the community of European peoples. We face the uncertainties of the future optimistically and confidently with experience and faith rooted in the past, as this faith has sustained us for a thousand years! said Istvan Simicsko. Real Madrid announced on its official website that it will terminate the contract of 32-year-old Eden Hazard by mutual agreement, so the player will be free to certify after June 30. In the short statement, the club expressed its gratitude to the Belgian midfielder, although there was not much thanks for what he did during his four years in Madrid. Eden Hazard may look for a new team. Photo: Abir Sultan Considering the big transfer fee, Real Madrid made the biggest overreach in their history by signing Hazard. In 2019, the Belgian star was also given the number seven shirt, which was expected to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, and this was also indicated by the club record 115 million they paid for him to Chelsea. For this reason, Hazard was injured or sick for 360 days in his first two seasons in Madrid, i.e. almost a full year, and since then he has been an absolute fringe player in Carlo Ancelottis team. This season, he played only 392 minutes in ten games for Real. A huge disappointment compared to the expensiveness of Real Madrid Considering Real Madrids record signings, Hazards performance is a huge disappointment. Before the Belgian, Gareth Bale was the clubs most expensive signing, he arrived from Tottenham in 2013 for 101 million. Even though the Welshmans departure was not pretty, he scored 106 goals in 258 games and was a key figure in the Champions League victories. Before Bale, the club record was held by Cristiano Ronaldo, for whom they paid Manchester United 94 million in 2009. He became the most successful player in the clubs history with 450 goals. It would be difficult to list the other merits. Before Ronaldo, for a long time, Zinedine Zidane was the transfer record holder in Madrid, who arrived from Juventus in 2001 for 77.5 million. The following year, he decided the CL final against Bayer Leverkusen with a beautiful shot. And that was just his most memorable moment of many. In comparison, Hazard hardly played, and when he did, it wasnt outstanding either. Even so, he won eight titles with the team, including a BL gold and two league titles, but he had little to do with them. Big announcements in Madrid Life has revived around Reals house. The club also announced Marco Asensios departure on Saturday, but according to Transfermarkts exclusive information, Karim Benzema, whose contract is also expiring, will stay for another year. Even so, there are still many question marks: the contracts of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Dani Ceballos and Nacho Fernandez also expire in the summer. Cover photo: Eden Hazard leaves Real after four years (Photo: AFP/Bruno Fahy) Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune. Mike Delaney, with Chicago Fly House, secures a new dinosaur cast of a 46-foot-long carnivorous Spinosaurus in the Field Museum's main hall on June 2, 2023. The Spinosaurus is the world's largest predatory dinosaur and six feet longer than Sue. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) The Field Museum has a new dinosaur, one that is both larger and a better swimmer than Sue. A 46-foot-long Spinosaurus cast was suspended in the main hall of the Field Museum on Friday, pulled off the ground by wires hanging from the glass ceiling. Advertisement Its a display of the worlds largest predatory dinosaur, surpassing the museums famous T. rex fossil Sue by 6 feet. The Spinosaurus was semiaquatic, hunting prey in rivers. For this reason, exhibit developer Benjamin Miller said they decided to pose the cast in a swimming position to feel like youre a fish and this big river monster is swimming down at you. Advertisement The Spinosaurus is popular with kids, Miller said, so it was natural for the Field Museum to bring one to Chicago. At some point in the last 10 years, every kid who likes dinosaurs decided that Spinosaurus is their favorite, he said. When Miller leads tours with kids, someone always asks where they can see a Spinosaurus. In the past, Miller has had to tell them there isnt one anywhere in the Western Hemisphere. But the answer will be different now. Students from Kellogg Elementary in the Beverly neighborhood visit the Field Museum after the unveiling of a Spinosaurus in the museum's main hall on June 2, 2023. The Spinosaurus is the world's largest predatory dinosaur and six feet longer than Sue. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) This will be the first one outside Japan on permanent display, so hopefully it will make a lot of kids happy, he said. One of these happy kids was 7-year-old Benjamin Olsen Garcia, whose family travels from Madison, Wisconsin, several times a year to the museum. His family came specifically to see the Spinosaurus on Thursday. I have a Spinosaurus tooth at my house, he said. Its really cool and interesting to see an actual Spinosaurus. Dinosaurs are the museums most-loved ambassadors, said Field Museum president Julian Siggers. They open a gateway to science that, for many of our visitors, prompts lifelong learning and a life of curiosity and wonder, he said. This particular dinosaur model was also the result of international collaboration, Siggers said. The Spinosaurus cast was based on the fossils housed at the Hassan II University in Casablanca, Morocco. The fossils were discovered in 2008 by a team in the Saharan Desert, including Field Museum researcher Matteo Fabbri. Advertisement Julian Siggers, left, president and CEO of the Field Museum, talks with evolutionary biologist Matteo Fabbri, right, before the unveiling of the new Spinosaurus on June 2, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) Fabbri said the 2008 discovery changed scientists understanding of just how much the Spinosaurus spent swimming. It has dense bones that made swimming easier, for example, unlike birds or other predatory dinosaurs that have hollow bones. Those bones would have helped it submerge itself underwater in pursuit of prey. It was the first time we had a smoking gun to say that this dinosaur was spending a lot of time swimming in water, Fabbri said. He said it was amazing to see the Spinosaurus lifted up into its new home. The cast was made in Italy, then shipped to the museum by plane. Four a.m., we started mounting the specimen, and it was a great, great feeling to see that everything went well, Fabbri said. The Spinosaurus cast in Stanley Field Hall will be the centerpiece of Dino Fest from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 10, with dinosaur trivia games, a poetry station, a book fair and presentations from the Fields dinosaur curator Jingmai OConnor and paleoartist Ted Rechlin; at the Field Museum, 1400 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive; www.fieldmuseum.org DECATUR Chris Amero started worrying about his clients mental fitness shortly after taking on the case in late August. His client, Ricardo Q. Holloway known around the Amero law office as Ricky was facing felony charges of aggravated domestic battery and strangulation, in addition to a domestic battery misdemeanor. It was far from the first time hed been in trouble with the law. According to Macon County court records, Holloway, 34, of Decatur, has a criminal record that includes felony offenses of criminal trespassing, obstructing justice, manufacturing and distributing a look-alike substance, resisting or obstructing a peace officer, unlawful restraint, possession of a controlled substance, domestic battery and more. Holloway was charged with his latest offenses in March 2022. Amero requested a fitness hearing in October, and prosecutors did not object to the motion. On Dec. 16, a judge ruled Holloway was unfit to stand trial and should be committed to custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services. Amero notified the state agency immediately, as ordered by the court. But for Holloway, nothing changed. Holloway is just one of dozens of Central Illinois inmates whove been declared unfit to stand trial but are stuck in county jails for months as they await critical, court-ordered psychiatric care from the state. Lee Enterprises last month spoke to law enforcement officials across the region, with several reporting wait times over 100 days. IDHS did not provide a comment for the initial story, but provided answers to a list of questions after it was published. In it, an agency spokesperson said it was working to address challenges attributed to both increased demand for services and staffing shortages. IDHS takes seriously its duty to expeditiously house individuals who have been remanded to its custody and its obligation to defendants to begin the restoration process quickly, the spokesperson said. Amero and his office are attempting to push their client off of the growing waiting list while dealing with what they say has been a severe lack of communication from IDHS. Sydney White, a receptionist at the Amero office, said she spends much of her time fielding calls from Holloway and his mother, calling mental health facilities to check on bed availability, and attempting to contact the state. Many of those attempts have been unsuccessful. Handling Holloways case has left White and Amero feeling like theyve taken on the responsibilities of a social worker in addition to their normal job requirements. The problem that we've been having right now is communication, White said. I will say, we've gotten a lot better communication because somebody new has stepped into the (caseworker) role there. So the person that we were contacting before, she wasn't responding to emails, wasn't calling anybody, wouldn't talk to his family, wouldn't talk to us. And we were just trying to move the process along a lot quicker than it's been going. Like I said, he's been in there for about seven months for no reason, just sitting. Holloways new IDHS caseworker was able to provide White with a vital piece of information: Per their most recent update, Holloway is No. 13 on a list of 34 individuals in the region awaiting a bed at McFarland Mental Health Center in Springfield. Six months later Holloway has been waiting for a bed for nearly 170 days. During that time hes been rejected by at least one behavioral health center, The Pavilion in Champaign, because of his inmate status. He would have had to (have) been out of jail in order to go into that facility, White said. But because he's an inmate, he couldn't go there. The state-operated facilities that accept inmates unfit to stand trial or declared not guilty by reason of insanity include Alton Mental Health Center, Chester Mental Health Center, Chicago-Read Mental Health Center, Choate Mental Health and Development Center, Elgin Mental Health Center, Madden Mental Health Center and McFarland Mental Health Center. However, the Pavilion is not one of the main behavioral health facilities to which IDHS admits patients from county jails. But White and others in Ameros office have reached out to as many other behavioral health facilities as possible in hopes of finding any location that could treat Holloway immediately. They also hope to meet a request from Holloway and his mother to find a treatment center where his children would be allowed to visit him. Most other treatment options are for profit and have stricter admission protocol, such as inmate status. IDHS notably rejects the use of the term inmates to describe individuals like Holloway, who per court orders have been remanded into IDHS custody and cannot leave the jails in which theyre being held. Note: These are not inmates, but individuals either found unfit to stand trial, who IDHS/DMH restores so that they can continue in the criminal justice process, IDHS said, as part of a response to questions from Lee Enterprises. But Amero and his employees say Holloways case refutes that distinction. They are inmates, Amero said. Because if Ricardo was out see, I don't want to get into this soapbox thing, but it just shows you the disparity between rich and poor. If he were able to post bond, he'd be in The Pavilion right now getting treatment. "But because he can't post bond, now he's got to be drugged through the (expletive) mud. Because his family can't afford to bond him out. So now he's got to do this. Whereas, you know, if you get someone who just bonds out, it's not even an issue. Why wait? In a statement issued to Lee Enterprises reporters, IDHS attributed long inmate wait times to staffing shortages and a post-pandemic mental health crisis. That statement came after publication of an initial examination of the issue by Lee Enterprises reporters last month. Two things are happening at once the number of people experiencing mental illness and being involved in the criminal system has significantly increased and the number of people available to fill open mental health sector jobs has decreased, a department spokesperson wrote in an email. According to the department, Illinois has seen a more than 20% increase in forensic placements by the courts since the pandemic began. In October, IDHS Division of Mental Health received over 90 forensic referrals. This was a record number for just one month, the department said. There is not a pool of unused, staffed, empty beds that could otherwise be filled, the IDHS spokesperson wrote. But the department still attributed many of its issues to a nationwide workforce crisis, which IDHS officials hope to combat by investing in hiring efforts, hosting job fairs, enhancing marketing efforts and raising starting salaries for some mental health care jobs. IDHS confirmed it has a patient prioritization system that ranks inmates awaiting care based on a few key factors. IDHS/the Division of Mental Health prioritizes admission by clinical need, so that people in the most urgent mental health crisis can get appropriate access to treatment, the department said. There are also criteria for expedited admission based upon presentation at the jail. IDHS did not elaborate on criteria for how it defines the most urgent crises. Aside from the most severe and demanding cases, inmates are admitted to proper care facilities in order of date on their respective court orders. The long game Holloway is not the first of Ameros clients to experience months-long wait times for psychiatric care. Amero also represents Matthew L. Keith, 38, of Decatur, who faces a felony charge of domestic battery and violating an order of protection. He has been in a state treatment facility for nearly a year. Keith waited roughly three or four months last year before being transferred, but White said that process was still smoother than Holloway's. Nobody knows exactly how long Keith will need to stay in treatment before a psychiatrist deems him fit to stand trial, or how long Holloway will have to wait to finally be placed in a treatment center. In the meantime, the justice process is on pause. The state will have to make a determination as to whether or not to proceed with the charges, Amero said. Just because Ricky, (with) these domestic violence cases, just because he's unfit doesn't mean the case just goes away. He'll go get his treatment. And then if the state wants to proceed with it, when he's done, they'll proceed with it. And then they can still theoretically send him to prison. Years-long delays and drawn-out trials also mean higher court costs and an undue burden on taxpayers, Macon County Sheriff Jim Root said last month. We're limited on our mental health resources, and it is a burden on the local taxpayer and is counterproductive to the people that need these services outside of our facility, Root previously told Lee Enterprises. The state says its taking action to decrease wait times and speed up the justice process. Despite challenges due to referral volume and staffing, IDHS has taken many steps to increase bed capacity and availability and to address the length of time that defendants are waiting in the county jails for admission, the agency spokesperson said. Cited steps include repurposing existing bed space; entering a hospital partnership with University of Chicago Ingalls Memorial Hospital to create dozens more medium and minimum secure beds; increasing the number of outpatient restoration services across the state; making improvements at a currently unused building at Alton Mental Health Center also to create more beds; and working with public health partners to admit some eligible individuals to community care, making room for new forensic admissions. IDHS said it has added more than 90 beds since July 2022 between the state mental health centers in Springfield, Elgin, Chicago and Alton. Under the Mental Health Inpatient Facility Access Act signed into law last year, DHS' Division of Mental Health was required to develop a strategic plan that would propose ways to improve access to inpatient psychiatric beds in state-operated mental health facilities. The report should include the development of benchmarks to ensure that individuals unfit to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity are admitted to a state facility within the 60-day window set forth by the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Although the strategic plan was supposed to be finalized and made publicly available by May 27, DHS officials have indicated that the report may not be accessible for another few weeks. Former Bellevue resident Lauren Johnson is excited to be home. My parents and brother still live in Bellevue, so Im really excited to get back and sleep in my childhood bedroom, Johnson said. That is the one thing Im looking most forward to. Johnson, now a resident of New York City, returns to the Omaha area this week as part of the national Broadway touring cast of Hairspray. The show, which opened Tuesday at the Orpheum Theater, runs through Sunday. It is the last show in Omaha Performing Arts 2022-23 Broadway season. Its been really exciting, she told the Omaha World-Herald. Its been a big learning opportunity, and its been a good job to have to really get me started in my theatrical career. Hairspray is based on John Waters 1988 film of the same name. Set in 1962 Baltimore, the musical follows teenage girl Tracy Turnblad and her dream to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program. Her dreams come true when she lands a role on the show and becomes a celebrity overnight. She then uses her new celebrity status to lead social change and push for integration on the show. The musical features 1960s-style dance music and Motown-style rhythm and blues. Some of the shows most memorable songs include, Mama, Im a Big Girl Now, Welcome to the 60s and You Cant Stop The Beat. Johnson plays Lorraine, a member of the ensemble, and is the understudy for one of the principal roles, Motormouth Maybelle. Johnson graduated from Bellevue West High School in 2017 and has performed with the Omaha Community Playhouse. She won multiple awards through Omaha Performing Arts Nebraska High School Theater Academy program, serving as the Jimmy Awards representative in New York City in both her junior and senior years of high school. She graduated from Viterbo University in Lacrosse, Wisconsin, in 2021. Some of Johnsons other stage credits include Into the Woods, Godspell and Kinky Boots. Hairspray is Johnsons first national tour. She said both her role as Lorraine and her work as an understudy have helped her learn more about her chosen career path. Both of these roles have given me the opportunity to work on being in an ensemble, but then also get a little taste of being a lead in a big Broadway national tour, she said. Its been a really nice balance between spending time doing the singing and the dancing, but then also like really working on myself as a principal actor. Johnson said one of the best aspects of Hairspray is how relatable the themes are in todays society. That, and the music. Theres nobody who has seen Hairspray that says they dont like the music. Its big and sparkly and fun to look at, Johnson said. But its also the idea of being inclusive and, despite each others differences, coming together for a common goal which is to sing and dance on The Corny Collins Show regardless of what you look like or your race or your weight. Its just a really great story to like bring audiences together. Her family has been in the Hairspray tour audience before, Johnson said. In February, they traveled to Sioux City, Iowa, to see the show and her. Though Johnson had returned to the metro area for Christmas, she said she is always happy to return to her hometown. I miss how quiet it is. Especially the suburbs, she said. I can go to sleep at night without sirens and music playing on the street. But also just the community, its really strong and I have people there who Ive known my whole life and who I will know for the rest of my life. That familiarity is just very comforting. So what do bacon, blueberries and Capitol Hills fast-spinning revolving door have in common? Newsies know: All have been covered in this space over the past year, all have ties to Washington, D.C., and all are in the news again. Lets go first to the tasty bacon news from the suddenly very dishy U.S. Supreme Court. In a 5-4 decision on May 11, the court ruled against the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Pork Producers Council and the Biden Administration and for Californias humanely raised pork law. The Big Ag plaintiffs wanted the state law declared unconstitutional because, they alleged, its practical effect (was) to control commercial conduct beyond Californias boundaries. In the frying pan was a three-times approved -- twice by voters, once by the state legislature -- ban on California businesses from selling eggs and uncooked pork and veal as noted here last September, "from animals housed in ways that did not meet the new state standards. Some of those ways -- like sow farrowing crates and battery cages for hens -- are mainstays of modern livestock production. The NPPC, AFBF and the White House fought for the crates and cages, claiming the California law violated interstate commerce. Writing for the courts majority, however, Justice Neil M. Gorsuch rejected their argument to create any new and more aggressive constitutional restrictions on the ability of States to regulate goods sold within their borders, noted the Washington Post. Gorsuch punctuated his majority opinion with some uncourtly snarkiness: While the Constitution addresses many weighty issues, he wrote, the type of pork chops California merchants sell is not on that list. Boom. American organic fruit and vegetable buyers would love to have that level of final-word clarity on the United States Department of Agricultures ever-shifting organic food rules. Recent rule changes -- designed to benefit corporate organic growers -- have brought massive changes to the American organic landscape. For example, USDAs rule to permit soil-free, hydroponic production of vegetables and fruit has, in just a few short years, clobbered small U.S. organic blueberry farmers. Peru, reports the Real Organic Project, has largely displaced most U.S. blueberry growers because farmers there can grow blueberries faster and cheaper under USDAs recently changed rules meant to boost American corporate hydroponic producers. In fact, reported the BBC recently, Peru -- a nation that grew virtually no blueberries a decade ago -- is now the worlds top blueberry exporter, selling $1.4 billion of the fruit overseas in 2022. This is just Another example of how degrading the definition of Organic has real consequences, explained ROP. Had the USDA standard remained soil-based and not opened the market to hydroponically grown blueberries, it argues, U.S. growers would continue to sell high-value late-season fruit. Under the hydroponic rules -- rules ROP fought against because organic, by definition, means soil -- U.S. (blueberry) producers have been hit hard and most of that imported production is hydroponic. How did that happen? Enter Washingtons legislator-to-lobbyist revolving door -- or, more accurately, open barn door -- where its nearly impossible to distinguish lawmakers from law shakers. In fact, according to opensecrets.org, a non-partisan, non-profit group that tracks money and influence in American politics, a staggering 467 former House and Senate members lobbied Capitol Hill during the 115th Congress to attempt to influence the very federal government in which they used to serve. Think about that: Four years ago (the latest published numbers), the 467 former lawmakers asking one-time colleagues for a favor nearly equaled the number of onetime colleagues, 535, they asked. Why? Because all that grinning, gripping and greasing works, explained U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Maine Democrat on the House Ag Committee and a certified organic farmer. (T)here are 1,200 lobbyists on the Hill that work for the agriculture and food processing industry, she told the ROP podcast. They spend about $350 million a year on forming opinions in Washington. And thats more than the defense industry, so dont underestimate their power. For proof, just look at USDAs organic hydroponics rule; lobbyists pushed that choice, not voters, and American farmers are paying the price. After 51 years, a Lincoln pilot who went missing in action during the Vietnam War will be buried on Monday at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery. Larry Alfred Zich, who was 24 when the UH-1H Iroquois helicopter he was co-piloting went missing on April 3, 1972, will be interred with full military honors at 10 a.m. To honor Zich, several groups will be in attendance, including the Patriot Guard Riders, VFW Post 4626, American Legion Post 3, Nebraska Veterans Affairs and the Daughters of American Revolution-Deborah Avery Chapter. A flyover will be conducted by the Nebraska National Guard. A native of Sturgis, South Dakota, Zich went missing after he and three other crew members on the helicopter got lost during a combat support mission that departed Marble Mountain in Da Nang, South Vietnam. More than 16 years later, in 1988, the Defense Intelligence Agency received human remains from a Vietnamese refugee that belonged to nine different people who reportedly died in an aircraft crash and were buried in Quang Nam province. One set of these remains was associated with Zich. It then took the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency approximately 35 more years to conclusively confirm, on Oct. 25, 2022, that they were the remains of Zich. Members of the public are invited to attend the services, which will be held at the Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home and Cemetery, 6800 S. 14th St. Memorial Day: Remembering Nebraskans loved and lost PFC Leonard F. Preister Gaylord L. Blanc Veteran Edward E. Kimm William E. Phalen Kenneth H. Carnicle Richard L. Monnier Veteran PFC Franklin W. Ritter Pvt. James Svec Fritz Grant Minder William G. Rockel Leslie Clymer and Milton Clymer Lt. James Edwin Kelley Jeffrey Alan Alexander Robert Schenaman E.W. Stevens Cory R. Mracek Frank Stuart Lomax Harry Perkinton Claude A. Fiedler Mike Doheny Lawrence Wilcox Wilfred M. Schutz E.W. Stevens Joseph A. Gilmore Melvin Leroy Fertig Jay Dana Morse Harvey Hubka Hank Krass Clair Geiger Sgt. Jed Marsh Chuck van Rossum Kenneth W. Wright Miguel Beltran Dean Wright Staff Sgt. Patrick Hamburger Sgt. Jason T. Palmerton Pauley, Betty J. Thompson, William Bill Rollin Fritch Wittrock, Raymond R. "Red" "Woody" Bopp, Walter D. Blum, Harry J. Benjamin G. Prange Robert Woody Donald K Schwab Wachtel, C.L. "Vern" Rex Fuller Jess Hartsell Martin, Eugene R. Gayle Eyler Sage brothers Hoppe, Frank Henry Doran, Ivan E. Jack Allsman Hunter Hogan 'Searching for Stanley' Linda Tarango-Griess Staff Sgt. Lillian Clamens Special Agent Nathan J. Schuldheiss Spc. Nathaniel A. Caldwell Pfc. Eric Paul Woods Staff Sgt. Jason Fegler Spc. Dustin L. Workman II Capt. Matthew Nielson Capt. Travis A. Ford Petty Officer 3rd Class David J. Moreno Staff Sgt. Christopher W. Swisher Staff Sgt. Daniel Bader Spc. James R. Wolf Sgt. Dennis A. Corral Sgt. Cory Mracek Pvt. Noah Lee Boye Spc. Dennis Morgan Matthew Henderson Lance Cpl. Kyle Codner Sgt. Jeremy Fischer Petty Officer 3rd Class Eric L. Knott 1st Lt. Edward Iwan Lance Cpl. Shane E. Kielion Sgt. Nicholas Nolte Staff Sgt. Tricia L. Jameson Spc. Darren Howe Capt. Joel Cahill 1st Lt. Garrison Avery Sgt. Lonnie Calvin Allen Jr. Lance Cpl. Brent Zoucha Pfc. Benjamin Slaven Spc. Jeremy Jones Spc. Joshua Ford Staff Sgt. Jeffrey J. Hansen Spc. Germaine Debro Staff Sgt. Scott E. Nisely Lance Cpl. Michael Scholl Staff Sgt. Jeremy W. Mulhair 1st Lt. Jacob Fritz Sgt. Randy Matheny Sgt. Wayne R. Cornell Petty Officer 1st Class Joseph Adam McSween 1st Lt. Kevin Gaspers Sgt. Kenneth E. Locker Jr. Cpl. Matthew Alexander Spc. William Bailey III Spc. Adam G. Herold Spc. Val John Borm Spc. Josiah W. Hollopeter Sgt. Jacob Schmuecker Sgt. Justin Duffy Pfc. Michael Jarrett John Douangdara Jeffrey Chaney ATHENS, Greece Deep in an open coal mine in southern Greece, researchers have discovered the antiquities-rich country's oldest archaeological site, which dates to 700,000 years ago and is associated with modern humans hominin ancestors. The find would drag the dawn of Greek archaeology back by as much as a quarter of a million years, although older hominin sites have been discovered elsewhere in Europe. The oldest, in Spain, dates to more than a million years ago. The Greek site was one of five investigated in the Megalopolis area during a five-year project involving an international team of experts, a Culture Ministry statement said. It was found to contain rough stone tools from the Lower Palaeolithic period about 3.3 million to 300,000 years ago and the remains of an extinct species of giant deer, elephants, hippopotamus, rhinoceros and a macaque monkey. The project was directed by Panagiotis Karkanas of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Eleni Panagopoulou from the Greek Culture Ministry and Katerina Harvati, a professor of paleoanthropology at the University of Tubingen in Germany. The artifacts are simple tools, like sharp stone flakes, belonging to the Lower Paleolithic stone tool industry, the co-directors said in comments e-mailed to The Associated Press. They said it's possible the items were produced by Homo antecessor, the hominin species dating from that period in other parts of Europe. Homo antecessor is believed to have been the last common ancestor of modern humans and their extinct Neanderthal cousins, who diverged about 800,000 years ago. However, we will not be able to be sure until hominin fossil remains are recovered, the project directors said. (The site) is the oldest currently known hominin presence in Greece, and it pushes back the known archaeological record in the country by up to 250,000 years. The tools, which were likely used for butchering animals and processing wood or other plant matter, were made about 700,000 years ago, though the researchers said they were awaiting further analyses to refine the dating. We are very excited to be able to report this finding, which demonstrates the great importance of our region for understanding hominin migrations to Europe and for human evolution in general, the three co-directors said. Archaeologist Nikos Efstratiou, a professor of prehistoric archaeology at Greece's University of Thessaloniki who was not involved in the project, said the discovery was very important in itself, not just because it represented the countrys oldest known site. There is an archaeological context in which tools, and remains of animals, have been found, Efstratiou said. Its an important and very early site ... that allows us to move far back, and in an authoritative manner, the age of the first tools in Greece. Another of the sites investigated in the Megalopolis area of the southern Peloponnese peninsula home of the enormously later sites of Mycenae, Olympia and Pylos contained the oldest Middle Palaeolithic remains found in Greece, dating to roughly 280,000 years ago. (It's) one of the oldest sites in Europe that have tools characteristic of the so called Middle Palaeolithic tool industry, suggesting that Greece may have played a significant role in (stone) industry developments in Europe, the researchers said. The Megalopolis plain has for decades been mined for coal to supply a local power plant. During Palaeolithic times it contained a shallow lake. The area has long been known as a source of fossils, and in ancient times huge prehistoric bones dug up there were linked with the Greek myths of a long-vanished race of giants that fought the gods of Olympus. Some ancient writers cited Megalopolis as the site of a major battle in that supernatural war. State government leaders spent a good chunk of Thursday the last day of the 108th Legislatures long session touting legislation major and minor that will impact Nebraska for years and decades to come. Changes to public school funding, a slashing of tax rates, funding for major water infrastructure and highway projects, urban renewal and criminal justice reforms were lifted up as examples of the good kind of governance thats possible when senators work together. But the contentious, rancorous and in many cases nasty session where rules were bent, norms were tested and new precedents were established during a debate on bills banning abortion and gender-affirming care for minors has several lawmakers wondering about the future of the Legislature itself. Omaha Sen. Wendy DeBoer, who throughout the 90-day session pleaded with her colleagues to stop exploring new and novel ways to use the institutions rules for an edge over their political opponents, said senators have a lot of work before them to restore the working relationships that make the legislative branch function in Nebraska. Weve healed from a lot of things in the past, there have been a lot of other years where things were bad, but not this bad, DeBoer said. I think there are some things weve done that are unprecedented and that will have long-term effects. Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard, who often voiced frustrations with the slow pace on the floor and at one point suggested a wholesale rewrite to the rules, called this years Legislature the most frustrating session Ive ever been involved with. Erdman, who noted that the Legislature was overall successful in what it accomplished, said changes will be made to the Legislatures rules and procedures before the 60-day session convenes in January 2024. Navigating those changes will be tricky, he added: We will change the rules, but well have to discuss how we go forward and make sure were treating everyone equal and fair and that everybody gets an opportunity to say what they need to say. DeBoer said she worried the unusual session would inadvertently become the wrong template for the large class of first-year senators to use moving forward, and Erdman said sessions like this years would turn off individuals considering serving their state in the Legislature. Speaker John Arch, meanwhile, told senators on the final day of the session he hopes this year would be an aberration, not a predictor of the future and pledged to repair and rebuild relationships before next year. My commitment to this institution and to the members of this body will be to work with you over the interim to assess the lessons both good and bad of this session, learn from them, and move forward as we define not only what we do, but how we do it, Arch said. Tough from the start The list of precedent-breaking actions and reactions began early in the 2023 session, with senators alleging the process for assigning senators to committees in the officially nonpartisan Legislature had been tainted by partisan politics to influence policy outcomes. Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston, the chair of the Committee on Committees, denied those allegations and said the process had been followed, but the disagreement spilled onto the floor where it became the focus of the sessions first filibuster, which stretched out across two days. A few days later, as senators were hurtling toward the conclusion of bill introduction where more than 800 measures were introduced, the bill that became the focus of months of debate was introduced and met with a motion to immediately end the session. LB574 from Omaha Sen. Kathleen Kauth proposed a ban on all gender-affirming care for individuals under 19 in Nebraska. Moments after it was introduced, Omaha Sen. Megan Hunt brought a motion to kill the bill before it could be assigned to a committee, and Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad sponsored an unsuccessful motion to adjourn the Legislature for the year before it could even kick into high gear. A day after the Health and Human Services Committee advanced LB574 and LB626, which would have prohibited abortion after about six weeks, to the floor for debate, Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh began introducing a series of motions and floor amendments tactics used in filibusters of specific bills on every piece of legislation that came before lawmakers in an attempt to stave off consideration of LB574. Cavanaughs filibuster, which garnered national media attention, was within the bounds of the Legislatures rules, but the second-term senators efforts rankled her colleagues, both registered Republicans as well as a few Democrats, for delaying other bills from getting consideration. When LB574 finally came up for debate, Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar, after a handful of senators had taken their time to speak, but with more than 30 senators still in the speaking queue, called the question in an effort to remove one hurdle from the bill being advanced. Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly ruled Slamas move out of order, noting that there had not been full and fair debate with so many other senators waiting to speak. Slama then moved to overrule the chair and a majority of senators voted with her to shut off debate. Two days later, with about two hours of debate remaining for LB574 on general file, opponents of the bill filed a series of priority motions allowing them to jump to the front of the speaking queue, eat up roughly 10 minutes of time, and then withdraw. The strategy effectively kept supporters of the bill from speaking; opponents said the unprecedented move was done to take the conversation back from hurtful comments made during the previous days debate. Ultimately, the bill narrowly advanced. The following day Day 50 Erdman said the tactics used by opponents of LB574 was very disrespectful to the senators who were in the queue and he brought a rules change to allow only three priority motions to be introduced once per day on each round of debate. While the rules change itself did not raise eyebrows, longtime legislative observers said the way it was brought in the middle of a session without first being referred to a committee was akin to taking a sledgehammer to the rules process. A majority of senators approved the rules change, which then prompted Cavanaugh, Hunt and Conrad to introduce more than 740 motions on bills that had already been advanced from committees to the floor, securing time on each bill to keep the filibuster going. In an attempt to evade the filibuster, senators took a new approach to getting their bills moving by combining them into legislative packages in committees. The maneuver is not entirely new committees have historically advanced Christmas tree bills loaded up with a handful of different measures but some of the bills grew to include more than 30 pieces of legislation with wide-ranging subjects. As the Legislature began to adjust to its new normal, more procedural oddities continued to crop up during debates on the most hot-button issues of the session. Near the end of second-round debate on LB574, Hunt withdrew a series of motions in an effort to force Kauth to bring an amendment that removed certain treatments up for a vote. Kauth said she planned to withdraw the amendment, and that the compromise was no longer being extended, but before she could, Arch announced the Legislature would stand at ease for 15 minutes. A motion to recess the Legislature for 30 minutes, which Arch later explained was needed to explain to the first-year lawmaker what her options were, was later adopted a move senators past and present and other long-time legislative observers said they had never seen before. When they returned, Kauth asked senators to vote against her amendment and to advance the bill, which a majority did, sending LB574 to final reading with no amendments attached. With the session winding down, on Day 78, the Legislature took the unusual step of combining an abortion ban after about 12 weeks gestational age introduced after the near-total ban failed to advance from the second round of debate with the ban on transgender health care that was on final reading. The debate on the amendment was scheduled to go for two hours, but ended up lasting longer than six. Opponents to both measures, in an attempt to keep the clock running and prevent the amendment from being attached, raised a series of points of order. While each was being discussed, the time did not count toward the two-hour total. Eventually, time ran out, the amendment was attached, and the bill was advanced. Three days later, it was sent to Gov. Jim Pillen following a raucous day of debate at the Capitol that saw several people arrested. Before the dust settled on the debate over LB574, Cavanaugh said she planned to continue her filibuster next year. What comes next On Thursday, as senators wrapped up their work for the year, Cavanaugh said the final week of the session contained some glimmers of hope for the Legislature she specifically mentioned the override of a gubernatorial veto but added shes unsure what the future will look like. Throughout the hours and hours she spent speaking during weeks of filibusters, Cavanaugh said she tried to be very consistent about the need for the Legislature to follow its rules and established processes. This job can be tedious, this job can be boring it should be boring, she said. This job is all about process and procedure and I think keeping that integrity intact, even if it's working against my interests, is of the utmost importance. While Erdman suggested that opponents of LB574 needed to move on, he said he believes Cavanaugh, Hunt and others will continue their filibuster in 2024: What they started, they will continue. They understand what they are able to do. The Rules Committee chair said hell ask senators to consider rules changes limiting priority motions the tools of the filibuster as well as changes to cloture votes, eliminating the secret ballot vote for committee leadership positions, and the number of bills that can be introduced. Those proposals, if they are advanced to the floor, would likely mean a lengthy fight in the short session. But Erdman, who was critical of Cavanaugh as she took time to grind the Legislature to a crawl, and also critical of Slama during a final round filibuster of a voter ID bill on Thursday, said any changes made to how the filibuster works need to be carefully considered. Its not to restrict free speech, he said, but you have to have the opportunity to let government function the way its supposed to function. DeBoer said she believes allowing senators to develop relationships away from the legislative chamber will help drive a better process, and perhaps move lawmakers away from a "win at all cost" mentality she said gripped the body this year. Sometimes in the spotlight and the pressure of the session, we dont get to have the conversations that we need to have, she said. There are a lot of people who are new this year who might suspect the way we did things this year is the way they are done. I think theres going to have to be some education by folks who are further along in their terms to the people who are new about why things went the way they did this year, DeBoer added. Arch echoed DeBoer and said those conversations are more necessary than ever since term limits have continued to hamper the Legislature. Once relationships have been built, one-third of the 49 senators in the unicameral system are forced out, and a fresh crop of new senators are brought in, requiring new relationships to be built. That can be tough when the discussions turn to divisive issues, Arch said. We debate ideology, but we end up doing that within the context of relationships," he said. "The time to develop those relationships isnt on the mic, its before the bill gets to the floor. Arch said those conversations have already started and will continue in the coming months. But Cavanaugh said she was leery that the strategy would make a difference. "I'm always open to that, but people have to be willing to make an effort and I'm not sure that willingness is there." Photos: The business of governing in Nebraska in 2023 Generally, the last of Nebraskas 93 counties to form were in the Sandhills where population density was, and remains, very low. Because cattle need large areas to forage, the land attracted large ranchers as the first settlers, like John Bratt, the North brothers, and William F. Buffalo Bill Cody. Before there were even small numbers of settlers, the Nebraska territorial and later state legislatures named and assigned tentative boundaries for a number of counties. Initially several of these proposed counties were combined or bundled for judicial and taxation purposes. Then, later, as they became populated, they would be split off as individual counties as first designated. Arthur County, in the southern part of the Sandhills is a good example. The 1886-87 Nebraska legislature created Arthur County, named for the U.S. President Chester Arthur, set its boundaries and even assigned the name of its county seat as the city of Arthur, which would be codified, set and affirmed by a vote of its residents. At first Arthur County and McPherson County were part of Logan County, but quickly, McPherson was spun off with Arthur County attached to it in anticipation of later settlement. In 1890 the dual county population was 492 with what was then referred to as Arthur Precinct contributing only 91 people. An election in January of 1892 gave McPherson the right to permanently annex the originally designated Arthur County. Initially Arthur Precinct began to lobby to move the McPherson County seat closer to Arthur at the virtually nonexistent village of Flats and near the center of the combined area. At about the same point in time, however, the elections legality was questioned, pointing out that any annexation would be at the direction of the state legislature, not on the county residents' level. By the beginning of the 20th century, it was becoming obvious that settlement of the Sandhills was stymied as ranching and farming could not exist profitability on the 160 acre claims then permitted. The 1904 Kinkaid Act, initiated by U.S. Congressman Moses Kinkaid, allowed 37 counties in the Sandhills to be granted 640 acre claims in place of 160. In 1905 McPherson County still reported a population of only 515 in an area of 1,584 square miles, but by 1910 it had almost explosively increased to a population of 2,470. A large percent of McPherson was opposed to moving the county seat, which caused Arthur Precinct to attempt to secede in 1912-13 but the legislature intervened and passed a new enabling act allowing the re-establishment of the earlier Arthur County. On June 7, the governor appointed a temporary slate of county commissioners for Arthur and, until a vote confirmed it, set the county seat at the village of Arthur. An area newspaper, the Hustler, reported that none of the three appointees were even aware of their nomination. A temporary courthouse was set up in a covered wagon while a quarter section of land near the center of the new county for the site of the village they indeed named Arthur. The city was then platted with north/south streets given the names of trees and the east/west streets named after early settlers. Town lots were sold to finance construction of the 26 by 28-foot, frame courthouse which cost $900. The first building in the city was Tidwells General Store and by years end the courthouse had been completed, the Arthur post office opened and the first county fair held. In 1926, because the land could not supply dense quality sod for construction and trees were scarce, what would become one of the countys iconic buildings, a baled straw Congregational Church was completed. The city of Arthur was officially incorporated as a city in 1944 and a new courthouse completed in 1960 with the old one becoming the Arthur County Historical Society Museum the following year. Back in McPherson County, Tryon, its county seat, exists, along with Harrisburg in Banner County, as the only county seats in Nebraska not to be incorporated. Today the city of Arthurs population is around 115, and though there were, at one time, 17 post offices in the county, only the city of Arthur supports one today. Arthur Countys population is reported today at 434. Two buildings in Arthur County are on the National Register of Historic Places, the first courthouse, which is the smallest courthouse in the United States and the baled hay Pilgrim Holiness Church at Cedar and Heath Streets, one of only two in the United States, both in the city of Arthur. A 40-year-old man was wounded early Sunday during a shooting at a large gathering in North Omaha. Barry Crawford was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center with a gunshot wound "to a lower extremity," an Omaha police spokesman said Sunday. The injury was not thought to be life threatening. Officers heard several gunshots about 3:45 a.m. at an outside gathering near 25th and Taylor streets, the spokesman said. Officers had been monitoring a large crowd that had congregated in the area. Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Omaha Crime Stoppers at 402-444-STOP, at omahacrimestoppers.org or on the P3 Tips mobile app. Callers can remain anonymous and are eligible for a cash reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to a shooting arrest. The Nebraska Supreme Court Friday affirmed the conviction of an Omaha man who was found guilty of the 2020 murder of real estate agent Mickey Sodoro. Ross Lorello, 45, was found guilty at a jury trial in 2022 of first-degree murder and use of a firearm to commit a felony in the murder of 70-year-old Sodoro. Lorello set up a meeting to tour one of Sodoro's rental homes and then shot Sodoro once in the back of the head. Last year, Lorello retained a new attorney and appealed his conviction to the Nebraska Supreme Court, alleging that his trial attorney was ineffective and there was not enough evidence to warrant a conviction. The state's high court disagreed, affirming his conviction. On Dec. 28, 2020, Lorello and Sodoro had a pre-arranged meeting at one of Sodoro's rental homes near 193rd Avenue and W Street. Video footage from a nearby home shows the two men walking inside together. Within three minutes of walking into the home, Sodoro was shot once in the back of the head. His body was found the next day, stuffed into a crawl space in the attached garage and covered with pieces of carpet and spare flooring. In a voluntary interview with police, Lorello admitted to meeting Sodoro at the rental home and told police he paid Sodoro nearly $10,000 for six months of rent. He said that Sodoro left the home about 30 minutes later in a silver car occupied by a couple, leaving his own truck running outside. But evidence from the home and from video footage disputed Lorello's story. A sweatshirt owned by Lorello with Sodoro's blood on it was found in the home, and video footage from a nearby gas station showed Lorello dumping pieces of Sodoro's clothing in the trash. A neighbor's Ring doorbell also captured Lorello driving Sodoro's truck away from the home and parking it on a nearby street. Multiple videos taken from surveillance footage were admitted into evidence at trial. Lorello objected to the admission of one particular compilation of videos that showed a slow-motion, side-by-side comparison of two videos of Lorello walking and one video of an unidentified man, thought to be Lorello, walking away from Sodoro's vehicle after moving it. The court overruled Lorello's objection, finding that the video was "simply a guide for jurors to make their own determination if this is the same individual." However, witnesses were not allowed to testify as to their opinion on the video. On appeal, Lorello argued that the video was irrelevant and, even if it was relevant, it was unfairly prejudicial. The Supreme Court disagreed, finding that the video was relevant and had significant value to the case. Lorello also argued that there was insufficient evidence to convict him of first-degree murder, which the Supreme Court disagreed with. The opinion makes note of the "abundant circumstantial evidence" connecting Lorello to the killing including DNA, neighborhood surveillance footage, ballistics and digital evidence from Lorello's phone. His final claim was that his trial lawyer was ineffective because he failed to investigate two incidents reported by Lorello in which jurors spoke with the victim's family. The high court concluded that the trial record did not have enough evidence to resolve the claim. Lorello is serving an automatic life sentence at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution. Top Journal Star photos for May 2023 These days, too many Americans get worked up over the darnedest things. Liberals are boycotting Twitter, Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby because they see those companies as intolerant. Conservatives are avoiding Target and Disney and Bud Light because they insist those brands are "woke." When did people in this country become so skittish about celebrating our differences? Is homogeneity so great that it's worth fighting a culture war to preserve it? Diversity is under attack again. This time, it's happening at the grass roots, in local school districts. While schools have become battlegrounds amid attacks on curriculum and books, this latest skirmish is occurring in a setting that seems fairly innocuous: high school graduation ceremonies. Commencement should be about hope, accomplishment and aspirations. It shouldn't be marred by fear, intolerance and small-mindedness. In Colorado, Naomi Pena Villasano -- a Mexican American graduating senior in Garfield County -- was told by administrators that at commencement she could not wear a decorative sash over her gown with images of both the Mexican and the American flags, because it did not promote "unity." A federal judge backed the school district, refusing to grant an injunction. Villasano defied administrators and wore the sash anyway. In Oklahoma, Lena Black -- a recent graduate of Broken Arrow Public Schools and a member of the Otoe-Missouria tribe -- is suing her former school district. She claims school officials prevented her from wearing a sacred eagle plume on her graduation cap during last year's ceremony, because it allegedly deviated from the standard dress code. And in Mississippi, a 17-year-old transgender student -- identified in court documents by her initials, "L.B." -- at a Gulfport high school skipped her graduation ceremony rather than wear boys' clothes after administrators said she couldn't don a dress and heels under her commencement robe. A federal judge denied the student's motion to override the administrators' decision. Can you believe these things are happening? Folks, we have clearly lost our way. Students are literally having to make a federal case out of asserting their right to express their individuality over the objections of school administrators. These cultural displays by graduates are harmless. And for those who might claim that they're disruptive, I have to ask the obvious: Exactly what is being disrupted other than the status quo, which one could argue is woefully behind the times anyway? I've been there. Memory takes me back to the spring of 1985 and my own high school graduation in Central California. I shared the title of class valedictorian along with seven other classmates. All of us had 4.0 GPAs. One of those classmates was of German ancestry, and his grandparents had come all the way from Germany to see him graduate. Out of respect for them, my friend wanted to say a few words in German in his speech. It was a thoughtful gesture, not to mention a harmless one. Still, he had to get permission from the principal, who -- after some hesitation -- granted the request. That same year, at the junior high school down the road, the valedictorian was Mexican American. She wanted to honor her parents, who spoke only Spanish, by saying a few words of her speech in their language. The principal objected and told her she had to give the speech 100% in English. Under pressure, he caved. In the end, the student gave the speech she wanted to give. If you want to leave the world better than you found it, you have to know which battles to fight. Or you could wind up pitting groups against one another. And we already have enough of that. This is an important life lesson. How unfortunate that some educators seem to have been absent the day it was taught. Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune. Eli cuddles his dog on the couch at his home in Casselberry, Fla., May 29, 2023. Eli and his fiance Lucas, both transgender men, plan to move to Minnesota with their dog and two cats later this year. The Associated Press is not using Elis and Lucas last names because they fear reprisal. Minnesota is among the states this year that have codified protections for transgender people in response to sweeping anti-LGBTQ legislation in mostly Republican-led states. (Laura Bargfeld/AP) Debate surrounding Floridas new restrictions on gender-affirming care focused largely on transgender children. But a new law that Republican presidential candidate and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last month also made it difficult even impossible for many transgender adults to get treatment. Eli and Lucas, trans men who are a couple, followed the discussions in the Legislature, where Democrats warned that trans children would be more prone to suicide under a ban on gender-affirming care for minors and Republicans responded with misplaced tales of mutilated kids. Eli said he and his partner felt blindsided when they discovered the bill contained language that would also disrupt their lives. Advertisement There was no communication. Nobody was really talking about it in our circles, said Eli, 29. Like many transgender adults in Florida, he and Lucas are now facing tough choices, including whether to uproot their lives so that they can continue to access gender-confirming care. Clinics are also trying to figure out how to operate under regulations that have made Florida a test case for restrictions on adults. Advertisement Lucas, 26, lost his access to treatment when the Orlando clinic that prescribed him hormone replacement therapy stopped providing gender-affirming care altogether. The couple also worries about staying in a state that this year enacted several other bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community. My entire life is here. All my friends, my family. I just got a promotion at my job, which Im probably not to be able to keep, Lucas, who works in a financial aid office at a college, said. Im losing everything except Eli and my pets moving out of here. So this was not a decision that I took lightly at all. The Associated Press is not using Elis and Lucas last names because they fear reprisal. While their friends and families know they are trans, most people who meet them do not. The new law that bans gender-affirming care for minors also mandates that adult patients seeking trans health care sign an informed consent form. It also requires a physician to oversee any health care related to transitioning, and for people to see that doctor in person. Those rules have proven particularly onerous because many people received care from nurse practitioners and used telehealth. The law also made it a crime to violate the new requirements. Another new law that allows doctors and pharmacists to refuse to treat transgender people further limits their options. For trans adults, its devastating, said Kate Steinle, chief clinical officer at FOLX Health, which provides gender-affirming care to trans adults through telemedicine. Her company decided to open in-person clinics and hire more physicians licensed in Florida in order to continue to provide care to patients who have already enrolled, even though that represents a major change to the companys business model. Eli has been seeing a physician for years and therefore still has access to care. But SPEKTRUM Health Inc., the Orlando clinic that prescribed Lucas hormone replacement therapy, has stopped providing gender-affirming care. There are a lot of people looking for care that were no longer legally able to provide, said Lana Dunn, SPEKTRUM Healths chief operating officer. Advertisement Florida has the second-largest population of transgender adults in the U.S., at an estimated 94,900 people, according to the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. It used state-level, population-based surveys to determine its estimates. Not all transgender people seek medical interventions. At least 19 states have now enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. But restrictions on adults havent been part of the conversation in most places. Missouris attorney general tried to impose a rule in that state, but it was pulled back. Florida is the proving ground of what they can get away with, Dunn said. Her organization treats about 4,000 people most in Florida and some out-of-state telehealth patients, she said. While SPEKTRUM has bolstered its mental health services since the law passed, it and other organizations heavily rely on nurse practitioners to provide care. Dunn estimates that 80% of trans adults in the state were getting their health care from a nurse practitioner and now have lost access. Right now what were seeing in the community is just chaos, Dunn said. Advertisement The law also contains language that she said could scare off doctors who would be otherwise willing to treat trans patients, such as a 20-year statute of limitations to sue over care they provide. As a trans woman herself, Dunn is grappling with losing her own access to hormones while trying to provide support to terrified patients. Thats taken a significant emotional toll, she said. Not only am I faced with this lack of care for myself but a lot of people within the community are also facing the same thing, and theyre reaching out to me for guidance, Dunn said. So Im doing my best to help guide people and console them, but nobodys really reaching out to me saying, How are you doing? Are you OK? Lucas, who transitioned eight years ago when he was 18, anticipates running out of hormone treatments in June. In the best case scenario he can foresee now, he will be able to get a new prescription in August. He fears he might start to get his period again. Its just going to be extremely difficult mentally to have your body changing in a way that doesnt align with your brain, Lucas said. Eli and Lucas have switched to a month-to-month lease and tentatively plan to relocate to Minnesota in November. They said they would leave sooner if they can afford it and started an online fundraiser to help. Moving with their dog and two cats increases the expense and difficulty of finding a new place. Advertisement I just never thought it could happen this way, this fast and to us, Eli said. Summer is a perfect time to float Nebraskas many miles of water trails. There are many reasons to take a float trip on flowing water. You can do it for the openness and space it offers and the adventure of going somewhere you have never been. You can do it to make connections and memories with people and nature, retrace history, experience wetlands, see a variety of wildlife species, get some fresh air and sunshine, burn calories and just plain have fun. You can do it to leave the house, relax and clear your mind. Heres what you need to know about Nebraska rivers: On the International Scale of River Difficulty, our rivers typically rate Class I: Easy. Thats defined as moving water with riffles and small waves, few obstacles, slight risk to the swimmer and easy self-rescue if you are wearing a life jacket. There are a few exceptions, however. The Dismal River in the Sandhills, for example, is a narrow, spring-fed stream with hairpin turns that flows swiftly. Barbed-wire fences, downed trees, stumps and rocks in the river are constant hazards. There are a handful of places on the Niobrara and Snake rivers with very difficult spots, too. They are Class II, III and IV rapids that require portage. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has established 11 water trails or recreational passageways on specific stretches of rivers and creeks. Other water trails include a new one open on the Loup River in Platte County. It begins on the river south of Monroe at a marked launch point and offers a 6- to 8-hour ride in kayak or canoe to a take-out point in Columbus. The trip can be extended another couple of hours by using a fishing access site at the George Syas Wildlife Management Area south of Genoa. One trail scheduled to open relatively soon is the North Fork River Trail on the Elkhorn River in Norfolk. Paddlers in Buffalo County can enjoy the water trail on the Kearney Canal system. In southeastern Nebraska, paddlers are encouraged to check out the newly designated Lower Platte River Venture Park water trail with redesigned, improved public access points. Water levels can fluctuate with weather, so be sure to check conditions before you go. Stay informed of weather conditions that can change quickly. Check out the take-out spot to make sure it is accessible by water and land. Always wear your life jacket in the environs of stained, unpredictable moving waters. Know how to swim. Also, keep in mind that only the water in these water trails belongs to the State of Nebraska. You can float it, and some governmental entities own public land along the water trails, but the land is largely privately owned. In Nebraska, landowners own the beds, bars and banks of rivers and creeks. Landowners along water trails do not mind floaters if they ask permission in advance, are careful with campfires, do not alter livestock fences, leave the property as they found it, and pack out their trash and recyclables. Nebraska statutes give you permission to portage around fences and other obstructions; however, you are responsible for any damage caused to the property. Visit OutdoorNebraska.gov and search for water trails to find more information on Nebraskas water trails. 30 must-see Nebraska state and national park gems Pine Ridge National Recreation Area Snake River Falls Ashfall Fossil Beds Johnson Lake Nebraska National Forest Lake McConaughy Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area Calamus Reservoir Agate Fossil Beds Box Butte State Recreation Area Bridgeport State Recreation Area Buttes Cub Creek Recreation Area Chadron State Park Gavins Point Dam Courthouse and Jail Rocks Jeffrey Lake Toadstool Geologic Park Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge Fort Robinson Louisville State Recreation Area Ponca State Park Platte River State Park Scotts Bluff National Monument Indian Cave State Park Niobrara National Scenic River Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area Lewis and Clark Lake State Recreation Area Halsey Lookout Tower Smith Falls State Park 1873: A letter appearing in the Chicago Post told of the wonders of Lincoln and its growth in five years. Two peculiarities strike the stranger, said the writer. One is that the mud roads are not muddy in Nebraska. The other is that newsboys run their beats on horseback, ride up to the windows and hand the paper to the man expecting it. The lamplighter is also mounted and his horse serves as a ladder. 1883: John S. Gregory was the successful bidder for razing the old Capitol. He was to pay the state $300 and have all the material, moving it away at his own expense. 1893: Buffalo Bill Cody was helping prepare for Nebraska Day at the Worlds Fair in Chicago. Humane societies were making an effort to stop a cowboy race from Chadron to Chicago. 1903: The Nemaha River flooded, and the Blue was rising dangerously. In Lincoln, Salt Creek flooded, and nearby the Platte was rising. 1913: The Academy of Music at 11th and O streets was nearly completed and was to be occupied for the first time by an Episcopal Church ice cream festival. 1923: A movement was launched in Lincoln pushing the submission of an amendment to the state Constitution limiting to two or three the number of elective state offices. 1933: Some 200 people swarmed the steps of City Hall in protest of the unheeded demand to release two members of the Workers Unemployed Council who had been jailed on charges of picketing the county relief store. It was two hours before the delegation furled banners and dispersed. The mercury climbed to 107 degrees in Lincoln. 1943: Some Lincoln citizens complained to city authorities about sheep grazing in Pioneers Park. Complaints were over the destruction of prairie grass, and some speculated that if the sheep remained, the whole park will be like a stockyards. 1953: Tornado-stricken Hebron received six modern mercury vapor lights from Lincoln and Nebraska neighbors. A Light for Hebron Fund, sponsored by the Sunday Journal and Star and the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, reached $2,729. Lincoln banker Samuel C. Waugh was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and confirmed by the Senate as assistant secretary of state. 1963: Gov. Frank Morrison went before the Legislature in a personal appeal, urging lawmakers to push an economic development program, pass a drivers education bill and establish an educational television network. Col. C.J. Sanders retired as commander of the Nebraska State Patrol and was replaced by Capt. Dan Casey. Both men were among original members when the patrol was organized in 1937. 1973: The University of Nebraska Board of Regents on a 5-3 vote ordered the NU Medical Center to restrict abortions to those necessary to protect the health or life of the mother. 1983: Alberta Danner, 71, who with her husband, the late Rev. Charles R. Danner, founded Cedars Home for Children in 1946, died. The couple moved the childrens home to successively larger buildings in the Belmont area and finally to 6100 Pioneers Blvd. 1993: A record $134,200 was awarded to Lincolns public schools by the Lincoln Public Schools Foundation. Private funds from industries, businesses, corporations and other foundations provided the gifts. 2003: A year and a half after buying Misty's Restaurant and Lounge, owners announced plans to put a second Misty's in the Gallup building at 11th and P streets. RAYMOND A traffic crash reportedly resulted in the use of a Taser after a Milwaukee man allegedly hid and refused to follow Racine County Sheriffs Office deputies commands. Sheriffs deputies and troopers with the Wisconsin State Patrol were dispatched to a traffic collision on Interstate 94 southbound near Highway G, mile marker 328.5, in the Village of Raymond just after 2 a.m. Friday, according to a news release from the RCSO. Upon arrival, deputies saw a black Infiniti SUV and a semi-tractor trailer stopped in traffic, and debris strewn across the interstate, necessitating the closure of all but the inner-most lane of I-94 southbound. An initial investigation reportedly indicated that the Infiniti had rear-ended the semi-tractor trailer while both vehicles were travelling southbound. The driver of the Infiniti, later identified as Terence D. Mack, 36, of Milwaukee, ran away from the crash site, according to the RCSO. The driver of the semi-tractor trailer reportedly told investigators that he briefly spoke to Mack and believed Mack was intoxicated. Troopers searched the Infiniti and reportedly found several bags of marijuana, according to the RCSO. Using a thermal camera drone, deputies found Mack hiding in tall grass on the southwest corner of Highway G and 27th Street. According to the release, deputies told him to surrender, but he allegedly ignored them. The release said Mack turned away from the deputies and reached toward his waistband and pocket. A deputy then deployed her Taser and Mack was taken into custody. The Wisconsin State Patrol, which is leading the investigation of the crash, took Mack to the hospital. The release said Mack would not consent to a blood draw, prompting a warrant to be obtained. However, Mack reportedly continued to refuse consent, and had to be restrained by law enforcement while the blood draw was conducted. The Wisconsin State Patrol took Mack to the Racine County Jail where he is being held on a $5,950 bail for the following recommended charges: Hit and run Operating while intoxicated, first offense Possession of THC as a repeat drug offender Resisting/obstructing I am proud of the teamwork demonstrated by the deputies and troopers to locate this impaired driver and hold him accountable, Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said. The public should know that deputies are highly trained to utilize a wide variety of skills and tools including drones and Tasers to perform their duties and protect the public. Mugshots: Racine County criminal complaints, June 1, 2023 Today's mugshots: June 1 These are images of people charged with a crime in Racine County. Booking photos are provided by Racine County law enforcement officials. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty and convicted. Tocara D. McClellan Tocara D. McClellan, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, possession of a firearm by felon, obstructing an officer, resisting an officer. Freddie J. Cruz Freddie J. Cruz, 3300 block of Packer Drive, Racine, possession of THC, misdemeanor bail jumping, obstructing an officer, resist officer (failure to stop vehicle). Jennifer M. Baumann Jennifer M. Baumann, 1700 block of Blaine Avenue, Racine, misdemeanor retail theft (intentionally take less than or equal to $500), misdemeanor bail jumping. Ilse F. Chavez Vieyra Ilse F. Chavez Vieyra, 1500 block of May Street, Racine, misdemeanor battery (domestic abuse assessments), disorderly conduct (domestic abuse assessments). 1. Yes. The traditional date is July 4. The posts celebration should observe that tradition. 2. Yes. Having the celebration 11 days before July 4 likely will diminish the experience. 3. No. The date is not so important, as long as the post honors the spirit of the holiday. 4. No. It gives soldiers and their families the opportunity to take part in multiple celebrations. 5. Unsure. The tradition surrounding July 4 is important, but other factors are involved. Vote View Results When I was in Israel recently, one of the most impactful moments for me was in northern Israel at the base of Mount Hermon where you find the headwaters of the Jordan River. It was so beautiful, and the biblical history that took place in that region is so rich and powerful. This is where you find the region of Ceasarea Philippi. In this mountainous area with waterfalls we came to a place where we could peer into what looked like a cave with a pool of water. Jewish tradition says that this is the spot where the fallen angels came when they were kicked out of heaven. This area was known for the pagan worship of the Greek god Pan among other pagan worship. Because of idolatry and sinful living, the Jews did not usually go there for fear of becoming ceremonially unclean. This cave full of water was known to be where they would sacrifice babies to the gods by tossing them into the water. This place was also known as the gate or doorway to the underworld, often referred to as the gates of Hell. Most of the disciples were teenagers at the time, except for Peter, and so we could say Jesus brought his youth group to this absolutely dark place. I wonder if their parents had to sign permission slips. As Jesus and his disciples came into Caesarea Philippi, they would have been near this cave in the side of Mount Hermon, and you can imagine the scene in the following scriptures: Matthew 16:1320 (NIV) When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do people say the Son of Man is? They replied, Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But what about you? he asked. Who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus replied, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. It's an incredible scene, and it's more than just an object lesson. Jesus intentionally brought them to a place known to be the gate to the underworld. Its possible Jesus points to himself and says, on this rock I will build my church. We know Peters name means "rock," so maybe part of the meaning had to do with Peter. But Jesus and his disciples were standing on the side of a mountain with a rocky cave and a waterfall nearby. Is it possible that Jesus was symbolically saying that he was going to build his church right there! He then likely points to the cave and says, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I think Jesus was telling them that were not to run from the battle but rather take the battle right up to the gates of hell. Jesus was telling his disciples who would soon become the apostles of the early church that His plan for the church was to not play it safe. We are to let our light shine and push back darkness, we are to be carriers of Gods presence in the world around us and we are to stand our ground against the devils schemes. We are supposed to be on offense, not defense! This isnt a call to engage more in politics. This isnt a call to be disruptive and protest. There may be a time and place to take a biblical and spiritual stand against certain things. However, Jesus was talking about a spiritual battle. Whether you realize it or not, the main battle were fighting is spiritual. This is a call to pray, to get on your knees, to raise your voice before a God that hears and responds to prayer. Cover your family and your church in prayer. Intercede for our city. Fight in the Spirit for people you know. Dont play it safe! The promise is that the gates of hell will not prevail. Go for it! NORTH PLATTE A combined effort of several law enforcement agencies resulted in the arrest of a Lexington man following multiple pursuits in western Nebraska Friday. The incident began at approximately 9:15 a.m., according to an NSP press release, when the Nebraska State Patrol was informed that the Logan County Sheriffs Office was in pursuit of a vehicle that had fled an attempted traffic stop north of North Platte on Highway 83. The suspect vehicle, a Chevrolet Silverado, was southbound on Highway 83 at a high rate of speed and drove in the northbound lane at times. The Logan County deputy discontinued the pursuit at the Lincoln County line. Lincoln County Sheriffs deputies and North Platte Police officers picked up the pursuit north of North Platte but discontinued the pursuit out of concern for public safety as the vehicle entered North Platte at a high rate of speed. At approximately 10 a.m., a trooper observed the vehicle traveling eastbound on Interstate 80 and attempted a stop near mile marker 220. The vehicle accelerated and fled. The trooper initiated a pursuit. The Dawson County Sheriffs Office also joined the pursuit. The suspect vehicle exited I-80 at mile marker 231, turned eastbound on Highway 30 and continued toward Lexington. The pursuit was discontinued as the vehicle entered Lexington. NSP dispatchers were able to confirm the address associated with the vehicle registration. Troopers, Dawson County deputies and Lexington Police officers responded to that address and located the vehicle in the driveway. The registered owner of the vehicle exited the residence and attempted to flee on foot. He was quickly apprehended. The driver, Jesus Torres, 42, of Lexington, was arrested for flight to avoid arrest, willful reckless driving, resisting arrest, possession of a controlled substance and obstructing a peace officer. He was lodged in Dawson County Jail. Additional charges are possible in relation to the incidents in Logan and Lincoln counties. Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune. Chicago police detectives canvass the scene in the 4800 block of West Iowa Street in the Austin neighborhood after an early morning shooting killed one and wounded six people June 4, 2023. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) After a mass shooting early Sunday morning in Chicagos Austin neighborhood left seven people shot, including one fatally, neighbors expressed frustration that their calls to break up a large gathering before the shooting went unaddressed. A group had gathered outside in the 4800 block of West Iowa Street around 1 a.m. when an argument broke out, and unknown individuals started shooting, according to Chicago police. Advertisement Police found a 25-year-old woman at the scene unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds. She was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Six other people were also shot. Five were transported to hospitals in good condition, and one was transported in critical condition, police said. When around 100 people gathered in a vacant lot a few plots down from her house to loudly party hours before the shooting, Michelle Barnes said she sensed trouble. Cars blocked the street and filled the alleyway, she said Sunday afternoon. Advertisement Police tape sits on June 4, 2023, near the scene of a mass shooting where seven people were shot, one fatally, earlier Sunday on the 4800 block of West Iowa Street in Chicago's Austin neighborhood. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune) Barnes said she called the police to report the chaotic crowd at 10 p.m., 11:05 p.m., and a third time around 12:30 a.m. One police car came out to the scene, but no significant response arrived before shots broke out, she added. Im frustrated with the police. Im frustrated with the alderman. Im frustrated with everybody. Because its ridiculous, Barnes said. When you call, they dont come like theres a problem. Police confirmed Sunday that the shooting occurred after a group had gathered to remember a man killed in a car crash four years ago. Burnt-out and toppled tea candles remained on the sidewalk at the scene of the shooting Sunday afternoon. When asked how police had responded to the gathering before the shooting, a police spokesperson said the only available information had already been shared in a statement and at an early morning news conference. Remnants of the violent shooting littered the overgrown, vacant lot. A black SUV sitting near the scene had bullet holes in its trunk and rear passenger window. A few strips of yellow police tape remained. Purple latex gloves commonly used by paramedics were scattered on the sidewalk, where a bloodied shirt was left. A vehicle sits with a bullet hole and shattered window near the scene of a mass shooting where seven people were shot, one fatally, earlier in the day on the 4800 block of West Iowa Street in Chicago's Austin neighborhood on June 4, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune) Barnes, 56, said she now wants to move. Shed be leaving the home her parents owned, where shes spent her whole life. She wondered aloud what it would take to keep her block safe as violence seems to close in on it. We cant even live in peace, she said. Larell Steel, Barnes next-door neighbor, said her sister across the street and other neighbors also made repeated calls to the police ahead of the shooting. Advertisement Larell Steel poses for a portrait on her porch near the scene of a mass shooting where seven people were shot, one fatally, earlier in the day on the 4800 block of West Iowa Street in the Austin neighborhood Sunday, June 4, 2023 in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune) Everybody on this block called them to get them kids, Steel said, as the two women talked on their porches Sunday afternoon. This couldve been prevented. This couldve been prevented if they just came and broken them kids up. Most of the blocks single-family homes are full of older residents, Steel said. The shooting was a surprise, but trouble has sprung up on the typically peaceful street in recent months, she said, noting a rowdy gathering on a nearby corner last summer and a brief stint of drug dealing on an open side lot across the street last year. Steel said she had been sleeping when the gathering started but woke up when her sister called to warn her of the potential danger. She said she called police after she heard dozens of gunshots. Steel said she saw evidence technicians place dozens of yellow markers down the street when she came out Sunday morning. The young people who filled the vacant lot had seemed to come from outside the neighborhood, said Steel, adding she wished parents wouldve prevented their kids from attending the ultimately violent gathering. They just come, they see a nice flat block and they take over, like we cant do nothing about it. And apparently we cant do nothing about it, because we call the people and were not getting no help, Steel said. Advertisement On the other side of West Iowa Street, Carl Raynor also sat on his porch Sunday afternoon. He said he woke up to the shooting the night before, thinking the bangs were firecrackers until loved ones called to make sure he was safe early in the morning. Hes lived on the street off and on since 1976 but said he is hoping to move out of state now. Carl Raynor stands outside his home near the scene where seven people were shot, one fatally, early on Sunday, June 4, 2023, on the 4800 block of West Iowa Street in the Austin neighborhood. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune) 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 > Raynor, 57, said he was shot in the back in May 2022 when he interceded as someone tried to steal his sisters catalytic converter from her car. In recent years, violence has seemed harder to escape, he said. Its everywhere, Raynor said. Police can only do so much. People have to speak up and say something, because once its one of your kids or grandkids, youre going to want some help. The youngest of the wounded victims was a 17-year-old girl shot in the leg, police said. She was transported to West Suburban Medical Center in good condition. Three men in their 20s and one woman in her 20s were transported to Stroger Hospital in good condition. A 29-year-old man with gunshot wounds in his chest and arm was transported in critical condition to Stroger Hospital, police said. Area 4 detectives are investigating the shooting. Police said no one is in custody. Advertisement jsheridan@chicagotribune.com oalexander@chicagotribune.com Imagine youre at a state budget hearing. You have two minutes to share your issue with the state senators and assembly members present. The hearings run from 8 a.m. until the last speaker around 9 p.m. Can you guess the most frequent topic raised by the more than 300 citizens/speakers? Its by far the inadequate funding for special education students in all our Wisconsin schools. Among states that fund special education, Wisconsin ranks last in its share of cost paid. (Education Commission of the States, 2021) Currently Wisconsin state funding of these services is only thirty percent. Four years ago, Assemblyman Vos commissioned a Blue Ribbon Commission to study ways to improve educational funding of all schools in Wisconsin. This thorough study was led by two Republicans, Joel Kitchen and Luther Olson. The members unanimously recommended moving to sixty percent funding by the state for special education costs. Tragically, this change has not been acted on. When asked about this lack of follow-through recently, Speaker Vos advised the questioner to go talk to Congressman Steil. Assemblyman Vos has a point. The Federal government committed to forty percent funding for special education costs but only provides twenty-three per cent of refundable expenses. (Blue Ribbon Commission, 2020) Having these percentages in mind explains why school districts throughout the state are hobbled by inadequate funding for special education. Using RUSD as an example, the $48M in special ed costs brings back only $14.4M from the state and $11M from the federal government. This $23M gap must be taken out of regular education funds. Therefore, reducing this burden of special education costs is a clear priority for all schools. Theres another way the state lets districts down. Compelling research from the state of Utah shows that providing all day 4-year-old kindergarten achieves dramatic reductions in the special education population. This strategy allows for early identification of needs and more timely intervention. The state of Wisconsin only reimburses school districts at 0.6% of the cost of this critical intervention. This penny-wise and pound-foolish strategy reduces school districts opportunities to provide this enormously important early childhood strategy. Legislators have recently removed from the governors proposed state budget considerable funding to replace lead pipe laterals. These laterals carry water from the street to our kids homes. High lead levels in childrens blood damage their ability to learn, which is an issue for kids in Racine and throughout our state. There are 11,000 lead laterals that still deliver water to City of Racine homes. (Racine Water Department) The cost of mitigating this issue is $5,000 per pipe. Ironically, our legislatures failure to assist with this important remediation is certainly creating more special ed students. Then once in school, funding for these students is woefully lacking. Our Wisconsin Constitution identifies education as one of the key functions of our state. Its time our legislators be held accountable for letting down our most fragile kids and the educators who are struggling to serve them. Its little wonder this issue is so dominant at state budget hearings. Please join us for a rally for Special Education funding for our kids on June 11 at 6 p.m. at Monument Square. We will invite area legislators to attend or submit their vision for special ed funding for Wisconsin children. On May 10, Jonathan Bernsteins opinion column in the Tribune stated that we should Thank the money for making US elections more democratic. He constructed a straw man argument that voters are upset about the significant increase in political donations of less than $200. The number of Americans contributing less than $200 to political campaigns has indeed doubled since 1992. Even so, until we reach 64 years of age no more than 14% of us make campaign contributions. For those of us over 65 it rises to 32%. The American National Elections Studies found that in 2016, 71% of Hillary Clintons fundraising total came from contributions under $200. It was 40% of Donald Trumps total contributions. Individual campaign contributing is a restrictive and elite endeavor. It is doubtful that even this most participatory means of supporting campaign financing makes our elections more democratic. Even if not necessarily enhancing our democracy, this traditional method of raising money for political campaigns is not controversial, except for Bernsteins straw man argument. He misidentified the real problem in financing American political campaigns. In 2010 the Supreme Court opened the floodgates of unlimited independent expenditures from corporate treasuries in its Citizens United decision. This decimated the 2002 bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, a congressional compromise brokered by Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold and his Arizona counterpart Sen. John McCain. This has led to the explosion of money into our political campaigns. A 2014 study conducted at Harvard University confirmed that removing constraints on corporations to spend their vast wealth in political campaigns led to significant reductions in government regulation of business as well as their tax liabilities. Corporate investments into our political system have paid handsome rewards to American businesses, which hold a 16 to 1 advantage over labor organizations in contributions to campaigns. Encouraging ordinary citizens to continue trying to compete with such lopsided odds is disingenuous. Bernsteins argument leads us into the ancient Greek task of Sisyphus. He was condemned to rolling a bolder up hill in perpetuity. It is a metaphor representing the persistent struggle against an essential absurdity of life. Not only is our current campaign finance system absurd, but it is ripe with opportunities for financial manipulation and abuse. The 2022 election of New York Rep. George Santos has become the most recent face of campaign corruption. He has been indicted on fraud and money laundering charges. Perhaps even more disturbing for Wisconsinites, on May 14 the New York Times published How to raise $89 million in small donations, and make it disappear. Three graduates of a prominent Wisconsin university, with experience in their college political party organization, formed a political nonprofit business. The business status in the tax code, section 527, allowed them to raise unlimited amounts of money from less than $200 donations. Since 2014 this totaled $89 million. Just 1% of the money raised was actually used for campaigning. About 90% found its way back to the three organizers own companies. They also arranged for $2.8 million to be allotted directly to themselves. Their business manipulations allowed the three to post their accounts on the expansive IRS website, rather than the more focused site of the Federal Election Commission. Thousands of contributors contributions were misappropriated before the Times investigative journalists were able to decipher the scheme. Bernsteins column was obviously intended to try make us comfortable with a campaign financing system that has us pushing a corrupted and unjust rock up the electoral hill in each succeeding two-year election cycle. We not only need to call him out on his subterfuge. We need to drastically reform the system. I would like to quote from the Wall Street Journal editorial "Report shows how Biden's son profited" printed on your opinion page May 21. The article contained the following phrases: "that suggest influence peddling," "Why so much complexity?" "and in curious ways," "seemingly unnecessary transactions appeared to be," "appeared to be connected to a Romanian businessman," "a fair conclusion is that these foreigners were buying influence," "there's plenty of suspicious smoke worth investigating." This investigation, which cost millions of taxpayer dollars, uncovered nothing except 36 pages of "suspicions" and "appearances" while Rep. James Comer apparently is unaware of other problems such as mass shootings, homelessness, poverty, our failing education and health care systems, global warming, pollution of the ocean and freshwater lakes and rivers, and, by the way, the air we all have to breathe. And he has no problem threatening the economy in the name of cutting spending to help people while he is conducting an "investigation" which produced 36 pages of "appearances" and "suspicions." But we can't cut the military; after all his home state receives $3.78 of federal funding for every dollar of revenue paid to the federal government. I'm really looking forward to an editorial on "ethics" by Clarence Thomas and Harlan Crow and one on "truthfulness" by George Santos, Donald Trump and Mike Lindell. Final quote, "The press is mostly dismissing this report because it reveals no evidence that President (Joe) Biden received any money." You should be ashamed for printing this garbage. Maybe a future piece by Tucker Carlson would be nice. Bill Carskadon Onalaska Defenders of Ukraine's city of Bakhmut are keeping up the pressure even though Russian forces declared victory there after the longest, deadliest battle of the war so far. People walking along the Four Seasons Nature Preserve will be able to enjoy some reading material this summer. Students in Jill Lorenzi's fifth-grade class at St. Francis de Sales Parish School created a storybook trail for the nature preserve, N1889 County Highway H in the Town of Bloomfield. The illustrated story is about a tree swallow that arrives at the Four Season Nature Preserve and becomes friends with the trees and other creatures of the nature preserve. The story is posted in nine stations along a trail of the nature preserve and includes information about the plants and animals that are located in the preserve and suggested activities for children. Members of the Lake Geneva Avian Committee and the fifth-grade students unveiled the storybook trail to the public, May 25. The fifth-grade students took a group of first-grade students along the trail to help them read the story and participate in the posted activities. "Each sign along the storybook trail tells a piece of the story of the environment here at Four Seasons that creates a critical habitat for our migratory birds, and it is written for young readers," Carol Zimmermann, member of the avian committee said. The students began working on the storybook trail in March by conducting research on migratory birds. Members of the avian committee and representatives from the Lakeland Audubon Society, Geneva Lake Conservancy, Lake Geneva Public Works Department, Visit Lake Geneva, Lake Geneva Public Library, Geneva Lake Museum, Lake Geneva Rotary Club and Geneva Lake Art Foundation assisted the students with the project. "These students in Jill Lorenzi's fifth-grade class at St. Francis de Sales Parish School have spent 12 weeks doing experiments and learning everything from biology to art with a focus on birds," Zimmermann said. "By studying birds, these students have researched, written and illustrated a storybook, facts and activities to share on the storybook trail." Stephanie Klett, president and CEO of Visit Lake Geneva, congratulated the students for working on the storybook trail and completing the project. "The fact that you get to tell the story to people who will come from all over the country and all over the world is a really big deal," Klett said. "So we're super proud of you, and I hope you become bird nerds for the rest of your life. I don't know anybody in the State of Wisconsin that's doing what you're doing, so congratulations." Members of the Avian Committee also honored Lorenzi, who is set to retire at the end of the school year, for having her students work on the storybook trail and other bird-related projects during the past few years. "She has done this for five years with us. She is a very special teacher," Zimmermann said. "Everyone of us has had a teacher who through their commitment, their creativity and their courage has inspired us to grow and become our best self. That is Jill Lorenzi." Klett also thanked Lorenzi for educating her students about birds. "Thank you for creating fellow birds nerds who are going to grow up and change the world," Klett said. "Because when you follow birds and when you understand their climate and the challenges they face, you understand our world better. So that's really what you're doing here. So thank you for sharing the story." Manufacturing sector undergoes third consecutive fall May witnessed Vietnam manufacturing sector continue on a declining trajectory, with economists and industry insiders outlining that weak demand is a major contributor to this, according to a report published on June 1 by S&P Global. They noted that output and the number of new orders has decreased sharply with companies seeking to cut jobs and reduce purchases. Illustrative photo The report said that the Southeast Asian economy's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was reported to have fallen to 45.3 in May from 46.7 in April. It marked the third consecutive month of decline and the largest drop since September, 2021. S&P Global stated that global demand for goods and services has remained weak, resulting in a significant drop in new orders. Revenue from export markets has also suffered for the third consecutive month. Meanwhile, companies have taken a score of measures as they seek to scale down production since the beginning of Q2, most notably in intermediate goods manufacturing. Weak demand has been hurting business confidence with the countrys PMI at its lowest level since November last year. However, it has given companies time to address some backlog orders from previous months. Despite companies seeking to reduce their operational capacity, they were able to tackle a significant portion of the backlog of work in May. The amount of unfinished work has decreased at the fastest pace since June, 2021. As production decreased, companies have been reducing both purchasing activities and inventory, marking the sharpest decline in inventory levels in nearly two years. Meanwhile, the operational efficiency of sellers has improved for the fifth consecutive time. Furthermore, the finished goods inventory has also decreased as companies move to adjust their production operations in line with the decline in new orders. This is the first decrease in three months. In addition, demand for input goods continues to decline, relieving pressure on the supply chain. The operational efficiency of sellers has improved for the fifth consecutive year with the most significant improvement recorded since February, 2015. Decreased purchasing activities also relieved some pressure on the supply chain. Weaker demand has forced suppliers to reduce prices as a means of boosting demand, while input costs have decreased for the first time in the last three years. Prices were reported to have gone down for a second consecutive month. Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the current decline in terms of the number of new orders is a warning sign for the Vietnamese manufacturing sector and the sector will likely face an extended period of contraction rather than just a temporary downturn. He said that companies should be on the lookout for economic data for the coming months as this will be crucial to determine if the market is going to recover. Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune. A 19-year-old man is accused of endangering the life of a child after his girlfriends 2-year-old niece was seriously injured by a loaded pistol that was left on a bed, according to Vernon Hills Police Department officials. Joseph Hatchett, 19, of Grayslake, was charged with reckless conduct, a felony, and misdemeanor child endangerment. He was helping his 17-year-old girlfriend care for the girl and her two siblings, ages 3 and 6, when the shooting happened around 2:15 p.m. Friday at a home in the 300 block of Plumwood Lane in Vernon Hills, police said. Advertisement Police said officers initially responded to a report of a child injured by fireworks, but an investigation revealed that a loaded semi-automatic pistol had discharged and shot the 2-year-old in her left arm. Police said it is unknown how the gun was fired, but they believe the shooting to be unintentional. Advertisement The girl was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville before she was flown to Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago for specialized care. Police said her injuries are serious but not life-threatening. She remains hospitalized, according to police, and her siblings have been removed from the home, with further investigation by the Department of Children and Family Services pending. oalexander@chicagotribune.com Argentine Finance Minister Wraps Up Six-Day Visit to China with Impressive Results June 3, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)Argentine Finance Minister Sergio Massa and his large delegation wrapped up a six-day visit to China in Beijing yesterday, with impressive results. He and his colleagues held dozens of meetings in Shanghai and Beijing with top government officials and business leaders, and signed agreements with some of Chinas largest and most prominent corporations for increased investment in energy, mining, transportation (rail), construction and lithium exploitation, among other sectors. Massas enthusiasm about the results of the trip was such that he commented after one meeting we should now be called ArgenChina. His final meeting in Beijing before an audience of representatives of 40 of Chinas most important corporationsHuawei, Gezhouba Group, PowerChina, China Engineering and Machinery Corporation, among othersto discuss the merits of trade in yuan and perspectives for the Argentine economy, was received with great optimism. One can almost hear the sound of teeth gnashing from Washington. Expect skullduggery from that quarter soon in response to these developments. Highlights of the visit include the June 1 announcement by Dilma Rousseff, president of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), that the banks board of governors will vote on Argentinas membership when they meet in South Africa during the first week of August. On June 2, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Zhao Leji, told Deputy Maximo Kirchner and Deputy Cecilia Moreau, president of Argentinas House of Deputies, that China fully backed Argentinas membership in the BRICS itself, a message that was also transmitted by Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Yi Gang and Finance Minister Liu Kun. The same day, representing the Argentine state, Massa signed a Cooperation Agreement on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with Zheng Shanjie, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, to deepen cooperation in trade, energy, infrastructure and finance. The expansion of the currency swap that the PBOC has maintained with Argentinas Central Bank was also an important achievement. Although there was no increase in the total $18 billion figure that had been mooted, PBOC did increase from $5 billion to $10 billion the amount of the swap to which Argentina has free access. It can be used to pay for imports (in yuan), intervene in the currency markets, or be converted to dollars to bolster reserves. The one conditionality the Chinese attached to the increase is that Argentina must maintain its existing agreement with the IMF. Massa, in fact, spoke with a high-level Fund official from Beijing on June 2, to coordinate on his June 12 trip to Washington, where he is expected to sign a renegotiated agreement, that takes into account the effects of the drought that has devastated Argentine crops and reduced its export revenue this year by $20 billion. The expectation is that the Fund will ease its conditionalities and allocate $10.6 billion that would have otherwise been disbursed in three separate tranches during the rest of this year. But nothing here is written in stone, and the IMF cant be counted on to do anything right. EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR SUNDAY JUNE 4, 2023 Leadership To Avert Disaster June 3, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)Even as the threat of war increases, as seen in NATOs scramble to offer Ukraine membership in all but name at its July 11-12 summit in Vilnius, future-oriented leadership holds the key to creating a new path, and avoiding what were otherwise inevitable. U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken was in Helsinki, Finland on June 2 to celebrate that nations abandonment of neutrality in favor of NATO membership. In his nasty and delusional speech Russias Strategic Failure and Ukraines Secure Future, the delusional Blinken declared that Putins war of aggression has been a strategic failure, greatly diminishing Russias power, its interests, and its influence for years to come. (What would submitting to a unipolar Anglo-American world have done to Russias interests, Mr. Blinken?) And our support for Ukraine hasnt weakened our capabilities to meet potential threats from China or anywhere elseits strengthened them. French President Emmanuel Macron, who had shown some independence, said this week that Europe has to be prepared for years of warfare, for a prolonged fight. The language of long war is growing. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demands full NATO membership, with the protection of Article 5, and threatens not to attend the Vilnius summit without concrete guarantees. Scott Ritter put forward a more detailed understanding of the dynamics driving the conflict, when he responded to an interview question about whether the U.S. supported the drone attacks on Russian civilians. My belief is that the U.S. government did not consent to this attack, the former Marine responded. The British government may have, however. The British are far more nefarious in terms of the scope and scale of their support to the Ukrainian intelligence services. Its widely believed with good reason that British intelligence was behind the terrorist attack on the Kerch Bridgethe bomb that collapsed a spanthat they were behind various attacks on Russian shipping, and that they have played a role in facilitating Ukrainian drone attacks against Russian targets including targets in Moscow. The LaRouche movements leadership to chart a new course was demonstrated on June 3 through the powerful event organized by U.S. Senate candidate Diane Sare. Her event, Time To End the Corporate Dictatorship brought together dozens of supporters, activists, and community leaders. See the event on Sares Rumble page, and build for the June 10 Schiller Institute event The World Needs JFKs Vision of Peace! Italy is proposing to build one of the world's most modern telescopes in an unused mineral mine. Officials hope that the uncommon stillness of the place in Sardinia will win European Union approval and financing. The telescope The Sos Enathos lead and zinc mine extends 300 meters underground. The Italian government chose the mine as its candidate place for the Einstein Telescope (ET). The EU-financed project aims to explore space by observing gravitational waves. Gravitational waves are the ripples in space and time that physicist Albert Einstein predicted in his general theory of relativity. Collisions of super massive things like black holes are believed to cause the waves. Researchers expect the telescope to capture the waves. They hope it will observe a part of the universe that is much larger than the part scientists now study with currently used tools. But the project will only work if ground movements, known as vibrations, are extremely small. Giorgio Parisi was a winner of the 2021 Physics Nobel Prize for his work in complex systems. Parisi and other scientists said the Sos Enathos mine is a great choice because of the area's low seismic activity and the lack of major settlements nearby. Parisi told the Reuters news agency about the project: "It will allow us...to see events very close to when the Big Bang happened" around 14 billion years ago. The Big Bang is the event scientists say marked the beginning of the universe. Still, Italy faces competition from a site in Meuse-Rhine, an area divided among the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. The official decision will take place no sooner than the end of next year. Italy believes that the project can bring much-needed investment to the island of Sardinia, one of the country's poorest areas. Possibilities The Italian project's proposed design involves a triangle-shaped underground structure with arms 10 kilometers long. Mirrors at the ends of underground passageways will reflect laser beams, which would be affected by the passage of gravitational waves. The ET will be used to look for the small vibrations that the waves cause. Sos Enathos is in eastern Sardinia. The place was a mining area for at least 2,000 years before it was closed in 1997. Local officials now believe the telescope plan provides a chance to bring new life to an area hit by a decreasing birth rates and depopulation. "The mine has become the alternative to the mine," Mario Calia, the 63-year-old mayor of Lula, a small town near the mine, told Reuters. Calia is a former miner. He said the project would leave Lula's natural lands untouched while bringing in investment. Im John Russell. Federico Maccioni reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. ____________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story ripple n. a shape or pattern having small waves mirror n. glass that is treated so it reflects light and shows what is in front of it reflect v. to move in one direction, hit a surface, and then quickly move in a different direction beam n. a line of light that comes from a source seismic adj. of, relating to, or caused by an earthquake alternative n. offering or expressing a choice Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune. Bob and Carolyn Pinta raise the Pride flag during a flag-raising ceremony on June 1, 2023, in Buffalo Grove. The ceremony serves as the kickoff to Pride month festivities. (Shanna Madison/Chicago Tribune) Carolyn Pinta and her family have been busy constructing a float and getting rainbow-hued decorations ready for the Buffalo Grove Pride Parade on Sunday, an annual event launched in 2019 by her daughter Molly, who was 12 at the time. Yet the mom describes an undercurrent of worry and tension surrounding this years Pride celebration as much of the national political climate grows increasingly hostile to the LGBTQ community. Advertisement The mounting discrimination, however, has only elevated her commitment to walking in Sundays parade a symbol of LGBTQ acceptance and inclusion amid a wave of political and legal attacks across the country. Its terrifying, she said. Advertisement Roughly 500 anti-LGBTQ bills are pending in state legislatures across the country, predominantly in the South and many Midwestern states outside of Illinois, according to an American Civil Liberties Union report that was last updated in late May. The record-breaking number of measures includes attacks on the freedom of expression of those who identify as LGBTQ, attempts to censor discussion of LGBTQ topics in schools, prohibitions on transgender access to public spaces such as bathrooms, and bans on gender-affirming health care for trans kids. While not all of these bills will become law, they all cause harm for LGBTQ people, the report stated. After facing recent backlash, Target announced last month that it would be removing certain items and making changes to its LGBTQ merchandise, as well as moving Pride items from the front to the back of some stores in Southern parts of the country. Customers reportedly knocked down Pride displays and angrily confronted employees at some locations. Threatening videos taken inside the stores were also posted on social media, according to the company. Since introducing this years collection, weve experienced threats impacting our team members sense of safety and well-being while at work, the company said in a written statement. Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans. In contrast, Illinois is often considered an LGBTQ haven in the Midwest. While elected leaders in other parts of the country have worked to restrict LGBTQ freedoms, lawmakers recently passed several bills aimed at increasing gender inclusivity and protecting LGBTQ rights. Mark Silgalis, right, and children Audrey and Xander Silgalis, watch the Pride flag-raising ceremony on June 1, 2023, in Buffalo Grove. (Shanna Madison/Chicago Tribune) But even here, some businesses have come under attack. Advertisement Earlier this year, a man yelled homophobic slurs and used a hammer to break the window of a Rogers Park bar, according to police. And a McHenry County bakery that faced harassment and vandalism after advertising a kid-friendly drag show closed on Wednesday. UpRising Bakery and Cafe in Lake in the Hills discussed the recent backlash and invoked LGBTQ activism in its goodbye message to customers on social media. As queer activists, employers/employees, innovators, healers, and most importantly people, we live and breathe pride 365 days a year, the business said in a Facebook message announcing its last day. This is not goodbye. I promise you will be seeing A LOT of our faces and good outcomes will sprout from the hideous actions of so many against us here. This will not continue to happen to people, not while I have a voice and a beating heart. The climate has shut down or restricted some Pride events that were slated this month: In Florida, several Pride celebrations have been canceled or limited to attendees 21 and over, citing a law targeting drag shows recently signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. But tens of thousands of LGBTQ folks have flocked to Florida for Disney Worlds annual Gay Days festivities. The leader of the event, which runs through Sunday, encouraged a large turnout to send a message opposing the states discriminatory legislation and policies. Right now is not the time to run. Its not the time to go away, said Joseph Clark, CEO of Gay Days Inc. Its time to show we are here, we are queer and we arent going anywhere. Advertisement The governor has championed a slew of anti-LGBTQ measures, including a so-called dont say gay law passed last year, barring instruction of sexual orientation or gender identity through third grade. This year it was expanded to all grades. To Pinta, the Florida governors emergence as a major Republican contender in the 2024 presidential election is a particularly troubling prospect for the future of LGBTQ rights in the nation. She fears his viability as a potential leader of the nation threatens to shift anti-LGBTQ ideology from a fringe minority to the mainstream. It somehow gives validity to what these people are saying, she said. Its very scary. Carolyn Pinta speaks during a Pride flag-raising ceremony on June 1, 2023, in Buffalo Grove. (Shanna Madison/Chicago Tribune) Shes heard that some folks who previously came to Buffalo Groves Pride Parade have expressed anxiety about attending this year a fear thats exacerbated by recent local parade violence: A shooter on a rooftop opened fire at the July Fourth parade about 10 miles away in Highland Park last summer, where seven people were killed and more than a dozen were injured. Pinta said law enforcement will have a stepped-up presence at the Buffalo Grove parade to ensure the safety of attendees. And if some supporters feel they should stay home, she understands. Those who can stand with us will stand with us, she said. Advertisement Trying to protect what we created A rainbow Pride flag waves above Buffalo Grove, a northwest suburb of about 43,000. A few dozen community members, state officials and local leaders gathered Thursday at a public park in Buffalo Grove for a flag-raising ceremony to kick off Pride month, which is celebrated in June to commemorate the Stonewall riots, a 1969 uprising spurred by a police raid of a gay bar in New York. Various parades, picnics and festivals supporting LGBTQ acceptance are scheduled this month throughout the Chicago area, including the Chicago Pride Parade on June 25. At the Buffalo Grove flag-raising, resident Hetal Wallace described a sense of urgency to hosting and attending these kind of Pride events this year, because of the wave of discrimination and bigotry facing the LGBTQ community. Were trying to protect what we created here, said Wallace, who is also a member of the Buffalo Grove Park Board of Commissioners. I think theres an urgency to make sure that we protect it with all our strength. While LGBTQ discrimination has been on the rise, this is not indicative of a nationwide shift on attitudes toward queer communities, said Ryan Wade, assistant professor at the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, whose research areas include a focus on LGBTQ communities. Advertisement Acceptance of, and support for, LGBTQ rights has steadily risen over time, with more and more individuals identifying as LGBTQ themselves, he added. A Gallup poll released last year found just over 7% of American adults self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual, more than double the percentage that reported an LGBTQ identity a decade prior. The poll forecast that this will increase to more than 10% of the nation in the near future, based on previous data. The majority of adults in the United States oppose discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, according to a survey released in December by NORC at the University of Chicago. About three-quarters of those polled were in favor of civil rights laws that protect LGBTQ folks from discrimination; more than 70% supported marriage equality and adoption rights for gay and lesbian couples. Fifty-eight percent of respondents approve of allowing parents to allow gender-affirming health care for transgender children, the survey said. These findings continue to demonstrate that the majority of Americans support key civil rights for LGBTQ people, a senior research scientist at NORC said in a statement about the survey. Wade attributes the wave of recent LGBTQ discrimination to certain policymakers who are looking for easy targets to scapegoat, and have manipulated their constituents into believing that LGBTQ communities (and others) are some sort of nebulous threat. Advertisement The goal, though, is to distract voters from real structural problems, and the lack of policy solutions to these problems, Wade said. The uptick in anti-LGBTQ legislation and political attacks can also be ascribed in part to the looming contentious 2024 presidential election, said Susan Burgess, senior professional lecturer in political science at DePaul University and the author of the book LGBT Inclusion in American Life, which was released earlier this year. Thats particularly the case for the Republican base, where some elected officials are using anti-gay rights legislation and rhetoric to try and distinguish themselves within their party, she said. This doesnt reflect the values and politics of the nations majority, she said. Its a loud minority, but its a minority, nationally, she said. Whats more troubling is we can expect it to grow louder as we move into the 2024 elections. Inspiration The Buffalo Grove Pride Parade was the brainchild of Molly Pinta. Advertisement In sixth grade, she started a gay-straight alliance at her middle school and came out to her family and friends. Then she became inspired by attending a Pride parade in Aurora. She and her family organized the first Buffalo Grove Pride Parade four years ago, attracting thousands; they moved to a social-distanced version of the event during the COVID pandemic and returned to hosting an in-person parade last year. We want to help people become more accepting and more aware, Molly Pinta, who is now 17, told the Tribune in 2019. We want to do as many Pride events as possible and make them as public as possible. People often are afraid of what they dont understand. Molly Pinta speaks during a Pride flag-raising ceremony on June 1, 2023, in Buffalo Grove. (Shanna Madison/Chicago Tribune) While her parents were supportive when she came out, the family knows that many LGBTQ kids dont find acceptance at home; the parade was designed with them in mind as well, to help them feel less alone, according to the Pintas. Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy > The negative political climate is taking a toll on the mental health of LGBTQ youth, according to a national survey by The Trevor Project released in late May. Nearly 1 in 3 LGBTQ young people reported that their mental health was poor most of the time or always due to anti-LGBTQ legislation and policies; nearly 2 out of 3 of those surveyed said their mental health worsened from hearing about potential laws banning people at school from discussing LGBTQ individuals, the poll found. Advertisement Wade believes its important to celebrate Pride in general but also as an act of collective resistance against forces that seek to further marginalize historically disenfranchised communities, he said. He added that its equally critical to remain vigilant for threats of violence during these celebrations. Its extremely important, as it always has been, for LGBT people and their allies to be out and proud of who they are, who we are, Burgess said. Because its politically activating, and it helps people to understand that people they know are queer. And when people understand people they know and love are queer, they open up more to the LGBTQ community and accept it more. The Associated Press contributed. eleventis@chicagotribune.com SINGAPORE U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin vowed Saturday that Washington would not stand for China's "coercion and bullying" of U.S. allies and partners, while assuring Beijing that the United States remains committed to maintaining the status quo on Taiwan and would prefer dialogue over conflict. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual forum of top defense officials, diplomats and leaders in Singapore, he lobbied for support for Washington's vision of a "free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific within a world of rules and rights" to counter China's increasing assertiveness. The U.S. expanded its own activities around the Indo-Pacific, including regularly sailing through and flying over the Taiwan Strait and in the South China Sea. China tracked two American and Canadian warships transiting through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, even as Austin warned against conflict in the region. China rebuffed U.S. requests for a meeting between Austin and his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, at the conference. CEDARBURG Rising energy prices are one of many financial pressures that Wisconsin families are dealing with in recent years. As electricity has become ever more vital for modern work and life, Wisconsin residents are left with few options. They must either pay the constantly increasing rates imposed by utility companies, or they must invest in producing their own power through solar, wind or other renewable sources. Unfortunately, many residents cannot take advantage of home solar because they rent their home, lack adequate financing or their roof is not structurally sound or is partially shaded. Wind power is challenging at residential sizes and often is cost prohibitive for many Wisconsinites. This means a huge segment of our community is essentially left out in the cold during this energy crisis. They are unable to access alternative energy sources due to practical limitations, and they face high bills from the utilities. As a lifelong Wisconsin resident, I find this situation difficult to accept when a tried and tested solution is right in front of us: community solar. These are solar projects that interconnect into the distribution system and are usually 25 to 35 acres in size. These projects are located near communities where residents can subscribe to the project and receive a credit on their utility bill for their share of the power that is produced, just as if the panels were on their own roof. The benefits are manifold. Subscribers save 10% on average. Community solar also creates private investments in local renewable energy infrastructure. This financially supports local communities and helps them contribute to a cleaner, healthier Wisconsin. Typically, a community solar project will be located on unproductive farmland, a vacant lot in an industrial park or on a large rooftop of a school, church, business or government building. This is in contrast to utility scale projects that are usually hundreds or thousands of acres in size, take vast swaths of prime farmland out of production and are financially subsidized by ratepayers. Farmers who have community solar projects built on their unsuitable land can earn up to $30,000 a year in lease payments, which will help keep more generational family farms profitable. And community solar projects require a two-thirds vote in support of the project by the local governing body to be built. In addition to the direct benefits for the subscribers, allowing access to community solar would be an immediate and significant boost in economic development for the local Wisconsin energy industry. As a leading solar contractor in the region, Arch Electric has employed dozens of Wisconsin workers, electricians, designers and other energy professionals to build community solar projects. We have done so outside of Wisconsin. That's because such projects are currently not allowed in our state, we have to send our crews to these projects in Illinois. This year alone we have employed over 40 Wisconsinites to build a project portfolio that is located eight hours away from our headquarters in Plymouth. We want to build projects in Wisconsin, with a local workforce for the local economy. Growing a strong workforce at home is challenging in these circumstances, especially when they could build these exact type of projects right here at home. A whole new generation of energy professionals are entering the workforce across the nation. But Wisconsin is choosing to be left behind rather than developing our own workforce and energy economy. The time has come to pass the needed reforms in the Legislature to allow community solar to grow and thrive. Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville, and Reps. Scott Krug, R-Nekoosa, and Robert Brooks, R-Saukville, are leading the fight through legislation to establish third-party community solar in Wisconsin. Their proposal, Senate Bill 226, enables the development of community solar and supports energy freedom. It expands customer choice and can help us save money on our utility bills. So far, 21 states including Minnesota and Illinois have enacted policies that expand community solar. Wisconsin is far behind, and households are needlessly paying more because of it. As Wisconsin residents tighten their budgets and look for relief from rising prices, lawmakers in Madison must give them every option to put money back in their pockets. Call your legislator at 800-362-9472 and tell them to support SB 226. Smith, of Cedarburg, is head of business development at Arch Electric: archelec.com. Typically, a community solar project will be located on unproductive farmland, a vacant lot in an industrial park or on a large rooftop of a school, church, business or government building. The debate over whether states should elect Supreme Court justices like Wisconsin and 23 other states do, or appoint them like 26 states do, continues unabated. Much of the legal establishment and many political commentators got in a tizzy over this spring's high court race between Janet Protasiewicz and Dan Kelly because she actually talked about real issues. The Washington Post, for instance, called electing justices "perverse" and called the Wisconsin election that saw Protasiewicz win "folly." The Chicago Tribune weighed in, proclaiming elections should never decide judgeships and calling out Protasiewicz for "politicizing" a judicial election. Several local commentators, from the Wisconsin Examiner to former Madison mayor and now blogger Dave Cieslewicz joined in to decry Wisconsin's historic idea to let the people pick their jurists. No one has been able to convince me that setting up some kind of system to appoint Supreme Court justices is an improvement. Yes, Wisconsin's race this spring was marred by obscene campaign spending. That, however, is the fault of our equally obscene campaign finance laws, not a function of a democratic election. And who's to say that some special commission of legal insiders would do a better job picking a high-court judge behind closed doors? A New York Times' column this past week by Duke University professor Jedediah Britton-Purdy highlighted another argument for why courts should be selected by the people. Britton-Purdy, who authored the acclaimed book "Two Cheers for Politics: Why Democracy is Flawed, Frightening and Our Best Hope," proclaimed that court races should be more political, not less. "In the myth we are often told about America, the courts are forums of principle, wisdom and deliberation, while politics deals in sudden, often willful shifts of power and policy," he wrote. "To people who believe this myth, the fact that many states ... elect their justices is a sort of scandal, usually ignored or mentioned briefly, then quickly dropped, like a disreputable branch of the family." Using his state, North Carolina, as an example, Britton-Purdy notes how the people elected conservatives who quickly overturned an anti-gerrymandering decision by the previous court. But wait, the state's voters never learned how the candidates viewed issues like gerrymandering and abortion because court campaigns should be "above" commenting on possible cases. "In other words, the vote for Supreme Court justices may have been the most important of the year, and it was a black box to most voters," he wrote. There's a better way, he added, pointing to Wisconsin's contest. "On April 4, Judge Janet Protasiewicz won a seat on Wisconsin's Supreme Court and switched the court's ideological balance, by openly emphasizing her support for reproductive rights and broadly liberal commitments," he wrote. "If North Carolina's Democratic judicial candidates had (without commenting on any specific case, which judicial ethics forbids) focused their campaigns more aggressively on a commitment to constitutional values such as voting rights and reproductive rights, the balance of the court might be different today." "When judges have to choose between dueling constitutional visions of democracy, as the North Carolina Supreme Court has been doing, the voters should have the last word on what they believe democracy means under their Constitution," the professor concluded. Those few who closely follow candidates may know how a Dan Kelly will vote on crucial issues, but unless the campaigns make it clear where a candidate stands, most of the voters don't. That's why Janet Prostasiewicz won. The people had their say, and that's as it always should be. Zweifel is editor emeritus of The Capital Times. The Madison School District on Thursday acknowledged relational problems with its communications department that are abundantly clear and need to be addressed. No kidding. Tim LeMonds, its spokesman, has badly damaged his relationship with staff, the media and public. Just as concerning, hes become a distraction for a school district that needs to do a much better job of telling its story and being transparent with parents and taxpayers. The district has been losing students and the state aid that goes with them to surrounding districts. Our citys schools have some great stories to tell. They also need to be open and honest with the public as they face significant challenges. Unfortunately, the districts point person for encouraging a healthy dialog LeMonds keeps getting in the way of and undermining these goals, which is hurting the district and its reputation. Its time for him to go. Three current and four former district employees have alleged obnoxious, sexist and insulting behavior by LeMonds, which he denies in a sweeping way that itself is suspicious. Did all of these employees in his department really make all of this up? Thats hard to believe. They accuse LeMonds of routinely bullying and abusing staff, especially women. Their lengthy and detailed complaint also alleges he targeted female journalists for scorn and sexist language. Such behavior should have no place in a school district that is shaping young peoples values. A district investigation last fall determined insufficient evidence to discipline him, though on Thursday the district promised another review in the coming months. This is the same school administration that hastily fired a popular middle school principal last fall for an offhand comment about a job applicant only for the School Board to reverse the administration and give him his job back after a backlash from parents and staff. Compared to that situation, the allegations against LeMonds are far more elaborate and disturbing. The School Board needs to step up again. Its not just LeMonds staff that has struggled to work with him. LeMonds physically blocked a WMTV-TV (Ch. 15) news reporter from posing a question to Superintendent Carlton Jenkins at a public event even grabbing and pushing down her hand and microphone, as video of the incident shows. He allegedly called the same female reporter a pig, among other insults, according to LeMonds staff. He used an expletive to describe how much he hated a female reporter for the State Journal last summer, his staff alleges. LeMonds even ignored requests from Kelly Lecker, our executive editor, to meet with her after she was hired more than a year ago. What kind of a public relations manager refuses to sit down with and get to know the incoming leader of the major news outlet in his city? A bad one. A really bad one. LeMonds only made the staff complaint against him a bigger and lengthier story by suing the district the same one that employs him to try to keep the allegations secret. A Dane County judge rejected his awkward and brash move, siding with the district in favor of the publics right to know. LeMonds recently told the State Journal he hasnt been following the news coverage of the staff complaints against him. Really? His job should require him to be on top of any and all news about Madisons schools, especially the bad stuff. Thats only more evidence hes not doing his job. According to his LinkedIn page, LeMonds previously worked for the state Department of Corrections, UW Hospital and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, among others, so he has communications experience. But hes not up to the high-profile job of speaking on behalf of Madisons schools. LeMonds, who said his salary is around $118,000, should be fired for poor performance. The School Board and its superintendent appear to have plenty of cause. Taxpayers deserve a much better voice for our public schools, their families and students. A historic investment in public education appropriated $330 million for Idaho schools this year. There would be pay increases for teachers and additional funding to solve staffing shortages and better address the complicated needs of students in a post-COVID world. It looked like an A+ for the Gem State. But when the numbers were added up on the white board, they totaled $215 million, not $330 million, leaving nearly every school district across Idaho including in the Magic Valley facing a shortfall and scrambling to find funding to avoid losing positions. Theres also this question left unanswered: Wheres the other $115 million? Were not delivering on our promise, Rep. Greg Lanting, R-Twin Falls, told the Times-News during a phone interview. We promised $330 million, and districts like Twin Falls are having to lay people off. Thats not the objective I was hoping for. Teachers wont get their apple, either. At least not all of them. A Legislative Service Office budget analysis shows fewer teachers will receive long-sought raises in Kimberly, for example, teachers voted against accepting more money to save positions that otherwise would be lost. Quote At the end of the day, the state didnt come through with what they not only said they were going to do, but what the voters approved Thats what chaps me. Its not like the moneys not there, its not like theres not a fix to this. They could fix it. Luke Schroeder, Kimberly School District superintendent During a special session in September 2022, the Idaho Legislature passed House Bill 1, which included $330 million in new money for education and, in November, 80% of Idaho voters approved what would be the largest boost to education funding in state history. Heres the catch: The state has returned school funding to an attendance-based formula, ending almost three years of using an enrollment-based calculation, resulting in the reduced allocation of $215 million based on statewide staffing. Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield made a statewide tour following the legislative session to meet with school administrations and talk about the funding disparity. Enrollment would not be extended, she told them. But, conversations were ongoing to try and find a fix by June. NECOCHEA: A broken promise to our children IDAHO DEMOCRATIC PARTY: While the nuances of school funding are complex, the bottom line is that schools deserve reliable adequate funding. Districts were hopeful the State Board of Education would pass a rolling average rule to limit the reduction in average daily attendance to 97%. That didnt happen, and district budgets were required to be set. According to a report from the Legislative Services Office Budget and Policy Analysis Division, 1,002 units across Idaho have been cut based on the new funding formula. Each teacher or counselor equals roughly 1.1 units, which means statewide, over 900 positions that were funded last year were not funded for the coming academic year. Districts must decide now whether to pull money from other sources to keep those positions, or eliminate them. The numbers released in the LSO report are estimates and could change as attendance numbers grow or shrink in each district or charter school. Idaho House Speaker Mike Moyle and Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, a member of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, did not respond to interview requests from the Times-News. How will the funding shortfall impact school districts in the Magic Valley? Heres what four superintendents told the Times-News. Twin Falls Twin Falls had 472 units funded by the state last year. That number will be 445 next year, leaving about 30 unfunded staff positions. Of those positions, the district plans to cover between 15 to 20 by dipping into federal rainy day funds but the others will go dark. Our class sizes are going to be bigger, our students will receive less individualized instruction and receive less support, because we just dont have the funding from the state to fund all those positions that are so critical, Eva Craner, the districts public relations director, told the Times-News. Much of the frustration for superintendents who spoke to the Times-News was, after HB1 authorized $330 million, that money was appropriated based on enrollment. But when it came time to distribute funding, the formula changed to be based on attendance. In a year with historic surpluses, were actually going to fund 1,000 fewer teachers and counselors in the state, Twin Falls Superintendent Brady Dickinson told the Times-News. Theyve made this historic investment in education, theyve allocated the funds, but we cant get to them, because of the switch back from enrollment to (attendance). While Dickinson is thankful for the $215 million that landed with schools, pointing out that the districts increase in classified staff pay will help it address hard-to-fill positions, hes concerned that fewer teachers and counselors are being funded during a time of growth in the state. During the legislative session, basically the message was, Were going to fix this after the session, Dickinson said. This money was promised, but it feels like theres games being played. He added, This falls on House leadership, in terms of not supporting the State Board in an effort to mitigate the losses due to the change back from enrollment to attendance. Kimberly Down the road at the Kimberly School District, which includes about 2,000 students, Superintendent Luke Schroeder joined the other superintendents in expressing gratitude for the increase in teacher and classified staff pay. This was a reset that was needed. And the state has done yeomans work to increase teachers salaries, Schroeder told the Times-News in a phone call. In my 30 years, we have never seen salaries increasing at the level they are increasing. But ... According to the LSO estimate, Kimberly will be funded for six fewer units next year and Schroeder said teachers and staff have voted to reduce promised pay increases to avoid losing those positions. They are also spending one-time money out of reserves that was being saved as a hedge against rising insurance costs. With that money gone, Kimberly will have no option for next year, and no way to respond if its insurance company increases premiums. Like a lot of districts, weve kicked the can down the road, Schroeder said. If the state does not come through and provide us the $330 million like they said they would, were going to be at a cliff a year from now. Like Dickinson, Schroeder said he was given cause to believe the discrepancy would be addressed after the legislative session to minimize losses from a switch to average daily attendance. If things had turned out as promised, with the full $330 million available to schools, Schroeder said the district could have added positions it had deemed to be urgently needed. These gains in education would have helped kids, Schroeder said. Its not about helping the adults, this is about helping kids. If I have smaller class sizes, thats going to help kids. If I have more support staff, thats going to help kids. If I can actually hire somebody to drive the bus, thats going to help kids. Like many districts post-pandemic, Kimberly has seen student behavior issues at unprecedented levels, Schroeder said. If not for the funding discrepancy, he said the district would have hired staff to deal specifically with behavior. At the end of the day, the state didnt come through with what they not only said they were going to do, but what the voters approved Thats what chaps me, Schroeder said. Its not like the moneys not there, its not like theres not a fix to this. They could fix it. Cassia County The Cassia County Joint School District has a unique range of large and small schools, from 4A Burley to a number of small, rural schools in places such as Malta, Oakley and Declo. The district has already drawn on discretionary money to fund school staff over what is paid for by the state. Superintendent Sandra Miller told the Times-News that helps them attract and retain teachers and staff for their rural settings. This years funding formula puts even more pressure on the district to make staffing as lean as possible while still meeting goals for teacher-student ratio and providing adequate instructional opportunities. It is a substantial loss in funding for us, Miller told the Times-News in a phone call. As a result, we have really taken a hard look at our staffing. Despite state funding dropping by about 17 units from last year, the district has so far avoided workforce reductions, Miller said. But the district will not be filling positions left vacant through retirement, attrition, movement. Miller had also gotten the impression that a fix would help smooth the shift from enrollment to average daily attendance, suggesting that even splitting the transition over two years would be better than getting it all at once. Still, Miller commended Gov. Brad Little and the Legislature for putting schools at the top of their to-do list and increasing funding for teachers, classified staff and administrators. That helps us tremendously in the recruiting and retention of qualified excellent teachers, she said. But on the flip side, it has posed some challenges in budgeting for us, and the conversations at times have been painful. I am confident they will fix it I do believe the legislators individually are going to see the impact this is having on the whole state I believe theyre going to see that and say, We absolutely have to do something, Miller said. Because I do believe they care deeply about the education of our students. And that makes all the difference in the world a strong education system is going to create strong, healthy citizens along with families. Wendell Wendell School District Superintendent Tim Perrigot has a more sanguine take on the unanswered questions. We were all cognizant of the cards that are dealt to us, and we just had to figure out a way to make it work, Perrigot told the Times-News. Perrigot said the Wendell School Board voted to use money from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund to cover the 4.61 units left unfunded by the state and will not have to make any reductions to personnel this year. The district will also be fully funding the state-approved pay raises for teachers and staff, and Perrigot is hopeful that come January, the Legislature will take supportive action. Like other superintendents, Perrigot expressed gratitude for increased pay for teachers and classified staff, something most educators agree has been a long time coming. It seems like every year theres a lot of stress put on finance folks in school districts, but things always seem to work out, Perrigot said. I think its because people recognize the importance of public education in Idaho and we have to find a way to fund our schools. Your news on your smartphone Your story lives in the Magic Valley, and our new mobile app is designed to make sure you dont miss breaking news, the latest scores, the weather forecast and more. From easy navigation with the swipe of a finger to personalized content based on your preferences to customized text sizes, the Times-News app is built for you and your life. Dont have the app? Download it today from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Something had to be done. It was 2015, and the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer, the source of water, and thus the source of life and prosperity for southern and eastern Idaho, had dropped to historically low levels. The surface-water users primarily through the Magic Valley and with senior water rights and the groundwater users largely based in the eastern part of the state and with junior water rights knew time was of the essence. They wisely put politics to the side, negotiated in good faith and signed an agreement to sustain the health of the aquifer, which supplies water for cities, industries and about 2 million acres of agricultural land. It was hailed as unprecedented. It wouldnt be possible to recharge the aquifer to its peak years in the 1980s, they conceded, but they also understood that a race to the bottom wasnt the answer, either. The terms of the deal: The Idaho Ground Water Appropriators, upstream from us but without priority rights, agreed to cut their take by 13%, which, in turn, would leave an additional 240,000 acre-feet in the aquifer annually to satisfy the senior rights at the end of the ditch. In exchange, IGWA users received safe harbor from curtailment by the Idaho Department of Water Resources. Quote The sustainability of the aquifer, the only one we have, must be the priority just as it was in 2015. We cant take it for granted, nor can we drain it and expect to survive. The agreement was guaranteed to work, because we were going to do more until it did, Twin Falls Canal Co. manager Jay Barlogi told us this week. But the people we made the agreement with arent doing what they agreed to do. So, now, eight years later, the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer is right back down to those same historically low levels. Idaho is growing, there isnt enough water to go around and the ugliness thats so pervaded our politics has reared its ugly head. The water department projects a 75,000 acre-foot shortfall this year for senior water rights holders Twin Falls Canal Co., North Side Canal Co. in Jerome, the Burley Irrigation District and A&B Irrigation in Rupert, to name a few. Thats not how its supposed to work, as declared in Idahos Constitution on Water Rights, commonly referred to as Idahos Priority Doctrine: Priority of appropriation shall give the better right as between those using the water; but when the waters of any natural stream are not sufficient for the service of all those desiring the use of the same, those using the water for domestic purposes shall (subject to such limitations as may be prescribed by law) have the preference over those claiming for any other purpose; and those using the water for agricultural purposes shall have preference over those using the same for manufacturing purposes. First in time, first in right. Thats long been the law of the land. The above-average snowpack, while reassuring, wont make up the difference. Neither will turning off the faucet while brushing your teeth (which you should do) or putting a time limit on your lawn watering (which you should do) or taking shorter showers (which you should do unless its just one of those days). Its always wise to conserve water it is, after all, a finite resource but in the Twin Falls canal system, for example, we get about 80% of our water from the natural flow of the Snake River. When groundwater users at the front of the line take whats not theirs, well then, the Snakes flow isnt enough. How deficient is the water supply? Brian Olmstead, a member of the Idaho Water Resource Board and a former manager of the Twin Falls Canal Co., told us senior users have been about 32% short for the last two years. Thats a losing business model, said Olmstead, pointing to a graph of the Sentinel Wells Index, a measurement of 20 wells that, long ago, were deemed representative of the health of the aquifer. Somewhere along the line, he told us, the senior water right has to be made somewhat whole. Thats not the way they see it a few hours to the east. The non-compliant groundwater users and its important to note that some IGWA partners have kept up their end of the bargain are selling a story of fear. Sound familiar? The Bingham Ground Water District in Blackfoot, for example, told its members in a letter earlier this year that farming would be all but eliminated and the local economy would crash if it stayed true to the 2015 agreement. While that may be enough to win a measure of support in the court of public opinion, thats not the court with the final say, though wed find it unfortunate if it came to that. But, clearly, its past time for the surface-water users, the ones with senior rights dating to the early 1900s, to stop waving a white flag and get down to enforcing the terms of the agreement. It seems obvious, otherwise, that some of the other signees, the ones who claimed their rights some 60 years later, will keep squelching on it. What has to happen? Olmstead said it himself to us: Weve got to get everybody paddling in the same direction again. That wont likely be easy. Words have been exchanged. Blame has been cast. But, whats done is done, and its incumbent now for all who signed the 2015 agreement to stop splashing at each other and start a clean dialogue. You have a responsibility to fix this for the sake of all of us and for the future of our great state. The sustainability of the aquifer, the only one we have, must be the priority just as it was in 2015. We cant take it for granted, nor can we drain it and expect to survive. There are no good guys or bad guys here. There are only Idahoans. The water blessed to us by God whether thats a lot or a little is for all and we again put our faith in you to preserve life in this place we call home. Your news on your smartphone Your story lives in the Magic Valley, and our new mobile app is designed to make sure you dont miss breaking news, the latest scores, the weather forecast and more. From easy navigation with the swipe of a finger to personalized content based on your preferences to customized text sizes, the Times-News app is built for you and your life. Dont have the app? Download it today from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The first batch of Filipino pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia to embark on the 2023 Hajj, the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh announced Sunday. The group, composed of 292 men and women, landed at the Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah on June 3 via a Philippine Airlines flight. Citing the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), the Embassy said over 7,200 Filipinos are expected to join this years Hajj, an important pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims must perform once in their lifetime. The embassy emphasized its readiness to assist the traveling Muslim Filipinos throughout their visit, especially as pilgrims in the Kingdom are expected to encounter challenges due to unfavorable weather conditions during the Hajj, which will commence between June 26 and July 1. The Philippine Missions in Saudi Arabia, with support from the Department of Foreign Affairs, have also deployed Hajj assistance teams to help ensure the safety and security of Filipino pilgrims while in the Kingdom. Embassy Charge dAffaires Rommel Romato, who welcomed the pilgrims, expressed appreciation to the Saudi government for its initiatives to enhance the experience of pilgrims visiting the Two Holy Mosques. Millions of pilgrims, including those from the Philippines, will benefit from innovations such as automation of Hajj services and the Makkah Route initiative among others, he said. Once the Philippines is included in the Makkah Route initiative, the Embassy said pilgrims would also be able to complete Saudis immigration procedures before departing for the Kingdom. According to NCMF, the majority of the Muslim Filipino pilgrims embarking on Hajj come from Lanao, Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Cotabato. This year, around two million international pilgrims are expected to participate as Saudi Arabia approves full capacity for Hajj 2023 following the easing of coronavirus restrictions. Saudia Arabias Ministry of Health requires worshipers from all countries to have two primary vaccination doses and one booster shot against Covid-19. Immunization against influenza and meningitis is likewise mandatory. The approved Covid-19 vaccines in Saudi Arabia are Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Covovax, Nuvaxovid, Sinophram, Sinovac, Covaxin, Sputnik-V, and Janssen (1 shot). Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. 1ST BATCH. Close to 400,000 doses of bivalent COVID-19 vaccines donated by Lithuania arrive in the country Saturday evening. DOH photo The country received its first batch of more than 390,000 doses of bivalent COVID-19 vaccines donated by Lithuania, Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said. It is with great pleasure that we have received such generous donations from the Lithuanian government and our sincerest gratitude to our partner agencies for being one with the DOH in seeing that within our reach is a bountiful future, one that is most achievable starting with ensuring that we have sufficient protection against the COVID-19 virus, Vergerie said. To every eligible Juan and Juana, we urge everyone to get the opportunity to gain longer and stronger protection by getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Together, let us move towards a healthier Pilipinas, she added. On Sunday, the Department of Health logged 1,272 new COVID-19 cases the lowest tally in five days. Active cases stood at 13,808, while total recoveries increased by 1,862 cases. The regions with the highest number of fresh infections in the last 14 days are the National Capital Region with 6,279, followed by Calabarzon with 4,316; Central Luzon with 2,419; Western Visayas with 1,551; and Cagayan Valley with 926. For her part, Vergerie said the DOH is in constant contact with the COVAX Facility in order to get additional doses of bivalent vaccines for the public. Based on the DOH guidelines, health workers and senior citizens will get priority access to the bivalent vaccines. An individual may be vaccinated with the bivalent vaccines at least four to six months after receiving the second booster dose. Bivalent vaccines provide protection against the original COVID-19 strain and Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5. DOHs latest data showed that over 179 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered as of March. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. An American political science expert said traffic gridlock in the Philippines is caused by underinvestment in mass transit systems and an over-reliance on cars as mode of transportation. Prof. John Sidel of the London School of Economics and Political Science made the analysis as he presented his paper, Crisis at Catalyst: Introducing Urban Transport Reforms in the Philippines Amidst the Global Pandemic, in a forum hosted by the Move as One Coalition over the weekend. Sidel said the need for reforms in the transportation system, including the promotion of active transport such as dedicated bike lanes and bus rapid transit systems, have become more stark amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic and the economic, logistical, and social problems it generated produced unprecedented and hitherto unanticipated opportunities to bring these reforms to fruition, he said in his paper. Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, for his part, acknowledged the role of the Move as One Coalition in achieving safe and inclusive public transport in the country. We achieved significant strides for a safe and inclusive public transit board because of the support of partners like NGOs today, Bautista said. The Move as One Coalition, which has over 140 organizations and 77,000 individuals as members, has been advocating for a safer, more humane, and more inclusive public transportation system that is not designed with a car-centric approach. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Hong Kong boosted security around a park Sunday where tens of thousands of people used to gather for an annual memorial of the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown, ensuring no protests on the events 34th anniversary. In past years, Hong Kongers would converge on Victoria Park and its surrounding Causeway Bay neighborhood to commemorate the events of June 4, 1989 taking part in a candlelight vigil or watching performances about the bloody incident. But this weekend, the park hosts a hometown carnival fair organized by pro-Beijing groups, with scores of police deployed in the adjacent shopping district a day after four people were arrested for seditious acts and disorderly conduct. Police searched shoppers in Causeway Bay on Saturday, and moved quickly to remove performance artists and activists. Four people were also detained on suspicion of breaching the peace. AFP saw artist Sanmu Chen chant Dont forget June 4! before he was bundled into a police bus. Discussion of the Tiananmen crackdown is highly sensitive to Chinas communist leadership, and commemoration is forbidden on the mainland. Thirty-four years ago, the government sent troops and tanks to Beijings Tiananmen Square to break up peaceful protests, brutally crushing a weeks-long wave of demonstrations calling for political change. Hundredsby some estimates, more than 1,000were killed. For decades, Hong Kong was the only Chinese city with a large-scale commemoration of the incidenta key index of the liberties and political pluralism afforded by its semi-autonomous status. But the Victoria Park vigil has been banned since 2020, the year Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law to quell dissent after massive, and at times violent, pro-democracy protests. Wong, a 53-year-old who provided only her last name, praised the atmosphere of the fair at Victoria Park, but when asked about the vigil, said it was an event of the past. Hong Kong is a different place now. The Chinese government has gone to exhaustive lengths to erase the event from public memory in the mainland. All mention of the crackdown is scrubbed from Chinas internet. And this year, authorities also targeted a Beijing bridge that was the site of a rare protest last year a protester had hung a banner on Sitong Bridge in October calling for freedom. Security around the bridge was beefed up over the weekend, the road sign was taken down and directions on map apps did not work. Since the passage of the security law in 2020, Hong Kongs most prominent democracy activists have either fled abroad or been rounded up. But the citys authorities still appeared to be vigilant in the weeks leading up to Sunday. Police seized a commemorative Pillar of Shame statue for a security trial; a private screening of a documentary unrelated to the Tiananmen crackdown was cancelled; and books related to the crackdown were removed from the citys public libraries. Meanwhile, at Hong Kongs public broadcaster RTHK, a thank you letter dated June 6, 1989 to the networks reporters who remained in Beijing to document the crackdown appeared to have been removed from their office, said a staffer who requested anonymity. RTHK told AFP it was part of the various exercises to upkeep its office premises. City officials have sidestepped questions about whether the public mourning was allowed. Hong Kongs leader John Lee maintained that the public must act according to the law or be ready to face the consequences. Vigils will be held around the world, from Japan and Sydney to New York and London, where a re-enactment of the crackdown will take place at Trafalgar Square on Sunday. In Taiwan, the drama 35th of May a coded reference to the day will be staged in the capitals Shinehouse Theater. The history and the memory will not be wiped out easily, said Hong Konger Sky Fung, secretary-general of Taiwan-based NGO Hong Kong Outlanders, who is now in Taiwan. I believe the spark is still in our hearts. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Norkys Amaro, a recent arrival from Venezuela, sits with her son, Yokender, 14, on the floor where they are staying with other migrants on May 22, 2023, at the Chicago Police Department's 7th District station in the Englewood neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) Mayor Brandon Johnson feels an affinity for the biblical Joseph. We learned this from a rather personal address he made at an interfaith breakfast before his inauguration: He noted that he is the youngest of his many siblings, at times feeling like he is metaphorically in a pit, and has now been elected to lead one of Americas greatest cities. We hope our mayor continues to live out this metaphor in important ways, especially when it comes to finding abundance where others see only scarcity. Advertisement Pernicious dualisms, like feast or famine, are as old as ancient Egypt where the biblical Joseph rose to power. Sometimes, as in periods of real famine, these terms reflect painful realities. But often, as we learned from Columbia University professor Lee Knefelkamp, these dualisms are used by people in power to keep their power by destroying nuance, complexity and relativism. As Crossroads, an organization focused on anti-racism work, teaches, scarcity mentality and its companions of competitiveness, disposability, requests of patience and power hoarding has often been a tool of white supremacy. Most of the time, feast and famine dualities are false, and dangerously so. As our mayor remarked in his inauguration address, Chicago has enough resources to address all of our pressing issues since we live in one of the richest cities in one of the wealthiest countries, at the richest time in the history of the world. Advertisement We live in a time of unprecedented abundance, yet our ears are filled with voices speaking of scarcity. We need to change the tone of our public debate. We need to speak of our great abundance and its companions of collaboration, transparency, inclusivity and responsible interdependence. Nowhere can this be seen better than the debate in recent days about housing migrants in municipal buildings, with city funds. [ Editorial: Mayor Johnson inherits the migrant crisis. Does he have a plan? Will he share it? ] Because scarcity mentality has been ingrained in our minds, even Chicagos neediest communities assume the narrative is true. Long neglected neighborhoods falsely believe that they have been neglected because of lack of resources, and so they sue the city to stop its funding going to groups of migrants who have just arrived. With Memorial Day past, summer has arrived. With summer comes the end of the school year, and alas, in our fair city an often immediate halt to productive and nurturing opportunities for our youths. And, this summer, thanks to Southern governors inhumane treatment of immigrants and asylum-seekers, we have thousands of immigrants arriving at our city with no natural or obvious place for them to find a home. This summer, we must confront how we provide opportunities for our youths and how we provide safe haven to immigrants. We leaders of faith are called by our traditions to reject any scarcity mentality that says we have to choose between the two; we know from the wells of our faith we should, and we can, do both. The biblical Joseph knew we could take care of the local and the immigrant at one and the same time, out of the same abundance. But this argument about Chicago adopting an abundance mentality is not just about how we allocate our financial resources. It is about how we allocate all of our resources. And we believe Chicagos institutions of faith can lead the way. We propose that every house of worship in Chicago commit its time and treasure this summer both to our youths and to our newest-arriving immigrants. Advertisement For our young people in desperate need of recreational opportunities, we propose that churches, synagogues and mosques citywide provide a full load of activities for young people, especially on the weekend. These opportunities especially should happen block by block to help our youths feel safe and secure in their own neighborhoods, in every neighborhood. Pastor Matt DeMateo, of New Life Centers, and Lincoln Park Presbyterian's Rev. Beth Brown talk on June 2, 2023, at Lincoln Park Presbyterian about the role religious institutions can play in helping recent migrants from Central America and South America. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune) And for the immigrants arriving in our city every day, our co-author and partner the Rev. Beth Brown has proposed an incredible solution. Her church, Lincoln Park Presbyterian, has been running a shelter in its basement since 1999. Now is the time, she believes, for every house of worship in Chicago to step up and provide shelter either on its own grounds or by sponsoring a family in its neighborhood for the immigrants arriving in our city. There are more than 10,000 churches in Chicago: Even with 10,000-plus new immigrants already having arrived, the faith community could step up and partner with our city to help find a humane solution to this crisis. This is what an abundance mentality looks like. Yes, we call on City Hall and the resources of our pooled tax treasure to do the part of funding the city in equitable fashion. But we, too, have our own time, talent and treasure, and we need to offer those as part of the solution as well. Working together to find solutions demonstrates how we believe in the abundance of our city. We look forward to working with our new mayor, our new City Council, our partners in faith and all of Chicagos citizens in a process of collaboration, transparency, inclusivity and responsible interdependence that allows everyone in this City of the Broad Shoulders to experience Chicagos abundance. Chicago faith leaders Rabbi Seth Limmer and the Revs. Otis Moss III, Ciera Bates-Chamberlain and Michael Pfleger joined the Tribunes opinion section last summer for a series of columns on potential solutions to Chicagos chronic gun violence problem. The column continues on an occasional basis. The Rev. Beth Brown, who joins this week as a contributor, is the pastor of Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church. Advertisement Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com. TO SAVE MORE LIVES. One Meralco Foundation supports the governments rollout of the PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild web application to enhance the capacity of LGUs to prepare for, respond to, and recovery from disasters better. Located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines is highly vulnerable to natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, as well as typhoons. This extreme susceptibility of the country to life-threatening natural events prompted the One Meralco Foundation (OMF), the social development arm of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), to take on a more active role in helping the government enhance disaster response planning of cities and municipalities across the country. Through its support to the rollout of the web application PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild, OMF and Meralco aim to contribute to the governments agenda of utilizing research and innovation, science-based decision making, and multi-sector collaboration to enhance disaster risk reduction and management. In addition, this will help local government units (LGUs) to attain the national governments agenda to establish livable and sustainable communities by fostering resiliency against natural disasters. The PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild is an investment for the safety and survival of our people and the livelihoods and communities we have built. PlanSmart is a very important downpayment. It is now our responsibility to pay for the balance by learning to utilize this for the good of the country and its future, OMF President Jeffrey O. Tarayao said. One Meralco Foundation President Jeffrey O. Tarayao delivers his message during the opening ceremony of a training session for the use of the PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild web app attended by local government unit representatives. Developed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, in collaboration with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Office of Civil Defense, supported by the Government of Japan, Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, and the World Bank, the PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild web app speeds up the development of rehabilitation and recovery programs and supports evidence-based decision-making and planning for pre- and post- disaster events. It is also envisioned to revolutionize disaster risk reduction and management planning processes in the country by helping LGUs efficiently plan for disasters. Empowering LGUs Since November 2022, OMF has been supporting a series of regional training sessions designed to enhance the disaster response capabilities of LGUs with the help of the PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild app. Capacity-building activities were provided to over 180 participants from 52 LGUs in Metro Manila, the Southern Tagalog Region, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. These include data managers, disaster risk reduction and management officers, planning officers, and other technical staff involved in disaster rehabilitation and recovery programs. This training is an opportunity for all of us to learn and be able to use innovations in our communities. The PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild app is born out of science, experience, and collaboration for the benefit, not only of your organizations, but most importantly of our kababayans, our fellow Filipinos, DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said during one of the training sessions. Through these activities, LGUs are equipped to come up with their respective rehabilitation and recovery plans even before disasters happen using the PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild app. This app proves the saying prevention is better than cure. We cannot prevent natural disasters from occurring. But through this app, it is easier for us to input and generate comprehensive data and help us generate real-time output so we can prevent the bigger destructive effects of disasters, shared Marlon Lopez, Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Officer 1 from Pasay City. Noting its advocacy of inclusive disaster preparedness, the World Bank hailed the development of the PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild web app as it reaffirmed its support to the Philippine government. CAPACITATING LGUs. One Meralco Foundation supports the conduct of regional training sessions designed to enhance the disaster response and recovery capabilities of LGUs with the help of the PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild app. Seen in the photo are (from left) Office of Civil Defense Rehabilitation and Recovery Management Services Director Harold Cabreros, DOST-PHIVOLCS Director Teresito Bacolcol, Former OCD Region 4-A Director Maria Theresa Escolano, DOST Secretary Renato Solidum, Jr., World Bank Operations Manager for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand Achim Fock, One Meralco Foundation President Jeffrey O. Tarayao and World Bank Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist Marilyn Tolosa-Martinez. The World Bank is always ready to support the Philippine Government as it advocates a culture of preparedness and resilience. We are happy to share this commitment with private sector partners, such as the One Meralco Foundation, because inclusive disaster preparedness, response, and recovery is best achieved when all stakeholders are all hands-on deck, World Bank Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist Lesley Y. Cordero said. We supported the development of this innovative platform to help government, especially the LGUs, to plan for disaster and climate risks more efficiently and rebuild resiliently, Cordero added. Digital tools such as the PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild app are part of the continuous efforts of the national government supported by OMF to innovate and further enhance the capacity of LGUs to respond to disasters and build resilience given the continuing impact of climate change. Aside from actively implementing emergency preparedness and disaster response operations, OMF believes in the need to maximize technology and build capacities of local governments to strengthen stakeholder ownership and accountability in planning for and responding to disasters, Tarayao said. Beyond disaster response, Meralco, through OMF, has been actively supporting underserved communities with electrification programs and through grassroot partnerships to deliver truly sustainable solutions that bring lasting change. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Beginning with Sue Stone Lester in the 1950s, a wedding dress has now been worn by 18 brides the most recent being Lesters granddaughter Ainsley Johnston Heffinger in 2022. The dress was purchased by Lesters mother, Mary Stone Dodge, at Montaldos in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is a princess-style gown in ivory peau de soie with a sweetheart neckline. A front panel of the dress is pearl embroidered hand-clipped Chantilly lace. The bouffant skirt ends with a cathedral train. The dress has been hemmed and altered very little over its tenure, Lester said, with most brides catering to their preferences and the fashions of the day through their shoes, instead of changing the dress. Some people wore flats, some people wore heels, said Lewis Riddle, Lesters sister. Lester wore the gown on Aug. 17, 1957, when she married Jack Lester at First Methodist Church in Martinsville. When her college roommate showed up for the wedding, they found out they had the same gown. Her roommate had bought that same gown at a Charlotte branch of Montaldos, for her own wedding. Lester said the dress buyers from both branches both went to New York and unknowingly got the same dress for the two women. I dont think I tried on any other dresses, Lester said. Almost all of the brides have also worn the same heirloom chapel length veil made with rose point and Brussels lace that was bought by Lesters great aunt, the late Lula Jones. It was her dress and now 17 (others) of us have worn it, Riddle said. Its all family, expect two close family friends who were allowed to wear it. As well as Lester, the gown has been worn by her sisters Lewis Stone Riddle, Bonnie Stone Adler, Courtney Dodge Edwards and Mary Dodge Taylor; her daughters Mary Lester Johnston, Nancy Susan Lester and Lucy Lester Falk; her nieces Elizabeth Riddle DeVault and Mary Fraizer Pickel; her granddaughter Ainsley Johnston Heffinger; her cousins through her mothers sister Patti Jones Tennille, Mary Jones Payne, Massie Payne Cooper, Katie Tennille and Lee Tennille Carson; and close family friends Betsy Sheetz Jenkins and Martha Goode Ellerbe. We just passed it down, Lester said. And the funny part is, it fits everybody. It just fits. I always just felt like I was going to wear it, Riddle said. There was no set time where the family decided the dress would be worn throughout three generations. It just naturally progressed that after the five sisters wore it, other brides in the family line would also wear the dress, the sisters agreed. After each wedding, the bride who wore it is responsible for cleaning and storing the dress until then next bride comes knocking. When I did it they cleaned it and they sealed it in an airtight box, Riddle said. And you dare not open it unless youre going to wear it, because there was a lot to it. Its in good shape right now ready for the next group, Lester said. Karen Despot took the dress completely apart and put it back together on the original seems before Heffinger wore the dress. The next possible brides to wear the dress will probably be the daughters of their sister, who lives in Atlanta, or some of their grandchildren. I think its really nice, Riddle said. It kind of bonds everybody in a funny way, all the women I think part of why everyone wants to wear it is because its sentimental, dont you think? Riddle asked Lester. Well, yes I guess so, Lester said. Im thrilled they can wear it. Significant Henry County history is slowly but surely being preserved because of efforts by Clerk of Henry County Jennifer Ashworth and the clerks office in conjunction with the Library of Virginia. A number of documents, from bonds to plans for building, have been identified and set aside to make up a collection that will be presented for a grant to be preserved properly and more effectively. This collection includes documents with signatures from prominent historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Benjamin Harrison, John Tyler and Patrick Henry. One book in the collection from 1777, the year Henry County was founded, is a list of the minutes from the first time the court ever went into session, such as appointing a clerk of the court. Another book details records from 1777 for reports of stray cattle, and yet another is the bond for the first area ordinary (tavern). Other documents include: a bond for Josiah Carter for the construction of the first courthouse in 1780; a bond, dimensions and floor plan for the construction of the 1793 courthouse which was built around that original courthouse; the Town of Martinsville plan from 1817 that had been copied from the original plan made in 1792; plans for the prison; and one for renovations on the courthouse. The most important of the collection, Ashworth said, is an original land deed written and signed by King George III in 1774. The deed is written on sheepskin. Ashworth said she thinks that the documents, not necessarily related in content, were pulled out for educational purposes in the past, stored in a vault and now rediscovered. Library of Virginia Senior Local Records Archivist Eddie Woodward is working in Henry County with Ashworth and the Henry County Circuit Court Clerks office to preserve these records through the Circuit Courts Record Preservation Program (CCPR) supported by the Virginia Court Clerks Association and the Library of Virginia. This is done through grants funded by a $3.50 recordation fee on land transactions in clerks offices. The Library of Virginia also processes records and stores them in Richmond. Many of Henry Countys records are stored there; chancery court case documents are digitized and are available online. Woodward travels around the state of Virginia to assist clerks with conservation and preservation needs and since Ashworth is applying for grants with CCRP, he has been to Henry County a number of times to help her in the archive where the older documents are stored. Ashworth has been working in the clerks office since 1989 and was elected clerk in 2016, which is when she started working with Woodward and CCRP to begin preserving significant documents in Henry County history. A grant for the current cycle has been approved, and the next round will be in the fall, which is the grant the collection mentioned will be considered for, Woodward said. The collection was found when Frances Wade contacted him to look through storage and they found the documents. Wade originally contacted him to look into 1900s records in the archives room, which is open to the public and not nearly as significant as the documents that eventually resurfaced. The more significant documents were found when Ashworth was going through the vault in her office with the intention to purge court trial exhibits eligible to be destroyed and in the process found the collection. This caused her to reach back out to Woodward to let him know she had something else for him to come look at. I was really surprised, happy, shocked, pleased when I got here and they showed me all of these records, Woodward said when he found these documents instead of 1960s computer punch cards which, while still significant, are nowhere near as interesting as what they found. I usually look for items in there that are good candidates for conservation grants, Woodward said. Lately he has been going through marriage bonds and licenses which, when properly stored, can be useful for genealogists to study. Typically, documents were originally stored as loose records typically tri-folded and stored in Woodruff drawers, and over the years conservation efforts by the county led them to being unfolded to be flat-filed, repaired with tape, stored in page protector sleeves and in binders and sometime laminated. Though Woodward said this storage method is not bad, it is just not professionally done and it can be improved upon by replacing backing paper with an acid-free paper, removing tape that was used to repair tears and removing lamination. Should they receive the grant, the collection will be properly preserved through CCPR by being mended, de-acidified, folded and put into a box, Woodward said. Woodward added that the rarity of the documents depends on the situation, saying that documents with famous signatures would have been in other courthouses they just hadnt been preserved for various reasons. Henry County has a lot of records that survived over the years, Woodward said, which could be as a result of not having courthouse fires or raids that otherwise could have resulted in the destruction of records. Its the history of Henry County, Ashworth said. To think that we have records that go back as far as they do and how the county was the foundation how the county was built how things have evolved is just unbelievable. I feel confident once the CCRP members [grant review board] realize what we have here that they will award the grant to Henry County, Ashworth said. To hit this little treasure and having it preserved is very exciting and Im just very proud to be at this point to see this take place. Sheriff Ricky Buchanan recently attended the North Carolina Sheriffs Associations annual Legislative Day at the N.C. General Assembly in Raleigh. The North Carolina Sheriffs Association hosted sheriffs and sheriffs personnel from across the state for the annual event on Wednesday, May 31. Legislative Day is an opportunity for sheriffs in North Carolina to travel to the General Assembly to meet their legislators one-on-one and discuss public safety issues related to their counties and the Office of Sheriff, according to a news release. A large number of sheriffs and command staff attended and discussed issues such as increasing punishments for crimes related to fentanyl, protecting the power grid from attack and enhancing recruitment and retention efforts in the law enforcement profession. After meeting to discuss legislation at the associations headquarters in downtown Raleigh, the sheriffs in attendance made their way to the General Assembly for scheduled meetings with state lawmakers, according to the news release. Legislative Day is an important opportunity for North Carolina sheriffs to meet with their legislators and discuss the law enforcement issues which are most important to them and their citizens, said Sheriff Charles Blackwood, president of the North Carolina Sheriffs Association. We are proud to host this annual event and facilitate communication between the sheriffs and their legislators. As elected officials ourselves, we know how important it is to listen to the citizens who elected us, said Buchanan. As sheriffs, we hope our participation in the associations Legislative Day will encourage legislators to keep the office of sheriff, public safety issues, and the law enforcement profession at the forefront of their agenda as we move through the remainder of this legislative session. US First Lady Jill Biden has thanked Moroccos King Mohammed VI and Princess Lalla Hasna for their hospitality during her visit to Morocco, recognizing the enduring bond between the two nations. Your Majesty King Mohammed VI and Princess Lalla Hasna, thank you for the kind welcome to Morocco its an honor to visit one of the United States oldest friends, Biden wrote in a tweet on Sunday. United States First Lady Jill Biden has commended the leadership of King Mohammed VI to empower women and youth. Under His Majesty King Mohammed the Sixths leadership, Morocco is encouraging reforms to empower women and youth, reflecting our shared priorities, said Mrs Biden in a statement issued Sunday by the White House. The United States is grateful for its longstanding partnership and friendship with Morocco, she pointed out. The US First Lady recalled that she was graciously received at her arrival Saturday in Marrakech by HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa. And as we were getting to know each other, she told me about her work to educate children and young people about the importance of protecting our climate, said Mrs Biden, adding that she was inspired by her passion. Im excited to take her story back to the United States, to look for more opportunities to learn from each other, she added. The US First Lady, accompanied by her daughter Ashley Biden and her sister Bobby Jacobs, arrived in Marrakech on Saturday afternoon for a visit to Morocco. Her visit to the Kingdom is part a tour in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe with the aim of promoting the conditions of women and youth around the world, particularly in terms of education, health and empowerment. The visit of the US First Lady to Morocco is the second following that of 2014, when Mrs. Biden accompanied president Joe Biden, then vice president of the Obama administration, during his participation in the 5th edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) held in November in Marrakech. Morocco has always been a prime destination for US First Ladies. This enthusiasm for the Kingdom, a land of welcome and hospitality, demonstrates the standing Morocco enjoys among senior American officials, and underscores the solidity of the long-standing strategic partnership between Morocco and the United States under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. In this session of the Legislature, the supermajority/Freedom Caucus declared war. War on the courts and judiciary, on trans and LGTBQIA+ people, on the drag folks, on public education, on womens right to control their bodies and reproductive choices, on parents rights to make health care decisions for their children, on freedom of the press, on freedom of speech and on the right of suffrage and initiative. They banned books, they banned one form of social media, they practiced medicine and they bullied doctors; they adopted the Biblical, albeit false, definition of sex, they rejected science, and they thumbed their collective noses at the Constitution and at nearly every group and citizen that was not wearing a MAGA hat or a tinfoil one. One could write an essay on any one of these wars. But the one I want to discuss is the supermajority/Freedom Caucus war on our environment. This session the Legislature passed, and the governor blindly signed, over two dozen bills adversely affecting Montanas land, air, and water. The reach of this legislation is simply staggering indeed, too broad to discuss in detail. But to give the flavor: the supermajority/Freedom Caucus passed laws exempting developments, subdivisions and various oil and gas and mining activities from evaluation and environmental review; they weakened water quality protections; they prohibited local governments from restricting various unhealthful petroleum and gas operations; they gerrymandered PSC districts and hijacked the Montana Consumer Counsel; they prohibited the agencies charged with protecting the environment from considering climate change and other environmental degradations and impacts when issuing permits; they gave large corporate power interests the ability to have power plants pre-approved by the PSC; they imposed additional registration fees on electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles and they added a tax on the use of public EV charging stations; they weakened the Montana Environmental Protection Act and imposed a pay to play system; they restricted access to the courts to remedy environmental abuses and made that process more costly; they empowered certain extractive industries to expand without environmental analysis and public review; and they exempted developments from evaluating their water impacts. With this backdrop, keep in mind that every one of us has a fundamental, inalienable right to a clean and healthful environment and to seek our safety, health, and happiness in all lawful ways under Article II, section 3 of Montanas Constitution. And, equally important, Article IX, section 1 mandates (meaning requires) that the state, and each person (including corporations) maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment for present and future generations. Moreover, the Legislature is required to provide for the enforcement of this duty and remedies to protect against the degradation of our environment and natural resources. The supermajority/Freedom Caucus war, waged with over two dozen bills trashing the environment, is not only antithetical to the constitutional rights and mandatory obligations discussed above, it is a violation of every public officials oath to support, protect and defend Montanas Constitutionending with, so help me God. Article III, section 3. How ironic: these self-proclaimed white nationalist super-Christians, bent on shoving their belief system down every citizens throat, have, each, violated the oath they swore to the God they profess to venerate. They revel in protecting the unborn while destroying the lives, safety, and health the environment of this and future generations of the living. Call it what it is: a total and complete hypocrisy. Keep these facts in mind when you hear members of the 2023 Legislature pontificate about all the good things they accomplished. Indeed, keep in mind they waged war on the environment belonging to every single one of us. Editors note: Calendar items must be submitted at least five days before an event. Email all items to news@morganton.com. MONDAY 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. TUESDAY WPCC trustees meeting The Western Piedmont Community College's board of trustees will meet at 3 p.m. in he Helmick Seminar Room, room #315, in Moore Hall. WEDNESDAY 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 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 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. Juneteenth Brunch First United Methodist Church, 200 N. King St., Morganton, will host the third annual Juneteenth brunch at 10 a.m. Rev. Dr. James E. Hunt will be the speaker, along with multicultural performances. Jay Alexander, program/music director for 107.9 The Beat, WGTF.FM out of Kentucky, is the master of ceremony. Other participants include Malik Harris, Dylan ONeil, Kevin Hunt and Cory Lovelace. The Journey Continues. Limited seating is available, and tickets are $20 each. Call 828-433-6797 or 828-430-0304. 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, 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. Burke County Sheriff Banks Hinceman was one of many sheriffs around North Carolina who attended the North Carolina Sheriffs Association for its annual Legislative Day on Wednesday. Legislative Day is an opportunity for sheriffs and personnel from across North Carolina to travel to the General Assembly to meet their legislators one-on-one and discuss public safety issues related to their counties and the office of sheriff. A large number of sheriffs and command staff attended and discussed issues such as increasing punishments for crimes related to fentanyl, protecting the power grid from attack and enhancing recruitment and retention efforts in the law enforcement profession. After meeting to discuss legislation at the associations headquarters in downtown Raleigh, the sheriffs in attendance made their way to the General Assembly for scheduled meetings with legislators. Legislative Day is an important opportunity for North Carolina sheriffs to meet with their legislators and discuss the law enforcement issues which are most important to them and their citizens, said Sheriff Charles Blackwood, president of the North Carolina Sheriffs Association. We are proud to host this annual event and facilitate communication between the sheriffs and their legislators. Hinceman was able to meet with Rep. Hugh Blackwell and Sen. Warren Daniel to discuss law enforcement issues pertinent to Burke County residents. As an elected official, I know how important it is to listen to the citizens who elected me, Hinceman said. My hope is that my participation in the Associations Legislative Day will encourage legislators to keep the Office of Sheriff, public safety issues, and the law enforcement profession at the forefront of their agenda as we move through the remainder of this legislative session. I appreciate Representative Hugh Blackwell and Senator Warren Daniel for taking time to discuss these issues with me. The mission of the North Carolina Sheriffs Association, Inc. is to serve as the statewide voice to protect, promote, preserve, and enhance the Office of Sheriff in North Carolina through education, training and legislative initiatives that increase public safety and protect the rights of the residents of North Carolina. After he retired as senior minister from Waldensian Presbyterian Church in Valdese (2007-21), the Rev. Dr. Kevin Frederick began attending First Presbyterian Church in Morganton, where I met him. Though I havent known him long, Ive discovered he values his family deeply, thoroughly enjoys (and studies) Rock and Roll music, and speaks out on controversial issues. But he is also a Biblical scholar who offers old and new perspectives on faith. When I learned he was teaching a class on Jesus and the Woman at the Well, the Bible story in the New Testaments Gospel of John, I was delighted. I love that woman at the well, who tries to change the subject when Jesus gets personal, likes to discuss theology, gets excited about meeting a man who knows who she is, and even runs to tell her neighbors. I love that Jesus speaks without hesitation to an outcast from polite society, a Samaritan, and a woman, at a time when rabbis did not speak to women in public not even their wives. But Id never given much thought to Fredericks opening question: Whats the first thing Jesus does in this encounter? He asked for water first, we realized, something he needed on a hot day when he was tired. Frederick suggested that sometimes this is a missing component in mission work: asking for help from those who themselves need help. Frederick himself has had mission experience. Long concerned about domestic abuse, he published Men in the Mirror, a curriculum he developed and has used in classes in Central and South America, as well as in the United States. Rather than preaching at people about certain cultural attitudes, this 13-week curriculum uses Scripture as a mirror to show participants both their own lives and the life of Christ and, in this way, inspires them to lead a Christ-centered life. This April, the Nkhoma Synod of Malawi, Africa, invited Frederick to teach this curriculum to their seminarians. He joined the Western North Carolinas Malawi Mission Team trip, scheduled April 11-28. The trip itself was long and arduous, he said, and sometimes caused sleep difficulties for him. The long dirt roads to remote locations with 10 of us in the back of a small Rover, converted to an ambulance, were a real challenge. But what an amazing experience! When I interviewed him for this story, he responded at once, with enthusiasm: I was really struck by how strong the church is in Africa, not just the Presbyterian but many other denominations. Out of 18 million people, 3 million are Presbyterians, with thousands new added every year. There are three Synods in the nation, all averaging about seven new churches a year. The Churches of Central Africa Presbyterian the Nkhoma Synod meet every two years. Each pastor in Malawi has three to four churches, each church 1,000 members apiece and sometimes more. We got to see clinics, health care centers, and educational programs, Frederick added. We worshiped with local communities. The Malawi worship services themselves amazed him. Groups of people from various locations around the congregation took turns singing in those huge crowds, many songs, beautiful and lively. Sometimes the services, both in Chichewa, the language of Malawi and in English, lasted as long as three hours. Frederick couldnt imagine local Presbyterians lasting three hours in a church service. I agreed at once, thinking primarily of myself. And no matter what day or what time they worship, he said: The sanctuary is full. He thoroughly enjoyed the teaching experience both with pastors and with seminarians. The classes included Pentecostals, Methodists, and other denominations, all equally excited about what they learned and planned to take to churches through Malawi. His classes began with the sentence: Just as the Gospel challenges the broader realm of our culture, so it also challenges the interpersonal relationships and how we are involved with one another. The curriculum examines different relationship components. One of those was the humility of Christ, Frederick said. Part of that humility is in the way that Christ makes Himself emotionally vulnerable to others, as when Jesus wept with Mary and Martha and shared their grief. Seminarian, William, agreed: Pastoral authority and strength often come from vulnerability. All the men were very open to this challenge to their own culture and asked extremely effective questions, Frederick said. The pastors gave great illustrations from what theyd observed in their own congregations. Johani, a youth pastor for the Synod, said that the lessons challenge the cultural impact of masculine distortion in the culture: It is imperative to work with youth to help them understand that there is a difference between following Christ and His relationship skills opposed to traditional male dominance and control. Though the seminarians didnt have much experience in leading in a local church, pastoral care, and administrative issues, Frederick said, They asked probing questions. They added to the Men in the Mirror curriculum, fleshed it out more. Dr. Barbara Nagy, a primary care physician in Connelly Springs, who served 20 years in Africa as a medical missionary, 16 of those years in Malawi, praised the contributions of Fredericks work to this years Malawi Mission: The Men in the Mirror Bible study represents a paradigm shift of how women are treated in Malawi she said. And I am particularly grateful that this effort is being led by the church in Malawi. Serving as a mentor was a great joy, Frederick concluded. His obvious appreciation recalled for me a similar delight Ive heard over the years from others whove returned from mission trips with deep gratitude for what theyd received And what had they received? Cups of water from a well perhaps. Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune. Rose Kyoma Garrett, also known as Mother Rose, works in her longtime Hyde Park art and jewelry store Kilimanjaro International on May 23, 2023. The store has been selling art from American and African artists for over 30 years. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) It was the use of hand sanitizer, or lack of it, that sparked the creation of a 70-minute film, The Heart of Hyde Park: Stories of Small Businesses. So says second-year University of Chicago student Lisa Raj Singh. She had walked into the Pan-African art and craft gallery Kilimanjaro International on 53rd Street in 2022 when owner Rose Kyoma Garrett, aka Mother Rose, pointed to the door, signaling to Singh to put on hand sanitizer before proceeding into the shop. A confused Singh eventually figured it out and lathered it on. Advertisement A week later, Singh was back in the store. But Mother Rose was occupied when a new customer walked in. How do I know that its a new customer? Because they didnt put on the hand sanitizer, she said. For a split second, I thought, Is it my place to say? Then I ask: Please kindly put on the hand sanitizer. Mama Rose gives me the nod of approval. And with that, we create a sort of bond and Im back in the shop a week later. Advertisement Kilimanjaro International has been selling art from American and African artists for over 30 years in the Hyde Park area. Mother Rose has been a mainstay of support for homeless artists, connecting homeless youth to mentors. Since Singh formed a friendship with Mother Rose, shes witnessed people come to her shop just to talk to her, to invite her to a wedding, to share food and invite her to dinner. That is what a small business does for the community, Singh said. It isnt a place on a map. Its the very dynamic mosaic of nods and smiles and interactions that you have with one another. Its a living thing. Art for sale is seen at the Hyde Park art and jewelry store Kilimanjaro International on May 23, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) With Mother Rose as a role model, Singh, the films director, and several University of Chicago students collected over a dozen hours of interviews in 2022 going door-to-door to eight Hyde Park small businesses to hear their stories of success and struggle, and hear about their relationships with the neighborhood and the University of Chicago. The Heart of Hyde Park premiered at Doc Films on U. of C.s campus May 8, bringing students, residents and small-business owners out to view it. The work looks at the nuanced and complex environment that has an elite university operating in a historical Chicago community in the hope of keeping the conversation going about how college students can support small businesses in the area, said Elliot Sher, a first-year student majoring in sociology, who helped with the film. He said that after watching the film, he was most surprised by how big of an impact students can have on the local community. Wallace Goode Jr., former executive director of the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce and former associate dean of students and a representative of the Office of Campus and Student Life, was featured in the documentary and answered questions from the audience with other entrepreneurs and community leaders at the premiere. Goodes advice to students: Be careful not to let your academics get in the way of your education. Goode was commending Singh and the other U. of C. students for offering a balanced picture of what good the university is doing in the community and where it needs to improve. This is the way you help small businesses, he said at the screening. You encourage the community to be supportive, and you encourage small-business owners to market more creatively to 18-, 19-, 20-, 21-year-olds ... be more creative in helping develop that camaraderie and creative use of students and small businesses working together. Arnell Brady is proprietor of Brady Speech-Language Pathology, a Hyde Park business that has been going strong for 39 years, minus the 12 years Brady practiced in the Chatham neighborhood. He praised the students efforts with the documentary and said businesses in the area need more attention when it comes to the social, communication and sustainability aspects of the area. Advertisement Communication is really important. And that is communicating more than just about how much the rent is. ... Its also about what you are doing for the community, he said. Because what I see happening is 53rd Street is getting more and more food places, and those restaurants are bringing all types of people. Thats OK, but theyre also bringing in different values. And sometimes that can be a direct clash with the community that theyre coming into and that begins to create problems with shops like mine, that are very family-oriented. U. of C., Hyde Parks largest landowner, factors into the small-business equation when it comes to the impact as well. Over the years, as new businesses arrived, older businesses were relocated. Akroma Kourouma Sahan, owner of Sahan Motherland Salon & Spa, shared her 2014 story about that in the documentary. She relocated and said it wasnt easy, but she remains in Hyde Park. She jokes that after getting a hug from former President Barack Obama, she made peace with having to move. She hopes her current landlord doesnt sell the building to the university so she can stay where she is. The university obviously has huge investment in this community, but is there an investment of any greater value than the family who has lived here for 30 years? Goode asked. Theyve invested everything in this community. The university has invested a lot, but they havent invested everything. So who has greater claim? Thirty to 40 years investing everything or the university investing millions? Its a complex equation for many small businesses, said Phil Moy, executive director of the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce. Theres issues of capital funding, staffing whos gonna work your night hours if youve been there already 12 hours a day? Do support the small business owners. ... Take the time to visit the business corridors here in Hyde Park. Not only on 53rd Street but 55th Street and 57th. They put a whole lot more effort in than some of the big box stores. Shruti Rungta, left, and Victoria Sullivan, who are first-year students at the University of Chicago, do homework at Philz Coffee on May 16, 2023, in Hyde Park. (Shanna Madison/Chicago Tribune) Leslie Roberson, proprietor of Black Beauty Collective, said having spent 16 years in human resources prior to becoming a full-time entrepreneur gave her insight into what it takes to get hired by larger companies. She said if students arent engaging with the Hyde Park business community, they are missing an opportunity. If youre a finance major, a marketing major, you can use the things that youre learning in school to engage with these businesses because you will be able to see actionable steps that youve taken to grow a business and you can tell that story when its time to interview for your first role, Roberson said. If you are not engaging with these businesses that are at your footsteps, youre doing yourself a disservice. Advertisement Joyce Feuer, owner of Joyces Event & Party Planning, said over her 24 years of operating a business in the area, shes seen many Hyde Park businesses come and go. But she would like to see the mingling of the student population with small businesses start at student orientation or during campus tours when prospective students visit with their parents. Yep, theyre gonna find the Five Guys, theyre gonna find the Stans Donuts, but theyre not going to find Busted Bra down on 53rd Street because its a little unknown business that serves a huge population of people, she said. You can give them all the burgers and fries you want, but theres a lot more that Hyde Park has to offer. Using places like the South East Chicago Commission, the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce, those kinds of organizations bring students, interns and volunteers in, it shows on the streets. The music fests are not just for 20-somethings, Feuer said. The university has helped to bring music to Harper Court. Some people love it. Some people hate it. Theres always going to be controversy, but the real question is how to get the students, how to get the employees of the university to look around to what is in their backyard. The Heart of Hyde Park took a long time to come to fruition, Singh said. She said Reese Villazor and Christina Gao conducted a survey of over 200 students prior to filming and the results showed the vast majority tended to shop at Target and other big corporations. That is coupled with a general apathetic culture on campus about small businesses, Singh said. She hopes to turn around that mindset and to learn from people who are living a daily experience not in a classroom. The sociology and data science major wants students to be aware of the implications of being a student at U. of C. and how that affects the Hyde Park business community. People walk down 53rd Street in the Hyde Park neighborhood on May 16, 2023. (Shanna Madison/Chicago Tribune) For example, previously I worked with an administrator to organize a food crawl in Hyde Park, where 100 students got to sample foods at five different small businesses, Singh said. Thats kind of the goal: to inspire a series of projects where people themselves feel empowered to collaborate with small-business owners because theres so much we can learn from them. How can we cultivate a culture where a first-year comes to the University of Chicago and thinks its the norm to spend their weekends on 53rd Street and not just downtown, said the native of Chhattisgarh, India. How do we create a culture where a first-year thinks about: Let me think about consulting for Mr. Brady. Let me ask him about sociolinguistics research. Let me think about working with someone with advertising. That is the type of culture we want to create. The one thing we can do is learn from the people who call Hyde Park home for so many years, so that we can learn to call Hyde Park home ourselves. Advertisement Watch The Heart of Hyde Park: Stories of Small Businesses, at bit.ly/heart-of-hydepark-film. Students Lade Tinbu, Abena Karhan, Daniel Kind, Reese Villazor, Luke Kalaydijan, Christina Gao, Anthony Menjivar and Ermelinda Calderon also worked on the film. drockett@chicagotribune.com I wanted to have a little fun for this column, so I decided to devote it to the sweetest dessert anyone could ask for ice cream. Its been my favorite for seven decades, even though these days true 100% ice cream isnt the norm but an occasional treat. The birthplace of ice cream isnt certain, but food historians credit it to the Chinese and the flavored ices they enjoyed as far back as 3000 B.C.E. Marco Polo is believed to be the man responsible for bringing the idea to Italy, where the modern ice cream we enjoy today was born in the 17th century. Our own Thomas Jefferson was the first American to write down a recipe for ice cream, but the first published instructions appeared in The New Art of Cookery by Richard Briggs (Philadelphia, 1792). Jeffersons recipe is undated, but likely was recorded during his time in France. Ice cream is popular all over the world, not just here in America, and often it may resemble our favorite, but in some countries, it is quite different. For instance, if youre ever in New Zealand and longing for a treat, ask for Hokey Pokey ice cream. Krista Canfield McNish, founder of FoodWaterShoes, an international food site, says that the blend can vary, depending on which shop you visit, but mostly it means plain vanilla ice cream mixed with generous heaps of honeycomb toffee. The delicious treat is popular throughout the North and South islands of New Zealand and available at grocery stores. In Japan, you might want to try mochi ice cream. Available in nearly every city, it consists of small circular rounds of ice cream that resemble macaroons. The bite-size circles are wrapped in rice paste to keep it from melting and come in at 100 calories each (although www.mymochi.com says its more like 80 calories). Mochi is available in America if you want to try it, so check out the website for locations. For those visiting Germany, the next time you visit a restaurant and its time for dessert, ask the waiter for Spaghettini. Although it looks like a plate of spaghetti, this popular dessert is prepared by pastry chefs using vanilla ice cream strands for noodles, strawberry puree for the marinara, and coconut flakes for parmesan cheese. Sounds delicious to me! In Italy, any time is gelato time. As a timeless tradition dating back to the Italian Renaissance, gelato will remind you of traditional ice cream, but its lower in fat. Youll find it to be a thicker consistency with richer flavors (but more sugar), infused with all sorts of sweet and savory spices and ingredients. For those planning a visit to Turkey, the dessert of choice is called Dondurma. Made with salep, an orchid root found locally, ice cream in Turkey is super-stretchy (like mozzarella cheese) and very chewy (like gummies or taffy). And yet, its still cold. Made in a variety of flavors and served throughout the country, Turkey is the only place where you can nibble on this since orchid root is illegal to export. As beautiful and picturesque as beaches in Thailand are, its weather is humid, sticky, and hot year-round. For those traveling on Bangkoks busy streets, make a stop to try I Tim Pad. It looks like a veggie wrap because chefs dont churn their ice cream, but instead they flash-freeze it to make a circular, thin shape that they scrape off and turn into tiny ice cream rolls. Tourists say theyre delicious and refreshing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Americans consume an average of 23 gallons of ice cream each year. Classic vanilla is the most popular flavor in America, accounting for more than 26 percent of the countrys ice cream sales. However, a study released in July 2021 (just in time for National Ice Cream Day on July 18) found that we are, as a nation, branching out to other favorite flavors, including rocky road, coffee, birthday cake, and green tea. Now that I have everyone running to the freezer for a pint of Ben and Jerrys ice cream, Ive got another way to end this column: Is the hot dog a sandwich? When doing research on ice cream, apparently this topic has been up for debate for many years. The USDA agrees with New York state (specifically the department of taxation and finance) that a hot dog is a sandwich. But Eric Mittenthal, the president of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, a trade group that refers to itself as the official voice of hot dogs and sausages, likens calling a hot dog a sandwich to calling the Dalai Lama just a guy. The confusion around this food fact stems from a philosophical divide about the precise definition of the word sandwich. Mittenthal said hes been asked this question daily for the past five to six years and his answer is the same: A hot dog is not a sandwich. If you go to a hot dog vendor and you say give me a sandwich, theyre going to look at you like youre crazy. Its just culturally not the same as a sandwich. Mittenthal has heard every counter argument possible, too. He regularly fields phone calls from fraternity houses trying to settle late-night feuds over the matter, high school debate teams practicing for tournaments, and students using the controversy as masters thesis material. In Mittenthals opinion, a hot dog is in a classification of its own. In essence it boils down to a hot dog is its own unique item that exceeds the sandwich category. It breaks itself free of the sandwich category. People love to argue with us, but no, a hot dog is not a sandwich. Id have to agree with Mittenthal. The last people I would want angry at me are the hot dog vendors in New York City. Its easy to understand why bear enthusiasts spent weeks crowding roadsides in Grand Teton National Park as they waited to catch a glimpse of Grizzly 399. The worlds oldest mama bear beat the odds when she emerged from the woods and crossed North Park Road with a brand-new cub in tow earlier this month. The 27-year-old bruin has survived to propagate roughly two dozen cubs and grandcubs, and shes benefited from strong protections under federal law. But the safeguards that have served Grizzly 399 so well are in danger of being removed. This would be a tragedy for grizzlies and everyone who cares about their well-being. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering removing Endangered Species Act protections from grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems, endangering bears that live just outside Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Glacier National Parks. The bears are currently protected as threatened, offering them a number of safeguards as an imperiled species. And despite some positive signs of population growth, grizzlies remain in danger. Grizzly bears were nearly eradicated over the past 200 years as settlers, motivated by fear and profit, systemically massacred them. By the time the bears in the lower 48 states were protected under the Endangered Species Act in 1975, theyd nearly been wiped out. Today they survive in only about 6% of their historic range and continue to face a number of threats, including habitat loss and poaching. The Endangered Species Act is the strongest safeguard protecting grizzlies, and theres evidence to prove it. When grizzly bears temporarily lost federal protection in 2017, Wyoming and Idaho both rushed to approve trophy hunts. Wyoming had approved the killing of up to 13 female grizzly bears before successful litigation by the Center for Biological Diversity, where I work, and others halted the hunts. Hunting is an especially dire threat for grizzlies since they reproduce so slowly. They start reproduction at a late age, have small average litters and experience long intervals between litters. And grizzly mothers are already in danger in Wyomings Bridger-Teton National Forest, near Yellowstone National Park, where a federal plan would allow up to 72 grizzlies to be killed on behalf of the livestock industry. The plan doesnt include any limits on how many mother bears could be slaughtered. We challenged it in court, and on May 25, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with us and told the Fish and Wildlife Service that authorizing the plan without considering a limit on how many females can be killed was illegal. The agency must now go back and redo its careless analysis. All of us owe it to Grizzly 399 and her surviving offspring to get this right. Grizzlies are an integral part of the Wests landscape. We need them to keep ecosystems healthy and thriving, just like they need our protections. But beyond that, Wyoming and Montana would be bleaker, less wild places if we allowed bears like Grizzly 399 to be hunted down. We will push the Fish and Wildlife Service to do the right thing and maintain federal protection for these majestic bears. An overwhelming majority of non-LGBTQ people in the U.S. support equal rights for the LGBTQ community, according to a new report released Thursday by GLAAD, the nations largest LGBTQ media advocacy group. Findings of the 2023 Accelerating Acceptance survey revealed an all-time high number of non-LGBTQ people who express support for LGBTQ equality despite an unprecedented push by Republican lawmakers in conservative states to target the rights of members of the LGBTQ community, particularly transgender people. Researchers found that more than eight in 10 U.S. adults (84%) believe sexual and gender minorities should have the same rights as heterosexual and cisgender (non-transgender) people, while a large majority of U.S. adults seven in 10 agreed businesses should publicly support the LGBTQ community. The data seems to contradict recent decisions made by some high-profile businesses, which seemed to reverse course on their previous support of the LGBTQ community by caving into pressure from anti-LGBTQ groups. While these results are a clear demonstration that fair and accurate representation in media and journalism have a powerful and measurable effect on the lives of LGBTQ people, America is at a critical juncture when it comes to LGBTQ acceptance and safety, Sarah Kate Ellis, the organizations president and CEO, said in a statement shared with the Daily News. However, even though LGBTQ acceptance has reached never-before-seen levels, the survey also pointed to a lack of familiarity with trans and nonbinary people among non-LGBTQ adults. Only three in 10 non-LGBTQ people said they personally knew a trans person, while half said nonbinary and trans people were new or unfamiliar to them. More than half of those surveyed (55%) said they didnt understand the dimensions of the LGBTQ community. At the same time, the findings of the survey suggested that fair and accurate representation of LGBTQ people in the media could dramatically help increase LGBTQ acceptance. More than seven in 10 non-LGBTQ adults (73%) reported feeling comfortable seeing LGBTQ characters on television or in movies. Media, content creators, and corporate leaders need to lead and respond to hate with undeterred support for the LGBTQ community, including LGBTQ employees, shareholders and consumers, Ellis said. Allyship is not easy, but when values of diversity, equity and inclusion are tested, we must defend them unequivocally. The study was conducted online earlier this year among 2,533 U.S. adults using samples sourced by digital survey-based research firm Cint. From Stonewall to today: 50+ years of modern LGBTQ+ history From Stonewall to today: 50+ years of modern LGBTQ+ history 1969: Stonewall Riots 1969: Gay Liberation Front forms 1972: Sweden allows people to legally change gender 1972: UK has first Pride parade 1973: Lambda Legal forms 1973: Homosexuality is no longer classified as a mental illness 1974: First openly lesbian officials elected 1977: First openly gay man elected 1978: The rainbow flag is created 1979: First national LGBTQ+ march 1981: Norway enacts anti-discrimination laws 1981: Gay men affected with 'rare cancer' 1982: Wisconsin passes LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination law 1983: BiPOL forms 1984: HIV discovered 1986: Bowers v. Hardwick 1986: New York passes anti-discrimination bill 1987: UK opens first HIV/AIDS clinic 1987: Barney Frank comes out as gay 1987: ACT UP 1988: National Coming Out Day starts 1989: Denmark legalizes same-sex unions 1990: First Pride parade in South Africa 1994: 'Don't ask, don't tell' enacted 1994: American Medical Association opposes conversion therapy 1995: Gay and lesbian workers can get government security clearance 1996: President Bill Clinton signs Defense of Marriage Act 1996: High schooler starts Gay-Straight Alliance 1997: Ellen DeGeneres comes out 1998: Bisexual flag created 2000: Vermont recognizes same-sex unions 2000: Netherlands recognizes same-sex marriage 2002: New York City passes LGBTQ+ rights law 2003: US legalizes consensual same-sex acts 2004: Massachusetts performs first same-sex marriage 2009: Hate Crimes Prevention Act 2010: Same-sex marriage legal in Iceland 2011: 'Don't ask, don't tell' repealed 2012: First openly LGBTQ+ senator 2013: Supreme Court recognizes same-sex marriage 2014: Transgender students get federal protection 2014: First transgender person nominated for Emmy 2015: US legalizes same-sex marriage 2016: Ban lifted on transgender troops 2017: First openly transgender state legislator elected 2018: 'Rainbow wave' in politics 2019: Taiwan passes same-sex marriage 2019: Transgender troops banned from military 2019: Mayor Pete runs for president 2019: Being transgender no longer a 'disorder' 2020: NYC Pride March canceled by coronavirus 2021: Biden reverses Trump-era ban on transgender people in the military 2021: Gender-affirming care for minors is blockedthen overturned 2021: Switzerland and Japan make strides toward marriage equality 2022: Hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in US states 2022: First openly lesbian women elected governor 2023: Gender-Affirming Care HARVARD, Ill. (AP) A police officer fatally shot a man overnight in a northern Illinois city after he refused to drop a knife during a domestic violence disturbance in which a woman was stabbed to death, police said. Five officers in Harvard, Illinois, were called about 11:30 p.m. Saturday to a residence where they found a knife-wielding man on top of a woman, police said. Police commanded the man to drop the knife. When he refused, an officer fatally shot him, police said Sunday in a statement. The woman who had been stabbed was pronounced dead at a hospital. Harvard Police Chief Tyson Bauman told The (Crystal Lake) Northwest Herald that the officer who shot the man is on administrative leave pending investigation, a routine step following shootings by officers. Bauman said he believes Saturday's shooting was Harvard's first such case in at least 25 years. The McHenry County Major Investigation Assistance Team is investigating. The city of Harvard is located just south of the Wisconsin border, about 60 miles (96.6 kilometers) northwest of Chicagos downtown Loop. OUTSIDE BAKHMUT, Ukraine Watching imagery from a drone camera overhead, Ukrainian battalion commander Oleg Shiryaev warned his men in nearby trenches that Russian forces were advancing across a field toward a patch of trees outside the city of Bakhmut. The leader of the 225th Battalion of the 127th Kharkiv Territorial Defense Brigade then ordered a mortar team to get ready. A target was locked. A mortar tube popped out a loud orange blast, and an explosion cut a new crater in an already pockmarked hillside. We are moving forward, Shiryaev said after at least one drone image showed a Russian fighter struck down. We fight for every tree, every trench, every dugout." Russian forces declared victory in the eastern city last month after the longest, deadliest battle since their full-scale invasion of Ukraine began 15 months ago. But Ukrainian defenders like Shiryaev aren't retreating. Instead, they are keeping up the pressure and continuing the fight from positions on the western fringes of Bakhmut. The pushback gives commanders in Moscow another thing to think about ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive that appears to be taking shape. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Russia sought to create the impression of calm around Bakhmut, but in fact, artillery shelling goes on at levels similar to those at the height of the battle to take the city. The fight, she said, is evolving into a new phase. The battle for the Bakhmut area hasn't stopped; it is ongoing, just taking different forms, said Maliar, dressed in her characteristic fatigues in an interview from a military media center in Kyiv. Russian forces are now trying but failing to oust Ukrainian fighters from the dominant heights overlooking Bakhmut. We are holding them very firmly, she said. From the Kremlin's perspective, the area around Bakhmut is just part of the more than 621-mile front line that the Russian military must hold. That task could be made more difficult by the withdrawal of the mercenaries from private military contractor Wagner Group who helped take control of the city. They will be replaced with Russian soldiers. For Ukrainian forces, recent work has been opportunistic trying to wrest small gains from the enemy and taking strategic positions, notably from two flanks on the northwest and southwest, where the Ukrainian 3rd Separate Assault Brigade has been active, officials said. Russia had envisioned the capture of Bakhmut as partial fulfillment of its ambition to seize control of the eastern Donbas region, Ukraines industrial heartland. Now, its forces have been compelled to regroup, rotate fighters and rearm just to hold the city. Wagners owner announced a pullout after acknowledging the loss of more than 20,000 of his men. Maliar described the nine-month struggle against Wagner forces in nearly existential terms: If they had not been destroyed during the defense of Bakhmut, one can imagine that all these tens of thousands would have advanced deeper into Ukrainian territory. The fate of Bakhmut, which is largely in ruins, has been overshadowed in recent days by near-nightly attacks on Kyiv, a series of unclaimed drone strikes near Moscow and the growing anticipation that Ukraine's government will try to regain ground. But the battle for the city could still have a lingering impact. Moscow has made the most of its capture, epitomized by triumphalism in Russian media. Any slippage of Russias grip would be a political embarrassment for President Vladimir Putin. Michael Kofman of the Center for Naval Analyses, a U.S. research group, noted in a podcast this past week that the victory brings new challenges in holding Bakhmut. With Wagner fighters withdrawing, Russian forces are going to be increasingly fixed to Bakhmut ... and will find it difficult to defend, Kofman told War on the Rocks" in an interview posted Tuesday. And so they may not hold on to Bakhmut, and the whole thing may have ended up being for nothing for them down the line, he added. A Western official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Russian airborne forces are heavily involved in replacing the departing Wagner troops a step that is "likely to antagonize the airborne leadership, who see the duty as a further erosion of their previously elite status" in the military. Ukrainian forces have clawed back slivers of territory on the flanks a few hundred meters (yards) per day to solidify defensive lines and seek opportunities to retake some urban parts of the city, said one Ukrainian analyst. The goal in Bakhmut is not Bakhmut itself, which has been turned into ruins, military analyst Roman Svitan said by phone. The goal for the Ukrainians is to hold on to the western heights and maintain a defensive arc outside the city. More broadly, Ukraine wants to weigh down Russian forces and capture the initiative ahead of the counteroffensive part of what military analysts call shaping operations to set the terms of the battle environment and put an enemy in a defensive, reactive posture. Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the east, said the strategic goal in the Bakhmut area was to restrain the enemy and destroy as much personnel and equipment as possible while preventing a Russian breakthrough or outflanking maneuver. Natalie Coles will never forget receiving an unexpected phone call in 2020. On the line was Virginia-based Dominion Energy, offering to give money to Wilberforce University, the small historically Black college where she is in charge of fundraising. The companys $500,000 donation went in part toward laptops and hot spots for students when the pandemic shut down the colleges campus outside of Dayton, Ohio. It was like manna from heaven, Coles said. Historically Black colleges and universities, which had seen giving from foundations decline in recent decades, lately are benefiting from an increase in gifts, particularly from corporations and corporate foundations. Some have received a new look from companies amid the reckoning over racial injustice spurred by the killing of George Floyd. But the colleges also have been pitching themselves, emphasizing their ability to deliver returns on the investment in student mobility. Another factor in the giving by corporations has been the influence of their Black employees. At the beverage company Diageo North America, the employee resource group for African Americans shaped a program that has provided almost $12 million to HBCUs, said Danielle Robinson, head of community engagement and partnerships for Diageo. The money has gone toward scholarships at 29 schools to lessen the debt burden on Black graduates. We talked about a lot of different things, but one of the things that kept coming up was the generational wealth gap, Robinson said. The giving to HBCUs is a new trend for corporations, which had largely ignored them before 2020, said Marybeth Gasman, a Rutgers University professor who researches HBCUs. Increasingly, HBCUs have been using the language of business to argue they not only have a high need but also are a good investment, she said. HBCUs often have smaller endowments and lower levels of public funding than other universities. A report released in May found foundation support of HBCUs declined 30% between 2002 and 2019. Data is incomplete for more recent years, but HBCUs have been reporting a sustained increase lately in donations from corporations as well as philanthropic foundations. Delaware State University received $20 million from MacKenzie Scott in 2020, part of the $560 million that the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos gave to HBCUs. The money helped DSU rescue a small college in their county that was closing and invest in their facilities. Foundations have been more receptive when the school reaches out, said Vita Pickrum, the schools vice president of institutional advancement. She said she would like to see foundations shape giving in partnership with HBCUS. Gifts to HBCUs typically are more restricted than those given to predominantly white schools, she said, which she would like to see change. Trust the institutions to be able to address the problem that the foundation is trying to address in the most efficient way that they see fit, she said. While giving to HBCUs has increased lately, better-known schools, such as large private and land-grant universities, have been more likely to receive donations compared with small schools, said Michael Lomax, CEO of the United Negro College Fund. Those small institutions often operate as engines of economic mobility that lift students from poverty to the middle class, Lomax said. Many have near open-enrollment policies, educating nearly any student that wishes to pursue higher education. While HBCUs have produced celebrated entrepreneurs, scientists and doctors, they have also educated an outsize number of teachers, nurses and other jobs that are essential for society, he said. I want to see more of American philanthropy recognizing that those are important, Lomax said. That theyre going to help us ensure that those jobs and those positions are filled, because they are the positions which will ensure a healthy Black America, but really, a healthy America. At Wilberforce University, the donation from Dominion supports scholarships and a lecture series on racial inequality in addition to the technology investments. Its a lot to squeeze out of a half-million dollars, which Coles said reflects the way historically Black colleges and universities stretch their money. I would really applaud my fellow African Americans for really pushing things within corporate America to make certain that the George Floyd incident was a movement, a long-term movement, not just a one-off, Coles said. At Spelman College in Georgia, an increase in donations has allowed the school to expand financial aid and start centers for Black entrepreneurship and the arts. Jessie Brooks, senior vice president for institutional advancement, said the racial justice movement of 2020 offered visibility that allowed HBCUs to make their case to new potential donors. If a donor gives you the resources, and you can show impact in terms of how their gift made a difference, they will continue to give, Brooks said. Whether corporations will stick with funding HBCUs for the long term is still a question for Shawnta Friday-Stroud, vice president of advancement at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. Donations from corporate and philanthropic foundations have almost doubled from last year, when theyd received $2.4 million at this time compared with $5.3 million so far this year. Shes observed that corporate foundations are making funding commitments over multiple years and have expressed interest in partnering with her institution, rather than just giving money and walking away. They have put the money toward scholarships and professional development training. My hope is that that continues, lets say, over the next three, four or five years, she said. And I think thats whats going to be the true test. Biggest HBCUs in America Biggest HBCUs in America #20. Hampton University #19. Virginia State University #18. Delaware State University #17. Winston-Salem State University #16. Grambling State University #15. Norfolk State University #14. Albany State University #13. Bowie State University #12. Alabama A&M University #11. Fayetteville State University #10. Jackson State University #9. Southern University and A&M College #8. Morgan State University #7. North Carolina Central University #6. Tennessee State University #5. Prairie View A&M University #4. Texas Southern University #3. Howard University #2. Florida A&M University #1. North Carolina A&T State University BOSTON When child welfare workers and police knocked on Sarah Perkins and Joshua Sabeys front door well past midnight one weekend last summer, the parents were shocked to learn the state of Massachusetts had come to take their two young sons. Its the kind of harrowing scene that plays out daily across the country as social workers motivated by a desire to protect children run up against confused and concerned parents. What followed was emotional anguish, a bureaucratic battle, vindication for the parents and a lawsuit filed earlier this month by a legal advocacy group. The couple hope for a favorable ruling that will increase oversight of child removals nationwide. The children were taken in Massachusetts because of a child abuse report stemming from a hospital visit. On July 13, 2022, Perkins whisked their 3-month-old son Cal to an emergency room. He had a 103-degree fever. An X-ray checking for pneumonia found a rib fracture the couple hadn't noticed. After speaking with the boy's grandmother, they learned the injury may have happened weeks earlier as she removed Cal from a car seat. He slipped, and she caught him with one arm. Citing the fracture, hospital officials reported potential abuse to the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. It was such a roller coaster this total terror that we're going to lose this child at the hospital and then complete relief after we're allowed to go home with a safety plan, Perkins said. They returned to their Waltham, Massachusetts, home. DCF social workers made a surprise visit and found no evidence of abuse, according to the lawsuit. Days later, around 1 a.m. on July 16, DCF workers and police officers knocked at their door to take both sons away. They didn't have a warrant or a court order, neither of which are required to remove a child in Massachusetts and other states. It was intense. We see that these police officers are armed. We're asking for paperwork and there's none to be had, Perkins said. Eventually we were told that either we hand over the kids or they're going to break down our door and take them by force. Within 24 hours, Sabeys parents were allowed to act as foster parents. Four weeks later DCF let Sabey and Perkins take their children home, and after another three months and eventually about $50,000 in private attorney fees, the government restored full parental custody. A short time later the couple moved to Idaho. The couple's lawsuit alleges constitutional violations including the unreasonable search of their house, the unreasonable seizure of their children and the deprivation of parental rights without due process. Whats really frightening is that it happens a lot. What was unique was our ability to hire an attorney, Sabey said. The couple are plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation, a nonprofit focused on parental rights and other issues. It asks for compensatory and punitive damages. It's also part of a legal strategy to set precedent nationwide confirming the importance of parental rights and clarifying the need to include a neutral judge in child removal decisions unless there is an emergency situation involving a risk of imminent harm to a child, said Glenn Roper, a lawyer for the foundation. The lawsuit names individual social workers, police officers and the City of Waltham, not the DCF. That's in part because state agencies effectively cant be sued in federal court for damages, according to Joshua Thompson, Pacifics director of legal operations. Perkins and Joshua Sabey say they feel responsible to pursue the lawsuit because many other parents can't pay private attorney fees. Joyce McMillan wasn't so fortunate. She relied on a public defender 23 years ago when her two children were removed after a drug test turned up positive for what the New York resident described as an illicit substance. McMillan said she had a job, a home, and was providing for her children. A drug test is not a parenting test, she said. McMillan said she fell into a depression and became homeless before getting her children back more than two years later. Shes currently executive director of the nonprofit JMACforFamilies. The group advocates for dismantling the child welfare system, which it calls the family policing system. Welfare agencies should be required to advise families that they have a right to an attorney and typically dont have to let them speak to their children or enter their home without a court order, McMillan said. If she had deeper pockets at the time, absolutely there would have been a different outcome, she said. A representative from the City of Waltham had no comment on the Massachusetts case. The DCF also declined to comment. DCF policy allows the removal of a child without a court order when needed to avoid a substantial risk of death, serious emotional or physical injury or sexual abuse and when there's inadequate time to seek one, but it must immediately file an affidavit. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, declined to comment on the lawsuit. She said her administration is committed to making sure we do everything we can for the health and well-being of children and families. There are efforts to restrict the authority of child welfare agencies. A bill before Massachusetts lawmakers would require child welfare workers get judicial approval within four hours of removing a child, according to bill sponsor Democratic state Rep. Joan Meschino. It would also make it easier for workers to contact judges outside of regular court hours, including overnight and on weekends. An estimated 3 million children came under the scrutiny of child welfare agencies in the 2021 fiscal year. Nearly 600,000 were victims of mistreatment, according to a report by the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. An estimated 1,820 children died from mistreatment during that same period. The report found that 76% were victims of neglect while 16% were physically abused, and 10% were sexually abused. How spending on public safety and policing has changed over the last 40 years How spending on public safety and policing has changed over the last 40 years Spending on public safety in cities in the US has doubled since 1980 Police funding has remained about half of public safety budgets consistently for 40 years Even with ballooning public safety budgets, many cities allocate more money to the police Some cities have reigned in police spending, while others have tightened overall public safety budgets Susan Greenwalt (Susie) passed away shortly after writing her last column for Food for Thought. In her final column, Susie shared two items left on her bucket list: to visit Ireland and to skydive. Susie may not have made it to her ancestral home or had the opportunity to jump out of an airplane, but the truth is she didnt need to finish a bucket list to have lived her life to the fullest. From spontaneous adventures in nearby towns, to cross-country road trips, and an ever-growing circle of friends and loved ones, Susie embodied living life to the fullest. To her readers, the best way to remember Susie is to live like she did. Make your bucket list and start checking off items. Stay open to whatever unexpected adventures life may bring you. Never pass up an opportunity to make a new friend or catch up with an old one. Embrace new challenges, accept the things you cannot change, and never stop seeing the beauty in life. Thor update: Thor moved to Southern Missouri to live with Susies daughter Becky and son-in-law Cory. He lives on 16 acres with a pond, an orchard and his new brother, a German Shepherd named Loki. To Susie, happy trails to you, until we meet again. For many older Americans, assisted living has become an increasingly popular alternative to remaining in their homes. You can live in a comfortable residence and receive the services that you need, such as help with bathing and dressing. Selecting the right place for a loved one is never a choice to be made lightly. Here are some essential topics for you to consider when making the decision: location, size, services and culture or atmosphere. The best way to see if your loved one would enjoy being a part of the community is to take a look at the residents around them. Do they seem engaged and happy? Are they involved with crafts or physical activities to keep themselves motivated and challenged? When you walk in the door what is the kind of feeling you get? Is it welcoming? Take all of these things into consideration when looking at a retirement community. Download Napa Valley Register news app today! Your story lives in the Napa Valley. Get in-depth stories from the Napa region and beyond including news, sports, features and politics. An investigation is underway after more than a dozen migrants arrived in Sacramento by private jet with no prior arrangement or care in place, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta said Saturday. California state officials on Saturday met with the group, who had documentation purporting to be from the government of the state of Florida, Bonta said. The immigrants were taken from Texas to New Mexico, then flown by private chartered jet to California, where they were dumped on the doorstep of a local church without any advance warning, Newsom said in a statement. The attorney general is investigating the incident and evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transport of these vulnerable immigrants, Bonta said in a statement. The circumstances around who paid for the groups travel and whether the migrants were misled with false promises will be investigated, according to the governor. Authorities did not say what countries the migrants had traveled from. CNN has reached out to state officials from Texas and Florida for comment. It isnt the first time a plane carrying migrants has arrived unannounced in a Democratic state. Late last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent two planes carrying migrants to Marthas Vineyard in Massachusetts. Migrants have also been bused to New York and other more liberal cities by Republican governors and local officials from southern states amid a humanitarian crisis at the southern U.S. border. Many who head to the U.S. make long and dangerous treks in hopes of finding a better, safer life for their families. People immigrate to flee violence, for economic opportunities or to reunite with family members, experts say. California and the Sacramento community will welcome these individuals with open arms ad provide them with the respect, compassion and care they will need after such a harrowing experience, Bonta said. The state is working with the Sacramento mayors office and local groups to make sure that the migrants are treated with respect and dignity and get to their intended destination as they pursue their immigration cases, Newsom said. Bonta said the state will continue to collect evidence, I want to say this very clearly: State-sanctioned kidnapping is not a public policy choice, it is immoral and disgusting. Photos: Napa high schoolers study American Sign Language (ASL) Sign language class 8 Sign language class 7 Sign language class 9 Sign language class 10 Sign language class 11 Sign language class 12 Sign language class 13 Sign language class 14 Sign language class 15 Sign language class 5 Sign language class 6 Sign language class 1 Sign language class 2 Sign language class 3 Sign language class 4 Download Napa Valley Register news app today! Your story lives in the Napa Valley. Get in-depth stories from the Napa region and beyond including news, sports, features and politics. As a first-generation student of color, JP Flores credits much of his academic success to his ability to attend Occidental College, a small, private college in Southern California with what he describes as an inclusive culture. It changed my perspective on the world and changed the trajectory of my life, said Flores, who is now pursuing a Ph.D. in bioinformatics and computational biology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. That trajectory might have been different, Flores said, if Occidental had been barred from using affirmative action in admissions a situation that could become reality this summer if the U.S. Supreme Court rules against the practice in two widely watched cases. Anxiety about the ruling is mounting at the states private colleges, which until now have not been subject to a California law prohibiting public universities from considering race, sex and ethnicity in admissions and hiring. Administrators at those colleges are turning to alternative policies that could help boost diverse enrollment, while student activists are trying to increase awareness on their campuses about the possible impact of an affirmative action ban. The Supreme Court is expected to rule in June on two lawsuits filed by Students for Fair Admissions a non-profit group led by conservative legal strategist Edward Blum after hearing arguments in the cases in October. One suit argues that Harvard Universitys admission policy discriminates against Asian American applicants, while the other asserts that UNC Chapel Hill discriminates against Asian American and white applicants. Although it is unclear how limited or expansive the ruling might be, many university leaders and student activists are bracing for an outright ban on affirmative action on all campuses, given the courts conservative majority. Flores said he worries especially about the impact on diversity in the STEM professions. He founded a podcast From Where Does it STEM? in 2021, where he interviews scientists from diverse backgrounds about their experiences in the field, and helps recruit and retain underrepresented minority students to STEM programs. If private universities are banned from using affirmative action, he fears, it will only bring one perspective to the forefront. I think people in science are really starting to realize that in order to solve biological problems like cancer, Alzheimers, or different diseases, it takes an interdisciplinary approach, Flores said. People really underestimate the power of having a diverse scientific workforce behind these problems. Universities bracing for impact Some California private universities have flagged that an affirmative action ban could constrain their ability to review applications holistically taking into account all aspects of an applicants identity, including experiences, attributes and academic metrics. A holistic admissions process is essential to creating a student body that equips students to become the citizens of the world (needed) to meet the greatest needs of our society, said Eva Blanco Masias, the vice president of enrollment at Santa Clara University. And race is often deeply embedded in a students application, said Masias not just in the demographic information, but also in their essays. Students often write about life experiences, where race can play a factor, she said. While its impossible to predict the courts ruling, there might be some limitations put on institutions ability to consider race (and) ethnicity as one of many, many factors in holistic admissions, said Julie Park, an associate professor of education at the University of Maryland in College Park. So is that going to be some sort of limitation? Is that going to be an outright ban? We dont really know, said Park, who has studied race and admissions for nearly two decades and served as a consulting expert for Harvard on the SFFA case until 2018. Another concern is that students from underrepresented backgrounds, aware of the ban, might opt out of applying to private colleges, said Kristen Soares, president of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, a trade group of more than 80 colleges. People know about this decision being debated right now in the highest court of law in the nation, she said. Private colleges, she said, are really worried that families might interpret a potential affirmative action ban as a message: Youre not welcome at these institutions. Flores, who now mentors high school students and serves as an alumni interviewer for prospective Occidental College students, echoed that concern. A lot of students from underrepresented backgrounds, they are so scared to just even apply because they feel theyre not qualified. And that can have a ripple effect on diversity among graduate students, he said: A big part of getting underrepresented students to get their Ph.Ds or MDs or even a masters degree is to make sure they can actually get to undergrad. Motivated in part by the Supreme Court cases, the association this year launched the California Private College is Possible Alliance, a joint outreach effort that works with high school and community college counselors to break down barriers that might prevent low-income students and students of color from pursuing private education. The alliance has created a centralized landing webpage where counselors can find information about private colleges throughout the state, including their application process, available financial aid and unique programs they offer. It plans to host college fairs across the state for high school and community college students. We want to be loud and clear that they should not (opt themselves out), said Masias, whose university is participating. Still be intentional and strive for your educational aspirations. Were still here. We still welcome you. Please apply. The UC example However, Zachary Bleemer, a Yale economics professor who studied the impact of affirmative action at the University of California before Californias Proposition 209 made it illegal in 1996, notes that these initiatives might not be as effective as affirmative action. He compared affirmative action to two alternative UC policies to increase representation of underrepresented minorities, a category that includes Black, Latino and Native American students. Bleemer studied the admissions cycles between 1994 and 2021 and found that both alternatives guaranteeing UC acceptance to the top 9% of California students and holistic application review had a much smaller impact than race-based affirmative action. While affirmative action increased underrepresented minority enrollment by over 20%, the UCs top percent policies increased it by less than 4% and holistic review by about 7%, he found. Despite the fact that universities are going to go out of their way to try to implement replacement policies for race-based affirmative action to maintain diversity on campus, nevertheless, diversity is going to fall, Black and Hispanic enrollment and expectation is going to fall, at selective private universities, Bleemer predicted. At UC Berkeley and UCLA, the two most competitive campuses in the UC system, underrepresented minority enrollment dropped significantly after Prop. 209, plunging by about 50% at Berkeley. Although underrepresented minority enrollment on those campuses has increased during the past 30 years, it does not reflect those groups share of California high school graduates, and Black student enrollment still has not returned to pre-Prop. 209 levels. The ban led to a cascade effect, Bleemer said, where Black and Latino students fell down the ladder of selectivity within UC and it ultimately pushed some students who were at the bottom completely out of higher education. Kids who had previously gone to Berkeley, the affirmative action ban goes into place, now they go to Davis. Kids who were previously going to Davis now go to Riverside, etc., Bleemer said. So you see this sort of shift of the full distribution of Black and Hispanic students into somewhat less selective universities. UC Berkeley has partially reversed that trend; for the freshman class of 2020, Black and Latino enrollment increased by about 40% over the previous year and has stayed steady since. Olufemi Ogundele, the universitys dean of undergraduate admissions, said since being hired in 2019, hes focused on altering three aspects of the admissions process: student outreach, application evaluation and messaging. He and his team worked to ensure that their outreach was tailored to the specific needs of the students and communities they were speaking to. Given how selective UC Berkeley is, he noted that its not just about going out into communities and talking about coming to Berkeley. Its much more about going out into communities and talking about college options that they have, and using Berkeley as a template to describe those options for those families. He worked to humanize the evaluation process by requiring admissions counselors to have local expertise on the environments that they were reading from. This has been allowing diverse versions of excellence to emerge in our evaluation process, which has been incredibly helpful, especially when we start thinking about geographic range, which weve been trying to really capture, as we are a public flagship trying to represent the entire state, and not just pieces of it, Ogundele said. Ogundele also stressed the importance of ensuring that every admitted student understands their value to the university. We changed our messaging from Youre so lucky to be here to We are lucky to have you, he said. Based on UCs experience, Bleemer predicted that a nationwide affirmative action ban would cause declines in Black and Latino enrollment at Californias highly selective private colleges such as Stanford University and the University of Southern California. The effect could be muted, however, if theres less student awareness about the Supreme Courts decision than there was about Prop. 209 in the 1990s, he said. And part of the decline at UC was driven by the fact that students had other high-quality options, including private schools across the country and public schools outside of California, where affirmative action was still in effect. A nationwide affirmative action ban would change that picture, he said. Concern at Stanford Much of the concern at Californias private universities has revolved around diversity within STEM fields. Stanford University filed an amicus brief in support of Harvard last November. As one of the nations most selective colleges, with a roughly 4% acceptance rate, the university argued that an affirmative action ban would particularly negatively impact its programs in STEM, which has historically been marked by greater limitations in diversity than most fields of study. Stanford student Phong Nguyen is part of the 22% Campaign, a student-led initiative that works to increase representation of Southeast Asian students on campus, including those from Hmong, Lao, Khmer and Tibetan communities. The initiative has led protests, coordinated high school outreach programs, and called for Stanford to disaggregate its admissions data so that those Asian communities can be recognized as underrepresented. During his time on campus, Nguyen a first-generation and Asian American student has joined the Asian American Theater club on campus and spent time in Okada House, Stanfords Asian American cultural-themed dorm. He said he worries that an affirmative action ban could decrease diversity in the student body and negatively impact race-based student groups that make him feel more at home at a predominantly white and wealthy institution like Stanford. A huge part of what has made my experience at Stanford University so enjoyable are those cultures that Ive been exposed to, Nguyen said. There is some sort of beauty in the phrase Everyone is going to a different Stanford, and I think the Stanford Im going to is quite beautiful now and I dont want that to change. Nguyen has partnered with Asian Americans Advancing Justice, a national nonprofit legal aid and civil rights organization, to spread awareness about a possible affirmative action ban through tabling on campus and leading a teach-in alongside Stanford ethnic studies professors. The teach-in focused on the history of affirmative action and how an end to the admissions policy could impact discussions and learning in ethnic studies courses. The Stanford College Republicans, on the other hand, would view a Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action as a win, said their president, Seamus Callaghan. Affirmative action seeks to draw out racial divisions within our country, Callaghan said in a statement to CalMatters. All American communities, regardless of racial makeup, deserve to prosper, but affirmative action in hiring and admissions has done little to advance this cause, he said. It does nothing to address the underlying causes of continued racial disparities, such as differences in grade school quality, the epidemic of fatherlessness, or a culture of grievance that suppresses wealth creation. Impact of a ban Park, the University of Maryland education professor, said that despite some students fears, a Supreme Court ruling is unlikely to impact race-based student groups or scholarships. But some universities, she said, might overread the decision, and impose restrictions beyond the scope of the ruling. This is already starting to happen in places where race-conscious admissions are still legal, Park said. Weve seen for instance, institutions have made sort of shifts in things like scholarship programs or other initiatives. Scholarships that used to be explicitly for, say, BIPOC students are now kind of diversity scholarships that white students can receive, Park said. Some of these steps have been done even while race conscious admissions is still the law of the land. Ogundele described affirmative action as a necessary Band-Aid solution that our profession has used, and its potential loss as an opportunity for universities to look deeper at how to solve educational disparities. If the results from the Supreme Court case come back in a way that does create a national ban on the ability to use race, I think it would be a real gut-check moment for many institutions to understand, well, what is your true commitment to diversity and to equity? he said. A particularly challenging part of his job, he said, has been increasing Black students application and enrollment numbers at Berkeley. When we take a look at all of these institutions across all nine of the states that have similar bans like Prop. 209, it is Black people for the most part are the most impacted by these types of bans, Ogundele said. So thats my greatest fear is what does this mean for Black enrollment at highly selective and highly resourced institutions? Luna is a fellow with the CalMatters College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. This story and other higher education coverage are supported by the College Futures Foundation. Justices past affirmative action views, in their own words Chief Justice John Roberts Clarence Thomas Samuel Alito Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett Sonia Sotomayor Elena Kagan Ketanji Brown Jackson Sandra Day O'Connor 3 British tourists missing after diving boat fire Azerbaijani authorities plan to resettle Azerbaijanis in occupied Aghdam About 700,000 people need drinking water after Kakhovka HPP explosion Armenia MFA deeply saddened by Kazakhstan forest fires Clashes resume in Sudan after 24-hour truce Shooting outside Houston nightclub Road accident near Mastara village Iran IRGC successfully tests new bomber drone Minsk, Yerevan to sign twinning agreement Artsakh MoD: Defense units did not open fire at Azerbaijani positions Peskov: Now Russia does not have even frail foundation for negotiations with Ukraine Istanbul factory fire cannot be put down since yesterday Syrian Kurds to try thousands of IS fighters Pakistan reports shootout on Afghan border Scholz, Garibashvili discuss Georgia's EU candidate status Montenegro holds snap parliamentary elections Stockholm shooting leaves 15-year-old killed, three wounded NATO unable to reach consensus on Ukraine accession UAV falls in Russia's Kaluga region Canada sanctions former President of Ukraine Fire breaks out near Istanbul stadium before Champions League final Armenia Deputy PM to Mustafayev: No such agreement was reached during last meeting Raisi, Macron have 90 min phone conversation Trudeau announces Russian plane confiscation, transfer to Ukraine Death toll from Kazakhstan fire reaches 14 Trudeau announces $375 mil military aid for Kyiv Bayramov, Hogan discuss normalization of Azerbaijan-Armenia relations US senators demand sanctions against Baku Nine killed in attack on Mogadishu hotel Zelenskyy says counteroffensive is underway Artsakh President continues meeting various public circles Turkish Defense Minister interrupts working trip due to Ankara explosion Russia and Abkhazia to sign agreement on Sukhum international airport restoration Justin Trudeau pays surprise visit to Kyiv Armenian President congratulates Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Portugal Day Homemade bomb explodes in Makhachkala Azerbaijan Deputy PM: Russia to control Azerbaijan, Armenia transport communications Artsakh Defence Army: Azerbaijani Armed Forces violate ceasefire using small arms and mortars Azerbaijan conducts military exercises in occupied territories Kazakhstan Minister of Emergency Situations loses position over large natural fire 5-month-old girl injured in road accident Hollande: US elections will determine Ukraine war outcome Council of Paris unanimously adopts resolution on providing assistance to people of Artsakh Ankara factory explosion kills five Armenia Prosecutor General visits the Armenia MoD 2nd Army Corps Casualties reported after explosion in Ankara factory Artsakh Defence Army: Azerbaijan MoD spreads disinformation again Children found in Colombian jungle taken to Bogota Former Dutch parliament members call for international peacekeeping mission in Artsakh Armenia MoD: Azerbaijan fires mortar at Kakhakn positions Azerbaijani armed forces opened fire on the vehicle of RA Armed Forces. MoD of Armenia Dollar loses ground, euro goes up in Armenia Karabakh economy suffers around $342M loss during ongoing Azerbaijani blockade Bayramov, Klaar discuss Armenia-Azerbaijan relations normalization process Sputnik Armenia: No one questions Armenia's sovereignty, Russia deputy PM says Deputy FM announces US attempts to push Russia out of Armenia-Azerbaijan peaceful settlement process Deputy FM says Russia is helping in drafting Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty Armenia PM: Future of artificial intelligence is exciting, but it is important to consider ethical implications Armenia 2023-2030 Employment Strategy discussed Catholicos of All Armenians wishes Pope Francis speedy recovery Azerbaijan defense minister inspects new military facilities in Karabakhs occupied territories Putin announces Russian nuclear weapons deployment in Belarus after July 7-8 15 more medical patients transferred from Karabakh to Armenia Armenia fallen soldiers mother sentenced to 4 years in prison in PM's son abduction case Turkeys Erdogan to visit Azerbaijan on June 13 Premier: Armenia can become unique electrical energy hub in region US on verge of default: What risks there are for Armenia financial market? Pashinyan: Unprecedented economic growth recorded in Armenia economy in 2022 Karabakh president meets with freedom fighters, Afghan War veterans, army reserve officers Azerbaijan, Iran FMs exchange views on some regional matters Armenia deputy PM believes postponed talks with Azerbaijan in Washington will be held shortly Senators introduce resolution that calls on US to take immediate steps to end humanitarian crisis in Karabakh Putin to meet with Armenias Pashinyan in Russias Sochi Trump indicted for improper use of classified documents Lilit Makunts briefs Luis Almagro on security situation in Armenia, its region Armenia parliament speaker: We believe international partners pressure can prevent Azerbaijans further aggression Italys Leonardo company to deliver turboprop military transport planes to Azerbaijan Armenia PM's son abduction case court session being held behind closed doors Yerevan concludes Khachaturian Days (PHOTOS) Ombudsperson briefs USAID/Armenia Mission Director on Azerbaijans human rights violations in border settlements 54 Ugandan peacekeepers were killed during last week's siege by militants on an African Union base in Somalia, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni wrote on Twitter. We discovered the lifeless bodies of 54 fallen soldiers, including a commander, he said. Al-Shabaab, a terrorist group that has been fighting against the Somali central government for over a decade, claimed responsibility for the May 26 attack, saying it seized the base. A local resident and a Somali military commander told AFP the militants drove a car loaded with explosives into the Bulo Marer base, 120 kilometers southwest of the capital Mogadishu. The death toll is one of the highest since pro-government forces, supported by AU forces known as ATMIS, launched an offensive against al-Shabaab in August of last year. The ATMIS forces include representatives from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya, and troops are stationed in southern and central Somalia. 22:06 Altogether 260 people, who were injured in the triple train accident in Balasore, are currently undergoing treatment in various hospitals across Odisha, while around 900 have been discharged so far, health department officials said on Sunday. Three Union ministers -- Ashwini Vaishnaw, Mansukh Mandaviya and Dharmendra Pradhan -- visited the state-run SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack where 202 injured people have been admitted, an official of the health facility said. "Across the state, around 900 patients, out of 1,175 injured passengers in the train accident, have been discharged. A total of 260 injured are currently undergoing treatment in different hospitals, including private ones, in Cuttack, Balasore, Bhadrak, Soro and Jajpur. "All are stable except one whose condition is stated to be critical," an official of the health department said. At least 202 people injured in the accident have been admitted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, Dr Bhubananda Maharana, the emergency officer, said. "So far 13 passengers have been discharged, while seven patients are in the ICU. The condition of the remaining patients is stable," he said. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who hails from Odisha, visited wards of the state-run hospital and interacted with the patients who suffered injuries in the accident, Maharana said, adding that the ministers spoke to the doctors to enquire about the health condition of the victims. Mandaviya said that doctors from three premier health facilities in New Delhi -- AIIMS, Lady Hardinge Hospital and RML Hospital -- have reached the state along with modern equipment and medicines for the treatment of the injured passengers. Noting that over 100 patients need critical care, he said, We had a detailed discussion, and a working plan has also been prepared. Mandaviya visited AIIMS Bhubaneswar where the bodies of those who died in the train crash were kept. He held a review meeting with senior doctors and officials of the health facility in the state capital. He also visited the Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar to know about the condition of the injured patients admitted there. On their way to Bhubaneswar, Vaishnaw and Dharmendra also visited hospitals at Soro and Bhadrak and enquired about the treatment of the injured persons admitted to these facilities. -- PTI IMAGE: A passenger, who was injured in Odisha's Balasore train accident, is being treated on his arrival at Howrah railway station on Sunday. Photograph: ANI Photo Nato chief urges Turkey to okay Swedish Nato bid Nato chief urges Turkey to okay Swedish Nato bid Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday called on Ankara to drop its opposition to Sweden's bid to join the US-led defence alliance, hoping Stockholm's accession would be finalised "as soon as possible". Pressure is building on Erdogan to greenlight Sweden's Nato membership ahead of a summit planned for July in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. "Membership will make Sweden safer but also make Nato and Turkey stronger," Stoltenberg told journalists after meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and newly appointed foreign minister Hakan Fidan, who was head of the intelligence agency, in Istanbul. "I look forward to finalising Sweden's accession as soon as possible," he said. On Saturday, Stoltenberg attended the inauguration of Erdogan, who was re-elected to serve another five years, in a lavish ceremony joined by dozens of world leaders in the capital Ankara. Nato member Turkey has dragged its feet over admitting Sweden to the military alliance. It and Hungary are the only two Nato countries yet to ratify the membership bid. Sweden and Finland dropped decades of military non-alignment and applied to join the alliance in response to Russia's war with Ukraine. Finland formally joined Nato in April. Erdogan has accused Sweden of being a haven for "terrorists", especially members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group blacklisted by Turkey and its Western allies. "Sweden has taken significant concrete steps to meet Turkey's concerns," Stoltenberg said. "This includes amending the Swedish constitution, ending arms embargo, stepping up counter-terrorism operations including against the PKK," he said. "Sweden has fulfilled its obligations." Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom also said Stockholm had fulfilled "all the commitments" to join Nato and urged Turkey and Hungary to allow his country into the alliance. (AFP) Organized by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under Ministry of Power, Government of India the conference will bring together consumers, research groups, policy makers, think tanks, manufacturers, and other stakeholders. The focus on electric cooking is part of India's Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) - a global mass movement to nudge individual and community action to protect and preserve the environment. Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in 2021, Mission LiFE seeks to transform persons into pro-planet people, who would adopt sustainable lifestyles. Speaking on the government's thrust on clean cooking, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power, Ajay Tewari said, "Recognizing the health, economic, and environmental benefits of clean cooking, the Government of India has prioritised policies that promote cleaner cooking fuels. With tremendous strides being made on electrification, as well as an increasing share of electricity supply being generated from renewable energy, electric cooking solutions provide a great opportunity to propel India towards a climate-friendly, healthier and sustainable future." With rising fuel prices and increasing supply pressures, the release said India needs a clean, sustainable and affordable electric cooking solutions. (ANI) Goa is set to welcome G20 delegates for the 3rd International Financial Architecture Working Group Meeting to be held from June 5-7 to address the pressing issues faced by the global economy. During the course of the three-day meeting, ways to improve the international financial architecture and address the pressing issues faced by the global economy will be up for deliberations. The 3rd International Financial Architecture Working Group (IFAWG) is one of the important work streams under the G20 Finance Track with a focus on strengthening the international financial architecture. "The 3rd IFAWG meeting in Goa is a crucial opportunity for the G20 to advance the reforms of the International Financial Architecture and address the global challenges of the 21st century. Goa is proud to host this important group and contribute to the global financial stability and development," said Sanjit Rodrigues, the Nodal Officer (G20). During the course of India's G20 Presidency, this working group has already met twice before. The first meeting was held in Chandigarh on January 30-31, 2023 while the second meeting was held in Paris, France on March 30 and 31. Those meetings discussed issues pertaining to strengthening multilateral development banks and how to address challenges associated with debt. The International Financial Architecture Working Group (IFAWG) is a forum that brings together finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 countries to discuss issues related to international financial architecture. The group was established in 1999 as part of the G20 process and has since played an important role in shaping global economic policy. (ANI) On Sunday, the 'Queen' actor took to her Instagram stories and dropped a video from her dance rehearsals. She captioned the post, "Morning dance routine with Guruji @rajendrachaturvedi." The actor could be seen donning a white suit. She also wore ghungroos. She can be seen doing Kathak's steps on the beats of Tabla. Recently, the actor expressed grief over the mishap of a triple train in Odisha's Balasore district. She wrote, "Beyond tragic." Talking about her work front, 'Emergency' marks Kangana's first solo directorial film. The film revolves around the life of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and features Kangana in the titular role of the late politician. Apart from Kangana, the film stars Anupam Kher, Mahima Chaudhry, Vishak Nair and Shreyas Talpade in prominent roles.She will also be seen in 'Tejas' in which she will be seen portraying the role of an Indian airforce pilot. The official release date of the film is still awaited. Kangana will be seen headlining 'Chandramukhi 2'. Helmed by P Vasu, 'Chandramukhi 2' is the sequel to the blockbuster hit Tamil horror comedy film 'Chandramukhi' which starred Rajinikanth and Jyothika in the lead roles. In 'Chandramukhi 2' Kangana will portray the role of a dancer in the king's court, who was known for her beauty and dance skills. In the upcoming months, the audience will also see Kangana in 'Manikarnika Returns: The Legend of Didda', and 'The Incarnation: Sita'. (ANI) Taking to Instagram, actor Kartik Aaryan shared the new poster of the film which he captioned, "Aaj ke baad tu meri rehna #SatyaPremKiKatha Trailer OUT TOMORROW at 11:11 am." https://www.instagram.com/p/CtDp00oPTw7/ Helmed by Sameer Vidhwans, the film stars Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani in the lead roles. In the new poster, both actors could be seen looking into each other's eyes. The official trailer of 'Satyaprem Ki Katha' will be out on June 5. Soon after the makers unveiled the new poster, fans flooded the comment section with red hearts and fire emoticons. "The most Awaited love romantic movie of 2023," a fan commented. Another fan wrote, "Soo soo damnn excited" "Mere Sattu and Katha," a user wrote. Recently, the makers of the film unveiled the first track of the film 'Naseeb Se' which received massive responses from the fans. Composed by Payal Dev, the song is beautifully sung by Payal Dev and Vishal Mishra. The lyrics of the song are given by A.M. Turaz. The mesmerizing visuals and melody of the song are absolutely captivating. The song beautifully showcased the chemistry of Kartik and Kiara as they bringing the love season back to the theatres after a long time. The film also stars Supriya Pathak Kapur, Gajraj Rao, Siddharth Randheria, Anooradha Patel, Rajpal Yadav, Nirrmite Saawaant, and Shikha Talsania. The film is all set to hit the theatres on June 29. (ANI) Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla on Saturday expressed grief over the tragic train collision in Odisha. "This train accident has shocked everyone in the country. I would like to express my condolences to the families of the victims. I am aggrieved," he said. The Governor added that he was certain that the accident would be fully probed by the government and safeguards would be put in place to ensure that such incidents don't happen again. "I am sure the government will investigate the matter. We have a dynamic railway minister and he would take the matter seriously. It needs to be ensured that such incidents don't happen again," Shukla said. Shukla further stated that the disaster was most likely caused by human error and that those found guilty of lapses should be punished. "I am certain that the incident took place because of a signalling issue and there might be other reasons as well. We are all in pain at the loss of lives in the accident," he said. "The PM has expressed his condolences to the victims and the Odisha chief minister also voiced grief over the incident. I don't have words to describe my state of mind right now," the Himachal governor said. (ANI) Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw who on Sunday met the people injured in Odisha triple accident at Soro Hospital. He said that special trains are being run from Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Ranchi, Kolkata and other places so that patients can reach their homes, after their treatment. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan reach Soro Government Hospital in Odisha to meet the injured. " We met the patients and doctors at Soro Hospital. Special trains are being run from Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Ranchi, Kolkata and other places so that patients can reach their homes, after their treatment," said Ashwini Vaishnaw while talking to reporters. Dharmendra Pradhan said that action will be taken against those responsible. "Central Government is going to take strict action against the person responsible for this accident," he said. Earlier today, Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the tragic train accident in Odisha's Balasore occurred due to a "change in electronic interlocking". Electronic interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements between trains through an arrangement of tracks. It is basically a safety measure to prevent signals from being changed in improper sequence. The aim of this system is that no train gets the signal to proceed unless the route is proven safe. Speaking to ANI, Ashwini Vaihsnaw said, "This is a different issue. It is about point machine, electronic interlocking. The change that occurred during electronic interlocking, the accident happened due to that. Whoever did it and how it happened will be found out after proper investigation." The Railway Minister also refuted West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's allegation that the accident could have been averted with Kavach (anti-collision) device. "It has nothing to do with Kavach. The reason is not what Mamata Banerjee said yesterday. She said as per understanding," he added. Meanwhile, as per the official figures, the accident on Friday night left 288 people dead and over 1000 injured. The three-way accident involved Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and a goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in the Balasore district. (ANI) Chhattisgarh government organised a three-day 'National Ramayana Festival' in Raigarh, to celebrate the Hindu epic 'Ramayana' and created several world records. During the event, 375 artists from 17 groups performed in the festival for 756 minutes over three days. Throughout the festival, the pandal remained brimming with enthusiastic devotees for all three days, and guests from neighbouring states also graced the event. The festival also created a world record of the longest stage performances of Aranya Kand and over 10,000 people chanting 'Hanuman Chalisa' for three consecutive days. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that Lord Ram resides in everyone and is an integral part of everyone's lives. Addressing the closing ceremony of the three-day festival at Ramleela Maidan in Raigarh, CM Baghel said, "The word 'Ram' holds immense power, the more you listen to it, the more you meditate on it, the more-deeper our thirst for its essence becomes. Our Ram is Kaushalya's Ram, Vanvasi's Ram, Shabri's Ram, our nephew Ram, and Ram is for all of us". "The state government has organised the National Ramayana Festival for the first time in the state, which has achieved great success and proved to be a remarkable event," he added. The Chief Minister highlighted the success of the National Ramayana Festival and expressed his gratitude to the jury members for their valuable insights. "The festival was initially aimed to celebrate the Ramayana on a national level but eventually turned into an international event with the participation of groups from Cambodia and Indonesia," Baghel said. He added, "The various previous festivals that were organised in different parts of the country mainly focused on chapters depicting Lord Ram's childhood and Ramleela, this festival has showcased the Lord Shri Ram's stories belonging to Aranya Kand for the first time. The Chief Minister commended the efforts of all those who played a direct or indirect role in making the festival a success and extended his gratitude to them. During the event, Baghel emphasised the significance of Chhattisgarh's forests and their connection to Lord Shri Ram's exile. "Lord Shri Ram traversed the forests, rivers, and mountains of Chhattisgarh during his journey. As a state abundant in forests and rivers, Chhattisgarh holds its cultural heritage along the riverbanks. The conservation of rivers and nature is a priority of the state government, with dedicated 'Authorities' established for the preservation of the Indravati and Arpa rivers. A grand Maha-aarti was carried out for the Kelo, Mahanadi, and Shivnath rivers," he said. The Chief Minister urged people to cherish and protect nature, acknowledging its valuable blessings. He also announced plans to establish a separate 'Authority' for the conservation of all rivers in the state. Baghel also expressed his condolences for the loss of lives in the tragic train accident in Odisha's Balasore which has claimed 288 lives and left over 1000 people injured. "Life is unpredictable and outcomes that happened in anyone's life are ultimately in the hands of God. I pray for the peace of the departed souls and to give strength to the families who have lost their family members in this accident," he said. Chhattisgarh Culture Minister Amarjeet Bhagat, presiding over the program, said that people actively participated in the National Ramayana Festival. "Raigarh remained immersed in the spirit of Rama, giving us the feeling as if we had arrived in Ayodhya. Chhattisgarh is not only the maternal home of Mata Kaushalya but also the cherished land of Lord Rama. The longest period of exile was spent in Chhattisgarh, establishing our timeless connection with Lord Rama throughout the ages," he said. The Chhattisgarh government said that the festival has created a 'significant' record for holding the longest stage performances of 'Aranya Kand', lasting 765 minutes over three days. A total of 375 artists from 17 teams across 13 states, including Chhattisgarh, as well as two international teams, Cambodia and Indonesia, participated in the festival. The Culture Department received recognition for the 'Most Stage Artist Performing on Aranya Kand' record, marking the program with the highest number of artists and for the longest duration, the government stated. Additionally, the Raigarh district administration was also honoured with a world record for the collective chanting of Hanuman Chalisa by over 10,000 people. The Chhattisgarh Culture Department and the Raigarh District Administration of Chhattisgarh have received the acclamation in the form of a certificate from the Golden Book of World Records for their achievements, it added. The Karnataka team emerged as the winner in the 'Aranya Kand' competition held during the National Ramayana Festival. It was followed by the Assam team in second place and the Jharkhand team in third place. All three teams received a copy of Ramcharit Manas, memento, a state 'gamcha' and cash prizes. The first, second and third teams received prizes of Rs 5 lakh, Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh respectively. All the states and jury members including from Cambodia and Indonesia were also honoured at the closing ceremony. (ANI) Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday appealed to the people of Manipur to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur, National Highway-2 so that basic food items and other necessary items can reach the people in the strife-hit state. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Shah wrote, "My sincerest appeal to the people of Manipur is to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur, NH-2 Highway, so that food, medicines, petrol/diesel, and other necessary items can reach the people. I also request that civil society organisations do the needful in bringing consensus." https://twitter.com/AmitShah/status/1665300794403606528 He further wrote, "Together only we can restore normalcy in this beautiful state." Shah recently concluded a four-day visit to Manipur to take stock of the situation and held talks with different stakeholders in a bid to restore a sense of calm in the state. On the last day of his visit, Amit Shah urged all communities and sections of society to maintain peace, hold discussions and promote harmony as well as surrender their weapons to the police. Shah warned that strict action would be taken against those found possessing weapons during the combing operation by the police. He also appealed to the people not to pay heed to rumours and maintain peace and harmony. Meanwhile, the security advisor to the Manipur government, Kuldiep Singh, on Saturday said peace is returning to the state after a wave of ethnic clashes and violence and normality is being restored. "Peace efforts are on in Manipur in close coordination with civil society people. Peace is returning to the state and normalcy is being restored. There has not been an incident of firing and arson in Manipur in the last 24 hours. Besides, joint security forces, including the Assam Rifles, have recovered 35 arms and 88 bombs in multiple operations in the last 24 hours," Singh said earlier. (ANI) "Security arrangements have been made across the state. Meetings have been held with the stakeholders. Central forces have also been deployed. I appeal the people to maintain peace in the state and action will be taken against those who spread rumors", said Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Arpit Shukla. Operation Bluestar was launched between June 1-6, 1984, by Indian Army to remove the separatists who were hidden inside the Golden Temple at Amritsar. The operation was ordered by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, primarily to take control of the Harmandir Sahib Complex in Amritsar (popularly known as the Golden Temple). The Indian military entered into the premises of the temple to drive out the Sikh extremist religious leader, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his armed followers. The operation had two components to it, Operation Metal which was the invasion on the temple complex and Operation Shop which was confined to the countryside of the state. This Operation helped in eliminating Khalistani terrorism and the death of Bhindranwale. The operation was heavily criticised by many Sikhs. Months later, PM Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards for permitting the operation.(ANI). "In a significant achievement with regard to anti-insurgency strategy by the Border Security force, on June 3, 2023, six newly joined cadres who were lured by NLFT(BM) cadres, sympathizers and had recently joined National Liberation Front of Tripura (Bishwa Mohan) outfit have surrendered before BSF Authorities by leaving the path of violence," the statement said. "The six previously unlisted and recently newly joined cadres namely Ramanjoy Tripura, Khorsamohan Tripura, Madan Mohan Tripura, Alajoy Tripura, Meturam Tripura and Barmita Tripura, Vidhyakumar Roajapara have surrendered before BSF authorities today morning i.e. on 03rd June 2023," it added. Earlier on May 29 Border Security Force (BSF) rescued 86 heads of Myanmar breed cattle in Tripura and arrested 18 people involved in their illegal transportation of livestock. "Acting swiftly on an intelligence input on May 28, 2023, regarding the transportation of Myanmar breeds cattle from Shiblong near the Tripura-Mizoram border from Assam by vehicles. The BSF team intercepted 20 vehicles carrying cattle, which was led by a leading vehicle (Mahindra Scorpio), and nabbed 18 people involved in the illegal transportation of livestock," the official statement said. (ANI) The President of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Maulana Mahmood Asa'd Madani expressed anguish over the Odisha train tragedy and demanded an honest inquiry into the accident, a statement said on Sunday. A delegation of Jamiat Ulama-Hind on Sunday met the injured at the Civil Hospital in Cuttack."Maulana Mahmood Asa'd Madani, President of Jamiat Ulama-i- Hind while expressing his deep anguish and concern over the train accident in Balasore, Odisha has demanded that the government conduct an honest inquiry into the causes of the accident and correct whatever flaws were there which caused this horrific accident," read the statement. He also appealed for better treatment for those injured in the accident, it said. Maulana Madani has expressed his solidarity and condolence with the families of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery for the injured. As per the statement, the cadets of Jamiat Ulama Odisha state are helping the victims in every possible way and are cooperating in the process of bringing the injured to the hospital. Jamiat Ulama- i-Hind is trying to provide more ambulances to take people to the hospital. Jamiat Ulama Odisha General Secretary Maulana Akram Taqi said that a delegation has visited the injured in Cuttack Hospital and also in Bhadhrak Hospital. "This accident is very tragic as many peoples have lost their lives. Many peoples are in the hospital but they find it very difficult to trace their relatives and dear ones," read the statement. Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena on Sunday said that the number of deaths in the incident has been revised to 275 after factoring out some 'double countings'. The Chief Secretary also said that out of the 275, 88 bodies have been identified. Speaking to ANI, Pradeep Jena said, "The Railways on Saturday said that the number of deaths is 288 and we also circulated that. But, since then the District Magistrate and his team checked each and every body recovered, checked from the track, the hospital and two temporary assembly points. It was found that some bodies were counted twice. So, after wading out the duplications, the Collector has informed that the number of deaths is 275 and not 288." (ANI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Sunday that India's prestige has been elevated across the globe because of the visionary leadership and tireless hard work of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the interest of the country. On the occasion of the successful completion of 9 years of Modi government, the Chief Minister addressed Gorakhpur city assembly's senior workers' meeting under BJPs Maha Sampark Abhiyan as well as the 'Tiffin Par Charcha' program. He said, "When we talk about our own achievements, it does not mean much. But, when the world acknowledges and recognizes our work, it is a real honour." CM Yogi added that while everyone is aware of India's position globally prior to 2014, not only the country but the whole world is witnessing the positive changes that have taken place under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. "In times of crisis, the world looks towards India and PM Modi with hope", he remarked. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath further mentioned that before 2014, the citizens of India did not get the respect they deserved. "During the 9-year tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the respect of Indian citizens, expatriates and Indians has increased in the whole world," he said. Referring to PM Modi's recent visit to three countries, the Chief Minister said, "Every Indian is proud of the increased attraction towards India and the Prime Minister. Breaking protocol, the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea not only received PM Modi after sunset but also greeted him by touching his feet. Fiji and Papua New Guinea conferred their country's highest honour on PM Narendra Modi." "Prime Minister of Australia addressed PM Modi as 'Boss', while the President of America was eager to take his autograph. All this shows the strength of India's leadership, he added. The Chief Minister said that by standing with 140 crore countrymen in every situation of crisis, by giving miraculous leadership to rule in everyone's hearts, the Prime Minister has increased India's prestige on the global stage. Emphasizing the Prime Minister's leadership Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that India has become very strong in terms of border security. "No one can look at India's borders with bad intent, or do terrorist activities today. If any incident happens somewhere, countries of the world start giving clarification but India has learned to protect its self-respect and honour." He further said that before 2014, the problem of extremism in Kashmir, separatism in the North-Eastern states and Naxalism was at its peak in 12 to 15 states of the country. "Today, due to the abolition of Article 370, there is an atmosphere of peace, harmony and development in Kashmir, he pointed out. People participated in the panchayat elections in large numbers and Bharatiya Janata Party also got huge support," he said. CM Yogi said that presently the BJP government is ruling in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur and Assam. "In Nagaland and Meghalaya too, the government is running with the cooperation of the BJP. Naxalite incidents have been curbed in affected states and rapid development is taking place there," he said. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that patterns of development are being created under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Unprecedented development is taking place in all sectors like infrastructure, highway, railway, airport etc. PM Modi's vision is that even a citizen wearing slippers can travel by air," he said. "There were a total of 74 airports in the country from 1947 to 2014, while 74 new airports were built between 2014 and 2022. From 1947 to 2014, there were only 5 AIIMS in the country while 15 new ones have been built from 2014 to 2022. Concept of 'One district One medical college' is also being realized. Every day 35 kilometers of highways are being expanded. New railway projects are progressing. Waterways are being built," he added. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that along with development, PM Narendra Modi has provided the basis for leading a reputable life to every citizen of the country through public welfare schemes. He also said that PM Modi's 9 years of tenure is dedicated to service, good governance and welfare of the poor and that no poor person is worried about what they will eat in the evening. "Since the Corona period, 80 crore people of the country were provided free ration. No poor woman has to worry about cooking in the rain anymore as free cooking gas connection from the Ujjwala scheme is being made available to her. No poor is worried about the house as 3.5 crore poor have been provided 'pucca houses' under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. "Bank accounts of 48 crore have been opened and funds for welfare schemes are being sent directly to their bank accounts. If anyone demands a bribe, he will land in jail. For the convenience of treatment, 50 crore people have got insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh under Ayushman Bharat Yojana," he added. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called upon all the workers to join the 14 types of programs being run for a month to commemorate the 9 years of PM Modi's tenure. He also mentioned the special gifts received by Gorakhpur under the guidance of PM. "A fertilizer factory in Gorakhpur, AIIMS and eradication of encephalitis were dreams. With the inspiration of the Prime Minister, the fertilizer factory is running at 110 percent capacity, AIIMS has also opened, encephalitis is also under control," he said. He said BJP is the party of common people and workers dedicated to Indian values. "BJP is not only the biggest political party in the world, but it is a party of common people and workers dedicated to Indian values and ideals." The party should also get credit for the work done in the interest of the common man, for this only special programs have been fixed for a month," CM Yogi said. After addressing the workers, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath opened the tiffin box and had food with the workers. (ANI) Days after the tragic train accident in Balasore, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale said that the mishap was very serious and Railways need to pay attention to it. Speaking to ANI, Athawale said, "The railway accident in Odisha is very serious and tragic incident. More than 280 people have died and 700 - 750 people are injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced compensation for the people. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has issued orders for a complete investigation on behalf of the Ministry of Railways. This incident is very serious and this should not have happened. Railways need to pay attention to this. Railways will investigate it completely and whoever is found guilty in this incident, action will definitely be taken against them." As the Opposition parties are continuously demanding the Railway minister's resignation, reacting to this Athawale said that people of opposition parties are making this like a political demand and it is the first time that such a severe tragedy has occurred involving three trains and it should be investigated how these three trains collided. Athawale said people of opposition parties can demand but resigning cannot solve the problem. This whole matter should be investigated, what was the mistake, what was the problem with the signal and why the trains collided? When two trains have to pass and one train leaves then the other train should be stopped but it did not happen and that is why all three trains collided so it is a very serious accident. Earlier, Nationalist Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday demanded Ashwini Vaishnaw's resignation after the tragic accident. Pawar asserted that the then Union Railway Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri tendered his resignation when an accident took place. (ANI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that the Prime Minister should immediately seek resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for the tragic train accident in Odisha's Balasore in which 275 people died and 1000 people were injured. The Congress leader stepped up the attack at the Central government stating that till now "no accountability even after 270+ deaths". "No accountability even after 270+ deaths! The Modi government cannot run away from taking responsibility for such a painful accident. The Prime Minister should immediately seek the resignation of the Railway Minister!" Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet. Meanwhile, Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh also demanded Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's resignation in the wake of the triple train tragedy in Odisha. Digvijay Singh expressed grief over the tragedy that took place on Friday evening and involved Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, Coromandel Express and a goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in the Balasore district of Odisha. "When Railways Minister repeatedly says that our system is fool-proof and any severe accident cannot happen then how this happened... He (Ashwini Vaishnaw) is an ex-IAS officer of Odisha cadre, where this tragedy has taken place. There is an example where in such a train accident, Lal Bahadur Shastri had resigned from his post," said Digvijaya Singh told reporters on Saturday. "We don't expect this from PM Modi's cabinet, but if he (Ashwini Vaishnaw) has a little bit of shame, he should resign," the Congress leader said. On Saturday, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday hit out at Union Railways Minister saying that "he should tender his resignation". "The entire nation is saddened by the incident. Do they have morality or not...BJP which speaks about morality then he should resign," Baghel said. Without taking anyone's name, he said, "The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) always speaks about responsibility, therefore he [referring to the Railway minister] should tender his resignation after this major train accident." He further added that the railway minister had claimed that Railways have adopted a modern technique according to which if another train comes on the track that it gets stopped before 400 metres. "But three trains collided here [in Odisha], in his state," he remarked. "Our Railway Minister comes from Odisha and if such a big incident took place in his state then definitely it is his responsibility and it would be seen whether he will fulfil his responsibility or not," Baghel said. Expressing anguish over the incident, Baghel condoled the loss of lives in the crash and wished for the early recovery of the injured. (ANI) Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Government remains deeply committed to the development in the eastern region of India as well as India's neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal. Sarbananda Sonowal attended a crucial meeting of stakeholders of maritime development in the Bay of Bengal area in Kolkata on Sunday. Sonowal also underlined that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Government remains deeply committed to enabling Act East Policy to reach its maximum potential for growth and development in the eastern region of India as well as India's neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal. Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister Sonowal said, "Under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, the Act East Policy of Government has gathered unprecedented momentum ushering a new age of growth and development in the region. The PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan is yet another boost to rationalise the logistical paradigm and make an attractive business proposition." After interacting with the envoys of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal as well as industry & trade representatives, the minister called for greater cooperation among all the stakeholders for unlocking value in the maritime sector of the region. "The maritime sector, as well as the inland waterways sector, are major agents of change in this visionary scheme of transportation which is likely to transform cargo movement through an economic, sustainable and efficient mode. In this momentous journey, we aspire your active support and swift cooperation to extrapolate maximum value creation for everyone," official press release stated the Minister as saying. Some of the key issues deliberated in the meeting were Trade through National Waterways 1 and 2 to NER for ensuring transit transportation of North East Cargo through Bangladesh/North East Region/Myanmar, to strengthen Trade Ties with Bangladesh through facilitation of movement of goods between SMP Kolkata and various ports of Bangladesh (Chittagong, Mongla) involving IWAI; Collaboration with Myanmar's Sittwe Port in Myanmar, as a part of KMMTTP, to transport cargo to NE India, via Mizoram; Using Deep Drafted Facilities within SMPK limits for overcoming the constraints of a shallow draft for STS/Transshipment operations; Capacity Enhancements at SMPK through PPP Mode. Adding further, Sarbananda Sonowal said, "The Act East policy has been a harbinger of growth, not only for the eastern part of India but as a consequence, for the trade and business interest of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar. The success of Ganga Vilas, which travelled from Varanasi to Dibrugarh via Bangladesh, has accentuated the viability of the rich potential of river tourism in the South Asian region, showcasing our rich culture and heritage. Similarly, we have successfully started operations at the strategic Sittwe Port in Myanmar which will open a new route for Northeast India as well as Bhutan and Bangladesh." "We affirm our commitment towards the development of the maritime sector in the region and unlock value by empowering transportation solutions using our rich interweb of a riverine system for the growth and development in the region. This will be a true reflection of our PM Narendra Modi ji's vision of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'," Union Minister Sonowal added. The meeting commenced with a discussion with IWAI/allied partners regarding the increased use of Inland Water Transport through River Ganga (NW1) and River Brahmaputra (NW2) via IBP/KMMTTP route. This was followed by an interactive meet of Ministers with the Consul Generals of the neighbouring countries (Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar) of India. The Union Minister commended all stakeholders for their stellar role in the growth of trade and commerce through SMPK and the region as a whole since 2013-14, and through continued collaboration and enterprise aided by multi-pronged initiatives. (ANI) Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh on Sunday said that Bhaderwah has emerged as the Lavender capital of India and agri StartUp destination. "It is a moment of pride for all of us as Bhaderwah has emerged as the Lavender capital of India and Agri StartUp destination," Jitendra Singh said after inaugurating 2 days Lavender festival at Bhaderwah. CSIR, Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu had organised the event as part of its 'One Week One Lab Campaign'. Singh described Bhaderwah as the birthplace of India's purple revolution and the destination of agri-StartUps. The Minister said that the valley of Bhaderwah is the best example of the development of the present progressive government at the centre which should have been celebrated much earlier, Bhaderwah being the best place for lavender cultivation in terms of land and climate. Singh while referring to lavender cultivation in the region, said that Lavender is an avenue of employment generation and research opening many paradigms of development. "Lavender cultivation has changed the lives of many farmers. It is heartening to note that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the 99th Edition of Mann ki Baat, appreciated the efforts of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research- Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM) in supporting farmers in the cultivation of Lavender in the Bhaderwah, Doda district, J&K under CSIR-Aroma Mission". He said, "Farmers had been engaged in traditional maize cultivation for decades, but some farmers thought of doing something different. They turned to floriculture, that is, the cultivation of flowers. Today, around two and a half thousand farmers are cultivating Lavender here. They have also been handheld through the Aroma Mission of the Central Government. This new cultivation has greatly increased the income of the farmers." The CSIR-Aroma Mission is a flagship project of CSIR under which Lavender cultivation is being promoted in the temperate regions of J&K. The aim of the project is to increase the income of small and marginal farmers and develop agriculture-based Startups. The project is being directly monitored by Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) of the Ministry of Science & Technology. Under his directions, CSIR-IIIM is implementing Lavender cultivation in Bhaderwah and other parts of J&K. The net annual income of farmers who switched from maize to Lavender cultivation has increased many folds from around Rs 40,000 to Rs 60,000 per hectare to Rs 3,50,000 to Rs 6,00,000 per hectare. Farmers of the Bhaderwah, Doda district, produced 300, 500, 800, and 1500 Litres of Lavender oil in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively. They earned over Rs 5 Crore between 2018-2022 by selling dry flowers, Lavender plants, and Lavender oil, an official statement said. (ANI) Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah addressed the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Amrita Hospital in Kochi, Kerala, as the Chief Guest on Sunday. In the beginning of his address, Amit Shah expressed his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic train accident in Odisha. The Union Home Minister said that whenever he comes to Kerala, he feels peaceful and happy. Shah said that he has met Amma many times in his life and each time he has gained new consciousness and energy from her. He said that Amma has given her love, affection and energy to crores of people all over the world. Amma has infused the feeling of consciousness, energy and eternal peace in true sense in the lives of everyone who meets her. He said that he has come here today to commemorate the good works done by Amma. He said that Amma's contribution in the fields of religion, tradition, culture and service in the last five decades has brought laurels to our Sanatan culture in the whole world. "Amma has given a new dimension and introduction to India's Sanatan culture and tradition by highlighting their good aspects across the whole world," he added. Amit Shah said that every work initiated by Amma in her life was always successful and this institute also exemplifies the same. He added that the institute, which started with 125 beds has emerged as one of the best institutes in the world with a capacity of over 1,350 beds, today. He said that the institute is dedicated to the care of patient with excellence, innovation and compassion, and is one of the best service centers in India. Citing the achievements of the institute, Shah said that a new era of service in the health sector has begun. He said that today with the blessings of Amma, it has also been announced to set up a state of the art facility at Amritapuri campus and Kochi campus. He said that its total area would be more than 1.85 lakh square feet. He said that Amrita Multi-disciplinary Research Innovation and Translation Hub has emerged as a very prestigious institute in the field of research globally. He said that these institutes are going to be set up in 1.85 lakh square feet area in Amritapuri, 20 thousand square feet in Chicago, 3 lakh square feet in Faridabad and 10 lakh square feet in Kochi. The Union Home Minister also added that today Amrita Hospital is completing 25 golden years in the field of service. He said that during its journey from 1998 to 2023, more than 20 lakh patients have been treated completely free of cost in this hospital. He said that by providing free services to 20 lakh needy patients, Amrita Hospital has provided new ray of hope in their lives. Shah said that about Rs 800 crore have been spent on free treatment of lakhs of people and this shows that Indian philosophy of 'SevaParamodharma' has been fully implemented by this institution of Amma. He said, "Getting inspiration from the Amma's spirit of service, many new beginnings have been made in the medical field by this institution. Amrita Hospital performed the first micro-blood stem cell transplant in India, the first fully robotic liver transplant and the first robotic knee and hip replacement." He said that the first medical 3D printing facility in India was also made available in the institute and for the first time in the world, in 2022, the smallest artificial heart pump was transplanted in this institute only. Amit Shah added that Amma said that "dissatisfaction is the greatest poverty and contentment is the real prosperity". This is the reason, former President APJ Abdul Kalam had said that he learnt to serve the people from Amritapuri. Shah said that these values given by Amma have not only inspired but also filled the lives of 4 crore with new hope, enthusiasm and love. He said that despite serving continuously for 50 years with such great achievements, one finds great humility in Amma. He said. "The span of Amma's service is not only limited to India but is spread across the whole world. In the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, Amma's Foundation built over 1200 earthquake-resistant houses in 2 villages and even today, these are known as Amma's Villages." "There are many such examples like, 2015 Nepal Earthquake, 2014 Jammu and Kashmir Floods, 2014 Philippines Cyclone and 2004 Tsunami in India and Sri Lanka, each time Amma along with her followers worked with great enthusiasm to help many affected people," Shah added. He said, "To accelerate the SwachhtaAbhiyan in India, Amma gave Rs 200 crores, out of which Rs 100 crores were given to build toilets in villages situated on the banks of the Ganga and Rs 100 crores to build toilets in Kerala. Shri Shah said that apart from this, the program of construction of 45,000 houses and providing food grains to about 1 crore poor every year is run by Amma." Union Home Minister further added that this is the year of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav and under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the last 9 years a big change has come in the country in the field of health, with a holistic approach. He said, "Many initiatives under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Fit India Mission, Nutrition Mission, Mission Indradhanush, Ayushman Bharat and Jal jeevan Mission have been taken by Modi Government to keep people healthy." "The entire health expenditure up to Rs 5 lakh has been made free for 60 crore poor people of the country under the Ayushman Bharat scheme," he added. He said that there has been a lot of infrastructural development in the field of medical education. The number of medical colleges was 387 in 2013-14, which has increased to 648 today. Number of MBBS seats have increased from 51,000 to 99,000, post-graduate seats have increased from 31,000 to 64,000 and 22 new AIIMS have been set up across the country. "During the Covid-19 pandemic period, the work of providing more than 230 crore 'Made in India' Corona vaccines to 130 crore Indians has been done in India," he added. He also expressed the hope that with the blessings of Amma, this institution would celebrate its Golden Jubilee celebrations as well and celebrate the centenary in an even grander manner. (ANI) The Navy, as a self-driven and environmentally responsible force, has always been committed towards environment protection and green initiatives. As guardian of the seas, the Navy employs a number of ships, submarines and aircraft that have high energy intensity, thus increased energy efficiency is paramount in every operation and process the Navy undertakes, an official statement said on Sunday. Some of the noteworthy initiatives towards 'Clean and Green Navy', are elaborated in succeeding paragraphs. IN has commissioned solar power with a cumulative capacity of 15.87MW which is in line with the Navy's objective of fulfilling Govt of India's 'Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM)' mission. These plants are grid-connected utilising single-axis sun tracking technology with computerised monitoring & control. Additionally, the 16 MW capacity of SPVs is at various stages of execution. As a maiden initiative, an indigenous make and patented retrofit device developed by M/s Chakr Innovations for reducing diesel engine emissions were installed on a shore-based Diesel Generator for long-term trials. Trials have indicated a 70 per cent reduction in Hydrocarbon, Carbon Monoxide, and Particulate Matter in the engine's exhaust emissions. The retrofit device for diesel engine exhaust emission reduction is being inducted in a phased manner on all land-based Diesel Gensets, and once inducted, it would go a long way in enabling the Navy towards reducing the emissions levels further. Towards combating oil spills at Naval harbours, eco-friendly marine bio-remedial agents have been indigenously developed through NMRL. The state-of-the-art technology is unique in the maritime domain. The product consists of a combination of micro-organisms and their growth stimulant, which consume various types of oils such as diesel, lubricating, dirty oils etc, thus cleaning the seawater from any oil contamination and its consequent damage to the marine ecosystem. Indian Navy in collaboration with IISc (Bengaluru) has operationalized a 'first of its kind' 100KW capacity AC plant in the country based on the natural refrigerant Carbon dioxide. This is a significant step towards reducing the use of conventional HCFCs with high Global Warming Potential (GWP) by employing a natural refrigerant with a GWP of 1 and is in line with the Kigali Agreement of 2016 ratified by India. The plant has been installed at the Centre of Excellence (Marine Engineering), INS Shivaji for trials and exploitation. Till now, the plant has clocked 850 hrs of operation successfully. The utilisation of Hydrogen as a potential alternate source of fuel is also being pursued by the IN, successful shore trials of Hydrogen Aspirated Diesel Engine have been completed which has enhanced clean combustion, thus reducing CO emissions significantly. The device has now been fitted onboard a ship for pilot trials. Further, in line with the GoI initiative of Make in India, a developmental project on hydrogen fuel cell-powered ferry craft is also being pursued with shipyards. The use of alternate fuels, such as Used Cooking Oil-based biodiesel has also progressed in the last year to reduce vehicular emissions. A total of 192KL of B-7 blend biodiesel has been used in motor transport vehicles of the Navy. To reduce the overall carbon footprint and enhance environmental sustainability, Indian Navy is 'Geared Up and Committed' to pursue Green Initiatives, realizing the national aim, to ensure a 'Greener and Cleaner future for our next generations'. (ANI) Police said that incident took place at village Sarkheda under Aundhi police station limits in the district on Friday. According to the police official, the idol of a goddess, which was installed in a temple at village Sarkheda, was uprooted by few people and then set on fire at the bank of a river. Police said that a case has been registered against unidentified persons under sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC). "After registering the offence, police are taking necessary steps to prevent any untoward incident and also made an appeal from the people to maintain peace in the area," police said. (ANI) Uttar Pradesh minister Sanjay Nishad on Sunday weighed in on the completion of 9 years of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre, claiming whatever was promised have been fulfilled. Addressing a press conference at Etawah on Sunday, Nishad invoked the phrase "9 saal bemisaal (9 unprecedented years)", adding, "We are taking our achievements over the course of our 9 years in power at the Centre to the people. We fulfilled what we had promised it is now our responsibility to let the people know about it." He added, "Our government (at the Centre) is consistently doing good work, which is why we won the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls as well as the (UP) Assembly polls last year hands down. We are on course to winning the next year's Lok Sabha elections as well. Modi-Ji has alloted funds to the tune of Rs 26,000 crores for fishermen. The government is constantly carrying out development work for the community." On the Opposition's argument that the Centre was hoodwinking the people with its misleading claims of development, Nishad said, "They should first come clean on what they did for our backward classes in the last 30 years. We have set up a commission for them. They did no such thing when in power." Hitting out at former chief minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, he said, "Akhilesh Yadav had been the chief minister of the state and is the national president of his party. He should list out what all he did during his years in power." "They (Opposition leaders) took an oath to serve the people as members of the Parliament and the legislative assembly but only beleive in staging walkouts. This shows who is misleading the people. All communities are with Modi-Ji. Our governnents at the Centre and the state have worked for all sections without any discrimination," Nishad said. On the Opposition demanding the resignation of Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in light of the horrific triple train accident in Odisha's Balasore, which left 275 passengers dead and more than 1,000 injured, the state minister said, "Tell me if anyone from the Opposition resigned, owning moral responsibilities for such mishaps, during their tenure in power. Our Prime Minister visited the accident spot as well as the injured in hospital. Name any other PM who did something similar. The Opposition leaders should refrain from resorting to such cheap politics in this hour of grief. Instead, they should help us ensure that no such incident takes place in future. The number of such accidents has actually gone down since we came to power." On the ongoing wrestlers' protest and the ultimatum by the khap panchayats to act against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who faces allegations of sexual harassment, Nishad said, "The matter is in court and we should exercise patience and await its verdict." On the statement by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat's that Muslims were safest in India, the UP minister said, "We are now free of polarisation, Article 370 and communal riots. Muslims have now identified parties which indulges in the politics of appeasement for votes. There are more Muslims than there are members in the SC and ST communities. Our government (at the Centre) provided houses, Ayushman cards (under scheme to provide health insurance to people who are deprived of the secondary and tertiary care services) and food to people from disadvantaged communities without any discrimination." He added, "Even Muslims are now joining us. They are our people. Our only ideology is to serve the people." The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre completed 9 years in power on May 30. It came to power in 2014 with a comfotable majority, securing 282 seats of 543-member Lok Sabha. In 2019, it stormed back to power, winning 303 seats. (ANI) Three Israeli soldiers were killed after a gunman wearing an Egyptian police officer uniform opened fire, in the first violent encounter along the border line in more than ten years, reported Al Jazeera. According to the Israeli military, an Egyptian policeman opened fire and killed two soldiers early on Saturday while they were guarding a military post at the Egyptian border. Hours later, a confrontation on Israeli soil claimed the lives of an Egyptian officer and a third Israeli soldier. According to the Egyptian military, an Egyptian border guard who was chasing drug smugglers breached the border security fence and engaged Israeli forces in gunfire. A statement said, "A member of the security forces .... chased drug smugglers. During the chase the security agent crossed the security fence (border) and a gun battle ensued," as per Al Jazeera. The incident happened 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of where Israel's border with Egypt and the Gaza Strip merge, close to the Nitzana and Al-Awja border crossing between Israel and Egypt. It is used to bring in merchandise from Egypt for Israel or the Gaza Strip. Egypt's Defence Minister Mohamed Zaki spoke to his Israeli counterpart during a phone call to discuss the shooting on the border, and "the mutual coordination to take measures to prevent such incidents in the future," according to a statement issued by Egyptian military. Two soldiers were found dead at an Israeli military post after they did not respond to their radios. According to the Israeli army, one of the killed soldiers was a woman, according to Al Jazeera. The army said, "During an encounter with an assailant in Israeli territory ... an exchange of fire developed. Troops and commanders engaged (the suspect) and shot and killed him." Yoav Gallant, Israel's defence minister, claimed that after discussing the situation with the chief of staff, the military "will investigate the event as required." According to Eliezer Toledano, head of the Israeli military's Southern Command, the investigation would take into account the possibility that the killing was connected to smuggling activity. "We promise to never leave any question unanswered," Toledano said. The Israeli military said that it is unknown how the Egyptian officer managed to get over the border fence, and soldiers were examining the area to rule out the possibility of any other attackers. Egypt was the first Arab nation to establish tight security ties with Israel and sign a peace deal with it in 1979. Fighting along their shared border is rare, Al Jazeera reported. (ANI) Kabul residents have complained about the country's slow passport distribution procedure, TOLO News reported. TOLO News is an Afghan news channel broadcasting from Kabul. The residents say that every person has an unalienable right to a passport and that the Islamic Emirate should provide better facilities in this area. Hamid, a Kabul resident, said that more than a year has passed since he submitted an application for a passport but he has still not heard back, as per TOLO News. "They still do not allow us to enter the passport office," Hamid said. Kabul residents said that due to not having a passport, they cannot go abroad for treatment of illness, scholarships or other issues. "The issue facing young people is that they can't get a passport, especially those who are ill. Unfortunately, if a person is sick, it will take a year or more to get the passport," said Najim, a resident of Kabul. "The government should give it very special attention. Although they say that it will be distributed, the process is very slow. I applied for a passport almost seventeen months ago, but so far I haven't received it," said Abdullah, another Kabul resident, as quoted by TOLO News. The country's General Directorate of Passports, however, said that the passport distribution process is proceeding properly and that up to 10,000 passports are distributed daily around the nation. "The distribution of passports, which includes 33 other provinces, is proceeding normally. We distribute thousands of passports to our compatriots every day," said Noorullah Patman, spokesman of the Directorate. Previously, officials of the General Directorate of Passports said that the directorate is attempting to boost the capacity of passport distribution up to 15,000 per day. (ANI) The Islamabad Police visited former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's residence in Lahore to serve the court summons in judge threatening case, Pakistan-based Geo News reported. In May, Islamabad Judicial Magistrate Malik Aman upheld the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) bailable arrest warrant in the case. However, the court agreed to Imran Khan's request for exemption from appearance on June 1 and adjourned the hearing till June 8. The court had said the warrant at Imran Khan's residence could not be compiled with through proper legal procedures. The court ordered to ensure compliance with Imran Khan's warrant through legal procedures and directed him to appear on June 8, as per the Geo News report. The charges against the PTI chairman are related to a speech made by Imran Khan in which he allegedly threatened police and a female judge in 2022 after one of his close aides, Shahbaz Gill, was not given bail in a sedition case. Imran Khan has been facing a number of legal cases since his ouster from power in a no-confidence vote in April last year by a united opposition led by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Geo News reported. While addressing a rally at the F-9 park in Islamabad, Imran Khan warned that he would "not spare" Islamabad's inspector-general, deputy inspector-general, and the female magistrate, and vowed to register cases against them for "torturing" Shahbaz Gill. Imran Khan led the rally in Islamabad from Zero Point to F-9 Park in support of incarcerated leader Gill. In his address at the gathering, he said, "We will not spare the IG and DIG," according to Geo News report. He even called out the session judge, who had given approval for two-day physical remand at the request of the Islamabad police. Imran Khan said that she should "prepare" as a case will also be lodged against her. Meanwhile, Imran Khan's bail in the Al-Qadir Trust case has been extended till June 19 against the surety bonds of Rs 500,000, reported Dawn. Earlier, the PTI Chief Khan arrived at the Federal Judicial Complex shortly after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed him to approach a relevant accountability court within three working days. The judge extended Khan's bail in the Al-Qadir Trust case till June 19 against surety bonds worth Rs 500,000, as per the news report. The Al-Qadir Trust case alleges that the PTI chief and his wife, Bushra Bibi, obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from a real estate firm for legalising PKR 50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the UK during the previous PTI government. On May 9, the PTI Chief was arrested after which a protest sparked across Pakistan. (ANI) Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Sunday along with Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid attended the ceremony for the exchange of 10 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) between India and Maldives. He also attended the gifting of a consignment of Anti-TB medicine to the Maldives in Male. The MoS is in Maldives for a two-day visit from June 3-4. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Muraleedharan stated that the development partnership between India and Maldives is going stronger. He noted that MoUs will facilitate the implementation of development projects in areas like arts, sports, education and health under India's grant assistance. Muraleedharan in a tweet stated, "Our Development partnership with the Maldives is going stronger. Glad to join H.E. @abdulla_shahid to witness exchange of 10 MoUs. The MoUs will facilitate implementation of development projects in areas of Arts, Sports, Education & Health, under India's grant assistance." MoS Muraleedharan in a tweet stated, "The 10 High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP) MoUs exchanged are: 1.Development of Arts Centre in Male' 2. Construction of Lh. Hinnavaru New Council Office 3.Establishment of Mental Health Unit at Abdul Samad Memorial Hospital." He further stated, "4.Procurement of 4 School Buses for Fuvahmulah,Kulhudhuffushi,N. Kendhikulhudhoo & L. Gan 5. School Digitalization Programme in L. Atoll Education Centre 6. Development of Sh. Milandhoo Running Track 7. Development of Outdoor Gym in Addu City, Hithadhoo Beyrumathi Dhaairaa." "8. Development of Outdoor Gym in Addu City, Hithadhoo Rasgedhara Dhaairaa 9. Development of Outdoor Gym in Ha. Dhidhdhoo 10. Development of Outdoor Gym in GDh. Vaadhoo," Muraleedharan said in a tweet. Muraleedharan stated that the gifting of consignment of Anti-TB medicine to Maldives will contribute to the Maldivian government's plan to eliminate TB from Maldives. He tweeted, "Witnessed gifting of consignment of Anti-TB medicine to Maldives @MoHmv, in Male Confident that the medicine will contribute to @governmentmv plan to eliminate TB from Maldives. Health Cooperation is an important pillar of India-Maldives Bilateral Relationship." Earlier in the day, Muraleedharan held a meeting with Abdulla Shahid in Male. The two leaders discussed various matters of bilateral ties and areas of mutual interest. He called Maldives an "important pillar" in India's "NeighbourhoodFirst policy." Muraleedharan tweeted, "Had an engaging discussion with Hon'ble Minister of Foreign Affairs H.E. @abdulla_shahid in Male. Discussed wide ranging matters of bilateral partnership and areas of mutual interest. The Maldives is an important pillar in our #NeigbourhoodFirst policy." Meanwhile, Abdulla Shahid tweeted, "It was good to meet @MOS_MEA V. Muraleedharan during his ongoing visit to the Maldives. We discussed the enhanced partnership of Maldives and India manifested through the multiple engagements between our countries. Reiterated our commitment to maintain and strengthen the #MaldivesIndiaPartnership." On Saturday, V Muraleedharan inaugurated an eco-tourism zone in Addu City. He was joined by the Foreign Minister of Maldives Abdullah Shahid during the inauguration of the Hithadhoo eco-tourism zone in the Addu City of Maldives. Taking to Twitter, the MoS wrote, "Happy to join Foreign Minister H.E @abdulla_shahid& Deputy Mayor @AdduCityCouncil @shuaau22 to inaugurate an eco-tourism zone at Feydhoo, Addu City The tourism zones developed under India's grant assistance will provide space for community activities." Expressing happiness over the inauguration of the eco-tourism zone, MoS Muraleedharan further said that this zone, developed under India's grant assistance, would provide space for community activities. "Delighted to inaugurate Hithadhoo eco-tourism zone in Addu City with Foreign Minister H.E. @abdulla_shahid & Mayor @AdduCityCouncil H.E. @DhekunuNizar. The Tourism zones developed under India's grant assistance will add to efforts of @governmentmvto make Addu a tourism hub," the MoS added in a tweet. (ANI) The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Rawalpindi has summoned Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi on June 7 to record her statement as a trustee of the Al-Qadir University Trust in the 190 million National Crime Agency (NCA) UK settlement case, Pakistan-based The News International reported. The NAB's combined investigation team (CIT) summoned Imran Khan on June 7. The sources have revealed that Bushra Bibi's statement will be recorded as a witness. NAB under the new law is bound to tell a person whether he/she is being summoned as an accused or a witness to record the statement. Following the procedure, the NAB's CIT has already recorded the statements of previous government ministers. NAB also asked for the records of all the donations that Al-Qadir University has received and those who donated to the trust, The News International reported. Last week, NAB told the accountability court that the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Bushra Bibi was not required. The CIT was not satisfied with the response given by Imran Khan in his last appearance and asked him to respond to NAB's questionnaire on June 7, which was given to him in his last appearance, The News International reported citing sources. Meanwhile, Imran Khan's bail in the Al-Qadir Trust case has been extended till June 19 against the surety bonds of Rs 500,000, Pakistan-based Dawn reported. Earlier, the PTI Chief Khan arrived at the Federal Judicial Complex shortly after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed him to approach a relevant accountability court within three working days. The judge extended Khan's bail in the Al-Qadir Trust case till June 19 against surety bonds worth Rs 500,000, as per the news report. The Al-Qadir Trust case alleges that the PTI chief and his wife, Bushra Bibi, obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from a real estate firm for legalising PKR 50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the UK during the previous PTI government, as per the news report. On May 9, the PTI Chief was arrested after which a protest sparked across Pakistan. (ANI) Dubai [UAE], June 4 (ANI/WAM): The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has successfully concluded its trade mission to India after five days of fruitful meetings and discussions with Indian business and industrial associations in New Delhi and Mumbai. The trade mission, organised by the Sharjah Exports Development Centre, visited Indian Capital and commercial hub to discuss potential investment advantages and lucrative opportunities to further strengthen bilateral ties. In New Delhi, the meetings took place on the sidelines of the "UAE-India Business Forum", a significant event organised by the Chamber as part of the second stop of the trade mission. A key outcome of these discussions was the mutual interest to further consolidate ties, with the Indian side expressing its intention to organise a high-level trade delegation visit to the Emirate of Sharjah. This delegation, representing various industrial and commercial sectors, is expected in the last quarter of this year. The business gatherings have served as an effective platform to discuss potential investment advantages and trade opportunities across diverse economic sectors. Both sides expressed a strong desire to enhance the level of cooperation and trade exchange, explore areas of joint work, exchange experiences, and learn from best practices. Moreover, the meetings aimed at developing the exports of commercial and industrial enterprises and introducing the private sector to rewarding opportunities in promising sectors. The first major meeting brought together Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of SCCI; Waleed Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, Second Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, SCCI; and Ahmed Mohamed Obaid Al Naboodah, Board Member, SCCI, with a delegation from the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) led by Pooja Ahluwalia, Assistant Secretary General of ASSOCHAM.Present at the meeting were Abdulaziz Mohammed Shattaf, Assistant Director-General of the Communication and Business Sector at the Sharjah Chamber; Jamal Saeed Buzangal, Director of the Media Department at the Sharjah Chamber; and Ali Abdullah Al Jari, Director of the Sharjah Export Development Centre. During the meeting, both sides explored ways to strengthen industrial and commercial cooperation between the two countries and exchanged perspectives on leveraging the expertise available on each side to facilitate the establishment of joint investment projects. In the second meeting, Abdullah Sultan Al Owais and his accompanying delegation met Shri Paresh Kantilal Mehta, Regional Chairman of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, where they discussed various options to foster cooperation in several key areas, with a particular emphasis on trade promotion of local products and goods for both countries. The meeting involved a comprehensive review of the programmes implemented by the Sharjah Chamber and the export organisations in order to achieve the aforementioned trade promotion goals. Additionally, the two sides explored opportunities for developing partnerships to boost exports and explore new markets. Abdullah Sultan Al Owais stressed that the Chamber is committed to providing all forms of support to its associate members from the business community in Sharjah. He briefed the Indian side on the attractive services and facilities offered by the SCCI-affiliated institutions in order to facilitate the growth and advancement of businesses.Al Owais encouraged the Indian delegation to enhance their presence in Sharjah by actively participating in various qualitative and specialised exhibitions organised and hosted by the Expo Centre Sharjah throughout the year. ' The active participation from Indian businessmen and investors will not only showcase the Indian products but will also help expand their reach in the local and regional markets. Al Owais, accompanied by members of the mission, also met Mohit Singla, Chairman of the Trade Promotion Council of India, an organisation affiliated with the Indian Ministry of Commerce. During the meeting, the two sides agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate the exchange of visits for trade delegations and promote participation in exhibitions organized by Expo Centre Sharjah and the Indian Expo Mart, which operates under the council's umbrella. They also agreed to launch joint initiatives to enhance the business sectors' performance in commercial, industrial, and service activities in both countries. On the concluding day of the mission, Al Owais engaged in discussions with the Millennial India International Chamber of Commerce, Industry, & Agriculture (MIICCIA) to develop cooperation frameworks between India and the Emirate of Sharjah. The meeting focused on strengthening economic and trade collaboration, fostering coordination, partnership, and investment flow between the UAE and India.Al Owais presented an overview of the economic landscape in Sharjah, highlighting its attractive investment advantages. He also outlined the services provided by the chamber to companies interested in investing and its role in ensuring sustainability in commercial and industrial development through value-added services and dedicated efforts to identify growth opportunities for the business environment. Throughout the five-day mission, representatives from industrial and commercial companies participated in field visits to various economic facilities and factories in Mumbai and New Delhi. These visits provided opportunities to explore joint cooperation, discuss industrial integration, exchange experiences, learn about best practices, and build investment partnerships that benefit both sides. (ANI/WAM) The Supreme Court of Nepal on Sunday issued a short-term interim order blocking the implementation of recently ratified Citizenship Act that was authenticated by President Ram Chandra Paudel last week. A bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Sharma making a hearing on senior advocates Surendra Bhandari and Bal Krishna Neupane's writ petition issued the short-term interim order instructing the government not to implement the act. "The government has been instructed to keep the act as it is," Bimal Poudel, spokesperson of the Supreme Court of Nepal confirmed ANI. Furthermore, the apex body also has instructed the government to furbish an explanation for getting the bill authenticated summoning both sides for discussion. Nepal President Ram Chandra Paudel on May 31 this year ratified the bill to amend the Nepal Citizenship Act, 2063. Prior to the ratification by the state head, a meeting of the Council of Ministers on May 26 had requested President to authenticate the bill. The same bill was stalled by former President Bidhya Devi Bhandari last year which had invited a constitutional crisis in the nation. The latest move of incumbent President Paudel also has raised questions over excise of duty and constitutional provisions. Previously, Bhandari had not authenticated the bill even after being passed by both houses and sent twice. A separate case was filed against the move of former President Bhandari back then which now is sub-justice at the Supreme Court. As per Article 113 (3) of the Constitution, the president can send back a bill passed by the federal parliament for reconsideration once. "In case the President is of the opinion that any Bill, except a Money Bill, presented for authentication needs reconsideration, he or she may, within fifty days from the date of submission of such Bill, send back the Bill along with his or her message to the House in which the Bill originated," it says about an exception to mandatory certification of bills sent to the president. However, Article 113 (4) requires the president to authenticate any bill sent for a second time after being passed by both Houses of Parliament. "In case any Bill is sent back along with a message by the President, and both Houses reconsider and adopt such Bill as it was or with amendments and present it again, the President shall authenticate that Bill within fifteen days of such presentation," it states. The then President Bhandari refused to authenticate the bill violating that provision. On 14 August 2022, she returned the Citizenship Bill sent to her for authentication after being passed by both the House of Representatives (HoR) and the National Assembly. She had sent a seven-point message to inform the federal parliament and for deliberation, and another eight-point message for drawing attention. At that time then President Bhandari had mainly raised two issues while sending the bill back. She had mentioned that the bill was silent about providing naturalized citizenship through marriage as per Article 11 (6) of the Constitution. "If a foreign woman married to a Nepali citizen so wishes, she may acquire naturalized citizenship of Nepal as provided for in a Federal law," states Article 11(6) of the Constitution. Former President Bhandari pointed out that the Constitution clearly says federal law but the bill passed by the federal parliament did not have that provision. She had also raised questions about the provision requiring self-declaration by a woman to provide citizenship to her children. She had also drawn the House's attention to other issues but had mainly asked the House to reconsider the two issues. The bill does not propose any restrictions on foreigners marrying Nepali citizens while acquiring naturalized citizenship. The main opposition CPN-UML, to which Bhandari was affiliated before becoming president, has been protesting the removal of the provision in the report submitted by the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the HoR that required foreigners to marry Nepali citizens to wait for seven years to get naturalized citizenship. The bill passed by the federal parliament also has a provision to grant citizenship by descent to the children of those who received citizenship by birth through a one-time arrangement after the People's Movement II in 2006. Citizenship by birth was granted to persons born in Nepal before mid-April 1990, having permanent domicile and having been continuously resident in Nepal throughout their life through the one-time arrangement. The passed bill also allows citizenship to a person only through the name of a mother but has put four conditions for that. The child should be born in Nepal, should be residing in Nepal, the father should be unidentified and the person should make a self-declaration that the father has not been identified for that. The person taking the citizenship certificate can choose to take the surname and address of either the father or mother. The bill has also paved the way for non-resident citizenship to anyone living outside the SAARC countries if there is proof that the person's father/mother or grandfather/grandmother is/was a Nepali citizen. Bhandari had earlier authenticated an ordinance, sent by the then prime minister KP Sharma Oli after dissolving the House, that included similar provisions. The bill's passage has cleared the way to citizenship for up to 400,000 people who have been deprived of their constitutional rights and remain stateless in their own country. (ANI) President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday tweeted to express his grief over the tragic triple train accident in Odisha's Balasore, which claimed the lives of 275 passengers and left over a 1,000 injured. https://twitter.com/RTErdogan/status/1665397172370657282?s=20 "On behalf of myself and my nation, I offer my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the train accident in Odisha, India, as well to the people and the government of India. We wish a speedy recovery to the injured. We stand by India as it mourns the loss of lives in the tragic accident," Erdogan tweeted. Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also made a phone call to External Affairs Minister Jaishankar to express his grief over the loss of lives in the horrific triple train accident. Appreciating Blinken's words, the EAM said that such sentiments are deeply valued at this challenging time. "Thank @SecBlinken for the phone call expressing his support and sympathy on the Odisha railway accident. Such sentiments are deeply valued at this difficult time," tweeted Jaishankar. Earlier, Blinken tweeted, "We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the devastating train crash in the Indian state of Odisha. As we watch the heroic efforts of first responders and medical personnel, we stand with the people of India in this tragic moment." Meanwhile, on Sunday, newly elected Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu also took to Twitter to extend his condolences to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the families of the victims. "I send my deepest sympathy and condolences to His Excellency Prime Minister Narendra Modi @narendramodi, the people of India and the families of those trapped in the crash," Tinubu tweeted. (ANI) 16-year-old ambushed ex-girlfriend and new boyfriend at Tri-Cities park, police say A 16-year-old will face charges as an adult for a string of crimes that started with a kidnapping and shooting in Columbia Park and ended with a high-speed chase through Tri-Cities. Juan Carlos Sanchez of Kennewick is charged with first-degree assault and first-degree kidnapping for the May 28 confrontation with an ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend. The seriousness of the charges filed in Benton County Superior Court moved them automatically to adult court under Washington state law. Sanchez remains held in the Benton-Franklin Juvenile Detention Center in Kennewick in lieu of $250,000 bail. Court documents allege Sanchez was waiting for his 18-year-old ex-girlfriend and her new 23-year-old boyfriend in the park on that Sunday night. A witness reported seeing the couple walking from the river to a parking lot, when Sanchez got out of his car and attacked them, said the charging documents. The couple reported that Sanchez fired some shots at the boyfriend. When the girlfriend tried to stop Sanchez, he allegedly pistol whipped her. Then he reportedly grabbed her and threw her into his car. Witnesses said he got in and out of the car before firing more shots at the boyfriend, who was not seriously wounded but may have been struck by some bullet fragments or debris, said the documents. When Sanchez got back into the car, he allegedly hit and punched his ex-girlfriend, said witnesses. High speed chase An officer found Sanchezs car on Paul Parish Drive and signaled for him to stop at the intersection of Hartford Drive and West Columbia Drive. Sanchez sped away leading officers north into Pasco on Highway 395. Court documents said he continued east on Interstate 182 into Richland., turned around and heading west. After he got back on the interstate, he reached speeds of 100 to 120 mph, said police. And throughout the pursuit, he weaved through traffic and took several exits trying to throw off the pursing officers. Eventually, a Benton County sheriff;s deputy forced Sanchezs car to stop on Jadwin Avenue. Sanchez allegedly ran from the car and tried to climb a fence, but was stopped by officers before he could get away, said police. The former girlfriend got out of the car and was sobbing hysterically, documents said. She told officers that she repeatedly asked Sanchez to stop but he wouldnt. After deputies forced the car to stop, she grabbed the gun and hid it underneath the passenger seat. Police found a 9mm Glock handgun in Sanchezs car and several 9mm shell casings at the scene of the shooting. About 40 occupiers abandon their positions in Svatove General Staff Approximately 40 Russian servicemen abandoned their positions in Svatove, Luhansk Oblast, on 2 June. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook Quote: "About 40 servicemen of the Russian occupation forces deserted in Svatove, Luhansk Oblast, on 2 June and left their combat positions without permission." Details: The General Staff has reported that two helicopters and a unit of the Russian National Guard were involved in searching for the deserters. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Dr. Caitlin Bernard, a reproductive healthcare provider, speaks during an abortion rights rally in June 2022 at the Indiana State Capitol in Indianapolis. (Jenna Watson / Indianapolis Star via AP) The first physician to publicly fall victim to the antiabortion madness that has followed the overturning of Roe vs. Wade was vindicated last month when Indiana medical officials ruled that she did not fail to report child abuse and was not unfit to practice medicine after providing abortion care to a 10-year-old and telling a reporter about it. Ludicrously, though, the state medical board fined Dr. Caitlin Bernard $3,000 for violating her unnamed patients privacy rights. The board members' ruling, as its been reported, didnt make clear exactly what protected information she had disclosed. I have been rooting hard for Bernard, an OB-GYN who works for Indiana University Health, ever since Republican Indiana Atty. Gen. Todd Rokita began a campaign of harassment against her. She is exactly the kind of thoughtful and courageous physician we need at a moment when womens reproductive rights are being trampled in statehouses around the country. Seeing clips of her wiping away tears and defending herself for nearly 15 hours in a hearing room is proof that we are now living in a dystopia where logic and proportion, to quote Grace Slick, have fallen sloppy dead. About a year ago, four days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion, Bernard was at an abortion rights rally, talking about the girls case with a colleague. A reporter for the Indianapolis Star who was working on a story about the effects of the Supreme Courts decision overheard her and asked her about it. Without divulging any information that compromised her patients confidentiality, Bernard said she had received a call from a child abuse doctor in Ohio, where abortion had suddenly become illegal after six weeks of pregnancy. A youngster who was three days over the limit needed abortion care. In a sane world, a state would not force a 10-year-old to bear a child after rape, or to cross state lines for help. Yet here we are. The Star story caught fire. Even President Biden decried the injustice. Conservatives went wild, accusing Bernard of making the story up. Another lie. Anyone surprised? brayed Ohio Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan in a tweet he later deleted. The Republican attorney general of Ohio flatly stated on Fox News that there was not a whisper anywhere of a 10-year-old being raped in his state. He was either lying or out of the loop. Two days later, the Columbus Dispatch reported that there had been an arrest and confession in the case. Also, it turns out, the child was 9 when she was raped. Rokitas blatantly unprofessional behavior continued to inflame the situation. He described Bernard to Fox News as this abortion activist acting as a doctor with a history of failing to report. In violation of state law, he publicly discussed his plan to investigate Bernard, which a judge said caused her irreparable harm. The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission launched an investigation into Rokita after the former dean of Indiana University's law school filed a complaint against him. If he can throw the entire weight of his office without consequence to attack Dr. Bernard, he can do so to target any private citizen with whom he disagrees, wrote Lauren Robel, the former dean. This is the opposite of the rule of law. Bernard, who has been threatened and harassed, has notified Rokita that she may sue him for defamation; she has until July 2024 to file a lawsuit. Rokita, for his part, behaved as if hed won a huge victory after the medical board hearing. Thanks to my amazing team, he tweeted, the abortion doctor got the maximum civil fine for violating three counts of privacy laws and received a public reprimand to go into a national database. Donna Shalala, the former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary who helped draft the federal HIPAA patient privacy law, told the Indianapolis Star that there was no way Bernard had disclosed enough information to identify her young patient. Theyre criminalizing the practice of medicine, she said, and theyre literally asking doctors in this country to do harm. The endgame of political cynics like Rokita is the complete banning of abortion in America, despite overwhelming public sentiment that it should be legal in most circumstances. I wish I could say a total ban is never going to happen, but Ive given up making predictions about the strength of our democracys guardrails or the Supreme Courts dedication to human rights. One thing we are able to predict with a high degree of confidence, though, is the number of people who will die if they are forced to bear children they dont want. It is incontrovertibly true that childbirth is far more dangerous to a womans health than abortion. This countrys maternal mortality rate is already shamefully high for a wealthy nation. An estimated 23.8 maternal deaths occur in the U.S. for every 100,000 births, almost three times more than in most peer nations. University of Colorado sociologist Amanda Stevenson predicted in a 2021 paper that if both maternal mortality rates and the number of pregnancies per year remained constant, a total abortion ban would raise the maternal mortality rate by about 21% in the overall population, and by about 33% among Black people. This is, of course, a sweeping hypothetical, but it makes sense. As Stevenson writes, The coming abortion bans, if totally successful in preventing people from getting wanted abortions, will increase maternal deaths simply because childbirth in the U.S. is much deadlier than induced abortion. Do antiabortion extremists understand the inherent cruelty of forcing a 10-year-old to give birth? If doctors like Caitlin Bernard are silenced, opponents will never face the awful truth of what the Supreme Court has wrought. @robinkabcarian This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr. celebrates his solo home run, while running the bases past Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Emmanuel Rivera during the sixth inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 3, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb) PHOENIX (AP) Ronald Acuna Jr. stole a base when no one was looking, hit a homer to the fans buying beer. Spencer Strider overpowered major league hitters by blowing fastballs past them. When the Atlanta Braves' two young stars are in the lineup, it's can't-miss viewing. Acuna hit a 464-foot home run, Strider struck out seven in six effective innings and the Braves beat the streaking Arizona Diamondbacks 5-2 on Saturday night. You feel like every day Spencer it's every five days you can't ask for a better seat in the house watching that every day, said Braves reliever Jesse Sanchez, who worked out of a big jam in the sixth inning. Scuffling at the plate lately, the Braves had 11 hits to end Arizona's six-game winning streak. Marcell Ozuna and Eddie Rosario had run-scoring singles against Rhyne Nelson (2-4) to help the Braves go up 3-0 through five innings. Atlanta scored another run on a double play in the sixth inning and Acuna followed by hitting his 12th homer onto the concourse behind the seats in left-center. You better not go get a beer or anything when hes coming up because you might miss something really good, Braves manager Brian Snitker said. Thats amazing to me, how ball comes off (his bat). Strider (6-2) allowed two runs and three hits with four walks. Raisel Iglesias worked around a single in the ninth for for his sixth save in seven chances. Chavez escaped a big jam after Strider left, allowing a run on hit by pitch after Arizona loaded the bases with one out in the sixth inning. He struck out Pavin Smith and Ketel Marte looking to end the inning. Evan Longoria hit a solo homer for Arizona, which was held to six hits. We were a slug away from getting right back in this game," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. We just couldn't get in synch offensively." Strider moved into Atlantas rotation a year ago in the desert and has dominated since. The flame-throwing right-hander returned to the desert leading the majors in strikeouts (106) and hit 100 strikeouts faster than any pitcher since 1863, eclipsing the mark in 61 innings. Strider was overpowering at times against the Diamondbacks, though worked through traffic in every inning. He managed to work out of it until Longoria left no wiggle room with a towering homer to left leading off the fifth inning. Strider was replaced by Chavez after giving up a leadoff single to Emmanuel Rivera in the seventh. A lot of octane in that fastball and he commands it, Lovullo said. He was very sharp on each edge of the plate. Nelson allowed three runs and six hits with four walks and no strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. He had some easy innings where it was moving in the right direction, but had he finished off some hitters and not let the at-bat linger, we could have pushed him a little further, Lovullo said. SPEEDY ACUNA The Diamondbacks forgot about one of baseball's best base stealers in the third inning. After hitting a double in the third inning, Acuna noticed Arizona third baseman Josh Rojas playing well off the bag. Acuna took off before Nelson had even taken a sign, easily beating Rojas to the bag for his 24th steal. He's got a good feel from when they've got their head down, that's for sure, Snitker said. Third basemen are playing so close to second these days it almost becomes a foot race between him and the third baseman. He's going go win that one. SCORING CHANGE Carroll's walk-off hit in Thursday's game against Colorado has been changed from a single to a double. The two-out double in the 6-5 win was the first walk-off hit of Carroll's career. TRAINER'S TABLE Braves: LHPs Max Fried and Dylan Lee have started throwing as they work toward returning. Fried has been out since May 6 with forearm tightness. Lee has been sidelined since May 19 with shoulder inflammation. UP NEXT Atlanta RHP Michael Soroka (0-1, 6.00 ERA) faces Arizona RHP Zac Gallen (7-2, 2.72) in Sunday's series finale. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Facts Know More Why did you want to go the super group path with DJ Edu? DJ Edu is not just one of the best and longest-serving DJs from Africa but he is by far one of the best DJs in the world. People dont know he is also a producer and A&R and weve been working together since 2017. He actually leaked Leg Over after selecting it as a single, and I thought it wasnt. So its a combination of experience and vibes. Africa is dancing to Amapiano though it doesn't yet have a breakout global superstar unlike Afrobeats, does it need one? Amapiano is a dance music genre, so its not just about the single superstar but also about DJs/ producers and the clubbing experience. House music and techno started in underground clubs and became the most popular music genres in the world for a long time without necessarily driven by one single superstar. It was only with the advent of the celebrity DJ and the re-branding of dance music as EDM where that changed. I think we should stop obsessing about breakout global blah blah blah, and just enjoy the music. There are lots of South African superstar DJs and producers already killing it, not just in South Africa but also around Africa and already playing shows everywhere, even in Asia. Has Afrobeats peaked? No way! I think its really on its own trajectory and we will see some amazing growth in the next three years. The Afrobeats sound of today is not the Afrobeats of 2015 or 2016. It keeps evolving. Should African artists sell their catalogs like their US/European counterparts have been doing recently? I love whats happening with catalog sales because it cements music IP [intellectual property] as a valid asset class. There is so much opportunity for music from the 50s, 60s, from all over Africa. Im even trying to buy catalogs. How are you thinking about integrating language learning AI into your music-making process? To be honest, I think it would be super cool to use AI to write the next ChopLife album. That would be sick! Im all about embracing new tech. What sector of tech investment are you most excited about in terms of its impact in African markets? Through my VC fund, Zagadat Capital, I recently invested in Decagon, a company that trains engineers in Nigeria and pairs them with jobs worldwide. You have over 10 million smart, young Africans getting out of university each year in need of jobs. And, as such, Africa has the prospect to become the highest net exporter of technology talent. What non-music TikTok are you addicted to? Food! You know how many recipes you can find on TikTok?! Air defence shoots down four out of six Russian cruise missiles The Air Force of Ukraine has reported shooting down four cruise missiles and three Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones on the night of 3-4 June. Source: Air Force of Ukraine Details: The Russians launched five Iranian-made Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs from Bryansk Oblast, as well as six Kh-101/Kh-555 air-launched cruise missiles from six Tu-95MS strategic bombers from the Caspian Sea region between 01:00 and 04:00. Air defence forces destroyed four cruise missiles and three attack drones. Background: Earlier, Kyiv City Military Administration reported that overnight, air defence forces destroyed all Russian air targets that tried to attack Kyiv. However, they did not specify the number and type of targets downed. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! KYIV (Reuters) -Russia launched a fresh wave of air strikes against Ukraine early on Sunday, striking an airfield in a central region but failing to hit the capital Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities said. Air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told local television that four of six cruise missiles had been shot down by air defences but that two had struck an "operational airfield" near the central city of Kropyvnytskyi. He added that two of the five Iranian-made drones launched by Russia had struck infrastructure in the northern Sumy region. Kyiv officials said air defences had downed all projectiles that had been aimed at the capital before they reached the city. Separately, a 2-year-old girl was killed and 22 people were wounded in an earlier Russian missile strike on Sunday near the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the regional governor said. Russia has stepped up regular attacks on Kyiv since May, especially at night, in what officials say is an attempt to damage morale ahead of a long-expected Ukrainian counteroffensive to reclaim Russian-occupied territory. "For the second night in a row, Kyivans are not hearing the sounds of explosions overhead," Serhiy Popko, head of the local military administration, said on Telegram. Reuters could not independently verify the claim, but witnesses reported hearing several blasts in the Kyiv region. All of Ukraine was under air-raid alerts for nearly three hours. (Reporting by Gleb Garanich and Dan Peleschuk in Kyiv and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Daniel Wallis, William Mallard and Nick Macfie) An air-raid warning was issued throughout Ukraine on the night of 3-4 June, and air defence systems were activated. Source: an air-raid warning map Details: The air-raid warning was issued in the capital at 01:48. It was first issued in the eastern, northern, southern and central regions of Ukraine, and later in the western regions. Update from 02:30: Currently, only 4 western regions Zakarpattia, Lviv, Volyn and Rivne oblasts do not have the air-raid warning issued. Update from 02:50: The air-raid warning was issued throughout Ukraine. Update from 03:03: The Kyiv Oblast Military Administration reported a high threat of a Russian air attack and that air defence forces were already activated in the oblast. "Do not ignore the air-raid warning and stay in shelters until an all-clear is given, and also remember about the ban on recording videos or taking photos of our defenders operating," Kyiv Oblast Military Administration stated. Update from 03:22: Ihor Taburets, Head of Cherkasy Oblast Military Administration, reported that there was a high threat for the Uman district. Update from 03:55: "Odesa Oblast: the situation is under control. At the moment, everything is 4.5.0 [Ukrainian military code for "everything is okay" ed.]. However, the air-raid warning is still on. Stay in safe places," Serhii Bratchuk, the head of the public council at Odesa Oblast Military Administration, posted on Telegram. Update from 05:02: The all-clear was given everywhere in Ukraine, apart from Sumy Oblast. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Winner Alex Palou, center, celebrates with second-place finisher Will Power, left, and third-place finisher Felix Rosenqvist , right, after the IndyCar Detroit Grand Prix auto race in Detroit, Sunday, June 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) DETROIT (AP) Alex Palou went from critic to champion in a day. He started and finished first in the Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday, roughly 24 hours after the IndyCar points leader said the street course was too tight and short for the series. It was a lot better than I expected," said Palou, who won his second race in less than a month and the sixth of his caeer. The Spaniard, who won the Indianapolis Grand Prix, led 74 of 100 laps on Detroit's new street circuit and went ahead for the last time on lap 77. He stayed in front after Will Power made a move that didn't pan out as he made contact with Scott Dixon on lap 91. I couldnt get him, said Dixon, a Team Penske driver. I tried everything. My one chance was when Dixon got into me. After a seventh yellow flag, Palou pulled away in his Honda with five laps left and beat Power's Chevrolet by 1.1843 seconds. Flex Rosenqvist finished third, followed by Scott Dixon and Alexander Rossi. Indianapolis 500 champion Josef Newgarden finished 10th in the 27-car field. The race got off to a rough start. It was waved off because there wasn't enough space between cars. When the race resumed on the second lap going into Turn 3, Callum Ilott damaged Kyle Kirkwood's wing by running into him in the middle of the pack. Palou said his plan was to stay in front with clean air ahead of the chaos as much as possible. It worked out well. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver led the race from the start until pitting on lap 29 and allowing Power to pull into the lead. When Power pulled into the split pit five laps later, Pato OWard had a lead that didn't last long. Just after leaving a pit stop, his Honda stalled due to a mechanical issue and his Chip Ganassi Racing crew had to push him back to address the problem. Trying to make up ground, OWard made an aggressive move to get inside Santino Ferrucci and ran into a barrier wall ending his day 41 laps into the 100-lap race. Palou, meanwhile, was fast and steady enough to lead the race for most of the afternoon. While he complained about the short, tight and bumpy circuit, fans seemed to enjoy the day above the fray and some watched for free. More than half of the race track was accessible without an admission charge and some had a view from boats and jet skis on the Detroit River that separates the U.S. from Canada. The Detroit Grand Prix returned downtown for the first time since 1991, when it was held on a 2.5-mile course in the same area, after running up the river at Belle Isle. Detroit did a tremendous job, Palou said. The fans were amazing. YEAH, BOY! Flavor Flav, a founding member of Public Enemy, was at the track during the weekend and Power's friends were impressed by his photos with the hip hop artist. Its pretty cool to put on your personal Facebook, Power said. WHO'S HOT Palou has won two of the last three races and two straight poles. We'll try and keep the wave rolling if we can, he said coming off the first IndyCar street course victory of his career. Its a great moment for us. WHO'S NOT Romain Grosjean, an Andretti Autosport driver, started third and finished 24th in Detroit and lamented a suspension failure in a Twitter post. Guess the track wasnt made for our car, he wrote in the post. Grosjean finished 30th the previous week in Indianapolis. UP NEXT Coming off the Indy 500 and Detroit Grand Prix in consecutive weeks, the series gives its drivers and teams a much-needed break before racing June 18 in Wisconsin at Road America. ___ AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Anti-Kremlin militia claims to have yet another incursion in Belgorod Oblast, seeks meeting with local governor Governor of Russia's Belgorod Oblast Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed on June 4 that he was ready to meet the Russian anti-Kremlin militia behind the latest incursion in Belgorod Oblast. Gladkov's comments come in response to a statement by the Russian Volunteer Corps, one of the Russian militia groups fighting on Ukraine's side. On the morning of June 4, the group claimed that it entered Russia's Belgorod Oblast and is fighting near the city of Shchebekino. Later, they published a video addressing the governor of Belgorod Oblast. In it, they claimed that "as a gesture of goodwill," they are ready to give Gladkov the Russian soldiers they had allegedly captured in Belgorod Oblast, "for the opportunity to talk with him to discuss the current situation in the region and the future of Russia." "Therefore, we invite you to a dialogue in the church in Novaya Tavolzhanka. Arrive in an ambulance in person, accompanied by a driver, unarmed," Russian Volunteer Corps wrote on Telegram. Novaya Tavolzhanka is a village in Russia's Belgorod Oblast, next to the Ukrainian border. According to Gladkov, there has been an incursion in Novaya Tavolzhanka, presumably by the Russian Volunteer Corps, and the fighting was ongoing when he made his comments on the afternoon of June 4. He didn't agree to come to the village, and suggested that he can meet with the militia "from 5 to 6 p.m. in the city of Shchebekino" and only if the captured Russian soldiers were still alive. As this story was published, it's been already past 6 p.m. in Belgorod Oblast, and there's been no indication of any meeting. Belgorod Oblast, which borders Ukraine, recently saw extensive fighting as Russian militia groups that claim to fight alongside Ukraine conducted a successful incursion in the oblasts territory. On May 22, the Russian Volunteer Corps and another similar group the Free Russia Legion claimed they had crossed into Russia's Belgorod region and taken hold of border villages. This Week in Ukraine Ep. 9 What actually happened near Belgorod? Episode #9 of our weekly video podcast This Week in Ukraine is dedicated to the incursion into Belgorod Oblast in Russia by Russian volunteer units fighting on the side of Ukraine. Host Anastasiia Lapatine is joined by the Kyiv Independent senior editor Oleksiy Sorokin. Listen to the audio versi The Kyiv IndependentAnastasiia Lapatina Russian authorities announced a "counter-terrorist operation" and evacuated residents from settlements near the Russian-Ukrainian border. The Russian Defense Ministry said they had defeated what they called "Ukrainian formations," claiming to have "killed 70 combatants" and destroyed four armored combat vehicles and five trucks. However, the Russian Volunteer Corps denied these claims. According to the group, its members wear MultiCam patterns, not the pixelated camouflage shown in the photo posted by Russian authorities. Later, on June 1, the group reported another raid on Russian territory. Apple CEO Tim Cook poses for photos in front of the company's new Apple Vision Pro headsets in a showroom on the Apple campus Monday, June 5, 2023, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) Apple on Monday unveiled a long-rumored headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter's ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public's imagination. After years of speculation, Apple CEO Tim Cook hailed the arrival of the sleek goggles dubbed "Vision Pro" at the the company's annual developers conference held on a park-like campus in Cupertino, California, that Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs helped design. The device will be capable to toggling between virtual reality, or VR, and augmented reality, or AR, which projects digital imagery while users still see can see objects in the real world. This marks the beginning of a journey that will bring a new dimension to powerful personal technology," Cook told the crowd. Although Apple executives provided an extensive preview of the headset's capabilities during the final half hour of Monday's event, consumers will have to wait before they can get their hands on the device and prepare to pay a hefty price to boot. Vision Pro will sell for $3,500 once it's released in stores early next year. It's an impressive piece of technology, but it was almost like a tease, said Gartner analyst Tuong Nguyen. It looked like the beginning of a very long journey." Instead of merely positioning the goggles as another vehicle for exploring virtual worlds or watching more immersive entertainment, Apple framed the Vision Pro as the equivalent of owning a ultrahigh-definition TV, surround-sound system, high-end camera, and state-of-the art camera bundled into a single piece of hardware. We believe it is a stretch, even for Apple, to assume consumers would pay a similar amount for an AR/VR headset as they would for a combination of those products, D.A. Davidson Tom Forte wrote in a Monday research note. Despite such skepticism, the headset could become another milestone in Apples lore of releasing game-changing technology, even though the company hasnt always been the first to try its hand at making a particular device. Apple's lineage of breakthroughs date back to a bow-tied Jobs peddling the first Mac in 1984 a tradition that continued with the iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007, the iPad in 2010, the Apple Watch in 2014 and its AirPods in 2016. The company emphasized that it drew upon its past decades of product design during the years it spent working on the Vision Pro, which Apple said involved more than 5,000 different patents. The headset will be equipped with 12 cameras, six microphones and variety of sensors that will allow users to control it and various apps with just their eyes and hand gestures. Apple said the experience won't cause the recurring nausea and headaches that similar devices have in the past. The company also developed a technology to create three-dimensional digital version of each user to display during video conferencing. Although Vision Pro won't require physical controllers that can be clunky to use, the goggles will have to either be plugged into a power outlet or a portable battery tethered to the headset a factor that could make it less attractive for some users. Theyve worked hard to make this headset as integrated into the real world as current technology allows, but its still a headset, said Insider Intelligence analyst Yory Wurmser, who nevertheless described the unveiling as a fairly mind-blowing presentation. Even so, analysts are not expecting the Vision Pro to be a big hit right away. That's largely because of the hefty price, but also because most people still can't see a compelling reason to wear something wrapped around their face for an extended period of time. If the Vision Pro turns out to be a niche product, it would leave Apple in the same bind as other major tech companies and startups that have tried selling headsets or glasses equipped with technology that either thrusts people into artificial worlds or projects digital images onto scenery and things that are actually in front of them a format known as augmented reality. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been describing these alternate three-dimensional realities as the metaverse. It's a geeky concept that he tried to push into the mainstream by changing the name of his social networking company to Meta Platforms in 2021 and then pouring billions of dollars into improving the virtual technology. But the metaverse largely remains a digital ghost town, although Meta's virtual reality headset, the Quest, remains the top-selling device in a category that so far has mostly appealed to video game players looking for even more immersive experiences. Cook and other Apple executives avoided referring to the metaverse in their presentations, describing the Vision Pro as the company's first leap into spatial computing instead. The response to virtual, augmented and mixed reality has been decidedly ho-hum so far. Some of the gadgets deploying the technology have even been derisively mocked, with the most notable example being Google's internet-connected glasses released more than a decade ago. Microsoft also has had limited success with HoloLens, a mixed-reality headset released in 2016, although the software maker earlier this year insisted it remains committed to the technology. Magic Leap, a startup that stirred excitement with previews of a mixed-reality technology that could conjure the spectacle of a whale breaching through a gymnasium floor, had so much trouble marketing its first headset to consumers in 2018 that it has since shifted its focus to industrial, health care and emergency uses. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives estimated Apple will sell just 150,000 of the headsets during its first year on the market before escalating to 1 million headsets sold during the second year a volume that would make the goggles a mere speck in the company's portfolio. By comparison, Apple sells more than 200 million of its marquee iPhones a year. But the iPhone wasn't an immediate sensation, with sales of fewer than 12 million units in its first full year on the market. For those desiring to sell their home quickly, whether due to downsizing, a job transfer, death of a loved one, illness, facing foreclosure, or they just dont want to go through a traditional selling process, there is a very easy way with Archway Homes. Archway Homes, owned by husband and wife team Jon and Stacy Bichelmeyer, buys houses As Is in any condition: houses needing little to no repair, houses needing everything repaired from leaking roofs to bad foundations, cluttered houses, or those in need of cosmetic updating. They do so by providing a no-obligation offer within 24 hours, can pay cash and close within three days or on a future date of the sellers choice, and there are no fees or commissions to pay. The ability to sell quickly, in lieu of the traditional, lengthy home selling process, to an established and reputable company has been the perfect solution for numerous homeowners all over the Kansas City area. For many homeowners, the Bichelmeyers close ties to the community stood out as being very important. A third-generation real estate investor with roots in the Kansas City community for over 40 years, his extensive experience really makes a difference. Ive been buying houses, fixing them up and selling to homeowners in the metro area for over 20 years. We even wrote the book on it. Literally! Home to Home Local Edition Kansas City Metro outlines the steps homeowners can take to sell their home and our experiences helping people do just that, Jon said. Jon said, Not all the other companies are as personally invested here as I am. My sellers know that Ive been investing in our community my entire adult life and I continue to do so. I stand by my word. No one deal is more important than my name and reputation. We work hard to make sure its a win-win for both parties. Dan P. recently worked with Jon to sell his mothers home in South Kansas City. The house was dated and needed some repairs in order to sell. Dan and his family contacted four direct-buy companies but decided to go with Archway. Some of the other companies sent a salesman to meet with me, but with Jon, I was meeting with the owner of the company. He was very hands-on. Jons offer was reasonable, and I felt comfortable that Archway had the assets to complete the deal, Dan said. The process was smooth and completed quickly. I would definitely recommend Archway to others who need to sell a house quickly. Jon has also had sellers contact him after they signed a contract with another company, but the other cash buyer has failed to close for whatever reason. He offered a few tips when considering selling your home to an investor: Be sure you know who you are working with Check out how long they have been in business Check them out with the Better Business Bureau Look for testimonials from past clients Archway has purchased homes in all sorts of situations. Sometimes the properties need extensive repairs. Archway Homes will buy the home and make the needed repairs, relieving the sellers of the hassle and expense. We are committed to working with sellers, even in difficult situations, to find a solution for all, Stacy said. Archway Homes features a no-obligation offer process. The first step is to call the office at 913-599-5000 to schedule an appointment. Jon will then walk through the home and can provide an offer price within 24 hours. Archway Homes can pay cash and close in as fast as three days. However, some sellers need the opposite approach, needing a delayed closing several months away. They may need time to find their next home, or they are building a home and need time for it to be completed. Coordinating closing schedules in a traditional sale can be challenging. Archway Homes sets a closing date that will meet the sellers needs. Jon wants sellers to know that there are three main advantages to working with Archway Homes: We purchase homes as-is, without formal inspections, appraisals, or surveys. We buy houses for ourselves. We dont buy for other people, so we personally purchase every house. Our over 20 years of experience and relationships guarantee that the selling process is smooth and stress-free. We love helping sellers, Stacy said. The ease of selling to us can make a difficult time of transition worry-free. Anyone who wants to sell a home quickly for cash should call Jon Bichelmeyer at 913-599-5000 or email him at jon@archwayhomesinc.com. Or they can visit Archway Homes website at archwaypropertieskc.com to fill out an online form or to get a free copy of our book Home to Home Local Edition Kansas City Metro, Kansas and Missouri, call our office. Archway Homes Location: 15301 W. 87th St. Parkway, Suite B35 in the UMB Bank building Contact: Jon Bichelmeyer at 913-599-5000 or jon@archwayhomesinc.com Website: archwaypropertieskc.com Argument over a beer leaves one man dead and another jailed, SC police say A South Carolina man is dead, and another is behind bars following a fatal stabbing during an argument over a beer, the Newberry County Sheriffs Office said. Derrell Levon Long, a 31-year-old Prosperity resident, was killed Wednesday, Newberry County Coroner Laura Kneece said. The stabbing happened at about 8:45 p.m. at a residence on Langford Street in Prosperity, according to Kneece. Witnesses said that Long and 67-year-old Newberry resident Ollie Lindler were arguing over a beer being consumed by Lindler, according to the sheriffs office. The men got involved in an altercation that led to the stabbing, the sheriffs office said. Long was found unresponsive in the front yard and died at the scene. Lindler was later arrested without incident, according to the sheriffs office. No other injuries were reported. Lindler was charged with murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, jail records show. Bond was denied on the murder charge, and Lindler remains jailed at the Newberry County Detention Center, according to jail records. Despite the arrest, the stabbing remains under investigation by the coroners office, sheriffs office, and Prosperity Police Department. How to get arrested in Russia? Just wear blue and yellow Russian security forces believe that the public display of blue and yellow items is prohibited For this reason, a nursing home employee was arrested on May 9 because of a blue and yellow jacket he wore. Read also: Russia arrests hypersonic missile engineers Ironically, a 22-year-old man from Volkhov, near St. Petersburg, was recently arrested after showing the blue and yellow flag of the Russian Aerospace Forces. "The clampdown highlights uncertainty within paranoid Russian officials of what is and is not deemed permissible within an increasingly totalitarian system," the intelligence wrote. Read also: Ukraine excelling in the use of UK-made Storm Shadow long-range missiles In a somewhat surprising move, the ultra-nationalist, pro-war Liberal Democratic party criticized these detentions, though this likely has to do with the partys colors being blue and yellow. 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 Top legislator of Vietnam meets with visiting Australian PM Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Vuong Dinh Hue met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is on an official visit to Vietnam, in Hanoi on June 4. NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (R) welcomes Australian PM Anthony Albanese in Hanoi on June 4 (Photo: VNA) The two leaders voiced their delight that Vietnam and Australia have built strategic trust and close cooperation in multiple spheres over the 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations. They shared the belief that bilateral ties will be elevated to a new level soon. Chairman Hue shared his guests view that there remains much room for the two countries to enhance cooperation, noting on the basis of free trade agreements, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), they can bolster trade and investment ties. He suggested that aside from maintaining existing supply chains, the countries should create new ones to diversify their markets. The Vietnamese parliament supports the two countries to strengthen trade and investment partnerships and hopes that more Australian investors will come to operate in Vietnam, he remarked. PM Albanese welcomed his hosts recommendations for the two sides to hold more workshops, meetings, and events to share experience in adapting to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and to increase exchanges to boost mutual understanding between the countries legislators and parliaments. He said that in his position, he will help promote locality-to-locality ties so that both sides can record even better results. Albanese went on to say that RMIT University has announced the next phase of its investment in education, research, and cooperation in Vietnam, including a strategic investment fund worth 250 million AUD (165.5 million USD). Vietnam is the fifth biggest source of foreign students in Australia, which in turn is the second largest destination of Vietnamese students, he noted, adding that RMIT University is a role model of their education - training cooperation, and he hopes bilateral ties in this regard will grow more strongly in the future. Applauding the collaboration in education and training, the top legislator of Vietnam said during his official visit to Australia last December, universities of both countries signed 12 cooperation agreements. He also welcomed RMIT Universitys expansion of investment and cooperation in Vietnam. Besides, Hue highlighted the opening of the Vietnam - Australia Centre at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, perceiving that it will help improve Vietnamese officials capacity. He also thanked the Australian Government for sponsoring a training course on climate change and energy for Vietnamese NA deputies and cadres of the NA Office. The Chairman took this occasion to thank and ask the Australian Government and PM to continue creating conditions for the Vietnamese community to integrate into the local society, and contribute more to the countrys socio-economic development as well as bilateral relations. Vietnam always attaches importance to and highly values Australias role in the region and the world, he stressed, calling on Australia to keep advocating ASEAN and Vietnams stance on the East Sea issue. At the meeting, PM Albanese also affirmed that he will promote the sending of an Australian parliamentarians delegation to the ninth Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians, scheduled to take place in Hanoi this September. FILE PHOTO: Test tubes are seen in front of a displayed AstraZeneca logo in this illustration By Natalie Grover LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca's lung cancer therapy, Tagrisso, cut the risk of death by more than half in patients with a certain form of lung cancer who were diagnosed early enough to have their tumour surgically removed, trial data showed. Tagrisso is already the crown jewel in the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker's portfolio, raking in $5.4 billion last year. The drug has regulatory approvals across multiple geographies for certain patients with so-called non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have a mutation of the EGFR gene. The latest data, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting, establishes Tagrisso as the backbone treatment for EGFR-mutated lung cancer, said Susan Galbraith, executive VP of oncology R&D at AstraZeneca in a statement. In a 682-patient trial called ADAURA, Tagrisso was evaluated against a placebo in earlier-stage EGFR-mutated NSCLC patients who had undergone surgery to remove their primary tumour. The majority of such patients eventually see their cancer return despite surgery and add-on chemotherapy. In the trial, Tagrisso or a placebo was given to patients to assess whether the AstraZeneca therapy could keep their cancer at bay. Data showed Tagrisso slashed the risk of death by 51% compared to placebo. "This is a pretty dramatic and remarkable improvement," said Dave Fredrickson, executive vice president of oncology at AstraZeneca in an interview with Reuters. An estimated 88% of patients treated with Tagrisso were alive at five years compared to 78% on placebo, trial data also showed. Outside of chemotherapy, there are no drugs apart from Tagrisso that have shown to help patients with EGFR-mutated lung cancer live longer, Fredrickson highlighted, adding that there are probably a third of eligible patients who are not yet being prescribed Tagrisso. "We would hope that we would be able to use these data to be able to close that gap," he said. AstraZeneca is also expecting to provide details on the impact of combining Tagrisso with chemotherapy in patients with advanced EGFR-mutated lung cancer later this year. (Reporting by Natalie Grover in London; Editing by Angus MacSwan) The body of a 2-year-old child was recovered from the rubble of a house in Pidhorodne hromada in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on the night of 3-4 June, bringing the number of casualties in the Russian missile attack to 22, including 5 children [hromada is an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories ed.]. Source: Serhii Lysak, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram Quote: "At night, the body of a girl was recovered from the rubble of a house in Pidhorodne hromada. She had just turned 2 years old. Our sincere condolences to the family..." Details: Lysak also reported that the number of casualties from the Russian missile attack had increased to 22, including 5 children. It was reported earlier that 20 people had been reported injured, and 17 of them were taken to hospital. Lysak has said that the two two-storey residential buildings between which the Russian missile hit were partially destroyed, and 10 private houses, a car, a shop, and gas pipelines were also damaged. Background: The Russians struck Pidhorodne hromada near the city of Dnipro on the evening of 3 June. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that Russia has once again proved that it was a terrorist country, and Russians would be held accountable for everything they committed against Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Australian troops parade - Aaron Favila/AP Under the glittering chandeliers of the hotel ballroom, the Australian prime ministers warning was clear: a breakdown in communications between the United States and China could be disastrous. Speaking to the worlds defence chiefs in Singapore at the Shangri-La summit this weekend, Anthony Albanese warned the consequences of such a breakdown whether in the Taiwan Strait or elsewhere would not be confined to the big powers or the site of their conflict; they would be devastating for the world. Mr Albanese was given top billing at the summit, evidence that his country has emerged as a major player in a region facing numerous potential conflict flashpoints. For decades, Australia felt reassured that its geographical remoteness and the limited ability of neighbours to project power offered a 10-year window to prepare for any conflict. But the rise of a muscular China under President Xi Jinping and advances in long-range missile technology have destroyed those assumptions. Coupled with North Koreas nuclear ambitions, a loss of warning time is driving Australias fundamental rethink of how to prioritise billions in defence spending to best protect itself and be ready to assist allies if called upon. Australia wants to be a force for dialogue, Mr Albanese said before sitting down for a meal of scallops and chicken ballotine in the somewhat awkward seat between Lloyd Austin, the US secretary of defence, and General Li Shangfu, his Chinese counterpart. Moments earlier, the two defence chiefs had shared a handshake and a polite smile, but a US invitation to more substantive talks was declined by the Chinese an unwillingness Mr Austin said left him deeply concerned. Against the backdrop of tense relations between Beijing and Washington, Australia has launched the most significant overhaul of its military since the Second World War to deter an increasingly assertive China. The Defence Security Review, an overhaul of military preparedness to counter new threats, followed the 194 billion AUKUS deal with the US and UK to build and acquire up to eight nuclear-powered submarines described by Mr Albanese as the single biggest leap in Australias defence capability in our history. The review shifts Canberras emphasis on national security towards long-range strike capabilities and building weapons at home. It stresses accelerated acquisition of long-range strike missiles and manufacturing munitions domestically, while pushing ahead with upgrades for F-35A Joint Strike Fighter and Super Hornet aircraft to operate a suite of maritime strike weapons. The 2023-24 defence budget, which exceeded A$50 billion (26.3 billion) for the first time, allocates A$12.3 billion on new equipment, including A$1.2 billion for US precision-guided munitions. Australia aims to fast-track the acquisition of 20 of the Himars rocket artillery systems that have proven so effective in Ukraine, to increase the militarys strike range up to 300km. But the shuffling priorities have triggered debate over whether costly off-the-shelf foreign purchases are trumping indigenous production, and whether the Australian Defence Force, already struggling to recruit, is being underfunded. Experts question whether the security review goals can be met without a more significant budget increase. However, AUKUS, a core priority in Canberras plan to defend Australia further from its shores, is forging ahead. The plan to build submarines based on a British-led design has reset defence ties between the UK and Australia, said Euan Graham, a senior fellow for Asia-Pacific security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies think-tank. The UKs leading role had elevated it again to a primary European partner for the Australians and dispelled the notion it was a handmaiden to America, added Mr Graham. The planned forward deployment of a UK Astute-class submarine on a rotation with four US Virginia-class submarines to western Australia from 2027 was a gamechanger and genuine strategic change, he said, adding: The UK has delivered. He added: The defence strategic review says Australia must engage with the UK at a closer level in the Indo-Pacific. That word must is there and quite significant. It is not a nice to have, its seen now as an important partnership in its own right. Australia has been forced to take a 360 degree view of possible crises in its own backyard, said Bec Shrimpton, director of defence strategy and national security at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Taiwan is the nightmare scenario that everybody knows is out there, she said of the risk that China may try to occupy the democratic island of Taiwan, drawing the world into war. But the danger of conflict could rise from multiple horizons, she warned particularly from miscalculations or accidents in a more heated environment where Beijing is assertively pushing its sovereignty claims and military activity on all sides is spiking. China is also increasingly asserting its influence among Pacific Island countries, leading Australia, Britain and the US to step up their diplomatic efforts. Beijings growing clout in the Pacific was made clear when it signed a security agreement with the Solomon Islands, setting off alarm bells in Canberra that the deal could lead to a Chinese naval base being built. Australia also protested last year after a Chinese J-16 fighter jet cut across the nose of an Australian P-8A Poseidon aircraft patrolling international airspace over the South China Sea. In a similar incident last month, a J-16 flew perilously close to a US Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane. It was another troubling case of aggressive and unprofessional flying, the US defence secretary told delegates in Singapore. These were the kind of acts that can escalate and spiral really quickly, said Ms Shrimpton. North Koreas nuclear weapons ambitions and the threat of it collapsing, added to an explosive mix, she said. We have really got the whole menu, starting right at our doorstep. 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. Red brick and fronted by stately white columns, a 110-year-old Kansas City mansion put up for sale by its owners for possible demolition has been saved from destruction, at least temporarily. For several months, residents in the Southmoreland neighborhood near the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art have been at odds with the absentee owners of the house at 4526 Warwick Blvd. ever since it was placed up for sale (original asking price $2.5 million, now $1.9 million ) and a sign was posted saying the plot might be available for possible high rise development. At 7,400-square-feet, the Classical Revival home was constructed in 1913 for George B. Richards, the wealthy owner of the Richards & Conover Hardware Co. But for the last 62 years, its been owned by the family of Matthew and Stephen Vawter, brothers who inherited the home after the death of their mother, Susie Vawter, in February 2020. The grand center staircase of the home built in 1913 for George B. Richards of the Richards & Conover Hardware Co. Neither of the Vawter brothers live in the house, which is unoccupied. Claiming they were unable to sell the home for the price they wanted, the brothers insist that they should be free to demolish the structure as they see fit and and sell the land for a different purpose, such as a high rise. The 12-story Oak Hall apartments are only a few parcels away. Multiple apartment complexes, and the Kansas City Art Institute, sit south and north of of the Warwick home. It is, in fact, the only single-family residence left on the block. But fear that the acre-sized lot could be rezoned, and a beautiful house replaced by a high-rise, prompted members of the Southmoreland Neighborhood Association in April to apply for the home to be placed on the Kansas City Register of Historic Places. That application process alone prevents demolition for at least six months. On May 26, the Kansas City Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously to place the house on the register for its architectural qualities. Their recommendation will next go before the City Plan Commission, possibly this month, and the City Council following that. Ornamental plaster ceilings in the home at 4526 Warwick Blvd. across from Southmoreland Park. If the City Council votes to place the home on the register, the owners will be prevented from making any changes to the exterior of the house for at least three years without an approved certificate of appropriateness. That includes demolition. The designation, however, does not prevent the owners from changing the interior, or removing or selling fixtures, molding or mantelpieces or, for that matter, gutting it. Neighbors welcomed the commissions decision as a first step in possibly saving the house. Its the outcome we hoped for, but we know we still have a few milestones ahead, said Laura Burkhalter, president of the Southmoreland Neighborhood Association. Burkhalter, at the commission hearing, made the case that giving the home a historic designation for its architecture might improve its chance for sale as a single-family residence. If not for a single family, it might nonetheless be kept intact for a different purpose. A home next door was renovated and turned into the art institutes Jannes Library & Learning Center. She and other Kansas City preservationists, however, worry that if the house is gutted and not maintained, it would be less likely to be sold and more likely, eventually, to be torn down. Unpainted plywood planks currently cover the first floor windows and doors. If the owners really truly want to sell it, and truly want to preserve it, it would be in their interest to leave the interior, Burkhalter said. Whitney Kerr Sr., a Kansas City real estate broker and developer, and president of the firm Cushman & Wakefield, also spoke to the commission hearing. Integral to developing numerous projects such Corporate Woods in Johnson County, Kerrs company is selling the Warwick house for the family. He noted that he had spent decades advancing historic preservation, including helping save Union Station from demolition before it was ultimately restored. There is no dispute that this is a beautiful property, Kerr told the commission. But the problem is that you cannot save every property, because they lack functional utility, or nobody wants them. Sometimes the land is so much more valuable than the old structure that is on it. Kerr said the Warwick home is exactly like that. The house is 110 years old and needs significant electrical, plumbing, heating, cooling and other repairs. This historic neighborhood is gone. When I say the historic neighborhood, Im talking about the absolutely magnificent showplace houses that surrounded the Vawter property, Kerr told the commission. The one thing we have no dispute about is that it is a beautiful old house, but to say it is surrounded by a single family neighborhood that is not true. The Vawters, he said, were the last single-family residents on their block. The house is just too big and needs too much work, Steve Vawter testified. How does this historic designation benefit us as owners or sellers? Tell me that, please. I passionately oppose historic designation of this old house. Decorative molding in the home at 4526 Warwick Blvd. Owners are selling the property for possible high rise development. Neighbors want the 7,400-square-foot house designated historic and saved from feared demolition. Matthew Vawter, speaking by Zoom from Colorado, said the neighborhoods so-called love for the house and the application for historic registration have created publicity and unintended consequences that left the home open to vandals, who have ripped copper pipe from the walls, and reduced its value. I must tell this committee, it is hard not to feel victimized by this process, he said. Instead of creating an incentive to pour money into the house to maintain or fix it up, he said, the historic designation will, in all likelihood, force us to literally do nothing as the house sits idle. and will likely result in a further cycle of decay and deterioration, theft and vandalism. On its current trajectory, it is likely to become blighted. He said they want to demolish it now so it doesnt become an eyesore for the neighborhood. Jackson County has set the houses market value at $1.2 million. Zillow says it is worth $1.5 million. Kerr and the Vawters at first set the value of the property at $2.5 million, but have since dropped the sale price to $1.9 million. Although the property currently is not zoned for a high-rise, nearby properties are. Kerr has floated the idea that it could be used as part of a cultural arts complex just off of the future streetcar stop on Main Street and leading to the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, the art institute and the Nelson museum. Neither the art institute nor the Kemper, however, said they have any plan to buy the home or its property. When the property was placed for sale, Ryan Hiser and his partner, David Tran, offered to buy the home for $1.2 million, and to spend an additional $1 million to turn it into a boutique hotel. The partners currently own two boutique hotels in the neighborhood, the Truitt Hotel at 4320 Oak St. and The Aida Hotel KC, 206 E. 44th St. Their offer was declined. Belgium to address Ukraine in regards to alleged deployment of its weapons in Russian Belgorod Oblast The Belgian government will turn to Ukraine for clarification due to information suggesting that Belgian-made weapons were used by anti-Putin armed groups to raid Belgorod Oblast of the Russian Federation. Source: This was reported in the material by Het Laatste Nieuws, writes European Pravda According to a "reliable source" of the media outlet, Belgian Defence and Foreign Ministers Ludivine Dedonder and Hadja Lahbib will contact the Ukrainian authorities as soon as possible to get an explanation of the situation. Quote: "These supplies are intended for the Ukrainian armed forces to protect their territory and population from Russian invasion. This is clearly indicated in the documents accompanying each delivery," says the source to the HLN. "So these weapons are not intended for isolated groups with domestic Russian interests," it added. Earlier, The Washington Post, citing intelligence, reported that the fighters of the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion, which fight on the side of Ukraine and which invaded Belgorod Oblast at the end of May, used at least four tactical vehicles previously transferred to Ukraine by Western powers. These include MRAP-type armoured vehicles with enhanced anti-mine protection, as well as rifles manufactured by the Czech Republic and Belgium and at least one AT-4 anti-tank grenade launcher, which is often used by the US and generally Western military. The United States has repeatedly emphasised that it does not approve of the use of its weapons for military operations outside Ukraine. Ukrainian intelligence said that Western equipment of the Russian insurgents was a trophy from fighting with the troops of the regular Russian army. On 22 May, fighters of the so-called Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion invaded Russian Belgorod Oblast for the first time. Since then, these groups have raided Russian territory several times. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Vyacheslav Gladkov, Governor of Russias Belgorod Oblast, has said that he was prepared to meet with representatives of the Russian Volunteer Corps if the Russian army soldiers they captured are still alive. He has claimed, however, that fighting was ongoing in the town of Novaya Tavolzhanka where the RVC offered to meet. Source: Vyacheslav Gladkovs video address on Telegram Quote from Gladkov: "I saw the appeal made by the scoundrels, rogues, murderers and fascists who claim they want to meet with me and are offering to [trade ed.] a meeting [with Gladkov ed.] for the prisoners they took. In reality, a sabotage and reconnaissance group has entered Novaya Tavolzhanka, where fighting is currently underway. I hope all of them will be killed. It just cant be otherwise, by definition." Details: Governor Gladkov claimed that "those fascists" were responsible for daily civilian deaths in Belgorod Oblast. "The only thing thats stopping me from negotiating with them [it is likely that Gladkov meant "The only thing that is making me negotiate with them" ed.] is our guys they captured. Most likely, they were killed, though it is with a heavy heart that I say that. But if theyre still alive, [meet me] between 17:00 and 18:00 in Shebekino. I offer security guarantees," the governor said. Previously: The Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion said they had captured Russian soldiers in Belgorod Oblast and demanded a meeting with the local governor. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Bells on trees: Ukraine holds action in memory of children killed during war On 4 June, Ukraine commemorates the children who died as a result of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine. This was reported by the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine. The Bells campaign was initiated by First Lady Olena Zelenska. She called for hanging bells on trees to honour the memory of young Ukrainians. In Kyiv, the event was held in Darnytskyi district of the capital. This was reported by Kyiv City Military Administration. The Bells campaign. Photo: Kyiv City State Administration "Today we must honour the memory of all the innocent Ukrainian children who were killed. This event should become another powerful motivator for our struggle. For life, for the future of Ukraine!" said Serhii Popko, Head of Kyiv City Military Administration. The Ministry of Reintegration noted that the number of children killed by the aggressor country already exceeds the number of days during which the full-scale war has been going on. "All war crimes committed by the Russian Federation against Ukrainian children will be investigated as a crime of genocide," the ministry added. According to the Office of the Prosecutor General in Ukraine, as of 4 June, 485 children have been killed in 466 days of full-scale war. Adults and children are taking part in the campaign Russians are also deporting young Ukrainians. So far, there are reports about more than 20,000 children who have been illegally taken to their territories by the occupiers. The Russians are trying to hide this and cynically change the names and dates of birth of the deported children. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Jake Sullivan, US National Security Adviser, described the prospects for the upcoming counterattack of Ukraine as positive. Source: Sullivan said this on Sunday in an interview with CNN, reports European Pravda Details: According to Biden's adviser, the military actions of the Ukrainian forces will lead to them taking back "strategically significant territory". Quote: "Exactly how much, in what places, that will be up to developments on the ground as the Ukrainians get this counteroffensive underway. But we believe that the Ukrainians will meet with success in this counteroffensive." Asked whether a counteroffensive would speed up the peace process, Sullivan said developments on the battlefield in Ukraine would have a "major impact" on any future talks between Ukraine and Russia. "President Zelensky himself has said that this war will end ultimately through diplomacy," the US presidential adviser said. The United States believes that, together with its allies, it has adequately provided Ukraine with military assistance for the upcoming counteroffensive. In mid-May, media reported that Ukrainian troops launched "formation" operations ahead of a long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian troops. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Witness the real launch of President Joe Bidens reelection campaign. With an address to the nation Friday night and the signing of the debt-ceiling deal Saturday, the president previewed the message and touted the record he will take to voters in 2024 as he seeks a second term. It came at a moment that is displaying both his considerable strengths and his potential vulnerabilities in trying to forge the coalition and generate the enthusiasm that put him in the White House the first time. He rallied centrists with the deal, for instance, but discouraged some of the liberal and Black voters hell need again. President Joe Biden speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Sunday, May 28, 2023, in Washington. Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached a final agreement Sunday on a deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling while trying to ensure enough Republican and Democratic votes to pass the measure in the coming week. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) ORG XMIT: DCMC418 No one got everything they wanted, but the American people got what they needed, Biden said in his first address from the Oval Office, a sign of the speechs gravity. We averted an economic crisis, an economic collapse. The most important impact of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 is to avoid the first-ever default on the national debt, a fiscal crisis that would have dramatically increased the odds of a recession the sort of downturn that would sap Americans prosperity and threaten Bidens prospects for reelection. He signed the bill just two days before Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had warned that the government would run out of cash to pay its bills. There were other reasons the presidents first substantial negotiations with Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., since Republicans took control of the House in January represent a key moment in Bidens first term and in his bid for a second. Here are three of them. Bidens brand: Lets make a deal The presidents political persona is of a centrist who can negotiate agreements with the other side, even in polarized times. In his speech, Biden noted that he has signed other bills that passed with bipartisan support, including a huge infrastructure spending package, a measure to boost manufacturing of semiconductors and modest limits on guns. But the debt-ceiling bill was reached with an emboldened GOP and an untested new speaker. Despite unhappiness among the most conservative Republicans and most liberal Democrats, the bill passed Congress by sweeping majorities, 314-117 in the House and 63-36 in the Senate. The negotiations also demonstrated McCarthys ability to deliver two-thirds of the Republicans despite the defections of most of the members of the combative Freedom Caucus and to survive the experience. A procedural motion by a single unhappy Republican could have forced him to defend his position in the leadership. That didnt happen, not this time. The costs of compromise Not everybody on Bidens team loved the terms he reached. Forty-six House Democrats voted against the bill, most of them members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Only a single member of "the Squad," the most liberal members of the House, supported it. Four Democratic senators voted no. My red line has already been surpassed, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York complained beforehand, then voted against the bill. I mean, where do we start? [No] clean debt ceiling. Work requirements. Cuts to programs. I would never I would never vote for that. Many of the Democratic dissenters complained that the deal imposes new work requirements on some adult recipients of food assistance, though the measure also removes current work requirements for military veterans and people who are homeless. Even some staunch Biden allies, among them Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, protested the approval of construction of the Mountain Valley Pipelines through West Virginia and Virginia. The 300-mile, natural-gas pipeline will cut across the Appalachian Trail and, critics say, damage the environment. The White House already has seen erosion in the presidents standing with voters in the Democratic base, among them young people and Black voters, the partys most loyal demographic group. The Democratic coalition relies on their support and needs their enthusiasm to generate the turnout needed to win national elections. In the 2022 elections, turnout among Black voters declined compared with the 2018 midterms; turnout fell even more among Hispanics. Bidens approval rating among Black adults dropped to 58% in an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll taken last month. Thats down from about 90% approval in the survey soon after his inauguration. One more problem: The presidents misstep onstage Thursday at the Air Force Academys commencement proceedings was an unwelcome reminder of another challenge he faces. He tripped on the edge of a sandbag that was stabilizing a teleprompter, falling on his right side. He was quickly helped to his feet and insisted he wasnt hurt. I got sandbagged, he joked to reporters when he arrived back at the White House. But news accounts of the fall and video of it on social media plucked at voters concerns that Biden, now 80, is too old for another term. Whats next? The high stakes on the debt ceiling helped force a deal this time, but absent some national crisis, White House officials are under few illusions that more negotiations on major issues are likely to succeed as attention turns to the next election and partisanship sharpens. In his speech, Biden depicted the GOP agenda as extreme and dangerous and described himself as a bulwark against it. He criticized Republicans for protecting what he called special interest tax loopholes and reiterated his support to raise taxes on the most affluent, including a minimum tax on billionaires. Maybe not in this term, though. After that. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden's brand, McCarthy's pull and compromises' cost in debt deal Body found in Washington railroad tunnel has been identified 43 years later, cops say Three men were walking through a railroad tunnel in 1980 when they came across a body, police in Washington said. Now, DNA testing has helped identity the remains 43 years later as 56-year-old Donald Leroy Pearson, the Spokane Police Department said in a June 2 news release. His body was discovered in Spokane in January 1980 with burn marks and significant head trauma, police said. Officials ruled his death a homicide because of his traumatic injuries and smoke inhalation. But authorities were unable to identify the body because he didnt have any identification on him at the time. He also didnt match any missing persons descriptions, police said. An autopsy was done and fingerprints were taken, but they didnt help identify the man, so he was buried as a John Doe in February 1980 in Fairmount Memorial Park. Investigators followed up on leads and gathered more evidence, police said, but the case later went cold. Then the body was exhumed in October 2022 after the county medical examiners office got a grant to help identify human remains through genetic genealogy. A DNA profile was collected and sent to Othram, a lab in The Woodlands, Texas. The lab found leads of potential relatives, including Pearsons son in Missouri. Once the son sent his DNA, Othram confirmed the body belonged to his father in April. Pearson was born in 1924 in Nebraska, and many of his known addresses are in the Midwest, police said. He wasnt present in his childrens lives, police said, and his siblings have died. Police ask that anyone who knew Pearson contact 509-456-2233. This cold case remains open with SPD but few leads to the suspect exist, police said. Body found stuffed in trunk in 1969 is now identified as mother of five, Florida cops say Red Cross worker was killed protecting teen 36 years ago, cops say. Suspect identified Dad killed on walk in 2009, Colorado cops say. Now 14 years later an arrest is made Boeing rival Airbus nears record order for 500 planes from India's largest airline, report says If finalized, the 500-plane order from IndiGo would be the largest-ever by volume. Airbus Airbus is near a deal to sell 500 A320 narrow-body planes to IndiGo, Reuters reported. That would make it the largest order ever by volume, topping Air India's 470-plane deal in February. Airbus and archrival Boeing are also in talks to sell 25 wide-body jets to IndiGo, Reuters said. Boeing rival Airbus is near a deal to sell 500 planes from the A320 narrow-body family of jets to India's largest airline, IndiGo, Reuters reported on Sunday. An order that size would make it the largest ever by volume, topping Air India's 470-plane deal in February. The deal isn't finalized, but the European aerospace giant is the current frontrunner amid an industry gathering in Istanbul, sources told Reuters. Meanwhile, Airbus and Boeing are also in talks to sell 25 wide-body jets to IndiGo, the report added. Airbus declined to comment on the report when contacted by Insider. Representatives for IndiGo didn't immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment. Both companies declined to comment to Reuters. Budget carrier IndiGo is already an exclusive buyer of narrow-body jets from Airbus, but was also considering Boeing 737 Max for its potentially historic order, Reuters said in March. However, the airline may stick with Airbus to gain more economies of scale as it already has more than 800 A320 planes on order, the report added. That's in contrast with Air India's massive order, which was split between 220 Boeing planes and 250 Airbus planes. India is the world's fastest growing aviation market and the third largest overall, according to BQ Prime. In February, Boeing predicted that India would see long-term passenger growth of nearly 7% annually through 2041. That means India will need about 2,210 new airplanes over the next two decades, with single-aisle jets comprising 90% of that, according to Boeing. "This trend exemplifies India's commitment to modernizing its fleet with more sustainable and fuel-efficient next-generation airplanes," said Dave Schulte, Boeing commercial marketing managing director for Asia Pacific, in February. Read the original article on Business Insider / Credit: Farrar, Straus and Giroux We may receive an affiliate commission from anything you buy from this article. For this latest biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jonathan Eig, a former Wall Street Journal senior writer and author of such books as "Ali: A Life," draws upon more than 200 interviews and previously-unseen FBI documents to create an even deeper study of the civil rights leader's upbringing and mission. In this excerpt from "King: A Life" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), Eig presents the recollections of King's father, Martin Luther King Sr., a sharecropper's son who grew up in a Georgia farming community that was dangerous for anyone who crossed the line between Blacks and whites. "King: A Life" by Jonathan Eig Prefer to listen? Audible has a 30-day free trial available right now. Take this bucket of milk to the neighbors, Delia King told her son Michael one day. Delia and her husband, Jim King, lived with their growing brood of children in a tiny wooden sharecroppers' shack in Stockbridge, Georgia, about twenty miles southeast of Atlanta. The shack and the land around it belonged to a white man. The white man kept most of the money from the crops, but it was the King family, one generation removed from slavery, that cleared the soil stone by stone, planted and picked the cotton, and went hungry when the scorching sun rendered the earth no more fertile than a rutted road. Yet when Delia heard that her neighbor had a sick cow that wouldn't give milk, she acted without hesitation. "She was a very devout Christian," recalled Michael, who would go on to change his name to Martin Luther King Sr. "I remember, as a small boy, my mother was a woman who shared what she had with others," he said in a newly discovered set of audiotaped interviews he made for an unpublished autobiography. Michael was about twelve years old when his mother sent him on his mission that bright summer day around 1910. As he carried his bucket, he paused in front of a sawmill where he watched burly men and oxen at work, hauling timber. A voice snapped him to attention. It was the white mill owner: "Say, boy, run get a bucket of water for my men from down at the stream." Apologizing, Michael told the mill owner he was on an errand. He needed to go. The mill owner grabbed Michael by his shirt and kicked over his bucket of milk. As Michael bent to pick up the bucket, the white man's boot connected with the boy's ear. He tumbled. He tried to rise, but a fist smashed his face. Blood poured from his mouth. Everything went hazy. Michael got up, ran home, and spotted his mother in the yard, washing clothes in an iron tub set over a fire. Delia scanned her son's blood-crusted face and torn shirt. "Who did this to you, Michael?" she asked, voice low and tight. The boy didn't answer. "Michael!" Delia screamed. "Who did this?" Delia marched to the mill, squeezing her son's wrist as she tugged him along. She found the owner. "Did you do this to my child?" She locked eyes with the man. "Woman! You lost your mind? Get the hell outta here before I" Delia screamed: "Did you do this to my child?" "Yeah" She lowered her shoulder and rammed the mill owner in his chest, knocking him into the side of a shed. She forced him to the ground and hammered at his face with hands and arms hardened by a lifetime of manual labor. When one of the mill workers tried to pull her away, Delia punched him, too. The others backed off. "You can kill me! But if you put a hand on a child of mine, you'll answer." Delia balled her fists, ready for more, but the mill owner wanted none of it. Back home, Delia cleaned her son's face. She warned him not to tell his father what had happened. A Black woman might get away with beating a white man, but a Black man would likely pay with his life. Soon, though, Jim King heard about the mill owner's attack on his son. As Delia had feared, Jim grabbed a rifle and went to the mill bent on revenge. The owner wasn't there. That night, a mob of white men on horseback rode to the Kings' shack. Jim King knew the law offered no protection, so he did the only thing he could think of to save himself and his family: he ran. He took off into the woods and stayed away through the summer and into the fall. Delia became sick. The cotton crop suffered, and the vegetables got picked too late. The family struggled to survive the winter. Months later, Michael heard from a friend that the mill owner was no longer angry. Things could go back to normal, the friend said. Jim King came home, but normal was not an option. "I'm gonna blow one of these crackers' heads off," he told his son. Jim drank heavily and argued forcefully with Delia. When he left the house, he went alone, and took his rifle. He tried to shoot something his family could eat, but he was often too drunk to see a rabbit, much less hit one. "I just wondered what was normal for us," Michael recalled, "and how long we could expect it to last." Excerpted from "King: A Life" by Jonathan Eig. Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Copyright 2023 by Jonathan Eig. All rights reserved. Get the book here: "King: A Life" by Jonathan Eig Buy locally from Bookshop.org For more info: "King: A Life" by Jonathan Eig (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats jonathaneig.com GOP Rep. Garret Graves won't rule out government shutdown after debt ceiling fight Open: This is "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" Nature: Florida's Sanibel Island Here's a look at some of The Providence Journal's most-read stories for the week of May 28, supported by your subscriptions. One year after Rhode Island legalized recreational marijuana, the groundwork is being laid for the state's first cooperative, worker-owned pot store . But its fate hinges on whether state regulators will honor a central tenet of the law: to help those enter the marijuana industry who were most harmed by the past criminalization of the drug. This year's Festival of Historic Houses showcases lovingly restored homes in Providence's South Elmwood neighborhood . Take a peek inside one Congress Avenue home, a rare example of a Colonial Revival/shingle-style duplex. Bored with the same old summer camp experience? Check out our list of 5 unique camps , where you can learn how to babysit, ride horses, polish your debate skills and much more. For the latest high school and college sports news go to providencejournal.com/sports . Did you keep up with the week's events? Take our news quiz. Here are the week's top reads on providencejournal.com: Women & Infants Hospital in Providence. PROVIDENCE A Superior Court jury awarded a Little Compton woman $4 million after finding a surgeon negligent by misidentifying anatomy during a 2017 procedure at Women & Infants Hospital that left her with significant scarring and at risk of future injury to her kidney, according to lawyers involved in the case. An eight-member jury deliberated for 90 minutes before delivering a unanimous verdict to Tammy Sisson against Dr. Alfredo Gil, said Sissons lawyer, Michael P. Quinn Jr. The judgment will ultimately amount to approximately $5.83 million. On Oct. 23, 2017, Sisson, then 55, underwent a total laparoscopic hysterectomy at Women & Infants Hospital during which she suffered a severe injury to her right side ureter, the tubelike organ that carries urine from the kidneys to the bladder. Multiple procedures were required to repair the damage. Courts: Botched surgery left RI woman with internal injury. A jury just awarded her $4 million Gas leaf blowers are a significant source of noise in Providence. PROVIDENCE For Mayor Brett Smiley, noise is a more-than-$100,000 issue. Add up the loud cars and motorcycles, leaf blowers, nightclubs and concerts, and you get an earsplitting din that the mayor hopes to soothe with two items in his proposed budget: $42,000 for decibel readers and $5,000 for training to show police how to use them. The rest of the money would be used to hire an additional inspector in the licensing department who would help make sure businesses are following the rules. The handheld devices would be able to tell police in an instant whether locals are flouting the city's noise ordinance. News: Providence mayor's way to crack down on loud noise in the city: Give police decibel readers Former U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, the new president of the Rhode Island Foundation. PROVIDENCE "You're free," a neighbor told David Cicilline on Friday afternoon outside The Butcher Shop on Elmgrove Avenue, referring to the Democratic congressman's departure from Washington after a dozen years. On Thursday, Cicilline began a new role as president of the Rhode Island Foundation. A lot has changed since Cicilline traded Providence City Hall for Capitol Hill in 2010. As the 61-year-old takes over the state's largest philanthropic agency, Political Scene caught up with him to talk about Congress, social media, artificial intelligence and cocktails. Political Scene: David Cicilline, homeward bound, talks about Congress, polarized politics and local impact Nikki Ayres, Farm Fresh RI's director of giving, and Lucie Searle, the group's real estate and community developer, sit among some of the chunks of historical marble that will be up for sale. More than a century ago, the marble had been buried at what is now the Sims Avenue site of Farm Fresh RI. When Farm Fresh RI purchased their 3-acre site at 10 Sims Ave. in 2017, they found something kind of strange when the soil testing started. Marble. Lots and lots of marble. There were pieces smaller than your fist all the way up to slabs of more than 3,000 pounds. There were pieces that looked like chips, and then there were pieces that had been carved into what seemed like pedestals with decorative ridges chiseled into the edges. It didn't take long to figure out that the stones were offcuts from construction of the Rhode Island State House. Farm Fresh RI has scheduled a three-day marble market June 9-11 for anyone who wants to buy a piece of Rhode Island history. Local news: Want to own some marble from the RI State House? Farm Fresh RI is selling offcuts Baby names go in and out of style, but over the last few years, a few names have held their popularity in America, and in Rhode Island. The Social Security Administration released the top 100 most popular baby names by state for both boys and girls, and the results are similar to but not exactly the same as last year's. For boys, the top name in Rhode Island, for the third year in a row is Liam, followed by Noah and then Owen. For girls, there's a new name at the top of the list, though it's been in the top five in the Ocean State for the last four years and claimed the top spot once in that time. Family: A new girls name tops Rhode Island's most popular baby names list. See the top 100 To read the full stories, go to providencejournal.com. Find out how to subscribe here. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence Journal top stories: Botched surgery; city noise crackdown When the call came in, the staff at Animals Asia jumped into action. A bear in Vietnams northeastern Haiphong region had been kept captive for years, her bile harvested in painful and invasive ways and the farmer was finally giving her up. The team found a familiar scene when they arrived at the farm, early on a recent morning. The bear, named Sunset, was caged in a dark and dingy room, the narrow metal bars rusted through, her paws covered with pus, her fur missing clumps and her claws so overgrown they dug into her flesh. This is the condition of many bears after years of captivity, kept alive so their bile a gold-colored liquid secreted by the liver can be extracted and used in traditional medicines, from topical lotions to eye drops and injections. The trade of these products is forbidden in most Asian countries, and activists are trying to end what they see as a cruel and unsustainable practice. But international experts say it remains a lucrative industry in China, where domestic sales of bear bile remain legal. Sunset receives a health check under anesthesia. - Nezahat Eve Sevim/Animals Asia Jill Robinson has seen many cases like Sunsets since she founded Animals Asia in the 1990s. In recent years, the organization has rescued nearly 680 bears from bile farms across Vietnam and China, many showing signs of extreme trauma. They have no free access to food or water. They have no outside stimulation. They havent even seen the sunshine, she said. Theyve got massive hair loss, theyve often got broken teeth from (biting the bars of their cages) in frustration and pain. But eliminating bile farming has proved difficult. Its a profitable business for farmers, and while scientists are working to develop synthetic alternatives, many consumers prefer the real thing. During its heyday in Vietnam, just one milliliter of bile could sell for $10, Robinson said. In Vietnam, taking bears from the wild or extracting their bile has been illegal since 2005, when there were thought to be around 4,000 bears in captivity. That figure has since dropped, but there are still roughly 300 bears kept on farms, due to a legal loophole that allows farmers to keep their existing bears if they claim not to be extracting bile even though the poor health of rescued bears makes it obvious the extraction continues, according to Robinson. David Garshelis, co-chair of the International Union for Conservation of Natures (IUCN) Bear Specialist Group, estimates there are still about 300 bile bears in South Korea, and about 100 in Laos and Myanmar each. But China is the biggest market for bear bile products by far, with roughly 15,000 bile bears in captivity and plenty of demand, he said. Medicinal uses, painful extractions Traditional Chinese medicine is the main driver for the trade, with bear bile prescribed for epilepsy, hemorrhoids, heart disease, cancers, colds and hangovers. The first reference to bear bile used in this context appeared in a Tang Dynasty medical text in 659 A.D., since when use of the ingredient has spread across Asia. Ursodeoxycholic acid, one of the main components in bear bile, has been medically proven to help dissolve gallstones and treat liver disease. But this component can be synthetically produced, without the need for bear extraction. And theres no internationally recognized scientific evidence showing bear bile can cure other ailments promoted in TCM. The use of traditional Chinese medicine is still debated in China, where it has both adherents and critics. Abroad, these remedies face even more skepticism from Western medical experts, who have long questioned their safety and effectiveness. Asiatic black bears, also known as moon bears, are the preferred species for bile harvesting. They have traditionally been poached in Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia and Malaysia, where their populations have declined dramatically due to overhunting, according to NGOs. Chinese workers collect bear bile at a farm for the traditional Chinese medicine company Guizhentang in Hui'an, China, on February 22, 2012. - STR/AFP/Getty Images Harvesting techniques differ from country to country, with some more controversial than others. In the 1990s, Vietnamese farmers would extract bile by cutting into the bears abdomens and gallbladders then stitching them back up, Robinson said. But bears could survive only a few such procedures. After that, farmers began giving bears the drug ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, before stabbing around where they thought the gallbladder might be situated with a needle, often hitting organs like the spleen, kidneys and liver, before using a mechanical pump to extract the bile, she said. In some cases, bears undergo surgery to create a permanently open duct from the gall bladder to the abdomen, from which bile drips freely, causing infections and abscesses, according to Animals Asia. In South Korea, farmers arent allowed to extract bile from living bears but are allowed to kill farmed bears over 10 years old, and sell their gall bladders to be milked for bile, Garshelis said. In China, farmers in decades past kept bears in metal jackets to restrict their movement and used harmful extraction techniques, Garshelis said. But regulations in 1996 mandated minimum cage sizes and approved only one method of bile extraction, to be used on bears above three years old. This method involves surgery to create a tube out of the animals own tissue through which bile can be extracted, Garshelis said. In a 2016 report, Chinas State Forestry Administration and the IUCNs Species Survival Commission described the bears newly healed tissue as a natural sphincter that effectively prevents any leakage of bile. Farmers then insert a hollow probe through that sphincter to collect bile while the bear is distracted by food. The report claims the bear does not experience any ill effects, and that no bears showed any obvious, overt sign of stress or disturbance during demonstrations. Garshelis described the method as less invasive. But some activists say the old methods of farming and extraction still continue in pockets of the country. CNN has reached out to Chinas National Forestry and Grassland Administration, formerly known as the State Forestry Administration, to request comment on claims of ongoing bear abuses. Turning the tide in Vietnam, the legal loophole allowing farmers to keep existing bears makes it almost impossible to shut down farms unless authorities catch people in the act of extracting bile, Robinson said. Instead, activists and authorities have been trying a softer approach working with local communities, schools and tourism boards to convince farmers to voluntarily surrender their bears. One immediate obstacle is the sheer wealth bile farming can bring in. The bear farming community is normally one of the richest communities in the village, Robinson said. During one recent rescue near Hanoi, when we went into the village, we saw the biggest, flashiest house, and that was the bear farmers house. Over the years, (farmers) have made millions of dollars in this industry. But shes hopeful the tide could turn especially now that the remaining bile bears are growing older and sicker, which could mean less quality bile left to extract. The diminishing returns could make it in the bear farmers best interest to relinquish these bears anyway, she said. For Robinson and Animals Asia, that would mean being able to give them the last few years at our sanctuary to, at last, finally live as bears, she said. The organization operates an 11-hectare sanctuary in Tam Dao National Park near Hanoi where Sunset now lives and are building a second sanctuary in Bach Ma National Park. Sunset is transported from the bear farm to a truck by workers from Animals Asia, then to the organization's bear sanctuary in Tam Dao National Park. - Nezahat Eve Sevim/Animals Asia Meanwhile in China In contrast to the clampdowns in countries like South Korea, which vowed last year to fully ban bear bile farming from 2026, Chinas trade is booming. Garshelis estimates there are 50 million consumers of bear bile products in the country. QY Research, a China-based market research firm, estimated in a 2022 report that the Chinese market for bear bile powder was worth nearly $62 million, making up for nearly 97% of the global market and its value is only expected to increase in the coming years. China sold 44.68 tons of bear bile powder in 2021, according to the report. Chinas bear bile industry is different in that its legal, regulated and commonplace. Whereas bear bile products in Vietnam are illegally distributed underground and could be fake or tainted, Chinese products come with a stamp to tell you its legitimate, Garshelis said. People can get cheap bear bile medications over the counter, by prescription, in hospitals, and its all approved, so you feel safe getting this as a real medicine, he added. In 2020, the Chinese government even endorsed Tan Re Qing an injection containing bear bile on a list of recommended medicines to treat Covid-19 patients. And the number of bile bears is only increasing, Garshelis said. While China forbids the capture of wild bears for bile farming purposes, its farms can contain up to 5,000 bears in a single site and run breeding programs. Bears are seen in steel cages at a bear farm for the traditional Chinese medicine company Guizhentang, in Hui'an, China, on February 22, 2012. - STR/AFP/Getty Images Chinese authorities claim the farms discourage the poaching of wild bears, thus benefiting wildlife conservation efforts. Many activists question this logic, but some experts say it is hard to disprove Chinas claims. Garshelis is part of a years-long study on the impact of bile bear farming, done in collaboration with Chinese researchers, international experts and IUCN members. After a decade of research, the only consensus they reached was that it is impossible to conclude definitively how farmed bile influenced the overall consumption of wild bile. Due to factors such as reforestation and anti-poaching enforcement, its hard to then say that farming has done anything or whether the population would be growing even faster if the farms were gone, Garshelis said. We dont know whether its reduced the demand for wild gallbladder or not 10 years later, we never could come to an answer, truly, what the effects of bear farming are. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com TALLAHASSEE, Fla. More than a dozen migrants were flown to Sacramento and dropped off in front of a Catholic church on Friday, sparking speculation from California officials that the flight was arranged by Gov. Ron DeSantis administration. DeSantis created a national furor last September when his administration paid to fly nearly 50 migrants from Texas to Marthas Vineyard, an act that he frequently mentions during public appearances and speeches, including while campaigning for president. But so far his administration had not commenced a second round of flights even after state lawmakers expanded the program in February in response to a lawsuit that challenged whether the governor had the authority to ship people from Texas to Massachusetts. There is also an ongoing lawsuit in Massachusetts federal court that sought to block any more flights by Florida. Both California Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta put out statements on over the weekend saying they had met with a group of migrants who traveled from Texas to New Mexico before being flown to Sacramento. Bonta suggested that the DeSantis administration may be linked to the operation because he said the migrants appeared to have paperwork connected to Florida, though he did not provide details on the documentation. The migrants flown last fall by the DeSantis administration to Marthas Vineyard were given pamphlets detailing the benefits available to them in Massachusetts. We are investigating the circumstances by which these individuals were brought to California, Bonta said. We are also evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transport of these vulnerable immigrants. While this is still under investigation, we can confirm these individuals were in possession of documentation purporting to be from the government of the state of Florida. Eddie Carmona, campaign director at PICO California, a faith-based community organizing group that has been assisting the migrants, told The Associated Press that the migrants had already been given court dates for their asylum cases when a person representing a private contactor approached them outside a migrant center in El Paso, Texas. Carmona told the AP that they were lied to and intentionally deceived. The Associated Press identified the migrants as originating from Colombia and Venezuela. The latest flights could be considered political retaliation against Newsom, who has been a constant critic of Florida's policies. The California governor recently visited New College of Florida in Sarasota, a school currently undergoing a conservative overhaul led by DeSantis. At the time, Newsom said the efforts by DeSantis to rebrand the school were part of his efforts of "bullying and intimidating vulnerable communities." Newsom also recently requested information from DeSantis, the Florida Department of Education and textbook publishers over changes made to K-12 textbooks that were requested by the Florida education agency. DeSantis is headed to Texas on Tuesday for a three-day six-city fundraising tour according to a schedule obtained by The Texas Tribune. The governor is also headed to California later this month, where he will hold a June 19th breakfast fundraiser in Sacramento, the Sacramento Bee reported. DeSantis was just one of a handful of governors or city leaders who have transported migrants. Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott has bused thousands of migrants from his state to Democrat-led cities like Washington, D.C., Chicago and NYC while New York Mayor Eric Adams, who has railed against the lack of resources available to handle an influx of migrants, has also transported migrants outside of his city. Both DeSantis administration and the Florida Division of Emergency Management which now oversees the relocation program did not immediately respond to inquiries from POLITICO on Sunday. DeSantis has been a persistent and vocal critic of the immigration policies of President Joe Biden, and one of his allies Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has contended in federal court that the Biden administration is ignoring federal immigration laws. During his presidential campaign stops over the past week, DeSantis vowed to reinstitute some of former President Donald Trumps immigration policies such as remain in Mexico and promised to complete construction of a border wall. You deserve to have a secure border, you deserve to have the rule of law, DeSantis said during a visit to Iowa right before he became an official candidate for president. Someone comes across the border stop them and send them back on the other side Dont give them a piece of paper and say you come back for a court date in four years. What kind of a deterrence is that? Floridas GOP-controlled Legislature in 2022 first gave DeSantis $12 million to operate the migrant relocation program through the Florida Department of Transportation, but authorities shifted control to the state Division of Emergency Management. State records suggested that the company that operated the first round of flights was paid $1.56 million. The emergency management division in early May posted a notice that it intended to award contracts to three vendors to work on the migrant relocation program. DeSantis also signed an immigration bill last month that included an additional $12 million for the program. Andrew Atterbury, Lara Korte and Jeremy White contributed to this story. Migrants attempt to climb over the border wall from Mexicali, Mexico, to Calexico, Calif., in May. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) A second plane carrying migrants arrived in Sacramento on Monday, according to California officials who say the transportation was arranged by the state of Florida. Over the weekend, more than a dozen migrants from South America were flown on a chartered jet from New Mexico and dropped off in Sacramento. Documents carried by the migrants appear to show that the weekend flight was arranged through the Florida Division of Emergency Management and that it was part of the state's program to relocate migrants, mostly from Texas, to other states, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said. The contractor for the program is Vertol Systems Co., which coordinated similar flights that took dozens of Venezuelan asylum seekers from San Antonio to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts last year, he said. On Monday, Bonta's office said a second plane carrying roughly 20 people landed in Sacramento. "Special agents from the California Department of Justice are on the ground and have made contact with these individuals," the office said in a statement. "The contractor operating the flight that arrived today appears to be the same contractor who transported the migrants last week. As was the case with the migrants who arrived on Friday, the migrants who arrived today carried documents indicating that their transportation to California involved the state of Florida." Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' office did not return calls or emails from The Times seeking comment, and it's unclear what role, if any, the GOP presidential candidate may have had in the flight. But Bonta said the responsibility lay with DeSantis. In an interview with The Times on Sunday, Bonta didn't mince words in blaming DeSantis, who only last week became a candidate for president, for the latest incident. "This is Gov. DeSantis, this is his baby, this is his project, his fingerprints are all over it," Bonta said. "The governor signed it, the Legislature approved to fund it in the budget, and they hired Vertol Systems Co., a vendor, to carry out the work." He added: "It's DeSantis being exactly who he is and advertising to the world that he is petty, little ... and full of political stunts that hurt, harm and abuse and exploit people to try and get cheap political points. It's wrong." Calls to Vertol and the Florida Division of Emergency Management were not returned. The 16 migrants from Venezuela and Colombia on the first flight were initially transported by bus from El Paso to New Mexico, where they boarded a plane to Sacramento, officials said. They were dropped off at the doorstep of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento on Friday. Their arrival, for which no politician or organization has yet to publicly claim responsibility, adds fuel to a controversy over similar ploys by conservative politicians in Republican-led states. They and their supporters have said the efforts are aimed at raising awareness of the influx of migrants over the southern border and bringing the issue to the doorsteps of authorities in states led by Democrats. Opponents describe the moves as cruel political stunts that use immigrants as pawns and leave them many miles from family, resources and even the courthouses where they are often expected to appear to plead their cases for asylum. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement on Saturday that he and Bonta, also a Democrat, met on Saturday with more than 12 of the migrants. Newsom added that his office and the California Department of Justice were working together to investigate the circumstances around who paid for the groups travel and whether the individuals orchestrating this trip misled anyone with false promises or have violated any criminal laws, including kidnapping. Bonta's office is investigating, he confirmed. He said his office would be "evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transport of these vulnerable immigrants." Bonta said Sunday the migrants most of them from Venezuela told officials that they were promised jobs and that someone would assist them in finding work. Instead, the group was dropped off at the Catholic diocese. When someone at the diocese opened the door, two men said they would return but instead drove off, leaving the group of migrants behind, Bonta said. "They never intended to help them find a job but told them that they would do that so they could get on the plane and sign their documents and be transported to Sacramento," Bonta said. "They completely exploited, abused and manipulated these folks who were vulnerable and were hoping and dreaming of a job and told they would be helped finding that job only to be abandoned." Bonta said the migrants are receiving legal aid services as some of them have immigration court dates in the coming days. Some of the court dates are as far as New York and Chicago. "They're nowhere near Sacramento," he said. Bonta spoke about one migrant he met. He said the man, who is from Venezuela, played a voicemail from his 9-year-old daughter, who told her father in Spanish that she was hungry because she hadn't eaten in a day. She said that her mother was sick and that they needed help. The man didn't come to the U.S. for handouts, Bonta said, recalling the conversation. He came for a job so he could provide for his family back home, he said. The situation in Sacramento is playing out against a backdrop of intense national debate over how to handle the influx of migrants who enter the U.S. across the Mexican border each year. That debate has come to a head in response to similar efforts championed and supported by Republican governors such as Greg Abbott of Texas and DeSantis that have displaced thousands of migrants and generated widespread controversy in recent years. In September, Abbott bused about 100 migrants to Washington, D.C., where they were dropped off outside the U.S. Naval Observatory, the home of Vice President Kamala Harris. That same month, DeSantis who is now a top contender for the GOP presidential nomination sent a group of migrants to Martha's Vineyard, a wealthy liberal haven off the coast of Massachusetts. Also last year, eight Venezuelan migrants were flown from Texas to Sacramento. Activists said that move was not part of Abbott's or DeSantis' efforts. Newsom has made a habit of attacking DeSantis and Abbott over a host of issues that divide the nation, including immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, gun control and abortion. He launched a political action committee this year aimed at supporting Democrats running in red states. In a video announcing the effort, Newsom said "authoritarian leaders" are a problem for the country as images of DeSantis and Abbott flash across the screen. Jaime Soto, bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento, said in a statement Saturday that the diocese is working with other groups to help the new arrivals. The urgency to respond was heard by Catholics and people of goodwill, he said. We are thankful to our partner organizations who took up the holy work of hospitality, dedicating their time and resources to ensure that every migrant did not feel alone and abandoned. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg called for an investigation into the latest incident in a Saturday statement. Human trafficking is not only despicable; it's a felony. Whoever is behind this must answer the following: Is there anything more cruel than using scared human beings to score cheap political points? he said. Steinbergs statement made clear that the city will continue to be a welcoming place for disadvantaged people like the 16 migrants who arrived there Friday. Sacramento represents the best of American values, he said. We always welcome 'the tired, the poor and the huddled masses,' and we always will. Times staff writer Lila Seidman contributed to this report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. President Clinton, greeting well-wishers at a 1996 election rally in San Diego, made a political priority of keeping California in the Democratic column. His success helped lay the groundwork for today's solid-blue state. (Mike Nelson / AFP/Getty Images) Bill Clinton was busy filling Cabinet positions and shaping his economic agenda when a memo landed from a team of political advisors. Although Clinton was still more than a month away from becoming president, the topic was his reelection nearly four years off. Marked confidential and spilling over nearly eight pages, the document outlined a strategy considered vital to Clintons hopes for a second term: Lock down California and its generous share of electoral votes so his campaign could "concentrate its energy on other, more tightly contested, states. In 1992, Arkansas five-term governor became the first Democratic presidential candidate in nearly three decades to carry California, the political birthplace of Richard M. Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Few, if any, considered Clintons victory in California the start of a political realignment; he won just 46% of the vote. But his victory and a repeat in 1996 the product of relentless courtship and a fire hose of federal spending helped color California a lasting shade of blue and dramatically reshaped the fight for the White House. It augured a major partisan shift throughout the West, which over the last 20 years has become a Democratic stronghold, stretching from the Pacific Coast, across the desert Southwest into the Rocky Mountains. That political base has freed Democrats to compete in the battlegrounds of the Midwest and reach for states like Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia that were once well beyond the partys grasp. In this series, called "The New West," I'm exploring the reasons economic, demographic, political for that change. In California, there were several factors. Among them, the polarizing politics of the state's Republican governor, Pete Wilson, which helped activate the state's rapidly growing Latino population and turn those voters against the GOP. The rightward drift of national Republicans, especially on issues like guns and abortion. An economy that scraped bottom under President George H.W. Bush, then bounced back strongly under Clinton. But the transformation was also the result of a purposeful White House effort to remake California and turn the historically Republican-leaning state into a blue bulwark for decades to come. California Democrats a continent away from the East Coast power axes were used to being ignored by party leaders, except when it came time to extract deposits from the state's rich vein of campaign cash. "They felt no one cared," said Bob Mulholland, who spent decades as a California Democratic Party strategist. That changed the instant Clinton took office. "All of a sudden, everywhere I went people would say, 'I just got a call from the White House,' 'I just got a letter from the White House,'" said Mulholland, who flew to Washington to witness Clinton's swearing-in as president. "There was never a day after that he forgot about California." Before Clinton, the last Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state was Lyndon Johnson, who won California as part of his 1964 landslide. At the time, Clinton was a gregarious 18-year-old college student who collected friends the way others gather wildflowers. One of them was Derek Shearer, a native Californian whom Clinton met years later as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University. Shearer, a freelance journalist at the time, went on to teach at Occidental College in Los Angeles and served as Clinton's host and guide during regular California visits. Clinton loved the state: the sun, the lifestyle, the possibility. Bill Clinton loved California's sea and sunshine, starting as a young man. In 1996, as president, he campaigned at Santa Barbara City College for Democratic congressional candidate Walter Capps. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times) In the late 1970s, he became friendly with Mickey Kantor, a Los Angeles attorney and Democratic Party powerhouse who knew Clinton's wife, Hillary, through their work with the Legal Services Corp. during the Carter administration. By the time Clinton ran for president in 1992, he'd built an extensive network of California connections in politics, business, Hollywood thanks in good part to the doors opened by Shearer, Kantor and two fellow Arkansans, Harry Thomason and his wife, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, who'd moved to California to pursue a career in television production. Kantor became the national chairman of Clinton's campaign and was among those seeing political opportunity in the state, despite its history of favoring Republicans. In 1988, Bush Reagan's vice president defeated Democrat Michael Dukakis, by a less-than-overwhelming 51% to 48%. Since then, the economy had nosedived and Bush had alienated several key California constituencies, among them Black and Latino voters, environmentalists and backers of abortion rights. Moreover, while Clinton showed a natural ease with California and its clamorous culture, Bush never seemed to get a grip on the state. Raised in Connecticut and rooted in Texas, the patrician Bush came across as a hapless tourist squinting to understand the dialect and comprehend the natives. His California campaign was startlingly inept. The day Bush endorsed creation of a marine sanctuary protecting a quarter of the state's coastline he opted not for a camera-ready appearance by the sea waves crashing, seals barking but a stop at a refinery with an oil tanker as the television backdrop. The landmark decision was offhandedly announced in a standard-issue press release. As a presidential candidate, Bill Clinton benefited from having Senate candidates Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer on the ballot. In 1994, Clinton appeared with Feinstein at the former Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino. (Ken Lubas / Los Angeles Times) Still, Clinton needed help carrying the state in 1992. He benefited from the presence of Ross Perot, the feisty third-party candidate who spent most of his time attacking Bush. He got a lift from the buzz surrounding two groundbreaking Democratic women, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, running for separate U.S. Senate seats. Above all, Clinton capitalized on the sour mood of Californians amid the worst economic downturn since World War II, which followed the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of a decades-long arms race that fueled the state's robust defense and aerospace industries. His victory and an end to Democrats' prolonged political drought was, however, only a start. "It will continue to be important to communicate your connection with this state and your concern for its problems," a team of California strategists Rick Allen and Los Angeles attorneys Kim and Bill Wardlaw wrote in their confidential strategy memo as Clinton prepared to enter the White House. "Californians are looking to you to improve conditions," especially the economy. Failing that, they warned, "the volatile California electorate is likely to swing back to the Republicans." On Jan. 17, 1994, at 4:31 a.m., a violent shudder tore through Southern California. The Northridge earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.7, killed about 60 people and damaged or destroyed more than 80,000 structures. President Clinton arrived days later. We have a national responsibility to help lead the recovery, Clinton said after gazing at a collapsed section of the 118 Freeway in Simi Valley. But Clinton did more than visit. He announced millions of dollars in immediate assistance and promised more to come. This is something we intend to stay with," he vowed, "until the job is over." It was a formula Clinton followed throughout his presidency: Lavish time, money and attention on California. Then make sure everybody knew it. Clinton surveys a giant crater while surrounded by workers repairing a water main broken in the Northridge earthquake. (Patrick Downs / Los Angeles Times) "We didn't just step up on disaster relief," said John Emerson, who ran Clinton's 1992 campaign in the state and helped stock his administration as deputy personnel director. "There was a concerted effort to be present and visible every step of the way." Hundreds of Californians served under Clinton. Among them Secretary of State Warren Christopher; budget director and later White House chief of staff Leon Panetta; press secretary Dee Dee Myers and chief economic advisor Laura D'Andrea Tyson. Kantor joined the administration as U.S. trade representative and became commerce secretary when a plane crash killed his predecessor, Ron Brown, who'd been tasked with overseeing the state's economic recovery. Tom Epstein, a veteran of numerous California campaigns, was installed in the White House to mind the political needs of folks back home. After years of feeling overlooked, it was reassuring and exceedingly helpful for business leaders and government officials to call Washington knowing someone from the state would be on the other end of the line. Some random bureaucrat "might have no idea who Michael Ovitz is, or understand the importance of UCLA to the local economy," said Emerson, a former chief deputy L.A. city attorney whom Clinton called his "secretary of California." "I knew Michael Ovitz," Emerson said of the onetime Hollywood super agent. "He picks up the phone and says there's a problem with the UCLA hospital system and getting [Federal Emergency Management Agency] money, I'm going to be responsive." Other states could only envy California, as the federal spigots opened up. Billions in earthquake relief. Billions in military spending. Billions to help the defense industry retool. Money for a transit link between the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Money to convert a former Army base into Cal State Monterey Bay. Money to treat sewage from Mexico and clean up San Diego's beaches. Kantor personally negotiated a trade provision opening the Japanese market to California-grown rice. The tech industry benefited from relaxed controls on exporting supercomputer equipment. And on. Panetta, who represented a large swath of coastal California in Congress before joining the Clinton administration, offers no apology. A lot of states are trying to figure out how they can get crumbs off the table, he said, looking back at the assiduous care and feeding of California. But I think they also understood the politics of what [Clinton] was doing. He was trying to make sure California, because it was important to his reelection, was having its needs met. But it was not strictly about politics. At the time, Clinton wrote in his autobiography, Southern California constituted the world's sixth-largest economy. So helping resuscitate the region was vital to the nation's overall recovery. Clinton bested Republican nominee Bob Dole to win reelection, easily carrying California in the process. The two debated in October 1996 at the University of San Diego. (Mike Nelson / AFP/Getty Images) In all, Clinton visited California 56 times from 1993, the year he assumed the presidency, through 2001, the year he left the White House, according to a tally kept by his presidential library. That is far more than any other state, save Maryland, home to the presidential retreat at Camp David, and New York, where Clinton settled after leaving Washington. The effort paid off handsomely. Clinton easily carried California on his way to winning his second term in an electoral college landslide. By the time he left the White House, the state had become a Democratic fortress. In 2000, Clinton's vice president, Al Gore, carried California by 12 percentage points. Since then, no Democratic presidential candidate has won by less than double digits. Republicans long ago quit trying to compete. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Calls for Australias most decorated soldier to be stripped of Victoria Cross Ben Roberts-Smith - Paul Kane/Getty Images Australias most decorated living war veteran has quit his corporate job amid calls for him to be stripped of his coveted Victoria Cross after a civil court found he unlawfully killed four Afghans. Ben Roberts-Smith, who retired from Australias elite Special Air Service Regiment a decade ago, quit his job on Friday as state manager of Seven West Media after losing a landmark defamation suit on Thursday against newspapers that had accused him of war crimes. The 44-year-old had taken leave since 2021 to focus on his federal court case, which has been financed by the companys billionaire executive chair Kerry Stokes. Ben has been on leave whilst the case was running and today has offered his resignation which we have accepted, chief executive James Warburton said in an email to staff. We thank Ben for his commitment to Seven and wish him all the best, he added. Mr Roberts-Smith has been fighting to salvage his reputation through a defamation suit in the federal court since Australian newspaper articles in 2018 accused him of an array of war crimes including culpability in six unlawful killings. Ben Roberts-Smith - REUTERS/Anthony Devlin A judge dismissed the defamation claims, finding the articles were substantially true. The judge also found Mr Roberts-Smith was responsible for four of the six unlawful deaths he had been accused of. Media lawyer Justin Quill said Mr Roberts-Smiths lawyers would have been shocked by the extent of his loss. Ultimately there is a judges finding that he committed four murders and thats about as bad as you could possibly get, Mr Quill said. Id say even in his worst nightmares he didnt expect yesterday to go quite as badly as that. Mr Roberts-Smith remains under Australian police investigation for criminal prosecution for war crimes. In March, a former Australian SAS soldier became the first to be charged with a war crime from the countrys 20-year campaign in Afghanistan. Mr Roberts-Smiths SAS colleagues are among those calling for him to become the first of Australias Victoria Cross winners to be stripped of the highest award for gallantry in battle. Ben Roberts-Smith - SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images Mr Roberts-Smith was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in the battle of Tizak in 2010 when he saved the lives of his platoon by single-handedly storming two Taliban machine gun nests. The Australian government has refused to comment on the case against him. Minor Greens Party Senator David Shoebridge said Mr Roberts-Smith should be stripped of his honours and the Australian War Memorial should remove memorabilia including portraits, medals and a display of his uniforms. At a minimum, we should be seeing action by the Australian War Memorial to remove the display that is now there for Ben Roberts-Smith. His uniform and his medals, which thousands of people will attend tomorrow to view and witness, Mr Shoebridge said. The Australian War Memorial has an obligation to tell the whole truth about Australias involvement in Afghanistan, he added. The memorial said the civil court context could be added to the Mr Roberts-Smith display. 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. Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Reuters For the first time in my life, I was canceled during a corporate keynote speech for talking about right-wing cancel culture. Earlier in the week, a tech companys Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) team invited me to address their employees to celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which ended in May. I lasted all of five and a half minutes before the Zoom meeting abruptly ended without a warning or any follow-up messages, texts, or calls from company personnel. I assumed it was a technical glitch. I spent 15 minutes trying to log back on but to no avail. After an hour and two emails, a member from the DEI committee finally replied and told me they ended the Zoom due to internal issues. That was the first and last communication I received. They initially didnt even inform their employees, several of whom messaged me on Twitter over the next two days asking if I was censored for my comments. Surely, I must have said something dangerous and outrageous. Dont Act Surprised, We Knew the Right Was Stoking Violence I must have used those six minutes to spread baseless conspiracies about election fraud, QAnon, and George Soros. Or, I probably mocked sexual assault survivors, referred to violent insurrectionists as great people, or defended dining with white nationalist leaders. No corporation, or self-respecting company, would ever platform individuals who espouse such hateful, divisive rhetoric right? If I engaged in such behavior, most people would support and applaud this company for cutting off my mic. Or, maybe they canceled my speech due to my politics. I most likely named and shamed MAGA and thus alienated conservative employees. (Businesses have historically been neutral and complicit in the face of rising fascism, because, after all, both sides buy sneakers, so its not worth the potential financial risk to take a side in the face of a radicalized and weaponized movement that is attacking our freedoms and democracy.) Nope. I did none of the above. I didnt even mention the words conservative, Republican, Trump, DeSantis, GOP, or MAGA. I simply made the mistake of telling my truth. I began my speech by sharing some lovely, helpful recommendations Ive received since the 9-11 terror attacks. They include emails that demand I go back to where I came from, to which I respond, The Bay Area? Id love to if you could subsidize my rent. I followed it up with another gem: folks telling me to go f****a goat. Its always goats and camels for some reason. Why only those two animals? Theres an entire animal kingdom, people! Be creative! I respond by thanking them for their suggestion but lament that I am now a 42-year-old man married to one woman and no longer have the physical dexterity to engage in bold sexual experimentation. However, I invite them to go f*** a goat or a camel and report back. These are two examples I use to highlight the exciting adventures of being a Muslim American son of Pakistani immigrants in this heightened moment that Black folks have been experiencing for over 400 years. Were living in a country where some parents are more comfortable with their kids getting shot at school than reading a book written by a Black woman, I continued. In this moment, we cant say gay in some places that rhyme with Mlorida because saying gay makes some people uncomfortable. And despite some peoples discomfort, I reminded the audience that transgender kids are still being bullied, harassed, and killed; Black people are still being shot and killed by the police; Asian Americans are still being blamed for COVID, because bigots, in addition to being cruel, are also dumb and think a virus that has killed over 1 million Americans has an ethnicity; and women have still lost a Constitutionally protected right to have autonomy over their bodies. After saying all this, I asked: How do you get to reconciliation without truth? You cant. You dont. You wont. The company had a different response. They ended the Zoom meeting. In hindsight, the timing was utterly exquisite and couldnt have been scripted better. They canceled me, their Asian American speaker, right as I was talking about our stories being banned and our communities being marginalized to placate the economic anxiety of a few. According to employees who messaged me, the company initially told them the meeting ended due to technical difficulties. I posted a Twitter thread of my unfortunate experience, which then forced them to admit they had maybe been too hasty in pulling the plug for fear of offending some people. They did, however, find time to send a stern message to my speaking agency asking me to delete my tweets. I refused. Im still debating whether I should be upset or proudly wear it as a badge of honor considering diversity initiatives, stories written by people of color, and corporations are being targeted and attacked by right-wing extremists across America because they reject white, Christian theocracy in favor of a multiracial democracy. I have been anointed to a growing rogues gallery of alleged woke radicals funded by Jewish American billionaire George Soros to replace real Americans. These are often, but not exclusively, conservative GOP voters who are suffering from immense economic anxiety due to women and people of color having the audacity to demand equity, respect, and dignity. These people fear that homosexuality works through osmosis and magic: if their son simply hears the word gay or reads a book that features gay people then he will immediately start kissing boys, change his pronouns, wear a dress, and take drag lessons from George Santos. I shared my story to invite the company, which I havent named, to do better if it wants to retain and recruit employees of color who will no longer tolerate performative DEI bullshit and minority tokenism. Our lives and stories arent a game of taboo where we wont say scary words like white supremacy, privilege, and systemic racism, just because it causes some short-term discomfort and agitation for a few people. Imagine the discomfort we feel when Trump tells us to go back and promises bans against our people. My story is also a microcosm of what will happen in America if corporations continue to pre-emptively bend the knee to placate a radicalized minority that will gladly embrace fascism to feel great again. Their bellies, and their rage, will only continue to grow. If you dont believe me, just look at whats happening with Chick-fil-A. Just in time for Pride month, the successful fast food chain, which is closed on Sundays for religious reasons, has allegedly joined the woke parade. Even though Chick-fil-A has long been a champion of right-wing, homophobic policies, they now face boycotts because conservative activists have spread misinformation about the companys DEI officer. Theyre also outraged that their corporate policy focuses on ensuring equal access and creating a culture of belonging, which is, literally, the lowest bar on Earth for a corporate franchise with nearly 3,000 restaurants in 47 states that both employs and serves the entire racial, religious, sexual and political spectrum of America. However, equal access and a culture of belonging is too extreme for MAGA, which is deploying zealous activists flush with right-wing money and GOP political support to defund libraries and threaten educators. MAGA and right-wing anti-LGBTQ activists, which belong to the same Venn Diagram, are trying to pressure and threaten companies like Chick-fil-A to abandon their meager and performative attempts at diversity. Theyre proudly holding up the scalps of Target and Anheuser-Bush InBev, two companies theyve targeted with manufactured outrage and boycotts for simply acknowledging and catering to LGBTQ+ people, who actually exist and can be named out loud unlike Voldemort. You dont win over fascists with compliments and a curtsey. If you choose to bend the knee, then you might as well hand over your neck. The only way forward is for the majority, including companies, to realize we have the numbers and thus we have the power to fight back and win. After being attacked and punished by DeSantis, Disney, the biggest employer in Florida, has responded by pulling its proposed $1 billion office complex in Florida that would have created more than 2,000 high-paying jobs. Teachers are uniting with parents in red districts and successfully defeating right-wing activists who are trying to take over school boards, defund libraries, and spread hateful lies about CRT. Judging by Trumps vindictiveness and betrayals alone, it should be clear to anyone whos been paying attention that MAGA will turn on anyone, even its most loyal acolytes. This is the same group whose members were perfectly willing to hunt down and kill Vice President Pence, the most white, conservative, Republican man on Earth, simply because he didnt go along with the insurrection. Earlier this week, Trump slammed his former press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, who is the most white, conservative, Republican woman on Earth. If theyre willing to go after them and Chick-Fil-A, what hope do you have? As far as my uncomfortable speaking engagement, I made sure the company still paid me. This counts as the most lucrative dollar-for-minute speaking engagement of my career. I, for one, shall keep speaking. Ill continue telling my truth. I still have a lot to say. Six minutes isnt enough. After all, I also have a big appetite. Ill keep opening my mouth, and Ill keep eating. 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. Car crashes into house in south Sacramento. Driver expected to face charges, sheriff says A driver is expected to face charges after a car crashed into a house in south Sacramento. The crash early Sunday came after the Sacramento County Sheriffs Office said it conducted a short pursuit of a white Toyota Camry that ended with it hitting the house in the 8200 block of Spengler Drive. The driver likely will be charged with felony pursuit, according to the Sheriffs Office. Deputies said they initially pursued the vehicle due to its speed and erratic driving. A white Toyota Camry rests after its driver crashed into a house on the 8200 block of Spengler Road in south Sacramento after a short pursuit with the Sacramento County Sheriffs Office on Sunday, June 4, 2023. Amar Gandhi, a spokesman for the Sheriffs Office, said the driver is expected to face charges. Drugs or alcohol are a possible factor, according to Amar Gandhi, a spokesman for the Sheriffs Office. The family inside was not injured, and the driver was taken to the hospital as a precaution but was otherwise uninjured, Gandhi said. You are here: Arts A cultural performance is staged in Guiyang, the capital city of southwestern China's Guizhou province, on June 3, 2023. [Photo by Zhang Jiaqi/China.org.cn] More than 20 ambassadors and senior diplomats from 19 nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization were captivated by the diverse cultural heritage of southwestern China's Guizhou province through a performance staged in Guiyang, the provincial capital, on Saturday. With iconic local landscapes and artistic images as the backdrop, the performers showcased Guizhou's unique culture and ethnic diversity. They dazzled the audience with colorful traditional costumes, songs and dances from intangible cultural heritage, historical plays, and martial arts demonstrations. Oliver Wonekha, the ambassador of Uganda to China, expressed her appreciation for the performance, describing it as "amazing," filled with "beautiful colors" and "smart people." International diplomats watch a cultural performance in Guiyang, the capital city of southwestern China's Guizhou province, on June 3, 2023. [Photo by Zhang Jiaqi/China.org.cn] In addition to immersing themselves in the local culture, the diplomats will also explore Guizhou's ecological initiatives, green growth strategies, technological innovations, and efforts toward rural revitalization in the days ahead. They will also share their perspectives at a round-table discussion on advancing ecological progress, scheduled for June 6. Chaos in Russias Belgorod Oblast as officials flee and the Russian army shells its own civilians Mykhailo Podolyak "A small town gives us an example of the consequences of 20-year-long parody of a 'strong albeit criminal power'," he said, commenting on the news from Belgorod Oblast. Russians should be careful as chaos has reigned supreme in their country in the absence of any real ruling authority after officials fled the state and the Russian army is shelling its own residential neighbourhoods. The Russian army is aggressively looting everything, authorities are ripping off residents through the evacuation, and abusing them in every possible meaning of the word, he said. In the power vacuum, it is literally a criminal gangs tyranny, he added. The total informational silence is the most striking characteristic of the events in Belgorod Oblast, Podolyak added. "If it doesn't go on TV, it doesn't exist, right?" the official wrote. The Russian Volunteer Corp reported on June 4 that it has entered Belgorod Oblast to battle. The Freedom of Russia Legion announced on May 22 that, together with the Russian Volunteer Corps, it had "completely liberated" the village of Kozinka in Russias Belgorod Oblast, passed the village of Gora-Podol, and began storming the village of Grayvoron. Local authorities declared a "counterterrorist operation" and, according to the governor, most residents of Grayvoron were evacuated. Russia claimed that most saboteurs were eliminated, while the rest were pushed back to Ukrainian land. The rebel fighters rebuffed the officials' words. The Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) and the Freedom of Russia Legion saidthat during the raid they went 42 km deep into Russia and controlled some settlements in Belgorod Oblast for a day. They claim to have lost two people in action, with 10 wounded. They claim to have destroyed several dozen Russian security forces officers and about 10 armored vehicles. They also took trophies. Ukraines Main Intelligence Directorate called the actions of the Legion and the RDK in Russia's Belgorod Oblast "the creation of a security strip" to protect Ukrainians. Russian citizens only took part in the raids, Ukraines Defense Intelligence representative, Andriy Yusov, said. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Exxon Mobil Corp. will capture, transport and store up to 800,000 metric tons per year from Charlotte-based Nucor Steel Corp.s manufacturing site in Convent, Louisiana. A company announcement said the project will begin operations in 2026. The agreement is the third such deal that Texas-based Exxon has announced in the past seven months. The company has agreements with U.K.-based oil and gas producer Linde and Deerfield, Illinois-based CF Industries, with the latter project also landing in Louisiana. ALSO READ: Meck Countys Sundown Sounds concert series cranks up this week Dan Ammann, president of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions the arm of the company that announced the deal praised Exxon for reaching the milestone of 5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide transport and storage per year. Read more here. (WATCH BELOW: $1 million Mega Millions ticket sold at east Charlotte gas station) The 'Cheers' cast bought Kirstie Alley a shotgun to welcome her as a cast member on the sitcom The "Cheers" cast bought a shotgun for Kirstie Alley as a welcome gift. NBC Universal The "Cheers" cast shared a funny story about a welcome gift they purchased for Kirstie Alley. George Wendt said he and costar John Ratzenberger bought Alley a shotgun during a panel on Friday. Wendt added that they "were never tasked with the gifts again." When a new person joins the workplace, it's not unusual to buy them a welcome gift like a plant or flower, but rarely does one opt for a shotgun. But that's exactly what the cast of "Cheers" did when the late Kirstie Alley joined the sitcom as the manager Rebecca Howe during 1987's season six, according to her costar George Wendt, 74. The actor shared the wild story during a panel discussion with the cast of "Cheers" on Friday at the ATX TV Festival in Austin, Texas, per People. Wendt, who starred on the show as bar regular Norm Peterson, said that he and fellow costar John Ratzenberger (who played Cliff Clavin), 76, were assigned to pick out a gift for Alley. "We were having dinner right before the show, and we said, 'Oh jeez, we should have got her something, right?' And 'Yeah, like some flowers or something,'" Wendt said. According to Wendt, when he asked his fellow castmates to help, Rhea Perlman (Carla Tortelli) said "no" while Ted Danson (love interest Sam Malone) said, "I can't, I got a thing I got to do." The cast of "Cheers." AP So it fell to Wendt and Ratzenberger. The two drove through different parts of Hollywood until they spotted a Big 5 Sporting Goods store, Wendt said, according to People. "... Going past all these places and we go past Big 5 Sporting Goods and John goes, 'you wanna buy her a shotgun?' he said, which got big laughs from the audience, per the outlet. "And, like you, I laughed for about five minutes," he added. "And then immediately pulled into the parking lot, and we bought her a freakin' shotgun." To add more razzle-dazzle, the duo also added a card. "I think you even wrote on the card, 'You're gonna have to shoot your way out,'" Wendt said. Alley won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for her performance as Rebecca Howe on the NBC sitcom. Cindy Ord/Getty Wendt added that they were promptly relieved from their welcome committee duties. "John and I were never tasked with the gifts again," he said. "Cheers," a popular NBC show, ran for 11 seasons between 1982-1993 and helped launch the careers of Alley, Wendt, and Ratzenberger, as well as costars Ted Danson, Rhea Pearlman, Shelley Long, and Woody Harrelson. Alley died in December 2022 at the age of 71 from cancer, according to a Twitter statement released by her children. She received a Golden Globe and an Emmy in 1991 for her performance as Rebecca Howe. Danson shared his admiration for Alley during the panel. "She came in like a ball of fire," he said, according to IndieWire. "We were doing the table read and some of us had met her, but others hadn't, and she was a little late but it was because she put on a Shelley Long blonde wig. So I was like, 'OK, you'll do great.'" During the ATX TV Festival panel, Wendt also shared that he and Danson puked in "solidarity" with Harrelson, who was vegetarian at the time, because the actor mistakenly ate meat on set. "[One night] we had catered Chinese food, and Woody found out after about 20 minutes that he was eating pork," Wendt said, according to IndieWire. "And he decided to go purge. So I told him, 'Out of solidarity, I will purge with you.' And Ted said, 'I'll purge, too.'" Read the original article on Insider My children had never been to Hawaii, where I'm from. Seeing them take in their culture made me complete. The author's sons. Courtesy of Stephanie Malia Krauss I'm originally from Hawaii but currently live with my family in St. Louis. I use Hawaiian words with my two sons at home, but in public, they get embarrassed. Taking them back to my home made me realize what was missing from my life. I am raising my boys nearly 5,000 miles away from Hawaii, the place my family comes from. Until last 2022, my boys had never been. Finally, after a decade of parenting, my work made it possible to go. Now that we've been together, I will do anything to bring them back as often as possible. I live in St. Louis with my family I met my husband in St. Louis, far from the Hawaiian islands, when we were both in graduate school. We married in a small chapel in the center of the city, but I never thought we would stay. Fifteen years later, this is the only home my 6th and 4th graders know. My boys are die-hard St. Louis Cardinals fans and true Midwesterners. They are also the only Native Hawaiian children in their school and likely in our town. We're fair-skinned and easily pass as white; if our culture weren't present at home, the boys would grow up without any connection to it. We are not exposed to Hawaiian culture Before we took our first trip to Hawaii, my kids' cultural expressions only happened with us and relatives. My mom lives nearby, and we use Hawaiian words and phrases with the boys in private, but they get embarrassed in public. When they tell people they're Hawaiian, there are always questions and misconceptions like, "Do you like pineapple?" and "Do you wear grass skirts?" Family and close friends call my younger son by his Hawaiian middle name, but he only goes by his English name at school. Our favorite foods are hard to find, and we have to buy them at specialty shops in the city or on Amazon. Recently, two new restaurants opened in our community; one is a franchise with Hawaiian in its name, and the other sells poke. They're run by workers who consistently mispronounce the name of our islands and look at us with confusion when we say them correctly. We were committed to taking our kids back to my island We didn't bring the boys to Hawaii for years because it was too expensive, too far, the kids were too little, and the trip required too much time off work. The years flew by, and suddenly they were entering adolescence without ever experiencing a place that reflected who we are and where we're from. The pandemic and divine work intervention changed that. We came out of COVID committed to taking the trip. We decided to go and stay for a month. My work would help pay for it, and my husband and I felt the emotional cost of not going would be longer-lasting than any financial burden. That trip was worth it in all the ways that matter. On our way there, my older son asked if he would cry when we got there. He knew how emotional my Mom and I get when the islands come into view. I told him he might because he would be seeing land that he belongs to, a home he knows but has never seen. Our culture has no separation between the land and its people. They were so happy to be surrounded by their culture and food When most people imagine the breathtaking parts of Hawaii, they think of gorgeous beaches and stunning landscapes. Indeed, those are exquisite. As a mom of Hawaiian children being raised across the ocean, my most breathtaking moments were far more mundane. There was the short flight from Maui to Oahu, when the flight attendants made the announcements in Hawaiian. My boys listened with huge smiles and bright eyes, waiting for words they knew. There was the post-arrival trip to the grocery store and the nearly uncontainable excitement of my older son as he went up and down the aisles seeing each of our favorite foods in abundance and on display. We heard songs we loved on the radio and in restaurants. We saw extended family and introduced the boys to "aunties" and "uncles" who went from strangers to family instantaneously. The author's son. Courtesy of Stephanie Malia Krauss The most meaningful moment happened the night I spoke to a group of educators at an open-air amphitheater in Honolulu. When we arrived, we were given name tags to fill out. My younger son proudly wrote his Hawaiian name (the only one we call him) and stuck the sticker on his shirt. "Mom," he said. "Look, I'm me!" After he said that, I felt everything stop and come into crisp view. My son was saying what I was feeling. In that moment, I was surrounded by the things that make me, me: my family, work, community, culture, language, food, and music. Taken together, I was able to experience a level of thriving I didn't realize I was missing. I found myself Sometimes I feel like a visitor in the place I'm raising my kids. It took traveling thousands of miles to finally find myself and to know where and with whom I belong, especially at this stage of life. The things that make me feel like an outsider here make me feel normal, understood, and celebrated. The author (center) and her family. Courtesy of Stephanie Malia Krauss I should not have waited so long to take the trip. Looking back, the excuses we made feel trivial. It was worth the time and money. We'll replenish our savings, but we've lost the years. There are fewer years with the boys being little and living with us. Fewer opportunities for them to be in Hawaii with my mom while she is young enough to walk the beach and explore with them. While the boys may not have remembered earlier trips, we would have, and it would have deeply enriched our family life and my experience as a mother. Before we left, I was planning our next trip. By making it an absolute priority, we have already been back twice. There's an urgency to these visits and the benefits that come with return trips. I know it has been worth every sacrifice needed to make them happen. It is incredible to watch my boys form their own stories and memories. They have people they look forward to reconnecting with, restaurants they want to go back to, and sites they want to see. My younger son looks forward to being himself everywhere, and my older son talks about how special it is to feel like home is here and also there. My children fully flourish on the islands that constantly call us home. And so do I. Read the original article on Insider China accuses US of provocation after near collision of warships Chinas defense minister on Sunday accused the United States and its allies of trying to destabilize the Indo-Pacific just hours after warships from the two countries were involved in a near collision. In a combative speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, Li Shangfu accused the US of provoking bloc confrontation for self-interest and said Washington and its allies were making up rules to assert dominance over the region. He also warned that any severe confrontation between the US and China would be an unbearable disaster for the world. Lis warning came a day after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told the same forum a war over Taiwan would be devastating and affect the global economy in ways we cannot imagine. And it came just hours after the US accused a Chinese warship of cutting in front of an American vessel that was taking part in a joint exercise with the Canadian navy in the Taiwan Strait, forcing the American vessel to slow down to avoid a collision. A screengrab of the encounter between the US and Chinese ships, as captured by Canada's Global News. - Global News Questioned after his speech on the incident, Li said the US naval presence in the strait was an example of Washington creating chaos in the region. They are not here for innocent passage, they are here for provocation, Li said of US warships. Li said if the US and other foreign powers did not want confrontation, they should not send their military assets near China. Mind your own business, Li said, adding, Why did all these incidents happen in areas near China, not in areas near other countries? Near collision Hours earlier, the US Indo-Pacific Command said, a Chinese destroyer had cut across the bow of the USS Chung-Hoon during a joint exercise between American and Canadian navy vessels in the Taiwan Strait. According to the US, the Chinese ship came within 150 yards of the USS Chung-Hoon less than the length of the Arleigh Burke-class ship itself. Chung-Hoon maintained course and slowed to 10 knots to avoid a collision, the US statement said. The Chinese ship acted in an unsafe manner and violated the maritime rules of the road of safe passage in international waters, it said. The incident was captured on video by a crew from Canadas Global News, which was aboard the frigate HMCS Montreal traveling with the Chung-Hoon. Montreals commander, Capt. Paul Mountford, called the action of the Chinese ship not professional, while a senior US defense official said, Actions speak louder than words, and the dangerous behavior weve seen from the PLA around the strait, in the South and East China Seas, and beyond really says it all. In a statement later Sunday, a spokesperson for the PLAs Eastern Theater Command said Chinese forces handled the situation based on laws and regulations. Relevant countries are deliberately stirring up trouble and risks in the Taiwan Strait, maliciously undermining regional peace and stability and sending wrong signals to the Taiwan independence forces, PLA Senior Colonel Shi Yi said. The incident is the second time in two weeks that Chinese military personnel have engaged in aggressive maneuvers in the vicinity of US military personnel near Chinas border. A Chinese fighter jet conducted an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver during an intercept of a US spy plane in international airspace over the South China Sea last week, the US military said in a statement released on Tuesday. Austin on Sunday called on Beijing to do the right things to rein in conduct of its forces after the recent incidents. Saturdays incident between the US and Chinese destroyers was extremely dangerous, he said, adding, I think accidents can happen that could cause things to spiral out of control. Later Taiwan said it was Beijing, not Washington, that was the provocateur in the strait, with Taipeis Defense Ministry calling on the Chinese Communist Party to respect the freedom of navigation and avoid overly provocative behavior, so as to jointly preserve regional peace, stability and safety. Completely wrong Shortly after Austin spoke on Saturday, Peoples Liberation Army Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV that the US defense chiefs comments on Taiwan were completely wrong. Chinas ruling Communist Party claims Taiwan as part of its territory, despite never having controlled it, and its increasingly frequent military exercises near to and around the island have raised concerns about how far it will go to realize that claim. Chinas leader Xi Jinping has pointedly not ruled out the use of force. Jing accused Washington of trying to consolidate hegemony and provoke confrontation, adding that US actions were damaging regional peace and stability. The comments from the Chinese and US defense chiefs come at a tense time for relations between the two countries, as China recently rejected an offer from Austin to meet at the summit in Singapore, citing US sanctions on Chinese officials and companies. Austin noted in his speech on Saturday that he and Li greeted each other with a smile at a banquet Friday night, but called on Beijing to do more, saying a cordial handshake over dinner is no substitute for actual talks. US and Chinese defense chiefs are not expected to meet this year a mark of the depth of the fracture in relations between the two countries. Austin on Thursday said it was unfortunate China declined a US offer to meet at the conference and warned the ongoing lack of communication could result in an incident that could very, very quickly spiral out of control. In his Saturday morning speech, Austin criticized China for for its alarming number of risky intercepts of US and allied aircraft in international airspace, adding that the US would support allies and partners against coercion and bullying. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com China seeks dialogue, says clash with US would be 'unbearable disaster' By Chen Lin and Kanupriya Kapoor SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu told Asia's top security summit on Sunday that conflict with the United States would be an "unbearable disaster" but that his country sought dialogue over confrontation. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Li said the world was big enough for China and the U.S. to grow together - remarks made days after he refused to meet his U.S. counterpart for direct talks. "China and the U.S. have different systems and are different in many other ways," he said in a speech that marked his first significant international address since he was named China's Minister of National Defence in March. "However, this should not keep the two sides from seeking common ground and common interests to grow bilateral ties and deepen cooperation," he said. "It is undeniable that a severe conflict or confrontation between China and the U.S. will be an unbearable disaster for the world." Wearing the general's uniform of the People's Liberation Army, Li made his address on the 34th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. Ties between Washington and Beijing are badly strained over a range of issues, including democratically governed Taiwan, territorial disputes in the South China Sea and President Joe Biden's restrictions on semiconductor chip exports. As delegates at the summit debated the risks of accidents and miscalculations amid those tensions, the U.S. Navy said a Chinese destroyer made "unsafe" manoeuvres near a U.S. warship in the Taiwan Straits on Saturday, highlighting the dangers. China's military criticised the United States and Canada for "deliberately provoking risk" after their warships staged a rare joint sailing through the sensitive strait. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said U.S. and Canadian ships were operating routinely and under high-seas freedoms. Canadian defence minister Anita Anand said that Canada would continue to sail where international law allows, including the Strait, and that "actors in this region must engage responsibly. In his speech, Li said China would not allow such freedom-of-navigation patrols by the United States and its allies to be "a pretext to exercise hegemony of navigation." After his remarks, regional scholars asked Li repeatedly about the incident as well as China's extensive maritime deployments in the disputed South China Sea. He did not answer them directly, saying moves by countries outside the region were raising tensions. Richard Marles, Australian deputy prime minister and defence minister, said his country's efforts to improve its military capabilities and presence in the region were aimed at "playing our part in contributing to the collective security of the Pacific and the maintenance of the rules-based order". "It is a point I made that we have repeatedly made to the region and to the world since we announced the optimal pathway to acquiring nuclear powered submarine capability," he said on the sidelines of the security meeting, referring to the AUKUS pact with the United States and Britain. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin rebuked China in a speech at the summit on Saturday for refusing to hold military talks, leaving the superpowers deadlocked over their differences. Austin said dialogue "is not a reward, but a necessity". Li was more restrained in his address, although he took thinly veiled digs at the United States, accusing "some countries" of intensifying an arms race and wilfully interfering in the internal affairs of others. "A Cold War mentality is now resurgent, greatly increasing security risks," he said. "Mutual respect should prevail over bullying and hegemony." Li, sanctioned by the United States in 2018 over weapons purchases from Russia, shook hands with Austin at a dinner on Friday but the two have not had a deeper discussion, despite repeated U.S. demands for more military exchanges. Alongside the speeches and panel discussions, senior intelligence officials from both sides attended a secret meeting of spy chiefs in Singapore on the fringes of the summit, Reuters reported on Sunday. After Li's speech, retired veteran Chinese diplomat Cui Tiankai urged the United States to ease military deployments close to China in an act of "good faith" if high-level defence talks between the two superpowers are to resume. Chong Ja Ian, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, said that Li's approach and tone appeared gentler than that of Chinese positions stated at previous summits but that "the content was the same". "It was a reflection of the distance between the U.S. and the PRC, which also suggests that any hope that there will be some resolution is naive. U.S., PRC competition is here to stay, he said. (Reporting by Chen Lin, Greg Torode, Xinghui Kok in Singapore, Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Gerry Doyle and Raju Gopalakrishnan) China's Defence Minister Li Shangfu warned 'NATO-like' alliances would lead to conflict in the region China's defence minister warned Sunday against establishing NATO-like military alliances in the Asia-Pacific, saying they would plunge the region into a "whirlpool" of conflict. Li Shangfu's comments came a day after US and Chinese military vessels sailed close to each other in the flashpoint Taiwan Strait, an incident that provoked anger from both sides. "Attempts to push for NATO-like (alliances) in the Asia-Pacific is a way of kidnapping regional countries and exaggerating conflicts and confrontations," Li told a security conference in Singapore also attended by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Li warned that these alliances would "plunge the Asia-Pacific into a whirlpool of disputes and conflicts". Li's comments echoed long-held Chinese criticism of the United States' efforts to shore up alliances in the region and counter China's rise. The United States is a member of AUKUS, which groups it with Australia and Britain. Washington is also a member of the QUAD group, which includes Australia, India and Japan. "Today's Asia-Pacific needs open and inclusive cooperation, not buddying up into small cliques," Li said at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit. Li sought to paint the United States as the trigger of regional instability, and China as seeking to ease tensions. "It cannot be denied that if a fierce conflict or confrontation occurs between China and the United States, it would bring unbearable pain for the world," he said. - Miscalculations - On Saturday, Austin called for top-level defence talks with Beijing to prevent miscalculations. "The more that we talk, the more that we can avoid the misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to crisis or conflict," Austin said. Also on Saturday, the United States deployed a destroyer from its 7th Fleet along with a Canadian naval vessel through the Taiwan Strait. China responded by sending one of its naval ships close to the US destroyer, the USS Chung-Hoon, according to the Pentagon. The strait is one of the world's most tense potential military flashpoints. China claims Taiwan as its territory -- vowing to take it one day, by force if necessary -- and has in recent years ramped up military and political pressure on the island. Austin on Sunday described the incident as "extremely dangerous", saying the Chinese vessel crossed "probably 150 feet (46 metres)" in front of the Chung-Hoon. "I call upon the (Chinese) leadership to really do the right things to rein in that kind of conduct, because I think accidents can happen that could cause things to spiral out of control," Austin told reporters in Singapore. Saturday's Taiwan Strait encounter followed what the US military said was an "unnecessarily aggressive maneuver" by one of Beijing's fighter's near a US surveillance plane in the South China Sea last week. Li told the Singapore audience on Sunday that the onus was on the United States to pull its military presence away from areas near China. "Our Chinese military aircraft and warships won't ever go near the airspace and territorial waters of other countries to engage in so-called navigational hegemony," Li said. "The best thing would be if all countries, and especially their warplanes and warships, refrained from wandering through other countrys territorial airspace and waters. What are you hanging around here for?" Austin and Li shook hands and spoke briefly at the Singapore event's opening dinner on Friday, but there was no substantive exchange. The United States had invited Li to meet with Austin on the sidelines of the conference, but China declined. A senior US defense official told journalists Sunday that the US had also offered lower level meetings but that China didnt respond. A member of China's delegation told AFP that the removal of US sanctions on Li was a precondition for talks. However, there have been some signs of improved dialogue between the two nations. CIA Director William Burns made a secret trip to China last month, a US official announced on Friday. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink will also travel to China on Sunday for a rare visit. In his speech in Singapore on Saturday, Lloyd outlined Washington's extensive partnerships in the region. "Americas partnerships are bringing the region closer together to help keep it free, open, and secure," he said. wd-mba/skc/kma Chinese astronaut waves and smiles in reclined position with landed space capsule in background China's Shenzhou 15 astronauts returned to Earth with a smooth and safe weekend landing after completing a six-month mission to the country's space station. Astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu touched down in their Shenzhou 15 spacecraft return capsule at the Dongfeng landing site at 6:33 p.m. EDT on Saturday, June 3, (2233 GMT; or 6:33 a.m. on June 4 Beijing Time), according to the China Manned Space Agency. The Shenzhou 15 crew launched from Jiuquan in northwest China on Nov. 29 and were part of the first-ever crew handover on China's new Tiangong space station. Fei and his crewmates had taken over control of the station from the Shenzhou 14 crew in early December. They welcomed the incoming Shenzhou 16 crew on May 29. Related: China's Shenzhou 15 astronauts quietly conduct 3rd spacewalk (video) Image 1 of 5 Chinese astronaut waves and smiles in reclined position with landed space capsule in background Image 2 of 5 Chinese Shenzhou 15 capsule kicking up dust cloud while landing as parachute floats to Earth Image 3 of 5 Chinese Shenzhou 15 space capsule descending under parachute with recovery helicopter in background Image 4 of 5 Scorched Shenzhou 15 space capsule lying on its side after landing Image 5 of 5 Brilliant streak of a Shenzhou 15 space capsule across the sky We are feeling good," mission commander Fei said in a brief interview right after exiting the return capsule. The mission was Deng Qingming's first flight to space, having been selected in China's first batch of astronauts back in 1997. That's a nearly 26-year wait for his first trip to space. "Now, I really, really miss my family and my hometown. My experience as an astronaut over the past 25 years makes me believe more firmly in the power of dreams and persistence," Deng told Chinese state media. Related stories: China's Shenzhou 15 astronauts complete record-breaking 4th spacewalk (video) Facts about China's Tiangong space station China launches 3 astronauts to Tiangong space station on Shenzhou 16 spacecraft (video) The Shenzhou 15 crew embarked on four extravehicular activities, or spacewalks, during their time in space, setting a national record. The trio also carried out a range of science experiments and outreach activities. Tests included using a two-photon microscope to image an astronaut's skin, testing a free-piston Stirling thermoelectric converter, as well as various experiments using a combustion chamber. Two of Tiangong's three modules are science modules which contain a number of experiment racks. Meanwhile, in orbit, the new Shenzhou 16 astronauts are expected to remain aboard Tiangong until this upcoming November, when they will be relieved by the Shenzhou 17 crew. China aims to keep Tiangong operational and permanently occupied for at least a decade. Biochar is produced by heating cocoa bean husks in an oxygen-free room to 600 degrees Celsius (1112 Fahrenheit) At a red-brick factory in the German port city of Hamburg, cocoa bean shells go in one end, and out the other comes an amazing black powder with the potential to counter climate change. The substance, dubbed biochar, is produced by heating the cocoa husks in an oxygen-free room to 600 degrees Celsius (1,112 Fahrenheit). The process locks in greenhouse gases and the final product can be used as a fertiliser, or as an ingredient in the production of "green" concrete. While the biochar industry is still in its infancy, the technology offers a novel way to remove carbon from the Earth's atmosphere, experts say. According to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), biochar could potentially be used to capture 2.6 billion of the 40 billion tonnes of CO2 currently produced by humanity each year. But scaling up its use remains a challenge. - Amazonia - "We are reversing the carbon cycle," Peik Stenlund, CEO of Circular Carbon, told AFP at the biochar factory in Hamburg. The plant, one of the largest in Europe, takes delivery of the used cocoa shells via a network of grey pipes from a neighbouring chocolate factory. The biochar traps the CO2 contained in the husks -- in a process that could be used for any other plant. If the cocoa shells were disposed of as normal, the carbon inside the unused byproduct would be released into the atmosphere as it decomposed. Instead, the carbon is sequestered in the biochar "for centuries", according to David Houben, an environmental scientist at the UniLaSalle institute in France. One tonne of biochar -- or bio coal -- can stock "the equivalent of 2.5 to three tonnes of CO2", Houben told AFP. Biochar was already used by indigenous populations in the Americas as a fertiliser before being rediscovered in the 20th century by scientists researching extremely fecund soils in the Amazon basin. The surprising substance's sponge-like structure boosts crops by increasing the absorption of water and nutrients by the soil. In Hamburg, the factory is wrapped in the faint smell of chocolate and warmed by the heat given off by the installation's pipework. The final product is poured into white sacks to be sold to local farmers in granule form. One of those farmers is Silvio Schmidt, 45, who grows potatoes near Bremen, west of Hamburg. Schmidt hopes the biochar will help "give more nutrients and water" to his sandy soils. - Carbon cost - The production process, called pyrolysis, also produces a certain volume of biogas, which is resold to the neighbouring factory. In all, 3,500 tonnes of biochar and "up to 20 megawatt hours" of gas are produced by the plant each year from 10,000 tonnes of cocoa shells. The production method nonetheless remains difficult to scale up to the level imagined by the IPCC. "To ensure the system stores more carbon than it produces, everything needs to be done locally, with little or no transport. Otherwise it makes no sense," Houben said. And not all types of soil are well adapted to biochar. The fertiliser is "more effective in tropical climates", while the raw materials for its production are not available everywhere, Houben said. The cost can also be prohibitive at "around 1,000 euros ($1,070) a tonne -- that's too much for a farmer", he added. To make better use of the powerful black powder, Houben said other applications would need to be found. The construction sector, for example, could use biochar in the production of "green" concrete. But to turn a profit, the biochar business has come up with another idea: selling carbon certificates. The idea is to sell certificates to companies looking to balance out their carbon emissions by producing a given amount of biochar. With the inclusion of biochar in the highly regulated European carbon certificates system, "we are seeing strong growth in (the) sector", CEO Stenlund said. His company is looking to open three new sites to produce more biochar in the coming months. Across Europe, biochar projects have begun to multiply. According to the biochar industry federation, production is set to almost double to 90,000 tonnes this year compared with 2022. fcz/smk/sea/hmn/fg/leg Chuck Todd announced Sunday that he would be stepping down as the moderator of NBC's famed political weekly show, "Meet the Press." He will be replaced in the role by NBC News White House correspondent Kristen Welker. Todd made the announcement at the end of the most recent episode, telling viewers, "While today is not my final show, this is going to be my final summer here at 'Meet the Press.'" Todd added that he was "really proud of what this team and I have built over the last decade...I've loved so much of this job, helping to explain America to Washington, and Washington to America." Todd has been the moderator of "Meet the Press" since 2014, taking over for David Gregory while also serving as NBC News' political director. He has recently interviewed a number of high-profile politicians, including Vice President Kamala Harris, former Vice President Mike Pence, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and more. While rumors swirled last year that Todd's time at the show was ending after its executive producer was reassigned, there was "no indication" that he was fired, and made the decision to step down himself, The Associated Press reported. The 51-year-old Todd will remain at the outlet as a chief political analyst, NBC News reported, where he "will serve as a key voice both in the field and during coverage of major events" and "also focus on long-form journalism." It is unclear exactly when Welker will take over the job. She first joined NBC in 2010 before becoming a White House correspondent the next year. Welker tweeted that she had "learned so much from sitting with [Todd] at the anchor desk and simply experiencing his passion for politics" and was "humbled and grateful to take the baton and continue to build on the legacy of 'Meet the Press.'" You may also like Is Trump's wall working? Chris Christie: a scandal-plagued presidential hopeful YouTube to stop deleting false claims about 2020 election Group photo of guests and award winners at the award ceremony of "My China Story of the Greater Bay Area" International New Media Products Competition on June 2, 2023. [Photo by CICG] On June 2, "My China Story of the Greater Bay Area" International New Media Products Competition Awards Ceremony, hosted by China International Communications Group (CICG) and organized by Information Office of Zhongshan Municipal People's Government, Cyberspace Administration of Zhongshan, GDToday and Xufang International Media of CICG under the support of the Information Office of the People's Government of Guangdong Province and the Zhongshan Municipal People's Government, was held in Zhongshan, Guangdong. About 200 people attended the event, including representatives of partner institutions, expert judges, award-winning teams, local governments, as well as cooperation platforms. Gao Anming, vice president and editor-in-chief of CICG, speaks at the award ceremony of "My China Story of the Greater Bay Area" International New Media Products Competition on June 2, 2023. [Photo by CICG] When addressing the award ceremony, Gao Anming, vice president and editor-in-chief of CICG, said that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has become one of the most open and economically vibrant regions in China. In the future, CICG is willing to work together with domestic and international partners to explore and create more diverse stories about the Greater Bay Area, and to promote innovative activities for international communication with greater fruits. Lin Ruixi, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Zhongshan Municipal Committee and head of the committee's Publicity Department, speaks at the award ceremony of "My China Story of the Greater Bay Area" International New Media Products Competition on June 2, 2023. [Photo by CICG] Lin Ruixi, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Zhongshan Municipal Committee and head of the committee's Publicity Department, said that the competition, themed "My China Story of the Greater Bay Area," received over 28,000 entries, including many outstanding works. The new media products in the section of "of Zhongshan" were rich in content, warmth, and creativity, which will effectively enhance the international recognition and reputation of Zhongshan. Zhongshan boasts rich history, flourishing culture, and notable figures. It is the birthplace of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, a great pioneer of the Chinese democratic revolution. Currently, focusing on areas such as business environment, industry, transportation, innovation, public services, social governance, and planning, Zhongshan is promoting integration and interactive development with cities on the eastern shore of the Pearl River like Shenzhen, accelerating the construction of the Guangdong Reform and Innovation Experimental Zone for the Integrated and Interactive Development of the East and West Banks of the Pearl River Estuary, and ushering in a new era of high-quality development. Rafael Saavedra, a we-media blogger from Venezuela, speaks at the award ceremony of "My China Story of the Greater Bay Area" International New Media Products Competition on June 2, 2023. [Photo by CICG] During the award ceremony, several foreign bloggers shared their stories on their works. Rafael Saavedra, a we-media blogger from Venezuela, said that the Greater Bay Area integrates culture, innovation, and economic strength. As a center of technological innovation, it attracts talented people from around the world. The efficient transportation network, modern facilities, and sustainable urban planning in the Greater Bay Area have set new benchmarks for other regions worldwide. After living here for eight years, he has gained a better understanding of China and loves it more. Jack Klumpp, an American host from Xufang International Media's "I am in China", said that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area possesses a complete industrial chain and high-tech super factories, with enormous development potential. The Greater Bay Area aims to become a vibrant world-class city cluster and an international hub for scientific and technological innovation, and create a high-quality living circle suitable for work, residence, and leisure tourism, so as to further promote high-quality development. He hopes that more international friends will, like him, document the vibrant stories around them and share the achievements of the Greater Bay Area with audiences around the world. Jack Klumpp, an American host from Xufang International Media's "I am in China", speaks at the award ceremony of "My China Story of the Greater Bay Area" International New Media Products Competition on June 2, 2023. [Photo by CICG] "My China Story" International Short Video Competition, initiated by CICG in 2018, has been successfully held for five years. It has become a well-known international communication event integrating multilingual short video creation, topic-of-the-year competitions, special topic competitions, new media international communication seminars, and theme exhibitions. It aims to build the most authoritative brand of the "China in the Lens of Foreigners" activity, create the most open exchange platform for global creators, and facilitate the widest cooperation among creators and platforms. Journalist and political analyst Chuck Todd is stepping down as moderator of NBCs Meet The Press and will be replaced by Chief White House Correspondent and co-anchor Kristen Welker, the network announced on Sunday. Todd announced his own departure at the start of Sundays Meet the Press, in which he said it wouldnt be his last show but it would be his last summer with the program. While today is not my final show, this will be my final summer here at Meet the Press, Todd said on the air Sunday. I am really proud of what this team and I have built over the last decade. Todd, who has held the position since 2014, will be replaced by Welker who has been with the network since 2010, NBC News President of Editorial Rebecca Blumenstein and NBC News Senior Vice President of Politics Carrie Budoff Brown wrote to staff in a memo early Sunday. Blumenstein and Brown said Welker is the ideal journalist to build on the Meet the Press legacy. The longest running political talk show in television history, Meet The Press has consistently served as a leading platform for politicians and policy makers to discuss the issues of the day. Todd said during his decade at its helm, he believes he and his team answered whether Meet the Press still has a place in the modern media space. Welker will take over for Todd this fall. Just as important, Im also ready to take a step back because I know the person whom Im passing the baton to is somebody whos been ready for this for a while, Todd said of Welker. This is exactly how I always hoped this would end, that Id be passing the baton to her. Welker said she was humbled and grateful for the opportunity. .@chucktodd has been a mentor and friends since my first day at @NBCNews, Welker tweeted shortly after the announcement. Ive learned so much from sitting with him at the anchor desk and simply experiencing his passion for politics. Im humbled and grateful to take the baton and continue to build on the legacy of @MeetThePress. Updated 10:38 a.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. City of Dayton to host World Refugee Day event next weekend The City of Dayton will be hosting a World Refugee Day event next weekend. >>RELATED: Newly arrived Ukrainians welcomed in City of Dayton The community is invited to welcome the citys refugee community at the Dayton Metro Library on E. Third Street on June 10 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. It is an annual event designed by the United Nations to honor the courage, strength, and determination of refugees, according to a City of Dayton spokesperson. Refugees now living in Dayton have arrived from Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. The event will be free and open to the public. It will include food, music, performances, and presentations by Daytons refugee community. Colorado River would be in better shape if we followed these old Spanish rules The Central Arizona Project canal near the New River siphon northwest of Phoenix. The water rule that governs the current division of Colorado River waters is called prior appropriation, or first-in-time, first-in-right. This rule originated in the California and Colorado gold fields, where fortune-seekers needed water to extract gold ore from rock. Before they sank their sweat and treasure into deep mineshafts and long flumes, miners needed a rock-solid claim to water with which to extract their gold. They posted signs along creeks claiming a specific amount of water for their use. The first to post had the first and best right to the creeks water, with the second and third person to post getting whatever was left after the others before them had taken theirs. Acequias were built around shared water For the Anglos who settled the arid West, this first-in-time rule exactly fit their extractive mindset. Huge amounts of sweat, treasure and water were needed to build their towns and agrarian economies. They needed rock-solid claims to water before paying shovel crews to cut miles-long irrigation ditches in 1860, or before pledging millions to build the Hoover Dam in 1931. Over the last 175 years, prior appropriation has become the water law of the West. But long before the Anglos settled the West, the Hispanos brought their own water rules to settlements in New Mexico, Colorado, California and Arizona. Arizona's water crisis: What it means for some metro Phoenix cities Hispanic water rules come from the arid Arab world and govern acequias (irrigation ditches) in New Mexico today. Rather than treating water as something to extract the earths resources with, the acequia tradition sees water as life, a community asset upon which everyone depends. During a drought, acequias rotate scarce water between all users, giving priority first to people, then animals, and then human-food crops. Under acequia rules, irrigated pasture and industry are usually the lowest priority and may not get any water during a severe drought. Colorado River water should be shared similarly The acequia water-sharing tradition guided one of three options the Bureau of Reclamation proposed and shelved, for the time being for how to distribute Colorado river-water cuts. It was the ideal option. Reclamations other two considerations, doing nothing or following prior appropriation rules, would have decimated water supplies for Arizona and Nevada, drying up the cities of Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tucson. The approach of distributing water cuts equally among all member states flies in the face of prior appropriation law, but it recognizes that everyone needs water to live, just as acequia traditions do. Under the bureaus third option, California, Nevada and Arizona would have each faced less painful cuts, since cuts would have been spread between all of their users, including senior water users in the Imperial Valley and junior water users in the Central Arizona Project. Voluntary plan bodes well for future talks The Bureau of Reclamation has put the three options on ice, after the submission of a consensus-based proposal from California, Arizona and Nevada. Although their joint proposal shares water cuts of 3 million acre-feet over three years among the three Lower Basin states, that is only half of what federal officials said was necessary to cut. Nevertheless, that the three states could come to an agreement over shared cuts bodes well for future negotiations over additional water cuts, as well as for the looming renegotiation of the Colorado River Compact in 2026. That California has backed away from its steadfast devotion to prior appropriation rules is surprising and hopeful. The current water crisis on the Colorado River calls for reevaluation of our modern attachment to prior appropriation. An Anglo extractive mentality may no longer be appropriate in the face of climate change and megadroughts. Rather, the older Hispano acequia rules for water sharing during droughts will better protect people, communities and food supplies when there is no longer sufficient water to fulfill everyones claims. Elizabeth Black runs the Citizen Science Soil Health Project and farms Christmas trees in Boulder, Colo. She produced The Ditch Project, a show and website about Western water and Boulders irrigation ditches at https://boulderdata.org/repository/a/ditchproject. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Colorado River cuts should follow these old Spanish rules Former FBI Director James Comey predicted on Sunday that former President Trump could be wearing an ankle bracelet when accepting the GOP nomination if he wins it in 2024, as the former president faces a number of legal challenges. Comey said on MSNBCs Inside with Jen Psaki that he doesnt want to but could envision Trump getting the Republican nod. I mean, its this crazy world that Donald Trump has dragged this country into, but he could be wearing an ankle bracelet while accepting the nomination at the Republican convention, Comey said. You would be rejected if you put it in a script for a show, but you could have a president who is potentially incarcerated when he is elected president, he added. Trump if facing a slew of legal woes including an indicted on criminal charges in New York, and two Justice Department inquiries led by special counsel Jack Smith. A Georgia prosecutor is probing attempts to overturn the states election results in 2020, and Trump was also found liable last month for sexual abuse and defamation writer E. Jean Carroll. As he runs for another term in the White House, Trump has said he wont drop out of the 2024 race for any legal reason. Hes still legally able to lodge his campaign even as he faces charges and the other ongoing legal battles. Trump fired Comey as FBI director during his tenure at the White House in May 2017. Trump cited Comeys handling of an investigation involving an email server belonging the Hillary Clinton while she was running as Trumps opponent in the 2016 election even though it benefitted him politically. Trump ultimately let Comey go over investigations involving Russia and Trumps aides though Comey had informed Trump that he himself was not being probed. Comey on Sunday said where a potential 2024 GOP nomination of Trump could lead is unknown. So, that would be weird and awkward. And it seems even crazy to be coming out of my mouth, but thats the situation we face. It looks like the Republicans will likely nominate someone who is under serious criminal investigation, is indicted, and who knows where thats going to lead us, Comey said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Anti-government demonstrators protest against recent reforms pushed by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to the country's electoral law that they believe threaten democracy, in Mexico City's main square, the Zocalo, on Feb. 26. (Fernando Llano / Associated Press) Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador would like us all to believe that he is the messiah that has come to save his country from the tentacles of corruption. Its not easy to carry out a transformation, Lopez Obrador said during one of his lengthy daily news conferences earlier this year. This transformation hes carrying out, he says, will take power away from the elite and hand it to everyday people, finally establishing a true democracy in long-suffering Mexico. The president constantly rails against the mafia of power made up by the elites of Mexico such as corporation owners, judges who rule against him, and political opponents who use their money and influence to run the country how they see fit, apparently discounting the fact that he himself is now part of that elite. I dont need to live in Mexico to recognize when a politician in my native country is giving people atole con el dedo , the well-used Mexican phrase that means trying to put one over on others. Consider his partys initiative to convert the National Electoral Institute, known as INE, from a powerful organization that has ensured democratic elections through independent oversight of elections nationwide for more than two decades into a smaller body with fewer resources and less ability to fine political candidates who violate campaign spending rules. The organization, whose independence was guaranteed by constitutional reforms in 1996, oversaw the 2000 election that broke the 71-year rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. The end to the Perfect Dictatorship, as the PRI was called, was the dawn of democracy in Mexico, and met with raucous celebrations in Mexico that I witnessed as a reporter for the Orange County Register covering the historic election. It was also the body that validated the 2006 presidential results, which Lopez Obrador blames for his loss by less than 1%. He also ran unsuccessfully in 2012 but won in a landslide in 2018. Now, AMLO, as the president is known, wants to hobble that agency, to cut what he says is bloated staff and funding and direct the savings to needy people. Theres no question that theres a lot of need in Mexico, but cutting funding to the institution overseeing elections is not a prudent way forward in a hard-won democracy. In a meeting with the Los Angeles Times editorial board earlier this year, Mexicos Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard defended his partys support of changes to the INE, saying that the changes would create a more efficient organization. It was a day after more than 100,000 people marched in protest in the capital after the Mexican Senate voted in favor of cutting the institute's budget. Ebrard's statements were predictable, considering that he's vying for his party's presidential nomination. By law, AMLO can serve only one term. With such widespread alarm for what many view as a threat to democracy in Mexico, does the presidential aspirant think that if he were elected people would see his victory as fair? Ebrard hesitated a few seconds before repeating more of the same in response, but after the meeting, he offered to have his staff send me more details about the plan to revamp the INE. It would be easier to believe the party line if the proposed changes didnt benefit AMLOs Morena party, which already holds most of the state governorships and 261 seats in the Mexican Congress. Thankfully, the Mexican Supreme Court in early May halted a portion of the initiative to weaken the INE, with one justice saying that there was no real and substantive democratic deliberation by legislators in passing the measure. Its heartening to see at least this pillar of democracy working well. Five years into his six-year term, AMLO is in a rush to leave his stamp. When he was mayor of Mexico City, he led a revitalization of downtown, restoring historic buildings, creating new shopping zones and housing. AMLO wants to do the same for the country with the planned Maya Train, a 950-mile railway network through the Yucatan Peninsula. It would link the tourist regions of Cancun and Tulum through ancient Maya sites. AMLO has offered videos produced by his administration featuring leaders of Maya municipalities who say they favor the train because it offers economic benefits for their communities. Environmentalists and other experts say the Maya Train will destroy Indigenous land, ecosystems and the way of life in the area. AMLO had an approval rating of 84% when he left Mexico City as mayor. Upon winning the presidency in 2018, he promised to get rid of the corruption that befell previous administrations. But his tenure has been disappointing to watch, even from afar. I hoped to see AMLO find a way to weaken drug cartels. Instead, the president offered a policy of hugs, not bullets to drug traffickers destroying the country. He has allowed the extradition of some cartel leaders to the United States, but has angered U.S. lawmakers with his absurd denials that Mexican cartels produce fentanyl. I also eagerly awaited to hear whether his administration would tackle the rampant femicides throughout the country. Instead, AMLO has spoken derisively about activists whove been working to stem the killings, dismissing them as pawns of conservatives who oppose him. And would AMLO speak out against the killings of journalists simply for doing their job? No, the president has attacked the media as being sensationalist and once said a journalists killing was staged to make his administration look bad. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists , 52 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 2018. Disturbingly, AMLO is expanding the role of the military. From helping build infrastructure projects like the Maya Train to patrolling streets, the military is now empowered to do more throughout the country. The Mexican economy is strong for now, helping foster AMLOs continued high approval ratings, but this may change if democracy further erodes. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Conservatives, If You Want To Ban "Woke" Materials In Schools Shouldn't You At Least Read Them First? American poet Amanda Gorman recites a poem during the Inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. The poem written for Bidens inauguration has been placed on a restricted list for elementary-aged students at a school in South Florida after a complaint by one parent. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, Gorman vowed to fight back. Daily Salinas, a mother in the Miami-area whose complaint about The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman got it successfully restricted in an elementary school, confessed she did not read the piece she objected to in its entirety. According to Salinas, the poem is not educational and have indirectly [sic] hate messages. Gormans work, which was performed at President Bidens Inauguration in 2021, wasnt the only thing Salinas complained about. According to the Florida Freedom to Read Project, Salinaswhose two children attend The Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakesalso came for The ABCs of Black History, Cuban Kids, Countries in the News: Cuba, and Love to Langston for including references of critical race theory, indirect hate messages and gender ideology and indoctrination. Read more In an interview, Salinas tried to justify her ignorance of the material. Im not an expert, she said. Im not a reader. Im not a book person. Im a mom involved in my childrens education. In addition to being admittedly dense, Salinas has also promoted antisemitism on social media and attended rallies featuring members of the Proud Boys. Even though she has Cuban heritage, the Florida parent used thinly veiled bigotry as an excuse to further oppress other marginalized groups. Sadly, the fact that she stripped her claims of any validity by not reading the material didnt phase her in the least. The same can be said of Emily Conklin, another Florida parent who complained about the Disney film Ruby Bridges being shown in her childs classroom because she believed it teaches that white people hate Black people. The film was temporarily banned at North Shore Elementary in St. Petersburg, though Conklin admitted that she never finished the film (she only watched the first 50 minutes of the movie). Ron DeSantis Florida governorship has emboldened white supremacist ideology for conservatives who dont even consume material they claim to be dangerous to their children. His newly announced presidential run will only work to deepen this dystopia. The right vehemently has attacked anything they deem woke, though they have repeatedly failed to define what it even means. As the GOP sharpen their claws and gear up try to take over White House next year, instances like these remind us that they will never rely on reason, intelligence or principle when it comes to policy and legislation. It will always thrive on hate, discrimination and racismpillars that have upheld the party since its inception. 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. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Sunday said the Biden administration should stop chasing after Chinese officials like lovestruck teenagers. Biden administration officials should stop chasing after their Chinese communist counterparts like lovestruck teenagers. Its embarrassing and its pathetic, Cotton said on Fox News Sunday. In fact, it projects weakness to China. It encourages them to do things like buzz our aircrafts or come within a few hundred yards of our ships. It encourages them to send spy balloons floating all across America, the senator said, adding that reducing tariffs would send the same message. Cotton was commenting on the U.S.-China relationship amid Defense Secretary Lloyd Austins visit to Singapore, where his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, is also in attendance at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a security conference. Beijing refused to meet, which Austin called unfortunate. The two later spoke briefly on the sidelines of the conference and Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the pair did not have a substantive exchange. Cottons comments also come after the U.S. military said on Saturday that a Chinese ship maneuvered in an unsafe manner near a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Taiwan Strait. China-U.S. tensions have been strained by a number of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, an incident with a Chinese surveillance balloon earlier this year. Chinas stance on Russias war on Ukraine and Beijings aggression in the Indo-Pacific, particularly with regard to Taiwan. Cotton said that the single best way we can deter China and Iran and Russia is to have a military capable of deterring them. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. SACRAMENTO, Calif. The HPV vaccine has been around for almost two decades and could spare thousands of people from developing cervical and oral cancer so mandating it for schoolchildren once seemed an easy call for Democrats in deep-blue California. But a bill to do just that has been watered down beyond recognition in one of the most liberal states in the U.S., a victim of a homegrown anti-vaccine movement that has become more organized and more successful since the pandemic. Anti-vaccine activists didnt do it on their own. The most powerful thing to get the author to withdraw the mandate was school districts opposing the bill," said Joshua Coleman, who founded the group V for Vaccine to fight such requirements. While only a handful of mostly small, rural districts formally opposed the bill, statewide education groups also started to privately pressure the lawmaker to drop or soften her proposal. Toxic, pandemic-era battles over immunizations and school closures have made vaccine politics radioactive, even on diseases wholly unrelated to Covid-19. In California, where lawmakers pushed through some of the nations strictest mandates through 2019, schools are wary of wading back into the fight. Across the country, blue-state policymakers have nearly given up trying to create new vaccine policy and are now simply trying to hold the line on a decades worth of public health gains. Attempts to add required vaccines for school kids this year sputtered in Wisconsin, California and Massachusetts, a stunning reversal after a successful push to tighten exemptions for mandated childhood vaccines. Its fair to say were experiencing a new paradigm in the vaccine debates, said Troy Flint, a spokesperson for the California School Boards Association, which has not taken an official position on the bill. I think there is weariness about addressing the issue because of the impact that the closure of in-person instruction had on students, as well as just the vitriol that surrounds the issue and has the potential to distract. Anti-vaccine activists, who argue immunizations are a personal choice and should not be compelled by the state, have seized on that reluctance and lately, theyve been on a winning streak. In just over a year, proposals in Sacramento to let younger teens get the shot without parental consent, require the Covid-19 vaccine for schools and some employers, and tighten up vaccine reporting requirements lost steam, weighed down by pandemic fatigue and growing public resentment toward public health mandates. People are so wary of science and data now, said the HPV bills author, Democratic Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry. "I have to have a brass backbone on this," she added. Its an ominous sign for the ability of states to enact new vaccine laws. Theres been an avalanche, a flood, of bills introduced on vaccine policy, but theyre mostly negative, said Brent Ewig, the chief policy and government relations officer of the Association of Immunization Managers, which has been going state to state to counter the small but loud medical freedom groups. Right now the politics of vaccines are such that were in a holding pattern. The anti-vaccine side is not waiting it out. Even before Aguiar-Currys HPV bill had been formally introduced, groups advocating for parental choice and medical freedom were roaming the halls of the state Capitol, meeting with elected officials in case anyone in Sacramento was thinking of trying to mandate the Covid-19 vaccine again. By the time the Democrat finally proposed an HPV mandate, one that she had been urged to shelve years earlier during earlier vaccine wars, the politics had hardened. Almost immediately, her bill which would have required students to receive the HPV vaccine by eighth grade to attend school became a problem. HPV is a virus that is often, but not always, sexually transmitted, and certain strains of it can lead to cervical, oral and other cancers. Its the cause of around 3 percent of all cancers in women and 2 percent in men, around 36,000 new cases each year. A vaccine for the few cancer-causing strains has been available since 2006; it prevents around 90 percent of HPV-related cancers. In 2007, Texas became the first state to mandate HPV vaccines for 11- and 12-year-old girls when then-Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, signed an executive order. His action was quickly overturned by the state legislature after public outcry over the vaccine manufacturer Mercks lobbying and campaign contributions to the governor. It cast an early shadow of controversy over the vaccine, one that skeptics have latched onto since. In California this year, vaccine mandate opponents began calling the offices of nearly every member of the Assemblys health committee to complain about the bill. They put out calls on Twitter and Facebook, urging like-minded people to show up to hearings. But anti-vaccine groups which are generally viewed as pariahs in the state Capitol also leaned on the influence of the pandemic-battered education world, which weathered years of exhausting debates over distance learning, masking and vaccine mandates. They called up schools and churches two places that sat in the crosshairs of Covid public health fights and mobilized from there. Struggling to generate enthusiasm among her colleagues for the bill, Aguiar-Curry continued amending it first, by removing the mandate for middle schoolers and kicking it up to college students and, later, replacing the mandate with a recommendation. I thought I did them a big favor, Aguiar-Curry said. I got the schools off the bill because they were upset about it. The post-pandemic vaccine backlash has led to a sense among pro-vaccine advocates across the country that the best they can do is protect existing rules. Republican lawmakers in Wyoming and West Virginia spent the past year trying unsuccessfully to remove all school vaccine requirements and making it easier for children to opt out of vaccines, said Becky Christensen, the state campaigns director for the Safe Communities Coalition, which advocates for pro-vaccine policies state-by-state. Were just trying to hang onto the provisions we do have in place, Christensen said, noting that the situation and the climate is so volatile. Wisconsin is one of the only other states that tried any kind of vaccine mandate this year, through its health department. What should have been a simple update to put the state in line with federal recommendations requiring that seventh-graders be vaccinated against meningitis and 12th-graders be boosted for it became a supercharged political issue as Republican lawmakers blocked it, said Ryan Westergaard, chief medical officer for Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The pushback was unexpected, and the tenor was much more intense and personal than we anticipated, Westergaard said in an interview, noting that Wisconsins school vaccine requirements hadnt been updated in a decade. Theres a real reluctance to introduce any proactive policy to improve vaccines because once it gets discussed in the public sphere theres a real danger that we will lose ground. Covington officer shot in the face gives update on recovery, looking forward to being back on duty A Covington police officer who was shot in the line of duty last month says hes recovering fine. Officer Rashad Rivers responded to the Oyo Hotel off Alcovy Road for a domestic incident when he was shot in the face. He spent several days in the hospital before being released to continue his recovery at home. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Treyvorius Stodghill, 23, was shot during an exchange of gunfire and died from his injuries. Before being escorted to his home, Rivers told Channel 2 Action News that he feels like a new man. TRENDING STORIES: Just wanted to let you know that I really, really, really appreciate all the thoughts and prayers, Rivers said in a video statement on Saturday. I do have my jaw wired shut, but I am doing fine. It is a beautiful day in Covington, Georgia and it extends beyond the sunny weather. We have a message from Officer Rashad Rivers, #206, who is recuperating from being shot in the line of duty on May 23rd. He wanted to let everyone know how much he appreciates their prayers, positive messages and support during this time. Our department would also like to thank the community and supporters from all over who have extended their kindness and graciousness to Officer Rivers, his family, the CPD and all public safety personnel involved in the May 23rd incident. We are humbled and encouraged by the support. Thank you. #206tough #cpdfamily #thankyouforyoursupport #wegotyoursix206 Posted by Covington (Ga.) Police Department on Saturday, June 3, 2023 He says that he is ready to get back to serving the people of Covington as soon as he is cleared. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Schools are facing a funding and personnel crisis. Pennsylvania needs to step up and do more to insure each child receives the same access to a quality education, and that already overburdened communities can receive some relief from ever-rising education costs. A group of Bucks County school superintendents and other officials wanted to make that message known Thursday as they are asking Gov. Josh Shapiro and the state legislature to provide $1.236 billion from the state's $12 billion surplus to increase funding for education in the 2023-24 budget now being devised. The announcement was made during a press conference at William Tennent High School in Warminster organized by the advocacy coalition Children First. In his budget proposal, Shapiro wants to increase basic education funding for kindergarten through 12th grade schools by $567.37 million. But Children First is asking for $700 million, and another $300 million for the 100 lowest wealth districts, as well as an additional $236.5 million for special education, said Priyanka Reyes-Kaura, the group's policy director for K-12 education. PA school funding formula flawed: Court In February, Commonwealth Court ruled that the state's educational funding formula was flawed because it didn't assure that each Pennsylvania child gets equal access to a quality education and this went against the state's Constitution guaranteeing equal protection under the law. The school officials acknowledged that Shapiro wants to make education a priority in the state's budget for next year, but they don't know yet whether the legislature will go along. They are pressing legislators to provide the districts more funds from the state's expected revenue surplus both to increase educational equity for all students and to provide relief for homeowners who are facing hardships because of the rise in local school taxes. Why have education costs gone up for Bucks County schools? The superintendents said a combination of factors including more children needing special services and fewer teachers, counselors, aides and bus drivers available since the pandemic started, are affecting educational programs in schools and have raised staffing costs. Coupled with inflation increasing the price of educational supplies and building materials, these expenses have left districts searching for new ways to fund their budgets without property tax increases each year. New Hope-Solebury Superintendent of Schools Charles Lentz speaks at a press conference Thursday at William Tennent High School in Warminster about the increased need for state funding for education as other educators and officials look on. The event was sponsored by the advocacy group, Children First. State Rep. Brian Munroe, D-144, of Warminster, said Thursday in the six months since he's taken office as a legislator, he's participated in 30 meetings and phone calls about educational issues and two topics keep coming up: funding and personnel. He is now a prime sponsor of House Bill 1249 which would provide a tax credit to those who become teachers as well as new police officers and nurses, two other public service occupations facing employment shortages. "We're facing a crisis in education," Munroe said a constituent who visited his office told him recently. The man specifically wanted to know what efforts were being taken to boost educational and good nutritional development starting in pre-kindergarten, so that children would have a good start in school, both academically and physically. Bucks County schools are seeing more needs in students More: Pennsylvania teachers leaving their jobs at an accelerating rate, new study finds Centennial School District Superintendent Dana Bedden said his district has seen its number of homeless children rise from 38 to 100 in the past two years and Centennial joins several other districts in seeing an increase in the number of immigrant children needing English as a Second Language instruction. He said the district now has students coming from 48 different countries and speaking 40 different languages. Bensalem School District has the third most diverse student population in Pennsylvania. "We are incredibly proud of our diversity," said Superintendent Samuel Lee, but the district must fund language educators and also fund a charter school within its boundaries, which takes about 10% of its budget. "These issues are real," Lee said. Lee said Bucks County school districts are "incredible stewards of taxpayer investments but communities are made to bear significant burdens." ZIP code a factor in PA school funding Karen Downer, president of the Bucks County Chapter of the NAACP, said that a child's ZIP code largely affects their access to a quality education. "Local wealth determines which students get what they need," she said, since the majority of educational funding comes from local taxpayers. She said it is unfair children in poorer communities do not have the same access to educational services and extracurricular activities as those in richer school districts. While the New Hope-Solebury School District is located in one of Bucks County wealthiest communities, it has seen its costs "deeply exasperated by the pandemic, said Superintendent Charles Lentz, including a rise in special education needs which account for one-eighth of its $48.3 million in expected expenditures for the 2023-24 school year. Like other districts, it has had a tough time recruiting teachers and support staff. Lentz said the district relies on its local taxpayers to fund 83% of its budget and it is difficult to ask them to fund more. Two Tennent students, Emma Torok and Jamal Mitchell, both said that increased funding must level the playing field for all Pennsylvania students both in classrooms and in extracurricular activities. Rabbi Anna Boswell-Levy, a parent of children in the Pennsbury School District, said she too is concerned that the state is not doing enough to help ease the burden on local communities to provide quality education for their students. "Pennsylvania has long underfunded our schools ... Each of these kids are our future, our hope, our investment," she said. Bedden concluded, "If you think education is expensive, I assure you ignorance is more expensive." This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: PA school funding needs fix for Bucks County schools Dancing With the Stars winner Olena Shoptenko saw a drone shot down on her return to Kyiv Olena Shoptenko Shoptenko has now returned to Vienna to be with her son. Her return to the Ukrainian capital coincided with the ongoing missile attacks by the Russian invasion forces. She witnessed first hand a Russian drone being shot down and she shared details of her experience in Kyiv on Instagram on June 4. It has been over a week since I returned to Vienna from Kyiv, and I find it difficult to put into words my impressions of visiting my hometown after a year. It was quite challenging for me, as I had numerous thoughts and emotions, Shoptenko wrote. Living abroad with my son, experiencing two different realities since the start of the war, my mind was exhausted. instagram.com/alena_shoptenko Perhaps thats why, upon arriving in Ukraine, I found myself in a state of silent shock for the first few days and struggled to communicate with anyone. I simply wandered the streets of Kyiv extensively, breathing in the familiar air. Right after my arrival, the missile attacks began, which hadnt occurred for a long time and are still ongoing. It caused concern but surprisingly, not fear and panic. Like witnessing a drone being shot down in the city center before my eyes. For a long time, I couldnt understand what was wrong with me. Only recently did I find the answer to that question. The people had an enormous impact on my state. The individuals I encountered in Kyiv, as well as Ukrainians in general, whom I came across everywhere on the streets. instagram.com/alena_shoptenko I felt warmth, politeness, determination, support, a palpable inner strength, and a desire for life and progress, despite everything. This indomitable spirit, present in everyone I met, instilled in me a sense of tranquillity and safety in a country that is still dangerous. It was truly fascinating, the dancer wrote. Shoptenko responded to a question about her thoughts on Vlad Yama, the Ukrainian dancer and one of three judges on Ukraines Got Talent and Dancing with the Stars shows, who left Ukraine for the United States with his son and wife early in the full-scale war. instagram.com/alena_shoptenko Everyone makes their own choices. Honestly, I dont dwell on it, the choreographer wrote. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine The Dayton Public School Summer Food Program will get underway next week. >>RELATED: Summer program providing lunch to kids begins Monday Starting Monday, children under the age of 18 will be eligible to receive free meals throughout the summer through the Dayton Public School Districts Summer Food Program. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be available in various churches, summer camps, and schools holding summer programs, according to DPS. >>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Dayton Public Schools food program to offer free meals for kids throughout the summer The program will run through July 28. All food sites can be found on this website. File photo of a last will - roberthyrons Benjamin Franklin declared: In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. Perhaps because it unites these two unpalatable facts, inheritance tax (IHT) is the most loathed of all the levies of Leviathan. Having lost my father earlier this year, I am especially conscious of the iniquities of the fiscal maze in which the recently bereaved find themselves. An industry has grown up around IHT, one of the most complex of all taxes. IHT is a form of double or even triple taxation. It is imposed on an estate that has already been taxed in the lifetime of the deceased. It offends against natural justice for HMRC to demand nearly half of the value of an inheritance, forcing children to sell a home or heirlooms. The death tax is the brainchild of a Victorian philosopher and economist of impeccably liberal credentials John Stuart Mill. It was he who first distinguished between earned and unearned income. Not content with punitive taxes on investments and rents, Mill argued in favour of a heavy graduated succession duty on all inheritances exceeding that moderate amount, which is sufficient to aid but not to supersede personal exertion. Note the caveat: even Mill thought moderate inheritances should be exempt. His aim was to break up the great landed estates, not to fleece the middle classes on whose thrift and toil the nations fortunes depend. Today the natural desire of every parent to leave something to their children is impeded by a tax that potentially affects almost any homeowner in the more prosperous parts of the country. That desire of one generation to help the next ought to be encouraged, not penalised. The young aspire to own their own home; an inheritance may enable their parents to make it happen. IHT is a tax on aspiration. Mills utilitarian argument that inherited wealth removes the incentive to work is still echoed. Only last week The Economists Emma Duncan explained, less elegantly than Mill, that those who have inherited lots of dosh subside into a dull dependency on it. This flawed argument negates the very individual liberty for the defence of which Mill is justly famous. The legacy that one person may abuse as a meal ticket for life, another will use to found a business, to help their children or devote to charity. It is not for government to tell us how we should use property that our families have bequeathed, still less to confiscate it for its own purposes. There is something profoundly illiberal about such a usurpation. The taxs defenders argue that the rising value of property over a lifetime creates an unmerited windfall. Yet any homeowner knows that property requires hard work to maintain. A home, for those fortunate enough to inherit one, is more than just a dwelling or an asset. It is a unique repository of happy memories, a treasury of the familiar. Not every family will want to preserve such continuity between generations, but the choice should be theirs, not the states. In recognition of this fact, agricultural property is already exempt from IHT. Why not extend that rural exemption? Politics revolves around the opposite poles of liberty and equality. Inheritance is assumed to be associated with inequality, though countries that dispense with death taxes Australia, for instance, or Israel are no more unequal than the UK. But the defects of death taxes highlight the case for freedom. The moral case against the death tax is a conservative one. Edmund Burke saw society as a contract between those who are dead, those who are living, and those who are to be born. It cannot be right to break that contract by arbitrarily interrupting the legitimate transmission of property. For the sake of the individual, the family and society, let the tax collector leave those who long to endow posterity in peace. 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. In Classroom 27 at Sacramentos Mark Twain Elementary School, after-school aide Joshua Rolando Vasquez brought in a secret box of candy and chips, whipped cream and a refrigerator, and blindfolds and a handheld Sony video camera. He covered the rooms windows with black trash bags from 2013 through 2016, eventually leading to school officials asking why. And its a revolving door of excuses, attorney Joe George Jr. said. Its for a movie day. Well, we take them up or down. Its to keep the sun out. Its for a haunted house. The reality was much more horrifying: a sophisticated plan by a sexual predator to groom and abuse at least eight elementary school children as young as 7 in that classroom before he was caught and sent to prison. Now, with Vasquezs victims facing a lifetime of pain dealing with what he did to them, the bill has come due for the city of Sacramento and the Sacramento City Unified School District: more than $52 million to settle lawsuits alleging negligence by officials who ignored repeated warning signs about Vasquez. Joshua Rolando Vasquez pleaded guilty in 2016 to sexually abusing children while he worked at Mark Twain Elementary School in Sacramento. He was sentenced to 150 years to life in prison. A settlement agreement finalized last week calls for the city and district to pay out a total of $40 million for five of the victims, with the city paying about 60% of that amount and the district the rest. A previous settlement agreement for a sixth victim resulted in a $12.5 million payout. As part of the settlement, the city also provided one-page letters to the victims lauding their courage in coming forward as to the child abuse you suffered at the hands of Joshua Vasquez while he was our employee. Please accept our sincere apologies for what you suffered due to Vasquezs conduct and we hope our settlement of this matter will help you in your efforts to heal from this horrible and most regrettable experience at the hands of our former employee, said the letter, signed by Jackie Beecham, the citys director of youth, parks and community enrichment. A lifetime of pain The girls abused by Vasquez and their families will be living with the consequences of what he did for years, their lawyers say. These children are going to be living with what has been imprinted into their hard drive, into their brain, the mistrust of adults and the violation that they didnt even know could happen, said Roger Dreyer, who fought the cases through court to settlement along with George and attorney Noemi Esparza. Attorneys Noemi Nunez Esparza, Roger Dreyer and Joe George Jr. talk about the $52.5 million settlement stemming from years of abuse of five children by an after-school teacher in Sacramento, Tuesday, May 16, 2023. City spokesman Tim Swanson issued a statement Thursday acknowledging the gravity of what Vasquez did. Joshua Vasquez used his position of trust to prey on innocent children and commit sickening crimes against them, Swansons statement said. For that, he has been sentenced to life in prison. The city of Sacramento expresses its deepest sympathies to the victims and their families for the pain and trauma they have suffered and remains committed to doing everything it can to prevent anything like this from happening again. The school district issued a similar statement. The Sacramento City Unified School District treats student and staff safety as its highest priority and is committed to making any changes that are necessary for their protection and well-being, the emailed statement read. In addition, the district offers its deepest sympathy to the victims of these despicable crimes and will continue to support their well-being as possible. Since these cases were first brought to light, the district in 2020 implemented a series of policy and procedure changes, including additional sexual abuse and mandated reporter training for staff; stricter requirements for how and when a staff member can be alone with students; and changes to our policy when a staff member is accused of sexual misconduct. More recently, the district has taken further steps and retained an expert consultant to review our policies and procedures in an ongoing effort to train staff and remain vigilant in identifying and handling sexual offenders. Sex abuse cases cost schools hundreds of millions Sexual abuse claims against school employees have been made for decades. But in recent years the ability to pursue such claims has been bolstered by new state laws including in California that allow for a window of time for former students who are now adults to file civil actions against abusers, even if the statute of limitations for criminal penalties has passed. Those laws, along with a greater focus on the damage caused by abusers and school officials that fail to prevent such cases, have resulted in dramatic increases in settlement amounts in recent years. The Sacramento City Unified School District has agreed to pay more than $52 million to settle lawsuits stemming from years of sexual abuse of five children by an after-school teacher at Mark Twain Elementary School. One study issued in February found that 20% of all payouts by K-12 schools and higher education institutions stem from sexual abuse claims and that the costs of all types of losses by schools because of legal actions have increased dramatically. That study by United Educators, which offers risk management and insurance programs, found 69 damage awards and settlements of at least $1 million in 2022, compared to 38 in the previous year. Some of the largest reported publicly involve sexual misconduct claims, including nearly $700 million in settlements to pay victims of former UCLA gynecologist James Heaps, and $1.1 billion in payments to victims of ex-University of Southern California gynecologist George Tyndall, reportedly the largest sexual abuse payout in history by a university. Payouts force schools to reassess failures Dreyer, a prominent personal injury attorney who has won huge jury awards and settlements for clients over the years, said the amount of the Vasquez settlement may be large, but that it is paid by insurance and does not affect the ability of the school or the city to provide services to students. Instead, he said, such awards drive home the point that officials in charge failed in their duty to protect children. The financial numbers that get paid out on these cases get misunderstood by the general public, he said. They see the numbers because theyre significant and they think theres a negative impact on the schools or their children. But a case like this has a tremendous overall effect to the educational and academic industry that they have to do a better job of training their people to be mindful that this can happen, and be on the alert for it so they stop it. If Vasquez had been busted on this, if he had been talked to, if he knew that he didnt have this opportunity, then it doesnt happen or he goes somewhere else. Red flags missed, complaints from parents ignored The lawyers contend Vasquez was able to abuse children for as long as he did because officials ignored clear warning signs, as well as complaints from parents. And Vasquez himself conceded in depositions from prison that he did not start abusing children until he got to Mark Twain because he did not have the chance, Esparza said. I asked him had he had jobs before where he was exposed to children, and he had worked at a recreational place where theres kids, Esparza said. And I asked him, had you ever thought about abusing before? Vasquez told her he had had such thoughts, but had not acted on them, Esparza said. The Sacramento City Unified School District has agreed to pay more than $52 million to settle lawsuits stemming from years of sexual abuse of five children by an after-school teacher at Mark Twain Elementary School. He said, Because I wasnt provided the opportunity, I couldnt have done it there, she said. So this goes to the school district. They provided him the opportunity to do it because they didnt question anything. Vazquez began working for the citys START program in 2007 and was one of six program leaders at Mark Twain, which has about 250 students, more than half of them Hispanic. The program offered an after-school program for about 85 students until 6 p.m. Vasquez also began part-time work for the school district in 2010 as a yard duty worker and cafeteria supervisor, court documents say, and eventually was given access and a key to Room 27. Candy and a secret place The first sign of trouble came in October 2014, when a parent complained to Principal Rosario Guillen-Jovel that Vasquez had given her child candy and had a secret place and a prize box for students who were helping out, court documents say. The principal responded by telling Vasquez not to hand out candy or offer a reward system for helping, court documents say. Months later, some time between February and April 2015, another parent complained. So, a school parent is at her dining room table and her child has candy and in a mama bear kind of inquiry says, Whered you get the candy? George said. And her daughter says, its a secret. Vasquez had told the girl, Heres candy, if you keep it a secret you can come back to my secret room and get more secret candy, George said. The mother called the principal the next day, complaining and wanting to know what is going on, George said. And the principals response is, Dont worry, I already told him not to do that anymore. ... And nothing was done month after month after month. A sophisticated plan to groom everyone Over time, the lawyers say, Vasquez was able to groom not only the children but adults at the school, becoming a popular figure on campus as he tested the boundaries to see how far he could go. Like any skilled predator, he slowly, deliberately groomed everybody around him, Dreyer said. Both the adults and the children (began) gaining a comfort level and a feeling of safety... He grooms the adults to trust him, he grooms the children, becomes very popular. And as a result people just dont think theres anything he would do thats problematic. Vasquez soon found he was trusted enough to act in ways that should have raised concerns and should have resulted in reports to police, the lawyers said. Vasquez would go into a room, a classroom during room school hours, and he would ask the teacher, Id like to take Student X out of the classroom and have this young lady whos 9 years old help me set up for a dance or for an activity associated with START during school hours, not START hours, Dreyer said. And the teacher would say sure. Vasquez was so trusted that when the START site director at the school was removed from her job Vasquez was tapped to fill in as director until he finally was caught, court records say. He began to do test runs, gauging whether he had enough time in a classroom to abuse a student, the lawyers said, using a handheld radio to determine where other adults on the campus were at the time. So he can lock the door and he figures out a plan when he can have children at the end of the day alone, or a couple of them, and he blindfolds them, Dreyer said. And he engages in acts that are heinous, blindfolds the children, says I want you to tell me what flavor this particular product is ... He turns off the lights, blindfolds them and then he covers his penis with whipped cream or with some kind of flavored drink and then puts it in the childs mouth while theyre blindfolded. Vasquez would try other forms of abuse, often videotaping what he was doing with a camera he kept in the classroom, the lawyers said. Caught when the blindfold slipped He finally was caught in November 2015 after an 8-year-old girl he had blindfolded and was abusing looked underneath her blindfold and saw Vasquezs penis, then told her aunt about it as the girl was being driven home from school. The aunt called police, who arrested Vasquez and discovered the videos he had taken of some of the instances of abuse. As word of his arrest spread, the mother who reported her concerns about Vasquez giving her daughter candy in spring of 2015 called the principal, who denied ever talking to her about such concerns, court documents say. Even if I had met with you, any unsubstantiated claims against my staff I destroy every year, Jovel said, according to court documents. Vasquez pleaded guilty in September 2016 and was sentenced to 150 years to life in prison. State prison records say Vasquez, now 39, is serving his time at Mule Creek State Prison near Ione. He wont be eligible for parole before November 2035, records say, with his first date for consulting with the parole board tentatively set for November 2030. His victims, meanwhile, face a longer sentence. If you can think of all the key moments in a females life, right? Esparza said. Boyfriends, going to college, being in another school setting with male professors, getting married, having their own children, and the lack of trust about whats going to happen with your child. So those are all things that the experts and therapists having treated other people that have been abused can say with certainty theyre going to be dealing with. This is not something that you can just take out of the brain and erase. Its going to be there. A makeshift memorial for environmental activist Manuel Teran, who was deadly assaulted by law enforcement during a raid to clear the construction site of a police training facility that activists have nicknamed A makeshift memorial for environmental activist Manuel Teran, who was deadly assaulted by law enforcement during a raid to clear the construction site of a police training facility that activists have nicknamed "Cop City" near Atlanta, Georgia on Feb. 6. Several Democrat lawmakers spoke out on the arrests of people connected to the Stop Cop City movement on Sunday, the day before the Atlanta City Council is set to vote on a controversial public safety training facility. The three arrested individuals, board members of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, an organization that supports activists who are arrested, were charged with money laundering and charity fraud. During their arrests on Wednesday, they were faced with helicopters and a SWAT team. At the time, state Rep. Saira Draper called the arrests grossly excessive and said, weaponizing the powers of the state for political gain is abuse of power. Organizers have told HuffPost on multipleoccasions over the past few months that the state is using political persecution to intimidate opponents of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known as Cop City. The facility would train law enforcement and firefighters and is set to be at least 85 acres large in the South River Forest. A diverse movement of organizers and community members have condemned the center for a variety of reasons including claims that the facility will lead to harm Black and Brown people, that the money would be better spent on community resources, and that the forest is vital land. Since Wednesday, Georgias U.S. Sens. Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) have spoken out following the board members arrests and ahead of a Monday city council meeting. Warnock said hes concerned about the arrest of three board members. These tactics, coupled with the limited public information provided so far, can have a chilling effect on nonviolent, constitutionally-protected free speech activities those of us in the fight for justice have been engaged in for years, he wrote. Warnock argued that the arrests illustrate the fears and concerns that organizers and community members have voiced on the topic of overpolicing and the militarization of police in Georgia. : While we still dont have all the details, as a pastor who has long been engaged in justice work, I am concerned by what we know about last Wednesdays show of force against the organizers of an Atlanta bail fund, & the questions it raises. (1/10) Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (@SenatorWarnock) June 4, 2023 Ossoffs statement was much shorter than Warnocks. He mentioned that there has been an extremist minority that has engaged in violence. It is imperative that the response of government to the violent few not intimidate or infringe on the Constitutional rights of those engaged in nonviolent protest and civil disobedience, he wrote. [thread] While protecting public safety, State and local officials must uphold vital Constitutional rights to free speech and peaceful assembly, as well as due process and legal counsel. Jon Ossoff (@ossoff) June 4, 2023 Both Warnock and Ossoff condemned violent protests, as they have previously in a report by Axios, and maintained that they dont know all the details related to the investigation of the ASF members. Mariah Parker, a labor organizer and former Clark County commissioner who uses they/them pronouns, told HuffPost Sunday that statements from Warnock and Ossoff were necessary, but only just a start. I do maintain concerns myself that they are not taking this situation seriously enough given that repression of activists has been long-standing and ongoing, that the facility is planned within their constituency, within their geographic constituency and that this is going to impact their constituents, Parker said. So I hope that they will take a stronger stance on this issue in the future as what they did today was a good start, but not good enough. The commentary extended beyond state lines with Bowman also weighing in on the topic on Sunday from New York. What were seeing in Atlanta is the suppression of the right to organize and the right to free speech, Bowman said. We cannot let this happen. None of the lawmakers mentioned the Georgia State Troopers killing of Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, also known as Tortuguita, in January during a peaceful protest in the forest. Terans death marked the first time an environmental activist was killed by police in the U.S., according to The Guardian. Since the start of the movement, over 40 people have been charged with domestic terrorism in relation to the Stop Cop City movement some of which had attended a music festival. Three more who had been accused of putting out flyers to intimidate an officer were charged with felonies. The Atlanta City Council is set to vote on funding for the facility on Monday. No matter what happens tomorrow, this facility is not going to be built, Parker told HuffPost. The people are willing to exhaust every civic avenue that we can come up with in order to make sure that they are heard. And so I feel confident that that is the ultimate result whether or not they approve the funding for the facility tomorrow. Related... Multiple critics of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have publicly called out the the 2024 presidential candidate and "fascism" in recent days. DeSantis on Friday was giving remarks in Lexington, South Carolina, saying parents have a fundamental right to direct the education and upbringing of their children. The school systems are important, but theyre there to support the community. Theyre not there to supersede the rights of parents and what they think is appropriate, DeSantis said before a person in the crowd could be heard calling the governor a fascist. The word was preceded by an expletive. DeSantis responded to the individual, saying were not going to let you impose an agenda on our kids as the crowd at the campaign event booed. 'Are you blind?' Ron DeSantis chews out a reporter over taking questions Abortion? Disney? Trump-DeSantis spar over Constitution 22nd Amendment The Florida governor has sought to overhaul education in the state. For example, the Florida Board of Education earlier this year voted to block instruction about sexual orientation and gender identify in all grades. The measure targets lessons on the topics from grades 4-12 unless required by already existing state standards or as part of reproductive health education in the state. Florida has also passed a law requiring books available to children be approved by a "district employee holding a valid educational media specialist certificate." The individual at DeSantis South Carolina event isnt the only person who has criticized DeSantis and fascism in recent days. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., in Washington, D.C. on Friday called out both the lawmaker and the political concept, using an expletive on stage at a concert by the band Paramore. Fascism is historically a far-right, authoritarian political ideology. It typically involves a dictatorial leader and relies on propaganda. However, lawmakers of both parties have lobbed the term at each other. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian and expert on authoritarianism and fascism, previously told USA TODAY that, under true fascism, there is no voting, and the government tells its citizens what to do. Contributing: Michael Collins and Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY; Ana Goni-Lessan, Tallahassee Democrat; Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DeSantis critics call out the Florida governor, fascism in incidents Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing a test of his hard-right political brand in New Hampshire, one that requires him to strike a more moderate tone on some of the cultural issues that have come to define his rise to prominence. Since launching his presidential bid last week, DeSantis has leaned into his credentials as a conservative culture warrior, hoping to outflank his chief rival, former President Donald Trump, from the right. But that strategy carries significant risks in New Hampshire, where libertarian-leaning Republicans and a sizable cohort of independent voters play an outsized role in determining the winner of the critical first-in-the-nation GOP primary. Culturally, were less conservative, so theres definitely a difference there, said Jim Merrill, a veteran Republican consultant in New Hampshire. We have more of a fiscally conservative, more socially moderate general electorate. The pro-life community here isnt as big as it is in Iowa. Candidates here really need to think through their strategy, he added. Not only appealing to base Republican activists, but also that undeclared vote and what may draw them in. As he swung through the state Thursday in his first tour as a presidential candidate, there were signs that DeSantis was aware of his audience. He still discussed fixtures of his typical stump speech, railing against woke indoctrination and touting his feud with Disney and his work on universal school choice. And he praised New Hampshire for holding the line in deep-blue New England, noting that, like Florida, the Granite State doesnt collect a personal income tax. Yet not once did he mention the six-week abortion ban that he signed into law in April, avoiding an issue that he highlighted repeatedly while he toured culturally conservative Iowa earlier in the week. This tends to be a state where issues like abortion energize Democrats and divide Republicans, said Dante Scala, a professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire. I heard DeSantis speak for about an hour, and he didnt mention abortion once. Multiple Republicans said DeSantis is starting his campaign in New Hampshire in a strong position. While polls show him running well behind Trump in the state, hes already amassed the support of dozens of New Hampshire legislators, including a few who previously backed Trump for the 2024 nomination. On Thursday, New Hampshire state Rep. James Spillane announced that he would be flipping his endorsement from Trump to DeSantis, arguing that the former presidents recent attack on his former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany had shown that Trump had not learned any measure of control since leaving the White House. DeSantiss swing through New Hampshire also earned some praise from the states Republican governor, Chris Sununu, who is weighing a 2024 bid of his own. In an appearance on Fox News, Sununu said that DeSantis had demonstrated that hes about more than the woke stuff. He talked about fiscal discipline, Sununu said. Hes talking about doing things in Washington that folks havent gotten done, and whether thats Ron or all the candidates, thats what we have to be talking about. New Hampshire holds a unique role in the early presidential primary calendar. Unlike Iowa or South Carolina, religious conservatives tend to hold less sway. Republicans tend to home in on fiscal issues, and independent voters are seen as a critical bloc in the primaries. The state also has a better recent track record of determining the GOPs White House nod than Iowa. In the last three Republican nominating contests in which an incumbent president wasnt on the ballot, the winner of the New Hampshire primary ultimately emerged as the eventual nominee. This is a pro-choice state and that goes right down through both parties, said Tom Rath, a longtime GOP consultant and former New Hampshire attorney general. Now, there is clearly a pro-life segment of the Republican vote, but thats offset by the impact of independents. Its not as if abortion restrictions are the central theme of DeSantiss presidential campaign. While he backed the six-week ban in his home state, hes so far avoided getting behind calls for the kind of federal ban that has been championed by anti-abortion rights groups. Trump has also skirted the issue of a federal abortion ban, suggesting that such decisions should be left up to individual states. DeSantis criticized Trump last month, however, after the former president insinuated that Floridas six-week prohibition is too harsh. Other candidates, including former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), have signaled support for some kind of federal abortion ban. Yet there are other areas that DeSantis may have to approach with caution. Rath noted that many New Hampshire Republicans lean toward a version of small-government conservatism that, in some ways, stands in contrast to DeSantiss reputation as a muscular executive. That image was on full display in Iowa this week, when DeSantis kicked off his 2024 campaign with a vow to impose our will on Washington, D.C. One thing that New Hampshire likes is accountability, Rath, whos unaligned in the primary, said. We have a two-year term for governor. We dont like people to get too comfortable. They take these things seriously; its part of our ethos. And accordingly, theyve tended to take a good hard look at the people who are respectful of that. Scala, the political science professor, believes that that attitude may be changing among New Hampshire Republicans, especially in the years since Trump entered the political scene, portraying himself as a candidate capable of muscling through even the most difficult priorities. Theres definitely a contrast between the small-government conservatism of someone like Chris Sununu with DeSantiss more big-government conservatism, Scala said. Still, he added: I think theres this feeling among Republicans right now that we need a strong executive at the national level to clean things up, because things are such a mess. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Devastating day in Ukraine as four civilians killed in Donetsk Oblast, occupiers rain down 287 shells on Kherson Oblast Consequences of enemy shelling On June 3, Russians killed four residents of Donetsk Oblast: two in New York, one in Hirnyk, and one in Siversk. Another eight people in the region were injured during the day, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of Donetsk Oblast Military Administration, reported on Telegram on June 4. Read also: The City That Cant Sleep Child injured as Russia attacks Kyiv for sixth straight day The Russian military deliberately targeted residential areas within the region, terrorizing innocent civilians, said Oleksandr Prokudin, Kherson Oblast Military Administration head. Fortunately, no casualties or injuries were reported among the civilian population. An additional 122 people were evacuated from the recently liberated territory, escaping the clutches of the Russian occupiers, Prokudin announced. Read also: Russia manufactures 30 Kalibr and several Iskander missiles per month Ukrainian intelligence The occupiers also targeted Mykolaiv Oblast. Yesterday, on June 3, at 6 p.m., the enemy shelled the waters of the community of Ochakov. Fortunately, there were no casualties, wrote Vitaliy Kim, the head of the administration. Enemy strikes were recorded on the city of Ochakov on the evening of June 3 and June 4 at 5 a.m. Information about the consequences of the shelling is being clarified, but no injuries were reported. The day and night passed relatively calmly in Mykolaiv, Pervomaisk, Voznesensk, and Bashtanka districts, Kim said. Read also: Russian forces launch intensive attacks on Ukrainian towns, 3 civilians killed, 12 injured The occupiers also heavily shelled Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast. An administrative building was damaged, and two houses and utility structures were partially destroyed. In the morning, Russia fired used helicopters to fire at the village of Ivashki in Bohodukhivsky district. No casualties were reported, but farm buildings were damaged. As a result of the morning tank shelling of Huryiv Kozachok village in Bohodukhivsky district, the House of Culture sustained significant damage, announced Oleh Synehubov, Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration head, on Telegram. Additionally, a civil industrial facility, a private house, and utility structures were damaged in the Petropavlivka village of Kupyansk district. As a result of the shelling in Pershotravneve village in Iziumsky district, a private house was damaged, and a 74-year-old woman was injured. Read also: Freedom of Russia Legion offers residents of the Belgorod Oblast to evacuate 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 The Directors Guild of America reached a new three-year deal with Hollywood studios on Saturday night that increases wages, streaming residuals, scales back hours and more. "We have concluded a truly historic deal," said the chair of the DGA's 80-member Negotiations Committee, Jon Avnet, in a statement on the DGA website. "[The deal] provides significant improvements for every Director, Assistant Director, Unit Production Manager, Associate Director and Stage Manager in our Guild." The DGA began negotiations with studios last month, amid the ongoing Writers Guild strike, which could continue through the end of the summer. The current contract is set to end on June 30. It is unclear what effect, if any, the tentative new agreement will have on the striking writers. Writers Guild of America (WGA) East members participate in a strike event outside of the NBCUniversal offices on May 23, 2023 in New York City. / Credit: Michael M Santiago/Getty Images / Getty Images Highlights of the deal include "groundbreaking gains" in wages and benefits, a "substantial increase" in residuals for dramas made for subscription video on demand and an "unprecedented reduction in the length of the Assistant Director's day by one hour." Additionally, the contract promises that directors cannot be replaced by artificial intelligence a point of contention for the strikers. The agreement confirms that "AI is not a person and that generative AI cannot replace the duties performed by members," the statement reads. The agreement also made strides in further transparency around residuals and "improvements in diversity and inclusion," including the addition of Juneteenth, the federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of Black Americans from slavery, as a paid holiday for DGA members. Signs are seen on the ground as Writers Guild of America (WGA) East members participate in a strike event outside of the NBCUniversal offices on May 23, 2023 in New York City. / Credit: Michael M Santiago/Getty Images / Getty Images "This deal recognizes the future of our industry is global and respects the unique and essential role of directors and their teams as we move into that future," said Lesli Linka Glatter, President of the DGA. "As each new technology brings about major change, this deal ensures that each of the DGA's 19,000 members can share in the success we all create together." According to the statement, the tentative agreement will be submitted to the Guild's National Board for approval during its June 6 board meeting. Further details of the agreement will be made available at that time. Survival of the friendliest: How dogs evolved to be man's best friend | 60 Minutes Volcanic eruptions in Iceland lead scientists to startling discoveries | 60 Minutes U.S. kids grappling with mental health crisis made worse by the pandemic | 60 Minutes Logo for the Directors Guild of America. Hollywoods managed to avoid another strike, at least with its directors. On late Saturday night, the Directors Guild of America (DGA) reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) to form a new labor contract. Under this new three-year deal, directors will receive increased wages and benefits (5% in the first year, then 4% and 3.5% for years two and three), and a 76% boost in residuals from international streaming. Most importantly, theyll receive protections against AI, a groundbreaking agreement that confirms AI is not a person and that generative AI cannot replace the duties performed by members. Read more The vote will be ratified on Tuesday, June 6. DGA negotiation chair Jon Avnet called the deal between the DGA and AMPTP truly historic. [...] This deal would not have been possible without the unity of the DGA membership, and we are grateful for the strong support of union members across the industry. The agreement, he added, has secured essential protections for our members on new key issues like artificial intelligence ensuring DGA members will not be replaced by technological advances. With a deal currently struck with the DGA, the AMPTP now has to contend with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA. The actor organization will be bargaining with the AMPTP in the next few days and is currently voting on whether or not its members will strike alongside the WGA. Whether or not SAG-AFTRA strikes, the new DGA deal is reminiscent of what happened with the 2007-2008 Writers Strike: after over 3 months of picketing writers, the DGA came to a deal with the AMPTP that helped end that strike. In the aftermath of this DGA agreement, TV and film writers made their displeasure with the organization clear throughout social media, with many pointing out the deja vu of it all. The WGA at large hasnt certainly forgotten how that went down 15 years ago, either. Negotiating co-chair Chris Keyser recently said that the AMPTP will find out that [the] 2007-08 playbook doesnt belong in the negotiating room; it belongs in a museum. Any deal that puts this town back to work runs straight through the WGA and there is no way around us. You can read the full details from the DGAs new contract here. [via the Hollywood Reporter] 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. Firefighters worked through the night Saturday to battle a wildfire in Crawford County, near Grayling, that grew to an estimated 2,400 acres, forced temporary evacuations by emergency personnel and closed I-75 for most of Saturday, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said. The wildfire was about 85% contained about mid-day Sunday, the DNR reported on Facebook. I-75 has since reopened in both directions and the evacuation order has been lifted. The fire started about 1 p.m. Saturday from a campfire on private property, according Laurie Abel of the DNR. The wildfire in Crawford County, Mich., is pictured. A campfire caused the fire on Saturday, June 3, 2023. It was 85% contained as of Sunday, June 4, 2023, morning, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said. DNR firefighters, along with local and federal firefighters, are battling the blaze located in Grayling Township, four miles southeast of Grayling. The fire was moving west and southwest and multiple buildings were threatened. The crews were working in hilly, sandy terrain and that was difficult, said Mike Janisse, incident commander of the Michigan DNR Incident Management Team supporting the fire. Weather conditions also were hot, dry and windy. In addition to ground crews with heavy equipment, a Michigan State Police helicopter, four USDA Forest Service fire boss planes and a Type 1 helicopter were assigned to help suppress the fire, the DNR said. State Rep. Ken Borton, R-Gaylord, visited the DNR staging area Saturday to talk with the people on the front lines and get more information to report back to his constituents, he told the Petoskey News-Review.. I represent a very large district, and of course Grayling is kind of at the heart of it, so Ive actually been hearing a lot about it from people in the surrounding counties that are concerned, is it moving their way or not, Borton said. Evacuees were being provided shelter at Beaver Creek Township Hall. An aerial view of the Crawford County wildfire from the Michigan State Police Aviation Unit helicopter on Saturday, June 3, 2023. More: Michigan state park, recreation area campground closures in 2023 The fire began around 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Fire departments worked through the night to try to keep the fire contained. The DNR recommended anyone in the area to stay indoors with windows shut to avoid smoke, and to drive with care as visibility is limited. In addition to DNR firefighters, crews assisting with the fire include: Michigan State Police, USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Grayling Station 2, Grayling Public Safety, the Gaylord City Fire Department and fire departments from Grayling Township, Kalkaska, Blue Lake, Beaver Creek, Markey Township, Higgins Township, Richfield Township, South Branch Township, Frederic Township, Otsego County, Cold Springs and Denton Township fire departments. Unprecedented hot and dry conditions for this time of year in Michigan have created extreme fire danger. In response to the Crawford County fire and a smaller one in Iosco County, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer activated the State Emergency Operations Center, according to a release from the governor's office Saturday. Today, I am activating our State Emergency Operations Center to coordinate an all-hands-on-deck response to the wildfires in northern Michigan, Whitmer said in the statement. By taking this action, we can ensure state and local first responders have what they need to get this fire contained and prevent loss of life or property. I want to thank the first responders who have been working to keep Michiganders safe. The Iosco County fire, which is 200-300 acres in size according to the governor's release, is contained. Five people were evacuated but are expected to return to their homes that evening. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Grayling wildfire 85% contained; source was private property campfire The city of Fresno is considering imposing stricter limitations on where the homeless can set up camp arguing that the measures are necessary to promote public safety and comply with federal disability rights laws. But disability rights advocates, homeless advocates and unhoused residents say the proposed rule would criminalize homelessness. They say if the city is concerned about disability rights, it could take more substantive measures to improve access for disabled Fresno residents. Introduced by Councilmembers Garry Bredefeld of District 6 and Miguel Arias of District 3, the proposed ordinance would prohibit impeding sidewalks, streets or other public-right-of-way within 500 feet of sensitive areas such as schools, childcare facilities, public parks and public libraries, as well as the citys warming centers, cooling centers, and city-permitted shelters for the unhoused. While there are no explicit fines or penalties associated with the ordinance, city leaders and staff have discretion to enforce the rule. The first reading of the ordinance passed in an initial 6-1 vote last Thursday. Council Vice President Annalisa Perea, who cast the sole no vote, said the ordinance was just moving a problem without actually offering anyone a solution. City council members support the ordinance for different reasons. Bredefeld said the ordinance is about making our streets and community safe, while Arias said that the ordinance is meant to protect children and the areas where they visit most of the time when accompanied, such as libraries, school sites and childcare facilities. He also said it would also help unhoused individuals that are disabled when they try to access the citys warming centers, cooling centers, and shelters. Approximately half of the unhoused that we serve have some level of disability: some of them have physical disabilities, they use walkers, wheelchairs, Arias said. We want to make sure that these paths to these facilities could remain clear of any encampments or anyone obstructing that access. A man sets up a tarp along a sidewalk in Fresno in 2015. The city of Fresno is considering stricter limitations on where the homeless can set up camp, arguing that the measures are necessary for public safety and ADA compliance. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA/Fresno Bee file City Attorney Andrew Janz offered another reason for the proposal. He said last Thursday that Fresno is trying to be forward-thinking in limiting liability to the city by making sure that these sidewalks are ADA (Americans with Disability Act) accessible. Originally passed in 1990, the federal ADA protects people with disabilities from discrimination. Title II of the ADA requires state and local governments to ensure that people with disabilities have access to the pedestrian routes in the public right of way. Janz pointed to recent lawsuits against other cities across the state and country during last Thursdays city council discussion. In February, two disabled residents sued the county and city of Sacramento, arguing that homeless camps that have taken over wide swaths of city sidewalks make it impossible for them to navigate the area and put their safety at risk. Meanwhile, the city of Portland recently reached a tentative settlement agreement in a lawsuit that claimed the city is violating the ADA by failing to prevent homeless camping along its sidewalks. If the settlement is approved, the city will be required to remove at least 500 sidewalk camps per year as well as allocate $3 million annually toward removals, KGW8 reported. Janz told The Bee in a text message last Friday that the city has not received any formal ADA complaints regarding people having their possessions on the sidewalks. But Arias told The Bee on Tuesday that he has received verbal ADA compliance complaints from the general public about accessibility to shelters, community centers, and sidewalks. Does law aim to make Fresno streets more ADA compliant? But critics say this ordinance doesnt help disabled people in a meaningful way. Addressing city council from a wheelchair last Thursday, Rain Chamberlain a formerly homeless individual who leads the nonprofit organization Navigating Structures said they have spent years working on sidewalk accessibility issues in the city of Fresno. The things that limit accessibility, Chamberlain said, is the city not building enough sidewalks, the lack of maintenance on sidewalks with tree roots growing under them, and car dealerships parking their cars for sale on the sidewalks. How dare you all use ADA (and use me) as an excuse to sit there and penalize people that are trying to survive, they said. Greg Cramer, a senior legislative advocate with Disability Rights California, a nonprofit with over 40 years defending the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities, said Fresnos ordinance is troubling and cruel. Obviously encampments pose certain accessibility and mobility issues for users of sidewalks, he said. However, I think its just a convenient scapegoat for local governments and state governments and other elected officials to move forward with sweeping encampments and displacing folks from where theyre at. According to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 1 in 85 adults with disabilities experienced sheltered homelessness compared to 1 in 344 adults without disabilities. While theres some merit to the ordinances logic, Cramer said the ordinances restrictions and framing pit(s) the disability community against itself. Cramer also said that the Sacramento lawsuit was filed by two private individuals, and doesnt necessarily represent the voice of the entire disability rights community. Thats their prerogative, he said, but it wasnt something that was coordinated by us. Bredefeld and Arias said they agreed the city should invest in sidewalk infrastructure, but they dont see the two issues as mutually exclusive. We certainly need greater infrastructure and improved infrastructure, Bredefeld said, but thats a separate issue than not allowing people to sleep on a sidewalk or camp out on a sidewalk or impede everyone elses right to access schools and libraries and cooling centers and childcare centers. Investing in ADA-friendly sidewalks and enacting this ordinance is not an either or, Arias said. Its an and. This ordinance seeks to make sure that ADA-accessible infrastructure that we have built or reconstructed is clear for people to actually use, he said. Does proposal limiting encampments criminalize homelessness? During last Thursdays council meeting, Councilmember Luis Chavez asked the city attorney if the ordinance would withstand any potential litigation especially in light of Martin v. City of Boise, a 2019 ruling that says cities cannot punish homeless people for sleeping outside on public property in the absence of adequate alternatives. I dont want to open ourselves up to (a lawsuit), Chavez said. Janz said the city was very intentional in the ordinances language and that it doesnt have any provisions in the ordinance that imposes any type of fee or tax or fines. The intention, he said, is to give city employees just another tool in their belt to to clear up sidewalks. Eric Tars, legal director of the National Homelessness Law Center, said he understands that people are frustrated with encampments, but said elected officials should respond by investing in more affordable housing. Unfortunately, too many communities, including apparently Fresno, still try and keep coming back to the criminalization approach, he said in an interview with The Bee on Wednesday. Rather than seeing Martin v. Boise as a limitation, Tars said elected officials could use the ruling as an opportunity to embrace more creative solutions to address homelessness, such as permanent affordable housing, motel conversions, and safe camps. In response, Arias said he agrees with the Boise ruling, while Bredefeld said the city has led the efforts to get people off the streets. Still, Tars said cities tend to see Martin v. Boise as something that they have to get around to continue doing what theyve been doing, which hasnt ended homelessness yet. The ordinance will return to the city council for a final vote on June 8. Donald Trump says he has told Fox News' Sean Hannity not to joke about President Biden's cognitive ability Former President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago estate Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in Palm Beach, Florida. AP Photo/Evan Vucci Trump says he told Fox News host Sean Hannity not to joke about Joe Biden's cognitive ability. The former president said he doesn't think it looks good for anyone to joke about a "serious problem." Trump also expressed concern for a fall Biden had in a rare moment of goodwill. Former President Donald Trump said he had told Fox News host Sean Hannity not to joke about President Joe Biden's cognitive ability. Trump participated in a town hall event with Hannity in Iowa on Thursday, and the pair discussed Biden having fallen at the Air Force Academy commencement ceremony earlier in the day. "It's sad," Trump said. "That was a bad fall." Hannity then noted that the former president is generally reluctant to attack Biden over his cognitive state and physical fitness, while the Fox News host stated that he is not reluctant to speak about it. "Does anyone agree with me that this guy is cognitively not there? I doubt he knows what day of the week it is today," Hannity said. "I asked Sean not to joke about it. Because he used to joke about it," Trump said. "And I said, honestly, I don't think it looks good for you or for anybody for you to joke about it because it's a serious problem." "You can speak about it if you want, but I don't think you should joke about it," Trump said. The comments come as a rare moment of goodwill between the political rivals. Despite generally being very critical of Biden, Trump appears to be sympathetic toward him regarding his physical and mental well-being. He previously also expressed concern for Biden after he fell off his bicycle last year. At 80, Biden is the oldest person to have served as president of the United States, and his mental and physical fitness will likely be a source of debate as he seeks re-election next year. Trump, who is 76, could face similar questions. Trump and Hannity also discussed an incident during Trump's presidency where he appeared to struggle while walking down a slippery ramp after giving the commencement address at West Point. "You can't fall. You just can't fall, no matter what. You just can't allow it to happen. I better not allow it, especially after saying this, I better not allow it to happen with me," Trump said. Read the original article on Business Insider Donald Trump's GOP rivals pounce after he congratulated Kim Jong Un: 'Not something to play with' WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidates and other GOP leaders shed their reluctance to criticize Donald Trump this weekend after the ex-president served up an unusual political issue: North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Trump's praise of Kim for a new position with the World Health Organization drew attacks from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and other Republicans who said the former president's foreign policy is reckless. "I was surprised to see that," DeSantis told reporters in Iowa, where a number of GOP candidates stumped over the weekend. DeSantis condemned Kim as a "murderous dictator" and called the World Health Organization "bankrupt." He and other Republicans have long attacked the organization for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic . "We need to be getting out of that" rather than "congratulating" dictators for joining it, the Florida governor said. DeSantis is no longer hands off with Trump attacks in 2024 race: 'I'm gonna fight back' Mike Pence to announce presidential campaign with June 7 rally in Des Moines Pence, who plans to officially join the 2024 race this week, also took the opportunity to criticize the front-runner. Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in 2018 "Whether it's my former running mate or anyone else no one should be praising the dictator in North Korea," Pence said in Iowa. Pence also poked Trump for his past praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump, who made one-on-one meetings with Kim a centerpiece of his foreign policy, triggered the political furor with a Truth Social post about news that North Korea has been elected to the executive board of the World Health Organization. "Congratulations to Kim Jung Un!" Trump proclaimed. Republican candidates have been reluctant to criticize Trump, given his large base of support in the GOP. But Haley, who was also Trump's ambassador the United Nations, told Fox News that "you don't congratulate a thug." "I mean, let's keep in mind this," Haley said. "This thug has threatened America. It's threatened our allies over and over again. This is not something to play with." Republicans who have long criticized Trump also condemned his praise of North Korea's dictator. Former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Tex., who has discussed mounting a longshot presidential bid of his own, cast it in terms of "good and evil." "America is good, and Kim Jong Un is evil," Hurd tweeted. "It goes against everything we stand for and believe in to congratulate the Devil." Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a frequent critic of Trump who had to defeat a Trump-backed challenger in a primary last year, also jabbed Trump's Truth Social post. Kemp tweeted: "Taking our country back from Joe Biden does not start with congratulating North Koreas murderous dictator." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump praises Kim Jong Un; DeSantis, Pence and other GOP rivals pounce Driver killed when pickup truck flips over by South Carolina road, Highway Patrol says Two people were killed in separate crashes in the same Midlands county in a two-day span, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol. A driver died Saturday night when a pickup truck flipped over in Orangeburg County, said Lance Cpl. Brittany Glover. The single-vehicle collision happened at about 9:40 p.m., according to Glover. A 2003 Chevrolet S-10 was driving south on Fort Motte Road, and near the intersection with Dillon Court the pickup ran off the left side of the road, Glover said. The Chevy crashed into an embankment, flipped over, and the driver died at the scene, according to Glover. The Orangeburg County Coroners Office has not publicly identified the driver. Glover said the driver was the only person in the pickup, and no other injuries were reported. There was no word if the driver was wearing a seat belt. Information about what caused the Chevy to veer off the road was not available. The other fatal collision in Orangeburg County happened a day earlier on private property, said Lance Cpl. Nick Pye. At about 3:30 p.m. Friday, a Dodge pickup hit a pedestrian who was standing on the private property near the 200 block of Belfast Avenue, according to Pye. The coroners office has not publicly identified the pedestrian. Pye said the Dodge driver was not hurt, and no other injuries were reported. The crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol. Through May 29, at least 409 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2023, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,091 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported. At least 23 people have died in Orangeburg County crashes in 2023, according to DPS data. Last year, 46 deaths were reported in the county, DPS reported. How the bulletin board systems, email lists and Geocities pages of the early internet created a place for trans youth to find one another and explore coming out In the late 1980s, trans youth started going online to connect with others experiencing gender dysphoria. non157/iStock via Getty Images Follow coverage of trans issues, and youll hear some people say that teens who change their gender identity are participating in a fad, and that social media is the culprit. As one proponent of legislation that would restrict access to care for trans teens claimed, social media platforms are where trans youths are falsely convinced that their feelings of identifying as a gender other than the one assigned to them at birth known as gender dysphoria are valid. These fears of Instagram, Tumblr and TikTok as breeding grounds for instilling gender dysphoria in young people recall other moral panics over new media, from the Victorian-era paranoia that serialized stories called penny dreadfuls were going to incite a youth crime wave to 20th-century anxiety over childrens exposure to violence on television. Moreover, it ignores the long-documented history of trans youth in North America, while assuming that trans youth using media to find social support and build community is somehow a new phenomenon. As Ive found in my research on early digital trans communities, trans youths have been online since the late 1980s. They werent seeking out information and community because their friends were all doing it. They were doing it of their own accord. Trans adults hesitant to engage For a long time, adults within trans community organizations largely avoided contact with legal minors. Even though many had recognized their own cross-gender feelings from a young age, they feared backlash from parents or law enforcement if they interacted with youths who sought them out. In 1996, physician Sheila Kirk, medical adviser to the International Foundation for Gender Education at the time the largest transgender advocacy organization said that the organization often had to cut off contact with teens who reached out to them, since the majority of them didnt have parental consent to communicate with the organization. In a 1996 column, transgender publisher Kymberleigh Richards wrote that adult members of regional trans support groups feared angry parents might charge them with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Even Richards, whod done informal phone counseling with trans youths, felt uncomfortable regularly talking with teens without a referring doctor or nurse on the line. Yet Richards was hopeful that the internet could be a safe space for these youths. Because many of these spaces were anonymous, trans youth could find support and resources by interacting with adults. Dialing in and making connections Some of the first recorded examples of trans youth exploring trans communities online date back to 1988. Unlike todays always-on internet, the online landscape of the late 1980s and early 1990s varied widely. Some folks connected with others on bulletin board systems, or BBSes, which were independent computer servers often run out of the system operators home. Instead of an IP or web address, users would dial in to a specific phone number using their modem. The cost of extended long-distance calls mostly limited users to those living within the bulletin board systems area code. In many ways, these networks were some of the earliest forms of social media. Others used national subscription services like America Online, CompuServe Information Service, Prodigy or GEnie. Most importantly, whether you used a bulletin board system or a subscription service, you received your own email address. CompuServe was one of many subscription services where trans community groups flourished in the 1980s. jamescridland/flickr On CompuServes trans-specific Genderline forum, chatrooms or CDForum, an early trans email list, trans youths were able to ask questions and learn how to safely explore their cross-gender feelings, find supportive therapists and grow their networks. For example, 17-year-old Susie, a first-generation Chinese immigrant living in Canada, was a regular poster to CDForum throughout 1992. In her archived emails, available through Queer Digital History Project, she asked members for advice on managing her depression and kept them updated on major changes in her life. Yet most of the members Susie and other trans youth communicated with were trans adults. Once the World Wide Web and the homepage, in particular took off, spaces by and for trans youth became far more common. Becoming visible Though websites like GeoCities are now something of an internet joke, they were an important place where trans youths could come out and publicly identify as trans. During the mid-to-late 1990s, ad-supported web hosting services allowed users to create their own websites, or homepages, that featured a variety of personalized content, from hobbies and fandoms to photo collections and journals. Compared with text-heavy Bulletin Board Systems or email lists, homepages were vibrant: Most homepage creators decorated their spaces as you might your bedroom, using an array of colors, typefaces, embedded music files and animated GIFs. The Transgendered Teens Web Directory, created in 1998 and last archived in 2002, included links, homepages and email addresses for youths from 32 different states. These homepages contained a variety of information, from advice on coming out and navigating being out in high school, to pursuing medical transition as a teen. For example, the web diary of Transgendered Teens Web Directory founder Sarah, which has entries from 1997 to 2001, repeatedly references her email chats with other trans youths, who support her while she navigates her shifting identity, coming out to her parents, and making friends. Trans youths also created resources that focused on what they thought other youths needed. On the TransBoy Resource Networks About page, the creator describes being inspired by their own experience with the potential the internet has for bringing trans people together and for the dissemination of information. Most importantly, for trans youths who couldnt be themselves in real life, the homepage was a space for self-expression. On their pages, they could use gendered colors and graphics without fear of outing themselves, or post photos wearing the clothes they felt comfortable in without facing physical harassment. For trans creators who had supportive parents, their homepage could even become a place to share their transition progress, posting photos at each new personal milestone. Much like todays social media profiles, the homepage became a digital version of ones ideal self. Over time, the growing number of pages meant that trans youths surfing the web were, as teenager Dylan Jared wrote on his own page, always able to run across people like themselves. Trans teens grow their ranks Through these online spaces, what had once seemed rare publicly identifying as trans before becoming an adult was rapidly becoming a common experience for a large part of the trans community. As trans youths became more visible, organizations felt empowered to actively advocate on their behalf. Issues facing trans youth were a central theme of IFGEs 2004 annual conference, though some attendees still worried about the ethical issues of having youths give presentations. [Over 100,000 readers rely on The Conversations newsletter to understand the world. Sign up today.] Throughout the 2000s, the number of people in North America coming out as trans earlier in life grew exponentially. Now, some trans-affirming clinics struggle to see all their prospective patients. This shift wouldnt have been possible without the reach of the internet, which showed that trans youth have always been here. Online communities gave them a place and a space to be themselves, without fear of being ostracized, undermined or harassed. And its having the support of their peers, not a passing social media fad, thats giving them the courage to come out, then and now. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. The Conversation has a variety of fascinating free newsletters. It was written by: Avery Dame-Griff, Appalachian State University. Read more: Avery Dame-Griff does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. In the Choco Andino Biosphere Reserve, unusual species include the spectacled bear The Choco Andino Biosphere Reserve near Ecuador's capital Quito is a UN-designated biodiversity hotspot -- and the center of an increasingly heated debate over mining. Mining companies want to exploit sites within the sprawling reserve, home to species like the spectacled bear. At least 12 mining concessions are in exploratory stages, although no mine has yet opened. People who live within the reserve and environmentalists are pushing for a referendum to halt all mining. Last year, the Constitutional Court gave a green light to hold a referendum in the Quito Metropolitan District (DMQ) on whether they want to prohibit all mining -- including small-scale "wildcat" projects. The date for the referendum remains up in the air. Mining "has such great impact, and extractive activity is not compatible" with the almost 20,000 inhabitants of six towns in the reserve and inside the DMQ boundaries, Inty Arcos, a biologist and coordinator of the Choco Andino community, tells AFP. He lives in one of the private reserves that are within the biosphere and that are dedicated especially to bird watching. Other residents are farmers, ranchers and producers of organic unrefined cane sugar. "It is just incongruous that you (could) go to see ... hummingbirds and Andean cock-of-the-rocks while somebody next to you is blowing up dynamite, and moving large trucks and tractors around," Arcos tells a group of journalists tromping through the bushes. The Choco Andino Biosphere Reserve -- at 1,100 square miles bigger than metropolitan Paris -- extends from humid lowland forests to Andean mountain forests. It hosts 270 mammal species, hundreds of endemic plant species, and 600 bird species, including the iconic cock-of-the-rock, whose striking red-and-black plumage makes it emblematic of the region. Despite its UN designation as a priceless natural jewel, the biosphere does not enjoy status as a broadly protected area under domestic law, instead comprising a patchwork of protected forests, private nature reserves and areas of sustainable development. There is plenty of disagreement among locals about the biosphere, environmentalists acknowledge. According to the Chamber of Mining, when one of the concessions in the area was suspended, it left some 60 families without work. - Unprotected - In the Choco Andino, just 90 minutes from downtown Quito, hummingbirds hover so close that visitors can hear the thrum of their wings. Given its jaw-dropping biological diversity, UNESCO enshrined Choco Andino as a biosphere reserve in 2018, a distinction it shares with the Galapagos Islands. For years, "Quito without Mining" activists fought against development and rallied more than 200,000 signatures for a popular referendum. Yet Ecuadoran law only bans mining or mineral-extraction activities within the national system of protected areas -- not those receiving global distinctions. "The Constitution clearly establishes that the subsoil resources belong to the central state... which has to manage the resources," Maria Eulalia Silva, executive president of the Chamber of Mining, tells AFP. She stresses that even a local referendum cannot decide how those resources will be handled when they belong to the nation as a whole. Ecuador began to promote mining in 2019 as an alternative to the faltering oil industry, long a pillar of the economy. Silva says that while Ecuador's Constitutional Court has the last word, "we just cannot be so blind, be so arrogant, as to fritter away the kind of opportunity" mining offers. At the same time, with its enormous trees -- some with leaves the size of an adult -- the Choco Andino forest is important in the fight against climate change, its defenders say. "They are extremely important forests because they retain carbon and fix it in their growth," says Arcos. The trees also help clean up nearby Quito, a metropolis with three million inhabitants. "The last clean rivers that remain are those of the Choco Andino and they help to dissolve the pollution that is dumped in (elsewhwere)," Arcos says. After a decade of effort, another grassroots group, the "Yasunidos" collective, got the Constitutional Court to approve a different referendum -- one on leaving crude oil underground in an important block within the Amazon basin area's Yasuni National Park. That referendum will be held on August 20, coinciding with nationwide elections after the dissolution of Congress last month. The "Quito without Mining" group hopes that its referendum may also get the go-ahead to be held on that date. pld/sp/mdl/tjj/bgs Delfina Gomez, Mexico state gubernatorial candidate for the National Regeneration Movement, or MORENA, prepares to cast her vote at a polling station in Texcoco, Mexico state, Sunday, June 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) NAUCALPAN, Mexico (AP) A quick-count sampling of votes for governor of Mexico's most populous state suggested a victory late Sunday for the candidate from the governing party of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, which would end nearly a century of uninterrupted rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party. Preliminary results indicated Delfina Gomez of the Morena party was likely to win between 52.1% and 54.2% of the ballots in the State of Mexico, compared with 43% to 45.2% for Alejandra del Moral, representing the opposition coalition, according to the National Electoral Institute. The forecast was based on representative sampling of voting stations with at least 95% certainty. The outcome will not be final until all ballots were counted. Participation was between 48.7 and 50.2% of eligible state voters. Del Moral conceded shortly after the preliminary forecast was announced. In democracy to be able to win, you have to know how to lose and I am a democrat, she said, adding she had total respect for the electoral authorities. Gomez, a schoolteacher making her second bid for the post, held a healthy lead in recent polling over del Moral. The former mayor representing the PRI struggled to attract a fed-up electorate bent on change. Gomez, who will become the state's first female governor, thanked del Moral Sunday night for conceding quickly. Respect for democracy is an indispensable condition for building the State of Mexico for the good of all, she wrote on Twitter. The State of Mexico hugs Mexico City on three sides, encompassing urban sprawl and rural ranches, as well as stunning inequality, violence and corruption. For decades it has been the heart of the Institutional Revolutionary Party. But voters appeared ready to finally oust the PRI in favor of Lopez Obradors Morena party in a race closely watched as a preview of the 2024 presidential election. Both candidates had claimed victory immediately after polls closed on a largely uneventful day of peaceful voting. It is a recurring and very regrettable practice in Mexican elections to win the narrative in the media, political scientist Georgina de la Fuente said. Del Moral was not only the PRIs hope. She led a bizarre coalition including the conservative National Action Party and leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution sharing only a common desire to deny Lopez Obradors party control of Mexicos largest state electoral prize. She voted Sunday in Cuautitlan Izcalli, a suburb northwest of Mexico City. Gomez campaigned largely on the far-reaching support for Lopez Obradors popular social programs. She voted early on a warm and sunny Sunday in a school in Texcoco, east of Mexico City. We want change, for them to pay attention to us, said Rufina Perez, a retiree living in Naucalpan, a suburb west of the capital. They all made us promises, PRI, PAN already passed and we know how it was, she said, expressing confidence that it would be different with Morena in charge. In Tlalnepantla de Baz, where old warehouses and industrial spaces have given way to apartment complexes north of the capital in recent years, Morena signs and flags were visible, as were those of the PAN and del Moral, but not the traditional ones of the PRI. Benito Elizalde, who retired from patching tires, had always voted for PRI, but this year said he supported Morena because it gave seniors a better pension. His daughter, 35-year-old Claudia Elizalde, complained that parties had focused on offering more to retirees, like her father, rather than improving security or health. Socorro Hernandez was more focused on what the state election could mean on the national political stage. The retiree from Naucalpan said it was very important that she voted Sunday to show disagreement with Lopez Obrador's party. In Huehuetoca, also north of Mexico City, Alejandra Santillan Torres, a 29-year-old homemaker, said the elections are important so that they take into account the workers. Torres said she voted for the governing PRI, as she has in the past, because she felt they were doing well. On Friday, the president said he hoped for a calm vote and was very, very optimistic. His party is also viewed as the favorite in next years presidential election. Even though it has not yet selected a candidate, the party has a couple of strong possibilities and the opposition is generally considered to be in disarray. Voters in the sparsely populated northern border state of Coahuila, where the PRI remains competitive, also selected a new governor Sunday. Preliminary results indicated the opposition coalition candidate Manolo Jimenez was on track to defeat his Morena opponent by a wide margin. But even if the PRI holds on there, the loss of the State of Mexico could spell the end of its political relevance on a national stage, a stunning reversal for a party that ruled Mexico uninterrupted for seven decades. ___ AP writers Maria Verza in Mexico City and Emilio Lugo in Huehuetoca, Mexico, contributed to this report. Elizabeth Holmes was so obsessed with Steve Jobs she wanted an Apple flag flown half-mast at Theranos after he died: book Elizabeth Holmes and the late Steve Jobs. Mike Blake, Kimberly White/Reuters Elizabeth Holmes wanted an Apple flag flown at half-mast after Steve Jobs died, per "Bad Blood." According to John Carreyrou's book, an employee couldn't find a flag to buy so he had one made. The book highlights the many ways Holmes, who's now in prison, tried to emulate Jobs. Elizabeth Holmes ordered a specially made Apple flag to be flown at half-mast at Theranos' headquarters after Steve Jobs died, according to a book. John Carreyrou's "Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup" says that Holmes and Sunny Balwani, the Theranos COO and her boyfriend, wanted to pay tribute to the Apple cofounder after he died in October 2011. According to "Bad Blood," they wanted to fly an Apple flag at half-mast in the grounds of the Theranos building in Palo Alto. A Theranos employee volunteered to try to find an Apple flag to buy but couldn't find one. Instead he went to a store to have one made, with the Apple logo in white on a black background a task that took several hours, per the book. "In the meantime, work at the company came to a standstill as Elizabeth and Sunny moped around the office, consumed by the hunt for the Apple flag," wrote Carreyrou, who first exposed Theranos's faulty blood testing kits in reporting for The Wall Street Journal in 2015. The episode is one of several examples of Holmes' reverence for the Apple cofounder, whom she tried to emulate while heading a company that briefly reached a $9 billion valuation. This included both hat tips to Apple, like labelling her blood testing kits as "the iPod of healthcare," and more overt behavior such as wearing black turtleneck sweaters like Jobs did. Holmes was often hailed as the next Steve Jobs, a comparison she was happy to embrace, before Theranos eventually collapsed and she was convicted on four fraud counts. Private notes obtained by CNBC show Holmes would write to herself about "becoming" Jobs and also aped his management techniques outlined in Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs. According to "Bad Blood," Theranos employees could pinpoint which chapter of the book Holmes was up to based on the period of Jobs' career she appeared to be imitating. She began serving an 11-year sentence at a Texas prison camp on May 30 after being found guilty of four of 11 fraud charges linked to Theranos' faulty blood testing kits. Balwani was found guilty on four counts and began serving his sentence in April. According to a restitution order, Holmes and Balwani were ordered to pay $125 million to Rupert Murdoch, and $40 million to Walgreens, among other Theranos investors. Lawyers for Holmes and Balwani didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours. Read the original article on Business Insider Environmental decisions made by non-scientists sure to lead to catastrophic results | Opinion Catastrophic decision In 1972, the Clean Water Act was designed to protect waters and wetlands from being a dumping ground for pollutants and serve to protect the integrity of our waters that we need to survive, including protections for fish, wildlife and plants. I have been in the wetlands protection profession for more than three decades, and I have no words to describe the catastrophic decision that has been made by non-scientific court leaders. Evidently, in a nutshell, the basis for this reversal decision resulted from a U.S. Supreme Court members concern that landowners dont fully understand the definition of surface waters and the impact to the environment. When did it get to the level where non-experts/ non-scientists are in a position to determine the fate of human survival? Based on this monumental irresponsible decision, the consequences of wetlands and intermittent waterways which are ecologically connected to perennial rivers and streams are no longer relevant and now will be unprotected and unregulated from development and, undoubtedly, will only result in irreversible environmental degradation. Lets hope that the Supreme Court will not weigh in on the science and relevance of cardiac and cancer decisions that doctors make, too. Daniel Shinder, HHI Whose governor? I am appalled by Gov. McMasters horrifying statement at the South Carolina GOP convention about hunting Democrats. I am a Democrat and a citizen of South Carolina and I expect my governor to respect and represent me. He is a disgrace to the office of governor and I will do everything I can to see that he never holds office again. Alice Schulte, HHI Protect St. Helena Another vote is coming up on protecting the Gullah people and culture of St. Helena Island or allowing developers to build resorts, increase land values and taxes, and uproot our neighbors from property owned by their families for generations. Theres a sign after crossing the bridge to St. Helena Island that proudly says, Seat of the Gullah culture. The county seal has the phrasing Preserving heritage. Now my point: What you say with your vote about protecting the Gullah culture will say a lot about your culture. Jerry Floyd, St. Helena Island Improve inspection law I enjoyed Brian Tolleys recent article on changing a law in our state. It has been said that our legislators will not take up the discussion of a revised law on annual vehicle inspections. Every day we see or read a story in the news concerning a vehicle wreck that injured or killed people. Everyday my wife and I see vehicles that have no business being on South Carolina roads. Lights that are not working on vehicles, bald tires, no front-end bumpers. Can an investigative report on the lack of a state law dealing with vehicle inspections help in changing the attitudes of the public and the legislators? Certainly, the previous law was flawed. Those flaws could be addressed in writing a new law that would have a chance of passing. Ed Cerny, Elgin Thanks from AMIkids With a slight breeze and partly sunny skies, and with great fellowship and fun, the AMIkids Beaufort 2023 Croquet Picnic at Brays Island was a hit on May 6. On behalf of the AMIkids Board of Trustees and our fine staff, I extend a special thank you to the Brays Island community and to Phil and Amelie Cromer, who hosted our Captains Party at their beautiful Beaufort home. We also thank Mark Robertson of 98.7 The River radio station for joining us as master of ceremonies. With the support of 24 croquet teams, dozens of court sponsors and those who gave so generously, we exceeded our fundraising goal and will be able to make much-needed improvements at our campus this summer, including new bathrooms and painting all the structures. At AMIkids Beaufort, we help young men separate a troubled past from a bright future and have been doing so since the mid-1980s in Beaufort County. AMIkids Beauforts campus in Dale provides not only education but numerous hands-on vocational opportunities, treatment and behavior modification. We have a nationally-recognized welding program and utilize a YouthBuild federal grant, a new carpentry shop and partnership with LowCountry Habitat for Humanity to help our students learn construction skills. Thank you to everyone who helped make this event a success. John C. Williams, Beaufort Friendly strangers On a recent Wednesday, I shopped at the Publix on Hilton Head Island. Due to the fact that a relative was visiting and the menu involved grocery items of which I am unfamiliar, I approached a young lady in the produce department for help. I truly have never before encountered such a pleasant person. She truly amazed me with her willingness to help in my grocery shopping even beyond the needs I presented in the produce area. Then, when I checked out, the woman who served me also was pleasant. How wonderful to have been served by strangers in such a touching personal manner. Elizabeth Rae, HHI America is getting lonelier on the wrong side of history, whether it would like to admit it or not. The indication has become stronger since a busy May of global diplomacy: Asia and the Middle East wrapped up separate summits both with firmer commitments to peaceful development and win-win cooperation; at their heels did a hysterical America play devil's advocate in another gathering, as it tried hard tugging its rich vassals to stoke division and confrontation. A multipolar world where countries of different sizes, cultures and languages sit at the same table and work together towards peace and development is the lay of the land. The Cold War has already awakened many to the growing importance of live and let live, and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought more to realize that a safer and better future for all needs an open, inclusive and cooperative mindset from each and every one of us. But America failed to get its finger on the pulse. It dwells on the Cold War era and clings on to its worm-eaten diplomatic playbook that reads: "Nobody can challenge me. No one is allowed to stand in my way." To make sure it remains the big boss of the world, America has been feeding face-offs by squeezing and even removing space for dialogue and cooperation on peaceful coexistence and common development. The tangled web it has been weaving recently to cut a promising China involves carrots and sticks on both its odd-couple allies and those estranged counterparts from the Global South: It attempted, for several times, to entice Africa from engaging with China; It also threatened to defund 21 countries, mostly in Latin America, because they have backed China on the Taiwan question. The latest episode of such evildoings took place in Hiroshima. Egged on by America, the Group of Seven (G7) concluded its summit there with a rush-out communique professing to "de-risk" from China. The new term, however ambiguous its meaning appears in America's public comments, won't hush up the hostility it hangs on towards an ever-developing China it believes has put America's hegemony, rather than the so-called "larger world" it claimed, at risk. It is just another maneuver of America's China policy that seeks to squish the room for China's development, sow discord between China and its friends, and tie America's allies to its own chariot. To secure its role as global commander-in-chief, America has also tried to bring the developing world on board through empty promises. The recent history has seen America paying lip service to its vast bulk of commitments to making the world a better place for all. From the Build Back Better World initiative put forward at the 2021 G7 summit to "help narrow the 40+ trillion dollars infrastructure need in the developing world," to its rebranding in June 2022 -- the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment initiative -- to mobilize $600 billion in public and private funding for developing countries by 2027, few America-driven aid programs have proven trustworthy. And before any of its pledges taking shape, America has rushed to write another bad check in the past Hiroshima summit, claiming to "engage," "support" and "finance" developing countries and emerging economies. What America has been doing for years is actually pushing the world further away. Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said "there may be an obsession in America about Chinese activity on the continent, but there is no such obsession here;" French President Emmanuel Macron said his country won't be America's "vassal;" and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged stronger regional integration against America's hegemony in world trade. Not to mention an Arab reconciliation wave over the past few months that America has been frowned on, which featured both a peace deal arranged with China's help between former regional foes Iran and Saudi Arabia and Syria's landmark return to the Arab League. As to "de-risking," the Financial Times has made it clear in an opinion on Monday that "the practice is much murkier," with "big difficulties" "already emerging." Clearly, this is a world that is no place for a nostalgic America basking in its memory of being the overlord of all. An ever-progressing and ever-maturing multipolar world has found common development and prosperity the right way towards a better tomorrow. America needs to acknowledge that it doesn't have what it takes to call the shots, nor can it cheat the death of unipolarity. Embracing multipolarity is how it can prevent itself from being alienated by the world. Explosions ring out in Kropyvnytskyi Sounds of explosions were heard in the city of Kropyvnytskyi in Kirovohrad Oblast on the night of 3-4 June. Source: Suspilne on Telegram Details: Explosions were reported in the city at around 03:30. Andrii Raikovych, Head of Kirovohrad Oblast Military Administration, urged locals to stay in shelters. Background: An air raid warning was issued throughout Ukraine on the night of 3-4 June, and air defence was activated in Kyiv Oblast. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Police officers react with a woman during a left-wing demonstration, in Leipzig, Germany, Saturday, June 3, 2023. The demonstration is against the verdict in the trial of Lina E. The Dresden Higher Regional Court sentenced the student to five years and three months imprisonment. (Robert Michael/dpa via AP) BERLIN (AP) Far-left supporters of a young woman given a lengthy prison sentence for participating in attacks on neo-Nazis and other extremists clashed with police in the eastern German city of Leipzig over the weekend, leaving 50 officers and a number of protesters injured. Saturdays planned demonstration among backers of Lina E., whose full name wasnt released because of privacy rules, was banned by the city of Leipzig. Police said that around 1,500 protesters showed up despite the ban. What started out as a largely peaceful rally eventually led to clashes between protesters and police, in which some demonstrators threw stones, bottles and fireworks as police attempted to clear certain areas of the city. Leipzig police chief Rene Demmler said Sunday that 50 officers and an unknown number of protesters were injured, according to German news agency dpa. Authorities are now investigating individuals for serious disturbance of the peace and attacking police officers. Around 30 people were arrested, Demmler said, and another 40 to 50 were detained and released by Sunday afternoon. German interior minister Nancy Faeser denounced some protesters' violent actions and wished the injured officers a speedy recovery in a statement Sunday. Nothing justifies the senseless violence of left-wing extremist chaos and rioters, she said. Anyone who throws stones, bottles or incendiary devices at police officers must be held accountable. Meanwhile, some politicians criticized the police's approach to the protesters, saying it was unnecessarily aggressive. Albrecht Pallas, a politician from the center-left Social Democrats in Saxony's regional legislature, slammed the police's provocative approach," according to dpa. He added that the huge police presence and the police response to smaller scuffles had an escalating effect, which mostly affected uninvolved bystanders." The protests came in response to a Dresden state courts Wednesday decision to convict Lina E. of membership in a criminal organization and serious bodily harm. She was sentenced to five years and three months in prison. Several hours later, the court said she had been released under unspecified conditions after having spent about 2 years in custody before the verdict. Prosecutors accused the student of militant extreme-left ideology and conceiving the idea of attacks on far-right individuals in Leipzig and nearby towns. Three men are alleged to have joined her by the end of 2019. The court in Dresden sentenced them to between 27 months and 39 months in prison. This weekend's protests in Leipzig follow similar demonstrations there and in other cities around Germany, including Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg, in the days following the verdict. Another protest, which has also been banned by the city, was announced for Sunday evening. Police clash with demonstrators in Leipzig, Germany - Robert Michael/DPA Far-Left supporters of a young woman given a lengthy prison sentence for participating in attacks on neo-Nazis and other extremists clashed with police in the eastern German city of Leipzig over the weekend, leaving 50 officers and a number of protesters injured. Saturdays planned demonstration among backers of Lina E., whose full name wasnt released because of privacy rules, was banned by the city of Leipzig. Police said that around 1,500 protesters showed up despite the ban. What started out as a largely peaceful rally eventually led to clashes between protesters and police, in which some demonstrators threw stones, bottles and fireworks as police attempted to clear certain areas of the city. On Sunday, Rene Demmler, Leipzig police chief, said that 50 officers and an unknown number of protesters were injured. Authorities are now investigating individuals for serious disturbance of the peace and attacking police officers, according to German news agency dpa. Around 30 people were arrested, Mr Demmler added, and another 40 to 50 were detained but had been released by Sunday afternoon. In a statement released on Sunday, Nancy Faeser, the German interior minister, denounced some protesters violent actions and wished the injured officers a speedy recovery. Nothing justifies the senseless violence of left-wing extremist chaos and rioters, she said. Anyone who throws stones, bottles or incendiary devices at police officers must be held accountable. Elsewhere, some politicians criticised the polices approach to the protesters, saying it was unnecessarily aggressive. Albrecht Pallas, a politician from the centre-Left Social Democrats in Saxonys regional legislature, slammed the police;s provocative approach. He told dpa that the huge police presence and the police response to smaller scuffles had an escalating effect, which mostly affected uninvolved bystanders. The protests were in response to the decision to convict Lina E. of membership in a criminal organisation and serious bodily harm. She was sentenced to five years and three months in prison, at a Dresden state court on Wednesday. Several hours later, the court said she had been released under unspecified conditions after having spent about two and a half years in custody before the verdict. Prosecutors accused the student of militant extreme-Left ideology and conceiving the idea of attacks on far-Right individuals in Leipzig and nearby towns. Three men are alleged to have joined her by the end of 2019. The court in Dresden sentenced them to between 27 months and 39 months in prison. This weekends protests in Leipzig follow similar demonstrations there and in other cities around Germany, including Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg, in the days following the verdict. 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. Far-left protesters clash with police in Germany over jail term for woman who attacked neo-Nazis Hundreds of far-left protesters clashed with police in the eastern German city of Leipzig on Saturday night, during demonstrations over jail terms handed down to several people convicted of vigilante attacks against neo-Nazis. Earlier this week, a court in Dresden convicted four left-wing activists, including a well-known student identified in German media as Lina E., of committing violent acts against neo-Nazis, sentencing them to jail for two to five years. Groups sympathetic to Lina E., who is from Leipzig, have been protesting the verdict. An anti-fascist Day-X march planned for Saturday in Leipzig where most of the attacks took place was banned because authorities were concerned that it posed a threat to public safety. The ban was contested by the protests organizers, according to German newspaper Der Spiegel. Police tried at first to accommodate the demonstration, but when it turned violent and officers came under attack, authorities responded with force. Five people were arrested, all male German citizens aged 20 to 32 years old, Leipzig police said. Late into the evening, a group of approximately 300 people threw stones at a police station and set fire to barricades. Emergency forces, equipped with several water cannons were deployed to stabilize the situation, police said. Separate violent gatherings were also reported in different parts of the city, police said, adding that emergency force officers were attacked. Hundreds of police units are on standby and are preparing for a violent course in this phase of the operation. Leipzig police called for calm to prevent the situation from escalating any further. On Friday, police had told CNN that they were preparing a large-scale operation to counter any potential unrest. All the information available to the Leipzig police department suggests that protesters will still gather in Leipzig on Saturday despite the ban, a Leipzig police spokesperson told CNN on Friday. The spokesperson added that police were expecting that protesters from across Europe to travel to Leipzig after call-outs on social media, and that it could be their largest operation in two years. Police officers walk across a street strewn with broken glass after left-wing protests against the verdict in the trial of Lina E. on May 31 in Leipzig. - Jan Woitas/picture-alliance/dpa/AP The calls for protests in posts online came in the aftermath of Lina E., 28, receiving a five year jail term earlier in the week for her role in a series of attacks in Leipzig and other German cities. She had been in police custody since her arrest on November 5, 2020 and has become something of an icon among anarchist circles in Germany, with the Free Lina graffiti featuring on buildings in Leipzig, Hamburg and Berlin. Lina E.s three male accomplices, aged between 28 and 37, received prison sentences ranging from two years and five months to three years and three months. Prosecutors said that Lina E. and her three co-defendants, known as Lennart A., Jannis R. and Jonathan M., are proponents of militant extreme-left ideology who carried out attacks on right-wing extremists in Leipzig and nearby towns. The court found that the four activists spied on and attacked neo-Nazis and alleged supporters of the right-wing scene in Leipzig, Wurzen and Eisenach in the German state of Thuringia between August 2018 and the summer of 2020. Thirteen people were injured during the attacks, with two sustaining life-threatening injuries. The Dresden court confirmed to CNN that among the attacks Lina E. helped to orchestrate was a 2020 incident which saw a group of 15 to 20 assailants beat six people returning from a ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Dresden in World War II an event which regularly attracts neo-Nazis and other far-right sympathizers. Prosecutors said several victims sustained serious injuries after being kicked and hit with batons. The trial against the group THE FOUR? started in September 2021 and was marked by the highest level of security. The accusations leveled against the group were the most serious faced by Germanys radical left in recent years. The judge acknowledged that right-wing extremism poses a greater threat to German society than left-wing extremism, but said that even proponents of such views have inherent rights. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The missile strike in Dnipro Oblast injured 22 civilians, including five other children Tragically, her lifeless body was found by rescuers amidst the debris of a house at approximately 3 a.m., said Serhiy Lysak, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration (OVA) head, on Telegram on June 4. Her name was Lisa. She was only two years old, a cheerful and lively girl. She was at home with her mother when the Russian projectiles hit the backyard of the house. Both of them ended up under the debris. Read also: Preventable death of child sees Ukraine inspect over 4,800 shelters over 20% closed or unfit for use Its hard to imagine what the girls father felt when he rushed home from work and saw this scene. He screamed uncontrollably and immediately rushed to help the rescuers. They first retrieved his wife from the ruins and took her to the intensive care unit. They found their daughter around 3 a.m., lifeless, wrote Lysak. The scene of the incident was visited by the regional authorities and Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.Her mother Natalia is in intensive care with multiple injuries. Her father was on duty. He, in fact, wearing his uniform, was working. He personally cleared and extracted his wife and daughter. Just imagine the magnitude of this tragedy, Vereshchuk said. The cleanup is underway, with all services actively involved. Humanitarian missions and charitable organizations have been mobilized. Local authorities are receiving appeals from affected residents.For every innocent child killed, for every shattered home, for everything that has been done, future generations will hate the aggressor. We will not forgive! he said. People are bringing flowers and toys to honor the memory of the deceased little girl and show support to the family. Read also: Despicable! Nearly half of 1,078 bomb shelters inspected in Kyiv are unfit for use In the Pidhorodne, a photograph of the innocent victim of Russian aggression was published. The message urged everyone who is not indifferent to help save the life of this girls mother, who is currently fighting for her life. An explosion occurred in Pidhorodne around 9:00 p.m on June 3, prompting an air alarm in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Local Telegram channels reported broken windows in residences and shared photos of smoke. During the Russian attack on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, direct hits of two two-story residential buildings were recorded. A total of 22 injured individuals have been reported, including five 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 I Was The First Latina On 'Sesame Street.' Now I Have My Own Ideas About Bringing Representation To TV. The author and the Muppet Grover launch the Super Grover sandwich in honor of the 4,000th The author and the Muppet Grover launch the Super Grover sandwich in honor of the 4,000th "Sesame Street" episode on Feb. 27, 2002, at a New York City deli. The first time I saw Sesame Street was at the student union of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. It was intriguing to see James Earl Jones reciting the alphabet (A, B, C, D ... ) as the letters flashed over his bald head. But when I saw the characters of Susan and Gordon a cheerful, warm, Black married couple speaking to me from an urban neighborhood I was flabbergasted. In 1969 you did not see many people of color on television. Growing up in the 1950s, I marveled at television. It gave me a peek into a world very different from mine in the South Bronx. But never seeing myself or people like me reflected in the media made me feel invisible. I couldnt help wondering what I could contribute to a society that didnt see me. So imagine how excited I was to be cast as Maria on Sesame Street in 1972. Here I was, being given the opportunity to right the wrong of being overlooked when I was a kid! How wonderful to be one of the first Latinas on national television. But I struggled first with my looks. I couldnt believe I was dressed in the pleated skirts and knee socks of a Midwestern co-ed. When producer Jon Stone hauled me into the makeup room, stating, I go through all the trouble on casting a real person and you make her look like a Kewpie doll! I knew he agreed, and as the makeup artist scraped the makeup off my face, I felt sure the Sesame Street producers were sincere in wanting me to be myself. I confidently did away with the square outfits and the pancake makeup and let myself come through. Second, I struggled with performing with Muppets. They were irreverent, wild and zany. I was compelled to look at puppeteer Frank Oz instead of the Grover puppet he was manipulating! Finally, Oz quipped, Quit looking at that man down there! in his Grover voice. I was embarrassed but began to focus on Grovers googly eyes. In time, when I realized the Muppets were the comics and I was the straight man, I thought, I got this! and began to hold my own with them. The author performing with Big Bird and other Muppets during the 36th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in 2009. The author performing with Big Bird and other Muppets during the 36th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in 2009. What was probably the most important moment was when Matt Robinson, the Sesame Street writer who also played Gordon, pulled me aside to say, You werent hired to just be the cute little Latina, you know you have to make sure the Hispanic content is accurate. I was taken aback. Who elected me president of Puerto Ricans? Who thought I should represent them? I was simply an actress. I went back to my own childhood and remembered the lack of any Latin cultural representation on television, but how could I make it happen on Sesame Street? I wasnt a writer or producer, but I noticed the streets fruit cart showcasing the usual apples and bananas. With knees knocking, I meekly suggested to the producers that if Latin people lived on Sesame Street, the cart would include foods Puerto Ricans eat platanos and cocos and yautia. They complied. Diversifying the fruit cart was a small thing, but it led me to understand the real power lay behind the camera. I became a writer and developed Maria into an ideal version of me. I became what I wish I had seen on television growing up. Naturally, I thought I was just the first of many. Surely after the success of Sesame Street and my contribution to it, all kinds of Latinx talent would flood the media. Not so. Though there are more Latinas in childrens television than there were when I started out more than 50 years ago, there certainly arent as many as I would have thought in front of or behind the camera. Why is that? Why are we allowed through the door in such a painfully slow way? In the early days of Sesame Street, the public demanded diversity of Muppets. Why not have an African American character as popular as Cookie Monster? Writer Matt Robinson came up with Roosevelt Franklin, a funny little Muppet boy who was wildly popular and memorable (in fact, in a recent documentary about Sesame Street, the musician and entrepreneur Questlove talked about how he had related to that character as a kid). But the response from African American academics was varied. The attributes of Roosevelt Franklin as a role model came under debate. Ultimately, the responsibility of representing a whole community weighed too heavily on this 3-pound bit of felt with a Don King Afro. Sadly, Roosevelt was retired. A still from A still from "Alma's Way," created for PBS Kids. In retrospect, the answer mightve been simply to create more Black characters. After all, African American culture is not monolithic. Neither is Latin culture and thats something we are trying to make clear in Almas Way, a show I created for PBS KIDS and developed with Fred Rogers Productions. Though the series centers on a Puerto Rican family, we celebrate many Latinx characters. Almas Way is set in my hometown of the boogie-down Bronx. The lessons are enmeshed in the life stories of my alter ego, Alma Rivera. Alma eats mofongo (a Puerto Rican dish). She dances bomba (a traditional Puerto Rican dance). She raps and practices hip-hop moves (after all, it does take place in the Bronx). The mother is Nuyorican, like me, but the father is Afro-Puerto Rican from the island. Her little brother is named Junior (practically everybody in my neighborhood had a brother named Junior), and Alma has a zany Granny Isa (played by me natch!). Alma loves her cousin Eddie Mambo, a budding composer and musician who barrels around the Bronx on braces because he has cerebral palsy (based on real people I knew). The characters of Almas Way are also generationally diverse we even feature a middle-aged Bronx breakdancer. But Alma also interacts with an uncle who is an actor of Cuban descent, a Dominican food truck vendor, elderly neighbors obsessed with dancing flamenco, and Mexican American neighbors from San Diego! Not only that, but all these people have different skin tones, accents, hair and body types, too. The author next to an ad for The author next to an ad for "Alma's Way" in a New York City subway station. I hope our efforts help show that Latinos are not a monolithic culture. Its impossible to have a one size fits all Latinx character, and because of that, our well of stories is endless. I believe these stories are more important than ever. As we see more and more banning of books and lesson plans that feature diverse histories, cultures, families and lives, we need to find as many ways as possible to highlight and celebrate these experiences. Perhaps a show like Almas Way can plant the seeds of tolerance in preschoolers. This makes me especially proud of the Almas Way Puerto Rico special, which premieres on June 5 on PBS KIDS. In the episode, Alma visits Puerto Rico as a mainland Nuyorican just as I did as a child. She even struggles with her Spanish language skills while joyfully rediscovering her roots the way I did when I first visited. People say Sesame Streets Maria character opened the door and Ill take that compliment. But lets also keep that door open so that Alma, Almas Way and others can come through. Not one kind of Latino but all the kinds we are. Sonia Manzano is the creator and an executive producer of Almas Way from Fred Rogers Productions on PBS KIDS. Born in the South Bronx, Manzano is a first-generation American of Puerto Rican descent who has affected the lives of millions as the actor who defined the role of Maria on Sesame Street. A 15-time Emmy winner for her television writing, Sonia is a gifted author and was the recipient of the 2022 PBS Beacon Award, the highest honor in public television, for her many cultural contributions, impact and leadership across public media. Do you have a compelling personal story youd like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what were looking for here and send us a pitch. Related... A bill designed to curb excess litigation and protect consumers regarding automotive windshield replacement has been signed into law. The bill, sponsored by State Senator Linda Stewart (D - Orlando) makes multiple changes to the process of windshield replacement. Its taken 5 years to get it this far, and I would like to thank all of those involved in the long journey to this achievement. I believe we have crafted an excellent product that will put an immediate stop to inappropriate business practices that drive up premiums, said Stewart. Over the last decade, weve seen litigation over glass repairs increase by 4000% and now we have taken a major step in combatting one of the root causes in ever-increasing auto insurance rates. The bill would prohibit a replacement service provider from offering an incentive to a customer for using their business and would also prohibit consumers from entering an assignment of a post-loss benefits contract for the replacement and calibration of the windshield. Read: Cases of human metapneumovirus surge; What are the signs, symptoms of HMPV? This bill gets our windshield replacement policies up to date with the current times and further ensures consumer protections through notice of the need for recalibration. Through these new requirements for replacements, the removal of AOBs, and the prohibition on steering, I believe this new law will greatly benefit consumers, and ultimately lead to rate relief, Stewart added. Read: 9 things to know about Floridas upcoming sales tax holidays The bill also addresses statutes to reflect new driver assistance technologies embedded in windshields and adopted an amendment to combat a practice known as steering. Replacements of windshields will now also need to receive recalibration or notice to vehicle owners from the service provider that a recalibration is necessary for all systems in their car to work properly. Read: Safety experts warn parents over 100 deadliest days for teen drivers 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. Two children were taken to a local hospital after suffering burns in the car fire outside the Dillard's department store in Oviedo, Florida, police said. Two children were taken to a local hospital after suffering burns in the car fire outside the Dillard's department store in Oviedo, Florida, police said. A central Florida woman is facing arson and child neglect charges after she allegedly left her two children in a car while shoplifting in a mall, and then that car caught fire. Alicia Moore, 24, was arrested last week following the blaze in Oviedo, just north of Orlando, that left one child with first-degree burns, according to a copy of her arrest report. Moore allegedly left her children inside the car around noon on May 26 for about an hour as she was allegedly watched by security shoplifting inside a Dillards department store with an unidentified man. As she started exiting the Oviedo Mall, she saw the car engulfed in flames and dropped the merchandise before going outside, according to the arrest report. Bystanders helped rescue her two children, identified by Fox 35 Orlando as being ages 2 and 4, from the burning car. The kids were then taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, where one child was found to have suffered several first-degree burns, including to her face and ears, according to the arrest report. The vehicle was described as totaled by police, with images of the fire shared by the city with local media outlets showing at least one window blowing out amid the flames. Moore was later arrested by the Orlando Police Department on an unrelated outstanding warrant; while in custody, she was charged in the blaze. Shes being charged with the arson because she did leave the kids alone in the car with some sort of lighter, matches, I dont know what it was that set the car on fire, but the children are her responsibility, Lisa McDonald, communications manager for the city of Oviedo, told Fox 35 News. Moore is being held on $48,000 bond for the aggravated child neglect and arson charges, as well as for four charges unrelated to the fire. Those charges are petit theft, as well as battery and assault of a person over the age of 65, jailhouse records show. Moore did not have an attorney listed. Related... Photograph: Logan Cyrus/AFP/Getty Images Since Floridas governor, Ron DeSantis, took office in 2019 and embarked on his culture wars, lawsuits from various communities whose rights have been violated have been stacking up against the far-right Republican. As DeSantis fights the lawsuits with what critics have described as a blank check from the states supermajority Republican legislature, the mounting legal costs have come heavily at the expense of Floridas taxpayers. Related: Ron DeSantis thanks then attacks heckler who called him a fascist In recent years, DeSantiss ultra-conservative legislative agenda has drawn ire from a slew of marginalized communities as well as major corporations including Disney. The so-called dont say gay bill, abortion bans and prohibition of African American studies are just a few of DeSantiss many extremist policies that have been met with costly lawsuits in a state where residents are already struggling with costs of living. The list of legal challenges precipitating from DeSantiss unconstitutional laws is endless, the Democratic state senator Lori Berman said. Weve seen Floridians rightly sue many if not all of the governors legislative priorities, including laws that restrict drag shows for kids, prohibit Chinese citizens from owning homes and land in Florida, suppress young and Black and brown voters, ban gender-affirming care and threaten supportive parents with state custody of their children, and of course, all the retaliatory legislation waged against Disney for coming out in support of the LGBTQ+ community, she said. As a result of the mounting lawsuits against DeSantis, the governors legal costs, which the Miami Herald reported last December amounted to at least $16.7m, have been soaring. In DeSantiss legal fight against Disney following the corporations condemnation of his anti-LGBTQ+ laws, it is going to cost the governor and his handpicked board nearly $1,300 per hour in legal fees as they look into how the corporation discovered a loophole in DeSantiss plan to acquire governing rights over Disney World, Insider reports. Disney is a perfect example. It doesnt hurt any Floridians. There is nothing. Its creating a legal issue out of nowhere and now Disney sued so they have to respond and that is going to cost taxpayers money. The whole Disney case is just because of DeSantiss ego and his hurt feelings, the Democratic state senator Tina Polsky said. Taxpayers are paying to foot the bills to pass unconstitutional bills and to keep up with his petty vengeance, she said, adding: I dont think theyre aware at all Theyre too brainwashed at this point that they wouldnt even care. Meanwhile, in another case covered by the Orlando Sentinel, DeSantiss administration has turned to the elite conservative Washington DC-based law firm Cooper & Kirk to defend the governor against his slew of anti-woke laws. The firms lawyers charge $725 hourly, according to contracts reviewed by Orlando Sentinel. As of June 2022, the state authorized nearly $2.8m for legal services from just Cooper & Kirk alone, the outlet reports. With mounting taxpayer-funded legal costs against DeSantiss legislative agenda, critics ranging from civil rights organizations to the states Democratic lawmakers have lambasted DeSantiss policies as unconstitutional and mere political stunts designed to propel him to the frontlines of the GOP primary. DeSantis went to Harvard for his [law degree]. This is someone who should understand the constraints placed on him and the state by the United States constitution and the Florida constitution. He knows those constraints, but he doesnt care. His goal is to intentionally pass unconstitutional laws and set up legal challenges in order for the conservative supreme court to overturn long-held protections, Berman said. Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University, echoed similar sentiments, comparing DeSantis to his main competition and current GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, both of whom he said are cut from the same cloth. Related: Ron DeSantis says he will destroy leftism in US if elected president Ron DeSantis is a Harvard law school graduate. He is a lawyer. Whereas Donald Trump at least could make the argument, Im just the layperson, I dont know if something is deemed illegal or unconstitutional DeSantis does not have that defense, Jarvis said. Nevertheless, DeSantis appears unfazed. DeSantis knows very well that what he is doing is unconstitutional and illegal Lawyers by training are very cautious so this is quite remarkable to have a lawyer-politician who not only knows better, but does not care, said Jarvis. To DeSantis, it does not matter whether he wins or loses the legal battles as he knows he ultimately controls the Florida supreme court, according to Jarvis. He is playing a heads, I win, tails, you lose game. If he gets one of these crazy policies passed and theyre challenged and the court upholds him he can say to the press and to the public, I was right and the proof is in the pudding because the courts agreed with me, he explained. But even better for DeSantis when they rule against him DeSantis is able to stand up and say, These crazy judges want our children to watch drag shows, they want our children to be taught to be gay, they want Disney to be this terrible company. Thats why you need a strong governor and why you will benefit from having me as president because I will make sure to get rid of these judges and replace them with judges that have traditional American morals, Jarvis added. As DeSantis continues to fight his costly legal battles, the states supermajority Republican legislature appears to encourage him wholly. Were in a litigious society, the state senate president, Kathleen Passidomo, told the Tallahassee Democrat while the senate budget chair, Doug Broxson, told the outlet: We want the governor to be in a comfortable position to speak his mind. With Republicans rushing to DeSantiss defense, perhaps the most glaring example of the legislatures endorsement of his legal wars is the $16m incorporated into the states $117bn budget to be used exclusively for his litigation expenses. Speaking to the Guardian, the states Democratic house leader, Fentrice Driskell, called the budget a carte blanche from Republicans and the result of zero accountability. Related: DeSantiss limp start to 2024 race delights Trump but battle is not over The legislature is supposed to be a check on executive power. By giving him a carte blanche to go and fight these wars in court, its basically just saying that there are no checks and balances when it comes to the state government in Florida, said Driskell. Its a waste They are just allowing this single person to impose his will on the state of Florida and theyre willing to waste taxpayer dollars to do it, she said, adding: Most Floridians cant afford their rent and property insurance rates are through the roof. We could have redirected that money towards affordable housing. Driskell went on to describe Medicaid iBudget Florida, a waiver that provides disabled Floridians with access to certain services and which currently has a waitlist of more than 22,000 residents. Its very difficult for them to get off that waitlist because the Republicans underfund Medicaid. We could put that money towards funding the waitlist and getting people off of it. I think theres only $2m that was put in the budget for that this year. If we added the $16m that was added for these culture wars, my goodness, thats $18m. Presumably we could help get nine times more people off of the waitlist, said Driskell. As DeSantis remains embroiled in his legal woes at the expense of Florida taxpayers, there is perhaps a single group of people that have benefited the most out of all the legal drama, Jarvis told the Guardian. The lawyers who got that $16.7m, thats money from heaven. Thats money that fell into their laps Anytime theres a loser, and the loser here is the Florida taxpayer, there is a winner. The winners here are the lawyers who are collecting those enormous fees. The more that plaintiffs file lawsuits and the more they fight these crazy policies, you know thats just money in the bank for these lawyers, Jarvis said. DeSantis has been Gods gift to lawyers, he added. Former archbishop of Santa Fe, born in Wichita, dies at 83 Retired Archbishop Michael Sheehan, who served the Archdiocese of Santa Fe for 22 years, has died. He was 83. Sheehan died Saturday, but a cause of death wasnt disclosed, Leslie Radigan, a spokesperson for the archdiocese, said. The Albuquerque Journal reported Saturday that Sheehan announced in 2018 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimers disease. Sheehan was installed as the 11th Archbishop of Santa Fe in September 1993 before retiring in June 2015. He was born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1939 and studied at a seminary in San Antonio, Texas, before attending three universities in Italy, archdiocese officials said. He was ordained in July 1964 in Rome and became a bishop in 1983 in Lubbock, Texas. The archdiocese said Sheehan held 10 appointments between 1968 and when he retired in 2015. He also wrote more than a dozen publications and served on nearly two dozen committees. As an archbishop emeritus, Sheehan was deeply committed to social justice and evangelization and worked to abolish the death penalty in New Mexico, the archdiocese said. He also was credited with championing initiatives aimed at eradicating poverty and promoting equality. Sheehan served as Administrator of Phoenix for six months in 2003 and was the secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops from November 2003 to December 2006. Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday sent separate messages of condolences to Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a deadly train derailment and collision accident in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. Xi said he was shocked to learn of the accident which caused heavy casualties. On behalf of the Chinese government and people, he expressed deep condolences over the victims, offered sincere sympathies to the bereaved families and the injured, and wished the injured a speedy recovery. On the same day, Chinese Premier Li Qiang also sent a message of condolences to Modi. Former Chinese ambassador says US must halt military deployments near China By Chen Lin and Greg Torode SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The United States should ease off military deployments close to China in an act of "good faith" if high-level defence talks between the two superpowers are to resume, a retired veteran Chinese diplomat said in Singapore on Sunday. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue meeting on security, former ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai said that although the two militaries still had channels of communication, he questioned whether there was enough political will to prevent conflicts. "Why are they coming all the way across the ocean? To our doorsteps?" Cui said of U.S. naval and air force deployments close to China. "They're getting too close to our territories, to our territorial waters before anything else." He added: "If people have such goodwill and if people act in good faith, they could always find effective ways of communication." Cui's remarks followed the first international speech by Chinese Minister of National Defence Li Shangfu, who told the Singapore conference that a conflict between China and the United States would bring "unbearable disaster". Li snubbed an invitation to hold a side meeting with U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin during the Singapore summit, which was due to end on Sunday. In a speech on Saturday, Austin urged a resumption of senior dialogue, saying it was a "not a reward, but a necessity". Both officials said they were open to talks, but regional diplomats say there is no clear sign amid tensions over Taiwan and the disputed East and South China seas, and fears over the risks of miscalculation and accidents. Those risks were highlighted during the weekend as China's military criticised the United States and Canada for "deliberately provoking risk" after the countries' navies staged a rare joint sailing through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Saturday. Li, who was named minister in March, remains under U.S. sanctions put imposed in 2018 after an weapons deal with Russia. U.S. deployments near China, Cui said, were "certainly disrespect of other countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity and to be more specific, they always prefer unilateral sanctions." He said that he nonetheless remained optimistic about relations between the two countries. "I hope things will improve in the coming months and years," he said. "As a matter of principle, we are always ready for more dialogue with others, including with the United States." (Reporting By Chen Lin and Greg Torode in Singapore. Editing by Gerry Doyle) Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, author of the new book "The Yellow Pad," and, perhaps most important, veteran of the debt ceiling wars, offers a commentary about this past week's debt ceiling showdown in Washington: In 1995, I was the Secretary of the Treasury when members of Congress threatened not to raise the debt limit until the president agreed to their policy demands. Thirty years later, we just went through another debt-ceiling crisis. / Credit: Penguin Press This is a pattern we can, and must, break. I'm proud to have served in an administration that balanced the budget. And I've been concerned about rising debt and deficits in the years since. But creating a crisis over the debt limit is dangerous and irresponsible. Consider what raising the debt limits does: it allows the Treasury Department to make payments on already existing debt. It does not authorize any new spending. It's not like buying something on a credit card; it's like paying your bill after you've already bought something on a credit card. As everyone knows, if you don't pay your bills on time, it's more expensive in the long run, and your credit score goes down. It's the same for countries. If Congress refuses to allow the United States to make payments on its existing debt, in what's known as a "default," the economic consequences would likely be severe. It could send markets falling; raise costs for car and home loans; and hurt America's standing around the world, among much else. Biden addresses nation on debt ceiling deal to avoid default: "This is vital"House passes debt ceiling deal and sends it to the SenateWho voted against the debt ceiling bill in Congress, and who voted for it? We avoided default this time, and that's a cause for relief. But there's no guarantee we'll be similarly fortunate in the future and the more of these crises we go through, the greater the chances that one of them eventually leads to severe economic harm. Threatening to force the United States to default on its debt is risky and irresponsible. Debt ceiling showdown "was incredibly costly" to U.S., economic expert says ("Sunday Morning") Going forward, lawmakers should stop using the threat of default as a bargaining chip, and use the normal Congressional budget process to deal with issues of taxation and spending. That way, we can get our house in order without putting our entire economy at risk. For more info: Robert E. Rubin, Council on Foreign Relations"The Yellow Pad: Making Better Decisions in an Uncertain World" by Robert E. Rubin (Penguin Press), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org Story produced by Robert Marston and Young Kim. Editor: Carol Ross. Trump attorneys arrive at Justice Department Airline etiquette: Tips for how to act on a flight Federal Reserve considers pausing interest rate hikes FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron talks to a person opposed to the pension reform, in Selestat PARIS (Reuters) - French authorities plan to deploy 11,000 police, including 4,000 in Paris, on Tuesday, when unions have called a nationwide day of protests against President Emmanuel Macron's law to raise the retirement age, the interior ministry said on Sunday. In a tweet, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the extra policing would "ensure the security of the demonstrations and guarantee the right to demonstrate". Unions have been planning Tuesday's protests since early May and they precede discussions scheduled for Thursday on a draft bill proposed by the centrist Liot party aimed at cancelling the reform. Macron's reform to raise the retirement age to 64 from 62, has already sparked weeks of protests and strikes. "We are not asking to bring down the government, but to bring down the retirement reform," said Sophie Binet, leader of France's hard-left CGT union, on BFM TV on Sunday. "It's scandalous to want to apply this reform at breakneck speed," Binet said, calling the timing of the reform, which is set to take effect from September, "totally irresponsible." The months-long battle against Macron's push to raise the retirement age has raised the profile and membership of France's unions, which have drawn interest from younger and private sector workers. (Reporting by Kate Entringer and Mimosa Spencer; editing by Barbara Lewis) Yoshikazu Higashitani became Japan's first lawmaker to be kicked out of parliament without ever entering it Police in Japan have arrested a YouTuber and former MP over threats he allegedly made to celebrities. Yoshikazu Higashitani, known on YouTube as GaaSyy, is famous for his celebrity gossip videos. Local media said he returned to Japan from the UAE, two months after Tokyo police issued his arrest warrant. He is accused of threatening to defame an actor, an entrepreneur and a designer between February and August last year. He is also suspected of obstructing the designer's business activities. Mr Higashitani repeatedly ignored requests to return to Japan and voluntarily submit himself to police questioning. Tokyo police had been sending investigators to the UAE since May, and urging authorities there to extradite him to Japan. Japan's foreign minister ordered him to return his passport after Tokyo police obtained his arrest warrant in March, but Mr Higashitani said he'd lost it. His passport expired the following month. Earlier this year, he became the first lawmaker in Japanese history to be kicked out of parliament without ever entering it. Mr Higashitani was one of two members elected from the Seijika-joshi-48 party - a single-issue party calling for reforms to Japan's public broadcaster. During his seven months in office, the social media personality refused to leave his home in Dubai and did not attended a single legislative session. At the time, Japanese media reported that he'd refused to attend parliament because he feared being arrested over fraud allegations, and defamation claims from celebrities. Legislators demanded that Mr Higashitani fly to Tokyo to deliver an in-person apology in the chamber for his absence, but he failed to show up at the plenary session. Instead, he announced on his YouTube channel that he was going to Turkey - and that he was planning to donate his salary to the Turkish earthquake relief. His absence angered the Senate - whose members unanimously voted for his expulsion. Holiday products from Tree Hut. Tree Hut The top 10 consumer brands among Gen Z include healthy food options and self-care items. Market research company Numerator compiled the list, which looked at fast-growing brands in 2022. Here's the full list, from Panoxyl to Tree Hut. Gen Z is focused on high-quality food and self-care products, according to recent data from market research company Numerator. Numerator compiled a list of the top 10 brands favored by Gen Z consumers, or those born between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s. The generation includes many people who are becoming adults and buying their own groceries, personal care items, and other products for the first time, according to Numerator. "Gen Z consumers are all about self-care, which is reflected in the brands they choose to buy," said Molly Ryan, a Numerator analyst. "Brands most popular with Gen Z compared to other generations include items like all-natural personal care and better-for-you soda products that align with their values and fit their lifestyles." Numerator created the list by looking at brands' penetration that is, the share of a certain group that bought a particular product at least once in the course of a year. The brands on the list had twice the penetration among Gen Z consumers as they did among all US households and grew sales at least 30% between 2021 and 2022. Check out the 10 brands that most interest Gen Z: 10. Native Native Native sells better-for-you personal care products. Its flagship deodorant is made without aluminum, talc, or phthalates. The company was founded in 2015 by Moiz Ali. Two years later, Ali sold the brand to Procter & Gamble for $100 million. Since then, the brand has released new scents, like Pumpkin, and collaborated with lifestyle brand Jungalow. 9. La Roche Posay La Roche-Posay La Roche Posay makes skincare products, from sunscreen to face masks. French beauty giant L'Oreal owns the brand, which it acquired in 2018. Along with other French drugstore brands, La Roche Posay regularly ranks on lists of top skincare brands for Gen Z consumers since its products are affordable. It was also the fastest-growing skincare brand of 2022, according to NPD, an indication that it's popular with people of different ages. 8. Olipop drinkolipop.com Olipop makes low-sugar and prebiotic soda pop. The brand gained popularity on social media and even hired a TikTok influencer to grow Olipop's following, Fast Company reported last year. The brand sells its soda in a variety of places, from its own website to Walmart. 7. BuzzBallz BuzzBallz espresso martini Buzzballz BuzzBallz makes cocktails in spherical plastic cans. The brand mixes fruit juice and other beverages, such as coffee, with spirits including vodka, tequila, and wine. The brand's drinks are popular with Gen Z, prompting Vice to compare their uptake to that of Four Loko, the alcohol-and-caffeine beverage that became a favorite among millennials in the early 2000s but eventually revamped its formula to exclude caffeine. 6. Tree Hut Holiday products from Tree Hut Tree Hut Tree Hut's range of bath salts, shea sugar scrubs, and other personal care products are sold directly to consumers as well as through retailers such as Ulta Beauty and Target. The brand gained notoriety on TikTok, and it targets young consumers with its marketing and new product launches. "From Gen Z beauty lovers to their parents the new Tree Hut Holidaze line is perfect for anyone looking to indulge in some festive self-care during the busiest time of the year," a press release promoting its holiday product lineup for 2022 reads. 5. TheraBreath Amazon TheraBreath makes mouthwashes, lozenges, and other products designed to counter bad breath. Although it was founded in the early 1990s, the brand has gotten a boost on TikTok over the past couple of years through a partnership with influencers like Jason Coffee, according to Rhythm Influence. That's led to videos that highlight different sizes of the product as well as its origin story. 4. Maseca Maseca makes corn flour, a key ingredient in tortillas, empanadas, and other dishes. Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images Maseca makes corn flour, an important ingredient in Latin American foods such as tortillas. The product got its start in 1940s Mexico, according to the brand's website. The brand has gained popularity in cooking videos on TikTok and other social media. 3. PanOxyl Amazon PanOxyl acne wash, spot patches, and other skincare products have gotten good reviews from beauty product influencers on TikTok. Buyers have also used social media to compare the brand's products to other acne-controlling medications. 2. The Honey Pot Company The Honey Pot The Honey Pot makes feminine care products, from organic cotton pads to a urinary-tract support supplement. The brand is one of several that cater to millennial and Gen Z consumers looking for new brands that are open about their materials sourcing, according to the South China Morning Post. 1. Hero Cosmetics Amazon Hero Cosmetics makes patches for acne and other skin blemishes. It also sells toner, cleanser, and other skincare products. Hero's Mighty Patches are one of a few products that have become known as band-aids for pimples, according to Men's Health. That's largely thanks to their use by posters on TikTok, including Justin Bieber, who sported some star-shaped patches from a rival brand. Read the original article on Business Insider No joke Governor McMaster said recently, I look forward to the day that Democrats are so rare, we have to hunt them with dogs. Do you know who else gets hunted down like dogs? People about to be lynched. When the leader in our state a man elected to serve ALL of his constituents thinks this is okay, we are in deep trouble. His office claims this was a joke, but I fear it reveals something far more insidious. These words are reminiscent of a plantation owners when enslaved workers dared to rebel. They reek of supremacy, of dehumanizing those with differing values. They are primitive and dangerous. And they came from our governor. We no longer live in the 1800s, Gov. McMaster. Your statement gave us a glimpse into your heart, and it worries me. Carla Damron, Columbia Saving lives? Gov. McMaster, Im sure youre feeling very noble and good about signing into law the six-week fetal heartbeat abortion ban and therefore saving the lives of unborn children immediately. Now please share with the people of South Carolina how youre planning to sign into law legislation that will save the lives of children in our schools, churches and public places whose beating hearts can so easily be stopped by gun violence. Suzanne Morgan Wilkins, Lexington Bad legislating Listen to women. The abortion ban proposed by our male legislators will close clinics and cause desperation and death, preventing many otherwise healthy women from having a future of planned pregnancies and happy children. Harry Spratlin, Columbia Inspection law needed I enjoyed Brian Tolleys article on changing a law in The State on May 21. It has been said that our legislators will not take up the discussion of a revised law on annual vehicle inspections. Every day we see on TV or read about a story in the news concerning a vehicle wreck or crash when people were injured or killed. Every day my wife and I see vehicles that have no business being on South Carolina roads. Lights that are not working on vehicles, bald tires, no front-end bumpers. Can an investigative report on the lack of a state law dealing with vehicle inspections help in changing the attitudes of the public and the legislators make a difference? Certainly, the previous law was flawed, but those flaws could be addressed in writing a new law that would have a chance of passing. Ed Cerny, Elgin Confusion reigns I am so confused by the Republican Party. They believe in the sanctity of life and that is why they support the ban on abortion. They say they are pro-life when it appears to me that they are pro-fetal life. The GOP blocks any legislation that ensures equality for all Gods children. They will not take a pro-life stand on gun control because the gun lobby is funding their campaigns. Now they are trying to reinvent the First Amendment, legislating what we can read because they do not want the American people to think for themselves. C. S. Lewis taught that the triumph of evil depends entirely on disguise. They are hiding their agenda by saying they are protecting parents rights. I am a parent and my rights are being ignored my right to free speech, thought and reading and writing. They are hoping we will not realize what they are doing is propaganda similar to what Hitler did in Germany, spreading lies and rhetoric until it becomes believable. Ann Swindler, Columbia Whats happening? Todays news makes me wonder if an alternate universe is being scripted somewhere. The words expressed do not appear anchored in fact or reality. For example, the twice impeached and indicted former president is running again for the White House. He says he wants to terminate our Constitution, giving him almost dictatorial power. Also, he has promised a pardon for convicted Jan. 6 insurrectionists. And now, the Florida governor is positioning himself to be more extreme than the others. The evidence is clear. He is fighting with Disney, the No. 1 tourist destination in his state, while the legislature there is doing his work by passing laws restricting personal freedoms of Floridians. Our former governor is running to be a compromise candidate although many believe she is simply running for the vice-presidential nomination. South Carolinas junior senator is running for president with little evidence he can do anything but take votes away from other candidates of his party. The South Carolina legislature has joined several other red states in restricting the reproductive rights of women and their families. Call it abortion rights, but in reality, its about womens health care. Earlier in the year, our state approved open carry of weapons without training or permitting. Gosh knows where that will lead. In many states, legislatures are attacking our LBGTQ+ neighbors and friends by threatening to pass laws restricting their human rights. An advocacy group Moms for Liberty is traveling across our country seeking to ban books that they say shouldnt be read to or by our young students. Thoughts and prayers for the USA! Jim Palmer, Clemson By Alberto Dabo BISSAU (Reuters) -Polls closed in Guinea-Bissau's parliamentary elections on Sunday as voters sought some stability more than a year after President Umaro Sissoco Embalo dissolved parliament over accusations of corruption. The West African country of nearly 2 million people has seen frequent political turmoil, with at least 10 coups or attempted coups since it gained independence from Portugal in 1974. Sparring for seats in Sunday's polls are more than 20 political parties and coalitions, including the former ruling PAIGC party and its rival MADEM G15. At stake is Embalo's attempt to change the constitution - if he has enough support in parliament, he may be able to consolidate power by ridding the country of its semi-presidential system. The results are expected on Tuesday. Given the fragmented playing field, analysts and politicians doubt that a clear majority will emerge. "There will be no winner with an absolute majority in these elections. It is impossible," said Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam. "No party is ready to govern Guinea-Bissau alone." Under the current political system, the majority party or coalition appoints the government but the president has the power to dismiss it in certain circumstances. That has led to political deadlock and infighting in the past. The country's scattered Atlantic islands and mangrove mazes are a draw for tourists but also cocaine traffickers en route from South America to Europe. The economy often finds itself hostage to the volatile price of cashew nuts, the main income source for over two-thirds of households. The latest coup attempt was in February last year when gunmen stormed a government compound where Embalo was holding a cabinet meeting. Embalo, who held on to power, linked the incident to the country's booming drug trade. The former army general then threw the country into further chaos in May 2022 when he sacked the government, helping delay local elections by months. (Writing by Edward McAllister, Editing by Angus MacSwan and Diane Craft) Guns N Roses dedicates first song of world tour to Ukrainians Guns N' Roses band Guns N Roses started their set with a song dedicated to the Ukrainian people and their struggle against Russian invaders. The iconic musicians performed their 1990 hit Civil War while powerful footage of the aftermath of Russias aggression on the Ukrainian people was playing on a large screen behind them. Ukrainians in the United Arab Emirates were touched by the heartfelt gesture, taking to the groups Facebook page to say, In Abu Dhabi, the legendary Guns N Roses began their world tour with a sold-out show and a song dedicated to the people of Ukraine. Thank you for your support, legends! The group also shared a video of the performance. 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 New Hampshire man was charged on Friday for threatening to kill a U.S. senator, according to federal prosecutors. Brian Landry, 66, was charged with threatening to assault, kidnap or murder a U.S. official, after he allegedly left a threatening voicemail with the senators district field office on May 17, according to the U.S. attorneys office for the District of New Hampshire. Hey stupid, the voicemail said. Im a veteran sniper. And unless you change your ways, I got my scope pointed in your direction and Im coming to get you. Youre a dead man walking, you piece of f***ing sh**. Landry reportedly told investigators that he saw reports of a lawmaker blocking military promotions and was extremely angry with certain politicians over their handling of important entitlement programs for veterans, according to NBC News. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has led a hold on hundreds of top military promotions and nominations since February, in protest of new Department of Defense policies that allow for paid leave and reimbursement for service members who travel to obtain an abortion. The Alabama Republican has faced backlash over the controversial hold, receiving the rebuke of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, as well as seven former Pentagon chiefs from the last four administrations. This indefinite hold harms Americas national security and hinders the Pentagons normal operations, Austin said in a May letter. The longer that this hold persists, the greater the risk the U.S. military runs in every theater, every domain, and every Service. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has also said he does not support Tubervilles blanket hold on military promotions. Tubervilles national security advisor stepped down on Tuesday, after a Washington Post article suggested he was largely behind the hold. However, the advisor later told Politico that the article overstated his role. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. New Hampshire veteran accused of calling in threat to kill sitting US senator A 66-year-old veteran from New Hampshire is accused of calling in a threat on the life of a sitting US senator, saying he was angry over important entitlement programs for veterans. Brian Landry is charged with threatening to assault, kidnap or murder a United States official in connection with the officials performance of official duties, according to the US Attorneys Office for the District of New Hampshire. According to a charging document filed in federal court, Landry called the senators district office on May 17, saying, Hey stupid. Im a veteran sniper. And unless you change your ways, I got my scope pointed in your direction, and Im coming to get you. The court document goes on to allege that Landry called the senator a dead man walking. Investigators did not identify the targeted senator by name. They only say the senator took office in 2021 and Landry told them that he saw on the news that [the senator] is blocking military promotions. Landry told investigators he did not recall exactly what he said in the voicemail he left, according to the court document. When investigators told him what was on the voicemail, Landry acknowledged he may have said those things, but denied any intentions or desire to commit violence against [the senator] or anyone else. Landry appeared in court Friday and did not enter a plea. CNN reached out to his public defender for comment Saturday. Magistrate Judge Andrea K. Johnstone ordered Landry released from custody Friday pending a bail review hearing next month. He is ordered to remain in New Hampshire, not possess any firearms, and to request a mental/physical evaluation from the Veterans Administration, among other conditions. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Flash People attend a job fair held by the Confucius Institute at University of Al-Azhar in Jakarta, Indonesia, June 3, 2023. The Confucius Institute at University of Al-Azhar Indonesia held its first job fair for Chinese enterprises in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Saturday. (Xinhua/Agung Kuncahya B.) The Confucius Institute at University of Al-Azhar Indonesia held its first job fair for Chinese enterprises in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Saturday. Over 1,000 Indonesian students from universities including University of Indonesia, University of Al-Azhar Indonesia, State University of Jakarta, and BINUS University visited the job fair. The job fair presents 28 Chinese enterprises in fields ranging from food and electronics to plantation industry, offering various job positions. Ratu Vega, an English literature student at the University of Al-Azhar Indonesia, came to the fair with an aim of joining a major Chinese company. "I am very excited, those attending the job fair are large and well-known companies," Vega told Xinhua. Siti Nurlatifa, who has just finished her studies on state administration at Padang State University based in the Sumatra island, expressed hope that one of these companies will accept her application. Head of the University of Al-Azhar Indonesia, Asep Saefuddin, said in his speech that this event was aimed at building a bridge of cooperation between universities and enterprises, as well as a platform for dialogue and exchanges, so as to contribute more to the Indonesian society. The Chinese side Director of Confucius Institute at University of Al-Azhar, Niu Haitao, noted in the fair's opening address that the Chinese companies operating in Indonesia have high demand for local talents, especially for those who can speak Chinese. "The Confucius Institute will continue its efforts to build a bridge between universities and enterprises, and to better serve Chinese enterprises in Indonesia," he said. What Happened When a Brooklyn Neighborhood Policed Itself for Five Days Brownsville residents stand sentry on their own blocks, an effort meant to help the community police itself. (NYT) NEW YORK It had been a quiet April afternoon until about a dozen teenagers began running up Pitkin Avenue in Brownsville, yelling and cursing. They were chasing a girl of about 14, and it was clear they wanted a fight. Five plainclothes police officers watched warily. Across Pitkin stood about a half-dozen men, civilians in jeans and purple-and-gray sweatshirts. They got it, an officer said. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times The teenagers slowed as they spotted the men, workers from an organization called Brownsville In Violence Out, who calmly waved them in different directions. They scattered as the girl fled down a side street. The brief encounter encapsulated a simple yet unorthodox concept that is at the heart of a bold experiment organizers believe could redefine law-enforcement in New York: letting neighbors, not the police, respond to low-level street crime. Several times a year, workers from Brownsville In Violence Out stand sentry on two blocks for five days. Police channel all 911 calls from that area to the civilians. Unless there is a major incident or a victim demands an arrest, officers, always in plainclothes, shadow the workers. The civilians have no arrest powers. But they have persuaded people to turn in illegal guns, prevented shoplifting, kept a man from robbing a bodega and stopped a pregnant woman from hitting a boyfriend who had not bought a car seat and a stroller as he had promised. They are part of the Brownsville Safety Alliance, a group of neighborhood and city groups, police officers and members of the Kings County District Attorneys office that is trying to ensure that fewer people are arrested and entangled in the criminal justice system. As the men and women from Brownsville In Violence Out watch for mayhem, agencies offering services such as free child care and addiction recovery sit at folding tables, distributing pamphlets and luring passersby with games, stress balls and pens. Over the next three years, the city will provide $2.1 million to help link the local organizations that participate most frequently in the Safety Alliance so that they can work cohesively throughout the year. The effort mirrors others that have sprung up after demonstrations swept New York and much of the country to protest the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. They are meant to modulate the use of officially sanctioned force, using a neighborhoods innate desire for order as a tool. Residents have embraced the concept, said Nyron Campbell, 37, an assistant program manager at Brownsville In Violence Out. They say, We feel more safe. We can walk without feeling anxiety, he said. While they know that we do need police, its possible that we can police ourselves. The idea came from Terrell Anderson, who in 2020 took over as commander of the areas 73rd Precinct. Raised in Brownsville, he promised to rebuild the precincts relationship with a wary community. Residents had complained that officers had become aggressive, grabbing men off the street to arrest them for minor offenses. The neighborhood was reeling from the 2019 shooting of Kwesi Ashun, a T-shirt vendor with paranoid schizophrenia, killed as he swung at an officer with a chair at a nail salon. Anderson asked residents what the department could do to engender trust. Among them was Dushoun Almond, a jocular and self-deprecating man who goes by the nickname Bigga. Almond, who runs Brownsville In Violence Out, said Anderson realized that sometimes all that is needed to keep the peace is a person with credibility not necessarily a badge telling someone: Get out of here. Youre bugging. Members of the community see themselves in Bigga, said Jeffrey Coots, director of the From Punishment to Public Health initiative at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The group works closely with the Brownsville Safety Alliance, conducting surveys about the initiative and tracking its progress. This is someone who is like me, who understands me and is calling me out on the fact that Im out of pocket a little bit, Coots said. Deputy Inspector Mark A. Vazquez, who was also raised in Brownsville, took over last year after Anderson was transferred, and said that he continued the project because public safety is shared responsibility. Vazquez said he was 4 when his father was shot and that many family members have been incarcerated. I know how it is, Vazquez said. Not everyone is convinced. Lise Perez, owner of Claras Beauty Salon on Pitkin Avenue, has 26 cameras around her store and works behind a counter protected by a thick plastic partition. No one can get in or out without her pressing a button. In this area, nobody feels too safe, she said. Were all here surviving. The idea of five days in which police refer 911 calls unsettles her. Its like they left us without protection, she said. It doesnt give me peace. But Minerva Vitale, 66, who lives on the avenue, said the effort was incredibly important. We call them and, poof, they come right away, she said. You think they aint ready for this? Yes, they are. Tiffany Burgess, 42, one of the Brownsville In Violence Out outreach workers, said she was mystified by the skeptics. If we can calm them down and get them to walk away, whats the problem? she said. You should want that. More people around the country do. The Brownsville initiative is part of a movement called the community responder model, which aims to reduce the use of armed officers to handle many calls. Similar programs are underway in Eugene, Oregon; Denver; Rochester, New York; and other places, according to the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank. The group has estimated that almost 40% of calls to police could be handled by community responders. In Brownsville, the effort not only gives residents more say over what public safety looks like but can deter crime if people know there are more eyes watching, said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. A lot of people worry that if police systems are not fully active, crime will go up, he said. But the Safety Alliance has been thriving amid a positive trend in the 73rd Precinct, Gonzalez said. In the first half of this year, homicides fell 50%, shootings fell 25% and the rate of grand larcenies of automobiles also fell even as it rose in other neighborhoods, he said. One set of watching eyes belongs to Almond, 47, a former gang member who spent more than 13 years in prison for a bank robbery. He returned to Brownsville in 2014 and got a tattoo of a smoking gun behind his right ear to hide a small scar left from a bullet wound. His past, along with his calm, straightforward approach, helps him navigate conflicts. During one Safety Alliance week, he persuaded a man going into a bodega with a gun to give him his weapon and go home. The next day, that same man returned, but this time to volunteer. He spent the day squashing beefs, Almond said. He broke up like three fights. Just as he told the story, a 911 call came in about a fight at a deli on the corner of Watkins Street and Pitkin. Almond slowly walked over to size up the dispute between two men one of whom had taken out a restraining order against the other, a person named Lala. Lala had disappeared, but the other man remained outside the deli. From now on, so there wont ever be problem like this in our community, call me, Almond told the man, who nodded. Go in the store. Dont antagonize each other. Almond then told one of the outreach workers to find Lala and order him to stay away. Almond walked toward Sgt. Jared Delaney and Officer Nickita Beckford. Its all good, he said. I took care of it. The workers take on a heavy load, handling cases that fall into the yawning gap between law enforcement and social services. On the second-to-last day of the Safety Alliance week, a chilly, overcast Friday, a car pulled up. The driver pushed a woman onto the street, then drove off. Crying, screaming and intoxicated, she had no money or identification and did not seem to know where she was. Almonds team surrounded her. Burgess learned that her name was Alicia and it was her 23rd birthday. She told Burgess she had paranoid schizophrenia and kept insisting on going to Rite Aid. Burgess was worried she was planning to steal something. Dana Rachlin, executive director of We Build the Block, a Brooklyn-based public safety organization that helps run the alliance, bought Alicia some Chinese food to calm her. As she ate her meal, Rachlin called the citys mental health hotline. She waited while on hold for 10 minutes before someone told her it would be 24 hours before a team could come, and that she could call the police. Rachlin rolled her eyes and hung up. It was getting colder. Rachlin sat on the bench at the bus stop and Alicia sat next to her, put her head on her shoulder and fell asleep. Finally, Rachlin and Almond and an executive from a social services group drove Alicia to an intake center for a shelter. She could not get a bed until Monday, but she could stay at the center through the weekend. When Rachlin called the center the next morning to check on her, Alicia was gone. Weve been looking for her, Rachlin said. We have our eyes open. She said the eventual goal was to close that gap and create a system where someone like Alicia, who might have been arrested for fighting or shoplifting, could get shelter, cash and an identification card immediately. At least on that Friday, Rachlin said, the alliance provided a moment of safety. c.2023 The New York Times Company MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. A man spotted trying to help a newborn bison in Yellowstone National Park in May pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday after authorities said they had to euthanize the animal because its herd rejected it. Clifford Walters faced one count of feeding, touching, teasing, frightening, or intentionally disturbing wildlife and will have to pay a fined $500 fine and a series of other fees. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, while in the park, the Hawaii resident pushed the struggling bison calf up a rivers embankment and onto a nearby roadway. No evidence of malicious intent was found, but after the encounter, park staff said the calf began to try to befriend people and follow cars, which created a hazard. The park said rangers repeatedly tried to reunite the calf with the herd, but likely because of human interference, the offspring was rejected. TOURIST TAKES DANGEROUSLY CLOSE SELFIE NEXT TO BISON IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK In the days after the incident, park staff said they were faced with no other options than to euthanize the bison. The parks actions triggered an uproar by guests and social media users asking if there was a better to handle the situation. The National Park Service released a lengthy statement that, in part, read, "We made the choice we did because national parks preserve natural processes." JOGGERS PREHISTORIC FIND ALONG CALIFORNIA BEACH WOWS MUSEUM COLLECTORS Rangers are using the incident to remind visitors that approaching wild animals can impact their well-being and survival. Federal regulations require that people stay at least 25 yards away from wildlife such as bison, elk and deer and at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves. The countrys oldest national park attracts more than 3 million visitors annually and is one of more than 400 sites managed by the National Park System. Hong Kong police detain more than 20 on Tiananmen anniversary On Sunday, officers were posted around Tiananmen Square, at times stopping cyclists Hong Kong police on Sunday detained more than 20 people, including key pro-democracy figures trying to commemorate the anniversary of the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown, as hundreds in Taiwan mourned the dead with a vigil. For years, tens of thousands of Hong Kongers would converge on the city's Victoria Park and its surrounding neighbourhood to commemorate the events of June 4, 1989 -- taking part in candlelight vigils. But since Beijing's imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 to quell dissent, the annual vigil has been banned and its organisers charged under the law. This weekend, scores of police were deployed in the area, stopping people for searches and questioning. Some found with a candle -- regarded as a symbol of the Victoria Park vigil -- were questioned and detained. More than 700 kilometres (430 miles) away on the self-ruled island of Taiwan, hundreds gathered at Taipei's Liberty Square to chant "fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong" as night fell. They lit candles in the shape of "8964" -- numerals forbidden in mainland China because it references the events of June 4, 1989. "We need to cherish the freedom and democracy we have in Taiwan," Perry Wu, 31, told AFP. "I feel really sad to see the news of people getting arrested today in Hong Kong." Hong Kong police said late Sunday they had detained 23 people between the ages of 20 to 74 who were suspected of "breaching the peace". One woman, 53, was arrested for obstructing police officers. Among the most prominent activists AFP saw bundled into police vans was Chan Po-ying, the leader of the League of Social Democrats, one of the few remaining opposition parties. The veteran activist, who was released hours later, held a small LED candle and two flowers before she was seized by police. Other recognisable figures taken were Alexandra Wong, a well-known activist nicknamed "Grandma Wong" and Leo Tang, a former leader of the now-disbanded Confederation of Trade Unions. On Saturday, Hong Kong police arrested four people for "seditious" acts and "disorderly conduct". Another four were detained on suspicion of breaching the peace. The office of UN human rights chief Volker Turk said in a tweet late Sunday it was "alarmed by reports of detentions" in Hong Kong and called for the "release of anyone detained for exercising freedom of expression & peaceful assembly." - 'Let the world know' - Discussion of the Tiananmen crackdown is highly sensitive for China's communist leadership and commemoration is forbidden on the mainland. The government sent troops and tanks to Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 to break up peaceful protests, brutally crushing a weeks-long wave of demonstrations calling for political change. Hundreds -- by some estimates, more than 1,000 -- were killed. Hong Kong was for decades the only Chinese city with a large-scale commemoration -- a key index of the liberties and political pluralism afforded by its semi-autonomous status. This year, Victoria Park was transformed for a "hometown carnival fair" organised by pro-Beijing groups. - Erase memories - Beijing has gone to exhaustive lengths to erase the 1989 event from public memory in the mainland. All mention of the crackdown is scrubbed from China's internet. Over the weekend, sites of more recent protests -- a bridge in Beijing where a "freedom" banner was unfurled, and Wulumuqi Street in Shanghai where demonstrations happened in November -- also saw heightened security. Hong Kong authorities were vigilant in the weeks before June 4, with police seizing a commemorative "Pillar of Shame" statue for a security trial and removing books on the Tiananmen crackdown from public libraries. But there were still pockets of defiance on Sunday around Hong Kong -- a shop gave away candles, while a bookstore displayed Tiananmen Square archival material. At the US consulate in the evening, dozens of candles could be seen shimmering in the large complex's windows. - 'Face the consequences' - Sidestepping questions about whether public mourning was allowed, Hong Kong's leader John Lee had repeatedly maintained that the public must act according to the law or "be ready to face the consequences". Vigils planned around the world, from Japan to Australia, saw people standing with candles next to images of the brutal crackdown. In London, protesters staged a re-enactment featuring a blow-up tank and women dressed in white, emulating a statue to liberty set up on Tiananmen Square in 1989. A 59-year-old poet from China's Sichuan province, told AFP at the Trafalgar Square rally that his family fled soon after brutal crackdown. "Chinese people in my generation know what happened, but the younger ones, not really," said the man, who declined to be named for fear of Chinese reprisals. "Their parents, their grandparents, need to keep up the knowledge, and we all need to remember at events overseas like this." burs/des/mdl Hugo Speer claims he was axed from Full Monty reboot after runner saw him naked in trailer (Getty Images) Hugo Speer has said he believes that he was unfairly sacked from the forthcoming Disney+ reboot of The Full Monty. The British actor, 54 who played Guy in the original 1997 movie about unemployed steel workers who form a striptease act was due to reprise his role in the new TV series. But in July 2022, Speer was dropped from the project after allegations of inappropriate conduct. In a new interview with the Daily Mail, Speer has now claimed that a female runner knocked on his trailer when he was getting changed. He said that he asked her to wait one minute, but she opened the door anyway and started speaking to him. The actor claimed that he hid behind a wardrobe and didnt understand why she didnt leave when she realised that he was changing. According to Speer, a few days passed and then a producer pulled him aside on set in Manchester and told him: There have been a couple of complaints about you. Speer said: Ive never, in 31 years, had a single complaint about my conduct. The actor said the producer told him: Youve been seen undressed in your trailer. After being told that he had made members of the crew feel uncomfortable, Speer said he was left shocked. Hugo Speer (Getty Images) Following an investigation, in which it was also reported that he had walked past the open door of his trailer while nude, Speers character was written out of the rest of the series and his contract was terminated. Speer said he has not worked since. It was tragi-comic, he said, alluding to the shows stripping plotline, but they didnt realise how badly affected I was. I went into massive, deep shock. As you can see, Im still kind of there. He added: Theyve taken my job. Theyve taken my reputation. Theyve taken my money. Theyve taken my mental health. Speers wife, scriptwriter Vivienne Harvey, told the publication there have been days she has been scared to leave him at home alone in case he took his own life. Speer confirmed that he had contemplated suicide. I just wanted to stop feeling what I was feeling. If it wasnt for Vivienne and the girls, I would have ended it all. That was the worst thing. I didnt want to be feeling like this, but I couldnt stop living because of my family. The couple have two daughters, Nico, 10, and Elki, six. A Disney spokesperson said in a statement to the Daily Mail: Last year, we were made aware of allegations of inappropriate conduct by Hugo Speer on the set of The Full Monty. As is policy, an independent investigation was launched. Upon its completion, the decision was made to terminate his contract, with immediate effect. The Independent has contacted Disney for further comment. Other original stars from the movies cast, such as Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, Paul Barber, Steve Huison, Wim Snape, Lesley Sharp and Tom Wilkinson, are reprising their roles in the series, which arrives on 14 June. If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you. Gary Marcus testified to the US Senate during a hearing on artificial intelligence in mid-May 2023 Ever since the poem churning ChatGPT burst on the scene six months ago, expert Gary Marcus has voiced caution against artificial intelligence's ultra-fast development and adoption. But against AI's apocalyptic doomsayers, the New York University emeritus professor told AFP in a recent interview that the technology's existential threats may currently be "overblown." "I'm not personally that concerned about extinction risk, at least for now, because the scenarios are not that concrete," said Marcus in San Francisco. "A more general problem that I am worried about... is that we're building AI systems that we don't have very good control over and I think that poses a lot of risks, (but) maybe not literally existential." Long before the advent of ChatGPT, Marcus designed his first AI program in high school -- software to translate Latin into English -- and after years of studying child psychology, he founded Geometric Intelligence, a machine learning company later acquired by Uber. - 'Why AI?' - In March, alarmed that ChatGPT creator OpenAI was releasing its latest and more powerful AI model with Microsoft, Marcus signed an open letter with more than 1,000 people including Elon Musk calling for a global pause in AI development. But last week he did not sign the more succinct statement by business leaders and specialists -- including OpenAI boss Sam Altman -- that caused a stir. Global leaders should be working to reduce "the risk of extinction" from artificial intelligence technology, the signatories insisted. The one-line statement said tackling the risks from AI should be "a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war". Signatories included those who are building systems with a view to achieving "general" AI, a technology that would hold the cognitive abilities on par with those of humans. "If you really think there's existential risk, why are you working on this at all? That's a pretty fair question to ask," Marcus said. Instead of putting the focus on more far-fetched scenarios where no one survives, society should be putting attention on where real dangers lie, Marcus surmised. "People might try to manipulate the markets by using AI to cause all kinds of mayhem and then we might, for example, blame the Russians and say, 'look what they've done to our country' when the Russians actually weren't involved," he continued. "You (could) have this escalation that winds up in nuclear war or something like that. So I think there are scenarios where it was pretty serious. Extinction? I don't know." - Threat to democracy - In the short term, the psychology expert is worried about democracy. Generative AI software produces increasingly convincing fake photographs, and soon videos, at little cost. As a result, "elections are going to be won by people who are better at spreading disinformation, and those people may change the rules and make it really difficult to have democracy proceed." Moreover, "democracy is premised on having reasonable information and making good decisions. If nobody knows what to believe, then how do you even proceed with democracy?" The author of the book "Rebooting AI" however doesn't think we should abandon hope, still seeing "a lot of upside." There's definitely a chance AI not yet invented can "help with science, with medicine, with elder care," Marcus said. "But in the short term, I feel like we're just not ready. There's going to be some harm along the way and we really need to up our game, we have to figure out serious regulation," he said. At a US Senate hearing in May, seated beside OpenAI's Altman, Marcus argued for the creation of a national or international agency responsible for AI governance. The idea is also backed by Altman, who has just returned from a European tour where he urged political leaders to find the "right balance" between safety and innovation. But beware of leaving the power to corporations, warned Marcus. "The last several months have been a real reminder that the big companies calling the shots here are not necessarily interested in the rest of us," he warned. juj/arp/des FRANCE-ECONOMY-IKEA-PORTRAIT-BLACK AND WHITE Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka group, the holding company that controls the majority of Ikea stores, in Paris, on May 11, 2023. Credit - Joel SagetAFP via Getty Images (To receive weekly emails of conversations with the worlds top CEOs and decisionmakers, click here.) The number of globally known brands to which consumers feel personally connected are surprisingly few. But say the word Ikea to someone almost anywhere in the world, and chances are good theyll have their own Ikea story, whether its furnishing a first post-college apartment, kids playing in the in-store ball pit or a near-divorce while assembling a cabinet. For me, its the day my then-fiance and I did so many rounds around the winding floors of the Newark, N.J., location that we spent all of breakfast, lunch and Swedish-meatballs dinner in the Ikea cafeteria. (Were still married two decades, an Expedit toy cubby, Ektorp sectional and many Billy bookcases later, no doubt partly because TaskRabbit can now be hired to assemble.) Under Jesper Brodin, the CEO of Ingka Group, the company behind the 80-year-old brandknown for furniture that is cost-efficient and aesthetically pleasing but not exactly meant to be handed down as heirloomshas put sustainability front and center while seeing record revenues. TIME included Ikea on the inaugural TIME100 companies list in 2021, citing the strides it has taken toward its goal of being climate-positivereducing more greenhouse gases than it producesby 2030. One of Brodins latest moves is, literally, going to the mattresses, via a new business that recycles them rather than having them pile up for incineration or worse. (Related trivia: The New Yorker and the New York Times have both cited the claim that 10% of Europes babies are conceived on Ikea beds.) Brodin and I caught up recently to discuss all of this and more. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. TIME: We like to say everybody has a TIME story. I think everybody has an Ikea story. The brand intersects with so many life eventspeoples first apartments, a first child, a desk when a kid gets to high school, furniture when a kid goes to college. How do you think about your relationship with customers throughout that life cycle? And how connected is it with price? BRODIN: It gets to the heart of who we are. Ingvar Kamprad [the I.K. in Ikea] was 17 years old when he founded the company. He actually had to bring his father to the registry to sign up to start the company. Ingvar [was] coming from a quite frugal part of Sweden; low pricing was part of his childhood. Still today, we are very loyal to the democratic design principles of Ikea. Some of our external board members tell us that in other companies, they celebrate when they raise the prices. We cry when we have to raise prices. Inviting customers to do part of the job [e.g., carrying out and assembling] is how we save money together. What has been your biggest surprise since becoming CEO in 2017? Nobody briefed me about pandemics, economic chaos, supply-chain disruption, and geopolitical tensions and wars. Its been an incredibly humbling and very stressful period of course, which goes without saying for any of us out there today. How do you navigate through these times? We have been able to be quite entrepreneurial. Early in the [pandemic], we were in the red in our forecasts. We never went in the red. We actually managed to navigate through [that period] with not-phenomenal bottom line results but surviving. Read more: How American Shoppers Broke the Supply Chain What would you do differently now with hindsight? We were victim to the supply chain disruption for a while, only to realize that this is a new reality. We have to retain our agility. We also learned along the way that we were probably a bit too rigid in the way we were set up. How are you thinking about AI in your business? Its really the trend topic right now. Maybe we should ask generative AI the same question and see if it answers differently than what Im going to do now. We have developed different ways of steering our business where we basically ask machines to help us to make commercial choices, help us steer towards optimization of [what we] stock and so forth. When it comes to the latest generation of AI, we are currently doing a fast-tracking, a review of both the opportunities and the risks. I think we need a little bit more time to figure out both the plus and the minus account. What types of risks do you see? [One is] if the data is misused in any way. Where do we see people are adding value? Where would we not agree on a machine adding value? Where would we say this is absolutely fine for a machine to help us to do? It becomes almost philosophical. Were still in the early stages of understanding this in society. I think its a collective responsibility. Im going to ask ChatGPT how to put a Billy bookcase together and see what happens. [Response: Putting together a Billy bookcase from IKEA can seem overwhelming at first, but by following these simple steps, you should be able to assemble it with ease.] Maybe youve done that. Its incredibly accurate. I still believe that the manuals with the pictures are helpful. What AI didnt know is that we are now replacing the fittings with click solutions. Which is one of the other real revolutions in Ikea. We are standardizing and setting up another way of constructing furniture, which also by the way has an immense impact from a sustainability point of view with less use of material. Instead of screwing your furniture together, you will actually click it together with super smart fittings, which is less material and less work. The most beautiful execution of that is when we use wood and click fittings, where basically you dont have any glue or any metals. And the more you sit on the chair, it will make the compound stronger. To be honest, in the old days, if you would move some of our furniture, move with it four or five times, the compound itself will start to get a little bit loose and in the end, deteriorate. So its a great opportunity to prolong the life length for furniture. For a lot of us over the years, we go to Ikea for relatively temporary needs. Youve got an infant, for example, and dont want to invest a ton of money in gear that youre not going to hand down to the grandchildren. The furniture is disposable in a sense. And now, were in this world where that is a dangerous concept, disposable. Culturally, how do you get a company thats been focused in a sense on low price and disposability to think about what is in a way the opposite, sustainability? Its a fascinating question, and one of the most important questions on the planet right now. I think we have all underestimated the Anthropocene age and the impact we humans have. Obviously the consumption model and the economic model of the 1900s will not serve humanity in the future. So we need to change. Today, we are trained to assume that things like sustainability that are good would actually add to the cost. In Ikea, from the start, we were taught that wasting resources was a sin. So if you look at our tradition and history, long before anybody could spell sustainability, it was about reducing air in the packages, filling up the containers, making a flatpack. Read more: Depop Made Sustainable Shopping Cool for Gen Z. What Happens When Parents Crash the Party? The only way Ikea can be successful in the future is to be in a hurry to get sustainable. We need to get smarter on how we use energy and materials across the whole value chain. And thats the only way we will be able to be affordable. So we arefrom an ethical point of view, from a brand point of view, from a cost point of viewin a hurry. I would also [note] that Ikea is normally a big market share in secondhand. Our furniture tends to rotate. If you go to any eBay in the world, you would probably see Ikea on the top of the list of items [that] have been circulated. Youve made a particular effort around mattresses. It serves as the best example of circularity for us. Most people sleep on a mattress. On average, they last for about 10 years. In the Netherlands, which is a country of 17 million people, what means is that you have 1.7 million mattresses per year that go to waste. Imagine the tower of annual waste for something that is quite big, has a big carbon footprint. The solution came together with an entrepreneur in the Netherlands and the Dutch government. The government imposed legislation that mattresses had to be taken back. They couldnt be incinerated anymore. As a consumer, you need to bring your mattress to a collection point. And that made it then logistically possible for us to collect mattresses and bring them back to, if you like, a reverse factory, where we break it up into three or four categories of material and we sell it back in the chain. We did not stop at Ikeas market share. Today, we have a capacity to take back every mattress in the Netherlands. And the beauty is its a quite okay business. Its not a gold mine, but its a plus. We are actually in expansion to many markets now to take that concept not only for Ikea but for others. Its the new business model that will actually become profitable at the same time as you take care of a huge problem. How do you scale it? The barriers are that we need markets where the government does what the Netherlands did. We will look into the opportunity to apply this on sofas as well. And if you take sofas and mattresses in Ikea, you probably come up to some 15% to 20% of our total carbon footprint. So that would be immense for us. You also got rid of the catalogue. There were years when more of those were printed than the Bible. We are reconstructing the digital foundation of Ikea by adding everything from the basic shopping experience to virtual reality and augmented reality. Some of us feel stilla bit of the statement of the catalogue and maybe the look of it that, we miss it. But there was a lot of paper and a lot of transport paper for very little use at the end of the day. Read more: Watch This Prominent German Literary Critic Scrutinize Ikeas Catalogue Youve got an aggressive goal, right? To be climate positive by 2030. Thats correct. We were one of the first companies to set up a climate plan back in 2016, alongside with the Paris Agreement. At that time, we set out the goal to be minus 15% in carbon by 2030. Thats absolute, so we have to factor in our growth. The very good news is that we are already at minus 13.6%. That is actually a 2022 number, which is actually fact-based proof that its a good idea for growth to decarbonize. [The company says it grew 24% during this same period.] I would say production and transport is moving in the right direction. But on top of that, we need the circularity. Small- and medium-size enterprises are also part of our value chain. Most Ikea suppliers are actually quite big companies today, which is a benefit from a climate perspective, because they are fewer contacts and a capability to scale many of these things we are talking about. But we have more than 1 million customers who use Ikea and are typically smaller companies who use us for furnishing their office, cafe, or shop. So we have [together with We Mean Business] started to now actually invite our customers to be part of the journey. We have just started to pilot it in two countries. We encourage them to do a climate plan, because its the right thing to do ethically, but also because it will help them to strengthen their competitiveness. We have a platform [SME Climate Hub] with a lot of self-help tools for how you actually can do your own assessment and make your own, so to say, draft climate plan. This is a bit new, but its something that were going to stay with. I'm an American who tried Vietnamese McDonald's for the first time. Here's what surprised me and how it compared to the US version of the chain. During my stop at a McDonald's in Ho Chi Minh City, I tried items that are available globally and ones that are exclusive to Vietnam. Megan Gilbert I ate at a McDonald's in Vietnam to see how it compared to the chain's US locations. I sampled global favorites along with local specialties that are exclusive to Vietnamese McDonald's. The restaurant was spotless inside, but I wish its menu offered more dishes inspired by street food. I love seeing how McDonald's adjusts its menus to fit different tastes around the globe. It's allowed me to try a cherry-blossom McFlurry in Japan and a Chicken Maharaja Mac in India. So when I visited Vietnam during my three-month trip through Southeast Asia, I knew I had to stop at a McDonald's there. I ordered some of my favorites from back in the US like a Big Mac, french fries, and chicken sandwiches to see how they compared. I also tried some unique menu items exclusive to McDonald's in Vietnam. When I got to the McDonald's in Ho Chi Minh City, the branding was familiar, but the inside felt more upscale than the US locations I'd visited. The fast-food restaurant has the same Golden Arches as the US locations. Megan Gilbert There are only about 20 McDonald's in Ho Chi Minh City, and I visited one near Ho Chi Minh City's Bui Vien Walking Street, an area popular with backpackers. It had four stories towering into the sky and massive floor-to-ceiling windows. Complete with outdoor seating, this McDonald's had a much more laid-back environment than the crowded street-food markets I'd grown to love in Vietnam. The inside of the franchise was so pristine that it actually made me miss the lovable wear and tear I'd gotten used to seeing at many McDonald's in the US. I arrived around lunchtime, so I was surprised to find no one in line when I went to order. The McDonald's had a touchscreen and a counter in the ordering area. Megan Gilbert Vietnam's food culture is centered around sharing and hanging out at roadside food stalls two things people can't really do at McDonald's. I also didn't pick up on a huge burger culture in Vietnam, which made me wonder if Big Macs are a hard sell. Eventually, I saw a big group of foreigners place orders, followed by some local teens and young adults. I ordered through a touchscreen, which streamlined the whole process and removed any language barriers. Many of the McDonald's I've been to in the US didn't have touchscreens. Megan Gilbert The ordering process was really easy because the touchscreen gave me the option to translate the entire menu into English. I sampled some tried-and-true favorites and some menu items that are only available in Vietnam. I ordered more than I usually would've so I could try a wide variety of dishes. Megan Gilbert For entrees, I chose a McRoyal Deluxe, a Big Mac, an order of fried chicken and rice, and a McSpicy Deluxe. I paired them with sides of sweet corn and french fries plus a salted calamansi apricot juice, an iced matcha latte, and a Coca-Cola. The total came out to 480,000 dong, or about $20. I tried to order as many local specialties as I could while still trying the Vietnamese versions of my favorites. The McRoyal Deluxe was the most similar to the Quarter Pounder, my favorite McDonald's burger in the US. Unlike the Quarter Pounder, the McRoyal Deluxe contains mayonnaise and lettuce. Megan Gilbert The McRoyal Deluxe with cheese shares some similarities with the Quarter Pounder with cheese, but they're really different burgers. For one thing, the McRoyal Deluxe's bun was darker in color and less soft than the one that comes with Quarter Pounders. The McRoyal Deluxe also had iceberg lettuce, which isn't on Quarter Pounders, and a thick slathering of mayonnaise instead of the Quarter Pounder's combination of ketchup and mustard. The biggest difference was the McRoyal Deluxe's patty, which tasted drier and less juicy than the ones in Quarter Pounders. I couldn't come to a McDonald's in Vietnam without trying its version of the Big Mac. The Big Mac in Vietnam looked smaller than the ones I've had in the US. Megan Gilbert Before taking my first bite of the Big Mac, I noticed that it looked hastily prepared and a little sloppy. So, I put it back together before snapping a photo. The bun was darker than I expected, with a similar hue to the McRoyal Deluxe's breading. It also looked thinner than a typical Big Mac bun, which made the Vietnamese version seem small in comparison. I also noticed that there seemed to be more Big Mac sauce and lettuce on the Vietnamese version, though that could've been specific to my burger. Overall, this Big Mac was a little sad and didn't compare to the ones I've had in the US. The McSpicy Deluxe was comparable to the US' Spicy Deluxe McCrispy, but it had mayonnaise instead of spicy sauce. I preferred the chicken in the McSpicy Deluxe better than the meat in the Spicy Deluxe McCrispy. Megan Gilbert In the US, the Spicy Deluxe McCrispy has McDonald's Southern-style fried chicken, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and spicy pepper sauce on a potato roll. I tried ordering what seemed like a very similar sandwich in Vietnam called the McSpicy Deluxe, but it ended up being a little different. The Vietnamese version had a chicken filet that seemed thicker and juicier, and it came with a slathering of mayonnaise in place of spicy pepper sauce. The fried chicken and rice weren't my favorite, and I probably wouldn't order this dish again. I loved the "M" written with sauce, but the two pieces of chicken and rice missed the mark. Megan Gilbert Not even the McDonald's "M" written in the rice was enough to make up for this meal's dry, overly spicy pieces of chicken. I was also confused to see iceberg lettuce (the kind that goes on Big Macs) as a side. I found the white rice to be bland and overcooked. To put it kindly, I wasn't blown away. I ordered the dish after seeing an advertisement for it by the counter, but I don't think mine didn't end up looking like the one in the picture. It felt like a sad attempt at what could've been an interesting meal, and I wouldn't have chosen it as one of the few Vietnamese dishes on the menu. Customers can order sweet corn as a side instead of french fries. I ordered corn as a side with my Big Mac meal, which was an interesting pairing. Megan Gilbert In Vietnam, you can order a side of sweet corn at McDonald's instead of the brand's french fries. I ordered it as part of my Big Mac meal, and it came in a small plastic container. I thought the McDonald's corn would be buttery and sweet, but it had a plain taste and dull texture. The most interesting menu items were the salted calamansi apricot juice and the iced matcha latte. The salted calamansi apricot juice and the iced matcha latte were the highlights. Megan Gilbert Calamansi are a hybrid citrus plant also known as Phillippine limes, and the salted calamansi apricot juice tasted salty, tangy, and sweet. If the beverage was a bit sweeter and a little less tangy, it might've tasted like sweet tea. The iced matcha latte was also a delicious, refreshing addition to my meal. I'm glad I got to try a McDonald's in Vietnam, but I wish the menu featured more items inspired by Vietnamese street food. I'd love to see more authentic Vietnamese dishes at the local McDonald's here. Megan Gilbert The cheapest meal I ordered during my visit to the McDonald's in Ho Chi Minh City was the fried chicken and rice with a medium Coca-Cola for 84,000 dong, or about $3.60. It was by no means a bad deal, but Vietnam has a strong street-food culture with many popular choices that cost a fraction of McDonald's prices. You can find a delicious banh mi, a Vietnamese sandwich on a baguette, for just 15,000 dong, or about $0.64, from street vendors. They can also make pho in seconds by ladling together noodles, meat, vegetables, herbs, and broth. Usually, the soup costs roughly 20,000 dong, or about $1. I'd love to see the McDonald's locations in Vietnam feature more options inspired by the country's famous street food, like pho, banh mi, and bun cha (grilled pork and noodles). I'll definitely try McDonald's again at my next destination, and I can't wait to see how its menu compares to this one and others around the globe. Read the original article on Insider A Gulfstream jet and Dan Cook, director of sales at Victor. RyanFletcher/Getty Images; Victor Dan Cook is the director of sales at Victor, a private jet charter company. He's arranged flights like a $500,000 honeymoon tour, and "secret weekends" for a group of friends. But some charter jets for health reasons, and Victor is trying to help decarbonize the industry. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dan Cook, sales director at Victor. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. My dad has a pilot's license, so ever since I was a kid I've been around planes and helicopters. It seemed like an exciting industry. Private jets are obviously a sexy product. I was young and hungry and wanted to join a company that seemed to be doing exciting things. I'm a musician at heart so I came to London to do music. At the end of my university course I was lucky enough to get myself a record deal. Unfortunately, it didn't work out. In my early 20s, I was just working in a shoe shop seven days a week, basically to just stay in London. And then I managed to get a job at a startup through friends, going door to door in central London restaurants trying to flog an app. And through somebody that I met along that journey, they advertised an opening at Victor. The prospect of dealing with some of the most influential and successful people in the world took my fancy. I reached out to my friend, and she kind of helped put my resume on the top of the pile. I started at the very bottom of the sales team. Over the years, I found my groove and eventually became the top salesperson. I wasn't the manager or the director, but I was the leader in the troops. There came a point where our sales director had left, and they asked me if I wanted to take the position. One client paid nearly $60,000 to rescue five dogs and cats You have a flier that wants to arrange the flight and you have an aircraft management company that manages the jet. And our job is to find the customer, the best-suited aircraft and service provider based on what they've given us as their requirements. The majority of the people we deal with are ultra-high-net-worth individuals. They tend to be cash-rich, time-poor. So they want things done well, and they want them done well fast. There are certain things that have to happen in more formal channels like bookings, but you'd be surprised at how many people these days are happy to just do all of the communication over WhatsApp. Jet charter with Victor starts at about $6,000 for an hour's flying. A trip from London to New York would set you back about $100,000. Extensive schedules which include multiple destinations tend to rack up the largest bills. A recent music tour we serviced cost over $3 million for 16 flights across one continent. The interior of a Gulfstream G400 jet. Gulfstream We've had a member of a royal family pay more than $500,000 for their honeymoon traveling from the Middle East, into Europe, over to the US, back through Europe, and then home. There was a client who was rescuing something like five dogs and cats from Riyadh and wanted to bring them back to the UK. They paid nearly $60,000. There was a client I used to help arrange "secret weekends." He'd book an aircraft for him and his friends, who wouldn't know where they were going until they boarded. So we had to call ahead to the gate and let them know their names so they didn't ask them where they were going. Once they got on board, there was a big announcement we'd arrange with the crew, and they would go off and have some fun. 'We're not pretending this is a normal thing' Confidentiality is a massive part of what we do. I think a lot of people think about private jets as just pure luxury, when actually it's not the case. You have people who are flying with close protection officers, for example, members of royal families and government officials required to have security with them at all times. There's a genuine risk on their life if they're out in public spaces. And they use private aviation for the assurance that they have minimal risk throughout their journey. Elon Musk boards a private jet in Beijing. Jade Gao/Getty Images In some cases, like a medical emergency, the private jet could be the difference between that person living or dying. An interesting one that I dealt with was helping a man who had an illness that seriously compromised his immune system. They chose to start flying private during the pandemic, because catching COVID was a serious risk. He was exploring booking the whole first class cabin on a commercial airliner for his family, in the region of $200,000. The jet was about $235,000, so he chose that. Flying private is a serious luxury. We're not pretending that it's this normal thing that we just deal with. We say that our clients have a responsibility to address the negative impacts when they're using that luxury. We've stopped carbon offsetting and moved onto the most credible and most impactful way to reduce CO2 emissions, which is sustainable aviation fuel made from waste products like used cooking oil. We're seeing one in five of our customers replacing fossil fuel with it. There are clients replacing 100% of the fossil fuel with sustainable fuel. It's not cheap, so they're paying thousands of dollars extra. We need to decarbonize the aviation sector, and sustainable air fuel is the most credible way to do this. Read the original article on Business Insider Incident erupts as pop-up party turns chaotic in Lake Butler with one shot, police report The Union County Sheriffs Office reported that chaos ensued in Lake Butler as a pop-up party spiraled out of control earlier Saturday. At approximately 4:00 pm, hundreds of vehicles from the Alachua County area descended upon Lakeside Park, unleashing an unprecedented wave of people gathering. The majority of attendees were seen reportedly engaging in reckless drinking and drug use, leading to what Deputies labeled as lawlessness and public endangerment. Citizens reportedly flooded UCSOs phone lines with complaints about the deafening noise emanating from blaring music and the alarming size of the gathering. Responding to these concerns, the City Commission promptly authorized the immediate closure of Lakeside Park, citing the overwhelming crowds, traffic gridlock, and flagrant violations of numerous laws. Estimates indicate that the crowd quickly surpassed 500 individuals and continued to grow in size. However, as authorities attempted to disperse the crowds of people, an unidentified assailant fired several gunshots in the direction of the crowd. One innocent bystander fell victim to the barrage of bullets and was swiftly transported to a local hospital for treatment. Fortunately, their injuries were determined to be non-life-threatening. In an unexpected turn of events, the dispersing crowd migrated to various other locations, including Laredos, Fastrak, McDonalds, Spires, Circle K, Westside Park, Main Street, and others. As the number of out-of-county individuals surged past 1,000, the situation further deteriorated. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Disturbances reportedly erupted, roads were blocked, and law enforcement faced resistance from the increasingly defiant party-goers, who brazenly refused to comply with commands. Authorities resorted to deploying chemical agents to quell the growing crowd and restore order. Multiple arrests were made as officers took action against those who gathered. The Union County Sheriffs Office expressed gratitude towards the Bradford County Sheriffs Office and the multi-agency SWAT team for their prompt response and valuable assistance. Several other law enforcement agencies reached out to offer support. The Lake Butler City Commission and City Manager were reportedly instrumental in aiding law enforcement efforts, while Union County Fire/Rescue and numerous individuals provided support during the events. Thanks to the swift responses of on-call deputies, off-duty deputies, reserve deputies, and UCSO units, no law enforcement officers sustained injuries in the line of duty. As the investigation continues, law enforcement officials remain resolute in identifying the individuals responsible for organizing this ill-fated pop-up party. Those found to be involved in felony criminal behavior will face charges and prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. Sheriff Brad Whitehead underscored the Union County Sheriffs Offices commitment to upholding law and order, emphasizing that such brazen and reckless behavior will not be tolerated within the confines of Union County. [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. The Cherokee Nation was joined by local and state leaders Tuesday during a ground-breaking ceremony in Stilwell, where the tribe is building a new state-of-the-art, $18 million health and wellness facility near the Wilma P. Mankiller Health Center. (Photo/Cherokee Nation_ Guest Opinion. At Cherokee Nation, we have built the largest health care system in Indian Country, providing excellent care to our citizens. However, the foundations of good health dont start in hospitals and clinics. Many of the most powerful health and wellness tools are found in what we do before we need medical care. By getting exercise, physical therapy, nutrition guidance, and other wellness activities, we can prevent and manage serious conditions like diabetes and hypertension. Proactively addressing these issues can dramatically reduce health care costs, and, most importantly, help Cherokees feel better and live long, fulfilling lives. Never miss Indian Countrys biggest stories and breaking news. Click here to sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Two years ago, Deputy Chief Bryan Warner and I advocated for a shift toward promoting wellness within communities across the Cherokee Nation. The 2021 Public Health and Wellness Act dedicated a portion of our Health Services revenue to public health. We worked closely with the Council of the Cherokee Nation to invest in facilities that support a healthy lifestyle. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. One example of this commitment is the recent groundbreaking of the new Mary L. (Holland) Carson Wellness Center, a two-story, 50,000-square-foot center next to the Wilma P. Mankiller Health Center. The state-of-the-art facility represents an $18 million investment in Stilwell and Adair County. We also broke ground at the new Salina Health Center in Mayes County, which will include a wellness center and outdoor walking trail. The return on these investments will be measured in generations of healthier citizens. These efforts are just the start of programming planned throughout the 14-county Cherokee Nation Reservation. We are bridging the gap to ensure that all Cherokee people on our Reservation can access wellness programs and services. These sites, with more to come soon, are so much more than brick and mortar. They represent hope, determination and a new era of wellness opportunities for Cherokees. Cherokees face many different situations on their road to health, so our approach to wellness is diverse and holistic. Future facilities will include fitness centers, child care services, teaching kitchens and outdoor spaces, like walking trails and gathering areas, so that the connection between nature and wellness will always be emphasized. Although federal dollars play a role, the Cherokee Nation takes great pride in funding our facilities and programs independently. Using funds generated by Cherokee Nation Health Services means that we can invest where Cherokees need it most, with no strings attached. Cherokee Nation is growing in self-sufficiency, and healthier communities will power that growth even further. We continue to be inspired by the legacy of Chief Mankiller, who championed Cherokee people taking care of their own. Health discrepancies have been a hurdle for Indian Country for far too long. Cherokee Nation is determined to address health and wellness head-on, so that we can spend less time and money treating diseases and more on building community and pursuing our dreams. Thanks to the hard work of our Public Health Department and many others supporting wellness, the Cherokee peoples future is brighter and healthier than ever. Chuck Hoskin, Jr. is the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. In this picture released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a ceremony commemorating the death anniversary of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini at his mausoleum just outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 4, 2023. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP) DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Iran's supreme leader on Sunday defended his tough approach to the West, saying compromise would only invite further hostility from Iran's enemies and blaming recent anti-government protests on thugs and villains. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's remarks come amid an intensifying standoff with Western countries over Iran's nuclear program, which has made major advances in the five years since then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from an international accord that restricted it. Trump restored crippling sanctions on Iran that have contributed to a severe economic crisis without forcing any concessions from its leaders. Iran has also lent support to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, supplying armed drones that have wreaked havoc on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Some people are mistaken to think if we back down from our stances in certain cases that will cause the enmity of the U.S, the global arrogance, or Israel toward us to diminish," said Khamenei, who has the final say on all major Iranian policies. "This is a mistake." He spoke at an annual speech marking the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, his predecessor and the founder of the Islamic Republic. Khamenei alluded to nationwide protests last fall sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by the morality police for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code. The protests escalated into calls for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic before a deadly crackdown largely extinguished them. Iranian authorities have blamed the protests on a foreign conspiracy, without providing evidence, while the demonstrators said they were protesting over decades of repression and economic mismanagement. Thugs and villains did what they did and malicious individuals chanted such slogans," Khamenei said. "According to their plot they thought the Islamic Republic was finished and they could take the Iranian nation as servants. These fools, once again, were wrong. Once again, they failed to know our people. BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq and Syria's foreign ministers discussed ways to help end drug trafficking across their joint border at a meeting in Baghdad on Sunday, Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said. "Today we have discussed cooperation between Iraq and Syria to fight drug trade. Its known that Iraq is a corridor for trafficking and regrettably drug consumption has begun in Iraqi society," Hussein told a joint press conference with Syria's Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, who arrived in Baghdad on Saturday evening for a two-day visit. Hussein said the humanitarian crisis of the Syrian refugees in Iraq, whom he estimated at around 250,000 people, was also part of the bilateral talks. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received a warm welcome at last month's Arab League summit after Arab states agreed to reinstate Syria's full membership of the league, after it was suspended for 12 years over Assad's crackdown on protests against his regime. Having welcomed back Assad, Arab states want him to curb a flourishing Syrian trade in narcotics, which are produced in Syria and smuggled across the region. The Syrian government denies any role in the trade, for which Syrian officials and Assad relatives have faced Western sanctions. Arab governments and the West accuse Damascus of producing the highly-addictive and lucrative amphetamine captagon and organizing its smuggling into the Gulf. The Iraqi and Syrian foreign ministers also discussed steps Syria has achieved on the ground to curb the illegal trade, an Iraqi government official who attended Sunday's meeting, but did not wish to be identified, told Reuters. During his visit to Baghdad, Mekdad will also meet Iraq's president, prime minister, parliament speaker and chief of the Supreme Judicial Council, Hussein said. (Reporting by Maher Nazeh, Ahmed Saad; Writing by Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Susan Fenton) Israeli soldiers mourn Lia Ben Nun, killed in the cross-border incident with Egypt Israel on Sunday buried three soldiers killed in a firefight at its usually secure border with Egypt and announced an "exhaustive and thorough" investigation into the deaths. Egypt has blamed the fatal clash in the Negev desert on a member of its security forces who was also killed, saying he had crossed the border in pursuit of drug traffickers when he encountered the Israeli troops. The Israeli army said an Egyptian "assailant" shot dead two soldiers at a post on the border. The discovery of their bodies triggered a manhunt during which the third soldier was killed as well as the suspected attacker. Israel's border area with Egypt has not often been marred by violence since Egypt became the first Arab country to make peace with Israel following the Camp David accords of 1978. As Israel mourned those killed the previous day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it had sent Egypt a "clear message", speaking at the opening of a cabinet meeting on Sunday. "We expect that the joint investigation will be exhaustive and thorough," he said. "This is part of the important security cooperation between us, which has benefitted both countries over the years." The two Israeli soldiers whose bodies were found early Saturday at a guard post close to the Harif military base were identified as Lia Ben Nun, 19, and Ori Izhak Iluz, 20. Ohad Dahan, also 20, was killed during the manhunt later on Saturday, the army said. A fourth Israeli soldier, a non-commissioned officer, was lightly wounded, it added. Ben Nun was laid to rest on Sunday in the central Israeli city of Rishon Lezion. "I love you and miss you already," her sister Ofir said in her eulogy. "I don't know what I'll do now." Iluz's funeral was held in the northern city of Safed, and Dahan was buried in southern town of Ofakim. - 'Full investigation' - Israeli media have raised questions over the shootings, particularly on how the assailant -- who has not been identified -- managed to cross the high barrier running along the border. On Sunday, Egyptian military officers and defence ministry representatives arrived in Israel and began a joint investigation of the incident, a source close to the probe told AFP. Speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, the source said that while the Egyptian shooter was not believed to be affiliated with any Islamist organisation, he appears to have undergone religious radicalisation. Netanyahu on Saturday promised a "full investigation" into the deaths, and senior government figures stressed the importance of cooperation with Egypt. The Israeli army was conducting "a thorough investigation... in collaboration with the Egyptian Armed Forces", said the military chief of staff Herzi Halevi. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant highlighted "the importance of the ties between the two countries" following a Saturday telephone call with his Egyptian counterpart, Mohamed Ahmed Zaki. Zaki, meanwhile, underlined "the joint coordination to take the necessary measures to avoid the repetition of incidents of this kind in the future", according to a spokesman for Egypt's army. The border between the two countries is generally calm, but has seen regular smuggling attempts. In recent years, there have been exchanges of fire between smugglers and Israeli soldiers stationed along the border. In 2014, two Israeli soldiers on patrol were wounded by unidentified men who fired an anti-tank weapon from the Sinai during an attempt to smuggle drugs. bur-jjm/srm Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War believe that Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin has escalated his feud with the Russian Defence Ministry to downplay his conflict with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Source: ISW Details: Prigozhin stated on 2 June that representatives from the Russian Ministry of Defence had placed anti-tank mines and other explosive devices along the routes used by Wagner forces to withdraw from Bakhmut. According to Prigozhin, the mines were placed in rear areas where there is no activity on the part of Ukraine, and therefore the Defence Ministry probably intended to give Wagner a "public flogging". On 3 June, Prigozhin also responded to a coordinated information attack on him by Chechen commanders, saying that he and Kadyrov had settled the conflict. Prigozhin has also claimed that he called Kadyrov on 1 June, and they agreed that "the whole story about the conflict will be dispelled". At the same time, Prigozhin has suggested that the conflict between Kadyrov's forces and the Wagner Group could have been started by a group in the Kremlin, and hinted that the Kremlin often plays "dangerous games" that could destabilise inter-ethnic relations in Russia. Kadyrov, for his part, has not yet publicly commented on the conflict between the Chechen commanders and the Wagner PMC. Quote: "Prigozhin likely accused the Defence Ministry of trying to kill Wagner forces and the Kremlin of creating the conflict with the Chechen commanders to quickly reorient Russian discussion back to his usual targets of ire, the Russian military and political leadership. Prigozhin is also likely aiming to rally pro-war ultranationalist groups, specifically Kadyrov and Chechen commanders, to join him in criticising those targets as he has done before. Prigozhins flamboyant allegations are also likely an attempt to retain his heightened initiative within the Russian information space following the capture of Bakhmut. Prigozhin has consistently shaped discussions within the Russian information space leading up to the capture of Bakhmut and following the end of Wagners effort in the city by engaging in a near-daily series of public outbursts and demonstrative actions. Prigozhin has used his heightened profile following the capture of Bakhmut to intensify his attacks against the Russian military establishment and elites and bolster his attempt to solidify himself as the central figure of the Russian ultranationalist community. The concerted attack from Chechen commanders represents the first instance since the capture of Bakhmut that Prigozhin has not been the one to initiate larger conversations about himself and the Wagner Group within the Russian information space. Prigozhin has routinely used Wagners claimed responsibility for tactical gains to legitimise his pursuit of influence and his criticism of others, and he is likely also concerned that he may soon lose his current ability to dominate discussions about himself and Wagner as Wagner Group forces withdraw to rear areas to replenish and reconstitute. Prigozhins dramatic accusation against the Defence Ministry aims to remove any constraints resulting from his conflict with Kadyrov, shift the conversation back to criticising his opponents in the Defence Ministry, and allow Prigozhin to continue determining how he and Wagner are portrayed." Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Japan, South Korea to speed up talks over pending military issues SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Japan and South Korea agreed on Sunday to quickly resolve disputes over past military encounters that stand in the way of closer security cooperation, Japan's defence minister said at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore. Yasukazu Hamada held talks with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jong-sup, as part of Asia's top security conference. "We discussed pending issues" and agreed "to accelerate talks, including steps to prevent a recurrence" of a 2018 radar incident, Hamada told reporters after the meeting. "We will continue to keep close communication with South Korea," he said. In the 2018 incident, Seoul denied Tokyo's assertion that a South Korean destroyer had locked its targeting radar on a Japanese surveillance plane, sparking a dispute that has hampered the Asian neighbours' relationship. Asked about the issue, Lee told reporters that he and Hamada "agreed to resolve it starting with working-level talks," with a focus on devising measures to prevent a recurrence. Lee and Hamada condemned a failed satellite launch by North Korea on Wednesday as a "grave violation" of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning all launches using ballistic missile technology, South Korea's defence ministry said. The ministers agreed on the need for greater security cooperation bilaterally and with their mutual ally the U.S. to curb the North's nuclear and missile threats and promote a more stable Indo Pacific, the ministry said in a statement. Hamada said he and Lee agreed on the importance of promoting defence cooperation among Japan, South Korea and the United States. (Reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Tim Kelly; Additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Hyun Young Yi in Seoul; Editing by Gerry Doyle and William Mallard) Its a long shot, but New Jersey Republicans armed with a new district map and a public they believe is chafing at two decades of Democratic control of the Legislature think they have their best chance in decades to take the Assembly, Senate or both. That may be why there are far more competitive Republican legislative races than Democratic ones in Tuesdays primary. In two heavily GOP North Jersey districts where the winner of the primary is virtually assured to win the general election, Republican candidates are fighting over whos more loyal to the right, with battles over issues like sex education, LGBTQ issues and gun rights dominating the campaign rhetoric. But the races in two South Jersey districts that are expected to be competitive in the general election and will be pivotal to Republicans chances at legislative control have centered in part on a different debate: Who will be more electable against a well-funded Democratic machine that has dominated the region for 20 years but has begun to show signs of weakness? Republicans chances of regaining control are slim. Democrats currently hold a 25-15 majority in the Senate and a 46-34 advantage in the Assembly. All 120 seats are on the ballot in November. Heres a look at the more competitive primary races to pay attention to on Tuesday. District 3 (Salem County and parts of Gloucester and Cumberland counties) Almost two years ago, this district saw one of the most shocking events in recent New Jersey political history. Republican Ed Durr, an unknown truck driver who had run unsuccessfully for public office before with little notice, defeated Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney the second most powerful elected official in the state. Durrs Assembly running mates, Beth Sawyer and Bethanne McCarthy Patrick, also defeated well-entrenched Democratic incumbents John Burzichelli and Adam Taliaferro. But Durr and Sawyer never liked each other. They managed to keep their disagreements low profile until late last year, when Sawyer began testing the idea of a primary run against Durr before abandoning it, casting about for other candidates and, after those efforts failed, deciding to make the run after all. Sawyer, whose sole Assembly running mate is Joseph Collins Jr., has sought to frame the race as one of pragmatism vs. ideological rigidity. Durr, she says, poses for conservative causes by introducing bills on hot-button issues like gun rights and abortion, but has gotten little done for the district while his history of inflammatory statements and social media posts make him vulnerable to Democrats. (Burzichelli is heavily favored to win the Democratic state Senate nomination over progressive challenger Mario De Santis). Sawyer and Durr, however, are tied at the number of sponsored bills that have been signed by Gov. Phil Murphy, at one each. But Sawyer has emphasized her fight to upgrade Salem County 911s system as something to improve the daily lives of her constituents. Sawyer has sent mailers showing Durrs social media posts, some from 2017, including posing with a scantily clad woman, smoking what the mailer suggests is a joint (Durr said its actually a Swisher Sweets cigar) and liking an unidentified users Facebook post that read if someone REALLY doesnt want a child, I SURE HOPE there will be an organization to Neuter/Spay them AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to stop with the RIFF-RAFT. Democrats, who did not take Durrs challenge seriously in 2021, held back that year on attacking him over his social media posts. His baggage and extreme rhetoric dragged down Republicans in Gloucester County last year and hell do it again if hes the nominee, Sawyer said in a statement, referring to Republican losses in county-level races. When given a chance to defend this record and debate me he didnt have the courage to show up. His desperate attacks against me are backfiring because people know the truth," Sawyer said. "If Republicans want to hold this seat, Ed Durr cannot be our nominee. But Durr, whose 2021 win catapulted him to a sort of fame on the right, has managed to win support from all three county Republican organizations in the district and has a large grassroots following. Durrs Assembly running mates are McCarthy Patrick and Tom Tedesco, Jr. Im just over what Sawyer says. She says a lot of things. She implies a lot of things. Ive read that shes called me a coward, Durr said. Wouldnt a coward be someone who doesnt push forward legislation but acts like theyre a conservative? At least I do what I say Im going to do. Ive never abstained from a vote, while she has on abortion. District 4 (Parts of Camden, Gloucester and Atlantic counties) Durrs 2021 victory over Sweeney has Republicans confident that they can flip the neighboring 4th District, which Democrats have held for 20 years. Democratic state Sen. Fred Maddens retirement has only reinforced that. Assemblymember Paul Moriarty is leading Democrats ticket as a state Senate candidate in that partys uncontested Senate primary. But like in the 3rd District, Republicans have disagreements over electability and the three county Republican organizations in the district are split over who theyre supporting. Gloucester County Commissioner Nick DeSilvio and his running mates, Denise Gonzalez and Michael Clark, are backed by the Gloucester County GOP. The Atlantic and Camden County GOP back former Washington Township Councilmember Chris Del Borrello, who helps run a family check-cashing business, and his Assembly running mates, Matthew Walker and Amanda Esposito. DeSilvio is close to Durr, who employs his wife as his chief of staff. Like Durr, DeSilvios social media posts have alarmed some Republicans, who view them as campaign fodder for Democrats, including a 2020 Facebook post on abortion in which DeSilvio wrote A woman does have a choice! Keep her legs closed! Democrats highlighted DeSilvios social media rhetoric in their successful 2022 campaign to keep control of the Gloucester County Board of Commissioners. Del Borrellos ticket is getting hundreds of thousands of dollars in outside help from a super PAC funded by the Operating Engineers union called Stronger Foundations. Walker, one of his Assembly running mates, is a member of the Operating Engineers Local 825 executive board. DeSilvio called Del Borrello a puppet of the establishment propped up by Atlantic County GOP Chair Don Purdy, who led the effort to put together an alternative slate to DeSilvios in the district. Hes also attacked Del Borrello over a defunct business his brother ran that rented strippers and novelty acts to bachelor parties including a little person dressed as a leprechaun who rode a tricycle. He decided to start his own war, and now its Republicans who suffer because theres a split, DeSilvio said. DeSilvio suggested that his rivals support by the Operating Engineers super PAC shows theyre not true conservatives. [Stronger Foundations] gave to Hillary Clinton, Phil Murphy, and heres the kicker: they championed the gas tax [increase], he said. But DeSilvio is also getting help from a Democratic-leaning source: A super PAC closely associated with South Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross. American Representative Majority called American Democratic Majority until just last week recently sent flyers attacking Del Borrello without mentioning DeSilvio. As far as electability is concerned, I just think that we have solid, direct evidence that even the Norcross Democrats want to run against Nick DeSilvio, Del Borrello said. They think hes the weaker candidate. They are directly interfering in our Republican primary to deliberately prop up the weaker Republican candidate, Nick DeSilvio. I think that speaks volumes of who the Democrats are afraid of. Theyre afraid of my ticket. District 24 (Parts of Morris, Sussex and Warren counties) Two dueling Assembly slates are trying to show off their conservative bonafides. Sussex County Commissioner Dawn Fantasia and Chester Mayor Mike Inganamort are competing against Warren County Commissioner Jason Sarnoski and Lafayette Board of Education President Josh Aikens. The northwestern district is one of the reddest in the state, where winning the primary is tantamount to winning a general election. GOP candidate for governor Jack Ciattarelli would have won the district by nearly 30 points in 2021. The race comes with a unique factor: Sussex County Republicans which makes up a plurality of the district does not have so-called party lines on their ballots, which usually gives party-backed candidates preferential ballot placement. Fantasia and Inganamort have the party line in Morris County, which makes up around a third of Republican primary voters, while Sarnoski and Aikens have the line in Warren County, which only makes up a sliver of the district. Both slates have been unequivocal in their opposition to abortion and support for gun rights. Aikens and Sarnoski have questioned the conservative credentials of their opponents accusing Inganamort of promoting environmental, social, and corporate governance, an investment strategy aimed at combining social and environmental consequences with investments. Inganamort has dismissed the criticism. He and Fantasia are running on a platform promising to repeal a "radical 'woke' school curriculum," require voter identification at the polls and crack down on crime and drugs. While a Senate primary was taking shape a few months back it ultimately ended when perennial candidate Steve Lonegan decided to not run against Assemblymember Parker Space (R-Sussex), who was going to retire from the Legislature until incumbent Sen. Steve Oroho (R-Sussex) unexpectedly announced his retirement. District 26 (Parts of Morris and Passaic counties) Incumbent Sen. Joe Pennacchio (R-Morris) is outspending his Republican primary challenger nearly 5-1. But the challenger, Morris County Commissioner Tom Mastrangelo, is getting all the headlines. Not all of them are good. On May 19, the NRA tweeted that Mastrangelo was sending out knockoff NRA postcards claiming the gun rights group had endorsed him. The NRA is backing Pennacchio, who has served in the Statehouse since he was first elected to the Assembly in 2000. In 2008, he won a race to join the Senate and is now a formidable member of the minority. For decades, NRA members and gun owners have trusted our orange postcards as a reliable guide to identifying the candidates most committed to upholding the Second Amendment, NRA spokesperson Billy McLaughlin said in a statement to POLITICO. Earning the NRA endorsement is highly sought-after and we are duty-bound to unmask any candidates who try to mislead voters by falsely claiming this endorsement. Mastrangelo did not respond to an email seeking comment. Last year, Mastrangelo defeated former Mendham Mayor Sarah Neibart in the Republican commissioner primary after going after her for attending a drag queen story hour in her town 2021. His ability to win without the party line also makes him a formidable challenger. This cycle, Mastrangelo is trying a similar attack against Pennacchio because he supported Neibarts campaign. Pennacchio, for his part, has been among the more vocal Republicans against school standards that include teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation, including calling it indoctrination. Reached by phone this week, Pennacchio said he was between rounds of door knocking. While campaigning, he said hes finding people know him from his 20 years in office. Hes confident in his ticket, which includes incumbent Assemblymembers Brian Bergen and Jay Webber, both fellow Morris County Republicans. And he cites as allies county government colleagues of Mastrangelo. It seems like the people who know my opponent the best like him the least, Pennacchio said. District 27 (Parts of Essex and Passaic counties) The Democratic primary here is a closely watched clash between two sitting senators, Richard Codey and Sen. Nia Gill. But there have been few fireworks among the two former allies who agree on most issues. Codey has also been absent from the campaign trail and hasnt cast a vote in Trenton since early March. A source close to Codey, who was granted anonymity to talk about sensitive issues, said Codey is battling some just very minor health issues, working from home, is doing OK and still is running for reelection. Codey, who goes by Gov. Codey because of his stint in the office following the resignation of Jim McGreevey in 2004, also has wide name recognition in the district. Gill did not respond to a request for comment Unless something shifts, Codey, who has spent over $200,000 compared to Gills $8,900 through the end of May, is widely expected to win. Codey is running on the same ticket as incumbent Assemblymember John McKeon and Murphy ally Alixon Collazos-Gill, wife of Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, who is also up for reelection and on the ticket. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misstated the title of Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misquoted Nick DeSilvio's social media post on abortion. Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway, will likely be extradited to the United States on Thursday night, according to a National Penitentiary Institute of Peru spokesperson. Van der Sloot left the Challapalca prison in Peru on Saturday to be transferred to another prison in Lima, where he's awaiting his extradition to the U.S. The Dutch citizen has been serving a 28-year sentence in Peru for the 2010 murder of 21-year-old college student Stephany Flores. PHOTO: In this June 4, 2010, file photo, Joran van der Sloot is escorted by police after being handed over by Chilean authorities at the border between both countries in Tacna, 1,250 kilometers south of Lima, Peru. (Sebastian Silva/AFP via Getty Images, FILE) MORE: Natalee Holloway suspect beaten in Peruvian prison: Lawyer U.S. Justice Department officials acknowledge that a "temporary surrender" was granted by Peru under Article X of an existing extradition treaty between the two countries. The department would not comment on the timing of his movement, citing policy regarding safety and security concerns. In the U.S., van der Sloot faces extortion and wire fraud charges stemming from an accusation that he tried to profit from his connection to the Holloway case. Holloway, 18, went missing in May 2005 while on a high school graduation trip in Aruba. She was last seen driving off with a group of young men, including van der Sloot, then 17. PHOTO: Natalee Holloway, an 18-year-old from Alabama, was in Aruba celebrating her high school graduation when she disappeared. (Courtesy of Beth Holloway) MORE: Suspect in Natalee Holloway's disappearance faces extradition to US Van der Sloot, who was detained as a suspect in the teen's disappearance and then later released, was indicted by an Alabama federal grand jury in 2010 for allegedly trying to extort Holloway's family. Federal prosecutors alleged that in March 2010 van der Sloot contacted Holloway's mother, Beth Holloway, through her lawyer and claimed he would reveal the location of the teen's body in exchange for $250,000, with $25,000 paid upfront. During a recorded sting operation, Beth Holloway's attorney, John Q. Kelly, met with van der Sloot at an Aruba hotel, giving him $10,000 in cash as Beth Holloway wired $15,000 to van der Sloot's bank account, according to prosecutors. PHOTO: Dutch national Joran Van der Sloot arrives for a hearing at the Lurigancho prison in Lima, Peru, Jan. 11, 2012. (AFP via Getty Images, FILE) Then, van der Sloot allegedly changed his story about the night he had been with Natalee Holloway, prosecutors said. Van der Sloot claimed he had picked her up but that she had demanded to be put down, so he threw her to the ground. He said her head hit a rock and she was killed instantly by the impact, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said van der Sloot then took Kelly to a house and claimed that his father, who had since died, buried Natalee Holloway's body in the building's foundation. Kelly later emailed van der Sloot, saying the information he had provided was "worthless," according to prosecutors. Within days, van der Sloot left Aruba for Peru. PHOTO: Dutch national Joran Van der Sloot during a hearing at the Lurigancho prison in Lima on January 13, 2012. (AFP via Getty Images) ABC News' Jack Date and Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report Joran van der Sloot, suspect in Natalee Holloway disappearance, will likely be extradited Thursday: Sources originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The new judge in the Disney-DeSantis lawsuit is a Trump-appointee who gave the governor a win in his 'Don't Say Gay' law Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis greets an audience member before speaking at Sen. Joni Ernst's Roast and Ride, on June 3 in Des Moines, Iowa. AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall Allen Winsor, 46, has been a US District Judge in the Northern District of Florida since 2019. He's now overseeing the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts' lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. Winsor previously dismissed a lawsuit challenging Florida's Parental Rights in Education Act. US District Judge Allen Winsor is now presiding over Walt Disney Parks and Resorts' lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, and it could be a good sign for the governor. The previous federal judge assigned to the case, Mark Walker, recused himself from the case because "a relative within the third degree" held 30 shares of The Walt Disney Co. stock, Insider's Kimberly Leonard reported last week. On Friday, Winsor set the schedule for the Disney-DeSantis case, setting deadlines to submit and reply to motions by July and August, respectively. Winsor's background Winsor, 46, has been a judge in the Northern District of Florida since 2019. The US Senate used the so-called nuclear option to approve his appointment after then-President Donald Trump nominated him. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia was the lone Democrat in the 54-44 vote to confirm Winsor, according to BallotPedia. Before he became a US district judge, Winsor was a judge in Florida's First District Court of Appeal from 2016-2019. He was Florida's solicitor general and worked in private practice before that. He graduated from Auburn University in 1997 and got his law degree from the University of Florida in 2002. Winsor was born in Orlando in September 1976. Winsor previously dismissed a lawsuit challenging the 'Don't Say Gay' bill In February 2023, Winsor issued a 21-page ruling dismissing a lawsuit challenging Florida's Parental Rights in Education Act, which opponents called the "Don't Say Gay" bill. Winsor particularly took issue that the plaintiffs in the suit who were parents, students, and teachers didn't allege harm or seek monetary damage, he wrote in his ruling. "Plaintiffs have shown a strident disagreement with the new law, and they have alleged facts to show its very existence causes them deep hurt and disappointment," Winsor wrote. "But to invoke a federal court's jurisdiction, they must allege more. Their failure to do so requires dismissal." He went through several examples where the plaintiffs said they were deprived of free speech or discriminated against because of the law, and cited specific details contending they weren't, legally speaking. "It does not matter that removing a library book, changing curriculum, or denying access to extracurricular activities could constitute a cognizable injury," Winsor wrote. "What matters is whether Plaintiffs have alleged that they themselves suffered a cognizable injury traceable to the Provision's enforcement and redressable by an injunction against it. They have not." A human rights group accused Winsor of being a 'conservative ideologue' Winsor has been a member of The Federalist Society, the influential conservative legal organization, since 2005, his questionnaire for the Senate Judiciary Committee shows. He moderated a panel for the group in 2017 titled, "Combating Federal Overreach." It was held at Disney's BoardWalk Inn at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. In the hour-and-a-half-long conversation, four state solicitors general discussed various federal laws and lawsuits that they felt impeded states' rights. Winsor seemed to know the attendees and made jokes to laughter from the audience. When Trump nominated Winsor to the US district court in 2018, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights sent a letter opposing it. "Mr. Winsor is a young, conservative ideologue who has attempted to restrict voting rights, LGBT equality, reproductive freedom, environmental protection, criminal defendants' rights, and gun safety," the letter read. "He does not possess the neutrality and fair-mindedness necessary to serve in a lifetime position as a federal judge." When he was Florida's solicitor general from 2013-2016, he argued and monitored cases defending state laws that didn't allow gay marriage. In an interview with the Associated Press in 2014, Winsor defended then-Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi's argument that recognizing gay marriage in the state would be harmful. "Florida's voters approved a constitutional amendment, which is being challenged, and it is the attorney general's duty to defend Florida law," Winsor told the AP, adding: "Florida is harmed whenever a federal court enjoins enforcement of its laws, including the laws at issue here." Read the original article on Business Insider Ceramics and various art by Jun Kaneko will be on display at the Amarillo Museum of Art now through Sept. 3, supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. In addition to several large-scale ceramic heads and iconic Dangos, this exhibition includes paintings, drawings, and wall hanging ceramics spanning more than 40 years of creative production. Also included in the exhibition are several collaborative works with Terry Allen and Annabeth Rosen completed in 1980 while Kaneko was teaching at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Jun Kaneko, Untitled, Heads, 2016, hand glazed cast raku ceramics, stainless steel. Kaneko's works will be on display at the Amarillo Museum of Art now through early September. Kaneko was born in Nagoya, Japan, in 1942. He studied painting with Satoshi Ogawa during his adolescence. In 1963, he came to the United States to continue his studies at Chouinard Art Institute when his introduction to Fred Marer drew him to sculptural ceramics. Kaneko proceeded to study with Peter Voulkos, Paul Soldner, and Jerry Rothman in California during the time now defined as The Contemporary Ceramics Movement in America. The following decade, Kaneko taught at some of the nations leading art schools, including Scripps College, Rhode Island School of Design, and Cranbrook Academy of Art. Based in Omaha since 1986, Kaneko has worked at several experimental studios, including European Ceramic Work Center in The Netherlands, Otsuka Ohmi Ceramic Company in Japan, Fabric Workshop in Philadelphia, PA, Bullseye Glass in Portland, OR, Acadia Summer Arts Program in Bar Harbor, ME, Derix Glasstudios in Taunusstein, Germany, and Aguacate in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Over the course of his career he has partnered with industrial facilities to realize large-scale, hand-built sculptures. The first of these projects was his 1982-1983 Omaha Project at Omaha Brickworks. Later endeavors include his Fremont Project, completed in 1992-1994, and his Pittsburg Project completed in 2004-2007. Jun Kaneko, Untitled, Dango, 2019, hand glazed raku ceramics. Kaneko's works will be on display at the Amarillo Museum of Art now through early September. Most recently, Kaneko has been working at Trate Arte ceramics studio in Cuernavaca, experimenting with new glazes and unprecedented scale with the unpredictable raku process. Kaneko is increasingly drawn to installations that promote civic interaction, realizing over seventy public art commissions from 1985 to present. Many are large-scale permanent installations that can be seen across the United States and internationally in Toronto, Canada, Shanghai, China, Jakarta, Indonesia, and multiple cities in Japan. His artwork appears in numerous international and national solo and group exhibitions annually and is included in more than eighty museum collections. Kaneko received Commendation from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Master of the Media from the James Renwick Alliance, Gold Medal for Consummate Craftsmanship from the American Craft Council, Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center, and holds honorary doctorates from the University of Nebraska, the Massachusetts College of Art & Design, the Royal College of Art in London, and the University of Pecs in Hungary. Jun Kaneko, Untitled, Dango, 2019, hand build & glazed ceramics. Kaneko's works will be on display at the Amarillo Museum of Art now through early September. Kaneko has designed three opera productions; Puccinis "Madame Butterfly" (2006), Beethovens "Fidelio" (2008), and Mozarts "The Magic Flute" (2012) which have toured throughout the United States. The Amarillo Museum of Art is located at 2200 South Van Buren on the Washington Street campus of Amarillo College. Museum hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from1 to 5 p.m. For additional information, visit www.amoa.org, email amoa@actx.edu, or call (806) 371-5050 or (806) 371-5392 (weekends). This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Jun Kaneko artwork on exhibit at Amarillo Museum of Art Kobach warns Wichita to change its rules on political signs or else Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has issued a warning to the states largest city ahead of its August primary elections for mayor and city council: stop breaking state law or face legal action. But Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple said its a political stunt aimed at stirring up controversy ahead of his re-election campaign. Kobach has a reputation of engaging in lawsuits that are losing causes, Whipple said. I would put any one of our legal staff up against Kobach any day of the week. But our focus is not on the politics; its on the protection and safety of the members of our community. At issue is a 2017 Wichita ordinance that regulates political signs on public and private property. The city requires permits for placing political signs. It doesnt allow placement of political signs in public rights-of-way, including the first 18 feet of private property from the curb along city streets. It also limits the number of political signs someone can display on private property. The citys sign ordinance directly conflicts with a state law passed in 2015 that says no local governments can regulate or prohibit the placement or number of signs on private property or unpaved rights-of-way on private property in the 45 days leading up to an election and two days afterward. In a letter addressed to Whipple, Kobachs office demanded a response by late June, about a month out from the citys primary election. Whipple, a Democrat who faces eight opponents in the August primary, would not commit to any changes to the sign ordinance during a phone interview. We are not going to allow signs that are going to disrupt the view of drivers so that we wind up increasing pedestrian accidents, Whipple said. Once we actually get the letter and figure out what our legal team says, then well take it from there, Whipple said. I support the First Amendment, and I support public safety, and thats the bottom line. Theres a balance. Whipple was not on the city council when the sign ordinance was passed. The 2017 City Council knew the ordinance was in conflict with state law, and it still passed 7-0. Wichita adopted the ordinance in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled cities cant regulate signs based on content. Instead of dropping its restrictions on political signs, Wichita passed blanket prohibitions and restrictions on all temporary signs. The Kansas Attorney Generals Office said in the letter that Wichitas workaround violates state law. The Citys sign code is illegal, the letter, signed by Chief Deputy Attorney General Daniel E. Burrows, says. State law is clear that a city may not prohibit the placement of or the number of political signs on private property or the unpaved right-of-way for city streets for 45 days leading up to any election or two days afterwards, the AGs letter says. We know the City is aware of this law. The City even acknowledges that its sign code is inconsistent with the state statute. The City prohibits all temporary signs (a phrase that includes most political signs) on rights-of-way and also limits the number of such signs a person may have on private property. The letter ends by asking Whipple to reply by June 26 37 days before the primary. We hope that you can assure us the City will cease its willful violation of section 25-2711. But if the City intends to continue breaking the law, the Attorney General will take appropriate action. A spokesman for Kobachs office declined to comment further. The letter speaks for itself, John Milburn, spokesman for the Attorney Generals Office, said in an email. The letter was first made public by Derby Republican Rep. Blake Carpenter, who shared a copy of it on Facebook, adding that he is thrilled to witness Attorney General Kobach taking a firm stance against those who openly flout the law. Exciting news for the citizens of Wichita, he said in the Facebook post. Today, the Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach sent a letter to the City of Wichita- Government, urging them to immediately halt their unlawful practice of removing political signs during an election period. Last autumn, I, along with other dedicated legislators from the Wichita area, exposed their violations of state law. Shockingly, they tried to defend their actions by claiming they were interpreting a Supreme Court case differently and blatantly disregarding our state laws. Loosening local regulations on political signs has been a pet project for Carpenter and Sedgwick County Commissioner Jim Howell, also of Derby, for several years. Howell said the signs are protected by the constitution. Its a First Amendment freedom issue and a private property rights issue, Howell said. Theres no reason Wichita should be banning them in the right-of-way or removing them from private property. If theyre not causing a safety problem, the city should not be involved in any way. Howell said Wichitas ordinance also has other problems, such as charging candidates fines for illegally placed signs that have their names on them. Or charging them $25 to get them back. I have no idea what happens after someone gets a sign, Howell said. When I give them a sign, it becomes their property. You could have opposition or opponents who get ahold of your signs, and then they can try to get you in trouble. That needs to be changed, too. Kowloon creating documentary, looking for footage from the years The Kowloon restaurant is an iconic North Shore spot for a multitude of reasons, not just for locals looking for their Chinese food fix. Kowloon is now creating a documentary and looking for footage from the years. In a post on their social media pages, Kowloon asked customers to share their favorite Kowloon memories, to feature in a new documentary film. Old video footage (VHS, Super 8mm) is recommended and encouraged, the restaurant wrote on Facebook. All video files can be sent to the following email: kowloondocumentary@gmail.com 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 Russian Foreign Ministry headquarters are seen next to one of the towers of Moscows Kremlin (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Sunday that any supply of long-range missiles to Kyiv by France and Germany would lead to a further round of "spiralling tension" in the Ukraine conflict. Britain last month became the first country to supply Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles. Ukraine has asked Germany for Taurus cruise missiles, which have a range of 500 km (311 miles), while President Emmanuel Macron has said France will give Ukraine missiles with a range allowing it to carry out its long-anticipated counteroffensive. "We are already starting to see discussions about deliveries from France and Germany of missiles with a range of 500 km or more," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a reporter from the Rossiya-1 TV channel. "This is a completely different weapon which will lead to, let's say, another round of spiralling tension," he said. Russia has repeatedly criticised Western countries for supplying Ukraine with weapons and has warned that NATO members have effectively become direct parties to the conflict. Moscow has made clear it sees such weapons supplied by the West as legitimate targets in what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, now in its 16th month. Ukraine says it needs more weapons, including long-range missiles, to defend itself against Russian attacks and re-capture its occupied territory. Peskov also reiterated that Russia would continue its operations in Ukraine until the "job is done... There is no alternative". Moscow says it had to act in Ukraine to protect its own security and push back against what it says is a hostile and aggressive West bent on the destruction of Russia. Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia is waging an unprovoked war of aggression and a land grab in Ukraine. (Reporting by Reuters,; Writing by Caleb Davis,; Editing by Gareth Jones) Chuck Todd, seen here on the Washington set of "Meet the Press," took over as moderator in 2014. (NBC NewsWire/William B. Plowman /NBC) NBC News is passing the baton on its long-running Sunday public affairs program "Meet the Press." Chuck Todd told viewers Sunday he is leaving the moderator's chair on the 75-year-old program in September. He will hand it off to Kristen Welker, the network's chief White House correspondent. Welker will be the second female moderator in the long history of "Meet the Press." Martha Rountree was the first to have the job when the program launched in 1947 and held the position until 1953. Welker will make history as the first Black woman to serve as moderator of a Sunday morning network public affairs program, among the most prestigious positions in TV news. The correspondent's contract with NBC News was up at the end of the year. Welker is a home-grown on-air talent, hired in 2010 after she put in several years as a local anchor at NBC's Philadelphia TV station, and the network did not want to risk losing her. Her stock at the network shot up significantly in 2020 after she received strong reviews for her handling of the second presidential debate. Todd praised the choice of Welker, who has served as a regular substitute for him. "I'm also ready to take a step back because I have so much confidence in the person whom I'm going to pass the baton to," Todd said near the end of the program Sunday. "She's somebody who's been ready for this for a long time. I've had the privilege of working with her from essentially her first day here in Washington and let me just say she's the right person in the right moment." Todd will remain at NBC News, where he will continue to be a political analyst and will take part in the network's election coverage. He will also continue to work on documentary projects. The replacement of Todd has been under discussion at NBC for years. Todd himself acknowledged that the job of hosting a broadcast institution was not permanent. "The program doesnt belong to me," Todd told The Times in a 2020 interview. "That is something that Im fully aware of. Im a custodian. My job is to put 'Meet the Press' in a better place and leave it in a better place than I got it." Todd, 51, told viewers he is ready for the change. "I've let work consume me for nearly 30 years. I can't remember the last time I didn't wake up before 5 or 6 a.m. and as I've watched too many friends and family let work consume them before it was too late I promised my family I wouldn't do that," he said. "I'd rather leave a little bit too soon than stay a tad bit too long." Todd joined NBC News in 2007 after running the political newsletter Hotline. A protege of the late Tim Russert, the program's moderator from 1991 until his death in 2008, Todd served as the network's political director before taking over the Sunday program in 2014. As "Meet the Press" moderator, Todd was often criticized on social media by liberal critics for not being tough enough in his line of questioning on the program. Conservatives were not fond of him either. But the shots at Todd came largely from the political left when he was host of a daily version of "Meet the Press" that ran on progressive-leaning cable network MSNBC. Todd's straight-ahead approach to interviewing politicians was not well-received by MSNBC's viewers, who tune in largely to see liberal commentary, and their vitriol toward him showed up regularly online. Welker will also take over the daily version of "Meet the Press Now" on NBC News Now, the news division's streaming service. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Kyiv wants guarantees that Ukraine will accede to NATO soon after the war Ukraine wants to accede to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization soon after securing a military victory over Russia, and hopes to receive guarantees that this will happen during the NATO summit in Vilnius this July. Source: Volodymyr Havrylov, Deputy Defence Minister of Ukraine, in an interview with Politico Details: Havrylov said that NATO should provide Ukraine with a list of steps to be taken to ensure its accession, "with a clear confirmation that Ukraine is a legitimate candidate" for NATO membership. "We would like to hear the plan or roadmap, or a list of actions to be done by both sides NATO and Ukraine to achieve the membership in a very short period of time," Havrylov said. Havrylov recognised that Ukraine cannot accede to NATO while the war is ongoing, but said that "at the same time, we have to understand that after our victory, our process of [joining] the bloc will be very, very short." Havrylov explained that in the meantime, Ukraine will negotiate a "system of security guarantees" with NATO during a transitional period before membership. This will include NATO countries committing to help Ukraine win the war, supporting the Ukrainian economy, and supporting sanctions and other forms of putting pressure on Russia. Previously: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he understands that Ukraine cannot accede to NATO with the war still ongoing, but sees no reason to take part in the NATO summit in Vilnius if Ukraine will not receive concrete indications regarding when it would be able to join the Alliance. Kyiv has said that it is preparing to discuss two sets of issues during the NATO summit: political and practical. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's disparate opposition, independent and main Christian parties said on Sunday they had nominated IMF official Jihad Azour for the presidency in a challenge to Hezbollah-backed candidate Suleiman Franjieh. A meeting of the parties endorsed the nomination of Azour, currently director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund and also a former Lebanese finance minister. Lebanon has had no head of state since President Michel Aoun's term ended at the end of October, deepening institutional paralysis in a country where one of the world's worst economic crises has been festering for years. Pro-Iranian Hezbollah, the country's main armed political force, and its Shi'ite ally Amal, had backed Franjieh, 56, heir of an old Lebanese Christian political dynasty and an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with strong ties to the ruling political establishment in Damascus. Anti-Hezbollah lawmaker Michel Mouawad, who had won the most votes in repeated unsuccessful presidential election votes, but not enough to win, said he had withdrawn his candidacy in favour of Azour. Opposition deputies said the consensus around Azour could help him garner the 65 votes needed in a secret ballot by lawmakers in the 128-member parliament to assume the post reserved for a Maronite Christian under the country's complex sectarian power sharing regime. Azour has not declared his own candidacy but political sources say he has held discrete meetings with various parties and members of parliament to discuss his chances. In his Sunday sermon, a few hours before Azour was backed by opposition MPs, Lebanon's top Maronite cleric Patriarch Beshara al-Rai said he welcomed any step towards ending the stalemate over the presidency. Hezbollah officials had accused those delaying Franjieh's nomination of prolonging the crisis and serving the West. "This new candidate that was announced is for us a candidate for confrontation," Hezbollah deputy Hassan Fadlallah said on Sunday, without naming Azour. Hezbollah and its allies have close ties to Syria and Iran, while their opponents in the Christian and Sunni Muslim communities traditionally look to the West and Sunni-led Gulf Arab states. Washington has warned that the administration was considering sanctions on Lebanese officials for their continued obstruction of the election of a new president and warned the paralysis could only worsen the country's crisis. (Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Maya Geibeily; Editing by David Holmes) Letters to the Editor: No, this isn't the end of the state's Ballona Wetlands restoration A portion of the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve in Marina del Rey is seen on May 22. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) To the editor: As she has done for 15 years, litigant Marcia Hanscom of the group Defend Ballona Wetlands attempts to turn a public relations lemon into lemonade. ("Judge orders halt to Ballona Wetlands restoration project," May 30) Although she claims she hoped mostly for a reprieve from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's elegant wetlands restoration plan, her true stated desire was to stop the restoration altogether. She has clearly lost that war. Among the 26 assertions in the Defend Ballona Wetlands filing, the judge agreed with only two a .076 batting average. Among the biggest missed swings were the group's pleas not to remove fill dirt from Marina del Rey construction 70 years ago and instead to create malaria-hosting freshwater wetlands that never existed at Ballona. The judge rejected both notions. We supporters look forward to helping Fish and Wildlife "perfect" its environmental impact report and move forward with the Ballona restoration. It will be an ecological jewel for the enjoyment of generations to come. David W. Kay, Playa Vista The writer managed the San Dieguito Wetlands restoration for Southern California Edison from 2007-12. .. To the editor: Many of us in the wetlands community have watched the push and pull between those who favor the current proposal for "restoration" and those who have dug deep into the science. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant's ruling provides the right leadership. As Hanscom put it: "It gives the mosaic of habitats at the ecological reserve a reprieve from facing utter destruction and upheaval by state officials who shockingly favor sending bulldozers and other heavy equipment into these fragile wetlands." We who live here and have watched the controversy for years believe that a gentler reconstruction plan than the one proposed by the state is better for the wetlands and its inhabitants. As for the "restoration" plan, if you look hard enough at it you will see that oil and gas interests are at the basis of that view, not the wildlife we hope to restore. Wendy Zacuto, Playa Vista This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Long layover? This travel hack saved me hours at the airport, got me to my destination faster, and cost $0. Passengers arrive at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Thomson Reuters I recently cut a long layover very short at the airport. My flight from Maui landed in Chicago with over five hours before the final leg to Philadelphia. I spoke to an airline agent about changing my flight. Minutes later, I was in the air. There's nothing worse than waiting for what feels like an eternity at the airport for a flight especially after you've just spent hours sitting on a plane. I was prepared for this on a recent trip back from Maui to Philadelphia, with one very long stop in Chicago. But after getting little sleep on a close-to-eight-hour, overnight flight, I didn't want to accept that I had to wait five hours in Chicago before getting on the two-hour flight home to Philly. With a little ingenuity, however, I found a way to avoid the wait and get home before that flight even departed. The best part? It didn't cost me a thing. The key to my success was simply checking the departures board to see if we could make an earlier flight My first flight left Maui's Kahului Airport at 5:16 p.m. local time and landed at Chicago O'Hare International Airport at 6:05 a.m. in that time zone. The next wasn't scheduled to leave until 11:11 a.m. I knew it'd be a hellish itinerary when I booked it, and could've planned to go on an earlier flight from Philadelphia from Chicago but it left just over an hour to make it in time and that's if there weren't any delays. (My rule of thumb is to leave at least an hour and a half between flights.) Of course, the flight landed early in Chicago. Just as I was gauging my husband's temperature (lukewarm) on leaving the airport to get breakfast in Chicago, and doing the math to work out how long we'd have once we actually got into the city proper, I remembered that flight. I was bleary-eyed and exhausted, but in that moment, I found the energy to run to the closest departures board. There it was: the 7:25 a.m. flight to Philadelphia International Airport, with an arrival time of 10:28 a.m. If we could catch that flight, I could be napping by 11 a.m., I thought. I asked the airline if we could switch to an earlier flight It was Memorial Day Monday, one of the busiest travel days of the year, but I didn't lose hope. We made a beeline for a nearby United gate both of our flights were with the airline and asked if there was room on the earlier flight. A staff member at the gate advised us to ask an airline agent in the airport or a virtual one through United's app about making the switch. We couldn't see a United agent in the part of the terminal we were in, but there was a stand with a QR code you could scan to speak to an airline agent. It pulled up a page on the United app, and I started a chat with an agent. With the clock ticking, I was skeptical that the virtual assistant could help us in time by this point, the flight was boarding in 20 minutes but nevertheless I asked if we could switch, and if there'd be a fee to do so. I was surprised when the United agent said yes, we could switch. And no, there wasn't a fee. Within a couple of minutes, United emailed me new boarding passes and even assigned us two seats together. Success! We made it onto an earlier United flight (not pictured). Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images It worked! Then we remembered our bags. I asked the assistant if our checked luggage would make it onto the flight. They said they'd do their best, and it depended on whether the bags were scanned after we'd made the change. Worst case, we could figure it out with the airline and get a 20-minute ride from our house to the airport to pick up our stuff later. The next challenge was getting to the gate in time. We legged it through the giant (and honestly, beautiful) airport to get to another terminal, and even had to hop on a train to get there. Looking for the gate, I realized we had to go through security again since it was a different terminal. Not ideal in a time crunch. Thankfully, we're both TSA PreCheck members so we got through pretty quickly. We made it to the gate just before our group was called, albeit out of breath. Even our bags made it, though it wasn't a guarantee While the plane was taxiing, I remembered the AirTags in our checked bags. I opened the Find My app and looked for my bag, and my husband did the same. Somehow, they were in the correct terminal! AirTags to the rescue. Screenshot via the Find My app Luckily, the rest of our journey went smoothly. Our flight left 10 minutes early, and we and our bags were back in Philly by 10:24 a.m., and home by 11 a.m. (10 a.m. in Chicago). With the time difference, we would've had another hour and 10 minutes at the airport before our original flight. And we were snoozing in the comfort of our own home when it took off. If you want to do something similar, here's my advice: Next time you have a long layover, check the departures board. Track down an airline agent to ask for a switch to an earlier time if there is one. If there are seats available, ask if there's a fee to switch. If there is, decide if it makes sense for your budget. Understand that even if you make it for the flight, your bags might not. Put AirTags in your checked bags if you have them to see if they make it if they don't, contact the airline ASAP to make a plan to get your stuff from the airport. Stay flexible when traveling. If this trick worked for me on one of the busiest travel weekends of the year, it might just work for you. Read the original article on Insider A lost medieval city that legend says was swallowed by the sea as punishment for its carnal sins mapped for the first time Forensic pathologist Constanze Niess holding up the approximately 700-year-old skull of a man from the city of Rungholt. Wolfgang Runge/picture alliance via Getty Images The legend says that the city of Rungholt was destroyed as revenge for its inhabitants' sins. The remains of the "northern Atlantis" have now been charted off the coast of Germany. Researchers say such finds provide unparalleled insights into the lives of the North Frisian people Archaeologists have mapped out the lost city of Rungholt for the first time. Legend has it that the once thriving city, which now sits off the coast of northern Germany, was swallowed by the North Sea in a single night following a heavy storm as punishment for its inhabitants' sins. According to folklore, these sins included things such as drunkenness, impiety, and the flaunting of wealth, according to The Times. So the stories go, the life of abundance led to an immoral life, and the end came around Christmas when a gang of young drunkards tried to force a priest to give a pig the last sacrament at a local inn. The cleric went to the church and prayed and asked God to punish the young men. He left town the next day, and shortly after, the great storm hit that wiped Rungholt off the face of the Earth. In medieval legends, the sound of its bell tower could be heard from the depths of the North Sea. While some historians questioned whether the town ever existed outside myth, new research has uncovered the remains of this "northern Atlantis" in the Wadden Sea, per the report. Aerial photo over the North Frisian Wadden Sea, with remains of Rungholt in the middle of the picture Ralf Roletschek/Wikimediacommons Archaeologists from Christian-Albrecht University in Kiel found approximately 1.2 miles series of medieval mounds around an island now known as Sudfall after mapping the site with a geophysical survey. "Settlement remains hidden under the mudflats are first localized and mapped over a wide area using various geophysical methods such as magnetic gradiometry, electromagnetic induction, and seismics," Dennis Wilken, a geophysicist at Kiel University, said of the research in a press release. The new findings included a harbor, the foundations of a large church, and drainage systems, according to new research. The press release says that investigations into the tidal flats continued to "bring to light significant new finds" and provided unparalleled insights into the lives of the North Frisian people. But the researchers are working against the clock, as the conditions continually eat away at the remains. "The medieval settlement remains are already heavily eroded and often only detectable as negative imprints," Hanna Hadler, who works at the Institute of Geography at Mainz University, said. "So we urgently need to intensify research," she added. Read the original article on Business Insider Luis G. Pedraja As a child, I left the only home I had known with a suitcase and my teddy bear. My parents left everything behind: my dads store, a home, family and friends. Like many parents throughout the world, they wanted me to have the freedom and the opportunities that were no longer available at home. They sacrificed everything to offer me a better future. Although my father had to work two jobs and my mother had to clean floors, we were lucky. We were able to come as immigrants and obtain a resident visa. We were able to work; I was able to pursue my education. Throughout my career, Ive advocated for immigrants and refugees. As a college student, I worked providing services to migrant workers in Florida, who worked grueling jobs in the fields, lived in deplorable conditions and were offered limited resources. Some were undocumented and, although they paid taxes and contributed to the local economy through their patronage of local businesses, they were denied access to many local resources, were exploited and mistreated. As an educator, I also encountered many undocumented students struggling to pay for an education that would help them achieve their dreams, such as the young woman in Los Angeles, a Dreamer, working two jobs, taking three buses and going to class hungry, but hoping to one day be a doctor. Or the young man at QCC, a DACA student, who fled gang violence in his home country in Central America to pursue his degree in dental hygiene, a field with severe worker shortages. Through assistance from a presidential scholarship, he was able to graduate and is now working, serving our community. Our country was founded on three basic principles: That everyone has a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The sole crime of the undocumented is the pursuit of these basic rights. Many of the undocumented students, like me, came to this country with their parents seeking a better life. Others came fleeing repression, violence and abject poverty. Most of the undocumented students came as children, some as infants, brought by their parents. They did not choose to break any laws. Often, this has been the only country that they know. Some do not have any ties to their home country or any option to return. They attend our schools, yet their options for pursuing a college education are limited. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia already allow undocumented students to access in-state tuition at all public higher education institutions, while 17 including Texas, Connecticut and Rhode Island provide financial aid to them. While states like Arizona, Florida and Kentucky grant in-state tuition to undocumented students, Massachusetts does not. Although these people work, pay taxes and contribute to the state economy, Massachusetts is one of the states that limit access to higher education by charging out-of-state tuition and fees to undocumented students, including DACA students. However, this can change. The Senate Ways and Means Committee has a provision in the fiscal 2024 budget that would allow all Massachusetts students, regardless of immigration status, to qualify for in-state tuition rates at Massachusetts public colleges and universities, if they attended high school in Massachusetts for at least three years and graduated or obtained their GED in the commonwealth. In the United States more than 427,000 undocumented students are a part of the higher education system. In Massachusetts, there are currently 67, 000 immigrant students and 11,632 are currently enrolled in higher education. I applaud this initiative by the Senate, which not only opens the doors for these young men and women to attain their dream of an education but also helps to ensure the state's economic prosperity. While this makes good economic sense, even more importantly, it is the right thing to do. Currently, the states population is declining and we face severe shortages in our workforce. As our population ages, we need a trained workforce to continue to attract new industries to the state. In addition, by earning higher wages, these students can contribute to our economy through greater purchasing power. We are a country built by immigrants. Worcester, as a Gateway City, has thrived because of the work of immigrant populations that have come to call our city their home. Providing our undocumented students with a pathway to higher education is the ethical and moral thing to do and will ensure we will continue to thrive and grow as a community, a city and a state, now and for future generations to come. Luis G. Pedraja is president of Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester. This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Luis Pedraja on right to education for undocumented students A 50-year-old man has been charged in the Friday fatal shooting outside a store at the Vivion West Mall just north of Kansas City that left one man dead, according to the Platte County Sheriffs Office. Phillip J. Frazier, 50, was arrested and taken into custody shortly after the shooting. He has been charged with second degree murder and armed criminal action, said Erik Holland, a spokesman for the office. This type of incident impacts not just the friends and families of those involved but the whole community, said Sheriff Mark Owen in a Saturday evening statement. Riverside police responded to calls of shots fired at about 3:15 p.m. Friday in the 2400 block of Vivion Road in Northmoor, a small town in Kansas Citys Northland, according to a news release from the Platte County Sheriffs Office. An investigation revealed the 50-year-olds vehicle allegedly struck the car of the shooting victim, Cody J. Steffen, 32, on Friday, according to the sheriffs office. Witnesses heard Steffen ask for Fraziers insurance information following the collision, the office said. Then, witnesses said, Frazier reached behind his back and pulled out a hand gun, which still had a holster on it. He allegedly pointed the gun at Steffen, removed the holster and shot him from a few inches away, according to the sheriffs office. Frazier is alleged to have walked around Steffen and driven away after the shooting, according to a probable cause statement. Steffen was declared dead by local authorities at the scene, the statement said. Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said similar incidents where a person is killed due to a minor fender bender are occurring far too frequently these days, in a Saturday evening statement. Frazier is being held without bail at the Platte County Detention Center. Man dies after jumping into lake to help struggling child, South Carolina cops say A man didnt resurface after he jumped into a South Carolina lake to help a young swimmer, deputies told news outlets. It happened around 4 p.m. Saturday, June 3, on Lake Keowee in Oconee County, WYFF reported, citing the sheriffs office. Deputies said a group was boating in a cove when a child who was swimming nearby began to struggle, according to WSPA. A man jumped into the water to help but never came back up. His body was found hours later around 8:45 p.m., deputies told the station. The county coroners office identified the man as 35-year-old Caleb Cohen, WHNS reported. His cause of death was ruled a drowning. Authorities didnt release additional information, including the condition of the child. McClatchy News reached out to the Oconee County Sheriffs Office on June 4 and was awaiting a response. Oconee County is about 150 miles northwest of Columbia. 17-year-old swimmer dies after being swept in undertow at waterfall, Oregon cops say Paddleboarder finds body of missing 19-year-old swimmer in water, Florida cops say Im going to drown! Cops watch as man drowns in Arizona lake, family says in lawsuit Marjorie Taylor Greene has blamed liberal philanthropist George Soros and supposed concerns for Capitol security for abruptly reversing her position on releasing footage of the January 6 riot. After previously calling for the tapes of the insurrection to be shared publicly, the Georgia congresswoman said on Friday that it could endanger the safety at the Capitol and of those who were present during the rioting but did not commit any crimes. If we released these video tapes just widely for the public number one, we put the security of the Capitol at risk, because theres over 1,700 video cameras, she said in an interview with the right-wing Real Americas Voice channel. We also endanger many Americans that were simply standing on the Capitol grounds, maybe never even walked through the Capitol or committed any crimes, but they could have just walked further than where the barrier was simply because the barrier was torn down by the time they got there, she added. Ms Greene claimed that Soros groups would scour the tapes using facial recognition technology to compile evidence and hand it over to the FBI. She added that those who committed violent crimes against law enforcement should be punished, but those that simply attended the rally didnt deserve to be persecuted. In a later tweet, she wrote: Sedition Hunters would spend every second of every day analysing the videos in order to hunt innocent people that just stood on Capitol grounds on J6. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green says releasing the Jan 6 tapes would endanger law-abiding protesters (AFP via Getty Images) As recently as a month ago, Ms Greene said she supported the unfettered release of footage captured on Capitol security cameras during the riot by an armed mob of Trump supporters. We need to release the J6 tapes to a public on line source so that everyone knows what did and didnt happen, we need to restore fair justice, and America can move on, she said in May. In February, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy handed over 44,000 hours of footage to then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Mr Carlson then produced a much-derided segment which sanitized the extreme violence committed against law enforcement officers, calling it mostly peaceful chaos. Then last week, Ms Greene announced the footage would be handed over to right-wing commentator John Solomon, Julie Kelly, a writer at conservative website American Greatness, and a third, unnamed outlet. Meanwhile, nine media companies including CNN, the New York Times and Politico are suing the Department of Justice under the Freedom of Information Act for the tapes to be released. Mark Hamill says he's done playing Luke Skywalker in 'Star Wars': 'They don't need Luke anymore' Mark Hamill says he's done playing Luke Skywalker in 'Star Wars': 'They don't need Luke anymore' Mark Hamill attends the premiere of Disney's "Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker" in Hollywood, California. Rich Fury/Getty Images On this week's "Sunday Morning," Mark Hamill said he's done playing Luke Skywalker. "I had my time, and that's good. But that's enough," Hamill told Tracy Smith. Hamill originated the role 46 years ago in the franchise's first film, "Star Wars." Mark Hamill says he is done reprising his role as Luke Skywalker in the "Star Wars" franchise. The actor, 71, sat down with CBS News' Tracy Smith on this week's "Sunday Morning" and made it clear where he stands on playing Luke again. "Well, you never say never. I just don't see any reason to," Hamill said. "Let me put it that way: I mean, they have so many stories to tell, they don't need Luke anymore. I had my time, and that's good. But that's enough." Hamill first appeared as Luke in the franchise's first 1977 film, "Star Wars," and his most recent reprisal was 2017's "Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi" opposite Adam Driver. He also appeared in two "Star Wars" Disney+ series: "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett." Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford in "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope." Sunset Boulevard/Getty Images Hamill was only 25 years old when the first film was released and acted alongside the late Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) and Harrison Ford (Han Solo). In the interview, Hamill recalled advice Fisher gave him about wanting to distance himself from his "Star Wars" role. "'Get over yourself. Look, you're Luke Skywalker. I'm Princess Leia. Just accept it,"' Hamill recalled Fisher telling him. Later in the conversation, Hamill talked about his own legacy. "I mean, the truth of the matter is, I never really expected to be remembered for anything," Hamill said. "I just wanted to make a living doing what I liked. And I thought, 'Well, it could be worse. I could be, like, known as being the best actor who ever played Adolf Hitler, you know?' At least Luke is an admirable fellow!" Currently, Hamill is promoting his role in the action-comedy "The Machine" starring comedian Bert Kreischer. The film follows Kreischer as he is confronted with a 23-year-old crime he committed involving the Russian mafia. Hamill plays Kreischer's reluctant father, Albert. "The Machine" is now playing in theaters. Read the original article on Insider A Louisiana Republican who was the lead negotiator on the debt ceiling deal said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is in no jeopardy of being ousted by his fellow Republicans. Speaking Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) told host Margaret Brennan: "Speaker McCarthys position is absolutely safe." The deal to raise the debt ceiling and make certain trims to the federal budget was approved by the Republican-led House on Wednesday and the Democratic-led Senate on Thursday. Potentially troubling for McCarthy, though, was that more Democrats than Republicans voted for the package that House Republicans had worked out with President Joe Biden and his team. I have no doubt his position is safe, and were going to keep marching forward, continuing to build upon the historic wins that hes been able to achieve this year, Graves said of McCarthy, calling him "one of the best strategists we've ever had." Brennan pointed out that 71 House Republicans voted against the deal and noted that a number of them have continued to speak against the agreement. Graves said some of the opponents of the legislation were misinformed about the deal, even before it was finalized. "Folks went out and began attempting to define a deal while still in negotiations," he said. "There wasn't even an agreement struck and their interpretation or definition of the agreement, as you can imagine, was flawed." Biden signed the legislation into law Saturday, thanking McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for their partnership. Brennan asked Graves if the two parties could build on the deal with more bipartisan legislation. "The negotiations certainly were in good faith, but they also included a lot of candor," he replied. "We had some tense moments throughout, but I would love to tell you we could build upon this." The Bon Mua team in Salem, from left, Kimon Oum, Kevin Marberry, Lan Marberry, Dalton Holley and Hyrum Aballay. This is part of a weekly series introducing readers to individuals who are passionate about our Mid-Valley community. The crisp coffee notes of nuts, chocolate and caramel permeates Bon Mua coffee roastery. Its white walls are a stark contrast to the vegetation that surrounded owner Lan Marberry while growing up on a coffee farm in the central highlands of Vietnam. Bon Mua and sister brand Salem Coffee Roaster are Marberry's ode to where she's from. Coffee is a vehicle for reconnecting with her family who she has built up her brands with. The coffee business began in early 2017. The name Bon Mua is a mix of English and Vietnamese meaning "four seasons." Marberry said she owes the idea of her business to her son, Kevin, as he was the one who wanted to see where she was from, and her father, Lan Nguyen, for his knowledge, hard work and support. Home among the coffee plants A pouch for green coffee beans is hung on the wall of the Bon Mua roastery. Marberry said she grew up among coffee plants and slept between trees separated at times by just a tarp. In 2016, she brought her son back to the ak Lak, a province of Vietnam located in the central highlands. Her father still lived and worked on a farm at the time, growing Arabica beans. He asked her if she knew people who were drinking the coffee he was harvesting, but she didn't know. Before she left Vietnam, she asked her father to send her some coffee, marking the beginning of Bon Mua. When she returned to Oregon, she asked some coffee roasters around the state for support on beginning her operation. She first began selling the green coffee beans to various roasteries. Then, she found a facility and someone to roast the beans. Marberry was able to secure the roasts on the shelves of E.Z. Orchards and Roth's by mid-2017. She and the Bon Mua team eventually expanded and moved into a new space in North Salem in November. "Our operation is small, but our hearts are big," Marberry said. She said with her father's connections in Vietnam (he has been out of the coffee fields for a while), they are able to have the coffee grown to the specifications and quality they desire. Growing coffee is an intricate science, while roasting is another skillset. In retrospect, high-end specialty coffee from Vietnam was an unconventional business route because the country did not have a high reputation for coffee. It's only in the last few years that a surge in Vietnam-grown coffee purveyors have thrust their beans into the limelight. Marberry is not the only one in Oregon selling coffee from Vietnam, as other coffee companies such as Portland Ca Phe also offer Vietnam-grown coffee. Heart of Arabica The gas coffee roaster at Bon Mua, which roasts its label and sister label Salem Coffee Roasters. Vietnam is most well known for the growth of Robusta beans, which make up a majority of coffee grown in the country. Arabica is also grown, but specifically in the highlands. The Arabica bean is mild with low acidity. The flavor profile is primarily nutty, with some caramelized notes, but generally soft on the palette. The coffee is smooth and not as bitter. In addition to sourcing the organic coffee beans from farms along Vietnam's central highlands, beans also come from the southwestern provinces and Marberry and Nguyen work directly with the farmers. The beans sourced are all organic and certified Fairtrade. In addition to coffee, Bon Mua also sells peppercorns. The peppercorns are grown among the coffee trees. Its leaves create additional shade for the coffee beans. The peppercorn growth also acts as a natural pesticide to bugs, and is better than fertilizers for their operation. "I think every farmer deserves a better life," Marberry said. "I'm grateful for my father who grew the coffee before, and the other farmers he connected with to be able to support now." As part of giving back, Marberry established the Bon Mua Oregon Scholarship Foundation. A percentage of all profits go toward the fund. It has gone to various community, school and philanthropic nonprofits and causes. Marberry and her primary team of seven work from Salem to Seattle. As the operation is primarily direct-to-consumer and direct-to-store, you can purchase the coffee online or in natural grocery chains. A coffee for Salem The various coffee bean roasts under Bon Mua and sister label Salem Coffee Roaster. Just as Bon Mua was coming off celebrating five years in business, Marberry said she was inspired to seek out other farmers and share their stories. "I acknowledge that there are other farmers that have not been heard or able to share their stories, and I have the opportunity to lift up other lives of coffee growers like my father," Marberry said. "I want to share their coffee growing experience, especially with the Salem community, and invest into the (coffee growers) from Africa and South America like we have in Vietnam." Salem Coffee Roaster was born to highlight the "beauty of the Willamette Valley," Marberry said, as each blend of beans is named after various Salem neighborhoods. The beans are certified organic and Fairtrade. Marberry said she's grateful for the support of her small team and the folks around Salem, Portland and beyond for being able to showcase Vietnamese coffee. The North Salem space is open for scheduled coffee tastings, and appointments can be made by calling 503-881-9225. To inquire or get more info, check out the website, bonmuaoregon.com. Address: 1793 Silverton Road, Suite 130 If you have an idea for someone we should profile for this series, please email Statesman Journal senior news editor Alia Beard Rau at arau@gannett.com Em Chan covers food and dining at the Statesman Journal. You can reach her at echan@gannett.com, follow her on Twitter @catchuptoemily or see what she's eating on Instagram @sikfanmai.ah. This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Lan Marberry showcases Vietnamese coffee in Salem and beyond Men in Russia to be registered for military service without appearing in military registration and enlistment office The Ministry of Defense of Russia submitted a draft resolution according to which military registration will be carried out without a personal appearance of citizens in the military registration and enlistment office. Source: Novaya Gazeta. Europe with reference to the document published on the portal of draft regulatory legal acts Details: The existing provision on military registration will be supplemented by the following lines: "Taking on military registration, removing from military registration and amending the documents of military registration of citizens obliged to be on military registration can be carried out without a personal appearance of the citizens to the military commissariat". According to the draft resolution, military registration will take place on the basis of data contained in the "state information resource, other state information systems and information resources". Notifications of military registration, as well as amendments to military registration documents, will be received on the Gosuslugi (State Services) portal. At the same time, measures for medical examination, tests and professional psychological selection will still take place in person, during the appearance of citizens in the military enlistment office. Notifications about the need to come to the military enlistment office for such procedures will be sent out in the form of summons. They will be sent through the Subpoena Register. The summons will be considered automatically served seven days after appearing in the register. In case of the citizens non-appearance 20 days after the delivery of the summons, restrictions will be imposed on them, similar to those provided for by the law on electronic summons. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! The chief diversity officer of the nations oldest state-supported military college, Virginia Military Institute, has turned in her resignation amid a debate among alumni over the schools diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Jamica Love took on the new role in July 2021 a month after a state-sanctioned report found VMI failed to address institutional racism and sexism and must be held accountable for making changes. Loves resignation was announced Thursday by VMIs first Black superintendent, retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins, and was first reported by The Washington Post. Love, who is the only Black woman to report to VMIs superintendent, declined to comment in an email to The Associated Press Friday. Shah Rahman, a 1997 VMI graduate, told the AP that Love was an asset to the school and that her leaving is a terrible thing. Loves hiring has been part of recent diversity efforts at the school, which was founded in Lexington in 1839 and carries the prestige of educating the likes of Gen. George Patton. VMI didnt accept African Americans until 1968 or accept women until after a 1996 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Almost quarter of the schools cadets are now people of color, while 14% are women. The report released in 2021 said racial slurs and jokes are not uncommon at VMI and contributed to an atmosphere of hostility toward minorities. Although VMI has no explicitly racist or sexist policies that it enforces, the facts reflect an overall racist and sexist culture, the report stated. Recent diversity efforts have included the removal of a prominent statue of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson, who taught at VMI, as well as the implementation of diversity training sessions. Some in the alumni community have called the efforts woke or on par with critical race theory. But others have said they are crucial for training cadets for the real world and are aligned with the U.S. militarys goals. The schools Office of Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion will continue to exist despite Loves departure, VMIs spokesman Bill Wyatt said in an email Friday. Superintendent Wins is still committed to preparing cadets for the world, Wyatt said. This includes preparing them to be leaders of a diverse military or civilian workforce. But the efforts have been criticized by some alumni, particularly by a political action committee called The Spirt of VMI. A March blog post on its site said diversity, equity and inclusion efforts sow division, destruction and discord and are designed to cow Americans into agreeing with the fundamental premise that white people are inherently and irredeemably racist. Matt Daniel, a 1985 graduate who helped form the group, told The Associated Press Friday that VMIs diversity training for cadets initially promoted racial division and victimhood. Daniel said the training became less divisive earlier this year and began to focus more on social problems that cadets may encounter in the military or in the business world. This spring, VMI changed the name of the office that Love ran from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion to match the title of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkins diversity office in Richmond, The Washington Post reported. Youngkins chief diversity officer, Martin Brown, also visited VMIs campus in April to lead mandatory staff and faculty training, during which Brown said DEI is dead, the Post reported. Rahman, the 1997 VMI graduate, worries the school could become out of synch with the U.S. military if it strays from its diversity goals. VMI has said over the years that its one of the highest producers of minority commissioned officers. The Department of Defense, from everything Ive been observing, is 100% committed to DEI, Rahman said. And day by day, it looks like VMI is going in the other direction. A resident of the Iowa apartment building that partially collapsed last weekend was found dead, officials confirmed on Sunday. A spokesperson for the city of Davenport, where the building is located, identified the person as Branden Colvin in a statement to CBS News. Two residents of the apartment complex remain unaccounted for, even as search and rescue crews continued to work overnight from Saturday into Sunday, the city said in a separate statement, which noted that they are "focusing on the material pile and removing material from the scene." Branden Colvin is seen in a photo provided by police in Davenport, Iowa. It has been one week since a section of the six-story apartment building in Davenport collapsed on May 28. The disaster injured at least nine people and displaced countless residents and business owners. Colvin is the first confirmed death in connection with the collapse. As search operations got underway, officials in Davenport said last week that five people were missing in the aftermath of the collapse, with two likely in the wreckage and feared dead. Davenport Police Chief Jeff Bladel revised the number of missing residents to three on Thursday, saying at a news conference that two of the people originally thought to be unaccounted for had been contacted by the city and confirmed to be safe. One of them had moved to Texas and another was found locally, according to the police chief. At the time, authorities confirmed the names of the three people who had not yet been found. In addition to Colvin, 42, the missing were identified as 51-year-old Ryan Hitchcock and 60-year-old Daniel Prien. Police asked the public last week for any information about the three men and said there was a "high probability" each was at home when part of the building fell. People view a six-story apartment building after it collapsed yesterday on May 29, 2023 in Davenport, Iowa. / Credit: Getty Images Recovery efforts have been complex. The building, which was constructed over 100 years ago, "is in imminent danger of collapse," structural engineer Larry Sandhaas warned several days into the operation, saying that search efforts should be carried out carefully. The pile of debris left after the collapse was at that point supporting the rest of the structure, he said, making attempts to search through the wreckage especially challenging and precarious. Davenport Mayor Mike Matson told reporters at the time that recovery operations would continue despite the risk to responders, recounting situations where they had already completed rescues under particularly difficult circumstances. In one instance, Matson said a doctor performed trauma surgery on a survivor while still inside the building because the person had been found in an "unbelievably dangerous" spot. A demolition order at first called for what remained of the apartment building to be taken down last Tuesday in hopes of protecting the surrounding area. But, as people gathered in front of the structure to protest the demolition, one resident, 52-year-old Lisa Brooks, poked her head out of a fourth-floor window on Monday, almost 24 hours after the collapse. Brooks' family members said she had hidden under her couch when she heard the collapse happening and then fell unconscious, reportedly from an apparent natural gas leak. With her rescue, it was noted that search crews did not find Brooks during multiple prior surveys of the building. On Tuesday morning, when the demolition was set to begin, Davenport Chief Strategy Officer for Administration Sarah Ott issued a statement saying that taking down the rest of the apartment building would be "a multi-phase process that includes permitting and staging of equipment" beginning that day. Ott said the timing of the physical demolition was still being evaluated. "Great Resignation" is over -- here's what that means for U.S. economy Trump's legal team visits Justice Department for just under two hours Directors Guild, Hollywood studios reach tentative deal amid writers strike Mississippi trans teen finally gets to walk across stage in her graduation dress and heels A transgender teen who skipped her Mississippi Coast high school graduation over the schools dress code got to walk across a stage in her cap and gown after all. The Harrison Central High graduate, identified as L.B., sued the Harrison County School District after being told shortly before graduation she would have to adhere to the boys graduation dress code policy. L.B., who is 17, has identified as trans and has worn girls clothing and dresses to school for her entire high school career. In an eleventh-hour decision one day before Harrison Centrals graduation, a federal judge ruled that L.B. would have to abide by the schools dress code if she wanted to participate in the ceremony. Judge Taylor McNeels decision made national headlines. He explained his ruling at length and acknowledged it would have a deep impact on L.B. and her family. There was no dress code, however, at Point Cadet Plaza in Biloxi Saturday. And that afternoon, L.B. wore the dress and heels she and her mother picked out and walked across the 2023 Pride Day stage. Born This Way by Lady Gaga played through the pavilion and the crowd went wild, emcee Catastrophe Nicole Knight told the Sun Herald. L.B., a transgender teen who recently graduated from Harrison Central High School in Gulfport, walked across the 2023 Pride Day stage on Saturday, June 3, 2023. L.B. skipped her schools graduation ceremony in May because she was not allowed to wear a dress and heels. Catastrophe, a Mississippi Coast drag queen who grew up in Hancock County, said it was important for L.B. to have that moment surrounded by people who loved her for who she is. We are not defined by our genetic makeup, we are defined by our character and charisma, Catastrophe said. L.B. defies the odds by being who she is authentically and unapologetically. Pride Day, a family-friendly event, is hosted by the Gulf Coast Association of Pride and features drag shows, arts and crafts, vendors, free HIV testing and more. More than 2,000 attended this years festival, GCAP president Walter Pitts told the Sun Herald. The GCAP invited L.B. to participate in the special ceremony. GCAP wanted her to have her moment that she deserved without any judgment in front of people that understand her, Catastrophe said. A mother and her baby daughter were found shot to death in Franklin, New Hampshire Saturday. Officials deemed the girls father as the suspect in the case, hours before he was found dead on the bank of the Merrimack River. First responders arrived just after noon to find Nicole Hughes and her infant daughter, Ariella Bell, deceased from apparent gunshot wounds in their Elkins Street home. Hughes other child, a five-year-old girl, was also shot in the arm. She was transported to a Massachusetts hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Jamie Bell, the girls father, was identified as a suspect. Bell, who lived in the home with the deceased, was found dead on the banks of the Merrimack River around 5:30 p.m. Officials say the cause of death appears to be a self-inflicted cut to his neck. Person of interest in suspicious deaths in Franklin, NH found dead, AGs office says The five-year-old girl that suffered non-life-threatening wounds is from Hughes prior relationship. The investigation into the homicide is ongoing. Autopsies for the deceased are scheduled for Sunday, June 4. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW (Bloomberg) -- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday that Sweden has fulfilled its obligations to Turkey to bolster its counter-terrorism laws, which should clear its path for membership in the alliance. Most Read from Bloomberg After meeting with newly re-elected Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Stoltenberg was asked if Sweden could still admitted before the alliances mid-July summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Theres still time to make that happen, he told reporters. The joint mechanism for Sweden, Finland and Turkey to discuss cooperation between the three countries will reconvene the week of June 12, he said. I look forward to finalizing Swedens accession as soon as possible. he added. Finland joined the alliance in April even though the two Nordic countries had initially agreed to work on the accession process in lock-step. Turkey has demanded Sweden take extra steps to crack down on the activity of Kurdish groups in their country, and has bristled at anti-Turkey protests held there. Read more: Sweden Pins NATO Ambitions on Terror Law to Sway Erdogan On Sunday, hundreds of people, many of whom were flying flags of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, gathered in central Stockholm for a demonstration against Swedish NATO membership. The display comes after Erdogans spokesperson, Fahrettin Altun, earlier this week demanded that Sweden should stop PKK members from demonstrating. Public opinion in Sweden shifted rapidly in favor of joining NATO after Russias full-scale invasion, with 64% backing membership last fall, up from 29% a year earlier, according to an annual poll by the University of Gothenburg. (Updates with details of protest in final two paragraphs) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. The trip comes as pressure builds on Erdogan to greenlight Sweden's NATO memberhsip NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday called on Ankara to drop its opposition to Sweden's bid to join the US-led defence alliance, hoping Stockholm's accession would be finalised "as soon as possible". Pressure is building on Erdogan to greenlight Sweden's NATO membership ahead of a summit planned for July in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. "Membership will make Sweden safer but also make NATO and Turkey stronger," Stoltenberg told journalists after meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and newly appointed foreign minister Hakan Fidan, who was head of the intelligence agency, in Istanbul. "I look forward to finalising Sweden's accession as soon as possible," he said. On Saturday Stoltenberg attended the inauguration of Erdogan, who was re-elected to serve another five years, in a lavish ceremony joined by dozens of world leaders in the capital Ankara. NATO member Turkey has dragged its feet over admitting Sweden to the military alliance. It and Hungary are the only two NATO countries yet to ratify the membership bid. Sweden and Finland dropped decades of military non-alignment and applied to join the alliance in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Finland formally joined NATO in April. - Anti-Turkey protests - Erdogan has accused Sweden of being a haven for "terrorists", especially members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group blacklisted by Turkey and its Western allies. "Sweden has taken significant concrete steps to meet Turkey's concerns," Stoltenberg said. "This includes amending the Swedish constitution, ending arms embargo, stepping up counter-terrorism operations including against the PKK," he said. "Sweden has fulfilled its obligations." Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom also said Stockholm had fulfilled "all the commitments" to join NATO and urged Turkey and Hungary to allow his country into the alliance. Ankara is especially displeased with anti-Turkey and anti-Erdogan protests in Stockholm. Swedish authorities allowed a "No to NATO, No Erdogan Laws in Sweden" demonstration to go ahead in the city centre on Sunday. "Freedom of assembly and expression are core values in democratic societies. But we should remember why these are taking place," Stoltenberg said. "Organisers of these demonstrations want to block Sweden's accession to NATO and undermine its collaboration with Turkey against terrorism and weaken NATO," he added. "We should not allow them to succeed." Stoltenberg said a joint working group established between Turkey, Sweden and Finland at the alliance's summit in Madrid last year would meet in the week of June 12, without providing a location. He also thanked Turkey for deploying additional forces to the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo (KFOR). More than 80 people, including 30 peacekeepers, were injured in a north Kosovo town on Monday when NATO-led KFOR troops clashed with ethnic Serb protesters who threw rocks, bottles and Molotov cocktails. In Istanbul, Stoltenberg condemned "unprovoked attacks" against KFOR troops and said: "KFOR and NATO will take all necessary actions to maintain safe and secure environment for all citizens in Kosovo." fo/lcm Nearly 80 girls in Afghanistan poisoned at schools, hospitalized, education official says Nearly 80 girls in Afghanistan poisoned at schools, hospitalized, education official says Nearly 80 young girls in Afghanistan were poisoned in two separate attacks over the weekend, according to a local education official. The attacks were said to have taken place in the northern Sar-e-Pul province over Saturday and Sunday. Mohammad Rahmani, who heads the provincial education department, told The Associated Press that female students, in grades 1 through 6, were poisoned in Sangcharak district. He said 60 students were poisoned in Naswan-e-Kabod Aab School and 17 others were poisoned in Naswan-e-Faizabad School "Both primary schools are near to each other and were targeted one after the other," he told The Associated Press. "We shifted the students to hospital and now they are all fine." AFGHANISTAN DOCUMENT SHOW BIDEN DIDNT HEED' WARNINGS AHEAD OF WITHDRAWL, REP. MCCAUL SAYS The department's investigation is ongoing and initial inquiries show that someone with a grudge paid a third party to carry out the attacks, Rahmani said, without elaborating. He gave no information on how the girls were poisoned or the nature of their injuries. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP It is thought to be the first time this kind of assault has happened since the Taliban swept to power in August 2021 and began their crackdown on the rights and freedoms of Afghan women and girls. Girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade, including university, and women are barred from most jobs and public spaces. The attack has recalled a wave of poisonings in neighboring Iran targeting school-age girls, dating back to November. Thousands of students said they were sickened by noxious fumes in the incidents. But there has been no word on who might be behind the incidents or what if any chemicals have been used. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 'When I found him in that state, my heart did not let me leave him there,' Gelje Sherpa told AFP A Nepali guide abandoned his client's Everest summit bid to rescue a Malaysian climber in a deadly mountaineering season that has seen at least twelve deaths. Gelje Sherpa was guiding a Chinese client to the 8,849-metre (29,032-feet) peak and planned to assist him to paraglide down. Instead, only a few hundred metres from the summit, they came across a lone man clinging to a rope and shivering in the area known as the "death zone". The area above 8,000 metres has earned its name because of its thin air, freezing temperatures and low oxygen levels that heighten the risk of altitude sickness. It is also notorious for its difficult terrain. "When I found him in that state, my heart did not let me leave him there," Sherpa told AFP. Many other climbers had walked past the man that day, but he declined to criticise them. "It is a place where you have to think of your survival first," he said. Sherpa told his client -- who will have paid at least $45,000 to attempt Everest, including a permit fee of $11,000 -- to return without a summit. "When I decided to go down, my client did not agree at first. Of course, he was there after spending a lot of money, it must have been his dream for years and he had to find time to come here to climb. "He got angry and said he wanted to go to the summit. "I had to scold him and tell him that he has to descend because he was my responsibility and I couldn't send him to the summit on his own. He got upset." He explained that he wanted to take the sick man down the mountain. "Then he realised that by 'rescue' I meant that I wanted to save him. He understood and then he apologised later." - 'You saved my life' - Sherpa, 30, fitted the ailing climber with his supplemental oxygen supply, improving some of his symptoms, but he was still unable to walk. The rocky uneven terrain meant that Sherpa, who is about 1.6 metres tall (five feet and three inches) and weighs 55 kilograms, had to carry the Malaysian in some sections. "It is a very difficult task to carry someone and bring them down from there. But some sections are very rocky, I couldn't drag him," said Sherpa. "If I did that, he could have broken his bones, he was already not doing well." Sherpa hauled the man down nearly 700 metres for almost six hours to Camp 4 by himself. "I've been a part of many search and rescue missions, but this was very challenging," he said. Joined by another guide, the pair wrapped the climber in sleeping mats and secured him with ropes, dragging him on snowy slopes and carrying him on their backs when necessary. Finally, they arrived at Camp 3 at 7,162 metres (23,500 feet) and a helicopter using a long line lifted the stricken climber down to the base camp. Sherpa was not able to meet the Malaysian climber again but received a message thanking him. "He wrote me 'You saved my life, you are god to me'," Sherpa said. Nepali guides, usually ethnic Sherpas from the valleys around Everest, are considered the backbone of the climbing industry and bear huge risks to carry equipment and food, fix ropes and repair ladders. Sherpa's video of the rescue two weeks ago has been liked on his Instagram more than 35,000 times and shared widely over social media, many applauding his selfless decision. "As a guide you feel a sense of responsibility for others on the mountain and you have to make tough decisions," said Ang Norbu Sherpa, president of Nepal National Mountain Guide Association. "What he has done is commendable." Nepal issued a record 478 permits for Everest to foreign climbers this season and about 600 climbers and guides reached the top. Twelve climbers have been confirmed dead, and five more are still missing. Gelje Sherpa has reached the world's highest point six times and did not regret his decision to turn back that day. "People just focus on the summit, but everyone can do that," he said. "To bring someone from higher than 8,000 metres is a lot more difficult than to summit." pm/slb/aha Theres less of the live-and-let-live attitude: Our tolerance for noise is hanging by a thread (iStock) The slow, rhythmic thud of the flat upstairs washing machine. A dog barking over and over again. The bassline of someone elses speakers. Are you feeling stressed yet? Noise can be subjective it is broadly defined as an unwanted form of sound, and that inevitably differs from person to person. To use the aforementioned dog as an example: one persons endearingly vocal pet is anothers intolerably howling hound. Collectively, though, it seems our tolerance for noise is hanging by a thread. According to the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, noise is the single biggest cause for complaints made to local authorities in the UK; in a survey released in 2022, they found that noise complaints increased by 54 per cent in England between 2019-20 and 2020-21. Objections were particularly prominent in Greater London, where 508 complaints were recorded for every 10,000 people, more than three times the national average. Separate data compiled in 2022 by Churchill Home Insurance found that almost 450,000 noise complaints had been made to councils over the previous financial year, marking an increase of nearly 70,000 over two years. Noise is an issue that cant be dismissed as rows between curtain-twitchers its a matter of public health. It has been shown very clearly and unequivocally that noise has a terrible effect on human health and wellbeing, says Dr Finnur Pind, acoustics engineer and co-founder of Treble, an Icelandic company that develops sound-simulation technology. The World Health Organisation says that noise is the second most harmful environmental factor affecting human health, after bad air quality. A spate of studies has linked exposure to excessive noise to mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Could our present preoccupation with noise be rooted in the changes wrought by the pandemic? All of a sudden, the noise of the world is almost switched off, Pind says. Soundscapes did change dramatically towards the beginning of the first lockdown, agrees Dr Neil Bruce, senior lecturer in sound design at Manchester Metropolitan Universitys School of Digital Arts. Planes and transportation noise dropped off significantly, he notes. One study found that environmental noise in London dropped by an average of 5.4 decibels in spring 2020 versus the previous year. For some of us, that meant getting used to the eerie quiet. We were suddenly able to listen a bit more, Bruce says. Because were so busy usually, sound is something we dont often pay much heed to Lockdown did seem to then bring that a bit more to the fore. For others, it meant more time at home to fixate on new noises that punctuated this quiet, often occasioned by pandemic-imposed lifestyle shifts. I think the thing that made us perhaps more sensitive to noise, that changed our attitude, was that our homes were really required for studious work, says Louise Beamish, vice chair of the Association of Noise Consultants and director of acoustics at WSP. This repurposing of our home spaces came at the same point that young kids started to be homeschooled, your DIY-loving neighbour was placed on furlough and everyone seemed to get a dog. Sounds that might have previously seemed innocuous, or part of the fabric of life, became irritants; stuck inside, we couldnt flee them. Having to stay indoors [and] changing the way we work did have an impact, because there was no escape, adds Somayya Yaqub, a member of the CIEHs environmental protection advisory panel and head of corporate health and safety for the London Borough of Ealing. There were complaints about matters that we [as environmental health officers] cant actually do anything about Thats living noise whereas before, youve not ever had your neighbour at home, and youre not there either, so it didnt matter. We have an expectation of how certain places should sound, and when things do not sound as expected, that is when we become annoyed Dr Neil Bruce This leap in complaints, she suggests, might be tied into the slow erosion of community many of us dont know our neighbours, so perhaps it felt easier to passive-aggressively fill out a noise complaints form than to pop round and have a chat. Many streets will be filled with residents on short-term rental contracts, so theyre not interested in building that relationship with a neighbour. Environmental health manager Paul McCullough, Yaqubs fellow advisory panel member, agrees. Theres less of the live and let live attitude between neighbours, he says. People tend not to know their neighbours as much now, whereas things would have been resolved with a quick word in years gone by. As life slowly started to return to normal, so did the noise levels, but our attitudes havent necessarily bounced back to pre-pandemic levels of give-and-take. Bruce says that the idea of expectation is a significant one when it comes to how we relate to sounds. We have an expectation of how certain places should sound, and when things do not sound as expected, that is when we become annoyed, he explains. I think thats one of the issues with some of the things were seeing around noise complaints in city centres. Our fixation on noise is indeed reaching beyond the home. If people moved to a usually bustling area during a period of intense quiet, they will have a different (perhaps even unrealistic) expectation of what constitutes normal noise levels. Pubs, clubs and music venues, which went dark for extended periods during the pandemic, are now feeling the brunt of this. Earlier this year, Night Time Industries Association chief executive Michael Kill told hospitality trade title The Morning Advertiser that noise complaints have been recently exacerbated by residents who experienced lower levels of noise during the pandemic, due to the closure of night-time businesses. Were definitely seeing an increase in the number of venues coming to us with issues to do with noise complaints, says Clara Cullen, venue support manager for the Music Venue Trust. She runs the charitys emergency response service, which helps support grassroots music venues when they are threatened by noise complaints or other legal action. In June 2022, we had five cases to do with noise. Coming [up] to June 2023, well have 12 cases. Not huge numbers, perhaps (the MVT, Cullen notes, relies on venues getting in touch with them; other businesses might be facing these cases on their own), but certainly a significant increase. Anecdotally, she says, in most cases we see, the venues do predate the newer residential accommodation being built in the area. Theres a little bit of a vicious cycle you move to these areas, that creates more residential buildings which circles back around to noise (iStock) One headline-grabbing example is Manchesters Night & Day Cafe. The venue, which has hosted performances by the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Johnny Marr and Ed Sheeran was served a noise abatement order back in November 2021; the complainant had moved into an adjacent flat during lockdown. It appealed the order, and in March the hearing was adjourned until later this year. The agent of change principle was introduced to the UK in 2018, and places the responsibility for mitigating noise from pre-existing activities or businesses on a proposed new development. Apart from in Scotland, though, this is part of planning policy its not legislation, its not law, Cullen explains. And it doesnt just fit neatly within the entire legislative picture, adds McCullough. Unfortunately, that conflicts with the statutory noise-nuisance legislation. So the two things dont work together You cant turn around and say, your property was built after the club was already here, therefore you cant complain. The job of an environmental health officer, he says, is to work between the two parties youve got responsibilities both to the business operator but also to the resident. Often they hope to reach agreement informally; if not, legal action can be costly for night-time businesses that are already operating in financially straitened times. Councils are feeling the pinch too, with less budget available for specialist environmental staff, whose workload has shot up (the CIEHs noise survey found that the workload for environmental health officers across England more than doubled between 2019-20 and 2020-21). There were complaints about matters that we [as environmental health officers] cant actually do anything about thats living noise' (iStock) The pandemic may have intensified the situation, but our complex relationship with noise is rooted in deeper, structural issues too, like where and how were building houses. There is a tension how do we do town planning well, that accommodates the need for residential accommodation but also culture? Cullen asks. Obviously there [are] lots of places in the UK that people want to move to because of the cultural vibrancy. Theres a little bit of a vicious cycle you move to these areas, that creates more residential buildings which circles back around to noise. Many of us live in accommodation that is built to meet certain noise specifications, but that is the minimum specification, as Bruce notes. Mitigating noise, he adds, is expensive in terms of building costs, and can also encroach into internal spaces (its a toss up would you rather a noisier flat or a smaller one?) Can we ever reach a balance, where we dont have to live in a bland soundscape, as Bruce puts it, but we can switch off in our homes too? Pind says that, increasingly, sound is no longer just an afterthought, and is being considered in the early design stages of developments; his company has developed VR software that allows us to hear how a new building will sound before it has been built, thus eliminating some of the guesswork. At the planning stage, there is quite a movement in our industry to better the standards for transfer of sound between dwellings, Beamish says, because that [regulation is currently] seen by a lot of people as being quite inadequate and not protecting the residents as well as it could. So perhaps the big question we have to grapple with is how we want our neighbourhoods to feel, and the compromises were willing to collectively make. Cities and bigger towns, Cullen notes, arent quiet places And obviously peoples lives and priorities have changed as well. Life, she adds, isnt silent. Top officials in North Carolina are dismissing claims of a crisis in the financial industry, but they say challenges must be addressed. Katherine Bosken, North Carolina Commissioner of Banks, and state Treasurer Dale Folwell spoke Wednesday during the State Banking Commission meeting in Raleigh. They said that prior to the recent bank failures, the challenges in the industry were already numerous. ALSO READ: First Citizens acquires troubled Silicon Valley Bank Boskens office has identified multiple risks and issues, from fintech competition to cryptocurrencies to a dearth of new banks. While those line items are still there, scrutiny of concentrations on both sides of the balance sheet is front and center, as are capital levels and how to address modern bank runs, she said. Read the full story here. (WATCH BELOW: What the failures of Signature, Silicon Valley banks mean for you) North Ga. man charged with trafficking fentanyl while on probation for other drug charges A north Georgia man is facing more drug charges after deputies found fentanyl in his car. Gordon County deputies pulled over Zachary Lusk, 43, on Brownlee Mountain Road last week after describing his car as suspicious. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] They say Lusk violently resisted arrest and then sped off in the car, beginning a brief chase with deputies. After deputies used a PIT maneuver to stop his car, Lusk was taken into custody. TRENDING STORIES: Investigators found drugs and drug paraphernalia in his car. He was charged with trafficking fentanyl, DUI, fleeing from officers and other traffic offenses. They say court records show 2018 convictions for other drug offenses and obstructing law enforcement. He was on probation for those convictions. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: FILE - Kim Yo Jong attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, on March 2, 2019. The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed again Sunday, June 4, 2023, to push for a second attempt to launch a spy satellite as she lambasted a U.N. Security Council meeting over the Norths first, failed launch. (Jorge Silva/Pool Photo via AP, File) SEOUL, South Korea (AP) The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed again Sunday to push for a second attempt to launch a spy satellite as she lambasted a U.N. Security Council meeting over the Norths first, failed launch. The Norths attempt to put its first military spy satellite into orbit last Wednesday failed as its rocket crashed off the Korean Peninsulas western coast. An emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council was still convened at the request of the U.S., Japan and other countries to discuss the launch because it had violated council resolutions banning the North from performing any launch using ballistic technology. On Sunday, Kims sister and senior ruling party official, Kim Yo Jong, called the U.N. council a political appendage of the United States, saying its recent meeting was convened following America's gangster-like request. She accused the U.N. council of being discriminative and rude because it only takes issue with the Norths satellite launches while thousands of satellites launched by other countries are already operating in space. She said her countrys attempt to acquire a spy satellite is a legitimate step to respond to military threats posed by the U.S. and its allies. (North Korea) will continue to take proactive measures to exercise all the lawful rights of a sovereign state, including the one to a military reconnaissance satellite launch, Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media. In her earlier statement Friday, Kim Yo Jong said the Norths spy satellite will be correctly put on space orbit in the near future" but didn't say when its second launch attempt would take place. South Koreas spy agency told lawmakers Wednesday it will likely take more than several weeks for North Korea to learn the cause of the failed launch but it may attempt a second launch soon if defects arent serious. Washington, Seoul and others criticized the Norths satellite launch for raising international tensions and urged it to return to talks. A military surveillance satellite is among a list of sophisticated weapons systems that Kim Jong Un has vowed to acquire amid protracted security tensions with the United States. Since the start of 2022, Kim has carried out more than 100 missile tests in what he called a warning over expanded military drills between the U.S. and South Korea. Experts say Kim would want to use his modernized weapons arsenal to wrest concessions from Washington and its partners in future diplomacy. North Korea was slapped with rounds of U.N. sanctions over its past nuclear and missile tests and satellite launches. But the U.N. Security Council failed to toughen those sanctions over North Koreas recent testing activities because China and Russia, both permanent members of the U.N. council, blocked the U.S. and others attempts to do so. During the latest U.N. council session Friday, China and Russia again clashed with the U.S. over the Norths failed launch. After repeated failures, North Korea placed Earth-observation satellites into orbit in 2012 and 2016, but foreign experts say there is no evidence that either satellite transmitted imagery and other data. Also Sunday, North Korea threatened not to notify the International Maritime Organization of future satellite launches in advance to protest the group's condemnation of North Korean missile tests. The IMO's maritime safety committee on Wednesday adopted a rare resolution denouncing North Korea for conducting launches without proper notification that seriously threatened the safety of seafarers and international shipping. Kim Myong Chol, an international affairs analyst in North Korea, said in a statement carried by state media: In the future, IMO should know and take measures by itself over the period of (North Koreas) satellite launch and the impact point of its carrier and be prepared to take full responsibility for all the consequences from it. Ahead of its recent spy satellite launch, North Korea told the IMO and Japan that a launch would occur between May 31 and June 11. It is not the anti-woke movement that is winning in Florida, it is inhumanity As a civil rights attorney, I must admit that, in my goal of making Florida a less corrupt, more tolerant place to live, I have failed. Gov. DeSantis turned out to be exactly the kind of governor I expected him to be based on the dog-whistling seen during his campaign. He has not even tried to hide the fact that he plans to use the power of the government to get elected to higher office by scoring "wins" for his, conservative team, and by appealing to his base's base emotions. It is not the anti-woke movement, whatever that means, that is winning in Florida; it is inhumanity. Because of the war in Ukraine, as an immigrant from that country, I am watching closely what is happening in Russia, and, unfortunately, seeing the same thing happening here in Tallahassee. Florida currently ranks as the 46th state in U.S. News' rankings in economic opportunity. While DeSantis's rich donors are getting richer from the economic growth that Florida and the entire United States is experiencing, most DeSantis supporters lives are not improving. Similarly, while billions in taxpayer dollars is being stolen by Putin, many people in Russia support him because they are seeing the war in Ukraine as a territorial win. Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed for new, "Stop Woke" restrictions on how race is discussed in schools, universities and workplaces. Has DeSantis or other Republican legislators been in an actual classroom? Have they asked any teachers what their actual problems are? Evidently not, based on the kind of legislation regarding schools that is being passed, legislation which prioritizes obscure gender issues over real problems, such as the severe teacher and staff shortage. In fact, "the war on the woke" has only exacerbated these real issues. Princeton's Gerrymandering Project has given Florida's 2022 State House Congressional map an "F", finding that the state has been gerrymandered to significant Republican advantage. Gerrymandering is an anti-democratic process of drawing district lines in such a way as to favor the party currently in power. Having come to power in this anti-democratic way, Republicans are now capitalizing on their political advantage by passing vague, scary, anti-democratic laws that appeal to their base. These same laws are also targeting vulnerable minorities: gays, transgender people, illegal immigrants, poor people with criminal records, and putting Floridians in legal jeopardy for doing things they have a legal right to do. Laws are being so vaguely written that anyone can be charged just for associating with some of the people being targeted. As people, our most rewarding, most important experiences come from associating with others. It is all of our right of association that is being taken away by legislation that has made it illegal to invite someone who turns out to be undocumented to ones house or car. Our teachers' right to free speech is being infringed upon by laws making it illegal for them to mention homosexuality in a school. Al Sharpton and Rev. RB Holmes participated in the National Action Network demonstration in response to Gov. Ron DeSantis's efforts to minimize diverse education. The hundreds of activists chanted and carried signs while making their way from Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Tallahassee, Florida to the Capitol building Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. Al Sharpton was the keynote speaker at the rally on the steps of the Senate portico. Florida has refused to recognize transgender people's decision to transition to another gender, and made it a misdemeanor for them to, basically, be who they are, and to use the restroom corresponding to the gender they transitioned to. This puts schools, prisons, and hospitals in an awkward position of having to ensure compliance with these laws, making the very existence and presence of transgender people a problem for everyone around them. People with felony convictions who have had their right to vote restored are having that right taken away from them by new laws subjecting them to felony criminal prosecution simply for being mistaken or misled as to their eligibility, even if they were misled by the same agencies that are then arresting them.This is making a mockery of the people of Florida's decision to re-enfranchise convicted felons. Russia is also using vaguely written laws that target political opponents, and, simultaneously, discriminating against minorities. Russia's government can now criminally prosecute anyone who speaks out against the war under vaguely written laws against "discrediting the Russian army." Ethnic Ukrainians, gays, people who engage in political or organizational activities are targeted by other vague laws, such as laws against "distributing gay propaganda," whatever that means. Using division, hate, and instituting anti-democratic reforms slowly is a well-known path to political power. Unfortunately, just as expected,is the governed people's abdication of their rights in response to the governments increasing authoritarianism. If rights are taken away slowly, people rationalize those changes, deciding that they dont empathize with the people being targeted, that the rights taken away are not important to them, or that they are somehow the beneficiaries of these changes. The worst thing about what is happening is not where we are, but where this is all going. With no political pushback, the descent into authoritarianism and fascism in Florida, and, maybe, the entire country, will continue. Elena Komsky Elena Komsky is a Tallahassee attorney practicing employment law. JOIN THE CONVERSATION Send letters to the editor (up to 200 words) or Your Turn columns (about 500 words) to letters@tallahassee.com. Please include your address for verification purposes only, and if you send a Your Turn, also include a photo and 1-2 line bio of yourself. You can also submit anonymous Zing!s at Tallahassee.com/Zing. Submissions are published on a space-available basis. All submissions may be edited for content, clarity and length, and may also be published by any part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: It is not the anti-woke movement that is winning in Florida, it is inhumanity This is a locator map for Afghanistan with its capital, Kabul. (AP Photo) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) Nearly 80 girls were poisoned and hospitalized in two separate attacks at their primary schools in northern Afghanistan, a local education official said Sunday. It is thought to be the first time this kind of assault has happened since the Taliban swept to power in August 2021 and began their crackdown on the rights and freedoms of Afghan women and girls. Girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade, including university, and women are barred from most jobs and public spaces. The education official said the person who orchestrated the poisoning had a personal grudge but did not elaborate. The attacks took place in Sar-e-Pul province over Saturday and Sunday. Nearly 80 female students were poisoned in Sangcharak district, said Mohammad Rahmani, who heads the provincial education department. He said 60 students were poisoned in Naswan-e-Kabod Aab School and 17 others were poisoned in Naswan-e-Faizabad School. Both primary schools are near to each other and were targeted one after the other, he told The Associated Press. We shifted the students to hospital and now they are all fine." The department's investigation is ongoing and initial inquiries show that someone with a grudge paid a third party to carry out the attacks, Rahmani said. He gave no information on how the girls were poisoned or the nature of their injuries. Rahmani did not give their ages but said they were in grades 1 to 6. Neighboring Iran has been rocked by a wave of poisonings, mostly in girls' schools, dating back to last November. Thousands of students said they were sickened by noxious fumes in the incidents. But there has been no word on who might be behind the incidents or what if any chemicals have been used. The emerald ash borer, which is killing off Ohios magnificent Ash trees, the insidious Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, the aromatic Garlic Mustard, and the voracious Bighead Carp were a few of the species that briefly took center stage recently when Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, spoke at the annual Edith Chase Symposium. David E. Dix Mertz described efforts to contain, if not eliminate, invasive species in Ohio that continue to threaten the biodiversity that naturalists believe is important for a healthy environment. Her presentation, free and open to the public, was held with about 100 in attendance at the glassed-in lecture hall on the ground floor of Kent States College of Architecture and Environmental Design. The symposium is sponsored by the Kent Environmental Council and the League of Women Voters. An attorney who served Ohio as first assistant attorney general before Gov. Mike DeWine named her to oversee the ODNR, Mertz showed a mastery of her subject. She used videos that showcased some of our states nature preserves, the Maumee River and Lake Erie to tell her listeners why fighting invasive species is important. Bighead carp, which came from East Asia, decimate food sources that other freshwater fish need to live. Coming up the Mississippi and entering the Ohio River, the carp, Mertz said, have been contained at Louisville, Kentucky, but there are fears that if they advance to the Muskingum River, they could keep going into the Cuyahoga River basin and eventually enter Lake Erie. Dams, water levees, and even electrical shocks are employed to keep them at bay, she said. Mertz showed videos of treatments for the Ash and Hemlock trees. The ODNR and private property owners are employing them to save these trees from destruction. She noted that local groups organize gatherings to go out and pull and dispose of garlic mustard in local parks. It spreads rapidly and can deny other plants the nutrition they need to survive. Asked about zebra mussels, Mertz said she believes they have been less damaging to the Great Lakes than feared. She also expressed optimism about containing the invasion into the Great Lakes by sea lampreys which attach themselves to freshwater fish and kill them by devouring their insides. Dr. Robert Heath, president of the Edith Chase Symposium Association, welcomed everyone and Deborah Barber, president of the League of Women Voters in Kent fielded questions. Edith Chase, who resided in Kent for more than 50 years, was Franklin Townships zoning inspector. Holding a Master of Science in chemistry, she was a founder of the Kent Environmental Council, and chaired the Coastal Resources Advisory Council for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recognized her work with the Waler B. Jones Memorial Award for Coastal Steward of the Year. Helping Malawi There are many themes in the lives of Dr. Tom and Ruth Nighswander who relocated to Alaska a half century ago, but one that stands out so clearly is altruism. They give of themselves and keep on giving. Graduates of Roosevelt and Kent State, the Nighswanders, like many Americans who came of age in the early 1960s, were inspired by President Kennedys appeal to idealism. Upon graduation from KSU, they joined the Peace Corps and were stationed in Malawi, a small sub-Saharan nation in Africa that is one of the worlds poorest countries. The experience changed their lives. Tom, who had intended to teach, came back to America determined to become a doctor. Kent State working with the Case Western Reserve Medical School helped him. Ruth, who had a masters degree in education, also went back to school and studied nursing obtaining a bachelors degree in the field. Having completed his MD at Case Western Reserve, Tom joined National Service Corps which took the Nighswanders to Alaska. Tom worked in the Public Health Service of Alaska, and sought to improve access to healthcare there. Ruth worked with Alaskan schools promoting health interventions including vaccinations. Tom formed the Telehealth Advisory Commission which morphed into the Alaska Health Network. They have returned to Malawi periodically helping set up a National Health system for that country as well as Malawi Childrens Village, a health network that serves orphans. For the last 23 years, they have visited Malawi nearly every year. In March they returned to Malawi and helped alleviate conditions brought on by a destructive cyclone. David E. Dix is a retired publisher of the Record-Courier. This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Ohio ODNR chief identifies perils of invasive species More than 100 people gathered on the corner of Fifth and Washington in downtown Olympia on Saturday, June 3, to celebrate the states first and possibly only the nations second crosswalks painted the colors of the transgender flag. Were making history, Mayor Cheryl Selby said. Were one of the first communities in the United States to have a trans crosswalk in their community. Several city officials joined the public around the crosswalks, including City Manager Jay Burney. He said the crosswalks serve as a visual reminder that embracing diversity and each other can create a more thriving world. But it means standing together for that goal for more than just Pride Month, he said. Mayor Selby said Olympia chose to honor the transgender flag at a time when the trans community has been specifically targeted with harmful legislation and an increase in hate crimes around the country. She said so far this year there have been 350 bills introduced that target trans and nonbinary people, which she said is double the previous years record. And people are looking at Washington for safe haven. Weve got to stand strong and hold fast to our values as a community heading into 2024 when theyre going to be putting human rights on the ballot, she said. She said its important that Olympia take a strong stand in making the trans community visible, and the crosswalks are just the first step. Capital City Pride president Natalie Coblentz said the completion of the crosswalks stands as a testament to the communitys resilience and unapologetic strength. We are here, we are fierce and were painting the town with our journeys, Coblentz said. Let the world see Olympia as a shining example of queer liberation; a place where love knows no bounds, and acceptance is our mantra. Tobi Hill-Meyer is the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program manager for Olympia. She shared a story about growing up in fear of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. She said 30 years ago when she was 9, there was a state vote on whether same-sex couples could be parents. It wasnt until years later that she found out her two moms wouldnt be affected by the legislation, but at the time it crushed her heart and inspired her to advocate for change. She said she later led a walkout at her middle school in protest of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Hill-Meyer said she now has a child of her own, and her family is fearful of traveling to states where its possible her daughter could be taken from her. She said Washington has been designated a safe state, and Olympia is one of few places with LGBTQ+ liaisons on the police staff. And people are moving from around the country to seek refuge here. But she said at the same time, there are people even in Washington who are fighting to take away trans rights. These crosswalks are a visible commitment by the community, and when they are backed up by action at the state and local level, it lets everyone know that the trans community is an important part of our city, and we will not allow hate to take control here, she said. City officials handed out fliers to event-goers to sign up for a survey on living, working and daily experiences in Olympia. It will be available June 14. According to the flier, anonymous answers will be collected to help guide the citys priorities. Sign up to have the flier texted to a phone number at www.truclusion.com/olympiatext. One of America's earliest school shooters wants to get a 'murder review hearing.' One of America's earliest school shooters wants to get a 'murder review hearing.' SALEM, Ore. Twenty-five years after Kip Kinkel murdered his parents, killed two students and wounded 25 others in one of the earliest U.S. high-school shootings, lawyers have filed a new petition with the Oregon Supreme Court. Kinkel opened fire at Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon, in May 1998, at a time when America was unaccustomed to seeing such hateful mass violence directed at a school. Historians consider it to be a predecessor of sorts to the oncoming era of mass shootings in the U.S., many of which occur in schools, supermarkets and malls. The Columbine High School massacre occurred about a year later. The night before the Thurston High School assault, Kinkel killed his parents, William and Faith Kinkel. His classmates, Ben Walker and Mikael Nicholauson, were fatally shot the next day at the school. Thaddeus Betz, director of the Youth Justice Project and Kinkel's attorney, in April filed the petition asking the state's highest court to grant Kinkel a "murder review hearing." Such a hearing would determine whether Kinkel is rehabilitated, or is capable of rehabilitation, which could impact how long he remains in prison. Betz also has taken Kinkel's case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing Kinkel was "denied the right under the Eight Amendment as interpreted in Miller [v. Alabama] to have his youth appropriately considered before the sentencing court imposed a sentence that guarantees he will die in prison," according to the brief. "Any time you think about his case, you have to remember that the context of his crime was a 15-year-old undiagnosed schizophrenic who didn't understand what mental illness was," Betz said. 'Constantly remembering: One year after a racist, murderous rampage at a Buffalo supermarket 25 years of legal battles, trauma Kip Kinkel is led into Marion County Courthouse in 2007. Attorneys representing Kinkel, now 40, have spent the past two decades appealing his sentence on the basis of constitutionality and Kinkel's mental health. Several post-conviction petitions and appeals in Oregon since 2002 have been ultimately denied. Court documents say Kinkel has schizophrenia and "suffers delusions and auditory hallucinations," and hears voices that order him to do things. His counsel petitioned in 2011 to move him to the state hospital to serve his sentence and receive treatment for mental illness. The petition was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it was denied but could be refiled. Subsequent petitions have drawn on for years. An appeal filed in 2011 was officially rejected in district court in 2022. It's now in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Kinkel has since publicly expressed remorse and told HuffPost in 2021, he feels "tremendous guilt and shame." After Kinkel's most recent appeal to the Oregon Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision was denied, Betz took the case to the state's highest court. Betz said Kinkel's legal team "wouldn't be asking for the hearing if we didn't think we'd be successful in proving Mr. Kinkel is rehabilitated." But victims who were injured in the shootings and family members of victims who were killed have said they still carry trauma and have permanent damage. "I and many other survivors are still dealing with the fallout," Betina Lynn, who was shot and survived, told HuffPost in 2021. "We are all serving life sentences right alongside him." California church shooting: Nevada man charged with federal hate crimes for 2022 Taiwanese church shooting in California Life in prison, no life sentence Kinkel is serving sentences that will keep him in prison for the rest of his life. He is serving four concurrent 25-year sentences for murder, plus 87 years for attempted murder charges which makes him ineligible for a murder review hearing, the parole board ruled in March. According to Oregon statue, which was amended a month before Kinkel's sentencing, anyone convicted of murder in the second degree (Kinkel's conviction) who was at least 15 at the time of the crime "shall be punished by imprisonment for life." Kip Kinkel is led to his arraignment May 22, 1998, in Eugene. He murdered his parents at home and then killed two classmates and injured 25 others in a May 21, 1998, shooting rampage at Springfield's Thurston High School. After 25 years, however, the state parole board can hold a murder review hearing. If the board decides a person is "likely to be rehabilitated within a reasonable period of time," it can reduce the sentence to life with the possibility of parole or some form of release. A murder review hearing may alter a life sentence, but Kinkel "is not serving any 'life sentence' for murder," the board wrote in March. The board does not have any authority over sentences related to Kinkel's attempted murder charges. Betz said the nature of Kinkel's sentences should not bar him from the chance to prove whether he is capable of rehabilitation. "It seems like a point of information that everybody ought to be aware of," Betz said. "Seems like a good thing for us to know, for many reasons." The Oregon Supreme Court will decide whether to review Kinkel's petition. The petition to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is being considered for oral argument in Portland between August and December. Shannon Sollitt is a corps reporter for Report for America, a program that aims to support local journalism and democracy by reporting on under-covered issues and communities. Send tips, questions and comments to ssollitt@statesmanjournal.com This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Kip Kinkel files petition 25 years after Thurston High School shooting One company of U.S. soldiers sparked success on D-Day. What to know about the angels of Omaha. This commentary is written by Eric Hogan, a retired real estate developer and a Tybee Island resident. His father and two uncles were World War II veterans and sparked his lifelong interest in the history of the war. The single most important day of the 20th century was 79 years ago on June 6, 1944, during the pinnacle of World War II. It will forever be remembered as D-Day, but the official code name was Operation Overlord. On that momentous day it was determined whether the Allies, who had assembled the largest military invasion force in history, would successfully establish a beachhead on the Normandy coast of France. From there they would begin the liberation of Western Europe from the four-year occupation of Nazi Germany. The Allies had designated five landing beaches along the Normandy coast from west to east Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. The Germans had been fooled to believe the most likely invasion beaches would be further northeast up the French coast near Calais, the narrowest point in the English Channel. In the greatest intelligence deception of war, the Allies had convinced the Germans that the feared Gen. George Patton would lead an amphibious assault across the channel to seize the Calais area. This effective deception played an important role in allowing the actual landings on four of the five Normandy beaches to go relatively smoothly with fewer casualties than expected. The one exception was Omaha Beach which came frightfully close to becoming a disaster. A woman holds a bouquet of roses during the 78th anniversary of D-Day ceremony June, 6, 2022, in the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial of Colleville-sur-Mer, overlooking Omaha Beach. The ceremonies pay tribute to the nearly 160,000 troops from Britain, the U.S., Canada and elsewhere who landed on French beaches on June 6, 1944, to restore freedom to Europe after Nazi occupation. What happened at 'Bloody Omaha'? Two thirds of the invasion troops from the United States on D-Day assaulted a four-mile long beach overlooked by steep bluffs fortified with numerous enemy gun emplacements and blocked off at either end by limestone cliffs, the place they call "Bloody Omaha." The American 1st Infantry Division and 29th Infantry Division would be badly mauled in their dawn landing at Omaha Beach; rough seas because of marginal weather conditions, mined obstacles on the beach and mines in the bluffs, a sea wall to overcome, barbed wire, and heavily armed concrete fortifications beyond. The concrete fortifications also included the deadly German MG-42 heavy machine gun that could shoot 1,200 rounds per minute, more than twice as many rounds as American and British machine guns. The MG-42 laid down a withering, suppressing fire with a distinctive sound that caused it to be nicknamed "Hitler's buzzsaw". At the western end of Omaha, the first wave was all but wiped out, barely able to shoot back against the Germans. Succeeding waves piled up on the sea wall. Chaos reigned and the Americans were paralyzed and unable to mount an attack against the German defenders. With over a thousand dead in just a few hours and bodies strewn everywhere on the beach, the American high command began to ponder whether an evacuation of the beach would be necessary. An evacuation would have caused terrible Allied problems because that would leave a German controlled beach area between American troops on Utah Beach and the other three beaches controlled by the British and Canadians. This June 6, 1944, file photo shows U.S. Army troops wading ashore at Omaha Beach in northwestern France during the D-Day invasion. Amidst this looming tragedy, a company of roughly 150 men from the 1st Infantry Division commanded by Capt. Joseph Dawson miraculously landed on the beach where there was a tiny gap between the interlocking fields of heavy gunfire coming from the German fortifications. They safely got to the sea wall and reorganized to prepare an attack on the strong fortifications as their orders dictated. However, Capt. Dawson observed the piles of bodies to his left and right and sized up the grim situation. He decided that instead of a direct attack against the formidable German fortifications that would be suicidal, he would ignore his orders and his company would move straight inland between the fortifications and try to pick their way between some smaller hills and ravines, with the goal of reaching the high bluffs overlooking the beach. As his company began to move inland, Capt. Dawson saw a couple of dead soldiers who had been killed by a detonating landmine so he very cautiously led his men through the minefield unharmed. Continuing to move forward and higher by crawling and crouching, the company eventually came under fire of a German machine gun up on the bluff that wounded several of his men. After telling his men to find cover, Capt. Dawson began crawling through the brush and sand to work his way up and to the side of the machine gun position on the bluff. He looked back down and saw another platoon of Americans commanded by Lt. John Spalding coming up the hill to the side of his company. Lt. Spalding's platoon had landed in almost the same spot on the beach a few minutes after Capt. Dawson's company and decided to follow them inland given the human carnage on the beach. Using hand signals, Capt. Dawson managed to get the attention of Sgt. Philip Streczyk, a seasoned combat veteran that the inexperienced Lt. Spalding relied on. He directed them to put a suppressing fire on the German machine gun nest so he could sneak the rest of the way up the bluff undetected by the Germans. As Capt. Dawson reached the top of the bluff to the side of the machine gun nest, he pulled the pin out of two hand grenades. The Germans spotted him about 10 yards away and quickly tried to turn their gun on him, but he made two perfect throws with his grenades and killed all the Germans. At this moment in time, Capt. Dawson was likely the first American to reach the top of the bluff towering above Omaha Beach and the first opening was now cleared for Americans to exploit and turn the tide of battle. Capt. Dawson then waved for all the soldiers to join him at the top of the bluff to formulate a plan. He instructed Lt. Spalding and Sgt. Streczyk to head west to attack one of the strong German fortifications that was savaging the men on the beach. Capt. Dawson would move his company east toward the village of Colleville to the rear of another strong German fortification. They also sent men back down to the beach to direct more American units to ascend to the bluffs and attack the Germans from the flanks. Lt. Spalding and Sgt. Streczyk successfully neutralized the strong German fortification they were after along with several smaller positions they encountered. The experienced warrior Streczyk primarily led the attacks involving lots of close quarters combat. Some more rapidly moving American troops joined Capt. Dawson near Colleville in the early afternoon. They attacked from the rear and destroyed the other strong German fortification. Even as the brutal fighting continued, control of the situation at Omaha had now shifted to the Americans. Eric Hogan On-the-ground knowledge proves decisive Once the invasion began and troops were landing on the beaches, the outcome of the battle was transferred from the higher commanders to the men on the beach. There was no brilliant decision that Gen. Dwight Eisenhower or Gen. Omar Bradley could make that might affect the outcome. It was in the greatest tradition of the average Joe American soldier that a trio of Americans found themselves in a desperate, perilous situation on Omaha Beach and recognized that their existing orders were useless. They then assessed their situation, recognized an opportunity, took the initiative, and adapted and improvised their tactics to be successful. Capt. Dawson, Lt. Spalding, and Sgt. Streczyk were all awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest medal for valor given by the U.S. Army. A number of historians believe Dawson and Streczyk should have received our nation's highest medal for valor-- the Medal Of Honor. Streczyk was a highly decorated soldier. He was also awarded four Silver Stars and six Bronze Stars for bravery. He served 440 days in combat-- North Africa, Sicily, France, Germany, and suffered physical and emotional problems after the war which help explain why he committed suicide in 1958, at the age of 39. The Army honored Capt. Dawson at the 50th anniversary of D-Day in 1994 by asking him to introduce President Bill Clinton. Capt. Dawson, Lt. Spalding, and Sgt. Streczyk, and the men they led, managed to slip in between strong German fortifications that were slaughtering the troops on the beach and fight their way to the top of the Omaha bluff, clearing a path others could follow. Using the element of surprise because of their attacks from the rear, they methodically destroyed many German defenses. Besides saving hundreds, perhaps thousands of American lives, these three unsung American heroes were probably most responsible for transforming the D-Day battle at Omaha Beach from a bitter defeat into a glorious victory. Surely, these three men deserve to be fondly remembered as "The Angels Of Omaha". This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: U.S. troops broke German lines at Omaha Beach during D-Day invasion Sinn Fein vice-president Michelle O'Neill will travel to Washington on Monday for talks with US officials Michelle O'Neill is to travel to Washington on Monday to meet senior US officials and members of Congress. The Sinn Fein deputy leader plans to discuss the political situation in Northern Ireland following the outcome of the recent council elections. The party won 144 council seats, up from the 105 councillors they had in 2019. The party is now the largest in both local government and Stormont for the first time. Stormont's assembly and governing executive are not functioning because of a protest by the the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) against post-Brexit trading rules. Clear signal Ms O'Neill said the people of Northern Ireland had sent a "clear signal that they want parties working together around the executive table". President Biden met Mr Sunak in Belfast in April during his visit to Ireland Ms O'Neill's visit comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak prepares to travel to Washington on Wednesday for talks with US President Joe Biden. The leaders are expected to discuss trade as well as the war in Ukraine. The White House said the pair would also discuss the situation in Northern Ireland. Michelle O'Neill says the people of Northern Ireland want Stormont back up and running Michelle O'Neill said the United States has been a "key partner for peace in Ireland for decades". She said she would be urging the US administration "to impress on the British prime minister during his visit to Washington this week to start working with their partners in the Irish government to prioritise restoration" of Stormont. She said there was an onus on the two governments "to realise the promise and potential of the Good Friday Agreement and its institutions". More needed from UK Last month DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said his party had concluded that the Windsor Framework, agreed between the UK and EU to revise the Northern Ireland Protocol, did not pass seven tests the DUP had set out for it to support any NI post-Brexit arrangements. As a result, he said, "more work is required by the UK government if we are to secure the necessary conditions for a return of the Northern Ireland Executive". President Biden falls on stage during the 2023 U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Thursday. (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press) In politics, as in life, its all too easy to write off old people, especially when they are frail or disabled. President Bidens fall on stage during the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony on Thursday immediately raised questions of fitness. Even I, a geriatrician and anti-ageism advocate, looked at Dianne Feinsteins recent return to the Senate after a prolonged absence due to shingles without fully seeing her. The voter in me felt appalled by her condition; the doctor in me wanted to get her home and comfortable. These are normal, natural and necessary reactions. They also risk forfeiting opportunities to improve work in later life for the good of all Americans. On the national political stage, age has increasing relevance. The 2024 presidential election currently has 76- and 80-year-old front-runners. In Congress, people are questioning the tenure of Senate majority minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) given his recent long absence after a geriatric fall. And we marvel at Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), an octogenarian so fit that reporters decades younger have trouble keeping up with her as she races along in heels. That at least three of these leaders seem to have made efforts to appear younger speaks to our cultural equation of old age with incompetence and unattractiveness, biases that are ageist, ableist and disproved daily by millions of older adults. Of course, age matters. With each decade, our chances of illness, new disability and death increase. A 60-year-old president could die, but the odds are higher for an 80-year-old. Similarly, a 60-year-old president could fall, but they are less likely to sustain a life-altering injury from one than an 80-year-old. On the other hand, if we set work limits based on age alone, we risk premature loss of talent and opportunities for individuals and society. We also exacerbate what has become a defining dilemma of our time: simultaneously demanding older workers retire and lamenting the economic burden imposed on society by unemployed elders. One solution is to develop evidence-based guidelines that can be used to create employment standards across industries. That approach would use data and expertise from leaders in economics, geriatric medicine, gerontology and elsewhere to optimize work in older ages despite the considerable diversity in health and function across the decades of elderhood. There are two key issues that need to be addressed to make this happen. The first is deciding when age matters. Despite more than a century of increased longevity, we dont know how to invoke age most equitably and effectively at either end of the spectrum. Human beings are maturing later and later and are living longer and longer. This raises questions such as, at what age is a person too young or old to buy a firearm, drink alcohol, go to war, drive a car or hold political office. How we handle these issues affects us all. The second issue we must determine before creating guidelines on age and employability is deciding who gets to participate in that process. I have spent decades thinking about old age, yet over Memorial Day weekend my 89-year-old mother offered an insight that I missed about Feinstein, that the senator was most likely sacrificing her dwindling well-being to fulfill her duties to office, party and country. That gave me pause: If Feinstein were 52 with terminal cancer, instead of old and frail, might I have seen her actions as heroic instead of incomprehensible? When developing guidelines or deciding whom to vote for we need to consider more than a persons age. For example, how do we compare a political candidate who is prone to lying with one who might benefit from walking with a cane? Or a politician who has fallen several times without injury to one who fell once and spent months recovering? The issue of falls illustrates another complicating factor: our societal tendency toward adultism. We know older people fall, yet we do little to create a world that limits such falls and resulting injuries. A sandbag on a stage may not matter to adults but it might trip up an elder such as Biden, yet that has nothing to do with his ability to give a commencement speech. I have lost count of the numbers of my older patients who have fallen over the cement wheel stops that demarcate the front end of parking spaces. If children or adults were harmed by those that often, we likely would have taken action rather than blaming their age. We will all stop working eventually, and, barring sudden death, we will all develop illness and disability before we die. Since its virtually impossible to predict when that will happen and even whether a particular illness or injury warrants retirement, guidelines for assessing competence are needed. Right now, all we know for sure is that the absence of such recommendations causes problems. Articles detail the fallout of arbitrary retirement ages on highly skilled workers and the adverse consequences when people continue working despite evident limitations a circumstance that may explain Feinsteins current predicament. We are the generations that get to reap the benefits of the human races new longevity. With that privilege comes a responsibility to evolve our ideas about aging and adapt societal norms, structures and policies to optimize work and well-being across the lifespan. In the meantime, its worth remembering one of our favorite sayings in the geriatrics community: When youve seen one 80-year-old, youve seen one 80-year-old. Louise Aronson is a geriatrician and professor of medicine at UC San Francisco. She is the author of Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Margaret Whitt is a retired English professor who taught at the University of Denver for 27 years. With the recent celebration of Mothers Day a few weeks ago, I took the time to think about my children, now 50 and 47 and living on the other side of the country. I remember who they were as children, what mattered to them, seeing who they have become: What work they do, how they see their place in the world. And I think about what in their childhood days predicted who they would become. I will start here with my daughter. On a random day in the late 1990s, I received a call from my daughter, just a few years out of college. Mom, she said, remember how I have always wanted to go to Africa? To which I said, No, I do not. I am pretty sure you have never mentioned wanting to go to Africa to me ever! Well, she continued as though it were clear to her that she had mentioned it many times, I just read about a trip to Mombasa, Kenya, on the Indian Ocean, a village near there that needs help setting up a library. So, she says the one word that will get me every time. A library well how could she not just go immediately and help in such a worthwhile project. Time passes. She goes and comes home. More: Opinion: What's your favorite book? It's usually one that connects us to important memory And then she returns, maybe six or seven times over the next few years. She takes study-abroad groups for short stays during interterm of the college from which she graduated in the Pacific Northwest. She starts a school, raises money, helps build the initial building. (And over 20 years later, the school still exists.) I still have a picture of the school in its early days the kids, Consolata, and my daughter stand in front of the green building with a thatched roof. Consolata, her new African friend, in my daughters shirt, still teaches in the school today. On one of her trips, she decided perhaps it would be a good idea to travel to Uganda and go on a gorilla safari. So, by herself, she boards a bus from Mombasa to Nairobi, about eight-10 hours, then a bus from Nairobi to Kampala, Uganda, about 12 hours. As she climbs off the bus after a wearying 22 hours, she thinks about how safe she feels almost simultaneously with the realization she has just had her bag snatched, which contained her wallet, money and credit cards. No money for the safari. Alas. She went around the block and found a youth hostel, operated by Steve, to whom she spilled her story. He provided the phone she used to call her dad back in the states to find out what to do. More: Editor: Open call for women to share their voices, during Women's History Month and always Details understood, she boarded a return bus within 24 hours for a trip back to Kenya. She never got the chance to take the safari. Soon she was back in the states, but eight months later she returned, this time with the man that would become her husband. First, she had to show him her little village near Mombasa, the school, then they boarded that same 22-hour bus trip that took them back again to Uganda this time to complete the trip as she had intended. Upon arriving, she led him to the youth hostel, where she was greeted once again by Steve, who took one look at her, while reaching for something, and said, Here, Wintry, is your bag your credit cards, but no money. I figured you would come back some day. When Wintry told me this story, I found it unbelievable. Why did a strange man in Kampala hold onto the stolen purse assuming that one day she might return? When she told me the story, I have every confidence that the surprise element was greater for me than for her. More: Opinion: Women need other women to better their lives, their work and the world This story happened over 20 years ago, but I remember it clearly because I still find it rather remarkable. A chance encounter with a hostel proprietor, the lending of a phone, a short talk, the passing of eight months, then another encounter, and the return of the stolen bag. I am not sure where my daughter learned to look at the world this way to assume the best from people you dont know. Wherever the trusting nature came from, the willingness to embrace a world so different from her own, I only wish I had many of her fine qualities. Makes me want to celebrate Daughters Day. Margaret Earley Whitt is a retired college professor and lives in Gerton. This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: NC writer recalls daughter's trip to Mombasa in Kenya Orca attacks on boats are on the rise and social media has gone wild for it. Check out the best memes here. "We, for one, welcome our new Delphinidae Overlords," Merriam-Webster dictionary joked. Stuart Westmorland/Getty Images In the conflict between orcas and humans, social media is on the side of the killer whales. Memes cheer on the orcas, who have been attacking boats and yachts off the Iberian peninsula. White Gladis, a female orca that other orcas may be imitating, is affectionately called a "comrade." In the conflict between orcas and humans, social media is increasingly on the side of the killer whales. After a recent increase in incidents of orcas targeting, ramming into, and even sinking some vessels, experts are wondering what exactly has caused this phenomenon. While most orca interactions with boats are harmless, there has been a spike in aggressive behavior toward boats off the Iberian peninsula since 2020, a biologist recently told LiveScience. While there have been warnings not to demonize the marine creatures, some social-media users have gone further, championing the orcas' behavior. Dubbed the "Orca Wars," the killer whales' online popularity began last month after a report on a theory that the highly-social marine mammals had learned from each other to target boats. In the past month, online searches for the terms "orca" and "killer whales" have increased significantly, according to Google Trends. "We are not prepared for an Orca War. We do not have the resources," one popular tweet read. Merriam-Webster dictionary joked, "We, for one, welcome our new Delphinidae Overlords." 'These militant orcas have a clear agenda!' Others are happy to fight on the side of the sometimes misunderstood, now-beloved killer whales. "I'm joining the war on orcas, on the side of the orcas," a popular meme reads. The memes and discourse began to humorously regard the orca's actions as a revolutionary, dissident movement with some on social media wryly suggesting, for example, that the orcas look out for billionaire Jeff Bezos' enormous yacht. Stone Cold Jane Austen (@AbbyHiggs) May 20, 2023 After orcas sank a yacht called "Champagne" that was sailing through the Strait of Gibraltar last month, Kady Ruth Ashcraft wrote for Jezebel, "These militant orcas have a clear agenda! Nature is speaking out against the 1%!" Framing the sinking of the yachts as a "grassroots organizing," community project, the animals have been cheered as anti-capitalist heroes. Many on Twitter questioned why they still had to go to work, while the orcas were out fighting a noble cause. One theory says orcas may be learning this aggressive behavior from one female killer whale named White Gladis, Insider previously reported. White Gladis may have had a "critical moment of agony," possibly colliding with a boat or being trapped during illegal fishing activities, which traumatized her and caused her to start ramming other boats. "Nothing heals community trauma like direct action," theorist and author Sophie Lewis, wrote about this news. Many others referred to White Gladis affectionately as a "comrade," offering their unconditional "solidarity with orca saboteurs." As Insider previously reported, socialist or left-wing memes have become an effective tool for young people and are a particularly popular medium for critiquing life under capitalism. Read the original article on Insider Parents in a town in Ireland came together to voluntarily ban smartphones for kids as old as 13 The voluntary smartphone ban seeks to limit anxiety and exposure to unsuitable materials for youth. Matt Cardy/Getty Images Parents in Greystones, Ireland, have implemented a smartphone ban for primary school-aged kids. The ban is voluntary, but parents said it reached a critical mass that makes enacting it easier. The pact seeks to curb anxiety and exposure to unsuitable material, and has won support nationally. Some kids in Greystones, Ireland, may have to wait until their teen years to partake in the latest viral dance craze, thanks to a voluntary ban on smartphones that has won the support of many area parents. The Guardian reported that parents in the coastal town, about a 45-minute drive south of Dublin, have joined together to implement the ban that seeks to bar smartphone usage until kids reach secondary school, typically at the age of 12 or 13. The hope is that the ban will help prolong childhood by lessening the anxiety and exposure to adult materials that smartphone usage often eggs on. Parents' associations across the district's eight primary schools, where kids range from about 4 to 12 years old, can opt into the ban, The Guardian reported. It is meant to be enforced not only at school, but also at home. Area schools already banned or restricted cell phone usage, but the effects of social media remained present, according to the report. "If everyone does it across the board you don't feel like you're the odd one out. It makes it so much easier to say no," Laura Bourne, whose child is in primary school, told The Guardian. "The longer we can preserve their innocence the better." Not all parents have chosen to partake, but Rachel Harper, a primary school principal who led the initiative, told the publication that enough parents have opted in to make a meaningful difference. "Hopefully down the line it'll become the new norm," she told The Guardian. The country's health minister, Stephen Donnelly, who has three children and lives nearby Greystones, has taken notice and penned an op-ed in the Irish Times last week in support of the ban. "Ireland can be, and must be, a world leader in ensuring that children and young people are not targeted and are not harmed by their interactions with the digital world," he wrote. "We must make it easier for parents to limit the content their children are exposed to." The impacts of smartphone usage on kids is becoming an increasing concern as ongoing studies seek to analyze any lasting effects on the brain. A National Institutes of Health study is ongoing but has already found that kids who spend more than two hours in front of a screen each day got lower scores on tests focused on thinking and language skills. A small study published in a peer-reviewed pediatric medical journal in 2019 supported the theory that high exposure to screens in preschool-aged children may be linked to lower brain development. Meanwhile, a town in India has banned smartphone usage for all under the age of 18, according to the Times of India. Those who are found using a smartphone will face a small financial penalty. Another village in India is imposing an evening "digital detox," the Times noted, with all smartphone users children and adults alike barred from engaging with the devices between 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. daily. Read the original article on Business Insider Kyiv's Holosiivskyi Court has sent a security guard to a pre-trial detention centre for two months for failing to open the door to the shelter where three people were killed in a missile attack on 1 June. The court's decision sparked an active discussion online, with many users calling it unfair. According to Ukrainians, it was the director of the clinic and the head of the district state administration who should have been in jail. Instead, they were placed under house arrest. Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia has collected the reactions of social network users. As a reminder, when the air-raid warning was in force on 1 June, people tried to get into the shelter of a polyclinic in Kyiv's Desnianskyi district, but the doors were closed, despite the fact that in mid-May, the Kyiv City Military Administration promised to open all shelters. Subsequently, three appeals concerning the safety and accessibility of shelters during the air-raid warning appeared on the Kyiv e-petition website. The convicted man, Biktor Moshkin. Photo: Oleksii Arunian, Graty What happened? The next day, on 2 June, police served a notice of suspicion on 62-year-old Viktor Moshkin, a security guard at the clinic, who did not open the door in time. According to investigators, the director of the clinic, his deputy for technical issues and the first deputy head of the Desnianskyi district, Iryna Alieksieienko, are also responsible for the operation of the shelter. They were served notices of of suspicion of official negligence. On 3 June, the court arrested the security guard and placed the other suspects under house arrest, according to Graty. According to Viktor, after the air-raid warning was issued, he took the keys and went down the corridor of the clinic to prepare the shelter. "I opened the door to the bomb shelter. People started knocking on the [front ed.] door [of the polyclinic ed.]. I reached the reception desk and then I was knocked down, and then the glass flew from above. It was scary," Moshkin said. The security guard did not have time to open the door because the missile arrived too quickly. Its fragments fell four minutes after the air-raid warning was issued. "After that, I went to help people. I brought peroxide and bandages. Then I went to call the ambulance to shut off the water because the basement started to flood. Then Shuhalevych (hospital director Oleh Shuhalevych ed.) appeared. He said that I should leave it in this condition. I said, 'I'm not going anywhere until the services arrive. I stayed where I was. Where would I go? On top of that, there are big valuables there, computers all over the place. If all this is stolen, what will they tell me? I have nowhere to hide. Where would I hide in this life? It's like a hare running away from a wolf. The wolf will catch it and eat it anyway," Moshkin explained in the courtroom, asking the court not to arrest him. Viktor admitted that he had failed to fulfil his official duties and asked the court not to arrest him. However, his request was denied. According to Graty, his lawyer is going to appeal the decision to arrest him. Public reaction "It's been a long time since I've been so sickened by this report from the courtroom..." wrote Liudmyla Smoliar, editor-in-chief of UAnimals and co-creator of LongDog Media, on her Facebook page. Poet Tetiana Vlasova believes it is unfair to arrest a 62-year-old man for someone else's negligence and irresponsibility. In response to Tatiana's comment, ForeFilms producer Anna Yatsenko said that the director and head of the district state administration should share responsibility with the security guard. Screenshot of comments under Tetiana Vlasovas post / Facebook Journalist Iryna Andreitsiv proposed on her Facebook page to create a petition in defence of security guard Viktor. In particular, Ukrainians are discussing ways to provide Moshkin with defence, as his interests are currently being represented by a state lawyer. Screenshot of comments under Iryna Andreitsivs post / Facebook On her Facebook page, communications specialist Yaryna Kliuchkovska said: "The police analysed all the facts and documentation in record time. And of course, the responsibility for the tragedy is inversely proportional to the real powers. Nothing for the bosses, everything for the guard." On Twitter, a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the username "yellow spot in the pixel" wrote: "As usual, it's the old man who at best gets the minimum wage for his work as a guard and physically did not open the damn door that someone requires him to keep closed." Screenshot of the soldiers post / Twitter Oleh Symoroz, a Ukrainian activist and soldier, stressed that the shelters should be open around the clock, as every minute matters when it comes to people's lives. Screenshot of the soldiers post / Twitter Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! For the month of June, The Arizona Republic is documenting homicides in the early stages of investigation. If you have a tip about an incident we've reported on, or on one we've missed, send us information at https://azcentral.formstack.com/forms/homicide_tips. Here is a list of known homicides being investigated, from the most recent. May 2023: Phoenix-area homicides Man found dead in west Phoenix alley What happened: An unidentified man was found dead after police received a welfare check call, saying a man was lying in an alley. The man showed "obvious" signs of trauma. When and where: On June 5 after 6 a.m. near 36th Avenue and Melvin Street. Arrests and charges: An investigation was underway. Suspects were outstanding, according to police. More information: Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact Phoenix police or Silent Witness at or Silent Witness (480-WITNESS or 480-TESTIGO for Spanish). Jordan Castillo, 20, killed; 2 others injured in Glendale shooting What happened: One woman was killed, and two others were injured after they were shot at a Glendale apartment. When police arrived, they found three people with life-threatening injuries. Police announced Monday morning that one of the victims had died. She was identified as 20-year-old Jordan Castillo. Family members of Castillo described the offense as an act of domestic violence at a Monday afternoon press conference. When and where: On June 4 at around 2:30 p.m. near 51st and Northern Avenue in Glendale. Arrests and charges: On Monday afternoon, police say the suspect, 22-year-old Reuben Rocha, turned himself in. Man killed in Tempe drive-by shooting What happened: According to preliminary information obtained by Tempe Police, an SUV pulled up to the passenger side of a car going north on Rural Road and started shooting. The SUV drove off in an unknown direction and the other car drove to a nearby gas station where the driver called for medical help for his friend, who was on the passenger seat and was shot. He was taken to a hospital where he later died. He was not identified. When and where: On June 4 at about 1 a.m. near Rural Road and Broadmore Drive in Tempe. Arrests and charges: Police said they identified suspects in the incident but their names weren't released. Police did not confirm whether they had been arrested as of Sunday afternoon. Mesa man charged in wife's shooting death What happened: Mesa Police Department responded to reports of a shooting in a home in the early hours of the morning. When they arrived, they found the suspect exiting the residence with blood on his hands and clothes. When officers entered the home, they found several firearms throughout the house and the body of a woman with multiple gunshot wounds lying on the bed. The 911 call came from the victim's son, who had witnessed part of the shooting, police said. When and where: Just after midnight on June 5 at a home near Hobson and Main Street in Mesa. Arrests and charges: David Hahn Osowski, 43, was arrested and faces a first-degree murder charge. Jerry Carter, Jessica Velasquez killed in north Phoenix shooting What happened: Phoenix officers heard several gunshots and when they responded, they observed a man running from the scene, police said. Officers chased and detained the man, later identified as 20-year-old Jermaine Smith, police said. Additional officers responded and located three victims, all suffering from gunshot wounds. Two of the victims, 65-year-old Jerry Carter and 55-year-old Jessica Velasquez, were pronounced dead at the scene. The final victim, a woman who was not identified, was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. Read more: Man arrested after bus stop drug deal ends in 2 dead, 1 hurt, Phoenix police say When and where: On June 3 about 3:15 a.m. near 29th Avenue and Bell Road in Phoenix. Arrests and charges: Jermaine Smith, 20, was booked on "several charges related to this investigation," including murder, according to the Phoenix Police Department. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix-area homicides in June 2023: What we know Poisoned cheesecake used as a weapon a first for NY investigators In his 20-year career as a New York police detective, Kevin Rodgers says he never met the likes of Viktoria Nasyrova. Det. Kevin Rodgers: She is a very colorful criminal Det. Kevin Rodgers: Extremely brazen. Diabolical. Even the street smarts of a career cop left him unprepared for what he says she did. Kevin Rodgers: I've never dealt with a case where cheesecake that's laced with poison is utilized It started on Sept. 2, 2016, with what seemed like a routine call. Det. Kevin Rodgers: It was a call from patrol stating that we have a a woman advising that there are items missing from her bedroom. The woman was a beauty stylist named Olga Tsvyk, who did eyelash extensions at a nearby salon. Patrol officers told Rodgers she'd reported items, including purses, had vanished from her home. Det. Kevin Rodgers: I grab my partner and we headed out to this, uh, woman's house. She told Rodgers she had just returned home from the hospital, where she said she'd been in and out of consciousness with severe dizziness and nausea. When he got to the scene, Olga, a Ukrainian immigrant, still seemed a bit woozy. Peter Van Sant: Can you remember at all the police asking you questions? Olga Tsvyk: (Sighs) No, I don't remember. She says the only thing she remembered was that a frantic client from the salon had come to her house a Russian woman named Viktoria Nasyrova, who had wanted her eyelashes extended in a hurry. Det. Kevin Rodgers:" I need an emergency eyelash repair done. Please, please, please." Olga said, "I never have done that before every bit of work I do is in my salon." Olga had told her client she had no appointments available. But she says Viktoria was in the habit of being pushy she'd repeatedly suggested they spend time together outside of work. Olga Tsvyk: She starts acting like she's my friend, you know? Feeling uneasy, Olga had refused Viktoria's offers to hang out. And she noticed something else about Viktoria something visually unsettling: an uncanny physical resemblance. Olga Tsvyk: I thought she looked like me. Lookalikes Olga Tsvyk, left, and Viktoria Nasyrova. / Credit: Olga Tsvyk/Viktoria Nasyrova/Facebook While Olga had turned down socializing with Viktoria, she relented to her pleas for eyelash help and told her to come over. Olga's uneasy feeling returned when Viktoria showed up at her door with three small slices of cheesecake. Olga Tsvyk: It's from, like famous bakery, like famous cheesecake. Olga says Viktoria quickly gobbled up two of the slices, and then insisted Olga try the last one. Peter Van Sant: Did you eat the entire piece? Olga Tsvyk: Yes, it's like small piece. Peter Van Sant: And what happened? Olga Tsvyk: I got sick. She said she threw up violently. Peter Van Sant: And? Olga Tsvyk: Then after that, I don't remember anything. Peter Van Sant: So, she tells you this story, what are you thinking? Det. Kevin Rodgers: I am suspicious. With Olga acting woozy, Rodgers wondered if she was a drug user. Det. Kevin Rodgers: I said to her, I says, Olga, I said, I want to believe you, however, this doesn't add up. But she was adamant, adamant. This 100 percent happened, and this woman is up to something. In the garbage, Rodgers did see something. The cheesecake container retrieved from Olga Tsvyk's garbage was taken into evidence. / Credit: Queens District Attorney's Office Det. Kevin Rodgers: I walked over to the wastepaper basket and right there was this plastic container with what appeared to be the remnants of pastry, something that looked good. Olga identified it as the cheesecake box. Rodgers told his evidence team to bag it and tag it. Whatever had been in that box, Olga said it had made her very sick. Peter Van Sant: You almost died. Olga Tsvyk: Yeah, I was in coma 34 minutes. But Olga admits doctors didn't find anything suspicious in her system. Still, she told Rodgers she was hospitalized twice. He called the hospitals to confirm but says they wouldn't divulge patient information. Det. Kevin Rodgers: Which again led me to believe that maybe she wasn't telling the truth. Rodgers did try to find Viktoria Nasyrova but couldn't. Peter Van Sant: It sounds like at that point this case is almost over. Det. Kevin Rodgers: Dead. But a few months later, the case came back to life when Rodgers found a new witness: a neighbor of Olga's, who reported seeing a woman visiting her the day after the alleged cheesecake incident. Det. Kevin Rodgers: He told me that a woman had come and gone a few times. The neighbor said the mysterious woman had told him Olga was sick. And when he went to check on Olga he walked into a surreal scene and called an ambulance. Her room was like a sauna. Someone had turned the heat on full blast even though it was a hot August day. And Olga was passed out in the bed, barely dressed. Det. Kevin Rodgers: When she is discovered she is discovered in this sort of racy lingerie. Olga was stunned by this detail because she had been wearing sweatpants. Peter Van Sant: So, someone changed you. Olga Tsvyk: Yeah. Peter Van Sant: Changed your clothes. Olga Tsvyk: Yeah. And there was more. Pills were strewn all over the floor. Rodgers wondered: had someone tried to kill Olga and then staged the scene to make it look like a suicide? Rodgers realized that Olga had probably been telling the truth all along. Det. Kevin Rodgers: I do have to make that sort of uncomfortable apology to her of, I'm truly sorry for not believing you 100 percent at first. Rodgers now turned his attention again to finding the suspect in this case Olga's client, Viktoria Nasyrova. But where was she? Rodgers had no way of knowing that someone else was also trying to find her. His name is Herman Weisberg. He's a private eye and a retired New York City detective. Weisberg was tracking Viktoria through ads on Russian dating sites and social media, where he says some of her outreach seemed designed for a niche audience. Herman Weisberg: She was advertising her services as a dominatrix slash escort. He believed Viktoria was using online ads to commit crimes of opportunity. Herman Weisberg: She would knock out with knockout drugs taking money, watches, jewelry, whatever she could get. And he suspected Viktoria had done something much worse. OLGA TSVYK FINDS SHE IS NOT ALONE With the fog of her mysterious illness behind her, Olga Tsvyk says she went back to work, sharing the story of her harrowing ordeal. That's when another client told her something she never expected to hear. Olga Tsvyk: She said, "you know, one of my husband friend, I think somebody also drug him his name is Ruben." The client put Olga in touch with the other drugging victim a man named Ruben Borukhov. About two months before Olga ate that cheesecake, Ruben, who ran a nearby dry-cleaning business, met a woman on a Russian dating site. Her name? Viktoria Nasyrova. Ruben Borukhov: She said she's a good cook and I said I love to eat. The two arranged to meet at her place for dinner. Ruben Borukhov: I just took one bite of fish, and I was out of it in five minutes. Ruben says he passed out, and Viktoria allegedly went on a shopping spree. Ruben Borukhov: She took, like, $800, maybe $1,000 in my all together in cash, $2,400 in American Express. Peter Van Sant: So, she's livin' high on the hog on your money. Ruben Borukhov: Absolutely. And then she brought me here (walks over to a chair in his store and sits down). Two days later, Ruben had still been out of it when Viktoria literally took him to the cleaners. One of Ruben's employees recorded video. Ruben Borukhov: She is walking here and there and making some stories to my workers. "Oh, we had wine! He drank two bottle of wine." I don't remember nothing. As Viktoria talks to the workers, the camera catches a glimpse of her sitting in the boss's chair. FEMALE VOICE ON VIDEO: Maybe he take pill or something, right? Ruben Borukhov is seen being taken out of his business by paramedics. / Credit: CBS News Luckily, Ruben's sister called an ambulance. Viktoria would flee the scene before it arrived, but not before cleaning him out Ruben Borukhov (shows Van Sant the inside of a safe): I have some money in the basement, couple hundred here, she took it, she took the watch. And Ruben believes Viktoria nearly took a lot more than that. Peter Van Sant: Did you almost die? Ruben Borukhov: I think so that's how I was. Herman Weisberg: Oh. He was a sick man. But private eye Herman Weisberg says when it to comes to Viktoria Nasyrova, Olga and Ruben may have been the lucky ones. In 2017, Weisberg began working with Nadia Ford. Nadia said her mother Alla Alekseenko, with whom she was very close, had gone missing back home in Russia. Peter Van Sant: And, so, every day you would talk to her? Nadia Ford: Every day. Nadia says before her mother disappeared, she had mentioned making a new best friend. The friend's name? Viktoria Nasyrova. Before Viktoria came to New York, she was living in Russia, and had become Alla's neighbor in the apartment next door. Peter Van Sant (holding up photos): Here is your mother standing next to you. And here is Viktoria. And they seem like an odd couple. Nadia Ford: Right. Peter Van Sant: You just wouldn't think they'd hang out with each other. Nadia Ford: She was always trying to be very friendly with her. You know, and my mom, she trust everyone. In the fall of 2014, Alla had told Nadia she would be sending her daughter special gifts. Her new best friend Viktoria would bring them. Viktoria would be carrying $6,000 in cash and other valuables, including two fur coats, to be hand delivered to Nadia. But Viktoria never showed, and on October 5, Nadia tried to call her mother but couldn't reach her. Peter Van Sant: How many times did you call your mother that day, October 5th? Nadia Ford: Oh, a lot. A lot. Like a hundred. Peter Van Sant Really? A hundred times? Nadia Ford: At least. At least. I tried everything. Peter Van Sant And she would not answer? Nadia Ford: No. Peter Van Sant: So, what are you thinking? Nadia Ford: I got afraid because for eight years she never happened that she didn't answer the phone. Never. Nadia says she had found Viktoria's sudden friendship with her mom suspicious. And that suspicion only grew when she accessed her mother's cellphone records online. Peter Van Sant: I saw the last person who called her. It was Viktoria. The call had come in at 11 p.m., and there were no other calls after it. Nadia Ford: And that's it. And then my heart dropped. I just cried. I just left everything. Nadia left everything in her Brooklyn apartment and headed straight for the airport. Nadia Ford: I just started to have this feeling that something happened. Something terrible. Peter Van Sant: Something terrible happened. Nadia Ford launched her own investigation into her mother's disappearance. / Credit: CBS News About two years later, "48 Hours" brought Nadia back to her hometown of Krasnodar, about 800 miles south of Moscow near the Black Sea, to show us how she launched her own investigation into her mother's disappearance. First, Nadia convinced Viktoria to meet her outside her mom's apartment building, where she confronted her. She says Viktoria loudly insisted Alla was alive. Nadia Ford: And then she ran up the stairs and then I'm like, "Where are you going?' Why are you running?" Peter Van Sant: And she runs up here, are you chasing her? Nadia Ford: Exactly, yeah. Nadia told us she notified police and took them inside her mother's apartment. She quickly realized the place had been looted. Nadia Ford: (going through drawers): So, when I walk into the apartment nothing. Peter Van Sant: Credit cards gone? Nadia Ford: Nothing. Nothing. Family heirlooms and expensive jewelry gone. And whoever did this also stole most of her mother's life's savings: $40,000 Alla kept in a secret hideaway. Nadia Ford: And if you take this off and it's right over there. (shows Van Sant the area where her mother had hidden the cash) It was gone. And as far as Nadia could tell, so was Viktoria. Peter Van Sant: What are the police and the district attorney and what are these people saying to you? Nadia Ford: Just wait She's gonna come back. Undaunted, Nadia carried on her search, crisscrossing the country posting flyers. She pleaded with Viktoria by text. Nadia Ford: "Listen, I give you everything. My apartment, money, you name it. Please just give me my mom back." Nadia feared she was getting nowhere when she had an idea. Peter Van Sant (in car with Nadia): Nadia, where are we right now? Nadia Ford: We're on a highway that Viktoria had my mom. She'd noticed that most main roads had traffic cameras. What if one of them had photographed Viktoria the night Nadia's mother went missing? Peter Van Sant: But you gotta get access to these photographs. How do you do that? Nadia Ford: It's Russia. You buy things. You have money. You buy things. She checked every camera around town and circled outward. About 100 miles from the apartment. Nadia hit paydirt. Nadia Ford: (pointing to traffic camera): That's the camera, you see, right there. That's the camera that showed my mom was with Viktoria. The pictures look blurry, but Nadia was certain that Viktoria Nasyrova is behind the wheel and her mother was in the passenger seat. / Credit: Nadia Ford Pictures from that traffic camera changed everything. The pictures look blurry, but Nadia was certain that Viktoria Nasyrova is behind the wheel and equally sure she knew who is sitting in the passenger seat: her mom. Peter Van Sant: No doubt in your mind? Nadia Ford: No. Peter Van Sant: And what's the date that this picture was taken? Nadia Ford: October 5th in the morning. Ten o'clock. Peter Van Sant: October 5th. The day that you lost all communication with your own mother. If the picture could be believed, it meant her mother could still be alive. Nadia Ford: This camera gave me hope. Nadia called Russian police about the pictures and was shocked at their response. Peter Van Sant: What does the detective say? Nadia Ford: He said, "I know. I have these pictures." With investigators now working the case, Nadia says they confirmed that Viktoria rented the car with plates matching what was seen on the traffic camera. They tracked her down and brought her in for a lie detector test. But before the results could come back, unbeknownst to the cops, Viktoria caught the first flight out of Russia. ON THE TRAIL OF A FUGITIVE Nadia Ford: She cannot get away with this. With Viktoria on the run, Nadia desperately continued her search for her mother hoping against hope to find her alive. Nadia Ford: I dedicated my life to that. I quit everything and everyone. I didn't believe that my mom is not alive. Nadia Ford and her mother Alla Alekseenko. / Credit: Nadia Ford But hope turned to heartbreak in April 2015 when she got a disturbing phone call. Charred human remains had been found in a remote area about a two-hour drive from Alla's apartment. Authorities called Nadia in to make an identification. Nadia Ford: I said, "No. That's not her. No. It's it's just remains." And then a few minutes later, I started looking at her teeth. Peter Van Sant: And you knew. You knew it was your mother. Nadia Ford: Yeah. And yeah. So, I basically recognized my mom by her teeth. The Russian town of Armavir is about 110 miles from Krasnodar. It's important to this case because it's where Viktoria Nasyrova grew up and where Alla's body was dumped. Nadia Ford: The body was here. Nadia Ford: Viktoria took everything from me. My family, my life, my mom, my everything. An international warrant was issued for Viktoria Nasyrova's arrest. By this time, Interpol already had issued an international arrest warrant for Viktoria Nasyrova in Alla's murder. Nadia went home to Brooklyn determined as ever to track down Viktoria Nasyrova. On a whim, she turned to Facebook. And you'll never guess whose face popped up on the screen. Nadia Ford: Viktoria was posting pictures all over the Facebook. Checking in at this place and that place. Beautiful life. she flew to Mexico. Peter Van Sant: Having a great time. Nadia Ford: Yeah. And from Mexico she flew to New York. Nadia reported all this to U.S. police and immigration officials. But they couldn't find Viktoria. That's when Nadia started working with private investigator and former New York City detective Herman Weisberg. He combed through Viktoria's Facebook profile with an experienced eye for detail. Herman Weisberg: I never look at what people want me to see on these sites. I'm used to looking at everything except for what's supposed to draw your attention in. Late at night, Weisberg meticulously studied every photograph and made a remarkable discovery right on Viktoria's face. Herman Weisberg found an important clue in this photo of Viktoria Nasyrova. Other photos posted to her Facebook page would reveal even more clues. / Credit: ViktoriaNasyrova/Facebook Herman Weisberg: (pointing to a photo of Viktoria): This particular picture was the most beneficial. She's wearin' the Ray-Ban sunglasses that are mirrored, and she took a great picture for us to to see the dashboard of the car. But more importantly, the stitching on that back headrest. Peter Van Sant (pointing to the stitching in the photo): This right here? Herman Weisberg: Yes, this black leather with a light gray stitching on it. I decided the next morning, I was going to be at a big parking lot at a train station. He walked row after row of vehicles, peering into windows, hoping to find the make and model that had that stitching. Herman Weisberg: And it's a big hub for the railroads. Peter Van Sant: Hundreds of cars in here. Herman Weisberg: Yeah. Probably thousands all over the place. So, it's real easy to look for the kinda detail I was looking for. Then, a Chrysler sedan caught his eye. Peter Van Sant: So, you look inside the car and what do you see? Herman Weisberg: All right, it's got the same stitching. Peter Van Sant: And show me on your phone. There's her mirrored sunglasses. Herman Weisberg: Yup. The stitching over here. It turns out that only a Chrysler 300 had the stitching and dashboard layout. Now, the hard part: finding the specific car Viktoria was driving. Herman Weisberg: Again, this was such a wild goose chase at this point. But Weisberg saw that a series of likes on Viktoria's Facebook page were clustered around Sheepshead Bay, a Russian neighborhood in Brooklyn. Peter Van Sant: So, you sent some of your investigators to look for one of these Chrysler 300s. Did they have any luck? Herman Weisberg: Well, yeah. We found a bunch of them. And the next day I had somebody run the license plates and, luckily, we found one that came back to a Russian sounding name. Weisberg took our "48 Hours" crew into the area he searched and called Van Sant to the scene when he again found the Chrysler 300 at the heart of this investigation. Peter Van Sant: This is it. Herman Weisberg: Yeah. Peter Van Sant: This is the car. Herman Weisberg: This is the car, yeah. Peter Van Sant: Take a look inside. You see the stitching? Herman Weisberg: Yeah. Hard to miss now. Peter Van Sant: There it is. Herman Weisberg: Now you see how unique it is, right? Peter Van Sant: Yeah. This is only an area of 8.5 million people. And you found the car. Herman Weisberg: It wasn't a needle in a haystack. You had to find the haystack first. And when Weisberg went to the address connected to that car, the building looked familiar. Weisberg had seen it before in another one of Viktoria's selfies. / Credit: CBS News Herman Weisberg: When you look at it and you see that that telephone pole and the location of that manhole cover and that manhole cover If you look over there, you've got the telephone pole and you've got the two manhole covers. Peter Van Sant: This is brilliant, Herman. Through that reflection in her in her glasses, you figure out this is the apartment building where the man who owns that Chrysler 300 lives. And with Viktoria in the picture, you thinking she might be living with this guy? Herman Weisberg: Itshe it looks like she took a selfie there. And it and it all starts to make sense. Amazingly, the woman Russian authorities wanted for the murder of Nadia's mother, was now living with her boyfriend in Nadia's own backyard. Nadia Ford: Four or five blocks away. Peter Van Sant: You gotta be kidding me. Nadia Ford: No. Peter Van Sant: Did you try to go find her? Nadia Ford: No. Peter Van Sant: Why? Nadia Ford: 'Cause I would kill her. Herman Weisberg: We got lucky early on. And we spotted Viktoria and her boyfriend out here. The boyfriend was the owner of the Chrysler 300 and lived in that apartment building. That boyfriend told "48 Hours" that he eventually became one of Viktoria's victims himself. He says not only did she steal from him, but that she killed his beloved beagle "Joey." Herman Weisberg: Apparently Viktoria got very jealous of the dog getting all of the spotlight in that house, and decided to poison the beagle, allegedly on the beagle's birthday. I'm a dog lover, so that's tough. And Joey the beagle's demise didn't sit well with Viktoria's neighbors, either. Karen Hill: She killed his dog, that bitch. She killed his dog. Herman Weisberg: Every time you learn something else about this woman, you realize that if she was left un-arrested, this coulda really ended poorly for Brooklyn (laughs). But now Weisberg knew the hunt was finally over. He says he called Interpol and Homeland Security but neither one agreed to take action. So, he alerted the NYPD and on March 20, 2017, the police made their move. The woman who had once posed as a dominatrix, suddenly found herself in handcuffs. Viktoria Nasyrova is arrested by authorities on March 20, 2017. / Credit: Gregory P. Mango Nadia Ford: I just cried. I I couldn't believe that it's actually happened. It's a miracle. Detective Kevin Rodgers couldn't believe it when his phone rang. Det. Kevin Rodgers: Brooklyn advises us they had this woman, Viktoria Nasyrova, in their custody. Rodgers says the cheesecake case suddenly started making sense. Det. Kevin Rodgers: Olga had something that Viktoria wanted, and it wasn't money. And it wasn't handbags. He says the instant he started reviewing police evidence photos he saw something that made it clear exactly what Viktoria was after. An ID of Olga's was found in Viktoria's apartment the picture looked eerily similar to Viktoria herself. During a search of Victoria Nasyrova's apartment, investigators found an ID card belonging to Olga Tsvyk. Investigators were convinced Nasyrova had intended to kill Tsvyk in order to assume her identity. / Credit: Olga Tsvyk | ViktoriaNasyrova/Facebook Det. Kevin Rodgers: I think she wanted to kill this woman and assume her identity. To back up his theory, Rodgers knew he would need to prove that Olga's cheesecake had been poisoned. When he sent the container from Olga's home to a lab, they found nothing. But when Rodgers decided to send it for more extensive testing, he got a hit. Det. Kevin Rodgers: Phenazepam is a sedative primarily used at the time in Russia. Peter Van Sant: It makes you sleepy? Olga Tsvyk: Sleepy, then coma, then death. Rodgers learned that Phenazepam is especially dangerous in a hot environment. Remember, the heater in Olga's room had been left on high. And Viktoria's DNA was on the cheesecake box. Peter Van Sant: All these pieces of the puzzle. Det. Kevin Rodgers: Puzzle. Peter Van Sant: They've come together. Det. Kevin Rodgers: Absolutely. Peter Van Sant: And, so, you think this was this was a planned murder. Det. Kevin Rodgers: Absolutely. Viktoria was charged with attempted murder for the attack on Olga, assault and grand larceny. Before trial, she agreed to sit down with "48 Hours" at New York's Rikers Island Jail. VIKTORIA NASYROVA COMES FACE-TO-FACE WITH "48 HOURS" AND A JURY We'd heard cruel and colorful stories about Viktoria Nasyrova for months, so in 2017, when "48 Hours" interviewed her in jail as authorities investigated her for attempted murder in Olga's case, we weren't sure what to expect. Peter Van Sant (holding photo of Nadia and Alla): Would you look at this. Viktoria Nasyrova: Yeah. Peter Van Sant: This is Alla. Viktoria Nasyrova: Yes. She insisted she had nothing to do with the disappearance of Nadia's mother Alla. Peter Van Sant: Viktoria, did you kill Alla? Viktoria Nasyrova: No. Peter Van Sant: You did not. Viktoria Nasyrova: No. Peter Van Sant:There's a woman named Olga who looks a lot like you who claims that you tried to kill her by giving her a piece of poisoned cheesecake. You wanted her dead so you could steal her identity. Viktoria Nasyrova: I know whom you mean. I know this young woman. I can tell you that I did not force her to eat it. Peter Van Sant: You're telling me all of these accusations against you all of that is false? Viktoria Nasyrova: No. I admit doing a part of it, but I will only talk about it at the trial. Viktoria Nasyrova would be in custody for nearly six years, as the pandemic caused delays, before she stood trial for the poisoning of Olga Tsvyk. When the case went to court in January 2023, the media were watching. Prosecutor Dino Litourgis: There are elements in this case you won't find anywhere else. The beautician, the cheesecake Peter Van Sant: In all the evidence you have in this case, what is the most important in your opinion? Prosecutor Dino Litourgis: We're looking at it right here. It's this container The cheesecake container / Credit: CBS News The cheesecake box from Olga's garbage still has crumbs left inside. Outlandish as it is, prosecutor Litourgis tells jurors in opening statements they should see it as a potential murder weapon. PROSECUTOR DINO LITOURGIS (in court): This is not a joke. It's not just a story. This defendant intended to kill this woman and steal her identity. He calls Olga first, to highlight the human consequences. PROSECUTOR DINO LITOURGIS (in court): And she's going to explain to you everything that happened to her. Everything that she can remember, of course. Prosecutor. Dino Litourgis: She was poisoned with something that impacted her memory. Cameras were not allowed to record witness testimony. Olga makes it clear that talking about the details of her ordeal is still like reliving a bad dream and testifying in front of her alleged attacker traumatizes her all the more. Peter Van Sant: Was she looking at you? Olga Tsvyk: Uh, yeah, she looked at me. Peter Van Sant: What did you see on her face, in her eyes? Olga Tsvyk: Um, you know, she's smiling. The state also calls Nadia Ford. Nadia Ford: She was smiling. She was smirking. Nadia Ford: I was trying to get get her look, look at me. Look at the person who mother you killed. Look look into my eyes, remember them for the rest of your life. The judge has strictly limited prosecutors from going into specifics about the murder charges facing Viktoria in Russia, so they're hoping Nadia can finesse the details and still get the point across. Prosecutor Dino Litourgis: I'll tell you it was a risky strategy. Peter Van Sant: What has she told them that you think helps your case? Prosecutor Dino Litourgis: What she told the jury is that something serious happened in Russia. It's one thing for me to say the crime was serious and it's another thing for a witness to come in and show with her body language, with her eyes, with her overall demeanor, that this was an incredibly serious crime that Viktoria Nasyrova was wanted for. Nadia Ford: I was staring at her. I just her to look at me. She didn't look at me once. Prosecutor Dino Litourgis: I was almost certain in the beginning of the trial that Viktoria was going to testify. I know that she likes to talk. Viktoria Nasyrova spent nearly six years in custody, waiting for her trial through pandemic delays. The case of the poison cheesecake went to court in January 2023. / Credit: CBS News/Liz Caholo As it turned out, Viktoria declined to testify and answer questions. But something she did say made it into the trial. Something she said to Peter Van Sant in a part of her "48 Hours" interview published online. PROSECUTOR DINO LITOURGIS (in court): It's in evidence. Peter Van Sant asked this woman in English. "There's a woman named Olga who claims that you tried to kill her by giving her a piece of poisoned cheesecake." Litourgis has someone read her answer into the record. VIktoria Nasyrova (replying to Peter Van Sant) I know whom you mean. I know this young woman. I can tell you that. but I did not force her to eat it. Prosecutor Dino Litourgis: For me as an individual she's guilty with that statement. He points out to the jury that nowhere in Victoria's answer to does she actually deny poisoning the cheesecake. DEFENSE ATTORNEY CHRISTOPHER HOYT (in court): Ms. Nasyrova is not guilty of these charges! But defense attorney Christopher Hoyt doesn't call a single witness to help him prove it. Instead, he argues the spectacle of this case obscures the specifics: details that amount to reasonable doubt. DEFENSE ATTORNEY CHRISTOPHER HOYT (in court): There is no direct evidence of anyone seeing Viktoria Nasyrova putting Phenazepam in cheesecake. He reminds the jury Olga's doctors didn't find anything unusual in her system. And he says there was nothing particularly unusual about Viktoria's life in New York, either. DEFENSE ATTORNEY CHRISTOPHER HOYT (in court): She's been just living in the U.S. using her normal name That's just the point, says the prosecutor. Victoria's US visa was set to expire. She was scared of facing charges in Russia and needed a new identity to help her hide. PROSECUTOR DINO LITOURGIS (in court): There's only two categories of people that need someone else's ID you have college kids under the age of 21 who want to borrow their buddies' ID to go drink and then on the other hand, you have international fugitives who need someone's ID as a lifeline to stay in this country and not go back to Russia. DEFENSE ATTORNEY CHRISTOPHER HOYT (in court): This is not a case about what happened in Russia And the defense insists that even if Viktoria poisoned the cheesecake, it's not enough to prove she wanted Olga dead. DEFENSE ATTORNEY CHRISTOPHER HOYT (in court): I submit to you that they have not proven that intent. PROSECUTOR DINO LITOURGIS (in court): This case has more than you need to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that this defendant is guilty. But will the jury agree? VERDICT: WERE POISON CHEESECAKE & JUSTICE SERVED? Peter Van Sant: When this jury goes out to deliberate, what's going through your mind? Prosecutor Melinda Katz: What's going through my mind is that they understand the diabolical calculation that occurred for this crime. Prosecutor Dino Litrougis' boss, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz says Viktoria Nasyrova is a lot smarter and more committed than the average criminal defendant. Prosecutor Melinda Katz: It takes patience, and it takes planning. But it takes the jury in her trial only an hour-and-a-half to reach a verdict. MAN IN COURT: How say you in count number one of the indictment charging the defendant Viktoria Nasyrova with attempted murder in the second degree guilty or not guilty? JUROR: Guilty. Guilty of attempted murder in the second degree. Peter Van Sant: Were there tears? Olga Tsvyk: Yes. At sentencing, Olga tells the court her suffering went on long after Viktoria's attack. Olga Tsvyk, center, and Nadia Ford, right, react to the guilty verdict. / Credit: CBS News/Liz Caholo OLGA TSVYK (in court): She caused me to lose trust in people. I have difficulty to trust people and I cannot know for sure what their true intentions are. I am grateful that this person will be punished for what she did to me. The maximum punishment is 25 years in prison. But at sentencing, Judge Kenneth Holder gives her less. JUDGE KENNETH HOLDER: You are an extremely dangerous woman. I sentence you to 21 years in jail. With credit for time served, Viktoria may be out in 15. Even so, she has some choice words for the court as she is led away, barely audible under her mask. VIKTORIA NASYROVA: F*** you. Herman Weisberg: She's a narcissistic, homicidal maniac. That's what narcissistic, homicidal maniacs say when they something everything goes bad for them. Victoria's time behind bars has already been rough. In 2018 at Rikers Island jail in New York, she was assaulted by fellow inmates and suffered multiple injuries to her face. And when she's done serving her time in America, Viktoria faces deportation and murder charges back in Russia. Peter Van Sant (to Nadia after sentencing): I know there's great satisfaction for you that Viktoria's finally going to prison. But it's not for what she did to your mom. Is that still an emptiness inside for you? Nadia Ford: I feel better. at least I know, now for next 15 years, she's not going to hurt anyone. Two of the people Viktoria has hurt most have resolved to draw strength from each other. Since tragedy unexpectedly brought them together, Nadia and Olga have become the best of friends. Olga Tsvyk: When we met, I feel like I I knew Nadia all my life. Nadia Ford: She's very kind, very nice, open hearted, like, you know, Kind of reminds me of my mom. Olga Tsvyk: Nadia ... She went through hell. They seem to know it takes one victim of Viktoria Nasyrova to truly understand another. Peter Van Sant: Do you think the two of you will be friends for life? Olga Tsvyk: I think, yes. In 2018, Viktoria Nasyrova sued New York City for negligence in the Rikers Island jail attack. The city settled the case, paying Nasyrova $325,000. Produced by Josh Yager. Stephen A. McCain is the development producer. Richard Barber is the producer-editor. Morgan Canty is the associate producer. Patti Aronofsky is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer. GOP Rep. Garret Graves won't rule out government shutdown after debt ceiling fight Open: This is "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" Nature: Florida's Sanibel Island Police fail to solve single burglary in half of neighbourhoods in last three years Burglary Police have failed to solve a single burglary in neighbourhoods across nearly half of England and Wales in the past three years, official data show. An analysis of police data from 30,100 neighbourhoods found that in 48.2 per cent, no break-ins had been solved in the three years ending March 2023, prompting warnings that burglary has been decriminalised in parts of the country. More than 80 burglaries remained unsolved over the three years in each of the three worst neighbourhoods in Hampshire, south Yorkshire and south-east London. The figures come ahead of the annual report this week by Andy Cooke, His Majestys chief inspector of constabulary, who has warned that the failure to stop burglars and thieves threatens the polices bond of trust with the public. The data include the time since England and Waless 43 chief constables pledged last October that their officers would visit the scene of every burglary, although most forces exclude outbuildings, sheds or garages. The figures are unchanged since The Telegraph carried out a similar exercise last June. Rick Muir, director at the Police Foundation, Britains independent police think tank, said they demonstrated police had a long way to go to restore public confidence after a collapse in national charging rates for burglary, down from one in 14 (6.7 per cent) in 2016 to less than one in 25 (3.9 per cent) in 2022. It is fair to say that in some parts of the country, there are some crime types in this case, burglary that have become decriminalised because there is absolutely no consequence to committing the crime, he said. One thing you know about offending from the research is that the length of the sentence doesnt deter thieves. They dont think about the length of the sentence because they dont think they will be caught. What is proven to affect the likelihood of offending is the chance that you may be caught. If you have detection rates so low, it means that there is not an effective deterrent to committing these crimes. That is a big problem. Dame Vera Baird, former victims commissioner, police and crime commissioner and solicitor general, said: Every burglary that is not solved means it is going to happen again. Without any doubt, burglary is a serial offence. Thats what the police were always telling me. Deputy Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith, the National Police Chiefs Council lead for burglary, said the number of burglaries was at an all-time low. We will continue to prioritise preventing these offences, targeting repeat offenders and organised crime groups and solving as many burglaries as we can, he said. All forces are now able to fulfil the commitment made last year by police chiefs to attend all residential burglaries. Many forces have dedicated burglary teams to identify links between burglaries and find the evidence that enables offenders to be charged. A neighbourhood is defined as having about 1,500 people or 650 households. Of the 30,100 analysed, 14,505 had no burglaries solved over the three years. Of these, about half 7,776 had 10 or more unsolved. Of the 30,100, just 61 had reported no burglaries. The most burgled areas were Leeds city centre (446, 70.2 per cent unsolved), Fitzrovia West and Soho (405, 91.6 per cent unsolved) and Cathedral Quarter, Derby (353, 89 per cent). The neighbourhoods with the highest number where no burglaries were solved were Lyndhurst and Minstead in the New Forest (84), Balby Carr in Doncaster (83), Greenwich Town and Park, London (82), Woodgate Valley, Birmingham (79) and Kensington in Liverpool (78). Its all nicey, nicey on the phone A New Forest resident in one of the worst areas had items she brought back from holiday stolen after burglars cut through the coach locks of her gate, waking her up terrified in the middle of the night. After filling out an online form, she heard nothing from the police about her case. Whats to stop people from doing it? They know we have to restock and they can do it again, she said. What is the deterrent? Electric gates, security lighting, stuff is padlocked away... and they still come for it. Its all nicey, nicey on the phone, do you want counselling? But when youve heard all your neighbours are being picked off one by one - you think, no Id rather just not be robbed. Burglary Rodney Broad, 64, another victim, said he will never trust South Yorkshire Police again over the way they handled a 10,000 burglary at his garage in Doncaster. Mr Broad, who lives behind the business, received a text alert at around 2am one Sunday that his alarm system had detected intruders. He and son Liam, 32, dashed there barefooted and caught the burglars red-handed ransacking cigarette machines with crowbars I threw a lock at the other guy. I rang 999 but was told to ring 101 since they had left the premises, Mr Broad said. The cigarettes, valued at 10,000, were recovered but both burglars fled. They have never been caught and they caused 2,500 damage. Rodney Broad, 64, and Liam Broad, 32 Mr Broad added: It took 40 minutes to get through on the 101 number and the police did not turn up for more than an hour. Thirty hours later I had still heard nothing back from them despite ringing three times. If they turned up when they should have done they would have caught them. I am grossly disappointed. They are just shocking. I would rate their response as one out of ten. When you dial 999 you expect an immediate response - especially when they are still on site threatening us with the crowbars they had used to jemmy open the cigarette cases. They never contacted us once. There were no updates. I have absolutely no confidence in the police. I would think twice about ringing 999 because it falls on deaf ears and you might as well take the law into your own hands because the police will not help you one iota. A Home Office spokesman said: The Home Secretary has already made clear to police chiefs that forces should attend all domestic burglaries and expects them to deliver on their pledge to do this, backed by an additional 20,000 police officers. 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. A Cincinnati police officer was shot at Sunday afternoon in Westwood. A teenage boy is in custody after police say he fired a shot at an officer Sunday afternoon in Westwood. Cincinnati Assistant Police Chief Mike John said around 1:40 p.m., officers were at Evergreen Avenue when the shots fired incident occurred. The 14-year-old was standing between two houses when he fired a single shot at an officer. The officer was not struck by the gunfire. The teen was apprehended nearby after a foot pursuit. John said the incident may have been connected to a string of aggravated burglaries in the area recently. No other suspects are being sought. John said there have been numerous other shootings in the city this weekend. "We do see an uptick of violent crime in the summer, but this is pretty extraordinary," he said. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Westwood shooting: Police say teenager fired shots at officer Sunday People travelled from all over the country to attend the opposition march against the nationalist government Half a million protesters packed the streets of central Warsaw on Sunday, Poland's opposition organisers said claiming one of the biggest anti-government demonstrations in the 30 years since the end of communism. Lech Walesa, a former Polish president, Nobel Peace Prize winner and leader of the fight against communism, joined opposition figures at the head of the march ahead of legislative elections in the autumn. People travelled from across the country after former prime minister Donald Tusk, head of the centrist opposition party Civic Platform (PO), called for the protest against "the high cost of living, swindling and lying, and for democracy, free elections and the EU". The leaders of most opposition parties encouraged their supporters to join the march against the nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS) led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski. "City Hall estimates (the number of protesters) at 500,000 now," the organisers' spokesman Jan Grabiec told AFP. Decked out in the red and white colours of the nation, demonstrators carried placards proclaiming "Enough's enough", "No to authoritarian Poland" and blaming the ruling PiS party for exorbitant prices. Once the head of the European Council, Tusk addressed the crowds saying the opposition's role is "of comparable importance" to that in the 1980s and the fight against communism. Walesa, who led the Solidarity union in a successful battle against communism, has long been absent from politics. He told the marchers he had been "patiently" waiting for the day when the nationalist party and Kaczynski will be forced out. "Mr. Kaczynski, we have come to get you. The day has finally arrived," Walesa said. The June 4 protest march day is the 34th anniversary of the first partly free elections held in Poland which were followed by the defeat of communism in Europe. Walesa became the nation's first democratically elected president in 1990. sw/bp/imm Polish Volunteer Corps supporting the RDK with raids on the territory of Russia "My darling, I've got the package from Nova Poshta (Ukraines mail service)," a fighter said in Polish in the video while holding the Russian post office signboard. The RDK also posted details about their Polish colleges involvement in recent operations. The PVC provides escort for prisoners-of-war, as well as military and medical logistics, however within Ukrainian territory alone, they said. The RDK thanked the PVC for their support, despite its limited scale. They called it "an invaluable contribution to the common cause." Polish fighters also take part in planning and get their share of trophies, they added. "We are going to liberate the entire Russia from Belgorod to Vladivostok in order to raise the white-blue-and-white flag of freedom over Moscow," a fighter of the legion said in a video posted by the RDK on Telegram. The RDK has regularly raided Belgorod Oblast over the past 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 When the rumors started during the winter after the 2022 season of Andrew McCutchen coming back to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city started buzzing again. On Jan. 20, 2023, the Pirates finally got the deal done to bring McCutchen back to Pittsburgh. Since then, McCutchen has registered 49 hits in 23 and is three hits away from 2,000 in his career. If/when McCutchen registers his 2,000th hit, he would become the 289th player in the major leagues to do so. Prior to the Pirates game on Saturday against the St. Louis Cardinals, manager Derek Shelton spoke with the Pittsburgh media. One of the many marvels with McCutchen has got to be his maintaining a high level of play, despite being 36 years old, and playing well over 1,900 games in his major league career. Click here to read more from PittsburghBaseballNOW.com. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: 2 people killed in crash in Allegheny Township Biden signs debt ceiling bill into law All-you-can-eat Korean BBQ restaurant set to replace former Eatn Park in Squirrel Hill VIDEO: People impacted by gun violence, prevention advocates hold event on National Wear Orange Day DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts Yevgeny Prigozhin holding a Russian national flag in front of his soldiers holding Wagner Group's flags in Bakhmut Putins misadventures in Ukraine could lead to violent turmoil across Russia and the regimes end. In recent weeks we have seen humiliating drone strikes against Moscow, in the Bryansk and Klimovsky regions, Krasnodar district and Belgorod city. There has been shelling of the Belgorod region, intensified this week and forcing the evacuation of thousands of people. In a major blow to Putins authority earlier in May, the Russian Volunteer Corps and Freedom of Russia Legion launched a two-day raid across the Ukrainian border into Belgorod. This was followed in the past few days by an even more powerful ground operation. The Russian MoD reported that on Thursday, two motorised infantry companies with tanks were attacking again in Belgorod, four miles from the border with Ukraine. It had to use fighter jets and artillery on its own soil to counter them. These attacks are hugely significant: they represent the first external military ground offensive on to mainland Russian territory since the Second World War. They might well have consequences to match. Despite Kyivs denials that it was involved in either of the Belgorod raids, the intention now may be to sow panic inside Russia, forcing Moscow to pull forces away from the front line as the Ukrainian counter-offensive builds. If such raids continue they could have a more fundamental effect, perhaps creating even greater discontent among the people in the border regions who have already suffered more than most Russian civilians from Putins war. Taken together with the failures so far of the Russian army and the growing harm to the countrys economy, this could set off a chain reaction that spreads to Moscow itself. Putin, once thought of as a strategic genius, has unwittingly prepared the ground for what might follow. As he sought to privatise recruitment to fuel his war rather than impose another wave of forced mobilisation, private armies have snowballed. The biggest is Wagner, active in Ukraine since 2014 and now grown into a monster. Hot on its heels is Kadyrovtsy, the private army of infamous Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. It is a large force notorious for brutal war crimes in Ukraine and about to return to front-line combat there. Many other private armies have been set up by former military officers, often made up of ex-servicemen, funded, equipped and trained by state resources. Remarkably to the non-Russian mind, even defence minister Sergei Shoigu has one of his own, Patriot. There are corporate militias as well, such as that belonging to the energy giant Gazprom, which has battalions fighting at the front. Oligarchs including Gennady Timchenko and Oleg Deripaska have created their own combat units or attached themselves to existing private military companies. Tellingly, as Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin himself remarked: Everyone is saying that there will be a power struggle at some point, and everyone needs their own army. The Kremlin has also instructed authorities in each region to create their own volunteer battalions to fight in Ukraine, with allegiance to the local leadership rather than Moscow. Some of these men will return home disillusioned and embittered. Putin sees these armies as instruments to consolidate his own power and that of the Russian state, not as political players in their own right. But when the chips are down he may not be able to call the shots. Prigozhin, for example, is a politically ambitious and volatile man. Although he has declared war on the general staff and Moscows elites, he has remained loyal to Putin. It might not take much for that to change. He is unlikely to balk at using the forces at his disposal to manoeuvre for power and influence when he feels the time is right. Following Bakhmut, Prigozhins militia is now pulling back from the front line to its bases across Russia. That leaves a large group of armed, battle-hardened men, including many convicted criminals, at their leaders command and poised for the fray. Alongside or opposed to them are many others, not just the private military companies and regional battalions, but also the plethora of armed organs of the government, including the FSB, GRU and Defence Ministry. Then there is the army itself, whose ranks include large numbers of abused, humiliated and disaffected soldiers, commanders and even generals. If Putin cannot repel the growing threats to his own homeland and at the same time secure some kind of victory in Ukraine, it is possible to envisage the Russian establishment falling apart into a violent melee of opposing armed camps. Perhaps we should not wish this bleak fate on the people of the Russian Federation, but we should certainly wish to see the back of their current leadership with the industrialised murder, mayhem and misery they have inflicted and, given the chance, will continue to inflict. If that is hastened by cross-border raids, artillery barrages and drone strikes we, like Ukraine, should welcome them, rather than, like the hand-wringing Joe Biden, deplore them. At least our Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, has the resolve to make clear his support for Ukraines right to defend itself by hitting out against the Russian aggressors beyond its borders. 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. Una Healy addresses throuple rumours with David Haye and Sian Osbourne: I need to put this to bed Una Healy has quashed rumours that she was ever in a three-way relationship with former heavyweight boxer David Haye and his model partner Sian Osbourne. All three figures were the subject of speculation among fans at the start of the year when the women were pictured on either side of Haye while on holiday in Marrakech, Morocco. The 41-year-old, who was formerly in the pop group The Saturdays, spoke on Saturdays instalment of Angela Scanlons Ask Me Anything (3 June), telling the host that she had to Google search what the word throuple meant when she first heard the rumours. Right listen, Una, we are going to get this out of the way. The word throuple. I didnt know what the word meant, Scanlon said, quizzing Healy. I was linked to this word, throuple. If you Google that word, a picture of me and a black bikini will come up, the mother-of-two said. Healy added that she had been haunted by the picture in the last few months and that she was confused about the origins of the rumour, adding that the photo was an innocent picture with two people that she knows. "I think I need to put this whole thing to bed right now and move on. The only throuple that I am in, is me, myself and I," she said. Healy also said in an episode of the My Therapist Ghosted Me podcast last month that she was only romantically involved with Haye, and added that she was a monogomous person. David Haye (centre), who sparked speculation about his romantic life by wishing a Happy Valentines Day to his two queens' (David Haye/Instagram) Dating him is the right term, because thats how it was. It wasnt a throuple. I met him last summer, online, on a dating app, she said. The rumours that they were in a three-way relationship came when Haye shared a Valentines Day post on Instagram in February, in which the three were seen together on a beach. Happy Valentines Day to the beautiful Queens in my life, making my world a better place to live in!, he wrote in the caption. Osbourne and Haye have now seemingly hit back at Healys denial that they were ever in a throuple, as Osbourne shared a montage of several pictures of herself and Healy together with the caption: The truth will set you free. The montage, also posted on Saturday the same day as Healys appearance on the Irish network is set to the song Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac. At the end of the clip, a voice recording taken from the My Therapist Ghosted Me podcast, where Healy denies that she got to know Osbourne: Really nice girl, I dont get to know her very well. So it wasnt a throuple. In the final picture, the three are seen lying together on a sunlounger while on that same holiday. Haye then commented on Osbournes post with a pair of eyes emoji. The Independent has contacted Healys representatives for comment. (Bloomberg) -- While the US ponders whether to reopen its embassy in Libya, Vladimir Putins new ambassador is preparing to take up his post in the capital, extending Russian influence across an oil-producing nation on the doorstep of Europe. Most Read from Bloomberg Russias Wagner Group, a private military company controlled by Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, already has access to key oil facilities and supported last years monthslong blockade that hit exports at the height of the energy crisis triggered by the invasion of Ukraine. Read More: Libyas Political Chaos Is Worsening a Global Oil Supply Crisis Moscows decision to reestablish its diplomatic presence in Tripoli western seat of the United Nations-backed government is the clearest sign yet that Putin is looking to make inroads beyond his traditional support for military commander Khalifa Haftar in the east. The developments have prompted concern in the US, which has dispatched a slew of senior officials to counter Putins advances in an OPEC member that European governments are courting as a potential alternative to Russian energy. They include CIA chief William Burns, who visited Libya in January, speaking to rival governments in east and west and later meeting officials in neighboring Egypt, which has also supported Haftar. Top of the US agenda is a bid to oust an estimated 2,000 Wagner mercenaries who supported Haftars failed 2019-2020 campaign to capture Tripoli and have since helped bolster his grip on oil supplies in a country thats home to 40% of Africas reserves. The status quo is inherently unstable, US Special Envoy to Libya, Richard Norland, said in a phone interview, warning of unspecified efforts to exploit internal divisions and thwart UN efforts to hold elections. Our message is youre only going to get legitimacy through elections. But the US is at a disadvantage in Libya, where it has no troops and no diplomatic presence. Though US officials say theyre working to reestablish their own embassy, the decision remains politically fraught for Joe Biden, who was vice president during the NATO-backed rebellion that ousted longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011 and Libyas subsequent descent into chaos. Read More: Why Libya Lurches from One Crisis to The Next The US embassy was closed in 2014 as Libya slid into civil war. An attack on the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi had already killed ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in 2012, fueling a domestic political uproar that complicates any potential decision to return. Thats left the US with waning leverage as it tries to manage the situation from afar. The renewed international rivalry in Libya comes as Russia makes other gains in the Middle East at the expense of the United States. Traditional Arab allies have refused to comply with US efforts to isolate Putin, going so far as to restore their ties with Syrias Kremlin-allied President Bashar al-Assad. Saudi Arabia riled the White House late last year when OPEC+ a cartel of oil producers led by Riyadh and Moscow pushed up global fuel prices by cutting crude production Meanwhile, Chinas role in brokering a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran has highlighted the broader erosion of US authority. Oil Hostage Though their numbers have dwindled since the invasion of Ukraine from highs above 4,000, Wagner forces are present at four military bases in Libya, according to the Libya-based Sadeq Institute think-tank and the Navanti Group, which advises private clients and US government agencies. The paramilitaries also have access to some of the countrys most important energy facilities including the biggest oilfield, Sharara, and Es Sider crude export terminal, their on-the-ground research shows.Putins spokesman Dmitry Peskov didnt respond to a request for comment on Russias Libya policy or the role of Wagner forces in the North African country. Mustafa Sanalla, the former head of Libyas National Oil Company, or NOC, accused Wagner and the United Arab Emirates of involvement in Haftars 2020 oil blockade. A subsequent blockade in 2022 ended with Sanallas ouster in favor of a more eastern-friendly figure. The shutdown was of course mainly due to the domestic politics of oil revenue distribution, said Navantis senior Libya analyst, Robert Uniacke. But I do not believe that it could have unfolded in the way it did without Wagners role in propping up (Haftars forces) and projecting military power in the areas around the oil facilities. Moscows efforts to restore the influence that it lost with Qaddafis demise havent always gone smoothly. Both Haftars assault on Tripoli and efforts to elevate the late dictators son, Saif al-Islam, to the presidency have failed. Putin now appears to have settled for a policy of supporting the status quo, a situation that potentially leaves Libyas oil exports hostage to Russia, which is feeling the squeeze from sanctions on its own crude sales. In an interview with Bloomberg, the new NOC chief, Farhat Bengdara, praised Haftars forces for their great efforts in securing the oil fields. He said Libya plans to open up new blocs to international companies in 2024 and raise output from 1.2 million to 2 million barrels a day within five years. Most oil analysts doubt that the NOC can pull that off without more political stability. Our impression is that the West is trying to achieve stability in Libya to ensure that more oil and gas supplies from that country reach European markets, said Elena Suponina, a Middle East analyst based in Moscow. The Kremlin understands that the US wants to use any means to weaken Russias influence in Libya and one of our tasks is not to allow this to happen. Wagners possession of warplanes and air defense systems also complicates US efforts to counter the group. Haftar relies on them to protect him and fend off opposing Libyan militia. Gleb Irisov, a former Russian air force officer who served in 2019-2020 in Syrias Khmeimim air base, used by Moscow to supply Wagner forces in Libya, said he personally saw up to 20 Soviet-built MiG-29 fighter jets as well as attack helicopters delivered to Libya. As Wagners influence spreads to Sudan, where the US says theyve delivered surface-to-air missiles to the Rapid Support Forces waging war against the army, the Biden administration is stepping up pressure. Last month, the US imposed sanctions on a man accused of overseeing Wagners operations in Mali. It alleges the group is running guns through Africa to support Putins campaign in Ukraine where the paramilitaries have also fought.Read More: Putins Mercenary Prigozhin Shifts Focus After Ukraine SetbacksThe Existential Question About Putins Mercenary Boss: Opinion The US has repeatedly imposed sanctions on Wagner and its leadership structure, including Prigozhin. Those efforts have so far made little dent in the groups operations, including its push to deepen a toehold in several African and Middle Eastern nations. Absent military intervention, its not clear what will. These have been proclaimed as US objectives: No. 1 expel Wagner and No. 2 make sure the elections happen in 2023, said Jalel Harchaoui, a Libya expert at the London-based Royal United Services Institute. Neither thing is going to materialize, mainly because the US is not really going to try. --With assistance from Demetrios Pogkas and Tom Hall. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Reparations should be earned One of the demonstrably false traditions of a wealthy country like ours is that we can solve any social problem by throwing money at it. As the wars on poverty and drugs have proven, it just doesnt work. If racism is somehow perceived as systemic to a capitalist system, then of course money is going to solve that problem, right? But realistically, money is here today and gone tomorrow, and racism will still exist in those with a depraved heart. The reparations debate continues the everything is fixed by money fantasy. If racism as a social problem is somehow repaired by money, then lets try to use the money in a way that clearly benefits everyone not only the expected recipients, but those paying for it, the taxpayers. Might it be better to use public money to create trade schools dedicated to educate Black plumbers, carpenters, electricians, mechanics skilled tradesmen? We need these skilled people right now in our communities. People with these skills can earn good money, especially in unions, and they can start their own businesses with their talents. This economic solution might prove effective. Its a buy-in to economic prosperity. Gary Nelson, Modesto What about property rights? Re Court guts Clean Water Act, which could be devastating (Page 6A, May 29): The reference is to the Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA. For 19 years, Michael and Chantell Sackett have tried to build a home on their property. They have been stymied by the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers claim that their dry property is a wetland subject to federal regulation. The Clean Water Act authorizes the EPA to regulate only navigable waters in interstate commerce. Yet the EPA said the Sacketts property was connected to a wetland some 30 feet away, which was connected to a ditch that connected to a non-navigable creek that connected to Priest Lake. Hardly a wetland. The bottom line: if the EPA wants to regulate properties such as the Sacketts, then Congress should amend the Clean Water Act to make that clear. Joan Trombetta Clendenin, Modesto Not the needy who are greedy The idea that lower-income Americans are scamming public assistance is often the implied message from the Republican Party. They are insisting on an increase in work requirements for some government programs, but it doesnt seem to bother them when taxpayers have to bail out banks and the CEOs walk off with millions of dollars in compensation, having led these banks to financial ruin. Funny how that works. Also, as many conservatives suggest we run government like a business, please tell me what successful business cuts their collections department while trying to cover their budget? That is exactly what Republicans want to do by taking away funding from the IRS. The IRS has been working for decades with budget cuts that left the department with old computers and understaffed thereby making it next to impossible to audit and collect money already owed by wealthy companies and individuals. If this system seems rigged and advantaged toward the rich and powerful, thats because it is. Our representatives in Washington too often sit down to sup and party with lobbyists while the rest of us can get our voices heard only through protesting in the streets. Anita Bruce, Modesto New rules How about work requirements for Congress? Must always put the country ahead of party, career and ego. Jack Heinsius, Modesto Debt debate When are cuts not cuts? When they are discussed by politicians. Lets say you spent $1,000 this year and budgeted to spend $1,250 next year. Then, circumstances change so you rebudget to spend $1,100 next year. For everyday folks, that is still a spending increase of $100 over this year. But politicians describe it as a cut of $150. Recently, Gene Dodaro the head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (who is also the comptroller general) reported to the president and congressional leaders that without a meaningful approach and solution to the deficit and debt issues facing the U.S., the underlying conditions driving the unsustainable fiscal outlook pose serious economic, security, and social challenges if not addressed. Our financial house is clearly on a shaky foundation. We face enormous challenges in Social Security and Medicare, interest on the U.S. debt will soon be larger than the defense budget and yet no politician wants to deal with these fiscal issues. Frank and honest discussions must be had and real cuts will be part of those. Jeff Burda, Modesto Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said on Sunday that the America First agenda does not belong to former President Donald Trump, and pledged to take that agenda even further. America First does not belong to Trump. It doesnt belong to me. It belongs to the people of this country. And I think we take that agenda even further, if were doing it based on First principles and moral authority, as [former President] Reagan did, rather than on vengeance and grievance. And thats what Im bringing to this race, Ramaswamy said in an interview on ABCs This Week with Martha Raddatz. Ramaswamys longshot bid is rooted in conservative principles, and he has risen to modest media fame in recent years as a champion of the political right. He entered the race in February as the first millennial ever to run for president. Ramaswamy on Sunday compared his polling numbers to Trumps in June, 2015 and said they indicate that the entrepreneur could still have a chance to take the lead. In June of 2015, Donald Trump was polling at four percent in eighth place. Im happy to say that were ahead of that, and I think were going to take that same trajectory. Im the outsider in this race. I think you get to be an outsider once, he said. Im the first millennial ever to run for the GOP nomination for U.S. president. And Im actually leading us to something. Too long, many other conservatives have been running from something. Im running to something, what it actually means to be an American. Im an America First conservative, but I believe that to put America first, we need to rediscover what America is. And Im seeing the base across this country, hungry for that message, and thats how were gonna win, he continued. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said on Sunday that the threat of Russia taking over Ukraine isnt a top foreign policy priority for his campaign. You do not believe that Russia taking over Ukraine would be bad for our national interest? host Martha Raddatz asked on ABCs This Week. I do not think thats a top foreign policy priority for us. I dont think it is preferable for Russia to be able to invade a sovereign country thats its neighbor, but I think the job of the U.S. president is to look after American interests, Ramaswamy said. The GOP candidate said he thinks the top military threat is, instead, the Sino-Russian alliance, and argued U.S. aid to Ukraine is pushing Russia toward China. I would end this war in return for pulling Putin out of that treaty with China, Ramaswamy said. What I think we need to do is end the Ukraine war on peaceful terms that, yes, do make some major concessions to Russia, including freezing the current lines of control and also a permanent commitment not to allow Ukraine to enter NATO, he said. But in return, Russia has to leave its treaty and its joint military agreement with China. That better advances American interests. The conservative entrepreneur, running for president in a growing GOP primary field, has previously called for a Declaration of Independence to separate the U.S. from China as Beijing and Moscow appear to be growing closer. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The remains of five Native American children who died at an Indigenous boarding school are being returned to their tribes over a century later The remains of five children who died at a Pennsylvania boarding school for Native Americans are going to be exhumed and returned to their families who have waited for their return for more than a century, the Office of Army Cemeteries (OAC) has announced. The children died between 1880 and 1910 while attending the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, a boarding school for Native American children known for physical and sexual abuse, the US Department of Interior detailed in a 2022 report. They were forced to assimilate into White society, stripped of their Indigenous names and banned from speaking their languages. If they resisted, they were punished, often violently, according to the report. The names of the children who are being repatriated to their tribes, the OAC announced May 24, are: Edward Upright from the Spirit Lake Tribe in North Dakota; Amos LaFramboise from the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation in South Dakota; Beau Neal from the Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming; Edward Spott from the Puyallup Tribe in Washington; and Launy Shorty from the Blackfeet Nation in Montana. The Carlisle Indian Industrial School was the first off-reservation boarding school for Native American children, and was built on the abandoned Carlisle Barracks, according to the National Museum of the American Indian and the US Army War College. The college now occupies the site. The deceased children returning home are among more than 10,000 students, spanning about 50 tribes, who were brought from across the United States to the school until it closed in 1918. At least 180 students were buried at the schools cemetery in named and unnamed burials, according to the OAC. At Carlisle Indian school, Pennsylvania, a group of Omaha Indian boys appear in cadet uniforms, circa 1880. - Bettmann Archive/Getty Images The exhumation is the US Armys sixth disinterment project at Carlisle Barracks, after the Army moved human remains to the posts cemetery in 1927. So far, 29 children have been returned to their tribes, not including the upcoming disinterment. The Army will pay for the reinterment of the remains and the return of the deceased to the closest living relatives. As long as I am alive, it will be my mission to bring them home The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, whose ancestor Amos LaFramboise is being returned, have long fought for his homecoming, which they demanded in a letter co-written with the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) in March. They urged the US Armys cemetery office speed up the process. Carlisle Cemetery is not and was never intended to be Amos LaFramboises final resting place, and his return to Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate is long overdue, the letter said. For generations, family members, Tribal leaders, and Tribal members have longed for Amos return home. Amos was the son of one of the most prominent and celebrated chiefs, Chief Joseph LaFromboise, who was among the leaders to sign and execute the Lake Traverse Treaty with the US in 1867, according to the letter. This treaty established the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate reservations modern day reservation boundaries. Thirteen-year-old Amos was meant to return from Carlisle after three years to lead his tribe but never made it back, dying just 20 days after his arrival at the school, according to the letter. [The] delay in the return of Amos and indifference towards consultation regarding Amos return has caused Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate unique hardships as Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate is not whole until Sisseton Wahpeton Oyates children are returned home, the letter said. When you bring them home, you bring them home like the chiefs that they are. You bring them home in a buffalo robe, said John Eagle, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate elder and language speaker, in an article published by the NARF. You bring them home in honor, because they would have been our chiefs if they had lived. Tiauna Augkhopinee, a member of the Puyallup Tribe in Washington, led the initiation to return her ancestor Edward Spott, who was 16 when he was taken to Carlisle, Augkhopinee wrote in a Facebook post. Im beyond thankful to make this discovery, but at the same time pained and grieving the loss of our young relative, Augkhopinee said. He must have been so scared, and I know his relatives missed him. We still miss him. We WILL bring him home. No matter how much time has passed, the descendents of children taken from their tribes and forced into these schools cannot feel complete until all of their families return to them. They are waiting to come home, because they told us, said Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate elder Marie Renville, in the NARF article. As long as I am alive, it will be my mission to bring them home. A history of abuse and violently enforced assimilation The founder of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, Capt. Richard Pratt, believed that Native children should be stripped of their Indigenous culture and assimilated into White American culture. Pratts most famous speech included his notorious urging to kill the Indian to save the man. Students were forced to cut their hair, change their names, stop speaking their Native languages, convert to Christianity, and endure harsh discipline including corporal punishment and solitary confinement. This approach was ultimately used by hundreds of other Native American boarding schools, according to the Carlisle Indian School Project, a non-profit that aims to commemorate the site with a museum. In 2000, Kevin Govor, the assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, apologized for the ethnic cleansing and cultural annihilation conducted by the agency. Gover specifically cited government boarding schools as part of a cultural assault on American Indians and Alaska Natives. The 2010 Defense Act included a clause where Congress apologized on behalf of the people of the United States to all native peoples for the many instances of violence, maltreatment, and neglect. In 2021, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced the launch of an initiative to investigate the Native American boarding schools that forced assimilation in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Department of Interior is reviewing its past oversight of the school program, to assess how it has impacted generations of families and identify boarding school facilities and burial sites across the country, Haaland said. The initiative was announced weeks after the discovery of unmarked graves on the grounds of former residential schools in Canada, renewing attention to the systemic abuse of Indigenous communities on both sides of the border. In June 2021, the remains of 215 children were found buried near a residential school for Indigenous children in British Columbia. A month later, another 182 human remains were discovered in unmarked graves at the site of another residential school in British Columbia. Christine Diindiisi McCleave, chief executive of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, says similar discoveries could also take place in the US. If you look at the numbers here from the United States, we had twice as many schools. You can basically just estimate that our numbers will be double what they found in Canada, McCleave said. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The Kansas Republican Party has a big problem at the moment. Republicans. Not all of them, maybe not even a majority of them. But theres a faction thats taken control of the state party apparatus, saying and doing some really self-destructive things. If you dont keep up on this stuff, heres a synopsis: At a February state committee meeting, Mike Brown was elected party chairman, 90-88. You may remember Brown. A former Johnson County commissioner who, after losing that job, ran unsuccessfully last year against incumbent Scott Schwab in the GOP primary for Kansas secretary of state. Brown attacked Schwab from the right. If youd ever seen Schwab in action when he was a state legislator, you may ask how thats even possible. It is, if you jump on the stop the steal bandwagon with both feet, embracing and promoting election conspiracy theories and attacking mail voting and ballot drop boxes Browns signature move. His tenure as party chairman has been marked by paranoia and an effort to consolidate the power of his insurgent faction. This has alienated conservative, yet traditional, Republicans whove been the backbone of the party for years. Among Browns critics is his immediate predecessor, Mike Kuckelman. Brown accused the former GOP chairman of basically stalking him and his wife. Recently I have seen you around in multiple venues while I was with friends and family, Brown wrote in an email to Kuckelman. The number of times is concerning and more than what I believe to be a coincidence. As my wife feels very uncomfortable, I believe it is best we avoid each other to the maximum extent possible. But whats really gotten Brown in hot water lately is an effort by his supporters to shrink the Republican State Committee and its influential Executive Committee, which would consolidate the power of the Brown faction. As things stand now, those committees include representation from congressional and statewide officeholders, along with leaders of groups representing Black Republicans, Hispanic Republicans, young Republicans, college Republicans and Republican women. A proposal from the party Rules Committee would take those seats away. This got talked out Friday at the Wichita Pachyderm Club in a panel discussion, including Sedgwick County Clerk and former GOP state chairman Kelly Arnold, state Sen. Renee Erickson, Black Republican Talia Penn and Hispanic Republican Ben Sauceda. The panelists werent taking the proposed rule changes lightly. Im still an American and I still have a right to be heard, said Sauceda, a second-generation Hispanic-American, chair of the Kansas chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly and a Park City City Council member. Arnold serves on the Rules Committee and was on the short end of an 8-3 vote that advanced the changes. Brown has encouraged the Rules Committee to take another look at the plan, but Arnold said he doesnt see that happening. He said if the attempted purging of minority, women and elected voices had happened on his watch, hed have removed his appointees and replaced them. Nobody would have thought of doing this when I was chairman, he said. But the effort to steer the party in the direction its going didnt start with Brown. It started with Brownback. In 2012, then-Gov. Sam Brownback didnt like moderate Republicans getting in the way of his ill-advised and radical tax-cut proposals, the brainchild of Koch Industries front groups and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce. They recruited and backed Brownback supporters in a concerted effort to purge the moderates in Republican primaries. It worked. Numerous moderates, including then-Senate President Steve Morris, were voted out. The message was loud and clear: back Brownback, or lose your seat. I knew we were headed for a dark place when Id cover the Capitol back then and hear the word moderate attached to people like former state senators Phil Journey, tireless champion of the National Rifle Association, or Dick Kelsey, Baptist pastor and pro-life crusader. The Legislature has moved steadily rightward ever since to where it is today veto-proof majorities in both houses and leadership that punishes members who step out of line. It works in the carefully gerrymandered Legislature, but not as well at the macro level. Cracks in GOP dominance began to show when voters soundly rejected the anti-abortion Value Them Both constitutional amendment in August. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids won their elections in November, despite Republicans best efforts to unseat them. Arnold and co-panelists at the Pachyderm meeting made a compelling case for minority representatives and elected officials to remain on the state leadership committees, saying that inclusion is vital to the partys future, especially when it comes to fundraising. Their comments were mostly well-received, but a few had other thoughts. Pachyderm Ed Myers, wearing a T-shirt bearing the slogan Purge The RINOs (short for Republican in Name Only), demanded to know if the panelists intended to invite gay Republican groups to have a seat on the party committees. He didnt get an answer. After the meeting, he explained that in his view, the Republicans are following a Democratic playbook by offering special representation to minorities in the party. We are promoting segregation, he said. We are pitting one group against another. Traditional conservatives find themselves in a pickle. They purged Morris and the moderates and rode that dark energy to near-dominance of Kansas politics. But now, they find themselves in a spot where the farther-right might be ready to move on without them and they could be on the outside looking in. Its brings to mind the popular subreddit group r/LeopardsAteMyFace, which started six years ago with the tweet: I never thought leopards would eat MY face, sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating Peoples Faces Party. The subreddit revels in telling stories of people suffering consequences from something they voted for, but that got out of control. Arnold acknowledges that previous purges played a role in bringing the state party to its current crossroads. Hopefully, over time, we have learned the lessons of mistakes of the past, he said. The Rules Committee majority members have asked for and been granted a speaking slot at the Pachyderm Club to tell their side of story, two weeks from now. I can hardly wait. 'RHOC' star Shannon Storms Beador posts selfie with ex David Beador, and even their kids are shocked Shannon Storms Beador and her ex-husband, David Beador, had a surprising reunion. The Real Housewives of Orange County star shared a selfie on Instagram June 2 posing with her ex-husband. In the snap, both smiled for the camera while they were at The Quiet Woman, a restaurant in Corona Del Mar, California. You never know who you are going to run into at the @thequietwomancdm, she wrote in the caption. She shared the same selfie on her Instagram story, adding the hashtag, #itsbeenyears, along with a shrugging emoji. The reunion picture came a shock due to the tumultuous nature of their split in 2017, and as of October, Storms Beador said the former couple had "zero" communication with each other. The comment section of the post was filled with mixed emotions. Former RHOC star Vicki Gunvalson shared a supportive message for her castmate, commenting, Awe your girls will be happy. Based on their own comments, the former couple's three daughters, Sophie, 21, and 18-year-old twins, Adeline and Stella, did have a reaction shock. jump scare ??? Sophie commented. "Huh?" Stella wrote, while Adeline added, what. I guess I left too soon, Tamra Judge, who also appears on the hit Bravo show, joked in the comments. Storms Beador and Beador were married for 17 years before the couple separated in 2017. The couples turbulent relationship was documented on RHOC, with Shannon Beador revealing in the shows 10th season that her husband had an affair. However, the couple went on to renew their vows in 2016. In a statement to Bravos The Daily Dish, Storms Beador confirmed that she and Beador had separated in October 2017. They reportedly finalized their divorce and reached a settlement in April 2019, according to People. Following their separation, the couple each began new relationships. Beador married Lesley Cook and welcomed a daughter, Anna, together in February 2021, according to People. Beador filed for divorce in September 2022, but later filed to dismiss the petition, according to People. Cook also shared a statement on social media that she would be filing for divorce, People reported. Storms Beador weighed in on her ex-husbands relationship status during a panel at BravoCon in October 2022 and shared her speculations that the couple were still together despite recent reports. However, when asked what her level of communication was with her ex, she simply said, Zero, still. As for her own relationship post-divorce, Storms Beador moved on with John Janssen in 2019 after meeting through mutual friends. The couple ultimately split in November 2022, with Shannon Beador telling People in January that she was blindsided when Janssen ended their relationship after filming of Season 17 of RHOC wrapped. We were in a great place. But seven days later, when the cameras were down, it was a completely different story, she told People. He told me he was done with the relationship. And to hear what he said to me then was absolutely devastating. She said she never loved anyone more in her life, adding, I was hopeful this was the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with. I wanted it to work out. Ive never loved anyone like Ive loved John. But clearly, he didnt feel the same way. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Floridas Ron DeSantis is now officially a candidate for president, and so far his campaign is going about as expected. The Republican governor has decried the malignant ideology of the left and the woke mob, and hes promised to make the rest of America more like his free state of Florida. He has suggested that Disney is trying to brainwash America, and hes gone after former President Donald Trump, albeit indirectly, by urging Republicans to dispense with a culture of losing during an appearance in New Hampshire. These are the subjects DeSantis wants to discuss and, quite possibly, the ones that matter most to Republican primary voters. But theres another topic in the news that could use some attention. Over the past few weeks, roughly a quarter of a million Floridians have lost health insurance coverage through Medicaid. And thats just the beginning. In the coming months, even more Medicaid beneficiaries in Florida could lose their coverage as well with many, and quite possibly most, ending up uninsured altogether. Its a big deal in Florida. It should be a big deal elsewhere too, because a major reason for the coverage losses is a series of policy decisions that DeSantis and his administration have made. These decisions say a lot about his priorities and values, and how he might govern as president. The End Of A Pandemic Policy The story unfolding in Florida is part of a larger one playing out across the country, as the federal government ends the last of its COVID-19 emergency measures. One of those initiatives focused on Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income Americans that states administer using a combination of their own funding and money from Washington. Some states make it relatively easy to enroll and stay on the program. Others dont. And especially in the states that make it more difficult, tons of people lose their coverage even though they remain eligible in some cases, simply because they couldnt figure out the paperwork. Its a situation that advocates have long decried, and one that even Medicaid critics agreed was problematic in the pandemic, when the need to get medical care was so urgent. Thats why the pandemic relief package that Congress passed and Trump signed in March 2020 offered states extra Medicaid funds as long as they suspended their usual verification and re-enrollment procedures. In other words, anybody on Medicaid would get to stay on it automatically, for the duration of the public health emergency. The states agreed, and its one reason that Medicaid enrollment swelled which, in turn, was partly why the number of Americans without health insurance fell to record lows. Now, that arrangement has ended. Once again, states are going through their Medicaid rolls, requiring beneficiaries to reestablish their qualifications to stay on the program. But just as some states have historically made the enrollment process easier, some are currently going out of their way to minimize coverage losses for example, by using existing databases to verify peoples eligibility automatically, when possible. Certain states are going even further by changing their Medicaid programs to make it easier to stay on. One such state is Oregon, where officials recently worked with President Joe Bidens administration on a series of Medicaid changes designed to better address poverty. A key element was the introduction of continuous eligibility for young children, meaning that those who get onto Medicaid will automatically stay on the program until they turn 6 years old. The trade-off is that, almost inevitably, there will be some kids on Medicaid who are no longer eligible or no longer need the coverage say, because their parents have gotten better-paying jobs with benefits. Oregon officials evidently figure its a small price to pay for helping so many more kids in need. The public health emergency has clearly demonstrated the value of having continuous health insurance, particularly for populations that experience health disparities and have had historical barriers to health care access, said Elizabeth Gharst, a spokesperson for Oregons Health Authority, after the change was announced. But officials in some states dont have that mentality. One such state is Florida, which last month released its first report on how the Medicaid reverification process was going. The Medicaid Purge In Florida The states official data showed that, in just a few weeks of reviewing records, Florida had canceled coverage for nearly 250,000 residents. Thats a lot of people, obviously. But what was perhaps more striking was that this represented 54% of the records it had reviewed. In other words, somebody lost coverage in more than half of all the Medicaid cases that Florida examined. Last week, the health care research organization KFF published a brief comparing figures from nine states that have begun their review processes in earnest and are reporting figures. Floridas proportion of disenrollments was the highest. And while a handful of states had similar rates, others were dramatically lower. In Virginia, for example, the rate was just 10%. Its impossible to know exactly which Floridians are losing coverage and why. In all likeliness, some truly dont qualify for Medicaid anymore. But only 18% of those losing coverage in the state were definitively determined to no longer qualify. The rest were disenrolled for procedural reasons meaning that something in their paperwork was off. Its a safe bet, as the KFF brief noted, that many of these people still qualify for Medicaid but just struggled to navigate the documentation requirements and bureaucratic procedures. Most likely, many will end up with no insurance at all. Health care advocates in Florida feared precisely this scenario, practically begging the state to go slow on redeterminations and to make sure the process was thorough. Now that the initial figures are available, 52 organizations have sent a joint letter asking DeSantis administration to pause the process so it can set up better notification procedures and increase staff numbers at the agency processing cases. All eight Democrats who represent Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives signed a letter making the same basic plea. When governors see such large numbers of terminations of coverage for procedural reasons... they should pause the process and see what is going wrong, Joan Alker, a Georgetown University research professor who has been following the Medicaid redetermination story for months, said at a virtual press conference in May. A Window Into A DeSantis Presidency Conservatives see things differently, arguing that aggressive reviews of Medicaid rolls are a necessary and responsible way to control program costs. Brian Blase, a former Trump administration official who is now president of the Paragon Health Institute, noted recently in National Review that Medicaid has retroactive eligibility which means that people who lose coverage can re-enroll, and then submit bills that are up to three months old. But some states have dramatically scaled back retroactive eligibility. Florida is one of them. And while the states officials have defended their approach to reviewing eligibility as sufficiently cautious, yet another KFF survey found that Florida had relatively few systems in place to protect eligible beneficiaries from losing their coverage. All of which is consistent with the DeSantis record. He has a well-established history of opposing government health care plans, for the same reasons that most conservatives do: He argues they are too costly and wasteful, and that they interfere with the free market by sapping individual initiative. As a member of the House in 2017, DeSantis voted to support far-reaching efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. As Floridas governor, he has refused to support the ACAs Medicaid expansion for the state, which is the biggest reason that more than 12% of Floridians dont have health insurance. Thats the fourth-highest rate in the country. Exactly what role his thinking played in shaping Floridas approach to Medicaid redeterminations is an interesting question. The same goes for how DeSantis feels about so many of his residents losing coverage. But he hasnt addressed the topic publicly, and when HuffPost repeatedly asked about it while first covering this story months ago, his administration didnt provide answers. On the presidential campaign trail, DeSantis has generally been appearing in front of friendly audiences and supportive interlocutors. But hes going to run into sharper questioning eventually. At some point maybe during the primaries, maybe not until the general election contest somebody is bound to ask about these huge coverage losses. As they should. Government health care programs like Medicaid represent a massive commitment of federal funds. They are also a lifeline for a large swath of the population, with the potential to reach even more people who need help. DeSantis would have a lot to say about this as president. Voters deserve a preview of what that would sound like. Related... Rosalyn Howard was an accomplished University of Central Florida cultural anthropologist who played a huge role in the Newtown Alive project, which was launched to preserve and celebrate the rich history of Sarasota's Newtown neighborhood. Newtown Alive founder Vickie Oldham says Howard, who died March 4, was a dedicated scholar and an amazing friend. I hear Dr. Rosalyn Howard's voice in all of the "Looking for Angola" resources that our research team created from the time we began our search in 2005 for artifacts related to the 1800s Black Seminole settlement. "Dr. Roz" compiled archaeological, cultural and archival evidence of the early 19th century Florida maroon community, formerly located in East Bradenton and in parts of Sarasota. Her fingerprints are on the materials that document Newtowns 100-year-plus history; indeed, Newtown Alives research report, website, book, oral history interviews, podcast series and historic markers all have her stamp of approval. Sadly, Roz passed away on April 5. Vickie Oldham The humanities scholar with cut-to-the-chase candor was an inspiration to me and to the volunteer researchers who combed Tampa Bay libraries and databases to find primary and secondary source documents about the history of Sarasota's African American community. Roz sifted through private collections, books, albums, flyers and programs to add historical context to the actions of early pioneers and civil rights leaders such as Lewis and Irene Colson, Leonard Reid, Wright Bush, Emma E. Booker, Mary Emma Jones, Neil Humphrey Sr., John Rivers and Dr. Edward James II. In order to meet both the standards of humanities research and the city of Sarasotas deadline for completion of the Newtown Conservation Historic District Phase 1 project, we worked into the wee hours reviewing photos, matching content, posting captions, writing chapters and debating sentence construction. An accomplished anthropologist Roz was an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Central Florida specializing in cultural anthropology. Her primary focus was to conduct ethnohistorical studies of the African Diaspora, and the relationships formed by African and Indigenous peoples in the Americas and the Caribbean. In fact, Roz's book "Black Seminoles in the Bahamas" detailed the lives of the Black Seminole descendant community of Red Bays, Andros Island, Bahamas. For a year, Roz lived among people in the Red Bays village to study their lives, language and struggles. She was also a consultant to a cultural heritage tourism project co-sponsored by the state of Florida and The Bahamas Ministries of Culture and Tourism that studied the connections between the Red Bays village and the Gullah community throughout the southeastern United States. In addition to that important work, Roz also participated in a 2010 distance education project that highlighted the peoples and cultures of South Africa and Swaziland as well as a 2011 Fulbright-Hays grant project that examined cultural, educational and democratic issues in Botswana. A memorable trip I traveled with Roz to numerous conferences, festivals and historical sites. And through it all, I felt privileged to witness a dedicated anthropologist who was deeply committed to her work yet one who also knew how to have fun once the work ended for the day. Our trip to Red Bays was eye-opening. While the community offers spectacular views of the ocean, it is tucked away in a remote location that's off the tourist trail and away from the bustle. Before heading there, Roz invited me to an Independence Day celebration in Nassau at the prime minister's compound. The people, music, food and fireworks were lively, spicy and colorful. We spent an extra day in Nassau and then prepared to depart from an airport full of people who were flying to their "family islands." Our plane was very small, and I was trying my best to calm my nerves about the flight. Roz, however, assured me that she had made the trip many times before and the actual flight took less than 30 minutes. Her friend Gerty was at the makeshift airport to meet us, and the two women laughed and caught up on island lore as we made the long (and bumpy) ride to Red Bays. Once we arrived, I was immediately struck by how beloved Roz was in the village and how adored she was by people of all ages. She would always fill her luggage with clothes and gifts for the children. And as we explored everything from cemeteries to tiny food shacks, Roz would teach me about the culture, introduce me to various experts and generously share her sense of reverence for the village's history. Roz was my research partner, my mentor and my friend, and she taught me how to honor diverse people, cultures and history. In the "Newtown Alive" book Roz wrote that it was "an honor to work on the neighborhood history project" and added that we had inspired her. That sentiment was absolutely mutual: It was a true honor to have Roz inspire all of us in our effort to amplify the history of Newtown and to share why its rich history matters. Vickie Oldham is president of the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition. She is also the founder of Newtown Alive and is helping to spearhead the opening of the historic Leonard Reid House, which will showcase Black arts, culture and history. This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Rosalyn Howard was a dedicated scholar - and an inspirational figure Here's a roundup of recent incidents and announcements from Ventura County agencies: Local man nabs noteworthy jackpot A Ventura County man won more than $500,000 at the Chumash Casino Resort on May 25, 2023, casino officials said. A Ventura County grandfather recently snagged a $556,120 jackpot at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, the casino said Friday. The anonymous winner hit the prize on May 25 using a Bonus Times progressive machine in the casino's Higher Limits room. It was his second spin that morning, according to the release. I was just surprised that the three 10s came up, he told resort officials. Every time I visit, I play that machine and the one next to it that is sitting at $1.3 million. The man said he visits the casino about once a month. He planned to buy one granddaughter a new car and give money to two other grandchildren for a college fund. "Oh, and pay taxes on it," he reportedly chuckled. The 21-and-over facility on Highway 246 is owned and operated by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. The casinos gaming floor is open 24/7 and features 2,300 slot machines, 45 table games, bingo and weekly prize giveaways, according to the release. Santa Paula detours start Monday A map of road construction in Santa Paula starting Monday that will significantly impact traffic for about five weeks, officials said. Construction work starting Monday at a major Santa Paula intersection is expected to disrupt traffic for about five weeks, police officials said. Work at Palm Avenue and Harvard Boulevard will start in the middle of the intersection. Traffic control and turning restrictions will be in place 24 hours a day, the Santa Paula Police Department said. The project will cause a "significant" impact to the flow of traffic and to access on Palm and Harvard, the agency warned. Businesses will remain open during construction. Motorists trying to access Highway 126 are advised to use 10th Street or Peck Road, officials said. A map provided by the department showed a recommended detour route in green that runs along Main Street to Eighth Street and along the frontage road on the south side of the 126. Significant restrictions will be in place on Harvard and Palm, including turn restrictions and lane reductions, officials said. Drivers are advised to expect delays and avoid the area if possible. Parking lot near Mussel Shoals reopens The Punta Gorda parking lot near Mussel Shoals has been upgraded with speed bumps and parking barriers to deter illegal street racing. A parking lot near Mussel Shoals is open again after renovation work aimed at deterring illegal street racing, authorities said. The Punta Gorda parking lot now has strategically placed speed bumps and 155 "wheel stop" cement parking barriers, Ventura County officials said. The lot is located along the northbound side of Highway 101, north of the Seacliff interchange, at the end of old Pacific Coast Highway. A pedestrian undercrossing below the freeway provides access to beach areas including Oil Piers and Mussel Shoals. The site was known for its "high incidence" of illegal vehicular activities including drag racing and donuts, county officials said in a release. The project included collaboration with the county planning division, the District Attorney's Office, Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol and the California Coastal Commission. Supervisor Matt LaVere said in a statement his office began collaborating with the various agencies after becoming aware of the public safety dangers at the parking lot. DA Erik Nasarenko said in a statement the effort "attacks the conditions that permit illegal street racing to occur" and the barriers would help restore the coastal lot for its intended use as beach access. The collaboration involved extensive planning and coordination over two years, according to the release, after several requests had been made to stop illegal races and gatherings at the site. The project closed the lot for a time starting in late May. 3rd defendant changes plea in 2017 Christmas stabbing The third defendant in a fatal 2017 Christmas night stabbing in Ventura was recently released from custody after pleading guilty to an assault charge in April. Chris Gallegos, 24, had previously been charged with murder along with two other men. In April's plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to one count of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury and admitted to several special allegations, including a street terrorism enhancement. The case involved a deadly stabbing in Ventura's beachside parking structure at 500 E. Harbor Blvd., near the Ventura Pier, on the night of Dec. 25, 2017. The victim, Ventura resident Joseph Cruz, 30, was stabbed about 14 times and died the following day. Authorities described the targeted attack as gang-related. Two other defendants, Jose Manuel Acevedo and Andy Diaz, who were juveniles at the time of the incident, previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in April 2022 and were sentenced to state prison. Gallegos was sentenced May 26 in Ventura County Superior Court to a total of 11 years for the assault charge and a firearms offense, according to prosecutors. He had been in county jail facilities since December 2017. With his time spent in jail and credits, he had served the full sentence, prosecutors said. He was released from jail custody and put on state parole supervision. -- Items may be updated. This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: Ventura County man nabs jackpot at Chumash Casino, more news Russia lost seven times as much as Ukraine in Bakhmut, says NSDC Secretary Danilov Destroyed houses in Bahmut Since Sept. 1, when Moscow started using convicts as mercenaries in Bakhmut, 22,816 people have been killed, he said. According to him, the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) were 7.5 times smaller. We have no right to surrender our cities. Without resistance, they would have been defeated, he emphasized.Danilov also highlighted Ukraines objective of liberating the occupied territories and returning to the 1991 borders, adding that tactics are adjusted as needed. What is happening in the Bakhmut direction right now? Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner private military company, claimed that his militants had completely captured Bakhmut on May 20. Ukraines Armed Forces and Ministry of Defense refuted this, stating that fighting in the city was ongoing. The Ministry of Defense reported on May 31 that the occupiers controlled the majority of Bakhmut, but the Armed Forces had gained control of strategic heights. The AFU highlighted that their main objective in Bakhmut was to inflict maximum casualties on the enemy. Prigozhin ordered his Wagner mercenaries to leave Bakhmut by June 1 and hand over their positions to the Russian military. Russian paratroopers and motorized infantry units are entering Bakhmut to replace the Wagnerites, said Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the Eastern Operational Group of the AFU. The enemy has changed the format of their operation in Bakhmut, resulting in a temporary lull, said Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ground Forces of the AFU. The AFU continue to make progress on the flanks of Bakhmut, and the operation there is ongoing. The AFU were able to advance an additional 350-450 meters in some positions in the Bakhmut area, said Cherevatyi on May 27. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine The work of the Air Defense Forces of Ukraine "Not only do I have an idea (about the number of Russia's missiles), but also the exact numbers. Our special services reported the statistics to us. Of course, I can't disclose it, but I can say that Russia possesses sufficient resources to strike us more than two or three times," he believes. Ukraine needs to replenish its air defence stocks and Ukrainians need to go to shelters when they hear air raid alerts, he said. "Russia is still capable of terrorising us for a long time. Russia has learned to replenish its stockpiles .... They still can do it despite sanctions that are mainly imposed against big enterprises while others also can assemble them (missiles)... Russia still has the potential. They are able to manufacture missiles - all kinds that they use against us," Kostenko said. The war won't end soon, he believes. "We need everything to close our sky, to get fighter jets which will help us. We need to produce our own missiles. We need to do more Shebekino-like raids on the Russian territory so they will experience it. We have a lot to do ahead, but we shouldn't calm down our people saying that "everything will be fine tomorrow." It won't. The victory will be far away until we all stand by, until we switch our economy to military footing, until our military industry works in full stride." The enemy once again attacked Ukraine with missiles and UAVs overnight on June 4. Occupying Russian troops launched six missiles and five attack drones on Ukraine from the north, the Air Forces reported. An operational airfield near Kropyvnytskyi in the center of Ukraine, in Kirovohrad Oblast, was struck, as well as an infrastructure facility in Sumy Oblast in the north. A Russian missile hit two two-storey residential buildings in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast the previous day. A 2-year-old girl was killed and 22 people were injured, including five children, in the attack. 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 Ukrainian serviceman looks on near the Ukraine-Russia border in Kharkiv region Russia says it thwarted major Ukrainian offensive, Kyiv says Moscow spreads lies A Ukrainian serviceman looks on near the Ukraine-Russia border in Kharkiv region By Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Monday its forces had thwarted a major Ukrainian offensive at five points along the front in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk and killed hundreds of troops while Ukraine accused Moscow of spreading lies. It was not immediately clear whether or not the attack represented the start of a Ukrainian counteroffensive which Kyiv has been promising for months to drive out Russian forces after the invasion of February 2022. Russia's defence ministry said Ukraine had attacked on Sunday morning with six mechanised and two tank battalions in southern Donetsk, where Moscow has long suspected Ukraine would seek to drive a wedge through Russian-controlled territory. "On the morning of June 4, the enemy launched a large-scale offensive in five sectors of the front in the South Donetsk direction," the defence ministry said in a statement posted on Telegram at 1:30 a.m. Moscow time (2230 GMT). "The enemy's goal was to break through our defences in the most vulnerable, in its opinion, sector of the front," it said. "The enemy did not achieve its tasks, it had no success." Reuters was unable to immediately verify the Russian statement and the Ukrainian defence ministry and military did not immediately respond to written requests for comment. The commander of Ukraine's ground forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on Monday that Ukrainian forces continued "moving forward" near the long-contested city of Bakhmut in northern Donetsk. He made no comment on the counter-offensive. The daily report from Ukraine's General Staff said only that there were 29 combat clashes in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine. Ukraine's Centre for Strategic Communications did not address the Russian statement directly but said, without providing evidence, that Russia would seek to spread lies. "To demoralize Ukrainians and mislead the community (including their own population), Russian propagandists will spread false information about the counteroffensive, its directions, and the losses of the Ukrainian army," it said. Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov published a cryptic message on Twitter on Sunday, quoting Depeche Mode's track "Enjoy the Silence". Russian war bloggers reported fighting at several points across the front, particularly around Vuhledar, some 150 km (93 miles) southwest of Bakhmut. FIGHTING Russia's defence ministry released video of what it said showed several Ukrainian armoured vehicles in a field blowing up after being hit. Russian forces killed 250 Ukrainian troops as well as destroying 16 tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles and 21 armoured combat vehicles, the ministry said. Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, who is in charge of Moscow's military operation in Ukraine, was in the area at the time of the Ukrainian attack, the ministry said. Prominent Russian military blogger Semyon Pegov, who blogs under the name War Gonzo, said Ukrainian forces were attacking near Velyka Novosilka, a village west of Vuhledar. "There is a tough fight going on." Other Russian military bloggers reported also heavy fighting on Monday morning near Bakhmut, nearby Soledar and Vuhledar. Reuters could not independently verify the reports. COUNTER-OFFENSIVE? For months, Ukraine has been preparing for a counter-offensive against Russian forces which officials in Kyiv and CIA Director William Burns have said will pierce Russian President Vladimir Putin's hubris. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Saturday that he was ready to launch the counteroffensive but tempered a forecast of success with a warning that it could take some time and come at a heavy cost. "I don't know how long it will take," he told The Journal. "To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different. But we are going to do it, and we are ready." After seeking tens of billions of dollars of Western weapons to fight Russian forces, the success or failure of the counter-offensive is likely to influence the shape of future Western diplomatic and military support for Ukraine. Ukraine has in recent weeks sought to weaken Russian positions but its specific plans have been shrouded in secrecy as it seeks to strike yet another blow against the much larger military of Russia. Moscow was last month struck by drones which Russia said was a Ukrainian terrorist attack while pro-Ukrainian forces have repeatedly crossed into Russia proper in recent days in the Belgorod region. After a two-month lull, Russia has launched hundreds of drones and missiles on Ukraine since early May, chiefly on Kyiv, with Ukraine saying it was targeting military facilities but also hitting residential areas. WAR IN UKRAINE Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24 last year in what the Kremlin expected to be swift operation but its forces suffered a series of defeats and had to move back and regroup in swathes of eastern Ukraine. Russia now controls at least 18% of what is internationally recognised to be Ukrainian territory, and has claimed four regions of Ukraine as Russian territory. For months, tens of thousands of Russian troops have been digging in along a front line which stretches for around 600 miles (1,000km), bracing for a Ukrainian attack which is expected to try to cut Russia's so-called land bridge to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. Ukraine vows to eject every last Russian soldier from its territory, and casts the invasion as an imperial-style land grab by Russia. Russia says the West is fighting a hybrid war against Russia to sow discord and ultimately carve up Russia's vast natural resources, allegations that Western leaders deny. (Writing by Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow, Lidia Kelly in Melbourne and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; editing by Diane Craft, Lincoln Feast and Philippa Fletcher) Russia targets Ukrainian children 2-year-old girl dead, 5 children in hospital in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast missile strike Consequences of a missile strike The deceased child was only two years old, Dnipropetrovsk governor, Serhiy Lysak, reported on Telegram. There are reports of 22 injured individuals, including five children. Read also: Two children hospitalized due to explosion at playground in Kherson Oblast The enemy missile partially destroyed two two-story buildings. Additionally, 10 private houses, cars, a store, and gas pipelines sustained damage, the statement reads. The invaders continued shelling Dnipropetrovsk Oblast throughout the night of June 4. Artillery strikes in Nikopol launched by the invaders set two cars ablaze. Three multi-story buildings, a restaurant, and power lines were also damaged. Read also: Dnipro death toll rises to five three missing people found dead in missile strike on hospital No casualties were reported. Lysak revealed that the defenders successfully shot down two cruise missiles and one drone, possibly of the Shahed type, over the oblast. An explosion occurred on June 3, at around 9:00 p.m., triggering an air raid alarm in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Local Telegram channels reported shattered windows in residences and shared images of smoke. Later, it was discovered that the explosion took place in the Pidhorodne community of the Dniprovsky District in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Read also: Russian military targets sleeping children in barbaric missile attack on Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy released a video showing the aftermath of the strike. 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 Russian Defence Ministry claims Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group tried to cross river in Belgorod Oblast The Russian Ministry of Defence claims that they stopped the attempt of a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group to cross the river near the settlement of Novaya Tavolzhanka, Belgorod Oblast; earlier the governor of Belgorod Oblast informed that fighting was ongoing in the village. Source: Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti with reference to the Russian Defence Ministry Details: According to the Defence Ministry of the aggressor country, on 4 June, units covering the state border detected an attempt by the "Ukrainian terrorist sabotage and reconnaissance group" to cross the river in the area of Novaya Tavolzhanka of Belgorod Oblast. Quote: "The enemy suffered an artillery strike, scattered and fell back," the ministrys message stated. At the same time, neither the governor of the Belgorod Oblast, Vyacheslav Gladkov, nor representatives of the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion have yet commented on the situation. Earlier: On Sunday, 4 May, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion said they had captured Russian soldiers in Belgorod Oblast and wanted a meeting with the local governor. Vyacheslav Gladkov, Governor of Russias Belgorod Oblast, has said that he was prepared to meet with representatives of the Russian Volunteer Corps if the Russian army soldiers they captured are still alive. He has claimed, however, that fighting was ongoing in the town of Novaya Tavolzhanka where the RVC offered to meet. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! FILE PHOTO: Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is seen on a screen during a court hearing in Moscow (Reuters) - Russian police on Sunday arrested more than 100 people who had taken to the streets to mark the 47th birthday of Alexei Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition leader, a protest monitoring group said. OVD-Info said in a statement that 109 people had been detained in 23 cities as of 10:42 p.m. Moscow time (1942 GMT). Authorities have clamped down heavily on signs of dissent since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and in most cities, only a handful of people were held. Navalny is serving combined sentences of 11-1/2 years for fraud and contempt of court on charges that he said were trumped up to silence him. Footage from Moscow and St Petersburg, Russia's two largest cities, showed police arresting individual demonstrators. One man could be seen briefly holding up a sign before Moscow police ushered him away, bent over, as he groaned in pain. Another man, who held up a sign in English that read "Free Navalny", was also arrested in Moscow. In St Petersburg, a woman accompanied by a child told reporters that "I'm against the war, that's why they detained me with my underage kid". Navalny, who rose to prominence by lampooning President Vladimir Putin's elite and alleging vast corruption, said in April that an "absurd" terrorism case had been opened against him that could see him sentenced to a further 30 years in jail. (Reporting by Reuters, writing by David Ljunggren; editing by Grant McCool) Russian Volunteer Corps say Belgorods governor did not come to meeting, prisoners would be handed over to Ukraine The Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) have said that Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of Russia's Belgorod Oblast, did not show up for the meeting offered to him to pick up the Russian prisoners; they will be transferred to Ukraines Prisoner of War exchange fund. Source: Denis Nikitin, commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps, in a video address posted on RVCs and Freedom of Russia Legions Telegram channels Quote: "I just returned from Novaya Tavolzhanka. As we expected, Mr Gladkov did not find the courage to exchange his precious time for the life and freedom of, as he said, our boys. Here are the same boys that Mr Gladkov has killed with our hands in his video. As you can see, during my absence, we have captured many more of your boys. Unlike Gladkov, Prigozhin found the courage and was ready to agree to our terms. You, Mr Gladkov, no longer dictate the terms to us. If the governor does not control the situation in the region, and does not know how many of your boys are in our captivity, we will communicate with those who make decisions in Moscow." Details: Nikitin noted that the fate of the captured Russian soldiers in the RVC has been decided: "They will be handed over to the Ukrainian side for the exchange procedure". Background: After Nikitin offered Gladkov to meet and exchange a conversation with him for the Russian prisoners, the leader of the Wagner private military company, Yevgeny Prigozhin, wrote: "Denis, if no one comes to the designated place for the prisoners, I am ready to send one of my high-ranking deputies to take them away. If Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy comes to this place, I am ready to come myself." Previously: The Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion said they had captured Russian soldiers in Belgorod Oblast and demanded a meeting with the local governor. Vyacheslav Gladkov, Governor of Russias Belgorod Oblast, has said that he was prepared to meet with representatives of the Russian Volunteer Corps if the Russian army soldiers they captured are still alive. He has claimed, however, that fighting was ongoing in the town of Novaya Tavolzhanka where the RVC offered to meet. Later, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that they stopped the attempt of a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group to cross the river near the settlement of Novaya Tavolzhanka, Belgorod Oblast. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! RVC fighters announced that they are entering the Belgorod Oblast Once again in our homeland! The advance assault groups of the RDK and the Freedom of Russia Legion are entering the combat zone in the outskirts of Shebekino, the statement read. The volunteers specifically reached out to Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov with an offer to return captured Russian soldiers as a goodwill gesture. In return, they asked for a private audience with the governor to discuss the present state of the region and, crucially, the future of Russia as a whole. We invite you to engage in dialogue within the walls of the temple in Novaya Tavolzhanka, the statement concluded. Russian Volunteer Corps fighters announced their latest raid in Russias Belgorod Oblast on June 1. The Freedom of Russia Legion announced on May 22 that, together with the Russian Volunteer Corps, it had completely liberated the village of Kozinka in Belgorod Oblast, passed the village of Gora-Podol, and began storming Grayvoron. Local authorities declared a counterterrorist operation and, according to the governor, had most residents of Grayvoron evacuated. Read also: Freedom of Russia Legion offers residents of the Belgorod Oblast to evacuate to Ukraine The Russians claimed that they had killed most of the saboteurs and pushed the rest back to the territory of Ukraine. RDK and Legion fighters denied the losses. The RDK and Legion reported that they had advanced 42 kilometers into Russia and controlled some settlements in Belgorod Oblast for a day. They claimed to have lost two people in action, with ten others wounded. The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine called the actions of the Legion and the RDK in Belgorod Oblast of Russia the establishment of a security strip to protect Ukrainians. Andriy Yusov emphasized that the raid in the Russian region was carried out exclusively by Legion and RDK fighters, who are Russian citizens. 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 Russian Volunteer Corps and Freedom of Russia Legion report capture of Russian regular army soldiers in Belgorod Oblast, call governor for meeting The Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion said they had captured Russian soldiers in Belgorod Oblast and wanted a meeting with the local governor. Source: The Russian Volunteer Corps Quote: "Mr. Gladkov! Today is a great Orthodox holiday, the Trinity. As a gesture of goodwill, which is so often mentioned in the government of the Russian Federation, we are ready to give you these captured, ordinary Russian soldiers for the opportunity to talk with you personally to discuss the current situation in the region and, most importantly, to talk about its future and the future of Russia in general. Therefore, we invite you to a dialogue within the walls of the church in Novaya Tavolzhanka. Arrive in an ambulance in person, accompanied by a driver, unarmed. I will come personally with a representative of the Freedom of Russia Legion and the prisoners." Details: The fighters recorded a video in an unknown room with an unknown naked person lying on the floor. The venue is uncertain. In another post, the Russian Volunteer Corps also stated that soldiers of the Polish Volunteer Corps provide a convoy for prisoners, and military and medical logistics for the operations carried out by the Russian Volunteer Corps, but only within the state border of Ukraine. Quote: "Our brothers from Poland are fighting with us side by side for the freedom and independence of Ukraine for many months. We have managed to conduct a number of operations together on the Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia and Bakhmut fronts. The guys have proven themselves perfectly and showed a high level of motivation and preparation. As for the fighting on the territory of the Russian Federation, the fighters of the Polish Volunteer Corps provide a convoy for prisoners, military and medical logistics, but only within the state border of Ukraine. Despite such limitations, we still sincerely thank them for their invaluable contribution to the common cause, and always include them in planning and share our trophies with them." Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Russians attack Zolochiv in Kharkiv Oblast, there are injured Two people were wounded in the attack on the village of Zolochiv, Kharkiv Oblast, carried out by Russian troops. Source: Viktor Kovalenko, Head of Zolochiv district, in a comment to Suspilne Kharkiv Details: As Kovalenko has reported, Russian troops attacked Zolochiv with artillery on Sunday at 14:30. Quote: "According to preliminary information, a community arts youth centre was damaged. Ten windows and doors were shattered. Information about further damage is being established. A 40-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman were injured." Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Russians fire on Kharkiv Oblast with helicopters and tanks in morning attack Russian occupiers attacked the village of Huriv with tanks and the village of Ivashky with helicopters on the morning of 4 June, with no casualties reported so far. Source: Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration Details: The Russians once again launched a large-scale attack on the city of Vovchansk on the morning of 4 June. The town's administrative building was damaged, and two houses and outbuildings were partially destroyed. In addition, the occupiers used helicopters to attack the village of Ivashky in Bohodukhiv district, causing no large-scale damage or casualties. As a result of a morning attack on the village of Huriv Kozachok in Bohodukhiv district involving tanks, a direct strike was recorded on the building of the community arts centre, which sustained significant damage. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! As a result of Russian shelling of Kharkiv Oblast on Sunday, two civilians were killed, three more were injured. Source: Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office Aftermath of Russians shelling Kharkiv Oblast on 4 June, photo of the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office Quote: "On 4 June, the Russian military once again fired at Vovchansk. As a result of enemy strikes, two civilians, 62 and 74 years old, were killed. Residential buildings of the locals were damaged. Around noon, soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces fired at the village of Pishchane, Kupiansk District. A 58-year-old woman was injured. In addition, at about 14:30, the invaders struck the village of Zolochiv, Bohodukhiv district. According to preliminary data, the shelling was carried out from artillery. A community arts youth centre was damaged. A 40-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman were injured." Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill leads a religious service beside Andrei Rublev's 'Trinity' icon at the Christ the Saviour cathedral in Moscow Moscow's spiritual leader Patriarch Kirill praised President Vladimir Putin on Sunday for handing Russia's most famous icon from a museum to the Orthodox Church as the country "faces huge enemy forces." The almost 600-year-old "Trinity" artwork, painted in the Middle Ages by legendary Andrei Rublev, was placed in Moscow's main Christ the Saviour cathedral this weekend, despite protests from art conservationists. It had been kept in Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery for almost a century and experts warned the extremely fragile icon would not be properly protected in the hands of the Church. The Kremlin has counted on the Church to gather support for its seismic Ukraine offensive. As the icon was put on show at the huge cathedral in central Moscow, Patriarch Kirill said Putin had made a "historic decision" at a critical time. "Such events do not happen without direct divine intervention," said the 76-year-old religious leader, who is under UK and Canadian sanctions over his support for the Ukraine offensive. Putin had signed a decree gifting the icon to the Church from the museum last month. "On my request, he made a historic decision," said Patriarch Kirill during a mass as the icon was brought to the cathedral. He said it came at a symbolic moment "when our fatherland faces, as you know, huge enemy forces." Patriarch Kirill said the Church leadership had prayed to God to "help our fatherland" and "we also prayed for our Orthodox president, Vladimir Putin." He said he prays for Russia's armed forces, which have been fighting in Ukraine for more than a year. The icon was brought to the cathedral late on Saturday, with several men wearing white gloves carrying it out of a truck. It was placed behind a glass box in the cathedral and Russian media reported thousands of believers had come to see it on Sunday. bur/lcm Speak out against hate Sacramento Jewish leaders denounce antisemitic comments, (sacbee.com, May 31) We want to add our voices to speak out in support of Mayor Steinberg and against the antisemitic remarks made at the Sacramento City Council meeting on May 16. As members of Sisterhood of Salaam-Shalom, a national organization of Jewish and Muslim women, we strongly condemn such words of hate. Though hate speech may be protected under the Constitution, it does not advance our society nor benefit our community. The Sisterhood of Salaam-Shalom is 100 plus women strong in Sacramento supporting our Jewish and Muslim communities against hate while building bridges that strengthen our community. The more we speak out against hate together, the less acceptable hate becomes. Anne Kjemtrup Melanie Mages-Canale Davis Trouble with a capital T Get ready, Californians. Your incomes will now factor into the electricity bill | Opinion, (sacbee.com, April 28) Youve got trouble, my friend, right here in River City. Trouble with a capital T, and that rhymes with P, which stands for power companies! Thats right; while you were sleeping, your government approved Assembly Bill 205, allowing the utilities access to your earnings. Theyll add a monthly income-based tax, whether or not you use any energy. How can they get away with this? They claim the cost per kilowatt-hour will be reduced. But the math doesnt work out for most customers, creating higher monthly bills. This new legislation requires California Public Utility Commission approval before coming into effect. Dont expect them to do whats right. Rene Wise Fremont Opinion Snake oil Law enforcement leaders believe homelessness in California can be ended in a year | Opinion, (sacbee.com, May 31) Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper and Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig claim to be offering your readers a plan to end homelessness within the next year, but theyre really just selling snake oil. In support of their extraordinary claim that a reinvigorated war on drugs can end homelessness, they cite several states that have harsher drug laws and lower homelessness rates than California. What they neglect to mention is that each of these states also has more drug overdose deaths per capita. The real reason why these states have lower rates of homelessness isnt a mystery: they have much lower housing costs. The fact of the matter is that California will not be able to end homelessness in the space of a year least of all by simply arresting our way out of the problem. To end the homelessness crisis, we need to end the housing crisis. Ned Resnikoff Emeryville Stay woke Ron DeSantis launch was a Trump 2.0 moment. Lets hope it doesnt last. | Opinion, (sacbee.com, May 25) It would seem that (recently announced) presidential candidate DeSantis promises to destroy something called woke. Lacking a clear understanding of what woke really means, Ill take a simple approach. The opposite of woke would be unaware or asleep. Depriving people of the opportunity to learn about our history leads to being unwoke, a condition which leads to ignorance of basic truths about our nation. Alan Wade Sacramento Correcting the record US debt ceiling crisis: Why was it so hard to make a deal? (sacbee.com, May 30) This article promotes a false equivalency regarding the debt ceiling. There is one very simple reason why it was so hard to make a deal: Republicans are willing to hold the worlds economy hostage in order to get what they want and Democrats are not. Democrats were vehemently opposed to Donald Trumps $2 trillion tax cuts that largely went to the very wealthy, but they passed the debt ceiling three times during the Trump administration without any fuss. Why? Because they arent willing to hold a gun to the head of our economy. Creating a false equivalency out of thin air does a grave disservice to your readers, who deserve context and accurate information in order to make informed decisions at the ballot box. Kathy Campbell Sacramento Goodbye, Tina Tina Turner, Queen of Rock n Roll whose triumphant career made her world-famous, dies at 83, (sacbee.com, May 26) Back in 1997, I saw that a Tina Turner show was completely sold out. I took a big chance and bought two tickets from a scalper, fully expecting to lose my money. Imagine my surprise when we were escorted to our front row seats. She was, of course, fantastic. She sang Proud Mary, and the brass section was stunning. On the last note, the lights went black. Turner, barely lit, looked at me and said Was that OK? Mouth agape and shocked, I just nodded yes and she laughed and walked away to acknowledge the thousands of fans behind me on their feet. It was a highlight of my life, and the most mesmerizing thing I have ever witnessed. My guess is that Tina Turner is in heaven and doing them proud. Todd Gearou Citrus Heights (Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia will make an extra 1 million barrel-a-day oil supply cut in July, taking its production to the lowest level for several years after a slide in crude prices. Most Read from Bloomberg The bold move by the most important member of the OPEC+ coalition came at the cost of ceding ground to two key allies: Russia, which made no commitment to cut output deeper, and the United Arab Emirates, which secured a higher production quota for 2024. Oil prices advanced on Monday. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said he will do whatever is necessary to bring stability to this market. As oil prices are hammered by a softer economic outlook, especially in China, achieving this means shouldering the burden of cuts. The rest of the 23-nation group offered no additional action to buttress the current market, but did pledge to maintain their existing cuts until the end of 2024. The kingdom is doubling down after the previous round of curbs agreed just two months ago failed to deliver a sustained price rally. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced a surprise supply reduction of about 1.6 million barrels a day in early April, but since then weak economic data from China have weighed on oil futures, which fell 11% in New York in May. West Texas Intermediate jumped almost 5% early in the session on Monday before paring some gains to trade above $73 a barrel. Global benchmark Brent climbed toward $78 a barrel. Next months additional cut could be extended, but the Saudis will keep the market in suspense about whether this will happen, Prince Abdulaziz said. The minister has repeatedly sought to hurt bearish oil speculators, warning them to watch out in the buildup to Sundays meeting. For the near term, crude prices will largely depend on a test of wills, said Bob McNally, president of consultant Rapidan Energy Group and a former White House official. It will be a battle between stability-seeking Saudi Arabia and bearish paper traders. The Saudi effort to bolster the price of its most important export requires the sacrifice of further market share. Global oil demand is forecast to hit a record high this year, but the additional cuts announced on Sunday will bring Saudi production to about 9 million barrels a day in July, the lowest since June 2021 when output was still recovering from the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic. The main winner from the weekends OPEC+ talks was the United Arab Emirates, which gets a boost to its production limit for next year at the expense of some African members, which were asked to give up part of their unused quotas. Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei thanked his colleagues for the increase and expressed the countrys loyalty to the cartel. We will always support OPEC and will always stay together, Al Mazrouei said. It was an important statement from a country that on at least one previous occasion threatened to leave the group if it didnt get a higher quota. Russia, the second largest OPEC+ producer, wasnt required to make any additional cuts this year, but like other members it extended its existing curbs by 12 months to the end of 2024. Moscow has increasingly been competing with its Middle East OPEC allies in Asian markets since Europe banned most imports of its oil. There have also been questions about whether it has fully implemented its pledged production cuts in recent months due to the high volumes of its exports. The announcement of the OPEC+ deal was delayed by several hours as ministers haggled over the details. The most contentious point was the revision to the baselines against which the production cuts of several nations are measured. African nations Angola and Nigeria, which have struggled to meet their output targets almost since they were introduced three years ago, were the strongest holdouts, delegates said. Even though the countries cant fully utilize their output quotas today, they were unwilling to give them up, delegates said. Several of them are seeking new investments to boost production in coming years and a restrictive OPEC+ output quota could undermine their attractiveness to foreign investors. It was a bitter political pill for them to swallow and talks dragged on through late night sessions in Vienna hotels on Saturday and continued in the OPEC headquarters on Sunday. In the end, the impasse was resolved and the African countries agreed to lower output limits, subject to an independent review of their production capacities. The other controversy of the meeting was that three news organizations, Bloomberg, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal, were barred from entering the OPEC headquarters in Vienna. Asked about the exclusion of journalists, Prince Abdulaziz referred the question to OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais. He offered no explanation for the decision. (Updates with oil prices in fifth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Jason Oppenheim and Marie Lou Nurk have announced their breakup after 10 months together. Oppenheims luxury real estate agency The Oppenheim Group is the focus of Netflixs hit reality TV show Selling Sunset. In the sixth season, released last month on the streaming platform, Oppenheim, 46, announced that he had moved on from his ex-girlfriend and co-star Chrishell Stause and found love with Nurk, who is a 25-year-old Parisian model. But just weeks after the new season of the luxury real estate programme aired, in which they made their screen debut together, the couple jointly announced their breakup. aaWhile we still love and care about each other very much the distance between us has proven to be too great a challenge to overcome, Oppenheim wrote on his Instagram story on Saturday (3 June). He continued: We remain close friends and continue to talk often and support each other and we want the very best for one another. We thank everyone for their support throughout our relationship. Nurk added an identical post to her own Instagram Story. The Selling Sunset star met Nurk on the Greek island of Mykonos last July and they have enjoyed a long-distance relationship since, with Nurk splitting her time between Paris and Los Angeles, where Oppenheim lives. The pair met in July and had been dating for 10 months (Instagram / @jasonoppenheim) They had recently moved into a luxury home in Los Angeles a 5,500-square-foot space that was listed last year for $18m, according to People. "Were living here, I think, for many years," the Oppenheim Group co-founder told the publication at the time. "Ive lived in many nice places, but this is my favourite place by far." In September, Nurk toldVogue Germany that she was excited to appear on the reality series but admitted that shes had a lot less privacy since getting involved with Oppenheim. In season five of the Netflix series, Oppenheim had been in a relationship with realtor and reality TV star Chrishell Stause, but they split because Stause wanted children but Oppenheim was unsure. The pair are now amicable, and in season six of the series they both share that they are happy for one another now they have moved on Stause announced she had married Australian musician G Flip in May. Police in riot gear stand guard during clashes with demonstrators in Dakar, Senegal, Saturday, June 3, 2023. The clashes first broke out, later this week, after opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was convicted of corrupting youth and sentenced to two years in prison. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) DAKAR, Senegal (AP) Senegal's government temporarily suspended mobile phone data on Sunday as the country reels from days of deadly clashes between police and supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. The ministry of communication, telecommunications and digital economy said that because of the diffusion of subversive messages in a context of public disorder in certain localities, cellphone internet data would be suspended during certain time periods. The statement comes after days of deadly clashes throughout the West African nation between Sonko's supporters and police. The official death toll is unclear. The government says that 15 people, including two members of the security forces, have been killed, while the opposition says 19 people have died. The clashes first broke out on Thursday, after Sonko was convicted of corrupting youth but acquitted on charges of raping a woman who worked at a massage parlor and making death threats against her. Sonko, who didnt attend his trial in Dakar, was sentenced to two years in prison. His lawyer said that a warrant hadnt yet been issued for his arrest. Sonko came third in Senegals 2019 presidential election and is popular with the countrys youth. His supporters maintain that his legal troubles are part of a government effort to derail his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election. Sonko is considered to be President Macky Salls main competition and has urged Sall to state publicly that he wont seek a third term in office. Sonko hasn't been seen or heard from since the verdict. The international community has called on Senegals government to resolve the tensions. The government had already suspended access to some social media sites, such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter, which it said was being used to incite violence. At a news conference on Saturday evening, the government said it would take all necessary measures to secure the country. I would like to reassure the Senegalese people that whatever attacks we have, the state will face them," Interior Minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome said. Around 500 people have been arrested across the country, including those belonging to political parties as well as those who are just trying to scare people, he said. Rights groups have condemned the government crackdown, which it says has included arbitrary arrests. (Bloomberg) -- Defense chiefs from around the world gathered in Singapore for Asias largest security forum to discuss major threats as tensions rise between the US and China. Most Read from Bloomberg The first two days of the Shangri-La Dialogue, which brings together more than 600 military leaders, policy makers and analysts from 40 nations, focused on US-China tensions, the war in Ukraine and the lack of high-level military talks between Beijing and Washington. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, shook hands on the opening night of the conference but there have been few signs of a thaw between the worlds two biggest economies. As Austin spoke on Saturday, the US and Canadian navies sailed ships through the Taiwan Strait, an act Beijing considers confrontational. In the most dramatic moment of the conference on Saturday, Indonesias defense minister pleaded for a peace proposal he offered to help end Russias war in Ukraine. But Ukraines defense minister rebuffed the offer, which would leave Moscows forces locked in place on Ukrainian territory, saying it sounded like a Russian proposal. The conference wrapped on Sunday afternoon. Latest coverage China Defense Minister Slams US, Vows to Defend Interests US Chides China Over Defense Talks as Navy Sails Taiwan Strait Indonesia Defends Ukraine Peace Plan, Says Asia Knows Wars Cost Chinas Close Plane Encounter Shows Need to Talk, Blinken Says US Hits Roadblock in Bid to Renew China Ties: Its Own Sanctions (All times local) Singapore Says US, China Was Elephant in the Room (3:00 p.m.) Singapore Minister of Defense Ng Eng Hen expressed disappointment over the lack of communication between the top US and Chinese delegates, with tensions between the two superpowers looming over the weekend. Obviously we would have liked a better understanding and obviously the elephant in the room was the US-China relationship, he said. In the end, he added, third parties can bring the two sides together, but you cant solve any problem without both of them coming into solution-making or finding a path forward. Not having communications between friends and, more-so, potential adversaries, I think its like F1 drivers on the same circuit driving blindfolded you better be careful. Five Eyes Defense Officials Meet (1:07 p.m.) Senior defense officials from the Five Eyes spy bloc met on the sidelines of the Singapore forum to discuss regional security and the importance of working together to enhance their collective resilience, according to US statement. After being formed primarily as an intelligence sharing network, the Five Eyes which consists of the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand has increasingly taken up a broader range of issues. Austin Says Sanctions Dont Prevent Talks (12:38 p.m.) Defense Secretary Austin dismissed Chinas complaint that the US wants a meeting with Defense Minister Li despite not removing sanctions on the military chief. Im sure that Im personally sanctioned in Russia, Austin said before leaving Singapore for India. But I can if I want speak with Russias defense minister regardless, he added. Thats just a false narrative by China to say their defense leaders cant speak, he said. Turning to Ukraine, Austin said that while the conflict is unpredictable on a day-to-day basis, he wouldnt characterize Russia as having an advantage right now. With a Ukraine offensive expected soon, Austin said that the nation appears increasingly confident in the capability that they have and opportunities that they may have. Singapore Considers US presence in Region Vital (12:15 p.m.) Singapore considers the US presence in the region as vital, Minister of Defense Ng Eng Hen said, reiterating a previous stance as he encouraged the two superpowers to reopen the lines of communication, echoing calls being made by Asian leaders throughout the three-day forum. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu did not hold any formal meeting in the city-state despite being in the same room on more than one occasion. No country I think wants war, but our working assumptions and scenarios must be that unplanned incidents can occur, Ng said addressing delegates. Communication, both formal and informal, must exist so that when these unplanned incidents occur those channels can be used to de-escalate and avoid conflict. Ng said he worries more about North Asia than the South China Sea. Australia Seeks China Explanation for Defense Build up (12:05 p.m.) Australias decision to purchase a small fleet of US Virginia-class submarines under the Aukus agreement and the strategy for that has been well communicated, Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a speech. He contrasted it with Chinas significant military expansion in the region that Beijing hasnt given explanation for. In an interview with Bloomberg Television on Saturday, Marles said this: We are seeing a very significant buildup of its military and thats happening without a sense of strategic reassurance to us, or to the region and the world about its purpose. So weve got our issues. Still, the Australian official said on Sunday that defense dialog with China has recommenced. Nobel Winner Calls for US-China Engagement (10:01 a.m.) Jose Ramos-Horta, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and president of Timor-Leste, called on the US and China to re-engage at some level in order to help keep the peace on the Korean peninsula. I agree that strategic competition is inevitable, Ramos-Horta said during a panel discussion. But he insisted that a US-China partnership should outweigh differences in other areas of competition and rivalry between the two superpowers to help peace in the region. China Defense Minister Takes Aim at US (8:45 a.m.) In a keynote address Sunday morning, Defense Minister Li said he sees a world that is far from tranquil and dominated by a resurgent Cold War mentality. Without ever specifically citing the US, Li criticized bullying and hegemony that he said should never be allowed to take root in the Asia Pacific region. And he referred to the so-called rules-based order that he said was selectively applied. China is committed to upholding peace in places like the Middle East and Ukraine, he said. Meanwhile some country is expanding military bases, reinforcing military presence and intensifying an arms race. He said tensions are increasing in the Indo-Pacific as a result of efforts to create a NATO-like alliance system in the region, a frequent criticism Beijing has about US strategy in the region. Reznikovs Pointed Remark on Russias War (6:36 p.m.) Ukraine Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov ended one of the final panels on Saturday with a pointed remark about Chinas influence over Russia that was aimed at former Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai, who was seated next to him. Reznikov said he believed there was a new understanding between Russia and China after President Xi Jinping visited Moscow earlier this year, with Beijing becoming the older brother in the relationship between the two nations. Could you say to your younger brother to stop killing Ukrainians, Reznikov said in his concluding remarks. Former China Envoy Criticizes US and Europe (5:20 p.m.) Former envoy to the US Cui Tiankai criticized Europes mismanagement of its own security situation, urging it instead to learn from Asia. The best thing you can do for us is to do nothing, Cui said, addressing Europe and America. We should also learn something very important something from your lack of success in managing the security situation, he said. We dont need an Asian NATO. China has long sympathized with Russias reasons for invading Ukraine, particularly to push back against NATO, while opposing the war itself. The US has repeatedly said its not looking to create a version of NATO in Asia, even as it strengthens alliances to deter China from taking Taiwan and other disputed territory by force. --With assistance from Rebecca Choong Wilkins, Peter Martin, Alfred Cang, Xiao Zibang and Jamie Tarabay. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. She Met Him on Match.ComThen Allegedly Tried to Hire a Hitman to Have His Wife Killed Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/Facebook An environmental compliance specialist pining for a hiking buddy she met on Match.com allegedly tried to have his new wife snuffed out by a hitman she attempted to hire online. I hope you fall off a cliff and die, Melody Sasser blurted out when retired Department of Energy emergency manager and Air Force vet David Wallace told her last fall that he was engaged to another woman. Sasser, 47, allegedly stalked Wallaces wife using a fitness app, sending updates on her precise location, along with the dates and times of her movements, to a bogus murder-for-hire service she found on the dark web. Thats according to a criminal complaint unsealed last week in Knoxville, Tennessee federal court and obtained by The Daily Beast. Sasser, who worked for the Pilot Flying J truck stop chain, placed an order via the Online Killers Market, a now-defunct scam site that purported to provide services such as kidnapping, extortion, disfigurement by acid attack, and sexual violence, in addition to straight-forward killing, the complaint states. This is a personal matter unrelated in any way to Pilot Companys business, company spokeswoman Stephanie Myers said in an email. We are taking all appropriate measures and cooperating fully to assist law enforcement with this matter. All further inquiries should be directed to the proper authorities. Sasser is no longer employed with Pilot Flying J, Myers said. Trying to hire a hitman online is almost guaranteed to fail, as past cases have regularly shown. The owner of a satirical business called Rent-A-Hitman.com, with a website that is clearly a gag, has a direct line to the FBI and reports all requests that appear to be serious threats. It is unclear if Online Killers Market is also meant to be a joke, but it has been described previously as a sham. Still, people continue to fall for both. Authorities were first made aware of Sassers alleged scheme on April 27, when an unnamed foreign law enforcement agency notified the Department of Homeland Securitys investigative arm that Jennifer Wallace was the target of an assassination plot. The overseas investigators discovered messages between a user in the U.S. named cattree and the administrator of the Online Killers Market, according to the complaint. The first, dated Jan. 11, 2023, included Jennifers full name and address in Prattville, Alabama, along with an escrow payment of 0.4179 Bitcoin, or roughly $7,500 at the time. It needs to seem random or accident. or plant drugs, do not want a long investigation, cattree allegedly wrote in her request to Online Killers Market, along with an attached photograph of Jennifer. She recently moved in with her new husband. she works at home and in [an] office in birmingham. The message also included a description of the couples cars, along with their license plate numbers. [H]er husband works at publix part time they have three dogs that bark and jump but nice dogs, the message said. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=6504806812872472&set=a.151739421512608 The couples names are redacted in court papers. Sasser and Wallace met on Match.com, when he and his future wife also lived in Knoxville, according to the complaint. It does not say if the relationship became romantic, but does say the two became hiking friends. Social media posts reviewed by The Daily Beast show Wallace and Sasser hiking together throughout 2020, often in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. (Sasser is listed on a website for the 900 Miler Club, for people who have hiked all 150 trails in the park.) When Wallace hiked the Appalachian trail, Sasser assisted him by making reservations at known hostels and other rest points and took care of his vehicle, the complaint states. But when she showed up unannounced in the fall of 2022 at Wallaces new home in Alabama, he told her he and Jennifer were preparing to marry. Sasser didnt take the news well, responding by wishing death on the pair, according to the complaint. In December, Sasser decided to do something about it, the complaint alleges. However, Sasser, whom investigators say they IDd as cattree, became frustrated with Online Killers Market when they failed to murder Jennifer quickly enough, the messages allegedly show. Prosecutors say Sasser messaged the site administrator asking why the hit had not yet been carried out. She allegedly inquired several times about the status of the job, arguing in a March 22 message that she had been waiting 2 months and 11 days and the job is not completed. 2 weeks ago you said it was been worked on and would be done in a week. the job is still not done. does it need to be assigned to someone else. will it be done. what is the delay. when will it be done. An Online Killers Market representative wrote back, telling cattree, Hello, she is not aware. He just failed as he did not attempted it yet, he felt like is too risky for him to do it Regards admin. Cattree then began sharing location data, messaging the admin, yesterday she worked from home and went for a 2 mile walk by herself. assign to another that can complete the job. Strava physical exercise tracking app that can be used to record hiking routes. Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images In response, the admin offered two other hitmen that I can assign on the job, according to the complaint. One wanted 0.49 Bitcoin, while the other was asking for 0.485 to do the deed. Cattree went with the cheaper option, promising to add the additional funds to the escrow account. Investigators dug into Sassers activities, and checked automated license plate readers to see where she had been. On Nov. 9 and 14, 2022, Sassers 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe was clocked in the immediate vicinity of Jennifers office, according to the complaint. Federal agents confronted Jennifer with the news that her life was in danger, and she immediately suggested Sasser was likely cattree, according to the complaint. She said Sasser and David, her husband, were hiking friends in Knoxville, TN prior to [David] moving to Alabama, it goes on. Sasser showed up at Davids door last year, unannounced, and said she wished death upon him for marrying Jennifer, the complaint states, noting that Jennifers car had been damaged around that same time by an unknown perpetrator [who] gashed the sides of her vehicle with what appeared to be a key. After her car was damaged, Jennifer also told investigators that she began receiving threatening phone calls, apparently from someone using computer generated phone numbers that are untraceable, the complaint states. Jennifer said she and her husband tracked their hikes and walks with Strava, a GPS-enabled app that uploads users activity to the internet. The location information sent to the purported hitman matched exactly the data in Jennifer and Davids Strava accounts, leading them to suspect Sasser was using the accounts to keep tabs on them. The local PD was notified, and a patrol car was stationed outside the Wallaces home for their safety. Investigators also followed the money, subpoenaing Coinhub, which operates the Bitcoin ATM that cattree used to send payment to the escrow account. The company responded with transaction data and customer info that identified Sasser as cattree, according to the complaint. She had purchased Bitcoin with cash on at least four occasions at Coinhub ATMs in Knoxville, after which she sent the funds to a digital wallet controlled by Online Killers Market, the complaint states, and the phone number cattree provided to complete the transactions was Sassers. The Coinhub ATM captures photographs of each user during each transaction, the complaint continues. The photographs assigned to the four transactions match Sassers Tennessee drivers license picture and her open-source Facebook profile picture. At one point, the feds attempted to lure Sasser into a sting, with an undercover agent contacting her on WhatsApp, but she didnt respond to the message, the complaint states. In all, Sasser wired a total of $9,750 to the Online Killers Market for the hit that never happened, according to the complaint. Sasser was finally arrested on May 18 and remanded to custody, according to court filings. She remains detained, pending a court appearance scheduled for June 8. Sassers attorney, M. Jeffrey Whitt, told The Daily Beast, I have been representing citizens accused of crimes for 32 years across this state, and this is certainly not the first prosecution Ive faced alleging some type of murder for hire scheme. Our investigation is in its infancy as I was only retained within the last week. As such, I find it premature to comment on the facts of this case until such time as each of the allegations have been vetted and such future responses are in accordance with our state rules restricting public comments during pending prosecutions. Reached by text message, the Wallaces viewed, but did not respond to, an interview request. A search warrant apparently related to the case, for a USPS Priority Mail parcel, remains under seal. If convicted on the murder-for-hire charge, Sasser faces up to 10 years in prison. 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. Here are 6 ways shopping sites trick you into buying more and how to avoid taking the bait As online sales have grown during the pandemic, retailers have learned to be more persuasive. Arif Qazi/Insider; Online retailers use psychological tricks and tools to get consumers to make purchases. Experts told Insider that many retailers often tap into shoppers' fear of missing out, or "FOMO." Retailers have been deploying these tactics for over a decade. But we're shopping even more online. Online retailers use psychological tricks and marketing tools to get consumers to make purchases. And as online sales have grown during the pandemic, retailers have learned to be more persuasive. Companies are relying more on first-party data to build personal relationships with customers and convince them to make purchases. This data will only grow in importance as social media ads become more costly, and Internet cookies, which help track users on different sites, are phased out. Experts that spoke to Insider said many of the business strategies deployed by retailers tap into shoppers' fear of missing out, or FOMO, on the latest and most popular products. Offering incentives for adding more items to online carts like free shipping is another example of the psychological tricks a retailer can play. Nike and Lululemon are two companies leading the pack on using FOMO to sell products, according to Manini Madia, adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and expert in consumer shopper behavior. Lululemon's app will explicitly let customers know how many items are left in their size. Meanwhile, Nike uses its SNKRs app to gather information about customers and keeps them checking the app frequently through notifications. "Nike does product drops on their SNKRS app. So you have to download the app, which means you give them your information. You have to enable their notifications to show you when certain sneakers are going to drop, and they give you a window of 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning," Madia said. "People who are sneakerheads know that that inventory is going to be super limited and it's probably going to sell out in the first couple of minutes." Retailers have been deploying tactics that close more sales and increase the order basket for well over a decade. But we're shopping online now more than ever before, and these subtle nudges are starting to feel more widespread. "There are a ton of cognitive biases that retailers know about and use in shopping experiences. Most of them started in-store and have moved online," said Jason Goldberg, chief commerce strategy officer at marketing firm Publicis Groupe and an e-commerce expert who goes by the nickname @Retailgeek. Below are the tricks retailers use to get you to buy more and tips on how to avoid them. Getting a discount often means giving away your cell phone number Saucony Discounts in exchange for a cellphone number It's become more common for retailers to offer 10% to 15% discounts on customers' first orders in exchange for an email and mobile phone number. By opting into emails and text messages, customers open the door to be contacted about everything from seasonal sales a company is offering to a reminder about items left in their carts. "Having a cell phone number is probably the single most valuable source of communication with a customer right now," Madia said. Emails can be filtered or avoided altogether, but a consumer is much more likely to click on a text. Some companies use this tactic better than others. The key is not to bombard shoppers with communication. Startups like Klaviyo and Twilio, which offer technology for brands to create personalized customer engagement platforms, are used by DTC companies like Who Gives A Crap and Solo Stove to create deeper relationships with customers. "The communication needs to be tailored for how that customer interacts with your brand," Madia said. "If they bought a down coat and they live in a zip code that has a four-season climate, in the spring, you may want to show them some rain coats, and then you have a better shot of getting them to complete a transaction." Apple Pay makes the check out process easier. S3studio / Getty Images Apple Pay and buy now, pay later Who hasn't abandoned their online cart because they were too lazy to grab a credit card out of their wallet? Multiple payment options have now been introduced to consumers to make the online checkout process easier. One-click checkout on Amazon, Apple Pay, and Google Pay are able to save customers' credit card information online. Buy Now, Pay Later options Klarna and Afterpay allow shoppers to purchase items now and set up monthly payment plans. In making the checkout process easier, these payment forms improve conversion rates for retailers that adopt them. According to a Insider Intelligence and eMarketer study, more than half of Gen Z digital shoppers used a BNPL service in 2022. And the list of retailers across the industry adding Google Pay, Apple Pay, and PayPal as checkout options continues to grow. These services "take the friction out of the final step," Madia said. Buy online, pick up in store Buy online, pick up instore was all the rage during the pandemic. Retailers still love it as it saves on shipping. But there is another benefit, Madia says. It's a great way for retailers to increase a customers' basket size by bringing them into the store. "You may want to pick up in store because you want the item faster than it can be delivered," Madia said. "But there's a good chance that you will buy something else while you're in there." A screengrab from J. Crew's website J. Crew Scarcity Implying that an item is scarce taps into what Goldberg from Publicis Groupe called our "lizard brain." So much of how we shop and make purchase decisions is subconscious, he said, and while you may rationally know that scarcity is a marketing tactic, your subconscious doesn't. "That was a survival strength that served our ancestors really well," he said. "We've probably in many ways outgrown the necessity part in the modern era, but it's still hardwired into the neuropathways of our brains." Examples of this tactic include when a retailer says there's limited inventory of a product and it's not coming back in stock, when their website shows an item is selling fast, or when items can only be held in your cart for a limited window. While it may or may not be what Goldberg called "false scarcity" meaning, retailers actually have plenty of the product in stock there's no doubt it's effective. Gracey Ryback, an Amazon influencer, holds several livestreams a week marketing Amazon products. Gracey Ryback Social proof Positive ratings and reviews are the most common form of social proof. These supply 'evidence' that people bought a product before you did and had a good outcome. But we're increasingly seeing more sophisticated versions of the social proof tactic. Depending on how much data retailers have about you, they're able to show you when people in your area, or even people you follow on social media, bought a product and liked it. Then, of course, there's influencer marketing, where celebrities and social media stars are paid to promote products tailored to what their audiences and followers might be tempted to purchase. "Sometimes the tactic is used to make you confident to buy the product, or sometimes it's used to make you confident to pay this price for the product, or sometimes it's to pick this size for the product," Goldberg said. "It's telling you this is super popular and that you should for sure buy it." Was/Is pricing We've all seen it while online and in-store shopping: a product has two prices listed, a higher one that's crossed out and a new, lower price. Called was/is pricing, this tactic is designed to let shoppers know they're getting a good deal or in some cases, trick them into it. "There's an ethical version of that that really happens, and then there's an unethical version," Goldberg said. This type of pricing is common at outlets, he said. In an ethical example, a product that originally cost $100 ends up at an outlet store and is discounted to $30 it is, in fact, a good deal. But an unethical example would be if a product that was only ever made for an outlet and priced at $30 gets the was/is treatment, tricking you into thinking you've found a bargain. Tips for avoiding retailers' marketing tricks Just being aware of these marketing tactics isn't enough to protect you from them, Goldberg said. "What you can't do is just say, 'oh, I'm smarter than the marketing, and I'm going to know about it and therefore avoid it,'" he said. "What you can do is build new habits that make those tactics less effective on you." Goldberg recommended giving yourself a "cool-down period" after you add items to your cart, even if it's just for a few hours. Separating the add-to-cart process from the check-out process should help you make a more rational decision, he said. Another tip: don't fall for the discounts and give your contact information to companies. That invites more targeted marketing that may get you to spend more. Madia also suggested signing up for subscribe-and-save options on websites like Amazon on products that you buy frequently. "That way, you're not constantly going on Amazon, Target, or whatever websites can be triggering for you to make an impulse purchase," Madia said. "If you sign up for the paper towels, you don't have to go in and complete a transaction where you might add on some other items in your cart that you maybe would regret later." Read the original article on Business Insider The party raged at Calle Ochos popular Ball & Chain nightclub Saturday night as Little Havana business owners William Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla celebrated their multi-million dollar lawsuit win over Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo. Its an enormous, monumental evening, Fuller said. Were at one of the most exciting times weve been at in a long time and I think the world now realizes that we were on the right side of the law. About 50 guests celebrated with the pair in a roped off section of the nightclub, which Fuller owns. Friends, family and Little Havana stakeholders were invited to the exclusive party. Apart from the guests, pounding salsa music and dozens of champagne flutes was an interesting addition to the festivities. Several sizable paper cockroaches with Carollos face were was also in attendance, thrown on the floor for all partying to take a turn stepping on many got a squish in. Smaller versions were used as drink accessories. A dancer steps on a cockroach image with the face of City of Miami Commissioner Joe Carrollo during an invitation only party at Ball and Chain thrown by Little Havana businessmen Martin Pinilla and William Bill Fuller to celebrate their winning of $63.5 million lawsuit over Commissioner Carollo, on Saturday, on June 03, 2023. The party only stopped for a moment, so Fuller and Pinilla could give their victory speech and thank those involved in the journey to their over $60 million legal win. Thank you guys for celebrating with us, were gonna make this the best f****** city in the world! Fuller shouted. A hearty chant of smush that cucaracha, comparing Carollo to a cockroach, and dance made its way into the victory lap. Case Closed The battle between Carollo, Fuller and Pinilla has raged for nearly half a decade. Back in 2017, Fuller and Pinilla found themselves on the wrong side of Carollo when they held a rally for one of his opponents he would later defeat. Shortly after, the pair filed a lawsuit in federal civil court alleging Carollo violated their First Amendment rights by targeting them during the rally. Little Havana businessman William Bill Fuller and his lawyer Courtney Caprio, toast with drinks that included drink shakers with a cockroach image with the face of City of Miami Commissioner Joe Carrollo as they celebrated winning a $63.5 million lawsuit over Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo at Ball & Chain,, on Saturday, June 03, 2023. At the center of the pairs civil lawsuit is that Carollo targeted their businesses and used police and code enforcement to harass them. Jurors decided Fuller and Pinilla were correct and that Carollo worked to destroy their reputations. They were awarded $63.5 million that Carollo would have to pay. Can Carollo pay the $63.5 million? Financial records show he does not have the funds to cover the multi-million dollar awards. While the City of Miami did say it will pay his legal fees, which are already in the millions, it doesnt appear it will foot the compensation won by Fuller and Pinilla. Its also unclear if Carollo will face any criminal case. While there is an open probe into corruption allegations at Miami City Hall, its status is unclear and prosecutors are keeping quiet. For now, Carollo said he will plan to appeal the civil verdict, which will delay any payments. Fuller also believes the fight is not done. There is no question in my mind that he probably devising a strategy today to retaliate against us, but were going to continue to fight because were not going anywhere, Fuller said. Hes a revolving door and hes going to be out of here sooner or later. Fighter jets were scrambled Sunday afternoon to investigate a private plane that was flying off-course over the Washington, D.C., area until the Cessna crashed in southwest Virginia. The noise the jets created rattled the region on a warm Sunday afternoon. Pilots from the Capital Guardians, a unit of the 113th Wing of the D.C. National Guard, determined that the pilot was incapacitated, a senior government official said. The fighters shadowed the Cessna until it crashed, the official said. The senior government official said the plane may have run out of fuel. No survivors had been found by Sunday evening, and the search was suspended. Officials said four people were on board. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating. The North American Aerospace Defense Command, known as NORAD, said F-16 fighter aircraft intercepted the plane and tried to contact the pilot repeatedly using flares until just before the crash, near George Washington National Forest. "The NORAD aircraft were authorized to travel at supersonic speeds and a sonic boom may have been heard by residents of the region," it said. The sound was reported around 3 p.m. to local law enforcement and on social media throughout the District of Columbia-Northern Virginia-Maryland area, known casually as the DMV. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the Cessna Citation went down in a sparsely populated area of southwest Virginia about 3 p.m. Virginia State Police said in a Sunday night statement that no survivors were found. President Joe Biden was briefed, a White House official said. A source familiar told NBC News that the Secret Service's Airspace Division monitored the aircraft's movements and that there was no impact on Secret Service protectees. Biden was playing golf with his brother Jimmy at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Sunday afternoon before he returned the White House by motorcade. At one point reporters spotted him driving a golf cart. The plane was registered to a corporation based in Melbourne, Florida, owned by John Rumpel, who said by phone Sunday that his daughter and granddaughter, along with their nanny and the plane's pilot, were on board. At the time, he said he was still awaiting news on their status. The aircraft took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Elizabethton, Tennessee, bound for New Yorks Long Island MacArthur Airport, the FAA said. The aircraft may have overflown its destination at an altitude of 34,000 feet, then turned southwest, senior officials said. After radio contact ceased, the FAA alerted an ongoing security conference call that includes the military and the Department of Homeland Security, an official said, prompting the callout for fighters to be scrambled. Officials later said the jet passed the Washington area after 3 p.m. Washington police, Bowie, Maryland, police and other police departments said they sent units to neighborhoods around the area in an unsuccessful search for the source of the sound. Experts and investigators who examine plane crashes with incapacitated pilots often zero in on cabin depressurization and hypoxia, or loss of oxygen, as a culprit. Hypoxia was cited as the cause of a 1999 Learjet crash in which professional golfer Payne Stewart died. It was also eyed in the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Sonic Boom Washington DC A powerful boom and resulting shutter fell across Washington, D.C. and surrounding areas as far as Virginia Beach at around 3:00 P.M. local time on Sunday causing mass confusion and concerns. Residents all over the area reported on social media that their homes shook and that the blast sounded like nothing else they had heard before. Now it appears that a fighter scramble was the culprit. As always, the good folks over that the Radio Reference forums were listening. According to them, Huntress, the regional air defense sector control, cleared a flight of Vipers to go supersonic over the area. https://twitter.com/PenguinSix/status/1665442554060390401?s=20 This goes with initial statements by local authorities. https://twitter.com/Irisheyez28/status/1665451637312241664?s=20 The War Zone reached out to Andrews AFB where the 121st Fighter Wing's F-16s, which typically cover the area in an air defense role, are based and they pointed us to 1st Air Force for information. We contacted 1st Air Force but have yet to hear a response. Sonic booms often cause confusion, even when they are made at a large distance from populated areas. When they are made in much closer proximity to populated areas, especially at low altitudes, they can be confused with massive explosions or even significant earthquakes. If this was an exercise in which aircraft would be going supersonic over populated areas, the question of why nobody was told that it would be going on remains open to debate. This is not normal practice regardless, which points to the possibility of this being something else. We will continue to update this piece as more information comes available. UPDATE: New information is painting a picture of what happened here, although details remain very limited at this time and are bound to change. It appears this was a live intercept of a NORDO (non-responsive to radio calls) Cessna Citation 560 business jet. The aircraft began its journey out of Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Tennessee, flew over Long Island, before turning back directly toward Washington, D.C. The aircraft was intercepted and flew directly over the Capital before crashing near Staunton, Virginia. It is unclear if the aircraft went down on its own accord or was shot down over the rural countryside. ADSBexchange.com Note the aircraft appears in a tight right-hand spiral turn and the vertical speed is posted as nearly 29,000 feet per minute according to tracking data. ADSBexchange.com The FAA has issued a statement confirming the crash: "A Cessna Citation crashed into mountainous terrain in a sparsely populated area of southwest Virginia around 3 p.m. local time on June 4. The aircraft took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Elizabethton, Tenn., and was bound for Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York. The FAA and NTSB will investigate. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and provide all further updates." https://twitter.com/PenguinSix/status/1665453000968552451?s=20 Here is a look at the VFR map of the area where the Citation went down. It is a remote and mountainous pocket that would be as good a place as any (in this small area of the country along the aircraft's flight path at least) for an unresponsive aircraft to go down. VFRmap.com We are also hearing that F-16C/Ds from Atlantic City were involved in this intercept, which makes sense considering where the Citation's course turned back towards the Capital. Apparently, a Virginia State Police helicopter is over the general area now and search teams are marshaling. https://twitter.com/oriolesfan833/status/1665466176472850433?s=20 The range of the Cessna 560 is very roughly similar to its flight track, adding to the likely possibility that it crashed after running out of fuel. It's also worth keeping in mind that Cessna 560s often operate via a single pilot. UPDATE: 5:41 P.M. EST The plane was not shot down, a U.S. official has told The War Zone. Also, according to an update from local media: The crash is located 300 feet below the peak of a mountain, according to the spotting aircraft. Traffic among rescue crews mentioned the intersection of Beech Grove Road and the Blue Ridge Parkway. "Northeast of Mount Carmel Church at the tallest peak," a firefighter in the church parking lot reported seeing smoke from that location. Other reports say that weather is hampering figuring out the exact location of the crash. With very little fuel onboard at the time of the crash, finding the site in a forested area will be challenging. UPDATE: 6:17 P.M. EST ABC News is reporting that officials are telling them the F-16 pilots saw the Citation pilot passed out. "The jets, which were deployed from Joint Base Andrews, saw that the pilot of the aircraft had passed out, this official said. The plane subsequently crashed." This is a rapidly developing story. We will continue to update as we find out more. UPDATE: 6:35 PM EST Official NORAD statement: TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. In coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, NORAD F-16 fighter aircraft responded to an unresponsive Cessna 560 Citation V aircraft over Washington, D.C., and northern Virginia on June 4, 2023. The NORAD aircraft were authorized to travel at supersonic speeds and a sonic boom may have been heard by residents of the region. During this event, the NORAD aircraft also used flares which may have been visible to the public in an attempt to draw attention from the pilot. Flares are employed with highest regard for safety of the intercepted aircraft and people on the ground. Flares burn out quickly and completely and there is no danger to the people on the ground when dispensed. The civilian aircraft was intercepted at approximately 3:20 p.m. Eastern Time. The pilot was unresponsive and the Cessna subsequently crashed near the George Washington National Forest, Virginia. NORAD attempted to establish contact with the pilot until the aircraft crashed. Also, the Capital was placed on elevated alert during the incident, but not at its highest alert level. https://twitter.com/CapitolPolice/status/1665488024124178438?s=20 The plane was registered to "Encore Motors Of Melbourne Inc." according to the FAA's database. UPDATE: 9:00 P.M. EST From our inquiry to the Virginia State Police: At 3:50 P.M., the Virginia State Police was notified of a possible aircraft crash in the Staunton/Blue Ridge Parkway region. Search efforts are still underway by state and local law enforcement. Nothing has been located at this time. ABC News is reporting that the FAA has stated four people were on board the C560 when it crashed. Contact the editor: tyler@thedrive.com Sonic customer bites into hot dog and finds bag of cocaine, New Mexico police say A Sonic Drive-In customer found a bag of cocaine after biting into a hot dog in New Mexico, according to multiple news outlets and police. A 54-year-old worker had inadvertently placed the drug in a customers Coney food order at the fast-food spot in San Pedro, the Espanola Police Department said in a June 1 news release. Authorities tested the bag of white powder the woman found and confirmed it was cocaine, KOB and police reported. Police said she spit the bag out, but its not clear if she ingested the drug, the news outlet reported. Surveillance video showed the employee frantically searching the area after the incident, KRQE reported. The employee was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance. A Coney is a beef hot dog topped with chili and cheese thats served at Sonic Drive-In. Sonic Drive-In did not immediately respond to McClatchy News request for comment on June 4. San Pedro is about 35 miles northeast of Albuquerque. Unusual cargo found along Florida beach, cops say. Then two more reports came in Beachgoers find a big surprise a bundle of suspected cocaine along shore, cops say Five mall employees found overdosing on fentanyl in a parking garage, NJ officials say Over 5,000 applicants aged 10-90 were chosen to participate in three sessions led by novelist Rachid Santaki Not to be outdone by US-style spelling bee extravaganzas, Paris's most famous street the Champs-Elysees was transformed into an open-air mass "dictation" spellathon Sunday, pitting thousands of France's brainiest bookworms against one another. Revealing a very French love affair with words, over 50,000 applied to participate in the event, a world first, in which hopefuls attempt to faithfully and without error transcribe a text read to them. Over 5,000 applicants aged 10-90 were chosen to participate in three sessions led by novelist Rachid Santaki. With 1,779 desks laid out on Paris' most famous boulevard in each session, organisers had sought to break the world record for a dictation spelling competition. In the first round, an excerpt of La Mule du Pape by renowned French writer Alphonse Daudet was read by journalist Augustin Trapenard, of Libraries Without Borders. Silence fell when the first session started, but for 10-year-old Samson, the dictation was "too fast". He gave up. In his final year of primary school, top student Antoine attended with his father and, despite being a star pupil, he had struggled to fill his page. "It was impossible! The dictation was for adults," he said. His father Adrien Blind, 42, was equally relieved when the session wrapped, saying he "was in a state of stress and worry". But 65-year-old retiree Touria Zerhouni was more upbeat. "I only made two mistakes! I expected it to be much harder," she said. The competition went beyond the French classics, with a sport themed round read by rugby player Pierre Rabadan, and another with a contemporary flavour read by writer and journalist Katherine Pancol. Marc-Antoine Jamet, president of the Champs-Elysees Committee which hosted the dictation during , said the event went beyond spelling. "Dictation helps us to live together. It's unifying," he said. is/cel/rhl/cls/cpy/nas/gw Star Students are Akron-Canton area's top high school grads. Here's how they were picked Hats off to the 2023 Northeast Ohio Star Students! The Akron Beacon Journal, The Record-Courier, The Daily Record and The Canton Repository conduct the Star Students program each year to recognize outstanding high school seniors in Summit, Stark, Medina, Portage, Wayne and Holmes counties. Guidance counselors selected the students based on scholarship and participation, along with leadership in school and community activities. This year, each high school could nominate two seniors. A panel of three judges selected the finalists and top three Star Students from a field that had been narrowed to semifinalists by Beacon Journal Managing Editor Cheryl Powell. Our thanks to the three judges who selected the Top 25 Star Students: Yuvonne Bruce Webb, a former longtime editor for the Beacon Journal; Robert Fenn, public affairs specialist for the Social Security Administration; and Rik Goodright, former superintendent of the Massillon City School District. Meet 2023's Top 3 Star Students in the Akron-Canton area: Our Lady of the Elms High School senior Christine Mwangi on Thursday, May 25, 2023 in Richfield. When Christine Mwangi started preschool, she could only speak two words in English: "hi" and "bye." Her parents arrived in the United States from Kenya in 2001. Mwangi recently graduated from Our Lady of the Elms High School in Akron, where she was one of the top students and widely respected for her passion for language, literature and her own Kenyan culture. Read more about Mwangi here. Hudson High School senior Alice Xu on Thursday, May 25, 2023 in Hudson. When Alice Xu was born, her grandfather said right away, This will be the next physician in the family. While other girls tried on pretty dresses and played with dolls, Xu donned her doctors coat and performed checkups on her parents. Xu will take the next step toward fulfilling her dream of becoming a doctor when she starts the liberal medical education program in the fall at Brown University. Read more about Xu here. Alliance High School senior Jordan Schwartz has been named one of this years three top Star Students Jordan Schwartz emerged from the coronavirus pandemics two-month shutdown of Alliance High School with renewed urgency to get involved. On a whim, the then-rising sophomore joined Alliance High Schools newly established speech and debate team in the summer of 2020 because it sounded fun. And it was more than a little bit fun, Schwartz recalled. It has sort of dominated my winters for the rest of my high school career, which, unlike some people, I was quite happy about. It was a fantastic experience. Read more about Schwartz here. Here are the 2023 Star Student finalists: 2023 Star Student finalists: Meet some of the region's top high school graduates Here are the 2023 Star Student semifinalists: 2023 Star Students: Here are the semifinalists Here are the 2023 Star Student nominees: These Akron-Canton area graduating seniors were nominated for Star Student recognition This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Here's how the Akron-Canton 2023 Star Students were picked FILE - Supporters and opponents of a GOP-backed measure that would make it harder to amend the Ohio constitution packed the statehouse rotunda Wednesday, May 10, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio. In a blow to abortion opponents in Ohio, a fall ballot issue aimed at enshrining access to the procedure in state's constitution will not be split into two separate issues one about abortion, and one about all other reproductive care.(AP Photo/Samantha Hendrickson, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) In a blow to abortion opponents in Ohio, a fall ballot issue aimed at enshrining access to the procedure in state's constitution will not be split into two separate issues one about abortion, and one about other reproductive healthcare. In a unanimous ruling Thursday, the Ohio Supreme Court sided with the bipartisan Ohio Ballot Board over Cincinnati Right to Life which, on behalf of a pair of anti-abortion voters, had argued that abortion should be considered as its own, separate question. Justices disagreed, freeing Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights and Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom to continue to gather signatures aimed at making the November ballot. Their deadline is July 5. A decision the other way would have invalidated the groups' statewide efforts so far, forcing them to go back to the drawing board and collect new signatures, and twice as many. But in its majority opinion, the court found that the proposed amendment's call to protect an individual's right to make their own decisions about a continuum of reproductive care issues contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one's own pregnancy, miscarriage care and abortion met the standard of applying to the same general purpose. Even if we accept relators argument that abortion is a unique act that is inherently different from other reproductive decisions, the decision to obtain an abortion is still a reproductive decision, the majority said. Cincinnati Right to Life President Rachel Citak expressed disappointment in the ruling. We had hoped to see the court require clear and unconcealed ballot amendment language, she said in a statement. Instead, we are reminded that that it is our responsibility to educate the public about the dangers of this proposed amendment. In a concurring opinion by Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy, three justices disagreed on the majority's legal basis for determining that the ballot board did not abuse its discretion. She wrote that the question is not whether the proposed amendment has a single subject, purpose, or object. Rather, it is whether the proposal is a single amendment which, in this case, it is. "The proposed amendment at issue in this case is one stand-alone amendment. It would create a wholly new provision in the Ohio Constitution: Article I, Section 22," Kennedy wrote. That should end the analysis. The Ohio Ballot Board considered whether to advance the proposed abortion question as one or two issues at a brief meeting in March, determining it was a single issue. The body is chaired by Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, controlled by a GOP majority and represented in court by Republican Attorney General Dave Yost, all abortion foes. During the meeting, panel member Republican state Sen. Theresa Gavarone expressed her opposition to abortion and said she would vote against the proposed amendment but she acknowledged that that was not the issue before the panel that day. Ohio's Republican-controlled Legislature has set an August special election for voters to decide whether to raise the threshold for passing future constitutional amendments from the simple majority that Ohio's had in place since 1912 to a 60% supermajority. The outcome of that election should it survive two legal challenges and go forward as planned would determine the percentage required to pass the abortion issue this fall. Student-loan borrowers are about to be thrown back into repayment, and the economy will suffer especially if Biden's debt cancellation is struck down A sign reading "Cancel Student Debt" staged outside of the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, DC. Sarah Silbiger for The Washington Post via Getty Images Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has confirmed student-loan payments will resume this year. The resumption risks jeopardizing the post-pandemic economic recovery and straining consumers' wallets. The impacts could worsen if the Supreme Court strikes down Biden's broad student-debt relief. Student-loan payments are resuming this year. It's likely going to hurt not just borrowers, but the entire US economy. In March 2020, former President Donald Trump first implemented the student-loan payment pause to give borrowers financial relief during the pandemic. Trump and President Joe Biden since extended it multiple times Biden in November most recently extended the relief through 60 days after June 30, or 60 days after the Supreme Court issues a final decision on the legality of the president' plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers, whichever happens first. And the most recent extension is very likely to be the final one. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told lawmakers in early May that "we're going to resume payments for 60 days after, but no later than June 30. We're going to begin that process." "We're confident, Senator, that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of the targeted debt relief, providing relief for millions of borrowers, and we want to make sure that the information that borrowers get is accurate. We do plan on making sure it's a smooth reentry to repayment," Cardona said, adding that "the emergency period is over, and we're preparing our borrowers to restart." Biden also agreed to codify the end of the student-loan payment pause in the debt-ceiling deal he reached with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, suggesting the president did not deem additional relief necessary for borrowers this year in connection with COVID-19. But some economists think the administration and the country should start prepping for an economic strain once payments resume. Marshall Steinbaum, senior fellow at the Jain Family Institute and economics professor at the University of Utah, told Insider that "it's pretty clear the payment pause has been very stimulative to the macroeconomy." "I think it's clear that the fact that people have more spending power means they can spend more, and that's good for aggregate demand," Steinbaum said. But he added that if the government starts to try collected on student loans that borrowers are unable to repay, "it's just a more onerous way of operating a lending portfolio of trying to collect debt that fundamentally can't be collected and trying to squeeze the borrowers as much as possible in order to make that debt collectible. And that's very bad for the macroeconomy." 'We're looking at a pretty severe fiscal contraction' Steinbaum previously told Insider that the economy has been "more than fine" without borrowers' student-loan payments. The Education Department previously estimated that the pause put about an extra $5 billion back into borrowers' pockets, giving them more economic freedom to not only buy a car, house, or other big expense but to also leave their jobs in pursuit of better opportunities. Those positive economic impacts could quickly be reversed once payments resume. "We're looking at a pretty severe fiscal contraction," Steinbaum said. And Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, told CNBC on Tuesday that restarting student-loan payments after an over three-year pause would stunt economic growth and strain consumers' wallets. "I don't think a recession is going to happen, and I don't think the student-loan payments are going to be the thing that pushes us in. But they're a weight, it's about 20 million student-loan borrowers that haven't been paying, they'll have to begin paying more or less in September," Zandi said. "So if you do a little bit of arithmetic, it'll shave a couple tenths of percent off of GDP over the coming year. Now, in a more typical time, that's not really that big a deal," Zandi added. "The economy can digest that gracefully. But in the current environment with the economy as weak as it is, recession risks as high as they are, a couple of tenths of percent can matter. I don't think that this is what's going to push us in, but it's certainly a weight at a pretty significantly inopportune time." The economy has made strides in recovery since the beginning of the pandemic, with employment returning to pre-recession levels much faster than in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The student-loan payment resumption risks jeopardizing that recovery. Representative Ayanna Pressley speaks as student loan borrowers and advocates gather for the People's Rally To Cancel Student Debt During The Supreme Court Hearings On Student Debt Relief on February 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. Jemal Countess/Getty Images for People's Rally to Cancel Student Debt The Supreme Court decision will be a major factor in economic impacts The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the two conservative-backed cases that paused the implementation of Biden's broad student-debt relief in February, and since then, millions of borrowers have been waiting for a final decision on the legality of the relief expected by the end of June. Democratic lawmakers have been sounding the alarm on the harmful impacts a payment resumption would have without Biden's broad debt relief. Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley previously told Insider that she would "absolutely" push for a payment pause extension should the Supreme Court strike down the loan forgiveness, saying that the pause has "been game changing and transformative for so many people. By eliminating that bill, I mean, do you all understand that there are people that are paying monthly student loan bills that are the equivalency of a mortgage?" And Rep. Ro Khanna wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that "resuming student loan payments without providing relief will be devastating for 45 million borrowers. It is wrong to forsake students." Still, many Republican lawmakers have continued to push for borrowers to resume their payments even before the Supreme Court issues its final decision. Last week, the House passed a bill to overturn Biden's debt relief and immediately end the payment pause, and the Senate on Thursday voted to pass the measure. But regardless of when exactly payments resume this year, borrowers and the economy will likely suffer. "The repayment pause causes people to get mortgages, get car loans, all of the things that if you're looking for macroeconomic stimulus from a repayment pause that you would expect," Steinbaum said. "So I greatly fear the end of the repayment pause, especially if cancellation doesn't happen either." Read the original article on Business Insider Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan cheering with soldiers in Khartoum in an image released May 30, 2023 The United States and Saudi Arabia on Sunday made a renewed push for truce talks between Sudan's warring generals as deadly fighting has raged into its eighth week. Multiple ceasefires have been agreed and broken, and Washington slapped sanctions on the two warring generals last week, blaming both sides for the "appalling" bloodshed. Envoys of Sudan's regular army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have remained in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah despite the earlier collapse of ceasefire talks, the kingdom's foreign ministry said. The foreign mediators called for "the parties to agree to and effectively implement a new ceasefire, with the aim of building to a permanent cessation of hostilities", Riyadh said. A five-day extension of a US- and Saudi-brokered truce formally expired on Saturday with no signs of the conflict abating and fears that the rival sides were poised for an escalation. Upwards of 1,800 people have been killed, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, and the UN says 1.2 million have been displaced with more than 425,000 fleeing abroad. The RSF on Sunday claimed it had shot down a fighter jet after the army "launched an audacious airborne assault upon our forces' positions" in northern Khartoum. A military source told AFP a Chinese-made jet crashed near Wadi Seidna base north of Khartoum because of a "technical malfunction". Witnesses said they saw an aircraft travelling from the south to the north of the capital with flames erupting from it. Other witnesses spoke of air strikes on RSF positions in the east of the city, with some civilian casualties reported. - 'Disaster zone' - The fighting erupted on April 15 in the Sudanese capital between the army led by de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF commanded by his deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. Deadly battles have since gripped Khartoum and the war-scarred Darfur region in the west, forcing residents to flee or camp out for weeks as supplies of food and other vital goods have been depleted. The governor of West Darfur, Khamis Abakar, said Sunday there was "complete lawlessness" in the state. "Armed men have taken over everything, and the situation is completely out of control," he said. Darfur governor Mini Minawi, a former rebel leader now close to the army, on Twitter denounced "looting" by armed groups, declared Darfur a "disaster zone" and appealed for help from the community international. Sunday's Saudi statement comes two days before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to arrive in the Gulf kingdom, with discussions on Sudan expected to be on the agenda. The last truce was agreed to allow desperately needed humanitarian aid into areas of Sudan ravaged by the fighting, but like all those that preceded, the accord was routinely violated by both sides. The Sudanese army on Wednesday withdrew from the talks in Jeddah. A day later, the US-Saudi mediators declared the talks officially suspended, with Washington saying it was ready to resume the talks once the parties were "serious" about a ceasefire. Both Burhan and Daglo have pledged repeatedly to protect civilians and secure humanitarian corridors. But civilians reported escalated fighting after the army quit the Jeddah talks, including one army bombardment Thursday that a committee of human rights lawyers said killed 18 civilians in a Khartoum market. Some 25 million people -- more than half Sudan's population -- are now in need of aid and protection in what was already one of the world's poorest countries before the conflict, according to the UN. bur-aem/jsa/srm/fz We all need Sushi Tuesdays: Lessons in understanding and finding a way forward after suicide When Sam Maya, a beloved husband, father, friend, stockbroker and coach, died by suicide 16 years ago, he left a note. He apologized to his wife, Charlotte, for being a burden and telling her and their two sons, then 6 and 8, that he loved them. In her recent heartbreaking memoir, Sushi Tuesdays: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Family Resilience, Charlotte Maya bears witness to Sams life, death and the aftermath with a singular purpose: to humanize the face of suicide and help readers develop a fluency in discussing mental health. Maya spent nearly a decade writing "Sushi Tuesdays," which aims to humanize the face of suicide. - Post Hill Press She spent nearly a decade writing Sushi Tuesdays, beginning with a blog by the same name, an homage to the weekly ritual she created after her husbands death. Every Tuesday while her kids were at school, Maya set aside her overwhelming to-do list as a lawyer and widowed single parent. Tuesdays began with a yoga class, then therapy, followed by whatever she needed most: perhaps going back to bed, going on a hike or heading to a solo sushi lunch. I met Maya in a memoir workshop last year. I have a family history of mental illness and suicide, so I connected with her work and motivation for sharing her story. A wake-up call about suicide In 2021, suicide was the second leading cause of death for Americans ages 10 to 34, the fifth for ages 35 to 54, and the 11th leading cause of death nationwide, claiming the lives of more than 48,000 people, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The suicide rate among men in 2021 was nearly four times higher than the rate of women, according to the CDC. Research supports the assumption that men typically choose more effective and lethal means, such as firearms, to complete suicide, according to Dr. Ashwini Nadkarni, a psychiatrist and researcher at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. Additionally, men are less likely to seek treatment for depression due to gendered expectations that equate masculinity with emotional stoicism, Nadkarni said. Suicide is a national health crisis, Maya told me, but when we hear of such a loss, we often attribute each death to the unique problem the deceased faced, such as financial or legal troubles. These stressors dont explain suicide, she said. Lots of people lose money, and they dont take their own lives. They figure things out. When her husband died, Maya knew he had back pain and was stressed about work and money, but she didnt think these things added up to being suicidal. In retrospect, she can now spot clues, such as his review of his will shortly before he died. I wanted to turn back the clock after Sam died, she said. I felt so strongly that if I could get back to that morning, I could have changed everything. Its hard to reckon with what cannot be undone, to face straight into what I did or didnt do, where I failed, where Sam failed. Talking about mental health matters Whenever I say that Sam made a mistake, the mistake I mean is that he didnt ask for help, Maya said. Its hard to say youre suffering when youre suffering, so let your loved ones know you are available to help. Asking people directly about suicidal thoughts may reduce, rather than increase, suicidal ideation, according to a 2014 review of scholarly literature in the journal Psychological Medicine. That does require that people look for and notice signs that others may be struggling, such as changes in mood, behavior, appetite or sleep habits or that they are giving away cherished possessions. The writer has since remarried. The combined family includes Gregory Stratz (from left), Tim Stratz, Jason Maya, Parker (the dog), Charlotte Maya, Danny Maya and Daniel Stratz, here in 2011. - Karen Ray Photography Speaking directly about mental health became a trademark of Mayas single parenting. She aimed for her boys to live full and fruitful lives, not defined by their fathers suicide, not limited by their fathers suicide, but also not ignoring their fathers suicide. Her sons grieved their dad in their own ways, including denial (one pretended his father was on an extended business trip) and rageful episodes that ended with destroyed Lego sets and tears. Maya mourned with them about the daddy-shaped space in their hearts but promised that someday theyd be able to say, I survived my fathers suicide, and I can do anything. Let people show up and help It can be awkward to say yes when people ask to help, Maya said. Because I was so shocked and overwhelmed, I just said yes. I recommend that course of action to people. Let people show up and help you. The support from Mayas village was so vast that she wrestled with which of her friends would be fully fledged characters in Sushi Tuesdays and which would have cameo appearances. She dealt with this challenge and the confusion caused by many friends with names starting with the letter J by cleverly referring to her friends, collectively, as The Janes. Given her background as a lawyer, she thought of them as Jane Doe No. 1, Jane Doe No. 2 and so on. In the book, readers meet District Attorney Jane who helped with the coroners office, Engineer Jane who gets the boys to school each day on time and Prayer Warrior Jane who prays for Maya while shes not exactly on speaking terms with God. One friend, identified not as a Jane but as Bess in the narrative, is Katherine Tasheff, a college friend from Rice University. When Sam Maya died, Tasheff was a single mother living on a budget in Brooklyn and couldnt travel to California to visit. So, she did what she could: She wrote her friend an email. And then another. And another. Morning and night for 365 days following Sams death. Finding humor, even in grief The emails were always heartfelt and genuine but often mixed with dark humor. In one, Tasheff wrote, We did an informal poll on whose husband was most likely to take his own life, and I want you to know that Sam came in last place. Almost immediately, Charlotte Maya replied, Dead last? This kind of banter fueled Maya, who told her therapist to call 911 if she ever lost her sense of humor. Finding moments of levity, she said, helped her hold onto her humanity. Humor doesnt cancel out what is devastating, Maya told me. Just like gratitude cannot cancel out what is horrifying. Whats important is having the capacity to hold both of those things. Carving out your own Sushi Tuesday self-care ritual After her husband's death, Charlotte Maya says moments of levity helped her hold on to her humanity. - Karen Ray Photography Seven years after her husband died, in 2014, Maya felt ready to write about surviving his suicide. Tasheff acted with her signature hadnt-been-asked swiftness, setting up a blog site for sushituesdays.com within an hour. By then, Maya had met and married the most eligible widower in her town, now nicknamed Mr. Page 179 because thats where he shows up in the book. They each brought two sons to the marriage. (Coincidentally, each has a child named Daniel, so they now have two Daniels.) Maya continues to honor her Tuesdays with therapy and yoga, a hike with a friend, and sometimes a sushi lunch. She urges everyone especially single parents and anyone managing anxiety or depression to carve out a similar weekly ritual, even if its just an hour to treat yourself with the same compassion as you treat your dearest friends. These coping mechanisms may protect us The coping mechanisms that Maya relied on in her grief may further explain the gender disparity in suicide rates, according to psychologist Lauren Kerwin. Men may be less likely to have strong support networks or to engage with them when in stress or emotional pain and may be more likely to use maladaptive coping strategies, such as substance abuse or isolation, Kerwin said. Seeking social connection and professional help is critical to preventing suicide. Now, more than ever, we have a better understanding of the neuroinflammatory basis for depression the medical framework gives us a model in which to consider depression as a medical condition and one which can be treated, said Nadkarni, the Boston psychiatrist. How to help someone who may be at risk for suicide If you see warning signs or are worried about someone who may be struggling, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention recommends you assume you are the only one who will reach out. Find a time to speak privately and listen. Let people know their life matters to you and ask directly if they are thinking about suicide. Then encourage them to use the national suicide hotline by calling or texting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, contact their doctor or therapist or seek treatment. Jodie Sadowsky is a Connecticut-based writer who focuses on relationships, mental health and books. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Phoenix Police Department. A man was arrested on suspicion of killing a man and a woman and injuring a woman early Saturday morning in north Phoenix, according to the Phoenix Police Department. Jermaine Smith, 20, was booked on several charges in connection with the shooting, according to Sgt. Robert Scherer. About 3:15 a.m. Saturday, police officers were near 29th Avenue and Bell Road when they heard several gunshots. They approached the area of the shooting, where they found a man running from the scene. Officers chased and detained the fleeing man, who was later identified as Smith, according to police. Police also found three victims who suffered gunshot wounds at the area of the shooting and later identified two of them as Jerry Carter, 65, and Jessica Velasquez, 55, who were later pronounced dead at the scene. The unidentified woman was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, according to the Phoenix Police Department. This remained an ongoing investigation, according to authorities. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suspect arrested after shooting kills 2, injures 1 in north Phoenix The man authorities say is responsible for a deadly shooting on Memorial Day is now in custody. Xavier Cabbell, 25, was arrested in connection to a shooting off of Reynolds Road in Forest Park on May 29. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] When officers responded, they found a man who had been shot three times. He was taken to a local hospital where he died from his injuries. The victims identity has not been released. Just a few hours after the warrants for Cabbells arrest were issued on Friday, deputies found him and surrounded the house he was hiding in. He was then taken into custody. TRENDING STORIES: Cabbell is currently being held in the Clayton County Jail on charges of felony murder, aggravated assault, reckless conduct, possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Police have not commented on what led up to the shooting. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: Swahili Day in Lexington affirms cultural capital that we bring to the community Swahili is the third most-spoken language in Lexington, behind English and Spanish, and Lexingtons Swahili-speaking community gathered Saturday to celebrate their language and the cultures it represents. Elisha Mutayongwa, who leads Lexingtons Marafiki Center, which organized the event, said Saturday was a dream come true. This has been a long time coming, he said. Swahili Day, held on the campus of Bluegrass Community and Technical College on Newtown Pike, offered a lineup of music, dancing, fashion and more. Vendors representing 10 nations sold food, clothing and other wares. Some, Mutayongwa said, operate small businesses out of their garages or the trunks of their cars. Like its sponsor, the Marafiki Center, Mutayongwa said Swahili Day was a space where everybody can feel that they belong. The Marafiki Center seeks to represent and support the growing Swahili-speaking community in Fayette County. The center offers Swahili language classes for children and adults, a camp for children whose parents have immigrated from Africa, a youth conference for young immigrants trying to navigate a new culture and other outreach programs. Attendees played an African board game at Swahili Day in Lexington, Ky., on June 3, 2023. Swahili is not simply about language, Pablo George Emedi told those gathered. Swahilis about people. He said Saturdays event was an opportunity to get back to our roots. Emedi said the visibility offered by Swahili Day, which he said was the largest public event of its kind in Lexington so far, is important. Promoting Swahili as such has not really been done, he said. Through the Swahili-speaking community, were promoting the larger African community, ... affirming our contribution to the cultural diversity, affirming the cultural capital that we bring to the community. Vice Mayor Dan Wu presented a proclamation at the event marking June 3 as Swahili Day in Lexington. Swahili is just one of almost 200 languages spoken in Lexington, he said, and this diversity is our greatest strength. Many of the Swahili speakers at Saturdays celebration said they came to Lexington from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. From 2017 to 2021, 5,649 people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo resettled in Kentucky, including 1,114 in Lexington, according to the Kentucky Office for Refugees. Among Kentucky arrivals, more people were resettled from the DRC than any other nation during that time period, according to the office. During that same four-year span, 611 Swahili-speakers arrived in Lexington, according to the office, which coordinates services for refugees. Pacific Mutayongwa, one of Elisha Mutayongwas six brothers, came to Lexington in 2012 after their family left the DRC. He remembers a time when he owned just one shirt. Saturday, he had set up a table of the dapper mens accessories he sells through his online business, MutaMensWear.com, which he said offers a classic look at more affordable prices. I just love dressing, he said. When I came here, I had the opportunity to afford more. He said Swahili Day was a special time. Seeing something like this is very beautiful, Pacific Mutayongwa said. He gestured to a nearby table laden with African masks and antique ceremonial figures. Some of the things, we havent seen for years, he said. Its really nice. The masks and sculptures Mutayongwa referred to were brought by Dieudonne Makonga, who is also from the DRC. Makonga said through a translator, his daughter Aisha Makonga, that he had brought the artifacts to Swahili Day not necessarily to sell, but because he wanted people to learn from them about the cultures they represent. There were carved figures from Sudan, DRC, Mozambique and Tanzania in his collection. Everything thats here is a story, he said. Food vendors were part of the festivities at Swahili Day in Lexington, Ky., June 3, 2023. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, on the right, and his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad hold a press conference in Baghdad on June 4, 2023 Syria's foreign minister on Sunday discussed humanitarian aid and combating the illegal drugs trade with key ally Iraq during a visit to Baghdad as Damascus emerges from years of diplomatic isolation. The visit by Faisal Mekdad comes weeks after the Arab League agreed to end Syria's suspension from the 22-member bloc, bringing President Bashar al-Assad's regime back into the regional fold after years of civil war. Iraq remained an ally of Damascus throughout the wider Arab boycott, never severing relations and maintaining close cooperation during Syria's civil war, particularly over the fight against the Islamic State group. During the visit, Mekdad met with Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani and conveyed "an invitation to visit Damascus" on an unspecified date, a statement from the Iraqi premier's office said. Baghdad was "one of the initiators" of Syria's return to the Arab League, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said in a joint press conference with Mekdad. The two also discussed the issue of Syrian refugees who fled the country after war erupted, many of whom now live in Iraq as well as Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. "We received about 250,000 refugees," said Hussein, who added that the majority of them live in camps in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region. He said the next step would be getting humanitarian aid into Syria, which has been devastated by the war and by a February 6 earthquake that also hit Turkey and killed tens of thousands in both countries. The quake triggered a flurry of aid efforts and diplomatic moves that help spur Syria's reintegration back into the wider Arab region. Mekdad on Sunday thanked Iraq for its "solidarity" after the quake, also hailing the "progression" of bilateral relations. "We will continue to cooperate to combat terrorism and eliminate the danger posed by drugs," he added in a reference to the illegal trade in the stimulant captagon. - Drug trade, water scarcity - The Arab League voted on May 7 to readmit Syria after its suspension in 2011 over Assad's brutal repression of pro-democracy protests that later devolved into an all-out war. At the time, Iraq had abstained from the vote that resulted in Damascus' suspension. The two countries share a 600-kilometre (370-mile) porous desert border that has continued to see militant activity even years after the defeat of IS. The militant group took over large swathes of both countries in 2014, declaring its "caliphate" before it was defeated in 2017 in Iraq and in 2019 in Syria. Drug trafficking has also proliferated in past years, with the trade of the amphetamine-like drug captagon exploding in the region, much of it across the Syria-Iraq border. Iraqi guards in March seized over three million captagon pills at the border with Syria. In addition to security coordination, Baghdad and Damascus continue to coordinate on other key issues including water as both countries face dangerous shortages. Dam-building in neighbouring countries and climate change impacts have dramatically reduced water flows in both countries, disrupting agriculture and threatening livelihoods amid persistent economic challenges. gde/jsa/fz/noc/ami Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Texas has become the latest state and the most populous to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill to this effect into law Friday. Senate Bill 14 bans surgery, hormone treatment, and puberty blockers for the purpose of gender transition for people under 18, while allowing those procedures for treatment of congenital anomalies, early-onset puberty, and other conditions. Genital surgery is almost never performed on minors. The law goes into force September 1. It includes an exception for young people who began treatment before June 1 but says doctors must wean them off any prescription drugs theyre taking for transition. There is also an exception for those who have had at least 12 sessions of counseling over six months. But it was not clear whether doctors would feel comfortable continuing to offer that care, The New York Times notes. Violation would be punished by revocation of a medical license, and the Texas attorney general could bring a court action to restrain or enjoin health care providers from committing, continuing to commit, or repeating the violation, the legislation states. Attorney General Ken Paxton, who like Abbott has taken many anti-LGBTQ+ actions, is temporarily removed from office while an impeachment trial proceeds regarding charges that he abused his positions power to reward a campaign donor. The interim attorney general is John Scott, a former Texas secretary of state who is known to be conservative. Last year, Abbott ordered that parents who allow their children to receive gender-affirming care be investigated for child abuse. The order was based on a legal opinion issued by Paxton. Most of the investigations are blocked by a court while a lawsuit against the order is heard. There is likely to be a lawsuit against the ban on gender-affirming care. After legislators gave final approval to SB 14 last month, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the national ACLU, Lambda Legal, and the Transgender Law Center said they will file such a suit. Texas is the 19th state to ban some form of medical care for trans youth. With its action, nearly one-third of trans youth live in a state with such a ban, the Movement Advancement Project reports. Five states make it a felony to provide this care. Other states that have outlawed some or all gender-affirming care for trans minors are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia. The Alabama, Arkansas, and Oklahoma bans are temporarily blocked from enforcement while lawsuits are heard. Several other states have proposed such bills, and one is awaiting the governor's signature in Missouri. Texas has a population of about 30 million and is estimated to have about 30,000 trans residents between the ages of 13 and 14, according to the Williams Institute, a think tank on LGBTQ+ issues at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law. It is the second most populous state in the nation; California, which has declared itself a legal refuge for trans people seeking care, is first. Nine other states and the District of Columbia have shield laws like Californias, MAP notes. A third of the 500 former prisoners fighting on Russian side in Kharkiv Oblast are injured or have deserted General Staff Around 100 of the 500 former prisoners who had recently arrived at Kharkiv Oblast as part of the Russian Armed Forces have been killed or injured; another 80 have deserted. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook Quote from the General Staff: "Russian occupation forces are continuing to suffer significant personnel losses. Last week, a group of around 500 former Russian prisoners arrived to replenish a unit of the Russian occupation forces based on the temporarily occupied territory of Kharkiv Oblast. After the Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the enemy positions, about 100 people from among the newly arrived reinforcements sustained injuries of varying severity, including life-threatening ones. Another 80 individuals have abandoned their positions." Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Three Israeli soldiers and an Egyptian policeman have been killed in a rare border crossing incident. Details of the incident the first of its kind in more than a decade remain disputed. Egypt claims its policeman crossed the border between the two countries in pursuit of drug smugglers on Saturday and that he was then killed alongside the three Israelis in an ensuing gun battle. But the Israel Defense Forces described the events differently. They say the Egyptian policeman shot two Israeli border guards and that when Israeli back-up arrived later, a firefight ensued that killed both the policeman and a third Israeli. On Saturday, the IDFs international spokesperson described the event as the first of its kind in at least a decade since an Islamic State gunman crossed from Sinai into Egypt and killed a police officer and members of a family. The first two IDF soldiers killed were discovered dead by their lieutenant when they did not answer their radio, according to the spokesman. They had been on a 12-hour guard duty shift since 9pm on Friday night and were found dead some time after 6am on Saturday morning, he told reporters. The gunman who was later killed by the IDF did not have a sniper rifle, so the soldiers who were killed in the guard post were probably shot at close range, the spokesman said. Israel has named the three soldiers killed as Staff Sgt. Ohad Danan, 20, who was killed in the gun battle; and Staff Sgt. Ori Izhad Iluz and Sgt. Lia Ben nun, 19, who were killed in their guard post. Different accounts but working together IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said Israel was investigating the incident in conjunction with the Egyptian armed forces. He did not directly address the Egyptian contention that the Egyptian policeman had entered Israel in pursuit of drug smugglers and that the three IDF troops were killed in a gunfight resulting from chasing the drug smugglers. An ambulance leaves a military base following a deadly shootout in southern Israel along the Egyptian border on June 3, 2023. - Tsafrir Abayov/AP Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Twitter that Israeli and Egyptian defense ministers have agreed to work together to prevent attacks along their shared border following the incident. I spoke this evening with my Egyptian counterpart, Minister Mohamed Zaki. I emphasized the importance of our cooperation in the investigation of the severe attack in which three IDF troops were killed. We agreed to work together to prevent terrorism along our border and to further strengthen defense ties between our countries, Gallant tweeted. The Egyptian military said Zaki called Gallant to discuss the circumstances of Saturdays accident and to offer condolences to the victims of the accident from both sides. During their phone call, the ministers also discussed their intention to jointly coordinate to take the necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such events in the future, the Egyptian military said via Twitter. Egypt and Israel have officially been at peace since 1979, when Egypt became the first Arab country to sign a peace deal with Israel. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Democracy activist Alexandra Wong being detained by Hong Kong Police Police in Hong Kong have detained several pro-democracy activists on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Authorities have banned public commemoration of the 1989 incident, which saw China crush peaceful protests in Beijing with tanks and troops. However, candlelight vigils have been taking place in other cities worldwide. Among those detained was 67-year-old Alexandra Wong, a prominent campaigner nicknamed "Grandma Wong". Amid a tense evening in Hong Kong, she was arrested while carrying flowers near Victoria Park, where vigils had been held for decades. The leader of one of Hong Kong's main opposition parties was among those arrested. Chan Po Ying, a veteran pro-democracy activist who heads the League of Social Democrats party, was holding an LED candle and two flowers. Mak Yin Ting, former head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, was also detained and subsequently released. Police later said they had made one arrest and taken 23 people to police stations for investigation. The UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, Volker Turk, said on Twitter that he was alarmed by the detentions and called for the release of "anyone detained for exercising freedom of expression and peaceful assembly". Events to mark the 1989 massacre in Beijing are banned in mainland China. For decades, Hong Kong was the only Chinese city where these commemorations were allowed, under the city's semi-autonomous economic, political and legal set up - known as "one country, two systems" - established when the city handed over to China by the UK in 1997. But public events to mark the anniversary have since been outlawed, after the Chinese government imposed a strict national security law outlawing many forms of dissent in 2020. The annual commemorations have not been held since 2019, after being initially banned under Hong Kong's Covid regulations. This year, a pro-Beijing carnival is being held in Victoria Park instead. Ms Wong was quickly surrounded by police and driven away on Sunday in the city's Causeway Bay area. Nearby Victoria Park has hosted annual candlelit vigils to mark Tiananmen Square since 1990, often drawing tens of thousands of people to mark the day, known as June Fourth in much of China. Police detain a man holding a script titled "May 35th", a reference to the 4 June 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing Hong Kong Police have deployed thousands of officers at key sites in the city, stopping people to search and question them. Officers set up booths outside the metro station near Victoria Park to search passers-by, including journalists. Two Chinese-made "Sabre-tooth Tiger" armoured vehicles have also be stationed in the area in what appears to be a show of force by police. Ahead of anticipated protests, the city's government has also removed books on the Tiananmen crackdown from public libraries. One of those detained was a woman who shouted "Raise candles! Mourn 64!" while another was a man carrying a book with the title "May 35th" - both references to the 4 June date of the killings. Others have been detained while holding unlit candles or wearing yellow clothing, the colour of the now-dismantled pro-democracy movement. On Saturday, four people were arrested on suspicion of disturbing order in a public place or acting with seditious intent - both new offences under the controversial 2020 law. Dozens of candlelight vigils have been taking place around the world on Sunday to remember those killed by the Chinese military in response to the crackdown. In Taiwan, the democratic, self-governing island China claims as its territory and has vowed to take control of by force if necessary, hundreds of people gathered to mark the anniversary. Chants of "fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong" were heard from the crowds in the capital, Taipei, who had set up a replica of the "Pillar of Shame" - a famous statue at the University of Hong Kong commemorating the dead at Tiananmen Square that was removed in 2021. People joined a Tiananmen vigil in Taipei Many involved also hope the vigils will continue the spirit of Hong Kong's once-vibrant civil society and political community, which has now largely fallen silent because so many have been imprisoned under the national security law, or have left Hong Kong altogether. The Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing became the focus for national demonstrations calling for greater political freedoms in 1989. Thousands of people - the majority of which were students - camped for weeks in the iconic Beijing square before the military moved in on 4 June and opened fire. One unidentified protester became an international symbol of protest for blocking an advancing column of tanks in footage that was seen around the world. The Chinese government says 200 civilians and several dozen security personnel died. Other estimates have ranged from hundreds to as many as 10,000. The actions of the authorities have been seen by activists as part of China's broader agenda to snuff out political dissent in Hong Kong. CHICAGO After demand for Taylor Swifts Eras Tour overwhelmed Ticketmasters system, fans across the country who were left empty-handed gathered here at the next best place. At a park outside Soldier Field, where Swift was performing, hundreds of fans came together Friday to create their own concert experience. The sold-out tour has packed venues night after night and broken attendance records at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. A disastrous Ticketmaster presale last year left fans frustrated and desperate, and tickets now sell for thousands above face value, and prices have only increased since opening night in March. With tickets out of the question for many, fans have gotten creative. As one fan was overheard saying to a friend, you just cant stop Swifties. Samantha Funk, 28, spent her Friday night outside Soldier Field in Chicago to listen to Taylor Swift's concert, share friendship bracelets and dance. (Akilah Townsend for NBC News) Akilah Townsend for NBC News Jane Kennedy, 8, was on a "Taylor Swift playdate" Friday night with her friend Estelle Bohn, 7, who is also a Swiftie. The girls were decked out in colorful sequins, waiting for Swift to start the show with their moms, who were old school Taylor Swift fans. "We tried and tried and tried to get tickets, and earlier this week my husband said, 'You know it's going to be a once in a lifetime atmosphere,'" Kelly Kennedy, 40, said. "You can't be inside but maybe you can go sit outside and still be part of the experience." Akilah Townsend for NBC News Kennedy and Kristen Bohn (Estelle's mom), said that Swift's celebrity has manifested something positive beyond the music: a community for their daughters to feel part of. Older fans have been "so friendly," introducing themselves to the two girls and even making friendship bracelets with them, a nod to a lyric from Swift's "You're on Your Own, Kid." "They won't remember, I think, when they grow up if they were inside or outside," Bohn, 46, said. Akilah Townsend for NBC News The fan connection is part of the hype As the tour began playing outdoor stadiums, fans encouraged one another to come join them just beyond the gates, bringing thousands together in cities like Tampa, Florida, Philadelphia and Nashville. In videos on TikTok, people have shared positive experiences that ensure a growing crowd in the city on subsequent nights. Whereas some of Swift's venues have tried to discourage the ticketless crowds due to location limitations, Soldier Field is uniquely placed by a public park, where the concert audio is still surprisingly clear. From the steps of the Field Museum to the fence outside the stadium, there was a sea of glitter, sequins and friendship bracelets as people trickled in Friday night. The moment Swift stepped onstage was obvious even from the outside as fans screamed in unison to the sound of "Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince." Adriana Vermazen, right, drove 3 hours to celebrate her 28th birthday in the park outside Soldier Field. She handmade a replica of Swift's costume from the Akilah Townsend for NBC News Marisa Payne, a non-Swiftie, showed up only to hang out with her friend and die-hard fan Maddie Jordan. But she also admitted she wanted to see "what the hype was about" after seeing so many TikToks of fans preparing for the tour, whether they had tickets or not. Payne compared the night to ones she spent outside Chicago Bears games, calling the Swiftie crowd "way more enjoyable." "I almost cried on the way over here," Payne said. "I was so overwhelmed. I got up the Red Line and it was like hundreds of girls in sequins and pastels. Everyone looked great. But I think because of how friendly everyone is ... the energy is just so unmatched." From left, Malorie Hulse, 24; Alexis Middleton, 24; Marisa Payne, 27; and Maddie Jordan, 27. (Akilah Townsend for NBC News) Jordan, who drove seven hours to see Swift in Nashville, said Swift is probably the only person she'd go to such lengths for. She also suspects Swift is one of the few artists who could bring people together in such droves. "Because she is so vulnerable, her fans can't help but feel connected in a way," Jordan said. 'The girlhood community is thriving' Just a few feet from the stadium fence, Samantha Funk and Katelyn Worrell, both 28, were exchanging bracelets and making new friends. Halfway through the night, they were dancing and taking pictures with the group on their left, people theyd met that night, as they yelled out the lyrics to hits like Delicate and Look What You Made Me Do. Akilah Townsend for NBC News Akilah Townsend for NBC News One of those strangers was Lindsay Perrin, 35, who drove four hours from Indianapolis by herself "just to be part of this." She first saw the crowds gathered outside the concert she attended in Nashville and has decided to Taylgate for Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit and Minneapolis. "The energy is just unmatched," Perrin said. "When everybody stood when 'Fearless' came on, it was so exciting ... it's just like, everybody is so excited to be here." Akilah Townsend for NBC News Worrell, who has not been able to get tickets to any show so far, described the environment in the park as magical. She is a newer fan of Swift, but the connection shes experiencing toward others has made her feel that everyone is one in the same. Im like a little baby into Taylor Nation but especially with this tour, its so cheesy, but like the girlhood community is thriving right now, Worrell said. Having tickets to a show or not is irrelevant for Taylgaters, because even those who saw Swift onstage want to be part of the outside crowd. Samantha Funk, 28, and Katelyn Worrell, 28. (Akilah Townsend for NBC News) Funk, who got a ticket with other friends to Swifts opening night in Arizona, said it didnt matter what kind of seat you have. All of the same fans who are inside the stadium creating the type of show worth being at are the ones creating the Taylgating crowds, she explained. Taylor said at the opening night show how her songs are essentially like an autopsy of everything thats ever happened in her life, Funk said. And the fact that shes always been so open to that is is why everyone is out here. Its because everyone can feel some sort of like connection to her experience. Akilah Townsend for NBC News This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Sen. Tom Cotton took a shot at Biden administration officials for their efforts to meet with Chinese officials, comparing them to lovestruck teenagers. Biden administration officials should stop chasing after their Chinese communist counterparts like lovestruck teenagers. Its embarrassing and its pathetic, Cotton (R-Ark.) said during an interview on Fox News Sunday, when asked about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austins visit to Singapore, where he attended a conference also attended by his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu. The two shook hands at a dinner Friday an unexpected greeting, after China rejected a U.S. request for a meeting during the annual defense and security forum that Austin had traveled to Singapore for. The handshake and the meeting request were both part of a U.S. effort to smooth tensions with China, which have long simmered but reached a boiling point in recent months after a Chinese spy balloon was spotted flying over the U.S. Those tensions were evident again after a Chinese warship approached an American destroyer and a Canadian frigate going through the Taiwan Strait over the weekend. But Cotton believes those efforts project weakness to China, he said. It encourages them to do things like buzz our aircrafts or come within a few hundred yards of our ships. It encourages them to send spy balloons floating all across America, he said. Police news MANCHESTER A Toms River man was killed Saturday night after he was struck by two vehicles while crossing Route 571, Manchester Township Police said Sunday. Paul Mount, 45, of Toms River was crossing the highway near Washington Avenue around 10:30 p.m. when he was struck by two northbound SUVs, according to police. "Officers immediately initiated life saving measures, but Mr. Mount succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased on scene," township police said in a news release. The drivers and passengers of the SUVs were not injured, according to authorities. "The investigation into the crash is still ongoing, but at this point, crossing the roadway in an area with no crosswalk during nighttime conditions appears to be the primary contributing factor," police said. Ptl. Michael OHara of the Manchester Township Police Traffic Safety Unit is investigating. The Ocean County Sheriff Department's Crime Scene Investigations Unit as well as the Ocean County Medical Examiners Office responded to scene. The Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Department, EMTs from the Manchester Township Division of Emergency Services and paramedics from Robert Wood Johnson University Medical Center also assisted, police said. Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers Brick, Barnegat and Lacey townships as well as the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than a decade. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701. This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Toms River man killed crossing Route 571 in Manchester The national anti-woke crusade by conservatives which includes called boycotts of retailers for marketing pride clothing or for adopting inclusive workplace policies has not washed ashore at the Tower District as evidenced by the turnout and support for the 33rd annual Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade. The Saturday celebration was the largest ever, with 100 parade entries and thousands of spectators lined up Saturday for the 2-hour crawl along Olive Avenue. The theme was Qu33r All Year. Leilani Price, who juggled emcee duties with others, was pleased not only with the turnout but with who showed up. Right now we have to be visible. We need to be loud and proud and enjoy who we are as individuals, said Price, whose pronouns are he/him/they. This pride parade is super important because of whats going on in our political climate. A Reel Pride supporter takes part in the Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade in the Tower District on June 3, 2023. He and Dr. Peter Robertson, another announcer, praised the turnout of politicians, churches, businesses and organizations that, they said, demonstrates the breadth of support for the local LGBTQ+ community. We need to show people that we have support, that were not afraid to go against the grain and stir some stuff up, said Price. Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, D-Fresno, and Fresno City Councilmember Annalisa Perea were among a handful of grand marshals. Perea is the first openly gay member of the council. Other lawmakers who showed up were Councilmembers Miguel Arias, Luis Chavez, Tyler Maxwell and Nelson Esparza, along with Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, and Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno. Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria waves at spectators during the Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade in the Tower District on June 3, 2023. Amazon, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, and PG&E were among the corporations represented by parade participants. The State Center Community College District sporting the rainbow colors on the mascots of Fresno City College, Reedley College, Clovis Community College, and Madera Community College was represented. So was the Fresno Unified School District. Theres three things that come to mind, said Dr. Peter Robertson. The first is allyship. Its important to have our allies here. He pointed to the five Fresno Councilmembers in the parade, in addition to the churches, businesses and other organizations. The second thing is that representation matters, and having (councilmember) Annalisa Perea as a grand marshal means a lot, said Robertson. A girl waves a pride flag while watching the Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade in the Tower District on June 3, 2023. The last one is visibility matters, he said. There were more than 100 entries, and this was a 2-hour parade, the biggest weve had. Its a beautiful way to celebrate our wins. Nationally, the atmosphere is different after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Dont Say Gay bill triggered an ongoing fight with Disney and, more recently, a called-for boycott of Bud Light after the beer company used a trans woman in a promotional campaign. Robertson has read the definition of wokeness, and I think Ive been accused of being woke. I guess I take it as a compliment, but for some family members and friends, its a challenging world, said Robertson. I just think doing the right thing and uplifting everyone is a good thing. If thats considered woke, then I guess Im woke. Leilani Price juggled announcer duties at the Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade in the Tower District on June 3, 2023. The Mexican Consulate in Fresno was a first-time participant in the pride parade. I love that were seeing a lot of people of color coming out in support of marginalized groups, said Price. Robertson said the Mexican Consulates appearance is part of representation. It was beautiful to see them here. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images Mathew Bianchi became a Staten Island traffic cop in 2017, two years after joining the New York police department, assigned to enforcing traffic violations and issuing tickets. In the first two years on that beat, he received stellar performance evaluations. But in November 2018 a year into his career in the traffic unit Bianchi issued a ticket to a civilian who held a New York City police department laminated courtesy card, an unofficial credential issued to NYPD officers based on their union affiliation that can then be distributed to family members and friends to carry with them. Related: Family of Manhattan woman stabbed to death in 2022 suing NYPD for inaction What happened next is the subject of a lawsuit against the city and a police captain. According to Bianchi, who is Cuban-American, courtesy cards are used to maintain a system of impunity a get-of-jail-free card for families and friends of NYPD officers to avoid traffic tickets, a growing source of revenue for the city. Bianchi claims his superiors retaliated against him for his stance against the corrupt cards after he was warned by an official with the Police Benevolent Association, New York Citys largest police union, that he would not be protected by his union if he wrote tickets for people with cards. And if he continued, hed be reassigned. In some instances, the complaint said, Bianchi was reprimanded for writing a ticket to a relative or parent of an officer; in others, his commanding officer reviewed body-camera footage to see if he was giving motorists with cards a hard time. I see card after card. Youre not allowed to write any of them [up], he told the Associated Press. Were not supposed to be showing favoritism when we do car stops, and we shouldnt be giving them out because the guy mows my lawn. Bianchi told his precinct commander that he did not agree with the courtesy card policy and claims he was told: Is it better to be right or better to be on patrol? The lawsuit cites several instances where his NYPD colleagues complained about his ticket-writing, including on Facebook. Still, Bianchi continued, ultimately writing up traffic stops in which he in effect ignored or questioned courtesy cards carried by fellow cops family members and friends. In one instance, he issued a ticket for speeding to a woman whod blown through a red light. She still complained about the speeding ticket despite being given a break on the light as a result of her PBA card. In the complaint, Bianchi claims the NYPD violated his first amendment right to speak out as a citizen regarding a matter of extreme public concern, namely widespread corruption, illegal practices and the manipulation of issuance of traffic tickets due to courtesy cards. Bianchis service as a traffic cop ended last summer when he wrote a ticket to a friend of the NYPDs highest-ranking uniformed officer, Chief Jeffrey Maddrey, the lawsuit states. The woman never mentioned to Bianchi that she knew Maddrey, and the stop was unremarkable, according to the lawsuit. Bianchi claims he was later warned by a lieutenant that the stop pissed off someone very high up, and that Maddrey had called the precinct commander to demand that Bianchi be punished. Three days later, he claims, he was off traffic duty and on a night patrol shift. Bianchi filed an anonymous complaint with the citys department of investigation but withdrew it when he claims he was told it would have to be on the record. He then filed with the NYPD internal affairs bureau. Even though my car stop was a standard stop with no confrontation I am still being retaliated against solely because the motorist I summonsed knows a chief and that chief is now mad at me, he wrote in a complaint quoted in the suit. This is not only corrupt but its a safety issue. He claimed that the practice of selective law enforcement, including giving the cards away in exchange for a discount on a meal or a home improvement job, comes with a component of racial bias. Staten Island, where Bianchi patrolled, is predominantly white. White drivers in the borough, the complaint said, are significantly more likely to have courtesy cards than minority drivers. As a result of a ticketing quota system, this means police officers are forced to disproportionately ticket minority drivers. A spokesperson for the Police Benevolent Association said it did not set policies regarding the way that police officers perform their duties. The law and NYPD policies afford police officers discretion in taking enforcement action. Each police officer determines how to exercise that discretion based on the specifics of each case. Likewise, the PBA does not determine where or how the NYPD deploys its personnel. That is the sole prerogative of NYPD management, the PBA said. A spokesperson for the NYPD said the department would review the lawsuit if and when they are served. Ronnie Dunn, a professor of urban studies at Cleveland State University who has written a number of academic papers on structural racism in traffic ticketing practices, said that what Bianchi is alleging is a form of bias. Its not only racial bias, because minorities are less likely to be given courtesy cards based on the demographics of the police, but also creates a status bias, because courtesy cards give impunity to violate traffic laws to family and friends of law enforcement and predominantly European-Americans, Dunn said. Traffic stops resulting in deadly use of force by police against Black Americans and minorities is one issue beneath the surface of the courtesy card issue because it further perpetuates an uneven justice system which unfortunately falls along racial lines. Once again, Black and racial minorities are unlikely to be the recipients of these cards and given a pass of traffic stops and violations. The nationwide practice of giving out courtesy cards was one that reflects biases and prejudices and was as such a very serious problem that needs to be done away with, he added. What will our traffic look like? Why Boise bus service hasnt kept pace with growth The largest city in Idaho is projected to grow by close to 20% by 2050, illustrating the rapid growth of a capital city in one of the smallest U.S. states. Already, the Treasure Valley Boises greater area houses half of the states population. And more than three-quarters of residents say the region could use more public transit options, according to surveys. But unlike other similar regions, the Treasure Valley has zero state funding for public transit, a reality that has forced the local public transit agency to contemplate cutting bus service. At a presentation before the City Council in April, Valley Regional Transit CEO Elaine Clegg laid out two scenarios for transit in the coming year, both of which would require reductions in service in some areas because of rising costs. Clegg maintains that more reliable and frequent transit is only possible if VRT gets dedicated funding from the state or is allowed to raise its own taxes which is currently prohibited. How Treasure Valley bus service compares Salt Lake City, which has a metro area population of more than 1.2 million people, began building a light rail system in the 1990s that now has three rail lines running seven days a week. Other cities similar in size to Boise like Spokane, Washington; Reno, Nevada; Tucson, Arizona; and Madison, Wisconsin all have many millions more dollars to fund operating expenses than VRT does, according to analyses put together by the agency. VRT has $46.53 in transit funds available per capita, according to 2020 data. Salt Lake Citys transit system has $193.37 and Madisons has $215.49, according to data from VRT. The transit system in the San Francisco Bay Area has $989.01 in per-capita funds. In Salt Lake City, most of the regions public transit agency revenue comes from a local sales tax. In 2023, the tax is projected to bring in close to $500 million to help operate the buses and light rail. But in Idaho, cities are not allowed to impose their own sales tax, unless they are classified as tourist towns. Boise is not. While local governments receive portions of state sales taxes, liquor taxes and often gas taxes which generally increase with population growth VRT does not, Clegg said. And VRT as its currently set up does not have the authority to raise taxes itself, leaving it reliant on voluntary distributions from cities that are negotiated annually. Among 12 peer transit agencies, only two other than VRT receive no state funding, according to a March 2022 report from ECONorthwest, a planning consultant. One of those two agencies, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, had a budget more than twice that of VRT. That makes operating public transit a challenge and consigns the Boise area to less frequent travel times and limited weekend service. Many of the routes that run through Boise stop operating before 7 p.m. Only a few have Saturday service, and no bus routes run on Sundays. The biggest challenge is that the budgeting process is very uncertain, Clegg told the Idaho Statesman. We know what wed like to do, Clegg said, though sometimes cities wont support it. But its not because they dont think transit is a good idea, she added. Often its because they have their own budget challenges. Clegg, who left the Boise City Council earlier this year to become executive director of VRT, said it has been harder than she anticipated to project the service VRT can offer and the cost of that service. She said VRT has focused on increasing its advertising revenue as well as trying to partner with private companies, but the agency still has limited ability to expand its offerings. We have all of this new development and new demand from residential areas, and our cities are growing, but theres not a mechanism for VRT to capture any of that growth, VRT spokesperson Jason Rose told the Statesman. Of the two scenarios Clegg laid out for the council, one proposal involved cutting routes with low ridership and making bus service on Fairview Avenue more frequent. Another proposal, which includes an extra half-percent of funding from Boise, would also cut the lesser-used routes but increase frequencies on Fairview even further, as well as along routes like Orchard Street, Emerald Street, Broadway Avenue and the Glenwood Street/Cole Road route. Both options include cutting some inter-county lines. Boises budget director Eric Bilimoria at a meeting last month said the city is planning to budget 5% of its property tax revenues and $1.5 million in additional funds for VRT. Officials have said it isnt yet clear how the extra funding will affect plans for service cuts. Clegg is scheduled to return to the City Council this month to discuss the changes, and VRT will present a final network proposal later this summer. But transit advocates are hoping for bigger change. Transit advocates push for VRT to collect sales tax One proposed solution for VRT could be to allow the agency to bring in revenue from local sales tax. A new coalition of developers and other groups around the state are pushing to change state laws to allow for the possibility. Called Lift Local, the coalition was started earlier this year by Casey Lynch, who runs the Boise-area developer Roundhouse. Lift Local project manager Kate Simonds told the Statesman that local option taxes would allow cities or counties to invest in long-term projects that require substantial funding. Those projects could include public transit or other services. Current law allows only small resort cities to collect local option taxes. Our goal ultimately is to give more control to localities across the state to address the growth that is happening rapidly everywhere from Boise to Council to Kimberly right now, Simonds said. These communities dont have the tools that they need to address their own infrastructure and public service needs. The issue not only affects public transit. Simonds said Hailey and Sandpoint are hovering just below the 10,000 population maximum to administer local option taxes and could lose large portions of their budgets after the next census. Lift Local has 246 members as part of its coalition, which Simonds said includes some mayors, city councils and chambers of commerce from around the state. Boise is part of the coalition, Mayor Lauren McLeans Transportation Advisor Bre Brush told the Statesman. Valley Regional Transit continues long-term plans In 2018, VRT published a plan to quadruple bus service in its coverage area and add more frequent transit that operates on weekends and late at night, which would bring the transit system closer to what comparable regions have. VRT in the plan said better bus service would reduce traffic congestion and save residents money. After housing, transportation is the highest expenditure category for American households, according to federal labor statistics. The plan forecast two aspirational routes for expansion: an intermediate scenario and a more aggressive growth scenario. The intermediate plan would require doubling VRTs annual operating expenses budget, while the growth option would involve quadrupling it. Both plans also included $23 million in additional funds to address a backlog of expenses, like deferred bus repairs and replacements. But this year, VRT will likely have to cut some service, which Brush said is not a decision anyone wants to make. Lines along Hill Road, Warm Spring Avenue and one that goes to Harris Ranch would be cut or curtailed. Boises most-used routes include lines on Emerald Street, Fairview Avenue, State Street and Cole Road. If there are routes that are not as efficient as others, do we have an opportunity now to reconsider those and to restructure them to make the others more efficient? she said. You can see our most successful, high-ridership routes are the ones with higher frequencies. But we have limited means, so its not like we can make every single route (run every) 15 minutes. While federal grants can be used for some public transit VRT secured a federal grant for bus infrastructure improvements along State Street, as well as a grant to help transition to a fully electric fleet those funds cant account for the funding needed to keep basic operations running, Clegg said. Brush said the city has benefited from federal COVID-19 relief dollars in recent years, but that funding has dried up. Were at a point where those dollars are gone, but our expenses have continued to increase because of gas prices, driver shortage, employee health insurance, she said. Could VRT get more funds in the future? Despite the obstacles, Clegg said she is in discussions with legislators and feels confident about the possibility of finding a way to bring in more money for public transit. Im really excited and confident about having some conversations about the future and what we need as a state to respond to the kind of growth that were having, Clegg said. She said shes committed to examining all the funding mechanisms that could be available in Idaho and the politically feasible changes. I do think theres a recognition that if we just keep doing what were doing, well end up like everywhere else that did what we are doing, she said, noting that nobody likes driving in cities like Los Angeles, which has expansive California freeways but is infamous for its congestion. If VRT were to be granted taxing authority, that would likely require a referendum, Clegg said. Compass, the regions planning association, plans to begin a study later this summer to get solid, comprehensive data on how public transportation is funded throughout the U.S., spokesperson Amy Luft said in an email. Clegg said Compasss report could inform how VRT proceeds. Boises zoning code rewrite, which is set to come before City Council for passage this month, includes provisions that would encourage denser development along corridors with enhanced public transit. VRT is collecting data from the public to see which changes would be preferred. Were at a point now, the way our community is growing and folks moving here, where we really have to think carefully about what we want it to look like in 10 years, Brush said. If we change nothing about how we fund transit, what will our traffic look like? What will our land use look like? Trans Woman Inmate Reaches Landmark Settlement with Minnesota Prison System The legal team of a transgender woman incarcerated in Minnesota on Thursday announced she will be transferred to a womens prison as part of a landmark settlement with the states Department of Corrections. The settlement also guarantees affirmative medical care and appropriate housing for other trans prisoners. Christina Lusk, 57, sued the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) last year when they denied her gender-affirming medical care and housed her in a mens prison after she pled guilty to a drug charge in 2019. Lusk came out as transgender and started hormone replacement therapy in 2008, and legally changed her name in 2018. At the time of her arrest the following year, she was consulting with doctors regarding gender-affirming surgery at the time of her arrest. As part of its settlement, the DOC agreed to move Lusk from MCF Moose Lake, a mens prison facility to MCF Shakopee, a womens facility. The DOC also agreed to provide Lusk with an objective third-party medical provider to determine Lusks suitability for gender-affirming surgery. If deemed suitable, the DOC agreed to pay for the treatment and cover out-of-pocket expenses after her release from prison if certain conditions are met, such as obtaining health insurance. The DOC also agreed to abide by the World Professional Association for Transgender Healths (WPATH) standards of care for other trans inmates, and contract with a WPATH certified health care provider to provide training and support. Lusk was in represented in her suit by lawyers from Gender Justice and Robins Kaplan LLC. As part of settling the lawsuit and in accordance with the DOC's new transgender policy, the DOC has agreed to provide [Lusk] access to a transgender healthcare specialist to determine if gender-affirming surgery is medically necessary, the DOC said in a statement. The DOC will also assist her in obtaining surgery if the specialist determines it is necessary. \u201cOn the first day of Pride month, we're thrilled to announce a groundbreaking win for transgender rights in the case we filed with co-counsel @RobinsKaplan on behalf of Christina Lusk, a transgender woman incarcerated in a male facility. \ud83e\uddf5https://t.co/LgYr3Ny6gf\u201d Gender Justice (@Gender Justice) 1685633590 The DOC also agreed to pay $495,000 to Lusk and her legal team. $245,903.72 will go to Lusk, $198,000 to Gender Justice for attorneys fees and costs, and $51,096.28 to Robins Kaplan LLC for costs. Lusk called the resolution appropriate in a statement announcing the settlement. I believe we have made a big step toward allowing people to express who they truly are, and bring some sort of peace and happiness to their lives, Lusk said. This journey has brought extreme challenges, and I have endured so much. My hope is that nobody has to go through the same set of circumstances. I relied on my faith, and I never gave up hope. I can truly say that I am a strong, proud, transgender woman, and my name is Christina Lusk. With this settlement, the Department of Corrections takes an important and necessary step toward fulfilling its responsibilities to the people in its care, Jess Braverman, legal director for Gender Justice, said in a statement. Thanks to Christina Lusks willingness to speak out, transgender people in custody will now have expanded access to the housing and health care they need, and the legal protections they deserve. The DOC said 48 of the roughly 8,000 inmates under its care have identified as transgender. Rebecca Bact of Robins Kaplan LLP noted the importance of the settlement to other members of the trans community currently incarcerated in the state. The settlement not only ensures that she [Lusk] is treated with dignity, but does the same for other trans and gender nonconforming individuals within the Minnesota DOC, Bact said in a statement. The following is a transcript of an interview with Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova that aired on "Face the Nation" on June 4, 2023. MARGARET BRENNAN: Ambassador Oksana Markarova joins us for an update. Good morning to you. It's good to have you back with us. UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S. OKSANA MARKAROVA: Good morning. Always good to be back. MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about what's happening now because Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, U.S. trained Ukrainian brigades have arrived in Ukraine and they've been rehearsing, training and maintaining for weeks. He mentioned the weather has improved. He's describing the conditions for that counter offensive to potentially begin very soon. What are you expecting in the coming days and weeks? AMB. MARKAROVA: Well, you know, for us, counter offensive never stopped to be honest. Since February 24 that's all we were focusing on, how to liberate our land. But of course, with additional trade brigades, with additional equipment, with every cent that we're working on now, we are hoping that our commanders, as soon as they will see the openings, will start this- whether it's going to be one or several counter offensives, but the faster we can liberate all their territory and all our people, of course, the better. So I will note, of course, as you heard our President and our commanders, we will not announce anything, we will not- we will see it when the results are there. But we are expecting to liberate more soon. MARGARET BRENNAN: And your president said 'we are ready.' Russia, though, throughout the course of the week has been launching missile attacks, including on the capital of Kyiv. They appear to be testing your air defenses. And I know President Zelenskyy has said Ukraine needs more Patriot missiles. Are you getting help getting that kind of air defense right now? Is the U.S. doing enough? AMB. MARKAROVA: We're very grateful for everything we are receiving. So, it's Patriots, it's NASAMS, it's all other capabilities, but we clearly need more. So what Russians have been doing, again for 466 days now, but also this week, you know, we have seen how daily, several times a day, there were deadly attacks by rockets, but also Shahed drones all- all the time. So it's the terror. It's the destruction that it brings. But also it's the, you know, expanding our capabilities that we have now we definitely need more MARGARET BRENNAN: The Biden Administration released another 300 million in military aid. Some of that included drones. Are these surveillance drones, are these attack drones that the U.S. is giving? AMB. MARKAROVA: It's a range of the drones so- and we need all of them. We need the surveillance, we need the attack drones, we need the kamikaze drones. So there will be different capabilities in the packages. MARGARET BRENNAN: There is an upcoming NATO meeting in July that the president- President Biden is expected to attend and Ukraine's, entry possible entry, into the military alliances is a topic there. Do you know what the U.S. is going to promise? AMB. MARKAROVA: Well, we all look forward to the summit. Ukraine has NATO aspirations, transatlantic aspirations MARGARET BRENNAN: For some time now. AMB. MARKAROVA: in our hearts, in our Constitution, and the majority of people support it. Since 2008, when the first declaration was made that we will be members of NATO, we believe it's time to start discussing some specific steps in that regard. Now, again, as President Zelenskyy said, we are realists. We understand the limitations that the ongoing war puts to it, but I think at this moment, after this horrible violation of international law, after Russia attacked us completely not provoked when we were not part of NATO, after historic decisions on Finland and Sweden, it's time for everyone to realize that it's about good versus evil. And we need to be members of NATO as much as NATO needs Ukraine also in order because we have a lot to add to NATO. So yes, we look forward to this forum to discuss this. MARGARET BRENNAN: Your president said he knows this wouldn't happen until after the war is concluded, in other words, that the U.S. wouldn't be drawn in directly to this conflict now, as a NATO member, but promise a future entry. What are the security guarantees that you are looking for? AMB. MARKAROVA: Well, you know, the President Zelenskyy put out this peace formula, which clearly outlines how the war should end and how to build, restore the security. So there is a lot of elements: it's military security, justice, rebuilding- rebuilding Ukraine, ensuring that we can all together deter Russia from making it again. And it's all been discussed with- with partners individually, but also was the group. It was one of the items discussed at the G7 summit, at others. So it's a work in progress, but I think, you know, the real security guarantee and not for Ukraine, but for transatlantic community and for our part of the world but globally for everyone who believes in UN stature, is for us in the future to become the member of the alliance. That is a peaceful defensive alliance of the people with like minded values. MARGARET BRENNAN: 45 billion in U.S. support to Ukraine has been pledged so far. But that funding ends in September, and they'll have to be a request for more. Are you concerned about all the political pressures that may make that more difficult, particularly going into a presidential election year? AMB. MARKAROVA: Well, any democracy, and Ukraine and the U.S. are both democracies, have good democratic elections and processes. And yes, it's an additional factor, but I believe American people support us and we're very grateful for American people for the support we have received. We will always remember it. And I know that the majority of politicians on both sides of the aisle you know, equally, we have this strong bipartisan support. And I really hope that Ukraine will continue uniting people in Ukraine, even through this electoral process, MARGARET BRENNAN: Ambassador, we will be watching closely in the coming days and weeks and thinking of Ukraine. Thank you for joining us. AMB. MARKAROVA: Thank you. Face The Nation: Moynihan, Markarova Ukraine's ambassador to U.S. says "we definitely need more" as Russia steps up attacks CBS News political panel on what voters can expect as GOP race for president intensifies Transgender adults in Florida `blindsided' that new law also limits their access to health care Eli cuddles his dog on the couch at his home in Casselberry, Fla., May 29, 2023. Eli and his fiance Lucas, both transgender men, plan to move to Minnesota with their dog and two cats later this year. The Associated Press is not using Elis and Lucas last names because they fear reprisal. Minnesota is among the states this year that have codified protections for transgender people in response to sweeping anti-LGBTQ legislation in mostly Republican-led states. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld) TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Debate surrounding Floridas new restrictions on gender-affirming care focused largely on transgender children. But a new law that Republican presidential candidate and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last month also made it difficult even impossible for many transgender adults to get treatment. Eli and Lucas, trans men who are a couple, followed the discussions in the Legislature, where Democrats warned that trans children would be more prone to suicide under a ban on gender-affirming care for minors and Republicans responded with misplaced tales of mutilated kids. Eli said he and his partner felt blindsided when they discovered the bill contained language that would also disrupt their lives. There was no communication. Nobody was really talking about it in our circles, said Eli, 29. Like many transgender adults in Florida, he and Lucas are now facing tough choices, including whether to uproot their lives so that they can continue to access gender-confirming care. Clinics are also trying to figure out how to operate under regulations that have made Florida a test case for restrictions on adults. Lucas, 26, lost his access to treatment when the Orlando clinic that prescribed him hormone replacement therapy stopped providing gender-affirming care altogether. The couple also worries about staying in a state that this year enacted several other bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community. My entire life is here. All my friends, my family. I just got a promotion at my job, which Im probably not to be able to keep, Lucas, who works in a financial aid office at a college, said. Im losing everything except Eli and my pets moving out of here. So this was not a decision that I took lightly at all. The Associated Press is not using Elis and Lucas last names because they fear reprisal. While their friends and families know they are trans, most people who meet them do not. The new law that bans gender-affirming care for minors also mandates that adult patients seeking trans health care sign an informed consent form. It also requires a physician to oversee any health care related to transitioning, and for people to see that doctor in person. Those rules have proven particularly onerous because many people received care from nurse practitioners and used telehealth. The law also made it a crime to violate the new requirements. Another new law that allows doctors and pharmacists to refuse to treat transgender people further limits their options. For trans adults, its devastating, said Kate Steinle, chief clinical officer at FOLX Health, which provides gender-affirming care to trans adults through telemedicine. Her company decided to open in-person clinics and hire more physicians licensed in Florida in order to continue to provide care to patients who have already enrolled, even though that represents a major change to the company's business model. Eli has been seeing a physician for years and therefore still has access to care. But SPEKTRUM Health Inc., the Orlando clinic that prescribed Lucas hormone replacement therapy, has stopped providing gender-affirming care. There are a lot of people looking for care that were no longer legally able to provide, said Lana Dunn, SPEKTRUM Healths chief operating officer. Florida has the second-largest population of transgender adults in the U.S., at an estimated 94,900 people, according to the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. It used state-level, population-based surveys to determine its estimates. Not all transgender people seek medical interventions. At least 19 states have now enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. But restrictions on adults haven't been part of the conversation in most places. Missouris attorney general tried to impose a rule in that state, but it was pulled back. Florida is the proving ground of what they can get away with, Dunn said. Her organization treats about 4,000 people most in Florida and some out-of-state telehealth patients, she said. While SPEKTRUM has bolstered its mental health services since the law passed, it and other organizations heavily rely on nurse practitioners to provide care. Dunn estimates that 80% of trans adults in the state were getting their health care from a nurse practitioner and now have lost access. "Right now what were seeing in the community is just chaos, Dunn said. The law also contains language that she said could scare off doctors who would be otherwise willing to treat trans patients, such as a 20-year statute of limitations to sue over care they provide. As a trans woman herself, Dunn is grappling with losing her own access to hormones while trying to provide support to terrified patients. That's taken a significant emotional toll, she said. Not only am I faced with this lack of care for myself but a lot of people within the community are also facing the same thing, and theyre reaching out to me for guidance, Dunn said. So Im doing my best to help guide people and console them, but nobodys really reaching out to me saying, How are you doing? Are you OK?' Lucas, who transitioned eight years ago when he was 18, anticipates running out of hormone treatments in June. In the best case scenario he can foresee now, he will be able to get a new prescription in August. He fears he might start to get his period again. Its just going to be extremely difficult mentally to have your body changing in a way that doesnt align with your brain, Lucas said. Eli and Lucas have switched to a month-to-month lease and tentatively plan to relocate to Minnesota in November. They said they would leave sooner if they can afford it and started an online fundraiser to help. Moving with their dog and two cats increases the expense and difficulty of finding a new place. I just never thought it could happen this way, this fast and to us, Eli said. ___ Beaty reported from New York City and Schoenbaum reported from Raleigh, North Carolina. WASHINGTON Nurses and other health care workers who have been brought to the U.S. from overseas to fill thousands of vacant jobs say in some instances theyve been subjected to unsafe working conditions, wage theft and threats of tens of thousands of dollars in debt if they quit or are fired. In interviews, more than a dozen immigrant health care workers from across the country described being placed in jobs where there was so little staff that they werent able to meet patients basic needs and feared for their physical safety. They also described being paid less than their American counterparts despite immigration laws that require they be paid the local prevailing wage, working unpaid overtime and having been misled about benefits, such as free housing, which in one case amounted to a vacant room in the nursing home where the nurse worked. But when the workers tried to leave their jobs before the expiration of multi-year contracts, they were faced with paying tens of thousands of dollars in penalties to their employers, forced into arbitration or sued, in some cases for more than $100,000, according to a review of employment contracts, lawsuits and other documentation obtained by NBC News. As a result, the workers said they felt trapped between continuing in untenable jobs or risking financial ruin. These unconscionable contracts effectively trap these workers in debt bondage, making it impossible for them to leave their jobs, said Martina Vandenberg, president of the Human Trafficking Legal Center, in congressional testimony last month about what she sees as a wider problem. The workers are handcuffed by debt, unable to flee. Some of the tactics used to keep nurses in their jobs have been alleged to be illegal by the Labor Department, which in March sued one nurse staffing agency, saying its penalties imposed on workers for leaving their jobs early amounted to kickbacks that violated fair wage laws. A federal court ruled in 2019 that contract penalties of $25,000 by a New York nursing home operator violated human trafficking laws. But the employment practices have continued, falling into a regulatory gray area, and stand to become even more prevalent given the shortage of Americans willing to work in a growing number of health care jobs with harsh conditions and relatively low pay, said labor and nursing advocates. It is as shocking to me as children working the overnight shift in slaughterhouses and states rolling back child labor laws, Vandenberg told NBC News. While health care workers have been coming to the U.S. from overseas for decades, they have played an increasingly vital role in the health care system after an estimated 100,000 nurses left the industry during the Covid-19 pandemic, with a growing number of nurses citing stress and burnout from the heavy workload they are given, according a 2022 survey by the American Nurses Foundation. Nursing homes, which typically pay lower wages than hospitals, have been hit particularly hard, losing more than 200,000 workers, including nurses, physical therapists and other support staff, since the start of the pandemic. That has health systems, staffing agencies and international recruiters lobbying Congress to increase the number of foreign-trained workers who can come to the U.S. But as the demand has increased for foreign-trained health care workers, recruiters and staffing agencies have employed more aggressive tactics to keep workers in their jobs with longer contracts and bigger repayment fees, said Polly Pittman, director of the Health Workforce Research Center at George Washington University. If youre a staffing agency, you basically have a financial incentive to have them stay with you forever, said Pittman. A bait and switch Thousands of foreign-trained nurses arrive in the U.S. each year, the majority coming from the Philippines where nurse-training programs mirror those of American nursing schools, a system dating back to the U.S. colonization of the Philippines in the late 19th century. During that time, the U.S. set up a number of hospitals and medical schools in the country that borrowed the American system for training nurses. Jeddalyn Ramos was recruited from the Philippines and started working in August 2022 at Baldwin Health Center in Pittsburgh, which is owned by nursing home operator CommuniCare and provides long-term and short-term recovery and rehabilitation services to seniors. Ramos signed a three-year contract that required her to pay back a pro-rated amount of $16,000 if she quit or was fired before the term was up. The agreement said the money was for expenses related to her immigration, including certain filing fees, recruitment and agency fees, legal costs and temporary housing. The contract said the costs were advancements and relocation assistance eligible to be forgiven over a period of continued employment. Once Ramos started working in the U.S., she was often the only nurse for as many as 30 patients, which often prevented her from getting to patients fast enough to give them their medications on time or to protect them against falls, Ramos said in a lawsuit. The high nurse-to-patient ratio put the patients in danger, she alleged, and put herself at risk of losing her nursing license should a patient be harmed on her watch. In one instance, she recalled, a patient pressed the call button seeking help in going to the bathroom, she said in a written statement to her lawyer that she provided to NBC News. She was caring for patients at the other end of the hallway and could not immediately respond. She said she assumed the nursing assistant on the floor would respond, but when the assistant didnt, the patient attempted to get to the bathroom on their own and fell. Eventually, social service staff found the patient and went to alert Ramos to what had happened and get her assistance. She said she ran to the patients room and found the patient on the bathroom floor crying. The patient was crying and asking for help, Ramos wrote. My heart breaks for the patient and for me because we should not be in that situation. To meet the needs of the patients she was assigned, she had to work through her breaks and stay past the end of her shift, extra hours she wasnt paid for, she said in her lawsuit. After less than two months on the job and despite the financial penalty she knew she would face, Ramos said she quit. Shortly after leaving the job, Ramos received a letter from the facilities owner, CommuniCare Family of Companies, demanding she pay $15,555 stipulated in her employment agreement. Two days later, she sent the company a cashiers check for the full amount, according to records she shared with NBC News. Still, she was sued by CommuniCare for $100,000 or more, alleging damages from a breach of contract, unjust enrichment and fraudulent conduct, according to court filings. Ramos is one of more than a dozen nurses sued since the start of 2022 by CommuniCare, each for $100,000 or more, for leaving their jobs before the end of the three-year agreement they had signed, according to a search of legal filings in Hamilton County, Ohio, where the company is based. Ramos and several other nurses have filed countersuits saying CommuniCare violated fair wage laws by not paying overtime and that the $16,000 in alleged costs the company seeks to recoup from them in their contracts violates trafficking laws by using the threat of serious financial harm to coerce them to continue working. Ramos countersuit says that the company knowingly used such threats to exert pressure on Defendant to continue working for Plaintiff and to prevent her from seeking employment elsewhere. CommuniCare didnt provide a detailed listing of its costs in its lawsuit, but two former CommuniCare nurses who had signed contracts with the $16,000 repayment requirement said CommuniCare paid for their one-way flight, one month of temporary housing while they had no income and waited in the U.S. to be assigned to jobs, and their visas and medical screenings. The company also paid for visa filing fees that can be as much as $2,500, which the employer is required to pay for under U.S. law. The nurses, who were making several hundred dollars a week in the Philippines, said they paid the cost for their required nursing and English examinations taken in the Philippines as well as their daily living expenses in the U.S. while they waited for more than a month with no income before being assigned to a job. Another former CommuniCare nurse, Ariane Rose Villarin, filed a lawsuit against CommuniCare and WorldWide HealthStaff Solutions, a recruiter it works with in the Philippines, in federal court in March, making allegations similar to Ramos' and seeking class-action status. Villarin, who started working in July 2022 at CommuniCare-owned Green Park Senior Living Community in St. Louis, alleged in court records that she had to care for as many as 40 long-term care patients at a time without an adequate number of nursing assistants. She often worked through meal breaks and worked additional hours before and after her shift to complete all her tasks, routinely working 50 to 55 hours a week despite being paid for 40 hours, she said in her lawsuit. Fearing the overwhelming workload could put her at risk of losing her nursing license if she made an error, she quit the job after about two months, her lawsuit says. These nurses are brought over, theyre promised the American dream and its a bait and switch, said Magen Kellam, a Florida immigration lawyer who has represented dozens of foreign-educated nurses and is one of the lawyers representing Villarin, speaking about wider trends she has seen. They get here and oftentimes the jobs are much different than the idea that they were sold. But thats where this debt bondage comes into play, where they cant leave even if the conditions are unsafe, and theres wage theft and exploitation of their work hours. The nurses coming to the U.S. arrive with green cards, also known as EB-3 visas, so their immigration status isnt linked to their employer, and they can leave their jobs without affecting their immigration status, unlike other workers with temporary visas, such as H1-B visas. CommuniCare said in a statement that it cannot comment on the specifics of ongoing litigation but that it takes exception to these accusations of mistreating workers or violating terms of agreements with our international employees. The company said the nurses are free to leave so long as they reimburse the company for the amount it paid in government and third-party fees. Unfortunately, some of the nurses have manipulated the system to get into the United States and then looked for higher paying opportunities, the company said in a statement. The company, which has more than 18,000 employees, said it had faced staffing shortages, in part from the lingering effects of the pandemic, and after exhausting all options turned to hiring workers from overseas to fill those job vacancies. Ramos said she repeatedly reached out to CommuniCare asking it to dismiss the case, citing the money she had repaid the company after its lawsuit was filed in October 2022. When the company didnt take any action, she filed her countersuit in January. About two weeks after Ramos filed her countersuit, CommuniCare emailed her saying it wanted to discuss a settlement and dismissal, according to an email exchange provided by CommuniCare. In the exchange, Ramos responded that she would agree to drop her countersuit if she was reimbursed the $15,555.45 she paid and awarded $78,000 for emotional damages. A CommuniCare spokesperson said the company sought to drop the lawsuit after discovering a clerical error and alleged that Ramos refused to reasonably engage with the company. Most states do not have mandated staffing levels for health care facilities, but understaffing has been a growing concern raised by nurses in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic and a key reason for nurses leaving the profession, said Cheryl Peterson, vice president of nursing programs for the American Nurses Association. But rather than improving the working conditions by raising staffing levels to attract American nurses, employers are looking to fill those jobs with nurses from overseas who dont have the same freedom to quit because of multi-year contracts they have signed, said Peterson, speaking broadly about the practices she has seen. The U.S. has over 5 million nurses in our workforce, and we have a fairly robust pipeline of nurses coming into the profession. So why dont they want to work in our institutions? Its because theyre not very good environments to work in, said Peterson. So when I think about where Id like to see the hospital and the health care industry invest its time and energy it would be to make your work environment and your pay to where nurses want to work in your institutions and so that youre retaining the nurses that you have. You become paralyzed Gelenie Pecjo Fulo had dreamed of coming to the U.S. from the Philippines to work ever since she graduated from a physical therapy program in her home country in 1997 in the hope of providing a better life for her and her two children. In 2016, she signed a contract in the Philippines with a recruiter who agreed to place her in a full-time physical therapy job. But when she arrived in the U.S., the experience wasnt what she was expecting. Fulo said she was given a $150-a-month stipend from the recruiter and placed in an apartment with five other Filipino health care workers for months as she waited to pass the required examination and be assigned to a job. Once she started working in December 2019 at a nursing home, she bounced between assignments as she struggled to find temporary housing. Twice a staffing agency she was assigned to work for had its contract canceled by the nursing home she was working in, leaving her with periods where she wasnt working. Tired of the inconsistent work and hearing from other physical therapists that she could be making between $42 and $70 an hour rather than the $30 an hour she was being paid she said she decided to find another job. But she said she was terrified to leave because she had signed a contract with the recruiter requiring her to work 6,000 hours, about three years of full-time work. If she left before then, the contract threatened her immigration status, saying the employer would inform U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and revoke its sponsorship and petition of employment, according to a copy viewed by NBC News. Ghel Pecjo is a physical therapist from the Philippines who now lives in Abilene, Texas. (Zerb Mellish for NBC News) Her struggles in coming to the U.S. are like those of the nurses. Other immigrant health care workers who are eligible for green card visas have also been required by their employers to sign multi-year contracts stipulating they pay their employers for alleged costs, in some cases totaling more than $40,000, if they leave before the end of their contracts. Under her EB-2 visa, Fulo was legally allowed to change jobs without it affecting her immigration status, but she said she and her colleagues didnt fully understand their legal rights. Shed also heard stories about another worker who left before the contract expired and was sued for $45,000. It was so traumatic and so stressful physically, mentally, emotionally. It was terrible, Fulo said. Fulo decided to take the risk and leave. After finding a new job while she was between assignments, she cut off all communication with her old employer and her former colleagues, fearing some form of retribution, she said. There was always that fear, but at every point I was thinking about my kids, about my mom and my family, so all those things pushed me, Fulo said. I felt like I was a criminal, like I did something wrong, and I had to hide from them. About a year after leaving, she was sued by the recruiter, Overseas Manpower Solutions, which alleged she owed the company $42,231 for what it would have made off the remaining hours she was required to work under the contract, and $4,704 for what it had spent on her immigration process, according to the lawsuit. I was literally trembling, Fulo said when she received the lawsuit. I was just so scared, you get so scared you become paralyzed, that was how I felt. I saw my whole future start crumbling down right before my eyes. Fulo hired a lawyer and reached a settlement in the case in 2021. She is barred from talking about the terms of the agreement. She is now continuing to work as a physical therapist in Texas, where she plans to stay longer term. Since suing Fulo, Overseas Manpower Solutions has sued at least three other physical therapists and a nurse for breach of contract, seeking repayments for lost profits and immigration costs ranging from $12,264 to $43,723, court records show. Three of the cases have been settled and one remains in litigation. Overseas Manpower Solutions didnt respond to emails and a voicemail seeking comment. Fear is the point There is a legal paper trail for the nurses who have left and been sued. But not for the nurses who have remained, fearful of the repercussions of quitting. Another Filipino nurse in Maryland, who asked to remain unnamed for fear of retaliation from her employer, said she went back to work after she was threatened with a more than $100,000 lawsuit by her employer when she tried to leave before the end of her three-year contract, despite fears for her physical safety, according to documents reviewed by NBC News. She said she and one other nurse were tasked with caring for more than two dozen patients with mental illness and drug addiction disorders who needed constant monitoring, with no security on site to help. She feared for her safety when entering and exiting the facility after a nearby shooting and after employees cars had been broken into. She said she had gotten another job at a nearby hospital but declined the offer after the lawsuit threat. Another nurse recruited from the Philippines who began working in 2022 at a nursing home in Connecticut, who also didnt want to be identified, said he would like to quit his job over what he viewed as unfair labor practices that included lower pay than his co-workers and unpaid overtime, but he said he was told by his manager that he would face a $45,000 penalty for breaking his five-year contract after one year. Its this feeling of being in a cell and not being able to freely do what you want, the Connecticut nurse said. When being recruited, the nurse said he was offered free housing and was told he would be working at a facility in New York City, where he would be close to family in New Jersey. But when he arrived last year, he was sent to a facility two hours away from New York City. The free housing was actually an empty room in the nursing home. He lived there for four months it wasnt until health inspectors came to inspect the facility that he was finally moved to an apartment. After arriving on the job, he also learned that his $34-an-hour wage was less than what his American counterparts made at the same facility. A search on the website Indeed.com showed numerous similar nursing home jobs requiring the equivalent level of experience in the area paying more than $37 an hour which could total more than $8,000 a year in additional wages for working a 40-hour week with some paying as much as $50 an hour. Unlike the American employees, he was classified as an independent contractor employed directly by the staffing agency that recruited him, not the nursing home, and was not given health insurance or professional liability insurance. The fear is the point because the fear is what allows these companies to get away with paying wages that are so far below what the market would pay if they were competing fairly, said David Seligman, executive director of the worker advocacy group Towards Justice, regarding the practices he has seen by employers in lawsuits hes worked on. These companies have been able to monetize their fear. Ghel Pecjo is a physical therapist from the Philippines who now lives in Abilene, Texas. (Zerb Mellish for NBC News) Employers are required to pay immigrant nurses the prevailing wage set by the Labor Department for a specific region. But three lawyers representing nurses whom NBC News spoke to said employers often use deceptive practices in determining those wages. One nurse in New Jersey said her hourly pay required to be paid under U.S. immigration rules was based on the prevailing wage for all nurses in a more rural, low-cost part of the state compared with the more expensive area near New York City, where she was assigned. She said her $3,800 a month in take-home pay wasnt enough for her family of three to live on with the cost of rent, health insurance and the car she needs to get to her job. As a result, she had to ask her family in the Philippines to send her money. When she asked her employer about leaving before the end of her three-year contract, she said she was told verbally by a manager that she would have to pay the company $100,000, so she decided to stay in the job. The companys employment agreement, a copy of which was reviewed by NBC News, didnt state a specific dollar amount that would have to be repaid if the nurse didnt work for the full term, but said the nurse would have to compensate the company for the investment it made in training and recruiting the nurse along with lost profits associated with the nurse leaving and damages the nurses departure would have on its relationship with clients. The agreement said the company would pursue legal remedies to recoup those losses. As a result, the nurse said she decided to stay in the job. To cover her bills, she recently took a second full-time nursing job and now works from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. six days a week. Were trapped because we dont have a choice because we dont have money to pay them back, said the New Jersey nurse, who asked that her name not be used because she worried about retaliation from her employer. Good faith and reasonableness Kaye Mendoza had recently graduated from nursing school when she attended a recruiting fair in the Philippines at the suggestion of her aunt. After doing a brief interview she was offered a job on the spot and presented with a three-year contract for a job at a hospital in Harlem, which she said she signed despite not fully understanding what it said given English was her second language and she wasnt familiar with American legal terms. All I knew about Harlem was the Harlem Globetrotters, Mendoza said. When she arrived in New York in 2006, she had been told by her recruiter that housing would be provided and her new job would start soon. Instead, she said there was no housing and it was four months before she was given a start date. With only $200 in savings and no income, Mendoza said she had to stay with relatives in New Jersey and Maryland while she waited. Another nurse with a child who arrived at the same time ended up staying in the home of the recruiter for months, Mendoza said. Because of her difficult start in the U.S., Mendoza became an advocate for a growing number of Filipino nurses, dozens of whom have found her through a Facebook group for Filipino nurses, and have reached out to her for help with stories of abusive work environments and contracts they feel trapped in. Over the past several months she has been meeting with Filipino and U.S. officials to raise awareness about the issues she sees. I understand what everybody went through because I went through it, and this should stop, said Mendoza. But this is getting worse. I can see this getting worse rather than getting better. Not all hospitals and health care facilities have hiring practices for foreign nurses like those discussed here, said Virginia Alinsao, who worked as an international recruiter for Johns Hopkins Hospital a nonprofit facility until 2008, where she recruited about 300 nurses. She is currently working as a contract recruiter for Henry Ford Health System in Michigan as it makes a push to fill hundreds of vacant jobs with foreign-trained nurses. Those nurses are employed directly by the hospital, not a staffing agency, and are paid the same as their American counterparts would be, she said. The Henry Ford nurses are set up with furnished housing, training and a local network of other Filipino nurses they can connect with as soon as they arrive in the U.S., Alinsao said. She said she even makes sure her nurses have rice and a rice cooker when they first arrive at their assigned housing a move that is meant to help them adjust to a new home with some familiar cuisine since rice is a staple of many Filipino dishes. From the employer perspective, Alinsao said she thinks its fair to require nurses to repay their employer for the direct immigration costs, such as filing fees and examination fees that can total several thousand dollars, if they leave before a certain period of time. But she said the fees should be reasonable and not cover broad business expenses, indirect costs or lost profits that can range into the tens of thousands of dollars. I think it is fair to ask the nurse to pay for the direct expense to petition them because the employer spent money for them to come and then they get a green card and they can basically go anywhere. So I think it is fair to ask them to pay for at least the direct costs, said Alinsao, who said those costs can total several thousand dollars for various filing fees. Nursing and industry groups have tried to put voluntary guidelines in place on the recruiting process and raise awareness among nurses about questionable hiring practices. The Philippine Nurses Association of America has held webinars and put out a tip sheet for nurses and encourages them to use only recruiters licensed by the Filipino government. The Alliance for Ethical International Recruitment Practices, a division of the nonprofit organization that accredits foreign-educated nurses seeking jobs in the U.S., has established voluntary guidelines for recruiters to follow and said about 60% of nurses coming to the U.S. go through a recruiter following its code. The American Association of International Healthcare Recruitment, the trade group that represents about half of recruiters, also has its own code of ethics and expels members who are found to have violated it. We believe international nurses should be treated with dignity, James Richardson, a spokesperson for American Association of International Healthcare Recruitment, said in a statement. Membership is conditional on adherence to a strict code of ethics administered by an independent review board. The groups code says that its members will use good faith and reasonableness in pursuit of breach fees, and that contract breach fees shouldnt be used for punitive purposes. It also says its members should use reasonable efforts to ensure workers are assigned to work sites that are safe and that they can perform such work without harm to themselves or others. But neither group's guidelines prohibit the use of financial penalties for nurses who leave before the end of their contracts. The way immigration works to the United States with the employer sponsorship model means that theres a lot of upfront costs that have to be borne to get someone here, said Mukul Bakhshi, director of the Alliance for Ethical International Recruitment Practices. Theres a fundamental economic model that essentially requires that even with what we call the ethical actors, they require people to work for them for a certain amount of time and pay breach fees in the tens of thousands of dollars if they leave early. In the case of CommuniCare, Bakhshi said the $16,000 fee wasnt out of line with what other companies have included in their contracts to cover immigration costs. But he said the allegations by the nurses, if true, of an unsafe work environment and the seemingly punitive nature of the lawsuits appears to violate his organizations code of ethics. Eminently fixable On the federal level, the employment of foreign-trained nurses largely falls in a regulatory gray area where multiple agencies oversee a piece of the process, but no one agency is tasked with complete oversight. The State Department has jurisdiction over the visa process, including when nurses are applying for green cards. But once in the country, the Labor Department has oversight for making sure labor laws arent violated. A State Department spokesperson said that while it cant comment on any pending litigation it takes all allegations of forced labor, worker abuse and fraud seriously and works aggressively to ensure the integrity of U.S. visa adjudications and all consular services we provide worldwide. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su has taken some recent steps to crack down on alleged abuses. In March, the Labor Department filed a lawsuit in federal court against the staffing agency Advanced Care Staffing, alleging that the repayment provision in nurses contracts amounted to a form of kickbacks that would violate the Fair Labor Standards Act by bringing the hourly wages the employee earned under what was required by federal law. The lawsuit alleges Advanced Care Staffing has forced nurses who tried to leave before their contract was up into private arbitration, requiring them to pay back tens of thousands of dollars in future profits the company was projected to earn from the employees as well the cost for the arbitration proceedings and attorneys fees. Advanced Care Staffing didnt respond to email and voicemail requests for comment. Nurses have had some success in the courts. A judge ruled in 2019 that nursing home operator SentosaCare and a recruitment agency it used in the Philippines violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act by threatening financial harm when it included a $25,000 liquidated damages penalty in the contracts for immigrant nurses and filed lawsuits against nurses for $250,000 for breaching their contracts. Sentosa argued in court that the $25,000 sum was a liquidated damages provision, not a penalty, and their efforts to collect the amount was within their contractual rights. The parties reached a $3.2 million settlement agreement in March 2022. But that ruling and several others in nurses favor havent stopped dozens of other lawsuits against nurses in state courts across the country, said Kellam. Vandenberg recently raised the issue during a congressional hearing over the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and would like to see Congress or the Biden administration take steps to prohibit the use of contract penalties for workers being brought to the U.S. from overseas. Among the struggles she has dealt with in the world of human trafficking, the labor practices involving immigrant nurses feels eminently fixable compared with the trafficking of people working on the black market, like sex workers, or other exploited workers. It feels like a little policy change could resolve these issues in the United States, Vandenberg said. It really would not take very much work to resolve this. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat has said that two Russian cruise missiles struck an operational airfield near the city of Kropyvnytskyi on the night of 3-4 June. Source: Ihnat during the national 24/7 news broadcast Quote: "Not all of the cruise missiles were destroyed; four out of six were shot down. Unfortunately, they [Russian forces] hit an operational airfield near Kropyvnytskyi." Details: Ihnat did not elaborate on the aftermath of the attack but noted that air defence needs to be strengthened across Ukraine. Meanwhile, he added that infrastructure facilities in Sumy Oblast have been hit. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Mario Anzuoni/Reuters Tyler James Williams took to Instagram early Sunday to dispel any rumors of his sexuality, instead urging his followers to deconstruct stereotypes forced onto both straight and gay people on representation. Usually I wouldnt address stuff like this but I feel like it as a conversation is bigger than me, he wrote in a Notes-app message posted to his Instagram story. Im not gay; but I think the culture of trying to find some kind of hidden trait or behavior that a closeted person let slip is very dangerous. Williams wrote that the culture of trying to force someone into coming out contributes directly to the anxiety a lot of queer and queer questioning people feel when they fear living in their truth. It makes the most pedestrian of conversations and interactions in spaces feel less safe for our gay brothers and sisters and those who may be questioning. the Abbott Elementary star wrote. Why Abbott Elementary Chose That Wistful Ending for Janine and Gregory It is unclear what prompted Williams to address his sexuality directly, as his recent interviewsnotably, a comedy actor roundtable for The Hollywood Reporterhad not referenced it. He has previously said the Black community was notoriously homophobic, noting his role in 2014s Dear White People as a gay college student broke the oft-portrayed view of gay men as feminine. For so long there was so little, I guess, portrayals of the average Black American, that the average Black American male associated himself with whoever was on TV, he told HuffPost at the time. So in this way, theres still this mentality of, Okay, youre a black male on TV. I am you. Wait, youre gay? Im not gay! No, no never mind, were not the same thing. Forget you. We shun you now. Williams wrote on Sunday that his platform was also dedicated to resisting straight archetypes that were often times unrealistic, less free, and limits individual expression as much as possible. Being straight doesnt look one way. Being gay doesnt look one way, he wrote, later wishing that those celebrating Pride Month felt safe and seen. As an ally I continue to be committed to assisting in that where I can and helping to cultivate a future where we are all accepted and given permission to be ourselves. Hayley Kiyoko Refused to Let Hollywood Reject Her Queer Love Story 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. Fighter jets chase small plane in Washington area before it crashes in Virginia FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of Washington D.C., January 28, 2005, features the major landmarks of the U.S. capita.. By David Shepardson and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States scrambled F-16 fighter jets in a supersonic chase of a light aircraft with an unresponsive pilot that violated airspace around Washington D.C. and later crashed into the mountains of Virginia, officials said. No survivors were found at the crash site, Virginia state police said. The jet fighters created a sonic boom over the U.S. capital as they pursued the errant Cessna Citation, officials said, causing consternation among people in the Washington area. Four people were onboard the Cessna, a source familiar with the matter said. A Cessna Citation can carry seven to 12 passengers. After several hours first responders reached the crash site but found no one alive, the Virginia State Police said in a statement. The Cessna was registered to Encore Motors of Melbourne, Florida, according to the flight-tracking website Flight Aware. Encore owner John Rumpel told the Washington Post his daughter, a grandchild and her nanny were on board. "We know nothing about the crash," the Post quoted Rumpel as saying. "We are talking to the FAA now," he added before ending the call. The U.S. military attempted to contact the pilot, who was unresponsive, until the Cessna crashed near the George Washington National Forest in Virginia, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a statement. The Cessna appeared to be flying on autopilot, another source familiar the matter said. "The NORAD aircraft were authorized to travel at supersonic speeds and a sonic boom may have been heard by residents of the region," the statement said, adding that NORAD aircraft also used flares in an attempt to the pilot's attention. A U.S. official said the fighters did not cause the crash. The Cessna took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and was bound for Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York, about 50 miles (80 km) east of Manhattan, the FAA said in a statement, adding that it and the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate. According to Flight Aware, the plane appeared to reach the New York area, then made nearly a 180-degree turn. Incidents involving unresponsive pilots are not unprecedented. Golfer Payne Stewart died in 1999 along with four others after the aircraft he was in flew thousands of miles with the pilot and passengers unresponsive. The plane eventually crashed in South Dakota with no survivors. In the case of Stewart's flight, the plane lost cabin pressure, causing the occupants to lose consciousness because of oxygen deprivation. Similarly, a small U.S. private plane with an unresponsive pilot crashed off the east coast of Jamaica in 2014 after veering far off course and triggering a U.S. security alert including a fighter jet escort. On Sunday, the sonic boom rattled many people in the Washington area who took to Twitter to report hearing a loud noise that shook the ground and walls. Several residents said they heard the noise as far away as northern Virginia and Maryland. (Reporting by David Shepardson, Phil Stewart, Ted Hesson, David Lawder, Daniel Trotta, Rachael Levy and Diane Bartz; Writing by Ross Colvin and Daniel Trotta; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Gerry Doyle) Air defence forces shot down an unknown drone in the Crimean city of Dzhankoi, which is temporarily occupied by Russian forces. Source: SHOT, a Russian Telegram channel Details: It has been reported that several private houses were damaged as a result of the downing of a drone in Dzhankoi, and emergency services were working at the scene. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Ugandan troops make up part of the African Union force in Somalia Some 54 Ugandan peacekeepers died when militants besieged an African Union base in Somalia last week, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni said, in one of the worst recent attacks by Al-Shabaab jihadists in the war-torn country. "We discovered the lifeless bodies of 54 fallen soldiers, including a commander," Museveni said in a Twitter post late Saturday. The veteran leader was speaking during a meeting with members of his governing National Resistance Movement party, the presidency told AFP on Sunday. The toll is one of the heaviest yet since pro-government forces backed by the AU force known as ATMIS launched an offensive against Al-Shabaab last August. It was also a rare admission of a major military death toll by African Union members. Al-Shabaab, which has been waging a deadly insurgency against Somalia's fragile central government for more than a decade, claimed responsibility for the May 26 attack, saying it had overrun the base and killed 137 soldiers. Al-Shabaab is known to exaggerate claims of battlefield gains for propaganda purposes, and the governments of nations contributing troops to the AU force rarely confirm casualties. The militants drove a car laden with explosives into the base in Bulo Marer, 120 kilometres (75 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu, leading to a gunfight, local residents and a Somali military commander told AFP. Museveni had already said last week that "some of the soldiers there did not perform as expected and panicked" as some 800 assailants attacked. That forced a withdrawal to a nearby base some nine kilometres (6 miles) away, he said, deploring "a missed opportunity to annihilate" the Qaeda-linked insurgents. "The mistake was made by two commanders, Maj. Oluka and Maj. Obbo, who ordered the soldiers to retreat," Museveni said on Saturday, adding that they would face charges in a court martial. However, "our soldiers demonstrated remarkable resilience and reorganised themselves, resulting in the recapture of the base." ATMIS has so far not disclosed how many people died, but said it sent in helicopter gunships as reinforcement after the pre-dawn raid. The United States also said it conducted an airstrike near the base a day after it was attacked. US Africa Command said it "destroyed weapons and equipment unlawfully taken by Al-Shabaab fighters", without specifying when or where the weapons were stolen. - 'All-out war' - The attack highlights the endemic security problems in the Horn of Africa country as it struggles to emerge from decades of conflict and natural disasters. Last year, Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud launched an "all-out war" against Al-Shabaab, rallying Somalis to help flush out members of the jihadist group he described as "bedbugs". In recent months, the army and militias known as "macawisley" have retaken swathes of territory in the centre of the country in an operation backed by ATMIS and US airstrikes. But despite the gains by the pro-government forces, the militants have continued to strike with lethal force against civilian and military targets. In the deadliest Al-Shabaab attack since the offensive was launched, 121 people were killed in October in two car bomb blasts at the education ministry in Mogadishu. In May 2022, the militants stormed an AU base and triggered a fierce firefight that killed around 30 Burundian peacekeepers, a high-ranking Burundian military officer told AFP. The Somali government and the AU condemned the attack, without disclosing how many people had died. In September 2015, at least 50 AU troops were reported by Western military sources to have died when Al-Shabaab fighters overran a military base southwest of Mogadishu. The 20,000-member ATMIS force has a more offensive remit than its predecessor, known as AMISOM. It is drawn from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya, with troops deployed in southern and central Somalia. Its goal is to hand over security responsibilities to Somalia's army and police by 2024. In a report to the UN Security Council in February, UN chief Antonio Guterres said 2022 was the deadliest year for civilians in Somalia since 2017, largely as a result of Al-Shabaab attacks. gm-ho/js FILE PHOTO: Russia official says Ukraine shelling of border town injures four MOSCOW (Reuters) -Ukrainian forces continued to shell Russia's border region of Belgorod overnight into Sunday after two people were killed the previous night and hundreds of children were evacuated away from the border, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. "Overnight, it was quite restless," Gladkov said on the Telegram channel, adding that the Shebekino and Volokonovsky districts had suffered "lots" of damage from the latest shelling. Gladkov later wrote that fires had broken out in the town of Shebekino after Ukrainian forces shelled a market area in the centre, adding that nobody had been injured. Shebekino is about 7 km (4 miles) from the Ukrainian border. More than 4,000 people have been relocated to temporary accommodation in the region, Gladkov said. The reality of the war, which Moscow launched in Ukraine in February 2022, has been increasingly brought to Russia, with intensified shelling on border regions but also air strikes deep inside the country, including last week on Moscow. In late May, Russia's military said it had repelled one of the most serious cross-border attacks by a Ukrainian "sabotage group" that it said had entered Russian territory in Belgorod. Ukraine denied attacking Moscow last week and has also denied that its military is involved in the incursions into Belgorod. It says they are conducted by Russian volunteer fighters. On Saturday, Gladkov escorted about 600 children from the region's Shebekino and Graivoron districts to the cities of Yaroslavl and Kaluga, far from the Ukrainian border. "The children of Shebekino are very worried about their hometown," he said. "I started leaving, they stopped me and with anxiety started asking questions." Shebekino, a town of about 40,000, and other places in Belgorod have been attacked repeatedly recently, with Gladkov telling Russian media that his region now lives in "conditions of actual war". Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation," not a war, and says it was launched to protect Russia from the threat of Ukraine's moves toward the West. Kyiv and its allies say it is an unprovoked war of aggression to grab land. (Reporting by Reuters in Moscow and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne;Writing by Lidia KellyEditing by Guy Faulconbridge, Frances Kerry and Gareth Jones) Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has visited the front again and reported on the successful counteroffensive of Ukrainian troops on the Svatove front. Source: Syrskyi, quoted by the Ministry of Defence media centre Details: The official visited "one of the tensest areas of the front" without specifying where it actually was. He explained that he and the commanders planned and prepared future military tasks. Quote from Syrskyi: "I want to highlight the work of the 92nd unit of the Separate Mechanised Brigade, which not only repelled the Russian attack on the Svatove front but also successfully counterattacked and advanced 400 metres "on their shoulders". Another example is the successful actions of servicemen of the 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade, who every day, step by step, with competent tactical actions, liberated a significant area near the Ivanivske forest." Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Ukraine's first lady: A threat to our children is a threat to all children On June 4, the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, First Lady Olena Zelenska visited Kharkiv to commemorate Ukrainian children killed by the Russian war. As of today, at least 485 children have been killed, and 1,005 have been injured, since the beginning of the all-out war in February 2022, according to the General Prosecutors Office. This pain can not be comprehended. In the 21st century, in the middle of Europe, we are forced to talk about protecting our children from physical destruction, Zelenska, who has two children with Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote in a statement. But the world must realize, if it hasn't realized yet: a threat to our children is a threat to all children. Childhood has no borders, she wrote. In Kharkiv, Zelenska delivered a speech during the opening of the monument commemorating the killed children. It is difficult to open monuments to those killed. Especially if these killed are children, Zelenska said, trying to hold back tears. I remember a photo of a father holding the hand of his son who was killed at a bus stop here in Kharkiv, she went on. Parents hold their children's hand when they learn to walk. Parents hold their children's hand when they take them to kindergarten or school for the first time. And the most terrible thing is when parents hold the hands of the children who have been killed. To the little angels who encountered human cruelty so early and who, unfortunately, will never become adults, reads the inscription on the monument. A commemoration ceremony was also held In Kyiv, during which authorities and citizens hung little bells on trees, symbolizing the voices of the killed children, according to Kyiv City Military Administration. People hang bells on a tree, symbolizing the voices of the killed children, during a commemoration ceremony in Kyiv on June 4. (Kyiv City Military Administration/Telegram) Children are among the most vulnerable groups in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Among the latest casualties is a two-year-old girl who was killed when an apartment building was hit by a Russian missile strike in the town of Pidhorodne in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on June 3. Apart from physical threats due to Russian attacks, over 19,500 children have been abducted by the Russian authorities. Explainer: What we know about Russias deportation of Ukrainian children In March, the International Criminal Court made a historic ruling: It issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian official overseeing the forced deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia. The statement by ICC says that Putin is allegedly respo The Kyiv IndependentDaria Shulzhenko The kidnapped children are submitted to re-education to instill pro-Russia patriotic values" and "assigned" to Russian adoptive and foster families. The Ukrainian government and non-governmental institutions are working on their safe return. According to the "Children of War" database, so far only 371 of them have been safely returned to their families. Ukrainian Air Force reveals how it will train pilots on F-16 jets while still protecting Ukrainian skies F-16 fighter jet It is a challenge to train a significant number of pilots simultaneously because of the intense demands required by Ukraines Air Forces against the enemy. We must remain engaged in combat here, but it is equally vital to enhance our training capabilities abroad. As a result, we have devised a rotational training program that will send pilots in waves. The first wave is expected to include several dozen highly skilled pilots, Ihnat said. Priority will be given to the most experienced and proficient pilots, particularly those who possess a strong command of the English language.We intend to select the most accomplished pilots to kickstart the training process. Additionally, we will prioritize young pilots who can eventually serve as mentors for their colleagues, added Ihnat. As Western aircraft deliveries progress, training programs for engineers and combat control officers will also be initiated. Earlier reports indicated that approximately 20 Ukrainian pilots will begin their F-16 training in the United Kingdom. The British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on May 19 that his country, in collaboration with the United States, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark, had agreed to participate in training Ukrainian pilots on Western fighter jets. The United Kingdom is set to start the training program this summer. U.S. President Joe Biden supported the decision for joint exercises, reported CNN. Allied nations will work together in the coming months to determine the timing, quantity, and recipients of the aircraft to be transferred to Ukraine, the White House confirmed. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense is optimistic that the F-16 jets will arrive in Ukraine this autumn. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed his commitment to expedite the delivery of the fighter jets, though he refrained from specifying the exact number or timeline. Kyiv hopes to receive between 40 and 50 F-16 jets to establish three to four squadrons, said Yuriy Sak, an advisor to the Minister of Defense. 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 defenders destroyed the Russian artillery system Well, now you can thanks to a video posted by Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian army. Read also: Russia changes tactics in Bakhmut, looks to go back on offensive General Syrskyi The General Roman Dashkevych 26th Artillery Brigade is working on the destruction of the Russian 2A65 Msta-B artillery system, Syrskyi wrote on Telegram on June 4. Over the past day, Ukraine eliminated 470 Russian occupiers. Overall, Russias losses from the beginning of the full-scale invasion are approaching 210,000 soldiers. Read also: Zaluzhnyi and Syrskyi will personally come to those who put them on Russias wanted list 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 army destroys Russias mainland route to Crimea with blasts in Berdyansk and Melitopol Explosion in Russian-occupied Berdyansk. Posted on June 2, 2023 "It's the southern direction. It is to be considered a possible target of the Ukrainian counteroffensive (as we still don't know what is going to happen)," he told Radio NV. The other reason to strike military targets in occupied Zaporizhzya and Kherson oblasts. "Berdyansk is a port city. As Melitopol and other settlements to the south, it is a part of the so-called Russian mainland route to Crimea which is used alongside the Crimean Bridge for munition supply. They need to hit key points (of the route) in order to destroy it. That is happening now. "Explosions were heard in the Crimean city and logistical hub of Dzankoy in the northern part of the peninsula."it's a railway junction which has been affected before. As it was today during an overnight attack," Popovych said, explaining that the attack was a part of a Ukrainian campaign in the south. Ukraine is ready to launch a counter-offensive, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. Ukrainian demining units are clearing territories along the contact line in preparation for a counteroffensive, the WSJ wrote. The demining operations are carried out manually at night to avoid revealing potential positions from which the offensive will be launched. The former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, general David Petraeus, predicted the Ukrainian counter-offensive to be very powerful with "army-wide effect." 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 Finnish-Swedish officer from the Logistics Department of the Finnish Defence Forces received the badge For Assistance to the Troops from Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, for his work in support of Ukraine. Source: European Pravda referring to Hufvudstadsbladet Details: The Finnish officer has received the award on the occasion of the Flag Day of the Finnish Defence Forces, which is celebrated on Sunday. He is currently the only serviceman to receive this honour. The Finnish Defence Forces did not disclose the name of the recipient or his specific rank. "This is a great honour, the award means a lot to me. At the same time, I understand that the award is addressed to all those who have worked to support Ukraine in the field of defence logistics," the serviceman told Hufvudstadsbladet. He has praised the military cooperation between Finland and Ukraine, noting the ingenuity of Ukrainians who are "very good at finding solutions to problems". "I am proud that we as a nation have been able to help Ukraine in its fight for survival. I recognise some of the weapons systems sent to Ukraine from the media discussions. I cannot say that I am happy, given the high number of casualties, but I am grateful to be able to do meaningful work," the officer added. Finland's total military assistance to Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion has already reached 1.1 billion. Background: At the end of May, Finland sent the 16th military aid package to Ukraine, including anti-aircraft weapons and ammunition. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Ukrainian defenders kill 500 occupiers and destroy over 20 artillery systems and 10 UAVs The Russian occupiers lost 470 of their soldiers, 8 tanks and 2 air defence systems in combat over the course of a day. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Details: The total combat losses of the Russian forces from 24 February 2022 to 4 June 2023 are estimated to be as follows [figures in parentheses represent the latest losses ed.]: approximately 209,940 (+470) military personnel 3,837 (+8) tanks 7,512 (+10) armoured combat vehicles 3,555 (+22) artillery systems 583 (+1) multiple-launch rocket systems 344 (+2) air defence systems 313 (+0) fixed-wing aircraft 298 (+0) helicopters 3,175 (+10) operational-tactical UAVs 1,132 (+0) cruise missiles 18 (+0) ships/boats 6,305 (+16) vehicles and tankers 479 (+4) special vehicles The data is being ascertained. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Ukrainian MoD says there will be no announcement about beginning of counteroffensive The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine has released a video, in which they have hinted at a counter-offensive, noting that there would be no announcement about its start. Source: Deputy Minister of Defence Hanna Maliar; Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of the National Security Council in an interview with Italian outlet Corriere della Sera Details: A video released by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence shows military personnel holding a finger to their lips and the caption, "Plans are fond of silence. There will be no 'its starting' announcement." Meanwhile, Danilov told the Italian outlet that Ukraine's strategy is to regain its borders and tactics are constantly being adjusted. He noted that the military and political leadership "calmly chooses what to do" and confirmed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's words that the Armed Forces are ready for a counter-offensive. At the same time, the Secretary of the National Security Council stressed that the Armed Forces "will act when it's the right moment". Reminder: Earlier, Zelenskyy said it is difficult for him to name the date when the counter-offensive will begin. The other day, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, released a video showing Ukrainian military personnel asking their chaplains "to bless the decisive offensive". Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Editors Note: This is issue 90 of Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly, covering events from May 20-June 2, 2023. The Kyiv Independent is reposting it with permission. Ukrainian SOE Weekly is an independent weekly digest based on a compilation of the most important news related to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and state-owned banks in Ukraine. This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union within the project Supporting Ukraine in rebuilding and recovery implemented by the KSE Institute. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the editorial team of the Ukrainian SOE Weekly and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. Corporate governance of SOEs The Cabinet appoints Ukreximbanks new supervisory board. According to the Cabinet of Ministers decision, the new independent members of the supervisory board, appointed on May 30, are: Sylvia Yumi Gansser-Potts a member of the board and the audit and risk committee at the European Fund for Southeastern Europe (EFSE), also a board member at the Latvian Citadele Banka and advisor at BlackPick Capital, former managing director at the EBRD; Razvan Munteanu former member of the executive board at PrivatBank, former CEO at the Austrian Addiko Bank, and former managing director of consumer banking at the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International; Robert Kossmann independent director at Crystal Microfinance Organization and former executive board member at the Ukrainian Raiffeisen Bank Aval (from 2006 to 2020); Engin Akcakoca EBRD advisor in Ukraine, IMF and World Bank advisor in Europe and Asia, board member at the Turkish holding company Anadolu Grubu, and board member at the Turkish supermarket chain Migros Ticaret A.S; Rostyslav Futalo digitalization consultant at the Slovakian bank CSOB Financna skupina, a former expert at the European Commission, and former managing director of Raiffeisen Leasing at Raiffeisen Bank International. The five new members will replace Dimitri Chichlo, Laszlo Urban, Olyana Gordienko, Sergiy Konovets, and Vladyslav Vynarsky. Dominique Menu, who served as an independent member on the previous board, will continue in that role, according to the Cabinets decision. According to Ukreximbanks website, Viktoriya Strakhova, Yuriy Butsa, and Yuriy Terenetyev continue to serve as state representatives on the banks supervisory board. In SOE Weekly (Issue 85), we reported that the Cabinet approved Oschadbanks new supervisory board. In Issue 80, we reported that, according to Ekonomichna Pravda (EP), Ukraine must finish forming supervisory boards at state-owned banks to comply with the new IMF programme. Previously, the government appointed new boards at PrivatBank (see SOE Weeklys Issue 69 for detail) and Ukrgasbank (see our Issues 73 and 75 for detail). The competitive selections for PrivatBank, Oschadbank, and Ukreximbank started simultaneously on Oct. 11. The selection for PrivatBank took about two and a half months (completed on Dec. 27); for Oschadbank, more than six months (completed on April 21); and for Ukreximbank, more than seven months (completed on May 30). The reasons for this variance have not been communicated publicly. In addition, the SOE Weekly has identified a consistent pattern in the board selection processes for PrivatBank, Oschadbank, and Ukreximbank. Specifically, at all three banks: Nearly all independent members (a total of six on each supervisory board) were replaced, with only one independent member re-appointed at PrivatBank; one, at Ukreximbank; and two, at Oschadbank. Each board includes exactly one Ukrainian independent member; all others are foreigners. All previous Ukrainian independent members were dismissed. All the state representatives (a total of three Ukrainians on each supervisory board) were re-appointed. The supervisory board chairs were replaced. None of the previous supervisory boards has been evaluated by the shareholder in terms of their performance. The Cabinet of Ministers or the Ministry of Finance have never voiced complaints about their performance publicly, including the respective banks financial performance, although it varied significantly across the three banks. If the Cabinet as the shareholder was dissatisfied with the boards performance, it is unclear why all state representatives were kept, while nearly all independent members were replaced. It is not yet clear how the essentially new supervisory boards will ensure cohesion as a team, given the security concerns related to Russian missile attacks which may affect the willingness of foreign members to meet in Ukraine and lead to a preference for online meetings only. Retired US General Petraeus: Now its inevitable we should give the ATACMS The Kyiv Independent interviewed retired U.S. General David Petraeus on the sidelines of a security conference held by the Cipher Brief in Kyiv on May 31. Petraeus is a four-star U.S. general who has commanded two wars. He has headed multinational forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has The Kyiv IndependentOlga Rudenko State Property Fund replaces 142 CEOs and supervisory board members at its SOEs. On May 29, the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU) reported that, since September 2022, it had replaced 89 CEOs and 53 supervisory board members at enterprises managed by the SPFU. The fund is awaiting appointment approvals at another 26 enterprises. The SPFU instituted these changes after the companies failed to meet financial targets and incurred losses. In SOE Weekly (Issue 79), we reported that the SPFU announced that it planned to replace chief executives at 65 SOEs. The decision was based on the analysis of those enterprises financial indicators. In Issue 75, we reported that the SPFU announced that it began dismissing SOE managers found to be lacking integrity. As we also reported in Issue 75, the SPFU announced the dismissal of the acting CEO of UMCC, Vladyslav Itkin. 100% of the UMCCs shares are held by the SPFU, and the company is slated for privatization. According to the SPFU, this dismissal decision was based on a thorough internal financial and economic audit of the company. Energy Naftogaz reaches an agreement to restructure defaulted Eurobonds with holders. On May 31, Naftogaz reported that it had reached agreements with investors on ways to restructure Eurobonds maturing in July 2022 and November 2026. According to Naftogaz, the detailed restructuring proposals were approved by the companys executive and supervisory boards. The restructuring of both the 2022 and 2026 bonds is expected to be completed by the end of July 2023. The decision is subject to final approval by the Cabinet of Ministers as Naftogazs shareholder, the company explained. According to Naftogaz, the consent solicitation concerning $500 million in Eurobonds that mature in 2026 includes the following provisions: a consent fee of 0.5% of the principal amount of the notes to holders that vote in favor of the consent solicitation; the deposit in a dedicated segregated reserve account of Naftogaz of (i) the equivalent of one interest payment on the 2026 notes prior to the launch of the consent solicitation; and (ii) the equivalent of one interest payment on the 2026 notes in three installments commencing on Jan. 15, 2024, and ending on March 31, 2024. Amounts in the reserve account are to be used solely for the payment of interest on the 2026 notes that will resume in November 2024; and the extension of the maturity date for the 2026 notes so that 50% of the principal amount outstanding is redeemed in November 2027 and the remaining 50% in November 2028. As for the $335 million in bonds due in 2022, the solicitation is to include a 5% payment of the principal, payment of accrued past due interest, the coupon payment due July 2023, and additional interest. The maturity date of the balance of the principal will be extended, with amortization of 50% of the remaining principal amount in July 2024 and 50% in July 2025. The interest due in January 2024 will be deferred to July 2024, with the option to capitalize such interest. Going forward, the coupon on the 2022 notes will rise to 7.65% (from 7.375%), the company explained. In SOE Weekly (Issue 75), we reported that Naftogaz was trying to restructure its 2022 and 2026 Eurobond liabilities with financial advisor Lazard and legal advisor Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. In Issue 68, we reported that on July 26, Naftogaz defaulted on its Eurobonds due to the Cabinet of Ministers refusal to approve payments on them. Earlier, on July 21, acting in the capacity of Naftogazs general meeting, the Cabinet issued an order formally instructing Naftogaz to seek Cabinets approval before executing any transactions related to the companys Eurobonds. Under previous CEO Yuriy Vitrenko, Naftogaz then reached an agreement with bondholders on the restructuring of the Eurobond issues maturing in 2024 (600 million euros), while restructuring of Eurobond issues maturing in 2022 ($350 million) and in 2026 ($500 million) was still being negotiated. Naftogazs new CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov, who was appointed on Nov. 3, expected that the company would reach an agreement on the restructuring with the holders of these Eurobonds in early 2023. This Week in Ukraine Ep. 10 Why Ukraine fails to clear its judiciary from corruption Episode #10 of our weekly video podcast This Week in Ukraine is dedicated to corruption inside Ukraines judicial system, and how the government has tried to implement reforms to fight it. Host Anastasiia Lapatina is joined by the Kyiv Independent reporter Oleg Sukhov. Listen to the audio versio The Kyiv IndependentAnastasiia Lapatina Cabinet approves Ukrnaftas financial plan for 2023. On May 26, the Cabinet of Ministers approved Ukrnaftas financial plan for 2023. According to Ukrnaftas CEO Sergii Koretskyi, the financial plan includes: Hr 74 billion ($2 billion) in net income from operations; Hr 12 billion ($328 million) in net profit; Hr 25 billion ($684 million) in tax payments to the state (rent, income tax, VAT, payroll tax, etc.); and Hr 9 billion ($246 million) of investments, including a record Hr 5.5 billion ($150 million) of investments in production. Koretskyi also said that Ukrnafta earned about Hr 7 billion ($191 million) in net profit in January-April 2023. This figure is most likely unaudited. We have not been able to identify any official reporting on profits. We have also not been able to find Ukrnaftas financial statements for 2022. According to Koretsky, the companys total annual profit in 2020 and 2021 was Hr 4.3 billion ($117 million) and Hr 2.1 billion ($57 million), respectively. Koretsky did not report the 2022 profits. In SOE Weekly (Issue 68), we reported that the shares of Ukrnafta, Ukrtatnafta, Motor Sich, AvtoKrAZ, and Zaporizhzhiatransformator (ZTR) were seized for the needs of the state and transferred to the Ministry of Defense on Nov. 6. The seizures were made under the Law on the Transfer, Forced Alienation, or Seizure of Property under Martial Law or State of Emergency, which obligates the state to eventually return the seized assets to the owners or give them fair compensation. Naftogaz owns 50% + 1 share of Ukrnafta. These shares were not seized. A group of companies informally known as the Privat group, associated with businessmen Ihor Kolomoiskyi and Hennadiy Boholyubov, owned about 42% of the shares. The remaining shares were held by some 11,000 dispersed shareholders, including the companys former or current employees, investment funds, and pension funds. All these shares were seized by the state along with those of the Privat group. After the seizure, the state replaced the supervisory boards and executive management at most of these companies. On Nov. 7, the Ministry of Defense, as Ukrnaftas new shareholder, appointed a new supervisory board for the company. Former CEO of the WOG chain of petrol stations, Sergii Koretskyi, became the CEO of both Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta on Nov. 8 and 10, respectively. Infrastructure Ukrzaliznytsia to receive a $25 million grant from the World Bank, the company reported on May 26. To get this grant, Ukrzaliznytsia will start cooperating with the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS). UNOPS will help Ukrzaliznytsia to procure equipment to restore critical railway infrastructure that has been damaged, as well as buy more fitting platforms that can carry cargo containers of humanitarian aid and agricultural exports. In SOE Weekly (Issue 88), we reported that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) would provide 200 million euros (apparently, as a loan) to rebuild Ukraines railways. In Issue 72, we reported that Ukrzaliznytsia took losses of Hr 10.8 billion ($295 million) in 2022. The loss from passenger transportation was Hr 13.3 billion ($364 million), suggesting that the companys other segments, such as cargo transportation, made a profit of Hr 2.5 billion ($68 million). Ukrzaliznytsia is also expected to lose Hr 20.2 billion ($552 million) in 2023 due to the large social burden and restrictions on cargo transportation. In Issue 68, we reported that after Russias full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian government gave Ukrzaliznytsia new responsibilities. We also detailed the financial support that the government, Ukrgasbank, and international partners provided to Ukrzaliznytsia throughout 2022. On Ukraines southern front line, tension reigns before decisive counteroffensive Editors note: As per the regulations of the unit, soldiers interviewed for this article, many of whom have relatives remaining in Russian-occupied territory, are identified by first name and/or callsign only. SOUTHEASTERN UKRAINE After months of seeing Russias war against Ukraine through the dr The Kyiv IndependentFrancis Farrell Privatization The Verkhovna Rada unblocks large-scale privatization and changes the SPFU structure. On May 30, the Verkhovna Rada adopted draft law No. 8250 in the second reading. The bill is supposed to improve the SPFUs management structure, allow the government to resume large-scale privatization, and improve the efficiency of working with sanctioned property, the SPFU explained. In SOE Weeklys Issue 76, we reported that the Cabinet of Ministers approved an electronic auction procedure for the privatization of large-scale objects with more than Hr 250 million ($6.8 million) in assets. Previously, large-scale privatization objects were only sold at offline auctions, unlike small-scale ones. Under the new law, the head of the SPFU will have the right to independently appoint and dismiss his/her deputies. The funds 12 regional offices will transform from separate legal entities into the SPFUs units, which should clarify their responsibilities and establish clear KPIs and market salaries for employees. The new law also changes how sanctioned property is handled: such property will be transferred to the SPFU by the decision of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC); the SPFU will independently decide what to do with the sanctioned property (that is, whether to privatize, lease, or manage it); all proceeds will be directed to finance the recovery needs of Ukraine via a dedicated fund. In addition, the new law: prohibits sanctioned individuals and citizens of aggressor countries from serving as CEOs and board members at SOEs; cancels the need for EOs of SOEs managed by the SPFU to be approved by local authorities; and for the period of martial law, removes restrictions on how long state property lease agreements can be valid. The Verkhovna Rada also supported the SPFUs initiative to extend the lease of state property to five years. On April 1, the Rada limited the possible lease term to the duration of martial law + 12 months, but these terms do not appear to be appealing to prospective lessees any longer, the SPFU explained. Our readers questions about the war, answered. Vol. 3 Editors note: We asked the Kyiv Independent supporters to share their questions about the war. Heres what they asked and how we answered. Join our community to ask a question in the next round. Question: Do you have any hints at what strategy might look like if the counteroffensive does The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent SPFU sells Elektronmash for Hr 120 million ($3.3 million). On May 29, the SPFU reported that it held a successful online auction for the sale of the Kyiv-based Elektronmash computer factory. This is the SPFUs third attempt to privatize this asset. Note that this selling price of Hr 120 million ($3.3 million) only equals 12% of the winning bid of Hr 970 million ($26.5 miliion) in the first attempt to sell Elektronmash, and only 28% of the winning bid of Hr 430 million ($11.7 million) in the second attempt, as we discuss below. Six bidders took part in the auction. According to Prozorro.Sale, the winner is Incom Rent LLC, a real estate management company. Its ultimate beneficial owners are Liudmyla Yakovlieva and Oleh Magalyas. According to liga.net, Magalyas is a long-standing business partner of Ihor Balenko, a member of the Kyiv City Council from the European Solidarity party and former owner of the Furshet chain of food stores. Among other things, they are connected via Group Centre LLC, which Magalyas and Balenko co-founded in 1999, the media added. The auction winner has 20 working days to pay the lot price. According to the SPFU, besides the reported price, the winner must pay 20% VAT (Hr 24.2 million, or $662,000) on the purchase, as well as take over Elektronmashs payables of Hr 23.1 million, or $632,000. According to Liga, the lots true value comes from the 13.76 hectares of land that it sits on rather than the electronics factory itself. This land, located in the Sviatoshynskyi district of Kyiv and Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, is currently zoned for industrial use only, but the Kyiv City Council can change the zoning. According to the media, Balenko is a member of the Kyiv City Councils Standing Committee on Urban Development, Architecture, and Land Use, and it is this committee that forms proposals to the session hall for voting on land issues in Kyiv. Also, according to liga.net, Balenko and his partners own commercial land next to Elektronmash, including Balenkos Promenada Park shopping center. The new property would expand the area of contiguous land that Balenko and his partners own, allowing them to build a series of shopping malls, Liga reported. In SOE Weekly (Issue 86), we reported that the SPFU announced a third attempt to auction off Elektronmash. According to the SPFU, Elektronmash was one of the most powerful computer manufacturing companies in the former Soviet Union, employing around 10,000 people. During Ukraines transition to a market economy, the factory was unable to adapt to competition and slowly decayed into ruin. At the beginning of May, the company had overdue accounts payable of Hr 21.4 million ($585,000). In 2022, Elektronmash posted losses of Hr 8.2 million ($224,000). In 2021, it lost Hr 24 million ($656,000), and in 2020, it lost Hr 10.9 million ($298,000). The company has also been cutting its workforce: In 2020, Elektronmash employed 175 people, in 2021 it had 149, and in 2022, just 127. According to the SPFU, the previous two auctions for the sale of Elektronmash could have brought Hr 970 million ($26.5 million), and Hr 430 million ($11.7 million) to the budget, but unscrupulous investors failed to complete the purchases on time. See more in SOE Weeklys Issues 51, 56, 62, and 86. Confiscation of the aggressor states assets, nationalization, and asset seizure Ukrnaftoburinnya transferred to Ukrnafta. On May 23, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) and the Ministry of Defence to transfer the corporate rights of Ukrnaftoburinnya to Ukrnafta. The state previously took these corporate rights away from the companys owners. According to the registry, Ukrnaftoburinnyas ownership is split between Ares Systems Ltd (22.49%), Deripon Commercial Ltd (22.49%), JKX Ukraine B.V. (10%), and Ariana Business Limited (22.49%). According to the media, the company is associated with businessmen Ihor Kolomoisky, Pavlo Fuks, and Vitaliy Khomutynnik. Ukrnaftoburinnya is one of the largest private gas producers in Ukraine, extracting 725.4 million cubic meters in 2021. According to European Pravda, its 2021 net profit was Hr 5.65 billion ($154 million). In 2022, this fell to Hr 3.77 billion ($103 million). On May 22, before the Cabinets approval, Ukrnaftoburinnya said on its website that Ukrnafta is destabilizing its work and participating in a raider seizure (of Ukrnaftoburinnya). On May 23, Ukrnaftoburinnya filed a criminal complaint with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). Ukrnaftoburinnya asked NABU to protect a private company, one of the largest taxpayers, from a brazen raider attack inspired by officials from the highest levels of government. On May 29, Ukrnaftoburinnya said that its owner, JKX Ukraine B.V., sent an official appeal to the acting head of ARMA regarding the illegal alienation of its assets in Ukraine. The company claimed that the recent decision to transfer Ukrnaftoburinnyas corporate rights under Ukrnaftas management was not in line with the law. As of May 26, neither the shareholders nor Ukrnaftoburinnya itself had the opportunity to review the justification for the need to apply the specifics of asset transfer, which ARMA should have cited in its letters to the Cabinet, JKX Ukraine said. In its statement, the company called on ARMA to officially recognize that there are no grounds to apply a special procedure for managing the seized assets and return the property to its legitimate shareholders. It also called on Ukrnafta to refuse to accept the seized assets and to take any action to manage them. In SOE Weekly (Issue 84), we reported that ARMA received all shares of Ukrnaftoburinnya after the asset was seized on April 7. The shares were seized in connection with a criminal investigation into the development of Ukraines largest explored gas field, the Sakhalin, in Kharkiv Oblast. (See more about this case in Issue 84 SOE Weekly.) In Issue 86, we reported that Ukrnaftas CEO Sergii Koretskyi asked the Ministry of Economy to hand the corporate rights of Ukrnaftoburinnya to Ukrnafta. Ihor Smelianskyi, Ukrposhta CEO U.S. postal operator USPS joined a coalition of 67 countries to which such packages have been shipped since April 1, including Canada, the UK, Germany, Australia, France, and others, the company said. "The Small Package is a very popular type of shipment among Ukrainians, with almost 80% of customers using it. The U.S. is one of the key countries for Ukrainian postal exports, as 45% of shipments go to this country, this service is relevant and in demand for a large number of senders," Ukrposhta explained. The price for shipment from any point in Ukraine to any U.S. address starts from $7.29 and is calculated based on the weight of a package. "The long negotiations with USPS ended with fruitful results, as they made it possible not only to fix the price for international delivery, despite the increase in transportation costs and changes in tariffs in the Universal Postal Union's settlement system, but also to lay the foundation for a cheap way of sending. It is important that Ukrposhta systematically supports Ukrainian exporters by fixing tariffs since the beginning of the great war. We also ensure uninterrupted delivery of parcels despite the closed skies for civil aviation," said Ihor Smelianskyi, Ukrposhta CEO. The Small PRIME Package has the following advantages: It is 8% cheaper than the small recommended package (another type of shipment). It provides delivery to the addressees postal box without obtaining their signature. Priority processing in the country of destination and tracking in all countries of the PRIME network, available in the United States and 67 other countries. The service can be ordered online anytime using the following online services: the ARI system, personal account, or the mobile application. It is also involved in the loyalty program. Depending on the volume of shipments, it is possible to save up to 10% more for private clients, and up to 15% for corporate clients. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine The newspaper photo shows my Uncle Pat, miraculously unhurt, sitting despondently in the wreckage of his home-built airplane, with bits and pieces of wing and fuselage littering the intersection around him. He looks very dejected. The defeat was only temporary. Uncle Pat started life as Gugliamo Pasquale Franco, the third of five sons born to Italian immigrants. He followed his brothers into the Navy when World War II started. His name was Americanized to William Patrick and he became was one of those technicians who kept the Grumman F4F-3 Wildcats flying off aircraft carriers in the South Pacific. He was a Machinists Mate First Class when he got out of the Navy in 1946 and promptly became so bored, he decided he needed to build a plane of his own. He created what was called an amateur built (or kit) plane and took to the air. It worked perfectly for about 35 minutes. He sailed smoothly into the California sky and enjoyed a slow curved flight over the Manhattan Beach Pier. He could see his home below and then he crashed right in the middle of a busy Los Angeles intersection. The picture that the papers carried the next day has become a symbol for our family, a reminder that no matter how bad things look, how much things change, you never, ever give up. June has done it again, busting into our neatly scheduled days with the reminder that with, Pride Month, D Day, Juneteenth, Fathers Day, and countless graduation and wedding days, its amazing that June doesnt contain a You might as well get used to the changes day. Maybe it does. Some years ago, as I enjoyed a visit with one of my grandsons, he announced cheerfully, Next time you see me, Ill be in puberty. And sure enough, when I talked to him on the phone a couple of months later, his voice had changed almost overnight. My new deep voice, he said happily. Ive often said that this second half of life, where I find myself, often feels like an extended adolescence, only you dont get the new deep voice.. Stopping for lunch at a popular Mexican restaurant last week, the host cast one dismissive glance at me and then asked my daughter, Can she walk up steps? Thats the first time its happened to me and I didnt like it. Why not ask me? I demanded. My legs dont always work well, but my mind is fine at least as good as ever. A little boy of about 8 came up to me as I was out on my walk and bowed respectfully in that way 8-year-old boys have. Are you a member of the Elderly Community? he asked. You should have told him you were the ringleader, a friend remarked. Kamala Harris gave the graduation speech at West Point. High time. We didnt throw caps in the air at my graduation. Caps and gowns were rented and had to be back by Monday at noon or you lost your deposit. They let us keep the tassel though. A local high school got it right. Before the graduation ceremony, as people were filing into the bleachers, they played thank-you messages to family and friends from the graduates over the PA instead of music. One of them included ... and to my Grandma, for always cutting my fruit for me, which Im supposing was a little bit of an inside joke, but it was still sweet. I think of Uncle Pat a lot on these long June days and how much it matters not to give up, and if one plane crashes, build another one. In high school Pat created a car of his own. It was part Buick, Part Model T and had a lot of eccentricities, but he loved it. That didnt stop an Oregon State Patrolman from giving him a lengthy series of tickets listing more than 25 infractions, which once again, was featured in the local papers. Among the violations and citations, the patrolman noted that the car had no windshield and no windshield wipers. That was the final blow for Uncle Pat. Why would he need wipers if he didnt have a windshield? The newspaper article concludes, Franco is quoted as saying, What we aint got, we dont need. Well, he was a machinist, not a linguist. Its June and the world is changing around us. AI will turn out to be much smarter than we are, and traffic on I-5 will be challenging. But well manage and what we aint got, we dont need. Where to find Dorothy in June June 5: 9 a.m. Coffee Chat and Change the World Swimming Upstream Radio Show at https://swimmingupstreamradioshow.com June 5: Generation Gap Whats ahead for graduates June 12: Tacoma Boat Builders, from building boats to rebuilding lives. June 14: Legendary Black Heroes Diedri Webb celebrates Juneteenth with the story of Ida B. Wells, Truth Teller. June 26: Do You Think Chocolate Grows On Trees? Chocolate Maker Jan Calkins explores our love affair with chocolate. Contact Dorothy by phone at 800-548-9264 or Dorothy@swimmingupstreamradioshow.com for more information. (Bloomberg) -- A highly anticipated defense forum in Singapore kicked off with a friendly handshake between Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu. It ended Sunday with few other signs of optimism that the worlds biggest economies could avoid an eventual collision. Most Read from Bloomberg Austin used his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue to chide China over its refusal to meet unless the US lifted sanctions on Li, saying that a cordial handshake over dinner is no substitute for a substantive engagement. The remarks came as a Chinese vessel harassed an American warship transiting the Taiwan Strait, drawing attention to the biggest potential military flashpoint between the two powers. Li fired back on Sunday, accusing some big power of creating divisive alliances, bullying other nations, spurring an arms race and seeking to contain China with its support for Taiwan. Chinas military will not hesitate for a second to move on Taiwan if necessary, he said, while dismissing questions about near-collisions in disputed waters. Competing militaries should stay away and mind your own business, Li said. Other countries at the event, meanwhile, repeatedly spoke of the dangers posed by rising US-China tensions and the need to prevent anything like Russias war in Ukraine from occurring in Asia. There was a real sincerity and urgency that what happened in Ukraine must not happen in Asia, Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen told reporters after a lunch that included all of the most senior defense officials at the event. Many ministers have said if you have a simultaneous war in Europe and Asia its catastrophic globally. The back-and-forth between the US and China at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue was always expected to be fraught, particularly after President Joe Bidens administration declined to remove sanctions placed on Li in 2018 over his role in purchasing a Russian missile defense system. It was also the first major defense forum since then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosis visit to Taiwan in August prompted China to conduct unprecedented military exercises surrounding the island. Despite the lack of a US-China breakthrough in Singapore, signs are emerging of increased communication ahead of key summits later this year the Group of 20 in India and the APEC forum in San Francisco that will place Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the same room. CIA Director William Burns made a secret visit last month to meet intelligence officials in Beijing, and a senior US Treasury official last week met with Chinas new envoy to the US. Daniel Kritenbrink, the top US State Department official for Asia, is set to travel to China this week. And while Li didnt formally meet Austin in Singapore, the Chinese defense minister sat down with nearly a dozen other delegation heads including his UK counterpart, Ben Wallace, who emerged from the hour-long conversation saying talks were productive and that he looked forward to visiting China soon. Li also said he had pretty good talks with Yasukazu Hamada, the defense minister of Japan, another staunch US ally. Still, the Singapore meeting underscored growing divisions between China and the US over the basics of the global order. And no issue was more conspicuous than the response to Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, which helped spark a surge in defense spending around the world. The US and its allies warned of the risks of allowing Russia to keep territorial gains, with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorious saying a Putin victory would send a message that aggression and unprovoked use of military force are acceptable, can be successful. This is a war where the global rules-based order is on trial, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said. What happened with the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a complete breach of the rules-based order where a large neighbor invades a smaller neighbor, not by reference to the rules of law, but by reference to power and might. And that cant be allowed to stand in the world today, in Europe or in the Indo-Pacific. Chinese officials, by contrast, blamed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for helping trigger Russias war while warning that US alliances in Asia, along with newer groupings like the Quad and Aukus, would similarly destabilize and divide Asia. They accused the US of selectively applying international rules and norms a point underscored by the fact that Washington hasnt punished Indian officials for buying the same Russian weapons systems that made Li subject to sanctions. Its so-called rules-based international order never tells you what the rules are, and who made these rules, the Chinese defense minister said. It practices exceptionalism and double standards and only serves the interests and follows the rules of a small number of countries. Some representatives at the meeting appeared sympathetic to Chinas viewpoint. Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who plans to run for president next year, unveiled a new peace plan for Ukraine that would freeze troops in place and create a demilitarized zone. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, who also attended the meeting, said it sounds like a Russian plan. Prabowo also warned that new technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing raises the stakes in any potential fight between the US and China. If there is a nuclear war, the difference between those directly involved and Indonesia is we will die a slower death, he said. Austin, the US secretary of defense, sought to temper fears of a war, saying I dont think that conflict is inevitable, nor do I think at this point that its coming. He denied the Chinese claim that the US was seeking to create a version of NATO in the region and said that American policy toward Taiwan hadnt changed, adding that a war would affect the global economy in ways that we cannot imagine. The next day, Chinas defense minister said Beijing was willing to back up its claim to Taiwan regardless of any cost. To underscore his point, Li referenced a song called My Motherland, written for a 1956 movie about the Korean War that showed a heroic Chinese victory against American and South Korean troops. As the lyrics of a well-known Chinese song goes, when friends visit us, we welcome them with fine wine, he said. When jackals or wolves come, we will face them with shotguns. --With assistance from Peter Martin, Jamie Tarabay, Alfred Cang and Clarissa Batino. (Adds detail) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. People board a bus to leave Khartoum, Sudan, Saturday, June 3, 2023, as fighting between the Sudanese Army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces intensified. (AP Photo) CAIRO (AP) Saudi Arabia and the United States urged Sudans warring parties Sunday to agree to and effectively implement a new cease-fire as fighting showed no signs of abating in the northeastern African nation. Sudan descended into chaos after fighting broke out in mid-April between the military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. For weeks, Saudi Arabia and the United States have been mediating between the warring parties. On May 21, both countries successfully brokered a temporary cease-fire agreement to help with the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the war-torn country. Their efforts, however, were dealt a blow when the military announced on Wednesday it would no longer participate in the cease-fire talks held in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah. Following the militarys decision, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia said they were suspending the talks as a result of repeated serious violations of the short-term cease-fire." President Joe Bidens administration imposed sanctions against key Sudanese defense companies run by the military and the RSF and people who perpetuate violence in Sudan. In their statement on Sunday, Washington and Riyad said they continued to engage representatives of the military and the RSF who remained in Jeddah. They urged the Sudanese warring sides to agree to and implement a new cease-fire following the latest one which expired late Saturday. The aim is to eventually establish a permanent cessation of hostilities in the war-wrecked country, they said. The statement said the discussions focused on facilitating humanitarian assistance" and reaching an agreement on "near-term steps the parties must take before resuming the talks. The fighting has turned the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into battlefields, resulting in widespread looting and destruction of residential areas across the country. The conflict has also displaced more than 1.65 million people who fled to safer areas in Sudan and neighboring countries. Aid groups offices and warehouses, health care facilities and other civilian infrastructure have been attacked and looted, including most recently the warehouses of the World Food Program in the city of Obeid in North Kordofan on Jan. 1. There have been reports of sexual violence, including the rape of women and girls in Khartoum and the western Darfur region, which have seen some of the worst fighting in the conflict. Almost all reported cases of sexual attacks were blamed on the RSF, which didnt respond to repeated requests for comment. Residents reported intense fighting over the past two days in Khartoum and its neighboring cities of Omdurman and Bahri. Shelling and gunfire were heard early Sunday in parts of Omdurman, as the militarys aircraft bombed RSF positions in the capital area. Fighting was also reported in the northern part of the Darfur region, which has witnessed some of the worst battles since the fighting began on April 15. The clashes intensified between the military and the RSF in the town of Kutum in North Darfur province. Residents reported that the towns market, many houses, and a camp for displaced people were burned down. There were reports of dozens of casualties among civilians. Darfur Gov. Mini Arko Minawi said on Twitter on Sunday that Kutum residents have experienced terrible violations including killings and looting. Minawi, a rebel leader who was named governor of the western region as part of a 2020 peace deal, declared Darfur a disaster area." He urged the international community to send humanitarian assistance by all available means to save people in the stricken region. Vladimir Putin was never the Soviet super spy he'd like us to believe. He was merely a KGB 'errand boy,' report says Russian President Vladimir Putin. MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images Russian President Vladimir Putin has been portrayed as an elite KGB intelligence officer in the 1980s. But a new report from Der Spiegel suggests he was never the super spy he was thought to be. His role involved mainly "banal" administrative tasks such as sorting through travel applications. Russian President Vladimir Putin was likely never the elite Soviet spy that the world has been led to believe, an investigaton by the German news outlet Der Spiegel has revealed. Stories of Putin's exploits as an intelligence officer during the 1980s vary, and it is an era somewhat shrouded in mystery, as he has never commented on the period himself. But many stories have painted him as a heroic figure, who, among other things, single-handedly defended the KGB's offices from looters and carried out top-secret secret missions such as meeting with members of the Red Army Faction, a terrorist group that wreaked havoc in West Germany and committed a series of kidnappings and assassinations. But according to Der Spiegel's report, the majority of Putin's work was actually limited to "banal" administrative tasks. Citing one of Putin's former colleagues at the KGB's Dresden office, it says his "work consisted primarily of endlessly reviewing applications for West German relatives' visits or searching for potential informants among foreign students at Dresden University." The report says that Putin is rarely mentioned in Stasi the name of the East German secret police records. In those that do reference him, it is only in regards to things like his birthday or administrative tasks, none provide evidence to back up the stories mentioned previously. Horst Jehmlich, a former Stasi officer who also worked in Dresden, told Der Spiegel that Putin was nothing more than an "errand boy." Putin worked for the KGB, the Soviet Union's intelligence service, for nearly two decades. He moved to Dresden, in East Germany, in 1985 a time when the country was on its last legs. Just four years later, the Berlin Wall fell, marking the beginning of the end of the Cold War and taking a big step towards the reunification of Germany in 1990. Officially he retired from active KGB service with the rank of lieutenant colonel. But Oleg Kalugin, a former high-ranking KGB officer and fierce critic of Putin, told an interview with RFE/RL in 2015 that the would-be leader of Russia had lied and was "just a major." Read the original article on Business Insider Li Shangfu: War with US would be unbearable disaster, says China defence minister China's defence minister has said war with the US would be an "unbearable disaster" for the world in his first major speech since taking on the role. At a security summit, General Li Shangfu said "some countries" were intensifying an arms race in Asia. But he said the world was big enough for both China and the US, and the two superpowers should seek common ground. Earlier, the US accused a Chinese warship of carrying out "unsafe" manoeuvres in the Taiwan strait. The US Navy said a Chinese destroyer had sailed near one of its destroyers on Saturday and forced it to slow down to avoid a collision. A Canadian ship was also sailing nearby. China criticised both countries for "deliberately provoking risk". The US and Canada said they were sailing where international law allows. In his speech, Gen Li, who became defence minister in March, accused the US of a "Cold War mentality" and said this was "greatly increasing security risks". He said China would not allow naval patrols by the US and its allies to be "a pretext to exercise hegemony of navigation". Asked about the incident in the Taiwan Strait, he said that countries from outside the region were raising tensions. He was speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, the Asia-Pacific region's only annual security meeting. Beijing has rejected a US request for direct military talks in protest at sanctions placed on Gen Li by the US in 2018 over weapons purchases from Russia. In Washington, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said that the US hopes to have a "predictable" relationship with China and avoid "any new Cold War". "Our competition must not spill over into conflict," he added. The Chinese defence minister's "moderate" tone signals that talks with his US counterpart are possible, but Washington has to lift sanctions against him, said Zhou Bo, a retired officer of the People's Liberation Army. Gen Li was sanctioned in 2018 over the acquisition of military hardware from Russia. His five-year term as defence minister started earlier this year, but the sanctions prevent him from travelling to the US, and also make it difficult for him to invite Gen Austin to China, Mr Zhou added. "If the sanction is there, how can we talk? The sanctions are very much consequential," said Mr Zhou, now a senior fellow at Tsinghua University's Centre for International Security and Strategy in Beijing. Senior intelligence officials attended a meeting of spy chiefs at the Singapore summit, according to Reuters. Despite the diplomatic spat, a top US state department official has arrived in Beijing for a week of wide-ranging talks. At the White House on Monday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the US believes it is important to maintain communications channels with China despite its military showing an "increasing level of aggressiveness" Relations between Washington and Beijing have been strained in recent years over several issues, including China's claim over Taiwan, and territorial disputes in the South China Sea. A senior PLA official, Lt Gen Jing Jianfeng, said there was no room for compromise on Taiwan, as he accused the US of meddling in the region. Washington's decision to increase the number of troops on rotational deployment in the region could heighten the risk of a confrontation, he told reporters on the sidelines of the summit. Additional reporting by Samantha Chan in Singapore Wells Fargo-backed grant program to dole out $5M more to diverse small businesses in Charlotte A grant program backed by Wells Fargo & Co. to help diverse small-business owners will accept applications for a second round this summer but with a few changes. Known as Beyond Open, the grant program covers five cities, including Charlotte. Wells Fargo allocated $100 million, with Charlotte and the other cities receiving $20 million each. ALSO READ: Wells Fargo reportedly slashes hundreds of mortgage jobs The first round, awarded in January, totaled $5.9 million and went to 178 local businesses. There were 3,200 applicants. The Foundation For The Carolinas administers the program in Charlotte. Tracy Russ, the foundations special adviser for civic initiatives, said that one of the most notable shifts in criteria for the next round is that only businesses in one of the citys six Corridors of Opportunity historically disadvantaged parts of Charlotte will be considered. Keep reading here. (WATCH BELOW: Local nonprofit gives Harrisburg kid star treatment at Wells Fargo Championship) A 293-unit housing development in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, where CAMBA, a supportive housing provider, has filed to evict more than a quarter of residents, on May 29, 2023. (Hilary Swift/The New York Times) NEW YORK One of the largest providers of housing for mentally ill and formerly homeless people in New York City has started hundreds of eviction cases in an attempt to collect millions of dollars in rent that its tenants failed to pay during the pandemic, according to a new analysis of housing court records. The housing developer, Breaking Ground, has filed to evict the tenants in about 345 of its more than 4,300 apartments since January 2022, according to SHOUT, an advocacy group for low-income and formerly homeless tenants that compiled the data. The cases came after a pandemic-era moratorium on evictions was lifted. The analysis captures a long-standing practice among nonprofit housing providers that has been exacerbated by the pandemic, legal experts said: threatening to evict low-income tenants who are behind on rent as a tactic to prod the city to give those tenants rental assistance more quickly. The lawsuits come at a time when the city is dealing with record-high homelessness and surging demand for shelter from migrant asylum-seekers. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times Very few of the cases have led to evictions, but critics of the approach say that the lawsuits are an unnecessary hardship for some of the most vulnerable renters in the city, many of whom have lived on the streets or in shelters for years. They are also emblematic, they said, of dysfunction within the citys social safety net, at a time when budget cuts are straining numerous departments. Its a startling number of cases, said Jenny Akchin, a lawyer with TakeRoot Justice, a nonprofit legal services group. This has been standard operating procedure, she said, but it doesnt have to be, and it really shouldnt be. Another developer, CAMBA, has petitioned to evict more than one-quarter of residents from one of its buildings in Brooklyn, according to court records. The housing providers say the lawsuits are necessary, as a last resort, to recoup rent they rely on to operate the buildings and pay down debt. They acknowledge that the filings are designed to trigger actions in court that can speed up the process of receiving a so-called one-shot deal a lump-sum payment of emergency rental assistance that tenants can receive from the citys Human Resources Administration to cover back rent. The agency is struggling to meet the demand for one-shot deals and other cash assistance grants for tenants. In early May, the Department of Social Services said that its caseload was up 43% since before the pandemic. Staffing shortages are hampering the department, according to a city comptroller report. In supportive housing, formerly homeless tenants, many of whom have mental health or substance abuse issues, pay no more than 30% of their income, whether from work or government assistance programs, toward a portion of their rent. The rest is covered by a range of public subsidies. The tenants also receive on-site, voluntary mental health and other services. The buildings often also house a number of low- and moderate-income renters who pay below-market rent. The eviction cases were filed against both kinds of tenants. Housing single adults in permanent housing of this kind can cost half as much as keeping them in the shelter system, according to Project Renewal, a homeless services group. But the providers operate on thin margins, and unpaid rent is putting a financial strain on the model, said Brenda Rosen, the president and CEO of Breaking Ground. We have never seen the amount of rent arrears that we have now, she said, in part because many tenants had additional hardships during the height of the pandemic, and because of the eviction moratorium. The group said that in April, it was owed $6 million in unpaid rent from tenants across its portfolio; 45% of the nonpayment filings were sent to supportive-housing tenants. At its 652-unit flagship building, the Times Square in midtown Manhattan, Breaking Ground has sued 81 tenants for about $670,000 in arrears; the total unpaid rent at the building is $1.1 million. Gothamist previously reported on eviction filings at the building, but not across the companys portfolio. Luis Ortiz, 63, a longtime rent-regulated tenant of the Times Square, said that he had tried to get public assistance to help cover his $504 monthly rent after losing his job as a driver and supervisor for Salvation Army and that he had spoken to building staff about his arrears. Breaking Ground sued him for $6,599 in unpaid rent in December. Only after I got the letter did they tell me about the one-shot deal, he said, referring to the rental assistance program. Why didnt they tell me that before? A spokesperson for Breaking Ground said it made many attempts to discuss the back rent with Ortiz before the petition was filed. Tenants share of the rent makes up about 40% of the operating budget for a typical supportive housing building, Rosen said. We use every tool at our disposal to keep people housed," she said, adding that Breaking Ground had an eviction rate of less than 1%. But critics say filing for eviction is an unnecessary and cruel step that could be avoided with earlier intervention. This looks like offloading casework to housing courts, said Craig Hughes, a social worker with Mobilization for Justice, a nonprofit legal services group, and a member of SHOUT. In many cases, tenants fall behind on the rent because of paperwork issues that delay or reduce the cash they receive from public assistance, the main source of income for some tenants, said Sandra Gresl, a lawyer with Mobilization for Justice. Of the more than 345 eviction petitions filed by Breaking Ground, lawyers were assigned to only 26 cases; the vast majority of tenants had to represent themselves in court. For people who have a history of homelessness and a chronic sense of housing precarity, and have disabilities, even just landing in court is trauma, she said. At least two low-income tenants who were sued for rent arrears at the Times Square surrendered their apartments before receiving rental assistance, court records showed. Breaking Ground also took possession of a unit in a Brooklyn building, the Schermerhorn, after it filed to evict a low-income tenant for failing to complete required paperwork about his income. A spokesperson for Breaking Ground said these tenants chose not to engage with us to address their unpaid rent. Tenant advocates have criticized the relatively small amount of arrears that have led to some eviction filings; in one case, the tenant owed about $800. Joe DeGenova, the CEO of the Center for Urban Community Services, which provides services at several Breaking Ground projects, said it does everything possible to resolve rent arrears with tenants before the landlord takes the tenant to court. A New York Times analysis of court records found that CAMBA has filed to evict more than one-quarter of residents at a 293-unit development in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, since the eviction moratorium was lifted last January. A spokesperson for CAMBA said the group works every day to provide housing and prevent evictions. Only one tenant in the development had been evicted in the last three years, the spokesperson said, and that was because of behavioral issues, not unpaid rent. A spokesperson for the Department of Social Services said that a court filing was not a requirement to qualify for a one-shot deal and never has been. But supportive-housing providers have long operated under the notion that a court order is a prerequisite to help get a tenant emergency rental assistance, said Pascale Leone, the executive director of the Supportive Housing Network of New York, which represents about 100 providers in the city. Its officially not their policy, but that is the practice, to this day, Leone said. When you go through these proceedings, it does unlock additional assistance. That process can be stressful, said Shakeme Boyd, a tenant in a Breaking Ground building in the Bronx. The provider sued him in June 2022 for $2,169 in rent arrears that accrued, in part, after he lost his job as a housekeeper in a nursing home, he said. I was scared, he said. I was dreading I was going to be back on the street. He said he was scheduled to speak with building staff about a possible one-shot deal and that he could not imagine losing the apartment, which had taken him five years to secure. I dont know what I would do. c.2023 The New York Times Company Gunfire broke out at a memorial on Chicago's West Side early on Sunday, leaving one dead and six others injured, police said. The victims were at a memorial celebrating the life of a man killed in a car accident four years ago when an argument began, Deputy Chief Adnardo Gutierrez of the Chicago Police Department said. Shots rang out at about 1 a.m. The woman who died was 25 years old. She suffered multiple gunshot wounds, officials said. Officers found her on the ground, unresponsive, and she was rushed to a hospital where she was pronounced deceased. The woman has not yet been publicly identified. One man, 29, was taken to the hospital in critical condition, authorities said. He suffered gunshot wounds to the chest and arm. A 17-year-old girl who suffered a gunshot wound to the leg was the youngest victim of the shooting, police said. The teen was taken to the hospital in good condition. A 27-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the leg, a 29-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the arm, a 28-year-old woman with a gunshot wound to the ear and a 28-year-old man with gunshot wounds to the leg and arm were all also taken to the hospital in good condition. No arrests have been made, police said. Gutierrez said police are not sure how many people opened fire, but it appears that the gunshots came from somebody in the crowd at the event. Detectives are canvassing the area for video and witnesses, Gutierrez said. Face The Nation: Moynihan, Markarova Ukraine's ambassador to U.S. says "we definitely need more" as Russia steps up attacks CBS News political panel on what voters can expect as GOP race for president intensifies A woman was killed waiting outside a shuttered shelter in Kyiv during a Russian missile barrage, calling into question the poor state of Ukraine's air-raid shelters People shelter inside a subway station during an air raid alert, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 29, 2023. REUTERS/Alina Smutko An inspection has found nearly a quarter of Ukraine's air-raid shelters are locked or unusable. A Kyiv woman waiting at a locked shelter was hit by falling missile fragments, her husband said. Kyiv's mayor said there had been "more than a thousand" complaints about dilapidated air-raid shelters. An inspection has found that nearly a quarter of Ukraine's air-raid shelters are locked or unusable, officials said on Saturday, AP reported. Out of the "over 4,800" shelters, the Ukrainian interior ministry said it had inspected, 252 were locked and a 893 were "unfit for use." A criminal probe has also begun after a 33-year-old woman in Kyiv died while waiting outside a closed shelter during a Russian missile barrage on Thursday, according to the Kyiv regional prosecutor's office. Falling missile fragments struck the woman, her husband told Ukrainian media, per AP. The Kyiv regional prosecutor's office said that a security guard who had failed to unlock the doors had been arrested and that three others had been put under house arrest. Those arrested face up to eight years in prison for official negligence leading to a person's death, AP reported. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko also said on Telegram on Saturday that authorities have received "more than a thousand" complaints about "locked, dilapidated or insufficient" air-raid shelters within one day of launching an online feedback portal. He said that "almost half" of the complaints were about locked facilities, and about a quarter were to do with them being in poor condition. The interior ministry said that over 5,300 volunteers would continue to inspect shelters across Ukraine. Russia has increased the bombardment of Ukraine in recent weeks, firing hypersonic and cruise missiles and killer drones. The Kremlin launched at least 563 missiles and Iranian-manufactured explosive drones at Ukraine in May. Read the original article on Business Insider A woman in Ohio looks a lot like Alexis Patterson. Could she be the missing girl? The latest season of Unsolved, a true-crime podcast for USA TODAY and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, examines the disappearance of 7-year-old Alexis Patterson. Alexis went missing in Milwaukee in 2002. Fourteen years after she vanished, a man in Ohio came forward to suggest his ex-wife could be Alexis. The following excerpts from the Journal Sentinel archives, reported by Crocker Stephenson, were first published in 2016. Unsolved is available on all podcast platforms. New hope in mystery of Alexis Pattersons 2002 disappearance Originally published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 6, 2016 Law enforcement officials wanted to determine whether a woman living in Ohio was Alexis Patterson, the Milwaukee girl who vanished 14 years ago, a mystery that remains an open wound to those touched by her story. Questions about the Ohio woman arose when the woman's ex-husband and his fiancee became increasingly curious about her murky past. The woman, they said, has no memory of her childhood before the age of 10. She has no photographs or school mementos indeed, no usual reminders of a normal childhood. That was enough to spur the ex-husband and fiancee to search for clues on the internet where they happened upon a computer-aged photograph of Alexis Patterson, and became convinced that Alexis is the woman they know. The couple compiled a set of about a dozen photos and, in late June, sent it to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department. Within days, they also sent it to the Journal Sentinel, hoping for action. The newspaper shared the photos with the Milwaukee Police Department's cold case unit, which has been in charge of Alexis' case since 2009. Alexis Patterson's photo is shown age-progressed to 24 years. She was last seen on May 3, 2002, on her way to Hi-Mount School in Milwaukee. Alexis' mother, Ayanna Patterson, has never wavered in her belief that her daughter is alive. But she has had her hopes built up by purported breaks in her daughter's case, only to have them crash when the breaks didn't pan out. She has been besieged by hustlers claiming to know her daughter or even to be her daughter. When the Journal Sentinel showed her the photos of the Ohio woman, Patterson's initial skepticism gave way to cautious optimism. "That could be my baby," she said. "I've never said this before, but that could be my child." Her optimism deepened when reporters traveled to Ohio and interviewed the couple. More: These missing kids need your help. Here's what to know. The woman, they said, has two features often mentioned in descriptions of Alexis by such organizations as the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: a linear scar beneath her right eye and an unusual bump on her left pinkie finger. They also mentioned a third characteristic, one that has not been released to the general public. When they told Ayanna Patterson, she confirmed that Alexis also had that characteristic. And then she wept. The Ohio woman, however, has steadfastly denied that she is Alexis. "I am not that girl," she told the Journal Sentinel. "That is a ridiculous question." Read the full story from the Journal Sentinel archives. Unsolved podcast searches for the truth about Alexis Patterson Seven years later, Alexis' mother continues to believe the Ohio woman is her daughter. I know thats my child, Patterson told USA TODAY last year. Im not afraid of nothing now that I know my babys safe, and I know my babys alive. In episode five of Unsolved, reporters travel again to Ohio to try to figure out the truth. Learn more about the Alexis Patterson case by listening to the true-crime podcast Unsolved. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: An Ohio woman looks like Alexis Patterson. Will DNA solve the mystery? A woman who refused tuberculosis treatment for more than a year was arrested in Washington state, local officials say A doctor examines the x-rays of a tuberculosis patient at a clinic. Spencer Platt/Getty Images A Tacoma woman accused of refusing tuberculosis treatment was arrested in Washington state. The local health department said she was ordered to isolate in January 2022. The health department said the woman never finished her medication or remained isolated. A woman in Washington state was arrested after being accused of not treating an infectious tuberculosis diagnosis for more than a year, local officials said. The Tacoma woman who has not been publicly identified but is referred to as "V.N." in court documents as previously reported on by Insider was booked into Pierce County Jail on Thursday and is being housed in a room "specially equipped for isolation, testing, and treatment," the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said in a statement. "We are hopeful she will choose to get the life-saving treatment she needs to treat her tuberculosis," the statement said. Tuberculosis is an illness that primarily affects a person's lungs. According to the Mayo Clinic, it can spread by spending extended time with an infected person or in crowded conditions. The Tacoma News Tribune reported the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department first ordered the woman to isolate on January 18, 2022. According to court filings obtained by the News-Tribune, the woman started tuberculosis treatment but didn't complete her full medication regimen. Since then, the woman has refused treatment and declined to remain in isolation, the local health department said. A judge issued a civil arrest warrant for the woman in March. It's unclear if the woman has started tuberculosis treatment since being arrested. Neither the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department nor the Pierce County Sheriff's Office immediately responded to Insider's requests for comment. According to the American Lung Association, tuberculosis is considered "largely controlled" in the United States. Still, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that around 13 million people in the United States live with inactive tuberculosis. At some point, one in 10 could become active with the disease. The World Economic Forum said in January that tuberculosis is a climate-sensitive disease, and climate change could affect its transmission, partly due to population displacement. Read the original article on Insider Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks to the media at the Chancellery in Berlin (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday said that Russia was using a network of suppliers to evade international sanctions designed to prevent it from making missiles and other weapons. In a video address, Zelenskiy said unnamed countries and companies were helping Russia acquire technology with the emphasis on producing missiles. Russia has launched hundreds of missiles against Ukrainian targets since last October. "Unfortunately, the terrorist state manages to use the technologies of the world through a network of suppliers, manages to bypass international sanctions," Zelenskiy said. Ukraine, Zelenskiy added, was well aware of all of Russia's efforts to evade sanctions and will seek to ensure that "there are no products of the free world in Russian missiles". In April, a senior Zelenskiy aide said Ukrainian forces were finding a growing number of components from China in Russian weapons used in Ukraine as Western supplies are squeezed by sanctions. China has denied sending military equipment to Russia. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Will Dunham) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a new interview that Kyiv is ready for its much-anticipated counteroffensive against Russian forces occupying parts of his nation. I dont know how long it will take, Zelensky told The Wall Street Journal. To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different. But we are going to do it, and we are ready. The Ukrainian president also said we strongly believe that we will succeed in the effort to retake Russian-occupied territory, more than a year after Moscow first invaded in February, 2022. Ukrainian officials have indicated in recent weeks that the country is nearing the launch of its expected counteroffensive. Zelensky said in early May that his countrys military needed more time to prepare, but the commander of Ukraines ground forces said last week that the time will soon come when we will move to active offensive actions. Ukraines chief military officer, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said last week that its time to get back whats ours. Zelensky also told the Journal that Ukraine wants more weapons from Western allies, but we cant wait for months, hinting at the potential timeline for a what would be the high-stakes counteroffensive campaign. The president acknowledged Russian air power and predicted its possible a large number of soldiers will die in the counteroffensive. He said his ground forces are stronger and more motivated than Russias. Ukrainian defenders are keeping up the pressure in places like Bakhmut as Russia continues missile attacks on Kyiv and elsewhere. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. On Sunday, 4 May, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a special meeting on sanctions against Russia, where the ways in which the aggressor state circumvents restrictions were discussed. Source: President's evening address Quote: "Today I held a special meeting on sanctions. The Main Intelligence Directorate, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Government, the Office. We analyzed in great detail how Russia circumvents sanctions and who helps it. Different countries, different companies, without which Russia would not be able to produce terrorist weapons, including missiles. Unfortunately, the terrorist state manages to use the technologies of the world through a network of suppliers, and manages to circumvent international sanctions regimes. We see every direction of circumvention of existing sanctions, every country whose territory or jurisdiction, whose citizens are used by Russia to continue terror. And we must close all such areas together with our partners to ensure that Russian missiles and weapons do not contain products of the free world. The necessary steps will be taken." Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, SheKnows may receive an affiliate commission. Not only did Zoe Saldana bring everyone to their knees with a sensational video, but she gave longtime loyal fans a super-rare glimpse of her rib tattoo honoring her husband. On June 2, the Guardians of the Galaxy star shared a showstopping video of herself behind-the-scenes of her job. She posted the video to her social media with the caption simply reading, #worklife. More from SheKnows In the video, we see Saldana showing off her toned physique as she ditches her top for tattoo coverage time on set. Not only is everyone freaking out about this sensational and confident topless video, but fans are freaking out because they got a super-rare glimpse of Saldanas rib tattoo of her husbands face. For those that dont know, Saldana and her husband artist Marco Perego began dating in March 2013 after meeting on a flight to New York. It was love at first sight, and they married only four months later in London, and later welcomed three children: twin boys Cy and Bowie, 8, and their youngest son named Zen, 6. Click here to read the full article. Now, Saldana has five tattoos in total, with her smaller ones being some star tattoos on her ankle and wrist, Persian script on her ribs, and Arabic script on her foot that reportedly reads I want to ask her. But her largest, and most secretive tattoo is the one of her husband Peregos face, which was done by tattoo artist Mark Mahony. Fun fact: Perego has a tattoo of Saldanas face on his left arm! In a previous interview with ET Canada, the mother of three explained that she got the tattoo to basically return the favor, since her husband got her face tattooed on him first. He has a tattoo of my face on his arm. So it was only fair that I return the gesture, and I always wanted to, she said. In fact, I was the one who was going to do it in the first place, but we get our tattoos with an amazing artist called Mark Mahoney. Every time we go for me, Marco would end up convincing me that I didnt have to get it, so that he can get a new tattoo. Before you go, click here to see all the celebrity couples with the best stories behind how they met. Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade at arrivals for Step Up's 13th Annual Inspiration Awards, The Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA May 20, 2016. Best of SheKnows Sign up for SheKnows' Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The Virginia State Police have released the name of the man killed in an officer involved shooting on Thursday. According to a state police news release, the Amherst County Sheriffs office received a 911 call from a landowner near the intersection of U.S. 60 and Sandidges Road about a man trespassing. Before sheriffs deputies arrived, the trespasser left and drove to the intersection of the two roads. The trespasser, later identified as Daniel S. Meadows, 40, of Amherst, stopped his pickup truck at the intersection, the release said. The same landowner called the sheriffs office again to report Meadows acting very erratically while loitering at the intersection. At about 2:40 p.m., an Amherst County Sheriffs Deputy arrived at the intersection and approached Meadows, the release said. Meadows pulled out a machete and confronted the deputy, according to police, and the deputy shot Meadows. Life-saving efforts were performed at the scene, but Meadows died from his injuries, the release said. His remains were taken to the Office of the Medical Examiner for examination and autopsy. The deputy was not injured. At the request of Amherst County Sheriff E.W. Viar, the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations Appomattox Field Office is investigating the shooting. Once the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations Appomattox Field Office concludes its investigation, the investigative findings will be turned over to the Commonwealths Attorney for review and adjudication. Downtown Lynchburg is set to welcome a new addition to its vibrant culinary scene with the opening of El Mariachi Restaurant and Cafe, a Mexican eatery co-owned by Luis Pumagualle Jr. Luis Pumagualle Jr. co-owns the new downtown restaurant with Daniel, Gerardo and Teresa Sanchez, who started the El Mariachi brand in 2008 in Amherst and expanded to Lovingston in 2018. We want to make a name in Virginia and keep expanding, Pumagualle Jr. said. Im personally from Lynchburg and Ive been working with my family since a young age, he said. With their latest venture, the Pumagualles aim to bring their own touch of authenticity and family-oriented atmosphere to downtown Lynchburg. About a decade ago, El Mariachi had a restaurant at 1125 Main St. The new establishment will occupy the former site of Emerald Grille and Dublin 3 Coffeehouse at 1001 Jefferson St., which has sat vacant for several years. El Mariachi has been a brand for about 15 years so its a brand that is a staple and known for what it does, Pumagualle Jr. said. It just wasnt the right time back then for us but we just saw this opportunity and the way that downtown Lynchburg was growing, it was just a no-brainer, he said. The Pumagualle family saw the growth and potential of downtown Lynchburg and recognized the opportune moment to expand. Luis Pumagualle's father, Luis Pumagualle Sr. said theyve been looking downtown for years and when they were located on Main Street, they had a great lunch business but not necessarily dinner. With the growth of downtown over the last decade, they think that has changed. Weve been looking at how to look at the different buildings here. But this one opened up and we had the chance so we were like OK, lets do it, he said. We used to go on bicycles and youd see all these buildings that didnt even have windows. It was just brick. And now you can see everything has been remodeled. El Mariachi aims to offer more than just a place to enjoy Mexican cuisine. Pumagualle Jr. said there is an importance in building relationships with customers and creating a welcoming environment. The idea is to make it a place where people can come and not just enjoy to eat, but be comfortable, he said. The restaurant prides itself on the quality of its food, which offers authentic flavors and care put into each dish. This is a very family atmosphere type restaurant. And its authentic Tex Mex food. And its our own touch, he said. Theres nothing really like it. The new El Mariachi will occupy both a restaurant space and a cafe side. While the restaurant will serve lunch and dinner, the cafe will introduce a unique experience. Patrons can expect a menu featuring breakfast burritos, breakfast tacos, avocado toast, waffles and empanadas. The cafe will also serve freshly-brewed coffee. The opening of the cafe is planned for July, followed by the launch of El Mariachi in August. United States First Lady Jill Biden has commended the leadership of King Mohammed VI to empower women and youth. Under His Majesty King Mohammed the Sixths leadership, Morocco is encouraging reforms to empower women and youth, reflecting our shared priorities, said Mrs Biden in a statement issued Sunday by the White House. The United States is grateful for its longstanding partnership and friendship with Morocco, she pointed out. The US First Lady recalled that she was graciously received at her arrival Saturday in Marrakech by Princess Lalla Hasnaa. And as we were getting to know each other, she told me about her work to educate children and young people about the importance of protecting our climate, said Mrs Biden, adding that she was inspired by her passion. Im excited to take her story back to the United States, to look for more opportunities to learn from each other, she added. The US First Lady, accompanied by her daughter Ashley Biden and her sister Bobby Jacobs, arrived in Marrakech on Saturday afternoon for a visit to Morocco. Her visit to the Kingdom is part a tour in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe with the aim of promoting the conditions of women and youth around the world, particularly in terms of education, health and empowerment. The visit of the US First Lady to Morocco is the second following that of 2014, when Mrs. Biden accompanied president Joe Biden, then vice president of the Obama administration, during his participation in the 5th edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) held in Marrakech. Morocco has always been a prime destination for US First Ladies. This enthusiasm for the Kingdom, a land of welcome and hospitality, demonstrates the standing Morocco enjoys among senior American officials, and underscores the solidity of the long-standing strategic partnership between Morocco and the United States under the leadership of King Mohammed VI. is there a way they could make it so that you can only sell it for what you paid for it? ive had a few times i havent been able to make a show so ive resold the tickets (same price). but if its the only or best way to actually stop the predatory scalpers then okay Reply Thread Link Plus sometimes people buy tickets than a conflict comes up, I think it's fair if they could resell it for what they paid for it. Reply Parent Thread Link From the people replying to the tweet it sounds like you can resell legit through their platform? this company is quite big so if its a policy for all their shows, it sounds true. Reply Parent Thread Link It seems to me at least in North America that ticket resale and what is allowed is covered by local (ie. state/provincial) laws. I agree that resell/transfer should be allowed but at face value only. Edited at 2023-06-04 01:10 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Pearl Jam and Foo Fighters always have it that you can only resell through Ticketmaster at the price you paid or lower, so I don't get why these other artists can't do the same. Reply Parent Thread Link Right?? This is exactly why I am done paying inflated prices for shows. Artists could absolutely do this, and they don't. So instead, scalpers buy all the regular priced tickets and resell them so all that's left are overpriced "platinum" tickets and overpriced scalped tickets. It's ridiculous. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link As in when its on Ticketmaster as a resell ticket it has to be at or below face value? I just went on Stubhub and there are definitely tickets for both bands there at inflated prices, though you are always taking a risk with StubHub that the ticket is not real. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Ticketmaster didnt allow me to sell or transfer I ticket I had when I had covid. Like they can scalp, but I cant sell mine to a friend at face value??? Reply Parent Thread Link Yeah, I was thinking this should be something to consider as alternative options, or to get a refund. Sometimes, you just can't make it, so you just want to get rid of them and just get your money back. Reply Parent Thread Link watch out tonicol they might do this in mexico next Reply Thread Link Well, maybe I can sell the presale code if I get one? I still registered because the whole proceses sounds kinda fun lol, and I might have to do the same if Beyonce come here so, I need to practice. Well, maybe I can sell the presale code if I get one? I still registered because the whole proceses sounds kinda fun lol, and I might have to do the same if Beyonce come here so, I need to practice. Reply Parent Thread Link lmao local bestie ends up in the tour video because he actually gets tour tickets Reply Parent Thread Link The code you get can only be used by the original account, you cannot transfer it. Reply Parent Thread Link My country on an ontd headline never thought i'd see the day Anyways i need an ELI5 about this bc idk how they could enforce this if they dont check ID at the venue??? Am i too old to understand the technology that would make this possible??? Is there any??? Reply Thread Link Im not sure! It says this in the terms and conditions (I was also wondering how it is possible lol, the only thing I could think of was a QR code?) and it looks like you may have to show ID. (I dont really speak Spanish but I understood enough to get the gist) Para que el Smart Ticket sea valido, al ingresar al estadio el dia del show, se podra solicitar que el titular de la compra provea la siguiente informacion: 1) Foto de un documento de identidad (DNI, licencia de conducir, pasaporte) 2) Mail de confirmacion de compra. Edited at 2023-06-04 01:32 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link This is interesting. In my experience, no venue in Argentina asks for ID, they just scan the QR and that's it. However, it's been a long time since I went to a big show, by All Access, and Taylor might have other ideas. So don't take my word for it. Buuuuut... the notion of the guards delaying everything to check ID is hilarious. I don't think they would start doing so now, they want people to get in as fast as possible. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link That's what they do in a bunch of festivals in Spain, from what I hear from acquaintances. Whether that's enforced depends on your seat/the event. Last year, my friend gave me his ticket for an Alejandro Sanz early entry ticket with merch, so they actually checked if I was authorized to use my friend's ticket via ID/legal document... It was a pain. I don't see how they can check every ticket for such a huge concert though. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I just went to a gig where the ticket got released to your account on the app, and there was some kind of moving element to the barcode which meant that screenshots/emailing etc wouldnt work, you had to be logged into the account that bought the ticket on the app Which, I suppose you can just share your account details with people, but then that doesnt work at scale for scalpers Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I'm glad they're doing this. Now, why is she coming here and not Hozier??? Reply Thread Link was curious and quickly looked up to see if taylor was any percent latina. she isn't, but she is 1/16th italian. she should play donatella versace in a biopic Reply Thread Link I saw her dancing reggaeton at the Grammy and right there I knew Taylor was 100% Caucasian Reply Parent Thread Link a ella le gusta la gasolina Reply Parent Thread Link that's funny to me because I remember checking if she ever visited Italy on a tour and I remember seeing she had only one concert in Milano, super early in her career (like, even before Red), it was maybe the only concert on her european tour to not sold out (or one of the few) and she never came back. I honestly remember wondering if she never came back because her ego was so bruised. Reply Parent Thread Link The problem is this punishes end users and not resellers - they need to go after Ticketmaster/resell sites, not fans who got scammed. I'm no Taylor fan but this is a larger issue. Ticketmaster could solve all of this easily they just profit too much from resellers driving up prices. Reply Thread Link All the techniques to stop scalpers put added stress on the end user be that added money or time with things like the boosts and verified fan sales. They are definitely making bank off the pre-sales tied to credit cards and Spotify and other perk based items. Reply Parent Thread Link Good, if you no longer want your tickets then ask for a refund, scrappers are so annoying, no way tickets should be reselling for 5x the face value, smh. Reply Thread Link Most concert tickets are non-refundable. (Which gives them a fun opportunity to upsell you insurance for being unable to go) Edited at 2023-06-04 03:43 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Good! Wtf! Fans were complaining that all the tickets were gone immediately from Ticketmaster for the US Eras tour, but IMO, most of the tickets bought were from super fans going to multiple shows, buying for multiple people, and then over-buying to sell what they didn't at a higher price to get back some of their money that was spent. The super fans have only themselves to blame. Reply Thread Link yeah every few days I see the same "don't blame the fans, this is Ticketmaster's fault!" tweets all over my feed and it's like yeah Ticketmaster blows but tickets are a finite resource and there was never ever going to be enough to satisfy demand for this tour so like yeah, if you're going to multiple shows then you are literally taking the spot of someone who could be going instead of you. like... go as much as you want but don't live in denial about this fact lol Reply Parent Thread Link i wish they'd stop people from buying her tickets at all am i right? LMAO jk just being shady on a saturday but i don't mean it :) Reply Thread Link For anyone interested in how this works, I think my smooth brain figured it out. Once purchased, the tickets will be accessed through an app called Quentro, which allows transference to another person in case you can't go yourself. But what they won't accept are tickets acquired through resale sites. In that way they combat scalpers but also make sure the ticket buyer can still transfer (resell through alternative means) their single ticket if they can't use it. Reply Thread Link Ohh thank you for finding this out! That does seem like a good system to combat the resellers. Reply Parent Thread Link This sounds solid and sensible. Reply Parent Thread Link jealous Reply Thread Link I went on ticketmaster to look at Amex presale for the us open - and theres already shittons of resale. Fuck you Ticketmaster!!!! Reply Thread Link i wish! i just bought very marked up damien rice tickets, but he never tours in the us anymore, so i really felt like i would regret it if i didn't. Reply Thread Link Everyone having their own streamer and throwing billions at content from the start was bound to cause this. On a side note: Warner Bros has had one of the most amazing catalogues of content over their hundred year history. It annoys me Discovery is removing so much of it from Max. Reply Thread Link Warner never had most of their catalogue on their streamer even before the discovery merger. Reply Parent Thread Link Look at these broke bitches. Reply Thread Link i like how the gif is shaking, it's like it's vibrating with the knowledge of my poverty Reply Thread Link Wonder what it's like to be rich and still be looking to get richer... I'm the kind of poor who is afraid to ask the university to send me my scholarship stipend. I always feel like I have no right to it, like I should have spent my previous stipend better. Reply Thread Link lol my university tried to call me to take a survey and I told them not to call or ask for anything from me again unless they paid me or gave me a gift card. Reply Parent Thread Link You are entitled to that stipdend and please remember that mediocre white men would have ZERO hesitation in asking for it! Rooting for you! Reply Parent Thread Link Streaming is gonna end up as a giant mess, isn't it. Sort of related, but Zee Music pulled it's music from Spotify and now I'm annoyed cos I can't find the songs anywhere to by but iTunes, which is not really buying, it's renting, so idk how to get Bollywood songs. Edited at 2023-06-04 12:43 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link I'm curious how everyone ranks the streamers now I would have said HBO Max had the best content library but now idk I also don't like scrolling through the library and seeing "two thousand pound sisters" or whatever on the front page??????? I don't need to see that exploitative bullshit Edited at 2023-06-04 01:52 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link And of course they don't have a not interested button to make it disappear. Reply Parent Thread Link I tried looking for it they still have the worst UI Reply Parent Thread Link Their UI is so broken that when it goes to the next episode the episode title doesn't change in the tab. It will only say the first episode you watched unless you refresh the tab. Reply Parent Thread Link I would love it if Willow was sold to different streamer. It's Lucasfilm so I highly doubt it, but the cast deserved better. Reply Thread Link A year ago, the Financial Times reported how maritime insurers were concerned that sanctions targeting Russian oil exports would disrupt global supply chains, lead to higher prices, and make life for shippers and insurers more stressful. This week, the same publication sounded the sanction alarm again. But it is no longer a general concern about supply chains, oil prices, and the price cap compliance woes of shippers and insurers. It is now a much more direct concern about how cap-compliant companies are suffering lost business as Russia's shadow fleet rises. If the past year has taught the sanction enforcers anything, it is that there is a way around everything. They should have actually seen it with Iran and Venezuela, but apparently they didn't, so they barraged Russia with sanctions expecting it to collapse within months. Instead, Russian oil exports are on the riseto the reported chagrin of its OPEC partner Saudi Arabiadespite the EU embargo and the price cap that the G7 came up with to make sure the global market remains well supplied. The group has hailed the cap as a success, ignoring evidence of Russian oil being sold over it. "If the aim of sanctions is to make a state alter course, the test of success would be to ask whether the target country has changed its actions," the head of marine and aviation at insurance trade body Lloyd's Market Association wrote in a letter cited by the FT. Related: Russias Seaborne Diesel Exports Plummet In May "What is unclear to industry is why policymakers believe that 20 years of Russian inculcation and perceived grievance will be materially altered through further constraints against shipping and insurance," Neil Roberts also wrote in the letter, published on LinkedIn. He then went on to warn that any further sanctions that are currently being mulled over by Western government were unlikely to have any impact on Russia foreign policy but would definitely hurt "the world's legitimate floating supply system." It appears that there was one thing Western governments forgot while they were devising their sanction punch against Russian oil. What they forgot was the fact that there aren't only insurers and shippers in the West. There are Russian insurance companies willing to provide coverage for tankers. There are Indian insurers and Chinese shippers. And they are happy to do business, as evidenced by the recent news around Indian shipping company Gatik. Gatik got punished by Lloyd's Register for carrying Russian oil, presumably above the cap, but just days later, an Indian insurer stepped up to provide the necessary coverage for the firm's vessels, as noted by Roberts in his LinkedIn post. Then there is the shadow fleet of tankers operated by small, unknown companies that carries millions of Russian barrels of oil and fuels across oceans on a daily basis. According to Trafigura, as of February this year, the shadow fleet numbered some 600 vessels. The commodity trader referred to it as "huge". "There's a lot of people talking about how they can be clever and get rid of Russian oil. But it is a vast volume that needs to find a new home," Trafigura's co-head of oil trading, Ben Luckock, told Bloomberg at the time. "I think in the early days maybe that's okay, but as time progresses there will be difficulties in the products markets." These would be the same people that are currently discussing yet another package of sanctions that would also target countries doing businessincluding oil business-with Russia. Per a Bloomberg report, the discussion is still ongoing, and it is unlikely that the EU would go straight to blacklisting and punishing Russia's trade partners, such as India and China. Yet the next sanction package may well include measures targeting companies from these countries. While the EU discusses more sanctions, its sanction push against Russia got a reality check from a Finnish think tank that tracks Russia's oil exports and revenues. That think tank, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, found that Russia's oil revenues are on the rise, too, after dipping in the first two months of the year, to return to levels from last Novemberbefore the EU embargo and the price cap kicked in. ADVERTISEMENT This may well be why insurers are speaking up despite the danger of being criticized for not praising sanctions uncritically. It appears that the push to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine is backfiring and hurting insurers and shippers in the West disproportionately. It was to be expected. There really could not be any way things could have played out, not in a world that depends on crude oil. As proven time and again, oil always finds a way to reach consumers. And while the embargo and the price cap certainly deprived Russia of some oil revenues, they seem to have deprived Western shippers and insurers of more than some revenues. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: UNICO Group Welcomes Amy Hruska as Private Client Advisor UNICO Group, a client-focused insurance broker, is pleased to announce Amy Hruska has joined the Omaha team as a Private Client Advisor. Amy comes to UNICO with 38 years of experience in the private client industry. Most recently serving as a Private Client Advisor in the Omaha office of a global insurance broker. As UNICO continues to expand both geographically and its target market, we have recognized a demand among our clientele. Expanding our reach in the private client market enables us to partner with additional insurance providers who are experts in managing risks associated with high net-worth individuals. In this role, Amy will provide private client insurance to individuals in the higher-end market, offering comprehensive coverage on personal assets that exceeds the maximum coverage limit of standard insurance carriers. When asked why Amy chose to join UNICO Group, she answered "UNICO is privately held and locally owned, yet their reach is vast. Being affiliated with a local independent agency, I can deliver a more personal experience to those in my backyard, but at the same time, I can compete with national firms across the country." Amy is a past President of the Independent Insurance Agents of Omaha Association and currently holds the position of Secretary/Treasurer for the Independent Insurance Agents of Nebraska Association. About UNICO Group UNICO Group is a client-focused insurance broker headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. Our consultative and relational approach develops customized solutions for clients all around the nation. For more information, call 402.434.7200 or visit unicogroup.com. Former Bellevue resident Lauren Johnson is excited to be home. My parents and brother still live in Bellevue, so Im really excited to get back and sleep in my childhood bedroom, Johnson said. That is the one thing Im looking most forward to. Johnson, now a resident of New York City, returns to the Omaha area this week as part of the national Broadway touring cast of Hairspray. The show opens Tuesday at the Orpheum Theater. It is the last show in Omaha Performing Arts 2022-23 Broadway season. Its been really exciting, she told The World-Herald. Its been a big learning opportunity, and its been a good job to have to really get me started in my theatrical career. Hairspray is based on John Waters 1988 film of the same name. Set in 1962 Baltimore, the musical follows teenage girl Tracy Turnblad and her dream to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program. Her dreams come true when she lands a role on the show and becomes a celebrity overnight. She then uses her new celebrity status to lead social change and push for integration on the show. The musical features 1960s-style dance music and Motown-style rhythm and blues. Some of the shows most memorable songs include, Mama, Im a Big Girl Now, Welcome to the 60s and You Cant Stop The Beat. Johnson plays Lorraine, a member of the ensemble, and is the understudy for one of the principal roles, Motormouth Maybelle. Johnson graduated from Bellevue West High School in 2017 and has performed with the Omaha Community Playhouse. She won multiple awards through Omaha Performing Arts Nebraska High School Theater Academy program, serving as the Jimmy Awards representative in New York City in both her junior and senior years of high school. She graduated from Viterbo University in Lacrosse, Wisconsin, in 2021. Some of Johnsons other stage credits include Into the Woods, Godspell, and Kinky Boots. Hairspray is Johnsons first national tour. She said both her role as Lorraine and her work as an understudy have helped her learn more about her chosen career path. Both of these roles have given me the opportunity to work on being in an ensemble, but then also get a little taste of being a lead in a big Broadway national tour, she said. Its been a really nice balance between spending time doing the singing and the dancing, but then also like really working on myself as a principal actor. Johnson said one of the best aspects of Hairspray is how relatable the themes are in todays society. That, and the music. Theres nobody who has seen Hairspray that says they dont like the music. Its big and sparkly and fun to look at, Johnson said. But its also the idea of being inclusive and, despite each others differences, coming together for a common goal which is to sing and dance on The Corny Collins Show regardless of what you look like or your race or your weight. ... Its just a really great story to like bring audiences together. Her family has been in the Hairspray tour audience before, Johnson said. In February, they traveled to Sioux City, Iowa, to see the show and her. Though Johnson had returned to the metro area for Christmas, she said she is always happy to return to her hometown. I miss how quiet it is. Especially the suburbs, she said. I can go to sleep at night without sirens and music playing on the street. But also just the community, its really strong and I have people there who Ive known my whole life and who I will know for the rest of my life. That familiarity is just very comforting. Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of May 2023 Team Offutt members gathered to celebrate the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Installation Control Center and Air Combat Commands sole nuclear command and control watch floor May 23 at Offutt Air Force Base. The plan to rebuild the facility began in 2014. However, it was accelerated after the 2019 flood which destroyed more than 1.2 million square feet of office space across the southeastern part of base. After being displaced, the ICC began to work in the basement of the Language Learning Center and later moved into a makeshift room that was less than 300 square feet inside the wing headquarters building. We were missing quite a bit of our systems; we had to get them set up and running, said Senior Airman Chadwick Shinabargar, 55th Wing command post. The alternate building we have, it is literally a dungeon, and it really has been a long process of recovering a lot of the capabilities we use to have. The development of the new state-of-the-art facility began in 2021. The facility spans 8,119 square feet. It cost approximately $20 million in construction and specialized equipment. Senior Master Sgt. Michaela Simms, 55th Wing command post superintendent, is happy to see the project completed and the new amenities available to her Airmen. As a command post superintendent, morale and welfare are some of my primary concerns, Simms said. Knowing that starting in June, controllers will have a premier facility fitness center, restroom/shower, advanced technology, and of course windows, brings me much joy and peace. Our team is ecstatic about the new facility. The 55th Civil Engineer Squadron and 55th Cyber Squadron will help with the final touches needed to wrap up the project. Omahas electric utility will consider a $2 billion expansion proposal this month to meet unprecedented energy needs, and electric bills are likely to go up to pay for it. Officials say a mix of residential, business and industrial growth has sparked a need for the Omaha Public Power District to quickly increase energy production. And it appears data centers are major drivers of these new power demands. OPPD expects that its peak energy load will increase at a rate of about 100 megawatts each year for the foreseeable future. Thats the equivalent of adding about 65 metro area high schools or midsize hospitals in just one year, according to the utility. OPPD has a plan to prepare for that need, but it wont come cheap. The plan calls for a capital investment of more than $2 billion in OPPDs infrastructure. While exact numbers are yet to be determined, rate increases could range from 2.5% to 3% each year from 2027 to 2030, totaling 10% to 11% by 2030. OPPD President and CEO Javier Fernandez put the Omaha areas growing energy needs into perspective during a recent board meeting of the public utility. Less than five years ago, OPPDs annual energy growth was about four megawatts per year. Soon it will be 100MW, he said. People are moving to the state, people are building homes, businesses are expanding, new businesses are moving into the state, Fernandez said. Energy consumption is expected to grow across commercial, industrial and residential classes with industrial customers expected to increase the most. In 2022, the industrial class made up about 36% of the utilitys energy sales. That share is expected to rise to 57% by 2032, according to a presentation shared during an OPPD committee meeting. The main reason: data centers. They are predicted to account for roughly two-thirds of all growth. Data centers are one of the most energy-intensive building types, consuming 10 to 50 times as much energy per square foot as the commercial office building, according to the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. Demand for data increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic as employees and students went remote. Demand for data storage also has increased as new technology, artificial intelligence and virtual reality expands. Energy consumption by data centers has exploded over the past decade, said Ryan Wishart, a Creighton assistant professor whose research includes environmental politics. Wishart estimates that a typical data center, which uses more than 100 megawatts of electricity, has about the same power usage as 41,667 average OPPD residential customers. The increase in electrical consumption has prompted campaigns by environmental groups to pressure large tech companies, including Google, Facebook and Amazon, to commit to buying enough renewable energy to cover 100% of their consumption, Wishart said. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is one example. The company opened a data center in Sarpy County in 2019 and expanded to 4 million square feet of space last year. The Facebook facility is supported by 100% renewable energy, made possible by investments in wind energy, and thanks in part to a wind farm in Dixon County in northeast Nebraska. Meanwhile, in October 2019, Google broke ground on a $600 million data center in Papillion and has announced the opening of a northwest Omaha data center in 2022 and an expansion in 2023. The tech giant has pledged to meet 100% of the power they use through renewable sources 24 hours a day by 2030. In practice, however, these facilities may need to pull energy from multiple sources. Data centers draw power from the grid 24 hours a day, whether solar and wind energy they buy is being produced or not. They can cause utilities to burn more fossil fuels to meet their needs, Wishart said. Those emissions dont go away just because they pay for more solar than they actually use the next day or week to try to balance the numbers out. Booming development and data centers will combine with another factor driving the projected energy increase. The Southwest Power Pool, a regional transmission group that OPPD belongs to, last year increased its planned reserve margin, or the energy generation amount needed beyond the utilitys peak energy need, from 12% to 15%. OPPD needs to increase its capacity to meet this requirement. To handle future demand, OPPDs proposed energy generation plan calls for 1,000 to 1,500 megawatts of renewables (wind and solar), which would include generation from the utilitys previously approved Power with Purpose effort. The plan also includes up to 125 megawatts of battery storage, 600 to 950 megawatts of thermal power (such as natural gas), at least 32 megawatts of demand response (shifting or shedding electricity demand to help balance the grid) and approximately 320 megawatts of added fuel capability and fuel oil storage at existing generation facilities essentially, upgrading current facilities to allow for additional capacity during winter and extreme conditions. All told, the proposed expansion represents a massive increase in OPPDs ability to generate power. Its taken us almost eight decades to build what we have today, Fernandez told the board. And these additional resources that were going to ask the board to consider for approval next month, were nearly going to double the current generation capabilities. While the plan does include some renewable power generation, some people feel its not enough. Theyre moving much faster on their promises of fossil fuels than they are on clean energy, said David Corbin, the Nebraska Sierra Clubs energy committee chair. The Sierra Club would like to see what the group calls smart growth, including support for building codes that require energy efficiency and sustainable construction materials. In public health and medicine, we say uncontrolled growth is cancer, Corbin said. Theres a difference between good growth and growth for growth sake. OPPD board members are scheduled to consider the plan during their June 15 meeting. No public hearing is planned, but more information on generation needs, proposed plans and opportunity for public comments can be found at OPPDCommunityConnect.com. In 2019, OPPD launched Power with Purpose, a plan that sought to add solar power and natural gas to meet load growth through 2026. Those projects have added to OPPDs energy generation, but the utility still needs to fill a gap, Fernandez said. Current projects that support this work include new Standing Bear Lake Station and Turtle Creek Station natural gas facilities. A utility-scale solar array is also being built at the Platteview facility. The projects are on schedule and working through the federal regulatory approval process. Its not going to be easy. Its not going to be cheap. Its not going to be fast, Fernandez told board members. But we need to do this to really show up for Nebraska. DES MOINES, Iowa Amid plates of sliced pork, statement-making leather ensembles and piles of political T-shirts, eight Republican presidential hopefuls descended on Iowa to pitch themselves to voters and, in Mike Pence's case, hop on a motorcycle. The former vice president and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were among the White House contenders appearing at a rally at the state fairgrounds near Des Moines hosted by U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst. Her annual political event, the "Roast and Ride" a combination barbecue-rally and motorcycle ride kicks off a busy summer campaign season heading into the state's first-in-the-nation caucuses early next year. Former President Donald Trump, the leading GOP presidential candidate, was notably absent after spending two days in the state this past week. He largely avoids any events that have him sharing the stage with his 2024 rivals. DeSantis, with wife Casey and three young kids in tow, chatted with voters, gave out autographs and signed the Bible of a man who thanked DeSantis for "standing up to Disney." DeSantis just wrapped up his first week as an official candidate with a blitz of campaign stops across three early-voting states. Casey DeSantis wore a black leather jacket in 86-degree weather with the words "Where Woke Goes to Die" and an outline of Florida on the back. It brought to mind comparisons to first lady Melania Trump, who famously sent a message of her own in 2018 with a green-hooded jacket that read " I really don't care do u " as she departed the White House for a trip to visit migrant children in Texas. Pence was the only White House hopeful who participated in a morning motorcycle ride for charity that is a staple of the event. He wore jeans, boots and a leather vest with patches that said "Indiana" and messages supportive of the military. The former Indiana governor, who has made frequent trips to Iowa over the past year, is expected to launch his long-anticipated campaign at an event in Des Moines on Wednesday. "I'll be back a little later next week," Pence teased the crowd when he spoke later at the rally. "I don't have anything to announce today." Earlier in the morning, before setting out on their motorcycle ride, Pence stood with Ernst in the back of a pickup truck and again hinted at his looming candidacy. "One of the reporters just asked me if we're showing up more in Iowa, what our lane would be. I said I'm more worried about the lane we're going to be staying in today," Pence joked. The former vice president, wearing a white motorcycle helmet and a big grin, then rode off on a cobalt blue Harley Davidson. The group rode to the fairgrounds, where candidates gave speeches and chatted with barbecue-eating voters. Other candidates speaking at the event included former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Michigan businessman Perry Johnson, author Vivek Ramaswamy and conservative talk radio host Larry Elder. In their remarks, the candidates tiptoed around mentions of the former president. Haley repeated a version of a line she's been using as a candidate that seems to allude to the 76-year-old Trump and his political career as replete with controversies. "It's time for a new-generation leader. We've got to leave the baggage of the negativity behind," she said. In their speeches, the GOP candidates hit on similar conservative themes: criticizing President Joe Biden, promising tough policies on China and the U.S.-Mexico border and restrictions on abortion and gender-affirming policies. The event had the feel of a large political fair, with about 1,000 people gathered to listen to the presidential prospects speaking in front of bales of hay in a building at the fairgrounds. Many of the campaigns set up tables full of stickers, T-shirts and drink can coolers. Rows of dozens of shiny Harley Davidson motorcycles, of many colors, were parked neatly in the parking lot outside, along with campaign buses for Ramaswamy and the DeSantis super PAC. Nearby was what appeared to be a mechanical bull converted to resemble a motorcycle, surrounded by an inflatable landing area to catch thrown ridersall sponsored by the political super PAC Never Back Down, which supports DeSantis. Marie Andres of Des Moines signed a form, distributed by Never Back Down, to pledge to caucus for DeSantis early next year. "Trump did a great job, but in my opinion, too much drama," the 74-year-old said. She said she committed to DeSantis because she thinks he is "the best we're gonna get." Her husband remains a staunch Trump backer. "Believe me, I've tried" to persuade him otherwise, she said. Jill Villalobos, 54, bought a Haley T-shirt not for herself, but for her brother in Florida. The Altoona resident is planning to support Scott, whom she thinks can bring the GOP and the country together. "I really like his message," Villalobos said, adding that she and her brother "agree to disagree." Ernst, along with Gov. Kim Reynolds, is one of the most sought-after Republican officials in the early stages of Iowa's leadoff caucuses. The senator pledged to remain neutral and not endorse during the caucus campaign. The 2024 presidential field, in the order they've announced Donald Trump, Republican Nikki Haley, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican Marianne Williamson, Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Democrat Larry Elder, Republican President Joe Biden, Democrat Asa Hutchinson, Republican Tim Scott, Republican Ron DeSantis, Republican Mike Pence, Republican Chris Christie, Republican Doug Burgum, Republican Omaha police said Sunday that the city's most recent homicide victim is a 30-year-old man, but the department is withholding his name pending notification of family. Police were called to 2754 Harrison St. Friday at 11:40 p.m. to assist Omaha Fire Department first responders on a person-down call. The unidentified person was transported to the Nebraska Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. Omaha has recorded just three homicides so far in 2023. That compares with nine homicides at this time in 2022 and 12 in 2021. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Omaha police homicide unit at 402-444-5656, or anonymously contact Omaha Crime Stoppers at 402-444-STOP, at omahacrimestoppers.org or on the P3 Tips mobile app. Tips leading to the arrest of a homicide suspect are eligible for a $25,000 reward. Its been a long week, so you decide to stop in for a pint and a Reuben sandwich at the Rathskeller Bier Haus at 45th and Farnam Streets. What you might not know is that the property is owned by the University of Nebraska Medical Center. UNMC hasnt given up education and research for the restaurant biz, though. The university instead leases the property to the businesss owner. Same goes for the Don & Millies property at 44th and Farnam, the KPTM-TV station at 46th and Farnam and the current Community Alliance headquarters at 41st and Leavenworth Streets. All four are part of UNMCs expanded footprint in midtown Omaha, which has added about a million square feet of building space over each of the past several decades and now stands at about 10 million square feet, including parking garages. Its a big footprint and an important one we take seriously, in service to our state and community, said Brian Spencer, executive director of campus development and real estate and campus architect for UNMC and Nebraska Medicine, its clinical partner. Planners expect the campus to continue growing its building square footage over at least the next decade, he said, although they dont have a stated goal. Dr. Jeffrey Gold, UNMCs chancellor, said the physical growth of the campus is the result of decades-long efforts by UNMC and affiliated organizations to consolidate property around what the university calls its 42nd Street campus. That physical growth, he said, has been fueled by the growth of the organization namely, 22 consecutive years of enrollment growth, mostly through the development of new educational programs, as well as continued growth in research funding, the addition of more clinicians, researchers and laboratories and considerable growth in inpatient and outpatient clinical care. The university, for instance, added a dermatology department about five years ago. It now includes about a dozen dermatologists. Its seen similar growth in its physical medicine and rehabilitation department. Its not about purchase it and hope that we can use it, Gold said. Its purchase it with a plan to use it. UNMC and Nebraska Medicine together employ about 14,800 people, according to UNMC officials. Separately, Nebraska Medicine ranks No. 2 behind Offutt Air Force Base and UNMC No. 6 on the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerces list of top 10 employers in the Omaha metro area. Last year, the university brought in $169.7 million in total research awards, an increase of 4% from the year before and the second-highest amount on record. Gold noted, however, that land acquisition in the area is largely complete. The university and its partners may add one or two more parcels, but the goal will be to even out borders rather than to add acres. We dont see the need for much more, he said. And, with the NU system facing a $49.4 million budget shortfall in the 2023-24 fiscal year, Gold said, the university will be focused on investing its very precious resources in existing programs to be sure we can maintain the quality, access and affordability of those programs rather than on long-term growth, at least for now. Spencer said the university is somewhat cautious about outlining the exact boundaries of its holdings. But officials have made commitments to area neighborhood associations, setting borders at 38th Avenue to the east and 48th Street to the west. It generally is trying to stay north of Leavenworth Street west of 42nd Street. Dodge Street serves as a relatively hard northern border, although the campuss northern outline is a bit more jagged. Nebraska Medicine also owns some properties on the north end of campus. While the universitys land acquisitions have occurred over decades and somewhat under the radar, they have become more visible with a recent groundbreaking for the approximately $65 million Catalyst project west of Saddle Creek Road on the site of the former Omaha Steel Castings facility. Slated to open in late 2024, the 170,000-square-foot facility will serve as a home for the 40,000-square-foot UNMC Innovation Hub and include 130,000 square feet for biotech and technology startups as well as an event center, food hall and market. Gold noted, however, that the facility itself is being developed by private developers, not the university or hospital, with the aim of enticing small and medium-sized companies to lease incubator space. It really is a way of bringing new economic development to the community, he said. A little history Don Leuenberger, who played a key role in the universitys growth during nearly three decades as UNMCs vice chancellor for business and finance, said that growth began under the chancellorship of Dr. Charles Andrews. He envisioned leveraging the expertise in cancer research it had gained with the help of cigarette tax dollars that the Nebraska Legislature devoted to the cause. It gained additional steam under Dr. Harold Maurer, who appointed the first vice chancellor for research. That, and the contributions of Omahas donor community, accelerated the growth, Leuenberger said. It has continued under Gold. Because the university wasnt going into debt to construct buildings, Leuenberger said, it was able to recruit researchers worldwide. The universitys clinical program also grew, with a key factor being the merger of University and Clarkson hospitals in the mid-1990s. By then, UNMC had become a destination for clinical services. The expansion in programming meant a lot of married graduate students on campus. Officials felt the need to halt what they saw as deterioration in midtown, he said, which helped spur the Destination Midtown and then Midtown 2050 development initiatives. The university needed parking and space for growing clinical and research programs. Clinicians needed housing in the area. Indeed, photos of campus in the 1990s show a lot of houses on the east side of campus, many of them at the time leased by UNMC for student housing. The university bought them when they became available to have control over the land and have the space held in reserve in case it was needed, Leuenberger said. Over time, the university built buildings on the east side of campus to house the colleges of nursing, pharmacy and medicine. It centered research facilities on the west side of campus and drug discovery and organ transplant support facilities to the south. Spencer said the university also has tried to keep higher density and taller buildings toward the middle of campus in order to create a buffer between the campus and surrounding neighborhoods. Jim Farho, president of the Blackstone Business Improvement District, said UNMC has been a good neighbor as it has grown and is bringing a lot of economic development to the city. Were happy theyre here in the neighborhood, he said. Indeed, investments in the area by the university, developers and businesses have meant a lot more amenities for residents and lots more walkers, strollers and dogs out and about. Last years old home tour was a huge success. Weve done them before, but it really knocked the socks off, he said. John Ashford, president of the Dundee-Memorial Park Neighborhood Association, said the university has been transparent about its projects throughout the planning process, recently sharing plans for pedestrian overpasses at 39th and Leavenworth Streets and over Saddle Creek as well as for bike lanes on campus. The plans the group has seen all show the campus gradually blending into the neighborhood. Were heavily in support of everything UNMC is doing down there, he said. Leuenberger noted that the university also has expanded programs in Lincoln, Kearney, Norfolk and Scottsbluff. Its not just been there on campus, he said. Its been statewide. Saddle Creek District The expansion west of Saddle Creek Road, Leuenberger said, also began in the 1990s with the acquisition of the old Union Pacific Railroad lines in the area, followed by the purchase of the former Commercial Federal property, which backed up to the Child Saving Institute. The former bank since has been demolished and the property sold to CSI in exchange for some parking lots south of Douglas Street. CSI has proposed a $46 million expansion and renovation that would nearly double the size of its existing building near 46th and Dodge Streets. Spencer said the university now owns all of the rough triangle bounded by Farnam and Leavenworth Streets, Saddle Creek and 48th Street, except the Ace-Rent-to-Own and Russell Speeders Car Wash on Saddle Creek. The university recently acquired the Metro Credit Union at 414 Saddle Creek Road, which will build on the northwest corner of Farnam and Saddle Creek and lease from the university. But property acquisition in the Saddle Creek District is largely complete, Spencer said. The university also has a letter from state environmental officials indicating that no further environmental cleanup is needed in the area. He said plans call for the district to include space for bars, restaurants and other amenities that will serve workers as well as neighborhood residents. Another item on his wish list: Investors interested in partnering to build laboratory space that inventors and startups could rent to test products theyre trying to bring to market. Currently, no such space exists in the city, Spencer said. Meanwhile, work has begun on infrastructure in the area. The city is building a new intersection at 46th and Farnam Streets, which is currently closed, and will extend 46th Street south of Farnam into the Saddle Creek development. Emile Street, too, will be extended into the district. The city also plans to build a parking garage north of the Catalyst structure. Many of the stalls will be leased to UNMC. Eventually, 48th Street will be turned to connect to Saddle Creek rather than Leavenworth. Next summer, the city will begin work to turn Leavenworth and Saddle Creek into a traditional four-way intersection with added turn lanes and pedestrian crossings. Chaz Kline, who owns the Rathskeller, said the growth in the area is all upside. The university, utility workers and construction crews all have worked to make sure customers can still access the restaurant, including putting up signs to direct them. Its a massive Jenga, theres no doubt about that, he said. But the blending of businesses and universities isnt unusual, he said. Other Big 10 universities all have a lot of businesses like his integrated into their campuses. Theyve committed to us, as long as our lease is there, were there, Kline said. Up next for the area is a new administrative building on the southwest corner of Saddle Creek and Farnam. Now known as the Campus Operations & Research Excellence or CORE facility, Spencer said, it also will include some research space. Details, however, have not been finalized. UNMC, however, is not involved in another highly visible project that may be on tap for the area around 46th and Dodge Streets. A developer has proposed a new five-story, 330-unit apartment complex southeast of 48th and Dodge Streets that would incorporate and preserve the landmark Pittman Veterinarian Building, listed at 4629 Dodge St. Several other structures in the area already have been razed. Leavenworth Street In April, UNMC officials announced that they planned to raze three vacant houses near 44th and Leavenworth Streets. The university purchased the properties situated on the north side of Leavenworth Street in 2021 to allow for possible future development opportunities. Once the structures are razed, UNMC will create green space and some parking on the empty lots at 4412, 4408 and 4402 Leavenworth St. Spencer said a family that wanted out of the real estate business approached the university about purchasing the houses. We jumped on the opportunity because its close to the heart of campus, he said. The university also owns several vacant retail storefront properties on either side of Barretts Barleycorn Pub & Grill and Castle Barrett on the north side of Leavenworth Street. UNMC has no immediate plans to raze those properties and will make minor investments in them to stabilize and return them to use. Spencer said the university opted to raze the houses because it doesnt want to be in the home rental business and the structures would have required significant investment to bring them up to current standards. He stressed that the university typically does not use eminent domain to obtain properties. Most of the universitys acquisitions have come from willing sellers as a result of business closures or generational turnover. (The city, however, is seeking a narrow strip of right-of-way near the Neighbers Bar for the reconstruction of the Leavenworth/Saddle Creek intersection.) That was the case with the former Charlie Graham Body & Service on the northwest corner of 42nd and Leavenworth Streets, which was demolished to make way for a new entrance to the campus. Great Plains Auto Body bought the business and exchanged the Charlie Graham corner for a parking lot that UNMC owned on the southeast corner. Great Plains built a new autobody and service shop on that site. Likewise, the university acquired some land south of Leavenworth when Kiewit Corp. decided to close a construction yard as part of its move to its new headquarters in north downtown. The property now is home to parking lots and a service center for the health systems surgical platform. The universitys purchase of the Community Alliance building, Spencer said, provided some of the capital the organization, which also is expanding its programs, needed to finish its new and larger headquarters. The university wont gain possession of the building for about a year and a half and has no immediate plans for the building. Thats the general makeup of how so many of our deals happen, he said. Photos: UNMC Catalyst project to rise out of Omaha Steel Castings site Stanford scientists have developed a soft and stretchable electronic skin that can directly talk to the brain, imitating the sensory feedback of real skin using a strategy that, if improved, could offer hope to millions of people with prosthetic limbs. We were inspired by the natural system and wanted to mimic it, said Weichen Wang, whose team published its success in the journal Science. Maybe we can someday help patients to not only restore motor function, but also restore their sensations. Much faster, larger and more sophisticated circuitry is needed before so-called e-skin holds promise for people. But, in a milestone, the device showed remarkable success in a lab rat. When researchers pressed the rats e-skin and sent electronic pulses to its brain, the animal responded by twitching its leg. Scientists have long dreamed of building prosthetic limbs that not only restore movement but also provide perception sensing pressure, temperature and vibration, for instance to help restore a more normal quality of life. Skin damage and amputation cause a massive disruption in the loop of perception and movement, so even simple tasks like feeling or grasping an object are challenging. If you pick up a glass of beer and you cant sense that its not cold, then you wont get the right taste, said Ravinder Dahiya, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern University in Boston, who is also studying the use of flexible electronics to develop artificial skin. Electronic skin also could be used to clad robots so they feel sensations in the same way that humans do. This is critical to the safety of industries where robots and humans have physical interactions, such as passing tools on a manufacturing floor. But the sensation of touch is complicated. Human skin has millions of receptors that sense when they are poked or pressed, squeezed or scalded. They react by sending electrical pulses to the brain, through nerves. The brain responds by sending information back, telling muscles to move. And biological skin is soft and can stretch, repeatedly, for many decades. The Stanford team, led by chemical engineering professor Zhenan Bao, has been working on e-skin designs for several years. But an earlier effort used rigid electronics and 30 volts of power, which requires 10 batteries and isnt safe. And it wasnt able to endure continuous stretching without losing its electrical properties. 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, said Bao, in a statement. The new e-skin is innovative because it uses networked layers of stretchable organic transistors that perceive and transmit electrical signals. When sandwiched, the layers are only about 25 to 50 microns thick as thin as a sheet of paper, similar to skin. Its networks act as sensors, engineered to sense pressure, temperature, strain, and chemicals. They turn this sensory information into an electrical pulse. And the e-skin runs on only 5 volts of electricity. To test the system, the Stanford team implanted it into a live rat. When the rats e-skin was touched, a pulse was transmitted by a wire to the rats brain specifically, an area called the somatosensory cortex, which is responsible for processing physical sensations. The rats brain responded by sending an electrical signal down to its leg. This was done using a device that amplifies and transmits signals from the brain to muscles, mimicking connections in the nervous system called synapses. The rats leg twitched. Significantly, its movement corresponded to varying levels of pressure, said Wang, an engineering PhD and first author on the new paper. For example, the team could increase the legs movement by pushing the e-skin harder, which boosted the signals frequency and the transistors output. If tested in humans, the device would not require implantation of a wire to send sensory information to the brain. Rather, the team envisions using wireless communication between e-skin and an electrical stimulator located next to a nerve. Joe McTernan of the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association said such research encourages technological advancements that could someday provide real-time biofeedback for people who have lost limbs. Although this skin technology is fairly new, there has been significant research and development in recent years that have focused on creating a positive tactile experience for the patient, he said. The Stanford teams closed-loop system from sensation to muscle movement is very exciting very much a proof of concept, bioelectronics expert Alejandro Carnicer-Lombarte of University of Cambridge told the journal Nature. In the field of artificial prosthetics, most researchers tend to work on individual components, he said. Combining those things, in sequence, is not trivial. The whole field is under development, Dahiya said. It will take many more generations of developments to realize our target. Smart devices that could improve the lives of people with disabilities Smart devices that could improve the lives of people with disabilities Voice assistants Video doorbell Smart locks Smart light bulbs Robotic vacuum cleaners Smart security systems Smart watch Smart smoke detector Video-conferencing devices Smart sensors LINCOLN Nebraskas just-completed legislative session was, by almost any measure, unprecedented. Before wrapping up on Thursday, the session featured previously unseen levels of rancor and division, greater and more passionate public involvement, more and bigger packages of bills, larger amounts of turnover and more success for conservative issues than any session in decades, if not ever. Speaker of the Legislature John Arch of La Vista acknowledged the sessions unusual nature. But he still called it one of the most productive sessions and said it resulted in historic accomplishments. Together we have passed transformative legislation in many areas that will positively impact generations to come, he told colleagues on the last day. Former state senator and longtime lobbyist Don Wesely described the session as extraordinary in many ways, some which left longtime observers shaking their heads. It was an amazing session from start to finish, he said. The year began with an unprecedented loss of legislative experience, which created some bumps along the way. On the first day, there were 14 brand-new senators and another with only a few months experience a turnover of nearly one in every three legislative seats. Another new senator joined the mix after State Sen. Suzanne Geist resigned to focus on her campaign for Lincoln mayor. A newly elected governor, Gov. Jim Pillen, and the turnover of some 40 legislative employees added to the amount of change. The Legislatures fiscal and bill drafting offices were hit hard by retirements, while a new clerk replaced the 45-year veteran, Patrick ODonnell. Lawmakers started off the session with partisan divides more evident than usual, as shown in the Republican domination of elections for committee chairs and in the makeup of key committees. The Nebraska Legislature is nonpartisan, meaning that political parties are not part of the legislative process and members serve without party labels. But party affiliation does play a role in how members work together. Wesely said Republicans were more organized and stuck together more than in most past years. But they still had to convince at least one Democrat to join the Republican majority for the most contentious bills of the session. In most cases, that was Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha. The Republicans should be elated with the success that they had, Wesely said. He gave them a B-plus grade for the session while giving Democrats a D for disappointed. Democrats fought back with the tools at hand, primarily the use of the filibuster and deep dives into the legislative rule book. When a bill to ban gender-related care for minors advanced from committee, Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha resorted to filibustering everything on the daily agenda in a bid to block the bill. Her determination produced frustration and anger among her legislative colleagues, even fellow Democrats at times. But it was cheered on by crowds of Nebraskans who filled the Capitol Rotunda and the balconies to oppose the bill. Their numbers swelled after a bill to ban abortions at 12 weeks gestation was amended onto the trans care bill. Twice, lawmakers who supported the combined bill were hustled out the side door of the chamber and down back hallways to avoid walking through the throng of chanting, sign-waving opponents in the Rotunda. But that wasnt the only bill that drew unprecedented public response. Hundreds of Nebraskans filled hearing rooms, overflow rooms and Capitol hallways on several occasions to support and oppose bills dealing with abortion, LGBTQ issues, gun laws, voter identification and election reform. As the battle over abortion and gender-related care for minors went on, lawmakers matched the passion of the public with bitter, emotional arguments that sometimes led to personal criticisms during public debate. At one point, Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Bennington offered a warning. Nebraska, your Legislature is blinking three times, we are not OK, she said. We are losing the ability to recognize the humanity of each other. Arch responded to the continued filibuster by scheduling more late nights and by cutting the lunch break to an hour instead of the usual 90 minutes. Lawmakers worked into the night for more than two months of the session. We ran pretty hard for many weeks, he said. He also instructed committees to start packaging bills together, combining measures that had broad support, high impact and low costs. That approach left more controversial measures behind for next year. Among those are bills to create a lower minimum wage for minors, ban state contracts with companies that boycott Israel, allow health care providers to deny care that conflicts with their religious beliefs and a proposed constitutional amendment to allow lawmakers to serve three terms instead of two. The approach also had its critics. It reminded me more of the (U.S.) Congress than past Nebraska Legislatures, Wesely said. They just throw things together at the last minute. Its just confusing. By the end of the session, the official tally showed lawmakers had passed only 52 bills, of which 19 were appropriations bills accompanying more substantive measures. But the total reached 291 when each of the bills incorporated into the packages was counted. Here are some of the key bills: Gender-affirming care. Lawmakers passed a ban on gender-affirming surgeries for people under 19, and added regulations on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for the same age group under Legislative Bill 574. While Cavanaughs session-long filibuster did not stop the bill from passing, lawmakers did amend it to ease some of its initial restrictions. The original bill would have completely banned puberty blockers, hormone therapy and puberty blockers for those under 19, but a few lawmakers said they wouldnt have continued to support the bill in that form. Abortion. A 12-week abortion ban based on gestational age was passed by adding it to LB 574 as part of the amendment to that bill. Earlier this year, a bill that would have banned abortions around six weeks of pregnancy LB 626 failed to advance by just one vote. Permitless carry. After seven years of failed attempts, lawmakers passed LB 77, which will allow Nebraskans 21 and older to carry concealed weapons without a permit. Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon has tried to pass similar legislation passed since taking office in 2017. He said he had doubts it would succeed this year, but bolstered by a more conservative group of senators, the bill garnered the 33 votes needed to end filibusters in each round. Voter ID. A bill carrying out Nebraskas voter identification requirements became law, despite repeated attempts to oppose the measure by the lawmaker who initially led the charge on the effort. LB 514 implements the constitutional amendment requiring qualified voters to present valid photographic ID before casting a ballot in any election. Under the bill, voters will have to start showing ID after April 1 next year. Property taxes. Lawmakers approved a Pillen legislative proposal, LB 243, which will increase Nebraskas two property tax credit programs, cap school property tax growth and eliminate almost all community college property taxes. All told, the changes are estimated to cost $1.76 billion over six years. Income taxes. Another Pillen proposal, LB 754 will cut the states top individual and corporate income tax rates by nearly one-third, speed up the elimination of taxes on Social Security benefits and provide limited tax credits for low-income parents. The changes are worth about $3.3 billion over six years. School aid. A third Pillen proposal, LB 583 will increase state support for schools by about $305 million annually with the goal of driving down property taxes. It will nearly double the amount of state aid for special education and guarantee $1,500 of state support for every public school student. Combined with LB 243 and LB 754, the three bills are projected to cut or offset more than $6 billion worth of property taxes and income taxes over the next six years. Tax credit scholarships. Donations to scholarship funds for private and faith-based schools will garner tax credits under LB 753. As with the permitless concealed carry bill, LB 753s introducer, Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of the Omaha area, has tried to pass similar legislation for the last five years to no avail until this year. Under the bill, $25 million will be available for credits in 2024, with the same amount available for the next two years. After that, the limit for credits will grow to a maximum of $100 million per year. Behavioral health clinics. More comprehensive care could be provided for people with mental health and substance abuse problems under LB 276, the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Act. The bills introducer, Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln, said the measure would enable a new model of providing behavioral health care that has been proved to save money and lives. Where it has been tried, she said, the model has reduced emergency room visits and incarceration for patients. It also has improved their mental and physical health. Prison. Under the two-year budget, lawmakers transferred the final $95.8 million needed to build a new $350 million prison and authorized the state to proceed with construction. The prison is to house more than 1,500 men and replace the aging Nebraska State Penitentiary. Citing this and the states ongoing prison overcrowding problem, lawmakers also passed LB 50, which will reform various aspects of Nebraskas criminal justice system. Some of the reforms include increasing Nebraskas problem-solving courts and expanding parole options. Omaha recovery. More than $400 million is going to support revitalization efforts in North and South Omaha under LB 531. The bill builds on a 2022 bill, LB 1024, which allocated federal money from the American Rescue Plan Act to underserved areas of Nebraska. Broadband. A new state office was created to work on expanding broadband services throughout Nebraska under LB 683, which formalizes the creation of the office. Pillen established the new office within the Nebraska Department of Transportation in an executive order signed during his first day in office. Helmets. After multiple years of failed attempts, lawmakers repealed Nebraskas motorcycle helmet mandate through the passage of LB 138. The measure was initially introduced as LB 91, but was later amended into LB 138. The bill will allow any motorcyclist or passenger over age 21 who has completed a basic certification course by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation to ride without a helmet, starting on Jan. 1, 2024. Canal. Roughly $574.5 million was set aside in the state budget for the proposed Perkins County Canal, which is to start in Colorado and bring water into southwest Nebraska. Lawmakers approved the first round of funding for the project last year. Officials estimate the funding allocated this year should cover the total cost. Nebraska now has new rules that call for people to present photo ID when they vote, as required by the state constitution under an amendment approved by voters in November 2022. Policymakers have done a good job balancing Nebraskans right to vote with the need to protect the integrity of that vote. You may recall that we editorialized against the constitutional amendment proposal last fall. We did that because we thought it was a bad idea to create unnecessary restrictions that risked keeping qualified citizens from being able to freely exercise their voting rights. We saw the restrictions as unnecessary because state election officials have made clear that Nebraska has not had a problem with voter fraud generally let alone people trying to impersonate legitimate voters. And we were concerned that making legal voters jump through extra hoops could disenfranchise some who lacked the required photo ID such as senior citizens who no longer drive, may not have a drivers license and might find it difficult to obtain an alternative. But a large majority of the voting public spoke clearly last November. The voter ID amendment passed, and it fell to the Legislature to set the specific rules, which happened last week on a 38-1 vote. Gov. Jim Pillen signed the bill into law. The new law supports the goal of ensuring that only legal voters cast ballots, which is what everyone should want. But it takes reasonable steps to help those legal voters comply with the requirement that they prove their identity. In the real world, some people might find that difficult if the rules are too strict. After all, consider some 25,000 of our fellow Nebraskans who are qualified voters might need an alternative photo ID, according to estimates prior the 2022 vote. And some 200,000 Nebraskans who do have photo ID vote early through mail-in ballots, and they deserve practical rules for doing so. Despite the voter ID amendment, its important to remember that Nebraskas constitution also says there shall be no hindrance or impediment to the right of a qualified voter to exercise the elective franchise. Under Legislative Bill 514, voters will have to start showing ID after April 1 next year. That means the requirement will be in effect for Nebraskans casting early ballots for the 2024 primary election. Voters will be able to use IDs issued by the federal government, State of Nebraska, local governments or Nebraska colleges, as long as they have the persons name and photo. Expired documents would be accepted. Military and veteran IDs, tribal IDs and patient records with photos kept by nursing homes, assisted living facilities or hospitals also will be accepted. People casting mail-in ballots will have to include the number from their Nebraska drivers license or state ID card or a copy of an accepted ID document. People who go to the polls without acceptable ID will be able to cast a provisional ballot but will have to show a valid ID to election officials by the Tuesday after the election to have their vote count. Voters with a reasonable impediment to showing voter ID could be exempted, including those with a religious objection to being photographed and those who cannot get an ID because of disability, illness or lack of a birth certificate or other required documents. The proposal will allow people to get a free state identification card for voting purposes and a free copy of a state birth certificate, if needed to obtain a state ID card. The law calls on the Secretary of States Office to publicize the new requirements. It also will require the office to develop a process for ensuring that only citizens are on the state voter rolls. State Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, who heads the Legislatures Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, said the new law complies with both the state and the federal constitutions. He said it was reviewed carefully by attorneys with the Legislature, the Secretary of States Office and the Attorney Generals Office. Wisely, lawmakers refused to go along with a less accommodating set of rules pushed by Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar, who had led efforts to get the voter ID measure on the ballot. Her approach seemed to go beyond the spirit and letter of what voters approved. When her colleagues chose a different path, she tried unsuccessfully to filibuster the new rules and was the only senator to vote no. We hope that the new rules wont deter qualified voters from casting their ballots. Lets be clear: the rules now make it harder for some Nebraskans to vote than others. If you dont already have a drivers license in your wallet, you may have to make special efforts, take extra time, jump through some new hoops. But the new law offers reasonable ways to do that. We appreciate the willingness of lawmakers to think through the practical implications for citizens in all walks of life, and find an approach that tries to protect everyones voting rights. Photos: Nebraska goes to the polls in 2022 general election United States President, Donald Trump United States President, Donald Trump has warned Tehran that the U.S. will target 52 Iranian sites if Iran attacks Americans in the wake of the killing of a top Iranian general. Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), Trump tweeted Saturday. He described some of those targets as being at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture. The purported targets, Trump added, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats! Top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad in what the Pentagon called a defensive action. The strike was ordered by Trump, who justified the move by saying that Soleimani was plotting to kill many more Americans. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has threatened the U.S. with harsh retaliation for the strike near Baghdad airport that killed Soleimani late Thursday or early Friday. Irans President Hassan Rowhani said his country would avenge the killing. In mentioning 52 hostages in his tweet, Trump was apparently referring to the occupation of the U.S. embassy in Tehran by radical Iranian students in November 1979 during Irans Islamic Revolution. They took 52 U.S. embassy officials hostage and demanded the extradition of Irans Shah Reza Pahlavi. Washington imposed sanctions and the hostage-taking ended after 444 days. [dpa/NAN] Share this: President Muhammadu Buhari President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) sitting at the Court of Appeal, Abuja to grant access to inspect electoral materials used for the February 23 presidential elections. The request by President Buhari was brought on Thursday through an exparte application by his lawyers led by Wole Olanipekun (SAN). The application, which is hinged on the provisions of Section 151 (1) and (2) of the Electoral Act, is asking the Court of Appeal to compel INEC to allow access to inspect and make copies of the documents and to be certified as true copies by the electoral umpire. The application followed the similar request by the candidate of the PDP in the election, Atiku Abubakar, to compel INEC to produce the Voters Register, the Smart Card Reader Machines, Ballot Papers, site back ends, and other sensitive materials for inspection and scanning. The application was granted on March 6 by the appellate court. Details later According to The Punch, some armed hoodlums have reportedly attacked a team of policemen who were on a stop-and-search duty in Asaba, Delta State capital, carting away two service rifles in the encounter. The Punch reliably learnt that two of the policemen were said to have sustained life-threatening injuries during the attack. It was gathered that the incident occurred around Interbua roundabout by ASCON Oil Filling Station, along the popular Nnebisi road on Saturday night. A source who witnessed the attack told The Punch that the gunmen were driving a tricycle from the Anwai axis of the road when they suddenly disembarked to attack their victims. The source disclosed that the bandits who numbered four in the tricycle were armed with axes and cutlasses, adding that they successfully stole two guns from their targets. The leader of the Police team, an inspector, was said to have sustained severe cuts to the head and other parts of his body, while the other victim sustained cuts to the hands. Sources disclosed that the victims were presently receiving treatment at two different hospitals in Asaba. When contacted, the Acting Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Chuks Orisewezie, confirmed the attack, saying that some of their men sustained injuries. He promised that the assailants would be brought to book as the Police have swung into action to apprehend them. The Ogun State Police Command on Tuesday said it has uncovered plans by unscrupulous individuals to instigate crisis across the state, ostensibly to disrupt the inauguration of the Governor-elect, Prince Dapo Abiodun and his Deputy; Engr. Noimot Salako Oyedele on May 29, 2019. The Command added that the unscrupulous elements intended to carry out the disruptive scheming on the planned inauguration through orchestrated rallies, processions and assemblies in public places across Ogun State. The Commands Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, who made this known in a release, stated that the Police got wind of the plot via security intelligence. Oyeyemi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police(DSP), explained that the enemies of peace and criminally minded fellows schemed to embark on such disruptive path with a seeming appearance of using it to settle land related disputes in the state whereas their target is Abioduns inauguration. The Police Spokesman, therefore, advised such people to approach the court for justice and not attempt to heat up the polity in Ogun state. He stated: The Security Intelligence at the disposal of Ogun State Police reveals that some unscrupulous elements are scheming to foment trouble across the State with a view to disrupting the inauguration of the new administration scheduled for 29th May, 2019. Rallies, processions and assemblies in public places are being orchestrated by these enemies of peace seemingly to resolve chieftaincy and land-related matters rather than approaching the Court to seek justice. All of these are aimed at heating up the State before the inauguration. In view of this, the Command has put in place a robust security arrangement aimed at checkmating such trouble makers and other criminally-minded persons, including miscreants and disgruntled elements. The special units of the Command namely SARS, PMF, STS, Anti kidnapping as well as DPOS and Area Commanders have been placed on red alert with specific instruction to closely monitor these misguided elements and respond swiftly to any distress calls and disturbance of public peace. The Commissioner of Police, CP Bashir Makama, has also ordered twenty-four hourly surveillance patrols across the length and breadth of the State. Consequently, members of public are hereby advised, for the purpose of peace, law and order, to put on hold, for now, any form of public procession, rally or carnival related to chieftaincy and land matters and rather seek alternative dispute resolution methods, or approach the law court for redress. In furtherance to this, persons or group intending to hold public assemblies and rallies other than as stated above are advised to contact the office of the Commissioner of Police, Ogun State, for necessary approval and security. The Command will not hesitate to deal decisively with anybody or group who attempts to disrupt the peace of the State no matter how highly placed such person(s) may be, as the law is no respecter of anybody. The Police in Ogun State is committed to the defense of the rule of law, safety and security for all law abiding citizens in Ogun State. People attend a job fair held by the Confucius Institute at University of Al-Azhar in Jakarta, Indonesia, June 3, 2023. The Confucius Institute at University of Al-Azhar Indonesia held its first job fair for Chinese enterprises in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Saturday. Over 1,000 Indonesian students from universities including University of Indonesia, University of Al-Azhar Indonesia, State University of Jakarta, and BINUS University visited the job fair. The job fair presents 28 Chinese enterprises in fields ranging from food and electronics to plantation industry, offering various job positions. (Xinhua/Agung Kuncahya B.) JAKARTA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Confucius Institute at University of Al-Azhar Indonesia held its first job fair for Chinese enterprises in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Saturday. Over 1,000 Indonesian students from universities including University of Indonesia, University of Al-Azhar Indonesia, State University of Jakarta, and BINUS University visited the job fair. The job fair presents 28 Chinese enterprises in fields ranging from food and electronics to plantation industry, offering various job positions. Ratu Vega, an English literature student at the University of Al-Azhar Indonesia, came to the fair with an aim of joining a major Chinese company. "I am very excited, those attending the job fair are large and well-known companies," Vega told Xinhua. Siti Nurlatifa, who has just finished her studies on state administration at Padang State University based in the Sumatra island, expressed hope that one of these companies will accept her application. Head of the University of Al-Azhar Indonesia, Asep Saefuddin, said in his speech that this event was aimed at building a bridge of cooperation between universities and enterprises, as well as a platform for dialogue and exchanges, so as to contribute more to the Indonesian society. The Chinese side Director of Confucius Institute at University of Al-Azhar, Niu Haitao, noted in the fair's opening address that the Chinese companies operating in Indonesia have high demand for local talents, especially for those who can speak Chinese. "The Confucius Institute will continue its efforts to build a bridge between universities and enterprises, and to better serve Chinese enterprises in Indonesia," he said. People attend a job fair held by the Confucius Institute at University of Al-Azhar in Jakarta, Indonesia, June 3, 2023. The Confucius Institute at University of Al-Azhar Indonesia held its first job fair for Chinese enterprises in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Saturday. Over 1,000 Indonesian students from universities including University of Indonesia, University of Al-Azhar Indonesia, State University of Jakarta, and BINUS University visited the job fair. The job fair presents 28 Chinese enterprises in fields ranging from food and electronics to plantation industry, offering various job positions. (Xinhua/Agung Kuncahya B.) On Tuesday, The United Arab Emirates said it has launched a permanent residency scheme to attract wealthy individuals and highly skilled workers to the oil-rich Gulf country. The Golden Card programme is open to investors and exceptional talents such as doctors, engineers, scientists and artists, said UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, who is also Dubais ruler. We want them to be permanent partners in our journey. Residents are an indispensable part of our country, he said in a statement. The first group of 6,800 investors with investments totalling 100 billion dirhams ($27 billion, 24 billion euros) were being given permanent residency, he said. ALSO READ:UAE police arrest 19 men following reinstatement of law to protect women It is the first such scheme in the Gulf, where foreigners are generally only given limited duration residence permits under the kafala sponsorship system. Foreigners account for 90 per cent of the population of around nine million in the UAE, the Arab worlds second-largest economy which has seen rapid development in recent years. (AFP) Post Views: 39 A multilateral diplomat, Dr. Babafemi Badejo, has hailed the peace moves initiated by a Bahraini leader to Qatar, saying it accorded with the Ramadan spirit. According to him, preventing the scourge of conflicts and wars through the waging of peace is not for the United Nations (UN) alone. Waging of peace through prevention of wars and managing conflicts towards de-escalation should be a major preoccupation of all human beings and states, he said. Read Also: Language, terrorism, and global peace Badejo, a former UN senior official who consults for the African Union (AU), said the peace move in the Gulf during the tense military buildup is laudable. He said in a statement: The spirit of Ramadan had inspired an unexpected call by the Prime Minister of Bahrain, Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, on May 6, 2019, to the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. This is in spite of the cold war between Qatar on the one hand, and the alliance of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain on the other. New and welcomed developments are the invitations from King Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Guardian of the two Holy Mosques to the Emir of Qatar to attend meetings of the Gulf Cooperation Council on May 30, and the League of Arab States on June 1 in Mecca. Badejo noted that Qatar has been accused of interference in the internal affairs of its neighbors, an accusation that Qatar denies. Things came to a head five years ago when Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain withdrew their Ambassadors from Doha, Qatar. Though some attempts, including an agreement shrouded in secrecy were reached, the problem of lack of trusts persisted until the new and stronger resolve of the Saudi led alliance that includes Egypt to ostracize and blockade Qatar in 2017. A member of the Campaign Organisation of the Social Democratic Party, SDP for the November Kogi governorship election has described how the convoy of its candidate, Murtala Ajaka was attacked by security operatives traveling with Governor Yahaya Bello in Koton Karfe area of the State on Saturday. Speaking to journalist, a member of the Campaign Organisation who witnessed that attack, Arome Attah, described claims by the Governors media team that it was members of the Ajaka convoy who blocked the road and started shooting sporadically at the convoy of Yahaya Bello as a big lie intended to cover up an obvious attempt to assassinate the SDP Governorship candidate. The Governor had in a statement by his media aide, Kingsley Fanwo claimed his convoy was blocked and attacked by people believed to be supporters of Alh. Muritala Yakubu Ajaka at about 12.30 hours on Saturday. The statement reads: The attack took place near the Naval Base, few kilometres from Lokoja where the convoy of Murtala Yakubu Ajaka, having sighted that of the Governor, blocked the road and some of his armed thugs started shooting sporadically at the convoy of the Governor. A Tundra branded with the logo of the SDP and with SDP flags also blocked the Governors vehicle and occupants of the SDP-branded Tundra were armed with Rifles and short guns. The Governor left the scene unscathed and there is no cause for panic as the Governor is in high spirit Some security aides and other aides attached to the Governor sustained some degrees of injuries and have been rushed to medical facilities for medical attention But while dismissing the claim, Attah said it will be foolhardy for a private individual with just few policemen as escort to attack the convoy of a governor, especially one who is reputed for his penchant for violence like Yahaya Bello. He noted that there are video recording that showed that there was deliberate attempt to assassinate the SDP governorship candidate. Fortunately, there are video evidence to show how Ajaka convoy was attacked. It was a clear assignation attempt There were at least three direct gunshots at the vehicle Ajaka was riding in. He escaped by Gods grace and the fact that the vehicle was armoured, Attah said. He added that the SDP governorship candidate had left Abuja on Saturday morning for courtesy calls on some paramount rulers in Koton-Karfe, Lokoja, Idah and Okene areas of the state. But Attah said the trip was aborted by the attack as the governorship candidate returned to Abuja following the encounter with Bellos convoy. We we on the way to Kogi when Bellos convoy met with our convoy just about seven kilometres to Lokoja. We parked to allow his convoy to pass. But while they were passing, the shot at six of our vehicles. Three gunshots were fired at our gubernatorial candidates SUV. What saved him was the fact that his vehicle was bulletproof. It was a miracle that no member of the convoy died or sustained injuries from the gunshots. So, the claim by Yahaya Bello and his gang is nothing but tissue of lies concocted from the pit of hell, said Attah. We have to return back to Abuja to the disappointment of our supporters who have been waiting to receive in the places we had planned to go to during the visit, he added. He, however, said Ajaka will not be deterred by the violence of Yahaya Bello and his gang in the pursuit of his quest to liberate Kogi from current regime of maladministration and bloodletting. Kogi SDP candidate, alleges attack by Gov. Bello Richard Elesho The candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, in the forthcoming Kogi State Governorship election, Alhaji Muritala Yakubu Ajaka has alleged an assassination attempt on him by the state Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello. Faruk Adejoh-Audu Director of Communication of the SDP candidate who made the allegation said the attempt was made this Saturday along the Abuja to Lokoja highway. His statement reads: Alhaji Ajaka and some vehicles accompanying him were approaching Lokoja at the vicinity of the ram market at about 300pm when two powerbikes and Toyota Hilux overtook his car and forced it to a stop. This assault was heralded by a Mercrdes Benz Limousine with Bellos official crest accompanied by an open pick- loaded with masked and hooded men bearing AK 47 Assault Rifles. The men jumped down and began shooting at Ajakas car and all other cars in the motorcade. They shot for over 5 minutes at Ajakas bullet proof car unprovoked. All this while Bellos car was parked a few meters in front and was used to barricade the road while the gun men had a field day. When they ceased, Ajakas car, a Lexus SUV though a bullet proof was totally damaged and demobilised. Among the gunmen is one Friday Makama a notorious thug and a former member of the House of Assembly who was recently appointed Director General for Fireams Recovery by Mr Bello. Also identified among the hoodlums accompanying the governor is one Bashir Gegu the commissioner for Solid Minerals who has has a gross reputation for thuggery. Mr Ajaka who was on his way to keep an appointment with the Mai Geri, The first class traditional ruler of Lokoja and The Attah Igala in Idah decided to abort the journey and return to Abuja after conferring with the Commander of the Lokoja Naval Base. This again is another low scored by Mr Yahaya Bello in the exercise of crude power and brute force. Bello is on record to have unleashed guns and gunmen on several citizens in the course of his Eight years draconian rule. Several persons have been killed by his hoodlums during electioneering while others are missing . Ajaka until recently was a member of the APC who was forced out of the governorship nomination by Mr Yahaya Bello who used minions and proxies to obtain an injunction from a Lokoja High Court restraining him from participating in the primaries. The brute action today is obviously in a continuation of Bellos desperation to stop Yakubu from continuing in the election. We appeal to the new President of the Federal Republic, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to demonstrate that his administration will not permit the brigandage of the last eight years which has led to the deaths of thousands of Nigeria. Election is still five months away, but if Mr Bello does not get a strong signal that violence would not be allowed in the new administration several of our citizens will be killed by his thugs and gunmen before the polls. The camp of the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Muritala Yakubu Ajaka has reacted to the allegation levelled against him by the state government over the attack on Governor Yahaya Bellos convoy. Naija News reported on Saturday that Bellos convoy was attacked when he was returning to Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, from his Abuja trip. The thugs reportedly laid in wait for the governors convoy a few kilometres from the Naval base. The Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Kingsley Femi Fanwo, confirmed the incident via a statement. The commissioner claimed that the thugs were sent by the former Deputy Publicity of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), Muritala Yakubu Ajaka, who is now the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the November 11th governorship election in Kogi State. He said, The supporters of the SDP Governorship candidate, having sighted Governor Bellos convoy, blocked the road, and some of his armed thugs started shooting sporadically at the convoy of the Governor. A Tundra branded with the logo of the SDP and with SDP flags also blocked the Governors vehicle, and occupants of the SDP-branded Tundra were armed with rifles and shotguns. The Governor left the scene unscathed, and there is no cause for panic as the Governor is in high spirits. However, in reaction to the allegation, the Director of Communications, Muritala Yakubu Organisation, Faruk Adejo Audu, in a statement, asserted that it was instead Ajakas camp that was attacked and escaped assassination. Ajakas camp claimed that on his way to Lokoja with his convoy, his car was forced to stop by armed men on power bikes and a Toyota Hilux truck. The statement alleged that the attackers were joined by a Mercedes Benz Limousine with Governor Bellos official crest accompanied by an open pickup loaded with masked and hooded men bearing AK-47 assault rifles. Audu further submitted that The men jumped down and began shooting at Ajakas car and all other cars in the motorcade. They shot for over 5 minutes at Ajakas bulletproof car unprovoked. When they ceased, Ajakas car, a Lexus SUV though bulletproof was totally damaged and demobilized. Mr. Ajaka who was on his way to keep an appointment with the Mai Geri, a first-class traditional ruler of Lokoja and The Attah Igala in Idah decided to abort the journey and return to Abuja after conferring with the Commander of the Lokoja Naval Base. The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent a message to Nigerias number one man, President Bola Tinubu. SERAP urged President Tinubu to set up a presidential panel of enquiry to promptly probe the grim allegations that US$2.1 billion and N3.1 trillion public funds of oil revenues budgeted as fuel subsidy payments are missing and unaccounted for between 2016 and 2019, as documented by the Auditor-General of the Federation. SERAP urged Tinubu to name and shame anyone suspected to be responsible for the alleged widespread and systemic corruption in the use of oil revenues and the management of public funds budgeted as fuel subsidy, and to ensure their effective prosecution, as well as the full recovery of any proceeds of crime. The organization also urged him to promptly, thoroughly, independently, transparently and effectively probe all fuel subsidy paid by successive governments since the return of democracy in 1999, and to use any recovered proceeds of crime as palliatives to address the impact of any subsidy removal on poor Nigerians. In the letter dated 3 June 2023 and signed by SERAP deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said the Tinubu government should urgently follow due process of law in any policy to remove fuel subsidy. The letter read in part: Any removal of fuel subsidy should not be used as a ploy to keep the poor in poverty while those who allegedly stole oil revenues and fuel subsidy payments keep their ill-gotten wealth. Allegations of corruption in oil revenues and fuel subsidy payments suggest that the poor have rarely benefited from the use and management of the revenues and payments. Poor and socio-economically vulnerable Nigerians should not be made to continue to pay the price for the stealing of the countrys oil wealth while state and non-state actors pocket public funds. We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within three days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest. The proposed panel should be headed by a retired justice of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal, and its members should include people with proven professional records and of the highest integrity that can act impartially, independently, and transparently. A comprehensive approach that prioritizes accountability and full recovery of missing crude oil and public funds is required to address the problems of the implementation of fuel subsidy since 1999. According to the audited reports between 2016 and 2019 by the Auditor General of the Federation (AGF), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failed to remit N663,896,567,227.58 into the Federation Account. The Auditor-General fears that the money may be missing. The NNPC also reportedly failed to account for the allocation of crude oil to refineries in 2019. 107,239,436.00 barrels of crude oil were lifted as domestic crude without any document. The Auditor-General fears that the crude valued at N55,891,009,960.63 may have been diverted. The NNPC in 2019 also failed to remit N1,955,354,671,268.66 and N55,157,702,848.74 of generated revenues into the Federation Account, contrary to Section 162(1) of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended]. The Auditor-General fears that the money may have been diverted. Chacha Eke Faani, the popular Nollywood actress, has taken to social media to share her experience of a terrifying manic episode she went through a year ago. The talented actress, who recently celebrated her 10th wedding anniversary with her filmmaker husband Austin Faani, opened up about her mental health struggles in an Instagram post on Friday, June 2. She revealed that around this time last year, she had her most terrifying episode, waking up at 3 am and feeling unsafe at home. Chacha Eke disclosed that during the manic episode, which she said lasted for months, she obtained a fake ID card in a desperate attempt to run away from home. In her account, Chacha Eke disclosed that she ran to a motor park in Asaba at 3 am and subsequently traveled to Lagos. She wandered the streets, hotels, and beaches of Lagos for days. Eventually, she used the fake ID to travel to Ghana by boat. Fortunately, Chacha Eke was able to regain her memory with the help of a staff member named Esther at First Bank Plc in Ghana. Esther recognized her and assisted her in remembering her true identity and home. Read her full story below, READ THIS Slide 1 photo was me by this time last year-1st June 2022. I was in the middle of a manic episode that lingered for months. One day, I woke at 3am feeling unsafe and ran vigorously to a nearby motor park. I travelled to Lagos from Asaba like a fugitive. Loitered the streets/hotels and beaches in Lagos for days. It was a rough blend of schizophrenia, depression, identity crisis and bipolar disorders. Using this made-up Identity card of me from one of my imaginary companies; I headed for Ghana by boat. Clad in black jalabia, I kept moving. I passed border after border; terrified & unrecognized. In that moment, I was a Drifter. It was at First bank in Ghana through a lovely bank staff named Esther that somehow, I remembered me. I remembered home. Esther was an Angel the universe used to open my eyes to the reality I disconnected from. I began to make my way back home. It took days but I returned, albeit sickly & in denial. One year later, Im thankful to have survived one of my craziest episodes ever recorded. Dear reader, the Global Mental Health Statistics Overview says that 1 in 4 people will be affected by a mental illness at some point in their lives. 14.3% of deaths worldwide, or approximately 8 million deaths each year, are attributed to mental illness. Please join my amiable team and I MENTICULOUS PEOPLE FOUNDATION and a host of many therapists and psychologists on Saturday 10th June, 2023 at Mandela Park, Asaba, Delta state for our second mental health outreach and seminar titled A WHOLE MEAn expository/interactive session. Entry is free. Time 12pm. Please Tell your strangely behaved child, sibling, parent, neighbor, colleague or spouse about this event. It promises to be eye-opening and liberating. Slide 2 photo is me 1year after the slip. I look Good. I feel Great Slide 3 is your e-invite to our outreach. Please plan to attend President Bola Tinubu has appointed former EFCC Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, as his National Security Adviser. according to report by Whistler NG, barring any last-minute change of plan, President Bola Tinubu will any moment from today announce his appointment of former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, as National Security Adviser (NSA). it revealed that sources close to the presidency revealed that Ribadu was picked ahead of two other candidates that were being considered for the top security job. READ ALSO: Reactions as Tinubu is spotted with Nuhu Ribadu in Mecca As part of his efforts to fulfill his promise of delivering a bold, no-nonsense crime prevention reform to safeguard Nigerians, President Tinubu evaluated the three candidates for the NSA position before finally settling for Ribadu who is widely regarded as one of Nigerias experienced individuals in the field of security and law enforcement. The two other candidates that were also considered are former Minister of Interior and ex-Chief of Army Staff, retired General Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau; and the current Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai Abubakar. Ribadu hails from Adamawa State and contested in the APC governorship primaries that produced Senator Binani . The NSA serves as the principal adviser to the President on security matters, responsible for coordinating various security agencies, providing intelligence assessments, and formulating policies to address the nations security challenges. By Izunna Okafor, Awka Yet-to-be-identified gunmen have abducted a student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State. The student, who was abducted over the weekend, was said to be returning home from school before the gunmen ambushed and whisked him away to an unknown destination. It was also gathered that the victim is a clergyman working with the Catholic Diocese of Nnewi. Announcing the victims abduction in a press statement obtained by this reporter, the Chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Nnewi, Rev. Fr. Raphael Ezeogu identified the abducted priest as Rev. Fr. Stanislaus Mbamara. He further called for insistent prayers to ensure the safety and immediate release of the abducted clergy. Our priest, Rev. Fr. Stanislaus Mbamara, a student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, was kidnapped yesterday (Friday) evening, on his way from Awka to Nnewi. Lets storm heaven with humble and insistent prayers for his quick release in sound health of mind and body. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Help of Christians, pray with and for us, he said. Efforts to receive the reaction of the Police Public Relations in Anambra State, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu, proved abortive, as his phone number was not connecting, while he was also yet to respond to messages of enquiries sent to him concerning the incident. It would be recalled that another UNIZIK student, Sylvester Mercy Chinomso (Mesi Sylvia) of the of Parasitology and Entomology Department, was sometime abducted in 2019 by Unknown Gunmen, who kidnapped her alongside her sister. Related Not less than 76.9 kilograms of Canadian loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, from four used vehicles in a container marked MSDU6686346 from Canada, have been intercepted at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency. The illicit drugs were seized between Thursday, June 1 and Friday, June 2, during a joint inspection of the shipment with men of the Nigeria Customs Service. This followed the request for 100 per cent examination of the shipment as a result of earlier intelligence received by the agency on the container, the spokesperson for the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi said. He also noted that operatives stormed the Iwe forest in the Iwe community, Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State, where they located a large warehouse of skunk, used to store 231 jumbo bags of the psychotropic substance weighing 3,003 kilograms, which was set ablaze. He added, The operation involving hundreds of well-armed NDLEA operatives in the early hours of Tuesday, May 30, followed intelligence that a wanted drug kingpin had stored tons of the illicit substance in the forest ready for distribution to other parts of the country. In Kano state, two suspects Maaruf Rabiu and Abubakar Mustapha were arrested on Tuesday, May 30 along Zaria-Kano road with 260 blocks of cannabis weighing 139.4kg, while Auwal Ibrahim was nabbed with 38kg of the same substance the following day, along KadunaAbuja road, same day 35-year-old female suspect, Bilkisu Isiya, was arrested at Birnin Yero, Kaduna in possession of 5.6kg cannabis. In Borno state, two suspects Abubakar Usman (aka Alhaji Mai Kero) and Adamu Yusuf, were arrested at Bargu village, Shani LGA, on Saturday, June 3, with 165 blocks of skunk weighing 140.7kg. Their arrest was effected with military support, deep inside a fluid insurgents environment. Also, a female suspect, Hauwa Ibrahim, 25, was also nabbed in the same village with 6.4kg of the psychoactive substance, while another suspect Alhaji Abubakar, 27, was arrested at Njimtilo checkpoint with 4,200 ampoules of pentazocine injection and different quantities of D5 and excel-5 tablets. A 30-year-old suspect, Iroko Wasiu was arrested at a drug joint at Sabo Aba-Owolowo along Oyo-Ogbomoso expressway on Tuesday, May 39, and 31.2kg of cannabis was recovered from him, while two suspects Deji Adelabu, 35, and Mutiu Salau, 37, were nabbed the following day in the Sabo area along Oyo-Ogbomoso road and Awuro Dada area in Orire local government area of Oyo state with a total of 8kg cannabis recovered from them, Babafemi added. MANILA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) enters into force for the Philippines on Friday, officially allowing the Southeast Asian country to participate in the world's biggest free trade agreement. Alfredo Pascual, Philippine secretary of Trade and Industry, said the Southeast Asian country will encourage the business sector to fully tap into the potentials of the RCEP. Matthew Manotoc, governor of the Philippine province of Ilocos Norte, just made a week-long trip to China in May. He said he looks forward to more investments in his province from China. The RCEP agreement, signed by 15 Asia-Pacific countries, entered into force on the first day of 2022. The Philippines was the last country to ratify the deal, which eases market access to countries including ASEAN members, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Music star, Davidos aide, Isreal Afeare, popularly known as Isreal DMW, has responded to critics who were trolling him over his wifes age, revealing that he met her as a virgin when she was 21. Isreal had earlier penned down a birthday wish on his Instagram handle to celebrate his wife, Sheila Courage, who turned 22 on Sunday. After his announcement, critics trolled him for lying about his wifes age, as they claimed that she looked older than 22. Responding to their criticism, Isreal wrote on his Instagram story, My dearest wife. Meeting you as a full virgin at 21 makes me the happiest man forever. It is never common in Benin and Nigeria. Never at all. Thanks so much. Recall that the couple tied the knot in October 2022, with Davido and other celebrities in attendance. Meanwhile, Kanyi Daily reported that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has said its operatives have destroyed three tons of skunk in the Edo forest, seized 76.9kg loud from Canada, and recovered 390kg of illicit drugs in Kano, Kaduna, Borno, and Oyo raids. Related Spread the love Last week I listened to or read the speech of at least a dozen newly elected governors, and I must confess they were full of hazard warning signs ahead. Citizens have only one option brace up before going on a roller coaster ride at the sub-national level worse than they experienced in the last eight years. I estimate that about 80% of the inauguration speeches of the dozen newly elected state governors I listened to were uninspiring, and none captured the changing demographics of the states, how to harness new technologies, potential impacts of new federal legislation, prevailing and persistent challenges faced by the people, innovativeness and original thinking that should define the road ahead for sub-national governments at this time. Apart from a few that dealt with anything meaningful, most new governors spent half of the time praising their predecessors, who at best had disgraceful legacies , with a commitment to continue the same purposeless and rudderless path. Worse still, they did not bother addressing some of the states most pressing challenges. I will list a few common to most states high debt profile, too many unviable and uncompleted projects, low internally generated revenue, poorly equipped and demotivated civil service, humongous outstanding salary commitments, challenging security situation and the dearth of social services. The commitment of loyalty expressed to their predecessors and not the state is a new development peculiar to our democracy. It may be traced to the absolute power conferred on them by the 1999 constitution, and as far back as 2004, the Financial Times of London identified the overbearing influence of Governors as the root of poor governance at the subnational levels. Governors, who are chief executives at the subnational level, act as emperors. They quickly appropriate the state legislature, and the judiciary is often at their mercy. In practice, they have made the legislative arm an extension of various state government houses. These subnational strongmen rule without checks and balances, no transparency , and no accountability, as they are above the law and enjoy endless immunity. The democratic checks and balances in our constitution are stronger at the federal than the state level . This lax has allowed governors to operate like lawless brigands. A typical pattern in 2023 is that of the 18 newly elected Governors, as many as 11 or 12 of them were selected and sponsored by outgoing governors. Selecting, not electing, and sponsoring preferred candidates to become governors may not be the worst offence against the people, but the quality of governors and governance keep depreciating. Institutions of democracy are also weakened or captured, and accountability to the people disappears in favour of accountability to the new godfathers former governors. The phenomenon of state capture by outgone and former governors is present and real and constitutes a danger to the development and aspiration of the people. The new godfathers will definitely become virtual remote-control emperors of the state. The challenge before us now, with new godfathers in town and new governors who owe them loyalty plus an assembly of handpicked Oh- yes-men, is how do we hold our new governors accountable? How do we ensure budgets are made for the people, not the new godfathers? How do we guarantee that citizens enjoy services rather than state governments serving outgone governors and new godfathers? This is a new phase in our nascent democratic journey, and it is a challenge worth giving attention to if you go by fiscal development in our various states. A report by the Guardian newspaper of 17 April 2023 shows that of the 18 governors that have completed their constitutionally allowed two tenures plus Bello Matawalle of Zamfara, who could not secure re- election, will pass on a whopping over N3.2 trillion debt to the new state handlers. Overall, the affected 18 sub-national entities debts rose 232 per cent, from N947.4 billion outstanding in December 2014 a few months before the outgoing state chiefs took the reins. The amount owed to local and foreign institutions and individuals has ballooned by N2.16 trillion to hit N3.1 trillion at the close of last year. This is a bobby trap number one for the incoming governors. Aside from this debt exposure, most of which we cannot account for their applications, are outstanding salaries, pension and gratuity issues running into few trillions at the subnational level. It is a no-brainer that the road ahead for the new state governors in Nigeria is filled with challenges and opportunities. The many difficulties will require a strategic and focused governor to tackle and overcome these challenges. Unfortunately , very few governors seem prepared with knowledge about their states let alone strategies for developing them as revenue generating and social service centers. It is no time to make excuses about these challenges because the governors knew about them before vying for the office of the governor, and most campaigned on these challenges and have fanciful solutions for them in their campaign communications and manifestos. It is time to walk the talk. These challenges are not insurmountable, but they require these governors to think deeply, out of the box, be creative and be innovative to solve them. It requires a total commitment to serve the people and not tolerate much interference from any overbearing former governor or godfathers. Accountability to the people and developing people-centric policies and programmes must be the guiding principles of the new governors. Time is transient and waits for no man. Four years may seem a long time, but they should ask their predecessors how their time flew past those eight years of tenure blew past as if it started yesterday. They must learn from that. The time to plan, execute and evaluate is now, not tomorrow. The governors should adopt bespoke approaches to solving the states problems and bringing about developments that will positively touch citizens lives. This is not a time to witch hunt or fight ephemeral battles that will only force governors to lose focus on more important things. I will articulate some key areas that state governors should focus on to drive development and improve governance. Most Nigerians know these must be done to improve the state; however, the problem is in the desire and ability of the governors to implement these ideas. Economic diversification is crucial for each state. Many Nigerian states heavily rely on money from the federal government based on oil revenues, making them vulnerable to fluctuations in global oil prices. State governments should prioritize economic diversification by promoting sectors such as agriculture, solid minerals, manufacturing, tourism, and technology. This will help create jobs, boost revenue generation, and reduce dependence on oil. State governments must explore innovative ways to generate revenue and reduce dependence on federal allocations. This can be achieved through tax reforms, improving revenue collection systems, exploring public-private partnerships, and attracting private investments. Additionally, state governments should adopt fiscal discipline by prudently managing resources, reducing wasteful spending, and implementing adequate budgetary controls. Infrastructure development lays the foundation for a better quality of living for citizens. Improving infrastructure is crucial for economic growth and social development. State governments should invest in constructing and maintaining roads, bridges, airports (seaports and railways in collaboration with FG), power plants, and telecommunications networks. This will enhance connectivity, attract investors, and facilitate trade and commerce. However, there is no need to embark on white-elephant projects that will have little or no benefit for the state. State governments must complete already started projects by the former governments and build on what is on the ground rather than abandoning old projects to start new projects. We should stop the public eyesores abandoned projects have become in many states. Advertisement Improving Education and Healthcare lays the foundation needed for development. Investing in education and healthcare is essential for human capital development. State governments should prioritize improving the quality of education by upgrading school facilities, training teachers, and promoting vocational and technical skills. Similarly, healthcare systems need to be strengthened by building more hospitals, improving access to quality healthcare services, and investing in healthcare professionals. Agriculture is a crucial sector in Nigeria, and state governments should prioritize agricultural development to ensure food security and reduce dependence on food imports. They can support farmers by providing access to credit, modern farming techniques, improved seeds, and irrigation facilities. Additionally, state governments should invest in agro-processing industries to add value to agricultural products and create employment opportunities. Transparency, accountability, and the fight against corruption are critical for effective governance. Unfortunately , states constitutes the weakest link in this respect . State governments should promote good governance practices, establish anti-corruption agencies, implement public financial management reforms, and encourage citizen participation in decision-making. This will help build trust, enhance service delivery, and attract investments. Ensuring the safety and security of citizens is paramount for socio- economic development. State governments should work closely with federal security agencies to combat criminal activities. They should invest in equipping and training security personnel, strengthening intelligence gathering, and promoting community policing. Collaboration and synergy among neighbouring states can lead to shared development and enhanced regional competitiveness. State governments should explore opportunities for collaboration and cooperation in areas such as transportation, infrastructure development, security, and economic integration. This can be achieved through regional development commissions, joint projects, and policy harmonization. Embracing technology and promoting innovation can drive development and improve service delivery. State governments should invest in digital infrastructure, promote e-governance, and encourage technology startups and entrepreneurship. This will enhance efficiency, transparency, and citizen engagement. Overall, the road ahead for state governments in Nigeria requires strong leadership, effective governance, and a commitment to inclusive and sustainable development. By addressing these key areas, state governments can contribute significantly to the overall progress and prosperity of the country. Governors must roll their sleeves and deliver service . The collation officer for the presidential election in Rivers State, Enefiok Essien, on Thursday announced the deletion of results from Emohua Local Government Area where President Muhammadu Buhari was earlier announced to have won 72,000 votes. The deletion, announced after the presentation of final results at the collation centre in Port Harcourt Tuesday evening, was a shift from Mr Essiens verdict given on Monday night. The results had become controversial after the Electoral Officer (EO), Kenneth Ita, rejected them and queried how the Collation Officer (CO), Pang Enubari, sourced them. The former said no collation took place. Both officials later reconciled the second time they were called, with the EO requesting the CO be allowed to make his presentation. Mr Ita, however, said he had sent his report. In his presentation, the CO said the APC scored 72,745 votes and the PDP 7,148. But party agents led by PDPs Austin Okpara pressured the state collation officer, Mr Essien, to request the forms containing the breakdown of results from wards submitted by ward returning officers. When they appeared a third time, the CO brought the forms requested and the EO affirmed: this is INEC form. Even so, the party agents disagreed insisting that the EO had earlier said no collation took place. But in his verdict, before the collation closed on Monday night, Mr Essien said the results would be recorded officially, while the controversy would be escalated to the national collation centre in Abuja. We cant create a separate table for that. Ill raise it with the INEC chairman. But the way the template is, we cant have a separate place to say this one is special. So, it (Emohua) will be there, he said on Monday night. However, after announcing the final collated results Tuesday evening, Mr Essien announced a new decision. He said he had received reports from the ward returning officers that they did not collate any results from any polling unit in Emohua. Since they (ward returning officers) said they did not collate any results, the results from Emohua will not be accepted, he declared. The agent of the APC, Samson Ngerebara, challenged Mr Essiens decision to reverse himself but nothing came of his effort. If you want to make yourself the tribunal, sit now and start to Investigate all the results, said Mr Ngerebara. I have the recording of all you said last night. You mutilated results against our President Muhammadu Buhari, another one said. Mr Essien was escorted out of the collation centre by armed security agents as APC agents moved to stop his exit, bringing the exercise to a chaotic end. Journalist and observers ran out of the centre through the windows and the venue was then evacuated. In the final outcome, PDP won Rivers State with 473,971 votes against APCs 150,710 votes. The Director-General of the APC presidential campaign, Rotimi Amaechi, is a former governor of the state. Apart from Emohua, there were also no collated results from Okrika, Ahoada West, Bonny, Akuku Toru, and Ikwerre, Mr Amaechis LGA. Thus, only results from 17 LGAs of the 23 LGAs that constitute Rivers State were collated as widespread violence marred polls in the state. In the 2015 presidential election, APC polled an insignificant 69,238 against PDPs 1.4 million. Mike and wife, Perri BBNaija housemate, Mikes British wife, Perri Shakes-Drayton, has thanked all the people that supported her husband. She landed in Nigeria few days ago and campaigned for votes for her husband. She has now thanked all the people that voted for Mike. She also met with some Team Mike members that supported her tall and handsome husband. Sharing shirtless photo of her husband, Mike, she said: Good Morning all on behalf of Mike. Just wanted to say a huge thank you to all who have supported at some point for Mike while in the big brother house. You have shown so much love and admiration and most definitely the definition of die hard fans. You all got Mike to this point, one that he is so grateful for and he didnt expect. Results will be revealed (today) Sunday. Weve all done the best we can do and regardless of the result THANK YOU again our cruise president got to the 99th day and gained more family than we could of ever of imagined. In another post, she shared photos and video with Team Mike and wrote: Ever wondered who are the #Mikings and ##Miqueens look no further. Here are some of them, there are plenty more and team Mike appreciate each and every one of them. Wish I could tag them all #teammike. Mike got married, packed up his bags and headed back to Nigeria to get into the Big Brother competition. His wife perri, was willing to give up all the good experience that comes with been a newly wedded bride just to make sure her husband achieves all his goals. Time and time again we have all heard Mike speak on how he wants to be able to provide for his wife and make her proud because she has had his back and stood by him for the past 4 years. She believes in his dreams, goals and hustle so he wouldnt want to let her down. Mike said that it is thanks to her,he has become the Man that he is today When it comes to the matters of the heart, unusual things happen. Like the usual saying, age is just a number, what matters the most is love, and these Nigerian celebrities found love in ageless places while not bothering their pretty heads about the wide age gap. Below are 9 Nigerian celebrity couples who chose to love each other for who they are, not minding the age differences between them. 1.) Regina Daniels and Ned Nwoko On Sunday, May 26, 2019, Prince Ned Nwoko and Regina Daniels had their traditional wedding in Aniocha local government area, Delta State. 20-year-old Regina has been widely criticized by fans and Nigerians on her marriage to the 59-year-old billionaire, but that hasnt stopped her from publicising their official portraits as husband and wife on social media while professing her undying love for him. 2.) Lola And Peter Okoye Peter Okoye aka Mr P and Lola Omotayo are an amazing couple despite the age difference. Peters wife, Lola is said to be 6 years older than him. Peter and his twin brother Paul were born on the 18th of November 1981. The duo dated for seven years before finally getting engaged and eventually settling down in marriage. Peter and Lola tied the knot in 2013 and it was certainly one for the books of celebrity weddings in Nigeria. 3.) Deola And Darey Art Alade R&B star and his serial entrepreneur wife, Darey and Deola Art Alade got married in February 2007 and are blessed with two lovely children. They have been married for about 12 years now. Darey is eight years younger than his wife, Deola. 4.) Omotola and Captain Ekeinde Nollywood star actress Omotola Ekeinde and her beau, Capt. Matthew Ekeinde is one happy couple thats known to radiate positive vibes. As an 18-year-old lady, Omotola said yes to her husband on the 23rd of March 1996. They have been married for 23 years now and blessed with 4 children despite the 10-year age difference between them. 5.) Kaffy And Joseph Ameh Celebrity dancer, Kafayat Oluwatoyin Shafau and live band drummer, Joseph Adakole Ameh got married in Lagos on June 2, 2012. They are blessed with two lovely children, Eliana Ameh, their daughter and Sean Ameh, their son. Kaffy is eight years older than Pappy J as he is popularly called. 6.) Joke Silva and Olu Jacobs Internationally-acclaimed Nigerian actor and film executive, Olu Jacobs is married to veteran actress Joke Silva. This Nollywoods power couple has been married since 1989 when Olu Jacobs was 39 years and Joke Silva was 20 years old. The couple met in 1981 at the National Theatre, Lagos, during the 21st Independence anniversary. They are proud parents and grandparents. 7.) Sade and Rasaq Okoya 42-year-old Sade Okoya is married to 79-year-old Nigerian industrialist and owner of Eleganza group of companies, Chief Rasaq Akanni Okoya. The couple has been married for over 20 years and they have four beautiful children together. 8.) Susan Hart and Sunny Kuku Ex-beauty queen and winner of the 1994 edition of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria beauty pageant, Susan Hart got married to Doctor Olorogun Sunny Kuku, the renowned medical director who co-owned the popular Eko Hospital, many years back. Susan who believes that age is not a barrier in their marriage said her husbands humility and humbleness makes them best friends. They have been married for a couple of years now and are still enjoying it like yesterday. They have a son together. 9.) Faith Ikuku and Micheal Ikuku 31-year-old Chief Mrs Faith Ikuku is the wife of 63-year-old billionaire businessman, Chief Michael Ikuku. *** Source: PM News The minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige has asked unemployed Nigerian graduates not to rely on the government for jobs, saying there are more sustainable lucrative ventures outside their focus. Ngige stated this during a townhall meeting on popularisation of blue/green collar jobs among graduates of tertiary institutions in Benin, Edo State, on Monday, February 10, 2020. The minister, who was represented by Martina Nwordu, director of special duties and projects department in the ministry, advised the youth to invest their time in creative jobs, noting that the richest youth in the world are not working for the government. The minister urged Nigerian youths to invest their talent in other job sectors, as the richest youth of the world, aged between 21 and 31 years, are not employees of government but smart entrepreneurs who distinguished themselves in creative skills in various areas, Nwordu said. The minister disclosed that the purpose of the meeting, which held concurrently in four other geo-political zones of the federation, was to sensitise representatives of key stakeholders in graduate employment on the benefits of blue/green-collar jobs as an alternative response to the challenges of graduate unemployment. While urging the unemployed graduates, parents, career counsellors, students of tertiary institutions to embrace the profitable opportunities offered by jobs outside government offices, Ngige said such opportunities had the capacity to give high income, self-dignity and esteemed self-worth. He asked stakeholders to cooperate with the government on the programme as it would also contribute to achieving the presidents promise to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in ten years. This is coming two months after the Senate asked the Federal Government to pay stipends to unemployed Nigerians until such persons secure employment. The upper chamber said the inability of the government to provide employment for the large numbers of graduates is a time bomb waiting to explode. President Muhammadu Buhari has applauded the generous donations of affluent Nigerians such as Aliko Dangote, Atiku Abubakar, Abdusalmad Rabiu, among others in the fight against Coronavirus in Nigeria. In a series of tweets on Friday, Buhari also expressed appreciation for the generous financial support of opulent men such as Femi Otedola, Tony Elumelu, Herbert Wigwe, Segun Agbaje and Jim Ovia in the battle against the scourge. The president commended these opulent Nigerians for being in the vanguard of encouraging others in the private sector to do same. He wrote: President Buhari has saluted the public-spiritedness of wealthy Nigerians and organizations for standing up to be counted in the battle against the #Covid19 pandemic. The President also commended members of the Nigerian Private Sector Coalition, comprising of people like Aliko Dangote, Abdulsamad Rabiu of BUA Group, Femi Otedola, TonyOElumelu, Herbert OWigwe, Segun Agbaje, Jim Ovia of UBA, Access Banks, Guarantee Trust Bank and Zenith Banks, respectively for contributing N1 billion each, and being in the vanguard of encouraging others in the private sector to do same. UBA Group has equally donated the sum of N5 billion to Nigeria and Africa, former Vice President Atiku has pledged N50 million, while @FirstBankngr is partnering with government, the UN, and innovative technological firms to provide e-learning solutions to at least one million children under its Keep Them Engaged, Keep Them Safe initiative. The President extols every other helping hand that has been lent by individuals, groups and organizations, which may not necessarily be in the public domain, noting that God who sees all things will abundantly recompense. President Buhari recommends these laudable strides to other high net-worth Nigerians and organizations, stressing that hand in hand, the country will overcome the challenges brought by the pandemic, and chart a new course in nationalism and brotherhood, the tweets read. KanyiDaily had reported how Aliko Dangote donated 200 million naira and Tony Elumelu pledged 14 million dollars to help curb the coronavirus pandemic. The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) is currently delivering judgment on the petition by the Hope Democratic Party (HDP), challenging the outcome of the last presidential election. Although the court had, in three rulings earlier on Thursday, dismissed/struck out the petition, having upheld the preliminary objections by the respondents, said it was required by the Constitution, to still proceed and determine the petition on the merit. The rulings earlier delivered ought to have ended this petition, but the amendment to the Constitution required that the court, being a court of first instance, must determine the petition on the merit, the courts Presiding Judge, Justice Mohammed Garba said. He is currently reading the lead judgment. The court had, while dismissing/striking out the petition in the earlier rulings, held that not only did it (the court) lacked jurisdiction to hear the petition, because it talked about referendum, the prayers in the petition are similar to what the petitioners sought in their pending cases before the Federal High Court on the same issues. HDP and its presidential candidate, Andrew Owuru are contending that they be declared winners on the grounds that they won a referendum purportedly conducted on February 16, 2019, earlier scheduled for the presidential election, which INEC shifted to February 23, 2019. Details shotly. BLOOMINGTON Angie Davis brought her bright-yellow 1952 Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite to the Champagne British Car Festival on Sunday in Bloomington. What she loves most about it is his smile, she said. The big bug-eyed headlamps keep it "grinning" all the time. Hes a happy car, said Davis, of Bloomington. She said she and her husband Brian Davis bought it locally six years ago after she retired. Theyve been showing it since 2018. Davis also mulled over whether the car is her accessory, or if shes actually the cars accessory. She said they get great feedback at shows, and she loves the whole British car community. Her vehicle was one of over 140 that were parked in sunny weather for the show's 32nd year on the lawn of the David Davis Mansion in Bloomington. Nearby the Bugeye Sprite was a 1933 Morgan Motors Co. three-wheeler, which snared both of Garys Stearns eyes. Stearns, 61, said Sunday was one of the best turnouts he and his dad have seen at the show. With the clear weather, the Bloomington man said the day was all-around perfect. By just after noon, Jim Broach, show organizer and treasurer of the Illinois Flat Land British Car Club, said over 650 had attended. That meant a minimum of $3,200 in proceeds would be sent to the David Davis Mansion, as Broach noted it's one of the mansion's biggest fundraisers of the year. Since 2023 marks 100 years of MG Motors, he said they had a featured marquee for each year. Broach said his first car was a 1960s MGA; he now drives a 1976 MGB. As theyre small and nimble open convertibles, Broach said the MG brand are fun cars to drive. You get some wind in your hair, he said. The oldest car that rolled out that morning was a 1930 MG Six 18/80 MK2. Owner Simon Griffin said he drove it up Route 66 from Edwardsville, adding that his MG is the only one of its kind the continent, out of 27 that still exist around the world. He said his antique vehicle completed a world-round trip with its second owner. Griffin presented a photo book depicting the car trekking from the Ford Factory in Michigan to South Africa. Its also been to Asia, but Griffin said it didnt get off the boat. It was first owned by the MG Factory as a demonstration model, he said, and was tested and reviewed in 1930 by Motor Magazine journalist Humfrey Symons in a 2,000 mile trip. Griffin said Symons won a gold medal driving it for the London to Lands End Trial in April 1930. The second owner, Drummond de Villiers, was reunited with the car in 1999 just three months before he died, Griffin said. Griffin, 61, said Sunday was his first time showing the car since he acquired it in January. In previous years in Bloomington, he said hes shown his Austin Healeys. His MG, however, creates a tremendous stir at shows, because most people have never seen one, he said. Griffin said he didnt know they existed until he discovered one on a website for an early MG society in England. Other British brands present were Bentleys, Aston Martins, Jaguars, Land Rovers, Triumphs and Mini Coopers. The latter brand was earlier known also a Morris Mini Minor. Kenneth Suhre, of Alhamdra, brought his 1961 model out to the show. Its a small car, but it packs a big punch. Suhre said it has a 1275 cc straight inline four-cylinder engine; floor the pedal, and the force will suck you back into the seat. He knows well how that feels. Suhre, 85, said he used to drive in vintage car races until he turned 80. Placing first wasnt the primary goal of those events, he said. Instead, it was just about having fun and driving these cars as fast as you want to go, he said. Suhre has made good friends in the racing community. He said if someone needs a part, they help each other out. Theyre like best friends, he said. Photos: Classic Cars & Candy Bars Cruise PONTIAC Art Leach may be 103 years old, but he clearly remembers the details of his service in the Pacific during World War II. Some of the memories are sharp because he talks about them often with students and tourists at the Livingston County War Museum. His memories have also been reinforced by visiting places where he saw battle as a Navy pilot in the Pacific theater of the war. My squadron met in different places on odd years (after the war), he says. But in recent years, the only other living veteran from his squadron, at age 99, was no longer able to travel. Leach continues to attend events related to telling the stories of those who served in World War II. Among the most memorable was the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 2021. Leach was one of 63 veterans attending. Called to serve When the Japanese bombed the Hawaiian naval base in 1941, Leach was a college student. As the war progressed, he was intent on graduating. In my senior semester in college, I got a call to come in for a physical, he said. I would graduate in June. It was February. He passed the physical and was told he could be gone in two weeks. I slammed the door. It broke the glass, he said. His anger was short-lived when he was allowed to return to Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington to complete his business degree in 1942 before enlisting and starting his service. I finished on June 8, and on June 10, I was in uniform, he said at the Livingston County War Museum, standing next to his likeness wearing a uniform with the medals he earned during the war. Leach remained in the service for 14 years, leaving as a senior lieutenant in 1956. He was due to become a lieutenant commander but chose that timing to get back to civilian life in Illinois. I had 14 years of flying altogether, he says. He still likes to go to fly-ins as a passenger now. Unlike Leach, some of his friends who are veterans had no say in determining the start date of their service. Among them is David Estes, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam and the son of Dal Estes, the museums founder. Estes clearly remembers sitting with his parents watching a two-hour-long television program that would determine the draft on Dec. 1, 1969, he tells students who visit the museum. One at a time, 366 capsules were pulled from a large bowl. Each had a birth date. Those who had the earliest called birth dates were to report to service immediately. I didnt want to go to war, says Estes, who sat with his parents watching, relieved as they hit 70 without calling his birth date. But at 71, his number was drawn. Estes reported for duty and served in the 25th Infantry Division and the 101st Airborne Division. Leach knew he would rather be in the sky than on the ground in World War II, so he enlisted to become a Navy pilot, earning his wings in 1943. He was assigned to the aircraft carrier Yorktown in the South Pacific. Our first engagement was in the Philippines. We covered invasions of Okinawa and Iwo Jima, he said. His squadron also engaged in Formosa (now Taiwan), Hong Kong, China and French Indo- China (now Vietnam) before their role in Japan. We were scheduled to hit Tokyo. They canceled our flights. Thats when they dropped the bombs, Leach says of the summer of 1945. The United States detonated atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and Nagasaki on Aug. 9. When asked if he realized he was part of world-changing history, Leach says, I dont think we realized it quite the same way as today. Leach earned two Air Medals and a Distinguished Flying Cross. Out of 105 pilots in his squadron, 31 pilots were lost due to anti-aircraft gunnery or accidents. Ninety-one Japanese aircraft were shot down. His squadron didnt lose a single pilot in aerial combat with Japanese planes, Estes says of Leachs service. Sharing the story Leach became a successful banker in the Grundy County city of Morris after his service. He raised five girls with his second wife, and is proud of his grandchildren, including two who are champion cyclists. He says he always felt it was important to talk about the war. I tell it like I remember it, he says. He especially likes meeting students from around the world through Zoom and Skype video conversations. He is one of eight veterans and historians who volunteer for the Zoom calls, arranged by the museum in Pontiac. Weve talked to students in London and Rio de Janeiro on the same day, Leach says. He describes himself as on call at the museum. Almost every week, you will find him at the Estes-Murphy Education Center at the museum talking to visitors, showing them his uniform, and explaining his medals. Many are curious and want to know what happened. Thats why Leach, who just turned 103 on May 1, says he keeps telling his story. TEHRAN, June 4 (Xinhua) -- A huge fire erupted on Sunday evening at a home appliances warehouse in a suburb of the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad, the official news agency IRNA reported. More than 100 firefighters rushed to the scene of the incident to put out the blaze, IRNA quoted Ali Najafi, Mashhad Municipality's deputy for urban services, as saying. According to Majid Farhadi, managing director of Mashhad Fire Department, the fire has been extinguished outside the warehouse, while the blaze has not been put out in the roofed section, which has an area of over 2,000 square meters. He added the incident has so far caused no casualties, but the nearby houses have been completely evacuated. Farhadi said that investigations have been launched to determine the cause of the incident. Montana has made an unprecedented move to become the first U.S. state to ban TikTok. But doubts have been raised over the decisions legal foundation, enforcement mechanisms and underlying motives. While the move draws attention to data security on social media, banning TikTok alone may not provide a comprehensive solution to this problem. For one, the move risks alienating the many young people who have come to rely on the app for meaningful connection, and in some cases their income. It also does little in the way of ensuring better future data privacy and protection for users. Since its meteoric rise in 2020, TikTok has been caught in geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China. These tensions peaked in late 2020 when then-president Donald Trump signed an executive order directing ByteDance -- the Chinese media giant and parent company of TikTok -- to divest from its U.S. operations, or face being banned. In response, TikTok partnered with Oracle on Project Texas: a $1.5 billion initiative to relocate all U.S. user data to servers outside China. Allegations that China-based employees at ByteDance had accessed the TikTok user data led to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appearing before Congress in March amid yet more calls for it to be banned, and reports of the Biden administration pushing for its sale. Throughout these controversies, TikTok has denied sharing user data with the Chinese government, and said it wouldnt do so even if asked. Nonetheless, governments worldwide have banned TikTok on government devices, citing concerns over data protection. Montanas new law will make downloading TikTok within state lines illegal on Jan. 1. The law imposes fines of up to $10,000 per day for entities offering access to or downloads of the app within the state. Users themselves will not incur penalties. The current legislation places responsibility for blocking access on Apple and Google -- the operators of app stores on iOS and Android devices. These companies would be held liable for violations. But they lack the capacity to enforce geofencing at the state level, making it difficult for them to prevent Montana residents from downloading TikTok. As a result, it may ultimately fall on TikTok itself to block usage by Montana residents by collecting geolocation data. But this raises the privacy concerns driving the ban in the first place. For now, the bans enforceability remains to be seen. How will the government of Montana prevent users from using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access TikTok? VPNs encrypt data traffic and allow users to present themselves as being in another location, making it possible for tech-savvy users to bypass bans. Residents also could cross state lines to download the app. Montana may become a testing ground for the "TikTok-free America" that some national lawmakers envision. Apart from TikTok, the ban also targets messaging apps including Chinese-owned WeChat and Russian-founded Telegram -- highlighting growing apprehensions over data security and privacy. But its unclear if such a ban is an effective solution for lawmakers concerns about American users privacy and data security. Even if the ban in Montana is successful, its national impact will be limited. The state has a population of just over 1 million, whereas the U.S. has more than 100 million monthly TikTok users. As such, the ban in Montana will likely affect a few hundred thousand prospective users at best. While TikToks popularity in the U.S. continues to soar, nearly half of all U.S.-based users are the digital-native teens and 20-somethings of Generation Z. TikTok is Gen Zs playground. Young people have protested potential bans by flooding the app with videos mocking lawmakers they see as out of touch with modern technology, further magnifying their disdain for such regulation. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supported young protesters, highlighting the unprecedented nature of banning an app that would stifle free speech while raising questions about digital rights in the U.S. Gen Z users express their political views, entertain themselves and interact with their peers on TikTok. Where other platforms might feel saturated with older generations, TikTok provides an environment where young people can safely lower the barriers to meaningful online participation. And its not just a quirky app for dance videos. TikTok has become a golden goose for millions of content creators who rely on the app as their stage to showcase their talents, build their brands and connect with fans and customers. Many local small businesses also rely on TikTok to reach potential customers. With the app now under threat, the future livelihoods of these creators and small businesses are in jeopardy, too. A successfully implemented TikTok ban may drive users to Silicon Valleys big tech platforms. But the security of user data with these companies, including Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) and Google, cant be assumed to be more secure than TikTok. They also collect significant amounts of user data that can be shared or sold to third-party entities, including those with connections to China. If data security really is the main concern, policymakers should address the problem comprehensively and systematically across social media platforms. Tackling the root cause is essential. Until thats done, snapping off the branches -- TikTok or otherwise -- will do little to keep users data safe. The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has reaffirmed the government's unwavering commitment to restore the countrys economic fortunes within the shortest possible time. Addressing a gathering of industry experts, policymakers, and international partners in Johannesburg, South Africa, Mr Ofori-Atta reassured participants of the government's dedication to revitalising the economy and securing a prosperous future for all Ghanaians. He was speaking at the MTN Group's 2023 Capital Market Day (CMD), a two-day event designed to foster dialogue with players within the financial community. While in Johannesburg, the minister of finance will engage with the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, through a virtual platform. Global crisis impact Mr Ofori-Atta acknowledged the far-reaching impacts of the global economic downturn triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing geo-political tension between Russia and Ukraine. These external factors have adversely affected Ghana's economy, compelling the government to seek support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he said. Measures Nevertheless, Mr Ofori-Atta said the government remained undeterred and was implementing measures to navigate the storm and restore the country economic fortunes. The minister outlined a series of comprehensive measures and strategies, designed to stimulate economic growth, attract investments, and create job opportunities. The finance minister emphasized the government's focus on enhancing key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and infrastructure development, while also stressing the importance of sustainable practices. "We are concentrating on boosting agricultural productivity, promoting local industries, and investing in critical infrastructure projects, Mr Ofori-Atta said. Through those actions, he added, we will establish a conducive environment for businesses to thrive, generate employment opportunities, and drive economic growth." The finance minister further underscored the government's commitment to fiscal discipline and prudent financial management. "We will maintain responsible fiscal policies, improve revenue generation, and prioritise the efficient allocation of resources. These measures will ensure that our economic revival efforts are sustainable in the long run," he said Mr Ofori-Atta highlighted the significance of swift action and emphasised the pivotal role a revitalised economy played in the well-being of the people. "We understand the hardships our citizens are facing, and we empathise with their concerns. That is why we are leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to expedite the recovery process," the finance minister said. Cooperation Touching on public-private cooperation, Mr Ofori-Atta stressed the importance of collaboration among the government, private sector, and citizens in achieving the desired socio-economic outcomes. Mr Ofori-Atta also called upon businesses, investors, and the entire Ghanaian populace to join hands with the government as it embarked on a transformational journey. President During the engagement with the South African leader, the two discussed areas of cooperation towards strengthening existing ties and building a healthy interchange for businesses in Ghana and South Africa. President Ramaphosa congratulated Ghana on obtaining an IMF deal in record time. He expressed confidence that the government and the private sector collaboration would lead to a rapid resolution of the energy challenges currently being experienced in that country. For his part, Mr Ofori-Atta expressed optimism that such economic cooperation would have a meaningful and mutually beneficial impact on citizens of both countries. Source: graphic.com.gh Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Edward Bagyiri, Chief Revenue Officer, Import and Export Unit, Ghana Revenue Authority, Customs Division, has appealed to Ghanaians to report illicit activities in the trading sector to reduce smuggling in the country. We also want to appeal to the public and our trading partners that the task is too huge for customers alone, and if we want to achieve equity in the market, then we must ensure that those who are breaking the rules are brought to book, he stated. Bagyiri was speaking at a Chief Executive Officers (CEO) Breakfast Meeting organized by the Ghana Investment and Promotion Centre and added that there was an informant system that rewarded people who gave out such information on such activities. He said there were some people in the import and export industries who tried to take advantage of the system by smuggling their goods into the country, stressing that the situation had necessitated deploying their preventive officers at strategic locations to curb the menace. The Chief Revenue Officer explained that one of the major challenges Customs faced was compliance with the payment of duties and cautioned that the Authority would not relent in dealing with such people. I always say that if our trading partners decide to be in tax compliance, then we wont have too many problems, or so many problems having to chase people around, but unfortunately that has been the situation. He lamented that the non-compliance nature of people was creating an imbalanced platform for all the players because those people were making abnormal profits by beating the market and selling goods at a cheaper rate. He added that with the advanced information system the division uses, they were able to profile to determine the type of consignment being transported into the country and whether it was illicit or not. 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 " " According to superstition, breaking a mirror also breaks the soul into pieces. Paper Boat Creative/Getty Images After months of searching, you found the perfect apartment and it's finally time to move. But just as you're about to pat yourself on the back, something terrible happens: You trip over a crack in the sidewalk and the large, antique mirror you're carrying slips from your grasp. Before you can even fully understand what's happening, the mirror hits the concrete and cracks into hundreds of pieces. Your first thought? Well, we probably shouldn't repeat it here. Your second? Seven years of bad luck. But why the bad luck? Will breaking a mirror really heap misfortune upon your head? According to superstition, the answer is yes. Although the exact origins of the belief are inexact, potentially centuries-old lore holds fast to the idea that a mirror is a projection of one's appearance and one's soul. Breaking a mirror would mean breaking the soul into pieces. The soul, now severely damaged, isn't able to fully protect its owner from bad luck. Advertisement Or in an alternate explanation, the damaged soul seeks revenge against the one responsible for its injuries. The means of revenge varies, but often includes the loss of a close friend or the death of someone in the household [source: Radford]. The "seven years" part is likely due to ancient Romans believing the body renews itself every seven years [source: Drazin]. The idea that broken mirrors can bring bad luck most likely stems from the ancient Greeks, who believed spirits lived in reflective pools of water. In fact, the fate that awaited Greek mythological figure Narcissus may have grown out of this belief. Narcissus fell in love and it was his undoing; so besotted was he with his own reflection in still waters that he pined for himself (or, by some accounts, the visage of his late twin sister) until he died [source: Encyclopedia Britannica]. Regardless of the way it started, the notion that breaking a mirror brings bad luck is prevalent in cultures around the world, ranging from Greek and Chinese to Indian and American. Whether you subscribe to the superstition or not, breaking a mirror is bad news if only because of the mess it creates. Advertisement Originally Published: Jun 17, 2015 LAKE GEORGE For one week each year, for the past 40 years, the streets of Lake George are overtaken by bikers and motorcycle enthusiasts from all over the globe. Nice place, said Roger Gagnon enthusiastically through a thick French-Canadian accent. With a lot of beautiful motorcycles. This is the first jaunt to Americade for Gagnon and his partner Annie Thibeault, who rode their bikes down from Quebec City, Canada. Gagnon said they have a lot of friends who ride down to Daytona Beach Bike Week in Florida, and his brother has attended the Sturgis Mortorcyle Rally in South Dakota, but this is the first rally he and Thibeault have attended. The two said theyve very much enjoyed their time in the Adirondacks, and hope to return with a group in the future. Maybe, with some friends, yes, he said. Gagnon and Thibeault will have plenty of opportunities to return to Lake George in the future as Americade doesnt show any signs of slowing down after four decades of bike weeks, having missed only one year in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I just think the scenery here is beautiful. Im sure its the Adirondacks, said Gini Dutcher, who founded the bike rally in 1983 with her husband, Bill Dutcher. Lake George is a beautiful destination. Everybody who comes here cant believe how beautiful it is. Dutcher recounted the idea to hold a bike rally in Lake George came after Bill quit his job in public relations with Harley-Davidson. He didnt want to move to Milwaukee, so he quit. We owned a house in Lake George. My parents lived here, so we moved up here, she said. He had gone to a motorcycle rally called, Aspencade, in Ruidoso, New Mexico, and he said, why not do it out here? so thats how we started it. That first year, Dutcher said, went better than anticipated, and has continued to outperform year after year. It was phenomenal. We had 1,764 people registered (the first year) and about 3,000 people showed up, she said. It grew enormously. Every year, it doubled. The reason for the events success, according to Dutcher, is that it fills a need for an underserved group of riders. In the east, people want to ride in the spring, so we gave them a destination, she said. And not just a boon to bikers in the east, Dutcher said a major factor in the success of the rally is the support it gets from the community, which in turn receives a healthy boost in pre-summer season sales during the bike week. We brought new money into the community. Its not just recycled money, she said. The first year we had people thanking us for helping them pay their mortgage, because we did it on the shoulder season Some of the businesses werent even open at that time. Dutcher said theyd hosted Americade events in Estes Park Colorado, and found that different parts of the county tend to attract different types of riders. The riders out there are different. They will put up with dirt roads, gravel roads, she said. I think beyond Chicago, the riders are different. Its about the Wild West, and theyre out there to have a wild, good time, whereas here, we always sort of kept it a family-friendly rally. She said Americade tends to attract street-riders for the most part, although theres plenty of rugged adventure rides to be found in the Adirondacks. The Americade Motorcycle Rally is a celebration of all things moto-centric. From the gear, to the accessories, to the apparel, and of course the bikes, everything revolves around the community and the joy of the ride. I believe its just for all brands, all motorcycle tours, Dutcher said. My husband and I have done it now, half our lives. We have people who have been here every year for 40 years, so its a dedicated group. Its not a flash in the pan. PHOTOS: 40th annual Americade FORT ANN A Queens man is expected to receive 7 years in prison for weapon and drug offenses. Christopher M. Rivers was arrested in August 2021 after Washington County Sheriffs deputies pulled over a vehicle that was driving erratically on Route 149 in Fort Ann. Police searched the vehicle and found heroin, cocaine and a handgun that had been stolen from Vermont. Rivers was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, as well as traffic infractions. He pleaded guilty in Washington County Court on May 19 to felony counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. He is also likely get 3 years of post-release supervision when sentenced on June 15. SALEM A Salem man was sentenced on May 19 to 1 to 3 years in prison for stealing credit cards from a vehicle. Jerry A. Niles was arrested on Aug. 1 by the Washington County Sheriffs Office after police said he stole the cards and personal belongings from the vehicle on July 22. Niles pleaded guilty in Washington County Court to a felony count of fourth-degree grand larceny. He also must pay restitution. QUEENSBURY A Texas man who held up a convenience store in Queensbury in 2018 as part of a cross-country robbery spree was sentenced on Thursday to 7 years in prison. On April 30, 20218, Mark Triolo threatened the clerk at the Speedway store on Aviation Road with a gun and took about $200. He fled to Vermont, where he faced three federal felony counts for convenience store holdups in that state. Triolo was on parole at the time after serving 17 years in prison for similar robberies. Triolo, 51, pleaded guilty in Warren County Court on Thursday to felony first-degree robbery and misdemeanor second-degree menacing. This sentence will run concurrently to the federal sentence he received in 2020 of 75 months in prison for the three Vermont holdups. Triolo also must serve 5 years of post-release supervision and pay restitution. HARARE, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Fresh citrus from Zimbabwe can now be exported to China, the Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe has tweeted. "On June 1st 2023, the General Administration of Customs of China released the list of registered Zimbabwean orchards and packhouses for citrus exporting to China," read part of the tweet Saturday. A total of 11 citrus orchards and six citrus packhouses in Zimbabwe were listed among those that will be involved in citrus exports to China. Zimbabwe, which has a total of 4,000 hectares of land under citrus, has a favorable climate for the production of citrus. Zimbabwe and China in 2022 signed a citrus protocol to give Zimbabwean companies access to export citrus to China, one of Zimbabwe's top export destinations. China ranked as the third largest importer of Zimbabwean goods last year, according to the country's trade promotion agency ZimTrade. Overall trade between the two countries surged 29.2 percent year on year to a record high of 2.43 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. CAPE MAY The East Lynne Theater Company has started raising money to begin renovations at the former AME Church on Franklin Street, with hopes of opening for the 2024 season. The theater company on Monday announced a 25-year lease with the city for the building, which dates to the 1850s. The former church already needed renovation after a fire damaged the interior, steeple and bell tower. The estimated cost is $700,000. The city purchased the former church in 2021, reportedly with the support of members of the congregation of the historically Black church, one of several properties significant to Cape Mays Black history in that neighborhood. The church is close to the former Franklin Street School, once the citys segregated school that is now slated to become the new local branch of the Cape May County Library, and around the corner from the Harriet Tubman Museum on Lafayette Street, which had been in serious disrepair. That building had been the home of the pastor of the Macedonia Baptist Church for decades, set in a block that was a center of abolitionist activity before the Civil War. The theater company plans to renovate the building and use it as a theater. For more than 20 years, the company has performed in the First Presbyterian Church of Cape May. Susan Tischler, president of the theaters board of trustees, told City Council the theater company loves the church but has to take down the sets each week to make way for Sunday services and has to be ready for the church to be used for funerals and weddings. The new site will allow the theater company more freedom in set design and more options in the plays it chooses. Founded in 1980, East Lynne Theater specializes in presenting historic or forgotten American plays. Cape May County briefs: East Lynne takeover of AME church moves toward final approval CAPE MAY A final vote is planned for a deal to put the long-vacant Allen AME church on Fra Another theater company, Cape May Stage, also operates under a long-term lease in a former church owned by the city. The Lafayette Street property was renovated after a fundraising campaign brought in more than $1 million, after signing a 25-year lease in 2004. Mayor Zack Mullock has pointed out in public discussions of the East Lynne plan that some of the citys iconic organizations have long-term agreements for city property, giving nonprofits an affordable place to work while offering programs the city could not afford to present. That includes the Nature Center of Cape May, a New Jersey Audubon location overlooking Cape May Harbor at 1600 Delaware Ave., and Cape May MAC, which restored the Emlen Physick Estate, originally built in 1879. East Lynne has been offered an incredible opportunity to expand our performance space, as well as our audiences, through use of this beautiful building, said Craig Fols, artistic director. However, the real privilege is being trusted with protecting and sustaining the historical significance of this great building and the Black community in Cape May. The church is listed as a national historic landmark, according to the theater company. As part of the agreement with the city, East Lynne obliged to maintain the building and allow public access when theater productions are not scheduled. That could include city-sponsored events, officials said when the contract was discussed this month. We are tremendously thrilled and proud to have been entrusted with preserving this great building, said Fols. We look forward to its reopening and showing residents and tourists just what this structure means to Cape May. After the renovations are complete, the theater hopes to renovate the church organ, and to incorporate it into future productions. East Lynne Theater director takes her final bow The employment history of actress, director and playwright Gayle Stahlhuth has included ever Not everyone supports the plan. As council considered an ordinance approving the long-term lease at a recent meeting, resident Jules Rauch said the agreement differed from other leases in that it requires the city to cover some expenses and contribute to others. I dont believe that obligation should be put on the city, he said. Other residents raised questions about a proposed expansion of the building. Mullock said the proposal would go through the same approval process as other construction projects, and that the theater company would pay for it. City attorney Christopher Gillin-Schwartz said the agreement would allow the building to be restored while providing space for the theater company. When this was presented to me, it wasnt Universal Studies or Paramount Pictures with boatloads of money. This is a local nonprofit that was looking for a home, emphasis on nonprofit, he told council. This year, East Lynne will continue its season at the First Presbyterian Church of Cape May at 500 Hughes St. and work over the winter to open the 2024 season at AME at 717 Franklin St. For more information, visit eastlynnetheater.org. Events Sunday, June 4 ATLANTIC CITY BEER AND MUSIC FESTIVAL: 17th annual Atlantic City Beer & Music Festival presented by Ocean Casino Resort; two days of live music, craft beers, food and activities; Hops Trot 5K on June 4; Bader Field, 545 N. Albany Ave., Atlantic City; $62-$159. acbeerfest.com. HOLY TRINITY GREEK FESTIVAL: noon to 10 p.m.; authentic Greek food, dance performances, live music; Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 7004 Ridge Ave., Egg Harbor Township. 609-653-8092. LE TOUR DE DOWNBEACH FAMILY FRIENDLY BIKE RIDE: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; 2023 Tour de Downbeach Family Friendly Bike Ride, Happy Ride; rain date June 11; 14-mile bicycle tour; meet at Newport Avenue and the Boardwalk, 6500 Atlantic Ave., Ventnor; $25. margatehasmore.com. NORTH TO SHORE JERSEY FESTIVAL: NJ ARTS ANNUAL ART EXHIBITION: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; 2023 New Jersey Arts Annual Art Exhibition; state-wide juried exhibition; Noyes Arts Garage of Stockton University, 2200 Fairmount Ave., Atlantic City. 609-626-3420 or noyesmuseum.org. Monday, June 5 ESL CAREER READINESS LAB: 9:30 a.m. to noon Mondays through July 31; learn how to use the Engen Language Upskilling platform, which provides ESL classes and tutorials with a focus on job interview skills, and the food and beverage industry and hospitality industry; Public Library, 1 N. Tennessee Ave., Atlantic City. 609-345-2269 or acfpl.org. LINE DANCING - WITH SUSAN PENNYPACKER: noon to 12:45 p.m. Mondays; no meetings Sept. 4, Oct. 9; Wildwood Crest Branch, 6300 Atlantic Ave., Wildwood Crest. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org. MEDITATIVE DRUM CIRCLE: 5 to 6 p.m. Mondays; bring your own instrument or borrow one; no meetings Aug. 28, Sept. 4, Oct. 9, Nov. 6, Dec. 25; Cape May Court House Branch, 30 Mechanic St., Middle Township. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org. SCRABBLE NIGHT: 5:45 to 7:45 p.m. first and third Mondays through May; bring your own team or play with others; Public Library, 235 32nd St., Avalon. avalonfreelibrary.org. Wednesday, June 7 ADULT BOARD GAME NIGHT: 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, June 7, 21, July 5, 19, Aug. 2, 16; Egg Harbor Township/Atlantic County Library System, 1 Swift Drive, Egg Harbor Township. 609-927-8664 or atlanticlibrary.org. BORED? GAMES!: 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 31; for ages 10 to adult; games are family-friendly classic board games meant for at least two players; Ventnor City Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 6500 Atlantic Ave., Ventnor; registration required. 609-823-4614 or atlanticlibrary.org. MURDER MYSTERY DINNER - 'THE PLOT THICKENS': 7 to 8:30 p.m.; enjoy a three-course dinner and watch as the mystery and drama unfold; The Chalfonte Hotel, 301 Howard St., Cape May; $75. 609-884-5404 or capemaymac.org. WEDNESDAY FAMILY GAME NIGHT: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 30; for all ages; board games provided; Pleasantville Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 33 Martin Luther King Junior Ave., Pleasantville; registration required. 609-641-1778 or atlanticlibrary.org. Thursday, June 8 CYBER THURSDAYS: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays through Aug. 31; Pleasantville Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 33 Martin Luther King Junior Ave., Pleasantville. 609-641-1778 or atlanticlibrary.org. GAME ON!: 5:30 to 7 p.m. June 8, July 13, Aug. 17; for adults; disconnect from the screen and connect over board games; Brigantine Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 201 15th St. S., Brigantine; registration required. 609-266-0110 or atlanticlibrary.org. PARKMOBILE TUTORIAL: 1 to 2 p.m. June 8, July 6; learn the parking system used in Ventnor; Ventnor City Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 6500 Atlantic Ave., Ventnor. 609-823-4614 or atlanticlibrary.org. SENIOR CRAFT AND ACTIVITIES: 10 a.m. to noon Thursdays through June 29; Pleasantville Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 33 Martin Luther King Junior Ave., Pleasantville. 609-641-1778 or atlanticlibrary.org. For kids Monday, June 5 PRE-K CLUB AND CRAFT: 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. June 5, 12; Galloway Township Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 306 E. Jimmie Leeds Road, Galloway. 609-652-2352 or atlanticlibrary.org. PRESCHOOL STORYTIME - ABSECON: 10 to 11 a.m. Mondays; Absecon branch/Atlantic County Library System, 305 New Jersey Ave., Absecon. 609-646-2228 or atlanticlibrary.org. PRESCHOOL STORYTIME - EGG HARBOR CITY: 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Mondays through Aug. 28; Egg Harbor City Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 134 Philadelphia Ave., Egg Harbor City. 609-804-1063 or atlanticlibrary.org. Tuesday, June 6 MINDFUL STORYTIME WITH MISS BETH: 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesdays through August; storytime for kids; for ages 2 to 5; Brigantine Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 201 15th St. S., Brigantine; registration required. 609-266-0110 or atlanticlibrary.org. WONDERBOOK STORYTIME: 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, June 6, 20, July 18, August 1, 15, 29; for ages 4 to 11; kids will press play to read along with their favorite books and then switch to learning mode for literacy learning; Pleasantville Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 33 Martin Luther King Junior Ave., Pleasantville; registration required. 609-641-1778 or atlanticlibrary.org. Wednesday, June 7 PLAYDATE AT THE LIBRARY: 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 9; for ages 6-36 months; enjoy stories, rhymes and songs designed to develop early literacy skills; Mays Landing Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 40 Farragut Ave., Hamilton; registration required. 609-625-2776 or atlanticlibrary.org. Thursday, June 8 123 READ & SING: 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Thursdays through Aug. 10; for ages 1 1/2 to 5 and their caregivers; Galloway Township Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 306 E. Jimmie Leeds Road, Galloway Township. 609-652-2352 or atlanticlibrary.org. Groups Monday, June 5 AL-ANON FAMILY GROUPS: 11 a.m. Mondays; for those troubled by someone else's drinking; Egg Harbor City Senior Center, 351 Cincinnati Ave., Egg Harbor City. AL-ANON.org. LONGPORT NEEDLERS: 10 a.m. to noon Mondays; bring your needle/crochet craft project and join us for a time of crafting and socializing; Longport Public Library, 2305 Atlantic Ave., Longport. 609-487-7403 or LongportPublicLibrary.org. 'MONEY TALKS' ONLINE DISCUSSION GROUP: 7 to 8 p.m. first Mondays; monthly online discussion group with thought-provoking topics related to money and wellness; virtual event hosted by the Mental Health Association New Jersey. 609-652-3800 or MHANJ.org. Tuesday, June 6 INTERMEDIATE SPANISH CONVERSATION VIRTUAL CLASS: 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays; intermediate-level Spanish Conversation class via Zoom; Atlantic City Free Public Library, 1 N. Tennessee Ave., Atlantic City. 609-345-2269 or ACFPL.org. JERSEY CAPE WRITERS: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. first and third Tuesdays; e-mail Jerseycapewriters01@gmail.com to register; share your writing and ideas in a friendly and supportive environment; Cape May Court House Branch, 30 Mechanic St., Middle Township. 609-463-6350 or Events.CMCLibrary.org. YARNBENDERS CROCHET AND KNITTING CLUB: 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Aug. 29; Egg Harbor Township/Atlantic County Library System, 1 Swift Drive, Egg Harbor Township. 609-927-8664 or atlanticlibrary.org. Wednesday, June 7 'TOO MUCH STUFF?' MEETINGS: 1 to 2 p.m. first and third Wednesdays; hosted by the Mental Health Association in Atlantic County; online or call-in support for those with clutter challenges, collecting behaviors, or hoarding tendency. 609-652-3800 or MHAAC.info. Thursday, June 8 AL-ANON MEETING: 11 a.m. to noon Thursdays through December; by Al-Anon Family Groups; Cape May County Library/Lower Cape Branch, 2600 Bayshore Road, Lower Township. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org. CROCHET GROUP: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Aug. 31; learn and practice your craft in a fun and welcoming environment; Egg Harbor City Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 134 Philadelphia Ave., Egg Harbor City. 609-804-1063 or atlanticlibrary.org. EHT BOOK CLUB: 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursdays, monthly book club; Egg Harbor Township/Atlantic County Library System, 1 Swift Drive, Egg Harbor Township. 609-927-8664 or atlanticlibrary.org. FAMILY MEETING SUPPORT GROUP: 10 a.m. to noon second and fourth Thursdays; support group for family members of individuals who live with a mental health concern. 609-652-3800 or MHAAC.info. MEETINGS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS OF INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED BY MENTAL ILLNESS AND/OR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER: 10:30 a.m. second and fourth Thursdays; 7 p.m. third Thursdays; choose from daytime or evening meeting times; online-only; workshop-style meeting among peers with a new topic each group; offered by the Mental Health Association in Atlantic County through the Intensive Family Support Services program. 609-517-8614 or mhaac.info. SHELF INDULGENCE BOOK CLUB: 6 to 7 p.m. second Thursdays; Egg Harbor City Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 134 Philadelphia Ave., Egg Harbor City. 609-804-1063 or atlanticlibrary.org. SOMERS POINT POETRY SOCIETY: 6 to 7:30 p.m. second Thursdays; poetry club open to all; each meeting will have a theme and two poems to be used for criticism and conversation; Somers Point Senior Center, 22 N. Ambler Road, Somers Point. somersptarts.weebly.com. Health, fitness Sunday, June 4 MEDITATION - ONLINE GROUP: 7:15 to 8 p.m. Sundays; offered by The Mental Health Association in Atlantic County; staff offer a guided calming meditation or breathing exercise; to receive a link by email and join the group online, email btrendler@mhanj.org. 609-652-3800 or MHAAC.info. Monday, June 5 CHAIR YOGA - WITH LYNNE CATARRO: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Mondays; no class 9/4, 10/9, 12/25; Cape May County Library/Wildwood Crest Branch, 6300 Atlantic Ave., Wildwood Crest. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org. 'GOT STRESS?' ONLINE GROUP: 4 to 5:30 p.m. Mondays; online group meets to discuss daily wellness, coping strategies and tools to relieve stress and reduce anxiety; offered by The Mental Health Association in Atlantic County; free. 609-652-3800 or MHAAC.info. YOGA WITH SUZANNE KUBIK: 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Mondays and Thursdays through Sept. 14; no class July 6, Sept. 4; Cape May County Library/Stone Harbor Branch, 9516 Second Ave., Stone Harbor. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org. Tuesday, June 6 BODY IMAGE & BALANCE MEETINGS: 7 to 8 p.m. first and third Tuesdays; hosted by the Mental Health Association in Atlantic County; call-in and online group for those living with or recovering from disordered eating. 609-652-3800 or MHAAC.info. DEALING WITH DEPRESSION SUPPORT GROUP: 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays; hosted by the Mental Health Association in Atlantic County; online support group for those living with depression. 609-652-3800 or MHAAC.info. MINDFULNESS & MOVEMENT: 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through December; Cape May County Library/Wildwood Crest Branch, 6300 Atlantic Ave., Wildwood Crest. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org. ZUMBA WITH KELLIE WOOD: 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays; Cape May Court House Branch, 30 Mechanic St., Middle Township. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org. Wednesday, June 7 BARRE STAR: 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. Wednesdays through May; combination of ballet, flexibility, yoga/balance and strength training; Wildwood Crest Branch, 6300 Atlantic Ave., Wildwood Crest. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org. EXPLORING SPIRITUALITY ONLINE WELLNESS GROUP: noon to 1 p.m. Wednesdays; hosted by the Mental Health Association in Atlantic County; wellness group exploring themes of faith, hope, sense of purpose, and fulfilment. 609-652-3800 or MHAAC.info. MEDITATION MEET-UP WITH TED COSTA: 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through December; Woodbine Community Center, 812 Longfellow St., Woodbine. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org. MIND AND BODY VIRTUAL WORKSHOP: 11 a.m. to noon Wednesdays; workshop is provided to individuals who live with a disability; participants discuss topics such as adapting, goal setting, refocusing and more; offered by the Mental Health Association in Atlantic County. 609-652-3800, ext. 308 or MHAAC.info. STRETCH & BURN - WITH KELLIE WOOD: 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays; hosted by Cape May County Library; virtual event; no registration required. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org. TAI CHI & QIGONG: 10 and 11:30 a.m. Wednesdays; with Cheryl Crews and Denise Jones; Lower Cape Branch, 2600 Bayshore Road, Lower Township. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org. ZUMBA - WITH JANET SPADA: 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays at Wildwood Crest Library, and Thursdays at Lower Township Library; no meetings July 12, 26, Nov. 22, 23. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org. ZUMBA - WITH KELLIE: 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays; Sea Isle City Branch, 4800 Central Ave., Sea Isle City. 609-463-6350 or Events.CMCLibrary.org. Music Sunday, June 4 NORTH TO SHORE JERSEY FESTIVAL: YOUTH JAZZ RECITAL: 2 to 4 p.m.; the Chicken Bone Beach Historical Foundation will hold its second Youth Jazz Recital; Noyes Arts Garage of Stockton University, 2200 Fairmount Ave., Atlantic City; free. 609-626-3420 or noyesmuseum.org PIPE ORGAN BENEFIT CONCERT: 4 to 5 p.m.; Monte Maxwell, renowned organist, will be performing a concert at St. Nicholas of Tolentine to benefit the third phase of restoration of the interior of the church; St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church, 1409 Pacific Ave., Atlantic City. nickmyers87@me.com. Nearly three-quarters of more than 100 law enforcement agencies across much of the U.S. don't reflect the racial makeup of their communities, data supplied by the departments to Lee Enterprises shows. As part of a seven-month investigation by Lee and Type Investigations, agencies were ranked based on the gap between the proportion of officers and leadership in the agency who identify as people of color and the percentage of people of color in the communities they serve. Lee reporters sent surveys to more than 170 law enforcement agencies and then zeroed in on "diverse" communities, defined in this research as places where at least 10 percent of the residents are non-white. Of 105 agencies that provided demographic data and served diverse communities, 76 underrepresented the percentages of people of color in their communities by 10 points or more. Some had gaps of more than 30 percentage points. Diversity underrepresentation in policing Data gathered from October 2022 to May 2023 from nearly 120 law enforcement agencies in 14 states shows frequent disparity in the racial and ethnic makeup of the agencies compared to the communities they are hired to protect and serve. Data gathered from October 2022 to May 2023 from nearly 120 law enforcement agencies in 14 states shows frequent disparity in the racial and ethnic makeup of the agencies compared to the communities they are hired to protect and serve. These are among several key observations drawn from data submitted by state and local law enforcement agencies largely in the Midwest and East, near areas where Lee properties are based. The data show that thousands of people of color live in communities where the force looks nothing like them, despite calls for increased law enforcement diversity that echoed through U.S. streets three years ago following the murder of George Floyd. Twenty of the 105 agencies serving diverse communities have no people of color or only one such person on the force. Also, in nearly half of the 93 agencies serving diverse communities that gave data on leadership, there were either zero or only one person of color in leadership. Why police diversity matters Experts within and outside law enforcement say the continued representation gap the subject of discussions that go back decades underscores existential questions about how police protect and serve people of color. A study released in November by the Bureau of Justice Statistics that collected data in 2020 about interactions with police over the previous year showed that Black people were three times more likely than white people 6 percent vs. 2 percent to have experienced the threat of force or use of nonfatal force during their most recent police contact. The report also showed that during that time frame, Black people had the highest likelihood of experiencing any type of police misconduct (5%), more than double that of white people and Hispanic people combined. While improving diversity doesnt solve issues like excessive force or biased policing, it can begin to cause a shift. The more diverse we are as it relates to race and ethnicity, the more diverse we are also in life experiences, which helps agencies to better inform policies, also better inform their training, and better inform their support systems as well, said Darryl McSwain, chief of the Maryland-National Capital Park Police force and a 2021 finalist for the post of top cop in Lincoln, Nebraska. So I think that's why it's so crucial that we continue to diversify. Most agencies surveyed underrepresent communities of color The Lee law enforcement survey is an update and expansion of a similar effort launched in the Midwest in the summer of 2020 as the nation was reeling from weeks of protests after Derek Chauvin, a white then-police officer in Minneapolis, pressed his knee to the neck of Floyd for more than 9 minutes, according to prosecutors who won a murder conviction against Chauvin. For the current investigation, police and sheriffs departments along with state patrols in more than a dozen states responded to a two-page survey seeking data on topics including the demographic breakdown of the sworn personnel and leadership, the use of body and dashboard cameras, and the number of racial profiling and excessive force complaints. Nearly 120 agencies provided demographic information on race and ethnicity. Most also provided information on the gender breakdown of the department. In 14 of the communities, people of color identifying as Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Native American/First Nation and Asian American/Pacific Islander made up less than 10 percent of the population served. Not surprisingly, the law enforcement agencies there were all or largely white. Lee also received demographic data from 105 agencies serving diverse areas based on 2020 U.S Census data, which Lee also used to draw comparisons with their respective police-force demographics: Seventy-six of the 105 agencies, or about 72 percent, underrepresented their communities of color by 10 percentage points or more. In Martinsville, Virginia, more than half of the community roughly 57 percent was composed of people of color, while people of color accounted for about 12 percent of the force. The largest agency to respond to the survey was the 4,741-member New York State Police. People of color made up about 45 percent of the population in the departments jurisdiction and 12 percent of the force a gap of 33 percentage points. Twenty-eight departments came within 10 percentage points of matching the diversity levels of their communities. They range in size from the seven-member Hebron Police Department in Indiana to the 488-member police department in Madison, Wisconsin. In Hebron, about 12 percent of the population and 14 percent of the force were people of color. In Wisconsins capital, 28 percent of the community and 23 percent of the force were made up of people of color. As a group, the 119 agencies police departments, sheriffs offices and state police that supplied diversity data appear to skew whiter than local law enforcement across the U.S. overall. This is based on part- and full-time personnel numbers provided by the 119 agencies compared with the latest law enforcement demographics for full-time personnel collected by the Department of Justice in 2020. In the 82 police departments in the group, nearly 79 percent of sworn members identified as white versus about 69 percent of full-time sworn officers in local police departments in 2020. Lee found similar disparities among the 31 sheriffs departments in the group. Eighty-seven percent of sworn members identified as white, 16 percentage points greater than the roughly 71 percent of full-time sworn officers in sheriffs departments nationwide who identified as white in 2020, according to the DOJ. So what do all these numbers mean? In Martinsville, Virginia, which describes itself as a city without limits, the lack of diversity on its police force has not gone unnoticed. Of a force of 41 sworn members, the Martinsville police department has four Black officers and one Hispanic officer, said Maj. Chad Rhoads, part of the department's leadership team. I certainly do acknowledge the gap, Rhoads, who is part of the department's leadership team, said. It's certainly not representative of the community, but we want to get it there. But it's just something that we've always struggled with. Rhoads said the department tried attending job fairs at nearby historically Black colleges and universities but got no applicants, a problem it has experienced at college job fairs in general. He said the department does not have a specific program to recruit people of color. It relies on grassroots efforts including using school resource officers to forge connections with students. Of course, Martinsville is far from the only city with a force that does not reflect the population. Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith, a police trainer and spokesperson for the National Police Association, an educational and advocacy group, links the quest for diversity to law enforcements challenge of attracting applicants overall. Since 2020, American law enforcement, we, have (had) a very difficult time just recruiting and retaining police officers of any race and any gender, said Brantner Smith, who was a police officer for 29 years beginning in 1980. So right now, as a country we're just trying to get people to come to the law enforcement profession. People are leaving in record numbers. They are leaving prior to receiving their retirement, and its becoming a real crisis. Departments are increasing their use of technology and social media and beginning to recruit more broadly to boost ranks, Brantner Smith said, but whether we're talking post-George Floyd or we're talking in general, not everyone is attracted to this profession. Call for police diversity reaches zenith after George Floyd's death Long before Floyds murder sent thousands of protesters into the streets, community activists and private citizens had called for a more just and representative law enforcement system. That chorus reached a crescendo after Floyds Memorial Day 2020 murder and included a 21 pillar proposal outlined in 2021 by the National Urban League, which, among other demands, called on communities and law enforcement leadership to increase diversity and equity in both the leadership and ranks of local, state and federal law enforcement. Most law enforcement leaders and experts interviewed for this story listed similar reasons to push for more diversity in police forces, including helping to establish better relations with diverse communities and having role models who can attract other diverse candidates. If we want to have a relationship with our community, and we want our community to be a part of this ecosystem of public safety, then we want our police force to be reflective of the communities that we're in, said Regina Holloway, vice president of community impact for Axon, maker of equipment for law enforcement, notably Tasers and cameras. I think it's not impossible by any stretch. We want all officers to be equitable across the board, but I do think that there's this opportunity for an officer of color a Black officer, a brown officer to have lived experience that they can relate to community members that are having challenges around public safety, challenges in the community, right? There's going to be a kinship there, possibly, that will create a deeper relationship at the on-site of that interaction. She referred to a study of the Chicago Police Department, published in Science magazine, examining data on officer demographics and behavior from 2012-2015 that found that when compared with white officers, Black and Hispanic officers made far fewer stops and arrests and used force less often, especially against Black civilians. What we know is that Black and brown officers are less likely to stop people for low-level offenses, Holloway added. And they're less likely to have sort of these negative interactions with community. High-profile deaths in 2023 fuel debate over 'biased culture' That assertion fueled major debates earlier this year in two highly publicized deaths of Black citizens following interactions with law enforcement members, most of whom were people of color. In late April, the family of Tyre Nichols filed a $550 million federal lawsuit against the city of Memphis, the citys police department, and what the suit described as unqualified, untrained and unsupervised officers who severely beat the 29-year-old Black man after a traffic stop and brief foot chase Jan. 7, according to news reports and video that was later shared with the public. He was hospitalized and died three days later. Five former Memphis police officers all Black were fired within weeks of the incident. Each faces multiple charges, including second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression, according to news reports. In Virginia, in a death that conjured images of Floyd pinned beneath Chauvins knee, Henrico County deputy sheriffs piled onto Irvo Otieno, a 28-year-old Black man in shackles suffering a mental health crisis, as he was being admitted to Central State Hospital. He died of asphyxiation, a medical examiner found. Otieno, whose family said he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, died March 6 while in custody of the Henrico County Sheriffs Office. Hospital video shows the group pinning him down for close to 12 minutes, and theres no audio. The sheriffs office told Lee it does not use body cameras. Of the seven sheriff's deputies charged with second-degree murder in the case, five are Black, two are white. In fact, Henrico County's sheriff's office was among the most-diverse departments in the Lee survey when compared to the population of the county. People of color made up 49 percent of the population and about 68 percent of the force, for an overrepresentation of nearly 20 percentage points. In the Nichols case, Benjamin Crump, a noted civil rights attorney representing the Nichols family, told ABC News that he believes Nichols was a victim of an implicit bias police culture that exists in America. Crump said Nicholss death occurred despite recent police reform in Memphis because of the institutionalized police culture that makes it somehow allowed that they can use this type of excessive force and brutality against people of color. And it doesn't matter if the officers are Black, Hispanic, or white. Its part of the culture, this biased culture that said this is allowed. Leaders seek change, professionalism and better data Attempts to steer departmental culture in a more inclusive direction often fall to the chief or sheriff. It can be a daunting task regardless of their ethnicity. Jamal A. Simington, chief of the Bloomington Police Department in Illinois, identifies as African American and is the only person of color in leadership in his 123-member department, with less than 10 percent of the force composed of people of color. Thats in a community where 27 percent of residents are people of color. Simington, who said he has been called the N-word and Uncle Tom, thinks leaders must foster and model a culture of professionalism regardless of race. You need the representation with high levels of professionalism, said Simington, who was drawn to law enforcement by family members who served. When asked about the roles of officers of color in the deaths of Otieno and Nichols, Simington said, It does reflect horrible on the badge. It tarnishes everything we stand for, right? It's supposed to be a noble occupation. So the nobility comes from our capability and our mindset on how to treat people [in a way thats] fair and appropriate. That's if you're a person of color or not. There has been limited research on the role of officers' race on their interactions with citizens. The latest report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics on encounters with police did not list the race of the officers involved. A database by the Washington Post tracking fatal police shootings since 2015 shows that Black Americans, who account for about 14 percent of the population, are killed by police at more than twice the rate of white Americans. The database also does not list the race of officers. The Lee survey asked agencies to share numbers for excessive force and racial profiling complaints logged between 2017 and 2022. More than 100 responded. Some declined to provide data or suggested other sources for it. Thirty-nine agencies surveyed said they had no complaints fitting in either category in any of those years. There is also variation in how each agency categorizes complaints. Some responded with numbers for allegations described in broader terms such as "biased policing and use of force. The Greensboro Police Department in North Carolina, which is nearly 70 percent white in a community that is less than 40 percent white, had 121 biased-based policing allegations, including bias other than race, between 2017 and 2022. It also had 14 allegations of excessive force during that same period. Allegations are not always sustained by the department once investigated. In an email, the department said its investigations found that three of four allegations of excessive force were found to be valid in 2021-22, and no allegations of biased policing initiated by citizens were sustained in that period. Stephanie Mardis is captain of the Greensboro Police Departments Professional Standards Division, which handles matters related to internal affairs. She told Lee she recognizes the need for improving diversity in the departments ranks. Having a force that was more representative of the community may not necessarily mean that our complaints will decrease, she said. It may not necessarily mean that we will have less use of force, but on its face, if a police department reflects the community in itself, it inherently gains trust with people from all walks of life. The department gives the public access each year to its complaint numbers via an annual report; however, it does not list the race or ethnicity of the officer. Tracie L. Keesee is COO, president and co-founder of the Center for Policing Equity, which uses data and science to help law enforcement look at harm reduction when it comes to issues of race and reimagine public safety in a way that centers community. She feels there should be more robust, peer-reviewed studies that look closely at the differences in negative outcomes for people of color when interacting with diverse vs. non-diverse departments. The science is so scant, she said. For starters, Keesee said, law enforcement agencies need to better track both the diversity of their members and how they interact with citizens. We want law enforcement departments to start collecting data appropriately, and we want to make it available to everyone so we can do exactly what you're talking about, she added. So we can look at and be able to try to begin to answer those questions." Lee Enterprises reporters Alison Burdo, Lauren Cross, Lizzie Kaboski , Analisa Trofimuk and Patrick Wilson contributed to this report. Research by Emma Davis of Type Investigations. Karen Robinson-Jacobs is a member of the Lee Public Service Journalism team and a Type Investigations reporting fellow. EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP An at times controversial affordable-housing mandate has brought new development and diversity to the township, according to a recent report. The Fair Share Housing Center, a nonprofit based in Cherry Hill that monitors affordable-housing development in the state, issued a report last month about the recent impacts of the Mount Laurel doctrine the constitutional obligation of local governments in New Jersey to provide affordable housing. Taking Egg Harbor Township as a case study, the report said the doctrine has helped grow the housing supply and increase racial and economic diversity there. Fair Share Executive Director Adam Gordon said affordable housing mandates make municipalities like Egg Harbor Township accessible to new communities with varying income levels. Theres a range of different housing needs, and having more choices at a variety of price points just creates more opportunities, Gordon said. Thats a lot of peoples lives that have been impacted by this. Mayor Laura Pfrommer said the township was glad to embrace more diversity and provide more affordable housing but said she wanted to carefully manage population growth and its effect on township resources. You want to see everybody have a good place to lay their head down at night, Pfrommer said. The report compares demographic changes from 2010 to 2020 in two tracts in the township where developments associated with Mount Laurel obligations were built to demographic changes in the rest of the township over that same 10-year period. One of the Mount Laurel tracts contains the Egg Harbor Township Family Apartments, an affordable-housing development with 136 residential units. The other is the Atrium Apartments at Egg Harbor, an affordable-housing development with 183 units. Ocean City church plans to relocate to Marmora UPPER TOWNSHIP On Sunday, the last services will take place at the Union Chapel by the Sea In the whole of Egg Harbor Township, minus the two tracts with Mount Laurel developments, the population grew by 8% to 38,294. The number of Asian, Black and Hispanic residents likewise grew by 15%, 5% and 35%, respectively; while the number of white residents declined 2%. The diversity-index score, a metric of integration measured on a scale from 0 to 1, was 0.62, which amounted to a decennial increase of 6%. In the tracts with affordable housing, demographic shifts were considerably sharper, according to the report. The total population in the two tracts grew by 18% to 9,340. The Asian, Black and Hispanic populations grew by 29%, 23% and 86%, respectively, while the white population in the tracts decreased 8%. The diversity score rose 10% over the decade to 0.83. It really is this place that has a lot of the diversity of our state in a fairly small area, Gordon said. What this is really showing is that the growth from the Mount Laurel housing is really reflecting that diversity of the area as a whole. Overall, the two Mount Laurel tracts drove about a third of total population growth in the township between 2010 and 2020, according to the report. Gordon said the affordable-housing mandates caused municipalities like Egg Harbor Township to relax exclusionary zoning policies he said limit economic potential throughout the state. The housing center report maintains that reserving tracts in a municipality for single-family homes artificially suppresses multifamily developments and in turn makes housing more scarce and expensive. Gordon said the township has leveraged the redevelopment process to meet its Mount Laurel obligations, meaning that affordable-housing development was bringing activity to what had been economically barren areas. He also cited studies indicating transformational changes affordable housing and economic integration can have on education and mental health. These developments represent significant investment in Egg Harbor Township, Gordon said. Township Committeeman Joe ODonoghue celebrated the growing diversity the report evidenced. A child of Irish American and Japanese American parents, ODonoghue has often pointed to his own diverse family background when campaigning and discussing his vision for the townships future. Diversity is of the utmost importance, not just to Egg Harbor Township, but to the entire country, ODonoghue said. We cant be a nation divided. It comes down to the heart of what Egg Harbor Township is. The report indicates accelerated development in the township reflects housing growth that happened elsewhere in the state. In the seven years between 2015 and 2022, the housing center reports that 21,891 affordable-housing units were created in the state through Mount Laurel developments to house an estimated 51,663 people with very low to moderate incomes. Also during that period, a total of 69,516 housing units, both market-rate and affordable, were created through multifamily properties that towns had developed to satisfy Mount Laurel obligations, housing an estimated 183,522 people across all income levels. Eighty-one percent of all multifamily developments in the state during that period were tied to Mount Laurel obligations. A lot of the homes that are created are really mixed income, and theres obviously a lot of benefits to that, Gordon said. The work to increase affordable housing, however, comes after a long period in which the housing center and the township feuded over those obligations. James Sonny McCullough, who served as mayor for about 30 years before opting not to run for reelection in 2018, said he had long been an opponent of the state housing regulations. He said state-mandated affordable housing and associated population growth have placed an undue burden on the township and school district, without matching state aid. These came in tandem with Pinelands regulations McCullough said generated additional development in the township. I was always in disagreement with it, the unfairness of it, McCullough said. The township was treated so unfairly. McCullough said the township had always been a melting pot, with officials celebrating the multiple languages spoken in its schools. He said he was skeptical that Mount Laurel developments had significantly changed its demographics. The townships resistance eventually saw the housing center sue the township in 2008. Gordon said the township was exceptional among municipalities in that it had not even developed an affordable-housing plan. The suit forced the township into compliance. After it was created by the New Jersey Supreme Court in 1975, the state Legislature codified the Mount Laurel doctrine with the 1985 Fair Housing Act. This created the Council on Affordable Housing, a body to compel municipalities to meet their housing obligations. Over the decades, COAH proved dysfunctional, and the body became essentially defunct by the 2000s. Due to COAHs apparent dereliction, the New Jersey Supreme Court deputized the Fair Share Housing Center in 2015 to help set affordable-housing obligations and enforce the Mount Laurel doctrine throughout the state. A municipalitys affordable-housing obligations are currently determined by expected population of low- and moderate-income residents in one of six affordable-housing regions; existing housing prices and vacancies in a municipality; and expected job growth in a municipality. Gordon said weak affordable-housing enforcement under COAH in the 2000s had also led to a significant rise in housing costs. The report shows an 86% increase in annual affordable housing production in the state after the court ruling in 2015. Galloway to spend $1.05 million to address affordable housing GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP The Township Council voted unanimously Tuesday to authorize the acquisit Part of the challenge is that were still digging out of that hole, Gordon said. There is an effort to return to the pre-2015 status quo. Egg Harbor Township is one of a dozen municipalities that has sued Gov. Phil Murphy, saying he has an obligation to reconvene COAH, which could strip authority over affordable-housing matters from the courts. Asked about the litigation, Gordon said he feared it was a way to skirt affordable-housing obligations. A chemist had been detained on Saturday for selling drugs that some bodybuilders take to increase muscles swiftly despite their potential side effects. According to the police, they raided the chemist store owned by Mangesh Narute (33), a resident of Narhe, after receiving a tip that Mephentermine sulphate injections were illegally sold in the store. Eight sealed vials of the injection were recovered from the store. Narute has been booked under sections, 276 (sale of the drug as a different drug), 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code. The Kondhwa police are further investigating the case. Pune police and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) teams in a joint operation, arrested a man on friday for allegedly selling medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) kits and mephentermine injection. The accused has been identified as Mangesh Popat Narute, (33) resident of Kondhwa working part time at a chemist store in Undri. The accused have been found in possession of drugs and selling them illegally at Sangam Medical in Undri. Acting on the tip-off, the police sent a dummy customer to purchase mephentermine sulphate injections, the accused was ready to sell it without prescription. The police nabbed the man and also seized eight vials of mephentermine injections and seven MTP kits from his possession. A case has been registered with Kondhwa police Station under Sections 276 (sale of noxious substance), 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others), and 328 (causing hurt by means of poison) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). A 40-year-old man who went swimming in the Pavana dam on Friday afternoon was found dead on Saturday. The deceased has been id notified as 40-year-old Laxman Baban Sathe. The Lonavala rural police, registered a case of accidental death. The man died due to drowning. According to the police, Sathe had gone to stay with his relatives who lives in the Chavsar village near the backwaters of the dam. He told his relatives he was going swimming in the dam. After a few minutes, he started to swim back to the banks and disappeared in the water. When he did not return, his relatives called the police and carried the rescue operation on Friday evening. The operation re-started on Saturday morning, and his body was eventually found around 1.30 pm. At the end of the first century, or at the beginning of the second, an unknown Christian moralist wrote an instructional tract known as the Didache. It begins as follows: There are two ways, one of life and one of death, and there is a great difference between the two ways. Recent events on the streets of Davenport demonstrate that that statement still rings true nearly 2,000 years later. It puts in focus what happens when segments of society opt for revenge, rather than working within our criminal justice system, based on our U.S. Constitution. There is a fine line between a civilized society and barbarism. That line is crossed when citizens discard our criminal justice system, with its built-in safeguards for victims and defendants alike, and op instead for revenge. In doing so, they discard civilization and choose instead a system of survival of the fittest might makes right the ends justify the means. There was a time in human history when there were no written laws and there were no courts to punish criminal acts. Moses and the Jewish people wandered for 40 years in the Sinai Desert. Moses realized that when the Jewish people reached the Promised Land they would need laws to punish murder, theft, perjury and interference with established marital relationships. The Mayflower Compact of the Pilgrims was a similar acknowledgment. In the absence of the criminal law, to obtain justice for a wrong done, the injured party, his family, or his tribe relied upon revenge. Our newspapers daily show that that can happen even in a modern American city. Street gang killings are generally revenge killing. Revenge is their justification. A recent Disptach front-page article by Tom Loewy, It just a fact of life, demonstrates the point. With no little effort the following facts can be extracted from the article. 1. On May 19, 2018, 16-year-old Jovontia Jones was shot to death outside Hilltop Liquor during a drive-by shooting. No one has ever been charged in connection with his murder. (Note that his death is posited as the justification for the following criminal acts). 2. On Tuesday, May 22, 2023, John E. Hanes III was found guilty of the 2021 murder of Jamon Winfrey (age 14). 3. Nessiah Clark is presently on trial for the August 2022 attempted murder of Delmont Thomas. Clark is also charged with additional offenses, including possession of a firearm by a felon. To understand, how revenge fits into this equation, consider the following: 1. A woman present as a spectator at the trial of Nessiah Clark, identifying herself as Nessiah Clarks mother, told Mr. Loewy, I will say this: the violence of that day happened because of what happened in the past. Nobody shot anybody that day out of the blue, for no reason. Nessiah has been shot at before, and his half-brother (Aden), was shot at in the same incident. . Did he carry a gun. Yes. he did. . I would rather Nessiah to have a gun and not need it, rather than need a gun and not have it. Maybe people dont understand it, but there are killers out there. The threat of violence is very, very real for these young men. Its when hes out on the streets that I worry. Every time I hear sirens I wonder if hes the one laying somewhere dead. 2. Davenport Police Sergeant Jordan Sanders said Hanes was a member of the MMG. Street gang. Hanes fired on the car Whitney was in, because he believed them to be members of Savage Life street gang. Sanders continued, MMG and Savage Life had a shoot on sight policy, when the spotted each other. 3. According to Jovontias aunt, Sylvia Abbey, MMG was basically a gang formed to avenge Jovis death. Any rational writer or reader, of course, must be cautious when accepting the statements of street gang members, their family members, and their associates. People who are willing to justify revenge murder, attempted murder, and possession of firearms by convicted felons, might just be inclined to lie when it serves their purposes. But my point is this: Street gang violence is a return to an age before criminal justice systems were known. It is a return to survival of the fittest, and might makes right. It is a system which affords no rights whatsoever to the accused, and provides no safeguards for the innocent. Street gang violence, to be blunt, is a return to barbarism and to the dark ages, where each killer is his own judge, jury and executioner. The people who eschew the criminal justice system, turn their backs on assisting the police and tolerate street gang violence, deserve exactly what the get. Is it really possible to claim Lives Matter when guys with guns, probably acquired on the Black Market, gun down a 16-year-old boy standing outside liquor store? A 14-year-old-boy riding in a car? Another male outside a city gas station? Is it really possible to claim that lives matter when rival gangs have a shoot on sight policy? When a mother would rather her son, a convicted felon, have a gun and not need it, rather than need a gun and not have it? And why did the convicted felon need a gun? Here, if the states allegations are true, he needed a gun to attempt murder. The residents of a community have a choice. There are two ways: The community can assist the police in bringing criminals to justice; or, they can put their trust in street-gang gunmen who operate a system of revenge. I spent most of my professional life around police officers. A very few were not fit to be police officer. But no cop that I have ever known has had a shoot on sight policy toward any group of people. Three people are still missing and families of two believe them to be dead inside the rubble of the partially collapsed building at 324 Main St. in downtown Davenport. Those still missing as of Saturday morning are Branden Colvin, Ryan Hitchcock and Daniel Prien. The six-story apartment building partially collapsed at 4:55 p.m. Sunday, May 28, a day that wont be forgotten in the Quad-Cities. This never should have happened. The safeguards failed. The days that followed brought many questions about how this happened. Why didnt inspections detect the apartment building with some 84 commercial and residential units was on the verge of collapse? Why wasnt the building condemned and the residents evacuated? Some 50 people are expected to have been living there. Had the building collapsed at 4:55 a.m. instead of 4:55 p.m. the casualties would be much higher. We must work exhaustingly to find these answers. The building is owned by Andrew Wolds Davenport Hotel, L.L.C. who bought the building in 2021 from Waukee Investments, L.L.C. for $4.2 million, county records show. We know from documents released Wednesday, including structural engineering reports, that city officials and Wold were warned that portions of the building were unstable. The west wall that collapsed was of particular concern, especially in the past five months. A report days before the collapse noted that the wall appeared to be losing stability and was visibly bowing. Residents who moved out days before the building collapse told us of complaints they made of unsafe conditions and cracks in floors and walls. A contractor who had once bid on repair work said he warned workers two days before the collapse, Get away. Youre going to die. And a 911 call was made the day before the collapse because of concerns about the facade crumbling. In a report March 1, the city deemed the site is secure. Work on the building passed city inspections April 12, April 21, and May 1. The recent history of the building, built in 1907, included many red flags, coming as early as January 2020 when it was owned by Waukee Investments, L.L.C. None of the warning signs triggered evacuations. One of the developments during the week was the announcement that Chief Building Official Trishna Pradhan stepped down. Pradhan had visited the building May 25 and mistakenly noted it had passed inspection, when it should have said incomplete because the work was ongoing. According to the city, Pradhans effort Tuesday to change the status to incomplete resulted in a listing as failed, because of a technical glitch. Also, the city fined Wold $300 for failing to maintain a safe structure in legal action the city described as an effort to make sure the owner couldn't transfer the property to avoid legal costs. And searches continued. The citys messaging was misguided in the hours after the collapse. On Monday morning, officials said they had no credible information that anyone was missing and planned to start demolition on the building Tuesday morning because of the danger the unstable building presented. Meanwhile, people stood outside the building hoping the worst had not happened to loved ones. Were they alive in the building? A woman was discovered and rescued from the fourth floor of the building at about 8 p.m. Monday. The days events led to protests at the site to hold off on demolition and search for those still missing. The city delayed the demolition and brought in search teams along with local firefighters. Beloved pets were rescued, and survivors are now ruled out. The city has declined to say whether remains have been found. The city has improved its communications by holding several news conferences and making building documents available. Further, the city is offering residents of the building $6,000, and businesses will be eligible for $25,000. Adjacent businesses are being offered $5,000. We applaud those moves and urge the city to move quickly with this relief. Those residents fortunate enough not to lose a loved one in the collapse still lost all their belongings. Some immediate housing would have helped ease their burden. Thanks goes out to the first responders who rescued seven people immediately from the scene, risking their own lives and the team who saved the life of Quanishia White-Berry by performing an on-site amputation of her leg above the knee to free her. Officials cleared the area to keep those standing just outside out of danger from the unstable building. And we appreciate the state search teams who swept the building, rescued pets and looked for survivors as well as bodies. They risked their own health for the greater good. They are heroes. The aftermath of the collapse has brought to light the poor conditions that people were living in, including, at times, no heat or hot water. Some 146 actions were taken at the property in the past three years. More diligence is clearly needed to assure residents are offered livable conditions that are safe. Mayor Mike Matson promised to improve inspections and to investigate what happened. This is a must. In the days ahead, we need to use this tragedy as a lesson. Just as we changed our approach after the breach of the Hesco barriers in 2019 to prevent the Mississippi River from devastating downtown Davenport earlier this year, we can learn the steps forward to prevent such tragedies. May 28 was a dark day. Lets honor those injured and lost by making sure this never happens again. A man is dead after the vehicle he was driving crashed and burned early Saturday in rural Sterling, Whiteside County Sheriff John Booker said. At 5:50 a.m. Saturday, Whiteside County Sheriffs Deputies were sent to Illinois Route 40 north of Fulfs Road in rural Sterling to investigate a single-vehicle crash. Deputies arrived on the scene to find that the vehicle had struck a tree and was fully engulfed in flames as a result. The man who was driving the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. The victims name was not released Saturday. The Sterling Fire Department, CGH Ambulance and Whiteside County Coroner Joe McDonald assisted at the scene. KABUL, June 4 (Xinhua) -- A total of 2,106 Afghan refugees returned to their homeland from neighboring Iran on Saturday, Afghanistan's Ministry for Refugees and Repatriation Affairs said in a statement Sunday. "A total of 2,106 Afghan refugees returned to their homeland Afghanistan on Saturday after years of living as refugees in Iran, and the process of returning the refugees to their country continues," the statement added. Previously on May 31, the ministry also reported the return of nearly 2,800 Afghan refugees from Iran. Nearly 60,000 Afghan refugees have reportedly returned home from Iran since January. More than 2.5 million registered Afghan refugees reportedly have been living in Iran and about the same number of Afghan refugees are living in Pakistan. The Afghan caretaker government has been calling upon Afghan refugees living abroad to return home and contribute to the reconstruction process of their war-ravaged country. When Dayna Feuerbach escaped her fifth-floor Davenport apartment during the buildings partial collapse Sunday afternoon with just her purse in-hand, she didnt think too much of it. It wasnt until later that the scope of the damage, and what shed lost, came to light. Twenty years of her life were spent living in The Davenport, and everything she kept there was gone. She said she was lucky to have kept her bank cards, identification and phone, but others werent able to take anything with them during the mad dash to safety. When it first happened, I don't know, I didn't realize the finality of it, Feuerbach said. I guess I thought, well, this is awful, but somehow there'll be repairs and we'll go on living back in the building. But then we realized pretty soon that that was it, that the building was going to be coming down, but we'd never get back in again and wed lose everything, and, boy, that realization was awful. Leaving the Bittner YMCA Saturday afternoon, Feuerbach said she was able to receive information on counseling and physical health checks, as well as take toiletries back to the extended-stay hotel shes staying in. She and other former tenants had the opportunity to meet with representatives from two dozen local, regional and statewide agencies for different sorts of aid as they recover from the tragedy. Former tenants of The Davenport and surrounding residences who have been displaced lined up for the Multi-Agency Resource Center, headed by the American Red Cross on Saturday morning. The event, which ran 10 a.m.-4 p.m., brought those impacted by the collapse at 324 Main St. and support organizations together in order to help them in whatever areas theyve identified a need in. Volunteers and staff handed out water bottles, walked guests up to the doors and led dogs on leashes, inviting adults and children over for a quick pet if they wished. Quad Cities Canine Assistance Network Jayne Knott was accompanied by her dog Rosie, a black lab, to provide comfort during the event. What makes them different from service dogs is that service dogs often have a direct purpose, Knott said. Therapy dogs are more for comforting, and so thats where theyre really nice to have at these events where kids can come up and just pet them. Brian Williamsen, communications manager of the Red Cross Quad-Cities locations, said the resources the displaced residents of the apartment collapse could receive at the MARC event include everything from mental health services to starting the process of recovering lost prescriptions and documentation such as drivers licenses and social security cards. Agencies also provided people with gift cards, lunch boxes, pet food and other items. The Resource Center is a one-stop shop for residents, he said. It's just easier to get to multiple different organizations. For those who werent able to attend the event, Williamsen said the Red Cross is still able to help. He encouraged former tenants to call 1-800-RED-CROSS, where prompts will direct them to the appropriate departments for aid. With the gift cards he received from the resource center, former tenant Rodney Jones said he was going to go on a much-needed shopping trip to buy clothes. The ones he was wearing had been given to him, and hed had to wear and wash them for four days straight. Hes been staying at the Red Cross shelter at the former Select Specialty Hospital, and he said the Red Cross has been incredibly helpful all week. At the event he received information on medical and dental checkups, housing options and more. Everybody came together with this situation, Jones said. While I'm at the Red Cross, all day long I see people pulling up, dropping off donations, clothes, food, whatever. So the community, theyve helped out too. Drought conditions ranging from abnormally dry to moderate drought have progressed into the Iowa and Illinois Quad-City Region, and Scott County Emergency Management has a countywide burn ban because of the dry conditions. A cool front moving into the region will drop temperatures back into the 80s for most of next week, Meteorologist Mike McClure of the National Weather Service said Saturday. We have a cool front coming in the Monday into the Tuesday timeframe, and it really does look like a nice midweek for us here, McClure said. While temperatures have been into the middle 90s, he said, the humidity has been low and the dew points have been down into the 40s and 50s, and thats made it a lot more bearable. The dew point is the temperature the air needs to be cooled to become saturated with water and dew forms. The higher the dew point, the hotter and stickier it feels. Another way to visualize the dew point is that it is the atmospheric temperature below which water droplets begin to condense and dew can form. As hot as it has been, the records for high temperatures were never in jeopardy, according to National Weather Service statistics. The high Thursday, June 1, was 94 degrees, but the record for the day is 104 set in 1934. The high Friday was 95 degrees, but the record high for the day also is 104 set in 1934. The high Saturday reached 96 degrees, but the record for the day is 98 set in 1972. While the weather has been nice, drought conditions have crept back into the region because of the lack of rainfall and the hot, dry conditions, McClure said. We have seen a rapid degradation in the soil moisture and the intensification of drought conditions in the past few weeks, he said. Weve gotten the heat, and weve been drying out. Weve had a lot of sun, and its been baking the ground and taking that moisture up. There is a small chance of rain Sunday and then possibly again Monday ahead of the cool front, McClure said. But its going to be very widely scattered, and not everyones going to see that rain, unfortunately. Iowa State Fire Marshal Dan Wood issued a countywide burn ban for Scott County that took effect at noon Friday. Wood made the determination after receiving a burn-ban request from the fire departments in Scott County. The entire Iowa Quad-City Region is currently suffering abnormally dry conditions, while moderate drought conditions are expanding into Rock Island County and other areas of the Illinois Quad-Cities. Sundays high is expected to reach 89 degrees with an overnight low into Monday of 59 degrees. Mondays high is expected to reach 88 degrees with an overnight low of 64. Tuesdays high is expected to reach 86 degrees with an overnight low of 58, while Wednesdays forecast calls for a high of 82 degrees with an overnight low of 54. Thursdays high is expected to be about 83 degrees with an overnight low into Friday of 58. The high Friday and Saturday is expected to reach 88 degrees. Kathmandu, Nepal, June 4, 2023: The Supreme Court (SC), the apex court of the country has on Suday issued a short-term interim order in the name of Nepal government ordering not to implement the Citizenship Bill immediately. Responding to a writ petion filed by senior advocate duo Dr. Surendra Bhandari and Balkrishna Neupane, a single bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Sharma issued the short-term interim order asking not to immediately implement the Citizenship Bill. The bench has also invited both the sides for discussion. Three women who claim Cuba Gooding Jr. sexually abused them including one upset she never got her day in court when Gooding resolved criminal charges without trial or jail can testify at a federal civil trial this week to support a woman's claim that the actor raped her in 2013, a judge ruled Friday. Judge Paul A. Crotty said the allegations by the women were relevant for a jury deciding if the Oscar-winning "Jerry Maguire" star raped a woman in a Manhattan hotel room after they met at a bar. He also ruled in a separate order that the plaintiff, identified only as Jane Doe in the lawsuit seeking $6 million in damages, must reveal her name at trial. He said the claims by the three women who can testify "are sufficiently similar" to the claims at stake in the trial because "all involve sudden sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults" connected to Gooding and stemmed from the presence of the women and Gooding in social settings such as festivals, bars, nightclubs and restaurants. Lawyers for Gooding, a #Me Too defendant in multiple courts, have said Gooding had consensual sex with the woman who accused him of rape after they met in the VIP lounge of a Greenwich Village restaurant and she joined him at a nearby hotel bar, agreeing to proceed to his hotel room so the actor could change his clothing. The three women include Kelsey Harbert, who said in tears after Gooding pleaded guilty last year that never getting her day in court was "more disappointing than words can say." Harbert told police Gooding fondled her without her consent at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge near Times Square in 2019. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, as Harbert has done. Four years ago, Samaya Dickson was covered in blood when her 9-year-old sister, Markiya Dickson, was shot by a stray bullet. Samaya threw the first pitch at the Richmond Flying Squirrels game on Sunday in memory of her sister during the Wear Orange campaign to support gun violence awareness. If she was here, she wouldve hugged you, said Samaya, adding that she misses the sisterly arguing the most. It was better Samaya pitched the ball and represented her sister than anyone else, said Mark Whitfield, the girls father. The family hopes to keep shining a light on gun violence, as their story is not the only one, Whitfield said. Wear Orange is a nationwide effort to promote gun violence awareness. Orange is the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others. The campaign was started by a group of friends commemorating Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot and killed on a playground in Chicago a week after marching with former President Barack Obama in 2013, according to the organizations website. The annual number of Virginia emergency department visits for firearm-related injuries increased 72% between 2018 and 2021, according to the Virginia Department of Health. Markiya was with her family at a community cookout on Memorial Day in 2019 when she died. The third-grader had a lot of love for people, Whitfield said. Its something that you dont even want to imagine going through, he said. It changes you as a person. The parents have been calling for change in Richmond, as well as offering sympathy for those in similar situations. A lot of people cannot get their stories out, but events aimed at increasing awareness help people, said Ciara Dickson, Markiyas mother. Its a lot of emotions for me, Dickson said. I appreciate theyre helping us keep our daughters name alive. Fonticello Park memorialized the girl with the Markiya Dickson Imagination Zone playground during a ribbon-cutting inauguration on May 20. The Richmond group of the Virginia Moms Demand Action organized a series of events to raise awareness of gun violence in the city. Gun violence does not only take one life, it impacts all of the lives around that person who has been killed by gun violence, said Kristin DuMont, co-lead of the Richmond group. This is the first time the group has planned events at a large scale during the awareness week, DuMont said. It began on May 30, when Mayor Levar Stoney met with the group. Stoney, a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, declared Friday to be Gun Violence Awareness Day, which was observed, in part, by the lighting up of City Hall with orange lights in a display of solidarity. There was a community event on Saturday to honor those affected by gun violence and to demand change. For every ticket sold for Sundays Flying Squirrels game through a link provided by Virginia Moms Demand Action, $4 of the proceeds were donated to the organization. The group has grown since the mass shooting at an Uvalde, Texas, school, with mothers and others getting together to make change, DuMont said. There are actions that people can take, she said. We dont have to feel helpless. Moms Demand Action features programs to fight against the public health crisis of guns, along with lobbying the General Assembly for gun safety bills. One of the programs calls for adults to Be SMART: Secure all guns in your home and vehicles, Model responsible behavior around guns, Ask about the presence of unsecured guns in other homes, Recognize the role of guns in suicide, and Tell your peers to be SMART, according to the website. Everybody is impacted by gun violence, and everybody can participate in gun violence prevention, DuMont said. From the Archives: Professional baseball in Richmond, 1953-1990 Carla Magarity thought she was accustomed to uncertainty. She has lived for 4 years with incurable ovarian cancer. Regular chemotherapy, at least, had been a constant that she had a fighting chance against the cancer that is estimated to kill more than 13,000 women in the U.S. this year. Last month, things changed when on May 19, her oncologist shared that his clinic had run out of a chemotherapy drug that had staved off Magaritys cancer for so many years a drug called carboplatin. Magarity could try an alternative, her doctor offered, but warned that the second-choice chemicals were less effective and come with more side effects. Its a dire conversation echoed in doctors offices and hospitals across the country. The nation is heading into month four of a national chemotherapy shortage caused by faraway supply chain disruptions. In Richmond, it has already forced uncomfortable decisions, like skipping chemotherapy entirely. One of the shortages catalysts is a shutdown of a production facility in India. The facility is one of the main producers of carboplatin and cisplatin, two common chemotherapy chemicals. According to the Mayo Clinic, carboplatin belongs to the group of medicines known as alkylating agents and is used to treat ovarian and breast cancer, although it has been used to treat other cancers as well. Cisplatin is used to treat testicular, ovarian, bladder, head and neck, lung and cervical cancer. The shutdown began after U.S. inspectors arrived at the plant in late November, where they documented a litany of violations, including problems with quality control. Inspectors arrived to observe 36 pages worth of problems at the plant, including noting that the facility tried to destroy quality control records with acid when they discovered Food and Drug Administration personnel were arriving at the facility, the inspection report explains. In response, the pharmaceutical company halted production, the FDA said. The agency was first notified about the shortage on Feb. 10. A company spokesperson told CNBC that no date had been confirmed yet for a production restart. Carboplatin is one of 14 drugs in short supply, according to tracking numbers maintained by the FDA. The agency is considering a move that will help patients like Magarity get their treatments back on track. This month, the FDA said it was considering lifting some of its own regulations to temporarily import more drugs like carboplatin. Doctors believe the issue is not getting adequate attention. What it means is we cant get the drug we get very little of the drugs so were having to delay treatments of patients or come up with alternatives that may not be as effective, said Randal West, a gynecological oncologist based in Richmond. The alternative offered to Magarity, a drug called oxaliplatin, is 30% as effective as carboplatin, for example. Its become a real problem, West said. West believes a root cause of the shortage is that carboplatin and cisplatin have become generic, meaning they lost the initial patent that made them profitable. Carboplatin has been generic since 2004. The pharmaceutical company that initially patented it, Bristol Myers Squibb, has since moved on to new, patent-protected cancer drugs. Meanwhile, patients on the receiving end of the bad news are left holding their hands. Magarity holds a printout of a letter that she has sent to her legislators, including Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both D-Va., and Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st. It is alarming to think that a shortage of such a vital medication has not been given the high priority it deserves, she wrote. I firmly believe that every individual fighting cancer, regardless of their socioeconomic status, deserves access to the necessary treatments that can potentially save lives. Magarity said only Wittmans office responded. Senators from Michigan wrote a letter to the FDA on May 25, urging the agency to do everything in its power to mitigate the dire shortage of cancer drugs that has reached crisis levels in recent months. The letter, signed by Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters and Rep. Alyssa Slotkin, said the shortage was largely due to a broken economic system in the generic drug industry. In April, the Society of Gynecologic Oncology released a statement saying that the shortage would likely last several months and possibly longer. In May, the group warned that cancer care disparities may begin to arise in a time of resource scarcity. VCUs Massey Center says its monitoring the situation, but was not able to accommodate an interview request on new protocols during the shortage. David Oglethorpe, a hospital spokesperson, said Massey doctors are working with their patients to ensure that they are receiving the best possible treatment plans. Oglethorpe said Massey doctors are following guidelines published by the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Those guidelines instruct oncologists to steer clear of nonessential uses of carboplatin and to decrease the frequency of chemotherapy sessions. On June 21, Magarity will return to her oncologist. She hopes it will be to the news that she can actually be treated again. In 2019, she was given an estimated five to 10 years to live, and she said she has thought deeply about appreciating what time she may have left. We just want Carla to get her medicine, said Barbara Nelson, a close friend. We just want everyone to get their medicine. States with the highest cancer rates States with the highest cancer rates #50. Arizona #49. New Mexico #48. Colorado #47. California #46. Virginia #45. District of Columbia #44. Utah #43. Indiana #42. Oregon #40. Hawaii #39. Wyoming #38. Alaska #37. South Carolina #36. Washington (tie) #35. South Dakota (tie) #34. Michigan #32. Florida #31. North Dakota #30. Idaho #29. Missouri #28. Minnesota #27. Alabama #26. Tennessee #24. Montana #23. Vermont #22. Kansas #21. Illinois (tie) #19. Delaware #18. Nebraska #17. Pennsylvania #16. Georgia #15. North Carolina #14. Ohio #13. Connecticut #12. Wisconsin #11. Mississippi #10. Rhode Island #9. New Hampshire #8. Maine #7. West Virginia #6. New Jersey #5. New York #4. Arkansas #3. Louisiana #2. Iowa #1. Kentucky Republicans will choose a nominee at a June 20 primary. What is one district-specific issue you want to tackle if elected? Earley: As I knock doors, I hear the same concerns. Parents want strong schools, transparency, and choice in education. Families want safe neighborhoods. Citizens want low taxes and the cost of living to be affordable. Everyone wants their constitutional rights respected and responsible governance. These issues will be my focus. Gleyzer: Extending the Powhite Expressway all the way to Magnolia Green to continue driving economic development while at the same time easing congestion and wear and tear on Chesterfields over-burdened secondary roads. Harter: When elected, I will work towards improving education for our children by expanding educational opportunities for our students and putting parents in the drivers seat for their childrens education. Bureaucrats and special interest groups in Richmond should not be determining the educational outcome of our students; that is the role of the parents. Walke: The population in the 73rd District has grown significantly since I built my home in 1975. The infrastructure in roads and schools has not kept pace. The Commonwealth of Virginia had an estimated $3.6 billion in excess revenue. The excess funds should be distributed to localities for schools and roads. What's the most important bill you would introduce if elected and why is it important? Earley: One of many key issues I intend to focus on is creating more choice in education for parents and kids. We must expand opportunities for every child. No childs future should be dictated by their ZIP code. Every child should be able to access the best possible education. Gleyzer: I am going to introduce a bill to divert frivolous expenditures and, instead, use that money to increase teacher pay $10,000 per year above the national average and offset the costs of classroom supplies and materials typically paid for out of teachers' own pockets. Harter: As a veteran, I will patron legislation that helps fellow veterans and their families by further incentivizing businesses to hire veterans and lowering the barriers to promote more veteran entrepreneurship and job opportunities. As a small business owner and veteran, we should be doing everything we can to ensure their smooth transition back into civilian life. Walke: It is too early to discuss introducing bills for the 2024 session. Where do you stand on abortion access in Virginia? Earley: Im pro life. My wife and I are foster parents and adoptive parents. I believe every child deserves a chance. Virginia must do more to support expecting mothers, especially those in difficult circumstances. We must celebrate fatherhood, and re-focus our policy around supporting families. Strong families are our foundation. Gleyzer: I believe life begins at conception and ought to be protected in all but the most extreme circumstances. Harter: I am pro life. Walke: I believe that women, with the advice of their physicians, should be in control of their bodies. Women should have a fundamental right to reproductive freedom in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Should individual income tax rates and business taxes be adjusted and if so how? Earley: Individual and business taxes should be low. Families know best how to wisely spend their money. We must create an economic climate that supports and incentivizes small business, high employment, and innovation. Gleyzer: Taxes need to be reduced across the board. There needs to be a reduction in the corporate tax rate as well as the individual tax rate. The individual tax rate should be cut from 5.75% to 5.5%. The corporate tax rate should be cut from 6% to 5% and ultimately phased out completely. Harter: We always need to evaluate state-run programs for efficiency and necessity. We should cut personal income tax rates and business tax rates to encourage investment in our communities. By cutting taxes and keeping tax rates down, Virginians will keep more of their money while increasing tax revenue as Virginians will have a more expendable income. Walke: Tax rates do not need to be changed at this time. How would you approach reducing gun violence? Earley: I will respect the Second Amendment and peoples right keep and bear arms. Additionally, we should invest in more security in places like schools to protect our kids. We must relentlessly prosecute violent crime and keep dangerous criminals off the streets. Finally, we must invest more in mental health resources. Gleyzer: We need to continue investing in our communities. Lower taxes and regulations, and replace them with incentives to drive economic development and job creation. More jobs mean less crime. Less crime means less gun violence. The path to peace in our streets is through prosperity. Harter: Infringing on Americans' constitutional rights is counter to the role of a Virginia delegate and I support responsible, legal gun owners. I believe we must allocate more funds and resources to make sure individuals with mental illness can get the help they need and not get their hands on a weapon. Walke: The issue is complicated, but it can be improved. I believe in the 2nd Amendment, but there are limits to how it is applied and adopted. We need reasonable common sense laws that control the use of deadly weapons by those that should not be allowed to use them. How do you plan to address opioid deaths and addictions? What about opioid dealers? Earley: We have an opioid crisis in our country, and here in the Commonwealth. Its tragic. We need tougher enforcement on dealers and more resources for treatment for those struggling with addiction. Gleyzer: Fentanyl poisoning has become devastatingly prevalent in many areas of Virginia and in Chesterfield County, and each of us must learn to recognize the signs and learn the tactics to potentially save a life. Thats why I support Opioid Overdose and Naloxone Education. Drug Dealers should be charged with murder in fatal overdose cases. Harter: We have seen opioid abuse decimate our communities. I fully supported Chesterfield Recovery Academy, which helps recovering students from central Virginia complete their high school education while recovering from substance abuse and I will continue to do so as Delegate. We need stronger programs to discourage drug addiction and stricter penalties to hold criminal dealers accountable. Walke: Education and treatment are most important. Engaging the law enforcement community to determine their needs to be able to interdict and stop the distribution of these drugs. Should Virginia establish a legal recreational cannabis market? Why or why not? Earley: In this time of significant overdoses and struggle, we need to focus on public safety. Im concerned that in other states that have fully embraced recreational cannabis, weve seen a large increase in usage, addiction, traffic incidents, and other harmful effects. We need to look carefully at these issues. Gleyzer: We should have an ABC-type model for recreational sales of cannabis and use the funds for education and cutting taxes. Allowing criminals to run an illicit market is totally unacceptable. Harter: Recreational marijuana has caused public safety and other issues wherever it has been allowed. There is not, in my opinion, a benefit to prioritizing this when there are so many issues that are directly impacting the lives of voters in Chesterfield presently. Walke: Yes. Virginia should set the laws and rules to control the sale and use. The sales should be taxed for the benefit of the general public. The use of cannabis is widespread and currently uncontrolled. Whats a fun fact about yourself or your favorite hobby that people may not know about? Earley: Enjoying Virginias natural beauty is my favorite pastime. From the coast to to the Blue Ridge mountains, its all a joy. I love to fish, camp, hike, boat, hunt, and simply be outside especially with my kids. Gleyzer: I love traveling abroad and have visited approximately 40 countries. I always return home with a new perspective and appreciation for our American ideals of capitalism and democracy. However, theres nothing better than spending evenings grilling on my deck with family, friends, and, of course, my dogs Aussie and Yoshi. Harter: I love BBQing! I can smoke the meanest brisket and ribs south of the James River. I love to host family, friends, and neighbors treating them to my culinary creations. Walke: I make custom ink pens, wood turned bowls and toys for relatives and friends. I create and make things from wood and metal. I have a 3D printer and laser engravers. I make and fix things. I have multiple computer systems that aid in my hobbies. Lastly, why should people vote for you? Earley: I will be a voice for Virginias families. As a foster parent and attorney, I understand the real challenges facing everyday Virginians. Ill bring conservative principles, grit, and a fighting spirit to stand up for our families. My focus will be on unity under our core principles, not divisive ideologies. Gleyzer: I am the only candidate that has personally created 40 jobs in our community. I built my businesses from the ground up, just like my self-funded campaign, which cannot be bought or influenced by special interest groups. Harter: With years of service on the Chesterfield County School Board, I have a proven track record of standing up for what is right and getting things done. As a veteran, former educator, and small business owner, I believe I will bring a unique perspective and creative solutions to the General Assembly. I humbly ask for your support on June 20th, thank you. Walke: I have a breadth of work experience from engineering, accounting and information systems. I have worked to improve many areas in business, teaching college, government and manufacturing. I have helped improve and led diverse groups in business, and volunteer organizations. I will work to improve the laws for Virginians. It was a big week for Gov. Glenn Youngkin. It could have been bigger. Youngkin did two things that deserved more attention than they got. They were overshadowed by two things that got more attention than they deserved. But that may have been the plan all along. If you didn't notice, Youngkin signed legislation creating a new agency to oversee worker development and he ordered college-degree requirements dropped for most state jobs. They're not the first steps the Republican has taken to promote hiring in this tight job market. Youngkin approved in March a measure that opens Virginia to craft and trades people licensed in other states. Plumbers, electricians, barbers and makeup artists are among more than 80 occupations covered by the initiative. These are significant steps toward filling an estimated 300,000 vacant jobs in Virginia, the economy of which Youngkin has described as "in the ditch" despite a 3.1% jobless rate, which experts would suggest signifies full employment, and a still-strong cash stream to the state treasury. The only thing in the ditch these days is Youngkin's presumed push for a new job: the presidency. That may explain the mixed messages out of the governor's office. Youngkin's major splash one that got the attention of the national political media, especially his Fox News fan club was his announcement that he is ordering 100 Virginia National Guard troops and 21 support staff to Texas at a cost of $3.1 million a month for a minimum of 30 days, beginning in July, to supplement security at the border with Mexico. Texas' Republican governor, Greg Abbott, issued an all-points plea to other GOP-led states to send reinforcements to the southern border, anticipating a surge of illegal immigrants with the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. The only surge that occurred was Youngkin's for headlines. Youngkin spun the Virginia mobilization as way to do what he says the Biden administration isn't doing: curbing the flow, through Mexico and into the United States, of fentanyl manufactured in China that law enforcement and health officials blame for a growing number of overdose deaths. Also dispatching troops to Texas is Florida, whose governor, Ron DeSantis, is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, occupying a lane that could have been Youngkin's had he stopped with the cute word games that now suggest he might run if the GOP restores total control of the legislature in November a win for which he would take credit. In playing commander-in-chief the Virginia Constitution, by the way, recognizes the governor as such Youngkin parlayed nearly six minutes of face time on Fox, taking questions from Kaleigh McEnany, the former Trump spokeswoman, the way he prefers them: soft, nonthreatening and uncritical. The Youngkin presidential narrative, which alternates between will-he or won't-he, toggled to maybe when his political action committee, the ATM financing his drive for a Republican take-back of the General Assembly, reported a second $1 million contribution this time, from a deep-pocketed school-reform advocate in Texas. That the donation was made through a brand-new limited-liability corporation in Delaware, the nation's Switzerland as a state with a history of financial secrecy, was just the evidence Democrats needed to depict Youngkin as playing fast and loose with campaign-finance laws by taking big bucks from an individual whose identity could be hidden behind the LLC. These are not the issues that Republican legislative candidates want to talk about. Running for seats in the House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate from Amelia or New Kent has nothing to do with Youngkin's standing in Iowa or New Hampshire. However, the Youngkin-as-national-candidate theme has taken on a life of its own, fueled by his stubborn un-subtlety. So even when Youngkin is using the bully pulpit of the governorship to talk about ideas and issues specific to Virginia, such as workforce development and job requirements, it's a matter of time in the digital era, sometimes seconds before whatever he utters is viewed as a prospective presidential pronouncement. That's OK with the high-dollar strategists, some of whom are now working for DeSantis but gravitated to Youngkin in 2021 knowing that the checks wouldn't bounce because the multimillionaire investment executive would be largely self-financing his political activities. But this also means that Youngkin, whose penchant for name-embroidered vests has been adopted by DeSantis, does what reporters try to avoid: He buries the lede, needlessly concealing a subject's importance, its substantive essence with unnecessary distractions. Accomplishing what some of Youngkin's predecessors, Democratic and Republican, only talked about creating an agency to coordinate the funding, training programs and hiring that support industrial recruiting and expansion is a huge breakthrough, one that required accommodating rival constituencies, including labor and management. (A disclosure: My son worked for the four years of the Northam administration in the secretary of labor's office, which oversees the new agency.) The agency still requires state dollars and it won't be fully operational without them. That comes down to a matter in which Youngkin hasn't a say at this time: the long-stalled House-Senate talks over a two-year, $177 billion state budget. The more negotiators tarry, the less time Youngkin has to make sure the new agency is properly financed. As for eliminating degree requirements for nearly 90% of state jobs, Youngkin following the lead of seven states is acknowledging different ways for people to enter, stay and grow in the economy. Rather than a college diploma and spending a career erasing the giant debt that can accompany it an apprenticeship might be a ticket to state employment. And state government, facing a swelling wave of retirements, needs to freshen its workforce and begin rebuilding the institutional knowledge that will keep the bureaucracy running, whether Youngkin's here or not. The Blacksburg Museum and Cultural Foundation is hosting a new exhibit this summer titled Visions of Blacksburg. The show will run from June 9 to July 28 in the Alexander Black House main galleries. The exhibit offers a visual history through photographs and maps. I am excited to share some iconic and some not so well-known images of the town, said BMCF curator Janean Williams in a news release. These photographs are a window into a century of change. In addition to photos, the exhibition includes historical maps of Blacksburg, as well as Montgomery County beginning in 1789. Two events have been scheduled in conjunction with the exhibit. On Friday, June 16, from 7 to 8 p.m., enjoy a performance by local musician Jim Lloyd. Lloyd is also a music teacher, banjo historian and radio host who specializes in old-time and bluegrass. On Thursday, June 29, at 6:30 p.m., Dr. W. Cully Hession, professor of biological systems engineering at Virginia Tech, will give a talk on streams and water sources in Blacksburg. The events are free and open to the public. The Alexander Black House is located at 204 Draper Road SW in Blacksburg. Regular hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. To learn more, go to www.blacksburgmuseum.org or contact Janean Williams at jlwilliams@blacksburghistory.org. HANOI, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh on Sunday, discussing enhancing bilateral relations between the two nations, Vietnam News Agency reported. During the meeting, Albanese, who paid a two-day official visit to Vietnam, announced a package of 105 million Australian dollars (69.5 million U.S. dollars) to aid Vietnam in combating climate change. Australia will also expand a program that enables collaboration between Australia's national science agency and its Vietnamese counterparts to commercialize joint science research in areas like applied agriculture. Albanese's visit comes as Australia and Vietnam celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations. Australia is Vietnam's seventh-largest trading partner, while Vietnam ranks 10th among Australia's trading partners. Norfolk Southern Corp. hired an outside consultant for guidance on safety, declaring in a statement signed by its CEO and by union officials that the railroad "can do better." Politico reported in March on what it said had been a steep rise in Norfolk Southerns accident rate from 2013 and 2022, even before a severe crash in a small Ohio community drew scrutiny of regulators who launched their own investigations of the incident and of the company's safety culture. In the latest development, railroad officials said May 25 they hired the design, engineering and project management consultant Atkins Nuclear Secured to independently review the railroad safety efforts. Atkins has clients in the nuclear energy industry. The railroad has Roanoke roots and at one time operated a regional headquarters here. "The entire Norfolk Southern team is deeply committed to being an even safer railroad. The nuclear industry is the gold standard for industrial safety, and we intend to set the gold standard for the railroad industry," railroad CEO Alan Shaw said in a prepared release. A joint statement to rail emplloyees by the railroad and 12 labor unions asserted that railroads "are the safest way to move freight over land. We can do better." The two sides pledged to work together on a comprehensive review, admitting "we won't agree on everything. That's okay. Our belief in the importance of safety unites us." Last month the Roanoke Kiwanis Club held its annual pancake breakfast at the Berglund Center, an event that raises tens of thousands annually. Among the items the breakfast proceeds fund are Kiwanis scholarships to graduates of public or private high schools in Roanoke and Roanoke County, the clubs service area. This year, the club one of the largest and most active Kiwanis outposts in America added a new scholarship category. Its aimed at graduate students studying the environment and natural resources. The award is $5,000, and dollar-wise, its the largest scholarship the club has ever bestowed. The first winner is Emma Land, 22, daughter of Greg and Bonnie Land. Emma grew up in Roanokes Raleigh Court neighborhood, in a large family whose finances were tight. Calling her an impressive young woman is probably a huge understatement. Shes a 2019 graduate of Roanokes Patrick Henry High School, a 2021 graduate of Virginia Western Community College and a 2023 graduate of Roanoke Colleges environmental studies program, where she earned a bachelor of science degree. The third-born of five children, Lands been working since age 12, when she started babysitting. Beginning at 16, she worked her way through high school at Pops Ice Cream & Soda Bar in Grandin Village and Tinnells Fine Foods in South Roanoke. Land told me she grew up learning that if she ever wanted a car, shed have to earn the money to buy one, because nobody would give her one. And unlike many of her peers, she got no parental free ride for higher education, either. Land put herself through VWCC and Roanoke College by working at Starbucks and at Mast General Store in downtown Roanoke (where shes still employed). Somehow, she also found the time to volunteer as a trail maintainer with the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club, and with the Nature Conservancy. At graduation in May, Roanoke College named her its Outstanding Student in Environmental Studies and the Outstanding Research Student. Emma was one of those wonderful students who valued the learning process itself, wrote Katherine P. ONeill, chair of Roanoke Colleges Environmental Studies program, in a letter recommending Land for the Kiwanis scholarship. ONeill, who served as Lands academic adviser, also feted her students astonishing work ethic. Come August, Land will be heading to Athens, Georgia, to pursue a masters degree in forestry and natural resources at the University of Georgias Warnell School of Natural Resources. Ultimately she expects to later earn a doctorate in the same discipline. After that, Lands unsure where shell end up. The futures hard to predict, but she hopes she winds up in Southern Appalachia one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. I really love this area, she told me. I feel super grateful and honestly lucky that I grew up here. Most people, she noted, dont grow up in places only 5 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway and 10 miles from the Appalachian Trail. Land intends to study the embryogenesis of ash culture, which pertains to the species of tree, rather than whats left over after wood is burned. She learned about the species, and negative impacts wrought by an invasive bug, the emerald ash borer, during a summer 2022 research internship with Ohio State University. There, she studied how the forest composition islands in Lake Erie have changed since the bug began killing American ashes in the early 2000s. In the Buckeye state, Land said, ashes once comprised up to 12% of the forests. But the bugs have decimated many of those trees. Its a process that often happens slowly, and can take up to seven years, she said. It was honestly devastating to see how diminished ash populations were in 2022, compared with surveys performed in the 1980s, before the bug was accidentally introduced in Michigan, she said. The infestation has dramatically changed the forest culture, Land added, as other plants, both native and invasive, have replaced dying ashes. The emerald ash borer is one of many invasive bugs thats changing our forest landscapes so gradually that many of us dont even notice. The process has enormous implications for the future, she added. With globalism and trade, [those changes are] never really going away, Land said. Its only going to get worse. Rupert Cutler, a Kiwanian who once served as a high-ranking U.S. Department of Agriculture official in the Carter Administration, said the graduate environmental scholarship was the brainchild of Mike OBrochta, former chair of the Roanoke Kiwanis Clubs environmental committee. This year, OBrochta ran the pancake breakfast, and soon, hell be named president of the Roanoke Kiwanis chapter. Cutler said OBrochta sought to expand the clubs environmental work. To date, most of those efforts have focused on litter cleanups in parks, on streets and in the Roanoke River, as well as park development. Like the other scholarships it bestows, the graduate scholarship is limited to kids who graduated from a secondary school in Roanoke or Roanoke County, as well as one of four surrounding institutions of higher ed: Roanoke College, Ferrum College, Hollins University and Virginia Tech. The Kiwanians had four applicants for the graduate scholarship this year and all were impressive, Cutler noted. A seven-person evaluation committee considered the applications, ranked them, and Land emerged on top. The Kiwanis will formally make the scholarship award at the clubs regular Wednesday lunch meeting June 14 at Charter Hall inside the Roanoke Market Building. DeSantis signs Bible, Pence hops on motorcycle at 'Roast and Ride' rally in Iowa Amid plates of sliced pork, statement-making leather ensembles and piles of political T-shirts, eight Republican presidential hopefuls descended on Iowa to pitch themselves to voters and, in Mike Pences case, hop on a motorcycle She was the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in France. The first female professor at the Sorbonne. The first woman to win the Nobel Prize. The first person to win more than one Nobel Prize (and to this day, the only woman to win more than once). And the first person to win a Nobel in more than one scientific field. Yet, not everyone thought Marie deserved to share the scientific stage with her male colleagues. In 1903, the Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to Marie and her husband Pierre for their study of radiation, as well as to Henri Becquerel for his observation of spontaneous radiation in uranium. Advertisement Yet members of the French Academy of Sciences nominated only Pierre and Becquerel for the prize. Marie was included only after Pierre Curie worked to persuade some on the Nobel committee that his wife deserved to share the honor, too. At the awards ceremony, the president of the Swedish Academy downplayed her contributions, quoting the Bible in his speech: "It is not good that man should be alone, I will make a helpmeet for him." Eight years later in 1911, Marie was the sole recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, in recognition of her discovery of radium and polonium and her subsequent research into the nature of these elements. Even then, "there were some who believed that Marie Curie received the second Nobel essentially for the same work and didn't deserve it," says Naomi Pasachoff, author of "Marie Curie and the Science of Radioactivity." FLORENCE The $810 million electric car battery factory that is bringing 1,170 jobs to Florence County will break ground on June 7. Envision AESC, a Japanese-based electric car battery manufacturer, announced the 1.5-million-square-foot factory in December. Florence County and the city of Florence provided the company with economic incentives to build the factory in the 870-acre Technology and Commerce Park near Interstate 95. Its the largest announcement weve had in this region in its history not just the county so its a really big economic deal, said Stephanie Grosick, assistant director of the Florence County Economic Development Partnership. The batteries made at the plant will power the next generation of BMWs electric vehicles, which will be produced at the car companys Spartanburg factory. State and local leaders will be attending the groundbreaking, including Gov. Henry McMaster. He also spoke at the factorys announcement at the Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center in December. Envision AESCs decision to establish operations in Florence County and to create jobs for thousands of South Carolinians shows that we will be one for years to come, McMaster said. We have the workforce, the business friendly environment, and the willingness to adapt to industrys innovation necessary to ensure that companies that choose to do business here will find the success they are looking for. Other attendees include: Harry Lightsey, South Carolina secretary of commerce. Jeff Deaton, managing director at Envision AESC US. Teresa Myers Ervin, mayor of Florence. Willard Dorriety, Florence County Council chairman. Waymon Mumford, the Florence County councilman who represents the future factorys district. Rocky Pearce, chair of the Florence County Economic Development Partnership Board of Directors. Gregg Robinson, CEO of the Florence County Economic Development Partnership. Grosick said some early site work has been done at the location of the future factory, but the actual construction of the factory will begin after the ceremonial groundbreaking on June 7. According to past reports, equipment is expected to be moved into the facility in 2024 with mass production starting in late 2025. Envision AESC is a world-leading electric vehicle battery technology company headquartered in Zama, Japan. It has 12 manufacturing sites in Japan, United States, United Kingdom, France and China with more than 5,600 employees. The Florence factory will join two other factories in the United States: one in Tennessee and another in Kentucky. The company plans for the manufacturing plant to be powered by 100% net zero carbon energy, and is working with Duke Energy and Dominion Energy to source electricity and natural gas to the factory from renewable sources. SIOUX CITY Cindy Agnes' eyes welled with tears as she brought Thursday's meeting of the Quota Club to a close. Agnes, the chapter's president, wasn't the only one tearing up. After all, the local chapter of the women's service group was disbanding after nearly 98 years. "We didn't quite make it to our 100th birthday," Tamme Saul, a former president, said shortly before the Quota Club's final monthly meeting at the Sioux City Elks Club. "But we gave it our best shot." Quota Club disbanding Quota Club President Cindy Agnes presents a check to Sr. Shirley Fineran, board president of Lila Mae's House, as club member Tamme Saul takes Founded in 1919 in Buffalo, New York, by Wanda Frey Joiner, Quota International Inc. was organized as a way for women to help provide basic needs to women, children, the deaf and hard of hearing around the world. At its height of popularity, there were Quota Clubs around the world, promoting a policy to eradicate poverty and hunger while promoting gender equality and empowering women. But times have changed and service groups, once plentiful, have slowly dwindled. Although Quota International, Inc. officially dissolved in 2020, several local chapters remained active while providing funds and assistance to many nonprofit organizations which had a heavy focus on women and children. Quota Club disbanding President Cindy Agnes looks down toward the Quota Club's bell after closing the final meeting of the Quota Club of Siouxland held Thursday, Ju That was certainly the case with the Quota Club of Siouxland, which devoted its final meeting by handing out checks to such local charities as Lila Mae's House, Food Bank of Siouxland, Sleep in Heavenly Peace of Siouxland and a new music program being offered at First United Methodist Church. This was just a small sampling of projects supported by the Siouxland Quota Club members. Some of the organization's best known programs included "Signing Santa" (involving a Santa Claus who communicated with deaf children via sign language) and the "Quota Closet" (in which club members supplied Unity Elementary School students with emergency undergarments, socks and clothing, along with a variety of needed school supplies). Agnes said she first became aware of the Quota Club through its annual Eighth Grade Honors Luncheon. "I was an eighth grade teacher and had been attending its banquet for 20 years," she explained. "When I retired from educating in 2005 and began a career as a financial adviser, I joined Quota and was shocked by the sheer volume of things they did for the community on a regular basis." In Saul's case, she personally spearheaded "Project Bookworm," in which more than 17,000 new books were given out to students in area schools. "I never saw so many faces than when we were handing out free books," she said. "We take so many things for granted, but when you give a child a book that he can keep? It is so gratifying." Quota Club disbanding Quota Club member Shay Gebauer hugs president Cindy Agnes at the end of the final meeting of the Quota Club of Siouxland held Thursday, June 1 Saul joined the Quota Club in 2000, while Shay Gebauer joined 10 years earlier. "When I joined Quota, there were so many rules of membership," Gebauer, who worked in the development office at Morningside University, noted. "There couldn't be more than three people in the same profession as members at the same time." "So, theoretically, a person may have to wait years before she'd even be considered for membership," she added. Gebauer credited Carolyn Rants, a retired vice president and dean of students at both Morningside and Western Iowa Tech Community College, for getting her involved with the Quota Club. "I've been a Quota Club member for the past 39 years," Rants said. "That makes me the longest-tenured member." "Well, I've been a Quota member for 37 years," Enola Peters chimed in. "So I'm right behind you." Which brings up a delicate question. Why did the Quota Club have to disband? Kind World Foundation honoring top students with scholarships Regino, a soon-to-be Bishop Heelan Catholic High School graduate, received a $40,000 scholarship from the Kind World Foundation. Maynard, a soon-to-be North High School graduate, was the Foundation's first runner-up, receiving a $25,000 scholarship. Like Quota International, Agnes said Quota Club of Siouxland was faced with an aging membership base, with few younger members stepping up to take their place. "Younger people are finding other ways to help out besides through service clubs," she explained. Gebauer was even more blunt. "The younger generation say their lives are way too busy," she said. "Our lives were just as busy. Not only did Quota Club members find time to raise funds for worthwhile causes but we also volunteered ourselves to make things happen." As the final Quota Club meeting was coming to a close, Agnes said she hoped that surviving organizations would continue with programs introduced by Quota Club members. "We want our good work to survive the club," she said. Another thing that will survive the Quota Club of Siouxland's closure are the friendships made by its members. "I've made so many friends through the Quota Club," Peters said. "We've laughed together and we've mourned together." "Plus we've tried to make a difference in our community," Gebauer said. "That will always be the legacy of the Quota Club." SIOUX CITY Patrick Baughman knew he wanted his West High School valedictorian speech to spread a message of finding one's destiny. He also knew he wanted to use the platform to support the LGBTQ+ community. In front of his classmates, their families, community members and district administration, Baughman ended his speech with a declaration for trans rights and against "banned books." "Support trans rights and read banned books," he told the crowd at the Tyson Events Center on May 26. He proceeded to hand a copy of "This Book is Gay" to Superintendent Rod Earleywine, a book that was removed from the district earlier in the year after the Libs of TikTok Twitter account called it "pornographic." A clip from a Sioux City Journal video of the speech began spreading online through various social media sites, garnering almost 900,000 views on Twitter less than a week later. A separate Journal video of his whole speech drew nearly 24,000 views. "The reaction online has been pretty good. It hasn't been this swarm of [negativity] its been just people being good and spreading love and that's what I wanted to do that day," he said. Inspiration for the speech All school year Baughman knew he was valedictorian and would be giving a speech at graduation. Each year, the speech usually has a theme that is meant to inspire. Baughman had read "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes and "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho for school, both of which have a theme of finding one's destiny. Those books, along with a close friend coming out as transgender, the ongoing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, students speaking out at other public events, and the removal of this "This Book is Gay" guided his speech writing. In December, one of Baughman's closest friends came out to him as transgender and with all of the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, he knew he wanted to include a theme of love in his speech. "She's one of the best people in my life," he said. In March, the Twitter account Libs of TikTok tweeted out a screenshot of West High School's library catalog showing "This Book is Gay" available; the tweet described the book as "pornographic" and said it "teaches kids about gay sex and encourages the use of sex apps." The district shortly after removed the book from the library stating "We do not promote books that could compromise student safety." The district's policy on reviewing and removing books was not used. The National Coalition Against Censorship, a nonprofit group opposed to censorship in schools and libraries, sent a letter to the Sioux City Schools, protesting the removal without using the reconsideration policies in place. Later the group received a response from the school board. "Primarily, the book presented safety issues as it describes how to access unsuitable websites and other hookup processes. It is completely inappropriate for our students, said School Board President Dan Greenwell in response. "As a result of the safety issues, we determined that the inappropriate book would be pulled. The book also contains horrible graphic and verbal details to describe sex acts. It did not go through our normal review process when it was originally ordered and placed on the shelf. Our policy was violated at that time." West High is a diverse and accepting school, Baughman said, and he felt like the banning was a hurtful move by the district. Baughman said he knew he wanted to include this moment in his speech. He reached out to teachers and librarians trying to figure out what happened. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Baughman decided to buy the book and read it. He said it is a guide to LGBTQ+ life. "This is a book that needs to be shown to people like me who are gay, or people like my friend who are trans," he said. "It talks about the things we're not going to learn in school." Quoting artist Keith Haring during the AIDS epidemic stating "Silence Equals Death," Baughman said it's a book that dismantles the silence around being gay. Then in April, Baughman attended and was recognized during the Governors Scholar Recognition Ceremony. The ceremony recognized students with the highest academic ranking from all Iowa high schools, allowing them to shake hands with Gov. Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg and get a picture. Many students utilized the opportunity to protest the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation by wearing pride pins, pride clothing and anti-book banning shirts. 222_IAGovScholar23.jpg Sioux City West student Patrick Baughman with Gov. Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg during the 21st annual Governors Scholar Recognition Baughman wore two pride pins at the ceremony, one featuring a pride flag in the shape of Iowa. Davenport West High School senior Clementine Springsteen took the opportunity to shout "Trans rights are human rights" on stage. Baughman said he was inspired by Springsteen. "If they can do that, I can do that," he said. A week before graduation, Baughman wasn't sure exactly what he was going to say in his speech. He had a general idea, but it wasn't until the Thursday before Saturday's graduation that he finalized the plan. That Thursday, West High had a student council banquet. Baughman's friend who had come out as trans to him earlier in the year, came out to the rest of the council during a speech. "That night I was super-inspired and started writing my speech," he said. The speech and reaction Taking all of these impactful events, Baughman knew he wanted to feature "This Book is Gay" in his speech. He initially assumed he was supposed to submit his speech to West High Principal Rebecca Rieken in advance, but there was a misunderstanding and Rieken had said he was good to go. He was still worried on the day of graduation that someone would try and stop him, so he didn't write down the last part of his speech regarding the book. The only person who really knew was one friend, Baughman said. At the moment, he had his book hidden in a binder and a general idea of what he wanted to do and say. "This is my one chance to do this, I need to do it for everybody, not just for me but for my friends, for all of the people I care about at West," he said. With at least 1,000 people at the Tyson, Baughman challenged the students to fight for the world they want to see. "Don't let them take away our love, don't let them ban the books of the people we love and don't stop fighting," he said. "They can ban this book, but they cannot take it away from us." The reaction was an outpouring of positivity and love, Baughman said. Former teachers, classmates, and random strangers on the internet thanked him for speaking out and supported the message. While there were some negative comments, Baughman said he and a friend read through the negative comments and laughed about them. He didn't want the moment to be about him, he wanted it to be about the message. He hopes people realized LGBTQIA+ people aren't going to disappear and they just want to be invited into society. "Trans people are humans, just like anybody else," he said. "I think governors need to listen to their constituents, need to listen to the people and not just go for their religious or political views." When he went to receive his diploma, Baughman said Earleywine told him "We're on your side." Baughman wants the district and school board to take more of a stand. "If I can go out there and do that, I think anybody else can go out there and do that," he said. "Everybody is going to have a platform at some point in their lives and I took my opportunity so I think others can, too." SIOUX CITY Every two to three years, Sioux City Code Enforcement Manager Darrel Bullock said city inspectors walk through every rental unit in the metro to ensure those domiciles are safe for occupancy. However, if tenants notice deficiencies, including floor settling and plaster falling off walls, Bullock advised they should contact their landlord and, then, the city's inspections services department if the landlord fails to address those problems. A building that continues to move a number of years or decades after it was constructed could be indicative of issues with the foundation or the structure itself, according to Bullock. "We don't take any of our decisions to red tag a property lightly. But our focus and concern is health and safety. That's what the building department is always about, whether it's a brand new structure or a 200-year-old structure," Bullock said Friday, less than a week after a century-old apartment building collapsed on the other side of the state. A portion of a six-story brick structure in downtown Davenport collapsed shortly before 5 p.m. on Sunday. Three people remain missing and are feared dead in the rubble. "It does make an awakening for people. Be aware of your surroundings and make sure that you are in a safe location," Bullock said. According to U.S. Census data, 32% of Sioux City's housing units were built in 1939 or earlier, eclipsing Iowa's percentage (25%) and more than doubling the national average of 12%. The median year for a Sioux City home is 1956, which is earlier than the state's (1970) and the national average of 1979. Bullock noted that an older building may have had things loaded onto its floor systems above and beyond what those systems were designed to carry. In situations where the use of a building or occupancy has changed, Bullock said city inspectors consider what was in the building before and whether the structure will hold what's going in. He said that probably wasn't the case 50 or 60 years ago. "There could have been stress or fatigue at that time. And then, over the continued period of years, continual loading and reloading of the structure could cause failures in certain areas," he said. Bullock said moving and shifting facade issues and cracks that have continued to expand are red flags for inspectors that a building may be in danger of collapse. "We all know concrete cracks -- that happens. But, depending on how it stays, or, if it continues to move, we're going to continue to look at that," he said. "We're going to look at the foundation, the basement walls to make sure that there's not any decay or movement of the soil that have created an unsafe condition." Numerous placarded buildings in the city have been rehabbed or demolished, over the years, according to Bullock. He recalled a single-story building that experienced a roof collapse after it was red tagged or placarded. "We placarded the building and got everybody out of the structure because it was in an unsafe condition. The roof did actually collapse on that one," he said. According to a story published in The Journal, the building at 1411 Jackson St. partially collapsed in the early morning hours of Feb. 7, 2016. At the time of the incident, officials said snow may have caused the older building's roof to collapse. No injuries were reported. In 2012, the structure housed an international restaurant. "We have a red tag program for dilapidated structures. Unfortunately, it's not always the most popular opinion amongst people when we have to do it, but safety is our primary concern. We do what we have to do," Bullock said. "If we find that a structure is unsafe for occupancy, we will placard that structure immediately." In March, Bullock's department declared the Argonaut, a century-old apartment building at 519-25 11th Street, unfit for occupancy. Heating problems, due to an inoperable boiler, had been an issue off and on for several months in the four-story brick building, which was housing 22 people at that time. "That one had to do a lot with other issues, such as health concerns beyond sanitary conditions. There was no heat in that building. So, we had people that were trying to survive in subzero temperatures in the building," Bullock said. "(The owners) were given numerous notices because it was not imposing imminent danger, but it was a danger to the tenants. They ignored them to the point where we had to placard the building and remove the tenants from those unsafe conditions." The Lucas Magdalene Trust sold the Argonaut to ITM LLC for $475,000 in April 2022. Less than a month later, ITM sold the property to Wave Investment Team, Inc., of Provo, Utah, for $800,000, according to Woodbury County property records. Wave Investment partner Zach Magalei previously told The Journal that his company spent thousands of dollars to get the building back to a livable condition. In the spring of 2020, the earliest days and weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, our community experienced many creative acts of kindness and caring. I remember being surprised and delighted by the dozens of colorful yard signs that appeared one morning on Country Club Boulevard in front of Perry Creek Elementary School. The school yard and parking lot were empty. Only those making occasional trips to the grocery store, or welcomed outside walks on warm spring days, were the extent of traffic. These colorful yard signs were greetings and encouragement from teachers to students. Mrs. Kolbush, a Perry Creek Elementary teacher, shared this sign: You Matter You Are Loved Everything Will Be Okay! Another sign had a vocabulary lesson (teachers never miss an opportunity to teach and learn!). The sign said FIKA (fee-ka) Swedish and then gave the timely definition of the word: A moment to slow down and appreciate the good things in life. The past three years have surely given us all the opportunity to slow down and appreciate the good things in life. Also, we have all experienced the challenges and changes that this once-in-a-generation public health crisis provided. Ive wondered how we, as a community, are, and will continue to be, interpreting and understanding this chapter of history which all have experienced. And, Im glad for those who are helping us do so. The Sioux City Art Center is a community treasure. The Art Centers mission is to enrich our regions quality of life by bringing the excitement of the visual arts to our community through education, exhibition and permanent collection. One of the most enriching exhibitions is available for all to experience now. Facing a Changed World is an exhibition of photography and story currently at the Art Center (now through July 30). Mark Munger of Siouxland Public Media, local photographer Ron Johns, and Todd Behrens and the staff of the Art Center have done an excellent collaboration which tells about living, coping, hope, and recovery in the midst of the COVID-19 restrictions and in the days and months following. A group of diverse Siouxland neighbors were interviewed and photographed. As you enter the third floor of the Art Center you will read this: Each of the interviewees navigated this time in a different way but they all had the courage to speak up and talk about what they went through. Some of the stories youll hear in the exhibition are heartbreakingly familiar and others intensely personal. "Each recorded interview is accompanied by Rons beautifully spare black and white photographs. The images give each person a presence ... When all 30 photos are seen together, they introduce us to and represent a coming together of our diverse community members, which includes business owners, creative professionals, religious leaders, and academics. Its easy to see that Ron has an immediate connection with his sitters, making them comfortable while they share their story. At the Art Center, every photograph is accompanied by a digitally-recorded interview, which can be heard by scanning the QR code with a smartphone. Some of the photographs and interviews are also available on the Siouxland Public Media website. A sampling of the interviews: Terry Brooks Coming out of COVID, I love music even more. Dwight Howe I think it made us less effective, because it made us more individuals and isolated than ever before. And being a communal people, it was counterproductive. Wynema Morris I think its going to be noted and remembered as a very difficult timea time of mourning, loss and grief. Rosie Kuehne Try to learn how to be quiet, to go from an active to a contemplative life, and to not resent it, because its the only life I had. And I could either make the most of it or I could complain and feel bad about it. So, I decided that I was going to make my life valuable in any way that I could. Rev. David Esquiliano The mass, our mass is a dialogue. It has a dialogue part. And there are parts where you would say, The Lord be with you. And theres nobody to reply. Facing a Changed World poignantly gives voice and presence to our community that continues to heal. Another gathering of COVID-time stories are collected in a new book called Resilient Kitchens: American Immigrant Cooking in a Time of Crisis (edited by Philip Gleissner and Harry Eli Kashdan, published by Rutgers University Press). Here you will find essays, recipes, and photographs from around the United States. Immigrants from Belarus, Mexico, India, Syria, Venezuela, Palestine, Philipines, and Germany write with eloquence. The story tellers are restaurant owners, local food writers, chefs, and food scholars. The essays tell of how cooking, eating, and drinking became practices of spiritual survival during the pandemic. Gathering around a table, either in person or on zoom, was surely a way to break out of the times of isolation by connecting with our communities, identifies, and heritages through our kitchens. The recipes, with photographs, feature Red Chilaquiles, German-Greek bread, Butter Chicken, Hot Walnut Soup, Sour Cream Pound Cake, Vietnamese-style Iced Coffee, and more. After more than three years most social distancing restrictions in our lives have been removed. Vaccines and boosters have helped stop the spread of the virus and saved countless lives all over the world. However, the realities of our common pandemic experiences will always linger in different ways. We will do better and be better if we continue to tell the stories of our experiences, and honor and celebrate the diversity of our communities. TOKYO, June 4 (Xinhua) -- A recent survey by a Japanese medical institution showed that passive smoking on streets makes people in Japan feel uncomfortable the most, stressing the need for greater efforts to prevent outdoor passive smoking. The National Cancer Center Japan conducted the online survey in April with about 2,000 people in their 20s and older, 1,000 each from nonsmokers and smokers. When asked whether survey participants thought passive smoking was unpleasant, 77.2 percent of the non-smokers and 36.2 percent of the smokers replied that it was. When asked to name places where they have experienced discomfort due to second-hand smoking, with multiple answers allowed, 73.4 percent of nonsmokers said "on streets," while 47.8 percent answered "in restaurants, cafeterias, food courts and other places where meals are mainly served." Among smokers, 64.1 percent said "on streets," followed by 34.3 percent who said "outdoor smoking areas." Japan enforced a law in April 2020 to prevent the spread of passive smoke by basically banning indoor smoking at restaurants, offices and other places used by many people. But the Tokyo-based cancer center said further measures are required to address smoking at outdoor locations. Tomoyasu Hirano of the center's Division of Tobacco Policy Research, which conducted the survey, said people should refrain from smoking when in the presence of others, adding that it is necessary to specify situations where it is preferable not to smoke, such as when children are nearby. Checks and balances sustained a horrible blow in Iowa last week. When Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill that threatens to weaken the state auditors ability to view records to root out fraud and abuse in state and local governments, she opened the door to potential corruption. If Auditor Rob Sand doesnt have the ability to investigate fully, he wont be able to issue audits that are complete enough to confirm somethings awry. That could affect the states bond rating and his ability to provide oversight on programs that total more than $12 billion. Republicans insist this isnt an attempt to target Sand the only Democrat elected to statewide office. GOP lawmakers claim the new law will protect Iowans privacy by restricting access to personal information such as criminal records, patient's medical records and students' grades. The auditor won't be allowed to publicly disclose private information without the individuals permission. In cases of embezzlement, theft, fraud or other significant financial irregularities, the auditor could access the information but would need permission of the entity being audited to publish private information. Sands dismissed the Republicans' stated reasons for the new restrictions during a recent visit to the Sioux City Rotary Club, pointing out his office already maintains strict confidentiality of information and records obtained during the course of an audit, including medical and student education records. As a protector of government spending in Iowa, the auditor is charged with preventing fraud and misuse of taxpayer funds. If the office holder is hampered, is that even possible? Nonpartisan and bipartisan auditors and CPA organizations have insisted it goes against their standards when conducting audits. The shift could prompt federal agencies to withhold, disallow or suspend payments to the state through such programs as Medicaid and federal food assistance programs. That creates another problem without solving any. Sand said an agency being audited could hide records from his office as long as the governor agrees, halting his access to Iowa courts for independent review. He said it was akin to letting the defendant decide what evidence the judge and jury are allowed to see. Clearly, voters liked Sands work as a watchdog. They re-elected him to the job and wanted to make sure he was there to protect their interests. Muzzling him serves no one. Further, the bill hinders the auditors subpoena power. If theres a dispute over access to records, a three-member arbitration panel would make a decision. The auditors office, the state department or agency under investigation and a representative of the governors office would each appoint a representative to the panel. Sand argues that would allow any agency being audited to hide records from the auditor's office as long as the governor agrees. The auditor wouldn't stand a chance of challenging the decision in court. What Reynolds and her supporters fail to see is the bigger picture. Even though theyre in office now doesnt mean theyll always be. An unencumbered auditor could be their best ally. My daughter was a freshman when she started having real high school funthe kind that involves a willing friend and a bottle of vodka. Ill never forget coming home early to find two girls passed out on the couch and vomit all over the rug but thats another story. (A really good one. I have photos of the crime scene.) About two weeks after we lugged that rug to the curb, Dr. Fauci helped me parent my teenage daughter when he called for Americans to shelter in place. At first, it was kind of like a dream come true. Of course I wanted to put my teenage daughter in a closet and wait for her brain to mature! My daughters mind and body were going through transformations that could choke a mother out. Black mascara, short shorts, tiny tank tops. It was alarming to me when I first saw her as a developing young woman. There will be no body-shaming in our home, but the world looked far more menacing the first time my innocent young ingenue dressed like a typical teenager. My states stay-at-home mandate put an end to the trajectory of my normal parenting, but it also helped me sleep better at night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of course, there were many reasons not to sleep well during those early, high-alert days of the pandemic, but at least I knew where my daughter was at all times: In her room. Even so, it took me five weeks of quarantine to finally consider what she was actually doing in there. My girl was up late at night, complaining about all the homework her teachers assigned. They have no idea how hard theyre making us work, she cried, her eyes tearful and bleary. When I told a friend about it, I was surprised to hear that her kids, in a different school district, were not getting enough work. My smug response might have seemed like I was gloating about our public school being so stellar during that challenging time, and maybe I was. But I also started to wonder. Advertisement Late one night, in an effort to save my daughter from herself, I ordered her to log off from her studies and go to bed. She came at me like a rabid animal. Her flaming eruption shook the house. Thats when my suspicions led me to ask my husband to search her computer. Heres what he found: Orange Is the New Black, Season 5, Episode 11. I love that show! Months earlier, however, when my daughter had asked if she could watch it, I had given her an absolute NO. Not now. There are emotionally healthier programs for a 15-year-old girl. Alas, we found that over the first five weeks of quarantine shed spent 3,700 minutes60-plus hours!behind closed doors watching a dark drama about incarcerated women. The irony was not lost on me. So this was why shed been treating me and her dad like corrupt correctional officers who needed taking down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My daughter was a perfect teenager, doing exactly what she was supposed to be doingchallenging and pushing her parents. I constantly had to remind myself that she was still growing up, in lockdown. Even with all those hours spent sneaking her verboten show, my girl got an A in her online chemistry class, a grade that had almost no correlation to how much she actually learned. At dinner, we could tell shed had chemistry when her nails were freshly painted in new colorsher favorite way to tolerate online boredom. But it wasnt just the periodic table and experiments with sodium hydroxide she missed out on. For me, high school was momentous in ways that had little to do with what I learned in class. I drank, I smoked, I had sex. I set up my foundation for going out into the world. What I learned in the back seat (and front seat, and on the hood of the car) helped me figure out who I was, much more than any chemistry class I might have taken. Advertisement Flash-forward to the end of 2020. Im a mom driving home from the grocery store when a melodramatic song from my youth comes on the radio: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Darks If You Leave. Tears welled in my eyes. The song stirred memories, but I wasnt thinking about how I missed being a teenager. Instead, I found myself longing for freedom for my daughterthe kind that comes with trips across bridges with newly licensed drivers, late-night parties at houses where parents are away, and experimentation with who-knows-what kinds of substances. There would be a price for me to pay, in anxiety, if my daughter actually had all of that, but at that point in the pandemic it was a trade-off I was willing to make. Instead, we didnt have a single fight about her curfew, and I didnt have to stay up at night waiting for her to come home. I felt like I was the one getting away with something. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But things were difficult in other ways. This was my teenagers time of individuation. At home with her parents every minute of the day and every long, dark night was the last place she wanted to be. This began to manifest in increasingly obvious ways. Tension became constant. Browbeating. Hip-jutting. Eye-rolling. Seriously? Do you have to sneeze like that? She actually said that to me. We had no choice but to work it out, sometimes loudly enough for my younger son to come out of his room during school hours to ask us to please keep it down because his sixth-grade class could hear us over Zoom. Decent parenting takes a lot of fucking time, and with nowhere to go, we had plenty of opportunity to embrace both rising tension and its repair. We spent more and more time on the couch, stacking our familys bones of contention, then knocking them down. For me, this was an ongoing expression of unconditional lovethe more they bite, the deeper I must love. When my daughter was born, I had the physical urge to snort up her 7 pounds of cuteness to keep her safe inside of me. Now, even during these challenging years, my love for her grows every day. It shocked me to realize it is so powerful that I need to let her go. Advertisement Related from Slate Rebecca Onion People Are Manipulating Their Family Photos in a Weird New Way. I Dont Think They Should. Read More Amid the muddle in our home, the mental health of my children rose to the top of my list of parental concerns. To create space and boundaries, I devised some house rules. We started to meditate. I had the kids walk around the block every morning before school, which mimicked a commute and at the very least got them outdoors for a few minutes (and maybe even out of their pajamas). I posted a self-care checklist on the fridge that they filled out each day, including marks for things like doing something creative, doing something nice for yourself, and doing something nice for somebody else. Still, it was like trying to cure a drought with an eyedropper. There was not much I could do to fix my daughters lack of glorious teenage sovereignty. Advertisement Advertisement Finally, more than 400 days later, my daughter put on her N95 and returned to school with only weeks left in her sophomore year. The new rulesfaces hidden behind masks and desks 6 feet apartoffered limited opportunities for interaction. It all sort of sucked. Pep rallies were as flat as the daily emails sent from the schools notifying me that one class or another had been exposed to COVID-19. School might have been back, but it lacked luster, color, and liberties. My daughter was in a daze. There were thrift-store excursions and weekend hangouts at the beach, but she was so done with her high school experience that after muddling through her junior year, she was determined to graduate a semester early, and signed up for a couple of summer-school courses to cover the necessary credits. For her, any alternative was better than extra time spent in high school hallways. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I caught an example of how deeply the pandemic had affected my daughter when we started searching for colleges last summer. When I was on my own college hunt back in the 80s, I examined details like reputation, studentteacher ratios, and outstanding areas of study. When the time came for my high school junior to do the same, the first thing on her list was a sprawling green campus with trees and access to hiking trails. I was struck by the absurdity. This is college were talking about, not summer camp. But in the next breath, I understood my daughters need for beauty and space. Coming out of an environment where she was tethered to home plate, she was more than ready to unleash and expand. Advertisement It is not possible for my daughter and the class of 2023 to retrieve the daring, dangerous, day-to-day dalliances of being teenagers on the loose. They are emerging from the pandemic wanting to make up for lost time, just as their voter registration forms show up in the mail. Bigger responsibilities are headed their way. Advertisement Having fulfilled her high school requirements in December, my daughter didnt want the pomp and circumstance of graduation come June. This was tough for me to accept, but as a mom, I recognize that high school was a flop for my kid. These years merit some semblance of closure, though, so my family created a meaningful moment for our high school graduatejust my husband, my son, and my mother-in-law, addressing my daughter at a remote park as the sun went down, marking the reality that something significant actually did happen over the last four years. Congratulations! Were moving on. Indian Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced today that they have identified the cause and those responsible for the tragic train accident in the east of the country, in which at least 288 people died. He did not give details, but hinted at a fault in the electronic signal-safety system. We have identified the cause of the accident and the persons responsible for it, Indian minister Vaishnaw told news agency ANI, as quoted by French AFP. He added that it was not appropriate to say anything more about it until the final report of the investigation is published. He only said that the cause of the accident was related to a change in the electronic signaling and safety devices. Who did it and how it happened will be known after the investigation, he added. Photo: Reuters At least 288 people were killed and more than a thousand were injured in a collision between two passenger and one freight train on Friday near the city of Balasore in the Indian state of Odisha. News At least 288 people died in the train accident, several thousand were injured photo video Many people are still injured Odisha State Secretary Pradeep Jena said that around 900 injured people were transported to hospitals. With many people still missing, the final death toll is likely to be even higher. Photo: Reuters Identifying the victims is very challenging. Many of the bodies were so disfigured that many desperate families could only identify their loved ones by pieces of jewelry. A high school near the crash site was turned into a makeshift morgue, and many of the bodies were moved to larger locations due to the heat, where officials said they could be identified through DNA analysis. The incident is considered to be the deadliest railway accident in India this century. News A sixty-one-year-old driver was trapped between the barriers, a train crashed into her Some of the derailed passenger cars are said to have collided with the freight train Managing Director of Indian Railways Amitabh Sharma explained on Saturday that ten to 12 wagons of the passenger train derailed. Some debris fell onto the other track and another passenger train collided with it, derailing three cars of that train. According to media reports, some of the derailed passenger cars collided with the freight train. According to some reports, the Coromandal Express, which was on its way from Kolkata to Chennai, was diverted to a side track due to a system error. It collided with a freight train there, and the derailed carriages crossed the path of an express train on its way from Bangalore to Calcutta, according to AFP. On Friday, the unthinkable happened in Bedworth, Warwickshire. A woman, around 70 years old, was attacked by a dog and bitten so much that she died. Local police officers were immediately called to the scene and arrested a man and a woman. A 52-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of owning a prohibited breed of dog and a rabid dog. At the scene of the incident, the owners also took the dog, which no longer poses a danger to the residents living there. The victim was pronounced dead late on Friday afternoon, shortly after the dog was brutally attacked on a street in the center of Bedworth. The dog also injured the owner, a 49-year-old woman, who is currently being treated in hospital, but her condition is not life-threatening. The arrested man was released after paying bail. As reported by foreign media, the residents of the city are shocked and scared. This is a great tragedy. Very sad that something like this happens. This is really unusual in our community, said one of the residents of the street where the attack took place. Li Shangfu. Photo: Reuters Li, who has been minister since March, spoke at the security summit dressed in the uniform of a Chinese army general The Shangri La Dialogue. He said the world is enough bigthat China and the US can grow together. According to him, although the two countries are different and have different systems, they should strengthen bilateral relations and deepen cooperation and seek common interests. Theres no denying that he was fierce conflict or a clash between China and the United States an intolerable disaster for the world, he said. In his speech, Li also mentioned that the Cold War mentality is on the rise again, and that he would mutual respect must prevail over harassment and hegemony. In 2018, the United States imposed sanctions against Chinas current defense minister due to the purchase of weapons from Russia. On Saturday, the Chinese military criticized the US and Canada for intentionally causing risk, after the navies of these countries jointly sailed through the Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and mainland China. Meanwhile, he is the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Singapore accused China of refusing military-level talks. On Friday, Li shook hands with Austin at dinner, but the two ministers did not have a long conversation. On the sidelines of the summit, two Chinese officers, according to Reuters, said Beijing wanted a less aggressive U.S. approach in Asia, which includes lifting sanctions against Li before talks between the two countries militaries can begin. A forest fire that broke out on Wednesday at a former military training ground in a forest near the town of Juterbog in the German state of Brandenburg intensified on Saturday. Firefighting is compounded by the potential for munitions still stored in the area to explode. The area engulfed in flames has grown to more than 150 hectares, a spokeswoman for the city authorities in Juterbog, which lies 60 kilometers southwest of the German capital Berlin, said on Saturday evening. It was previously said that 45 hectares of land were burning. The wind was stronger than the previous days, and the temperatures were higher, said the head of the fire brigade Rico Valentine. That is why, according to him, the fire in the forest near Juterbog spread faster on Saturday. If the weather continues like this, we expect the fire to spread further, but the nearest villages are still far enough away, he added. Firefighters on the ground are trying to put out the fire, but are hampered by old ammunition still stored in the area. Fire crews had difficulty reaching the location due to the danger of an explosion. Provincial Forest Fire Protection Officer Raimund Engel he said firefighters also had to respond to forest fires in other regions. He added that he expects higher temperatures today, but rain is not to be expected. Large clouds of smoke could be seen from afar near Juterbog. We have to see if the wind will be in our favor, said Walentin, who expressed hope for the situation to calm down and especially for rain. The forest fire danger level in Brandenburg remains high. Larger forest fires have already occurred in this area in 2018 and 2019, as a result of which they developed a fire protection system. Social media has become an indispensable tool for companies to generate sales, increase brand awareness and build communities around their brand. It is no surprise, then, that businesses may consider it for recruiting as well. But, what does that mean? And how does one be an effective social recruiter? While recruiters can now leverage social media to post jobs and recruit talent, its still new for most organizations. This is why its important to establish your brand as a known social-recruiting company. Thats also why there are a lot of mistakes to avoid. Here are just a few benefits of using social media to build a dream team: Connect with the largest pool of passive and active job-seekers Lower the cost of sourcing Lower the cost of hiring Engage your own employees as brand ambassadors and social recruiters. Target the right audience (on the network they use to browse the wild internet) Engage with qualified job-seekers as well as spread brand awareness at low cost Heres how to become a top performer in social media recruiting: 1. Establish a social media recruitment strategy Your social strategy should effectively state the goals you are seeking to achieve. Dont, or should I say NEVER, go social in your recruitment if you dont have an effective and accurate strategy you could damage your brand image as well as fail to find at least one qualified job-seeker. Remember: On social media, youre not hiring, youre recruiting. There is a big difference between someone who is looking for a job and someone who already has one, but is willing to change for a better career path. Define and display company culture Identify your company environment, culture, and value. You can define it yourself, at first, but never forget to ask your current, and existing employees as they will spread the word. Dont lie about your culture or your strategy might backfire. When applicants realize what you said is not the reality they will leave you as fast as you recruited him/her. Remember, even if it is a lower cost, social recruitment still has a cost. Its not a game, its a persons livelihood. Once your culture is defined and realistic, share your story on social networks. Understand your employee interaction This part is as important as your culture, tailor your recruiting strategy to target candidates that will match the existing team energy. Focus on the skill sets and personality traits of your top performer employees and find similarities in your candidates to retain those traits as part of your company culture. 2. Create branded company profiles In 2023, a Facebook Page is no longer enough to represent a brand and its values. To create a strong employer brand, dont forget to also create a Twitter account, a Linkedin company profile, a YouTube channel, and any other social network profiles that may be relevant to your industry. All those pages should have the same goal: finding talent. The good news is that there are many more benefits of having active social media profiles for your company, including additional marketing channels, creating a positive brand image, and controlling your branded search better. If your company is hiring frequently, create new social media accounts specifically for job offers. For example, your main Twitter account may be @Bananacompany while youd then create @bananajobs to feature job offers. This way, your content will not be lost between commercial posts or product discussions. If you are setting up a separate channel for your hiring needs, make sure you register a domain for it as well. This will help you consolidate your efforts around that entity. You can use that site to publicize your company events, feature interviews, and curate other content about your company and your team. Having your own hiring site will help you control the conversion journey from a candidate to an applicant. You can set up custom CTAs (for example, upload your resume or schedule an appointment) Whichever route you take (whether you decide to set up separate accounts or use your main social media channels), make sure your behind-the-scenes content is authentic. Post pictures from your events, let them run Q&As and ask-me-anything sessions, etc. This will encourage potential employees to apply for jobs to become part of your team. Both your job and business pages should relay the same voice and message, and relate to each other. Your YouTube channel should provide a positive representation of your company. Short videos could present the jobs youre looking to fill. The videos should be short to trigger curiosity and desire to learn more about the jobs available. Candidates or followers will hopefully feel inclined to look for more information on your other social media pages, and you want them to get excited about an opportunity to join your team. You are seeking the best talent for the role. Even if there are a lot of candidates waiting to work for you, there are only a few that are a perfect match. So, spread the word and make every post count. Promote jobs the same way youd promote your business or product. Ask the marketing and communications team to assist in creating job offers that both explain what the job is as well as attract worthy candidates. You also want to entice others to share the job offer on social media by retweeting on Twitter, sharing on Facebook, etc. Take advantage of all your available channels. Setting up a dedicated recruiting playlist on Youtube and announcing your job offer in your email newsletter all of these are great options to try. 3. Execute your recruitment strategy Now that those key steps are all set its time to make it work by interacting with job-seekers. Your communication has to be consistent, pertinent, and timely. Engage your employees At the beginning of your social recruitment campaign, your employees will be the main gate to success. They should be able to spread the word on their own social networks and even start networking with job seekers before sending them to your pages or directly to your recruitment team. Engage your employees by creating gaming and ranking based on the content they share or on the applicant they bring in. This is not easy work to do, but if your company cant afford to have a recruiter dedicated to social recruitment there are a few high-tech tools and business phone apps you can automatize for that. Interaction and content The type of content you share depends on the candidates you are looking for. If youre looking for technically skilled job seekers, you will not post the type of content that interests marketing applicants. 3/4 of your content should be about related fields and topics, and only 1/4 should be directly related to your company. This way your content strategy will not seem exclusively brand-oriented, and you will find applicants that share the same interests. Rating and ranking your results Data analysis is mandatory to check what content is most likely shared or read as well as check the channel and networks that are working well. You can include a blog strategy with content oriented in your industry. (New technology that is working well in the field or information targeting the candidates you are seeking to reach.) As well as the employment engagement, you may want to control who sees what and how many views you get by posting a job offer on Facebook or Twitter, and even make a comparison between both. Data analytics tools could help here too. Knowing how to make a mailing list in Gmail is an important skill for any business owner. Your email lists play a vital role in your business, helping you connect with a variety of people. They allow you to send marketing emails, keep your customers informed about special deals, and maintain communication with suppliers, partners, and other collaborators. In short, email lists are an important part of your business communication. Gmail is one of the top email systems used around the world. As of 2023, it had more than 1.8 billion active users and accounted for 75% of all emails opened on the internet. If youre a Gmail user, youve probably experienced the frustration of typing in the wrong email address or forgetting to include someone in an email. This is where Gmail Groups can be a big help. With Gmail Groups, you can put contacts into a group and give that group a name. Then you can send emails to everyone in that group just by typing the groups name in the to field when youre writing an email. This feature can make your emailing tasks a lot quicker and easier. In this guide, were going to show you how to create your own email group in Gmail. Its a simple process, and it could make a big difference for your business. What are Email Lists? Simply put, an email mailing list is a subscriber list of addresses of customers that a business builds after customers have submitted their emails and opted to receive content and updates about the business through email. Besides offering updates on businesses offerings, email lists can also help in lead generation. With Gmails mailing lists, you can assign a label to specific contacts. This allows you to group contacts based on specific lists. Grouping contacts is useful for the regular mailing of a specific list of persons. Essentially Gmails labels act like folders for your emails, letting you track the status of peoples tasks and help you to mark emails that need follow-up or emails that can be read at a late date. In addition to helping businesses share news and find new customers, email lists are also a great way for businesses to build a closer relationship with their customers. When a customer joins an email list, theyre saying they want to hear more from the business. This allows the business to: Send personalized messages to the customers Offer special deals and promotions Share new products or updates Make customers feel special and valued Plus, by using Gmails features, businesses can easily keep track of all these communications and make sure theyre talking to the right people at the right time. All in all, email lists are a powerful tool for any business. How to make an email list with Gmail The mailing lists in Gmail are defined by assigning a label to specific contacts. Below we will describe all the necessary steps to create a mailing list. Before we go too deeply into the detailed instructions, heres a quick overview of the process. The following table breaks down the key steps for making a mailing list in Gmail. Step Number Procedure 1 Log into your Gmail account, select the all-app icon located between your settings and profile icon 2 From the drop-down menu, select 'Google contacts' 3 Choose the contacts you want to include in your mailing list 4 Find and click on the 'create a label' icon in the left side menu 5 Enter the name for your label and click save 6 Hover above the selected contacts and select them 7 Hover over 'manage labels', add the contacts to the newly created label, then hit apply 8 Return to Gmail and click 'compose' 9 In the address field of your email, type in the label name to automatically populate the contacts. This can also be done for CC and BC fields 10 Add your email text and body, then click 'Send' to distribute your email to your selected group Step 1: Log into your Gmail account, and from the top corner, pick the all-app icon in between your settings and your profile icon and click on it Step 2: From the drop-down menu, select Google Contacts Step 3: Then select the contacts you want to reach collectively Step 4: Then on the left side menu locate the create a label icon and click on it Step 5: Then type in the label name you want and hit save See Also: How to Recall an Email in Gmail Step 6: From your contacts, hover above the contacts you want to reach collectively and select them Step 7: After selecting your contacts, go above your contacts and hover over the manage labels and add the contacts to the label that you just created, click on that label and hit apply Step 8: Then go back to your Gmail and hit compose Step 9: Type in the name of the label in the address field of your emails. This will then automatically populate all the emails you added to the label. This will also apply for CC and BC as well Step 10: If you want to send an email to your selected group all you have to do is add your text and body and then click Send Email is Still Tops in Marketing Unlike outreach through social media, email marketing subscribers are six times more likely to get higher click-through rates through emails than through social media posts. It is important that businesses build their email list organically. This is because purchasing email lists could deter prospective clients, as people might mark your email as spam if they didnt sign up for your list. Some benefits of email lists include: They make it personal: People are more responsive to targeted personal online conversations making communications feel more human and real. With it, you can address each user with their name, and send a personalized message. People are more responsive to targeted personal online conversations making communications feel more human and real. With it, you can address each user with their name, and send a personalized message. Customers still prefer emails : Even though several messaging technologies are available, people still prefer emails for business messages. Branded emails help to represent your business and help build your authority, credibility, and professionalism. : Even though several messaging technologies are available, people still prefer emails for business messages. Branded emails help to represent your business and help build your authority, credibility, and professionalism. Emails help build intimate relationships: Emails are the most direct way to communicate one-to-one with your customers. It lets your customers talk with you in person and ask questions if they encounter problems. Emails are the most direct way to communicate one-to-one with your customers. It lets your customers talk with you in person and ask questions if they encounter problems. Email lists can be managed easily: You can use your email lists to segment your recipients, follow through on conversations, offer targeted offerings, and much more with relative ease. You can use your email lists to segment your recipients, follow through on conversations, offer targeted offerings, and much more with relative ease. Reach an already engaged audience: An email list can beef up your email marketing efforts to reach out to people who have signed up to your mailing lists to receive marketing messages. The Perks of Using Gmails Mailing Service Gmail offers lots of business solutions to give your business that extra edge. It offers features like email lists, group contacts, and mass emailing capabilities. Gmail recently revamped its platform to enable users to enjoy a clean, streamlined way to jump between their inbox, Chat, Spaces, and Meet. Though some of its robust features come through its premium service, some great features come for free for businesses to capitalize on. With the free version of Gmail, you can send internal memos, team-specific emails, and even external messages to clients and partners. Besides offering ease of sending bulk emails to specific contacts Gmail also allows you to recall emails in case you invertedly sent the wrong email, or have typos in your email. You can do this by assigning a cancellation period for all outgoing emails. The Justice Department continues to set precedence against job discrimination, securing ten more settlements from companies that posted discriminatory job advertisements on a college recruiting platform. These incidents highlight the critical need for small businesses to abide by fair and non-discriminatory employment practices. In a recent announcement, the department reported settling with companies that used a college recruitment platform to post job ads, unlawfully excluding non-U.S. citizens. The Justice Department has been steadfast in its efforts to tackle such discrimination, securing similar settlements with 20 other companies16 in June 2022 and four more in September 2022. The total civil penalty imposed on all 30 employers has now surpassed $1.6 million. The Justice Department has now held 30 companies accountable for using a college recruitment platform to post discriminatory job advertisements that locked non-U.S. citizen students out of job opportunities, said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division. These settlements should make clear our commitment to enforcing federal civil rights laws to ensure that all applicants have a fair and equal chance to compete for jobs. The Justice Department was prompted to act after a Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) student, who was a lawful permanent resident, filed a discrimination complaint with the Civil Rights Division. The student claimed a banks advertisement on a Georgia Tech job recruitment platform restricted the posted internship opportunity to U.S. citizens only. This complaint sparked an investigation, revealing several discriminatory advertisements on Georgia Techs job recruiting platform and platforms run by other colleges across the United States. The department identified that each of the ten newly settled employers had posted at least one job announcement on Georgia Techs online job recruitment platform that excluded non-U.S. citizens. It determined that these advertisements deterred qualified students from applying for jobs based on their citizenship status. In many cases, the citizenship status restrictions prevented students from applying or even meeting with company recruiters. These new settlements, like the previous 20, required each company to pay a civil penalty based on the number of discriminatory advertisements posted. For small business owners, these settlements offer a stark reminder of the importance of fair and non-discriminatory hiring practices. Business owners should ensure their recruitment processes are compliant with federal civil rights laws and offer equal opportunities to all potential candidates, regardless of their citizenship status. By doing so, not only do they adhere to the law, but they also foster a more diverse and inclusive work environment. For the latest, follow us on Google News. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230603/ukrainian-foreign-ministry-rejects-indonesias-peace-proposal-1110883751.html Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Rejects Indonesia's Peace Proposal Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Rejects Indonesia's Peace Proposal The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry rejected on Saturday a peace proposal tabled by Indonesia, including referendums in Crimea. The plan was first floated by Indonesian Defense Minister Subianto during a defense summit in Singapore. 2023-06-03T23:05+0000 2023-06-03T23:05+0000 2023-06-04T04:38+0000 world ukrainian crisis indonesia ceasefire ceasefire crimea crimea russia /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/02/0b/1107345720_0:321:3071:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_ccc3812b3cb761c6ba0f1085e250d62a.jpg "We appreciate Indonesias attention to the restoration of peace in Ukraine But there are no territories that are contested by Ukraine and Russia that require referendums to be held," foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said. Crimea, a Black Sea peninsula where ethnic Russians make up the largest share of the population, voted to cede from Ukraine and rejoin Russia following a coup in Kiev in 2014. The Donetsk and Lugansk peoples republics, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions voted overwhelmingly to join Russia last September. Nikolenko also rejected a proposed ceasefire and the creation of a Korea-style demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine that would be overseen by UN peacekeeping troops. The plan was floated by Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto during an Asian defense summit in Singapore, which was attended by Ukrainian and US defense ministers. Ukraine's Oleksii Reznikov was quoted as saying by Bloomberg that the proposal "sounds like a Russian plan, not an Indonesian plan." https://sputnikglobe.com/20230603/indonesian-defense-minister-proposes-korea-style-resolution-of-ukrainian-crisis-1110872007.html indonesia 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 ukraine, special military operation in ukraine, indonesia, crimea, singapore, ceasefire, peace proposal, ukrainian crisis, conflict in ukrain, war in ukraine, peace proposal for ukrainian crisis, ukraine rejects peace proposal Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) The first batch of over 390,000 doses of bivalent COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Lithuanian government arrived in the Philippines Saturday night. The Department of Health (DOH) said the COVID-19 Vaccine Pfizer Bivalent known as Tozinameran+Famtozinameran (Comirnaty Original/Omicron BA.4-5) covers both the original coronavirus strain and its Omicron variant. According to the DOH, the doses will be transported to different regions for the first phase of the rollout. As part of the initial phase, the bivalent vaccines will be given as a third booster shot for health workers and senior citizens. The agency said these must be administered at least four to six months after the two sectors received their second booster shots, and only within hospital or health care facilities. READ: DOH allots anticipated bivalent vaccines as 3rd booster for healthcare workers, seniors Other sectors and population groups will be made eligible for the shots in the succeeding phases of the bivalent vaccine rollout. The DOH is currently in talks with the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility for the delivery of another two million bivalent vaccine doses. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/belgium-to-demand-answers-after-ukraine-uses-its-weapons-in-russia-raid-1110908022.html Belgium to Demand Answers After Ukraine Uses Its Weapons in Russia Raid Belgium to Demand Answers After Ukraine Uses Its Weapons in Russia Raid Belgium Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder and Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said they were demand clarification after Ukraine reportedly used NATO weapons in its failed raid on Russian villages. 2023-06-04T20:46+0000 2023-06-04T20:46+0000 2023-06-04T20:46+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine nato belgium ukraine russia europe /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/05/18/1110561315_0:80:2157:1293_1920x0_80_0_0_f75696471ea7fa8c8cfb5d9f16365836.jpg Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder and Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said they would raise the issue with Ukraine at the earliest opportunity, Le Soir daily reported citing sources in the know. Belgium has been supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine on condition that they will only be used to defend the Ukrainian territory, a source familiar with the matter told the newspaper. The Russian military said a sabotage and reconnaissance group entered the western Russian region of Belgorod on May 22, killing a civilian and wounding 13 others. Russian troops killed more than 70 militants. A Polish armed group confirmed on Sunday that it took part in the raid. US Media reported Saturday, citing US officials familiar with intelligence findings, that Ukrainian militants were armed with Belgian and Czech rifles and at least one AT-3 anti-tank weapon, which is used by US and allied troops. The Ukrainians drove mine-resistant MRAP armored vehicles donated to Ukraine by the US and Poland. belgium ukraine 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 raid into russia, ukraine attacks russia, nato weapons https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/china-warns-nato-like-alliances-in-asia-may-plunge-region-into-whirlpool-of-conflicts-1110897321.html China Warns NATO-Like Alliances in Asia May Plunge Region Into Whirlpool of Conflicts China Warns NATO-Like Alliances in Asia May Plunge Region Into Whirlpool of Conflicts The US currently remains a member of a spate of alliances and partnerships in the Asia-Pacific, including AUKUS , QUAD and the SPEF. 2023-06-04T08:12+0000 2023-06-04T08:12+0000 2023-06-04T08:12+0000 asia china us nato alliance asia-pacific region conflicts confrontation conference lloyd austin /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/103250/91/1032509198_0:114:4001:2364_1920x0_80_0_0_b1bec3126c511c600efed3a43d2b6a35.jpg In what appeared to be a thinly veiled dig at the US, Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu has warned against forming NATO-like alliances in the Asia-Pacific, which he said is fraught with consequences for the region."Todays Asia-Pacific needs open and inclusive cooperation, not buddying up into small cliques. We must not forget the severe disasters brought by the two world wars to the peoples of all countries, and we must not allow such a tragic history to repeat itself," he underscored.The Chinese defense minister also accused "some countries" of intensifying an arms race and interfering in the internal affairs of other nations.The Chinese defense chief did not explicitly name any country but he appeared to be referring to the US, which is currently part of several alliances and partnerships across the region.Lis remarks come after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told the Shangri-La Dialogue that his country is not trying to create a NATO-like alliance in the Asia-Pacific region.In the meantime, America remains a member of the AUKUS alliance, which groups the country with Australia and the UK. The US is also a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) with Australia, India and Japan. On top of that, Washington is part of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) initiative, which was established in May 2022 and now includes 13 other members, such as Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230603/us-trojan-horse-all-to-know-about-the-indo-pacific-economic-framework-1110872614.html china 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 chinese defense minister li shangfu's speech at shangri-la dialogue, asia-pacific region, shangri-la dialogue security conference, li shangfu's warning against nato-like alliances in asia https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/chinese-official-hits-back-after-us-defense-secretary-accuses-beijing-of-bullying-1110883875.html Chinese Official Hits Back After US Defense Secretary Accuses Beijing of Bullying Chinese Official Hits Back After US Defense Secretary Accuses Beijing of Bullying A senior Chinese military figure is pushing back after the US Defense Secretary accused the PRC of bullying", a comment which raised a few eyebrows. 2023-06-04T00:45+0000 2023-06-04T00:45+0000 2023-06-04T04:43+0000 asia china us-china relations lloyd austin shangri-la dialogue high-level security summit taiwan /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/0b/13/1104442983_0:4:1414:799_1920x0_80_0_0_51184acb48f5f08256f9a119b70a4d7d.png A senior Chinese military figure is pushing back after US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin accused China of coercion and bullying while insisting that Washington is actually pursuing dialogue rather than conflict and wants to maintain the status quo in terms of Taiwan.In the speech, Austin signaled that the US Navy will continue to sail warships just a few dozen miles off Chinas coast, among other provocative military maneuvers.We are committed to ensuring that every country can fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, he said, adding, every country, large or small, must remain free to conduct lawful maritime activities.The US portrays its military voyages through the Luzon Strait as freedom of navigation exercises, but Chinese officials view them differently.Jianfeng singled out Austin in particular, who he accused of attempting to pull out of Beijings one-China principle and said was seriously distorting the facts and truth of Taiwans status.Second, the one-China principle represents the consensus of the international community. Third, it is the common aspiration and sacred responsibility of all Chinese people, including our Taiwan compatriots, to complete the reunification of the motherland.The annual security forum, named after the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore where its hosted each year, features high-ranking defense officials from dozens of countries in Asia.Though the US is technically located thousands of miles away from the continent, it has nonetheless attended every Shangri-La Dialogue since the inaugural summit in 2002, a habit mocked by Americas best-known satirical newspaper, which on Friday published the sardonic headline: Embarrassed U.S. Excuses Itself From Asia Security Summit After Realizing America Not In Asia. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230602/china-builds-bridges-while-us-builds-bases-how-washington-beijing-approach-security-in-asia-1110862741.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230603/us-trojan-horse-all-to-know-about-the-indo-pacific-economic-framework-1110872614.html china Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Wyatt Reed Wyatt Reed 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 Wyatt Reed china, us, us-china relations, beijing, dc, prc https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/humanitarian-aid-from-residents-of-ireland-delivered-to-donetsk-1110886069.html Humanitarian Aid From Residents of Ireland Delivered to Donetsk Humanitarian Aid From Residents of Ireland Delivered to Donetsk Residents of Ireland sent humanitarian aid to Donetsk for residents affected by the ongoing armed conflict, Deputy Director of the Belarusian Humanitarian Fund Vladimir Kazbanov told Sputnik. 2023-06-04T05:38+0000 2023-06-04T05:38+0000 2023-06-04T05:39+0000 world russia donbass donetsk humanitarian aid /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/06/04/1110885909_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_26323ce52f83dffa3a3a032b2dc2f4ba.jpg "Citizens of Ireland took part in this project: not only those who speak Russian but also those who do not know Russian. Citizens of the countries of the European Union, who understand everything cannot be indifferent, despite the agenda that is being broadcast in Europe by official puppet politicians," Kazbanov said. This is the second humanitarian shipment from Europeans, and the third batch of aid is already being prepared, as more and more people want to help, Kazbanov added. The humanitarian goods, including medicines for children, were delivered to Donetsk via Belarus. russia donbass donetsk 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 donets, donbass, humanitarian aid, european humanitarian aid, people of donbass https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/kiev-hoped-for-natos-direct-entry-into-ukraine-conflict-when-staging-shebekino-terror-attack-1110901190.html Kiev Hoped for NATOs Direct Entry Into Ukraine Conflict When Staging Shebekino Terror Attack Kiev Hoped for NATOs Direct Entry Into Ukraine Conflict When Staging Shebekino Terror Attack When conducting a recent terror attack on Russias Belgorod Region, the Zelensky regime hoped for a direct NATO entry into the Ukraine conflict, ex-US diplomat and former senior foreign policy advisor Jim Jatras told Sputnik. 2023-06-04T12:56+0000 2023-06-04T12:56+0000 2023-06-04T12:56+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine russia ukraine belgorod region ukrainian attacks on belgorod region /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/09/15/1101035591_0:0:3035:1708_1920x0_80_0_0_a12717b9ab4e72026d09e5b9be07ff2b.jpg The Russian armed forces thwarted a new attempt by Kiev earlier this week to carry out a terrorist attack against the civilian population of the town of Shebekino in Russias Belgorod Region and violate the countrys state border.The purpose of this terrorist attack on the Belgorod Region is to try to trick the Russians into some kind of a stupid or a hasty or an emotional response, Jim Jatras told Sputnik.This, he added, would then trigger the Ukrainians hope for some kind of direct NATO entry into the war, which they see as their only possible lifeline.Separately touching upon Kievs much-hyped counteroffensive against Russian troops, Jatras suggested that Ukrainian authorities may follow through with this because they're getting political pressure from Washington and London.In an apparent nod to Ukrainian servicemen, Jatras said that the counteroffensive could see a lot of guys killed for no real military advantage.While Moscow has repeatedly indicated willingness to sit down for peace talks with Kiev, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier signed a law to prevent his country from negotiating with Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted in this regard he is already tired of addressing Washington's remarks that Moscow does not want to hold a peace dialogue with Kiev.For more in-depth analysis of current affairs, check out our Sputnik Radio show Political Misfits. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230601/watch-russian-forces-obliterate-ukrainian-terrorists-who-sought-to-attack-belgorod-region-1110846535.html russia ukraine belgorod region 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 zelensky regime, kiev's terrorist attack on shebekino, russia's belgorod region, russian troops, russian forces' response to kiev's terrorist attack on shebekino https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/mike-pence-mounts-motorcycle-as-gops-2024-hopefuls-strut-their-stuff-at-iowa-biker-event-1110884513.html Mike Pence Mounts Motorcycle as GOPs 2024 Hopefuls Strut Their Stuff at Iowa Biker Event Mike Pence Mounts Motorcycle as GOPs 2024 Hopefuls Strut Their Stuff at Iowa Biker Event GOP presidential contenders descended on the Iowa state fairgrounds Saturday to kick off the primary season with a full day of barbecue and biking. Eight GOP hopefuls were in attendance, except for former President Donald Trump. 2023-06-04T01:51+0000 2023-06-04T01:51+0000 2023-06-04T05:06+0000 americas mike pence mike pence 2024 us presidential election iowa iowa ron desantis joni ernst gop donald trump /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/06/04/1110884356_0:161:3071:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_8302daa37c70d438dde9a744bd0e5a4f.jpg Long-shot Republican presidential contenders descended on the Iowa state fairgrounds Saturday to kick off the primary season with a full day of barbecue and biking in the battleground state.Eight GOP hopefuls were in attendance at Iowa Senator Joni Ernst's annual "Roast and Ride," including former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.Also along for the ride were Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, Michigan businessman Perry Johnson, author Vivek Ramaswamy and right-wing talk radio host Larry Elder.With the exception of Pence, all the Republican figures present had already declared their candidacy.Throughout the event, Pence made repeated references to his forthcoming candidacy, but refused to confirm hes running for the oval office."One of the reporters just asked me if were showing up more in Iowa, what our lane would be. I said I'm more worried about the lane were going to be staying in today," he joked.Republican candidates have been hesitant to go after Trump by name so far this election cycle, but on Saturday, both Pence and DeSantis tried to get in a jab following the former presidents message of congratulations to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un following Pyongyangs accession to a World Health Organization executive board."Nobody should be praising the dictator in North Korea or praising the leader of Russia, who has launched an unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine," Pence insisted in remarks to reporters. And DeSantis wasnt far behind the Florida governor said he was "surprised" to see Trump congratulate a man he called "a murderous dictator." americas iowa iowa Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Wyatt Reed Wyatt Reed 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 Wyatt Reed mike pence, donald trump, ron desantis, joni ernst, nikki haley, iowa, motorcycles https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/no-glimpse-of-hope-seen-in-russia-us-relations---kremlin-aide-1110900575.html No Glimpse of Hope Seen in Russia-US Relations - Kremlin Aide No Glimpse of Hope Seen in Russia-US Relations - Kremlin Aide Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said on Sunday that there is no glimpse of hope in relations between Russia and the United States and that the situation is not optimistic. 2023-06-04T10:50+0000 2023-06-04T10:50+0000 2023-06-04T11:24+0000 world russia-nato showdown russian economy under sanctions ukrainian crisis us arms for ukraine /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/0c/0e/1105461261_0:0:3072:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_c3d53e0f889aa37472cd48f9ebc1724e.jpg "There is no glimpse of hope at all. You know, the situation on the Russian-American track is not optimistic," Ushakov said in an interview for a Russian TV program.Diplomatic relations between Russia and the US took a turn for the worse after the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. In May, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said that the US will one day abandon its hostile policy toward Russia and realize that there is no alternative to building mutually respectful and pragmatic relations with Moscow. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230420/lavrov-russia-and-us-currently-have-no-concrete-relations-1109711156.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russia-us relations, russia-nato showdown, russia and us, ukrainian crisis https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/romanian-president-says-hopes-country-will-join-schengen-zone-in-2023-1110904056.html Romanian President Says Hopes Country Will Join Schengen Zone in 2023 Romanian President Says Hopes Country Will Join Schengen Zone in 2023 Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Sunday expressed his hope that the country will become part of the European Union's passport-free Schengen zone this year, having proved its ability to protect state borders. 2023-06-04T14:26+0000 2023-06-04T14:26+0000 2023-06-04T14:26+0000 world romania schengen zone klaus iohannis european union (eu) /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/104908/09/1049080952_0:0:2909:1637_1920x0_80_0_0_74e21933792805fa826e0180f7c853d8.jpg He added that Romania has also proven that it can protect the EU's external borders. In December 2022, EU interior ministers agreed on Croatia's accession to the Schengen zone but postponed decisions on Bulgaria and Romania. Austria blocked the two countries' accession, saying that their efforts to combat illegal migration on their territories were insufficient. Illegal migration is a security threat not only for Austria, but for the entire EU, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said at the time. Viennas decision drew bitter criticism from Bulgaria and Romania. Germanys Alliance 90/The Greens party, represented by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, called on the Austrian coalition government, which includes the Austrian People's Party and The Greens The Green Alternative, to reconsider the veto. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230423/romania-should-continue-boosting-military-interoperability-with-nato-1109777043.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/romania-planning-to-cut-financial-help-to-unemployed-ukrainian-refugees-reports-1106324316.html romania 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 schengen zone, romania, european union, romanian president klaus iohannis, klaus iohannis, passport-free zone https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/rublevs-trinity-showcased-at-christ-the-savior-cathedral-in-moscow-1110885041.html Rublevs Trinity Showcased at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow Rublevs Trinity Showcased at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow The famous artwork arrived on Saturday at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The icon was expected to be showcased at the Cathedral until June 18, but it will be staying in the cathedral for a year, said the Patriarch. 2023-06-04T03:00+0000 2023-06-04T03:00+0000 2023-06-04T11:20+0000 russia history art russian culture ministry moscows christ the savior cathedral russian orthodox church /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/06/04/1110900747_0:27:3040:1736_1920x0_80_0_0_c9393a8e2baa4b398025214bf6b0fc34.jpg "The icon has been placed in a capsule under constant humidity conditions. The cathedral will closely monitor conditions required to preserve the artifact," the statement read, adding that experts from Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery will be helping to preserve the artwork. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered for the icon to be handed over to the Russian Orthodox Church, which owned the painting before the Russian Revolution. Rublev created the "Holy Trinity" for the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, in the town of Sergiyev Posad near Moscow, where it stayed until the 1920s. The icon was expected to be showcased at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior until June 18 and then sent for restoration works, but Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said on Saturday it will be staying in the cathedral for a year before being returned to the Lavra. 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 cathedral of christ the savior, moscow, russia, artwork, historical art piece, religious art, vladimir putin, trinity lavra of st. sergius, russian culture ministry https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/russia-launches-group-missile-strike-on-targets-at-ukraines-military-airfields-1110901487.html Russia Launches Group Missile Strike on Targets at Ukraine's Military Airfields Russia Launches Group Missile Strike on Targets at Ukraine's Military Airfields The Russian military carried out a group strike with long-range precision weapons against enemy targets at military airfields, the Defense Ministry said on Sunday, adding that the strikes were successful. 2023-06-04T12:11+0000 2023-06-04T12:11+0000 2023-06-04T14:59+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine ukrainian crisis high precision missiles russia-nato showdown russia ukraine donetsk russian defense ministry /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/103181/78/1031817841_0:0:3196:1799_1920x0_80_0_0_055e36bd0d473d5469794644a03bae31.jpg "Last night, the Russian armed forces carried out a long-range high-precision air-launched group strike against enemy targets at military airfields. The purpose of the strike was achieved. Command and control posts, radar posts, Ukrainian aircraft, and storage facilities with weapons and ammunition were hit," the ministry said. The ministry added that Ukraine lost up to 440 military over the past 24 hours in the Donetsk, South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions.Russian Military Hits Ukraine's UAV Assembly Facility Near DnepropetrovskThe Russian military has hit Ukraine's unmanned aerial vehicles' (UAV) assembly facility near the city of Dnepropetrovsk with ground-based precision weapons, MoD added. In addition, the command and observation posts of Ukrainian battalions were hit near the settlements of Poltavka in the Zaporozhye region and Toretsk in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).Russia began striking Ukrainian infrastructure on October 10, two days after the attack on the Crimean bridge. The strikes are targeting energy, defense industry, military command and communications facilities throughout Ukraine. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230531/ukrainian-shelling-could-turn-europe-into-uninhabitable-radioactive-ruin-heres-why-1110822308.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230602/watch-russian-combat-engineer-blow-up-ukrainian-wheeled-kamikaze-drone-1110856987.html russia ukraine donetsk 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 special military operation, ukrainian crisis, precision strikes on ukraine, russia-nato showdown Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 4) A health advocate on Sunday urged the government to improve public access to bivalent COVID-19 vaccines by making them commercially available and not depend on donations from other countries. We should push for commercialization of bivalent vaccines so people who would like to be boosted have access to it, Tony Leachon said in a message to CNN Philippines, adding that major pharmacies have the blueprint for distributing vaccines on a large scale. People wouldnt mind paying for bivalent boosters so they will be protected and live a confident, free and normal life, he added. The Philippines received on Saturday over 390,000 doses of Pfizers bivalent COVID-19 vaccines from Lithuania. The doses are formulated to target newer variants of COVID-19, such as the more transmissible Omicron. The Department of Health (DOH) said healthcare workers and senior citizens will be prioritized for the bivalent shots. Leachon, who served as an adviser to the governments COVID-19 task force during the Duterte administration, said the DOH should call for a summit of medical and pharmaceutical experts to discuss the procurement of bivalent vaccines and avoid wastage. He also said the government should launch a massive information campaign on the importance of getting COVID-19 boosters and go after those who spread fake news. People should be educated with the value of vaccination and boosters and penalize anti-science personalities and peddlers of fake news, misinformation and disinformation. We are too soft on this aspect. We need to crack the whip and let science prevail to protect our people, Leachon added. Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin, a former health secretary, said the government should also hold accountable those who spread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. Expect the aggressiveness of the anti-vaxxers, hence DOH should have the political will to really buckle down to work and assist the LGUs (local government units) to the max, she said. A whole of government approach should be done because those persistently filing cases against vaccinators and DOH officials are also from government, she added. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/russia-launches-literary-award-to-honor-assassinated-military-blogger-1110885174.html Russia Launches Literary Award to Honor Assassinated Military Blogger Russia Launches Literary Award to Honor Assassinated Military Blogger Russia launched a national literary award on Saturday that will recognize excellence in military prose and war journalism in tribute to slain war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. 2023-06-04T03:19+0000 2023-06-04T03:19+0000 2023-06-04T03:19+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine vladlen tatarsky's assassination literature russia russias national anti-terrorism committee /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/04/03/1109070033_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_7cb89b1ddbda8243a91ed5bf030b2a7a.jpg "The launch of the All-Russia Literary Award named after Maxim Fomin, also known as Vladlen Tatarsky, was announced in Red Square," the press office of Russian lawmaker Dmitry Kuznetsov said in a statement. Fomin died when an improvised explosive devise disguised as a statuette went off in a St. Petersburg cafe on April 2 during an event hosted by the blogger. More than 30 people were injured. Russia's Investigative Committee detained Daria Trepova on suspicion of her involvement in the explosion. The National Anti-Terrorism Committee said Ukrainian special services and supporters of Alexei Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation (banned in Russia as an extremist organization and foreign agent) masterminded the bombing. 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 russia, literary award, vladlen tatarsky, maxim fomin, daria trepova, st. petersburg https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/russian-solntsepyok-flamethrowers-hit-kiev-militants-1110899648.html Russian Solntsepyok Flamethrowers Hit Kiev Militants Russian Solntsepyok Flamethrowers Hit Kiev Militants Solntsepek entered service in 2003. It is considered one of most deadly flamethrowers in the world and is utilized by a number of armies, including Saudi Arabia, Syria, Algeria and Iraq. 2023-06-04T12:52+0000 2023-06-04T12:52+0000 2023-06-04T12:52+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine ukrainian crisis /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/102264/27/1022642713_0:19:2866:1631_1920x0_80_0_0_6e8a55b9d560b91ec889d5ae1459ac4c.jpg The Russian Armed Forces have landed a blow against Ukrainian militants near Gulyaipole, MoD representatives have told Sputnik.Solntsepyok is best translated into English as scorching sunlight. When detonated, the shell creates a volumetric explosion and thermal field. The feature of this flamethrower is that its shells create differences in pressure near the target, affecting the target with barotrauma internal organ trauma caused by a change in pressure.In 2022, Russia launched its special military operation to protect the people of Donbass from the never-ending aggression from Kiev. Western countries ramped up their support for Ukraine, providing it with military equipment and shells. Russian officials have consistently warned that this move will only fuel and prolong the conflict. 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 special military operation, ukrainian crisis, flamethrower, russian flamethrower https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/russian-troops-fighting-ukrainian-sabotage-group-in-belgorod-region-1110905315.html Russian Military Disperses Ukrainian Armed Group in Belgorod Region Russian Military Disperses Ukrainian Armed Group in Belgorod Region An artillery strike dispersed a Ukrainian armed group as it attempted an inroad into western Russia near the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka on Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry said. 2023-06-04T15:53+0000 2023-06-04T15:53+0000 2023-06-04T16:25+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine ukrainian crisis belgorod region terrorist attack ukrainian attacks on belgorod region alexander gladkov russia ukraine russian defense ministry /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/06/04/1110905449_0:0:3089:1739_1920x0_80_0_0_5e1f1d9b1691928bd7b876d86f2b89b2.jpg "On June 4, border defense units of the Western Military District and border guards of the Russian Federal Security Service detected an attempt by a sabotage and reconnaissance group of Ukrainian terrorists to cross a river near the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka, in the Belgorod Region," it said.Earlier in the day, the regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that fighting was underway between Russian forces and a Ukrainian sabotage group in the western Russian village of Novaya Tavolzhanka in the Belgorod Region.Gladkov said Ukrainian saboteurs had offered a swap for people they captured during the incursion. He said he feared that prisoners had been killed but agreed to meet for talks at a checkpoint in the Russian town of Shebekino, bordering Ukraines Khrarkov region. The Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday that Russian troops had repelled three Ukrainian cross-border attacks near Shebekino in Belgorod Region. A dormitory in Shebekino was set alight and an administrative budding was damaged in the attacks, local authorities said. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230603/ukrainian-terrorists-used-nato-given-gear-in-belgorod-regions-attack-last-week---reports-1110874797.html belgorod region 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 ukrainian crisis, russia special military operation in ukraine, terrorism, sabotage, belgorod https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/serbian-president-says-receives-200-death-threats-every-day-1110902515.html Serbian President Says He Receives 200 Death Threats Every Day Serbian President Says He Receives 200 Death Threats Every Day Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday that he receives 200 death threats every day and believes that tolerating them is an intrinsic part of presidential duties. 2023-06-04T13:52+0000 2023-06-04T13:52+0000 2023-06-04T16:05+0000 world serbia aleksandar vucic kosovo serbian progressive party (sns) /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/105484/79/1054847906_0:0:3947:2220_1920x0_80_0_0_ea5ef48cfb3b1e779da0c992fac6ff8b.jpg "I am the president of the republic, and it is my job to put up with death threats. I don't know if it is prosecutable officially or privately, for my part, there are over 200 death threats against me every day. When you are a president, learn to tolerate it," Vucic told a briefing when asked to comment on the effigy that resembled him and was hanged at a Saturday opposition march.The president said he was "tired of the lie that someone from the outside" had brought the effigy to the rally, adding that it is his job to put up with "such dirty acts and nastiness." On Saturday, the Serbian opposition held their fifth march and rally in Belgrade. Although there is no official data on the number of participants, the opposition media put the attendance at over 10,000. Some actors, TV presenters, and politicians opposing the ruling party addressed the crowds. On May 26, the largest rally in support of Vucic and the government took place in the Serbian capital, with the official attendance of 200,000 people. The next day, the president announced that he was stepping down as the leader of the country's ruling Serbian Progressive Party and suggested Deputy Prime Minister Milos Vucevic as his replacement. Earlier in May, Vucic said that special services of a friendly country "from the East" warned him of possible attempts to stage a color revolution in the country. Vucic also said that Serbia was going to maintain independent foreign policy and decide on its own whether to impose any sanctions or not. He also accused his political opponents of using people's emotions over the two recent mass shootings to achieve their own political goals. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230530/explosion-in-the-heart-of-europe-whats-going-on-in-kosovo-1110799134.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230529/serbian-president-vucic-goal-of-aggravation-of-situation-in-kosovo-is-to-clash-serbia-nato--1110780965.html serbia kosovo 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 serbia, serbian president aleksandar vucic, aleksandar vucic, serbian president https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/stoltenberg-says-sweden-fulfilled-its-obligations-to-join-nato-1110906343.html Stoltenberg Says Sweden Fulfilled Its Obligations to Join NATO Stoltenberg Says Sweden Fulfilled Its Obligations to Join NATO NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said after negotiations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday that Sweden has fulfilled all its obligations to join the alliance. 2023-06-04T13:26+0000 2023-06-04T13:26+0000 2023-06-04T16:43+0000 military jens stoltenberg recep tayyip erdogan sweden finland turkiye nato /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/101756/03/1017560351_0:29:4928:2801_1920x0_80_0_0_a97c3ddbec4e480f78d8eb7dff45c84c.jpg "We also discussed Swedens bid for NATO membership. Turkiye has legitimate security concerns. No other Ally has faced more terrorist attacks. Sweden has taken significant, concrete steps to meet Turkiyes concerns So Sweden has fulfilled its obligations", Stoltenberg said at the Dolmabahce Palace. He added that Stockholm and Ankara would hold new consultations on Sweden's NATO membership starting June 12. "At the Madrid Summit last year, Turkiye, Finland and Sweden signed a trilateral memorandum paving the way for Finland and Swedens NATO membership. This included the establishment of a Permanent Joint Mechanism to strengthen cooperation between Turkiye, Finland, and Sweden ... President Erdogan and I agreed today that the Permanent Joint Mechanism should meet again in the week starting on the 12th of June," Stoltenberg said. He also commented on demonstrations against NATO and Turkiye in Sweden, saying that their organizers wanted to prevent Sweden from joining NATO, thus weakening the bloc, and that the alliance should not let them succeed. Sweden, along with Finland, submitted its NATO application in May 2022, several months after Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine. Finland became a member of the alliance in April. Sweden's application is still pending approval from Hungary and Turkiye. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230405/sweden-needs-to-take-several-additional-steps-for-nato-membership-cavusoglu-1109157893.html sweden finland turkiye 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 nato, turkiye, turkey, sweden, sweden accession to nato, sweden nato membership, jhens stoltenberg, recep tayyip erdogan https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/three-chinese-astronauts-safely-return-to-earth-after-6-months-in-space-1110897216.html Three Chinese Astronauts Safely Return to Earth After 6 Months in Space Three Chinese Astronauts Safely Return to Earth After 6 Months in Space Three-member crew of China's Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft successfully landed in China on Sunday after their six-month mission on board the Tiangong space station, China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said. 2023-06-04T07:42+0000 2023-06-04T07:42+0000 2023-06-04T07:42+0000 asia china space exploration space mission tiangong shenzhou-10 shenzhou-11 /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/104540/45/1045404533_0:183:3500:2152_1920x0_80_0_0_f1deb5fe1270c846b91d5966e71f180e.jpg Some 30 minutes later the astronauts were carried out of the capsule, the agency said, adding that they are in good physical condition. The crew includes three astronauts crew commander Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu who arrived at the orbital station on November 30, 2022. During their stay on the station, they made four spacewalks and conducted several scientific and technical experiments. The Shenzhou-16 crew that came to Tiangong on May 30 will continue working aboard it for around five more months. The Tiangong space station is China's first long-term orbital station. It operates in low Earth orbit between 210 and 280 miles above the surface. Its first module, Tianhe, was launched in 2021. https://sputnikglobe.com/20210625/sky-ladder-to-beam-humans-cargo-to-mars-reportedly-in-the-works-as-part-of-chinas-space-goals-1083241519.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20181107/china-space-station-replica-unveiled-1069574706.html 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 china, space exploration, space mission, tiangong, tiangong space station, shenzhou- https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/us-special-representative-for-north-korea-urges-china-to-influence-pyongyang-1110896339.html US Special Representative for North Korea Urges China to 'Influence' Pyongyang US Special Representative for North Korea Urges China to 'Influence' Pyongyang The United States is calling on Beijing to use its influence on North Korea to encourage Pyongyang to return to the negotiating table, US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim said on Sunday, adding that North Koreas actions in the region would have "consequences." 2023-06-04T05:50+0000 2023-06-04T05:50+0000 2023-06-04T05:50+0000 world china dprk pyongyang beijing asia-pacific region us /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/06/04/1110896073_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_d1e8a8e2e1b97c2d991e78703f9cdfc7.jpg "It is unfortunate that in recent years the international community has not been able to speak with one voice in condemning the DPRK's reckless and destabilizing activity We urge Beijing to use its influence to encourage the DPRK to refrain from further destabilizing behavior and return to the negotiating table," Sung Kim told a South Korean news agency. Washington also urges China to fulfill its obligations "under the resolutions that UN Security Council members unanimously adopted," the ambassador added. "It's important to make clear to the DPRK that its escalatory behavior has consequences. The DPRK must also understand that the only viable path forward is through diplomacy," Sung Kim said, adding that any nuclear attack against South Korea would be met with a "swift, overwhelming and decisive" response.The United States is open to dialogue with Pyongyang and "remains committed to diplomacy," Sung Kim noted. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230508/japan-south-korea-rapprochement-aids-us-pacific-policy-vs-china-and-dprk-1110192587.html china pyongyang beijing 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 china, dprk, pyongyang, beijing, asia-pacific region, us https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/west-keeps-leveling-up-capacities-of-weapons-supplied-to-ukraine---kremlin-1110903462.html West Keeps Leveling Up Capacities of Weapons Supplied to Ukraine - Kremlin West Keeps Leveling Up Capacities of Weapons Supplied to Ukraine - Kremlin Weapons supplied to Ukraine by Western countries are becoming more and more advanced, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday, adding that possible deliveries of long-range missiles are fraught with a new escalation. 2023-06-04T14:09+0000 2023-06-04T14:09+0000 2023-06-04T14:09+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine ukrainian crisis us arms for ukraine russia-nato showdown /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/106374/54/1063745410_0:67:744:486_1920x0_80_0_0_a8da00aaf472791f1f2027447acdd4eb.jpg He added that these developments force Russia to be "more concentrated, stronger, more mobilized" and to continue the special military operation. Last week, German newspaper cited sources as saying that Kiev had asked Germany to supply Taurus missiles with a range of up to 500 kilometers. In late May, Roderich Kiesewetter, a German lawmaker from the opposition Christian Democratic Union, said Berlin should abandon "red lines" in its approach to the Ukrainian conflict and supply Kiev with cruise missiles with a range of more than 500 kilometers. Western countries have been providing military aid to Ukraine since the start of Russia's special military operation in February. The aid includes both light and heavy weapons, such as tanks and other armored vehicles, missiles, drones, artillery and ammunition. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230527/russian-air-defenses-destroy-kievs-uk-supplied-storm-shadow-cruise-missiles-1110640471.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230512/what-are-storm-shadow-missiles-and-how-can-russia-defeat-them-1110288372.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russia-nato showdown, ukrainian crisis, us arms for ukraine, ukraine weapons, taurus, storm shadow https://sputnikglobe.com/20230604/wreckage-of-unknown-balloon-with-cyrillic-inscriptions-found-in-poland-1110884949.html Wreckage of Unknown Balloon With Cyrillic Inscriptions Found in Poland Wreckage of Unknown Balloon With Cyrillic Inscriptions Found in Poland The wreckage of an unknown balloon with Cyrillic inscriptions was found in the northeastern Polish province of WarmiaMasuria, Polish media reported on Saturday. 2023-06-04T04:29+0000 2023-06-04T04:29+0000 2023-06-04T04:29+0000 poland world balloon /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/103501/76/1035017680_0:132:3171:1916_1920x0_80_0_0_9b06ee1e05ffd1e1e3b16f06b0002f84.jpg The balloon was found on Saturday morning in a cornfield 4 kilometers (2.48 miles) from the village of Biala Piska, a local radio reported, adding that the fragments of the balloon were seized by the police, and then they were taken away by the military for further study. It is not known whether this is a meteorological or military balloon, the report read. However, the operational command of the Polish armed forces did not observe violations of Polish airspace, the report added. poland 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 poland, mysterious balloon, balloon with cyrillic inscriptions Harness racing for 2023 at Georgian Downs got underway on Saturday night (June 3) with an eight-race card going to gate. The opening night feature was an $8,500 conditioned pace for fillies and mares won by odds-on favourite Mending Fences in 1:55.3. Driver Anthony Haughan shot to the front in a :28 first quarter, but yielded command to Big Cheddar before a :58 half. Staying seated through three-quarters in 1:27, Mending Fences fired from the pocket in the lane to win by a half-length in 1:55.3. Meg Crone trains and co-owns the three-year-old daughter of Artspeak with Anthony Haughan. She paid $2.70 to win. Racing at Georgian runs on a Saturday-Sunday-Tuesday rotation through the meet, which ends on Tuesday, Aug. 29. Saturdays and Tuesdays have first-race post time at 7:15 p.m. (EDT) while Sunday cards get underway at 6 p.m. To view Saturdays harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results Georgian Downs. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 4) The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) on Saturday announced that visits to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) maximum security compound in Muntinlupa City have been suspended until June 9. BuCor announced the suspension in a social media post. However, it did not specify the reason behind the suspension. Panatilihing naka-antabay sa mga official social media accounts ng BuCor para sa iba pang mga anunsyo, it said. [Translation: Follow the official social media accounts of BuCor for more announcements.] BuCor earlier suspended visits to its inmates in the NBP and Correctional Institution for Women due to COVID-19 infections among inmates and personnel. READ: BuCor suspends visits to Bilibid, Correctional due to COVID-19 cases The suspension of visits was later lifted on May 25. Facing stakes company for the first time, Saint Louie backed down the field like a seasoned pro, held off the 1-2 favourite and scored in Saturdays (June 3) Pennsylvania Sire Stakes at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. Father Stosh and Spitfire Oversees also captured divisions of the $142,946 event, known as the Hickory Smoke, for three-year-old colt and gelding trotters. Saturdays sub-feature, a $60,000 PA Stallion Series stakes for sophomore colt and gelding trotters, also provided plenty of excitement, as Ronnie Wrenn Jr. swept the three splits in progress to a six-victory day. Saint Louie had won two straight overnights but was stepping way up for Dave Palone and Ake Svanstedt, who trains the Father Patrick-Emmylou Who gelding for Ake Svanstedt Inc., Young Guns and Joe Sbrocco. When Saint Louie walked the second panel in :29.1, he had plenty in the tank to turn back the bid of the pocket-sitting Once In A Lifetime Pennsylvania's frosh champ, no less and stave him off by a neck in 1:54. I thought he was the sleeper of the day, said Palone. His greatest attribute is, hes so handy. When he was able to cross over and they left him alone like that, I knew it would take a big number to finish him off. We took the plugs out, and he wasnt letting that horse get by. Father Stosh found himself in a position young trotters often consider uncomfortable between horses vying for the early lead. But he crossed over without incident for Wrenn, released the three-wide Commander Frank and kicked by in the lane to win in a career-best 1:53.4. Chamba finished second, a length in arrears, while a weary Commander Frank saved show. Jill Roland conditions the son of Father Patrick-Ebbtide Hall for Bernard OBrien. When I scored him down, he actually made a break, so I was a little hesitant about leaving too fast with him, said Wrenn. He handled the first turn well, and once I secured the two-hole, I knew he would give me a big effort later in the mile. Scott Zeron piloted Khaosan Road to victory in the Battle of Bunkerhill at Plainridge, but for Saturdays PASS, Zeron chose over that one in favour of Spitfire Oversees, a son of International Moni-Legal Lady that winning trainer Megan Scran has been nursing through a bout of sickness. Zeron knew what he was doing, as he confidently moved Spitfire Oversees first up from third, and the duo rolled past Khaosan Road and the highly regarded Herodotus to prevail in 1:53.2, a lifetime mark. Herodotus was 1-3/4 lengths back in second, with Khaosan Road third. I have a lot of respect for those two horses I was following, especially the one Ive been driving all year, said Zeron. To come first up and draw away, it was good. The Stallion Series splits went to Grizz Wyllie, Tailgate Buzz and Austral Hanover, all of whom had the services of Wrenn. The hot-handed reinsman completed his fantastic day with a pair of overnight wins to match his four stakes victories. Live racing at The Meadows resumes Wednesday, June 7 when the 12-race card features a pair of carryovers: $1,015.40 in the Early Pentafecta (Race 4), $443.73 in the Pick 5 (Race 8). First post is 12:45 p.m. (EDT). (MSOA) Two Central Ohio charities left Eldorado Scioto Downs with big smiles and $10,000 cheques as the winners at the Ohio Harness Horsemens Associations second charity night of the year. A total of 10 charities benefitted from the generosity of the Ohio horsemen. The charities participating in the event were paired with a horse in the ninth race on Saturday, June 3. Each charity received a donation from the association for participating, with the top three finishers receiving larger donations. First place received $10,000, second place received $5,000 and third place $3,000. All other finishers received $2,000 donations. Haven House of Pickaway County and Warrior Bags cheered home Rose Run Xiled with Austin Hanners to claim victory. Haven House was paired with Rose Run Xiled in the draw that matched the charities with the horses. Warrior Bags was paired with Kings Cruiser, who was scratched. That allowed Warrior Bags to choose which horse they would like to represent them in the race. Haven House of Pickaway County provides an alternative to domestic abuse, violence and sexual abuse by providing resources, shelter and counseling to those in need, while Warrior Bags gives encouragement and assists those fighting cancer by sending them a leather tote filled with comforting and purposeful items. Rose Run Xiled and Hanners took the pocket trip and grabbed the lead down the stretch to win by a length. Winning Charity Night is nothing new for Hanners. He drove the winner of the association's first charity night of the year at Miami Valley Gaming and Raceway in April. Beach Party with Dan Noble finished second for M-A-S-H Pantry and Resource Center earning the charity $5,000, while McThirsty with Kayne Kauffman finished third for the Pickaway County Special Olympics, which received $3,000. The other charities represented were the American Red Cross, Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Ohio, Crohns & Colitis Foundation, Home For Families, International Order of Rainbow for Girls, and PBJ Connections. A total of $40,000 was donated to the charities by the Ohio Harness Horsemens Association. (Ohio Harness Horsemens Association) The latest weekly Rewind column is the monthly edition of 'Years Ago' and this time all of the topics and old photos are from the decade of the 1940's. That makes it about 75 to 80 years ago which might make at least some of us say "My how time flies!" The old stories and pictures may even have some connection to today's participants. 1940 - Greyhound Retires After A Record Setting Ride A young Frances Dodge Johnson is shown riding Greyhound to a world trotting mark of 2:01 3/4 at the Red Mile in Lexington in September of 1940 On the afternoon of September 27th, 1940 the racing career of the great Greyhound came to a close. Throughout his stellar career he had set many world and track records and in each one was handled by the great reinsman Sep Palin. In his last attempt at a record setting performance a new "rider" was aboard the then eight-year-old gelding. Frances Dodge Johnson, who later married Frederick Van Lennep in 1949 was "in the irons" for this record setting mile. The mark stood until 1994 when Lauren Brooke Nickells, whose father Bruce Nickells is a famed horseman, bettered it with Preferential trotting in 1:58.2 also at The Red Mile. At the time of Greyhound's retirement he was credited with at least 14 world records. He was officially retired at the age of eight but went on to live another 25 years and died on Feb. 4, 1965 at the age of 33. He made countless public appearances during his long retirement including being paraded at the Santa Anita track opening in 1946 (mentioned elsewhere in today's Rewind). Now some 83 years later many fans and followers of harness racing still fondly remember GREYHOUND. Greyhound in retirement with his guardian Vernor (Dooley) Putnam who is holding the guest book that is signed by all visitors 1946 - Blue Again Wins $50,000 Golden West Pace In early spring of 1946 the harness racing season started with a huge meeting at Santa Anita Park in Inglewood California. It was a big departure from years past when thoroughbred racing dominated in the Golden State. Racing promoters were hoping that racing fans would take a liking to the pacers and trotters and luckily they did. Two races near the end of the meeting each went for an unprecedented purse of $50,000. In the pacing event the Canadian owned Blue Again won the big race and put Canadian owner Warren Leatherdale of Windsor, Ont. "on the map." This horse had previously raced for U.S. owners and was driven by Sep Palin, the man of Greyhound fame. Recently purchased by Mr. Leatherdale, the horse, his owner, and trainer Bill Fraser of Ridgetown, Ont. travelled by car and a one horse trailer all the way from Central Ontario to the West Coast. Along the way they stayed with ranchers and farmers who stabled the horse overnight and reportedly fed and housed the two men. Blue Again leads the huge field of 20 and goes on to win the $50,000 Golden West Pace at Santa Anita (Hoof Beats photo) On the day of the big race a field of 20 horses went postward. Blue Again with future Hall of Famer Jimmy Cruise driving won in convincing fashion. He had just been married a few days previous to this and the win in the big race gave the newlyweds a storybook start to their life together. The bride was the daughter of horseman Earl Daugherty from Indiana who was also racing at this meeting but his horse Lusty B. did not make it to the big race freeing up driver Cruise. In a post-race interview Cruise stated "For winning the race I received a present of $500 from the Western Harness Racing Association and I also got $400 from R. W. Leatherdale of Windsor, Ont., owner of Blue Again." Big money in those days! Blue Again is shown in the winner's circle. Driver Jimmy Cruise is in the background while Mr. Leatherdale owner (second from right) receives the winning trophy. (Hoof Beats photo) Closing note: In a complete case of coincidence I discovered while putting this week's Rewind together that Blue Again the winning horse in the $50,000 California race was previously owned by Frances Dodge, the young gal who rode Greyhound and he was driven by Sep Palin during his earlier career. Blue Again and driver Sep Palin in 1944 (Harness Horse photo) 1948 - Racing Popular At Truro, N.S. In early September 1948 a four-day race meet was held at the Truro track in conjunction with the Central Nova Scotia Exhibition. Each day's activities included at least four races, each going three heats. This was a milestone meeting as a starting gate was used for the first time ever at a Nova Scotia track. The second day of racing was completely washed out as heavy rains rendered the track unsafe and officials rescheduled it for the following day. Horses from various parts of the Maritimes shipped in for the big meeting and large crowds enjoyed the festivities. A crowd estimated at 4,000 saw Scott Spencer win the fastest event of the gathering as he recorded a winning effort in 2:10 2/5. This event was listed as a Free For All Trot or Pace and carried a purse of $1,300. The winning owner was Harry Hirsch of Sydney, N.S. and the driver was Worrell Lewis. The victory was a three-heat sweep with Gay Law driven by Angus Allen second each time. On closing day, a horse with truly a locally inspired name was a three heat winner. That horse was Colonel Dan, named after a legendary gentleman from P.E.I. Col. Dan McKinnon. Joseph S. MacDonald was the winning driver. 1949 - The Diplomat Wins Canadian Pacing Derby Proud owner Alex Parsons appears with driver Lew James after The Diplomat winning the $5,000 Canadian Pacing Derby in August 1949. Mr. James went on to a career as a Race Secretary and other administrative positions following his racing career. He is a member of the Horse Racing HOF class of 1987. For the first time in five consecutive years the outstanding pacer The Count B. was absent from this year's big Derby race at New Hamburg, Ont. The roan pacer owned by Jim Brown of New Liskeard and driven by Cliff "Chappy" Chapman Sr. had won four of the last five Derbys and was second in the 1946 race. An injury while competing in the 1948 event with John Chapman in the sulky had kept him out of action for the past year. He never regained his top form and raced only a handful of times at a few Northern Ontario small tracks. This year a newcomer to the Canadian racing scene The Diplomat, a very well bred son of Volomite that had been recently purchased in the U.S. by London, Ont. hotel owner Alex Parsons was making his first appearance. His sale price was reportedly $12,000, a figure seldom reached in Canadian racing circles at that time. He entered the 1949 Derby as the heavy favourite but finished a disappointing fifth in the opening heat. After the race, handlers discovered a roofing nail lodged in a front hoof. Once the nail was removed, The Diplomat went on to two straight victories in the second and third heat and thus the victory. In the first two heats, a field of 13 went postward on the New Hamburg half-miler which required three tiers. In the third heat the field was reduced to 12 when Make Believe, a trotter, was drawn by his owner and driver Clarence Lockhart. This marked the only time in the history of this popular race that a trotter had been entered. Quote For The Week: "Horses lend us wings we do not have." - Pamela Brown Who Is It? Here is a great photo from 1975 taken at Wolverine Raceway. Can you identify the four Canadian born drivers that appear in the top finishers? Nos. 5, 2, 7, 4 are the ones to identify. Wait a minute, that's almost 50 years ago! Photo from The Abahazy Collection. Who Else Is It? Can you identify this gentleman who was long associated with harness racing mainly in the U.S. Just a few days ago, the food pantry at Chancellor Baptist Church served 325 people in one day the largest number in its history. Before the pandemic, the pantry used to serve about 150 people per day. Now, said Tracey Bailey, who represented the pantry at a roundtable discussion about federal emergency food programs with Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the new normal low number is 240. The people we see are in need, Bailey said. People dont want to stand in that line and wait unless they are in need. Chancellor Baptist Churchs food pantry is a community program, but one third to one half of all the food it distributes comes from the federal governments TEFAP program, Bailey said. TEFAP is an acronym for The Emergency Food Assistance Program. Through TEFAP, the U.S. Department of Agriculture purchases nutritious, high-quality food, often directly from farms, and makes it available to state distributing agencies, usually food banks, which then distribute the food to local organizations and then to the public. We couldnt do what we do without the (Fredericksburg Regional) food bank, Bailey told Spanberger at the roundtable, which was held at the regional food banks new location in the Fredericksburg Industrial Park. TEFAP is funded through the nutrition title of the Farm Bill, which Congress reauthorizes every five years. 2023 is a Farm Bill year, and members of the House and Senate agriculture committees are beginning to discuss what the bill will cover. Nutrition programs authorized by the Farm Bill which include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, in addition to TEFAP and other anti-food-insecurity programs comprise 76% of the bills mandatory spending, according to a November 2022 analysis by the Congressional Research Service. Spanberger, who is a member of the House Agriculture Committee, held the roundtable to gather input from stakeholders about what can be improved in future versions of the programs. Panelists included Eddie Oliver, director of the Federation of Virginia Food Banks; Christen Gallik, director of social services for Fredericksburg; Cassie Edner, director of Virginia Hunger Solutions; nonprofit director and former SNAP recipient Shawnte Brown; and Terry Dodson, commodity supplemental food program director for the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank. Spanberger said there is a desire to bring (the amount spent on nutrition assistance programs) down among some of her colleagues in Congress. She said a common argument is that community-based programs such as church food pantries can take the place of federal assistance programs, but as Bailey said, those community programs rely on TEFAP. Another misperception pointed out by panelists is that families enrolled in SNAP which provides nutrition assistance to eligible, low-income individuals and households via a monthly allotment and is the largest federal nutrition assistance program, according to the USDA are no longer incentivized to work and support themselves. The reality is that SNAP is underutilized, Oliver said. Three out of 4 people eligible for SNAP are not enrolled, he said, often because they do not know they are eligible. In addition, many working people, including active-duty military personnel, rely on SNAP, Spanberger said. The program gives families one less thing to worry about so they can concentrate on finding a path back to work or pursue education towards a better-paying job. SNAP is a work-enabling program, Oliver said. Spanberger said her main takeaways from the roundtable are that there needs to be more education about SNAP, both for those who might be eligible and for the community in general; that it needs to be easier for farm-fresh produce to get to consumers and for producers, often a low-income population themselves, to be part of the food safety net discussion; and that food assistance programs have transportation, logistics and storage problems that need attention. She said she has been excited to work on a farm bill since entering Congress in 2019. Ive been waiting for this moment, Spanberger said. Im committed to protecting these programs. In red states throughout the South, Republican candidates, including Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, ran on platforms insisting that Critical Race Theory (CRT) was being taught in the public schools. It isnt, but fear of CRT has opened the door to the assertion that American K-12 students should not be taught American history in all its breadth and diversity, The anti-CRT hysteria threatens to limit our childrens education. Can we really hide Dr. Martin Luther King and the expanded perspective he brought to our country? Hide Emmett Tills murder? Cover up the meaning of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, informally known as the National Lynching Memorial, in Montgomery, Alabama? Hide urban redlining in housing? Ban the poetry of Amanda Gorman? After all, any child is able to visit National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington. History isnt about comfort; it should reflect what happened and expand our awareness of all that goes into the conditions around us and events we all experience. Thats how we encourage the development of wisdom. The crux of the problem is that the anti-CRT hysteria allows its proponents, such as Moms for Liberty and other organizations, to undermine American education and teachers in general. They rationalize their fears by asserting that a teacher might make some white students feel like oppressors and some black students ashamed of their origins in this country. That interpretation, that teachers would deliberately make students feel uncomfortable in the classroom, is an insult to teachers everywhere. Teachers certainly arent trained to limit students curiosity about their world or their knowledge of our history. There are, however, uncomfortable students in our classrooms, especially in schools that are old or underfunded or both; most of Virginias schools are more than 50 years old. Students are uncomfortable in large classes where the teacher is so busy struggling to maintain order that little teaching gets done. Book banning and attacks on transgender students might make any number of students uncomfortable. In Virginia, the Superintendent of Public Instruction has removed all mention of equity from its website. Some minority students will be uncomfortable when they recognize that the demise of resources for diversity, equity and inclusion could leave them behind. All students in Virginia should feel uncomfortable because a tax break, one of Youngkins campaign promises, stripped more than $200 million in state support for schools. Orange County, for example, has acknowledged that it is $1.6 million in the hole and its plans to hire teachers and repair facilities must be put on hold. That should make both parents and students uncomfortable. Finally, it should be noted that all students and teachers in schools today share one uncomfortable feeling being afraid for their lives anyone with a grudge and a firearm can murder them in their classrooms. Genuine education has always expanded our limited childhood understanding of the world around us, comfortable or not. As we approach the November election with school board members, county supervisors, town officials and all state delegates and senators on the ballot lets support all students and their teachers with our vote because education matters and all students matter, whether this makes us comfortable or not. Runners and walkers from throughout the Panhandle lined up at Five Rocks Amphitheater and wound through a route in Gering for the 10th annual United Way of Western Nebraska Color Dash, an event that focuses more on fun than racing. Karen Benzel, executive director of the United Way of Western Nebraska, said that they had 194 people register prior to the event and that they had many more register prior to the 8 a.m. start. Each runner was given a backpack and a T-shirt. In the bag, they received sunglasses, a bandana, a paint packet and some snacks. Prior to the starting gun, the participants in the parking lot were full of energy. Music blasted from the sound system and adults and children alike were already chalking up their fellow runners. Additional packets of paint could be purchased and sales seemed to be high. When Benzel called the crowd to the starting line, there was definite excitement as everyone had at least one packet in their hands, ready to throw them skyward as the traditional send off for the Color Dash. As the racers set off on the course, they were met with their first of eight splash stations before crossing Five Rocks Road. Some runners opted to run by the splash stations and try to keep their distance, while the majority of runners seemed to truly embrace getting pelted by the brightly colored cornstarch powder. Based on the colorful faces and clothing running the course, it looked like no one was able to avoid it completely. Andy Dorn and Ashley Suhr, working the Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska (CAPWN) splash zone, werent sure what to expect while they were setting up near Legion Park. By the time a few racers had passed and they, along with other volunteers, were enthusiastically dashing large cups of blue powder at every runner and getting some good splashback on themselves as well. One of those runners was JJ Ozuna who brought his daughters, Rowyn, Bryn and Arlyn to the race. The little ones rode along in a stroller while the eldest ran beside them. By the end of the race, the stroller was no longer black, but had large splotches of green, pink, blue and yellow. Ozuna said, I brought a thick tarp for the ride home to keep everything clean. The event provides fun for all ages. Kids that looked too little to make it 5 kilometers somehow still had energy at the end as if each splash zone gave them a boost of energy. One of the most enthusiastic and messy splash zones was sponsored by Target. Just around the corner from the Western Nebraska Pioneers stadium the volunteers and the ground were completely covered in bright red powder so thick that some of the kids chose to roll on the pavement in the splash zone to get completely covered. By the time the runners started back toward Five Rocks, the United Way volunteers had set up a large inflatable rainbow that indicated the finish line. Every runner crossing that threshold was smiling, and had color from their head to their toes. Volunteers with leaf blowers were standing by to dust off the competitors. Riverstone Bank was the title sponsor of the event. For more information about future United Way of Western Nebraska events visit uwwn.org. Besides filibuster, that time-honored word for legislative stalling, Christmas tree may be the most apt description of the 2023 Legislature. Without the latters festive holiday connotations, of course. Taken together, the two expressions capture the tense mood at the State Capitol since January and explain why state senators crammed nearly 300 bills into just over one-tenth as many enacted measures. Western senators 2023 Unicameral Scorecard Twenty-three bills by western Nebraska state senators were passed by the 2023 Legislature, but 20 of them had to be attached to "Christmas tree" bills to do so. It all added up to a productive session, said Sens. Brian Hardin of Gering and Mike Jacobson of North Platte, even though both went home this weekend without seeing any bills he introduced win passage on their own. Only one of western Nebraskas five lawmakers pulled off that trick in 2023. Gordon Sen. Tom Brewer secured approval of three, led by his constitutional carry bill allowing more Nebraskans to legally carry concealed weapons. Simple: (Im) glad to have it done, the District 43 senator texted Friday for his reaction to the session. District 47 Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard did not respond to inquiries seeking comment. On the other hand, Brewer and the rest of the regions Unicameral quintet attached a combined 20 of their bills to omnibus measures reaching Gov. Jim Pillens desk. A few of those bills had yet to be signed into law Friday, the day after senators adjourned their 90-day session two days earlier than planned. At the end of the day, what matters is getting the bills across the finish line, said Jacobson, who finished his first full session as District 42 senator after being appointed and winning election in 2022. I believe we passed more impactful legislation than we ever have before, added Hardin, elected last year to represent District 48 in the southwest Panhandle. He referred to a host of bills sought by the officially nonpartisan Legislatures Republican majority: enhanced property tax relief, further income tax cuts, greater state school aid for rural Nebraska, repeal of the states motorcycle helmet law, approval of a new state prison and the rest of $628 million to revive and finish the 1894 Perkins County Canal. Fellow freshman Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner, whose District 44 covers southwest Nebraska and Dawson and Custer counties, expressed similar sentiments late in the session. I think in these last few days of (the session that we will be able to put a lot of good legislation in place that will support the health and growth of our state, Ibach said in an email. Though only 31 bills cleared the Legislature, senators said, their contents reflected all or parts of 291 measures among the 820 introduced in January. The stark contrast in those numbers reflects the impact of a three-month-long filibuster unprecedented in recent times for its length and scope. Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh launched it Feb. 23, taking floor debate to its maximum allowed length on virtually every daily agenda item after the Health and Human Services Committee advanced a bill that had called for banning transgender health care for minors. Cavanaugh and fellow Omaha Sens. Megan Hunt and Jen Day didnt relent until the sessions final days. By then, Legislative Bill 574 had become law though not until after conservative lawmakers yoked it with a recently defeated fetal heartbeat abortion ban (LB 626) and softened both of the combined bills components to hold a filibuster-proof 33-vote supermajority together. Hardin, vice chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee that advanced both measures, said he thinks Cavanaugh and her allies ensured their own defeat. I think they set off an engine of unity on the other side that might not have been there if they hadnt filibustered, he said. Their near-blockade also forced far greater reliance on the Christmas-tree strategy, which was hardly unknown but is limited by the state constitutions mandate that Unicameral bills deal with only one general subject. The omnibus approach freed many noncontroversial measures from the legislative logjam, Hardin said. But it also dictated that senators engage with each other to find bills that could hold their own measures without violating the single-subject rule. It forced us to have conversations with the members: Just what is this bill about? he said. It probably did cause some healthy interaction. Hardin and Jacobson admitted that bills absorbed into other measures didnt get the same kind of floor scrutiny they would have had separately. Im convinced well be making some fixes next year, and theyll be fixes to some of those bills that got passed this year, Jacobson said. The protracted filibusters also deprived western Nebraskas three newest senators Hardin, Ibach and Jacobson of their chance to shepherd any of their bills through the three rounds of debate in the nations only one-house legislature. But I dont think its nearly as vital (to do so) as passing all the measures we did, Hardin said. Senators will face a much larger number of bills left behind this year when they return next January for their 60-day short session. Bills that werent specifically killed by Thursday remain eligible for passage next year. They include Jacobsons LB 628, a cleanup bill dealing with laws on professional services by corporations and limited liability companies. It was awaiting second-round debate when Cavanaugh launched her filibuster. Jacobson said he asked Speaker John Arch of LaVista late in the session if bills like his stranded on Select File could get a chance to advance. Arch just wanted to adjourn early and felt theyd just carry over and be considered next year, he said. Friends and family of four Panhandle ladies will be keeping an eye toward North Platte this week as the Miss Nebraska and Miss Nebraska Teen pageants get underway. Competing in the Miss competition are: Miss Scotts Bluff County Morgan Baird, Miss Old West Balloon Fest Adrianna Casias, Miss Western Nebraska Jadyn Weatherington and Miss Star City Makenzie Gregory. Competing in the Teen competition are: Miss Scotts Bluff County Teen Rylie Wright, Miss Western Nebraska Teen Elizabeth Foos, Miss Old West Balloon Fest Ella-Kathryn Anderson and Miss Panhandle Teen Jordan Wagner. Another area teen, Miss Chadron Teen Arielle Lawrence of Hemingford, will also be competing. Cheryl Engelhaupt, longtime organizer of the Miss Scotts Bluff County Pageant, worked with eight of the ladies as they competed in recent Miss Scotts Bluff County pageants. She told the Star-Herald that this is the largest number of pageant competitors that Scotts Bluff County has ever seen compete in the state scholarship pageants. Were really excited to see what happens, she said. Many of the competitors in the Miss pageant have competed in multiple pageants, which Engelhaupt said will benefit them as they compete in the pageant. Gregory, for example, is a three-time winner, having held Miss Scotts Bluff County and Miss Old West Balloon Fest titles before her newest, Miss Star City. Its all a learning process, she said, saying that one can visibly see the growth as they compete in more pageants. They just build more confidence. It really does a lot for them and they get better, and better. Theyve had the interviews and they know what to expect at Miss Nebraska. Engelhaupt began heading the Miss Scotts Bluff County pageant in its third year, starting in 1999. After all this time, she is still at the reigns, though she is now joined by her daughter, Angela, who is also a former competitor. Among the pageants alum are Miss America Teresa Scanlan, who competed in the Miss Scotts Bluff County pageant and went on to win Miss Nebraska, before topping the nation. That history, as well as other past Miss Nebraska winners who hailed from Minatare, Chadron, Alliance and Scottsbluff, gives a lot of encouragement that one of the competitors who are headed to North Platte Saturday, June 10 and set to participate in opening ceremonies on Sunday, June 11 will come out at the top of competition. There is some real talent there, Engelhaupt said of the group of Miss and Teen competitors this year. After rehearsals and other activities this week, the competition will begin on Thursday, June 8. The final night of competition will be Saturday, June 10, starting t 6:30 p.m. and being held at North Platte High School. Miss Nebraska 2023 and Miss Nebraska Teen 2023 will both be crowned. For more details about the pageant schedule, visit missnebraska.org. And, once competition at Miss Nebraska is over, some of the teens and young women will return to the area and be ready once again to compete. Thats because preparations for the Miss Scotts Bluff County pageant will start this month. Engelhaupt will be hosting an orientation and sign up meeting for potential competitors on June 15, 6:30 p.m. at the Scottsbluff Elks Lodge, 1614 First Avenue. Potential competitors can learn about the scholarship pageant during that meeting. For more information, contact Engelhaupt at 308-783-2940. or by email cengelhaupt51@gmail.com. Students, faculty and staff at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will have several opportunities next week to meet the priority candidate to become the next chancellor of the states largest university campus. Rodney Bennett, the former president of the University of Southern Mississippi, was identified as the choice to replace Chancellor Ronnie Green on May 22 following a national search. Bennett is a 30-year veteran of higher education and has held jobs at Winthrop University and the University of Georgia before taking over leadership duties in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he was president for nearly a decade. Under state statute, Bennett must undergo a 30-day vetting period where he meets with university stakeholders before his hiring can be approved by the NU Board of Regents. Bennetts appointment will be on the regents June 22 agenda. If hired, he will be the first external candidate picked to lead UNL in more than two decades. NU President Ted Carter said he is excited to introduce Bennett to the UNL community through a series of in-person forums that will also feature Zoom options. I have every confidence that the same qualities that made Dr. Bennett stand out to me in our search process will resonate with Nebraskans his passionate belief in the land-grant mission, his relentless focus on outcomes, his ability to bring people together around a shared vision for excellence, Carter said in a statement. While each of the forums is geared toward a different constituency on UNLs campus, all are open to the public. The meetings are also available to be viewed online at nebraska.edu. Like many of my friends, I grew up with the goal to be a farmer. I am proud to have been able to accomplish this life goal, but not without the hours, dedication and willingness to make sacrifices to make it happen. I try new technologies and am not afraid of having to pivot the direction of my operation to make it more sustainable and technologically advanced. In less than 100 years, U.S. farmers are feeding over 166 people compared to 18.5 people in 1940. In less than 100 years, we are feeding nearly nine times more people. Thats thanks to genetic and technology advancements, being willing to try new ideas and knowing well have to keep finding innovations. The generations before us did it and we will too. Im continually looking out for my soil and farm with the goal to be here for generations to come. I want to be outperformed by the next generation with less tillage, a healthier crop, a shorter growing time and using less inputs and resources. That proves were moving headfirst in the right direction. In February, Mexico immediately implemented its ban on GM corn imports, instead of waiting until 2024 as they originally stated. The science has proven and continues to prove GM corn is safe. Mexicos decree speaks to the need for scientific studies to be conducted which investigate the health impacts of consuming GM corn. After decades of global studies, the negative results of GM corn have continued to be absent. Opinions and politics do not override science. This is a control tactic by Mexico and must not continue. Mexico has blatantly ignored the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade pact and must be held accountable. We have been persistent that the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and Ambassador Katherine Tai must submit a technical consultation under the USMCA immediately. The 30-day technical consultation timeline has come and passed. We are in the same place we were in October; this is unacceptable. There has been no movement with the USTR. We must move forward now. The conversation has been happening in-depth since last summer with a lack of action. Ambassador Tai is still not supporting the farmers that grow the food she eats, is allowing Mexico to break agreements and isnt doing the job she was appointed to do. As the number one white corn producing state, this has not only the opportunity to hurt families livelihoods but the country and even the world as a whole. We have been waiting, and we are past the point of waiting. Its imperative to act now and initiate a dispute under USMCA. I will continue to grow crops I know as safe, including GM corn. This isnt a politics issue, its an American issue. As a farmer who grew up loving the land, knowing I wanted to follow the generations before me, I understand the risks, the droughts and the advancements needed to continue the work I do. We must get to work on defending the agreements and opening new markets. A popular downtown Morganton restaurant is being threatened with eviction, with the property owner saying damage has been done to the building. A complaint against Aimee Perez, owner of Root & Vine at 139 West Union Street, accuses her of breaching the conditions of the lease. The complaint was filed May 19 in Burke County. Specifically, it says she breached section No. 8 of the lease which says the lessee shall comply with all the laws, ordinances, and regulations applicable to the property and shall not make any use of the property which causes unusual wear and tear or diminishes the fair market value of the property. The complaint goes to say that E&E Properties RV has demanded the defendant, Perez and Root & Vine, leave but she has refused to surrender the building to them. It says E&E Properties is entitled to take immediate possession of the property. The property is located at 133, 137 and 139 W. Union St., Morganton. The complaint also says the defendant, Perez, owes the plaintiff $62,715 in property damage. Some of the property damage the complaint describes is flooring in the kitchen ($17,250), demolition and repair of wooden subfloor ($17,965), flooring in the wash area ($15,000) and phased construction and equipment moves ($6,000). A hearing date on the complaint was set for May 30 but E&E Properties RV filed a motion on May 24 requesting a continuance of the case due to its attorney having to be in court in Guilford County that day, according to the motion. The attorney for E&E Properties RV is Kenny Rotenstreich with Teague Rotenstreich Stanaland Fox and Holt law firm in Greensboro. The attorney for Aimee Perez and Root & Vine is James Hogan with Starnes Aycock Law Firm in Morganton. E&E Properties RV, whose managers are Samuel Cantor and Edward Cantor, was incorporated in 2019 and had an address in the town of Bostic in Rutherford County but its principal office is in Boca Raton, Florida. Root & Vine has been in the same location since 2011, according to state filings. Hogan would not comment except to say they would respond to the complaint in court. A court date for the complaint has been set for June 13, according to Burke County court officials. Various parties have recognized that Damascus serves the interests of all, Firas Ali Deeb writes in al-Watan. In todays age of social media, it is not uncommon to witness teenagers seeking fame through various means, including provocative trends. However, when a foreign minister, representing a country like France, engages in intellectual and practical theatrics to grab attention and make headlines, it reflects poorly on diplomacy in nations that still consider themselves influential. Without beating around the bush, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna made it clear that her country supports the trial of President Bashar al-Assad. Some argue that France is well aware that its openness towards Syria is a reality They recognize that the ongoing talks between the US and Syria, mediated by Oman, hold substance beyond mere speculation. These negotiations, some say, resulted in allowing the Syrian Negotiations Commission to reconvene in Geneva to rebuild the Syrian opposition as a viable partner in the political solution, potentially leading to the United States easing its burden in exchange for progress on the political front. The answer does not lie with us, but rather with those who fail to realistically perceive the Syrian states changing landscape and true nature. They persist in viewing these developments through the lens of an opposition group, eagerly awaiting divine intervention to overthrow the regime. Considering what Syria has endured and continues to face, it is apparent that such concerns hold little weight. Ultimately, various parties recognize that Damascus serves the interests of all, as it has remained a constant amidst the turmoil. As a French citizen stated earlier this year, though their words may have fallen on deaf ears, Everyone will need Bashar al-Assad Let us hope we do not realize this too late. 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. The Iraqi Foreign Minister affirmed the deep and historic nature of the relations between the two countries, according to al-Baath. Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Faisal al-Mekdad, held discussions with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein in Baghdad on Sunday. The purpose of the meeting was to explore ways to strengthen and upgrade the bilateral relations between the two countries for the benefit of both nations. During the meeting, both sides emphasized the importance of enhancing bilateral coordination in Arab, regional, and international forums on issues of mutual concern. Following the meeting, Mekdad expressed his pride in visiting Baghdad, emphasizing the historical significance and cultural heritage of the city. He reiterated his commitment to strengthening joint action, as Syria and Iraq stand united in facing common challenges. Mekdad expressed gratitude to Iraq for its assistance following the recent earthquake in Syria. The two ministers discussed the latest developments and bilateral relations, agreeing to continue cooperation and enhance coordination across various fields, particularly in the economic sphere. They shared the aspiration for a strategic and constructive relationship that serves the interests of both fraternal peoples, in line with the directives of President Bashar al-Assad. The Foreign Minister announced that the two sides will meet soon at the Arab Follow-up Committee meeting in Cairo, Egypt, to present a unified Arab stance in support of Syria. This includes addressing the challenges arising from the presence of terrorist organizations in Idlib and northeastern Syria, as well as ending the US occupation of Syrian territories. Mekdad stressed the need for a solution to these problems that preserves Syrias and Iraqs sovereignty, emphasizing the interdependence between the two countries. Furthermore, he called for joint efforts to combat terrorism and the drug trade. Mekdad highlighted the negative impact of Western coercive economic measures, describing them as immoral and calling for their removal. He emphasized that such measures have worsened the suffering of the Syrian people and are not conducive to healthy international relations. Mekdad expressed Syrias satisfaction with the strong and historic relations with Iraq, which contribute to enhancing overall Arab relations. Regarding regional security, he condemned Turkish attacks on Iraqi and Syrian territories and called for an end to these actions. He also emphasized the importance of combating terrorist organizations in Syria, particularly Jabhat al-Nusra and Daesh (ISIS). Syria and Iraq continue to coordinate their efforts to address these challenges. The Iraqi Foreign Minister affirmed the deep and historic nature of the relations between the two countries and reiterated Iraqs unwavering support for Syria. He expressed happiness at Syrias resumption of its seat in the Arab League. Hussein stated that the discussions focused on strengthening bilateral relations, joint efforts to combat the drug trade, and the need for cooperation with neighbouring countries to address this dangerous issue affecting both Iraqi and Syrian societies. He acknowledged the difficult humanitarian situation in Syria and stressed the need for regional and international action to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid and ensure conditions for the safe return of refugees to their homes. 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. Turkey says it regards the attainment of a solution in Syria in accordance with United Nations resolutions as a primary objective, according to Syria TV. On Sunday, Ambassador Kurhan Karakoc, the Director General of the Syrian issue at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, emphasized that the repatriation of Syrian refugees hinges on the culmination of the political process. These statements were made during the Syrian Negotiation Commission meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland. Karakoc highlighted Turkeys participation in the meeting, demonstrating its unwavering support for the Commission and its commitment to facilitating a political resolution in Syria. Furthermore, the ambassador underscored that Turkey regards the attainment of a solution in Syria in accordance with United Nations resolutions as a primary objective. Karakoc pointed out that the ongoing quadripartite meetings in Moscow, involving Turkey, the Syrian regime, Iran, and Russia, are being conducted in close coordination with the Syrian opposition. Recently, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin clarified that there is currently no fixed date for the commencement of Syrian refugee repatriation from Turkey to their home country. During an interview with Haberturk, Kalin stated, At this time, there is no specific scheduled date, but it remains within the realm of possibility. The timeline depends on the progress of the process. Kalin emphasized the humane aspect of the issue, expressing Turkeys desire for the refugees to return. He assured that reasonable and compassionate measures will be taken to facilitate their repatriation. Furthermore, Kalin highlighted three crucial matters on the agenda for the upcoming Moscow meeting. These include the fight against terrorism, the repatriation of refugees to their places of origin, and advancing the Constitutional Committee negotiations between the regime and the Syrian opposition. It is worth noting that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after his election victory, mentioned that his government, with support from Qatar, is actively working on a plan to voluntarily repatriate one million Syrian refugees within a few years. Erdogan emphasized that the safe and voluntary repatriation of Syrian refugees is a significant aspect of his governments policy. He highlighted the governments efforts in facilitating the return of approximately 600,000 individuals to designated safe zones within Syria. Additionally, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu emphasized that Turkeys objective is to enable the return of Syrian refugees not only to secure regions in northern Syria but also to areas under the control of the Syrian regime. The aim is to create conditions that allow refugees to return safely to their homes regardless of the specific location within Syria. Erdogans new government On Saturday evening, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the composition of his new government, with notable appointments including Hakan Fidan, the former intelligence chief, as the new foreign minister, and Yasar Guler, the former chief of staff, as the defence minister. Both Fidan and Guler possess direct involvement in the Syrian conflict, particularly in matters related to security and intelligence. Fidan, in particular, played a crucial role in leading intelligence talks with the Syrian regime, which subsequently progressed to higher-level discussions involving defence and foreign ministers under the auspices of Russia. Fidan is expected to continue the path of normalization that he initiated, working in close coordination with the Ministry of Defense and intelligence services. His focus will be on addressing the security and military aspects in Syria, especially considering Ankaras assertion that the matter of their withdrawal from northern Syria is not currently under consideration. 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. The Commission emphasized the urgency of collective efforts to ensure the safe and voluntary return of refugees, according to al-Modon. The Syrian Opposition Negotiation Commission reiterated its firm commitment to Security Council Resolution 2254 in order to achieve a political resolution in Syria. It believes that the current international and regional conditions are conducive to the resumption of direct negotiations with the regime in accordance with Resolution 2254. Moreover, it strongly opposed the regimes reinstatement in the Arab League, labelling such a return as unjustified. The call for the resumption of direct negotiations should not be considered a significant violation, as the meetings of the Constitutional Committee had previously taken place directly between the opposition and regime delegations, under the supervision of the United Nations. However, these meetings have been on hold since June 2022. The Commission recently concluded its meetings in Geneva, which commenced on Friday. It was a noteworthy occasion as all its components participated together for the first time since 2019. The objective was to bridge differences and unite the opposition in response to changes in the Syrian conflict and revitalize the political process. During these meetings, the Commission discussed various topics, including the evolving situation in Syria, regional and international events impacting the Syrian crisis, the Commissions stances on these matters, and strategies to address them. Additionally, they focused on the plight of the Syrian people, particularly in the aftermath of the recent earthquake. The Commission also deliberated on the Amman consultative meetings statement, which outlined the Arab initiative for a solution in Syria based on the step for step principle. It also took note of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Jeddah, which regrettably did not make reference to Resolution 2254, and the quadripartite meetings held in Moscow. The Commission emphasized that the strict and complete implementation of Resolution 2254 serves as the guarantee for achieving a genuine political transition, eradicating terrorism, facilitating the withdrawal of foreign militias, safeguarding Syrian territorial unity, and ensuring Arab and regional security. It expressed gratitude for any endeavours that contribute to a solution in line with the resolution, with the aim of transitioning towards a democratic Syria characterized by freedom and political pluralism and achieving a peaceful political transition. The Commission cautioned that granting the regime prior confidence to rejoin the Arab League without adhering to international resolutions carries the risk of enabling the regime to exploit the benefits of normalization without making progress towards a political solution or taking steps to establish stability, alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people, or strengthen national security. The Commission emphasized the urgency of collective efforts to ensure the safe and voluntary return of refugees and halt the suffering of displaced individuals. It expressed gratitude towards host countries for their understanding of the immense challenges they face and condemned any discriminatory practices against refugees. The Commission called for the protection of refugees security and well-being in accordance with human rights and refugee conventions, firmly rejecting refoulement. It appealed to friendly and brotherly nations to support the United Nations endeavours in implementing Resolution 2254. It stressed that the current international and regional circumstances are conducive to the resumption of direct negotiations with the regime, extending beyond the meetings of the Constitutional Committee. The statement highlighted the Commissions discussions on the issue of detainees and forcibly disappeared persons. It regarded this matter as a crucial element in building trust for the implementation of Resolution 2254. The Commission stressed the utmost importance of keeping this issue separate from any politicization and called for the accountability of all those responsible for genocide and massacres to ensure justice and sustainable peace. The Commission noted that the regimes economic and security policies have heightened the need for humanitarian aid. It criticized countries for failing to fulfill their pledges to provide humanitarian assistance and for the unequal distribution of aid. Additionally, it expressed concerns about organizations being subjected to the regimes influence, manipulation, and corruption, thereby diminishing their effectiveness. Furthermore, the Commission declared its support for any civil initiatives that strengthen the independence, autonomy, and efficacy of civil society. It welcomed all efforts aimed at organizing society and enhancing its capacities. 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. The core of the initiative's mission is to safeguard the Syrian civil space and bolster its effectiveness across different decision-making platforms, according to al-Souria Net. Representatives from various civil society organizations are slated to convene at a conference in Paris, France, on Tuesday, June 6th. The primary objective of the conference is to launch a civic initiative aimed at highlighting the political legitimacy of the Syrian civil sphere. In a statement, the organizers emphasized that the Civil Initiative is an autonomous Syrian organization undertaking, free from any political or foreign influences. Its core mission is to safeguard the Syrian civil space and bolster its effectiveness across different decision-making platforms. The initiative seeks to capture the evolving dynamics that impact political solutions in Syria by uniting Syrian civil actors around a comprehensive framework rooted in rights-based values. Through the establishment of a unified civic space, these actors aim to demonstrate their capacity to play a leading role in decision-making processes concerning their country, thereby contributing to the realization of a free and democratic Syria. Alongside representatives from Syrian institutions, the conference will be attended by a select group of special envoys to Syria, as well as Syrian and international decision-makers. According to Ayman Asfari, the chairman of Civil Initiative, civil society organizations have played a remarkable role in safeguarding the principles of the Syrian uprising and delivering essential services to diverse communities throughout the past decade. He emphasized that these institutions possess the necessary credibility to actively contribute to discussions on the needs and aspirations of the Syrian people, including providing support for any political processes that may arise. Asfari further stated that the primary objective of the initiative is to unite civil society institutions based on shared values and goals. This collaborative effort aims to strengthen their collective impact and effectiveness in advancing the interests of the Syrian people. 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. Your daily brief of the English-speaking press on Syria. On Sunday, the opposition in Syria called for the revival of inactive United Nations-mediated negotiations with President Bashar al-Assads regime. This comes as President al-Assad has regained support from Arab nations after being isolated for several years. Additionally, Syrias foreign minister engaged in discussions with Iraq regarding humanitarian assistance and the fight against the illegal drug trade. Furthermore, a group of fifty ISIS militants and 168 Iraqi individuals associated with extremist groups were returned from Syria to Iraq. Syria Opposition Calls For Fresh Talks With Assad Regime Syrias opposition urged on Sunday the resumption of moribund United Nations-sponsored talks with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, who has returned to the Arab fold after years of isolation. The international, regional and Syrian conditions provide an appropriate circumstance for the resumption of direct negotiations under a specific agenda and timetable, the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC) said in a statement. Negotiations to resolve Syrias crisis hit an impasse in 2018 over Assads role in any political transition, and several rounds of subsequent UN-brokered talks aimed at forging a new constitution have failed. The SNC, which includes representatives from the main political opposition alliance the Syrian National Coalition, has been the key opposition delegation during previous rounds of talks in Geneva. In a statement Sunday following a two-day meeting in the Swiss city, the SNC called on brotherly and friendly countries to support the efforts of the UN to take all necessary resolutions to fulfil a comprehensive political solution. The statement called for a solution in line with the UN Security Council resolution [For More Details] Syrian top diplomat discusses aid on visit to key ally Iraq Syrias foreign minister on Sunday discussed humanitarian aid and combating the illegal drugs trade with Iraq, a key ally, during a visit to Baghdad as Damascus emerges from years of diplomatic isolation, Saudi Arab News reported. The visit by Faisal Mekdad comes weeks after the Arab League agreed to end Syrias suspension from the 22-member bloc, bringing President Bashar Assads regime back into the regional fold after years of civil war. Iraq remained an ally of Damascus throughout the wider Arab boycott, never severing relations and maintaining close cooperation during Syrias civil war, particularly over the fight against the Daesh group. Baghdad was one of the initiators of Syrias return to the Arab League, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said in a joint press conference with Mekdad. The two also discussed the issue of Syrian refugees who fled the country after the war erupted, many of whom now live in Iraq as well as Jordan, Lebanon and Turkiye. We received about 250,000 refugees, said Hussein, who added that the majority of them live in camps in Iraqs autonomous Kurdistan region. He said the next step would be getting humanitarian aid into Syria, which has been devastated by the war and by a February 6 earthquake that also hit Turkiye and killed tens of thousands in both countries. The quake triggered a flurry of aid efforts and diplomatic moves that help spur Syrias reintegration back into the wider Arab region. Mekdad on Sunday thanked Iraq for its solidarity after the quake, also hailing the progression of bilateral relations. We will continue to cooperate to combat terrorism and eliminate the danger posed by drugs, he added in a reference to the illegal trade in the stimulant captagon. Mekdad was also expected to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al-Sudani and President Abdul Latif Rashid, Iraqi foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Al-Sahaf told the state news agency. [For more details] 50 Extremists, 168 Family Members Repatriated From Syria to Iraq Fifty ISIS militants and 168 Iraqi members of extremist families were repatriated from Syria to Iraq on Saturday, an Iraqi official told Asharq al-Awsat. Iraqi authorities received 50 members of the ISIS from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity. The SDF are the Kurds de facto army in the area and led the battle that dislodged ISIS group militants from the last scraps of their Syrian territory in 2019. They will be the subject of investigations and will face Iraqi justice, they added, AFP reported. According to conflict monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights they were detained in Hasakah, northeast Syria. Additionally, 168 relatives of ISIS-group members were repatriated from Syrias Al-Hol camp to be relocated to the Al-Jadaa camp south of Mosul, the Iraqi official added, where they will undergo psychiatric treatment. Once we receive the assurances of their tribal leaders that they will not face reprisals, they will be sent home. Al-Hol camp, in Kurdish-controlled northeast Syria, is home to about 50,000 people including family members of suspected jihadists. Among them are displaced Syrians, Iraqi refugees as well as more than 10,000 foreigners originally from some 60 countries. The murders of Syrian truffle hunters are not all they seem The Middle East Eye has published a long report on the killings and kidnappings of truffle hunters in Syrias Badia desert which are often falsely attributed to the Islamic State and landmines, while the primary cause is the rivalry between pro-Assad militias, particularly Iranian-backed groups. The article discusses the killings and kidnappings of truffle hunters in the Badia desert in Syria. While the murders have been attributed to the Islamic State (IS) and landmines, the article suggests that the rivalry between pro-Assad militias is often the primary cause. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, approximately 240 truffle hunters were killed over a 70-day period. While officials and media reports blame ISIS and landmines, testimonies from truffle hunters, residents, and relatives of the victims point to Iranian-backed militias as responsible for the killings. These militias allegedly engage in violence over disputes related to extortion and territorial control. The article highlights a major attack in which 53 members of the Bani Khaled tribe were shot dead in the desert. While the state news agency attributed the attack to IS, the tribe members accused Iranian militias of carrying out the massacre. The presence of landmines in former battlefields and front lines further exacerbates the dangers faced by truffle hunters. The article suggests that pro-government forces, including militias backed by Russia, are responsible for most landmine casualties. These landmines, which impede agricultural work and exacerbate Syrias food security crisis, are often of Russian origin. The article also explores the role of militias, both Russian-backed and Iranian-backed, in controlling checkpoints and areas of influence in the Badia desert. Truffle hunters often have to pay militias for access to lands, and failure to coordinate with the militias can make them targets for violence and kidnapping. The article concludes by suggesting that while inter-militia conflicts may be disguised as ISIS attacks, the threat of IS remains real. The competition between pro-Assad forces in the desert may also contribute to the expansion of ISIS. Overall, the article provides insights into the complex dynamics and dangers faced by truffle hunters in the Badia desert in Syria, highlighting the involvement of various militias and the devastating consequences for the local population. Climber dies near Ranier summit MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. A Washington state man who was trying to summit Mount Rainier this week collapsed and died near the top of the mountain in the national park, officials said. National Park Service officials said Friday that Brian Harper, of Bremerton, collapsed about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday near the top of the 14,441-foot mountain while on a guided climb led by Alpine Ascents International. Guides could not detect a pulse and CPR on the 41-year-old was unsuccessful, officials said. Climbing guides with Alpine Ascents and Rainier Mountaineering worked with National Park Service climbing and aviation rangers to bring Harpers body down from the summit. Weather conditions were finally favorable for a park helicopter to complete the mission around 10:30 a.m. Thursday, official said. The Pierce County Medical Examiner will determine a cause of death. A Tacoma woman who refused treatment for tuberculosis for more than a year, was arrested Thursday by Pierce County deputies to be isolated and treated in jail. A warrant for the womans arrest was issued in March, and a Pierce County Superior Court judge found her in civil contempt for refusing to comply with the order that she resume taking medication or isolate herself. She was booked into a negative pressure room Thursday in the Pierce County Jail where she will get treatment, according to the Pierce County Sheriffs Department. In February, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department went to the court for the 16th time in this case to seek the arrest warrant, which is a rare last-resort step health officials can take to protect the public, the department said. This is only the third time in the past 20 years health officials have sought a court order to detain someone who is potentially contagious and refusing treatment for TB, the department said. Pierce County has about 20 cases of active TB per year. Washington state law requires health care providers to report all active cases to the health department. According to the department, Nearly all patients we contact are more than happy to get the treatment they need to help protect themselves and our community. TB is an infectious disease that usually affects the lungs. It can also affect lymph nodes, bones, joints and other parts of the body. It can be deadly but is curable with medication. Most TB infections are latent or dormant (approximately 100,000 people in King County have latent TB infections), which means a person has no symptoms and cannot spread the disease, according to health officials. Active TB is much harder to spread than the cold or flu, health officials said. For an infection to occur, it typically takes repeated and prolonged exposure in a confined indoor space. Material from The Seattle Times archives is included in this report. (CNN) A dual Haitian-Chilean citizen who pleaded guilty to federal charges related to his involvement in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise has been sentenced to life in prison, Florida court records show. Judge Jose E. Martinez handed down the sentence to Rodolphe Jaar on Friday during a 10-minute hearing in Miami. The life sentences for each of three counts are to be served concurrently. Jaar pleaded guilty in March to three counts including conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and providing material support resulting in death, according to the plea agreement. Moise, 53, was killed in his bedroom in Haiti on July 7, 2021. Martinez recommended that Jaar be designated to a federal facility in or near South Florida given his background and the offenses, according to the court docket. In exchange for the guilty plea, Jaar had agreed to be sentenced by a judge, provide truthful testimony, produce documents and records, and appear before a grand jury and at other legal proceedings when called upon by federal prosecutors. CNN has reached out to Jaars attorney, Frank Schwartz, for comment. Jaar was one of several suspects who were at large in the months after Moises assassination. He was arrested in the Dominican Republic and extradited to the United States in January 2022. Authorities have said that dozens of people were involved in the assassination, including 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans. Colombian suspect Mario Palacios also was extradited to the US in 2022. Jaar provided funds used to acquire weapons, provided food and lodging to other co-conspirators, and provided funding to bribe Haitian officials responsible for Moises security, according to the plea agreement. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Haitian-Chilean citizen sentenced to life in prison for assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise" SEATTLE Washington State Sen. Mark Mullet announced a bid for governor Thursday, joining a growing field of candidates seeking to replace outgoing Gov. Jay Inslee. Mullet, a moderate Democrat from Issaquah who owns a pizza restaurant and three ice cream shops, said in a news release his campaign will focus on affordable housing, public safety, climate change and the creation of jobs that allow people to start families and buy homes. Too many families cant afford, even on good salaries, the rising cost of living, Mullet said in a prepared statement. Too many families are worried about the direction of public safety in our state, which is why we need different leadership in Olympia. Mullet joins two other Democrats Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Washington Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz in the race for the open seat. At least two Republicans Yakima doctor Raul Garcia and Richland School Board member Semi Bird have also announced candidacies. Inslee, the longest-serving governor in office in the U.S. and only the second Washington governor to be elected to three consecutive terms, announced in May he would not seek a fourth term. A primary election is set for August 2024, leading to a general election in November. 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: Apple CEO Tim Cook discusses the Apple Watch at the Apple event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015. If Apple unveils a widely anticipated headset equipped with mixed reality technology on Monday, it will be the company's biggest new product since the introduction of the Apple Watch nearly a decade ago. Credit: AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File Apple appears poised to unveil a long-rumored headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter's ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public's imagination. After years of speculation, the stage is set for the widely anticipated announcement to be made Monday at Apple's annual developers conference on a park-like campus in Cupertino, California, that the company's late co-founder Steve Jobs helped design. Apple kicked off the event by announcing that the latest models of two high-end computer lines, the Mac Studio and Mac Pro, will be powered by a company-designed chip that has already been available in less expensive Macs. The Mac Studio will sell for $2,000 and the Mac Pro will be priced at $7,000. As it typically does at this conference, Apple provided a peek at the next iPhone operating system, iOS 17. That software, which will include more personalization and location-sharing tools for phone calls and texting, is expected to be released as a free update in September. But the star of the show is expected to be a pair of gogglesperhaps called "Reality Pro," according to media leaksthat could become another milestone in Apple's lore of releasing game-changing technology, even though the company hasn't always been the first to try its hand at making a particular device. "This is going to be a historic day," Apple CEO Tim Cook promised shortly after walking to a stage Monday outside the company's spaceship-like offices. He then told the packed audience to expect to see some new products, without providing any specifics. Apple typically waits until the end of its events to take the wraps off a product that takes the company in a new direction. Apple's lineage of breakthroughs date back to a bow-tied Jobs peddling the first Mac in 1984 a tradition that continued with the iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007, the iPad in 2010, the Apple Watch in 2014 and its AirPods in 2016. But with a hefty price tag that could be in the $3,000 range, Apple's new headset may also be greeted with a lukewarm reception from all but affluent technophiles. If the new device turns out to be a niche product, it would leave Apple in the same bind as other major tech companies and startups that have tried selling headsets or glasses equipped with technology that either thrusts people into artificial worlds or projects digital images with scenery and things that are actually in front of thema format known as "augmented reality." People stand outside of the Steve Jobs Theater before an event on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018, in Cupertino, Calif. If Apple unveils a widely anticipated headset equipped with mixed reality technology at the theater on Monday, it will be the company's biggest new product since the introduction of the Apple Watch nearly a decade ago.Credit: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File Apple's goggles are expected be sleekly designed and capable of toggling between totally virtual or augmented options, a blend sometimes known as "mixed reality." That flexibility also is sometimes called external reality, or XR for shorthand. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been describing these alternate three-dimensional realities as the "metaverse." It's a geeky concept that he tried to push into the mainstream by changing the name of his social networking company to Meta Platforms in 2021 and then pouring billions of dollars into improving the virtual technology. But the metaverse largely remains a digital ghost town, although Meta's virtual reality headset, the Quest, remains the top-selling device in a category that so far has mostly appealed to video game players looking for even more immersive experiences. The response to virtual, augmented and mixed reality has been decidedly ho-hum so far. Some of the gadgets deploying the technology have even been derisively mocked, with the most notable example being Google's internet-connected glasses released more than a decade ago. After Google co-founder Sergey Brin initially drummed up excitement about the device by demonstrating an early model's potential "wow factor" with a skydiving stunt staged during a San Francisco tech conference, consumers quickly became turned off to a product that allowed its users to surreptitiously take pictures and video. The backlash became so intense that people who wore the gear became known as "Glassholes," leading Google to withdraw the product a few years after its debut. Microsoft also has had limited success with HoloLens, a mixed-reality headset released in 2016, although the software maker earlier this year insisted it remains committed to the technology. Magic Leap, a startup that stirred excitement with previews of a mixed-reality technology that could conjure the spectacle of a whale breaching through a gymnasium floor, had so much trouble marketing its first headset to consumers in 2018 that it has since shifted its focus to industrial, health care and emergency uses. Daniel Diez, Magic Leap's chief transformation officer, said there are four major questions Apple's goggles will have to answer: "What can people do with it? What does this thing look and feel like? Is it comfortable to wear? And how much is it going to cost?" The anticipation that Apple's goggles are going to sell for several thousand dollars already has dampened expectations for the product. Although he expects Apple's goggles to boast "jaw dropping" technology, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said he expects the company to sell just 150,000 units during the device's first year on the marketa mere speck in the company's portfolio. By comparison, Apple sells more than 200 million of its marquee iPhones a year. But the iPhone wasn't an immediate sensation, with sales of fewer than 12 million units in its first full year on the market. Since 2016, the average annual shipments of virtual- and augmented-reality devices have averaged 8.6 million units, according to the research firm CCS Insight. The firm expects sales to remain sluggish this year, with a sales projection of about 11 million of the devices before gradually climbing to 67 million in 2026. 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: Gary Marcus testified to the US Senate during a hearing on artificial intelligence in mid-May 2023. Ever since the poem churning ChatGPT burst on the scene six months ago, expert Gary Marcus has voiced caution against artificial intelligence's ultra-fast development and adoption. But against AI's apocalyptic doomsayers, the New York University emeritus professor told AFP in a recent interview that the technology's existential threats may currently be "overblown." "I'm not personally that concerned about extinction risk, at least for now, because the scenarios are not that concrete," said Marcus in San Francisco. "A more general problem that I am worried about... is that we're building AI systems that we don't have very good control over and I think that poses a lot of risks, (but) maybe not literally existential." Long before the advent of ChatGPT, Marcus designed his first AI program in high schoolsoftware to translate Latin into Englishand after years of studying child psychology, he founded Geometric Intelligence, a machine learning company later acquired by Uber. 'Why AI?' In March, alarmed that ChatGPT creator OpenAI was releasing its latest and more powerful AI model with Microsoft, Marcus signed an open letter with more than 1,000 people including Elon Musk calling for a global pause in AI development. But last week he did not sign the more succinct statement by business leaders and specialistsincluding OpenAI boss Sam Altmanthat caused a stir. Global leaders should be working to reduce "the risk of extinction" from artificial intelligence technology, the signatories insisted. The one-line statement said tackling the risks from AI should be "a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war". Signatories included those who are building systems with a view to achieving "general" AI, a technology that would hold the cognitive abilities on par with those of humans. "If you really think there's existential risk, why are you working on this at all? That's a pretty fair question to ask," Marcus said. Instead of putting the focus on more far-fetched scenarios where no one survives, society should be putting attention on where real dangers lie, Marcus surmised. "People might try to manipulate the markets by using AI to cause all kinds of mayhem and then we might, for example, blame the Russians and say, 'look what they've done to our country' when the Russians actually weren't involved," he continued. "You (could) have this escalation that winds up in nuclear war or something like that. So I think there are scenarios where it was pretty serious. Extinction? I don't know." Threat to democracy In the short term, the psychology expert is worried about democracy. Generative AI software produces increasingly convincing fake photographs, and soon videos, at little cost. As a result, "elections are going to be won by people who are better at spreading disinformation, and those people may change the rules and make it really difficult to have democracy proceed." Moreover, "democracy is premised on having reasonable information and making good decisions. If nobody knows what to believe, then how do you even proceed with democracy?" The author of the book "Rebooting AI" however doesn't think we should abandon hope, still seeing "a lot of upside." There's definitely a chance AI not yet invented can "help with science, with medicine, with elder care," Marcus said. "But in the short term, I feel like we're just not ready. There's going to be some harm along the way and we really need to up our game, we have to figure out serious regulation," he said. At a US Senate hearing in May, seated beside OpenAI's Altman, Marcus argued for the creation of a national or international agency responsible for AI governance. The idea is also backed by Altman, who has just returned from a European tour where he urged political leaders to find the "right balance" between safety and innovation. But beware of leaving the power to corporations, warned Marcus. "The last several months have been a real reminder that the big companies calling the shots here are not necessarily interested in the rest of us," he warned. 2023 AFP (CNN) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Friday that the US had sanctioned former Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe for the alleged misuse of tens of millions of dollars. In a statement, Blinken said the designation for his involvement in significant corruption would render Lamothe, who also served as minister for planning and external cooperation, generally ineligible for entry into the United States. Specifically, Lamothe misappropriated at least $60 million from the Haitian governments PetroCaribe infrastructure investment and social welfare fund for private gain. Through this corrupt act and his direct involvement in the management of the fund, he exploited his role as a public official and contributed to the current instability in Haiti, Blinken said. PetroCaribe, a deal with Venezuela, had temporarily provided Haitis government with cheap fuel. However, it then foundered and became linked to a scandal over the alleged mismanagement of the resulting funds, with claims of corruption sparking massive protests in recent years. Lamothe, in a statement Saturday, denied the US allegations against him, saying they were made without an investigation and could separate him from his family in the US. He currently lives in Florida. Lamothe, who is on a business trip to West Africa, said the PetroCaribe allegations have been thoroughly scrutinized five times through comprehensive audits over the past 9 years. Furthermore, a judicial decision found no evidence supporting these allegations of misappropriated funds. Despite this conclusive evidence, these long-refuted rumors have resurfaced without any new proof and today are used to unfairly make me ineligible to return to my family in the US. In 2019, the Haitian court of auditors released two reports about the PetroCaribe funds. The reports accused multiple high-profile politicians of mismanagement and corruption. Blinken said Friday that the move against Lamothe was part of a series of actions that promote accountability for those who foment violence, block life-saving humanitarian support, and enrich themselves at the expense of the Haitian people. The announcement underscores the international communitys ongoing efforts to combat corruption and ensure transparency in Haitis governance, which is seen as crucial to fostering stability and prosperity in the country. Lamothe resigned as prime minister in 2015 following violent anti-government protests calling for elections and for him and President Michel Martelly to step down. Martelly left office the following year. This story was first published on CNN.com, "State Department sanctions former Haitian Prime Minister Lamothe for corruption" Alterna Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (BATS:EFV Get Rating) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,750 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 972 shares during the period. Alterna Wealth Management Inc.s holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF were worth $586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 536 shares of the companys stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC bought a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Barclays PLC bought a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Get iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF alerts: iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Stock Performance EFV traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $49.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,697,873 shares. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.86. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $49.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.14. iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF has a 52 week low of $49.15 and a 52 week high of $59.57. iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Company Profile iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Value 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 Value 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 EFV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (BATS:EFV Get Rating). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Earthstone Energy, Inc. (NYSE:ESTE Get Rating) have earned an average rating of Hold from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.67. A number of research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Earthstone Energy in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Benchmark restated a buy rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Earthstone Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 9th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Earthstone Energy from $19.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, May 19th. Stephens assumed coverage on Earthstone Energy in a research note on Monday, April 24th. They issued an overweight rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Earthstone Energy from $23.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. Get Earthstone Energy alerts: Earthstone Energy Stock Performance Shares of ESTE stock opened at $12.73 on Tuesday. Earthstone Energy has a 1-year low of $10.65 and a 1-year high of $22.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 2.09. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $13.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.64. Insider Transactions at Earthstone Energy Earthstone Energy ( NYSE:ESTE Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.01. Earthstone Energy had a return on equity of 28.38% and a net margin of 28.58%. The business had revenue of $413.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Earthstone Energys revenue for the quarter was up 110.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Earthstone Energy will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. In related news, CEO Robert John Anderson purchased 5,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.45 per share, for a total transaction of $57,250.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 811,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,286,053.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 40.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Earthstone Energy Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Earthstone Energy by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 2,893,517 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $37,645,000 after purchasing an additional 206,062 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Earthstone Energy by 32.7% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 354,307 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $4,584,000 after acquiring an additional 87,268 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Earthstone Energy by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 362,170 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $4,712,000 after acquiring an additional 28,985 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Earthstone Energy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 765,720 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $9,962,000 after acquiring an additional 23,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Earthstone Energy by 1,328.7% in the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 170,274 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $2,215,000 after acquiring an additional 158,356 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.77% of the companys stock. About Earthstone Energy (Get Rating) Earthstone Energy, Inc is a growth-oriented independent oil and gas company. The firm is engaged in the acquisition and development of oil and gas reserves through activities that include drilling and development of undeveloped leases, as well as asset and corporate acquisitions and mergers. It also focuses on the Midland Basin in West Texas, the Eagle Ford Trend in South Texas and the Delaware Basin in New Mexico. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Earthstone Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Earthstone Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. AXS Investments LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Get Rating) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,197 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after buying an additional 928 shares during the quarter. AXS Investments LLCs holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 83.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,925,012 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $582,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,235,314 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 154,563,421 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $14,955,557,000 after buying an additional 2,011,683 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 99.8% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,140,866 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $371,753,000 after buying an additional 1,568,700 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 4,466,075 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $432,137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,013 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 126.1% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,656,522 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $160,285,000 after purchasing an additional 923,720 shares during the period. 72.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Abbott Laboratories alerts: Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 6,825,316 shares of the companys stock, valued at $757,746,582.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 8,226 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.56, for a total transaction of $909,466.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,427 shares in the company, valued at $7,786,409.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.02, for a total value of $5,551,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,825,316 shares in the company, valued at $757,746,582.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $103.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $121.26. Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $104.20. The company had a trading volume of 6,024,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,920,039. The companys 50 day moving average price is $106.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.47. 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 stock has a market cap of $181.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.67. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $93.25 and a 52-week high of $118.23. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 19th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $9.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 22.36%. The companys revenue was down 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.73 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year. 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 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. Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD Get Rating) has been given a consensus recommendation of Hold by the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.93. BBD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target on Banco Bradesco from $3.50 to $3.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Banco Bradesco from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the company from $3.70 to $2.70 in a report on Thursday, February 16th. Get Banco Bradesco alerts: Institutional Trading of Banco Bradesco Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Banco Bradesco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $115,000. Thomas White International Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Banco Bradesco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,864,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,010,254 shares of the banks stock worth $7,397,000 after purchasing an additional 292,094 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 234,602 shares of the banks stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 58,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 168,408 shares of the banks stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 99,614 shares in the last quarter. 2.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Banco Bradesco Stock Up 3.0 % Shares of NYSE:BBD opened at $3.26 on Friday. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $2.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.78. Banco Bradesco has a 12-month low of $2.34 and a 12-month high of $4.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The bank reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.07. Banco Bradesco had a return on equity of 11.66% and a net margin of 9.54%. The firm had revenue of $9.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Banco Bradesco will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current year. Banco Bradesco Cuts Dividend The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.0035 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Banco Bradescos payout ratio is 9.68%. Banco Bradesco Company Profile (Get Rating) Banco Bradesco SA engages in the provision of financial and insurance services. It operates through Banking, and Insurance segments. The Banking segment includes banking activities. The Insurance segment covers auto, health, life, accident and property insurance, and pension plans aw well as capitalization bonds. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Banco Bradesco Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Banco Bradesco and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBAPJ Get Rating) announced a interim dividend on Friday, June 2nd, MarketIndexAU reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of 1.131 per share on Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 5th. This is an increase from Commonwealth Bank of Australias previous interim dividend of $1.02. Commonwealth Bank of Australia Price Performance Commonwealth Bank of Australia Company Profile (Get Rating) Commonwealth Bank of Australia provides integrated financial services in Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. It operates through Retail Banking Services, Business Banking, Institutional Banking and Markets, and New Zealand segments. The company offers transaction, savings, and foreign currency accounts; term deposits; personal and business loans; overdrafts; equipment finance; credit cards; international payment and trade; and private banking services, as well as home and car loans. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Commonwealth Bank of Australia Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Commonwealth Bank of Australia and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Battalion Oil (NYSE:BATL Get Rating) and GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK Get Rating) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, dividends and valuation. Profitability This table compares Battalion Oil and GeoParks net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Get Battalion Oil alerts: Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Battalion Oil 39.14% 0.80% 0.11% GeoPark 22.35% 265.35% 24.06% Volatility and Risk Battalion Oil has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, GeoPark has a beta of 1.51, suggesting that its share price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500. Earnings & Valuation Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Battalion Oil $359.06 million 0.32 $18.54 million $8.02 0.86 GeoPark $982.88 million 0.58 $224.43 million $3.71 2.67 This table compares Battalion Oil and GeoParks revenue, earnings per share and valuation. GeoPark has higher revenue and earnings than Battalion Oil. Battalion Oil is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than GeoPark, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Institutional and Insider Ownership 89.0% of Battalion Oil shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.7% of GeoPark shares are held by institutional investors. 41.0% of Battalion Oil shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of GeoPark shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. Analyst Recommendations This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Battalion Oil and GeoPark, as provided by MarketBeat.com. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Battalion Oil 0 2 0 0 2.00 GeoPark 0 1 1 0 2.50 Battalion Oil currently has a consensus target price of $28.00, indicating a potential upside of 305.21%. GeoPark has a consensus target price of $19.00, indicating a potential upside of 91.92%. Given Battalion Oils higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Battalion Oil is more favorable than GeoPark. Summary GeoPark beats Battalion Oil on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks. About Battalion Oil (Get Rating) Battalion Oil Corporation, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, production, exploration, and development of onshore oil and natural gas assets in the United States. As of December 31, 2021, the company held interests in 40,400 net acres in the Delaware Basin located in the counties of Pecos, Reeves, Ward, and Winkler, Texas. It also had estimated proved reserves of approximately 95.9 million barrels of oil equivalent comprising 58.7 million barrels of crude oil, 16.3 million barrels of natural gas liquids, and 125.0 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The company was formerly known as Halcon Resources Corporation and changed its name to Battalion Oil Corporation in January 2020. Battalion Oil Corporation was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. About GeoPark (Get Rating) GeoPark Ltd. engages in the exploration, development, and production for oil and gas reserves. It operates through the following geographical segments: Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Ecuador, and Corporate. The company was founded by Gerald Eugene OShaughnessy and James Franklin Park in 2002 and is headquartered in Bogota, Colombia. Receive News & Ratings for Battalion Oil Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Battalion Oil and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Cowen Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MFG Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,000,000 shares of the banks stock, valued at approximately $2,840,000. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mizuho Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $9,695,000. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mizuho Financial Group by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,435,393 shares of the banks stock worth $21,679,000 after purchasing an additional 502,830 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mizuho Financial Group by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,415,317 shares of the banks stock worth $12,539,000 after purchasing an additional 288,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mizuho Financial Group by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,121,948 shares of the banks stock worth $3,186,000 after purchasing an additional 279,747 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 0.53% of the companys stock. Get Mizuho Financial Group alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Mizuho Financial Group in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Mizuho Financial Group Price Performance Mizuho Financial Group Profile Shares of MFG stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3.05. The company had a trading volume of 1,324,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,026,705. The company has a 50 day moving average of $2.94 and a 200 day moving average of $2.90. The firm has a market cap of $38.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.47. Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2.10 and a 1-year high of $3.30. (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. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MFG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MFG Get Rating). 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. Edison International (NYSE:EIX Get Rating) has earned a consensus recommendation of Hold from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have 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 $73.08. EIX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim increased their target price on Edison International from $75.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on Edison International from $79.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Mizuho increased their target price on Edison International from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Credit Suisse Group lowered their target price on Edison International from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Get Edison International alerts: Insider Activity at Edison International In related news, SVP J Andrew Murphy sold 22,471 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $1,618,586.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $935,597.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.03% of the companys stock. Institutional Trading of Edison International Edison International Stock Performance Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Edison International by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,704,150 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,642,521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,820 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Edison International by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,265,929 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,675,871,000 after buying an additional 562,352 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Edison International by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,924,771 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,053,540,000 after buying an additional 3,468,195 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Edison International by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 13,994,142 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $987,846,000 after buying an additional 374,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Edison International by 40.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,575,555 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $675,938,000 after buying an additional 2,763,270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.19% of the companys stock. Shares of NYSE:EIX opened at $66.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.54 billion, a PE ratio of 30.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.98. Edison International has a 12 month low of $54.45 and a 12 month high of $74.92. Edison International (NYSE:EIX Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.05. The company 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 firms revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Edison International will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current year. 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. Read More 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. Elastic (NYSE:ESTC Get Rating) had its price target lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $71.00 to $84.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, The Fly reports. Several other equities analysts also recently commented on ESTC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Elastic from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Elastic from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Elastic from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a buy rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of Elastic in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Elastic from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $78.06. Get Elastic alerts: Elastic Stock Up 0.9 % Shares of NYSE:ESTC opened at $72.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.15 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.34 and a 200-day moving average of $57.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.89. Elastic has a one year low of $46.18 and a one year high of $91.30. Insider Buying and Selling at Elastic Elastic ( NYSE:ESTC Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 1st. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $279.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $277.63 million. Elastic had a negative net margin of 22.09% and a negative return on equity of 46.75%. The businesss revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.64) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Elastic will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current year. In other Elastic news, CEO Ashutosh Kulkarni sold 12,098 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.28, for a total transaction of $705,071.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 343,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,992,196.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Elastic news, CEO Ashutosh Kulkarni sold 12,098 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.28, for a total transaction of $705,071.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 343,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,992,196.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Janesh Moorjani sold 3,956 shares of Elastic stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.28, for a total value of $230,555.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 178,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,387,535.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,118 shares of company stock worth $1,055,917. Corporate insiders own 18.80% of the companys stock. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elastic A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESTC. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Elastic by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 34,778 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,791,000 after acquiring an additional 10,644 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems raised its stake in Elastic by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 13,800 shares of the companys stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Elastic by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 18,230 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,308,000 after buying an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Elastic by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 183,500 shares of the companys stock valued at $9,450,000 after buying an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in Elastic by 134.1% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the companys stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 1,919 shares in the last quarter. 78.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Elastic Company Profile (Get Rating) Elastic NV engages in the provision of open-source search and analytics engine services. It offers Elastic Stack, a set of software products that ingest and store data from various sources and formats, as well as perform search, analysis, and visualization. The firms Elastic Stack product comprises Elasticsearch, a distributed, real-time search and analytics engine, and data store for various types of data, including textual, numerical, geospatial, structured, and unstructured, Kibana, a user interface, management, and configuration interface for the Elastic Stack, Beats, a single-purpose data shippers for sending data from edge machines to Elasticsearch or Logstash, and Logstash, a data processing pipeline for ingesting data into Elasticsearch or other storage systems. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Elastic Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Elastic and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. (CNN) US President Joe Biden sat behind the Resolute Desk in his first evening Oval Office address with a clear purpose: to deliver the final word. A bipartisan bill to avert the crisis that loomed over Washington for most of the year so far was in hand. And the moment offered Biden an opportunity to reflect what he views as the inextricable connection between the deal, the case for his presidency he made to voters more than two years prior and the one he will count on to secure him another four years in 17 months and two days. I know bipartisanship is hard and unity is hard, but we can never stop trying, because at moments like this one, the ones we just faced where the American economy and the world economy is at risk of collapsing, there is no other way, Biden said Friday. It was also a chance to bust out of the seams of the close-to-the-vest messaging strategy that he and the three senior members of his team maintained during the three weeks of painstaking negotiations. Even as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his top two negotiators maintained a steady drumbeat of public statements and strategic messaging, the White House kept their powder dry. Even as Democrats simmered, and at some points outright boiled over with frustration as slivers of potential agreements reached public view, Biden held back. For Bidens top three negotiators, counselor Steve Ricchetti, Legislative Affairs Director Louisa Terrell and Budget Director Shalanda Young, the public reticence sat in sharp contrast to a behind the scenes operation in which Biden was constantly briefed and sought details on even the smallest elements of proposed appropriations adjustments designed to backstop spending cuts. The posture, his advisers said, was intentional. As divided government steadily moved toward the precipice of calamity, Biden didnt want to unsettle the ongoing, and exceedingly fluid, closed-door talks. But Biden, as he commended McCarthys efforts, also alluded to a clear reality that hung over talks where an outcome was viewed as the only option but at times seemed impossible to achieve. The stakes could not have been higher, Biden said. What are they gonna say, no to veterans? By the time McCarthy walked into the Oval Office for his first meeting with the president and congressional leaders on May 9, the White House had spent the previous two weeks accusing House Republicans of seeking to cut veterans benefits as part of their legislation to raise the debt ceiling, which slashed non-defense spending across the board. It was a deliberate and carefully planned political attack designed to have maximum effect. No, the House Republican legislation did not specify cuts, officials privately acknowledged. But the ambiguity tied to the deep topline cut also meant they didnt specify those benefits would be protected. On that basis, the attack became the cornerstone element of every public statement from Biden down on the debt limit. It was one the president deployed once again behind closed doors at the White House. Pressing McCarthy for specifics on which parts of the budget he was willing to cut to achieve his target, Democrats in the room went down a list of big-ticket items: Public safety? No. FBI? No. Border security? No. At the mention of veterans funding, McCarthy grew animated, pointedly telling Biden that the notion he was seeking to cut such funding was a lie. At the time, that moment laid bare weighty tensions between two sides staring down the prospect of default in under a month. In retrospect, it was a pivotal moment that helped the White House pave the way for the key mechanisms of a deal that leans on veterans carveouts to blunt spending cuts to domestic programs and changes to a key food assistance program. With Memorial Day on the horizon, senior White House officials said protecting veterans benefits was a top priority. They also knew it was a sensitive issue for Republicans politically, especially as House Republicans parried White House allegations about cuts to veterans services. It was very much a through line that we identified and worked through in different points in the process, Terrell said. We were willing and able to be quite pointed. That strategy propelled negotiators to agree early in the talks to exempt veterans benefits from caps on discretionary domestic spending, effectively shrinking the size of cuts the White House would need to backstop with Internal Revenue Service and Covid relief funds. The White House would use the same key to unlock one of the thorniest sticking points of the final stretch of negotiations as Republicans pushed to expand work requirements for food stamp recipients. You dont mean to tell us that were going to hurt, you know, homeless veterans here right? White House negotiators told their Republican counterparts, according to a senior administration official. No, no, no, came the response. Well then we should exempt that, the negotiators retorted. What are they gonna say, no to veterans? Young said recalling the interaction. Republicans would later agree to exempt veterans, as well as the homeless and individuals who had been through the foster care system, from SNAP work requirements, delivering a surprise net result for the White House: more not fewer individuals will gain access to food stamps, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Republicans disputed the CBOs analysis outright. Progressive Democrats, unsettled by what in their view was weeks of being boxed out of the negotiations, still sharply objected to the inclusion of the issue altogether. But the outcome clinched agreement on a central redline issue for McCarthy. White House officials, over the course of the painstaking negotiations, viewed the issue as largely a wash and one that brought them to the brink of a final agreement. If we had said that was possible, you would have said, How is that going to happen? White House chief of staff Jeff Zients said in an interview. If 3, 4, 5 weeks ago, I had told you that we were going to have something that passed the House with 314 votes, 165 Democrats I think we both wouldve said thats not possible, or that is a pipe dream, Zients said, touting the success of the White Houses strategy. And thats what happened. A key weekend hurdle It was a perspective echoed by people involved in the process from both sides of the negotiation. To some degree, the scale of the bipartisan support served to obscure what had, at various points, seemed on the verge of falling apart entirely. There probably were a few moments where it seemed like it was going to be hard to think through how we were going to be able to resolve our differences. Im sure they felt it as well, Ricchetti said. None more so than the weekend that began with Republicans hitting a public pause on negotiations. We had probably three major blowups in this negotiation, one of which was that Friday, said Rep. Patrick McHenry, one of the lead Republican negotiators, of May 19. Republicans had started from the position that budget caps would need to extend for a 10 year period. As negotiators pressed forward, they would come down to six years, but remained firmly in that spot, determined to secure at least $2 trillion in cuts. The White House, citing precedent, was open to two. Finding the pathway to reconcile those deeply divergent positions was tailor-made for Young. As the former staff director of the House Appropriations Committee, Young brought to the talks a combination of institutional knowledge, deeply ingrained understanding of years of spending warfare and deals, and innate sense of how to read the other side in heated negotiations, White House officials involved in the process said. Within days of her first forray into the negotiations as the scale of the gulf between the two sides on the budget side of the negotiations was laid bare Young returned home one night and could hardly close her eyes at all, consumed by the need to find the combination of timeline, topline and extra money back fill in order to secure a compromise that could bridge the two sides. That night, punctuated by late night and early morning messages to her ever-present deputy Michael Linden, would mark the start of piecing together an agreement that would lock in a two year caps agreement, with an additional four years that had no enforcement mechanism. The long-standing baseline of parity between defense and non-defense dollars would be broken an outcome Republicans pointed to as a clear win but the length of the agreement and depth of the cuts moved sharply back toward a point White House officials deemed acceptable. Still, the ability to clearly advance toward an agreement remained out of reach. White House officials would engage in conversations where their Republican counterparts would outline a potential resolution on issues. But the specific details remained outside the talks. It was a reality that drew a wary response from the White House team, which was keenly aware that reluctance to put anything on paper was likely tied to concerns about leaks that would blow up any deal. If just the threat of widespread House GOP rejection was enough to slow progress, how could any be made at all? We were just like, show us the paper, Terrell said, recalling Youngs constant refrain as officials attempted to nail down exactly what Republicans were willing to put on the table. Negotiations resumed later that night, but progress was halting over the weekend, with one senior administration official describing the situation as stalemated. It wasnt until Ricchetti spoke with McCarthy, followed by a call from the president that the negotiations appeared to get back on the right trajectory. The presidents conversation with the speaker freed up the end stage of that negotiation and enabled us to finish, Ricchetti told CNN. The White Houses readout of that call was bare bones noting only that they spoke by phone and that their staffs would reconvene that evening. That was by design: after hanging up with McCarthy, Biden directed his team to release as little information as possible about the call, in order to give the negotiations more space. A shift in tone and negotiators McCarthys second appearance in the Oval Office last month cemented the view among the presidents negotiators that they were sitting across the table from people negotiating in good-faith. Multiple senior administration officials said McCarthys demeanor in the second Oval Office meeting had changed and he was demonstrating that he wanted a deal. The shift in tone was paired that day with another critical development: a shift in the makeup of the players at the table. For months, White House officials hoped and to some degree based on past battles, expected Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell would engage in finding a resolution. His public position was that the only path forward was a Biden-McCarthy brokered agreement. His private position, delivered to Biden by phone in the weeks before negotiations accelerated, was the exact same, people familiar with the call said. But McConnells suggestion, delivered during the Oval Office meeting between the top four congressional leaders, that Biden and McCarthy shrink the number of players involved in the talks did mark a critical contribution. Biden acquiesced to the request and soon appointed Young, Terrell and Ricchetti to run point on the negotiations that were running dangerously close to the brink. McCarthy tapped McHenry and Republican Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana, launching a rolling series of weeks. Still, the level of trust with McCarthy would remain a work in progress one put to the test by the top two principals and their negotiating teams. While the president and the White Houses team of negotiators were veterans of high-stakes showdowns between the White House and Congress, this was McCarthys first time in the drivers seat. As Biden and McCarthys relationship always framed as professional, but hardly close developed, Ricchetti became a key and quiet conduit between them. He also worked on critical pieces directly with McHenry. Graves, who brought a significant level of energy expertise to the table, also grew up in the same part of Louisiana as Young and now represents the district where her parents live. The verbal jousting over who crafted the best gumbo became a running bit between the two in public. Young and McHenry, who both have young children, started what became regular phone calls during daycare dropoff, as Terrell maintained constant contact with McCarthys chief of staff, long time Washington hand Dan Meyer. Its like, you go camping with somebody, right? Youve seen them in the morning before theyve brushed their teeth and their hairs a mess and you have to kind of figure out how to put up the tent in the rain, Terrell said. Theres just no doubt about it that you go through that experience and it inures to your benefit. It is how you grow and you bring more layers to your relationship. A clear runway From their earliest meetings with House Republican negotiators, White House officials made clear that anything less than a two-year debt-ceiling increase was a non-starter. The message, according to a senior administration official, was straightforward: If you think were doing this before an election, youre out of your mind. I promise you, we did not spend much time at all talking about that date, Young said. Reaching an agreement that would eliminate the possibility of another debt ceiling fight for the rest of Bidens term was a top priority for negotiators. As was averting a potential government shutdown later this year. The deal Biden will sign into law on Saturday does both, incentivizing lawmakers to fully fund the government or face the indiscriminate meat cleaver of 1% across-the-board cuts to both defense and nondefense spending next year. While the legislation doesnt mean the White House wont still face significant fights with Congress, including over supplemental funding for defense and Ukraine assistance, it does clear the decks of the most politically perilous fights for a White House eager to focus on implementing and selling Bidens first two years of legislative accomplishments. By striking this deal, we now have a clear runway to sell that economic vision and implement historic investments across the major pieces of legislation infrastructure, CHIPS, the IRA, Zients said. That shifting focus was on the presidents mind as he walked into his chief of staffs office late Thursday night, accompanied by his dog Commander, to watch the votes come in on the Senate floor alongside members of his senior staff. The vote marked the end of a long day spent congratulating hundreds of cadets from the Air Force Academy in Colorado and the culmination of a monthslong negotiation that monopolized his attention and overshadowed a critical foreign trip. After asking what percentage of Democrats were voting for the bill and as it became clear he had the votes to pass the debt ceiling package, Biden turned to his chief of staff and began discussing the next task: implementing the legislation he passed in his first two years and which his deal with McCarthy had spared. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Veterans, stalemates and sleepless nights: Inside the White House strategy to strike the debt ceiling deal" First City Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Invesco Senior Loan ETF (NYSEARCA:BKLN Get Rating) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,328 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 620 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc.s holdings in Invesco Senior Loan ETF were worth $746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKLN. Advisors Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF during the 4th quarter valued at $46,169,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF during the 4th quarter valued at $509,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF by 92.4% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 137,890 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $2,831,000 after buying an additional 66,238 shares in the last quarter. Wavelength Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Wavelength Capital Management LLC now owns 683,660 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $14,036,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF by 454.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,428,825 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $29,334,000 after buying an additional 1,171,023 shares in the last quarter. Get Invesco Senior Loan ETF alerts: Invesco Senior Loan ETF Stock Performance Shares of BKLN stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $20.77. 12,314,136 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,107,161. The companys 50-day moving average price is $20.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.86. Invesco Senior Loan ETF has a 12 month low of $20.06 and a 12 month high of $21.49. Invesco Senior Loan ETF Profile The Invesco Senior Loan ETF (BKLN) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in high yield fixed income. The fund tracks a market-value-weighted index of senior loans issued by banks to corporations. BKLN was launched on Mar 3, 2011 and is managed by Invesco. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Invesco Senior Loan ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Invesco Senior Loan ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust (NYSE:OIA Get Rating) declared a monthly dividend on Friday, June 2nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th will be given a dividend of 0.0265 per share by the investment management company on Friday, June 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust Stock Performance Shares of OIA stock opened at $6.15 on Friday. Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust has a 1 year low of $5.40 and a 1 year high of $7.25. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $6.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.47. Get Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust alerts: Institutional Trading of Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. US Bancorp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust in the first quarter worth about $63,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.75% of the companys stock. About Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Invesco Ltd. The fund is co-managed by Invesco Advisers, Inc, INVESCO Asset Management Deutschland GmbH, INVESCO Asset Management Limited, INVESCO Asset Management (Japan) Limited, Invesco Hong Kong Limited, INVESCO Senior Secured Management, Inc, and Invesco Canada Ltd. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA Get Rating) had its target price cut by CIBC from C$110.00 to C$108.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. Several other equities analysts have also commented on NA. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$111.00 to C$109.00 in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$111.00 to C$108.00 in a research report on Monday, March 27th. Veritas Investment Research reissued a buy rating on shares of National Bank of Canada in a research report on Monday, February 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on National Bank of Canada from C$98.00 to C$82.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 9th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their target price on National Bank of Canada from C$100.00 to C$105.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of C$105.86. Get National Bank of Canada alerts: National Bank of Canada Price Performance National Bank of Canada stock opened at C$98.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of C$33.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.11. The stocks fifty day moving average is C$99.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$97.85. National Bank of Canada has a 1-year low of C$82.16 and a 1-year high of C$104.83. National Bank of Canada Increases Dividend National Bank of Canada ( TSE:NA Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 1st. The financial services provider reported C$2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$2.41 by C$0.15. The business had revenue of C$2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$2.62 billion. National Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 34.98%. On average, research analysts expect that National Bank of Canada will post 9.5862745 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is an increase from National Bank of Canadas previous quarterly dividend of $0.97. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 23rd. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. National Bank of Canadas dividend payout ratio is 40.89%. National Bank of Canada Company Profile (Get Rating) National Bank of Canada provides various financial products and services to retail, commercial, corporate, and institutional clients in Canada and internationally. It operates through four segments: Personal and Commercial, Wealth Management, Financial Markets, and U.S. Specialty Finance and International. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for National Bank of Canada Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for National Bank of Canada and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Retractable Technologies (NYSE:RVP Get Rating) in a report published on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock. Retractable Technologies Stock Performance NYSE:RVP opened at $1.10 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 8.60, a quick ratio of 6.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.00 and a beta of 2.17. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $1.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.81. Retractable Technologies has a twelve month low of $1.04 and a twelve month high of $5.17. Get Retractable Technologies alerts: Retractable Technologies (NYSE:RVP Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 30th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter. Retractable Technologies had a negative net margin of 2.63% and a positive return on equity of 1.39%. The business had revenue of $12.68 million for the quarter. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Retractable Technologies About Retractable Technologies Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Retractable Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Retractable Technologies by 29.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,265 shares of the companys stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 3,037 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main bought a new position in Retractable Technologies in the second quarter worth about $54,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Retractable Technologies in the second quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Retractable Technologies by 190.0% in the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,216 shares of the companys stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 10,625 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.46% of the companys stock. (Get Rating) Retractable Technologies, Inc engages in the manufacture and market of safety needle devices for the healthcare industry. It offers injection devices, blood collection devices, and infusion devices. The company was founded by Thomas J. Shaw on May 9, 1994 and is headquartered in Little Elm, TX. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Retractable Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Retractable Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shelton Capital Management lessened its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL Get Rating) by 77.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,500 shares of the enterprise software providers stock after selling 170,014 shares during the quarter. Shelton Capital Managements holdings in Oracle were worth $4,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Tanglewood Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 40.96% of the companys stock. Get Oracle alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $81.00 to $85.00 in a report on Friday, March 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, May 27th. Societe Generale lowered shares of Oracle from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, March 10th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, March 24th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a buy rating and set a $116.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Monday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $95.46. Oracle Trading Down 0.1 % Shares of ORCL traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $105.89. 8,652,377 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,022,938. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $60.78 and a 12 month high of $106.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $285.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $96.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.24. Oracle (NYSE:ORCL Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.42 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 17.46% and a negative return on equity of 262.40%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 4.01 EPS for the current year. Oracle Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 11th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracles previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Oracles dividend payout ratio is 52.81%. Insider Activity In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 1,837,101 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.86, for a total value of $172,430,299.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $104,991,045.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 1,837,101 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.86, for a total transaction of $172,430,299.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $104,991,045.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.65, for a total transaction of $4,214,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 207,409 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $19,423,852.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 43.70% of the companys stock. About Oracle (Get Rating) Oracle Corp. engages in the provision of products and services that address all aspects of corporate information technology environments. It operates through the following business segments: Cloud and License, Hardware, and Services. The Cloud and License segment markets, sells, and delivers applications, platform, and infrastructure technologies. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ORCL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL Get Rating). Receive News & Ratings for Oracle Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Oracle and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP Get Rating) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Thursday. Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $360.00 to $338.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $382.00 to $401.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $400.00 to $385.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $349.70. Get Ameriprise Financial alerts: Ameriprise Financial Stock Performance NYSE:AMP opened at $313.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46. The companys 50-day moving average is $301.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $317.83. Ameriprise Financial has a 1-year low of $219.99 and a 1-year high of $357.46. Ameriprise Financial Cuts Dividend Ameriprise Financial ( NYSE:AMP Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.21 by $0.04. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 77.32%. The company had revenue of $3.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.98 EPS. Ameriprise Financials revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ameriprise Financial will post 30.42 EPS for the current year. The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 5th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.13%. Ameriprise Financials dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.43%. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameriprise Financial A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,925,117 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $3,508,434,000 after purchasing an additional 84,131 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,317,752 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,855,891,000 after purchasing an additional 322,614 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,405,659 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $748,008,000 after purchasing an additional 15,491 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,375,581 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $739,686,000 after purchasing an additional 195,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edmp Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 31,635.5% in the 4th quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 2,278,294 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $7,317,000 after purchasing an additional 2,271,115 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Ameriprise Financial Company Profile (Get Rating) Ameriprise Financial, Inc operates as a holding company. The firm provides financial planning, asset management and insurance services to individuals, businesses and institutions. It operates through the following business segments: Advice & Wealth Management, Asset Management, Retirement & Protection Solutions, and Corporate & Other. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Ameriprise Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ameriprise Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 235,972 shares of the communications equipment providers stock, valued at approximately $12,030,000. Twin Tree Management LP owned approximately 0.16% of Ciena at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Ciena by 165.2% during the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 663 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Standard Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,552 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter worth about $102,000. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Ciena alerts: Ciena Trading Up 2.3 % NYSE CIEN opened at $48.13 on Friday. Ciena Co. has a one year low of $38.33 and a one year high of $56.38. The companys 50 day moving average price is $47.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.54 and a current ratio of 3.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.45, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.01. Analyst Ratings Changes Ciena ( NYSE:CIEN Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 6th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.28. Ciena had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. Cienas revenue for the quarter was up 25.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ciena Co. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year. CIEN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James raised shares of Ciena from an outperform rating to a strong-buy rating and raised their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 28th. B. Riley raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 30th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Ciena from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 29th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a buy rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $66.29. Insider Activity In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 3,541 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total transaction of $181,157.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 476,864 shares in the company, valued at $24,396,362.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 3,541 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total transaction of $181,157.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 476,864 shares in the company, valued at $24,396,362.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Scott Mcfeely sold 2,500 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total transaction of $126,925.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 100,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,088,677.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,582 shares of company stock worth $954,572 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.99% of the companys stock. Ciena Profile (Get Rating) Ciena Corp. engages in the provision of network and communication infrastructure. It operates through the following segments: Networking Platforms, Platform Software and Services, Blue Planet Automation Software and Services, and Global Services. The Networking Platforms segment consists of Converged Packet Optical and Packet Networking portfolios. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Ciena Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ciena and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. USS Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM Get Rating) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 148,924 shares of the companys stock after selling 27,400 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltds holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $13,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 135.6% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 318 shares of the companys stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 655.8% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 393 shares of the companys stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.23% of the companys stock. Get Archer-Daniels-Midland alerts: Archer-Daniels-Midland Trading Up 2.0 % NYSE ADM opened at $71.97 on Friday. The firms 50-day moving average is $76.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.07. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12 month low of $69.92 and a 12 month high of $98.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.81. Archer-Daniels-Midland Dividend Announcement Archer-Daniels-Midland ( NYSE:ADM Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.38. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 18.39%. The company had revenue of $24.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $24.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. Archer-Daniels-Midlands revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year. The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 16th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. Archer-Daniels-Midlands dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.58%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ADM shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $94.00 to $85.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. They set an outperform rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $100.33. Archer-Daniels-Midland Profile (Get Rating) Archer-Daniels-Midland Co engages in the production of oilseeds, corn, wheat, cocoa, and other agricultural commodities. It operates through the following segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, Nutrition, and Other. The Ag Services and Oilseeds segment includes activities related to the origination, merchandising, transportation, and storage of agricultural raw materials, and the crushing and further processing of oilseeds such as soybeans and soft seeds cottonseed, sunflower seed, canola, rapeseed, and flaxseed into vegetable oils and protein meals. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ADM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM Get Rating). Receive News & Ratings for Archer-Daniels-Midland Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Archer-Daniels-Midland and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM Get Rating) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,719 shares of the business services providers stock after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltds holdings in Waste Management were worth $17,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WM. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its stake in Waste Management by 598.8% during the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 1,153 shares of the business services providers stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 988 shares during the period. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc increased its stake in Waste Management by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc now owns 1,745 shares of the business services providers stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 713,541 shares of the business services providers stock worth $111,940,000 after buying an additional 158,288 shares during the period. CTC Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 384.6% during the 4th quarter. CTC Capital Management LLC now owns 6,300 shares of the business services providers stock worth $988,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,024,158 shares of the business services providers stock worth $1,099,729,000 after buying an additional 34,007 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.48% of the companys stock. Get Waste Management alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $179.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Waste Management from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Monday, April 17th. They issued a buy rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $167.00 to $166.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $176.64. Waste Management Trading Up 1.3 % Waste Management stock opened at $164.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $164.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $138.89 and a 52-week high of $175.98. Waste Management (NYSE:WM Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The business services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.33% and a return on equity of 33.23%. Waste Managements revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year. Waste Management Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 1st. Waste Managements dividend payout ratio is currently 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. Featured Stories 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. Wealth Alliance raised its stake in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:EEM Get Rating) by 35.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,769 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after purchasing an additional 17,322 shares during the period. Wealth Alliances holdings in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF were worth $2,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF during the first quarter worth about $146,000. AMI Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 5.7% during the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,268 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 62.5% during the first quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 65,005 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $2,935,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 14.5% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,965 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 9.3% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 892,269 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $40,286,000 after purchasing an additional 76,229 shares during the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF alerts: iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF Stock Up 1.7 % iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF stock traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.54. 53,717,010 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,694,516. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has a 52-week low of $33.49 and a 52-week high of $43.23. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $39.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.22. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF Company Profile iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, formerly iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (the Fund), seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded equity securities in global emerging markets, as measured by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (the Index). Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The Nebraska man who led a plot to start fires inside Walmart stores in the Gulf Coast in 2021 this week was sentenced to 18 years in prison, double the recommended prison term under federal guidelines. This sentence was based on the totality and severity of the defendants actions, FBIMobile Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown said of Jeffery Sikes, a.k.a. Kenneth Allen in a press release that followed. Sikes, 42, is appealing the sentence United States District Judge Terry F. Moorer gave him Tuesday, which included $7,295,533 in restitution, to be paid by Sikes and his co-defendants. Between Tuesday and Friday, Moorer sentenced six members of the conspiracy in all. Brothers Alexander Olson, 23, and Quinton Olson, 22, got 15 years and three years respectively; Sikes wife, Erica Sikes, 41, and Jenna Bottorff, 38, got four years; and Mikaya Scheele, 29, got two years for the parts they played in the crimes. There is no parole in federal prison. Two others, Michael Bottorff and Sean Bottorff, will face sentencing later this summer. United States Attorney Sean P. Costello said the group had deliberately endangered innocent shoppers and destroyed millions of dollars of merchandise when they intentionally and maliciously set fires in four stores in two states. Setting fire to a business isnt an economic or political argument, its a serious violent crime that has serious consequences, he said. In the indictment, Christopher Bodnar, Assistant U.S. Attorney, said the conspirators initially lived in Kearney, Nebraska, but followed Sikes to Alabama, where he fled after pleading guilty to a wire fraud in Nebraska in 2017. By 2021, they were calling themselves The Veterans Order and had drafted a manifesto making demands on Walmart related to the companys commercial practices and sent it to media outlets to draw attention to the arson attacks. First among their list of demands was a pay increase of $18 per hour for all employees, according to Fox 10, a TV station in Mobile, which posted it. They set fires at a Walmarts in Mobile, Alabama, on May 27, 2021, in Tillmans Corner, Alabama, on May 28, and in Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi, on June 4. And they threatened to start more if the company didnt comply with their demands. A monthslong investigation led to their arrests in February 2022, and they later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to set malicious fires. The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. To sign-up for EZ-Pay, call us at (903) 785-6901 or e-mail us at circulation@theparisnews.com. We will use the information you provide to change your current billing to EZ-PAY. Your current subscription delivery schedule will not be changed. No refunds for early cancellations. Remainder of early cancellation funds will be donated to Newspapers in Education. CARBONDALE Father Robert Flannery, priest at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, has reached a couple milestones in his career. At 3 p.m. on Sunday, Flannery will celebrate his Golden Priesthood Jubilee, 50 years of being ordained as a priest, at a Mass. Later in June, he will receive the Ezekiel: Prophet of Hope Award" from Saint Johns Universitys School of Theology and Seminary in Collegeville, Minnesota. Flannery was ordained on June 2, 1973, in the Cathedral of St. Peter by Bishop Albert Zuroweste. He has spent 24 years as pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Carbondale, starting in July 1999. Since 2017, he has served as chaplain of the Newman Center at SIU. Before coming to Carbondale, Flannery was a pastor in Trenton and Evansville. Flannery had a two-year ministry as spiritual director at the American College in Louvain, Belgium. He has been a Diocesan Ecumenical and Interreligious officer for over 24 years. He is a past president of the Catholic Association of Ecumenical and Interreligious Officers, president of the National Association of Diaconate Directors, serves on the Board of Trustees for the Parliament of the World's Religions and was named to Catholic delegation of Christian Churches Together. He co-authored a booklet entitled "An Ecumenical Study of Baptism: Similarities, Differences, and Practices." He has taken part in ecumenical and interreligious formation opportunities around the United States, Rome, Switzerland, India, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Thailand, Brazil, Spain, Turkey and Israel. Ive thoroughly enjoyed the priesthood. Ive really enjoyed being in Carbondale and its various demographics, including races, religions and points of view, Flannery said. The "Ezekiel: Prophet of Hope Award" is presented to alums of Saint John's School of Theology and Seminary who, through their example, have challenged students, alums, and the entire community to promote the work of building collaborative environments in which ordained and religious can live out their prophetic ministries to the church and the world. Your (Father Flannery's) distinguished record of service as an ecumenist, interfaith dialogue leader, campus minister, pastor and advocate of Saint Johns all exemplify the spirit of the Ezekiel award, said Dr. Shawn Colberg, dean of St. Johns School of Theology and Seminary. Colberg mentioned Flannerys service in the positions listed above as a way that he displays the spirit of the award. Colberg quoted the Rev. Sam Foskey from an article about the Carbondale Interfaith Council talking about Flannerys genuine love of people of all backgrounds. Hes devoted to the church in all its expressions, in all denominations, as well as at all levels. It gives us a broader visitation and helps us to set higher goals to aspire to. It also reminds us that our work has a wider impact than we may realize, Foskey said. Foskey also said Flannery has an incredible openness to working with people of different faiths and actively seeks those connections. Adding that he is not just interested in their beliefs, but also in them as people. The award will be presented in June 23 during the Alum Reunion Awards Dinner at St. Johns School of Theology and Seminary. "St. Francis Xavier has been a blessing. I have enjoyed the staff and am grateful for them, Flannery said. BAMBERG Years before the Bamberg County Hospital closed in 2012, and the next-closest hospital in neighboring Barnwell shut its doors in 2016, those facilities had stopped delivering babies. These days, theres not even an ultrasound machine in this rural county 60 miles south of Columbia, much less an obstetrician. Pregnant women here are left with few options for care. Federally qualified health centers offer prenatal services in nearby Fairfax and Barnwell, but only when a pregnancy is uncomplicated and only through about 34 weeks of gestation. During the final weeks of pregnancy, women must transfer their care to the nearest obstetrician, often in Orangeburg, which can be 20 miles away or more, depending on where they live in Bamberg County. Some women travel farther to hospitals in Aiken or Beaufort, where health outcomes are better. Most of our women are driving an hour or more from their homes to an OB provider, said Tracy Golden, a doula and senior program manager for the South Carolina Office of Rural Health. Although the regional hospital in the City of Orangeburg delivers babies, the birth outcomes in the county are awful by any standard. In 2021, nearly 3% of all Black infants in Orangeburg County died before their 1st birthday. Nationally, the average is about 1% for Black infants and less than 0.5% for white infants. Meanwhile, Orangeburg Countys infant mortality rate for babies of all races is the highest in South Carolina, according to the latest data published by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. By 2030, the federal government wants infant mortality to fall to 5 or fewer deaths per 1,000 live births. According to annual data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 states have already met or surpassed that goal, including Nevada, New York, and California. But none of those states are in the South, where infant mortality is by far the highest in the country, with Mississippis rate of 8.12 deaths per 1,000 live births ranking worst. Even in those few Southern states where infant mortality rates are inching closer to the national average, the gap between death rates of Black and white babies is vast. In Florida and North Carolina, for example, the Black infant mortality rate is more than twice as high as it is for white babies. A new study published in JAMA found that over two decades Black people in the U.S. experienced more than 1.6 million excess deaths and 80 million years of life lost because of increased mortality risk relative to white Americans. The study also found that infants and older Black Americans bear the brunt of excess deaths and years lost. That makes Black infant mortality in the South a complex regional crisis that should alarm everyone, not just future parents, said Georgina Dukes-Harris, senior director for social care at Unite Us, a national technology company focused on societal needs. Birth outcomes for mothers and infants are a leading indicator of population well-being and they run much deeper than health care: They reflect politics. Theyre a direct product of generational poverty and racism. They reveal our priorities, Dukes-Harris said. Often, babies die under circumstances that states, communities, and parents can help control, like making sure infants dont suffocate in beds or in unsafe cribs, or extending health coverage so that young women can afford to see a doctor before they become pregnant. In many of these respects, the South is failing. This is something that has to change, Dukes-Harris said. Urgent problem with no easy solution Public health officials are still trying to parse the long-term impact of the covid-19 pandemic, but infant death rates in South Carolina were higher than the national average long before the health care landscape changed in 2020. And a report published by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control in April shows the rate for non-Hispanic Black babies who died at a rate nearly 2-1/2 times that of non-Hispanic white infants in South Carolina in 2021 is growing worse. The death rate among infants born to Black mothers in the state increased by nearly 40% from 2017 to 2021. Thats just not acceptable, said Edward Simmer, director of the South Carolina health department. Its absolutely an urgent problem to me. Its a problem, though, without an apparent solution. Multimillion-dollar programs to improve South Carolinas numbers over the past decade have failed to move the needle. To make things more complicated, separate state agencies have reached different conclusions about the leading cause of infant death. The state Department of Health and Human Services which administers Medicaid, the health coverage program for low-income residents, and pays for more than half of all births in South Carolina claims accidental deaths were the No. 1 reason babies covered by Medicaid died from 2016 to 2020, according to Medicaid spokesperson Jeff Leieritz. But the state health department, where all infant death data is housed, reported birth defects as the top cause for the past several years. Accidental deaths ranked fifth among all causes in 2021, according to the 2021 health department report. All but one of those accidental infant deaths were attributed to suffocation or strangulation in bed. Meanwhile, infant mortality is a topic that continues to get little, if any, attention, especially in the South. A group called the South Carolina Birth Outcomes Initiative meets regularly to talk strategy, but this consortium of the states top doctors, nurses, health insurers, and hospital leaders cant solve fundamental problems, like teaching parents safe sleep habits or connecting all pregnant women to basic prenatal care. According to the Medicaid agency, nearly half of Medicaid-enrolled babies who died before their 1st birthday in 2021 were born to mothers who received no prenatal care. Theres good work going on. Its just in little patches. Its just not spread out enough to change our overall numbers, said Rick Foster, a retired physician and former chairman of one of the Birth Outcomes Initiatives working groups. Expanding access to maternal care South Carolina and several other states recently extended postpartum Medicaid coverage for women who give birth, which means their coverage remains in place for one year after delivery. Historically, Medicaid coverage was cut off 60 days after having a baby. Some experts believe expanding Medicaid coverage to single, working adults who arent pregnant and dont have children something most Southern states have failed to do would also help curtail infant deaths. A woman who is healthy when heading into pregnancy is more likely to give birth to a healthy baby because the health of the mother correlates to the health of the infant. But many women dont qualify for Medicaid coverage until they become pregnant. Even when they become pregnant and are newly eligible for Medicaid, it isnt unusual for women in South Carolina to put off seeing a doctor until the third trimester, physicians told KFF Health News. These women cant afford to take time off work, cant find child care, or dont have a car, among other reasons. Telehealth could improve access if the states broadband network were better, said Simmer, the state health department director. The department could also invest in a fleet of mobile vans that provide prenatal care. Each costs just under $1 million, he said. Ultimately, South Carolina needs more doctors willing to practice in rural areas. Fourteen of its 46 counties lack a single OB-GYN, Simmer said. We dont have providers where we need them, he said. To that end, he added, the state might consider using student loan forgiveness programs as an incentive for new medical school graduates to practice in rural areas of the state, where obstetricians are scarce. Meanwhile, two programs aimed at improving infant mortality in South Carolina, which were backed by millions of dollars in public and private funding over the past decade, were unsuccessful in hitting the goal. The Nurse-Family Partnership, for example, which pairs expectant South Carolina mothers with nurses for at-home visits, didnt have a statistically significant effect on birth outcomes, according to an analysis of the multiyear project, published by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. CenteringPregnancy, a separate program that offers small-group prenatal education to pregnant women, also failed to improve birth outcomes, said Amy Crockett, a maternal-fetal specialist in Greenville and one of the lead investigators for the state initiative. Crockett said she returned about $300,000 in grant funding to the Duke Endowment, a nonprofit that funds health, faith, and education initiatives in the Carolinas, because the evidence to support expanding CenteringPregnancy projects in those states simply wasnt there. Its not the silver bullet we thought it would be, Crockett said, noting that the pandemic also disrupted the work. Its time to move on. Angie Truesdale, CEO of the Centering Healthcare Institute, said that CenteringPregnancy has established a presence in 44 states and that many studies have shown it is effective in improving birth outcomes, particularly for Black women. Birth outcomes experts agreed that racism and poverty lie at the heart of this difficult problem, which disproportionately threatens Black infants and mothers in the rural South. Research shows that white doctors are often prejudiced against Black patients and minimize their concerns and pain. In South Carolina, the maternal mortality rate increased by nearly 10% from 2018 to 2019, according to the latest data, which found that the risk of pregnancy-related death for Black mothers was 67% higher than for white mothers. Upon review, the state health department determined 80% of those pregnancy-related deaths were preventable. Disparities related to both infant and maternal deaths deserve urgent attention from both the federal and state governments, said Scott Sullivan, division chief of maternal-fetal medicine at Inova Health System in Northern Virginia. Hospitals also bear a huge responsibility as doctors and health care providers must learn how to fairly and adequately take care of Black women and children. The idea that were going to solve 400 years of racism in an hours worth of bias training is a cruel joke. Systems have to remodel their approach, Sullivan said. Its going to take funding, and its going to take a sustained effort. 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. MOUNT PLEASANT Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum will continue its patriotic tradition this 4th of July. The home of the historic aircraft carrier USS Yorktown will kick off a free 4th of July fireworks blast celebration on shore at 6 p.m. The event includes live music, food trucks and a fireworks show over Charleston Harbor. In addition to the free landside activities, the museum is selling tickets to an enhanced fireworks viewing area on the USS Yorktowns flight deck. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at patriotspoint.org. They include access to the ship at 8 p.m. and a complimentary bottle of water. Orders are limited to six tickets per person. Seating is not provided; guests with flight deck passes are encouraged to bring chairs. Personal food and drinks are not permitted on the ship. Parking for everyone at Patriots Point is $20 per vehicle for the entire day. Due to limited space, visitors are encouraged to arrive early. The fireworks show will begin at full sunset, typically around 9:20 p.m. Independence Day at Patriots Point is a cant-miss event, said Patriots Point Executive Director Allison Hunt. Were excited to continue this tradition and welcome folks from around the world and our local families who want to enjoy the 4th of July at one of the most patriotic places you can find. Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum will be open for regular museum operations from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on July 4. The last tickets will be sold at 4 p.m. Minnie Anderson is dedicating her life to helping domestic abuse victims lead healthier, more productive lives. Andersons Pathways to Wholeness nonprofit provides rehabilitative services to help formerly incarcerated women who have been domestic abuse victims. Anderson is attuned to their specific challenges and leads her organization with a caring hand. Her unwavering concern for the needs of others led the Orangeburg County Community of Character initiative to honor Anderson for her compassion. The licensed minister attends Trinity United Methodist Church, where she works with Women United in Faith. The outreach ministry assists needy families in the community as part of its work. Im the type person who gives because they see a need. You cant meet every need, you cant help everyone, but you give back because Gods given me a lot. So its just an opportunity to give back, Anderson said. Her nonprofit not only offers women a safe place to stay, but helps them find employment and access to a plethora of health and social service resources. Women are hurting, and since I was called into the ministry, I had a ministry toward women. I give back, I help and it helps me, she said. Anderson candidly shares her own experiences. I was a victim of domestic abuse. It began on our wedding day and continued for seven years. I was too ashamed to tell anyone. ... A neighbor of mine was also being abused, and we both had young children. My husband didnt allow me to work. I was pretty much isolated from family and friends. My self-esteem had dropped. I was in a very bad place. I finally got the courage with the help of my family to leave, she said. Her neighbor shot her own husband after he began attacking their pregnant teen daughter, Anderson said. Her neighbor ended up incarcerated. She asked me, Why didnt I leave when you left? What do I do now? I didnt answer because I wasnt equipped. I didnt know how to respond, but that has never left me. I always thought, How can I help women who were in the same predicament that I was in? I thought about a transitional home, Anderson said. She eventually moved to South Carolina from Maryland and made her vision a reality. I found out that in this area there were shelters for women who were being abused, but there was no transitional home strictly for women. There were shelters that also served as transitional homes for men and women, but nothing here strictly for women. So I saw a need and wanted to step in, she said. Anderson continued, We started out with women who had been incarcerated, and who had not been involved with substance abuse. So we started off with a narrow margin so we could learn. This is something new for me. You have a heart and a passion for it, but theres still some skill sets that have to be developed. So were starting off with that, and then well expand as we get better and more equipped with what were doing. Women are welcome to stay in the program until they find employment, or, for example, while theyre matriculating toward their educational degree. When they first come in, they have two weeks where theyre just getting oriented to the community, getting their ID. ... We help them get set up with social services, mental health services, services through SC Works. Everyone has to get a job, and then if theyre needing skills, we plug in what we have, Anderson said. Women are also helped with setting up bank accounts. I also have been trained to work with behavioral modification. ... We let them know that they are valid and heard because abused women are silenced not only by their abuser, but also by the community at large. Women are afraid to come forward because they dont believe theyll be heard, number one, or, number two, believed. So we try to help them speak up for themselves, she said. We have the capacity for four women. Its a small transitional home. We try to make it a home and not an institution, Anderson said. Paths to Wholeness is run by a 12-member board. Well try to get the board up to 15. We started out with five women. ... Its a really good, very supportive board from different disciplines of life. So they bring a lot of knowledge, too, she said. Andersons goal is to lead the nonprofit with compassion. It is to make sure that it is sustainable and that those who come in have a compassion to help. Its important how we treat women, how we speak to them, how we model that appropriate social behavior for them. Prosocial behavior is an issue that definitely has to be modeled, she said. She learned compassion from her parents and a pastor, who also helped the needy. I remember my mom and dad opening up their home for women and children. They would stay there because they were being abused. They would counsel them. Our home was a transitional home when we grew up, but we didnt understand that then. That went on for about four or five years. They were helping people to get established, Anderson said. Anderson continued, I had a pastor who had a heart for those who were underserved. Although we had it at church, we did a lot of street ministry, helping people who were addicts. She developed an addiction ministry, just different ministries to help out in the community. So Ive been around people with compassion all of my life. A US Navy veteran and his young son stood reverently before the town of Neeses Memorial Marker on May 29. He gently guided his little boys finger down the row of name plates until he found the name he was searching for, and said, this is the name of your great-grandfather who served our country during World War II in the US Navy. He was a very brave soldier. Saying the departed veterans name aloud brought tears to the mans eyes, and the little boy nodded his head in approval as if he understood the significance of the moment. Veterans and civilians greeted each other near the Memorial Marker before and after the Remembrance Ceremony. Some veterans shared information about their own military service, and some people talked about their deceased family members who had served in different branches of service or different wars over the years. A visitor studied the Memorial Marker carefully and pointed to an engraved marker and said, I didnt know that our former Orangeburg County Councilmember, Mr. Heyward Livingston, was a sharpshooter in the US Army. And here is the name of an Army soldier who was a prisoner of war during World War II. There is a lot of military history on this marker; everyone should take time to read this. Neeses Mayor Kenneth Gleaton explained that the towns marker contains names of departed veterans who served in the military that were from the Neeses community, and not just the names of veterans who died in action. The information was obtained through local church cemetery records, and some were submitted by family members of the deceased, he said. We plan to add more names to the marker as our research continues, and we will read those names at our next Memorial Observance, Gleaton said. The Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony held at the Neeses Seniors Recreation & Leisure Center was a day of remembrance and fellowship. There was standing room only in the auditorium; every seat was filled. People stood around the walls, and some folks listened to the program from the foyer. Groups of latecomers waited on the verandah until the program ended and the luncheon began. One couple came from Colorado Springs, Colorado, for the observance, and another couple came from Pensacola, Florida, to bring a basket of hand-made poppy flowers for the ladies. A pastors wife handed out souvenir earrings, and another greeter gave engraved tie pins to veterans. Col. Reedy Hopkins (Retired) presented the keynote address and also served as Master of Ceremonies for the Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony that began at 11 a.m. Posting of the Colors by the South Carolina National Guard Youth Challenged Academy of Fort Jackson, composed of Drill Sgt. Stephen Johnson, and Cadets Simpson, Williams, Kelly and Stevens, opened the ceremony. Pastor Darin Thompson of Mount Beulah Pentecostal Holiness Church gave the invocation and also led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. Throughout the program, the relationships of the program participants to the departed veterans names that are listed on the towns Memorial Marker were noted, beginning with the musical prelude by former Neeses councilmember Wanda H. Ammons who is the widow of departed US Marine veteran and Purple Heart recipient Douglas L. Ammons. The presentation of the Memorial Wreath completed the military setting as US Navy Veteran Matthew L. Gleaton, the grandson of departed US Navy veterans Jacob Lorenza Gleaton and Kenneth Legree Chavis, placed the red-white-and-blue wreath at centerstage. Miss Moquesha Griffith, granddaughter of departed US Army veteran Harry Griffith, gave a passionate rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Patsy Fogle, widow of departed US Air Force veteran Carrol Fogle and mother of departed US veteran Carrol Terry Fogle, accompanied Miss Griffith on the piano. In his address, Hopkins explained the importance of Memorial Day in the United States. The retired 28-year Air Force combat veteran outlined the common beliefs of all departed veterans, and how the oath of office links all current veterans to those who were being honored. Hopkins is a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Disabled American Veterans (DAV) as well as a 10-year member of the American Legion. His awards include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Air Force Meritorious Service Medal (3 OLC), the Joint Service Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Global War on Terrorism, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the Air Force Longevity Medal. Hopkins helped plan the intricate details of the Memorial Service. He and his wife, Angie, currently own and operate the heirloom produce and livestock Bronze Star Farm in Neeses. They are members of the towns Seniors Recreation and Leisure Center Luncheon Program. Following Hopkins address, the Beaver Creek Baptist Church Praise Team sang the popular patriotic song, God Bless The USA, and later, they performed "Arlington" (a song spoken from the perspective of a deceased American soldier interred at the Arlington Cemetery). Col. Jackie Ryan Fogle, US Army (Retired), US Army veteran James E. Hoffman, US Navy veteran Joseph Garvin, and Pastor Robert Templeton of Neeses Baptist Church were readers of the departed veterans names that are listed on the Memorial Marker. To close out the ceremony, Jerry Poor of Neeses, played the haunting tune "Taps" on the trumpet. Pastor John Sharpe of Beaver Creek Baptist Church gave the benediction and blessing of the hotdog lunch that was prepared by Councilmember Paula Hutchins of Rusty and Paulas Restaurant of Bamberg. Retired Navy Capt. Bill Kurz, of Pensacola, Florida, attended the towns first Memorial Day Observance. He had this to say about the ceremony, As a retired military officer, I have had the privilege to attend many Memorial Day Ceremonies. This Memorial Day, I had the honor of participating in the first inaugural celebration held in Neeses. Col. Reedy Hopkins did an exceptional job officiating the event, providing insight to the meaning of Memorial Day and recognizing those who gave all, their families and the Veterans in attendance. The Color Guard from Fort Jackson brought the military esprit de corps with the presentation of the colors, followed by the honoring of the memorial wreath. The event was very professional, well planned and executed. All volunteers are to be commended for their efforts in making this truly a Memorial Day to remember. (TBTCO) - Cac nha hoach inh chinh sach cua Cuc Du tru Lien bang My (FED) a phat tin hieu uu tien tu bo viec tang lai suat trong cuoc hop hai ngay, dien ra vao ngay 13-14/6 toi, trong khi van e ngo kha nang that chat hon nua. O nhung noi khac tren the gioi, ECB co kha nang tiep tuc tang lai suat, trong khi BoJ tiep tuc giu lai suat va cac quan chuc tien te Trung Quoc co the tranh bo sung cac bien phap kich thich vao luc nay. Here is your chance to own a piece of Caspers history! The Welker F. Henning Mansion has endless historical features to coincide with modern upgrades for the perfect balance. Custom patios on each side of the home, a magnificent master suite, the original bar, a guest house, heated garage with workspace and more! The attention to detail throughout every inch of this estate has been restored. To truly appreciate and feel how luxuriously preserved this home is call Jason Lewis for your personal tour! View More Though the homicide rate for Indigenous people in Wyoming has decreased over the past five years, Native Americans in the state are still more likely to go missing or be murdered than people of any other race or ethnicity, a new report shows. The Indigenous homicide rate in 2022 was nearly six times higher than it was for white people in Wyoming, according to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Task Forces 2023 report, which was released in May. Though Indigenous people make up less than 3% of Wyomings population, they accounted for 12% of all homicides in the state last year. Since the last statewide report was published in 2021, law enforcement created 360 missing person records for 216 Indigenous people (some people were reported missing more than once). Those reports came from nine counties across the state, with the majority from Fremont County, where the Wind River Reservation is located. Most of these people were female and between the ages of 5 and 17 when they were reported missing, the report states. Last year, Indigenous people stayed missing for an average of eight days while white people were missing for an average of five days. The missing and murdered Indigenous persons movement began in 2015. The movement demands that the U.S. government acknowledge and address the high rates at which Indigenous people disappear or are killed. In 2019, Keepers of the Fire, a University of Wyoming student group that aims to keep Native American culture alive on campus, sponsored an event to raise awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women in Wyoming. In response to the event, Gov. Mark Gordon established Wyomings Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Task Force to collect data on the scope of the crisis and make a plan to address it. The task forces initial 2021 report gathered information about Indigenous people who were victims of homicide between 2000 and 2020. The report found that in those years, 21% of all homicide victims in Wyoming were Indigenous people a rate that was eight times higher than that for white people. Only 30% of Indigenous homicide victims received newspaper coverage compared to 51% of white victims of homicide. Wyoming has taken some steps toward addressing the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people in the state since the last report. The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, for instance, added a page on its website that lists missing people, making it easier to find information about them. The Bureau of Indian Affairs filled a victim assistance program coordinator position on the Wind River Indian Reservation, home to the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes. UWs Survey and Analysis Center created a community resource list to help people know what to do when someone goes missing. In February, Gov. Mark Gordon signed into law a bill to expand Wyomings missing person alert system. Whats more, community members who were interviewed for the report also said they feel that awareness in Wyoming around the issue has increased. The Wyoming Division of Victim Services, which funded the report, contracted with former chairman of the Northern Arapaho Business Council Jordan Dresser to create a film, Who She Is, to document gender-based violence experienced by Indigenous people in North America. The film has screened in communities across Wyoming. In 2021, Gordon signed a proclamation making May 5th Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Awareness Day in Wyoming, and community members in Fremont County have held annual marches to acknowledge the day. Yet, the report acknowledges that theres still a long road ahead in addressing the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Problems with how data is recorded and analyzed, for example, can lead to underreporting, making it difficult to get an accurate picture of the extent of the crisis, the report states. Community members who were interviewed for the report also said that distrust in law enforcement is another challenge and asked for a law enforcement subcommittee on the task force, as well as more law enforcement accountability. Interviewees reported jurisdictional barriers like challenges coordinating between agencies and not knowing who to call for information. A scarcity of resources to help Indigenous people from being victimized is another difficulty. Photos: MMIP rally at Big Horn County Courthouse MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally MMIP rally If theres one issue that unites Wyomingites, its access to public land. We might have different motivations for wanting that access hunting and fishing, for some, bird-watching and conservation, for others. But well put up with the wind and the cold if it means we can enjoy open, unblemished landscapes. Those open spaces are attractive not only to the average Wyomingite, but also people who have the means to purchase large tracts of lands and put up fences around them. Fair enough. Wyoming is a state that values private property rights, and people should be able to do with their land what they choose, as long as its not causing harm. But private and public lands arent always neatly separated, where one side is yours and one side is all of ours. Sometimes, these lands are arranged in a way that makes it difficult for the public to access public lands. Which brings us to corner crossing. In Wyoming, there are places where public and private lands are arranged like a checkerboard. Two pieces of private land might share a corner, but on either side of that corner, there is public land. And so, in theory, you can step over that corner to access public parcels without ever touching private land. The reality, as detailed by the coverage of WyoFile reporter Angus M. Thuermer Jr., is more complicated. Elk Mountain Ranch sits south of Interstate 80 in southern Wyoming, 34 square miles of private land owned by Fred Eshelman, a wealthy businessman from back east. About two years ago, four men from Missouri corner crossed in order to hunt on public lands. Prosecutors in Carbon County charged them with trespassing, arguing that even if they never stepped onto the property, the act of corner crossing would have required them to move, even for only a brief time, through the air above private property. It took a jury less than two hours last year to reject this argument, finding all four men not guilty. Eschelman then sued the four for millions of dollars in federal court, contending corner crossing, if allowed, would devalue his property by huge sums of money. Last week, a federal judge dismissed most of the lawsuit, ruling the four hunters did not trespass, Thuermer reported. That victory is about more than Elk Mountain Ranch, or hunting or property values. At its core, it protects one of the most fundamental parts of Wyoming life enjoying the vast tracts of unvarnished public land that comprise so much of our state. The reality of how that land is sometimes arranged means accessing it can be complicated. But if people are trying to use it in good faith without trespassing, they shouldnt have to worry about criminal prosecution or a massive lawsuit. The opposite would result in more than prosecutions and lawsuits. It would undoubtedly have a chilling effect on public access to public lands. If people worry they might face costly lawsuits or be hit with criminal charges, theyre more likely to err on the side of caution and avoid an area altogether, even if they have a right to it. Court proceedings can be expensive and time consuming, and many folks might not want to risk it. Still, there is more work to be done. State lawmakers should take action to ensure that Wyomingites access to public lands isnt chilled by threats of prosecution or civil action. There are so many divisive issues in the statehouse, and heres an opportunity to address a concern that many residents share, regardless of their political beliefs. We can all agree: The publics access to public lands is deserving of protection. The state of Wyoming is going to court again over grizzly bears, this time because federal wildlife officials missed a deadline to decide whether they would pursue removing Endangered Species Act protections. State officials announced their petition in a cheeky press release last week, accusing the U.S. Department of Interior of hibernating on deadline. The petition seeks to remedy the DOIs inaction, the statement from Gov. Mark Gordons office said. Under federal policy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has 12 months to respond to petitions seeking Endangered Species Act protections for species or in this case, to relinquish those protections. Wyoming filed its 27-page petition, which calls for the Northern Rocky states to manage Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzlies, back in January 2022. History Grizzlies have been delisted from the ESA twice before, in 2007 and 2017. Lawsuits from environmental advocacy groups successfully overturned those decisions both times, despite Wyomings opposition as an intervenor. Meanwhile, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystems grizzly population has continued to swell nearly doubling the 500-animal recovery goal though federal scientists now say that the species is running out of room to expand. State officials have testified that they support using whatever means is necessary to obtain management authority over grizzlies, including by subverting the Endangered Species Act and gaining control through legislation. The Fish and Wildlife Service, meantime, has declared that it found Wyomings Jan. 2022 petition credible and would embark on a comprehensive status review the analysis thats supposed to be completed within a year. Why it matters Grizzly bear management is especially divisive because Ursus arctos horribilis is an emblem of the wild for many and its recovery is a noted conservation success story. The alpha omnivores also carry particular significance in some Native American cultures. Some representatives of the species are celebrated, while others are difficult to live with and even deadly. Wyoming sought to hunt grizzlies during the last tenure of state management. A renewed hunt is a near certainty if federal authorities approve the states petition to again remove ESA protections. This time, state wildlife managers would likely target triple the number of bruins than previously proposed hunts. Who said what The states petition, filed May 24 in the U.S. District Court of Wyoming, asks the court to order the U.S. Department of Interior to issue a final determination on Wyomings delisting petition. The Fish and Wildlife Service has missed the required 12-month determination deadline, and its time for the agency to be held accountable, Gordon said in a statement. Meantime, federal wildlife managers have not given a firm update on their timeline. Hilary Cooley, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services grizzly recovery coordinator, spoke to the status of the federal governments process at a May gathering of Yellowstone-area grizzly managers in Cody. We are updating all the data, all the science in our status assessment, Cooley said. Once we do that, well send that out for peer-review. Next up If Fish and Wildlife Services 12-month review receives Wyomings grizzly petition favorably, then the agency would issue a proposed rule to delist grizzlies, currently classified as threatened under the ESA. A final rule and multiple rounds of public comment would also precede any potential grizzly bear jurisdiction shift. Wyoming officials intend to speed that process up. Attorney General Bridget Hill, who signed the states petition, asked the court to give the Fish and Wildlife Service one month to decide whether to pursue delisting. Imagine a world where we aggressively harness the power of the arts to foster individual growth, social development, economic progress and counter poverty, disenfranchisement, and crime. This is the challenge being extended by Dave Williams, artistic drector of the Council for Arts, Aesthetics & Identity (CAAI). The local government election bell has been rung and citizens will go to the polls on August 14, 2023. The election comes after the Privy Council decision that the extension of the life of local government bodies proposed in the Local Government Amendment bill did not apply to incumbent councillors and aldermen. Sex predators in Trinidad and Tobago have formed more than 100 networking groups through which child pornography and thousands of explicit images of young women are being shared amongst themselves. The groups have been created and recreated by abusers on various online platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Telegram, MeWe and Discord for the purpose of distributing intimate images and videos of children and young women. In what may be described as a case of smartmen and smartphones, a deal that looked too good to be true has turned out to be exactly that. If the marketing gimmick of $1 phones and laptops was meant to establish brand recognition for Star Networks Blue Mobile Network which turned out to be no mobile network at all, it certainly workedif only for all the wrong reasons. Words Matter is one of the mottos at the child language center and preschool, Wings On Words. When walking through the midtown Tucson school, each classroom gets a little louder as the children get older. The crescendo of noise is what the staff wants to hear, Director Carole Wymer Jensen said. Scottish Rite-UA Wings On Words Preschool at the Child Language Center (WOW/CLC) is a unique program with a research center, preschool and clinicians office all directed toward helping children with speech delays and disorders acquire language. The program started more than 30 years ago at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, where it grew from a summer camp to a preschool. In 2000, with the help of their continued collaborator, the Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation, they turned a former Cluck U Chicken building into one of the top-rated preschools in the state. Many children come to the program with few words or completely nonverbal, Wymer Jensen said, and by the time a child is 2 years old, they should have substantially more words. Parents are coming and saying, Oh my gosh, they told me I love you and I understood it, it was clear, Wymer Jensen said. That matters to people, it matters to us. Early childhood education is important; most of a childs brain development happens from birth to 5 years old. According to the National Education Association, children enrolled in early childhood education programs are less likely to repeat a grade, more academically prepared for later grades, more likely to graduate high school and become higher earners in the workforce. Dropout rates have steadily decreased since 1970, according to an Institute of Education Sciences report. However, it found that in 2016, students in the lowest income quartile had the highest dropout rate at about 10% compared to the highest income quartile at about 3%. In 2021, Pima County had a graduation rate of 70.7%, the lowest in the state. Studies show that early childhood education can help raise those numbers. Developmental language disorders are prevalent, Wymer Jensen said. Its estimated that one in 15 children have developmental language disorders, and most of them go undiagnosed. While the school also accepts children without speech deficits, about 60% of WOW students require speech-language therapy sessions. These services are provided in individual and group sessions by speech therapists and University of Arizona graduate students through the preschools affiliation with the universitys Department of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences. In the fall, the program will also become a lab school for Pima Community Colleges early childhood educators. Additionally, the trained teaching staff and speech-language pathologist assistants implement speech-language focused lesson plans throughout the school day. When Sabrina Chapman, a WOW/CLC parent, realized her son wasnt speaking, she enrolled him in weekly speech therapy sessions but said he wasnt progressing the way she hoped. As she searched for other options, Chapman found WOW/CLC. He was 2 at the time and completely nonverbal, but Chapman said after five months at the school, he was saying and stringing words together. I feel like hes going to get to kindergarten and be, you know, hell be teaching the teachers, Chapman said. I think hes absolutely more prepared above and beyond than I ever could have hoped for. Chapman drives almost 30 minutes to WOW/CLC, at 202 E. Speedway Blvd., for her son but says its worth it in part because of the programs curriculum and community of teachers. Tools to succeed Candy Kennelly has worked at WOW/CLC for 22 years. In an industry with a high turnover rate, she said shes stayed with WOW because her heart is with this population of kids. Kennelly said shes observed changes in students language abilities firsthand as a result of WOW/CLCs teaching strategies. Language is incorporated into every subject, she said, including math and science. The teachers also engage in dialogic reading, where they ask questions and have conversations with the children, making them think analytically and talk as they read. You say, tell me about your picture. So, at the beginning of the year, some kids will give you one word because expressive language is so low, Kennelly said. And at the end of the year, now, I was getting paragraphs. Kennelly said shes stayed connected with many of her students and their families over the years; she even hikes with a former student once a month. The former president of the WOW/CLC board, Peter Reinthals son Reed Reinthal, is one of those students. Reinthals son was diagnosed with a severe speech delay when he was a toddler. Frustrated with services provided within the school system, Reinthal took him to a specialist at UCLA who told him his son would never speak. When they found WOW/CLC his son thrived, Reinthal said. He is now 27 years old and a college graduate. You really see the development so much more quickly from all of the attention and all the work here, but it also gives them the tools to succeed, Reinthal said. Thats what you really want as a parent, is your kids to be happy and successful, and without words, its hard to do either one. Improving access As foundational as early childhood education is, its not accessible to everyone. In Arizona, public school eligibility starts at age 5, and although Tucson offers some free and reduced-priced programs, the average private preschool costs up to $10,800 a year. This leaves the burden of finding and paying for school to parents, putting many low-income children at a disadvantage. WOW/CLC wants to increase its equity, diversity and inclusivity, Reinthal said, and offering financial aid and support is an important part of the program. Seventy percent of the students at Wings On Words receive some sort of scholarship, and 30% of that 70% receive a full scholarship, director Wymer Jensen said. She and the board raise money for scholarships and write grants; the program has received support from the state, Pima County, Scottish Rite and First Things First through their five-star Quality First Arizona ranking and from the community to provide scholarships. We want to get more community involvement, Reinthal said. Its often kids who come from more difficult family situations, they dont know about the school, they dont know about the resources that are available. To maintain their five-star status rating, the school needs to be regimented. Julia Chavez Sullivan found the program through Quality First Arizona. Her son attends WOW/CLC, and although he does not have speech delays, Sullivan said shes liked their high standards and research-based curriculum. However, she said some of their rigid policies, like a strict start time where a child cant be brought in anytime after 8:40 a.m., are not always parent-friendly. Sullivan said while shes been happy at the school and understands the importance of structure, the rigidity of the program may not be for every family. Wymer Jensen said WOW/CLC is a small program that can fill a small need. Forty percent of the programs revenue comes from individual donors and grants. Wymer Jensen said they would love to expand the program but are currently at capacity. In the meantime, theyre part of a grant where they train other preschool programs and teachers on language facilitation techniques so that all programs can do the things they do. If you intentionally teach speech and language and early literacy skills, children are successful, Wymer Jesen said. Ban it! We just did a bill in Florida. Were not allowing the pronouns. Ron DeSantis, governor and future presidential candidate. Im a former English teacher, and all too often my students muttered Grammar Nazi when I returned their essays, which looked like they were hemorrhaging because of the red ink from my corrections. But if pronouns are banned, then suddenly the common error of pronoun disagreement disappears! But why stop there? Im calling for the outright ban of dangling participles, comma splices, and confusion of there/their/theyre. And dont get me started on sentence fragments! Or the abomination of passive voice used by writers! Ban them all! As DeSantis has shown in Florida, the simplest solutions are the best solutions: Dont like how some people use pronouns? Ban them! Dont like books? Ban them! Dont like Disney? Ban it! Dont like freedom? Ban it! Jim McWilliams Midtown Elderly observations In my 95 years I have been privileged to observe numerous seminal events in our history. This includes World War II, when we emerged as a world power, and the 1960s Civil Rights movement and the resulting legislation, an effort was made to bring equality to our institutions. The arc of history has led us to the Trump era, which has allowed legitimacy to the very worst elements in our nation. It is almost beyond belief that this racist, narcissistic, incompetent autocrat, a convicted sexual predator, once again would strive for the highest office in our land and be supported by millions of Americans. The damage he has done throughout society is incalculable and will be felt long after he is gone. The only solution is an intelligent and sophisticated electorate, one that is capable of being persuaded by truth and facts rather than lies and deceit. For the sake of your children and mine and the future of this republic, may the God of your choice bless this nation. Joseph Stanley East side Who is grooming your child? On April 5, the Attorney General of Maryland reported that More than 150 Catholic priests and others associated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore sexually abused more than 600 children over the past 80 years. This is not Maryland this is just Baltimore City. Now, the Illinois state Attorney General reported that there were 1,997 cases of priestly sexual abuse of children in that state from 1950 to 2019. And, yet, you are worried about books and librarians? Can you name a single gay guy, dressed in drag, that has been reported to be grooming little boys? No? You cant name one? Yet, you ignore the saintly priests? You need to get a clue. Those are your groomers. Sue Thompson SaddleBrooke The root of political evil Republicans and a now independent Senators do not legislate or represent their constituents. They are there to to protect the interests of the big corporations and the rich. The only way to fix this is to have campaigns financed by the government. This will not happen because how else would politicians get rich? A tax on corporations could pay for it with the money they now spend on campaign donations and bribes. If it was done like in Australia the campaign could be done in month or two instead of years. Politicians could work on problems instead of constantly begging for money. Wouldnt it be great if our leaders were selected by merit instead of how much money they can raise? Politicians and legislation shouldnt be for sale. Robert McNeil Midtown You aint seen nothn yet There sure has been a lot of coverage on AI (Artificial Intelligence) lately. Safeguards need to be put in place. The industry is actually asking to be regulated. Folks are concerned, and rightly so, that all sorts of disinformation and criminal activity can occur without supervision and regulation. AI is expanding at an incredible rate. AI machines can already think for themselves and learn. Soon these machines will be able to replicate themselves and with constant upgrades they can become quite powerful. I wonder what is going to happen when they figure out the two-legged meat bags running the show are pretty much useless. James Galvin Sahuarita Voting does matter Too often I hear people, young and old, say voting doesnt matter because politicians are all the same. It is puzzling that in todays America of extreme political viewpoints, anyone could really believe it doesnt matter who is elected. If you care about reproductive rights, gun violence, access to quality education, air pollution, healthcare, or Arizonas diminishing water supply, then who is in charge at local, state, and federal level makes all the difference. If you are disenchanted because a politician promised more than s/he delivered, look at all the uncompromising opponents that s/he had to face. Think how much worse it would be if all the elected officials didnt care about any of these issues, and no progress was made on anything of real importance. Youd be living in Florida. Please vote to protect what you care about and to promote the improvements we need. Eloise Gore Northeast side Transgender Transgender women/men who consider themselves women are not completely female. They may consider themselves so ethically, morally, by personality, etc. but they are not female biologically or physically. Accordingly, we should welcome them in what are considered female activities like teas, knitting bees, bridal showers, hen parties, etc. as well as sex-independent careers like doctors, lawyers and professors. But we should not let them enter biologically sensitive areas like bathrooms, locker rooms and sororities or physically sensitive areas like sports. We should respect equally their rights and the rights of cisgender women. Wiliam Wolfe Northeast side Free bus rides Yesterday I needed a ride home after having my car towed to get a tire replaced. My husband is recovering from surgery and cant drive yet, my son was working and couldnt get away. Pulling up SunTran on my phone, I discovered a bus route that went right by the dealer and connected to a route with a bus stop next to my house and bus fare is still free so I wont need cash! The peace of mind I get from knowing I could ride the bus any time I needed to is worth a small amount in taxes to keep it free. Thank you, SunTran and Tucson City Council. Keep it free! You never know when you might need it. Barbara Allen Midtown Hostage-taking Never negotiate with hostage-takers, it only encourages future hostage-taking. The Republicans are holding the economy hostage to their demands of decreased spending for the needs of the poor and middle class and decreased funding for the IRS. Who are they kidding? They and those they represent are at great financial risk in a government debt default. Apparently, Biden and the Democrats have fallen for their gambit and legitimized it. This will be sad for those losing needed federal benefits. Unfortunately, a majority of Americans probably support defunding the IRS, thinking this will make an audit less likely, when it will mainly limit audits at the top of the wealth gap where most of the unpaid taxes are. Our only government means of reducing that gap is through the IRS. Further expansion of it puts our democracy at risk and will lead to a less equitable society. Eric Gormally Northwest side Sad and scary Re: the May 29 letter Harris as President? To call Kamala Harris word salad and unqualified is like the pot calling the kettle black. Or is that the actual reason? If you took the time to see what she accomplished during her time as DA, DJ, and Senator they dwarf the qualifications of Donald Trump. She actually knows how not to liable herself. As for comedy Harris/Biden do not hold the candle to Frick and Frack (Trump/DeSantis). They are the poster boys for and Fascist loving Republicans and there seems to be a lot of them. I just dont get it. As for the AZ Daily Star being unbalanced in coverage I would pose the problem as how do you balance the totally unbalanced Republican Party. The party is getting more radicalized with each passing day. Pretty sad and scary at the same time. Nick Nicholas SaddleBrooke Work for peace Re: the May 29 article Raytheon wins drone deal. Raytheon has scored yet another multi-million dollar contract for work on a line of weapons of war. Its no surprise that Raytheon declined to comment on the contract. Their reasons werent given, but if I were engaged in the dirty business of making deadly weapons for big bucks, I wouldnt crow about it either. Say its name: War Profiteering. Dont buy the lie that weapons make anyone safe. No sane person believes that the next bomb or missile will be the one that brings victory for the good guys. Outside the fantasy world of movies, war is just a bottomless rabbit hole. Wars ravage our planet not because we human beings are incapable of nonviolent conflict resolution, but because we have given too much power to those few who fuel wars everywhere to keep their cash flow going. Its way past time to pull the plug. Work for peace. Kim Mathews East side Universal school voucher costs Reading that Arizonas universal school voucher plan has grown to $900 million, 63% more than budgeted just a month ago, I was not surprised to read Superintendent of Education Tom Hornes misleading statements and omissions about this burgeoning cost. Hornes own staff reported a notably higher percentage of current private or parochial school students applying for vouchers than his estimate. The result shifts the voucher program expense to Arizona taxpayers and continues to drain sustainable funding for public education. Horne avoided answering questions about sources to fund this increase and the cost for advertising vouchers. Hopefully, continued reporting will debunk Hornes advertising and uncover the number of students not accepted to private or parochial schools due to learning disabilities or language issues, a practice not allowed in public education. Such reporting should also emphasize the lack of accountability through test scores since private and parochial schools are exempt from this accountability placed on public education. As voucher costs grow, so too does Superintendent Hornes nose. Roger Shanley US MILITARY FORT LIBERTY, N.C. Fort Bragg shed its Confederate namesake Friday to become Fort Liberty in a ceremony some veterans said was a small but important step in making the U.S. Army more welcoming to current and prospective Black service members. The change was the most prominent in a broad Department of Defense initiative, motivated by the 2020 George Floyd protests, to rename military installations named after Confederate soldiers. The Black Lives Matter demonstrations that erupted nationwide after Floyd's killing by a white police officer, coupled with ongoing efforts to remove Confederate monuments, turned the spotlight on the Army installations. Congress created a naming commission that visited the bases and met with members of the surrounding communities for input. "We were given a mission. We accomplished that mission and we made ourselves better," Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Liberty, told reporters after the ceremony that made the name change official. The base originally was named in 1918 for Gen. Braxton Bragg, a Confederate general from Warrenton, N.C., known for owning slaves and losing key Civil War battles that contributed to the Confederacy's downfall. While other bases are being renamed for Black soldiers, U.S. presidents and trailblazing women, the North Carolina military installation is the only one not renamed after a person. Retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule said at a commission meeting last year that the new name was chosen because "liberty remains the greatest American value." "Fayetteville in 1775 signed one of the first accords declaring our willingness to fight for liberty and freedom from Great Britain," Donahue said, referring to the city near the base. "Liberty has always been ingrained in this area." The cost to rename the fort one of the largest military installations in the world by population will total about $8 million, Col. John Wilcox said Friday. The process is ongoing. Fort Polk in Louisiana will be the next installation to change its name June 13 to Fort Johnson, in honor of Sgt. William Henry Johnson. The naming commission's proposed changes must be implemented by Jan. 1. Several military bases were named after Confederate soldiers during World War I and World War II as part of a "demonstration of reconciliation" with white Southerners amid a broader effort to rally the nation to fight as one, said Nina Silber, a historian at Boston University. It was the promise of free food that set Gerald Ramsey on the path that would put him in the center of the Circle of Life. Ramsey was living in Honolulu, helping to care for a cousin in poor health. His cousins home was within walking distance of the Polynesian Cultural Center, a popular tourist destination in Honolulu, so Ramsey applied for a job there, taking part as a dancer in productions designed to showcase many Pacific island cultures. I ended up staying there a lot longer than I meant to, said Ramsey, who is a native of American Samoa. But I honestly had no ambitions to go into musical theater. I was studying anthropology and linguistics at the university and teaching English as a second language. I was fully expecting that I would go into teaching. Then, The Lion King came to Honolulu, and a friend of mine began encouraging some of us to audition, he said. She ended up saying that, if I went to the audition, she would buy me dinner that evening. And Im not the sort of person who turns down a free meal. Ramsey was also, at the time, someone who had never auditioned for a theatrical production. He came to the audition wearing sandals and a lavalava, a traditional Samoan garment. Ramsey also brought along his guitar to accompany himself, as he couldnt afford to pay for sheet music for an accompanist. I thought there was no way Id be chosen because I wasnt dressed like all the other people; I didnt move in the same way, Ramsey said. But I suppose the fact that I did stand out worked in my favor. Ramsey said he did get the promised meal. But more importantly, Ramsey also got the role of Mufasa, the leader of a pride of lions whose mysterious death prompts his son Simba to seek his own destiny as the prides new leader, in the stage musical version of Disneys The Lion King. Celebrity Attractions is presenting this Tony Award-winning production for a multi-week run at the Tulsa PAC, 101 E. Third St. Ramsey earned the role of Mufasa in 2017 and has been with the company ever since, with the exception of the nearly two-year hiatus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For someone making his professional debut in such a high-profile role was overwhelming, Ramsey said. At the beginning, I truly felt that there was no place for me here unlike most of the people around me, I had no degree in musical theater. And while the cast has people from many different races and cultures, I was the only Samoan, the only Pacific Islander, even the only Asian in the cast. Then one day, Tshidi Manye, the South African actress who was playing Rafiki on tour and has since joined the Broadway cast, sat me down and talked me through a lot of things. She said, I dont have a degree, but what I am able to do is share my culture the songs, the dances, the stories, the things that are in our bones through this music, these dances, this story. Manyes words helped Ramsey deal with his feelings of self-doubt by making him realize that the world of commercial musical theater has at its core a truly elemental purpose. It also helped me to understand why this show has been so overwhelmingly successful, Ramsey said. Its a story that connects in some way to just about everyone. And for Ramsey, one of those connections involved his grandfather, who was a leader in his small village. He was an extremely kind and generous man, with a bit of a mischievous side, as well, he said. His life was one devoted to the service first of his family, then of his village, and he was someone very much in my mind when I began to think about the character of Mufasa. Ramsey said Mufasas showcase song, They Live in You, also carries special resonance for him. I believe that we are the product of our ancestors, he said. I know that whatever gifts I have the way I look, the way I sing I inherited from my grandparents. That is why, whenever someone pays me a compliment about my performance, I always say thank you to my grandmother and grandfather. The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. The Starlight Band, Oklahomas only professional concert band, will open their 77th annual season by featuring the Starlight Jazz Orchestra in A Tribute to Wayne Shorter. The free concert will be held at 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 6, at the Guthrie Green, 111 E. Reconciliation Way. Shorter, who died earlier this year, was a renowned saxophonist and composer whose career ranged from his work as a member of Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers, to his contributions to Miles Davis groundbreaking jazz-fusion recordings In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, to co-founding the group Weather Report. Patrons are encouraged to bring blankets and chairs for seating. The food truck VFresco, offering freshly made street tacos and other Mexican dishes, will be on site. Future Starlight Band concerts will feature the music of film composer John Williams, an evening of patriotic music just prior to July 4, and a collaboration with the University of Tulsas Summer High School Camp band. For more information: starlightconcerts.org. Some Girl(s) Playwright Neil LaBute has made a career exploring the various forms in which toxic masculinity can present itself, and the rage it can engender in the women at whom it is directed, with plays and films such as In the Company of Men, Reasons to be Pretty and Some Girl(s), which World Stage Theatre Company is presenting. The play is about a commitment-adverse guy who, in the face of impending marriage, reaches out to four women from his past, from a high school sweetheart to a casual fling, as he wonders if maybe his perfect girl is someone he has already rejected. Directed by Kelli McLoud-Schingen, Some Girl(s) stars Bryson Pahukoa as Guy, Dara Allen-Lawrence as Sam, Nicole Billups as Reggie and Stephanie Choate as Bobbi. Karlena Riggs and Kathleen Hope will play Lindsay at various performances, while Kimberly Martin and Alyssa Brown will share the role of Tyler. Performances are 2 p.m. Sunday, June 4 and 11; 8 p.m. Friday, June 9; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, June 10, at the Tulsa PAC, 110 E. Second St. Tickets are $15-$25. 918-596-7111, tulsapac.com Tuesdays in the Park ARTSOK, the Regional Arts Alliance of Broken Arrow, will present its annual Tuesdays in the Park series of free concerts, beginning 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 6, with a performance by the band RendezvouX performing classic rock and pop hits, on an outdoor stage in Broken Arrows Central Park, 1500 S. Main St. In addition to the music, the evening will feature a childrens area with face-painting and other arts activities, and concessions supplied by Broken Arrow Civitans, Stu-B-Que and Kettlemasters, all of whom will donate a portion of their proceeds to ARTSOK. Patrons are encouraged to bring blankets or folding chairs. Future concerts will feature the Fabulous Midlife Crisis Band, June 13; Oklahoma Citys The Stars, June 20; and Weston Horn and The Hush, June 27. For more information: artsok.org The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. Although the 2023-2024 school year does not start for at least two months, area school districts are already hustling to fill staffing vacancies for the coming school year. Weve always been having to hustle, Union Public Schools Executive Director of Human Resources Jay Loegering said. If you take the baseline that were 4,000 teachers short in Oklahoma based on the number of emergency certifications, everyone is fighting for a pool thats not there. As of Friday afternoon, Union has 52 known certified openings for the 2023-2024 school year. However, those numbers could fluctuate, as the districts current teachers have until mid-month to advise on whether they will return next year. Across town, Tulsa Public Schools has already brought on 250 new teachers for the coming school year and still has 185 open teaching positions around the district, according to Chief Talent and Equity Officer Andrea Castaneda. And at Broken Arrow, while the departure numbers are not as high as they were one year ago, the potential candidates just are not showing up. If we dont have positions filled by middle of July, its about impossible, Broken Arrow Superintendent Chuck Perry said. It is so hard to find somebody out there who is certified and will stay. While they are seeing departures across all grade levels and levels of experience, officials at Broken Arrow, Tulsa and Union all said that their greatest staffing challenges have been finding teachers for special education and higher level math and science courses, such as calculus, chemistry and physics. Those staffing challenges all track with national trends. According to a 2022 report compiled by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the number of students completing traditional teacher preparation programs dropped by one-third nationwide between 2008 and 2019. The specialty areas with the steepest declines in degrees and credentials awarded nationwide during that time period were foreign language education, math, science and special education. What keeps me up at night is that were 4,000 teachers short (statewide) and I have nowhere to find them, Loegering said, noting his district has even sought grant funding to help cover the costs of out-of-state recruitment efforts. Ive gone to Arkansas, Ive gone to Missouri, Ive gone to western Kansas to try to find special education teachers. The problem is that all the other states are doing the same thing. Loegering is not the only one looking high and low for teachers. His counterpart at Broken Arrow Public Schools, Rusty Stecker, said that as of mid-May, his district has had about 110 certified staff give notice that they will not be returning for the 2023-2024 school year with one-third of those due to retirement. By comparison, the district had almost 200 departures that had to be filled for the 2022-2023 school year. The suburban district has been attempting to attract and retain teachers through an employee child care program and continued efforts to maintain smaller class sizes. Additionally, in an attempt to increase its recruitment outreach efforts, Broken Arrow hosted two in-person teacher job fairs this spring. In a normal year, those events would draw in up to 175 potential new hires, Stecker said. The first job fair brought in 50 people and the second one brought in 40, including 25 who attended the first event. Its still a little early to tell exactly how things are going to look next year but nothing scares me more than the teacher shortage that were in the middle of right now, Perry said. And from the information were seeing, we havent hit rock bottom yet, which really scares me even more. In an attempt to help bring more teachers into the classroom, State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced plans in April to use $16 million in federal funds as one-time sign-on bonuses ranging from $15,000 to $50,000 for new teachers of special education or prekindergarten through third grade in rural districts or those where at least half of the students qualify for free or reduced price school meals. That would mean 1,066 additional teachers statewide if all were to receive the minimum amount or 320 additional teachers if all were to receive the $50,000 maximum offered for educators with at least five years of classroom experience. By comparison, more than 4,100 emergency certifications have been issued since the start of the fiscal year on July 1. Weve talked about it for years that were in a crisis, but throwing a few dollars at it here and there isnt going to help, especially when they (elected officials) dont bother to talk to anyone who actually does it, Loegering said. A wrongful termination suit was filed Tuesday in the Western District of Oklahoma against Walters, his former campaign manager and chief policy advisor Matt Langston and OSDE by a now former employee who claims he was fired for sharing a memorandum with a state representative and Oklahoma Attorney Gentner Drummond about the program and explaining how it contravened the requirements of federal and state laws and could have the effect of costing the State of Oklahoma approximately $18 million. A spokeswoman with Drummonds office confirmed Friday afternoon that the office is reviewing information about the program. Meanwhile, in an effort to address its specific staffing needs, TPS is offering sign-on bonuses for the coming year ranging from $2,000 for candidates going through emergency or alternative certification routes up to $6,000 for certified educators who are credentialed to teach subjects where the shortage is particularly acute. Along with special education and secondary math and sciences, Deputy Superintendent Paula Shannon and Tasha Johnson with the districts talent management department, noted that TPS has also been particularly struggling to find foreign language teachers. Kristy Tatum is the principal at TPS Marshall Elementary School. Despite extended active recruitment efforts for months, Marshall had two open teaching positions teaching third and fourth grade math for the entire 2022-2023 school year, prompting the school to rely on a pair of long-term substitute teachers to cover those classes. The third grade substitute co-taught with a certified teacher for the year. The fourth grade substitute was able to cover the material on their own and record students grades. However, Tatum called her school lucky to be able to have the same substitutes in those classrooms for the full school year rather than a constant stream of new faces. That takes that off of the other teachers, she said. If theyre not though, somebody in the building has to put grades in for them. Somebody has to share their lesson plans with that sub. Or if theres not another person, then those classes have to be split up. That means putting four more kids in a room and they might be a different grade level than yours. Thats the kind of stress and pressure it puts on. On top of those two vacancies, four Marshall faculty members have taken positions at other schools and will not be back next year. As of mid-May, Tatum said she has filled two of those spots and was optimistic about the other four spots, but acknowledged that many potential teachers can pick their job from among multiple districts and campuses. Im hopeful, she said. Ive got several interviews set up and there are still some candidates in the pool. Its just whether they choose to come here or not. Gina Wilson is Tatums counterpart at East Central High School. As of Memorial Day weekend, she was able to fill all 20 positions that were vacated at the end of the school year through a mix of retirements, people leaving for other schools both in and out of TPS and some who were leaving the profession altogether. Wilson originally came to the district as a substitute teacher and went the alternative certification route. Drawing on that background, she has been doing outreach all year via social media in an effort to find people in advance of positions opening up. Additionally, she sought student feedback about attributes and skills they wanted to see in their teachers. With 40% of its student population classified as English language learners and more than 100 students there as part of a newcomer program for recently arrived immigrants, one of the overwhelming requests from students was for teachers who are bilingual. They (students) dont get to sit in on the interviews, but weve never really taken the time to ask them what they want because were so busy as admin trying to fill those spots, she said. I made it clear that even though we know were in a teacher shortage, Im not going to just fill a spot to fill a spot. I want to get the right person and the best fit. I want them here for more than a year. The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. Welcome to the stunning William Cavert estate, a charming yet spacious English cottage that was thoughtfully re-imagined in 2016 by Chris Murphy to accommodate today's modern lifestyle. Beautifully situated on a half acre lot in the heart of Midtown Tulsa, this incredible property is not only a beautiful home, but it also holds a rich history as the former residence of William Cavert, the owner and president of Triangle Art Company, who contributed greatly to Tulsa's artistic community. The open gourmet kitchen is a chef's dream, featuring high-end stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, full wet bar, and an abundance of storage space. The home offers four spacious bedrooms, each with private bathrooms and considerable privacy. The large primary suite is a luxurious retreat conveniently located on the first floor, featuring a fireplace, large walk-in closet with private laundry connections and a spa-like bathroom with heated, whirlpool tub and separate double shower. An additional guest suite is ideally situated downstairs. One of the many highlights of this stunning property is its prime location in the heart of Midtown Tulsa. You'll be just minutes away from Tulsa's best shopping, dining & entertainment districts, including Utica Square, Brookside, Cherry Street and Downtown. The beautifully landscaped yard offers plenty of outdoor space. You'll find mature trees, a spacious patio with large pergola, and a hot tub making it the perfect place to unwind after a long day. Additionally, there are multiple courtyard areas allowing for more private outdoor enjoyment. The William Cavert estate is more than just a beautiful home; it's also a piece of Tulsa's history. This stunning English cottage has played a significant role in shaping the city's artistic community and is now available for a new owner to make it their own. Don't miss this rare opportunity to own a piece of Tulsa's history in one of the most desirable locations in Midtown. View More The Catholic Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma announced a Catholic Answers apologist will join the diocese to offer evangelization and education resources as part of a new partnership to start on July 1. Karlo Broussard, Catholic Answers apologist, is moving to Tulsa this summer to work as part of the first formal partnership between Catholic Answers and a local diocese. Catholic Answers, a national evangelical ministry, described the partnership as offering in-person and direct assistance to a local bishop for the first time. A Catholic apologist is a person who writes and speaks in defense of Catholicism at times when it is subject to criticism or controversy. Broussard, based in Southern California, works as an apologist for Catholic Answers and travels the country to speak about apologetics, biblical studies, theology and philosophy. He also writes for the organization and on his own website about Catholic teachings and conservative viewpoints as they coincide with political issues, such as abortion, same-sex marriage, white supremacy and gender-confirming health care. Broussard said the idea for a partnership between Catholic Answers and a local diocese was floated around for a while, but Adam Minihan, director of communications of the Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma diocese, and Deacon Harrison Garlick, chancellor and in house council for the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma, suggested the organization partner with Tulsa. Broussard announced the partnership and his move to Tulsa on Catholic Answers Live. He told the Tulsa World he wants to hit the ground running in Tulsa. (My family and I) will be there as long as the formal partnership works. My intention is to remain in Tulsa, even working remotely as a Catholic Answers apologist, even if the formal partnership somehow takes a different direction, Broussard said. But the way we roll is that we go wherever God calls and were there until God calls us elsewhere. Broussard said he wanted to be a part of Catholic Answers first formal partnership to continue his work as an apologist, serve the community and also find more financial stability outside of California. It was a perfect fit, not only for me professionally to be able to do this sort of work in the diocese, but it was also a perfect fit for the Broussard family, my wife and five kids, to be able to move to a place where well have a little bit more of a financial breathing room, Broussard said. David Konderla, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Tulsa, described the diocese as large and rural, making access to resources difficult at times so the partnership offers an exciting opportunity for both parishes and Catholic Answers. Konderla said each pastor can customize this partnership as Broussard will be available for their parishs individual needs. Konderla said this could look like marriage workshops, youth retreats, Bible studies, philosophy courses or workshops on approaching conversations about political issues. Our partnership with Catholic Answers, with Karlo Broussard living in Oklahoma with his family, will offer additional resources to our very rural areas, Konderla said. Its just a wide and creative range of things that can be done with this partnership. Karlo has a wide range of talents to offer. In the announcement, Christopher Check, Catholic Answers president, wrote that he is overjoyed the organization is partnering with Tulsa to encourage true renaissance of spiritual, cultural and intellectual life. Check also wrote that Tulsa will be the site for a joint conference in May 2024. The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. Conveyed with a sense of urgency, a new national advisory on the harmful impact of social media on youth mental health hopefully can inspire a more united effort for solutions, officials say. Noting the growth in evidence that social media use is fueling the nations youth mental health crisis, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued an advisory on May 23 in which he called for immediate action and outlined roles that lawmakers, tech companies, researchers and parents each can play. Among organizations that see the issue firsthand, officials with Tulsas Family & Childrens Services, which provides outpatient mental health care, welcomed Murthys call to action. The agency is on pace this year to serve 6,000 youth and families, a 30% increase over last year. I dont want to point the finger at social media and say its just that. Its one piece of it, said Dee Harris, F&CS chief strategic engagement officer. But social media the algorithms, the addictiveness is definitely part of why our youth are suffering. Cheryl Delk, manager of Mental Health Association Oklahomas youth mental health program, agreed that social media is just one factor in the crisis. But because everyones involved in it, it has great influence, she said. Thats why we need to take action. As pointed out in the advisory, social media use by young people is nearly universal. Up to 95% of young people ages 13-17 report using a social media platform and more than a third say they use social media almost constantly. Murthy said a growing body of research suggests that social media poses a profound risk to young peoples mental health, potentially exposing them to violent and sexual content, bullying and harassment. The surgeon general said: We are in the middle of a national youth mental health crisis, and I am concerned that social media is an important driver of that crisis one that we must urgently address. Murthy said everyone has a part to play. He urged technology companies and lawmakers to come up with policies to protect young people from addictive apps and extreme and inappropriate content. He said policymakers need to address the harms of social media the same way they regulate such items as car seats, baby formula, medication and other products for children. Parent involvement is key Harris, a member of the Tulsa Worlds Community Advisory Board who has studied and written about the issue, said the surgeon generals advisory really lays out what different groups can do. That hasnt been done before. Its taking it to another level. And the group with the most direct role to play is still critical, she said. Parental involvement is a key, key part of it, Harris said. Because policy is not going to move fast enough to fix this. Parents might be tempted to prohibit smartphones to limit access to social media, but thats not the best solution, Harris said. Its not about parents saying you cant get on your phone. Thats not teaching them how to cross the street, so to speak. I really do liken it to crossing a highway. How are they going to navigate the dangers if youre not teaching them and giving them a chance to try it? A better approach, Harris said, includes being fully engaged and aware, having conversations with your kids, and allowing them to ask questions. Also important is for parents to model proper use with their own online habits, Harris said. As a society, digital literacy and healthier online habits must be prioritized because technology is not going away, she added. Delk agreed that parents must lead the way. We have got to set the standard with our own behaviors, she said. Kids are more likely to do what you do instead of what you say. A big part of the problem, Delk added, is that kids are still using an adolescent brain. As a former researcher, brain development is whats important here, she said. Adolescence is a time when your brain is still developing. Its changing swiftly. Critical thinking is not mature. That has to be understood and taken into account. The surgeon generals advisory comes on the heels of a related CDC report in February. Using data from 2009-2021, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary and Trends Report confirms that a decline in youth mental health nationally has occurred alongside the rise of social media and smartphones. Since 2011, mental health conditions and suicidal thoughts and behaviors in teens have increased, with teen girls experiencing the most sadness or hopelessness at 57% (up from 36% in 2011) and 30% saying that they have seriously considered suicide (up from 19% in 2011). Murthy said: Our children and adolescents dont have the luxury of waiting years until we know the full extent of social medias impact. Their childhoods and development are happening now. Delk said whether they are lawmakers, social media companies, parents or teachers, its up to the adults to address the problems caused by social media. I think as adults were all responsible for the welfare and benefit of the youth of America today, Delk said. I think if everybodys on the same page its a lot better to turn those pages into a book thats congruent and healthy and positive. The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. Family planning: The Oklahoma congressional delegation is protesting what it says was a U.S. Department of Human Services decision to rescind a $4.5 million family planning grant to the Oklahoma Department of Health because state law prohibits the agency from referring clients for abortions. Oklahomans rely on OSDHs family planning program for Title X family planning services including cancer screenings, pregnancy prevention, STI diagnostics and treatment, breast exams, and depression screenings and referrals, among a multitude of other services, says a letter signed by all seven members of Oklahomas delegation. (The) decision to suspend OSDHs award will severely limit Oklahomans access to these services. Historical: As an historian with a long career in politics, 4th District Congressman and House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole viewed last weeks debt limit and spending bill from a long-term perspective. In a true negotiation, you always get less than you want and give up more than youd like, Cole said on Tuesday. But with the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, it will responsibly lift the debt ceiling and avoid default that would devastate the American economy, and we will achieve real reductions in spending. This is the most consequential spending reduction bill in more than a decade. Conspiracy theories: U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin has been telling conservative media outlets that President Joe Biden is only running for a second term to protect his family and that the FBI is covering up a bribery scandal involving Biden and his family. He knows that this is going to blow up in his face, Mullin told Newsmax. Mullin has insisted since before Bidens election in 2020 that the president and his son Hunter Biden were involved in unethical and illegal dealings overseas. A recent Republican-led House investigation did not find any proof of wrongdoing by President Biden or add much to the allegations of personal and professional misdeeds, some of them publicly acknowledged, by Hunter Biden. Also last week, U.S. Sen. James Lankford was among Senate Republicans demanding more information about the 51 former U.S. intelligence officials who signed a 2020 letter that said the discovery of a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden at a New Jersey pawn shop was probably a Russian misinformation operation. The laptop and at least some of what was on it turned out to be authentic and embarrassing but not particularly damning. Specifically, the Republicans want to know if the former officials used their connections and titles to further a scheme to help the Bidens. Meanwhile, it was reported that an investigation into the Republicans leading 2024 candidate, former President Donald Trump, has obtained a recording of Trump talking to two writers about classified documents he took with him when he left the White House in 2021. Trump, who was recently found liable in a sexual abuse and defamation civil case, has all but admitted keeping classified documents in violation of federal law. Techie: When he wasnt pondering the national debt and Hunter Bidens laptop, Lankford delved into some digital issues. One was the lack of interoperability among federal agencies involved in immigration control and unreliable communications at the border. Their systems dont necessarily all talk to each other in moments that they need to be able to talk to each other, Lankford said during a Senate hearing. The other issue involved expanding cybersecurity cooperation to signatories of the Abraham Accords, an agreement among the U.S., Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan. Bad actors like Iran relentlessly engage in cyber warfare, including targeting of critical infrastructure and ransomware attacks, Lankford said in a press release. Allies like Israel bring tremendous capabilities to the table to strengthen our mutual security in the cyber domain. Dots and dashes: Mullin warned that the push to wind down fossil fuel electric generation in favor of renewable sources will result in more power grid failures. After voting against the debt limit and spending bill last week, Lankford told constituents to send me your ideas and solutions for addressing the national debt. Third District Congressman Frank Lucas, chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, wants to know why the University of California-Berkeley, which he said receives $700 million a year in federal research grants, had not disclosed $240 million in funding from China. Lankford was among Senate Republicans calling for what amounts to a made in China label for digital applications developed in that country. Mullin and Democratic colleague Tina Smith of Minnesota touted legislation that would give tribal governments food safety authority over their meat processing facilities, four of which are in Oklahoma. Lindsay Robertson, Chickasaw Nation Endowed Chair in Native American Law Emeritus at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, was named to the National Park System advisory board. Randy Krehbiel, Tulsa World The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. Kicking off this season of family gatherings was a 50th wedding anniversary for my moms sister cousin, who has spent most of her life in Chicago but returned to Perry for a celebration of her enduring nuptial vows. Ive spent half a century hearing about Moms bestie, Marilyn Steichen Seagraves. They are the same age and grew up in that small town, attending the same school classes and going through Catholic milestones together. They were close with their grandparents who lived on a nearby farm, and their parents had a tight relationship. They both loved the Beatles, wore sheath dresses and rolled their hair in empty soup cans for that oh-so-high beehive. Pretty sure they talked about boys, gossiped a bit and did all the things middle-America teenage girls did in the late 1960s. It made sense that when they entered Oklahoma State University as freshmen, they roomed together. What I didnt know until the recent gathering: Mom was quite the wingwoman in her day. At the 50th wedding anniversary party, Marilyn spoke about how she met her husband. Apparently, Mom would take a path across campus that went right by the on-campus fire station, staffed with college-age firefighters and firefighters-in-training. Knowing a bit about the OSU campus, I know that there were some other, shorter, routes. Moms explanation is that the chosen path went by some popular campus spots. Im guessing the fire station might have been one of those spots. I dont blame her on that choice. On one of these treks, Mom was with Marilyn, who caught the eye of a Tennessee boy named Ed. It seems the other aspiring firefighters were from the East Coast and spoke way too fast for Perry girls to keep up. Ed had a voice as slow as molasses, Marilyn recalled. He made an impression. Then came a conversation after a fire call (that Mom and Marilyn just happened to be around), a call to the womens dorm (Willard Hall) on a community phone and a courtship that ended with a wedding. Ed served as a fire chief in a suburb of Chicago while Marilyn started a successful investment firm. Shes now working with two of her three sons. Mom is credited as the matchmaker. That explains so much about our conversations during my younger, single years. These little tidbits are among the reasons I have grown to enjoy family gatherings. It doesnt matter whether the reunions are with far-flung cousins I barely know or people I see often. If I can discover an unknown story about family, Im in. Summers are popular times for get-togethers. A poll out last summer found that among people planning to travel, nearly 60% were going to family reunions. It also found that 35% of them were planning to have matching T-shirts. Nope, thats where I draw the line. As a kid, my paternal grandparents insisted that we all wear matching clothing to their reunion. It consisted of cheap shirts with my grandfathers name on them (So people know who you are) and homemade shorts to look like Jamz (that floral trend from the 1980s). I rebelled once, having hit the painfully unpleasant preteen years, when that outfit was super unflattering. Im expecting those pictures to show up on an Awkward Family Photos online site any day. The best family gatherings have an agenda; chit-chat can entertain a person for only so long. Among the most fun activities was a white elephant gift exchange where everyone brought something worth no more than $30 from their hometowns. Ive had great fun choosing among items at Tulsas museums or items with the Golden Driller, Cains Ballroom or Tulsa World designs. Family gatherings with storytelling times (with some prompts) give permission to tell tales, even if some are a little tall. At a minimum, a couple of speeches would be nice. Ive spent a lot of time looking through old photo albums, reading letters from long-gone relatives and looking at family trees drawn back to the 1500s. The wedding anniversary was a little different from a typical reunion. It was a time to reconnect with family members and meet some for the first time. Also, it was reassuring to see long, happy relationships. Its clear that Ed and Marilyn continue to bring out the best in each other. That is worth celebrating at any year. The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. Vietnams budget air carrier Vietjet launched the first direct route connecting Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam and Brisbane City in eastern Australia at an announcement ceremony held in Hanoi on Sunday. The event was witnessed by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, who arrived in Vietnam on Saturday for a two-day official visit, the carrier said in a press release on Sunday. After Melbourne and Sydney, Brisbane is the third Australian city to which Vietjet has opened direct flights. The new route will be officially operational on June 16, 2023, in the context that Vietnam and Australia are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. The route, which is also the first one that connects Vietnam to Brisbane and Queensland State, will have two return flights per week on wide-body A330 modern aircraft. Such direct flights will contribute to promoting trade between Vietnam and Brisbane, Queensland, and Australia in general, while further developing bilateral relations, according to Vietjet. We welcome new routes to Australia, especially Vietjets route, the first route connecting Vietnam and Brisbane, the beautiful city of Australia that will host the 2032 Summer Olympics, Australian Prime Minister Albanese said at the ceremony. The new route will shorten the travel time and create favorable conditions for people and tourists to fly between Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnams southern economic and cultural hub, and Brisbane, Australias third-largest city. Such direct flights are scheduled to take off from Ho Chi Minh City at 10:50 am and land in Brisbane at 9:55 pm. The return flights depart at 11:30 pm and touch down in Ho Chi Minh City at 05:10 am the following day. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Australia will provide an aid package worth AU$105 million (US$69.4 million) for Vietnam to develop sustainable infrastructure, and speed up energy transition, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made this announcement at a talk with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi on Sunday. Besides, the aid is also aimed at helping the Southeast Asian nation develop the mining industry. Vietnam and Australia are striving to achieve $20 billion in bilateral trade in the coming time, the Vietnamese prime minister said at the talk, as part of the top Australian officials visit to Vietnam. Two-way trade totaled some $16 billion in 2022, up some 30 percent against 2021. The two nations will shore up their connectivity of transport and the partnership in the financial, banking, and e-commerce fields. Australia is also committed to creating favorable conditions for Vietnamese farm produce to enter its market. The two nations will enhance the educational cooperation to strengthen highly-skilled workforces. Over 300,000 Vietnamese citizens are living, working, and studying in Australia, said Australian PM Albanese. RMIT University announced a new strategic investment fund to expand its operation in Ho Chi Minh City, witnessed by the Australian prime minister during his visit to the campus in Hanoi on Saturday. Vietnamese Prime Minister Chinh (R) shakes hands with his Australian counterpart Albanese before their talks on June 4, 2023. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre Besides, the Australian official said that Western Sydney University would grant 60 scholarships to Vietnamese students. Vietnam and Australia are eyeing tourism cooperation. Vietnam has two airlines that are operating direct air routes to Australia, with Vietjets air service linking Brisbane City, which will host the 2032 Summer Olympics. Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Prime Minister Chinh said that Vietnam and Australia would deepen their partnership in climate change response, digitalization, green transition, and circular economic development. We are pleased to announce the extension of the Aus4Innovation development assistance program. Accordingly, Australian agencies will collaborate with Vietnamese ones to advance research activities, said Albanese. Apart from these support programs and cooperative agreements, the two leaders put forward some solutions to upgrade the bilateral relations as soon as possible, heard a press conference. After the two leaders talks, they witnessed the exchange of four cooperation instruments in the science-technology, financial, education, and trade fields. Among them was the memorandum of understanding between the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for the establishment of a trade dialogue at the ministerial level. Vietnamese low-cost airline Vietjet received a certificate for the Ho Chi Minh City - Brisbane air route, witnessed by the two top officials, while Vietnams national flag carrier announced its plan to open the Hanoi - Melbourne route at the event. Australian Prime Minister Albanese arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Saturday for his two-day Vietnam visit. The prime ministers of Vietnam (R, back row) and Australia (L, back row) witness a representative of Vietjet receiving a certificate for the launch of a nonstop air route between Vietnam and Australia, June 4, 2023. Photo: Nhat Bac / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted a welcome ceremony for Australian Prime Minister Anthoney Albanese at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on Sunday morning. This is the third time the two leaders have met each other. The two had a meeting at an expanded summit of the Group of Seven in Japan two weeks ago. This is PM Albaneses first official visit to Vietnam since he took office in May last year. Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh greets his Australian counterpart Anthony Alabanese. Photo: Vietnam News Agency Vietnam and Australia have maintained over 20 bilateral cooperation mechanisms, including some important agreements on prime ministers annual meeting and high-ranking delegation exchange. A photo shows children waving flags during the welcome ceremony for Australian PM Albanese in Hanoi, June 4, 2023. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre His trip, made only two months after a state visit by Australian Governor-General David Hurley, is aimed at marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Australia. During a talk between Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong and Australian Governor-General Hurley, as part of the latters official Vietnam visit in April, the two reached a consensus on upgrading the two-way relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership at the right time. The Vietnam - Australia partnership focuses on three key pillars, including economic cooperation; knowledge, education and innovation; and national defense cooperation, according to Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski. Goledzinowski expects the two countries to upgrade their ties, and make energy transition and climate change response the fourth key pillar of the two-way relationship in the coming time. Prime Minister Chinh and Australian PM Albanese attend the welcome ceremony for the latter on June 4, 2023. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre Vietnam and Australia established diplomatic ties in 1973. The two-way relations have thrived over the past 50 years. A photo shows the two prime ministers watching photos at a photo exhibition highlighting diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Australia. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre Australian Prime Minister Albanese arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Saturday afternoon, starting his two-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh. After his arrival, he visited RMIT University, a symbol of the two nations educational cooperation. The leader of the university announced the next stage of the RMITs commitment to Vietnam program, which features a strategic investment fund worth VND3.8 trillion (US$161.8 million), witnessed by the Australian prime minister. The Australian prime minister also met some Vietnamese and Australian firms, feeling a glow of pride as Australia is Vietnams companion on the journey toward a major economy. After the welcome ceremony, the top officials walk to the headquarters of the Government Office in Hanoi for talks. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre Australia is one of Vietnams largest non-refundable development assistance suppliers. Vietnam received an average AU$92.7 million (US$61.3 million) in aid per year from Australia between 2013 and 2019, and AU$78.9 million ($52.2 million) a year during the 2020-22 period. A photo shows the Vietnamese prime minister holding talks with his Australian counterpart. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre As of April 2023, Australia had got involved in 596 projects in Vietnam, ranking it the 26th among 143 nations and territories investing in the latter. Such projects focus on processing, production, lodging services, healthcare, agriculture, and social activities. A photo shows Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) and Australian Prime Minister Albanese waving at reporters before a meeting. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Nguyen Tat Thanh told the Vietnam News Agency that Australian PM Albanese has a deep love for Vietnam. In 1987, when he was a young official, he accompanied a high-ranking delegation of the Australian government during a visit to Vietnam. As such, when making a comeback to the Southeast Asian nation, Albanese spent some time visiting an eatery in Hanoi to enjoy his lunch. Australian Prime Minister Albanese visits Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to pay his tribute to late President Ho Chi Minh. Photo: Vietnam News Agency Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Seven people, including four children, suffered severe burns after a young man poured gasoline over his body and a group of people and set them on fire at a boarding house in Long Thanh District, Dong Nai Province on Saturday due to romantic jealousy. After the incident occurred at about 6:00 am., neighbors put out the fire and took the victims to medical centers in Phu My Town, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, a neighbor of Dong Nai. The patients were later transferred to large hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City. Representatives of hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City which are treating the patients told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Saturday that many of the burned patients are in critical condition. Doctor Ngo Hong Phuc, deputy head of the quality control unit at Children's Hospital 2, said the hospital admitted two children, aged 13 and 15. They sustained burns on 60 percent of their bodies, mainly on their heads, faces, and necks, and currently need endotracheal intubation. Meanwhile, Cho Ray Hospital received three patients in the jealousy case. Two of them suffered burns on 90 percent of their bodies. As for the remaining case, burns covered 10 percent of her body but she faced respiratory burns. A representative of Ho Chi Minh City-based Children's Hospital 1 said on Saturday that the hospital was providing medical treatment for two other children who also suffered severe burns. They are put on ventilators and in critical condition. The case is under investigation, the Dong Nai police said. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Long power cuts made life harder for residents and enterprises in suburban areas of Hanoi amid the scorching weather on Saturday. Residents sought ways to escape the heatwave while many enterprises suspended their operations during the blackouts. In particular, part of Lai Yen Commune, Hoai Duc District suffered a power outage, causing many enterprises and business establishments to close. The Trung Yen gas station in the Lai Yen Industrial Cluster in the namesake commune erected the 'out of gasoline' sign from the early morning until afternoon on Saturday due to the power cut. A filling station shuts down in Hanoi due to a blackout. Photo: Pham Tuan / Tuoi Tre Hue, a chef in the Lai Yen Industrial Cluster, said it was extremely hot during power cuts and she could not prepare meals for workers. Two ventilation fans, an evaporative cooler, and an industrial fan are normally needed while she is cooking. I cannot cook without electricity. I have to buy noodles for workers. After the meal, they cannot do anything [as there is no power], she complained. A power outage forces Hue, a chef in the Lai Yen Industrial Cluster in Hanoi, and many other workers to suspend their work and sit on a sidewalk to escape heat. Photo: Nguyen Bao / Tuoi Tre Hue added that there were power cuts in some communes of Hoai Duc District at midnight, forcing many laborers to sleep at their companies to escape the heat at their homes during the power cuts. At Viet Tiep concrete factory in the Lai Yen Industrial Cluster, 30 concrete mixer trucks were left idle due to power outages. Thirty concrete mixer trucks of Viet Tiep concrete factory in the Lai Yen Industrial Cluster in Hanoi are left idle, while dozens of workers of the factory cannot work due to power cuts. Photo: Nguyen Bao / Tuoi Tre Security guards and workers of the factory also sat idle. More than 100 workers of Poshaco Korea Vietnam Insulation Panel Joint Stock Company in Hoai Duc District were off work due to a blackout. Its power generator can serve administrative staff only. Power generators are a temporary solution of companies in Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Bao / Tuoi Tre However, eight employees used only a small electric fan in a 30-square-meter room. The power disruption also hit residents in Long Bien District, Hanoi. A trade center on Co Linh Street in Long Bien District has opened a room equipped with an air conditioner for local residents. A trade center in Long Bien District, Hanoi has opened a room equipped with an air conditioner for local residents. Photo: Supplied by the trade center More chairs are added to the lobby of the trade center to serve local residents. Photo: Supplied by the trade center The trade center has also added chairs to its lobby to serve passers-by. These areas are often crowded with people. Dao Phuong Anh, a Hanoi resident, said the trade center provided locals with a place to escape the hot weather during repeated power cuts in the capital city. Workers rush to shady places to escape the hot weather in Hanoi while their factories suffer power cuts. Photo: Nguyen Bao / Tuoi Tre The scorching weather has sent the capitals power consumption rising 22.5 percent in May over the previous month, according to the Hanoi Power Corporation. The long-lasting searing heat has sent the power consumption surging, posing a high risk of incidents, even blazes and explosions," the corporation announced. To ensure the safety of the power system, some areas in Hanoi will suffer urgent blackouts." The combination of the hot weather and power outages is terrible. Photo: Nguyen Bao / Tuoi Tre It hoped for sympathy from customers and encouraged residents and enterprises to use electricity sparingly and effectively. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Police in Dong Nai Province and Hanoi have cooperated to smash a ring transporting 17,000 pills of synthetic drugs from abroad to Hanoi by air and then the southern province for consumption and caught a suspect red-handed receiving 10,000 pills of synthetic drugs in Dong Nai. Dong Nai police officers said on Saturday that they were keeping Vu Minh Phuc, a 29-year-old resident of Vinh Cuu District, Dong Nai, and Tran Van Tuan, a 28-year-old resident of Trang Bang District, Dong Nai, in custody to serve an investigation into their alleged transport and trade of drugs. Police had earlier detected a ring transporting a huge volume of drugs from other countries to Hanoi by air and then Dong Nai. They caught Phuc red-handed receiving some 17,000 pills of synthetic drugs in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai. The synthetic drugs were hidden in 24 plastic cylinder boxes and covered with white cream. Phuc declared that the drugs were shipped from abroad to Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi before being sent to him in Dong Nai. He would deliver the drugs to another person in Binh Duong Province, a neighbor of Dong Nai. Phuc was detained while receiving the 17,000 pills of synthetic drugs. Dong Nai police officers later arrested Tran Van Tuan, who assisted Phuc in transporting and trading drugs. Police in Dong Nai and Hanoi also joined hands with the Hanoi Customs Department and the Anti-Smuggling and Investigation Department under the General Department of Vietnam Customs to catch a suspect red-handed receiving a parcel of 10,000 pills of synthetic drugs in Long Thanh District, Dong Nai. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Vietnamese National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control has announced that the country is eligible to downgrade the classification of COVID-19 to that of a less dangerous disease, moving toward the end of the pandemic. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, head of the committee, said at its 20th meeting on Saturday that COVID-19 meets all criteria to become a Group-B infectious disease, shifted from the one in Group A. Group A infectious diseases are extremely dangerous and highly contagious with high mortality rates or unknown disease-causing agents, according to Vietnams 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 downgrading of the pandemic will mark an important milestone for Vietnams efforts in the fight against COVID-19, said the prime minister. Announcements on the downgrading and end of COVID-19 will be made by the Ministry of Health. The government leader ordered the ministry and relevant agencies to promptly complete legal procedures to declare an end to COVID-19. The ministry was told to beef up the healthcare capacity and medical workforces to make the country ready for a potential pandemic, or COVID-19 resurgence. Vietnam is striving to stabilize residents daily activities and call on the community to join hands to address post-pandemic consequences. The World Health Organization announced on May 5 that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency, reported Reuters. The COVID-19 pandemic shocked all countries around the world, taking a heavy toll on the global economy. For the first time, Vietnam has battled a Group-A disease on a nationwide scale, facing multiple challenges caused by weak healthcare capacity, a shortage of medical equipment, and limited medical workforces, said the prime minister. The success in this fight resulted from the cooperation between state agencies, people and enterprises; the support from international partners; and the governments strategy with a focus on testing, quarantine and treatment, coupled with timely vaccination, according to the leader of the committee. The country also implemented the dual goal of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and promoting economic development, including reopening international borders, backing the economic recovery and growth after COVID-19. Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, Vietnams COVID-19 death toll has reached some 42,000. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Hello! This chapter introduce the second arc of the story and my "Mystery Man" now teased since chapter003 finally make his entry! I'm ridiculously proud of my descriptions here XD (If you follow the intro of Thranduil's bio, it's the part "the Elf beacame Dragon-Blood".) In the vo I say Thranduil is 190cm+, and for that piece of sentance the translator make the convertion for me XD Original title : Sang-Dragon Not many pics here but couldn't find many that I liked for that one, same for the next one sorry :( Normally, there should be more for the others! I hope you'll enjoy! :) 009 Dragon-Blood Pov ??? Night had fallen. It had been dark outside for a while and I was still in the forge, busy working on a new weapon I'd been commissioned to make during my last trip to the city in the desert, a long, dark spear adorned with intricate copper patterns that reflected the orange light of the flames. It was an imposing weapon, from which emanated something both sinister and grand. When the mark began to burn again on my skin and a new sensation seized me, sliding like sand on glass at the edge of my perceptions. I was alone in the room, and outside Ancalagon had not alerted me of any presence. Yet I felt that someone was standing in the room with me. Behind me, somewhere close to the wall. I suspended my arm mid-air, turned my head to look over my shoulder, but no sooner had I begun my gesture than the sensation disappeared like blowing out a candle... Like the sea erasing a footprint in the sand. Leaving only the vague impression of a strangely heavy aura in its wake. There was no one against the wall and I returned to my work. ight had fallen. It had been dark outside for a while and I was still in the forge, busy working on a new weapon I'd been commissioned to make during my last trip to the city in the desert, a long, dark spear adorned with intricate copper patterns that reflected the orange light of the flames. It was an imposing weapon, from which emanated something both sinister and grand. When the mark began to burn again on my skin and a new sensation seized me, sliding like sand on glass at the edge of my perceptions. I was alone in the room, and outside Ancalagon had not alerted me of any presence. Yet I felt that someone was standing in the room with me. Behind me, somewhere close to the wall. I suspended my arm mid-air, turned my head to look over my shoulder, but no sooner had I begun my gesture than the sensation disappeared like blowing out a candle...Like the sea erasing a footprint in the sand. Leaving only the vague impression of a strangely heavy aura in its wake.There was no one against the wall and I returned to my work. Pov Thranduil The sound of the hammer against the iron was still ringing in my ears, the klang! loud and steady. The SUn had not yet risen, but my decision was made: to listen to my instincts and set off to discover the world beyond the comb of Imladris. To meet the man I'd glimpsed in my dream, this other like me. To learn who I had become. It was against a backdrop of rising sun and whitening sky that Hateya and I left the elven city, both of us walking towards the horizon without looking back, staring straight into the future. Of course, we were careful, staying away from town and villages as well as the main road, afterall I was supposed to be dead and there was more discreet than a wyvern as a traveling companion. Unsurprisingly, during the nights under the stars I spent with Hateya, the nightmares had left me as suddenly as they had come to haunt me, but I was not entirely sure whether it was really her, or whether in my last dream I had definitively defeated the creature, or rather, that the dragon's roar had scared it off. That if, deep down, this had been its goal from the start: to test me until everything no longer counted and that I set off on a quest to find out who I had become. That I would eventually abandon my old life and choose the path of the Wyvern. And if there were times when I still doubted I'd made the right decision in leaving Elrond's Valley, I only had to look into Hateya's big blue eyes, always brimming with confidence and affection, to know that I was where I belonged with the same absolute certainty she had. We were not following any particular route to reach our destination, just this instinct pushing me, recalling the sensation I'd had in my last dream in Imladris, the echo of that aura so similar to my own. And finally, as the afternoon drew to a close, after days, weeks that I had not bothered to count of a journey far to the South into increasingly arid and rocky lands, we came upon what must have been the remains of an ancient collapsed tower, at least from here it looked like it, and I wondered if it was possible that it was an ancient watchtower. All that remained was a flight of steps leading to a sort of vast platform, consisting of a fairly wide outer section surrounding the central part. Further steps led to a second floor, stopping just in front of what looked like a small balcony and a closed door. There was an imposing dark mass, even darker than the darkest moonless night, on one side of the platform. While its presence intrigued me, because it did not look like a pile of rubble, it was not enough to make me turn back - as intimidating as it looked- and with Hateya, we continued towards the tower. The aura was so strong here, my answers had to be close to me, and I wanted to know. The familiar flame of my determination, which had waned of late in the grip of doubt and fear, seemed more ardent than ever as we continued to approach. We came to a stop at the bottom of the steps, in the shadow cast by the building. It was far more imposing than I'd expected when contemplating it from afar, not in height but in the width it occupied, the dark mass on the platform even stranger, for while it stood as still as a pile of rocks, I could nevertheless sense an aura. An aura ancient, heavy, with a weight in it as if time and air had a substance of their own. I cast a sidelong glance at this fragment torn from the night sky before setting foot on the first step and climbing towards the door. The steps were not very high, but I could easily walk up to the next one, and Hateya took them too, right behind me. And with each step, I could hear more and more clearly the regular sound of a huge beating heart... I'd barely set foot on the last, the one just before the landing, than the black ball on the side of the tower came to life. And that I found myself nearly nose to snout with a huge black dragon. I came to a stop in front of him, dead in my tracks, mouth half open in surprise, even taking a step back as he brought his head closer. His large eyes, with slitted pupils shining with something resembling curiosity as he contemplated me. Feeling no animosity on his part, and Hateya returning a feeling I could only name friend, I let myself place my left hand on the warm scales. It was even smaller than against Hateya, but he had to be five or six times the size of the wyvern... while lying down. -Hi. You're really big. Days had passed since my departure, and the landscapes had flown by, one after the other like paintings in a gallery. I had to cross lands so vast they seemed endless, walking side by side with my wyvern to realize just how big the world was, and everything I knew and acquired seemed to count for nothing. The maps had an end.Of course, we were careful, staying away from town and villages as well as the main road, afterall I was supposed to be dead and there was more discreet than a wyvern as a traveling companion. Unsurprisingly, during the nights under the stars I spent with Hateya, the nightmares had left me as suddenly as they had come to haunt me, but I was not entirely sure whether it was really her, or whether in my last dream I had definitively defeated the creature, or rather, that the dragon's roar had scared it off. That if, deep down, this had been its goal from the start: to test me until everything no longer counted and that I set off on a quest to find out who I had become. That I would eventually abandon my old life and choose the path of the Wyvern. And if there were times when I still doubted I'd made the right decision in leaving Elrond's Valley, I only had to look into Hateya's big blue eyes, always brimming with confidence and affection, to know that I was where I belonged with the same absolute certainty she had.We were not following any particular route to reach our destination, just this instinct pushing me, recalling the sensation I'd had in my last dream in Imladris, the echo of that aura so similar to my own. And finally, as the afternoon drew to a close, after days, weeks that I had not bothered to count of a journey far to the South into increasingly arid and rocky lands, we came upon what must have been the remains of an ancient collapsed tower, at least from here it looked like it, and I wondered if it was possible that it was an ancient watchtower. All that remained was a flight of steps leading to a sort of vast platform, consisting of a fairly wide outer section surrounding the central part. Further steps led to a second floor, stopping just in front of what looked like a small balcony and a closed door. There was an imposing dark mass, even darker than the darkest moonless night, on one side of the platform. While its presence intrigued me, because it did not look like a pile of rubble, it was not enough to make me turn back - as intimidating as it looked- and with Hateya, we continued towards the tower. The aura was so strong here, my answers had to be close to me, and I wanted to know. The familiar flame of my determination, which had waned of late in the grip of doubt and fear, seemed more ardent than ever as we continued to approach.We came to a stop at the bottom of the steps, in the shadow cast by the building. It was far more imposing than I'd expected when contemplating it from afar, not in height but in the width it occupied, the dark mass on the platform even stranger, for while it stood as still as a pile of rocks, I could nevertheless sense an aura. An aura ancient, heavy, with a weight in it as if time and air had a substance of their own. I cast a sidelong glance at this fragment torn from the night sky before setting foot on the first step and climbing towards the door. The steps were not very high, but I could easily walk up to the next one, and Hateya took them too, right behind me. And with each step, I could hear more and more clearly the regular sound of a huge beating heart...I'd barely set foot on the last, the one just before the landing, than the black ball on the side of the tower came to life.And that I found myself nearly nose to snout with a huge black dragon.I came to a stop in front of him, dead in my tracks, mouth half open in surprise, even taking a step back as he brought his head closer. His large eyes, with slitted pupils shining with something resembling curiosity as he contemplated me. Feeling no animosity on his part, and Hateya returning a feeling I could only name friend, I let myself place my left hand on the warm scales. It was even smaller than against Hateya, but he had to be five or six times the size of the wyvern... while lying down.-Hi. You're really big. Pov ??? Something warm landed on the bridge of my nose, accompanied by an aura that felt like sand gliding over the skin and yet strangely heavy. I opened my mind to Ancalagon, intrigued. My vision blurred for a millisecond, the walls of the room fading around me as he gave me a man standing in front of him. The warmth I had felt on my nose, the hand he had on the dragon muzzle. He must be tall, probably well over six feet, he stood with head held high in front of the enormous dragon, his hair long, platinum-blond in shade, his eyes an incredible light blue, vivid and brilliant despite the coldness of the color. The color of a piece of Northern sky that had decided to land there. And in the background, a brighter glow, which I was only able to perceive thanks to Ancalagon and therefore my nature. The trace of a very, very old enchantment that he had briefly contemplated at the beginning of his life and that ligerred there. An enchantment I had only heard of: the silvery-white glow of the powerful protective magic that Melian had raised around Doriath. His noble bearing was complimented by his clothes in shades of bronze and brown of good quality indicating someone of importance even if he wore no particular ornaments or jewels. There was a bit of the desert dust on them showing that whoever he was, he must have come from far away. I could vaguely make out a scarlet shadow on the side, sharing that heavy, intense aura, and yet the only word that came to mind was sand. My dragon purred, a deep sound that vibrated in my own throat, pressing his snout harder against the man's palm. So it was him? That other like me I had felt before? In the forge and when his dragon hatched? He knew about me too then... More intrigued than ever by his presence and the reason he would come to me in my remote corner of the desert, I decided to go out and meet him. After all, if I went to town to sell my weapons, I was the one coming, not the other way around... Pov Thranduil HA NOI Vietjet has announced the first direct route connecting HCM City and Brisbane (Australia) under the witnesses of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. After Melbourne and Sydney, Brisbane is the third city in the beautiful country Australia that Vietjet has operated direct flights. It is also the first route connecting Viet Nam to Brisbane and Queensland state. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: We welcome new routes to Australia, especially Vietjets route, the first route connecting Viet Nam and Brisbane, the beautiful city of Australia that will host the 2032 Summer Olympics. The new route will be launched on June 16, 2023 with two return flights per week on wide-body A330 modern aircraft, which will contribute to promoting trade between Viet Nam and Brisbane, Queensland state and Australia in general, together with further developing bilateral relations in future, according to Vietjet. The flights take off from HCM City at 10.50 (local time) and land in Brisbane at 21.55 (local time). The return flights will depart at 23.30 (local time) and land at HCM City at 5.10 on the following day (local time). The new route will shorten the travelling time and create favourable conditions for people and tourists to fly between The city named after Uncle Ho, Viet Nams leading economic and cultural centre and Brisbane, Australia's third largest city, Vietjet said in a statement. Vietjet offers customers good flying experiences with a variety of utilities, a wide choice of SkyBoss Business, SkyBoss, Deluxe, Eco ticket classes, and culinary services imbued with Vietnamese and international identity served on the new, modern aircraft by Vietjets dedicated, friendly cabin crews along with many attractive customer service programmes, the airline said. After Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Vietjet said it plans to open more new routes connecting Viet Nam and Australia, expanding the flight network connecting Australia to other countries across the region and the world. VNS HA NOI Viettel Military Industry and Telecommunications Group (Viettel) has announced that it has become the enterprise with the most awards at the 2023 IT World Awards. Viettel won 37/261 awards with 23 Gold prizes, four Silver prizes and 10 Bronze prizes. The percentage of Gold prizes achieved increased by 10 per cent compared to the previous year and increased 23 times compared to the first time it participated in 2016 thanks to its "Made by Viettel" innovative solutions which were highly-appreciated from the council of more than 600 information technology experts in the world. In particular, many Viettel products and services won the "hat-trick" of the Gold award in categories this year such as Viettel Post's NOC technical indicator monitoring system in three categories of information technology solutions, the most innovative information technology service and vehicle management system. The IT World Awards is an annual award organised by the Network Product Guide of the US since 2006, to honour typical achievements and contributions of the information technology industry around the world. This is also the only and most prestigious award in the field of information technology. VNS SINGAPORE A delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence led by Deputy Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien attended the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue that officially opened in Singapore on Saturday. Organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the dialogue has brought together more than 550 delegates who are defence and security officers and scholars from 41 countries. The event, lasting until Sunday, featured seven plenary sessions and six special sessions that touch upon various issues like security in cyberspace competition, challenges to developing military capacity in Asia-Pacific, nuclear threats and challenges to regional security, and defence cooperation trends in Indo-Pacific. On the sidelines of the dialogue, Chien met with leaders of defence ministries and delegation heads of some participating countries, including Chinese Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Li Shangfu. Chien and Li shared the view that the Viet Nam-China defence cooperation has received attention from all-level leaders from both sides, saying it is growing practically and becomes an important pillar of the bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership. Li stressed that the defence cooperation has been further implemented in line with the common perceptions reached by high-ranking leaders of the two countries, especially after the official visit to China by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong. Chien suggested the two sides continue with delegation exchanges and other collaboration activities in border and sea management and defence, and soon organise the eighth Border Defence Friendship Exchange, and the defence strategic dialogue. At a meeting with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Donald Marles, the two officials noted that the bilateral defence ties have made new strides in all fields, from delegation exchange to training and maritime security, especially UN peacekeeping operations. They consented to maintain cooperation in the agreed areas, firstly accelerating the signing of an agreement on the partnership in peacekeeping, and upgrading the Joint Vision for Enhancing Defence Cooperation. Chien used this occasion to thank Australia for its support in transporting Viet Nams level-2 field hospitals to UN peacekeeping missions. In this regard, Marles said that Australia will help the Southeast Asian nation transport its level-2 field hospital rotation 5 to South Sudan later this month. Meeting with Japanese Vice Minister of Defence Masami Oka, Chien called on the Japanese side to further assist Viet Nam in peacekeeping operations in terms of training and experience sharing. The Vietnamese officer also had meetings with representatives of the Singaporean Ministry of Defence, and Assistant Deputy Minister of Canada Peter Hammerschmidt. VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a welcome ceremony on Sunday morning for his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, who is paying an official visit to Viet Nam on June 3-4. Following the ceremony, the two Prime Ministers held talks. This is the first official visit to Viet Nam of PM Albanese since he took office, which takes place just two months after a State visit of the Governor-General of Australia, David Hurley. This reflects the importance that Australia attaches to its relations with Viet Nam. Besides talks with PM Chinh, the Australian PM will also have meetings with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Vo Van Thuong and National Assembly Chairman Vuong inh Hue. Earlier on the day, before the welcome ceremony, PM Albanese and his entourage paid floral tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Ha Noi. Viet Nam and Australia established diplomatic relationship in 1973. Over the past 50 years, bilateral ties have seen substantial and effective development, with economic and trade cooperation a bright spot. Two-way trade reached almost US$15.7 billion in 2022, up nearly 27 per cent from 2021. Australia is now the seventh largest trade partner of Viet Nam while Viet Nam is the 10th largest trade partner of Australia. The two countries have signed a Viet Nam Australia Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy (EEES), under which they are working to bolster bilateral trade and investment cooperation. The two sides have maintained trust and strengthened friendship, mutual understanding and respect through the exchange of delegations, contact at both central and local levels and people-to-people friendship exchanges. The visit of PM Albanese to Viet Nam is an occasion for the two countries to not only review their 50-year cooperation but also discuss opportunities to lift bilateral relations to a new height. VNS HA NOI Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a support package worth A$105 million ($69.5 million) for Viet Nams climate change response and energy transition during his talks with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Sunday in Ha Noi. The two-day visit of the Australian leader took place on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the 5th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership. It is expected to create a new impetus for the two countries' relations. The two PMs said were pleased to see that the two countries' relations are developing well and effectively in all fields with active delegation exchanges and high-level contacts. They agreed that trade cooperation between the two sides is a bright spot with two-way turnover reaching nearly US$16 billion in 2022, surging 30 per cent compared to 2021. The two countries have become top 10 trading partners of each other. Security and defence cooperation is increasingly effective and substantive, especially in training and supporting United Nations peacekeeping operations, and combating transnational crimes and cybercrimes. Cooperation in the fields of agriculture, education training, labour and people-to-people exchanges also developed strongly. PM Albanese emphasised that Australia attaches importance to the strategic partnership with Viet Nam and considers Viet Nam the centre in the process of building Australia's strategy for Southeast Asia. During the talks on Sunday, the two leaders agreed to continue to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation, thereby effectively implementing the Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy (EEES) between the two countries for the 2021-2025 period. They also agreed that the two countries would strengthen economic cooperation as well as promote cooperation in defence, security, justice and other important fields such as ODA, education and training, science and technology, labour, transportation, tourism, climate change response and digital transformation. The two sides agreed to promote the upgrading of relations to a new level in the future. PM Chinh affirmed that Viet Nam would create favourable conditions for Australian businesses to invest in the country in the fields of infrastructure development, telecommunications, finance-banking, education, and high tech agriculture, green transformation, digital transformation, and population data development. The Vietnamese leader suggested Australia create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to invest in Australia in the fields of mining, agriculture, e-commerce, aviation and tourism. He also expressed his wish that Australia creates conditions to expand the market for Vietnamese exports. PM Chinh said he highly appreciated Australia's increase of ODA for Viet Nam in the fiscal year 2023-2024 and proposed to consider ODA cooperation as an important element in the partnership in the future. PM Albanese affirmed Australia's desire to continue expanding security and defence cooperation with Viet Nam. He affirmed continued maintenance of ODA cooperation, agreed to promote two-way investment cooperation and continue to increase scholarships for Vietnamese students. The Australian leader also agreed to review the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam relating to Air Services (1995) to increase the number of flights between the two countries. The two countries will also actively implement cooperation in new areas such as digital economy and digital transformation, he said. Discussing the situation in the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea), the two leaders emphasised the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea, promoting dialogue, enhancing trust, and settling disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Following the talks, the two Prime Ministers witnessed the exchange of four cooperation instruments between the two countries, including a Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of a ministerial-level dialogue mechanism on trade; a Memorandum of Understanding on the implementation of phase 2 of the Viet Nam-Australia Innovation Programme and a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in exchanging financial intelligence information related to money laundering and terrorist financing; Memorandum of Understanding between University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City and Western Sydney University on scholarships for Vietnamese and regional students. They also witnessed the award ceremony of certificates of opening more direct routes of Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet. On the same day, PM Anthony also met with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Nguyen Phu Trong, State President Vo Van Thuong and National Assembly Chairman Vuong inh Hue. VNS HA NOI Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong received leader of the Australian Labour Party and Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese in Ha Noi on June 4. Welcoming Albanese on his official visit to Viet Nam when the two countries are marking the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties, Trong affirmed the importance Vietnam attaches to the relations with Australia and highly valued the strong, substantive, and comprehensive development of bilateral cooperation over the past years. He stressed that both countries, located in the Asia-Pacific and sharing many similarities, have enjoyed thriving relations over the last 50 years which have been expanded and become substantive in terms of politics, economy, science, technology, education - training and defence - security. In particular, people-to-people links are close with more than 300,000 Vietnamese people, including tens of thousands of students, in Australia. Based on those conditions and the huge cooperation potential, there are bright prospects for relations between the two countries to grow further in the coming time, he said. General Secretary Trong highly valued the outcomes of Albaneses visit, especially the talks and meetings with Vietnamese leaders and the important agreements reached during the trip. He described the successes of this visit and the recent trip of Viet Nam by Australian Governor-General David Hurley as milestones in bilateral relations. The Vietnamese Party leader voiced his support for the orientations for developing the countries ties, including lifting their relations to a new level, cooperating more fruitfully, and promoting the implementation effectiveness of agreements for the sake of the two peoples as well as for peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world at large. For his part, PM Albanese stated his country respects Viet Nams role and stature along with bilateral connections, expressing his delight at the impressive achievements of their relations, which are currently a strategic partnership. He also informed his host about the outcomes of his talks with PM Pham Minh Chinh and other Vietnamese leaders, and the agreements reached between the two sides. He noted that he believes in the development prospects of bilateral relations and hopes to elevate those ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. The PM affirmed Australias viewpoint on the importance of consolidating a peaceful and stable environment in the region; respecting international law, independence and sovereignty of countries, and equal relations; supporting ASEANs centrality, as well as the Australian Governments policy and the Australian Labour Partys policy of promoting relations with Southeast Asian nations. At the meeting, PM Albanese invited General Secretary Trong to pay an official visit to Australia as a guest of his countrys Government. The Party leader of Viet Nam thanked and accepted the invitation with pleasure. VNS HA NOI Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong on Sunday received Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is on a two-day official visit to Viet Nam starting June 3. The state leader appreciated Australia's provision of stable official development assistance (ODA) for Viet Nam and its support in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic through timely grant of vaccines in large quantities. For his part, Albanese affirmed that Viet Nam has always been Australia's top priority partner in the region and wished to constantly develop cooperative relations with the Southeast Asian nation. Vietnam will have a priority position in a Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 that the Australian Government is developing, he noted. The leaders expressed their delight at the outstanding achievements of the bilateral ties across various fields, especially politics-foreign affairs, security-defence, economy-trade-investment, education-training, culture, tourism, sports, labour, science-technology, and people-to-people and locality-to-locality exchanges. They agreed to further strengthen political trust, considering it an important basis for the elevation of the bilateral relations to new heights in the time to come. Albanese informed his host of Australias decision to grant 105 million AUD (US$69.51 million) for Viet Nam serving cooperation in climate change response and energy transition; the RMIT Universitys increase of investment in the country to 250 million AUD; and the Western Sydney Universitys grant of scholarships for Vietnamese and regional students. The Australian PM said he welcomes the opening of more direct routes to major Australian cities by Vietnamese carriers Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet, which he said contributes to promoting economic and tourism cooperation, and exchange activities between the two peoples. President Thuong, in turn, proposed Australia create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Australia to preserve the language, traditions, and culture of their home country, and for Vietnamese students to complete visa procedures and study. He also suggested Australia establish more branches of its major universities in Viet Nam; and soon implement the revised memorandum of understanding on the Australian Agriculture Visa programme. Viet Nam is ready to provide skilled workers in the industrial, agricultural and service sectors for Australia, and welcomes Australian citizens to participate in the Vietnamese work and holiday programme, he stated. Discussing regional and international issues, the two sides concurred to continue to support each other and work closely at regional and international forums, especially the UN, APEC, ASEAN and other ASEAN-led mechanisms. Albanese reaffirmed Australia's stance of respecting the rule of law in the region and settling disputes in the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea) by peaceful means in conformity with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). VNS BUDAPEST A forum of overseas Vietnamese women, the first of its kind, took place in Budapest, Hungary, on June 3, gathering nearly 250 delegates from 21 countries. With its theme on the preservation of Vietnamese values and international integration in the 4th industrial revolution era, the Vietnamese Womens Forum in Europe was an initiative of the association of Vietnamese women in Hungary. It was held with the coordination of the Vietnamese Embassy in the host country and the patronage of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese under Viet Nams Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During its course, nearly 20 papers were presented spotlighting the role of women in spreading the traditional value, mastering science and technology, connecting generations within their families, doing business and charity works, and protecting the home countrys sea and islands sovereignty, among other areas. On the occasion, the forum called for participation in an adoption programme initiated by the Vietnam Womens Union, with participants adopting more than 50 orphans. In her remarks at the event, which took place at the Hungarian parliament building, Deputy of the Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly Marta Matrai lauded the long-time traditional friendship between Viet Nam and Hungary and stressed her support for the topics discussed. Former Vice President of Viet Nam ang Thi Ngoc Thinh praised the efforts made by overseas Vietnamese women serving the traditional value preservation and international integration. She expressed her belief that the forum will lay a foundation for building a network of female Vietnamese expatriates all over the world. Talking to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent on the sidelines of the event, Dr. Phan Bich Thien, head of the association of Vietnamese women in Hungary, said in recent years, movements of Vietnamese women abroad are growing, forming a key factor in the activities of the overseas Vietnamese community. VNS Luong Van Thien, PhD, is the youngest among the top 10 scientists to receive the 2022 Golden Globe Science-Technology Award. His AI solution 'Anomaly Detection for Time-series' has been applied in telecommunications troubleshooting. Thanh Nga talks with him about his journey. Inner Sanctum: Please tell us a little about yourself. Hi, I'm Luong Van Thien, born in 1992. Now I am a lecturer at the Faculty of Computer Science, head of AIoT Lab, Phenikaa University in Ha Noi. I studied at the Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunications of the University of Science and Technology Ha Noi (USTH). In 2019, I completed my PhD thesis at Queen's University Belfast (QUB), the UK. I was honoured to become one of 10 young scientists to receive the 2022 Golden Globe Science-Technology Award (organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union). Inner Sanctum: You received a full scholarship for doing a PhD in the UK without doing a master's? What helped you get this? The first time I practised scientific research in my final year at USTH in 2015, it was under the guidance of Dr Ngo Vu uc of USTH. He gave me a very difficult maths problem, but my background knowledge of the topic was limited. I had to read many documents and books in English to better understand what I would do. Thanks to my efforts, I solved the difficult problem and the result was that my two subjects were accepted at two prestigious international scientific conferences, including the IEEE PIMRC 2015 and IEEE ATC 2015. As a result, my scientific research ability was proved through these two works, leading to a full PhD scholarship at QUB in 2016 without doing a master's. Now, I believe that, if you persist in pursuing the right goal with a clear mind, sooner or later you will achieve your aim. Inner Sanctum: After graduating in the UK, you had many opportunities to stay back for work but decided to return to Viet Nam. Why? I was born and raised in a poor rural area in Ninh Binh Province. My parents were farmers. They had to work hard to earn money to feed their children. At that time, I did not have money to take private lessons, and my family did not have an academic tradition, so I searched for advanced maths books. I brought the books with me to study, while I tended cows; so when I finished the 6th grade, I had done all the maths exercises of grade seven. I share my story not to complain about hardship, because I'm sure many other students had similar situations like me, they all had the desire to learn and rise out of poverty when witnessing the hard work of their parents. Therefore, when I received the opportunity to study abroad, I decided to study and return. I wanted to return to inspire and teach the students because I saw in them "myself" in the past. Through every hour of teaching, I share with students the importance and responsibility of studying to bring value to themselves and the society. Inner Sanctum: The AI solution for 'Anomaly Detection for Time-series' (ADT) is being practically applied by Mobifone Telecommunications Equipment Testing and Repair Center to detect abnormal changes in network and transmission quality. Can you tell me more about this? This ADT solution helps to quickly detect Base Transceiver Stations, mobile cells that have abnormal changes in network quality (such as decrease in download and upload) and transmission quality (such as increase package loss, jitter and delay). From these findings, Mobifone can provide timely warnings, combine correlation analysis with other technical data sources, assist engineers in determining the cause of abnormalities as well as provide solutions, thereby helping Mobifone quickly fix problems, ensuring customers have the best network quality. Before this solution, it was very difficult for Mobifone engineers to monitor a considerable number of mobile stations and cells, not to mention find the causes for the problems. It took a lot of time and effort. The ADT solution is not only more effective by fully exploiting telecommunications data, but also significantly reduces pressure on engineers. Inner Sanctum: Can you tell me a little bit about your other research projects? I would like to mention the time and attendance system with face recognition, FaceRA. This has been deployed to enrol students at AIoT Lab, Phenikaa University with high accuracy, with anti-spoofing such as using photos or videos with faces to take attendance. I also researched a solution about data analytics for Vietnamese immune systems. Thanks to these important indicators, doctors can quickly and accurately diagnose the patient's condition to come up with the most appropriate treatment plan, and avoid wasting time and resources by having to test too many indicators. Inner Sanctum: What inspired you to do such practical research? Every day, hundreds of research works in IT are published in domestic and international scientific magazines, so it will be difficult to capture all that information. I have to read a lot of public white papers in technology forums to develop the ideas, and find the right direction to follow. Moreover, the most important basis is the need to have an accurate vision and good background knowledge to stick to the reality of the country to avoid creating something society does not need. I always think that making the right choice is more important than the actual effort, so I am careful about each choice of research ideas. Inner Sanctum: Can you tell about the application of AI in general? AI helps create significant changes in education. Educational activities such as marking or tutoring students can be automated thanks to AI technology. Many games and educational software were born to meet the specific needs of each student, helping improve learning. AI can also point to issues that need to be improved. For example, when many students are found to send in the wrong answers to an exercise, the system will notify the teacher and send a message to the student to correct the answer. AI technology also can monitor student progress and notify teachers. Furthermore, students can learn anywhere in the world through the use of AI-powered software. AI technology also provides data to help students choose the best courses for them Inner Sanctum: What are your plans for the future? As a lecturer at the Faculty of Computer Science at Phenikaa University, I want to inspire students directly. Doing research is difficult as it needs time and effort. I think perseverance and belief will help students pursue their goals. I hope to develop AIoT Lab into a strong research group, together with students, creating many influential scientific works, useful technological solutions, while helping to solve real-life problems with the focus on AI and IoT technologies. I want to help students become experts in their field, not only good in their profession, but also beautiful in character. VNS The National Assembly (NA) sitting is taking place at a time when things could not be worse. The country has been beset by economic woes while business sentiment has plunged to its lowest since 2005. The 15th NA began its fifth sitting in Hanoi on May 22. During the ongoing meeting, there have been two major changes so far, which are expected to promote reform and strengthen the NAs operational capacity. To begin with, the 23-day meeting was divided into two halves, one from May 22 to June 10 and the other from June 19 to 23. In the in-between week, legislators will discuss and give feedback on the draft laws and resolutions that will have been proposed during the first half, paving the way for the relevant documents to be presented for NA approvals when the sitting comes to a close, said NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue. The initiative was sought to relieve time pressure facing the NA agencies and enhance the effectiveness of lawmaking. In addition, the NA planned to work on a report on supervision results of the settlement of voters petitions, which had been sent to legislators during the previous sitting. As for this change, the NA wants to boost its role in terms of representation and oversight, thus improving the credibility of Vietnams highest representative body in the eyes of the public. Nevertheless, as protracted global challenges have put the economy in a bind, market frustrations spilled over the inauguration of the fifth sitting. Despite the reopening in March last year, Vietnams gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2023 edged up by a mere 3.32% year-on-year, with contraction being found across the countrys growth driving factors, including export, investment and manufacturing. Between January and April, Vietnams index of industrial production inched down by 1.8% against the same period last year, with the processing and manufacturing sectors declining by 2.1%. The US$107.16-billion export revenue recorded in the first four months was 13% lower than in the year-ago period, which in part led to a 15.3% reduction of foreign trade in the year to April, estimated at US$206.76 billion. As for investments, the capital inflows of the non-State sector in the first quarter of 2023 picked up 1.8%. But that was all: Freshly pledged foreign capital plunged by 17.9% during the period, while disbursed capital slid by 1.2%. Public investment performance, which was envisioned to stimulate the economic recovery this year, has yet to meet expectations so far. The capital disbursement rate remains sluggish, reaching roughly 14.66% of the full-year plan and 15.65% of the target previously set by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Vietnams business community has been hit hard by headwinds at home and abroad. According to the NA Economic Committee, many owners have been left with little choice but to sell their businesses to deal with heightened pressure of bank loan maturity. To local managers elsewhere, a shortage of fresh orders has caused lingering headaches in operations, forcing many employees to leave, and making life difficult for many others. The number of newly-established and re-operational enterprises in Q1 slid 2% over 2022. The number of businesses that temporarily suspended their operations even surged by 21.8%, with those halting operations pending dissolution and completing procedures for disbandment soaring by 39.9% and 10.1%, respectively. Every month, some 19,700 companies enter the market, but there are also 19,200 firms forced to leave the market. The predicament of the domestic economy has been noticed in the eyes of local manufacturers. According to a report by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in 2022, only 35% of private companies and 33% of foreign-invested firms planned to scale up business within the next two years, the lowest points recorded ever in the annual survey of VCCI over the last 18 years. Simply put, the number speaks for itself. On the sidelines of the NA discussions, concerns have been raised among legislators over a bumpy road ahead. The 6.5%-growth-rate target appears to be a nerve-racking task given a range of protracted global distresses, including recession fears and geopolitical tensions. As stated by Phan Duc Hieu, permanent member of the NA Economic Committee, Vietnams socioeconomic performance this year, albeit modest, has stood out as a beacon of hope as many countries have tumbled in times of uncertainty. But the current state of the economy looks like a paddy field in bloom, with storm clouds hanging overhead. In addition to global challenges, the committee noted that a variety of internal obstacles that have yet to be eliminated properly is now holding the countrys growth back. To a certain extent, the predicament of domestic manufacturing has been attributed to poor management and coordination among the relevant agencies. Meanwhile, the provincial administrations have faced difficulties in the policy implementation stage as there are certain officials who take the charge but always try to pass the buck to others. Hence, the NA has planned to set up favorable schemes to support local businesses and provide momentum for recovery, namely approving a 2% reduction in the value-added tax (VAT) on goods and services subject to a 10% VAT and extending the e-visa validity to 90 days with single or multiple entries for foreigners. Moreover, the NA will work on the task assignment with capital allocation for projects under the Socioeconomic Development and Recovery Program, in addition to considering a resolution on piloting specific mechanisms for HCMC to create breakthroughs in the citys development. In the words of Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, the NA called for effective discussions with viable suggestions among legislators, with the goals of fostering administrative reform, enhancing the business environment and improving the responsibility of the officials on duty. As part of globalization, geopolitical upheavals and market volatility inevitably become external forces that could hinder Vietnams economic revival post pandemic. Looking inwards, however, it is up to the Government and relevant authorities to cut red tape and improve the economic climate for business expansion. More significantly, Vietnam should seize every opportunity for progress to weather the storm and enjoy the rewards of the blossoming paddy field of prosperity. With its crucial role in exercising constitutional and legislative powers, the NA has been put in the right place to push the relevant agencies to navigate the multitude of shocks facing the economy. PHILADELPHIA (AP) A state trooper shot and killed a man whose vehicle struck two troopers as law enforcement tried to get control of an illegal early morning street racing gathering on a Philadelphia interstate, state police said Sunday. State police say troopers were called to I-95 in the Penn's Landing area shortly before 3:30 a.m. Sunday where numerous vehicles and pedestrians were illegally blocking the highway. Police said they tried to contact one vehicle and its operator, but the vehicle failed to yield and two troopers were struck. Police said a trooper shot the driver, 18-year-old Anthony Allegrini Junior of Glen Mills, who was pronounced dead at the scene by fire department medics. The troopers sustained what were called minor injuries. The vehicles were reported to be racing, doing burnouts and drifting, with many people outside their vehicles watching, police said. Troopers had been called to help local police at several similar incidents earlier in the evening, and before state police arrived at the I-95 scene there had been a report of shots fired, police said. The southbound lanes of the interstate were closed to traffic early Sunday as police investigated but reopened later in the morning. State police and the Philadelphia district attorney's office are investigating. The president of FOP Lodge #5, John McNesby, told reporters that illegal street racing occurred in Mayfair and Bustleton on Saturday night as well as on I-95, calling it another weekend of Philadelphia and state police officers putting themselves in danger to curb this criminal behavior. McNesby said in one incident an officer had a brick thrown through her windshield, which left her shaken but not seriously injured. ORACLE, Ariz. (AP) A wildfire in southern Arizona thats burning about a half-mile (0.80 kilometer) from the Biosphere 2 science facility has been 50% contained, firefighters on Sunday said. The wildfire broke out Sunday morning northwest of Oracle Junction and north of metro Tucson, Arizona State Forestry officials said. The fires cause wasnt immediately known and had spread to about 13 acres (5.2 hectares) by Sunday afternoon before being partially contained. Crews from the State Forestry, Golder Ranch Fire District and Northwest Fire District worked to keep the wildfire from reaching the Biosphere facility. State Forestry launched single-engine air tankers to assist with suppression. No evacuations have been ordered at this time, according to authorities. Biosphere 2 was built between 1987 and 1991 as a way to test the viability of closed ecological systems and human life in outer space. The tests were held twice in the early 1990s. The facility is owned and operated by the University of Arizona in Tucson. A school safety bill awaiting Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts signature falls far short of paying for the measures it would require schools to implement, officials at several Waco-area districts said. Many districts in recent years have already started addressing many of the provisions in the bill, including having armed personnel on campuses and retrofitting facilities to include better fencing and locks. But district officials said to continue making improvements, more money is needed. The Legislature sent House Bill 3 to Abbotts desk Tuesday, in the closing days of this years regular legislative session. The measure is in large part a response to last years shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, in which an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 students and two teachers, and a nearly 90 minute standoff with law enforcement ended in the attackers death. The bill includes many provisions meant to make Texas schools safer. It has requirements for districts to implement robust active-shooter response plans, implement mental health training for employees who regularly interact with students, employ at least one armed security officer on each campus, undergo semiannual security and safety audits, and upgrade facilities to be safer. The facility upgrade provisions include building perimeter fencing, adding numbering and locking systems to exterior doors and windows, implementing security film on exterior windows to resist forced entry, and adding communication technology such as silent panic alarms or two-way radios to improve communication between educators and law enforcement in emergency situations. The bill allots funding to districts to the tune of $10 per student and $15,000 per campus to be spent on safety. Previously, the state offered districts $9.72 per student. The version of House Bill 3 passed by the House raised the allotment to $100 per student, but the Senate approved a version with $10 per student, and the lower funding level remains in the final version sent to Abbott. Multiple Waco-area school districts said the funding level is insufficient to cover the cost of implementing the bills provisions. Rachelle Warren, assistant superintendent for student services and support at Waco Independent School District, said by email that the current safety allotment for the district of more than 13,800 students is not enough to cover the salaries of two school resource officers. The Texas Legislature has been talking about school safety since 2017, Warren said. We have yet to see any significant investment that funds proactive safety measures and improves mental health support for our students. It was our hope that any bills passed during this legislative session would have included flexible funding to make schools safer. While HB 3 includes a funding mechanism, it isnt sufficient. Warren said Waco ISD has already implemented many provisions aimed at school safety, including recent provisions such as a requirement for clear backpacks, metal detectors and AI technology meant to monitor people entering schools. Warren also said the district conducts regular safety audits of its facilities. Warren said this summer, the district plans on enhancing many of its facilities with additional fencing, intruder-resistant film on windows, keycard access on campus doors and silent panic alarms. Warren said Waco ISD also places a high importance on promoting the mental well-being of students and staff. Students, staff members and their families have access to Care Solace, a free resource available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, that will help identify verified mental health, behavioral health, and substance use treatment options matched to an individuals needs regardless of circumstances, Warren said. Midway ISD Superintendent Chris Allen said House Bill 3 is egregiously underfunded. He said the bill only seems to address school safety, but falls short of its goal due to a lack of funding. Midway, a district of more than 8,700 students, would receive a good chunk of money from the state, but it would not be enough to cover all of the provisions in the bill, Allen said. He said several Midway ISD campuses already have school resource officers, but with the new mandates, five more would need to be hired. Allen said it would cost $500,000 per year to pay the salaries for the new officers, which would add to the $600,000 per year the district already spends on officers. Allen said the district has already implemented panic alarms in every classroom in the district, installed more security cameras and added keyless locks on exterior doors. It has also started performing safety audits weekly and lockdown drills several times a semester so that students are prepared in case of a emergency. Every classroom in the district has the ability to initiate a lockdown, Allen said. Our exterior doors also have prop alarms to let us know if a door has been left open for too long. Allen said the district is also working on installing security film on windows, and said the school board has explored the possibility of implementing a School Marshal program to alleviate the economic pressure of hiring more school resource officers. The program implemented in 2013 allows districts to authorize an employee to carry a firearm on campus, with a required 80-hour state training program and a district-implemented policy defining the marshals role. He also said the district has required its employees to undergo mental health training for several years now. Axtell ISD, a district of fewer than 850 students, has spent $1 million on safety measures over the past nine years, Superintendent JR Proctor said. Upgrades have included electronic locks on all exterior doors and implementing a School Marshal program. Proctor said Axtell ISD will only receive $46,000 under House Bill 3. He said the lack of funding in the bill shows school safety is not truly a priority for legislators. Proctor said the districts number one priority is student safety, but without more funding, the district must spend money meant for other things on safety. China Spring ISD Superintendent Marc Faulkner said via email the funding in HB 3 is an embarrassment. He said the bill will provide less than $100,000 for the district of a little more than 3,000 students to upgrade facilities and make the environment safer for students. Faulkner said China Spring ISD security provisions implemented in recent years include armed security officers on campuses, rifle shields so officers can engage an active shooter and alarms that alert if a door is propped open. He said the district is waiting on a grant from the state to help pay for fencing, window film and door replacements. Robinson ISD safety coordinator David Wrzesinski said the new mandates in House Bill 3 are good for improving safety, but echoed concerns of other districts about the lack of funding in the bill. There was an optimism since the state had so much money in their coffers, that we were going to be getting a lot of money coming down for safety, because were kind of behind the money thats been provided, Wrzesinski said. We had some new mandates come out this year that we had to comply with, that were going to be doing this summer, which is updating some fencing. Weve got to bring them all up to at least a 6-foot or 8-foot fence. Weve got to install safety film. Just those two things here in our district alone are $150,000, minimum. Wrzesinski said Robinson ISD, a district of about 2,400 students, has already implemented many of the safety provisions in House Bill 3, including retrofitting exterior campus doors with electronic locks and having armed security personnel on campus. He said the district has a School Marshal program, and volunteers undergo monthly firearm training and complete tactical training once or twice a year. Wrzesinski said the programs Robinson ISD has already implemented are good, but an increase in funding is needed to keep updating them as time goes on. When you put systems in place that cost that same amount of money every year, you want to make sure that you get funding for it in the future, Wrzesinski said. We think our entire program what were doing with training, what were doing with the hardening of each one of our campuses, and our Marshal program gives us the best opportunity for our students and staff to be as safe as we can be. I think most safety professionals will say that theres not a 100% guarantee. But were doing most of the best practices that are out in the industry right now. And we feel really good about the things that we are doing. This beautiful New Orleans style home in historic Castle Heights shows quality in every detail! Built by a prominent Waco citizen in 1939 it is even more lovely today than it was when it was built! Current sellers are only the 2nd people to own this home. The spreading oak trees, and large beautifully landscaped double lot provide the perfect setting for playing, entertaining, relaxing and enjoying life to it's fullest! The outside of this home sets it apart from all others, but when you enter the lovely foyer, the full beauty of the home starts to truly unfold. At one end of the foyer is an expansive formal living area with a light filled sunroom at the far end. At the other end of the foyer is a large formal dining room that has plenty of space for celebrations around the table. Off the dining room is an open, well designed kitchen that offers a large island and plenty of workspace for a dedicated cook. The kitchen is open to a great table space for informal dining and then steps down into a grand den that was added for the comfort and flexibility of the home. Fireplaces in the formal living area as well as in the family room add warmth and hospitality to those areas. Both fireplaces have a gas jet and can be wood burning but are currently set up with gas logs. Enjoy sitting at the informal dining table in the bay window of the kitchen as a favorite spot to watch the neighborhood activites while enjoying the comforts of home. Also on the main floor is a private room perfect for an office or library space. There are 5 bedrooms and 3 & 1/2 bathrooms in the home. One bedroom and bathroom is attached to the garage with a separate entrance from the outside and an entrance from the garage making this a very private guest room, retreat or flex space. There are too many other amenities in this beautiful home to list them all, but following are a few. In addition to the two car garage attached to the home, there is a one car porte cachere at the end of the driveway. This space also includes a huge store room that is large enough to hold all the holiday and party decorations you could possibly desire. The driveway has an electric iron gate for full privacy. In the upstairs master suite, open the French doors to step out onto the upstairs balcony for a treetop experience. The exquisite partially covered New Orleans style brick patio in back extends out to a fountain and large open tree shaded brick patio area. Two extra pull-in parking spaces are just off the driveway in front for off the street guest parking. There is a basement to the home that has a sump pump and houses the mechanicals. Truly a one of a kind home in Waco! View More Emily and Brett Mills turned heads 20 years ago when they started their ministry with the slogan Jesus Loves Strippers pasted on the front of their T-shirts. The power couple have delivered on their mission of ministering to sex workers in the last two decades, beginning with outreach, moving to enterprise and now embarking on a new venture. Lovely Village, a $7.7 million project in progress, is the culmination of Jesus Said Loves work in the community, meant to further the ministrys mission of spreading faith to people the church left behind. It truly is a village concept, CEO Brett Mills said. It is healing in the context of community. Its continuing on 20 years of the work that weve done here today. Lovely Village is Jesus Said Loves first housing installment, offering two years of rent-free housing to victims of trafficking, sexual exploitation and trauma, and their children, looking to get back on their feet. The community will consist of a four-unit apartment complex for women with children a place where moms could really mom together, Founder Emily Mills said as well as six neighboring units and group living arrangements nearby. The village is expected to house 22 women for two years at a time, keep families together, create jobs for survivors and save taxpayer money by keeping women out of jails. All your needs are met, and you also get a livable wage on top of that, she said. So that creates this two-year, really an on-ramp into building that nest egg. The existing apartments to be renovated and the lot space for fresh construction were a gift from Magnolia. Mills said her ministry has been looking for years to add a residential component to its work, and the plot in close proximity to Jesus Said Loves headquarters creates a walkable path for survivors. The nonprofits work began as an outreach mission, going to strip clubs to hear the wants and needs of women in the industry and developing a strategy to help survivors of sexual exploitation, Mills said. When I started outreaches, I absolutely had unchecked bias and unconscious bias, no doubt, Emily Mills said. What I learned in getting there is that most of the women that we serve are impoverished women, that the sex industry specifically is a result of targeting and preying upon women who are lacking in agency and monetary resources. Upwards of 90%, if not all, were sexually abused as children. What weve learned in 20 years is its chosen them, it truly has, Brett Mills said. Weve had folks who are fourth-generation sex workers. After interviewing women in the industry it became clear they wanted jobs. The ministry found its headquarters at Columbus Avenue and 15th Street and began helping women find employment. Through the ministrys Lovely Enterprises women were given jobs producing products and working retail in-house, or building out their own businesses using microloans or equity investments from Jesus Said Love. One success story coming from the nonprofit is Shamica Evans, former lead baker of Lovely Enterprises first product, Lovely Buns, and owner of the Waffle Chic food truck. Evans began as a volunteer with Jesus Said Love in 2016, working with the enterprise and doing some outreach. She said after losing a job due to circumstances that come with being a single mother, Emily Mills was the first person she told about her personal involvement with human trafficking and stripping, and that the outreach work was triggering feelings from her past. Mills helped her get back on track, and Evans went through Jesus Said Loves programs to first process her trauma and then start her own business out of Lovely Enterprises. Evans said she thought people would always view her as a victim rather than a business owner, but thanks to support from many Waco organizations, area chambers of commerce and Jesus Said Love, she rose from her struggle. Gods grace, Jesus love, made it possible for me to transition and become what God ordained for me to be, Evans said. It takes so many giants to build another giant. With outreach and retail under the organization's belt, Mills said housing was a gap in coverage for some women. When researching program models that do housing and reentry well, Mills said she and Brett found that many programs were not sustainable or formatted in a way that empowered the women. A lot of the old-school safe house model is like move women out into the country, take away their phone, take away cigarettes, take away drinking and let them sit and contemplate on their purpose in life, and that is isolation, she said. And thats exactly what traffickers do. For women who are groomed to have their power taken away, it is uncomfortable to be given a choice, but that freedom and humanizing experience could be the factor that produces long-lasting independence, she said. The team eventually found Thistle Farms, a Nashville social enterprise founded by Becca Stevens, and learned through a two-year interviewing process that working in a dignified way, making livable wages, having accountability and being seen in a community are all important aspects of recovery, Mills said. Lovely Village will mirror the Thistle Farms model in many ways, adding a live-in rehabilitation component to Jesus Said Loves current job-centered model. Women staying at the village will have the opportunity to work for Lovely Enterprises, creating candles, body oils and more in the shop, or to start their own business. The program will differ from others in housing children with their mothers, as preventing their separation is a main priority, Mills said. What we know to be true is that 90% of the women that we reach are mothers, Mills said. Of that 90%, over half have encountered cases with Child Protective Services, and so we are trying to prevent that rupture because mom does better in her recovery when she has her kids cared for in her custody. The nonprofit is in the process of raising funds through its Love Your Neighbor Capital Campaign that will fund the project for three years. The $7.7 million funding goal will cover renovations and building, personnel, facilities and any other costs that may come with the new housing program through 2025. It is expensive to rehabilitate women who are coming out of poverty, but its less expensive the way that we do it, in contradiction to the prison system, Mills said. We can do it cheaper and we can do it more effectively. According to Jesus Said Loves online comparison, a womans stay in a state prison costs about $62.34 per day with an average stay of 4.2 years. The average stay drops to 5.4 months for jails, still costing $52.46 per day at a state jail, and $33.83 per day at a private jail. At Lovely Village, a woman can stay for 2 years at $25.56 per day, with no cost to taxpayers. Brett Mills said when he first looked into Thistle Farms $9 million budget it seemed like a lot of money for the 26 women the program can house at once. However, after looking at prison and child protective systems, how their costs can spiral and how they do not produce positive outcomes, the rehabilitation program seems like the better option, he said. After five years graduating that program 78% of them are still in sustainable success, he said. Theyve gained the rights to their children back. They have stable housing. They have a living wage job. Theyve maintained sobriety. So this kind of work is expensive but when you look on the back end of that, its like if weve been able to help rehabilitate 26 women and it cost us $9 million, I think theyre worth it. The organization has started gutting the old apartments and hopes to start construction this month with the help of Whyte Oak Homes, Emily Mills said. They have also applied for HOME-American Rescue Plan Program funding from the city and are engaged in private conversations with donors, she said. Unbound Now CEO Susan Peters, a partner in the Waco anti-trafficking circle, said Brett and Emily are experts in their field, and the housing will give residents a fair chance at a healthy life. Housing for survivors is a huge need, Peters said in an email. Lovely Village is a wonderful and much needed resource in our community. It is especially valuable that people like the Mills who are trauma informed are doing it. Evans said the development will be a valuable tool for women looking to get back into the workforce and continue their education. It will be a safe place, especially for single moms, to recover from abuse, alcoholism or whatever else ails them, she said. The Texas Legislature convened this January facing a big task: fixing the increasingly unstable youth prison system. Proposals on the table ranged from closing the states five remaining youth prisons and instead relying on local systems to rehabilitate children involved in criminal behavior to spending hundreds of millions of dollars to build additional state lockups for juveniles. Ultimately, lawmakers opted for the latter, passing a budget with $200 million set aside to build two or three additional state-run prisons to hold at least 200 more youth. Currently, fewer than 600 juveniles are imprisoned in the states prisons. In a crucial bill that authorizes the Texas Juvenile Justice Departments continued existence after what is known as a sunset review, the Legislature also passed a provision requiring the transfer of some teenagers from TJJD into the harsher, more punitive adult prison system. Such transfers have already been increasing at TJJDs discretion as the agency has sought to restore order within its prisons, including that of a 16-year-old who died by suicide shortly after he was sent to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The measures will go into effect in September unless Gov. Greg Abbott vetoes them this month. The decisions are a stark reversal from more than a decade of Texas trending away from imprisoning children. With TJJDs history of scandals, state and county officials have shifted toward keeping more youth whove engaged in criminal behavior under local supervision, where research suggests they have the best outcomes. Since 2007, the state has closed eight prisons and shrunk the imprisoned youth population from about 5,000 to less than 600. The youth still sent to TJJD, however, are often the most difficult to manage because of violent behavior, severe mental health needs or both. Although the sunset bill requires the agency to come up with a plan to find more local resources to keep children closer to home and the budget gives a boost to local juvenile probation departments and diversion programs lawmakers also pushed to build more facilities after the state projected more teenagers will be sent to TJJD in the near future after a pandemic-era slump. Social justice groups have condemned both the plan to build new facilities and the plan to send more youth to adult prisons. The advocates have viewed the recent increase in transfers as a way for the beleaguered agency to throw away the kids with the highest needs. Building more prisons, they fear, will exacerbate the already extreme short-staffing for officers and lead to the same dire situations current prisons have faced. The new facilities are problematic, especially given all the problems that have been documented in the current facilities, said Brett Merfish, youth justice director for Texas Appleseed. They made it easier to send the youth from TJJD to TDCJ, so that also concerns me. Given the depth of problems, I dont think this really addressed them adequately. For years, TJJD, which is under federal investigation, has been entrenched in repeated scandals over sexual and physical abuse, and the agency has consistently struggled to keep officers on the payroll. Last summer, short-staffing hit emergency levels, leaving children locked in cells up to 23 hours a day, using water bottles and lunch trays as toilets. Self-harm behavior skyrocketed among imprisoned youth, nearly half of whom spent some time on suicide watch. The agency has since scrambled to recruit and retain more officers, largely by implementing an emergency 15% pay raise. By April, agency staffing had risen to nearly 60%, according to state reports. Although its still a dramatically low number, the agency had only 44% of its officer positions filled in August 2022. The new state budget, which gives the agency a significant boost, will continue those increased pay rates for juvenile prison officers. It also sets aside the hefty investment for new facilities in populated areas, which have been touted as a solution to the problems plaguing outdated rural facilities. These facilities are needed, and we are grateful to the Legislature for this funding, said Barbara Kessler, a spokesperson for TJJD. We hope to see these modern facilities designed and sited as quickly as possible. With the Texas Facilities Commission, TJJD must submit its plan for the new units by August 2024. Kessler said in an email Wednesday the agency would begin working with its partners to determine the number and locations of new prisons. The size and scope of the units, however, are still unclear. Lawmakers said the new facilities may be designed to serve specific populations, including those with acute mental health needs, the most aggressive or violent youth, or girls. But while lawmakers have touted the benefits of adding smaller, specialized facilities (I think its going to be a game changer, said state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston), the only requirement put into legislation was for the agency to add a minimum of 200 beds. Proposals from last year suggest about $200 million would cover two 100-bed detention centers, or three facilities with 40 to 56 beds. A House change to limit each facility to a maximum of 48 beds was stripped out in negotiations. Without specifics, advocates worry the new facilities will turn out to be two 100-bed units without specialization. To me thats just perpetuating the problem and not fixing the ones we have, Merfish said. Opponents also worried additional prisons will lead to more children being locked up even if its not what is best for them. The more beds that we have, the more people well find to fill those beds, state Rep. Harold Dutton Jr., D-Houston, said in a March legislative hearing. Outside of the budget, the key changes to TJJD come from the sunset bill. Senate Bill 1727 aims to reshape the agencys board, and it requires the agency to come up with a plan to keep more kids closer to home by expanding funding to local services or using financial incentives to divert children away from the criminal system. The bill would also require the agency to request transfers to TDCJ for many of its teens if they commit new crimes while in TJJD. Such crimes would include all first- or second-degree felonies, as well as the less severe but frequently pursued charge of assaulting a prison officer. Senators have said such transfers are needed to restore order within youth prison walls and remove the most violent and disruptive kids. Theyve been sent for help and theyre preventing the other youth from getting help, so were trying to hold them accountable when they injure an officer or another youth, Whitmire said in March when youth justice advocates pushed back on the transfers in a legislative hearing. Kessler said the new requirement codifies and strengthens what is generally existing practice in TJJD, which sent significantly more youth to TCDJ last year than in previous years. She said it is difficult to predict how many more youth will be sent to TDCJ if the law takes effect. It supports our mission that youth assigned to TJJD be working toward better behavior, Kessler said. Youth justice advocates, however, fear the agency will wrongly push more of its most troubled kids off of its plate using the new requirement. They point to youth like Joshua Keith Beasley, the 16-year-old who died by suicide this year in TDCJ. Beasley had a lengthy history of mental illness and suicidal behavior and was first committed to TJJD at age 11 for kicking a school employee while on probation for vandalizing property. He was sent to TDCJ after hitting and spitting on a TJJD employee. When are we going to realize this isnt criminal behavior? Merfish asked. First of all, theyre responding to trauma but [also] if Im grabbed by someone, Im going to have a reaction. If theyre out of control, then youre not doing something right. Kessler said the agency will continue to work with youth to set them up for success within TJJD. The agency will continue to deescalate violent youths committed to its care, through treatment and programming, so they avoid additional offenses and have a chance at reform in the juvenile justice system, she said. LINCOLN The Nebraska Optometric Association (NOA), is conducting research to learn more about Nebraska families and their barriers to health care, including preventive check-ups. We know Nebraskans face many unique challenges and barriers to healthcare, said Janet Seelhoff, NOA Executive Director. We want to look into these obstacles to better understand how to help families get access to annual preventive eyecare. The survey, available online at nebraska.stage.aoa.org/survey, asks about many aspects of healthcare and wellness, but does focus on eye health of all ages of residents within a household, as well as the demographics and zip code. What impacts someone in Omaha will be different than in McCook, and even still from Valentine or Stapleton, Seelhoff said. We truly want to understand the needs of all Nebraskans. NOA is looking to get information on all ages, as well. Of particular interest is finding out what keeps children from access to health and eye exams. Many people believe if they dont have vision issues, they dont need to visit an optometrist, Seelhoff said. However, eye health exams check so much more than eyesight. They are just as important for children who see fine as they are for seniors who have worn glasses for decades. NOA will report out on their findings when the survey analysis is complete later this summer. The survey will be available through June 7. Participants can choose to enter a drawing for prizes, including $100 VISA gift cards and family passes to the Nebraska State Fair. Please consider taking and sharing the survey. The information will be incredibly valuable to help optometrists across the state better identify the needs of Nebraska families and help address access to eye care, Seelhoff said. The Nebraska Optometric Association has represented the interests of Optometrists in Nebraska for over 100 years and continues to be dedicated to protecting and advancing the profession. Membership includes over 275 licensed doctors of optometry throughout the state. Nebraska optometrists are independent primary health care providers who examine, diagnose, treat and manage diseases and disorders of the vision system, the eye and associated structures, as well as diagnose related systemic conditions. For more information, please contact the Nebraska Optometric Association at 402-474-7716 or noa@assocoffice.net. A high-speed chase down Interstate 80 that spanned across several southeast Nebraska counties ended in a fire and the arrest of a 31-year-old Washington woman in northeast Lincoln Friday night, according the Nebraska State Patrol. At around 11:15 p.m. Friday, Nebraska Sate Patrol was notified that Seward County Deputies were in pursuit of a Chevrolet Monte Carlo that had fled a traffic stop, according to a press release from the state patrol. The pursuit was eastbound on I-80 heading into Lancaster County, according to the state patrol. The state patrol took over as the vehicle continued on I-80 through Lincoln at speeds reaching 120 mph, according to the release. At mile marker 412, the driver, Georgina De La Cadena, of Vancouver, Washington, turned around in the median and began traveling westbound on I-80. She exited at the Waverly interchange and began traveling westbound toward Lincoln on Highway 6, according to the release. The NSP AirWing picked up the pursuit from the air and troopers on the ground discontinued their pursuit, according to the release. The vehicle turned southbound on 84th Street, entered a parking lot and drove into a field where it came to a stop. As De La Cadena fled on foot, troopers called for Lincoln Fire and Rescue after the vehicle caused a fire in the fields tall grass, according to authorities. After about a 15 minute search, a state patrol police dog tracked De La Cadena to where she was hiding on the bank of Stevens Creek, according to the release. De La Cadena was arrested on suspicion of flight to avoid arrest, willful reckless driving, and obstructing a peace officer. Additional charges are pending in Seward County. She was lodged in Seward County Jail. A plan that would have Iowa Democrats declare their 2024 presidential preference through mail-in presidential preference cards received unanimous support from the partys state central committee Saturday. The plan, which was released May 3, also would schedule delegate selection precinct caucuses to be held the same night as Iowa Republicans eight days before any other states presidential primary. The approval came during a meeting of the Iowa Democratic Partys State Central Committee in Altoona. This new plan comes after the national party voted to upend Iowa Democrats first-in-nation status and shake up the early primary calendar that has existed for decades, in February. Under the new primary calendar rules passed by the Democratic National Committee, Iowa could lose delegates to the national presidential primary convention if it bucks the DNCs plan. Im pleased our leaders understand the need for flexibility surrounding this draft delegate selection plan as the presidential nominating calendar remains in flux, Iowa Democrats Chair Rita Hart said in a news release after Saturdays vote. The plan still leaves a timeline up to speculation, with no definitive dates being chosen yet. Iowa Democrats announced a similar plan last year in an effort to keep Iowas coveted first-in-the-nation status. The mail-in preference cards aimed to make the caucuses more accessible, which was one of the main criticisms from national democrats. Iowa Democrats are united in moving forward with the most inclusive caucus process in our history, Hart said. No matter what, we will continue to do whats best for Iowa, whats best for our Party and whats best for democracy. The plan would require precincts to pick delegates to the state primary convention on the same date as Iowa Republicans, and at a later unspecified date Iowa Democrats would calculate and announce the results of the presidential preference card votes, assigning delegates to candidates with more than 15% of the vote on a county level. Following Saturdays vote, the Iowa Democrats plan will be submitted to the Democratic National Committees Rules and Bylaws Committee for consideration. GOP caucus law Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday signed into law a bill requiring in-person participation in Iowa caucuses when selecting presidential preference. The law, passed by Iowa Republican lawmakers earlier this year, attempts to thwart state Democrats plans to hold presidential preference selection by mail. State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, spearheaded the bill in an effort to keep Iowas first-in-nation status. Other Republicans expressed concerns that New Hampshire would try to supersede Iowa if the new caucus process was put in place, because they felt it was too similar to a primary. New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan said in a tweet while the bill was being debated by the Legislature that if Iowas process looks too much like a primary, New Hampshire -- which is required to have the first primary by state law -- would jump ahead. Iowa Democrats leaders say the newly signed law is a partisan attack on the Democrats new plan. It is my solid belief that one political party cannot tell another political party what to do or how to conduct its business, Hart said. So, I remain committed to doing whats best for Iowa Democrats, for the state of Iowa, and for democracy. The law only requires in-person participation for caucuses that select delegates as part of the presidential nomination process, which would allow for Iowa Democrats plan of separating the presidential preference and delegate selection processes. GOP criticism Iowa Republican Party chair Jeff Kaufmann criticized Iowa Democrats plan for the 2024 caucus. They bungled their attempts to survive the DNC 2024 calendar reshuffle, and now they are willing to throw away Iowas political clout and make us another flyover state in an attempt to show how woke they are, Kaufmann said in a statement released Saturday. This latest charade will do nothing to make them part of the conversation of being first. It will instead jeopardize the future of the Iowa caucuses. Iowa Republicans still have their first-in-nation spot in the GOP primary calendar. Doris Dody Webber April 18, 1935-May 31, 2023 WATERLOO-Doris Dody Webber, 88, of Waterloo, IA passed away on Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at Unity Point Health Allen Memorial Hospital in Waterloo, IA, surrounded by her loving family. Public visitation for Doris will be held from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at the Hagarty-Waychoff-Grarup Funeral Service South Street location. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 7, 2023 at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church located at 1204 W. 8th street, Waterloo, IA 50702. Rev. Justin Kane will be officiating services for Doris. Memorial contributions may be directed in Doris's name to her family which will be designated elsewhere at a later date. For further information or to leave an online condolence please visit www.hagartywaychoffgrarup.com. Hagarty-Waychoff-Grarup Funeral Service South Street is caring for Doris and her family. Doris Jeanette Tann was born on April 18, 1935 in Fairbank, Iowa, the daughter of George Merle and Jesse Angela (Miller) Tann. She was raised and educated in the Waterloo School district and graduated from Waterloo East High school with the class of 1954. On May 8, 1955, Doris was united in marriage to the love of her life, James Myron Webber in Waterloo. From this union the couple was blessed with three children: Scott, Jeff and Nicole. Doris was a hard working woman who never allowed life to break her down. She was diagnosed with breast cancer two times and both times she demonstrated her faith in God and lived out her favorite Bible verse: Philippians: 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Doris spent five years working at Rath Packing Plant until she started her family. After her children were born Doris found her calling for the next 23 years of her life dedicating herself as a Teachers Aid at Lincoln Elementary school. (The old Lincoln) Doris had the biggest heart for not only her family but also her friends, students and she even volunteered reading to the blind over the radio. She loved doing crafts of all kinds, including crocheting, making personalized greeting cards that were for just about every occasion imaginable but she was famous for crafting a new Christmas ornament every year. Doris was a one of a kind woman and is going to be missed deeply by all. Left to cherish her memory are her children: Scott Webber, Jeff Webber and Nicole Nikki Webber; one grandchild: Tyler (Jasmine) Webber and their two children: Lyric and Tylir Webber; one honorary grandson: Noah Swarbrick; her four legged furry companion: Lacey the Cat; along with several nieces, nephews and a host of friends. She was preceded in death by her husband: James Webber; parents; 6 sisters and 3 brothers. 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. The rush in conservative states to ban abortion after the overturning of Roe v. Wade is resulting in a startling consequence that abortion opponents may not have considered: fewer medical services available for all women in those states. Doctors are showing they are reluctant to practice in places where making the best decision for a patient could result in huge fines or even a prison sentence. When clinics that provide abortions close their doors, all the other services offered there also shut down, including regular exams, breast cancer screenings and contraception. The concern about repercussions for womens health is being raised not just by abortion rights advocates. One recent warning comes from Jerome Adams, who served as surgeon general in the Trump administration. In a tweet thread in April, Adams wrote that the tradeoff of a restricted access (and criminalizing doctors) only approach to decreasing abortions could end up being that you actually make pregnancy less safe for everyone, and increase infant and maternal mortality. An early indication of that impending medical brain drain came in February, when 76% of respondents in a survey of more than 2,000 current and future physicians said they would not even apply to work or train in states with abortion restrictions. In other words, the studys authors wrote in an accompanying article, many qualified candidates would no longer even consider working or training in more than half of U.S. states. Indeed, states with abortion bans saw a larger decline in medical school seniors applying for residency in 2023 compared with states without bans, according to a study from the Association of American Medical Colleges. While applications for OB-GYN residencies were down nationwide, the decrease in states with complete abortion bans was more than twice as large as those with no restrictions: 10.5% vs. 5.2%. That means fewer doctors to perform critical preventive care like Pap smears and screenings for sexually transmitted infections that can lead to infertility. Care for pregnant women is especially at risk, as hospitals in rural areas close maternity wards because they cant find enough professionals to staff them a problem that predated the abortion ruling but has gotten worse since. In March, Bonner General Health, the only hospital in Sandpoint, Idaho, announced it would discontinue its labor and delivery services in part because of Idahos legal and political climate that includes state legislators continuing to introduce and pass bills that criminalize physicians for medical care nationally recognized as the standard of care. Heart-wrenching reporting from around the country shows abortion bans are also imperiling the health of some patients who experience miscarriage and other nonviable pregnancies. Earlier this year, a pregnant woman with a nonviable fetus in Oklahoma was told to wait in the parking lot until she got sicker after being informed that doctors cant touch you unless you are crashing in front of us. A study by researchers from the State University of New York at Buffalo published in the Womens Health Issues journal found that doctors practicing in states with restrictive abortion policies are less likely than those in states with supportive abortion policies to have been trained to perform the same early abortion procedures used for women experiencing miscarriages early in pregnancy. States with the toughest abortion restrictions are also the least likely to offer support services for low-income mothers and babies. Even before the overturn of Roe, a report from the Commonwealth Fund, a nonpartisan research group, found maternal death rates in states with abortion restrictions or bans were 62% higher than in states where abortion was more readily available. Women who know their pregnancies could become high-risk are thinking twice about getting or being pregnant in states with abortion restrictions. Carmen Broesder, an Idaho woman who chronicled her difficulties getting care for a miscarriage in a series of viral videos on TikTok, told ABC News she does not plan to try to get pregnant again. Why would I want to go through my daughter almost losing her mom again to have another child? she said. That seems selfish and wrong. The anti-abortion movement once appeared more sensitive to arguments that its policies neglect the needs of women and children, a charge made most famously by former Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who once said: Conservatives believe that from the standpoint of the federal government, life begins at conception and ends at birth. Few anti-abortion groups are pushing policies to make it easier for people to get pregnant, give birth and raise children. This year, Americans United for Life and Democrats for Life of America put out a joint position paper urging policymakers to make birth free. Among their suggestions are automatic insurance coverage, without deductibles or copays, for pregnancy and childbirth; eliminating payment incentives for cesarean sections and in-hospital deliveries; and a monthly maternal stipend for the first two years of a childs life. 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 WATERLOO The Dave and Sharon Juon Memorial Fund is a Community Fund established at the Waterloo Community Foundation to honor and continue the legacy of community leader, Sharon Juon. Sharon Juon was a dedicated community leader and demonstrated her love for Waterloo in both her professional and personal life. She served as the executive director of the Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments for more than 25 years and held positions at the Waterloo Downtown Council and Waterloo Chamber of Commerce. She was also an active community volunteer serving over 75 organizations and associations, including the Waterloo City Council as an at-large councilor from 2017-2021. After Sharons passing in 2022, memorial gifts were sent to the Waterloo Community Foundation. Dave and Sharons daughters decided to direct those gifts into a Community Fund to continue their parents legacy in Waterloo. The fund supports the foundations discretionary grantmaking programs that provide funding to local organizations meeting current needs in Waterloo. Learn more and give to the Dave and Sharon Juon Memorial Fund at https://wloocf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1792. WATERLOO Donna Nelsons relentless drive helped to preserve historic downtown structures, the Blacks Building and the old YMCA among them. Those buildings and the businesses that inhabit them secured her legacy. Family members and associates are remembering Nelson, who died Tuesday at age 89. They say she inherited that drive from her father, Irv Warren, who founded the trucking company Warren Transport. Nelson decided to make her own name with Vern Nelson, her husband of 70 years, founding Nelson Properties and Nelson Insurance in 1953. She was just like a force that you wanted to follow, and her father was the same way, said her daughter, Lisa Nelson Mitrovich. And they just really had a vision of things for the future that other people, for whatever reason, cant see. She could open your eyes to possibilities, and it was really beautiful. Their mission became protecting the history and viability of downtown Waterloo. According to Mitrovich and grandson Vern Nelson III, it was a visit from Lloyds of London Insurance that got her going, when a representative told her Waterloo was dying. The closing and demolition of the Paramount Theater in 1972, a building famed for its beauty, was a factor, too. She tried so hard to save that, and it did not happen, Mitrovich said. But that was her first (time) trying to do this, to save Waterloo. Mitrovich said the efforts to save the historic theater were a family affair, and it was their first and hardest lesson about preserving their citys history. We used to roam the neighborhoods with petition pads to get people to sign a petition to save the Paramount building, and it was the saddest day when they tore that down, Mitrovich said. I mean, we were young kids and all our friends were involved, too, and everybody was crying about this. Nelson was determined not to let that happen again, and over the course of nearly 50 years, the Nelsons became heavily involved in redevelopment and renovation. As businesses started flocking to the Crossroads Center on the west side of town, Nelson was fighting to keep them downtown. In the late 1990s, other developers stepped up, but it was the Nelsons who got the ball the rolling. I think she inspired some of these other groups. I believe that she was a catalyst for these developments that are happening down there, said Vern Nelson III. Perhaps their most notable work was the procurement and revival of the Blacks Building, where Nelson once worked as a waitress in the tea room on the eighth floor. One of her tenants in the Blacks Building was David Nagle, a former Democratic congressman, who saw firsthand the work she put into preserving the city. Diversity underrepresentation in policing Data gathered from October 2022 to May 2023 from nearly 120 law enforcement agencies in 14 states shows frequent disparity in the racial and ethnic makeup of the agencies compared to the communities they are hired to protect and serve. Data gathered from October 2022 to May 2023 from nearly 120 law enforcement agencies in 14 states shows frequent disparity in the racial and ethnic makeup of the agencies compared to the communities they are hired to protect and serve. Ive been in Donnas office, and there could not have been in the last 50 years a bigger supporter of Waterloo than Donna Nelson, Nagle said. And it didnt matter if the cause in the community was for the richest or the poorest if she believed in it, she supported it. Mitrovich said the Nelsons drive came from a love for the city, wanting to ensure it could be enjoyed by future generations. She didnt want that for Waterloo, where they just tear everything down and put up industrial parks or strip malls ... she wanted it to stay beautiful like it was and appreciate the past, Mitrovich said. In Europe, they would never tear down a beautiful building thats what we do here. She marched to her own drum in life, which was to have a big heart, and she never beat that drum loudly or to call attention to herself. Nelsons funeral will be 2 p.m. Friday at First Baptist Church in Waterloo with burial at Waterloo Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will be 5-8 p.m. Thursday at Locke Tower Park. 5 smart strategies to lower your air conditioning bill this summer 1) Optimize your thermostat settings. Optimizing your thermostat settings can keep you cool without major changes to your comfort level. Experiment with setting your thermostat a few degrees higher than you normally would during the day. You might find youre unnecessarily blasting the AC. Turning your thermostat down during cooler nighttime temperatures can also add up to major savings. A programmable smart thermostat can also help you track your cooling costs, reduce unnecessary energy usage, and adjust your settings when youre away from home. 2) Use natural ventilation. Maximizing natural ventilation is an effective and eco-friendly way to cool your home. During cool morning and evening hours, open your windows to let in a fresh breeze. Then, once temperatures rise during the middle of the day, close windows and doors to keep the indoor temperature low. Ceiling and window fans also use less energy than HVAC units while increasing air circulation to keep you cool and comfortable. 3) Maintain your HVAC system. If you cant remember the last time you had your HVAC system serviced, youre probably paying more than you need to in cooling costs. To optimize your HVAC, clean and replace any filters every few months, and schedule a professional maintenance visit once a year. An HVAC specialist can ensure your system has proper airflow and check for issues that make your air conditioner less efficient. 4) Increase insulation to block outside heat. Upgrading your homes attic or wall insulation can be costly, but keeping the heat out could be as simple as installing energy-efficient window treatments. Adding blinds, blackout curtains, or reflective film will block out sunlight during the hottest parts of the day and keep your homes internal temperature cooler. 5) Skip the mid-day chores and cooking. Modifying your routine could help you reduce your cooling costs. Instead of cooking lunch in the oven, opt for sandwiches or salads while the sun is up. You can also line dry clothing or wait until the evening to use your dryer. A few simple changes to your habits could add up to some fun-money savings for your summer vacation. WATERLOO Byron Phillips has been named principal of East High School, pending approval by the Board of Education. Phillips currently serves as assistant principal at West High School where his responsibilities include supervision of clerical and support staff as well as overseeing the Partners in Education program and Professional Learning Communities. I am humbled, honored and extremely excited for the opportunity to serve as the next principal of East High School. As a lifelong resident of Waterloo, I am aware of the deep pride and rich tradition of East High, and I will work tirelessly to uphold the expectation of excellence, Phillips said in a news release. I am truly excited for this next chapter in my career and I am especially looking forward to working with the awesome students and staff at East High School. Prior to his current position, which he has held since 2010, he was the principal at Expo Alternative High School and assistant principal at Central and Logan Middle Schools. Phillips holds a bachelors degree from Huron University in South Dakota, a masters degree from Viterbo College, and an advanced studies certificate in educational leadership from the University of Northern Iowa. We could not be more excited to announce Byron Phillips as the next principal at East High School, said Waterloo Community Schools Superintendent Jared Smith. Byrons leadership experience and community ties make him the perfect fit to lead the Trojan family for years to come. Phillips replaces Joseph Parker, who has been the schools principal since 2018. Photos: Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck boys soccer falls to Western Christian, takes second in Class 1A State Soccer Sat GCGR 1 State Soccer Sat GCGR 2 State Soccer Sat GCGR 3 State Soccer Sat GCGR 4 State Soccer Sat GCGR 5 State Soccer Sat GCGR 6 State Soccer Sat GCGR 7 State Soccer Sat GCGR 8 State Soccer Sat GCGR 9 State Soccer Sat GCGR 10 State Soccer Sat GCGR 11 State Soccer Sat GCGR 12 State Soccer Sat GCGR 13 CEDAR FALLS The Zach and Janelle Fischels Scholarship Fund has awarded its first scholarship after the fund was established in May 2022 with the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa. The need-based scholarship is for graduating seniors from high schools located in Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Grundy and Tama counties. Recipients must plan to attend the University of Northern Iowa to pursue a degree in the College of Business with a preference for those focusing on Finance. Scholarships helped me significantly to get started in my professional life, and I want others to have the opportunity for the same, Zach Fischels said. Fischels graduated from Independence High School in 2016. He went on to attend the University of Northern Iowas College of Business and graduated in 2019 with a degree in finance with an emphasis in personal wealth management. At UNI he met his wife, Janelle Fischels, formerly Saucer, who grew up in Marion. She attended the University of Northern Iowa and earned her nursing degree from Allen College in 2020 and works as a nurse at Allen Hospital in Waterloo. Financial gifts of cash/check and stock are accepted through the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, 3117 Greenhill Circle, Cedar Falls, 50613. Checks to the endowment fund should be made payable to the Zach and Janelle Fischels Scholarship Fund. Gifts can also be made on the Community Foundations secure website at fund.cfneia.org/fischelsscholarship. Gifts to the endowment fund are eligible to receive a 25% state tax credit through the Endow Iowa program. Learn more about the program at www.cfneia.org/endowiowa. Questions about giving to the fund may be directed to Laurie Everhardt, director of development with the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, at (319) 243-1352 or leverhardt@cfneia.org. More information about CFNEIA can be found at www.cfneia.org. Photos: Memorial Day commemorations across the US WATERLOO Bargaining and non-bargaining city employees could see bigger paychecks starting July 1. The City Council will consider proposed wage hikes during its 5:30 p.m. Monday meeting in the council chambers of City Hall. Various raises are on the table for city employees covered by collective bargaining agreements. These groups are planners and engineers; clerks, secretaries, evidence technician and animal control employees; laborers; library workers; code enforcement employees and police lieutenants; police officers and sergeants; and employees at the fire department, including firefighters. Police officers in the Waterloo Police Department have the largest proposed wage increase. In the first year, starting July 1, those employees would see an across-the-board raise of 4.5%. Starting July 1, 2024, they would receive a 4.75% across-the-board increase. In the third year, starting July 1, 2025, they would receive a 5% across-the-board increase. In years four and five, 2026-27 and 2027-28, wages and insurance negotiations would reopen. Non-bargaining city employees could get a pay boost as well for next year, with all of them looking at a 3% salary increase. These positions are often administrative positions. If approved, the employees with the top salaries would be Police Chief Joe Leibold at $168,563; Fire Chief William Beck at $144,206; and Police Captains Robert Duncan, Jason Feaker and Aaron McClelland at $134,846. Other items on Mondays agenda include: A resolution supporting an application by Baltimore Fields LLC, to construct 18 new single-family homes located near 1003 Vermont St. A resolution supporting an application from the Fire Department for $250,000 in Opioid Allocation Funds from the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors for the purchase of a new ambulance. A resolution approving two development agreements with Babic Properties, LLC, for the construction of both a new duplex on an infill lot as well as the construction of a four unit residential building located on Ravenwood Circle. A resolution approving an agreement for a traffic safety improvement program funding grant with the Iowa Department of Transportation in the amount of $500,000 for the construction of a roundabout at Hammond Avenue and Shaulis Road. WATERLOO The Waterloo Community Foundation has announced the establishment of the Geof and Vicki Grimes Fund in memory of founder and former board president Geof Grimes. The fund was set up by the Grimes family and will contribute resources toward organizations that support arts and culture, education, and relief from food insecurity in the community. Geof Grimes was active in the Waterloo community and served as president of Struxture Architects until his retirement in 2010. Throughout his career, he was involved with more than two dozen organizations. He was an active member of Westminster Presbyterian Church and served on many boards and committees including the Waterloo Playhouse/Black Hawk Childrens Theatre, Black Hawk Gaming Association, Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa and Friends of Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. Grimes died in 2020 while serving as board president of the Waterloo Community Foundation. His wife, Vicki, and their children, Tiffany Siegeland and Ryan McGuire Grimes, established a donor advised fund to continue the familys legacy with the foundation and greater Waterloo community. Community members interested in contributing to the fund can donate online at wloocommunityfoundation.org/give. Checks can be mailed to the Waterloo Community Foundation at 425 Cedar St., Suite 320, P.O. Box 1253, Waterloo. Photos: Memorial Day commemorations across the US URBANDALE At candidate events across the state, it is common to hear a similar refrain from Republicans about former President Donald Trump: I like what President Trump accomplished in office, but I dont like the drama or baggage that comes with it. The former president, who once again is running to occupy the White House, has a message for those Republican voters. Without the drama, we wouldnt get elected, Trump told the Courier Des Moines Bureau during an interview Thursday in Iowa. And without the drama, I wouldnt make it as successful. Trump was back in Iowa on Thursday for the second day of a two-day campaign visit, during which he made three public appearances and conducted two interviews with conservative media outlets. After his first event Thursday morning, before a suburban Des Moines conservative club, Trump spoke to the Courier Des Moines Bureau, saying the drama some Republican voters talk about is, in his view, precisely what makes him an effective candidate and president. Trump has dominated national polling thus far in the Republican presidential primary. He has a 30-point lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the averaging of national Republican primary polling collected by Real Clear Politics. However, many Republicans in Iowa, who will cast the first votes in the presidential primary early next year, say they are considering supporting someone other than Trump. Those Republicans often say that while they like the significant conservative accomplishments during Trumps four years in office, they do not like the drama that comes with Trumps sometimes abrasive speaking style or legal issues. Drama is part of the deal, Trump told the Courier Des Moines Bureau. A lot of drama with China. But they knew they werent going to mess around with us. We had a lot of drama with (President Vladimir) Putin and Russia. But nobody was ever tougher on Russia, and they would have never gone in, as an example, into Ukraine, Trump said. He also cited his foreign policy toward Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean President Kim Jong Un. So you know, there was drama, but sometimes you need drama in order to get the job done, he said. Trump discussed myriad other topics with the Courier Des Moines Bureau, which was conducted after he addressed the Westside Conservative Club for 20 minutes of remarks and another 20 minutes of question-and-answer at a Machine Shed restaurant in this Des Moines suburb. ON CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS: When asked about the latest reports that he knowingly mishandled classified documents after leaving the White House, he said those reports are the latest examples of fake news and a witch hunt. According to a CNN report, federal prosecutors have obtained an audio recording in which Trump acknowledges he held onto a classified Pentagon document. The audio recording appears to indicate that Trump understood that he had retained classified material after leaving the White House, according to CNNs report, which cited multiple sources familiar with the investigation. CNNs reporting was confirmed by other national media outlets, including the New York Times. Trump on Thursday waved off the reports. Not only fake news, its fake news and its just a continuation of the witch hunt, Trump said. Just a continuation of this terrible witch hunt thats been going on for literally seven years. ON A RUNNING MATE: If Trump wins the Republican presidential nomination, its a safe bet his former Vice President Mike Pence will not be his running mate again. Pence plans to officially announce his candidacy for president next week, and the two are not in agreement over Pences role in Trumps attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election that he lost to President Joe Biden. Would Trump consider as his running mate Gov. Kim Reynolds, who has developed a national profile in the Republican Party in recent years? Well, I have a lot of people that I consider, Trump said. We have some great people. Whoever it is, itll be somebody who will be terrific. Were gonna have a lot of great people. We have incredible people in the Republican Party. ON UKRAINE: Trump insisted he would be able to quickly broker a deal that would end the war in Ukraine, which has lasted for more than a year since Russia first invaded the country in February 2022. In 24 hours, I would have a deal done, Trump said. A semi-complicated process, but I know both of them (Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy). I would have a deal done very quickly. It has to stop. That war has to stop. ON DESANTIS: Trumps latest Iowa trip comes on the heels of a visit from DeSantis, who recently made his presidential campaign official and spent two days in Iowa. The Florida governor is widely seen as Trumps chief rival in this early stage of the Republican presidential primary. Trump on Thursday homed in on a recent comment made by DeSantis, who said during campaign events earlier this week in Iowa that it will take him two four-year terms as president to work through the bureaucracy in the nations capital. Lets be clear: it really does take two terms as the president to be able to finish this job, DeSantis said during his campaign kickoff event in Iowa. The bureaucracy is so entrenched that I think we can bring George Washington back, and I dont think he could fix it in one single four-year term. But we must get the job done. Trumps response: You dont need eight years. You need six months. We can turn this thing around so quickly, Trump told the Westside Conservative Club. Who the hell wants to wait eight years? Ill have it turned around, fully turned around. When he says eight years, every time I hear that I winced because I say if it takes eight years to turn this around, then you dont want him. You dont want him as your president. So what do bacon, blueberries, and Capitol Hills fast-spinning revolving door have in common? Newsies know: All have been covered in this space over the past year, all have ties to Washington, D.C., and all are in the news again. Lets go first to the tasty bacon news from the suddenly very dishy U.S. Supreme Court. In a 5-4 decision May 11, the court ruled against the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Pork Producers Council, and the Biden administration and for Californias humanely raised pork law. The Big Ag plaintiffs wanted the state law declared unconstitutional because, they alleged, its practical effect was to control commercial conduct beyond Californias boundaries. In the frying pan was a three-times approved twice by voters, once by the state legislature ban on California businesses from selling eggs and uncooked pork and veal as noted here last September, from animals housed in ways that did not meet the new state standards. Some of those ways like sow farrowing crates and battery cages for hens are mainstays of modern livestock production. The NPPC, AFBF, and the White House fought for the crates and cages, claiming the California law violated interstate commerce. Writing for the courts majority, however, Justice Neil M. Gorsuch rejected their argument to create any new and more aggressive constitutional restrictions on the ability of States to regulate goods sold within their borders, noted the Washington Post. Gorsuch punctuated his majority opinion with some uncourtly snarkiness: While the Constitution addresses many weighty issues, he wrote, the type of pork chops California merchants sell is not on that list. Boom. American organic fruit and vegetable buyers would love to have that level of final-word clarity on the United States Department of Agricultures ever-shifting organic food rules. Recent rule changes designed to benefit corporate organic growers have brought massive changes to the American organic landscape. For example, USDAs rule to permit soil-free, hydroponic production of vegetables and fruit has, in just a few short years, clobbered small U.S. organic blueberry farmers. Peru, reports the Real Organic Project, has largely displaced most U.S. blueberry growers because farmers there can grow blueberries faster and cheaper under USDAs recently changed rules meant to boost American corporate hydroponic producers. In fact, reported the BBC recently, Peru a nation that grew virtually no blueberries a decade ago is now the worlds top blueberry exporter, selling $1.4 billion of the fruit overseas in 2022. This is just Another example of how degrading the definition of Organic has real consequences, explained ROP. Had the USDA standard remained soil-based and not opened the market to hydroponically-grown blueberries, it argues, U.S. growers would continue to sell high-value late-season fruit. Under the hydroponic rulesrules ROP fought against because organic, by definition, means soil U.S. (blueberry) producers have been hit hard and most of that imported production is hydroponic. How did that happen? Enter Washingtons legislator-to-lobbyist revolving door or, more accurately, open barn door where its nearly impossible to distinguish lawmakers from law shakers. In fact, according to opensecrets.org, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that tracks money and influence in American politics, a staggering 467 former House and Senate members lobbied Capitol Hill during the 115th Congress to attempt to influence the very federal government in which they used to serve. Think about that: Four years ago (the latest published numbers), the 467 former lawmakers asking one-time colleagues for a favor nearly equaled the number of one-time colleagues, 535, they asked. Why? Because all that grinning, gripping, and greasing works, explained U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Maine Democrat on the House Ag Committee and a certified organic farmer. (T)here are 1,200 lobbyists on the Hill that work for the agriculture and food processing industry, she told the ROP podcast. They spend about $350 million a year on forming opinions in Washington. And thats more than the defense industry, so dont underestimate their power. For proof, just look at USDAs organic hydroponics rule; lobbyists pushed that choice, not voters, and American farmers are paying the price. (Photo : JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images) The government announced on Friday that nine people were killed in clashes between police and supporters of Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. The government announced on Friday that nine people were killed in clashes between police and supporters of Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. As a result of the violence, authorities have banned the use of several social media platforms. Interior Minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome said in a statement that the majority of fatalities occurred in the capital, Dakar, and the southern city of Ziguinchor, where Sonko is mayor. Fresh Protests Rock Senegal Several social media platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter, that were utilized by demonstrators to incite violence have been suspended, he said. As confrontations between police and Sonko supporters persisted throughout the city on Friday, the government dispatched the military to certain areas, Fox News reported. Sonko was found guilty on Thursday of corrupting youth, but acquitted of raping a massage parlor employee and threatening her with death. Sonko was sentenced to two years in prison for failing to appear at his Dakar trial. According to his attorney, an arrest warrant for him has not yet been issued. In response to Thursday's deadly confrontations between protesters and security forces, the government of Senegal announced that it has deployed the military in Dakar and other cities and shut down social media platforms, a rare escalation of tensions in the West African nation. According to NY Times, protesters took to the streets across the nation of West Africa, shortly after the verdict was announced. Sonko was sentenced to two years in prison in a politically motivated case, according to his supporters. According to the government, shortly after the verdict, demonstrators clashed with security forces, resulting in the fatalities of at least nine persons. Since Sonko's arrest in 2021 after a massage parlor employee accused him of rape, there have been periodic demonstrations in Senegal. However, Thursday's violence escalated tensions in Senegal, a generally tranquil nation. In numerous Dakar districts, protesters clashed with security forces, and portions of the city's primary university were damaged. In several cities, supermarkets, trains, and petrol terminals were also destroyed. Diome stated that the fatalities occurred in Dakar and the southern city of Ziguinchor, where Sonko is the mayor. At least 14 persons were slain in protests following his arrest in 2021. Confrontations persisted in several Senegalese cities and several Dakar neighborhoods, where schools and many businesses remained closed. Classes for tens of thousands of students were suspended until further notice after multiple faculty buildings at the Cheikh Anta Diop University in the city were incinerated and looted. Government spokesman Abdou Karim Fofana stated that the military had been deployed to maintain order. He refused to disclose the number or location of the mobilized forces. Diome, the minister of the interior, deemed it necessary to restrict social media platforms in order to prevent widespread dissemination of incitements to violence and hostility. Read Also: US Seeks Explosives in Japan for Ukraine After Tokyo Donates 100 Military Vehicles to Kyiv More Protests Erupt Over Opposition's Arrest Per ABC News, Sonko is President Macky Sall's chief rival, and he has urged Sall to declare publicly that he will not run for a third term. Since the verdict was announced, violence has erupted across the nation, with demonstrators hurling rocks, torching vehicles, and constructing barricades in some areas while police fired tear gas. Reporters from the Associated Press witnessed black fumes and tear gas being discharged throughout the city. The confrontations forced the closure of Dakar's primary university. In anticipation of further unrest, security forces patrolled the streets and posted guards in front of some supermarkets and stores on Friday. Police prevented anyone from approaching Sonko's residence to maintain its high level of security. Sonko has been uncontactable since the verdict. Nonetheless, his PASTEF-Patriots party has urged protesters to take to the streets. Human rights organizations have condemned the government's crackdown, which has included arbitrary arrests and social media restrictions. "These restrictions on the right to freedom of expression and information violate international law and cannot be justified by security concerns," Amnesty International declared in a statement. In keeping with Senegal's long democratic tradition, the French ministry for Europe and foreign affairs stated that it was "extremely concerned by the violence" and urged for a resolution to this crisis. Relates Article: Nigeria's New President Sparks Chaos After Halting Fuel Subsidy Amid Rising Petrol Prices @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Here we go again. No, not another shooting, but rather a crisis over raising the federal debt ceiling. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the government wont have enough money to pay all of its bills unless Congress acts to raise the debt ceiling by Monday. We go through this action periodically in the last 82 years, Congress has raised the debt ceiling at least a 100 sometimes at the last minute and occasionally doing it in an untimely fashion. We even have had several government shutdowns while waiting for Congress to act to increase the ceiling. There have been other shutdowns because of political logjams having little to do with the actual debt ceiling. The shutdown of 2013 occurred during the second Obama term, focusing primarily on a disagreement between Republican led House of Representatives and the Democratic-led Senate about the contents of the 2014 Continuing Appropriations Resolution bill, alongside other political issues. The shutdown of December 2018January 2019 was the second to occur during the presidential term of Donald Trump, and was due to a disagreement over funding for Trumps wall along the MexicoUnited States border. These shutdowns are expensive. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the 2018-2019 shutdown cost the government $3 billion in back pay for furloughed workers, plus $2 billion in lost tax revenues due to reduced tax evasion compliance activities by the Internal Revenue Service, and a smaller amount of lost fees such as for visits to national parks, for a total of about $5 billion. Realistically, as long as we have political stubbornness and an unwillingness to compromise in Washington, we will continue to have threatened and actual shutdowns. Until we elect better people to office, those problems will not end, and we will periodically cycle through a debt ceiling battle. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office says, The biggest problem with the ceiling is that it has become so politicized, and a dangerous political bargaining chip that holds the economy hostage in order to extract political demands. And that hurts. Economist Mark Zandi says, Defaulting on the debt ceiling would cause real GDP to decline almost 4% peak to trough, nearly 6 million jobs would be lost, and the unemployment rate would surge to over 7%. Stock prices would be cut almost in one-third at the worst of the selloff, wiping out $12 trillion in household wealth. However, we can do something about shutdowns and fears related to the debt ceiling. Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Brian Schatz of Hawaii have proposed abolishing the debt ceiling. As Van Hollen says, It is time to defuse this economic time bomb that is repeatedly and recklessly used to threaten an economic doomsday in order to impose a radical political agenda. Schatz follows up, Republicans are using the debt limit to hold the country hostage. We need to stop playing this very dangerous game with the nations economy and get rid of the debt ceiling. While we cant easily reduce political gamesmanship, we can get rid of one problem: The debt ceiling. Its simple really. Just abolish the ceiling. Its usefulness has long since evaporated. A good, easy solution. Lets do it. Interesting pair of articles on Wednesdays (May 31) front page: a family that loves and supports their trans child, and a presidential contender who orchestrated an onslaught of hate-filled legislation against LGBTQ kids. I know DeSantis is trying to appeal to evangelical voters in Iowa and elsewhere. He sees his use of the power of the state to make it impossible for trans people to live their lives in public as a winning issue in the upcoming election. Contrast his cynical approach with that of the Christiason family of Cedar Falls, who supported their transgender child and helped him received the gender-affirming care he needed, care that will not be available in Iowa after the new anti-LGBTQ+ laws go into effect next month. This family is a great example to us all. How should Christians respond? Jesus said, A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 13:34) Jesus never spoke to LGBTQ issues during his time on Earth, but he consistently attracted people who were condemned by the majority. He defended their honor and personhood and welcomed them in his presence. If only we could convince Christians to be more like Jesus. Doug Smith, Cedar Falls Reference: Froma Harrop, DeSantis should worry if he can even win Florida again in the May 28 Courier. Her thesis is Ron DeSantis lacks the personal qualities and as governor his actions fail to meet voter priorities. DeSantis' margin of victory in Floridas gubertorial race increased from 0.4% in 2018 to 19.4% in 2022. How does Harrop explain this? She states DeSantis never had a serious private sector job. She could say the same of Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer. Did she say that DeSantis graduated from Yale and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, and he served in the U.S. military with distinction. Could she praise Joe Biden with even one of these accomplishments? Major crime California: 430/100,000 vs. Florida: 393/100,000. Highest income tax rate: NYC 14.8% vs. Miami zero. Thank you Froma Harrop for giving me the opportunity to rebutt your flawed review of Gov. Ron DeSantis. Theodore Lederman, Waterloo The Legislature passed a bill giving $350 million annually to parents who send their children to private schools. Over a three-year period this represents $1 billion and more over the years to come. I believe in the separation of church and state and question this use of our public tax dollars. Private school parents are thrilled to receive $7,600 per student they withdraw from their local school district. In a recent Des Moines Register poll 62% of Iowans do not support this bill. As a retired public school superintendent I have always supported educating all youth, not just those private schools choose to admit. I was raised by parents who were Republicans and have voted Republican in the past. I will not vote Republican in the future. I also support a womans right to control her body. I support the Second Amendment, but there has to be better gun control to stop the daily mass murders. Something has to be done to control climate change or our children and grandchildren will not have an Earth to live on. One last issue, we need to be more respectful of children who struggle with identity issues and support their parents also. Virgil Goodrich, Parkersburg Disinformation Roger Smith's letter in the May 28 Courier implying America's public schools are indoctrinating children with communism by eliminating religion demands a response. To even suggest someone would "encounter echoes of Lenin and Marx" in our public schools is ludicrous. If Smith reads the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution he might understand it mandates separation of church and state, meaning government endorsement of any religion to the exclusion of all others in publicly funded schools is unconstitutional. Smith goes on to praise Iowa's new school voucher law which allegedly gives parents new rights to choose. Iowa parents have always had the right to send their children to private schools where religion is part of the curriculum, but now instead of having to pay their own way they get taxpayer funding. I have no problem if Smith or any Iowa parent wants religious education for their kids, but I vehemently oppose my tax dollars paying their tuition at the expense of public education where all children, regardless of race, religion, or creed are accepted. Denis Montenier, Hudson Be like Jesus Interesting pair of articles on Wednesdays (May 31) front page: a family that loves and supports their trans child, and a presidential contender who orchestrated an onslaught of hate-filled legislation against LGBTQ kids. I know DeSantis is trying to appeal to evangelical voters in Iowa and elsewhere. He sees his use of the power of the state to make it impossible for trans people to live their lives in public as a winning issue in the upcoming election. Contrast his cynical approach with that of the Christiason family of Cedar Falls, who supported their transgender child and helped him received the gender-affirming care he needed, care that will not be available in Iowa after the new anti-LGBTQ+ laws go into effect next month. This family is a great example to us all. How should Christians respond? Jesus said, A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 13:34) Jesus never spoke to LGBTQ issues during his time on Earth, but he consistently attracted people who were condemned by the majority. He defended their honor and personhood and welcomed them in his presence. If only we could convince Christians to be more like Jesus. Doug Smith, Cedar Falls Defending DeSantis Reference: Froma Harrop, DeSantis should worry if he can even win Florida again in the May 28 Courier. Her thesis is Ron DeSantis lacks the personal qualities and as governor his actions fail to meet voter priorities. DeSantis' margin of victory in Floridas gubertorial race increased from 0.4% in 2018 to 19.4% in 2022. How does Harrop explain this? She states DeSantis never had a serious private sector job. She could say the same of Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer. Did she say that DeSantis graduated from Yale and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, and he served in the U.S. military with distinction. Could she praise Joe Biden with even one of these accomplishments? Major crime California: 430/100,000 vs. Florida: 393/100,000. Highest income tax rate: NYC 14.8% vs. Miami zero. Thank you Froma Harrop for giving me the opportunity to rebutt your flawed review of Gov. Ron DeSantis. Theodore Lederman, Waterloo This is not science C.S Lewis and Augusto Del Noce were two 20th century philosophers who predicted what is happening in our time. Both men foresaw a cadre of technocratic elite that would capture international corporations, government, and mass media in order to merge science with Marxist political dialectics into what both men labeled as "Scientism." Lewis published "The Abolition of Man" in 1943 and claimed psychology and technology would be perfected to point of modern "magicians" negating historical values to create an earthly dystopian reality rooted in relativism. Del Noce's book "The Crisis of Modernity" cited the synthesis of Marxism and left-wing psychoanalysis as the only effective weapon against Christian civilization. In a 1970 article titled "The Ascendance of Eroticism" he wrote: The decisive battle against Christianity could be fought only at the level of the sexual revolution. Both men predicted a degenerate neo-Gnosticism manifesting as secularism, scientism and eroticism that eventually degrades into nihilism, tyranny, and violence. Advocates of transgenderism for children should go to Rumble.com, search for "Affirmation Generation" and watch that 90-minute documentary featuring health professionals and detransitioners. COVID was politicized. Environmental Social Governance scores and the Green agenda are about centralizing power. Scientism is not science. Jeffrey Fischels, Cedar Falls Private privilege Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds recently has been all about how school choice is good for Iowa. However, studies suggest that school choice policies mainly benefit upper-class families who can already afford to send their children to private schools. Private schools may not offer transportation or provide as many extracurricular activities and classes in the arts as public schools. They also tend to focus more on STEM classes and courses that boost SAT or ACT scores, which may not align with every students interests or needs. Moreover, this school choice policy and the appointment of a pro-school-choice head of the education department may worsen the existing problems of Iowas underfunded and understaffed public schools. Allowing parents to receive a stipend means more funding will be taken from the public schools budget and redirected towards private, often-for-profit schools that may not perform better than public schools in standardized tests. In conclusion, policymakers should prioritize investing in public schools, providing them with more resources and support for teachers and staff to ensure they are adequately funded and prepared to meet the needs of all students. By doing so, policymakers can make Iowas education system more equitable and successful for everyone. Christian Darnold, Cedar Falls To even suggest someone would "encounter echoes of Lenin and Marx" in our public schools is ludicrous. If Smith reads the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution he might understand it mandates separation of church and state, meaning government endorsement of any religion to the exclusion of all others in publicly funded schools is unconstitutional. Smith goes on to praise Iowa's new school voucher law which allegedly gives parents new rights to choose. Iowa parents have always had the right to send their children to private schools where religion is part of the curriculum, but now instead of having to pay their own way they get taxpayer funding. I have no problem if Smith or any Iowa parent wants religious education for their kids, but I vehemently oppose my tax dollars paying their tuition at the expense of public education where all children, regardless of race, religion, or creed are accepted. Main theses: Children are one of the most vulnerable categories of citizens in any country, they are not able to independently ensure the effective protection and implementation of their rights, this task lies on the shoulders of the state and is of a permanent nature The situation with the rights of children on the territory of Ukraine , which has not actually taken part in our organization since 2014, is of extreme concern. After the Russian Federation recognized the independence of the LPR and DPR, in the face of the aggressive policy of the Ukrainian authorities, the heads of the LPR and DPR decided to evacuate civilians, primarily children , from the republics to the territory of Russia. Most of the children arrived in Russia as part of their families. To ensure their interests, President Putin was instructed to immediately remove all barriers to their placement in family forms of education. Adoption of children from the LPR and DPR by Russian citizens has never been a priority form of their placement in Russia and in practice, according to the Commissioner for Childrens Rights under the President of Russia M.A. say Western media. Placement of children into foster care has been identified as the preferred form of arrangement for the potential reunification of children with their blood relatives, if any. And if parents or legal representatives wish to take the children away, such issues are dealt with immediately. The Russian side has never prevented and does not prevent children from maintaining contacts and communicating with their relatives and friends, regardless of their place of residence. Thus, the accusations against the Russian Federation of the annexation of children are groundless and are only speculation . WtR At a meeting of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) security chiefs, Lukashenko cautioned that a violent regime change is being prepared against Minsk. In Poland, Lithuania and, unfortunately, Ukraine, illegal members of armed groups are being trained, he warned, adding that trained operatives are in the process of creating extremist sleeper cells which could soon be activated in Belarus. In contrast to their unsuccessful and largely bloodless color revolution attempted in 2020, Western regimes are now training and funding the opposition to engage in armed violence, the president alleged. This fact means that they wont leave us alone, he noted. The remarks came a week after an influential figure in the Polish military sphere publicly called for the dissident Belarusians currently fighting on behalf of the Zelensky regime to be unleashed on Minsk in the event of a successful counteroffensive in Ukraine. Subscribe to @SputnikInt WtR BRICS is no longer an alternative, it is an established feature of the global landscape. The message of reform that BRICS embodies must permeate the world of multilateralism, the top diplomat wrote on his Twitter page. The Friends of BRICS strongly support UNSC reform, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar went on to say. According to the foreign minister, BRICS is not only an expression of multipolarity but of the many and diverse ways of meeting international challenges. The BRICS group of nations seeks to build a fairer, inclusive and open international architecture with sustainable development at its core, he tweeted. Creating resilient and reliable supply chains are central to ensuring that no one is left behind, the foreign minister stressed. The Friends of BRICS ministerial meeting was held earlier on Friday in Cape Town. It was attended by foreign ministers from the BRICS nations and 12 countries of the Global South who are interested in joining the group, namely Argentina, Bangladesh, Venezuela, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, the Comoros, Cuba, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. On Thursday, Cape Town hosted a meeting of top diplomats from the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) who, among other things, discussed the idea of the groups expansion. TASS WtR Medvedev certain smartphone producers cooperate with secret services On Thursday, Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had uncovered, jointly with the Federal Protective Service (FSO), a US intelligence operation that used a virus program on Apple mobile devices. The company itself responded by claiming it was not cooperating with US intelligence. When any, even the largest high-tech company, says it refuses to cooperate with the national intelligence community for ideological reasons, it can mean one of the two things: a) it is shamelessly lying, or b) it is about to go out of business. There are no miracles, Medvedev said in response to journalists questions about whether he believed Apples statements. This should be kept in mind by the owners of any smartphones, whether Apple products with iOS closed to all users, or Samsung with Android open to third-party applications. According to the FSB, several thousand Apple phones belonging to both Russian subscribers and foreign users using SIM cards registered to diplomatic missions and embassies in Russia, including NATO and post-Soviet countries, as well as Israel, China and Syria, were infected. The company gives vast opportunities for controlling any persons of interest to the White House, the FSB concluded. On Thursday, it was reported that Kaspersky Lab had detected a targeted cyberattack being conducted using Apple mobile devices. Several dozen iPhones of the companys employees were infected with spyware. It was stated that no effective way of removing such software had been devised yet. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, while commenting on the situation to the media, stressed that all employees of the Presidential Staff were prohibited from using iPhones for official purposes. TASS WtR The Winona Area Public Schools board will discuss at the Thursday, June 8, meeting whether the districts diversity, equity and inclusion committee will meet during the summer. The committee at the Tuesday, May 23, meeting began planning for community input on the districts draft diversity, equity and inclusion policy. The Minnesota Department of Education Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Center recommended the district gather more community input on the policy, said Kristie OBrien, director of learning and teaching with the district. Committee members discussed strategies for gathering input, including holding focus sessions with community and student groups. Well build it for decision later at our next meeting, said OBrien. School board member Stephanie Smith announced the committee would put the June, July and August meetings on hold until September. Outgoing superintendent Annette Freiheit and Smith said the decision was made to give time for the new superintendent, then undecided, time to transition in the district. Committee members voiced disagreement, citing current progress on the diversity, equity and inclusion policy and proposed focus groups. I think meeting in the summer would be important because we just had a whole year. Yes, we have a policy, but now we dont, said Marci Hitz, community member on the committee. Hitz also referenced the districts stakeholder report that found community members wanted the superintendent to have expertise in diversity, equity and inclusion. Board member Pete Watkins said that the committee should continue to meet and that the district was not putting committees on other topics, such as curriculum, on hold during the superintendent transition. I would strongly encourage our group to continue meeting, for the opposite reason of the superintendent coming into an engaged group that wants to make a difference, said Watkins. Board member Karl Sonneman suggested not holding a June meeting, but restarting the committee meetings in July or August with the new superintendent. Smith said she would add the committees meetings to the next school board agenda. For the committee to be able to meet, at least three members who are community members not faculty or students must be present to meet quorum. Of the 11 planned meetings between July 2022 and May 2023, no quorum was present at four. Three community member seats are unfilled and two are pending renewal. Committee members discussed barriers to joining the group at the May meeting after a public comment called to do away with the application process, which can gatekeep community members from joining the group. Not being able to meet by not meeting quorum, but also making it harder to be a part of the committee, you cant juxtapose those two things, said Watkins. Freiheit said the district is considering changing the application to an interest survey to ease the process. The committee also discussed possibilities to improve communication with the public, primarily to provide ways to bring harmful behavior to the committees attention. Public comment is currently the only way to directly reach the committee. Committee members, unless they are faculty or board members, do not have district email accounts. Cassie Schmidt addressed school board members in a North Dakota district who said they would not "openly out" kids even though a new state law says they have to. Schmidt has a history of fighting back for their parents. She spoke out against the Fargo, North Dakota school board on behalf of the "Let Parents Decide That" Facebook group, which was formed in response to allegations that the board had and would continue to hide students' gender identities from their families. "Whose kids are these? Do they belong to you as a school board? ... There is no possible way for each teacher to know every kid as intimately as their parents do," she told the board last week. Is North Dakota Waving the Social Justice Flag To Distract From Real Problems? During an interview with Fox News, Schmidt discussed her work as an advocate for parental rights in her local community and the efforts of a Facebook group she co-founded to oppose mask mandates during the COVID pandemic of 2021. Over 2,000 people have joined in the last two years. Schmidt claims that it has tackled various major education concerns in the two years since the organization's founding. These include school violence in North Dakota and the latest topic of gender identity concealing that has recently attracted public attention. She said it is upsetting when they raise social justice flags instead of addressing genuine concerns. Unfortunately, Schmidt did note that parents' attempts to engage with state authorities to fight the problem have mostly been fruitless. Those officials have only kicked the can of issues back down to the local level. "That is really concerning, and it should be concerning for people on both sides of this LGBTQ issue, whether you're for it or against it. We should be able to come together and understand that the parent makes the decisions for the child and that protecting kids does not mean hiding information from parents," Schmidt stated. She also said the board had a pattern of dismissing parent concerns and never acting on them. She referred back to Dr. Gandhi's comments on safeguarding transgender kids and the high suicide rates among transgender adolescents. Schmidt argued that students' parents should be informed if there is any concern that their child's mental health is deteriorating due to factors outside of their control. Also Read: Pride Month Event at Los Angeles Elementary School Sparks Demonstrations School District to Hide Pupils' Gender Identities From Parents Against State Law Republican Governor Doug Burgum signed HB1522 into law in North Dakota in May, as previously reported by KATV. The next day, Superintendent Dr. Rupak Gandhi remarked at a meeting: "We will not openly out any student because of one law if we know that that's going to cause harm to that child." HB1522 makes it illegal for school districts to adopt pronoun rules and for school boards or instructors to keep a legal guardian in the dark about a student's transgender identity. Transgender bathroom policies and other essential LGBTQ+ challenges are also addressed in the statute. Also Read: Republican, Democratic Lawmakers React on Target's Woke Controversy @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Weather Alert ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY EVENING... * WHAT...Flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall is possible. * WHERE...Portions of California and western Nevada, including the following areas, in California, Greater Lake Tahoe Area, Lassen-Eastern Plumas-Eastern Sierra Counties and Mono County. In western Nevada, Greater Lake Tahoe Area, Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area and Mineral and Southern Lyon Counties. * WHEN...From this afternoon through Monday evening. * IMPACTS...Excessive runoff may result in flooding of creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas. Area creeks and streams are running high and could flood with more heavy rain. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - Slow moving thunderstorms will produce areas of heavy rainfall with localized rainfall rates on the order of 1.00 to 1.50 inches per hour. Soils are already saturated with creeks, streams, and rivers running full due to ongoing snowmelt. It will not take as much rain to cause excessive runoff. Also, heavy rainfall may lead to flash flooding and debris flows near burn scars and steep terrain. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action should Flash Flood Warnings be issued. &&